Long Term Effect of Tillage and Integrated Nutrient Management on Soil Quality and Productivity of Rainfed Cotton in Vertisols under Semi-Arid Conditions of Maharashtra

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of integrated nutrient management in conventional and reduced tillage system on soil quality and productivity of rainfed cotton in Vertisols at Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra. The experiment was carried out during 2005–06 to 2009–10 in Factorial Randomized Block Design with twelve treatment combinations and three replications. The treatments consisted of tillage (conventional and minimum), nutrient management viz., 100% RDF, 50% RDF with graded doses of farmyard manure (5, 10 and 15 t/ha) and in situ green manuring with dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata). The pooled results revealed that numerically higher seed cotton yield and sustainable yield index (SYI) was recorded in minimum tillage as compared to conventional tillage. The application of 50% RDF + FYM @ 15 t/ha recorded significantly higher seed cotton yield, SYI and soil quality index (SQI) alongwith significant improvement in physical, chemical and biological properties of Vertisols. However, application of FYM @ 10 t/ha along with 50% RDF also sustained the cotton productivity and was on par with application of FYM @ 15 t/ha + 50% RDF in respect of cotton productivity and soil fertility. Hence, it is recommended that the integrated application of FYM @ 10 t/ha along with 50% RDF was beneficial in improving soil quality and sustaining the rainfed cotton productivity in Vertisols under semi-arid conditions of Maharashtra.