Article

A field experiment was carried out at the Agricultural Research Farm of R.B.S. College, Bichpuri, Agra, during the kharif seasons of 2021 and 2022 to evaluate the influence of organic and inorganic nutrient sources on soil properties. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with eleven treatments: (T1) 5 t FYM ha⁻¹, (T2) 2.5 t vermicompost (VC) ha⁻¹, (T3) 50% RDF ha⁻¹, (T4) 50% RDF + 5 t FYM ha⁻¹, (T5) 50% RDF + 2.5 t FYM ha⁻¹, (T6) 50% RDF + 2.5 t FYM + 1.25 t VC ha⁻¹, (T7) 75% RDF ha⁻¹, (T8) 75% RDF + 5 t FYM ha⁻¹, (T9) 75% RDF + 2.5 t FYM ha⁻¹, (T10) 75% RDF + 2.5 t FYM + 1.25 t VC ha⁻¹, and (T11) 100% RDF, with three replications. Results indicated that treatment T10 (75% RDF + 2.5 t FYM + 1.25 t VC ha⁻¹) was significantly superior to all other treatments. Application of T10 resulted in markedly higher soil organic carbon and available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compared to the sole FYM treatment (T1). The improvement in soil properties under T10 over T1 was recorded as 17.2% for soil organic carbon, 18.7% for available nitrogen, 71% for available phosphorus, and 12.75% for available potassium. These findings highlight the effectiveness of integrating organic and inorganic nutrient sources for enhancing soil fertility.