Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2020) 9(2): 2435-2440 2435 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.902.278 Evaluation of Soil Fertility Gradient Experiment on the Basis of Crop Yield, Nutrient uptake and Soil Fertility Vijay Kant Singh 1* , Poonam Gautam 1 , Sobaran Singh 1 , Navneet Pareek 1 and V. P. Singh 2 1 Department of Soil Science, 2 Department of Agronomy, G.B.P.U.A.&T, Pantnagar-263145, Uttarakhand, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Nutrient management is one of the important aspects of maintaining soil health and crop productivity. Application of nutrients, management practices in diverse ecologies and production systems are critical to enhance farm productivity, resource efficiency, food grain production and reducing environmental risks. Fertilizer is one of the expensive inputs in crop husbandry therefore the use of right dose of fertilizer is the fundamental need for farm profitability and environmental protection (Kimetu et al., 2004). It constitutes an essential component for crop production and the requisite amount of fertilizer application is considered as a key to the plentiful crop production (Tariq et al., International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 2 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Field experiment was carried out on wheat crop at N.E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre, G.B.U.A.&T, Pantnagar during Rabi 2016-17 to evaluate the impact of soil fertility gradient on crop yield, nutrient uptake and soil fertility. The experiment field was divided in three equal strips and three graded levels of fertilizer N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O were applied as N 0 P 0 K 0 , N 100 P 100 K 100 and N 200 P 200 K 200 in strip I, strip II and strip III, respectively. N:P:K mixture, urea and muriate of potash were used as source of nutrients. Exhaust crop wheat was grown by following recommended agronomic practices and harvested at maturity. Straw and grain samples were collected from each strip and analyzed for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content and total nutrient uptake was worked out. Grain and straw yield were also recorded after harvesting the crop. Soil samples were taken before and after the harvest of the crop from the surface layer and analyzed for available N, available P and available K. Wide variation in wheat yield, nutrient uptake and soil fertility was recorded between strips which confirmed the impact of graded levels of fertilizer application on these parameters and establishment of soil fertility gradient. Keywords Soil fertility gradient, wheat, STCR, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, nutrient uptake, yield. Accepted: 18 January 2020 Available Online: 10 February 2020 Article Info