Assessment of Land Leveling Effect on the Spatial Variability of Soil Fertility Properties in Paddy Fields

Land leveling and consolidation of paddy soils is a key approach in precision agriculture for water management improvement, weed control and agricultural mechanization. However, nutrients spatial variability in these fields is affected by land leveling. The objective of this study was to determine land leveling effect on the degree of spatial variability of soil fertitility. Land leveling caused significant spatial variability and spatial distribution of soil fertility properties. Clay content significantly increased, while soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorous and available potassium significantly decreased. Alteration of spatial distribution was due to cut off the top soil at higher locations and its deposition on the low areas. The post-leveling evaluation of soil several fertility status with geostatistics demonstrated that leveled field faced with deficiency in one or several nutrients. The traditional fertilizer recommendation for whole field would accelerate non- uniformity in soil fertility status and would not lead to realization of the potential.