Presentation on Mini Lab Mridaparikshak Developed by ICARIndian

Presentation on Mini Lab “Mridaparikshak” Developed by ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal Under NRM Division of ICAR

Why “Mridaparikshak”? • More than 14 crore soil health cards (SHCs) to be prepared and sent to farmers. • Existing Soil Test Kits (STKs) are subject to human error. • Quantitative estimation of micronutrients is also missing. • Hence, this Mini Lab was specifically designed to generate SHC.

Difference between soil test kit and Mridaparikshak Particulars Soil Test Kits Mridaparikshak Sample Scooping (may introduce error) Weighing Shaking Mostly manual (may Shaker (standardized for estimating soil parameters) introduce error) Colour interpretation Mostly Visual Interpretation (exact quantity) Colourimeter (exact estimation) (Introduces error at transition) Results Range of values Exact quantity (digital display) Nutrient Rating Based recommendation STCR based (specific Soil health card Difficult and subject to error Possible with quick dissemination (SMS) for soil and crop)

Mridaparikshak. . . Mridaparikshak estimates 10 parameters, important for assessing the health of the soil. It prescribes fertilizer nutrient doses for both macro and micronutrients Soil Parameters ·p. H ·EC ·Organic Carbon ·Available Nitrogen ·Available Phosphorus ·Available Potassium ·Available Sulphur ·Available Zinc ·Available Iron ·Available Boron Fertilizer Recommendation · · · Nitrogen Phosphate Potash Sulphur Micronutrients

Equipments in Mridparikshak Balance Shaker Hot Plate Smart Soil Pro

Smart Soil Pro • Measures parameters and displays results • 20 -25 samples/day • Can be sent to farmer’s mobile • A soil health card can be generated by using software

How Mridaparikshak works?

Sequence of operations 1. Weigh 4. Filter 7. In Cuvette 2. Transfer & add reagent 5. Transfer 3. Shake 6. Add reagent & develop colour 8. Put in Smart Soil Pro 9. Read

Nutrient Recommendation Select Soil Select Crop

Transfer results to mobile

Results. . . The results as given by Mridaparikshak correspond to the results obtained by soil test laboratories

Comparison of results of Mridaparikshak with that of Laboratory (Accuracy %) मद म पदड Red soil Black soil Alluvial soil Organic C/Available N 90 92 90 Available P 96 95 98 Available K 90 93 94 Available S 91 91 92 Available Fe 90 93 91

Fertilizer Recommendation. . . Mridaparikshak prescribes doses of fertilizer N, P, and K based on the targeted yield equations, developed for different crops and soils. Mridaparikshak also prescribes the doses of S, Zn, B, and Fe based on Critical Level Approach.

Cost of SHC through STL and Mridaparikshak S. No. Activities/Components 1 Cost per SHC Expenditure (STL)* (Rs. ) Expenditure (Mridaparikshak) (Rs. ) 188 160 (Total Cost of sampling, training, analysis, printing, demonstration, and distribution of 10000 SHC) * Draft Operational Guidelines, DAC, 2015

Summary. . . Mridaparikshak is a minilab, easy to operate. It can be operated by young educated farmers/rural youth (12 th Pass). Mridaparikshak employs state-of-the-art technology, the results are stable, and reproducible. Mridaparikshak comes with accessories that can be supplied on demand. These accessories are Geopositioning system and Soil sampling system, Tablet, and Printer.

Price of Mridaparikshak S. No. 1. 2 3 Models/Version Mridaparikshak) (Rs in thousand) Basic unit Without B, and 50 (8 parameters, 50 Fe, no SMS samples) Advanced unit (with SMS) 75 (10 parameters, 100 samples) Complete solution with 100 (10 parameters, accessories (GPS, Soil 100 samples) sampler, Tablet, and Printer)

Why “Mridaparikshak”? • 1200 STL can analyze only 1. 2 crore samples in one year equal to 3. 6 crore in three years. • This is only 25% of the total soil health card need to be generated in three years. • Creation of new infrastructure would require 3600 new STLs, would amount to Rs. 2160 crore. • Existing STKs are qualitative in nature, subject to human error, and can not generate SHC. • Also, the quantitative estimation of micronutrients is missing. • Hence, there was a need to work out Mini Lab specifically designed to generate SHC.