Area-wide occurrence of micronutrient deficiencies in the form of Fe, Mn, Zn and B were established based on an extensive survey of 18000 ha of citrus-growing areas in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
Two types of micronutrient mixture I: Fe, Mn and Zn, and Micronutrient mixture II: Fe, Mn, Zn and B were customised based on leaf nutrient composition and fruit nutrient composition. These two micronutrient mixtures were prepared so that they cater to the need for multiple micronutrient deficiencies prevalent in citrus orchards of central India. Two micronutrient mixtures duly tested through laboratory-based incubation study, were tested for field response involving four treatments, which are, T1: Citrus special, IIHR Bangalore, foliar spray with RDF as soil application; T2:Macronutrients as soil application of RDF + Micronutrients as foliar application; T3: Micronutrient mixture-1 as soil application + Macronutrients as soil application of RDF and T4: Micronutrient mixture-2 as soil application + Macronutrients as soil application of RDF, were evaluated during 2012-19 on black clay soil of central India.
The customized micronutrient mixture II proved to be the best in response to canopy volume, fruit yield, fruit quality parameters, plant available nutrients pool and leaf nutrient composition over the rest of the other treatments. Hence our long-term studies showed that micronutrient mixture developed by simply mixing straight micronutrient fertilizers such as ferrous sulphate, manganese sulphate, zinc sulphate and borax in the ratio of 1:1:0.50:0.20 that stoichiometrically coincide with the similar concentration ratio of micronutrients present in fruits. Interestingly, the developed micronutrient mixture at the rate of 100g/plant overtook the response of these micronutrients when applied at the rate of 100g ferrous sulphate, 100g manganese sulphate, 100g zinc sulphate and 50g borax /plant/year (total micronutrients at the rate of 350g /plant proved far inferior over 100g customized micronutrients mixture).
Schematic representation of steps involved in the development and evaluation of customised micronutrient mixture.
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