AUGMENTATION OF NATIVE MICRONUTRIENTS AVAILABILITY IN BRINJAL THROUGH DIFFERENT FERTILIZER SOURCES
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Date
2019-09
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University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot
Abstract
Brinjal is grown across the state irrespective of soil type and climate owing to
the preference and requirement of the local population. At this junction, even the salt
affected soils are not spared for cultivation in order to meet the market demand. High
levels of salinity and precipitated calcium carbonate in soils affect the transformations
and availability of several essential plant nutrients. This particular problem is more
conspicuous as far as metallic micronutrients owing to their precipitation as their
respective hydroxides under alkaline soil reaction. For this reason, optimum crop
production in alkaline soils calls for an intervention of special fertilizer management
practices to transform large unavailable pools of nutrients to available forms. In general
localized application of acid forming fertilizers to near the root zone bring vital changes
in soil reaction rendering to augment the micronutrients availability. With this small
change brought in the crop management appreciable changes in growth, yield and
quality could be anticipated in the slightly alkaline situations.
All the fertilizers accelerated acidulation of the rhizosphere and intern
augmented the metallic micronutrients availability. Urea created the mild acidity
whereas ammonium sulphate created stronger acidity. Application of ammonium
sulphate (T2) was more preferable in enhancing the optimum micronutrient availability
in alkaline soil. Ammonium sulphate performed dual role of reducing the soil reaction
and it supplied sulphur for the crops. By this it can be inferred that urea in general and
ammonium sulphate in particular would be suitable to the mild alkaline (pH 7.8-8.0)
soils. However, for strong alkaline soils it is better to opt for the combinations of urea
and ammonium sulphate with elemental sulphur. Further, in higher alkaline soils
inclusion of Chelated micronutrients over and above elemental sulphur would be
appropriate.