Impact of nutrient management practices on soil physical and biological properties in an acid alfisol of Himachal Pradesh, India

The present investigation was carried out to assess the effect of nutrient management practices on soil physical and biological properties under maize crop in an acid Alfisol. The experiment consisted of eleven treatments comprising recommended NPK levels, NPK + FYM, NPK + lime, organic farming packages, NFS-Desi Cow, NFS-Crossbred Cow, NFS-Buffalo, and their supplementation with 25 per cent of recommended NPK. The highest water holding capacity, and mean weight diameter, while lowest bulk density were under organic farming+ 25 per cent NPK treatment. Among soil microbial properties, organic farming + 25 per cent NPK treatment showed the highest microbial biomass nitrogen, urease activity, viable bacterial, fungal, and actinomycetes count, however, all these parameters were found lowest under 100 per cent NPK treatment.