Soil Testing Laboratories Research Articles

A Study on Farmers’ Attitude towards Soil Health Card in Rangareddy District, Telangana State, India

The Soil Health Card flagship programme has been implemented to address the national soil issues due to indiscriminate usage of synthetic fertilizers. An ex-post-facto-research design was employed in the study. The present study was conducted in Shabad and Kothur blocks of Rangareddy District of Telangana State during the year 2019-2020. Data were collected using standardized, pre-tested interviews and scored, tabulated and statistically analyse. Our investigation in Rangareddy District disclosed that the majority of respondents possessed a favourable attitude towards soil health cards and realized the importance of soil health and soil conservation management practices. The present work serves as a complementary contribution to the comprehensive study of the Farmers’ Attitude on Soil Health Card to maintain healthy soils to ensure the nation’s food and nutrition security. It was reported that the more than half of the interviewed farmers (52.50 %) were having more favourable attitude towards Soil Health Card, whereas 30.00 % and 17.50 % of them had favourable attitude and less favourable attitude towards Soil Health Card, respectively. The scale contained 16 statements each measured on a three-point continuum namely less favourable, favourable and more favourable. The possible score for farmers’ attitude towards soil health card ranged from the minimum of 16 to the maximum of 48. All the profile characteristics of farmers had significant influences on their attitudes.
 Indian Agriculture has been transformed from green revolution to evergreen revolution on a sustainable basis. By understanding farmers’ attitude towards Soil Health Card and the associated personal profile characteristics, the scheme could be further implemented with installing proper soil testing laboratories in consideration of farmers’ need and interest to double their income through distribution of soil health cards, reduced pest and disease incidences and improved soil health management practices.

Performance Assessment of Shirin Earth Dam in Iraq Under Various Operational Conditions

Proper dam management should be ensured regularly to avoid breaches and failure. In this study, the finite element method was used to analyse the stability of the Shirin earthen dam under various conditions. The necessary laboratory tests for soils used in the construction of the dam were carried out in the laboratories of the College of the Engineering /University of Tikrit, and these data were employed in the GEO-STUDIO program to analyse the seepage and stability of the dam. The seepage was analysed at three levels of the water lake reservoir including the highest, middle and lowest water levels. In addition, factors such as the permeability of the shell layer, the presence and thickness of the dam’s core layer, the placement of filters at the back of the dam and the exit gradient have been considered. The results have shown that by increasing the permeability of the shell layer, the exit gradient is decreased while the seepage through the dam body is increased. The presence of the dam’s core layer has a significant effect on reducing the amount of seepage through the dam’s body as the amount of seepage is reduced by (99%). Moreover, it was found that the minimum safety factor is 1.95 and it occurs after (4 days) of the rapid emptying of the reservoir, and this indicates that the upstream slope of the dams is safe during water emptying.

Analysis of the influence of tropical soil classification methods on railway subgrades according to repeated load triaxial (RLT) and light weight deflectometer (LWD) tests

Recently, non-destructive in-situ tests have emerged that can predict the resilient modulus (MR) of materials that make up railway sidewalk layers in an agile and low-cost manner. These are in contrast to laboratory tests that require more infrastructure and are more time-consuming to perform. However, few studies have been directed to the resilient behavior compared to in-situ and laboratory tests for soils classified as tropical. This paper aims to determine the relationship between the estimated modulus of elasticity (ELWD) and the estimated resilient modulus (MR) from the repeated load triaxial test (RLT) for use in tropical soil railway subsoils. The samples of subgrade soils belong to a railway stretch in Brazil, present in the states of São Paulo-SP and Minas Gerais-MG, which has large circulation of minerals and commodities. The soils are classified as lateritic and non-lateritic according to the Brazilian Miniature, Compacted, Tropical (MCT) methodology, in addition to grain size, compaction, LWD and RLT tests. It is noted that the modulus of elasticity (ELWD) tends to decrease according to the increase in strain obtained in LWD. For soils classified as lateritic, as the soil moisture increases the ratio between the moduli obtained by RLT and LWD tend to increase. However, non-lateritic soils have the opposite performance, i.e., the ratio between the modulus of the tests decreases with increasing moisture. In this study, the LWD test is a possible viable alternative with good accuracy and effectiveness for geotechnical investigations in tropical soils.

Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: Index and compaction of clay soils with oil-contamination

Many of Nigeria's oil wells are located in the Niger Delta coast, which has contributed considerably to pollution of the environment. They contaminate the land, air, and aquatic bodies with oil spills during industrial operations, like as drilling and refining. This causes harmful gases to be released into the atmosphere. Poor agricultural yields and changes to the soil's geotechnical qualities are the most common outcomes of soil contamination, both of which have the potential to impair engineering construction projects. Geotechnical qualities of clay soil are examined as a result of this study. Engenni Ahoada L.G.A. in Rivers, Nigeria provided the clay soil. We collected soil samples that were purposely contaminated with crude oil in the following percentages: 0 percent, 2 percent, 4 percent, 6 percent, 8 percent and 10% to 14% of the total dry weight. The geotechnical parameters of the soil samples were determined by a series of laboratory soil tests. The results demonstrate an increase in LL, PL, and PI from 31%, 20%, and 11% at 0% contamination to 56%, 41%, and 11% at 14% contamination, respectively. From 2.48 to 1.33g/cm3 to 1.74g/cm3 at 0 percent contamination, SPGR, BD, and MDD fell to 1.14, 0.97g/cm3 and 1.35g/cm3 at 14% contamination. At 0% contamination, OMC was 15%; at 16% contamination, it was 16.5 percent. Thus, the geotechnical qualities of soil are substantially impacted by crude oil pollution.

Methodology of identification of deformation parameters of clay soil massif

This topic provides a comparison of the results, determined characteristics of clay soils in accordance with national standards and Eurocodes.
 In the work, two variants of calculations using numerical modeling using the finite element method are planned: 1) using soil characteristics determined in laboratory conditions; 2) using soil characteristics determined by field methods.
 When comparing the results of field and laboratory tests of clay soils, the reliability of their values was established in comparison with the most reliable standard methods.
 The test was carried out in accordance with national standards in field conditions using probes of various diameters, live and inventory piles and stamps with an area of 5000 sq.cm and 600 sq.cm. The obtained data may differ in magnitude from the results obtained according to EU requirements. Therefore, there is a need to compare the values of characteristics according to national standards and Eurocodes.
 Experimental studies were carried out at facilities in various cities of Ukraine. When choosing objects for comparison, attention was paid to the similarity of the geological origin of the soils. In the work, in part, the materials used by the department for determining the characteristics of soils in the past years were used. The article examines points from experimental objects of searches. Processed engineering and geological elements (IGE) of clayey soils that lie on the territory of the selected sites.
 A generalizing table of the averaged physical and mechanical characteristics of clayey soils by research objects is given and the results of tests of clayey soils by laboratory and field methods are given, which made it possible to establish the following: the dependences of the change in the modulus of deformation for sandy and clayey soils are excellent. The results of soil tests with stamps and an inventory test pile (ITP-127) are given, as well as their comparison. The use of ITP-127 in practice as a reliable method for determining soil parameters is substantiated.

Status of Soil Testing and Fertilizer Recommendations by the Farmers of Tamil Nadu

Background: Fertilizers are one of the major inputs of agriculture to increase crop production. In India, fertilizer consumption had increased over a period of four decades. There is an increase in demand for food and this in turn increases the demand for fertilizers. The increase in food production is due to use of proper inputs like fertilizers, quality seeds and pesticides. The fertilizer consumption in India increased from 65.6 thousand metric tons in 1950-51 to 26,593.4 MT in 2017-18. However, the fertilizer use in India has many problems. Firstly, it is imbalanced in terms of NPK. Secondly, there is a wide variation in the amount of fertilizer in different state Methods: Primary data were collected from two districts namely Thiruvannamalai and Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu. In each of the two districts, two representative blocks namely, Cheyyar, Kalasapakkam in Thiruvannamalai district and Thanjavur and Orrathanadu in Thanjavur district were taken for the study. In each district, 120 farmers (60 in each block) from the list of soil tested farmers were drawn at purposive farmers from households with different land sizes. In addition, 60 control (non-soil tested) farmers (30 in each block) were selected in each purposive farmer from households amongst general rice and groundnut growing cultivators. Result: Nearly three-fourths (72 per cent) of the farmers getting their soils tested in the present study belonged to the small (47 per cent) and medium (25 per cent) categories of landholdings. All farmers have to travel long distance for soil test incurring sizable transportation cost. Generally, in Thanjavur district, soil test farmers have been travelling long distance from their farm to Aduthurai, where the soil test laboratory is located at a distance of 50-60 kms. There is no soil test laboratory in Thiruvannamalai district, hence, the farmers have to travel to the neighbouring district of Trichirapalli. The soil tested farmers travel from Vembakkam and Mamandur to Thiruvannamalai where the laboratory is located and the average distance is about 80-100 km. Nearly half of the paddy farmers and nearly, two-thirds of the groundnut growers expressed the view that the soil test has an important role in increasing crop yield. Almost half of the paddy farmers and one-third of the groundnut farmers did not how to take a soil sample from their farm land, whereas, another half of paddy farmers and one-third of groundnut growers reported that they did not know whom to approach in this regard. These are the major reasons cited for non-participation in the soil test process.

Method development and validation for the determination of potassium (K2O) in fertilizer samples by flame photometry technique

BackgroundFertilizer samples are tested for determining their nutrient contents; however, different methods give varying results. Therefore, the major objective of this study was to develop and validate potassium determination method by flame photometry technique. MethodsFlame photometry technique for the quantification of potassium concentration in fertilizer samples was validated in Soil and Water Testing Laboratory (ISO/IEC: 17025), Dera Ghazi Khan. The method validation was done for repeatability, reproducibility, limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity, recovery, selectivity, and bias. ResultsThe limits of detection and quantification were 0.87% and 2.88% K2O, respectively. The repeatability was 0.33%, and reproducibility (T-calculated was 0.69 which was less than T-tabulated, i.e., 2.06). Linear curve was obtained for concentrations ranging from 5 to 25 ppm (K) exhibiting R2 of 0.99. The recovery for K in fertilizer sample was 98.8%. The potassium contents were identified with complete recovery without interference of other nutrients in the sample. The Z-score of all the results (Magruder USA, Fertilizer sample check program) were in acceptable range. The correlation coefficient (0.999%) depicts strong relationship between actual K value and observed values. ConclusionsBy this relation, we can say that method performance was excellent. Hence, the method can be successfully used for potassium determination in fertilizer samples.

KARAKTERISTIK SIFAT KIMIA DAN FISIKA TANAH PADI SAWAH PASCA BANJIR BANDANG DI KECAMATAN SILIMA PUNGGA – PUNGGA KABUPATEN DAIRI

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the main food crop commodity that has a strategic function, namely as a staple food, so that domestic rice production plays a role in food security and self-sufficiency. The Ministry of Agriculture has made various efforts and breakthroughs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security, including the acceleration of rice planting, development of swamp land, diversification of local food, strengthening of government rice reserves and community food barns. Dairi Regency is one of the rice producers in North Sumatra Province. However, the productivity of rice plants has decreased in Longkotan Village and Bonkaras Village, Silima Pungga - Pungga District, Dairi Regency, due to the flash flood that caused material and land damage. One form of land damage caused is rice fields that have been covered with mud. Based on data from the Dairi Regency agriculture office, after the flash flood in December 2018 resulted in damage to rice fields in Longkotan Village, which was 112 hectares and Bongkaras Village was approximately 40 hectares. The real impact of banjir bandang in addition to reducing rice fields that can be used by farmers, decreasing soil fertility due to environmental damage to rice fields such as loss of top soil which has chemical and physical properties of soil in the availability of nutrients so that it directly causes a decrease in soil productivity and rice plants. Therefore, it is studied to overcome the limited supply of national food, especially rice, through increasing the productivity of paddy fields, especially the chemical and physical characteristics of lowland rice soil after the flash flood so that it can analyze its management efforts to support rice demand in Dairi Regency. The study was to determine the chemical and physical characteristics of the soil of paddy fields after banjir bandang and its management techniques. The research was carried out from April to August 2021 in Longkotan Village and Bonkaras Village. Soil testing was carried out at the Research and Development Center Laboratory of PT. Nusa Pusaka Kencana Analytical & Qc. Laboratory of Bailang High Cliff Gardens, North Sumatra. Soil laboratory tests were conducted to determine the chemical and physical characteristics of the soil. Data analysis was carried out using a descriptive method, namely explaining a situation in the field based on the characteristics of the paddy field soil after the flash flood in the affected village. The results of this study are the clay content and organic matter contained in the soil of the Land Not Affected by Flash Floods. However, the soil pH in the Land Affected by Flash Floods is lower, this is due to the high sand fraction. Soil pH in Land Not Affected by Flash Floods is higher than soil pH in Land Affected by Flash Floods due to the higher organic matter content in Land Not Affected by Flash Floods. Based on the results of the research that the soil that has lower organic C is on the Land Affected by Flash Floods, namely 1.70% which includes low criteria. This is due to the loss of the top soil layer due to flash floods along with the Nitrogen and C-Organic content of the soil in the top soil layer. Because the rate of weathering and Ultisol formation runs faster, the wet climate with high temperature and rainfall causes Ultisols to be poor in organic matter.

Quantifying the Effects of Modifications to the Sikora Buffer pH Method for Oregon Soils

ABSTRACT The Sikora buffer pH method is a non-hazardous alternative to the Shoemaker, McLean, and Pratt (SMP) method for lime requirement estimation (LRE) for Oregon soils. Commercial soil testing laboratories may implement method modifications in order to streamline the method for large-scale testing, however the potential effects of these modifications on buffer pH results are currently unknown. Modifications that artificially increase buffer pH are of particular concern, as they could potentially result in under-application of lime and crop damage. The goal of this project was to evaluate and quantify five Sikora buffer pH method modifications for five Oregon agricultural soils. Soil type did not show a significant interaction effect with method modifications. Modifications related to mixing method, measurement in supernatant instead of slurry, and soil:water:buffer ratio were found to significantly increase Sikora buffer pH results by 0.063, 0.065, and 0.058 units, respectively, in comparison to the control. Mean Sikora buffer pH decreased by 0.02–0.05 units when equilibration time was increased from 0 to 180 min. Our findings show how even minor modifications can alter Sikora buffer pH results, illustrating the importance of avoiding deviations from the original method. Additionally, comparing results among labs may help minimize over- or under-recommending of lime to agricultural fields.

An economics of crop insurance for notified crops in tribal areas of Gujarat (India)

The study was conducted in Navsari and Dang district as it is one of the important paddy and ragi growing areas of the Gujarat state. This study is based on an analysis of primary and secondary data for the Kharif and Rabi, 2015 season. A simple random sampling technique was adopted in the selection of farmers based on the crop cutting experiment for estimating yield during the proposed season. The study was conducted in two tehsils of Navsari district namely Vansda and Chikhli and three tehsils of Dang district namely Waghai, Ahwa and Subir. To understand the opinion of the farmers from Navsari and Dang district the sample design is a form based on the number of crop cutting experiments and notified crops from different tehsil of the sample district. The crop cutting experiments were carried out by soil testing laboratory, Vansda, Gujarat. The structured questionnaire will be used for primary data collection. The data was interpreted by working out averages, standard deviation, co-efficient of variation, percentage and ratios and finally, to elicit the opinion of insured and non – insured farmers’ percentage method was employed.

UF/IFAS Standardized Nutrient Recommendations for Vegetable Crop Production in Florida

This publication presents the fertilization recommendations for vegetable crops based on soil tests performed by the UF/IFAS Extension Soil Testing Laboratory (ESTL). It contains the basic information from which ESTL soil test reports and fertilization recommendations are generated. The audiences for this information include commercial and small farmers, crop advisers and consultants, state and local agencies, fertilizer industry, and any interested individuals interested in sustainable nutrient and environmental management. Major revision by Rao Mylavarapu, George Hochmuth, and Guodong Liu; 12 pp. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/cv002

Assessing the Utilization of Waste from Aquaponics System as Nutrients Contributing to the Growth of Water Spinach and Tank Fish

Due to having plentiful water resources, Bangladesh offers significant potential for fish farming. Aquaponicsas a bio-integrated multi-trophic system that combines hydroponics (the growing of soilless plants) and re-circulate aquaculture (the culture of fish) to create a symbiotic relationship between fish, microorganisms and plants. This study was carried out for 95 days at the aquaponic laboratory of Khulna Agricultural University (KAU) to access the utilization of waste from tank water as nutrients affecting the growth of both water spinach and fish using two different medias-only bricklets (𝑇1)and mixture of bricklets and used tea leaves(𝑇2). For the purpose of growing vegetables and raising fish, six 20-liter plastic containers and a 750-liter water tank were employed respectively. Fish and water spinach samples were taken every two weeks. Electric conductivity (EC), carbonate (CO3), hydrogen carbonate (HCO3), total nitrogen (Total-N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), sulphur (S), and sodium (Na) were measured in the soil testing Laboratory at KAU. Bacterial activity in the media and roots of plants was found to be higher in influent water than effluent water, indicating that plants were properly utilizing. "Microsoft Excel 2010" and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) were used to analyze the descriptive statistics and determine the significance level as well. The greatest average plant measurements for 𝑇1were 36.40±3.55 cm in height, 58.81±23.35 in weight, and 93.90±38.52 in terms of leaves. In 𝑇1and 𝑇2, a total of 1.57 kg and 1.21 kg of water spinach was harvested respectively. The length and weight gain percentages were 61.45 and 155.51 at the conclusion of the trial, while the survival rate and FCR were found to be 100% and 1.51, respectively and at the end of the study average fish production was estimated 9.91 kg. The technique actually produced more fish and vegetables while using less water causing no adverse effects on the environment. Through a symbiotic link between the fish and plants, the system effectively used fish waste in plant development and fish production as well. In order toaddress the environmental issues, the system might be placed in densely populated urban areas to grow fish and vegetables on rooftops and in backyards.

Improving lecturers’ competence in preparing lesson plans of soil test laboratory and building information management

The insufficient number of lecturers and laboratory assistants has become one of the obstacles faced by STT Pagaralam. In addition, the limited ability of lecturers in mastering Soil Mechanics laboratory equipment and the absence of Semester Learning Plans (RPS) that follow the learning format are still obstacles. The purpose of this community service is to improve the competence of lecturers in preparing the RPS for the soil test laboratory and building Information management. The method used to carry out this community service were workshops and seminars. It was initiated by giving a seminar on the introduction of building information management application followed by 20 students and continued by providing training on the use of tools for five laboratory assistants and the preparation of Semester Learning Plans for five lecturers. The results of the service implementation based on the participant satisfaction questionnaire shows an increase in knowledge on the application of building information management and an increase in competence using laboratory equipment. In addition, the training participants were also provided with modules.

Constraints Faced by Pineapple Growers in Tripura

Agriculture is the main occupation of the inhabitants in Tripura and 80 per cent of the rural people depend on agriculture and allied sectors for the economic, food and nutritional security. Tripura has got highly suitable agro-climatic conditions to grow pineapple fruit. Livelihoods of many farmers largely depend on pineapple cultivation. However, pineapple cultivation is not delivering the desired output as it is constrained by several factors. Present study was conducted in year 2021 to delineate various constraints of pineapple cultivation and to determine difficulty level of each constraint as perceived by a random sample of 80 farmers. Various constraints were categorized as situational, technological, economic, social, environmental, infrastructure, and market related constraints. The major constraints identified were low rainfall, scarcity of water, labour intensiveness, high labour wage, high cost of cultivation, low adoption of scientific practices by neighbouring farmers, lack of group approach in farming, lack of infrastructure like; soil testing laboratory, agro-service centre, storage facilities and low-quality packaging. Lack of organised marketing facilities was the major concern for respondents-farmers. Future policy advocacies and agro advisories for development of pineapple cultivation need to focus on combating aforesaid constraints in pineapple cultivation.

Comparison of Mehlich-3 and DTPA Soil Tests for Analysis of Micronutrients in Kansas Soils

Mehlich-3 (M3) was designed as a multi-nutrient soil test procedure and has become common at soil testing labs across the U.S. In Kansas, Mehlich-3 is predominately used as a soil test for phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), but recent studies have also investigated the use of M3 for the extraction of base cations and cation exchange capacity estimation. However, data relating M3 to traditional methods for soil micronutrient extraction remain scarce. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between M3 and diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (DTPA) extractable copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) across a wide range of Kansas soils. Strong positive correlations were observed between M3 and DTPA for each metal (Fe, r = .91; Zn, r = .98; Cu, r = .92). Correlations between M3 and DTPA were positive but weak for Mn (r = 0.17). Regression analyses suggest these relationships were not one-to-one and were dependent on soil pH. Results from this study show that conversion of M3 to a “DTPA equivalent” is possible but should take soil pH into consideration, especially for Fe and Mn.

Systematic Study of Pteridophytes in Relation to Edaphic Factors from the Ghat Region of Pithoragarh, A Part of The Proposed Pancheshwar Dam in Uttarakhand

Pteridophytes are among the earliest terrestrial vascular cryptogams that instead of seeds, proliferate by the dispersion of their spores. Study of systematics includes classification, taxonomy and nomenclature. The Pancheshwar hydropower dam is being built on the Mahakali River at Pancheshwar near the confluence of the Mahakali and the Saryu River, which was the sampling site. To determine the diversity, soil nature, and established relationships between them were the main objectives. The classification and identification of the flora were done by the available literature while soil samples were analyzed in the District Agriculture Department Soil Testing Laboratory and statistical analysis by different softwares. At the species diversity point, there were seven families, 11 genera, and 19 species of pteridophytes recorded in the study area. The frequency, density, abundance, and distribution of each species were calculated, revealing significant variation. Various diversity indexes like dominance (D), Simpson index (1-D), Shannon index (H), evenness (e^H/S), and Margalef species richness were calculated, all of these indicated good diversity in the area. The physical properties of soil (water holding capacity, sand, slit, and clay) and chemical properties (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic carbon content, and pH) when statistically analysed for regression, correlation and ANOVA, showed that these factors were suitable for growth of plants.

Assessment of Soil Nutrients Status of Mandarin Orchards in Syangja, Nepal

The research was conducted in Putalibazar, Bhirkot, and Waling municipality and Arjunchaupari rural municipality of Syangja district , Nepal in 2021 to assess the status of the primary nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium), pH, and soil organic matter of the cultivated mandarin orchards located at different altitudes. There were six treatments: three in north-facing namely <900 meter above sea level (masl), 900-1100 masl, and >1100 masl, and three in south-facing namely <900 masl, 900-1100 masl, and >1100 masl. These treatments were replicated 4 times each in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). A total of 72 soil samples were taken from 0 to 30 cm soil depth in ‘V’ shaped pattern from last week of March to the first week of April. Analysis of soil samples was done in the regional soil testing laboratory Pokhara, Kaski. The altitude range had a considerable effect on soil nutrient status except for phosphorous and potassium availability. Both pH and soil organic matter content were found increasing with the increase in altitude. Soil pH level was found increasing with increase in altitude from 5.62 in <900 masl to 6.70 in altitude >1100 masl in south facing slope. Highest organic matter content (5.76%) was recorded in 900-1100 masl of north facing slope followed by lowest 3.76% in <900 masl in south facing slope. Similarly, highest nitrogen content (0.28%) was recorded in 900-1100 masl of north facing slope followed by lowest (0.18) in >1100 masl in south facing slope. Phosphorus and potassium were found highest in 900-1100 masl of both north and south facing slope. The findings of the research showed that the altitude range of 900-1100 masl and north-facing slope was suitable for mandarin cultivation from the nutrient status point of view.

Study on impact of soil health card based fertilizers recommendation on crop productivity and farmer’s income - A case study in Saharsa district of Bihar

Soil is the basic component of agriculture which contains nutrients and provides to plant for proper growth. Due to indiscriminate use of fertilizer the soil health has degraded in recent past. Considering these facts Government of India has launched soil health card scheme on 19th February 2015. Since inception of soil health card scheme in order to increase agricultural production and sustain soil health, a large number of soil heath cards have been distributed to the farmers of Saharsa district of Bihar. In order to assess the impact of soil health card, on production, productivity of maize crop and farmer’s income by studying the economics of cultivation of maize crop, the present study was carried out in Sahara district of Bihar. The present work has been comprise of 140 soil tested farmers before and after the application of recommended doses of fertilizer as per soil health card. An interview schedule was prepared for the collection of data from the beneficiaries of soil health card. Data were analyzed using appropriate statistical tools. The data indicated that yield of maize crop increased by 4.12 per cent, after adopting recommendation of soil health card. The net income per acre increased from Rs. 3566 to Rs. 8558 (58.33%) after adoption of recommended doses of fertilizer. The B:C ratio increased by 23.11 per cent after adoption of soil health card. Thus, issue of soil health card to the farmers which carry crop wise recommendation of nutrients and fertilizer required for the individual farm to help farmers to improve productivity and net income. However, there is an urgent need to aware farmers about the importance of soil health card with the help of information technology as well as strengthening of present infrastructure of soil testing laboratories to increase quantity and quality of soil sample testing.

Evaluation of Mehlich‐3 for determination of cation exchange capacity in Kansas soils

AbstractSoil testing laboratories across the United States have implemented the Mehlich‐3 (M3) extraction method for phosphorus (P) and other nutrients. Though M3 is known to work well as a multinutrient extractant, it raises concerns for measuring exchangeable cations, particularly in calcareous soils. The objectives of this study were (a) to evaluate M3 as an extractant for base cations for Kansas soils, (b) to identify a range of soil pH where M3 may be a suitable replacement for ammonium acetate (AA), and (c) to examine the relationship between cation exchange capacity (CEC) summation and CEC displacement. A study was conducted evaluating 308 soils collected from across Kansas and extracted using both the M3 and AA soil extraction methods. Cation exchange capacity was estimated using the summation approach from measurements of both the M3 and AA, and the displacement method. Results indicate a strong correlation among M3 and AA methods for K, Mg, and Na (R2 = .98, .96, .97, respectively). However, these relationships were considerably weaker for extractable Ca (R2 = .78), where extractable Ca was higher in the M3 extracts for high pH soils. Estimated CEC was also affected by soil pH for the M3 method, with an estimated critical pH value of 7.3. Extractable Ca and CEC for soils with a pH below 7.3 showed a strong correlation between M3 and AA methods (R2 = .9). Using M3 as a multinutrient extractant can improve turnaround time for sample analysis in soil testing laboratories. However, the use of the M3 procedure in soils with a pH of 7.3 or above will likely result in overestimation of exchangeable Ca and CEC.

Point-of-use sensors and machine learning enable low-cost determination of soil nitrogen.

Overfertilization with nitrogen fertilizers has damaged the environment and health of soil, but standard laboratory testing of soil to determine the levels of nitrogen (mainly NH4+ and NO3-) is not performed regularly. Here we demonstrate that point-of-use measurements of NH4+, combined with soil conductivity, pH, easily accessible weather and timing data, allow instantaneous prediction of levels of NO3- in soil (R2 = 0.70) using a machine learning model. A long short-term memory recurrent neural network model can also be used to predict levels of NH4+ and NO3- up to 12 days into the future from a single measurement at day one, with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], for unseen weather conditions. Our machine-learning-based approach eliminates the need for dedicated instruments to determine the levels of NO3- in soil. Nitrogenous soil nutrients can be determined and predicted with enough accuracy to forecast the impact of climate on fertilization planning and to tune timing for crop requirements, reducing overfertilization while improving crop yields.