Soil and Water Conservation Technologies in rainfed Agriculture for Alfisols of Southern Karnataka

Abstract

About 67 per cent of the total cultivated area receives an average rainfall of less than 750 mm with intermittent dry spells. The rainfed areas are faced with wide range of constraints with respect to soil and crop management and socio-economic issues. In order to meet the food requirement for the mounting population, the productivity in dryland agriculture has to be increased from the present 1 t/ha to 2.5 t/ha. Reduction in soil health due to inefficient soil water conservation techniques has added another dimension to dryland problems. All India Co-ordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, Bengaluru centre since 1971 has generated enormous field data and ample number of technologies on rain water harvesting, soil and moisture conservation practices for enhancing the soil and moisture status of dryland agriculture on sustainable basis. These technologies have been demonstrated on the farmers’ fields with their participation under the Operational Research Project for Dryland Agriculture and National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture and through various success stories. The information provided in this book would help the researcher in dryland & watershed development and the line departments viz., Agriculture Watershed Development Department, KVK’s and NGO’s furthering the cause of dryland research and for up-scaling different soil and water conservation technologies for improving overall soil health. I appreciate the efforts of the team of scientists of AICRPDA, Bengaluru and congratulate them for bringing out the publication entitled “Soil and water conservation technologies for Alfisols of Southern Karnataka”. I wish them all success in future research and development endeavour.