Assessment of Soil Particle Distribution and Primary Nutrient Status in the Groundnut-Producing Areas of Nalgonda, Telangana, India

Abstract

The current research involved a thorough field survey to assess particle size distribution and the availability of primary nutrients in rabi-grown groundnut soils (2022-2023) across three productivity regions: high (2497.15-3006.47 kg ha-1), medium (1987.82-2497.15 kg ha-1), and low (up to 1987.82 kg ha-1) in Nalgonda district, Telangana. A total of 150 surface soil samples (0 - 15 cm depth), with 50 samples from each productivity region, were collected before the sowing of rabi groundnut crop using a stratified random sampling method. These collected soil samples are further processed and analysed for soil texture, available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). The objective of this research is to know the status of texture and primary nutrients in groundnut growing areas of Nalgonda district. The sand, silt and clay content in high, medium and low productivity regions averaged 72.90%, 71.29%, 67.56%; 6.82%, 8.35%, 10.16% and 20.27%, 20.36%, 22.27% respectively. The respective available N, P and K showed mean values of 257.29 kg ha-1, 189.40 kg ha-1 and 138.99 kg ha-1; 48.025 kg h IJPSS_116978a-1, 44.512 kg ha-1, 27.09 kg ha-1 and 251.91 kg ha-1, 236.48 kg ha-1, 174.86 kg ha-1 in high, medium and low productivity regions. In regions characterized by high productivity, there was a pronounced prevalence of sand content, significantly influencing soil particle aggregation. Notably, silt content exhibited considerable variation, particularly within areas of medium and low productivity, whereas clay content displayed the most variability in regions of low productivity. The availability of nitrogen decreased sequentially from high to medium productivity areas, and further from medium to low productivity regions. This same pattern was observed for available phosphorus and potassium, with substantial variations across the three productivity categories, declining consistently from high productivity regions to low productivity ones. Variations in available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) exhibited extensive dispersion within every productivity category, as evidenced by the significant standard deviation and coefficient of variation values across these regions. This is particularly notable for potassium, highlighting the necessity of considering diverse soil conditions and factors affecting potassium availability when formulating fertilization plans.