PJB-2017-69
Soil and plant nutrient status and spatial variability for sugarcane in lower Sindh (Pakistan)
M.Y. Arain, K.S. Memon, M.S. Akhtar and M. Memon
Abstract
Soil and plant nutrient status (N, P, K, B, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) of sugarcane fields with the spatial variation and associated was investigated plant nutrient concentrations of sugarcane grown in district Thatta of lower Sindh, through a field survey approach. Soils were low in nitrogen (NO3-N 0.55-9.20 mg kg-1), low to medium in phosphorus (1.20 to 9.48 mg kg-1), and adequate in extractable potassium (above 108 mg kg-1). Among the micronutrients, zinc was low (0.80 mg kg-1), boron was medium (0.56) while copper and iron were adequate (3.02 and 19.48 mg kg-1, respectively). The soil test values had spatial structure especially in case of soil phosphorus, nitrate, copper and manganese, which better fit in the linear model implying that variance in these soil nutrients was yet increasing with the distance of sampling scale. The spatial structure of soil potassium and zinc fit the spherical model indicating that they varied in a “patchy” way; and the range of spatial correlation provides an average extent of these patches. The nugget/sill value between 25 and 75 % indicated medium spatial dependence with the range of 89 km for plant available zinc. Among plant nutrients, the mean nitrogen (1.76%) was slightly below the critical value in 49% samples and phosphorus with mean content of 0.18% blow critical level in 43% plant samples suggesting deficiencies of these nutrients, while the potassium content (1.87%) was indicative of a luxurious uptake. Among micronutrients plant zinc level with mean value of 19.52 mg kg-1 was below critical level in 24% and boron with mean value of 6.81 mg kg-1 was below in 21% plant samples. While copper, iron and manganese were in optimum range
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