Availability of macro & micronutrients and their correlation with some physico-chemical properties in soils of Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand

Abstract

An investigation was carried out to study the distribution of available macronutrients (N, P, K and S) and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu) and their relationship with some physico-chemical properties of soil of different blocks of district Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. Values of the organic C, alkaline KMnO4extractable N, Olsen’s P, neutral ammonium acetate extractable K and CaCl2extractable S in the district ranged between 0.13-1.64 per cent, 125.44-338.68 Kg N ha-1, 7.34-76.70 Kg P2O5 ha-1, 66.08-271.04 Kg K2O ha-1 and 2.41-42.5 ppm, respectively. The values of DTPA extractable Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu ranged between 12.42-54.06, 0.96-22.06, 0.26-4.64 and 0.59-7.62 ppm, respectively. Macronutrients in general, were found non-significantly and negatively correlated with pH, clay and sand and positively correlated with organic C and silt. However, micronutrients in general were non-significantly and positively correlated with pH, organic C and clay and negatively with silt and sand. Phosphorus (-0.456*) and Fe (-0.533**) showed significantly negative relationship with pH while phosphorus and Zn had significantly positive relation with organic C (0.335*, 0.305*) and with clay (-0.378*, 0.372*).The soils of the district are low in nitrogen, sufficient in phosphorus, potassium and sulphur except Sitarganj, Jaspur and Bazpur blocks are low in K and Rudrapur block is low in S, however micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) are found much higher than critical level in district. These findings can successfully be utilized as an effective guide for efficient and balanced fertilizer recommendations by the farmers for various crops grown in the tarai region of district Udham Singh Nagar.