ASSESSMENT OF SOIL PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SUGARCANE RESEARCH PROGRAM, JITPUR, BARA, NEPAL.

Soil test-based fertility management is an effective tool in the context of sustainable farm improvement. Thus, presented study was conducted to determine soil physicochemical properties of the Sugarcane Research Program, Jitpur, Bara, Nepal. The research farm is situated at the latitude 27o 6’48.31’’N and longitude 84o57’15.8’’E as well 85masl altitude. Altogether, thirty eight soil samples were collected randomly at a depth of 0-20 cm. A GPS device was used to identify the location of the soil sampling points. Soil samples thus collected were analyzed for their texture, pH, OM, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, B, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn status following standard methods in the laboratory of Soil Science Division, Khumaltar. The soil fertility status maps were prepared on Arc-GIS 10.1 software. Assessment of soil test data showed that the soil was grayish brown in color, sub-angular blocky in structure and varied in texture ranging among loamy, sandy loam and silt-loam, acidic in pH (5.96±0.12) and low in organic matter (1.0±0.07%). Regarding the nutrients; total nitrogen (0.06±0.002%), extractable calcium (1012.11±87.96 ppm) and available boron (0.17±0.02 ppm) status were low. Similarly, extractable magnesium (135.47±22.04 ppm), available sulphur (10.08±0.76 ppm), available copper (1.14±0.16 ppm) and available zinc (1.58±0.16 ppm) status were medium. Whereas, available phosphorus (33.76±7.33 ppm), extractable potassium (145.29±8.6 ppm) and available manganese (29.29±2.74 ppm) status were high, while available iron (167.91±14.57 ppm) status was very high. From this finding, it can be concluded that future sugarcane research strategy should be built based on the soil physicochemical properties of the research farm.