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A Review of Fertilizer Use Research on Sorghum in India

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Title A Review of Fertilizer Use Research on Sorghum in India
 
Creator Tandon, H L S
Kanwar, J S
 
Subject Sorghum
 
Description This literature review, which covers the period 1960 to 1983, is concerned with the response of grain sorghum to all soil nutrients, related soil and climatic conditions, and the seasons in which the crop is grown. The main objective is to quantify the responses and their relationship to different environments. However, the results clearly demonstrate the widespread deficiency of nitrogen (N), phosphorus(P), and zinc(Zn) under both rainfed and irrigated conditions. High-yielding cultivars have shown greater responses than local cultivars and, invariably, both N and P have shown additive effect. Split application of N is generally more efficient than a single-dose application. When the, 5N technique is used it has been observed that about 62.5% fertilizer N is recovered by sorghum from Alfisols and 55% from Vertisols. Drilling of phosphate proved more efficient than broadcasting. The responses to potassium (K) are rather rare, except in long-term experiments. Responses to the application of Zn are reported, especially in Vertisols when the available Zn is about 1.0-1.2 ppm or less. In the postrainy-season crop the responses to N are dependent on the nature of the cultivar and the nitrate-N level of the soil. The optimum level of nitrogen for sorghum varies from 60 to 120 kg/ha N in the rainy season, 25 to 85 kg/ha N in the postrainy season, and 80 to 150 kg/ha N in the summer season. A finding of the review is that most of the publications reviewed report the results of the so-called rate-and-date type of agronomic research. Little effort appears to have been made to quantify the relationship of fertilizer responses to soil fertility and environments. Though responses to N and P, under both rainfed and irrigated cropping conditions, show that fertilizer use is the key for increasing production, few research data are available on nutrient x moisture interactions and their management.
 
Publisher International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
 
Date 1984
 
Type Monograph
NonPeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
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Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/824/1/RA_00082.pdf
Tandon, H L S and Kanwar, J S (1984) A Review of Fertilizer Use Research on Sorghum in India. Monograph. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.