Abstract

                                The importance of soil organic matter both as a direct or indirect source of plant nutrient elements has been very well stressed and highlighted. In plant nutrition, organic matter level plays a significant role in deciding the availability status of essential nutrients. Considering the importance of soil humus in stimulating the plant growth and influencing the soil physical environment, it has become necessary to apply humus matter extracted from coal, peat and lignite apart from other organics (FYM, composted coir pith, sludge, etc.) to soil in order to sustain the soil fertility and productivity. Several scientists tested the usability of lignite which contains high content of humic acid substances (Stevenson, 1994 and Schnitzer, 2000). Narayanan (1989) revealed that the Neyveli lignite with the very low ash content was the best suited for production of humic acids.

Key words : Turmeric, Alfisols, Nitrogen