Stage-wise nutrient status of leaf and soil of Alphonso mango grown in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, India

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1 Indian J. Agric. Res., 50 (4) 2016 : Print ISSN: / Online ISSN: X AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE Stage-wise nutrient status of leaf and soil of Alphonso mango grown in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, India N.S. Joshi*, S.S. Prabhudesai, M.M. Burondkar, N.B. Gokhale, K.H. Pujari and J.S. Dhekale College of Agriculture, Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli , India. Received: Accepted: DOI: /ijare.v0iOF ABSTRACT For the present investigation, the soil and leaf samples were collected from four mango orchards of Ratnagiri district at five serial stages namely, after harvest of the fruits of previous season, after application of fertilizers, pre-flowering, full flowering and marble stage of fruit for two successive years. The soil and leaf samples were analyzed for nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Available phosphorous content in soil and total phosphorous and potassium content in leaf were observed to be low. The deficiency of phosphorous content of soil and leaf at all the locations and potassium content of leaf at Dapoli and Pangari locations suggested a necessity of an improved supply of these nutrients through application of additional fertilizers. From the investigation, higher nutrient content of soil and leaf was observed at orchards having higher and systematic application of nutrients. A decline of the soil nutrients and rise of leaf nutrients during pre-flowering, flowering and fruit developmental stages was noticed. This indicated that during reproductive stages, supply of nutrients through leaves would be more effective and efficient than through soil. In general, a positive and significant correlation between soil and leaf nutrients at various stages indicated a positive effect of applied fertilizers through soil in increasing the nutrient status of leaf. From the aforesaid findings, it can be concluded that the appropriate nutrient management in case of Alphonso mango is crucial for maintaining optimum nutrient status of soil and leaf. Key words : Alphonso mango, Leaf nutrients, Ratnagiri soil nutrients, Reproductive stages, Vegetative stage. INTRODUCTION Mango (Mangifera indica L.) also referred as The king of the fruits is the most important commercially grown fruit crop of Indian subcontinent. Alphonso is acclaimed as one of the best among the various commercial varieties of mango grown in the country. This variety is majorly grown in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurga districts of the Maharashtra state. Due to unique characteristics like sugar-acid blend, attractive colour, shape, pleasant aroma, highly appreciable flavour and taste, Alphonso enjoys virtual dominance both in domestic as well as international market. The share of Alphonso alone is 30% in total mango export of the country (Burondkar and Jadhav, 2009). The Ratnagiri district has mainly lateritic soil. The soil is developed from basalt by process of laterization. It is poor in native fertility and having low nutrient retention capacity. In addition, possibly due to heavy rainfall and undulating terrain, there is high nutrient loss due to leaching. These conditions have resulted in deficiency of some macronutrients in soil and thereby in leaf (Pereira et al., 1986). Apart from low fertile soil, malnutrition resulting from improper nutrient management practices seems to be one more major reason for creating dearth of nutrients in soil and leaf in the region (Reddy et al., 2003). Realizing the seriousness of these causes ultimately resulting in drastic lowering of the yield of Alphonso mango, the present study was undertaken. MATERIALS AND METHODS For the present study, the soil and leaf samples were collected from four mango orchards located in Dapoli tahsil (Dist. Rathagiri) specifically at Kelshi 1, Kelshi 2, Pangari and Dapoli. The first two belong to private farmers while the rest two are owned by Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli. The very purpose of selecting the diverse owners was to see the effect of varied nutrient management practices on soil and leaf macronutrient status of Alphonso mango. Twelve trees from each orchard (having age > 40) were brought under study. Samples of soil and leaf of the selected twelve trees for two consecutive years were collected at five serial stages namely after harvest of the fruits of previous season, after application of fertilizers, pre-flowering, full flowering and marble stage of fruit. The soil samples at 0 to 15 cm depth from fertilizer ring of the tree and the leaf samples situated at fourth and fifth position from terminal bud of recently matured shoots were collected (Tandon, 1993). After collection, the soil samples were analyzed for available macronutrients. *Corresponding author s nanjoshi06@gmail.com.

2 (N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O) and the leaf samples for total macronutrients (N, P and K) by following standard procedures. The data obtained from analysis were processed statistically by simple correlation coefficients by using the data analysis software SAS 9.3, ICAR Schedule of manure and fertilizer application and foliar spray at different locations : During both the years of investigation, similar quantities of various nutrients were applied per tree at all locations as per the stages. Kelshi 1 location : Manures: Sheep of 20 kg per tree in the second week of June. Fertilizers : 1) 18: 18 : 20 kg per tree in the second week of June. ) and 1 kg and ammonium 20 g were dissolved in 10 litres of water and applied@ of 200 ml in the fertilizer ring of tree in the third week of July. 3) 3.5 kg per tree in the third week of September. 1) Spraying of 5 g per tree in the third week of October and third week of November (at pre-flowering and flowering stages). ), 1 kg and ammonium 20g were dissolved in 10 litres of water. From, this stock solution,1 litre solution was taken and again dissolved in 200 litres of water. From this solution, 20 litres of solution was applied through foliar spray per tree in the third week of October and fourth week of December (at pre-flowering and flowering stages). 3) Spraying of 20 litres per tree by dissolving 19 kg of it in 200 litres of water in the first week of January (at flowering, at marble and at pea stage of fruit). 4) 13:0:45 through foliar spray by dissolving 1 kg quantity of fertilizer in 200 litres of water and 20 litres per tree in the fourth week of January and February (at flowering, at marble and at pea stage of fruit). Kelshi 2 location : Manures: Sheep 15 kg per tree in the second week of June. Fertilizers : 1) 5:10:5 and 10 kg per tree in the second week of June. ) and 1 kg and ammonium 20 g were Volume 50 Issue 4 (2016) 319 dissolved in 10 litres of water and applied@ 200 ml in the fertilizer ring of tree in the third week of July. 3) 3 kg per tree in the third week of September. 1) Spraying of 1.5 g per tree in the third week of October and third week of November (at pre-flowering and flowering stages). ) 1 kg and ammonium 20g were dissolved in 10 litres of water. From, this stock solution,1 litre solution was taken and again dissolved in 200 litres of water. From this solution, 20 litres of solution was applied through foliar spray per tree in the third week of October and fourth week of December (at pre-flowering and flowering stages). 3) Spraying of litres per tree by dissolving 1 kg of it in 200 litres of water in the third week of January (at flowering, at marble and at pea stage of fruit). 4) 0:0:50 through foliar spray by dissolving 1 kg of fertilizer in 200 litres of water and 100 litres per tree in the third week of February and second week of March (at pea, at egg and fully matured stage of fruit). Dapoli location : Manures: 10 kg per tree in the month of June. Fertilizers : 1) kg, kg and kg in the third week of July, each per tree. 1) Spraying of kg in the month of January and February (after flowering) and kg in the month of March (at pea stage of fruit), each per tree. 2) Spraying of kg in the month of January and February (after flowering) and kg in the month of March (at pea stage of fruit), both per tree. Pangari location: Manures: 5 kg per tree in the month of June. Fertilizers : 1) 3 kg, single super 3 kg and 1.5 kg in the second week of July, all per tree. 1) Foliar sprays of ammonium 0.01 kg molybdenum and kg nitrogen both per tree only during first year ( ) at marble stage of fruit. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Nutrient status of soil : The data presented in Table 1. showed that the available nitrogen content in soil increased after fertilizer application and then decreased gradually up to marble stage at all locations in both the years. Similar

3 320 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH Table 1 : Stage-wise available nitrogen content (kg ha -1 ) in soil at different locations Stage Value Kelshi 1 Kelshi 2 Dapoli Pangari I Min Max Mean II Min Max Mean III Min Max Mean IV Min Max Mean V Min Max Mean trend was also noticed by More (2013). The increase in its content might be attributed application of organic and inorganic fertilizers containing nitrogen to the orchards while the decrease from pre-flowering stage to marble stage may be due to its absorption from soil by tree for its vegetative growth, flowering and fruiting (Mengal and Kirkby, 1996). In general, the available nitrogen content was found to be higher at both the Kelshi locations than Dapoli and Pangari locations. It may be the effect of higher application of nitrogen containing manures and N.P.K. complex fertilizers in soil throughout the life cycle of crop by the farmers at Kelshi locations. From the data, it was also found that all the samples were optimum to excessive class as per the soil fertility norms given by Raghupathi and Bhargava (1997) for Alphonso mango of Ratnagiri district. From the data (Table 2.), it was observed that the available phosphorous content in soil increased after fertilizer application and seen to have reduced from pre-flowering to marble stage at all locations in the both years. Application of manures and inorganic P fertilizers might be the cause for increase in phosphorous content at second stage. Organic manures increase organic matter content in soil which forms soluble organophosphate complexes and thus increase the phosphorous availability (John et al., 2014). From flowering stage to marble stage, no addition of phosphorous in soil was done and was utilized by tree for its vegetative and reproductive growth (Silva, 1997). This may be the reason behind the declining trend of phosphorous. Similar findings and values were reported by More (2013). The data further showed higher content of available phosphorous at mango orchards of Kelshi locations than the orchards at Dapoli and Pangari. Higher content at Kelshi locations may be due to more addition of phosphorous through organic materials (manures) and inorganic (complex fertilizers containing N, Table 2 : Stage-wise available phosphorous (P 2 O 5 ) content (kg ha -1 ) in soil at different locations I Min Max Mean II Min Max Mean III Min Max Mean IV Min Max Mean V Min Max Mean

4 P 2 O 5 and K 2 O) sources in soil by the farmers. According to soil fertility norms (Raghupathi and Bhargava, 1997) for Alphonso mango all the samples had very low to low status of available phosphorous. At all the locations and in both the years, the available potassium content of soil increased after fertilizer application and its declining trend was noticed from preflowering up to marble stage with exception of Kelshi 2 location during second year (Table 3.). Addition of potassium through organic and inorganic materials may have resulted in its increase after second stage. The decreasing trend of available potassium content after pre-flowering stage was also reported by More (2013). This trend denotes the absorption of the nutrient by tree at different growth stages as per the requirement. For both the locations at Kelshi, higher K 2 O status was recorded than other two locations (Dapoli and Pangari). It may be Table 4 : Location-wise total nitrogen content (per cent) in leaf at different stages of crop Volume 50 Issue 4 (2016) 321 Table 3 : Stage-wise available potassium (K 2 O) content (kg ha -1 ) in soil at different locations due to addition of more potassium through manures and commercial complex fertilizers. In general, soil samples from all the locations were categorized into optimum to high class (Raghupathi and Bhargava, 1997) in K 2 O content which showed its adequate amount in all mango orchards. Nutrient status of leaf : From the data, it was observed that the total nitrogen content in leaves (Table 4) steadily increased after fertilizer application up to flowering stage and then decreased at marble stage at all locations in both the years with exception of Kelshi 1 location during first year. Similar trend was reported by Dabke et al., (2013) for Alphonso mango. Application of nitrogenous fertilizers by spraying on leaves might be the reason behind increased content of nitrogen in leaves after fertilizer application and during preflowering and flowering stages at Kelshi 1, Kelshi 2 and Dapoli locations. Along with this reason, absorption of the I Min Max Mean II Min Max Mean III Min Max Mean IV Min Max Mean V Min Max Mean I Min Max Mean II Min Max Mean III Min Max Mean IV Min Max Mean V Min Max Mean

5 322 nitrogen from soil due to its requirement for vegetative and floral growth by tree and its highly mobile nature within mango tree may also be the reasons for increased content of nitrogen in leaves all the locations (Richard, 2014). The decrease in the content during marble stage may be due to its translocation to the developing fruits where it is required in greater amount for fruit development (Chadha et al., 1980). The data further showed higher nitrogen content in leaves of mango orchards of Kelshi locations than Dapoli and Pangari locations. It may be due to variation in nitrogen status of soil and leaf due to differences in management practices (Reddy et al., 2003). As per the leaf nutrient norms for Alphonso mango given by Ganeshamurthy et al., (2013) all the leaf samples at all the locations had optimum content of total nitrogen. The data related to phosphorous content (Table 5.) revealed that after application of fertilizer, the total phosphorous content in leaves increased up to flowering stage and then decreased at marble stage. This trend was noticed at all locations during both the years with exceptions of Dapoli and Pangari locations in first year. A similar trend of phosphorous was found by Hundal et al., (2005), Patil et al., (2010) and Narwadkar and Pandey (1989). The cause for increasing trend might be attributed to spraying of phosphorous on leaves from pre-flowering stage to marble stage at Kelshi 1, Kelshi 2, and Dapoli locations. For all the locations, the increase in the content may be linked to absorption of phosphorous by tree as it is needed during vegetative growth, flowering and fruit development (Chadha et al., 1980). The data also indicated that Kelshi 1 and Kelshi 2 had higher content of leaf P than Dapoli and Pangari locations. Higher status of phosphorous may be the result of its higher application through soil and leaf at these locations. In all, the leaf samples of all mango orchards were found to be deficient in phosphorous content INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH Table 5 : Location-wise total phosphorous content (per cent) in leaf at different stages of crop as per the leaf nutrient norms suggested by Raghupathi and Bhargava (1999) for Alphonso mango of Ratnagiri district. From the data presented in Table 6., a rise in total potassium content of leaves after fertilizer application till flowering and then a fall at marble stage was seen at all locations in first as well as in the second year. Similar trend was observed by Rao and Mukherjee (1988), Hundal et al., (2005) and Dabke et al., (2013). The absorption of potassium from soil by tree after second stage due to its role during vegetative and reproductive growth of plant might be the reason for its increase at all locations (Anonymous, 2015). Along with this, the foliar application of potassium during flowering and fruiting may also be responsible for its increase in leaves after second stage at both the Kelshi locations and at Dapoli location. It s translocation from leaf to the developing fruits during flowering and fruiting might be reflected in showing its declining trend at marble stage (Chadha et al., 1980). The data showed lower amount of leaf K at Pangari and Dapoli locations than both the Kelshi locations. The reason for this might be its higher application to the tree by farmers of Kelshi location than that of Dapoli and Pangari locations. The samples from both the Kelshi locations, in first and second year, were categorized as optimum with exception of few samples as per the leaf nutrient norms for Alphonso mango given by Raghupathi and Bhargava (1999). However, at Dapoli and Pangari locations, during both the years, most of the samples were under low class with exception of very few samples. Correlation between soil and leaf macro- nutrients : The data (Table 7.) showed a positive and significant correlation between soil nitrogen and plant nitrogen after harvest of the fruits of previous season at flowering and at marble stage during first year. During second year, soil N was found to be positively and significantly correlated with plant N I Min Max Mean II Min Max Mean III Min Max Mean IV Min Max Mean V Min Max Mean

6 Table 6 : Location-wise total potassium content (per cent) in leaf at different stages of crop Volume 50 Issue 4 (2016) 323 I Min Max Mean II Min Max Mean III Min Max Mean IV Min Max Mean V Min Max Mean Table 7 : Soil and leaf macronutrients correlations at different stages Stages Macronutrients Nitrogen Phosphorous Potassium 1 st 2 nd 1 st 2 nd 1 st 2 nd I 0.455** II * * 0.369* 0.420* III * * IV 0.294* * 0.231* 0.411** 0.388* V 0.288* 0.426* 0.318* 0.390* * * Significant at 5 per cent level, ** Significant at 1 per cent level after fertilizer application before flowering and at marble stage. In the first year, the soil phosphorous exhibited a positive and significant correlation with leaf phosphorous during flowering and at marble stage. In second year, after fertilizer application, at flowering and at marble stage, the soil phosphorous was positively and significantly correlated with plant phosphorous. The potassium content in soil and leaf during first year had a positive and significant correlation with each other after fertilizer application, at pre-flowering and at flowering stages. In second year, a positive and significant correlation was seen after fertilizer application, at flowering and at marble stage. These results are in the conformity with Thakur et al., (1979), Biswas et al., (1989) Bopaiah et al., (1988) and (Anonymous, 2012). In general, positive and significant correlations between soil and leaf nutrients at different stages indicate that there is positive effect of applied fertilizers through soil in increasing the nutrient status of leaf. CONCLUSION The deficiency of phosphorous content of soil and leaf at all the locations and potassium content of leaf at Dapoli and Pangari locations suggested a necessity of improved supply of these nutrients through application of additional fertilizers. During reproductive stages supply of nutrients through leaves would be more effective and efficient than through soil. For maintaining the optimum nutrient content of leaves at various growth stages, it is important to maintain better fertility of soil in case of Alphonso mango. From these findings, it is affirmed that the appropriate nutrient management in case of Alphonso mango is crucial for maintaining optimum nutrient status of soil and leaf at different growth stages. REFERANCES Anonymous (2012). Report published by Department of Horticulture, Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, Bangalore. Anonymous (2015). Importance of essential nutrients in mango, report published by Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, Bangalore. Biswas, P. P., Joshi, O. P. and Rajput, M. S. (1989). Characterization of mango orchards in relation to P-supplying capacity of soils. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science 37:

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