Grass strips for soil conservation and soil health in rainfed regions of India

The major constraints in the crop production especially in semi-arid regions are erratic rainfall, high evapotranspiration rate and limited water holding capacity of the soil. Soil loss through erosion leaves the soil degraded and infertile. In semi-arid regions tropical grass strip may hold the key to a cheap and practical solution for controlling soil erosion on a huge scale. It has been found that the intercropping of grasses and dryland crops is sometimes not feasible in micro-farming situation. The both side (at the end of the slope and upside of the slope within a field) cropping of grass strips (may be two meter width strip) is cost-effective and durable with no mechanical hindrance in crop planning and management. Small and marginal farmers would readily adopt this technology as besides soil conservation it also provides fodder for small ruminants. Thereby soil loss can be minimized up to 60 per cent with a reduction 20–25 per cent nitrogen loss from the cropped field. Both side grass strip technology may help in overall improvement in soil quality as well as suffice the green fodder needs of small ruminants.