Effect of Long Term Soil Test Crop Response Based Nutrient Management in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) on Physical Properties in a Vertisol

A field experiment was carried out during Rabi season of 2020‒21 and 2021‒22 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur research field to find out the effect of long term soil test crop response based nutrient management in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) on physical properties in a Vertisol. The treatments details were T1; Control, T2; 120 N: 80 P2O5: 60 K2O kg ha-1, T3; Target yield 4.5 t ha-1, T4; Target yield 6.0 t ha-1, T5; Target yield 4.5 t + FYM 5 t ha-1, T6; Target yield 6.0 t + FYM 5 t ha-1 and carried out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with four replications. The results indicated that the STCR based treatment with target yield 6.0 t ha-1 along with application of FYM 5 t ha-1 recorded lowest bulk density (1.31, 1.33 and 1.35 Mg m-3) and particle density (2.62, 2.62 and 2.63 Mg m-3) at 0-15, 15-30 and 30-45 cm soil depth. The treatment with target yield 6.0 t ha-1 along with application of FYM 5 t ha-1 recorded highest porosity (50.07, 49.28 and 48.52 %) as well as water holding capacity (44.42, 40.16 and 37.44 %) at 0-15, 15-30 and 30-45 cm soil depth. The long term study based on STCR clearly demonstrated that balanced fertilizer application not only improved the physical properties of soil but also save the fertilizer without impairing soil health.