Micronutrient Status of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) Orchards in the Semi-arid Region of Haryana

Twelve representative guava orchards were selected from five blocks of Rewari district namely Bawal, Rewari, Jatusana, Khol and Nahar and composite soil samples of orchard and nearby non-orchard lands were collected from 0-15, 15-30 and 30-60 cm depth. The water and composite leaf sample was also taken from each orchard. At 0-15 cm depth, average iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) content in orchard soils was 11.49, 1.68, 0.92 and 9.98 mg kg^-1, while in non-orchard soils it was 11.47, 1.70, 0.94 and 10.01 mg kg^-1, respectively. At subsurface depth (15-30 cm) average Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn content were10.31, 1.56, 0.87 and 7.25 mg kg^-1in orchard soils, while at the same depth average Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn content in non-orchard soils was 10.51, 1.58, 0.88 and 7.27 mg kg^-1, respectively. Orchard soils had average Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn content 6.69, 1.03 0.39 and 4.79 mg kg^-1, while non-orchard soils had 6.66, 0.96, 0.41 and 4.82 mg kg^-1, respectively at lowermost depth (30-60 cm). Available iron, zinc, copper and manganese content showed a decreasing trend with the increasing depth. Most (75%) soil samples of orchard and non-orchard soils were sufficient in DTPA extractable iron content. In both orchard and non-orchard soils, the majority of the soils were sufficient in available copper and manganese, while low to medium in available zinc. Average leaf iron, zinc, copper and manganese content was 99.45, 10.63, 8.21 and 10.33 ppm. In leaf samples, iron content was medium to high while, copper and manganese were in sufficient range. Zinc content was low in all leaf samples.EC of water samples varied from normal to saline, pH was alkaline, SAR was low to high and RSC varied from safe limit to high. Hence, the application of micronutrients may play a key role in enhancing the production of guava orchards.