*4.4.4 Mulching*

It is one of the most important agronomic practices which not only reduces evaporation losses, runoff, and soil erosion but also increases infiltration, improves of soil structure and regulates of soil temperature. In low rainfall areas, mulching helps in conserving moisture in the soil profile while in high rainfall areas, it reduces runoff and soil losses, in turn, are reflected in higher productivity. A study conducted at Chandigarh in Shiwalik region of Northern India indicated possibility of increasing Wheat yield by 58% by providing grass mulch during *Rabi*. In another study conducted at Dehradun, recycling of Sun hemp *in-situ* as mulch one month after sowing reduced runoff and soil loss and significantly increased yield of succeeding Wheat crop [24]. At Kanpur in Northern India, rice straw mulch increased yield of maize by 41.8% and mustard by 190%. Mulching can reduce erosion on slopes of 25–39%. In tea garden the mulching with Guatemala grass (*Tripsacum laxum*) at the rate of 37 Mg/ha reduced the soil loss from 9 Mg/ha to 7 Mg/ha [27].

#### *4.4.5 Conservation tillage*

Tillage modifies the soil physical characteristics i.e. bulk density, surface roughness, porosity and hardness of pan. The conventional tillage leaves no land unplowed and leaves no residues on the field. In the Indo-Gangetic plains of Yamuna river, where rain water cannot enter into deeper layers due to presence of impervious soil layer (*Kankar*) and is lost as runoff, deep tillage by disc plow once in three years up to 20 cm depth and one pass of cultivator every year helped in reducing runoff considerably and enhanced grain yield of pearl millet by 50%. Conservation tillage involves disturbing the soil to the minimum extent necessary and leaving crop residues on the soil surface. It ensures at least 30% coverage of the soil surface with crop residue which play a very important role in organic carbon build up and soil and moisture conservation under dry land. In Maize-Toria cropping system of the hill and mountain agro-ecosystem, Minimum Tillage + Crop residue incorporation is effective in reducing runoff by 12% and soil loss by 24% as compared to the conventional tillage besides minimizing nutrient losses [28].

#### *4.4.6 Cropping system*

Soil erosion depends on cropping system adopted on the land. The growing of crops which produce maximum cover, reduce runoff and soil loss always better for soil erosion point of view. Cowpea and Green gram are important cover crops for the rainy seasons. They provide early and dense (85%) ground cover which

generally coincides with peak rate of runoff. The splash erosion loss in fallow land is 44.2 Mg/ha while it is 26.3 Mg/ha in Green gram and Black gram plots. In a study at Gujarat in Western India it was found that *Bidi* Tobacco, being a clean cultivated crop, allows higher runoff and soil loss and these losses can be reduced by introducing cover cum green manure crops during the early monsoon before Tobacco is transplanted in the field [10].
