Soil Quality Assessment of Kiwifruit Field Using MDS Method in Zhouzhi County

Zhouzhi County is an important kiwifruit production base in Shannxi Province and even China. The soil quality seriously affects the quality and yield of kiwifruit. 18 indexes were selected based on comprehensive analysis the soil physical and chemical properties in kiwifruit orchard. Then the minimum data set (MDS) method was used to evaluate the soil quality of different planting years and the whole kiwifruit orchard. As a result, 9 soil indexes (total porosity, total phosphorus, available nitrogen, Mg²⁺, total kalium, organic matter, water content, available phosphorus and physical clay) were suitable to soil quality assessment in study area selected into MDS. With the increasing of kiwifruit planting year, soil quality showed the trend of increase-stabilization-increase. The soil nutrients contents, such as organic matter, total nitrogen, total potassium, available nitrogen and available phosphorus were the restriction factors for soil quality, and those showed a weight ratio value of 53%. Moreover, the soil nutrient content was generally low in the study area. The results also showed that the soil porosity and ventilation were gradually decreased with planting year increasing, and may lead to soil consolidation. To improve the quality and yield of kiwifruit, it is necessary to improve soil nutrient quality, adjust fertilization structure and improve soil structure.