Delineation of micronutrients and sulphur in the soils of Gujarat and amelioration including soil application and seed treatment were carried out to boost crop production. About 28, 10 and 35 per cent of the soils were found deficient is available Zn, Fe and S respectively. It is found that the soil status should be monitored every 3-4 years or after the harvest of 8-10 crops to restore soil fertility especially of Zn and Fe. Management techniques revealed that it is better to apply N with Zn to rice in rice-wheat sequence; soil application of Zn and seed treatment of Mn and Mo in groundnut –wheat sequence; foliar application of 1% FeSO4 (without neutralization) in the case of drilled paddy. In the case of multimicronutrient deficiencies, different grades of micronutrients are suggested. In oil seed based crop sequence 20 kg ha-1 S to only oil seed crop in the sequence is recommended. Application of 10t ha-1 FYM + 10t ha-1 sewage sludge produced highest cabbage head yield. Similarly several liquid fertilizer @ 3.5 % resulted highest groundnut pod yield.

Changing scenario of micronutrient deficiencies phase wise during four decades (1968-2008) was studied in soils of India, their impact of crop production and changes in micronutrient concentration in seeds and fodders, thereby influences on animal and human health. Results of 269,000 soil sample analysis revealed that mean deficiency of zinc, iron, copper, manganese, boron, molybdenum was found in 49, 12, 3, 5, 33 and 13% samples, respectively. Throughout country, zinc deficiency is increasing except Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.where zinc deficiency is declining from initial 70-90 percent in Punjab and Haryana to the level of 13-20 percent due to regular application of zinc sulphate. On the other hand, deficiency of zinc has increased in southern states due to extensive use of multi micronutrient mixtures containing less zinc. Periodic assessment of soil data also suggests that zinc deficiency in soils of India is likely to increase from 49% to 63% by the year 2025 as most of the marginal soils brought under cultivation are showing zinc deficiency. In states like Gujarat, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh zinc deficiency is found almost stagnant during four decades despite much efforts have gone to popularize zinc application in various crops. Zinc deficiency is increasing in soils, so zinc content in seed and in blood plasma of animal and humans is decreasing. In Haryana and Punjab, zinc concentration in grains of wheat is improving from 23 to 72 mg kg-1. Farming family consuming their crop produce from zinc deficient farms had low zinc in their blood plasma compared to those which were fed on produce received from farms fertilized with zinc regularly. Similarly improvement in zinc fertility in Dahima village in Haryana resulted in adequate level of zinc in staple grains, fodder, blood plasma of humans and animals. Fodders in Haryana showed copper deficiency instead of zinc. Manganese concentration in grains and fodders was found low in Bihar and Punjab. Zinc supplementation is therefore essential for maintaining high zinc content in soil, seed and blood plasma of human and animals.

Most often yields of cauliflower remain low due to inadequate supply of micronutrients particularly of boron. Studies were therefore undertaken to optimize rate of B fertilization and evaluate efficiency of various sources for correcting its deficiency more economically in different agro-ecological zones of India. To correct B deficiency, eight field studies were conducted to evaluate the relative efficiency of B sources and optimize rates of B application needed for cauliflower crop grown in soils in different agro-ecological zones (AEZ) of India. Granular borax penta hydrate has been commercially made available for correcting B deficiencies in agricultural crops. Treatments comprising of borax at the rate of 75, 100 and 125% and Granubor II at 75, 100 and 125% of the recommended rate 1.00 kg B ha-1 were imposed along with one B control (NPK alone).

The study covers major soils types like hill and mountainous (Alfisols) of the Himalayas, red sandy loam and lateritic soils (Alfisols) of central and eastern India and alluvial soils of Gujarat (Ustochrepts) and calcareous (Calciorthent) soils representing various agro-ecological zones of the India. Deficiency of boron ranged from 2-84% in certain soils and agro-ecological zones. Application of B significantly increased the biomass yield as well as economic benefits of cauliflower in different soils, crops and zones. Response of crops to 0.75 kg B ha-1 gave a significantly low yield. Increasing rates of boron added at 100 to 125% of the recommended dose gave significantly higher yields in different soils. Both the sources like Granubor II and borax significantly increased the yield over the control. Granubor II outperformed the crystalline borax in most of the soils in correcting B deficiency in cauliflower and gave higher benefit cost ratio. Thus preferential use of Granubor II at the rate of 1.25 kg B ha-1 was found to be beneficial to correct B deficiency in cauliflower over borax in different soils of India.

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