Volume 15, Issue 4 (Journal of Soil and Plant Interactions 2024)                   2024, 15(4): 1-17 | Back to browse issues page


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Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ardakan University, Ardakan, Iran
Abstract:   (1063 Views)
Abstract
The growing population has increased the demand for food, which can be met through advancements in agriculture. Evaluation of soil fertility is necessary to examine the spatial changes of nutrient elements. This research was conducted to evaluate the characteristics related to soil fertility for saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in 29 farms in Bahabad city. For this purpose, soil samples are prepared from the layer of 0 to 30 cm by composite sampling method. Soil characteristics including electrical conductivity (EC), pH, organic carbon, available potassium (K) and phosphorus (P), and iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu) extractable with DTPA-TEA extractant were measured. Then, data processing was done in the form of normalization. The results showed that only one farm had high fertility and the others had low or medium fertility. Results showed that there was a significantly positive correlation between saffron yield and soil available phosphorus, available potassium, organic carbon, iron and manganese extractable with DTPA-TEA extractant. The results showed that paying attention to soil fertility is necessary to achieve maximum yield. Another finding of this research is the non-uniformity of agricultural management in the region and taking measures based on personal experience of people without considering the principles and standards of planting, maintaining and harvesting.

Background and Objective: Today, food security is one of the important goals in government planning. One suitable way to increase agricultural production is to increase the yield of plants on the surface. Plant yield is influenced by many factors such as soil physical and chemical properties. Therefore, knowing the soil's ability to provide nutrients needed by the plant provides the conditions for optimal use of resources, prevents the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and reduces their environmental consequences. Soil fertility evaluation is a process to evaluate soil potential based on measuring soil characteristics for specific use and mainly for agricultural purposes. The basic framework of this evaluation is to compare the soil characteristics required for a specific use (such as planting a crop) with the existing characteristics or quality of the desired soil. Soil fertility assessment is used as a basis for rational land use planning and decision making. Bahabad city is the largest producer of saffron in Yazd province with about 400 hectares of saffron cultivation area. Considering the high justification of the saffron product among other agricultural products, the present research was conducted to determine the chemical characteristics of the soil and provide the soil fertility map in Bahabad city.

Methods: Soil sampling was done from 29 saffron (Crocus sativus L.) farms in Kamkoye, Asfij, Dehjamal, Arij and Hosseinabad. Soil sampling was done from the 0‒30 cm layer using composite sampling method. Electrical conductivity (EC) and pH was determined in the saturated soil extract. Some soil chemical properties including organic carbon, available phosphorus (P) (Olsen-P), available potassium (K) (ammonium acetate, pH = 7), and iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) extractable with DTPA-TEA extractant were measured. Then, data processing was done in the form of normalization and non-dimensionalization.

Results: The results of the fertility maps showed that in the area of Dehjamal, only one farm had a good fertility and the others had low to medium fertility and require farmers' attention to nutrition and management of organic fertilizers. In other regions, the fields had low to medium fertility, and it is necessary for the farmers to use the appropriate amount of organic and chemical fertilizers. The soil pH results of the region showed that the soils are in the category of neutral to alkaline soils. Also, the fluctuation of the EC in soils was high and varies from 0.82 to 7.52 dS m-1. Olsen-P varied from very low (3.2 mg/kg) to very high (117.2 mg/kg) in the soils, which might be due to high rates of animal manure and phosphorus fertilizer applications. Available K also changed highly in the studied soils. The soil organic carbon content varied from very low to high in the soils. Results showed that there was a significantly positive correlation between saffron yield and Olsen-P, available K, soil organic carbon, and Fe and Mn extractable with DTPA-TEA.

Conclusions: The availability of nutrients for plants and the balance between nutrients play an effective role in improving plant yield. Application of organic and chemical fertilizers should be in accordance with the soil testing in order to increase the yield. According to the results, the diversity of farm management was evident in the use of organic and chemical fertilizers. In relation to macro and micro elements, it is necessary to use the appropriate amount of fertilizers according to the soil testing.

References:
1. Menia, M., Iqbal, S., Zahida, R., Tahir, S., Kanth, R.H., Saad, A.A., Hussian, A., 2018. Production technology of saffron for enhancing productivity. J. Pharmacognos. Phytochem. 7(1), 1033–1039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. foodres.2018.04.028
2. Pourhadian, H., Kamkar, B., Soltani, A., Mokhtarpour, H., 2020. Fertility evaluation of land for maize cultivation using GIS, fuzzy logic and ANP (Case study: four basins of Golestan province). J. Crop Prod. 13(3), 122. https://doi.org/10.22069/ejcp.2021.14056.2068

3. Rahmawaty, R., Frastika, S., Rauf, A., Batubara, R., Harahap, F.S., 2020. Land suitability assessment for Lansium domesticum cultivation on agroforestry land using matching method and geographic information system. Biodiversitas 21(8), 3683–3690. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d210835
 
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Type of Study: Research | Subject: Soil health association with soil-plant interactions
Received: 2024/07/10 | Accepted: 2024/10/17 | Published: 2024/08/31

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