Why Soil Testing is the Best Management Practice?

Posted by Micro Biometer on August 26th, 2019

Soil testing is an important method to know about the soil nutrients for crop production. Periodic soil testing with a good record-keeping system for each field serves as a gauge to indicate whether soil fertility is increasing or decreasing. Fertilizer use and crop yield statistics indicate that soil fertility may be declining due to deficient nutrient management. Determining the exact nutrient and the pH found in the farm soil is the first step of any healthy crop production program.

 In the late 1940s, soil testing became an important practice to determine the need for fertilizer and the presence of microbes in the United States. Soil microbe testing in the USA has become an important procedure to determine the recommended nutrients in agriculture projects. Soil test reports will generally provide you with appropriate fertilizer application recommendations for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and limestone. It allows for determining the micronutrient requirements of your crop.

There are many benefits of soil testing which allows for comprehensive approaches to fertilizing the piece of farm.

Benefits of Soil Test

1. Over fertilization- Applying fertilizer to your soil without knowing the exact and actual nutrient will cause environmental damages. Over fertilization might result in water pollution, nutrient leaching and irreversible harm to the aquatic life. The overuse of fertilizers poses a threat to the life of crops as well as humans. A simple test is recommended to determine soil quality and prevent environmental pollution.

2. Soil degradation- A general research shows that each year more than 24 billion tones of fertile soil are lost because of erosion. In addition to this, land degradation affects the livelihoods and health of an estimated 1.5 million people. Soil testing can somehow prevent soil degradation where before anything you can add soil fertilizer for soil restoration. It is important to pull a soil test once a year. The soil pH will change over time from rain events that wash away basic ions ac calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium.

3. Productivity- The current population puts more pressure on the soil than ever before. There is a need for fertile soil to produce crops that will feed the world’s ever-growing population. Improved soil health implies more crops and brings a better life to millions of people across the world.

Many methods of soil testing can be done in independent laboratories, local cooperative extension offices or any garden centers with the help of a shovel, trowel, soil probe, sampling tube and soil auger. Another important method to test soil is using a soil test kit, which allows you to monitor the soil nutrients and health properties such as pH, EC and OC. Different types of soil test kit are on the market today will help you get the result within 10 minutes is less expensive and provide a high level of accuracy. So, ditch the traditional methods of soil testing and find the easy way of soil testing with simple test kit.

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Micro Biometer

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Micro Biometer
Joined: August 19th, 2019
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