Need advice - soil

I am planning to farm guava, Lemon and timber trees in my land. I know the soil is shallow due to bedrocks in 3 to 4 feet.

While digging we also see some kind of white stones which breaks easily (in some places I see this in 1 feet) . Please Kindly advice what are these and is it safe to plant fruit trees in this land and experience in dealing with this kind of shallow soil problems.

In attached picture you can see the white rocks.

These rocks breaks into white powder when applied pressure and ph of soil is very high… I have already invested a lot in this land like well deepning, fencing, sheds, and borewells,… Need to see if it worth to make this land usable considering the high ph 8.6 and chalky rocks in 1 to 2 feet land.

Need expert opinion please, attaching the picture of chalky rock.

Reports say that Guava may be grown with soil pH upto 8.5. High calcium soils are with high pH. High calcium type of soils are usually called as calcareous soils and said to contain more than 15 % of Calcium carbonates [CaCO3]. This CaCO3 is present in the form of powder, nodules or crusts. Crops may be grown in these type of soils where adequate water is available and with sufficient nutrients.

Generally calcareous soils have low organic matter content and nitrogen nutrients will always be at lower side. Nitrogen nutrients may be supplied to time to time for the crop cycle.

Phosphorous is also deficient in calcareous soils. Phosphorous supplement to the crop may be decided with the soil analyses data. Sometimes excess applied phosphorus may lead to deficiency of micronutrients zinc or iron. In calcareous soils, the applied phosphorus fertilizer should be in water soluble form for more effectiveness.

More and more applications of animal based manure are helpful in preventing deficiencies of nutrients in calcareous soils. Application of sulphur to the these will decrease the pH of the soil.

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Thanks a lot, you are correct we did soil test. Nitrogen and Phosphorous is very low. Potassium is on very higher side.

I don’t want to apply any chemical in land. Buying 2 country cows and will start using it for fertilizers. Any other recommendations please?

Some people told it’s okay to plant fruit trees and timber trees but some have told that when the tree root touches the chalky rock it will die. They advised to do only papaya and vegetables. I got this contradictory view from agri experts in my area who is doing farming for decades. Is it true that plants will die when the root touches chalky rocks?

Dear Sir, at the place of planting you can add lot of Organic manure and other soil to avoid the calcic effect of the chalky soil.

Well, there is a high likelihood of a hard pan due to the calcium. Trees could grow fine for a couple of years and then decline.

Why not look at seasonals that don’t go that deep instead?

There is no hard pan but lock of chalky rocks. Planning to go with papaya for a hectare. Thinking whether to do taiwan pink guava and lemon. Some people suggested it will not be a problem but still in dilemma.

Basically, I wanted to go for fruit trees due to labor issues. Also planted around 600 palm seeds surrounding the farm. I understood sitapal roots are also very shallow which might come.

According to the report that pears can be grown with soil pH up to 8.5. High calcium soils with high pH. Most calcium soils are commonly known as limestone soils and contain more than 15% calcium carbonate. Crops can be grown in this type of soil where there is plenty of water available with enough nutrients.

• Make sure the soil is appropriate by drilling a 3 x 3 x 3-foot profile hole.
• Observe the soil for any nodules or rock masses. if it was
Lemon nodules or rock exists to avoid such soil
Farmer.
• Avoid logging or poor soil drainage.
• Collect soil sample for every one-foot depth of soil from the appropriate land
Drill the profiled hole out.
• Based on the soil test report, even if the pH of the soil reaches 8.2, it is considered so
Suitable for guava farm.

Hi,

This shows that the soil has high calcium carbonate content.

To correct this problem, you can use the following while planting guava trees -
→ FYM
→ Composting Bacteria
→ Granular Sulphur
→ Gypsum

Sulphur will help reduce calcium carbonate content.
And Gypsum will reduce the pH. FYM will improve the soil structure.

You may contact the company BharatAgri in case of any queries. Their website is www.bharatagri.com.

They do soil testing and provide you season long support for your crops.