Abstract

While plantations of eucalypts occupy over 35, 000 ha in Kerala, no studies have been conducted so far to explore the possibilities of nutrient management for increasing productivity. The present work aims at assessing the foliar nutrient levels of E.tereticornis and E.grandis especially the concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus and pottassium in relation to the content of these elements in the soil. Field work was carried out in Kondazhi (1977, E.tereticornis plantation, Trichur Forest Devision). Soils were collected from pits (0-20, 20-40 and 40-60 cm layers) and the foliar material was sampled thrice (April 1983, September 1983 and March 1984). Analysis of N, P and K in soil and plant were carried out following standard procedures. Soils in bothE.tereticornis and E.grandis plantations contained low levels of N03- N and extractable P while the content of K was moderately high. The same trend was observed in foliar concentrations of these elements. Sampling season did not have an impact on foliarlevels of N, P and K and fully expanded leaves were found to be reliable material for foliar analysis. The markedly low concentrations of N and P in the soil as well as plant material suggest that productivity can be improved by soil nutrient management