Conservation of Soil Fertility in White Sugar Belt of Bihar

Abstract

With the intensive cropping system f0110i&Td in Bihar, particularly in white sugar 1k'lt coupled in- tensive programme of sugarcane develop- meat, it is verv diffcult to raise crops eco- nomically for long supplementation of plant nutrients. A sound svstem of cane cultivation aiming at sustainéd production of high level fertility besides avoiding possible hazards of soil exhaustion has been found essential. An attempt has been made hereunder to put forward a scheme of ferti- lity management of the soils of the tract under sugarcane cropping keeping in viev,- the edaphological and ecological factors existing in the area. The scheme has been based on large number of field experiments scattered on as large area as possible which may serve as a good guide for advice to the cane growers on scientific cropping of sugarcane. Four broad soil divisions have been re- cocrnized3 in the white sugar belt of the State of Bihar, namely the non-calcareous soil and the calcareous soil of North Bihar and the Heavy clay and Sone alluvium soils south of the Ganges. Each of these soil divisions has developed on transported alluvial mat- erials, and occupies extensive areas under reasonably uniform climatic conditions and possesses distinctive characteristics.