Govt campaign to check nutrient deficiency in soil

Nitish Sharma

The state Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has deployed six teams of National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers in six blocks of Ambala district in order to check the deficiency of nutrients in agricultural land and also sensitise the new generation about farming. There are 12 to 15 boys in every team and they have started taking soil samples after training provided by the department. Since it is a pilot project, one village in each of the six blocks has been selected. 

The department has identified six villages, namely Bishangarh (Ambala block-I), Kapuri (Ambala block-II), Jawahar Garh (Saha), Duliyani (Barara), Balti (Naraingarh), and Burj (Shahzadpur).

As an incentive, the volunteers will be paid Rs 30 per sample and Rs 10 for submitting it at the department. They will also distribute soil health cards among farmers. The project will help farmers to know about the available and missing nutrients in their agricultural land. 

According to agriculture experts, soil is a non-renewable resource and is like a bank of nutrients but due to exploitation and indiscriminate use of fertilisers over the years, its health and fertility has constantly declined. If farmers want higher yields in the coming years too, they have to pay attention towards bio-fertilisers and also adopt crop diversification. 

Girish Nagpal, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA), Ambala, says, “Fertilisers provide necessary nutrients to the soil but farmers use them in an unscientific manner. Besides, to take higher yields, farmers have been using chemical-based fertilisers. They must have the information about the nutrients available in the soil of their agricultural land and use fertilisers only as recommended. The department has been making efforts to educate farmers to go for crop diversification and do not grow rice and wheat only. They are being advised to make a balanced use of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (known as NPK)”. 

Vijay Kumar, District NSS programme coordinator, says, “NSS volunteers from different government schools, including Government Senior Secondary School, Naggal, GSSS, Mullana, and GSSS, Pathreri, have been deployed in all six blocks. The work has been completed in the Ambala block-I and the Shahzadpur block while it is still going on in the other four blocks”.

An agriculture expert says, “Besides unscientific use of chemical-based fertilisers, the crop residue burning is also having a bad impact on the health of the soil. Though it is a rapid and cheap option for farmers to vacate their fields, it results in the loss of plant nutrients and organic carbon of soil and thus deteriorates the soil health”.

Adding these residues back to the land will increase its fertility. Moisture in fields will remain for a longer period and production will also increase. The Agriculture Department and scientists at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tepla, have been motivating farmers on a regular basis to sow their next crops without burning the residue of previous crops. The residue provides the land with adequate moisture and also a cover to the seeds. By adopting this method, farmers can also save water and electricity. 

The long-term straw application will build the soil organic matter level and nitrogen reserves, and also increase the availability of macro and micro-nutrients that will otherwise be lost to the atmosphere while burning crop residue, particularly nitrogen and sulphur.

The expert says, “Healthy soils are the basis of healthy food production. Soil is a non-renewable resource and its preservation is essential for food security and our sustainable future. It also supports our planet’s biodiversity and helps to combat and adapt to climate change by playing a key role in the carbon cycle. If farmers stop burning the crop residue, the organic carbon content of the soil will improve in three years”.

Aim is to sensitise children about farming

It is a pilot project and volunteers are taking soil samples from every landholding in six identified villages of the district. After the examination of the samples, the department and the farmers will come to know about the quantity of nutrients present in the soil. Another purpose of the project is to sensitise children about farming, as the new generation is not keen to take up agriculture. — Girish Nagpal, Deputy Director Agriculture, Ambala

Nitrogen, zinc found in low quantity 

• Nitrogen and zinc have been found in low quantity in 1.17 lakh hectares of cultivable land available in Ambala district. 
• In previous soil tests, the availability of potash was found to be low to medium while phosphorous, sulphur and calcium were present in medium to high quantity.