Evaluation of soil physical and chemical properties in the vegetable growing areas of Shivalik hills of Himachal Pradesh, India

The study was conducted in the months of February and March, 2020 in the tomato growing areas of Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh, India to study the physical properties of the soil. In this study, 50 randomly selected sampling locations within vegetable growing areas of Sirmour district were used to collect 100 representative soil samples from two depths (0-15 cm and 15-30 cm). These samples were analyzed for various soil physical properties like soil texture, bulk density, particle density, porosity, and water holding capacity. The soils were found to range from sandy loam to loamy sand, characteristics common to the region. Results indicated that both bulk density and particle density increased with depth, while porosity and water holding capacity declined. In the surface layer, bulk density ranged from 1.13 to 1.34 Mg m^-3, particle density from 2.01 to 2.46 Mg m^-3, porosity from 39.90% to 50.00%, and water holding capacity from 41.74% to 66.03%. In the sub-surface, these parameters shifted to 1.18-1.41 Mg m^-3, 2.04-2.47 Mg m^-3, 38.32-48.99%, and 48.45-50.98% respectively. Correlation analysis revealed that higher sand content significantly increased bulk and particle densities while reducing water holding capacity, with silt showing variable depth-dependent relationships and clay exhibiting no significant correlations. These findings highlighted the significant depth-related variability in soil physical properties, providing valuable insights for improved soil management in vegetable farming.