THE CONTENT OF ORGANIC MATTER IN THE SOIL OF NIS MUNICIPALITY (SERBIA)

Abstract

One of the main components of soil, which affects the yield of plants, is the content of organic matter. The aim of this paper was to examine the saturation of the soil with organic matter on the territory of the Nis (Serbia) in 2015. An analysis of 284 soil samples from 110 farms at the location of Nis municipality, with total area of 115,28 ha, showed that 0.4% of the samples belonged to the class of very poorly humified soil, containing organic matter up to 1%. It was also found that 50.4 % of the samples belonged to the class of poorly humified soil, with the organic matter content ranging from 1% to 3%. Furthermore, 47,9% of the analyzed soil samples belonged to the class of well-humified soil, with the humus content ranging from 3% to 5%. The lowest value was found in one of the samples from the village of Trupale in Crveni Krst, and it was 0.88%, while the samples with the highest humus value were found in the village of Hum (5.,47%). Chemical analysis was performed in 2015, in the Agricultural Advisory and Professional Service - Nis, where the humus content was determined by using the Tyurin method. Soil samples were taken from a depth of 0-30 cm in field crops and vegetable cultures, or 0-60cm in orchards. The analysis showed that the soil of this area wais not humified enough, wherefore it was necessary to pay attention to the content of humus, increased the level of organic matter with organic fertilizers and reduced losses which happened by removing and burning the crop residues.