The agriculture in low rainfall areas of eastern Rajasthan, India is characterized by high risks from drought, degraded natural resources and pervasive poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. In this region, water ...The agriculture in low rainfall areas of eastern Rajasthan, India is characterized by high risks from drought, degraded natural resources and pervasive poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. In this region, water is the main limiting factor for upgrading rainfed agriculture. For such areas integrated watershed management is recognized as a potential approach for agriculture growth and rehabilitation of fragile and degraded lands. At Gokulpura-Goverdhanpura village in Bundi eastern Rajasthan, India an integrated watershed project was implemented using the holistic systems approach. This paper discusses the impacts of this watershed program on bio-physical, socio-economic, environmental and ecological parameters. Results indicate that due to watershed interventions the groundwater availability has substantially increased which brought changes in cropping patterns with high value crops. Significant increases in irrigated area, cropping intensity along with diversification of crops from traditional to commercial cash crops were recorded. The watershed program also significantly improved the socio-economic status of the watershed community. It has increased the income and reduced poverty of the people in the watershed. The watershed interventions generated good employment opportunities and significantly reduced the migration of both skilled and unskilled labor from the watershed village to urban areas. It has also improved the environmental quality and ecological status in the watershed. The watershed interventions increased the vegetative index or greenery, reduced runoff, soil loss, and land degradations and improved the bio-diversity in fragile ecosystems. Overall, the integrated watershed program at Gokulpura-Goverdhanpura provided resilience by ensuring continued and sustainable multiple outputs, besides soil and water conservation and other positive environmental effects.展开更多
In the semi-arid tropics (SAT),33% areas are occupied by Alfisols and related soils. In SAT these soils have low structural stability and thereby tend to form seal and crusts at the surface. Due to this a large propor...In the semi-arid tropics (SAT),33% areas are occupied by Alfisols and related soils. In SAT these soils have low structural stability and thereby tend to form seal and crusts at the surface. Due to this a large proportion of the rain that falls on Alfisols during the early part of the rainy season,is normally lost as runoff thus causing high soil loss as well as moisture stress to crops. Two tillage studies were conducted first at plot scale (320 m2) during 1991-95 and second at small watershed scale (1.45 ha) during 2007-10,at ICRISAT research station,Hyderabad,India. These studies were conducted to find out whether the problem of excessive runoff and soil loss during the early part of the rainy season can be controlled by various inter-row tillage systems in addition to normal intercultivation by breaking the crust or seal and thereby improving infiltration and soil moisture and reducing runoff and soil loss. The observations on rainfall,runoff,soil moisture,soil loss,soil surface roughness and crop yields were collected from both the studies. Results from these studies have shown that inter-row tillage in addition to normal intercultivation is found effective in controlling early season runoff and soil loss and increasing crop yields. The additional tillage systems are found most effective during low and medium rainfall years and not so much during high rainfall years. The additional tillage with shoe cultivators,which creates rough soil surface (11 mm depression storage),is found most effective in increasing crop yields and reducing runoff and soil loss. The additional tillage with blade harrow which generates smooth soil surface is relatively less effective. In most rainfall conditions,the normal intercultivation with one additional tillage is found adequate for controlling early season runoff and improving soil moisture and crop yields.展开更多
Long-term experiments can be used to assess management induced changes in soil properties and sustainability of the management system in terms of the productivity. Such data are scanty, especially in the semi-arid tro...Long-term experiments can be used to assess management induced changes in soil properties and sustainability of the management system in terms of the productivity. Such data are scanty, especially in the semi-arid tropics (SAT) region. A long-term experiment established in 1976 at ICRISAT in India on Vertisols with two management treatments;improved management (IM), comprising semi-permanent broadbed and furrow (BBF) landform with minimum tillage and improved cropping practices;and traditional management (TM) system comprising keeping the land fallow during the rainy season and sowing on flat landform during post-rainy season with traditional cropping practices, was sampled after 24 and 34 years for soil physical and hydrological properties. Results showed that both in short-and long-term the management systems had profound effect on crop yields. Also in the long-term IM and TM management systems had significant effect on several soil physical and hydrological properties. Throughout the soil profile IM systems had significantly lower bulk density, significantly higher porosity, substantially lower penetration resistance both at 5 cm (1 and 8 MPa) and 15 cm depths (8 and 15 MPa), significantly higher infiltration and sorptivity and significantly larger mean weight diameter of 4.3 mm compared to 2.8 mm for soils under TM. However, management systems had no significant effect on moisture holding capacities both at 0.033 and 1.5 MPa. Significant differences between the improved and traditional systems were observed in the size and pattern of soil surface cracks. Over the long-term, the improved management systems has very favorable effects on soil physical and hydrological properties and on the soil surface cracking and its patterns, thereby contributing to higher productivity.展开更多
文摘The agriculture in low rainfall areas of eastern Rajasthan, India is characterized by high risks from drought, degraded natural resources and pervasive poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. In this region, water is the main limiting factor for upgrading rainfed agriculture. For such areas integrated watershed management is recognized as a potential approach for agriculture growth and rehabilitation of fragile and degraded lands. At Gokulpura-Goverdhanpura village in Bundi eastern Rajasthan, India an integrated watershed project was implemented using the holistic systems approach. This paper discusses the impacts of this watershed program on bio-physical, socio-economic, environmental and ecological parameters. Results indicate that due to watershed interventions the groundwater availability has substantially increased which brought changes in cropping patterns with high value crops. Significant increases in irrigated area, cropping intensity along with diversification of crops from traditional to commercial cash crops were recorded. The watershed program also significantly improved the socio-economic status of the watershed community. It has increased the income and reduced poverty of the people in the watershed. The watershed interventions generated good employment opportunities and significantly reduced the migration of both skilled and unskilled labor from the watershed village to urban areas. It has also improved the environmental quality and ecological status in the watershed. The watershed interventions increased the vegetative index or greenery, reduced runoff, soil loss, and land degradations and improved the bio-diversity in fragile ecosystems. Overall, the integrated watershed program at Gokulpura-Goverdhanpura provided resilience by ensuring continued and sustainable multiple outputs, besides soil and water conservation and other positive environmental effects.
文摘In the semi-arid tropics (SAT),33% areas are occupied by Alfisols and related soils. In SAT these soils have low structural stability and thereby tend to form seal and crusts at the surface. Due to this a large proportion of the rain that falls on Alfisols during the early part of the rainy season,is normally lost as runoff thus causing high soil loss as well as moisture stress to crops. Two tillage studies were conducted first at plot scale (320 m2) during 1991-95 and second at small watershed scale (1.45 ha) during 2007-10,at ICRISAT research station,Hyderabad,India. These studies were conducted to find out whether the problem of excessive runoff and soil loss during the early part of the rainy season can be controlled by various inter-row tillage systems in addition to normal intercultivation by breaking the crust or seal and thereby improving infiltration and soil moisture and reducing runoff and soil loss. The observations on rainfall,runoff,soil moisture,soil loss,soil surface roughness and crop yields were collected from both the studies. Results from these studies have shown that inter-row tillage in addition to normal intercultivation is found effective in controlling early season runoff and soil loss and increasing crop yields. The additional tillage systems are found most effective during low and medium rainfall years and not so much during high rainfall years. The additional tillage with shoe cultivators,which creates rough soil surface (11 mm depression storage),is found most effective in increasing crop yields and reducing runoff and soil loss. The additional tillage with blade harrow which generates smooth soil surface is relatively less effective. In most rainfall conditions,the normal intercultivation with one additional tillage is found adequate for controlling early season runoff and improving soil moisture and crop yields.
文摘Long-term experiments can be used to assess management induced changes in soil properties and sustainability of the management system in terms of the productivity. Such data are scanty, especially in the semi-arid tropics (SAT) region. A long-term experiment established in 1976 at ICRISAT in India on Vertisols with two management treatments;improved management (IM), comprising semi-permanent broadbed and furrow (BBF) landform with minimum tillage and improved cropping practices;and traditional management (TM) system comprising keeping the land fallow during the rainy season and sowing on flat landform during post-rainy season with traditional cropping practices, was sampled after 24 and 34 years for soil physical and hydrological properties. Results showed that both in short-and long-term the management systems had profound effect on crop yields. Also in the long-term IM and TM management systems had significant effect on several soil physical and hydrological properties. Throughout the soil profile IM systems had significantly lower bulk density, significantly higher porosity, substantially lower penetration resistance both at 5 cm (1 and 8 MPa) and 15 cm depths (8 and 15 MPa), significantly higher infiltration and sorptivity and significantly larger mean weight diameter of 4.3 mm compared to 2.8 mm for soils under TM. However, management systems had no significant effect on moisture holding capacities both at 0.033 and 1.5 MPa. Significant differences between the improved and traditional systems were observed in the size and pattern of soil surface cracks. Over the long-term, the improved management systems has very favorable effects on soil physical and hydrological properties and on the soil surface cracking and its patterns, thereby contributing to higher productivity.
