Soil Fertility & Crop Suitability for Any Plot in India
How fertile the topsoil is, what its pH suits, and which broad crop categories fit — from national soil mapping, before you commission a soil test.
What this tool tells you
Whether the topsoil can feed a crop, and what that crop is likely to be — read from national soil mapping before you commission a soil test.
It reports a fertility rating built from topsoil nitrogen, organic carbon and cation exchange capacity, alongside the pH band and what that band suits. Where your plot falls on a surveyed ICAR-NBSS&LUP sheet it also reports salinity, sodicity and drainage — attributes that can defeat an otherwise fertile soil and take years to reclaim.
Readings are for the topsoil, 0–30 cm, which is the layer a crop roots in. Use it to shortlist plots worth testing; use a government soil-health card to plan what you actually put in the ground.
Frequently asked questions
What goes into the fertility rating?
A composite of three topsoil readings: nitrogen, organic carbon, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) — the soil’s ability to hold nutrients rather than let them wash through. Higher on all three gives a higher rating. A soil can score low and still grow a specific crop well, which is why the report prints the individual measurements beside the verdict.
Why does pH matter so much?
pH decides which nutrients a plant can actually take up, whether or not they are present. Below about 6 is acidic — tea, coffee, cashew, rubber. Roughly 6–7.5 is near-neutral and suits most cereals, pulses and vegetables. Above 8 is alkaline, which locks up iron and zinc and needs micronutrient management.
Can I trust the crop suggestion?
Treat it as a broad category, not a recommendation. It is inferred from texture and pH alone — it knows nothing about your water availability, market access or labour. Confirm with a soil-health-card test and your nearest Krishi Vigyan Kendra.
What is water retention inferred from?
Soil texture. Clayey soils hold moisture (good for paddy); sandy soils drain fast and need frequent irrigation; loams give balanced drainage. It is an inference from particle size, not a measurement of your field.
Why do salinity and sodicity appear separately?
Because they are directly crop-limiting in a way the fertility composite does not capture. Saline or sodic ground can defeat an otherwise fertile soil, and reclaiming it is a multi-year project. These come from the ICAR-NBSS&LUP survey and appear only where your plot falls on a mapped sheet.
Is this a substitute for a soil test?
No. SoilGrids is a ~1 km model (R² roughly 0.3–0.6) — the right scale for shortlisting plots, not for fertiliser planning. A government soil-health card costs very little and measures your actual field.