COIMBATORE: Following farmers’ demand, the state agricultural department has allocated a mobile soil testing unit to Coimbatore.
V Krishnaveni, joint director of the Agricultural Department, told TNIE, “The unit will become operational in March. Based on various demands, the state government has allocated a few mobile soil testing units for various districts in Tamil Nadu, and one of them has been allocated for Coimbatore. Around 25 samples can be tested per day through the unit. It will be sent to each block and camps will be conducted for farmers to test their soils.”
As farmers from the Athikadavu Kaushika Nadhi Mempattu Sangam have already urged the district administration to set up a block-wise soil testing centre and claimed that it would help farmers adapt to its suitable crop patterns depending upon the soil, they also pointed out that farmers were using excessive fertilizers without knowing their soil type.
Already, the district has a soil testing centre at Lawly Road, RS Puram. Farmers can bring their collected soil and test it at the centre for Rs 20 per sample.Tamil Nadu Agricultural University also cautioned that there was an excessive content of nitrate in some soil due to the high use of fertilizer as farmers lacked soil testing awareness.