Study of Physico-chemical and Nutrient Status of the Soil in Chiraigaon Block, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India

A study was conducted to evaluate the soil fertility and their quality parameters of Chiraigaon Block of Varanasi district Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) which is located at Latitude 25.3°N, and Longitude is 82.9°E and at elevation of 81m above mean sea level (AMSL) in the centre of Gangatic plain of Northern India. A total of 54 soil samples were collected from the farmland of six different villages of Chiraigaon Block. Physico-chemical property analyses showed average bulk density and particle density of 1.22 and 2.37 mg/m3 respectively whereas water holding capacity ranged from 29.80 to 51.70 %, pH ranged from 7.1 to 8.3, EC ranged from 0.18 to 1.68 dSm-1 and organic carbon content ranged from 0.21 to 0.76 % with low organic carbon content in 70.37% of the soil samples. Macronutrient analysis showed low to medium range for nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur with average values of 244.15 Kg/ha, 14.78 kg/ha and 10.60 mg/kg respectively whereas medium to high range of potassium (481.7 kg/ha) and high range of exchangeable calcium (11.82 mEq/100g) and magnesium (9.89 mEq/100g) were found. Micro-nutrient analysis showed low to high range for manganese and zinc with values ranging from 3.08 to 56.1 mg/kg and 0.58 to 19.62 mg/kg respectively, with iron in the medium to high range (5.1 to 72 mg/kg) while available copper (2.2 to 4.08 mg/kg) was in the high range in the tested samples. The current study is expected to help the farmers of the study location in providing guidelines required for long-term soil fertility management and to improve soil quality and for developing suitable crop varieties that can grow without any yield reduction

Study of Physio-chemical Properties of Soil in Various Land Use Systems of Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India

A study was carried out to evaluate the impact of various land use systems on the physiochemical characteristics of the soil of Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh. The samples were collected from various land use systems (normally cultivated land, plantation, forest, fruit and vegetable) at two different depths (0-15 cm and 15-30 cm) and analysed at the Soil Science - Soil and Water Conservation Laboratory at the Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Banaras Hindu University, Barkachha, Uttar Pradesh. Geographically, the experimental site is located under the tropical zone at the coordinates of 16.4° N and 81.0° E. The obtained results showed that the maximum bulk density (1.58 Mg/m3), particle density (2.7 Mg/m3) at lower depth of 15-30 cm, water holding capacity (49.70%) and highest porosity (48.68%) in upper soil layer (0-15 cm) in normally cultivation land. Forest land had showed the highest organic carbon content of 0.77% and 0.71% soil in two different study depths of 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm, respectively. Also, the maximum availability of nitrogen (280.17 kg/ha), phosphorus (18.63 kg/ha), potassium (212.65 kg/ha) and sulphur (8.64 mg/kg of soil) were reported in forest, Vegetable, fruit and cultivated land respectively, in upper soil layer (0-15 cm), also all were found to depleting with increasing soil depths. The results of this study showed that land use patterns had considerable impact on many soil physiochemical properties. This study have a great importance for improving the standard of the produce, raising crop yields by a greater percentage through nutrient management, appropriate soil conservation practices and also, for better prevention of the environment