How do I read my Soil Health Card to act on micronutrient deficiencies like zinc and boron?

Your Soil Health Card is the right place to start, and it already does the hard part by telling you which nutrients are low. Read it in three steps. First, look at the status words next to each nutrient, usually low, medium or sufficient or deficient. Anything marked low or deficient is what you act on; nutrients marked sufficient do not need extra and over-applying them wastes money and can lock up others. Second, the card itself carries a recommended dose section for your crop based on these readings, so use that as your base plan rather than a generic shop recommendation. Third, plan placement and timing: macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium go as basal and topdressing per the card, while micronutrients like zinc are usually applied at sowing to soil and boron is applied carefully in small measured amounts because its safe range is narrow. For your card showing zinc and boron low, zinc sulphate at sowing in a soil-test-based range and borax in a small accurately weighed amount are the typical corrections, but follow the exact figures printed on your card and your local KVK, and do not over-apply, especially boron. If the deficiency looks severe on the standing crop, a foliar spray of the deficient micronutrient gives a faster response while the soil correction works for the next season.