Water and Soil Quality of Coffee Plantations in the Western Ghats Region, Chikkamagaluru District, Karnataka, India

Abstract

To assess water and soil quality in the Western Ghats' coffee plantations, 66 water and 224 soil samples were collected at four locations for estimation 20 parameters in water and 16 parameters in soil samples. Principal component analysis as applied to a set of chemical data obtained by the laboratory analysis of water and soil. Study locations represented arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) plantations around 50 km2 from Chikkamagaluru town. PCA showed the interrelationship of water and soil parameters for four sampling locations. The clustering of sampling location results was due to the consequence and concentration of water and soil variables. The principal component bi-plot of phosphorous, conductivity, hardness, total dissolved solids, sulphate, magnesium, and alkalinity determined water quality factors. Heavy metals, nitrogen, and total phosphorous greatly influenced the quality of soil samples at different locations.