DECOMPOSITION OF PADDY STRAW IN SOIL AND THE EFFECT OF STRAW INCORPORATION IN THE FIELD ON THE YIELD OF WHEAT

In a laboratory experiment, incorporation of paddy straw in soil immobilized native as well as added fertilizer N and about half of the immobilized N was mineralized after 90 days of straw incorporation. Straw and N application alone or in combination increased biomass carbon, phosphatase and respiratory activities of the soil. Microbial biomass carbon and phosphatase activity were maximum at 30 days of straw decomposition. In field trials, incorporation of paddy straw 3 weeks before sowing of wheat significantly increased the wheat yield at Sonepat district in a clay loam soil while no such beneficial effect was observed in a sandy loam soil at Hisar.