- Conservation agriculture aims to conserve soil and water resources through minimal soil disturbance, maintaining soil cover through crop residues, and implementing crop rotations. It can help improve yields and resource use efficiency for smallholder farmers in dryland regions. - Dryland agriculture relies on moisture conservation practices due to limited and variable rainfall. Conservation agriculture helps trap more rainfall in the soil by reducing erosion and evaporation. - The key principles of conservation agriculture for drylands are minimum soil disturbance through no-till planting, maintaining soil cover through crop residues, and crop rotations including legumes. This conserves soil moisture while improving soil health. Research shows conservation agriculture can increase yields, profits, and land use efficiency compared to conventional tillage systems in dry

1. PROFESSOR JAYASHANKAR TELANGANA
STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY,
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE , RAJENDRA NAGAR
CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE
AND WHAT IS THE ROLE IN
DRYLANDS
BY
SHAIKH WASIM CHAND
RAM / 15-13

2. Introduction
• Conservation agriculture aims to conserve ,
improve and make more efficient use of natural
resources through integrated management of
available soil, water and biological resources
combined with external inputs. (FAO)
• The concept of conservation agriculture evolved
from zero tillage.
• Its objective is economically, ecologically and
socially sustainable agricultural production.

3. What is Drylands
• The areas receiving annual rainfall more than
750 mm.
• These are arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid
areas.
• Moisture conservation practices are necessary
for crop production.

4. WHY IT IS NEEDED ?
• It is conserve soil and moisture.
• Water is limiting factor in dryland agriculture so
conservation of moisture is needed.
• It conserve natural resources like land, water.
• Total cultivated area of India is 143 M ha out of this
108 M ha area is under dryland.
• Conservation agriculture balances yields, resource
conservation and increased efficiency for smallholder
farmers.

5. What is Conservation Agriculture

7. Minimum Soil Disturbance :
• Direct planting through the soil cover without
seed bed preparation.
• Minimal soil disturbance means no tillage.
• Minimum mechanical soil disturbance which
is essential to maintaining minerals within the
soil.
• Reduce erosion and prevent water loss.

8. • NT plus mulch reduces surface soil crusting,
increases water infiltration, reduces run-off
and gives higher yield than tilled soils
(Cassel et al. 1995;Thierfelder et al. 2005).
• Similarly, the surface residue, anchored or
loose, protects the soil from wind erosion
(Michels et al. 1995).
• Producers can save 30% to 40% of time and
labour by practicing the no-till process. (FAO)

10. Maintaining Soil Cover & Crop Residues
-Protects the soil surface from aggregate destruction.
- Enhances water infiltration.
- Reduces soil erosion.
-Helps to maintain soil temperature.
-Increase in organic matter.
-The energy of raindrop falling on a bare soil result in
destruction of soil aggregates, clogging of soil pores and
rapid reduction in water infiltration with resulting run-off
and soil erosion.
-

11. • The relationship between soil loss by wind
erosion and the percent of soil cover.
• Covering 20 % of the surface reduced soil
losses by 57 %
• Covering 50 % reduced soil losses by 95 %
compared to soil with no cover.
• Crop residues reduces runoff losses and
protecting soil surface that are prone to
crusting from raindrop action.
• It also reduce evaporation losses.
Fryer (1985)

12. Crop selection & Crop Rotation
• Crop selection and choice of cultivars are
important decisions made by producers for
dryland agriculture.
• Crops should have a short stature with limited
leaf area to minimize transpiration.
• Crops have deep dense root system to procure
the soil water.

13. • Use early maturing crops.
• Plants mature before available soil moisture is
exhausted.
• Crop diversification remains an important step
towards the goal of increasing profitability and
sustainability of dryland agriculture.
• Crop rotation should be including legumes.

14. Soil & Water Conservation Practices :
• Soil and water conserved through by applying
- Minimum or Zero Tillage
- Crop residue management
- Mulching
Improved Tillage Practices :
• Early seed bed preparation for timely sowing.
• Enabling precipitation to entering in the soil.

15. Improved Fertility Practices :
• Drylands are sometimes more hungry than
thirsty.
• Placement of a basal dose of nutrients.
• Split application of nitrogen.
Alternate Land Use Systems :
• Alternate land use systems are the means of
stabilizing the productivity of land use systems
practiced in drylands are,
- Alley cropping
-Ley farming

16. Problems in Applying Conservation
Agriculture in Dryland Regions
• Competitive uses of crop residues
• Weed preponderance
• Lower crop yields
• Lack of new implements and operating skills

17. • Nutrient immobilization
• Carry over of Insect-pests and Diseases pathogen
• Low investment capacity of dryland farmers
• Lack of sufficient research on conservation
agriculture in drylands

19. Cost of Field Operation –Cereal/Legume Rainfed Rotation under
Conservation Agriculture and Conventional Agriculture (Syria 2008-09)
Crop Operation Conventional tillage Conservation agriculture
Cereals Cultivation Duck-foot 1000
Seeding Cereal drill 800 ZT planter 800
Weed control Pre-plant. Glyphosate (750)
Post-em. 1600 Post-em 1600
Total cereals 3400 2400
Lentil Plough MB or Disc 2500
Cultivation Duck-foot 1000
Seeding Cereal drill 800 ZT planter 800
Weed control Pre-plant. Glyphosate (750)
Post-em 3100 Post-em 3100
Harvesting 20 L/day/ha 3500 22 L/day/ha 3850
Total lentil 10900 7750
TOTAL SYSTEM 14300 10150
Source : ICARDA

20. Yield, Production and Land-use efficiency as influenced by
Maize based Cropping System (Mean of 3 years)
Treatment Maize
yield
(t/ha)
Yield of
cropping
system
(t/ha)
Maize
equivalent
yield (t/ha)
Duration
of
cropping
system
(days)
Production
efficiency
(kg/ha/day)
Land use
efficiency
%
Cropping
system
Maize-Pea 4.24 2.48 7.96 240 33.2 65.8
Maize-Ind. Must. 4.11 1.38 7.56 262.5 28.8 71.9
Maize -Frenchbean 4.21 4.91 10.10 238 42.4 65.2
Maize-Groundnut 4.25 1.67 8.43 258 32.7 70.7
Maize-Fallow 4.16 4.16 135 30.8 37
Mulch
Without mulch 2.34 8.03 247 32.7 67.7
With mulch 2.88 8.99 252.3 35.8 69.1
V.K CHOUDHARY & SURESH KUMAR (2013)

21. Tillage Operations and Power Requirement
Tillage operation Power
(hp/m)
Time
(h/ha)
Fuel consumption
(l/ha)
Number of
passes
Conventional tillage:
• Deep tillage
• Secondary tillage
• Seed bed preparation
• Seeding
100 to 140
50 – 70
20 – 30
15 – 25
15
6.5 to 8.5
3.0 - 4.0
2.0 - 2.5
1.0 - 1.5
0.5
31 to 45
10 – 15
10 – 12
6 – 8
5
4
Reduced tillage:
• Stubble plowing
• Seed bed preparation
• Seeding
50 to 70
20 – 30
15 – 25
15
3.5 to 5.0
2.0 - 3.0
1.0 - 1.5
0.5
21 to 25
10 – 12
6 – 8
5
3
Minimum tillage:
• Disc harrowing
• Seeding
30 to 40
15 – 25
15
2.0 to 2.5
1.0 - 1.5
0.5
11 to 13
5 - 8
5
2
No-till 25 to 35 0.6 to 1.0 5 to 7 1
Source : ICARDA

22. Effect of Tillage and Mode of Mulch
Application on Grain Yield of Corn (q ha-1) BHATT et al 2004
Mode of Mulch
Application
Tillage Mean
Tm Tc
Mw 41.4 39.1 40.3
M1/3rd 33.1 32.0 32.6
Ms 33.0 31.6 32.3
Mv 25.6 25.0 25.3
Mo 25.5 24.6 25.1
Mean
CD (5%)
31.7
Tillage (T) = NS
Mulching (M)=1.04
T x M = NS
30.5
Tm = Minimum tillage, Tc = Conventional tillage, Mw= Mulch on the whole plot,
M1/3rd= Mulch on the lower 1/3rd of the plot,
Ms=Strip mulching, Mv= Vertical mulching, Mo= Control bare plots

23. Effect of tillage depth and mulching practices on soil water storage depletion
(mm) from different soil layers for a period of 132 days
(averaged over first 2 years data)
Treatments Soil Depth (cm)
0-15 15-30 30-60 60-90 90-120
Tillage
Conventional tillage 17.6 17.5 30.7 33.0 25.0
Shallow tillage 17.1 18.2 31.2 33.9 26.0
LSD (T) 0.34 0.55 n.s n.s n.s
Mulching
No mulch 17.2 18.7 25.7 28.0 27.8
Soil dust mulch 18.0 18.4 29.7 31.0 26.4
Straw mulch 16.9 16.4 37.4 41.2 22.2
LSD (M) 0.82 1.72 6.42 3.46 4.17
LSD (T x M) n.s n.s n.s n.s n.s
S. Sarkar et al (2007)

24. Effect of Tillage and Mulching on Soil Erosion in
Hill Slope (5-15%) (Bangladesh)
Treatments Dry weight of eroded soil (t/ha)
Mulch 22.25
No mulch 58.02
Zero-tillage (dibble) 23.77
Minimum tillage (furrow planting
Conventional
35.68
Tillage (Spading) 61.13
Zero-tillage + Mulch 13.12
Zero-tillage + no Mulch 34.43
Minimum tillage + Mulch 20.12
Minimum tillage + no Mulch 51.24
Conventional tillage + Mulch 33.43
Conventional tillage + no Mulch 88.85
MIAH Md. Muslem Uddin