Soil nutrients and enzyme activities based on millet continuous cropping obstacles
27 July 2024, Scientific Reports vol.14, 17329
● Abstracts for Elementary School Students
The study looked at how growing millet in the same soil for different years affects the soil and the millet. They tested four ways: growing millet for 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, and rotating millet with other crops. They found that the longer millet was grown in the same soil, the less millet grew. The soil also lost important nutrients and became less healthy. To keep the soil healthy and grow more millet, it’s better to rotate millet with other crops and use some fertilizers.
● Abstracts for Junior High School Students
This study looked at how growing millet continuously (without changing crops) affects the soil and the plants. They tested four different methods:
Growing millet for 2 years in a row (T1)
Growing millet for 3 years in a row (T2)
Growing millet for 4 years in a row (T3)
Rotating millet with other crops (CK)
They found that the longer millet was grown continuously, the lower the yield (amount of millet produced). For example, compared to rotating crops (CK), the yields for T1, T2, and T3 were reduced by 8.92%, 13.73%, and 37.60%, respectively.Additionally, continuous cropping reduced the soil’s nitrogen and phosphorus levels, but didn’t change the potassium levels much. The soil’s pH (acidity) increased. The activities of certain soil enzymes (urease, alkaline phosphatase, sucrase, and catalase) also decreased over time.To keep the soil healthy and increase millet yield, it’s important to rotate millet with legume crops (like kidney beans) and use fertilizers.
Soil nutrients and enzyme activities based on millet continuous cropping obstacles doi:10.1038/s41598-024-68278-x
