Evaluation of Soil Nutrient Level in Naypyitaw Agricultural Land

Abstract

Being one of the portions of land degradation, fertility depletion is a major barrier in crop productivity in agricultural sector. While we made attempt to increase crop productivity for food security, this study focused on investigating the fertility status of the soil and the major factors that influenced the nutrient level. The studies were carried out in Naypyitaw Union Territory during 2016 - 2017. The first study emphasized on major nutrient level in Naypyitaw region. A total of 240 soil samples were collected from 8 townships of 2 districts and analyzed. Soil analyses were performed for soil acidity, organic carbon, total Nitrogen, available P and K. Using descriptive statistic, the nutrient levels were evaluated in study area. The objective of second study was to evaluate the major and minor nutrient status in prominent specific rice fields in two townships. (Pobbathiri and Zeyar Thiri). Soil samples were collected from 22 farmer’s fields and analyzed to identify soil macro and specific micro nutrients content. The Chi-square test was used to analyze for different location and different cropping patterns. First study showed that about 50% of Naypyitaw agricultural lands is low in Organic Carbon, 82% and 90% of land were also deficient in total N and available P, respectively. The second study showed that the deficiencies of total N, available P, S and Zn were detected in all rice fields. These nutrient deficiencies are not totally dependent on grown crops. It may be due to insufficient application of nutrients amount and type. It was also found that no farmers apply sufficient amount of organic and inorganic fertilizers. The results of the present study suggested that the effective education system was essential for farmers to adopt the advanced fertility technology regarding balanced fertilization of macro and micro nutrient..