Determination of chemical elements that controlling magnetic susceptibility of cacao farming soil in Koting A Sikka Nusa Tenggara Timur

Abstract

Koting A in Sikka is one of the most popular and productive agricultural cacao areas in Nusa Tenggara Timur. The area was selected in this study with the aim of understanding the soil magnetic properties that is suitable for cocoa farming. This study assessed the magnetic susceptibility and chemical element content of cocoa farms soils. Magnetic susceptibility was measured by Bartington MS2B on 72 samples taken from 8000 m2 farming area, whereas the determination of chemical elements was done by XRF test on 3 representative samples. The results showed that the magnetic susceptibility of low frequency χlf has a range between (12-20) × 10-6m3kg-1 and the soils contains some dominant elements of Fe about 37%, Al 7 - 8%, Ca 11 -12%, Si 29-32%, Ti of about 2% and nickel 3 - 4%.