Original Article | 2002, Vol.24, No.2, pp. 321-328
Spatial variability of N, P, and K in rice field in Sawah Sempadan, Malaysia
Saeed Mohamed Eltaib, Mohd Soom Mohd Amin, Mohd Musa Hanafi, Abdul Rashid Mohd Shariff and Aimrun Wayayok
pp. 321 - 328
Abstract
The variability of soil chemical properties such as total N, available P, and exchangeable K were examined on a 1.2 ha rice (Oryza sativa) field. The soil (n = 72) samples were systematically taken from individual fields in Sawah Sempadan in thirty-six locations at two depths (0-20 and 20-30 cm). The Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) was used for locating the sample position. Geostatistical techniques were used to analyze the soil chemical properties variability of the samples that assist in site-specific management of the field. Results showed that areas of similarity were much greater for the soil chemical properties measured at the depth of (0-20 cm) than that of the second lower (20- 30 cm). The ranges of the semivariogram for total N, available P, and exchangeable K were 12, and 13 m (0-20 cm), 12 and 38 m (20-30 cm), respectively. Point kriging calculated from the semivariogram was employed for spatial distribution map. The results suggested that soil chemical properties measured may be spatially dependent even within the small.
