Soil sampling depth for available sulphur evaluation in sicilian lemon (Citrus limon Burm.) orchard

Abstract

On a medium-textured Dark-Red Latosol (Typic Hapludox), in which increasing levels of sulfate were established by the application of different rates of phosphogypstim (0, 1, 2 e 4 t/ha), a study was carried out to obtain information about the depth of soil samples collected in order to evaluate the S-SO4-2 availability for the Sicilian lemon (Citrus limon Burm.) grafted on "Volkameriano" rootstocks. Sulfate contents at different depths (0-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-40, 40-80 and 80-120 cm) were determined, by using the NH4OAc 0,5 M in HOAc 0,25 M extractor, 6,12 and 24 months after phosphogypsum application. Sulphur content in the leaves of the lemon plants were also determined at the same dates. Analytical data obtained and the correlation studies that followed, showed that the Sicilian lemon extracted sulphur mainly from the layer 0-20 cm and, therefore, this layer is considered representative for soil sample collection, with the purpose of estimating the available sulphur for Sicilian lemon trees.