Investigation on the variations of soil properties of different agricultural soils in central Myanmar

Abstract

Soil properties are varied under human disturbance and understanding how the soil properties change is vital to know the potential of soils and their sensitivity to different soil managements. The aim of this study was to analyze the variation in soil physicochemical characters as influenced by different soil managements (orchards, crop rotation, and intensive use of fertilizer), in central dry zone in Myanmar. Eight soil properties such as soil texture, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), total nitrogen, available phosphate (Olsen P), extractable potassium (extractable K), cultivable bacterial counts were analyzed for top soil samples collected from twenty-one agricultural sites which planted for seven different crops. The results showed that studied soil properties except from soil texture were significantly different among studied soils (P<0.05), Olsen P were significantly higher in orchard soils (most intact), than other soil. (OM), (EC), and extractable K were significantly higher in onion soils (intensive use of fertilizer), Clay percent is significantly and positively correlated with most of the soil properties except from Olsen P. These results imply that soil properties are varied based on soil type and land use; therefore, agricultural management is important to maintain and enhance soil physicochemical properties and sustain ecosystem.