AGR 302 Rainfed Agriculture and Watershed Management (1+1) 2019-20 PDF

Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt. AGR 302: Rainfed Agriculture and Page | 1 Watershed Management (1+1) Theory Study Material (2019-20) Lec.No. 1: Significance and Scope of Dry farming in In...

Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt. AGR 302: Rainfed Agriculture and Page | 1 Watershed Management (1+1) Theory Study Material (2019-20) Lec.No. 1: Significance and Scope of Dry farming in India and History of dry land Agriculture Lec. No. 2: Dry farming and Rainfed farming: Definition and Characteristics Lec. No. 3: Distribution of Arid and Semi arid regions in World, India and Tamil Nadu. Lec. No. 4: Major crops of dry lands in India and Tamil Nadu Lec. No. 5: Characteristics of dry land farming and major constraints for crop production Lec. No. 6: Drought Definition, Classification and Effect on crops Lec. No. 7: Drought Management Strategies and Contingency Crop Planning & Mid Season Correction. Lec. No. 8: Mulching, anti- transpirants, in-situ soil moisture conservation techniques and Approaches. Prepared by, Dr.S.Anbumani, Associate Professor (Agronomy) 1  Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt. Lecture No. 1: Significance and Scope of Dry farming in India and History of dry land Agriculture Dry land agriculture is very important component of Indian agriculture by contributing significantly towards food, fodder, fuel and fibre production. In irrigated agriculture area and Page | 2 productivity has been declining, dry farming would inevitably have to be relied more in the future.  The changes in agricultural production in dry lands will not be as dramatic and immediate as happened in irrigated agriculture. This invite a greater role from scientists, extension officials and the policy makers to give more attention on dry land agriculture, since it has greater scope for increasing the food production.  Rainfall in these areas is unevenly distributed, highly uncertain and erratic. In certain areas the total annual rainfall does not exceed 500 mm. Dry lands contribute towards 42% of the total food grain production of the country.  Dry lands, being water deficient besides, are also characterized by high evaporation rates, particularly high day temperature in summer, low humidity, high run off and soil erosion. The soils of such areas are often found to be saline and low in fertility.  Water is the most important factor of crop production, inadequacy and uncertainty of rainfall often cause partial or complete failure of the crops which leads to food scarcities and famines. Thus the life of both human beings and cattles in such areas becomes difficult and insecure. Significance of Dry land Agriculture  India ranks first among the rainfed agricultural countries of the World in terms of both extent and value of the produce  The total land area of India is 329 million hectares of which 143 million hectares is arable land and of his 94 million hectares fall under dry lands.  In India 128 districts have been recognized as dry land farming areas. Of these, 91 Districts are spread in Central Rajasthan, Saurashtra region of Gujarat, rain shadow region of the Western Ghats and in the states of Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.  Crops such as sorghum,pearl millet,finger millet among millets, oilseeds like mustard, rapeseed, groundnut and pulse crops like pigeon pea, gram and lentil are the major crops of dry lands.  Almost 80% of maize and jowar, 90% of bajra and approximately 95% of pulses and 75% of oilseeds and 70% of cotton are obtained from dry land agriculture. Dry land farming holds greater significance to meet the food grain demand for increase in population and fluctuating production.  About 70% of rural population lives in dry farming areas and their livelihood depend on success or failure of the crops. More than 75% of the farmers engaged in dry farming are small and marginal. Therefore, improvement in dry farming would raise the economic status of farmers by helping for poverty alleviation. 2  Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt.  Although, India is blessed with average annual rainfall of about 1120 mm, slightly above the global mean of 990 mm,The fate of dry land crops oscillates with the quantity, onset, progress, spatial and temporal distribution of monsoon rains.  Of the mean annual rainfall,  30 per cent of the country gets less than 750 mm Page | 3  40 per cent between 750 and 1250 mm  20 per cent area is blessed with rainfall between 1250 and 2000 mm and  10 per cent area with annual rainfall over 2000 mm.  A critical appraisal of the existing rain water availability shows that,  India receives 400 million hectare meters (M ha m) of rain water annually  About 160 M ha m falls on agricultural land  Nearly 24 M ha m is available for harvesting in small scale water harvesting structures  About 186 M ha m goes to rivers as runoff and  Around one-fourth of the total annual rainfall is received before or after cropping season. Scope of Dry land Agriculture  Considering the large areas with more yield gaps, indicate the significant scope to enhance the contribution from dry land agriculture to the Indian food basket. Feed and fodder production to support livestock is yet another important contribution of dry land agriculture. Dry farming not only contributes 40-42% of food grain production but also supports two-third of the livestock population.  Despite considerable progress in irrigation development over the five year plans, 85% of coarse cereals, 95% in pulses, 42% in rice, 75% in oilseeds and 70% in cotton are still cultivated as rainfed. Though, impressive gains were noted in some of the rainfed crops in recent times, the gap between attainable and farmers' yields still remain high which shows more scope for development.  Small and marginal farmers who are the backbone of rainfed farming are resource poor and risk averse. Moreover, both public and private investments in technology adoption and infrastructure have been quite low in dry land agriculture  Several resource management problems emerging in irrigated regions, rainfed agriculture offers scope to contribute to the growing food needs of future particularly of pulses and edible oils.  With the promised break-through in yields through genetic manipulation and large scale adoption of water saving technologies through conservation agriculture, the yield gains can be further enhanced in the medium to long term.  The entire dry farming area is not uniform for resource base, opportunities and constraints. There are areas receiving high rainfall and fertile deep soils where crop yields can be enhanced significantly by double cropping combined with supplemental irrigation with water harvesting.  At present, 3 ha of dry land crop produces cereal grain equivalent to that produced in 1 ha of irrigated crop. There is scope for doubling the average yield of dry land crops. 3  Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt.  Limited scope for increasing the area under farming, only option is to increase the productivity with the modern technology and inputs, since the per capita land availability which was 0.28 ha in 1990 has declined to 0.19 ha in 2010 and 0.15 ha in 2015. Crop productivity in dry lands must increase from the present 0.8 to 2.0 tons ha-1 by 2025 to meet the future challenge.  The target in food grain production cannot be realized from irrigated areas alone as we have Page | 4 irrigation potential for 178 m ha only. Moreover the productivity of grains already showed a plateau in irrigated agriculture due to problems related to nutrient exhaustion, salinity build up and raising water table.  Therefore, the challenges of the present millennium would be to produce more from dry lands while ensuring Conservation of existing resources. Hence, new strategies would have to be evolved which would make the fragile dry land ecosystems more productive and sustainable. We shall have to make grey areas (dry lands) green through latest technological innovations to achieve evergreen revolution in dry land agriculture.  For the relatively lower rainfall regions, the overall system productivity needs to be enhanced by integrating crops, trees and livestock. This agro-eco region based differential approach is the key for realizing the full potential of dry land agriculture besides addressing the dimension of regional equity.  Dry land offers good scope for development of agroforestry, social forestry. horti- sylvi-pasture and other such similar systems which will not only supply food, fuel to the people fodder to the cattle and also forms a suitable vegetative cover for ecological maintenance.  Therefore, we can say that second 'green revolution' in Indian agriculture can be had in rainfed/dry land agriculture. This is important to improve the standard of living of farmers residing in these areas as well. Global Status of Dry land Agriculture  Dry land agriculture is the main stay of over 800 million inhabitants of the Semi Arid Tropics (SAT) in 600 million hectares of land. These inhabitants rely on traditionally organized and fragile agriculture systems for livelihood.  The low and unpredictable rainfall that defines dry land agriculture is found on about 40 per cent of the global land surface and 60 per cent of which is in the developing world.  Local rainfall is the only source of water available for crop production in most parts of region. As a consequence of low rainfall and its high variability of onset and distribution, prolonged dry spells, which usually occur during the growing season crop growth and yields, are often affected.  In this region, rainfall exceeds evapotranspiration for 2 to 4.5 months (dry semi arid) or 4.5 to 7 months (wet semi arid) in any particular year.  Farmers in these regions produce more than 50 per cent of groundnut, 80 per cent pearl millet and about 93 per cent of pulses and hence major share of world's food grains come from these dry lands. 4  Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt.  Rainfed farming systems occupy about 80% of the world's agricultural lands and contribute to over two-thirds of the global food production.  In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 95% of farm land is rainfed  Latin America 90%;  South Asia 60%;  East Asia 65%; and Page | 5  West Asia and North Africa 75%  Out of total world population, more than 1.5 billion people live in dry land areas. The bulk of this population belongs to sub-Saharan, the region that is more or less inhabited by the world's poorest people.  Dry land areas are under increased pressure due to the prevalence of poor agricultural practices, over-grazing and intensive cropping to meet food and fibre requirement of man and animal.  Thus this land is unable to meet the pressure of people's need. A severe environmental degradation is unavoidable due to this pressure. In addition, the poor development in the social and economic front often creates serious disturbances.  The ultimate result is the persistence of perennial poverty in the dry land areas. In some countries the dry land covers more than 50 per cent of the total geographical area. Most of these countries are economically very poor. This poor economic status leads to a poor social consciousness, which is the major cause of excessive population growth in these countries.  The final outcome of this situation is the low growth rate of gross domestic production (GDP). Naturally per capita income, expenditure and food/nutrition availability is very low in these countries. National status  Out of total landmass of 329 million hectares with an average annual rainfall of about 1120 mm, 224 million hectares are moderate to extreme dry. These areas alone provide home to some 40% of our total human population and two third of cattle population.  These areas are generally mono-cropped and dependent on rainfall only.  Instead of high value crops, these areas are compelled to produce 90% of coarse cereals, 95% of pulses, 75% of oil seed and 70% of cotton obviously with low productivity.  At the same time, in our country, 90% of people of dry areas depend only on agriculture for their livelihood. Interestingly an estimated 42% of total food grains come from the dry areas. Naturally, poverty is a constant companion of the people living in these areas.  Out of a total 329 million hectare (m ha), 175 m ha are in various stages of degradation. About 50 percent of total cultivable land suffers from soil erosion and salinity problem. About 30 m ha of fragile land now under cultivation is progressively degrading. Out of 450 million of cattle population, there are 300 million heads of cattle present in dry land areas.  The annual fodder requirement of India is about 932 million tonnes of green and 750 million tonnes of dry fodder as against current availability of 250 and 414 million tonnes respectively. 5  Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt. History of dry land Agricultural Research in India The chronology of events in dry land agricultural research in India is as follows, 1920: Scarcity tract development given importance by the Royal Commission on Agriculture 1923: Establishing Dry land Research Station at Manjri (Pune) by Tamhane Page | 6 1933: Research Stations established at Bijapur and Solapur 1934: Research Stations established at Hagari and Raichur 1935: Research Station established at Rohtak (Punjab) 1942: Bombay Land Development act passed 1944: Monograph on dry farming in India by N.V.Kanitkar (Bombay,Hyderabad,Madras Dry Farming Practices) 1953: Establishing Central Soil Conservation Board 1954: Establishing Central Soil Conservation Centres 1970: Research Centres established under AICRPDA in 23 locations 1972: Establishment of International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) at Hyderabad 1973-74: DPAP- Drought Prone Area Development Programme 1977-78: DDP- Desert Development Project 1976: Establishment of Dry land Operational Research Projects 1983: Starting of 47 model watersheds under ICAR 1984: Initiation of World Bank assisted Watershed Development Programmes in four states. 1985: Birth of Central Research Institute for Dry land Agriculture (CRIDA)at Hyderabad 1990-91: Launching of NWDPRA programmes by Government of India in 25 states. 1995: WDPSCA-Watershed Development project for shifting cultivation area 2006: NRAA-National rainfed Authority of India 2005-06: NHM- National Horticulture mission 2006: MNREGA- Mahathma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2008: NAPCC- National Action Plan on Climate Change 2011-12: Rainfed Area Development Programme 2011: RKVY- Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana 2011: NICRA -. National Innovation on Climate Resilient Agriculture 2014-15: NSMA- National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture ( Sub Mission on Agro forestry) 2015: PMKSY- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (Watershed) by Department of land Resources 2019: Jal Sakthi Abhiyan for water conservation and water security. 6  Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt. Lecture No. 2: Dry farming and Rainfed farming: Definition and Characteristics Depending on the amount of rainfall received, dry land agriculture can be grouped into three categories based on the amount of rainfall received and climate: a) Dry farming: is cultivation of crops in regions with annual rainfall less than 750 mm. Crop failure is Page | 7 most common due to prolonged dry spells during the crop period. These are arid regions with a growing season (period of adequate soil moisture) less than 75 days. Moisture conservation practices are necessary for crop production. b) Dry land farming: is cultivation of crops in regions with annual rainfall more than 750 mm. In spite of prolonged dry spells crop failure is relatively less frequent. These are semi arid tracts with a growing period between 75 and 120 days. Moisture conservation practices are necessary for crop production. However, adequate drainage is required especially for vertisols or black soils. c) Rainfed farming: is crop production in regions with annual rainfall more than 1150 mm. Crops are not subjected to soil moisture stress during the crop period. Emphasis is often on disposal of excess water. These are humid regions with growing period more than 120 days. Constituent Dry farming Dry land farming Rainfed farming Rainfall (mm) < 750 >750 >1150 Prolonged dry spell Occur Occur Does not occur Crop failures Most common Least frequent Does not occur Growing period (days) 120 Moisture availability to the crop Shortage Enough Excess & Drainage Growing regions Arid Semi Arid Humid and sub humid regions Constraints Wind erosion Wind and water erosion Water erosion United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific distinguished dry land agriculture mainly into two categories: dry land and rainfed farming. Constituent Dry land farming Rainfed farming Rainfall (mm) 800 Moisture availability to the crop Shortage Enough Growing season (days) 200 Growing regions Arid and semiarid as well as Humid and sub humid regions uplands of sub-humid and humid regions Cropping system Single crop or intercropping double cropping Constraints Wind and water erosion Water erosion 7  Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt. a) The area under dry land agriculture is more in India ( 60 per cent of total cultivable area) b) Areas of low rainfall ( below 750 mm) constitute more than 30 per cent of total geographical area c) About 84 districts in India fall in the category of low rainfall area d) Providing irrigation to all the dry lands is expensive and takes long time. Area under dry lands Page | 8 Globally the area under dryl ands is about 6150 m.ha. In India out of the total cultivated area of 143 m.ha the area under dry lands is about 85 m.ha, which comes to 60%. It is estimated that even after creating entire irrigation potential for irrigation about 55% of total cultivated area remain as rainfed. Except in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Pondichery the percentage of area under drylands is high in all other states. In Tami Nadu the area under dry lands is about 2.57 m.ha. Defined by, Hargreaves (1957) defined dry farming as agriculture without irrigation in regions of scanty precipitation. ICAR while establishing the dry land centers in different agro -climatic zones of the country in 1970, used the simple formula of Thornthwaite (1955) for estimating the moisture deficit index. Moisture deficit Index = 100 [(P-PE)/PE] Accordingly, climate has been divided into three types.  Sub humid 0 to 33.3  Semi arid - 33.3 to 66.6  Arid > - 66.6 Steiner et al., (1988) After careful consideration of several definitions, Steiner et al. (1988) consider aridity index concept of the United Nations Conference on Desertification based on the balance between precipitation (P) and evapotranspiration (ET) to be appropriate for wide scale adoption. According to this definition the areas with P/ET ratio between 0.03 and 0.20 are arid and areas with the ratio between 0.2 and 0.5 are semi-arid. FAO classification (2000) This classification is based on 'growing period concept' of the FAO. Areas having a growing period between 1 and 74 days are classified as arid and those with a growing period between 75 and 119 days are semiarid. (Growing period is the number of days during a year when precipitation exceeds half the potential evapotranspiration, plus a period to use an assumed 100 mm of water from excess precipitation (or) less stored in the soil profile. Characteristics of dry lands  Low and unsuitable crop production due to an unfavourable crop-grown environment  Limited choice of crops, limited crops especially those tolerant to water stress and aberrant weather situations  Low cropping intensity and wide variations in soil moisture status due to distribution and amount of rainfall 8  Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt.  Most or the crops and varieties grown in the dry lands are not efficient users of moisture and are subsistence oriented with little emphasis on their suitability for the environment.  Most of them are of longer duration, photosensitive and have a low harvest index with low response to inputs such as fertilizer. Because of their longer duration they have to endure lengthy periods of moisture stress, resulting in low yields or complete failures. Page | 9  These conditions are further aggravated by the high evaporative demands and by the limited water holding capacity of soils due to shallow depths in many areas.  Deforestation, overgrazing and unlimited cultivation on sloping lands have not only increased the run-off but also reduced the recharge of the soil profile and groundwater thereby resulting in severe soil erosion.  These have contributed to soil deterioration, nutrient losses, lower yields of upland crops, down-stream flooding of heavily cropped and populated areas, sedimentation of reservoirs and increased flow of water to the seas.  There is a need in the dry lands for improving resource management that would conserve and utilize more effectively the rainfall and the soil, provide a new crop production system that can maintain the productivity and assure dependable harvests. 9  Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt. Lecture No. 3: Distribution of Arid and Semi arid regions in World, India and Tamil Nadu. Classification of Dry Farming Regions Arid or semiarid refers to moisture regimes whereas tropical or temperate refers to thermal (temperature) regimes of an area. Dry farming areas are thus classified based on thermal and moisture regimes. Based on moisture regimes they are classified as aríd and Page | 10 semiarid; based on thermal regimes as tropical and temperate. Tropics have a mean annual temperature of more than 18° C and temperate regions have a mean annual temperature of less than 18°C. i) Arid region: It is characterized by very low rainfall, usually less than 200 mm per year, occurring in a very short period. Rainless dry spells may at times stretch for more than a year (Dry climate). The arid regions are classified into, a).Arid Tropics with mean annual temperature exceeding 18°C and b.Arid Temperate regions with mean annual temperature less than 18°C. ii) Semiarid region: It is characterized by a mixed climate in which a fairly moist or rainy season alternates with a completely dry season. Hence the climate is described as alternating wet and dry climate. Depending on distance from equator and temperature regimes, semiarid regions are divided into Semiarid Tropics, usually termed as SAT regions and semiarid temperate regions. a) Semiarid Tropics (SAT): Rainfall occurs during 2 to 7 months of the year. When number of wet months is 2.0 to 4.5, it is described as dry SAT and when rainy months ranges from 4.5 to 7.0 t is called as wet SAT. Rainfall quantity ranges from 400 to 750 mm per year, with a variability of 20- 30%. But, the onset, closure and duration of rainy season exhibits wide variability between years. Distribution of rainfall within the season also exhibits wide fluctuations between years. A greater portion of rainfall is received in high intensity over a short duration, leading to run off. Mean annual temperature is more than 18°C and during most months PET is higher than precipitation. Soil moisture inadequacy is the major constraint for cropping. b) Semiarid Temperate regions: Though annual rainfall is low, PET is also low during many months. Mean annual temperature is less than 18°C. Maximum temperature during summer is 33°C while minimum temperature may reach -26°C during winter months. Temperature is the critical limiting factor for crop production rather than moisture. All the dry farming areas are located in arid and semiarid regions only. But not all the arid and semiarid regions come under dry farming areas. When irrigation facilities are available, irrigated farming is practiced extensively in arid and semiarid regions also. Eg Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Climate Moisture regime Thermal regime Constraints for cropping Arid Tropics Dry Above 18 ºC Moisture Arid Temperate Dry Below 18 ºC Moisture and Temperature Semiarid tropics Wet-Dry Above 18 ºC Moisture Semiarid temperate Wet-Dry Below 18 ºC Temperature 10  Rainfed Agriculture & Watershed Mgt. Distribution of Dry Farming Regions Arid regions of World: The following are the five arid zones in the world, 1. North African Eurasian – Sahara and Tar desert 2. North American desert – Arizona in USA 3. South American desert – Peru Page | 11 4. South African desert – Namibia 5. Australian desert – Central Australia Semi arid regions of world: Depending on distance from equator and temperature regimes, semi arid regions are divided into Semi Arid Tropics, usually termed as SAT regions and semi arid temperate regions. a. Semi arid tropics: This region lies between 10º and 30º north and south latitudes. It is spread over 48 countries in four continents of Asia, Australia, America and Africa. It covers many parts in Africa, India, Pakistan and North Eastern Burma in Asia, Northern Australia and Mexico, Paraguay, Bolivia and Venezuela in South America. West Africa accounts for 24% of semi arid tropics, East Africa 18%, South Africa 20%, Latin America 17%, Australia 10% and South Asia 11%. b. Semi arid temperate region of the World: This occurs in Russia, North Western China, USA and Canada. Arid and Semi arid regions of India: Total area under arid and semiarid regions in India extends over 135.8 million hectares Climate Area (m ha) Regions Arid Tropics 31.7 Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Parts of Karnataka and Andhra Arid Temperate 7.0 Jammu and Kashmir Semiarid Tropics 95.7 Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh Semiarid Temperate 1.4 Jammu and Kashmir Distribution of arid and Semi arid regions of India Arid Semiarid State Area (Sq km) Per cent to total area Area (Sq km) Per cent to total area A. Tropics Rajasthan 196150 61 121020 13 Gujarat 62180 20 90520 9 Punjab 14510 5 31770 3 Haryana 12840 4 26880 3 Uttarpradesh - - 64230 7 Madhyapradesh - - 59470 6 Maharastra 1290 0.4 189580 19 Karnataka 8570 3 139360 15 Andhrapradesh 21550 7 138670 15 Tamil Nadu - 95250 10 All India 317090 956750 b. Temperate Jammu & Kashmir 70300 13780 11 Dry Farming Regions of India Region States Places Rainfall Monsoon Climate Soils Crops/cropping systems (mm) Jhansi Uttar Jhansi, Hamirpur 930 Jun-Sep Semi arid Red black Sorghum-safflower / mustard pradesh Banda Lalitpur, Jalaun cowpea / urd / moong,-gram safflower rice-soybean-gram safflower. Rajkot Gujarat Rajkot 625 Jun-Sep Arid Medium Sorghum / bajra / cotton Surendranagar; black green gram / black gram Jamnagar, Junagadh redgram / cluster bean / Bhavanagar, Amreli groundnut / sesamum / castor-safflower / sunflower/ green gram / mustard. Akola Maharasht Akola, Amravati, 830 Jun-Sep Semi arid Medium and Green gram / sorghum/ ra Wardha, Yeotmal deep black safflower / sunflower/ cotton Parbhani, Buldana, + green gram / groundnut- Khandesh, Adilabad, sorghum + green gram / black Andhra Nizambad gram / redgram groundnut + Pradesh sunflower. Sholapur Maharasht Solapur, 722 May-Oct Semi arid Black Pear millet-Gram / Black ra Ahmednagar, Nasik, gram-sorghum / Pearl millet + Pune, Satara, Sangli, Redgram / Horsegram / Dhule, Bhir, Redgram + setaria / Osmanabad, Jalgaon, Groundnut / sunflower Buldhana /Castor-Horsegram. Indore Madhya Indore, Ratlan Ujjain 990 May-Sep Semi arid Medium Maize-gram / safflower Pradesh Dewar, Dhar, deep black sorghum + soybean-gram Khargaon Khandura, safflower-maize + groundnut sorghum + redgram. Rewa Madhya SidluRewa Satna 1080 Jun-Sep Sub humid Medium Sorghum +Redgram- Pradesh Shadol Panna black mixed gram/rice- wheat /gram Black Jabalpur Damoh red and grim Green gram-wheat/ rice- Chattarpur, black lentil. Tikamgarh Bijapur Maharasht Bijapur, Gulbarga 680 May-Oct Semi arid Medium and Green gram-sorghum / ra Belgraum, deep black safflower-groundnut/ pearl millet + redgram. Bengal Karnataka Raichur gram+ safflower / cotton. Udaipur Rajasthan Uddipur, Chittorgarh 635 Jun-Sep Semi arid Medium Sorghum maize-safflower Bhilwara, Ajmer, black mustard / pearl millet / pearl Banswara, Dungarpur millet +cowpea –mustard / Sorghum-mustard. Redgram / green gram / groundnut / Sunflower-wheat / mustard. 12 Bellary Karnataka Chellakere 500 Sep-Oct Semi arid Medium and Sorghum / safflower / gram Chitradurga Bellary, deep black sorghum + lablab Raichur,, Andhra Anantapur, Kurnool, Mahboobnagar Kovilpatti Tamil Nadu Tiruneiveli, 730 Sep-Dec Semi arid Deep black Sorghum + cowpea / Pearl Thoothukudi millet / Setaria / kudiraivali / black gram / green gram / Redgram / lablab/ cowpea / cotton +black gram Sunflower / Senna Agra Uttar Agra Aligarh 710 Jun-Sep Semi arid Deep alluvial Pearl millet / black gram / Pradesh Mathura, Etah sandy loam green gram / redgram / Manipuri cluster bean / groundnut safflower / mustard / pearl millet+ redgram / black gram / greengram / groundnut + castor. Anantapur Andhra Anantapur, Karnool, 570 May-Oct Arid Red loam Pearl millet / sorghum / Chithoor setaria/ castor / Redgram / gmundnut / mesta / groundnut+ Redgram / castor / pearl millet+ Redgram / castor. Hyderabad Andhra Rangareddy 770 Jun-Oct Semi arid Shallow red Sorghum / pearl millet / Nalgonda,, Medak sandy loam castor/ redgram / ragi / Karimnagar,, setaria / niger / horsegram / Mahboobnagar, sorghum / maize + red gram- Warangal safflower. 13 Regions of Tamil Nadu Region Taluk / District Annual Monsoon Climate Soils Crops/ cropping rainfall(mm) systems Northwest Dharmapurii Dt., 844 Jun - Oct Semiarid Red Groundnut + Red gram / Castor Taluks of Omalur, – Horse gram. Attur, Rasipuram 842 Jun - Oct Semiarid Red Cowpea - sorghum / Sorghum + Sankagiri in Salem Dt. lablab redgram. Perambahu Taluk Parts of Tirupattur 900 Jun - Oct Semiarid Red Ragi / pearl millet / Samai- and Vellore Taluks horsegram. Western Palladam, Kangeyam 711 Sep - Nov Semiarid Red Cotton/ sorghum/ pear millet / Dharapuram bengal gram / coriander / Udumalpet 717 black sorghum + lablab./ red gram. Coimbatore taluks of Coimbatore and Periyar Districts East Parts of Tiruchi, 840 Sep - Nov Semiarid Black Cotton / sorghum / pearl millet / central Pudukkottai, sesamum sorghum / pulses / 918 Red Madurai and pearl millet / groundnut +red Dindugul Dts. 876 Red gram/castor. Southern Tirunelveli Dt. 940 Oct - Dec Semiarid Red Groundnut / cowpea / sesamum sorghum / pearl millet / pulses castor. Thoothukudi Dt. 677 Oct- Dec Semiarid Black Cotton / chillies / coriander / Red black gram / sorghum / pearl millet / pulses. Virudunagar Dt. 817 Oct - Dec Semiarid Black Cotton / sunflower / maize / sorghum,/ pearl millet / pulses / castor. Ramanathapuram Dt. 819 Oct- Dec Semiarid Black Rice / cotton / sorghum/ pulses / chillies. Sivagangai Dt. 910 Oct- Dec Semiarid Red Groundnut / pearl millet / sesamum / cowpea /redgram / castor. 14 Lecture No. 4: Major crops of dry lands in India and Tamil Nadu Selection of suitable varieties: In most crops of dry farming regions, traditional local varieties still dominate. The preference for these local varieties is based on their pronounced drought tolerance. But they are usually longer in duration susceptible to moisture stress at maturity. They have low yield potential even under favourable rainfall. They do not respond significantly to improved management such as nutrient supply. The criteria now adopted for selection of crop varieties for dry lands include drought tolerance, short or medium duration, high yield potential, response to nutrient supply, high water use efficiency, moderate resistance to pest and diseases. Suitable varieties for all dry land crops have been developed in all the dry farming regions and have proved their high yield potential. Choice of cropping system: Cropping system refers to the spatial and temporal association of crops in a farming system. Choice of suitable cropping system must aim at maximum and sustainable use of resources especially water and soil. Cropping systems depend on rainfall quantity, length of rainy reason and soil storage capacity. The broad guidelines in choosing a cropping system for dry lands are given below. Potential cropping system based on rainfall and soil characters Rainfall Soil type Growing Profile storage Suggested cropping system (mm) season (weeks) capacity (mm) 350-600 Alfisols, 20 100 Single rainy season cropping sorghum shallow vertisols / maize / soybean 350-600 Deep aridisols, 20 100 Single cropping sorghum / maize / Entisols(alluvium) soybean in kharif / rabi 350-600 Deep vertisols 20 100 Single post rainy season cropping sorghum 600-750 Alfisols, vertisols, 20-30 150 Intercropping entisols 1. Sorghum + Pigeon pea 2. Cotton + Black gram 750-900 Entisols, deep 30 200 Double cropping with monitoring vertisols, deep 1. Maize – safflower alfisols, inceptisols 2. Soybean – chick pea 3. Groundnut – horsegram > 900 As above > 30 > 200 Assured double cropping Maize – chick pea Soybean - safflower Intercropping: Intercropping refers to growing two or more crops in the same field during the same season. Intercropping is widely practiced in dry farming since it offers many advantages as outlined below, 15   Intercropping is a risk minimization strategy and provides an insurance against complete crop failure due to rainfall abnormalities. This is made possible through the duration difference between component crops  It provides more yield and income per unit area per unit time than sole cropping  Stability in production is achieved  Multiple products for home consumption as well as for marketing are made available  When legumes are included in intercropping, soil fertility is enriched  Intercrop canopy suppresses weed growth  Some intercrop combinations provide biological control of pests and diseases (eg) cotton + cluster bean cropping system. Intercrop cluster bean reduces jassid incidence in cotton  Resource use efficiency is increased viz., light, water and nutrients are efficiently used. However, for success in intercropping the competition between component crops must be minimized and the complimentary effects must be maximized. This can be accomplished by the following means  Choice of suitable component crops differing in duration, rooting pattern, canopy architecture nutrient requirement and occurrence of critical stages  Selection of genotypes in each component crop  Optimum population of component crops  Suitable crop geometry to provide adequate space for intercrops  Preference for leguminous crops as intercrops. Inter cropping system suitable for drylands Crops Geometry Base crop duration Intercrop duration Sorghum + Lablab 6-8:2 100-120 150-180 Sorghum + Redgram 6-8:1 100-120 180 Sorghum + Cowpea 2:1 100-120 80 Cotton + Black gram 2:1 150-185 65-75 Groundnut + Redgram 6-8:1 105 180 Groundnut + Castor 6-8:1 105 150-180 Bengalgram + Coriander 4:1 100 80 Maize + Cowpea 2:1 100-110 75-80 Ragi+ Cowpea + Redgram 6:1:1 100 75 + 180 Double cropping in dry lands: Double cropping either by sequential cropping or relay cropping is possible in places with high rainfall (> 900 mm) extended rainy season and high soil moisture storage capacity. Double cropping by relay cropping Groundnut / Ragi + Redgram - Horsegram (Jun-Sep) (Jun-Jan) (Sep-Jan) Groundnut or ragi is sown with redgram as intercrop in 6:1 proportion in June. After harvest of groundnut in September, horsegram is relay sown in the space between redgram rows. 16 Double cropping by sequential cropping Pearl / ragi / samai (May – Sep) Horsegram (Sep – Jan) Groundnut / sesamum (May – Sep) Horsegram (Sep – Jan) Cowpea / greengram (Jun – Sep) Sorghum (Oct – Jan) Sorghum (Jul – Oct) Chickpea (Oct – Feb) Efficient double cropping system for dry lands of India Soil type Region Water availability (days) Double cropping system Vertisols MP 210-230 Maize – chickpea Soybean – wheat Maharastra 190-210 Sorghum – safflower Karnataka 130-150 Cowpea – sorghum Greengram – safflower Inceptisols UP 200-230 Rice – Chickpea 180-200 Pearl millet – chickpea Blackgram – mustard Oxisols Bihar 160-180 Maize – chickpea Groundnut – barley Alfisols Karnataka 190-220 Cowpea – ragi Soybean – ragi Alfisols and < 120 No double cropping aridisols Crop substitution: It refers to the replacement of an existing low yielding crop with another crop which is better adapted to the prevailing environment and is capable of giving higher yield under similar climatic conditions. For many dry farming regions of India, more suitable crops than existing ones have been identified. However, the acceptance and adoption of the practice of crop substitution by dry land farmers is poor since in most instances the new crops replace food crops. Region Traditional crop q/ha More suitable crop q/ha Agra Wheat 10.3 Mustard 20.4 Bellary Cotton 2.0 Sorghum 26.7 Bijapur Wheat 9.4 Safflower 18.8 Varanasi Upland rice 28.0 Maize 33.8 In vertisols of Tamil Nadu, sunflower and maize are substituting millets and senna substituting low value pulses. 17 CLIMATOLOGICAL APPROACH FOR CROP PLANNING Crops and varieties selected should match the length of growing season during which they are not subjected to soil moisture stress. Climatological analysis helps to identify cultivars suitable for different regions. Feasibility for intercropping, sequence cropping and double cropping can also be known from such analysis. For regions with cropping season less than 20 weeks, single crop during kharif or rabi is recommended. Regions with more than 30 weeks and above have no problem for double cropping. In regions with 20-30 weeks cropping season, double cropping may be risky. Such areas are ideal for intercropping. Water balance for different agroclimatic regions has been calculated and water availability periods worked out. Regions with 350-600 mm rainfall having 20 weeks effective growing season are suitable for single cropping in kharif (red and shallow black soils) or rabi (deep black soils). Intercropping is possible in regions receiving 600-750 mm rainfall and having 20-30 weeks of effective growing season. Areas with more than 750 mm rainfall or with more than 30 weeks are suitable for double cropping. Suitable Cropping Systems Based On Rainfall and Water Availability Period Rainfall Soils Water Potential cropping system (MM) availability period (weeks) 350-600 Alfisols & Shallow vertisols 20 Single kharif cropping 350-600 Aridisols & Entisols 20 Single cropping either in kharif or rabi 350-600 Deep Vertisols 20 Single rabi cropping 600-750 Alfisols, Vertisols &Entisols 20-30 Intercropping 750-900 Entisols, Deep Vertisols, Alfisols >30 Double cropping with monitoring & Inceptisols >900 Entisols, Deep vertisols, Alfisols >30 Assured double cropping & Inceptisols 18 Lecture No. 5: Characteristics of dry land farming and major constraints for crop production Most of the cropping in the arid and semi arid regions continues to be under rainfed conditions. A majority of the farmers are small farmers with meager resources. The poor resources base permits only low input subsistence farming with low and unstable crop yields. The low productivity of agriculture in dry farming regions is due to the cumulative effect of many constraints for crop production. The constraints can be broadly grouped in to, A. Climatic constraints, B.Soil related constraints, C.Management constraints and D.Socio economic & political constraints. A. Climatic constraints 1. Vagaries of monsoon (i) Variable Rainfall: Annual rainfall varies greatly from year to year and naturally its coefficient of variation. Generally, higher the rainfall less is the coefficient of variation. In other words, crop failures due to uncertain rains are more frequent in regions with lesser rainfall. (ii) Intensity and Distribution: In general, more than 50 per cent of total rainfall is usually received in 3 to 5 rainy days. Such intensive rainfall results in substantial loss of water due to surface runoff. This process also accelerates soil erosion. Distribution of rainfall during the crop growing season is more important than total rainfall in dry land agriculture. (iii) Late Onset of Monsoon: If the onset of monsoon is delayed crops/varieties recommended to the region cannot be sown in time. Delayed sowing lead to uneconomical crop yields. (iv) Early Withdrawal of Monsoon: This situation is equally or more dangerous than late onset of monsoon. Rainy season crops will be subjected to terminal stress leading to poor yields. Similarly, post-rainy season crops fail due to inadequate available soil moisture, especially during reproductive and maturity phases. (v) Prolonged Dry Spells: Breaks of monsoon for 7-10 days may not be a serious concern. Breaks of more than 15 days duration especially at critical stages for soil moisture stress leads to reduction in yield. Drought due to break in monsoon may adversely affect the crops in shallow soils than in deep soils. 2. High atmospheric temperature High temperature above 40° Celsius is a common phenomenon is dry land areas. It affects the growth of crops and animal production. Hot summers with little or no rains, while winter temperatures are relatively mild. There are often significant diurnal fluctuations in temperatures that restrict the growth of plants. Plant growth takes place between species-specific maximum and minimum temperatures. Extremely high can be damaging to plants. It affects adversely the reproductive stage that decreases the yield. 19 3. Low relative humidity: Atmospheric humidity is generally low in dry land environments. In hot humid areas it is up to 4 percent by volume. In the dry land areas, in general, the humidity is very low due to very low moisture. The humidity of a locality depends entirely on the continuous evaporation of moisture from that area. 4.High evaporation and transpiration: In arid regions, loss of water due to evaporation from the soil is relatively low due to low moisture content, potential evapo-transpiration is high under dry lands and often exceeds precipitation during most part of the year. This is because the water holding capacity of the atmosphere increases with higher temperatures, but relative humidity does not change markedly. As a result water vapor deficit increases in the atmosphere. 4. 5. Hot dry winds: Dry land environments are typically windy, largely because of the scarcity of vegetation and other obstacles. Wind moves the moist air that surrounds plants and soil bodies and, as a consequence, decreases atmospheric moisture and increases evapotranspiration rates. Some plants inherently transpire less than other plants and therefore, are adapted to dry environments. B.Soil related Constraints Alfisols and Vertisols of peninsular India and Aridisols of extremely dry climates are the principal soil orders in dry areas. About 30% of dryland area is covered by Alfisols and associated soils while 35% by Vertisols and associated soils having vertic properties and 10% by Entisols of the alluvial soil regions.  These soils are extremely prone to rainwater induced erosion,73.3 M ha of arable land affected by water erosion resulting in soil loss of more than 10t/ha/annum.  Apart from soil and nutrient losses, poor nutrient management is leading to multi' nutrient deficiency of essential nutrients, which is posing a threat to rainfed agriculture.  Due to increased rainfall intensities, land degradation is likely to increase in future.  The availability of chemical fertilizers may become increasingly difficult.  Biomass recycling and legumes in crop rotation are to be encouraged in order to sustain soil fertility in rainfed areas. 1. Inadequate soil moisture availability  Availability of soil moisture to crops is affected by rainfall behavior and various soil properties.  Shallow soils, degraded soils, eroded soils, gravelly soils and coarse textured soils have poor water holding capacity and hence cannot store much of rainfall. .Wind and water erosion remove the finer soil particles and expose the hard, impermeable subsoil causing less infiltration and less water storage.  Crusting of soil surface after rainfall reduces infiltration and storage of rainfall, due to high run off.  Compaction in surface and sub soil hardpans and poor soil structure affect infiltration and water storage.  Poor organic matter content adversely affects soil physical properties related to moisture storage. 20 2. Poor soil fertility It is often said "Dry land soils are not only thirsty but also hungry". Crops growing in dry farming regions are subjected to moisture stress as well as nutrient stress due to the poor fertility status.  Soil survey on fertility status of dry land soils showed that  N deficiency is uniformly prevalent P deficiency in red and laterite soils K deficiency in red sandy loam soil  Zn, Mn deficiency in specific crops like groundnut, sorghum.  Fe deficiency in calcareous soils  Organic matter content is very low in most places Reasons for the poor fertility status:  Inadequate water supply affects weathering of minerals and release of nutrients.  Low organic matter content is due to less addition of crop residues due to poor growth and less intensive cropping, rapid decomposition due to high temperature and less addition of organic manures.  Reduced microbial activity due to high temperature and low moisture which affects nutrient release.  Erosion removes nutrients rich top soil.  Nutrient removal by crops is not compensated by fertilizer addition which is almost nil or limited.  Development of salinity due to insufficiency of rains to leach out salts.  Reduced mobility of nutrients due to poor moisture content in soils. Fixation of nutrients, especially P, into unavailable form due to soil dryness. 3. Soil deterioration due to erosion Out of a total 329 m. ha, 175 m ha are in various stages of degradation. About 50 percent of total cultivable land suffers from soil erosion and salinity problem. About 30 m ha of are progressively degrading. Detachment and transport of soil and soil material caused by water and wind are widely prevalent in dry farming region. Erosion takes place in both red soils and black soils. C.Management Constraints Technological constraint is the lack of genotypes capable of giving high and stable yields even under adverse conditions in rainfed areas, either without or with little reduction in yields. Though a number of new cropping varieties and systems have been identified, their adoption rate is very low because of variations in the weather conditions within a small area and also in management practices due to changes in the resources mix of dry land farmers.  Lack of in-situ moisture conservation  Poor weed management 21   Poor drought management  Inadequate/imbalanced input fertilizer use  Poor plant protection measures  Inadequate water harvesting structures  Absence/low level of farm mechanization 1. Improved management practices  Soil and water are two naturally available resources which need to be managed efficiently in dry land agriculture. Effective utilization of stored soil moisture is important and hence crops and variety having higher moisture efficiency to be chosen for cultivation.  Crop planning at proper based on length of growing season: Select the crop of proper duration causes fluctuation in productivity from year to year having to match the length of growing season for stability in crop production.  Instead of separating kharif and rabi season, kharif-rabi to be more effective with high yield crops with varied duration to use the available resources efficiently and contributes for fertility maintenance. For example in the Deccan dry farming tract, bajra+pigeonpea performed better compared to cereal or keeping land fallow in Kharif.  Fertilizer application contributed to 43 to 81% increased yield for cereals. Plant density and spacing and change of variety can also bring substantial increase in production.  Under alley cropping for fertility maintenance, subabul green matter incorporation increased sorghum yield by 73%.  Contingent crop planning for weather aberration will help to avoid total crop failure. Salvation not from technology alone and a concentrated multidisciplinary multi-agency approach is necessary. 2. Management components for getting high yield  Timely operation to conserve maximum amount of moisture in the top soil profile.  Timely sowing of crops within a span of 2 or 3 days after the rains to enable the seeds to germinate better and to utilize the available moisture to the maximum extent their growth.  Proper choice of crops to suit the particular environment, such as mono-cropping areas with rainfall less than 500 mm, intercropping in areas with a rainfall between500 and 800 mm and possible double cropping in areas with a rainfall more than 800 mm and in soils of fairly high water storage capacity.  Maintenance of the optimum plant stand  Moderate use of fertilizer  Timely weeding and control of pests 22 D.Socio Economic Constraints The social and economic conditions of the farmers have tended to create an indifferent attitude towards co-operation or resource management and many a time even an attitude distrust. Further, as their level of education and training is low, their inner motivation and attitudes are often rooted in religious beliefs and traditions. Also, many of them have long on Subsistence farmers. In View of this background, the dryland farmers in their decision- making are generally guided by their experience of a hostile, unpredictable and undependable environment and poor resource base. These have made them feel that they cannot afford the involved in adopting the newer technologies. Lack of capital, lack of price incentives for production of dry land crops, profitable marketing facilities and lack of credit at the proper time have made them averse to taking the risks. Most of the dryland farmers are poor and have very little cash reserve available. Essentially the total operation is of the subsistence type with seeds coming from the previous harvest, manures from locally available manurial resources, and the labour force from family labour. Less employment opportunities and higher population of agricultural labour force reduced land productivity; poverty and poor infrastructure are the social developmental indices of dry lands. A major concern is the continuous decline in land holding size which is a major hindrance in mechanization. Though significant proportion of the rural population is expected to move to cities by 2030, still substantial numbers will remain in rural areas. Socio economic constraints can be summarized as:  occurrence of extensive and large holdings  practice of extensive agriculture i.e. prevalence of mono-cropping  relatively small size of fields  Similarity in types of crops raised by all the farmers of a particular region 23 Lecture No. 6: Drought Definition, Classification and Effect on crops The word “Drought” generally denotes scarcity of water in a region, whether for drinking, agriculture, industry etc. Though aridity and drought are due to insufficient water, aridity is a permanent climatic feature, but drought is temporary condition that occurs for short period of time due to deficient precipitation essentially required for vegetation, agriculture, river flow, water supply and human consumption. Definition of drought, There is no universally accepted definition for drought. a. Early workers defined drought as prolonged period without rainfall. b. According to Ramdas (1960) drought is a situation when the actual seasonal rainfall is deficient by more than twice the mean deviation. c. American Meteorological Society defined drought as a period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently prolonged for lack of water to cause a severe hydrological imbalance in the area affected. d. Prolonged deficiencies of soil moisture adversely affect crop growth indicating incidence of agricultural drought. It is the result of imbalance between soil moisture and evapo-transpiration needs of an area over a fairly long period as to cause damage to standing crops and to reduce the yields. e. The irrigation commission of India defines drought as a situation occurring in any area where the annual rainfall is less than 75% of normal rainfall. Classification of drought Drought can be classified based on duration, nature of users, time of occurrence and using some specific terms. Demarcation between the classifications is not well defined and many a time overlapping of the cause and effect of one on the rest is seen. 1. Based on duration a. Permanent drought: This is characteristic of the desert climate (Arid climate) where sparse vegetation growing is adapted to drought and agriculture is possible only by irrigation during entire crop season. b. Seasonal drought: This is found in climates with well defined rainy and dry seasons. Most of the arid and semiarid zones fall in this category. Duration of the crop varieties and planting dates should be such that the growing season should fall within rainy season. c. Contingent drought: This involves an abnormal failure of rainfall. It may occur almost anywhere especially in most parts of humid or sub humid climates. It is usually, brief, irregular and generally affects only a small area. d. Invisible drought: This can occur even when there is frequent rain in an area. When rainfall is inadequate to meet the evapo-transpiration losses, the result is borderline water deficiency in soil resulting in less than optimum yield. This occurs usually in humid regions. 24 2. Based on their relevance to the users (National Commission on Agriculture, 1976) a. Meteorological drought: It is defined as a condition, where the annual precipitation is less than the normal over an area for prolonged period (month, season or year).The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) defines as a condition in which the area affected by drought receives < 75 % of the total normal SWM rainfall. This is further classified based on the deviation of seasonal rainfall. i) Moderate : 26 to 50% δ ii) Severe : > 50% δ b. Atmospheric drought: It is due to low air humidity, frequently accompanied by hot dry winds. It may occur even under conditions of adequate available soil moisture. It refers to a condition when plants show wilting symptoms during the hot part of the day when transpiration exceeds absorption temporarily for a short period. When decreases absorption keeps pace with transpiration and plants revive. (Mid day wilt). c. Hydrological drought: Meteorological drought, when prolonged results in hydrological drought with depletion of surface water and consequent drying of reservoirs, tanks etc. It results in deficiency of water for all sectors using water. This is based on water balance and how it affects irrigation as a whole for bringing crops to maturity. d. Agricultural drought: It is the result of soil moisture stress due to imbalance between available soil moisture and evapo-transpiration of a crop. It is usually gradual and progressive. Plants can therefore, adjust at least partly, to the increased soil moisture stress. This situation arises as a consequence of scanty precipitation or its uneven distribution both in space and time. It is also usually referred as soil drought. Relevant definition of agricultural drought appears to be a period of dryness during the crop season, sufficiently prolonged to adversely affect the yield. The extent of yield loss depends on the crop growth stage and the degree of stress. It does not begin when the rain ceases, but actually commences only when the plant roots are not able to obtain the soil moisture rapidly enough to replace evapo- transpiration losses. Important causes for agricultural drought are,  Inadequate precipitation  Erratic distribution  Long dry spells in the monsoon  Late onset of monsoon  Early withdrawal of monsoon  Lack of proper soil and crop management In India, 68% of the Country prone for drought in varying degrees,35 % area receive rainfall between 750-1125 mm considered as drought prone area, while 33% area receives 90cm), well drained and nearly levelled. They are fertile or responsive to fertilizer application. There is no limitation on the type of crops grown. A variety of crops can be grown intensively with recommended management practices. They are suitable for intensive cultivation. This group of soils is represented by light green colour in land use maps CLASS II: Soils have moderate limitations such as gentle slope, moderate erosion problem, inadequate depth (22.5–45cm), slight salinity and alkalinity and relatively restricted drainage. Less intensive 0 cropping systems must be followed. Simple management practices such as contour cultivation will 9-2 maintain the soil for crop production. They are represented by yellow colour in land use maps. CLASS III: Soils have moderate to severe limitations. The soil erosion, shallow water permeability, low 01 moisture retentively, moderate salinity and low fertility are the limitations for their use. Soils can be used for crop production with special conservation practices like terracing. Smothering crops such as legumes are more ideal than row crops. They are represented by red colour in land capability maps. L. 2 CLASS IV: These soils will have very severe limitations that reduce the choice of crops. Steep slope, severe erosion, shallow soil depth, salinity or alkalinity restricts their use for profitable crop production. GR These lands should be used for close growing crops or grasses with special soil conservation practices. DA CLASS V: these soils generally not suitable for grain crops due to limitations such as rocky soil, faded areas with any drainage facilities. Pastures can be improved on this class of land. CLASS VI: These soils are suitable for growing grasses and forest trees. Limitations are same as those for FE class V but they are more rigid. Their use may be restricted to woodland or wild life. IN CLASS VII: These have severe limitations even for growing grass and forest trees. They are steep soils of extremely shallow depth, used for woodlands and wild life. RA CLASS VIII: Not suitable for forest trees and grasslands as they are steep, rough. 02 R3 AG 30