Sample Collection Technique for Soil testing

To reap the real benefit of soil testing it is imperative that the soil sample be taken correctly and in a scientific way. In the lab only 60 gm soil sample is actually tested and based on this fertilisers are recomended for the entire land.
That is why it is necessary that the soil sample sent for testing should represent the entire land and if the sample is not taken properly then the farmers will be deprived of the benefits on the basis of the analysis of the soil.

• Clean and remove the waste, leaves and plants including roots if any from the area where soil sample is to be collected. Care should be taken not to harm the earth layer.
• Soil sample should be taken just after crop harvesting.
• If there are different kind of soils in the fields or there are different crops in the different areas for the field then sample should be taken separately from those areas.
• Samples should not be taken from areas like road, drain, hole etc. 8 to 10 places should be marked in the entire land for taking soil sample which should be far off from any cow-dung heap.
• Dig a 10 X 10 X 15 cm area for taking soil sample. Put a clean paper or cloth inside that area and start collecting soil from one side of the wall from top to bottom.Mix all such soils collected & remove debries if any.
• After mixing all the soils well divide the soil into 4 equal parts. Remove 2 parts and mix the remaining 2 parts. Mix them well to uniform. Again devide the soil in 4 equal parts , remove 2 parts and mix the remaining 2 parts well. Continue the process till only 1/2 Kg.soil is left out. This is the soil sample ready to be sent to lab for testing. Put this sample in a plastic bag and leble it.
• If the soil is wet then dry it under shade.
• If the soil is alkaline, salty or acidic then sample should be collected from the deep earth & lab incharge should be contacted for more information for getting specialised sample collection

S.No.	Crop	Soil sampling depth
		Inches	cm
1	Grasses and grasslands	2	5
2	Rice, finger millet, groundnut, pearl millet, small millets etc.(shallow rooted crops)	6	15
3	Cotton, sugarcane, banana, tapioca, vegetables etc. (deep rooted crops)	9	22
4	Perennial crops, plantations and orchard crops	Three soil samples at 12, 24 and  36 inches	Three soil samples at 30, 60 and 90 cm