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Soil structural improvements with the addition of Lantana camara biomass in rice‐wheat cropping
Author(s) -
Sharma P.K.,
Verma T.S.,
Bhagat R.M.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
soil use and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.709
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1475-2743
pISSN - 0266-0032
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-2743.1995.tb00956.x
Subject(s) - lantana , lantana camara , loam , plough , puddling , agronomy , biomass (ecology) , weed , environmental science , soil water , materials science , soil science , horticulture , biology
. A long‐term field experiment was initiated in June 1988 in a silty clay loam soil to investigate the potential of Lantana camara , an obnoxious weed, for improving structural properties and productivity of soil in rice‐wheat cropping. Lantana was incorporated into the soil 10–15 days before puddling at 10, 20 and 30 t/ha (fresh weight). At the end of the sixth cropping season, Lantana additions increased the organic carbon (OC) of the 0–15 cm soil layer by 11–24%, and of water‐stable aggregates (WSA, 0.50–8.0 mm diameter) by 10–21%; OC of WSA <0.50 mm diameter remained unaffected. About 17–25% of the applied OC was retained in the soil. The OC increase resulted in a decrease in bulk density of the plough layer (0–15 cm) by 7%, a decrease in aggregates of 2–8 mm diameter and of clods by 4% and 6%, respectively. There was an increase in water‐stable aggregates and aggregate porosity, and a decrease in clod‐breaking strength from 420 to 216 kPa. Soil cracking at the surface changed from wide, deep cracks in hexagonal pattern to a close‐spaced network of fine cracks. Lantana additions increased <5mm wide cracks at the expense of 10–20 mm wide cracks; 5–10 mm wide cracks remained unchanged. Total volume of cracks decreased by 36% and surface area of cracks by 55% compared with the control plots.