Assessment of Soil Physical Conditions: Evaluation of a Single Value Index

Soil physical quality index S, the slope of the soil water retention curve at the inflection point, provides a scale that can be used to compare different soils or the effects of different management practices on soil physical properties. Our study indicates a downward trend in S value with increasing clay content and bulk density but higher values of S were observed with increasing organic matter content. In addition to this, different management practices (balanced application of fertilizers in conjunction with soil amendments (organic manures, fly ash, biogas slurry) and soil conditioners (jalshakti) and the combinations of conventional, reduced and no tillage practices) led to optimizing bulk density and increase in soil organic carbon, available water capacity, which resulted in higher values of S and improved soil physical quality. The index is understood to have potential for general assessment of soils or its temporal changes and thus, can help in making decision of agri-management practices.