Managing soil fertility for sustainable productivity in agriculture through application of information technology based approach

Abstract

Soil is one of the most important natural resource for agriculture, finite in nature and subject to deterioration. It requires effective and efficient utilization for maintenance and conservation for future generations. Crop harvests tend to exhaust soils of their nutrient pool, resulting in nutrient mining which if not adequately replenished results in decline of agricultural productivity over a period of time. The long term sustainability of production in agricultural systems depends upon proper management of soil fertility. It is often reported that a wide range of variation is observed between the potential and actual yield of the crops under farmers field. There are several factors like soil factors, climatic factors, plant factors and biological factors. The resultant of interaction of these factors ultimately determines the final outcome in the form of economic yield. Among these factors nutrient management holds the key in terms of soil fertility and sustainable productivity.