Organic Amendments Improve Soil Moisture Retention and Soil Properties under French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Cultivation

Predominantly cultivated in the areas where cool weather prevails, French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a nutritionally imperative legume crop grown for its protein rich seeds and green pods. The hilly region of Nagaland is well suited for this crop where it is grown as a kharif as well as a rabi crop. Due to steep slopes and prevailing soil degradation in the region, this study aims to deliver critical analysis on how the incorporation of organic manures may help restore the soil health and productivity so that sustainable agriculture can be achieved.

An experiment was conducted to investigate how soil moisture and soil properties are influenced by organic amendments under French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivation during the rabi season of 2024 at the research farm of ICAR KVK Peren, Nagaland. Randomized block design (RBD) was adopted for the aforesaid experiment with 3 replications and 8 treatments specifically, control (T₁), FYM @ 10 t ha^-1 (T₂), poultry litter @ 5 t ha^-1 (T₃), forest litter @ 5 t ha^-1 (T₄), pig manure @ 5 t ha^-1 (T₅), goat manure @ 5 t ha^-1 (T₆), vermicompost @ 5 t ha^-1 (T₇) and enriched compost @ 2.5 t ha^-1 (T₈).

Outcomes of the study revealed that vermicompost (T₇) delivered the peak soil moisture at early stages (21.71% and 22.22%) at 15 and 30 DAS, respectively, while forest litter (T₄) maintained higher soil moisture at later stages (23.03%-25.06%) at 45 and 60 DAS and 24.11% at 75 DAS. Poultry litter (T₃) significantly improved soil chemical and biological properties, recording highest soil pH (5.73), organic carbon (2.01%), available nitrogen (532.82 kg ha^-1), available potassium (331.60 kg ha^-1), soil microbial biomass carbon (220.02 μg g^-1), dehydrogenase activity (4.74 μg TPF g^-1 soil h^-1) and acid phosphatase activity (63.53 μg PNP g^-1 soil h^-1).