Adsorption and desorption of boron in cultivated soils of Himachal Pradesh

The boron (B) concentration in the soil solution is generally controlled by B adsorption and desorption reactions. With this background, a study was carried out to know the adsorption and desorption of boron using Freundlich, Langmuir and Temkin isotherms in cultivated soil of Himachal Pradesh. Eighty soil samples (0-0.15 m depth) were collected randomly from different locations across different districts of Himachal Pradesh and their B adsorption-desorption behaviour was studied. Among three different adsorption isotherms i.e. Freundlich, Langmuir and Temkin used to determine the B retention capacity of soils, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms represented better fit for fine textured soils, while Langmuir isotherm showed better fit for coarse textured soils. The results emanating from the study revealed that with increase in boron concentration, the boron adsorption by soils increases.