Nutrient status of sugarcane growing soils of Chittoor district in Andhrapradesh

An investigation was undertaken in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh to study nutrient status of soils under sugarcane cultivation to understand the potential of these soils to supply nutrients. For this purpose, seventeen pedons covering major sugarcane growing areas were considered. The soils were neutral to strongly alkaline in reaction (6.90 to 9.61), non saline (0.01 to 0.41 dSm⁻¹) with low organic carbon (0.01 to 0.69 per cent). Available nitrogen (N) content in the soil samples varied from 48.83 to 539.39 kg ha⁻¹, available phosphorus from 8.96 to 54.88 kg ha⁻¹, potassium from 27.03 to 451.67 kg ha⁻¹, and available sulphur from 12.51 to 89.01 mg kg⁻¹. DTPA extractable micronutrient Zn was found to be sufficient in surface horizons and deficient in sub-surface horizons. The DTPA extractable Fe was found to be deficient while Cu and Mn were found to be sufficient. The available macro and micronutrients decreased with increasing depth in most of the pedons.