Year : 2022, Volume : 12, Issue : 4
First page : ( 61) Last page : ( 65)
Print ISSN : 2229-3744. Online ISSN : 2250-0499. Published online : 2022 December 20.
Article DOI : 10.5958/2250-0499.2022.00099.4

Nutritional status of orchard soils in selected apple growing areas of Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh

Mogta Ankush^*, Sharma Uday, Verma Anjali

Department of Soil Science and Water Management, College of ForestryDr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan173230Himachal Pradesh, India

^*Email for correspondence: ankush92mogta@gmail.com

Online Published on 20 December, 2022.

Received:  04  ,  2022; Accepted:  05  ,  2022.

Abstract

Investigations were carried out to assess the nutritional status of orchard soils in selected pockets of apple growing belts of district Shimla, Himachal Pradesh encompassing 5 Tehsils. Total 164 soil samples were collected and analysed for soil macronutrient parameters. Correlation study was carried out to assess the degree of correlation among various soil chemical properties and soil fertility index was worked out to assess fertility level of orchard soils. The soil pH ranged from strongly acidic (4.74) to neutral (7.22); soil salinity was found to be in safer limits (<0.974 dS/m); organic carbon varied from very low (0.15%) to very high (2.80%). Soil available N content varied from low (150 kg/ha) to high (815 kg/ha), P content varied from very low (4.7 kg/ha) to very high (1,086.4 kg/ha) and K content ranged from very low (32 kg/ha) to very high (5,174 kg/ha). In total, 33.5, 3.0 and 4.9 per cent samples were reported deficient in available N, P and K status respectively. The soil nutrient index for N, P and K came out to be 1.68, 2.82 and 2.63 respectively which suggested medium nitrogen and high phosphorus and potassium availability. The correlation study showed soil pH to have significant effect on P and K availability; EC had positive correlation with SOC and available nutrient contents while organic carbon content was significantly correlated to available NPK content.

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Keywords

Nutrient status, Soil fertility index, Orchard soils, Correlation.

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Introduction

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Material and Methods

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Results and Discussion

Soil PH, EC and SOC

The pH of the orchard soils ranged from 4.74 to 7.22 with overall mean of 5.85. The minimum average pH of 5.74 was recorded in soils of Jubbal orchards while the maximum of 6.33 was recorded from soils of Kotkhai orchards. Some of the Rohru and Chirgaon orchards were reported to have pH less than 5.00 falling in strongly acidic range while few orchards from Jubbal and Kotkhai were observed to have pH in the range of 5.14 to 5.50 being classified as soils with highly acidic character (Table 1). These two types of soils on the basis of pH need reclamation in terms of pH improvement by adding lime to their orchard soils in order to enhance nutrient availability. Total 25.6 per cent of the studied soils fell under pH category of less than 5.50 (highly acidic), 37.8 per cent under moderately acidic range (5.50– 6.00), 23.8 per cent under slightly acidic range (6.00– 6.50) and only 12.8 per cent samples under neutral pH range (6.50–7.30). No samples were found to have pH greater than 7.30 (Table 3). Majority soils of Shimla district orchards were recorded to have moderately acidic to highly acidic pH. Low temperature associated with higher rainfall resulting in leaching out of basic cations could have resulted in lower pH in hilly soils of these orchards (Logan and Floate 1985).

Electrical conductivity is the measure of soil salinity. In general, the soils having EC less than 2.00 are considered safe for apple cultivation. None of the soil samples from studied orchards were reported to have EC greater than 1.00 which is considered as non-saline category of EC as illustrated in Table 3. The EC of orchard soils varied from 0.030 to 0.974 dS/m with overall mean of 0.190 dS/m. The minimum average EC (0.160 dS/m) was observed in soils of Tikker orchards while the maximum average EC (0.270 dS/m) was recorded in soils of Jubbal orchards. Lower EC values may be ascribed to the leaching and wash out of salts due to heavy rains associated with undulating topography of these orchards (Annepu et al 2017).

Organic carbon content of the soils ranged from 0.15 to 2.80 per cent with overall average content of 1.02 per cent. The soils of Rohru recorded the lowest average OC content (0.89%) while the highest (1.46 %) was recorded in both Kotkhai and Tikker orchards (Table 1). Out of total 164 soil samples, 17.1 per cent samples fell in low category (<0.50%), 37.2 per cent samples in medium category (0.50–1.00%), 39.6 per cent in high (1.00–2.00%) category of EC, whereas, 6.1 per cent samples had OC greater than 2.00 (Table 3). The prevailing low temperature conditions of these orchards might have resulted in suppression of microbial and enzymatic activities leading to accumulation of organic residues from FYM addition in soils and least SOM decomposition and thus higher levels of SOC can be seen in surface layers of orchard soils (Bhattacharyya et al 2008, Annepu et al 2017).

Available NPK

The available nitrogen content in orchard soils varied from 150 to 815 kg/ha with average content of 319 kg/ha. Minimum average N content (299 kg/ha) was reported in soils of Rohru orchards while the maximum (372 kg/ha) was observed in soils of Tikker orchards (Table 1). Out of total soil samples analysed, 33.54 per cent samples were reported deficient in N availability, 64.63 per cent samples were in medium range and only 1.83 per cent samples were found to have high N content. The soil nutrient index for nitrogen was 1.68 which suggested that nitrogen in these soils was in medium range (Table 4). Since organic carbon content is an indicator of soil available nitrogen status, the soils should have sufficient N content as reported by Mondal et al (2015) and Singh and Rathore (2013). The present study also affirms positive correlation between available N and SOC (Table 2) but low N status specifies its rapid depletion from the surface soils which may be due to crop removal or losses in or out of the soil system (Annepu et al 2017).

The available phosphorus content in soils ranged from 4.7 to 1,086.4 kg/ha with average P content of 165.5 kg/ha. The minimum average P content (142.5 kg/ha) was recorded in soils of Kotkhai orchards while the maximum (301.1 kg/ha) in soils of Tikker orchards (Table 1). Out of total samples analysed, only 3.05 per cent samples were deficient in soil available P content, 12.19 per cent had medium P availability and rest of 84.76 per cent were high in soil P content. The soil nutrient index value for phosphorus came out to be 2.82 which denoted high P availability (Table 4). High P content in these soils may be ascribed to the high organic matter content present. At the same time farmers had been adding phosphatic fertilisers every year without proper soil test-based recommendations. The phosphatic fertilisers being less mobile in soil system keep on accumulating year after year of application and thus have high residual P content.

Potassium being a major primary nutrient plays significant role in plant nutrition. The available K content in orchard soils ranged from 32 to 5,174 kg/ha with mean of 884 kg/ha. The minimum average K content (784 kg/ha) was recorded in soils of Rohru orchards while the maximum (1,936 kg/ha) was recorded in soils of Kotkhai orchards (Table 1). Out of total samples tested, 4.88 per cent samples fell in K deficient range, 26.83 per cent under medium range and majority (68.29%) in high range. The SNI value for the potassium in these soils came out to be 2.63 that indicated the K availability to be in high range (Table 4). High available K content in these soils could be due to presence of clay minerals like illite and kaolinite in hilly soils that attributed to sufficient levels of potassium (Sharma et al 2001). Also farmers had been applying MoP indiscriminately as they were more concerned with fruit quality without having proper soil test-based fertiliser application.

Correlation Studies

The study on correlation was performed at 1 and 5 per cent level of significance (Table 2). pH was found to be negatively correlated to EC (–0.218), available P (–0.308) at 1 per cent and K content (–0.163) at 5 per cent level. EC was positively correlated with soil organic carbon (0.187) at 5 per cent and available N (0.218), available P (0.426) and available K (0.409) at 1 per cent level. OC was positively correlated to available N (0.416), available P (0.215) and available K content (0.447) at 1 per cent level. Soil available N was positively correlated with available P content (0.316) at 1 per cent level and was non-significant in relation with available potassium. Soil P content was positively correlated with available K content (0.447) at 1 per cent level. The strong correlation between SOC and available nutrients suggests that organic carbon in soil regulates the adequate supplies of these nutrients. Organic matter on decomposition releases these nutrients in a proportionate amount in the soil.

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Conclusion

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Tables