The Project was started in 2010-11 with the financial assistance from Government of  Jammu & Kashmir under the Project "Nutrient  Indexing of Crops to monitor changes in Soil Fertility and Soil Mapping using Global Positioning System (GPS)" (J&KSCST & RKVY).    

 The objectives of the project are:

• *    To find out the concentration of multinutrients in the samples under different farming systems.

• *    To evaluate the changes in soil fertility.

• *    To know the extent of nutrient deficiencies in different farming systems.

• *    To prepare the soil fertility map using GPS.

Technical Program;

• In First year (2010-11), two districts, Kupwara and Baramulla were sampled, analysed and mapped for macro-, micro- and toxic elements for field crops.

• In second year (2011-12), two  districts, Bandipora and Ganderbal were sampled, analysed and mapped for macro-, micro- and toxic elements.

• In third year (2012-13), two  districts, Srinagar and Budgam were sampled, analysed and mapped for macro-, micro- and toxic elements.

• In forth year (2014-15), two  districts, Anantnag and Pulwama were sampled, analysed and mapped for macro-, micro- and toxic elements.

• In fifth year (2015-16), the last two districts, Kulgam and Shopian are under process and can be sampled, analysed and mapped by the end of the financial year 2015-16.

• Till date soil fertility maps for eight districts i,e Kupwara , Baramulla, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Pulwama, Budgam and Srinagar have been completed and are available on website of SKUAST Kashmir "shak.skuastkashmir.ac.in".

• Analysis and Mapping of soil samples collected from district Kulgam and Shopian will start  immediately after recieving the financial assistance from the concerned.

• The technology developed will maintain soil fertility and sustain productivity of crops.

• It will help to monitor soil health because geo-referenced sites can be re-visited at any time to know the build up / depletion of nutrient elements.

• It will help to identify the areas which are deficient/sufficient (Hot Spots) of nutrient contents.

• It can be used for precision farming and site specific nutrient management to increase yeild, reduce production cost and   minimize negative impact of excessive fertilizers to environment.

• It will give us accurate information about nutrient status for balanced recommendation of various nutrient elements.

• Papers Published under the Project

• Mapping of micronutrients of the submerged rice soils of Kashmir.                                                            Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 1(4): 458-462.(2010)

  Macro-and Micro-nutrient status of submerged rice soils of Kashmir.                                                        SKUAST, Journal of Research. 13(1&2):30-37.(2011)

  Mapping of soil micronutrients in Kashmir agricultural landscape using ordinary kriging and indicator approach. Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing. 41(2):319-329.(2013)

  Mapping of DTPA extractable cationic micronutrients in soils under rice and maize ecosystems of Kupwara district in Kashmir_A GIS Approach.                                                                                             Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science. 62(4):351-359.(2014)

  Spatial Variability of DTPA Extractable Cationic Micronutrients in Northern Part of Lesser Himalayas using GIS Approach. Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 6(1):8-14.(2015)

• *****************************************