Constraints and opportunities of crop diversification in Assam
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59797/ija.v54i2.4781Keywords:
----Abstract
Out of the net sown area of 2.83 m lakh ha in Assam, area sown more than once is around 1.24 m ha so crop- ping intensity stands around 148%. Total flood prone area of the State is 3,41,00 ha out of which 2,50,000 ha is chronically flood prone and 91,000 ha is occasionally flood prone area. Around 4.9 m ha of land which accounts for 62.6% of total geographical area are moderately and slightly acidic in reaction. Average consumption of NPK fertilizers is 51.83 kg/ha which was far below the national average; the crop removal found to be higher than that of added. The period December to February in the state showing very low moisture availability demanding artifi- cial irrigation for better production of different crops. In Assam more than 83% farmers are having either marginal or small holding size. Inclusion of vegetable crops in the system provides better return; pulses and oilseeds may be included in the system under less moisture available condition, fodder crop may be included in the system to meet up the livestock requirement. If irrigated area is expanded and marketing infrastructure develops, then there is tremendous possibility for crop diversification with high profitability in the state. The paper presents the research work carried out by senior author on crop diversification in Assam.References
Indian Journal of Agronomy 54(2): 200__205 (June 2009)
Constraints and opportunities of crop diversification in Assam
A. BAISHYA*; J.P. HAZARIKA, B.K. MEDHI, J.K. GOGOI, M.C. KALITA AND S. AHMED
Cropping System Research, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam 785 013
Out of the net sown area of 2.83 m lakh ha in Assam, area sown more than once is around 1.24 m ha so cropping intensity stands around 148%. Total flood prone area of the State is 3,41,00 ha out of which 2,50,000 ha is chronically flood prone and 91,000 ha is occasionally flood prone area. Around 4.9 m ha of land which accounts for 62.6% of total geographical area are moderately and slightly acidic in reaction. Average consumption of NPK fertilizers is 51.83 kg/ha which was far below the national average; the crop removal found to be higher than that of added. The period December to February in the state showing very low moisture availability demanding artificial irrigation for better production of different crops. In Assam more than 83% farmers are having either marginal or small holding size. Inclusion of vegetable crops in the system provides better return; pulses and oilseeds may be included in the system under less moisture available condition, fodder crop may be included in the system to meet up the livestock requirement. If irrigated area is expanded and marketing infrastructure develops, then there is tremendous possibility for crop diversification with high profitability in the state. The paper presents the research work carried out by senior author on crop diversification in Assam.
Key word : Agro-climatic zone, Flood prone area, Crop planning, Soil degradation, Moisture Availability Index.
About 89% population of Assam is living in rural areas and 53% of the total workforce is still engaged in agriculture and allied activities. The share of this sector to Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) is 38.72% (Rs 12,282.29 crores) during 2002-03. Out of the total cropped area of 3.994 m ha, net sown area is 2.828 m ha out of which 1.243 m ha is sown more than once and cropping intensity stands around 148%. The state of Assam has six Agro-climatic zones (ACZ) which cover all together 27 districts. The ACZ along with the districts it comprises are mentioned in Table 1. The constraints of farming in Assam includes :
Flood prone area of Assam (000ha) : Every year, state is experiencing flood once or twice which damages agricultural crops, animals as well as life and property of human beings. The total flood prone area is 3,41,000 ha out of which 2,50,000 ha is chronically flood prone and the rest is occasionally flood prone.
Ground water quality problem : Though there is tremendous scope for utilization of ground water particularly for agricultural purpose, yet some of the districts are facing some problems because of contaminant like Arsenic, Iron etc.
Soil property and fertility status: Soils are acidic in nature (pH 4.5-5.8) in all the zones except Hills Zone (HZ), where it ranges from acidic to neutral (pH 4.5-7.1) (Table
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. The acidic soils have poor base saturation and low exchange capacity. Acidity is more pronounced in orders: Alfisols, Inceptisols and Ultisols of hilly terrain and undulating uplands. The productivity potentials of these soils are limited. Soils in the riverine or char areas under the order Entisols are by and large, neutral in reaction. The percent of neutral soil ranges from 0.6-21.5% in different districts. It is estimated that moderately acidic and slightly acidic soils occupy nearly 4.9 m ha of land, which accounts for 62.6 % of Total Geographical Area (TGA).
Distribution of upland, medium land, lowland as well as marshy land under different zones of the state excluding the tea garden areas and miscellaneous land (isolated hillocks/tillas) are presented in Table 3.
Soil degradation status: Soil physiographic area on which degradation occurs accounts to 37.8% of the TGA. Among different types of degradation, water erosion and loss of top soil constitute the major part. Stable terrain with little or no human induced soil degradation accounts for 15.9% of TGA.
Deterioration of soil physical condition due to tillage practices and under the import of heavy rainfall creates problem for soil preparation for rabi crops in most of the areas of the state. Soil structure degrades which ultimately results surface crusting, decreased water entry, formation of pan in the sub soil.
Nutrient balance : The nutrient removal by various crops has been estimated to the tune of 257, 74 and 268 thousand tonnes of N, P2O5 and K2O annually. The nutrient
Table 1. Agro-climatic zones and soil characteristics of Assam
Agro-climatic Districts Soil texture p H Organic Available nutrients (kg/ha)
zone matter (%) N P2O5 K2O
North Bank Plain Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, sl-cl 4.5-5.1 0.52-2.2 228-540 10.3-27.7 69.8-209.7
Zone (NBPZ) Sonitpur, Darrang, (L-M) (L-M) (L-M)
Chirang and Udalguri
Upper Brahmaputra Golaghat, Jorhat, Sibsagar, sl-cl 4.2-5.8 1.5-3.8 243-515 20.5-28.5 115.6-199.7
Valley Zone (UBVZ) Dibrugarh and Tinsukia (L-M) (L-M) (L-M)
Central BVZ (CBVZ) Nagaon and Morigaon scl-cl 4.9-5.5 0.94-2.5 271-330 26.5-28.4 104.8-314.5
(L-M) (M) (L-M)
Lower BVZ (LBVZ) Kamrup urban, Kamrup rural, scl-cl 4.8-5.7 0.71-6.3 172-348 17.5-48.5 167.3-297.6
Nalbari, Bagsa, Borpeta, (L-M) (L-M) (M)
Goalpara, Dhubri, Kokrajhar
and Bongaigaon
Hill Zone (HZ) Karbi Anglong and N.C. Hill sl-l-cl 4.5-7.1 1.02-2.69 371 (M) 11.3 (L) 67.2 (L)
Barak Valley Zone (BVZ) Cacher, Hailakandi and sicl-sic 4.9-5.3 2.65-3.15 430 (M) 6.5-56.5 (H) 278-538 (M)
sl: sandy loam; scl: sandy clay loam; sicl: silty clay loam; cl: clay loam; c: clay; sic: silty clay; L: Low; M: medium; H: High
consumption in Assam however, is one of the lowest in the country (Table 3). Nutrient addition is much higher during the rabi season than that in the kharif season due to the fact that the rabi season is relatively risk free period with higher sunshine hours, lesser rainfall and weather aberration and lesser incidence of pests and diseases, resulting in higher crop response to applied nutrients.
Nutrient addition per unit of gross cropped area (GCA) is highest (36.5 kg/ha) in the CBVZ followed by LBVZ
(18.1 kg/ha). The highest nutrient addition in CBVZ is due to more area under rabi crops viz., vegetables. The least nutrient (1.5 kg/ha) is being added in the Hill Zone of Assam, where shifting cultivation is still prevalent. Nutri-
