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ISBN 939449043-4 9 789394 490437 SOIL AND PLANT ANALYSIS NIPA GENX ELECTRONIC RESOURCES & SOLUTIONS P. LTD. New Delhi-110 034 About the Author Dr. Rahul Dev Behera holds Ph.D. degree in Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry from the Odisha University of Agricultural Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha in 2021. He has currently working as SMS (Soil Sc. & Ag. Chem.), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bolangir, OUAT, Odisha. He has published 22 nos of research papers in International and National journals. He has published 4 number of books with 10 book chapters. He worked with different rural farmers in Malkangiri and Bolangir District of Odisha with transferred the different new technologies to the farmers. He has tested more than 2000 numbers of soil samples at soil testing laboratory of KVK and distributed more than 5000 number of Soil Health Card to the farmers. He has given different skill and new technology training to the farmers and have also asked them to adopt them, which they have increased the production. He was awareded Scientist Award in Agriculture Science by International Multidisciplinary Research Foundation, 2017, Fellowship Award in Environmental Science by Environment & Social Welfare Socity, 2017 and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Award with medal in Soil Science by Odisha Rajya Sanskruti Surakhya Mancha, 2017. He gives different information to the farmers through Radio talk and articles through newspapers as well as through Booklet and leaflets. SOIL AND PLANT ANALYSIS Rahul Behera, Ph.D SMS (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry) Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bolangir Odisha University of Agricultural Technology Odisha-751 003 NIPA GENX ELECTRONIC RESOURCES & SOLUTIONS P. LTD. New Delhi-110 034 NIPA GENX ELECTRONIC RESOURCES & SOLUTIONS P. 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Trademark Notice: NIPA, the NIPA logos and their presentations (the way they are written/ presented) in this book are the trademarks of the publisher and hence may not be used without written permission, if copied or used without authorization, the infringer will be prosecuted as per law. NIPA also publishes books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books, and vice versa. Composed and Designed by NIPA. Preface In Odisha most of the area (41.16%) is under cultivable land. Most of the people are dependant on farming. They use huge amount of fertilizers without applying balanced fertilizers. They do not test soils and apply unbalanced fertilizers which leads to less growth of crops and yields. Despite our best and diverse efforts for sustainable crop production, the imbalance use of major nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg & S) and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn & B) decreases the production of the crop. In agriculture eco-system, soil and plant are indispensable for food production. For conservation and judicious use of natural resources, analysis of soil and plant is of utmost importance. Therefore, for any application of inputs or management of crop to be sustainable, testing of soil/plant parts in respect of plant nutrients is pre-requisite. There is qualitative and quantitative analysis in respect of nutrient in mandatory to arrive at appropriate conclusion/recommendation. To provide the soil testing laboratory with sustainable technical literature on various aspects of soil testing, including testing methods and formulations of fertilizer recommendations etc, the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bolangir has decided to bring out this book. The book provides elaborate information on major soil types of India, their composition, plant nutrient and their function, typical deficiency symptoms of nutrients in plants, apart from procedure of sample collection and methods of analysis. This manual contains analytical concepts on nutrients covering principles, materials, equipments, methods. Calculations and interpretations. Moreover, clear and easily understandable words/sentences have been used in this manual for better clarity of the analytical methods used. This book can also be used as a tool for soil testing in research laboratories for advancing research and preparing Soil Health Card for the farmers. It is expected that this book will be useful for the technical staff of the soil testing laboratories in doing day-to-day analytical work and framing fertilizer use recommendations. Dr. Rahul Dev Behera SMS (Soil Sc. & Ag. Chem.) KVK, Bolangir Contents Preface...........................................................................................................v 1. Collection of Soil Sample..........................................................................1 2. Processing of the Soil Samples.................................................................5 3. Determination of Soil Texture by Feel Method.........................................7 4. Determination of Bulk Density, Particle Density and Pore Space in Soil ..................................................................................11 5. Determination of Water Stable Aggregates............................................ 13 6. Soil Moisture Determination................................................................... 15 7. Determination of the Field Capacity....................................................... 17 8. Determination of the Infiltration Rate of Water by Double Ring Infiltrometer Method.......................................................... 19 9. Determination of the Maximum Water Holding Capacity of Soil ...................................................................................... 21 10. Determination of Soil Texture by Bouyoucos Hydrometer Method............................................................................... 23 11. Analytical Chemistry-Basic Concepts and Calculations......................... 27 12. Determination of Electrical Conductivity of Soil..................................... 43 13. Determination of Organic Carbon in Soil by Walkley: Black Method .......................................................................... 49 Contents / viii 14. Determination of Lime Requirement by Woodruff Buffer Method........................................................................................ 59 15. Determination of Neutralizing Value of Sample ..................................... 61 16. Determination of Available Nitrogen by Kjeldahl Method...................... 63 17. Determination of Available Phosphorous in Soil by Bray’s-1 Method .................................................................................... 65 18. Determination of Available Phosphorous in Soil by Olsen’s Method ...................................................................................... 69 19. Determination of Available Potassium in Soil (Jackson,1973) ................ 71 20. Determination of Exchangeable Calcium in Soil..................................... 73 21. Determination of Exchangeable Magnesium in Soil............................... 75 22. Determination of Available Sulphur in Soil by Turbidimetric Method ............................................................................. 77 23. Determination of Available Sulphur in Soil by Seed Solution Method............................................................................. 79 24. Determination of Available Fe, Mn, Cu & Zn in Soil.............................. 81 25. Determination of Exchange Acidity in Soil............................................. 85 26. Preparation of Indicators........................................................................ 87 27. Determination of Nitrogen in Plant Sample............................................ 89 28. Determination of Phosphorous in Plant Sample ..................................... 91 29. Determination of Potassium in Plant Sample ......................................... 93 30. Determination of Sulphur in Plant Sample.............................................. 95 31. Determination of Calcium in Plant Sample............................................. 97 32. Determination of Magnesium in Plant Sample ....................................... 99 1 Collection of Soil Sample Aim of the Experiment: To collect the soil sample from the given plot. Principles Soil testing identifies various constraints in soil that limit crop production. Fertilizer recommendation and soil management practices to be adopted are based on the soil test report. Soil testing starts with collection of soil samples from the field and ends with interpretation of soil test results leading to necessary recommendations for increasing crop production. To obtain correct soil test values, the soil sample should be a proper representative of the soil of the particular area. Since soil is heterogeneous in nature, specific techniques are followed to collect the soil sample. A soil sample is the representative of the soil of a particular area. It represents the average physical, chemical, biological properties and nutrient status of the soil of that area. Soil samples are usually collected from 0 to 15 cm depth since the roots of most of the field crops derive nutrients and moisture from this depth. The collected soil samples are analysed in the laboratory in order to identify various constraints in the soil like soil acidity, alkalinity, salinity etc. and to follow appropriate management practices to increase the crop production as well as to prescribe fertilizer recommendation for higher crop production. Soil heterogeneity is more in the vertical dimension than in the horizontal dimension. To average out the horizontal variation, samples are drawn from a number of spots well distributed throughout the field excluding some unusual areas. Soil samples drawn from different spots are mixed thoroughly to prepare the composite sample. The entire field is thoroughly surveyed before collection of soil sample and is divided into sampling units on the basis of Physiography, Texture, Structure, Colour and Previous cropping history Physiography includes vegetation, topography and the presence of other natural features like hills, rivers etc. If the soil is uniform in all these characteristics it is treated as one sampling unit. For variation in single characteristic in any part of