“Soil Science: An Extension Perspective” offers a comprehensive exploration of soil science principles, management practices, and extension education strategies designed to empower farmers, landowners, and communities in making informed decisions for sustainable soil management and agricultural development. By providing practical guidance, case studies, and success stories, this book serves as an invaluable resource for extension professionals, educators, policy-makers, and individuals passionate about promoting soil health and environmental stewardship. Through its rich content, the book aims to inspire action, foster collaboration, and facilitate knowledge exchange to address the challenges and opportunities in soil conservation and sustainable agriculture. Whether you are a seasoned extension agent seeking new insights or a novice farmer eager to learn, “Soil Science: An Extension Perspective” offers a wealth of information and inspiration to guide you on your journey towards building resilient and productive soil ecosystems for future generations.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar Raina, B.Sc. (Agriculture) from SKUAST, Kashmir (1999), M.Sc.(Ag.) Soil Science & Agril. Chemistry from CSAUA&T, Kanpur (2001) and Ph.D. (Ag.) Soil Science with specialization in Soil Fertility/Plant Nutrition from CSK HPKV, Palampur (2007) has qualified National Eligibility Test (NET) for Junior Scientist/ Assistant Professor in Soil Chemistry/Fertility and Microbiology and Qualified All India Entrance Exam for M.Sc. (JRF) conducted by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) having more than seventeen years of teaching, research and extension experience is presently working as a Professor/Chief Scientist (Soil Science) in Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, Srinagar, J&K (India) (www.skuastkashmir.ac.in). He has been teaching different courses pertaining to soil science to under graduate and post-graduate students of the faculties of Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry and Fisheries of the university since 2008. He has guided 8 M.Sc. students as a Major Advisor and Member Advisory Committee. Served as an external examiner to various under-graduate classes of different universities. Has served as a City Coordinator and Observer for the Srinagar Centre for various examinations conducted by National Testing Agency. Referee/ Reviewer of different Journals like Indian Journal of Soil Conservation, Research Journal of SKUAST-K, Journal of Environmental, Agropedology, Fertilizers and Pesticides open access journal, Asian Journal of Agriculture and Forestry. Besides Councillor of Indian Society of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur is Member of different Professional Societies like Indian Society of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (Agropedology), SKUAST Journal of Research-Kashmir, Indian Ecological Society, Journal of Environmental Biology, Society of Integrated Development of Agriculture, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences (SIDAVES), Indian Society of Soil Science. He is the Editorial Board Member of eleven international research journals. To his credit are 84 publications including Review Papers, Research papers, Books/Book Chapters, chapters in Training Compendium, Training Manual edited, Technical/Extension/Popular Articles), Newspaper Column, Paper/Posters presented in Congress/Conferences/ Workshops/Trainings/ Seminars/ Symposium. He has delivered 7 TV / Radio talks & more than 55 Lectures in various trainings for farmers and officers of developmental departments. He has conducted more than 80 Capacity building workshops for extension officers of various agriculture and allied departments. He has attended 26 Capacity building trainings including six summer/winter schools. Participated as a Resource Person in more than 50 Disease Diagnostic Team Visits and Awareness Camps. As an Agriculture Technology Information Centre (ATIC) Manager and Resource Person, he has been attending various farmers and farmer groups visiting the university. He has helped in the conduct of 18 Kissan Melas/ Kissan Ghoshti/Kisan Melas. He remained member of various important committees, has attended five conferences of regional and national repute.
Dr. Subhash Chand born on 25th July 1972 in a small village viz. Nagla Kalyan, Bharatpur, Rajasthan in a farmer family. Presently working as a Professor-cum Chief Scientist of Soil Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Campus -Shalimar, Srinagar-190025 UT of Jammu and Kashmir. He is lifetime member of six Scientific Societies viz. Indian Science Congress Association- Kolkata, Indian Association of Soil and Water Conservationist, Dehradun, Indian Society of Soil Science, New Delhi, Soil Conservation Society of India, New Delhi, and Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Dehradun, Indian Society of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur. Dr Subhash did his B.Sc. (Ag.) Honours and M.Sc. (Ag.) Honours in Soil Science from Rajasthan Agriculture University, Bikaner in 1995 & 1997 respectively. He earned his Ph.D. (Ag.) in Soil Science form Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur in 2001. He has received Best PG Course Work Seminar Award & Somani Book Award (essay competition) by ISSS Udaipur Chapter during 1995-1997. and PG University Merit Scholarship during his PG. Dr. Subhash is an elected member of Association of Soil and Water Conservationist, Dehradun for 2022-23. He was also a Councillor –North zone of ISSS&LUP, Nagpur for 2014-15. Dr Subhash has 25 years of experience of Teaching of UG, PG and PhD, Research and Extension in SAU System. He is the member of editorial board of several national and international journal of repute. He has presented his work at Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany in 2010. He Co-Chaired Technical and Parallal sessions at GBPUAT, Pantnagar and RARI, Gurgapura. He has authored five books. His area of research interest is soil fertility and plant nutrition, integrated nutrient management, potassium management, soil water, air pollution, etc. In total, he has published 169 publications including popular articles, research papers, conference seminar papers, etc. in soil sciences. He was also awarded Bhoominirman Award and Prashasti Patra in 2011 by Bhoominirman Group at Indore for his work.
Dr. Shakeel Mir has a Bachelor’s degree from SKUAST Kashmir (1999), Master from BHU, Varanasi and Doctorate in Soil Science from SKUAST-K. With an experience of over two decades, he has guided more than 15 Ph.D. and M.Sc. students in the field of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry. He has more than 50 national and international research publications to his name. Currently, he is working as a Professor cum-chief scientist in SKUAST-Kashmir.
1. Introduction to Soil Science ................................................................1
2. Soil Properties and Characteristics ..................................................13
3. Soil Management Practices ...............................................................33
4. Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Health ........................................49
5. Soil Testing and Analysis ..................................................................59
6. Soil Amendments and Nutrient Management ...............................71
7. Soil Health Assessment and Monitoring ........................................83
8. Soil Conservation and Land Use Planning .....................................95
9. Extension Education Methods and Approaches..........................105
10. Case Studies and Success Stories ...................................................121
Conclusion: Nurturing Soil Stewards ...........................................145
References ..........................................................................................147
