Today'sPaperNATIONAL

SoilfertilityhasimprovedinPunjab:study
SarabjitPandher

Contrarytoopinionarticulatedthroughvariousquarters,empiricalevidenceandvariousstudieshaveshownthatthe
agronomicpracticessincetheGreenRevolution,especiallydependenceonthewheatpaddycycle,hadonlyimproved
thesoilfertilityinPunjab,wherecroppingintensityhasreached190percent.Areductioninfertilizerconsumption
notwithstanding,soilproperties,presenceofmicronutrientsandyieldsofcropshaveseenmajorimprovement.
While,notedeconomist,H.S.Shergill,hascollatedscatteredevidence,thefindingonimprovedfertilityhasbeenmade
inresearchconductedbytwoscientistsD.K.BenbiandJ.S.BrarattheDepartmentofSoilsinthePunjabAgricultural
University.TheyanalysedmorethanthreelakhploughlevelsoilsamplestakenfromvariouspartsofPunjabover25
yearssince1980.
ThoughforsomereasonsthestudybythetwoscientistswasrejectedbyexpertsandtheStategovernmentasitwasnot
consideredintheinterestsofPunjabsfarmeconomy,theirfindingswerepublishedbyaninternationaljournal,
AgronomyforSustainableDevelopment.
ThepapertitledA25yearrecordforcarbonsequestrationandsoilpropertiesinintensiveagriculturehighlighted
thatfrom1980to2005,whiletheorganicmatterhadincreasedby38percent,phosphorouscontentwentupfrom19.9
to29.2kgperhectareandpotassiumremainedsteadybetween108to123mgperkg,andsoilsalinitycamedownbyat
least0.8pHpointsfrom8.5.
Whilestudieshaveestablishedthatsoilorganiccarbon(SOC)wentdownconsiderablyinintensivelycropped
temperateaswellastropicalregionsoftheworld,thepostGreenRevolutionagronomicpracticeshaveresultedinSOC
increasingfrom2.9to4.0mgperkgofsoilinPunjab.Theploughinginoffarmresidueandfloodingoffieldsduring
paddycultivation,amelioratedsoilsalinityaswellasincreasedavailabilityofnitrogen,phosphorous,zinc,ironand
manganese.Dataindicatedthatthecropscoulduptakeonly30percentofthephosphorousfromthefertilizerapplied.
Otherstudieshaveindicatedthatthepracticeofburningpaddystraw,whichcreatesamajorenvironmentissueevery
harvest,actuallybenefitedthesoilastheresidualashcontained10percentpotassiumandonepercentphosphorous.
Heavyapplicationofphosphatefertilizershasalsoresultedinthebuildofthemineral.Useoftubewellwaterfor
irrigationhashelpedmaintainpotassiumlevels.
Ananalysis,ofvariouscropscultivatedbetween1980and1999,byProf.KaramSinghfromPAUsDepartmentof
Economicshasfoundthatyieldofwheatinthewheatpaddyrotationremainedthehighest.Itrosefrom29.97to44.87
quintalsperhectare.Inasubsequentstudy,Prof.Shergillestablishedthattheyieldsofwheatandrice,wereincreasing
evenafter40yearsofintroductionofhighyieldingvariety(HYV)seeds.However,therateofincreaseinyieldsduring
thepost1990era,hasdeclined.
Prof.Shergillsaiddataduringthetrienniumbeginning199293indicatedthatfertilizerusedtoproduceaquintalof
ricehadreducedfrom3.76to2.98kg,whileforwheatthesamewentdown5.38to5.33kg.Collatingotherstudies,he
alsoarguedthatthefallingroundwatertable,whichisattributedtothewheatpaddycyclehadalsosolvedthewater
loggingproblemsinmanypartsofPunjab.
PostGreenRevolutionagronomicpracticeshaveincreasedsoilorganiccarbon