Research Projects

Due to consistent nutrient mining and poor fertility management, the quality of soils under citrus orchard has been deteriorating which has led to citrus decline in Assam. The condition is further aggravated by soil and nutrient erosion due to heavy rainfall. Citrus orchards, often located at sloppy hills invite management problem and, hence newer plantations in plains are also on demand. In this study GPS based surface and sub-surface soil samples, both in bulk and core, will be obtained from citrus orchards of Brahmaputra Valley and Hill zones of Assam. The collected soil samples will be processed and analyzed for various physical, chemical and fertility related parameters like sand, silt, clay content, particle density, pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable Ca++, Mg++, Na+, K+, macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and micronutrients like Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn. The collected core samples will be used to analyze physical parameters like bulk density, hydraulic conductivity and porosity.