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Conservation Agriculture and C Sequestration in Tropical Regions

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Carbon Management in Tropical and Sub-Tropical Terrestrial Systems

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Abstract

This chapter discusses the status, problems and prospects of conservation agriculture (CA) in the smallholder farming system in the tropics. The resource conservation technology in the form of no-till wheat after rice in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) is picking up by alleviating system’s constraints through advancing wheat planting, which addresses the issues of terminal heat stresses, helps control of weed (Phalaris minor), reduces production costs and saves water and energy. The analysis shows that conservation agriculture (CA) in the broader context of resource conservation technology not only improves soil health but also gives higher net returns per unit of land to the farmers. The major constraints for practising CA in these regions include insufficient amounts of residues due to water shortage and degraded nature of soil resources, competing uses of crop residues, resource-poor smallholder farmers and lack of in-depth research. There is a need for strategic long-term research, particularly in the rainfed regions for exploring the prospects for the adoption of CA before it could be taken to the farmers’ doorsteps.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Canning Town, India

    Uttam Kumar Mandal, D. Burman, Subhasis Mandal & B. Maji

  2. ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India

    K. L. Sharma

Authors
  1. Uttam Kumar Mandal
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  2. K. L. Sharma
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  3. D. Burman
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  4. Subhasis Mandal
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  5. B. Maji
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Probir K. Ghosh

  2. Plant Animal Relationship Division, IGFRI, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Sanat Kumar Mahanta

  3. ICAR, Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

    Debashis Mandal

  4. Agricultural Chemistry & Soil Science, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, West Bengal, India

    Biswapati Mandal

  5. Crop Production Division, Indian Grassland & Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Srinivasan Ramakrishnan

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Mandal, U.K., Sharma, K.L., Burman, D., Mandal, S., Maji, B. (2020). Conservation Agriculture and C Sequestration in Tropical Regions. In: Ghosh, P., Mahanta, S., Mandal, D., Mandal, B., Ramakrishnan, S. (eds) Carbon Management in Tropical and Sub-Tropical Terrestrial Systems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9628-1_11

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