Available micronutrients in soils of Virudhunagar and Vellore districts of Tamil Nadu

Surface soil samples were collected from cultivated lands of Virudhunagar and Vellore districts. Out of 456 soil samples analysed, Zn deficiency was observed in 41.0–64.5 per cent of the samples in various taluks of Virudhunagar district. While in five taluks of Vellore district (258), Zn deficiency was noticed from 42.0 to 82.0 per cent of the samples analysed. On an average, 1.0 and 7.2 of Cu deficiency and 1.6 and 0.8 per cent of Fe deficiency were observed in Virudhunagar and Vellore districts respectively. Manganese content was well above critical limit in all the soil samples of both the districts.