Micronutrients Foliar Diagnostic Norm for Pomegranate Using DRIS

Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) was used as an alternative approach for foliar diagnosis of micronutrients. DRIS norms are generally better than the diagnosis made by sufficiency range method, with the advantage, that DRIS reflects nutrient balance, and identifies the order in which the nutrients are likely to become limiting. DRIS based analysis predicted the optimum values of micronutrient concentrations in leaf as: Fe (161.5–198.5, 164.4–201.3, 160.2–197.2 mg/kg), Mn (40–60.4, 41.4–64.3, 40.3–61.2 mg/kg), Zn (15.37–31.28, 19.77–35.92, 12.86–29.44 mg/kg), Cu (21.35–49.77, 25.47–54.22, 17.25–41.94 mg/kg), B (23–35, 20–29, 13–25 mg/kg), and Mo (0.24–0.48, 0.24–0.50 and 0.24–0.49 mg/kg) at 50% flowering, fruit development and harvesting stages respectively. All micronutrients in the order of decreasing influence on fruit yield were rated as: Fe < B < Zn < Cu < Mn < Mo at 50% flowering, Fe < B < Zn < Cu < Mn < Moat fruit development and Cu < Fe < B < Mn < Zn < Mo at harvest through leaf analysis.