Integrated Effect of Potash Management through Gliricidia Green Leaf Manuring and Mineral Fertilizer on Productivity of Rainfed Cotton and Soil Fertility in Vertisols under Semi-arid Agroecosystem

A field experiment was conducted to study the integrated effect of potash application through gliricidia green leaf manuring on productivity of cotton and soil fertility in Vertisols during 2015–16 to 2017–18 at Research Farm of AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra. The soil of the experimental site was moderately alkaline in reaction, low in available nitrogen, medium in available phosphorus and high in available potassium. The nine treatments with three replications in randomised block design comprised of T₁- Control, T₂-100% RDF (60:30:30 NPK kg ha⁻¹), T₃-100% NP + 15 kg K (inorganic) + 15 kg K through gliricidia,T₄-100% NP + 10 kg K (inorganic) + 20 kg K through gliricidia, T₅-100% NP + 30 kg K through gliricidia,T₆ -75% N + 100% P +15 kg K (inorganic) + 15 kg K through gliricidia, T₇-75% N +100% P + 30 kg K through gliricidia, T₈-50% N + 100% P + 30 kg K through gliricidia and T₉-100% K through gliricidia. The results indicated that the potash management through gliricidia green leaf manuring in conjunction with chemical fertilizers recorded higher cotton yield with improvement in soil fertility. Hence, it is concluded that the integrated application of 100% NP (60:30 NP kg ha⁻¹) + 10 kg K (inorganic) + 20 kg K through gliricidia green leaf manuring resulted in improvement in soil fertility with higher yield of cotton in Vertisols under rainfed conditions.