Comparative Evaluation of ICP-AES and Turbidimetric Methods for Determining Extractable Sulfur in Soils

Abstract

The deficiency of sulfur (S) as a constraint to crop productivity in irrigated, intensified systems has long been recognized (Kanwar 1972; Pasricha and Fox 1993; Singh 2001). A recent survey of farmers’ fields in the Indian semi-arid tropics (SAT) demonstrated that the deficiency of S, as a constraint to crop production and productivity, is also equally widespread in the rainfed production systems (Rego et al. 2007; Sahrawat et al. 2007). The results of this research further showed that soil testing was effective in diagnosing S deficiency; and the crops grown on farmers’ fields with calcium chloride extractable-S levels of less than 8-10 mg kg-1 soil responded positively to the application of sulfur (Rego et al. 2007)