Effect of elemental sulphur and sulphur containing waste in a calcareous soil in Turkey

Abstract

The effect of elemental sulphur (S) and S containing waste applications on soil pH treated with 0–2,000 kg ha^‐l elemental S, and 0–100 tons ha‐¹ of waste was determined in the field and the pots. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) was grown in a Lithic Xerorthent soil which was taken from where the field experiment was conducted in pots receiving 5 kg soil. Plants were harvested 20 weeks after planting or 30 weeks after the applications for determination of dry matter yield and phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu) uptake by shoots. EC, NaHCO₃‐extractable P, and DTPA‐extractable Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu also were measured in pot soil at the 5th, 10th, and 30th weeks. All treatments led to a decrease in soil pH though pH tended to increase again during course of time in both field and pot experiments. The both elemental S and waste applications in pot experiment caused an increase in dry matter yield and P, Fe, zinc (Zn), Mn and Cu uptake (mg pot^‐1) by shoots in sorghum plant. There was also an increase in EC of soil due to both applications of S. The concentration of available P extracted by NaHCO₃ in the pot soil, though not significantly different, was slightly higher compared with the control. Waste applications increased DTPA‐extractable Fe content of the soil, DTPA‐extractable Mn and DTPA‐extractable Cu. DTPA‐extractable Zn content, however, was reduced by the same applications.