The effect of lime, zinc, and molybdenum on the growth of Calopogonium caeruleum in a greenhouse
1987
Hardjono, A. (Balai Penelitian Perkebunan Bogor (Indonesia))
Calopogonium caeruleum has extensively been established as a cover crop of rubber plantations in Malaysia, east, and Central Java. However in some areas of West Java and South Sumatera where the soils are acid, the development of C. caeruleum has not been successful. In order to identify the constraints for the growth of C. caeruleum, a pot experiment was carried out in a greenhouse of the Bogor Research Institute for Estate Crops, using red-yellow podzolic soil of Sanghyangdamar estate. Twenty combinations of 5 lime rates and 4 treatments of micronutrients were tested. Plant growth, number of root nodules, nutrient uptake, and chemical properties of soils were recorded. It was found that in podzolic soils, the poor establishment of C. caeruleum was attributed mainly to a high level of exchangeable Al in the soils. Liming of these soils based on the exchangeable Al content or Al saturation could overcome this problem. Liming as such could promote the growth of C. caeruleum and root nodule formation, but it also reduced plant uptake of Zn and Mn, and suppressed the available P in the soils. The need to apply Zn and Mo in conjunction with the liming for C. caeruleum could not be verified in this experiment. Liming rate of 1.63 times the exchangeable Al content of the soil was observed to maximize plant growth rate. It also proved that liming at the rate of 0.5 times the exchangeable Al content has resulted in reducing the available content. Therefore the application of phosphorus appeared to be essential to meet the requirement of plants grown on limed acid soils.
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