in District Kulgam Mumtaz Ahmad Ganie

209 Pages·2016·7.91 MB·English

by  Mumtaz Ahmad Ganie

Establishment and Application of Diagnosis and
Recommendation Integrated System Norms for Apple
(cv. Red Delicious) in District Kulgam

Mumtaz Ahmad Ganie
(2012-426-D)

Division of Soil Science
Faculty of Agriculture
Sher-e-Kashmir
University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of
Kashmir

2016

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Establishment and Application of Diagnosis and
Recommendation Integrated System Norms for Apple
(cv. Red Delicious) in District Kulgam

Mumtaz Ahmad Ganie
(2012-426-D)

Thesis

Submitted to

The Faculty of Agriculture
Sher-e-Kashmir
University of Agricultural Sciences &Technology of Kashmir
in partial fulfillment of requirement for the award of the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Agriculture
(Soil Science)
2016

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Sher-e-Kashmir
University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir
Faculty of Agriculture
Division of Soil Science,
Shalimar Campus Srinagar– 190 025
-::o::-
Certificate – I
This is to certify that the thesis entitled,“Establishment and
Application of Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System
Norms for Apple (cv. Red Delicious) in District Kulgam”
submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agriculture (Soil Science) to the
Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural
Sciences & Technology of Kashmir is a record of bonafide research
work carried out by Mr.Mumtaz Ahmad Ganie (Regd. No. 2012-
426-D) under my supervision and guidance. No part of the thesis has
been submitted for any other degree or diploma.
It is further certified that information received during the course
of investigation has duly been acknowledged.

(Dr. M. A. Malik)
Chairman
Advisory Committee

Endorsed

Prof. & Head,
Division of Soil Science Shalimar

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Sher-e-Kashmir
University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir
Faculty of Agriculture
Division of Soil Science,
Shalimar Campus Srinagar– 190 025
-::o::-

Certificate – II
We, the members of the Advisory Committee of Mr. Mumtaz
Ahmad Ganie (Regd. No. 2012-426-D), a candidate for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Agriculture (Soil Science) have gone
through the manuscript of the thesis entitled, “Establishment and
Application of Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System
Norms for Apple(cv. Red Delicious) in District Kulgam”and
recommend that it may be submitted by the student in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Chairman Dr. M. A. Malik,
Associate Professor
Division of Soil Science,
SKUAST-K, Shalimar

Members
Dr. J. A. Sofi, Dr. M. A. Mir,
Associate Professor (Soil Science), Associate Professor,
Division of Fruit Science,
RCRQA, SKUAST-K, Shalimar
SKUAST-K, Shalimar

Dr. S. A. Mir, D r. Shoukat Ara,
Professor and Head, A s s o c i a t e Professor,
Division of Agri-Statistics, Division of Environmental Science,
SKUAST-K, Shalimar SKUAST-K, Shalimar
(Dean PG Nominee)

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Sher-e-Kashmir
University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir
Faculty of Agriculture
Shalimar Campus Srinagar– 190 025
-::o::-
Certificate – III
This is to certify that the thesis entitled, “Establishment and
Application of Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System
Norms for Apple (cv. Red Delicious) in District Kulgam”submitted
by Mr. Mumtaz Ahmad Ganie (Regd. No. 2012-426-D) to the
Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural
Sciences & Technology of Kashmir in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
Agriculture (Soil Science) was examined and approved by the
Advisory Committee and External Examiner on 8th of January 2016.

Chairman External Examiner
Advisory Committee

Prof. & Head,
Division of Soil Science

Dean Agriculture
SKUAST-K

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Sher-e-Kashmir
University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir
Division of Soil Science, Shalimar campus-190 025
-::o::-
Name of the student : Mumtaz Ahmad Ganie
Registration No. : 2012-426-D
Major Subject : Soil Science
Minor Subjects : Fruit Science/Plant physiology
Major Advisor : Dr. M. A. Malik,
Associate Professor,
Division of Soil Science,
SKUAST-K, Shalimar
Title of the Thesis : Establishment and Application of DRIS
norms for Apple (cv. Red Delicious) in
District Kulgam
ABSTRACT
The present-day nutritionally important problem in cultivation of apple is uptake
of calcium and deficiency of boron. Boron deficiency in apple is diagnosed by soil
and or plant analysis. However, for boron soil analysis is very important as the
range between its deficiency and toxicity is pretty narrow hence may prove toxic
to plants after its application slightly over the optimum level. All the above
mentioned problems highlights two issues; one the requirement for a careful
assessment of the status of available boron in soils for judicious use of boron
fertilizers and two area wise standardization of calcium and boron requirement for
apple. Hence the main motive of the research problem was to work out the best
extractant for soil boron analysis and address the requirement of calcium and
boron supply through diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS).
For fulfilling these objectives soil sampling was carried out in thirty orchards
belonging to three physiographic zones in district Kulgam viz., High, mid and low
altitude zones. The apple orchard soils from district Kulgam were moderately
acidic in high altitude areas to neutral in low altitude areas. Organic carbon
content was high in all the three zones and increased with the increase in altitude.
The available nitrogen, potassium, zinc, copper, iron, manganese and boron
increased with increase in altitude while as reverse trend was observed in case of
phosphorus and magnesium, however, calcium and sulphur did not exhibit any
relationship with altitude. Foliar nutrients followed the similar trend with altitude
except calcium. Besides nutrient indexing four extractants widely used to
determine plant-available boron from either acidic or alkaline soils were tested for

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boron extraction in apple orchard soils of district Kulgam. The hot-water-soluble
boron (HWSB) extraction procedure was used as a benchmark to see any relative
variation in available boron in comparison with alternate extractants like calcium
chloride-mannitol (CaCl -mannitol), Ammonium acetate and diethylene-
2
triaminepentaacetic acid-sorbitol (DTPA-sorbtol). The greatest mean boron
concentration (3.25 mg kg-1) was obtained by ammonium acetate followed by hot
water extraction (2.29 mg kg-1), whereas the lowest was obtained by CaCl -
2
mannitol (0.71 mg kg-1). Although there was significant correlation obtained for
available B among all the extractants tested, the strongest correlation (r = 0.975**
at P < 0.01) was observed between HWSB and DTPA-sorbitol and hence may
substitute the hot water extraction method for plant-available B. Besides soil, leaf
samples (5 from each orchard) from 162 low yielding (< 100qha-1) and 138 high
yielding (≥ 100qha-1) orchards were collected and investigated for nutritional
status for development of DRIS norms. Meanwhile a field experiment was
conducted in the farmer’s orchard at village Odura in district Kulgam to study the
response of apple to different levels of foliar application of calcium and boron.
The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with four levels of
calcium-chloride spray (C -0 mg kg-1, C -1000 mg kg-1, C -2000 mg kg-1 and C -
0 1 2 3
3000 mg kg-1) and four levels of boronspray (source boric acid) (B -0 mg kg-1, B -
0 1
500 mg kg-1, B -1000 mg kg-1 and B -1500 mg kg-1). Three sprays each of
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calcium chloride and boron were given and the experiment was replicated thrice.
First spray of boron was given at bud burst stage, followed by second spray at
pink bud stage and finally third spray was given at beginning of flowering.
However, first spray of calcium chloride was given 21 days after fruit set,
followed by second spray after 21 days of first spray and finally third spray was
given 21 days after second spray of calcium chloride. All apple trees were given
uniform recommended dose of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium of 1500g,
750g and 1500g urea, diammonium phosphate and potash tree-1, respectively
along with farm yard manure of 25 kg tree-1. Leaf samples were collected
treatment wise and analyzed for all the essential nutrients. Then the DRIS norms
previously developed were used to work out the order of nutrient requirement and
nutrient imbalance index (NII) as per the method of Beaufils (1973), Jones (1981)
and Elwali and Gascho (1984). The treatment combination of C B recorded
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maximum yield and minimum NII as per all the applied methods, hence the best
combination for Kulgam district. Moreover the regression models of NII
calculated by the above methods and yield depicted Beaufils (1973) method as the
efficient one among the three.

Key words: Apple, boron, boron extraction, calcium chloride, DRIS norms, foliar
diagnosis and nutrient indexing.

Signature of Student Signature of Major Advisor
Dated: ___________ Dated: ________________

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Verily the praise and thanks is due to Allah, the glorified and exalted. We
offer to Him all the praise and gratitude, and we seek His guidance and
forgiveness. Countless blessings be upon beloved prophet Mohammad, his blessed
family and all of his noble companions; the standard of righteousness.
The thesis grew out of a series of dialogues with my esteemed advisor
Dr. M. A. Malik, Associate Professor, Division of Soil Science, SKUAST-K.
Through his Socratic questioning, he brought me closer to the reality I had
perceived, eventually enabling me to grasp its rich complexity. His capacity to
combine critique with an immediate empathy and commitment towards workers
and others engaged in struggle will always inspire me. This thesis wouldn’t have
been possible without his kind support and trenchant critiques, the probing
questions and the remarkable patience. I don’t have words to express him
regarding his skills, his patience, his intellect, his lucrative attitude and many
more. I am indeed privileged to have been guided and groomed under a dexterous
soil scientist of unchallenged repute.
I felt myself obsessed with the encouraging help and guidance made
available to me by Dr. J. A. Wani, Professor & Head, Division of Soil Science.
I am highly grateful to Dr. Tahir Ali, Professor, Division of Soil Science,
SKUAST-K for his constant encouragement, valuable suggestions and generous
help during research.
I extend my sincere thanks to members of my advisory committee Dr.
Shoukat Ara, Associate Professor, Division of Environmental Science,
SKUAST-K (Dean PG Nominee), Dr. J. A. Sofi, Associate Professor (Soil
Science), RCRQA, SKUAST-K, Dr. S. A. Mir, Professor & Head, Division of
Agri-Statistics, SKUAST-K and Dr. M. A. Mir, Associate Professor, Division
of Fruit Science, SKUAST-K for their valuable guidance and suggestions during
the study and for helping in finalization of the manuscript.
I place on record my respect and thanks to, Dr. G.R. Najar, Dr, M. A.
Wani, Dr, M. A. Bhat, Dr. M. A. Dar, Dr. D. Ram, Dr. N. A. Kirmani, Dr.
Subhash Chand, Dr. S. K. Raina, Dr. Farida Akhter, Dr Uzma Bashir, Dr.
Shaista Nazir and Dr. Z. A. Baba, my course instructors for their whole hearted
cooperation during the entire period of study.

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A heartfelt gratitude is extended to DST for awarding me with
INSPIRE doctoral fellowship that boosted my morale and kept me financially
stable.
Special thanks to my friends and colleagues viz. Dr. M. Abbas Shah
(ARS), Dr. J.M. Junaid, Dr. Aarif H. Bhat, Dr. Aabid H. Lone, Dr. M. Aneesul
Mehmood, Dr. Sartaj A. Ganie, Dr. Mushtaq Elahie, Dr. Irshadul Haq, Dr. Ab.
Raouif Mailik, Dr. Suhail A. Dand, Dr. Tawseef A. Lone, Shahid ul Islam,
Umar Farooq, Shoaib Ishtiyaq, Dr. S.A. Bangroo, S. Samilullah, Dr. Iqbal
Jeelani, Dr. Showkat A. Rather, Dr. Zahoor A. Ganie andDr. Waseem Hussain
(ICAR-International Fellows), Dr. Basharat M. Wani, Dr. Shamsul Haq, M.
Altaf Ganie, Dr. Nayeem Sofi, Dr. Ab Qayoom Ganie, Dr. Zahoor Ahmad, Mr.
Ikhlaq and Baba Aabid for their cooperation, appreciation and nice company
during my studies.
I am highly thankful to ARIS and Library staff members of SKUAST-K
for their constant encouragement, valuable suggestions and generous help during
preparation of this manuscript.
I am also thankful to all the non-teaching staff members of Division of
Soil Science, SKUAST-K for their cooperation with special reference to Mr.
Shabir Ahmad, Mr. Gh. Hassan, Mr. Ali Mohammad, Mr. Mohd Ismail, Mr.
Manzoor Ahmad, Mr Tariq Ahmad, Mr. Mohd Yousuf, Mr. Gh. Hassan and
Mr. Abdul Majid.
Words fail to express my gratitude to my late Father, my caring Mother,
loving sisters, my brother (Mohd Rafiq Ganie), my bhaby, nephews (Rayan,
Affan, Bargees, Owais and Salif), nieces (Mazia, Hafsa, Souda and Hibba) and
my best friends for their good wishes, moral support, sustained help and constant
encouragement which propped my toppling confidence and enabled me to
complete this uphill task.
Last but not least, I thank all those who helped me any way during the
course of the study. I thank them one and all.

Mumtaz Ahmad Ganie
Place : Shalimar, Srinagar
Dated : ………………………...

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