Soil Technology News

Variable Rate Technology (VRT) to Map Soil Quality

Indigenous version of Variable Rate Technology (VRT) to enhance the soil nutrients and productivity for Indian farmers launched by RML Agtech, a technology-based farm solutions provider.

The technology is popular among the developed countries.

Benefits:
- The application helps farmers to decide the quantity of nutrients required for a plant.
- It is also a tool to know how many plants can be used on a piece of land based on the soil nutrient value.
- VRT helps in reducing wastage of expensive inputs and help in improving quality and quantity of the yield of crop.

In India, RML has customized VRT to local conditions wherein there will be continuous monitoring of crop through satellite imagery for nutrition deficiency or disease and provide real time inputs to the farmers.

Direction for use:
- Farmers collect soil from five different points of their land parcel in different boxes at different depths depending on which crop they plan to grow.
- The soil collected in five different boxes, with each box specifically marked with a number, and sent to RML centralized laboratory for testing.
- On completion of the test, the soil health report is updated on RML app along with advisory on remedial steps like nutrients to be added on each parcel of land.

There is a myth amongst farmers that all crops require same type and quantity of nutrients. However, RML studies have found that land parcel of two to five acres has different nutrient value at different points.

Source : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com