Indigenous Nutrient Supplying Capacity of Vertisols under Cotton and Soybean

A set of on-farm trials were initiated during 2015 in Rahit and Donad villages in Barshitakli tehsil and Warudi, Dhotardi, and in Waki village in Akola tehsil, Akola district, Maharashtra to assess the N, P and K responses in soybean and cotton. The trials compared four treatments: 1) ample NPK and other limiting nutrient application, 2) omission of N from the ample treatment, 3) omission of P from the ample treatment, and 4) omission of K from the ample treatment.

The current project was initiated to characterize and assess the fertility status of soils in intensive cotton and soybean growing areas of Maharashtra using nutrient omission plots, and to assess the spatial and temporal variability of these nutrient responses. Fifteen on-farm nutrient omission trials on cotton and soybean were conducted in farmers’ fields in Akola District.

Cotton and soybean are major crops in the region of Maharastra with vertisol soils. The current project was initiated to characterize and assess the fertility status of soils in intensive cotton and soybean growing areas of Maharashtra, to study the yield response of cotton and soybean to the addition of nutrients, and to assess the spatial and temporal variability of these nutrient responses. Fifteen on-farm trials were initiated with cotton and soybean during 2013 and 2014.