Soil quality assessment of different villages of Chikkamagalur block in Chikkamagalur district of Karnataka (India)

Soil is a vital natural resource which supports the life on earth. Among several factors which influence the crop production potential, soil fertility is the fundamental factor. An attempt is made to assess the physico-chemical characteristics of different villages in Chikkamagalur block of Chikkamagalur district of Karnataka using various soil quality parameters. Accordingly it is found that the soils of the Chikkamagalur block were low in the available nitrogen and sulphur with the mean values of 163.95 kg ha-1, medium in available phosphorus contents with the mean value of 17.06 kg ha-1 and high in potassium contents of soil with mean value of 483.39 kg ha-1. The soils were found to be acidic to neutral in reaction with the average pH value of 5.71. The soils were free from salinity hazards since the mean value of electrical conductivity was found to be 0.18 dSm-1. The organic carbon statuses of soils were found medium to high with mean of 0.93%. The available calcium, magnesium and Sulphur are found sufficiently with 1.72 me/100g, 2.70 me/100g and 0.50 mg kg-1 respectively. The soil is deteriorating in its quality and is mainly due to the continuous cropping. So it is recommended for the study area that sustainable cropping management systems are adopted to conserve and improve the soil quality.