Soil and water management options for enhancing agricultural productivity of Coastal area of West Bengal

Abstract

The coastal region of West Bengal primarily falls under the geomorphic sub-units of as lower alluvial plain, deltaic flood plains, marshy inundated area, coastal sand dunes, coastal plains, etc. Most of the coastal lands are low-lying (average 2-3 in above MSL) and many have elevation below the high tide mark of tidal rivers thus, they get easily submerged with rain/sea water. Taxonomically majority of these soils are in the order of Entisols and Inceptisols. The soils have Hyperthermic temperature and Aquic moisture regime. The soils are usually heavy textured varying from clay to silly loam. The economy of coastal areas of West Bengal is mainly dependent on agriculture (agriculture, fisheries, forestry, etc.) which influences the livelihoods of millions of rural households in the region. The agriculture in the coastal region is, as a whole, complex, diverse and risk prone. The cropping pattern is predominantly mono-cropped with low yield, growing traditional rice in almost 98% of the area in monsoon season as no other crops is possible during the period (Kharif) due to submergence of agricultural fields. But, the overall productivity of rice in the in the area is low, ranging between 2.2-2.6 t ha-1. However, there lies plenty of scope of crop diversification towards high value fruits a vegetable crops by adopting suitable soil, water and crop management practices. The excess rain water in Kharif season (monsoon) goes waste into the sea as runoff water can be stored in farm with suitable land shaping for use as Irrigation resource for growing multiple crops and integrated crop-fish cultivation. Several types of land shaping models have been suggested to meet the farmers' choice and land situation. The rainwater harvesting in the farm through appropriate land shaping also reduces salinity build up in soil and drainage congestion thus, making the land suitable for diversified crop cultivation.