AgrotechResearchers on the Earth Rover Program are adapting seismology to farmland: sensors time how fast a sound from a footstamp or hammer blow travels through the ground and turn it into a 3D map of soil layers and bulk density.
OpinionDown To Earth's Sunita Narain says 13 million soil health cards show soils still short of nitrogen despite 20% more fertiliser use, and calls for measuring the biological health of soil.
OrganicNemlab consultant Sheila Storey says a balanced soil food web of fungi, bacteria and nematodes recycles nutrients, holds water and helps crops resist pests, and that six soil-health principles, not quick fixes, are what build it.
CropsAt the Conservation Agriculture Research Forum in Potchefstroom, researchers using the DRiS method and farmer trial leaders argued that soil nutrient ratios and on-farm testing matter more than high fertiliser rates.
AgrotechHasibur Rahman Khan, a student at Khwaja Yunus Ali University, built a robot that moves through a field on its own, measures soil moisture and nutrients, applies fertiliser and uses an AI camera to find crop disease and weeds; it cost about Tk 65,000.
AgrotechBiochar made by heating straw, wood and crop residue without oxygen raised maize yields by up to 29 per cent and aus rice by 23 per cent alongside balanced fertiliser, and could cut urea use by a quarter, scientists told a BARC workshop.
CropsManitoba Agriculture soil health specialist Megan Westphal says growers can judge aggregate stability with a simple slake test, and should wait two to four weeks after heavy rain, seeding or tillage before testing.
CropsFarmers in Tarash, Ullapara and around Chalan Beel say several times more pesticide no longer controls stem borer; agriculture officials urge integrated pest management and more organic fertiliser.
CropsOnce a day labourer with no say over her family's 12 acres, Sunita Nehare of Pachod in Maharashtra now runs the farm, raising cotton yields from about 1 quintal an acre to 7.14 with soil and water conservation.
CropsAn Ohio conservation district technician sets out which cover crops suit which soil problem, from annual rye and oats to crimson clover, hairy vetch and winter peas that fix 70 to 90 pounds of nitrogen an acre.
CropsWith harvest running late across much of the US Corn Belt, agronomists say cover crop decisions have to be made field by field, and aerial seeding may work where drilling cannot.
CropsA farmer's guide on FarmingPortal explains how heavy axle loads compact soil, how a single pass of 10-ton axles can cut corn yields by up to 27 percent in a dry year, and how wider, low-pressure tyres, dry-soil traffic and varied tillage depths help prevent damage.
Citing ICAR's analysis of 242,000 soil samples and a national survey that found 39% of soils short of zinc, the writer argues that fixing soil micronutrients is the start of better nutrition for crops, livestock and people.
