STANDARDIZATION OF FOLIAR SAMPLING TECHNIQUES FOR MACRONUTRIENTS IN SWEET CHERRY (PRUNUS AVIUM L.) CV. STELLA

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1 Agric. Sci. Digest., 33 (4) : , 2013 DOI /j AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE / indianjournals.com STANDARDIZATION OF FOLIAR SAMPLING TECHNIQUES FOR MACRONUTRIENTS IN SWEET CHERRY (PRUNUS AVIUM L.) CV. STELLA Disha Thakur*, A.S. Rehalia and Jayant Kumar Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan , India Received: Accepted: ABSTRACT A field experiment was carried out to standardize the foliar sampling techniques in cherry cv. Stella grown under sub-mountain zone of Himachal Pradesh during The nutrient composition of tissue undergoes variable changes as the season advances. The concentration of N, P and K in cherry leaves declines with the leaf position on the shoot besipetally, being maximum in the terminal leaves (2.44, 0.23 and 2.70 per cent, respectively) minimum in the basal leaves (2.10, 0.18 and 1.99 per cent, respectively) and intermediate in the middle leaves (2.26,0.20 and 2.42 per cent, respectively). However Ca and Mg content of cherry leaves follow a reverse trend, maximum in basal leaves (2.33 and 0.78 per cent) intermediate in middle leaves (2.29 and 0.73 per cent) and minimum in the terminal leaves(2.13 and 0.72 per cent). Chemical changes in the concentration of N and K of the leaves from different position on shoot showed almost similar trend, these increased early in the season from to and thereafter, decreased with the advancement of leaf age. The nutrient stability period was observed between to for N and K in case of middle leaves ( per cent and per cent, respectively). Leaf P content of cherry exhibited a decreasing trend throughout the sampling period and stability period was observed between to ( per cent) from middle leaves. Leaf Ca and Mg content followed a reverse trend and increased steadily throughout the growing season showing nutrient stability period between to. Thus middle leaves from current season growth from to when the leaves were months old were most suitable for leaf analysis in respect of macro-nutrients. However for Ca the stability increased from to August15, Key words: Cherry, Foliar sampling techniques, Macronutrient. INTRODUCTION Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is one of the most important fruit crops of temperate region of the world. In India, cherries are grown in a limited scale in the states of J&K and Himachal Pradesh. In Himachal Pradesh cherries are grown at higher altitudes ranging from 2100 to 2700 meters above mean sea level and occupy an area of 279 ha with the production of 415 metric tonnes. (Anonymous, 2009). In this crop, no work has been done on standardization of foliar sampling techniques. Advances in the mineral nutrition of fruit crops have proved that the tissue analysis is an excellent tool for diagnosing the nutrient status of the fruit tree. Accuracy of leaf analysis, however, depends on specificity of sampling leaves with respect to their position on shoot, shoot age, time of sampling, cropping as well as region where the crop is grown (Leece and Glimour,1974). The nutrients standard developed for recommendation of fertilisers are valid only for leaves collected during specific period and from specific part of plant for each cultivar and under each climate (West Wood, 1975). The present study was therefore undertaken to find out suitable age, sampling time and position of leaf on shoot to be sampled in cherry under agro- climatic conditions of Himachal Pradesh. MATERIALS AND METHODS A field experiment was conducted at Horticultural Research Station, Seobag Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, located in the sub-mountain zone of Himachal Pradesh at an elevation of 1350 * Corresponding author s dishathakur_83@rediffmail.com

2 Vol. 33, No. 4, meter above mean sea level. Site is situated in between 32 0 N latitude and 77 0 E longitude. The climate of the area ranges from sub-temperate to temperate with maximum temperature up to 32 0 C during summer. The winter months are cold, temperature falling to C. The average annual temperature ranges between C. The area receives an average annual rainfall of cm. The experiment was carried out on forty trees of cherry having uniform size and vigour in factorial randomised block design with 10 replication (four tree per replication). The experimental trees were given uniform cultural operation, sampling dates were considered as treatments. The shoots of the current seasons growth were tagged in April for collection of samples. The leaves along with petiole were collected at monthly interval from 15 th May to 15 th September during both the years. Leaves along with petiole were collected from three positions on the shoot: a. basal one third portion of the shoot, b. middle one third portion of the shoot, and c. terminal one third portion of the shoot The composite sample consisting of 50 leaves was dried in oven at 68 0 C for 48 hr. The dried samples were ground and subjected to chemical analysis for N, P, K, Ca, and Mg according to the standard methods. The analytic data were subjected to statistical analysis according to RBD factorial design and pooled. The total N was determined by Kjeltec Auto analyser 2300, P by Vandomolybdate phosphoric yellow colour method suggested by Jackson (1967) and K were determined with the help of flame photometer (Piper,1966). Ca and Mg were determined by atomic absorption method using Z polarized Zeeman atomic absorpti on spectrophotometer. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Nitrogen: Significant variation in leaf nitrogen content was observed through out the sampling period (Table 1). The mean nitrogen content as influenced by position of leaf on shoot exhibited maximum content on N in terminal leaves (2.44 per cent), medium in middle leaves (2.26 per cent) and minimum in the basal leaves (2.10 per cent). Nitrogen being mobile has tendency to accumulate in terminal leaves. Nitrogen content increased from to and after that it started decreasing. The middle leaves showed period of stability from 15 June to. The decreasing trend of N content after is associated with the dilution effect ( Leece and Gilmous,1974 ; Chuntanaparb and Cumming, 1980) and also might be due to utilization of N by various sinks at different stages of development. The lowest N content at the end of sampling season might be due to remobilisation of nitrogen prior to the leaf fall (Clark and Smith 1990). The present findings are in conformity with the findings of Batjer and West Wood (1958) in peach, Verma and Bhandari (1990) in peach and Rehalia and Sandhu (2005) in persimmon. Phosphorous: The phosphorous content of leaves revealed a significant variation during different sampling dates and position of leaves (Table 2). The leaf P followed a definite trend and decreased through out the sampling dates. The maximum mean leaf P content (0.29 per cent) was observed on 1 st sampling date i.e. and the minimum leaf P TABLE 1: Seasonal trends in leaf nitrogen content as influenced by position of leaf on shoot and time of sampling Mean Sampling dates (mean) 0.09 Position of leaf on shoot (mean) 0.07 Sampling dates x Position of leaf on shoot

3 276 AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE DIGEST TABLE 2: Seasonal trends in leaf phosphorous content as influenced by position of leaf on shoot and time of sampling Mean Sampling dates (mean) 0.02 Position of leaf on shoot (mean) 0.02 Sampling dates x Position of leaf on shoot 0.04 content ( per cent) was observed on September 15.The highest level of P content on earlier sampling dates might be due to fact that it might have been derived from reserve source in plant from previous year and not from current absorption (Therios et al., 1997). The decline in P content might be related to the dilution effect of growth (Kotur and Singh, 1998). This trend was noticed with all the three position of leaves sampled. Leaf samples collected from middle position shoots exhibited less fluctuation then the basal and terminal shoots. The maximum phosphorus content was recorded (0.23 per cent) in terminal leaves followed by (0.20 per cent) in mid shoot leaves and minimum (0.18 per cent) in basal leaves. The data on combined effect of sampling dates and position of leaves on shoot reveals that leaves from all three positions registered a decrease in leaf P content from first date of sampling i.e. May 15 to.the stable period for collection of leaf samples from middle portion of shoot commenced from (0.23 per cent) to (0.21 per cent). Leaves from terminal position of shoot also exhibited the same trend as that of basal leaves. The present investigations also lend credence to the earlier observation made by Verma and Singh (1990) in apple and Chandel and Rana (2004) in Kiwi. Potassium:The mean potassium content of leaves sampled from different position on shoot increased steadily in the beginning of sampling season, reached maximum value on 15 June (2.87 per cent) and declined towards the end of sampling season, i.e. September (1.83 per cent) (Table 3).The position of leaves on shoot revealed that terminal leaves showed maximum K content (2.70 per cent), middle leaves showed medium K content (2.42 per cent) and basal leaves showed minimum K content (1.99 per cent). This might be due to the mobile nature of potassium (Smith and Reuther, 1954). A nutrient stability period was observed from the leaves sampled from middle position of shoot between to ( per The stable period of K content observed in TABLE 3: Seasonal trends in leaf potassium content as influenced by position of leaf on shoot and time of sampling Mean Sampling dates (mean) 0.22 Position of leaf on shoot (mean) 0.17 Sampling dates x Position of leaf on shoot 0.20

4 Vol. 33, No. 4, middle leaf is due to reduced demand of K by sink (Chapman, 1964). The present findings were in conformity with the early findings of Verma and Bhandari (1990) in apricot and Rehalia and Sandhu (2005) in persimmon. Calcium: The mean calcium content was recorded to be lower during first sampling date i.e. on 15 May (1.70 per cent) and, there after, increased with increasing leaf age (Table 4). Leaf Ca content attained maximum level on (2.75 per cent), the last date of sampling. The ever increasing concentration of Ca might be attributed to limited mobility of the element in the phloem (Smith,1962).The highest mean Ca content from different position was recorded in basal leaves (2.33 per cent) followed by middle leaves (2.29 per cent ) and minimum in terminal leaves (2.13 per cent). The present findings are in congruence with earlier observations of Verma and Bhandari,(1990) in apricot. Magnesium: The leaf Mg content increased with the advancement of growing season (Table 5). The mean leaf Mg content varied from per cent from May to September. This is due to relatively limited mobility of Mg in phloem and also low demand by fruits (Smith, 1962). The Mg content of different position of leaf on shoot increased with position of leaf on shoot (Table 5). The maximum 0.78 per cent and minimum 0.72 per cent Mg content was observed in basal and terminal leaves, respectively. However, middle leaves showed intermediate leaf Mg content (0.73 per cent). The nutrient stability period was observed between 15 June to from leaves sampled from middle position of shoot.the above findings were in line with earlier reports of Verma and Bhandari (1990) and Gulerjuz et al., (1995). Middle leaves from current season s growth from to when the leaves are months old are the most suitable for leaf analysis in respect of macronutrients. TABLE 4: Seasonal trends in leaf calcium content as influenced by position of leaf on shoot and time of sampling Mean Sampling dates (mean) 0.04 Position of leaf on shoot (mean) 0.03 Sampling dates x Position of leaf on shoot 0.06 TABLE 5: Seasonal trends in leaf magnesium content as influenced by position of leaf on shoot and time of sampling Mean Sampling dates (mean) 0.02 Position of leaf on shoot (mean) 0.01 Sampling dates x Position of leaf on shoot 0.03

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