Nutrient Budgeting as Influenced by Integrated Nutrient Management in Wheat Crop

The experiment was conducted to study the conjoint application of fertilizer levels, FYM (Farm Yard Manure) and composite bio-inoculants on available nutrient status and balance sheet of nutrients after harvest of wheat crop. The experiment was laid out in split–split plot design with three replications. Four levels of chemical fertilizer (0%, 50%, 75% and 100% NPK) were assigned in main plots, two levels of organic manure (without FYM and with 10 t FYM ha⁻¹) in sub plots and four sources of bio-inoculants, that is, no inoculation, composite plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), VAM (Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae) and composite PGPR+VAM inoculation in sub–sub plots. We used a mass balance approach that comprises virtually all nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) inputs and outputs from wheat field's topsoil for average conditions during the period 2009–2010 and 2010–2011. The present experiment was carried out to evaluate relative nutrient balance of soil after harvest of the wheat crop under graded dose of fertilizer, FYM and bio-inoculants. Increasing levels of fertilizer combination with organic manure and bio-inoculants gave the positive gain of soil nutrients during investigation. The highest gains of 20.26, 0.38 and 7.59 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, respectively, were recorded in 100% NPK application.