Effect of Sulphur Application on the Availability of some Nutrients in Egyptian Soils

Document Type : Original Article

Abstract

AN INCUBATION experiment was carried out to study the effect of different size and application rates (0, 0.5 1.0, 2.0 %) of elemental Sulphur (S) on pH, EC, soluble sulphate and Extractable P , K , Fe and Mn in seven soils collected from different sites in Egypt which differed in physical , chemical characteristics and mineralogical composition. Three size of S were used, fine 50µ m, coarse 250µ m and very coarse >250 µ m and the moisture content was kept at field capacity by daily addition of distilled water. Sulfur application up to 2% level caused a significant decrease in soil pH values relative to the control treatment. These reductions were more pronounced in the case of sandy soils. The soil pH values were lower in the investigated soils amended with the fine particle size of S compared with the coarse and very coarse particle size of S, respectively. Sulfur application also significantly increased the EC, the solubility of sulphate, P, K, Fe and Mn in the soils during the period of incubation

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