DR B.K.AGARWAL, CHIEF SCIENTIST BAU, RANCHI

Email : bkassac@gmail.comEmail : bkassac@gmail.comEmail : bkassac@gmail.comEmail : bkassac@gmail.com

Area in % Area in % Area in Area in LakhsLakhs HaHa

* * Total Geographical AreaTotal Geographical Area : : 79.71 79.71

Total Cultivable Land Total Cultivable Land :: 47.67 %47.67 % 38.00 38.00

* * Net Sown AreaNet Sown Area :: 32.30 % 32.30 % 25.75 25.75 **

* * Current FallowCurrent Fallow :: 8.32 %8.32 % 6.626.62

* * Other FallowOther Fallow :: 08.46 %08.46 % 6.756.75

2

* * Other FallowOther Fallow :: 08.46 %08.46 % 6.756.75

* * ForestForest :: 29.20 %29.20 % 23.2823.28

* * Barren LandsBarren Lands :: 7.20 %7.20 % 5.745.74

* * Non Non –– Agricultural UseAgricultural Use :: 8.60 %8.60 % 6.866.86

* * Pasture and Other Grazing Pasture and Other Grazing

LandLand :: 2.48 %2.48 % 1.971.97

* * Cultivable Waste LandCultivable Waste Land :: 3.44 %3.44 % 2.742.74

* * Irrigated landIrrigated land :: 12.73 %12.73 % 3.0073.007

* * Cropping Intensity Cropping Intensity :: 125%125%

2

Sub zone IV

� Low water retentive capacity of the soil particularly that of uplands.

� Late arrival and early cessation of monsoon and erratic and uneven distribution of rainfall

� Lack of safe disposal of runoff water during monsoon and water storage and moisture conservation practices for raising Rabi crops.

Drying of tanks and wells by February results in no Rabi crop production.

Sub zone V

�Late arrival and early

cessation of monsoon

�Erratic/uneven �Erratic/uneven

distribution of rainfall

�Low water retentive

capacity of soils

�Lack of soil and water

conservation practices

Sub zone VI

• Uneven distribution of

rainfall

• Low water holding

capacity capacity

• Eroded soils

• Poor soil fertility.

Uplands Uplands Uplands Uplands

� Red, brownish red in colour

� Light textured

� Well drained

Acidic soil reaction� Acidic soil reaction

� Poor in organic carbon, nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and sulphur.

Medium land

� Yellowish in colour

� Light to medium textured

� Moderately acidic

� Poor in nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, organic matter.

Low land Low land Low land Low land Low land Low land Low land Low land

� Grey or greyish in colour

� Heavy textured

� Neutral to slightly alkaline soil reaction

� Poorly drained

� Medium in nitrogen and organic matter.

� Highly permeable coarse textured soils

� Shallow soil depth

� Compacted layer at shallow soil depth

� Heavy soils causing water stagnation

Crust formation on the surface of ploughed � Crust formation on the surface of ploughed layer

� Soil acidity is a limiting factor for crop production particularly for

legumes oil seeds, maize, wheat and vegetables etc. The problem of

acidity is likely to increase due to erosion of surface soil and use of only

nitrogenous fertilizers by the farmers.

� Based on the analysis of 12,823 soil samples of the 22 districts of � Based on the analysis of 12,823 soil samples of the 22 districts of

Jharkhand it was found that soils of about 49 per cent of the total

geographical area (TGA) of the state are extremely acidic to strongly

acidic (pH <5.5); about 36 per cent area suffering from moderate to

slight soil acidity (pH 5.6 to 6.5)

� soil acidity was the core problem in getting optimum agriculture

production.

Jharkhand soil in general, are low to very low in available phosphorus and sulphur,

medium in available nitrogen & potassium status and deficient in available boron.

� The organic carbon content of soils of about 47 per cent of TGA are low to medium

(<0.5% to 0.75%)

� Soils of majority area (about 70% of TGA) of the state have medium status of

available nitrogen (280 to 560 kg/ha) and about 19.6 per cent area have low

available N content (<280 kg/ha).

� Soils of about 66 per cent area are low (<10 kg/ha) in available phosphorous � Soils of about 66 per cent area are low (<10 kg/ha) in available phosphorous

content while about 28 per cent area are found to be medium (10 – 25 kg/ha) in

available P content.

� Most of the soils (about 51% of TGA) have medium potassium content and about

18 per cent are low (below 108 kg/ha) in available potassium content.

� Soils of about 38 per cent area are low (<10 mg/kg) whereas soils of about 31 per

cent are medium (10-20 mg/kg) in available sulphur content.

60

80

100

120

%Low P % Medium P

0

20

40

Bokar

o

Cha

traD

eoga

rhD

hanb

adD

umka

East s

ingh

bhum

Gar

hwa

Giri

dih

God

da

Gum

laha

zarib

agh

jam

tara

Koder

ma

Late

har

Loha

rdag

a

Pakur

Palam

uR

anch

iSah

ebga

njSar

aile

laSim

dega

Wes

t Sin

ghbh

um

Jhar

khan

d

Percentage soil low in Avail S in different districts of Jharkhand

40

50

60

70

80

90

% % Low Avail S

0

10

20

30

40

Bokar

oC

hatra

Deo

garh

Dha

nbad

Dum

ka

East s

ingh

bhum

Gar

hwa

Giri

dih

God

daG

umla

haza

ribag

hja

mta

raKod

erm

aLa

teha

rLo

hard

aga

Pakur

Palam

uR

anch

iSah

ebga

njSar

aile

laSim

dega

Wes

t Sin

ghbh

um

Jhar

khan

d

� All the soils are sufficient in iron (>4.5 mg/kg) and manganese(>2.0 mg/kg)

� Soils of about 7 per cent area are deficient in available zinc (<0.5 mg/kg)

� Soils of about 45 per cent of the state are � Soils of about 45 per cent of the state are found to be deficient in available boron (<0.5 mg/kg).

Available boron (mg kg-1) Area

(’00 ha)

% of the TGA Rating

<0.25 17286 21.7

Deficient

0.25-0.50 19063 23.9

Available boron status in the surface soils

0.50-0.75 15926 19.9 Sufficient

>0.75 25807 32.4

Miscellaneous 1632 2.1

Total 79714 100

Percentage soil Low in Avail Boron in different districts of Jharkhand

40

50

60

70

80

90

% % Low Avail B

0

10

20

30

40

Bokar

oC

hatra

Deo

garh

Dha

nbad

Dum

ka

East s

ingh

bhum

Gar

hwa

Giri

dih

God

daG

umla

haza

ribag

hja

mta

raKod

erm

aLa

teha

rLo

hard

aga

Pakur

Palam

uR

anch

iSah

ebga

njSar

aile

laSim

dega

Wes

t Sin

ghbh

um

Jhar

khan

d

Available zinc (mg kg-1) Area

(’00 ha)

% of the TGA Rating

<0.50 4557 5.7 Deficient

0.5-1.0 13399 16.8

Sufficient1.0-2.0 35405 44.4

2.0-3.0 16995 21.3

Available zinc status in the surface soils

2.0-3.0 16995 21.3

3.0-5.0 5956 7.5

>5.0 1770 2.2

Miscellaneous 1632 2.1

Total 79714 100

Status of Zn in Jharkhand State

25

30

35

40

45

% T

GA

Deficient Emerging Deficiency

0

5

10

15

20

Bok

aro

Chat

raD

eogar

hD

hanba

dD

umka

Eas

t sin

ghbhu

mG

arhw

a

Giri

dih

God

daG

umla

Haza

ribag

hJa

mta

raK

oder

ma

Late

harLo

hard

aga

Pak

urP

alam

uR

anchi

Sah

ebga

njS

araile

laS

imdeg

a

West

Sin

ghbh

um%

TG

A

Assessment and mapping of some important soil parameters including macro & micro nutrients at block level of Dumka, Jamtara, Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts for optimum land use plan

Name of district No. of

Blocks

No. of samples

Hazaribagh 16 16783Hazaribagh 16 16783

Ramgarh 6 5508

Dumka 10 14786

Jamtara 6 7209

Total 38 44286

Name of the Block Area(‘00ha)

No of Grids Collected

Barhi 367.4 1337

Barkagaon 439.6 1701

Barkatha 266.0 1016

Bishungarh 435.6 1651

Chalkhusha 173.6 720

Chauparan 462.9 1845

Churchu 203.6 832

No of surface soil samples collected from different blocks of Hazaribagh district

Churchu 203.6 832

Dari 146.1 614

Daru 128.6 509

Hazaribagh 250.6 943

Ichak 282.3 1060

Katkamdag 128.0 448

Katkamsandi 319.9 1225

Keredari 422.4 1682

Padma 125.3 498

Tatijharia 161.1 702

4313 16783

Textural class (Surface)

Particle size class

(Textural grouping)

Area(‘00ha)

% of the TGA

Loamy sand Sandy 115.8 31.5

Sandy loam Coarse loamy143.8 39.1

Sandy clay loam Fine loam 29.7 8.1

Soil textural class Barhi Block, Hazaribagh

Sandy clay Fine43.6 11.9

Miscellaneous34.5 9.4

Total area 367.4 100.0

Soil reaction Area(‘00ha)

% of the TGA

Very strongly acidic (pH 4.5 to

5.0) 13.7 3.7

Strongly acidic (pH 5.1 to 5.5) 33.0 9.0

Moderately acidic (pH 5.6 to 6.0) 62.5 17.0

Slightly acidic (pH 6.1 to 6.5) 86.8 23.6

Neutral (pH 6.6 to 7.3) 120.7 32.9

Slightly alkaline (pH 7.4 to 7.8) 16.2 4.4

Miscellaneous 34.5 9.4

Total area 367.4 100.0

Soils under different Reaction classes

Organic Carbon Status

Available Phosphorous Status in the Surface Soils

Available phosphorous (kg ha-1)

Area(‘00ha)

% of the TGA

Low (< 10) 72.9 19.8

Medium (10-

25) 174.0 47.4

High (> 25) 86.0 23.4

Miscellaneou

s 34.5 9.4

Total area 367.4 100.0

Available Potassium Status in the Surface SoilsAvailable potassium (kg ha-1)

Area

(‘00ha)% of the

TGA

Low (< 108) 17.8 4.8

Medium (108-

280) 97.4 26.5

High (> 280) 217.7 59.3

Miscellaneo

us 34.5 9.4

Total area 367.4 100.0

Available Sulphur Status in the Surface Soils

Available sulphur(mg kg-1)

Area

(‘00ha)

% of the TGA

Low (<10) 114.5 31.2

Medium

(10-20) 117.4 31.9

High (>20) 101.0 27.5

Miscellaneous 34.5 9.4

Total

area 367.4 100.0

Available Zinc Status in the Surface SoilsAvailable zinc(mg kg-1)

Area(‘00ha)

% of the TGA

Rating

<0.5 49.3 13.4 Deficient

0.5-1.0 34.7 9.5

Sufficient

1.0-2.0 88.2 24.0

2.0-3.0 67.3 18.3

3.0-5.0 59.5 16.2

>5.0 33.9 9.2

Miscellaneou

s 34.5 9.4

Total area 367.4 100.0Total area 367.4 100.0

Available boron status in the surface soilsAvailable boron(mg kg-1)

Area

(‘00ha)% of the

TGARating

<0.50 129.8 35.3 Deficient

0.50-0.75 67.2 18.3

Sufficient0.75-1.00 50.3 13.7

>1.00 85.6 23.3

Miscellaneous 34.5 9.4

Total area 367.4 100.0

Acid Soil :

An Overview An Overview

�PRODUCTION CONSTRAINTS

�Physical and chemical degradation due to

anthropogenically activity causing enhanced soil erosion

� Excessive tillage resulted loss of soil organic matter� Excessive tillage resulted loss of soil organic matter

� Contamination with toxic metals and persistent organic

pollutants causing loss in soil functional capacity in

industrial areas

�Poor nutrient and water use efficiency

�PRODUCTION CONSTRAINTS

�Acid soils have poor supply of calcium, magnesium and

more concentrations of Fe & Al.

� Soils suffer due to deficiency of phosphorus, calcium, � Soils suffer due to deficiency of phosphorus, calcium,

magnesium, sulphur, molybdenum, boron and toxicities

of Al & Fe

�Soils have low organic carbon and available

nitrogen

PRODUCTION CONSTRAINTS

�Crop production suffer due to poor biological

�Fertilizer use is also limited in these soils

�Soils are prone to soil erosion due to their occurrence,

generally, on hilly terrains

�Crop production suffer due to poor biological

activity of soils , frequent moisture stress and erratic

rainfall.

�Surface crust formations, high bulk density, poor soil

structure, coarse textured of soils, high percolation rate

further aggravate the problems

Options for Managing

ConstraintsConstraints

Soil degradation, diagnosis, conservation and

management

�For managing poor soil structure, residue incorporation and

mulching , manuring, and some forms of agro forestry, cover

cropping, contour ploughing, minimum tillage and efficient

/appropriate irrigation will be taken as a tool of soil restoration and

physical degradation management

� Long term imbalance use of nutrients resulted into degradation of

soil health. Overall nutrient use (N, P2O5, K2O) of 4:2:1 is

considered ideal for indian soils, the present use ration of is wide

�The imbalance and low nutrient use has resulted in a wide gap

between crop removal and fertilizer application. Long term fertilizer

experiments in India have in general, showed that P and K status in

soil have gone down when only N was applied and soil become hard .

TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE FOR ACID SOIL

MANAGEMENT

�Land Situation:Rainfed/irrigated uplands and medium lands with pH < 5.5

�Source of lime:Basic slag, paper mill sludge, limestone/dolomite, marketable

lime as available locally in ground form

�Lime application rate:Generally 2-4 q/ha in furrows. The rate may be high for fine

and organic matter rich soils

Crop District PH

range

No. of

Trials

Yield (q/ha) Yield

Response

(%)

B:C

RatioFP FP + Lime

Groundnut

Dhenkanal 4.0-6.3 9 8.40 11.43 36 2.34

Mayurbhanja 4.8-5.2 11 10.10 17.55 17 1.75

Nayagarh 5.5-5.7 10 10.70 12.70 19 1.20

Table : Response of different crops to liming in acid soil

regions

Nayagarh 5.5-5.7 10 10.70 12.70 19 1.20

Ganjam 5.6-6.1 7 19.10 23.87 25 4.32

Green gram

Khurda 5.5-6.5 12 8.10 8.95 5 1.50

Dhenkanal 3.8-6.0 10 8.20 9.90 21 1.60

Cabbage

Kandhamal 5.9-6.6 5 111.70 130.00 16 5.4

Koraput 5.8-7.3 7 224.00 256.90 15 -

Cauliflower Kandhamal 6.0-6.1 5 99.50 121.00 22 14.05

100% NPK + lime

Farmer’s practice

Effect of lime application in Maize (var. Swan) in acid soil (pH 5.3) of Ranchi

Effect of lime application in Groundnut (var. BAU-18) in acid soil (pH 5.3) of Ranchi

NPK Application and Grain Yield of Soybean

Lime + FYM + 15

20

LONG TERM FERTILIZER, (44yrs)(q/ha)

Control N (Urea)NP

NPKLime +

NPK

FYM +

NPK

0

5

10

15

Treatment

40% 142% 186% 197%

18% 22%

State Rate of B and

source (kgha-1)

Crops Yield (q ha-1)

With

B

Without

B

Response

(%)

Assam 1.0 kg B (Borax) Mustard 7.6 6.5 16.9

Jharkhand 3.0 kg B (Borax) Groundnut 15.3 11.4 34.0

2.0 kg B (Borax) Pigeonpea 16.7 10.4 60.5

Response of crops (other than cereals) to soil application of B in

acidic soils

2.0 kg B (Borax) Pigeonpea 16.7 10.4 60.5

2.0 kg B (Borax) Gram 9.3 6.8 36.7

2.0 kg B (Borax) Cauliflower 220 123.1 19.1

6.0 kg B (Borax) Lucerne 733 636 15.3

Orissa 2.0 kg B (Borax) Groundnut 14.1 10.6 29.9

Sikkim 1.0 kg B (Borax) Frenchbean 91.7 84.3 8.8

State Rate of B and

source (kgha-1)

Crops Yield (q ha-1)

With

Mo

Without

Mo

Response

(%)

Jharkhand 1.0 kg Mo

(Ammonium

molybdate, soil

Lucerne 709 649 9.3

Response of crops to molybdenum application in acidic soils

molybdate, soil

application)

Orissa 8.0 g Mo/ 25 kg

seed

(Ammonium

molybdate)

Green gram 5.96 4.26 39.9

Karnataka 8.0 g Sodium

molybdate/kg

seed

Soybean 29.4 23.3 26.0

An Overview : Our Strength & Weakness

Strength

� Basic information on soil pH,Org.C,Avail.P&K,Texture are provided by STLs of the state

� State has STLs in each district,which caters to the need of soil health assessment. Besides University, need of soil health assessment. Besides University, KVKs and NGOs have soil testing facilities.

� Soil test based information is superior to Blanket recommendation.

� Farmers in general have idea of native soil health based on their ITKs(Indigenous Tech. Knowledge)

Weakness

� Most STLs in the state are poorly equipped in terms of building,tech. personnel, Instruments etc.

� No. of such Labs are meagre & this needs to be increased to meet the state needs.

� Soil test recommendations are not made for different � Soil test recommendations are not made for different crop yield targets.

� Functioning of Soil testing Labs is poor & there is lack of coordination among them.

� In general, soil testing is not a priority for farmers in the state, due to aforesaid reasons.

Opportunities

� Soil test data base for the state is essential for sustainable crop production through balanced input use.

� Soil Nutrient maps at district/block level will help in soil health planning.

� Soil health assessment must include Secondary & Micronutrients, � Soil health assessment must include Secondary & Micronutrients, beside major ones.

� Soil health assessment must be done with farmers as partners for greater benefits.

� Soil health assessment will improve Nutrient & water use efficiency by crops.

� New Concepts on soil test based nutrient use in crops, such as SSNM,STCR, IPNM etc. must be tested with large scale farmers field trials for higher profits from input use.

Threats

� Generalised soil testing is not of much use. It should be site specific & tuned to farmers need.

� Soil testing should be integrated with water use, crops& cropping systems, land holding & economic condition of farmers.condition of farmers.

� Without liberal support of State Govt.,this will not make much headway.

� Analytical methods used & interpretation of soil tests, determine the effectiveness of soil tests.

� Soil test reports often do not reach farmers in time.

Short term initiatives

� Soil sample collection should be GIS based and also land situation based. Areas under high value crops, area under intensive cropping should be priority areas.

� Ready reckoners for lime use based on Lime � Ready reckoners for lime use based on Lime requirements of soils to be available with STLs.

� Secondary & micronutrients analysis in STLs to be included.

� Soil health assessment done should indicate required input use for different yield targets.

Continued ------

� All facilities for infrastructure, equipments, personnel must be in place .

� Regular training of farmers, extension personnels, soil testing staff etc. must be provided.soil testing staff etc. must be provided.

� Quality of soil test needs improvements, based on periodic checking of samples & their analysis in University lab .

� All KVKs, ATMAs, NGOs must be linked under the soil health assessment programme.

Long Term Initiatives

� Emphasis to be laid on efficiency of input use based on soil tests under crops/cropping systems.

� Soil health information must be complete. This should help to manage problem soils, soil errosion, water resources use, better Nutrient recovery by crops, resources use, better Nutrient recovery by crops, sustaining Soil organic matter levels etc.

� Data interpretation ,data storage ,monitoring and follow-up mechanisms should be in place.

� Soil Nutrient Mapping must be done at Block Level for planning & execution purposes.

Continued ------

� Soil health indicators in each Agro-climatic zones need to be identified.

� Multi-nutrient soil tests should be developed in Research Labs for use by STLs.

� Soil health information should be digitized and communicated through IT-based services.

� Soil health information should be digitized and communicated through IT-based services.

� Adoption of Soil Test based Nutrient Use by majority of farmers should be the target. This will require regular interaction with all concerned and a mission mode implementation.

Specific issue need to be explore more about our region .

FUTURE PLANFUTURE PLAN

� To standardize soil health indicator for acid soil

� Management practice to overcome the issue of surface crusting , subsurface hardness , low rate of infiltration ,

� Termite is a big issue in acid soil .Crop residue left in the field further aggravate the termite population and may cause damage the crop . To get the benefit of crop cover cause damage the crop . To get the benefit of crop cover there is a need to do research on crop as well as termite population along with measures to control it .

� Identify farm implement for the farmers having land holding <50 decimal or 0.5 acre.

� Standardize the time and amount of crop residue incorporated in soil for getting better soil health.

� To develop rapid method of soil analysis for different physical ,Chemical and Biological parameters.

� Generate soil resource inventory data base for physical chemicalbiological and soil pathogen parameter under different land situationand suggest management practices to address the issue of soil health inJharkhand .

� Boron and Molybdenum is deficient in acid soil .In soil health indicatordue wattage has to be worked out .

� Calcium and Magnesium deficiency, and measures to overcome thesame needs to be addressed .

� Use of beneficial fungi needs to be workout .

� Control of soil born pathogen specially problem of wilt needs to beaddressed.