Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research

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1 Available on line Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research ISSN No: CODEN(USA): JCPRC5 J. Chem. Pharm. Res., 2011, 3(4):10-16 Assessment of the status of micronutrients in Nagapattinam district, Tamilnadu *A. Arokiyaraj, R. Vijayakumar and P. Martin Devaprasath Department of Chemistry, A.V.C.College (Autonomous), Mayiladuthurai, Tamilnadu, Department of Engineering, Manipal University, Dubai, U.A.E. Department of Chemistry, TBML College, Porayar, Nagapattinam, Tamilnadu, ABSTRACT Micronutrients or tracer elements are essential in small quantities for the growth of plants.,,,, B, Mo, Co and Cl 2 are considered as micronutirents. These micronutrients may produce synergetic and antagonistic effects if they are present in excess or in deficiency level. In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the micronutrient status of,, and in Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu State by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results revealed that the order of mean status of available micronutrients was found to be (6.40 mg. kg -1 ) > (3.27mg.kg -1 ) > (1.71 mg. kg -1 ) > (0.97 mg. kg -1 ). On an average basis 56.41, 50.46, and percent soils were found to be deficient in,, and respectively. Keywords: micronutrients, Nagapattinam District, soil, Tamil Nadu. INTRODUCTION Elements like,,,, B, Mo, Co and Cl 2 are known to be essential for plant growth and are required in such small quantities that they are called micronutrients or tracer elements. The deficiency or the excess presence of the micronutrients such as,, and may produce synergetic and antagonistic effects in plants. One common characteristic of all the micronutrients is that they are required in very small amounts and they are all harmful when the available forms are present in the soil in large quantities. Thus, the range of concentration of these elements in which plants will grow satisfactory is considerably small. However, indiscriminate use of micronutrients is not advisable because of the small amounts needed and its interaction with other nutrients. In Tamil Nadu, information on micronutrient status at village and taluk level is 10

2 lacking. Although, widespread micronutrient deficiency has been observed in the soils of Trichy District of Tamil Nadu, the information with respect to availability of micronutrient status of the study area was lacking. Hence, a systematic soil analysis was proposed to delineate areas of individual micronutrient deficiencies in the study area of Nagapattinam District of Tamilnadu. In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the micronutrient status of,, and in the soils of all the 499 revenue villages in Nagapattinam District using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Study area: Nagapattinam District in Tamilnadu State of India is spread over eight taluks with a total geographical extent of sq.km. with the head quarter at Nagapattinam. This District lies on the shores of the Bay of Bengal between Northern Latitude degrees and Degrees Eastern longitude with eight taluks and eleven panchayat unions. The study area is spread over in 2,32,257 hectares of land and has 499 revenue villages. The geographical extent of each Taluk is given below in Table.1. S.No. Table.1 The Geographical extent of the Taluks in Nagapattinam District Name of the Taluks 1. Nagapattinam Name of the Panchayat Unions 1. Nagapattinam 2. Thirumarugal Extent (ha) Total Percentage No. of Revenue Villages 30, Kilvelur 3. Kilvelur 27, Thirukkuvalai 4. Keelaiyur 14, Vedaranniyam 5. Vedaranniyam 47, Sirkazhi 6. Sirkazhi 7. Kollidam 44, Tharangambadi 8. Sembanarkoil 27, Mayiladuthurai 9. Mayiladuthurai 10. Talainayar 24, Kuthalam 11. Kuthalam 17, Total 2,32, The location map of the District is given in Fig.1. EXPERIMENTAL SECTION Surface soil samples depth (0-20 cm) numbering 2,495 from 499 revenue villages in all the eight taluks of Nagapattinam District were collected. Five samples were collected from each revenue village. The soil samples were ground, passed through 2 mm sieve and analyzed for DTPA (Diethylene Triamine Penta Acetic acid) extractable micronutrients (,, and ) as per the method proposed by Lindsay and Norvell (1978) and the concentrations of,, and were 11

3 determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Simple averaging of soil test values for each micronutrient was done to get the average status in the villages. Using the critical levels fixed by earlier workers for DTPA extractable micronutrients in Tamil Nadu soils, the percentage deficiencies of individual nutrients were calculated in each village. The critical levels for DTPA extractable micronutrients were fixed (Tandon, 1999) as follows: 3.7mgKg mgKg mgKg mg Kg -1 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The village wise DTPA extractable micronutrients (,, and ) contents were systematically determined for the entire district and the mean values of the micronutrients status of all the 8 taluks are given in Table 2. Analysis of 2,495 surface soil samples collected from 8 taluks (499 of revenue villages) revealed that DTPA extractable micronutrient content in 12

4 Nagapattinam District soils with a mean status of 0.97, 1.71, 6.40 and 3.27 mg kg -1 for,, and respectively (Fig.2). Fig.2. Average Mean value of micronutrient status of Nagapattinam District PPm (mg kg-1) Micronutrients Out of 2,620 samples analysed in the District, 56.41, 50.46, and Out of 2,495 samples analysed in the District, 56.41, 50.46, and percent soils were found to be deficient in,, and respectively (Fig.3) and the extent of micronutrients deficiency in different taluks of Nagapattinam District is presented in Table.3. Table.2 Average Mean Value of Micronutrients Status of Nagapattinam District S.No. Name of the Taluks 13 Micronutrients (mg kg -1 ) 1. Nagapattinam Kilvelur Thirukkuvalai Vedaranniyam Sirkazhi Tharangambadi Mayiladuthurai Kuthalam Mean The content of,, and varied from , , and mg kg -1, with mean values of 0.97, 6.40, 1.71 and 3.27 mg kg -1 respectively. On the basis

5 of the critical limits suggested by Tandon (1999) (<1.2 mg kg -1 for deficient and > 1.2 mg kg -1 for sufficient) all the % samples were deficient in the available. Considering the critical limits (3.7 mg kg -1 ) proposed by Tandon (1999), 56.41% samples were found to be deficient in DTPA extractable. Similarly 50.46% of samples were deficient in the available and 54.85% samples were deficient in the available when considering the critical limits suggested by Tandon [2.0 mg kg -1 for and 1.2 mg kg -1 for ] (1999). Table.3 Deficiency Percentage Of Micronutrient Status In Nagapattinam District Micronutrients (%) S.No. Name of the Taluks 1. Nagapattinam Kilvelur Thirukkuvalai Vedaranniyam Sirkazhi Tharangambadi Mayiladuthurai Kuthalam Mean The results showed that deficiency in % samples were recorded in the study area. deficiency leads to widespread nutritional disorder in various crops. The mean available content was also found to be below the critical level (0.97 mg kg -1 ). In general, the deficiency of was pronounced in most of the villages of the taluks. Rice is the major grown crop in all the taluks and all the crops are mostly grown under irrigated conditions. Continued submergence of soils, calcareousness, HCO 3 rich ground water and poor organic matter status may be possible reasons for deficiency. In crop growing areas, indiscriminate use of phosphatic fertilizers and copper fungicides may also be attributed for deficiency. In case of field crops, soil aplication of SO 4, kg /ha can be done before sowing or transplanting. Foliar sprays of 0.5% SO 4, 2-3 times at days interval can be effective in correcting deficiency in standing crops. Crops like rice, maize, groundnut, sugarcane, banana, citrus and other fruit crops may respond well to fertilization especially in case of calcareous, ill drained P rich soils. In such cases, foliar nutrition of ( %) of SO 4 sprayed at 2-3 times may be a viable option. Further, application of along with organic manures may enhance the availability and efficiency of native through chelation. deficiency was found to be percent in the study area. deficiency may be due to poor water quality (CaCl 2 /CaHCO 3 types), calcareousness and alkalin ph. Among all the villages, Kalahasthinapuram registered a maximum mean value of mg kg -1 owing to the garden land conditions prevalent in this area. 14

6 90 Fig.3. Deficiency Percentage of Micronutrient Status in Nagapattinam District, Tamilnadu Percentage Micronutrients Among the 524 villages of the taluk, only 54.85% deficiency of was observed. The variation in the available content in all the taluks may be attributed to the differences in all the topography, texture and organic matter content present in the soils. Generally the low critical value (1.08 mg kg -1 ) for may be due to its incorporation in living systems when the atmosphere shifts from reducing to oxidizing state (Broda 1975). Whenever deficiency is noticed in standing crops, 2 to 3 foliar sprays of 0.025% SO 4 can be done before flowering. In case of crops like rice, banana and sunflower, foliar application of SO 4 either singly or in combination with other micronutrients may enhance yield as well as the quality of the product. is essential to all organisms and is responsible for the production of molecular oxygen in plants during photosynthesis (Saucer 1980). The deficiency of leads to infertility. deficiency from the study area was found to be percent. When compared to the other micronutrients, is considerably, sufficiently present in all the samples and this result corroborate with the findings of Sharma et al., (2006). In some cases, where its deficiency may arise due to excessive levels of and calcareousness. Corrective measures may be done through foliar application of SO 4. Spraying of SO 4 before first irrigation is preferable for most crops (0.5 1% SO 4 spraying repeated 2 to 3 times at weekly intervals). In deficient areas, crops like rice, sorghum, groundnut, sugarcane and fingermillet may respond well to its applications. CONCLUSION The study revealed that the order of deficiency of micronutrients were found to be > > >. Based on soil test and analysis of micronutrients it was found that deficiency was highest among all the DTPA extractable micronutrients. Similar results were found in Amristar District of Rajasthan (Sharma, et al., 2006). Further, the availability of metal ions (, ) 15

7 increases with increase in organic matter content because organic matter content may supply chelating agents. The continued submergence of soils, calcareousness. HCO 3 rich ground water, poor organic matter is the possible reasons for maximum deficiency. Indiscriminate use of phosphatic fertilizers and copper fungicides may also be attributed for deficiency. Application of SO 4 as soil application and foliar sprays along with organic manures can enhance the availability of in the study area. REFERENCES [1] Broda E, Journal of Molecular Evolution, 1975, 7, 87. [2] Jagodin B A, Horticulture Abstracts. 1975, [3] Lindsay W L and Norwell W A, Development of DTPA soil test for,, and. Soil Science, Society of American Journal. 1978, 42, [4] Martin Deva Prasath P. Assessment of Micronutrient status at Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu, proceedings of National Conference on Impending Approaches to Environmental Menace. 2008, 117, 122. [5] Meena, H.B., Sharma, R.P. and Rawat, U.S. Status of macro and micronutrients in some soils of Tonk District of Rajasthan. J.Ind. Soc.Soil Sci., 2006, 54(4) [6] Mhatre G N and Chaphekar S B, J.Environ.Bull. 1982, 3, 53. [7] Saucer K., Ace. Chemical Research, 1980, 13, 249. [8] Sharma, P.K., Anil Sood, Satia, R.K., Verma, V.K., Deepak Mehra, Tur, N.S., and Nayyar, V.K., Use of information technology for mapping of DTPA extractable micronutrients in soils of Amristar District, Punjab. J.Indian Soc.Soil Sci., 2006, 54(4), [9] Sharma, R.P., Megh Singh, Sharma, J.P. Correlation studies on micronutrients via-a-vis soil properties in some soils of Nagaur district in semi-arid region of Rajasthan. J.Indian Soc.Soil Sci.,2003, 51, [10] Tandon HLS, Methods of Analysis of soils, plants, water and fertilizers, fertilizer Development and Consultation Organization, New Delhi, India, 1999, + VI, PP