Interpretation of survey data of soils under rubber: Use of multivariate statistics

Report is available on the rubber-growing soils in traditional region of India after surveying and mapping in 1:50000 scale and a total of 62 soil series have been identified. Further handling of data is needed to extract information for practical purposes. Weighted means of sand, silt, clay, coarse fragments, pH, effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC), available water capacity (AWC) and depth were considered for the analysis. Factor analysis extracted three factors namely, reactive surfaces, available water capacity and surface charge which explained 73% of the variability. Cluster analysis identified eight clusters that could be used as the basis for evolving management practices. In all the analyses it was inferred that coarse fragments and depth had significant role on the AWC and thus the availability of water to plants. Future experimentation in these soils, either for testing or developing recommendations, could certainly be based on these inferences and clusters.