Abstract
Study on the vertical distribution of plant nutrients is very essential for improving crop production and productivity rather than studying the nutrient characteristics of the surface soil only. It is because many plants absorb nutrients from the subsoil. Moreover, the vertical distribution of nutrients is much more complex because of the many simultaneous processes going on in the soils such as recycling of the plant residues, leaching of nutrients, and weathering of parent materials. In this context, two pedons located in pedons in two different land types(upland and low land) of Dhenkanal district of the Mid-Central Tableland argo-climatic zone of Odisha were selected for studying the depth-wise vertical distribution of plant nutrients. Genetic horizon-wise soil samples were collected, processed, and analyzed for different soil properties viz., textural class (sand, silt, clay), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic carbon (SOC), available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S) and boron (B) content. The results indicated that there was a gradual decrease in the concentration of SOC, available N, P and S with soil depth. Whereas soil reaction (pH), EC and available K content increased with soil depth. Therefore, surface soils were observed to be more fertile but acidic, whereas the sub-soils were of higher pH. The findings of this study will be helpful for the scientific as well as the farming community for suggesting and uptaking suitable crop and land use plans for sustainable agricultural and land use management.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call