Balanced soil health and fertilization strategies are crucial in meeting future food demands

Increasing population and declining & degrading natural resources may pose a great threat to food security. Feeding millions in the future will require producing more from less. So the production has to come through increased productivity, which is possible only if we succeed in using resources judiciously.
Soil health and fertility play a vital role in crop production, and maintaining these is really crucial in agriculture. At many locations in the country, crop production is either attaining a plateauing trend or, in certain cases, it is declining. Besides this, costs incurred on cultivating crops are also increasing. One of the major reasons for this is poor soil health and imbalanced plant nutrient supply, and that is why the crop response ratio (kg grain produced/kg NPK applied) has fallen sharply from 12.1 during 1960-69 to less than half (5) during 2010-17. These figures indicate excessive removal of nutrients from the soil and inadequate feeding with nutrients.
There are 17 essential nutrients required for plant growth and development. Nutrients like carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are available in nature through air and water, but the rest of the nutrients need to be supplied externally to maintain soil fertility and nutrient balance. Deficiency of even a single nutrient among these essential elements, either macro or micro-nutrient, disallows the full expression of other nutrients. Similarly, a disproportionate supply of plant nutrients is also a reason for poor crop response to the inputs both in terms of production and quality.
A recent study reveals that in many parts of the world, more potassium is removed by the crop than is being added. The increasing gap between nitrogen and potassium ratio may pose a great threat to food security. Similarly, the deficiency of micro-nutrients is also becoming widespread, and this is impacting total factor productivity. According to reports, analysis of more than 2.0 lakhs soil samples in India during the years 2011-2017 revealed that on average, 36.5%, 12.8%, 4.2%, 7.1%, and 23.4% of soils were deficient in Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, and B, respectively. Limited use of micro-nutrient-containing chemical fertilizers and addition of inadequate quantities of organic manures will make the situation more complex. Thus, the use of improved crop varieties and optimizing nutrient supply in an integrated manner will be crucial for sustaining food supplies to millions across the world.
In this background, it is necessary to understand the role of balanced nutrition and also integrate organic and biological sources of nutrients with chemical fertilizer as suggested by experts. Soil reaction, on the other hand, has an influence on nutrient availability to the crop. Adverse soil reaction may render some nutrients unavailable, and some elements may become available in excess causing toxicity to the crop. So correcting soil reaction is also important to render nutrients available to plants in balanced proportions. It is really important for farmers to have an idea about what their farm soils possess and what and how much needs to be added to their soil for the production of a particular crop. In view of these, it becomes more important that emphasis is given on soil test-based fertilizer recommendation.
Earlier, there were fewer testing laboratories, but now the facilities are almost in every district. The soil testing program has received tremendous support under the soil health card scheme launched by the Government of India back in February 2015. Farmers across the valley can now easily contact the experts of KVKs, nearby units of SKUAST-Kashmir, or the departments of Agriculture and Horticulture to understand the procedure of soil sampling and all other important information related to the soil health card scheme.
Farmers of Kulgam district can avail of the facility of the soil testing lab available at Mountain Research Center for Field Crop, SKUAST-Kashmir situated at Khudwani, or can also approach Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kulgam. They can also visit the departments of Agriculture or Horticulture in their respective Zones for the purpose.
Dr Tasneem Mubarak is the Chief Scientist Agronomy (MRCFC)-SKUAST-Kashmir Dr I. A. Jehangir is a Junior Scientist Agronomy (MRCFC)-SKUAST-Kashmir Dr Abid H. Lone is a Junior Scientist Soil Science, (MRCFC)-SKUAST-Kashmir

Dr Tasneem Mubarak, Dr I. A. Jehangir, and Dr Abid H. Lone