Assessment and correlation study of chemical parameters and nutrients of soil in north-west part of VNMKV farm, Parbhani Maharashtra

Abstract

Soil is a critical natural resource that support agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability, and overall ecosystem health. Precise assessment of these resources is essential for sustainable land management and informed decision-making. This study aims to evaluate the soil properties of the study area using scientific methodologies and geospatial techniques. The research involves a systematic collection of 100 surface soil samples followed by laboratory analysis to determine key physico-chemical properties of Soil. This study highlights the importance of integrating field-based soil assessments with advanced geospatial tools to achieve a comprehensive understanding of soil resources. The result emerged out from the present investigation revealed that the soils of Northwest part of VNMKV farm belongs to neutral to moderately alkaline in nature (pH 7.24 -8.07) and normal electrical conductivity, with medium to high concentration of calcium carbonate (5.15% - 13.9%) and very low to moderate amount of organic carbon (0.16% - 0.56%). The macronutrients such as available Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium were in the range of 101.52 - 203.03 Kg ha-1, 5.47 - 21.48 Kg ha-1, and 452.93 -1067.58 Kg ha-1 respectively. The available sulphur content in the soil ranges from 5.01 - 14.94 Kg ha-1. The micronutrients such as Boron, DTPA extractables like Iron, Zinc, Copper and Manganese were also estimated and it was in the range of 0.25 - 0.85 ppm, 1.07 - 4.97 ppm, 0.32 - 1.04 ppm, 0.90 - 2.92 ppm, and 4.47 - 15.23 ppm respectively. Ferrous, Copper, Manganese, Zinc are negatively correlated with soil pH (r= -0.208), (r= -0.216), (r= -0.361), (r= -0.234) respectively. Phosphorus and Sulphur are positively correlated with Electrical conductivity (r=0.222), (r=0.361) respectively. Potassium and Ferrous are negatively correlated with Electrical conductivity (r= -0.219), (r= -0.214) respectively. Nitrogen shows slight positive correlation with organic carbon (r= 0.175). Sulphur and Ferrous shows negative correlation with Calcium carbonate (r= -0.238), (r= -0.223) respectively. Thus it can be concluded that the soils of North-West part of VNMKV Parbhani were deficient to sufficient in fertility