Studies on the Nitrogen Economy and Aggregation of an Upland Soil of South-east Bihar

Abstract

The management of soil fertility in- cludes proper tillage operations, ap- plication of soil ameliorators, e.g. lime, gypsum. etc., supply of plant nutrients, replenishment of organic matter, inoculation of the soil vvith beneficial micro-organisms, maintenance of good physical condition of the soil, etc., etc. Some of these factors are either forgotten or neglected in most of our soil fertility management programmes. Soil depletion and deterioration invariably follow in the wake of such imperfect plannings. In India manuring has been regarded as the most important of all these factors of soil fertility, so much so that in a normal fertility management programme considera- tions for other factors are completely masked by it. But it should not be so. A part of the fertility management programme of a farm must be based on cropping systems. Maintenance of the nitrogen economy of the soil and restoration of the soil to a good physical condition have to revolve round a rational crop planning for the farm.