MINUS-ONE ELEMENT TECHNIQUE: A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL FOR DETERMINING MULTI-NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES IN LOWLAND RICE SOILS

Cezar P. Mamaril, Ph.D. INTRODUCTION There is an increasing criticisms on the use of chemical inputs like fertilizers and pesticides in crop production which are blamed for the deterioration of soil and water resources and the environment as a whole. Application of chemical fertilizers has been blamed for the pollution of ground water as well as bodies of waters like rivers and lakes that affects also the quality of human life. Chemical fertilizers have also been blamed for the deterioration of the productivity of soils. The adverse effects of chemical fertilizers are mainly due to careless and improper use of these materials. These adverse effects could be eliminated or minimized if chemical fertilizers are judiciously applied based mainly on the need of the crop and on the capacity of soils to store and provide the essential nutrients. Among many factors, declining soil productivity could be caused by nutrient imbalance, which is brought about by the continuous heavy application of the macronutrients N, P, and K from inorganic fertilizers. As yields increase, the native essential soil micronutrients are likewise mined heavily, thus causing deficiencies of the micronutrients which are not often present in most of the currently available high analysis fertilizers in the market. It should be remembered that there are 16 essential nutrients needed by plants. Three of the sixteen, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are from air and water. The rest nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium magnesium, sulfur, copper, iron manganese, zinc, boron, molybdenum and cobalt are from the soil. If anyone of these is limiting in the soil the plant will not grow normally. It is therefore important that the nutrient content of the soil should be determined so that only the limiting nutrients in the right proportion based on crop needs are applied. DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES To assess the essential nutrient level status in the soil, several diagnostic techniques have been developed. These include laboratory tests using mass growth of certain microorganisms; soil analysis using special laboratory equipment or with the use of soil test kits and field or greenhouse/screenhouse experiments. The widely used among these techniques, however, is soil analysis. The nutrients from a certain amount of soil are extracted with a chemical solution which simulated the ability of the plant to extract the nutrients from the soil. However, since the condition of the soil at the time the analysis is done may not be the same as that in the field when the plants are grown, the amount of nutrients extracted by soil analysis may either be over or under estimated what actually the plants are able to extract from the same soil. A good example is the case of irrigated lowland rice soils. The soil sample taken from the field is air dried first before the analysis is done and yet the field condition of the soil grown to rice is submerged and

2 saturated. The forms of nutrients vary under the contrasting conditions. The same is true with the soil test kit. Another important constraint related to this technique is the fact that soil testing facilities are still limited in number. Consequently most farmers do not have access to these facilities. Furthermore, the cost of soil analysis is beyond the capacity of many small farmers especially the rice farmers and the waiting time for the results is relatively long. As for the field experiments approach, example of which is the missing element techniques, the results obtained can not be adopted with the current crop. Moreover, applying the results on subsequent crop (another season) may not necessarily be relevant. Due to the limitations of the traditional diagnostic tools cited earlier, the author and his co-workers were prompted to develop the minus-one element technique (MOET) which is farmer friendly and is affordable and requiring shorter waiting time for the results to be obtained. The technique was conceptualized by the author while assigned as IRRI Scientist in Indonesia wherein there were no adequate laboratory facilities at the site of assignment to carry out soil chemical analysis. Only N, P, K and S status in soils were then determined. MOET was made farmer friendly, affordable and increase the number of elements determined when a kit was developed by the author and his co-workers while at PhilRice as consultant in Soils and Agronomy.

MINUS-ONE ELEMENT TECHNIQUE The technique requires simple and easily available materials such as a plastic containers that can hold 4 kgs of wet soil. Used plastic gallon containers of bottled water, vinegar, fish sauce (patis), soy sauce, mayonnaise, or plastic pot can be employed to hold the soil. Formulations of chemicals supplying the different essential plant nutrients are prepared. The number of formulations depends on the number of elements one wish to know if such element is deficient in the soil. Presently, the available kit includes only six elements, N, P, K, S, Zn, and Cu. However, the kit has a total of seven formulations because one of the formulations contains all the nutrient elements which is marked as Complete. The six others are minus N, minus P, minus K, minus S, minus Zn, and minus Cu. Only N, P, K, S, Zn and Cu are the elements included because based on an earlier extensive soil chemical analyses survey these are elements that are known to be deficient in most lowland rice soils in the Philippines. Soil samples are collected from the field preferably from at least 35 point sites at random per one hectare if the area is homogenous. However, if variable such as when there is a an apparent soil fertility gradient, then more samples may be taken even if the area is less than one hectare. The sampling should be taken before plowing the field so that by the time the field is ready for planting, the farmer will already know what elements are deficient in his farm. The soil sample is thoroughly mixed while it is wet and about 4 kgs are placed in each of the seven containers. Then the chemical formulations are then added, one

3 formulation to each container; mix the chemical formulations with the soil thoroughly. Plant 3-4 12-day old rice seedlings. Once the plants are 10 days old, remove the extra plants leaving only two plants per pot or container. Keep the soil saturated but not submerged until the plants are established. Irrigate the plants with water from the same source which is used to irrigate the field. Keep the pots submerged by about two centimeters of water until the end of the observation. Thirty days after transplanting, the farmer should be able to determine which nutrient element is limiting by just looking at the growth of the plants in the different containers. The growth of the plants in the pots receiving minus certain element (like minus N) is compared with the plant receiving the complete formulation. If the growth of minus N for example is about 80 percent of that of the complete, then the soil is deficient of nitrogen. The test should be continued until 45 days old because the growth of the plants in the minus element might still catch up with the complete treatment. At 45 days old, there will no longer be additional tillers added. The differences among the different treatments can be further evaluated by weighing the biomass produced at 45 days if one wants to be certain which element is deficient. Once the farmer determines which is element is deficient, then he can apply the limiting nutrient(s) using the recommended rates normally given by extension workers. Likewise, the kit also include the fertilizer rates and kind of fertilizer to apply depending on the limiting nutrients. The farmer does not need to apply elements found to be sufficient and therefore save cost. The MOET kit is being distributed by PhilRice at P175/kit. If the farmer could save one bag fertilizer by applying what is only limiting and furthermore with proper kind of rate of fertilizers will increase yield by one or 2 sacks of palay, then the price of the kit is insignificant. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------About the author: He obtained his BS Agr. Degree, major in Soils Science from the University of the Philippines at Los Baos in 1955, and MSc degree, major in Soil Physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1958 and his PhD degree, major in Soil Fertility/Soil Chemistry from Kansas State University in 1963. He was at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada in 1967-1970 as a Post-doctoral Fellow. He joined the faculty of Soil Science, UPLB soon after obtaining his BSAgr degree in 1955 and rose from the rank of Asst. Instructor to Asst. Professor in Soil Science at UPLB (1955-1972), Chairman of the Department of Soil Science, UPLB (1971-1972) before joining IRRI where he assumed the following positions: Research Administration Specialist and later Agronomist-Team Leader at the IRRI-Indonesia Project at South Sulawesi, Indonesia; Agronomist and INSFFER and later INSURF Project Coordinator and then Agronomist and Liaison Scientist for IRRI in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam until the end of 1995. . Currently working with Phil Rice, Los Banes Branch as part time Sr. Consultant in Soils and Agronomy. At the same time, the author is managing two AgroResorts Farms, both located in the Municipality of Bay, Laguna.