Assessment of Soil Fertility Status in and Around the Tea Gardens of Undivided Darrang District, Assam

Soil analysis refers to the general procedure used to assess soil fertility. A statistical analysis of soil quality parameters with respect to available nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and organic carbon in the tea garden belt of Darrang district, Assam has been presented in this communication. The district lies between 26⁰25^/ and 26⁰55^/ northern latitude and 91⁰45^/ and 91⁰20^/ east longitude and covers an area of 3,465.30 sq. km. A total of twenty soil samples collected from inside and outskirts of five selected tea gardens have been analysed and studied separately. The implications presented are based on statistical analyses of the raw data. Normal distribution analysis (NDA) and reliability analysis (correlation matrix) are used for interpretation of data. Statistical observations on pH, N, P, K and %C in soils of the study area show that all these parameters exhibit a non-uniform distribution. Comparisons with the recommended rating of ICAR imply that the soil samples contain N, P and C either at moderate or high level, while K status in soil is very low. Keeping in view of these observations, it is concluded that soil nutrient imbalance and their off normal distribution are the key issues that needs to be taken up in the area.