JAWAHARLAL NEHRU KRISHI VISHWA

VDHYALAYA
JABALPUR,M.P

FARMING SYSTEM AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

(1+0)

:Course Teacher:
Dr. K.K. AGRAWAL
Professor
Dept of Agronomy
JNKVV, JABALPUR
Farming System and Sustainable Agriculture 1(1+0)

Theory
Farming System-scope, importance, and concept, Types and systems of farming
system and factors affecting types of farming, Farming system components and
their maintenance, Cropping system and pattern, multiple cropping system,
Efficient cropping system and their evaluation, Allied enterprises and their
importance, Tools for determining production and efficiencies in cropping and
farming system; Sustainable agriculture-problems and its impact on agriculture,
indicators of sustainability, adaptation and mitigation, conservation agriculture
strategies in agriculture, HEIA, LEIA and LEISA and its techniques for sustainability,
Integrated farming system- historical background, objectives and characteristics,
components of IFS and its advantages, Site specific development of IFS model for
different agro- climatic zones, resource use efficiency and optimization techniques,
Resource cycling and flow of energy in different farming system, farming system
and environment, Visit of IFS model in different agro-climatic zones of nearby states
University/ institutes and farmers field.

Reference books

1. Principle of Agronomy
S. R. Reddy, Kalyani Publication, 5th Ed.2016
2. Principle of Agronomy
[Link] & [Link], Kalyani Publication, 4th Ed.2011
3. Principles of Crop Production
S. R. Reddy, Kalyani Publication, Ed.2012
4. Farm Sector Development
D. D. Gupta, Agrobios (India), Jodhpur Ed. 2011
5. Cropping system & Farming System
[Link], Agrobios (India), Jodhpur
6. Principles and Practices of Agronomy
P. Balasubramaniyan and SP. Palaniappan
7. Farming system and sustainable agriculture (as per new ICAR syllabus)
S. R. Reddy, Kalyani Publication
 Chapter 1: CROPPING SYSTEM

Cropping system:
The term cropping system refers to the crops and crop sequences and the management
techniques used on a particular field over a period of years.
Or
The term cropping system refers to the crops and crop sequences in which the crops are
cultivated on piece of land over a fixed period and their interaction with farm resources and other
farm enterprises.
Cropping system is the most important component of a farming system.
Cropping pattern:
It indicates the yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops and fallow in an area. It is
for larger area like zone, taluka, district etc.
Basic principles of cropping systems
1. Choose crops that complement each other.
2. Choose crops and a cropping rotation which utilize available resources efficiently.
3. Choose crops and a cropping system that maintain and enhance soil fertility.
4. Choose crops which have a diversity of growth cycles.
5. Choose a diverse species of crops.
6. Strategically plan and modify your cropping system as needed.
7. Monitor the progress.
Benefits of cropping systems
1. Maintain and enhance soil fertility. Some crops are soil exhausting while others help
restore soil fertility. However, a diversity of crops will maintain soil fertility and keep
production levels high.
2. Enhance crop growth. Crops may provide mutual benefits to each other. For example,
reducing lodging, improving winter survival or even acting as windbreaks to improve
growth.
3. Minimize spread of disease. The more diverse the species of plants and the longer the
period before the soil is reseeded with the same crop, the more likely disease problems
will be avoided.
4. Control weeds. Crops planted at different times of the year have different weed species
associated with them. Rotating crops helps prevent build up of any one serious weed
species.
5. Inhibit pest and insect growth. Changing crops each year to unrelated species can
dramatically reduce the population of pests and insects. Crop rotation frequently
eliminates their food source and changes the habitat available to them.
6. Use resources more efficiently. Having a diverse group of crops helps to more efficiently
use the available resources. Natural resources, such as nutrients, sunlight and water

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in the soil are evenly shared by plants over the growing period, minimizing the risk

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 for nutrient deficiencies and drought. Other resources, such as labor, animal draft power
and machinery are also utilized more efficiently.
7. Reduce risk for crop failure. Having a diverse group of crops helps prevent total crop
failures, as climate weather in one part of the season may not affect all crops equally.
It also reduces food security concerns, as well as the amount of money required to
finance production.
8. Improve food and financial security. Choosing an appropriate and diverse number of crops
will lead to a more regular food production throughout the year. With a lower risk for
crop failure, there is a greater reliability on food production and income generation.

Types of cropping systems

Depending on the resources and technology available, different types of cropping systems
are adopted on farms. Broadly three types of cropping system are followed
1. Sole cropping
Only a single crop or variety is grown alone in a pure stand at normal density during one
farming year.
2. Mono cropping or Monoculture
Mono cropping or monoculture refers to growing of only one crop on same piece of land
year after year.
It may be due to climatologically and socio-economic condition or due to specialization of
a farmer in growing a particular crop. Under rainfed conditions, groundnut or cotton or sorghum
are grown year after year due to limitation of rainfall. In canal irrigate areas, under waterlogged
condition; rice crop is grown, as it is not possible to grow any other crop.
Problems of mono cropping
1. The resources like labour, fertilizers, water and machines are not utilized efficiently.
2. The soil health is not cared and nutrients are depleted.
3. There are chances of occurrence of pest and diseases infestation.
4. Natural resources are not fully utilized.
3. Multiple cropping
"Growing two or more crops on the same piece of land in succession within one calendar
year is known as multiple cropping" e.g. Rice-Rice-G' nut or Cotton-Wheat etc.
It aims of maximum production per unit area per unit time. It offers multiple use of
resource. It is the intensification of cropping in time and space dimensions i.e. more number of
crops within a year & more no of crops on the same piece of land at any given period. It includes
inter-cropping, mixed cropping, sequence cropping etc.
Advantages of multiple cropping
1. It is a better source of land utilization
2. It improves yield
3. Increase yield per unit of land
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 4. Costs of input decrease as compared to individual crop growing cost
5. Reduce pest and disease attack
6. Different type of products can be produce at a time
7. It helps to produce a balance diet for a family
8. It helps to maintain the soil fertility
9. It helps to control weeds
Disadvantages of multiple cropping
1. The survival of pests become easy
2. Pests can easily shift from one crop to another crop
3. Problem of weed management
4. Implementation of new technology is difficult etc.

Different types of multiple cropping :

A. Inter cropping
Inter cropping is growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land with a
definite row arrangement.
The main objective of inter-cropping is to utilize the space left between two rows of main
crops and to produce more grain per unit area. Inter cropping was originally practiced as an
insurance against crop failure under rainfed condition.
e.g.: Groundnut & Tur in 6:1 ratio or sorghum & Tur in 4:2 ratio

Intercropping is further classified as:

Additive Series: Intercrop is introduced in the base crop. It is done by adjusting or changing
crop geometry. It is mostly used in India. Eg: maize + mungbean (1+1)
Replacement Series: Both the crops are component crops. It is done by sacrificing certain
proportion of population. It is mostly used in western countries. e.g: wheat + mustard
(9:1), maize + mungbean (1:3)

Advantages of intercropping:
1. Improvement in yield
2. Improvement in soil property under legume intercropping system
3. Less risk against crop diseases and pests
4. Additional income and higher profit
5. Soil erosion is reduced
6. Stability in production
7. Economic sustainability is maintained
Disadvantages of intercropping:
1. Fertilizer application in one crop may hamper the growth of other crop
2. Improved implements cannot be used efficiently

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3. Harvesting is difficult
4. Yield decreases if the crops differ in their competitive abilities

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 Management of intercropping system
Crops are grown simultaneously. Management practices should, therefore, aim to
provide favorable environment to all the components, exploit favorable interactions among the
component crops and minimize competition among the components. Prominent interactions in
intercropping include:
Light: Intercropping can increase light inception by as much as 30-40 per cent. Proper
choice of crops and varieties, adjustment of planting density and pattern are the techniques to
reduce competition and increase the tight use efficiency.
Moisture and nutrients: Competition for water and nutrients results in two main types
of effects on the less successful or suppressed component. First, the roots of dominated crop
may grow less on the sides of aggressive component. Secondly, plants affected by competition
for soil factors are likely to have increased root/shoot ratio.
Allelopathy: Some crops may be unsuitable to be grown as intercrops because they may
produce and excrete toxins into the soil which are harmful to other components.
Annidation: Refers to complementary interaction which occurs both in space and time.
Varieties: Recommended principles should be followed for realizing the benefits of
intercropping.
(a) Varieties of component crops should be less competing with the base crop and the
peak nutrient demand period should be different from the base crop.
(b) Difference in duration between the components in intercropping should be a
minimum period of 30 days (maize + soybean, sorghum + red gram, toria + gobhi
sarson).
(c) Selection of compatible genotypes of component crops increases the
complementarity of intercropping system.
(d) Varieties selected for intercrop should have thin leaves, tolerant to shading and less
branching since these crops are, generally, shaded by the base crop.
(e) If the base crop is shorter than intercrop, the intercrop should be compact with erect
branching and its early growth should be slow.
(f) Characteristics of base crop should be similar to the sole crop.
Nutrient management
When legumes are associated with cereal crop in intercropping system, a portion of
nitrogen requirement of cereal is supplemented by the legume. The amount may be as small as
a few kg to 20 kg ha-1. Cereal + legume intercropping, is therefore; mainly advantageous under
low fertilizer application. Considering all the factors, it is suggested that the nitrogen dose
recommended for base crop as pure crop is sufficient for intercropping system with cereals +
legume or legume + legume. With regard to phosphorus and potassium, one-eighth to one-fourth
of the recommended dose of intercrop is also added in addition to recommended dose of base
crop to meet the extra demand. Basal dose of nitrogen is applied to rows of both components in
cereals + legume intercrop system. Top dressing of nitrogen is done only to cereal rows.
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Phosphorus and potassium are applied as basal dose to both crops.

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 Water management
Intercropping systems are, generally, recommended for rainfed crops to get stable yield.
Total water used in intercropping system is almost the same as for sole crops, but yield is
increased. Thus, water-use efficiency of intercropping is higher than sole crops. Component
crops differ on their capacity to withstand excess or difficult moisture conditions. However, the
irrigation schedule followed for sole crops is suitable even for intercropping system. Scheduling
irrigation at IW/CPE ratio of 0.6 to 0.8 or irrigation at one bar soil moisture tension is suitable
for most of the system. However, information on this aspect is meager.
Weed management
Weed problem is less in intercropping system as compared to their sole crops. In certain
situations, intercrops are used as biological agents to control weeds. Blackgram, greengram,
cowpea in sorghum and cowpea in banana reduce weed population and one hand weeding can
be avoided by this method. In some intercropping system like maize + groundnut, rice +tapioca,
maize + tapioca, weed problem is similar to their sole crops. Growth habit of genotype used in
intercropping has a great influence on weed growth. Weeds present in sole crops are different
than those present in intercropping system. Though weed problem is less, weed control
measures are necessary in intercropping system. But the labour required for weeding is less.
Second weeding is not necessary because of crop coverage. Chemical weed control is difficult in
intercropping system because the herbicide may be selective to one crop, but non-selective to
another.
Pest and disease management
Pests and diseases are believed to be less in inter-cropping system due to crop diversity
than in sole crops. Some plant combinations may enhance soil fungistasis and antibiosis through
indirect effects on soil organic matter content. Spread of the disease is altered by the presence
of different crops. Little leaf of brinjal is less when brinjal is sheltered by maize or sorghum. As
the insect carrying virus first attacks maize or sorghum, virus infection is less on brinjal. Non-host
plants in mixtures may emit chemicals or odours that affect the pests, thereby protecting host
plants.
B. Mixed cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land in a
proportion without any row arrangement.
e.g. Wheat and Mustard seeds are mixed together in 2:1 rates and shown broadcast with
no spacing maintained between the crops.
No spacing is maintained between the crops it is a common practice in areas where
climatic hazards such as flood, drought, frost etc. are frequent and common. Under such
circumstances the farmers always fear that their crops will fail. Under mixed cropping, the time
of sowing of all the crops is almost the same, however they may

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C. Sequential cropping: Growing of crops in sequence
e.g. Double cropping: Growing of 2 crops in a year e.g.: Rice-wheat

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 Triple cropping: Growing of 3 crops in a year e.g.: Rice-wheat-maize
Quadruple cropping: Growing of 4 crops in a year e.g.: Rice-early potato-Wheat-mung
This is done mainly to utilize the conserve moisture in the field after kharif season. It also
saves the time and keeps the land under vegetation.
D. Multistoried cropping: Cultivation of crops of different heights in the same field at the same
time.
e.g. Sugarcane + Indian bean or potato or onion, Sorghum+ mung
E. Ratoon cropping: Raising a crop with re-growth coming out of roots or stalks after harvest of
the crop.
e.g. sugarcane, tur, fodder sorghum, fodder maize.
This minimizes the cost of production of next crop in terms of land preparation and cost
of seed, also the next crop i.e. ratoon crop gets already established root system.

F. Paira/ Utera/ Relay cropping: In this, second crop is sown before the harvest of previous
crop in same field.
e.g. 1st crop-Potato 2nd crop-Maize, Lathyrus in rice.

G. Alley cropping: Growing food crops within the rows of tree or plantation crops
e.g. Greengram in alley of glyricidia or subabul.

H. Strip intercropping: Growing alternate rows of erosion resisting and permitting crops along
the slope
e.g. Strips of soybean and alfalfa, cowpea and sorghum

Major cropping systems in India

A. Lowland or wetland
• Irrigation or rainfall (> 200 mm per month) extends over 9–10 months
• Rice based cropping systems predominate in lowlands
e.g. Rice- rice-rice, rice-rice-upland crop or upland crop-rice-rice
Rice-Rice is the second most dominant cropping system in India
B. Irrigated uplands or garden land
• The systems could be cereal-cereal and cereal-legume, oilseeds or other cash crops
• Rice-Wheat is the most dominant cropping system in India.
e.g. Potato or mustard can be added to maize-wheat by relay planting either of these in the
standing maize and delaying wheat by about 2 months. Short duration green gram or fodder
crops can be grown after the harvest of wheat in summer.
C. Rainfed uplands
• Predominantly take the form of intercropping
• Cereal + pigeon pea system (sorghum + pigeon pea), cereal + cotton are popular in India
• Double cropping can be practiced if the monsoon is relatively early.
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 e.g. sorghum, pearlmillet or a pulse during rainy season followed by sunflower, safflower,
chickpea or coriander in post rainy season.

Principles of crop rotation

1. Leguminous crops should be grown before non-leguminous crops because legumes fix
atmospheric N into the soil and add organic matter to the soil.
2. Crops with tap roots (deep rooted like cotton) should be followed by those which have
fibrous (shallow rooted crops like sorghum or maize) root system. This facilitates proper
and uniform use of nutrients from the soil.
3. More exhaustive crops should be followed by less exhaustive crops because crops like
potato, sugarcane, maize etc. need more inputs such as better tillage, more fertilizers,
greater number of irrigation etc.
4. Selection of crop should be based on need or demand.
5. Crops of same family should not be grown in succession because they act as alternate
hosts for insect pests and diseases.
6. The crop selected should also suit to the soil and climatic condition.
7. Selection of crops should be based on the situations such as
a. On sloppy lands, alternate cropping of erosion permitting and erosion resisting
crops should be adopted.
b. Under rain fed situations crops which can tolerate drought should be selected
c. In low-lying and flood prone areas crops which can tolerate water stagnation
should be selected
d. In areas where salt affected soils are there, salt tolerant varieties should be grown
8. An ideal crop rotation must provide maximum employment to the farm family and labour,
permits farm mechanization to ensure timely operations besides maintaining soil health

Advantages of an ideal crop rotation

(i) The soil fertility is restored by fixing atmospheric N encouraging microbial
activity and maintaining physico-chemical properties of the soil.
(ii) Alternate cropping with other crops helps in controlling crop bound weeds.
(iii) Proper utilization of all resources and inputs could be made by following crop
rotation.
(iv) The farmer gets a better price for his produce because of its higher demands in
the market.
(v) Best utilization of residual moisture, fertilizer and organic residues is made by
growing crops of different nature.
(vi) The family needs of feed, food, fuel, fiber, spices; condiments, sugar etc are
fulfilled.

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 TERMS USED IN CROPPING SYSTEMS
1. Alley cropping: A fanning system in which arable crops are grown in alleys formed by
trees or shrubs, established mainly to hasten soil fertility restoration and enhance
soil productivity and for shelter.
2. Calorie index: A single productivity index which incorporates caloric equivalents
produced by all the crops.
3. Competition index: Competition of intercropped species for light, nutrients, water,
carbon dioxide and other growth factors.
4. Complementary effect: Effect of one component on another which enhance growth
and productivity, as compared to competition.
5. Component crops: Individual crop species which are a part of the multiple cropping
systems.
6. Cropping index: The number of crops grown per annum on a given area of land
multiplied by hundred.
7. Double cropping: Also known as sequential cropping is the practice of planting a
second crop immediately following the harvest of a first crop, thus harvesting two
crops from the same field in one year. This is a case of multiple cropping, which
requires crops that mature quickly enough to allow two harvests in one year.
8. Mixed intercropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously with no distinct
row arrangement
9. Monetary index: A single productivity index which incorporates monetary value of
all the crops in a system.
10. Multi-story/multi-tier cropping: It is a system of growing together, crops of different
heights at the same time on the same piece of land and thus using land, water and
space most efficiently and economically (coconut + pepper + pineapple + grass).
11. Row intercropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously where one or more
crops are planted in rows.
12. Sole cropping: One crop variety grown in pure stand at normal density.
13. Spatial arrangement: The physical or spatial organization of component crops in a
multiple cropping system.
14. Strip cropping:Growing soil conserving and soil depleting crops in alternate strips
running perpendicular to the slope of the land or to the direction of prevailing winds
for the purpose of reducing erosion.

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 Chapter 2: FARMING SYSTEM

What is a system?
A system is defined as a set of components that are interrelated and interact among
themselves. A system is a group of interacting components, operating together for a common
purpose, capable of reacting as a whole to external forces.
It is unaffected directly by its own outputs and has a specified boundary based on the
inclusion of all significant feedbacks.
For example, the human body is a system-it has a boundary (e.g., the skin) enclosing a
number of components (heart, lungs) that interact (the heart pumps blood to the lungs) for a
common purpose (to maintain and operate the living body).
Ecosystem: Any collection of organisms that interact or have the potential to interact along with
the physical environment in which they live, form an ecological system or ecosystem. Ecosystems
are not static entities they are dynamic systems with characteristic pattern of energy flow,
nutrient cycling and structural change.
Agro-ecosystem: Agro-ecosystems are ecological systems modified by human beings to produce
food, fiber or other agricultural products.

Farming system:
Farming system is a mixture of farm enterprises such as crop, livestock, aquaculture, agro
forestry and fruit crops to which farm family allocates its resources in order to efficiently manage
the existing environment for the attainment of the family goal.
Or
Farming system is a resource management strategy to achieve economic and sustained
agricultural production to meet diverse requirements of farm livelihood while preserving
resource base and maintaining a high level of environment quality.
Or
Farming system represents an appropriate combination of farm enterprises (cropping
systems, horticulture, livestock, fishery, forestry, poultry, etc) and the means available to the
farmer to raise them for profitability. It interacts adequately with environment without
dislocating the ecological and socioeconomic balance on one hand and attempts to meet the
national goals on the other.
Broad categories of farming systems:
1. Irrigated farming system, embracing a broad range of food and cash crop production.
2. Wetland rice-based farming system, dependent upon seasonal rains supplemented by
irrigation.
3. Rainfed farming system in humid areas characterized by specific dominant crops or mixed
crop-livestock system.
4. Rainfed farming system in steep and highland areas, which are often, mixed crop- livestock
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system.

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5. Rainfed farming system in dry or cold low potential areas, with mixed crop-livestock and
pastoral system merging into system with very low current productivity or potential because
of extreme aridity or cold.
6. Dualistic (mixed large commercial and small holders) farming system, across a variety
of ecologies and with diverse production patterns.
7. Coastal artisanal fishing system, which often incorporate mixed farming elements.
Indigenous farming systems
Shifting cultivation, taungya cultivation and zabo cultivation are the three major
indigenous farm systems in India.
Shifting cultivation
It refers to farming system in north-eastern areas in which land under natural vegetation
(usually forests) is cleared by slash and burn method, cropped with common arable crops for a
few years and then left unattended when natural vegetation regenerates. Traditionally, the
fallow period is 10-20 years but in recent times it is reduced to 2-5 years in many areas. Due to
increasing population pressure, the fallow period is drastically reduced and system has
degenerated causing serious soil erosion, depleting soil fertility resulting into low productivity. In
north-eastern India, many annual and perennial crops with diverse growth habits are being
grown.
Taungya cultivation
The Taungya system is like an organized and scientifically managed shifting cultivation.
The word is reported to have originated in Myanmar (Burma) and Tauang means hill, ya means
cultivation i.e., hill cultivation. It involves cultivation of crops in forests or forest trees in crop
fields and was introduced to Chittagong and Bengal areas in colonial India in 1890. Later, it had
spread throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America. Essentially, the system consists of growing
annual arable crops along with the forestry species during early years of establishment of the
forest plantation. The land belongs to forest department or their large scale leases, who allows
the subsistence farmers to raise their crops and in turn protect tree saplings. It is not merely
temporary use of a piece of land and a poverty level wage, but is a chance to participate equitably
in a diversified and sustainable agro-forestry economy.
Zabo cultivation
The Zabo is an indigenous farming system practiced in north-eastern hill regions,
particularly in Nagaland. This system refers to combination of forest, agriculture, livestock and
fisheries with well-founded soil and water conservation base. Rainwater is collected from the
catchment of protected hill tops of above 100 per cent slopes in a pond with seepage control. Silt
retention tanks are constructed at several points before the runoff water enters in the pond.
Cultivation fully depends on the amount of water stored in the pond. Land is primarily utilized for
rice. This system is, generally, practiced in high altitude hill areas, where it is not possible to
construct terraces and or irrigation channels across the slope. This is a unique farming system for
food production to make livelihood. Zabo means impounding of water. The place of origin of zabo
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farming system is thought to be the Kikruma village in Phek district of Nagaland.

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Scope of farming system
Farming enterprises include crop, livestock, poultry, fish, sericulture etc. A combination
of one or more enterprises with cropping when carefully chosen, planned and executed gives
greater dividends than a single enterprise, especially for small and marginal farmers. Farm as a
unit is to be considered and planned for effective integration of the enterprises to be combined
with crop production activity.
Importance of farming system
1. Enhances productivity and profitability
2. Potentiality or sustainability
3. Balanced food production
4. Adoption of new technology
5. Saving energy
6. Meeting fodder crises
7. Solving fuel and timber requirement
8. Provides environmental safety
9. Recycling of farm waste
10. Provides income round the year
11. Helps in employment generation
12. Provides raw materials to agro-industries

Concept of farming system

In farming system, the farm is viewed in a holistic manner. Farming enterprises include
crops, dairying, poultry, fishery, sericulture, piggery and tree crops. A combination of one or more
enterprises with cropping when carefully chosen, planned and executed, gives greater dividends
than a single enterprise, especially for small and marginal farmers. Farm as an unit is to be
considered and planned for effective integration of the enterprises to be combined with crop
production activity, such that the end-products and wastes of one enterprise are utilized
effectively as inputs in other enterprise.
For example the wastes of dairying viz., dung, urine, refuse etc are used in preparation of
FYM or compost which serves as an input in cropping system. Likewise the straw obtained from
crops (maize, rice, sorghum etc) is used as a fodder for dairy cattle. Further, in sericulture the
leaves of mulberry crop as a feeding material for silkworms, grain from maize crop are used as a
feed in poultry etc. Sustainability is the objective of the farming system where production process
is optimized through efficient utilization of inputs without infringing on the quality of
environment with which it interacts on one hand and attempt to meet the national goals on the
other.
A farm is a system in that it has inputs, processes and outputs.
Depending on the type of farming e.g. arable/pastoral, commercial/subsistence, the
type and amount of inputs, processes and outputs will vary.
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 Income through arable farming alone is insufficient for bulk of the marginal farmers. The
other activities such as dairying, poultry, sericulture, apiculture, fisheries etc . assume critical
importance in supplementing their farm income.
Input Process Output
Labour Ploughing Wheat
Capital Sowing Potato
Seeds Spraying Milk
Animal Fertilizer application Crop waste
Fertilizer Harvesting Wool
Pesticide Grazing Eggs
Milking
Components of farming system
1. Crops, livestock, birds and trees.
2. Cropping systems like monocrop, mixed/ intercrop, multi-tier crops of cereals, legumes
(pulses), oilseeds, forage etc.
3. Livestock components may be cows, buffalos, goats, sheeps, poultry and bees.
4. Tree components may include fruit trees, timber, fuel and fodder.
Principles of farming system
1. Minimization of risk
2. Recycling of wastes and residues
3. Integration of two or more enterprises
4. Optimum utilization of all resources
5. Maximum productivity and profitability
6. Ecological balance
7. Generation of employment potential
8. Increased input use efficiency
9. Use of end products from one enterprise as input in other enterprise
Characteristics of farming system
1. Farmer oriented & holistic approach
2. Effective farmer‘s participation
3. Unique problem solving system
4. Dynamic system
5. Gender sensitive
6. Responsible to society
7. Environmental sustainability
8. Location specific of technology
9. Diversified farming enterprises to avoid risks due to environmental constraints
10. Provides feedback from farmers

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Classification of farming systems
Classified on the basis of
1. Climate Tropical, sub-tropical, temperate

2. Stage of development Shifting cultivation, arable farming, ranching.

3. Components Crop based, dairy based, poultry based, fish based
Or mixed farm.
4. Mode of ownership Peasant farming, joint farming, co-operative farming,
State farming
5. Level of profitability Subsistence, commercial
6. Irrigation Wet, dry (garden / rainfed)
[Link] of mechanization Mechanized, semi-mechanized, non-mechanized.

Objectives of farming system

1. Productivity- Farming system provides an opportunity to increase economic yield per unit
area per unit time by virtue of intensification of crop and allied enterprises. Time concept
by crop intensification and space concept by building up of vertical dimension through
crops and allied enterprises.
2. Profitability - The system as a whole provides an opportunity to make use of
produce/waste material of one enterprise as an input in another enterprise at low/no
cost. Thus by reducing the cost of production the profitability and benefit cost ratio works
out to be high. This is the main objective of farming system.
3. Potentiality – Soil health, a key factor for sustainability is getting deteriorated and
polluted due to faulty agricultural management practices viz., excessive use of inorganic
fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, high intensity irrigation etc. In farming system, organic
supplementation through effective use of manures and waste recycling is done, thus
providing an opportunity to sustain potentiality of production base for much longer time.
4. Balanced food- In farming system, diverse enterprises are involved and they produce
different sources of nutrition namely proteins, carbohydrates, fats & minerals etc form
the same unit land, which helps in solving the malnutrition problem prevalent among the
marginal and sub-marginal farming households.
5. Environmental safety- The very nature of farming system is to make use or conserve the
byproduct/waste product of one component as input in another component and use of
bio- control measures for pest & disease control. These eco-friendly practices bring down
the application of huge quantities of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, which pollute
the soil water and environment to an alarming level. Whereas IFS will greatly reduces
environmental pollution.
6. Income/cash flow round the year- Unlike conventional single enterprise crop activity
where the income is expected only at the time of disposal of economic produce after
19
several months depending upon the duration of the crop, the IFS enables cash flow round
the year by way of sale of products from different enterprises viz., eggs from poultry,

20
 milk from dairy, fish from fisheries, silkworm cocoons from sericulture, honey from
apiculture etc. This not only enhances the purchasing power of the farmer but also
provides an opportunity to invest in improved technologies for enhanced production.
7. Saving energy- Availability of fossil fuel has been declining at a rapid rate leading to a
situation where in the whole world may suffer for want of fossil fuel by 2030 AD. In
farming system, effective recycling of organic wastes to generate energy from biogas
plants can mitigate to certain extent this energy crisis.
8. Meeting fodder crises- In IFS every inch of land area is effectively utilized. Alley cropping
or growing fodder legume along the border or water courses, intensification of cropping
including fodder legumes in cropping systems helps to produce the required fodder and
greatly relieve the problem of non- availability of fodder to livestock component of the
farming system.
9. Solving timber and fuel crises
10. Employment generation
11. Scope for establishment of agro- industries
12. Enhancement in input use efficiency
The specific objectives of farming systems are:
1. To identify existing farming system in specific area and assess their relative viability.
2. To formulate farming system models involving main and allied enterprises for different
farming situations.
3. To ensure optional utilization and conservation of available resources and effective recycling
of farm residues within system.
4. To maintain sustainable production system without harmful resources base of environment.
5. To raise overall profitability of farm household by complementing main allied enterprises
with each other.
6. Analysis of existing farming system in terms of resource use efficiency, production and
productivity, income, employment & sustainability across different agro-climatic zones.
7. Evaluation and identification of farming system through participatory approach that ensures
threshold level of income for the livelihood security.
8. Development and evaluation of synergic effects and their actions associated with different
farming systems.
9. Developing appropriate institutional and market linkage including value addition for
enhancing sustainability.
10. Imparting training and capacity building of various stakeholders on IFS.
Green revolution
After the green revolution was launched in India, substantial increase in the production
of food grains was achieved through the use of improved crop varieties and higher levels of inputs
of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals. But it has now been realized that the increase in
production was achieved at the cost of soil health and that sustainable production at higher levels
21
is possible only by the proper use of factors, which will help to maintain the fertility of the soil.

22
In fact, about 60 per cent of our agricultural land currently under cultivation suffers from
indiscriminate use of irrigation water and chemical fertilizers. The gravity of environmental
degradation resulting from faulty agricultural practices has caused alarm among the concerned
farmers, scientists and conservationalists and greater viable and sustainable farming systems
have become a necessity. There has been a series of scientists and policy conference on this issue.
One such alternative agriculture system which will help to overcome the problems of soil
degradation and declining soil fertility is organic farming and ecological agriculture.
Most of the growth in the food production during the green revolution period was
attributed to the higher fertilizer use. The growth of the fertilizer industry in India between 1965
and 1983 has been remarkable. Per hectare consumption of NPK increased from 0.6 kg in 1950
to 50 kg by 1987. However, the available data show that the fertilizer consumption was largely
confined to irrigated areas which constituted only about 30 per cent of the gross cropped area.
The rise in fertilizer use is anticipated because:
1. N deficiency will continue to be universal in Indian soils.
2. Deficiency of P will be next in the order.
3. K will become limiting in high productive regions.
4. In at least half of the Indian soils, crops would benefit from Zn treatment.
5. S deficiency will limit the productivity in a vast majority of Indian soils.

Impact of green revolution on the environment

The ills of green revolution are stated to be:
1. Reduction in natural fertility of the soil
2. Destruction of soil structure, aeration and water holding capacity
3. Increase in soil salinity problems
4. Increase in pest and disease incidences (Minor pests become Major)
5. Reducing genetic diversity of plant species
6. Pollution with toxic chemicals from the agrochemicals and their production units
7. Endangering the health of the farmers using chemicals and the labours
8. Poisoning the food with highly toxic pesticide residues
9. Cash crops displacing nutritious food crops
10. Chemicals changing the natural taste of food
11. High inputs increasing the cost of production
12. Depleting the fossil fuel resources
13. Depleting the ground water reserves
14. Lowering the drought tolerance of crops

23
Some of the important indices to evaluate the cropping systems are as below:

Land use efficiency or assessesment of land use:

The main objective is to use available resources effectively. Multiple cropping which
include both inter and sequential cropping has the main objective of intensification of cropping
with the available resources in a given environment. Several indices have been proposed to
compare the efficiencies of different multiple cropping system in turns of land use, and these
have been reviewed by Menegay et al. 1978.

1. Multiple cropping index or multiple cropping intensity (MCI):

It was proposed by Dalrymple (1971). It is the ratio of total area cropped in a year to the
land area available for cultivation and expressed in percentage (sum of area planted to different
crops and harvested in a single year divided by total cultivated area times 100).

𝑛
𝑖
= 1 ai
MCI= ∗ 100 ai
A

Where, n is total number of crops, ai is area occupied by ith crop and A is total land area
available for cultivation.
It is similar to cropping intensity.
a1 + a 2 + … + a n
MCI= ∗ 100 A
Where a1 + a2 + … +an is the gross cropped area and A the net cultivated area.

2. Crop intensity index (CII):

Crop intensity index assesses farmers actual land use in area and time relationship for
each crop or group of crops compared to the total available land area and time, including land
that is temporarily available for cultivation. It is calculated by summing the product of area and
duration of each crop divided by the product of farmers total available cultivated land area and
time periods plus the sum of the temporarily available land area with the time of these land areas
actually put into use (Menegay et al. 1978). The basic concept of CLUI and CII are similar.
However, the latter offers more flexibility when combined with appropriate sampling procedure
for determining and evaluating vegetable production and cropping pattern data.

Nc ai t i
CII= i=1

M
j=1 A j Tj

24
 Where, Nc = total number of crops grown by a farmer during the time period T; ai = area
occupied by ith crop (months that the crop i occupied an area ai); ti , duration occupied by ith crop
(months that crops occupied area ai); T = time period under study (usually one year), Aj= Total
cultivated land area available with the farmer for use during the entire time period T; M= total
number of fields temporarily available to the farmer for cropping during time period T j=1, 2, 3…
M, Aj=land area of jth field and Tj= time period when Aj is available.
When, CII = 1 means that area or land resources have been fully utilized and less than 1
indicates under utilization of resources. CII and LER are used to assess the efficient cropping zone.
Cropping intensity/intensity of cropping (CI) indicates the number of times a field is grown with
crops in a year. It is calculated by dividing gross cropped area with net area available in the farm,
region or country multiplied by 100.

Gross cropped area Area under 𝑘ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑓 + 𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑖 + 𝑧𝑎𝑖𝑑 crops

CI= ∗ 100 = ∗ 100
Net sown area Net sown area

When long duration crop is grown, crop remains for a longer time in field. This is the
drawback of CI. So time is not considered. Thus, when long duration crops like sugarcane and
cotton are grown, the cropping intensity will be low.

3. Land equivalent ratio (LER):

This is the most frequently used efficient indicator. LER can be defined as the relative land
area under sole crop that would be required to produce the equivalent yield under a mixed or an
intercropping system at the same level of management.
Yab Yba
LER= La + Lb = + Ybb
Yaa

Where, La and Lb are LER of crop a and crop b, respectively; Yab = yield of crop an in
intercropping, Yba = yield of crop b in intercropping, Yaa = yield of crop an in pure stand and Ybb
= yield of crop b in pure stand.
LER of more than 1 indicates yield advantage, equal to 1 indicates no grain or no gain or
no loss and less than 1 indicates yield loss. It can be used both for replacement and additives
series of intercropping. LER is the summation of ratios of yields of intercrop to the yield of sole
crop.
LER gives a better picture of the competitive abilities of the component crops. It also gives
actual yield advantage of intercropping. In other words LER is the measure of production
efficiency of different system by convening the production in terms of land acreage. LER gives an
accurate assessment of the biological efficiency of intercropping.

Example: Let the yields of groundnut and Sesame grown, as pure crops are 1,200 and 1,000
25
kg/ha, respectively. Let yields of these cops when grown, as intercrop be 1,000 and 600 kg/ha,
respectively. The land equivalent ratio of groundnut + Sesame intercropping system is

26
 Yield of intercrop 1000
LER of Groundnut= Yield of sole crop = 1200

Yield of intercrop 600

LER of sesame= = 1000
Yield of sole crop

1000 600
LER of system= + = 1.43
1200 1000

LER of 143 indicates that a 43 percent yields advantage is obtained when grown as
intercrop compared to growing as sole crops. In other words the sole crops have to be grown in
1.43 ha to get the same yields level that is obtained from 1.00 ha of intercropping.

4. Relative yields total (RYT):

Oldest established measures of the yield advantage of crop mixture.

The mixture yields of a component crop expressed as a portion of its yields as a sole crop
from the same replacement series is the relative yield of crop and sum of the relative yields of
component crop is called Relative yields total (RYT). Or When LER is compared at uniform overall
plant density of sole and intercrops then it is known as RYT. In RYT yield advantages is to measure
not only unit area, but also on unit population. This is mainly used for replacement series.
Yab Yba
RYT = + Ybb
Yaa

Where, Yaa = yields of component a as sole crop Ybb = yields of component b is a sole crop
Yab = yields of component a as intercrop in b Yba = Yield of component b as intercrop in a.

Example: In pasture mixture, Stylo and anjan grown in 1:1 ratio with 50% sole crop population of
both crops. In I/C, mixture yield (50%) for Stylo and anjan is 6 and 4 tons/ha of fodder,
respectively. The yield of these crops in sole stand with 100% plant population is 10 and 8 ha of
green fodder, respectively.

RYT = 12+8/10+8 = 20/18 = 1.11.

So, RYT 1.11 indicates 11% extra fodder yields obtained by mixture.

Two crops yields in the intercrop mixture are MA and MB and the yield of crops grown as pure
crop are SA and SB then the combined index is

27
 MA MB
L= +
SA SB

28
 The intercrop embodied in LER is that L represents the land required for sole crops to
reduce yields achieved in the intercropping mixture. A value of L greater than 1 indicates overall
biological advantages of intercropping. The two component of total index LA and LB represent
the efficiency of yields production of each crop when grow in mixture, relative to crop
performance.

5. Relative crowding coefficient (K or RCC):

It was proposed by de Wit (1960). It is used in replacement series of intercropping. It
indicates whether a species or crop when grown in mixed population has produced more or less
yield than expected in pure stand. In 50 : 50 mixture relative crowding coefficient can be defined
as

Mixture yield of a Yab Yaa

Kab = =
Pure yield of a – mixture yield of a - Yab

But when population differ from 50: 50 then,

Yab * Zba
Kab =
(Yaa – Yab) Zab

Crowding coefficient and LER give the yield advantage but only LER gives the magnitude
of advantage. Therefore, LER is preferred to assess the competition effect and yield advantage in
intercropping situations.

6. Crop equivalent yield (CEY):

Many types of crops/cultivars are included in a multiple cropping sequences. It is very
difficult to compare the economic produce of one crop to another. To cite an example, yield of
rice cannot be compared with the yield of grain cereals or pulse crops and so on. In such
situations, comparisons can be made based on economic returns (gross or net return). The yield
of protein and carbohydrate equivalent can also be calculated for valid comparison. Efforts have

29
also been made to convert the yields of different crops into equivalent yield of any one crop
such as wheat equivalent yield.
Crop equivalent yields (CEY): The yields of different intercrops/crops are converted into
equivalent yield of any one crop based on price of the produce.

Pc1 Pc2
CEY (kg/ha)= Cy + C1y * + C2y ∗ +−−−
Pc Pc

or
Yield (intercrop) x Price (intercrop) Price
Crop Equivalent Yield (kg/ha)=Yield (main crop) +
(maincrop)

CEY is the crop equivalent yield; Cy is the yield of the main crop, the yield of other crops
converted to its equivalent and Pc is its respective price; C1y, C2y ………. are yields of
intercrops/other crops which are to be converted to equivalent of main crop yield and Pc1 and
Pc2 ....................are their respective prices.

Economic viability
CEY, LER, RYT etc. give biological suitability of cropping system to an area. At the same
time, cropping system should be economically viable and profitable. Following terms can be used
to evaluate profitability of cropping system.
1. Gross return:
The total monetary returns of the economic produce such as grain, tuber, bulb, fruit, etc.
and byproducts viz; straw, fodder, fuel etc. obtained from the crops included in the system are
calculated based on the local market prices. The total return is expressed in terms of unit area,
usually one hectare. The main draw back in this calculation is that market price of the produce is
higher than that actually obtained by the farmer. Generally gross return calculated is somewhat
inflated compared to the actual receipt obtained by the farmer.
2. Net return or net profit:
This is worked out by subtracting the total cost of cultivation from the returns. This value
gives the actual profit obtained by the farmer. In this type of calculation only the variable costs
are considered. Fixed costs such as rent for the land, land revenue, interest on capital etc. are
not included. For a realistic estimate, however, fixed costs should also be included.
3. Return per rupee invested:
This is also called benefit-cost-ratio or input- output ratio.
Gross return
Return per rupee
invested= Cost of cultivation

30
 This index provides an estimate of the benefit derived and expenditure incurred by the
farmer in adopting a particular cropping system. Anything above the value of 2.0 (meaning that
the farmer can get RS.2 as return for every rupee invested) can be considered worthwhile.
4. Per day return:

31
 This is called as income per day and can be obtained by dividing the net return by
number of cropping period (days).
Net return
Per day return=
Cropping period (days)
This gives the efficiency of the cropping system in terms of monetary value. If the system
is stretched over one year, the denominator can be replaced by 365 days and per day for the
whole year can be calculated.

No single index is capable of giving good comparison of different cropping systems. So a

number of indices are used together to assess the economic viability of the system.

Fertilizer use efficiency (FUE)

The FUE is the output of any crop per unit of the nutrient applied under a specified set of soil
and climatic conditions. The NUE/FUE can be expressed in several ways:
-Partial factor productivity (PFP, kg crop yield per kg input applied).
-Agronomic efficiency (AE, kg crop yield increase per kg nutrient applied).
-Apparent recovery efficiency (ARE, kg nutrient taken up per kg nutrient applied).
-Physiological efficiency (PE, kg yield increase per kg nutrient taken up).
-Crop removal efficiency (removal of nutrient in harvested crop as per cent of nutrient
applied) is also commonly used to explain nutrient efficiency.

Water use efficiency

Crop water use efficiency: Crop water use efficiency is a ratio between marketable
crop yield and water used by the crop in evapotranspiration.
c
Y
WUE (kg ha-mm-1) =
ETc
where,

WUE = Water use efficiency (kg ha-mm-1) Y

= Marketable crop yield (kg ha-1)
ETC = Crop evapotranspiration (mm).
Field water use efficiency: Field water use efficiency is a ratio between marketable crop
yield and field water supply which includes water used by the plant in metabolic activities, ET and
deep percolation losses.
FWUE (kg ha-mm-1) = 𝐘
𝐖𝐑
where,
FWUE = Field water use efficiency (kg ha-mm-1). Y
= Crop yield in kg ha-1.
WR = Water requirement

32
Table 3.1 Water use efficiency of selected crops
Water requirement Grain yield WUE
Crop
(mm) (kg ha-1) (kg ha-mm-1)
Rice 1200 4500 3.7
Sorghum 500 4500 9.0
Pearlmillet 500 4000 8.0
Maize 625 5000 8.0
Groundnut 506 4616 9.2
Wheat 280 3534 12.6
Fingermillet 310 4137 13.7

Growing marginalization and fragmentation of land holdings coupled with rising incidence
of informal tenancies and poor rural infrastructure such as road, electricity, markets and
education affect factor productivity. Availability of good quality irrigation water coupled with
flexibility of irrigation and drainage system and appropriate methods of application as well as
pricing of irrigation water is crucial for sustainable use of land and water resources.
In one sense, efficiency of a firm is its success in producing as large an amount of output
as possible from given sets of inputs. Maximum efficiency of a firm is attained when it becomes
impossible to reshuffle a given resource combination without decreasing the total output.

Chapter 4: SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Paul Hawken (1993) advised: ―Leave the world better than you found it, take no more
than you need, try not to harm life or the environment, make amends if you do.
“The first rule of sustainability is to align with natural forces or at least not try to defy them".
The word ―sustain,‖ from the Latin sustinere (sus-, from below and tenere. to hold), to
keep in existence or maintain, implies long-term support or permanence. As it pertains to
agriculture, sustainable describes farming systems that are ―capable of maintaining their
productivity and usefulness to society indefinitely. Such system... must be resource-conserving,
socially supportive, commercially competitive and environmentally sound.
The concept of sustainable agriculture set out by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of
the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) states ―sustainable
agriculture is the successful management of resources for agriculture to satisfy the changing
human needs, while maintaining or enhancing the quality of environment and conserving natural
resources‖.

33
Modern definition: Sustainable agriculture is the use of farming systems and practices which
maintain or enhance
[Link] economic viability of agricultural production;
[Link] natural resource base; and
3. Other ecosystems which are influenced by agricultural activities.
This definition can be supplemented by some fundamental principles of
sustainable agriculture:
1. That farm productivity is enhanced over the long term;
[Link] adverse impacts on the natural resource base and associated ecosystems
are ameliorated, minimized or avoided;
3. That residues resulting from the use of chemicals in agriculture are minimised;
[Link] net social benefit (in both monetary and non-monetary terms) from agriculture
is maximized; and
[Link] farming systems are sufficiently flexible to manage risks associated with the vagaries
of climate and markets.
The United States Department of Agriculture defined ‘sustainable agriculture’ as a
management-system for renewable natural resources that provides food, income and livelihood
for present and future economic productivity and ecosystem services of these resources.
Sustainable agriculture is a farm system that mimics as closely as possible the complexity
of a healthy and natural ecosystem. It integrates three main goals.
1. Environmental health.
2. Economic efficiency
3. Social- economic equity (community)

Environmental health
Ecological sustainability is associated with genetic resource base and bio-diversity.
Increase in diversity at genetics, species and ecosystem level forms the backbone of a sustainable
ecology. Several possible solutions to the environmental problems created by capital and
technology-intensive farming system have been proposed and research is currently in progress
to evaluate alternative system. Main focus lies on the reduction or elimination of agro- chemical
inputs through changes in management to assure adequate plant nutrition, plant protection
through nutrient sources and integrated pest management and efficient use of energy and water.
Economic efficiency
In an economic contest, the farm must generate revenue, not always in terms of cash, but
in terms of kind also. Farmers make decisions in risky, continuously changing environment and
the consequences of their decisions are generally not known when the decisions are made.
Variability of yields and prices are major sources of risk in agriculture. Changes in technology,
legal and social concerns and the human factor itself also contribute to risky environment for the
34
farmers. Excessive dependency on external inputs maximizes the risk of profit reduction. In order
to stabilize the farm economics, the farm should be made self sufficient, there should be parity
in income distribution and finally the resilience of agricultural system should be increased.
Community
An ideal farming system will surely meet nutritional and livelihood security of the farmers
and sustainability decreases the market dependency. It should have equitable access to common
property resources. A farm can be said to be socially just only when it satisfy all the following
options:
➢ Whether the farm is getting fare share of price.
➢ Whether it is sufficient to maintain a family well-being.
➢ Whether he get enough remuneration to purchase his food.
➢ Whether the minimum wage requirement is attained.

•
Advantages
1. Production cost is low
2. Overall risk of the farmer is reduced
3. Pollution of water is avoided
4. Very little or no pesticide residue is ensured
5. Ensures both short and long term profitability
Disadvantage
Since sustainable agriculture uses least quantum of inputs, naturally the output (yield) may
also be less.
Basic features and concepts of sustainable systems
1. Need to maintain or improve soil quality and fertility. This is often attained by increasing the
organic matter content of the soil, and by minimizing losses from soil erosion.
2. Production programs are designed to improve the efficiency of resource utilization. This will
result in the most cost-effective use of water, fertilizers, and pesticides.
3. An attempt is made to improve internal nutrient cycles on the farm, which will reduce the
dependence on external fertilizers.

35
4. Efforts are made to improve biological diversity on the farm. This will result in improved
natural suppression of pests, and may also help to improve internal nutrient cycling within
the farm.
5. Farm management and marketing programs are designed to minimize overhead costs and to
increase returns, often by following alternative marketing schemes.
Problems and impact on agriculture
Agriculture has changed dramatically, especially since the end of World War II. Food and
fiber productivity soared due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use,
specialization and government policies that favoured maximizing production. Although, these
changes have had many positive effects and reduced many risks in farming, there have also been
significant costs. Prominent among these are topsoil depletion, ground water contamination,
decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working conditions for farm labourers,
increasing costs of production and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural
communities. Problems of agriculture can be listed as under:
1. Decline in agricultural growth rate
2. Decline in factor productivity
3. Static or decline in food production
4. Increasing malnutrition
5. Shrinkage in net cultivated area
6. Increasing environmental pollution
7. Depleting groundwater table
8. Increasing cost of production
9. Low farm income
10. Increasing unemployment
As a result, agricultural productivity has been witnessing stagnation in recent years.
Besides, issues such as competing demand for water in the context of changing demographics
and its various end uses further aggravates the degree of risks in the agriculture sector. These
have considerable implications for food and livelihood security and as agriculture production
being risk prone, may lead to migration from rural to urban and sub urban areas.
Indian agriculture now faces the challenge of ensuring food security amidst constraints
such as stagnating net sown area, deterioration of land quality, reduction in per capita land
availability etc.
The challenges are:
(i) Need for more food: Around 310 M t of food grains in 2050
(ii) Stagnating net sown area: 140 ± 2 M ha since 1970
(iii) Land share under fallow: 38 per cent increase since 1951
(iv) Per capita land availability: From 0.91 ha in 1951 to 0.32 ha in 2001 and to 0.19 ha is
projected by 2050
(v) Per capita net sown area: 0.33 ha in 1951 to 0.14 ha in 2001
36
 Fostering rapid, sustainable and broad-based growth in agriculture is therefore, a key
priority keeping in mind the overall socio-economic development trajectory of the country,
especially in the light of existing vulnerabilities that relate to a shrinking land resource base,
additional stresses arising from the non-agricultural sector and issues emerging due to
changing climate. This necessitates a strategic approach with a renewed vision and redefined
focus.
A growing movement has emerged during the past three decades to question the role of
the agricultural establishment in promoting practices that contribute to these social problems.
Today, this movement for sustainable agriculture is garnering increasing support and acceptance
within mainstream agriculture. Not only does sustainable agriculture address many
environmental and social concerns, but it offers innovative and economically viable opportunities
for growers, labourers, consumers, policymakers and many others in the entire food system.

Indicators of agricultural sustainability

These help us to identify, quantify and evaluate the effect of agriculture. We will be able
to see the consequences of our policies on progress towards sustainability. Our future
programmes and initiatives, as well as those of others, will be more easily and better targeted.
This set of indicators provides a means of measuring the economic social and
environmental impacts of agriculture and to help assess the effectiveness of policies and the
sustainability of the sector.
In order to be able to make a balanced assessment of agriculture‘s progress towards
sustainability, social, environmental and economic factors must be examined. Tins calls for
indicators that are cross-linked as well as representative of the issues most relevant to
agriculture. The trends revealed by individual indicators need careful interpretation before
conclusions can be drawn on the progress towards sustainability of the sector as a whole.
Indicators are able to show positive progress towards sustainability. For example, use of
environmentally friendly fanning system has been rising. By combining indicators with
agricultural productivity and energy use, we can see that energy efficiency has been rising. But
other indicators show adverse movement. The numbers of certain species of farmland birds, for
example, are in decline. Some of the indicators included in this set are not yet fully developed as
they are based on existing data. In time, however, they should provide a better reflection of the
trends towards a more sustainable agriculture sector.
Indicators are a composite set of attributes or measures that embody a particular aspect
of agriculture. Indicators are quantified information, which help to explain how things are
changing over time. Sustainability indicators look at economic, social and environmental
information in an integrated manner. Many professionals agree that at least three criteria should
guide the development of sustainability indicators:

37
Table 4.1: Indicators of key natural resources in rainfed cropping system
Sr. Indicators Management aspects
No.

1 Nutrien Organic matter—rate of change

t Nitrogen cycling—especially when using grain legumes in rotation
balance with cereals.
Monitoring status of phosphorus, sulphur and
potassium Micronutrients.
Vegetation cover—includes trees as well as stubble.
2 Erosion Soil surface cover—stubble retained (30% sufficient to prevent
wind and water erosion). Stream bank.
Sheet and gully erosion
Water use efficiency—i.e., actual versus potential (in some areas
3 Productivity, the potential is much less than the actual) (biomass/grain yield/net
yield and return), recharge (dryland salinity and nutrient leaching).
quality Pasture composition—legume and perennial. i
Matched animal versus pasture production—appropriate enterprise
selection/capability
Maintenance of genetic
base/improvement Infiltration.
4 Soil structure Permeability/water storage.
Stability.
Water logging
Compaction
Change, Toxicity deficiency, Indicator plants
5 pH Energy input vis-à-vis energy output of the whole agricultural system
6 Energy effi. Soil macro/micro flora and fauna, animal health, plant health (root
7 Biological growth and others) pests (animals and plants)
factors Understanding a good indicator would be the understanding of the
8 Farm manag. farmers of their own technical system
skills Performance of rainfall in a year as % of normal and its coefficient of
9 Precipitation variation
Distribution of area based on rainfall amount (dry: 0-750mm,,
medium: 750-1150 and 1150-2000mm, assured: > 2000mm)
Categorization of the amount of rainfall (excess: =20% or more,
normal: =10% to -10%, deficient: 20% to -59%, scanty: -60% or less)
Number of districts having mean annual rainfall of 750-1250 mm
and moisture availability period for at least 150 days.
38
Area affected due to
drought (slight,
moderate or
calamitous)

39
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE RELATED TERMS

Alternative farming/alternative agriculture: These are essentially synonymous terms

encompassing a vast array of practices and enterprises, all of which are considered different from
prevailing or conventional agricultural activities. They include:
a. Non-traditional crops, livestock and other farm products.
b. Service, recreation, tourism, food processing, forest/woodlot and other enterprises based
on farm and natural resources (ancillary enterprises).
c. Unconventional production system such as organic farming or aquaculture or direct
marketing and other entrepreneurial marketing strategies.
Best management practices (BMPs): They include such practices as cover crops, green manure
crops and strip cropping to control erosion along with soil testing and timing of chemical
applications (similar to IPM) to prevent the loss of nutrients and pesticides.
Bio-diversity: It is the sum total of all the plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms in the world
or in a particular area; all of their individual variation and all the interactions between them.‖
Agro-bio-diversity: It is a fundamental feature of farming system around the world. It
encompasses many types of biological resources tied to agriculture, including:
Bio-dynamic agriculture/Bio-dynamic farming: Specific practices and preparations that enable
the farmers or gardeners to work in concert with the parameters.
Biological farming/Ecological farming:It is a system of crop production in which the producer
tries to minimize the use of chemicals for control of crop pests.
Carbon sequestration: It is the process through which agricultural and forestry practices remove
carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The term ‗sinks is also used to describe agricultural
and forestry lands that absorb CO2, the most important global warming gas emitted by human
activities. Agricultural and forestry practices can also release CO2 and other greenhouse gases to
the atmosphere. Sequestration activities can help prevent global climate change by enhancing
carbon storage in trees and soils, preserving existing tree and soil carbon and by reducing
emissions of C02, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20).‖
Carrying capacity: It is the theoretical equilibrium population size at which a particular
population in a particular environment will stabilize when its supply of resources remains
constant.
Conservation buffer strips: Conservation buffer strips are areas or strips of land maintained in
permanent vegetation, designed to intercept pollutants and erosion. Placed around fields, they
can enhance wildlife habitat, improve water quality and enrich aesthetics on farmlands. Various
types of buffers include contour buffer strips, filter strips, riparian forest buffers, field borders,
windbreaks, shelterbelts, hedgerows, grassed waterways, and alley cropping.
Ecological footprint (EF): Term has been introduced by William Rees in 1992. It is a measure
of how much land and water is needed to produce the resources we consume and to
40
dispose of the waste we produce.
Carbon footprint: Representations of the effect human activities have on the climate in terms of
total amount of greenhouse gases produced.
Good agricultural practices (GAP): Broadly defined, a GAP approach aims at applying available
knowledge to addressing environmental, economic and social sustainability dimensions for on-
farm production and post-production processes, resulting in safe and quality food and non-food
agricultural products.
Natural farming: Natural farming reflects the experiences and philosophy of Japanese farmer
Masanobu Fukuoka. It is a farming method which involves no tillage, no fertilizer, no pesticides,
no weeding, no pruning and remarkably little labours.
Permaculture: A contraction of ―permanent agriculture,‖ the word ―permaculture‖ was coined by
Australian Bill Mollison in the late 1970s. One of the many alternative agriculture system
described as sustainable, permaculture is unique in its emphasis on design; that is, the location
of each element in a landscape and the evolution of landscape over time.
Precision farming/agriculture: Precision agriculture is a management strategy that employs
detailed, site-specific information to precisely managed production inputs. This concept is
sometimes called precision agriculture, prescription farming or site-specific management. The
idea is to know the soil and crop characteristics unique to each part of the field and to optimize
the production inputs within small portions of the field. The philosophy behind precision
agriculture is that production inputs (seed fertilizer, chemicals etc.) should be applied only as
needed and where needed for the most economic production.
Regenerative agriculture: Robert Rodale coined this term. Enhanced regeneration of renewable
resources which is essential to the achievement of a sustainable form of agriculture.

Chapter 5: CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE STRATEGIES IN AGRICULTURE

Conservation agriculture is a concept for resource-saving agricultural crop production

that strives to achieve acceptable profits together with high and sustained production levels
while concurrently conserving the environment. It is based on enhancing natural biological
processes above and below the ground. Interventions such as mechanical soil tillage are reduced
to an absolute minimum and the use of external inputs such as agrochemicals and nutrients of
mineral or organic origin are applied at an optimum level and in a way and quantity that does not
interfere with or disrupt the biological processes. It is characterized by three principles which are
linked to each other, namely:
1. Continuous minimum mechanical soil disturbance
2. Permanent organic soil cover

41
3. Diversified crop rotations in the case of annual crops or plant associations in case of perennial
crops

42
 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.
This has led to confusion among the agricultural scientists and more importantly, the
farming community. To add to the confusion, the term ‗conservation agriculture‘ has recently
been introduced and its goals defined by FAO.
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.
According to FAO, it is a set of practices that leave crop residues on the surface which
increases water infiltration and reduces erosion. It is a practice used in conventional agriculture
to reduce the effects of tillage on soil erosion. However, it still depends on tillage as the structure
forming element in the soil. Never the less, conservation tillage practices such as zero tillage
practices can be transition steps towards conservation 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 that is
gaining popularity in many parts of the world (FAO 2006).
Appropriate definition appears to be ―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‖.

Table:5.1 characteristic features of conventional & conservation agricultural system

Sr.
No. Conventional agriculture Conservation Agriculture

1 Cultivating land, using science and Least interference with natural processes
technology to dominate nature
2 Excessive mechanical tillage and soil No-till or drastically reduced tillage
erosion (biological tillage)
3 High wind and soil erosion Low wind and soil erosion
4 Residue burning or removal (bare Surface retention of residues (permanently
surface) covered)
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5 Water infiltration is low Infiltration rate of water is high

44
6 Use of ex-situ FYM/composts Use of in-situ organics/composts
7 Green manuring (incorporated) Brown manuring/cover crops (surface
retention)
8 Kills established weeds, but stimulates Weeds are a problem in the early stages of
more weed seeds to germinate adoption but decrease with time
9 Free-wheeling of farm machinery, Controlled traffic, compaction in tramline,
increased soil compaction no compaction in crop area
10 Monocropping/culture, less efficient Diversified and more efficient rotations
11 Heavy reliance on manual labor, Mechanized operations, ensure timeliness
uncertainty of operations of
operations
12 Poor adaptation to stresses, yield losses More resilience to stresses, yield losses are
greater under stress conditions less under stress conditions
13 Productivity gains in long-run are in Productivity gains in long-run are in
declining order incremental order

Principles of conservation agriculture

The main principles of conservation agriculture are: conservation agriculture system
utilize 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 too minimize damage to the environment.
By doing this conservation agriculture will:
1. Provide and maintain an optimum environment of the root zone to maximum possible
depth. Roots are able to function effectively and without restriction to capture high
amount of plant nutrients and water.
2. Ensure that water enters the soil so that:
• Plants never or for the shortest time possible, suffer water stress that will limit the
expression of their potential growth.
• Residual water passes down to ground water and stream flow, not over the
surface as runoff.
3. Favour beneficial biological activity in the soil in order to:
o Maintain and rebuild soil architecture.
o Compete with potential in-soil pathogens.
o Contribute to soil organic matter and various grades of humus.
o Contribute to capture, retention, chelation and slow release of nutrients.
4. Avoid physical or chemical damage to roots that disrupts their effective functioning.
Three principles of conservation agriculture include:
1. Direct planting of crop seeds.
2. Permanent soil cover, especially by crop residues and cover crops.
3. Crop rotation.
Direct seeding or planting
Direct seeding involves growing crops without mechanical seedbed preparation and
45
with minimal soil disturbances since the harvest of the previous crop. The term direct seeding is

46
understood in conservation agriculture system as synonymous with no-till fanning, zero-tillage,
no-tillage, direct drilling etc. Planting refers to the precise placing of large seeds (maize and
beans); whereas seeding usually refers to a continuous flow of seed as in the case of small cereals
(wheat and barley). Equipment penetrates the soil cover, opens a seeding slot and places the
seed into that slot. Size of the seed slot and the associated movement of soil are to be kept at
the absolute minimum possible. Ideally, the seed slot is completely covered by mulch again after
seeding and no loose soil should be visible on the surface.
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
to guarantee the complete soil cover and fertilizer and amendments are either broadcast on the
soil surface or applied during seeding.
Permanent soil cover
A permanent soil cover is important to:
• Protect the soil against the deleterious effects of exposure to rain and sun.
• Provide micro and macro-organisms in the soil with a constant supply of ―food‖.
• Alter the microclimate in the soil for optimal growth and development of soil organisms,
including plant roots.
Cover crops need to be managed before planting the main crop. This can be done
manually or with animal or tractor power. The important point is that the soil is always kept
covered (FAO 2006).
The effect of soil cover includes:
1. Improved infiltration and retention of soil moisture resulting in less severe, less prolonged
crop-water stress and increased availability of plant nutrients.
2. Source of food and habitat for diverse soil life: creation of channels for air and water,
biological tillage and substrate for biological activity through the recycling of organic matter
and plant nutrients.
3. Increased humus formation.
4. Reduction of impact of raindrops on soil surface resulting in reduced crusting and surface
sealing.
5. Consequential reduction of runoff and erosion.
6. Soil regeneration is higher than soil degradation.
7. Mitigation of temperature variations on and in the soil.
8. Better conditions for the development of roots and seedling growth.
Means and practices include:
1. Use of appropriate/improved seeds for high yields as well as high residue production and
good root development.
2. Integrated management and reduced competition with livestock or other uses
3. Use of various cover crops, especially multipurpose crops, like nitrogen fixing, soil- porosity-
47
restoring, pest repellent etc.

48
 4. Optimization of crop rotations in spatial, timing and economic terms.
5. Targeted use of herbicides for controlling cover crop and weed development.
Crop Rotation
Rotation of crops is not only necessary to offer a diverse ―diet‖ to the soil micro-
organisms, but as they root at different soil depths, they are capable of exploring different soil
layers for nutrients. Nutrients that have been leached to deeper layers and that are no longer
available for the commercial crop can be ―recycled‖ by the crops in rotation. This way the
rotation crops function as biological pumps.
Furthermore, a diversity of crops in rotation leads to a diverse soil flora and fauna, as the
roots excrete different organic substances that attract different types of bacteria and fungi, which
in turn, play an important role in the transformation of these substances into plant available
nutrients. Crop rotation also has an important phytosanitary function as it prevents the carryover
of crop-specific pests and diseases from one crop to the next via crop residues.
Effect of crop rotation include:
1. Higher diversity in plant production and thus in human and livestock nutrition.
2. Reduction and reduced risk of pest and weed infestations.
3. Greater distribution of channels or bio-pores created by diverse roots (various forms, sizes
and depths).
4. Better distribution of water and nutrients through the soil profile.
5. Exploration for nutrients and water of diverse strata of the soil profile by roots ofMany
different plant species resulting in a greater use of the available nutrients and water.
6. Increased nitrogen fixation through certain plant-soil biota symbionts and improved balance
of N/P/K from both organic and mineral sources.

Means and practices include:

1. Design and implementation of crop rotations according to the various objectives: food and
fodder production (grain, leaf, stalks), residue production, pest and weed control, nutrient
uptake and biological subsurface mixing/cultivation etc.
2. Use of appropriate/improved seeds for high yields as well as high residue production of
above-ground and below-ground parts, given the soil and climate conditions.
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.
(i) Economic Benefits
49
Three major economic benefits can result from CA adoption:

50
 1. Time saving and thus reduction in labour requirement.
2. Reduction of costs (fuel, machinery operating costs and maintenance, as well as a reduced
labour cost).
3. Higher efficiency in the sense of more output for a lower input.
The positive impact of conservation agriculture on the distribution of labour during the
production cycle and even more important, the reduction in labour requirement are the main
reasons for farmers in Latin America to adopt conservation agriculture, especially for fanners who
rely fully on family labour. Manual labour for soil preparation is back-breaking and unnecessary.
Should the supply of labour be reduced, through sickness or migration, then the system can
quickly become unsustainable.
(ii) Agronomic Benefits
Adopting conservation agriculture leads to improvement of soil productivity:
1. Organic matter increase.
2. In-soil water conservation.
3. Improvement of soil structure and thus rooting zone.
Constant addition of crop residues leads to an increase in the organic matter content of
the soil. In the beginning this is limited to the top layer of the soil, but with time this will extend
to deeper soil layers. Organic matter plays an important role in the soil: fertilizer use efficiency,
water holding capacity, soil aggregation, rooting environment and nutrient retention, all depend
on organic matter.
(iii) Environmental Benefits
1. Reduction in soil erosion and thus of road, dam and hydroelectric power plant maintenance
costs.
2. Improvement of water quality.
3. Improvement of air quality.
4. Bio-diversity increase.
5. 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-
ecosystem are different. Particularly important gap is the frequent dearth of information on
locally adapted cover crops that produce high amounts of biomass under the prevailing
conditions. 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. Trial and error,
both by official institutes and the farmers themselves, is often the only reliable source of
information.
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 information and experiences on cover crops, tools and equipment and other
51
techniques used in conservation agriculture.

52
 Initial nervousness about switching from plough-based farming to CA can be ameliorated
by forming farmer groups to exchange ideas and gain knowledge from more experienced
practitioners.
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.
Reductions in leaching of pesticides under conservation agriculture might be caused by
greater microbial activity degrading pesticides faster or to greater organic matter adsorbing the
pesticides.
2.5.4 Constraints for adopting conservation agriculture
A mental change of farmers, technicians, extensionists and researchers away from soil
degrading tillage operations towards sustainable production system like no tillage is necessary to
obtain changes in attitudes of farmers however, noted that probably the most important factor
in the adoption of CA is overcoming the bias or mindset about tillage. It is argued that convincing
the farmers that successful cultivation is possible even with reduced tillage or without tillage is a
major hurdle in promoting CA on a large scale. In many cases, it may be difficult to convince the
farmers of potential benefits of CA beyond its potential to reduce production costs, mainly by
tillage reductions. CA is now, considered a route to sustainable agriculture. Spread of
conservation agriculture, therefore, will call for scientific research linked with development
efforts. The following are a few important constraints which impede broad scale adoption:
(1) Lack of appropriate seeders especially for small and medium scale farmers: Although
significant efforts have been made in developing and promoting machinery for seeding wheat in
no till system, successful adoption will call for accelerated effort in developing, standardizing and
promoting quality machinery aimed at a range of crop and cropping sequences. These would
include the development of permanent bed and furrow planting system and harvest operations
to manage crop residues.
(2) Wide spread use of crop residues for livestock feed and fuel: Especially under rainfed
situations, farmers face a scarcity of crop residues due to less biomass production of different
crops. There is competition between conservation agriculture practice and livestock feeding for
crop residue. This is a major constraint for promotion of conservation agriculture under rainfed
situations.
(3) Burning of crop residues: For timely sowing of the next crop and without machinery for
sowing under conservation agriculture system, fanners prefer to sow the crop in time by burning
the residue. This has become a common feature in the rice-wheat system in north India. This
creates environmental problems for the region.
(4) Lack of knowledge about the potential of conservation agriculture to agriculture leaders,
extension agents and farmers: This implies that the whole range of practices in conservation
53
agriculture, including planting and harvesting, water and nutrient management, diseases
and

54
pest control etc need to be evolved, evaluated and matched in thecontext of new system.
(5) Skilled and scientific manpower: Managing conservation agriculture system, will call for
enhanced capacity of scientists to address problems from a system perspective and to be able
to work in close partnerships with farmers and other stakeholders. Strengthened knowledge
and information sharing mechanisms are needed.

Conservation Agriculture VS Conservation Tillage

Conservation agriculture is largely the product of the collective efforts of a number of
previous agricultural movements, including no-till agriculture, agro-forestry, green manures/
cover crops, direct planting/seeding and conservation tillage among many others. Yet,
conservation agriculture is distinct from each of these so-called agricultural packages, even as
it draws upon many of their core principles. This is because conservation agriculture uses many
of the available technologies in unison, resulting in something many believe to be much greater
than the sum of its parts. The following terms are often confused with conservation agriculture:
No-Till (NT)/ Zero-Till (ZT)
The NT and ZT are technical components used in conservation agriculture that simplyinvolve
the absence of tillage/ploughing operations on the soil. Crops are planted directly into a seedbed
not tilled after harvesting the previous crop. Not everyone utilizing no-till technologies adopts
other important components of conservation agriculture. One major difference is that NT or ZT
do not necessarily leave residue mulch. Some recent research data suggests this is vital, since
without the residue mulch many of the benefits of conservation agriculture are lost or decreased
in value.
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. It developed as a
management system after the ―Dust Bowl‖ of the 1930‘s in the Mid-West areas of the USA. It
was found to reduce erosion by protecting the soil surface from wind and rain.
Organic Farming
Organic agriculture does not permit the use of synthetic chemicals to produce plant and
animal products, relying instead on the management of soil organic matter and biological
processes. In some parts of the world, farms must be inspected and certified before their food
products can be sold as organic, indicating that no synthetic chemicals were used in producing
them. But organic farming uses the principles of conservation agriculture to some extent and one
objective similar to conservation agriculture is to maintain and improve soil health. Unlike organic
farming, conservation agriculture does allow farmers to apply synthetic chemical fertilizers,
fungicides, pesticides and herbicides. Many farmers rely on using these to control weed and pest
55
problems, particularly during the early transition years. As soil physical, chemical

56
and biological health improves over time; the use of agrichemicals can be significantly reduced
or, in some cases, phased out entirely.

Chapter 6: HEIA and LEISA

High external input agriculture (HEIA)

High external input Agriculture (HEIA) are technologies that utilize high external inputs
such as inorganic or chemical fertilizers to increase nutrient depletion from the soil, pesticides to
control pests and diseases, herbicides to control weeds and irrigation facilities for water
management in the farms. These technologies are often beyond the financial reach of the small
- holder farmers.

Advantages of high external input agriculture (HEIA)

1. Agricultural Production could be rapidly increased to meet the demand for food for the
increasing population.
2. As a result of availability of adequate food stuffs many problems related to diseases caused
by mal-nutrition and deficiency were prevented or reduced.
3. New improved varieties gave yields within a short period of time.
4. Mechanization solves the problem of labour shortage.
5. Income and profit margins of the products were increased.
6. Productivity of land increased.
7. Increased market facilities for production.

Disadvantages of HEIA
1. Collapse of environmental balance due to lack of biodiversity by planting a few cash crops.
2. Increase in soil erosion due to constant furrowing by machinery.
3. Dependence on imported machinery, chemical fertilizer, pesticides, hybrid seeds and other
inputs.
4. Extensive use of pesticides disturbed the natural mechanism of controlling pest and diseases
as the artificial pesticides kill both pests and their natural enemies.
5. Use of artificial agro-chemicals adversely affected the soil pH, cation exchange capacity, soil
structure, soil texture and soil organisms. Consequently the microbial activities of the soil tend
to reduce forming dead soil.

Low-external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA)

―Low-External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) is a series of practices which serve to
reinforce ecological principles that are in line with local ecosystems‖.

57
 Practices such as recycling of plant nutrients (nitrogen and others), minimizing crop losses
due to insects and pests, and securing favorable soil conditions for plant growth are just the tip
of the hat.
An integral component of LEISA is in ensuring that this environmental awareness remains
connected to the daily lives, needs and concerns of farmers who rely on these ecosystems for
their livelihoods.
The LEISA relies mostly on the inputs from the local farm, village or region and deliberate
action is taken to ensure sustainability.
The principles are:
1. Securing favorable soil conditions for plant growth particularly managing organic matter and
enhancing soil life.
2. Optimizing the nutrient availability and balancing the nutrient flow, particularly by means of
nitrogen fixation, nutrient acquisition and complementary use of external fertilizers.
3. Minimizing the losses due to plant and animal pests by means of prevention and safety
treatment.
4. Minimizing losses due to flows of solar radiation, air, water by way of microclimate
management, water management and erosion control.

Characteristics of HEIA and LEISA

Sl. HEIA LEISA

No.
1 The farming pattern depends heavily LEIA relies on the optimal use of natural
on external and chemical inputs. processes.
2 The focus is mainly on maximizing The focus is on the sustainability of
yields coupled with increasing farming system
specialization of production
3 There is a great damage to the Environmentally sound and that have the
environmen potential to contribute to the long-term
t
sustainability of agriculture.
4 The continuing drop in prices of farm Greater emphasis is on the long-term
produce and the rising costs of nourishment and balance between the
agricultural inputs have made farming profit and livelihood.
increasingly unprofitable
5 HEIA depends on the higher LEISA depend largely on local agro-
production and profit, without ecological conditions and on local socio-
consideration of the local needs and economic circumstances, as well as on
local market farmers‘ individual needs and aspirations.
6 Primarily one or two commodity One way of LEIA is to diversification of
58
driven development, lack of diversity farms; with a range of crops and/or

59
 in the farming practices; as a result, animals, farmers will suffer less from price
there is greater risk of failure and pricefluctuations or drops in yield of single
fluctuation. The number of products crops. Maintaining diversity will also
and commodities are very minimum. provide a farm family with a range of
products to eat or sell throughout a large
part of the year.
7 Under HEIA system, soil quality LEIA maintains a healthy soil, recycling
deteriorates, and there is resurgence nutrients on the farm, and utilizing
of pests, lack of resilience in the soil- approaches such as integrated pest
plant system management (IPM).
8 In HEIA, there is lack of use of Best bet technologies, for example, soil and
indigenous technologies. water conservation (terraces, ditches, and
vegetation strips on sloping land), better
timing of operations, improved crop
spacing and densities, manure or compost
and water application based on local
conditions.

Chapter 7: INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM

History:
All over the world, during the last four decades, grain yields went up at spectacular rates
during the green revolution and individual levels of production in animals followed similar trend.
Ensuring food security for the fast growing global population is a mammoth challenge for the
present agricultural production system. Shrinking average farm size in India and financial
constraints for higher investment in agriculture due to 80 per cent farm families belonging to
small and marginal farmer categories further heighten the challenge. For securing food and
nutrition security for sizable population, productivity enhancement may provide a vital solution.
This involves adoption of scientific agronomic practices and technologies which promise an
augmentation of the productive capacity of traditional agricultural system. Agronomic practices
such as the liberal use of inorganic pesticides and fertilizers during the twentieth century
enhanced productivity significantly but undesirable environmental degradation accompanied by
increased operational costs in agriculture raised concerns about economic feasibility and
sustainability. Unsustainable farming leads to environmental pollution and threatens the
livelihood of millions of small farm holders. Strengthening agricultural production systems for
greater sustainability and higher economic returns is a vital process for increasing income and
food and nutrition security in developing countries.
Therefore, integrated farming system (IFS) is a multidisciplinary whole farm approach and
60
appears effective in solving the problems of small and marginal farmers. The approach aims

61
at increasing income and employment from small-holding by integrating various farm
enterprises and recycling crop residues and by products within the farm itself. Farmers need to
be assured of regular income for living at least above poverty line. Progress in production or
steady growth in output is necessary to face the challenges posed by present economic, political
and technological environment. In this context, farming system approach is one of the important
solutions to face this particular situation as in this approach different enterprises can be carefully
undertaken and the location specific system are developed based on available resources which
will result in sustainable development.
Objectives:
Sustainability is the objective utilization of inputs without impairing the quality of
environment with which it interacts. Therefore, it is clear that farming system is a process in
which sustainability of production is the objective.
The overall objective is to evolve technically feasible and economically viable farming
system models by integrating cropping with allied enterprises for irrigated, rainfed, hilly and
coastal areas with a view to generate income and employment from the farm.

Integrated Farming as a farming system where high quality food, feed, fibre and
renewable energy are produced by using resources such as soil, water, air and nature as well as
regulating factors to farm sustainably and with as little polluting inputs as possible.
At present, the farmers concentrate mainly on crop production which is subjected to a
high degree of uncertainty in income and employment to the farmers. In this contest, it is
imperative to evolve suitable strategy for augmenting the income of a farm.
Integration of various agricultural enterprises viz., cropping, animal husbandry, fishery,
forestry etc. have great potentialities in the agricultural economy. These enterprises not only
supplement the income of the farmers but also help in increasing the family labour employment.
1. The integrated farming system approach introduces a change in the farming techniques for
maximum production in the cropping pattern and takes care of optimal utilization of
resources.
2. The farm wastes are better recycled for productive purposes in the integrated system.
3. A judicious mix of agricultural enterprises like dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, sericulture
etc. suited to the given agro-climatic conditions and socio-economic status of the farmers
would bring prosperity in the farming.

The growth rate of agriculture in the recent past is very slow in spite of the rapid economic
growth in India. According to the Economic Survey of India, 2008, the growth rate of food grain
production decelerated to 1.2% during 1990-2007, lower than the population growth of 1.9%. It
is projected that in our country population will touch 1370 million by 2030 and to 1600 million
by 2050. To meet the demand, we have to produce 289 and 349 MT of food grains during the
62
respective periods. The current scenario in the country indicates that area under

63
cultivation may further dwindle and more than 20% of current cultivable area will be converted
for non-agricultural purposes by 2030.
The operational farm holding in India is declining and over 85 million out of 105 million
are below the size of 1 ha. Due to ever increasing population and decline in per capita availability
of land in the country, practically there is no scope for horizontal expansion of land for
agriculture. Only vertical expansion is possible by integrating farming components requiring
lesser space and time and ensuring reasonable returns to farm families. The Integrated farming
system (IFS) therefore assumes greater importance for sound management of farm resources to
enhance the farm productivity and reduce the environmental degradation, improve the quality
of life of resource poor farmers and maintain sustainability. In order to sustain a positive growth
rate in agriculture, a holistic approach is the need of the hour.
Integrated farming system approach is not only a reliable way of obtaining fairly high
productivity with considerable scope for resource recycling, but also concept of ecological
soundness leading to sustainable agriculture. With increasing energy crisis due to shrinking of
non-renewable fossil-fuel based sources, the fertilizer nutrient cost has increased steeply and
with gradual withdrawal of fertilizer subsidy. It is expected to have further hike in the cost of
fertilizers. This will leave the farmers with no option but to fully explore the potential alternate
sources of plant nutrients at least for the partial substitution of the fertilizer nutrients for
individual crops and in the cropping systems.
During XII plan period the ICAR-Project Directorate for Farming Systems Research (ICAR-
PDFSR) officially renamed as Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research (IIFSR) and it
established with focus on farming systems research after re-naming the Project Directorate for
Cropping Systems Research (PDCSR) which became operational during 2009.

Objectives of integrated farming system:

1. Maximization of yield of all component enterprises to provide steady and stable income
at higher levels.
2. Rejuvenation/amelioration of system‘s productivity and achieve agro-ecological
equilibrium.
3. Control the buildup of insect-pests, diseases and weed population through natural
cropping system management and keep them at low level of intensity.
4. Reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and other harmful agro-chemicals and pesticides
to provide pollution free, healthy produce and environment to the society at large.
Advantages of Integrated farming system
1. It improves space utilization and increase productivity per unit area.
2. It provides diversified products.
3. Improves soil fertility and soil physical structure from appropriate crop rotation and
using cover crop and organic compost.
4. Reduce weeds, insect pests and diseases from appropriate crop rotation.
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5. Utilization of crop residues and livestock wastes.
6. Less reliance to outside inputs – fertilizers, agrochemicals, feeds, energy, etc.

65
 7. Higher net returns to land and labour resources of the farming family.
8. Regular stable income through the products like egg, milk, mushroom, vegetables,
honey and silkworm cocoons from the linked activities in integrated farming.
9. Reduced production cost of components through input recycling from the byproducts of
allied enterprises.
10. Integration of allied activities will result in the availability of nutritious food enriched with
protein, carbohydrate, fat, minerals and vitamins.

List of the components/enterprises in integrated farming system

Agriculture Mushroom cultivation Seed Production Sheep/goat
rearing
Horticulture Sericulture Vermiculture Piggery
Forestry Azolla farming Pigeon rearing Rabbitory
Dairy Kitchen gardening Apiary Value addition
Fish farming Fodder production Poultry

Elements of integrated farming system

Watershed Farm ponds Bio-pesticides & Bio-fertilizers
Plant products as pesticides Bio-gas Solar energy
Compost making Green manuring Rain water harvesting

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Allied enterprises and their maintenance
1. Crop production
Crop production is an integral part of farm activities in the country. The cropping system
should provide enough food for the family, fodder to the cattle and generate sufficient cash for
domestic and cultivation expenses. These objectives could be achieved by adopting intensive
cropping.
Detailed to this is discussed earlier in cropping systems.
2. Dairy farming
Dairy farming is an important source of income to farmers. Besides producing milk and/or
draft power, the dairy animals are also good source of farm yard manure, which is good source
of organic matter for improving soil fertility. The farm byproducts in turn are gainfully utilized for
feeding the animals.
(a) Cattle Rearing:
Cattle‘s rearing in India is carried out under a variety of adverse climatic and environmental
conditions. The cattle are broadly classified into three groups.
(i) Draft breeds: The bullocks of these breeds are good draft animals, but the cows are poor
milkers, e.g. Khillari, Nagore, Hallikar,, Mali.

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 (ii) Dairy breeds: The cows are high milk yielders, but the bullocks are of poor draft
quality, e.g., Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir.
(iii) Dual purpose: The cows are fairly good milkers and the bullocks are with good draft
work capacity, e.g., Tharparkar, Hariana, Ongole, Kankrej and Deoni.
Exotic breeds: The exotic breeds are high milk yielder e.g., Jersey, Holstein-Friesian,
Aryshire, Brown Swiss and Guernsey.

Some brief information about the cow breeds:

Sahiwal: Originated in Montgomery region of undivided India. Best indigenous dairy breed.
Reddish dun or pale red in colour, sometimes flashed with white patches. Heavy breed
with symmetrical body having loose skin. The average milk yield of this breed is between
1400 and 2500 kgs per lactation.
Red Sindhi: Originated in Karachi and Hyderabad (Pakistan) regions of undivided India and also
reared in certain organized farms in our country. Colour is red with shades varying from
dark red to light, strips of white. Milk yield ranges from 1250 to 1800 kgs per lactation.
Bullocks despite lethargic and slow can be used for road and field work.
Gir: Originated in Gir forests of South Kathiawar in Gujarat also found in Maharashtra and
adjacent Rajasthan. Basic colours of skin are white with dark red or chocolate-brown
patches or sometimes black or purely red. Horns are peculiarly curved, giving a ‗half
moon‘ appearance. Milk yield ranges from 1200-1800 kgs per lactation. his bread is
known for its hardiness and disease resistance
Hallikar: Originated from the former princely state of Karnataka. The colour is grey or dark grey.
The breed is best known for its draught capacity and especially for its trotting ability.
Khillari: Originated from Sholapur districts of Maharashtra. Long horns turn forwards in a peculiar
fashion. The horns are generally black, sometimes pinkish. Bullocks are fast and
powerful.
Kangayam: Originated in Kangayam, Dharapuram and Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The
eyes are dark and prominent with black rings around them.
Tharparkar: Originated in Tharparkar district (Pakistan) of undivided India and also found in
Rajasthan. Also known as White Sindhi, Gray Sindhi and Thari. The bullocks are quite
suitable for ploughing and casting and the cows yield 1800 to 2600 kgs of milk per
lactation.
Hariana: It was originated from Rohtak, Hisar, Jind and Gurgaon districts of Haryana and also
popular in Punjab, UP and parts of MP. Horns are small. The bullocks are powerful work
animals. Hariana cows are fair milkers yielding 600 to 800 kg of milk per lactation.
Kankrej: Originated from Southeast Rann of Kutch of Gujarat and adjoining Rajasthan (Barmer
and Jodhpur district). Colour of the animal varies from silver-grey to iron-grey or steel
black. The gait of Kankrej is peculiar called as 1 ¼ paces (sawai chal). Kankrej is valued

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 for fast, powerful, draught cattle. Useful in ploughing and carting. The cows are good
milkers, yielding about 1400 kgs per lactation.
Ongole: Home tract is Ongole taluka in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. Large muscular breed
with a well developed hump. Suitable for heavy draught work. Average milk yield is 1000
kgs per lactation.
Deoni: Originated in Western Andra Pradesh, Marathwada region of Maharashtra state and
adjoining part of Karnataka. Body colour is usually spotted black and white. Milk yield
ranges from 636 to 1230 kgs per lactation. Bullocks are suitable for heavy cultivation

Exotic Breeds
Jersey: Originated from Jersey Island, U.K. The typical colour of Jersey cattle is reddish fawn.
Economical producers of milk with 4.5% fat. Average milk yield is 4500 kgs per lactation.
Holstein Friesian: Originated from the northern parts of Netherlands especially in the province
of Friesland. Largest dairy breed and ruggedly built is shape and possess large udder.
Breeds have typical marking of black and white that make them easily distinguishable.
The average milk production of cow is 6000 to 7000 kgs per lactation.
Brown Swiss: Origin Switzerland. Average milk yield is 5000 kgs per lactation. The Karan Swiss is
the excellent crossbred cattle obtained by crossing this breed with Sahiwal cattle at
NDRI, Karnal.
Red Dane: Orginated in Denmark. Lactation yield varies from 3000 to 4000 kg
Ayrshire: Origin is Ayrshire in Scotland. This one is considered as most beautiful dairy breed.
These are very active animals but hard to manage.

(b) Buffaloes:
Important dairy breeds of buffalo are Murrah, Nili Ravi (which has its home tract in
Pakistan), Mehsana, Surti, Zafarabadi, Godavari and Bhadawari. Of these Godavari has been
evolved through crossing local buffaloes in coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh with Murrah.
Murrah: Most important breed of buffaloes. Origin is Rohtak, Hisar and Sind of Haryana, Nabha
and Patiala districts of Punjab and southern parts of Delhi state. Most efficient milk and
butter fat producers in India. Butter fat content is 7.83%. Average lactation yield is
varying from 1500 to 2500 kgs per lactation.
Surti: Origin is Kaira and Baroda district of Gujarat. The peculiarity of the breed is two white
collars, one round the jaw and the other at the brisket region. The milk yield ranges from
1000 to 1300 kgs per lactation. The peculiarity of this breed is very high fat percentage
in milk (8-12 %)
Jaffrabadi: Gir forests, Kutch and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat. This is the heaviest Indian breed
of buffalo. The average milk yield is 1000 to 1200 kgs per lactation. These animals are

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 mostly maintained by traditional breeders called Maldharis, who are nomads. The
bullocks are heavy and used for ploughing and carting.
Mehsana: Mehsana, Sabarkanda and Banaskanta districts in Gujarat and adjoining Maharashtra
state. The breed is evolved out of crossbreeding between the Surti and the Murrah. Body
is longer than Murrah but limbs are lighter. The horns are less curved than in Murrah and
are irregular. Bullocks are good for heavy work. The milk yield is 1200-1500 kgs per
lactation.

3. Goat and sheep rearing

(I) Goat rearing:
• In India, Goat is mainly reared for meat, milk, hair and skin.
• Goat meat is the preferred meat in the country.
• A goat on hoof (live goat) fetches a better price than a sheep on hoof.
Goat Breeds
➢ Milk & Meat – Jamnapari, Osmanabadi, Barbari , Beetal
➢ Meat and skin – Black Bengal, Kanni adu
➢ Meat, skin and milk – Barvari, Malabari (Tellicherry), Sirohi, Surti
➢ Meat, hair and skin – Gaddi, Kutchi, Marwari
➢ Jamnapari : is the most popular breed for commercial goat farming in India. It is mostly
found in Uttar Pradesh. This goat is reared mainly for milk.
➢ Boer Goat: breed was developed in South Africa and it is the most popular
breed in the world for meat.
➢ Surti : Surti Goat is one of the best breed in India for dairy. This breed is very small and is
native of Surat in Gujarat. They are most economical to the rear. Surti female goats are
bigger than male goats.

(II) Sheep rearing:

• Sheep are well adapted to many areas.
• They are excellent gleaners and make use of much of the waste feed.
• They consume large quantities of roughage, converting a relatively cheap food into a
good cash product.
• Housing need not be elaborate or expensive.
• However, to protect the flock from predatory animals, the height of the fencing should
be raised to two meters.

Breeds of Indian Sheep:

➢ Karanah, Bhakarwal, Bikaneri, Marwari, Kutchi, Kathiawari, Deccani, Nellore, Bellary etc.

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4. Piggery
Pigs are maintained for the production of pork.
Breeds:
Imported breeds of Large White Yorkshire and Landrace are being used widely.
Yorkshire is the most extensively used exotic breed in India. It is a prolific breed having
good carcass quality, growth rate and feed conversion ability.

5. Poultry
Poultry is one of the fastest growing food industries in the world. Poultry meat accounts for
about 27% of the total meat consumed worldwide and its consumption is growing at an average
of 5% annually. Poultry industry in India is relatively a new agricultural industry.
Breeds:
Specific poultry stocks for egg and broiler production are available. A majority of the stocks
used for egg production are crosses involving the strains or inbred lines of white Leghorn. To a
limited extent, other breeds like Rhode Island Red, California Grey and Australop are used.
Cage system:
The cage system of rearing birds has been considered as a super intensive system providing
floor area of 450-525 [Link]. (0.6-0.75 [Link]) per bird.
Advantages
1. Greater number of birds is reared per unit of area
2. Facilitates correct maintenance of records
3. Helps in identifying poor producers and prompt culling
4. Control of vices of poultry cannibalism and egg eating
5. It helps in production of clean eggs
6. Removal of stress factors
7. Easy control of parasitic disease like coccidiosis and worm infestation
8. Prompt steps to control feed wastage.
9. The cage method of housing is ideal for the area of moderated climate conditions where
the day temperature in summer does not high and temperature does not fall too low.
10. Egg production of caged layer was reported to be more than those kept in deep litter system.
11. Feed efficiency and egg weight were better in caged birds than the laying flock under deep
litter system
Disadvantages
1. Difficulties in ensuring proper ventilation to birds especially in summer season and under
very high densed conditions.
2. Incidence of leg problem, cage layer fatigue, fatty liver syndrome, flies and obnoxious
gases in the house will be on increases
3. Hysteriosis of chicks

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Deep litter system: Deep litter system is commonly used in all over the world.
Advantages:

72
1. It is an economical
2. Hygienic, comfortable and safe to birds
3. Built up litter supplies vitamin B12 and Riboflavin to the birds
4. Controls diseases and vices
5. It increases the efficiency of production
6. Materials such as paddy husks saw dust, dried leaf, chopped straw and groundnut kernels
depending upon the availability can be used as litter materials
Disadvantages
1. The deep litter system should always keep dry.
2. Only right numbers of birds should be housed
3. The house should be well ventilated
4. The litter should be stirred at least once in a week-wet litter if any should be replaced
immediately with new dry litter and birds must be fed a balanced ratio.
5. The time starting deep litter system should be in the dry period of the year as it allows
sufficient time (At least two months) for bacterial action.
6. Placing of water should be given due attention to keep litter dry.

6. Duck rearing
Ducks account for about 7% of the poultry population in India.
Breeds:
The important Indian breeds are Sylhet Mete and Nageswari, which are mostly found in
the Eastern region of the country. Their annual production of 150 eggs/bird/year. Khaki Campbell
and Indian Runner are the most popular breeds for egg laying.
Housing:
Ducks prefer to stay outside day and night even during winter or rains. In mild climate, it
is possible to raise ducks without artificial shelter.

7. Apiculture
Apiculture is the science and culture of honeybees and their management. Apiculture is
a subsidiary occupation and it is a additional source of income for farm families. It requires low
investments and so can be taken up by small, marginal and landless farmers and educated
unemployed youth. Honey is a sweet viscous fluid produced by honeybees mainly from the nectar
of the flowers. Honey should have good quality to meet the national and international standards.
Qualities such as aroma, colour, consistency and floral sources are important.
Species:
There are two bee species, which are most commonly grown in India. They are Apis
cerana indica and A. mellifera, are complementary to each other but have different
adaptations.
A. cerana is known as Indian bees, while A mellifera is known as European/western bee.
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 Management:
The beekeeper should be familiar with the source of nectar and pollen within his locality.
Bee flora species are specific to different areas and have micro regional habitats. Under
subtropical climates of India, nectar and pollen sources are available for most part of the year,
but continuous succession throughout the year is lacking in some localities. Flowers of large
number of plants species are visited by honeybees for nectar and pollen. The most important
sources of nectar and pollen are maize, mustard, sunflower and palm, litchi, pongamia, coconut,
sesamum etc.
Honey collection: Honey is a sweet viscous fluid produced by honeybees mainly from the
nectar of the flowers. Honey should have good quality to meet the national and international
standards. Qualities such as aroma, colour, consistency and floral sources are important. Proper
honey straining and processing are needed to improve the quality of the produce. Honey varies
in the proportion of its constituents owing to the differences in the nectar produced by different
plants. The nectar collected by bees is processed and placed in comb cells for ripening. During
the ripening, sucrose is converted into glucose and fructose by an enzyme called invertase, which
is added to it by the bees. Honey is an excellent energy food with an average of about 3500
calories per kg. It is directly absorbed into the human blood stream, requiring no digestion.

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 8. Fishery
Ponds serve various useful purposes, viz., domestic requirement of water, supplementary
irrigation source to adjoining crop fields and pisciculture.
Species of fish:
Catla, Rohu, Calbasu Mrigal, Common carp, Silver carp, Grass carp
Management:
For higher productivity fish are to be provided with supplementary feeding with rice
bran and oilseed cakes.

9. Sericulture
Sericulture is defined as a practice of combining mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing and silk
reeling. Sericulture is a recognized practice in India. India occupies second position among silk
producing countries in the world, next to China.
Moriculture: Cultivation of mulberry plants is called as ‗Moriculture‘. There are about
20 species of mulberry, of which four are commonly cultivated. They are Morus alba, M. indica,
M. serrata and M. latifolia.
Silk worm rearing:
There are four types of silk worm viz.
(i) Mulberry silk worm – Bombyx mori (ii) Eri silk worm – Philosamia ricini
(iii) Tassar silk worm – Antheraea mylitta (iv) Muga silk worm

Green HDPE Plastic Netrika or Plastic Life cycle

Chandrika HDPE Sericulture Net

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Larva Eggs

Moth All stages of life cycle

Cocoon

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Mullberry plant Processing

77
 Silk

10. Mushroom cultivation

Mushroom is an edible fungus with great diversity in shape, size and colour. Essentially
mushroom is a vegetable that is cultivated in protected farms in a highly sanitized atmosphere.
Just like other vegetables, mushroom contains 90% moisture with high in quality protein.
Species: There are three types of mushrooms popularly cultivated in India.
(i) Oyster mushroom – Pleurotus sp.
(ii) Paddy straw mushroom – Volvariella volvacea
(iii) White bottom mushroom – Agaricus bisporus
Method of production
(i) Oyster mushroom : Take fresh paddy straw and cut into small pieces of 3-5 cm length. Soak
them in water for 4-6 hours and then boil for half an hour. Drain the water and dry the
straw in shade till it is neither too dry nor wet. Take polythene bags of 60 x 30 cm size and
make two holes of one cm diameter in the center of the bag such that they face opposite
sides. Tie the bottom of the bag with a thread to make a flat bottom. Fill the bag with paddy
straw to 10 cm height. Then inoculate with the spawn. Likewise prepare 4-5 layers of straw
and spawn alternatively. The last layer ends up in straw of 10 cm height. Keep this in a
spawn running room maintained at a temperature of about 22-28 oC and with RH 85- 90%.
After 15-20 days when the spawn running is completed, cut open the polythene bag and
take it to cropping room and allow it to grow for 7 days and harvest the mushroom.
Mushroom yield is around 0.5-1.0 kg/bag.

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 (ii) Paddy straw mushroom : Cut the straw into long pieces of 60-90 cm and soak in water
for 12 hours and sterilize 15 minutes. Arrange the straw in bundles. Lay the moistened
straw bundles on the slightly raised concrete floor or on wooden platform in layers of four
bundles width. Spawn or seed the beds simultaneously in each layer either by broadcasting
or placing the grain spawn at different spots. Sprinkle grain dhal over each layer on the
spawn. Don‘t spawn below the topmost layer. Maintain it at 30-35 oC. Harvesting is ready
after 25-30 days. Yield is around 1-1.5 kg/bed.

(iii) Button mushroom: It requires a complex method of preparing compost, which is used
as a substrate for mushroom production. Spawning is done by three methods, viz., surface
spawning, layer spawning and trough spawning. Fill the trays with compost and do
spawning. After spawning, compost is pressed hard to make it compact. The trays are
arranged in the cropping room in tiers and cover with newspaper sheet sprayed with 2%
formalin. The temperature of 20- 25 oC and RH of 90-95% should be maintained. After
spawn running is completed in 15-20 days and do casing. Pin heads appear within 10-15
days after casing. Cropping continues for 60-75 days. Mushrooms can be harvested at
button stage. Yield ranges from 6-7 kg/m2.

11. Agroforestry
Agroforestry is a collective name for land use systems and technologies, in which
woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos etc) are deliberately combined on the same
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land-management unit as agricultural crops and/or animals, either in some form of spatial
arrangement or in a temporal sequence.
In agroforestry systems, there are ecological and economical interactions among different
components. That implies that: (i) agroforestry normally involves two or more species of plants
(or plants and animals) at least one of which is woody perennials; (ii) an agroforestry system
always has two or more outputs; (iii) the cycle of an agroforestry system is always more than one
year; and (iv) even the simplest agroforestry system is structurally, functionally, and socio-
economically more complex than a monocropping system. Agroforestry is important for meeting
fodder, fuel wood and small timber of farmers, conserving soil and water, maintenance of soil
fertility, controlling salinity and water logging, positive environment impact and alternate land
use for marginal and degraded lands. Selection of proper land use systems conserve biophysical
resources of non-arable land besides providing day-to-day needs of farmer and livestock within
the farming system.
Different commonly followed agro-forestry systems in India are:
(1) Agri-silviculture (crops + trees), which is popularly known as farm forestry
(2) Agri-horti-silviculture (crops + fruit trees + MPTS + pasture);
(3) Silvi-pasture (Trees + pasture + animals);
(4) Horti-silvi-pasture (fruit trees + MPTs+ Pasture);
(5) Agri-silvi-pasture (crops + trees + Pasture);
(6) Pastoral silvicultural system
(7) Agri-horticulture (crops + fruit trees)
(8) Homestead agroforestry (multiple combination of various components);
(9) Silvi-apiculture (trees + honey bees);
(10) Agri-pisci-silviculture (crops + fish + MPTS);
(11) Pisci-silviculture (Fish + MPTs) etc.
(1) Agri-silviculture systems: This system emphasizes raising of trees and cultivation of field
crops and/or fodder crops in the available space between the trees. In arid and semi-arid regions
hardy trees like Prosopis cineraria (Khejri), Eucalyptus sp., Acacia tortilis, Hardwickia binata
(Anjan), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Ailanthes excelsa, Ziziphus jujuba etc. could be grown along
with dry land crops such as pulses (pigeonpea, blackgram), millets (finger millet, sorghum) etc.
This is practiced mostly on arable lands, wherein multipurpose trees used for fuel and fodder can
be grown with crops in the fields as alley farming. The hedges follow contour and compromise
trees and shrubs like Leucaena or pigeonpea. Leguminous perennials are more suitable due to
fixation of nitrogen.

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(2) Agri-horti-silviculture: In this system fruit trees are grown along with crops and multipurpose
trees (MPTs). Under rainfed situation hardy fruit trees like ber, aonla, pomegranate, guava could
be grown along with dryland crops like pigeonpea, til, mothbean, mustard etc. Grafted ber (Var.,
Gola, Seb, Mundiya, Banarasi Kasak) may be planted at 6 x 6 m with 2 plants of subabul in
between.
Under partial irrigation, Guava, pomegranate, Lemon, Kinnow have been successfully
grown at 6 x 5 m along with crop like wheat, groundnut and subabul (200 pl/ha) for quick leaf
fodder and fuel wood production. For further protecting fruit crops from desiccating hot summer
and cold winter planting of subabul/sesbania at every 2 m apart as wind breaks. Alternate plants
of subabul/sesbania could be harvested for quick fodder and fuel wood production every 3rd
year. Relative grain yield was 70-85% even in 3rd and 4th year.

(3) Silvi-Pastoral system: In the silvi-pastoral system, improved pasture species are introduced
with tree species. In this system grasses or grass legume mixture is grown along with the woody
perennial simultaneously on the same unit of land. In the marginal, sub-marginal and other
degraded lands silvipastoral system has been found to be most economic agroforestry system
especially in arid and semi-arid regions. It involves lopping trees and grazing understory grasses

81
and bushes in forests or plantations. It helps in reduction of the cost of concentrated feed
to

82
animal during lean period. A number of fodder trees like Leucaena latisiliqua, Bauhinia variegata,
Albizzia labbek, Albizzia amara, Moringa olerifera, Sesbania sesban, S. grandiflora, Hardwickia
binata are identified for different regions of the country for silvi pastoral systems. Trees provide
fuel and timber in the extreme dry season and lean periods, animal graze on pastures and feed
on the leaves of nutritious trees and shrubs. Multilayered vegetation covers are very effective in
controlling run-off and soil loss from erosion prone areas.

(4) Horti-silvi-pasture system: It involves integration of fruit trees with pasture. In the degraded
arid and semi arid rangeland regimes number of over grazed plants of Ziziphus nummularis are
found which could be successfully budded with improved variety of ber (viz., Gola, Seb, Umran,
Banaras, Kaska) besides planting MPTs like anjan, Subabul, Khejri along grasses and legumes like
Cenchrus, Lasiurus, Chrysopogon, Stylosanthes, Sirato etc.

(5) Agri-silvi-pasture: It is a combination of agri-silviculture and silvi-pastoral system. In arid

degraded lands of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana often dryland crops viz. bajra, moth, urad, til
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etc. are grown in strips along with grass strips to avoid shifting sand reaching cropped area. MPTs
could be introduced both in the pasture strips as well as in the crop strips, which besides
protecting the crops from desiccating hot and cold wind would also provide leaf fodder, timber
etc. besides pasture when there is a crop failure. Woody plants could be Acacia senegal, ber,
anjan, neem etc. Grasses like Cenchrus, Lasiurus and legume Stylo spp.

(6) Pastoral silvicultural system: Integrated crop farming is practiced to meet the requirements
of grasses and fodder for livestock. The pastoral silvicultural system is the practice in which
grazing is the main component with scattered trees grown in the area. This practice is adopted in
semi-arid regions of the country comprising the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,
Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The cultivators leave the fields fallow with existing trees and protect the same.
Dichanthium annulatum is an important grass under this system. The important planted trees in
the system are Eucalyptus hybrid, Casuarina equisetifolia, Borassus flabellifa and phoenix
sylvestris. Generally trees are lopped for fuel and fodder. Custard apple, mango, Zizyphus and
tamarind fruits are used for domestic consumption.
12. Biogas
A biogas unit is an asset to a farming family. It produces good manure and clean fuel and
improves sanitation. Biogas is a clean, unpolluted and cheap source of energy, which can be
obtained by a simple mechanism and little investment. The gas is generated from the cow dung
during anaerobic decomposition. Biogas generation is a complex biochemical process. The
celluloitic material is broken down to methane and carbondioxide by different groups of
microorganisms. It can be used for cooking purpose, burning lamps, running pumps etc.
Selection of a model:
The two main designs of biogas plants are the floating gas holder and fixed-dome types.
The merits and demerits of each design need to be considered while selecting a model.
(i) Float dome type: Different models are available in this category e.g., KVIC vertical and
84
horizontal, Pragati model, Ganesh model.

85
(ii) Fixed dome type: The gas plant is dome shaped underground construction. The masonary
gasholder is an integral part of the digester called dome. The gas produced in the digester is
collected in dome at vertical pressure by displacement of slurry in inlet and outlet. The entire
construction is made of bricks and cement. The models available in this category are Janata and
Deen-Bandhu.
Selection of Size:
The size of the biogas plant is decided by the number of family members and the
availability of dung. One cubic meter capacity plant will need two to three animals and 25 kg of
dung. The gas produced will meet the requirement of a family of 4-6 members. It would suffice
to have a 2 cubic meter plant to cater to the needs of a family of 6-10 members.
Biogas slurry:
Slurry is obtained after the production of bio-gas. It is enriched manure. Another positive
aspect of this manure is that even after weeks of exposure to the atmosphere, the slurry does
not attract fleas and worms.
Factors influencing the selection and size of components in farming systems
1. Climatic conditions - Rainfall, temperature, solar radiation, wind, humidity, etc.
2. Soil type
3. Farmers preferences
4. Size of the Farm
5. Knowledge, skill and technology
6. Storage, transport and marketing
7. Resource mobilizing power of the farmer
8. Credit facilities available
9. Socio-economic condition
10. Customs, sentiments and believes
IFS for different agro-climatic zones (India)
1. High altitude cold deserts: Pastures with forestry, goats, angora rabbits and limited settled
agricultural crops like millets, wheat, barley and fodder.
2. Arid and desert region: Centering mainly in animal husbandary with the camels, sheep and
goat and with moderate cropping components involving pearlmillet, wheat, pulses, gram and
fodder crops.
3. Western and central Himalayas: Horticultural crops as major component have less intensive
agriculture mainly on the hill terraces and slopes with maize, rice, wheat, pulses and fodder
crops.
4. Eastern Himalayas: Primitive crop husbandry with rice, millets, pulses etc. Agro- forestry
system is also common. Piggery and poultry are the chief livestock activity.
5. Indo-Gangetic plains: Intensive crop husbandry involving rice, wheat, maize, mustard, pulses
and livestock inclusive of dairy cattle and buffaloes.
6. Central and southern highlands: Cotton, sorghum, millet, pulses with dairy cattle, sheep and
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goats and poultry are the secondary livestock and animal husbandry enterprises.

87
 7. Western Ghats: Major activity on plantation crops, cultivation of rice and pulses are the
secondary agricultural activity. Cattle, sheep and goats are the livestock components which in
most parts are maintained as large herds and allowed to range.
Delta and Coastal plains: Rice cultivation along with fish culture, poultry and piggery enterprises,
capture fisheries of the marine ecosystem is a specialized enterprise and does not mix with
cropping activity.
Criteria for enterprise selection
The basic points that are to be considered while choosing appropriate enterprise in
IFS are:
Soil and climatic features of an area/locality.
Social status of the family and social customs prevailing in the locality.
Economical condition of the farmer (return/income from the existing farming system).
. Resource availability at farm and present level of utilisation of resources.
Economics of proposed IFS and credit facilities.
Farmer‘s managerial skills.
Household demand.
Institutional infrastructure and technological know-how.
Market facilities.

The IF (integrated farming) is system oriented multi-component agriculture. It views the

farming in a holistic manner emphasizing the interactions between components. Given the
multi- biological components as its central part, integrated farming is a complex biological-
social- economic system. Final goal of management is to seek for the integrated effects of the
whole system, not the effects of its individual components (Fig.7.1)

88
 Fig.7.1 Structure of an IFS
Steps for preparation of a model integrated farming system to a specific situation:

1. Assessment of available resources

2. Identifying the existing cropping system
3. Identifying component(s) to be integrated
4. Fixing the size of the individual components
5. Working out the requirement of the components
6. Modifying the existing cropping system to suit the requirements of the components
integrated
7. Working out the economics of individual components and for the IF system as a whole
8. Identifying constraint and suggesting remedy measures/modifications for technical
feasibility, economic viability and practical utility.
9. Indigenous technological knowledge (ITK).

89
 Chapter 8: IFS MODEL

There are mainly 3 IFS model systems for different agro-climatic zones.
A. Wetland integrated farming system
Cropping in low land (Wetland) is considered to be less risky due to abundant availability
of water. In addition, most of the low land soils are heavy type of soils, which are fairly fertile
soil. Mostly rice is the principle crop in our low lands. Crops like Banana, Sugarcane and Coconut
are also grown in this ecosystem. Diversified farming (IFS) can be adopted in the low lands with
the components like Fish, Duck and Mushroom. The possible IFS that can be practiced using these
components are
Example:
a) Rice + Fish + Azolla
b) Rice + Fish + Duck
c) Rice + Fish + Mushroom

B. Irrigated upland
The possibility of having a viable integrated farming system in irrigated uplands is
possible. The control and management of available resources in more effective manner paves
way to integrate two are more components with cropping.
There is a lot of choice of components in irrigated upland compared to lowlands and
rainfed lands. Wide range of crops and varieties can be grown. Effective resource utilization and
management is possible due to controlled irrigation system.
Components like Dairy, poultry, goat, sheep, piggery, sericulture, apiculture, etc. can be
easily integrated in an irrigated upland farm. In addition perennial trees like coconut and other
fodder and multipurpose farm forestry trees can be grown along the borders of the fields and
boundary of the farm.
1. Crop + dairy + biogas unit
2. Crop + poultry + biogas unit
3. Crop + sheep / goat rearing + biogas unit
4. Crop + sericulture
5. Crop + piggery
6. Crop + sericulture + biogas unit
7. Crop + dairy + biogas unit + homestead garden
8. Crop + dairy + biogas unit + vermicompost
C. Dry land ecosystem
The dry land ecosystem is characterized by :
1. Inadequate and uneven distribution of rainfall
2. Poor and marginal soils
3. Low cropping intensity
90
4. Limited crop diversification

91
 5. Low value crops
6. Poor resource mobilizing power of farmers
The agriculture in drylands is seasonal. The cropping season is restricted to 4-5 months
and people remain without employment for rest of the year. Diversification of cropping by
integrating with components like livestock (Sheep/Goat rearing), silviculture, horticulture tree
crops and pastures would improve the standard of living and employment opportunities of the
dryland farmers.
Integrated farming system is a boon to dry land farmers. When compatible components/
allied activities/ associated enterprises are suitably combined, farming in drylands becomes less
risky and remunerative. IFS on a watershed approach are the best way of alternative agriculture
in dryland areas. The following components are identified as appropriate to dryland situations.
Possible combinations are
1. Crop + silvipasture + goat / sheep rearing
2. Crop + silviculture + hort. fruit trees
3. Crop + agro-forestry + goat + farm pond
4. Crop + silvipasture + goat + pigeon + farm pond
5. Crop + silvipasture + buffalo + farm pond

The mandates of IFS

1. Identification of sustainable and profitable cropping sequences to suit the specific needs
of different Agro-climatic regions.
2. To develop capacity building of stakeholders in Integrated Farming Systems through
training.
3. To characterize existing farming systems to know the productivity, viability and
constraints.
4. To develop resource efficient, economically viable and sustainable integrated farming
system model.

92
93
 Agron 511- Cropping System and Sustainable Agriculture (2+0)

Dr. K .K .Agrawal,

Professor,

Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture,

Jawaharlal Nehru KrishiVishwaVidhyalaya , Jabalpur
M 09425163385
Kkagrawal59@[Link]

Concept Of Cropping System & Farming System, Scope, Objective,Production Potential Under
Monocropping, Double Cropping, Multiple Cropping, Alley Cropping, Sequence Cropping &
Intercropping, Mechanism of Yield Advantage in Intercropping

Concept of sustainable agriculture

 The concept of sustainable agriculture means protecting the natural resources needed
for human food-grain production and cooking fuels, while expanding production to meet
the needs of growing population.
 In other words, sustainable development means more efficient use of arable lands and water
supply as well as development and adoption of improved agricultural practices and
technologies to increase crop yields.
 Sustainable agriculture : It can be defined as that form of agriculture aimed at meeting
the food and fuel needs of the present generation without endangering the resource base
for the future generations. It is an efficient management system of renewable resources
including soil, forests, crops, biodiversity and ecosystem without degradation, to provide
adequate food and other needs for the current and future generations.

Components of sustainable system

1. Soil and water conservation to prevent degradation of soil productivity and lengthening of
crop growing season in dry-land agriculture.
 2. Efficient use of limited irrigation water to avoids problems of soil salinity, alkalinity and
high groundwater table.
3. Appropriate crop rotations to mitigate weed, disease and insect problems besides soil
productivity improvement.
4. Integrated nutrient management that reduces the need for inorganic fertilizers, improves
the soil health and minimize the environmental pollution by conjunctive use of organics,
in-organics and bio-fertilizers.
5. Integrated plant protection that reduces the need for agrochemicals through crop rotation,
weather monitoring, use of resistant varieties, timely planting of crops and biological plant
protection.
6. Management systems to control weeds by preventive measures, tillage, timely cultivation
and crop rotation which improve plant health.

Concept of sustainability in cropping and farming system

Sustainability is defined as the production system aimed at achieving maximum production while
maintaining the resources base for the future generation.

The concept of sustainable agriculture is a relatively recent response to the decline in the quality
of the natural resource base associated with modern agriculture

It has promoted the :

1. Need to propose major adjustments in conventional agriculture

2. To make it more environmentally, socially and economically viable and
compatible.
3. The main focus lies on the reduction or limitation of agrochemical inputs through
changes in management to assure adequate plant nutrition and plant protection
through organic nutrient sources and integrated pest management, respectively.

Scope of Cropping System

1. Optimizing the use of locally available resources by combining the different components
of the farm system, so that they complement each other and have the greatest possible
synergetic effects.
 2. Reducing the use of off-farm, external and non-renewable inputs with the greatest potential
to damage the environment or harm the health of farmers and consumers, and a more
targeted use of the remaining inputs used with a view to minimizing variable costs.
3. Relying mainly on resources within the agro-ecosystem by replacing external inputs with
nutrient cycling, better conservation, and an expanded use of local resources.
4. Improving the match between cropping patterns and the productive potential and
environmental constraints of climate and landscape to ensure long-term sustainability of
current production levels.
5. Working to value and conserve biological diversity, both in the wild and in domesticated
landscapes, and making optimal use of the biological and genetic potential of plant and
animal species.
6. Taking full advantage of local knowledge and practices, including innovative approaches
not yet fully understood by scientists although widely adopted by farmers.

Objective of cropping system

 Help to sustain agricultural production by having healthy rural communities,

conserving natural resources, and remaining economically competitive.
 Identify methods of reducing off-farm input expenses, particularly irrigation,
herbicides, and nitrogen fertilizer.
 Develop cropping systems that implement integrated pest management (IPM)
practices for prolonging the useful life of selective herbicides, and reducing the
amount and expense of pesticide applications.
 Designing crop rotations that maximize precipitation (PUE) and fallow (FUE) use
efficiency.

Scope of Farming System

Farming enterprises include crop, livestock, poultry, fish, free, sericulture etc. A combination of
one or more enterprises with cropping when carefully chosen planned and executed gives greater
dividends than a single enterprise, especially for small and marginal farmers. Farm as a unit is to
be considered and planned for effective integration of the enterprises to be combined with crop
production activity.
Objectives of Farming System :

1. To identify existing cropping and farming systems in specific areas and access their relative
viability.
2. To formulate cropping and farming system model involving main and allied enterprises for
different farming situations.
3. To ensure optional utilization and conservation of available resources and effective
recycling of farm residues within system.
4. To maintain sustainable production system without damaging resources/environment.
5. To rise over all profitability of farmhouse hold by complementing main/allied enterprises
with other.

Production potential under mono cropping :

1. Government agricultural subsidies tend to favor mono-cropping.

2. Cultivating only a single species, can stress the fertile topsoil and reduce genetic
diversity.
3. This has increased in both farm size and dependency on technology.
4. Intensive farming systems lend themselves to greater waste production and greenhouse
gas emissions.
5. It increases the susceptibility of plants to disease as a single pathogen has the potential to
destroy an entire crop.
6. It also contribute to the proliferation of crop pests and diseases, which can be a serious
liability when a farmer's land is planted exclusively with one crop.
7. It also generally reduces crop diversity, which is perceived as a bad thing both because
the loss of biodiversity is unfortunate, and because if a crop does become subject to a
particular pest or disease, a lack of biodiversity makes it especially vulnerable.
8. Many large agricultural companies engage in mono cropping, planting only one strain of
one crop, which is very harmful for diversity and for the crop.
9. It allows a farmer to specialize in a particular crop, which means that he or she can invest
in machinery designed specifically for that crop along with high-yield seeds which will
generate a large volume of the crop at harvest.
 10. It severely depletes the soil, as the plant will strip the soil of the nutrients it needs. This
forces farmers to use fertilizers, which can disturb the natural balance of the soil and
contribute to a host of environmental problems, from pollution to desertification.
11. It can also contribute to the proliferation of crop pests and diseases, which can be a
serious liability when a farmer's land is planted exclusively with one crop.

Production potential in multiple cropping

1. Multiple cropping is the growing of two or more crops on the same field during the same
year.
2. Its potential are to utilize the soil more efficiently, resulting in greater production from a
given unit of land.
3. Double, triple, and even quadruple cropping has dramatically increased food production in
somecountries–making them exporters instead of importers of food crops.
4. Both high and low technology societies can profit from greater use of multiple cropping.

Alley Cropping :

Alley cropping is broadly defined as the planting of two or more sets of single or multiple rows of
trees or shrubs at wide spacing, creating alleyways within which agricultural, horticultural, or
forage crops are cultivated. The trees may include valuable hardwood species,, such as nut trees,
or trees desirable for wood products. This approaches sometimes called intercropping and multiple
cropping.

Benefits of Alley Cropping

• Diversify farm enterprise

• Reduce erosion
• Improve water quality
• Protect crops
• Enhance wildlife
• Improve aesthetics

Diversifying farm products and supplementing income

Alley cropping diversifies farm enterprises by providing short-term cash flow from annual crops
while also providing medium to long-term products from the trees.
Timber and non-timber products may contribute to income generation from the farm. In addition
to the potential for producing nuts, berries, and fruits, well-managed timber can provide a long
term investment.

Reducing soil erosion from wind and water :

Soils with a high erodability index (>8 ) are highly susceptible to damage and are difficult to
protect when used as crop land.

The soil erodability index provides a numerical expression of the potential for a soil to erode
considering the physical and chemical properties of the soil and the climatic conditions where it
is located.

The higher the index, the greater the investment needed to maintain the sustainability of the soil
resource base if intensively cropped.

Reducing erosion :

Trees and shrubs improve crop production by slowing wind speed and reducing wind erosion,
modifying the crop microclimate with similar effects to that of windbreaks.

1. Alley cropping can reduce crop evapotranspiration by 15-30 percent and increase water
content in the tillage layer by 5-15 percent.

2. Deep tree roots transport soil nutrients to leaves. Leaves contribute organic matter to soil
and release nutrients as they decompose.

Protecting crops :

Alley cropping protects crops from insect pests by reducing crop visibility, diluting pest hosts due
to plant diversity, interfering with pest movement, and creating environments less favorable to
pests and more favorable to beneficial insects.

Enhancing wildlife habitat and aesthetics:

Linear plantings of trees and/or shrubs in an agricultural landscape increases the habitat diversity
for wildlife, both through increased amount of edge and/or as a result of the increased
diversity(vertical and horizontal) of vegetative types.
Limitations to Alley Cropping:

1. Alley cropping, as with other forms of multi-cropping, requires more intensive technical
management skill and marketing knowledge.
2. The following limitations should be considered:
3. Requires a more intensive management system including specialized equipment for tree
management and additional managerial skills and training to manage multiple crops on a
given site.
4. Removes land from annual crop production and may not provide a financial return from
the trees for several years.
5. Require smartening infrastructure for the tree products that may not be present in the local
area. Trees may be an obstacle to crop cultivation if not carefully planned and designed.
6. Trees compete with companion crops for sun, moisture and nutrients.
7. Companion crops may compete with trees for moisture and nutrients.
8. Herbicide drift from crops may damage trees.

Inter cropping :

Intercropping requires only 60-80 percent of the land to equal the production of mono cropping
systems.

1. Intercropping can take any of three forms–strip planting, row planting, or mixed planting.
The form chosen should be based on crops grown and such factors as ease of planting,
weeding, and harvesting. Yield also may be affected.

2. Crops of different maturities have varying peak requirements for water, fertilizer, light, and
space. Thus, there may be less competition between different crops than there is in a sole
planting of identical plants.

3. 4. Moreover, disease and insect infestation of intercropped plants tends to be less. For
example, virus diseases may spread more easily through adjacent plants than to those
separated by unlike, and frequently non-susceptible, neighboring plants.

4. 5. Insects that’ spread disease are also thwarted or at least slowed. Insects tend to be less
attracted to plants that are intermingled with other species than to those in solid stands of
the same species.
Intercropping is the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field. It also
means the growing of two or more crops on the same field with a definite row arrangement.

Intercropping is defined as “the growth of more than one crop species or cultivar simultaneously
in the same field during a growing season”.

It is the practical application of ecological principles such as diversity, crop interaction and other
natural regulation mechanisms.

Intercropping help to

1. systemIncrease yield

2. Better nutrient recycling in the soil

3. Better control of weeds, pests and diseases

4. Increased biodiversity.

5. In legume–cereal intercrop the input of nitrogen to the system by the fixation of

atmospheric N2 by the legume, which results in improved use of renewable nitrogen
sources.

6. Increase the biodiversity of the farming

Types of intercropping practices :

Strip Intercropping: Growing two or more crops in strips, wide enough to permit independent
cultivation, but narrow enough for the crops to interact.

Row Intercropping: Growing two or more crops in well-defined row.

Mixed Intercropping: Growing two or more crops together in no distinct row arrangement.

Relay Intercropping: Planting a second crop into a standing crop at a time when the standing
crop is at its reproductive stage but before harvesting.

Advantages of intercropping :
1. Biodiversity and stability: Intercropping is a way to increase the biodiversity of the
farming system. More diversity in the farming system means more stability, resulting in
risk spreading and reduced pest and disease incidence.

2. Increased yield : When two or more crops with different rooting system, a different pattern
of water and nutrient demand, and a different above ground habit are planted together.
Water, nutrient and sunlight are used more efficiently. Therefore the combined yields of
two crops grown as intercrops can be higher than the yield of the same crop grown as pure
stand.

3. Maintenance of soil fertility :When a cereal crop or a tuber crop is grown in association
with pulses . Deep rooted pulses like pigeon pea, also take up nutrients from deeper soil
layer, there by recycle nutrients leased from the surface. Legumes also grow well in low
phosphate. After the intercrop is harvested, decaying roots and fallen leaves provide
nitrogen and other nutrient for the next crop.

4. Fodder and manure: The crop residue of the pulses crop can also be used as fodder, by
cutting and carrying them to the animal, or by letting the animals graze the residues in the
field. The nutrients manure is used to fertilize the crops. Animal manure improves soil
fertility through supply of nutrients and soil structure, as it increases the amount of humus
in the soil. It should be sprayed evenly over the field, whether the manure is left on the
field during grazing or collected from the stable and applied later

5. Soil cover: Pulses in an intercropping system not only provide a source of nitrogen and
other nutrients to the associated crop but, also increase the amount of humus in the soil,
due to decaying crop remains.

 This result in improved soil structure

 Reducing the need for soil tillage.
 Reduce water losses
 Decrease soil erosion
 Reduce leaching of nutrients
 Improved soil structure and better soil cover, especially when creeping pulses
crops are used.
 With a good soil cover, the impact of rain drops on disruption of the soil is reduced.
 6. Risk spreading and food security: When two or more crops are grown on the same field,
the risk for crop failure is spread over the different crop as the different crops have different
periods and patterns of growth, and are affected by different diseases. Increases food
security.

7. Weed control: In an intercropping system weeds are more easily controlled. For example
in maize bean intercrop, the bean covers the soil, preventing weeds to grow.

8. Microclimate: When the intercrop provides a good soil cover, soil temperature will stay
relatively low. This prevents burning of the organic matter in the soil and loss of nutrients.
It also provides a microclimate that can be favorable for the associated crop.

9. Physical support: In a maize bean intercrop, climbing beans can use the maize stacks for
support.

10. Pest and diseases control :

Pest and diseases are less abundant in intercropping system. If the pest or disease has a
specific host, it does not spread as easily through an intercrop as it does in a mono crop.
Insect or other pest can also be misled by the canopy of an intercrop and not recognize the
specific crop they use as [Link] other crops produce may drive insects away from the
main crop or natural enemies of insects may be attracted by one of the crops in the
intercrop.

Need of intercropping :

1. Provides increased protection against erosion

2. Insures against crop failure
3. Spreads labour and harvesting more evenly during the growing season and helps to
minimize storage problems.
4. Helps to allocate space for crops required in small quantities, and facilitates production of
many commodities in a limited area
5. In efficient use of resources by plants of different heights, rooting systems, and nutrient
requirements
 6. When legumes are grown with grasses (or other non-legumes), grasses may benefit from
the nitrogen fixed by the legume companion crop.
7. Inhibits the spread of diseases and pests since not all crops involved are susceptible to the
same extent to the same problems.

Disadvantages :

1. Mechanized planting and harvesting are difficult

2. It is more difficult to apply needed fertilizers and other chemicals as in sole cropping
3. Experimentation with intercropping is more complex and difficult to manage than with
sole cropping.

Mechanism of yield advantages in intercropping system:

Since several crops are involved in intercropping system, it is not logical to compare total yield
of different crop in on system with the other.

Crop equivalent yield (CEY):

The yields of different intercrops are converted into equivalent yield of anyone crop based on
price of the produce. The crop equivalent yield (CEY) is calculated as follows-

CEY = (Yi. ei)

Where,
Yi is the yield of ith component
ei is the equivalent factor of ith component or price of ith crop.

Land equivalent ratio (LER):

Land equivalent ratio (LER) is the relative land area under sole crops that is required to produce
the yields achieved in intercropping.

LER = Yi / Yij
Where,
Yi is the yield of ith component crop from a unit area grown as intercrop
Yij is the yield of ith component grown as sole crop over the same area
LER is the summation of ratios of yields of intercrop to the yield of sole crop
Relative yield total (RYT) :

In pasture, different species of plants are grown for grazing in different proportion. The yields of
these crops are higher when they are grown as sole crops with100 percent population compared to
their yield in pastures with reduced population.

To accommodate more number of crops in pasture, certain amount of population of intercrops are
reduced It is necessary to know which crop combination gives higher forage yield.

The yield advantage is, therefore, measured not only based on unit area, but also based on unit
population which is estimated by relative yield total. This is mainly used for replacement series of
experiments.

Relative yield total (RYT) :

RYT = ( Yab +Yba ) / ( Yaa+Ybb)

Where,
Yaa = Yield of component “a” as sole crop
Ybb= Yield of component “b” as sole crop
Yab = Yield of component “a” as inter crop in “b”
Yba= Yield of component “b” as inter crop in “a”

Relative crowing coefficient (RCC) :

This was proposed by DeWit (1960) and is used in replacement series experiment. Each
component has its own coefficient (K) which gives a measure of whether that component has
produced more, or less yield than expected.

Rab= Mixture yield of “a” / (Pure stand yield of “a”- mixture yield of “a”)
Rab= Yab×Zab / (Yaa- Yab)×Zab

Where,
Z a b =proportion of component “a” in combination with “b”
Z a b =proportion of component “b” in combination with “a”
Relative crowing coefficient (RCC) :

To determine the yield advantage of mixing, the product of the coefficient is formed. This is termed
K.

For,
K>1=Yield advantage
K=1=Yield advantage
K<1=Yield disadvantage
 Theory Notes

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE,
NAVSARI AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY,
CAMPUS BHARUCH

Agron. 5.6

FARMING SYSTEM AND SUSTAINABLE

AGRICULTURE (1+0)

:Course Teacher:
Dr. Swapnil P. Deshmukh
Assistant Professor (Agronomy)
NARP, CoA, NAU,
Bharuch
 Theory Notes

Farming System and Sustainable Agriculture 1(1+0)

Theory
Farming System-scope, importance, and concept, Types and systems of
farming system and factors affecting types of farming, Farming system
components and their maintenance, Cropping system and pattern, multiple
cropping system, Efficient cropping system and their evaluation, Allied
enterprises and their importance, Tools for determining production and
efficiencies in cropping and farming system; Sustainable agriculture-problems
and its impact on agriculture, indicators of sustainability, adaptation and
mitigation, conservation agriculture strategies in agriculture, HEIA, LEIA and
LEISA and its techniques for sustainability, Integrated farming system-
historical background, objectives and characteristics, components of IFS and
its advantages, Site specific development of IFS model for different agro-
climatic zones, resource use efficiency and optimization techniques, Resource
cycling and flow of energy in different farming system, farming system and
environment, Visit of IFS model in different agro-climatic zones of nearby
states University/ institutes and farmers field.

Reference books

1. Principle of Agronomy
S. R. Reddy, Kalyani Publication, 5th Ed.2016
2. Principle of Agronomy
[Link] & [Link], Kalyani Publication, 4th Ed.2011
3. Principles of Crop Production
S. R. Reddy, Kalyani Publication, Ed.2012
4. Farm Sector Development
D. D. Gupta, Agrobios (India), Jodhpur Ed. 2011
5. Cropping system & Farming System
[Link], Agrobios (India), Jodhpur
6. Principles and Practices of Agronomy
P. Balasubramaniyan and SP. Palaniappan
7. Farming system and sustainable agriculture (as per new ICAR syllabus)
S. R. Reddy, Kalyani Publication
 Chapter 1: CROPPING SYSTEM

Cropping system:
The term cropping system refers to the crops and crop sequences and the management
techniques used on a particular field over a period of years.
Or
The term cropping system refers to the crops and crop sequences in which the crops are
cultivated on piece of land over a fixed period and their interaction with farm resources and other
farm enterprises.
Cropping system is the most important component of a farming system.
Cropping pattern:
It indicates the yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops and fallow in an area. It is
for larger area like zone, taluka, district etc.
Basic principles of cropping systems
1. Choose crops that complement each other.
2. Choose crops and a cropping rotation which utilize available resources efficiently.
3. Choose crops and a cropping system that maintain and enhance soil fertility.
4. Choose crops which have a diversity of growth cycles.
5. Choose a diverse species of crops.
6. Strategically plan and modify your cropping system as needed.
7. Monitor the progress.
Benefits of cropping systems
1. Maintain and enhance soil fertility. Some crops are soil exhausting while others help
restore soil fertility. However, a diversity of crops will maintain soil fertility and keep
production levels high.
2. Enhance crop growth. Crops may provide mutual benefits to each other. For example,
reducing lodging, improving winter survival or even acting as windbreaks to
improve growth.
3. Minimize spread of disease. The more diverse the species of plants and the longer the
period before the soil is reseeded with the same crop, the more likely disease
problems will be avoided.
4. Control weeds. Crops planted at different times of the year have different weed species
associated with them. Rotating crops helps prevent build up of any one serious weed
species.
5. Inhibit pest and insect growth. Changing crops each year to unrelated species can
dramatically reduce the population of pests and insects. Crop rotation frequently
eliminates their food source and changes the habitat available to them.
6. Use resources more efficiently. Having a diverse group of crops helps to more efficiently
use the available resources. Natural resources, such as nutrients, sunlight and water
in the soil are evenly shared by plants over the growing period, minimizing the risk

1
 for nutrient deficiencies and drought. Other resources, such as labor, animal draft power
and machinery are also utilized more efficiently.
7. Reduce risk for crop failure. Having a diverse group of crops helps prevent total crop
failures, as climate weather in one part of the season may not affect all crops
equally. It also reduces food security concerns, as well as the amount of money
required to finance production.
8. Improve food and financial security. Choosing an appropriate and diverse number of
crops will lead to a more regular food production throughout the year. With a lower
risk for crop failure, there is a greater reliability on food production and income
generation.

Types of cropping systems

Depending on the resources and technology available, different types of cropping systems
are adopted on farms. Broadly three types of cropping system are followed
1. Sole cropping
Only a single crop or variety is grown alone in a pure stand at normal density during one
farming year.
2. Mono cropping or Monoculture
Mono cropping or monoculture refers to growing of only one crop on same piece of land
year after year.
It may be due to climatologically and socio-economic condition or due to specialization
of a farmer in growing a particular crop. Under rainfed conditions, groundnut or cotton or
sorghum are grown year after year due to limitation of rainfall. In canal irrigate areas, under
waterlogged condition; rice crop is grown, as it is not possible to grow any other crop.
Problems of mono cropping
1. The resources like labour, fertilizers, water and machines are not utilized efficiently.
2. The soil health is not cared and nutrients are depleted.
3. There are chances of occurrence of pest and diseases infestation.
4. Natural resources are not fully utilized.
3. Multiple cropping
"Growing two or more crops on the same piece of land in succession within one calendar
year is known as multiple cropping" e.g. Rice-Rice-G' nut or Cotton-Wheat etc.
It aims of maximum production per unit area per unit time. It offers multiple use of
resource. It is the intensification of cropping in time and space dimensions i.e. more number of
crops within a year & more no of crops on the same piece of land at any given period. It includes
inter-cropping, mixed cropping, sequence cropping etc.
Advantages of multiple cropping
1. It is a better source of land utilization
2. It improves yield
3. Increase yield per unit of land

2
 4. Costs of input decrease as compared to individual crop growing cost
5. Reduce pest and disease attack
6. Different type of products can be produce at a time
7. It helps to produce a balance diet for a family
8. It helps to maintain the soil fertility
9. It helps to control weeds
Disadvantages of multiple cropping
1. The survival of pests become easy
2. Pests can easily shift from one crop to another crop
3. Problem of weed management
4. Implementation of new technology is difficult etc.

Different types of multiple cropping :

A. Inter cropping
Inter cropping is growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land with a
definite row arrangement.
The main objective of inter-cropping is to utilize the space left between two rows of main
crops and to produce more grain per unit area. Inter cropping was originally practiced as an
insurance against crop failure under rainfed condition.
e.g.: Groundnut & Tur in 6:1 ratio or sorghum & Tur in 4:2 ratio

Intercropping is further classified as:

Additive Series: Intercrop is introduced in the base crop. It is done by adjusting or changing
crop geometry. It is mostly used in India. Eg: maize + mungbean (1+1)
Replacement Series: Both the crops are component crops. It is done by sacrificing certain
proportion of population. It is mostly used in western countries. e.g: wheat + mustard
(9:1), maize + mungbean (1:3)

Advantages of intercropping:
1. Improvement in yield
2. Improvement in soil property under legume intercropping system
3. Less risk against crop diseases and pests
4. Additional income and higher profit
5. Soil erosion is reduced
6. Stability in production
7. Economic sustainability is maintained
Disadvantages of intercropping:
1. Fertilizer application in one crop may hamper the growth of other crop
2. Improved implements cannot be used efficiently
3. Harvesting is difficult
4. Yield decreases if the crops differ in their competitive abilities

3
 Management of intercropping system
Crops are grown simultaneously. Management practices should, therefore, aim to
provide favorable environment to all the components, exploit favorable interactions among the
component crops and minimize competition among the components. Prominent interactions in
intercropping include:
Light: Intercropping can increase light inception by as much as 30-40 per cent. Proper
choice of crops and varieties, adjustment of planting density and pattern are the techniques to
reduce competition and increase the tight use efficiency.
Moisture and nutrients: Competition for water and nutrients results in two main types
of effects on the less successful or suppressed component. First, the roots of dominated crop
may grow less on the sides of aggressive component. Secondly, plants affected by competition
for soil factors are likely to have increased root/shoot ratio.
Allelopathy: Some crops may be unsuitable to be grown as intercrops because they may
produce and excrete toxins into the soil which are harmful to other components.
Annidation: Refers to complementary interaction which occurs both in space and time.
Varieties: Recommended principles should be followed for realizing the benefits of
intercropping.
(a) Varieties of component crops should be less competing with the base crop and the
peak nutrient demand period should be different from the base crop.
(b) Difference in duration between the components in intercropping should be a
minimum period of 30 days (maize + soybean, sorghum + red gram, toria + gobhi
sarson).
(c) Selection of compatible genotypes of component crops increases the
complementarity of intercropping system.
(d) Varieties selected for intercrop should have thin leaves, tolerant to shading and less
branching since these crops are, generally, shaded by the base crop.
(e) If the base crop is shorter than intercrop, the intercrop should be compact with erect
branching and its early growth should be slow.
(f) Characteristics of base crop should be similar to the sole crop.
Nutrient management
When legumes are associated with cereal crop in intercropping system, a portion of
nitrogen requirement of cereal is supplemented by the legume. The amount may be as small as a
few kg to 20 kg ha-1. Cereal + legume intercropping, is therefore; mainly advantageous under
low fertilizer application. Considering all the factors, it is suggested that the nitrogen dose
recommended for base crop as pure crop is sufficient for intercropping system with cereals +
legume or legume + legume. With regard to phosphorus and potassium, one-eighth to one-fourth
of the recommended dose of intercrop is also added in addition to recommended dose of base
crop to meet the extra demand. Basal dose of nitrogen is applied to rows of both components in
cereals + legume intercrop system. Top dressing of nitrogen is done only to cereal rows.
Phosphorus and potassium are applied as basal dose to both crops.

4
 Water management
Intercropping systems are, generally, recommended for rainfed crops to get stable yield.
Total water used in intercropping system is almost the same as for sole crops, but yield is
increased. Thus, water-use efficiency of intercropping is higher than sole crops. Component
crops differ on their capacity to withstand excess or difficult moisture conditions. However, the
irrigation schedule followed for sole crops is suitable even for intercropping system. Scheduling
irrigation at IW/CPE ratio of 0.6 to 0.8 or irrigation at one bar soil moisture tension is suitable
for most of the system. However, information on this aspect is meager.
Weed management
Weed problem is less in intercropping system as compared to their sole crops. In certain
situations, intercrops are used as biological agents to control weeds. Blackgram, greengram,
cowpea in sorghum and cowpea in banana reduce weed population and one hand weeding can
be avoided by this method. In some intercropping system like maize + groundnut, rice +tapioca,
maize + tapioca, weed problem is similar to their sole crops. Growth habit of genotype used in
intercropping has a great influence on weed growth. Weeds present in sole crops are different
than those present in intercropping system. Though weed problem is less, weed control
measures are necessary in intercropping system. But the labour required for weeding is less.
Second weeding is not necessary because of crop coverage. Chemical weed control is difficult in
intercropping system because the herbicide may be selective to one crop, but non-selective to
another.
Pest and disease management
Pests and diseases are believed to be less in inter-cropping system due to crop diversity
than in sole crops. Some plant combinations may enhance soil fungistasis and antibiosis through
indirect effects on soil organic matter content. Spread of the disease is altered by the presence of
different crops. Little leaf of brinjal is less when brinjal is sheltered by maize or sorghum. As the
insect carrying virus first attacks maize or sorghum, virus infection is less on brinjal. Non-host
plants in mixtures may emit chemicals or odours that affect the pests, thereby protecting host
plants.
B. Mixed cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land in a
proportion without any row arrangement.
e.g. Wheat and Mustard seeds are mixed together in 2:1 rates and shown broadcast with no
spacing maintained between the crops.
No spacing is maintained between the crops it is a common practice in areas where
climatic hazards such as flood, drought, frost etc. are frequent and common. Under such
circumstances the farmers always fear that their crops will fail. Under mixed cropping, the time
of sowing of all the crops is almost the same, however they may

C. Sequential cropping: Growing of crops in sequence

e.g. Double cropping: Growing of 2 crops in a year e.g.: Rice-wheat

5
 Triple cropping: Growing of 3 crops in a year e.g.: Rice-wheat-maize
Quadruple cropping: Growing of 4 crops in a year e.g.: Rice-early potato-Wheat-mung
D. Multistoried cropping: Cultivation of crops of different heights in the same field at the same
time.
e.g. Sugarcane + Indian bean or potato or onion, Sorghum+ mung
E. Ratoon cropping: Raising a crop with re-growth coming out of roots or stalks after harvest of
the crop.
e.g. sugarcane, tur, fodder sorghum, fodder maize.
This minimizes the cost of production of next crop in terms of land preparation and cost
of seed, also the next crop i.e. ratoon crop gets already established root system.

F. Paira/ Utera/ Relay cropping: In this, second crop is sown before the harvest of previous
crop in same field.
e.g. 1st crop-Potato 2nd crop-Maize, Lathyrus in rice.
This is done mainly to utilize the conserve moisture in the field after kharif season. It also
saves the time and keeps the land under vegetation.

G. Alley cropping: Growing food crops within the rows of tree or plantation crops
e.g. Greengram in alley of glyricidia or subabul.

H. Strip intercropping: Growing alternate rows of erosion resisting and permitting crops along
the slope
e.g. Strips of soybean and alfalfa, cowpea and sorghum

Major cropping systems in India

A. Lowland or wetland
 Irrigation or rainfall (> 200 mm per month) extends over 9–10 months
 Rice based cropping systems predominate in lowlands
e.g. Rice- rice-rice, rice-rice-upland crop or upland crop-rice-rice
Rice-Rice is the second most dominant cropping system in India
B. Irrigated uplands or garden land
 The systems could be cereal-cereal and cereal-legume, oilseeds or other cash crops
 Rice-Wheat is the most dominant cropping system in India.
e.g. Potato or mustard can be added to maize-wheat by relay planting either of these in the
standing maize and delaying wheat by about 2 months. Short duration green gram or fodder
crops can be grown after the harvest of wheat in summer.
C. Rainfed uplands
 Predominantly take the form of intercropping
 Cereal + pigeon pea system (sorghum + pigeon pea), cereal + cotton are popular in India
 Double cropping can be practiced if the monsoon is relatively early.

6
 e.g. sorghum, pearlmillet or a pulse during rainy season followed by sunflower, safflower,
chickpea or coriander in post rainy season.

Principles of crop rotation

1. Leguminous crops should be grown before non-leguminous crops because legumes fix
atmospheric N into the soil and add organic matter to the soil.
2. Crops with tap roots (deep rooted like cotton) should be followed by those which have
fibrous (shallow rooted crops like sorghum or maize) root system. This facilitates proper
and uniform use of nutrients from the soil.
3. More exhaustive crops should be followed by less exhaustive crops because crops like
potato, sugarcane, maize etc. need more inputs such as better tillage, more fertilizers,
greater number of irrigation etc.
4. Selection of crop should be based on need or demand.
5. Crops of same family should not be grown in succession because they act as alternate
hosts for insect pests and diseases.
6. The crop selected should also suit to the soil and climatic condition.
7. Selection of crops should be based on the situations such as
a. On sloppy lands, alternate cropping of erosion permitting and erosion resisting crops
should be adopted.
b. Under rain fed situations crops which can tolerate drought should be selected
c. In low-lying and flood prone areas crops which can tolerate water stagnation
should be selected
d. In areas where salt affected soils are there, salt tolerant varieties should be grown
8. An ideal crop rotation must provide maximum employment to the farm family and
labour, permits farm mechanization to ensure timely operations besides maintaining soil
health

Advantages of an ideal crop rotation

(i) The soil fertility is restored by fixing atmospheric N encouraging microbial
activity and maintaining physico-chemical properties of the soil.
(ii) Alternate cropping with other crops helps in controlling crop bound weeds.
(iii) Proper utilization of all resources and inputs could be made by following crop
rotation.
(iv) The farmer gets a better price for his produce because of its higher demands in the
market.
(v) Best utilization of residual moisture, fertilizer and organic residues is made by
growing crops of different nature.
(vi) The family needs of feed, food, fuel, fiber, spices; condiments, sugar etc are
fulfilled.

7
 TERMS USED IN CROPPING SYSTEMS
1. Alley cropping: A fanning system in which arable crops are grown in alleys formed
by trees or shrubs, established mainly to hasten soil fertility restoration and enhance
soil productivity and for shelter.
2. Calorie index: A single productivity index which incorporates caloric equivalents
produced by all the crops.
3. Competition index: Competition of intercropped species for light, nutrients, water,
carbon dioxide and other growth factors.
4. Complementary effect: Effect of one component on another which enhance growth
and productivity, as compared to competition.
5. Component crops: Individual crop species which are a part of the multiple cropping
systems.
6. Cropping index: The number of crops grown per annum on a given area of land
multiplied by hundred.
7. Double cropping: Also known as sequential cropping is the practice of planting a
second crop immediately following the harvest of a first crop, thus harvesting two
crops from the same field in one year. This is a case of multiple cropping, which
requires crops that mature quickly enough to allow two harvests in one year.
8. Mixed intercropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously with no distinct
row arrangement
9. Monetary index: A single productivity index which incorporates monetary value of
all the crops in a system.
10. Multi-story/multi-tier cropping: It is a system of growing together, crops of
different heights at the same time on the same piece of land and thus using land,
water and space most efficiently and economically (coconut + pepper + pineapple +
grass).
11. Row intercropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously where one or more
crops are planted in rows.
12. Sole cropping: One crop variety grown in pure stand at normal density.
13. Spatial arrangement: The physical or spatial organization of component crops in a
multiple cropping system.
14. Strip cropping:Growing soil conserving and soil depleting crops in alternate strips
running perpendicular to the slope of the land or to the direction of prevailing winds
for the purpose of reducing erosion.

8
 Chapter 2: FARMING SYSTEM

What is a system?
A system is defined as a set of components that are interrelated and interact among
themselves. A system is a group of interacting components, operating together for a common
purpose, capable of reacting as a whole to external forces.
It is unaffected directly by its own outputs and has a specified boundary based on the
inclusion of all significant feedbacks.
For example, the human body is a system-it has a boundary (e.g., the skin) enclosing a
number of components (heart, lungs) that interact (the heart pumps blood to the lungs) for a
common purpose (to maintain and operate the living body).
Ecosystem: Any collection of organisms that interact or have the potential to interact along with
the physical environment in which they live, form an ecological system or ecosystem.
Ecosystems are not static entities they are dynamic systems with characteristic pattern of energy
flow, nutrient cycling and structural change.
Agro-ecosystem: Agro-ecosystems are ecological systems modified by human beings to produce
food, fiber or other agricultural products.

Farming system:
Farming system is a mixture of farm enterprises such as crop, livestock, aquaculture, agro
forestry and fruit crops to which farm family allocates its resources in order to efficiently
manage the existing environment for the attainment of the family goal.
Or
Farming system is a resource management strategy to achieve economic and sustained
agricultural production to meet diverse requirements of farm livelihood while preserving
resource base and maintaining a high level of environment quality.
Or
Farming system represents an appropriate combination of farm enterprises (cropping
systems, horticulture, livestock, fishery, forestry, poultry, etc) and the means available to the
farmer to raise them for profitability. It interacts adequately with environment without
dislocating the ecological and socioeconomic balance on one hand and attempts to meet the
national goals on the other.
Broad categories of farming systems:
1. Irrigated farming system, embracing a broad range of food and cash crop production.
2. Wetland rice-based farming system, dependent upon seasonal rains supplemented by
irrigation.
3. Rainfed farming system in humid areas characterized by specific dominant crops or mixed
crop-livestock system.
4. Rainfed farming system in steep and highland areas, which are often, mixed crop- livestock
system.

9
5. Rainfed farming system in dry or cold low potential areas, with mixed crop-livestock and
pastoral system merging into system with very low current productivity or potential because
of extreme aridity or cold.
6. Dualistic (mixed large commercial and small holders) farming system, across a
variety of ecologies and with diverse production patterns.
7. Coastal artisanal fishing system, which often incorporate mixed farming elements.
Indigenous farming systems
Shifting cultivation, taungya cultivation and zabo cultivation are the three major
indigenous farm systems in India.
Shifting cultivation
It refers to farming system in north-eastern areas in which land under natural vegetation
(usually forests) is cleared by slash and burn method, cropped with common arable crops for a
few years and then left unattended when natural vegetation regenerates. Traditionally, the fallow
period is 10-20 years but in recent times it is reduced to 2-5 years in many areas. Due to
increasing population pressure, the fallow period is drastically reduced and system has
degenerated causing serious soil erosion, depleting soil fertility resulting into low productivity.
In north-eastern India, many annual and perennial crops with diverse growth habits are being
grown.
Taungya cultivation
The Taungya system is like an organized and scientifically managed shifting cultivation.
The word is reported to have originated in Myanmar (Burma) and Tauang means hill, ya means
cultivation i.e., hill cultivation. It involves cultivation of crops in forests or forest trees in crop
fields and was introduced to Chittagong and Bengal areas in colonial India in 1890. Later, it had
spread throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America. Essentially, the system consists of growing
annual arable crops along with the forestry species during early years of establishment of the
forest plantation. The land belongs to forest department or their large scale leases, who allows
the subsistence farmers to raise their crops and in turn protect tree saplings. It is not merely
temporary use of a piece of land and a poverty level wage, but is a chance to participate
equitably in a diversified and sustainable agro-forestry economy.
Zabo cultivation
The Zabo is an indigenous farming system practiced in north-eastern hill regions,
particularly in Nagaland. This system refers to combination of forest, agriculture, livestock and
fisheries with well-founded soil and water conservation base. Rainwater is collected from the
catchment of protected hill tops of above 100 per cent slopes in a pond with seepage control. Silt
retention tanks are constructed at several points before the runoff water enters in the pond.
Cultivation fully depends on the amount of water stored in the pond. Land is primarily utilized
for rice. This system is, generally, practiced in high altitude hill areas, where it is not possible to
construct terraces and or irrigation channels across the slope. This is a unique farming system for
food production to make livelihood. Zabo means impounding of water. The place of origin of
zabo farming system is thought to be the Kikruma village in Phek district of Nagaland.

10
Scope of farming system
Farming enterprises include crop, livestock, poultry, fish, sericulture etc. A combination
of one or more enterprises with cropping when carefully chosen, planned and executed gives
greater dividends than a single enterprise, especially for small and marginal farmers. Farm as a
unit is to be considered and planned for effective integration of the enterprises to be combined
with crop production activity.
Importance of farming system
1. Enhances productivity and profitability
2. Potentiality or sustainability
3. Balanced food production
4. Adoption of new technology
5. Saving energy
6. Meeting fodder crises
7. Solving fuel and timber requirement
8. Provides environmental safety
9. Recycling of farm waste
10. Provides income round the year
11. Helps in employment generation
12. Provides raw materials to agro-industries

Concept of farming system

In farming system, the farm is viewed in a holistic manner. Farming enterprises include
crops, dairying, poultry, fishery, sericulture, piggery and tree crops. A combination of one or
more enterprises with cropping when carefully chosen, planned and executed, gives greater
dividends than a single enterprise, especially for small and marginal farmers. Farm as an unit is
to be considered and planned for effective integration of the enterprises to be combined with
crop production activity, such that the end-products and wastes of one enterprise are utilized
effectively as inputs in other enterprise.
For example the wastes of dairying viz., dung, urine, refuse etc are used in preparation of
FYM or compost which serves as an input in cropping system. Likewise the straw obtained from
crops (maize, rice, sorghum etc) is used as a fodder for dairy cattle. Further, in sericulture the
leaves of mulberry crop as a feeding material for silkworms, grain from maize crop are used as a
feed in poultry etc. Sustainability is the objective of the farming system where production
process is optimized through efficient utilization of inputs without infringing on the quality of
environment with which it interacts on one hand and attempt to meet the national goals on the
other.
A farm is a system in that it has inputs, processes and outputs.
Depending on the type of farming e.g. arable/pastoral, commercial/subsistence, the type
and amount of inputs, processes and outputs will vary.

11
 Income through arable farming alone is insufficient for bulk of the marginal farmers. The
other activities such as dairying, poultry, sericulture, apiculture, fisheries etc . assume critical
importance in supplementing their farm income.
Input Process Output
Labour Ploughing Wheat
Capital Sowing Potato
Seeds Spraying Milk
Animal Fertilizer application Crop waste
Fertilizer Harvesting Wool
Pesticide Grazing Eggs
Milking
Components of farming system
1. Crops, livestock, birds and trees.
2. Cropping systems like monocrop, mixed/ intercrop, multi-tier crops of cereals, legumes
(pulses), oilseeds, forage etc.
3. Livestock components may be cows, buffalos, goats, sheeps, poultry and bees.
4. Tree components may include fruit trees, timber, fuel and fodder.
Principles of farming system
1. Minimization of risk
2. Recycling of wastes and residues
3. Integration of two or more enterprises
4. Optimum utilization of all resources
5. Maximum productivity and profitability
6. Ecological balance
7. Generation of employment potential
8. Increased input use efficiency
9. Use of end products from one enterprise as input in other enterprise
Characteristics of farming system
1. Farmer oriented & holistic approach
2. Effective farmer‘s participation
3. Unique problem solving system
4. Dynamic system
5. Gender sensitive
6. Responsible to society
7. Environmental sustainability
8. Location specific of technology
9. Diversified farming enterprises to avoid risks due to environmental constraints
10. Provides feedback from farmers

12
Classification of farming systems
Classified on the basis of
1. Climate Tropical, sub-tropical, temperate
2. Stage of development Shifting cultivation, arable farming, ranching.
3. Components Crop based, dairy based, poultry based, fish based
Or mixed farm.
4. Mode of ownership Peasant farming, joint farming, co-operative farming,
State farming
5. Level of profitability Subsistence, commercial
6. Irrigation Wet, dry (garden / rainfed)
[Link] of mechanization Mechanized, semi-mechanized, non-mechanized.

Objectives of farming system

1. Productivity- Farming system provides an opportunity to increase economic yield per
unit area per unit time by virtue of intensification of crop and allied enterprises. Time
concept by crop intensification and space concept by building up of vertical dimension
through crops and allied enterprises.
2. Profitability - The system as a whole provides an opportunity to make use of
produce/waste material of one enterprise as an input in another enterprise at low/no cost.
Thus by reducing the cost of production the profitability and benefit cost ratio works out
to be high. This is the main objective of farming system.
3. Potentiality – Soil health, a key factor for sustainability is getting deteriorated and
polluted due to faulty agricultural management practices viz., excessive use of inorganic
fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, high intensity irrigation etc. In farming system, organic
supplementation through effective use of manures and waste recycling is done, thus
providing an opportunity to sustain potentiality of production base for much longer time.
4. Balanced food- In farming system, diverse enterprises are involved and they produce
different sources of nutrition namely proteins, carbohydrates, fats & minerals etc form the
same unit land, which helps in solving the malnutrition problem prevalent among the
marginal and sub-marginal farming households.
5. Environmental safety- The very nature of farming system is to make use or conserve the
byproduct/waste product of one component as input in another component and use of bio-
control measures for pest & disease control. These eco-friendly practices bring down the
application of huge quantities of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, which pollute the
soil water and environment to an alarming level. Whereas IFS will greatly reduces
environmental pollution.
6. Income/cash flow round the year- Unlike conventional single enterprise crop activity
where the income is expected only at the time of disposal of economic produce after
several months depending upon the duration of the crop, the IFS enables cash flow round
the year by way of sale of products from different enterprises viz., eggs from poultry,

13
 milk from dairy, fish from fisheries, silkworm cocoons from sericulture, honey from
apiculture etc. This not only enhances the purchasing power of the farmer but also
provides an opportunity to invest in improved technologies for enhanced production.
7. Saving energy- Availability of fossil fuel has been declining at a rapid rate leading to a
situation where in the whole world may suffer for want of fossil fuel by 2030 AD. In
farming system, effective recycling of organic wastes to generate energy from biogas
plants can mitigate to certain extent this energy crisis.
8. Meeting fodder crises- In IFS every inch of land area is effectively utilized. Alley
cropping or growing fodder legume along the border or water courses, intensification of
cropping including fodder legumes in cropping systems helps to produce the required
fodder and greatly relieve the problem of non- availability of fodder to livestock
component of the farming system.
9. Solving timber and fuel crises
10. Employment generation
11. Scope for establishment of agro- industries
12. Enhancement in input use efficiency
The specific objectives of farming systems are:
1. To identify existing farming system in specific area and assess their relative viability.
2. To formulate farming system models involving main and allied enterprises for different
farming situations.
3. To ensure optional utilization and conservation of available resources and effective recycling
of farm residues within system.
4. To maintain sustainable production system without harmful resources base of environment.
5. To raise overall profitability of farm household by complementing main allied enterprises
with each other.
6. Analysis of existing farming system in terms of resource use efficiency, production and
productivity, income, employment & sustainability across different agro-climatic zones.
7. Evaluation and identification of farming system through participatory approach that ensures
threshold level of income for the livelihood security.
8. Development and evaluation of synergic effects and their actions associated with different
farming systems.
9. Developing appropriate institutional and market linkage including value addition for
enhancing sustainability.
10. Imparting training and capacity building of various stakeholders on IFS.
Green revolution
After the green revolution was launched in India, substantial increase in the production of
food grains was achieved through the use of improved crop varieties and higher levels of inputs
of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals. But it has now been realized that the increase in
production was achieved at the cost of soil health and that sustainable production at higher levels
is possible only by the proper use of factors, which will help to maintain the fertility of the soil.

14
In fact, about 60 per cent of our agricultural land currently under cultivation suffers from
indiscriminate use of irrigation water and chemical fertilizers. The gravity of environmental
degradation resulting from faulty agricultural practices has caused alarm among the concerned
farmers, scientists and conservationalists and greater viable and sustainable farming systems
have become a necessity. There has been a series of scientists and policy conference on this
issue. One such alternative agriculture system which will help to overcome the problems of soil
degradation and declining soil fertility is organic farming and ecological agriculture.
Most of the growth in the food production during the green revolution period was
attributed to the higher fertilizer use. The growth of the fertilizer industry in India between 1965
and 1983 has been remarkable. Per hectare consumption of NPK increased from 0.6 kg in 1950
to 50 kg by 1987. However, the available data show that the fertilizer consumption was largely
confined to irrigated areas which constituted only about 30 per cent of the gross cropped area.
The rise in fertilizer use is anticipated because:
1. N deficiency will continue to be universal in Indian soils.
2. Deficiency of P will be next in the order.
3. K will become limiting in high productive regions.
4. In at least half of the Indian soils, crops would benefit from Zn treatment.
5. S deficiency will limit the productivity in a vast majority of Indian soils.

Impact of green revolution on the environment

The ills of green revolution are stated to be:
1. Reduction in natural fertility of the soil
2. Destruction of soil structure, aeration and water holding capacity
3. Increase in soil salinity problems
4. Increase in pest and disease incidences (Minor pests become Major)
5. Reducing genetic diversity of plant species
6. Pollution with toxic chemicals from the agrochemicals and their production units
7. Endangering the health of the farmers using chemicals and the labours
8. Poisoning the food with highly toxic pesticide residues
9. Cash crops displacing nutritious food crops
10. Chemicals changing the natural taste of food
11. High inputs increasing the cost of production
12. Depleting the fossil fuel resources
13. Depleting the ground water reserves
14. Lowering the drought tolerance of crops

15
 Chapter 3: TOOLS FOR EVALUATION OF CROPPING SYSTEMS

Some of the important indices to evaluate the cropping systems are as below:

Land use efficiency or assessesment of land use:

The main objective is to use available resources effectively. Multiple cropping which
include both inter and sequential cropping has the main objective of intensification of cropping
with the available resources in a given environment. Several indices have been proposed to
compare the efficiencies of different multiple cropping system in turns of land use, and these
have been reviewed by Menegay et al. 1978.

1. Multiple cropping index or multiple cropping intensity (MCI):

It was proposed by Dalrymple (1971). It is the ratio of total area cropped in a year to the
land area available for cultivation and expressed in percentage (sum of area planted to different
crops and harvested in a single year divided by total cultivated area times 100).

𝑛
𝑖 = 1 ai
MCI= ∗ 100
A

Where, n is total number of crops, ai is area occupied by ith crop and A is total land area
available for cultivation.
It is similar to cropping intensity.
a1 + a 2 + … + a n
MCI= ∗ 100
A
Where a1 + a2 + … +an is the gross cropped area and A the net cultivated area.

2. Crop intensity index (CII):

Crop intensity index assesses farmers actual land use in area and time relationship for
each crop or group of crops compared to the total available land area and time, including land
that is temporarily available for cultivation. It is calculated by summing the product of area and
duration of each crop divided by the product of farmers total available cultivated land area and
time periods plus the sum of the temporarily available land area with the time of these land areas
actually put into use (Menegay et al. 1978). The basic concept of CLUI and CII are similar.
However, the latter offers more flexibility when combined with appropriate sampling procedure
for determining and evaluating vegetable production and cropping pattern data.

Nc
i=1 . ai t i
CII= M
j=1 . Aj Tj

16
 Where, Nc = total number of crops grown by a farmer during the time period T; ai = area
occupied by ith crop (months that the crop i occupied an area ai); ti , duration occupied by ith crop
(months that crops occupied area ai); T = time period under study (usually one year), Aj= Total
cultivated land area available with the farmer for use during the entire time period T; M= total
number of fields temporarily available to the farmer for cropping during time period Tj=1, 2,
3…….. M, Aj=land area of jth field and Tj= time period when Aj is available.
When, CII = 1 means that area or land resources have been fully utilized and less than 1
indicates under utilization of resources. CII and LER are used to assess the efficient cropping
zone. Cropping intensity/intensity of cropping (CI) indicates the number of times a field is
grown with crops in a year. It is calculated by dividing gross cropped area with net area available
in the farm, region or country multiplied by 100.

Gross cropped area Area under 𝑘ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑓 + 𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑖 + 𝑧𝑎𝑖𝑑 crops

CI= ∗ 100 = ∗ 100
Net sown area Net sown area

When long duration crop is grown, crop remains for a longer time in field. This is the
drawback of CI. So time is not considered. Thus, when long duration crops like sugarcane and
cotton are grown, the cropping intensity will be low.

3. Land equivalent ratio (LER):

This is the most frequently used efficient indicator. LER can be defined as the relative
land area under sole crop that would be required to produce the equivalent yield under a mixed
or an intercropping system at the same level of management.
Yab Yba
LER= La + Lb = +
Yaa Ybb

Where, La and Lb are LER of crop a and crop b, respectively; Yab = yield of crop an in
intercropping, Yba = yield of crop b in intercropping, Yaa = yield of crop an in pure stand and
Ybb = yield of crop b in pure stand.
LER of more than 1 indicates yield advantage, equal to 1 indicates no grain or no gain or
no loss and less than 1 indicates yield loss. It can be used both for replacement and additives
series of intercropping. LER is the summation of ratios of yields of intercrop to the yield of sole
crop.
LER gives a better picture of the competitive abilities of the component crops. It also
gives actual yield advantage of intercropping. In other words LER is the measure of production
efficiency of different system by convening the production in terms of land acreage. LER gives
an accurate assessment of the biological efficiency of intercropping.

Example: Let the yields of groundnut and Sesame grown, as pure crops are 1,200 and 1,000
kg/ha, respectively. Let yields of these cops when grown, as intercrop be 1,000 and 600 kg/ha,
respectively. The land equivalent ratio of groundnut + Sesame intercropping system is

17
 Yield of intercrop 1000
LER of Groundnut= =
Yield of sole crop 1200

Yield of intercrop 600

LER of sesame= =
Yield of sole crop 1000

1000 600
LER of system= + = 1.43
1200 1000

LER of 143 indicates that a 43 percent yields advantage is obtained when grown as
intercrop compared to growing as sole crops. In other words the sole crops have to be grown in
1.43 ha to get the same yields level that is obtained from 1.00 ha of intercropping.

4. Relative yields total (RYT):

Oldest established measures of the yield advantage of crop mixture.

The mixture yields of a component crop expressed as a portion of its yields as a sole crop
from the same replacement series is the relative yield of crop and sum of the relative yields of
component crop is called Relative yields total (RYT). Or When LER is compared at uniform
overall plant density of sole and intercrops then it is known as RYT. In RYT yield advantages is
to measure not only unit area, but also on unit population. This is mainly used for replacement
series.
Yab Yba
RYT = +
Yaa Ybb
Where, Yaa = yields of component a as sole crop Ybb = yields of component b is a sole crop
Yab = yields of component a as intercrop in b Yba = Yield of component b as intercrop in a.

Example: In pasture mixture, Stylo and anjan grown in 1:1 ratio with 50% sole crop population
of both crops. In I/C, mixture yield (50%) for Stylo and anjan is 6 and 4 tons/ha of fodder,
respectively. The yield of these crops in sole stand with 100% plant population is 10 and 8 ha of
green fodder, respectively.

RYT = 12+8/10+8 = 20/18 = 1.11.

So, RYT 1.11 indicates 11% extra fodder yields obtained by mixture.

Two crops yields in the intercrop mixture are MA and MB and the yield of crops grown as pure
crop are SA and SB then the combined index is

MA MB
L= +
SA SB

18
 The intercrop embodied in LER is that L represents the land required for sole crops to
reduce yields achieved in the intercropping mixture. A value of L greater than 1 indicates overall
biological advantages of intercropping. The two component of total index LA and LB represent
the efficiency of yields production of each crop when grow in mixture, relative to crop
performance.

5. Relative crowding coefficient (K or RCC):

It was proposed by de Wit (1960). It is used in replacement series of intercropping. It
indicates whether a species or crop when grown in mixed population has produced more or less
yield than expected in pure stand. In 50 : 50 mixture relative crowding coefficient can be defined
as

Mixture yield of a Yab

Kab = =
Pure yield of a – mixture yield of a Yaa - Yab

But when population differ from 50: 50 then,

Yab * Zba
Kab =
(Yaa – Yab) Zab

Where, K = coefficient of each crop species

Yaa = Yield of pure stand of a
Ybb = Yield of pure stand of b
Yab = Mixture yield of a in combination with b
Yba = Mixture yield of b in combination with a
Zab = Sown proportion of a in mixture with b
Zba = Sown proportion of b in mixture with a
Kab = Values indicate the following conclusions:
K>1 = there is yield disadvantage
K= 1 = there is no difference
K< 1 = there is yield advantage in mixing

Crowding coefficient and LER give the yield advantage but only LER gives the
magnitude of advantage. Therefore, LER is preferred to assess the competition effect and yield
advantage in intercropping situations.

6. Crop equivalent yield (CEY):

Many types of crops/cultivars are included in a multiple cropping sequences. It is very
difficult to compare the economic produce of one crop to another. To cite an example, yield of
rice cannot be compared with the yield of grain cereals or pulse crops and so on. In such
situations, comparisons can be made based on economic returns (gross or net return). The yield
of protein and carbohydrate equivalent can also be calculated for valid comparison. Efforts have

19
also been made to convert the yields of different crops into equivalent yield of any one crop such
as wheat equivalent yield.
Crop equivalent yields (CEY): The yields of different intercrops/crops are converted
into equivalent yield of any one crop based on price of the produce.

Pc1 Pc2
CEY (kg/ha)= Cy + C1y * + C2y ∗ + −−−
Pc Pc

or
Yield (intercrop) x Price (intercrop)
Crop Equivalent Yield (kg/ha)=Yield (main crop) +
Price (maincrop)

CEY is the crop equivalent yield; Cy is the yield of the main crop, the yield of other
crops converted to its equivalent and Pc is its respective price; C1y, C2y ………. are yields of
intercrops/other crops which are to be converted to equivalent of main crop yield and Pc1 and
Pc2 ………….. are their respective prices.

Economic viability
CEY, LER, RYT etc. give biological suitability of cropping system to an area. At the
same time, cropping system should be economically viable and profitable. Following terms can
be used to evaluate profitability of cropping system.
1. Gross return:
The total monetary returns of the economic produce such as grain, tuber, bulb, fruit, etc.
and byproducts viz; straw, fodder, fuel etc. obtained from the crops included in the system are
calculated based on the local market prices. The total return is expressed in terms of unit area,
usually one hectare. The main draw back in this calculation is that market price of the produce is
higher than that actually obtained by the farmer. Generally gross return calculated is somewhat
inflated compared to the actual receipt obtained by the farmer.
2. Net return or net profit:
This is worked out by subtracting the total cost of cultivation from the returns. This value
gives the actual profit obtained by the farmer. In this type of calculation only the variable costs
are considered. Fixed costs such as rent for the land, land revenue, interest on capital etc. are not
included. For a realistic estimate, however, fixed costs should also be included.
3. Return per rupee invested:
This is also called benefit-cost-ratio or input- output ratio.
Gross return
Return per rupee invested=
Cost of cultivation
This index provides an estimate of the benefit derived and expenditure incurred by the
farmer in adopting a particular cropping system. Anything above the value of 2.0 (meaning that
the farmer can get RS.2 as return for every rupee invested) can be considered worthwhile.
4. Per day return:

20
 This is called as income per day and can be obtained by dividing the net return by
number of cropping period (days).
Net return
Per day return=
Cropping period (days)
This gives the efficiency of the cropping system in terms of monetary value. If the system
is stretched over one year, the denominator can be replaced by 365 days and per day for the
whole year can be calculated.

No single index is capable of giving good comparison of different cropping systems. So a

number of indices are used together to assess the economic viability of the system.

Fertilizer use efficiency (FUE)

The FUE is the output of any crop per unit of the nutrient applied under a specified set of soil
and climatic conditions. The NUE/FUE can be expressed in several ways:
-Partial factor productivity (PFP, kg crop yield per kg input applied).
-Agronomic efficiency (AE, kg crop yield increase per kg nutrient applied).
-Apparent recovery efficiency (ARE, kg nutrient taken up per kg nutrient applied).
-Physiological efficiency (PE, kg yield increase per kg nutrient taken up).
-Crop removal efficiency (removal of nutrient in harvested crop as per cent of nutrient
applied) is also commonly used to explain nutrient efficiency.

Water use efficiency

Crop water use efficiency: Crop water use efficiency is a ratio between marketable
crop yield and water used by the crop in evapotranspiration.
c
Y
WUE (kg ha-mm-1) =
ETc
where,
WUE = Water use efficiency (kg ha-mm-1)
Y = Marketable crop yield (kg ha-1)
ETC = Crop evapotranspiration (mm).
Field water use efficiency: Field water use efficiency is a ratio between marketable crop
yield and field water supply which includes water used by the plant in metabolic activities, ET
and deep percolation losses.
𝐘
FWUE (kg ha-mm-1) = 𝐖𝐑
where,
FWUE = Field water use efficiency (kg ha-mm-1).
Y = Crop yield in kg ha-1.
WR = Water requirement

21
Table 3.1 Water use efficiency of selected crops
Water requirement Grain yield WUE
Crop
(mm) (kg ha-1) (kg ha-mm-1)
Rice 1200 4500 3.7
Sorghum 500 4500 9.0
Pearlmillet 500 4000 8.0
Maize 625 5000 8.0
Groundnut 506 4616 9.2
Wheat 280 3534 12.6
Fingermillet 310 4137 13.7

Growing marginalization and fragmentation of land holdings coupled with rising

incidence of informal tenancies and poor rural infrastructure such as road, electricity, markets
and education affect factor productivity. Availability of good quality irrigation water coupled
with flexibility of irrigation and drainage system and appropriate methods of application as well
as pricing of irrigation water is crucial for sustainable use of land and water resources.
In one sense, efficiency of a firm is its success in producing as large an amount of output
as possible from given sets of inputs. Maximum efficiency of a firm is attained when it becomes
impossible to reshuffle a given resource combination without decreasing the total output.

Chapter 4: SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Paul Hawken (1993) advised: ―Leave the world better than you found it, take no more
than you need, try not to harm life or the environment, make amends if you do.
“The first rule of sustainability is to align with natural forces or at least not try to defy them".
The word ―sustain,‖ from the Latin sustinere (sus-, from below and tenere. to hold), to
keep in existence or maintain, implies long-term support or permanence. As it pertains to
agriculture, sustainable describes farming systems that are ―capable of maintaining their
productivity and usefulness to society indefinitely. Such system... must be resource-conserving,
socially supportive, commercially competitive and environmentally sound.
The concept of sustainable agriculture set out by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)
of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) states ―sustainable
agriculture is the successful management of resources for agriculture to satisfy the changing
human needs, while maintaining or enhancing the quality of environment and conserving natural
resources‖.

22
Modern definition: Sustainable agriculture is the use of farming systems and practices which
maintain or enhance
[Link] economic viability of agricultural production;
[Link] natural resource base; and
[Link] ecosystems which are influenced by agricultural activities.
This definition can be supplemented by some fundamental principles of sustainable
agriculture:
1. That farm productivity is enhanced over the long term;
2. That adverse impacts on the natural resource base and associated ecosystems are
ameliorated, minimized or avoided;
3. That residues resulting from the use of chemicals in agriculture are minimised;
4. That net social benefit (in both monetary and non-monetary terms) from agriculture is
maximized; and
5. That farming systems are sufficiently flexible to manage risks associated with the vagaries
of climate and markets.
The United States Department of Agriculture defined ‘sustainable agriculture’ as a
management-system for renewable natural resources that provides food, income and livelihood
for present and future economic productivity and ecosystem services of these resources.
Sustainable agriculture is a farm system that mimics as closely as possible the complexity
of a healthy and natural ecosystem. It integrates three main goals.
1. Environmental health.
2. Economic efficiency
3. Social- economic equity (community)

Environmental health
Ecological sustainability is associated with genetic resource base and bio-diversity.
Increase in diversity at genetics, species and ecosystem level forms the backbone of a
sustainable ecology. Several possible solutions to the environmental problems created by capital
and technology-intensive farming system have been proposed and research is currently in
progress to evaluate alternative system. Main focus lies on the reduction or elimination of agro-
chemical inputs through changes in management to assure adequate plant nutrition, plant
protection through nutrient sources and integrated pest management and efficient use of energy
and water.
Economic efficiency
In an economic contest, the farm must generate revenue, not always in terms of cash, but
in terms of kind also. Farmers make decisions in risky, continuously changing environment and
the consequences of their decisions are generally not known when the decisions are made.
Variability of yields and prices are major sources of risk in agriculture. Changes in technology,
legal and social concerns and the human factor itself also contribute to risky environment for the

23
farmers. Excessive dependency on external inputs maximizes the risk of profit reduction. In
order to stabilize the farm economics, the farm should be made self sufficient, there should be
parity in income distribution and finally the resilience of agricultural system should be increased.
Community
An ideal farming system will surely meet nutritional and livelihood security of the
farmers and sustainability decreases the market dependency. It should have equitable access to
common property resources. A farm can be said to be socially just only when it satisfy all the
following options:
 Whether the farm is getting fare share of price.
 Whether it is sufficient to maintain a family well-being.
 Whether he get enough remuneration to purchase his food.
 Whether the minimum wage requirement is attained.

Sustainable agriculture means, an integrated system of plant and animal production practices
having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:
 Satisfy human food and fiber needs;
 Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource based upon which the agricultural
economy depends;
 Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate,
where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls;
 Sustain the economic viability of farm operations;
 Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.
Advantages
1. Production cost is low
2. Overall risk of the farmer is reduced
3. Pollution of water is avoided
4. Very little or no pesticide residue is ensured
5. Ensures both short and long term profitability
Disadvantage
Since sustainable agriculture uses least quantum of inputs, naturally the output (yield) may
also be less.
Basic features and concepts of sustainable systems
1. Need to maintain or improve soil quality and fertility. This is often attained by increasing the
organic matter content of the soil, and by minimizing losses from soil erosion.
2. Production programs are designed to improve the efficiency of resource utilization. This will
result in the most cost-effective use of water, fertilizers, and pesticides.
3. An attempt is made to improve internal nutrient cycles on the farm, which will reduce the
dependence on external fertilizers.

24
4. Efforts are made to improve biological diversity on the farm. This will result in improved
natural suppression of pests, and may also help to improve internal nutrient cycling within
the farm.
5. Farm management and marketing programs are designed to minimize overhead costs and to
increase returns, often by following alternative marketing schemes.
Problems and impact on agriculture
Agriculture has changed dramatically, especially since the end of World War II. Food
and fiber productivity soared due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use,
specialization and government policies that favoured maximizing production. Although, these
changes have had many positive effects and reduced many risks in farming, there have also been
significant costs. Prominent among these are topsoil depletion, ground water contamination,
decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working conditions for farm
labourers, increasing costs of production and the disintegration of economic and social
conditions in rural communities. Problems of agriculture can be listed as under:
1. Decline in agricultural growth rate
2. Decline in factor productivity
3. Static or decline in food production
4. Increasing malnutrition
5. Shrinkage in net cultivated area
6. Increasing environmental pollution
7. Depleting groundwater table
8. Increasing cost of production
9. Low farm income
10. Increasing unemployment
As a result, agricultural productivity has been witnessing stagnation in recent years.
Besides, issues such as competing demand for water in the context of changing demographics
and its various end uses further aggravates the degree of risks in the agriculture sector. These
have considerable implications for food and livelihood security and as agriculture production
being risk prone, may lead to migration from rural to urban and sub urban areas.
Indian agriculture now faces the challenge of ensuring food security amidst constraints
such as stagnating net sown area, deterioration of land quality, reduction in per capita land
availability etc.
The challenges are:
(i) Need for more food: Around 310 M t of food grains in 2050
(ii) Stagnating net sown area: 140 ± 2 M ha since 1970
(iii) Land share under fallow: 38 per cent increase since 1951
(iv) Per capita land availability: From 0.91 ha in 1951 to 0.32 ha in 2001 and to 0.19 ha is
projected by 2050
(v) Per capita net sown area: 0.33 ha in 1951 to 0.14 ha in 2001

25
 Fostering rapid, sustainable and broad-based growth in agriculture is therefore, a key
priority keeping in mind the overall socio-economic development trajectory of the country,
especially in the light of existing vulnerabilities that relate to a shrinking land resource base,
additional stresses arising from the non-agricultural sector and issues emerging due to
changing climate. This necessitates a strategic approach with a renewed vision and redefined
focus.
A growing movement has emerged during the past three decades to question the role of
the agricultural establishment in promoting practices that contribute to these social problems.
Today, this movement for sustainable agriculture is garnering increasing support and acceptance
within mainstream agriculture. Not only does sustainable agriculture address many
environmental and social concerns, but it offers innovative and economically viable
opportunities for growers, labourers, consumers, policymakers and many others in the entire
food system.

Indicators of agricultural sustainability

These help us to identify, quantify and evaluate the effect of agriculture. We will be able
to see the consequences of our policies on progress towards sustainability. Our future
programmes and initiatives, as well as those of others, will be more easily and better targeted.
This set of indicators provides a means of measuring the economic social and
environmental impacts of agriculture and to help assess the effectiveness of policies and the
sustainability of the sector.
In order to be able to make a balanced assessment of agriculture‘s progress towards
sustainability, social, environmental and economic factors must be examined. Tins calls for
indicators that are cross-linked as well as representative of the issues most relevant to
agriculture. The trends revealed by individual indicators need careful interpretation before
conclusions can be drawn on the progress towards sustainability of the sector as a whole.
Indicators are able to show positive progress towards sustainability. For example, use of
environmentally friendly fanning system has been rising. By combining indicators with
agricultural productivity and energy use, we can see that energy efficiency has been rising. But
other indicators show adverse movement. The numbers of certain species of farmland birds, for
example, are in decline. Some of the indicators included in this set are not yet fully developed as
they are based on existing data. In time, however, they should provide a better reflection of the
trends towards a more sustainable agriculture sector.
Indicators are a composite set of attributes or measures that embody a particular aspect of
agriculture. Indicators are quantified information, which help to explain how things are changing
over time. Sustainability indicators look at economic, social and environmental information in an
integrated manner. Many professionals agree that at least three criteria should guide the
development of sustainability indicators:

26
Table 4.1: Indicators of key natural resources in rainfed cropping system
Sr. Indicators Management aspects
No.
1 Nutrient Organic matter—rate of change
balance Nitrogen cycling—especially when using grain legumes in rotation
with cereals.
Monitoring status of phosphorus, sulphur and potassium
Micronutrients.
2 Erosion Vegetation cover—includes trees as well as stubble.
Soil surface cover—stubble retained (30% sufficient to prevent
wind and water erosion). Stream bank.
Sheet and gully erosion
3 Productivity, Water use efficiency—i.e., actual versus potential (in some areas the
yield and potential is much less than the actual) (biomass/grain yield/net
quality return), recharge (dryland salinity and nutrient leaching).
Pasture composition—legume and perennial. i
Matched animal versus pasture production—appropriate enterprise
selection/capability
Maintenance of genetic base/improvement
4 Soil structure Infiltration.
Permeability/water storage.
Stability.
Water logging
Compaction
5 pH Change, Toxicity deficiency, Indicator plants
6 Energy effi. Energy input vis-à-vis energy output of the whole agricultural system
7 Biological Soil macro/micro flora and fauna, animal health, plant health (root
factors growth and others) pests (animals and plants)
8 Farm manag. Understanding a good indicator would be the understanding of the
skills farmers of their own technical system
9 Precipitation Performance of rainfall in a year as % of normal and its coefficient of
variation
Distribution of area based on rainfall amount (dry: 0-750mm,,
medium: 750-1150 and 1150-2000mm, assured: > 2000mm)
Categorization of the amount of rainfall (excess: =20% or more,
normal: =10% to -10%, deficient: 20% to -59%, scanty: -60% or less)
Number of districts having mean annual rainfall of 750-1250 mm and
moisture availability period for at least 150 days.
Area affected due to drought (slight, moderate or calamitous)

27
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE RELATED TERMS

Alternative farming/alternative agriculture: These are essentially synonymous terms

encompassing a vast array of practices and enterprises, all of which are considered different from
prevailing or conventional agricultural activities. They include:
a. Non-traditional crops, livestock and other farm products.
b. Service, recreation, tourism, food processing, forest/woodlot and other enterprises based on
farm and natural resources (ancillary enterprises).
c. Unconventional production system such as organic farming or aquaculture or direct
marketing and other entrepreneurial marketing strategies.
Best management practices (BMPs): They include such practices as cover crops, green manure
crops and strip cropping to control erosion along with soil testing and timing of chemical
applications (similar to IPM) to prevent the loss of nutrients and pesticides.
Bio-diversity: It is the sum total of all the plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms in the
world or in a particular area; all of their individual variation and all the interactions between
them.‖
Agro-bio-diversity: It is a fundamental feature of farming system around the world. It
encompasses many types of biological resources tied to agriculture, including:
Bio-dynamic agriculture/Bio-dynamic farming: Specific practices and preparations that
enable the farmers or gardeners to work in concert with the parameters.
Biological farming/Ecological farming:It is a system of crop production in which the producer
tries to minimize the use of chemicals for control of crop pests.
Carbon sequestration: It is the process through which agricultural and forestry practices
remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The term ‗sinks is also used to describe
agricultural and forestry lands that absorb CO2, the most important global warming gas emitted
by human activities. Agricultural and forestry practices can also release CO2 and other
greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Sequestration activities can help prevent global climate
change by enhancing carbon storage in trees and soils, preserving existing tree and soil carbon
and by reducing emissions of C02, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20).‖
Carrying capacity: It is the theoretical equilibrium population size at which a particular
population in a particular environment will stabilize when its supply of resources remains
constant.
Conservation buffer strips: Conservation buffer strips are areas or strips of land maintained in
permanent vegetation, designed to intercept pollutants and erosion. Placed around fields, they
can enhance wildlife habitat, improve water quality and enrich aesthetics on farmlands. Various
types of buffers include contour buffer strips, filter strips, riparian forest buffers, field borders,
windbreaks, shelterbelts, hedgerows, grassed waterways, and alley cropping.
Ecological footprint (EF): Term has been introduced by William Rees in 1992. It is a
measure of how much land and water is needed to produce the resources we consume and to

28
dispose of the waste we produce.
Carbon footprint: Representations of the effect human activities have on the climate in terms of
total amount of greenhouse gases produced.
Good agricultural practices (GAP): Broadly defined, a GAP approach aims at applying
available knowledge to addressing environmental, economic and social sustainability dimensions
for on-farm production and post-production processes, resulting in safe and quality food and
non-food agricultural products.
Natural farming: Natural farming reflects the experiences and philosophy of Japanese farmer
Masanobu Fukuoka. It is a farming method which involves no tillage, no fertilizer, no pesticides,
no weeding, no pruning and remarkably little labours.
Permaculture: A contraction of ―permanent agriculture,‖ the word ―permaculture‖ was coined
by Australian Bill Mollison in the late 1970s. One of the many alternative agriculture system
described as sustainable, permaculture is unique in its emphasis on design; that is, the location of
each element in a landscape and the evolution of landscape over time.
Precision farming/agriculture: Precision agriculture is a management strategy that employs
detailed, site-specific information to precisely managed production inputs. This concept is
sometimes called precision agriculture, prescription farming or site-specific management. The
idea is to know the soil and crop characteristics unique to each part of the field and to optimize
the production inputs within small portions of the field. The philosophy behind precision
agriculture is that production inputs (seed fertilizer, chemicals etc.) should be applied only as
needed and where needed for the most economic production.
Regenerative agriculture: Robert Rodale coined this term. Enhanced regeneration of
renewable resources which is essential to the achievement of a sustainable form of agriculture.

Chapter 5: CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE STRATEGIES IN AGRICULTURE

Conservation agriculture is a concept for resource-saving agricultural crop production

that strives to achieve acceptable profits together with high and sustained production levels while
concurrently conserving the environment. It is based on enhancing natural biological processes
above and below the ground. Interventions such as mechanical soil tillage are reduced to an
absolute minimum and the use of external inputs such as agrochemicals and nutrients of mineral
or organic origin are applied at an optimum level and in a way and quantity that does not
interfere with or disrupt the biological processes. It is characterized by three principles which are
linked to each other, namely:
1. Continuous minimum mechanical soil disturbance
2. Permanent organic soil cover
3. Diversified crop rotations in the case of annual crops or plant associations in case of
perennial crops

29
 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.
This has led to confusion among the agricultural scientists and more importantly, the
farming community. To add to the confusion, the term ‗conservation agriculture‘ has recently
been introduced and its goals defined by FAO.
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.
According to FAO, it is a set of practices that leave crop residues on the surface which
increases water infiltration and reduces erosion. It is a practice used in conventional agriculture
to reduce the effects of tillage on soil erosion. However, it still depends on tillage as the structure
forming element in the soil. Never the less, conservation tillage practices such as zero tillage
practices can be transition steps towards conservation 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 that is
gaining popularity in many parts of the world (FAO 2006).
Appropriate definition appears to be ―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‖.

Table:5.1 characteristic features of conventional & conservation agricultural system

Sr.
No. Conventional agriculture Conservation Agriculture

1 Cultivating land, using science and

Least interference with natural processes
technology to dominate nature
2 Excessive mechanical tillage and soil No-till or drastically reduced tillage
erosion (biological tillage)
3 High wind and soil erosion Low wind and soil erosion
4 Residue burning or removal (bare Surface retention of residues (permanently
surface) covered)
5 Water infiltration is low Infiltration rate of water is high

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6 Use of ex-situ FYM/composts Use of in-situ organics/composts
7 Green manuring (incorporated) Brown manuring/cover crops (surface
retention)
8 Kills established weeds, but stimulates Weeds are a problem in the early stages of
more weed seeds to germinate adoption but decrease with time
9 Free-wheeling of farm machinery, Controlled traffic, compaction in tramline,
increased soil compaction no compaction in crop area
10 Monocropping/culture, less efficient Diversified and more efficient rotations
11 rotations
Heavy reliance on manual labor, Mechanized operations, ensure timeliness of
uncertainty of operations operations
12 Poor adaptation to stresses, yield losses More resilience to stresses, yield losses are
greater under stress conditions less under stress conditions
13 Productivity gains in long-run are in Productivity gains in long-run are in
declining order incremental order

Principles of conservation agriculture

The main principles of conservation agriculture are: conservation agriculture system
utilize 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 too minimize damage to the environment.
By doing this conservation agriculture will:
1. Provide and maintain an optimum environment of the root zone to maximum possible
depth. Roots are able to function effectively and without restriction to capture high
amount of plant nutrients and water.
2. Ensure that water enters the soil so that:
 Plants never or for the shortest time possible, suffer water stress that will limit the
expression of their potential growth.
 Residual water passes down to ground water and stream flow, not over the surface
as runoff.
3. Favour beneficial biological activity in the soil in order to:
o Maintain and rebuild soil architecture.
o Compete with potential in-soil pathogens.
o Contribute to soil organic matter and various grades of humus.
o Contribute to capture, retention, chelation and slow release of nutrients.
4. Avoid physical or chemical damage to roots that disrupts their effective functioning.
Three principles of conservation agriculture include:
1. Direct planting of crop seeds.
2. Permanent soil cover, especially by crop residues and cover crops.
3. Crop rotation.
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

31
understood in conservation agriculture system as synonymous with no-till fanning, zero-tillage,
no-tillage, direct drilling etc. Planting refers to the precise placing of large seeds (maize and
beans); whereas seeding usually refers to a continuous flow of seed as in the case of small
cereals (wheat and barley). Equipment penetrates the soil cover, opens a seeding slot and places
the seed into that slot. Size of the seed slot and the associated movement of soil are to be kept at
the absolute minimum possible. Ideally, the seed slot is completely covered by mulch again after
seeding and no loose soil should be visible on the surface.
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
to guarantee the complete soil cover and fertilizer and amendments are either broadcast on the
soil surface or applied during seeding.
Permanent soil cover
A permanent soil cover is important to:
 Protect the soil against the deleterious effects of exposure to rain and sun.
 Provide micro and macro-organisms in the soil with a constant supply of ―food‖.
 Alter the microclimate in the soil for optimal growth and development of soil organisms,
including plant roots.
Cover crops need to be managed before planting the main crop. This can be done
manually or with animal or tractor power. The important point is that the soil is always kept
covered (FAO 2006).
The effect of soil cover includes:
1. Improved infiltration and retention of soil moisture resulting in less severe, less prolonged
crop-water stress and increased availability of plant nutrients.
2. Source of food and habitat for diverse soil life: creation of channels for air and water,
biological tillage and substrate for biological activity through the recycling of organic matter
and plant nutrients.
3. Increased humus formation.
4. Reduction of impact of raindrops on soil surface resulting in reduced crusting and surface
sealing.
5. Consequential reduction of runoff and erosion.
6. Soil regeneration is higher than soil degradation.
7. Mitigation of temperature variations on and in the soil.
8. Better conditions for the development of roots and seedling growth.
Means and practices include:
1. Use of appropriate/improved seeds for high yields as well as high residue production and
good root development.
2. Integrated management and reduced competition with livestock or other uses
3. Use of various cover crops, especially multipurpose crops, like nitrogen fixing, soil-
porosity-restoring, pest repellent etc.

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 4. Optimization of crop rotations in spatial, timing and economic terms.
5. Targeted use of herbicides for controlling cover crop and weed development.
Crop Rotation
Rotation of crops is not only necessary to offer a diverse ―diet‖ to the soil micro-
organisms, but as they root at different soil depths, they are capable of exploring different soil
layers for nutrients. Nutrients that have been leached to deeper layers and that are no longer
available for the commercial crop can be ―recycled‖ by the crops in rotation. This way the
rotation crops function as biological pumps.
Furthermore, a diversity of crops in rotation leads to a diverse soil flora and fauna, as the
roots excrete different organic substances that attract different types of bacteria and fungi, which
in turn, play an important role in the transformation of these substances into plant available
nutrients. Crop rotation also has an important phytosanitary function as it prevents the carryover
of crop-specific pests and diseases from one crop to the next via crop residues.
Effect of crop rotation include:
1. Higher diversity in plant production and thus in human and livestock nutrition.
2. Reduction and reduced risk of pest and weed infestations.
3. Greater distribution of channels or bio-pores created by diverse roots (various forms, sizes
and depths).
4. Better distribution of water and nutrients through the soil profile.
5. Exploration for nutrients and water of diverse strata of the soil profile by roots ofMany
different plant species resulting in a greater use of the available nutrients and water.
6. Increased nitrogen fixation through certain plant-soil biota symbionts and improved balance
of N/P/K from both organic and mineral sources.

Means and practices include:

1. Design and implementation of crop rotations according to the various objectives: food and
fodder production (grain, leaf, stalks), residue production, pest and weed control, nutrient
uptake and biological subsurface mixing/cultivation etc.
2. Use of appropriate/improved seeds for high yields as well as high residue production of
above-ground and below-ground parts, given the soil and climate conditions.
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.
(i) Economic Benefits
Three major economic benefits can result from CA adoption:

33
 1. Time saving and thus reduction in labour requirement.
2. Reduction of costs (fuel, machinery operating costs and maintenance, as well as a reduced
labour cost).
3. Higher efficiency in the sense of more output for a lower input.
The positive impact of conservation agriculture on the distribution of labour during the
production cycle and even more important, the reduction in labour requirement are the main
reasons for farmers in Latin America to adopt conservation agriculture, especially for fanners
who rely fully on family labour. Manual labour for soil preparation is back-breaking and
unnecessary. Should the supply of labour be reduced, through sickness or migration, then the
system can quickly become unsustainable.
(ii) Agronomic Benefits
Adopting conservation agriculture leads to improvement of soil productivity:
1. Organic matter increase.
2. In-soil water conservation.
3. Improvement of soil structure and thus rooting zone.
Constant addition of crop residues leads to an increase in the organic matter content of
the soil. In the beginning this is limited to the top layer of the soil, but with time this will extend
to deeper soil layers. Organic matter plays an important role in the soil: fertilizer use efficiency,
water holding capacity, soil aggregation, rooting environment and nutrient retention, all depend
on organic matter.
(iii) Environmental Benefits
1. Reduction in soil erosion and thus of road, dam and hydroelectric power plant maintenance
costs.
2. Improvement of water quality.
3. Improvement of air quality.
4. Bio-diversity increase.
5. 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-
ecosystem are different. Particularly important gap is the frequent dearth of information on
locally adapted cover crops that produce high amounts of biomass under the prevailing
conditions. 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. Trial and error,
both by official institutes and the farmers themselves, is often the only reliable source of
information.
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 information and experiences on cover crops, tools and equipment and other techniques
used in conservation agriculture.

34
 Initial nervousness about switching from plough-based farming to CA can be ameliorated
by forming farmer groups to exchange ideas and gain knowledge from more experienced
practitioners.
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.
Reductions in leaching of pesticides under conservation agriculture might be caused by
greater microbial activity degrading pesticides faster or to greater organic matter adsorbing the
pesticides.
2.5.4 Constraints for adopting conservation agriculture
A mental change of farmers, technicians, extensionists and researchers away from soil
degrading tillage operations towards sustainable production system like no tillage is necessary to
obtain changes in attitudes of farmers however, noted that probably the most important factor in
the adoption of CA is overcoming the bias or mindset about tillage. It is argued that convincing
the farmers that successful cultivation is possible even with reduced tillage or without tillage is a
major hurdle in promoting CA on a large scale. In many cases, it may be difficult to convince the
farmers of potential benefits of CA beyond its potential to reduce production costs, mainly by
tillage reductions. CA is now, considered a route to sustainable agriculture. Spread of
conservation agriculture, therefore, will call for scientific research linked with development
efforts. The following are a few important constraints which impede broad scale adoption:
(1) Lack of appropriate seeders especially for small and medium scale farmers: Although
significant efforts have been made in developing and promoting machinery for seeding wheat in
no till system, successful adoption will call for accelerated effort in developing, standardizing
and promoting quality machinery aimed at a range of crop and cropping sequences. These would
include the development of permanent bed and furrow planting system and harvest operations to
manage crop residues.
(2) Wide spread use of crop residues for livestock feed and fuel: Especially under rainfed
situations, farmers face a scarcity of crop residues due to less biomass production of different
crops. There is competition between conservation agriculture practice and livestock feeding for
crop residue. This is a major constraint for promotion of conservation agriculture under rainfed
situations.
(3) Burning of crop residues: For timely sowing of the next crop and without machinery for
sowing under conservation agriculture system, fanners prefer to sow the crop in time by burning
the residue. This has become a common feature in the rice-wheat system in north India. This
creates environmental problems for the region.
(4) Lack of knowledge about the potential of conservation agriculture to agriculture leaders,
extension agents and farmers: This implies that the whole range of practices in conservation
agriculture, including planting and harvesting, water and nutrient management, diseases and

35
pest control etc need to be evolved, evaluated and matched in thecontext of new system.
(5) Skilled and scientific manpower: Managing conservation agriculture system, will call for
enhanced capacity of scientists to address problems from a system perspective and to be able to
work in close partnerships with farmers and other stakeholders. Strengthened knowledge and
information sharing mechanisms are needed.

Conservation Agriculture VS Conservation Tillage

Conservation agriculture is largely the product of the collective efforts of a number of
previous agricultural movements, including no-till agriculture, agro-forestry, green manures/
cover crops, direct planting/seeding and conservation tillage among many others. Yet,
conservation agriculture is distinct from each of these so-called agricultural packages, even as it
draws upon many of their core principles. This is because conservation agriculture uses many
of the available technologies in unison, resulting in something many believe to be much greater
than the sum of its parts. The following terms are often confused with conservation agriculture:
No-Till (NT)/ Zero-Till (ZT)
The NT and ZT are technical components used in conservation agriculture that
simplyinvolve the absence of tillage/ploughing operations on the soil. Crops are planted directly
into a seedbed not tilled after harvesting the previous crop. Not everyone utilizing no-till
technologies adopts other important components of conservation agriculture. One major
difference is that NT or ZT do not necessarily leave residue mulch. Some recent research data
suggests this is vital, since without the residue mulch many of the benefits of conservation
agriculture are lost or decreased in value.
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. It developed as a
management system after the ―Dust Bowl‖ of the 1930‘s in the Mid-West areas of the USA. It
was found to reduce erosion by protecting the soil surface from wind and rain.
Organic Farming
Organic agriculture does not permit the use of synthetic chemicals to produce plant and
animal products, relying instead on the management of soil organic matter and biological
processes. In some parts of the world, farms must be inspected and certified before their food
products can be sold as organic, indicating that no synthetic chemicals were used in producing
them. But organic farming uses the principles of conservation agriculture to some extent and one
objective similar to conservation agriculture is to maintain and improve soil health. Unlike
organic farming, conservation agriculture does allow farmers to apply synthetic chemical
fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides and herbicides. Many farmers rely on using these to control
weed and pest problems, particularly during the early transition years. As soil physical, chemical

36
and biological health improves over time; the use of agrichemicals can be significantly reduced
or, in some cases, phased out entirely.

Chapter 6: HEIA and LEISA

High external input agriculture (HEIA)

High external input Agriculture (HEIA) are technologies that utilize high external inputs
such as inorganic or chemical fertilizers to increase nutrient depletion from the soil, pesticides to
control pests and diseases, herbicides to control weeds and irrigation facilities for water
management in the farms. These technologies are often beyond the financial reach of the small -
holder farmers.

Advantages of high external input agriculture (HEIA)

1. Agricultural Production could be rapidly increased to meet the demand for food for the
increasing population.
2. As a result of availability of adequate food stuffs many problems related to diseases caused by
mal-nutrition and deficiency were prevented or reduced.
3. New improved varieties gave yields within a short period of time.
4. Mechanization solves the problem of labour shortage.
5. Income and profit margins of the products were increased.
6. Productivity of land increased.
7. Increased market facilities for production.

Disadvantages of HEIA
1. Collapse of environmental balance due to lack of biodiversity by planting a few cash crops.
2. Increase in soil erosion due to constant furrowing by machinery.
3. Dependence on imported machinery, chemical fertilizer, pesticides, hybrid seeds and other
inputs.
4. Extensive use of pesticides disturbed the natural mechanism of controlling pest and diseases
as the artificial pesticides kill both pests and their natural enemies.
5. Use of artificial agro-chemicals adversely affected the soil pH, cation exchange capacity, soil
structure, soil texture and soil organisms. Consequently the microbial activities of the soil tend
to reduce forming dead soil.

Low-external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA)

―Low-External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) is a series of practices which serve
to reinforce ecological principles that are in line with local ecosystems‖.

37
 Practices such as recycling of plant nutrients (nitrogen and others), minimizing crop
losses due to insects and pests, and securing favorable soil conditions for plant growth are just
the tip of the hat.
An integral component of LEISA is in ensuring that this environmental awareness
remains connected to the daily lives, needs and concerns of farmers who rely on these
ecosystems for their livelihoods.
The LEISA relies mostly on the inputs from the local farm, village or region and
deliberate action is taken to ensure sustainability.
The principles are:
1. Securing favorable soil conditions for plant growth particularly managing organic matter and
enhancing soil life.
2. Optimizing the nutrient availability and balancing the nutrient flow, particularly by means of
nitrogen fixation, nutrient acquisition and complementary use of external fertilizers.
3. Minimizing the losses due to plant and animal pests by means of prevention and safety
treatment.
4. Minimizing losses due to flows of solar radiation, air, water by way of microclimate
management, water management and erosion control.

Characteristics of HEIA and LEISA

Sl. HEIA LEISA

No.
1 The farming pattern depends heavily LEIA relies on the optimal use of natural
on external and chemical inputs. processes.
2 The focus is mainly on maximizing The focus is on the sustainability of
yields coupled with increasing farming system
specialization of production
3 There is a great damage to the Environmentally sound and that have the
environment potential to contribute to the long-term
sustainability of agriculture.
4 The continuing drop in prices of farm Greater emphasis is on the long-term
produce and the rising costs of nourishment and balance between the
agricultural inputs have made farming profit and livelihood.
increasingly unprofitable
5 HEIA depends on the higher LEISA depend largely on local agro-
production and profit, without ecological conditions and on local socio-
consideration of the local needs and economic circumstances, as well as on
local market farmers‘ individual needs and aspirations.
6 Primarily one or two commodity One way of LEIA is to diversification of
driven development, lack of diversity farms; with a range of crops and/or

38
 in the farming practices; as a result, animals, farmers will suffer less from price
there is greater risk of failure and price fluctuations or drops in yield of single
fluctuation. The number of products crops. Maintaining diversity will also
and commodities are very minimum. provide a farm family with a range of
products to eat or sell throughout a large
part of the year.
7 Under HEIA system, soil quality LEIA maintains a healthy soil, recycling
deteriorates, and there is resurgence of nutrients on the farm, and utilizing
pests, lack of resilience in the soil- approaches such as integrated pest
plant system management (IPM).
8 In HEIA, there is lack of use of Best bet technologies, for example, soil and
indigenous technologies. water conservation (terraces, ditches, and
vegetation strips on sloping land), better
timing of operations, improved crop
spacing and densities, manure or compost
and water application based on local
conditions.

Chapter 7: INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM

History:
All over the world, during the last four decades, grain yields went up at spectacular rates
during the green revolution and individual levels of production in animals followed similar
trend. Ensuring food security for the fast growing global population is a mammoth challenge for
the present agricultural production system. Shrinking average farm size in India and financial
constraints for higher investment in agriculture due to 80 per cent farm families belonging to
small and marginal farmer categories further heighten the challenge. For securing food and
nutrition security for sizable population, productivity enhancement may provide a vital solution.
This involves adoption of scientific agronomic practices and technologies which promise an
augmentation of the productive capacity of traditional agricultural system. Agronomic practices
such as the liberal use of inorganic pesticides and fertilizers during the twentieth century
enhanced productivity significantly but undesirable environmental degradation accompanied by
increased operational costs in agriculture raised concerns about economic feasibility and
sustainability. Unsustainable farming leads to environmental pollution and threatens the
livelihood of millions of small farm holders. Strengthening agricultural production systems for
greater sustainability and higher economic returns is a vital process for increasing income and
food and nutrition security in developing countries.
Therefore, integrated farming system (IFS) is a multidisciplinary whole farm approach
and appears effective in solving the problems of small and marginal farmers. The approach aims

39
at increasing income and employment from small-holding by integrating various farm
enterprises and recycling crop residues and by products within the farm itself. Farmers need to
be assured of regular income for living at least above poverty line. Progress in production or
steady growth in output is necessary to face the challenges posed by present economic, political
and technological environment. In this context, farming system approach is one of the important
solutions to face this particular situation as in this approach different enterprises can be carefully
undertaken and the location specific system are developed based on available resources which
will result in sustainable development.
Objectives:
Sustainability is the objective utilization of inputs without impairing the quality of
environment with which it interacts. Therefore, it is clear that farming system is a process in
which sustainability of production is the objective.
The overall objective is to evolve technically feasible and economically viable farming
system models by integrating cropping with allied enterprises for irrigated, rainfed, hilly and
coastal areas with a view to generate income and employment from the farm.

Integrated Farming as a farming system where high quality food, feed, fibre and
renewable energy are produced by using resources such as soil, water, air and nature as well as
regulating factors to farm sustainably and with as little polluting inputs as possible.
At present, the farmers concentrate mainly on crop production which is subjected to a
high degree of uncertainty in income and employment to the farmers. In this contest, it is
imperative to evolve suitable strategy for augmenting the income of a farm.
Integration of various agricultural enterprises viz., cropping, animal husbandry, fishery,
forestry etc. have great potentialities in the agricultural economy. These enterprises not only
supplement the income of the farmers but also help in increasing the family labour employment.
1. The integrated farming system approach introduces a change in the farming techniques for
maximum production in the cropping pattern and takes care of optimal utilization of
resources.
2. The farm wastes are better recycled for productive purposes in the integrated system.
3. A judicious mix of agricultural enterprises like dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, sericulture
etc. suited to the given agro-climatic conditions and socio-economic status of the farmers
would bring prosperity in the farming.

The growth rate of agriculture in the recent past is very slow in spite of the rapid
economic growth in India. According to the Economic Survey of India, 2008, the growth rate of
food grain production decelerated to 1.2% during 1990-2007, lower than the population growth
of 1.9%. It is projected that in our country population will touch 1370 million by 2030 and to
1600 million by 2050. To meet the demand, we have to produce 289 and 349 MT of food grains
during the respective periods. The current scenario in the country indicates that area under

40
cultivation may further dwindle and more than 20% of current cultivable area will be converted
for non-agricultural purposes by 2030.
The operational farm holding in India is declining and over 85 million out of 105 million
are below the size of 1 ha. Due to ever increasing population and decline in per capita
availability of land in the country, practically there is no scope for horizontal expansion of land
for agriculture. Only vertical expansion is possible by integrating farming components requiring
lesser space and time and ensuring reasonable returns to farm families. The Integrated farming
system (IFS) therefore assumes greater importance for sound management of farm resources to
enhance the farm productivity and reduce the environmental degradation, improve the quality of
life of resource poor farmers and maintain sustainability. In order to sustain a positive growth
rate in agriculture, a holistic approach is the need of the hour.
Integrated farming system approach is not only a reliable way of obtaining fairly high
productivity with considerable scope for resource recycling, but also concept of ecological
soundness leading to sustainable agriculture. With increasing energy crisis due to shrinking of
non-renewable fossil-fuel based sources, the fertilizer nutrient cost has increased steeply and
with gradual withdrawal of fertilizer subsidy. It is expected to have further hike in the cost of
fertilizers. This will leave the farmers with no option but to fully explore the potential alternate
sources of plant nutrients at least for the partial substitution of the fertilizer nutrients for
individual crops and in the cropping systems.
During XII plan period the ICAR-Project Directorate for Farming Systems Research
(ICAR-PDFSR) officially renamed as Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research (IIFSR) and
it established with focus on farming systems research after re-naming the Project Directorate for
Cropping Systems Research (PDCSR) which became operational during 2009.

Objectives of integrated farming system:

1. Maximization of yield of all component enterprises to provide steady and stable income at
higher levels.
2. Rejuvenation/amelioration of system‘s productivity and achieve agro-ecological
equilibrium.
3. Control the buildup of insect-pests, diseases and weed population through natural
cropping system management and keep them at low level of intensity.
4. Reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and other harmful agro-chemicals and pesticides
to provide pollution free, healthy produce and environment to the society at large.
Advantages of Integrated farming system
1. It improves space utilization and increase productivity per unit area.
2. It provides diversified products.
3. Improves soil fertility and soil physical structure from appropriate crop rotation and using
cover crop and organic compost.
4. Reduce weeds, insect pests and diseases from appropriate crop rotation.
5. Utilization of crop residues and livestock wastes.
6. Less reliance to outside inputs – fertilizers, agrochemicals, feeds, energy, etc.

41
 7. Higher net returns to land and labour resources of the farming family.
8. Regular stable income through the products like egg, milk, mushroom, vegetables, honey
and silkworm cocoons from the linked activities in integrated farming.
9. Reduced production cost of components through input recycling from the byproducts of
allied enterprises.
10. Integration of allied activities will result in the availability of nutritious food enriched with
protein, carbohydrate, fat, minerals and vitamins.

List of the components/enterprises in integrated farming system

Agriculture Mushroom cultivation Seed Production Sheep/goat rearing
Horticulture Sericulture Vermiculture Piggery
Forestry Azolla farming Pigeon rearing Rabbitory
Dairy Kitchen gardening Apiary Value addition
Fish farming Fodder production Poultry

Elements of integrated farming system

Watershed Farm ponds Bio-pesticides & Bio-fertilizers
Plant products as pesticides Bio-gas Solar energy
Compost making Green manuring Rain water harvesting

42
Allied enterprises and their maintenance
1. Crop production
Crop production is an integral part of farm activities in the country. The cropping system
should provide enough food for the family, fodder to the cattle and generate sufficient cash for
domestic and cultivation expenses. These objectives could be achieved by adopting intensive
cropping.
Detailed to this is discussed earlier in cropping systems.
2. Dairy farming
Dairy farming is an important source of income to farmers. Besides producing milk and/or
draft power, the dairy animals are also good source of farm yard manure, which is good source
of organic matter for improving soil fertility. The farm byproducts in turn are gainfully utilized
for feeding the animals.
(a) Cattle Rearing:
Cattle‘s rearing in India is carried out under a variety of adverse climatic and environmental
conditions. The cattle are broadly classified into three groups.
(i) Draft breeds: The bullocks of these breeds are good draft animals, but the cows are poor
milkers, e.g. Khillari, Nagore, Hallikar,, Mali.

43
 (ii) Dairy breeds: The cows are high milk yielders, but the bullocks are of poor draft
quality, e.g., Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir.
(iii) Dual purpose: The cows are fairly good milkers and the bullocks are with good draft
work capacity, e.g., Tharparkar, Hariana, Ongole, Kankrej and Deoni.
Exotic breeds: The exotic breeds are high milk yielder e.g., Jersey, Holstein-Friesian,
Aryshire, Brown Swiss and Guernsey.

Some brief information about the cow breeds:

Sahiwal: Originated in Montgomery region of undivided India. Best indigenous dairy breed.
Reddish dun or pale red in colour, sometimes flashed with white patches. Heavy breed
with symmetrical body having loose skin. The average milk yield of this breed is
between 1400 and 2500 kgs per lactation.
Red Sindhi: Originated in Karachi and Hyderabad (Pakistan) regions of undivided India and also
reared in certain organized farms in our country. Colour is red with shades varying from
dark red to light, strips of white. Milk yield ranges from 1250 to 1800 kgs per lactation.
Bullocks despite lethargic and slow can be used for road and field work.
Gir: Originated in Gir forests of South Kathiawar in Gujarat also found in Maharashtra and
adjacent Rajasthan. Basic colours of skin are white with dark red or chocolate-brown
patches or sometimes black or purely red. Horns are peculiarly curved, giving a ‗half
moon‘ appearance. Milk yield ranges from 1200-1800 kgs per lactation. his bread is
known for its hardiness and disease resistance
Hallikar: Originated from the former princely state of Karnataka. The colour is grey or dark
grey. The breed is best known for its draught capacity and especially for its trotting
ability.
Khillari: Originated from Sholapur districts of Maharashtra. Long horns turn forwards in a
peculiar fashion. The horns are generally black, sometimes pinkish. Bullocks are fast
and powerful.
Kangayam: Originated in Kangayam, Dharapuram and Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The
eyes are dark and prominent with black rings around them.
Tharparkar: Originated in Tharparkar district (Pakistan) of undivided India and also found in
Rajasthan. Also known as White Sindhi, Gray Sindhi and Thari. The bullocks are quite
suitable for ploughing and casting and the cows yield 1800 to 2600 kgs of milk per
lactation.
Hariana: It was originated from Rohtak, Hisar, Jind and Gurgaon districts of Haryana and also
popular in Punjab, UP and parts of MP. Horns are small. The bullocks are powerful
work animals. Hariana cows are fair milkers yielding 600 to 800 kg of milk per
lactation.
Kankrej: Originated from Southeast Rann of Kutch of Gujarat and adjoining Rajasthan (Barmer
and Jodhpur district). Colour of the animal varies from silver-grey to iron-grey or steel
black. The gait of Kankrej is peculiar called as 1 ¼ paces (sawai chal). Kankrej is valued

44
 for fast, powerful, draught cattle. Useful in ploughing and carting. The cows are good
milkers, yielding about 1400 kgs per lactation.
Ongole: Home tract is Ongole taluka in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. Large muscular breed
with a well developed hump. Suitable for heavy draught work. Average milk yield is
1000 kgs per lactation.
Deoni: Originated in Western Andra Pradesh, Marathwada region of Maharashtra state and
adjoining part of Karnataka. Body colour is usually spotted black and white. Milk yield
ranges from 636 to 1230 kgs per lactation. Bullocks are suitable for heavy cultivation

Exotic Breeds
Jersey: Originated from Jersey Island, U.K. The typical colour of Jersey cattle is reddish fawn.
Economical producers of milk with 4.5% fat. Average milk yield is 4500 kgs per
lactation.
Holstein Friesian: Originated from the northern parts of Netherlands especially in the province of
Friesland. Largest dairy breed and ruggedly built is shape and possess large udder.
Breeds have typical marking of black and white that make them easily distinguishable.
The average milk production of cow is 6000 to 7000 kgs per lactation.
Brown Swiss: Origin Switzerland. Average milk yield is 5000 kgs per lactation. The Karan
Swiss is the excellent crossbred cattle obtained by crossing this breed with Sahiwal
cattle at NDRI, Karnal.
Red Dane: Orginated in Denmark. Lactation yield varies from 3000 to 4000 kg
Ayrshire: Origin is Ayrshire in Scotland. This one is considered as most beautiful dairy breed.
These are very active animals but hard to manage.

(b) Buffaloes:
Important dairy breeds of buffalo are Murrah, Nili Ravi (which has its home tract in
Pakistan), Mehsana, Surti, Zafarabadi, Godavari and Bhadawari. Of these Godavari has been
evolved through crossing local buffaloes in coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh with Murrah.
Murrah: Most important breed of buffaloes. Origin is Rohtak, Hisar and Sind of Haryana, Nabha
and Patiala districts of Punjab and southern parts of Delhi state. Most efficient milk and
butter fat producers in India. Butter fat content is 7.83%. Average lactation yield is
varying from 1500 to 2500 kgs per lactation.
Surti: Origin is Kaira and Baroda district of Gujarat. The peculiarity of the breed is two white
collars, one round the jaw and the other at the brisket region. The milk yield ranges from
1000 to 1300 kgs per lactation. The peculiarity of this breed is very high fat percentage
in milk (8-12 %)
Jaffrabadi: Gir forests, Kutch and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat. This is the heaviest Indian breed
of buffalo. The average milk yield is 1000 to 1200 kgs per lactation. These animals are

45
 mostly maintained by traditional breeders called Maldharis, who are nomads. The
bullocks are heavy and used for ploughing and carting.
Mehsana: Mehsana, Sabarkanda and Banaskanta districts in Gujarat and adjoining Maharashtra
state. The breed is evolved out of crossbreeding between the Surti and the Murrah. Body
is longer than Murrah but limbs are lighter. The horns are less curved than in Murrah
and are irregular. Bullocks are good for heavy work. The milk yield is 1200-1500 kgs
per lactation.

3. Goat and sheep rearing

(I) Goat rearing:
 In India, Goat is mainly reared for meat, milk, hair and skin.
 Goat meat is the preferred meat in the country.
 A goat on hoof (live goat) fetches a better price than a sheep on hoof.
Goat Breeds
 Milk & Meat – Jamnapari, Osmanabadi, Barbari , Beetal
 Meat and skin – Black Bengal, Kanni adu
 Meat, skin and milk – Barvari, Malabari (Tellicherry), Sirohi, Surti
 Meat, hair and skin – Gaddi, Kutchi, Marwari
 Jamnapari : is the most popular breed for commercial goat farming in India. It is mostly
found in Uttar Pradesh. This goat is reared mainly for milk.
 Boer Goat: breed was developed in South Africa and it is the most popular breed
in the world for meat.
 Surti : Surti Goat is one of the best breed in India for dairy. This breed is very small and
is native of Surat in Gujarat. They are most economical to the rear. Surti female goats are
bigger than male goats.

(II) Sheep rearing:

 Sheep are well adapted to many areas.
 They are excellent gleaners and make use of much of the waste feed.
 They consume large quantities of roughage, converting a relatively cheap food into a
good cash product.
 Housing need not be elaborate or expensive.
 However, to protect the flock from predatory animals, the height of the fencing should be
raised to two meters.

Breeds of Indian Sheep:

 Karanah, Bhakarwal, Bikaneri, Marwari, Kutchi, Kathiawari, Deccani, Nellore, Bellary
etc.

46
4. Piggery
Pigs are maintained for the production of pork.
Breeds:
Imported breeds of Large White Yorkshire and Landrace are being used widely.
Yorkshire is the most extensively used exotic breed in India. It is a prolific breed having
good carcass quality, growth rate and feed conversion ability.

5. Poultry
Poultry is one of the fastest growing food industries in the world. Poultry meat accounts for
about 27% of the total meat consumed worldwide and its consumption is growing at an average
of 5% annually. Poultry industry in India is relatively a new agricultural industry.
Breeds:
Specific poultry stocks for egg and broiler production are available. A majority of the stocks
used for egg production are crosses involving the strains or inbred lines of white Leghorn. To a
limited extent, other breeds like Rhode Island Red, California Grey and Australop are used.
Cage system:
The cage system of rearing birds has been considered as a super intensive system providing
floor area of 450-525 [Link]. (0.6-0.75 [Link]) per bird.
Advantages
1. Greater number of birds is reared per unit of area
2. Facilitates correct maintenance of records
3. Helps in identifying poor producers and prompt culling
4. Control of vices of poultry cannibalism and egg eating
5. It helps in production of clean eggs
6. Removal of stress factors
7. Easy control of parasitic disease like coccidiosis and worm infestation
8. Prompt steps to control feed wastage.
9. The cage method of housing is ideal for the area of moderated climate conditions where the
day temperature in summer does not high and temperature does not fall too low.
10. Egg production of caged layer was reported to be more than those kept in deep litter system.
11. Feed efficiency and egg weight were better in caged birds than the laying flock under deep
litter system
Disadvantages
1. Difficulties in ensuring proper ventilation to birds especially in summer season and under
very high densed conditions.
2. Incidence of leg problem, cage layer fatigue, fatty liver syndrome, flies and obnoxious gases
in the house will be on increases
3. Hysteriosis of chicks

Deep litter system: Deep litter system is commonly used in all over the world.
Advantages:

47
1. It is an economical
2. Hygienic, comfortable and safe to birds
3. Built up litter supplies vitamin B12 and Riboflavin to the birds
4. Controls diseases and vices
5. It increases the efficiency of production
6. Materials such as paddy husks saw dust, dried leaf, chopped straw and groundnut kernels
depending upon the availability can be used as litter materials
Disadvantages
1. The deep litter system should always keep dry.
2. Only right numbers of birds should be housed
3. The house should be well ventilated
4. The litter should be stirred at least once in a week-wet litter if any should be replaced
immediately with new dry litter and birds must be fed a balanced ratio.
5. The time starting deep litter system should be in the dry period of the year as it allows
sufficient time (At least two months) for bacterial action.
6. Placing of water should be given due attention to keep litter dry.

6. Duck rearing
Ducks account for about 7% of the poultry population in India.
Breeds:
The important Indian breeds are Sylhet Mete and Nageswari, which are mostly found in
the Eastern region of the country. Their annual production of 150 eggs/bird/year. Khaki
Campbell and Indian Runner are the most popular breeds for egg laying.
Housing:
Ducks prefer to stay outside day and night even during winter or rains. In mild climate, it
is possible to raise ducks without artificial shelter.

7. Apiculture
Apiculture is the science and culture of honeybees and their management. Apiculture is a
subsidiary occupation and it is a additional source of income for farm families. It requires low
investments and so can be taken up by small, marginal and landless farmers and educated
unemployed youth. Honey is a sweet viscous fluid produced by honeybees mainly from the
nectar of the flowers. Honey should have good quality to meet the national and international
standards. Qualities such as aroma, colour, consistency and floral sources are important.
Species:
There are two bee species, which are most commonly grown in India. They are Apis
cerana indica and A. mellifera, are complementary to each other but have different adaptations.
A. cerana is known as Indian bees, while A mellifera is known as European/western bee.

48
 Management:
The beekeeper should be familiar with the source of nectar and pollen within his locality.
Bee flora species are specific to different areas and have micro regional habitats. Under
subtropical climates of India, nectar and pollen sources are available for most part of the year,
but continuous succession throughout the year is lacking in some localities. Flowers of large
number of plants species are visited by honeybees for nectar and pollen. The most important
sources of nectar and pollen are maize, mustard, sunflower and palm, litchi, pongamia, coconut,
sesamum etc.
Honey collection: Honey is a sweet viscous fluid produced by honeybees mainly from
the nectar of the flowers. Honey should have good quality to meet the national and international
standards. Qualities such as aroma, colour, consistency and floral sources are important. Proper
honey straining and processing are needed to improve the quality of the produce. Honey varies in
the proportion of its constituents owing to the differences in the nectar produced by different
plants. The nectar collected by bees is processed and placed in comb cells for ripening. During
the ripening, sucrose is converted into glucose and fructose by an enzyme called invertase, which
is added to it by the bees. Honey is an excellent energy food with an average of about 3500
calories per kg. It is directly absorbed into the human blood stream, requiring no digestion.

49
8. Fishery
Ponds serve various useful purposes, viz., domestic requirement of water, supplementary
irrigation source to adjoining crop fields and pisciculture.
Species of fish:
Catla, Rohu, Calbasu Mrigal, Common carp, Silver carp, Grass carp
Management:
For higher productivity fish are to be provided with supplementary feeding with rice bran
and oilseed cakes.

9. Sericulture
Sericulture is defined as a practice of combining mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing and silk
reeling. Sericulture is a recognized practice in India. India occupies second position among silk
producing countries in the world, next to China.
Moriculture: Cultivation of mulberry plants is called as ‗Moriculture‘. There are about
20 species of mulberry, of which four are commonly cultivated. They are Morus alba, M. indica,
M. serrata and M. latifolia.
Silk worm rearing:
There are four types of silk worm viz.
(i) Mulberry silk worm – Bombyx mori (ii) Eri silk worm – Philosamia ricini
(iii) Tassar silk worm – Antheraea mylitta (iv) Muga silk worm

Green HDPE Plastic Netrika or Plastic Life cycle

Chandrika HDPE Sericulture Net

50
 Larva Eggs

Moth All stages of life cycle

Cocoon

Mullberry plant Processing

51
 Silk

10. Mushroom cultivation

Mushroom is an edible fungus with great diversity in shape, size and colour. Essentially
mushroom is a vegetable that is cultivated in protected farms in a highly sanitized atmosphere.
Just like other vegetables, mushroom contains 90% moisture with high in quality protein.
Species: There are three types of mushrooms popularly cultivated in India.
(i) Oyster mushroom – Pleurotus sp.
(ii) Paddy straw mushroom – Volvariella volvacea
(iii) White bottom mushroom – Agaricus bisporus
Method of production
(i) Oyster mushroom : Take fresh paddy straw and cut into small pieces of 3-5 cm length. Soak
them in water for 4-6 hours and then boil for half an hour. Drain the water and dry the
straw in shade till it is neither too dry nor wet. Take polythene bags of 60 x 30 cm size and
make two holes of one cm diameter in the center of the bag such that they face opposite
sides. Tie the bottom of the bag with a thread to make a flat bottom. Fill the bag with
paddy straw to 10 cm height. Then inoculate with the spawn. Likewise prepare 4-5 layers
of straw and spawn alternatively. The last layer ends up in straw of 10 cm height. Keep this
in a spawn running room maintained at a temperature of about 22-28 oC and with RH 85-
90%. After 15-20 days when the spawn running is completed, cut open the polythene bag
and take it to cropping room and allow it to grow for 7 days and harvest the mushroom.
Mushroom yield is around 0.5-1.0 kg/bag.

52
 (ii) Paddy straw mushroom : Cut the straw into long pieces of 60-90 cm and soak in water
for 12 hours and sterilize 15 minutes. Arrange the straw in bundles. Lay the moistened
straw bundles on the slightly raised concrete floor or on wooden platform in layers of four
bundles width. Spawn or seed the beds simultaneously in each layer either by broadcasting
or placing the grain spawn at different spots. Sprinkle grain dhal over each layer on the
spawn. Don‘t spawn below the topmost layer. Maintain it at 30-35 oC. Harvesting is ready
after 25-30 days. Yield is around 1-1.5 kg/bed.

(iii) Button mushroom: It requires a complex method of preparing compost, which is used
as a substrate for mushroom production. Spawning is done by three methods, viz., surface
spawning, layer spawning and trough spawning. Fill the trays with compost and do
spawning. After spawning, compost is pressed hard to make it compact. The trays are
arranged in the cropping room in tiers and cover with newspaper sheet sprayed with 2%
formalin. The temperature of 20- 25 oC and RH of 90-95% should be maintained. After
spawn running is completed in 15-20 days and do casing. Pin heads appear within 10-15
days after casing. Cropping continues for 60-75 days. Mushrooms can be harvested at
button stage. Yield ranges from 6-7 kg/m2.

11. Agroforestry
Agroforestry is a collective name for land use systems and technologies, in which
woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos etc) are deliberately combined on the same

53
land-management unit as agricultural crops and/or animals, either in some form of spatial
arrangement or in a temporal sequence.
In agroforestry systems, there are ecological and economical interactions among different
components. That implies that: (i) agroforestry normally involves two or more species of plants
(or plants and animals) at least one of which is woody perennials; (ii) an agroforestry system
always has two or more outputs; (iii) the cycle of an agroforestry system is always more than one
year; and (iv) even the simplest agroforestry system is structurally, functionally, and socio-
economically more complex than a monocropping system. Agroforestry is important for meeting
fodder, fuel wood and small timber of farmers, conserving soil and water, maintenance of soil
fertility, controlling salinity and water logging, positive environment impact and alternate land
use for marginal and degraded lands. Selection of proper land use systems conserve biophysical
resources of non-arable land besides providing day-to-day needs of farmer and livestock within
the farming system.
Different commonly followed agro-forestry systems in India are:
(1) Agri-silviculture (crops + trees), which is popularly known as farm forestry
(2) Agri-horti-silviculture (crops + fruit trees + MPTS + pasture);
(3) Silvi-pasture (Trees + pasture + animals);
(4) Horti-silvi-pasture (fruit trees + MPTs+ Pasture);
(5) Agri-silvi-pasture (crops + trees + Pasture);
(6) Pastoral silvicultural system
(7) Agri-horticulture (crops + fruit trees)
(8) Homestead agroforestry (multiple combination of various components);
(9) Silvi-apiculture (trees + honey bees);
(10) Agri-pisci-silviculture (crops + fish + MPTS);
(11) Pisci-silviculture (Fish + MPTs) etc.
(1) Agri-silviculture systems: This system emphasizes raising of trees and cultivation of field
crops and/or fodder crops in the available space between the trees. In arid and semi-arid regions
hardy trees like Prosopis cineraria (Khejri), Eucalyptus sp., Acacia tortilis, Hardwickia binata
(Anjan), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Ailanthes excelsa, Ziziphus jujuba etc. could be grown
along with dry land crops such as pulses (pigeonpea, blackgram), millets (finger millet, sorghum)
etc. This is practiced mostly on arable lands, wherein multipurpose trees used for fuel and fodder
can be grown with crops in the fields as alley farming. The hedges follow contour and
compromise trees and shrubs like Leucaena or pigeonpea. Leguminous perennials are more
suitable due to fixation of nitrogen.

54
(2) Agri-horti-silviculture: In this system fruit trees are grown along with crops and
multipurpose trees (MPTs). Under rainfed situation hardy fruit trees like ber, aonla, pomegranate,
guava could be grown along with dryland crops like pigeonpea, til, mothbean, mustard etc.
Grafted ber (Var., Gola, Seb, Mundiya, Banarasi Kasak) may be planted at 6 x 6 m with 2 plants
of subabul in between.
Under partial irrigation, Guava, pomegranate, Lemon, Kinnow have been successfully
grown at 6 x 5 m along with crop like wheat, groundnut and subabul (200 pl/ha) for quick leaf
fodder and fuel wood production. For further protecting fruit crops from desiccating hot summer
and cold winter planting of subabul/sesbania at every 2 m apart as wind breaks. Alternate plants
of subabul/sesbania could be harvested for quick fodder and fuel wood production every 3rd year.
Relative grain yield was 70-85% even in 3rd and 4th year.

(3) Silvi-Pastoral system: In the silvi-pastoral system, improved pasture species are introduced
with tree species. In this system grasses or grass legume mixture is grown along with the woody
perennial simultaneously on the same unit of land. In the marginal, sub-marginal and other
degraded lands silvipastoral system has been found to be most economic agroforestry system
especially in arid and semi-arid regions. It involves lopping trees and grazing understory grasses
and bushes in forests or plantations. It helps in reduction of the cost of concentrated feed to

55
animal during lean period. A number of fodder trees like Leucaena latisiliqua, Bauhinia
variegata, Albizzia labbek, Albizzia amara, Moringa olerifera, Sesbania sesban, S. grandiflora,
Hardwickia binata are identified for different regions of the country for silvi pastoral systems.
Trees provide fuel and timber in the extreme dry season and lean periods, animal graze on
pastures and feed on the leaves of nutritious trees and shrubs. Multilayered vegetation covers are
very effective in controlling run-off and soil loss from erosion prone areas.

(4) Horti-silvi-pasture system: It involves integration of fruit trees with pasture. In the degraded
arid and semi arid rangeland regimes number of over grazed plants of Ziziphus nummularis are
found which could be successfully budded with improved variety of ber (viz., Gola, Seb, Umran,
Banaras, Kaska) besides planting MPTs like anjan, Subabul, Khejri along grasses and legumes
like Cenchrus, Lasiurus, Chrysopogon, Stylosanthes, Sirato etc.

(5) Agri-silvi-pasture: It is a combination of agri-silviculture and silvi-pastoral system. In arid

degraded lands of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana often dryland crops viz. bajra, moth, urad, til

56
etc. are grown in strips along with grass strips to avoid shifting sand reaching cropped area.
MPTs could be introduced both in the pasture strips as well as in the crop strips, which besides
protecting the crops from desiccating hot and cold wind would also provide leaf fodder, timber
etc. besides pasture when there is a crop failure. Woody plants could be Acacia senegal, ber,
anjan, neem etc. Grasses like Cenchrus, Lasiurus and legume Stylo spp.

(6) Pastoral silvicultural system: Integrated crop farming is practiced to meet the requirements
of grasses and fodder for livestock. The pastoral silvicultural system is the practice in which
grazing is the main component with scattered trees grown in the area. This practice is adopted in
semi-arid regions of the country comprising the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The cultivators leave the fields fallow with existing trees and protect the same.
Dichanthium annulatum is an important grass under this system. The important planted trees in
the system are Eucalyptus hybrid, Casuarina equisetifolia, Borassus flabellifa and phoenix
sylvestris. Generally trees are lopped for fuel and fodder. Custard apple, mango, Zizyphus and
tamarind fruits are used for domestic consumption.
12. Biogas
A biogas unit is an asset to a farming family. It produces good manure and clean fuel and
improves sanitation. Biogas is a clean, unpolluted and cheap source of energy, which can be
obtained by a simple mechanism and little investment. The gas is generated from the cow dung
during anaerobic decomposition. Biogas generation is a complex biochemical process. The
celluloitic material is broken down to methane and carbondioxide by different groups of
microorganisms. It can be used for cooking purpose, burning lamps, running pumps etc.
Selection of a model:
The two main designs of biogas plants are the floating gas holder and fixed-dome types.
The merits and demerits of each design need to be considered while selecting a model.
(i) Float dome type: Different models are available in this category e.g., KVIC vertical and
horizontal, Pragati model, Ganesh model.
57
(ii) Fixed dome type: The gas plant is dome shaped underground construction. The masonary
gasholder is an integral part of the digester called dome. The gas produced in the digester is
collected in dome at vertical pressure by displacement of slurry in inlet and outlet. The entire
construction is made of bricks and cement. The models available in this category are Janata and
Deen-Bandhu.
Selection of Size:
The size of the biogas plant is decided by the number of family members and the
availability of dung. One cubic meter capacity plant will need two to three animals and 25 kg of
dung. The gas produced will meet the requirement of a family of 4-6 members. It would suffice
to have a 2 cubic meter plant to cater to the needs of a family of 6-10 members.
Biogas slurry:
Slurry is obtained after the production of bio-gas. It is enriched manure. Another positive
aspect of this manure is that even after weeks of exposure to the atmosphere, the slurry does not
attract fleas and worms.
Factors influencing the selection and size of components in farming systems
1. Climatic conditions - Rainfall, temperature, solar radiation, wind, humidity, etc.
2. Soil type
3. Farmers preferences
4. Size of the Farm
5. Knowledge, skill and technology
6. Storage, transport and marketing
7. Resource mobilizing power of the farmer
8. Credit facilities available
9. Socio-economic condition
10. Customs, sentiments and believes
IFS for different agro-climatic zones (India)
1. High altitude cold deserts: Pastures with forestry, goats, angora rabbits and limited settled
agricultural crops like millets, wheat, barley and fodder.
2. Arid and desert region: Centering mainly in animal husbandary with the camels, sheep and
goat and with moderate cropping components involving pearlmillet, wheat, pulses, gram and
fodder crops.
3. Western and central Himalayas: Horticultural crops as major component have less intensive
agriculture mainly on the hill terraces and slopes with maize, rice, wheat, pulses and fodder
crops.
4. Eastern Himalayas: Primitive crop husbandry with rice, millets, pulses etc. Agro- forestry
system is also common. Piggery and poultry are the chief livestock activity.
5. Indo-Gangetic plains: Intensive crop husbandry involving rice, wheat, maize, mustard, pulses
and livestock inclusive of dairy cattle and buffaloes.
6. Central and southern highlands: Cotton, sorghum, millet, pulses with dairy cattle, sheep and
goats and poultry are the secondary livestock and animal husbandry enterprises.

58
7. Western Ghats: Major activity on plantation crops, cultivation of rice and pulses are the
secondary agricultural activity. Cattle, sheep and goats are the livestock components which in
most parts are maintained as large herds and allowed to range.
Delta and Coastal plains: Rice cultivation along with fish culture, poultry and piggery
enterprises, capture fisheries of the marine ecosystem is a specialized enterprise and does not
mix with cropping activity.
Criteria for enterprise selection
The basic points that are to be considered while choosing appropriate enterprise in IFS
are:
[Link] and climatic features of an area/locality.
[Link] status of the family and social customs prevailing in the locality.
[Link] condition of the farmer (return/income from the existing farming system).
[Link] availability at farm and present level of utilisation of resources.
[Link] of proposed IFS and credit facilities.
[Link]‘s managerial skills.
[Link] demand.
[Link] infrastructure and technological know-how.
[Link] facilities.

The IF (integrated farming) is system oriented multi-component agriculture. It views the

farming in a holistic manner emphasizing the interactions between components. Given the multi-
biological components as its central part, integrated farming is a complex biological- social-
economic system. Final goal of management is to seek for the integrated effects of the whole
system, not the effects of its individual components (Fig.7.1)

59
 Fig.7.1 Structure of an IFS
Steps for preparation of a model integrated farming system to a specific situation:
1. Assessment of available resources
2. Identifying the existing cropping system
3. Identifying component(s) to be integrated
4. Fixing the size of the individual components
5. Working out the requirement of the components
6. Modifying the existing cropping system to suit the requirements of the components
integrated
7. Working out the economics of individual components and for the IF system as a whole
8. Identifying constraint and suggesting remedy measures/modifications for technical
feasibility, economic viability and practical utility.
9. Indigenous technological knowledge (ITK).

60
 Chapter 8: IFS MODEL

There are mainly 3 IFS model systems for different agro-climatic zones.
A. Wetland integrated farming system
Cropping in low land (Wetland) is considered to be less risky due to abundant availability
of water. In addition, most of the low land soils are heavy type of soils, which are fairly fertile
soil. Mostly rice is the principle crop in our low lands. Crops like Banana, Sugarcane and
Coconut are also grown in this ecosystem. Diversified farming (IFS) can be adopted in the low
lands with the components like Fish, Duck and Mushroom. The possible IFS that can be
practiced using these components are
Example:
a) Rice + Fish + Azolla
b) Rice + Fish + Duck
c) Rice + Fish + Mushroom

B. Irrigated upland
The possibility of having a viable integrated farming system in irrigated uplands is
possible. The control and management of available resources in more effective manner paves
way to integrate two are more components with cropping.
There is a lot of choice of components in irrigated upland compared to lowlands and
rainfed lands. Wide range of crops and varieties can be grown. Effective resource utilization and
management is possible due to controlled irrigation system.
Components like Dairy, poultry, goat, sheep, piggery, sericulture, apiculture, etc. can be
easily integrated in an irrigated upland farm. In addition perennial trees like coconut and other
fodder and multipurpose farm forestry trees can be grown along the borders of the fields and
boundary of the farm.
1. Crop + dairy + biogas unit
2. Crop + poultry + biogas unit
3. Crop + sheep / goat rearing + biogas unit
4. Crop + sericulture
5. Crop + piggery
6. Crop + sericulture + biogas unit
7. Crop + dairy + biogas unit + homestead garden
8. Crop + dairy + biogas unit + vermicompost
C. Dry land ecosystem
The dry land ecosystem is characterized by :
1. Inadequate and uneven distribution of rainfall
2. Poor and marginal soils
3. Low cropping intensity
4. Limited crop diversification

61
 5. Low value crops
6. Poor resource mobilizing power of farmers
The agriculture in drylands is seasonal. The cropping season is restricted to 4-5 months
and people remain without employment for rest of the year. Diversification of cropping by
integrating with components like livestock (Sheep/Goat rearing), silviculture, horticulture tree
crops and pastures would improve the standard of living and employment opportunities of the
dryland farmers.
Integrated farming system is a boon to dry land farmers. When compatible components/
allied activities/ associated enterprises are suitably combined, farming in drylands becomes less
risky and remunerative. IFS on a watershed approach are the best way of alternative agriculture
in dryland areas. The following components are identified as appropriate to dryland situations.
Possible combinations are
1. Crop + silvipasture + goat / sheep rearing
2. Crop + silviculture + hort. fruit trees
3. Crop + agro-forestry + goat + farm pond
4. Crop + silvipasture + goat + pigeon + farm pond
5. Crop + silvipasture + buffalo + farm pond

IFS model in Gujarat

In Gujarat, this project is being operated under GAU since its inception in the year 1972
with two components viz., ―Model agronomic experiments‖ with three centres at
Sardarkrushinagar, Junagadh and Navsari for on station research and ―Simple fertilizer trials‖.
Prior that it was functioning under State Government. The head quarter of the project is located
at Sardarkrushinagar.
As per Gujarat Government Gazette on 6th March, 2004, the Gujarat Agricultural
University was dissolved and formatted four new Agricultural Universities as AAU, Anand,
NAU, Navsari, JAU, Junagadh and SDAU, Sardarkrushinagar.
At present, Main On Station Integrated Farming System Research Centre,
Sardarkrushinagar is working under SDAU, Sardarkrushinagar and sub centres of FSR, Junagadh
under Junagadh Agricultural University and Navsari under Navsari Agricultural University.

The mandates of IFS

1. Identification of sustainable and profitable cropping sequences to suit the specific needs
of different Agro-climatic regions.
2. To develop capacity building of stakeholders in Integrated Farming Systems through
training.
3. To characterize existing farming systems to know the productivity, viability and
constraints.
4. To develop resource efficient, economically viable and sustainable integrated farming
system model.

62
IFS Model at S. D. Agricultural University
Sr. Enterprises Area
Treatment/Remarks
No. identified (ha)
Cropping Systems:
 C1: Castor + Green gram (0.32)
 C2: groundnut - Wheat – Multicut Fodder Rajka
Crops and cropping
1 0.70 Bajra (0.08)
system
 C3: Green gram - Mustard – Pearl millet (0.24)
 C4: Hybrid Napier + Cowpea(F) -Lucerne + Fodder
Chicory (0.06)
Fruit trees:
 Mango: 8m x 8m (40 plants)
Multistoried  Lemon: In between two rows at 4 m distance (80
2 horticulture fruits 0.25 plants)
and vegetables  Custard apple: In between 2 plants of mango (36
plants)
 Seasonal Vegetables in between fruit trees
Boundary plantation:
 Timber wood/Fruit/Vegetable/ Medicinal plants
1. Ardusa: 101 6. Mulberry: 03
2. Eucalyptus: 10 7. Drum stick: 15
3 Boundary plantation -
3. Subabool: 10 8. Aonla: 03
4. Custard apple: 10 9. Bamboo: 01
5. Jambun: 04 10. Teak: 35
 Fodder crops: Dhaman and Hybrid Napier on bunds
4 Livestock 0.025 Mehsani breed buffalo (Two)
Vermicompost,
5 compost and 0.010 Use of FYM, Farm wastes and cattle feed wastage
nursery unit
Water harvesting for IR is 15cm/hr. Source of irrigation is tube well. Water
6 0.015
recharging table is increasing at present
Total 1.000 -

63
Economics of different components of IFS during year 2017-18 of SDAU
Area Gross Net
Year of Total cost
Name of component allotted return return
commencement 2 (`/ha)
(m ) (` /ha) (`/ha)
1. Cropping systems 2010-11 7000 88621 137297 48676
2. Multistoried
Horticulture Fruits 2010-11 2500 35778 45375 9598
and Vegetables
3. Boundary plantation 2010-11 6340 83528 77188
4. Livestock +
Vermicompost,
2010-11 350 82848 152292 69444
compost and nursery
unit
5. Water recharging 2010-11 150 0 0 0
Total 10000 213586 418492 204906

*******

64
 AGRO-247 Farming Systems & Sustainable Agriculture

Questions on selected Topics

Q.1 Define Farming System & give the Classification of farming System.

Ans: “Farming system” therefore designates a set of agricultural activities organized while preserving land productivity,
environmental quality and maintaining desirable level of biological diversity and ecological stability. The emphasis is more on a
system rather than on gross output.

*Classification of Farming Systems:

 According to the Size of the Farm:

o Collective farming.
o cultivation farming: i) small scale farming ii) large scale farming.
 According to the Proportion of Land, Labour and Capital Investment:
o Intensive cultivation.
o Extensive cultivation.
 According to the Value of Products or Income or on the basis of Comparative advantages:
 Specialized farming.
 Diversified farming.
 Mixed farming.
 Ranching.
 Dry farming .
 According to the Water Supply:
 Rained farming.
 Irrigated farming.
 According to I) type of Rotation:
 a) lay system: i) unregulated lay farming ii) regulated lay system.
 b) Field system.
 c) Perennial crop system.
 II) Intensity of the Rotation:
o Shifting cultivation.
o Lay or fallow farming.
o Permanent cultivation.
o Multiple cropping.
 Classification According to Degree of Commercialization:
o Commercialized farming.
o Partly commercialized farming.
o Subsistence farming.
 Integrated Farming System.

Q.2 Define Cropping System. & Give the classification of Cropping System.

Ans: Cropping system: A cropping system refers to the principles and practices of cropping and their interaction with farm
resources, technology, aerial and edaphic environment to suit the regional or national or global needs and production strategy.

Classifications of Cropping System: Depending on the resources and technology available, different types of cropping systems are
adopted on farms, which are as below.
I. Mono-cropping or Single Cropping: Mono-cropping refers to growing only one crop on a particular land year after year. Or
Practice of growing only one crop in a piece of land year after year e.g. growing only rabbi crops in dry lands or only said crops in
diary lands (Lands situated in river basins which often remain flooded during rainy season). This is due to climatologically and socio
economic conditions or due to specialization of a farmer in growing a particular [Link] or cotton or sorghum is grown year
due to limitation of rainfall.

[Link]: Practice of repetitive growing only crop irrespective of its intensity as rice-rice-rice in Kerala, West Bengal and
Orissa.

[Link] Cropping: One crop variety grown alone in pure stand at normal density.

II. Multiple Cropping or Poly-cropping: Growing two or more crops on the same piece of land in one calendar year known as
multiple cropping. It is the intensification of cropping in time and space dimensions i.e. more number of crops within a year and more
number of crops on the same piece of land at any given period. It includes inter-cropping, mixed cropping and sequence cropping.
Eg.1) Rice-potato-green gram. 2) Rice-mustard-maize. 3) Jut-rice-potato.

[Link] Cropping: Growing the succeeding crop when previous crop attend its maturity stage-or-sowing of the next crop immediately
after the harvest of the standing crops. Or it is a system of cropping where one crop hands over land to the crop in quick succession.
E.g. 1) Paddy-lathers 2) Paddy-Lucerne. 3) Cotton-Berseem.

2. Sequential Multiple Cropping:

2.1. Sequence Cropping: Defined as growing of two or more crops in sequence on the same piece of land in a farming year. Crop
intensification is only in time dimension and there is no intercrop [Link] on the number of crops grown in a year. It is
called as double, triple and quadruple cropping involving two, three, and four crops, respectively.

2.1.a. Double cropping: [Link] – potato/ mustard 2. Sorghum- gram.

2.1b. Triple Cropping: Rice- potato-groundnut & Cowpea- mustard- jute.

2.1c. Quadruple cropping: Kharif groundnut- leafy vegetables- wheat- summer green gram.

3. Parallel multiple Cropping: Growing 2-3 crops at a time.

3.1 Intercropping: It refers to growing of two or more dissimilar crops simultaneously on the same piece of land, base crop
necessarily in distinct row arrangement.

3.1 a) Companion Cropping: In companion cropping the yield of one crop is not affected by other, In other words, the yield of both
the crops is equal to their pure crops. That the standard plant population of both crops is maintained. E.g.1) Mustard, wheat, potato,
etc. with sugarcane 2) Wheat, radish, cabbage, sugar beet etc., with potato.
Types of Companion Crop: [Link] Crop: Sunflower + Chickpea [Link] Crop: [Link] + Barseem

3.1 b) Multistoried Cropping/ Multi-tire cropping: Growing plants of different height in the same field at the same time is termed
as multistoried cropping. It is mostly practiced in orchards and plantation crops for maximum use of solar energy even under high
planting density. e.g. 1) Eucalyptus +Papaya + Berseem 2) Sugarcane + Mustard + Potato. 3) Coconut + Pineapple + Turmeric/Ginger.

3.1 c) Synergetic Cropping: Here the yields of both crops, grown together are found to be higher than yield of their pure crops on
unit area basis. E.g. Sugarcane + Potato. It has 2 types [Link] series [Link] series.

3.2 Mixed Cropping: Mixed cropping is growing of two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land without distinct row
arrangement.

[Link] cropping: Alley cropping is an agro- forestry system in which fast growing N-fixing stubs are planted as hedgerows. Food
crops are grown in alley formed by hedge of trees and shrubs. This system is most suitable for marginal and sub-marginal lands.
Scientists at international for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria has developed this system of agro-forestry in the 1970s. It has
following types:

 Forage alley cropping.

 Forage cum mulch system
 Forage cum pole system.

III. Crop Rotation: Refers to recurrent succession of crop on the same piece of land either in a year or over a longer period of time.

IV .Fallowing

Q.3 Enlist the Components of Farming Systems.

Ans: In the integrated farming system, it is always emphasized to combine cropping with other enterprises/ activities, many
enterprises are available and these includes cattle maintenance sheep or goat rearing, poultry, piggery, rabbit rearing, bee keeping etc.
Any one or more can be combined with the cropping.

1. Crop Husbandary
2. Cow/Mich animal farming
3. Buffalo farming
4. Fishery/Pisciculture
5. Poultry
6. Sheep rearing
7. Goat Farming
8. Piggery
9. Duck farming
10. Sericulture
11. Silviculture
12. Horticulture
13. Mushroom Cultivation
14. Fodder Production
15. Agro-Forestry
16. Rabbit rearing
17. Bio-gas
18. Lac culture.

Collected by Abhishek Patil,Government College of Agriculture, Kolhapur.

Q.3 Write down the scope of Farming System?

Ans: Scope of Farming Systems:

 Farming enterprises include crop, livestock, poultry, fish, sericulture etc.

 A combination of one or more enterprises with cropping when carefully chosen, planned and executed gives greater dividends
than a single enterprise, especially for small and marginal marginal farmers farmers.
 Farm as a unit is to be considered and planned for effective integration of the enterprises to be combined with crop production
activity.
 It helps to producing stable income at higher level.
 Higher use of pesticides, agrochemicals can be utilized.
 Increases economic yield per unit area per unit time.
 Helps to fulfill all domestic as well as business needs.
 Helps to acquire nutritive food by different enterprises.
 Rescue farmer’s economy.
 The end-products and wastes of one enterprise are utilized effectively as inputs in other enterprise. For example the wastes of
dairying viz., dung, urine, refuse etc are used in preparation of FYM or compost which serves as an input in cropping system.
 Sustainability is the objective of the farming system where production process is optimized through efficient utilization of
inputs without infringing on the quality of environment with which it interacts on one hand and attempt to meet the national
goals on the other.
 It is profitable and suitable to adopt in various Agro-climatic Zones.

Q.4 Write down the Principles & Characteristics of farming systems.

Ans: Principles of farming system

• Minimization of risk
• Recycling of wastes and residues
• Integration of two or more enterprises
• Optimum utilization of all resources
• Maximum productivity and profitability
• Ecological balance
• Generation of employment potential
• Increased input use efficiency
• Use of end products from one enterprise as input in other enterprise

Characteristics of farming system

1. Farmer oriented & holistic approach
2. Effective farmers participation
3. Unique problem solving system
4. Dynamic system
5. Gender sensitive
6. Responsible to society
7. Environmental sustainability
8. Location specificity of technology
9. Diversified farming enterprises to avoid risks due to environmental constraints
[Link] feedback from farmers.
Q.5 What is IFS? Give the objectives of IFS?

Ans: Integrated Farming System: IFS is the type of Farming system which integrates all other allied farming systems and
enterprises.

Objectives of farming system

1. Productivity- Farming system provides on opportunity to increase economic yield per unit area per unit time by virtue of
intensification of crop and allied enterprises. Time concept by crop intensification and space concept by building up of vertical
dimension through crops and allied enterprises.

2. Profitability - The system as a whole provides an opportunity to make use of produce/waste material of one enterprise as an input
in another enterprise at low/no cost. Thus by reducing the cost of production the profitability and benefit cost ratio works out to be
high.

3. Potentiality – Soil health, a key factor for sustainability is getting deteriorated and polluted due to faulty agricultural management
practices viz., excessive use of inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, high intensity irrigation etc. In farming system, organic
supplementation through effective use of manures and waste recycling is done, thus providing an opportunity to sustain potentiality of
production base for much longer time.

4. Balanced food- In farming system, diverse enterprises are involved and they produce different sources of nutrition namely proteins,
carbohydrates, fats & minerals etc form the same unit land, which helps in solving the malnutrition problem prevalent among the
marginal and sub-marginal farming households.

5. Environmental safety- The very nature of farming system is to make use or conserve the byproduct/waste product of one
component as input in another component and use of bio-control measures for pest & disease control. These eco-friendly practices
bring down the application of huge quantities of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, which pollute the soil water and environment to
an alarming level. Whereas IFS will greatly reduces environmental pollution.

6. Income/cash flow round the year- Unlike conventional single enterprise crop activity where the income is expected only at the
time of disposal of economic produce after several months depending upon the duration of the crop, the IFS enables cash flow round
the year by way of sale of products from different enterprises viz., eggs from poultry, milk from dairy, fish from fisheries, silkworm
cocoons from sericulture, honey from apiculture etc. This not only enhances the purchasing power of the farmer but also provides an
opportunity to invest in improved technologies for enhanced production.

7. Saving energy- Availability of fossil fuel has been declining at a rapid rate leading to a situation where in the whole world may
suffer for want of fossil fuel by 2030 AD. In farming system, effective recycling of organic wastes to generate energy from biogas
plants can mitigate to certain extent this energy crisis.

8. Meeting fodder crises- In IFS every inch of land area is effectively utilized. Alley cropping or growing fodder legume along the
border or water courses,intensification of cropping including fodder legumes in cropping systems helps to produce the required fodder
and greatly relieve the problem of non-availability of fodder to livestock component of the farming system.

9. Solving timber and fuel crises- The current production level of 20 million m3 of fuel wood and 11 million m3 of timber wood is
no match for the demand estimated or 360 m3 of fuel and 64,4 million m3 of timber wood in 2000 [Link] the current production
needs to be stepped up several-fold. Afforestation programmes besides introduction of agro-forestry component in farming system
without detrimental effect on crop yield will greatly reduce deforestation, preserving our natural ecosystem.

[Link] generation- Various farm enterprises viz., crop +livestock or any other allied enterprise in the farming system would
increase labour requirement significantly and would help solve the problem of under employment. An IFS provides enough scope to
employ family labour round the year.

[Link] for establishment of agro- industries- When once the produce from different components in IFS is increased to a
commercial level there will be surplus for value addition in the region leading to the establishment of agro-industries.

[Link] in input use efficiency – An IFS provides good scope for resource utilization in different components leading to
greater input use efficiency and benefit- cost ratio.
Q.6 Define Sustainable Agriculture. What are the goals of Sustainable Agriculture?

Ans: Sustainable Agriculture: sustainable Agriculture is a system of agriculture that is committed to maintain and preserve the
agriculture base of soil, water , and atmosphere ensuring future generations the capacity to feed themselves with an adequate supply of
safe and wholesome food’(Gracet, 1990).

Sustainable Agriculture: The successful management of resources for agriculture to satisfy changing human needs while maintaining
or enhancing the (Natural resource- base and avoiding environmental degradation) (TAC-CGIAR).

Goals of sustainable Agriculture: A sustainable Agriculture pursues the following goals:

•Productive and Profitable Conserves Resources and protects the environment Enhances health and safety,Low input methods and
skilled management.

• A more thorough incorporation of natural processes such as nutrient cycling nitrogen fixation and pest-predator relationships into
agricultural production processes.

• A reduction in the use of those off-farm, external and nonrenewable inputs with the greatest potential to damage the environment or
harm the health of farmers and consumers, and more targeted use of the remaining inputs used with a view to minimizing variable
costs:

• The full participation of farmers and rural people in all processes of problem analysis and technology development, adoption and
extension.

• A more equitable access to predictive resources and opportunities, and progress towards more socially just forms of Agriculture.

• A greater productive use of the biological and genetic potential of plant and animal species:

• A greater productive use of local knowledge and practices, including innovation in approaches not yet fully understood by scientists
or widely adopted by farmers:

• An increase in self-reliance among farmers and rural people

• An improvement in the match between cropping patterns and the productive potential and environmental constraints of climate and
landscape to ensure long-term sustainability of current production levels.

• Profitable and efficient production with an emphasis on integrated form management: and the conservation of soil, water, energy and
biological resources.

Q.7 What are the adverse effect of HEIA on Agriculture?

Ans: Adverse effects of high external input agriculture:

• Overuse of natural resources, causing depletion of groundwater, and loss of forests, wild habitats, and of their capacity to absorb
water, causing waterlogging and increased salinity:

• Contamination of the atmosphere by ammonia, nitrous oxide, methane and the products of burning, which play a role in ozone
depletion, global warming and atmospheric pollution:

• Contamination of food and fodder by residues of pesticides, nitrates and antibiotics.

• Contamination of water by pesticides, nitrates, soil and livestock water, causing harm to wildlife, disruption of ecosystems and
possible health problems in drinking water;

• Build up of resistance to pesticides in pests and diseases including herbicide resistance in weeds

• Damage of farm and natural resources by pesticides, causing harm to farm workers and public, disruption of ecosystems and harm to
wildlife.
• Erosion of genetic diversity – the tendency in agriculture to standardize and specialize by focusing on modern varieties, causing the
displacement of traditional varieties and breeds:

• New health hazards for workers in the agrochemical and food processing industries.

Added to the above adverse effects, the increasing human as well as cattle population is imposing intense pressure on available natural
resources.

Q.8 What are the objectives of sustainable agriculture?

Ans: Objectives of Sustainable Agriculture

 Make best use of the resources available

 Minimize use of non-renewable resources
 Protect the health and safety of farm workers, local communities and society
 Protect and enhance the environment and natural resources
 Protect the economic viability of farming operations
 Provide sufficient financial reward to the farmer to enable continued production and contribute to the well-being of the
community
 Produce sufficient high-quality and safe food
 Build on available technology, knowledge and skills in ways that suit local conditions and capacity.

The Specific Objectives are:

1. To identify existing farming systems in specific areas and access their relative viability.
2. To formulate farming system. Model involving main and allied enterprises for different farming situations.
3. To ensure optional utilization and conservation of available resources and effective recycling of farm residues within system.
4. To maintain sustainable production system without damaging resources/environment.
5. To rise over all profitability of farmhouse hold by complementing main/allied enterprises with other.