eChapters

The arid and semi-arid regions of India are drought prone and the availability vegetation of these regions is more acute during summer when the quality of the pastures becomes vulnerable. Small ruminants in the semi-arid regions need to adopt special physiological function to maintain thermal equilibrium. The reproductive efficiency of different breeds of sheep inhabiting in the semi-arid regions of India is relatively low (Arora and Garg, 1998).The nature of nutritional resources and management problems differs with climate, soil and vegetation, the physical process which governs the animals reproductive performance are the same; the female must reach puberty, show behavioral estrus and shed one or more ova which have then to be fertilized. Dietary nutrition promotes the programming and expression of the metabolic pathways that enable animals to achieve their genetic potential for reproduction. Nutrition has an important impact on the reproductive performance in sheep, but the magnitude of the effect on reproduction may vary with the season (White et al., 1983). Sheep are more prone to neglect compared to cattle and often suffer from lack of feed and fodder. The animals during the grazing are exposed to combined stress (Sejian et al., 2010 ab, and 2011) .This leads to decrease in body weight and loss of reproductive functions. Concurrently, Rhind and Mc Neilly (1986) showed that ewes with low body fat reserves had fewer large ovarian follicles and therefore the potential for subsequent maturation and ovulation declined. 

The demand for agricultural and livestock products is rising and the challenge to feed 8 billion people in 2020 is considerably enormous. Further, it is also hard to imagine meeting 2050-projected demand by raising twice as many poultry, 78% more small ruminants, 58% more cattle and 37% more pigs, without further damaging natural resources (Rivera and Lopez, 2012). Hence, sustainable development based on balance of ecology, economics, norms and values are to be considered at various levels of the scale: between food and farming systems, regions, nations and continents (Zipp, 2003). The food systems encompass activities related to the production, processing, distribution, preparation and consumption of food; and the outcomes of these activities contributing to food security (Fig. 14.1).The interactions between and within bio-geo-physical and human environments influence both the activities and the outcomes.

In India, being predominantly an agricultural country, livestock is emerging as a driving force in the growth of agricultural sector. Contribution of livestock to agriculture GDP has been rising steadily during the last three decades from 13.88% in 1980-81 to 27.28% in 2010-11 (BAHS 2012). About 70% population of the Country is engaged in agriculture and more than 50% of people below poverty line are associated with livestock production. India is blessed with a rich genetic resource of bovines, with an estimated number of 304.76 million (Livestock Census, 2007), which is 19% of the world. India continues to be the highest milk producing country in the world with an estimated production of 121.8 million tonnes during 2010-11 of which more than 53% is contributed by buffaloes (105.34 millions). Similarly, India ranks first in buffalo, second in cattle and goat, third in sheep, fourth in duck, fifth in chicken and sixth in camel population of the world. India is the third largest egg producer in the world (BAHS 2012). India posses a large treasure of domestic animal biodiversity with 37 breeds of cattle, 13 breeds of buffalo, 23 breeds of goat, 39 breeds of sheep, 6 breeds of horse/pony, 8 breeds of camel, 2 breeds of pig and 15 breeds of chicken registered under National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal.

Livestock farming is an integral part of crop farming and contributes substantially to household nutritional security and poverty alleviation through increased household income. Indian agriculture is an economic symbiosis of crop and livestock production with cattle as the foundation. Dairy animals produce milk by converting the crop residues and by products from crops which otherwise would be wasted. Dairy sector contributes by way of cash income, drought power and manure. Livestock provides for human needs by way of food, fibre, fuel, fertilizer, skin and traction. India has the largest livestock populations in the world. It has 57 per cent of the world’s buffalo population and 16 per cent of the cattle population. It ranks first in respect of cattle and buffalo population, third in sheep and second in goat population in the world. 70 per cent of the livestock are owned by 67 per cent of small and marginal farmers. 76 per cent of the milk is produced by weaker sections of society. Out of total livestock in the country, 37.28 per cent are cattle, 21.29 per cent are buffaloes, 12.71 per cent are sheep, 2640 per cent are goats and only 2.01 per cent are pigs. All other animals are less than 0.37 per cent of the total livestock. The species-wise breakup of livestock population in India (Table 16.1)

“Terra”per se is an extraordinarily complex, messy geophysical system with dozens of variables, most of which change in response to one another. The basic proposition behind the science of climate change is also rooted in the floral and faunal cohabiting with the Homo sapiens. Livestock and related fodder cultivation and the green waste generated in a farming enterprise are of extreme significance when we ponder over the climate change. Confusion and complacency reigns the thinking process and planning process related to climate change. Confusion in the sense, that risk communication in this regard is so placid. Complacency, we say due to the lackadaisical attitude of our policy makers. To make it very plain, fodder production sector as well as farm sector will suffer the most in Kerala for want of scientific thinking, planning and execution.

Livestock have the potential to be transformative; by enhancing food and nutrition security and providing the income to pay for education and for other needs, livestock can transform lives of many (Jimmy Smith et al., 2013). The projected growth of population is 9.6 billion in the year 2050 from the current population of 7.2billion (Gerber et al, FAO, 2013). The world demand for milk and meat in 2050 is expected to expand 58 and 73% respectively from their demand levels in 2010 (FAO, 2011). Nevertheless, the growth animal agriculture is not on par with the demand. Today, in a world of limited resources, in the face of climate change and a rising world population, a major issue is global food security (Augustine et al 2013). The key inferences of the latest approved summary for policymakers by the IPCC (2013) on climate change are 1). Warming of climate system is unequivocal and will continue beyond 2100. Global surface temperature change for the end of the 21st century is expected to exceed 1.5°C relative to 1850 to 1900 for almost all RCP scenarios 2). It is very likely that frequency of heat waves and heavy precipitation events have increased 3).

Climate change has become a global threat as its impact is evident on the Earth. In the coming decades,the severity of climate change is expected to aggravate the ecosystem. Due to its vulnerable ecosystem and geographical location, the North eastern region (NER)of India that is home to about 40 million people is considered as one of the most climate sensitive areas in the country. The NER is among India’s least developed region andscarce information is available on the impact of climate change in this region. However, initial scientific research and field observations confirm that the region is suffering from the impacts of climate change already. The region comprising 0.26 million km2area occupying 8% of nation’s territoryconsists of the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. These states consist of a part of the east Himalayan region, which extends eastwards from Arunachal Pradesh to the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal. The entire region is a part of Indo-Burma and Himalayan hotspots i.e. characterized by rich biodiversity, heavy precipitation and high seismicity.

One Health is defined as “the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment.” The concept of ‘One Health’ dates back to the Greek physician Hippocrates (ca. 460 BCE–a.370) who in his text “On Airs, Waters and Places” stated:

Whoever wishes to investigate medicine properly, should proceed thus: in the first place to consider the seasons of the year, and what effects each of them produces, for they are not all alike, but differ much from themselves in regard to their changes.

The climatic changes and global warming may impact the economic viability of livestock production systems in a significant manner. The possible consequences of increased ambient temperature on the livestock include reduced feed intake, reduced weight gains, lower milk production and lower conception rates during summer periods. Though animals can, to some extent, adapt to higher temperatures with prolonged exposure, the production losses are likely to be exhibited in response to higher temperature events. However, potential direct and indirect impacts of climate change on livestock production have not yet been thoroughly explored. Changes in availability and quality of fodder have also been identified as one of the major impacts of climate changes leading to lowered productivity of livestock species. Climate change could also affect the distribution of vector-borne livestock diseases. These changes occur as a result of shifts in the geographical ranges of ticks, mosquitoes, flies and other vectors.

Over the past decades climate change and climate related disaster risks have become more important than ever. The effects of climate change are unprecedented today and thus pose serious risks for human wellbeing, livelihoods and life-supporting systems. They also present serious challenges to society, in addition, increased climate variability significantly undermine the socio-economic development and environment. The consequences of climatic change, such as increase in frequency and extent of droughts, floods, cyclones, mudslides and avalanches have impacts on all sectors of economy including water, agriculture, fisheries, health, forestry, transport, tourism and energy sectors. Amongst these sectors, the agricultural sector is one of the most vulnerable sectors to impacts of climate change, which can have multiplicative effects on other sectors, as well as the economy and overall human being. The projected climate change towards warming may affect not only the crop cultivation but also on agro-climatic conditions for growing pasture vegetation, forming of feed stocks in pastures and conditions for grazing livestock. Favourable conditions for grazing livestock are determined, on the one hand, by sufficient amount of forage in pastures and on the other, by the extreme weather conditions that restrict the use of these fodders.

Increase in ambient temperature, drought, rainfall, desert, feed and fodder scarcity, water scarcity and other climatic stresses are very common to tropical climatic conditions. The animals living in tropical climate have to undergo some modification for their survival under such extreme conditions. Interestingly, higher percentage of livestock is found in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. These areas are rich in animal resources. There are several descriptive and non-descriptive breeds of bovine distributed in different agro-climatic conditions of India. They possess several traits which make them adaptive to such climatic conditions. Identifying those traits and propagation of such traits is beneficial in near future in respect of climate change scenario. Climate change is the major concern for the improvement and sustainability of livestock under tropical climatic conditions. The rising of temperature and humidity is one of the major threats to animal’s productive performance that leads to great economic losses. Upadhyay et al. (2009) estimated 2% loss of milk production due to thermal stress in India. It has also been expected that 3.2 million tons reduction by 2020 and more than 15 million tons by 2050. The decline in milk production reported to be higher in crossbreds (0.63%) followed by buffaloes (0.5%) and indigenous cattle (0.4%) (Upadhyay et al., 2009). 

Introduction

India is a vast country with varied agro-climatic condition favor the growth of wild variety of natural and cultivated flora. The extensive area of forest and millions of acres of cultivated land sustains a large proportion of insects and honey bees (Thakar 1976). The honey bees are social creatures and taught us how we should live and cooperate with each other in the society. People have a high regard for honeybees for their carefulness, unity, sacrifice, tolerance, cooperation, coordination, division of labour, social service and usefulness. They live in large colonies, each consisting of a queen (mother of the colony), a few hundred of drones (males) and several thousand sterile female workers.  Workers, as their name implies, do most of the work ‘work’ around the hive. India has been known as ‘land of honey’. Since centuries, honey is used to tree a diversity of illness through a wide range of applications. Honey has a long history of human consumption, and most commonly consumed in its unprocessed state (i.e. liquid, crystallized or in the comb) in our country. It is taken as medicine, eaten as food, or incorporated as an additive in a variety of food and beverages.

Introduction

In India importance of beekeeping is for honey production and little importance has till now been given to the primary biological and economic role played by bees in the pollination of agricultural crops. Honeybees are most fascinating creatures on the earth. They provide not only honey and also other valuable beehive products such as bees wax, pollen, royal jelly, propolis and bee venom. The bee forage in good quality is the primary requirement for production of the beehive products whereas efficient management and manipulation of bee colonies can competent for more production. A wise beekeeper adjusts to colony manipulation techniques according to floral and climatic conditions. In temperate regions there is enough flora during particular period i.e. spring and summer of the year and bees collect and store food but they face protracted dearth period in winter. Under subtropical climate of the country, nectar and pollen sources are available for most part of the year which are helpful for production of beehive products with quality.

Introduction

All living organisms are subject to infestation or attack by their natural enemies and honeybees of the genus Apis are no exception. Through their long history of evolution by natural selection, they have achieved a high level of eusociality; many thousands of individual bees living together in a tightly knit social organization. Since individual bees have more than frequent content among themselves, and trophallaxis is one of the most important aspects of the bee’s social behaviour in that it allows hormones and pheromones to be widely distributed throughout the colony whenever pathogenic organism is present in the colony it will be spread with great ease. Honeybee diseases create serious problems, which must be met not only by the bee-keeper but also by the bees themselves.

Introduction

The word ‘Sericulture’ is derived from the Greek word ‘sericos’ meaning ‘silk’ and the English ‘culture’ meaning ‘rearing’. It refers to the mass scale rearing of silkworm for obtaining silk from them. Mulberry sericulture involves production of silk using mulberry as the host plant. Silk is known as Resham in Hindi, Soie in French, Seide in German, Seda in Spanish, Seta in Italian, Tsi in Chinese, Soi in Korean, Knu in Japanese, Solk in Russian etc. It is regarded the queen of textiles as it is most elegant among all the  textile fibers with unparalleled grandeur, natural sheen, inherent affinity for dyes, high absorbance, light weight with soft touch and high durability.

Introduction
The major non-mulberry silkworms include the following

1.    Tasar silkworm Tasar silkworm is wild. Larva of tasar silkworm spins a ring like structure around the twig and a long peduncle before constructing the cocoon. Cocoons are large, thick and pedunculate. Cocoons are referred as ‘Hens’s eggs’. They are made of a single unbroken filament and hence are reelable. Tasar silkworm is bi/ tri/ tetra/ pentavoltine. This silk is brown colored silk. Monia or Mauni vessel, a palm leaved vessel is used to rear tasar silkworm in olden days.

a)    Indian Tropical Tasar, Antheraea mylitta (Saturniidae: Lepidoptera) This silkworm commonly found in tropical India. It is polyphagous and feeds on a number of food plants. Its principal host plants are asan (Terminalia tomentosa), arjun (T.arjuna) and Sal (Shorea robusta). Secondarily it feeds on Ber (Zizyphus sp.) The cocoons are grey white, tough and pedunculate.

Introduction

Despite the predominance of attention to insects as pests, many insects are directly beneficial to humans, and as a result, mass-production methods have been developed. The most notable example is silkworms, although many other insects are mass produced for various purposes. For example, Lacewings, ladybird beetles, and some parasitoids are mass produced and sold as biological control agents against various pests. Bumble bees and alfalfa leaf cutting bees are mass produced as pollinators for greenhouse crops and alfalfa seed production, respectively. A major concern in any kind of mass rearing facility is the risk for pest and disease outbreaks. If pest and diseases are not controlled, a sudden collapse of the insect colony can occur and the quality and quantity of their product may be reduced. Sericulture is practiced by scores of farmers in the tropical, subtropical and temperate countries including India, China and other Asian countries. India produces 25,519 metric tonnes of silk and holds second position in the world in silk production (www.csb.nic.in). The Indian silk is comprised of mulberry silk produced by Bombyx mori (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Bombycidae). About 92% of India’s total raw silk production is from the mulberry silkworm. The silk produced by silkworms is known as “Queen of fibers” due to glittering luster, soft-feeling, elegance, durability and tensile properties.

Introduction

Lac insects, under Family Tachardiidae (= Lacciferidae), Superfamily Coccoidea, Order Hemiptera are commercially important species for resin, dye and wax production. Lac insects are naturally distributed in tropical and subtropical areas of south and south-east Asia. Out of the nine genera and 99 species of lac insects reported from the world, two genera and 26 species are found in our country. The family Tachardiidae is divided into two sub-families, i) Tachardiinae including true lac insects of resinous cell and ii) Tachardininae including pseudo-lac insects of non-resinous cells. In India, lac is cultivated in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and parts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal primarily using Kerria lacca. However, natural populations of Kerria spp are distributed throughout India and K. chinensis in the north eastern states is also cultivated to a certain extent. Kerria lacca species is represented by two distinct forms, kusmi and rangeeni, differing for their host species preference, life cycle pattern, quality and quantity of the resin produced, settlement behaviour, etc. The two forms of the Indian lac insect, commonly referred as ‘strains’ in lac insect literature, were placed as infrasubspecific forms by Varshney (1977).

Introduction

The Indian lac insect, Kerria lacca (Kerr) (family Tachardiidae (Kerriidae), super family Coccoidea of the order Hemiptera) is widely cultivated in India for their products viz., resin, dye and wax.Lac products have diverse uses in food, pharmaceuticals, surface coating, electrical, cosmetic industries, etc. Lac cultivation is one of the major sources of income for the tribal community of the country. India is the global leader in lac production. Out of 2 strains (kusmi and rangeeni) available in lac insects, Kusmi lac insects are specific to India and contribute good quality and quantity lac. Although lac insects can survive on more than 400 host plants, important host plants of lac insects are Butea monosperma (Palas), Schleichera oleosa (Kusum), Ziziphus mauritania (Ber) and Flemingia semialata in India.

Introduction
 
Natural control strategies that employ biological agents for pest suppression are generally classified as biological control tactics. In conventional usage, this term usually refers to the practice of rearing and releasing natural enemies:   parasites, predators, or pathogens. A slightly broader definition of “bio-control” includes any related management activity that is designed to protect or conserve natural enemies. Biological control is the use of living organisms to maintain pest populations below damaging levels. Natural enemies of arthropods fall into three major categories: predators, parasitoids, and pathogens (Altieri et al., 2005; Mahr et al., 2008).

Introduction

Insects have a long history through many geological periods. They appeared in the world long before man. Over 750,000 species of true insects have already been described, for centuries man has fought insects as pests, carriers of disease and destroyers of his food. This combat will continue, for humans have never eradicated a single species. Insects such as flies, fleas, lice and mosquitoes directly attack man and domesticated animals. Others attack indirectly by transmitting dangerous diseases to man and animals.

Introduction

Among vertebrate pests such as birds and wild animals, Well-known rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, dogs, gerbils etc., are great importance. Among rodents, rat and mice come under class Mammalia. They are small mammals belonging to order Rodentia and under sub family Murinae in the Family Muridae. Rat and mice cause severe damage to various crops like sugarcane, rice, maize etc. both directly and indirectly by gnawing, spoilage, contamination and hoarding activities. Beside this, it is big problem in house, store godown, warehouse, urban cities and industries. Rats and mice have caused more human suffering and more economic damage than any other vertebrate pest. It is also known to introduce secondary pest like fleas, mites and ticks into premises cause additional problem.  Statisticians estimate that rats and mice destroy 20 per cent of the world’s food supply every year directly by feeding and indirectly through contamination. It has adapted to nearly all human environments. They live in granaries, fields, city sewers, attics, basements, street trees, on top of 30-story buildings, and inside subway tunnels. Rats may be also responsible for the spread of many diseases. Some of the more important diseases associated with rats are plague, murine typhus fever, rat bite fever, salmonella food poisoning, and trichinosis. Adult mice have a small, triangular head with a small nose and little delicate feet as compared to the body. The mouse ears are very large relative to their heads. Rat ears are smaller relative to their heads. Rats have thicker tails than mice.

Introduction

Almost all agricultural commodities include cereals which are stored in go-downs or store on large scale or small scale because storage of food grains is inevitable both in times of deficit and surplus production (Lal, 1985). The intensification of food production has led to several problems in the post-harvest phase including the major concern of pest infestation during storage. The post harvest losses in India have been estimated to be 12 to 16 million metric tonnes of food grains every year (Singh, 2010). The stored grain pests are serious pests of dried, stored, durable agricultural commodities and of many value-added food products and non-food derivatives of agricultural products worldwide.

Introduction
 
Safety is one of the first, and most important, things to consider when we decide to apply the pesticides indoors to treat or prevent a pest infestation. If proper safety measures are not followed, the outcome may be harmful or fatal. Perhaps all of us more or less aware about the fact that there is no pesticide which is “absolutely safe” to human or other non target organisms. But we may call some are safer than others.

We usually use pesticide of various kinds in and around our home. We use these products to control insects (insecticides), termites (termiticides), rodents (rodenticides), fungi (fungicides) and microbes (disinfectants).

Introduction
 
The relationship between insects and animals is complex. Insects are injurious to animals in myriad ways, whereas a few are beneficial. Some carry deadly disease germs and transfer them mechanically; others serve as necessary hosts of disease germs. Insects injure livestock by several ways like biting, crawling and scratching. Some burrow in the tissues, which become inflamed or are actually destroyed. Many insects are more or less specific to a host while others attack all kinds. Cattle tick, for example, attacks cattle, horses, mules, and sometimes sheep, but it is only to bovines that it transmits cattle tick fever. It is almost impossible to group insects in a list having the same characteristics, habits and methods of injuring livestock. The losses are found due to infection or infestation of ectoparasites on animals. The ectoparasites sucks blood which causes development of anaemia.They irritate the skin of the animals creating itching resultantly loss of hairs/ wools occur. Irritation may also leads to restless that adversely affect the appetite and water intake. Some ticks are responsible to transmit dreadful disease like Red water, Theileriosis, Anaplasmosis etc. Fleas act as intermediate host for some worms eg. Diphylidium caninum.They causes skin diseases like mange, Flea bite dermatitis, and cutaneous myiasis. Loss of body weight in all animals, drop in milk production in milch animals, decrease in meat production, retarded growth of young animals can transmit bacterial, viral, protozoal and rickettsial diseases. They decrease immune response to diseases. They causes annoyance and wry to the animals. The insect bites and blood sucking flies causes direct injury to the animals.

Introduction

Agricultural insect pests routinely disturb crop production, yet their effects are relatively minor compared to the economic disruption, Suffering, and death caused by medical pests. So, the medical pests compose an extraordinarily important group of insect pests. Insect pests of public health importance had a remarkable impact on human history and this influence still continues (Higley et al., 1989). Diseases carried by insect are prevalent in many parts of the world, particularly the tropical and subtropical countries. These organisms have the capacity to inflict injury, disease, discomfort, or distress. They may cause direct illness and suffering through stings and bites, infested wounds, or allergic reactions. They may feed on blood or body tissues and thus may also transmit deadly pathogens or parasites. Economic losses associated with these pests are borne not only by the affected individuals and their families, but also by human society in general (Higley et al., 1989).

Introduction

There are both ants and white-ants present in this world since long. Although wrongly called, white ants or termites are responsible for substantial losses due to their infestation or attack not only to agriculturally important crops, but also to buildings and constructions, which in other way creates a hurdle to advancement of civilization. It will be an injustice if the beneficial role of them rendered to the society is remained unmentioned. Their ability to digest cellulose helps these insects recycle the entire base of the nutrient of this earth. But in terms of wastage and destruction, particularly in buildings and constructions, it surpasses the other damages mainly in the sectors like agriculture. In a latest literature, it was estimated that the world suffered an annual loss of 40 billion USD, owing to the attack of termites on various constructions (Liston, 2015).

Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male part of the plant to the female part of the plant of the same species. The anthers, the male part of the flower, produce pollen. The pollen must be transferred to the upper female part of the flower, the stigma. Here the pollen germinates and grows down the style (the elongated portion of a pistil that connects the ovary with the stigma of a plant) to where fertilization occurs and the seeds develop in the ovaries. A fruit is a ripened ovary.

Introduction

Agriculture is the most important sector in India accounting for 13.7 per cent of the country’s GDP and employs more than 60 per cent of the labour force. Our country has recorded the highest food grain production of 257 million tonnes during 2012-13, under favourable weather conditions those prevailed throughout the year. The mission of increasing food grain production, though realized to a commendable extent at present, but under risk due to climatic aberrations and reduced availability of land, water, nutrients along with poor and continuous degradation of the resources to cope up with the demands of increasing population. Although the country had attained self sufficiency in food grain production through intensification of agriculture with high–yielding varieties, fertilizer application and chemical pest control during the green revolution, productivity is still low and is stagnating.

Introduction

Cycling of plant material is required for any production system for biological activity, humus formation and thereby formation of a dark colored top soil. Incorporation of biomass results in production and proliferation of soil biota. But under annual crops compared to forest, production is much less, the biomass is largely removed, the soil is tilled several times each year. Consequently, less food and moisture are available for earthworms, insects, micro-flora and fauna; and their habitats are repeatedly disturbed or destroyed. Therefore, the primary need of our agricultural activities is to feed soil organisms (bacteria, fungi, earthworms etc.) and to regulate their living conditions while protecting them from chemical and mechanical impacts.

Introduction

Climate change and climatic variability are expected to reduce agricultural productivity and threaten food security of the world, particularly in developing countries. Producing enough food for the increasing population in a background of decreasing resources and a changing climate scenario, is a challenging task. Agriculture, forestry and land use change account for about 30% of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions. Therefore, mitigation of GHGs emission while enhancing production is another challenge in agriculture.
 
Conservation agriculture (CA), with the three core inter-linked principles of minimizing mechanical soil disturbance, enhancing organic matter cover on soil and diversification of crops, is a viable option for sustainable agriculture with an effective solution to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The principles can be integrated and applied into most of the rainfed and irrigated production systems including horticulture, agro-forestry, organic farming, rotational farming and integrated crop-livestock systems to strengthen ecological sustainability. Worldwide about 105 Mha land is under CA and the area is increasing. However countries like USA, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and Australia occupy about 90% of the area under CA. The CA, which is advocated as an alternative to the conventional production system for improving productivity and sustainability, is now adopted by many countries and agencies as a lead model for sustainable agricultural intensification.

Issues of conservation have assumed great importance in view of widespread resource degradation and the need to reduce production costs, increase profitability and make agriculture more competitive. The growing concerns for sustainable agriculture have been seen as a positive response to limits of both low-input, traditional agriculture and intensive modern agriculture relying on high levels of inputs for crop production. Sustainable agriculture relies on practices that help to maintain ecological equilibrium and encourage natural regenerative processes such as nitrogen fixation, nutrient cycling, soil regeneration, and protection of natural enemies of pest and diseases as well as the targeted use of inputs. Agricultural systems relying on such approaches are not only able to support high productivity, but also preserve biodiversity and safeguard the environment. Thus, Conservation agriculture has come up as a new paradigm to achieve goal of sustained agricultural production. It is a major step toward transition to sustainable agriculture. 

Introduction

In India out of the total 142 million ha of arable land around 67 per cent of them are affected by some form of land degradation due to development of salinity/sodicity or acidification, erosion by water or wind or chemical contamination. Frequent use of tillage operation under conventional cultivation system particularly in rolling terrain is one of the major causes of land degradation through accelerated water and wind erosion. The basic purpose of primary tillage operations are to control weeds, increase the availability of nutrient to plant through accelerated mineralization of organic matter, and to keep the field clean and pulverized for ease of sowing of the next crop. However the bare and pulverized top soil made them vulnerable to accelerated soil loss through runoff and also to erosion loss of soil by wind in drier agro-climatic regions. Besides soil loss, conventional tillage operation breaks the soil aggregates and exposes the soil organic carbon locked inside the aggregates to accelerated microbial degradation and thus results in net loss of organic carbon from the arable ecosystem.

The productivity of agricultural ecosystems depends on the interactions and interdependence of numerous species, such as other plant species, micro-organisms, pollinators, predators of agricultural pests and livestock. Agricultural ecosystems serve as an important habitat for many plant and animal species. Wild species are sometimes used to provide valuable genetic resources, for instance for certain plant breeding. When preserved, these can help to meet future food and livestock production challenges, including adaptation to climate change. Conservation agriculture provides an ample opportunity for the maintenance of agricultural biodiversity. This paper discusses the agricultural development phases, their consequence on the environment and cropping system diversification opportunities in conservation agriculture.

Introduction

The basic principle of conservation agriculture is to minimize soil disturbance in order to stabilize the soil structure, increase the fertility and balance the eco-system. Applied together, conservation agriculture practices – no tillage, permanent soil cover, use of crop cover and crop rotation, residue management- have complementary positive outcomes; no tillage maintains soil structure and biological activity; a permanent soil cover protects the soil surface from erosion and creates a stable and favourable micro-climate; cover crops and residue management provides organic matter, reduce soil erosion and improves soil fertility. Management of the soil water balance should be considered as a positive for cover crops and improvement of soil water infiltration, reduction in soil water evaporation, and decreasing water extraction from the soil would impact subsequent plant growth.

Introduction

“Conservation agriculture (CA) is a concept for resource-saving agricultural crop production that strives to achieve acceptable profits together with high and sustained production levels while concurrently conserving the environment” (FAO, 2007). Aspects of conservation that we normally deal are the management of soil, water, crop diversity, animals, storage of produce (seed, fertilizer, etc.), and maintenance of tools, implements, machinery, etc. Some of the important key principles of conservation agriculture are illustrated as (i) Tillage: practice of minimum mechanical soil disturbance which is essential to maintaining minerals within the soil, stopping erosion, and preventing water loss from occurring within the soil. (ii) Crop residues/Mulch: Managing the top soil to create a permanent organic soil cover for growth of organisms within the soil structure. (iii) Crop rotation: The practice of crop rotation with more than two crop species (iv) Economics: Secure farm level economic viability and stability. To achieve this will involve the development of innovation systems focused on the needs of farmers and will include multiple agents who will use their comparative advantages to adapt the principles of CA to the farmers’ various biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. Crop diversification could also be proved as remunerative.  (v) Environment protection:  The CA has a role to conserve the environment in terms of climate resilient agriculture and emission of green house gases (GHG).

Conservation agriculture (CA) refers to a set of agricultural practices involving three basic principles of proven scientific soundness. These include continuous minimum mechanical soil disturbance; permanent organic soil cover with crop residues or cover crops; and diversified, efficient, economically viable, appropriate spatial and temporal crop sequences providing opportunities for saving on inputs (labor, fuel, machinery etc.), improving resource use efficiency (water, nutrient, energy etc.) and mitigating GHGs emission with climate change adaptation. Recently research efforts have been made to refine the crop management technologies which are more resource efficient, improve production and income, and reduce GHGs emission compared to the conventional practices. Resource conserving technologies (RCTs) are increasingly being adopted by farmers in the rice-wheat belt of the Indo-Gangetic Plains because of advantages of saving on labor, water, fuel and cost along with timeliness in operations particularly early planting of wheat.

Introduction

Indian agriculture is entering in a new phase. The major research and development efforts in the Green revolution era focused on enhancing production and productivity of selected food grains crops and only in Indo-Gangetic plains. The new challenges demand that issues of resource and input use efficiency receive high priority to ensure past gains can be sustained and further enhanced to meet the emerging needs. Issues of conservation have assumed importance in view of widespread resource degradation and the need to reduce production costs, increase profitability and make agriculture more competitive. The conventional mode of agriculture through intensive agricultural practices was successful in achieving goals of production, but simultaneously led to degradation of natural resources. The growing concerns for sustainable agriculture have been seen as a positive response to limit both low-input, traditional agriculture and intensive modern agriculture (relying on high levels of inputs for crop production). Sustainable agriculture relies on practices that help to maintain ecological equilibrium and encourage natural regenerative processes. Agricultural systems relying on such approaches are not only able to support high productivity, but also preserve biodiversity and safeguard the environment. Conservation agriculture has come up as a new paradigm to achieve goal of sustained agricultural production. It is a major step toward transition to sustainable agriculture.

Introduction

The subject of conservation agriculture CA has emerged as a need given the declining productivity of land and increasing costs of input that is putting tremendous pressure on the farming community. Higher yield expectation from land given also brings pressure to the subject of food security. Considering the markets with the globalisation influence is beyond a farmer’s means of influence and price realisation is not a point of control, the situation has deteriorated to their disadvantage. Climate change and soil degradation on the other hand is a reality and agriculture is both a sufferer and contributor, and cannot ignore this reality. Good physical management of soils is one of the key factors to maintain or improve agricultural productivity, in tropical and subtropical regions, and to reduce soil and environmental degradation (Lal, 2000). Tropical soils often have a stable structure and are well aggregated but management practices like intensive ploughing or avoiding the use of cover crops can lead to rapid deterioration (Madari et al., 2005).

Introduction

The hills and mountains are one of the most important agro-ecosystems that supports life of half of the mankind either directly or indirectly. In India, hills are rich source of bio-diversity and possess enormous potential for sustaining agriculture, including horticulture and animal husbandry. The ecological fragility and vulnerability of the Himalayas to climatic aberrations, increasing demand for land to grow more food have been issues of concern for quite some time. Nearly 59% of the total work force in the Himalayas is engaged in subsistence agriculture which is barely enough to feed the growing population for 5-6 months in a year (Raizada et al., 2009). The North-West Himalayas (NWH) consisting of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand spreads to 33 million ha, habited by 25 million humans and 19 million livestock. Though, the whole economy of the region is based on agriculture, the total cultivable land is only 3.2 million ha of the total geographical area of the region (Srivastva et al., 2009).

Introduction

The Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP) is of great importance for the food security of India. It extends over 1,600 km with a width of 320 km, including the arid and semi arid environments in Rajasthan and Punjab and the humid and per humid deltaic plains in west Bengal (Shankaranarayana, 1982). During the green revolution period in the early 1960s, production increased through area expansion and intensification of the rice –wheat system. Driving forces included suitable thermal regimes for rice and wheat cultivation, development of short- duration, nitrogen responsive cultivars, expansion of irrigation and an ever increasing demand for food from the rising population. The rice –wheat system, covering an area of around 10 million hectares (mha), is the major cropping system in the IGP. These two crops together contribute more than 70 % of total cereals production in India from an area of around 25 mha under wheat and about 40 mha under rice. The small states of Punjab and Haryana contribute 20 % of the total national grain production and 50 % and 85 % of the government procurement of rice and wheat, respectively (Singh, 2000).

Introduction

The demand of cereals to meet the food requirements of the burgeoning population is increasing while on the other hand most vital inputs of agriculture viz. productive arable land, water and labour are depleting day by day. Rice is the major Kharif crop of India and it is estimated that rice is being grown in 43.97 million ha with 104.32 million tonnes of production during 2011-12 (Agricultural Statistics at a glance, 2012). In the eastern region of India, rice is produced by the conventional system of cultivation which involves puddling and transplanting which is basically water, labour and energy intensive thereby adversely affecting the environment. Therefore, to sustain the long term production of rice, more efficient alternative methods of rice productions are needed. For this, conservation agricultural practices which comprises of technologies which are water, labour and energy efficient along with eco-friendly characteristics will be a better alternative to conventional practices (Kumar and Ladha, 2011). 

Introduction

Rice is grown 43.7 m ha land in India. It is cultivated in 39.51 m ha under kharif and 4.26 m ha under rabi season. As a whole, rice production in India was 104.32 m t (2011-12) with an average productivity of around 2.6 t ha-1. Majority of rice grown in India in the eastern part of the country comprises the states of West Bengal, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand. Maximum area under rice in eastern India in West Bengal (5.94 m ha) with a production of 15.04 mt. Productivity was maximum in West Bengal followed by Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, Orissa and Chattisgarh (DOSE, MOA, GOA, 2011). There is a plenty of scope to increase the productivity of these region with proper policies and technological interventions. Rice area in eastern region (23.4 m ha) would be divided in different ecologies, namely, irrigated (23.2%), rainfed upland (17.9%), rainfed lowland (43.1%) and flood prone areas (25.1%).

Introduction

Cotton is a major commercial crop grown on nearly 12 m. ha area. About 65% of the area is rain dependent. It is grown on a wide range of soil types and climatic conditions. Soils supporting cotton in the rainfed areas are Vertisols (Vertic intergrades), Inceptisols and Alfisols. Rainfall ranges from 500-1200 mm in these regions. Both Alfisols and Vertisols have different potentials and problems but both need organic C improvement and soil moisture conservation measures to restore their productivity. This can only be achieved through resource conservation strategies. Conservation agriculture (CA) is one such strategy that focuses on resource conservation. It refers to a system of raising crops without disturbing the soil while retaining crop residues or soil surface. 

Introduction

It is estimated that about 16 per cent of total geographical area of India (329 m ha) has moisture index value below - 66.6% and is thus classified arid. This area is further classified into hot arid (36.8 m ha) and cold arid (15.2 m ha) regions (Ramakrishna et al., 2000). The hot arid region is characterized by extreme temperatures, low (<500 mm) and erratic rainfall, very high wind velocities, low humidity, high PET (>1800 mm) and frequent severe droughts which occur once in three years to alternate years in general. The soil moisture and soil temperature regimes are aridic and hyperthermic, respectively. The hot arid region exists in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Karnataka (Fig 1).

Introduction

India, with only 2.5% of the world’s geographical area, is home to 17% of the global population. Population has increased from 361 million in 1951 to 1140 million in 2011, more than threefold increase over 50 years and expected to reach 1.5 billion by 2050. The food consumption levels of India will increase from the current level of 2400 k cal/ per capita/ day to about 3000 k cal/ per capita/ day in 2050 (Singh, 2009). The production deficits are expected for cereals and pulses not only to meet the growing food requirements but also to meet the growing demand for animal based products which require higher quantities of food grains. It is estimated that despite realizing the full irrigation potential in the country, nearly 40% of the net sown area will remain rainfed. Rainfed areas with nearly 60 per cent of the cultivated area contributes for 40 per cent of country’s food production in the country, home to about 40% of the human and 60% of the livestock population,

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an agro-ecological approach for sustainable crop production and intensification. CA comprises the resource conserving agricultural production practices that aim to achieve more produce at less cost while enhancing the quality of the natural resource base. CA is all about providing multiple options for farmers, endowed differentially. The basic components of CA include drastic reduction in tillage, adequate retention of crop residues on the soil surface, use of economically feasible diversified crop rotations, avoidance of freewheeling and practice of controlled traffic, if possible. These elements of CA are not site-specific but represent unvarying objectives that are practised to extend CA technologies efficiently across all production conditions. No-till agriculture is considered as a revolutionary step in the direction of preventing land degradation and rehabilitation of the resilient but fragile lands. No-till agriculture together with other associated management practices such as direct seeding into loose crop residues to provide soil cover and to conserve soil moisture, judicious choice of crop rotations and agro-forestry tree species constitutes CA. CA is thus being widely accepted as an important component of the overall strategy for enhancing productivity, improving environmental quality and preserving natural resources for food security and poverty alleviation in such areas.  Recent CA trials conducted in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu seem to bring out that the rainfed tropical India stands to benefit more from CA than the irrigated areas.

Carbon sequestration implies removing atmosphere carbon and storing it in natural reservoirs for extended periods (Lal, 2011). Soil carbon sequestration is the process of transferring carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the soil through crop residues and other organic solids, and in a form that is not immediately remitted. This transfer or “sequestering” of carbon helps off-set emissions from fossil fuel combustion and other carbon-emitting activities while enhancing soil quality and long-term agronomic productivity. Soil carbon has gained increased interest in the recent past owing to its importance in carbon sequestration studies and its potential impact on sustainable crop production. However, accuracy in estimating soil carbon sequestration to determine best management practices is hindered by inherent variability of soil properties (Srinivasarao et al., 2008 and 2009b). Maintaining or arresting the decline in soil organic matter (SOM) is the most potent weapon in fighting against soil degradation and for ensuring sustainability of agriculture in tropical regions. In India, 65 per cent of agriculture is rainfed, covering the categories of arid, semi-arid and sub-humid climatic zones. Consequences of depletion of organic matter are poor soil physical health, loss of favorable biology and occurrence of multiple nutrient deficiencies. It was stated that in rainfed arid, semi-arid and sub-humid tracts, next to poor rain water management, depletion of nutrients caused by organic matter deficiency is an important cause of soil degradation. Improving organic matter is, therefore, crucial to sustenance of soil quality and future agricultural productivity. Humus is known to favor many useful physical, chemical and biological processes that occur within the soil (Srinivasarao et al., 2011c). Accordingly, 

Introduction

Increasing carbon content in the soil, through better management practices, produce a number of benefits in terms of soil biodiversity, soil fertility and soil water storage capacity and hence productivity. Soil carbon sequestration through the restoration of soil organic matter can further reverse land degradation and restore soil “health” through restoring soil biota and the array of associated ecological processes. In particular, through improved soil water storage and nutrient cycling, land use practices that sequester carbon will also contribute to stabilizing or enhancing food production and optimizing the use of synthetic fertilizer inputs, thereby reducing emissions of nitrous oxides from agricultural land. Conservation tillage practices also reduce significantly the use of fuel and hence gaseous emissions. Soil carbon sequestration is thus very cost effective and could take effect very quickly (FAO, 2008). It also constitutes a valuable win-win approach combining mitigation (CO₂ is removed from the atmosphere) and adaptation, through both increased agro-ecosystem resilience to climate variability and more reliable and better yields (production and income generation). Under climate change scenarios, increased temperature may enhance soil organic matter mineralization in colder regions of the world, releasing carbon dioxide from soils (FAO, 2008). Improved soil management will mitigate the effects of global warming by improved and permanent soil cover. Soil carbon storage was hitherto left out of international negotiations because of envisaged difficulties of validation of amounts and duration/permanency of sequestration. 

Introduction

Carbon on earth is stored primarily in rocks and sediments. Only a tiny fraction resides in mobile reservoirs – the atmosphere, oceans, soil and terrestrial biosphere – to play a vital role in biological, physical and chemical processes at the earth’s surface. The small fraction of C present in the atmosphere as CO₂ is especially important, as its abundance is a major regulator of the climate of the planet. The rapid increase in atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ over the past 150 years, reaching current concentrations of about 380 ppm, corresponds with combustion of fossil fuels since the beginning of the industrial age. Conversion of forest lands to agricultural use also redistributed C from plants and soils to the atmosphere and altered ecological balance through physiological effects on vegetation. The understanding of C sources and sinks has advanced enormously in the last decade. However, we cannot yet quantitatively define the global effects of human activities such as agriculture and forestry on climate change. An understanding on the long-term changes in atmospheric concentration will help enhance understanding on how the earth’s climate will evolve in future.