The Agriculture Department would collect soil samples from about 70 villages under the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) in the district this year for issue of soil health cards to the farmers.
Five villages would be covered under each of the 14 blocks in the district. Last year, the department had collected soil samples from one village each in every block.
Under the initiative, soil samples are taken from grids of 2.5 hectares in irrigated areas and 5 hectares in case of rainfed areas and sent for analysis. The samples are analysed for macro and micronutrients as well as pH and Ec. Soil samples are also analysed for major soil health problems based on which soil health cards are issued to all farmers.
Soil health is an important factor to achieve high productivity. The NMSA Scheme aims at boosting the productivity of the soil by ensuring the right balance of fertilizers required for a healthy crop said P. Asokan, Joint Director of Agriculture, Tiruchi.
“Soil being the most important input for crop growth, needs a lot of attention. Continuous cultivation, lack of organic matter and indiscriminate use of fertilizers lead to decline in soil health,” he pointed out.
The cost of analysis of a single soil sample works out to ₹275 and is borne by the government so that the soil health cards are issued free for the farmers. By adopting the recommendations made based on the soil health of their fields, farmers can save up to 30% on cost of fertilizers. Further the soil can be preserved from damage due to excessive use of fertilizers.
Field level officers of the Agriculture Department have begun collecting soil samples from across the district to issue the soil health cards to farmers ahead of the next cultivation season. Deputy Director of Agriculture B. Elangovan inspected the work at T. Edaiyapatti of Marungapuri block. According to officials the initiative will be extended to cover all villages in a phased manner under the NMSA.