Soil Management for Vegetable Crop

Soil management plays an important role in vegetable production as it not only acts as an anchor for plants and provides them with nutrients and water, but also acts as a haven for numerous pests. Soil management comprises of tillage operations, cropping practices, lime, fertilizer and other treatments applied to the soil for the production of a crop. A large amount of pests of vegetables either live in the soil, spent part of their life cycle in the soil or remain dormant in the soil waiting for a suitable host plant for its rejuvenation. Hence, a number of soil management factors will interrupt on pest management for the production of vegetables. Some of these factors are as under:- Tillage: Tillage involves using of plough that cuts into the ground and turns over the soil which removes or kills any weeds growing in the area, loosens and breaks up the surface layers of the soil and provides a bed of soil that holds sufficient moisture to permit the planted seeds to germinate. The tilled soil should be left to weather for at least two weeks as it allows release of nutrient from the exposed soil minerals. Mulching: Mulch is using of dried grass, paper, plastic or crop residue which is placed over the surface of the soil. Mulching add nutrient to the soil by the decomposition of mulching materials used, controls weeds and thus reduces evaporation. Drainage: Good drainage is important especially for early vegetables because wet soil retards development. Soil drainage accomplished by means of ditches or tiles is more desirable than the drainage obtained by planting crops on ridges because the former not only removes the excess water but also allows air to enter the soil. Crop rotation: Crop rotation is important from the perspective point of pest management and benefit soil health. Crop rotation is a systematic arrangement of growing of different crops in a more or less regular sequence on the same land and as a result, crop rotation encourages biodiversity and reduces the build-up of pathogens and pest. Cover crop: Cover crops are raised for both soil protection and improvement and are only grown during seasons when vegetable crops do not occupy the land. When a soil improving crop is turned under, the various nutrients that have contributed to the growth of the crop are turned to the soil, adding a quantity of organic matter. Green manuring crops are grown and buried in the same field, which is to be green manured, either as a pure crop or as an intercrop with the main crop.Eg. sun hemp, dhaincha, cluster bean etc. It refers to the collection of leaves and tender twigs from shrubs and trees grown on bunds, wasteland and nearby forest areas. This is a very ideal practice for hilly areas. The common shrubs and trees used for green leaf manuring are Ipomea, karanj (P Green manure crops: Green manuring crops are grown especially for soil improvement and it involves green manuring in situ where crops are grown and buried in the same field, which is to be green manured, either as a pure crop or as an intercrop with the main crop and green leaf manuring, which refers to collection of leaves and tender twigs from shrubs and trees grown on bunds, wasteland and nearby forest areas. E.g:- Sun hemp (Crotalaria juncea), dhaincha (Sesbania aculeate, Sesbania rostrata), moong (Vigna radiata), Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), Berseem (Trifolium alexandrium), Azolla (Azolla pinnata) etc Maize (Zea mays), sunflower (Helianthus annus), Jowar (Sorghum vulgare), bhang (Cannabis sativa) etc. Soil acidity management: As the soil of Nagaland is acidic in nature, so liming should be done in order to reduce the soil acidity. Crops growing on soils with high acidity tend to have poor root systems, poor growth and low yields, so when lime is applied, it improves root growth and nutrient availability. Organic matter: Organic matter is an important in maintaining good physical conditions in the soil as it contains the entire soil reserve of nitrogen and significant amounts of other nutrients such as phosphorus and sulphur. Soil productivity thus is affected markedly by the organic matter balance maintained in the soil as most of the cultivated vegetation is harvested instead of being left to decay, organic materials that would ordinarily enter the soil upon plant decomposition are lost. In order to compensate the loss of nutrients, various standardized methods are employed i.e, manuring of soil with animal wastes etc. Hence, soil managemental factors discussed above should be properly carried out in order to have a well established vegetable garden as management of soil plays a very vital role in increasing the production as well as maintaining the fertility status of soil.

T Esther Longkumer ACTO-Soil Science KVK Phek, ICAR-NRC on Mithun