Effect of farm yard manure and CaCO3 on the dry matter yield and nutrient uptake by oats (Avena sativa)

A pot culture experiment was conducted in loamy sand soil to study the effect of different levels of FYM and CaCO₃ on the dry matter yield and nutrients uptake by oats. Application of different levels of CaCO₃ (0, 2, 4 and 8%) and FYM (0, 0.5, 1,2%) resulted in significant increase in dry matter yield of oats. But, a little decrease in dry matter yield was obtained at 4% FYM. The interaction of FYM×CaCO₃ was also significant on dry matter yield of oats. There was a significant decrease in the concentration and uptake of P with increased levels of applied CaCO₃. But, application of FYM resulted in a significant increase in concentration and uptake of P. A significant increase in concentration and uptake of Ca was observed with the increasing levels of CaCO₃. The concentration of Ca decreased with the increased application of FYM in the presence as well as in the absence of added CaCO₃. However, at 0.5 and 1.0 percent FYM with 4 per cent CaCO₃ a little increase in Ca concentration was recorded. The Mg concentration in oat decreased significantly with the increasing levels of CaCO₃ and FYM. The effect of CaCO₃ levels was more pronounced in the absence as well as in the presence of FYM. The Mg uptake followed a different pattern. At 0 and 2% CaCO₃ and application of FYM @ 1 per cent the Mg uptake increased but then it decreased with increasing levels of FYM and CaCO₃ both alone as well as in the presence of each other. The concentration and uptake of Mn decreased with increasing levels of applied CaCO₃. However, in the absence of CaCO₃, the application of FYM increased the concentration and uptake of M_n in oats. In the presence of CaCO₃, Mn concentration decreased at all levels of FYM application but at 8 per cent CaCO₃ there was a slight increase in Mn concentration with 0.5, 2 and 4 percent FYM. Iron concentration and uptake was also affected adversely by increasing levels of CaCO₃ but FYM application removed the harmful effect of CaCO₃ to some extent.