Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry

was established in the year 1969 with the formation of Punjabrao Krishi Vidyapeeth on 20th October, 1969, then renamed as Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola on 17th April, 1992. The department was established to cater the needs of teaching, research and extension in the field of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry. The educational programmes leading to M.Sc. (Agri.) and Ph. D. in Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry and Land Resource Management along with various research programmes and allied extension activities are conducted successfully.

The department has total intake capacity of 20 M.Sc. and two Ph.D. students in Soil Science and Agril. Chemistry and six M.Sc. and two Ph.D. students in Soil Science and Agril. Chemistry with specialization in Land Resource Management every year. The Center for Post Graduate Education and Research in Land Resource Management was established in the department in the year 1987 in collaboration with National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (ICAR), Nagpur. The main objective of the Center of Land Resource Management is to identify, generate and correlate the data required for land resource management for optimum utilization of limited land resources.

Courses Offered

=> Master Of Science (M.Sc.) Soil Science and Agriculture Chemistry
=> Master Of Science (M.Sc.) Soil Science & Agril. Chemistry with specialization in Land Resource Management
=> Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D) Soil Science and Agril. Chemistry
=> Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D) Soil Science & Agril. Chemistry with specialization in Land Resource Management

Research & Development / Topic

Research Activities

Research Themes

=> Integrated Nutrient Management
=> Soil Quality/ Soil Health: Assessment and Enhancement
=> Long Term Fertilizer Management
=> Soil Mineralogy, Genesis, Survey and Classification
=> Micronutrient Management
=> Soil Biology
=> Soil Carbon Sequestration
=> Land Resource Management
=> Land Evaluation
=> Land Degradation and Restoration
=> Crop Residue Management
=> Dry Land Agriculture Technologies
=> Watershed Management
=> Remote Sensing and GIS for soil resource studies

Research Achievements

=> Generated technology for salt affected soils
=> Evolved Integrated Nutrient Management technologies for various crops and cropping systems
=> Delineated micronutrient status of soils of Vidarbha
=> Generated dry land agriculture technology
=> Generated technologies for soil resource studies using Remote Sensing and GIS
=> Soil Quality evaluation under long term fertilizer experiment on sorghum-wheat
=> Released recommendations on soil management and fertilizer use for the benefit of farmers

Research Projects

=> AICRP for Dryland Agriculture
=> AICRP on Post Harvest Technology
=> All India Coordinated Research Project on Long Term Fertilizer
=> All India Coordinated Research Project on Micro and Secondary Nutrients and Pollutant Elements in Soils and Plants (ICAR)
=> Center for Post Graduate Education and Research in Land Resource Management (State Scheme)

Infrastructure

The well equipped laboratories are established in the Department with advanced instruments for soil, water, plant and manure samples analysis by the research staff as well as post graduate students.

=> Soil Testing Laboratory
=> Post Graduate Students Laboratory
=> Soil Physics Laboratory
=> Micronutrient and Heavy Metal Testing laboratory
=> Soil Fertility Laboratory (Long Term Fertilizer Experiment)
=> Instrumentation Cell