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Environmental impact of resource conservation technology:The case of soybean in central India

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Title Environmental impact of resource conservation technology:The case of soybean in central India
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Creator Josily Samuel., Rama Rao, C.A., Ravindra chary, G., Raju, B.M.K. and Pushpanjali
 
Subject grass strip; soil quality; surface runoff
 
Description Not Available
: To make rainfed agriculture an economically viable enterprise for improving the livelihood
and welfare of the farming communities contributing around 40 percent of the total food production
in India, it is vital to implement best management practices to keep soils healthy, conserve agronomic
inputs, minimize environmental impacts, and produce adequate yields. Increases in the sudden
downpour of rain invites a high amount of soil loss from agricultural fields, eroding the uppermost
soil layer. Permanent fodder grass strips effectively trap sediments and check nutrient removal
from soil on one hand and on other meet the green fodder demands of small ruminants. However,
nutrients removed by erosion create a limitation on land productivity. It has been observed that
grass systems are useful for the improvement of other soil properties (soil physical and biological
properties, for example) related to soil erosion control, slope stabilization, and food production.
Hence, this study brought out the impact of grass-strip-based cropping systems on the sustainability
of rainfed farming. Fields with grass strips improved their soil quality from 0.39 to 0.52 over a
four-year period. This concept of growing grasses on both sides of a field (in a one-meter strip) in
areas of loamy fine sand to sandy loam textured soils improves soil health and significantly reduces
runoff from cropped fields. A permanent belt of Brachiaria ruziziensis and Stylosanthes hamata in two
meter widths was established at every fifteen meters across the direction of the slope and reduced soil
loss by 65–70 percent. This mechanization of friendly technology provides sufficient green fodder for
small ruminants. A castor–redgram rotation with fodder grass strips (especially Brachiaria ruziziensis)
on the upper and lower sides of the slopes fetched better crop productivity, and thus the total returns
increased from 137,022 rupees/ha to 178,689 rupees/ha. The use of grass strips is a low-cost measure
for soil conservation, especially for slowing down the run-off from sudden downpours of high
intensity. This study may aid researchers and managers in helping farmers with this low-cost and
viable technology
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Date 2023-02-09T07:43:59Z
2023-02-09T07:43:59Z
2019-04-01
 
Type Research Paper
 
Identifier Not Available
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http://krishi.icar.gov.in/jspui/handle/123456789/76071
 
Language English
 
Relation Not Available;
 
Publisher Not Available