Distribution of boron fractions in soils of Imphal West, Manipur

A distribution study was conducted by collecting GPS based one hundred soil samples from Imphal West, Manipur to study the status of different boron fractions. Result revealed that total boron content of the soil varied from105.18 to 148.98ppm. It boron was quantified into five fractions viz., readily soluble boron, specifically adsorbed boron, oxide bound boron, organically bound boron and residual boron and their contents varied in the range of 0.05-2.35ppm, 0.98-3.93ppm, 3.12-7.61ppm, 8.21-13.01ppm and 90.34-128.34ppm, respectively. The dominant pool among all five fractions was residual boron comprising about 85 percent of total boron. The readily soluble and specifically adsorbed boron constitutes the liable pool whereas the oxide bound, organically bound and residual boron constitute the non- liable pool of boron in soil. The distribution pattern of various boron fractions was in the order: residual boron > organically bound boron > oxide bound boron > specifically adsorbed boron > readily soluble boron.