EFFECT OF MAGNESIUM LEVELS AND GROWING CONDITIONS ON NUTRIENT UPTAKE OF HYBRID NAPIER
AKHILA C. THAMPI AND USHA C. THOMAS
Department of Agronomy,
College of Agriculture, Vellayani,
Thiruvananthapuram-695 522, Kerala
*(e-mail : akhiohm@gmail.com)
(Received : 13 May 2018; Accepted : 20 June 2018)
SUMMARY
A factorial experiment was conducted at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala during May 2016 to April 2017 to study the effect of different levels of magnesium and growing conditions on nutrient uptake of hybrid napier. The treatments included two factors viz. growing conditions- open (S1) and coconut garden (S2) and magnesium levels – 0 (M1), 40 (M2), 60 (M3), 80 (M4), 100 (M5) and 120 (M6) kg MgSO4/ha. A significant increase in nutrient uptake was found when hybrid napier was grown in open field than in coconut garden. In open condition, the highest N and P uptake was recorded with the application of 80 kg MgSO4/ha. However in coconut garden, application of 100 kg MgSO4/ha recorded the highest N and P uptake. The K uptake was higher with control treatment (0 kg MgSO4/ha) in both growing conditions. The magnesium level of 100 kg MgSO4/ha recorded the highest Mg uptake in both growing conditions.
Key words:Hybrid napier, magnesium, coconut garden, MgSO4, nutrient uptake