Effect of Soil and Foliar Nutrient Application on Post-Harvest Soil Nutrient Status and Economic Performance of Soybean under Vertisols

Abstract

Soybean production under Vertisol conditions requires nutrient-management practices that support both residual soil fertility and economic performance. A field experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2022 at the Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Ummedganj, Kota, Rajasthan, to evaluate soil and foliar nutrient application effects on post-harvest soil nutrient status and soybean economics. The experiment was arranged in a randomised block design with three replications and ten treatments. Treatments combined the recommended dose of fertilisers (RDF) with foliar applications of urea, DAP, NPK (18:18:18), Fe and Zn at 35 and 60 days after sowing. The combined application of RDF + 2% NPK (18:18:18) + 0.5% Fe + 0.5% Zn produced the highest post-harvest available nitrogen (283.79 kg ha⁻¹), phosphorus (29.70 kg ha⁻¹), potassium (419.55 kg ha⁻¹), iron (4.43 ppm) and zinc (0.65 ppm). Soil pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, available sulphur, manganese and copper were not significantly affected by the nutrient treatments. The same combined treatment recorded the highest net return (₹56,221 ha⁻¹) and benefit-cost ratio (2.01), while the control recorded ₹26,994 ha⁻¹ and a benefit-cost ratio of 1.24. These findings indicate that combined soil and foliar nutrient application can improve post-harvest nutrient availability and economic performance of soybean under the Vertisol conditions evaluated.