Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Edaphic Stresses and Agricultural Sustainability: An Indian Perspective

  • Review
  • Published:
Agricultural Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Increase in agricultural productivity in India is likely to come primarily from sustained intensification, but the increases in the recent past have been accompanied by severe degradation of agroecosystems and the resultant edaphic constraints. The emerging nutrient deficiencies with mining (8–10 million tonnes of NPK annually) along with acidity (pH < 5.5 in 17.93 M ha), salinity (6.73 M ha) and soil contaminants are the most common chemical stresses. Among the physical stresses, severe soil erosivity (water 82.47 M ha and wind 12.40 M ha), shallow soils (26.4 M ha), soil hardening (21.4 M ha) and low water holding capacity (13.75 M ha) threaten the soil productivity. The soils are inherently low in low organic carbon, and climate change is further impacting the farming systems. Conservative estimates show that about two-third losses in agricultural production are caused by these edaphic factors. Therefore, to alleviate the adverse effects of multiple edaphic factors, a holistic approach to build up systems perspectives is urgently required. The new tools emerging especially in the areas of conservation agriculture, precision irrigation technologies, biotechnology and omic sciences etc., are opening up new opportunities for tackling these stresses.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Aggarwal PK, Roetter R, Kalra N, Hoanh CT, VanKeulen H, Laar HH (eds) (2001) Land use analysis and planning for sustainable food security, with an illustration for the state of Haryana. Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, p 167

  2. Bansil PC (1990) Agricultural statistical compendium. Techno-Economic Research Institute, New Delhi, p 581

    Google Scholar 

  3. Benbi DK, Brar JS (2009) A 25-year record of carbon sequestration and soil properties in intensive agriculture. Agron Sust Dev 29:257–265

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Benbi DK, Nayyar VK, Brar JS (2006) Green revolution in Punjab: the impact on soil health. Indian J Fert 2:57–62

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Brandon C, Homman K, Kishor NM (1995) The cost of inaction: valuing the economy- wide cost of environmental degradation in India. The World Bank, New Delhi, p 46

    Google Scholar 

  6. CESI (2014) Compendium of environment statistics India. Central Statistical Organization, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. www.mospi.gov.in

  7. CPCB (2015) Status of water supply, wastewater generation and treatment in Class I cities and Class II towns of India. Series: CUPS/70/2009-10. Central Pollution Control Board, India, p 89

  8. CSSRI (2015) Vision-2050. Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Kranal, India, p 31

    Google Scholar 

  9. DAC (2009) Manual for drought management. Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi, p 37

    Google Scholar 

  10. DAC (2014) State of Indian agriculture 2012–2013. Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi, p 221

    Google Scholar 

  11. DAC (2015) Agricultural statistics at a glance-2014. Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, p 453

  12. Dagar JC, Minhas PS (eds) (2016) Agroforestry for management of waterlogged saline soils and poor-quality waters, adv Agrofor series 13. Springer, New Delhi, p 210

  13. Dhruvanarayana VV, Babu R (1983) Estimation of soil erosion in India. J Irrig Drain Eng 109(4):419–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Eswaran H, Beinroth FH, Reich PF (2003) A global assessment of land quality. In: Wiebe K (ed) Land quality, agricultural productivity, and food security: biophysical processes and economic choices at local, regional, and global levels. Publ. Edward Elgar, Northampton, pp 111–132

    Google Scholar 

  15. FAO (2011) State of world’s land and water resources: managing systems at risk. Food and Agricultural Organization, Rome, p 285

    Google Scholar 

  16. Friedrich HB, Eswaran H, Reich PF (2008) Edaphic constraints on food production. In: Chesworth W (ed) Encyclopedia of soil science. Springer, The Netherlands, pp 202–206

    Google Scholar 

  17. Goswami BN, Venugopal V, Sengupta D, Madhusoodanan MS, Prince KX (2006) Increasing trend of extreme rain events over India in a warming environment. Science 314:1442–1445

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Guhathakurta P, Rajeevan M (2006) Trends in the rainfall pattern over India. National Climate Centre Research Report no 1/2012. India Meteorological Department, Pune, p 22

  19. Hobbs PR, Sayre K, Gupta R (2008) The role of conservation agriculture in sustainable agriculture. Philos Trans R Soc 363:543–555

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. ICAR and NAAS (2010) Degraded and wastelands of India; status and spatial distribution. Indian Council of Agricultural Research and National Academy of Agricultural Science, New Delhi, p 158

    Google Scholar 

  21. IISS (2015) Vision 2050. Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, India, p 23

    Google Scholar 

  22. Indiastat (2011–2012) http://www.indiastat.com/table/agriculture. Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Accessed 15 May 2015

  23. IPCC (2013) Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner GK, Tignor M, Allen SK, Boschung J, Nauels A, Xia Y, Bex V, Midgley PM (eds) Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 1535

    Google Scholar 

  24. Joshi PK, Jha AK, Wani Suhas P, Sreedevi TK, Shaheen FA (2008) Impact of watershed program and conditions for success: a meta-analysis approach. Global theme on agro-ecosystems. Report no. 46. Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India; International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad, p 24

  25. Kamra SK (2015) An overview of sub-surface drainage for management of saline and waterlogged soils in India. Water Energy Int 6(09):46–53

    Google Scholar 

  26. Khybri ML, Prasad SN, Ram S (1988) Effect of top soil removal on the growth and yield of rainfed maize. Indian J Soil Conserv 8(2):164–169

    Google Scholar 

  27. Maji AK (2007) Assessment of degraded and wastelands of India. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 55(4):427–435

    Google Scholar 

  28. Milne E, Bhattacharya T, Pal DK, Easter M, Williams S (2006) A system for estimating carbon organic stocks and changes at regional scale: a case study from Indo-Gangetic plains of India. In: Proceedings of international conference on soil, water and environ. quality, Indian Society of Soil Science, New Delhi, pp 303–313

  29. Minhas PS, Dagar JC (2016) Synthesis and way forward: agroforestry for waterlogged saline soils and poor-quality waters. In: Dagar JC, Minhas PS (eds) Agroforestry for management of waterlogged saline soils and poor-quality waters. Adv Agrofor Series 13. Springer, New Delhi, pp 197–201

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  30. Minhas PS, Gupta RK (1992) Quality of irrigation water—assessment and management. Information and Publication Section, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, p 123

    Google Scholar 

  31. Minhas PS, Samra JS (2004) Wastewater use in peri-urban agriculture: impacts and opportunities. Bull. No. 2/2004, Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, India, p 78

  32. Minhas PS, Sharma OP (2002) Management of soil salinity and alkalinity problems in India. J Crop Prod 7:181–230

    Google Scholar 

  33. Minhas PS, Yadav RK, Chaturvedi RK, Lal K (2015) Impact of long-term irrigation with domestic sewage and nutrient rates I. Performance, sustainability and produce quality of peri-urban cropping systems. Agric Water Manage 156:100–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Minhas PS (2012) Sustainable management of brackish-water agriculture. Soil water and agronomic productivity. Adv Soil Sci 19:289–327

    Google Scholar 

  35. NAPCC (2008) National action plan on climate change. Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change, Government of India, New Delhi, p 49

    Google Scholar 

  36. Narain P, Kar A, Ram B, Joshi DC, Singh RS (2000) Wind erosion in Western Rajasthan. Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, India, p 36

    Google Scholar 

  37. Narain P, Kar A (2006) Desertification. In: Chadha KL, Swaminathan MS (eds) Environment and agriculture. Malhotra Publication House, New Delhi, pp 190–210

    Google Scholar 

  38. NBSS and LUP Staff (2002) Soils of India, NBSS Publ. 94, National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur, India, p 130

  39. NIASM (2015) Vision-2050. National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Baramati, India, p 31

    Google Scholar 

  40. NRAA (2011) Challenges of food security and its management. National Rainfed Area Authority, NASC Complex, New Delhi, p 45

    Google Scholar 

  41. Painuli DK, Tomar SS, Temba GP, Sharma SK (2002) Raised-sunken technology for vertisols of high rainfall areas. Technical bulletin, AICRP on soil physical constraints and their amelioration for sustainable crop production. Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, p 19

  42. Painuli DK, Yadav RP (1998) Tillage requirement of Indian soils. In: Singh GB, Sharma BR (eds) Fifty years of natural resource management research in India. ICAR, New Delhi, pp 245–262

    Google Scholar 

  43. Palanisami K, Suresh-Kumar D, Chanderashekhran B (eds) (2002) Watershed management; issues and policies for 21st century. Associated Publishing Company, New Delhi, p 341

    Google Scholar 

  44. Sharma R (2007) India: status of national communications to the UNFCCC. http://www.whre.org/policy/climate_change/alapdf/ala-08-india.pdf

  45. Samra JS, Narain P (2006) Soil and water conservation. In: Handbook of agriculture. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, pp 230–253

  46. Sanyal SK, Jeevan-Rao K, Sadana US (2012) Toxic elements and other pollutants. In: Soil science in the service of nation, Proceedings of the platinum jubilee symposium, ISSS, New Delhi, pp 266–291

  47. Sanyal SK, Majumdar K, Singh VK (2014) Nutrient management in Indian agriculture with special reference to nutrient mining—a relook. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 62:307–325

    Google Scholar 

  48. Sharda VN (2011) Strategies for arresting land degradation in India. In: Akter N, Sarkar D, Azad AK, Singh SK (eds) Strategies for arresting land degradation in south Asian countries. SAARC Agriculture Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp 77–134

    Google Scholar 

  49. Sharda VN, Dogra P, Prakash C (2010) Assessment of production losses due to water erosion in rain fed areas of India. J Soil Water Conserv 65:79–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Sharma PD, Sarkar AK (2005) Managing acid soils for enhancing productivity. Tech. Bull. NRM Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, p 126

    Google Scholar 

  51. Sharma PD, Singh MV (2012) State of health of Indian soils. In. Soil science in the service of nation, proceedings of the platinum jubilee symposium, Indian Society Soil Science, New Delhi, pp 191–213

  52. Singh RB (2010) Towards a food secure India and South Asia: making hunger history. Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutes, Bangkok, p 46

    Google Scholar 

  53. Sinha SK, Singh GB, Rai M (1998) Decline in crop productivity in Haryana and Punjab: myth or reality. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, p 89

    Google Scholar 

  54. Subba-Rao AVM, Choudary SB, Manipandan N, Rao VUM, Rao GGSN, Ramakrishna YS (2007) Rainfall trends, periodicities and vulnerable areas to climate change over India. In: National conference on “impact of climate change with particular reference to agriculture”, 22–24 Aug 2007, TNAU, Coimbatore, pp 13–39

  55. Subbareddy G, Reddy YVR, Vittal KPR, Thyagaraj CR, Rama-Krishna YS, Somani LL (2008) Dryland agriculture. Agrotech Publishing Academy, Udaipur, p 368

    Google Scholar 

  56. Sur HS, Singh R, Malhi SS (1998) Influence of simulated erosion on soil properties and maize yield in north-western India. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 29:2647–2658

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Swarup A, Wanjari RH (2000) Three decades of all India research project on long-term fertilizer experiments to study changes on soil quality. Crop Productivity and Sustainability, Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, p 59

    Google Scholar 

  58. Tomar SS, Tambe GB, Sharma SK, Tomar VS (1995) Studies on some land management practices for increasing agricultural production in vertisols of central India. Agric Water Manage 30:91–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. UNEP (1993) Land degradation in South Asia: its severity, causes and effects upon the people. World soils research report no. 78, FAO, Rome, p 100

  60. Velayutham M, Mandal DK, Mandal C, Sehgal JL (1999) Agro-ecological subregions of India for development and planning. NBSS publication no. 35. National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur, India, p 372

  61. Vittal KPR, Vijayalakshmi K, Rao UMB (1990) The effect of cumulative erosion and rainfall on sorghum, pearl-millet and castor-bean yields under dry farming conditions in Andhra Pradesh, India. Exp Agric 26:429–439

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. WG-NRMRF (2011) Report of working group on natural resource management and rain fed farming for XII plan. Planning Commission, Government of India, New Delhi, p 70

    Google Scholar 

  63. Yadav JSP (2007) Soil productivity enhancement: prospect and problems. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 55:455–463

    Google Scholar 

  64. Yadav RK, Minhas PS, Khajanchi-Lal Dagar JC (2016) Potential of wastewater disposal through tree plantations. In: Dagar JC, Minhas PS (eds) Agroforestry for management of waterlogged saline soils and poor-quality waters, adv agrofor series 13. Springer, New Delhi, pp 163–179

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  65. Yadav RL, Diwedi BS, DA Kanta-Prasad Tomar, Shurpali NJ, Pandey PS (2000) Yield trends and changes in soil organic carbon and available NPK in a long-term rice–wheat system under irrigated use of manures and fertilizers. Field Crops Res 68:219–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Bramati, Pune, 413 115, India

    P. S. Minhas

  2. National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur, 440 033, India

    G. P. Obi Reddy

Authors
  1. P. S. Minhas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. P. Obi Reddy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. S. Minhas.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Minhas, P.S., Obi Reddy, G.P. Edaphic Stresses and Agricultural Sustainability: An Indian Perspective. Agric Res 6, 8–21 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-016-0236-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-016-0236-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation