Effect of different sources of iron and sulphur on leaf chlorosis, nutrient uptake and yield of groundnut

Abstract

The pot experiment conducted in calcareous soil of Saurashtra, India showed that application of lime (20% CaCO3) and excess water (irrigation at -0.3 bar) to the soil enhanced chlorosis in groundnut leaves caused by induced deficiencies of iron, sulphur and zinc, which was recovered by applying agricultural grade chemicals containing iron, sulphur and zinc. This chlorosis caused 29.8 and 19.1% reduction in pod yield of groundnut due to lime and excess water, respectively in the untreated control pot and 17.1 and 9.6%, respectively in the pot treated with different chemicals. Application of iron sulphate, zinc sulphate, iron pyrite, gypsum, phospho-gypsum, elemental sulphur, wettable sulphur and Fe-EDTA decreased chlorosis and increased chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of leaves, uptake of Fe, S and Zn and pod yield of groundnut significantly. The foliar spray of 0.5% aqueous solution of iron sulphate, zinc sulphate and Fe-EDTA at 20, 35, 50 and 65 days after emergence (DAE) was more effective than their soil applications. The Fe-EDTA corrected only iron chlorosis, and gypsum, phosphogypsum and elemental sulphur only sulphur chlorosis. However, iron sulphate and iron pyrite corrected iron and sulphur and zinc sulphate corrected zinc and sulphur chlorosis. Among the soil amendments, application of iron sulphate and iron pyrite showed better responses to groundnut and showed higher Fe and S uptake than other treatments. The responses of gypsum, phosphogypsum and elemental sulphur were at par. The correlation study showed that pod yield of groundnut was negatively correlated with chlorosis and positively correlated with the chlorophyll and carotenoid contents in groundnut leaves.