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Horticulture Principles and Practices

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TABLE 4–10<br />

Plant<br />

Bermuda grass<br />

Beet<br />

Broccoli<br />

Tomato<br />

Cucumber<br />

Muskmelon<br />

Rose<br />

Plant<br />

Soil Salt Tolerance of Selected Plants<br />

Relatively Salt Tolerant<br />

Scientific Name<br />

Cynodon dactylon<br />

Beta vulgaris<br />

Brassica oleraceae<br />

Lycopersicon esculentum<br />

Cucumis sativus<br />

Cucumis melo<br />

Rosa odorata<br />

Relatively Salt Intolerant<br />

Scientific Name<br />

Bentgrass, colonial<br />

Kentucky bluegrass<br />

Strawberry<br />

Avocado<br />

Grape<br />

Carrot<br />

Onion<br />

Gardenia<br />

Geranium<br />

Azalea<br />

Sweet corn<br />

Pepper<br />

Agrostis tenuis<br />

Poa pratensis<br />

Fragaria spp.<br />

Persea americana<br />

Vitis spp.<br />

Daucus carota<br />

Allium cepa<br />

Gardenia jasminoides<br />

Pelargonium x hortorum<br />

Rhododendron spp.<br />

Zea mays var. saccharata<br />

Capsicum annuum<br />

Foliar Analysis<br />

122 Chapter 4 Plant Growth Environment<br />

Foliar analysis is like a soil test performed on leaves. One difference between the two<br />

tests is that while a soil test provides information on nutrients available for uptake, foliar<br />

analysis provides information on nutrients taken up <strong>and</strong> accumulated in the leaf. A foliar<br />

test does not provide information on the growing medium pH or soluble-salt content, but<br />

it offers a complete analysis of all essential nutrients. The rationale of foliar analysis is<br />

that the nutrient content of the plant’s tissue affects its growth. Up to a point, increasing<br />

the content of essential nutrients will result in increased growth. However, plants are able<br />

to take in large amounts of nutrients without corresponding changes in growth, a situation<br />

called luxury consumption. Excessive amounts of nutrients (beyond luxury consumption)<br />

can be injurious to the plant.<br />

To conduct foliar analysis, representative samples of leaves are obtained from the<br />

plant. Species differ in which leaves are most representative of the whole plant. The age<br />

of the leaves also affects the nutrient content. Samples of foliar analysis should be<br />

obtained at intervals of four to six weeks. The results of analysis are compared with st<strong>and</strong>ards<br />

developed from testing a wide variety of sources. The st<strong>and</strong>ards for macronutrients<br />

are crop specific <strong>and</strong> vary widely; micronutrient st<strong>and</strong>ards are widely applicable.<br />

4.4.4 APPLYING FERTILIZERS<br />

The first step in a fertilizer program is to determine the type <strong>and</strong> amount of fertilizer<br />

needed. Excessive fertilization is economically wasteful <strong>and</strong> may even injure or kill the<br />

plants. A fertilizer program should take into account the cropping history of the field, the<br />

soil type, <strong>and</strong> the needs of the crop being grown. Since vegetables generally are heavy<br />

users of soil nutrients, fields that have been cropped with vegetables on a repeated basis<br />

may require fertilization.

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