Humic substrates facilitated nitrogen uptake in tea bushes by influencing biochemical and microbiological properties in soil of Northeast India

Abstract

Several groups of microorganisms are involved in converting applied urea into plant-available nitrate nitrogen (N) in soil. The objective of this study was to evaluate efficacy of humic substrates (HS) for maximizing crop yield by enhancing N availability in soil. In this experiment, HS was applied in soil of tea garden in such a way that active substrate was applied at 0, 400, 800, 1,200, 1,600, and 2,000 g ha⁻¹ in six treatments. Chemical fertilizers were applied in all the treatments (including control) following the recommended doses. This study indicated that applied HS enhanced tea shoot yield and N uptake by tea bushes. Improved biochemical and microbiological properties increased N availability in HS-treated soil and that in turn facilitated N uptake by tea bushes. It was determined that HS substrate application at 1.2 kg ha⁻¹ could enhance the yield of tea shoots up to 18% higher than control treatment.

Keywords:

• crop yield
• humic substrates
• N availability
• N uptake
• tea-growing soil

Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to the Director, TTRI, TRA, Jorhat for providing necessary facilities for conducting the experiment.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.