PATNA, Jan. 28 -- Students of secondary and higher secondary government schools in Bihar would now get knowledge of soil , fertilizers and other nutrients so that they can get educated about the importance of high quality soil and disseminate information to society at large especially in rural areas where farming is still a major vocation among people, as part of a central government PM Shri scheme, officials said. Officials said that around 160 government schools, both secondary and higher secondary, have been selected in Bihar in all 38 districts where soil testing mini labs would be set up for testing of soil as well as imparting information about different soil qualities to school students. "The soil testing labs in schools would be helpful in imparting knowledge about various qualities of soil to students of higher classes and also it would help in testing soil in rural areas," said Saurav Suman Yadav, director, agriculture. Additional director, (Chem) soil test, Vinay Kumar Pandey, said that schools students of Class 7,8,9 and 11 in secondary and higher secondary schools selected under PM Shri scheme would be given information about various types of soil and its importance for better food production. Officials said that initiative would be helpful to farmers too as students whose parents are engaged with farm activity would get more information why upkeep of soil and maintaining its quality is necessary for higher crop yield. "There would be mass awareness in society at large as school going students would be learning more about soil, its conservation and also about the environment," said another official. "There would be mini soil testing labs in these schools where soil testing would be done and also it would be the centre for giving information to school students of higher classes as how soil upkeep, using right amount of pesticides, fertilizers and other manure is required for better crop harvest," said Pandey, Agriculture officials said that 160 schools have been selected where the soil testing labs were being set up. "The new initiative will start soon in this fiscal year. Preparations are going on," he said. Apart from mini soil testing labs coming up in schools, the agriculture department already has soil testing labs in all districts and also at the sub-divisional level for testing soil to help farmers in knowing the quality of soil of their agricultural land and choose the right crops for sowing....