Nutrient uptake by black gram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) as influenced by phosphorus and boron fertilization in acid Inceptisol of Meghalaya

Phosphorus and boron are required for growth and development of black gram, and play an important role in the uptake of other nutrients such as N and K. The availability of P and B is less in acid soil because of fixation and leaching losses. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of P and B on N and K uptake in black gram with four levels of phosphorus (0, 25, 50, 75 kg ha-1) and four levels of boron (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 kg ha-1) comprising of 16 treatments. The trail was laid out in split plot design and replicated three times. Phosphorus was used as main plot and boron as sub-plot. Significantly highest nitrogen concentration in black gram seed was observed at P75B1.5 as 3.82%, whereas in straw, it was observed at P75B1 as 1.75%. However, significant nitrogen uptake by seed and straw was recorded as 43.85 and 39.55 kg ha-1 at P75B1.5, respectively. Similarly, significantly highest potassium concentration in seed and straw was observed at P75B1.5 as 1.13% and 1.64%. Significant highest uptake of K by seed and straw was recorded at P75B1.5 as 13.00 kg ha-1 and 36.86 kg ha-1, respectively. Therefore, 75 kg P2O5 and 1.5 kg B ha-1 is considered optimum for achieving higher nitrogen and potassium uptake by black gram in acid Inceptisol of Meghalaya.