Evaluation of soil fertility status of Kirwai village in Gariyaband District, Chhattisgarh

The present investigation entitled “Evaluation of Soil Fertility Status of Kirwai Village in Gariyaband District, Chhattisgarh” was conducted to assess the soil fertility status and formulate fertilizer recommendations based on soil test results. A total of 160 surface soil samples (0–15 cm) were collected from cultivated fields of Kirwai Village, Fingeshwar block, Gariyaband district, using a random sampling approach with GPS coordinates. The collected samples were analyzed for soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), Sulphur (S), DTPA-extractable iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and hot water extractable boron (B). The soils were moderately acidic to neutral in reaction, with pH ranging from 5.30 to 7.47 with a mean value of 6.52 ± 0.63. Electrical conductivity ranged from 0.11 to 0.19 dS m−1 with a mean value of 0.15 ± 0.014 dS m−1, indicating that soil having no deleterious effect on crop. Organic carbon content varied from 0.24 to 0.69% with a mean value of 0.45 ± 0.14%, where 55% and 45% of the samples were categorized under low and medium classes, respectively. Among the macronutrients, available nitrogen ranged from 118.20 to 230.25 kg ha⁻¹ with a mean value of 169.29 ± 25.24 kg ha⁻¹, and all samples (100%) were low in available nitrogen. Available phosphorus determined by the Olsen method ranged from 10.24 to 35.17 kg ha⁻¹ with a mean value of 19.66 ± 5.03 kg ha⁻¹, of which 8.75%, 81.25%, and 10.00% of the samples belonged to the low, medium, and high categories, respectively. Available phosphorus determined by the Bray P₁ method ranged from 21.19 to 52.59 kg ha⁻¹ with a mean value of 38.50 ± 9.59 kg ha⁻¹, where 30% and 70% of the samples were classified under low and medium categories, respectively. Available potassium ranged from 89.60 to 327.40 kg ha⁻¹ with a mean value of 159.63 ± 43.53 kg ha⁻¹, with 27.50% of the samples under the low category and 72.50% under the medium category. Available Sulphur ranged from 6.91 to 39.65 kg ha−1 with a mean value of 24.76 ± 8.03 kg ha−1, of which 31.25% and 68.75% of the samples were classified under low and medium categories, respectively. The available Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, and B contents ranged from 24.87–46.37, 13.34–25.56, 1.30–3.30, 0.41–1.12, and 0.22–0.65 mg kg−1, with mean values of 34.70 ± 4.41, 17.05 ± 2.18, 2.19 ± 0.44, 0.65 ± 0.15, and 0.35 ± 0.10 mg kg−1, respectively. All soil samples were sufficient in Fe, Mn, and Cu, whereas 36.88% of the samples were deficient and 63.13% were sufficient in Zn. Boron deficiency was observed in 89.38% of the samples, while 10.63% were sufficient.