Assessment of Soil Fertility and Creation of Thematic Mapping in the Coastal Soils of Ramanathapuram Block, Ramanathapuram District in Tamil Nadu, India

Aims: A view of the current analysis used GPS and GIS techniques to evaluate and map the soil fertility status of the Ramanathapuram block in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, India.

Study Design: In this study, a systematic set of 100 georeferenced soil samples were collected from 100 selected villages and analyzed for 10 chemical parameters and the data along with GPS readings were used for the preparation of soil fertility maps using GIS.

Methodology: Hundred soil samples were collected from the sixteen revenue villages of Ramanathapuram block, Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu during the pre-monsoon season with lat-long coordinates by using GPS to evaluate the soil fertility. Ramanathapuram block is the middle- coastal block of Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.

Results: In the present study, the mean soil values of pH (8.16), EC (0.74 dSm-1), organic carbon content (2.52 g/kg), Available N (159.36kgha-1), Available P (30.83 kgha-1), Available K (355.39kgha-1) and (Di- Ethylene Triamine Penta Acidic Acid DTPA) extractable micronutrients viz., Fe (7.21), Zn (0.16), Mn (6.46) and Cu (1.36) ppm were recorded respectively in Ramanathapuram block of Ramanathapuram district. Thematic maps pertaining to soil fertility were prepared using Arc GIS software 10.1.

Conclusion: The georeferenced sampling sites can be revisited with the help of GPS, which helps in monitoring the soil fertility changes over long run. Further, it will be useful to the researchers, planners, policymakers, extension workers of the State Department of Agriculture, fertilizer industries, and farmers.