TITLE OF THE DOC.
Author Name
KEY BENEFITS OF OUR COURSES
Our course structure includes a lot of perks that are otherwise
unavailable elsewhere.
It is a comprehensive guide to help you crack the paper & secure your
dream position.
We provide personal solutions all queries using a Telegram group wherein Anuj Jindal
himself will clarify your doubts.
We curate the learning strategies of past year toppers to help you learn from the success
of the best
Table of Contents
(Chapter-7) ............................................................................................................................................. 4
DRYLAND AGRICULTURE ......................................................................................................................... 4
What is Dryland agriculture ? ........................................................................................................................... 4
Types of Dryland Agriculture: ........................................................................................................................... 4
Dry Farming : ............................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Dryland farming ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Rainfed farming ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Geographical Distribution ................................................................................................................................ 5
Problems of Dryland Agriculture: ..................................................................................................................... 6
Rainfall: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Soil : ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Extensive agriculture: ................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Occurrence of drought: ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Quality of Crop Produce ............................................................................................................................................................ 6
Marketing Problems .................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Poor economy of farmers:......................................................................................................................................................... 7
Solutions ......................................................................................................................................................... 7
Reducing Evaporation Losses .................................................................................................................................................... 7
Reducing Transpiration Losses .................................................................................................................................................. 7
Wind Breaks And Shelterbelts ................................................................................................................................................... 8
Weed Control ............................................................................................................................................................................ 8
Others ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 8
(Chapter-7)
DRYLAND AGRICULTURE
What is Dryland agriculture ?
Dryland agriculture is the agriculture which limits the crop growth to a part of the year due to lack of
sufficient moisture.
• 65 per cent of the cultivated area in Indian agriculture comes under dryland, which contributes
about 40 per cent of the total food production and plays a critical role in India’s food security.
• Dryland Agriculture accounts for 83% of coarse cereals,80% of pulses, 73% of oilseeds ,70 % of
cotton production in India and supports 60% of livestock.
• Degraded soils with low water holding capacities along with multiple nutrient deficiencies and
depleting ground water table contributes to low crop yields and further leading to land
degradation.
• The success of dryland farming depends on the efficient use of the little moisture that is trapped
in the soils of crop fields for growing crops, and also the wise selection of crops that will suitably
adapt to the farming conditions of dryland farming.
Types of Dryland Agriculture:
• Depending on the amount of rainfall received, dryland agriculture has been grouped into three
categories:
Dry Farming :
✓ Annual rainfall is less than 750 mm.
✓ The growing season is less than 200 days.
✓ It is generally practiced in arid regions of the country
✓ Crop failures are more frequent under dry farming condition owing to prolonged dry spells
during crop period.
Dryland farming
✓ Annual rainfall above 750 mm
✓ Semi-arid regions are included under this category
✓ Dry spell during crop duration occurs, but crop failures are less frequent.
Rainfed farming
✓ areas receiving 1150 mm rainfall,
✓ sub-humid and humid areas.
✓ Here chances of crop failure and water stress are very less
Geographical Distribution
▪ Rajasthan
▪ Saurashtra Region of Gujarat
▪ Marathawada, and Vidharbha Region of Maharastra,
▪ Bundelkhand
▪ Most Part of Northern And Central India
▪ Deccan Plateau
▪ Rainshadow Zone of Western Ghats.
▪ Tamil Nadu Highlands
Problems of Dryland Agriculture:
Rainfall:
▪ low rainfall which are unevenly distributed, highly erratic and uncertain.
▪ The crop production in drylands is mainly dependent on the frequency and intensity of rainfall
making it a less productive.
▪ Sometimes due to late onset of monsoon, the sowing of crop is delayed resulting in poor yields.
Soil :
▪ low moisture holding capacity , coarse soil texture
▪ deficient in macronutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, low fertility
▪ Excessive runoff due to further deteriorates soil nutrient status.
Extensive agriculture:
▪ Prevalence of monocropping extensively makes farm lands lack of nutrients and result in reduction
of yield.
Occurrence of drought:
▪ The extensive climatic hazards are seen in drylands as the soils are weak and can be subjected to
environmental stress to a higher level, leading to further land degradation.
▪ Drought is a common scenario in drylands as water availability is less further leading to low
productivity.
Quality of Crop Produce
▪ Grain is of inferior quality due to underdevelopment
▪ plant growth is also affected, often termed as stunted. This result in less fodder production and
farmers get less return on their produce from the market
Marketing Problems
▪ The crops grown in a particular region is usually similar .
▪ When similar crops are grown, all mature at the same time and a large quantity of produce reach
market leading to glut in the markets.
▪ This situation is severely exploited by the traders and the middlemen in the markets.
▪ The issue of marketing turns out to be a big problem in dryland agriculture.
Poor economy of farmers:
▪ Economic status of farmers is low in drylands, due to the less choice of the crops that are grown in
these areas.
▪ Few crops have the adaptability to grow in arid or dryland conditions.
Solutions
Reducing Evaporation Losses
Soil moisture is the most limiting factor in dryland agriculture. It is lost as evaporation from the soil surface
and as transpiration from the plant surfaces.
Mulches : About 60 to 75 per cent of the rainfall is lost through evaporation. These evaporation losses can
be reduced by applying mulches.
▪ Mulch is any material applied on the soil surface to check evaporation and improve soil water.
▪ Application of mulches results in additional benefits like soil conservation, moderation of
temperature, reduction in soil salinity, weed control and improvement of soil structure.
Reducing Transpiration Losses
About 99 per cent of the water absorbed by the plants is lost in transpiration. If transpiration is controlled,
it may help in maintenance of favourable water balance.
Antitranspirants : Antitranspirant is any material applied to transpiring plant surfaces for reducing water
loss from the plant. These are of four types:
▪ Stomatal Closing: Fungicides like phenyl mercuric acetate (PMA) and herbicides like atrazine in low
concentrations serve as antitranspirants by inducing stomatal closing
▪ Film forming: Plastic and waxy materials which form a thin film on the leaf surface retard the
escape of water due to formation of physical barrier.
▪ Reflective: These are white materials which form a coating on the leaves and increase the leaf
reflectance (albedo).
o By reflecting the radiation, they reduce leaf temperatures and vapour pressure gradient
from leaf to atmosphere and thus reduce transpiration
▪ Growth retardant : These chemicals reduce shoot growth and increase root growth and thus
enable the plants to resist drought
Wind Breaks And Shelterbelts
▪ Wind breaks are any structures that obstruct wind flow and reduce wind speed while shelterbelts
are rows of trees planted for protection of crops against wind.
▪ Due to reduction in wind speed, evaporation losses are reduced and more water is available for
plants. The beneficial effect of shelterbelts is seen more clearly in drought years.
Weed Control
▪ Prompt weed control eliminates the competition of weeds with crops for limited soil moisture.
Others
▪ Improved crop varieties should be used , which can withstand stress.
▪ Soil conservation by contour bunding, terracing, land levelling and also by practicing
conservational tillage (zero tillage and minimum tillage).
▪ Practice of drip irrigation to save water.
▪ Agronomic practices like mixed cropping and crop rotation which increase the yield of crops need
to be practiced.
▪ Integrated nutrient management need to be practiced with special emphasis on use of bio-
fertilizers to maintain the soil fertility
▪ Alley cropping, pasture management, tree farming, silvi-pastoral management systems and agro-
horticultural system which are more relevant to dryland situations have to be adopted for
successful dryland farming system
Important Institutes About
Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture
(CRIDA) is a National Research Institute under the Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) established in
1985 with a mandate to carry out basic and applied
research in rainfed farming.
CRIDA - Hyderabad
This is the lead Institute and the National Nodal point for
the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture
(NICRA) which is being implemented at large number of
Research Institutes of ICAR, State Agricultural
Universities and 100 KVKs.
NRAA was established IN November 2006 as an expert
body of Ministry of Agriculture to provide the much
NRRA - Delhi
needed knowledge inputs regarding systematic up-
gradation and management of country’s dry land and
rainfed agriculture
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-
Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is an international non-profit
ICRISAT - Hyderabad
organization that undertakes scientific research for
development.
The vision is to have a prosperous ,food secure and
resilient dryland tropics.
Irrigation Research Institute(IRI) was established to carry
out Research and Development work under the aegis of
the U. P. Irrigation Department in the year 1928 as a
IRI- Roorkee small research unit in Lucknow.
The success of this small unit was duly acknowledged
and in 1945 activities were expanded. The expanded unit
was shifted to Bahadarabad (Roorkee) in 1946.
Check our website www.anujjindal in for enrolment,
Course details and other updates!
Or
Log on to our mobile application.
“HALL OF FAME”
RBI
550+ Students cleared RBI Phase 1
300+ Students clear RBI Phase 2
48 Students got selected in RBI
SEBI
NABARD
UGC NET JRF
