Now a days, widespread deficiency of macro, secondary and micronutrients are emerging in arable land (Singh et al., 2015; Rai and Singh, 2018). Sometime conversion of the natural ecosystem into agricultural land under intensive cultivation severely deplete SOC, thus judicious management of soil under competing and diverse land use is the key to increase soil organic matter (Kumar et al., 2013). Sulphur uptake and dry matter yield may increase due to influence of organics in soil (Kumar et al., 2019). Uptake of some essential nutrients like N, P, K and Boron may also increase by the application of sulphur in the soil (Arvind et al., 2018). The major reason for human Zn deficiency is over dependence on the low Zn-containing food, especially cereals. Traditional interventions like supplementation, food fortification and dietary diversification have not achieved desired success due to many reasons (Girija Veni et al., 2019). Soil Health Card means to give each farmer soil nutrient status of his holding. After this valuable advices provide him on the dosage of fertilizers for the specific crops that he should apply to maintain soil health. It is a printed report that a farmer gets each of his holdings. It contains the status of his soil with respect to 12 parameters, namely Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potash (Macro-nutrients); Sulphur (Secondary- nutrient); Zinc, Iron, Copper, Manganese, Boron (Micro - nutrients), pH, Electrical Conductivity, Organic carbon.

1.       It will cover about 14 crore farmers under this scheme.

2.       The scheme will cover all the parts of the country.

3.       In the form of soil health card, the farmers will get a detail report of their field.

4.       A farmer will get the soil health card once in every 3 years.

The Soil Health Card Scheme will contain following information.

1.       Nutrient status (either sufficient or deficient) of the soil.

2.       If the soil has any additional properties, the card would list those.

3.       The corrective measures provided by the expert which a farmer can take to improve the soil.

How does Soil Health Card Scheme aid farmers?

Soil Health card is a report card that provides fundamental information about the quality of soil. A Soil Health Card is used to evaluate the current status of soil health of any soil or field in which crops are grown. A Soil Health Card displays soil health indicators and associated descriptive terms. The indicators are typically based on farmers’ practical experience and knowledge of local natural resources. The card lists soil health indicators that can be assessed without the aid of technical or laboratory equipment. Mobile Soil Testing Laboratories present at different Krishi Vigyan Kendra and other agencies are playing an important role in soil testing.

Call for of Soil Health Card is need of hour

Soils have not only deteriorated in many parts of the country but also has been render useless for irrigation and this is happening due to less addition of green manures, loss of organic matter content from the soil, water erosion, intensive cropping system, heavy dose of chemical fertilizers, low use of organic matter and non-replacement of depleted micro and secondary nutrients in the soil resulting nutrient deficiencies and decrease in soil fertility. Excessive use of Nitrogenous fertilizers reduces the soil health.

Practical need of Soil Health Card Scheme in Indian Soils perspective

Soil Health Management is one of the most precious interventions with the aim to promote Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) through judicious use of chemical fertilizers including secondary and micro nutrients in conjunction with organic manures and bio-fertilizers for improving soil health. It aims with the strengthening of soil testing facilities to provide soil test based recommendations to farmers for improving soil fertility. Some of the states were already providing their farmers a regular report of their soils. And some of the farmers were educated enough to understand their soil. So, what was the need of such a scheme on a national level?

1. No uniform norm was there to test the samples and provide the results.
2. Some of the un-educated farmers did not know whom to approach and what to do.
3. This is the reason behind the launch of soil health card portal.
4. On the basis of the Soil health card report, the farmers know what fertilizers they need for their crops.
5. Experts are available for the typical queries of the farmers to improve the scheme through KVKs and other government functionaries.  

Is use of SHC by the farmers a monotonous way?

The soil health card contains information based on the soil nutrient status of a farmer’s field. It shows recommendations of dosage of different nutrients needed for the specific crop. Further, it will advise the farmer on the fertilizers and their quantities he should apply on quantity basis. It will be made available once in a cycle of 3 years, which will indicate the status of soil health of a farmer’s holding for that particular period. Soil samples will be collected by the farmer’s on individual basis and after this proper sampling methods are required for the good analytical results and less error. The State Government may also collect samples through the staff of their Department of Agriculture or through the staff of an outsourced agency. Soil Samples are taken generally two times in a year, after harvesting of Rabi and Kharif Crop respectively or when there is no standing crop in the field. Soil Samples will be collected by a trained person from a depth of 15-20 cm by cutting the soil in a “V” shape. It will be collected from four corners and the centre of the field and mixed thoroughly and a part of this picked up as a sample.

Use of the Soil Health Card Scheme

• Different government authorities collect the various samples of the soils.
• After collecting the samples with suitable quartering procedure they send the samples to the testing laboratories.
• In the labs soil testing experts test the samples and after the testing, they analyze the test results of the soils.
• Along with the results they mark the weaknesses/key points of the selected soil samples.
• If the weakness of the soil is such that we can improve it somehow, experts may list down suggestive methods too.

Soil Health Card a positive approach to help farmers

With the issue of the card, the farmers will get a well-monitored report of the soil which is chosen for cultivation of crops. The monitoring will be done on a regular basis. The farmers will be guided by experts to come up with solutions to improve the quality of the soil.

Benefits of the Soil Health Card Scheme

The scheme monitors the soil of the farmers well and gives them a formatted report. So, they can decide well which crops they should cultivate and which ones they should skip. The work of the government does not stop at listing down measures required to improve the quality of the soil. In fact, they also employ experts to help farmers in carrying out the corrective measures. Farmers get a proper soil health record, thanks to the Soil Health Card Scheme. Also, they can study the soil management practices. Accordingly, they can plan the future of their crops and land. The soil card will give the farmers a proper idea of which nutrients their soil is lacking. And hence, which crops they should invest in. they will also tell which fertilizers they need. So, ultimately, the crop yield will see a rise.

References:

Arvind, Singh, S., Sharma, P.K. and Rai, A. (2018). Response of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) to Sulphur and Boron in Upland Red Soil of Vindhyan Zone. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science, 66,432-435. DOI:10.5958/0974-0228.2018.00055.5

Girija Veni, V., Datta, S.P., Rattan, R.K., Meena, M.C., Singh, A.K., Sharma, K.L., Maruthi Sankar, G.R. and Rai, A. (2019). Effect of variability of zinc on enhancement of zinc density in basmati rice grain grown in three different soils in India. Journal of Plant Nutrition, DOI: 10.1080/01904167.2019.1701024

http://www.soilhealth.dac.gov.in/

Kumar, R., Rawat, K.S., Singh, J., Singh, A. and Rai, A. (2013). Soil aggregation dynamics and carbon sequestration. Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 5(1), 250-267.

Kumar, V., Sharma, P.K., Jatav, H.S., Singh, S.K., Rai, A., Kant, S. and Kumar, A. (2019). Organic Amendments Application Increases Yield and Nutrient Uptake of Mustard (Brassica Juncea) Grown in Chromium-Contaminated Soils. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, DOI: 10.1080/00103624.2019.1695831

Rai, A. and Singh, S. (2018). Available nutrients status in black soils of Varanasi district of the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 10(4), 1238-1242. DOI: 10.31018/jans.v10i4.1925

Rai, A. and Singh, S. (2018). Forms of sulphur in some black soils of Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, 6(6), 983-989. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18006/2018.6(6).983.989

Singh, S.K., Dey, P., Singh, S., Sharma, P.K., Singh, Y.V., Latare, A.M. and Verma, S.S. (2015). Emergence of Boron and Sulphur deficiency in soils of Chandauli, Mirzapur, Sant Ravidas Nagar and Varanasi districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science, 63, 200-208.