Physicochemical and Microbiological Studies of Soils in Amaravathi River Bed Area, Karur District, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The present study has been undertaken to investigate the physicochemical properties of soil samples of agricultural region collected from the Amaravathi river basin. The soil characterization was carried out for the parameters like pH, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), bicarbonate \( ({{{\text{HCO}}_{3}}^{ - }} ) \), nitrate \( {{ ( {\text{NO}}_{3}}^{ - }} ) \), sulfate \( \left( {{{{\text{SO}}_{4}}^{2 - } }} \right) \), chloride (Cl−), fluoride (F−), phosphate \( \left( {{{{\text{PO}}_{4}}^{3 - } }} \right) \), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD). A variety of values were observed in the different physicochemical parameters due to the soil quality in different sampling locations. Values of pH, chloride, fluoride, sulfate, BOD and COD concentration in the soil samples also showed wide variations. The groundwater samples of Amaravathi river were also analyzed for different water quality parameters. Comparing the analytical data with WHO and BIS standards, elevated concentration was observed in parameters like TDS, TH, Ca2+, Na+, Cl−, \( {{{\text{SO}}_{4}}^{2 - }} \), and COD which exemplify the degradation of water quality. Correlation analysis was carried out for soil samples and groundwater samples to investigate the relationship between the variables. Chlorinity and salinity index were performed for both soil and groundwater samples, and it was observed that most of the groundwater samples have medium to high chlorinity and salinity hazards. The microbiological characteristics of soil samples were carried out, and Bacillus and Pseudomonas species were the predominant bacteria genera isolated.