Changes in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in a long-term continuous maize-wheat cropping system in India

Abstract

In a long-term maize-wheat rotation at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India (subtropical climate), the effects of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) addition on soil fertility and forms of inorganic P and K in the plow layer of an alkaline sandy loam soil were measured after 11 and 22 years of cropping. The treatments comprised four rates of N (0, 60, 120, and 180 kg N ha-1) as urea, three rates of P (0, 17.5, and 35 kg P ha-1) as single superphosphate, and two rates of K (0 and 33 kg K ha-1) as muriate of potash. The treatments selected for the present study were N0P0K0, N120P0K0, N120P17.5K0, N120P35K0, N120P17.5K33, and N120P35K33. A significant year × treatment interaction in decreasing available N [alkaline potassium permanganate (KMnO4)-oxidizable N) status of soils was found in all the treatments. Available P (Olsen P) in the control plot decreased over time whereas in plots with added P, available P increased significantly after years 11 and 22, with the greatest increase in the N120P17.5Ko treatment. Compared to the initial values, continuous P fertilization resulted in greater total P and chloride P concentrations after 11 and 22 years. Although sodium hydroxide (NaOH) P and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) P increased in P-treated plots from the start of the trial to year 11, they decreased from year 11 to year 22. Among these inorganic P forms, chloride P was significantly positively correlated with P uptake (r = 0.811*). When only N and P were applied, available K [ammonium acetate (NH4OAc)-extractable K] significantly decreased over time. In plots without K addition, water-soluble and exchangeable K decreased from their initial status. Compared to year 11, water-soluble K increased, whereas exchangeable K decreased after year 22 in plots receiving no K fertilizer. Compared with NPK treatments, a significant decrease of total K in NP treatment plots suggests the release and uptake of nonexchangeable K. Water-soluble K and exchangeable K were not correlated with K uptake. These results suggest that long-term application of P fertilizers resulted in the accumulation of P in the soil, which could have resulted in saturation of P binding sites. Of the soil inorganic P fractions, only chloride P appears to be a good indicator of plant-available P. The gradual loss in native soil K and release of nonexchangeable K indicates the need for adding K fertilizer to maintain soil fertility. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.