nadeem awan university of poonc, Rawalakot. From zafarwal jarpal

1. SES-221
Introductroy Soil Science=II
Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Agriculture Rawalakot
University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir
email: mohsin_ises@yahoomail.com

2. Plant Nutrition
Plants have nutritional requirements just like humans in order to grow, develop
and complete their life cycle. The supply of nutrients to the plants should be
balanced, ensuring not to over or under-fertilize. Nutrients are classified
according to their importance to plants
Soil Fertility: It is the ability of a soil to supply the essential nutrients for plant
growth. Or The overall ability of a soil to support vigorous crop growth by
ensuring adequate plant nutrients and suitable conditions for water uptake, and
by providing favorable conditions for root growth and development. Fertility is a
synthesis of chemical, physical and biological components and is also
influenced by climatic and management factors.
Soil Productivity: It refers to the capacity of the soil to produce a certain yield
of crops with optimum management. Fertility is only one of a number of factors
that determine the magnitude of yields.
Essential Plant Nutrient: “ An element in the absence of which a plant is unable to complete
its vegetative or reproductive life cycle” and adequate supply of which is essential for
optimum plant growth. There are 19 elements are considered essential for plant
growth.

3. Criteria of Essentiality of a Nutrient
1. Element required by plant to complete its life cycle.
2. Element needs to be directly involved in the nutrition and plants active metabolisms.
3. The need for the nutrient is specific and deficiency of it cannot be corrected by the other
element.
Deficient: When a nutrient is at such a low concentration that plant growth is retarded resulting
in yield reduction. Deficiency symptoms may also be exhibited.
Adequate: When concentration of a nutrient is sufficient for optimum growth of plant.
Insufficient: When the concentration of a nutrient is slightly below the adequate range required
for optimum plant growth and yield. Nutrient deficiency symptoms are are seldom
exhibited.
Toxic: When the level of an essential nutrient or other element is so high that it causes a
severe reduction in plant growth.

4. Macronutrients: essential elements used by plants in relatively large
amounts(present at least 0.1% in plant dry matter) for plant growth are called
macronutrients.
Micronutrients: These elements are required in relatively less quantities(present
less than 0.1% of pant dry matter) as compare to macronutrients.

5. Cobalt (Co), Silicon (Si), Sodium (Na) and Nickle (Ni) and vanadium (V) are also essential
for some higher plants

6. Mobile Nutrients
deficiency symptoms appear in the lower older leaves
Immobile Nutrients
deficiency symptoms appear in the upper younger leaves
Fertilizer Solid, liquid or gaseous material containing one or more fertilizer nutrients more or
less immediately available to plants and acting essentially on the chemical component of
soil fertility.
Balanced fertilization The application of nutrients in proportions best suited to the needs of
the crop taking account of the amounts of each supplied by the soil.
Farmyard manure (manure, dung) Organic manure consisting essentially of faeces, urine
and straw or other litter.
Fertilizer requirement The amounts of plant nutrients required by a crop during its growth
period, assessed in relation to soil and other growing conditions.

7. Fertilizer available in Pakistan
Common name Grade or Analysis (%)
N P2O5 K2O Sulphu
r
Nitrogenous fertilizers
Urea 46 0 0 0
Ammonium sulphate 21 0 0 24
Calcium ammonium Nitrate (CAN) 26 0 0 0
Phosphatic fertilizers
Single Superphosphate (SSP) 0 18 0 12
Triple superphosphate (TSP) 0 46 0 1.5
Diammonium phosphate (DAP) 18 46 0 0
Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP) 11 52 0 2
Potassic fertilizers
Sulphate of potash (SOP) 0 0 50 18
Muriate of potash (MOP) 0 0 60 0
Complex fertilizers
Nitrophosphate (Nitrophos) 23 23 0 0
Complete NPKs 15 15 15 5
10 20 20 6.8
13 13 21 6.0
Micronutrients
Zinc sulphate (Zn 36.0 %) 0 17.8