Pulses as a Key Component in Conservation Agriculture: Impacts on Soil Health and Sustainability
Arya A.P *
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala, India.
Poornima Yadav P.I
Onattukara Regional Agricultural Research Station, Kayamkulam, India.
Sheeja K. Raj
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala, India.
Shalini Pillai P.
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Intensive agriculture poses several challenges such as soil degradation, reduced soil organic matter, and increased soil nutrient imbalances including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, zinc, iron, and manganese deficiencies and nutrient toxicities (Tiwari KN, 2002). It also contributes to degradation of groundwater quality, declining groundwater levels (Humphreys E et al, 2010), and issues like sodicity and salinization (Tiwari VM et al, 2009), resulting in reduced crop productivity. Many of these limitations can be addressed by adopting conservation agriculture, which supports sustainable productivity while safeguarding natural resources (Sharma AR et al, 2012). Pulses are particularly beneficial in conservation agriculture as they align well with its principles: diversified crop rotations, minimum soil disturbance and continuous soil cover. They serve as a resource-conserving technology that mitigates the adverse impacts of modern agricultural practices.
Keywords: Agriculture, soil health, pulses, agricultural land