RASAKUMAR R

4. Need of Conservation Agriculture
 Soil Compaction
 Soil Erosion
 Soil Degradation
 Hike in prices of fertilizers
 Availability of Labour
 Declining fertility of soil

5. Conservation agriculture success world over
• Globally, CA is being practiced on about 125 M ha.
• USA has been the pioneer country in adopting CA systems and
currently more than 25.5 million ha land is under such system.
• Countries where CA practices have now been widely adopted for
many years in USA (26.5 M ha), Brazil (25.5 M ha), Argentina (25.5
M ha), Canada (13.5 M ha) and Australia (17.0 M ha).
• France and Spain are the two countries where CA was being
followed in about one million ha of area under annual crops.

6. Conservation agriculture in india
• The total area under no-tillage/zero tillage in India it is about 3.43
mha.
• Spread of conservation agriculture have been made through the
combined efforts of several SAU’s, ICAR institutes.
• CA technologies is taking place in the irrigated regions of Indo-
Gangetic plains where rice-wheat cropping system dominates.
• CA systems have not been tried or promoted in other major agro-eco
regions like rainfed semi-arid tropics, the arid regions.

7. Goals of Conservation agriculture
• Increasing the productivity of land and water and capital to meet
human needs while preserving the integrity of the natural
ecosystems.
• Conserve and enhance the quality of natural and human resources.
• Better quality food for consumer.

8. Resource Conservation Technologies
• 1. Precision land levelling
• 2. No-till systems
• 3. Crop residue management
• 4.Cover crop
• 5. Crop diversification

9. Components of Conservation Agriculture
• 1. In situ management of crop residues
• 2. Engineering measures
• Contour bunding
• Graded bunding
• Terracing
• Contour trenching
• 3. Adoption of micro-irrigation system
• 4. Mulching
• 5. Tillage
• 6. Integrated nutrient management in soil

10. Cover crops
• Cover crops improve the stability of the CA system
• Capacity to promote an increased biodiversity in the agro-
ecosystem.
• Beneficial for areas of eroded and degraded soils.

11. Conservation tillage
•  Conservation tillage is defined as: "any tillage or planting system in
which at least 30% of the soil surface is covered by plant residue after
planting to reduce erosion.”
•  No tillage, minimum tillage, reduced tillage and mulch tillage are terms
synonymous with conservation tillage.
•  Appropriate tillage practices are those that avoid the degradation of soil
properties but maintain crop yields as well as ecosystem stability.
•  Conservation tillage provides the best opportunity for halting
degradation and for restoring and improving soil productivity.
•  In recent years interest in conservation tillage systems has increased in
response to the need to limit erosion and promote water conservation.

12. Types of Conservation tillage
• 1) Zero Tillage: Soil is completely left undisturbed from planting to
harvest except sowing and nutrient application. Weed control is only
by herbicides.
• 2) Strip Tillage: Strip-tillage is a form of conservation tillage that
clears crop residues in a narrow zone of soil and loosens subsoil layers
prior to planting.
• 3) Reduced tillage Little soil disturbance before sowing to break the
crust, loosen compact soil and prepare seedbed. Weed control by
herbicides or some secondary tillage.
• 4) Mulch Tillage: It includes any CT system other than no-tillage, strip
tillage, or ridge- tillage that preserves 30 % or more surface residues.

13. CROP RESIDUE
Part of plant left after harvest
 Need of conservation agriculture to enhance soil physical, chemical
and biological properties

14. Benefits of conservation agriculture
•  Improve the sustainability of different production system.
•  Provide soil as sink for carbon dioxide.
•  Improve water infiltration.
•  Improve habitation of organism.
•  10-17% yield advantage over conventional tillage.
•  Enhance biodiversity and improve the value of environmental
services.
•  Water saving by 20-35%.

15. Constrains in adoption
• Availability of residues.
• Skill of operation.
• Marginal lands.
• Economic problem.
• Large investment costs may discourage adoption
• The perceived risk of adopting CA may serve as a barrier

16. Conclusion
• Conservation tillage practices play an important role in agriculture and
improve the physical, chemical and biological properties and there by
increase the crop yield.
• Conservation practices such as mulching helps to conserve soil and water.
• Integrated nutrient management increase the yield of crop.
• Crop residue management combined with organic manure has significant
effect on crop yield and improve the soil organic matter.
• Conservation practices play important role in sustainable agricultural
production.
• Application of chemical fertilizers with organic manure is better to
increase nutrient uptake by crop plants and increase crop yield.