Distribution and Indexation of Plant Available Nutrients of District Layyah, Punjab Pakistan
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American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry 2015; 3(2): 16-20 Published online March 2, 2015 (http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ajaf) doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20150302.11 ISSN: 2330-8583 (Print); ISSN: 2330-8591 (Online) Distribution and Indexation of Plant Available Nutrients of District Layyah, Punjab Pakistan Muhammad Ashraf 1, Fayyaz Ahmad Tahir 1, Muhammad Nasir 2, Muhammad Bilal Khan 3, * , Farah Umer 1 1Soil and Water Testing Laboratory Layyah, Punjab Pakistan 2Soil and Water Testing Laboratory Multan, Punjab Pakistan 3Soil and Water Testing Laboratory Muzaffar Garh, Punjab Pakistan Email address: [email protected] (M. B. Khan) To cite this article: Muhammad Ashraf, Fayyaz Ahmad Tahir, Muhammad Nasir, Muhammad Bilal Khan, Farah Umer. Distribution and Indexation of Plant Available Nutrients of District Layyah, Punjab Pakistan. American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry. Vol. 3, No. 2, 2015, pp. 16-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20150302.11 Abstract: During last five years 2008-09 to 2012-13, a study was conducted to assess the fertility and salinity/sodicity status of district Layyah for the provision of guidelines to farmers and researchers for better crop production. Representative soil samples received/collected from farmers’ fields were analyzed for texture, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, organic matter (O.M) and available phosphorus (P). A total of 31032 soil samples were collected from all tehsils of Layyah district, (15768 samples from tehsil Layyah, 7650 from Karor Lal Eisen, and 7614 from Chaubara). These soil samples were tested in Soil and Water Testing Laboratory Layyah and fertilizer recommendations were served to farmers according to soil and crop. The results showed that, soil texture of 91.18% soil samples was sandy loam (light), 8.53% loam (medium) and 0.29% clayey (heavy). About 99.42% soil samples had EC values within the normal range (< 4 dS m -1) while 0.68% had (> 4 dS m -1). The pH of 88.43% soil samples was up to 8.5 whereas 11.57% had >8.5. Organic matter content of 94.20% soil sample was poor (<0.86%), 5.25% medium (0.86-1.29%) and only 0.55% adequate (>1.29%). Available phosphorus of 67.75% soil sample was poor, (<7 mg kg -1), 25.00% medium (7.1-14 mg kg -1) while only 7.25% adequate (>14 mg kg -1). Awareness camps, rallies and training programmes can be arranged for farmers regarding the benefits of soil and water testing, balanced use of chemical fertilizers and use of organic agriculture in crop production in improving soil fertility and nutrition status. Keywords: Soil analysis, EC, pH, OM, P, Layyah, Nutrient Index the accessibility of fertile soil and water. Continuous 1. Introduction cropping was only feasible where the soils were rich in Land is a basic unit, which is used to perform human nutrients or fertility was regenerated through flood-borne activities like forestry, horticulture and agriculture. In the sediments. While these days the main constraint to grow biotic ecological meaning land is the source of global bio- crops is inadequate moisture, due to limited water supplies diversity by specifying biological territory and genetic and erratic rainfall, economic crop production is not feasible material for vegetation, flora and fauna and micro-organisms, without an adequate supply of the fundamental nutrients, above and below Land (FAO, 1997). Relating to water a either from the soil or added as fertilizers. During the past healthy soil can perform a number of vital functions like three four decades, when chemical fertilizers began to be store water and nutrients, helps to regulate water flow, and used extensively, has established the essential need of neutralize all kinds of pollutants. Soil production capacity is fertilizer nitrogen N in all regions specially in drought limited and these limits are laid down by intrinsic stressed areas. Likely, the calcareous nature of most soils in characteristics, agro-ecological settings, apply and the region such that phosphorus P fertility is low, and thus management (FAO, 1993). without added P fertilizer sufficient crop yields are not Historically, mainly the enlargement of the various possible. Fortunately, other important crop growth nutrients civilizations flourished in the Middle East was dictating by such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sulfur are well 17 Muhammad Ashraf et al. : Distribution and Indexation of Plant Available Nutrients of District Layyah, Punjab Pakistan supplied in less fertile soils (J. Ryan, 2004). Table 1. Criteria of parameters used for classification. Most of the soils in Pakistan have poor status of available (a) Soil texture plant nutrients and cannot support optimum levels of crop Saturation percentage Textural class productivity (Rafiq, 1996; Ahmed and Rashid, 2003). The 0-20 Sand primary objective of soil testing is to help making soil test 21-30 Sandy loam based fertilizer use recommendations. It helps in applying 31-45 Loam different nutrients in balanced ratio so as to get maximum 46-65 Clay loam efficiency of the applied fertilizers and profitable crop 65-100 Clay production (Motsara, 2002). Soil test measure some fraction (b) Soil salinity/sodicity of total supply of nutrients in the soil and indicate its available nutrient level. The higher soil test values mean Status pH EC (dS/m) higher level of nutrients and thus the lower will be the need Normal (salts free) < 8.5 < 4 for fertilization and vise-versa . There is a network of Soil and Saline < 8.5 > 4 Saline sodic > 8.5 > 4 Water Testing Laboratories in the country to provide advisory Sodic > 8.5 < 4 service to farmers on soil and water management (Ahmed and Rashid, 2003). (c) Nutrient status The Layyah District has an extremely hot climate. Status Organic matter (%) Olsen P (mg/kg soil) Maximum temperature in the summer goes up to 53 Degree Poor < 0.86 0-8 Celsius. The temperature in winter is low due to the area's Satisfactory 0.86-1.29 8-15 nearness to Koh-Suleman range of mountains. The Chaubara Adequate > 1.29 > 15 Tehsil is almost barren and consists of forest and sand dunes. Source: Malik et al 1984. It lies between 30–45 to 31–24 degree north latitudes and 70– 44 to 71–50 degree east longitudes. The area consists of a semi-rectangular block of sandy land between the Indus and 3. Results Chenab rivers in Sindh Sagar Doaba. The tehsils of Layyah 3.1. Soil Texture and Karor Lal Esan are developed agriculturally compared to other tehsils of the distract but still have are large tracks of The results (Table 2) showed that 91.18 percent soils in sand dunes and uncultivated land. The Indus River passes Layyah district were sandy loam and 8.53 percent soils were from north to south on the western side of the district and loam in texture. Heavy textured soils (clay loam) were touches Dera Ghazi Khan. Cotton, wheat, sugarcane, gram, noticed at few sites (0.29 %). In tehsil Layyah, 88.16 percent watermelon, citrus and green chilly is the main agricultural soils were sandy loam and 11.49 percent soils were loam. In product of district Layyah. The main objective of this study tehsils Karor Lal Esan and Chaubara, 91.39 and 97.20 was to compile information on soil fertility and soil salinity/ percent soils were sandy loam, respectively. In Karor Lal sodicity status of district Layyah on the basis of soil samples Esan, 8.16 percent soils were loam and 2.79 percent soils analyzed during the last five years 2008-2013. were loam in tehsil Chaubara. This shows that soils are quite heterogeneous and variable in texture. Rashid (1993) 2. Material and Methods reported that the soils in Chakwal district were predominantly light textured as sandy loam and sandy clay This study was conducted in Soil and Water Testing loam were the dominant textured classes. The dissected old Laboratory,Layyah, Pakistan during 2008-2013. A total of loess and alluvial terraces in the area have predominantly silt 31032 soil samples were collected from all tehsils of Layyah and silt loam texture, formed from parent material loess, district, (15768 samples from tehsil Layyah, 7650 from Karor residual material, old river alluvium and sub recent out wash. Lal Eisen, and 7614 from Chaubara). These samples were About 31% soils are sandy to sandy loam in texture and the collected from 0-15 and 15-30 cm depths for crops and remaining are highly eroded (Tager and Bhatti, 2001). vegetables while 0-15, 15-30, 30-60, 60-90, 90-120 and 120- 150 cm depths for fruit plants and orchards. Samples were 3.2. Dissolved Salts (Electrical Conductivity) air-dried, ground and passed through a 2 mm sieve and Dissolved salts in soils create hindrance in normal nutrient analysed for physical and chemical properties. Soil texture uptake process by imbalance of ions, antagonistic and was determined by measuring saturation percentage of soils osmotic effects. Normally for research purpose, electrical (Malik et al., 1984), electrical conductivity (EC) by preparing conductivity of soil extract (ECe) is used for total dissolved 1:10 soil and water suspension (Soil Salinity Lab. Staff, salts but for assessing soil salinity and sodicity for advisory 1954), pH (Schofield and Taylor, 1955), organic matter purpose, a soil-water suspension of EC 1:10 is normally used (Nelson and Sommers, 1982), available P (Olsen and as described in the manual of Malik et al. 1984. Various Sommers, 1982) and K (Helmke and Sparks, 1996). The data workers used the same method for electrical conductivity. were subjected to statistical analysis using MS Excel 2007 However, EC1:10 is converted to ECe by multiplying with package. The criteria used for the classification is given in the factor Saturation percentage/100 as described by US Table 1 as described by Malik et al 1984 .