Spatial Variability of Micronutrients Around the Rain Fed Areas of Chakwal District Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Micronutrients such as Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and B are key factors without which plant does not complete his life cycle.  The spatial patterns of five micronutrients were examined in order to implementation of site specific fertilizer management. The soil samples were collected from koont farm at Chakwal district which located at 33° 6' 42.54" to 33° 7' 16.98" North and 73° 0' 24.3" to 73° 1' 15.54" East. For this purpose, statistical and geostatistical analysis were performed on the basis of semi-variogram. The nugget to sill ratio is used to evaluate the spatial variability of micronutrients. The nugget/sill ratio indicates that the micronutrients were strongly spatial dependent except the Fe which was moderately spatial variable. The co-efficient of variance (CV) percentage was used to describe the spatial variability micronutrients. The CV percentage indicates that all the nutrients are spatial variable. The krging maps were prepared for each micronutrient which describes the spatial distribution of micronutrients. The spherical model was best fit for each micronutrient. This patchy distribution of soil micronutrients needs spatial management for precision agriculture.