Identification of Soil Fertility Constraints of Erstwhile Warangal District, Telangana, India, using GIS for their Precise Management for Sustainable Crop Productivity

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out to identify soil fertility constraints and map the fertility status of erstwhile Warangal District, Telangana, India using geographic information system (GIS) and global positioning system (GPS). 241 geo-referenced surface soil samples (0-20 cm) from the study area were analyzed for their fertility parameters. Soil fertility maps were prepared for each parameter under GIS environment using Arc-GIS v 10.8.2. The soils in study area were slightly acidic to slightly alkaline in reaction (6.16 - 8.34), non saline in nature (0.14 to 1.00 dS m–1) and low to high (0.12 - 1.14%) in organic carbon (OC%) content. The soils were low in available nitrogen (136 to231 kg ha-1), low to high in available phosphorus (14.00 to 166.00 kg P2O5 ha-1) and medium to high in available potassium (199 to 997 kg K2O ha-1). The wide variation from deficient to sufficient was observed in the status of available zinc (0.13 to 2.05 mg kg-1), iron (0.09 to 11.80 mg kg-1), copper (0.14 to 2.14 mg kg-1) and manganese (0.18 to 10.30 mg kg-1). The soil fertility status in study area revealed that soil organic carbon, available nitrogen and zinc are important soil fertility constraints in the erstwhile Warangal District Telangana India. To build up organic matter, zinc content, native nitrogen and maintain nutrient balance in the soil the farmers are advised to adopt farmyard manure (FYM) and ZnSO4 application regularly.