Conservation agriculture and pulses: Impact on soil health

Abstract

Conservation and sustenance of natural resources, including soil and water, for increasing food production while protecting the environment is one of the most important challenges facing humanity today. As the world population grows, stress on natural resources increases, making it difficult to maintain food security. Long term food security requires a balance between increasing crop production, maintaining soil health and environmental sustainability. In India, effective nutrient management has played a major role in accomplishing the enormous increase in food grain production from 52 million tons in 1951-52 to 254 million tons during 2010-11. But under the present day scenario to further increase the agricultural productivity from the current and decreasing land area under cultivation, a radical reorientation of cultivation priorities needs to be undertaken. Productivity could not possibly be improved or sustained only through effective nutrient management strategies or by providing good quality seed. We need to urgently address the problem of deterioration of soil health, degradation of arable land area, and consequent pollution of environment to sustain the agricultural productivity at higher level. Looming prospect of climate change will also pose a threat to the sustainability of agricultural production system in near future. Soil productivity is mostly measured in terms of yield, however it is also function of soil structure, fertility, and the population, species composition, and activities of soil organisms (Brady, 1974). This means that health, nutrient content and value of the crops, and environmental quality both on and off the farm can also be …