Effects of grass vegetation strips on soil conservation and crop yield under rainfed conditions in theIndian sub‐Himalayas

Abstract

Vegetation strips (VS) along with conservation tillage, application of organic amendments and weed mulching improve crop yields by reducing run‐off and topsoil erosion. To investigate these issues, an experiment was conducted under rainfed conditions using grass VS for four and a half years (June 2007 to October 2011) at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, in the Indian Himalayan region. VS were incorporated in the experimental plots (Entisols) in a randomized complete block design in permanent 100 × 20 m (2000 m2) plots with a 2% slope to evaluate the effects of vegetation strips on run‐off, soil loss and crop yield. Three treatments were evaluated: (i) without VS with recommended NPK under conventional tillage, (ii) panicum as VS with recommended NPK under conventional tillage and (iii) palmarosa+ that consists of palmarosa as VS along with organic amendments (farmyard manure, vermicompost and poultry manure) and weed mulch under minimum tillage. The results show that soil loss and run‐off were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in plots under palmarosa+ than without VS treatment. Mean soil loss of 3.4, 5.2 and 7.1 t/ha was recorded from palmarosa+, panicum and without VS treated plots, respectively. Mean run‐off was 234, 356 and 428 mm from plots under palmarosa+, panicum and without VS, respectively. Maize yield was lower on the plots under palmarosa+ compared with panicum, but significantly higher (P < 0.05) than without a strip. The succeeding rainfed wheat yield was significantly greater in plots under palmarosa+ than in the initial years. The wheat yield equivalent was significantly higher in plots under palmarosa+ followed by panicum and without VS. Thus, vegetation strips are recommended for wider adoption to reduce run‐off and soil loss and to increase crop yield. The long‐term goal is to achieve a palmarosa+ system (palmarosa as a vegetation strip along with organic amendments, farmyard manure, vermicompost and poultry manure) and weed mulch under minimum tillage.

Soil Conservation Issues in India

“…The extent of acid-affected soils is much more in NEH (29% of TGA) than that in NWH (0.8% of TGA). Other than water erosion, chemical soil degradation occurs in the Indian Himalayas because of: (i) decreased soil organic matter (SOM) and soil biological activities; (ii) deterioration of soil physical properties, induced by decreased SOM; and (iii) decreased availability of the plant nutrients [1,8].…”

“…For instance, on sloping cultivated soils, use of grass buffer strips is very effective [41]. Along with grass buffer-strips, minimum tillage and use of organics decrease soil loss and increase productivity in a maize-wheat system on a 2% slope of the Indian Himalayas [8]. Conservation agriculture builds upon farmers' knowledge and experiences to manage production systems.…”

Effects of Resource Conservation Practices on Productivity, Profitability and Energy Budgeting in Maize–Wheat Cropping System of Indian Sub-Himalayas

“…The maize yield decrease in T 1 treatment is ascribed to soil quality deterioration due to the depletion of nutrients with more runoff and soil loss, whereas wheat yield trend is mostly dependent upon winter rainfall pattern and residual fertility [20]. Increase in maize yield in T 2 , T 3 and T 4 (all CA treatments) after 2010 was because of interaction effect of minimum tillage soil erosion control through VS [9] and bio-resource recycling through FYM, VC, poultry manure and weed mulch, which contributes significantly to the addition of carbon input that increases nutrient supplying capacity and soil water storage [21]. Mean WEY differed significantly (P B 0.05) between treatments (Fig.…”

“…Higher CRP in resource conservation system is also justified by the fact that loss of labile carbon pool is less through runoff water and sediments. Soil quality index (SQI), which is the expression of all soil functional properties, improves in resource conservation system because of the combined effect of MT, VS and bio-resource cycling [9]. On the other hand in the conventional system, application of frequent tillage and chemical NPK decreases SQI from an initial value (0.69) because of depletion of available N, K, Zn, MBC, dehydrogenase activity, increase in bulk density, and decrease in mean weight diameter (MWD).…”

“…The soils at the experimental site are fine mixed hyperthermic Typic Udorthents. Experimental initial soil physico-chemical properties and details of establishments of grass vegetation strips (VS) were reported by Ghosh et al [9]. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with five replications, each measuring 100 9 20 m (2,000 m 2 ) with four treatments.…”