| Abstract: | Spatial variability of soil properties and accompanying variability in plant nutrient concentrations in a banana growing enterprise were mapped using Geographic Information Service (GIS) technique to test the diagnostic sensitivity of Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) system. Variogram models of soil properties indicated that most of the properties exhibited definable spatial structures. The pH, available nitrogen (N), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) showed strong spatial dependence, whereas available phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and sulfur (S) showed moderate dependence. Most of the plant nutrients exhibited higher nugget/sill ratio indicating often mismatch between soil available nutrient and plant nutrient concentrations. DRIS indices showed high diagnostic sensitivity for N, P, K, Ca, and Fe. Application of GIS for nutrient mapping along with DRIS was found useful for identification of yield limiting nutrients in soil and plant for developing nutrient management strategies. |
