Impact of Bagasse and Press Mud on Availability and Fixation Capacity of Phosphorus in an Inceptisol of North India

An incubation experiment was carried out at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India to explore the possibility of utilizing the organic residue i.e. press mud and bagasse byproducts generated from sugar industries to enhance the availability and reduction in fixation capacity of phosphorus (P). Three levels of organic residue (mixing press mud, bagasse and chopped rice straw in the ratio of 1:1:1) was applied at 0, 2.5 and 5 g/kg of soil with two levels of phosphorus i.e. 0 and 10 mg P 2 O 5 /kg of soil. Incorporation of organic residue enhanced the availability of P by 68 % over the control. Maximum P availability was observed after 11th month in maximum organic residue treatment. Phosphorus fixation capacity also decreased from 43 % (control) to 32 % (5 g/kg of soil). But the P fixation capacity increased with increasing level of P, due to easy availability of P for fixation. Use of the bagasse and press mud can be a good source of P mineralization in the already P fixed soil. It also reduced the storage problem in sugarcane industries across the India.