Diagnosis of nutrient imbalance in pomegranate by diagnosis and recommendation integrated system and compositional nutrient diagnosis

A regional survey was conducted in commercial orchards of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) in order to develop diagnostic norms and for evaluation of yield limiting nutrients in low yielding orchards. The leaf nutrient status was interpreted using Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) and Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis (CND). The correlation structure among the nutrients was extracted by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The departure of DRIS indices from their CND counterparts was relatively small and a highly significant positive correlation was obtained between DRIS and CND indices. The three principal components explained 59.5% of the variation in the high yielding population and the designated PCS were (N+S+Zn+Fe-Mn-), (N+P+Ca+Zn-), and (K-S+. Pomegranate is mainly grown on marginal soils with low fertility and hence more than two or three nutrients were found to be limiting yields. However, nitrogen CN) and zinc (Zn) were the most common yield limiting nutrients. The DRIS and CND indices for low-yielding orchards are reported and discussed.