Integrated nutrient management (INM) focuses on maintaining soil fertility and optimizing nutrient supply from various organic, inorganic, and biological sources to enhance crop productivity and economic yields. It incorporates practices such as the use of organic manures, green manuring, bio-fertilizers, and crop rotations to improve soil health while minimizing environmental impact. The document emphasizes the importance of a balanced approach to nutrition to tackle nutrient deficiencies and promote sustainable agriculture.

2. Introduction
Concept
Importance
Components

3. Integrated Nutrient Management refers to the
maintenance of soil fertility and of plant nutrient supply at
an optimum level for sustaining the desired productivity
through optimization of the benefits from all possible
sources of organic, inorganic and biological components in
an integrated manner.
Takes into account all factors of soil and crop
management including management of all other inputs
such as water, agrochemicals, etc., besides nutrients.
Main aims at maximizing economic yields for a given
cropping system and at the sources of plant nutrients.

4. Regulated nutrient supply for optimum crop growth and
higher productivity.
Improvement and maintenance of soil fertility.
Zero adverse impact on agro – ecosystem quality by
balanced fertilization of organic manures, inorganic
fertilizers and bio- inoculant.

5.  To restore and sustain, soil fertility and crop productivity.
 To check the emerging deficiency of nutrients other than NPK.
 To brings economy and efficiency in fertilizer use and favorably
affects the physical, chemical and biological environment of soil.
 To produce crops of high nutritional quality in sufficient quantity.
 For proper plant growth, together with effective crop, water, soil,
and land management.
The categories considered in the INM are compost, farm yard manure,
green manure, manure of gobar gas plant, oil cake, bone meal, steamed
bone meal, fish manure, wood ash, sewage and sludge, biological
sources, sugar cane press mud, coir pith, bio-fertilizers.
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you
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6. Organic Manures
Vermi-compost
Green Manuring
Bio-fertilizers
Crop residues
Crop rotation
Legume intercropping
Chemical fertilizers

7. Dead plant residues and animal remains were used traditionally.
The addition of FYM regulates nutrient uptake improves crop
yields and physical and chemical properties of soils and produces
a synergistic effects.
Manures:
FYM : 0.5 % N, 0.2 % P2O5 and 0.5 % K2O.
Sheep and goat manure : 3 % N, 1 % P2O5 and 2% K2O
Poultry Manure : 2.08% N, 1.93% P2O5, 1.4% K2O
Concentrated organic manure:
Fish Manure: 4-10% N, 3-9% P2O5, and 3-5% K2O
Blood Meal: 13-20% N.
Groundnut cake: 7.3% N.

8. Two
types of
organic
manures:
Bulky organic
manures :
Manures that are applied in large
quantities and contain low amount of
plant nutrients
Examples –
A) Well Decomposed :
FYM , Compost, Vermi compost
B) Green Manuring :
Dhaincha Glyicidia, Cowpea and other leguminous crop, Barseem.
Concentrated
organic
manures:
Manures containing higher
percentage of major plant nutrients
Examples –
A) Oil cakes:
1)Edible oil cakes: Mahua cakes, Neem cakes
2)Non-Edible cakes: Groundnut cake, Sunflower cake, etc.
B) Meat meal, C) Blood Meal, D) Fish Meal

9. Most important component of INM system.
A natural organic product which is eco-friendly and leaves no
adverse effects either in the soil, produces or the environment.
Earthworms play an important role in soil improvement,
organic matter decomposition and in enhancing plant growth.
The use of earthworms in organic waste management has been termed as
VERMICOMPOSTING and the compost is generally called as VERMI-COMPOST.
Ideal population of 1800 worms for one sq. Meter can feed on an average 80 tonnes
of humus per year.
Worms used are Eisenia Fetida, Eudrillus Eugeniae and Pheritima elongate which is
potential reagent in breaking down animal waste.
On an average, it contains 1.6 per cent N, 5.04 per cent P2O5 and 0.8 per cent K2O.
Apart from this it also contains hormones like Auxins and Cytokines, enzymes,
vitamins and useful micro-organisms like bacteria, Actinomycetes, protozoa’s, Fungi
and others.

11. 3) Green manuring :
Cheapest resource for building up soil fertility and supplementing plant
nutrients, especially N.
The practice of ploughing in undecomposed green plant material into the
soil for improving the physical condition as well as fertility of the soil is
called green manuring.
Green manures may be grown in situ by raising a legume such as Sesbania
aculeata (Dhaincha), Crotolaria junica (Sunhemp) and Vigna unguiculata
(Cowpea) are capable of accumulating 4-5 t ha-1 of dry mass and about 100
kg N ha-1 in 50-60 days.
Integrated use of green
manures with recommended
Chemical fertilizers increases
the yields of field crops.

12. 4) Bio-fertilizers :
Apparently environmentally friendly, low cost and non bulky agricultural inputs
which play a significant role in plant nutrition as a supplementary and
complementary factor to mineral nutrition.
Name of organism Mode of action Crops for which used Method of treatment
Rhizobium Symbiotic N fixation Leguminous pulses,
fodder crops and
groundnut
Seed treatment
Azotobacter Asymbiotic N fixation Cereals, vegetables,
millets and cotton
Seed treatment
Azospirrillum Asymbiotic N fixation Cereals and millets Seed treatment
Vegetables crops Soil Application
Blue green algae Asymbiotic N fixation Paddy Soil Application
Azola Asymbiotic N fixation Paddy Soil Application
Phosphobacteria Phosphorus solubilizing Millet, wheat and paddy Seed treatment

14. Residues left out after the harvest of the economic portion is called as CROP RESIDUES
0.5 per cent N, 0.6 per cent P2O5 and 1.5 per cent K2O.
Used as staple food of cattle and dry fodder for animal.
Crop residues are left behind in the field which act as a source of nutrient supply.
Improve the soil physical properties, micronutrient supply and productivity.
Major advantages of residue incorporation is the increase of the soil organic carbon,
total N and available K.
The incorporation of crop residues on a long form basis also increased the DTPA
extractable Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn content in soil.
Judicious use of crop residues is an important consideration in reducing the nutrient
losses through leaching, volatization or fixation specially under adverse soil conditions.
Direct application of crop residues with wide C:N ratio may immobilize all the available N
and P leading to adverse effect on crop growth during initial periods of decomposition.
Introduction of certain microbial strains capable of accelerating carbon mineralization
can cut short the time necessary for complete residue decomposition.
5) Crop residues :

16. 6) Crop rotation :
 Crop rotation is the practice of planting different crops sequentially on the same
plot of land to improve soil health, optimize nutrients in the soil, and combat pest
and weed pressure.
 Crop rotation can reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers and herbicides by better
using ecosystem services from a diverse set of crops.
 Crop rotations can improve
soil structure and organic matter,
Which reduces erosion and
increases Farm system resilience.

17. 7) Legume intercropping :
 Intercropping is the growing of two or more crop species simultaneously in
the same field during a growing season.
 The intercropping of legumes with cereals offers scope for developing
energy-efficient and sustainable agriculture.
 The main types of intercropping include mixed intercropping, row
intercropping, and strip intercropping.
 Phosphorus is a major nutrient that determines the production potential of
most grain legumes usually intercropped with cereals.

18. 8) Chemical Fertilizers :
The role of chemical fertilizers in increasing crop yields has become obvious with the
introduction of high yielding varieties responding to fertilizers.
Most of the soils are only able to supply a fraction of the nutrients required by the
arable crops.
Even available nutrients are rarely present in appropriate proportion to meet the crop
needs. Due to intensive cropping with high nutrient responsive varieties, widespread
deficiencies of micronutrients particularly Zn are emerging as yield limiting factor.
Hence, the deficient micronutrient should be applied through their respective carriers
in soil, if soil is Zn deficient, then ZnSO4 application should be done.

19. Source: Notes by Dr. Vikrant P. Bhalerao, COA, Dhule.