Impact

To optimise the use of plant nutrients, it was thought to leverage the strength and resources of all the stakeholders such as Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC) and National Informatics Centre (NIC); district-wise applicability of fertiliser prescription equations for food, feed, fibre, fruit, vegetable, flower, medicinal and other cash crops under different agro-ecological regions have been documented and transferred to DAC, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare which was included in the online Decision Support System developed under soil health card scheme of Govt. of India

(http://soilhealth.dac.gov.in/Report/STRCReport/STCRReport).

Financial returns vary from soil to soil, crop to crop and location to location. However, FLDs confirmed an increase in benefit cost ratios through STCR technology over control/ farmers’ practice or application of general recommended dose  An appraisal of the effect of nutrients (NPK) applied on crop yield and benefit: cost ratios (BCR), both under STCR without organic manure and under STCR-IPNS approach of nutrient recommendation for 15 agricultural and horticultural crops showed that out of 66 crop x target combinations, the BCR was between 1and 2 in 35 % cases and between 2.1 and 3.0 in 62% cases. In 3% cases BCR was above 3.lrrespective of the crops, higher yield has been recorded at higher yield targets over lower target coupled with higher net return and BCR. Irrespective of the crops and yield targets, yield increase was higher with STCR-IPNS than under NPK applied through fertilizers alone.

During the last five decades the STCR project has generated numerous fertilizer adjustment equations for achieving targeted yields of important crops on different soils in different agro ecological regions of the country. These fertilizer adjustment equations have been tested in follow up and frontline demonstrations conducted in different parts of the country. A metadata analysis of these trials showed that STCR-based fertilizer application helped to obtain higher response ratios (kg grain/kg nutrients) over a wide range of agro-ecological regions as compared to farmer’s practice as evidenced by the following table:

AICRP (STCR) has made efforts to reach the unreach and serve the unserved through Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) programme in some of the remotest corners of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himanchal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and West Bengal; in XII plan so far, more 1000 demonstrations were conducted in tribal farmers’ field wherein STCR recommendations proved superior. Besides, more than 150 trainings were also conducted under TSP for the benefit of tribal farmers.