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ISSN 2063-5346
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Evaluation of soil structure and fertility of agricultural fields at Nilgiris โ€“ TamilNadu

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Merlin seles.J, Chitra.K
ยป doi: 10.48047/ecb/2023.12.7.209

Abstract

Agricultural soil mainly consists of minerals, organic matter, water and air. Soil fertility is the ability to improve the plant growth and optimize the yield. The richness of soil fertility is due to the usage of organic and inorganic fertilizers.. For the present study, two agricultural fields were selected. The soil parameters such as physical, chemical and enzymatic activities were analyzed. The color of the soils was reddish brown. The soil textures of both the fields were sandy clay loamy soil. The pH values of both soils were acidic.. The soil structure was determined by the scanning electron microscope. The structures of both the soils were cluster in shape. The macro nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micro nutrients such as iron, magnesium, zinc, copper were present within the optimum limit. The enzymes such as Invertase, Urease and Catalase were present in moderate level in both the soils. Presence of high amount of heavy metals in soil leads to the reduction of growth in the plants. The heavy metals such cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel and arsenic were analyzed. All the heavy metals were present within the permissible limit. The results showed that there is a slight variation in both agricultural fields soil. The study concluded that these two agricultural fields were good in their physicochemical and enzymatic parameters and also they were good for the cultivation of crops.

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