Soil is a fundamental component in citrus production and plays a key role in determining the health, growth and yield of citrus trees and quality of fruits. The type, structure, nutrient content, and pH of the soil influence the overall success of citrus cultivation along with production. Understanding the soil's significance and implementation, appropriate soil management practices are essential for maximizing the production of citrus fruits. A study was conducted in District Bati Kot, Nangarhar-Afghanistan in 2023 for assessing the citrus growers concern about skills of extension workers in soil health for citrus production in Afghanistan. Multistage sampling technique was used for selection of 120 respondents. Moreover, rank order, mean and standard deviation were used for knowing the strength of the extension workers’ expertise, while chi-square test was used to find the association between different variables. Information on various variables of socio-economic characteristics were collected through well-structured interview schedule. The results revealed that most of the respondents were in middle age of 40-50 years, with land holding size of 1–6 acres. About 55 percent respondents were found illiterate where 45 percent have formal education of different levels with prominent category of primary to inter level education. The ranking skills of extension workers in soil health as per citrus growers' point of view in the proper use of farmyard manure was on top with highest mean 3.42 and SD 1.034 and in understanding of soil fertility practices for citrus was at lowest rank with lowest mean 2.79 and SD 1.236. Highly signification association was found between the skills of extension workers in soil health and average yield of citrus production. It is suggested that extension workers may be trained in the health of soil regarding the production of citrus who in turn can train citrus growers in getting their better yield of citrus fruits to improve their socio-economic status.

Keywords: Skills of extension workers, soil health, multistage sampling, citrus production, Nangarhar, Afghanistan