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Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition in Sustainable Crop Production

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 July 2023) | Viewed by 24625

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Arvind Kumar Shukla

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Guest Editor

ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Madhya Praedsh 462 038, India
Interests: natural resource management; soil fertility; plant nutrition; nitrogen and micronutrients in soil–plant systems; site-specific nutrient management; agronomic biofortification; micronutrients mapping and micronutrients and human health
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Dr. Sanjib Kumar Behera

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Guest Editor

ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Madhya Praedsh 462 038, India
Interests: soil chemistry & fertility; precise plant nutrient prescription; micronutrient management in soil-plant systems; spatial variability studies and precision agriculture; agronomic biofortification; diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Rahul Tripathi

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Guest Editor

ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha, India
Interests: site-specific nutrient management using modern techniques; nutrient management in lowland rice particularly under climate change scenario; ecosystem services; water management in rice based cropping systems; soil and water resources monitoring and mapping; carbon dynamics in soil- plant system under rice–rice and rice–pulses systems; greenhouse gas emissions; conservation agriculture and soil salinity assessment and management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is tremendous pressure on the agricultural sector of the world to ensure food and nutritional security for the burgeoning world population, which is predicted to reach 9.73 billion by 2050 as per the United Nations. However, agriculture is facing serious problems including reduction in soil functions. In soil, nutrients form complex relations with mineral and soil organic matter which directly or indirectly regulates the transformation of native and applied nutrients. Nutrients applied through fertilizers or manures are the major contributor to plant uptake. The portion of nutrients not consumed by the plant is retained in soil organic matter that subsequently becomes mineralized by microbial action and becomes available for plant uptake as well as for various pathways of losses or complex formation. Adoption of intensive farming practices with imbalanced application of fertilizers along with low or nil organic manures (including crop residue) addition results in reduced crop productivity and crop quality, depletion in soil organic carbon stock, soil compaction, emergence of multi-nutrient deficiencies, and low nutrient use efficiency in different soil–crop situations across the world. Fertilizer use in different soils is fairly skewed toward N and P fertilization, and inadequate application of K, S, and micronutrients causes widespread deficiencies in these nutrients. Moreover, spatial and temporal variations in levels of soil fertility do not support adequate crop production with blanket recommendation of fertilizers. Inefficient use of fertilizers not only affects plant nutrition and nutrient use efficiency buts also results in reduced factor productivity, which leads to environmental degradation and poor return farm return. Further, improper sources, methods, and times of nutrient application also add to low nutrient use efficiency, plant nutrition, and crop productivity. Nutrient use efficiency is directly correlated with water management, fertilizer application rate and scheduling, nutrient sources, and the chemical transformation that take place after application. Additionally, the rampant micronutrient deficiencies in soils and crops across the globe cause a reduction in crop yield and nutritional quality of economic produce. Poor micronutrient availability in soil is reflected in the concentration of these nutrients in food/fodder, which in turn affects livestock and human health. Therefore, adequate and balanced use of fertilizers including micronutrients and organic manures with the right rate, source, method, and time as per the spatial and temporal variations of soil fertility levels is required for efficient utilization of added fertilizer nutrients with better plant nutrition and enhanced soil–crop productivity without impairing soil health.

For this Special Issue, authors are invited to publish articles in the field of agriculture (field to plantation crops) related to the assessment of spatial and temporal distribution of nutrients for precise prescription, development of soil management zones for efficient nutrient use, evaluation of crop responses to nutrient application, development of balanced/integrated nutrient management strategies for sustaining soil health and crop quality, development of site-specific nutrient management strategies with the right rate, source, method, and time for precision nutrient prescription, enhancement of nutrient use efficiency, identification of genetically/agronomically nutrient efficient genotypes of different crops, and establishment of critical limits of nutrients under different soil–crop conditions for revising nutrient recommendations and devising best management practices (BMP) for the nutrients under various soil–crop situations. The articles published in this issue will supplement the existing literature on the abovementioned aspects.

Dr. Arvind Kumar Shukla
Dr. Sanjib Kumar Behera
Dr. Rahul Tripathi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

soil fertility
organic carbon
plant nutrition
precision nutrient management
integrated nutrient management
nutrient interactions
conservation agriculture
agronomic biofortification
soil and plant nutrient mapping
nutrient deficiency and crop physiology

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 3250 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Increasing Millet Planting Density with Appropriate Fertilizer to Enhance Productivity and System Resilience in Senegal

by Aliou Faye, Tobi Moriaque Akplo, Zachary P. Stewart, Doohong Min, Augustine K. Obour, Yared Assefa and P. V. Vara Prasad

Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4093; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054093 - 23 Feb 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2502

Abstract

Climate forecasts show increased frequency and intensity of drought in the semi-arid regions of west Africa, which negatively impacts food and nutrition security. Developing and improving resilient cropping systems will require adequate varieties with improved agronomic practices. The purpose of the study was to evaluate grain and biomass production of newly released dual-purpose millet varieties under different fertilizer rates and planting densities across the millet-cropping regions of Senegal with different rainfall regimes (Bambey: 600 mm, Boulel: 700 mm, Nioro: 650 mm, and Sinthiou Malème: 800 mm). The experimental design was a split-split-plot with three replicates using one traditional variety (Souna 3) and four dual-purpose varieties (Thialack 2, SL28, SL 169, and SL423) as the main factor; two planting densities (E1: 12,500 seed hills ha⁻¹ and E2: 25,000 seed hills ha⁻¹) as second factor; and eight fertilizer combination as sub-sub-plots. Results showed that variety yield response differed with environments. Regardless of variety, increasing sowing density increased grain yields (1600 kg ha⁻¹ for E2 vs. 1000 kg ha⁻¹ for E1) and fodder yields (4200 kg ha⁻¹ for E2 vs. 3100 kg ha⁻¹ for E1). Fertilizer response differed between environments, but the application of 70N–10P–19K + 2.5 t ha⁻¹ cow manure produced appreciable yields in all the environments. The dual-purpose varieties (SL 28, SL 169, and Thialack 2) sown at E2 produced the best grain and fodder yields. Soil water content was greater for all varieties (Thialack 2: 12.32%; Souna 3: 5.32%; SL28: 6.32%; and SL423: 9.23%) at higher planting density compared with normal density (Thialack 2: 9.25%; Souna 3: 3.21%; SL28: 5.43%; and SL423: 7.47%). The highest agronomic-use efficiency (AEg) of inorganic fertilizer applied was observed at 25,000 seed hill ha⁻¹ and averaged 6.63 kg kg⁻¹ at Boulel, 9.20 kg kg⁻¹ at Sinthiou Malème, 4.67 kg kg⁻¹ at Bambey, and 8.32 at Nioro kg kg⁻¹. The AEg significantly varied among fertilizer combinations, with greatest AEg obtained with 70N–22.5P–22.5K (5.53 kg kg⁻¹) at Boulel and with 95N–17P–27K (4.66 kg kg⁻¹) at Bambey. This study provides crop-management options for millet-cropping systems in the semi-arid regions of west Africa for improving millet productivity while enhancing system resilience through better conservation and utilizing of soil water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition in Sustainable Crop Production)

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23 pages, 3572 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Drought-Induced Nitrogen and Phosphorus Carryover Nutrients in Corn/Soybean Rotations in the Upper Mississippi River Basin

by Manyowa N. Meki, Javier M. Osorio, Evelyn M. Steglich and James R. Kiniry

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15108; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215108 - 15 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1886

Abstract

Droughts reduce crop yields, which translates to reduced nutrient uptake or removal from the soil. Under such conditions, residual plant nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) can be carried over for subsequent crops. We applied the Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) model to simulate continuous corn (Zea mays L.)/soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) rotations on 3703 farm fields within the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) over a 47-year timescale: 1960 to 2006. We used the Standardized Precipitation Index (PSI) to identify the drought years between 1960 to 2006, following which we evaluated potential drought-induced carryover N and P nutrients in corn/soybean rotations relative to near normal and very to extremely wet years. Overall, drought reduced N uptake, total N losses, N mineralization and N fixation, the main driver of the soybean carryover N. Given the high cost of fertilizers and concerns over nutrient loss impacts on offsite water quality, farmers are compelled to account for every plant nutrient that is already in the soil. Information from this study could be applied to develop optimal N and P recommendations after droughts, while identification of region-wide potential reductions in N and P applications has implications for conservation efforts aimed at minimizing environmental loading and associated water quality concerns. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition in Sustainable Crop Production)

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14 pages, 3067 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Different Rates and Frequencies of Zn Application to Maize–Wheat Cropping on Crop Productivity and Zn Use Efficiency

by Dileep Kumar, Khusvadan C. Patel, Vinubhai P. Ramani, Arvind K. Shukla, Sanjib Kumar Behera and Ravi A. Patel

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15091; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215091 - 15 Nov 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1956

Abstract

Nowadays, zinc (Zn) fertilizers are commonly used for quality food production globally. Knowledge about proper application time and rates of commercial Zn fertilizers is necessary to obtain higher crop production and improve Zn use efficiency. A long-term field experiment was conducted during 2012 to 2018 at Anand Agricultural University, Anand (Gujarat), India, to find out the right Zn fertilizer dose and its frequency of application in maize–wheat cropping systems grown on typic haplustepts soil. The study comprised of three frequency levels, i.e., Zn application in the first year only (F₁), alternate year (F₂), and every year (F₃), with four different rates of Zn, i.e., 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 kg Zn ha⁻¹ per year imposed in the maize–wheat cropping system in each kharif season (during June to September) for six years. Findings of the study revealed that Zn applications to maize at 7.5 and 10 kg ha⁻¹ in alternate year and 5.0 to 10 kg ha⁻¹ in every year significantly increased maize equivalent yield as compared to no-Zn treatment. Application of 10.0 kg Zn ha⁻¹ per year produced higher grain size, straw, and total Zn concentrations compared to those observed under no-Zn application in maize and wheat crops. Diethylene triamine penta acetic acid extractable Zn concentration in soil was higher in Zn treated plots which received Zn application at 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 kg ha⁻¹ in alternate years and 10 kg ha⁻¹ in every year as compared to no-Zn application. Apparent Zn recovery efficiency varied from 0.17 to 1.46% for maize crop and 0.34 to 1.70% for wheat crop under different rates and frequencies of Zn application. The above results emphasize the importance of Zn retention capacity of soil regarding its response to different rates and frequencies of Zn application to maize and wheat crops. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition in Sustainable Crop Production)

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13 pages, 1454 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sawdust Amendment in Agricultural and Pasture Soils Can Reduce Iodine Losses

by Muhammad Mohiuddin, Zahid Hussain, Asim Abbasi, Jawad Ali, Muhammad Irshad, Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq, Anum Intisar, Aiman Hina, Qamar Uz Zaman and Anne Wai Man Ng

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13620; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013620 - 20 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1932

Abstract

Iodine loss is common in the soil of hilly regions due to higher precipitation rates and steeper slopes. Iodine deficiency in soil reduces iodine’s bioavailability to fruits and vegetables and consequently may contribute to health complications. However, the iodine retention of soils after the addition of selected organic and inorganic amendments has not been studied. Therefore, a study was carried out to investigate iodine loss during surface runoff. For this purpose, a soil amendment (namely, sawdust, charcoal, wood ash, lime or gypsum) was applied separately to pasture and agricultural soils under natural rainfall conditions. The soil was fertigated with iodine in the form of potassium iodide (KI) at the rate of 200 ppm. Surface runoff was related to soil properties. Results showed that iodine content in surface runoff was linearly related with soil pH (R² = 0.89, p < 0.05) and inversely related with soil organic carbon (R² = −0.76, p < 0.05). Soils amended with sawdust had significantly reduced iodine content in runoff. A higher amount of iodine was lost via surface runoff from soil after inorganic amendment. Soil amendments were varied for iodine retention in soil in the order of sawdust > charcoal > wood ash > lime > gypsum. The study results indicated that organic amendments, especially sawdust, improved soil properties and increased the iodine retention capacity of soils. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition in Sustainable Crop Production)

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13 pages, 449 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Tillage and Cropping Systems on Soil Properties and Crop Performance under Semi-Arid Conditions

by Ridha Boudiar, Khalid S. Alshallash, Khadiga Alharbi, Salah A. Okasha, Mohammed Fenni, Abdelhamid Mekhlouf, Bilal Fortas, Keirieddine Hamsi, Kamel Nadjem, Abdennour Belagrouz, Elsayed Mansour and Mahfoud Mekhlouf

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11651; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811651 - 16 Sep 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3034

Abstract

Conservation agriculture helps to mitigate the adverse impacts of conventional practices and intensive cultivation, accordingly enhancing agricultural sustainability. Tillage management and the preceding crop impact the sustainable use of soil resources and ultimately crop growth and productivity. The present study aimed to assess the impacts of the tillage system, cropping system, and their different interactions on soil properties and agronomic performance. No-tillage (NT), reduced tillage (RT), and conventional tillage (CT) were combined with three cropping systems; continuous wheat (wheat/wheat/wheat, W/W/W), lentil/wheat/lentil (L/W/L), and oat/wheat/barley-pea (O/W/BP) during three years crop rotation. The results displayed that the conservative practices (NT and RT) recorded higher soil nutrient content (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) than conventional tillage (CT). Moreover, NT and RT exhibited higher bulk density (BD) and lower water infiltration rates compared to CT. Besides, NT and RT tended to have higher soil moisture than CT. The cropping system W/W/W displayed higher magnesium content, while W/L/W had higher phosphorous and O/W/BP showed higher sodium values. The mono-cropping system under conventional tillage tended to have lower soil nutrient content compared to the other combinations. The highest wheat aboveground biomass, wheat grain yield, and lentil seed yield were produced by RT and CT compared to NT. Otherwise, the higher emergence of barley-pea was assigned for NT followed by CT and RT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition in Sustainable Crop Production)

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19 pages, 3256 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainability in Rainfed Maize (Zea mays L.) Production Using Choice of Corn Variety and Nitrogen Scheduling

by Aakash, Narendra Singh Thakur, Manoj Kumar Singh, Lalita Bhayal, Kamlesh Meena, Sharad Kumar Choudhary, Narendra Kumawat, Ram Kumar Singh, Udai Pratap Singh, Shrish Kumar Singh, Pratik Sanodiya, Ajay Kumar and Anurag Kumar Singh

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 3116; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14053116 - 7 Mar 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4911

Abstract

Interestingly more than 50% of the world’s area is rainfed and approximately 80% of maize is cultivated under rainfed condition where selection of cultivar and management of nitrogen have major impact on production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the growth, phenology, yield and quality parameters of maize as influenced by variety and nitrogen scheduling under rainfed condition. For this, a field experiment having two factors was laid out in a factorial randomised block design and replicated three times. The first factor was variety, i.e., V₁ (JM 216) and V₂ (JM 218), and the second was six nitrogen scheduling, i.e., N₁ to N₆, in which nitrogen splitting was done based on 30-years of average rainfall data. Variety JM 218 and N₅ [40 kg N as basal followed by (fb) 2 splits of 40 kg N and 38.8 kg N at 30 and 52 days after sowing (DAS) and 1% N foliar spray at 40 DAS] nitrogen scheduling were found promising under rainfed situation because it recorded maximum value of growth parameters, yield attributes, grain yield and quality parameters (protein, mineral and dickson quality index). Thus, it can be inferred that JM 218 and N₅ nitrogen schedule would be a better choice than alternative options. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition in Sustainable Crop Production)

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22 pages, 13264 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Yield Variability in Oil Palm Plantations in Tropical India Is Influenced by Surface and Sub-Surface Soil Fertility and Leaf Mineral Nutrient Contents

by Sanjib Kumar Behera, Arvind Kumar Shukla, Kancherla Suresh, Kamireddy Manorama, Ravi Kumar Mathur and Kaushik Majumdar

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2672; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052672 - 25 Feb 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2864

Abstract

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), an industrial oilseed crop, is the most prominent oil-producing crop in the world and one of the highest dry matter producers among C₃ plants. It removes large amounts of soil nutrients to support its substantial biomass and oil production. Thus, maintaining adequate levels of limiting nutrients at favorable ratios in the soil is crucial to sustain the required palm nutritional status and oil production over extended periods. We evaluated the levels and ratios of the available soil and leaf nutrients in high-yielding (HYOPP) and low-yielding (LYOPP) oil palm plantations from two locations in southern India and assessed their relations to develop effective nutrient management for sustaining fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production. The FFB yield varied from 2.00 to 31.0 t ha⁻¹ (location 1) and 6.84 to 30.9 t ha⁻¹ (location 2), and the FFB yields of the high- and low-yield population at each location differed significantly. Wide ranges of soil properties, available nutrients, and leaf nutrients concentrations were observed at 0–20- and 20–40-cm soil depths at both locations. The soil nutrient ratios at both sampling depths of the HYOPP were significantly different than the LYOPP at location 1. The mean leaf N (2.09%) and K (0.68%) concentrations at location 2 were significantly higher than those in location 1 (1.85% and 0.54, respectively). The mean leaf concentrations at both locations followed the order N (1.85%, 2.09%) > Ca (1.65%, 1.36%) > K (0.54%, 0.68%) > Mg (0.49%, 0.47%) > S (0.16%, 0.18) > P (0.11%, 0.12%) > B (35.8 mg kg⁻¹, 27.5 mg kg⁻¹). We observed positive and significant correlations between the available N and P at 0–20 cm and between the available N and K as well as Ca and S at both soil depths for HYOPPs. In LYOPPs, the available N was significantly correlated with the available P, K, Ca, and Mg at both soil depths and with the available S at 0–20 cm. The FFB yield of LYOPPs was positively and significantly correlated with the available P and S at the 0–20-cm soil depth and with the available N and P at the 20–40-cm soil depth. Except for a negative correlation (p < 0.05) with exchangeable Ca at the 20–40-cm soil depth, the FFB yield in HYOPPs had no significant correlation with the available soil nutrients at both depths. The FFB yield of LYOPPs had a positive significant (p < 0.01) correlation with the leaf P and K concentrations, while the yield of HYOPPs had a negative correlation (p < 0.01) with the leaf P. Fertilizer accounts for a large part of the on-farm cost in oil palm plantations, and an evidenced approach for fertilizer management based on nutrient contents and ratios in the soil and in the plant is useful for sustainable and profitable production of palm oil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition in Sustainable Crop Production)

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Review

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16 pages, 4275 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Scope for Using Proximal Soil Sensing by the Farmers of India

by Sanjib Kumar Behera, Viacheslav I. Adamchuk, Arvind Kumar Shukla, Punyavrat Suvimalendu Pandey, Pardeep Kumar, Vimal Shukla, Chitdeshwari Thiyagarajan, Hitendra Kumar Rai, Sandeep Hadole, Anil Kumar Sachan, Pooja Singh, Vivek Trivedi, Ashutosh Mishra, Nagender Pal Butail, Praveen Kumar, Rahul Prajapati, Kshitij Tiwari, Deepika Suri and Munish Sharma

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8561; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148561 - 13 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3091

Abstract

Knowledge about spatial distribution patterns of soil attributes is very much needed for site-specific soil nutrient management (SSSNM) under precision agriculture. High spatial heterogeneity exists in the agricultural soils of India due to various reasons. The present practice of assessing the spatial variability of the vast cultivated landscape of India by using traditional soil sampling and analysis is costly and time consuming. Hence, proximal soil sensing (PSS) is an attractive option to assess the plot-scale spatial variability pattern (SVP) of soil attributes for SSSNM. A PSS system, either in a fixed position or mounted on a vehicle (on-the-go), can be used to obtain measurements by having direct contact with soil. PSS measurements provide low-cost and high-density data pertaining to the SVPs of soil attributes. These data can be used to generate digital elevation and soil attribute variability maps at the field scale in a crop production environment. Based on the generated variability maps, locally available and economically feasible agricultural inputs can be applied using variable rate application strategies for sustainable cropping and enhanced farm profit. This overview presents the potential of adopting PSS in India and other developing countries. The scope, challenges, and probable solutions are also proposed. There is ample scope for adoption of PSS in India in view of diverse soil types, climatic conditions, cropping patterns, crop management practices, and ultimately, the ever-increasing demand for higher agricultural production. However, the successful adoption of the PSS technique in India will be dependent on the proper design and adoption of strategies which require adequate planning and analysis. There are several studies that have highlighted the usefulness of soil sensing technologies in Indian soils. There are also certain challenges and limitations associated with PSS in India, which could be addressed. The available proximal soil sensing technologies will be of great help in improving the understanding of soil heterogeneity for adopting SSSNM in order to optimize crop production in India and other developing countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition in Sustainable Crop Production)

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