Effect of land development treatments and crop management practices on conservation of soil moisture and nutrients.
Senapati H. K., Santra G. H.
Author Affiliation: Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar - 751 003, India.
Indian Journal of Soil Conservation 36 : 91-93
Abstract : In the hill slopes of Paikarpur, 15 kilometers from Bhubaneswar city (Orissa, India), some low cost and effective land development treatments were provided to check soil erosion and to establish an agro-horticultural cropping system. The tree crops (Tectona grandis, Anacardium occidentale, Mangifera indica, Acacia mangium, Acacia auriculiformis and Gmelina arborea) and field crops (Eleusine coracana, Vigna unguiculata, Arachis hypogaea, Abelmoschus esculentus and Cajanus cajan) were taken as base and intercrops, respectively, in between the land development treatments. Among the land development treatments, the V, crescent and ring ditches along with leguminous crops, viz., V. unguiculata, Arachis hypogaea and C. cajan, could better manage and conserve the soil moisture and nutrients. The highest grain yield of 11.3, green pod yield of 28.2, 10.2 and 27.0 q ha-1 were obtained from E. coracana, V. unguiculata and Arachis hypogaea, respectively. The lowest soil loss of 8 t ha-1 was observed in cresent ditch, followed by 11.251 ha-1 in ring ditch, showing their efficacy in soil conservation.