Assessment of Soil Productivity Potentials in Hot Semi-Arid Northern Transition Zone of India using Riquier Index and GIS Techniques

Authors

  • Denis M. K. Amara Department of Soil Science, School of Agriculture, Njala University, Njala Campus, PMB, Via Taiama, Njala Mokonde, Moyamba District, Sierra Leone
  • Patrick A. Sawyerr
  • Saidu D. Mansaray
  • Philip J. Kamanda

Keywords:

Soil Productivity, Riquier Index, GIS, Erosion, Soil Properties

Abstract

In the present study, assessment of soil productivity was undertaken in Singhanlli-Bogur microwatershed in the hot semi-arid agro-ecological region of the northern transition zone of Karnataka, India. Nine intrinsic soil characteristics were evaluated using the parametric approach proposed by Riquier. The study revealed that there was no excellent productivity class both in terms of actual and potential productivity. In terms of actual productivity, more than half of the area (396.3 ha) which makes up 52.1% of the study area was poor in productivity, 42.6 ha (5.6 %) was extremely poor in productivity, 161.6 ha (21.3 %) showed average productivity and 144.0 ha (18.3%) was good in productivity. On the other hand, in terms of potential productivity which is the productivity that the soil is expected to show after soil improvements are done, almost half of the area (365.7 ha) which makes up 48% of the study area was average in productivity, 135.9 ha (19.9%) was poor in productivity while 242.9 ha (31.9) showed good productivity. It is expected that there will be no extremely poor productivity class in the study area after soil improvement. This is probably due to improvement in previously limiting soil characteristics. Organic matter was found to be the most limiting factor for crop production in the study area. In lowland soils especially clay soils, drainage was found to be a major limiting factor for crop production. It was suggested that the addition of organic matter through manuring, green manuring, crop rotation etc. and fertilisers, as well as improving the soil drainage conditions through excess water removal by reclamation and ridging, would increase the potential productivity of the soils. In addition, agronomic measures like sowing of close-spaced erosion-resistant crops, intercropping, strip cropping with cover management practices and mechanical measures like continuous contour trenches would improve organic matter and structure as well as conserve water and protect soils from erosion especially in the uplands.

Author Biography

Denis M. K. Amara, Department of Soil Science, School of Agriculture, Njala University, Njala Campus, PMB, Via Taiama, Njala Mokonde, Moyamba District, Sierra Leone

Lecturer (Assistant Professor)

References

Fresco, L.O., Huizing, H., Keulen, H.V., Luning, H.A. and Schipper, R.A. (1994) Land Evaluation and Farming Systems Analysis for Land Use Planning. FAO Working Document.

Karlen, D.L., Mausbach, M.J., Doran, J.W., Cline, R.G., Harris, R.F. and Schuman, G.E.(1997) Soil Quality: A concept, definition, and framework for evaluation. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 61(1): 4-10.

Riquier, J. (1974) A summary of parametric methods of soil and land evaluation. In: Approaches to land classification, Soils Bulletin 22 (ed. FAO) FAO, Rome.

Kanwar, J.S. (1994) In management of land and water resources for sustainable agriculture and environment. Diamond JubileeSymposium, Indian Society of Soil Science, New Delhi.

De wit, C.T. and Van Keulen, H. (1987) Modelling production of field crops and its requirements. Geoderma 40: 253-265.

Gantzer, C.J. and McCarty, T.R. (1987) Predicting corn yields on a clay pan using a soil productivity index. Trans ASAE. 30: 1347-1352.

Anikwe, M.A. and Obi, M.E. (2000) Evaluation of an index model for quantifying the productivity of soils in south eastern - Nigeria, using maize as a test Crop. J. Agric. Eng. 45: 81-86.

Amara Denis, M.K., Patil, P.L., Dasog, G.S. and Manjunath, M.V. (2013) Rainfall Erosivity (R-Factor) Estimation for Singhanalli-Bogur Microwatershed in Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka. Res. J. Agric. Sci. 4 (5/6): 644-647.

Soil Survey Staff (2009) Soil Survey manual. USDA publishers (India), Jodhpur.

Soil Survey Staff (2012) “Keys to Soil Taxonomyâ€United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service, 12th Edition, Washington D.C., USA.

Riquier, J., Luis Brama, D. and Cornet, J.P. (1970) A new system of soil appraisal in terms of actual and potential productivity. FAO Soil Resources, Development and Conservation Service, Land and Water Development Division, FAO, Rome, 38 pp.

Ogunkunle, A.O. (1993) Soil in land suitability evaluation: an example with oil palm in Nigeria. Soil Use and Manag. 9:35-40.

Nasre, R.A., Nagaraju, M.S.S., Srivastava, R., Maji, A.K. and Barthwal, A.K. (2014) Characterization, Classification and Evaluation of Soils of Karanji Watershed, Yavatmal District of Maharashtra for Land Resource Management using Geospatial Technologies. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 61(4): 275-286.

Sumithra, K.N., Budihal, S.L., Patil, S.G., Bellakki, M.A. and Desai, B.K. (2013)Productivity potentials of Timanhal micro-watershed soils. Karnataka J. Agric. Sci. 26(1): 40-45.

Agber, P.I. and Ali, A. (2012)Evaluation of the productivity of soils in Makurdi, Southern Guinea Savanna, Nigeria, using Riquier index. J. Env. Sci. and Water Res. 1(5): 100 – 104.

Downloads

Published

2016-02-15

How to Cite

Amara, D. M. K., Sawyerr, P. A., Mansaray, S. D., & Kamanda, P. J. (2016). Assessment of Soil Productivity Potentials in Hot Semi-Arid Northern Transition Zone of India using Riquier Index and GIS Techniques. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences, 4(1). Retrieved from https://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJAFS/article/view/2921