Assessment of Soil Chemical Properties under Different Land use Systems in Department of Agricultural Research

Abstract

Assessment of soil chemical properties is valuable for agricultural production. A study of soil chemical properties under different land use systems was carried out to assess the chemical properties of soil under study experimental conditions in Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) for better soil management decisions and the improvement of yield production. The study area was located at Zayar Thiri Township, Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar. A total of 235 soil samples were collected by using Global Positioning System (GPS) at the grid point of 50 m × 50 m with a depth of 0-20 cm. The area of the research field size was about 52 ha. The land use systems selected for study area of Hybrid Rice Research Section (Rice), Other Cereal Crops Research Section (Maize and rice), Food Legume Research Section (Pulses and rice) and Plant Pathology Research Section (Rice) were about 10.4 ha, 24.3 ha, 12.1 ha and 4.7 ha respectively. Soil pH varied from 5.37 to 6.15, electrical conductivity varied from 0.05 to 0.07 dS m-1 and CEC varied from 4.81 to 5.88 cmolc kg-1. Soil organic matter (SOM) content ranged from 1.44 to 1.86%. Soil total nitrogen content varied from 0.10 to 0.16%, available soil phosphorus from 9.52 to 16.79 mg kg-1 and available soil potassium from 65.06 to 85.16 mg kg-1. From this investigation it is concluded that soil total nitrogen, SOM, CEC and soil available potassium were low conditions in different land use systems in DAR soils. Because of lowering the soil chemical properties, adopting incorporated soil fertility management, and applying organic fertilizer may preserve the existing conditions and enhance soil properties.