Soil fertility and nutrient management in tuberose

Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 14(3): 248-254, July-September 2015 ISSN: 0022-457X

Soil fertility and nutrient management in tuberose (Polyanthes tuberosa L.) through substitution of chemical fertilizer with comlizer NILAY BORAH1* , J. DEKA2 , N.C. DEKA2 , I.C. BARUA2 , P. MAHANTA3 , HALIM UDDIN4 and KASTURI GOSWAMI4 Received: 14 February 2015; Accepted: 10 August 2015

ABSTRACT An experiment was conducted in 2012 and 2013 at Assam Agricultural University to assess various weed and nutrient management practices on growth and yield of tuberose and soil fertility status. Rec ommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) was evaluated in comparison with mixture of vermicompost and different proportions, i.e. 75, 50 and 35% of RDF (Comlizer) under three weed management treatments, viz., black polythene mulch (BPM), application of herbicides oxadiargyl 150 g/ha or Metribuzin 500 g/ha followed by grubber at 60 and 90 days after planting (DAP) in factorial randomized block design with three replications. In the first year, BPM significantly reduced weed population compared to integrated weed management involving pre -emergence herbicide application and mechanical weeding. However, no significant variation was observed in weed density and dry weight otherwise, irrespective of the years. There was comparable dominance of grassy and broadleaved weeds up to 60 DAP, which shifted to the dominance of the latter as the crop growth progressed. The effect of nutrient management practices on weed growth was not significant. Neither crop g rowth nor flower yield or yield attributing characters was affected by weed management practices. Highest flower yield in terms of number of spikes per plant, or fresh weight (q/ha) was observed with RDF and was at par with comlizer applied as vermicompost 250 g + 75% RDF, or vermicompost 200 g + 50% RDF, or vermicompost 250 g + 50% RDF per square meter. Application of comlizer as vermicompost 250 g + 35% RDF per square meter significantly reduced number of spikes/plant and fresh flower yield (q/ha). The co ntents of available N and P in soil increased following their application under integrated weed management, while that under BPM was inconclusive. The soil properties and available nutrient contents after harvest of the crop were not affected by the treatments. Key words: comlizer, Weed management, Herbicide, Tuberose

INTRODUCTION Intensive cropping, to meet up the increasing demand for food, resulted in more reliance on chemical fertilizer corresponding to a disproportionate use of organic manure for sustaining crop and soil productivity. Decreasing number of livestock per unit cultivated area (Jain and Dhaka 1993; Kumar and Singh, 2008), chiefly owing to a low growth rate in livestock population (Anonymous, 2015a; Anonymous, 2015b), is expected to further worsen the ratio in the coming years. Besides, the fertilizer consumption among the states of India is skewed and requires a serious thought, while the production and promotion of organic manures also needs due attention (Prasad, 2012). Vermicompost offers an economical and eco1

friendly way for recycling of solid wastes into organic rich manure. The benefit of its application on crop yield, quality and soil fertility are reported and well documented (Lazcano and Dominguez, 2011; Joshi et al., 2015). Although vermicompost can promote growth from 50 to 100% over conventional compost and 30 to 40% over chemical fertilizers (Sinha et al., 2010), the application at high doses could impede growth due to the high concentrations of soluble salts available in vermicomposts (Lim et al., 2015). Tuberose is widely popular as cut flower or loose flower and its oil draws good demand in perfume industry. In Assam the crop is yet to pick up as commercial flower crop, but the ar ea under cultivation is increasing due to high demand and

Residue Chemist, 2 Principal Scientist, DWSR Centre, Department of Agronomy, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat -13, Assam

*Present address: Department of Soil Science, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-13, Assam 3

Professor, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat -13, Assam Research Scholar, Department of Soil Science, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat -13, Assam *Corresponding author email id: [email protected] 4

July-September 2015]

SOIL FERTILITY AND NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT IN TUBEROSE

price of the flower. Owing to favourable growing conditions, a diverse flora of weeds poses as major threat to early vegetative growth of the crop which coincides with the onset of rainy season. Due to high nutrient requirement of the crop, the efficiency of applied fertilizer in terms of profitable production is largely influenced by proper weed management practice. Black polythene mulch, or pre-emergence herbicides followed by mechanical weeding offers effective weed management, especially for crops like tuberose with a long duration (Gilreath, 1995; Ahsan et al., 2013). Reduction in chemical fertilizer had been shown to sustain yield in tuberose (Padaganur et al., 2005) in sweet pepper (Belel, 2012) and in tomato with mulch and biofertilizer (Singh et al., 2014). In soils with low inorganic-N content, combined application of chemical fertilizer increased compost efficiency through faster mineralization (Han et al., 2004). However, application of compost and fertilizer mixture (comlizer) had not been studied, which in split doses had enabled reduction of fertilizer dose in field crops (Borah et al., 2012) and vegetables (Uddin, 2012). Accordingly the present study was carried out to evaluate comlizer with graded doses of RDF under different weed management practices. MATERIALS AND METHOD The experiment was conducted at Instructional cum Research (ICR) Farm, Jorhat (situated at 9l m above MSL and 26°44´N, 94°l0´E) of Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, India during March to January, and tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L., variety – single) bulbs were planted on 25-03-2012 and on 28-03-2013, respectively in 2012 and 2013 seasons. The soil of the experimental site was sandy loam in texture and had pH 5.4, organic carbon 6.8 g kg-1, available N 251.3, P 7.6, K 73.4 kg ha -1 with average population of 21.5 x 10 -6 Azotobacter and 12.6 x 10 -6 phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) as colony forming units (cfu). The treatments comprised of three weed management practices viz., black polyethylene mulch (BPM), oxadiargyl 150 g ha -1 or metribuzin 500 g ha -1 as pre-emergence application followed by working with grubber at 60 and 90 DAP. Five fertilizer treatment s viz., RDF and vermicompost (N 1.82-1.94%, P 0.96-1.05% and K 2.04-2.08%) 250 g m -2, 75% RDF + vermicompost 250 g m -2 comlizer, 50% RDF + vermicompost 200 g m -2 comlizer, 50% RDF + vermicompost 250 g m -2 comlizer, and 35% RDF + vermicompost 250 g m -2 comlizer were evaluated by application though ring method in two equal splits - at the time of planting,

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and at 45 DAP. The treatments were arranged in factorial randomized block design and replicated thrice with individual plot size of 1.5 x 2.1 m 2. The recommended doses of fertilizers comprising of 40: 20: 40 g m -2 N: P: K were applied as urea, single super phosphate (SSP) and muriate of potash (MOP), respectively. The comlizer was prepared by mixing requisite quantity of biofertilizer -enriched vermicompost w ith appropriate portion of RDF just before application. Vermicompost was enriched with biofertilizer by incubating the compost for 15 days with biofertilizers viz., Azotobacter and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) maintaining 25±1 % (w/w) moisture content. The biofertilizer was applied @ 2 g kg-1 vermicompost (w/w), where each gram of biofertilizer culture contained about 107 to 108 effective colony-forming units (cfu) of respective bacteria. The relevant crop yield and yield attributes were recorded and surface soil (0- 15 cm) samples were analyzed for respective parameters. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Weed flora The weed flora comprised of grasses, broadleaved weed (BLW) and Cyperus sp as the only sedge during the crop growth period. The weed complex was dominated by Panicum repens L., Eleusine india (L.) Gaertn, Cynodon dactylon (L) Pers. among the grasses, and Ageratum houstonianum Mill., Amaranthus sp, Borreria articularis (Linn.f.) F.N.Williams among the BLW up to 60 DAP. In the later stages BLW like Ageratum houstonianum Mill., Amaranthus sp, Borreria articularis (Linn.f.) F.N.Williams and Mimosa sp appeared as major weeds together with Panicum repens L. and Cynodon dactylon (L) in grasses and Cyperus sp as sedge.

Weed density and dry weight The weed density and per unit area dry weight were significantly reduced at 60 DAP under BPM in 2012 season (Tables 1 and 2). The weed density at 90 DAP was significantly higher in herbicide applied plots than in BPM. However, the corresponding values of w eed dry weight did not differ statistically between the treatments. The significantly higher weed density and dry weight at 60 DAP during the first season in herbicide treated plots may be attributed to dominance of Panicum repens (L.), which requires sequential application of herbicides for optimum control (Stephenson IV et al., 2006), and is controlled better with post emergence herbicides (Hossain et al.,

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[Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 14(3)

Table 1 Weed density at different days after planting (DAP) of tuberose Tre atments

We e d de nsity (Numbe r/m 2 ) 60 DAP

90 DAP

120 DAP

2012

2013

2012

2013

2012

2013

Black polythe ne mulch

11.0

12.6

15.8

14.5

21.2

18.3

Oxadiargyl 150 g/ha + grubbe r 60 and 90 DAP

25.1

15.3

35.4

26.6

40.5

20.5

Me tribuzin 500 g/ha + grubbe r 60 and 90 DAP

24.2

13.8

34.8

24.3

41.2

22.3

CDP=0.05

5.8

NS

7.6

5.1

6.4

NS

CV (%)

14.7

9.2

12.2

7.1

8.8

6.3

20.8

13.6

32.3

23.2

37.6

23.4

75% RDF + ve rmicompost 250 g/m comlizer

22.7

12.8

34.8

24.1

39.2

22.0

50% RDF + ve rmicompost 200 g/m 2 comlizer

21.2

14.1

31.6

21.6

38.4

25.1


22.3

13.4

33.4

22.8

37.3

23.6


21.7

12.5

32.0

23.0

38.6

24.1

CDP=0.05

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

CV (%)

15.1

10.6

8.9

6.8

9.2

8.2

A. Weed management

B. Nutrient management RDF and ve rmicompost 250 g/m 2 2

2 2

Table 1 Weed dry weight at different days after planting of tuberose Tre atments

We e d dry we ight (g/m 2 ) 60 DAP

90 DAP

120 DAP

2012

2013

2012

2013

2012

2013

Black polythe ne mulch Oxadiargyl 150 g/ha + grubbe r 60 and 90 DAP

8.6 12.9

10.3 10.1

20.6 21.5

25.6 22.4

36.7 34.8

42.7 38.7

Me tribuzin 500 g/ha + grubbe r 60 and 90 DAP CDP=0.05

12.5 2.4

11.6 NS

20.8 NS

24.3 NS

35.3 NS

40.3 NS

CV (%) B. Nutrient management

10.6

8.2

11.2

7.3

7.6

5.8

RDF and ve rmicompost 250 g/m 2 75% RDF + ve rmicompost 250 g/m 2 comlizer

12.3 11.5

11.6 10.8

18.3 19.6

23.2 25.2

33.2 31.6

31.8 32.8

50% RDF + ve rmicompost 200 g/m 2 comlizer 50% RDF + ve rmicompost 250 g/m 2 comlizer

11.9 12.2

12.1 11.4

19.8 20.2

24.3 25.8

32.5 33.4

30.6 33.0

35% RDF + ve rmicompost 250 g/m 2 comlizer CDP=0.05 CV (%)

11.3 NS 14.9

10.9 NS 10.2

18.9 NS 8.8

26.4 NS 9.5

32.8 NS 8.4

31.9 NS 7.6

A. Weed management

1997). The differences in weed density at 90 DAP between BPM and premergence herbicides may be due to emergence of weeds following disturbance of soil with grubber as part of intercultural operation. Knezevic et al. (2007) also reported lower weed density in wheat crop under reduced tillage than conventional tillage. The same may be attributed for higher weed density at 90 DAP under herbicide followed by grubber that resulted in emergence of weeds like Oxalis sp, which however due to low dry matter accumulation did not affect the total weed dry weight among the treatments.

Yield and yield parameters The parameters like rachis length, spike length, number of florets per flower and number of spike per plant were not affected by weed management practices (Table 3). However, barring spike length all other parameters were significantly affected by fertilizer application. Application of RDF and vermicompost 250 g m-2 produced longest rachis, highest number of florets per flower, and spikes per plant, which was at par with 75% RDF + vermicompost 250 g m-2 comlizer.



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Table 3. Yield parameters of tuberose Tre atments

Rachis le ngth (cm) 2012 2013

Spike le ngth (cm) 2012 2013

Numbe r of flore ts/ flowe r 2012 2013

Spike s/ plant 2012

2013

A. Weed management Black polythe ne mulch

25.3

24.8

102.5

101.8

14.1

14.4

8.94

9.07

Oxadiargyl 150 g/ha + grubbe r 60 and 90 DAP Me tribuzin 500 g/ha + grubbe r 60 and 90 DAP

25.4 25.9

25.6 25.2

102.7 102.6

102.2 101.6

13.7 13.5

14.0 13.9

8.69 8.76

8.84 8.92

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

27.8 26.7 24.8

26.8 27.2 25.6

103.2 103.4 102.7

102.8 103.6 101.8

14.8 15.0 13.3

14.6 14.4 13.9

9.30 9.18 8.71

9.67 9.18 8.98

24.9 23.5

25.4 24.0

101.6 102.1

102.0 100.8

12.7 13.0

14.2 13.4

8.82 7.98

9.07 7.81

1.6 8.6

2.3 8.1

NS 2.4

NS 9.6

1.2 11.4

0.6 6.1

0.62 9.25

0.74 11.0

CDP=0.05 B. Nutrient management RDF and ve rmicompost 250 g/m 2 75% RDF + ve rmicompost 250 g/m 2 comlizer 50% RDF + ve rmicompost 200 g/m 2 comlizer 50% RDF + ve rmicompost 250 g/m 2 comlizer 35% RDF + ve rmicompost 250 g/m 2 comlizer CDP=0.05 CV (%)

NS

The flower yield and bulb characteristics, viz., bulb length, bulb diameter and average bulb weight per plant were not affected by weed management practices, viz. BPM or preemergence herbicide followed by grubber (Table 4). Among fertilizer treatments, highest flower yield was observed due to application of RDF with vermicompost 250 g/m2 in both the seasons and was at par with treatments except 35% RDF + vermicompost 250 g m-2 comlizer. Bulb length and diameter, and average bulb weight per plant significantly differed among treatments. Highest values were observed for RDF and -2 vermicompost 250 g m and differed significantly with treatments except 75% RDF + vermicompost 250 g m-2 comlizer. Application of

NS

NS

comlizer with 35% RDF + vermicompost 250 g/m2 significantly reduced flower yield, bulb length, bulb diameter and average bulb weight per plant (Table 4). Increase in flower yield and bulb characteristics like length, diameter and average weight with integrated use of chemical fertilizer and vermicompost was reported (Padaganur et al., 2005; Asaduzzaman et al., 2010; Gangwar et al., 2012; Amin et al., 2012) and conform to the findings of the present study. However, application of comlizer significantly reduced flower yield with 35% RDF, and decreased bulb diameter, length and average weight with 50% or less RDF compared to the reports cited above. This might be due to difference

Table 4. Flower yield and bulb characters of tuberose as affected by treatments Tre atments

Flowe r yie ld (t/ha) 2012 2013

Bulb le ngth (cm) 2012 2013

Bulb diame te r (cm) 2012 2013

Bulb we ight (g/plant) 2012 2013

A. Weed management Black polythene mulch

5.09

5.28

5.71

5.82

2.41

2.51

78.14

79.54

Oxadiargyl 150 g/ha + grubber 60 & 90 DAP M etribuzin 500 g/ha + grubber 60 & 90 DAP CDP=0.05

5.03 5.05 NS

5.04 5.14 NS

5.74 5.61 NS

5.67 5.71 NS

2.35 2.31 NS

2.33 2.43 NS

75.43 76.96 NS

77.79 78.61 NS

B. Nutrient management RDF and vermicompost 250 g/m2

5.26

5.40

6.11

6.22

2.56

2.68

85.84

88.02

75% RDF + vermicompost 250 g/m2 comlizer 50% RDF + vermicompost 200 g/m2 comlizer

5.16 5.03

5.30 5.11

5.87 5.41

5.96 5.46

2.43 2.24

2.49 2.27

80.98 72.19

83.69 73.61


5.05 4.79

5.16 4.81

5.70 5.34

5.79 5.26

2.36 2.18

2.42 2.26

77.06 68.14

77.14 70.76

CDP=0.05 CV (%)

0.23 6.22

0.30 7.81

0.31 7.36

0.35 8.10

0.20 11.5

0.20 10.94

5.56 9.71

4.70 8.01

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Table 5 Available nutrients (kg/ha) in soil at 15 DAP Tre atments

N 2012

P 2013

2012

K 2013

2012

2013


284.3

271.6

8.9

9.0

92.5

87.9

Oxadiargyl 150 g/ha + grubber 60 & 90 DAP

286.2

285.4

9.5

9.7

87.7

90.1

M etribuzin 500 g/ha + grubber 60 & 90 DAP

281.2

289.1

9.6

9.3

82.7

88.6

NS

12.4

0.6

NS

4.6

NS

RDF and vermicompost 250 g/m2

300.7

288.2

9.3

10.0

90.2

94.3

75% RDF + vermicompost 250 g/m2 comlizer

287.8

290.0

9.7

9.7

88.0

88.1


276.6

280.5

9.2

9.3

88.6

89.0


286.4

282.3

9.6

9.6

87.9

93.2


267.9

269.6

8.6

8.1

83.4

83.1

12.5

9.6

0.5

0.7

NS

5.0

5.9

4.6

7.1

10.4

5.5

7.5

CDP=0.05 B. Nutrient management

CDP=0.05 CV (%)

in quantity of compost used in the present study with that used (more than or equal to 10 t/ha) in the cited works. Soil fertility status The available nutrient contents of soil are presented in tables 5 and 6 for 15 DAP and 60 DAP, respectively. Irrespective of treatments and crop growth stages the nutrient content of soil increased from the initial values. Among the treatments, the statistical difference between weed management practices was not conclusive (Tables 4 and 5). The available P content of soil differed significantly at 15 DAP between BPM and pre-emergence herbicide followed by grubber in both the seasons, while that was true for 60 DAP only in 2012 season (Table 6). Similarly, the difference in available N content of soil at 60 DAP under BPM or pre-emergence herbicide followed by grubber was statistically significant in both the seasons, but at 15 DAP it was observed only in 2013 season. Among the fertilizer treatments, the content in soil was significantly lowest in 35% RDF + vermicompost 250 g/m2 comlizer both at 15 and 60 DAP, irrespective of nutrients (Table 6). The soil pH, organic carbon content and bacterial population at harvest of crop are shown in table 7. Except for nitrogen fixing bacteria, the values did not differ significantly among the treatments, and the population of the bacteria in metribuzin applied soils was statistically lower than that in soils under BPM and that recorded before initiation of the experiment. The population of PSB was lower than that observed in soil before experimentation in all the treatments.

A decrease in the population of PSB and increase in the population of Azotobacter was reported due to use of BPM in the first year but revived to original level in the second year (Hugar et al., 2009). Mohiuddin and Mohammed (2013) reported decrease in the population of Azotobacter and PSB immediately after application of metribuzin and revival of the latter to more than the original value after one month of treatment, which might explain the relatively lower abundance of the bacteria in the metribuzin applied soil in the present study. Use of BPM had been reported to maintain optimum soil temperature compared to bare soil (Teasdale and Abdul-Baki, 1995) favouring activity of microorganisms leading to mineralization of organic matter in soil. Cabilovski et al. (2014) also reported higher concentration of mineral nitrogen with application of vermicompost under polyethylene mulch maintaining the soil moisture content around 70-80% of field water capacity. This might explain relatively lower mineralization rate due to BPM in the present study resulting in significant differences in available nutrients at some stages in the present study, which was conducted under rainfed condition. The statistical equality of flower yield with reduced doses of RDF (75% or 50%) + vermicompost comlizer may be attributed to combined effect of chemical fertilizer and biofertilizer-enriched compost, which resulted in higher nutrient availability in soil and nutrient uptake by plants. Besides, biofertilizers and well decomposed composts supplied plant growth promoting substances providing an additive to the effect of optimum plant nutrient supply (Moghadam and Shoor, 2013).



253

Table 6 Available nutrients (kg/ha) in soil at 60 DAP Tre atments

N 2012

P 2013

2012

K 2013

2012

2013


285.5

276.7

8.3

8.7

84.5

90.1

Oxadiargyl 150 g/ha + grubber 60 & 90 DAP

281.1

279.6

9.0

9.3

82.2

90.4

M etribuzin 500 g/ha + grubber 60 & 90 DAP

271.9

269.5

8.8

9.1

84.4

90.1

NS

NS

0.7

NS

NS

NS

RDF and vermicompost 250 g/m2

290.3

285.5

8.9

9.3

85.7

92.0


287.3

276.5

9.1

9.3

85.2

91.3


278.5

274.1

8.9

9.0

85.4

93.0


283.7

279.0

9.0

9.4

84.3

91.0


258.3

261.3

7.7

8.2

78.0

83.7

CDP=0.05

14.9

12.0

0.5

0.5

4.4

NS

CV (%)

7.23

5.9

8.14

7.6

7.5

9.0

CDP=0.05 B. Nutrient management

Table 7. Soil pH, organic carbon content (g kg -1) and Azotobacter and PSB population (-log x 10 -6 cfu) in soil at harvest of tuberose Tre atments

Flowe r yie ld (t/ha) 2012 2013

Bulb le ngth (cm) 2012 2013

Bulb diame te r (cm) 2012 2013

Bulb we ight (g/plant) 2012 2013

A. Weed management 5.46 5.53 5.49 NS

5.48 5.52 5.47 NS

6.98 6.76 7.12 NS

7.12 7.12 6.88 NS

21.8 20.9 19.3 2.4

22.4 22.1 20.1 2.3

9.3 9.5 9.3 NS

9.6 10.0 9.8 NS

RDF and vermicompost 250 g/m2 75% RDF + vermicompost 250 g/m2 comlizer

5.50 5.55

5.34 5.50

6.80 7.23

6.90 6.97

21.8 21.3

22.1 21.4

9.7 9.4

10.0 9.9


5.43 5.50

5.44 5.61

7.07 6.80

7.20 7.13

20.3 20.8

21.9 21.2

9.1 9.4

9.4 9.9

35% RDF + vermicompost 250 g/m2 comlizer CDP=0.05

5.48 NS

5.55 NS

6.87 NS

7.00 NS

19.0 NS

21.0 NS

9.3 NS

9.8 NS

CV (%)

4.57

3.99

10.2

9.88

12.0

10.9

15.9

12.8

Black polythene mulch Oxadiargyl 150 g/ha + grubber 60 & 90 DAP M etribuzin 500 g/ha + grubber 60 & 90 DAP CDP=0.05 B. Nutrient management

CONCLUSION Application of chemical fertilizer as mixture with enriched-compost (comlizer) had positive effect on growth and yield of tuberose, and the doses could be reduced up to 50% without affecting the yield and fertility status of soils. However, further study may be needed to work out optimum ratios for sustained flower yield and quality, and their long-term effects on soil health. REFERENCES Ahsan, M ., Shoaib-ur-Rehman, Younis, A., Riaz, A. and Tariq, U. 2013. Comparative study of different techniques to create earliness and improvement in quality characteristics of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa l.) Cv. Double. American-Eurasian Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Science 13(11): 1470-1475.

Amin, R., Faridujjaman, M . and Jamal Uddin, A.F.M . 2012. Phosphorus levels on growth and flowering of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.). Bangladesh Research Publications Journal 7(4): 324-330. Anonymous. 2015a. Livestock and dairy development. Available at http://assamagribusiness.nic.in/ PDFEconomy/Chapter%20VI%20%28Livestock %20&%20diary%29.pdf. (Accessed on 11th July 2015). Anonymous. 2015b. Livestock population in India by species. National Dairy Development Board. Available at http://www.nddb.coop/English/Statistics/Pages/PopulationIndia-Species.aspx. (Accessed on 11th July 2015). Asaduzzaman, M ., Sultana, S. and Ali, M .A. 2010. Combined effect of mulch materials and organic manure on the growth and yield of lettuce. American- Eurasian Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Science 9(5): 504-508.

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