Abstract
The conception of critical limit (CL) of a nutrient element distinguishes its deficiency from sufficiency, which could advise fertilizer application. A pot culture experiment was conducted during Rabi season (2019–2020) to study the CL of sulphur (S) in soil and plant. A total of 20 soil samples collected from intensive cropping areas of three agroecological zones (AEZs) of Bangladesh were used in the experiment. The 0.15% CaCl2 extractable S (expressed as available S) contents of the test soils ranged from 6.84 mg/kg to 38 mg/kg. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cv. BARI gom 30 and mustard (Brassica napus L.) cv. BINA sorisha 9 were used as test crops in this study. There were two rates of S application to soil-0 and 15 mg/kg for wheat and 0 and 18 mg/kg for mustard from gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O). Each S treatment was replicated thrice. Dry matter yield, S content and S uptake by the crops increased with added S. For mustard, the CL of soil S was estimated to be 14 mg/kg by graphical procedure and 11 mg/kg in statistical method while plant tissue concentration showed the CL of 0.35% in both methods. The CL of soil S for wheat was found to be 14 mg/kg and 11 mg/kg in graphical and statistical methods, respectively, and the CL of plant tissue concentration was recorded as 0.14%, in both methods. It is expected that mustard and wheat crops would respond to S fertilization in soils containing S at or below the CL. The results would be useful for predicting crop (wheat and mustard) response to S fertilizer and developing efficient S fertilizer management to promote sustainable crop production.
Highlights
Sulphur (S) is one of the essential plant nutrients, ranked as the fourth most important plant nutrient after nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) [1]
Textural classes of the soils show that 7 soils were sandy loam, 6 soils were clay loam, 5 soils were loam and 2 soils were clay following the USDA system; which indicates a wide variation from relatively coarse to fine texture
Other major soil nutrient contents were analysed to support the effect of S content in soil and its application on the growth of wheat and mustard
Summary
Sulphur (S) is one of the essential plant nutrients, ranked as the fourth most important plant nutrient after nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) [1]. It is a major component of S-containing amino acids and plays a vital role in forming chlorophyll, oils, etc., and enzyme activation. Approximately 3.31 million hectares of land have been categorized as S deficient soil in Bangladesh with an application rate of 8–12 kg/ha [7].
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