Soil Characterization of Advance Research Centre for Rain Fed Agriculture Farm of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology- Rakh-Dhinsar, Jammu- (J&K)

Soil characterization of Advance Research Centre for Rainfed Agricultural Farm, Rakh-Dhiansar, SKUAST-Jammu was undertaken to monitor the status of various soil physico-chemical and biological properties such as pH, organic carbon (OC), N, P2O5, K2O, Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe, bacterial and fungal counts. Eighty-eight soil locations were selected and finally twenty two composites soil samples from four different blocks of the farm covering 14 ha of area were studied. All the soil samples were analysed as per standard methods. The results indicated that soil pH of all the blocks was almost neutral in reaction ranging from 6.4-6.9 whereas content of organic carbon falls in low to high category which varied from 1.20 to 7.80 g.kg-1. The available nitrogen content falls in low to medium category, the value ranged from 31.4 to 162.9, kg.ha-1 in all the blocks, whereas available phosphorous content ranged from low to high category values being 9.4 to 33.0 kg.ha-1 and potassium content varied 67.76 to 198.44 kg.ha-1 and come in category of low to medium range. The DTPA extractable form of cationic micronutrients viz., Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe were also studied. Zinc was found insufficient range (0.72-1.24 mg g-1), whereas Cu, Mn and Fe were under low to sufficient category as per their contents varied from 0.09 to 0.51, 0.12 to 4.17 and 1.39 to 49.37, mg.kg-1 respectively. Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi counts attain the levels of medium range as their distribution varied from 21.75 to 53.34 and 3.20 to 4.25 (CFU)-1 soil respectively in all the blocks. Majority of the soil characteristics were higher in Block-D followed by Block-C, Block-A and Block-B.