CHAPTER - 3

MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1. METERIAL

STUDY SITY

Bharatpur is located 27.22.N, 77.48. E. It has an averge elevation of 183 meter (600 feet)

Bharatpur is also know ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Bharatpur less on goldon tourist triangle of dehli-jaipur agra ,and Hance a large number of

national and international tourists visites bharatpur every year

TEMPERATURE

Maximum- 36

Minimum- 20

WIND- 25 Km/h

HUMIDITY- 44%

PRECIPITATION- 0%

ALTITUDE- 179 Meter

Latitude / Longitude- 270 09.,32, N /770 30,30, E.

Map of Rajasthan

Map of Bharatpur

Map of Keoladeo National Park

Soil sampling

Soil samples will be collected at 0-30 cm soil layer using mechanically driven GI auger for

soil water content determination. Fresh weight will be recorded and dry weight will be taken

after drying the samples in hot air oven at 110 0C till constant weight. For soil nutrient

analysis top soil of 0-30 cm soil layer will be collected. The soil samples will be crushed

lightly and ground with the help of pestle and mortar and passed through a 2 mm sieve.

SOIL PHYSIO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

a) Soil content: It will be measure along a line transect in four directions by gravimetric

method in 0-30 cm soil layer.

b) Soil nutrient analysis: It included following parameters at 0-30 cm soil layer.

i) Soil pH and Electrical conductivity by Jackson's method (1973)

Collected soil samples will be brought to laboratory and air-dried. The samples then will be

ground and passed to a 2 mm sieve. pH of the soil samples will be determined in

maximum east direction 8.32 and minimum north direction 7.47 . Ten gram of each soil

sample will be weighed and transferred to a beaker and 20 ml of distilled water will be added

to it. The samples will be shaken for half an hour and pH of the soil will be determined using

pH meter (Toshniwal, model CL 46) . Likewise EC will be determined following standard

method.

ii) Soil organic matter by Walkley-Black method (1934)

For organic carbon two-gram air-dried and sieved soil will be taken in a conical flask. 10 ml

of 1 N potassium dichromate solution (K2Cr2O7) and 20 ml of concentrated H2SO4 will be

added to it and swirling the flask 2 or 3 times. An empty flask (without soil) will be also run

as blank following the similar process. After 30 minutes, 200 ml of distilled water, 10 ml of

85% orthophosphoric acid and 1 ml of diphenylamine indicator will be added. The solution

will be titrated with 0.5 N ferrous ammonium sulphate (FeSO4 (NH4)2 SO4. 6H2O) solution

delivered through a burette. Dull green colour with chromous ion at the beginning changed to

a turbid blue as the titration proceeded. At the end point, this colour sharply changed to

bright green. Organic carbon will be determined using the following formula:

Percent carbon in soil =

( X − Y )2

× 0 . 003W

×100

Where, W is the weight of soil in g, X is the volume of 0.5 N ferrous ammonium sulphate

(FAS) in the titration of blank, and Y is the volume of FAS for titration of unknown

samples. 1 ml of 1N K2Cr2O7 = 0.003 g Carbon. Soil organic matter will be calculated by

multiplyin g organic carbon content with Walkley - Black value (i. e., 1.724).

iii)Total nitrogen

Total nitrogen will be analyzed using Cataldo et al. (1975) method. Extraction procedure will be

same as in the ammonical nitrogen. 0.5 ml of extract will be taken in 25 ml of suitably marked

test tubes and then 1 ml of salicylic acid (5%) added and left for 30 minutes. After that 10 ml of

sodium hydroxide solution (4M NaOH) will be added and again left it for 1 hour for full colour

development (a yellow colour developed). The reading will be recorded at 410 nm using UV-

VIS on spectrophotometer (Systronics model 117).

iv) Available Phosphorus by Olsen's method (1954)

Available phosphorus will be extracted using Olsen’s method (1954). One gram of air-

dried sieved soil will be taken into a conical flask. 20 ml of sodium bicarbonate reagent (0.5

NaHCO3, pH 8.5) and a pinch of charcoal will be added and the soil will be shaken on a

horizontal shaker for 30 minutes at 60 rpm. The solution will be filtered through a Whatman No.

42 filter paper. 5 ml of extract will be taken in 25 ml of volumetric flask and 5 ml of ammonium

molybdate solution (complexing agent) added and mixed thoroughly. Finally, 1ml of SnCl2

solution (a reducing agent) will be added and the volume made up to 25 ml with distilled water.

A blue colour developed. After ten minutes, absorbance will be recorded at 660 nm using UV-

VIS spectrophotometer (Systronics model 117).

v. Available potassium (kg/hc)

The most common analytical technique for soil K availability is ammonium acetate extraction. In

this method dry soil is extracted with an ammonium acetate solution; the NH4-N ions in solution

displace K on soil cation exchange sites; for that reason this procedure is often referred to as the

“exchangeable” K test. However, this technique can also extract K from “fixation sites” within

the structural layers of some types of silt and clay particles. In soils derived from vermiculitic

parent material, and having high silt and clay content, as much as 25% of “exchangeable” K can

actually represent “fixed” K. Since in some soils the total amount of fixed K can be much larger

than the amount of K on exchange sites, and much of the fixed K may become plant-available

over time, the extractable K soil test should be considered to be an index of relative soil K

availability rather than a quantitative measure of soil K content

Micronutrients

Zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu) exist in a variety of chemical compounds

in the soil, and determining the fraction that is plant-available is difficult. The most commonly

used technique is extraction with DTPA, a chelating compound. Where boron (B) concentration

may be low enough to be a limiting factor in crop growth, soil extraction with hot water is a

common analytical technique; where the concern is that B may be present in sufficient

concentration to be toxic to a crop, saturated paste extraction is the appropriate technique.

Analytical methods

A number of laboratory extraction techniques have been developed to estimate soil nutrient

availability. The choice of which technique to use for a particular nutrient depends on the

chemical characteristics of the soil, in particular its pH. Soil chemistry is highly complex; most

nutrients exist in different chemical forms, and not all forms are equally plant-available. For

most nutrients, the commonly used extraction procedures attempt to rank relative nutrient

availability, not the total soil content of that nutrient. Therefore, soil tests should be viewed as an

index of nutrient availability, not as an absolute number. When evaluating soil test results it is

critical to know what laboratory techniques were used because, for a particular nutrient, two

laboratory techniques may give very different numerical results. It is also important to realize

that for some laboratory techniques utilized by some commercial laboratories there is insufficient

data upon which to base interpretive standards. In this document only the most widely accepted

and documented analytical techniques are discussed.

Interpreting laboratory results

Commercial laboratories report soil test results in a variety of ways, complicating interpretation

and making comparison between labs difficult. Results from saturated paste extraction are

typically reported as either parts per million (PPM) or milliequivalents (meq) per liter of extract.

For other analyses most laboratories report results on a dry soil weight basis. PPM is commonly

used, which is equivalent to mg/kg, a unit favored by some labs. Soil cation results may be

reported either as PPM or meq/100g.