Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry of AIKT

The Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Tajikistan was established by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Tajik SSR on March 8, 1951, based on the Antipov-Karataev Soil Science and Land Reclamation Station in the Vakhsh district.
By the decision of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan dated May 2, 2008, No. 215, the institution was renamed the "Institute of Soil Science."
Later, by the decision of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan dated August 31, 2020, No. 487, amendments were made to the previous decision, and the institution was renamed the "Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry."

The institute operates under the direct supervision of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Tajikistan.

The institute’s structure includes 8 departments, a centralized laboratory for soil and plant diagnostics, an accounting department, a human resources department, two experimental soil science and land reclamation stations in the Khatlon and Sughd regions, three regional experimental bases in cities and districts under republican jurisdiction (Faizobod, Vahdat, Varzob), and one experimental base in Khorasan.

INSTITUTE’S OBJECTIVES:

• Organizing the study of the country's soils, conducting important theoretical, applied, and innovative scientific research aimed at restoring, preserving, and improving soil fertility;

• Developing and implementing new innovative methods to prevent soil salinization and waterlogging in irrigated lands, improving land reclamation status, and involving unused lands into agricultural circulation;

• Studying soil, vegetation, irrigation systems, and groundwater under field and laboratory conditions using traditional and modern methods;

• Determining the balance of chemical, physico-chemical, biological processes, and ecological state of soils;

• Implementing effective methods and technologies for managing the physico-chemical properties and water-nutrient regime of soils, processing agrochemical maps, and other sectoral maps;

• Developing scientifically based methods for determining fertility and evaluating the bonitet (quality) of irrigated and fallow lands at national, district, and farm levels;

• Monitoring soils to control the condition of agricultural lands, timely detection of changes, and developing recommendations to prevent and eliminate negative processes (salinization, degradation, pollution, erosion);

• Comprehensive study of soil genetics, geography, and evolution, development of cartographic materials and databases based on GIS technology, improving agricultural production classification and soil assessment;

• Regulating the nutrient regime of soils using effective mineral and organic fertilizers, considering soil fertility and crop requirements.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Currently, the institute collaborates with more than 50 scientific research institutes and higher education institutions from near and far abroad. The main areas of cooperation include:

• Training scientific personnel;

• Conducting scientific research;

• Organizing and participating in joint scientific-practical conferences;

• Exchange of master's, doctoral (PhD) students;

• Professional development of staff.

Within 20 international projects, the institute has signed cooperation agreements with organizations such as FAO, USAID, GIZ, NEKSIGOL, CARITAS, ICARDA, World Bank, among others, in the areas of:

• Scientific research;

• Staff professional development;

• Educational and production internships for master's and doctoral students;

• Training at master's and doctoral (PhD) levels;

• Foreign language learning;

• Repair and equipping of laboratories.

In 2025, with the support of the Government of Tajikistan and funding from the World Bank under the project "Enhancing Agricultural Resilience," 10 scientific laboratories of the institute were fully renovated and equipped with modern laboratory equipment.

MAIN RESEARCH AREAS

• Study of biological, biochemical, microbiological properties, and organic matter balance of soils; development of methods for the use of microbiological fertilizers for agricultural crops;

• Study of reclamation status of saline soils in irrigated regions and development of innovative technologies to prevent and eliminate soil salinization;

• Study of soil erosion processes, types and flows of mudflows, their classification, and development of modern anti-erosion measures and water balance on agricultural lands;

• Study of soil genesis and classification in the country considering regional features under climate change conditions; creation and digitization of soil maps using Geographic Information Systems (GIS);

• Determination of agroecological assessment and bonitet of irrigated, fallow, pasture, and natural meadow lands based on field, laboratory, and office research;

• Determination of soil nutrient regimes, timing, methods, and norms of mineral and organic fertilizer application for crops, pastures, and natural meadows; analysis of macro- and microelement nutrient balance in the "fertilizer-soil-plant" system using classical diagnostic methods and plant tissue analysis;

• Evaluation of the impact of soil nutrition on soil fertility and the quality of agricultural products.

Address: Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe 734025, Rudaki Avenue 21A
Phone / Fax: +992 227-19-79, +992 221-32-07
E-mail: khokshinos@mail.ru