6113

Adoption	Behavior	of	Paddy	Farmers	on	Soil	Health	Card	
Recommendations	

D.	Vignesh	Kumar1	and		A.	Janaki	Rani2

ABSTRACT
 The study was conducted in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu to assess the adoption behavior of 
paddy farmers on Soil Health Card (SHC) based recommendations. A total of 120 paddy farmers who were 
the beneficiaries of SHC scheme were contacted to collect the data. A pre tested interview schedule was 
used to collect the data. The results revealed that overall adoption on SHC recommendations found to 
be medium (45.50%). With regard to straight fertilizers application before the introduction of SHC 40.80 
percent of the respondents had applied excess NPK fertilizers. After the introduction, the excess range has 
been reduced up to 5.8 per cent and in the same way the deficient application was also rectified by 4.7 
per cent of the farmers. With regard to complex fertilizers 12.8 per cent of the respondents had followed 
the exact recommendation of complex fertilizers. The adoption behavior of micronutrients showed that 
29.50 per cent of respondents followed recommended dose of micronutrients after SHC scheme. About 
6.00 per cent respondents had started to follow the correct dose of Bio fertilizers after the introduction 
of SHC. Overall adoption level of the farmers was up to medium level and hence emphasis is needed to 
inspire the farmers to adopt soil testing practices and soil fertility management.

Keywords: Paddy farmers; Adoption; Soil Health Card scheme; Tamil Nadu.

Received	:	13-01-2019;	Accepted	:	01-02-2019

1. PG Scholar, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai and 2. Assistant Professor (Agricultural 
Extension), Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Community Science College and Research 
Institute, Madurai.

INTRODUCTION

 In India,  agricultural  sector  still 
occupies  a  predominant  position  in  the  
country’s  economy, accounting  for  about  13.9  
per  cent  of  Gross  Domestic  Product  and one- 
fifth  of  foreign exchange. With the success 
of green, white and blue revolutions, India 
is now self-reliant in food grains production.  
By 2025, about 118 million tonnes additional 
food grains need to be produced per year.
But, the demographic projections indicated 
that the per capita land availability will shirk 

from 0.14 ha to 0.10 ha in the year 2025. The 
best option is to improve the productivity per 
unit area per unit time. This will lead to use 
the high intensive crops and extensive use 
of fertilizers which can led to consequences 
like deterioration of soil structure, wastage of 
nutrients, destruction of soil microorganisms 
and scorching of plants at the extreme cases. 
Therefore it needs to be managed judiciously 
to restore its capacity to feed our population 
sustainably in the long run.  To maintain the 
soil healthy, it is very essential to assess the 
quantity of nutrients present in it and applying 

Research	Article	
Journal of Extension Education
Vol. 30  No. 3,  2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.26725/JEE.2018.3.30.6113-6118

Research	Article	
Journal of Extension Education
Vol. 30  No. 1,  2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.26725/JEE.2018.1.30.5996-5999



6114

only those  nutrients  which  were  present  in  
less  quantity  in  the  soil. 

 To achieve the above objective, 
Government of India introduced a scheme 
of Soil Health Card on 19 February, 2015. A 
Soil Health Card (SHC) is a printed card given 
to farmers that contains the status of various 
plant nutrients available in soil as well as the 
dosage of different fertilizers for the major 
crops grown in farmland based on the soil test 
results. The Soil health card presently depicts 
the status of 12 essential parameters like pH, 
EC, Organic carbon, available nitrogen (N), 
Phosphorus (p), Potassium (K), Sulphur (S), 
Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), Copper 
(Cu) and Boron(B).  Realizing the importance 
of Soil Health Card as a tool for efficient 
nutrient management the present study was 
conducted to identify the adoption behavior 
of paddy farmers towards Soil Health Card 
recommendations.

METHODOLOGY

 The study was conducted in Madurai 
district of Tamil Nadu which has larger 
population of rice growing farmers and 
maximum number of farmers who are in 
receipt of Soil Health Cards. Madurai east 
and Madurai west block were purposively 
selected based on maximum area under 
paddy cultivation and receipt of more number 
of Soil Health Cards.  In the selected blocks, 
six villages were selected based on the 
maximum area under paddy cultivation and 
number of Soil Health Card received viz., 
Malaipatti, Thodaneri, Kulamangalam, Vayalur, 
Boothakudi, Machampatti. Primary data from 
the farmers were collected with the help 

of a pre tested interview schedule through 
personal interviews. A total of 120 rice-
growing farmers were randomly interviewed 
at the rate of 60 farmers per block. The results 
were analyzed using percentage analysis.

FINDINGS	AND	DISCUSSION
 The data presented in Table 1 reveal 
that majority of the farmers (45.50%) had 
medium level of adoption followed by low 
(32.20 %) and high level (22.30 %) adoption. 

Table	1.
Adoption	Behaviour	of	Farmers	towards	Soil	

Health	Card		
(n=120)

Sl. 
No

Particulars Number Percentage

 1. Low 40 32.20 

 2. Medium 55 45.50
 3. High 25 22.30

Total 120 100.00

 Overall, low to medium level of 
adoption was seen with majority (77.70%) 
of the respondents. The farmers felt that 
the SHC is very useful to know the nutrients 
recommendations and the quantity to be 
applied in order to maintain the soil fertility. 
Even though they know the recommended 
dose of fertilizers, they are not properly 
adopting the correct doses. The reason behind 
the this might be due to their unawareness 
about the benefits of optimum fertilizer use 
to improve their net income as well as ill 
effects of excess fertilizer application to the 
environment. The results are in agreement 
with Chowdary & Theodore (2016).  

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Table	2.
Distribution	of	Respondents	According	to	Application	of	Straight	Fertilizers

(n=120)

Sl.

No
Macro
nutri 
ents

Exact	application Excess	application Deficient	application

Before After
%
differ
ence

Before After
%
diffe
rence

Before After
%
diffe
rence

1. N
28

(23%)
41

(34.1%)
13

(11.1%)
50

(41.6%)
43

(35.8%)
7

(5.8%)
42

(35.0%)
36

(30%)
6

(5%)

2. P
27

(22.5%)
38

(31.6%)
11

(9.1%)
54

(45%)
47

(39.1%)
7

(5.9%)
39

(32.5%)
35

(29.1%)
4

(3.4%)

3. K
30

(25.0%)
44

(36.6%)
14

(11.6%)
43

(35.8%)
36

(30.0%)
7

(5.8%)
47

(39.1%)
40

(33.3%)
7

(5.8%)

Average 
NPK users

23.5% 34.0% 10.6% 40.8 % 34.9% 5.8% 35.5% 30.8% 4.7%

 With regard to straight fertilizers 
application before the introduction of SHC, 
40.80 percent of the respondents had 
applied excess NPK fertilizers. But after the 
introduction, the excess range has been 
reduced up to 5.8 per cent and in the same 
way the deficient application also rectified 
by 4.7 per cent of the farmers after the 
SHC.  From this result it is evident that 
there is consistent increase in exact fertilizer 
application after the use of SHC which is a 
positive sign of progress towards efficient 
nutrient management, whereby farmer can 
reduce the cost of cultivation and increase 
their net returns. Further, many of the farmers 
used their own dosages because they felt that 
the SHC recommendations are not suitable to 
their field conditions. 

From Table 3 it is found that 40.50 per cent 
of the respondents had adopted excess 
application of complex fertilizers before SHC 
and it has been reduced by 6.60 per cent of 
the respondents after SHC. The deficient 
application of complex fertilizers is adopted 
by 34.70 of the respondents before the 
SHC and 28.50 per cent of the respondents 
have been adopting the deficient quantity 
of recommendations after SHC. Hence a 
total of 12.8 per cent of the respondents 
had shown increasing trend in the adoption 
of exact recommendations of complex 
fertilizers application. SHC helps the farmers 
to know about the condition of land and get 
crop specific prescription for the amount of 
manure and fertilizers. They started realizing 
the usefulness and trusting the soil testing 

Adoption Behavior of Paddy Farmers on Soil Health Card Recommendations 



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and recommendations. This might be the 
reason for increasing trend in exact quantity 
of fertilizers application. 

Table	3.
Distribution	of	Respondents	According	to	Application	of	Complex	Fertilizers	

(n=120)

Sl.

No
Macro
nutri 
ents

Exact	application Excess	application Deficient	application

Before After
%
differ
ence

Before After
%
diffe
rence

Before After
%
diffe
rence

1. DAP
26

(21.6%)
41

(34.1%)
15

(12.5%)
52

(43.3%)
45

(37.5%)
7

(5.8%)
42

(35%)
34

(28.3%)
8

(6.7%)

2. Ammonium Phosphate
29

(24.1%)
45

(37.5%)
16

(13.4%)
49

(40.8%)
40

(33.3%)
9

(7.5%)
42

(35%)
35

(29.1%)
7

(5.9%)

3. Potassium chloride
34

(28.3%)
49

(40.8%)
15

(12.5%)
45

(37.5%)
37

(30.8%)
8

(6.7%)
41

(34.1%)
34

(28.3%)
7

(5.8%)
Average	complex	
fertilizers	users

24.6% 37.4% 12.8% 40.5% 33.8% 6.6% 34.7% 28.5% 6.1%

Table	4.
Distribution	of	Respondents	According	to	Application	of	Micronutrients

(n=120)

Sl.

No
Macro
nutri 
ents

Exact	application Excess	application Deficient	application

Before After
%
differ
ence

Before After
%
diffe
rence

Before After
%
diffe
rence

1. Boron
26

(21.6%)
41

(34.1%)
15

(12.5%)
52

(43.3%)
45

(37.5%)
7

(5.8%)
42

(35%)
34

(28.3%)
8

(6.7%)

2.
Manga-

nese
29

(24.1%)
45

(37.5%)
16

(13.4%)
49

(40.8%)
40

(33.3%)
9

(7.5%)
42

(35%)
35

(29.1%)
7

(5.9%)

3. Iron
34

(28.3%)
49

(40.8%)
15

(12.5%)
45

(37.5%)
37

(30.8%)
8

(6.7%)
41

(34.1%)
34

(28.3%)
7

(5.8%)

4. Zinc
34

(28.3%)
49

(40.8%)
15

(12.5%)
45

(37.5%)
37

(30.8%)
8

(6.7%)
41

(34.1%)
34

(28.3%)
7

(5.8%)
Average	
micronutrients	
users

24.6% 37.4% 12.8% 40.5% 33.8% 6.6% 34.7% 28.5% 6.1%

 Majority of the farmers had neglected 
the adoption of micronutrients in their field 
due to lack of awareness and knowledge. 

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But the overall micronutrient application 
showed that, there is a slight increase in the 
usage after the SHC recommendations. As 
regards excess application even after the SHC 
recommendations 2.3 per cent of farmers 
applied excess amount of micronutrients. 
Because they felt that excess application of 
micronutrients will significantly influence the 
productivity of crops.  In case of deficient 
application, farmers adopted less quantity 
than the recommended level even after the 
SHC recommendations. They perceived 
that the smaller quantity of micronutrients 
than the recommended level is sufficient to 

attain the crop yield.  Since micronutrient is 
not considered as much important as like of 
macronutrient due to lack of knowledge and 
awareness, it is mostly neglected by farming 
community but the scenario is not quite the 
same after the introduction of SHC Scheme. 

 As regards application of organic 
manure, it was found that none of the farmers 
had applied exact quantities of organic manure 
due to availability issues. 

 Table 5 shows that (27.50%) of the 
respondents had adopted exact quantity of 
bio fertilizers after SHC, 37.50 per cent of 

the respondents had adopted excess quantity 
and 30.80 per cent of the respondents were 
adopting deficient quantity. From the above 
furnished information, it is concluded that 
complete adoption of SHC is quite low 
because many of the farmers were unaware 
of SHC and some of them got SHC recently. 
Farmers who applied deficient quantity of 
fertilizers reported that additional fertilizer 

Table	5.
Distribution	of	Respondents	according	to	application	of	Bio-Fertilizers	

(n=120)

Sl.

No

Bio
fertili
zers

Exact	application Excess	application Deficient	application

Before After
%
differ
ence

Before After
%
diffe
rence

Before After
%
diffe
rence

1. Azospirillium
26

(21.6%)
33

(27.5%)
7

(5.9%)
56

(46.6%)
45

(37.5%)
11

(9.1)
40

(33.3%)
37

(30.8%)
3

(2.5%)

cost was a burden and hence they have not 
adopted completely. 

CONCLUSION

It could be concluded from this study that 
majority of the farmers had low to medium 
level of adoption as regards soil health card 
recommendations. Therefore much emphasis 
is needed to inspire the farmers to adopt soil 
testing practices and soil fertility management 

Adoption Behavior of Paddy Farmers on Soil Health Card Recommendations 



6118

for sustainable crop production. The State 
department of Agriculture and KVK (Krishi 
Vigyan Kendra) should initiate efforts for 
fostering the adoption of Soil Heath Card. It 
would result in assured national food security, 
nutritional security, maintenance of soil health 
& enhancement of soil fertility.

REFERENCE
Chowdary, K. R & Theodore, R. K. (2016). Soil 

Health Card Adoption Behaviour among 
Beneficiaries of Bhoochetana Project 
in Andhra Pradesh. Journal of Extension 
Education, 28 (1) 

 

Journal of Extension Education