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Indian Journal of Pure & Applied Biosciences (IJPAB)
Year : 2019, Volume : 7, Issue : 6
First page : (340) Last page : (350)
Article doi: : http://dx.doi.org/10.18782/2582-2845.7901

Assessment of Soil Fertility Status for Sustainable Agricultural Production in Chithamur Block, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, India

Kalpana Palani¹, Selva Preetha Paneerselvam² Sathya Velusamy^3* and
Ramasubramaniyan Ramanathan^4
1Additional Director, ²Technical Officer (Soil Science),
³Technical Officer (Environmental Science), 4Executive Director,
National Agro Foundation, Research & Development Centre,
Anna University Taramani Campus, Taramani, Chennai - 600113 India
*Corresponding Author E-mail: sathyavelu1987@gmail.com
Received: 7.11.2019  |  Revised: 16.12.2019   |  Accepted: 25.12.2019  

 ABSTRACT

Soil fertility evaluation in a particular region is a crucial aspect in the perspective of sustainable agricultural production. The nutrient status of the soil governs the fertility and overall crop growth and yield. The Chithamur block of Kanchipuram District in Tamil Nadu was selected for the nutrient fertility indexing study. Fifteen representative villages with high agriculture potential areas were chosen as study location and totally 678 surface soil sample (0 – 30 cm) were collected and analysed for physico – chemical properties, available macro nutrients (N, P and K), Secondary nutrients (Ca, Mg and S) and Micronutrients (Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu and B) status. Results revealed that the pH of most of the sample were neutral, Electrical conductivity (EC) was harmless and the Organic Carbon (OC) which is the key indicator of nutrient fertility was low. The available nitrogen and potassium were low whereas the phosphorus was low in acidic soils and high in alkaline soils. Almost all the secondary nutrients (Ca, Mg and S) and the micro nutrients (Zn, Mn, Cu and B) were found to be low and deficient respectively while the Fe alone showed sufficient status. Overall the fertility status of the Chithamur block was noticed to be poor and the outcome of this study has provided an insight into the unbalanced fertilization practices adopted in this block. Therefore, there is a critical need to adopt technologies like “lean farming” which is the judicious combination of organic, bio and inorganic inputs without compromising on the yield potentialities as well as ecological sustainability.

Keywords: Soil fertility, Available nutrient, Low fertility, Balanced fertilization, Lean farming.

Full Text : PDF; Journal doi : http://dx.doi.org/10.18782

Cite this article: Palani, K., Paneerselvam, S.P., Velusamy, S., & Ramanathan, R. (2019). Assessment of Soil Fertility Status for Sustainable Agricultural Production in Chithamur Block, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, India, Ind. J. Pure App. Biosci. 7(6), 340-350. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18782/2582-2845.7901