AUGMENTATION OF NATIVE MICRONUTRIENTS AVAILABILITY IN GUAVA (Psidium guajava L.) CV. SARDAR THROUGH DIFFERENT FERTILIZER SOURCES
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Date
2019-09
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University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot
Abstract
Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is one of the most popular fruit grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions of India. Of late guava cultivation is expanded in marginal lands where soil salinity and calcareousness are the prominent problems associated with normal production. 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 was more preferable in enhancing the optimum micronutrient availability in alkaline soil. Ammonium sulphate performed dual role of reducing the soil reaction and 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.