Assessment of the Soil Chemical Properties, Macro and Micro Nutrients using Soil Test Kit and Soil Health Card Distribution in  Zunheboto District of Nagaland, India

A participatory approach was used to improve smallholder tomato farmers’ understanding of and access to soil health monitoring in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania. Baseline soil characteristics were gathered from 50 tomato fields in the region, local soil knowledge was elicited from farmers and used to develop a soil health card to qualitatively assess soil health, and farmers (n = 32) were trained on the use of a low-cost soil test kit to quantitatively assess soil health. Farmers most often described local indicators of soil health in terms of soil texture and tilth, soil color, soil water relations, and soil fertility. Following use of the soil test kit, farmers indicated increased awareness of soil testing services (Wilcoxon signed rank Z = –3.0, P = 0.001), more agreed they had access to soil testing services (Z = –2.7, P = 0.004), and more agreed that soil management recommendations were easy to understand (Z = –3.4, P < 0.0001) compared with pre-exposure results. Farmers continued to use the soil health test kit and soil health card based on a follow-up survey administered 1 year after project completion. Participatory soil health monitoring projects can improve farmers’ ability to monitor and manage soil health, potentially impacting sustained soil and plant health.

Download Full-text

A Study on Knowledge and Utilization of Soil Health Card by Small and Marginal Farmers in Nalanda District of Bihar

International Journal of Advances in Agricultural Science and Technology ◽

10.47856/ijaast.2021.v08i11.004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (11) ◽

pp. 28-40

Author(s):

Kumar Saurabh ◽

Syed H. Mazhar ◽

Dipak Kumar Bose

Keyword(s):

Sampling Method ◽

Soil Health ◽

Soil Samples ◽

Economic Conditions ◽

Soil Test ◽

Fertilizer Use ◽

Health Card ◽

Awareness Campaigns ◽

Knowledge Levels ◽

The Impact

Soil health and fertility is the basis for sustainable profitability of the farmers.Hence, there is a need for balanced use of fertilizers, keeping this government of India introduced Soil Health Card Scheme across India. On 5th December 2015 the ministry of agriculture introduced the soil health card (SHC) scheme.Some farmers complained that the soil test values are not representative of their fields and they also complained that the field staff are not collected soil samples in their presence.In this background an attempt was made to study the impact on socio-economic conditions of the small and marginal farmers.Total of 120 respondents was selected in Ekangarsarai block, Nalanda district, Bihar by purposive sampling method. The data was collected from them and analyzed using MS-excel.Given the short duration of the scheme, knowledge levels are good. At the same time participation of farmers in meetings, exposure visits are not high. Awareness campaigns need to be organized on content of SHCs, use of recommended practices, reduction in fertilizer use and costs and increase in profitability.

Download Full-text

Soil Chemical Properties Changes under Alley Cropping in Terrace Ecosystem of Bangladesh

Asian Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition ◽

10.9734/ajsspn/2021/v7i430120 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 32-42

Author(s):

A. S. M. J. Alam ◽

S. R. Saha ◽

M. G. Miah ◽

M. M. Rahman ◽

M. R. Islam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alley Cropping ◽

Soil Health ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Cropping System ◽

Gliricidia Sepium ◽

Soil Chemical Properties ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Total N ◽

Sound Environment

Soil health needs to be improved for the sustenance of a productive agriculture and sound environment where alley cropping system might play a vital role. The study was composed of two factors viz. three alley widths of Gliricidia sepium (3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 m), and five nitrogen levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the recommended dose) along with pruned materials in a split-plot design with three replications. The soil chemical properties were examined in alleys of Gliricidia sepium tree over two consecutive seasons. Results displayed that pruned materials (PM) of G. sepium increased the soil pH, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S), exchangeable calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soil in different alley widths compared to the control. However, alley width 3.0 m and 100% N along with PM displayed the maximum OC (0.94%), total N (0.21%), available P (16.26 ppm), exchangeable Ca (2.54 meq/100 g) and Mg (0.90 meq/100 g), while maximum exchangeable K and CEC were noted in alley width 4.5 m and 100% N along with PM. The above results explicated that the improvement of the soil chemical properties by using pruned materials of G. sepium in alleys can be a promising option for uplifting the soil health condition as well as sustainable agricultural practices.

Download Full-text

The Role of Cover Crop Types and Residue Incorporation in Improving Soil Chemical Properties

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11102091 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 2091

Author(s):

Rimsha Khan ◽

Aitazaz A. Farooque ◽

Helen Carolyn Peach Brown ◽

Qamar U. Zaman ◽

Bishnu Acharya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Ph ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Soil Health ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Field Trials ◽

Soil Chemical Properties ◽

Control Treatment ◽

Experimental Treatments

Soil chemical properties can be improved by incorporating crop residues in soil and letting it decompose. This study explored the use of incorporating residues of cover crops for improvements in soil chemical properties including soil organic matter (SOM), soil pH, and the selected soil macro- and micronutrients in greenhouse and field trials. Factors of interest included (i) cover crops and their combinations and (ii) methods of crop termination and incorporation in soil (disc, mow + disc, glyphosate, roller crimper). The greenhouse trial showed up to a 20% higher amount of SOM accumulated in soils incorporated with crop residues. Buckwheat (3.12%) and phacelia (3.12%) produced significantly different and larger SOM than that of the control treatment that received no crop residues (p ≤ 0.05). The soil pH of the brown mustard treatment was also significantly affected by the experimental treatments (p ≤ 0.05). The incorporation of crop residues did not affect soil phosphorous (P) or potassium (K) concentrations, except for brown mustard, with significantly higher values of P and K than the control treatment. Calcium (Ca) was significantly higher in the soil of phacelia + pea treatment (p ≤ 0.05). Buckwheat + pea produced a higher concentration of Ca (1028 mg/kg) followed by buckwheat alone (1006 mg/kg). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) calculated on the results of the field trial showed that the mix treatment that had a mixture of four cover crops significantly increased the SOM content. Buckwheat produced the highest (2.95%) SOM, then brown mustard and timothy. This study concludes that, irrespective of the tillage incorporation methods, the residues from cover crops are a potential source of improvement in soil health, and this practice may promote sustainable agriculture in conditions similar to those in this study.

Download Full-text