A new mobile soil test laboratory has been inducted into service in Karur district. The Rs.40 lakh facility that incorporates a range of advanced soil testing equipment will be a boon to farmers.
This assumes significance as the district administration is preparing a farmers’ handbook for better agricultural practices.
The aim of the exercise is to breathe life into the State government’s avowed desire of doubling agricultural productivity and trebling rural income through better farm practices adopting recent agricultural techniques and findings, District Collector S.Jayandhi said after inspecting the facility here.
The advanced mobile laboratory is equipped with EC meter to gauge the saline content in soil, pH meter to measure the alkaline content, spectrophotometer, flame photometer, and computer controlled atomic absorption spectrometer.
The facility would hugely help prepare farmers’ handbook that could be a guide to farmers in choosing the crop, deciding the cropping pattern, season of agriculture, and all specific data required to make farming a rewarding practice, officials said.
Joint Director of Agriculture M.Deivendran, Deputy Director P.Sivanandam, and Assistant Director Lakshmanasamy were present during the inspection of the mobile soil testing laboratory.
