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Event Date
The Awareness Campaign on “Soil Health Management and Balanced Use of Fertilizers” was conducted at Kazhakkoottam Krishibhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, on 11 May 2026.
The agricultural Officer of Kazhakkoottam, Smt. Sithara Sahadevan welcomed the gathering and inaugurated the programme by 10.45 AM. This was followed by an introduction to the awareness programme by Dr. Sujatha, T.P, Scientist (Senior Scale), ICAR-CTCRI.
Dr. Susan John, Principal Scientist, Soil Science, Division of Crop Production, ICAR-CTCRI conducted the technical session on the ‘Soil health management and balanced use of fertilisers’ She emphasised on the use of customised fertilisers, importance of the use of organic manure in maintaining soil health and through the soil microbiome, soil-test-based fertilizer application, and nutrient-use-efficient planting materials, particularly in the context of the present scarcity of fertilizers. She also briefed on the various chemical fertilisers used, importance of soil pH and liming for nutrient uptake by plants and the adverse effect of irrational use of chemical fertilisers.
Sri Biju, Assistant Director of Agriculture, Kazhakkoottam felicitated the programme and emphasised upon the need of balanced use of fertilisers and urged the farmers to stop excessive fertiliser application. Sr. V.K. Prasanth, Kazhakkoottam ward councillor also attended the class and addressed the gathering at the end of the technical session. He also stressed on the importance of orgnisinng such programmes by the Department of Agriculture and ICAR-CTCRI and on maintaining the soil microbial population for improving soil fertility
Majority of the farmers were senior citizens who showed much interest in understanding the topic. Mr. Aswin Raj explained of the various exhibits like biopesticides (Nanm and, Shreya) and bio-fertilisers, bio-control agents etc and how to use them in the field.
The planting time and method of planting of Bhu Krishna Sweet potato variety was explained by Sr. B. Satheesan. The nutrient-use-efficient cassava varieties, namely Sree Pavithra, Sree Annam and Sree Manna and bio-fortified sweet potato variety Bhu Krishna were distributed to the farmers by the ward councillor Sri. V.K. Prasanth. Technical pamphlets on production technologies were distributed to the farmers.The farmers were also acquainted with various farm inputs and technologies developed by ICAR-CTCRI to minimize the use of chemical inputs, which are available at the ICAR-CTCRI sales counter.
A total of 69 farmers attended the program. The programme concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Mr. Aswinn Raj, Skilled support Staff, ICAR-CTCRI.