| India ：Sulfur Deficiencies at Country Level |
| Sulfur status of Indian soils is going down with each passing year. Close to 70% of soil samples have been found to be either deficient or marginal in plant available sulfur. |
| Soil analysis and crop response data generated by the TSI-FAI-IFA project (1997-2006) re-enforced the findings of the ICAR system. Based on reported results, out of over 49,000 soil samples analyzed across 18 states, 46% of samples were deficient in sulfur and another 30% were medium in available sulfur which could be considered as potentially sulfur deficient. Soil sulfur deficiencies were encountered in all parts of the country. These data prove that sulfur deficiencies are a critical problem in 40-45% of districts translating into 57-64 million ha of net sown area. |
| States Name |
Samples |
Sulfur Deficient(< 10 ppm) |
Potentially Deficient(10 to 20 ppm) |
| Andhra Pradesh |
1650 |
54% |
36% |
| Uttar Pradesh |
6090 |
50% |
38% |
| Maharashtra |
845 |
46% |
26% |
| Bihar |
1409 |
43% |
30% |
| West Bengal |
4500 |
42% |
34% |
| Karmatake |
1879 |
39% |
32% |
| Madhya Pradesh |
2005 |
35% |
54% |
| Major Reasons for Sulfur Deficiency in India |
| Several factors contribute to the growing incidence of S deficiency in India. |
· Increased in agricultural production are increasing the loss of sulfur (and other nutrients) Food grain production increased 120 million metric tons between the early 1980s and 2000.
· Farming practices (removing stover/straw in addition to grain) increased net depletion of soil sulfur.
· Low level of fertilizer use in general on pulses and oilseeds that have a higher requirement of sulfur than cereals per unit of grain production. These crops occupy 51 million hectares or almost 27% of the country's gross cropped area.
· Distinct possibility of sulfur losses through leaching and runoff with the spread of flood irrigation to large areas, and in areas receiving heavy rainfall.
· A fertilizer use pattern dominated by sulfur-free fertilizers: urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP), muriate of potash(MOP), and sulfur-free NP/NPK complex fertilizers. This not only excludes the addition of sulfur, but accentuates its depletion through the crop produced with NPK. |
| Limited sulfur fertilizer production in India |
| GOI Central Fertilizer Committee that incorporate the sulfur into the FCO. As of June 2003, the industry is now permitted to market the sulfur in listed fertilizers and print sulfur content on fertilizer bag. |
| 650,000 tons per year and current deficit of sulfur is 1.6 million tons and will grow to 2.2 million tons by 2015, |
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