ASSESSMENT OF SOIL QUALITY IN PARTS OF LUDHIANA DISTRICT, PUNJAB, INDIA IN ORDER TO ATT AIN AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY

Industrial agriculture which is in vogue in the present times advoca tes the use of synthetic, chemical fertilizers and monocrop agriculture practices. Unmindful use of synthetic fertilizers has polluted the atmosphere , soils and waterways. The monocrop agriculture practices have further added to the woes of the soil. In th e past two to three decades, intensive agricultural practices have put a tremendous pressure on the soils, declining its fertility both in terms of its macro and micronutrients. Maintenance of soil fertility is important for sustainable agricultural produc tion. Soil quality (micro and macro nutrients and heavy metals) of the study area has been carried out using standard methods.The soil of the study area had pH between 6.5 to 8.7 i.e. under normal category which is optimum for the crops. EC is below 0.8dS/ cm and is also optimum for the crops. The organic carbon content in the soil is low to medium. The content of macronutrients like: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is generally low to medium in the study area. The content of micronutrient like: zinc and copper are deficient but iron and manganese are in sufficient amount. The content of chloride is also low in the study area. The content of heavy metal like cadmium is high at 15cm depth but is low at 30cm depth. The concentration of lead in the soil is lo w. The SAR value of the soil varies from0.62 meq/l to 1.90 meq/l which is good for the crops. Correlation analysis shows that there is a strong positive correlation between pH and the soil parameters which shows that soil is suitable for many crops. There is weak correlation between OC and soil parameters because of minimum amount of organic content in the soil. There is a positive correlation between the heavy metal as they are insusceptible to leaching and cause soil contamination. Thus, it is evident fro m the above parameters that the soil is good for agricultural purposes in the study area but proper soil management is urgently required to reduce the soil contamination due to heavy metals.