Chesti, Majeed-Ul-HassanDar, Zahid Ahmad2023-05-042023-05-042021https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810196995M.Sc Thesis submitted to SKUAST KashmirKnowledge about the different fractions of zinc in soils is important for understanding its distribution in soils for its effective and efficientmanagement. The present study entitled “Distribution of zinc fractions in rice growing soils and their relationship with various soil properties” was conducted during year 2020-2021, keeping in view the importance of zinc in rice and its decreasing quantity in world soils in general and Indian soils in particular. The study was conducted in rice growing soils of district Anantnag and Kulgam located in south of Kashmir valley owing to the fact that rice is the staple food of valley grown on a large scale. Sequential extraction scheme was used tofractionate zinc into water soluble(Ws-Zn), exchangeable (Ex-Zn), organically complexed (OCx-Zn),amorphous sesquioxide bound (AMOX-Zn),crystalline sesquioxide bound (CRYOX-Zn) and residual zinc (Res-Zn). The total zinc was calculated as the sum of all the fractions which varied from 58.93 to 65.61 and 56.38 to 58.17mg kg-1 respectively for Anantnag and Kulgam. It was concluded from the study that the fractional distribution pattern of zinc in rice grown soils of both districts of Anantnag and Kulgam followed the order: Residual Zn> organically complexed bound Zn > Amorphous sesquioxide bound Zn > Crystalline sesquioxide bound Zn >Exchangeable Zn >Water Soluble Zn.Labile fractions such as water soluble (1%) and exchangeable zinc (2-3%) contributed very little to total zinc, whereas residual zinc was the most dominant fraction, accounting for 69 to 72 percent of total zinc.Physico-chemical properties especially soil pH and organic carbon were the key factors that govern the distribution of zinc in different chemical pools in both the districts. Correlation studies revealed that all the fractions of zinc except for residual and total zinc, were negatively and significantly correlated with soil pH and positively and significantly correlated with soil organic carbon.EnglishRice growing soils, Zinc fractions, Soil properties, Correlation.Soil Science and Agricultural ChemistryThesis