Dairy manure and nitrogen effect on soil properties and yield of wheat

Author got B.Sc. (Hons.) & M.Sc. (Hons) in Soil Science from Uni. of Agri., Faisalabad. He acquired MS leading to PhD Scholarship by HEC. Now, he is PhD scholar at Hazara Uni. Dr. M. Iqbal, Asstt. Professor Inst. Soil & Environ. Sci., Uni. of Agri., Faisalabad & Dr. Ayub Khan, Asstt Professor, Deptt. of Agric. Sci., Hazara University.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the staple food, occupies prime position in forming agricultural policies of Pakistan. Currently ha-1 yield is far below the actual potential of the existing varieties. Yield is the multiplicative end product of numerous factors including genotypes, management practices and fertility status of the soil. Soil organic matter is very important in terms of cycling plant nutrients and improving soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Pakistani soils contain less than 1 % Soil Organic Carbon contents on the average because of meager return of organic residues to the soil and climatic conditions which are conducive to rapid mineralization. Optimum levels of soil organic matter can be managed through fertility maintenance including use of inorganic fertilizers, organic manures and tillage methods. The book in hand provides first hand information to the agriculture students, researchers and planners. It should be in every agricultural library around the country.