SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION ENGG.

& STRUCTURE

Topic:- AGRONOMIC MEASURES OF SOIL CONSERVATION

Presented By--
BIVORE CHAND (180101170001)
BHAKTI PRASAD BISOI (180101170010)
SATYA NARAYAN BARIK (180101170014)
N GOURAV KUMAR PATRO (180101170019)
JYOTIRMAYA PANDA (180101170028)
ARPAN KUMAR DAS (180101170033)
 SOIL EROSSION
 Happens when soil is washed by
 rain,
 runoff water or waves,
 wind
 affected by gravity or
 drastic temperature variation.

 soil structures disintegrate and the soil particle

becomes detached.

 particles are carried away and deposited at another

location
SOIL CONSERVATION

Combination of all management

and land-use methods.

Safeguard the soil against depletion

caused by nature or humans.
AGRONOMICAL Method of SOIL
CONSERVATION
 More economical, long lasting and effective
technique.
 Reduces the impact of raindrops through
interceptions.
 Increase infiltration rates.
 Reduces surface runoff.

Types:-
1. Contour Cropping
2. Strip cropping
3. Tillage
4. Mulching
5. And crop rotation
 Contour cropping
 Used on slopes.
 Involves planting crops across the slope.
 Reduces the velocity of runoff water and induces more
infiltration.
 Most effective on slopes between 2 and 10 percent.
 In rainfall regions- conserve the rain water into the soil.
 In humid regions- retards the overland flow
 In farming system- hold and store the rain water between the
ridges in the furrows.
 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR Contour
FARMING
 Rainfall Depth & its Frequencies.
 Ridge Height
 Row Grade
 Slope Length
 Cover and Roughness
 Land Slope
 Advantages and Disadvantages Contour
cropping

Advantages:-
•It reduces erosion and runoff
•Helps preserve the top soil and the minerals/fertilizers for
growing the crop

Disadvantages:-
•Weeds are commonly found due to the presence of holes and
pockets in the soil.
•Highest fuel and labor cost.
 cropping system
 Cropping Systems: Soil erosion depends on
cropping systems adopted. Soil loss from
conventionally tilled continuous cotton
average over 70 t/ha. annually compared to
previously measured annual soil loss of 19 and
16 t/ha. from soybean and maize respectively.
inclusion of Lucerne in crop rotation reduced
soil loss.
• Inter cropping system are evolved in their
ability to provide protection from soil erosion
 strip cropping
It is the practice of growing alternate strips of row
crops across the slope of the land
Close growing crops such as hay, wheat or other
forages are alternated with strips of row crops such as
corn, soya beans, cotton or sugar beet.
Reduces the runoff flow through close growing strips.
Increasing the infiltration rate under cover condition
 TYPES strip cropping
There are following four general types of strip cropping
1. Contour strip cropping
2. Field strip cropping
3. Buffer strip cropping
4. Wind strip cropping
Contour strip cropping :
In contour strip cropping the crops are planted in strips along
the contour at right angle direction to the natural land slope.
Field strip cropping :
it is modified form of contour strip cropping, in which crop
strips are laid parallel ,across the land slope, but not always exactly on
the contour.
Buffer strip cropping
In buffer strip cropping ,strips of grasses and legumes are
laid between the contour strip crops in regular rotation. usually
2 to 4 m wide and 10 to 20 m intervals.
Wind strip cropping
In wind strip cropping system, the strip crops of uniform width
are laid at right angles to the direction of prevelling winds.
The main objective of this system is to control wind erosion
rather than water erosion.
 TILLAGE
Tillage alters the soil physical characters like porosity,
bulk density, surface roughness and hardness of pans.
Different types of tillage implements influence these
physical characteristics in their own way and thus
affect erosion.
Following points should be considered regarding
tillage operations:

1)Till no more than necessary.

2)Till only, when soil moisture is in the favorable limit.
3)Vary the depth of ploughing
 CONSERVATION tillage
The term ‘conservation tillage’ includes the reduced tillage,
minimum tillage, no-till, direct drill, mulch tillage, stubble-mulch
tillage, trash farming, strip tillage etc.
The conservation tillage is also found very effective to develop
good cover of crop residues by using vigorous vegetative growth
producing crops in the combination of conservation tillage
operations. Especially, for semi-arid conditions few main
disadvantages are;
The dense plant covers may be incompatible for the situation of
low moisture availability in the soil.
Animals may graze the crop residues, allowed to remain over the
soil surface for erosion control.
The planting under mulched conditions is not easy for animal
drawn planters.
 Minimum tillage
 It implies the preparation of
seedbed with disturbance of soil.
 It is a general term, covers several
methods.
 One method is to reduce the
number of operations by directly
smoothing after ploughing without
any intervening cultivation.
OBJECTIVES

The First objective is to provide a proper

environment for the seed to germinate.

The second objective refers to increase the

water intake capacity of soil, and thus to
control the erosion. Relatively applicable for
large areas.
 CONVENTIONAL tillage
The tillage operations such as ploughing, secondary
cultivation with one or more disc harrowing and
planking as conventional tillage have been found
suitable for wide range of soils to control the erosion.
It is a system using cultivation as the major means
of seedbed preparation and weed control.
The soil loss due to water erosion, gets decrease
with increasing in surface roughness.
 MULCHING
Mulching with plant materials reduces soil
loss up to 43 times compared to bare soil
and 17 times compared to cropped soil
without mulches. By increasing the amount
of mulch, sediments present in runoff water
can be reduced as it covers more soil
surface and protects it from rain drop
impact .
• Mulching is a useful practice in rained
areas for controlling erosion, weed growth
and conservation moisture as well as
nutrients in the soil profile .
 CROP ROTATION
Defined as a more or less regular succession of differen
crops being grown on the same piece of land.
• Rotation of crop reduces erosion

• Increase the soil fertility

Crop rotation varies with
• Land
• Economic condition of farmers
• Cropping system prevalent in an area
Suitable crops for use in rotation
• legumes
• grasses
CROP ROTATION
THANK YOU