Assessment of Soil Quality of Selected Districts of Kaleshwaram Project Command Area of Telangana State, India
V. Prasad
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Professor JayashankarTelangana State Agricultural University, Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad-500 030, Telangana, India.
M. Bhargava Narasimha Yadav *
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture-Dharwad, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580 005, Karnataka, India.
V. Rundan
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture-Dharwad, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580 005, Karnataka, India.
G. P. Geetha
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture-Dharwad, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580 005, Karnataka, India.
V. Mounika
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture-Dharwad, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580 005, Karnataka, India.
R. Devi Veda Vyas
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture-Dharwad, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580 005, Karnataka, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A study was conducted with an objective to assess the soil quality of command areas of Kaleshwaram Project in Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Warangal districts. The assessment was made by developing a soil quality index (SQI) based on relationships among pairs of soil parameters, followed by principal component analysis. The study indicated about superiority of soil pH, available Cu, Mn, P, K and Fe that have significantly contributed to the SQI. Four leading principal components were significant based on eigenvalue of ‘more than 1’ and explained 62.11% of variance in soil parameters. All Kaleshwaram project command areas in Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Warangal were found to have SQIs in the medium range (0.35-0.55) when soil quality was evaluated by looking at the variability present in soil parameters.
Keywords: Soil quality, SQI, Kaleshwaram, principal component analysis, pH