Sustaining Soil Quality and Maize Productivity through FYM and Targeted Nutrient Application of Fertilization in Acid Alfisols of Northwest Himalayas, India

Long-term evaluation of nutrient management practices is vital for enhancing soil quality and sustaining crop productivity. A 13-year field experiment, established in 2007 in acid Alfisols of the Northwest Himalayas, assessed the effects of prescription-based fertilization and farmyard manure on soil properties and maize yield under continuous cultivation. The experiment followed a randomized block design with seven nutrient management treatments and one control, each replicated thrice. Post-harvest (2019) surface soil samples (0–15 cm) were analysed for key physical and chemical properties. The combined application of soil test crop response-based chemical fertilizers targeting a 4 t ha⁻¹ yield along with 5 t ha⁻¹ farmyard manure not only improved soil physical and chemical properties but also significantly increased nutrient availability. This treatment also resulted in the highest maize grain yield (4.27t ha⁻¹). The soil quality index increased from 0.72 under soil test-based fertilization to 0.82 under STCR without farmyard manure (FYM) and reached 0.95 with the integration of FYM. Strong positive correlation (r² = 0.88) between SQI and grain yield highlights the synergy between STCR-based nutrient management and FYM application. These findings demonstrate the potential of integrated nutrient strategies in enhancing maize productivity and sustaining long-term soil quality.