Abstract
The present study was undertaken to assess the soil fertility status of major coconut and arecanut growing soils in different agro-climatic conditions of Karnataka. Based on the agro-climate variability, thirty typical soil pedons representing five different agro-climatic zones (ACZs) of Karnataka, namely, eastern dry zone (EDZ), southern dry zone (SDZ), southern transitional zone (STZ), hilly zone (HZ), and coastal zone (CZ) were studied for their physicochemical properties. The study revealed that soils of semi-arid (EDZ and SDZ) and sub-humid (STZ) zones have near neutral to moderately alkaline reaction and humid region soils (coastal and hilly zones) have high acidity. The soils are non-saline with low cation exchange capacity. Greater soil organic carbon was recorded in arecanut soils than coconut under all ACZs except coastal zone. The major nutrients status of the soil samples indicated that the available nitrogen is low in all the pedons; the pooled data of available nitrogen content was higher in arecanut (166.3 kg ha-1) than coconut (152.6 kg ha-1), and hilly zone soils recorded higher available nitrogen. A wide range of available P2O5 was noticed in coconut and arecanut soils, ranging from 1.0 to 64.2 kg ha-1. The coconut soils (11.5 kg ha-1) recorded higher available P2O5 than arecanut soils (9.62 kg ha-1) when data were pooled. The soils were low to medium in available potassium, and a higher available K2O content was recorded in arecanut soils (151.7 kg ha-1) compared to coconut (110.1 kg ha-1). The available K2O ranged from 66.8 to 511.7 kg ha-1 in the surface and 37.6 to 461.2 kg ha-1 in sub-surface soils.
Highlights
Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) and coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) are predominant perennial plantation crops in south India
Soil pH ranged from 5.13-8.34 in coconut to 4.99-8.32 in arecanut soils
The pH of eastern dry zone (EDZ), southern dry zone (SDZ), southern transitional zone (STZ), hilly zone (HZ) and coastal zone (CZ) varied from 7.46-7.79, 8.05-8.34, 6.79-7.58, 5.15-6.12 and 5.13-5.25, respectively, in coconut soils, whereas in arecanut, the soil pH varied from 7.55-7.91, 8.12- 8.32, 7.72-7.85, 4.995.34 and 5.43-5.65, respectively
Summary
Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) and coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) are predominant perennial plantation crops in south India. Cultivation of these palms in India has a rich diversity and varied history, with each crop having its own distinct historical and economic context of development. Coconut and arecanut are cultivated in different agro-climatic regions in Karnataka (Singh et al, 2013) under diverse climatic conditions and soil types. Due to variation in environmental conditions and management, the productivity of these crops varies under different agro-climatic zones (ACZs). Soil fertility is one factor that limits the productivity of these crops, mainly influenced by the inherent capacity of the soil. Maintaining soil fertility is highly important to sustain the yield of arecanut (Bhat and Sujatha, 2014)
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