Open AccessConservation Agriculture: A Way for Soil Water Conservation
Author(s) -
S. Selvakumar,
K. Sivakumar
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
agricultural reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 0976-0741
pISSN - 0253-1496
DOI - 10.18805/ag.r-2045
Subject(s) - conservation agriculture , tillage , agriculture , no till farming , crop rotation , environmental science , mulch till , soil conservation , agroforestry , minimum tillage , cropping , soil fertility , population , strip till , agronomy , soil water , biology , soil science , ecology , demography , sociology
World population is going on increasing, it may be 2.4 billion by 2050, but stabilizing the yield of crop is questionable in Indian agriculture due to improper management of agricultural land. Excess tillage accelerate the organic matter oxidation present on the top soil, soil erosion and creates subsurface hard pan. This makes the field unsuitable for cultivation of crops in future. Climate change is worsening the situation by imposing water scarcity in India. So to evade these problems, conservation agriculture is the only way. Main objectives of conservation agriculture is reducing tillage, year round cropping, crop rotation, mulching may be live or residue. Due to reduced mechanical tillage, activity of micro flora and macro flora get increases that improves biological tillage of soil, that in turn improves soil structure and enhances the plant growth. Most of the studies showed that the cost of wheat production and CO2 emission from the field is reduced when conservation agriculture was fallowed in rice-wheat cropping system. Crop rotation and also mixed cropping improves soil fertility and also it reduces soil erosion. It can be a part of climate smart agriculture. It reduces greenhouse gas emission and also it can improve carbon sequestration. Considerably it can save 20-30% of water.