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Yield and Quality of Alfalfa as Influenced by Additions of S to P and K Fertilizations under Greenhouse Conditions 1
Author(s) -
Martel Y. A.,
Zizka J.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1977.00021962006900040002x
Subject(s) - loam , agronomy , soil water , human fertilization , greenhouse , fertilizer , dry matter , medicago sativa , crop , environmental science , chemistry , biology , soil science
Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) obtains sulfur from soil reserve, air, and rainfall. These sources of S may need to be supplemented with fertilizer S in normal superphosphate to produce optimum yields. The objective of this work was to determine the need of alfalfa in S fertilization in relation with the addition of P and K normally used on Quebec soils. Alfalfa ‘Rambler’ was grown in the greenhouse and supplied with P, K, and S. A total of 18 treatments and 3 replicates were used on two types of soils — a Humaquept (silty clay Kamouraska) and a Haplorthod (sandy‐loam St. André). Dry matter yields and uptake of N, P, K and S by the crop were significantly increased by the addition of S. The increases were more important on the silty clay than on the sandy loam soil. Responses of alfalfa to S were greater than to the addition of P and K. Critical concentrations of S in the crop were found to be 0.10% on the sandy loam and 0.12% on the silty clay soil and appear to be as good an index as N:S ratios to determine S deficiency in alfalfa. Results of this study showed the importance of S fertilization to improve the output of alfalfa on both clay and sandy soils. They suggest that the growing use of concentrated fertilizers containing little S can lead eventually to deficiencies in the plants if other sources of S are not added to normal P and K fertilization.