Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Lentil (Lens culinaris L.) Productivity and Soil Health

The effects of integrated nutrient management (INM) on the growth, yield, and soil health of two lentil varieties (Dasht-21, Black Lentil Panjgur) were studied at the Research Farm Directorate of Oilseed Crop, Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) Quetta, Pakistan, from the 2023–2024 Rabi season. A total of seven treatments were studied and assigned at random in a complete block design, control (T1), compost (T2), full NPK (T3), biochar (T4), half biochar + half NPK (T5), half compost + half NPK (T6), and half compost + half biochar + half NPK (T7). Dasht-21 variety lentils produced a greater height, shoot biomass, pods per plant, and greater 1000-grain and grain yield (554 kg ha-1) than Black Lentil Panjgur (499 kg ha-1). Among the treatments, T7 produced the highest grain yield (701 kg ha-1) and harvest index. Other treatments, T5 and T6 maximized pods per plant and biological yield, respectively, and showed greater than control in most growth and yield parameters. Soil analysis after harvest showed T7 and T6 produced greater organic treatments than control and lead to greater improvement (especially in the subsurface) than other treatments in microbial biomass, Soil organic carbon (SOC), and nutrient availability. MBC, MBN, and SOC.Yield components showed strong positive correlations such as grain yield with biological yield (r = 0.83; pods per plant, r = 0.78). These were driven mostly by above ground traits along PC1, while root traits characterized PC2. The combination of compost, biochar, and reduced NPK (T7) markedly increased lentil productivity and soil amelioration, exhibiting efficacy as an environmentally sustainable alternative in semi-arid, alkaline, and variable soils.