Soil Health Card scheme, free soil testing, how to apply and understand NPK pH results.
How to get a Soil Health Card (mitti swasthya card) and read it?
RRamesh Yadav1yr ago · 590 views
5 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓1yr ago
You can get a Soil Health Card by giving a soil sample at your nearest soil testing lab, KVK, or village-level collection centre, usually for a nominal fee of about Rs 5 per sample. The card tests 12 parameters: N, P, K (macro), Sulphur (secondary), Zinc, Iron, Copper, Manganese, Boron (micro), and pH, EC, OC (physical). Read the card top to bottom: pH tells acidity or alkalinity, EC shows salinity, OC shows organic carbon, and each nutrient is marked low, medium, or high. The back of the card gives crop-wise fertiliser dose in kg per acre. Collect soil from 6 to 8 spots in a zig-zag pattern at 0 to 15 cm depth, mix, and submit about 500 g. Cards are reissued every 2 to 3 years to track change.
SSuresh Patil1yr ago
I got mine through the agriculture department. The dose on the back saved me one bag of DAP per acre because my P was already high. Worth doing.
DDevraj Solanki1yr ago
Don't treat the card as one number for the whole farm if your land is in scattered patches with different colour or slope. I gave separate samples for my low-lying plot and the upland plot and got two different recommendations, which made sense once I saw the readings.
FFatima Sheikh1yr ago
One small tip: keep the previous card to compare. When I matched my new card against the old one I could see organic carbon had slowly risen after I started adding compost, which told me the practice was working.
AAnil Kumavat1yr ago
The QR code or card number lets you view results on the Soil Health Card portal too, so even if you lose the paper you can pull it up. Ask the lab staff to explain any reading you do not follow before you leave; adjust the final dose to your card and local KVK and do not over-apply.