Long Term Resource Conservation Technologies Sustained Yield, Microbial Activities and Soil Physico-chemical Properties in Rice-green Gram Cropping System

PurposeMicrobial communities in rhizospheric soil play a significant role in sustaining the soil quality and also recognized as key ecological indicators to assess the soil health. MethodsWe studied the long-term effects of resource conservation technologies on functional microbial diversity and their interactions with soil biochemical properties and enzymatic activities in tropical rice-green gram cropping system. The experiment included conventional practice (CC), brown manuring (BM), green manuring (GM), wet direct drum sowing (WDS), zero tillage (ZT), green manuring-customized leaf colour chart based-N application (GM-CLCC N) and biochar (BC) treatments. ResultsThe result revealed that microbial biomass nitrogen (N), carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) in GM practice increased by 23.3, 37.7 and 35.1%, respectively over CC. The Shannon index and McIntosh index were higher by 86.9% and 29.2% in GM as compared to conventional practice and significantly correlated with microbial biomass (C & P) and soil microbial populations whereas, Shannon index was positively correlated with the microbial biomass (C, N & P) and soil enzyme activities. Principal component analysis showed a significant separate cluster among the treatments amended with and without biomass addition. ConclusionsMoreover, dominance of carbon utilizing microbes in biomass amended treatments indicated that these could supply good amount of labile carbon sources on real time basis for microbial activity. Which may protect the stable carbon fraction in soil, hence could support higher build-up of carbon in long run and could offer sustainable yield under rice-green gram soil.

Determinants of farmers’ knowledge on soil and water conservation technologies in dry zones of Central Highlands, Kenya

This study ascertained the socioeconomic determinants of farmers’ knowledge on soil and water conservation technologies in Dry zones of Central Highlands of Kenya involving 400 farming households. Results showed that the majority of the farmers had inadequate knowledge on the use and benefits of soil and water conservation technologies. The socio-economic factors that influence knowledge levels of the knowledge-intensive technologies were education level, gender, perceptions on soil fertility, farmer group membership, access to training, farm size, access to credit, number of livestock kept and access to farm equipment. This implies that there is the need to come up with an all-inclusive policy that can be employed in improving farmer’s level of knowledge through the use of more innovative methods of information dissemination. This can be done by strengthening the existing farmer groups, enhancing extension services, and also formulating gender-friendly policies.

The Role Of Perennial Grasses In The Accumulation Of Organic Matter In Soil-Saving Agriculture

In the farms of the Belgorod region, a comprehensive study was conducted to assess the productivity of perennial grasses using soil-saving technologies in comparison with traditional methods of tillage. The results of the dispersion analysis showed that the value of the indicator of the total aboveground and underground productivity of perennial grasses significantly depends on the species composition of the grass stand. It was found that the difference between the site of a perennial fallow and fields with perennial grasses with the use of soil-saving technologies did not exceed 13.9% in terms of the total aboveground productivity. The aboveground productivity of alfalfa was significantly higher than in the control variant (fallow field) and in the experimental fields with soil conservation technologies – by 73.6 % and 101.6 %, respectively. The accumulation of underground mass in the fallow area and in areas using soil conservation technologies is approximately at the same level – 1.91 kg*(m) − 2 in the control and 1.85-2.25 (average 2.04) kg*(m) − 2 in soil-saving crop rotations. At the same time, the Cv in the control variant was 15.78 %, and in grass mixtures, respectively, it was at the level of 16.47 %; 18.74 % and 18.08 %. In alfalfa crops, the accumulation of mass in the underground layer was inferior to the control variant by an average of 27.2 %, and to soil conservation technologies-by an average of 31.9 %. Alfalfa crops, providing greater aboveground productivity, are more intensive in terms of production, but less effective means of increasing the content of organic matter in the soil compared to cereal-legume grass mixtures. In soil conservation agriculture, it is necessary to use cereal-legume grass mixtures as more natural-like, and to increase the intensification of agricultural production, alfalfa crops should be used.

Water-Saving Agricultural Technologies: Regional Hydrology Outcomes and Knowledge Gaps in the Eastern Gangetic Plains—A Review

Increasing food demand has exerted tremendous stress on agricultural water usages worldwide, often with a threat to sustainability in agricultural production and, hence, food security. Various resource-conservation technologies like conservation agriculture (CA) and water-saving measures are being increasingly adopted to overcome these problems. While these technologies provide some short- and long-term benefits of reduced labor costs, stabilized or increased crop yield, increased water productivity, and improved soil health at farm scale, their overall impacts on hydrology outcomes remain unclear at larger temporal and spatial scales. Although directly linked to the regional hydrological cycle, irrigation remains a less understood component. The ecological conditions arising from the hydrology outcomes of resource-conservation technologies are associated with sustainability in agricultural production. In this paper, the philosophies and benefits of resource-conservation technologies and expert perceptions on their impacts on temporal and spatial scales have been reviewed comprehensively focusing on regional hydrology outcomes in the Eastern Gangetic Plain (EGP). Due to data inadequacy and lack of knowledge-sharing among disciplines, little is yet known about actual water saving by these resource-conservation technologies and the level of their contribution in groundwater and surface water storage over large temporal and spatial scales. Inadequate knowledge of the hydrological effects of water applied in the agricultural field leads to the implementation of water management policy based on local perspectives only, often with the possibility of deteriorating the water-scarcity situation. Therefore, multidisciplinary future research should quantify regional hydrology outcomes by measuring the components of regional water balance in order to develop a proper water management policy for sustainable agricultural production.

Estimating the curve number for conventional and soil conservation technologies using a rainfall simulator

The aim of the article was to verify the curve number (CN) values given in the National Engineering Handbook (NEH) methodology, whether they really correspond to all wide-row crops. The tested crops were maize, hops and potatoes grown using conventional and soil conservation technologies. All these crops are classified as wide-row crops, but they are very different in terms of the cultivation process. The basis for the calculation of our CN values were field measurements carried out using a rainfall simulator within the time span from 2014 to 2020 on the soil corresponding to hydrological group B in two repetitions: naturally dry soil corresponding to an ARC II curve and saturated soil corresponding to an ARC III curve. The results show that our calculated CN values for the conventional cultivation of wide-row crops are, in principle, the same as the CN values given in the NEH methodology. On the contrary, a certain difference was recorded in the soil conservation technologies with plant residues on the surface, in the case of naturally dry soil. Lower CN values are clearly seen in the technologies of no-till maize, strip-till maize and hops with catch crops, which was confirmed by the statistical tests, probably due to the interception and surface roughness.