Journal of Global Agriculture and Ecology

A systematic soil fertility survey was conducted in Khemjai village of Chandrapur district, Maharashtra, to evaluate the prevailing status of soil reaction (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic carbon (SOC), available calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), and the available macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P₂O₅) and potassium (K₂O). A total of 100 surface soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected, air-dried, processed and analysed using standard laboratory procedures. The soils were found to be neutral to slightly alkaline in reaction (pH range 7.08-8.23; mean 7.73), with 92 per cent of the samples falling in the slightly alkaline class. Electrical conductivity was uniformly low, ranging from 0.180 to 0.328 dS m⁻¹, with a mean of 0.223 dS m^-1, indicating the complete absence of salinity hazard. Soil organic carbon content was predominantly medium (96 per cent of samples, range 0.41-0.66 per cent), reflecting moderate organic matter reserves typical of intensively cultivated Vertisols of the region. Available CaCO₃ was moderately high to high (range 3.55-5.20 per cent), consistent with the calcareous parent material of the tract. With respect to available macronutrient status, available nitrogen was low to medium (range 235.20 to 366.91 kg ha⁻¹ and mean 286.30 kg ha^-1), available phosphorus was uniformly low (range 17.67 to 24.05 kg ha⁻¹; mean 20.58 kg ha^-1) across all samples, whereas available potassium was predominantly high to very high (range 286.72 to 396.48 kg ha⁻¹; mean 337.49 kg ha^-1). The results indicate that while the soils of Khemjai village possess a favourable physico-chemical environment free from salinity constraints and are well supplied with potassium, they are constrained by low to medium availability of nitrogen and phosphorus.