Forms of sulphur and their relationship with soil physical properties in Vertisol

Abstract

Forms of sulphur and their relationships with soil physical properties and sulphur availability indices were investigated in soybean growing in Vertisols. The abundance of various forms of sulphur was in the decreasing order i.e. total S >organic S > heat soluble S> sulphate S> water soluble S. All forms of S showed significantly positive correlation with organic carbon and physic-chemical properties of soil. Silt content of the soil showed negative impact. Available sulphur showed significant and positive correlation with soil aggregate size, mean weight diameter, infiltration rate, soil moisture content bulk density and penetration resistance in Vertisol. Among soil properties, pH and electrical conductivity showed negative correlation with plant available sulphur in surface layer (0-30 cm), whereas, there was a positive correlation with organic carbon in the lower layer (30-60 cm) of soil profile.