Anil Kumar’s research while affiliated with Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry and other places

‘On farm trials’ to assess the effect of organic nutrient package on soil chemical and microbial properties, productivity and economics of summer moong were laid in the farmers’ field of district Tarn Taran. The study tested organic farming, natural farming and integrated nutrient management practices against farmers’ practices in the district. I was found that integrated nutrient management practices gave significantly higher value of yield attributes such as plant height, number of pods per plant and 100 grain weight. Though, the number of seeds per pod were reported as highest with natural farming practice. Continuous application of organic nutrient sources in amounts sufficient to meet the requirements of crops not only resulted in increasing crop yield but also improved soil fertility and organic matter content. There are indications of organic matter build up in organic as well as in natural farming involving treatments which might improve a lot in the long-term. The highest value of organic carbon was reported under scientifically recommended organic package owing to application of organic manure. The trends of nitrogen availability under different treatments were observed similar to that of organic carbon. The highest available P content was registered in INM treatment. The highest yield of summer moong was reported with INM practice followed by farmers’ practice. Despite lower yield in organic and natural farming practices the net returns and B:C ratio were found highest under these treatments.

Objective: The study was conducted with the objective to study the effect of different plant spacing and fertilizer treatments on the yield and growth parameters of exotic vegetables. Methods: The study was carried out at the experimental farm of Regional Horticultural Research and Training Station Jachh (32° 16’ N latitude and 75°51’ E longitude, 440 m above mean sea level) during the year 2021–22. The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments were comprised of three levels of fertilizers (120, 100, 75% RDF) and two levels of spacing. Results: The observations revealed significant variations in the fresh yield of Kale, Parsley, and Celery in response to different fertilizer doses and plant spacing. Specifically, the fresh yield of Kale, Parsley, and Celery showed significant improvements with higher levels of fertilization (F1) and narrow plant spacing (S2). In addition, the number of leaves per plant increased with higher fertilizer doses but did not vary significantly across different spacing levels in all three crops. While the leaf length and width of Kale were not significant, the leaf length of Parsley and Celery varied significantly with increasing fertilizer doses. Furthermore, among the three crops studied, Kale was observed to be infested by aphids, particularly Brevicoryne brassicae, during the crop period. The application of imidacloprid (0.5 ml/L) and chlorantraniliprole (0.4 ml/L) demonstrated effective management of this pest, providing better results for pest control. Conclusion: Fresh yield of kale, parsley, and celery increased under high level of fertilization and narrow spacing as well. Moreover, imidacloprid and chlorantraniliprole can be utilized for the management of cabbage aphids in Kale crop.

Soil analysis is commonly used to gauge its quality and suitability for diverse purposes from local to national evaluations. However, the complexity of soils, their site-specific traits, past land use impacts, and balancing ecosystem benefits pose significant challenges in identifying relevant parameters and interpreting measurements. This manuscript comprehensively reviews and examines the concept and assessment methodologies of soil quality. It is evaluated to learn about the effects of management practices on soil function. Sustainability of agriculture system is inwardly linked to maintenance of soil quality. Therefore, soil quality assessment is of paramount importance to know the appropriate management practices to be adopted for sustainable crop production. By just measuring yield of crop, quality of water or any other, soil quality cannot be judged. As we know, soil have different properties (chemical, physical and biological), that interact in a precipitously manner to give, soil its capacity to perform or function. Thus, soil capacity can be surmised from measuring changes in its properties or of ecosystem’ sattributes and cannot be measured directly. Assessment of Soil quality composed of three key steps (1) Selection, measurement and minimization of the set of relevant soil attributes. (2) Quantification of the selected soil attributes through direct measurement and assigning an appropriate Score. (3) Integration among the scored attributes to construct the final index, by providing criteria for defining the weight of each attribute or group of attributes. Soil quality assessment will allow interpreter to identify the attributes which are most significant, quantify the relative contribution of soil properties and subsequently assess the overall quality of soils. The review study aims to inspire researchers by integrating a detailed information on soil quality assessment and promoting the sustainable practices in preservation and enhancement of soil quality.

Globally, the majority of farmers use various cropping systems. In order to increase the production of food grains, the adaptation of these cropping systems necessitates intensive cultivation, which eventually calls for a greater quantity of macronutrients as well as micronutrients. The availability of micronutrients is greatly influenced by cropping practices, their distribution by profile and chemical pools, and their accessibility to plants. Many crops can reach beneath the soil layers and access the micronutrients with their deep roots, which they require to grow. The present study was conducted to quantify the impact of different cropping systems on DTPA extractable micronutrients viz., Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn over time. Soil samples were collected from the surface layer (0-15 cm) of four cropping systems i.e., cereal-cereal (CC), cereal-oilseed (CO), vegetable-vegetable (VV), and fodder-fodder (FF). The micronutrient cations were found highest under the VV cropping system when compared with all four cropping systems. The results illustrate that availability of micronutrients is affected by the presence of high organic carbon content and favourable soil reaction.

The investigation was undertaken and micro nutrients status of the area was assessed. During February-March 2020, 50 soil sampling locations from tomato growing areas were selected at random and 100 representative surface (0-15 cm) and sub-surface (15-30 cm) soil samples were collected. Various micronutrients, i.e. DTPA-extractable Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe were examined. The soils were neutral to slightly alkaline, and the EC values of all the soil samples were within normal limits. The general state of the soil organic carbon concentration was medium to high. The DTPA- Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn in soils of the studied area were found to be in medium category. Positive correlations between the DTPA-extractable iron, copper, zinc and manganese with the organic carbon content was observed.

A field experiment was conducted at the experimental site of Department of Soil Science and Water Management, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Neri, Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh). The experiment consisted of eleven treatments which were carried out in randomized block design with three replications. Observations for micronutrient uptake and soil physical properties were recorded and it was found that the lowest bulk density of the soil was achieved with treatment T6 (100 per cent RDN through vermicompost) and T11 (100 per cent RDN through vermicompost + Azotobacter). Particle density, porosity and water holding capacity were also slightly improved with the application of different treatments, however the differences were not significant. Further, application of chemical fertilizer or organic manure or both with or without biofertilizer positively influenced the micronutrient uptake (Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn) and the maximum uptake was recorded in treatment T11 (100 per cent RDN through vermicompost + Azotobacter), while minimum was observed under treatment T1 (control).

An experiment was conducted at the Experimental farm of Department of Soil Science and Water Management, Neri, Hamirpur to study the combined effect of organic, inorganic and biofertilizer on soil properties. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design with three replications and consisted of 11 nutrient managements viz., control (T1), 100% RDF (T2), 75% RDN (IF) + 25% RDN (VC) (T3), 50% RDN (IF) + 50% RDN (VC) (T4), 25% RDN (IF) + 75% RDN (VC) (T5), 100% RDN (VC) (T6), 100% RDF + Azotobacter (T7), 75% RDN (IF) + 25% RDN (VC) + Azotobacter (T8), 50% RDN (IF) + 50% RDN (VC) + Azotobacter (T9), 25% RDN (IF) + 75% RDN (VC) + Azotobacter (T10) and 100% RDN (VC) + Azotobacter (T11). Surface soil samples (0-15 cm depth) were collected after the harvest of brinjal crop and analyzed for soil properties i.e., pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, exchangeable calcium, magnesium and DTPA extractable zinc, copper, iron and manganese using standard analytical methods. It was observed that the treatment comprising of 100% RDN through vermicompost + Azotobacter (T11) registered higher values of available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, exchangeable calcium, magnesium and DTPA extractable micronutrient cations.

Nutrient management in the subtropical fruit production is very important for obtaining high quality fruits. It involves using crop nutrients as efficiently as possible to improve productivity while protecting the environment. The key principle behind nutrient management is balancing soil nutrient inputs with crop requirements. A well-nourished fruit plant not only produces good yield but also improves quality and remains for longer period in healthy and productive condition. This plan will lay out how nutrients are managed according to land base characteristics, crops being grown, type of nutrient, proximity to water and application methods. Records of nutrient application rates, methods and timing help with future planning. Thus, proper nutrient management helps the plants to meet their nutrient requirement and to restore the fertility of the soil.