Soil Health

The main culprit for the degradation of the nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium ratio is the overuse of urea as a main fertiliser because of its low price, which has been static for almost a decade

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday expressed concern over soil degradation affecting 30 per cent of India's land and stressed the need for urgent measures to maintain soil quality for sustainable farming. Addressing a global conference on soil through video conferencing, Chouhan said improving soil health is crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to zero hunger, climate action and life on land. "We are producing more than 330 million foodgrains annually and exporting worth USD 50 billion. This success however comes with concerns, especially regarding soil health," the minister said. According to Chouhan, about 30 per cent of India's land is experiencing degradation due to rising fertiliser consumption, imbalanced use of fertilisers, exploitation of natural resources and wrong soil management practices. The minister highlighted various government initiatives, including the distribution of more than 220 million soil health cards to farme

Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stressed on the pivotal role of soil health in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as zero hunger, climate action, and life on land

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has signed an MoU with the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for implementation of experimental regional Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) for combating the problem of landslides in the state. The MoU was signed by ASDMA CEO Gyanendra Dev Tripathi and Siladitya Sengupta, deputy director general, SU: Assam, GSI on Friday, an official statement said. The problem of landslides sometimes goes unnoticed or individual landslides are being dealt with ad-hoc response mechanisms, and the problem keeps on recurring every year. In addition to lives lost, large numbers of houses along with infrastructures destroyed in landslides in the hilly terrains of Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, Cachar, Karimganj and Kamrup Metropolitan districts. During recent times, one of the major thrust areas in landslide risk reduction is the development of a regional LEWS for a large area with inputs from static landslide susceptibility and hazard maps, dynamic .

Tata Steel and Odisha government have decided to implement a sustainable agricultural initiative to reclaim acidic soils in the state, an official said. The collaboration aims to utilize industrial waste, such as basic oxygen furnace (LD) slag and fly ash, as soil amendments to reclaim acidic soils in Odisha. The first consignment of LD slag was flagged off from Tata Steel Meramandali (TSM) plant in Dhenkanal district on June 18, the official said. The project, titled "Economic and Environment-Friendly Utilisation of Basic Slag and Fly Ash as Soil Amendments to Reclaim Acid Soils of Odisha (SAFAR)," is being spearheaded by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Rice Research Institute (ICAR-NRRI) in Cuttack, Odisha. The initiative is part of the Odisha government's "Waste to Wealth" programme, which promotes a circular economy. "We are pleased to collaborate with the Government of Odisha and ICAR-NRRI on this important initiative," said Rajiv Mangal, vice ...

A teenager in Rajasthan's Kota has built an all-purpose robot to help farmers assess soil and crop health, their water needs, and detect pests. Aryan Singh, 17, built the AgRobot at his school's Atal Tinkering Lab, a central government initiative to help school children hone their building skills. The son of a farmer, Aryan spent four years building the robot which won him the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar under science and technology category. Aryan was the only boy from Rajasthan among nine boys and ten girls from 18 states and Union Territories who won awards. He got the award from President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi on January 22 this year. "I belong to a farming family, grew up watching my grandparents and parents working in the field. While studying in class 10, I conceived the idea of developing a multi-task device and later developed a prototype that can reduce farmers' labour in the field," Aryan told PTI. The boy sent his proposal to NITI Ayog's Atal Innovatio

Fertiliser subsidies account for 47 per cent of total govt subsidies for FY24

NITI Aayog released the task force report titled Production and Promotion of Organic and Bio fertilisers with special focus on improving economic viability of gaushalas

The protection of the state's coastal areas, facing erosion due to strong sea waves, is of the utmost importance and Rs 1,500 crore has been allocated for the same, the Kerala government has said. Kerala Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine said that around Rs 5,400 crore would have to be spent for protecting the coastal areas from erosion. Of that Rs 1,500 crore has been allocated under a KIIFB project, he said on Sunday after inaugurating the reconstructed seawalls in Azhikkal coastal area of Azhikode constituency in Kannur district of the state. Augustine, at the event, said the major problem being faced by the people in coastal areas was sea water entering their homes and disrupting their living conditions. He said the reconstruction of the seawalls in Azhikkal in a time-bound manner was an example of the government's tireless efforts to resolve the problem faced by people living in coastal areas. Similarly, construction of seawalls, using tetrapods, was 80 per cent comple

According to New UC Riverside research, nitrogen released by gas-powered machines causes dry soil to let go of carbon and release it back into the atmosphere, where it can contribute to climate change

Researcher says the contributory margin of companies selling and importing MOP is negative due to inadequate subsidies on potash

Researchers have shown for the first time that less intensively managed British grazed grasslands have on average 50 per cent more plant species and better soil health than intensively managed grassland. The new study could help farmers increase both biodiversity and soil health, including the amount of carbon in the soil of the British countryside.Grazed grassland makes up a large proportion of the British countryside and is vital to farming and rural communities. This land can be perceived as only being about food production, but this study gives more evidence that it could be key to increasing biodiversity and soil health.Researchers at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) studied 940 plots of grassland, comparing randomly selected plots which sampled the range of grassland management across Great Britain; from intensively- managed land with a few sown grassland species and high levels of soil phosphorus (indicating ploughing/reseeding and fertiliser and slurry ...

Under SHC scheme, a soil health card contains soil health indicators and descriptive concepts based on farmers' knowledge of local natural resources and practical experience

The Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) content in India has come down to 0.3 per cent from 1 per cent in the past 70 years which is a cause of concern for the agriculture sector, NRAA CEO Ashok Dalwai said

As of March 7, a little over 55 mn cards had been issued, around 40%

Most of the work is in the domain of state governments. However, with 85 per cent of targeted soil samples collected till November 29