Advanced Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition

Course objectives: this course intends primarily to equip students with basic knowledge about soil and plant nutrition and describes essentiality, levels and role of nutrients.

Learning outcomes: After successful completion of the course, students will be able to comprehend and explain essential nutrients exchange phenomenon and availability, levels and their functions in plants.  

Course description: Concepts of soil and plant nutrition; Food production and soils of world; Goals of soil and plant nutrition studies; Growth and phases of growth; Genetic and environmental factors affecting plant growth; Growth expressions and equations; Role of soil colloids in nutrient supply, exchange phenomenon and availability of ions; Movement of ions in soil (root interception, mass flow and diffusion of ions); Essentiality of nutrients and levels of nutrients in soil system in relation to plant; functions and deficiency symptoms; nutrient (macro and micro) transformations in soil and their bioavailability; nutrient management (industrial fertilizers, bio-fertilizer and organic fertilizers) and their management; Nutrients use efficiency and parameters; fertilizers and the environment; Use of soil and plant tests, their interpretation to evaluate nutrient status of soil; Calibration of soil tests against crop response; diagnosis of fertilizer requirement and recommendation; fertilizer management economics.