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Sustaining Productivity of Baby Corn–Rice Cropping System and Soil Health through Integrated Nutrient Management

ABSTRACT Organic matter is essential to enhance the soil quality and sustainability of an agroecosystem and ecological services. Thus a 2-year (2007–2009) study was carried out at Agriculture Experiment Farm, Giridih, India. Baby corn (Zea mays L.) yielded maximum cobs (0.84 Mg/ha) and green fodder (17.65 Mg/ha) yield when grown with inorganic fertilizers alone (F1, nitrogen, phosphorus pentoxide, potassium oxide (N:P2O5:K2O):: 150:60:60 kg/ha). Rice (Oryza sativa L.) produced most grain (3.10 Mg/ha) and straw (4.16 Mg/ha) yield when the preceding crop received nutrients in equal proportion of organic and inorganic (50:50) sources (F4 and F5). System productivity in terms of baby corn equivalent yield (1.08 Mg/ha) was greatest when nutrients were applied in 30:70 ratio (F2 and F3). Baby corn grown with F1 took up the maximum nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Remarkable improvement was noticed in microbial activity (microbial population, soil respiration, microbial biomass carbon), soil enzymes (urease and acid phosphatase), and soil fertility parameters [NPK, organic carbon, and cation exchange capacity] with F4 and F5 treatments as compared to others. Integrated nutrient-management practices improved soil health. Almost all the parameters were nonsignificantly greater in vermicompost than that of farmyard manure.