utilization of degraded lands/habitats and poor quality

Indian J. of Agroforestry Vol. 13 No. 1 : 1-16 (2011)

Utilization of degraded lands/habitats and poor quality water forlivelihood security and mitigating climate changeJ.C.DagarKrishi Anusandhan Bhawan-II,Indian Council ofAgricultural Research, New Delhi -110012

ABSTRACT: About 2 billion ha in the world is affected by various forms of human induced land degradation with erosionby water being the chief contributor. In India, out of 120.8 million ha (Mh) degraded land, 82.6 Mh is estimated to sufferwith water erosion, 24.7 Mh from chemical degradation, 12.4 Mh due to wind erosion and 1.1 Mh from physical (mainlydue to stagnation of water) degradation. About 6.73 Mh area is salt-affected. With developing scenarios of severe waterscarcity and competition from other sectors of economy, it appears axiomatic that agriculture would have to increasinglydepend upon marginal and poor quality waters only. In Canal Command areas alone more than 2.5 Mh area have alreadybecome waterlogged and 3.3 Mh salt-affected. To meet various diverse needs of ever-increasing human (more than 1billion) and animal (484.3 million) population, we would have to rehabilitate all kinds of the problem lands. Many species oftrees, shrubs, forbs and grasses can grow well in problematic areas which may not be fit for arable crops. Many of theselands can be reclaimed by adopting alternate land use practices. The sloping and ravine lands can successfully bebrought under grass and tree cover selecting suitable erosion resistant species which in turn may also be utilized forfodder and fuel-wood. To check wind erosion sand dunes can be stabilized with stress tolerant vegetation. Vast tracts ofarid and semi-arid areas remain barren due to salinity or water scarcity. The salt-affected lands (sodic/alkaline and saline)constrain plant growth owing to the osmotic effects of salt, poor physical conditions leading to poor aeration, nutritionimbalances and toxicities. With use of appropriate planting techniques and salt-tolerant species these can be broughtunder viable vegetation cover. Auger-hole technique on sodic soils, furrow technique of tree plantation on saline soils, andridge plantation in waterlogged fields have been found quite appropriate. Further, in most of the arid and semi-arid regionsthe ground water aquifers are saline. The groundwater surveys indicate that poor quality water utilized in different statesof India ranges between 32 and 84% of the total ground water development. Usually cultivation of conventional arablecrops with saline irrigation has not been sustainable. Concerted research efforts have shown that by applying appropriateplanting and other management techniques (e.g. sub-surface planting and furrow irrigation), the degraded lands(including calcareous) can be put to alternative uses, where salt-tolerant forest and fruit trees, forage grasses, medicinaland aromatic and other high value crops can be equally remunerative. The problem of waterlogging and secondarysalinisation can be tackled through sub-surface drainage, which is costly and inherits environmental problems.Biodrainage using fast growing trees like cloned Eucalyptus (known for high transpiration rate) can effectively be used tocombat the problem.Tree-based technologies have additional environmental benefits including carbon sequestration,biological reclamation and mitigating climate change. Due to agroforestry movement it has been found that half of theagricultural land in the world has more than 10% tree cover. Some opportunities for alternate land uses throughagroforestry systems on problematic areas including eroded, salty and water scarcity and water logged areas have beendiscussed in this paper.

Key words: Biosaline agriculture, agroforestry systems, auger-hole planting technique, saline and waterlogged areas,saline vertisols, biodrainage .

1. INTRODUCTIONAbout 2 billion ha in the world is affected by variousforms of human induced land degradation(Oldeman, 1991) with erosion by water being thechief contributor (1.1 billion ha) followed by winderosion, chemical degradation and physicaldegradation. In India, out of 120.8 million hadegraded land, 82.6 million ha is estimated tosuffer with water erosion, 24.7 million ha fromchemical degradation, 12.4 million ha due to winderosion and 1.1 million ha from physical (mainlydue to stagnation of water) degradation (NBSS &LUP, 2008). This figure does not include barrenrocky/stony wastes and snow covered ice caps(6.5 million ha) which are source of water and 10.8million ha acidic arable land which is used for ricecultivation.

Due to erosion about 5334 million tones of soil is lost(16 tlha) annually- highest in black soils (24-112 tlha)followed by Shiwalik region (80tlha) and north-eastern region with shifting cultivation with 27-40tlhasoil loss (Mandal et al., 2008) About 11% of erodedarea falls in very severe category with erosion ratesof more than 40 tones/ha/year. The land degradationhas both on-site and off-site impacts. Due to on-siteimpacts land productivity declines because ofnutrient losses. In India nearly 0.8 million tones ofnitrogen, 1.8 million tones of phosphorus and 26.3million tones of potash are lost annually, amountingto 0.2% oftotal reserves (TERI, 1998).The inland dry land areas endowed with salinity inground waters and soils reflect the inland saline(environment. The salinity environment exists incoastal areas, inland semi-arid and arid areas, and

is also water logged (IDNP, 2002). However, thelatest information (INCID, 2009) indicates that 4.9million ha area is waterlogged comprising 2.66million ha in canal commands and 2.3 million haoutside and 6.73 million ha area is salt-affectedcomprising of 2.96 million ha as saline and 3.77million ha as sodic (Table 2).Beneath many of the world's deserts are reservesof saline water. The major occurrences of salinewaters are in the Thar desert of Indian sub-continent, the Arab desert of the Middle Eastcountries, the Sahara desert in North Africa, theKalahari desert in Southern Africa, the Atacarmadesert in South America, the California desert inNorth America, and in the West Australian desert.Groundwater surveys in India indicate that poorquality waters being utilized in different states are25 to 84% of the total ground water development-more in arid and semiarid regions. It is 84% inRajasthan, 62% in Haryana, 47% in Uttar Pradesh,38% in Karnataka, 30% in Gujarat, 32% in AndhraPradesh and 25% in Madhya Pradesh (Minhas,1998).Many more areas with good-quality aquifersare endangered with contamination as aconsequence of excessive withdrawals ofgroundwater.To produce 310 million tones of food grains, 190million tones of other food products, 1000 million

2 Utilization of degraded lands and poor quality water for livelihood security and mitigating climate change

waterlogged and saline areas in canal commands.A series of events are discernible when the drylands have transformed into wet lands due to rapidrise in water table due to introduction of irrigation. Ithas happened in both developed and developingcountries such as Pakistan, north-west India,Egypt, Aral basin states in erstwhile Soviet Union,Western United States, Australia, Ontario,Columbia, Indonesia, Tunisia, Korea, Iraq, Iran,China, Syria, Israel, Morocco, Turkey, Bulgaria,Greece, Rhodes and Peru (FAO, 1995). The globalestimate of salt-affected soils is about 955 millionha (Szabolcs, 1989) but as per recentFAO/UNESCO Soil Map of the World (FAO/AGL,2000), the total area of saline soils is 397 million haand of sodic soil 434 million ha (Table 1). Abrol andBhumbla (1978) classified Indian salt-affectedsoils as alkali and saline soils and merged saline-alkali soils into alkali soils.Oldeman et al. (1991) reported the global human-induced salinisation to an extent of 76.6 million ha(Mha) of land, out of which 52.7 Mha (69%) is inAsia, 14.8 Mha (19%) in Africa and 3.8 Mha (5%) inEurope and a total of 31.2 Mha land can beattributed to secondary salinisation of non-irrigatedland and remaining 45.4 Mha is affected in irrigatedareas. It is estimated that nearly 8.4 million ha ofthe irrigated lands in India are affected by soilsalinity and alkalinity; of which about 5.5 million ha

Table 1. Regional distribution (million ha) of salt-affected soilsRegion Total area Saline soils Sodic soils Total

Africa 1899.1 38.7Asia & Pacific and Australia 3107.2 195.1

Europe 2010.8 6.7

Latin America 2038.6 60.5Near East 1801.9 91.5

North America 1923.7 4.6Total 12781.3 397.1

33.5

278.672.7

50.914.1

14.5

434.3

72.2

443.779.4

111.4

105.619.1831.4

Source: FAO/AGL (2000)

Table 2. Extent of salt affected soils in India (ha)

State Saline Sodic Total

Andhra Pradesh 77598 196609 274207

Andaman & Nicobar Island 77000 0 77000

Bihar 47301 105852 153153

Gujarat 1680570 541430 2222000

Haryana 49157 183399 232556

Karnataka 1893 148136 150029

Kerala 20000 0 20000

Madhya Pradesh 0 139720 139720

Indian J. of Agroforestry Vol. 13 No. 1: 1-16 (2011)

Maharashtra 184089 422670

Orissa 147138 0

Punjab 0 151717

Rajasthan 195571 179371

Tamil Nadu 13231 354784

Utlar Pradesh 21989 1346971

West Bengal 441272 0

Total 2956809 3770659

3

606759

147138

151717

374942

368015

1368960

441272

6727468

Source: CSSRI (2007). Based on NRSAdata of 1996

(Reconciled during 2006 jointly by NRSA, CSSRI and NBSSLUP, Nagpur)

tones offodder, 629 million tones offuel wood, and347 million tones of timber and other raw materialsby 2050 from limited land resources is a bigchallenge (NAAS, 2009). According to DES (2007)in 140 million ha it would require a productivity of3.3 tlha against an average productivity of all foodgrains of 1.7 tlha in 2006-07. Similarly, yield of 12.5t/ha from 120 million ha under forests and pastureswould be needed to produce 1500 million tones ofbiomass. Forests' productivity is well below itspotential of 2 t / ha / year, mainly due to excessivegrazing and over-exploitation for fuel wood (Tiwari,2000). The loss of forest biodiversity is furtherendangering livelihood of rnlllions of people whoare dependent on forest land. We can not think ofdeviating arable lands from cultivation of foodcrops. To meet other requirements we haveopportunities to rehabilitate the all kinds ofdegraded lands under perennial vegetation orsome kind of agroforestry. Further, with increasingdemands of food, forage, fuel wood, timber andother necessities for. ever increasing populationand limited availability of good quality water thesaline water irrigation is now considered as animperative necessity for the sustainableagricultural development, which includes the useof saline ground water, saline drainage water andsewage wastewater for irrigation. Opportunities foralternate land uses through agroforestry systemson problematic areas including eroded, salty andwater logged areas and use of poor qualitywatersfor livelihood and nutritional security and mitigatingclimate change have been discussed in this paper.2. COMBATING LAND DEGRADATION FOR

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTIONBroadly, two-pronged strategies are needed toprevent land degradation and to bring water andwind erosions within permissible limits forsustained productivity. First is proper assessmentof the degree, type, extent and severity ofdegradation/erosion and its effect and impact onproduction and nutrient losses. The second

strategy is to check and reverse the process of landdegradation using appropriate technologies, takeconservation measures through strong researchsupport and target the sustainable increase inproduction from these lands. Agroforestry is idealoption to rehabilitate all kinds of degraded lands.We have gone long way to evaluate and identifysuitable plant species for site specific Situationsand develop required technologies for variousproblematic areas. We only require strategies andpolicies for getting these results implemented.

2.1 Why to rehabilitate degraded landsth roug hagroforestry?New obligations emerging out of the growingpopulation demand that, to sustainproduction offood and fuel, each piece of landbe best utilized consistent with ecology andland use capabilities. This means that eventhe degraded lands including salty soils maybe either reclaimed for agricultural purposesor put these lands under alternate land uses.Despite the availability of technical know-howfor reclamation and management of eroded(including ravine lands), salt-affected and

r '. waterlogged lands; rehabilitation of theselands for crop production is very slow. Thereasons are both social and economical.These lands are either owned by poor-resource farmers or belong to community orgovernment agencies. Reclamation of theselands require additional inputs such asbiological or engineering barriers for checking

j. . soil erosion, application of amendments- (gypsum, press mud and pyrite in case of

alkali lands) or installation of drainage (forsaline or saline waterlogged soils), use offertilizers (including green manure) andinfrastructure of farm operations. This is acostly preposition. Requirement of extraresources on recurring basis. and lack ofinterest in development of common lands forpracticing intensive arable agriculture have

systems can be within the reach of poorfarmers. About 39% area in the country (10states with >50% area) has erosion of morethan permissible (1OUha/yr) rate, resulting inreduction in agricultural production. About11% of area fall in very severe category witherosion rate of more than 40 U ha / yr. Some ofthe states in north-east and north-westHimalayas are worst affected with more than1/3'd of their area falling in very severe loss(40-80Uha/yr) category (Table 3).Protectionfrom grazing and afforestation with suitablespecies are the most effective measures forchecking soil erosion and consequentlyravine formation. Woody species foundgrowing in eroded habitats may find priority inafforestation program. For example', Acacianilotica, A. eburnea, A. leucophloea, A.catechu, Azadirachta indica, Albizzialebbeck, Balanites roxburghii, Buteamonosperma, Dalbergia s is so o,Dendrocalamus strictus, Dichrostachyscinerie, Eucalyptus spp., Feronia limonia,Pongamia pinnata, Prosopis juliflora andZiziphus mauritiana have been found to adapteasily in the ravines of river Yamuna at Agraand Kshipra at Ujjain. Among grassesDichanthium annulatum, Cenchrus cilieris,Bothriochloa pertusa, Chrysopogon tulvus,Themeda triandra, Heteropogon coniortus,Sehima nervosum, Tragus biflorus, Iseilemalaxum, Cynodon dactylon and Saccharummunja flourish well in ravine lands.After protecting from grazing silvi-pastoralsystem involving the above-mentioned treeand grass species and introducing legumessuch as Stylosanthes, A Iysicarpus , etc maybe developed with great success. High valuemedicinal species such as Aloe vera andJatropha curcas can easily be blended inthese habitats. Since 1991 IntegratedWatershed Management Programmes arebeing implemented in the country on amassive scale, which is most sustainablemultipurpose strategy. A review of more than300 integrated watershed managementprojects indicated that in majority of them totalcrop production increased by 50 to 123 percent (Joshi et al., 2005).

Water-harvesting technologies resulted in 50-156% increase in irrigated area underdifferent schemes, which increased averagecropping intensity by 64% (NAAS, 2009).Apart from increasing agriculturalproductivity, these projects helped the stakeholders in generating employment and about47% of degraded lands have been treated for. rehabilitation (Sharda et aI., 2008). Inremaining projects also agroforestry may be


been the major bottlenecks for therehabilitation of salty lands on an extensivescale. Further, under most of the saline soilsin arid and semi-arid regions, thegroundwater is saline. In the scenario ofscarcity of good quality water the use of poorquality waters for agriculture is inevitable.Therefore, afforestation or agroforestryinvolving trees, grasses and low-waterrequiring crops (when using saline water forirrigation) is considered an ideal land use forreclamation and management of salty landsand utilization of degraded lands using salinewater. Even the common-property lands canbe brought under farm-forestry. Besidesproviding fuel, fodder and timber,afforestation will also lead to bio-ameliorationof salty lands and will improve biodiversityand help in carbon sequestration andmitigating climate change. Afforestation ofthese lands will not only help in ecological andenvironmental considerations, but also beuseful in relieving pressure on traditionallycultivated lands and forests and will generateadditional employment.

It has been proved that establishing salt-tolerant tree plantations utilizing the salineground water (ECiw up to 10 dS/m) provideseconomic use of abandoned arid lands whenirrigated in furrows for initial three years oftree establishment (Tomar et al., 2003b).Further, grass species could be grownsuccessfully with dry forage production withsaline irrigation (Tomar et al., 2003a). Besidessoil amelioration, two of the definiteadvantages of irrigated forages were aboutthree to four-fold increase in grassproductivity as compared with naturalpastures, and extension of production periodto those of conventional shortages duringsummer months when the most nomadpopulations are forced to migrate totraditionally irrigated areas. Thus, therehabilitation of arid and degraded lands withthe plantation of slat-tolerant trees or si Ivi-pastoral systems with saline irrigation wouldnot only render these otherwise non-productive lands to be more productive butalso ensure conservation and improvementfor long-range ecological security of theselands.

2.2 Agroforestry for eroded landsSoil erosion has socio-economic,environmental and technical dimensions.Those who suffer the most are poor farmersand landless laborers, who are least able toadopt conventional measures for its control.The Iow input costs of many agroforestry

Indian J. of Agroforestry Vol. 13No. 1: 1-16 (2011) 5

Table 3. Area of top 10 states affected by potential soil erosion (Percent of total geographical area)

State Moderate Moderate Severe Very Extra Total10-15Uha/yr severe 2O-40Uha/yr severe severe

15-20U ha/yr 40-80Uha/yr >80Uha/yr >10Uha/yr

Nagaland 4.09 3.80 15.96 28.48 34.94 87.27

Meghalaya 14.78 10.21 26.25 13.86 12.80 77.90

Arunachal Pradesh 5.10 5.42 23.65 27.31 11.17 72.65

Assam 4.58 18.08 14.83 28.30 65.79

Chhatisgarh 7.99 6.45 18.22 13.62 19.02 65.30

Jharkhand 15.55 11.44 20.95 12.20 4.63 64.77

Madhya Pradesh 12.92 9.53 18.93 9.31 8.56 59.25

UUar Pradesh 27.58 9.95 8.26 13.44 59.23

UUarakhand 7.71 7.04 9.24 34.23 58.22

Manipur 15.25 11.43 26.61 53.29

Country 11.22 6.46 9.92 7.14 3.99 38.73

Source: NBSS & LUP (2008)

incorporated as main component particularlyon highly degraded areas.

2.3 Agroforestry for sand dune stabilizationThe most important measures for sand dunestabilization are covering the area under treesand providing a surface cover of grassesfollowed by their protection against bioticinterference. Besides fixing the sand dunes itis important to check the movement of loosesand by applying wind breaks and mulch.Locally available brush woods likeLeptadenia pyrotechnica, Calligonumpo/ygonoides (now rare due to over-exploitation), Ziziphus nummu/aria and Aervatomentosa and grasses like Cenchrus ciliaris,C. setigerus, Lasiurus sintiicus, Panicumturgidum and Saccharum munja are beingused frequently. The vegetation for sanddune stabilization is highly drought tolerantwith deep root system capable of extractingmoisture from lower soil depths. Trees suchas Acacia to rtilis , A jacquimontii, Aleucophloea, A senegal, Azadirachta indica,Balanites roxburghii, Prosopis cineraria, Pjuliflora and Holoptelia integrifolia incombination with grasses Cenchrus ciliaris,C.setigerus, Dichanthium annulatum andPanicum antidotale

have been found most successful for sanddune stabilization. Tree species such as Asenegal can be used for extra income fromgum production. The above-mentionedgrasses can yield 2.2 to 3.8 tlha/yr dry fodderwith no ill effect on tree growth. Silvi-pastoral

system is most viable, sustainable andprofitable system. If need arises one or twoirrigation of saline water up to EC 10 dS/mmay be applied during dry period. It will alsoassure intangible benefits such asamelioration of soil, climate; control of soilerosion, shelter to annual crops in vicinity andprotection to wild life. Arable crops such asMoth (Vigna mungo), green gram (V .radiata)and cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba),tara-mira (Eruca sativa) and castor (Ricinuscommunis) can successfully be cultivatedwhen there is some rains at the time ofsowing. Species suitable for shelter beltsinclude Acacia torti/is, Asalicina, A aneura,A ampleceps, Ani/otica ssp cupressiformis,Tamarix articulata, Parkinsonia aculeate,Prosopis juliflora and Eucalyptuscamaldulensis. Following suitable techniquesand protecting the area by planting close-spaced wind breaks and shelter belts ofsuitable trees and using drip irrigation (evenof saline water up to EC 10 dS/m) even fruittrees such as Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana),Karonda (Carissa carandus), pomegranate(Punica granatum), tamarind (Tamarindusindica-frost sensitive), Lasura (Cordia rothii,dichotoma), custard apple (Annonasquamosa) and date palm (Phoenixdactylifera) can be raised in desertenvironment. High value medicinal plantssuch as Aloe vera find suitable place for dryregions.

Coastal dunes form a complex sequence ofexcessively drained ridges separated by

appropriate tree planting techniques andchoices of tree species are very crucial forreducing mortality and consequently forimprovement in the initial establishment ofsaplings. Since alkaline and saline soils differfrom each other, methods of working the soilswill also be different. For example, in alkalisoils a hard kankar layer of calcium carbonateis generally found at a depth of about 1.25 to1.5m. This layer acts as a barrier for rootpenetration. The layer, therefore, has to bebroken first to allow proper development ofroots. However, saline soils do not requiresuch preparation, as they do not have anysuch barriers. These require specialtechniques of afforestation so that saltcontents in root zone are minimized.


poorly drained depressions. Along Orissacoast belts of cashew (Anacardiumoccidentale) plantations following theCasuarina line are quite common. Screw pinePandanus is also quite frequent which may beexplored commercially for its fruits yieldingfragrant oil. Casuarina equisetifolia andEucalyptus tereticornis are two veryimportant trees along Andhra coast. Palmirahpalm (Borassus ) is most frequent inagricultural fields. Mangroves form the thickbelt along protected shores and creeks.These have been denuded in most of thecoastal areas and are in depleted conditionthroughout the coast. Their importance wasrealized during tsunami and cyclones alongOrissa coast. Behind mangrove belt speciessuch as Pongamia pinnata, Terminaliacatappa, Canophyllum inophyllum,Thespesia populnea, Pandanus spp. andCynomitra ramiflora can successfully beexplored for their commercial importance.Mangrove palm (Nypa fruticans) cansuccessfully be cultivated along creeks foralcohol production.

2.4 Agroforestry for acid soilsIn humid tropics the soils are generally acidicand low in nutrient availability. Some carrytoxic levels of iron and aluminium. The low-lying coastal lands may contain acid sulphatesoils derived from marine and estuarinesediments with high concentration of reducedsulphur components. Upon drainage andaeration they undergo severe acidificationbringing the pH values of the soil at timesbelow 4 in the upper 50cm layer. Low pHadversely affects the availability of calcium,magnesium and other nutrients. Drainageresults in more oxidation causing further soildegradation. Such lands are managed for ricecultivation and brackish water fish culture.Appropriate agroforestry systems may alsoprove useful in the management of acid soilsas woody perennials can recycle nutrients,maintain soil organic matter and protect thesoil from erosion and runoff. The homegardens, coffee and cacao productionsystems, plantation based multi-tiered densecropping systems and alley cropping onsloping lands represent typical agroforestrysystems.

Aqua culture keeping mangroves intact maybe ideal profitable and sustainable practice intidal zone. Dagar (1995) and Kumar andNair (2004) have dealt some of these systemsin detail.

2.5 Agroforestry for Salt-affected LandsIn order to rehabilitate salt affected lands,

3. REHABILITATION OF ALKALI LANDS

The ideal planting method for alkali soils shouldprovide a favorable soil environment such as bybreaking the hard kankar layer, replacement ofexchangeable sodium and additional nutrition of treespecies for optimum root growth. Keeping this viewin mind, pit-auger-hole technique of tree plantationhas been developed by the scientists of CSSRI. Inthis planting method, auger-holes of 15-20 cmdiameter are made to pierce the hard kankarlayer upto 150 -180 cm deep, with the help of a tractor-mounted auqer after digging pits of 35 cm x 35 cm.Auger holes are refilled with original soil, 3 kggypsum, 8 kg FYM, 10 g ZnS04, and small quantity ofinsecticide to take care of termites. Sodicity toleranttree saplings of 6-9 months old are planted in therefilled pit-auger holes followed by irrigation withbuckets. Two to three irrigations are immediatelyneeded for establishment of saplings. This methodenables the plant roots to grow at a faster ratetowards deeper soil layers where sufficient moistureand nutrients are available in alkali soils. The kankarlayer, which creates hindrance in the development ofplant roots, is broken in the process of making holes.The post-auger hole planting technique was furtherrefined by providing sub-surface planting and furrowirrigation method (SPFIM). The pits of 45 cm in sizeare prepared manually and the pit-holes beyond thekankar layer are dug with the augers (15-20 cmdiameter) and then these pits are connected byirrigation furrow. CSSRI, Karnal has beenconducting several long-term experiments fordeveloping afforestation technologies on highlysaline waterlogged soils. The results suggested thatfurrow planting improved the survival and growth oftree species as compared to ridge planting method.Besides reducing the water application costs, itimproves uniformity in water application and helps increating a favourable zone of low salinity below thesill of the furrow through downward and lateral fluxesof water making salts move away from the furrow

Indian J. ofAgroforestry Vol. 13 No. 1: 1-16 (2011) 7

(root zone) especially when low salinity water isused. Creation of such niches favoured theestablishment of young seedlings of trees.Moreover, such a system seems to be more viablefrom practical viewpoint of undertaking large-scaleplantations of trees.

Based on the evaluation of more than 5 dozenspecies planted with auger hole technique throughseries of experimentation on sodic soils), it couldbe concluded that Prosopis juliflora was found thebest performer for the sodic soils of high pH (> 10)followed by Tamarix articulata and Acacia nilotica.Species such as Eucalyptus tereticornis,Terminalia arjuna, Salvadora oleoides, Cordiarothii and fruit trees (with improved management)such as Carissa carandus, Emblica officinalis andPsidium guajava can be grown with great successon moderate alkali soil (pH < 10), preferably at pHaround 9.6 or less (Table 4). Species of Prosopis (Pjuliflora, P alba, P articulata, P levigata, P nigra,etc) can successfully be utilized for high biomassproduction and also for energy plantations. A denseplantation of P juliflora could produce 161 t/habiomass on highly alkali soil of pH > 10 (Table 5).

Table 4. Relative tolerance of tree species for soil sodicity.

These can be used as energy plantations and evenin gassy fires to generate electricity in ruralemployment programmes.Besides these, Acacia nilotica, Casuarinaequisetifolia and Eucalyptus tereticornis couldproduce sufficient biomass (Table 6). Manyspecies were tried at Saraswati range Forest Sitein Haryana and at Shivri Farm, Lucknow. Thebiomass of successful species such as Tamarixarticulata, Acacia nilotica, Prosopis juliflora andEucalyptus tereticornis, when established withhigh RSC (8.5 me/L) on soil of pH> 10.2 was foundto be 97, 70, 51 and 15 tlha, respectively whenharvested at 7 years of age (Dagar et al., 2001).The biomass of ten years old plantations atLucknow site is shown in Figures 1. A largeproportion of salt-affected lands (particularly inIndian subcontinent) does not belong to individualfarmers, but is either government land or in thecustody of village Panchayats. Reclamation ofsuch lands for crop production is not feasiblebecause of common property rights. Raisingsuitable trees and grasses would appear to be apromising use of these lands.

Not recommended

Average pH (0-1.2 m) Fuelwood/fodder/timber species Fruit tree species

> 10 Prosopis juliflora, Acacia nilotica,Tamarix articulata

Eucalyptus tereticornis, Carissa earandus, Psidium guajava,Pithecellobium dulce, Prosopis alba, Zizyphus mauritiana, Emblica officinalisP cineraria, Casuarina equisetifolia*1,Salvadora persica, S. oleoides,Capparis decidua, Terminalis arjuna,Cordia rothii, Albizia lebbeck, Cassiasiamea, Pongamia pinnata, Sesbaniasesban, Parkinsonia aculeata,Dalbergia sissoo, Kigelia pinnata,Butea monospermaGrevillia robusta, Azadirachta indica, Grewia asidatica, Aegle marmelos*2,Melia azedarach, Leucaena Prunus persica, Pyrus communis,lencocephata, Hardwickea binnata, Manigifera indica, Morus alba, FicusMoringa loiefera, Populus deltoids, spp., Sapindus laurifolium, VitisTectona grandis vinifera

9.6 - 10.0

9.1-9.5

8.2-9.0

Punica granatum*2, Phoenix dactylifera,Achrus japota*1, Tamarindus indica*1,Syzygium cuminii, Feronia limonia

*' (frost sensitive), *2 Does not stand water stagnation, may be raised on bunds.

Table 5. Biomass production in 6 years by Prosopis julifloraunder different spacing in alkali soil of high pH (10.0-10.2)

and Kallar (Leptochloa fusca) grasss

Spacing Biomass (Mg ha")

Prosopis

HarvestedLopped

Kallargrass

Total

2x2m

3x3m

4x4m

49.1

31.6

25.0

112.2

55.2

36.1

161.3

86.8

61.1

55.6

68.7

80.9

Source: Singh (2008)

8

rainy season and salt-tolerant wheat or berseem orLucerne during winter may be raised in sunkenbeds (Dagar et a/., 2001).

Utilization of degraded lands and poor quality water for livelihood security and mitigating climate change

Table 6. Growth performance and biomass production by four trees in highly sodic soil (pH 10.4) after 10years of plantation

Growth parameters Prosopis Acacia Casuarina Euca/yptusjuliflora Ni/otica equisetifolia tereticornis

Height (m)

DBH (cm)Bole weight (kg/tree)

Branches + leaves (kg / tree)

12.9 11.6 14.5 14.9

12.5 13.6 12.0 11.0112.6 85.4 84.2 65.6

43.2 43.8 28.4 23.5

Source: Singh (2008)

The most promising tree species for highly alkalisoils are Prosopis ju/iflora, Acacia ni/otica andTamarix articu/ata. Highly salt-tolerant and highbiomass producing grass species includeLeptoch/oa fusca, Brachiaria mutica, Ch/orisgayana, species of Sporobo/us and Panicum.Mesquite (P ju/iflora) and kallar grass (L. fusca)based si lvi-pastoral practice has been found mostpromising for firewood and forage production andalso for soil amelioration. This system improved thesoil to such an extent that less tolerant but moreplantable fodder species such as Persianclover(Trifolium resupinatum), Berseem (T.a/exandrinum), Lucerene (Medicago sativa) andSweet clover (Me/i/o/us denticu/ata) could begrown under mesquite trees after 4-5 years. Theproposed model is shown in Figure 2.

The grazing lands of sodic soils are very poor inforage production under open grazing, but whenbrought under judicious management these can beexplored successfully for sustainable production.Based on series of long-term experiments it wasfound that L. fusca can be rated the most tolerantgrass to highly sodic soil and waterloggedconditions as compared to other grasses. In oneexperiment tree species such as Acacia ni/otica,Euca/yputs tereticornis and Parkinsonia acu/eatawere planted on ridges and kallar grass (L. fusca)was established in the trenches between ridges.This system conserved rainwater during monsoon,which in turn increased the biomass of trees andintercrops of grasses. In addition to firewood andforage production, this system was found useful inchecking runoff and soil loss.Forest or fruit trees may also be raised in widerspaces (row to row 4-5 m, plant to plant 4 m) andthe arable crops may be cultivated in theinterspaces. In one experiment, berseem (Trifo/iuma/exandrinum), wheat, onion and garlic could begrown successfully for three years with fruit treessuch as Carissa carandus, Punica granatum,Emb/ica officina/is, Psidium guajava, Syzygiumcuminii and Ziziphus mauritiana. To avoid waterstagnation problem in alkali soil, the trees (bothfruit and forest species) can be grown on raisedbunds and water-loving crops such as rice andforage grasses (L. fusca, Brachiaria mutica) during

56"i

se

32.33D8

276 267

19.2

r'p etc. PI Et

Tree Species

Fig. 1. Above-ground air-dried biomass (tlha)ofdifferent trees grown in sodic soilPj=Prosopis julif/ora, An= Acacia nilotica, Ce= Casuarinaequisetifolia, Ta= Terminalia arjuna, Pd=Pithecellobium dulce,Et= Eucalyptus tereticornis, Pa= Prosopis alba, Pp= Pongamiapinnata, Cs= Cassia siamea, Ai= Azadirachta indica

Sodic land (pH> 10)~

Prosopis juliflora + Leptochloa fusca grass~ 5 years

Replacement of L. fusca with Trifoliumresupinatum or Melilotus parviflora or Medicago

sativa after 5-6 years~ 10 years

Reclaimed land fit for growing almost all crops asinter-crops between tree rows

Fig.2. Silvi-pastoral model for highly alkali soils

Many of the medicinal and aromatic under-explored crops are in great demand for bothinternal requirements and export. But since thesecrops are non-conventional in nature, it is notalways feasible to produce these on fertile land,which can be used for arable crops. The marginallands, specifically the salt lands where profitablereturns are not possible from agricultural crops,can successfully be utilized for the cultivation ofthese high value crops with marginal inputs.

Indian J. of Agroforestry Vol. 13No. 1: 1-16 (2011)

Results of several experiments clearly indicatedthat aromatic grasses such as palmarosa(Cymbopogon martini) and lemon grass (C.flexuosus) could successfully be grown on moderatealkali soils up to pH 9.2 while vetiver (Vetiveriazizanoides) which withstands both high pH andstagnation of water, could successfully be grownwithout Significant yield reduction on highly alkalisoils (Dagar et aI., 2004). Medicinal Isabgol(Plantago ovata) produced 1.47 to 1.58 Mg ha' grain(including husk) at pH 9.2 and 1.03 to 1.12 Mg ha"Mg ha" at pH 9.6 showing its potential at moderatealkali soil (Dagar et al., 2006). Flower yieldingChrysanthemum indicum, Matricaria chamomillaand Calendula officinalis were other interestingcrops, which could be grown on moderate alkali soil

9

(Dagar et al., 2009). All these crops can be blendedin suitable agroforesty systems.

Singh et al. (1995), Dagar et al. (1995) and Dagarand Singh (2004) developed systems to generatehigh and sustainable income from partiallyreclaimed alkali soils following suitable practices.Inclusion of trees in the cropping systems helps inbuilding soil organic matter (SOM) via moderatingtemperatures in the tropical climates. Trees help inameliorating the soil through litter and fine rootdecomposition (Table 7) and cycling of nutrients.The details of this model have been shown inFigure 3. The tree-based land use systems arebound to increase sustainability of land resources.These are very important in rain-fed and drought-prone areas.

Table 7. Changes in soil properties (0-30cm) in 5 years under differenttree-crop combinationsCropping system Organic carbon (%) Available nitrogen (kg ha-1)

Sole crop + 0.07 + 10Eucalyptus tereticornis based + 0.12 + 21

Acacia nilotica based + 0.20 + 31

Populus deltoides based +0.17 + 25Source: Singh et al. (1995)

Best for fertility buildup and soilreclama.tion

I--+-H~y productiveore competition for lightittle competition for waterot compatible with grain crops

-Maximum bird d.amag-ed

Acacia Based System

ot good for fertlity buildup and soilreclamamtionModerate productivityLess competition for lightMore competition for waterCompatible with cropsModerate economic returns

Sole Planting(B:C,2.02)With rice-wheat(B:C, 1.80

Good for soil improvement resonableproductivityMaximum competition for watereveral competition for light in summer(Kharif)itter :management dimcultaximum gains

- With rice-barseem(B:C, 1.76

Sole planting (B;C.1.99)

With rice-wheat(B;C, 2.23)

With rice-barseem(B:C, 2.06)

Sole planting (B:C,2.38)

With rice-wheat (B:C,3.30)

With rice-barseem(B:C, 2.95)

Eucalyptus basedSystem

Fig. 3. Agro-forestry model for semi-reclaimed sodic (or reclaimed) land

A. tortilis (41 tlha) when planted with subsurface orfurrow technique showing their potential for salinewaterlogged soils (Tomar et al., 1998). Thus, on thebasis of performance of trees for 6-9 years afterplanting in saline waterlogged soils it was found that

Populous BasedSystem

Moderately AlkaiSoil (pH2 <: 9.0)

4. REHABILITATION OF SALINE LANDSThe data on biomass production after 9 years ofplantation established with saline water showed thatP juliflora and Casuarina glauca was highest (98 and96 tlha), followed by Acacia nilotica (52-67 tlha and

5. REHABILITATION OF DEGRADEDCALCAREOUS SOIL IN DRY REGIONSIRRIGATING WITH SALINE WATER

A long-term field trial with 31 tree species wasconducted over 9 years on a calcareous soil in asemiarid part (annual rainfall about 350 mm) ofnorthwest India using furrow method of irrigation.The saplings were irrigated with saline water (EC8-10 dS/m) for initial three years (4-6 times in ayear) and thereafter plants were irrigated once in ayear during winter. Most of the tree species (exceptSyzygium cuminii, Bauhinia variegata andCrescentia alata) showed quite high survival rate(71-100%) during first three years. Ranking inorderofsurvival, growth and biomass yield showedthat Tamarix articulata, Acacia nilotica, Prosopisjuliflora, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Acacia tortilis andCassia siamea were most successful species(Tomar et aI., 2003b). After 8 years of planting, thehighest shoot biomass was harvested fromTamarix articulata (71.9 tlha) followed by Acacianilotica (23.4 tlha), P. juliflora (20.2 tlha) andEucalyptus tereticornis (14.8 tlha). After 16 yearsof growth some selected trees were harvested andbiomass of T articulata, A. nilotica, P. juliflora, E.tereticornis, A. tortilis and Azadirachta indica wasquite economical (Fig 5). The proportion ofbiomass at 16 years of age was quite high ascompared to earlier stages.

Fruit trees like Feronia limonia, Ziziphusmauritiana, Carissa carandus, Emblica officinalisand Aegle marmelos could be establishedirrigating with saline water up to EC 10 dS rn' andintercrops in wider spaces between rows (5 m)such as cluster bean and barley could be raisedwith success applying one or two irrigations (Table8). This appears very viable agroforestry systemfor such soils.


species like P. juliflora, Tamarix articulata, T traupii,Acacia farnesiana, Parkinsonia aculeata andSalvadora persica to be most tolerant to waterloggedsaline soil and could be raised successfully up tosalinity levels of ECe 30-40 dS/m. Species like A.nilotica, A. tortilis, A. pennatula, Casuarina glauca, C.obesa, C. equisetifolia, Callistemon lanceolatus,Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Feronia limonia,Leucaena leucocephala and Ziziphus mauritianacould be grown on sites with ECe 10-20 dS/m. Otherspecies including Casuarina cunninghamiana,Eucalyptus tereticornis, Terminalia arjuna, Albizziacarbaea, Dalbergia sissoo, Emblica officinalis,Guazuma ulmifolia, Punica granatum, Pongamapinnata, Samanea saman, Acacia catechu,Syzygium cuminii and Tamorindus indica could begrown satisfactorily only at ECe < 10 dS/m. Based onthe salinity level at which satisfactory growth ofspecies occurred, salt-tolerant agroforstry speciestried in India have been grouped into highly tolerant,tolerant and moderately tolerant categories.In waterlogged areas near canals planting clonedEucalyptus on bunds (of - one meter height) onfarmers field (in two lines in a space of 1m x 1m)proved very useful, which not only controlled rise inwater table but also helped in revenue generationas after 5 years of plantation farmers could harvest39 tlha woods biomass (Jeet Ram et aI., 2008) andthese could coppice further. In saline areas lining ofpoly-sheets on bunds helped in controlling thedevelopment of salinity. For highly saline areasparticularly Gujarat region Salvadora perstce wasfound very useful species which could yield 25-30% seed oil used for pharmaceuticals.For coastal regions Samphire (Salicornia bigelovii)is very important salt bush, which yields about28.2% seed oil, 31.2% protein, 5.3% fiber and5.5% ash from seeds. The oil resembles to Saffolaoil and also considered for cosmetic andpharmaceutical industries. Straw and cake areused as forage and considered suitable for paperpulp. It can be irrigated with water of sea salinity.The plant is experimented at Luni in Kachchh(Gujarat) and Bhavnagar in Pali (Rajasthan). Nodoubt sub-surface drainage helps in leachingdown the salts from root zone but it is highly costlyoption and have environmental limitations.Biodrainage on other hand is environmentalfriendly and cheap technique which can beadopted at least as a preventive measure.A schematic model for utilization of the drainageeffluents has been shown in Fig. 4.Saline drained water --> Storage tank --> Moderately salt

tolerant trees or trees plus herbst

Highly salt tolerant vegetation <- Salt tolerant treesor trees plus herbs

tEvaporation --> Salt production

Fig. 4. Schematic diagram for reuse of drainagewater for saline agriculture

200

~150

"

PJ N. Cs Et

Tree species

AJ AJ Pd MaTa AA

Af· Acrr/afamesiana, An· A nlfotta, At . A tortilii, N· Azalir<rflta hdta, , Cs - Cassia simm, Et- E. te'e6c~n5,Gu· GuazllJ)a ulmlolia, Ma •Mel. azeciar.Jch, Pt! •Pithecfiubium cIuIt:2, Pj • PlOSOPis jul/fora, Ta· TilVir altciJita

Fig. 5. Biomass of trees after 8 and 16 yearsof planting

Indian J. of Agroforestry Vol. 13 No. 1: 1-16 (2011) 11

tTable 8. Grain and straw yield (t/ha) of cluster bean and barley with different plantations

Fruit tree Treatment Yield of cluster bean Yield of barley

Grain Straw Grain Straw

Karonda T1 0.88 1.46 3.58 3.88

l, T2 0.86 1.38 3.47 3.97

T3 0.81 1.27 3.45 3.71

T4 0.76 1.15 3.10 3.32

Anwla T1 0.79 1.29 4.19 3.40

::;. T2 0.81 1.33 3.63 3.83

T3 0.76 1.24 3.24 3.34

T4 0.69 1.18 2.87 3.00

Bael T1 0.75 1.23 3.27 3.45

T2 0.71 1.21 3.22 3.35

T3 0.67 1.06 2.73 2.86

T4 0.63 1.02 2.52 2.64

LSD (p = 0.05)Factor A (species) 0.13 NS 0.12 0.17

Factor B (treatment) 0.02 0.11 0.14 0.15

Interaction (Ax B) NS NS 0.24 0.26

Treatments T1-T4depict as planted in traditional rings and watered with water of low salinity (EC 4-5 dS/m);planted in furrows and irrigated with water of low salinity; furrow planting and irrigated alternately with water oflow and high (EC 10-12 dS/m); and furrow planting and irrigating with water of high salinity, respectively.

Field experiments were conducted to evaluate thesuitability of nine forage grasses to saline irrigation(ECiw 8.5-10.0 dS/m) and optimize its schedule.The average forage yield was found to be 0.85 t/hain grazed condition and 2.4t/ha when protected butwhen brought under judicious saline irrigation(ECiw 8-10 dS/m), the grasses raised on the sameland could produce from 4.4 to 16.9 t/ha dry foragefrom different grasses (Table 9). Panicumlaevifolium produced maximum forage biomassunder all the treatments followed by P. maximum.Even in the lean period (when people are forced tolead nomadic life along with their herds of cattle)sufficient forage was available from all theseperennial grasses. Scheduling the saline irrigationat Diw/CPE ratio of 0.4, improved the yields byabout 20% while no further improvement wasobtained with enhanced saline irrigation supplies.

Amongst the species tested for medicinal value,the most promising was psyllium (Plantago ovata)with average seed yield of 1050 kg/ha and withsaline water (EC 8.5 dS/m) did not show anyadverse impact when compared with canal waterirrigation (Tomar and Minhas, 2004b; Tomar et aI.,2005). Psyllium did not show any yield reductionwith Acacia plantation even at later stages showing

f

..,

its suitability for partial shade tolerance. Aloebarbadensis was also equally tolerant and couldproduce 18 t/ha fresh leaves. Ocimum sanctumcould produce 910 kg/ha dry shoot biomass. In aseparate trial dill (Anethum grave/eus), taramira(Eruca sativa) and castor (Ricinus communis)could produce 931, 965 and 3535 kg seeds per ha,respectively when provided with three irrigation ofsaline water (EC 10 dS/m (Dagar et aI., 2008).Cassia senna and Lepidium sativum can also becultivated successfully irrigating with saline waterup to 8 dS/m. All these high value crops cansuccessfully be grown as inter-crops with forest orfruit trees at least during initial years ofestablishment (Dagar 2009, Dagar et al. 2006,2008).It could be concluded that ornamental flowers suchas Chrysanthemum, Calendula and Matricaria cansuccessfully be cultivated irrigating with water ofEC up to 5 dS/m. These species could yield 13.2,4.7 and 3.5 t/ha, respectively fresh flowers in aseason (Tomar and Minhas, 2002). If good qualitywater is available at site, a few irrigationsparticularly for establishment will increase the yieldof flowers. The aromatic grasses such as vetiver,lemon grass and palmarosa, when irrigated with


Table 9. Gross dry matter yield (tlha) of different grasses (average of 3 years) irrigated with saline water ofECiw10dS/m

Grass species

MeanBrachiaria mutica

Cenchrus setigerusCynodon dactylon

Panicum antidotaleP coloratum

P laevifolium

P maximum (cultivated)P maximum (wild)

PvirgatumMean

CW14.15

5.6113.53

15.0515.02

22.16

19.2321.59

17.9316.03

Irrigation with saline water with Diw/CPE

0.2 0.4 0.89.54 12.15 11.72

4.64 4.57 4.38

8.91 9.23 10.209.34 11.41 11.77

6.95 10.29 8.9313.49 16.85 16.88

10.87 13.04 12.7214.00 14.72 13.72

9.95 12.10 11.369.74 11.60 11.30

11.89

4.8010.47

11.8910.30

17.34

13.9616.01

12.8312.17

Source: Tomar et al. (2003a)

saline water (EC 8.5 dS/m) could produce on anaverage 90.9, 10.4 and 24.3 t/ha dry biomass,respectively (Tomar and Minhas 2004a). Differentcultivars of vetiver could produce 72.6 to 78.7 t/hashoot biomass and 1.12 to 1.71 tlha root biomass.The roots are used to extract aromatic oil.

6. AGROFORESTRY FOR SALTY BLACKSOILS USING SALINE IRRIGATION

The salty soils of black soil zone are generallyeither contemporary or of secondary origin. Thecontemporary salty soils exist in the topographicsituation having poor drainage conditions.However, the soils that have become sodic due tononjudicious use of irrigation water can beencountered in the irrigation command area. Inone long-term experiment, after 14 years ofplantation it was found that Prosopis juliflora andAzadirachta indica were most successful speciesfor these soils. Among grasses, Aeluropuslagopoides, Leptochloa fusca, Brachiaria mutica,Chloris gayana, Oichanthium annulatum,Bothriochloa pertusa and species of Eragrostis,Sporobolus and Panicum are most successful.Aromatic grasses such as Vetiveria zizanioidesand Cymbopagon martinii can be grown easily.Matricaria chamomile can withstand both high pHand ESP.

In a separate fruit trial on soil of ESP 25,40 and 60it was found that gooseberry (Emblica officinalis)and Ber (Ziziyphus mauritiana) were the mostsuccessful plantations for these soils. Oil-yieldingbush Salvadora persica was grown in combinationwith Leptochloa fusca, Eragrostis spp. andOichanthium annulatum forage grasses on salinevertisol in Gujarat. The soil was clay loam (clay40%, silt 31%, sand 29%) with pH ranging from 7.2

to 8.9 and ECe from 25-70 dS/m. The undergroundwater was 0.5-2 m from surface with EC rangingfrom 55-60 dS/m. These grasses could produce onan average 3.7, 1.0 and 1.8 tlha of green forage,respectively. During fourth year the seed yield ofSalvadora persica ranged form 1.84 to 2.65 t /hawith oil contents ranging from 576-868 kg/ha atdifferent salinity levels (Guru raja Rao et al., 2003).

The experiments conducted in sodic vertisols withESP 40 growing grasses like Leptochloa fusca,Brachiaria mutica and Vetiveria zizanioides,showed that all these grasses performed well andthe forage biomass increased during second year.Besides producing biomass silvi-pastoral systemhelped in amelioration of soil in terms of reducingsoil pH, EC and ESP and increasing organicmatter.

7. COMBATING WATERLOGGING THROUGHBIODRAINAGE

In waterlogged areas near canals planting clonedEucalyptus on bunds (of one meter height) onfarmers field (in two lines in a space of 1m x 1m)each strip separating 66m (growing crops betweentwo strips), proved very useful, which not onlycontrolled rise in water table (Fig 6) but also helpedin revenue generation. Farmers harvested 34t1hawood biomass (timber suitable for poles/ballies,pulp wood and fuelwood) from 5 years and 4months old 240 surviving trees per ha. Afterharvest trees could coppice further. In saline areaslining of poly-sheets on bunds covered with thinlayer of soil helped in controlling the developmentof salinity. The trees could also accumulate 12.3t/ha root biomass helping sequestering 10.4 tonescarbon in wood and twigs and 4.3 tones carbonper ha in soil (Jeet Ram et al., 2011).

Stnp Slnp Stnp StripP1Vtlataan~1 PlantA.lion.11 Plantatlon.ln Plantation-IV


Obnrve1ionW.OHo 1

000 •

-x- Apn).JIX)5

Apnl.:DJI

1"'1-....--++-__.._--/ .•1'" Tnln 33ln nl33 nln nlnr

Distance (m)

Fig. 6. Trend of ground water table underplantations and adjacent fields

8. IMPROVED CROPS FOR SALINITY,ALKALINITY AND WATERLOGGEDSTRESS

Breeding programme for salt tolerant crop varietieshas resulted in the release of CSR 10, CSR 13,CSR 23, CSR 27, CSR 30, CSR 36 in rice, KRL 1-4,KRL 19 in wheat and CS 52 and CS 54 in Indianmustard by the CVRC (Table 10). Recently, CS 56(Triveni) variety of mustard and KRL 210 and KRL213 of wheat have been identified. Varieties ofmustard have reasonably performed well in fruit-based agroforestry system with saline irrigation.Several purpose-promising varieties in other cropsare at various stages of release. CSD 123 and CSD137 Sesbania varieties have been identified forgreen manure. Further, indices for higher toleranceof some crop varieties have been established interms of avoidance of Na uptake and maintaininglow Na/K ratio in shoot. Some biodiesel, vegetable,aromatic and medicinal crops including ediblecactus (Opuntia ficus indica) have been evaluatedunder saline and alkali soils.

9. IMPACT ASSESSMENT

After the establishment of The Central Soil SalinityResearch Institute (CSSRI) at Karnal (India), theprogress of alkali soil reclamation has beenphenomenal. The stories of successfulreclamation reached the planners, which providedimpetus to the setting up of Land ReclamationCorporations in many states. World Bank and otherinternational funding organizations such asEuropean Union came forward to fund reclamation

Table 10.

programmes in UP and Bihar. It is estimated thatabout 1.3 million hectares of alkali land have beenreclaimed by the adoption of technology developedat CSSRI. This area alone is contributing 8-10million tones of paddy-wheat annually besidesgenerating on- farm and off-farm jobs for 175million man-days.

Salt tolerant varieties of rice (CSR 10, CSR 13,CSR 23, CSR 27, CSR 30 and CSR 36), wheat(KRL 1-4, KRL 19, KRL 210, KRL 213 ), Indianmustard (CS 52, CS 54, CS 56) and gram (KarnalChana 1) have been released for various parts ofthe country. Though, it is difficult to measure thedirect impact of a variety but its adoption, popularityand impact could be measured through the sale ofbreeder/certified seed production chain. So far, theInstitute has supplied around 30 tones of breederseed of these varieties to different agencies fortheir further multiplication and supply to thefarmers. The multiplication ratio of breeder seed tocertified seed is about 1:200 in rice and 1:300 inmustard. Even, with the conservative estimates ifwe consider only 3000 tones of total certified seedin the production chain, which must have croppedaround 70,000 ha area producing more than 0.2million tons of paddy alone. This additional foodgrain from the barren soils must be worth of severalmillion rupees besides huge manpower demandgeneration. The second major impact is thebringing back the unproductive barren lands intothe production chain.

Development of drainage and water managementtechnology has given fillip to saline landimprovement activities. Pilot projects on landdrainage have been established at severallocations. Several states are now coming up withtheir master plans for drainage measures toovercome the salinity and waterlogging problems.Industries have also started to manufacturedrainage materials. The institute technology ofsub-surface drainage has been adopted in nearly60,000 ha area in the states of Haryana,Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnatakaand Maharashtra. The CSSRI technology on use ofsaline/alkali water is being widely adopted in thestates of Haryana, UP, AP and Gujarat. Out of the13.2 million ha-m use of ground waters, about 3.2million ha-m is through exploitation of poor quality

CropSalt tolerant varieties developed at CSSRI, Karnal

Level of stress (pH2) Varieties9.8 to 10.2 CSR 10

9.4 to 9.8 CSR 13, CSR 23, CSR 27, CSR 36

8.8 to 9.5 CSR 309.0 - 9.3 KRL 1-4, KRL 19, KRL 210, KRL 213

< 9.3 CS 52, CS 54, CS 56

Rice

Wheat

Mustard


waters. Even if rough estimates are made thatCSSRI technologies have contributed just one-tenth part of this, the expected increase in terms offood grain production will amount to about Rs. 750crores in addition to generation of ruralemployment and environmental benefits.Innovative techniques like improved Dorouvutechnology developed by CSSRI are gainingpopularity in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

The auger-bore technology, initially developed forestablishing plantations on alkali soils, hasbecome popular with the foresters even for normalsoils. CSSRI technology on raw sewage waterdisposal for forestry plantations has been adoptedat several locations in the country. Agroforestrytechniques developed by the institute haveresulted in raising tree plantations in more than50,000 ha salt affected soils and biodrainageresearch has been widely adapted by farmers.During this year alone more than 4500ha area infarmers' field in Haryana has been planted underspecial project undertaken by Forest Departmentof Haryana. Regional Research Station, Bharuchhas evolved technologies for tackling the salinity ofthe Vertisols. Technologies like cultivation ofSalvadora, dill and forage grasses have beenadopted by the farmers, NGOs and Govt.Institutions like Gujarat State Land DevelopmentCorporation (GSLDC). NABARD has alsoprepared a bankable model scheme for promotingSalvadora cultivation in association with thisregional station.10. OPPORTUNITIESApproximately 6.73 million ha of agricultural land isaffected by varying degrees of salt problems in thecountry. The affected area is likely to increase inthe near future due to secondary salinization inirrigation commands and lift irrigated schemes,increase in dependence of agriculture on poorquality waters in semi-arid and arid regions, seawater intrusion and brackish water aquaculture incoastal regions. The estimates indicate that by2025 the country may have about 13 million haarea under salt affected soils. In the scenario ofclimate change the problem may aggravate due tosea level rise when many coastal areas may gounder sea water. There is, therefore, an urgentneed to have comprehensive understanding andbetter contingency plans based on resourceefficient, socio-economically viable andenvironmentally safe technologies to deal with saltdegraded soils and to improve productivity of suchmarginal lands.CSSRI has addressed various aspects of saltaffected soils starting from the diagnosisdeveloped by the Institute during last 40 years,nearly 1.3 million ha salt affected area has beenreclaimed. In dynamically changing agricultural

scenario in general and salinity problem inparticular, there is a need to focus on developingtechnologies for reuse of waste and poor qualitywaters, bio-remediation, development of salttolerant crop varieties, brackish water aquaculture,bio-amelioration of salty lands and watersexploiting microbes, bio-saline agriculture, bio-fueland energy production, promotion of resourceconservation and diversification options inreclaimed lands and multi-enterprise agriculturesystems in vertisols and coastal regions.We also need to pay attention to certain areas ofresearch. These include development of alkali soilreclamation technology for areas underlain byshallow watertable, brackish water or areas withlimited access to irrigation water; integration ofsubsurface and bio-drainage for salinewaterlogged soils; subsurface drainage for heavysoils, novel methods of utilizing saline, alkali andtoxic waters including the waste waters from urbanareas, diversification of existing cropping patternson reclaimed and semi-reclaimed soils throughfarming system approach, improving salt toleranceof crops by marker assisted selection, alternateuses of such marginal soils for growingagroforestry, bio-saline agriculture and energyplantations, resource conservation technologies inreclaimed soils, value addition in naturally growinghalophytes like Salicornia, Prosopis and newfarmer centric innovative approaches forincreasing the pace of technology transfer effortsto marginal production environments.Thus, the opportunities for salinity researches dueto the size and diversity of our country areenormous, where all types of salt affected soils andwaters of varying quality are encountered andrequire specific solutions.Recently the attention is being paid towardscommercial forestry, raising block plantation ofcommercial trees and also trees yielding bio-dieselsuch as Pongamia pinnata and Jatropha curcas.Moreover, biomass from fast growing trees likeProsopis and agricultural wastes may be used togenerate electrical energy. This approach willchange the economical scenario by reducing theimport of fossil fuels. Trees play a vital role both inlowering down water table (in waterlogged areas)and also recharging the groundwater in dry regionswhere water table is falling drastically. By adoptingagroforstry practices, we shall be able to diversifythe cropping pattern when more production will beobtained per unit of water available. Adoptingbiosaline agroforstry, the nomadic behaviour oflarge population will be checked in dry regions.This will have a tremendous social impact. Theimportant thrust areas for biosaline research mayinclude:• Survey collection, assembling and maintaining


a collection of plants adapted to salineconditions.

• Evaluation of potentially useful plants forproductive agriculture and horticulture as wellas landscaping and greening programmes.

• Selection and evaluation within existing forage,horticultural, flower-yielding, medicinal and oil-yielding crops for greater salt tolerance.

• Assessing the salinity tolerance of potentialnew crops of high economic value irrigating withbrackish and highly saline water.

• Identifying and developing techniques for highbiomass producing plants for generating bio-energy

• Research to meet the future requirements in thescenario of climate change and sea level rise.

• Developing sustainable agronomic practicessuch as optimal dose of irrigation and fertilizersusing irrigation water of different salinity.

• Creation of facilities of mixing the waters ofdifferent salinity so that the water of differentsalinity grades is made available for researchwork.

• Developing irrigation methodology that willallow the productive use of saline and highlysaline irrigation water while minimizing itsadverse impacts on soil health and theenvironment on one hand and optimizingproduction of various crops based on per unitwater on another.

• To develop bioramedial measures (includingmicrobial research) to tackle serious problemsrelated to industrial effluents researchparticularly

• To understand the physiological andbiochemical mechanism of salt and moisturestress tolerance particularly among non-conventional crops of high economic value.

• Improvement of germ plasm of potentialhalophytic crops applying both conventional(plant breeding) and modern approach ofmolecular biology (genetic engineering) todevelop crops offuture

• Studies on impact of high salinity on quality ofsome useful products such as oil, medicine,forage, fruit, etc.

• Extension of the technology developed or to bedeveloped to the clients.

• Developing a network on information sharing(both traditional and recent developments) inbiosaline research.

Thus, to meet the challenges of poverty andhunger in developing countries we need to bring allthe salt-affected, waterlogged and other degraded

lands under productive systems. In most of the aridand semi-arid regions good quality water is scarceand utilisation of poor quality water for agriculturalpurposes is inevitable. For that we need to useadaptable, sustainable, viable and affordabletechniques and salt-tolerant plants. Alternate landuses/ agroforestry is ideal preposition for suchareas involving hardy salt-tolerant forest and fruittrees, forage grasses and low water requiringconventional and non-conventional crops. Thereare opportunities to increase the salt tolerance ofexisting crops using conventional plant breedingand molecular approaches. There is need toproduce low water (stress) requiring and more salt-tolerant plant types. In the scenario of grassesclimate change we also must conserve all the salt-tolerant, stress tolerant and also submergencetolerance land races. Human resourcedevelopment at all levels and strengtheningextension net work is as important as technologydevelopment.

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utilization of degraded lands/habitats and poor quality

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