The identification of nutrient deficiencies of crops in field conditions through visual symptoms is difficult even today. The environmental conditions, growth stages, types of plant species or varieties and many other interactions may cause variations in visual deficiency symptoms.All renowned authors on the subject from Gove Hambidge (the editor of Hunger Signs in Crops), NJ. Grundon (the author of Hungry Crops: A Guide to Nutrient Deficiencies in Field Crops) to William F. Bennet (the editor of Nutrient Deficiencies and Toxicities in Crop Plants) have rightly emphasized that the visual symptoms should not be the sole base of any con elusion when ide ntifying a nutrie nt deficiency problem in field conditions. The visual symptoms should be used with other identification tools such as plant analysis, soil analysis, etc. If treatments are given on the basis of visual diagnosis, the treatments must be applied first on a small strip of the crop to avoid any possible loss due to wrong diagnosis. Following the elders' advice, we also suggest the same. But our purpose in presenting this book is to create mass awareness among the farming community and extension functionaries about the fast emerging deficiency problems around the globe, especially in those areas where soil and plant testing facilities or other diagnostic tools are not promptly available. A segment of our work, entitled A Guide to Identifying and Managing Nutrient Deficiencies in Cereal Crops, published by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (C1MMYT), Mexico and the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), Georgia, USA, was purposely released for use in mass awareness campaigns on food crops in developing countries.
The management recommendations give n in this book are quite genera Iized to suggest only a line of management. The specific nutrient management recommendations should be drawn from the local district recommendations as the input availability and methods of application may vary from place to place. We have tried our best to simplify the nutrient deficiency identification by providing developmental stages with photographs. This large collection is the result of 15 years of our hard work in field with the sole aim of bringing out this kind of compilation. With this much hard work behind us we are extremely happy to present this book.
We are highly grateful to all seniors, plant nutrient experts and friends for technical guidance and constant encouragement. We are thankful to Dr Kaushik Majumdar, Dr T. Satyanarayanaz Dr Raj Gupta, Dr M.L. Jat and Gavin D. Sulewski who edited our previous publication on nutrient deficiency.
We wish to especially thank our elders and family members, the late Professor P.C. Gupta, Smt. Chandrawati, Shri Makkhan Lal Varshney, Smt. Satyawati, Dr Pramod Kumar Gupta, Dr Brijesh Kumar, Shri SanjeevVarshney, Shri Nagesh Gupta, the late Shri Sharad Mittal, Dr Seema and Master Prakhar Ganesh on the one hand and on the other, the late Shri Amichand Sharma, the late Smt. Kasturi Devi, Shri K.P. Sharma, Smt. Saroj Sharma, R.K. Sharma, A.K. Sharma, Smt. Madhulika Sharma, Master Mudit Sharma and Master Pulkit Sharma for their best wishes and ever in creasing encourageme nt for this project.

Foreword ix

Messages xi

Preface xiii

1 An Introduction to Plant Nutrition 1

2 How to Identify Plant Nutrient Deficiencies in Field Conditions 9

PART I NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES IN CEREAL CROPS 23

Maize (Zea mays Linn.) 25

      Nitrogen deficiency 25

      Phosphorus deficiency 27

      Potassium deficiency 29

      Calcium deficiency 31

      Magnesium deficiency 33

      Sulphur deficiency 35

      Iron deficiency 37

      Manganese deficiency 39

      Zinc deficiency 41

      Boron deficiency 43

Rice (Oryza sativa Linn.) 45

      Nitrogen deficiency 45

      Phosphorus deficiency 47

      Potassium deficiency 49

      Sulphur deficiency 51

      Iron deficiency 53

      Zinc deficiency 55

      Boron deficiency 57

Sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers.) 59

      Nitrogen deficiency 59

      Phosphorus deficiency 61

      Potassium deficiency 63

      Calcium deficiency 65

      Sulphur deficiency 67

      Iron deficiency 69

      Zinc deficiency 71

      Manganese deficiency 73

Pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides (Burm.f) Stapf & C.E. Hubb.) 75

      Nitrogen deficiency 75

      Phosphorus deficiency 77

      Potassium deficiency 79

      Calcium deficiency 81

      Sulphur deficiency 83

      Iron deficiency 85

      Zinc deficiency 87

      Manganese deficiency 89

Wheat (Triticum aestivum Linn.) 91

      Nitrogen deficiency 91

      Phosphorus deficiency 93

      Potassium deficiency 95

      Sulphur deficiency 97

      Iron deficiency 99

      Zinc deficiency 101

      Copper deficiency 103

Barley (Hordeum vulgare (L.) emend. Bowden) 105

      Nitrogen deficiency 105

      Phosphorus deficiency 107

      Potassium deficiency 109

      Sulphur deficiency 111

      Iron deficiency 113

      Zinc deficiency 115

PART II NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES IN PULSE CROPS 117

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) 119

      Nitrogen deficiency 119

      Phosphorus deficiency 121

      Potassium deficiency 123

      Magnesium deficiency 125

      Sulphur deficiency 12 7

      Iron deficiency 129

      Manganese deficiency 131

      Zinc deficiency 133

      Copper deficiency 135

Green gram (Vigna radiata Linn.) 137

      Nitrogen deficiency 13 7

      Phosphorus deficiency 139

      Potassium deficiency 141

      Sulphur deficiency 143

      Iron deficiency 145

      Zinc deficiency 147

Black gram (Phaseolus mungo var. radiatus Linn.) 149

      Nitrogen deficiency 149

      Phosphorus deficiency 151

      Potassium deficiency 153

      Sulphur deficiency 155

      Iron deficiency 157

      Zinc deficiency 159

Cowpea (Vigna sinensis Linn.) 161

Nitrogen deficiency 161

Magnesium deficiency 163

Sulphur deficiency 165

Iron deficiency 167

Cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L) Taub) 169

      Nitrogen deficiency 169

      Potassium deficiency 171

      Magnesium deficiency 173

      Sulphur deficiency 175

      Iron deficiency 177

      Zinc deficiency 179

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum Linn.) 181

      Nitrogen deficiency 181

      Phosphorus deficiency 183

      Potassium deficiency 185

      Sulphur deficiency 187

      Iron deficiency 189

      Zinc deficiency 191

Kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris Linn.) 193

      Nitrogen deficiency 193

      Magnesium deficiency 195

      Sulphur deficiency 197

      Iron deficiency 199

      Zinc deficiency 201

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) 203

      Nitrogen deficiency 203

      Phosphorus deficiency 205

      Potassium deficiency 207

      Iron deficiency 209

Pea (Pisum sativum var. arvense Linn.) 211

      Nitrogen deficiency 211

      Potassium deficiency 213

      Magnesium deficiency 215

      Sulphur deficiency 217

      Iron deficiency 219

PART III NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES IN OILSEED CROPS 221

Castor (Ricinus communis Linn.) 223

      Nitrogen deficiency 223

      Phosphorus deficiency 225

      Potassium deficiency 227

      Magnesium deficiency 229

      Sulphur deficiency 231

      Iron deficiency 233

      Zinc deficiency 235

      Manganese deficiency 237

Sesame (Sesamum indicum Linn.) 239

      Nitrogen deficiency 239

      Phosphorus deficiency 241

      Potassium deficiency 243

      Sulphur deficiency 245

      Iron deficiency 247

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius Linn.) 249

      Nitrogen deficiency 249

      Potassium deficiency 251

      Sulphur deficiency 253

      Iron deficiency 255

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus Linn.) 257

      Nitrogen deficiency 257

      Potassium deficiency 259

      Calcium deficiency 261

      Magnesium deficiency 263

      Sulphur deficiency 265

      Iron deficiency 267

      Boron deficiency 269

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea Linn.) 271

      Nitrogen deficiency 271

      Potassium deficiency 273

      Magnesium deficiency 275

      Sulphur deficiency 277

      Iron deficiency 279

      Zinc deficiency 281

      Manganese deficiency 283

Soybean (Glycine max Linn.) 285

      Nitrogen deficiency 285

      Phosphorus deficiency 287

      Potassium deficiency 289

      Magnesium deficiency 291

      Sulphur deficiency 293

      Iron deficiency 295

      Manganese deficiency 297

Mustard (Brassica campestris Linn.) 299

      Nitrogen deficiency 299

      Phosphorus deficiency 301

      Potassium deficiency 303

      Sulphur deficiency 305

      Iron deficiency 307

PART IV NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES IN CASH CROPS 309

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum Linn.) 311

      Nitrogen deficiency 311

      Phosphorus deficiency 313

      Potassium deficiency 315

      Magnesium deficiency 317

      Sulphur deficiency 319

      Iron deficiency 321

      Zinc deficiency 323

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum Linn.) 325

      Nitrogen deficiency 325

      Phosphorus deficiency 327

      Potassium deficiency 329

      Calcium deficiency 331

      Sulphur deficiency 333

      Iron deficiency 335

      Zinc deficiency 337

PART V NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES IN TUBER CROPS 339

Potato (Solanum tuberosum Linn.) 341

      Nitrogen deficiency 341

      Phosphorus deficiency 343

      Potassium deficiency 345

      Sulphur deficiency 347

      Iron deficiency 349

      Zinc deficiency 351

      Manganese deficiency 353

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Linn.) 355

      Nitrogen deficiency 355

      Phosphorus deficiency 357

      Iron deficiency 359

      Manganese deficiency 361

PART VI NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES IN FODDER CROPS 363

Lucerne or Alfalfa (Medicago sativa Linn.) 365

      Nitrogen deficiency 365

      Potassium deficiency 367

      Sulphur deficiency 369

      Iron deficiency 371

Index 373

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