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Vol. 4 No. 1
IMMA NEWS
Lateritic Acidic Soils of Saline Soils under Kokan, Maharashtra Sugarcane in Maharashtra
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Indian Micro Fertilizers Manufacturers Association Our Presidents Late Dr. T.B. Mirchandani Dr. S. S. Ranade Dr. G.P. Shetty Dr. S.S. Ranade Dr. Jimmy Mirchandani Mr. D.P. Chavan Mr. Kanak N. Sarkar
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CONTENTS
1. Green Manuring in relation to the soil fertility and soil health Rajan Bhatt............................................................................4 2. Problem Soil Management in Agriculture Rajan Bhatt.............................................................................7 3. IDENTIFICATION AND AMELIORATION OF MICRONUTRIENT IN RICE-WHEAT CROPPING SYSTEM Rajan Bhatt:............................................... ..........................12 IMMA NEWS VOL. : 4 NO. : 1 Apr-Jun 2011 Editor : Pramod Sawant Printed and Published by Pramod Sawant on behalf of Indian Micro Fertilizers Manufacturers Association, Pune- 411 037 E-mail- micro_asso_india@yahoo.co.in Printed at Published at Prakash Offset Shop No. 10-14 & 21-22, Parvati Towers, Pune - 411 009 Indian Micro Fertilizers Manufacturers Association 201, 2nd Floor, Shrikrishna Apartments, 39/A, Gultekadi, Market Yard Road, Opp. Apsara, Pune 411 037.
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operation in the Punjab with effect from April 1, 1961. It aims at popularizing the use of green manure in the State. The Government encourages the adoption of this practice by the farmers by granting subsidies on seeds of green-manuring crops. The Irrigation Department also grants remission of water-rate, if crops are buried for green-manuring before 15th of September. The total area under the green-manuring crops in the district, during the past few years, has been as under: Table: 1 Area under green manuring crops with time.
Area under green -manuring crops (ha) 716 7785 13254 26096
Stage at which sun hemp was buried made a significant effect on the wheat yield. However basic principle is in green manuring crops, should aim at maximum succulent green matter at buring.
Time interval between burial of green manure crop and the sowing of the next crop:
The time interval should be allowed for complete decomposition of the turned in green manure crop before planning of the next crop and that time should depend upon the following factors: 1. Weather conditions 2. Nature of the buried green material In areas receiving rainfall >50 inches humid conditions favors decomposition. If the green manure crop is succulent, then there is no harm in transplanting the paddy immediately after turning in the green manure crop. However, in case of the woody, then sufficient time should be allowed for it's proper decomposition before planting the paddy. e.g. when succulent green manure crop of around 8 weeks was buried then paddy can be planted without having any adverse effect on the yield. But when dhaincha become woody (12 weeks), it was necessary to bury it about 4 to 8 weeks first for it's decomposition before planting paddy. In areas receiving 25 to 50 inches rainfall, green manure crop required about 6 to 8 weeks to decompose. It is only because of lesser moisture conditions. When green manure crop was intercropped in between
be grown. When it should be buried into the soil. When it should time should be given between the How much
burying of the green manure crop and the sowing of the next crop.
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the rows of the main crops like paddy, cotton, sugarcane etc. then it is buried in the succulent stage for it's rapid decomposition.
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The quantity of lime equivalent to 10% of Lime Requirement (LR) is usually about 2-4 q/ha depending on soil type and pH. However, soil should be tested for LR by nearby Soil Testing Laboratory and the dose should be decided accordingly. Generalized LR is depicted in table 3. Table 3. Generalized lime requirement (t/ha)
From 4.5 to 5.5 0.6 Sand and Loamy Sand 1.1 Sandy Loam 1.7 Loam 2.6 Silt Loam 3.4 Clay Loam Soil Texture Targeted soil pH change From 5.5 to 6.5 0.9 1.5 2.2 3.2 4.3
Table 4. Depicts area affected by salinity and alkalinity in NFSM-wheat States. The area includes saline soils which can be reclaimed through leaching with good quality water. However a major area cropped to wheat has moderately alkaline pH which adversely affects nutrient use efficiency and wheat productivity. In order to achieve targeted wheat production, it is necessary that exchangeable sodium and subsequently soil pH are reduced to optimum levels through appropriate interventions. Table 4: Area of salt affected soils in NFSMWheat states
States Bihar Gujarat Haryana Punjab Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Total Area(000,ha) 85 1649 555 480 242 127 1138 958 5234
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Chemical ameliorants:
Amendments used for chemical amelioration are either soluble calcium salts like gypsum, phosphogypsum or acid formers like pyrites, sulphuric acid, aluminium sulphate, sulphur etc. however, gypsum and phosphogypsum are easily available and are most economical ameliorants. Thus they have been included for financial assistance under NFSM programme for wheat crop. Crop response and economics: Soils with high alkalinity can be used to grow highly tolerant crops such as paddy. Productivity of even tolerant crops grown in such soils remains suboptimal. Reclamation of sodic soils requires fairly high quantity of gypsum (5-15 t/ha). Districts selected under NFSMWheat, however, exhibit respectable wheat yield levels
and soil pH ranging from 7.5 to 8.5 thereby suggesting existence of moderate alkalinity. Application of gypsum to such soils at moderate rates (1-1.5 t/ha) is bound to improve nutrient use efficiency and crop productivity. Although yield gains attributable to gypsum application depend on many factors (existing level of sodicity, soil type, quality of irrigation water, nutrient management practices followed etc.) yield advantage of about 20% in each crop of rice-wheat sequence due to gypsum application has been observed in field studies. This amounts to additional yield of about 500-600 kg/ha of each crop. The additional annual monetary gain is therefore Rs. 9,000 to 10,000 in the very first year. The advantage will continue for 4-5 years with progressive decline in magnitude which can be reversed by repeating the treatment. Thus cumulative monetary gains are much higher compared to the cost of gypsum (Rs. 2000 to 3000 ha) incurred. Benefit: cost ratio will remain greater than 3:0. Fields being irrigated with poor quality (high residual sodium carbonate) irrigation water should be treated with moderate doses of gypsum annually for guarding against likely sodification of the soil. Underground irrigation waters in parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have been observed to be sodic. Their regular use for irrigation in many cases has caused soil degradation.
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IDENTIFICATION AND AMELIORATION OF MICRO-NUTRIENTS IN RICE-WHEAT CROPPING SYSTEM Rajan Bhatt Assistant professor (SS), Krishi Vighyan Kendra, P.A.U. Ludhiana, Punjab
Plants require about sixteen nutrients for normal growth and to complete their life cycle. They are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, calcium, magnesium, boron, molybdenum, chlorine, zinc, copper, iron and manganese. Among them carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are absorbed by plants from air and water, while all other nutrients are absorbed by plants from soil. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are required by plants in large amounts, therefore they are referred as major nutrients. Sulphur, calcium and magnesium are refereed as secondary nutrients. The remaining (boron, molybdenum, chlorine, zinc, copper, iron and manganese) nutrients are referred as micro nutrients. They are micro in the sense that they are required by plants in very small amounts in comparison to major nutrients, but not in the sense of their minor importance in plant life. Although they are present in minute quantities in soil, but they are as important for plants as the macro nutrients are. Their deficiency in plants may leads to reduction in crop yields to greater extent. Intensive cropping (cropping intensity 188%) coupled with the use high analysis macro nutrient fertilizers over the last few decades has resulted in the deficiency of several essential micro nutrients in Punjab soils. According to the recent reports about 25, 10, 3 and 2 per cent soils of the state are deficient in available zinc, iron, manganese and copper. Among these essential micro nutrients the deficiency of zinc, iron and manganese has been seen on different crops in Punjab. Deficiency of zinc in widespread and is encountered under varying soils and crop situations, while the deficiency of iron and manganese is location and crop specific. Rice-wheat is the major cropping system in Punjab, and is very exhaustive in nature. Therefore, the micro nutrients deficiencies which affect these crops are d i s c u s s e d below. high calcium carbonate. Use of irrigation water containing high amounts of bicarbonates and excessive use of phosphatic fertilizers can also leads to zinc deficiency in soils. The soils of floodplain areas and recently leveled soils are also prone to zinc deficiency. Soils testing less than 0.6 kg zinc/kg soil are rated as zinc deficient soils. Iron: Iron deficiency is common in soils with coarse texture, low organic matter, high pH, high calcium carbonate content. Soils testing less than 4.5 mg iron/ kg soil are rated as iron deficient soils. Iron deficiency is conspicuous in rice grown on sandy soils which are unable to pond water for longer period due to very high permeability. Manganese: Manganese deficiency is common in soils with coarse texture, low organic matter, high pH. Sandy soils under rice-wheat cropping sequence for last 6-7 years show manganese deficiency. Owing to flooding conditions developed during rice season, a part of manganese gets leached to the lower soil layers. As a consequence of that, the content of available manganese in the surface layer of soil reaches a level that is inadequate to meet the manganese requirement of wheat crop following rice. Soils testing less than 3.5 mg manganese/kg soil
Zinc: Zinc deficiency is generally encountered in fields with coarse textured soils, low organic matter, high pH,
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RICE: Zinc deficiency symptoms:Zinc deficiency in rice plants first appears on lower (old) leaves at about two-three weeks after transplanting the crop. Deficiency appears as light yellowish brown spots scattered in the interveinal areas imparting pale yellowish-brown color to the affected leaves. With the passage of time these spots enlarge, join together and become reddish brown or rusty in color. Under acute zinc deficient conditions, the plants give rusty look (Fig. 1). The affected leaves finally dry up and fall or float on water. The growth of plants under deficient situations is reduced and they give bushy appearance. Tillers fail to develop panicles and results in reduction in grain yield. Under acute deficient conditions, earing and maturity are delayed.
Amelioration: Manganese deficiency can be corrected through foliar application of manganese sulphate solution. In manganese deficient soils, give one spray of 0.5% manganese sulphate solution (1.0 kg manganese sulphate in 200 liters of water) 2-4 days before first irrigation to the crop and three sprays thereafter, at weekly interval on sunny days. Do not apply manganese sulphate to soil as it is not profitable. Durum wheat varieties viz. PDW-274, PDW-291 and PDW-233 etc. are more prone to manganese deficiency; therefore these varieties should be avoided in deficient soils.
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Zinc deficiency symptoms: The deficiency symptoms of zinc in wheat are observed at tillering stage on second/third leaf from the top of plant. Zinc deficiency is manifested as light yellowish white tissue between the mid-rib and margins in the middle or lower half of the affected leaf (Fig. 4). Minute reddish brown spots are seen in the affected area. With the passage of time, these spots join together and form reddish-brown lesions leading to the necrosis and drooping of the leaf.
heptahydrate (21% Zn) per acre. Under severe deficient situations, soil application may be supplemented by foliar application of 0.5% solution of zinc sulphate. The solution can be prepared by dissolving 1.0 kg zinc sulphate and 0.5 kg un-slaked lime in 200 liters of water. This solution is sufficient for spraying an acre of wheat crop. Two-three such sprays at 15 days interval are needed. Since rice is more susceptible to zinc deficiency, it is desirable to apply zinc sulphate to rice in rice-wheat cropping system. Zinc sulphate applied to rice may suffice for the subsequent 3-4 crops owing to its residual effect and as such its repeat application may not be needed to every crop/year provided the required dose has been applied. However, if zinc sulphate has not been applied to rice and deficiency appears on wheat, the recommended dose of zinc sulphate should be applied. Since by the time the deficiency symptoms of a micro nutrient deficiency appear on the plant, the crop may have undergone considerable damage in respect of its ultimate yield. It is therefore, desirable to test soils for their available micro nutrient status before sowing/transplanting a crop in order to ensure timely corrective measures.
Fig.4. Zinc deficiency symptoms in wheat Amelioration: As soon as the deficiency symptoms appears on the wheat crop, top dress 25 kg zinc sulphate
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