Relationship of Phosphorus Fractions with Soil Properties in Mothbean Growing Acid Soils of North Western Indian Himalayas

Phosphorus (P) availability in acid soils is affected and hence it is important to monitor the distribution of P in acid soils. Here, the relationship was investigated taking 81 surface (0-0.20 m) soil samples into consideration collected from 21 mothbean cultivated areas and were analyzed for different phosphorus fractions in relation to their physical and chemical properties. Results revealed that available P ranged from 8.19 to 15.46 kg ha(-1) which lies in a slightly low-to-medium range. Available P was significantly positively correlated with organic carbon and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The content of soil total P increased significantly with organic carbon and was found in range between 201.00 and 596.11 mg kg(-1) which was in suffice category. Various phosphorus fractions under study viz., Al-P, Fe-P and Ca-P ranged between 20.23-32.28, 34.80-51.44 and 8.57-15.00 mg kg(-1), respectively. Among the various P fractions, organic carbon was positively correlated with Fe-P and Ca-P.