Acknowl

edgement
Thesuccessandfi
naloutcomeoft hi
sproj
ectr
equi
reda
l
otofguidanceandassistancefr
om manypeopleandI
am extr
emelyfort
unatetohav egott hi
sallal
ongthe
complet
ionofmyprojectwork.
Irespectand t hankDrJ S Negif orgivi
ng me an
oppor
tunit
yt o do the proj
ectwor k“SOIL ANALYSIS
FROM DIFFERENTPARTSOFPI THORAGARHDI STRICT”
andpr ovi
dingsupportandgui dancewhichmademe
completethepr
ojectontime.
Iowemypr ofoundgratitudetothe“SOILDEPARTMENT
PITHORAGARH” ,especiall
yMr .BhuwanChandr aTiwari
whohel pedmepr ovi
dingal lthenecessaryinf
ormati
on
fordevelopi
ngagoodappr oachandr esul
tont hesoil
analy
sis.
Iam thankf ult
oandf ort
unateenoughtogetconstant
encouragement,suppor
tandguidancefr
om al
lTeaching
staf
fsofDepar tmentofchemi calsci
encePit
horagarh
which helped me in successf
ull
y compl
eti
ng ofmy
proj
ectwor k.

Pr
amod
Kumar

1
 Cont
ent
s

ABSTRACT

I
NTRODUCTI
ON-
SOI
L

SOI
LTYPES:I
NDI
A

SOI
L

TYPES:
UTTARAKHAND

SOI
LANALYSI
S

MACRONUTRI
ENTS

AND

MI
CRONUTRI
ENTS

SOI
LANALYSI
SFROM

DI
FFERENTPARTSOF

PI
THORAGARH

RESULT AND

2
I
NFERENCE

ACI
DIC SOI
L I
N

PI
THORAGARH

CAUSESANALYSI
S

EFFECTS OF ACI
DIC

SOI
L

STEPSTOBETAKEN

Bi
bli
ogr
aphy

3
ABSTRACT
Soilanal ysisist odet ermi nebot ht heamountofeach
nutri
entt hatisi mmedi at
el yav ailableandt heamount
thatcanbecomeav ail
abledur ingt hel if
eoft hecr op.
Besidei tnut r
ientswhi char enotav ai
lableorav ailablein
l
ow amount coul d be suppl ied t o t he soi lt hus
compl etingt hepl antr equirement .Inmanydev eloping
countries,f er
til
izerrecommendat ionsmustbemadeby
soilanal yses.Whent her egi oni sv ariablei nt ermsof
soil
s,weat her,andmagni tudeofr esponset ofertili
zer,a
recommendat ionislikelytoi nvolveahi ghdegr eeofr i
sk
forthef armer .Apr opersoi lanal ysishel pst oanal yze
nutri
ent swhi char eav ail
ablet opl antandwhi chmustbe
supplied t ot hem f orapr oduct i
v ecr op . Though soi l
vari
ation can beseen wi thin a smal lregi on a smal l
analysis ofPI THORAGARH soi lhas been done wi th
major macr onutri
ent s present .Pr incipalcomponent
analysiswasf oundt obehi ghlysuggest i
vei nanal yzing
soiltestdat a on whi ch a r ati
onalf ertil
izernut ri
ents

4
recommendat
ioncanbemadef orasust
ainabl
esoi
l
fert
il
it
ymanagementr
eignandt
hecropwhi
chcanbe
grown.

KEY-
WORDS:Soi
l
,Soi
lTy
pes,Soi
lAnal
ysi
s,Soi
lph,
Aci
dicSoi
l
.

I
NTRODUCTI
ON
Whati
sSoi
lAnal
ysi
s?
Soi
lanal ysi
sist odeterminebot htheamount
ofeachnut ri
entt hatisimmediat el
yavai
lable
andtheamountt hatcanbecomeav ai
lable
dur
ingt helif
eoft hecrop.Besideitnutr
ients
which arenotav ai
l
ableorav ailabl
einl ow
amountcoul d besuppl i
ed tot hesoilt hus
completingtheplantrequirement.
Experi
mentsmustbedonet oshow t hatt he
resul
tsoft heanal
ysisconsistent
lyindicate
theamountofnutri
entthatacropwillactuall
y
getfrom thesoi
l.Oncet hemet hodandi ts
i
nterpret
ati
onareshownt ober el
iable,they

5
canthenbeusedtopredictwhetherornota
cropwil
lneedaddit
ionalnutr
ientsandhow
muchneedtobeadded.
Thenumber sonasoi lr eportdonoti ndi
cat
e
theexactamountofnut r
ientsavailabletoa
crop,butwheninter
pretedcor rect
ly,theygiv
e
adescript
ionofthesoil
f erti
l
ity
.

SOI
L
Thesoi lmaybedef i
nedast helif
esuppor ti
nglayer
consisti
ngofi norganicandor ganicsubstance.It
i
st heunconsolidatedmi neralmatterthathasbeen
subjected t o, and i nfl
uenced by , time
environmentalfact
or ssuchascl imate,topogr
aphy,
erosionetc
Majorsoil t
ypei nINDIAi ncl
ude( ont hebasisof
genesis,
Thesoi l
si nt hehi l
lshav edev elopedf r
om r ocks
l
ikegranite,gneiss,phy l
l
ite,shalesandsandst one,
etc.undercoolandmoi stcl i
mat e.Soilsofthehi l
l
regi
onar echar act
erizedbyt heirdiversit
yduet o
parentrock,el evat
ion,slopeandaspect .Theyar e
generall
yshal low,gr avell
y,impr egnatedwi thun-
weatheredf ragment sofpar entrocks, occurr
ingas

6
at hinlayerofaf ewcent imet ersathi ghel evat i
ons
toabout2met er si nt hev al l
ey sordepr essi ons.
Theyar eneut raltosl i
ght lyacidi cinnatur eatl ower
elevat i
onsandhi ghlyaci dicathi gherel evat i
ons
wher er ainfallishi gh.Thehi llsoi l
sbel ongmost ly
toi nceptisolandal fi
solor der sandar epr onet o
sev erewat ererosi onduet ost eepsl opeandhi gh
rainfall
.Thesoi l
sofbhabharar edeep, wel ldrained,
neut ralorsl ightly al kali
ne,coar se loamy /f ine
l
oamy / sandy and wi t
h or wi t
hout f ree l ime
(calcareous/ non- calcareous) .Atpl aces,deep,
excessi vely dr ained soi l
s occur . The maj or
const rai
nt sofsoi l
sofpi edmentpl ainar et hel ow
moi sturehol dingcapaci t
yandl i
mi tedrootgr owt h
zone.Thesoi lsoft araiar ev erydeep, welldr ained,
sli
ght lyal kali
ne and coar se l oamy /fine l oamy .
These soi l
s ar er i
ch i n or ganic mat t
er,pl ant
nut r
ients and hav ef ai
rly good wat er hol ding
capaci ty.Atpl aces t he pr oblems ofwet ness,
ov erf
lowsand er osion ar eal so obser ved.Tar ai
soi l
sar eoneoft hemostpr oduct ivesoi l
si nt he
count ry.
Av ar
iet
yofsoi
li
sf oundinutt
arakhanddueto
dif
fer
ent geographical
, al ti
tudinal and
veget
ati
oncover
.Inshortcanbecl assi
fi
edas:

7
Hi
mal
ayanf
oot
hil
l
/ter
aisoi
l
Found i
n nar
row zone i
n Ut
tar
akhand f
rom
Dehr
adunt
oDeor
i.

Thi
ssoi
lhasahi
ghcont
entofor
gani
cmat
terand
ni
tr
ogenous compounds,but l
acks phosphat
e
compounds

For
estsoi
l

Soilcat
egoryisfoundacrosstheHimal
ayas
underconi
fer
ousanddeciduousfor
estsi
nthe
l
owerSiwali
krange.
Thetopsoi
lofthesoilprofi
l
ei sveryr
ichin
humicmatt
erformedbyt wi
gs,bark,l
eaves
andneedl
es.Animportantv ar
iet
yoff or
est
soi
li
sbrownfor
estsoi
l
.
Podzol
s

Theyareaclassofi nf
erti
leaci
dicsoi l
s
thatdev
elopunderconi
ferousforest
si n
humidtemperat
e condi
tions,wheret he

8
rat
eofpr eci
pit
ati
onexceedst
her
ateof
evapor
ati
on.
Podzol
sf oundintheHi mal
ayascanbe
divi
ded i
ntot wo gr
oups:iron podzol
s
(commoni nGarhwal
-Kumaon)andhumic
podzol
s.
Redandbl
acksoi
l
s

Thesesoilsaref
oundini
sol
atedar
easi
n
Utt
arakhand(Gar
hwalr
egi
on)
Thesear
ef or
med fr
om aci
d and basi
c
i
gneousr
ocksli
kegr
anit
eandbasal
t.
They ar efurthergr ouped i
ntor ed soil
domi nanttype,whi ch islime def i
cient
,
carbonatef ree and l i
ghttextured and
black soil domi nant type whi ch i s
compar ati
vel
yl essclayeyanddef i
cientin
l
ime.Redandbl acksoi l
saredeficientin
nutri
entsl i
ke phosphat e,nit
rogen,l i
me

9
andhumus.
Deser
t(ar
id)soi
l
s

Thesesoi
l
sar
efoundi
nthecol
ddeser
t
pocket
sofnor
ther
nUt
tar
akhand.

Deser
tsoi
l
sar
epal
ebr
ownt
oyel
l
owi
sh
br
owni
ncol
ourandar
einf
ert
il
e,l
acki
ng
nut
ri
ent
s l
i
ke ni
tr
ogen, phosphor
ous,
pot
assi
um,
sul
furandzi
nc.

Mount
ainandhi
l
lsoi
l
s

I
tisacol
l
ect
ivenamegi
vent
oanumber
ofsoi
lty
pesoccur
ri
ngatv
eryhi
ghal
ti
tude
ar
eas undersub-
tr
opi
caland t
emper
ate
condi
ti
onsunderawi
dev
ari
etyoff
orest
s.
Thesesoi
l
shav
ebeent
ermedasdabar
soi
l
sinsomepar
tsofGar
hwal
-Kumaon.

10
Hi
ghal
ti
tudemeadowsoi
l

Thi
s soi
lty
pe i
sfound i
n hi
gh al
ti
tude
meadowsf
oundneart
hesnowl
i
nei
nal
l
par
tsoft
hehi
gherandt
ransHi
mal
ayas.
Negl
i
gibl
erai
nfal
loccur
sint
hesear
eas
andt
hemai
nfor
m ofpr
eci
pit
ati
oni
ssnow.
Thesoi
lfoundher
eisv
eryt
hinandf
ragi
l
e.

ALLUVI
ALSOI
L

Al
ongt
hepl
ainsofgangat
icr
egi
on,
ter
rai
n
r
egi
on.

SOMEOTHERMETHODOF
CLASSI
FICATI
ON
SOI
LCLASSI
FICATI
ONUTTARAKHAND

11
Soi
lofTar
ai

andBhabar

r
egi
on

Gr
eyFor
est
s

Soi
l

Dar
kGr
eySoi
l

Aci
dic/
Alkal
i
ne

For
est
sSoi
l

Hi
l
lyGr
eySoi
l

Hi
mani
Soi
l

Soi
lcov
ered

wi
thsnow
12
 Soi
lzones Al
ti
tude Cli
mati
c Ty
pesof
(m) Zones soi
l

1 Shi
wal
i
k 300- Moi
st-
Dry Jal
odsoi
l
andDoon 900
Area

2 Lower 900- Dry- Grey

Hi
mal
ayas 1800 Temper
ate f
orests
soil

3 Upper 1800- Moi

st- Grey
Hi
mal
ayas 3000 Temperat
e Deciduou
s
soil

4 Al
pine 3000& Moist
- Hi
mani
ar
eas above Temperat
e soi
l

13
 METHODOFSOI
LTESTI
NG

pH OFTHESOI
L
ThesoilpHisthenegati
velogar
it
hm oft
heact
ive
hydr
ogenion(H+)concent
rati
on.
I
ti st he measur e ofsoilbasici
ty,acidi
ty or
neutral
ity.
SoilpHi nfluencest
oagr eatext
enttheavail
abi
li
ty
ofnut r
ients,alsoaf
fect
ing micr
obi
alpopulat
ionin
thesoil.
Nut
ri
entel
ement
sareusual
l
yav
ail
abl
eint
hepH
r
angeof5.
7to7.
5.

EXPERI
MENTTODETERMI
NETHEPHOF
THESOIL
Appar
atus

pHmet er
Pi
pette
Beaker
Glassr
od

14
Reagent

Buff
ersolut
ionsofpH4, 7and9
Cal
cium chlor
idesol
ution(
0.01M)
:Dissol
ve14.
7g
CaCl2.2H2O in 10L ofwat ert
o obtai
n 0.
01M
sol
ution.

Pr
ocedur
e

Calibrate t he pH met er
,
using2buf fersol utions, one
shoul d be t he buf ferwi th
neut r
alpH ( 7.0) and t he
other shoul d be chosen
basedont her angeofpHi n
thesoi l.
Taket hebuf fersol ut i
oni nt hebeaker.Insertthe
electrode al ternatelyi nt he
pHMETER
beaker s containing 2 buf f
er
solutions and adj ust t he pH.The i nstrument
i
ndi catingpH aspert hebuf fer
sisr eadyt otest
sampl es.
Wei gh10. 0g ofsoi lsampl ei nto 50 or100 ml
beaker ,add 20mlofCaCl 2
solution( usewat erinst eadof
CaCl 2sol uti
ont hroughoutt heprocedurei fwater

15
i
susedasasuspensi onmedium) .
Al
low t hesoi
lt oabsorbCaCl 2solut
ionwithout
st
irr
ing,thent
horoughlyst
irfor10secondusinga
gl
assr od.
St
irthesuspensionfor30mi nutesandrecor
dt he
pHont hecali
bratedpHmet er
.

Theacidicsoi
lsneedtobel i
medbefor
e
theycanbeputtonor malagri
cul
tur
al
product
ion.Thealkal
isoil
sneedtobe
treat
edwithgypsum toremovethe
excessi
vecontentofsodium.

TABLEFORpHRANGEANDSOI
L
RATI
NG
16
 ph SOIL
RANGE RATI
NG
1<4.
6 Ext
remel
y
aci
d
24.
6-5.
5 Str
ongl
y
aci
d
35.
6-6.
5 Moder
atel
y
aci
d
46.
6-6.
9 Sli
ght
ly
aci
d
57.
0 Neut
ral

67.
1-8.
5 Moderat
ely
al
kal
ine

7>8.
5 St
rongl
y
al
kal
ine
ORGANI
CCARBON

Or
gani
ccar
boncanbeest
imat
edbyv
olumet
ri
c
17
method.Ot
hertechni
queincludel
ossofweighton
i
gnit
ioncanbeusedasadi rectmeasur
eofthe
or
ganicmatterandcol
ori
met ri
cmethods.

Vol
umet
ri
cmet
hod

Appar
atus

Conicalf
lask-500ml
Pipett
es-2,10and20ml
Burett
e-50ml
Reagents

Phosphoricaci d–85%
Sodium fl
uoridesol uti
on–2%
Sulphuri
cacid–96%cont aini
ng1. 25%Ag2SO4
Standar
d0. 1667M K2Cr 2O7:Di ssolve49. 04gof
K2Cr2O7inwat eranddi l
uteto1litr
e.
Standar
d 0.5M FeSO4 sol uti
on:Di ssolve 140 g
ferr
ous Sulphat ei n 800 mlwat er
,add 20 ml
concent
ratedH2SO4andmakeupt hev olumeto1
l
itr
e
Diphenyl
ami nei ndicat
or:Dissol
ve0. 5gr eagent
gradedi
pheny lami nein20ml waterand100ml
concent
ratedH2SO4.
Pr
ocedur
e

Weigh1.
0goft hepr
epar
edsoi
lsampl
ein500ml
coni
calf
lask.

18
Add10ml of0.1667M K2Cr 2O7sol uti
onand20ml
concent r
atedH2SO4cont ainingAg2SO4.
Mi xthoroughlyandal l
owt her eacti
ont ocomplet
e
for30mi nutes.
Dilutether eactionmi xturewi th200mlwat erand
10ml H3PO4.
Add 10 ml of NaF sol uti
on and 2 ml of
diphenylami neindicator.
Titrat
et he sol ution with st andard 0.5M FeSO4
soluti
ont oabr il
liantgreencol our
.
Abl ankwi thoutsampl ei srunsi multaneousl
y.

Cal
cul
ati
on

Si
nceonegram ofsoi
li
sused,
thi
sequat
ion
si
mpli
fi
esto:

19
Wher e
S=ml FeSO4sol uti
onr equi
redf orbl
ank
T=ml FeSO4sol uti
onr equi
redf orsoi
lsampl e
3=EqW ofC( weightofCi s12, val
encyis4,
hence
EqW i s12÷4=3. 0)
0.003=wei ghtofC( 1000ml 0.1667M K2Cr 2O7=
3gC.Thus, 1ml 0.1667M
K2Cr2O7=0. 003gC)
OrganicCarbonr ecov eryisestimatedtobeabout
77%.
Therefore,
act ualamountofor ganiccarbon(Y)wil
l
be:
Percentageval ueofor ganiccarbonx1. 3(100/77)
PercentOrgani cmat ter=
Yx1. 724(organicmat tercont
ains58%or ganic
carbon,hence100/ 58=1. 724)

Av
ail
abl
ePot
assi
um

Potassium presentint hesoilisextr

acted wi
th
neutr
alammoni um acetateof1molari
ty.Thisis
consideredaspl antavail
ableKinthesoils.I
tis
esti
mat edwit
ht hehelpofflamephot
ometer.

Fl
amephot
omet
eri
cmet
hod

20
Appar
atus

Multi
pleDispenseroraut
omat
icpi
pet
te–25ml
Fl
asksandbeaker s-100ml
Fl
amePhot ometer
Reagents

Mol ar neut ral ammoni um acet ate soluti

on:
Dissol ve77gofammoni um acet ate(NH4C2H3O2)
i
n1l itr
eofwat er.
Checkt hepHwi t
hbromot hy molblueorwi t
hapH
met er .If not neutral
,add ei ther ammoni um
hydroxi de oracet i
c acid as pert he need t o
neut rali
zei
ttopH7. 0.
Standar d potassium solution:Dissolve 1.
908 g
pureKCli n1l it
reofdistil
ledwat er.Thi
ssol ut
ion
cont ains1mgK/ ml.Take100mloft hissolut
ion
and di l
utet o1l i
tre with ammoni um acetate
solution.Thisgives0.1mgK/ mlasst ocksoluti
on.

Workingpotassi
um standardsoluti
ons:Take0,5,
10,15and20ml ofthestocksoluti
onseparatel
y
anddilut
eeachto100ml withtheM ammoni um
acetat
esoluti
on.Thesesolutionscontai
n0,5,10,
15and20μgK/ ml,r
espectively
.

Pr
ocedur
e

21
Preparati
on of t he
Standard Cur ve:Set
up the fl
ame
photomet er by
atomizing 0 and 20
μg K/ ml sol utions
alt
ernativelyto0and
100 r
eadi ng.
Atomize i ntermedi at e working standard
soluti
ons and r ecor dt he readings.Plot
these r eadings agai nst the r espect
ive
potassium cont ents and connect t he
points wi t
h a st r
aightl ine to obtaina
standardcur ve.
Extr
action:Add 25 mlof
FLAMEPHOTOMETER
the ammoni um
acetateext ractantt oconi calfl
askf i
xedin
awoodenr ackcont aini
ng5gsoi lsampl e.
Shake f or5 mi nut es
andf i
lt
er .
Determinepot ashi nthe
fi
ltr
atewi ththef l
amephot ometer.

FLAME

22
 PHOTOMETER

ESTI
MATI
ONOFPHOSPHORUS
Br
ay’
smet
hod

Appar
atus

Spectrophotometer
Pipett
e-2ml ,5ml,
10mland20ml
Bearkers/f
lasks-25ml
,50ml,100ml
and500ml

Reagent
s

Br
ayExt
ract
antNo1(
0.03M NH4Fi
n0.
025M HCL)
:
Di
ssol
ve2.
22 g ofNH4Fi
n200 mlofdi
sti
l
led
wat
er,f
il
ter
,andaddt
othef
il
tr
ate1.
8li
tr
esof
wat
ercont
aini
ng4mlofconcent
rat
edHCl
,make
upt
hev
olumet
o2l
i
treswi
thdi
sti
l
ledwat
er.
Mol
ybdat
ereagent
:Di
ssol
ve1.
50g(
NH4)
2MoO4
i
n300mldi
sti
l
ledwat
er.Addt
hesol
uti
ont
o350
mlof10M HClsol
uti
on gr
adual
l
ywi
th st
ir
ri
ng.
Di
l
utet
o1l
i
trewi
thdi
sti
l
ledwat
er.

23
Stannous chl or
ide soluti
on ( Stock Solut
ion):
Dissolve 10 g SnCl 2 2H2O i n 25 ml of
concentratedHCl.Addapi eceofpur emetall
i
ct i
n
andst or
et hesol
uti
oninagl assstopper
edbottle.
Stannous chlori
de soluti
on ( Worki
ng Solut
ion):
Dil
ute 1 mloft he st
ock sol ut
ion ofstannous
chlor
idet o66.0mlwithdistil
ledwaterj
ustbef or
e
use.

Pr
ocedur
e

Prepar at
ion of t he St andard Cur ve: Dissol ve
0.1916gofpur edryKH2PO4i n1l i
tr
eofdi stil
led
wat er
.Thi ssol ut
ioncont ains0. 10mgP2O5/ ml .
Preser vet hi
s as ast ock st andar d soluti
on of
phosphat e.Take10mloft hissoluti
onanddi lutei t
to1l i
trewithdisti
ll
edwat er.Thissol uti
oncont ains
1μgP2O5/ ml( 0.
001mgP2O5/ ml )
.Take1,2,4,6
and10mloft hissolut
ioninsepar ate25mlf lasks.
Addt oeach, 5mloft heext ract
antsol ution,5mlof
the mol ybdater eagentand di l
ut e with distil
led
wat ert o about20 ml .Add 1 mldi lute SnCl 2
soluti
on, shakeagainanddi lut
etot he25mlmar k.
After10 mi nutes,read t he blue col ouroft he
soluti
on on t he spectrophot omet erat660 nm
wav elength.Plottheabsor bancer eadingagai nst
μgP2O5andj ointhepoints.

24
Extract i
on: Add50ml oftheBr ay’
sext ractantNo.
1t ot he100ml conicalfl
askcont aining5gsoi l
sampl e.Shakef or5mi nutesandf i
lt
er.
Dev elopmentofcol our
:Take5mloft hefil
tered
soil ext ractwi t
h a bul b pipettei n a 25 ml
measur ing flask;del i
ver5 mloft hemol ybdate
reagentwi thanaut omat i
cpi pette,dilutetoabout
20mlwi t
hdi sti
ll
edwat er,shakeandadd1mlof
thedi luteSnCl 2sol uti
onwi thabul bpi pette.Fil
lto
the25mlmar kandshaket hor oughly .Readt he
blue col or af ter 10 mi nutes on t he
spect rophot ometerat660 nm wav elength aft
er
setting t he instrumentt o zer o witht he blank
prepar edsi milarl
ybutwi thoutthesoi l.

Cal
cul
ati
on

Where,
Wei
ghtoft
hesoilt
aken=5g
Vol
umeoftheextr
act=50ml
Vol
umeoftheextr
acttakenforest
imat
ion=5ml
Vol
umemadef orest
imat i
on(di
lut
ion=5times)=
25ml
AmountofP obser v
ed i nthe sample on t
he

25
st
andardcur
ve=A(μg).
Wt.of1haofsoi lupt
oadept
hof22cm i
s
t
akenas2mill
i
onkg.

ESTI
MATI
ONOFTOTALNI
TROGEN
Kj
(eldahl
Met
hod)
Tot
alNi
ncl
udesal
lfor
msofi
nor
gani
cN,l
i
keNH4
–N,NO3 -
N and al
so NH2 (
Urea)–N,and t
he
or
gani
cN compoundsl
i
kepr
otei
ns,ami
noaci
ds
andot
herder
ivat
ives.Dependi
ngupont
hef
orm of
Npr
esenti
napar
ti
cul
arsampl
e,speci
fi
cmet
hod
i
stobeadopt
edf
orget
ti
ngt
het
otal
nit
rogenv
alue.
Whi
l
etheor
gani
cN mat
eri
alscanbeconv
ert
ed
i
ntosi
mpl
einor
gani
cammoni
acal
sal
tbydi
gest
ion
wi
th sul
phur
ic aci
d,f
orr
educi
ng ni
tr
ates i
nto

26
ammoni
acal f
orm, use of sal
i
cyl
i
c aci
d or
Dev
arda’
sal
l
oyi
smadei
nthemodi
fi
edKj
eldahl
met
hodAtt
heendofdi
gest
ion,al
lor
gani
cand
i
nor
gani
csal
tsar
econv
ert
edi
ntoammoni
um f
orm
whi
chi
sdi
sti
l
ledandest
imat
edbyusi
ngst
andar
d
aci
d.
As t
he pr
eci
sion oft
he met
hod depends upon
compl
eteconv
ersi
onofor
gani
cNi
ntoNH4-N,
the
di
gest
ion t
emper
atur
e and t
ime,sol
i
d:aci
drat
io
andt
het
ypeof
cat
aly
stusedhav
eani
mpor
tantbear
ingont
he
met
hod.Thei
dealt
emper
atur
efordi
gest
ioni
s320
–370C.Atl
owert
emper
atur
e,t
hedi
gest
ionmay
notbecompl
ete,
whi
l
eabov
e410C,
thel
ossofNH3mayoccur
.The
sal
t:
aci
d(wei
ght
:vol
ume)r
ati
oshoul
dnotbel
ess
t
han1:
1att
heendofdi
gest
ion.Commonl
yused
cat
aly
stst
o hast
en t
he di
gest
ion pr
ocess ar
e
CuSO4 orHg.Pot
assi
um sul
phat
eis added t
o
r
aiset
heboi
l
ingpoi
ntoft
heaci
dsot
hatl
ossof

27
aci
dbyv
olat
il
izat
ioni
spr
event
ed.
Appar
atus
Kj
eldahldigest
ionanddi
sti
l
lat
ionuni
t
Conicalf
lasks
Burett
es
Pi
pet t
es

Reagent
s
Sulphuricaci d–H2SO4( 93-98%)
Coppersul phat e–CuSO4H2O( ARgr ade)
Potassium sul phat eoranhy droussodium sulphat e
(ARgr ade)
35%sodi um hy droxidesol ution:Dissol
ve350g
soli
dNaOHi nwat eranddi lute t oonelit
re
0.1M NaOH:Pr epar e0. 1M NaOHbydi ssolving4. 0
g NaOH i n wat erand makev olume to1l i
tre.
Standardi ze agai nst0. 1N pot assium hy dr ogen
phthalateor standar dH2SO4 •0. 1M HClor0. 1M
H2SO4:Pr epar eappr oximat ely0.1M acidsol ution
andst andar dizeagai nst0. 1M sodi um car
bonat e
Met hylredi ndicat or
Sali
cyclicaci df orr educi ngNO3t oNH4, i
f
pr esenti nt hesampl e
Dev ar
da’ sal loyf orr educi ngNO3t oNH4,ifpr esent
i
nt hesampl e.
Procedur e

28
Wei gh1gsampl eofsoi l
.Pl acei nKjeldahlflask.
Add0. 7gcoppersul phate, 1.5gK2SO4and30ml
H2SO4.
Heatgent lyunt ilfr
othingceases.I fnecessar y,add
smal lamountofpar affinorgl assbeadst or educe
frothi
ng.
Boilbrisklyunt ilsolutioniscl earandt hencont i
nue
digesti
onf oratl east30mi nutes.
Remov et hef l
askf r
om t heheat erandcool , add50
ml wat erandt r
ansf ert odist i
ll
ingfl
ask.
Takeaccur ately20–25ml st andardaci d(0.1M HCl
or0. 1M H2SO4)i nt her ecei vi
ngconi calflaskso
thatther ewi llbeanexcessofatl east5mloft he
acid.Add2- 3dr opsofmet hylredi ndicator .Add
enoughwat ert ocov ert heendoft hecondenser
outlettubes.
Add30mlof35% NaOH i nt hedist i
ll
ingf laski n
suchawayt hatt hecont ent sdonotmi x.
Heatt hecont ent stodi stiltheammoni aforabout
30-40mi nutes.
Remov er eceivingf laskandr inseout lettubei nt o
receivi
ng f laskwi thasmal lamountofdi sti
lled
wat er.
Titr
ate excess aci di nt he di sti
ll
ate wi th 0. 1M
NaOH.
Determi nebl ankonr eagent susi ngsamequant it
y

29
ofst
andardaci
dinar ecei
vi
ng
coni
calf
lask.

Cal
cul
ati
on

1.401(V1M1–V2M2)–( V3M1–V4M2)
PercentN=———————————————xdf
W
Wher e,
V1-ml ofstandardaci dtakeninr eceiv
ingflaskf
or
sampl es
V2-ml ofstandardNaOHusedi nt i
trat
ion
V3-ml ofstandardaci dtakent oreceivi
ngflask
forblank
V4-ml ofstandardNaOHusedi nt i
trat
ingblank
M1-Mol arit
yofst andardacid
M2-Mol arit
yofst andardNaOH
W -Wei ghtofsampl etaken(1g)
df-Di l
utionfactorofsampl e(if1gwast akenfor
esti
mat ion,thedil
utionfactorwillbe100) .
Note: 1000ml of0.1M HCl or0.1M H2SO4=
1.401gNi t
rogen
Pr
ecaut
ions

Thematerialaft
erdigest
ionshouldnotsolidi
fy.
NoNH4shoul dbelostduri
ngdisti
ll
at i
on.
I
ftheindicatorchangescol ourduringdisti
l
lati
on,
det
ermination mustbe r epeated using ei
thera

30
smal
lersample wei
ghtora l
argerv
olume of
st
andar
dacid.

Av
ail
abl
eSul
phur

Avail
ablesulphuri nmi neralsoilsoccursmai nlyas
adsorbed SO4 i ons. Phosphat e i ons ( as
monacal ci
um phosphat e)ar egener all
ypr eferred
forreplacementoft headsor bedSO4i ons.The
extr
actionisalsocar riedoutusi ngCaCl 2solut i
on.
Howev er,t
hef ormeri sconsi deredtobebet t
erf or
moreef fi
cientreplacementofSO4i ons.UseofCa
sal
tshav eadi sti
nctadv antageov erthoseofNaor
KasCapr eventsdef l
occul at
ioninheav ytext ured
soi
lsandl eadst oeasyf il
trati
on.SO4i ntheext ract
can be est i
mat ed t urbidi
met r
icall
y usi ng a
spectr
ophot omet er.

Appar
atus
•Spectr
ophotomet er
•Mechanicalshaker
•Volumetri
cflask
Reagent
s
Mono-
cal
cium phosphat
eext
ract
ingsolut
ion(500
mgP/li
tr
e):Di
ssolve2.035gofCa(H2PO4)2.
H2O

31
i
n1l i
treofwat er.
Gum acaci a- aceticaci dsol ut
ion:Dissolve5gof
chemi callypur egum acaci apowderi n500mlof
hotwat erand f i
lt
eri n hotcondi ti
on t hrough
What manNo. 42fil
terpaper .Coolanddi lutetoone
l
itrewithdi luteacet i
caci d.
Bar i
um chl oride:PassARgr adeBaCl 2saltthrough
1mm si eveandst oref oruse.
Standar d st ock sol ution ( 2000 mg S/ l
it
re)
:
Dissolve10. 89gofov en-dri
edARgr adepot assi
um
sulphatei n1l i
trewat er.
Standar d wor king sol ut
ion ( 10 mg S/ l
it
re)
:
Measur eexact ly2. 5mloft hest ocksol ut
ionand
dil
utet o500ml .
Bar i
um sul phat eseedsuspensi on:Dissolve18g
ofARgr adeBaCl 2i n44mlofhotwat erandadd
0.5mloft hest andar dst ocksol uti
on.Heatt he
contentt oboi li
ngandt hencoolqui ckly.Add4ml
ofgum acaci a-acet i
caci dsol uti
ontoi t
.
Dilutenitri
caci d( appr ox25%) :Dil
ute250mlofAR
gradeconc.HNO3t oonel i
tre.
Acet i
c-phosphor icaci d:Mi x900mlofARgr ade
glacialacet i
c aci d wi t
h 300 ml ofH3PO4 ( AR
grade).
Pr
ocedur
e

Wei
gh20gofsoi
lsamplei
na250ml coni
cal
flask.
Add 100 mlof the monocal
ci
um phosphate

32
ext ractingsol ut ion( 500mgP/ l
it
re)andshakef or
one hour .Fi ltert hrough What man No. 42 fil
ter
paper .
Take 10 mloft he cl earf i
ltr
atei nto a 25 ml
vol umet ricflask.
Add 2. 5 mlof25% HNO3 and 2 mlofacet ic-
phosphor icaci d.Di lutet oabout22ml ,stopperthe
flaskandshakewel l,ifrequir
ed.
Shaket heBaSO4seedsuspensi onandt henadd
0.5mlofi t
,and0. 2gofBaCl 2cr y
stals.Stopper
thef l
askandi nv ertthreet i
mesandkeep.
Af ter10mi nutes,i nver t10times.Agai naf ter5
mi nut esi nvertf or5t i
mes.
Al l
owt ost andf or15mi nutesandt henadd1mlof
gum acaci a-acet icacidsol uti
on.
Makeupt hev olumet o25ml ,inv ert3t imesand
keepasi def or90mi nut es.
Inv ert10t i
mesandmeasur et het urbidit
yi nt
ensity
at440nm ( bluef i
lt
er )
.
Runabl anksi debysi de.
Pr epar ationofst andar dcurve:

Put2.5,5.0,
7.5,10.0,12.
5,15.0ml oft heworki
ng
standar
dsol ut
ion(10mgS/ li
tre)i
ntoaser i
esof
25ml volumetri
cflaskstoobt ain25,50,75,100,
125and150μgS.
Proceedtodev el
opt urbi
dit
yasdescr ibedabove

33
forsamplealiquots.
Readthet urbidi
tyintensit
yandprepar
ethecurve
by pl ott
ing r eadings agai nst sulphur
concent
rati
ons( inμgi nthefi
nal
volumeof25ml).

Cal
cul
ati
on

Av
ail
abl
eSul
phur

Wher e,
W standsf ort hequant it
yofsul phurinmg as
obtai
nedonX- axisagainstanabsor bancer
eadi
ng
(Y-
axis)onst andardcurve
20ist heweightoft hesoil
sampl eing
100ist hevolumeoft heextractantinml
10 ist he volume ofext ractantin mlin whi
ch
tur
bidityi
sdev eloped.

34
Deter
minat
ion ofexchangeabl
e Cal
cium
andMagnesium
Exchangeabl ecat i
onsar eusual lydet ermi nedina
neutralnor malammoni um acet ateext r
actofsoil.
Extract ion is car r
ied outby shaki ng t he soi
l:
extract ant mi xtur
e f oll
owed by f il
trati
on or
centifugat ion. Cal ci
um and magnesi um ar e
determi nedei therbyEDTAt i
trationmet hodorby
atomi c absor ption spectrophot omet eraf t
erthe
remov al ofammoni um acet at
eandor ganicmat t
er.
Thei nter ferenceofCu, Zn, Fe,Mni spr eventedby
theuseof2%NaCNsol utionorcar bamat e.

Cal
cium byVer
senat
e(EDTA)met
hod

Appar
atus
•Shaker
•Porcel
aindish
•Beaker
s
•Volumetri
c/coni
cal
flask
Reagent
s
Ammoni um chlori
de – ammoni um hydroxide
buffer sol
uti
on: Dissol
ve 67.
5 g ammoni um
chlori
dein570mlofconc.ammoni um hy
droxide
andmaket o1lit
re.
Standard0.
01Ncalcium sol
uti
on:Takeaccurat
ely

35
0.5gofpur ecal cium car bonat eanddi ssolvei tin
10mlof3NHCl .Boi ltoexpelCO2andt henmake
thev olumet o1l it
rewi t
hdi sti
ll
edwat er
.
EDTA sol ut i
on( 0.01N) :Take2. 0gofv ersenat e,
dissol veindi st il
ledwat erandmaket hev olumet o
1l itre.Titratei twi th0. 01N cal cium solutionand
makenecessar ydi luti
onsot hati tsnor mal it
yi s
exact l
yequal to0. 01N.
Mur oxideindi cat orpowder : Take0. 2gofmur oxide
(alsoknownasammoni um pur pur
ate)andmi xi t
with40gofpowder edpot assium sul phate.Thi s
i
ndi cat orshoul d notbe st or
ed i nt he f orm of
solut ion,other wi sei tget soxi dized.
Sodi um di ethy ldi thiocar bamat ecr y
stal
s:Iti sused
tor emov ethei nter ferenceofot hermet ali
ons.
Sodi um hy droxi de4N:Pr epar e16% sodasol ution
bydi ssolving160gofpur esodi um hy droxidei n
wat erandmaket hev ol
umet o1l i
tr
e.Thiswi l
lgive
pH12.

Pr
ocedur
e

Take5gai rdr
iedsoi
lsampl
ein150mlconi
cal
fl
askandadd25mlofneutr
alnor
malammoni
um

36
acetat e. Shake on mechani cal shaker f or 5
minut esandf il
tert hroughWhat manf il
terpaper
No.1.
Takeasui t
ableal i
quot( 5or10ml )andadd2- 3
crystals ofcar bamat e and 5 mlof 16% NaOH
solution.
Add40- 50mgoft hei ndicatorpowder .Ti t
rateit
with0. 01NEDTAsol uti
ont il
lthecol ourgr adual l
y
changesf rom or anger edt oreddishv iolet(purple)
.
Itisadv i
sedt oaddadr opofEDTAsol uti
onatan
i
nterv alof5 t o 10 seconds,ast he change of
colouri snoti nstantaneous.
Theendpoi ntmustbecompar edwi t habl ank
reading.I fthesol utionisov erti
trated,itshoul dbe
backt itr
atedwi thst andardcal ci
um sol uti
onand
exactv olumeusedi st husf ound.
Not ethev ol
umeofEDTAusedf ortit
ration.

Cal
cul
ati
on
IfN1isnor
mali
tyofCa++andV1i svol
umeof
ali
quott
akenandN2V2arethenormali
tyand
volumeofEDTAused,r
espect
ivel
y,t
hen,

N1V1=N2V2

37
Her
eN1(Normali
ty)=equi
val
entofCa2+pr
esent
i
nonel
i
treofal
i
quot

Hence,
Ca+2me/
li
tr
e=

MAGNESI
UM
Magnesium insol uti
oncanbet i
trat
edwi th0.01N
EDTAusi ngEriochromebl ackTdy easindi catorat
pH10i nt hepresenceofammoni um chlorideand
Ammoni um hy droxide buffer
.Att he end poi nt
,
colour changes f rom wi ne red t o bl ue or
green.
Whencal cium isalsopresentinthesol ution
thi
st it
ration willestimate bot h calcium and
magnesium.Bey ond pH 10 magnesi um i s not

38
boundstr
onglytoErichr
omebl
ackTi
ndi
cat
ort
o
gi
veadist
inctendpoi
nt.

Appar
atus
Shaker
Porcel
aindish
Beaker
Volumetri
c/coni
cal
flask

Reagent
s
EDTAorVer senat esol uti
on( 0.01N):Sameasi n
calcium det ermi nation.
Ammoni um chl or i
de- ammoni um hy droxi debuffer
solution: Sameasi ncal ci
um det ermination.
Eriochr ome bl ack T i ndicator :Take 100 mlof
ethanoland di ssolve 4. 5 g ofhy droxy lami ne
hydrochl oridei ni t
.Add0. 5goft hei ndicatorand
prepar e sol ution. Hy droxy l
ami ne hy dr ochl
oride
remov es t he i nt
er ference of manganese by
keepi ngi ti nl owerv alencyst ate( Mn2+) .Ormi x
thoroughl y0. 5goft he
i
ndi cat or wi th 50 g of ammoni um
chlor i
de.
Sodium cy anidesol ution( 2%)orsodi um diethyl
dit
hiocar bamat ecr yst als.Thi si susedt or emov e
theint erf
er enceofcopper ,cobal tandnickel

39
Pr
ocedur
e

Take5gai rdriedsoi lin150ml fl

ask, add25ml of
neut ral normal ammoni um acetatesol ut
ionand
shakeonamechani cal shakerf or5mi nutesand
fi
ltert hroughWhat manNo. 1f i
lterpaper .
2.Pi pet teout5ml ofal i
quotcont ainingnotmor e
than0. 1meqofCapl usMg.I fthesol ut i
onhasa
higherconcent rat
ion, itshouldbedi l
uted.
Add2t o5cr y
st al
sofcar bamat eand5ml of
ammoni um chlori
de- ammoni um hy droxidebuf fer
solution.Add3- 4dr opsofEr iochr omebl ackT
i
ndi cat or.
Titratet hi
ssol uti
onwi th0.01N v er
senat eti
llthe
colourchangest o br ightblueorgr een and no
ti
ngeofwi ner edcol ourremai ns.
Cal
cul
ati
on
I
fN1 and V1 ar e normal
it
y( concent
rati
on of
Ca2++Mg2+)and v olume ofaliquottaken and
N2V2ar ethenormal
ityandvolumeofEDTAused
respect
ivel
y,t
hen,
N1V1=N2V2

40
Mi
cronut
ri
ent
s

Micronutrientsarepresentindiff
erentformsi nthe
soil
.Amongt hemostdef i
cientonesisZn, whichis
presentas di val
entcation Zn2+.Mai ze,citrus,
l
egumes, cottonandr i
ceareespeciall
ysensi t
iveto
zi
ncdef i
ciency.Ironi
spr esentmost l
yinspar ingl
y
solubleferri
coxi deform,whi choccurascoat ings
ofaggr egateorassepar ateconstit
uentoft heclay
fr
action.Soi lredoxpot entialand pH af f
ectt he
avail
abili
ty of i r
on.The f orm of iron thati s

41
predomi nantl
yt aken up bypl ant si st he Fe2+.
Upt akeofFei si nhibitedbyphosphat el ev elsdue
tot hef or mationofi nsol ublei r
onphosphat e.
Manganesechemi callybehav esi nt hesoi l
st he
samewayasFe.Soi lMnor iginatespr imar ilyf r
om
theecomposi t
ionoff erromagnesi anr ocks.I tis
takenupbyt hepl antsasMn2+i ons,al t
houghi t
exi stsi nmanyoxi dat ionst ates.Manganeseand
phosphat ear emut uallyant agoni stic.Copperl i
ke
zincexi stsinsoi lsmai nlyasdi valenti onsCu2+.I t
i
s usual ly adsor bed by t he cl ay mi ner al
s or
associ ated wi th or ganic mat t
er ,al though t hey
hav el i
tt
leornoef fectoni t
sav ailabi l
itytocr ops.
Hi gh phosphat e f ertil
ization can i nduce Cu
def iciency .Mol ybdenum most lyoccur sasMoO3,
MoO5 and MoO2. These oxi des ar e sl owly
transf ormedt osol ublemol ybdat es( MoO4)whi ch
i
st hef ormt akenupbypl ants.Bor ondef iciency
occur smost l
yi nt hel ightt exturedaci dsoi lswhen
theyar el eachedheav i
lyt hroughi rrigat i
onorheav y
rainf all
.

Av
ail
abl
eZi
nc,
Copper
,Ir
onandManganese

Ethylene dami ne-ter

aaciti
c aci d ( EDTA) +
Ammoni um Acet ate i s commonly used f or
extracti
on of many el ements. DTPA
(Diethyl
enet
ri
aminepent aacet
icaci
d)isyetanot
her
common( univ
ersal)extract
antandiswi del
yused

42
forsi
multaneousextract
ionofel
ements,l
i
keZn,
Cu,FeandMn.
Theesti
mat i
onofelement si
ntheext
racti
sdone
with t he hel p of At omic Absor pt
ion
Spect
rophotometer(
AAS)

Pr
inci
pleofext
ract
ion

DTPA i sani mpor t

antandwi delyusedchel ating
agent,whi chcombi neswi thf reemet alionsint he
soluti
ont of or m solublecompl exesofel ement s.
Toav oi
dexcessi vedi ssolut i
onofCaCO3,whi ch
mayr el
easeoccl udedmi cronut ri
entsthatar enot
avail
ablet ocr opsincal carioussoi l
sandmaygi ve
erroneous r esult
s,t he ext ractanti s buffered in
sl
ightlyalkalinepH.Tr iethanol ami ne(TEA)i sused
as buf fer because i t bur ns cl eanly dur ing
atomization of ext ractant sol ution whi l
e
estimati
ngonAAS.TheDTPAhasacapaci t
yt o
compl exeachoft hemi cronut r
ientcat i
onsas10
ti
mesofi tsat omicwei ght.Thecapaci tyranges
fr
om 550 t o 650 mg/ kg dependi ng upon t he
micronutrientcations.

Ext
ract
ingsol
uti
on(
DTPA)

DTPA0. 005M,0.01M CaCl

2.2H2O and0.1M TEA
ext
ract
ant :Add1.
967gDTPAand13. 3mlTEAi n
400mldi sti
ll
edwateri
na500mlf lask.Take1.
47

43
gCaCl 2.
2H2O inaseparat
e1000mlf l
ask.Add
500mldi st
il
ledwaterandshaketodissol
v e.Add
DTPA+TEA mi xt
ureinCaCl2soluti
onandmake
thevolumeto1l i
tr
e.pHshouldbeadjust
edt o7.3
byusing1M HClbefor
emakingthevolume.
Pr
inci
pleofEst
imat
ion
The ext ract
ed el ement s can be est i
mat ed by
various met hods, whi ch incl ude v olumet ri
c
analy sis,spect r
omet ry and at omi c absor ption
spect roscopy .Vol umet r
icmet hodssuchasEDTA
andKMnO4t i
trat i
onsar eusedf orest imat ionof
zincandMn,andi ron,respecti
v ely.Coppercanbe
estimat edbyt itrati
onwi thNa2S2O3.
Spect romet r
icmet hodsar edeploy edi nestimat ion
ofspeci fi
ccol ourdev el
opedduet ot hepr esence
ofanel ement ,whi chf ormscol our edcompoundi n
thepr esenceofspeci f i
cchemi cal sunderdef i
nite
setofcondi tions.Thecol ourint ensityhast obe
l
inearwi t
ht he concent rati
on oft he elementi n
quest ion.The i nterf
erence due t o any ot her
elementhast obeel i
mi nated.Suchmet hodsar e
dithiozone met hod f or est imat ion of zi nc,
orthophenont hr oli
nemet hod fori r
on,pot assi um
per i
odat e met hod f or manganese,car bamat e
met hod f orcopper .The chemi calmet hods ar e
gener allycumber someandt i
met aking.Hencet he
most commonl y empl oyed met hod i s at omi c
absor pt ionspect r
omet ry.Here,t hei nter
ferenceby

44
otherelement si
salmostni lornegl
igiblebecause
theestimationiscar r
iedoutf oranel ementata
specif
ic emi ssi
on spectr
aline.Inf acti n AAS,
traces of one el ement can be accur atel
y
determined i n t he pr esence of a hi gh
concentrat
ionofotherelement s.

Pri
nci
pleofAtomi
cAbsor
pti
on
Spect
rophot
ometr
y
Thepr ocedur eisbasedonf lameabsor pt
ionrather
thanf lameemi ssi onandupont hef actthatmet al
atomsabsor bst r ongl yatdi scretechar act
eristi
c
wav elengt hswhi ch
coinci des wi t
ht he emi ssi
on spect rali
nes ofa
particul arel ement .Thel iqui
dsampl eisat omized.
The hol low cat hode l amp whi ch pr ecedes t he
atomi ser ,emi tst hespect rum oft hemet alusedt o
maket hecat hode.Thi sbeam t raverset hef l
ame
and i s f ocused on t he ent rance sl it of a
monochr omat or ,whi chissett oreadt heint
ensi ty
of t he chosen spect r
all ine.Li ght wi tht hi
s
wav elengt hi sabsor bedbyt hemet alint hef l
ame
andt hedegr eeofabsor pti
onbei ngt hef uncti
onof
theconcent rationoft hemet alint hef lame,t he
concent rati
on of t he at oms i nt he di ssolved
mat er iali sdet er mi ned.Forel ement alanalysi
s,a
wor kingcur veorast andardcur v eispr eparedby
measur ingt hesi gnalorabsor banceofaser i
esof
standar dsofknownconcent rati
onoft heelement

45
underestimati
on.From suchcur ve,concent
rat
ion
oftheelementinunknownsampl eisesti
mated.
Atomic Absor ption Spect roscopy can be
successful
lyappl
iedf oresti
mat i
onofZn,Cu,Fe
andMn.Forspeci fi
cest i
mationonAAS,hol l
ow
cathodelamps,specifictospecificelementsare
used.

Specif
icat
ionsofholl
owcathodel
ampsf
or
micronutr
ientest
imati
ononAAS

Zi
nc

46
Reagent
s

Standar dZi ncSol ution:Wei gh1. 0gofpur ezi nc

met alinabeaker .Add20mlHCl( 1:1).Keepf or
few hour s al l
owi ng t he met al t o di ssol ve
compl etely. Tr ansf er t he sol ution t o 1 l i
tre
volumet ricf l
ask.Makeupt hev ol
umewi t
hgl ass-
disti
ll
edwat er.Thi si s1000μg/ mlzi ncsol ution.
Forpr epar ation ofst andar d curve,r efer1000
μg/mlsol ution as sol ut ion A.Di l
ut e 1 mlof
standar dAt o100mlt oget10μg/ mlsol uti
ont obe
designat edasst andar dB.
Glass-distil
ledordemi ner alizedaci difi
edwat erof
pH2. 5+0. 5:Di lute1mlof10%sul phur icaci dt o
onel i
trewi thgl ass-distilledormi ner al
izedwat er
andadj ustt hepH t o2. 5wi thapH met erusi ng
10% H2SO4 orNaOH.Thi s solution i s cal led
acidif
iedwat er .
Wor ki
ngZnst andar dsol ut i
ons:Pi pet t
e1,2,4,6,8
and 10 mlofst andar d B sol ution i n 50 ml
number edv olumet r
icf laskandmaket hev olume
withDTPAsol uti
ont oobt ai n0.2,0. 4,0. 8,1.2,1. 6
and2. 0μg/ mlzi nc.Stoppert hef l
asksandshake
them wel l
.Fr eshst andar dsshoul d bepr epar ed
everyt imewhenaf r
eshl otofaci difi
edwat eri s

47
pr
epar
ed.

Pr
ocedur
e

Fl
ami ngthesol uti
ons:Atomi sethest andar
dson
atomicabsor pti
onspectrophot ometeratawav e-
l
engthof213. 8nm (Znli
neoft heinstrument).
Prepareast andardcur
veofknownconcent r
ati
ons
ofzincsolutionbyplott
ingt heabsor bancev al
ues
on Y–axi s agai nst t heir r espective zinc
concentr
ationonX–axi s.

Pr
ecaut
ions

48
Wei ghingmustbedoneonanel ect
ronicbalance.
Allt he gl ass appar atus to be used shoul d be
washedf irstwi t
hdi l
ut ehydrochlor
icacid(1:4)and
thenwi thdi sti
l
ledwat er.
The pi pet te shoul d be r i
nsed wi tht he same
solutiont obemeasur ed.
Theout ersur faceoft hepipetteshouldbewi ped
withf i
lt
erpaperaf teruse.
Afterusi ngt hepi pette,pl
acet hem onacl eandry
fi
lterpaperi nor dertopr eventcontamination.

Copper

Reagent
s

Standar
d coppersol
uti
on:Weigh 1 g ofpure
copperwir
eonacleanwatchgl
assandtransf
eri
t

49
toonel i
tref l
ask.Add30mlofHNO3( 1:1)and
makeupt hemar k.Stoppert heflaskandshaket he
soluti
onwel l
.Thisis1000μg/ mlCusol uti
onand
shouldbest oredinacl eanbot tleforf urt
heruse.
Dil
ute1mlof1000μg/ mlsolutionofcoppert o
100ml t
oget10μg/ ml standardcoppersol ution.
Glass-di
stil
ledordemi nerali
zedaci dif
iedwat erof
pH2. 5+0. 5:Sameast hatdonef orZn.
Wor ki
ngCust andardsol uti
ons:Pipet t
e2, 3, 4,5,6
and7ml of10μg/ ml st
andar dCusol utionin50ml
number edv olumetri
cf l
asksandmaket hev olume
withDTPAsol uti
ont oget0. 4,0.
6, 0.8,1.0,1.2and
1.4μg/ mlcopper .St oppert hef l
asksandshake
them well.Preparefreshst andar
dsev eryfortnight
.
Pr
ocedur
e

Flame t he st
andar ds on an atomic absorpt
ion
spectrophotometeratawav elengthof324.8nm
(Culineoftheinstrument)
.
Preparet he st andard curv
e wi th the known
concentrati
on ofcopperon X- axi
s by plott
ing
againstabsorbancev al
ueonY- axi
s.

EXAMPLE

50
I
ron

Reagent
s

Standar
dir
onsoluti
on:Wei
ghaccur
atel
y1gpur e
i
ron wire and put i
tin a beaker and add

51
approximately30mlof6M HClandboi l
.Tr
ansfer
i
tt oonel it
rev olumet
ricf l
askthrought hefunnel
givi
ngsev eralwashingst ot hebeakerandf unnel
withglass-dist
il
ledwater.Maket hev ol
umeupt o
themar k.Stoppertheflaskandshaket hesol
uti
on
well.Thi
sis1000μg/ ml i
ronsolution.
Glass-di
sti
ll
edordemi neral
izedaci di
fi
edwaterof
pH2. 5±0.5: Sameast hatdonef orZn.
Wor ki
ng

Festandardsol
utions:Pipet
te10mlofi r
onstock
sol
uti
oni n100mlv olumetri
cflaskanddil
uteto
vol
umewi thDTPAsol uti
on.Thisis100μg/mlir
on
sol
uti
on.Take2,4,8,12and16mlof100μg/ ml
sol
uti
onanddi l
uteeacht o100mlt oobt
ain2,3,8,
12and16μg/ mlofFesol uti
on.

Pr
ocedur
e
Flame t he st
andar ds on an at omic absorpt
ion
spectrophotometeratawav elengthof248.3nm
(Feli
neoft heinstrument)
.
Preparet he st andard curv
e wi th the known
concentrati
on ofcopperon X- axi
s by plott
ing
againstabsorbancev al
ueonY- axis.

52
 EXAMPLE

Manganese

Reagent
s

StandardMnsol uti
on:Wei gh3.
0751gofARgrade
manganese sul phate( MnSO4H2O)on a clean
wat ch gl
ass and transferitto one l
i
treflask
through the f
unnelgi vi
ng sever
alwashings to

53
wat chgl assandf unnelwi thaci difiedwat erand
maket hev olumeupt ot hemar k.Thi ssoluti
onwill
be1000μg/ mlMn.Asecondar ydilut i
onof5mlt o
100 mlwi th aci di
fi
ed wat ergi ves a 50 μg/ ml
solution.
Glass- disti
lledorde- miner al
izedaci difi
edwaterof
pH2. 5+0. 2:Sameast hatf orZn.
Wor kingMnst andardsol uti
ons:St andar dcurv
eis
prepar edbyt akinglowerconcent rat ionsofMni n
ther angeof0- 10μg/ mlTake1, 2,4, 6and8mlof
50μg/ mlsol ut i
onandmakeupt hev olumewi t
h
DTPAsol utiont o50ml t
oobt ain1, 2, 4,6
and8μg/ ml workingst andar ds.

Pr
ocedur
e

Fl
amet hestandardsonanatomi cabsorpt
ion
spectrophotometeratawav el
engthof279. 5
nm (Mnl i
neoft heinstr
ument
).
Preparet hestandardcurvewi t
ht heknown
concentrati
on ofMn on X- axis by pl
ott
ing
againstabsorbancev al
ueonY-axi
s.
EXAMPLE

54
Pr
ocedur
eforext
ract
ionbyDTPA

Once st andar d cur ves hav e been pr epar

ed,
proceedf orextracti
onbyDTPA.
Take10gofsoi lsampl ein100mlnar row-mouth
polypr
opy lenebot t
le.
Add20ml ofDTPAext racti
ngsoluti
on.
Stopperthebot tl
eandshakef or2hoursatroom
temper at
ur e(250C) .
Fil
terthecont entusingf il
terpaperNo.
1or42and

55
coll
ectthefi
lt
rat
einpol
ypr
opyl
enebot
tl
es
Prepareablankfol
lowi
ngal
lst
epsexceptt
aki
nga
soilsample.

Not e:
Theext r
actsoobt ainedisusedf oresti
mat i
onof
differ
entmi cr
onutri
ents.Forext r
acti
on ofmor e
accurate quant i
ty ofan el ementwhi ch has a
higherdegr eeofcor rel
ati
onwi t
hplantavail
abil
it
y,
there ar e el ement speci f
ic extr
actants. An
extractantstandardi
zed/recommendedf oragi v
en
situati
oni nacount r
ymaybeused.Theest i
mat i
on
procedur eonAAS, howev er,
remainsunchanged.

Est
imat
iononAAS

Selectanel ementspecif
icholl
ow cat hodel amp
andmounti tonAAS.
Startt hefl
ame.
Sett heinstrumentatzerobyusingblanksol uti
on.
Aspi rate the st andar
d solut
ions of di ff
er ent
concent rat
ionsonebyoneandr ecordther eadings.
Prepar estandardcur vepl
ott
ingt heconcent r
at ion
oft heel ementconcer nedandt hecorr espondi ng

56
absor bance i n differentst andar d sampl es (as
describedbef or
e).
When t he oper at
ion i s performed accur ately
,a
strai
ghtl iner el
ati
onshi pi sobt ainedbet weent he
concent rationoftheel ementandt heabsor bance
onAASwi thacor relati
oncoef fi
cientwhichmaybe
nearlyashi ghas1. 0.
Aspirate t he soi l ext ractant obt ained f or
estimat i
onofnut r i
entel ementi nt hegi vensoil
sampl eandobser vet her eadings.
Findoutt hecont entoft heel ementi nt hesoil
extractby obser v ing its concent rat
ion on t he
standar dcur veagainsti t
sabsor bance.

Cal
cul
ati
on
Contentofmi cronut
rientint hesampl e(mg/kg)=
Cμg/ mlx2( dil
uti
onf actor)
.
Where,
Dil
uti
onf actor=2. 0( Soilsamplet aken=10.0g
andDTPAused=20ml )
Absorbancer eading on AAS oft hesoilextract
bei
ngest imatedforapar ti
cularel
ement=X
Concentrati
onofmi cronutri
entasr eadfr
om t he

57
standar
dcur
vef
ort
hegi
venabsor
bance(
X)=C
μg/ml.

Av
ail
abl
emol
ybdenum

Molybdenum ( Mo)i sarareelementi nsoil

s,andis
presentonlyinv erysmallamount sinigneousand
sediment ar
yr ocks.Themaj orinorgani
csour ceof
Moi smol ybdenite(MoS2).
Thet otalMocont entinsoil
sisperhapst helowest
ofallthemicronutri
entel
ement s,andisreportedto
rangebet ween0. 2μg/gand10μg/ g.

58
Inthesoi lsoluti
onMoexi stsmai nlyasHMoO4i on
underaci di
cconditi
on,MoO42-i onunderneut ral
to alkaline condit
ions.Because oft he anionic
natureofMo, i
tsanionswillnotbeat tractedmuch
byt henegat i
velychargedcol l
oids,andt herefore,
tendt obel eachedfrom thesoilsinhumi dregion.
Moly bdenum canbet oxicduet ogr eatersol ubil
ity
i
nal kali
nesoi l
soft hearidandsemi -aridr egi
ons,
anddef icientinaci
dsoi l
soft hehumi dr egions.

Est
imat
ionbyAAS

Thespeci f
icat
ionsofrel
evanthol
l
owcat hode
l
ampi sgi venbelow:
Lampcur r
ent(m Ao) 5
Wav elength(nm) 313.3
Linearr ange(μg/ml) 1-4
Slitwidth( nm) 0.02
Integrationti
me( sec) 2.0
Flame Acetyl
ene
NitrousOxi de

Runni
ng par
amet
ers whi
ch ar
e speci
fi
ctoa

59
parti
cularmodelaregi veni nthesoftwar eprovided
witht he equi pment manual .Accor dingl
y,t he
currentsupply,
wav elengthofhollowcat hodelamp,
i
ntegrationti
meandant i
cipatedesti
mat ionranges
aref i
xed.Hol l
ow cat hodeandDeut orium lamps
arerequiredtobepr operlyali
gned
before st ar
ti
ng t he equi pment . Af ter proper
al
ignmentand adj ustment ,standard cur ves are
preparedt oensuret hatt heconcent rationoft he
el
ement i n solut
ions per fect
lyr elates tot he
absorbance.
.

Appar
atus
•Centr
if
ugeand50ml cent
ri
fugetubes
•Automati
cshaker
•AtomicAbsor
pti
onSpectr
ophotometer
Reagent
s

•Ammoni um acet at
esol uti
on( NH4OAc)
1.0 M:Di ssolve 77.09 g ofammoni um
acet at
ei n1l it
re ofdi st
il
led waterand
adjustpHt o7. 0.
•Gl ass-di
stil
l
edaci di
f i
edwat erofpH2. 5:
Sameast hatgi v
enunderZnest i
mat i
on.

60
 •Standar dmolybdenum soluti
on:Dissolve
0.15gofMoO3( molybdenum tri
oxi de)
in
100ml0. 1M NaOH.Di l
uteto1l i
tr
et oget
100μg/ mlMost ocksoluti
on.Dil
ute10ml
ofthest andardto100mlt oget10μg/ ml
Mo.
•Wor kingstandardsoluti
ons:Take1,2,3,
4,5,6,7 and 10 mlof10 μg/ mlMo
standardsoluti
onanddi l
uteeachto50ml .
Thiswi llgi
ve0.2,0.4,0.6,
0.8,1.
0,1.2,1.4
and2. 0μg/ml Mo,respecti
vely
.

Pr
ocedur
e
Wei ghaccurately5gsoi landtransferiti
ntoa50
ml centri
fugetube.
Add33mlof1M ammoni um acetatesolut
iont o
the tube,st opperand shake i n a mechani cal
shakerfor5mi nutes.
Cent r
if
ugeat2000r pm f
or5mi nutesoruntilthe
supernatantisclear.
Decantt hesoluti
oni nt
oa100ml volumetr
icfl
ask.
Repeatst eps2-4.
Make- upt hev olumet o100mlwi t hammoni um

61
acetate.
Atomise t he wor ki
ng st andar ds on at omi c
absorpti
onspectrophotomet eratawav elengt hof
313.5 nm.Pr epare a standard curve ofknown
concentrati
on of mol y
bdenum by pl otti
ng t he
absorbance v al
ues on Y- axi
s agai nst t heir
respecti
vemolybdenum concent rati
ononX- axis.
Measur etheabsorbanceofthesoi lsampleext ract
andf i
ndoutmol ybdenum cont entinthesoi lfrom
thestandardcurve.

Av
ail
abl
ebor
on
Watersolubl
eboronist
heavai
labl
ef or
m ofboron.
I
tisextr
actedfr
om thesoi
lbywatersuspensi
on.

Est
imat
ionbycol
ori
met
ri
cmet
hod
Theextr
actedBinthef
il
teredextr
acti
s
det
erminedbytheazomethine-
Hcolor
imet
ri
c
method.

Appar
atus
•Analy
ticalbal
ance
•Fl
askorbeaker
•Volumet r
icfl
ask
62
 •Funnel
s
•WhatmanNo.42f
il
terpaper
•Spectr
ophot
omet
er
Reagent
s
Azomet hine-H:Di ssolv
e0. 45gazomet hine-Hand
1.0gL- ascor bicaci dinabout 100mldei onizedor
doubl e-
di sti
ll
edwat er.Ifsol ut i
oni snotcl ear,i t
shouldbeheat edgent lyinawat erbat horundera
hotwat ert apatabout300Ct il
litdissol ves.Ev er y
weekaf reshsol ut i
onshoul dbepr epar edandkept
i
nar efri
ger ator.
Buffersol ut i
on:Di ssolve250gammoni um acet at e
i
n500mldei oni zedordoubl e-disti
lledwat erand
adjustt he pH t o about5. 5 by sl owl y addi ng
approxi mat ely 100 mlgl acialacet ic aci d,wi th
const antst ir
ri
ng.
EDTAsol ution( 0.025M) :Di ssolv e
9.3gEDTAi ndei onizedordoubl e-
distil
l
ed wat er and make t he
volumeupt o1l itre.
Standar d st ock sol uti
on:Di ssol ve 0. 8819g Na2
B4O710H2O AR gr ade i n a smal l
v olume of
deionizedwat erandmakev ol umet o1000mlt o
obtainast ocksol uti
onof100μgB/ ml .
Wor king st andar d soluti
on:Take5 mlofst ock
solutioni na100ml volumet r
ic

63
 fl
askanddil
uteitt
othemar k.Thi
s
sol
uti
oncontai
ns5μgB/ml.

Pr
ocedur
e
Take5mloft hecl earf il
teredext r
acti na25ml
volumet r
icflaskandadd2mlbuf f ersol uti
on, 2ml
EDTAsol utionand2ml azomet hine- Hsol ution.
Mi xthecont ent sthor oughl yaf tert headdi ti
onof
eachr eagent.
Lett hesolut ionst andf or1hourt oal low col our
dev el
opment .Then,t hev olumei smadet ot he
mar k.
Intensi
tyofcol ourismeasur edat420nm
Thecol ourt husdev elopedhasbeenf oundt obe
stableupto3- 4hour s.
Preparati
onofst andar dcur v e:Take0,0. 25,0. 50,
1.0,2.0and4. 0mlof5μgB/ mlsol uti
on( wor king
standard)toaser iesof25mlv ol umet ricf l
asks.
Add2mleachofbuf ferr eagent ,EDTA sol ution
andazomet hi ne-Hsol ution.Mi xt hecont entsaf ter
each addi tion and al low t o st and at r oom
temper at
uref or30mi nutes.Maket hev olumet o
25mlwi thdei onizedordoubl e-distill
edwat erand
measur eabsor bance at420 nm.Thi s wi llgi ve
readingforst andar dsol uti
onhav i
ngB
concent r
ati
on0,0. 05,0. 10,0. 20,0. 40and0. 80μg

64
B/
ml
Cal
cul
ati
on
Cont entofBi nthesoi l(μg/ gormg/ kg)=Cx
Di
lutionf act or(10)
Wher e,
C( μg/ ml)=Concent r
ationofBasr eadf r
om
thest andar dcur veagai nsttheabsor bance
readi ng of t he soi l soluti
on on t he
spect rophot omet er
.
Di l
ut i
onf actor=10whi chiscal cul
atedas
fol l
ows:
Weightoft hesoi l
taken=25g
Volumeofext ractant( water)added=50ml
Fi
rstdilution=2t i
mes
Volumeoft hef i
ltr
atet aken=5ml
Fi
nalv olumeoff i
ltr
ateaf t
ercol ourdevelopment=
25ml
Seconddi l
ut i
on=5t i
mes
Totaldilution=2x5=10t imes

65
 SAMPLEAREA-CHAUKORI
ELEVATI
ON-2010METRE

TEACROP
SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 4.
0

66
ORGANICCARBON% 1.02
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 40.
5
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 286.72

RESULTANALYSI
S

Thesoi
lrecor
dedtobemoder
atel
yaci
dicusual
l
y
cl
ayey.
I
MPORTANTCROP

TEA(Camel
li
asinensi
s)
WHEAT(Tri
ti
cum)
PADDY(DHAN)
MAIZE(MAKKA)

THOUGHMUCHNOTATTENTIONISPLAYEDFOR
TEACULTI
VATI
ONBUTTHEREGIONFAVOURS
TEACULTI
VATI
ONFROM THESESOI
LFACTS.
Tea isfav
ored byt
he acidi
c soil
,hi
gh cont
ent
organi
ccar
bon,l
owalumi
nium int
ake.
Usually cul
ti
vat
ed i
n slopes excell
entdrainage
responsibl
eforaci
diccontentmor eoverbecause
teaplantishi
ghl
ysensi
ti
vetostagnationofwater.
Temper
atur
e-10-
30degr
eesCent
igr
ade.

67
Ingrowthandproduct
ionst
udiesofbushtea,t
he
appli
cati
onofKformaximum biomasspr
oducti
on
occurr
edbetween0and200kg·ha−1

SAMPLE2(REGI
ONBETWEEN
CHAUKORIANDTHAL)
SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 4.7
ORGANICCARBON% 0.936
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 36.0
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 253.12
Veget
ati
oncov
erpr
imar
il
yincl
udes:
Pi
nusr
oxbur
ghi
i(knownaschi
rpi
ne)
Pi
nuspr
efer
ssandyt
oloamysoi
l
sandcangr
ow
eveninwaterdef
ici
entcondi
ti
ont houghrecorded
soili
saci
dici
tmaygr owwellunderhighl
yalkali
ne
soil
s.
I
tusual
l
ypr
efer
sdr
yandl
oamysoi
l
s.

68
 Pi
nusr
oxbur
ghi
i

AREA-
KUMOOR
SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 6.8
ORGANICCARBON% 0.684
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 22.5
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 94.08
I
MPORTANTCROP

WHEAT(Tri
ti
cum)
PADDY(DHAN)
MAIZE(
MAKKA) (
Zeamays)
MADUA(El
eusi
necor
acana)
AREA-
POLI
CELI
NE
SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 6.8
ORGANICCARBON% 0.684
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 22.5

69
POTASSI
UM (
KG/HECTARE) 94.
08
I
MPORTANTCROP
WHEAT(Trit
icum)
PADDY(DHAN)
MAIZE(
MAKKA)
MADUA(Eleusinecor
acana)
AREA-
KANALI
CHI
NA
PH 7.0
ORGANICCARBON% 0.660
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 27.0
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 188.16
I
MPORTANTCROP
WHEAT(Tri
ti
cum)
PADDY(DHAN)
MAIZE(MAKKA)
SOYABEAN
AREA-
VADA
PH 6.7
ORGANICCARBON% 0.696
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 22.5
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 201.60
I
MPORTANTCROP
WHEAT(Tr
it
icum)

PADDY(DHAN)
MAIZE(
MAKKA)

70
SOYABEAN
BLACKGRAM (
URDBEAN)

AREA-
BADABE

POTATOCROPBADABE
SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 5.7
ORGANICCARBON% 0.816
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 31.5
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 468.16
RESULTANALYSI
S
Thesoi
lrecor
dedt
obemoder
atel
yaci
dic.

71
IMPORTANTCROP
PADDY( DHAN)
BLACKGRAM ( URDBEAN)
MAI ZE( MAKKA)
POTATOES( Sol
anum tuber
osum)
Potatoesgr owbesti nar i
chf ert
ilesoil,withplent y
ofor ganicmat t
erincorporatedandi deally
,soilpH
shoul dbear ound6. 5orl ower .
Yieldsar ehi ghest
when av er
age day t
ime t emper atures are about
69°F ( 21°
C) . Cool ni ght t emper at
ur es ar e
i
mpor t
antbecauset hey af fecttheaccumul ation
of car bohydrates and dr ymat t
erint hetuber s.
Lower ph causes poor
development of
tubour,and ph hi gher causes
potato scab.

POTATOSCAB

72
SAMPLE2
(
AREAAROUNDFORESTBADABE)
SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 7.0
ORGANICCARBON% 0.660
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 13.5
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 283.36
The vegetati
on coverfrom where sampl
e was
col
lect
edinclude
Banjh(Quercusl
eucotr
ichophor
a)
BlackjackOak( BANJH)i sanev er
greentreeto
25m,f ound inthe Himalayas.Iti sal ar
ge or
medi um sizedtr
ee,wit
hleatherydullgreenl
eaves,
sharplytoothedl
eaves,6-
16cm l ong.
Theupperlayerwashighinhumuscont entdueto
decomposing leaves ,
tr
ees ar
e closel
y spaced
henceamuchl ar
gerhumuscontentar eusuall
y
recordedascompar edtosomeot herHimalayan
trees.
.
Thetreeusual
l
ygrowsinacidi
c,neut
raltoal
kal
i
ne
soi
l,
theaboveregi
oni
ncludeneutr
alsoil
.

73
 AREA-
CHANDAK

SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 5..1
ORGANICCARBON% 0.888
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 40.5
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 418.88
VEGETATI
ON
Veget
ati
oncov
erf
rom wher
esampl
ewas
col
l
ect
edi ude De
ncl odar Cedr
( us
deodar
a)
Gr
owt
hisf
avour
edbyf
oll
owi
ngf
act
s:
Soi
lty
pe:Itpr
efersloam (
predominant
lysandy
)
soi
l
s wit
h hi
gh level
s oforganic car
bon,low

74
phosphor
usandhi ghpotashcontent
s.Itavoi
ds
sti
ff
,badl
ydrainedsoil
,andi
tsgrowthisstunt
ed
onrockyshal
l
owsoi l
.
BOTANI
CDESCRI
PTI
ON
Cedr usdeodar ai sa l argeev er green,dioecious
tr
ee,t o65m t allandmor et han4m DBH,cr owns
becomer oundedorbr oadandf latwi thhorizontal
orsl i
ghtl
y ascendi ng ordescendi ng branches,
whi charenotwhor ledbutar i
seirregularl
yfrom the
stem.Thebar kisgr ey i
shbr own,dark, al
mostbl ack,
withv ert
icaland di agonalcr acks di vi
ding i t
i
nt oir
regul
aroblongscal es.
Altit
ude:1200t o3500m
Meanannual temper ature:12-17º C
Meanannual rai
nfall:200-1800mm
SAMPLE2
PH 4.9
ORGANICCARBON% 0.912
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 27.0
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 231.84
I
MPORTANTCROP
PADDY(
DHAN)
BLACKGRAM (
URDBEAN)
MAI
ZE(
MAKKA)
MADUA(
Eleusi
necor
acana)

75
 AREA-
CEI
LING

SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 9.2
ORGANICCARBON% 0.396
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 18.0
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 211.68
I
MPORTANTCROP
PADDY(
DHAN)
BLACKGRAM (
URDBEAN)
MAI
ZE(
MAKKA)

76
WHEAT(Tr
it
icum)
MADUA(
Eleusi
necor
acana)

AREA-
GURNA
SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 4.3
ORGANICCARBON% 0.984
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 18.0
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 170.24

I
MPORTANTCROP
PADDY(
DHAN)
BLACKGRAM (
URDBEAN)
WHEAT(Tr
it
icum)
MADUA(
Eleusi
necor
acana)

77
 AREA-
MUWANI

SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 6.5
ORGANICCARBON% 0.720
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 18.0
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 147.84
I
MPORTANTCROP
PADDY(
DHAN)
BLACKGRAM (
URDBEAN)

78
WHEAT(Tr
it
icum)

AREA-
IGYARDEVI

PH 7.5
ORGANICCARBON% 0.600
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 18.0
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 180.32
I
MPORTANTCROP
PADDY(
DHAN)
BLACKGRAM (
URDBEAN)
WHEAT(Tr
it
icum)

79
MADUA(
Eleusi
necor
acana)
(
Eleusi
necor
acana)gr
owsi
nmedi
um (
loamy
)
and heav
y(cl
ay)soi
l
s,pr
efer
s wel
l
-dr
ained
soi
landcangr
owi
nnut
ri
ti
onal
l
ypoorsoi
l
.

Sui
tabl
epH:aci
d,neut
ralandbasi
c(al
kal
i
ne)
soi
l
sandcangr
owi
nsal
i
nesoi
l
s.

I
tisusual
l
ycul
ti
vat
edi
nuni
rr
igat
edr
egi
ons.
Ragii
sver
yadapt
abl
eandt
hri
vesathi
gher
el
evat
ionst
hanmostot
hert
ropi
cal
cer
eal
s.

Thr
ivesunderamedi
um r
ainf
all
,onpor
ous
soi
l
sthatdonotgetwat
erl
ogged.

AREA-
GHAT

80
SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 7.3
ORGANICCARBON% 0.624
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 31.5
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 319.20

I
MPORTANTCROP

81
PADDY(DHAN)
BLACKGRAM (URDBEAN)
MAIZE(
MAKKA)
WHEAT(Tri
ti
cum)

Mai
zehas hi
ghnut
ri
entdemandf
oropt
imum
gr
owt
handr
espondsst
rongl
ytof
ert
il
iserwhen
gr
ownoni
nfer
ti
lesoi
l
s. Adapt
edt
owel
l
-dr
ained
soi
l
sofneut
ralt
omi
l
dlyal
kal
i
ner
eact
ion,but
wi
l
l gr
ow down t
o ph 5.
0 pr
ovi
ding t
hat
al
umi
nium sat
urat
ioni
slow.
 Theneut
ralphi
n
r
egi
onf
avour
sbet
tergr
owt
h.

Theav
aibi
l
ityofwat
erandt
emper
atur
eoft
he
r
egi
onf
avour
sthegr
owt
h.

AREA-
MUNSAYRI

82
SAMPLE1
SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 7.1
ORGANICCARBON% 0.648
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 13.5
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 241.92

SAMPLE2
SOI
LCONTENT(
macr
onut
ri
ent
s)
PH 5.5
ORGANICCARBON% 0.840
PHOSPHORUS(KG/HECTARE) 31.5
POTASSI
UM (KG/HECTARE) 230.60
I
MPORTANTCROP:
Redki
dneybeans(Phaseolusvul
gar
is)
POTATOES(
Solanum t
uber
osum)

Phaseol
( usvul
gar
is)
83
Ther
egi
oni
susual
l
ylocat
edi
nhi
ghal
ti
tudeswi
th
t
emperatur
e max ar
ound 21 C whi
ch f
avour
s
r
ajmagrowth.
Theopt
imum t
emper
atur
eforbet
tergr
owt
his16-
24°
C.
Growthofplantceasesift
emperat
urefall
sbelow
10°C.Temperat
uresabove35°
Ccausedr oppi
ngof
budsandfl
ower sresul
ti
ngi
npooryi
eld.
Besty
iel
dscanbeobt
ainedi
fthesoi
lPHi
sar
ound
6to6.5.
Thef
iel
dshoul
dbewel
ldr
ained,
resi
stantt
owat
er
l
oggi
ng.
Soil hav
ing hi
gh amount of or
gani
c mat
ter
promotemoreveget
ati
vegr
owth.
Thesample2wi
thl
owphf
avour
sthegr
owt
h
ofpot
atoes.

I
NFERENCE

ACI
DICSOI
LINPI
THORAGARH

Thoughgeol
ogyofar egi
onisresponsi
blef
orthe
for
mati
onofpart
icul
arsoilt
ypebutsomef act
ors

84
mayl
eadt
oachangei
nit
schar
act
er.

Usual
l
yacidi
csoili
srecor
dedindi
ffer
entpar
tsof
pi
thor
agar
hthisi
sduetofoll
owi
ngfact
s:

Rai
nfal
l/l
eachi
ng
Rainf
allaf
fect
s soi
lph of t he gi
ven regi
on
dependi
ngonamountofr
ainandthesl
ope.
Waterpassing t
hrough the soi
ll eaches basi
c
cat
ionssuchascalci Ca2+)
um ( ,magnesi Mg2+)
um ( ,
andpotassi K+)i
um ( nt
odrainagewater.
Thesebasiccati
onsarer epl
acedbyaci
diccat
ions
3+
suchasaluminum (
Al )andhydr H+)
ogen( .
Usuall
yleachingofsoi
lisseeni
ntheal
ti
tudes
duri
ngrai
nfall
.
Forthi
sreason,soi
l
sf ormedunderhi
ghr
ainf
all
condi
ti
onsaremoreaci
dic.

Or
gani
cMat
terDecay
Decaying or
gani
cmat terproducesH+ which is
responsi
ble for aci
dit
y. The carbon dioxi
de
producedbydecayingorgani
cmat t
erreact
swi th
wateri nthe soi
lt oform a weak acid cal
l
ed

85
car bonicacid
Decomposi ngitemsi nnat
urearetypical
l
yt he
causeofaci di
csoi l
.Deadleavesf
rom plantsand
treesf al
ltothegr oundandbreakdownov ert
ime,
raisingtheacidityofthesoili
nthearea.
I
NTAKEOFNUTRI
ENTS
Plant
st akeupbasiccationssuchasK+,Ca++,and
Mg++ fortheregrowth.Whent heseareremov ed
+
fr
om thesoi l
,theyarer
eplacedwithH inorderto
maintainel
ectri
calneut
rali
ty.
Fer
ti
li
zer
s
Both chemi cal and or gani
c f ert
il
izers may
eventual l
ymaket hesoi lmor eaci d.Hy drogeni s
addedi nt hef orm ofammoni a-basedf erti
lizers
+
(NH4 ),ur ea-basedf erti
li
zers[CO( NH2) 2]
,andas
proteins ( ami no aci ds) i n or ganic f ert
il
izers.
Transf ormationsoft hesesour cesofNi ntonitrate
- +
(NO3)r el
easesH t ocr eat
esoi lacidit
y.Ther ef or
e,
fert
il
izat i
onwi thf ert
il
izerscont aini
ngammoni um
orev enaddi ngl argequant i
ti
esofor ganicmat t
er
toasoi lwil
lultimat el
yi ncr
easet hesoi lacidi
tyand
l
owert hepH.
NH4++2O2(
bact
eri
a(NO3-+2H++H2O
EFFECTSOFACI
DICSOI
L
Whent
hepH f
all
sbel
ow 5.
5,t
heav
ail
abi
l
ityof

86
nutr
ientssuchasphosphor us,pot
assium,calci
um,
andmagnesi um decreases.Theav ai
l
abil
it
yoft he
metalli
c mi cr
onutr
ients, however,l i
kes z inc,
manganese,copper,andi ronincr
easesast hepH
decreases.
Plant
sdon' tneedal umi num t
ogrow.It
'snotan
essenti
alpl
antnut r
ient.Alumi
num,howev
er,i
sone
ofthepr ominentmi neralcomponent
sofsil
tand
cl
ayandhenceav ai
lable.
IfthepH i sal
lowedtodropmuchbelow 5.5,t
he
availabi
li
ty of manganese and al
uminum i s
i
ncr eased tothe poi
ntthatt
heycould become
toxictoplant
s.

Ef
fect
sofv
eryaci
dsoi
l
s
Al
uminum t
oxi
cit
ytopl
antr
ootscauses“r
oot
pr
uni
g”excessmaystoppl
antgrowth.

87
Manganeset
oxi
cit
ytoplant
saff
ect
spart
sofpl
ant
abov
egroundst
unedgrowth,
poory
iel
ds.

Cal
cium &magnesi
um def
ici
encyaf
fect
ingr
oot
gr
owt h

Mol
ybdenum def
ici
encyi
nlegumes

Sl
i
ghtl
yaci
dicsoil
s(pHof6.5)areconsi
dered
mostf
avor
ableforover
all
nutr
ientupt
ake.
Suchsoi
l
sareal
soopti
malfornit
rogen-
fi
xi
ng
l
egumesandni
tr
ogen-
fi
xi
ngsoilbact
eri
a.
SoilpH alsoaffect
sthesoi linotherway s.For
example,soi
lmicrobeact
ivi
ty;par
ti
cularl
ynit
rogen
-f
ixi
ngbacteri
amayber educedinhighlyaci
dsoil
.

LI
MINGOFSOI
L
Theexcessacidi
tymayberemov
edbyl
i
mingof
soi
lwi
thcalci
um car
bonat
e.

88
The cal
ci
um ion r
eplaces two H+ i
ons t
hereby
decr
easi
ngacidi
tythereplacedH+areconv er
ted
i
ntowaterorCO2.

Soi
lpHandI
nter
pret
ati
on

5.
0 5.
5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.
5 8.
0
St
rongl
y Medi
u Sl
ight
ly Neut
ra Neut
ra Mil
dly Moderatel
y
Acid m Acid l l Al
kal
in Al
kaline
Acid e

BestRangef
or
MostCrops

Somepl
ant
swi
tht
her
epH equi
rement
PLANT PHOFTHE SUI
TABLEAREA
SOI
L
APPLE 5.
0-6.
5 MUNSAYARI

89
APRI
COT 6.
0-7.
0 KUMOOR
BEANS 6.
0-7.
0 KUMOOR, POLICE
LI
NE,GURNA
CABBAGE 5.
6-6.
6 BADABE,CHANDAK
CUCUMBER 5.
0-6.
0 BADABE,GURNA
MINT 6.
0-7.
0 KANALICHINA,KUMOOR,PO
LI
CELINE
MILLET 6.
0-7.
5 MUNSAYRI ,
BADABE,VADA
OLIVE 5.
5-6.
5 CHANDAK, BADABE
OAK 4.
5-5.
5 CHANDAK, MUNSARI
GARLIC 5.
5-7.
5 MUWANI
TEA 4.
5-5.
5 CHAUKORI
MAIZE 5.
0-7.
0 GHAT
RADDISH 5.
0-5.
5 KUMOOR
SUNFLOWER 5.
0-7.
0 KUMOOR, POLICELINE
KANALICHINA,CHANDAK
POTATO 5.
5-6.
5 BADABE,MUNSAYRI
TOMATOES 5.
5-7.
5 GHAT,MUNSAYRI
SPINACH 6.
5-7.
5 KUMOOR, POLICELI
NE
STRAWBERR 5.
5-7.
5 BADABE,CHANDAK
Y
PINE 5.
0-6.
0 CHANDAK

REASONSFORLOW AGRI
CULTURE
PRODUCTI
VITY
.

90
Smal
land scat
ter
ed l
and hol
dings ar
e pr
esent
whi
chi
sresponsi
blef
orl
owpr
oduct
ivi
ty.

St
eepsl
opesandshal
l
ow soi
l
sint
hehi
l
lleadst
o
i
ncr
easeder
osi
on

Usual
l
y no soi
ltest
ing i
s done hence pr
oper
knowl
edgeaboutt
hepr
oduct
ivi
tyofsoi
li
sabsent
.

Li
mit
ed ar
ea under i
rr
igat
ion and t
hose al
so
dependonnear
bysmal
lri
verr
esti
susual
l
yrai
nfed.

Pr
opermar
ketl
i
nkagei
sabsentwhi
chl
eadst
olow
r
etur
n hence notmuch at
tent
ion i
s gi
ven t
o
agr
icul
tur
e.

Ol
dermet
hodofagr
icul
tur
e,l
ackofawar
enessi
s
l
eadi
ngt
olowpr
oduct
ivi
ty.

STEPSTOBETAKEN

Apr
operknowl
edgeaboutsoi
lchemi
str
yandt
he
cl
i
mat
iccondi
ti
onmayl
eadt
ohi
gherpr
oduct
ivi
ty
andr
etur
n.Thef
oll
owi
ngmet
hodol
ogi
esmaybe
91
usef
ul
Usual
l
yaci
dicsoi
lisr
ecor
dedi
nther
egi
oni
ncase
t
hesoi
list
oomuchaci
dicl
i
mingshoul
dbedone
ast
oomuchaci
dicsoi
lleadst
olossofsomev
ital
macr
onut
ri
ent
s as wel
l as mi
cronut
ri
ent
s as
ment
ionedear
li
er.
Pr
operst
ept
oreducesoi
ler
osi
onshoul
dbet
aken
e.
g.pl
ant
ati
onoft
reesar
oundt
hef
iel
dreduces
er
osi
on.
Moder
n met
hods of agr
icul
tur
e,ut
il
izat
ion of
f
aci
l
iti
es such as soi
l t
est
ing wat
ershed
dev
elopmentpr
ogr
amsshoul
dbepr
omot
ed.
Pr
operdev
elopmentofst
orageandmar
ketf
aci
l
ity
shoul
d beencour
aged bydev
elopi
ng i
tatl
ocal
sect
or.
Cul
ti
vat
ionofor
nament
almedi
ci
nalandar
omat
ic
pl
ant
s wi
th hi
gh v
alue of r
etur
n shoul
d be
pr
omot
edi
nregi
onswher
etheycanbecul
ti
vat
ed.
Forasust
ainabl
epr
oduct
ionsy
stem t
henut
ri
ent
s

92
r
e-mov
edshoul
dbeatt
hev
eryl
eastber
epl
aced.I
f
nut
ri
-ent
sar
enotr
epl
acedt
hesoi
lreser
vesar
e
sl
owl
ydepl
etedandsoi
lfer
ti
li
tydecl
i
nes.Thi
scan
l
eadt
onut
ri
entdef
ici
enci
esandr
educedgr
owt
h
henceapr
opersoi
lanal
ysi
sshoul
dbedoneata
r
egul
ari
nter
val
.

BI
BLI
OGRAPHY
Curr
ent st atus and di str
ibuti
on of
commer ci
ally exploit
ed medi cinal and
aromaticplantsinupperGor
ival
ley,Kumaon
Himalaya,Uttar
anchal

93
 Sanj
ayKumarUni
yal
*,Anj
aliAwast
hiand
GopalS.Rawa
Utt
arakhand:LandandPeople ByShar
ad
Si
nghNegi
Bear,F.E.(1964).Chemi st
ry ofthe Soil
,
AmericanChemicalSoci
ety.
Cheng, K.L. and Br ay, R.
H. ( 1951)
Deter
minati
onofcal
cium andmagnesi
um in
soi
landplantmat
eri
al.
Lindsay, W. L. & Nor vell, W.A.(1978 ) .
DevelopmentofaDTPAsoi ltestforzi
nc,ir
on,
manganese, andcopper
.
Uttarakhand–Anencyclopaedi abyBal odi
Principplesofsoi
lchemistr
yByKI M.H. TAN
Bray, R. H. and Kur tz. L. T. ( 1945)
Det er
mi nati
onoftotal
,organi candavai l
able
formsofphosphor usinsoils.
Besidei tIam real
lythankf
ullf
orvari
ousdataprovi
ded
byuser soninternet
,
Thesoi ltest
ingmanualbyDepar t
mentofAgr i
cul
ture&
Cooper ati
on Mi ni
str
y ofAgr i
cult
ure Gover
nmentof
I
ndia, Dat a publ i
ced by Govt Ut t
arakhand,
AGRI CULTURESECTOR, PANTNAGARUNI VETC.

94
95