NAHAN: A new way of testing soil fertility using global positioning systems for collecting samples has been introduced in the district. So far sample collection work is six blocks of the district is in progress, about 2000 soil samples drawn on the basis of GPS has been sent to Palampur University. Global positioning system (GPS) provides reliable location and time information in all-weather and at all-times using satellites. “The GPS-based sample collections will help monitor the nutrient status and acidic reaction of soil in district as it would be easy to locate the exact site through the devise and analyze the soil,” said Jagdish Thakur deputy director of agriculture. Earlier, soil sample used to be taken randomly from a village and it was difficult to go back to the same place after years by another set of officials, he added. GPS based sample collections of soil for fertility mapping has been successful in the US, European countries and China has also adopted it recently, GPS Mapping is used to locate and map earth features such as power lines, rivers, highways, crops, weeds, pests, or soil types. It can be used to estimate the number of insects in a field, measure the area of a crop, or create a map of sample locations. District agriculture officer Pawan Sharma says a map is to be form on the basis of the samples drawn through Global positing system. He said that around 600 more samples have to be drawn. The GPS technologies enable the coupling of real-time data collection with accurate position information, leading to the efficient manipulation and analysis of large amounts of geospatial data, he added further. GPS allows farmers to accurately navigate to specific locations in the field, year after year, to collect soil samples or monitor crop conditions. A progressive farmer of Rajgarh Sher Jung Chauhan says the data collection devices with GPS may help in accurate positioning to get the fertility of crops. Adding further he also said that GPS soil sampling can help the farmers more informed decisions on nutrient management compound. Fertilizer required is established so exact amounts can be bought rather than a ready mixed compound. Areas requiring more phosphorus or potash can be supplied with extra compared to the average needs of the field. The exercise is jointly carried by ICAR (Indian council of agriculture research)