EURASIAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE

255 - 265

Authors: Suleiman Usman, Yakubu Muhammad, Alhaji Maigana Chiroman

Soil biota (the living organisms in soil) plays an important role in soil development and soil formation. They are the most important component of soil organic matter decomposition and behave efficiently in the development and formation of soil structure and soil aggregate. Their biodiversity provides many functional services to soil and soil components. They help in dissolving verities of plant and animal materials, which could left as decayed organic matter at the surface soil. Understanding the vital role of soil organisms would undoubtedly helps to increase food production and reduces poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Soil biota and biodiversity research in sub-Saharan Africa would play an important role in sustaining food security, environmental health, water quality and forest regeneration. This paper, briefly highlighted some of the biological functions of soil biota and suggests that proper understandings of biota and their biodiversity in soil environment would provide ways to get better understanding of soil health, soil function, soil quality and soil fertility under sustainable soil management activities in agricultural production.

275 - 278

Authors: S. Fatih Ergin, Füsun Gülser

In this study, effect of mycorrhiza on growth criteria and phosphorus nutrition of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under different phosphorus fertilization rates were investigated. Phosphorus were added into growing media as 0, 50, 100 and 200 mg P2O5/kg with and without mycorrhiza applications. Phosphorus applications significantly increased yield criteria of lettuce according to the control treatment statistically. Mycorrhiza application also significantly increased plant diameter, plant dry weight and phosphor uptake by plant. The highest phosphorus uptakes by plants were determined in 200 mg P2O5/kg treatments as 88.8 mg P/pot with mycorrhiza and 83.1 mg P/pot without mycorrhiza application. In the control at 0 doses of phosphorus with mycorrhiza treatment, phosphorus uptake (69.9 mg P/pot), edible weight (84.36 g), dry weight (8.64 g) and leaf number (28) of lettuce were higher than that (47.7 mg P/pot, 59.33 g, 6.75 g and 20, respectively) in the control without mycorrhiza application. It was determined that mycorrhiza had positive effect on growth criteria and phosphorus nutrition by lettuce plant, and this effect decreased at higher phosphorus application rates.

285 - 293

Authors: Fatemeh Gheysari, Shamsollah Ayoubi, Mohammad Reza Abdi

This study was conducted to estimate soil erosion and deposition rates along a transect using 137Cs technique in an arid of Isfahan Province, central Iran. Sixteen sites along a northeast-southwest transect with 42 km length were used. Eighty soil samples collected from five depths (0-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-50 cm) were analyzed for 137Cs concentration. Additional 20 soil samples were collected from the reference site for computing soil loss and deposition using 137Cs measurement. The results showed that the northern part of the transect showed erosion rates ranging from12.90 to 46.86 t ha-1yr-1. The major factor affecting soil erosion process in northern part of the studied transect is associated dominantly with occurrence of improper gypsum mining operations and human activities. In the southern part of the transect deposition rates changed between 3.10 - 7.44 t ha-1yr-1, presumably influenced by increasing plant cover. Significant correlations between 137Cs and magnetic susceptibility, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN) and particle size distributions indicated that soil redistribution by wind erosion might have modified the soil properties along the studied transect. A multiple linear regression model was developed for estimating 137Cs by frequency dependence (χfd), TN, clay and sand contents which explained about 87% of the 137Cs variability. This study of using 137Cs to assess wind erosion is unique in the arid region of central Iran and had significant implications for further research.

299 - 306

Authors: Mohamed Said Awaad, Ragab Ali Badr, Mamoduh Ali Badr, Ahmed Hamada Abd-elrahman

Lettuce plants were grown under sandy soil conditions in the private farm of Ahmed Orabi organization, Cairo Governorate Egypt, between 15th November 2009 and 15 January 2010. The experiment was conducted to assess the effects of different nitrogen sources, slow release N (urea-formaldehyde) and fast release N (urea) containing fertilizers at the rates of 0, 60, 90 and 120 kg N ha-1 applied alone or combined with potassium sulphate, on lettuce plant yield. Results indicated that application of different sources of N alone or combined with potassium sulphate gave the highest fresh dry weight per plant and total lettuce yield per hectare compared with the control. The highest dry weight of lettuce was achieved with the combination of urea and potassium sulphate. Although fertilization made with the combination of urea and potassium sulphate resulted in the highest P, K, Zn and Mn contents in lettuce plant, fertilization with urea alone gave the highest N and Fe contents. The lowest content of nitrate in lettuce plants was recorded with the fertilization of urea only or with the combination of urea and potassium sulphate. Application of the combination of urea and potassium sulphate induced the highest protein content in plants. The results indicated that application of urea-formaldehyde as a slow release nitrogen fertilizer solely or combined with potassium sulphate significantly improved yield and yield quality of lettuce plants grown in sandy soil.

314 - 321

Authors: Amrakh I. Mamedov, Imanverdi Ekberli, Coşkun Gülser, Ilknur Gümüş, Ummuhan Çetin, Guy J. Levy

Studying and modeling the effects of soil properties and management on soil structure and near saturation water retention is vital for the development of effective soil and water conservation practices. The contribution of soil intrinsic properties and extrinsic conditions to structure stability was inferred, in quantitative terms, from changes in water retention curves near saturation (low matric potential, 0-50 cm, macropores > 60 µm) that were obtained by the high energy moisture characteristic (HEMC) method. The S-shaped water retention curves were characterized by the modified van Genuchten model that provided: (i) the model parameters α and n, which represent the location of the inflection point and the steepness of the water retention curve, respectively; and (ii) the soil structure index, SI=VDP/MS, where VDP is the volume of drainable pores, and MS is the modal suction. Model parameters, claculated by the soil-HEMC model, were related to soil properties and hence soil water retention properties were linked to measured characteristics in several field and laboratory experiments. Soil SI increased exponentially with the increase in α and the decrease in n, while the relationship between SI and α/n was linear. An improved description of the water retention and its link to pore and apparent aggregate size distribution, by using the model parameters α and n, could potentially assist in the selection of management practices for obtaining the most suitable type of soil structure depending on the desired soil function.

166-171

Authors: Masomeh Izadi, Hashem Habashi

Present study evaluates diversity, abundance and biomass of soil macrofauna in organic and semi-organic horizons in Parrotia persica-Carpinus betulus forest in Shast kola area. Totally 70 sample points were randomly selected from organic and semi-organic horizons then sampling was done by a rectangle 100 cm2 area. Soil macrofauna were separated from soil samples by hand sorting and using Berlese funnel then dried at 60°C for 72h and weighted in 0.001 gr. With using taxonomic classification key, thirteen macrofauna orders were identified. Most of abundance of soil macrofauna in both soil horizons were allocated to Millipedes order. Changes in diversity, abundance and biomass of macrofauna in both soil horizons were calculated. The results showed Shannon diversity index, Simpson evenness and Margalef richness indices in semi-organic horizon were more than organic horizon. Abundance and biomass of macrofauna in semi-organic horizon were more than organic horizon.

182-191

Authors: Hannane Abed, Noureddine Rouag, Dahou Mouatassem, Amar Rouabhi

The aim of this work is to study the ability of several isolates belonging to Rhizobacteria (Pseudomonas and Bacillus) collected from several chickpea growing areas in Algeria, to control the mycelium growth of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris. Interesting isolates were characterized for their morphological characteristics, physiological and biochemical activities as potential bio-control agent. Fungal inhibition tests were performed using plate assay and each isolate were tested for the production of protease, cyanide hydrogen, indole acetic acid, antifungal volatile and extracellular compound. According to API 50 CH, we are able to identify six Bacillus species (B. subtilis, B. circulans, B. lentus, B. aneurinilyticus, B. firmus, B. licheniformis; and with API 20NE test we have identified three Pseudomonas species (P. aeruginosa, P. luteola, P. fluorescens). The ability of bacterial isolates was varied in production of Protease, Gelatinase, Amylase, Cellulase, Acid Indole acetic, Lipase, Catalase and Cyanid Hydrogen. This is traduced in different rate of inhibition growth due to various extracellular compounds, where B61 (Bacillus aneurinilyticus) and P39 (Pseudomonas luteola) and P70 (Pseudomonas fluorescens) were the most efficient with 77 and 55.5% respectively, while B39 (Bacillus firmus) and P41 (Pseudomonas luteola) were the most efficient by volatile compounds with 70.5 and 77.5% respectively. Our results indicate that these bacteria isolates can be used in the biocontrol of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris.

201-208

Authors: Uones Mazllom, Hojat Emami, Gholam Hossain Haghnia

Soil erodibility (K factor) is the most important tool for estimation the erosion. The aim of this study was to estimate the soil erodibility in Sanganeh area located in Naderi Kalat, Khorasan Razavi Province of northeastern Iran. The sediments load collected during the 17 rainfall events were measured at the end of 12 plots during 2009-2012. The K factor was calculated according to the USLE for each plot and rainfall event. The relationships between K factor and measured sediments load with soil attributes were studied. The results showed that calcium carbonate, SAR (sodium absorption ratio), silt, clay contents, and SI (structural stability index) were the most effective soil attributes for estimating the sediments load and OM (organic matter), sand, SI and calcium carbonate, silt, clay contents, and SI for K factor. The results of stepwise regression equations showed that the precision of regression equation derived from PCA for estimating the K factor and sediments load were more than ones derived from correlation test. According to the results of this research, it’s recommended that PCA be applied for determination the effective soil attributes for estimating the K factor in USLE and sediments load in studied area.

221-230

Authors: Milad Mirzaei Aminiyan, Farzad Mirzaei Aminiyan, Amin Heydariyan, Mahmood Reza Sadikhani

Water quality is the critical factor that influence on human health and quantity and quality of grain production in semi-humid and semi-arid area. Groundwater and irrigation water quality play important roles in main production this crop. For this purpose, 94 well water samples were taken from 25 wells and samples analyzed. The results showed that four main types of water were found: Na-Cl, K-Cl, Na-SO4, and K-SO4. It seems that most wells in terms of water quality (salinity and alkalinity) and based on Wilcox diagram have critical status. The analysis suggested that more than 87% of the well water samples have high values of EC that these values are higher than into critical limit EC value for irrigation water, which may be due to the sandy soils in this area. Most groundwater were relatively unsuitable for irrigation but it could be used by application of correct management such as removing and reducing the ion concentrations of Cl‾, SO42‾, Na+ and total hardness in groundwater and also the concentrated deep groundwater was required treatment to reduce the salinity and sodium hazard. Given that irrigation water quality in this area was relatively unsuitable for most agriculture production but pistachio tree was adapted to this area conditions. The integrated management of groundwater for irrigation is the way to solve water quality issues not only in Rafsanjan area, but also in other arid and semi-arid areas.

241-248

Authors: Nazli Dide Kutluk Yilmaz

Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV), the agent of rhizomania disease, causes severe economic losses in sugar beet fields in all over the world. The virus is transmitted by a plasmodiophorid vector, Polymyxa betae Keskin. Twenty soil samples, collected from sugar beet fields in northern and central parts of Turkey during surveys in 2004 and 2005 and known to be infested with viruliferous cultures of P. betae carrying BNYVV, were selected and used in this study. Sample selection was made according to symptom expression of beet seedlings in preliminary bait plant tests and locations of the soil samples that accurately represent the region from which they were taken. Total RNAs were extracted from sugar beet plants grown in these soils and used to amplify RNA-2 (nt. 19-1088) and RNA-3 (nt. 50-1268) of BNYVV by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of PCR-amplified products showed that most of BNYVV isolates studied were A-type strain, however, two isolates did not exactly match the band profile of A-type strain. Additionally, the presence of BNYVV RNA-5 component was investigated by RT-PCR using the primers specific for P26 coding region. Four samples belonging to three provinces were found to be involving RNA-5 segment (20%).

84 - 88

Authors: Kofi Agyarko, Akwasi Adutwum Abunyewa, Emmanuel Kwasi Asiedu, Emmanuel Heva

A study was conducted in pots on the field to assess the effect of different quantities of poultry manure (PM), cattle manure (CM) and pig manure (PG) on the release of available phosphorus from Togo rock phosphate (RP) and lettuce growth. There were eleven (11) treatments which were: Control (soil only); 2.5g RP; 2.5g CM; 2.5gRP + 2.5g CM; 2.5gRP + 5gCM; 2.5gPM; 2.5gRP + 2.5gPM; 2.5gRP + 5gPM; 2.5gPG; 2.5gRP + 2.5gPG; 2.5gRP + 5gPG, applied per kg soil, using the Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. Available phosphorus and other parameters were assessed using standard methods. Results were statistically analyzed using the the GenStat (11th Edition) statistical software package. The amount and type of animal manure in the amendment affected the amount of the available P released. The addition of 2.5g manure to 2.5g RP in a kg of soil significantly (P<0.05) increased available P by 4 to 7 times over the sole 2.5g RP/kg soil treatment. Doubling the amount of manure in the amendment (5g manure + 2.5g RP) almost doubled the amount of P released, with the poultry manure combinations being more significant. The amount of available P in the soil positively related to the plant height (R2=63), leaf area (R2=0.55), dry weight (R2=0.73) and the percentage P in the leaf (R2=0.88) of lettuce. The PM at 2.5gRP + 5gPM recorded the highest significant (P<0.05) values. The study has provided further basis for manure selection and quantities to be used in enhancing the release of P from rock phosphate. However, investigations need to be continued using nuclear techniques.

97 - 104

Authors: Milad Mirzaei Aminiyan, Farzad Mirzaei Aminiyan, Rouhollah Mousavi, Amin Heydariyan

The excessive input of trace elements into urban soil has become one of the most important concerns in industrial and crowded cities all over the world. The contamination of urban soils can affect the health of people living in urban areas, and the surrounding ecosystems. Current study was conducted to assess the effects of human activities as well as different land-use on accumulation of trace elements in urban topsoil and also identify the potential risks to human health in Rafsanjan (Iran). A total of 100 topsoil samples were taken from different localities of Rafsanjan City and analyzed for Zn, Pb, Cu and Cr using the atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. Pollution index (PI) was calculated for each trace element to identify the rate of trace element accumulation with respect to the background values. Land-use map and geochemical maps were also created for evaluating of spatial distribution of pollution index and trace elements concentration in the studied area. Overlapping the concentrations map and land-use map revealed that the highest values of pollution index and trace elements concentration were located in central part of the city and highways with a great vehicle traffic load and also in the vicinity of industrial factories that increased potential health hazards to the local community. On the other hand, lowest values of trace elements were located in green-lands with strict vehicle traffic laws. These results indicated that different land-use and human activities have affected quality of urban topsoil of Rafsanjan resulting in great apprehensions regarding public health in crowded parts of the city.

113 - 120

Authors: Suleiman Usman, Samaila Sani Noma, Abbakar Musa Kudiri

Land and vegetation are important components of soil and provides many benefits to surface soil including protection against erosion, climate change impact and unacceptable degradation of soil particles. Visual Soil Assessment was used as a mechanism to assess and classify the land and vegetation types of some agricultural sites in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The aim was to get better understanding of the environmental soil function for sustainable crop production in dryland and fadama areas of the State. The assessment was able to put together combinations of different vegetation types and land age classes. It is valued that the land age classes possessed the characteristics of Holocene-natural, Holocene-anthropogeomorphic, Holocene-young-natural, young-anthropogeomorphic, very-young anthropogeomorphic and very-young natural. However, the vegetation types could be related to evergreen forest, short medium forest (scattered clustered), dwarf vegetation (scattered isolated), grass vegetation, thick vegetation, stony-grass vegetation (scattered sparse) and short-length vegetation. The assessment provides an improve understanding of the current status of land and vegetation conditions of the study area and suggested regular soil management for sustainable crop production in the State.

132 - 138

Authors: Sezai Delibacak, Ali Rıza Ongun

The use of organic wastes in agriculture, forestry and land reclamation has been increasingly identified as an important issue for soil fertility, soil conservation and residue disposal. Using organic wastes in agriculture helps not only to dispose these materials economi¬cally, but also reduces negative effects on the envi¬ronment. In the present study, composted tobacco waste (CTW) combined with farmyard manure (FM) at different ratios was applied to Typic Xerofluvent soil, and the influence of these amendments on the yield and nutrient composition of butter head letttuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata) were investigated. The experiment was conducted in 18 parcels in a randomized-block design with three replications at the Agriculture Faculty’s Research Farm of Ege University in Menemen plain, in the Western Anatolia Region of Turkey (38°58′35.51″-38°58′36.03″N; 27°03′84.56″-27°03′89.81″E). Organic materials were applied to the soil after composting. The treatments were (1) control, (2) 12.5 t ha-1 FM + 37.5 t ha-1 CTW, (3) 25 t ha-1 FM + 25 t ha-1 CTW, (4) 50 t ha-1 FM, (5) 50 t ha-1 CTW, and (6) 37.5 t ha-1 FM + 12.5 t ha-1 CTW. The maximum yield was obtained during the 1st vegetation period (62,7 t ha-1) in the 100 % CTW application. On account of the 2nd vegetation period’s coinciding with winter and the coldness of the months December, January and February, there happened a slowdown in the lettuce yield. The highest total yield of lettuce in both vegetation periods (102.7 t ha-1) was determined in 100% CTW application parcels. The lower lettuce yields were determined in the control parcels. CTW and FM applications raised N, P, K Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Zn and Mn contents of the lettuce. According to the results obtained, it can be said that CTW can be used in agricultural fields just like FM.

146 - 154

Authors: Nadezhda D. Ananyeva, Sofia V. Rogovaya, Kristina V. Ivashchenko, Vyacheslav I. Vasenev, Dmitriy A. Sarzhanov, Оleg V. Ryzhkov, Valeriy N. Kudeyarov

The total soil CO2 emission (EM) and portion of microbial respiration were measured (in situ; May, June, July 2015) in Chernozems typical of virgin steppe, oak forest, bare fallow and urban ecosystems (Kursk region, Russia). In soil samples (upper 10 cm layer), the soil microbial biomass carbon (Cmic), basal respiration (BR) and fungi-to-bacteria ratio were determined and the specific microbial respiration (BR / Cmic = qCO2) was calculated. The EM was varied from 2.0 (fallow) to 23.2 (steppe) g СО2 m-2 d-1. The portion of microbial respiration in EM was reached in average 83, 51 and 60% for forest, steppe and urban, respectively. The soil Cmic and BR were decreased along a gradient of ecosystems transformation (by 4 and 2 times less, respectively), while the qCO2 of urban soil was higher (in average by 42%) compared to steppe, forest and fallow. In urban soil the Cmic portion in soil Сorg and Сfungi-to-Сorg ratio were by 2.6 and 2.4 times less than those for steppe. The relationship between microbial respiration and BR values in Chernozems of various ecosystems was significant (R2 = 0.57).

1-12

Authors: Khuram Shahzad Ahmad, Naghmana Rashid, Sundus Azhar

Sorption and desorption efficiency of Chlorosulfuron that is sulfonylurea herbicide was checked by selecting different minerals and two types of Pakistani soils that were different on spatial scale. In Pakistan, sulfonylurea herbicide is being used against wide varieties of broad leaf weeds and for some grasses as well. Results obtained after the experimental work showed that adsorption co-efficient isotherm for Chlorosulfuron in tested soils data well fitted the Freundlich equation. In all the cases, slope n<1 was resembling the C type curve and isotherm was nonlinear. Due to low adsorption, distribution co-efficient (Kd) parameters were also low. Results indicated that soil samples (silt loam) collected from northern hilly areas Ayubia, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa showed more adsorption for Chlorosulfuron herbicide i.e. 25.5% than the sandy soil of Multan Punjab. The major difference between the sorption capacities of both of the soil was due to the difference in soil organic matter and soil pH. Among both these factors, organic matter plays more significant role in sorption. Adsorption efficiency of synthesized compounds on different soil types of known composition can be predicted by the adsorption and desorption results of the present study.

17 - 23

Authors: Mingli Zhang, Hao Yang, Biao Xie, Panpan Sun, Jing Li, Jun Zou, Yanhua Wang

The change from forest to agricultural land in the last three decades represents a significant shift in land use in China. This study was conducted to evaluate how change from forest to greenhouse cabbage production affected soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks in surface soil. Our results showed that converting forest to greenhouse vegetable production led to increases in SOC and TN concentrations and stocks, and decreases in C:N ratio in the top soil. The accumulation rates of SOC and TN in the surface soil (0-40cm) were estimated to be 4.638 Mg ha-1 yr-1 and 1.113 Mg ha-1 yr-1 respectively, over an average period of 8 years after change of forest to greenhouse vegetable production. We conclude that greenhouse vegetable production system could be an effective strategy to improve SOC and TN stocks in the subtropical Dianchi lake watershed.

30 - 38

Authors: Gülay Karahan, Sabit Erşahin

Many studies have been conducted to predict soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) by parametric soil properties such as bulk density and particle-size distribution. Although soil morphological properties have a strong effect on Ks, studies predicting Ks by soil morphological properties such as type, size, and strength of soil structure; type, orientation and quantity of soil pores and roots and consistency are rare. This study aimed at evaluating soil morphological properties to predict Ks. Undisturbed soil samples (15 cm length and 8.0 cm id.) were collected from topsoil (0-15 cm) and subsoil (15-30 cm) (120 samples) with a tractor operated soil sampler at sixty randomly selected sampling sites on a paddy field and an adjecent grassland in Central Anatolia (Cankırı), Turkey. Synchronized disturbed soil samples were taken from the same sampling sites and sampling depths for basic soil analyses. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was measured on the soil columns using a constant-head permeameter. Following the Ks measurements, the upper part of soil columns were covered to prevent evaporation and colums were left to drain in the laboratory. When the water flow through the column was stopped, a subsample were taken for bulk density and then soil columns were disturbed for describing the soil morphological properties. In addition, soil texture, bulk density, pH, field capacity, wilting point, cation exchange capacity, specific surface area, aggregate stability, organic matter, and calcium carbonate were measured on the synchronized disturbed soil samples. The data were divided into training (80 data values) and validation (40 data values) sets. Measured values of Ks ranged from 0.0036 to 2.14 cmh-1 with a mean of 0.86 cmh-1. The Ks was predicted from the soil morphological and parametric properties by stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. Soil structure class, stickiness, pore-size, root-size, and pore-quantity contributed to the Ks prediction significantly (P<0.001, R2 = 0.95). Soil morphological properties can be used along with basic soil properties in predicting Ks.

47 - 52

Authors: Mahmoud Radaei, Masomeh Izadi

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of spruce (Picea abies), alder (Alnus subcordata), and spruce with alder and maple (Picea abies with Alnus Subcordata and Acer cappadocicum) plantations on the soil properties and earthworm’s abundance and biomass in the Lajim, north of Iran. Soil sampling with 50 × 50 cm samples to 50 cm depth in the studied stands was conducted in order to measure soil and earthworm abundance and biomass. Soil texture, C, N, pH, K, and P were measured in all samples in the laboratory. Earthworm’s abundance was measured by handpicked and dried for 48 h at 60 °C and then the biomass was measured per unit area. The results showed that the percentage of organic carbon, N, and C/N ratio reached the climax and acidity had the lowest value in spruce stand, and K was significantly higher in alder stand. The maximum and minimum abundance of earthworms was observed in alder and spruce stands, respectively. The results of this study support the effects of plantations on soil properties, earthworm abundance, and biomass.

62 - 73

Authors: Jiang Houlong, Wang Daibin, Xu Chen, Liu Shuduan, Wang Hongfeng, Yang Chao, Li Najia, Chen Yiyin, Geng Lina

Sampling methods are important factors that can potentially limit the accuracy of predictions of spatial distribution patterns. A 10 ha tobacco-planted field was selected to compared the accuracy in predicting the spatial distribution of soil properties by using ordinary kriging and cross validation methods between grid sampling and simple random sampling scheme (SRS). To achieve this objective, we collected soil samples from the topsoil (0-20 cm) in March 2012. Sample numbers of grid sampling and SRS were both 115 points each. Accuracies of spatial interpolation using the two sampling schemes were then evaluated based on validation samples (36 points) and deviations of the estimates. The results suggested that soil pH and nitrate-N (NO3-N) had low variation, whereas all other soil properties exhibited medium variation. Soil pH, organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN), cation exchange capacity (CEC), total phosphorus (TP) and available phosphorus (AP) matched the spherical model, whereas the remaining variables fit an exponential model with both sampling methods. The interpolation error of soil pH, TP, and AP was the lowest in SRS. The errors of interpolation for OM, CEC, TN, available potassium (AK) and total potassium (TK) were the lowest for grid sampling. The interpolation precisions of the soil NO3-N showed no significant differences between the two sampling schemes. Considering our data on interpolation precision and the importance of minerals for cultivation of flue-cured tobacco, the grid-sampling scheme should be used in tobacco-planted fields to determine the spatial distribution of soil properties. The grid-sampling method can be applied in a practical and cost-effective manner to facilitate soil sampling in tobacco-planted field.