Soil status and performance of Nepal cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) under different land uses

Abstract

Soil fertility\r\nevaluation is the most fundamental decision-making tool for effective\r\nsustainable soil nutrient management of a particular area. Soil properties vary\r\nbetween land-use systems and understanding the variation in soil properties\r\nwithin land-use systems is crucial. Thus, the study was conducted from March 2022 to April 2022 in Phaktalung, Taplejung of\r\nNepal for evaluation of the soil nutrient conditions of different land use\r\nsystems in Randomized Complete Block Design. Different land use systems i.e.,\r\nNepal Cardamom orchard in khet land, Nepal Cardamom orchard in Bari land,\r\nNepal Cardamom orchard in Pakho land were taken as treatments. A total\r\nof 27 samples from cardamom orchard of Ramsai variety were randomly collected,\r\n9 samples each from khet land, Bari land, and Pakho land respectively at a\r\ndepth of 0-30 cm and are analyzed. Research analysis revealed that the soil\r\norganic matter, nitrogen, and potassium was found maximum in Treatment 3 (Pakho\r\nland) which is 4.12%, 0.20%, and 331.5 kg/ha respectively. Phosphorous (51.10\r\nkg/ha) was found maximum in Treatment 2 which was Bari land. Whereas cardamom\r\nyield (0.55 Mt/ha), the number of tillers (29.77) were found maximum in\r\nTreatment 1 which was khet land. While soil pH, diameter of tillers,\r\nlength of tillers, and number of inflorescences were found non-significant.\r\nSoil texture was found to be sandy loam type.