Dynamics of Organic Residue Decomposition and Mineralization of Nutrients in Soil

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to investigate “Dynamics of Organic Residue Decomposition and Mineralization of Nutrients in Soil” during the year 2018-19 at Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Section, College of Agriculture, Nagpur. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design (CRD) with nine treatments replicated thrice. The treatments were absolute control in T₁, cowdung mixture in T₂, paddy straw in T₃, wheat straw in T₄, sugarcane trash in T₅, gliricidia lopping in T₆, subabul leaves in T₇, soybean stalks in T₈, greengram stalks in T₉. Subabul leaves mixture (T₇) recorded maximum ammoniacal nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen throughout experimentation. Gliricidia lopping mixture ranked 1^st by recording maximum P mineralization for 30, 60 (7.33 mg kg^-1), 90 (7.55 mg kg^-1) and 120 (7.45 mg kg^-1) days of experimentation. Sulphur mineralization was also found highest in T₆ by application of gliricidia lopping mixture during experimentation. Hence, for fast decomposition and nutrient mineralization legume residue is more efficient than cereal or other organic residue.