| |OCTOBER 20229plants, almost all flora need soil for their development. All soil present on Earth is a mix of three components: clay, silt, and sand. These components directly reflect soil proper-ties such as water holding capacity and nutrient levels. Thus, playing a crucial role in agricultural practices. It is neces-sary for any farmer to take into account soil composition to ensure successful yields. Organic matter in the soil is the re-pository of nutrients formed from decaying material in soil. It is found in the top layer of soil, where root growth starts. Based on different proportion of each of the elements, soil is classified as loamy, sandy, silt, clay, peat and chalk, loam soil being the ideal soil type.Try googling `importance of soil'. The first line that ap-pears says, `Soils are essential for life' (Trust me I did it too!). Soil is a medium in which plant thrive & grow. Min-erals, gases, and water rest within the interstitial spaces and constitue them. Not only plants, but even biodiversity of microbes and insects find home in the soil. In agriculture, soil is the basis of a good cultivation or a bad one. It is un-deniable that many abiotic factors also dictate the fate of a cultivation. However, having a fertile soil is still a necessity. In the course of adapting newer agrochemicals and hybrid seeds, we have not realized the effect of these agrochemicals on soil. The life of soil, i.e., its biology is severely impacted due to these chemical inputs. Soil microbes have been an in-dispensable part of the soil. They facilitate the movement of nutrients from soil to the plant system, thus enhancing im-munity and has also kept the plants protected from diseases and abiotic stress.Understanding the importance of soil, governement of India launched a Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme in 2015. It aims at delivering SHC to all farmers in India. SHC is a report of the soil makeup and gives information on 12 parameters viz. - pH (soil reaction; acidity/alkalinity of the soil), total dissolved salts, organic carbon, phosphorous, potash, and minor nutrients like sulphur, magnesium, calcium and mi-cro-nutrients, including zinc, ferrous, manganese and cop-per. Soil Health Card just informs you about the physical & chemical properties of the soil, but contains no information on the third pillar of soil health, which is its biology. No mat-ter how balanced the soil is in terms of its nutrient values, it does not make the land fertile if it has poor soil microflora. In recent years, scientists, governments, and even farm-ers have realized the impact of excessive use of chemicals and are now promoting organic farming techniques. Con-cepts like composting, vermicomposting, usage organic ma-nure are promoted by Government. This not only cuts cost of cultivation, but also helps in farm waste management. The lacunae in these techniques is that, the farmers are un-sure with the kinds and number of microbes being seeded in the soil. Soil microbial analysis reflect that population of silicates, potash solubilisers and even of actinomycetes is poor. There is lack of a wholesome approach in soil enrich-ment techniques. It is important for farmers and agricul-turists to adapt technologies, which are a complete solution in improving soil microbiology and are not just specific to certain issues. If we want to ensure food security and meet the accrescent food demand, it is time that we start looking beyond soil chemistry. Dr. Ganesh Kamath,DirectorIf we want to ensure food security and meet the accrescent food demand, it is time that we start looking beyond soil chemistry
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