| Summary: | Sandy beach ridges are dominated by soils having sand texture which are locally named BRIS
(Beach Ridges Interspersed with Swales) soil. Coastal plains of Peninsular Malaysia had been
inundated by seawater ,coastal zone had undergone progradation that led to formation of
wide beach ridges plains along state of Peninsular Malaysia. More than 90% of the
composition of BRIS soil is sand and the soil is considered practically worthless for
agricultural purposes. The study area was conducted along the Kelantan-Terengganu Coastal
Plains, Peninsular Malaysia. Rhu Tapai series is one of the BRIS soil series. The objectives
of this study are to determine mineralogy in Rhu Tapai series and to study the physical and
chemical properties of these series. This series located on second ridge occuring some
distance away from the first ridge. Soil undergo process podzolisation that result formation of
spodic horizon at depth 0-50 cm. For Rhu Tapai series that was Spodosols, soil pits were dug
and samples were taken according to its genetic horizons. The analysis for physical properties,
chemical properties and mineral identification were carried out. Methodology to determine
mineral in soil will be by X-ray diffraction (XRD) that is the single most important method
for identifying the variety of mineral species present in soils. Soil physical and chemical data
obtained were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the means were separated
using Least Significant Different (LSD) test. The result showed low clay and silt content, high
porosity, low water retention and lack of soil nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous are
all the characteristic of the soil which limit the growth on crops. The mineralogy found were
dominantly by quartz and presence of kaolinite, hematite, feldspar, gibbsite and goethite in
small amounts in soil. Soil productivity of this soil can be improve by apply plant waste as
mulching and removing the eluvial horizon in order to reach the organic rich spodic layer in
order to soil susceptible for cropping.
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