BENEFITS OF SOIL TESTING

Soil testing is defined as the method of carrying out a series of tests in order to control the fertility and or the pH value of a soil sample. A fertile soil sample must contain all the vital nutrients which include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K).The pH value indicates the sample’s acidity or alkalinity. There are so many equipment available in the market nowadays to test the quality of the soil such as soil compaction testing equipment and some others are also there.

Probably, the most commonly conducted soil tests are those, which have been done to evaluate the plant-available concentrations of plant nutrients, in order to determine fertilizer recommendations in agriculture. Other soil tests may be done for engineering (geotechnical), geochemical or ecological investigations.  You can perform the soil test when you need to know the following things:

• The current pH level of the soil,

• Fertility level of principal nutrients,

• Type and quantity of lime required by the soil,

• Quantity of fertilizer needed by the crop, and

• Nutrients in the form of fertilizer to be added to the soil.

Here are some benefits of soil testing in agriculture-

• Helps to maintain soil fertility- As nowadays, there are so many pollutants in the soil, which are released by industries and some other sources, which includes harmful gases and chemicals, excess fertilizers, agriculture. In addition to all these pollutants, there may be some other reasons of soil contamination such as leaching, soil erosion, mono-cropping, continuous cropping and change in the pH of the soil, which can decrease soil fertility and consequently, its yield. Mainly, the soil testing is employed for quick classification of the inherent fertility status of soils and foreseeing the nutrient requirements of plants.A fertile sample of the soil must contain macro-nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and micro-nutrients like calcium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, zinc, copper, boron, molybdenum, nickel, etc. in the proper amount.  

• Aids better soil management- As it was discussed earlier, soil testing helps will help in determining the fertility or pH value of a certain sample. So, with the help of this information, you can easily find out the type of crops that you can grow the best on a particular type of soil.Soil testing will advocate the balanced and careful use of fertilizers, which will help you in reducing the overall cost and mitigating the consequences of global warming. More wanted results can be achieved by adopting proper soil sampling techniques. So, a soil test that has been carried out with care, appropriately analysed and acted upon might be the best investment moving forward, especially if you have under-performing fields.

• Usage of Soil Testing in the Construction Industry- Soil testing is also used in construction projects, which to inspect the chemical and geotechnical properties of a sample, and determine its strength, density, compaction, contamination, sand content, among other parameters. 

Nowadays, there are so many automated devices available in the market for soil testing. So, you can take an soil testing machine to test the soil quality and various other parameters.