Effect of Zero Tillage, Bio Priming and Foliar Nutrition on Physico-chemical Properties of Soil and Uptake of Nutrients by Lentil (Lens culinaris L.) in Semi-arid Bundelkhand

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi seasons of 2024-25 and 2025-26 at the Agricultural Research Farm, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda. The experimental soil was sandy clay loam in texture, slightly alkaline (pH 7.6), low in organic carbon and deficient in available nitrogen and phosphorus, and medium in potassium. The experiment was laid out in a strip-strip plot design with three replications and 20 treatments comprising two tillage practices (zero tillage and conventional tillage), two seed bio-priming methods (no seed bio-priming and seed bio-priming), and five foliar nutrition practices (no spray, 2% urea spray, 2% DAP spray, 1% KCL spray and 0.5% NPK spray at pre-flowering). Results indicated that soil bulk density, particle density, porosity, organic carbon, and available soil nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were not significantly influenced by the treatments; however, numerically higher values were consistently observed under zero tillage, seed bio-priming and 0.5% NPK spray at pre-flowering. Total uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by plants was significantly enhanced under zero tillage, seed bio-priming and 0.5% foliar spray of NPK at the pre-flowering stage. The uptake was at par with 2% foliar spray of urea at the pre-flowering stage. The study demonstrates that the combined use of zero tillage, seed bio-priming and foliar nutrition improves nutrient uptake while maintaining soil physico-chemical properties under lentil cultivation in the Bundelkhand region.