Effect of farm yard manure and distillery byproducts on soil enzymatic activity of Rabi sorghum crop under Vertisols

The field experiment was laid out to know the “Effect of FYM and distillery byproducts on soil enzyme activity, with a rabi sorghum crop under vertisols, the experiment was carried out at Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Vijayapura, during rabi seasons of 2020-21. The experiment comprising 11 treatments was laid out in recommended complete block design with three replications. The treatments were consisted of T1: FYM @ 3t ha-1; T2: Pressmud @ 3 t ha-1; T3: Spentwash @ 5ml kg-1 of soil (1:10 dilution spentwash: water); T4: 3 t ha-1 (Spentwash + FYM (1:3 mixing and curing for 25 days)); T5: 3 t ha-1 (Spentwash + Pressmud (1:3 mixing and curing for 25 days)); T6: T1 + 100% RDF; T7: T2 + 100% RDF; T8: T3 + 100% RDF; T9: T4 + 100% RDF; T10: T5 + 100% RDF and T11: Absolute control. The treatment receiving spentwash at 5 ml kg-1 of soil (1:10 spentwash and water dilution) applied in conjunction with recommended dose of fertilizers shows highest enzymatic activities (urease, dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase) over all other treatments and similar trends were followed at 24, 48, 72 DAS and after harvest and followed by when combined application of spentwash with FYM and same with pressmud (both the combinations were cured and mixed at 1:3 ratios for 25 days) as compared to applied FYM or pressmud alone. Hence, the application spentwash at 5 ml kg-1 of soil (1:10 spentwash and water dilution) applied in conjunction with recommended dose of fertilizers and combined application of spentwash with FYM and same with pressmud (both the combinations were cured and mixed at 1:3 ratio for 25 days) are the best options for dryland agricultural production for enhancing the soil as well as crop productivity.