Effect of Tropical Legumes on Soil Nutrient Dynamics and its Consequence on Rice Production

Background and Scope: In Tungabhadra command area of Karnataka, India, soil productivity and yield of crops is declining year after year due to continues flood irrigation for rice and farmers are practicing only mono-cropping (rice-rice) so that possibility of accumulation of salts in the soil leads to salinity and reduction in the soil productivity. To overcome these problems, we hypothesized that growing tropical legumes in paddy fallow during summer and incorporation of these tropical legumes in to soil to improve the soil productivity therefore improving the soil nutrient dynamics and conserve soil organic carbon content that would result in higher grain yield of rice.

Conclusion: Overall, the soil nutrient status was improved and increased the yield of succeeding crop rice when incorporating the tropical legumes in to soil. Our results suggested that, growing leguminous plants during summer in paddy fallow and incorporated after two months, this improved the soil nutrient status and offcourse, increases the yield of succeeding crop of rice.