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Use of Geographical Information System based Fertility Maps as a Fertilizer

Decision Support Tool in Small Holder Farming Systems
K. Majumdar
1
, Wasim IItikar
2
, G.N. Chattopadhyay
2
and G. D. Sulewski
1

1 International Plant Nutrition Institute; 2 Visva Bharati University, Shantiniketan, India

Soil test-based Iertility management is an eIIective tool Ior increasing productivity oI agricultural
soils that have a high degree oI spatial variability. However, major constraints impede wide-scale
adoption oI soil testing in most developing countries. In South and South East Asian countries,
the combined inIluences oI poor inIrastructure, high implementation costs, and a diverse mosaic
oI smallholder Iarmers have limited the eIIectiveness oI soil test-based Iertilization programmes.
Under this context, Geographical InIormation System (GIS)-based soil Iertility mapping has
appeared as a promising alternative. Use oI such maps as decision support tool Ior nutrient
management will not only be helpIul Ior adopting a rational approach compared to blanket use oI
one recommendation across large areas, but will also reduce the necessity Ior elaborate plot-by-
plot soil testing activities. The reported village-level pilot study outlines a cost eIIective option
oI implementing improved nutrient management in large tracts oI small scale Iarming systems in
Asia.
The study was conducted at Meherpur village oI Birbhum district in the lateritic soil zone oI
West Bengal, India. Geo-reIerenced soil samples were collected on a 50-m grid and were
analyzed Ior common soil productivity attributes by standard procedures. The analyzed data
were then integrated into a GIS platIorm and an inverse distance weighted (IDW) method oI
interpolation created continuous surIace maps Ior each parameter, allowing estimation oI soil
properties Ior un-sampled points within the study area.
The relative eIIectiveness oI Iertilizer recommendations generated using the GIS map was
evaluated against results obtained Irom common Iarmers` practice, blanket Iertilizer
recommendation and Iield speciIic soil test-based Iertilization in a rice-potato-sesame cropping
system. The yield and economic comparisons (Table 1) showed that the GIS-based Iertilization
strategy outperIormed the existing practices and were statistically at par with the actual Iield
speciIic soil test-based Iertilizer application.

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Table.1. Yield and economics of production in rice-potato sesame sequence under different
crop fertilization strategy
Treatment Rice Potato Sesame
Yield, t/ha Economics, INR Yield,
t/ha
Economics, INR Yield, t/ha Economics, INR
Grain Straw Net
Return
Return
per INR
invested
Tuber Net
Return
Return
per INR
invested
Seed Stick Net
Return
Return
per INR
invested
FP 4.2 4.6 20,592 1.90 28.7 38,210 1.50 0.8 3.0 3,928 1.22
BR 4.4 5.0 21,544 1.91 22.5 20,962 1.30 1.2 3.9 8,278 1.51
STR 4.7 6.0 25,614 2.05 28.3 41,556 1.58 1.4 4.2 11,267 1.66
GIS 4.7 6.0 24,760 2.02 27.6 39,128 1.55 1.4 4.1 11,457 1.68
CD at
5
0.26 0.32 - - 6.4 - - 0.3 0.4 - -
FP: Farmers` Practice; BR: Blanket recommendation; STR: Soil test-based recommendation; GIS: GIS fertility map based
recommendation
We conducted another study simultaneously to assess the eIIect oI grid size on map development
and predictability oI soil Iertility status. Maps developed Irom three diIIerent grid size sampling,
50m, 100m and 250m, were used to develop Iertilizer recommendation Ior the rice-potato-maize
sequence to arrive at a cost eIIective grid size oI sampling. No signiIicant yield diIIerence was
Iound in rice and sesame between the three diIIerent map-based Iertilizer recommendations. In
potato, the 50m and 100m grid-based maps produced better yield than the 250m grid-based map
(Table 2).

Table 2. Evaluation of fertilizer recommendation developed from different grid-based soil
sampling for rice-potato sesame sequence
Treatment Rice Potato Sesame
Grain Straw Tuber Seed Stick
FP 4.0 4.2 27.7 0.8 2.7
BR 4.3 4.8 21.9 1.2 3.9
GIS (50m grid) 4.5 5.8 27.2 1.4 4.1
GIS (100m grid) 4.4 5.6 27.1 1.4 4.1
GIS (250m grid) 4.3 5.3 25.5 1.4 3.9
Soil Test 4.6 5.9 27.3 1.4 4.2
CD at 5 0.3 0.5 1.6 0.2 0.3
FP: Farmers` Practice; BR: Blanket recommendation; STR: Soil test-based
recommendation; GIS: GIS fertility map based recommendation

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The GIS-based strategy, through its lower sampling density, provides a cost eIIective solution as
compared to the rigorous plot-by-plot sampling required Ior adoption oI soil test-based
Iertilization. Economic advantage oI using a GIS-based approach under the current setting is
given in Table 3.

Table 3. Outline of implementation cost associated with GIS-Based fertilization strategy in
the study village
Total number of land holdings 543
Total cultivated area of the village in
hectares
76
Actual cost of plot-by-plot sampling (N, P, K
at subsidized rate)
543 X INR 50 INR 27,150
Actual cost of soil testing for developing GIS
map

50m X 50m grid sampling 304 X INR 50 INR 15,200
100m X 100m grid sampling 76 X INR 50 INR 3,800
250m X 250m grid sampling 19 X INR 50 INR 950

In contrast to the developing country, where precision nutrient management addresses in-Iield
nutrient variability in large-scale individual operations, this study addresses spatial variability oI
soil parameters between Iields at the village scale. Adoption oI such approach will help
stakeholders avoid the inIrastructural and cost constraints associated with implementation oI soil
test-based Iertilization strategies in smallholder Iarming systems. This is likely to improve crop
productivity, nutrient use eIIiciency, and consequently, the proIitability oI production systems.

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Abstract Category:
eAgriculture
ood Security and ICT
Role oI ICT in Education, Research and Extension

Corresponding Author Information:
Dr. K. Majumdar, Director, International Plant Nutrition Institute-South Asia Program, 354,
Sector-21, Gurgaon-122016, Haryana. Phone: 0124-2461694; Email: kmajumdaripni.net
Brief Bio: Dr. Majumdar heads the South Asia Program oI International Plant Nutrition Institute,
a not-Ior-proIit agronomic research and education organization headquartered in Norcross, USA.
Dr. Majumdar has a Ph. D. in Soil Chemistry/Mineralogy Irom Rutgers University, New Jersey,
USA, and his current research interests are developing strategies and tools Ior implementation oI
improved nutrient management in diversiIied production systems in South Asia Ior increasing
crop productivity and Iarm proIit.

Co-author Information:
Mr. Wasim IItikar, Research ellow, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal
Dr. G. N. Chattopadhyay, Soil Scientist, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal
Mr. G. D. Sulewski, Agronomic & Technical Support Manager, International Plant Nutrition
Institute