Vol. 9, Special Issue 9, Part I (2025)

The efficient utilization of crop residues under integrated nutrient management (INM) represents a sustainable pathway to improve soil fertility, nutrient cycling, and crop productivity while reducing dependency on synthetic fertilizers. A field experiment was conducted during 2021-2024 at the Agricultural Research Station, Sindewahi, District Chandrapur, Maharashtra, to study the effect of in situ incorporation of rice straw and INM on the nutrient content of rice crop grown in Inceptisols. Treatments comprised two decomposer applications [PDKV decomposer (D1) and resident isolates (D2)] and three INM practices [75% RDN (N1), 100% RDF (N2), and 75% RDN + Azolla @ 2 t ha⁻¹ (N3)]. Results revealed that decomposer treatments had non-significant effects on nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and silicon (Si) contents in both grain and straw. However, INM practices significantly influenced nutrient content, with the highest values observed under N2 and N3 treatments. Azolla incorporation (N3) enhanced nitrogen content due to its biological nitrogen-fixing capacity, while balanced fertilizer application (N2) significantly improved P, K, and Si concentrations. These findings demonstrate that integration of Azolla with reduced nitrogen inputs or application of balanced recommended fertilizers sustains rice nutrition and provides a viable strategy for soil fertility management in rice-based systems.