World Soil Day was celebrated at Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Directorate of Natural Resource Management, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore by organizing 6th Dr. B. Ramamoorthy memorial lecture.
Dr. K. Arulmozhiselvan, Professor and Head, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry welcomed the gathering. Dr. C. Jayanthi, Director,
Crop Management, introduced the speaker Dr. M. Velayutham, Former Director, National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Indian Council of Agriculture Research, Nagpur.
Dr. K. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University presided over the function. The Vice Chancellor in his presidential address pointed the role of Soil Scientists in maintaining the soil health. He emphasized the need for Farmer Centric Agriculture at this juncture with modern media application.
Dr. B. Ramamoorthy was the pioneer in promoting Soil test based fertilizer use research in the country through the concept of Targeted Yield approach and the Law of optimum underlying this concept. This 6th memorial lecture is a homage to his memory by his close associate Dr. M. Velayutham, at his Alma Mater, TNAU, Coimbatore.
In his speech highlighted that the country has initiated National Soil Health Card Scheme in 2015 which is more relevant than before, to increase the productivity of the farm lands. Soil fertility maintenance and upgradation is ranked as the first strategy for EverGreen Revolution. Soil test based fertilizer recommendation research and its adoption by the farmers through the large number of soil testing laboratories is the need of the hour, for triggering a soil health revolution as a major plank for realizing the targets of food production and ensuring food security for all.
The United Nations rightly designated 2015 as the International Year of Soils. The International Society of Soil Science, Vienna, has pronounced the years from 2015 to 2024 as the Decade of Soils and has exhorted nations to promote sustainable soil management practices so that we can hand over the soil and land to the future generation without its production potential undiminished.
A book in Tamil entitled “Soil Test and Yield Target based Fertilizer Prescriptions for Crops – An overview of outreach activities in Tribal Villages
of Tamil Nadu” was released and distributed to the participants. The book highlights the role of plant nutrients and their deficiency symptoms, outreach activities of All India Co-ordinated Research project on Soil Test Crop Response under Tribal Sub plan in Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem and Dindigul districts of Tamil Nadu and the ready reckoner of fertilizer doses for various soils and crops of Tamil Nadu
Dr. P. Balasubramanian, Professor (SS&AC) and Indian Society of Soil Science Councilor proposed the vote of thanks.