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Assessing Methods for Estimating Potentially Mineralisable Nitrogen Under Organic Production System in New Alluvial Soils of Lower Gangetic Plain

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Abstract

A dedicated soil testing method for estimating available nitrogen (N) in organic production system is currently lacking. In this backdrop, an innovative approach was initiated to develop a suitable method for assessing potentially mineralisable nitrogen (PMN) as N availability index in organically fertilised soils. To address the objective, a field experiment was conducted in an organically fertilised french bean crop after a 3-year crop cycle of aromatic rice-french bean-okra. Farmyard manure, vermicompost, mustard oil-cake, poultry manure and their different combinations equivalent to 120 kg N ha−1 were applied as sources of N. Chemically fertilised plots were also maintained as a check. PMN was derived using first-order kinetics, from the disappearance of organic-N at different growth stages of french bean using the methods involving 1/15 M phosphate buffer (PB), 0.01 M calcium chloride (CaCl2), 0.01 M sodium bi-carbonate (NaHCO3), and 0.1 M sodium hydroxide + 0.05 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Basic EDTA) extractants. The conventional alkaline permanganate method for N estimation was also used for comparison. PB derived significantly 22, 39 and 47% higher PMN than Basic EDTA, NaHCO3 and CaCl2 respectively. PMNs estimated by different methods were well correlated (r = 0.53** to 0.84**) among themselves while exhibited poor correlation with alkaline permanganate N (r = 0.30 to 0.41*). PB-derived PMN depicted the strongest linear relationship with pod yield (r = 0.89**, R2 = 0.80**) and N uptake (r = 0.81**, R2 = 0.66**). The reliability of PB as the most suitable method was further established by principal component analysis as PB explained the highest proportion (73%) of total PMN variation. Beyond its consequential quantitative evaluation, the ability of PB to extract organic-N compounds of similar chemical nature (uniform C:N ratio, 12–14) from diverse organic sources confirmed its superiority. Adopting PB to estimate PMN as an index of N availability will thus assist soil testing agencies to improve nutrient management advisory for organic farmers.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to AICRP on Soil Test Crop Response Correlation for providing necessary funds and facilities during the research programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, –741252, India

    Siddhartha Mukherjee, Niharendu Saha, Buddhadev Sarkar, Sudip Sengupta & Samrat Ghosh

  2. ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Nabibagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, 462038, India

    Pradip Dey

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  1. Siddhartha Mukherjee
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  2. Niharendu Saha
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Correspondence to Siddhartha Mukherjee.

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Mukherjee, S., Saha, N., Sarkar, B. et al. Assessing Methods for Estimating Potentially Mineralisable Nitrogen Under Organic Production System in New Alluvial Soils of Lower Gangetic Plain. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 21, 1030–1040 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-021-00419-x

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