~ 22 ~ The Pharma Innovation Journal 2020; 9(11): 22-25 ISSN (E): 2277- 7695 ISSN (P): 2349-8242 NAAS Rating: 5.03 TPI 2020; 9(11): 22-25 © 2020 TPI www.thepharmajournal.com Received: 18-09-2020 Accepted: 24-10-2020 Sukanya Ghosh Assistant Professor, SOA, GEHU, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India Jai Paul Professor, Department of Soil Science, COA, GBPUAT, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India Deepak Kholiya Associate Professor, SOA, GEHU, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India Navneet Pareek Professor, Department of Soil Science, COA, GBPUAT, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India GK Dwivedi Professor, Department of Soil Science, COA, GBPUAT, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India Corresponding Author: Sukanya Ghosh Assistant Professor, SOA, GEHU, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India Effect of integrated nutrient management on some physical properties of soil under poplar based agroforestry system in Himalayan foothills, India Sukanya Ghosh, Jai Paul, Deepak Kholiya, Navneet Pareek and GK Dwivedi Abstract A field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of integrated nutrient management on some physical properties of soil in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crop on Mollisols of Uttarakhand under poplar based agroforestry at Agroforestry Research Centre (old site), Patharchatta of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar during rabi seasons of 2017-19. The experiment was laid in Randomized Complete Block Design comprising of nine nutrient treatments (chemical fertilizers and its substitution with organics) replicated thrice. Bulk density was recorded minimum under T5 (1.31 Mg m -3 ) management while it was recorded high with soil depth and with control treatments. Owing to a negative relationship between bulk density and water holding capacity, T5 subsequently had significantly maximum values of both soil water holding capacity (72.1%) as well as hydraulic conductivity (0.74 cm hr -1 ) in 0-15 cm soil layer. Usage of organic sources with fertilizers improved the physical properties of soil after two years of continuous nutrient application. Keywords: Integrated nutrient management, bulk density, vermicompost, hydraulic conductivity, agroforestry Introduction The projection for 2025 for Indian population growth is expected to be 1.33 billion which may eventually reach a staggering 1.6 billion by the year 2050 (Hajer et al., 2015) [7] . The Indian food grain demand will be around 293 million tonnes by 2030 as reported by Berners-Lee et al., 2018 [3] which will further rise up to 339 million tonnes by 2040. Productivity of most crops has come to a decline or had become stagnant in the past few years. One of the primary reasons for such low productivity even under well irrigated conditions are the deficient and disproportioned usage of chemical inputs (Lotter, 2003) [12] , paucity of secondary and micronutrient availability and poor soil organic carbon (SOC) content that has lead to substandard soil health (Swarup et al., 2000 and Yadav et al., 2016) [21, 22] further aggravated in countries like India. Long term experiments have revealed that sole application of chemical fertilizers to supply plant nutrition can deplete soil organic matter content, resulting in diminished soil productivity (Sharma et al., 2015, Srivastava, 2016 and Jat et al., 2018) [19, 20, 8] . It optimizes all aspects of nutrient cycling including N, P, K and other macro and micronutrient inputs and outputs, with the aims of synchronizing nutrient demand by the crop and its release in the environment. Under INM practices, the losses through leaching, runoff, volatilization, emissions and immobilization are minimized, while high nutrient use efficiency is achieved (Zhang et al., 2004) [23] . Moreover, it also aims to optimize the soil conditions by improving its physical, chemical, biological and hydrological properties to enhance farm productivity and minimize land degradation (Jones and Donnelly, 2004) [9] . After its emergence as a scientifically recognized discipline and practice, the ability of agroforestry to improve the soil quality has been widely recognized as a major advantage (Campbell et al., 2000) [6] . Incorporation of trees in agroforestry enhances the soil organic matter by adding litter both above and below ground. Therefore, integrated nutrient management and agroforestry land use system are among the best solutions for the ever escalating price and scarcity of chemical fertilizers for small holding farmers in developing countries. Therefore, this approach will go a long way in building land productivity since the system will provision for almost all nutrients in a judicious way.