Precision Nitrogen Management Using Leaf Colour Chart

Abstract

Heterogeneous nature from one field to another hinders the application of broad based blanket recommendation of fertilizers to various crops. In intensive cropping system, several farmers are applying nitrogenous fertilizer either in excess or low quantity than crop requirement for higher productivity without assessing the crop requirements. The growing energy crisis in tune with overwhelming population is forcing researchers to discover possible ancillary ways to yield of field crops using numerous gadgets (LCC, SPAD meter, Green Seeker etc.) for efficient nitrogen use. Globally, cereals are major staple food crops and application of nitrogen fertilizers to cereals occupies central role in crop nutrition to augment productivity, whereas if it’s used in excess quantity, pollutes the ground water through leaching losses. Nonetheless, the best remedy could be fine-tuning rate and time by various split applications in order to synchronize nitrogen demand with crop needs for higher nitrogen use efficiency and crop productivity.