Year: 2026 | Month: June | Volume 13 | Issue 1
Precision Nutrient Management in Maize (Zea mays L.) through STCR-Based Fertilizer Prescriptions and the Dhartimitra Decision-Support Tool in Alfisols of Southern Karnataka
Krishna Murthy
R.1*
Shivakumara
M.N.1
Govinda
K.1
Bhavya
N.2
Mohammed Saqeebulla
H.1
Basavaraja
P.K.1
Gangamrutha
G.V.1
Sanjay Srivastava3
Immanuel Chongboi Haokip4 and Pradip Dey5
DOI:10.30954/2347-9655.01.2026.1
Abstract :
This multi-location field validation study was conducted across 13 representative farmer-managed sites in the southern districts of Karnataka to evaluate the effectiveness of the Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) approach for precision nutrient management in Maize (Zea mays L.). The research compared eight nutrient management strategies, including STCR-targeted yield goals of 70 and 65 qha-1 delivered via the Dhartimitra digital decision-support tool and manual soil test values, against the General Recommended Dose (GRD), the Soil Test Laboratory approach, and farmers’ prevailing practices. The results demonstrated that the STCR approach for a targeted yield of 70 qha-1 recorded the highest mean grain yield (71.58 qha-1), followed by the software-guided T1 treatment (70.46 qha-1), representing a significant improvement over both GRD (62.56 qha-1) and farmers’ practice (55.25 qha-1). Precision-based treatments also exhibited superior economic returns, with the Dhartimitra software approach achieving a high response yardstick (15.22) and a minimal percent deviation (+0.65%) from the target yield. Furthermore, STCR-guided management significantly enhanced nitrogen and potassium use efficiency while maintaining critical post-harvest soil fertility compared to the “soil mining” or imbalanced buildup observed in conventional and farmer practices. The study concludes that integrating STCR methodology with digital platforms like Dhartimitra provides a scalable and highly accurate strategy for optimizing maize productivity and soil health across diverse agro-ecological zones of Karnataka.
Highlights
- HIGHLIGHTSm mThe Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) approach for a high-yield target of 70 q ha⁻¹ significantly outperformed conventional methods, recording the highest mean grain yield of 71.58 q ha⁻¹ and surpassing farmer practices by up to 29.56%.
- The developed STCR equations proved highly valid for the Alfisols of Southern Karnataka, with software-guided prescriptions through the Dhartimitra tool achieving a minimal percent deviation of only + 0.65% from the targeted yield while maintaining superior nutrient use efficiency and soil fertility.
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