A machine worth ₹1 crore has been imported from the USA for soil testing. The soil and plant testing facility will be provided free of cost to the farmers.
The state department of agriculture has set up its first plant clinic in Moga district, costing ₹1.25 crore. The clinic aims to help farmers prevent diseases in plants and crops. Agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian will inaugurate the facility on Monday.
A machine worth ₹1 crore has been imported from the USA for soil testing. The soil and plant testing facility will be provided free of cost to the farmers.
Moga chief agriculture officer Jaswinder Singh Brar said, “This is the first plant clinic of the state department of agriculture. Earlier, there was only one such clinic, established in the Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. We had sent a proposal to the NITI Ayog last year, which was approved and a grant of ₹1.25 crore was released. An advanced-level soil testing machine has been imported from the USA that can test 70 elements present in the soil. This machine can test 30 samples of soil in an hour,” he said.
“After observing test reports, the agriculture experts will be able to advise farmers about the prevention of diseases in plants and suggest how to improve deficiency in soils. Apart from the testing machine, we have purchased a number of other equipment, including a digital microscope,” he added.