Micronutrient Status and Their Relationship with Soil Properties

Micronutrients are just as important in plant nutrition as the major nutrients, they simply occur in plants and soils in much smaller concentrations. Plants grown on micronutrient deficient soil can exhibit similar reductions in plant growth and yield as major nutrients. The deficiency of micronutrients has become a major constraints in production and sustainability. Micronutrients play an active role in the plant metabolism process starting from cell wall development to respiration, photosynthesis, chlorophyll formation, enzyme activity, hormone synthesis and nitrogen fixation etc. Micronutrient requirements of crop are relatively small, and ranges between their deficiencies and toxicities in plants and soils are rather narrow which needs special attention for their management in increasing crop production without minimising the importance of macronutrients (NPK) quadrupling the food production in the country during the last 55 years, it can be stated that micronutrients are going to play a major proactive role in bringing stability and sustainability in the production system during the next few decades, particularly in respect of cereals, pulses and oil seeds.