Dr Harsh Vardhan launches soil test kit for farmers

KARAIKUDI: The Union Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan on Saturday launched a farmer's kit developed by scientists of the CSIR-lab, the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), here to help farmers assess the soil condition and decide the fertilizer usage plan economically themselves. “The Central government will definitely promote this kit among farmers in the country. Before that I have advised the scientists here to obtain patent for it and approach us immediately,” said Vardhan while interacting with reporters after launching the kit at the institute premises.

Though few soil-testing kits developed by private companies are available in the market, it not only costs Rs 1,500 each, but also takes longer time to provide test reports to the farmers, he pointed out. Elaborating the uniqueness of the farmer's kit designed by CECRI, the minister said that the kit was cheap, costing less than Rs 500, besides providing fertility assessment report to the farmers within ten minutes after scientists collect the samples from their land. “This kind of innovation our Prime Minister Narendra Modi always wished CSIR to take up,” Dr Harsh Vardhan said.

The principal scientist, J Mathiyarasu, who developed the kit, said that existing kits available in the market only provide digital data of the land fertility which does not educate farmers to assess the soil condition and plant cultivation. “We have designed our kit with a simple approach to assess the available primary nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, electrical conductivity and pH of the soil sample of the agricultural land. We not only provide the exact details of the primary nutrients, but also suggest what crops they can cultivate in their land,” the scientist said. The CECRI has also designed special Apps in association with Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore, for this kit.