Abstract

Katrayan hills extend over parts of Salem and South Arcot districts, Tamil Nadu The hill range has been under shifting cultivation for a very long time. However, soils of this range have not been studied in detail. The present paper brings out a study of the morphological, physical and chemical characteristics of the hills in a transect line from summit to vallay bottoms. The results indicated the influence of topography on many of the soil properties such as dapth, texture, drainage and water table. CaCO3 content of the soils is low due to continuous leaching. Reaction is acid to nautral and electrical conductivity is normal Continuous cropping has resulted in low organic matter and total P2O5 content. Total K20 is medium to high and CEC is medium in the soils.

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