Journal of Scientific Research and Reports

The sustainable livelihood of the indigenous populations residing in the Eastern Himalayas can be maintained through traditional management practices utilizing locally available organic resources. However, knowledge gaps exist regarding nutrient management, particularly phosphorus (P), in acidic hill soils. Additionally, data on the P mineralization (P_min) rates of various organic sources used in the area are lacking. To address this gap, an incubation study with the aim to determine the kinetics and rate of P mineralization of different local organic sources of North East region of India was conducted with various treatments, including Farm Yard Manure (FYM) (T₁), poultry manure (T₂), pig manure (T₃), and vermi-compost (T₄), applied at a rate of 120 kg N/ha equivalent in a Completely Randomized Design replicated four times. Observations were made at 10-days interval over a period of 100 Days Of Incubation (DOI). Results indicated that the highest P_min rate was observed in T₂ (6.66%) > T₃ (6.54%) > T₄ (6.37%) > T₁ (5.74%) compared to the control (T₀). P_min rates positively correlated with soil attributes such as pH (0.86*), EC ( 0.75*), CEC (0.95*) and negatively with SOC ( -0.99*). First-order kinetics revealed the highest P_min with T₂ (R²⁼ 0.96) while second-order kinetics indicated highest for T₃ (R² =0.61). The pattern of P_min rate showed a gradual increase starting from 20 DOI onwards. Notably, pig manure (T₃) exhibited the highest mineralization rate during the initial period, specifically between 10-30 DOI. It is concluded that high P_min rates were recorded between 50-90 DOI, with the peak occurring recorded at 70 DOI with T₂.