Proper soil health management must for protecting productivity

RAJSHAHI, Mar 14 (BSS): Emphasis should be laid on soil health management rightly for protecting its productivity as the soil nutrients have gradually been declining, researchers concerned said.
They mainly blamed disproportionate use of chemical fertilisers and harmful pesticides for cultivation of high yielding varieties of different crops and vegetables leading to continued decline in soil nutrients.
Lesser use of organic matter and little or no use of leguminous green manure and bio-fertilisers have also been detected as the degradable factors.
"Organic matter requirement is at least 2.5 per cent in a normal soil, whereas the content in the area was found less than 1.3 per cent and even less than one per cent in some soils in the region," said Mahbubur Rahman, Scientific Officer of Regional Laboratory that belongs to Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI). Optimum level of organic matter is a must for building and maintaining positive soil properties and normal soil ecosystem that supports plant growth.
It is also imperative for creating a positive soil environment from which plants can uptake nutrients from applied chemical fertilisers as it acts as the storehouse of nutrient elements and produce all plant nutrient elements both macro and micro in environmental way.
Soil Scientist Mahbub said organic manure improves the chemical and physical properties of soil like its structure by acting as binding agent and the good structure enhances a favourable air-water status of soil from which plant and micro-organisms can take air, water and nutrient elements. Likewise, input and output balance of plant nutrient elements should be equal for maintaining the nutrient status of the soil.
Soil test based fertilisation has also become indispensable to build and maintain soil properties positive to growth along with keeping the sound environment of surroundings of soil like airspace, pond and river, he added.