Traditional Agricultural And Water Technologies Of The Thar

This book is a path breaking documentation of traditional technologies in agriculture and water management in the arid region of the Thar desert. The technologies have been profusely illustrated.

Thar Desert in India is one of the most well-investigated and densely populated regions amongst the world arid zones. A blend of crop and animal husbandries, conservative land use practices, coping mechanisms to minimize adverse effect of drought and a frugal lifestyle have been the characteristic features of its dwellers. Recent increase in biotic pressure has interacted with the fragile environment to create fearsome environmental problems. Governmental responses were prompt in form creating a strong research infrastructure for multi-disciplinary and multi-location research and demonstration on the one hand and in huge investment in irrigation from internally and externally sourced water, desertification control program and an accelerated socio-economic and infrastructure development, softening content of drought and strengthening of livelihoods on the other. Unlike several publications on the Thar, the current effort attempts a comprehensive, pragmatic and off-beat analysis of various developments and goes further to show how the situation today is a blend of both resource degradation and economic development. Recent studies have helped rebuild the past climate history that shows that the climate has been fluctuating during the geological history but reports suggest also that current anthropogenic global warming makes the desert more vulnerable in near future. An attempt has been made also to peep into the future of the Thar.

This book highlights various challenges and opportunities for water management and cooperation in South Asia. In light of increasing urbanization and development in the region and related pressure on water resources, the contributions investigate water conflictual and cooperative attitudes and gestures between countries and regions; analyse management trade-offs between nature, agriculture and urban uses; and examine water sustainable management and related policies. By studying major river basins in the region, such as Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Narmada, Godavari and Krishna, the chapters highlight socio-economic, infrastructural, environmental and institutional aspects of water scarcity in South Asia and present best practices for improved sustainable water management and security in the region.

This contributed volume is about water resources, their variability with prevalent environmental conditions and its sustainable management in India. Water has always been the life line for survival. An adequate supply of safe drinking water is one of the major pre-requisites for a healthy life. Time and again water has been a means of consolidating power in the human society. In the beginning of the new millennium, water has become a major issue in India. India is known to have the gift of its unique river systems have abundant water resources but ironically India faces severe water crises and other water management issues on a vast scale. The water related issues in India varies with both time and space. From crises of potable water, lack of sanitation, water borne diseases, to pesticide and heavy metal contamination, water related predicaments are highly prevalent in India and are more grave in rural set up.

The proceedings of the second meeting of the International Network of Salt-Affected Soils (INSAS) contain the abstracts of the papers presented during the workshop in Tashkent (22–26 May, 2023). The papers provide the up-to-date scientific knowledge and practical solutions for four topics: (1) mapping, assessing and monitoring of salt-affected soils; (2) sustainable management of salt-affected soils: practices and policy; (3) halophyte and saline agriculture and its effect on soil health; (4) integrated soil and water management under saline/sodic conditions. Under the first topic, modern techniques (geophysics, remote sensing, NIR spectroscopy) for mapping and monitroing of salt-affected soils as wel as mapping of environmental susceptibility to soil salinization in dry regions were presented. Under the second topic, different approaches to reclaim saline and sodic soils and improve seed germination including the use of different organic and inorganic amendments, organic biostimulants, biochar and phytoremediation were discussed. Moreover, biodiversity of salt-affected soils and its change along salinity gradient as well as the impact of soil enzymes on the structure and function of soil microbial communities and how soil degradation is associated with specific soil microbiota were reported. Policy gaps on addressing soil salinity were analyzed and further steps how to integrate agenda on SAS into existing agricultural policies were proposed. The results of Participatory Rural Appraisal approach to survey among farmers were provided. Under the third topic, the results on testing different conventional and non-conventional crops in field trials on salt-affected soils irrigated by fresh and saline water were reported. The influence of soil properties on growing halophytes was considered. Under the fourth topic, the ways to optimize the use of poor-quality irrigation water in agriculture were discussed. Some studies reported about the results of modeling of salt and water transport in soils for estimation of leaching requirement or root zone soil salinity. Several studies reported about the negative aspects of using brackish water leading to secondary soil salinization and sodification. For salt-affected areas with groundwater use for irrigation, the approach combining the Food Systems Approach and integrated water resources management was proposed to address the interdependent challenges of food and water security.

In Indian context.

This book covers an array of issues on emerging agricultural engineering and technology, featuring new research and studies. The volume is broken into three parts: emerging technologies, energy management in agriculture, and management of natural resources, in which particular attention is paid to water management, a necessary consideration for successful crop production, especially in water-scarce regions. Topics include: alleviating drainage congestion solar energy for agriculture anaerobic digestion by inoculation with compost self-propelled inter-cultivators agrobiodiversity watershed development and management This volume offers academia, engineers, technologists, students, and others from different disciplines information to gain knowledge on the breadth and depth of this multifaceted field of agricultural engineering. There is an urgent need to explore and investigate the current shortcomings and challenges of the current innovations and challenges.