DEEPIKA SAHU,  Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry
ANJALI PATEL, Department of Agronomy, 
Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh

"Farmers can do soil testing in their home by their own."
A low-cost mobile soil testing kit developed by the Indira Gandhi Agriculture University (IGAU) in Raipur which enables farmers to test the soil health themselves has received a patent from the Indian government.
  • This kit includes total five parameters which can be tested by the procedures given in the soil testing kit.
  • These parameters include nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH and lime.
  • The kit costs Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 and comprises chemical solutions, powders, testing equipment and instruction guide.
  • At least 25 samples can be tested with one kit and farmers need to buy only chemical solutions which can cost around Rs 2,000.
  • With this kit, farmers will be able to test nutritional content of soil on their land.

Fig. 1 Soil testing kit


Materials in the kit -
  • Weight of this kit is about 2.5 kg.
  • It contains CD and user manual books. These manuals are in easy language to be understood by farmers.
  • This kit contains different concentration of liquid chemicals, acid, chemical powder, filter paper, plastic stand, test tube, funnel, distilled water, colour chart etc.


Fig.2- pH chart

Procedure to use kit
  • Chemicals in the kit are used to test different soil samples. According to manual different chemicals are added in soil sample and the change in colour in the end is matched with given colour chart.
  • And according to depth of colour we can trace the amount of nutrient in soil.
  • Methods for calculating the required amount of fertilizers for major crops based on soil test results and fertilizer recommendations are also given in the booklet.
  • On the basis of soil test, farmers will be able to determine the required quantity of urea, super phosphate, potash and lime required for different crops.