Mapping of spatial variability in soil properties for site-specific nutrient management of Nagpur Mandarin in Central India

The paper discusses the mapping of spatial variability in soil properties of Nagpur Mandrin growing areas in central India for site-specific nutrient management. Contiguous area of Nagpur mandarin orchards was identified using Cartosat-1-sharpened IRS-P6 LISS-IV data followed by ground truth. Soil samples were collected from 0–20 and 20–40 cm in a grid design (200 × 200 m) using Global Positioning System and analyzed for particle-size, bulk density, moisture retention at-33 kPa, and-1500 kPa, pH, organic carbon, calcium carbonate, available N, P and K and micronutrient cations. The GIS aided kriged thematic maps showed spatial variation in soil properties and soil fertility parameters. The cadastral maps overlaid on kriged thematic soil maps precisely indicated the areas having soil related constraints for site-specific nutrient management to improve the productivity of Nagpur mandarin in central India.