Land degradation affects 104.2 million hectares of India's 141 million hectares of land. Major soil health issues include low soil organic carbon, multi-nutrient deficiencies, and imbalances in fertilizer use. Key concerns are monitoring land degradation, improving soil physical, chemical, and biological properties, and reducing soil contamination. Challenges to soil health in India include inadequate soil testing laboratories and fertilizer quality control. Research initiatives address these challenges through various research institutions, coordinated research projects, and network projects on topics like soil biodiversity and organic farming. Priority areas to improve soil health are soil test-based nutrient management, use of organic sources, conservation agriculture, and bio-waste management.

1. Soil Health Management: Indian
Perspective
S K Chaudhari
Assistant Director General
(Soil Water Management)
Indian Council of Agricultural Research

2. Soil Health Issues of India
• Land Degradation- 104.2 mha out of 141
mha
• Annual Soil Loss - 5.3 Billion tons
• Annual Nutrient Loss- 8 Million tons
• Average Soil Loss- 16.4 t/ha/yr.
• Physical Contraints-89.5mha
• Crop Production Losses-
Water Erosion-13.4mt, Salinity-5.66 mt,
Alkalnity-11.18 mt, Wind Erosion-6.85 mt
Soil Erosion 74.21 mha
Wind Erosion 12.03 mha
Soil Salinity 06.73 mha
Soil Acidity 10.72 mha

3. Soil Health Issues of India
• Low soil organic Carbon ( < 0.5 %)
• Multi nutrient deficiencies
• Low nutrient use efficiency
• Decline in fertilizer response ratio
• Imbalance fertilizer use
• Crop residue burning

4. Major concerns
• Monitoring land degradation for conservation of soil resource
• Improving Soil physical, Chemical and Biological health
• Managing crop residues
• Soil carbon sequestration to reduce carbon footprint and global
warming
• Improving nutrient use efficiencies and fertilizer response ratio
• Reduce soil contamination

5. Challenges of Soil Health in India
• Inadequate soil testing laboratories
(1268 static + 368 mobiles)
• Aggregate analyzing capacity of 15
million samples per annum
• Fertilizer quality control
laboratories-82 nos.
• Farm Science Centers (KVK) 700 Nos
with portable soil testing kits
• Fertilizer plants – 172 Nos
• Bio fertilizer production units - 400
Nos with a capacity of 100,000 tons
per annum

6. Research Initiatives
Research Institutions
• Indian Institute of Soil Science
• National Bureau of Soil Survey & LUP
• Central Soil Salinity Research Institute
• Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation
All India Coordinated Research Projects
• Soil Test Crop Response
• Micro-and Secondary Nutrients and Pollutant Elements in soils and
Plants.
• Long Term Fertilizer Experiments
• Salt Affected Soils
Network Projects
• Soil Biodiversity-Biofertilizers
• Organic Farming
Consortia Research Project
• Conservation Agriculture

7.  Coating urea with Neem (Azaridicta indica) oil
 Integrated Watershed Management Program
 National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
 National Mission on Soil Health Card
 Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)- A scheme on organic
farming
 National Biogas and Manure Management Program
 Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS)
Policy Initiatives

8. Priority areas to be addressed
 New tools and techniques of soil testing
 Soil test based site specific balanced & Integrated Nutrient
Management
 Liquid fertilizer use through Drip Fertigation
 Use of organics (FYM, green manure, bio fertilizers)
 Conservation Agriculture & Precision farming
 Soil & water conservation and land reclamation
 Bio-waste management

9. Thank You