Effect of Elemental Sulfur and Gypsum on Growth and the Content of N, P, K and S of Barley Plants Grown in Salt Affected Soils

Abstract

The study was carried out using salt-affected soils were taken from different five locations of Sakha, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, north Nile Delta, Egypt to study the effect of gypsum or sulfur, each individually or in combination, on the growth and N, P, K contents of barley plants (Hordeum vulgare L.). The results demonstrated that the addition of both gypsum and sulfur, individually or in combination, had a significant effect on the barely dry weight (BDW), with higher levels of gypsum and sulfur resulting in higher BDW values. There are some variations among the soil types for N, P K and S contents (%). The mean concentrations of N, P, K, and S across all studied soils are 0.147%, 0.289%, 1.450%, and 0.465%, respectively. The highest N and P concentration (0.155%) and (0.319%) are found in Soil 2 and soil 4, respectively. The mean uptake of N, P, K, and S across all studied soils are 4.24, 7.70, 41.84, and 13.22 mg/pot, respectively. The application of elemental sulfur and gypsum increased both the concentration and uptake of N, P, K and S for barley plants compared to the control.