EFFECT OF MOLYBDENUM, PHOSPHORUS, AND LIME APPLICATION TO ACID SOILS ON DRY-MATTER YIELD AND MOLYBDENUM NUTRITION OF LENTIL

Deficiency of molybdenum (Mo) in acid soils causes poor growth of puls es. An experiment was, therefore, conducted in greenhouse to study the effect of Mo, phosphorus (P), and lime application on the dry matter yield and plant Mo concentration of lentil (Lens esculenta L.) in two Mo-deficient acid alluvial soils. The experiment was conducted using a factorial design with three levels of lime (no lime, half, and full l ime requirement), three levels of P (0, 25, and 50 mg kg(-1)), and two levels of Mo (0 and 1.0 mg kg(-1)). Plants were grown for 60 days and at harvest their dry matter yield and Mo concentration were recorded. The three treatments significantly increased dry matter yield, Mo con centration and Mo uptake, the increase being most pronounced with Mo a pplication followed by lime and P. Increases due to applied Mo were gr eater in presence than in absence of added P; while the reverse was tr ue with the liming treatments. Liming and P application at their lower levels also interacted positively for better Mo nutrition of plants. Results thus indicated that the severity of Mo deficiency in the lenti l plants may be reduced by lime and P application in Mo-deficient acid alluvial soils.