Soil Fertility Mapping in India: Transforming Agriculture with Digital Insights

The Soil & Land Use Survey of India (SLUSI) under the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare performs district and village-level digital soil fertility mapping with geo-spatial techniques for the Government of India. The digital soil fertility maps derive their information from Soil Health Cards to help farmers receive precise soil nutrient data along with fertilizer recommendations from the Soil Health & Fertility Scheme.

Soil Fertility Mapping Exhibits All these Main Attributes

Soil Health Card (SHC) and Integrated Nutrient Management (INM)

• Grassland Covers returns information to farmers about their soil conditions by classifying them into low medium or high nutrient ranges.

• The given recommendations help farmers apply nutrients correctly to avoid excessive fertilizer usage.

• Through INM farmers should use chemical fertilizers together with organic manure alongside bio-fertilizers for soil health protection.

Digital Mapping and Geospatial Techniques

• The collection system using GPS manages to determine precise soil locations.

• The system provides distinctive QR codes that enable tracking of all samples.

• Artificial Intelligence supplements remote sensing capabilities with data analysis functionality to boost the exactness of soil health monitoring.

• The initiative of Soil Fertility Mapping has led to the successful generation of 351 maps distributed across 34 districts of Maharashtra.

Benefits of Soil Fertility Mapping

• Precision Agricultural services provide site-specific nutrition recommendations to farmers to avoid both fertilizer waste and deficiency.

• The practice generates financial savings by using fertilizers effectively which produces high crop production while requiring reduced inputs to boost farmer profits.

• Sustainable Soil Management practice performs dual functions by stopping soil damage along with preventing nutrient loss thus sustaining agricultural productivity duration.

• Better planning decisions emerge from improved soil health management because policymakers and agricultural developers can create more effective policies through the help of this approach.

Challenges and Solutions

• Logistical Barriers in Remote & Hilly Areas – Addressed through Village Level Soil Testing Labs and Mini Labs.

• Farmers lacking awareness can find soil health reports through SHC portal by using mobile phone numbers.

Way Forward

• Expansion of soil fertility mapping activities needs to happen throughout all the states and union territories of India.

• Soil health management benefits from satellite and AI applications for real-time soil tracking systems.

• The local testing infrastructure needs expansion to deliver services to a broader range of areas.

Conclusion

Soil Fertility Mapping stands as a modern agricultural advancement which provides farmers with scientific information about soil health to support sustainability and profit in Indian agriculture.