Nisha Sahu

High resolution remote sensing, GPS and GIS in soil resource mapping and characterization- A Review

Timely and reliable information on soils with respect to their nature, extent, spatial distribution is very crucial for optimal utilization of available natural resources on a sustained basis. The technological advances in the field of remote sensing, Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) have augmented the efficiency of soil survey. The management of resources on sustainable basis emphasis the overall development of the region without diminishing the environment. The integrated use of advanced computer technologies with database can be used to assist decision makers for future plans. Yet, so far most of the studies have been performed on a small scale and only few on regional or larger map scale. Although progress has been made from earlier, current methods and techniques still bear potential to further explore the full range of spectral, spatial and temporal of high resolution satellites in soil resource mapping and characterization. Precisely, the present article, aims to review the status on the applications of high resolution remote sensing data like IRS-P6 LISS IV, PAN, Cartosat-I, IKONOS, GPS and GIS in soil resource inventory and characterization at large scale for the micro level agricultural planning.

Land Resource Inventory for Village-Level Agricultural Land Use Planning

Timely and reliable information on soils with respect to their nature, extent and spatial distribution is vital for optimal utilization of natural resources on a sustained basis. The technological advances in the field of remote sensing, global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information system (GIS) have augmented the efficiency of land resource inventory and mapping. The recent advances in remote sensing have immense potential to explore the full range of spectral, spatial and temporal resolutions of high-resolution satellites in soil resource mapping and characterization. In the present study, based on landforms, slope, land use/land cover and ground truth, 37 physiography-land use units (PLU) were identified and described. Soil profiles were studied at representative sites on different PLUs for characterization of various sites and physical and chemical properties. PLU-soil relationship was developed by correlating soil-site characteristics and physical and chemical properties of soils. Six soil series were identified in major landforms, and soil map depicting phases of soil series was developed. The study revealed that the combined use of Cartosat-1 Digital Elevation Model (DEM) (10 m) and high-resolution IRS-P6 LISS-IV data will be of immense help in identifying distinct soil patterns for large-scale soil resource inventory for village-level agricultural planning.

Microbes: A Sustainable Approach for Enhancing Nutrient Availability in Agricultural Soils

The soil scientists along with microbiologists had a big responsibility to come forward with a sustainable solution to enhance soil nutrient supplying capacity, without applying the agrochemical and mineral fertilizers. The only way out to this problem is through the use of efficient microbes which plays a vital role as organic or biological agents in facilitating uptake of many primary and secondary nutrients. Moreover, the fertility of any soil is directly proportional to the microbial biomass and its potential of functional activity and diversity. Billions of microbes which are present in soil are major key players of nutrient cycling and their solubilization and mineralization. This fact has been known and scientifically reported for a number of decades, but still its significance has not yet channelized into the mainstream of intensive agriculture. Thus, in this chapter, exhaustive overview of the different groups of agriculturally important microbes has been given which are responsible for enhancing nutrient availability particularly nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, iron and zinc in agricultural soils.

Strength of Microbes in Nutrient Cycling: A Key to Soil Health

Nowadays, due to continuous degradation in soil quality, a healthy soil system is the result of a complex network of physical, chemical, and biological soil quality indicators. Healthy soils provide a balance between the needs of both farmers and community. Soil organic matter (SOM) helps to sustain the soil health as well as its quality, inactivate toxic compounds, suppress pathogens, and protect environmental sustainability. It implies interactions among the soil’s internal and external components for the sustainable food production system. The efficient soil microbes play an important role, since they are responsible to drive various biological transformations and different pools of carbon (C) and macro- and micronutrients, which facilitate the subsequent establishment of soil-plant-microbe interaction. The diversity of microbes in soil system is enormous. This article emphasizes the role of microbes for soil health through the decomposition of SOM present in soil system. Toward the global knowledge of soil microbial dynamics, its function is increasing rapidly, but the knowledge of rhizospheric complex is limited, despite of their importance in regulating soil-plant systems.

A Review on Crop Regulation in Fruit Crops

Some of the fruit crops bloom throughout the year without any resting period and produces two or three crops (bahar) in a year but yield and quality is not so good in all crop harvest. It is very essential to understand the flowering and fruiting behavior of crops and which bahar will give good crop with considering all the factors associated with a particular bahar. The acid limes bloom throughout the year but the main blooming period is February March, with lean period from July to August. It is not uncommon to find, particularly in lime, flowers fruitlets, developing fruits and mature fruits all at a given time (Rajput and Babu, 1985). Mahalle et al., (2010) reported in Hasta bahar flowering (September and October) of Acid lime, two sprays of cycocel 1000 ppm at an interval of one month before initiation of flowering that is in August and September resulted in maximum yield in terms of number of fruits per tree and weight of fruits per tree and this treatment also improved the fruit quality in respect to juice %, TSS, acidity, ascorbic acid content and International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 7 (2017) pp. 4032-4043 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com