Importance of Soil in Agriculture – Process of Soil Management

Soil is a crucial part of successful agriculture business. It gives all the essential nutrients that are necessary to grow a good quality crop. Healthy soil produces a healthy crop for food supplies. In case the soil is not fertile, farmers have to move to different places to get the best quality of soil for their agriculture business. It mostly affects the quality of yield in the long term. For instance, Punjab is known for the best quality of fertile soil, which ensures many different crops on a single land piece. 

Let’s discuss this interesting topic in detail and get to know some crucial facts about soil.

Factor Affecting the Quality of Soil 

• Climate is a crucial factor when it comes to soil fertility. Soils in the dry climate are most likely to see a decline in nutrients. 
• The small amount of salt and other chemicals found in the water can be immersed in the soil over time. This process is called salinization. 
• Many of the land plants, including most crops, cannot grow in saline water. They need fresh water for proper nutrient and mineral intake. So it’s always advisable to take good care of soil for sustainable production. 

How to maintain the fertility of the soil of sustainable production?

Adding fertilizer is one of the most effective ways. Naturally, plants use soil nutrients, and when they die, they are decomposed by micro organisms. This returns all the required nutrients to the soil back. This cycle is continuously going on in nature. In agriculture, crops grown in the soil take up the nutrients and then be removed to feed people and livestock. To maintain the nutrient level of soil, fertilizer plays a vital role, whether from natural sources such as manure or artificial materials such as ammonia.

Some Important Properties of Soil

Take the example of Arable land, a term used for soils that are suitable for agriculture. Most of the Arable land is lost due to soil degradation caused by salt build-up, desertification and erosion. As the population is increasing, it is important to maintain as much land as possible for food production. Following are the properties of soil.

• Soil should allow both water and air to move through and get to the root.
• It should have a considerable amount of microorganisms. 
• The soil colour should be dark because it holds more organic matter, such as dead plants. 
• The soil is rich in all the important nutrients which are required for the growth of the crop. 

However, if you want to know which soil is the best for farming, then the answer is loam soil, much-needed land for farmers. This includes clay, sand and silts with high amounts of organic matter. It is regarded as the best type of soil and most gardener friendly. On the other hand, Sandy soil is considered the worst soil type for farming. It can’t hold water properly and will quickly drain from the spaces. It has the best moisture holding capacity, which is much required for crops to grow properly.  

Steps to Manage Soil in Agricultural Settings 

Farmers use many practices to ensure that they take good care of the soil and the surrounding environment. These practices include

•  Monitor the levels of nutrients in the soil on a daily basis.
•  Use precision agriculture practices to provide nutrients and increase the crop’s productivity and water only where there is a requirement. Moreover, tractors are a crucial part of precision farming. The Swaraj tractor is a very economical tractor that farmers can easily buy.  
• Ensure crop rotation to improve crop diversity.
• Make sure to not drive in the wet fields. 
• Do not disturb the soil too much, as this disturbance makes erosion easier. It increases the rate at which micro organisms lose their food supply. 
• Always keeps the surface covered to reduce erosion and monitor the quality of water so that salts do not accumulate.

That’s it for this blog. I hope this blog gave you much information about the soil. For more information about farming, you can always stay tuned with us.