Soil Science

Head of Division: Dr. Muhammad Imtiaz, DCS

Introduction
Research Mandate
Research Groups
Funded Projects
Salient Achievements
Analytical services

Introduction

Agriculture sector has become highly vulnerable under the twin menace of changing climate and inherent poor fertility of soils in Pakistan. This coupled with highly input intensive farming to feed the ever increasing population are posing grave threats to the sustainability of farming. The prevailing water scarcity, poor soil fertility and erratic impacts of climate change necessitate to develop technologies and products for improving yield and net returns to farmers. Soil and Environmental Sciences Division (S&ESD) conducts applied research using conventional and nuclear techniques to provide sustainable solutions to the existing and forthcoming issues being faced by the farming community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The core objective of S&ESD is to ensure food security and safety by improving crop productivity and profitability of the farming sector through technology-based interventions.

Research Mandate

Soil and Environmental Sciences Division (S&ESD) has been mandated with enhancement in crop yield and soil productivity by developing and deploying technology packages using conventional and nuclear techniques. The main objectives of S&ESD are as under:

To enhance crop production and soil productivity by improving nutrients and water use efficiency for different field and horticultural crops
To identify nutrient efficient wheat genotypes for nutrient stress conditions
To optimize integrated plant nutrient management packages for vertical farming of high value crops in tunnels
To develop fertilizer recommendations for field and horticultural crops
To develop and enrich environment friendly organic fertilizer products (compost and compost tea) for small nursery and vegetable growers

Research Groups

Funded Projects

S#.	Title of Project	Duration	Funding Agency
1.	Determination of irrigation scheduling of potato using nuclear techniques	1990-1995	IAEA
2.	Potassium requirements of crops	1993-1998	PPI
3.	Evaluation of nitrification inhibitor for potato and its influence on N losses from labeled urea under various soil conditions	1996-1997	IFS
4.	Improving crop productivity in rainfed dry areas.	1997-1998	IAEA
5.	Increasing crop production in rainfed areas by improved water and nutrient management using nuclear techniques.	1997-2002	IAEA
6.	Improving crop productivity in dry area through water management practices	1998-1999	ARP
7.	Saline Agriculture Farmers Participatory Development Project	2002-2007	MinFAL
8.	Integrated management of soil, water and nutrient for improving crop productivity, soil fertility, water use efficiency and environmental protection in rainfed areas of NWFP	2004-2010	IAEA
9.	Effect of mineral and organic nitrogen on yield and nitrogen nutrition of plum fruit orchard	2007-2010	PSF
10.	Enhancing stone fruits (peach, plum and apricot) productivity through Integrated nutrient management	2008-2011	ALP/PARC
11.	Nutrient management of deciduous orchards (Plum) through foliar feeding	2013-2016	PSF
12.	Pilot scale demonstration and popularization of dual technology of bio-geyser with agro-waste composting.	2016-2017	PSF/TIKA
13.	Improving off-season vegetables production under high and walk-in tunnels through integrated management of nutrients, water and diseases	2017-2019	AUP- Endowment Fund
14.	Pilot scale production and popularization of compost tea as organic fertilizer nutrient source	2018-2021	PSF
15.	Wheat Productivity Enhancement under Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) through On-Field Trials (OFTs)	2022-2023	PAEC HQ

Salient Achievements

Perfected and popularized integrated nutrient and water management packages for production of high value crops in tunnels that give 10 to 15 times more income compared to conventional one
Developed and transferred integrated plant nutrient management package of technologies for the field and horticultural crops
Devised fertilizer recommendations and irrigation scheduling for newly evolved NIFA crop varieties
Perfected dual technology of bio-geyser and agro-waste composting and popularized it among farming community
Identified zinc efficient wheat genotypes that can be better utilized for low fertility soils and combat human malnutrition
Analytical / advisory services are also being provided to the farming community as and when required

Analytical Services