Assessing the impact of chemical fertilizers on soil acidification: A study on Jorhat district of Assam, India

Soil pH is a measure of soil alkalinity or acidity. It is a significant indicator of soil health. The acidic soil (low pH value) constitutes much of the areas of Jorhat district with proportionally small areas of neutral soil. The ‘r’ value of-0.538 with ‘P’value of 0.0365 express the existence of almost a strong negative as well as significant relationship between fertilizers consumption and pH value of soil. The dominance of highly acidic soil in the southern and central part of the Jorhat district portrays normally limited suitability (Low productivity) of soil for the cultivation of paddy (rice). Though most the areas in the northern part of Brahmaputra river (i.e. Majuli island) constitutes highly productive (production per ha) soil for paddy cultivation.