Conservation Agriculture(CA) is a concept for resource-saving
agricultural crop production system that strives to achieve
acceptable profits together with high and sustained production
levels while conserving the environment.
It is based on minimum tillage, crop residue retention, and crop
rotations, has been proposed as an alternative system combining
benefits for the farmer with advantages for the society.
Conservation Agriculture remains an important technology that
improves soil processes, controls soil erosion and reduces
production cost.
Introduction
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3.
cost.
What is ConservationAgriculture
CA
Minimum
Soil
Disturbance
Permanent
Soil Cover
Diversified
Crop
Rotation
Weed
Control
4.
Globally, CAis being practiced on about 125 M ha.
USA has been the pioneer country in adopting CA systems and
currently more than 25.5 million ha land is under such system.
Countries where CA practices have now been widely adopted for
many years in Brazil (25.5 M ha), Argentina (25.5 M ha), Canada
(13.5 M ha) and Australia (17.0 M ha).
France and Spain are the two countries where CA was being
followed in about one million ha of area under annual crops.
Conservation Agriculture Success World Over
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The totalarea under no-tillage/zero tillage in India it is about 3.43
mha.
Efforts to adapt and promote resource conservation technologies
have been underway for nearly a decade.
Spread of conservation agriculture have been made through the
combined efforts of several SAU’s, ICAR institutes.
CA technologies is taking place in the irrigated regions of Indo-
Gangetic plains where rice-wheat cropping system dominates.
CA systems have not been tried or promoted in other major
agro-eco regions like rainfed semi-arid tropics, the arid regions.
Conservation Agriculture in India
cost.
Goals of conservationagriculture
Achieve acceptable profits
Alleviating hunger
High and sustained production levels
Contributing to food security
Reduce input and labor cost
Environmental objectives (such as carbon
sequestration and climate change)
cost.
6.Lesser storage ofwater
7.Decline in soil biodiversity
Dumanski et al, (2006)
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cost.
Reduction incost of production.
Enhancement of soil quality.
Enhancement in long term C sequestration.
Reduction of the incidence of weeds, such as phalaris minor in wheat.
Enhancement of water and nutrient use efficiency.
Enhancement of production and productivity (4% – 10%).
Advanced sowing date.
Reduction in greenhouse gas emission.
Avoiding crop residue burning reduces loss of nutrients.
Providing opportunities for crop diversification.
Improvement of resource use efficiency.
Use surface residues as mulch.
Potential benefits of Conservation Agriculture
Comparison of conventionaland conservation agriculture
systems
S.No. Conventional agriculture Conservation agriculture
1.
Cultivating land, using science and technology
to dominate nature
Least interference with natural processes
2. Excessive mechanical tillage and soil erosion
No-till or drastically reduced tillage (biological
tillage)
3. High wind and soil erosion Low wind and soil erosion
4. Residue burning or removal (bare surface)
Surface retention of residues (permanently
covered)
5. Water infiltration is low Infiltration rate of water is high
6. Use of ex-situ FYM/composts Use of in-situ organics/composts
7. Green manuring (incorporated) Brown manuring/cover crops (surface retention)
8.
Kills established weeds but also stimulates more
weed seeds to germinate
Weeds are a problem in the early stages of
adoption but decrease with time
9.
Free-wheeling of farm machinery, increased soil
compaction
Controlled traffic, compaction in tramline, no
compaction in crop area.
10. Mono cropping/culture, less efficient rotations Diversified and more efficient rotations
11.
Heavy reliance on manual labor, uncertainty of
operations
Mechanized operations, ensure timeliness of
operations
12.
Poor adaptation to stresses, yield losses greater
under stress conditions
More resilience to stresses, yield losses are less
under stress conditions
13.
Productivity gains in long-run are in declining
order
Productivity gains in long-run are in incremental
order
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Conservation tillageis defined as: "any tillage or planting system in which at
least 30% of the soil surface is covered by plant residue after planting to
reduce erosion.
No tillage, minimum tillage, reduced tillage and mulch tillage are terms
synonymous with conservation tillage.
Appropriate tillage practices are those that avoid the degradation of soil
properties but maintain crop yields as well as ecosystem stability
Conservation tillage provides the best opportunity for halting degradation
and for restoring and improving soil productivity
In recent years interest in conservation tillage systems has increased in
response to the need to limit erosion and promote water conservation.
Conservation tillage
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1) ZeroTillage:
Soil iscompletely left undisturbed from harvest to planting except sowing and
nutrient application.Weed control is only by herbicides.
2) StripTillage:
Strip-tillage is a form of conservation tillage that clears crop residues in a narrow
zone of soil and loosens subsoil layers prior to planting.
3) Reduced tillage
Little soil disturbance before sowing to break the crust, loosen compact soil and
prepare seedbed.Weed control by herbicides or some secondary tillage.
4) MulchTillage:
It includes any CT system other than no-tillage, strip tillage, or ridge-tillage that
preserves 30 % or more surface residues.
Types of ConservationTillage Systems
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Direct plantinginvolves growing crops with minimum soil disturbance since the
harvest of the previous crop.
Direct planting can be used with all annual and perennial crops and vegetables.
Conservation agriculture can be done manually or mechanically ( i.e. animal or
tractors drawn conservation agriculture planters).
Improves soil organic matter
Protects the soil against erosion
by water and wind
Cost Savings : fuel, time and labour
costs in the long term
Improves infiltration and
conserves soil moisture (FAO)
cost.
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Agricultural and environmentalco-benefits of zero
tillage
1. Zero tillage is a ‘cornerstone’ of CA, and can be practiced in both large and
small farming system
2. Gradually, organic matter of the surface layers of zero tilled land increases,
due to reduced erosion, increased yields resulting in more crop residue added
to the soil surface
3. Most of the agricultural benefits of zero tillage relate to increased organic
matter in the soil.
4. Increased biomass from improved crop yields, reduced surface soil
temperatures and increased biodiversity.
5. In dry years, the improved soil moisture levels, aggregation and organic
matter status of the zero till soils.
6. Soil carbon sinks are increased by increased biomass due to increased yields,
as well as by reducing organic carbon losses from soil erosion.
7. Greatly improved soil aggregation, biodiversity and organic matter status,
and subsequent improved water infiltration and water storage in the soil.
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Mulch isany organic material (such as decaying leaves, bark, or compost) spread
over the soil and around a crop to enrich and insulate the soil.
Live mulches are crops intercropped for purposes of providing soil cover.
Suppresses weed germination
and growth
Improves organic matter accumulation
and carbon sequestration
Improves recycling of
nutrients
Protects the soil from
erosion by water and wind
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Crop residue management
“Theportion of a plant left in the field after harvest of the crop that
is (straw, stalks, stems, leaves, roots) not used domestically or sold
commercially.”
Need of conservation agriculture to enhance soil physical, chemical and
biological properties.
Crop residues are excellent source of organic matter and plant nutrients.
Organic recycling has to play a key role in achieving sustainability in agricultural
production.
cost.
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Soil structure:
Favor the formation of aggregates.
Bulk Density & porosity :
Decreases the bulk density of soil & increase the porosity of the soils.
Hydraulic conductivity :
Increase hydraulic conductivity by modifying soil structure microspores.
Soil temperature :
Increases the minimum soil temperature in winter and decrease soil
temperature during summer due to shading effect.
Soil moisture :
Reduces evaporation rate due to increase in amount of residues on the soil
surface.
Effect of crop residues on physical properties of soil
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Crop Rotation
“Crop rotationrefers to recurrent succession of crops on the same
piece of land either in a year or over a longer period of time.'
In crop rotation land is fixed but crop is rotated year after year.
Maintains and even improve soil fertility.
It checks the soil erosion and conserves moisture.
The rotation of crops offer a diverse "diet" to the soil micro
organisms.
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Advantages of croprotation
Improvement of Water use:
Crops with different water systems
also utilize soil water at different
soil depths.
Improve fertility and production:
crops have different rooting
patterns which take up nutrients
at different soil depths.
Rotations help to utilize soil nutrients
more efficiently. In addition, legumes
fix nitrogen in the soil for the benefit
of successive cereal crops
in a rotation
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Reduction of Pest and Diseases:
Different crops are susceptible to
different diseases and pest agent.
Therefore growing such crops in
rotation will reduce the incidence
of diseases and pests with no cost
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Constraints in adoptingConservationTechnologies
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Possess a challenge both for the scientific community and the farmers
to overcome the past mindset and explore the opportunities.
The wide spread use of crop residues for livestock feed and as fuel .
Burning of crop residues.
Lack of knowledge about the potential of CA to Agril. leaders, extension
agents & farmers.
Compaction can be a problem in initial stage of conservation
agriculture.
Managing conservation agriculture systems will be highly demanding in
terms of knowledge base, Conservation agriculture as an upcoming
paradigm for raising crops will require an innovation system.
Conservation agriculture systems are much more complex than the
conventional systems.
CONCLUSION
Conservation agriculturetechnologies are the future of
sustainable agriculture.
Conservation agriculture practices such as conservation tillage,
residue and land cover management, appropriate crop rotation
have shown the proven benefit to improve soil quality across the
world.
The benefits range from nano-level (improving soil properties) to
micro-level (saving inputs, reducing cost of production, increasing
farm income), and macro-level by reducing poverty, improving
food security, alleviating global warming.
To achieve sustainable food production with minimal impact on
the soil and the atmosphere, conservation agriculture practices
become more important now than ever.
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“ SOIL HEALTHCARE - THE KEY TO NATIONS PROSPERITY”
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