ABSTRACT
From plot to national scales, sampling, analysis, and visual inspection of soil are common methods used to evaluate its condition and potential for use. However, due to the complexity and site-specificity of soils, the legacy impacts of past land use, and trade-offs across ecosystem services, selecting relevant soil parameters and interpreting measurements are not simple tasks. Here, we go over the definition, methods of assessment, and choices and interpretations of indicators for soil quality and related concepts. Assessing soil condition and potential usage involves a range of methods, from small-scale sampling to nationwide analyses. Despite their prevalence, these approaches face challenges due to the intricate nature of soils, their site-specific characteristics, historical land use impacts, and the need to balance various ecosystem services. Selecting pertinent soil parameters and interpreting measurements becomes a complex task. In this context, we delve into the definition, assessment methods, and the choices and interpretations of indicators related to soil quality. Our focus is on widely used indicators within agricultural land use. Notably, explicit evaluations of soil quality for specific risks, functions, and ecosystem services remain limited. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of systems providing clear frameworks for interpreting measured indicator values, hampering their acceptance by both policymakers and land managers. We explore innovative indicators that shed light on often overlooked soil properties and processes. Biological/biochemical indicators are under-represented but show great potential. Soil quality assessment should specify targeted soil threats, functions and ecosystem services. Increasingly interactive assessment tools must be developed with target users.
ABSTRACT
A field experiment was carried out at the field of Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur during the 2022-23 Kharif season to investigate the dynamics of Bemisia tabaci and YMD incidence on the soybean crop variety JS-335 with weather parameter. Incidence of YMD howed a negative but non-significant relationship with the highest temperature and negatively significant correlation (-0.627*) with the lowest temperature. There was a non-significant positive correlation between the disease and the lowest relative humidity as well as rainfall. In terms of Whitefly population, there was a significant negative correlation (-0.752**) with rainfall, indicating that as rainfall increased, Whitefly population decreased.
ABSTRACT
The field experiment was conducted during the kharif season under the AICRP on Long-Term Fertilizer Experiment at the Research Farm, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, JNKVV, Jabalpur (M.P.), India. The investigation was carried out to assess the distribution of P fractions in Vertisol after the harvesting of the soybean crop. Eight treatments were imposed with four replications in a simple randomized block design. The treatments were applied in combination with different doses of fertilizer viz., T1 (50% NPK), T2 (100% NPK), T3 (150% NPK), T4 (100% N), T5 (100% NP), T6 (100% NPK+FYM), T7 (100% NPK-S), and T8 (control). Through the findings, the soil pH and electrical conductivity (dS m-1) did not show significant changes even after the long-term application of various fertilizer levels compared to their initial values. The treatment with 100% NPK + FYM exhibited the highest organic carbon (g kg-1) content and available N, P, and K (kg ha-1) content over the control. The various forms of phosphorus in the soil were observed in the following order: Ca-P > Fe-P > Al-P > Occluded-P > Saloid-P . The Ca-P content was highest when 100% NPK fertilizer and farmyard manure (FYM) were used together. The analysis showed that the presence of saloid-P significantly influences the availability of phosphorus in Vertisol soil. Based on the current investigation, it is recommended to use integrated nutrient management, which includes both 100% NPK fertilizer and FYM, to prevent phosphorus deficiency in soybean cultivation in Vertisol.