Available nutrients and some soil properties of El-Qasr soils, El-Dakhla Oasis, Egypt

Ten surface soil samples (0-30 cm) were collected from El-Qasr village, El-Dakhla Oasis, New Valley, Egypt to investigate some soil properties and nutrients availability. The results revealed that most of the soil texture varied clay loam to sandy clay loam. The mean values of bulk density (BD), soil pH, electric conductivity (EC), saturation percentage (SP), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), cation exchangeable capacity (CEC), organic matter (OM), and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) were 1.42 gcm3, 7.89, 3.34 dSm-1, 52.10%, 7.46 %, 28.08 cmol (+) kg-1, and 3.65, respectively. The mean values of N, P, and K were 99.37, 31.32, 121.93, mg/kg, respectively. Meanwhile, the mean values of Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn were 27.39, 18.38, 0.48, and 3.48 mgkg-1, respectively. The correlations coefficient of NPK was strongly positively significant relationship with clay, OM, CEC, and SAR, but they negatively correlated with pH, EC, CaCO3. Meanwhile, Fe, Mn, and Cu were positively correlated with EC, CaCO3, while they negatively correlated with clay, pH, OM, CEC, and SAR. Also, Zn was negatively correlated with clay, pH, EC, OM, and CaCO3, and it positively correlated with CEC and SAR.