Abstract

Detailed soil survey was conducted at Dryland Agricultural Research Station, Chettinad in Sivagangai District of Tamil Nadu. In this study, field wise morphological, physical, physico-chemical characteristics and nutrients status of soils were studied by collecting the surface (0-15cm) and subsurface (15-30cm) soil samples. The soils were moderately deep to deep, dark red to light reddish brown moderately acidic to slightly acidic in reaction and non-saline in nature, low to medium in organic carbon and low in cation exchange capacity with textural variations. The available nutrient status of surface soil samples indicated that the soils were low in N, low to medium in available P and medium to high in available K, deficient to sufficient in available Zn, Cu and B and high in available Fe and Mn. Based on Nutrient Index Values, the soil fertility ratings of the samples were found to be low on N and P, very low in Zn and B in both the surface and subsurface soils respectively. The land evaluation for soil suitability indicated that the soils were moderately suitable for the cultivation of groundnut, redgram, greengram, blackgram, pearlmillet and vegetables such as tomato under irrigated conditions. Similarly under rainfed situations, the soils were moderate to marginally suitable for the cultivation of groundnut, redgram, greengram, blackgram and pearlmillet and moderate to highly suitable for the cultivation of horsegram. Soil productivity can be improved by maintenance of enhanced soil fertility, addition of organic matter, reduced surface crusting and erosion control practices.

Keywords: Soil properties, Laterite soils, Available nutrients, Soil site suitability and crop plan