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SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE SCIENCE
LNCT UNIVERSITY BHOPAL (M.P.)
LECTURE NOTES
Program: -B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture
Semester - IV, Year- II
Subject code: - BAG- 407
Subject Name: - Farming System & Sustainable
Agriculture
Topics: - Conservation Agriculture Strategies in
Agriculture
Faculty Name: - Mr. Sanjeev Pandey
Assistant Professor
School of Agriculture Science, LNCTU
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SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE SCIENCE
LNCT UNIVERSITY BHOPAL (M.P.)
Conservation Agriculture Strategies in Agriculture
Definition: - It is the collective umbrella term commonly given to no tillage, direct-drilling,
minimum tillage and/or ridge tillage, to denote that the specific practice has a conservation goal
of some nature. Usually, the retention of 30 per cent surface cover by residues characterizes the
lower limit of classification of conservation tillage, but other conservation objectives for the
practice include conservation of time, fuel, earthworms, soil-water, soil structure and nutrients.
Thus, residue levels alone do not adequately describe all conservation tillage practices.
Note- Conservation agriculture aims to conserve, improve and make more efficient use of natural
resources through integrated management of available soil, water and biological resources
combined with external inputs.
It contributes to environmental conservation as well as to enhanced and sustained agricultural
production.
It can also be referred to as resource efficient or resource effective agriculture.
Conservation agriculture is defined as minimal soil disturbance (no-till) and permanent soil cover
(mulch) combined with rotations, is a recent agricultural management system.
A sustainable agriculture production system comprising a set of farming practices adapted to the
requirements of crops and local condition of each region, whose farming and soil management
techniques protect the soil from erosion and degradation, improve its quality and bio-diversity
and contribute to the preservation of the natural resources, water and air, while optimizing yield.
Principles of conservation agriculture: - These are followings.
1. Direct planting of crop seeds.
2. Permanent soil cover, especially by crop residues and cover crops.
3. Crop rotation
Note: - conservation agriculture system utilizes soils for the production of crops with aim of
reducing excessive mixing of the soil and minimizing crop residues on the soil surface in order to
minimize affect to the environment.
Direct seeding or planting: - Direct seeding involves growing crops without mechanical seedbed
preparation and with minimal soil disturbances since the harvest of the previous crop.
The term direct seeding is understood in conservation agriculture system as synonymous with
no-till fanning, zero-tillage, no-tillage, direct drilling etc.
Land preparation for seeding or planting under no-tillage involves slashing or rolling the weeds,
previous crop residues or cover crops or spraying herbicides for weed control and seeding
directly through the mulch. Crop residues are retained either completely or to a suitable amount
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SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE SCIENCE
LNCT UNIVERSITY BHOPAL (M.P.)
to guarantee the complete soil cover and fertilizer and amendments are either broadcast on the
soil surface or applied during seeding.
Advantages of conservation agriculture: - To be widely adopted, all new technology
needs to have benefits and advantages that attract a broad group of farmers who understand the
differences between what they are doing and what they need. In the case of conservation
agriculture, advantages can be grouped as:
(i) Economic benefits: These improve production efficiency
(ii) Agronomic benefits: These improve soil productivity
(iii) Environmental and social benefits: These protect the soil and make agriculture more
sustainable.
1. Economic Benefits: -
Time saving and thus reduction in labour requirement.
Reduction of costs (fuel, machinery operating costs and maintenance, as well as a
reduced labour cost).
Higher efficiency in the sense of more output for a lower input.
2. Agronomic Benefits: - Adopting conservation agriculture leads to improvement of soil
productivity.
Organic matter increase.
In-soil water conservation.
Improvement of soil structure and thus rooting zone.
3. Environmental Benefits: -
Reduction in soil erosion and thus of road, dam and hydroelectric power plant maintenance
costs.
Improvement of water quality.
Improvement of air quality.
Bio-diversity increase.
Carbon sequestration.
Limitations of conservation agriculture: -
Most important limitation in all areas where conservation agriculture is practiced is the initial
lack of knowledge. There is no blueprint available for conservation agriculture, as all agro-
ecosystems are different. The success or failure of conservation agriculture depends greatly on
the flexibility and creativity of the practitioners and extension and research services of a region.
However, as conservation agriculture is gaining momentum rapidly in certain regions there now
exist new networks of farmers organizations and groups of interested people who exchange
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SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE SCIENCE
LNCT UNIVERSITY BHOPAL (M.P.)
information and experiences on cover crops, tools and equipment and other techniques used in
conservation agriculture.
As conservation agriculture partly relies on the use of herbicides, at least during the
initial stage of adoption, some people worry that adoption of conservation agriculture
will increase herbicide use and that in turn will lead to increased contamination of water
by herbicides. In fact, experience has shown that herbicide use tends to decline over time
as the soil cover practices prevent weed emergence.
Conservation Tillage/ Minimum Tillage/ Reduced Tillage: - These are tillage
operations that leave at least 30 per cent of the soil surface covered by plant residues in order to
increase water infiltration and cut down on soil erosion and runoff.
Conservation tillage is an intermediate form of conservation agriculture since it keeps some soil
cover as residue from the previous crop. But some tillage is usually done.
This Study material developed & Created By: - (Faculty) School of Agriculture Science, LNCTU (www.lnctu.ac.in)
