Soil–plant–animal and human health continuum

Abstract

Plant nutrition is essential for animal welfare, animal health and quality of animal products. Soil physical and biochemical properties are the indicators of soil-nutrient status which are directly correlated with crop-production potential. With the increasing population, which is expected to further touch 1.6 billion by 2050, the load on the available cultivable soil is going to increase further with little scope for the horizontal increase in the crop area. The overexploitation of the soil system has resulted in micronutrient deficiencies for zinc, iron, manganese, copper and boron, ranging from 5–50% in different states of the country. Recycling organics, integrated nutrient management (INM), site-specific nutrient management, foliar nutrition, mulch cum manuring, integrated farming systems help in soil health restoration, reduce nutrient stress to maximize the availability of nutrients to crop plants and healthy fodder which in turn contribute to human and animal health. Thus, healthy soil is key for overall healthy food and healthy human capital of the country and seen as soil–plant–animal and human continuum. Efficient genotypes, microbial culture, modifying rhizosphere characters of soil are equally important for soil-nutrient mobilization for human and animal nutrition. Positive impacts include enhancement of human health by providing nutrient supplies through food production and enhancement of the immune system. Soil, being an ecosystem has numerous interconnected components where each component is influencing the other. A balance of all these functioning components forms the healthy soil, where animal and human health also benefit.