Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

An investigation was carried out to study the soil available macro- and micro-nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, B and Mo) and some physico-chemical properties in soils (0-15 cm) of Almora district (Uttarakhand). The Global Positioning System (GPS) based 291 soil samples were collected, analyzed for the extractable contents of macro and micro-nutrients and correlated with important soil properties. Soil texture of the district varied from sandy loam to sandy clay loam, soil pH1:2ranged from 4.24 to 8.86, electrical conductivity from 0.02 to 0.41dSm-1and organic carbon from 1.1 to 54.0 g kg-1. In the soils of the entire district, the ranges observed for different nutrients were: alkaline KMnO4-N (50.4 to 140.0 mg kg-1), extractable P (2.8 to 95.0 mg kg-1), K (50.5 to 405.0 mg kg-1), S (2.60 to 36.29 mg kg-1), Ca (844 to 6244 mg kg-1), Mg (120 to 2640 mg kg-1), Zn (0.10 to 19.25 mg kg-1), Cu (0.18 to 2.99 mg kg-1), Fe (1.93 to 127.02 mg kg-1), Mn (1.24 to 56.92 mg kg-1), B (0.12 to 1.11 mg kg-1) and Mo (0.02 to 0.36 mg kg-1). The relationship between soil properties and extractable macro- and micro- nutrient contents revealed that soil pH had significant and positive correlation with extractable P, K, S and Zn but had negative correlation with extractable Fe, Mn and B. Electrical conductivity (EC) was significantly and positively correlated with extractable N, K, Ca, S and Zn but negatively correlated with extractable Mn. Organic carbon showed a significant and positive correlation with extractable B but negative correlation with extractable N, K, Ca, S, Zn, Cu and Fe. In general, the soils of Almora district were very acidic to moderately alkaline in reaction, low to medium in salt concentration and generally high in organic carbon status. Based on the calculated nutrient indices (N.I.), the soils of Almora were rated low in N, medium in S and B but high in rest of the other nutrients.