Agrotechniques for conserving water and sustaining production in rainfed agriculture

Abstract

To provide food security to the burgeoning population sustainable development of rainfed agriculture is the need of the hour. Water is the key input for crop production in rainfed and dryland areas, therefore there is need to adopt a comprehensive approach to conserve soil moisture. Selection of suitable crops and their varieties is most important for rainfed and dryland areas. Other agronomic interventions like adoption of conservation agriculture, timely intercultural operations, mid-way corrections, micro-irrigation, deep summer ploughing, aqua-sowing, intercropping, land configurations, foliar nutrition and several other moisture conservation practices may play a big role for enhancing crop and water productivity in rainfed areas.