Spatial Variability of Wheat Yield and Soil Properties in a Selected Agricultural Land of Sorkhankalateh

Evaluating agricultural land management practices requires a thorough knowledge of soil spatial variability and understanding their relationships. This study was conducted at a traditionally operated wheat field in Sorkhankalateh district, located about 25 km northeast of Gorgan, in Golestan province, Iran. Soil samples of the 0-30 cm depth were collected right after planting at the end of autumn 2004 , 100 × 180m plot in a nested grid pattern (n=101). A 1 m2 plot of wheat was harvested at each of 101 sites previously sampled at the end of spring. Statistical results showed that frequency distribution of all data was normal. The highest and lowest CV was related to grain yield (20.40%) and pH (0.59%) respectively. Variogram analysis showed that all parameters had spatial structure and the range values showed considerable variability among the measured parameters. The ranges of spatial dependence showed a variation from 23.99m for total N up to 93.92m for K. Among the parameters, total N and ESP had stronger spatial dependence while P had the lower spatial dependence. Interpolated maps of Kriging demonstrated that crop and soil properties did not have a random pattern but had a spatial distribution. The spatial distribution of total N was similar to organic matter and also there was similarity between spatial distribution of harvest index and available P. The results demonstrated that, the spatial distribution and spatial dependence level of soil properties can be different even within similarly managed farms. Variography and Kriging can be useful tools for designing soil sampling strategies, characterizing management zones and variable application rates of inputs in the precision agriculture.