Vol. 5, Issue 1 (2017)
Altitudinal Variations of Soil Physico-Chemical Properties in Pear Orchards of district Pulwama under Temperate Jammu and Kashmir, India
Author(s): Sartaj A. Wani, G. R. Najar, F. Akhter, M. S. Wani and S. A. Mir
Abstract: An in-depth study of soil physico-chemical properties across different elevations in pear growing orchards provides information pertinent to soil-site suitability for production of fruit crops. Hence, the present investigation was undertaken to know altitudinal variations in soil physico-chemical properties in temperate climate. For this, soils from pear growing orchards were collected from three different physiographic altitudes viz. Low Altitude (<1600mts.amsl), Mid Altitude (1600-1800mts.amsl) and High Altitude (>1800mts.amsl) in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. Interestingly, sand percentage in soil was significantly high at high altitude and decreased gradually with the altitude. In contrast to sand level, silt and clay concentration was high at site I and decreased significantly (p<0.05) with increasing altitude. Significantly (p<0.05) lower bulk density (BD) at higher altitude and higher particle density (PD) at higher altitude were observed. Highest porosity was recorded at higher altitude. There were a significantly (p<0.05) higher OC content, OM, exchangeable cations and base saturation at higher altitude pear orchards whereas highest pH and CEC at lower altitude. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis showed significantly negative correlation (p<0.01, p<0.05) of clay, silt, BD, PD, pH and CEC whereas positive correlation of sand and OC (p<0.01) with altitude. Hence, these findings suggest the altitudinal variations in soil physico-chemical properties.
Pages: 162-166 | 1515 Views 140 Downloads
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How to cite this article:
Sartaj A. Wani, G. R. Najar, F. Akhter, M. S. Wani, S. A. Mir. Altitudinal Variations of Soil Physico-Chemical Properties in Pear Orchards of district Pulwama under Temperate Jammu and Kashmir, India. Int J Chem Stud 2017;5(1):162-166.
