Apart from the availability of quality seed, water and fertilizers, good soil health is very important to ensure a bumper crop. Unfortunately, soil health doesn’t get the attention that it deserves. The present methods are not scalable and take much time to come out with the assessment.

To address this challenge, scientists at the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) have developed a method that speeds up the process of assessing the soil health.

This method cuts assessment time from weeks to mere minutes. By linking degradation maps with real-world crop yields, the research also reveals a critical finding — that irrigation could shield farms from degradation’s worst impacts, offering a lifeline for rain-fed agriculture in semi-arid zones.

Higher accuracy rate

Scientists have used satellite imaging and spectroscopy to quickly detect soil degradation, which has emerged as a major threat to food security in drought-prone regions.

Kaushal K Garg, Principal Scientist–Natural Resource Management at Icrisat, said the team achieved an 81 per cent accuracy rate in quantifying soil degradation, a significant first for semi-arid agroecosystems.

He underscored that this is not just remote sensing; it is a precision tool specifically calibrated to the realities of smallholder farms, where each data point can directly inform irrigation investments or guide restoration priorities.

The findings of their study, Assessing Soil Degradation in Agricultural Landscapes of Semi-Arid Tropics Using Proximal and Remote Sensing-Based Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy’ has been published by the British Society of Soil Science.

“This method offers a quick and cost-effective alternative to traditional laboratory soil testing methods,” an Icrisat spokesperson said.

“By enabling fast and cost-effective soil degradation assessment, we provide farmers and policymakers with timely insights to protect soil health, boost resilience, and secure food systems in the semi-arid tropics,” Stanford Blade, Deputy Director General–Research and Innovation, Icrisat, said.

The study revealed that rain-fed crops experienced yield declines in degraded soils, while irrigated crops showed resilience, highlighting irrigation as a potential mitigation strategy.

Published on June 25, 2025