Understanding Soil Carbon and Phosphorus Dynamics under Grass-Legume Intercropping in a Semi-Arid Region

Singh, A K and Singh, J B and Singh, R and Kantwa, S R and Jha, P K and Ahamad, S and Singh, A and Ghosh, A and Prasad, M and Singh, S and Singh, S and Prasad, P V V (2023) Understanding Soil Carbon and Phosphorus Dynamics under Grass-Legume Intercropping in a Semi-Arid Region. Agronomy (TSI), 13 (7). 01-14. ISSN 2073-4395

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Abstract

An integrated forage-legume cropping system has immense potential to address the issue of land degradability. It provides a critical understanding of the capacity of diversified species mixes vs. monocultures to boost forage production and the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) and phosphorus (P). In this study, we assessed the performance of Napier Bajra Hybrid (NBH) (Pennisetum glaucum × P. purpureum) + cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and tri-specific hybrid (TSH) (P. glaucum × P. purpureum × P. squamulatum) + cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) as compared to monocultures of NBH and TSH. The legume equivalent yield of NBH + cowpea and TSH + cluster bean intercropping systems were found −31% and −23% higher than monoculture systems. The SOC increased by −5% in the NBH + cowpea system as compared to NBH monoculture. The carbon mineralization rates under NBH + cowpea and TSH + cluster bean were −32% and −38% lower than the NBH and TSH monoculture cropping systems, respectively. It was found that the legume intensification with the forage significantly improved the soil’s P status. The research suggested that coalescing diverse crops (e.g., grass and legume) poses enormous potential for sustaining soil health and productivity in semi-arid regions of India. This study advances the research on characterizing the crucial factors of grass-legume-based cropping systems and helps in assessing the impact of these factors on long-term sustainability.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Global Research Program - Resilient Farm and Food Systems
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	legume intensification, soil organic carbon pool, soil phosphorus fractions, forage yield
Subjects:	Others > Intercropping Others > Semi-Arid Tropics Others > Cropping and Farming Systems Others > Soil Science
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2023 04:16
Last Modified:	04 Oct 2023 04:16
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12208
Official URL:	https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/7/1692
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	All the authors acknowledge ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi 284003, Uttar Pradesh, India for their support to conduct this study.
Links:	Google Scholar

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