Digital soil mapping of PAU-Regional Research Station, Kapurthala, Punjab, India

Abstract

Digital soil mapping is an invention that uses modern technologies to express geographical soil information. Across the country, there has been a transition of digital soil mapping from the research phase to the operational phase, but no comprehensive research has been conducted at the Regional Research Station in Kapurthala. Instead of dealing with the whole field as a single unit, dealing with small units per spatial soil properties is the first step towards sustainable agriculture. However, all soil's spatial variations could not be corrected with one blanket recommendation. Considering this in mind, the current investigation carried out the research station with 84.4 ha of agricultural land comprising eight blocks, with an objective of delineating the spatial variation in soil properties viz. soil organic carbon (%), electrical conductivity, pH, available Phosphorus, potash, zinc, iron, manganese, and copper (mg kg−1), respectively on to the soil maps prepared using geo-statistics. Finally, digital soil mapping (DSM) was prepared for dealing with such spatial soil variation after preparing the base maps using GPS-60 (GARMIN). For this purpose, 40 representative spatial soil samples were collected from all the blocks. DSM delineated that most spots are low in SOC at the farm while available P, K, and Cu are sufficiently available. Further, the micronutrients DTPA-Zn, Fe, and Mn, were reported with spatial deficiencies in different blocks. Therefore, these recommendations help in the more sustainable and judicious use of the fertilizers on one side while also helping in controlling micronutrient deficiencies before their symptoms appear. Henceforth, DSM must be prepared and is a prerequisite to achieving sustainability in any soil–plant interphase despite any agro-climatic zone and soil textural class to improve soil health and practice sustainable agriculture at the farm.