Healthy Soils For Healthy Life-Commemorating The International Year Soils Beyond 2015

Introduction

India is blessed with a great soil diversity soils. Taxonomically eight out of twelve Soil Orders in the

world exist in India. Due to variety of reasons the arable land available per head has been reduced by 50 percent from 0.34 ha (1950) to 0.16 ha (1998-99) and is shrinking further at an alarming rate due to the exponential growth of urbanization that commensurate with increasing proportion of lands unsuitable for cultivation of crops (Yadav, 2002).It is essential to promote the soil health in order to maintain the achievement already made in realizing self-sufficiency in food production.

United Nations Organization declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils with a great ambition of

enhancing awareness on soil health and promoting healthy soil management practices. The central and state governments, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the farm universities in India planned several initiatives to enhance the awareness about soil health among the farmers, general public and the policy makers throughout the year with great zeal but there is a need to continue the same tempo beyond 2015.

Horticulture Fair at the University of Horticultural Sciences (UHS), Bagalkot

The University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot, continuously strives to transfer technologies to the needy farmers. To further this cause, the University in collaboration with Departments of Horticulture, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and other developmental Departments of Karnataka organized "Totagarika Mela" from 19 to 21 December, 2015.