World Soil Day is celebrated every year on 5th December to spread awareness about the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of the soil resource.
In order to celebrate the same, Krishi Jagran organized a webinar on “Significance of Controlling Soil Salinity” today, 12 noon onwards on Zoom. Various dignitaries from across the industry shared their thoughts on the same. The webinar was streamed live on the official Facebook Page of Krishi Jagran.
The session started with a progressive farmer, Ravindra Chaudhary from Dhewal, Madhya Pradesh who told us that he cultivates Soyabean, Maize, Wheat, Potatoes, Onions & even Garlic. Representing all the farmers of Madhya Pradesh, he said “The farmers of the state are very progressive and cultivate multiple crops with the integration of allied activities like fish farming and animal husbandry”.
He also said that he is looking forward to this webinar where experts from the field will help the farmers like him, by sharing their valuable knowledge on managing the salinity problem in Soil.
During the webinar Sanjay Naithani, Chief Agronomist, Israel Chemical Limited said that “India has about 68 million hectares of land, in which most of the land is affected from salinity. But, if we test this soil regularly & use fewer amounts of chemicals then we can make this land more fertile for the agriculture purpose”.
Sanjay Naithani Highlights:
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Soil salinity is a serious matter.
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It will affect all of us directly or indirectly.
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We should always take expert opinions before experimenting anything on soil.
R.K. Goyal, Business Director South Asia- South East Asia, Cytozyme Verdesian USA highlighted the importance of healthy soil for a good yield. He said “A farmer needs 3 things to obtain a good yield including: superior quality seeds, fertile soil & fertilizers”.
The government gives many subsidies on the purchase of fertilizers, but the indiscriminate use can also lead to an increased level of salinity in the soil. Therefore, Goyal says, “It is important that the farmers are made aware how much fertilizer is actually needed to maintain healthy soil.”
Dr A.K. Rai, Principal Scientist (Soil Science), ICAR- Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal Haryana was another esteemed panelists in this webinar. He shared some very important information for the farmers.
He said "Soil salinity is a big problem that directly affects the land productivity."
The easiest way to identify saline soil is by a white-colored layer formed over the soil, but that way we won’t be able to identify the hidden salinity in the soil and such a soil (with hidden Salinity ) is more dangerous. Empty paddy pods are a characteristic of this soil. In such a situation, farmers will bear massive losses. Dr. A.K. Rai, requested the farmers who are facing this problem to visit their nearest KVK and get their soil tested for salinity.
He stated that “If all the degraded land in India is reclaimed, we can get approximately 11-12 MT more produce.”
Apart from these, Ashok K Patra, Director, ICAR- Indian Institute of Soil Science, A.K. Nayak, Principal Scientist & Head (Crop Production Division), ICAR- National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack - Orissa, Dr Arvind Kumar Shukla, Project Coordinator, ICAR- Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, ( Rafi Ahmed Kidwasi Award-2021), Dr Nitin Pachlaniya , Program Associate (soil science ), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Indore, Madhya Pradesh also shared their knowledge in the webinar.
