ABSTRACT
556A field study was conducted to know the effect of land configuration and nutrient module on soil fertility and productivity of rainfed cotton in Vertisols at Research field of AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola (MS) during 2008–09 to 2012–13. Land configuration comprised of flat bed, ridges and furrows, opening of furrow after two rows and opening of furrow after each row while nutrient modules comprised of five treatments involving Recommended Dose of Fertilizer (RDF) 50:25:25 NPK kg ha−1 through chemical fertilizers, Farmyard Manure (FYM) @ 10t ha−1 + PSB + Azotobacter, 50% RDF + FYM @ 5t ha−1 + PSB + Azotobacter, vermicompost @2.5t ha−1 + PSB + Azotobacter and glyricidia @ 10t ha−1 + PSB + Azotobacter. Twenty treatment combinations were executed in split plot design with three replications. The significantly higher seed cotton yield (969 kg ha−1) was recorded in land treatment opening of furrow after each row followed by ridges and furrows (942 kg ha−1) which were found to be at par with each other. Among the nutrient modules, significantly higher seed cotton yield (1003 kg ha−1) was recorded with the application of 50% RDF + FYM @ 5 ha−1 + PSB + Azotobacter followed by 968 kg ha−1 with 50: 25: 25 NPK kg ha−1 through RDF, which were found to be at par with each other. However, for improvement in soil fertility status, integrated application of 50% RDF + FYM @5t ha−1 + PSB + Azotobactor was found superior to rest of the treatments. Hence, it is concluded that integrated application of 50% RDF (25:12.5:12.5 NPK kg ha−1) + FYM @ 5t ha−1 + PSB + Azotobactor and opening of furrow after each row at 30–40 days after sowing results in higher cotton productivity with improvement in fertility status of Vertisols under rainfed conditions.
