Assessment of macronutrients and sulpur in soils under predominant cropping systems of Northern Telangana zone

Abstract

The study was conducted during rabi season, 2023-24 at different locations of farmer’s fields in the Northern Telangana Zone. The main aim of the study was to assess the macronutrients and sulphur status in soils of the Northern Telangana Zone. A total of 75 samples were collected from the predominant cropping systems of NTZ. viz., cotton-bengal gram (CS1), soybean-bengal gram (CS2), turmeric-sesame (CS3), paddy-paddy (CS4) and Paddy-maize (CS5) at different depths (0-15, 15-30 and 30-45 cm). The available nutrient status significantly varied with cropping systems and depth of soils. Among the cropping systems, the higher available N was recorded in CS2 (soybean-bengal gram). Whereas, the higher available phosphorous and potassium were observed in CS3 (Turmeric-Sesame). The higher sulphur was registered in CS2 (Soybean-Bengal gram). With regards to depth, all macronutrients and sulphur were decreased with increasing the soil depths. The maximum N, P, K and S were observed at 0-15 cm of soil (228.06, 40.34, 258.85 and 25.95 kg ha-1, respectively). The interaction effect of the cropping system and soil depth was found to be non-significant.