Thiruvananthapuram: 20 rare Benchmark soils at soil museum soon

Thiruvananthapuram: The State Soil Museum situated at Parattukonam is readying to exhibit 20 new rare collection of Benchmark soils from South India. Six sets have already arrived and within a few months it will be ready for exhibiting, a senior official of the Museum said.

The State Soil Museum is funded and maintained by the Department of Soil Survey and Soil Conserva-tion under Govt of Kerala is the first of its kind in the country with the largest collection of soil monoliths and display materials.

Presently eighty two benchmark soils have been identified in 27 different Major Land Resource  Areas(MLRA) of Kerala for which soil Monoliths were collected.The basic objective of the BenchMark soil is to focus the attention on extensively occurring soils and their agronomic concepts for wider acceptability of interpretations and for the extrapolation of research data.

The Soil Museum is equipped with soil monoliths collected from various zones of the state. Soil  Monoliths are samples of soil profiles with an undisturbed structure, including several or all the basic genetic horizon.

An exclusive collection of rocks and minerals seen in Kerala is also available. The Soil Information Centre attached to the museum provides details inthe form of hard copy, digital file, or published maps and reports.

A mini theatre equipped inside the museum shows videos on soil survey and soil conservation activities in the state.

The ‘soil’ perspective is highlighted in these vide-os. A display on Geology of Kerala, Geological time periods, physiography, soils of Kerala and watersheds of all 14 districts is available. The output of field soil survey activities in the form of inventory reports and maps are also exhibited here .

The Soil Museum is open from 10am  to 5pm for the public with an entry  fee of RS 25 for common public, Rs 15 for college students and `10 for school students.