Kriging: An advanced Geostatistical Tool to Interpolate the Textural Variation Influences the Yield and Productivity of Tapioca (Manihot esculenta) in Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu, India

Soil texture is a vital variable that reflects a number of soil properties such as Bulk Density, Particle Density, Infiltration Rate, Hydraulic conductivity, Water holding capacity, nutrient storage and availability as well as transport and binding and stability of soil aggregates. For better tuber development in cassava soil texture plays vital role. The main objective of this study is to produce kriged maps (Ordinary kriging map and semivariogram) to interpolate the soil texture for Tapioca growing soils of Paramthy block, Namakkal District at unsampled locations. In this study, nearly 54 surface samples were collected covering 19,149 ha of agriculture land with dominant cultivation of Tapioca. This study helps spatial interpolation of unsampled location of soil texture i.e. sand, silt and clay content which rules the soil physical, chemical and hydrological properties. The average standard error for sand and clay are 0.2 and 0.19 respectively. The results such as provided maps and their associated variance can be used as data source for the development and implementation of further land management and soil water conservation plans in the study area.