Soil Fertility Assessment and Mapping of Gauradaha Municipality, Jhapa, Nepal

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the soil fertility status and prepare the soil map of Gauradaha municipality using tools like GIS and GPS. Altogether 101 samples were collected from 9 different wards of the municipality randomly using a soil auger from a depth of 0-20 cm. The location of the samples was recorded using MWater software. Soil texture, soil pH, available nitrogen, phosphorus (P2O5), and potassium (K2O) status of the samples were analyzed at the Agricultural Branch of Gauradaha municipality in coordination with the Agriculture Knowledge Center (AKC), Jhapa, following standard procedures. The soil map of observed parameters was prepared through the ArcGIS 10.8.2 software. The obtained data displayed that the maximum soil samples were sandy loam in texture, whereas only a few samples were found to be loamy. The soil was acidic, with pH ranging from 5.3 to 6.8 with a mean of 5.99. Available nitrogen was entirely low throughout the municipality. The study showed that 44.55%, 35.64% and 19.80% of soil samples were low, medium and high in phosphorus content respectively, which implies maximum soil samples were low in phosphorus content. Also, 17.82%, 22.77% and 59.40% soil samples were low, medium and high in potassium content respectively which implies that potassium content in maximum soil samples was high. To improve the potentiality of crops for the studied area, future research strategies should be made based on its soil fertility status.