|
Climate plays an important role in the development of soil. Same parent material undergoing weathering in different climatic zones can lead to formation of soils with different soil properties. Basaltic soils formed in the Panvel area (hot & wet, humid climate) and Pune area (semi-arid climate) have been studied for their soil properties and nutrient contents. This study reveals that in the Panvel area the soils have acidic pH as against in Pune area the soils are alkaline in nature. Electrical conductivity values are lower in Panvel soils as compared to Pune area but the organic matter in the soils from both the areas do not show much difference. Fe and Mn are much more in Panvel soils while soils from Pune are much richer in K, P, Cu and Zn. The obvious enrichment of Fe in Panvel soils can be attributed to quite heavy rainfall (about 2600 mm/yr) which leaches out most of other elements, thereby enriching the soils with ferric iron. The enrichment of K in the soils from Pune can be attributed to the retention of K in the clay minerals formed by chemical weathering of basalts. The abundance of clay minerals has greatly increased the water holding capacity of the Pune soils. The poorer drainage conditions in Pune area (due to the lesser rainfall, about 650 mm/yr) could be the major cause of retention of nutrients like Cu, P and Zn. It is further found that electrical conductivity do not show appreciable variation in the Panvel soils as compared to Pune soils which can be attributed the fact that in the Panvel area the chemical weathering is quite extensive leading to the almost uniform type of soils while in Pune area the variation is due to the differential weathering and/or variations in the chemistry of the parent basalts. Thus the soils from Panvel area are nutrient deficient than those from Pune area. The enrichment of Fe, depletion of some nutrients and acidic nature make Panvel soils less suitable for crop growth and hence the remedial measures are suggested for raising the crop yield.
|
