2024, Vol. 7, Issue 9, Part F

author(s)
Narashimamoorthy T, Saravana Kumar Murugesan, Marimuthu S and Angelin Silviya R

abstract
A study was carried out to assess the Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on soil microbial and enzymatic activity in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) at the College Farm, SRM College of Agricultural Sciences, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India. The experiment was laid out in Split plot design with three main plot treatments based on Soil application: M₁: RDF 100% (40:20:0 NPK kg/ha), M₂: RDF 50%, M₃: Farmyard manure 12.5 t/ha and four subplots based on foliar application: S₁: Soil Application of TNAU Micro Nutrient Mixture 12.5 kg/ha, S₂: 0.5% Foliar Spray of FeSO₄ + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.2% Borax, S₃: Panchagavya 3%, S₄: Jeevamirtham 3%, with triplicates. The amount of organic carbon, microbial population (bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes) and Soil enzymatic activity (dehydrogenase activity, urease activity and acid phosphate enzyme) were evaluated. The treatment M₃S₄ recorded significantly higher soil organic carbon (0.48%), bacterial population (292.41 x 10⁶ cfu/g of soil), actinomycetes population (74.20 x 10² cfu/g of soil), fungal population (40.25 x 10⁴ cfu/g of soil), dehydrogenase activity (218.60 µg TPF g/soil/h), urease activity (229.50 µg TPF g/soil/h) and acid phosphatase activity (53.65 PNP/g/soil/h) respectively. These findings suggest that organic farming practices are beneficial for maintaining soil biodiversity and sustainability.