Edaphic Disabilities of Degraded Soils: A Threat to Food Security

摘要

I feel greatly honoured for the opportunity given by Akola Chapter of Indian Society Soil Science for delivering the 11th R.S. Murthy Memorial Lecture. As a tribute to this great soul, I have chosen to speak on the topic "Edaphic disabilities of degraded soils: A threat to food security'. Briefs of the talk are given below: The food and nutritional security warrants the availability of adequate and quality food to meet the dietary and nutritional requirements for a healthy and productive life. However, the demand for burgeoning population of India is ever-increasing and there are considerable speculations as to how to meet their food and its quality demands. Most observers agree that this must be achieved through more productive use of land resources and that this must occur without further degradation. With increased pressures for land from urban agglomerations, expansion in cropland area seems no longer a feasible option. Rather it has since long been static around 141 million hectares (Mha). Thus, the only way possible is considerable improvement in the soil productivity.