Farmers in five districts of Odisha need not visit the Agriculture Colleges to conduct soil fertility tests as five mobile soil-testing laboratories (vans) have been launched for their convenience.
The facility would be available to farmers in five districts like Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Ganjam and Koraput. Agriculture, Fisheries & Animal Resouces Development Minister Pradeep Maharathy flagged off the mobile laboratories here yesterday.
As achieving and maintaining appropriate levels of soil fertility, especially plant nutrient availability, is of paramount importance of agricultural land, loss of nutrients in soil has been a major reason for the fall in yield, and a majority of farmers in the state have failed to ensure proper test of soil, the minister pointed out.
Soil tests will measure the relative nutrient status of soils and will be used as a basis for profitable and environmentally responsible fertilizer application, he said adding that these will encourage plant growth by providing the best manure and fertilizer recommendations.
"By using a soil test report, the farmer does not need to guess on the quality of soil. These tests diagnose whether there is too little or too much of a nutrient and also promote environmental quality. These also help in saving money that might otherwise be spent on unneeded fertilizer," he said.
Stating that the success of a crop depends on soil quality, the minister said the farmers need to know soil characteristics to address nutrient deficiency through fertilisers.
The lab on the van will be able to assist in assessing actual soil nutrient deficiencies and fertiliser requirements, he said.
The mobile testing laboratories will ascertain macro nutrients like nitrogen, phosphate and potassium and micro nutrients like magnesium, zinc, copper and minerals in soil.
Agriculture department has made arrangements for conducting soil test through these mobile laboratories to enable farmers to ascertain the deficiency in soil at their doorsteps.
Each mobile lab will test 5000 soil samples annually. The laboratories will camp in villages of five districts, collect soil samples from fields and furnish the results in the form of soil health card to the farmers on the same day for future guidance.
"Twenty-seven stationary laboratories and 6 mobile labs have already been testing the soil in the state. During the coming months, three more stationary labs and 17 mobile labs will be pressed into service," agriculture secretary Rajesh Verma said.
