Nutrient status of soils from high hills of potato growing areas of Shimla

Surface soil samples were collected during November 2003 from twenty five cultivators’ fields in Shimla district representing major potato growing areas of Himachal Pradesh. Data revealed wide variation in chemical properties of these soils. These were acidic to neutral in reaction and medium to high in organic carbon content. Total N, and available P and K content ranged from 0.12 to 0.34%, 13.5 to 124.0 kg ha⁻¹ and 317 to 1812 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. More than half of the samples were found to be low in available P, whereas all were high in total N and available K content. Only 16% samples were found to be deficient in DTPA-Zn. Cu content ranged from 0.52 to 3.80 ppm (mean value 1.35 ppm). Soils were rich in Fe and Mn content with an average value of 42.24 and 66.79 ppm, respectively. The correlation matrix among the chemical tests showed that organic carbon contributed most towards nutrients availability as was evident by its close association with N, K, Zn and Cu contents in these soils.