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Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia 11 (2016) 31 - 37
International Conference on Inventions & Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture 2016, ICIISA
Organic Farming with Bio-mulching-A New Paradigm for Sustainable Leaf Yield & Quality of Mulberry (Morus alba L.) under Rainfed Lateritic Soil Condition
Barna Chakraborty^* Manab Kundub, R.N. Chattopadhyayc
aDepartment of Zoology, DDE, Vidyasagar University, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India bPanchayat & Rural Development Department, Govt. of West Bengal, India Architecture & Regional Planning Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India
Abstract
Application of the organic substrates and use of bio-mulching materials are effective in retaining soil moisture content, reducing soil erosion, and suppressing weed growth and thereby improving the soil health. A field experiment was conducted during 20052007 in lateritic soil (with pH 5.2 and organic carbon 0.42%) under rain fed condition of Nayagram block, West Midnapur, West Bengal, India to develop a sustainable organic farming management practice along with the effective uses of mulches and its impact on the yield attributes and quality of leaf in mulberry. The objective was to assess the influence of mulch materials especially sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) and combined application of organics and biofertilizers (Azotobacter chroococcum) in regulating soil moisture and major nutrients to enhance the production and quality of mulberry leaves under water stress condition. Analysis of three crop data revealed that that the poultry manure in combination with biofertilizer and the reduced doses of inorganic fertilizers applied in mulch plots have a significant effect on growth, leaf yield and quality of mulberry plants. However, the effect of using recommended rate of inorganic fertilizers was the same as that of using 50% of the recommended rate of inorganic nitrogen and 60% of the recommended rate of phosphorus.
© 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-reviewunderresponsibilityoftheFaculty of Animal Sciences and Agricultural Technology, Silpakorn University
Keywords: rain-fed, mulberry, sunn hemp, biofertilizer, poultry manure
^Corresponding author. E-mail address: barnack2020@gmail.com
1. Introduction
Mulberry (Morus alba L.), the sole food plant of silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) is a perennial crop cultivated for more than 15- 20 years in the same land and it is a prime constituent of the sericulture industry. The continuous production of mulberry for a long time results in gradual reduction of leaf yield and quality. (Rashmi et al., 2009). The highly intensive mulberry cropping system causes depletion of nutrients in soil and excess usage of inorganic fertilizers as well as pesticides results in deleterious effect on soil health (Shashidhar et al., 2009).
2210-7843 © 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.Org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Faculty of Animal Sciences and Agricultural Technology, Silpakorn University doi:10.1016/j.aaspro.2016.12.006
Even though inorganic fertilizers add necessary nutrients to the soil; their regular use cause long term depletion of organic matter, soil compaction and degradation of overall soil quality (Sullivan, 2004). Organic farming is considered to be an alternative agricultural practice to mitigate the adverse effects of various inorganic fertilizers to soil conditions. This alternative practice is expected to improve the sericulture industry and the production of quality of leaf of mulberry.
Mulberry (Morus alba L.) prefers almost neutral soil reaction for its luxuriant growth (Rang swami et al., 1976). In view of the apparent decline in soil fertility, deliberate efforts are required to promote the judicious application of organic inputs including animal manures along with biofertilizers in order to achieve optimum leaf yield in mulberry. Soil and water are the most important natural resources in rain fed sericulture. Dry lands are inherently poor in fertility and moisture retention. Owing to the erratic rainfall, crop in rain fed areas is subjected to high water evaporation and low water holding capacity of soil. Mulberry crops suffer from moisture and nutrient stress during drought which considerably reduces the leaf yield and quality under rain fed cultivation in the tropics.
Mulching has been proved very effective in conserving the soil moisture thereby leading to better yield in various crops. (De et al., 1983), (Mittal et al., 1986), (Mondal et al., 1987). The use of organic mulches has also been reported to enhance 16-48.63% leaf yield in mulberry (Purohit et al., 1990).So, there is a need to find suitable organic inputs and practices that would reduce water losses and favour water utilization efficiently. Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) is a leguminous cover crop adapted to tropical or subtropical area that generates much biomass (7 MT/ha of air-dried organic matter at 2 months of growth), and produces 150 to 165 kg/ha of N under favourable conditions (Rotar and Joy, 1983). Live mulching with the legumes like sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) is a highly beneficial practice for enhanced moisture and nutrient conservation in soil (Sharma 2009).
This research aims (1) to evaluate the combined effect of sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) mulching and the application of different organic manures and bio-fertilizers under water stress condition of lateritic soil of West Midnapur, West Bengal, India and (2) to identify the best suited ecofriendly nutrient management practice for sustainable leaf yield in mulberry (Morus alba).
2. Materials and Methods
The present investigation was conducted during the rainy seasons (June to September) of 2005-2007 to assess the potential of organic manures, bio fertilizers along with leguminous mulches on the status of soil fertility, yield and quality of leaf of mulberry (Morus alba L.). Eight month old mulberry saplings (variety- S1) were raised in the experimental field with 60cm x 60cm spacing following pit system of cultivation in Kharikamathani village under Nayagram Block of West Midnapur, West Bengal, India.
The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with seven treatment combinations and three replications. The absolute control plots i.e., zero fertilization treatment and the plots supplied with recommended doses of fertilizers for rain-fed mulberry were treated as bare plots i.e. without legume mulching. The other agronomical practices were carried out uniformly for all the treatments. The legume crops Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) was sown in between the rows of mulberry plantation in the rest of the plots during the first week of June of the respective year with the onset of monsoon rains. The raised legume inter-crops were subjected to grow until they attain flowering stage. To obtain mulches, these cover crops were harvested by clipping plants at the base, removing above-ground biomass, and applying it to the desire plots. The resulting mulches (3-5 cm deep) were a composite of leaves and stems and were spread over by hand over the entire plots, excluding two control plots. Cultural practices were followed as per the package of practices for rain-fed mulberry (Dandin et al., 2003).
The experiment was initiated with ground level pruning and recommended cultural practices for rain-fed mulberry were followed with the application of different organic manures like Farmyard manure (FYM) @ 10MT/ha./year, weed composts and rearing waste composts and sheep manure @ 10 MT/ha./year & animal manures like poultry manure @ 7 MT/ha./year but pig manure @ 8 MT/ha/year was applied. Azotobacter biofertilizer was applied @ 20kg./ha./year after two to three days of each pruning near mulberry rhizosphere by making small furrows and then covered with soil in four equal splits. A total of 735 plants were imposed with seven different treatments viz.,To=Absolute control (no fertilization and without mulching) T1 = 10 MT/ha/yr FYM + (150 kg N+50 kg P2O5+ 50 kg K2O) /ha /yr & without mulching (Recommended cultural practices), T2 =10 MT/ha/yr weed composts + (Azotobacter 20kg + 75kg N + 30 kg P2O5 and 50kg K2O) /ha /yr of T1, T3 = 10 MT/ha/yr silkworm rearing waste composts + (Azotobacter 20kg + 75kg N + 30kg P2O5 and 50 kg K2O) /ha /yr of T1, T4 = 7 MT/ha/yr
poultry-manure + (Azotobacter 20kg + 75kg N + 30kg P2O5 and 50kgK2O) /ha /yr of T1, T5 =8 MT/ha/yr pig manure + (Azotobacter 20kg + 75kg N + 30kg P2O5 and 50kg K2O) /ha /yr of T1.T6= 10 MT/ha/yr sheep manure + (Azotobacter 20kg + 75kg N + 30kg P2O5 and 50kg K2O) /ha /yr of T1.
Data on growth, yield and quality parameters were recorded after continuous application of input for three seasons. The plant height was taken as the height of the tallest shoot from the ground level observations on fresh leaf yield. Moisture percentage along with moisture retention capacity were recorded by harvesting the fresh leaves from five randomly selected plants of each plot after 45 and 60 days of pruning for three seasons. But observation on other quality variables viz, total soluble protein, total soluble sugar of the leaf were made on the second crop after 60 days of pruning. Annually three crops were harvested and the annual yield was computed by pooling three years data, leaf yield was taken as all leaves of plants in a plot except the border line effect. Leaf area was calculated by following method (Satpathy et al., 1992). For leaf area ten healthy leaves were taken from ten plants selected at random in each plot and the area was calculated through the equation (Area=Length x Breadth x 0.66). Leaf moisture (%) was determined by the oven dry method using the following formula: Leaf Moisture% = {(FW- DW)/ FW} X 100
Where FW= fresh weight (g) immediately after harvest, and DW is the woven dry weight From each variety, leaves between 5th to 9th positions were randomly collected early in the morning (8:00 to 8.30A.M.) and fresh weight recorded immediately. Weight of leaf was recorded using an electronic balance at hourly intervals for up to 5 h. The experiments were conducted at constant temperature (30 -31 0C) and humidity (50-60%) under a light intensity of 500-550 ^ mol m"2s_1. At the end of the experiment, leaves were dried to a constant weight in a hot air oven at 75 oC. The leaf moisture retention capacity (MRC) was estimated using the formula:
MRC (%) = {(FW1- DW)/( FW0 - DW)}X 100
Where FW0= fresh weight (g) immediately after harvest, FW1 (g) is the weight at a particular hour after harvest and DW is the woven dry weight.
Before conducting the experiment the chemical characteristics of organic manures were recorded following standard analytical method (Table 1).
Table 1. NPK values of animal manures
Nitrogen% Phosphorus% Potassium%
Farm yard manure 1.10 0.40 1.80
Silk worm rearing waste 1.60 1.00 1.50
Pig Manure 0.80 0.70 0.50
Poultry Manure 1.60 1.00 0.60
Sheep Manure 0.70 0.30 0.90
The pH of the soil was measured in water, 1M KCl, 0.01M CaCl2, 1M NaF (Black, 1965; Page et al., 1982), Organic carbon was estimated in finely powered (0.5mm sieved) soil by Walkley & Black method (Walkey and Black, 1934) using potassium dichromate, estimation of nitrogen was determined by the method as described by Subbiah and Asija (Subbiah and Asija, 1956). Total phosphorus and potassium were analyzed following the standard procedure (Jackson, 1973). Data on growth and leaf quality parameter were recorded at the end of every crop and were subjected to statistical analysis. Leaf moisture was determined by oven drying method. Total soluble protein in leaf was determined by standard method as suggested by Lowry et al (1951) as well as total soluble sugar content by Morris (1948).
Data on growth, yield and quality parameters were recorded after continuous application of input for three rainy crops. Seasonal effect on growth, yield and quality parameters were studied and the overall mean of each of the seven treatments, critical difference value (P=0.05&0.01)) and co-efficient of variation (CV %) were also calculated. Statistical analysis of the three years' pooled data had been done using the one way ANOVA.
3. Results
3.1 Mulching and bio-organic nutrients on Soil properties
The data presented in Table-2 indicates soil temperature (oC) and soil moisture (%) along with soil water holding capacity in control plot as well as recommended fertilizers and bio mulch treated plots. Mulch plots treated with bio and organic fertilizers recorded moderate soil temperature (oC), higher soil moisture percentage and Water
Holding Capacity (WHC). The Sun hemp treatment recorded 56.9 % WHC with an increase of 7.76 % over control, while the soil moisture percentage of 64.6% recorded an increase of 15.77% at 30 cm depth, over control. Overall soil temperature throughout the study prevailed at 28.5 0C with a decrease of 7.36 % at 10 cm depth over control. These results confirm the efficacy of mulching in reducing high soil temperature.
Table 2. Impact of bio mulching on soil temperature, water holding capacity &moisture conservation regulation
Treatment Soil Temp. (oC) Soil moisture% Water holding capacity of soil
(At 10 cm depth) (At 30 cm depth)
Mulch Plot 28.5 64.6 56.9
Unmulched plot 30.6 55.8 52.8
3.2 Mulching and Bio-organic nutrients on growth attributes and leaf yield of Mulberry
Table 3 showed that imposition of organic nutrients, biofertilizers along with leguminous bio-mulching was promising to provide a favourable environment for growth which reflects in healthier plants. Bio mulch plots treated with different organic manures and biofertilizers enabled to bring significant difference on plant height, number of shoots per plant and leaf area. However, significantly taller plants (126.63 cm) were recorded in the plots which were treated with pig manure along with biofertilizers. Plots treated with pig manure also recorded significantly broader leaf area (152.37 sq.cm) than the rest of the treated plots.
However, the number of shoots per plant and the yield of leaves were higher in the mulched plots treated with poultry manure along with biofertilizers. Notable variation was registered on leaf yield per plant and yield per hectare of mulberry among different organic manures when applied to S1 mulberry (Table 1). Among the different treatments, significantly higher leaf yield per hectare (12240 kg/ha/year) was recorded in the mulched plots treated with 50% recommended inorganic nitrogen supplemented with poultry manure and biofertilizers. An increased yield of leaves (11,293.33 kg/ha/year-12,240.00 kg/ha/year) in different treated plots exhibited better performance over control (11,255.33 kg/ha/year).
Table 3. Effect of Bio-organic fertilization and mulching on morphological parameters of mulberry (variety SI)
Treatments Plant height No. of shoots/plant Leaf area (sq.cm.) Leaf yield (kg./ha./year)
T0 117.44 4.78 137.44 10627.33
T1 124.05 5.11 149.76 11255.33
T2 124.77 4.80 147.18 11293.33
T3 125.96 5.44 150.43 11621.67
T4 124.55 6.04 150.56 12240.00
T5 126.63 5.87 152.37 11571.33
T6 123.67 5.73 148.98 11880.33
CD at5% 1.288 0.399 4.035 461.851
CD at 1% 1.806 0.560 6.036 647.481
SE (mean) 0.724 0.224 2.420 259.613
CV% 0.585 4.159 1.634 2.258
3.3 Bio-organic fertilization and mulching on leaf quality parameters
In mulberry, leaf moisture content (LMC) and moisture retention capacity (MRC) are the two important factors that maintain the nutritive levels of leaves, which in turn improves the palatability of leaves for silkworm. These two traits viz. leaf moisture content and moisture retention capacity were found to be increased significantly in different treatment combination over control and higher in T4 (79.75 and 76.27% respectively.) followed by T3 and T6. Rest of the leaf quality parameters like total soluble protein and sugar (mg/g/fresh wt.) in leaf was found to be significant among various treatments. However, soluble protein was found to be high in T4 (27.08) followed by T3 (26.63) and T6 (26.59) and higher soluble sugar in leaf was observed in T4 (22.82) followed by T3 (22.49) and T5 (22.40).
Table 4. Effect of Bio-organic fertilization and mulching on leaf quality parameter of mulberry (variety SI)
Treatments Leaf moisture% Leaf moisture Total Sugar Total Protein
retention capacity (mg./g. fresh wt.) (mg./g. fresh wt.)
T0 66.74 66.40 19.72 22.00
T1 68.73 70.55 22.16 24.63
T2 73.48 67.80 21.05 24.75
T3 76.91 75.25 22.49 26.63
T4 79.75 76.27 22.82 27.08
T5 75.51 72.71 22.40 26.37
T6 76.11 74.51 21.72 26.59
CD at 5% 2.442 1.668 1.318 1.484
CD at 1% 3.423 2.339 1.848 2.080
SE (mean) 1.372 0.938 0.741 0.834
CV% 1.857 1.304 3.405 3.279
4. Discussion
Yield components such as plant height, number of shoot, leaf area among different treatments in different harvesting seasons were pronounced in the treatment T4. This finding has also been supported by Ewulo et al., (2008).It is also apparent from the study that growing of leguminous inter-crop helps to intercept and break the impact of rain drops preventing from surface sealing which facilitates better water infiltration (Mohan Kumar and Sadanandan,1988) resulting in higher soil moisture content (Duda et al., 2003; Muhammad et al., 2007).
The proper balance of organic and inorganic nutrients and uniform moisture and temperature regimes by organic mulching provided a better conducive rhizospheric condition and in turn helped the plants to boost their growth remarkably (Singh et al., 2011). Sun hemp mulches in combination with the application of organic inputs efficiently reduce soil temperature as well as increase residual soil moisture. The results corroborates with the earlier studies of Braganolo and Mielniczuk (1990) who reported straw mulching usually decreases the daytime soil temperature and retains the heat during night and thus help in increasing residual soil moisture. The growth and leaf yield of mulberry appears to be a direct reflection of the soil moisture status (Das et.al, 1990; Purohit et al., 1990). Ground nut mulch has been found to reduce day time temperature and conserve moisture, increase growth and yield attributes of lettuce (Adetunj, 1990). As per earlier studies it has been emphasizing the integration of organic sources of nutrition and mulching which provide maximum area for CO2 fixation and in turn help the plants to boost their growth in French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) (Singh et al., 2011).
Percent of. Leaf yield from mulched plot (T4) was significantly increased (8.74%) than those produced on control plot (TI) of bare soil. The differences of yield between mulched (T4) and unmulched plot (T1) could be attributed to moisture conservation, ideal soil temperature (20oC-30oC), weed control, and increased mineral nutrient uptake in the mulched plot through improved root temperatures. The finding is close conformity with the earlier reports (Decoteau et al. 1990; Tindall et al., 1991; Al-Assir et al., 1992; Brown et al., 1993; Ham et al., 1993; Wien et al., 1993; Orozco et al., 1994). Overall performance of all the treated plots showed that organic fertilization had a positive effect on yield of mulberry in mulch plot (Bongale and Chaluvachari, 1995; Sujathamma and Dandin, 2000; Moor et al., 2004; Ramakrishna et al., 2006; Liasu and Achakzai, 2007). Sood and Sharma (1996) also reported the beneficial effects of mulching for soil improvement, resulting to better plant growth and tuber yield of potato. The organic mulches not only conserve the soil moisture, they also increase the soil nutrients through organic matter addition (Dilip Kumar et al., 1990). Higher leaf yield of mulberry might be due to the increased organic matter content resulted with the application of organic manures along with mulch materials to soil that ensured steady yield of salubrious quality leaves.
The results revealed that reduction in the dose of chemical fertilizers in the treatments from T2-T6 and did not affected the growth attributes and leaf quality traits espeacilly the leaf moisture content (LMC), moisture retention capacity (MRC). This may be due to the influence of biofertilizer which had mediated the moisture availability in the soil rhizosphere, thereby maintaining normal growth, water uptake and other metabolism in mulberry plant (Chikkaswamy, 2015). It clearly indicated that the influence of organic manures application along with bio fertilizers and sunn hemp mulching might have improved the moisture availability in the rhizosphere, thereby
maintaining normal growth, water uptake and other physiological activities in plants. The increase in protein content might be due to the availability of sufficient quantity of nitrogen in plants through the combined effect of various nitrogenous resources along with leguminous mulching. However improvement of the yield parameters along with the quality parameters like crude protein, soluble carbohydrates and total sugars in mulberry might be due to the application of organic manures either through Farm yard manure or enriched compost supplemented with varied levels of inorganic fertilizers (Shivakumar et al., 1999),. High sugar content in mulberry was possibly due to the application of organic fertilizers along with bio fertilizers. These findings are in close conformity with some earlier findings in mulberry variety M5 (Rashmi 2009).This study revealed that the mulch plots treated with organic manures and bio fertilizers provided the desired leaf yield as compared to unmulched plots treated with recommended fertilizers doses. The higher yield attributes of mulberry may be due to continuous availability of bio and organic fertilizers nutrients throughout the crop growth period under ideal soil moisture regimes.
5. Conclusions
Mulching provides a favourable environment for effective utilization of organic manures along with bio fertilizers in order to improve the growth and yield of quality leaves in mulberry (Variety SI).The present study showed that bio and organic amendments in mulched plot along with reduced dose of inorganic fertilizers played a vital role in improving the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soil, thereby optimizing the yield potential of mulberry (Morus alba L.). Hence the use of organic mulches under water stress condition along with the systematic inputs of organic fertilizers including bio fertilizers may be recommended for sustainable farming in mulberry.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by Participatory Forest Management Unit of IIT, Kharagpur, sponsored by the Ford Foundation. Authors duly acknowledge the contributions of Professor Ranjan Chakrabarti, Hon'ble Vice Chancellor, Vidyasagar University for his generous and enthusiastic help. Authors also thankful to Dr. Hemant Kumar Golapalli, V.U for his constructive suggestions.
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