GIS Interpolation and Mapping of Soil Physicochemical Properties in Deep Medium Black Soils of Established Citrus Orchards
Seema Bhardwaj *
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, 462038. India and Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Gwalior, 470042, India.
Sanjib Kumar Behera
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, 462038. India.
S. K. Sharma
Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Gwalior, 470042, India.
S. K. Trivedi
Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Gwalior, 470042, India.
Rahul Mishra
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, 462038. India.
Vimal Shukla
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, 462038. India.
Yogesh Sikaniya
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, 462038. India.
Akanksha Sikarwar
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, 462038. India.
Sashi S Yadav
Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Gwalior, 470042, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Soil properties are an important factor for orchard establishment, precise nutrient management and sustainable production of fruit crops. Therefore, it is important to assess the spatial distribution of fundamental soil properties in well-established orchards. Hence an attempt has been made to assess the extent of soil properties and its spatial distribution in citrus orchards in medium black soils of Madhya Pradesh. The present study was conducted for the assessment of the spatial distribution of physicochemical properties viz. pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and soil organic carbon (SOC) of citrus orchards in medium-deep black soils of India. Results revealed that soil pH ranged from 6.83-8.84 (mean 7.80), soil EC varied from 0.07-0.34dS m-1 (mean 0.18 dS m-1) and soil organic carbon ranged from 0.13-0.89% (mean 0.47%) in 0-20 cm of surface soil layer. Geostatistical analysis showed that the slope of the prediction function of best-fit model (exponential) for soil pH, EC and SOC was 0.31, 0.22 and 0.77, respectively. The corresponding values of root mean square error (RMSE) were 0.35, 0.03, and 0.14. Interpolation of soil properties indicated that 89.2 % area had soil pH between 7.20 to 8.00, 83.4 % area had soil EC between 0.10 to 0.20 dS m-1, while>90 % area had SOC content ranged from 0.25 to 0.75%. Geo-statistical analysis revealed that spatial dependency was moderate for pH and strong spatial dependency was estimated for EC and SOC content. Based on RMSE and slope of prediction function, an exponential model was best-fit model in ordinary kriging for interpolation of measured soil properties.
Keywords: Geo-statistics, Madhya Pradesh region, soil pH, soil EC, soil organic carbon, Spatial dependency