Soil & Water Conservation Engineering

Agriculture

Instructor Name: Rajendra Singh

Institute: IIT Kharagpur
Department: Agriculture

Course Intro: : The course deals with the engineering principles involved in soil and water conservation. It includes
the classification of the water erosion, and the agronomical and engineering measures adopted for erosion control. The
design of bunds and terraces are dealt in detail, followed by gully control measures. The wind erosion and measures to
control it, e.g., the windbreaks and shelterbelt, are also included. Many examples and problems are included to
emphasize the design principles and to facilitate an understanding of the subject matter. Computer models will be
described where applicable.

Pre Requisites: : None

Core/Elective: : Core
UG/PG: : UG
Industry Support : Not Applicable

Reference : 1. Fangmeier, W., Elliott, W.J., Workman, S., Huffman, R. and Schwab, G.O. 2005. Soil and Water
Conservation Engineering, 5th Edition, Cengage Learning, Inc., Clifton Park, USA. 2. Frevert, R.K., Schwab, G.O.
Edminster, T.W. and Barnes, K.K. 2009. Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, 4th Edition, John Wiley and Sons,
New York. 3. Michael, A.M. and Ojha, T.P. 2003. Principles of Agricultural Engineering. Volume II. 4th Edition, Jain
Brothers, New Delhi. 4. Murthy, V.V.N. 2002. Land and Water Management Engineering. 4th Edition, Kalyani
Publishers, New Delhi. 5. Singh Gurmel, Venkataraman, C., Sastry, G. and Joshi, B.P. 1996. Manual of Soil and Water
Conservation Practices. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

About Instructor: Dr. Rajendra Singh has been a faculty in the Agricultural & Food Engineering Department, IIT
Kharagpur since 1989. He has been associated with the Soil & Water Conservation Engineering discipline of the
Department (presently known as Land & Water Resources Engineering), and has taught “Soil & Water Conservation
Engineering― at both UG and PG levels, Dr. Singh has also won the “Recognition Award― in the area of ‘Soil
& Water Conservation Engineering’ from National Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
COURSE PLAN

SL.NO Week Module Name

1 1 Soil erosion - introduction, causes and
types; Geological and accelerated
erosion; Erosion agents; Factors
affecting and effects of erosion.
2 2 Water erosion - Mechanics and forms;
Gullies – Classification & stages of
development
3 3 Soil loss estimation – Universal soil
loss equation (USLE) and modified
USLE; Rainfall erosivity - estimation
by KE>25 and EI30 methods; Soil
erodibility and other management
factors.
4 4 Measurement of soil erosion - Runoff
plots, soil samplers
5 5 Water erosion control measures -
agronomical measures - contour
farming, strip cropping, conservation
tillage and mulching; Engineering
measures– Bunds and terraces.
6 6 Bunds - contour and graded bunds -
design and surplussing arrangements
7 7 Terraces - level and graded broad base
terraces, bench terraces - planning,
design and layout procedure, contour
stonewall and trenching.
8 8 Gully and ravine reclamation -
principles of gully control - vegetative
measures, temporary structures and
diversion drains.
9 9 Grassed waterways and design
10 10 Wind erosion- Factors affecting,
mechanics, soil loss estimation and
control measures - vegetative,
11 11 Design of wind breaks and shelter belts
and stabilization of sand dunes
12 12 Land capability classification. Rate of
sedimentation, silt monitoring and
storage loss in tanks.