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The present study was conducted with the objectives of evaluating the effect of drip irrigation and fertigation levels on soil water retention, water use efficiency, and productivity of broccoli. The treatments comprised of (a) two-drip irrigation levels, namely, I0.4 – Drip at 40% Cumulative pan evaporation (CPE) and I0.8 – Drip at 80% CPE (b) Four fertigation levels, namely, F50 – 50% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), F100 – 100% RDF, F150 – 150% RDF and F200 – 200% RDF (c) Farmer's practice – FYM @ 1 kg m−2 + 10 g m−2 IFFCO + 2 g L−1 of 19:19:19 at 15-day intervals and drip irrigation @ 2 L m−2 daily (d) Recommended Practice (RP)- 100% RDF + drip at 100% CPE replicated thrice. Results indicated that the soil moisture increased with increase in drip irrigation level from I0.4 to I0.8 with very less depletion rate per day resulting in the soil moisture content near the field capacity in all drip irrigated treatments. Among the drip fertigation treatments, higher fertigation doses (200% RDF and 150% RDF in combination with 40 and 80% CPE) produced more yield but also resulted in high cost of cultivation, which leads to low benefit cost ratio. However, fertigation treatment I0.8F50 resulted in high benefit cost ratio with higher water use efficiency and fertilizer expense efficiency, which further saved water and fertilizers to the tune of 20 and 50% as compared to recommended practice to maintain same yield levels in broccoli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), inorganic phosphorus (P), and irrigation regimes was studied in an okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)–pea (Pisum sativum) cropping system in an acidic Alfisol. Experimentation was carried out at Palampur, India, in a randomized bock design (RBD), replicated three times with fourteen treatments comprising AM fungi (Glomus mosseae), inorganic phosphorus (50, 75, and 100% soil-test-based recommended P dose), irrigation regimes (at 40 and 80% available water capacity), generalized recommended NPK and irrigations (GRD), and farmers’ practice. Effects of AM fungi on plant height, leaf area index (LAI), and dry-matter accumulation (DMA) were nominal at early crop growth stage, i.e., 50 DAS (days after sowing). However, at 100 DAS, AMF imbedded treatments led to higher plant height (4%), LAI (3%), and DMA (6%) in okra, whereas in pea the magnitude of increase in these parameters following AMF inoculation was 6, 5, and 8%, respectively, over non-AMF counterparts. AMF + 75% soil-test-based P dose at either of these irrigation regimes gave statistically similar yields in both okra and pea as that obtained under 100% soil-test-based P dose at either of two irrigation regimes, thus indicating an economy of about 25% in soil-test-based P dose. Regarding nutrient harvest index in okra and pea, statistically similar values were registered with most nutrients under both AMF inoculated and non-AMF counterparts. In the case of okra, P harvest index was registered less by 3% with AMF inoculation; however, its magnitude increased by 3% in pea following AMF inoculation compared to non-AMF counterparts at similar levels of P and irrigation. At completion of two cycles of okra-pea system, AMF imbedded treatments did not alter available soil nutrient status significantly in comparison to non-AMF counterparts. Overall, current study suggests that practice of AMF inoculation has great potential in enhancing growth parameters for better productivity, fertilizer-P economy, and nutrient harvest efficiency in okra-pea production system in Himalayan acidic Alfisol. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]