Physico-chemical characterisation and fertility rating of maize growing soils from hilly zone of Shivamogga district, Karnataka

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1 Indian J. Agric. Res., 52 (1) 2018 : Print ISSN: / Online ISSN: X AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE Physico-chemical characterisation and fertility rating of maize growing soils from hilly zone of Shivamogga district, Karnataka K.S. Niranjana*, K. Yogendra and K.M. Mahadevan 1 Department of P.G. Studies & Research in Environmental Science, Kuvempu University, JnanaSahyadri, Shankaraghatta , Shivamogga, Karnataka, India. Received: Accepted: DOI: /IJARe.A-4887 ABSTRACT Physico-chemical characterisation and fertility rating of surface soils (0-15 cm) was studied in 130 representative samples of different locations from maize growing areas from hilly zone of Shivamoga district of Karnataka.The soils were sandy loam to sandy clay loam in texture with bulk density varying from 1.43 to 1.49 Mg m -3. The study revealed that the majority of the soils were medium to highly acidic with non-saline nature and high in organic carbon status. The available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were low in fertility status. The exchangeable calcium and magnesium contents were marginal to adequate and varied from 2.10 to 6.90 cmol (p + ) kg -1 and 0.50 to 3.30 cmol (p + ) kg -1, respectively. The available sulphur ranged from 6.25 to ppm. The soils were comparatively low to high in iron and manganese contents and were low in copper,zinc and boron contents. Hence, the nutrient management of maize growing soils plays an important role in maintaining the soil fertility and high productivity in hilly zone of Karnataka. Key words: Fertility rating, Hilly zone, Maize, Nutrient index, Physico-chemical characterisation. INTRODUCTION Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most versatile crops and can be grown in diverse environmental conditions and has diversified uses in human food and animal feed.in recent years, maize becomes a first choice crop among different rainfed crops. In India, it occupies third place among the cereals after rice and wheat and is cultivated in an area of 7.59 million hectares with a production of million tonnes and the average productivity is 2.5 tonnes ha -1. Production of maize in India is dominated by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka which contributes to 38 per cent of production. In Karnataka, it is grown in an area of 7.20 lakh hectares with total production of lakh tonnes (Anonymous, 2013). In hilly zone of Karnataka (Zone-9), though considerable area has been occupied by paddy, areacanut, coffee etc., some areas of Hosanagar and talukas of Shivamogga district are being cultivated with maize regularly. Being an exhaustive crop, maize requires high nutrient sand its productivity closely depends on nutrient management system. Low productivity of maize is mainly attributed to the low fertility status of the soils (Srikanth et. al., 2009). In hilly zone, because of high rainfall, light texture of the soil and the chances of nutrient loss through leaching, the nutrient and the soil fertility status is very poor. Hence, the present study was made to analyse the nutrient status and to evaluate the fertility rating of maize growing soils from hilly zone of Shivamogga district, Karnataka. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred thirty surface samples (0-15 cm) were collected from maize growing fields of and talukas of Shivamogga district for the study. Ten samples each collected from seven sites of and six sites of taluk. These areas represents hilly zone of Karnataka and soils are characterized by shallow depth, gentle slope and good drainage. The soil samples collected were air-dried under shade and analyzed for different parameters by following standard procedures. Mechanical analysis was done by following International pipette method (Piper, 1966). The bulk density, maximum water holding capacity and percent porosity by following Keen s cup method (Keen and Raczkowski, 1921). Percentage of organic carbon was estimated by following Walkley and Black wet oxidation method.the mineralizable nitrogen content was estimated by alkaline permanganate method. Bray s available P 2 by spectrophotometric method, the available K 2 O by flame photometry, exchangeable Ca and Mg by versenate titration method and available sulphur by turbidometric method (Jackson, 1973). The DTPA extractable Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn were estimated using atomic absorption spectrophotometer(lindsay and Norwell, 1978). The hot water soluble boron was estimated by Azomethane H method. The data on different nutrients were presented as a mean of ten samples in each location in each taluk. Nutrient indices were computed by summing the data of each taluk *Corresponding author s yogendraku@gmail.com 1 Dept. of P.G. Studies and Research in Chemistry, Kuvempu University P.G centre, Kadur, Chikmagaluru , Karnataka, India.

2 of and by adopting soil fertility ratings as described by Ramamoorthy and Bajaj (1969) as follows. Nutrient Index (NI) value =(% low x 1)+ % medium x 2)+(% high x 3) / 100 with NI values less than 1.67 being low fertile, 1.67 to 2.33 being medium and more than 2.33 being high. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Soil physical properties: The data pertaining to the physical properties of the different sampling sites are presented in Table 1. It was clear that the surface samples contain more than 60 per cent of sand. The silt and clay contents ranged from 7.55 to and to 27.65, respectively. Thus, soils are sandy loam to sandy clay loam in texture. There was no much variation among other physical properties like bulk density, maximum water holding capacity and per cent porosity of the soil samples. Nirmalaya and Sahu (1993) noticed similar results in their studies on soils of hill slopes of Andaman Islands. Chemical properties and the status of primary nutrients: The data on soil chemical properties and available primary nutrients were presented in Table 2. Majority of soils of were strongly acidic whereas the soils of were moderately acidic. The inherent parent material, leaching of basic cations due to high rainfall and also the use of high dose of acid forming fertilisers could be main cause of soil acidity (Rudramurthy et. al., 2007). All the samples were low in electrical conductivity. As these soils are derived of granite and granite gneiss, which lacks alkali, properties and evenly distributed very high rainfall tend to influence acidic ph and low electrical conductivity (Ananthanarayana and Perur, 1973). However, organic carbon content ranged from 0.45 to 1.64 percent and most of the samples showed high in status. Variations in organic carbon content were accounted to difference in the management of the crop like application of organic matter to the soil. The change in the organic carbon content can Volume 52 Issue 1, February also be attributed to the incorporation of the crop residues to the soil or burning the crop residues after the harvest of the grains. Ananthanarayan et.al.(1986b) observed similar findings. The available nitrogen content of the soils varied from to kg ha -1. Nitrogen levels were medium in status in 64 per cent of the soil samples. It may be related to the organic matter content of the soil samples. About per cent of the samples showed low in N status and the remaining per cent showed medium status. The available P 2 content varied from 5.85 to kg ha -1. Most of the soil samples (73.85 per cent) were low with respect to available P 2 content and a very few samples (26.15 per cent) fell under medium status category. This may be attributed to the high fixation of phosphorus as iron and aluminum phosphates under highly acidic conditions. (Vasuki et.al., 1998). The available potassium content of the samples ranged from to kg ha -1. About per cent of the samples were medium in available K 2 O content and the other per cent of the samples were in low in status. The low content of potassium may be attributed to crop removal as a result of continuous cropping as noticed by Satish et. al. (2011). None of the soil samples from all the locations showed high status in any of the primary nutrients. It is mainly attributed to the exhaustive nature of the crop which utilizes large quantities of major nutrients under tropical condition. This is in accordance with Ananthanarayan et. al.(1986a). Status of secondary and micronutrients: The data on secondary and micro nutrient status of all the locations are presented in Table 3. The exchangeable calcium and magnesium contents of soil were found to be marginal to adequate and the calcium and magnesium content of the soil ranged from 2.10 to 6.90 c mol (p + ) kg -1 and 0.40 to 3.30 c mol(p + ) kg -1, respectively. The low content of exchangeable bases may be attributed to the leaching of cations under high Table 1: The physical properties of the soil samples Location Coarse sand( %) Fine Silt( % ) Clay( % ) Bulk Maximum Porosity sand( % ) Density (Mg m -3 ) water holding ( % ) capacity (%) L. Guddekoppa (10) Peekalakoppa (10) Alagerimandri (10) Mankodu (10) Sorekoppa (10) Kajjigebylu (10) Melinasampalli (10) Padavagodu (10) Jambani (10) Kannuru (10) Narasipura (10) Gilalagundi (10) Mumbal (10)

3 58 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH Table 2: The range of chemical properties and the available major nutrients of maize growing areas of Shivamogga Taluks & No. of samples ph(1:2.5) E.C.(dS/m) O.C.(%) Avl. N(kg/ha) Avl.P 2 (kg/ha) Avl. K 2 O (kg/ha) L. Guddekoppa (10) (4.86) (0.35) (0.86) (354.68) (17.73) (125.33) Peekalakoppa (10) (4.85) (0.17) (0.75) (327.58) (18.47) (115.85) Alagerimandri (10) (5.01) (0.18) (0.57) (312.25) (18.32) (148.30) Mankodu (10) (4.74) (0.15) (1.12) (306.32) (17.08) (164.39) Sorekoppa (10) (4.88) (0.14) (1.05) (338.86) (17.99) (142.29) Kajjigebylu (10) (4.76) (0.15) (0.69) (340.91) (19.13) (128.32) Melinasampalli (10) (4.71) (0.15) (1.12) (360.64) (16.80) (132.38) Padavagodu (10) (5.30) (0.15) (1.09) (342.55) (16.93) (143.85) Jambani (10) (4.97) (0.13) (0.95) (368.80) (17.20) (135.83) Kannuru (10) (5.43) (0.22) (0.96) (357.23) (19.29) (134.56) Narasipura (10) (5.79) (0.22) (1.22) (336.32) (18.67) (154.16) Gilalagundi (10) (5.18) (0.17) (0.89) (348.27) (18.14) (153.63) Mumbal (10) (5.53) (0.28) (0.92) (359.49) (18.98) (167.40) Table 3: The range of secondary and micronutrients in the soil samples of maize growing areas of Shivamogga Taluks & No. of Exch. Ca Exch. Mg Avl. S(ppm) Exch. Fe(ppm) Exch. Mn(ppm) Exch. Cu(ppm) Exch. Zn(ppm) Avl. B(ppm) samples c mol (p + ) kg -1 ) (c mol (p + ) kg -1 ) L. Guddekoppa (10) (3.90) (1.52) (13.26) (15.15) (1.37) (0.20) (0.39) (0.37) Peekalakoppa (10) (4.45) (1.36) (12.53) (13.03) (1.67) (0.20) (0.37) (0.37) Alagerimandri (10) (4.23) (1.28) (10.68) (25.68) (1.37) (0.27) (0.48) (0.28) Mankodu (10) (3.75) (1.35) (14.22) (17.36) (1.14) (0.09) (0.42) (0.44) Sorekoppa (10) (4.38) (1.53) (16.33) (16.60) (1.07) (0.14) (0.41) (0.34) Kajjigebylu (10) (4.17) (1.42) (12.87) (16.09) (1.37) (0.24) (0.28) (0.29) Melinasampalli (10) (4.25) (1.18) (15.25) (16.50) (1.42) (0.28) (0.26) (0.31) Padavagodu (10) (4.34) (1.62) (10.27) (16.71) (1.49) (0.20) (0.38) (0.43) Jambani (10) (4.36) (1.45) (14.83) (25.68) (1.27) (0.21) (0.24) (0.39) Kannuru (10) (3.73) (1.12) (15.68) (24.86) (0.88) (0.17) (0.24) (0.37) Narasipura (10) (4.13) (1.65) (17.25) (15.14) (1.40) (0.23) (0.21) (0.42) Gilalagundi (10) (4.08) (1.68) (12.55) (23.13) (1.46) (0.19) (0.39) (0.43) Mumbal (10) (3.77) (1.32) (14.83) (26.37) (1.18) (0.21) (0.22) (0.29)

4 Volume 52 Issue 1, February Fig 1: Fertility evaluation for different soil parameters rainfall situation and light textured nature of the soil. The similar findings were observed by Ananthanarayan et.al.(1986b). The available sulphur content ranged from 6.25 to ppm in Hosanagar and 6.75 to ppm in taluk. The wide variations in the sulphur content may be correlated to the organic matter content of the soils and the use of sulphur containing fertilisers in these locations. The DTPA extractable iron content was high in majority of the soil samples and the content varied from 3.52 to ppm in and 2.68 to ppm in. The Mn content varied from 0.61 to 2.08 ppm and the copper content from 0.67 to 3.86 ppm. The exchangeable zinc content ranged from 0.06 to 0.72 ppm. The hot water soluble boron content ranged from 0.14 to 0.56 ppm.these findings are in confirmity with Singh and Ganeshmurthy (1991) and Bishnu et. al. (2009). Majority of the soil samples showed deficient status with respect to copper, zinc and boron content which sounds high in the nutritional management of these soils (Takkar,1996). Soil fertility rating and nutrient indices:the data on the fertility evaluation for ph, organic carbon, available N, P 2, K 2 O, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn and B and the percentage of samples falling under each category are depicted in bar diagram as shown in Fig.1. It was evident from the above figure that majority of the soils are strongly acidic; high in organic carbon; low in available N, P 2 O; marginal to adequate in exchangeable Ca medium to high in Fe; and low in Cu, Zn and B. The Nutrient Index (NI) value and fertility rating of organic carbon, available N, P 2 O are presented in Table 4. About per cent of the total Table 4: Nutrient indices and fertility ratings for organic carbon and major nutrients Soil parameters Nutrient Index Fertility rating O.C. (%) 2.71 High Available N(kg/ha) 1.64 Low Available P 2 O5(kg/ha) 1.30 Low Available K 2 O(Kg/ha) 1.34 Low samples were high in organic carbon content and consequently have high fertility rating with NI value of This is in similar to the findings of Vishwanth Shetty (2008). Nearly percent of the samples were medium in available N status and per cent and per cent of the samples were low with respect to available P 2 O content, respectively, and consequently low in fertility status. Similar observations were noticed by Ananthanarayan et. al. (1986a). CONCLUSION It can be concluded that the majority of maize growing soils from hilly zone of Shivamogga, Karnataka, viz., and, were sandy loam to sandy clay loam in texture, moderately acidic,non-saline and were high in organic carbon content. The available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium status were low. The soils were marginal to sufficient in exchangeable calcium, magnesium and sulphur. The micronutrients viz., Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu showed wide variation and except Fe, all other micronutrients were found to be deficient in most of the samples. Since maize is an exhaustive crop, it is evident that the nutrient management plays an important factor in maintaining the soil fertility and productivity and to attain high profitability under high rainfall areas of hilly zones of Karnataka. REFERENCES Anantahnarayana,R. and Perur, N.G. (1973). Characterization of some acid soil of Mysore State. Mysore Journal of Agricultural. Sciences,7: Ananthanarayana, R. Reddy, M.N., Mithyantha, M.S. and Perur, N.G. (1986a). Fertility status of the acid soils of Karnataka. Mysore Journal of Agricultural. Sciences, 8:209.

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