Physicochemical Properties of Soils under Different Tea Growing Regions of North Bengal: A study from 2006 to 2010

Abstract

The physicochemical properties of tea soil (0-45cm) were analysed to evaluate the characteristics of tea growing soils under three different locations of West Bengal (India), considering the age of tea plantation during the period from 2006 to 2010. The soil samples of Hills, Dooars and Terai region of West Bengal were collected on the basis of age (young, medium and old) of the tea plants, although Darjeeling region as organic and non-organic tea growing soils. The soils of the Dooars region were clay to sandy loam in texture whereas; soils of Terai and Darjeeling was sandy loam in texture. The selected TG soils were strong to moderately acidic in reaction with low electrical conductivity (EC) and Chloride (Cl^-). The organic carbon/organic matter/available nitrogen content of different regions was found medium to high, but very little variation was obtained with organic tea growing regions of Darjeeling. The soil available  P content were low to medium in all the regions but higher available K content were found with the soils of Hills, Dooars and Terai regions. The correlation study indicated that available N and K were influenced by soil organic carbon content, while the available P content by the soil pH. The available N, K and EC were negatively influenced by sand content of the soils.