Abstract:
An experiment was conducted on Typic Haplustall" soil at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore to study the effects of green manuring and N timings on soil ammonium-N release pattern under lowland flooded rice soils. The main-plot treatments consisted of three green manures viz., sesbania (Sesbania rostrata), cowpea (Vigna imguiciilnta) and parthenium (Parthenium hysterophoms L.) to supply 54 kg N ha"1 and one non-green-manure treatment. Application of 150 kg N ha"' as urea at varying quantities, at different growth stages of the crop along with one control formed the sub-plot treatments. Incorporation of green manures increased soil ammonium-N content. The effect was more pronounced during the peak period of soil ammonium-N release, which occurred between the second and fourth week after transplanting rice. Application of N fertilizer resulted in an immediate spurt in soil ammonium-N, but it declined within a few days. Due to faster N uptake by the crop, the decline was rapid during late growth stages. Continued splits (150 kg N ha'1 in six equal splits) ensured a steady ammonium-N supply throughout the growth period. Similarly, skipping of basal N and application of 150 kg N in three equal splits starting from early tillering stage onwards also adequately met the crop N demand for high yield. Mathematical models were developed on the ammonium-N release pattern from green manures and they predicted similar ammonium-N release pattern as observed in the experiments.
