Presented By: Dhaval Bhanderi Topics: Potassium Deficiency and remedies, Soil Fertility Evaluation, Cotton Introduction, Adoption of Fertilizer dose in Cotton crop

2. Presented To:-
Professor,
Department of Agricultural
Chemistry & Soil Science,
COA,JAU,Mota Bhandariya
Presented By :-
Roll No. : 06

3. TOPICS
1. Potassium Deficiency and Remedies
2. Soil Fertility Evaluation
3. Cotton Introduction
4. Adoption of Fertilizer Dose in Cotton Crop
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4. 2

5. Potassium Deficiency in Plants
Potassium Deficiency, also known
as Potash Deficiency, is a plant disorder that is
most common on light, sandy soils,
because potassium ions (K+) are highly soluble
and will easily leach from soils without colloids.
Potassium deficiency is also common
in chalky or peaty soils with a low clay content. It
is also found on heavy clays with a poor structure.
3

6. Role Of Potassium In Plants
The main role of potassium is to provide the ionic
environment for metabolic processes in the cytosol, and as
such functions as a regulator of various processes
including growth regulation.
Plants require potassium ions (K+) for protein
synthesis and for the opening and closing of stomata.
Potassium also functions in other physiological processes
such as
 Protein Synthesis,
 Activation of some enzymes,
 Phloem solute transport of Photoassimilates into source organs,
and
 Maintenance of cation:anion balance in the cytosol and vacuole. 4

7. Symptoms Of Potassium Deficiency
 Typical symptoms of potassium deficiency in plants
include brown scorching and curling of leaf tips as
well as chlorosis (yellowing) between leaf veins.
 Purple spots may also appear on the leaf undersides.
Plant growth, root development, and seed and fruit
development are usually reduced in potassium-
deficient plants.
 Often, potassium deficiency symptoms first appear on
older (lower) leaves because potassium is a mobile
nutrient, meaning that a plant can allocate potassium
to younger leaves when it is K deficient. 5

8. Specific symptoms for each of these plants
are as follows:
In potatoes, tuber size is much reduced and crop
yield is low. The leaves of the plant appear dull and
are often blue-green in color with intervenal chlorosis.
Leaves will also develop small, dark brown spots on
the undersides and a bronzed appearance on the upper
surfaces.
In brassicas, leaves are blue-green in color and
may have a low degree of intervenal chlorosis.
Scorching along the outside edges of leaves is
common, and leaves are often tough in texture due to
slow growth. 6

9. In tomatoes, the stems are woody and
growth is slow. Leaves are blue-green in color, and
the intervenal area often fades to a pale gray color.
Leaves may also have a bronzed appearance and
yellow and orange patches may develop on some of
the leaflets. Fruits often ripen unevenly and
sometimes have green patches near the stalks.
In apples, leaves are scorched around the
edges, and intervenal chlorosis is common. Apple
fruits often have a slightly acidic or woody taste.
7

10. Potassium Deficiency on
Tomato leaf 8

11. Patassium Deficiency
on Potato leaves
Potassium Deficiency
on Banana leaf
9

12. Potassium-deficient
Maize plant. 10

13. Deficiencies may occur
Because of low reserves of potassium in the soil
or limited availability to the plant.
Soils with low pH and sandy or light soils with
little organic content are prone to nutrient leaching
and drought, and may, therefore, cause problems.
Heavy irrigation and high rainfall wash the
nutrients from the root zone and can also lead to
deficiency.
High levels of phosphorus, magnesium, and iron
can also compete with potassium. 11

14. Potassium Deficiency &
Plant Disease
For many species, potassium-deficient plants are more
susceptible to frost damage and certain diseases than plants
with adequate potassium levels.
Increased disease resistance associated with adequate
potassium levels indicates that potassium has roles in
providing disease resistance, and increasing the potassium
levels of deficient plants have been shown to decrease the
intensity of many diseases.
However, increasing potassium concentration above the
optimal level does not provide greater disease resistance.
12

15. In agriculture, some cultivars are more efficient at K uptake
due to genetic variations, and often these plants have increased
disease resistance.
The mechanisms involved with increased host resistance and
potassium include a decreased cell permeability and decreased
susceptibility to tissue penetration.
Silica, which is accumulated in greater quantities when
adequate potassium is present, is incorporated into cell walls,
strengthening the epidermal layer which functions as a physical
barrier to pathogens.
Potassium has also been implicated to have a role in the proper
thickening of cell walls.
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16. Preventive Measures
Highly acid or alkaline soils often lead to major and
minor element deficiencies.
Check the pH of the soil and lime if necessary to get the
optimal range.
Cultivate varieties that are more eficient in the uptake of
potassium.
Ensure a balanced use of fertilizers to secure a proper
nutrients supply to the plant.
 Add organic matter to the soil in the form of manure or
plant mulch.
Water plants regularly and avoid flooding of fields. 14

17. Biological Control
 Add organic matter in the form of ashes or
plant mulch to the soil at least once a year.
 Wood ash also has high potassium content.
 Liming acidic soils can increase potassium
retention in some soils by reducing leaching.
15

18. Chemical Control
 A variety of potassium fertilizers is available in
the market.
 The formulation of the potassium applied can
play an important role in quality and yields.
 The most widely used product is Potassium
Chloride (Muriate of Potash).
 Other mineral fertilizers include potassium
nitrate, potassium sulfate, and mono-potassium
phosphate.
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19. 17

20. Objectives
Assess nutrient status of soil-crop system
Diagnose suspected nutrient imbalances
Monitor effects of management on crop nutrient status,
soil fertility.
Provide basis for making fertilizer recommendations for -
 Improving yield and quality
 Improving fertilizer use efficiency
 Decreasing impacts on water and air quality, climate change
 Assess availability of toxic elements
 Improve soil quality
18

21. Nutrient management practices formulated
to achieve economically optimum plant performance
as well as minimal leakage of plant nutrients from the
soil-plant system can only be optimized after soil
fertility evaluation. Thus, soil fertility evaluation is a
central feature of modern soil fertility management.
The fundamental purpose of soil fertility evaluation is
to quantify the ability of soils to supply nutrients for
plant growth.
Soil Fertility Evaluation
19

22. Soil fertility evaluation can be carried out using a
range of field and laboratory diagnostic techniques and a series
of increasingly sophisticated empirical and/or theoretical
models that quantitatively relate indicators of soil fertility to
plant response.
The diagnostic techniques include chemical and
biological soil tests, visual observations of plant growth for
nutrient deficiency or toxicity symptoms and chemical analysis
of plant tissues.
New approaches include passive or active optical
sensing technologies and geographical information systems
that facilitate landscape scale site-specific assessment of soil
fertility and can better describe and address the temporal and
spatial variability of soil fertility.
In view of the need to balance productivity and
environmental protection for a wider and more diverse range
of land uses, soil fertility evaluation is more complex today as
illustrated conceptually in Figure.
20

23. Conceptual summary of the process of soil fertility evaluation
(Modified from Thomas Sims and McGrath 2011) :-
21

24. Tools of Soil Fertility Evaluation
1. Visual analysis for deficiency symptoms
2. Plant testing
3. Soil testing
4. Plant response experiments
22

25. Soil Testing
 The four basic components of soil testing are soil sample
collection and handling, soil analysis, interpretation of
results, and recommendations for actions. For successful
soil fertility evaluation each component must be
conducted properly.
 A soil sample is the basic entity which is used for
evaluation of soil fertility and for giving advice to the
farmer for a profitable manipulation of soil fertility. Thus,
it is important that soil sample should be truly
representative of the field.
23

26.  If a field is too heterogeneous, as it may appear from the
undulating nature or knowledge about the previous crop
cover, several samples from the parts of soil which are
apparently more homogenous, should be collected. It has
been observed that the error in sampling a field is larger
than the error in laboratory analysis.
 In fact, a soil test is no better than the sample on which it
is performed. Ideally, samples should be taken prior to
seeding and before applying any amendments. In order to
make an intelligent use of periodical soil tests, careful
recording of inputs and outputs is essential.
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27.  The fundamental tenet of soil testing is that only a
proportion of the total quantity of a nutrient
element becomes available for assimilation by
plants.
 Thus, a soil test extracts via complexation,
dissolution, desorption, exchange or hydrolyzation
a percentage of total soil nutrient pool that is
proportional to the quantity that will become
available to the plant.
 A large number of different empirical soil tests are
currently in use to measure available nutrients,
even for a single element.
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28. 26

29. Time of Sampling
 Prior to Fertilization or Seeding for Predicting
Fertilizer Requirements.
 In-season to monitor movement or
mineralization / immobilization.
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30. Sample Handling
 Avoid contamination, e.g. don’t use a metal
bucket when sampling for micronutrients;
some wax lined bags have N residues.
 Keep samples cool for elements that undergo
microbial transformations, such as N & S.
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31. Soil Sampling References
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32. 30

33. Cotton is one of the most important
fiber and cash crop of India and plays a
dominant role in the industrial and agricultural
economy of the country. It provides the basic
raw material (cotton fibre) to cotton textile
industry. Cotton in India provides direct
livelihood to 6 million farmers and about 40 -
50 million people are employed in cotton
trade and its processing. 31

34. Cultivated Species
There are four Cultivated species of cotton:
Gossypium arboreum Diploid (2n=26)
Old World Cotton /
Asiatic Cottons
Gossypium herbaceum Diploid (2n=26)
Old World Cotton /
Asiatic Cottons
Gossypium hirsutum
Tetraploid
(2n=52)
New World Cotton /
American Cotton
Gossypium barbadense
Tetraploid
(2n=52)
New World Cotton /
Egyptian Cotton
32

35.  G.hirsutum is the predominant species
which alone contributes about 90% to the
global production.
Perhaps, India is the only country in the
world where all the four cultivated
species are grown on commercial scale.
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36. Climate & Soil Requirement
Cotton is grown in tropical & sub tropical conditions.
A minimum temperature of 15oC is required for better
germination at field conditions.
The optimum temperature for vegetative growth is 21-
27oC & it can tolerate temperature to the extent of
43oC but temperature below 21oC is detrimental to the
crop.
Cotton is grown on a variety of soils ranging from
well drained deep alluvial soils in the north to black
clayey soils of varying depth in central region and in
black and mixed black and red soils in south zone.
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37. Preparation of land
The land is worked upon with tractor-drawn
implements, then levelled & planked before preparing
ridges upon which sowing is done.
Deep ploughing recommended to destroy perennial
weeds once in 4 years.
The field is prepared by repeated harrowing with a
blade harrow prior to the onset of pre-monsoon rains.
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38. Method of Sowing
 Cotton is sown using tractor or bullock drawn seed
drill or by dibbling.
 Hand dibbling of seed is now main system of sowing
of Bt. Hybrids
36

39. Irrigation Scheduling
 Depending upon the climate & crop-growing period,
cotton needs 700-1200 mm water to meet its
maximum water requirement.
 The water requirement is low during first 60-70 days
after sowing & highest during flowering & boll
development.
 Cotton is commonly flood irrigated although
irrigation by furrow or alternate furrow method is
more effective and water saving.
 On Black soils, 5-7 irrigations & On Sandy loam
soils, 8-10 irrigations are commonly given. 37

40. Inter cultivation & Weed control
Inter-cultivation is done fairly regularly by either a blade
harrow with a three tined hoe or a desi plough.
Cotton yields are reduced by 50 to 85% if weed growth is
unchecked.
Deep rooted perennial weeds are removed by summer
ploughing.
Thinning is desirable for maintaining the optimum
population of plants to obtain a high yield.
Pendimethalin @ 1 kg ai/ha. as pre-emergence with one
hand weeding and crosswise hoeing has been
recommended for satisfactory weed control.
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41. 39

42. Steps of Survey
1. Collection of Fertilizer data that applied by
Farmers
2. Take Average of Fertilizer data
3. Compare data with Recommended dose
4. Graphical Representation of NPK
5. Calculation of Z-test & it’s Result
6. Conclusion
7. Give Suggestion to Farmers for increasing
income by Adopting proper fertilizer dose. 40

43. Material & Method
 The data of the Fertilizer dose were taken from Hadala village of
Amreli district.
 Farmers gave the informations of fertilizers used by them in cotton
crop.
 I found that the application of fertilizer dose is differ from farmer to
farmer.
 Most of Farmers gives the application of Urea & DAP.
 The application of Potassium is rarely given by Farmers.
 The Farmers does not aware about Soil Health Card.
 Whole Experiment is based on the collection of data of fertilizer
from 50 farmers.
 After collecting Fertilizer data, we calculate the NPK and made a
datasheet.
 Then the data is compared with the University Recommendation.
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44. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 282930 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 3940 41 424344454647484950
N
Applied
(Kg/Ha.)
No. of Farmers
Nitrogen Applied by Farmers
42

45. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 4849 50
P
Applied
(Kg./Ha.)
No. of Farmers
Phosphorus Applied by Farmers
43

46. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 4849 50
K
Applied
(Kg./Ha.)
No. of Farmers
Potassium Applied by Farmers
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47. CONCLUSION
After Calculating Z-test, we found that the dose of
applied NPK is lower as compared to the
Recommendation.
So, it is advisable to the Farmers to apply the
Fertilizer dose according to the Recommendation of
the University.
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