47. Group of Soil Series No.47

This group of soils is shallow to fine-grained bed rock. It occupies erosional surface, hills and mountains in low precipitation areas. Soil fertility and reaction vary as kinds of parent rocks. Soils in this group are Li (li), Muak Lek (Ml), Sop Prap (So),Nakhon Sawan (Ns), Pong Namron (Pon) and Tali (Tl) series.                Majority of the land use is natural forest. Upland crops are found in some parts of the areas Yields are relatively low due to restriction of root zone and erosion.

Problems : Low fertility shallow soils to skeletal layer (0-50 cm), gravels or rock fragment on the soil surface, lack of water in dry season and soil erosion on steep slope. Very shallow, gravelly or lateritic soils that are not suitable for agriculture would be leave to be forest, graze land or fast growing trees.

Management for upland crops or vegetables : Upland and vegetable crops could be grown on thick leveled top soils without gravel or laterite with crop rotation. It needs to be improved with 3-4 ton/rai compose fertilizer or animal manure or mixed green manure (broadcast 10-12 kg/rai sword bean , 8-10 kg/rai cow pea or 6-8 kg/rai Crotalaria juncia) with soils before flowering and leave for 1-2 weeks. Chemical or liquid LDD fertilizer will also be applied according to recommendation . Farm ponds are recommended to preserve water to be used in dry season.

Management for orchard : Soil preparation in 50*50*50 pit is to mix 25-50 kg compose fertilizer or animal manure. Conserve the soils by cover crops, mulching, and contour or fencing the tree with vetiver. Application of compose fertilizer or animal manure with chemical or liquid LDD fertilizer at vegetative growth, before and after harvesting. Farm ponds are recommended to preserve water to be used in dry season.