BSS, Rajshahi :
Large-scale promotion of organic and compost fertilizer and its uses in the farming fields can help protecting the soil nutrients from further degradation.
Plant and animal waste based fertilizer plays a vital role in making the soil nutrients being declined due to repeated crop farming as revealed by the soil scientists and agriculture researchers while talking to BSS here.
Besides, wide-ranging cultivation of high yielding and hybrid varieties of different crops and vegetables, disproportionate use of chemical fertilizers and harmful pesticides for repeated crop harvesting is being blamed for the continuing soil nutrients decline.
They also observed that 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.
Mahabubur Rahman, Scientific Officer of Regional Laboratory of Soil Resource Development Institute, said here that soil test based balanced fertilization has great scope to overcome the crisis through restoring plant nutrient in the soil.
Quoting his research findings he said depletion of soil organic matter triggers nutrient mining together with negative balance aggravating soil fertility and soil degradation declining crop productivity in particular.
He mentioned that optimum level of organic matter is a must for building and maintaining positive soil properties and normal soil ecosystem that supports plant growth.
Sufficient organic matter is also imperative for creating a positive soil environment from which plants can uptake nutrients from applied chemical fertilizers.
It acts as the storehouse of nutrient elements and produce all plant nutrient elements both macro and micro in environmental way.
Mahabubur Rahman said organic matter improves the chemical and physical properties of soil like its structure by acting as binding agent and the good structure enhances a favourable air- water status of soil from which plant and micro-organisms can take air, water and nutrient elements.
Organic elements enhance microbial activity by serving as energy source and the microbiological transformations like nitrogen and sulfur mineralization side by side with improving chemical properties including the water and nutrient holding capacity.
“Input and output balance of plant nutrient elements should be equal for maintaining the nutrient status of the soil,” said Mahbubur Rahman.
If the present practices of indiscriminate and disproportionate uses of chemical fertilizers and harmful pesticides prolong there has been an apprehension of permanent yield decline and soil degradation.
Appropriate measures should be taken to sustain the soil productivity and underscored the need for popularizing the integrated plant nutrient system among the farmers for soil test based fertilization.
Dr Shakhawat Hossain, Senior Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, said emphasis should be given on motivating the farmers towards adopting soil test based fertilization recommendations from the nearby laboratory and soil fertility management considerations to optimise nutrient input.
Farmers’ knowledge should be upgraded on how to prepare compost heap, collect soil sample from field and send to laboratory for chemical analysis and preparation of fertilizer recommendation cards through proper training in every cropping season.
“We have no way but to bring all the farmers under the soil test based fertilization to build up, maintain and restore the soil properties positive to plant growth using abundant organic materials to the soil,” Dr Hossain added.
