Technique of soil testing and plant analysis and their utilization for crop production in malaysia

Abstract

Abstract Soil testing and plant analysis using standard procedures are widely used in Malaysia. Routine soil analysis include determination of CEC, exchangeable cations, pH, organic carbon, total N, acid flouride soluble P, total P and extractable cations. Other parameters carried out by some laboratories include water‐soluble sulphates and chlorides, conductivity, exchangeable Al, available micronutrients, and total Si, Al and Fe. Plant analysis is the most utilized tool for discriminatory fertilizer recommendation. Dry ashing is generally used for determination of P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Cu, Zn and B, and wet ashing using nitric‐perchloric acid is used for S and Mo. Generally, N, P and K are determined by autoanalyser, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu and Zn by atomic absorption spectrophotometer, S by turbidimetry, and UV‐visible spectrophotometer is used for B and Mo determinations. The data obtained from both soil and plant analyses are used for fertilizer recommendation and nutrient diagnosis. Detail descriptions of the soil and leaf analytical procedures and the utilization of these data for diagnosing nutrient status 1n plantation crops, namely rubber, oil palm and cocoa will be presented and discussed.