Assessment of soil fertility status in vegetable-growing areas of Patehara Block, Mirzapur District, Eastern Uttar Pradesh

Assessment of soil fertility status is essential for formulating site-specific nutrient management recommendations and sustaining crop productivity. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the physicochemical properties and available macro- and micronutrient status of vegetable-growing soils of Patehara block, Mirzapur district, Uttar Pradesh. A total of 60 surface soil samples (0–15 cm) were collected from vegetable-growing fields of different villages of Patehara block and analysed using standard analytical procedures. The soils ranged from slightly acidic to moderately alkaline (pH 5.6–8.1) with electrical conductivity varying from 0.22 to 0.95 dS m⁻¹. Organic carbon content ranged from 0.25 to 0.72%, of which 71.7% of the samples were low in organic carbon. Available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium varied from 125.52–363.78, 10.52–21.21 and 96.62–302.21 kg ha⁻¹, with mean values of 227.65, 17.32 and 198.95 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. Based on nutrient index values, available nitrogen was rated low, whereas available phosphorus and potassium were in the medium fertility category. DTPA-extractable Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn ranged from 11.15–79.21, 0.12–4.05, 0.11–5.99 and 0.09–85.99 mg kg⁻¹, with mean values of 49.16, 1.48, 1.13 and 32.53 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. Iron, copper and manganese were generally sufficient, whereas zinc deficiency was observed in 23.3% of the samples. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive relationships among organic carbon, electrical conductivity, while available nitrogen showed positive association with organic carbon. The study indicates that improvement of soil organic matter, balanced nitrogen fertilization and site-specific zinc application are required to sustain soil fertility and vegetable productivity in the Patehara block.