Assessment of Soil Fertility of Some Villages of Mahishi Block, Saharsa, Bihar

Abstract

Assessment of soil fertility is essential to help identify strategies for sustainable agricultural production system that decreases the negative environmental impact. The experiment was conducted to investigate the soil fertility status of soils of five different villages of Mahishi block of Saharsa district, Bihar, India. A total of 100 numbers of surface soil samples (0-15 cm) comprising of 20 composite soil samples from each site were collected. Collected soil samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, zinc, iron, copper and manganese. Results revealed that pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, available N, P, K and S ranged with a mean value of (7.20, 7.23, 7.33, 7.41 & 7.45), (0.52, 0.53, 0.54, 0.49 & 0.55 dSm-1), (0.53, 0.48, 0.51, 0.56 & 0.54 per cent), (315, 320, 280, 361 & 325 kg ha-1), (30.92, 30.12, 28.30, 29.08 & 27.53 kg ha-1), (217, 234, 190, 204 & 210 kg ha-1) and (15.79, 16.05, 16.26, 17.37 & 17.89 mg kg-1) under Sonkurthua, Ghoghpur, Baghaud, Naharwar and Maina villages. Hence, various effects viz. use of biofertilizers, organic manure and balanced chemical fertilization were suggested for farmers regarding the benefits of improving soil fertility.