Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry Technologies Developed

1. STCR –IPNS Technologies

Soil test and yield target based fertilizer prescriptions under Integrated Plant Nutrition System (STCR-IPNS) have been developed for 31 agricultural and horticultural crops and 10 major cropping sequences on 17 soil series covering six agroclimatic zones of Tamil Nadu.These fertilizer prescriptions can be adoptedwithrecommended secondary and micronutrients along with the entire improved package of practices for various crops in similar and allied soil types occurring in different agro climatic zones of  Tamil Nadu.

Fertiliser Prescription Equations (with FYM)
Crop/Variety	Soil		Prescription Equation	Applicable Districts
1.Rice – Kharif (short duration varieties)	Sandy  loam to clay loam River alluvium (Noyyal series)		FN = 4.39 T – 0.52 SN – 0.80 ON FP2O5 = 2.22 T – 3.63 SP  – 0.98 OP FK2O = 2.44 T – 0.39 SK – 0.72 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Vellore
2.Rice – Rabi (medium & long duration varieties)	Sandy  loam to clay loam River alluvium (Noyyal series)		FN = 4.63 T – 0.56  SN – 0.90 ON FP2O5 = 1.98 T – 3.18  SP-  0.99  OP FK2O = 2.57 T – 0.42  SK – 0.67 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Vellore
3.Rice (SRI)-kharif(short duration varieties)	Sandy  loam to clay loam River alluvium (Noyyal series)		FN = 4.33 T – 0.53 SN – 0.68 ON FP2O5 = 2.08 T – 3.18 SP – 0.70  OP FK2O = 2.78 T – 0.30 SK – 0.63 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Vellore
4.Rice(SRI)- Rabi (medium &Longduration varieties)	Sandy  loam to clay loam River alluvium (Noyyal series)		FN = 4.20 T – 0.45 SP – 0.68 ON FP2O5 = 2.05 T – 2.65 SP – 0.66 OP FK2O = 2.85 T – 0.29 SK – 0.59 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Vellore
5.Rice (SRI)-Rabi (var. White Ponni)	Sandy  loam to clay loam River alluvium (Noyyal series)		FN = 3.43T – 0.34 SN – 0.64 ON FP2O5 = 1.83T – 3.24 SP – 0.61  OP FK2O = 1.98T – 0.18 SK – 0.37 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Vellore
6.Rice – Kharif (short duration varieties)	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 5.19 T – 0.89  SN -0.98 ON FP2O5 = 2.27 T – 4.50  SP -1.09  OP FK2O = 3.11 T –  0.59 SK -1.02 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur.
7.Rice – Rabi (medium & long duration varieties)	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 4.88 T – 0.68 SN – 0.72 ON FP2O5 = 2.06 T – 2.91 SP – 2.27 OP FK2O = 2.89 T – 0.47 SK – 0.59 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur.
8.Rice – Rabi (medium & long duration varieties)	Clay loam Black alluvium (Adanur series)		FN = 2.80 T- 0.29 SN – 0.89 ON FP2O5 = 1.35 T – 1.28 SP – 1.78 OP FK2O = 2.50 T – 0.42 SK -1.14 OK	Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Tiruchirappalli, Karur, and Cuddalore.
9.Rice – Kharif (short duration varieties)	Clay loam Black alluvium (Kalathur series)		FN = 5.29 T – 0.75 SN – 0.89 ON FP2O5 = 1.65 T – 1.76 SP – 0.78  OP FK2O = 2.73 T – 0.37 SK- 0.82  OK	Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Perambalur and Ariyalur.
10.Rice-Rabi (medium & long duration varieties)	Clay loam Black alluvium (Kalathur series)		FN = 5.34 T – 0.67  SN – 0.73 ON FP2O5 = 1.90 T – 1.86  SP – 0.70 OP FK2O = 2.81 T – 0.33  SK – 0.80 OK	Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Perambalur and Ariyalur.
11.Rice – Kharif (short duration varieties)	Sandy clay loam River alluvium (Manakkarai series)		FN = 4.25 T – 0.60 SN – 0.79 ON FP2O5 = 2.71 T – 4.39 SP – 0.89 OP FK2O = 3.83 T – 0.60 SK – 0.82 OK	Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Thiruvallur.
12.Rice – Rabi (medium & long duration varieties)	Sandy clay loam River alluvium (Manakkarai series)		FN = 4.47 T – 0.58 SN – 0.79 ON FP2O5 = 2.66 T – 3.68 SP – 0.89 OP FK2O = 4.08 T – 0.65 SK – 0.82 OK	Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Thiruvallur.
13.Rice (SRI)- Rabi (medium & long duration varieties)	Sandy clay River alluvium (Ambasamudram series)		FN = 3.54 T- 0.30 SN – 0.94 ON FP2O5 = 1.37 T-  0.41 SP – 0.80 OP FK2O = 2.61 T- 0.64 SK – 0.61 OK	Tirunelveli,Thoothukudi Virudhunagar  and Kanyakumari
14.Rice (SRI)- Rabi (medium & long duration varieties)	Red sandy loam (Vannapatti series)		FN = 3.49 T- 0.36 SN – 0.74 ON FP2O5 = 1.66 T- 2.76 SP – 0.69 OP FK2O = 2.19 T-0.66 SK – 0.52 OK	Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri Erode  and Karur
15.Wheat   (Hills)	Sandy clay loamLaterite (Ooty Series)		FN = 7.60T – 0.55 SN – 0.92 ON FP2O5 = 3.59T – 0.26 SP  – 0.54 OP FK2O = 3.88T – 0.45SK  –  0.51 OK	Nilgiris, Salem and foot hills of Tamil Nadu.
16.Wheat   (Plains)	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaicken-palayam series)		FN = 8.83 T – 0.71 SN – 0.88 ON FP2O5 = 4.52T –  1.75 SP  – 0.95 OP FK2O = 6.05T –  0.20SK  – 0.83 OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Dindigul, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Villupuram and Vellore.
17.Maize – Kharif (varieties)	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaicken- palayam   series)		FN = 4.60 T – 0.55 SN FP2O5 = 2.25T –  1.80 SP FK2O = 5.16T –  0.49 SK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dindigul,Salem,Tiruchirappalli, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri,Villupuram and Vellore.
18.Maize – Rabi (varieties)	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaicken-palayam series)		FN = 5.29 T – 0.38 SN- 0.78 ON FP2O5 = 2.08 T – 1.29 SP- 0.89 OP FK2O = 5.20 T – 0.45 SK- 0.78 OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Dindigul, Salem,Tiruchirappalli,Ariyalur,  Dharmapuri,  Krishnagiri, Villupuram and Vellore.
19.Hybrid Maize	Red sandy loam (Palaviduthi series)		FN = 3.96 T – 0.62 SN – 0.69 ON FP2O5 = 1.56 T – 1.93 SP – 0.60 OP FK2O = 1.66 T – 0.27 SK – 0.49 OK	Dindigul, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Karur, Theni, Ariyalur and Thiruvallur.
20.Hybrid Maize	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaicken-palayam series)		FN = 4.01 T – 0.76 SN – 0.83 ON FP2O5 = 1.57 T –  2.71 SP – 0.61OP FK2O = 2.09 T – 0.26 SK – 0.65 OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Dindigul, Salem,Tiruchirappalli,Ariyalur, Dharmapuri,Krishnagiri,Villupuram and Vellore.
21.Hybrid Maize	Sandy clay  to clay Black calcareous (Pilamedu series)		FN = 3.78 T – 0.78 SN – 0.89 ON FP2O5 = 1.47 T – 2.02 SP – 0.91 OP FK2O = 1.79 T – 0.14 SK – 0.62 OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri and Virudhunagar.
22.Rainfed maize	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 3.23 T- 0.42 SN – 0.52 ON FP2O5 = 1.51 T – 1.98 SP – 0.94 OP FK2O = 1.73 T – 0.21 SK – 0.48 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur.
23.Sorghum     (Hybrids)	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 4.86T-0.53 SN-0.98 ON FP2O5 = 1.63T-0.87 SP-0.90  OP FK2O = 4.56T-0.59SK-0.76  OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri,Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur.
24.Sorghum       (varieties)	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaicken-palayam series)		FN = 6.06T – 0.81 SN – 0.53 ON FP2O5 = 2.06T – 3.14 SP – 0.72 OP FK2O = 5.03T – 0.47 SK- 0.66 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Salem, Tiruchirappalli,Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Villupuram and Vellore.
25.Ragi	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaicken-palayam series)		FN = 4.35T-0.37 SN-0.98 ON FP2O5 = 1.18T-1.03 SP-0.80 OP FK2O = 2.68T-0.14 SK-0.40 OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Dindigul,Salem,Tiruchirapalli, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri,  Krishnagiri, Villupuram and Vellore.
26.Ragi	Red Sandy  clayloam (Somayanur series)		FN = 4.94 T-0.55 SN FP2O5 = 1.36T-0.96 SP FK2O = 4.20T-0.46 SK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur, Salem, Namakkal, Madurai,Dindigul,Theni  andVillupuram.
27.Pearl millet	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaickenpa- layam series)		FN = 6.04T-0.49 SN-0.80 ON FP2O5 = 2.78T-1.65SP-0.97   OP FK2O = 3.29T-0.17 SK-0.58 OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Dindigul, Salem,Tiruchirapalli,Ariyalur, Dharmapuri,Krishnagiri, Villupuram and Vellore.
28.Little millet	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 8.83T – 0.41 SN – 0.55 ON FP2O5 = 3.75T – 1.10 SP  – 0.62 OP FK2O = == 4.57T – 0.15 SK – 0.48 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur.
29.Blackgram	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianacken- palayam series)		FN = 10.84T-0.39 SN FP2O5 = 7.23T-1.00   SP FK2O = 5.20T-0.04   SK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dindigul,Salem, Tiruchirappalli , Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri,Villupuram  and Vellore.
30.Greengram	Red sandy loam      (Irugur series)		FN = 25.07 T – 0.71 SN FP2O5 = 15.44 T – 5.48 SP FK2O = 11.00 T – 0.19 SK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur, Erode,Salem,Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore  and Thiruvallur.
31.Groundnut	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 6.54T-0.56 SN-0.69 ON FP2O5 = 3.80T-3.32 SP-0.77  OP FK2O = 8.35T-0.65SK-0.87   OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur.
32.Groundnut	Red sandy clay loam (Somayanur series)		FN = 6.54 T – 0.51 SN -1.10 ON FP2O5 = 4.19 T – 2.95 SP – 0.77 OP FK2O = 5.47 T – 0.33SK – 0.87 OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Salem, Namakkal, Madurai,Dindigul,Theni and Villupuram.
33.Groundnut	Low level Laterite		FN = 5.97 T – 0.45 SN FP2O5 = 3.80 T – 3.32 SP FK2O = 7.08 T – 0.58 SK	Cuddalore,Villupuram,Pudukottai,Sivagangai,Tiruvannamalai  and Thanjavur.
34.Rainfed groundnut	Red Sandy clay loam (Somayanur series)		FN = 7.50 T – 0.33 SN – 0.45ON FP2O5 = 3.50 T – 1.67 SP – 0.55 OP FK2O = 6.78 T – 0.31 SK – 0.43 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem, Namakkal, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni and Villupura
35.Sunflower	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaicken-palayam series)		FN = 9.60T-0.49 SN-0.68 ON FP2O5 = 4.20T-1.87 SP-0.80 OP FK2O = 9.24T-0.45SK-0.64 OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Dindigul, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri,Krishnagiri, Villupuram and Vellore.
36.Gingelly	Clay loam Black alluvium      (Adanur series)		FN = 13.07 T-0.46 SN FP2O5 = 6.30   T-1.79 SP FK2O = 12.8   T-0.47 SK	Erode, Thanjavur,Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Tiruchirappalli, Karur  andCuddalore.
37.Sugarcane	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaickenpal-ayam series)		FN = 4.17 T – 1.09 SN – 1.11ON FP2O5 = 1.01 T – 2.56 SP – 1.01 OP FK2O = 3.44 T – 0.84 SK – 1.03  OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Dindigul, Salem,Tiruchirappalli,Ariyalur, Dharmapuri,Krishnagiri, Villupuram and Vellore.
38.Sugarcane	Clay loam Red coastal alluvium (Gadillum series)		FN = 4.06T – 0.74 SN – 0.87ON FP2O5 = 0.71T – 1.09 SP  – 0.72OP FK2O = 2.67T-  0.57 SK – 1.33 OK	Cuddalore and Villupuram.
39.Sugarcane	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 3.42 T – 0.56 SN -0.93 ON FP2O5 = 1.15 T – 1.94 SP – 0.98 OP FK2O = 3.16 T – 0.73 SK- 0.99 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem,Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur.
40.Cotton          (varieties)	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous Perianaicken- palayam series)		FN = 8.81 T – 0.62 SN FP2O5 = 2.53 T – 1.36 SP FK2O = 4.92 T – 0.25 SK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Dindigul, Salem,Tiruchirappalli,Ariyalur, Dharmapuri,Krishnagiri, Villupuram,Ramanathapuram and Vellore.
41.Cotton (varieties)	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 7.66T – 0.43 SN – 0.71 ON FP2O5 = 3.22T – 3.27 SP – 0.87 OP FK2O = 5.97T – 0.50 SK – 0.66  OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur.
42.Cotton under  Drip fertigation (Hybrid )	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaicken- palayam series)		FN = 8.51T – 0.40 SN – 0.73 ON FP2O5 = 4.41T- 2.25 SP – 0.75  OP FK2O = 6.59T- 0.18 SK – 0.66 OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Dindigul, Salem,Tiruchirappalli,Ariyalur, Dharmapuri,Krishnagiri, Villupuram and Vellore.
43.Hybrid cotton (Rainfed)	Sandy clay  to clay Black calcareous (Pilamedu series)		FN = 5.35T – 0.24 SN – 0.53ON FP2O5 = 3.67T – 1.99 SP – 0.84 OP FK2O = 3.83T – 0.13 SK – 0.55 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode,Salem,Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri and Virudhunagar.
44.Aggregatum (small) Onion	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 0.99T-0.37 SN-0.58 ON FP2O5 = 0.58T-1.43 SP-0.69  OP FK2O = 0.67T-0.25SK-0.44  OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode,Salem,Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri,Vellore and Thiruvallur.
45.Big onion	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 0.80T- 0.60 SN – 0.84 ON FP2O5 = 0.58T – 2.10 SP – 0.87 OP FK2O = 0.61T – 0.33 SK – 0.70 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode,Salem,Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur.
46.Bhendi	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaicken- palayam series)		FN = 1.15T-0.46 SN – 0.81ON FP2O5 = 0.52T-1.31 SP – 0.87 OP FK2O = 1.77T-0.64SK – 0.91 OK	Coimbatore,Tiruppur, Dindigul,Salem,Tiruchirappalli, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri,Villupuram and Vellore.
47.Cabbage	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)		FN = 0.55T-0.89 SN – 0.76 ON FP2O5 = 0.29T-2.75 SP – 0.86 OP FK2O = 0.36T-0.31SK – 0.56 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur.
48.Tomato	Red sandy loam (Palaviduthi series)		FN = 0.45T- 0.63 SN – 0.72 ON FP2O5 = 0.42T – 4.18 SP- 0.73 OP FK2O = 0.40T – 0.48 SK- 0.66 OK	Dindigul, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Karur, Theni, Ariyalur and Thiruvallur.
49.Brinjal	Red sandy loam (Palaviduthi series)		FN = 0.69T- 0.72 SN – 0.64 ON FP2O5 = 0.41T – 3.57 SP-  0.72 OP FK2O = 0.65T – 0.34 SK – 0.52 OK	Dindigul, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Karur,Theni, Ariyalur and Thiruvallur.
50.Beetroot	Red sandy clay loam (Palathurai series)		FN = 0.64T-0.65 SN -0.96 ON* FP2O5 = 0.52T-1.58 SP -0.92 OP FK2O = 0.61T-0.27SK -0.92  OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode,Karur,Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli,  Perambalur, Dindigul, Theni, Ariyalur, Krishnagiri,  Virudhunagar and Vellore
51.Radish	Red sandy clay loam (Palathurai series)		FN = 0.69T – 0.74SN-1.03 ON FP2O5 = 0.28T – 1.35 SP-1.15 OP FK2O = 0.43T – 0.21SK-0.64 OK	Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode,Karur,Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Perambalur, Dindigul, Theni,Ariyalur, Krishnagiri, Virudhunagar and Vellore
52.Potato	Laterite  (Ooty Series)		FN = 0.70T- 0.24SN – 0.41 ON FP2O5 = 1.44T-0.55 SP – 0.95 OP FK2O = 0.72T-0.25SK – 0.39 OK	Nilgiris and Dindigul
53.Cauliflower	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)	FN = 0.93T-0.79SN – 0.63 ON FP2O5 = 0.44T-1.74 SP – 0.85 OP FK2O = 0.44T-0.18SK – 0.46 OK		Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode,Salem,Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Thiruvallur
54.Carrot	Laterite (Ooty series)	FN = 0.48T-0.17 SN-0.33ON FP2O5 = 1.11T-1.17 SP-0.31 OP FK2O = 0.83T-0.40SK-0.43OK		Nilgiris,Salem and Dindigul.
55.Tapioca	Red Sandy loam (Thulukkanur series)	FN = 0.56T-0.61 SN-0.81 ON FP2O5 = 0.35T-1.80 SP-0.53 OP FK2O = 0.94T-0.67SK-0.70 OK		Erode,Karur,Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Ariyalur, Madurai,Theni and Dharmapuri
56.Chilli	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)	FN = 8.29 T – 0.32 SN FP2O5 = 7.13 T – 5.24 SP FK2O = 5.86 T – 0.15 SK		Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode,Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri.
57.Turmeric	Red sandy loam (Irugur series)	FN = 1.11T – 0.83 SN-0.98 ON FP2O5 = 0.57T-5.21SP-1.02OP FK2O = 0.83T-0.50 SK-0.61OK		Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode,Salem,Namakkal,Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri.
58. Ashwagandha	Clay loam Mixed black calcareous (Perianaickenpal-ayam series)	FN = 24.77T-0.61SN-0.74 ON FP2O5 = 18.33T-2.68 SP-0.84 OP FK2O = 18.12T-0.21SK-0.59 OK		Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Dindigul, Salem,Tiruchirappalli,Ariyalur, Dharmapuri,Krishnagiri, Villupuram and Vellore.
59.Glory Lily	Red sandy loam (Palaviduthi series)	FN = 41.45 T – 0.53 SN – 0.71 ON FP2O5 = 23.08 T – 1.92 SP – 0.88 OP FK2O = 30.45 T – 0.21 SK-0.64 OK		Dindigul, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli,Madurai, Karur,Theni, Ariyalur and Thiruvallur.
60.Chrysanthemum	Red sandy clay loam (Somayanur series)	FN = 2.01 T – 1.14 SN – 0.67 ON FP2O5 = 1.08 T – 2.56 SP – 0.69 OP FK2O = 1.57 T – 0.74 SK – 0.62 OK		Coimbatore,Tiruppur,Salem, Namakkal, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni and Villupuram.

Note:(i)FN, FP₂O₅ and FK₂O respectively are fertiliser N, P₂O₅ and K₂O in kg ha^-1;T is the yield target in q ha^-1 (except for Sugarcane T is in t ha^-1) and SN, SP  and SK respectively are alkaline KMnO₄-N, Olsen-P and NH₄OAc-K in kg ha^-1; ON, OP and OK are the quantities of N, P and K in kg ha^-1 supplied through FYM

(ii) Based on the contribution of nutrients from organic manures and biofertilizers,the quanttity of fertilizerN, P₂O₅ and  K₂O to be deducted from the total quantity of  fertilizer N, P₂O₅ and  K₂O.

Long term STCR-IPNS demonstration on rice-rice sequence in wetland farm,TNAUis in progress since 1998 and it is a standing evidence for demonstrating the benefits of adoption of STCR-IPNS technology interms of sustained yield and soil fertility.

To popularize the STCR-IPNS technology among the tribal farmers totally 285 Front Line Demonstrations on various crops viz., rice, maize, finger Millet, black gram, green gram, groundnut, gingelly, sunflower, sugarcane, cotton, onion, carrot,  radish, tomato, chilli, bhendi, brinjal, tapioca and turmeric were conducted at  farmers holdings of Coimbatore, Salem, Tiruppur and Dindigul. Also eleven  numbers of field day cum trainings, one no. of exposure visit and twelve numbers of exhibitions were organized for the benefit of tribal farmers. Irrespective of the crops, STCR-IPNS based prescription excelled blanket fertilizer recommendation and farmers practice in terms of yield, nutrient use efficiency and benefit cost ratio.

Decision Support System for Integrated Fertiliser Recommendation (DSSIFER)

Decision Support System for Integrated Fertiliser Recommendation (DSSIFER) is a user friendly software and the upgraded version (DSSIFER 2010) encompasses soil test crop response based fertiliser recommendations through Integrated Plant Nutrition System     (STCR-IPNS) developed by the ICAR-AICRP-STCR, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, TNAU and the recommendations developed by the State Department of Agriculture, Tamil Nadu. If both recommendations are not available for a particular soil – crop situation, the software can generate prescriptions using blanket recommendations but based on soil test values. Using this software, fertilizers doses can be prescribed for about 1645 situations and for 190 agricultural and horticultural crops along with fertilisation schedule. If site specific soil test values are not available, data base included in the software on village fertility indices of all the districts of Tamil Nadu will generate soil test based fertiliser recommendation. Besides, farmers’ resource based fertilizer prescriptions can also be computed.  Therefore, adoption of this technology will not only ensure site specific balanced fertilisation to achieve targeted yield of crops but also result in higher response ratio besides sustaining soil fertility. In addition, the software also provides technology for problem soil management and irrigation water quality appraisal. Moreover, STLs of all the organisations can generate and issue the analytical report and recommendations in the form of Soil Health Card (both in English &Tamil) which can be maintained by the farmers over long run.

DSSIFER software is being used in Soil Testing and Technology Advisory Centre (SOTAC), Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, TNAU, Coimbatore to prescribe fertiliser doses, management options for problem soils and irrigation water quality appraisal. It is also in use in STLs of KVKs of TNAU, fertiliser industries, NGOs, Agri clinic cum Mini STLs at block level, private entrepreneurs, research scholars, progressive farmers etc.

Benefits of the technology

• Increase in crop yield (on an average upto 30%)
• Increase in Fertilizer Use Efficiency
• Correction of inherent soil nutrient deficiencies
• Maintenance of soil fertility
• Least adverse effect on environment by minimizing nutrient losses, maintaining soil productivity and sustaining high yield even under varying soil, climate and agro-climatic conditions.

2. Micro and Secondary nutrients and Pollutant elements in soils and plants

Extent of Secondary and Micronutrients deficiencies in the soils of Tamil Nadu 

 Collected and analyzed the soils samples (46,180) from all the districts in Tamil Nadu at village level for secondary and micronutrients status and found predominant Zn deficiency (42.0%) followed by B (19.9%) and Cu (16.7%). The deficiency of S, Fe and Mn was 10 -15 per cent in the soils.

 

Agro climatic Zone	Sample size	Zn	Fe	Mn	Cu	B	S
North Eastern Zone	13,741	46.0	9.25	11.7	17.0	17.0	6.39
North western zone	5,392	48.2	6.81	3.96	4.15	20.1	13.0
Western zone	3,389	38.8	15.9	11.8	21.4	52.7	5.45
Cauvery Delta zone	8,991	33.8	7.64	2.84	13.9	14.1	7.68
Southern zone	13,898	56.8	13.4	4.36	24.6	15.7	19.2
High rainfall zone	617	18.3	6.36	0.43	15.9	18.9	7.25
Hilly zone	152	51.1	0.00	0.00	0.37	18.4	5.83
State Overall	46,180	42.0	10.0	5.84	16.7	19.9	11.2

Evaluation of extractants for micronutrients assessment

Evaluation of AB – DTPA with other standard extractants for multi-nutrient extraction in soils revealed the feasibility of using AB-DTPA for extracting K and micronutrients only however it is not a reliable method for determining P and S in acid soils.

Hot water is the most suitable extractant for the determination of available B in all soils (r = 0.574**), however, 0.1M Salicylic acid in acid soils (r = 0.530**) and 0.05M Mannitol – 0.01M CaCl₂ (r = 0.368*) in alkaline soils were also found equally effective hence can be a used as an alternative to hot water.

Critical limit for secondary and micronutrients in soils  

The critical limit for various soil types were fixed to make fertilizer recommendations which were also redefined for Zn and Cu recently.

Nutrients	Test crops	Soils	Critical limit in soil (mg kg-1)
			Deficient	Medium	High
Zinc*	Rice, Maize, Sorghum,  Groundnut	All  soils	< 0.85	0.85 – 1.60	>1.60
Iron*	Sorghum	Calcareous	< 6.40	6.40 – 8.00	>8.00
		Non calcareous	< 3.70	3.70 – 8.00	>8.0
Manganese*		All  soils	< 2.00	2.00 – 4.00	> 4.00
Copper*	Sorghum, Finger millet, Maize, Onion	All  soils	< 0.63	0.63 – 1.00	> 1.00
Boron**	Groundnut	All  soils	< 0.46	0.46 – 1.00	> 1.00
Sulphur***	Pulses	All  soils	< 10.0	10.0 -15.0	> 15.0
	Extractants used	* 0.005 M DTPA         ** Hot water     *** 0.15% CaCl2

Screening crop varieties for micronutrients efficiency

Crop varieties for micronutrients efficiency were screened to enrich crop produces through bio-fortification and recommended to micronutrients deficient soils. The following crop varieties were found to be efficient, in-efficient and moderately susceptible to micronutrients deficiencies.

Crops	Elements	Susceptible	Moderately susceptible	Tolerant
Rice	Zn	ADT 27, IR 20, ADT 36, ADT 37,  IR 64 ,  IR 62 , ASD 18, ASD 19, ADT 39,  CO 43, CO 40, Improved White Ponni, ADT 44	GEB 24, ASD 5, Karuna, IR 24, TKM 6, CO 25, Vaigai, Bhavani, ADT 34, ADT 35, ASD 15	Kanchi ,CO 36, CO42,  IET 3280, IR 50, ASD 16, Kannagi,  CO 44, CO 47, ADT 43,  ADT (RH) 1, CO 47, CO 51, ADT 37, ADT 47
	Fe	Bhavani, CO 34	–	–
	Fe toxicity	ADT 42, IR 50, MGR 1 and ADT 36	–	TPS 1, ASD 16, ASD 18, IR 64, JJ 92, TKM 9, CO 37, CO 41
	Mn	CO 34, CO 36	–	CO 33, CO 37, CO 38, CO 39, CO 40, CO 41, CO 42, Bhavani
Bajra	Mn	KM 2, VCH 4, KM 1	–	K 2, CO 6
Sorghum	Zn	CO 26, COH 4	–	CO 25, CSV13, SPV 881
	Fe	USV 5, CSH 1, CO21,CO 24, SPU 881, CO 4 , CO 23, TNSH 239, CS 3541	IS 3541, CSH5, CO22, USV 3 TNS 294, CO 25	K tall, SPV 86, CSH6, TNSH 136, TNS 30, TNS 265, CO 26
Maize	Zn			CP18, Nidhi 33,NK 30, NK21,907Z
	Fe	CO 9	CO 7, CO 10	CO 6, CO8
Greengram	Zn	TM 96-2,LGG 407	VBN 2, VRM GG 1, Pusa bold, KM1, KM 2, ADT 3, Rajendran, LGG 460, LGG 450, LGG 486, LGG 410, CO5, K 851, CO 4, Paiyur 1	CO7, CO 6, VBN 1
	Fe	T.K.Local	TMV 1, CTU 17-4	ADT3, CO6,TMV 1
Blackgram	Fe	T.K.Local	TMV 1, CTU 17-4	ADT3, CO6,TMV 1
Groundnut	Zn	TMV 7, TMV 2, CO1	–	POL1, POL2, TMV 9, TMV 11, TMV12
	Fe	VRI 2, CO1, JL 24, ALR 320, CO 4, TMV 2, ALR 2	VRI 6, ALR1	TNAU- 28, CO 7,  CO 2, ALR 3, VRI 8 TMV 13
	S	Local, VRI4, CO3, VRI 2, VRI7, TMV2, ALR3, and BSR 1	CO1, VRI 8, TMV 10	VRI 6, CO 7, TMV 7, TMV 13, VRI 5, VRI 3, CO2, CO6
Soybean	Zn	GPM – IC – 15750	–	GPM – EC – 2581
	Mn	UGM 20, UGM 21,    Punjab 1	–	M2, M3, Davis
	Mo	UGM 20, UGM 21	–	M2, Davis

 

Bio fortification of micronutrients in crops

Bio-fortification studies were carried out to enrich the grains of major crops such as rice and pulses and the following varieties were suitable for bio-fortification of Zn and Fe.

Zn efficient	Rice- short duration	CO 51, CO 47, ADT 36, ADT 37
	Rice- Medium duration	CO 50, TRY 1, DRRH 5,CORH 4,      ADT 46
	Greengram	CO 6,CO7, Paiyur 1,VBN 2
Fe efficient	Greengram	CO 6
	Blackgram	CO 6, ADT 3, TMV 1

The following technologies were identified for bio-fortification of micronutrients

1. Foliar spraying of 0.25 % of each CuSO₄, ZnSO₄, FeSO_4,MnSO₄ + 0.10 % Boric acid + 0.01 % Sodium molybdate at active tillering, panicle initiation and flowering stages
2. Basal soil application of 50 kg ZnSO₄ha^-1 + 0.5 % ZnSO₄ foliar spray thrice at flowering, milk and dough stages in rice, twice in greengram (30 and 45 DAS) and maize (40 & 55 DAS).

Optimizing the rate of soil and foliar application of secondary and micronutrients for crops and cropping systems

The following recommendations were evolved for improving the soil health and yield of various agricultural and horticultural crops. Soil application of these recommendations can be followed for the soils having the particular element deficiencies. Foliar spraying of the specific recommendations for the micronutrients can be adopted if the plants show deficiency symptoms at an interval of 7-10 days for short duration crops and 15 days for long duration crops.

a. Crops

Nutrients	Crops	Technologies (kg ha-1)
		Soil application	Foliar spray
Zn (ZnSO4)	Rice, Sorghum, Maize, Cumbu, Ragi, Pulses, Groundnut, Sunflower, Sesame  Beetroot, Radish, Carrot, Garlic, Onion	25.0	0.50 %
	Turmeric, Cotton, Tobacco, Grapes	50.0
	Sugarcane, Maize, Wheat, Cabbage, Cauliflower	37.5
Fe (FeSO4)	Semi dry and rainfed  Rice, Sorghum, Maize, Groundnut	50	1% + 0.1% Citric acid
	Sugarcane, Tobacco, Turmeric	100
B (Borax)	Maize, Groundnut, Cowpea, Horsegram, Lablab, Pulses, Beetroot, Radish, Carrot, Garlic, Brinjal, Coriander, Beans, Knol-Khol, Tapioca, Banana, Vegetable Cowpea	10	0.20 %
Cu (CuSO4)	Rice, Tomato, Cabbage, Onion	5-10	0.20 %
Mn  (MnSO4)	Onion, Sesame	10	0.50 %
Mo (Sodium/ Amm. Molybdate)	Pulses, Fodder Cowpea, Cauliflower, Cabbage	0.50/ 0.25	0.05%
Sulphur (SSP, Gypsum)	Rice, Wheat, Groundnut, Oilseeds, Pulses, Tapioca, Onion	20 – 40	–
Magnesium (MgSO4)	Potato, Cotton	50	2.0%

 b. Cropping systems  

Nutrients	Cropping systems	Technologies developed (Basal soil application ha-1)
Zn	Rice- Rice	25 kg ZnSO4 for every crop  or 50 kg ZnSO4 once in three crops or 100 kg ZnSO4 once in six crops
		12.5 kg ZnSO4 for every rice or 37.5 kg ZnSO4 once in a year
	Rice- Pulse	37.5 kg ZnSO4 to first crop rice
	Sorghum- Cotton	25 kg ZnSO4 to Sorghum crop and 12.5 kg ZnSO4 to cotton
	Sunflower-Maize	37.5 kg ZnSO4 to 1st sunflower and 12.5 kg ZnSO4 for subsequent crops in the sequence
	Maize – black gram	50 kg ZnSO4 + 10 kg Borax to main crop  alone or individual application of 37.5 kg ZnSO4 + 10 kg borax for maize and 25.0 kg ZnSO4 +10 kg Borax for blackgram
S	Rice- Cotton	30 kg S as gypsum or SSP or Ammonium sulphate to the first crop
B	Sunflower-Greengram	10 kg borax to sunflower
	Groundnut – Sorghum	20 kg borax to first crop and later 5 kg Borax to 2nd, 4th and 6th crop in the sequence
	Maize- sunflower	5 kg Borax to every crop or 10 kg Borax to first crop in the sequence

 Bio-transfer of micronutrients and heavy metals in soil-plant-animal-continuum

1. Studies on bio-transfer of Zn in soil-plant-animal continuum conducted by feeding Zn enriched fodder to milch animals, heifers and cows revealed considerable increase in Hemoglobin (1.64 to 6.56%) and  Zn content in milk and serum (10-20%).
2. Feeding heavy metal contaminated Cumbu Napier grass to Jersey cross animals at 30 kg per day for 28 days showed toxic level of Cd and Ni in milk and seven fold increased accumulation of Ni and Cr in blood. Continuous feeding of metal contaminated fodder increased the metal accumulation as : Cow dung > Blood > Milk samples.

Pollution studies

Investigations carried out to identify the metal specific hyper accumulators lead to the following recommendations to remediate the contaminated sites in various districts of Tamil Nadu

a. Extent of metal pollution

City Classification	Districts	Polluted metal	Recommended hyper accumulators
Highly populated	Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy	Zn, Pb,Cd, Cr, Ni, Cu	Eucalyptus, Casuarina, Acacia
Medium populated	Salem, Erode	Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr	Phyllanthus
		Ni	Castor
Low populated	Karur, Pudukottai	All Metals	No non-food crop is available

b. Hyper accumulators for phyto-remediation of contaminated soils

Elements	Tree sp.	Grasses	Vegetables	Greens	Flower crops
Zn	Eucalyptus sp. Moringa	Guinea grass	–	Ponnanganni	Marigold
Cu	Acasia		–	Ponnanganni	Globe Amaranth, Aster
Pb	Eucalyptus sp. Moringa	Cyprus	Cluster bean	Amaranthus	Marigold, Zinnia, Blossam, Aster, Globe Amaranth
Cd	Casurina	Water grass	Lab lab	–	Marigold
Cr	Casurina	Bajra Napier	Lab lab	Sirukeerai	–
Ni	Casurina	Water grass	Lab lab	Sirukeerai	Globe Amaranth, Marigold, Zinnia

c. Threshold toxicity limit for Ni and Cd

Crops	Red soil		Black soil		Red soil		Black soil
	Cd	Cd +FYM	Cd	Cd +FYM	Ni	Ni+FYM	Ni	Ni+FYM
Amaranthus	2.5	20.0	5.00	80.0	5.0	80.0	10.0	40.0
Bhendi	5.0	80.0	10.0	80.0	10.0	40.0	20.0	40.0

• Sewage biosolid compost or sewage coir pith pellets at 2.50 to 5.0 t ha^-1 is recommended to increase the yield of crops.
• Application of 100 mg EDTA kg^-1 along with either 5 t FYM or Green leaf manure ha^-1 was found to be the best in remediating Pb contaminated soils.

To popularise the technologies organized more than 250 FLDs to demonstrate and popularize the micronutrient technologies. 190 Soil health cards were distributed for the benefit of farmers. Organized 11 field days, awareness campaigns, trainings to farmers, NGOs and extension functionaries on the micronutrient technologies. Exhibitions were also organized to explain secondary and micronutrient deficiencies in crop plants and their management strategies

Other Micronutrients Technologies

• Interactive Visual Diagnostic Kit (VDK) for identifying plant nutrient deficiencies and their management was released during 2007.  Hands on training and demonstrations on the technology was given to various stakeholders of the State regularly

• 11 crop specific micronutrient mixtures for various crops (rice, sugarcane, cotton, groundnut, sunflower, sesame, castor, pulses, turmeric and coconut) were developed.

3. Long Term Fertilizer Experiment

• Imposing INM practice continuously over 45 years, by way of application of 100% N, P and K fertilizers along with 10 t FYM ha^-1recorded the highest crop yield, crop productivity, sustained soil fertility, soil microbial population which in turn maintained soil health.
• Organic carbon increased from 3.0 g kg^-1(1972-76) to 7.07 g kg^-1 (2018-2019) under INM. Mean data revealed that sequestration of C was found in greater extent under 100% NPK + FYM (+6757 kg ha^-1) followed by balanced fertilization treatments.

4. Soil Physics Research

• Chisel technology for sub soil hard pans.
• Compaction Technology for excessive permeable soils.
• Drum Roller compaction technology for fluffy paddy soils.
• Technology for soil surface crusting.
• Delineation of soil physical constraints of Tamil Nadu

5. Radioisotope (Tracer) Research

• Sulphur use efficiency of the applied fertilizeras elemental sulphur in groundnut ranged from 5.45 – 15.89 %.
• P acquisition characteristics of cotton and maize with radiotracer P (³²P) showed that maize was able to utilize the sparingly soluble forms of P namely Ca-P and Fe- P in soil.
• Organics were found to be equally effective as SSP in phosphorus contribution to the main crop of maize and performed better in the residual crop, sunflower
• The genotypes Co5, APK 1 and VBN 2 were identified as efficient genotypes in Pigeon pea for utilizing the Fe-bound (fixed)  phosphorus
• Surface application of phosphate to paddy soils was found to be  more efficient over deep placement
• Calcium and sulphur utilisation efficiencies in groundnut were higher from gypsum than from calcium chloride or potassium sulphate
• The utilization efficiency of applied  zinc   seldom exceeded 1% in rice
• The utilization of applied iron  in Crossandra was  5.1 to 6.9%
• Root distribution pattern of cereals and tree crops

6. Reclamation Technologies for calcareous soils to enhance the crop productivity and nutrient availability

• Combined application of soil test based NPK + 40/80 kg sulphur as Elemental sulphur + 12.5t FYM + 500 ml calcite dissoluting microbial consortia ha^-1 substantially improved the yield (18.6 to 22.7%) of hybrid maize and groundnut crops besides the nutrient availability.
• Higher yield and tolerance to soil calcareousness was observed with
  • Maize hybrid : CMH-12-686 > COH(M) 6 > COH(M) 8
  • Groundnut : CO 6 > CO7
• Efficient calcite dissoluting isolates: Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Acinetobacter pittii
• Efficiency was highly correlated with higher organic acids, siderophore and biofilm production

7. Technology for reducing the lime induced Fe chlorosis in calcareous soils

• Screening of groundnut genotypes for lime induced Fe chlorosis in calcareous soils revealed that the genotypes CO7, CO 2 and ALR 3 were found Fe efficient genotypes hence can be grown under calcareous soils while the genotypes CO 4, ALR 2 and ALG 320 were highly susceptible to Fe deficiency. The genotypes VRI 8, TMV 13, ALR 1 and ALR 2 were found moderately efficient to Fe chlorosis.
• Screening of maize hybrids and their parents for lime induced Fe chlorosis in calcareous soils revealed that the hybrids COH (M) 6,CO H(M)8 and COH(M) 7 were found tolerant to Fe chlorosis while the parent UMI 1230 was highly susceptible to Fe chlorosis in  calcareous soils.
• Evaluation of tolerant maize hybrids (COH (M) 6 &CO H(M)8) with various Fe management strategies to improve the crop yield and soil health indicated that soil application of 40 kg S as elemental sulphur either with 5 kg Fe EDTA or 50 kg FeSO₄ + 12.5 t FYM ha^-1 was effective in increasing the crop yields by 20-25% besides improving the Fe availability and its use efficiency in soil and its uptake by maize.

8. Bio-reclamation Technologies for salt affected soils

       Saline-Sodic soils

• Combined application of Gypsum at 50 % GR + pressmud at 10 t + 2 kg Bacillus subtillis ha^-1 increased the yield of Elusine Coracana  by 20-25% over recommended practice of adding gypsum alone.

      Sodic soils

• Combined application of either Elemental sulphur or Gypsum at 50% GR + pressmud at 10 t + 2 kg Brevibacterium halotolerans ha^-1 increased the yield of Zea mays by 8-15 % over recommended practice.

The effectiveness of the technologies associated with reduced soil ESP (20-30%), higher Na/salt removal efficiency (15-35 %), Better Calcite dissolution potentials (39.7-46.9 %) and soil CO₂ flux. The inclusion of calcite dissoluting microbes alone increased the yield of crops by 4.11 to 16.1 per cent.

9. Foliar Nutrition of TNAU Water Soluble Fertilizers in Bhendi for Enhancing Yield and Quality of Bhendi

Foliar application (FS) of TNAU WSF 19:19:19 @ 1%  + TNAU Liquid multi micronutrients @ 1% thrice at 10 days interval from 30 DAS along with RDF is recommended irrespective of soils and locations to enhance the fruit yield with a mean of 23.47 t ha^-1 (14.48 per cent increase over  the recommendation as in HPG)  and BCR of 3.97 and higher nutrient uptake with quality improvement in terms of high mucilage, TSS, Ascorbic acid and reduced crude fibre content.

10. Optimization of N, P and K for Barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea (Roxb.) Link) in Red and Black soils

Barnyard millet var. MDU 1 (KV) was released from AC&RI, Madurai and popularized to cultivate throughout the year, both under irrigated and rainfed conditions. However,the productivity of barnyard millet is relatively low as it is mostly grown as a rainfed crop and is sown directly. Inspite of all this, due to the growing importance and demand, the area under barnyard millet is catching up under irrigated systems as alternate crop for command area systems, water stress/partially water logged conditions etc.

However a specific fertilizer schedule is not available for Barnyard millet. Only the common fertilizer dose of 44:22:0 kg of N, P₂O₅ & K₂O ha^-1 recommended for small millets viz., Tenai, Samai and Varagu) in the CPG-2012 (https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/ pdf/AGRICULTURE.pdf) is adopted for Barnyard millet also. Hence, optimization of N, P and K was attempted exclusively for Barnyard millet, to enhance it’s production and productivity.

The present technology offers a viable optimized dose of N, P₂O₅& K₂Orecommendation for production of barnyard millet (MDU 1) in light textured red and heavy textured black soils as follows: Soil application of,  50:15:15 kg of N, P₂O₅& K₂Oha^-1 in light textured red soil and, 40:15:15 kg of N, P₂O₅& K₂Oha^-1 inheavy textured black soil.

Products developed

1.  TNAU Crop Specific Micronutrient Mixtures

• Alleviates multi-micronutrients deficiencies
• Increased cob / copra size and weight
• Reduced flowers/ button shedding
• Increased pest and disease resistance
• High yield – 11-20%
• Improved quality

Rate: Rs.100.3/kg (inclusive of GST18%)

Application: As enriched FYM @1:10 and incubated for three to four weeks and applied as basal.

Crops	Dosage (kg/ha)
	Irrigated	Rainfed
Rice	25	12.5
Maize	30	7.5
Pulses	5.0	5.0
Sugarcane	50.0	–
Cotton – Variety Hybrid	12.5	7.5
	15.0	7.5
Groundnut	12.5	7.5
Gingelly	12.5	7.5
Sunflower – Variety Hybrid	12.5	7.5
	15.0	10.0
Castor  – Variety Hybrid	12.5	7.5
	15.0	10.0
Turmeric	15.0 kg spilt applied at 50% as basal and 50%  on 90 DAP	–
Coconut  varieties/hybrid	1 kg / tree / year	–

2. TNAU Water Soluble Fertilizer (19:19:19)

Benefits

100 per cent water soluble. Suitable for all crops and soil types. Less labour is required for fertilizer application. Higher fertilizer use efficiency and profit. Balanced use of fertilizer nutrients.

Method of application : Fertigation and foliar nutrition

3. Nutriseed Pack Technique

• Developed slow release fertilizer pellets for rice, banana and sugarcane and Nutriseed pack techniques for rice and maize. Crop Production by Nutriseed Pack Technique is a simplest way of raising crop by placing Nutriseed Pack in soil. Each Nutriseed Pack contains seed at top, enriched manure in the middle and encapsulated fertilizer at bottom. By placing a Nutriseed Pack vertically or horizontally in soil, each plant can be established. Nutriseed Pack gives support for each plant in the root zone in terms of optimum nutrient supply, biological activity, etc. and consequently enables the fullest utilization of nutrients by plants. There is no wastage of fertilizer nutrients with Nutriseed Packs.

 

4. TNAU Zinc Citrate and TNAU Iron Citrate Formulations

Foliar applied chelated forms of micronutrients can easily penetrate in to leaf tissue, reduces the risk of phyto-toxicity and compatible for tank mixing when compared to the nutrients in the form of inorganic salts. At present, Zn and Fe chelates prepared using synthetic chelating agents such as EDTA and EDDHA are available in the market and used by farmers. Since synthetic chelating agents are foreign molecules inside the plant system and environmentally not safe, Zn and Fe chelates using citric acid as a chelating /complexing agent were developed. TNAU Zn citrate contains 9.0% Zn and TNAU Fe citrate contains 10.9 % Fe. FTIR studies confirmed the bonding of metal cations with carboxylate group of citric acid. Foliar application of 0.5% of TNAU Zn citrate thrice on 30, 40 and 50 days after sowing (DAS) in maize crop registered 7.4 % increase in grain yield and 13.6 % increase in net income when compared to the existing recommendation of foliar application of 0.5% zinc sulphate. Foliar application of 1% TNAU Fe citrate thrice on 30, 40 and 50 DAS in maize crop recorded 12.0 % increase in grain yield and 17.7% increase in net income over the existing recommendation of foliar application of 1% Ferrous sulphate + 0.1% citric acid.

Combined foliar spray of 0.5% TNAU Zn citrate + 1 % TNAU Fe citrate thrice at 30, 40 and 50 DAS for the maize crop registered mean grain yield of 9458 kg ha^-1and net income of Rs.97,352/- per ha which was 7.40 % and 7.74 % higher than existing recommendation of foliar spraying with 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 1% FeSO₄ + 0.1% citric acid. Foliar spraying of 0.5% TNAU Zn citrate + 1 % TNAU Fe citrate also recorded highest mean grain Zn (30 mg kg^-1), Fe (223 mg kg^-1) content and B:C ratio (2.73). Hence, Foliar spraying of 0.5% TNAU Zn citrate + 1 % TNAU Fe citrate thrice at 30, 40 and 50 DAS along with STCR based NPK is recommended for maize grown in Zn and Fe deficient soils for increasing the grain yield, net income, grain Zn and Fe content.

5. Foliar Micronutrients

Sugarcane – Dose:  6 kg/acre

Application: Foliar spray 1.5% @ 45 & 60 DAP

Groundnut – Dose:  5 kg/acre

Method of application: Foliar spraying @ vegetative & flowering stages