Delineating soil fertility management zones using geostatistics and fuzzy clustering in semi-arid maize systems in India.

Authors

Pandit Vaibhav Bhagwan, Theerthala Anjaiah, Chitteti Ravali, Makam Uma Devi, Tadikamalla Laxmi Neelima, Darshanoju Srinivasa Chary, Sumanta Chatterjee

Published in

Environmental monitoring and assessment. Volume 197. Issue 11. Pages 1230. Oct 21, 2025. Epub Oct 21, 2025.

Abstract

This study quantified spatial variability in soil fertility attributes to delineate management zones (MZs) for site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) in a 4-ha maize field in northern Telangana, India. A total of 200 geo-referenced surface (0-15 cm) soil samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, and available nutrients (e.g., P, K, S, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu). Geostatistical analysis using ordinary kriging revealed that spherical models best were the best fit for describing the spatial structure of most parameters, with strong spatial dependence (nugget/sill < 0.25). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reduced dimensionality, and fuzzy C-means clustering of the principal components delineated three distinct MZs, which were validated by ANOVA. Integration of MZs with targeted yield-based fertilizer recommendation equations enabled differential NPK application, resulting nutrient use efficiency gain equivalent to savings of up to 36 kg N, 39 kg P₂O₅ and 31 kg K₂O ha⁻¹ in MZ -3. The maize yield increased from 7.27 t ha^-1 under conventional farmer practices to 7.79 t ha^-1 in MZ -1, 7.93 t ha^-1 in MZ-2 and 8.02 t ha^-1 in MZ -3 with corresponding benefit-cost ratio of 2.54, 2.60 and 2.65. MZ-3 consistently outperformed other zones in yield and economic return, demonstrating the agronomic and economic efficiency of site-specific nutrient management. This work demonstrates the potential of combining geostatistics and fuzzy clustering for optimal nutrient use efficiency and profitability in smallholder maize-based agroecosystems.

PMID:
41117992
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 21 Oct 2025.

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