Research Achievements
Graded bunding in vertisols with a combination of 0.75 m vertical interval and 0.6m2 cross-sectional area
of the bund gave maximum sorghum grain yield (29.9 q ha-1 ) as compared to control (20.4 q ha-1 ).
Sunflower in rotation with sorghum or as intercrop reduced runoff from 51 mm to 30 mm. Sunflower
was more remunerative than groundnut in semi-arid and black soil region.
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Among various grass barriers, minimum runoff was produced by Dicanthium annulatum (26.3 mm)
followed by Cymbopogon martinii (30.4 mm) and Vetivera zizanioides (48.6 mm) as compared to
173.9 mm in control. The minimum soil loss of 145.6 kg ha-
1yr-1 was also observed in Dicanthium annulatum treatment.
Planting of bio-fence species like Agave sisilena, Euphorbia
tirucalli, Glyricidia maculata, Cassia siamea, Ipomea cornea,
Jatropha curcas, etc. on the ridge in two staggered rows with
a spacing of 50x50 cm on boundaries of cultivated fields
check the human and animal encroachment and protect the
crops, reduces runoff (5.20 mm) and soil loss (259.13 kg ha-
1), improves soil moisture and soil fertility, provides additional
income and stabilizes the field bunds. |
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The soil conservation measures in a watershed at
Chinnatekur in Kurnool district of A.P. increased ground water levels by 0.5 to 1 m. Consequently,
the command area of 47 open wells in the watershed increased by 173% as compared to pretreatment
period. The number of open wells increased from 47 during the pre-project period to 120.
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Adoption of integrated watershed management in an
agricultural watershed at G.R.Halli reduced runoff from 20-
30% to 1-2% and soil loss from 5-10 to 1.0 t ha-1yr-1.
Water harvesting through dug-out farm pond proved
beneficial in semi-arid black soil region to mitigate the
problem of water scarcity during long dry spells in crop
season. One dug-out pond in every 10 ha catchments area is
required to stabilized crop production as recommended by
this center.
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Layout of farmers’ fields with compartmental bunding in
between the graded bunds increased the groundnut and
sunflower yields by 45% with conservation of rainwater and
top fertile soil. Due to resource conservation in the black soils of Joladarasi watershed the yields of
coriander and safflower increased by 14 and 12%,
respectively, in the mixed cropping and by 14 and 17% in the
intercropping as compared to outside the watershed (average
of 8 years).
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