responses to lime, k, mo and cu by grass.tegume …ejtafs.mardi.gov.my/jtafs/10-3/lime.pdf ·...

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MARDI Res. Bull., (1982) 10,3: 850-369) RESPONSES TO LIME, K, MO AND CU BY GRASS.TEGUME PASTUREON SOME ULTISOLSAND OXISOLSOF PENINSULARMALAYSIA THAM KAH CHENG* and P.C. KERRIDGE** Keywords : Nutrientresponses, grass-legume pastures, Ultisols, Oxisols RINGKASAN Kajian tanaman di dalam pasu dan di ladang ke atas tanah ultisol dan oxisol untuk mengetahui keperluan nutrien, selain dari fosforus untuk pastura rumput-kekacang telah dilakukan. Centrosema pubescens (centro), Pueraria phaseoloides (puero) dan St,vlosanthes guianensis (stylo) telah ditanam di dalam pasu. Rumput-rumput ini telah ditanam di ladang dengan rumput Panicum maximum (guinea) bagi tempoh kajian 3-4 tahun. Nutrient yang paling berpengaruh ialah molybdenum, kapur dan kaliam. Pengaruh molybdenum dan kapur adalah bergantung kepada species.Centro lebih berkesan kepada molybdenum dan kapur dari puero yang berkesan lebih dari stylo. Pengaruh kapur adalah kerana calcium sebagai nutrien. Pada am- nya, tanah jenis tropeptic haplorthrox (siri Melaka dan Munchong) adalah kurang molybdenum diban- dingkan dengan tanah jenis orthoxic tropudult (siri Bungor, Rengam dan Durian). Pengaruh kaliam adalah kuat terhadap siri Bungor dari stylo. Ada sedikit kesan magnesium kepada siri Melaka dan cupram ke atas siri Rengam. Tidak ada kesanyang berkekalan terhadap sulfur ke atas semuajenis tanah. Keperluan nutrient penting telah dapat dikesan dari kajian tanaman pasu. Kesan kurang penghasilan yang disebabkan oleh kapur dan kurangan cupram and zink yang dikesan dari kajian tanaman pasu tidak dapat dilihat pada tanaman di ladang. INTRODUCTION Peninsular Malaysia lies between 1o20' and 6o45'N and 100oand 104'E and has an equatorialclimate. Rainfall ranges from bet- ween 80" to 130" (2050-3330 mm) per an- num (DALE, 1959). The averagetemperature of 80'F Q6.7'C) in the lowland is constant throughout the year and varies within + 3oF (1.7'C). The soils are formed mainly on granite, shale and sandstone parent materials. There is little published information on fertilizer requirement for pasfures. Only responses to phosphorusby guinea/stylo or guinea/puero mixfures have been reported previously (Ksnnrocr and THAM, 1978). Responses by various legumes (Calopogo- nium mucunoides, Centrosema pubescens, Macroptilium qtopurpureum, M. lathy- roides, Pueraria phaseoloides, and Stylosan- thes guianensrs) to phosphorus (HAMILTON and PrLLAy. 1941; WATSON et. al., 1963: JosEpt-r. 1965; KennrDGE and THlv, 1978; and THAM, 1976), molybdenum(WATSoN, 1960; KrnnrocE and THAM, 1978). lime (Tuav, 1976) and lime induced copper and zinc deficiences (KennroGEand Tslv, 1978) have been reported. However, the resultscan- not be applied directly to grazed grass- legume pasfuresbecauseof factors such as (a) interspecific competition in mixed swards (DoNALD, 1963; Hall, 1977), (b) different patterns of nutrient cycling and (c) the short duration of most of the experiments. This paper reports results of experi- mentsto definethe nutrient deficiencies for *Soil Science Branch, MARDI, Selangor, Malaysia. **Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures,CSIRO, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Australia. 350

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MARDI Res. Bull., (1982) 10, 3: 850-369)

RESPONSES TO LIME, K, MO AND CU BY GRASS.TEGUMEPASTURE ON SOME ULTISOLS AND OXISOLS OF

PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

THAM KAH CHENG* and P.C. KERRIDGE**

Keywords : Nutrient responses, grass-legume pastures, Ultisols, Oxisols

RINGKASAN

Kajian tanaman di dalam pasu dan di ladang ke atas tanah ultisol dan oxisol untuk mengetahuikeperluan nutrien, selain dari fosforus untuk pastura rumput-kekacang telah dilakukan. Centrosemapubescens (centro), Pueraria phaseoloides (puero) dan St,vlosanthes guianensis (stylo) telah ditanam didalam pasu. Rumput-rumput ini telah ditanam di ladang dengan rumput Panicum maximum (guinea)bagi tempoh kajian 3-4 tahun.

Nutrient yang paling berpengaruh ialah molybdenum, kapur dan kaliam. Pengaruh molybdenum dankapur adalah bergantung kepada species. Centro lebih berkesan kepada molybdenum dan kapur daripuero yang berkesan lebih dari stylo. Pengaruh kapur adalah kerana calcium sebagai nutrien. Pada am-nya, tanah jenis tropeptic haplorthrox (siri Melaka dan Munchong) adalah kurang molybdenum diban-dingkan dengan tanah jenis orthoxic tropudult (siri Bungor, Rengam dan Durian). Pengaruh kaliamadalah kuat terhadap siri Bungor dari stylo. Ada sedikit kesan magnesium kepada siri Melaka dan cupramke atas siri Rengam. Tidak ada kesan yang berkekalan terhadap sulfur ke atas semuajenis tanah.

Keperluan nutrient penting telah dapat dikesan dari kajian tanaman pasu. Kesan kurang penghasilanyang disebabkan oleh kapur dan kurangan cupram and zink yang dikesan dari kajian tanaman pasu tidakdapat dilihat pada tanaman di ladang.

INTRODUCTION

Peninsular Malaysia l ies between 1o20'and 6o45'N and 100o and 104'E and has anequatorial climate. Rainfall ranges from bet-ween 80" to 130" (2050-3330 mm) per an-num (DALE, 1959). The average temperatureof 80'F Q6.7'C) in the lowland is constantthroughout the year and varies within + 3oF(1.7'C). The soils are formed mainly ongrani te, shale and sandstone parentmaterials.

There is little published information onfertilizer requirement for pasfures. Onlyresponses to phosphorus by guinea/stylo orguinea/puero mixfures have been reportedpreviously (Ksnnrocr and THAM, 1978).Responses by various legumes (Calopogo-nium mucunoides, Centrosema pubescens,

Macroptilium qtopurpureum, M. lathy-roides, Pueraria phaseoloides, and Stylosan-thes guianensrs) to phosphorus (HAMILTONand PrLLAy. 1941; WATSON et. al., 1963:JosEpt-r. 1965; KennrDGE and THlv, 1978;and THAM, 1976), molybdenum (WATSoN,1960; KrnnrocE and THAM, 1978). l ime(Tuav, 1976) and lime induced copper andzinc deficiences (KennroGE and Tslv, 1978)have been reported. However, the results can-not be applied directly to grazed grass-legume pasfures because of factors such as(a) interspecific competition in mixed swards(DoNALD, 1963; Hall, 1977), (b) differentpatterns of nutrient cycling and (c) the shortduration of most of the experiments.

This paper reports results of experi-ments to define the nutrient deficiencies for

*Soi l Science Branch, MARDI, Selangor, Malaysia.

**Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures, CSIRO, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Australia.

3 5 0

the establishment of grass-legume pasfure on

the principal inland soils of Peninsular

Malaysia. Pot experiments were conducted to

screen soils for possible nutrient deficiencies

using pasfure legumes as test plants. Field

experiments were then established on repre-sentative soils to verify results of the pot

culture experiments using grass-legume mix-

tures. Results of pot experiments of several of

the soils were reported previously (KEnnlocl

and Tsau. 1978).

EXPERIMENTS

1. Pot experiments

A series of experiments to determinenutrient responses by pasture legumes were

carried out on soils collected from a total of

10 sites at four locations. The soils fromKluang (MARDI), Padang Hijau (MAJU-

TERNAK) and Segamat (PAHANGBIF)

were collected immediately after clearingfrom virgin jungle. At Behrang Ulu (MAJU-

TERNAK), the Bungor series soils were col-lected from an area previously under secon-dary jungle and the Melaka series soils fromareas under newly sown pasture. The compo-site soil samples from each site were air-dried, passed through a 1 cm sieve andthoroughly mixe.d. An amount of 1.6 kg soilwas then packed to the same volume in 15 cmdiameter pots lined with clean polythene

bags. Site details and soil chemical analysesare shown inTable 1.

The nutrients, CaCO, or Ca(OH)r, were

mixed throughout the soil. All other nutrients

were applied in solution to the soil surface

and after drying mixed into the top 1.5 cm'

The soils were watered to field capacity, in-

cubated for two weeks and then planted with

inoculated seeds of the test species. Rfti-

zobium strain CB756 was used f.or Stylosan'thes guianensis (s ty lo) and Puerar iaphaseoloides (puero) and CB1923 lor Cen-t ros ema pu bescens (centro).

In the general nutrient experiment, the

treatthents were applied in balanced frac-

tional factorial combinations. Depending on

the number of treatments, either fully ran-

domised or randomised block designs were

used. Experimental details are given inT'able

2. Assessment for K ( = 100 kg K ha I as

K H C O . ) a n d S ( = 3 o k g S h a i a s

NarSOo. lOHrO) responses on soi ls f rom

Padang Hijau were tested with an omission

design in 4 replications using stylo as the test-

p lant . Basal Mg, Cu, Zn,Mo, B, Co and Mn

were applied at rates similar to the general

nutrient experiment.

One week after germination the seed-

lings were thinned to four plants per pot'

Watering rvas done twice daily to field capa-

city using deionized water. Plant tops were

harvested at approximately eight weeks afterplanting and dried for 16 hours at 70oC in a

forced draught oven.

2. Field experiments

Experiments were established at Beh-rang Ulu, Kluang and Padang Hijau on atotal of six soil series to study responses to the

addition or omission of K, Mo, S, Cu, Zn andCaCO, by 2 pasture mixtures. Treatmentsrrere combined in partial factorial arrange-ments $'hich were confounded into blocks togive four replications. Full treatment detailsare shou n in Table 3.

The experiments for the Bungor, Durianand Rengam Series were located at the samesites and those for the Melaka and Mun-chong at adjacent sites from which the soilsfor the pot experiments were taken. The sitefor the Melaka series experiment had beenplanted previously with guinea and centroand received phosphorus ferti l izer. However,the sown species had not persisted.

The experimental areas were ploughed

and harrowed, and plots of 6 m X 6 m (or 6m X 5 m - Bungor and Melaka) were mark-

ed out. Lime was broadcast and rotovated in

two weeks before planting. At planting, thegrass, inoculated legume seed, macro-nutrients and basal P (80 kg P ha-l as

Ca(HrPO)r.HrO) were broadcast and rakedinto the surlace soil. Micronutrients were ap-plied in solution after establishment exceptfor MoO, which was added by pelleting ontothe legume seed.

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All treatments and basal P were re-applied annually at half the initial rates, ex-cept for K, which was applied at the full rate.There was no further reapplication of lime.On the Rengam series soil, the puero treat-ment was oversown with centro on 21.9.76(start of Period IV) and K was then applied to

all treatments. Magnesium sulphate was ap-plied to the S treatment of the Melaka seriessoil on 20.6.1977 at the start of Period IV.

Dry matter yield was determined by cut-ting four 1 m X 0.5 m quadrats from eachplot at 10 cm height at approximately 8 week-ly intervals. These samples were then sortedinto grass and legume components, weighedand the dry matter determined on sub-samples dried at 7oC in a forced draughtoven. The remainder of the material on theplots was then cut to 10 cm by mowing(Rengam, Durian and Munchong) or bysickle (Bungor and Melaka) and removed.Yields were not recorded at some harvest in-tervals because of factors such as accidentalgrazing or the establishment period followingthe resowing of puero with centro on theRengam series. On these occasions, the ex-perimental areas were mown and the par-ticular interval not included in the growthperiod (Table 5).

Soil samples were taken at depths of0-10. 10-20.20-50 and 50-100 cm f romthe perimeter of the experimental sites on theRengam, Durian and Munchong series andfrom the treatments which had receivedneither S nor CaCO, on the Bungor andMelaka series. They were analysed for pH(1:2.5 HrO) exchangeable Ca, Mg, K, Na ex-tracted with NHoOAc buffered at pH 7.0(Cs.tpulN, 1965), DPTA extractable Cv,Zn,Mn (LtNns^q,v and NonweLL, 1969) and

0.01M Ca(HfO), extractable SO- (Bnn'

Row, 1967) (Table 9). Additional 0-10 cmsoil samples for pH determination were takenannually from the Rengam, Munchong and

Durian series and in 1976 from the Bungor

and Melaka series soils (Zable 10).

Separate legume tip samples, up to the

f i f th expanded leaf were col lected f or

chemical analvsis (Table 8), dried at 70oC

and ground with a stainless steel mill to pass

through a 1 mm mesh screen. They were

analysed for N, P, K by autoanalyser after

Kjeldahl digestion (WIt-ltau and TwtNp,

1967) and Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu and S by emission

spectroscopy (JouNsoN and S IvtoNs , 1972).

RESULTS

1. Pot experiments

A summary of the main resPonses, the

magnitude of the yield response and nutrientinteractions are summarized in Tab le 4.

(a) Main effects:

Responses to K and Mo by one or moreof the test species occurred on most soils.Liming increased the yield of centro andpuero on six of the seven soils tested butdepressed the yield of stylo on the Rengam,Munchong, Melaka (colluvium) and Bungor(colluvium) series soils. Most of the responsesto Cu and Zn occurred with stylo and wereassociated with depressions due to liming.Responses to S and Mg by stylo were obtain-ed on the Melaka (colluvium) series soil.There were responses to combined nutrientapplications by puero to B/ColMn/S on theRengam and to B/Co/Mn on the Prang setiessoils.

(b) Interactions

Lime X Cu, l ime X Zn, l ime X

Cu/Zn'.- Application of lime depressed stylogrowth, which was pvercome partially or fully

by Cu, Zn or Cu/Zn application. With centroor puero, there was no acfual depression by

liming and maximum growth occurred whenboth l ime and Cu or Zn were apPlied.

Lime X Mo:- Molybdenum deficiencyin centro or puero was moderated by limingon the Munchong, Prang and Rengam seriessoils whereas stylo responded to Mo only inthe absence of lime on the Munchong andPrang series soils. On the Melaka series soilthere was a Mo response by stylo even whenlime was applied.

Lime X K:- the dePressive effect oflime on stylo was partially overcome by K ap-plication on the Melaka (colluvium) series

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| | | | | | N O - , C | || | | | | | - o ! c | |

F N

r o N o c o r - o - a e , o nr - N r r € r + O . O . o € O . ON < f O $ N \ O O r N N

- c ) t ) r - o v : o j c , - N c r a oo c - r - a f ) r € 4 n - 6 4 -- V N - 6 i r - N

- c - ! o r r s o N c c - Na a l v ) v € @ € F N : 6F o * o = € € N

r ) r ) V @ - - O O d S O r r 4 6o o c - - . t r r n N r -H O N 6 A O N

E; Ei E=E E=r EA E=e E,

6

9 ; 9 ; ? i 9 r ? ; 9 . ; ? ;i c X i K ' i : i - i - i - i

l l l l r r O + r o c l lI L | | | | | I - 6 - C | |

F N

m

3s8

? z- : N

a

J-

J

q

E

q

q

-z

X' r I

.-i

j-

T

O

J

z

;)zql

_l

F

6z

6ql

.o

J

F

soil, while stylo responded to K only in the

absence of lime on the Bungor series soil.

Other interactions:- several other sig-nificant interactions were observed viz. Mo

X B/Co/Mn/ S, Mo X K, K X Mg and K XZn, where maximum yield was only obtainedwith the addition of both nutrients ornutrient combinations.

2. Field experiments

(a) Dry matteryield

A summary of the significant responsesby the grass and legume components andtheir combined yield are given in Table 5. llwas. necessary to analyse the individuallegume species separately in the statisticalanalysis of the yield data because of large dif-ferences in variances of the species.

The main legume responses were to Mo,lime and K. These responses became moreconsistent with time. There was also aresponse to Cu by stylo on the Rengam seriessoil. On the other hand, there were few con-sistent nutrient responses by the grass com-ponent. However, there were consistent dif-ferences in grass yield due to the associatelegume component.

(i) Legume yield

Yield responses to nutrient applicationoccurred on all soils except the Durian seriessoil.

TABLE 7. RESPONSE TO POTASSIUM

Molybdenum and lime

Molybdenum alone significantly increas-

ed centro yield on all the three soils (vrz'

Bungor, Melaka and Rengam series soils)

where it was used as a test plant (Table 6).These yields were further increased whereinitial low rates of lime (viz. 400 or 500 kg1tu-t; had been applied. The response wasstrongest on the Melaka series soil. On the

Rengam series, where lime was applied at

2000 kg ha t, the yield was twice that of thelower rate.

Puero yield was significantly increasedby Mo on the Munchong series, but not bylime. However, there was a stronger responseto lime than to Mo by puero on the Rengamseries, where response to Mo only occurred inPeriod II.

There were no significant responses bystylo to Mo or lime except on the Bungorseries soil where there was a depression due toliming in Period II but an increase in PeriodIV :

PotassiumPo tass ium s ign i f i can t l y i nc reased

legume y ie lds on the Bungor, Melaka,Rengam and Munchong series soils (Table

5). On most soils. the effect became morepronounced with time and in the case of theMelaka (Period IV) and Bungor (Period III)series soils, the effect of K on stylo yield waseven stronger when lime was also applied(Table Z) There was no marked difference in

(KG HA 1) . FIELD EXPERIMENI 'S

Soil Series Period Species - K + K L.S.D. (P-0 .0s)

Bungor I I I

IV

Melaka

Rengam

Munchong

161037801120

Lime - 2000+ 1800

1340Lime - 5300

+ 4980680

2420130

2120

I I I

I I I

CentroStylo

CentroStylo

CentroStylo

PueroStylo

PueroStylo

2100410019302350617017405750779010303720300

2560

n . s .n . s .

2s0

410

290

1250

260150

160n . s .

I I I

3s9

the degree of response between the species

tested although a response was obtaihed in

puero and not in stylo on the Munchong

series soil during Period lll (Table 7).

Copper

There was a significant increase in styloyield from 2660 to 3460 kg ha-r on the

Rengam series in Period III. This was also

significant for an analysis of combinedlegume yield over the entire period of the

trial. The statistically significant Cu X K in-

teraction for stylo in Period II on the Mun-chong series soil (Table 5) was due to a slightincrease in response to Cu in the absence of Kbut a decrease in the presence of K.

(ii) Grass yield

The most noteworthy responses by thegrass component (P. maximum) were the

responses to lime and K and the transientresponses to Mo and S, apart from the effectof associate legume species.

The magnitude of the average yield in-

crease to lime on the Bungor, Melaka and

Durian series was in the range of 20-25 per-

cent. The K response increased with time

from 11 -34 percent on the Rengam series.

The Bungor and the Munchong series soiL

however showed an initial decrease. On theMelaka series soil, application of Mg in thepresence of lime increased guinea yield by 8percent during Period V. The significant CuX Mo and K X Mo interactions on the Mun'chong series soil were associated with higheryields in the presence of both nutrients.

(iii) Total yield

The responses in total yield for the mostpart reflected the responses by the grass com-ponent as this dominated the total yield.

However, the responses in the legume compo-nent to Mo and lime did increase the totalyields in the Bungor and Melaka series soils(Table 5).

(b) Legume nutrient concentration

Chemical composition of legume tops forthe field experiment at particular samplingdates is shown in Table 8 .

Molybdenum alone increased the N con-

centration of centro and puero on all soils,

but this was only significant on the Rengam,

Durian and Munchong series soils. Res-ponses by stylo were less consistent and not

significant. Lime had no significant effect on

N concentration.

Potassium concentrations were above

the critial percentages of 0.7-0.8 percent

reported for other tropical legume (ANnnEw

and RosINs, 1969) except for centro on the

Bungor series and were relatively low for cen-

tro on the Melaka series and for puero on the

Rengam and Munchong series soils. Potas-

sium concentrations were generally higher for

stylo than centro or puero grown in the same

experiment.

Calcium concentrations were increasedby the lime treatments and were much higherin stylo than in the other legumes.

Magnesium concentrations were slightlydecreased by potassium application on theMelaka, Munchong and Rengam series soilsand by lime on the Melaka, Durian andMunchong series. The depressive effect of Kwas strongest for the Melaka series soil(Tabte 8) in which Mg deficiency symptomswere observed in the presence of K fertiliza-tion.

Plant P concentrations for centro ancstylo were above the critical percentage of

0.16 (ANDREw and RoBBINS, 1969a; BRUCE,1974). Addition of S had no effect on plant Sconcentrations, which were above the criticalvalues of 0.14 to 0.17 percent reported fortropical legumes (ANonBw, 1977).

Plant Cu concentrations were marginalor above the critical level of 5 ppm (ANonew

and TsonNe .l96D in the absence of Cu fer-tilization. They were increased by Cu applica-tion. Addition ol Zn had no significant effecton plant Zn concentrations for the two soilswhere it was applied, namely, the Bungorand Melaka series.

(c) Soil chemical analysis

Chemical analyses of soil sampled on oradjacent to the field experiments are shown

360

|';

e *

t r Y

r N 6 0 r 6 0

€ o N o o o o

l t l

o - i - ;

a q F l

i r o 4 l 9 i 6

6 6 < * t. : F ^ i : Q O 6 -

d i q q n q q q a- h q 4 l 4 0 D

o 9 6 € N 9 d @ € 4 9 € :. t e . i - - . . j - . ? 6 l a n a e . j . i

v l ! 1 tt + l +

. d o €

| | | " q q \ l l 1 l

* * * * r@ € o o t N € - € o F@ o r 6 1 6 0 @ 4 € Nd ^ : d j

a d - o i d ^ i

O o r - 6€ o oo . . i . i , : d

oq

! o ! o ! ! o i o ? oi > i > : i > : > : >

Q 6 Q h A U q L a L a

PE - 9

9 " r F ^ ; ' E2

6 > d , 6

- o o - o - o r 4 ^ d- F S O 9 q - 4 - r O

o o Q o o Q i o : a F

O o I S 6 = O 6 t- N 3 - r - r O 0 4

: i 6 o N : F F

-t 6i

q 4 e t t t l

N € O O € 6 0o q ! \ q . t 9 4

o o € 6 4 6 0e . t 9 q . ? \ \d 6 d o N o N

9 \ 9 l l

o € o o 6 € Oo v r o 6 @ r6i -i 6i di .i 6i 6i

O t @ @ - r F6i 6i 6i ai 6i 6i 6i

5 < s s s s s sz z z z z z 2

I

. t 9 q

! o q ' :

z z z

361

O+

UI

N

o

o E ?

> 5

JO

J

J

jo

E g. 9 :

6 x

XI

X

J

J

U

X

I

TABLE 9. SOIL CHEMICAL ANALYSES. FIELD EXPERIMENTS

Soil Series Depth pH Exchangeable CationsJ Cua so4 - s-

Mg ppm

me/1009

Bungorl

Melakal

Rengam2

Durian2

Munchong2

0- 1010-2020-5050- 100

0- 1010- 2020-5050- 100

0- 10r0-2020-50s0- 100

0- 1010-2020-5050- 100

0- 1010- 2020-5050- 100

4 . 8

4 .84 .9

4 .64 .64 . 74 .9

4 .54 .54 .54 . 6

4 .64 . 64 .54 .6

4 .54 .54 .54 .5

0.800.450.300.25

0.9s0.630.450.38

0.750.6s0.400.33

1.080.570.400.33

1.300.630.500.50

0.420.360.310.26

0.270. 140 . 1 40 . 1 3

0.590.s20.370.32

0 .710.470.430.37

0.510 .270.240.23

0 . 1 30.060.040.03

0.230 . 1 90 . 1 90 . 1 2

0.220 . 1 30.090.06

0.230 . 1 40 . 1 40 . 1 4

0.230 . 1 50 . 1 40 . 1 4

0.60 . 10 . 10 . 1

1 . 40 .60 .30 .2

0 . 10 . 10 . 10 . 1

0 . 20 . 10 . 10 . 1

0 . 80 .70 . 60 . 2

1 . 60.80.90.6

2.61 . 11 . 11 . 0

2 .51 . 62 . 2L - . t

1 . 91 . 21 . 6l . b

3 . 92 .01 . 11 . 2

t 4264977

30354978

2952

> 9 9>,99

1 l1 17 . 59 . 5

J O

4273

>99

I . Sampled f rom treatments without lime or S.

2. Sampled from perimeter of the experimental area.

3. NHoOAc buf lered at pH 7.0.

4. 0.005 M DIrrA.

5. 0.01 M Ca(HrPOo)r .

in Table 9. Exchangeable cations were lowand decreased rapidly with depth on all soils.

Exchangeable Ca is lowest in the Bungor and

Rengam series, exchangeable Mg in theMelaka series and exchangeable K in the

Bungor series.

The SO, * -S concentrations increasedwith depth, except on the Durian series soil,

and are above the 4 ppm weighted value sug-gested as being critical for some tropical soils(Pnorenr and JoNES, 1977).

Taking into consideration that the areasampled on the Bungor and Melaka seriessoil had received Cu and Zn, Cu values aredeficient on the Rengam and low on theDurian and Bungor series while Zn and Mnare adeouate on all soils. This is based on the

suggestion that availableC:u,Zn and Mn may

be deficient with values less than 0.2, 0.5 and

1.0 ppm, respectively (Vters and LtNnsav,1973).

The lime treatments significantly in-creased the pH on all soils (Table 10). The ef-fect was greatest on the Rengam series where

2000 kg CaCO, ha-1 had been applied butwas also significant for the Bungor andMelaka series, which had received only 400kg CaCO, ha-1. There was a slightly lower,but significant, reduction in pH under styloon most soils (Table 10). Addition of Ssignificantly decreased the overall pH on the

Durian series from 3.88 to 3.84 (0.01 N

CaClr) units at the final sampling and on the

Bungor series from 5.50 to 5.32 (water) units.

362

(d) Pasture vigour

The mean dry matter production of the

pasture mixture and the grass and legume

components for the duration of the experi-ment is shown in Table /1. The 60 day inter-

val corresponds approximately with theharvest intervals and allows comparison of

the trends in dry matter production.

Total dry matter production declinedstrongly with time on the Bungor, Melakaand Rengam series and less strongly on theMunchong series. The fall in yield wasassociated with a sharp decline in yield of thegrass component. On the other hand, whileestablishment was slow on the Durian seriessoil, there was no evidence of declining yieldsafter a further two years.

There were marked differences in vigourbetween the legume species used at each site.Stylo yield was much higher than that of theother legume. This resulted in differences intotal yield of the ' legume' treatment on theMelaka and Rengam series during Period IIbut otherwise this difference \\ 'as not great.

That is, there was compensatory yield b-v thegrass in the non-stylo treatments.

DISCUSSION

These results show that there is a generalrequirement for Mo, K and Ca applied asCaCO,, in addition to P. for legume-grassp a s t u r e s o n U l t i s o l a n d O x i s o l s o i l s .However, these requirements vary uith thesoil and legume species. The legume compo-nent was more responsive than the grass andth i s e f f ec t i nc reased w i th t ime as t heavailabil ity of soil N became more l imiting.

Molybdenum and lime

The responses to Mo, and to a lesser ex-tent l ime, would appear to be species depen-dent as they were most pronounced u'ith cen-tro. Nevertheless, there were small responsesin yield or N concentration with puero on thesoils where it was grown. Stylo responded toMo only in pot experiments. Large dif-ferences in response to Mo have been observ-ed with other tropical legumes (JoHaNseN er.al., 1977,1978). They also observed that stylo

did not respond to Mo in the field' The

response by stylo in pot experiments and not

in the field in this study may have occurred

because of the limited volume of soil r"rsed in

pot exper iment . JosnuspNet. a l . , (1977) a lso

observed poor agreement betw'een pot and

field response to Mo with M. atropurpureum.The delay o{ response in the field can be attri-

buted to high amounts of available soil N

following clearing and cultivation as evident

in the init ial high grass yields. THav (1981)

has observed init ial grass nitrogen yields of

250-320 kg ha-t an lon a orthoxic tropudultpreviously under rubber.

There were differences behveen soils inresponse to Mo, in addition to dif{erentialspecies response. The tropeptic haplorthox(Melaka and Munchong series) were nloreresponsive to Mo than the other soils. Ingeneral. the oxisols o{ Peninsular Malaysiahave much higher amounts of free Fe-oxides(Be rNnorn and PRRaUANANTHAN, 1979

Eds.) u'hich have the capacitv to absorb high

amounts oI anions. Both d i f {erences inparent n. rater ia l (Bannow and SpENceR.1971) and the capaci ty ' to absorb Mo (Ban

Row and SpENceR. 1971: L l r l lE and KEnRIDGE 1978) a{ fect Mo requi rement .

The ll idespread responses to molvbde-num obtained in this study confilms thoseobta ined bv WarsoN (1960) in pot cu l turestudies. In addition. it demonstrates thalresponses can occur under field conditionsn here grasses and legutnes are gro\\ 'n to-gether . WArsoN et . a l . , (1963) d id not obta ina field response n'ith a cover crop mixture ofcentro, puero and Calapogonium muco-noides on the Selangor, Seremban orRengam ser ies soi ls . The widespreadresponses to Mo obtained in this study mayhave been accentuated by the competition forN from the associated grass (VALLIS et. al.,1977) and by the removal of molybdenumand nitrogen under the cut and removalharvesting technique. However, response hasalso been demonstrated on grazed pasture(P.C. KennIoGE, unpublished data). In theirstudy, JoHaNSEN e/. al., (t977) consideredthat removal of Mo in plant material would

363

TABLE 10. THE EFFECTS OF LIME AND SPECIES ON SOIL oH

Series SamplingDate

Lime legume

(kg ha - ' ) Puero/Centro Stylo

Bungorl

Melakal

Rengam2

Durian2

Munchong2

10. 1 .76

10.2.76

18.1.742.10.74

16.9.7 615.6.77

8.10.7423.4 .75|t.10.7619.6.77

11.r0.7 428.4.7s21.4.7618.6.77

4005.51*

4004.gg**

s004.004.003.904.04

10003.883.953.78*{.x3 .91**

10003.803.68*4.02*4 .15***

20004.66**:&4.54*'e*4.26***4.30**x

5 .36

4.93

4 . 1 94.12*3 .974.05***

3.803.823.68**3 .81x*

3 .763.563.82**4 .01**

05 .32

04.83

03.883.963.843.98

03.763 . 8 13.693.82

03.673.463.873.97

5.47

4.88

4 . 1 74 . 2 14.034 . 1 7

3.843.933.793.92

3.723.594.064 . 1 1

1 . p H ( H r O ) ;

2. pH (0.01 CaClr).*'r*t, {'!F, * - level of significance, 0.001, 0.01, 0.05 percent respectivell'.

not have influenced response since the maxi-mum concentration of Mo in shoots requiredfor maximum growth of several legumes was0.02 ppm or less.

Field responses to l ime, as for Mo, $'eregreatest with centro than puero or stvlo(Table 5 and 6) . ANonpw and NoRRrs (1961)also observed that centro was more respon-sive to l iming than stylo in pot experiment ona low Ca status soil. The lime response ap-pears in most cases to be an effect of Ca as anutrient as low lime rates increased soil pHby less than 0.2 pH units (Table l0). Thehigher lime rates used on the Rengam seriessoil may have resulted in the amelioration oftoxicities associated with low soil pH. This isreflected in the marked response in yield bycentro to Mo at the higher lime rate. None ofthe field responses to lime appear to havebeen due to release of Mo as there were nonegative lime X Mo interactions. Further in-vestigation on the effects of higher lime ap-plication on centro and puero, in particular

as it affects N fixation (ANnnEw andJouNsoN 1976; MuNNSet. a l . , 1977) is need-ed .

The Ca concentration of 0.33 to 0.49percent in centro in unlimed plots werebelow the range of 0.55 to 1.00 percentobserved in healthy centro plants by SuonRoCKS (1964). While l iming gave valueswithin this range (Table 8), the Ca concentra-tions were well below those associated withmaximum yield in the study of ANnRpw andNoRRIS (1961), namely, 1.35 percent for thecentro and 1.58 percent for stylo. In ourstudy, stylo responded to lime on the Bungor(Table 6) and the Melaka series in thepresence of K (Table D and where the Caconcentrations at nil l ime were 0.79 and 0.93percent, respectively. There was no responseon the Rengam or Durian series soils, wherethe Ca concentrations at nil l ime were 1.16and 1.t2, respectively.

Nevertheless. the lowest Ca concentra-tions are above the functional reouirement of

364

approximately 0.2 percent determined fors e v e r a l l e g u m e s ( L o N e n l c a u a n dSNowsaLL, 1968a). But because of the im-mobility of Ca in plants, constant uptake isnecessary to ensure it does not becomel imi t ing (LoNEnncnN and SNowsaLL,1968b). Uptake could be restricted when thesurface soil is dry. It is noteworthy that therewas a greater increase in Ca concentrationwith liming at Behrang, which has the higherand more even rainfall, than at Kluang.Calcium also has other functions such ascounteracting the effect of low pH (JlconseNet. al., 1960) and ameliorating toxic effects ofother cations. Therefore, it seems quitereasonable to look for higher Ca concentra-tion than those required in metabolic func-tions. Small additions of lime were more ef-fective in increasing the Ca concentration ofstylo than centro or puero, confirming itsgreater ability to take up Ca from the soil(ANonew and NoRRrs, 1961).

The depressive effect of lime on growthof stylo in the pot experiments may be attri-buted to induced Cu and Zn deficiencies(Kennloce and THnu, 1978). The effect wasless severe in the field and on the Bungor sitewhere it occurred the depression changed to apositive response. It is noteworthy that abovethe pH of this soil, pH 5.5, the depressive ef-fect of liming on S. fructicosa and S. guia-nensls persisted in a l iming experiment inHawai i (MuNNs and Fox 1975).

Potassium

The K response was strongest on theBungor series soil which had the lowest ex-changeable soil K (Table 9). The responsewhich occurred with time in the legume com-ponent on the Melaka and Munchong seriessoils was probably enhanced by the removalof K with the harvested material and thegreater competitive ability of the grass overthe legume for soil K (DoNal-o, 1963; Hnll,1977). The lack of response on the Durianseries can be explained by the presence .ofmicaceous clay minerals in the subsoil (Nc,1966). It would appear that higher soil Klevels are required for grass-legume pasfuresthan the 0.01 me 100 g-t required by manytropical crops (B ovER, 197 2).

The K stafus is also reflected in the plantK concentrations which were lowest on theBungor and highest on the Durian seriessoils. The values for the legumes from thosesites where response occurred are higher thanthe critical values of approximately 0.8 per-cent reported for a number of tropicallegumes (ANonEw and RogsINS, 1969b).This may be due to our sampling physiolo-gically younger material.

Copper and Zinc

Most of the responses to copper and zincin the pot experiments were associated withlime application (Table 4). The only positivefield response to Cu occurred with sf'lo onthe Rengam series. This could be due to thelow Cu status of the soil (Table 9) as well asthe sensitivity of stylo to Cu deficiency(ANonew and THoRNE ,1972). There were noindications of f ield response to Zn.

Magnesium

The slight response by guinea grass toMg on the Melaka series soil (Table 5) is con-sistent with the response obtained by stylo inthe pot experiment (Table 4). However, therewas no response by either legume component(Table 5) although their Mg concentrationswere low (Table 8). The lack of a fieldresponse may have been masked by the over-all low yield due to other nutrient deficien-c ies.

Sulphur

The general lack of response to sulphurcan be explained by the high SO,- S status olthe soils (Table 9). We cannot suggest areason for the initial S responses by only thegrass component on the Durian and Melakasoils. Further work is warranted on the rela-tionship between soil S status and cropresponse in Malaysia.

Pasture vigour

The decline in the overall total D.M.yield (Table 11) on the Bungor, Melaka,Rengam and Munchong series soils reflectsthe higher incidence of nutrient disorder onthese soils. The effect was most marked in the

365

grass component probably as a result o{ thedecline in the supply of N from the soil andalso of its increasing dependence on theassociated legume for the supply of nitrogen.

CONCLUSION

Fertilizer requirements for legume-grasspastures in Peninsular Malaysia will depend

TABLE 11. MEAN DRY MATTER PRODUCTION (KG HA-1 60 DAY ')

Soil Series Period LegumeTreatment

Legume Grass {

LegumeGrass

Bungor

Melaka

Rengam

Durian

Munchong

CentroStylo

CentroStylo

CentroStylo

CentroStylo

CentroStvlo

CentroStylo

CentroSS'lo

CentroSt"vlo

PueroSt1'lo

PueroSt1'lo

PueroStylo

CentroSt-vlo

PueroStylo

PueroSty lo

PueroStylo

PueroStylo

PueroStylo

PueroStylo

I I

I I I

IV

I I

I I I

I V

I I

I I I

I I

I I I

I I

31402920

1 6807490

15601330

r2601050

27702060

1 130890

960530

I 160640

2200zzJtt

13301330

I 1409 1 0

1 1901240

17101300

1 8 1 01030.

19801 3 1 0

25301580

20601710

1940t670

4901070

580I 100

340720

5401090

280890

3101 130

2701060

4301830

20)o

1801040

180660

70260

30340

2901 180

120880

1501 0 1 0

120760

50500

36303990

22602590

19002050

18002140

30502950

r4402020

12301590

15902470

22202270

l 5 l 02310

13201570

1 2601500

17401640

21002210

21002190

26802590

2r802470

19902174

I I I

366

both on species and soils. For most inland

soils there will be a widespread requirement

for Mo, lime and K, in particular, where cen-

tro is grown. But more work needs to be car-

ried out to determine the optimum rate andfrequency of lime, Mo and K application for

both dry matter and N production. Suchwork should attempt to relate these require-

ments to soil, plant and environmentalparameters.

REFERENCES

ANnRew, C.S. (1977). The effect of sulphuron the gfowth, sulphur and nitrogenconcentrations, and sulphur crit icalconcentrations of some tropical andtemperate pasture legumes. Aust. J.Agric. Res. 28: 807-820.

ANnRew, C .S . and JoHNSoN. A .D . (1976 ) .

Effect of Ca, pH and nitrogen on the

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would l ike to express our sincere

thanks to the Director-General of MARDI

for his permission to publish this paper. We

are indebted to Mr Othman Ahmad, Mr P.

Balasubramaniam and Ms Norliah Nasir for

their technical assistance.

This project was carried out under ajo int Malaysian (MARDI) - Austra l ia(CSIRO) pasture research project.

growth and chemical composition ofsome tropical and temperate pasturelegumes. I I . Chemical composi t ion( c a l c i u m , n i t r o g e n , p o t a s s i u m ,magnesium, sodium and phosphorus).Aust. J. Agric. Res. 27: 625-636.

ANoRew, C .S . and NoRnrs , D .O . (1961 ) .

Comparative responses to calcium offive tropical and four temperate pasturelegume species. Ar-rst. J. Agric. 12:40-s5.

SUMMARY

Pot culture and field experiments were conducted on some ultisol and oxisol soils

to determine nutrient requirements, other than phosphoms, for grass legumepastures. Centrosema pubescens (centro), Pueraria phaseoloides (puero) and Stylo-santhes guianensis cv. Schofield (stylo) were grown as test species in the pot culfure

experiments. They werd grown with Panicum maximum (guinea) in the field ex-periments which were conducted over three to four years.

The main nutrient responses were to molybdenum, lime and potassium.

Responses to molybdenum and lime were strongly species dependent. Centro wasmore responsive to molybdenum and lime than puero which in furn was more respon-sive than stylo. The lime response appeared to be due to calcium as a nutrient. Ingeneral, the tropeptic haplorthox soils, (Melaka and Munchong soil series) were more

deficient in molybdenum than the orthoxic tropudult soils (Bungor, Rengam and

Durian soil series). Response to potassium was strongest on the Bungor serirs soilwith stylo. There was a small but significant response to magnesium on the Melakaseries and to copper on the Rengam series. There was no consistent response tosulphur on any of the soils.

The main nutrient responses in the field were correctly identified by the pot

culture experiments. However, the yield depressions due to l iming and the associated

copper and zinc deficiencies which occurred in the pot culture experiments were not

observed in the field.

367

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