SPATIAL VARIABILITY IN SOIL PROPERTIES AND DIAGNOSTIC LEAF CHARACTERISTICS OF APPLE (MALUS DOMESTICA) IN APPLE GROWING REGION OF DHEERKOT AZAD JAMMU AND KASHMIR (AJK), PAKISTAN

Abstract

Scientific information on the spatial variability in soil properties and nutrient status is important for understandingecosystem processes and evaluating agricultural land management practices. This study aims to characterize the spatialvariation of selected soil properties and the nutrient status of ten representative sites of apple growing region, and also toevaluate the nutrient contents of apple leaves of the same sites from sub-division Dheerkot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, (AJK) Pakistan. The sampling sites were: Hill, Chamankot, Chamyati-1 (upper), Chamyati-2 (lower), Dheerkot, Kotli, Karry, Sanghar, Neelabut, and Hanschoki. The treatments included; sites = 10; depths = 04 (0-15, 15-30, 30-45, and 45-60 cm) with 3 replications. Results indicated that texture of all the sites (except one) were loam or clay loam having silt and clay the dominant soil fractions. The soils were neutral to slightly alkaline, pH ranging from 7.2 to 8.3, non-saline, and moderately calcareous (CaCO3 0.00–8.97%). The nutrient index (NI) value for soil organic matter (SOM), available P and K were 2.5, 1.5 and 2.1 showing high, medium, and medium range, respectively. The concentration of AB-DTPA extractable Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn showed high levels of Fe (10.2–16.8 mg kg-1) and Mn (0.90–2.71 mg kg-1) while Zn (0.42–2.31 mg kg-1) deficiency was observed in few samples. All the sites were severely deficient in Cu concentration (1.35–2.05 mg kg-1). The diagnosis of apples leaves indicated that none of the samples was deficient in N (2.30–3.49%) and P (0.13–0.33%) while out of ten sites, nine sites showed severe deficiency of K (0.85–1.40%). The study demonstrated a significant variation in different physico-chemical properties of the soils collected from the same ecological region. In order to overcome the deficiency of some of the nutrients observed both in soil and plant samples, proper fertilization especially the use of organic manures is highly recommended to maintain the fertility status of the soil and also to protect the soil against the threat of degradation.