Dr Reddy's Foundation, a charitable foundation owned by the family and one of the main recipients of corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds from pharmaceutical giant Dr Reddy's Laboratories, is expanding its activities in a soil testing laboratory in Hyderabad. The laboratory aims to analyze between 75,000 and 100,000 soil samples ahead of the next Rabi season, which is more than double the volume processed in its first full year of operation.
This step is being taken amid growing concerns about soil health depletion and gaps in the implementation of the national 'Soil Health Card' scheme launched by the Centre in 2015. Suman Saraswatibhatla, Director of the Foundation for Agriculture and Climate Action, noted that despite the existence of a state ecosystem for soil testing, the scale of the problem is enormous, leading the foundation to decide to address this issue independently.
The establishment of its own laboratory was the result of nearly seven years of the Foundation's efforts to find a reliable method for soil analysis. Proposals were examined from Krishi Vigyan Kendras, agricultural universities, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), CGIAR institutions, and private suppliers of portable soil testing devices, but none proved sufficient.
Saraswatibhatla emphasized that either accuracy was present but stability was lacking, or vice versa. He added that the laboratory infrastructure, based on wet chemistry, was 'too broken and insufficiently equipped' to conduct proper soil sample analysis on a large scale. A turning point was the experience in 2023 when the Foundation sent 5,000 soil samples to a global research institute, awaiting results for an entire year, during which two cropping seasons had already passed.
The Hyderabad laboratory began operating in January 2025. In its first year, it processed 20,000 soil samples while the Foundation verified its standard operating procedures. This year, the laboratory has already analyzed over 40,000 samples across India, with a target of 75,000 to 100,000 samples for the next Rabi season. Saraswatibhatla clarified that the laboratory's services are available not only for the Foundation's own projects but also for external users such as researchers and the government.
The testing setup investigates three categories of soil properties: physical, chemical, and biological, each requiring a different re-evaluation cycle. Physical characteristics, such as texture, remain stable for 10–20 years, although density and aggregation can change depending on management. Chemical properties, such as pH and organic carbon, require re-evaluation every 2–3 years under intensive farming. Biological properties are most sensitive to management and usually require annual or seasonal (6–12-month) testing under stable cultivation systems.
Most testing programs, including government ones, focus on 12–14 chemical indicators: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), secondary nutrients (S, Ca, Mg), micronutrients (Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, B), as well as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and organic carbon. Saraswatibhatla noted that these parameters form the basis for site-specific nutrient management (SSNM), but often ignore biological function and physical resilience.
The increase in sampling volume this year is partly due to a combination of El Niño conditions and fertilizer shortages, which has heightened the need for precise data-driven fertilization recommendations. While government consultations typically provide a General Recommended Dose (GRD) at the district level, there is a trend towards more detailed recommendations. Saraswatibhatla reported that the Foundation is developing village-level nutrient advisories using stratified sampling (e.g., 20–50 representative samples per village, depending on soil heterogeneity), which can significantly improve the accuracy of recommendations for clusters of farms.
Furthermore, farmers receive support for expansion—training in balanced fertilization, integrated nutrient management, and climate-smart practices, which, according to Saraswatibhatla, is key to transforming soil data into improved soil health, carbon sequestration, and sustainability.
Separately, the Foundation is collaborating with a biotechnology startup to introduce a consortium of bacteria soluble in NPK. This packaged or bottled formula is designed to mobilize residual nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium accumulated in the soil over years of fertilizer use, making these nutrients available to plants again. Saraswatibhatla stated that this is a 'proven scientific solution' that just needs to be 'well-packaged and delivered to the farmer.' This measure aims to reduce risks and enhance farmer safety by helping ensure balanced fertilizer use while simultaneously restoring the value of nutrients already present in the soil.
Last month, the ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science in Bhopal signed a memorandum of understanding with the Foundation to deepen cooperation in soil health research and technology transfer. The partnership will focus on creating a Digital Soil Health Repository, high-precision soil maps, nutrient management tools, crop system modeling, and climate-smart advisories. This will combine ICAR's scientific expertise with the Foundation's field experience to advance data-driven soil management and precision fertilizer use, with a special focus on supporting small and marginal farmers.
Norwegian archaeologists have presented data on extremely ancient fishing traps found in a mountain lake. The research confirmed that the age of the two earliest of these traps reaches approximately 7000 years. Scientists concluded that since there was no fish in the lake after the glacier retreated, it could not have gotten there naturally; therefore, humans must have stocked this Kumzhey reservoir, a practice that continued for millennia.
Around 8000 BCE, the interior territories of Southern Norway were freed from glacial cover. Following this event, not only wild animals but also Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and fishermen arrived in the newly opened lands. This period in the region lasted until approximately 3900 BCE. At that time, hunters likely traveled to the inland areas primarily in search of large animals such as moose and reindeer. Many mountain lakes and rivers that had recently been freed from ice did not contain fish.
One such body of water was presumably Lake Tesse, located at an altitude of about 850 meters above sea level. According to historical records, the stream flowing out of the lake hosted about 25 species of fish. Lake Tesse exclusively contained brown trout (Salmo trutta). Before the lake was converted into a reservoir in the 1940s due to the construction of a hydroelectric power plant, up to nine tons of this fish were harvested annually. Previous archaeological findings indicated that trout had been caught in Tesse since ancient times.
One clear piece of evidence for this was an object discovered in 2022 by amateur archaeologist Reidar Marstein. He found a fishing trap on the bottom of Tesse during a low water level, which preliminary estimates dated to about 7000 years old. In 2023, professional archaeologists conducted detailed surveys in this area. Their results were presented in an article by Axel Mierum from the University of Oslo and his Norwegian colleagues.
During the work, scientists recorded five fishing traps, one of which was fully excavated. It was determined that pine was mainly used to make the traps, with birch and willow being used less frequently. Using radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, the age of four traps belonging to different eras was established. Two traps date back to the Late Mesolithic, around 5000 BCE, while the other two date to the Neolithic period, around 3850 and 2700 BCE.
Such early fishing traps in the Scandinavian mountains had not been documented before. Although evidence of fishing on the shores of Lake Tesse during the Mesolithic era is known, the question arose as to how the brown trout ended up in the water body, given the presence of natural barriers. The article's authors consider the most probable hypothesis to be that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers intentionally stocked the lake by moving trout (possibly in special containers) from their natural habitats. Researchers believe that such activity can be regarded as an early form of production agriculture, implying long-term planning, as achieving a sufficient quantity of fish required a lot of time.
It is worth noting that in 2025, another group of researchers discovered evidence of stocking a high-altitude lake in Catalonia, but this occurred much later—in the early Middle Ages, around the 7th century CE. Notably, in the case of Catalonia, brown trout were also introduced into the lake.
At the young age of 12, Taaragai Aarathana has made a significant contribution to marine environment protection by removing over 7,000 kilograms of plastic and ghost nets from the ocean.
This young activist's work is not limited to cleanup campaigns. She uses unconventional methods to inspire people to conserve the oceans, including performing Bharatanatyam dance underwater and swimming from Sri Lanka to India under the slogan 'Save the Ocean.'
Video footage shows how this moving dive inspired the 12-year-old resident of Chennai to become one of the youngest ocean protectors in India. This story is featured in the #ForceForGoodHeroes series, dedicated to India's invaluable heroes who are showing the power of change.
The project team presented the description of the Casa Libertad / Clusellas Ades project. This project focuses on developing a suburban residential model that circumvents the usual restrictions found on plots located between adjacent buildings.
To achieve this goal, the project adopts a distinct approach: instead of being limited by neighboring constructions, it keeps them at a visible distance. These structures are then treated as green areas, integrating continuously with the vegetation present in the property's garden.
