Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the effects of tobacco cultivation on soil fertility and to compare the fertility status of tobacco based cropping patterns growing plot with adjoining non-tobacco based cropping pattern growing plots on randomly selected farmers plots for two consecutive years at Bheramara Upazilla (AEZ 11-High Ganges River floodplain) of Kushtia district by farmers practice, where tobacco farming is popular and on increase and to get a good scenario of soil fertility status of tobacco farming in Bangladesh. However, in tobacco plots, average pH value decreases from 7.86 to 7.44, Organic Matter from 1.95% to 1.78%, K from 0.46 meq/100 g to 0.32 meq/100 g, P from 13.98 ppm to 9.10 ppm, S from 16.22 ppm to 10.89 ppm and Zn from 0.70 ppm to 0.53 ppm after two consecutive years. Whereas, at non-tobacco plots, average pH value decreases from 7.83 to 7.65, Organic Matter from 1.86% to 1.79%, K from 0.42 meq/100 g to 0.36 meq/100 g, P from 14.44 ppm to 11.23 ppm, S from 14.01 ppm to 12.42 ppm and Zn from 0.74 ppm to 0.61 ppm after two consecutive years. Almost, results from all tobacco plots showed that farming of tobacco in a same land frequently reduces its fertility; therefore the farmers don’t get productivity neither from tobacco nor from other food crops latter. Therefore, tobacco cultivation leads to soil fertility depletion in soils in almost all cases and tobacco takes extra nutrients from soil which also negatively effect on soil fertility.

Keywords: Agro Ecological Zone (AEZ) 11; Fertility Status; Soil Fertility Depletion; Tobacco Cultivation