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© 2021 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

EFFECT OF MID-TERM CROPPING SYSTEM ADOPTION ON SOIL CHEMICAL 
PROPERTIES AT CHANGUNARAYAN MUNICIPALITY, BHAKTAPUR, NEPAL   

 

 

 Saroj Koirala1 

 Santosh Shrestha2+ 

 Prashanta Raut3 

 Bikram Pandey4 

 Arbindra 
Timilsina5 

 

1Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of 
Sciences, Chengdu, China; Agricultural Technology Center, Lalitpur, Nepal. 

 
2Department of Soil Science, Institute of Agricultural and Animal Science, 
Kathmandu, Nepal; Agricultural Technology Center, Lalitpur, Nepal. 

 
3Agricultural Technology Center, Lalitpur, Nepal. 

 
4University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. 

 
5Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Hebei Key Laboratory of 
Soil Ecology, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of 
Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 
Shijiazhuang, China. 

 
 

 
(+ Corresponding author) 

 ABSTRACT 
 
Article History 
Received: 26 May 2021 
Revised: 29 June 2021 
Accepted: 3 August 2021 
Published: 24 August 2021  
 

Keywords 
Acidity 
Changunarayan 
C: N 
Cropping system 
Crop rotation 
Paddy-wheat 
Paddy-wheat-vegetables 
Polyhouse. 

 
Soil chemical properties plays a crucial role in crop yield. In this study, we evaluated 
the chemical properties of soils under three different cropping systems practiced for 
more than five years in Changunarayan municipality of Bhaktapur district of Nepal. 
The cropping systems includes- (i) cultivation inside polyhouse (Treatment A: 
polyhouse), (ii) paddy-wheat rotation (Treatment B: P-W), and (iii) paddy-wheat-
vegetable rotation (Treatment C: P-W-V). Thirty-nine composite samples (13 
replicates from each site) were taken from the area based on variation in landforms. Soil 
pH, organic matter (%), total nitrogen (%), available phosphorus (mgkg-1), and available 
potassium (mgkg-1) were evaluated for each sample. The study revealed that the soil pH 
was acidic and ranges between 4.71 and 5.39, organic matter (1.6-2.39%), total nitrogen 
(0.091-0.13%), phosphorus (4.48-29.24mg kg-1) and potassium (88.04-109.52 mg kg-1). 
A significant lower mean pH (4.71), and higher mean organic matter (2.39%), total 
nitrogen (0.13%) and available phosphorus (29.24 mgkg-1) were observed in cultivation 
under polyhouse. Incorporation of vegetable in paddy-wheat system gave significant 
(p<0.05) higher accumulation of soil phosphorus and consistently raised other nutrient 
status. Moreover, cultivation under polyhouse raised C:N ratio (10.55) significantly 
than other system. This finding can be relevant to wide range of readers that focus on 
soil chemical properties and can be used in developing future research strategy and 
sustainable soil management system in the area.  
 

Contribution/Originality: In this paper we analyzed the impact of different cropping system over soil quality. 

 

1. INTRODUCTION 

Cropping system represents the total sequence and arrangement of several crops, way of their cultivation and 

their relationship with farm available resources [1, 2]. It directly affects soil quality or soil health based on crop 

selected, their yearly rotation, fertilizer application, tillage techniques [3, 4]. Soil quality is measure of different soil 

physical and chemical parameters such as organic carbon content, nutrient status such as macro and micro nutrients 

Current Research in Agricultural Sciences 
2021 Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 80-89. 
ISSN(e): 2312-6418 
ISSN(p): 2313-3716 
DOI: 10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.80.89 
© 2021 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3863-2882
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6729-2675
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0855-6121
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-1466
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1007-229X
https://www.doi.org/10.18488/journal.68.2021.82.80.89


Current Research in Agricultural Sciences, 2021, 8(2): 80-89 

 

 
81 

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and other parameters and functioning ability of soil [5]. Soil quality is to be considered with prolonged cropping 

system as it defines the sustainability and stability in terms of productivity and environment [6].  

Laudicina, et al. [7] measured significant variation in soil organic carbon in response to cropping system 

(wheat only & wheat-bean) and tillage management practices. They found higher carbon content in monoculture 

(wheat only) and no till system. Soil carbon fraction are altered by dual action of cropping system and soil 

management practices [8]. A significant lower pH was observed in monocropping and highest pH was observed in 

Cauliflower-Maize rotation [9]. Similarly Loria, et al. [10] revealed that higher soil carbon, soil nitrogen, 

phosphorus and potassium were observed in vegetable cultivation compared to cereals.  

In context of Nepal, commonly practiced cropping system is maize based and paddy based in mid-land (hilly) 

and lowland (Terai) regions, respectively [11]. Along with cropping system, application of fertilizer or manures 

also determines the soil nutrient status which totally depend upon cropping system or crops incorporated in the 

system. Shrestha [12] reported that use of farm yard manure had been reduced by 25-30% in hills whereas, 

according to Maskey, et al. [13], approximately 91% of farmers in hilly area applied farm yard manure in their 

cropping system which in long term affects soil fertility. Shrestha, et al. [11] found that soil carbon content was 

higher in uncultivated system which goes on decreasing in cultivated system of <10 years and was least in 

cultivated land for >50 years for both warm temperate and sub-tropical agroecological zones. Recently, Ojha, et al. 

[14] suggested to increase potassic fertilizer rate by 1.5-2.5 times than recommended dose in Nepal due to impact 

of long term paddy-wheat cropping system.  

Therefore, with limited study prioritizing the effect of commonly practiced cropping system in Nepal, this 

study aims to determine the effect of cropping system on soil chemical parameters namely pH, nitrogen, 

phosphorus, potassium and organic matter. Understanding such impacts will help to analyze the appropriate 

cropping system sustainability based on soil cost incurred in long term adoption. Our findings can be a reference to 

sustainable soil management and further can be used in developing future research strategy targeting similar 

cropping preferences. 

 

2. METHODOLOGY 

2.1. Study Area  

Study area of the research is dominated by ethnic communities (Newar) situated in Changunarayan 

municipality-07, Bhaktapur district of Nepal. It extends from latitude 27° 41' 24.63"N and longitude 85° 28' 

19.08"E to latitude of 27° 41' 26.94"N and longitude of 85° 29' 1.9"E Figure 1. The altitude of site varies between 

1362masl to 1505masl. Also, the site predominantly had a loamy textured soil with variation in slope, altitude and 

aspect. 

Three major cropping system are prevalent in the study area: paddy-wheat, paddy-wheat-vegetables, and 

tomato/vegetables under polyhouse that are in practice for past five years. Paddy-wheat system is totally rain-fed 

with addition of urea as fertilizer. Few (30%) sample points in paddy-wheat system were found that added with 

phosphoric fertilizer (Diammonium phosphate-DAP) and potassic fertilizer (Muriate of potash-MOP). Paddy-

wheat-vegetable practices adds urea, DAP and MOP with little addition of farm yard manure. High dose of urea, 

DAP and MOP, other micronutrients and compost is followed inside polyhouse with often irrigation. 

 

2.2. Research Design and Soil Sampling 

Three major treatments taken were vegetables cultivation inside polyhouse (Treatment A), paddy-wheat (P-W: 

Treatment B), and paddy-wheat-seasonal vegetables (P-W-V: Treatment C). Composite soil samples were made 

from five sum samples taken randomly from depth of 0-20cm with help of auger for each treatment depending upon 

the variability of land. Total 13 composite samples were made for each treatment which makes total 39 soil samples 

for all the treatments.  Geo points were also recorded for each composite sample collected. 



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2.3. Laboratory Analysis 

Collected samples were analyzed in soil laboratory of Agricultural Technology Center (ATC), Kupondole, 

Lalitpur (Nepal) accounting to total nitrogen (%), available phosphorus (mgkg-1), available potassium (mgkg-1), soil 

pH, organic matter (%) and soil texture. The methods adopted to calculate the soil parameters are mentioned in 

Table 1.  

 

 
Figure-1. Map of study area. 

 

Table-1. Soil parameters and laboratory methods adopted at Agricultural Technology Center, Kupondole, Lalitpur 

S.N Parameter Unit Methods Reference 

1 Total Nitrogen % Kjeldahl Method Bremner and 
Mulvaney [15]  

2 Available phosphorus mgkg-1 Modified Olsen’s Bicarbonate Method Olsen [16]  
3 Available potassium mgkg-1 Neutral Ammonium Acetate Method Simard [17]  
4 Soil pH - 1:2.5 Potentiometric method SMD [18]  
5 Soil organic matter % Walkley Black Method Walkley and Black 

[19]  
6 Soil texture - Hydrometer method Jackson [20]  

 

2.4. Statistical Analysis 

Data from the laboratory were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in R (V 4.0.5, R Core 

Team). Post-hoc analysis was performed for significant means with Duncan multiple range test at 5% level of 

significance. Moreover, following Ramamoorthy and Bajaj [21] we calculated nutrient index of the site. 

Visualization of data was processed with Sigma Plot (V14.0, Systat Software Inc). 

 

 



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3. RESULT AND DISCUSSION 

3.1. Soil pH 

Multiple factors modify the soil pH, for example, the accumulation of organic matter, harvesting high yielding 

crops, and nitrification of applied nitrogen [22, 23]. Soil acidity greatly impact the soil fertility at soil pH values < 

5.5 [23]. Therefore, understanding the pH values of agricultural soil is critical for increasing the crop yield. Results 

indicate that the soil under polyhouse has significantly (p<0.05) lowest pH (4.78) compared to paddy-wheat-

vegetable (5.33) and paddy-wheat (5.37) Figure 2. Soils in the study area were moderately acidic to strongly acidic 

Table 2. This suggests that the parent material in the study area is acidic. Unlike other studies [24, 25], our 

findings indicated lower pH resulting from vegetable cultivation under polyhouse. The difference in soil 

management practice and agricultural inputs inside polyhouse compared to other treatments might have cause the 

reduction of soil pH. Increased quantity of nitrogen based fertilizer can increase soil acidity inside polyhouse [26].  

However, vegetable crops like tomatoes are mostly cultivated inside polyhouse which prefer soils with neutral pH. 

[27].  

 

 
Figure-1. Average soil pH under different cropping systems. 

 

3.2. Organic Matter (OM)  

Soil organic matters have direct role on soil fertility as its oxidation in soil can provide nutrition like nitrogen, 

phosphorus and sulphur to plants [28, 29]. Therefore, knowledge of soil organic matter is essential for 

understanding soil fertility. An accumulation of organic matter on the soil was significantly (p<0.05) higher in 

vegetable cultivation under polyhouse (2.37 ± 0.13) compared to other two cropping systems Table 2. However, 

cultivation of vegetables in the paddy wheat cropping system did not improve the organic matter contents Figure 3. 

The mean organic matter reported in our study were less compared to previous study [28]. Organic matter is 

rapidly lost when input is reduced [30]. Therefore, the difference in organic matter in various site can be due to 

difference in input rate. 

An addition of organic material like animal manures and compost increases the soil organic matters in field 

[28]. Moreover, addition of organic amendments such as mustard oil cake, compost and farm yard manure is 

common inside tomato cultivation polyhouse in Nepal [31] that might have caused organic matter fraction to rise 

than other treatments. Frequent cultivation might break down the OM content of the soil and remove the essential 

nutrient from the soil [32]. Therefore, the less amount of OM in the sample in the paddy-wheat and paddy-wheat-



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vegetable cropping area might be due to seasonal crop rotation without addition of required organic amendments 

and associated soil disturbance through tillage.  

 

 
Figure-2. Average soil organic matter (OM%) under three different cropping systems. 

 

3.3. Soil Available Phosphorus and Available Potassium 

Phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are important nutrient required for plant growth. Available soil P and K 

can be directly used by plants which promotes soil fertility and plants growth [33].  Our findings showed that 

cultivation under tunnel increased phosphorus (29.15 mg kg-1) and potassium (108.88 mg kg-1) content of soil Table 

2. On the other hand, paddy-wheat cropping system shows least accumulation of phosphorus (4.95 mg kg-1) and 

potassium (90.02 mg kg-1), while addition of vegetable in paddy wheat cropping system however have positive 

impact on accumulation of phosphorus (6.97 mg kg-1) and potassium (91.04 mg kg-1) Figure 4. The available soil 

phosphorus and potassium reported in our study are similar with previous study [34].  

Soil phosphorus is major nutrient required for Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) transfer in the cell and 

photosynthesis in plants [35]. Depletion of available K+ in soils causes various negative impacts that mainly 

includes less utilization of other nutrient like nitrogen and phosphorus, and decrease in yield and ultimately income 

[36]. The lower amount of these elements in the study sites might suggest additional application of fertilizers for 

increased productivity and income.   

 

 
Figure-4. Average Soil potassium and phosphorus (mg kg-1) under three different cropping system. 



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3.4. Soil Nitrogen 

Nitrogen is one of the major nutrients required for proper growth and development of plants, especially food 

crops and are closely related to economy of crop production. Soil nitrogen is important for leaf growth and promote 

photosynthesis [37]. Therefore, understanding the nitrogen content of the agricultural soil is important for crop 

growth and productivity. In this study, we found that the percentage of nitrogen content in the soil shows 

significant (p<0.05) differences among three treatments Table 2. The highest soil nitrogen was found in polyhouse 

(0.13%) followed by paddy-wheat cultivation (0.097%) and paddy-wheat-vegetable farming (0.091%) Figure 5. Our 

findings are consistence with Panday, et al. [25]; Khadka, et al. [38]; Shrestha [39] who reported that the 

continuous application of nitrogenous based fertilizer might be the explanatory factor for high total nitrogen in the 

soil of study sites. While difference in the nitrogen content among ecosystems could be due to difference in 

management practices.  

 

 
Figure-5. Total Nitrogen (N%) under three different cropping systems. 

 

3.5. Carbon Nitrogen (CN) Ratio 

Carbon and nitrogen interaction is an important chemistry at ecosystem level as there can be shared substrate 

and dependency of availability of carbon and nitrogen [40]. CN ratio can influence plants growth. Fertilization, 

cropping systems and various management practices tend to affect the soil CN ratio [41]. Our findings showed a 

significant increase in CN ratio under polyhouse (Treatment 1) as compared to Paddy-Wheat. CN ratio of paddy-

wheat system was at par with vegetable incorporated paddy-wheat system (Treatment 3) Table 2. Our results of 

CN ratio are similar with previous study [41]. Carbon nitrogen ratio is one of the common parameters used to 

estimate the balance of carbon and nitrogen in the soil. The carbon content in the organic matter is always greater 

than nitrogen in the soil [42].  

 

Table-2. Effect of cropping system on soil chemical properties. 

Treatments Treatment Details pH OM % P mg/kg K mg/kg TN % C:N ratio 

Tunnel Polyhouse Cultivation 4.71b 2.39a 29.24a 109.52 0.13a 10.55a 

P-W Paddy-Wheat 5.39a 1.60b 4.48b 88.04 0.097b 9.58b 

P-W-V Paddy-Wheat-Season 
vegetables 

5.33a 1.62b 6.97c 91.04 0.091b 10.19ab 

P value * * * 0.153 * 0.07 

CV % 4.09 18.30 41.89 30.56 17.12 10.16 

LSD 0.18 0.29 4.86 25.12 0.02 0.88 

SEM (±) 0.08 0.13 2.23 11.53 0.007 0.40 

 

 



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3.6. Correlation between Soil Parameters 

Soil pH was found to have negative correlation with all parameters. It has significant high negative correlation 

with available phosphorus (r = -0.81, p<0.05) Figure 6. Previous studies have reported significant negative 

relationship between pH and available phosphorus [43]. Phosphorus can bind to several cations in the soil [43] 

which can lead to negative relation between soil pH and phosphorous viability in the soil. pH had negative low 

correlation with available potassium (r = -0.37, p=0.14), total nitrogen (r=-0.4, p>0.05) and organic matter (r=-

0.49, p<0.05) Figure 6. Acidic soil pH affects decomposition of added organic matter [44] which might result to 

significant negative relation between soil pH and organic matter content in the soil.   Soil organic matter has low 

correlation with available potassium (r=0.44, p>0.05). While soil organic matter has very strong correlation with 

available phosphorus (r=0.78, p<0.05) and total nitrogen (r=0.93, p<0.05) Figure 6. The strong correlation 

between soil organic matter and available phosphorus could be due to P is contained in organic matter [45] which 

can increase soil P availability. Similarly, organic matter contains lager amount of nitrogen [46] which may lead to 

significant positive relationship between organic matter and soil nitrogen in our study. Likewise, total nitrogen was 

moderately correlated to available phosphorus (r=0.67, p<0.05) and has lower correlation with available potassium 

(r=0.38, p>0.05). Previous studies have reported significant relationship between nitrogen and available phosphorus 

similar to our results [47]. 

 

 
Figure-6. Correlation heatmap between soil parameter under different cropping system at Changunarayan, Bhaktapur, Nepal. 

 

4. CONCLUSION 

Soil under polyhouse showed increased accumulation of soil organic matter (%), total nitrogen (%), available 

phosphorus (mgkg-1), and available potassium (mgkg-1), while decreased soil pH was observed. In addition, 

incorporation of vegetable in paddy-wheat system has also increased accumulation of soil phosphorus and 

consistently raise other nutrient status. Thus, it can be argued that, intensive input cultivation system like farming 

under polyhouse can increase accumulation of soil organic matter (%), total nitrogen (%), available phosphorus 

(mgkg-1), and available potassium (mgkg-1) in cost of soil acidity. Similarly, incorporation of vegetable rotation 

practice in paddy-wheat system also can produce positive effect on soil health.  

 

Funding: The authors thanks Ambit Research and Development for financial support in 
sample collection and laboratory analysis. 
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.  
Acknowledgement: The authors would like to acknowledge all the volunteers who 
participated in soil sample collections, lab technicians who performed lab tests and owner of 
farms of study area who helped providing samples and information regarding agricultural 
practices. 



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