Soil samples from 21 locations of the All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture (AICRPDA) were characterized for organic carbon and availability of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu and B. These twenty one locations cover agro-ecological regions from 2.3 to 12.3, semiarid, and sub-humid climate, soils examined were Vertisols, Vertic sub-groups, Affisols, Inceptisols and Aridisols from different Indian states including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharshtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and Haryana. Representative soil profile samples from following production systems were collected: upland rice, groundnut, soyabeans, cotton,Rabi sorghum, pearlmillet, fingermillet and maize-based system. Rainfall ranged from 412 to 1378 mm among locations. Various physico-chemical properties of the 21 profiles indicated that most of the locations were low in organic carbon showing less than 0.5% organic C. Clay content varied widely among soil types. Low organic matter in these soils was one of the important factors contributing to low soil fertility. Except few locations, most of the soils were low in available N. Available P varied from low to very high. Available K and sulfur varied from low to high. Available Zn was below critical limit in Rajkot, Anatapur, Rewa, Akola, Bellary, Bijapur and Solapur, Agra, S.K. Nagar, Arjia, Hoshiarpur and Rakh Dhiansar. Iron was deficient in Rajkot, Bellary and Bijapur. Surface layers of several profiles were deficient in available Ca (<1.5 me 100/g) such as Phulbani, Anantapur, S.K. Nagar and Bangalore. Surface layers of soils at Phulbani, Ranchi, Anantapur, Agra, Hisar, S.K. Nagar, Bangalore, Arjia, Hoshiarpur and Rakh Dhiansar were Mg deficient (<1.0 me 100/g). Out of the 21 locations, 11 were boron deficient. Except Indore, all other soils were multinutrient deficient. Results suggest that dryland soils are multinutrient deficient, thus proper nutrient management strategies and soil water conservation practices in dryland agriculture are needed.
