S. K. Chaudahri Seventh session of the GSP Plenary Assembly | 5 - 7 June 2019 | FAO HQ, Rome, Italy

1. Towards Healthy Soils: The
Experience of Soil Health
Programme in India
S K Chaudhari
Assistant Director General
(Soil Water Management)
Indian Council of Agricultural Research

2. Major Challenges
Soil Management
 Low soil organic carbon
 Multi Nutrient deficiency
 Low response ratio
 Low NUE
 Soil degradation
 Residue Burning
 GHG emissions
 Soil pollution

3. MAJOR CONCERNS
 Low Farm Productivity & Profitability.
 Land Degradation.
 Low Water productivity.
 Soil Health Deterioration & low Nutrient Use
Efficiency.
 Climate Resilient Agriculture & Risk Management.
 Loss of Tree Cover & Deterioration in Ecosystem
Services.

4. 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

5. 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

6. Soil Fertility Status of Indian Soils
% Area
Av. Nitrogen Av. Phosphorus Av. Potassium
Low Medium High Low Medium High Low Medium High
59 36 5 49 46 6 9 39 52
DTPA-extr. micronutrients Hot water soluble B Available S
No. of
samples
% samples deficient No. of
samples
% samples
def.
No. of
samples
% samples
def.
Zn Fe Cu Mn
97464 43 12 5.4 5.5 73630 18.3 79862 24.7

7. Multinutrient deficiency
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2025
Foodgrainproduction
N
Fe
N
K
P
Zn
Fe
N
Mn
S
K
P
Zn
Fe
N
B
Mn
S
K
P
Zn
Fe
N
B
Mn
S
K
P
Zn
Fe
N
Mo
B
Mn
S
K
P
Zn
Fe
N
?
Mo
B
Mn
S
K
P
Zn
Fe
N
Elements deficit Food grain Prodn (mt)

8. Nutrient consumption pattern
3.46
4.86
5.05
6.99
9.4
11.04
12.21
13.61
16.08
17.07
16.71
15.67
16.89
20.38
24.28
29.27
30.99
31.95
34.33
37.06
42.94
46.57
47.48
49.01
51.45
60.57
63.47
67.55
69.84
65.45
66.28
72.13
74.02
75.5
85.2
87.65
95.91
90.12
92.33
92.55
88.57
96.27
105.53
112.54
115.61
127.53
140.14
142.35
142.05
131.36
121.89
127.36
133.19
129.19
134.1
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1963-64
1965-66
1967-68
1969-70
1971-72
1973-74
1975-76
1977-78
1979-80
1981-82
1983-84
1985-86
1987-88
1989-90
1991-92
1993-94
1995-96
1997-98
1999-00
2001-02
2003-04
2005-06
2007-08
2009-10*
2011-12*
2013-14*
2015-16*
2017-18
kg/ha
Years
N P2O5 K2O Total

9.  The Indian soils are also prone
to low nutrient use efficiency
which varies from 40%(N),
20%(P), 60%(K), 10%(S) & 1-
2%(micronutrients).
 Nitrogenous fertilizers
contribute 77% of nitrous
oxide (N2O) emissions from
agricultural soils.
Low nutrient use efficiency
N Deficiency P Deficiency K Deficiency

10. Physical Degradation
Nearly 89.52 Mha suffer from one or the other form of physical
constraints.
Physical constraints Area
(Mha)
Major states affected
Shallow depth 26.40 Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal,
Kerala and Gujarat
Soil hardening 21.57 Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar
High permeability 13.75 Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab and
Tamil Nadu
Subsurface hard pan 11.31 Maharashtra, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, West
Bengal and Tamil Nadu
Surface crusting 10.25 Haryana, Punjab, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat.
Temporary water-
logging
6.24 Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat,
Kerala and Odisha
In addition, around 0.9 Mha area land is affected due to permanent surface
inundation.

11. Biological Degradation
 The value of "ecosystem services" provided each year
by soil biota in agricultural systems worldwide may
exceed US$ 1,542 billion.
 Nearly 40-48 million tons N per year is biologically
fixed.
 It is still largely neglected in agricultural development
initiatives.
05001000150020002500300035004000
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Wavenumbers [1/cm]
Transmittance

12.  In India, about 100 million tonnes of pollutants are being
added to the atmosphere, which finally get precipitated on
soil body.
 Polluted surface water and groundwater add several harmful
chemicals into the soil body when used for irrigation.
 Some of the pollutants are constituents of extensively used
agrochemicals like fertilizers (e.g. Cd through phosphatic
fertilizer), pesticides (organic pollutants).
 High concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and
Zn) in solid waste and municipal waste.
Pollution of Soil Resources

13. Challenges of Soil Health in India
• Land holdings : 140 million
• 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

14.  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)
Government policies and soil health

15. Government priorities in soil health
management
 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

16.  Mridaparikshak is capable of measuring
12 soil parameters of SHC (pH, EC, OC,
available N, P, K, S and Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn
& B)
 Complementary to soil testing labs
 Validation using different soil types
revealed about 90% accuracy to that of
STL
 Area of operation : Village/Panchayet
level, KVKs and STLs
 Cost : Rs. 86000/-.
 So far more than 1096 units already sold
(upto November 2016)
Mridaparikshak- A Mini Lab for Soil Analysis

17. The bio-engineering measures like contour bunding, contour
farming, conservation furrows, bench terracing/conservation
bench terracing, staggered trenching, vegetative barriers, check
dams/gabion structures, drop structures, storm diversion
drain/grassed waterway and water storage structures etc. for soil
and water conservation on degraded lands.
Technologies for Soil- Water Conservation

18. Amelioration of Acid Soils
Liming acid soils (pH<5.5) @ 2-4q/ha in furrows at the
time of sowing doubles the productivity of crops,
especially of pulses and oilseeds with 50% savings on
fertilizers.

19. •Reclaimed area contributes 10-12 mt
of food grains to the National pool.
•Also, sub-surface drainage and bio-
drainage technologies have been
developed to improve the productivity
of saline waterlogged soils in the
country.
Reclamation & Mgt of Salt Affected Soils
•A reclamation technology consisting
of application of gypsum, salt tolerant
varieties of rice (CSR-30, CSR-36),
wheat (KRL-210, KRL-213) and
mustard (CS-52, CS-54) and
agroforestry interventions developed
for rehabilitation of lands affected by
salinity and sodicity.

20. Thank You