How to Test Soil Health on Your Farm?

Soil is a whole living system where microorganisms, minerals, plants, air, and water interact to produce what we eat. The health of the plants is directly linked with the health of the soil. If we feed the soil well, we will get healthier plants and vice versa. 

Lab Soil Analysis is one of the crucial factors in crop cultivation. It decides the type of crop the farmers can cultivate, the irrigation and fertilizer requirement, the type of cultural practices needed, and the required amendments for improving the existing condition of the soil. 

How to Test Soil Health on Your Farm? 

Smart Agriculture Apps such as Outgrow have made it possible to test soil health on farms. Soil Testing App help farmers to compare their soil’s Earthworm count, stability of soil aggregates, microbial activity, soil infiltration tests, etc., with the standard figures on the App. 

Let’s see how farmers can test their field soil on their own with the help of Smart Agriculture Apps such as Outgrow.

Wet Aggregate Test

It indicates the susceptibility of soil to erosion. WAT is carried out by pouring soil samples into a handmade sieve (mesh size of 0.05mm) and submerging the dry soil inside the sieve into the water for 10 minutes. If a significant amount of soil is lost through the mesh, it shows the soil is prone to lose by erosion. 

Soil Microbial Content Analysis

A very trusted and quick test to analyze the microbial content of the soil is to place green teabags (easy to decompose) and rooibos teabags (do not decompose easily) 8cm deep into the soil and see how quickly the microorganisms eat them. 

If you found that your soil lacks microorganisms, you need to improve soil health, otherwise, regular fertilizers are enough for getting a good crop yield. 

Soil Infiltration Test

Soil Infiltration Test indicates the texture of the soil, water adsorption and retention capacity of the soil, and how compact your soil is. 

To perform SIT, take soil samples (2 samples per field) from the unsaturated area of the field, put them in marked plastic or water bottles, pour water steadily into the sample, and start a stopwatch to note down the time taken by water to reach the end of plastic bag. 

Lab Soil Analysis

There are 2 types of Lab Soil Analysis: 

Standard Soil Tests (Cheap)  

It is done to indicate microorganism count and pH, and it is performed to plan fertilizer applications. Soil Samples are collected by walking in a zigzag pattern in the field and sent to nearby soil testing labs for analysis. 

Smart Agriculture App “Outgrow” provides automated soil tests. The farmers can send their soil samples to the suggested nearest soil sampling labs free of cost and get the result report on their mobile App. 

Fera Big Soil Community Tests (expensive). 

It involves testing the soil for its fungi, bacteria, and nematode count via Next-Generation Sequencing technology. 

Soil Organic Matter Content

Analysis of a soil’s organic matter content has become common in India as it provides a very simple and quick nutrient condition of the soil. Outgrow (a Smart Agriculture App) provides its users with a free-of-cost automated soil testing facility. 

 

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