Assessing impacts of multiple nutrient deficiencies is not an easy matter, notably because nutrients interact where nutrient uptake is concerned (antagonisms, synergisms). Maybe the following report and the references therein may be of use to come to grips with this issue:

http://vfrc.org/getdoc/a88fc6c3-27c1-443a-85e2-40eff0450892/vfrc_report_2015-1.pdf

i think you should get the answer based on field experiment. You may divide the crop into different groups with different levels of nutrient threats. All you need do is comparing the results with the control group. 

Thanks Wang, but if we want to add the technical coefficients/response functions in the model or decision support function for application purpose, it becomes slightly difficult venture, 

regards

Naveen your question is really practical . Sometimes  back I raised  the same issue with a different concept  , you can  have a look into it on my profile for update. Wang is right , this is surely one way . How much nutrients should be recommended for  a given field based on a crop aimed to raise. We now call it , tailoring the soil fertility  based on the crop nutrient requirement . This is truly a complex exercise to accomplish with utmost precision . right now , we absolutely do not have soil-based or crop based nutrient diagnostics. We recommend fertilizer doses based on soil test values . where do we stand , you know it very well. This is what , we call it operational part of soil testing and fertilizer recommendation in a mode that could really evoke economic response of fertilization . then only soil test-based fertilizer recommendation will be a practical tool . unfortunately , we have poor understanding on the interpretation of soil test data.  

thanks Dr Anoop for nice suggestion and your experiences, it always bothers us when we think of adding more nutrients in developing a model, may be a very simple approach or model should be only feasible solution

regards

Naveen , I agree with you software-based programs are bit complex , but once developed models are cross validated in filed , they are absolutely operational at field level  with a better precision compared to conventionally used diagnostic and recommendation procedure. Diagnosing  multiple nutrient deficiencies at a time is a yeoman s task . In this regard ,  diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS)  has proven very handy . We tested this in citrus ,and its really very handy . We have leaf analysis advisory service for citrus growers based on this concept only .  I am enclosing some of the PDFs for your reference please. Hope , you like them .

Anoop, great help as a nice colleague, may be this topic is a bit complex, as I had unique modelling and unique multi-disciplinary experience and wish to develop multi-nutrients interaction response model- may be persons like you can be of great help in coming times

regards

Thanks Naveen . We can also test the response and  quantify the magnitude of response through progressive nutrient response studies , on an experimental field deficient of multiple nutrients.     

Thanks, I am sure with your wide experience you will do excellent work, regards

Dr.Kalra,in  STCR approach at a time one can handle 3 nutrients. We can get fertilizer nutrient requirement to get optium yield through response model or targeted yield approach. In Huntur(1980) approach using soil tests, adsorption isotherms, green house studies  for crop responses and field experiments, several nutrients deficiencies can be diagnosed,responses can be found and fertilizer recommendations can be worked out.Earlier PPIC and present IPNI tested and promoted this approach. There have been improvements over Huntur1980 original model. Probably IPNI website may contain the details.Also Better crops International magazine also published several articles from India ,China etc. Countries.

Naveen,  site specific nutrient management( SSNM) studies  have really helped in optimizing the yield in those soils facing multiple nutrient deficiencies . I have an experience with citrus using two most dominant cultivars like mandarin and sweet orange . Find  an excellent PDF for further update on this issue.

products development (individual nutrients) are successfully adopted by farmers, but possibly the approach for products development is qualitative/not so quantitative/not taking interaction effects of many stresses, possibly because of difficulty in handling which makes us sometimes use approximations for getting the solutions

regards

I need to mention the active group of IPNI should coordinate this activity while associating researchers from different parts of the globe

regards

Naveen , recently , IPNI developed Nutrient Expert -based decision support tool for crops like maize and wheat  using 4R-Nutrient Stewardship Concept .

This is relatively difficult because the external conditions (weather) quickly once the one or other nutrients may be poorly available. Are there good and bad points in the field it is good to take leaf samples and compare them with each other. The nutrient deficiency with then quite clearly visible.

Assessing impacts of multiple nutrient deficiencies is not an easy matter, notably because nutrients interact where nutrient uptake is concerned (antagonisms, synergisms). Maybe the following report and the references therein may be of use to come to grips with this issue:

http://vfrc.org/getdoc/a88fc6c3-27c1-443a-85e2-40eff0450892/vfrc_report_2015-1.pdf

Yes  I agree with you  Roelf , its not so easy to identify the multiple nutrient constraints since the nutrients interact with each other. This is the basic reason , instead of taking the nutrient concentration of single nutrient , we now take nutrient ration to counter such interactions . DRIS is one classical example . The concepts like ionomics and nutriomics also were put forward to look into these aspects more precisely . Unless and until , we have nutrient diagnostics , we will miserably fail to identify the multiple nutrient constraints. Developing  soil fertility spatial variograms of georeferenced based soil samples and then superimposing nutrient diagnostics will reveal the multiple nutrient deficiencies and concept like SSNM will address them as far as  their management is concerned.

Thanks Roelf for uploading a nice document, i fully agree with you for the non-linear interaction behaviour of multi-nutrients, and we need to tackle them in a holistic way, may be if the balanced fertilization is used, the apparent recovery efficiency may also increase, although the system is complex but we have to evolve some methology for solving this problem

regards

Please find enclosed  a nice PDF dealing with , how GIS and DRIS together aid in identifying  multiple nutrient deficiencies .

thanks anoop for nice paper

regards