Open AccessPedogenic characteristics of soil in Melur block, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu in India: A case study
Author(s) -
P. Ramamoorthy,
P. Christy Nirmala Mary
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of applied and natural science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2231-5209
pISSN - 0974-9411
DOI - 10.31018/jans.v13isi.2828
Subject(s) - loam , soil water , tamil , environmental science , soil texture , soil test , soil classification , pedology , soil series , soil science , agronomy , geography , biology , linguistics , philosophy
Soil is an important source of human life and agricultural production. Studying on the pedon and its site characteristics pave the way for understanding the nature of soils and its utility. A study on pedological characterization of soils in Melur block, Madurai District (Tamil Nadu), was carried out during 2019-2020 using grid sampling with village map/cadastral maps. Soil mapping unit-based soil samples were collected in Chunampoor, Thuvarangulam, Poonjuthi and Veppapadupu and pedons were characterized as per the standard procedure. The results showed that soils were moderately deep to very deep in nature, ranging from 2.5 YR 3/6 to 10YR 4/6. The soil texture varied from sandy clay loam to sandy clay with weak to moderate sub-angular blocky structure. The consistency of soil varied from slightly hard to very hard when dry, very friable to firm when moist, slightly sticky to very sticky and slightly plastic to very plastic in wet condition. The crops viz., paddy, sugarcane, banana, groundnut and vegetables were very suitable for such type of soil of the Madurai district.