ChileanJAR

The nutritional status of soils was studied on 5:9 soil samples of the province of Magallanes, usingthe technique of the lacking element, in pot experiments with Lolium perenne X Lolium multiflorum. The experimental results were interpreted with the aid of the fertility diagram.
Severe nutrient sportages were found in different soils. Predominantly deficient elements were phosphorus, sulfur and potassium. Phosphorus was the main defjcient element in 46 samples.
Sulfur reserves were small, and are rapidly depleted. This situation should not be attributed to leaching losses, since the amount of rainfall is rather low, and well distributed. The fertility lines for potassium showed a characteristic small slope. It is expected that soils with a high position coefficient will maintain a high level of potassium, even though a more intensive cropping is practiced.
The availabilities of the micronutrients (B, Mo, Zn, Cu and Mn) i!n the samples from Magallanes are a direct and lineal functionof those established for calcium andjor magnesium, in the pot experiments.
The mean values for phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and micronutrients, as determined through the fertility lines, were respectively: For A: 38.2; 71.7; 88.3; 80.6; 64.8 and 81.1 and for m: -399.7; -1271.7; -134.8; -48.1; -807.3