Apply for Soil Health Card
The Soil Health Card scheme lets every farmer get their soil tested free of cost once every two years through soilhealth.dac.gov.in, providing crop-wise fertilizer and nutrient recommendations to improve yield and cut input costs.
Required Documents
Step-by-Step Process
Register the Farmer/Field on the Portal
Register on soilhealth.dac.gov.in (or through the local agriculture department) with Aadhaar, mobile number, and field survey/khasra number to create a farmer and field profile.
Field Staff Collect a Soil Sample
An agriculture officer or trained volunteer visits the field, draws a composite soil sample from a zig-zag pattern at 15-20 spots, and tags it with your field's GPS location.
Sample Tested at a Soil Testing Lab
The sample is analyzed at the nearest Soil Testing Laboratory (STL) for 12 parameters, including NPK, pH, organic carbon, sulphur, zinc, and boron.
Soil Health Card is Generated
Based on lab results, a Soil Health Card is generated on the portal showing nutrient status and crop-wise dosage recommendations for fertilizers and soil amendments.
Download the Card and Apply Recommendations
Download the card from the portal using your Aadhaar/mobile number, or collect the printed card from the agriculture office, and follow the recommended fertilizer dosage for your next crop cycle.
Pro Tips & Warnings
- Soil samples are ideally collected after harvest and before sowing, avoiding recently fertilized or irrigated patches for accurate results.
- A large or uneven field should be divided into homogeneous units and sampled separately - one card per 2.5 hectares in irrigated and 10 hectares in rain-fed areas is the norm.
- Follow the fertilizer dose recommended on the card rather than routine practice; over-use of urea and DAP beyond the card's recommendation wastes money and degrades soil health.