To create awareness on role of soil, its protection, preservation and soil health management, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, DNRM, TNAU, Coimbatore and Coimbatore Chapter of Indian Society of Soil Science celebrated “World Soil Day 2024” under the theme Caring for Soils: Measure, Monitor, Manage on 05.12.2024. As a part of the World Soil Day celebration, a “Rally by PG and Ph.D students of Directorate of Natural Resource Management” was organised by the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, DNRM, TNAU, Coimbatore.
Dr.V.Geethalakshmi, Vice Chancellor, TNAU, flagged off the rally in TNAU campus.
The 13th Dr. B. Ramamoorthy Memorial Lecture was organized by the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, TNAU, Coimbatore in commemoration with “World Soil Day 2024” on 05.12.2024 and presided over by the Vice Chancellor.
Dr. D. Selvi, Professor and Head, Department of SS&AC, TNAU, Coimbatore and President, ISSS Coimbatore Chapter welcomed the gathering and narrated about the endowment and the achievements of Dr. B. Ramamoorthy in the field of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition.
Dr.V.Geethalakshmi, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore in her presidential address pointed out that soil being a vital resource and input in crop production, World Soil Day (WSD) is being celebrated annually on 5th December to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources. Vice Chancellor also emphasized on the technologies and products developed by the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, TNAU, Coimbatore and narrated the role of Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry in protecting Soil Health by creating awareness on soil health through various research and outreach activities. She highlighted the need for sustainable soil management practices to protect and preserve this valuable resource for future generations. Later, the Vice Chancellor gave away the prizes to the winners of various events conducted for the students on the eve of World Soil Day 2024.
Dr. R. Ravikesavan, Director (CPBG) & Director (DNRM) (i/c), TNAU, Coimbatore introduced the speaker Dr.M.V.Sriramachandrasekharan,Ph.D., Former Director of Research and Former Professor and Head, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Annamalai University, Chidambaram and elucidated about the speaker’s commendable contribution towards advancement of different aspects of Soil Science viz., teaching, research and extension. He has guided 14 masters and 4 doctorate fellows in the discipline of soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry and published more than 210 articles in national and international reputed journals.
Dr.M.V.Sriramachandrasekharan, Ph.D., Former Professor and Head, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry & Director of Research Annamalai University, Chidambaram delivered 13th Dr. B. Ramamoorthy Memorial Lecture 2024 on “Digital Era - Next Generation Agriculture 4.0”. He briefed about the challenges encountered in Indian agriculture to sustain food and nutritional security, Evolution of water use efficiency in Indian agriculture, soil degradation, climate change etc. He also explained the Transition from technology centric to knowledge centric in Indian agriculture viz., Agriculture 1.0: The Era of Manual Labour; Agriculture 2.0: The Era of Mechanization, chemical fertilizers and agro-chemicals, the ‘50s; Agriculture 3.0: The Precision Agriculture Era, the ‘90s; Agriculture 4.0: The Digital Revolution in Farming, today characterized by the convergence of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and big data analytics.
Dr.S.Thiyageshwari, Professor, Dept. of SS&AC, TNAU, Coimbatore & Vice President, ISSS - Coimbatore Chapter proposed the Vote of Thanks.
The State Bank of India, Coimbatore has also joined in this programme. Altogether about 200 participants comprising scientists and students have been benefitted.