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Maintenance and Improvement of Organic Matter Status of Punjab Soils by Growing Sesbania in Standing Wheat Crop and Economics of Sesbania Green Manuring
Majority of the farmers of our country are poor having low budget for different agricultural inputs such as fertilizers. They spend money on nitrogenous fertilizers as compared to Phosphatic and potassium fertilizers. It is the dire need of today to include green manuring alongwith synthetic fertilizers in order to reduce the cost of fertilizers as well as to increase soil organic matter and to enhance the soil fertility on sustainable basis. This study was conducted with the objectives to evaluate the impact of Sesbania as green manure on soil organic matter, soil fertility status of soil as well as its impact in reducing the cost of synthetic fertilizers. Results revealed that the organic matter contents increased from 0.78% to 1.66% and 1.69% in T2 (Jantar + Full Fertilizer) and T3 (Jantar + Half Fertilizer). As for as economics of green manuring is concerned it increased net profit from 108892 and 124403 per hectare/ annum in T2 and 72621 to 83584 per hectare per annum in T3 during the said two series of experiments. So, it is clear from the results that using Sesbania as a green manure in standing wheat crops is a practical technology because it is the most cost-effective and eco-friendly. Hence, it is advised to spread 8 kg of Jantar seed after the last irrigation of wheat in the middle of March if the farmer has a few weeks of free time. Apply irrigation once the wheat has been harvested, then scatter 8 kg of Jantar seed again. However, the amount of fertilizer used for kharif crops may be lowered by 25–50% the next year, depending on how well green manuring works.
Keywords: Sesbania, improvement, green manure, economics