EFFECTS OF ORGANIC MATTER AMENDMENTS ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL AND YIELD OF RAINFED RICE

ABSTRACT: Organic matter amendments play a pivotal role in improving the soil’s physiochemical properties and crop productivity. This study was conducted to examine the effects of various organic matters on soil physicochemical properties and the yield of rainfed rice in Bangladesh. The research was conducted following a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with seven treatments, viz. cow dung slurry (CDS), rice husk biochar (RHB), cow dung (CD), vermi-compost (VC) and trico-compost (TC) used @ 2 t C ha-1, and bacterial inoculant (BI) @ 4 ml plot-1. The findings indicated a reduction trend of bulk density as compared to the initial soil in all the organic matter-treated soils, where the highest reduction percent was found in the RHB (1.45%) treated plot, followed by CDS (0.74%), VC (0.74%), TC (0.74%), CD (0.73%) and BI (0.73%). Significantly higher total N was observed in inorganic matter-treated post harvested soil compared to initial soil. The highest total N was recorded in TC (0.12%) and CDS (0.12%) treated soils, followed by CD (0.11%), VC (0.11%), BI (0.11%) and RHB (0.10%). The significantly highest CEC (6.48 meq100g soil-1) was noted in RHB-added soil, while the lowest value (5.70 meq100g soil-1) was found in initial soil. The RHB exhibited the maximum quantity of P, S, and exchangeable K in post-harvest soils, with 12.75, 19.73 mg kg-1 soil, and 0.14 cmol kg-1, respectively. Plant height, tiller hill-1, panicle length, grain panicle-1, and 1000-grain weight were greatly influenced by the various treatments. In the context of grain yields, the treatments can be rated as follows: CD>CDS>VC>RHB>TC>BI>control. Thus, it was concluded that organic amendments improves soil fertility and the yield of rice, particularly in rainfed condition. 

Keywords: Nutrient, organic materials, soil, Oryza sativa, yield