PAU soil museum has wealth of info

LUDHIANA: A treasure trove of knowledge, soils museum in the department of soils of Punjab Agricultural University has been largely unknown to visitors. Many a resident are simply not aware of this museum.
A panoramic view of the landscape from the Himalayas to Thar desert has been beautifully shown here. The museum was built under guidance of Dr MS Randhawa, then PAU vice-chancellor.Dr HS Jassal, department of soils said it was initiated in 1970 by Dr Sehgal. It was planned that the museum should contain the soil maps of the world, India and Punjab.
He said all this had been shown in the form of depictions, maps, monoliths, soil samples and stones. The museum has six levels. The first level depicts soils as they occur in natural state. A map of the world soils and factors responsible for their formation are shown at level 2 and monoliths of Punjab soils are depicted at level 3. The exhibits at level 4 show the processes of soil erosion and salinization. Level 5 is related to the rooting pattern while level 6 is related to soil fertility management.
He added that the museum provides wide knowledge to under-graduate students, but it is not being shown to students of schools including PAU School.
Dr BD Sharma, senior soil scientist, said the museum has been used to acquaint undergraduate students with different types of soils and their structure. He added that the museum shows the extent of cultivation across various regions of Punjab. Shivinderpal Kaur, an undergraduate student of agriculture, said, "The soil museum is helpful in making us familiar with soils and their structure. I have learned much from the samples shown in the museum."
Inderpal Singh, another student, said when he joined the undergraduate degree in soils, he knew nothing about soils. He came to know about soil resources and their development in Punjab from the museum.