My card shows numbers and a recommendation but I cannot figure out how many bags of urea, DAP and potash that means for my one acre. How do I work it out?
3 Answers
Your Soil Health Card gives two useful things: the nutrient status of your soil (low, medium or high for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and some micronutrients) and a crop-wise recommendation, usually expressed as kilograms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash to apply per unit area. To turn that into bags, you match each nutrient to a fertiliser that supplies it and work backwards from the recommended quantity, remembering that each fertiliser contains only a percentage of its nutrient (for example DAP supplies phosphorus and some nitrogen, urea supplies nitrogen, MOP supplies potash). Because this conversion has a few steps, the simplest and safest path is to take your card to your block agriculture officer or KVK and ask them to convert the recommendation into a fertiliser schedule with quantities and timing for your exact crop. Many state portals and the Soil Health Card system also generate a crop-wise fertiliser recommendation directly. Follow that worked-out plan, split nitrogen across the season, and do not over-apply beyond what the card recommends.
I took my card to the KVK and they wrote down the bags and the dates. Much easier than guessing from the numbers.
Once I followed the card properly I bought less fertiliser than before and the crop was the same or better.