BEST: International Journal of Humanities,

Arts, Medicine and Sciences (BEST: IJHAMS)

ISSN(P):2348-0521; ISSN(E):2454-4728
Vol. 3, Issue 8, Aug 2015, 25-30
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ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY IN RELATION WITH MACRO-MICRO NUTRIENTS

OF AGRICULTURAL SOIL OF AMRELI DISTRICT
ATULKUMAR H. PATEL
Associate Professor & I/C Principal, Kamani Science & Pratapray Arts College, Amreli, Gujarat, India

ABSTRACT
Agricultural land of Amreli district of Gujarat state in india is the study area of this paper and in present study
total 396 samples were collected from different fourteen sites in the year 2012-2013. Under the soil health card programme
of Government of Gujarat, all soil samples were collected by trained farmers and brought for analysis to approved Soil
Test laboratory.

All soil samples were analyzed for pH, (EC)Electrical conductivity, (P)Phosphorus, (K)Potassium,

(OC)Organic Carbon, (Fe)Iron, (Cu)Copper, (Zn)Zinc, (Ca)Calcium, (Mg)Magnesium and (S)Sulfur. The purpose of
present paper is to study soil fertility status and correlation of Electrical conductivity with micro-macro nutrients. Present
work concludes that the electrical conductivity is strong soil health indicator as well as correlation analysis and
discriminate analysis can give scientific basis for managing the recent tillage system.

KEYWORDS: Amreli, Electrical Conductivity, Micronutrients, Soil Health, Soil Parameters

INTRODUCTION
Soil (EC) electrical conductivity is an indirect parameter that correlates with several soils physical and chemical
properties. EC is the ability of a material to conduct an electrical current.The electrical conductivity (EC) of soil-water
mixtures indicates the amount of salts present in the soil. Salt in soil comes from the fertilizer we apply, but also from
irrigation water and dissolving soil minerals. Soils contain some salts, which are essential for plant growth. However,
excess salts will hinder plant growth by affecting the soil-water balance. Soils containing excess salts occur both naturally
and as a result of soil use and management. Salt-affected soils are largely found in the western arid and semiarid areas of
the country, where the annual rainfall is low, allowing salts to accumulate in the soil profile. The electrical conductivity
measurement detects the amount of cations or anions (salts) in solution; the greater the amount of anions or cations, the
greater the electrical conductivity reading. Soil is basic component of the Morden and scientific tillage so that it is
necessary to know the basic needs of soil. To determine the growth of crop, soil fertility is an important factors and which
determine by presence or absence of soil parameters namely pH, EC, C, P, K, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ca, Mg, and S. Application of
statistical tools can provide such information and assist the interpretation of soil tested data [1]-[3].
In this study, Pearsons correlation analysis is used to study 396 agricultural soil samples from fourteen sites of
Amreli district [4]-[12].
Study Area
The study area covers agricultural land of 14 sites of Amreli district.

Amreli is located at 21.3579N

71.1282E. .This District belongs to Western India. [13]-[14]

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26

Atulkumar H. Patel

Major soils [15] soils are Medium & shallow Black to Mixed Red & Black. Major field crops are Groundnut,
Cotton, Wheat, Sesame and Bajra (Pearl Millet) and major horticultural crops are Mango, Sapota, Citrus (Lemon) and
guava, [15].
From the collected data at different science colleges and STL under the soil health card program by the
government of Gujarat, India, we have selected 14 sites and 396 agricultural soil samples from Amreli district (Gujarat
India) for this study. Location map of study area of 396 samples from 14 sites is shown in figure 1.
Objectives of the Study
The objective of this study is

To study and analysis of soil properties by the application of selected statistical tools.

Agricultural soil study through correlation of Electrical conductivity(EC) with micro-macro nutrients.

Soil Sampling and Analysis

All selected samples were collected by a systematic sampling strategy at 0 to 20 cm depth below the surface.
The samples were dried and passed through a 2 mm sieve to prepare them for testing. All the samples were tested using
standard method [16] by following the Methods Manual-Soil Testing in India. The samples were analyzed [17] for pH,
(EC)Electrical conductivity, (P)Phosphorus, (K)Potassium, (OC)Organic Carbon, (Fe)Iron, (Cu)Copper, (Zn)Zinc,
(Ca)Calcium, (Mg)Magnesium and (S)Sulfur.
Table 1: Samples Site and Total Samples
Sample
s site
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Table 2:
Sr.
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Total
Samples
Abhrampara
21
Kami
43
Kathrota
15
Khijadiya Khan
52
Dhoba
12
Chhatadoya
67
Jithudi
15
Ditala
50
Piparadi
9
Balapur
10
Mithapur Nakki
45
Vanda
22
Sanali
12
Hathsani
23
Discription of Soil Properties
Name of Site

Soil
Properties
pH
EC
C
P
K
Fe
Cu
Mn

Description
pH value of Agriculture Soil
Electrical Conductivity, dS/m
Organic carbon, %
Phosphosous, Kg/ha
Potassium,, Kg/ha
Iron, ppm
Copper, ppm
Mangenese, ppm

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27

Electrical Conductivity in Relation with Macro-Micro Nutrients of Agricultural Soil of Amreli District

9
10
12

Table 2: Contd.,
Zinc, ppm
Calcium, Meq/100gm
Sulfur, ppm

Zn
Ca
S

Table 3: Correlations Coefficients of Electrical Conductivity of Soil and Micro-Macro Nutrients

Soil
Parameter
EC - pH
EC - OC
EC - P
EC - K

Correlations
Coefficients ( r )
-0.376
0.318
0.022
0.279

Soil
Parameter
EC - Zn
EC - Fe

Correlations
Coefficients ( r )
-0.285
0.174

Soil
Parameter
EC - Mn
EC - Cu

Correlations
Coefficients ( r )
0.167
-0.083

EC - S

0.117

EC - Ca

-0.046

Table 4: Critical Limit of Soil properties (Followed by MMSOIL-Gov. of India-2011)

Parameters

pH

EC
dS/m

OC
%
P
Kg/ha
K
Kg/ha

Fe
ppm

Value
< 4.6
4.6 - 5.5
5.6 - 6.5
6.6 - 6.9
7
7.1 - 8.5
>8.5
0-2
4-8
8 - 15
> 15
<0.5
0.5 0.75
> 0.75
< 10.0
10 - 24.6
> 24.6
< 108
108 280
> 280
0.0 - 2.0
2.0 - 4.0
4.0 - 6.0
6.0 - 10
> 10

Interpretation
Extremely acidic
Strongly acidic
Moderately acidic
Slightly acidic
Neutral
Moderately alkaline
Strongly alkaline
Salt Free
Slightly Saline
Moderately Saline
Highly Saline
Low

Parameters
Cu
ppm

Zn
ppm

Mn
ppm

Medium
High
Low
Medium
High
Low

Value
0.0 - 0.1
0.1 - 0.3
0.3 - 0.8
0.8 - 3
> 3.0
0.0 - 0.5
0.5 - 1.0
1.0 - 3.0
3.0 - 5.0
> 5.0
0.0 - 0.5
0.5 - 1.2

Interpretation
Very Low
Low
Medium
High
Very High
Very Low
Low
Medium
High
Very High
Very Low
Low

1.2 - 3.5

Medium

3.5 - 6
>6

Ca
Meq/100gm

Medium
High
Very Low
Low
Medium
High
Very High

High
Very High

6.0 to 18.0

S
%

8 to 10

Table 5: Discriptive Statistics of the Distribution of Soil Parameters of Amreli District

Sr.
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Soil
Parameter
pH
EC
OC
P
K
Zn
Fe

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

Median

Mode

6.85
.07
.06
8.00
102.00
.05
.16

8.40
.80
2.89
99.00
933.00
3.74
16.60

7.88
.30
1.26
34.42
493.25
2.34
3.33

7.90
.30
1.32
33.00
545.00
2.48
2.96

7.90
.20
1.18
37.00
602.00
2.52
.50

Standard
Deviation
.29
.14
.66
15.19
189.88
.71
2.50

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28

Atulkumar H. Patel

8
9
10
11

S
Mn
Cu
Ca

2.16
.06
.04
3.90

Table 5: Contd.,
62.55
18.08
16.99
4.46
10.40
2.29
32.00
17.33

16.80
4.64
2.90
17.00

17.92
2.34
2.96
18.00

8.66
2.29
1.11
4.86

Tools and Techniques

Minimum, Maximum, Mean, Median, Mode, Standard deviation (SD) and variance are calculated for selected
measured soil properties. Descriptive statistical analysis and Pearsons correlation analysis are used to analyze soil samples
data. Variables employed for analysis in this study include organic carbon (OC), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), electrical
conductivity (EC) and pH. All statistical analysis is performed using S.P.S.S., EXCEL.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Samples sites name and total samples is shown in table1, Description of soil properties shown in table 2,
Correlation coefficients of EC with Soil parameters (pH, OC, P, K, Zn, Fe, S, Mn, Cu,and Ca) is shown in table3 and All
Soil parameters (pH, EC, OC, P, K, Zn, Fe, S, Mn, Cu,and Ca) and descriptive statistics of soil analysis is shown in table 5.
Critical limit of soil parameters is shown in table 4. Study and determination of all soil parameters followed by standard
methods [16]-[17]
With reference to critical limit table 4, and descriptive statistics observation table 5, it shows that the soils are
slightly acidic to moderately alkaline in reaction with pH (6.85-8.40) and mean value 7.88, High pH might be due to the
presence of high degree of base saturation. Major soils shows around neutral pH from the median and mode. The electrical
conductivity (EC) is varied from 0.07 to 0.80 dSm-1 with mean 0.30 dSm-1 and median 0.30 dSm-1 As compare to mean,
median and mode, it shows that most of soil samples are in salt free range. Organic Carbon (OC) of the soil varied from
0.06 to2.89% with mean, median and mode 01.26 % , 1.32 % and 1.18 %. Phosphorus (P) content of soil is minimum 8
and maximum 99 Kg/ha with mean value 34.42 and Potassium(K) content of soil is minimum 102 Kg/ha and maximum
933 Kg/ha with mean value 493 Kg/ha. Here this study areas soil range of P and K are considerable large and which might
be due to variation in other soil properties and fertilizer practice. Sulfur content range 2.16 ppm 62.55ppm with mean and
median 18.08ppm and 316.80ppm. Observation of Calcium (Ca) and Cu( Copper) are shows range 3.90 to 32.00
Meq/100gm and 0.04 to 10.40 Meq/100gm respectively. The available Iron (Fe) content of the soils is minimum 0.16 and
maximum 16.6 ppm with mean value 3.33. Some of samples in higher range of Fe; statistically it may treat as outliers. As
per reference of critical limit the study area appeared to be quite sufficient in available Fe. The available Zinc (Zn) varied
from 0.05 to 3.74 ppm with mean value 2.34. On the bases of critical limit, it shows absolute normal. The available
Manganese (Mn) content of soils is minimum 0.06 to 16.99 ppm with mean value 4.46 and median 4.64.
Relation of Basic Electrical Conductivity with Ph, OC, P, K, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ca, and Mn
Correlation coefficients ( r ) is shown in table 3. The available Cu (r=-0.083), Ca (r=-0.046), Zn (r=-0.285)
inversely proportional to EC. Same result was reported [18]. . Here positive but not very significant correlation between
EC with P. Result shows significant correlation between EC and OC(r=0.318), Fe (r=0.174), Mn (r=0.167), K (r=0.279).

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29

Electrical Conductivity in Relation with Macro-Micro Nutrients of Agricultural Soil of Amreli District

CONCLUSIONS

This Study shows negative correlation of EC with Ca, Cu and Zn.

Positive correlation of EC with OC, P, K, Fe, S and Mn.

Present Study shows that the total study area is free from salt.

Intensive agriculture practices reflect in very high value of Potassium, Sulfur and Phosphorus.

EC and pH of study area are fairly good for agriculture.

Study concludes that statistical methods e.g. correlation analysis, Discriminate analysis can provide a scientific
basis for managing and controlling tillage

management.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is thankful to Dr. H. M. Babariya, Deputy Director of Agriculture Soil Test Laboratory, Department of
Agriculture, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India for providing soil test data for the purpose of this study.

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APPENDICES
N

AMRELI
INDIA

GUJARAT

Figure 1: Location Map of Study Area, Amreli District of Gujarat State in India

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