Dr Rajul Patkar, Co-Founder and CEO, Proximal Soilsens Technologies Pvt Ltd, Pune, Maharashtra, describes how affordable smart sensing technologies are helping farmers make informed decisions through real-time monitoring of soil and water quality.
About us
Proximal SoilSens Technologies is a research- and technology-led AgriTech startup focused on improving soil health, food quality, and agricultural sustainability through indigenous innovation. SoilSens originated as a spin-off from research at IIT Bombay, with early technology development supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. The company is building a roadmap of Made-in-India sensing, soil diagnostics, and precision agriculture technologies that enable farmers to make science-based decisions by enabling more efficient and responsible use of fertilisers, chemicals, and pesticides.
Sowing a smarter future
Agriculture today stares at some of the world's greatest challenges. Climate change, water scarcity, declining soil fertility, food security, and environmental sustainability have become concerns for governments, researchers, and farming communities. Addressing these interconnected issues requires a shift from conventional farming practices to scientific, data-driven agriculture protecting the environment.
Healthy soil forms the foundation of productive agriculture, supporting crop growth, regulating water, recycling nutrients, and sustaining the biological activity for healthy ecosystems. Improvements in soil health increase agricultural productivity and contribute to better food quality, improved human health, efficient water use, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Despite its importance, farmers frequently apply fertilisers and irrigation based on traditional practices or previous experience rather than scientific analysis. As climate variability increases and natural resources become more limited, such approaches are becoming increasingly unsustainable.
Advances in sensor technology, the IoT, AI, and data analytics are now creating opportunities to modernise agriculture. These technologies enable farmers to make informed decisions on soil nutrition, irrigation, and crop management. Precision agriculture, supported by reliable field data, has the potential to improve productivity and reduce expenditure on inputs.
The soil story
Soil is a living system composed of minerals, organic matter, water, air, and countless microorganisms that work together to sustain plant life. Every agricultural activity depends on maintaining this delicate balance.
Healthy soil anchors plant roots, stores water for crop growth, supplies essential nutrients, supports beneficial microorganisms, and contributes to environmental stability. Improvements in soil health therefore influence crop productivity, human nutrition, groundwater quality, biodiversity, and climate resilience.
Farmers require soil testing to understand the nutrient status of their fields before making management decisions. Scientific analysis enables deficiencies and excesses to be identified, allowing nutrients to be applied more precisely.
Unfortunately, access to soil testing remains limited for many farmers.
Traditional laboratory testing requires specialised equipment, including Kjeldahl systems for nitrogen analysis, spectrophotometers for phosphorus, flame photometers for potassium, and separate instruments for measuring soil pH and electrical conductivity. Establishing well-equipped laboratories in every village is neither economically nor practically feasible. Such facilities require significant investment, reliable electricity, skilled technicians, and continuous maintenance.
As a result, millions of farmers continue to cultivate their land without regular soil analysis.
Challenges spark innovation
Agriculture in India presents unique challenges that differ significantly. Many nations have adopted technology-driven farming systems that extensively use automation, robotics, satellite monitoring, and precision agriculture. These technologies have significantly improved productivity while optimising resource use.
In India, a large proportion of the population remains dependent on agriculture, yet average farm sizes are relatively small. Many farmers cultivate multiple fragmented plots located in different areas rather than one large, continuous field. This makes it difficult to adopt technologies originally developed for large commercial farms.
Several additional challenges continue to affect agricultural productivity such as land degradation caused by excessive fertiliser use, over-irrigation and declining groundwater levels, water scarcity and poor irrigation efficiency, climate change and unpredictable weather, declining soil fertility, and limited access to scientific advisory services.
These challenges highlight the need for technologies to suit Indian agricultural conditions rather than simply importing solutions developed elsewhere. Affordability, portability, and ease of use are therefore essential considerations when developing agricultural innovations for small and marginal farmers.
Smart data, smarter farming
Modern agriculture increasingly relies on technologies such as drones, satellite imagery, robotics, AI, machine learning, and IoT systems. While these innovations receive considerable attention, they all depend on one essential requirement—accurate field data.
Data may be obtained from soil nutrient sensors, moisture sensors, weather stations, leaf sensors, sap sensors, and water quality monitoring systems. Together, these measurements provide a detailed understanding of crop and soil conditions, enabling better fertiliser recommendations, irrigation scheduling, disease prediction, and crop management.
Artificial intelligence is often viewed as the future of agriculture, but predictive models are only as reliable as the information on which they are trained. Poor-quality data inevitably produces poor recommendations. Consequently, developing accurate sensor technologies capable of generating dependable field data forms the foundation of precision agriculture.
Laboratory in hand
Every farmer must determine the nutritional condition of the soil. Questions such as whether the soil is deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus levels are adequate, or excessive fertiliser has accumulated can only be answered through scientific testing. Traditionally, obtaining this information has required collecting soil samples and transporting them to laboratories. Farmers may then wait several days or even weeks before receiving the results, by which time for timely nutrient application may already have passed.
Recognising these limitations led to the development of NutriSense X, a portable electrochemical soil testing system designed to function like a medical glucometer. This compact handheld device combines multiple analytical functions into a single portable unit for measuring both macro- and micronutrients with laboratory-grade accuracy.
Developing this technology required more than a decade of research, experimentation, and refinement. The objective was to produce a system that farmers could easily use in the field without specialised scientific knowledge. The underlying technology may be sophisticated, but the operation remains simple. The aim has always been to ensure that anyone can perform soil testing confidently after minimal training.
Science in seconds
The testing procedure follows the same scientific principles used in conventional laboratories. A small soil sample is collected and mixed with specially developed chemical extractants. After the soil particles settle, a drop of the extracted solution is placed onto a sensor connected to the handheld device. Within a few seconds, the instrument generates quantitative measurements of soil nutrients. The accompanying mobile application records the results, generates a digital soil health card, and provides crop-specific fertiliser recommendations based on the soil condition, geographical location, and crop requirements.
The device connects directly to an Android smartphone, making it particularly suitable for use in remote rural areas where access to laboratory facilities may be limited. By providing immediate, laboratory-grade soil analysis directly in the field, portable testing systems eliminate the delays associated with conventional laboratory testing and enable farmers to make timely, informed decisions before crop establishment.
Water with wisdom
Once the nutrient status of the soil has been established, the next critical aspect of crop management is irrigation. Water is one of agriculture's most valuable resources, yet it is often used inefficiently. Applying either too much or too little water can reduce crop productivity, increase production costs, and adversely affect soil health.
Over-irrigation not only wastes water but also encourages nutrient leaching, where valuable nutrients are washed beyond the reach of plant roots. It can also lead to waterlogging, root rot, and increased incidence of fungal diseases. Under-irrigation, on the other hand, limits crop growth and reduces yields.
To address these challenges, an IoT-based monitoring system called Terra Station was developed. The system continuously measures soil moisture and transmits the information to a cloud-based platform, enabling farmers to monitor soil conditions. Farmers can make informed decisions based on actual moisture levels within the field. However, field deployment highlighted an important limitation. Many Indian farmers cultivate several small plots spread across different locations. Installing a separate monitoring station in every field is neither practical nor affordable.
This led to the development of Terra Port, a portable soil monitoring system that can be carried from one field to another. The device measures soil moisture, soil temperature, ambient temperature, and humidity while recording geotagged observations. Farmers can quickly collect information from multiple locations and generate moisture maps that identify dry and wet areas across their farms.
The system also considers water quality. Irrigation water with high salinity or elevated Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) can adversely affect crop growth. Monitoring both soil moisture and irrigation water quality therefore provides farmers with a more complete understanding of field conditions.
The soil equation
Healthy soil depends upon a balanced combination of physical, chemical, and biological properties.
Physical Properties: Soil texture is determined by the relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay. Sandy soils drain rapidly but retain relatively little water, while clay soils hold considerably more moisture but may suffer from poor aeration. Loamy soils generally provide the most favourable balance between drainage and water retention.
After irrigation or rainfall, soil passes through three important stages. At saturation, all pore spaces are filled with water. As excess water drains away under gravity, the soil reaches field capacity, where sufficient water remains available for crop growth, maintaining adequate air spaces for root respiration. Continued water uptake by plants eventually leads to the wilting point, when moisture becomes unavailable to plant roots.
Soil structure determines how particles are arranged and affects both water movement and aeration. Soil colour often indicates organic matter content, with darker soils generally containing more organic material. Soil depth influences root penetration, while temperature affects biological activity. Excessive compaction, frequently caused by heavy machinery operating on wet soils, restricts root growth and reduces water infiltration.
Chemical Properties: Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are the primary macronutrients required for healthy crop growth. While deficiencies reduce productivity, excessive fertiliser application can also damage soil health and contaminate the environment. Although conventional laboratories commonly measure total nitrogen, plants absorb nitrogen primarily in the form of nitrate. Regular nitrate monitoring allows fertiliser recommendations to be based on current soil conditions rather than estimates.
Excess nitrogen also creates environmental concerns. Nitrate is highly mobile and can leach into groundwater, affecting drinking water quality. In addition, surplus nitrogen contributes to the release of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. Accurate nutrient management therefore benefits both agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.
Micronutrients are equally important. They support healthy plant development and improve resistance to diseases and environmental stress. Soil pH also plays a crucial role in nutrient availability. Extremely acidic or alkaline conditions reduce the availability of essential nutrients. However, certain crops, including tea, blueberries, strawberries, and some citrus varieties, perform well under slightly acidic conditions. EC provides an indirect measure of dissolved salts within the soil and helps assess fertiliser concentration and salinity levels.
Biological Properties: Healthy soil contains a rich diversity of bacteria, fungi, earthworms, and other beneficial organisms that decompose organic matter, recycle nutrients, improve soil structure, and maintain biological balance. Protecting this living ecosystem is essential for sustaining long-term soil fertility.
Science over assumptions
Various alternative approaches, such as spectroscopy and machine-learning models that estimate nutrient concentrations without chemical extraction. But soil is a living material whose characteristics change continuously. Variations in moisture content, organic matter, and biological activity can reduce the reliability of purely predictive models.
Wet chemistry remains the internationally accepted standard because it extracts nutrients directly from the soil before measurement. The portable soil testing system applies the same scientific principles while reducing the need for expensive laboratory infrastructure.
Technology that delivers
Field implementation has demonstrated that accurate soil testing can reduce fertiliser input costs by approximately 40 per cent through precise nutrient application. Precision irrigation has also contributed to water conservation, crop health, and productivity. The moisture sensors have been validated in different agricultural regions, and maintaining appropriate soil moisture reduces disease incidence associated with excessive irrigation. The technologies are now being used across several Indian states and multiple countries.
Data shapes decisions
Sensor-generated information can be used to predict crop diseases, recommend suitable crops for specific soil conditions, optimise fertiliser application, improve irrigation scheduling, anticipate disease outbreaks, and strengthen climate resilience. However, the quality of these recommendations depends entirely on the quality of the data collected.
Towards wider adoption
Many farmers remain unaware of the importance of soil testing, while others have lost confidence because conventional laboratory testing is often slow and inconsistent. Limited digital connectivity, fragmented landholdings, and the absence of widespread policy support also present challenges. Greater collaboration between government agencies, research institutions, private organisations, and farming communities will encourage wider adoption of precision agriculture technologies.
Learning beyond classrooms
Introducing agricultural technology to school students helps build scientific awareness from an early age. Practical demonstrations of soil testing, precision farming, and sensor technologies encourage young people to appreciate the role of science in sustainable agriculture. Such initiatives also enable students to participate in farmer awareness programmes and soil testing activities.
Technology meets tomorrow
The future of agriculture depends upon producing more food while using fewer natural resources. Healthy soil, efficient irrigation, and balanced nutrient management provide the foundation for achieving this goal. Portable soil testing devices, smart moisture sensors, IoT platforms, and AI-supported decision-making demonstrate how advanced technologies can be adapted to the needs of Indian agriculture. By making laboratory-quality analysis available directly in the field, these innovations enable farmers to reduce costs, conserve water, improve soil health, and increase productivity.
Contact details
Dr Rajul Patkar
Co-Founder and CEO, Proximal Soilsens Technologies Pvt Ltd, Pune, Maharashtra
M: 70459 97267
E: rajul@soilsens.com
W: https://soilsens.com
About us
Proximal SoilSens Technologies is a research- and technology-led AgriTech startup focused on improving soil health, food quality, and agricultural sustainability through indigenous innovation. SoilSens originated as a spin-off from research at IIT Bombay, with early technology development supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. The company is building a roadmap of Made-in-India sensing, soil diagnostics, and precision agriculture technologies that enable farmers to make science-based decisions by enabling more efficient and responsible use of fertilisers, chemicals, and pesticides.
Sowing a smarter future
Agriculture today stares at some of the world's greatest challenges. Climate change, water scarcity, declining soil fertility, food security, and environmental sustainability have become concerns for governments, researchers, and farming communities. Addressing these interconnected issues requires a shift from conventional farming practices to scientific, data-driven agriculture protecting the environment.
Healthy soil forms the foundation of productive agriculture, supporting crop growth, regulating water, recycling nutrients, and sustaining the biological activity for healthy ecosystems. Improvements in soil health increase agricultural productivity and contribute to better food quality, improved human health, efficient water use, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Despite its importance, farmers frequently apply fertilisers and irrigation based on traditional practices or previous experience rather than scientific analysis. As climate variability increases and natural resources become more limited, such approaches are becoming increasingly unsustainable.
Advances in sensor technology, the IoT, AI, and data analytics are now creating opportunities to modernise agriculture. These technologies enable farmers to make informed decisions on soil nutrition, irrigation, and crop management. Precision agriculture, supported by reliable field data, has the potential to improve productivity and reduce expenditure on inputs.
The soil story
Soil is a living system composed of minerals, organic matter, water, air, and countless microorganisms that work together to sustain plant life. Every agricultural activity depends on maintaining this delicate balance.
Healthy soil anchors plant roots, stores water for crop growth, supplies essential nutrients, supports beneficial microorganisms, and contributes to environmental stability. Improvements in soil health therefore influence crop productivity, human nutrition, groundwater quality, biodiversity, and climate resilience.
Farmers require soil testing to understand the nutrient status of their fields before making management decisions. Scientific analysis enables deficiencies and excesses to be identified, allowing nutrients to be applied more precisely.
Unfortunately, access to soil testing remains limited for many farmers.
Traditional laboratory testing requires specialised equipment, including Kjeldahl systems for nitrogen analysis, spectrophotometers for phosphorus, flame photometers for potassium, and separate instruments for measuring soil pH and electrical conductivity. Establishing well-equipped laboratories in every village is neither economically nor practically feasible. Such facilities require significant investment, reliable electricity, skilled technicians, and continuous maintenance.
As a result, millions of farmers continue to cultivate their land without regular soil analysis.
Challenges spark innovation
Agriculture in India presents unique challenges that differ significantly. Many nations have adopted technology-driven farming systems that extensively use automation, robotics, satellite monitoring, and precision agriculture. These technologies have significantly improved productivity while optimising resource use.
In India, a large proportion of the population remains dependent on agriculture, yet average farm sizes are relatively small. Many farmers cultivate multiple fragmented plots located in different areas rather than one large, continuous field. This makes it difficult to adopt technologies originally developed for large commercial farms.
Several additional challenges continue to affect agricultural productivity such as land degradation caused by excessive fertiliser use, over-irrigation and declining groundwater levels, water scarcity and poor irrigation efficiency, climate change and unpredictable weather, declining soil fertility, and limited access to scientific advisory services.
These challenges highlight the need for technologies to suit Indian agricultural conditions rather than simply importing solutions developed elsewhere. Affordability, portability, and ease of use are therefore essential considerations when developing agricultural innovations for small and marginal farmers.
Smart data, smarter farming
Modern agriculture increasingly relies on technologies such as drones, satellite imagery, robotics, AI, machine learning, and IoT systems. While these innovations receive considerable attention, they all depend on one essential requirement—accurate field data.
Data may be obtained from soil nutrient sensors, moisture sensors, weather stations, leaf sensors, sap sensors, and water quality monitoring systems. Together, these measurements provide a detailed understanding of crop and soil conditions, enabling better fertiliser recommendations, irrigation scheduling, disease prediction, and crop management.
Artificial intelligence is often viewed as the future of agriculture, but predictive models are only as reliable as the information on which they are trained. Poor-quality data inevitably produces poor recommendations. Consequently, developing accurate sensor technologies capable of generating dependable field data forms the foundation of precision agriculture.
Laboratory in hand
Every farmer must determine the nutritional condition of the soil. Questions such as whether the soil is deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus levels are adequate, or excessive fertiliser has accumulated can only be answered through scientific testing. Traditionally, obtaining this information has required collecting soil samples and transporting them to laboratories. Farmers may then wait several days or even weeks before receiving the results, by which time for timely nutrient application may already have passed.
Recognising these limitations led to the development of NutriSense X, a portable electrochemical soil testing system designed to function like a medical glucometer. This compact handheld device combines multiple analytical functions into a single portable unit for measuring both macro- and micronutrients with laboratory-grade accuracy.
Developing this technology required more than a decade of research, experimentation, and refinement. The objective was to produce a system that farmers could easily use in the field without specialised scientific knowledge. The underlying technology may be sophisticated, but the operation remains simple. The aim has always been to ensure that anyone can perform soil testing confidently after minimal training.
Science in seconds
The testing procedure follows the same scientific principles used in conventional laboratories. A small soil sample is collected and mixed with specially developed chemical extractants. After the soil particles settle, a drop of the extracted solution is placed onto a sensor connected to the handheld device. Within a few seconds, the instrument generates quantitative measurements of soil nutrients. The accompanying mobile application records the results, generates a digital soil health card, and provides crop-specific fertiliser recommendations based on the soil condition, geographical location, and crop requirements.
The device connects directly to an Android smartphone, making it particularly suitable for use in remote rural areas where access to laboratory facilities may be limited. By providing immediate, laboratory-grade soil analysis directly in the field, portable testing systems eliminate the delays associated with conventional laboratory testing and enable farmers to make timely, informed decisions before crop establishment.
Water with wisdom
Once the nutrient status of the soil has been established, the next critical aspect of crop management is irrigation. Water is one of agriculture's most valuable resources, yet it is often used inefficiently. Applying either too much or too little water can reduce crop productivity, increase production costs, and adversely affect soil health.
Over-irrigation not only wastes water but also encourages nutrient leaching, where valuable nutrients are washed beyond the reach of plant roots. It can also lead to waterlogging, root rot, and increased incidence of fungal diseases. Under-irrigation, on the other hand, limits crop growth and reduces yields.
To address these challenges, an IoT-based monitoring system called Terra Station was developed. The system continuously measures soil moisture and transmits the information to a cloud-based platform, enabling farmers to monitor soil conditions. Farmers can make informed decisions based on actual moisture levels within the field. However, field deployment highlighted an important limitation. Many Indian farmers cultivate several small plots spread across different locations. Installing a separate monitoring station in every field is neither practical nor affordable.
This led to the development of Terra Port, a portable soil monitoring system that can be carried from one field to another. The device measures soil moisture, soil temperature, ambient temperature, and humidity while recording geotagged observations. Farmers can quickly collect information from multiple locations and generate moisture maps that identify dry and wet areas across their farms.
The system also considers water quality. Irrigation water with high salinity or elevated Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) can adversely affect crop growth. Monitoring both soil moisture and irrigation water quality therefore provides farmers with a more complete understanding of field conditions.
The soil equation
Healthy soil depends upon a balanced combination of physical, chemical, and biological properties.
Physical Properties: Soil texture is determined by the relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay. Sandy soils drain rapidly but retain relatively little water, while clay soils hold considerably more moisture but may suffer from poor aeration. Loamy soils generally provide the most favourable balance between drainage and water retention.
After irrigation or rainfall, soil passes through three important stages. At saturation, all pore spaces are filled with water. As excess water drains away under gravity, the soil reaches field capacity, where sufficient water remains available for crop growth, maintaining adequate air spaces for root respiration. Continued water uptake by plants eventually leads to the wilting point, when moisture becomes unavailable to plant roots.
Soil structure determines how particles are arranged and affects both water movement and aeration. Soil colour often indicates organic matter content, with darker soils generally containing more organic material. Soil depth influences root penetration, while temperature affects biological activity. Excessive compaction, frequently caused by heavy machinery operating on wet soils, restricts root growth and reduces water infiltration.
Chemical Properties: Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are the primary macronutrients required for healthy crop growth. While deficiencies reduce productivity, excessive fertiliser application can also damage soil health and contaminate the environment. Although conventional laboratories commonly measure total nitrogen, plants absorb nitrogen primarily in the form of nitrate. Regular nitrate monitoring allows fertiliser recommendations to be based on current soil conditions rather than estimates.
Excess nitrogen also creates environmental concerns. Nitrate is highly mobile and can leach into groundwater, affecting drinking water quality. In addition, surplus nitrogen contributes to the release of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. Accurate nutrient management therefore benefits both agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.
Micronutrients are equally important. They support healthy plant development and improve resistance to diseases and environmental stress. Soil pH also plays a crucial role in nutrient availability. Extremely acidic or alkaline conditions reduce the availability of essential nutrients. However, certain crops, including tea, blueberries, strawberries, and some citrus varieties, perform well under slightly acidic conditions. EC provides an indirect measure of dissolved salts within the soil and helps assess fertiliser concentration and salinity levels.
Biological Properties: Healthy soil contains a rich diversity of bacteria, fungi, earthworms, and other beneficial organisms that decompose organic matter, recycle nutrients, improve soil structure, and maintain biological balance. Protecting this living ecosystem is essential for sustaining long-term soil fertility.
Science over assumptions
Various alternative approaches, such as spectroscopy and machine-learning models that estimate nutrient concentrations without chemical extraction. But soil is a living material whose characteristics change continuously. Variations in moisture content, organic matter, and biological activity can reduce the reliability of purely predictive models.
Wet chemistry remains the internationally accepted standard because it extracts nutrients directly from the soil before measurement. The portable soil testing system applies the same scientific principles while reducing the need for expensive laboratory infrastructure.
Technology that delivers
Field implementation has demonstrated that accurate soil testing can reduce fertiliser input costs by approximately 40 per cent through precise nutrient application. Precision irrigation has also contributed to water conservation, crop health, and productivity. The moisture sensors have been validated in different agricultural regions, and maintaining appropriate soil moisture reduces disease incidence associated with excessive irrigation. The technologies are now being used across several Indian states and multiple countries.
Data shapes decisions
Sensor-generated information can be used to predict crop diseases, recommend suitable crops for specific soil conditions, optimise fertiliser application, improve irrigation scheduling, anticipate disease outbreaks, and strengthen climate resilience. However, the quality of these recommendations depends entirely on the quality of the data collected.
Towards wider adoption
Many farmers remain unaware of the importance of soil testing, while others have lost confidence because conventional laboratory testing is often slow and inconsistent. Limited digital connectivity, fragmented landholdings, and the absence of widespread policy support also present challenges. Greater collaboration between government agencies, research institutions, private organisations, and farming communities will encourage wider adoption of precision agriculture technologies.
Learning beyond classrooms
Introducing agricultural technology to school students helps build scientific awareness from an early age. Practical demonstrations of soil testing, precision farming, and sensor technologies encourage young people to appreciate the role of science in sustainable agriculture. Such initiatives also enable students to participate in farmer awareness programmes and soil testing activities.
Technology meets tomorrow
The future of agriculture depends upon producing more food while using fewer natural resources. Healthy soil, efficient irrigation, and balanced nutrient management provide the foundation for achieving this goal. Portable soil testing devices, smart moisture sensors, IoT platforms, and AI-supported decision-making demonstrate how advanced technologies can be adapted to the needs of Indian agriculture. By making laboratory-quality analysis available directly in the field, these innovations enable farmers to reduce costs, conserve water, improve soil health, and increase productivity.
Contact details
Dr Rajul Patkar
Co-Founder and CEO, Proximal Soilsens Technologies Pvt Ltd, Pune, Maharashtra
M: 70459 97267
E: rajul@soilsens.com
W: https://soilsens.com
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