World nurture Conservation day July 28
Conservation is the utilization without wastage of resources is required to ensure a high level of pro-duction.
Important soil conservation measures are
•Conservation Tillage
•Minimum tillage
•Zero tillage•Stubble mulching
•Trash farming
Conservation farming
•Farming across the slope
•Strip cropping
•Rotations
•Mixed cropping and intercropping
•Surface mulching
•Timely farm operations
•Improved water user efficiency
•Land levelling
•Providing safe drainage
•Intermittent terraces
•Growing vegetation on the bunds
Vegetation and vegetative management
•Strip cropping
•Stubble mulching
•Mulching Wind erosion management
•Protect the soil surface with a cover of vegetation or vegetative residues.
•Produce or bring to the surface soil aggregates or clods which are large enough to resist the wind force.
•Roughen the land surface to reduce wind velocity and trap drifting soil.
•Establish barriers or trap strips at intervals to reduce wind velocity and soil drifting.
Best practices to control soil blowing
•Deep ploughing
•Summer ploughing
•Surface roughness
•Conserving moisture
•Wind breaks and shelterbelts
•Mechanical or vegetative barriers For instance:
Shelterbelts for moderating microclimate
•Shelterbelts reduce wind velocity
•Moderate temperature
•Reduce evaporative loss and conserve soil moisture
Water erosion can be managed by
•In situ water harvesting
•Summer ploughing
Overland flow management
•Contour bund
•Graded bund
•Broad based bund
•Bench terrace
•Water harvesting and recycling
Zero tillage
•Several practices are in use such as zero tillage, minimum tillage and direct seeding.
•Planting crops in previously untilled soil by opening a narrow slot, trench or band only of sufficient width and depth to obtain seed coverage. No other soil tillage is done.
Advantages of zero tillage farming
•Erosion control: Retained stubble and crop residue reduces soil erosion and enhances soil fertility
•Moisture conservation: Stubble traps water, reduce runoff water, better infiltration leading to improved soil moisture condition
•Higher nitrogen availability
•Seedling protection: Stubbles protects young seedling from wind and heat
•Crop yields will be on par with traditional tillage system. However good yield can be harvested during dry years
•Reduce labour and save time
•Savings on equipment cost
•Savings on oil/fuel cost
