•Determination of moisture from organic manure

Procedure: 1)Take about 5 gm of sample in a pre-

weighed porcelain or silica or glass dish.
2) Keep the dish in hot air oven maintained at 100
+minus 2 ^ 0 * C for about 4 hours.
3)Cool in desicator and weigh accurately.
4) For sodium , ammonium sulphate and potassium
salts, heat upto 130+2 deg .
5)Calculate moisture as percentage loss in weight
and report on fresh weight basis.
• Determination of Organic carbon from organic
manure (Ignition method)
Procedure:-1)Weigh 2-3 gm sample in silica crucible
2. Keep it on burner (low flame) until sample is
charred.
3. Transfer the silica crucible into muffle furnace and
heat at 55°C until greyish white ash is obtained.
4)Remove and cool it in a desiceator and weigh.
5. The residue represents the ash Le mineral matter
and the loss in weight. Represents the moisture and
organic matter.
6. Calculate the per cent organic carbon from per
cent organic matter.
•Estimation of available Sulphur in soil (turbidity
Method)
Procedure:
1)Weigh 10 g of air-dry soil in a 150 ml conical flask
and add 50 ml of 0.15%CaCl: solution.
2)Shake for 30 minutes on a rotary shaker and filter
through Whatman No. 42 filer paper.
3)Take 10 ml of the clean filtrate in a 25 ml
volumetric flask, follow the steps given for standard
curve to develop the turbidity and record the
absorbance
•Determination of exchangeable Ca and Mg in soil
(EDTA Method)
Procedure:-Pretreatment of Soil Extract:
1)Transfer ammonium acetate extract to a 250 ml
beaker and evaporate to dryness on a hot plate or
steam bath.
2) Wash down the walls of the beaker with a small
quantity of water and again evaporate to dryness.
3)Add 1 ml of nitric acid and 3 ml of hydrochloric
acid and again evaporate.
4)Dissolve the residue after evaporation in 20 ml of
0.1 N acetic acid.
5) Fitter through Whatmana filter paper (low ash
content filter paper) in to a 50 mi volumetric flask
using water to wash the beaker and filter paper.
Dilute upto volume.
Calcium: 1)“Pipette a 5 to 25 ml aliquot (obtained
after step 5) into a porcelain casserole.
Approximately 25 ml. Dilute to a volume of app
2 Add 0.25 ml (5drops) of 4 N sodium hydroxide and
approximately 50 mg of ammonium purpurate
indicator.
3. Tirate with 0.01 N EDTA using 10 ml microburette.
The
colour change is from orange red to lavender or
purple. When close to the end, EDTA should be
added at the rate of about a drop every 5-10 seconds
as the colour change is not instantaneous.
Calcium Magnesium:1)Pipette a 5 to 25 ml aliquot
into. (obtained in after step 5) a 125 ml Erlenmeyer
flask. Dilute to a volume of approximately 25 ml.
2)Add 0.5 ml (10 drops) of ammonium chloride +
ammonium hydroxide buffer and 3 or 4 drops of
Eriochrome black T incidator.
3) Titrate with 0.01 N EDTA using 10 ml microburette.
The colour change is from wine red to blue or green.
No tinge of the wine red colour should remain at the
end point.
•Estimation of available N in soil
Procedure: 1)Weight 20 g soil. Transfer it into
distillation flask (1000 ml).
2) Add to it 20 ml distilled water with the help of jet in
such a way that the 2 Particles of soil do not remain
stack to the sides of the flask
3)Add 2 to 3 glass beads to prevent bumping and 1
ml of liquid paraffin to prevent frothing.
4)Add 100 ml of Potassium permanaganate (0.32%)
and 100 ml of Sodium hydroxide solution (2.5%) to
the flask.
5)Stopper the flask immediately and start the
distillation. The tip of theCondenser should dip in
the 20 ml of boric Acid solution (with mixed
Indicator) in the beaker. On heating ammonia will be
liberated which will be absorbed in the boric acid.
The original wine red / pink red colour turns to green
with absorption of Ammonia.
6)Collect nearly 100 ml of the distillate in about 30
minutes and titrate with 0.02 N. H2SO4 to the
original shade (pink red / wine red colour) and record
the burette reading.
7)Run a blank without soil and use the reading.
8)Express, results on oven dry basis.

•Determination of Available potassium in Soil

using Flame Photometer
Procedure:
1) Weight 5 g soil and transfer it to 150 ml conical
flask.
2 )Add to it 25 ml extracting solution and shake it for
exactly 5 minutes on a mechanical shaker.
3)Filter the contents immediately through ordinary
filter paper and collect the filtrate in a beaker (Reject
first few ml of filtrate).
4) Atomize the above extract on Flame Photometer
and record the readings.
•Estimation of available phosphorous in soil
(Olsen’s Method)
Procedure
a)Extraction:- 1) Take 25 g soil in 100 ml conical
flask.
2). Add to it a little of Darco G-60, followed by 50 ml
of 0.5 M NaHCOs solution.
3)Cork the flask and shake it for exactly 30 minutes
on platform type shaker.
4) Filter the contents immédiately after shaking and
collect the filtrate.
b)Estimation: 1) Pipette out 5 ml of NaHCOs,
extract into 25 ml volumetric flask
2)Add two drops of 2.4 Paranitrophenol and 5 N
H2So4, drop by drop with Intermitant shaking till
yellow colour disappear.
3)Dilute the contents to about 20 ml with distilled
water and then add 4.0 ml
Solution “B’ (Ascorbic acid)
4)Run a blank without soil
5)Make up the volume and measure the intensity of
blue colour at 730 to 840 nm on Spectronic 20 or
using red filter (660 nm) on colorimeter. (Teacher
may explain the principle of Spectro-photometer
and Colorimeter in brief).
c)Preparation of Std. Curve:
1)Prepare a series of standards by taking, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4
5 and 10 ml of 2 ppm PSolution in 25 ml volumetric
flask separately.
2) Add 5 ml of NaHCO, solution to each flask and
adjust pH as above.
3) Develop colour and record the reading as above.
4)Construct a graph by plotting readings on X-axis
and Conc. P on ‘Y’ Axis