RAJSHAHI, Oct 26, 2024 (BSS)- Scientists and experts urged the grassroots farmers to protect soil health from further degradation through balanced dose fertilization in the Barind area.

Wide-ranging promotion of balanced fertilization can be the crucial means of boosting crop production through protecting soil health from further degradation.
 
Utmost emphasis should be given on habituating the grassroots farmers towards soil test-based balanced fertilization. There would be no fertilizer crisis in the country if the farmers were enriched with the knowledge of balanced fertilization, the experts added.

Agricultural and soil health experts came up with the observation while addressing a daylong farmers training and view-sharing meeting titled "Acidic Soil Management after using the Upazila Land and Soil Resources Guideline" here today.
 
The Divisional Office of the Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) organised the training for 25 promising farmers at CARB Centre in Godagari Upazila in the district supported by the Acidic Soil Management Programme.

Chairman of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority Dr Asaduzzaman addressed the meeting as chief guest with SRDI Director Dr Begum Samia Sultana in the chair.

SRDI Principal Scientific Officer Dr Nurul Islam addressed the training session as focal person mentioning that excessive fertilization always causes increasing pest attacks to crops and diseases followed by yield loss besides damaging soil fertility balance, declining crops quality and market price.
 
Apart from this, excessive use of TSP, DAP and Potash is detrimental to other food elements of crops in soil leading to yield loss, misuse of money and affecting soil health.
 
The Soil Health Expert called for creating awareness among farmers on using appropriate and balanced fertilizer in soil to enhance productivity as well as protect public health.
 
In his remarks, Dr Asaduzzaman said lesser use of organic matter and little or no use of leguminous green manure and bio-fertilizers have also been detected as the degradable factors.
 
However, soil test based fertilization has become indispensable to maintain soil properties positive to growth of plants, he said.
 
In the training, the participants were given knowledge related to detecting spurious fertilizer and sample analysis, available mobile soil test laboratory facilities to detect soil productivity and degradation and fertilizer using guidelines.

On the occasion, balanced dose fertilizer cards were distributed among the 25 farmers.