Punjab Government Promotes Sustainable Farming Through Soil Testing Initiative

Punjab Government Promotes Sustainable Farming Through Soil Testing Initiative

In a significant move to promote sustainable farming and combat over-fertilisation, the Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has collected over one lakh soil samples, providing farmers with free reports to enhance crop yields while minimizing costs. Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian announced this initiative, highlighting that the Punjab Government, under Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, aims to collect and test at least 2.5 lakh soil samples during the current financial year. So far, the department has successfully collected and tested 116,117 samples across the state, which boasts 58 soil testing laboratories.

Khudian urged farmers to test their soil before planting their next crops, stressing the importance of understanding the soil’s nutrient composition, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and micronutrients. This vital information helps farmers apply fertilisers more wisely, promoting optimal crop growth while avoiding unnecessary fertilisation that can inflate costs and harm the environment. Regular soil testing can also track soil health over time, revealing problems like salinity, contamination, or degradation, and indicating whether the soil is acidic, neutral, or alkaline, which influences crop choices.

In addition, Director of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Mr. Jaswant Singh encouraged farmers to consider alternative sources of DAP fertiliser, which are equally effective for wheat crops, as recommended by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana. He provided specific guidelines on fertiliser usage, suggesting farmers apply 75 kg of NPK (12:32:16) per acre, or 150 kg of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) plus 20 kg of Urea per acre, or 50 kg of Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) along with 20 kg of Urea per acre, or 90 kg of NPK (10:26:26) per acre instead of a bag of DAP. Singh also advocated for the use of organic manures to improve the physical properties of the soil, promoting a more sustainable approach to agriculture in Punjab.

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