Effect of rice based six multiple cropping sequences under two cycles of crop rotations on yield and fertility status of soil

A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of various crop rotations, of high yielding varieties of cereals, pulses, fodders, tubers and oilseeds, on the performance of the crops and the fertility status of the soil over two crop-rotation cycles. The yields of rice (Oryza saliva L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and onion (Allium cepa) crops were found to be decreasing. The yields of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and mustard (Brassica juncea coss), were not affected, while the yield of moong (Phaseolus aureus Roxb.) showed a tendency to increase. Rotations which included berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum) increased the organic carbon content of the soil and there was a slight lowering of the pH with the highest application of phosphatic fertilizer. The accumulation of available potassium was greater in the treatments where the highest amount of fertilizer was applied. The available nitrogen content of the soil increased with application of nitrogen and the balance sheet of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium showed a positive trend. The continuous cropping of high yielding varieties showed a reduction in the available zinc and iron status of the soil, whereas available manganese and copper increased. The available micronutrients, except manganese, did not correlate significantly with soil pH.