Assessment of soil properties and nitrogen status in western part of Yavatmal district in Vidarbha region

Introduction

Soil is an important natural resource that plays a major role in agricultural production and crop productivity. Soil chemical properties such as pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, calcium carbonate and nitrogen status are important indicators of soil fertility and nutrient availability. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for crop growth and occurs in soil in different forms, including available nitrogen, ammonical nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO₃⁻-N). Yavatmal district, situated in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, is one of the major agricultural and cotton-growing regions of the state. The district is predominantly characterized by black soils, with cotton, soybean, pigeon pea and other major crops widely cultivated. The western part of the district comprises deep, medium and shallow black soils (Vertisols) derived from Deccan Trap basalt, which are well suited for agricultural production. The western part of Yavatmal includes Ner, Darwha, Yavatmal, Digras, Arni, Pusad, Mahagaon and Umarkhed talukas. Assessment of soil chemical properties and nitrogen status in this region is important for understanding the existing soil fertility condition and supporting suitable nutrient management practices. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess the soil chemical properties and nitrogen status of agricultural soils in the western part of Yavatmal district.

Materials and Methods

Yavatmal is an important district of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, situated in the southeastern part of the state. Geographically, the district extends from 19°26' to 20°42' north latitudes and from 77°18' to 79°09' east longitudes and falls under Survey of India Toposheets 55-L, 55-P, 56-I and 56-M. It covers a geographical area of approximately 13,594 square kilometres. The district is bounded by Amravati District in the north, Wardha District in the northeast, Chandrapur District in the east, Nanded District in the southwest, and Adilabad District of Telangana State towards the south and southeast. The study was conducted in the western part of Yavatmal district of Vidarbha region, Maharashtra, covering eight talukas viz., Ner, Darwha, Yavatmal, Digras, Arni, Pusad, Mahagaon and Umarkhed. A total of 80 representative surface soil samples were collected from agricultural fields at a depth of 0-15 cm, with 10 samples from each taluka. The collected soil samples were properly labelled, air-dried, processed and analysed for important soil chemical properties. Soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), available nitrogen, ammonical nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO₃⁻-N) were determined using standard laboratory procedures. Soil pH and electrical conductivity were determined in a 1:2.5 soil-water suspension following Jackson (1973) [7] . Organic carbon was determine by the modified Walkley and Black method, while calcium carbonate was determined by the rapid titration method of Piper (1966) [9] . Available nitrogen was estimated by the alkaline permanganate method of Subbiah and Asija (1956) [11] . Soil ammonical nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO₃⁻-N) were determined by the MgO-Devarda alloy steam distillation method described by Bremner (1965) [5] . Yavatmal taluka and the lowest value of 7.23 in Ner taluka and map of soil pH depicted in Fig. 4. The neutral to moderately alkaline reaction observed in the present study was comparable with the findings of Bhokare and Wankhade (2024) [3] in Digras and Bhokare et al. (2024) [4] in Mahagaon, while Dorlikar and Thengare (2025) [6] also reported slightly alkaline soils. Electrical conductivity remained low throughout the study area, with mean values ranging from 0.21 to 0.32 dS m⁻¹ and individual values varying from 0.14 to 0.43 dS m⁻¹ and map of soil EC depicted in Fig. 5. The low EC values indicated low soluble salt concentration and non-saline conditions, suggesting that salinity was not a major limitation in the studied soils. Organic carbon content varied from 2.99 to 6.21 g kg⁻¹, while the mean values among the talukas ranged from 4.30 to 4.84 g kg⁻¹. Based on the soil-test classification, 22 samples were low, 56 were medium and 2 sample was moderately high in organic carbon, indicating predominantly low to medium organic carbon status and status of organic carbon depicted in Fig. 2. Map of organic carbon depicted in Fig. 6 The observed variation in organic carbon may be associated with differences in crop residues, organic matter addition and farm management practices. Similar low to moderate organic carbon status was reported by Bhagat et al. (2024) [1] , Bhokare and Wankhade (2024) [3] in soils of Yavatmal district. Calcium carbonate content ranged from 3.25 to 10.62 per cent, with mean values ranging from 8.11 to 9.43 per cent among the talukas. Out of the 80 soil samples, 15 were slightly calcareous and 65 were calcareous, while none was highly calcareous and status of calcium carbonate depicted in Fig. 3. Map of calcium carbonate depicted in Fig. 7 The variation in CaCO₃ content may be related to differences in parent material, climatic conditions and soil drainage. Similar findings were reported by Wankhade (2015) [13] , who recorded CaCO₃ values ranging from 5.14 to 15.32 per cent in soils of the Digras region of Yavatmal district. Overall, the soils of western Yavatmal were characterized by neutral to moderately alkaline reaction, low electrical conductivity, low to medium organic carbon and predominantly calcareous conditions.

Ammonical (NH₄⁺-N)

The ammonical nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) content in the soils of western Yavatmal ranged from 13.60 to 26.80 mg kg⁻¹, indicating considerable variation among the soil samples. The mean NH₄⁺-N content across the eight talukas ranged from 19.28 to 23.17 mg kg⁻¹. The highest mean NH₄⁺-N content was recorded in Yavatmal taluka (23.17 mg kg⁻¹), whereas the lowest mean was observed in Mahagaon taluka (19.28 mg kg⁻¹). Among the individual soil samples, the maximum NH₄⁺-N content of 26.80 mg kg⁻¹ was recorded in Isapur village of Digras taluka, while the minimum value of 13.60 mg kg⁻¹ was recorded in Sirphulli village of Mahagaon taluka and status of ammonical nitrogen depicted in Fig. 9. The observed variation in ammonical nitrogen may be associated with differences in organic matter decomposition, fertilizer application, crop residues and soil management practices.

Nitrate nitrogen (NO₃⁻-N)

The nitrate nitrogen (NO₃⁻-N) content in the soils of western Yavatmal varied from 12.20 to 24.60 mg kg⁻¹, showing considerable variation among the soil samples. The mean NO₃⁻-N content ranged from 17.39 to 21.10 mg kg⁻¹ across the eight talukas. The highest mean NO₃⁻-N content was recorded in Yavatmal taluka (21.10 mg kg⁻¹), whereas the lowest mean was observed in Mahagaon taluka (17.39 mg kg⁻¹). Considering the individual observations, the maximum NO₃⁻-N content of 24.60 mg kg⁻¹ was recorded in Bori (Machchhindar) village of Pusad taluka, while the minimum value of 12.20 mg kg⁻¹ was recorded in Kinhi village of Arni taluka and status of nitrate nitrogen depicted in Fig. 10.

Conclusion

The present investigation it was concluded that the soils of western Yavatmal district were predominantly neutral to moderately alkaline and non-saline in nature. Organic carbon status varied from low to medium, while the majority of the soils were calcareous.

The overall available nitrogen status was low across the study area, indicating that nitrogen availability is an important nutrient constraint in these soils. Considerable spatial variation was observed in the concentrations of ammonical nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen among the eight talukas, reflecting differences in soil conditions and nitrogen dynamics. Yavatmal recorded the highest mean concentrations of both ammonical and nitrate nitrogen, whereas Mahagaon recorded the lowest mean values. The observed variation in soil nitrogen forms highlights the importance of site-specific nutrient management. Overall, balanced fertilization, appropriate nitrogen management and maintenance of soil organic matter are essential for improving soil fertility and sustaining crop productivity in the western part of Yavatmal district

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementThe authors are express sincere gratitude to Dr. D. V. Mali, Professor (CAS), Department of Soil Science, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, for providing the necessary facilities to carry out this work. I also express my sincere thanks to the farmers and all other individuals who give their cooperation during the collection of soil samples from different locations of the study area.

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