Influence of Panchgavya and Jeevamrutha on soil fertility and performance of late sown wheat

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi season 2023–24 at the research farm unit of Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, to study the application of Jeevamrutha and Panchgavya in different concentration either as soil application alone or in combination with foliar application on soil fertility status along with growth of late sown wheat under natural farming. Results showed that soil application of jeevamrutha @ 15% at 20, 40, and 60 DAS along with foliar application of panchgavya @ 3% at the heading and milking stage (T₁₀) recorded the highest plant height (56.9 cm), number of tillers 188.8 m^-2), dry matter (452.1 g m^-2), and leaf area index (3.95). The highest grain yield of 19.6 q ha^-1 was recorded under T₁₀ which was 86.7% more as compared to the control. In case of soil parameters after the harvest of crop, the treatment T₁₀ exhibited significantly higher available nitrogen (223.1 kg ha^-1), phosphorus (28.95 kg ha^-1), and potassium (203.85 kg ha^-1). This corresponds to an increase of 18.6% in available nitrogen, 24.3% in available phosphorus, and 16.9% in available potassium over the control treatment (T₁). Additionally, T₁₀ showed a significant effect on the total uptake of nitrogen (43.95 kg ha^-1), phosphorus (18.27 kg ha^-1), and potassium (70.67 kg ha^-1), which were 22.7%, 26.1%, and 19.3% higher, respectively, compared to the control. In terms of enzymatic activity, the treatment T₁₀ recorded significantly higher values of dehydrogenase activity (49.02 μg PNP g^-1 soil h^-1), acidic phosphatase activity (95.04 μg PNP g^-1 soil h^-1, alkaline phosphatase activity (161.06 μg TPF g^-1 soil h^-1), and microbial biomass carbon (357.21 mg kg^-1). These values showed increases of approximately 31.4% in dehydrogenase activity, 28.7% in acidic phosphatase, 34.5% in alkaline phosphatase, and 29.8% in microbial biomass carbon compared with the control treatment. Thus, soil application of jeevamrutha @ 15% at 20, 40, and 60 DAS along with foliar application of panchgavya @ 3% at the heading and milking stage can enhance the wheat productivity along with maintain soil health.