P: The depletion of organic nutrients in the soil has reached alarming proportions, thanks to indiscriminate use of chemical fertiliser in Green Revolution areas.
Q: As against an acceptable level of ‘soil organic carbon’ of well over 5 percent, soils in Punjab are said to have levels far below 1 percent.
R: Besides, 5.3 billion tonnes of soil is eroded annually, at a rate of 16.4 tonnes/hectare.
S: The nutrient imbalance has been skewed by the overuse of urea (N) vis-a-vis phosphatic (P in chemical parlance) and potassic (K) fertiliser.