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This article was downloaded by: [83.37.2.197]On: 22 October 2014, At: 22:01Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
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Optimizing organic and mineralamendments to jatropha seed cake toincrease its agronomic utility as organicfertilizerArpita Sinha a , Pankaj K. Srivastava b , Nandita Singh b , P. N.Sharma b & Hari Mohan Behl ba Biomass Biology and Environmental Sciences Division, NationalBotanical Research Institute , Lucknowb Department of Botany , University of Lucknow , Lucknow, IndiaPublished online: 05 Apr 2011.
To cite this article: Arpita Sinha , Pankaj K. Srivastava , Nandita Singh , P. N. Sharma & Hari MohanBehl (2011) Optimizing organic and mineral amendments to jatropha seed cake to increase itsagronomic utility as organic fertilizer, Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 57:2, 193-222, DOI:10.1080/03650340903296785
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Optimizing organic and mineral amendments to jatropha seed cake
to increase its agronomic utility as organic fertilizer
Arpita Sinhaa*, Pankaj K. Srivastavab, Nandita Singhb, P.N. Sharmab andHari Mohan Behlb
aBiomass Biology and Environmental Sciences Division, National Botanical Research Institute,Lucknow; bDepartment of Botany, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, India
(Received 25 December 2008; final version received 25 August 2009)
The agronomic utility of an organic residue, jatropha cake (Jc) was assessedaccording to the NPK requirement of selected crops. Fertilizer combinations weremade by mixing jatropha cake (Jc), bone meal (Bm), tobacco dust (Td) andinorganic supplements ammonium Bi-carbonate (NH4HCO3), dicalcium phos-phate (CaHPO4 � (H2O)2) and potassium chloride (KCl). The effects of combina-tions on the chemical and biological properties of soil and the growth of Jatrophacurcas (used for non-edible oil or biofuel) and Cymbopogon martinii (essentialaromatic oil used for anti septic, anti viral, bactericide, cytophylactic, digestive,febrifuge and hydrating properties) were studied. The combination of Jc withother residues turned it into an appropriate soil amendment to increase soilfertility. Utilization of these residues can also solve disposal related issues of theseresidues. Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl, Jc þ Bm þ Td, Jc þ Bm and Jc þ Tdwere most efficient combinations in terms of increasing soil fertility and growth ofJ. curcas and C. martinii. Most optimal organic combination of Jc þ Bm þ Tdprovided 182.4 kg N ha71, 102.8 kg P ha71 & 50 kg K ha71 for J. curcas and83.7 kg N ha71, 19.8 kg P ha71, 33.1 kg K ha71 for C. martinii. The fertilizercombination gave significantly highest increase of 1.78 and 5.79 mg N g71, 14.12and 10.3 mg P g71, 9.38 and 26.40 mg K g71 and 9.06 and 4.42 mg C g71 ofexperimental soils of J. curcas and C. martini, respectively. The combination alsoincreased the extractable micronutrient content and soil enzymatic activity. Totalplant biomass increased 5.9 and 10.5 times higher to control due to Jc þ Bm þTd fertilizer combination in test crops of J. curcas and C. martini, respectively.
Keywords: jatropha cake; bone meal; tobacco dust; fertilizer combinations;microbial biomass carbon; soil enzymes
Introduction
Most of the organic waste is being utilized as fertilizer and soil amendments. Therehas been a usage of industrial organic waste for improving soil biological andchemical properties (Madejon et al. 2001) by increasing soil organic matter contentand fertility levels (Power 1990). Application of organic wastes such as crop residuesand industrial by-products with high organic matter content to soil is an adequatelystudied agricultural practice (De Neve and Hofman 2000; Tejada and Gonzalez2004). Many comparative studies have shown that the combination of inorganic
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science
Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2011, 193–222
ISSN 0365-0340 print/ISSN 1476-3567 online
� 2011 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/03650340903296785
http://www.informaworld.com
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mineral fertilizer with organic residues support greater mineralization (Van Keulenand Breman 1990; Jansen 1993; Smaling et al. 1996). Incorporation of organicmaterials into soil promotes microbial activity and, in turn, soil fertility as itpromotes mineralization of the important organic elements (Frankenberger andDick 1983). However, one of the challenges for integration of organic wastes intoagriculture includes imbalance of nutrients in organic residues owing to actualcrop needs (Westerman and Bicudo 2005). Therefore in order to gain optimum cropproduction, it becomes imperative to optimize an organic residue according to cropneeds, i.e. balancing nutrients of organic residues for crop nutrient requirementbefore its incorporation into soil as fertilizer.
Jatropha curcas L. is an important biodiesel crop. Jatropha oil can be processedto produce a high-quality biodiesel. Jatropha curcas L. has been identified as a mostsuitable oil seed-bearing plant due to its various favourable attributes like goodsurvival habit, short growth period adaptability in a wide range of agro-climaticconditions, high oil recovery and quality of oil. However, claims have not beensustained for high jatropha feed stock production and facts in literature are scarce(Jongschaap et al. 2007). Oil extraction from jatropha seed results in production ofjatropha cake, which is approx. 1.5 kg l71 of oil produced. Various feedingexperiments of jatropha cake (Jc) with different animals have been conducted (Adam1974; Ahmed and Adam 1979a, 1979b; Makkar and Becker 1997; Makkar et al.1997). Some toxic components in the kernel and the press cake of jatropha have beenreported that include phytates, saponins and a trypsin inhibitor (Makkar and Becker1997; Aregheore et al. 1997; Wink et al. 1997). However, several reports havementioned exploitation of Jatropha curcas cake for organic cultivation (Sunder 1994;Gubitz et al. 1999). Gaind et al. (2009) utilized jatropha cake along with neem cake,grass clippings, wheat straw and poultry manure in composted form as soilamendment. Ghosh et al. (2007) studied the growth response of J. curcas under theinfluence of jatropha deoiled cake used as organic manure where jatropha cakesignificantly increased the seed yield of the plant with increasing level of cake up tothe maximum level of 3 t ha71. Sharma et al. (2009) utilized jatropha hull biomassfor production of bioactive compost, which after four months of maturation gavereduced phytotoxicity to Lepidium sativum with 80% germination index.
Palma Rosa (Cymbopogon martinii) is another important commercial crop inIndia. It serves as an important source of essential oil. Palma rosa essential oil isantiseptic, antiviral, bactericide, cytophylactic, digestive, febrifuge and hydrating.Palma Rosa (C. martinii) has shown positive results under different fertilizermanagement practices. Maheshwari and Sharma (1998) found that biofertilizers incombination with nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient additions on black soils underrainfed conditions gave increased yield of C. martinii. Bhattacharyya and Singh(1992) established increasing levels of N:P:K fertilizer supplements to C. martiniiincreased essential oil production while Rajeswara Rao (2001) reported positive roleof organic manure on increasing biomass and essential oil yield of C. martinii ascompared to mineral nitrogen supplement.
Cultivation of C. martinii and J. curcas under fertilizer combinations based onjatropha cake (Jc) with other residues is a new aspect to increase crop productionand soil fertility.
In the present study, attempt has been made to tailor an organic residue (jatrophacake) according to the nutrient requirement of a crop by addition of other macronutrient-rich residues. The addition of an organic residue to soil provides carbon that
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serves as an energy source for most soil microorganisms. Furthermore, these residuescannotonlyovercomenutrient imbalance, but canalso lowerC/Nratio in jatropha cakeby increasing its basal nitrogen (N) andmaking it easily decomposable. The residuewillnot only increase microbial activity but also nitrogen needs of the organisms. Themicrobes use the carbon to build cells and nitrogen to synthesize proteins. If the organicresidue has low C:N ratio indicating high nitrogen content, then the microorganismswill obtain adequate nitrogen for their needs and will convert the excess organicnitrogen to ammonium (NH4
þ) increasing mineralization rates. Organic nutrient-richresidues used were bone meal and tobacco dust. These organic amendments werecompared with inorganic amendments like ammonium bicarbonate (NH4HCO3),dicalcium phosphate (CaHPO4 � (H2O)2) and potassium chloride (KCl). The objectivesof the present study were to: (i) find out the most effective and standardizedcombination of jatropha oil cake with other residues in terms of improving soilcharacteristics and plant growth, and (ii) evaluate the comparative effectiveness ofdifferent combinations on the soil properties and growth of C. martinii and J. curcas.
Materials and methods
Fertilizer dosage
Different fertilizer dosages were recommended for C. martinii (Ghatol and Khode1999; Rajeswara Rao 2001, www.nhb.gov.in) with N:P2O5:K2O levels ranging from30:15:15, 40:50:40 to 100:60:60 kg ha71. Additions of 52.5 kg P ha71 a71 inconjunction with 66.6 kg K ha71 a71 improved C. martinii yields in a field experiment(Prakasa Rao et al. 2001). For cultivation of J. curcas, the basal application of30 t ha71 organic manure with mineral fertilizer as 60:45:90 NPK is recommended.Overall, fertilizer levels recommendations for J. curcas ranged from 20:120:60 NPK(www.jatrophabiodiesel.org, www.geocities.com/biodieselindia/jatropha.doc) to 120–150 g superphosphate, 20 g urea and 15 g muriate of potash per plant. Theserecommendations accompanied with additional application of 0.5 kg organic manureplant71. Variation in fertilizer dosage in these studies was made due to difference inenvironmental conditions. We selected N:P2O5:K2O level of 50:40:40 for C. martiniiand optimumN:P:K level of 80:100:50 for J. curcas and performed the experiments onthese dosages.
Fertilizer combinations
Fertilizer combinations were designed in order to observe interactive effects of thesenutrient supplements and jatropha cake on soil biochemical activities and growth oftwo target crops, namelyC. martinii and J. curcas. In order to amend J. curcas oil cakefor the specified nutrient balance, organic amendments used were bone meal (Bm) forphosphorus (P) and tobacco dust (Td) for potassium (K) supplement, respectively.Jatropha cake being high in nitrogen level was considered as a source of N. All theorganic amendments were procured from local sources. Inorganic amendments thatwere used to make up nutrient balance in jatropha cake (Jc) were fertilizers –ammonium bicarbonate [NH4HCO3] (17% N) for N, dicalcium phosphate [CaHPO4 �(H2O)2] (22% P) for P and potassium chloride [KCl] (40% K) for K content. Theconcept of preparing fertilizer combination/formulation was to meet the recom-mended N:P:K requirement of the target plants. Various combinations were preparedwith jatropha cake taken as base fertilizer with the required nitrogen level of
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80 kg N ha71 for J. curcas and 50 kg N ha71 for C. martinii. Details of combinationsare given in Table 1. The average N:P:K contents (as %) in different organic wasteswere as follows, jatropha cake, 4.2:0.65:1.30; bone meal, 3.8:5.23:0.0; and tobaccodust, 2.8:0.25:2.25. Selected characteristics of these organic amendments are presentedin Table 2. Control soil was used without any organic and inorganic amendments anddetailed characteristics of control soil are given in Table 3.
Experiments
Experiments were conducted in open field conditions from June–November 2007 atthe National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow, India (268450 N and808520 E). Soil used for the experiment was sandy clay loam and collected from 0–20 cm depth from NBRI garden. Chemical characteristics of the soil are shown inTable 3. Seeds of J. curcas (Experiment A) were purchased from local market andsowed in pure sand plot of 1 6 1 m area. Pots (5-litre capacity) with a surface areaof 0.225 m2 were filled with 3.5 kg of dried and sieved soil. Each fertilizercombination (Table 1) was added per pot and mixed. The pots were then levelledwith soil and moistened and left for seven days. One-week-old seedlings of J. curcas(Experiment A) were transferred to each pot with one seedling into centre of eachpot. Pots were kept weed-free and maintained in an optimum soil moisture regimethroughout the experiment. A similar experiment set up with C. martinii (ExperimentB) was undertaken. Plastic pots with 0.5 litre capacity and surface area of 0.029 m2
were filled with 350 g of dried and sieved sandy clay loam. Each fertilizercombination (Table 1) was added per pot and mixed and pot was moistened. Sevendays later, seeds of C. martinii were sown directly into pots. The pots were arrangedin a randomized block design with three replicates.
Test 1: Effects of various fertilizer combinations on soil biological andchemical properties
Soil samples were taken five months after transplanting (jatropha) or sowing (palmarosa) of plants. Samples were sieved (2 mm) and stored at 48C. Samples wereanalyzed in five replicates. Enzyme activities in soil samples were assayed using fieldmoist soil samples from pots. Dehydrogenase activity was assayed following themethod of Pepper et al. (1995), by the reduction of 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazoliumchloride and expressed in mg triphenyl formazan (TPF) (g dry soil)71 h71. Alkalinephosphatase activity (Eivazi and Tabatabai 1977) and b-glucosidase activity (Eivaziand Tabatabai 1988) were measured using the substrate analogue para-nitrophenyl-b-D-glucopyranoside and based on determining the quantity of the releasedp-nitrophenol after the incubation of per gram soil samples with para-nitrophenyl-b-D-glucopyranoside solution for 1 h at 378C. Catalase activity (Trasar-Cepedaet al. 1999) was measured by adding hydrogen peroxide and expressed in mM H2O2
consumed (g dry soil)71 h71. Urease activity was determined by Kandeler andGerber (1988) and expressed as mg NH4-N (g dry soil)71 (2 h)71. The microbialbiomass carbon was estimated using the chloroform-fumigation-extraction method(Vance et al. 1987). Sand, silt and clay percentages were determined by internationalpipette method (Sankaram 1966) pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were measuredin the aqueous extracts of solid, distilled water of 1, 2.5 (w/v dry weight basis) usingpH meter (Cyberscan 2500) and conductivity meter (Cyberscan 500) at 258C.
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Table
1.
Fertilizercombinationswiththeirdosageapplied
ineach
pot.
Treatm
entcombinations
Organic
nutrient
supplements
(gpot7
1)
Inorganic
nutrientsupplements
(gpot7
1)
Resultantnutrientadded
(askgha7
1)
JcBm
Td
NH
4HCO
3CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
KCl
NP
K
Recommended
NPK¼
80:100:50
Jatrophacurcas(Experim
entA)
Jc42.84
80
12.4
24.8
Jcþ
Bm
42.84
37.69
144.5
99.5
24.8
Jcþ
Td
42.84
30.54
118
15.8
50
Jcþ
Bmþ
Td
42.84
37.69
30.54
182.5
102.9
50.0
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
42.84
8.9
80
100
24.8
Jcþ
KCl
42.84
1.14
80
12.4
50
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2þ
KCl
42.84
8.9
1.14
80
100
50
NH
4HCO
3þ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2KCl
10.58
10.21
2.26
80
100
50
Recommended
NPK¼
50:17.5:33
Cymbopogonmartinii(Experim
entB)
Jc3.51
50
7.8
15.5
Jcþ
Bm
3.51
0.54
57.04
17.4
15.5
Jcþ
Td
3.51
2.81
76.7
10.11
33.2
Jcþ
Bmþ
Td
3.51
0.54
2.81
83.71
19.8
33.2
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
3.51
0.13
50
17.4
15.5
Jcþ
KCl
3.51
0.10
50
7.7
33.2
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2þ
KCl
3.51
0.13
0.10
50
17.5
33.1
NH
4HCO
3þ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2þ
KCl
0.86
0.23
0.19
50
17.6
33.2
Jc,jatrophacake;
Bm,bonemeal;Td,tobaccodust;NH
4HCO
3,Ammonium
bicarbonate;DCP,Dicalcium
phosphate;KCl,Potassium
chloride.
Experim
entA:Potcapacity¼
5000g;Surface
area¼
0.225m
2;Experim
entB:Potcapacity¼
500g;Surface
area¼
0.029m
2.
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Total organic carbon was analyzed by using Walkley-Black Method (1934). Watersoluble organic carbon was determined by the method of Nelson and Sommers(1996). Total nitrogen in plant as well as soil samples was detected by micro-kjeldahl
Table 2. Chemical properties of organic amendments (as Mean + SD of five samples).
Characteristics Jatropha cake Bone meal Tobacco dust
pH (1:2.5) 6.25 + 0.05 5.9 + 0.09 7.6 + 0.03E.C (dS m71) 2.95 + 0.03 1.94 + 0.01 11.1 + 0.32N (%) 4.2 + 0.11 3.79.0 + 0.4 2.8 + 0.041P2O5 (%) 1.55 + 0.006 12.5 + 0.22 0.59 + 0.22K2O (%) 1.56 + 0.091 0 2.71 + 1.07Ca (%) 0.402 + 0.012 4.37 + 0.127 3.87 + 0.004TOC (%) 48.09 + 2.84 18.76 + 0.0004 24.52 + 0.054C/N 11.45 + 0.95 4.95 + 1.82 8.76 + 0.62T.Zn (mg g71) 0.04 + 0.004 0.06 + 0.04 0.09 + 0.02T.Cu (mg g71) 22 + 0.002 0.004 + 0 19 + 0.04T.Fe (mg g71) 0.60 + 0.02 2.28 + 0.04 13.45 + 0.20T.Mn (mg g71) 61 + 0.007 27.87 + 0.05 158.5 + 0.03Total carbohydrate (mg g71) 33.87 + 8.06 N.D 25.27 + 2.52
ND, not detected; T, total; TOC, total organic carbon.
Table 3. Characteristics of soil (as control) used for the study (as Mean + SD of fivesamples).
Characteristics Values
Sand (%) 54.9Silt (%) 11.6Clay (%) 33.6Texture Sandy clay loampH (1:2.5) 8.03 + 0.2EC (mS cm71) 96.80 + 10.6Total N (mg g71) 0.84 + 0.02NH4-N (mg g71) 0.10 + 0.02NO3-N (mg g71) 0.50 + 0.06Total P (mg g71) 0.84 + 0.2Av. P (mg g71) 0.54 + 0.03Total K (mg g71) 2.04 + 0.10Av. K (mg g71) 0.01 + 0.0Total Ca (mg g71) 0.36 + 0.2Av.Ca (mg g71) 0.04 + 0.02Total Na (mg g71) 0.06 + 0.01Av.Na (mg g71) 0.04 + 0.0TOC (mg C g71) 0.79 + 0.22WC (mg g71) 0.11 + 0.01CEC (þ) (cmol kg71) 1.48 + 0.12SOM (mg g71) 1.42 + 0.3DTPA Extract- Fe ((mg g71)) 2.50 + 0.31DTPA Extract- Mn (mg g71) 8.76 + 3.37DTPA Extract- Zn (mg g71) 0.71 + 0.42DTPA Extract- Cu (mg g71) 1.20 + 0.17MBC mg C/g 96.53 + 9.0
Av, available; TOC, total organic carbon; WC, water soluble organic carbon; CEC, cation exchangecapacity; SOM, soil organic matter; MBC, microbial biomass carbon.
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digestion and steam distillation method (Bremner 1982). Cation exchange capacity(CEC) was detected at pH 7.0 with sodium acetate (Black 1965), acid soluble (0.25 MH2SO4) carbohydrate was detected by phenol sulphuric acid method of Dubois et al.(1956). NH4-N and NO3-N were determined by methods of Singh et al. (1999) andCataldo et al. (1975), respectively. Total phosphorus (TP), potassium (TK) calcium(TCa), sodium (TNa) contents were determined in aqua regia (HNO3: HClO4) digests.Available P was analyzed by the method of Olsen et al. (1954). Ammonium acetateextractable K and calcium (Ca) were also assessed (Jackson 1962). DTPA extractableheavy metal contents of zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) wereanalyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Perkin-Elmer AA Analyst 330)(Page et al. 1982). The results were expressed on dry weight basis of soil.
Test 2: Effects of fertilizer combination treatments on plant growth
Plants were harvested after five months from the date of transplantation of J. curcasand sowing of C. martinii seeds. Plants were cut at ground level for separation into theabove ground and below ground portions. Samples of both species were washed withtapwater andmeasured for their length. Fully expanded fresh leaveswere plucked fromother replicates (non-harvested) under the specific Jc (þ amendments) treatmentsincluding control in both the experiments for chlorophyll and carotenoid estimation.Harvested plant portions were then oven-dried at 708C for 72 h and their dry weightswere measured. These plant parts were ground to pass 0.5 mm sieve for determinationof nutrient content. Total organic carbon content was detected with a dichromate-sulfuric acid mixture (Baker 1976) with absorbance read at 600 nm using double beamspectrophotometer (Helios ß, UVB- 131312). Total plant phosphorus was determinedby the vanado molybdate method according to Jones (1991) at 420 nm. Totalpotassium, sodium and calcium concentrations were determined using Flamephotometer (Systronics 128). Total carbohydrate content in organic residues wasdetermined by anthrone method (Sadasivan andManikam 1992). Chlorophyll contentof most fully expanded leaf was measured (Maclachlan and Zalik 1963) includingcarotenoid pigments (Duxbury and Yentsch 1956) in freshly harvested plant leaves.
Statistical analysis
All data were subjected to the statistical evaluation by one-way analysis of variance(ANOVA). Test of significance of the treatment differences was done on the basis ofF-test. Statistical differences with p values at 95% significance level using DuncansMultiple Range Test (DMRT) (p5 0.05) were also computed using SPSS 10.01. Thecorrelation matrix between biological and biochemical parameters was also made.
Results
Effects of various fertilizer combinations on soil biological and chemical properties(Test 1)
Soil properties
Fertilizer combinations when applied to soil significantly affected the pH and ECvalues of experimental soils with the greatest increase of pH as observed incombination of Jc þ Bm þ Td and Jc þ Bm in Experiment A and Jc þ Bm in
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Experiment B (Table 4). Addition of mineral fertilizers as combination reduced ECvalues of soil in Experiment A. However, no such observation was made inExperiment B where all treatments significantly raised the soluble salt concentrationof soil. Amendment combinations enhanced soil nitrogen, phosphorus andpotassium concentrations in both the experimental soils as compared to control.Significantly similar increase (p 5 0.05) in total nitrogen content due to Jc þ Td andJc þ Bm þ Td fertilizer combinations was observed in comparison to NH4HCO3 þCaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl treatment and control soil in C. martinii (Experiment B)(Table 5). Soil nitrogen content of Experiment A was significantly increased byincorporation of organic combination of Jc þ Bm þ Td followed by Jc þ Bm inExperiment A. In J. curcas (Experiment A) soil, highest significant value of nitrogenwas observed in combination of Jc þ Bm þ Td in comparison to significantlysimilar value of N due to Jc þ Td and inorganic amendment combination ofNH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl and of control soil. This increase can becredited due to an extra input of 102 kg N ha71 by the addition of bone meal andtobacco dust for balancing P and K contents in the organic fertilizer combination(Jc þ Bm þ Td) in case of J. curcas (Experiment A). Similarly, additional value of27 kg-N/ha by addition of tobacco dust along with Jc in order to meet the requiredK level for crop exerted increase in total N content of combination Jc þ Td in caseof C. martinii (Experiment B).
In the case of C. martinii (Experiment B) statistically significant increase of totalP of 7.26 mg P g71 was observed in combination of Jc þ Bm þ Td in comparison tocontrol soil while amendment combination Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 showed max-imum increase of 17.29 mg P g71 in J. curcas (Experiment A) as compared to controlsoil. Olsen extractable P was in the range of 0.89 mg g71 in control to 8.6 mg g71 inJc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 fertilizer combination in J. curcas (Experiment A) while itranged from 0.08 mg g71 in control to 1.50 mg g71 in Jc þ Bm þ Td fertilizercombination in C. martinii (Experiment B) (Table 5). Fertilizer combinations alsohad variable effect on soluble cations (Ca2þ, Naþ, Kþ) (Table 6) and CEC (Table 7).
Table 4. Changes in soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) after different treatments offertilizer combinations under pot experiment.
Fertilizer combinations
Jatropha curcas (Experiment A)Cymbopogon martinii
(Experiment B)
pH (1:2.5) EC (mS cm71) pH (1:2.5) EC (mS cm71)
Jc 8.20c1+ 0.10 155.87c+ 10.13 8.43c+ 0.08 243.97c+ 25.03Jc þ Bm 8.40d+ 0.03 188.37e+ 3.72 9.06f+ 0.04 282.96d+ 14.04Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 8.03b+ 0.06 84.80a+ 3.12 7.97a+ 0.03 163.17b+ 3.94Jc þ Td 8.53d+ 0.06 197.50f+ 3.74 8.87e+ 0.06 285.70d+ 9.30Jc þ KCl 7.63a+ 0.06 84.50a+ 4.76 8.16b+ 0.04 247.97c+ 10.03Jc þ Bm þ Td 8.53d+ 0.15 167.97d+ 4.45 8.64d+ 0.06 307.19d+ 5.81Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þKCl
8.20c+ 0 83.67a+ 2.88 8.21b+ 0.01 286.62d+ 2.38
NH4HCO3 þCaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þKCl
7.70a+ 0.10 76.93a+ 1.91 8.37c+ 0.14 240.47c+ 25.53
Control 8.02b+ 0.07 94.75b+ 1.36 8.03a+ 0.09 126.54a+ 1.44
Mean+SD followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different using DMRT(p 5 0.05).
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Table
5.
Effectofdifferentfertilizer
combinationsonsoilnitrogen
andphosphoruscontents
ofexperim
entalsoils.*
Jatrophacurcas(Experim
entA)
Cymbopogonmartinii(Experim
entB)
Fertilizercombinations
TotalN
(mgg71)
NH
4-N
(mgg71)
NO
3-N
(mgg7
1)
TotalP
(mgg71)
Av.P
(mgg71)
TotalN
(mgg71)
NH
4-N
(mgg71)
NO
3-N
(mgg71)
TotalP
(mgg71)
Av.P
(mgg71)
Jc0.93ab1+
0.09
0.15c+
0.01
3.89b+
0.27
3.70ab+
0.58
1.74a+
0.06
3.90c+
0.31
0.13c+
0.00
2.56c+
0.09
4.82b+
0.24
0.88d+
0.02
Jcþ
Bm
1.44d+
0.09
0.21f+
0.01
5.40de+
0.21
15.09de+
1.26
6.50d+
0.59
4.47d+
0.49
0.22f+
0.01
5.71e+
0.281
6.42c+
0.13
1.08e+
0.01
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
1.03b+
0.03
0.13b+
0.01
4.42bc+
0.15
18.76f+
2.04
8.66f+
0.66
4.34cd
+0.18
0.18cd
+0.00
2.66c+
0.03
6.94cd
+0.50
1.47f+
0.03
Jcþ
Td
1.26c+
0.10
0.19e+
0.00
5.46de+
0.50
6.67c+
0.98
4.45c+
0.29
5.84e+
0.19
0.19e+
0.00
3.35d+
0.08
7.20d+
0.15
1.08e+
0.09
Jcþ
KCl
0.92ab+
0.04
0.12b+
0.00
4.87cde+
0.34
5.35bc+
0.43
3.18b+
0.99
4.48d+
0.32
0.11b+
0.00
1.41b+
0.13
4.27b+
0.04
0.60b+
0.00
Jcþ
Bmþ
Td
1.78e+
0.04
0.23g+
0.01
5.76e+
1.18
14.12de+
2.17
5.67d+
0.24
5.79e+
0.27
0.30h+
0.01
6.19f+
0.36
10.30f+
0.36
1.50f+
0.03
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
þKCl
1.25c+
0.08
0.17d+
0.00
4.79d+
0.52
15.40e+
0.42
8.30ef+
0.16
4.47d+
0.15
0.27g+
0.01
3.20d+
0.1
8.01e+
0.07
0.91d+
0.03
NH
4HCO
3þ
CaHPO
4�
(H2O) 2þ
KCl
1.26c+
0.02
0.14bc+
0.01
0.99a+
0.17
12.72d+
2.22
7.47e+
0.72
2.73b+
0.05
0.17d+
01.39b+
0.03
4.79b+
0.65
0.75c+
0.00
Control
0.88a+
0.05
0.11a+
0.00
0.96a+
0.10
1.47a+
0.58
0.89a+
0.03
1.16a+
0.11
0.08a+
00.39a+
0.16
3.04a+
0.09
0.08a+
0.01
Mean+
SD
followed
bythesameletter
within
acolumnare
notsignificantlydifferentusingDMRT(p
50.05);*Potexperim
ents;AvailableP¼
Olsen
extractablePmg/g.
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Table
6.
Changes
inthetotalandavailable
form
sofcationsin
soilsamended
withdifferentfertilizer
combinationsunder
potexperim
ent.
Jatrophacurcas(Experim
entA)
Cymbopogonmartinii(Experim
entB)
Fertilizer
combinations
T.K
(mgg71)
Av.K
(mgg71)
T.Ca
(mgg71)
Av.Ca
(mgg7
1)
T.Na
(mgg71)
Av.N
a
(mgg71)
T.K
(mgg71)
Av.K
(mgg71)
T.Ca
(mgg71)
Av.Ca
(mgg71)
T.N
a
(mgg71)
Av.N
a
(mgg71)
Jc5.68b1+
0.16
0.039b+
0.002
3.23b+
0.22
0.67b+
0.04
0.13a+
0.03
0.06a+
0.01
6.90b+
0.32
0.03b+
07.01b+
0.43
0.70b+
0.09
1.92c+
0.03
0.24e+
0.03
Jcþ
Bm
6.14b+
0.19
0.043b+
0.001
9.72de+
0.76
1.44ef+
0.06
0.74c+
0.10
0.15a+
0.02
10.22c+
0.66
0.03b+
013.9d+
0.09
1.39d+
0.14
1.73b+
0.04
0.17b+
0.01
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�
(H2O) 2
8.54d+
0.21
0.073d+
0.003
9.51de+
0.39
1.28def+
0.04
0.60b+
0.02
0.07a+
0.00
8.15b+
0.27
0.03b+
017.88f+
0.60
1.53d+
0.20
2.99f+
0.05
0.21c+
0.01
Jcþ
Td
20.15g+
0.17
0.065c+
0.002
7.10de+
0.21
1.52f+
0.03
1.82e+
0.06
0.12a+
0.00
22.95f+
1.51
0.04b+
015.03e+
0.45
0.98c+
0.11
1.45a+
0.06
0.22cd
+0.02
Jcþ
KCl
14.97f+
1.05
0.039b+
0.005
4.48c+
0.13
0.92c+
0.08
1.46d+
0.17
0.07a+
0.00
18.27e+
0.29
0.05d+
06.11a+
0.14
0.71b+
0.11
2.72e+
0.15
0.34f+
0.01
Jcþ
Bmþ
Td
9.38e+
0.42
0.087e+
0.003
9.41de+
0.41
1.36ef+
0.09
0.68bc+
0.05
0.18a+
0.00
26.40g+
1.42
0.05d+
017.53f+
0.50
1.42d+
0.07
2.27d+
0.11
0.24de+
0.02
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�
(H2O) 2þ
KCl
5.32b+
0.13
0.060c+
0.003
9.06d+
0.12
1.26de+
0.03
0.74c+
0.04
0.41a+
0.58
24.42f+
0.92
0.04c+
09.30c+
0.42
1.53d+
0.05
2.63e+
0.14
0.39g+
0.01
NH
4HCO
3þ
CaHPO
4�
(H2O) 2þ
KCl
7.24c+
0.48
0.075d+
0.003
7.07d+
0.07
0.59b+
0.03
0.81c+
0.03
0.04a+
0.01
16.58d+
1.14
0.05d+
06.68ab+
0.69
0.71b+
0.03
2.77e+
0.10
0.13a+
0.01
Control
3.01a+
0.71
0.015a+
0.002
1.75a+
0.08
0.25a+
0.36
0.10a+
0.02
0.13a+
0.01
3.26a+
0.30
0.0128a+
05.92a+
0.02
0.29a+
0.06
1.50a+
0.07
0.20bc+
0.01
Mean+
SD
followed
bythesameletter
within
acolumnare
notsignificantlydifferentusingDMRT
(p5
0.05);T,total;Av,available.
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Table
7.
Variationin
chem
icalproperties
ofamended
soilafter
harvestofplants
under
potexperim
ents.
Jatrophacurcas(Experim
entA)
Cymbopogonmartinii(Experim
entB)
Fertilizercombinations
TOC
(mgC
g71)
WC
(mgg71)
SOM
(mgg71)
CEC
cmol
(þ)kg71
HR
TOC
(mgC
g71)
WC
(mgg71)
SOM
(mgg71)
CEC
cmol
(þ)kg7
1HR
Jc1.82b1+
0.08
0.26b+
0.03
2.99a+
0.16
1.75a+
0.45
14.21cde+
1.98
2.88d+
0.09
0.26d+
0.02
4.96d+
0.16
4.35d+
0.09
9.15cd
+0.53
Jcþ
Bm
3.62cd
+0.64
0.40c+
0.00
5.81c+
0.91
4.39cd
+0.57
11.32bc+
2.17
3.52e+
0.27
0.23c+
0.01
6.07e+
0.46
4.74e+
0.04
6.62a+
0.09
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
2.36cb
+0.24
0.40c+
0.01
4.76bc+
0.27
3.85c+
0.17
17.08e+
1.51
2.37c+
0.22
0.23c+
0.02
4.08c+
0.38
3.78c+
0.04
10.02d+
1.96
Jcþ
Td
5.35d+
0.20
0.50d+
0.01
8.64d+
1.10
3.28b+
0.22
8.94ab+
1.30
4.53f+
0.15
0.37e+
0.01
7.81f+
0.26
4.38d+
0.26
8.15bc+
0.44
Jcþ
KCl
2.48b+
0.16
0.42c+
0.03
3.64ab+
0.64
3.26b+
0.26
16.80e+
2.18
2.84d+
0.06
0.18b+
0.01
4.90d+
0.10
3.65c+
0.11
6.18a+
0.35
Jcþ
Bmþ
Td
9.06f+
0.09
0.66e+
0.04
14.45f+
1.48
5.27e+
0.35
7.78a+
1.08
4.42f+
0.20
0.38e+
0.01
7.62f+
0.35
5.59f+
0.05
8.70cd
+0.10
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�
(H2O) 2þ
KCl
7.18e+
0.28
0.43c+
0.03
12.35e+
1.75
4.36cd
+0.22
5.96a+
0.25
3.28e+
0.30
0.27d+
0.02
5.66e+
0.52
2.96b+
0.09
8.14bc+
0.02
NH
4HCO
3þ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
þKCl
2.47b+
0.28
0.39c+
0.01
4.81bc+
0.53
4.46d+
0.28
16.20de+
2.58
0.77a+
0.03
0.07a+
01.32a+
0.05
2.28a+
0.03
9.29cd
+0.69
Control
1.26a+
0.08
0.16a+
0.03
2.01a+
0.16
1.69a+
0.19
13.12cd
+2.29
1.37b+
0.01
0.09a+
02.36b+
0.02
2.21a+
0.05
6.87ab+
0.34
Mean+
SD
followed
bythesameletter
within
acolumnare
notsignificantlydifferentusingDMRT
(p5
0.05);TOC,totalorganic
carbon;WC,watersoluble
organic
carbon;CEC,cationexchangecapacity;SOM,soilorganic
matter;HR,humificationratio.
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Highest significant increase of 17.14 mg K g71 was observed due to Jc þ Td inExperiment A and 23.38 mg K g71 due to Jc þ Bm þ Td in Experiment B. In thecase of C. martinii (Experiment B), maximum degree of humification withJc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 followed by statistically similar values of amendments Jc,NH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl and Jc þ Bm þ Td were observed. Ca2þ
concentration of treated soils were greatly influenced by the addition of amendmentcombinations. As compared to NH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl a moresignificant increase was observed in total calcium values of Jc þ Bm þ Td andJc þ Td-treated soils in both the experiments. Naþ levels of the sandy clay loams ofboth the experiments increased due to different amendment combinations. Howeverno significant difference (p 5 0.05) in the available Naþ was found in soils ofExperiment A unlike Experiment B where Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl resulted inthe highest increase of available Naþ. The humification ratio ranged from 6.18–10.02 mg g71 due to Jc þ KCl and Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2, respectively, in C.martinii soils. Similar amendment combination along with Jc þ KCl exhibitedgreater humification upon incorporation in J. curcas soils (Table 7).
Treatment combinations Jc þ Bm þ Td and Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KClshowed statistically similar extractabilities of Fe in soils of Experiment A while thecombined action of Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 and Jc þ Td in soils of Experiment Bsignificantly increased DTPA extractable Fe content. DTPA-extractable Mn showedan increment of 83.82 mg g71 due to the application of Jc þ Bm þ Td treatmentcombination in Experiment A as compared to control soil in the same experiment(Table 8). In Experiment B, extractable Mn value increased up to 44.22 mg g71 due tothe application of amendment mixture of Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl. Combina-tions Jc þ Td and Jc þ Bm þ Td were most effective in terms of rising availability ofZn and Cu in both the experiments. Extractable Zn values ranged from 1.04 mg g71 incontrol to significant highest value of 6.4 mg g71 in Jc þ Bm þ Td combinationamended soil of Experiment A and from 0.02 mg g71 (control) to 2.89 mg g71
(Jc þ Bm) in Experiment B (Table 8). Extractable Cu values were highest in thecombination of Jc þ Bm þ Td followed by Jc þ Td in Experiment A while inExperiment B, Jc þ Td showed the highest value of DTPA-extractable Cu.
Soil microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activities
The significant differences in the level of microbial biomass carbon (MBC) in theamended soil were observed on treatment with various fertilizer combinations (Table 9and Figure 1). In J. curcas (Experiment A) soil, significantly highest soil MBC wasobtained in order of Jc þ Td 4 Jc þ Bm þ Td 4 Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þKCl 4Jc þ Bm 4 Jc þ KCl 4 Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 4 Jc 4 NH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4.(H2O)2 þ KCl 4 Control. The pattern of MBC variation in C. martinii(Experiment B) soil was similar with highest value obtained with amendmentcombination Jc þ Td followed by Jc þ Bm þ Td 4 Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þKCl 4 Jc þ Bm 4 Jc 4 Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 4 Jc þ KCl 4 Control 4NH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl. In general, all soil enzymatic activities apartfrom alkaline phosphatase, tested were significantly lower in control and in soils withtreatment combination of NH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl and Jc implyingthat mineral fertilizers and single application of jatropha cake were not as effective asother treatment combinations and exhibited inhibitory effect on soil microbial andenzymatic activity (Figures 2–5).
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Table
8.
Changes
inDTPA*-extractable
metalcontents
(asmg
g7
1)ofamended
soilsunder
differenttreatm
ents
ofpotexperim
ent.
Fertilizer
Jatrophacurcas(Experim
entA)
Cymbopogonmartinii(Experim
entB)
combinations
Fe
Mn
Zn
Cu
Fe
Mn
Zn
Cu
Jc7.12b1+
1.79
17.84ab+
1.06
2.18b+
0.64
2.93b+
0.09
2.79a+
0.06
5.44a+
0.92
1.21c+
0.01
2.03e+
0.05
JcþBm
14.15c+
3.47
72.41d+
13.61
3.83c+
0.39
4.56c+
0.31
16.96e+
1.02
40.81f+
0.99
2.89i+
0.05
1.43c+
0.04
JcþCaHPO
4�
(H2O) 2
10.36b+
0.98
32.06c+
3.52
2.09b+
0.70
2.40ab+
0.47
14.80d+
0.85
34.62d+
1.78
1.75g+
0.03
0.87a+
0.03
JcþTd
15.94c+
0.72
88.61e+
1.13
5.99e+
0.31
4.68c+
0.63
14.59d+
0.54
36.02de+
0.82
2.50h+
02.22f+
0.12
JcþKCl
8.97b+
0.74
32.89c+
1.83
2.36b+
0.47
2.92b+
0.24
16.99e+
0.57
31.18c+
1.06
1.33d+
0.01
0.79a+
0.01
JcþBmþTd
24.70d+
3.80
93.51e+
4.85
6.4e+
0.35
7.83d+
0.94
21.27f+
0.55
36.59e+
1.61
1.69f+
0.05
1.67d+
0.06
JcþCaHPO
4�
(H2O) 2þKCl
21.31d+
2.90
76.14d+
7.16
5.27d+
0.28
4.49c+
0.41
12.20c+
0.75
48.07g+
0.14
1.54e+
0.03
0.82a+
0.03
NH
4HCO
3þ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
þKCl
9.53b+
1.06
19.92b+
2.85
2.09b+
0.59
2.94b+
0.18
4.96b+
0.31
11.27b+
0.99
0.98b+
0.01
1.40c+
0.01
Control
3.19a+
0.43
9.69a+
1.96
1.04a+
0.04
1.79a+
0.08
1.89a+
0.03
3.85a+
0.47
0.02a+
01.05b+
0.01
Mean+
SD
followed
bythesameletter
within
acolumnare
notsignificantlydifferentusingDMRT
(p5
0.05);*DTPA,Diethylene-triaminepenta-aceticacid.
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Table9.
PearsonCorrelationcoeffi
cients(r-values)betweensoilenzymeactivitiesandmicrobialbiomass
carbonofamended
soilunder
potexperim
ent.
Microbial
biomass
carbon
Alkaline
phosphatase
Urease
b-Glucosidase
Catalase
Dehydrogenase
Jatrophacurcas(Experim
entA)
Microbialbiomass
carbon
70.515
0.605
0.815**
0.920**
0.807**
Alkalinephosphatase
70.758*
70.631
70.374
70.500
Urease
0.866**
0.504
0.405
b-Glucosidase
0.743*
0.621
Catalase
0.852**
Dehydrogenase
Cymbopogonmartinii(Experim
entB)
Microbialbiomass
carbon
70.371
0.480
0.895**
0.895**
0.886**
Alkalinephosphatase
0.021
70.411
70.15
70.433
Urease
0.712*
0.394
0.437
b-Glucosidase
0.734*
0.850**
Catalase
0.851**
Dehydrogenase
**Correlationsignificantatthe0.01level;*Correlationsignificantatthe0.05level.
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In contrast, soil enzymatic activities in JcþTd, JcþBmþTd, JcþBm,JcþCaHPO4 � (H2O)2þKCl, JcþKCl and JcþCaHPO4 � (H2O)2 treatments weresignificantly enhanced and in most cases much higher than those of NH4HCO3 þCaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl and Jc as well. Alkaline phosphates activity was reducedin organic-treated soils in comparison to mineral fertilizer and control. Dehydro-genase showed an increase in the range of 21.36% (Jc) to 62.94% (Jc þ Td) inExperiment A whereas in Experiment B the increase varied from 31.93%(NH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl) to 69.64% (Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þKCl). Catalase enzyme activity showed minimum increment of 24% due to
Figure 1. Effects of different treatments on microbial biomass carbon of soils of two cropsunder pot experiment. Different letters above the bars indicate a significant difference atp 5 0.05.
Figure 2. Changes in Dehydrogenase activity of experimental soils of two crops under potexperiment. Different letters above the bars indicate a significant difference at p 5 0.05.
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amendments Jc and Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 and maximum increment of 62.74% dueto application of Jc þ Td in soils of J. curcas. Soils of C. martinii had catalaseactivity increased in the range of 22.72% (Jc) to 63.8% (Jc þ Td). Hydrolases of C,N and P were significantly stimulated by all treatment combinations with respect tocontrol. b-glucosidase activity showed highest values due to addition of Jc þ BmTd giving an increase of 71.55% and 79.27% in the soils of Experiments A and B,respectively. Similar amendment combination was effective in increasing ureaseactivity by 53.12% in Experiment A and 45.57% in Experiment B soils as comparedto control. After the experimental period, alkaline phosphatase activity revealed
Figure 3. Changes in catalase activity of experimental soils of two crops under potexperiment. Different letters above the bars indicate a significant difference at p 5 0.05.
Figure 4. Changes in b-glucosidase activity of experimental soils of two crops under potexperiment. Different letters above the bars indicate a significant difference at p 5 0.05.
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greatest lowering of 34.30% due to the application of Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 in soilsof C. martinii while in soils of J. curcas, JcþBmþTd treated soil showed a decline of46.26% in alkaline phosphatase activity in comparison to the control soil (Figure 6).
Effect of fertilizer combinations on plant growth and nutrient uptake (Test 2)
The growth attributes of C. martini and J. curcas showed improvement with theaddition of amendment combinations as is evident from the data. The shoot dry massafter the growth period increased up to 12.23 g plant71 in Experiment A and up to4.18 g plant71 in Experiment B (Table 10). The root dry mass was observed highest inplant in Jc þ Bm fertilizer combinationwith a value of 4.38 g plant71 inExperimentA,while inExperiment B significantly high value of 0.88 g plant71 rootmasswas observedin NH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl treatment combination (Table 10).
Figure 5. Changes in urease activity of experimental soils of two crops under pot experiment.Different letters above the bars indicate a significant difference at p 5 0.05.
Figure 6. Changes in alkaline phosphatase activity of experimental soils of two crops underpot experiment. Different letters above the bars indicate a significant difference at p 5 0.05.
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Table
10.
Changes
inplantgrowth
parametersunder
differentfertilizer
combinationtreatm
ents
inpotexperim
ent.
Jatrophacurcas(Experim
entA)
Cymbopogonmartinii(Experim
entB)
Fertilizer
combinations
Shoot
biomass
(gplant7
1)
Root
biomass
(gplant7
1)
Shoot
length
(inches)
Root
length
(inches)
Shoot
biomass
(gplant7
1)
Root
biomass
(gplant7
1)
Shoot
length
(m)
Root
length
(cm)
Jc9.91c1+
0.28
3.28cde+
0.47
10.50bc+
1.00
4.38a+
0.13
0.86a+
0.05
0.12a+
0.01
0.56a+
0.04
19.10bc+
1.00
Jcþ
Bm
14.87d+
0.99
4.38e+
0.43
19.63e+
2.63
5.16a+
0.09
0.62a+
0.10
0.13a+
0.07
0.45a+
0.01
13.00ab+
6.50
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
7.38b+
2.18
1.64ab+
0.06
9.63ab+
0.63
3.95a+
0.20
2.27bc+
0.03
0.39ab+
0.01
0.99b+
0.09
18.10bc+
0.10
Jcþ
Td
9.71c+
0.82
1.95abc+
0.36
12.0cde+
0.00
4.25a+
0.25
0.82a+
0.18
0.16ab+
0.01
0.64a+
0.12
14.35ab+
4.15
Jcþ
KCl
9.82c+
0.08
2.78bcd
+0.06
11.00bc+
0.00
4.45a+
0.30
3.01c+
0.46
0.29ab+
0.01
1.16b+
0.30
12.50ab+
8.70
Jcþ
Bmþ
Td
14.53d+
1.34
3.47de+
2.25
20.0e+
1.00
6.88b+
2.38
4.00d+
0.77
0.34ab+
0.19
1.06b+
0.05
24.80c+
1.70
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�
(H2O) 2þ
KCl
12.30c+
2.16
3.87de+
0.66
13.75de+
1.25
4.23a+
0.02
4.59d+
1.17
0.55bc+
0.35
1.25b+
0.25
33.40d+
2.20
NH
4HCO
3þ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
þKCl
7.87bc+
0.18
1.55ab+
0.29
8.88ab+
0.88
4.58a+
0.50
1.93b+
0.05
0.88c+
0.51
0.97b+
0.06
19.05bc+
1.55
Control
2.64a+
1.25
0.64a+
0.36
7.63a+
0.63
3.88a+
0.63
0.41a+
0.37
0.08a+
0.02
0.49a+
0.16
8.00a+
2.50
Mean+
SD
followed
bythesameletter
within
acolumnare
notsignificantlydifferentusingDMRT(p
50.05).
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Nutrient uptake was significantly greater in the combinations of organic orinorganic supplements along with jatropha cake than those receiving only mineralfertilizer. Shoot N concentrations were higher due to the Jc þ Bm fertilizercombination application to soil in Experiment A and due to (Jc þ Bm þ Td) inExperiment B. Significantly highest (p 5 0.05) shoot P concentrations wereobserved in combination of Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 in Experiment A and Jc þCaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl in Experiment B as compared to control. Highshoot potassium values were observed with Jc þ Td fertilizer combination inExperiment A while Jc þ KCl revealed highest shoot K concentration in ExperimentB (Table 11). Significantly greatest (p 5 0.05) Ca2þ uptake by shoot was shown dueto treatment Jc þ Bm þ Td in experimental soils of J. curcas while C. martiniishoots had increased Ca2þ concentration due to application of organic combinationof Jc þ Td, which responded equal to the mineral fertilizer application ofNH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl.
Chlorophyll content of the test plants in both the experiments varied significantlyamong all the treatments (Table 12). The Chlorophyll-a content increased in therange of 1.33–5.2 times in Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl and Jc þ Bm þ Tdtreatments, respectively, as compared to control soil, in J. curcas (Experiment A)(Table 12). In C. martinii (Experiment B), Chlorophyll-a increased in the range of0.93–2.53 times in Jc þ Bm and Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl treatments, respec-tively, as compared to control soil. Chlorophyll-b showed an increase of 0.89–3.16times for fertilizer combinations Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl and Jc þ Td,respectively, as compared to control soil in Experiment A; while in Experiment B,it ranged from an increase of 2.2–4 times due to fertilizer combination NH4HCO3 þCaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl and Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl, respectively, as com-pared to control soil.
Carotenoids contents increased from 0.63 times in Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCland 1.9 times in Jc þ Bm as related to control in Experiment A. In Experiment B,carotenoid pigments showed values with an increase of 1.02–2.54 times due tofertilizer combinations Jc þ Bm þ Td and Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl, respec-tively, in comparison to control soil (Table 12).
Amendment combinations like Jc þ Bm þ Td, Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl,Jc þ Bm and Jc þ Td provided the most optimal nutrient and plant growth to testcrops in Experiments A and B.
Discussion
Effects of various fertilizer combinations on soil biological and chemical properties(Test 1)
Chemical properties
Fertilizer combinations treatments had substantial impact on soil parameters. pHand EC increased significantly in amended soils suggesting the increase in soil pHafter addition of organic matter (Walker et al. 2004). The combination of Jc withother inorganic amendments showed lower values in EC of treated soil as comparedto combination treatments where Jc was added alone or along with other organicresidues. This could be attributed due to the high soluble salt concentration of theorganic residues used for the study. The nutritive composition of jatropha cake, bonemeal and tobacco dust suggests that these materials have potential as alternative
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Table
11.
Changes
inplantshootN,P,K,C
andCacontents
under
differentfertilizer
combinationtreatm
ents
inpotexperim
ent.
Jatrophacurcas(Experim
entA)
Cymbopogonmartinii(Experim
entB)
Fertilizercombinations
TN
(mgg71)
TP
(mgg71)
TC
(mgg7
1)
TK
(mgg71)
TCa
(mgg71)
TN
(mgg71)
TP
(mgg71)
TC
(mgg71)
TK
(mgg71)
TCa
(mgg71)
Jc28.78a1+
0.93
4.78b+
0.13
54.05b+
0.76
13.01cd
+0.12
5.26b+
0.03
22.84ab+
0.25
0.64bcd
+0.04
36.50b+
1.42
9.03d+
0.68
6.53c+
1.15
Jcþ
Bm
55.01c+
3.23
12.08d+
1.11
68.03c+
0.05
13.86d+
0.01
9.67f+
0.15
42.10d+
0.88
1.78e+
0.06
52.52e+
0.65
11.59e+
0.90
5.80c+
0.95
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
29.54a+
1.60
14.58e+
1.18
53.72b+
0.91
11.79c+
0.70
7.29c+
0.36
35.46c+
3.57
0.63bcd
+0.00
38.37bc+
0.55
0.85a+
0.04
3.62b+
0.29
Jcþ
Td
43.85b+
1.98
8.63c+
0.49
68.94c+
0.22
20.36f+
1.51
9.01e+
0.22
33.98cd
+1.15
0.69cd
+0.02
42.15cd
+3.91
11.62e+
0.73
7.65d+
0.38
Jcþ
KCl
25.85a+
0.88
5.76b+
0.63
54.62b+
2.33
18.46e+
1.52
5.46b+
0.47
21.03b+
0.96
0.57abc+
0.01
42.36cd
+0.38
13.89f+
0.55
4.06b+
0.23
Jcþ
Bmþ
Td
45.31b+
4.07
7.96c+
0.04
73.88d+
2.61
14.07d+
0.09
22.18g+
0.20
54.15f+
1.05
0.77d+
0.03
72.32f+
1.96
10.71e+
0.72
2.51a+
0.42
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
þKCl
47.04b+
5.68
11.72d+
0.40
79.10e+
0.78
9.83b+
0.11
8.40d+
0.52
49.08e+
1.10
2.29f+
0.29
44.21d+
3.12
9.48d+
1.14
2.44a+
0.34
NH
4HCO
3þ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
þKCl
27.10a+
1.43
5.61b+
1.63
66.95c+
1.13
11.74c+
0.20
8.28d+
0.50
32.61c+
2.49
0.45ab+
0.02
45.87d+
3.03
7.74c+
0.51
7.75d+
0.13
Control
27.07a+
1.85
1.78a+
0.05
35.54a+
1.37
8.04a+
0.05
2.08a+
0.16
12.63a+
2.25
0.40a+
0.07
30.89a+
1.95
6.06b+
0.34
ND
Mean+
SD
followed
bythesameletter
within
acolumnare
notsignificantlydifferentusingDMRT(p
50.05);TN,totalnitrogen;TP,totalphosphorus;TC,totalcarbon;
TK,totalpotassium;TCa,totalcalcium.
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Table
12.
Changes
inChlorophyll(C
hl)andcarotenoid
contents
ofplantleaves
after
differentfertilizer
combinationtreatm
ents
under
potexperim
ent.
Jatrophacurcas(Experim
entA)
Cymbopogonmartinii(Experim
entB)
Fertilizer
combinations
Chla
(mgg7
1)
Chlb
(mgg71)
TotalChl
(mgg7
1)
Carotenoid
(mgg7
1)
Chla
(mgg7
1)
Chlb
(mgg7
1)
TotalChl
(mgg7
1)
Carotenoid
(mgg7
1)
Jc0.38d1+
0.03
0.19b+
0.00
0.59e+
0.01
0.19cd
+0.01
0.51c+
0.11
0.65d+
0.04
1.16d+
0.13
0.32d+
0.05
Jcþ
Bm
0.44e+
0.01
0.41d+
0.01
0.84g+
0.01
0.30f+
0.01
0.28a+
0.18
0.48cd
+0.26
0.77abc+
0.44
0.20abc+
0.08
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�(H
2O) 2
0.35d+
0.03
0.27c+
0.01
0.56d+
0.02
0.25e+
0.04
0.45bc+
0.01
0.40bcd
+0.02
0.85bcd
+0.03
0.41bcd
+0.02
Jcþ
Td
0.46e+
0.01
0.44e+
0.02
0.85g+
0.03
0.26e+
0.02
0.45bc+
0.01
0.54d+
0.12
0.99cd
+0.13
0.27cd
+0.02
Jcþ
KCL
0.43e+
0.00
0.27c+
0.01
0.72f+
0.01
0.20d+
0.01
0.35ab+
0.05
0.27abc+
0.00
0.62abc+
0.04
0.28abc+
0.01
Jcþ
Bmþ
Td
0.47e+
0.00
0.42d+
0.00
0.89h+
0.00
0.28ef+
0.00
0.31ab+
0.01
0.52cd
+0.20
0.41a+
0.04
0.22a+
0.01
Jcþ
CaHPO
4�
(H2O) 2þ
KCl
0.12b+
0.05
0.12a+
0.01
0.18a+
0.01
0.10a+
0.01
0.79d+
0.00
0.96e+
0.24
1.75e+
0.24
0.53e+
0.02
NH
4HCO
3
þCaHPO
4�
(H2O) 2þ
KCl
0.22c+
0.01
0.25c+
0.01
0.44c+
0.01
0.17bc+
0.02
0.29a+
0.04
0.22ab+
0.01
0.51ab+
0.03
0.33ab+
0.02
Control
0.09a+
0.02
0.14a+
0.01
0.24b+
0.00
0.16b+
0.01
0.31ab+
0.08
0.10a+
0.04
0.83bcd
+0.28
0.21bcd
+0.05
Mean+
SD
followed
bythesameletter
within
acolumnare
notsignificantlydifferentusingDMRT(p
50.05);Chla,ChlorophyllA;Chlb,ChlorophyllB;TotalChl,Total
cholorophyll(m
g/g).
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plant nutrient sources (Table 2). Low C/N ratio of bone meal and tobacco dustindicates that these would be effective sources of nutrients through rapidmineralization reactions. At the end of the experimental period, the highest valuesof NH4-N mg g71 and NO3-N mg g71 were observed due to treatment combinationswhere bone meal was a common constituent, in both the experiments. Bone mealapplied to soil undergoes quick and easy mineralization resulting into remarkableincrease in NH4–N and NO3-N levels (Mondini et al. 2008; Table 5). In J. curcas(Experiment A) highest mineralization exceeding up to 16.24% of total nitrogen toammonia by application of Jc followed by 14.96% in the fertilizer combination ofJc þ Td was observed. However, in the case of C. martinii (Experiment B),maximum mineralization of total nitrogen to NH4 occurred in fertilizer combinationof NH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl with 6.28% followed by 6.03% ofJc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl.
Jc þ Td combination resulted into the maximum increase of total potassiumcontent, 20.15 mg g71 into the soil with a mineralization value of 0.36% inExperiment A (Table 6). However, maximum mineralization occurred in combina-tion of Jc þ KCl with 0.92%, which may be because of greater solubilisation ofquick acting potassium salt (Finck 1982). In Experiment B, a similar trend wasobserved, but maximum mineralization took place in Jc treatment with 0.47% ascompared to control with 0.39%. A significant increase in water soluble organiccarbon content of 0.38 mg g71 in combination of Jc þ Bm þ Td as compared tocontrol soil values with 0.09 mg g71 in C. martinii (Experiment B) (Table 7) wasnoted. This can be due to the presence of bone meal in the combination thatpromoted rapid mineralization (Cayuela et al. 2008). J. curcas soil (Experiment A)exhibited a similar trend in available carbon content. However, high humificationratio exhibiting degree of humification of organic residue added, was observed in thecombination of Jc with inorganic supplements such as Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 andJc þ KCl with values of 17.08 and 16.80, respectively, in case of Experiment A(Table 7). This is in agreement with earlier findings where inorganic mineral fertilizerwith organic residues supports higher mineralization. CEC increased with allamendments combinations compared to control as well as with single application ofjatropha oil cake as organic amendment. Results show that organic amendmentswith jatropha cake, bone meal and tobacco dust had significant (p 5 0.05) impacton CEC in both the experiments.
Metal extractability
Organic matter application to soil alters the heavy metal solubility. The sorptionbehaviour of metals varies and is greatly influenced by changes in soil properties suchas pH, soil organic matter content, cation exchange capacity and clay contents(McBride 1989). DTPA-extractable Fe content showed significant variations in theC. martinii and J. curcas experimental soils (Table 8). It was highest withJc þ Bm þ Td amendment probably because of high organic matter content whichforms strong complexes with heavy metals (Krogstad 1983). Results showed that allthe combinations caused a marked increase in Fe extractability larger than singleapplication of Jc in both experiments during the experimental period. In soils ofJ. curcas (Experiment A) and C. martini (Experiment B), combination of Jc withorganic amendments resulted into higher DTPA-extraction of Mn as compared tocombination with inorganic amendments. Extractable Zn was higher among
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treatment combinations where jatropha cake along with bone meal was a commonconstituent. This could be because of the involvement of bone meal in theamendment combinations. Hodson et al. (2001); Sneddon et al. (2006, 2008) havefound positive role of bone meal on influencing the adsorption of Zn by soils. It wasalso found that extractability of Cu was increased in treatment combinations wherejatropha cake was added along with tobacco dust. This indicates a positive role oftobacco dust (Td) on Cu extractability in both the experiments. These results are inagreement with the findings of Karaca (2005) where extractable Cu increasedsignificantly with increasing rate of tobacco dust application to soil. Various findingsreveal that Cu and Zn extractability are affected by pH and organic matter status(Mcgrath et al. 1988; Temminghoff et al. 1998; Karaca 2005) of soil. However, someauthors made comparative studies and revealed that soluble organic matter formsmuch stronger complexes with Cu than Zn (McBride 1978).
Microbial biomass carbon (MBC)
Jc þ Td and Jc þ Bm þ Td amendment combinations were most effective inincreasing the microbial population in both the experimental soils. Fertilizertreatments with higher levels of organic matter increase the values of MBC byharbouring greater soil microbial activity (Sparling 1985). Combination of jatrophacake with inorganic amendments (Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl) showed increasedvalue of microbial biomass carbon in both the experiments. This is becauseintegrated use of organic matter with inorganic amendments results in higheraccumulation of soil MBC as compared to their single application by providingmineral nutrient for microbes for greater microbial biomass carbon (Leita et al.1999). Higher value of MBC in control soil compared to inorganic amendmentcombination (NH4HCO3 þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl) in C. martinii (Experiment B)might have resulted from greater plant root exudates, which stimulated theproliferation of microorganisms. Patra et al. (1995) observed that C. martiniicropping significantly increased soil microbial biomass levels under subtropicalconditions. Combinations of jatropha cake with bone meal has shown increasedMBC levels which supports the process of rapid kinetics of carbon mineralization inbone meal (Cayuela et al. 2008) resulting into greater levels of microbial biomass(Mondini et al. 2008).
Soil enzyme activities
Significant correlations were observed between the enzyme activities and microbialbiomass carbon as these together influences the biological activity of soil. There wasstrong positive correlation between oxidoreductase enzymes and b-glucosidaseactivity, which can promote carbon mineralization (Table 9). Enzymatic activities ofdehydrogenase and catalase are involved in intracellular microbial metabolism andincreased with organic amendments in both the experiments. Dehydrogenase activitywas significantly correlated (p 5 0.01) with microbial biomass carbon in both theexperiments, which is a good indicator of soil microbial activity (Garcia et al. 1994).In Experiment A, dehydrogenase activity was significantly stimulated in fertilizercombinations where only organic residues were used (Figure 2), probably because ofhighest doses of organic matter applied to soil (Tejada et al. 2008) also incorporationof organic amendments to soil stimulate dehydrogenase activity (Rao and Pathak
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1996). In Experiment B, combination of jatropha oil cake with inorganicamendments Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl showed highest dehydrogenase activityfollowed by its activity in fertilizer combination of Jc þ Td with significantdifference (Figure 2). However, dehydrogenase activity values of the soil receivingmineral fertilization in both the experiments revealed little difference from that of thecontrol. Catalase is associated with aerobic microbial activity (Rodriguez-Kabanaand Truelove 1982) and showed significant positive correlations with b-glucosidaseactivity (p 5 0.05), microbial biomass carbon values (p 5 0.01) and dehydrogenaseactivities (p 5 0.01) in both the experiments (Table 9). In J. curcas and C. martiniiexperiments catalase activity was highest in treatments where pure organiccombination of Jc þ Td were utilized (Figure 3). Organic residues have beneficialeffect on the activity of catalase as their application to soil increases soil porosity,which in turn enhances soil aeration (Giusquiani et al. 1995). In the present study, b-glucosidase also showed positive correlations with urease activity (p 5 0.01) andmicrobial biomass carbon values (p 5 0.01; Table 9). According to Tejada et al.(2008), the activity of hydrolases of C and N and microbial biomass carbon are allpositively influenced by the addition of organic matter to soil through application oforganic amendments. b-glucosidase activities were significantly high in fertilizercombination of Jc þ Bm þ Td in both the experiments probably because readilyavailable carbon increased due to fresh organic matter addition and consequentmineralization of high organic matter provided substrates for b-glucosidase activities(Garcia et al. 1998). Urease favours the formation of complexes with free enzymesadded along with organic matter so that activity of soil enzymes is increased(Marcote et al. 2001). This might be the reason why significantly highest ureaseactivities were found in soil with organic Jc þ Bm þ Td fertilizer treatment(Figure 5). In the present study, urease showed non-significant negative correlation(p 5 0.01) with alkaline phosphatase in Experiment A and positive correlation withmicrobial biomass carbon (p 5 0.01) in both the experiments (Table 9). Alkalinephosphatise, which plays an important role in mineralization of soil organicphosphorus, exhibited a trend in both the experiments. Alkaline phosphataseactivities were inhibited in soils where organic amendment combinations were usedin comparison to inorganic nutrient amendments (Figure 6). This is in confirmationwith the findings of Garcia-Gill et al. (2000). Poor availability of Olsen-P might haveresulted into the active production of phosphatase enzyme for phosphorusmineralization in the experimental soils (Nannipieri et al. 1978; Harrison 1983;Tadano et al. 1993; Chabot et al. 1996). Also, it has been established thatphosphatase is inhibited by concentration of Cu and Zn and by inorganicphosphorus, which produces a feedback inhibition of this enzyme (Tyler 1974;Nannipieri et al. 1979). In the study, fertilizer combinations caused similar pooractivation of alkaline phosphatase.
Effect of fertilizer combinations on plant growth and nutrient uptake (Test 2)
The control plants showed comparatively poor growth that may be caused bydeficiency of nutrients. The dry root mass in both the experiments was increased dueto pure organic combination application to soil in Experiment A and pure inorganiccombination application to soil in Experiment B. This implies that root mass isdirectly proportional to amount of nutrients added either in chemical or inorganicform. Total plant biomass increased 5.9 times to control in J. curcas crop in
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Experiment A with Jc þ Bm combination treatment. In Experiment B, total plantbiomass of C. martinii was 10.5 times higher to control with Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2KCl fertilizer combination followed by 8.9 times with Jc þ Bm þ Td. Jatrophacurcas plant showed the highest increase of shoot and root length in amendmentmixture of Jc þ Bm þ Td probably due to organic matter addition. Cymbopogonmartinii exhibited greatest increase in plant morphological growth parameters due toJc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl fertilizer combination application to soil. However,shoot length in Experiment B test crops showed little significant variation (Table 10).Incorporation of jatropha cake alone and in combination with other nutrient sourceshad significant effect on shoot N, P, K, C and Ca concentrations in J. curcas andC. martinii experimental crops (Table 11). All enzymatic activities (except alkalinephosphatase ) and soil microbial biomass carbon values were significantly positivelycorrelated with shoot N, P, K, C, and Ca concentrations and shoot dry weight inboth the experiments barring Experiment B, where shoot Ca concentration wasnegatively correlated with urease and b-glucosidase activities (Table 13).
Soil enzymatic and microbial activity promotes nutrient bioavailability uponaddition of different organic fertilizer combinations to the soil (Liang et al. 2005).Soil enzymes play an important role in the mineralization of organic substances andmaking nutrient ions available. Due to the reactions of urease and phosphatase NH4
þ
and H2PO47 are made available to plants from organic substances in the soil
(Reddy et al. 1987). In other words, soil fertility and nutrient availability in theexperimental soils were greatly influenced by organic matter added in the form oforganic fertilizer combinations. Chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b contents in both theexperimental crops was increased due to application of amendment combinationof Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl (Table 13). Improved plant chlorophyll and
Table 13. Pearson correlation coefficients between soil enzymatic and microbial activity withshoot N, P, and K, C, Ca and biomass contents in Jatropha curcas and Cymbopogon martiniicrops under pot experiment.
Microbialbiomasscarbon
Alkalinephosphatase Urease
b-Glucosidase Catalase Dehydrogenase
Jatropha curcas (Experiment A)Shoot N 0.748* 70.66* 0.521 0.724* 0.629 0.660Shoot P 0.596 70.477 0.293 0.470 0.324 0.346Shoot C 0.689* 70.672 0.652 0.860** 0.643 0.561Shoot K 0.634 0.041 0.110 0.324 0.679* 0.608Shoot Ca 0.570 70.658 0.782* 0.825** 0.530 0.687*Shootdry wt
0.689* 70.473 0.587 0.847* 0.544 0.540
Cymbopogon martinii (Experiment B)Shoot N 0.654 70.435 0.427 0.839** 0.551 0.724*Shoot P 0.390 0.048 0.185 0.458 0.398 0.612Shoot C 0.488 70.193 0.531 0.725* 0.403 0.444Shoot K 0.359 0.527 0.238 0.255 0.545 0.346Shoot Ca 0.147 70.202 70.427 70.040 0.123 0.172Shootdry wt
0.298 70.061 0.687* 0.545 0.434 0.456
**Correlation significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); *Correlation significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
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carotenoid contents could promote better photosynthesis efficiency (Abdelhamidet al. 2004). This helps in establishing the fact that present fertilizer combinationsincreased chlorophyll and carotenoid contents and could enhance the photosyntheticactivities in both the plants.
Conclusion
Optimization of jatropha oil cake with other residues according to the NPKrequirement of crops gave better results than single application of jatropha oil cake.Optimum fertilizer combinations of jatropha oil cake with inorganic and otherorganic amendments were developed. The application of jatropha oil cake (Jc) withbone meal (Bm), tobacco dust (Td), dicalcium phosphate (CaHPO4 � (H2O)2) andpotassium chloride (KCl) to the soil produced improvement in the soil fertility aswell as in the biomass production of C. martinii and J. curcas. All the appliedcombination treatments increased soil enzymatic activities including soil microbialbiomass and soil macronutrients for plant growth. The present study demonstratesthat such tailored combinations can be used effectively as alternative to chemicalfertilizer and can improve nutrient imbalance in a particular organic residueaccording to the crop need. In present study, Jc þ CaHPO4 � (H2O)2 þ KCl,Jc þ Bm þ Td, Jc þ Bm and Jc þ Td fertilizer combinations were effective inincreasing nutrient uptake, increasing soil biochemical activities and plant biomass.Fertilizer combination treatment of jatropha cake (Jc), bone meal (Bm) and tobaccoDust (Td) gave most favourable results in terms of nutrient release to soil, effect onsoil microbial biomass and soil enzymatic activities and plant nutrient uptake. Theamendment combination consistently provided positive effect on all soil fertility andplant growth parameters.
Acknowledgements
Financial assistance from the Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi, Government of Indiais gratefully acknowledged. Authors are also grateful to Dr R. Tuli, Director, NationalBotanical Research Institute, Lucknow, for providing institutional support.
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