Soil fertility. Optimizing the Sulphur Sources and recommendation for maximizing the Pulses Productivity:Madurai District of Tamil Nadu

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2016 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Geology, Mineralogy, Soil Science, grade: 9.0, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (Agriculture College and Research Institute, Madurai), course: Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, language: English, abstract: The study has been contemplated to evaluate the sources and levels of sulphur for maximizing the productivity of blackgram in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu in the following objectives: To delineate sulphur status of soils of pulses growing areas in Madurai district, to study the release pattern of different sulphur sources through laboratory incubation, to study the adsorption and desorption behavior of sulphur in various soil types and to evaluate the effect of different sources of sulphur on yield, nutrient uptake and quality of blackgram. Pulses are the second most important group of crops after cereals. India is producing 14.76 million tons of pulses from an area of 23.63 million hectare, which is one of the largest pulses producing countries in the world. India accounts for 33 per cent of the world area and 22 per cent of the world production of pulses.Despite India being the largest producer (18.5 million tons) and processor of pulses in the world also imports around 3.5 million tons annually on an average to meet its ever increasing consumption needs of around 22.0 million tons. According to Indian Institute of Pulses Researchs Vision document, Indias population is expected to touch 1.68 billion by 2030 and the pulse requirement for the year 2030 is projected at 32 million tons with anticipated required annual growth rate of 4.2 per cent. However, about 2-3 million tons of pulses are imported annually to meet the domestic consumption requirement.