Evaluation of Soil Fertility Status in Toshka, Egypt: Available Micronutrients

Toshka area is situated in the southern part of the western desert of Egypt and this area has a special important in the Egyptian agriculture production. However, there is little information available about the soil fertility of that area. Optimal use of nutrients based on soil analysis can improve crop productivity and minimize environmental pollution. Therefore this study aimed to assess the available iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and boron (B) in some soils of Toshka area and to explore the effect of soil properties on the availability of these micronutrients. Thirty one locations in Toshka represent an area of 1739 ha were chosen for the current study. Soil samples from 025 and 2550 cm at each location were collected in 2017 then they were analyzed by the standard methods. The available content of Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn and B were measured. The present study revealed that the soils contents of organic matter (OM) were low and the values ranged between 0.03 to 0.94%. The available Fe in 80.65% of the studied soil samples were less than 4.5 mg kg but the available -1 Cu and Zn were high in 85.48 and 98.39%, respectively. Soil Nutrient Index (SNI) of the studied area was found in category of low for organic matter, available Fe and available B. The value of SNI was medium for the available Zn and Mn but it was high for the available Cu.