Abstract

The historical development of agriculture in Chile has been largely driven by an export-oriented production model but currently, food production's demands are not only quantity and quality, but also food safety. Therefore, the economic growth and agri-food development should go with a more professionalized agriculture and a social and environmental investment that able to manage risks related to resource extraction and the effects of climate change. But the lack of site-specific soil information makes decision-making difficult, putting human and ecosystem health at risk, promoting resource loss, ruining the local economy and putting future generations at risk. Detail soil analysis provide the necessary information for controlling soil erosion, boosting protection against chemical degradation risks and optimal agricultural practice management (FAO, 2013). Never the less, based on the heterogeneity of soil usage and degradation types found in Chile, site-specific soil physico-chemical studies are required. Traditional estimation of soil variability is based on many guidelines for the analysis and interpretation not easy to follow, requires a sampling and recording of edaphic properties with a high sampling density, the use of laboratory technologies for soil analysis involving sample transportation and a high cost of analysis, or the use of standard soil analysis kits. Thus, considering the large variations in soil agroecosystems in Chile, the farmers difficult technology access and the lack of site-specific soil kit analysis there is a great opportunity for creating an easy-to-use, cost-effective, context-based, customized and robust tool kits that can be adapted to diverse agroecosystems and that can easily be used by local communities. Here we present a details development of a personalized, accessible, cost-effective and easy-to-use tool kit that allows the objective physicochemical soil characterization: texture, organic matter, pH, carbonates, macronutrients (NPK) and metal content (Cu and As). The customized soil characterization kit was defined based on the analysis for in-situ soil characteristics in three distinct geographical regions in Chile (Northern, Central, Southern) and were designed, characterized and manufactured and tested in simulated conditions before doing an in-situ validation with local communities.