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Significance and Management of Green Manures

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Soil Health

Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 59))

Abstract

Green manuring is an arable-farming practice in which undecomposed green material is incorporated (in situ/harvested elsewhere) into soil in order to increase productivity of subsequent crops. Green manure crop is to be turned into the soil at the point of flowering, i.e., about 7–8 weeks from sowing in most crops. The continuous use of green manures enhances the organic matter content and also supplements the nutrient pool of the soil which ultimately improves the soil physical, chemical and biological properties and also suppresses the weeds. It provides nutrient-rich organic matter for the soil microorganisms which easily converts organically bound nutrients in plant residues to easily available nutrient form to the crop. The portion of green manure nitrogen available to a succeeding crop is usually about 40–60% of the total amount contained in the legume and large amounts of legume N retained in soil mostly in organic forms. However, beneficial effects of green manure on succeeding crops depend largely on residue quantity and quality, soil type, soil fertility, soil acidity, biological activity, soil moisture, and temperature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres, Barrackpore, India

    K. Das

  2. ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India

    N. Biswakarma, R. Zhiipao & V. Pooniya

  3. ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research, Ludhiana, Punjab, India

    A. Kumar

  4. ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research, Meerut, India

    P. C. Ghasal

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  1. K. Das
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  1. Department of Botany, Swami Shraddhanand College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

    Bhoopander Giri

  2. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ajit Varma

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Das, K., Biswakarma, N., Zhiipao, R., Kumar, A., Ghasal, P.C., Pooniya, V. (2020). Significance and Management of Green Manures. In: Giri, B., Varma, A. (eds) Soil Health. Soil Biology, vol 59. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44364-1_12

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