ABSTRACT
Soil information can be used to estimate the potentials and limitations of soils for a variety of purposes. Soil surveys provide valuable information needed to make workable land management plans. To maintain optimal soil conditions for plant growth, it is crucial to understand the properties of the soil in order to choose the right crop, schedule irrigation, amend the soil, and understand drainage requirements. Information from soil surveys is a crucial component of technology transfer. Farm productivity varies because of the misallocation of factors of production across heterogeneous production units. We use soil resources information and the package of practices for agricultural crops as benchmarks for comparing fertiliser requirements for farmers of diverse types of farms. Fertiliser use deviation from soil test-based fertiliser requirements and blanket recommendations is calculated as a misallocation.
This chapter is focused on identifying the land resource constraints and potential status of Nanjevanapura village in the Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka provided by the Udigala Horticultural Producers Company that was established in 2016 by the Department of Horticulture, Government of Karnataka. To fulfil the objectives of Farmers Producers Organisation (FPO), an attempt was made to develop a land resources inventory and provide land resources data to enhance horticultural production efficiency. It has been shown that the extent of fertiliser misallocation in tomato production across farms shows that there are considerable possibilities for reducing excess fertiliser application by Rs. 1,095 (472 to 2170) and deficit fertiliser application by Rs. 808 (472 to 1350) per ha. This conclusively supports the argument for avoiding the cost of fertiliser misallocation besides its impact on soil fertility degradation. By using soil information, one can reduce the cost of cultivation and improve the productivity and long-term sustainability of farmer producer companies, as one has to identify production clusters and estimate demand for inputs for planning production.
