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| Soil Conservation |
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| Soil conservation means protection, improvement and sustained renewal of soil at any place. Soil has to be protected from erosion and should also be replenished. |
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| Recall that erosion is the physical removal of soil particles from their original places and transportation to some other places |
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| Soil erosion can be prevented: |
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 By protecting the soil from the impact of rainwater |
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 By contour bounding, we can prevent water from moving down the slopes |
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 By slowing down the water when it flows along the slopes. This is done by 'gully plugging' |
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 By encouraging more seepage of water in the soil |
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 By increasing the size of soil particles |
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 By growing more vegetation to cover the soil and by reducing the wind velocity around the soil |
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| It is the method by which the lost plant nutrients are put back into the soil. |
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| Replenishment of Soil by Crop Rotation |
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| Different types of crops with differing requirements are grown alternatively in the same soil. |
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| Leguminous crops such as pulses, peas, beans, grams, groundnuts etc are sown after the cereal crops such as wheat and maize etc. Wheat crop takes a great amount of nitrogen from the soil making the soil nutrient deficit. Leguminous crops restore the nitrogen content in the soil. |
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| Nodules present in the roots of leguminous plants have a symbiotic (mutualistic) relationship with bacterium Rhizobium. Rhizobium has enzymes to convert atmospheric nitrogen into nitrates. These nitrogen salts persist in the soil. Such a soil which is enriched by the nitrogen is ready to support the next cereal crop. |
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| The fixation and conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogen compounds, which can be utilised by leguminous plants and other plants, is called nitrogen fixation. |
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| Replenishment of Soil by Multiple Cropping / Mixed cropping |
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| It is a method by which two or more different crops are grown together in the same soil. |
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| A mixed cropping of ragi with pigeon gram replenishes the soil because pigeon gram fixes the atmospheric nitrogen, which goes into the soil in the form of nitrates. These nitrates are utilised by the ragi crop. |
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| Replenishment of Soil by Keeping the Field Fallow |
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| If land is not cultivated for a season or two, the growth of humus in the soil increases, promoting the growth of soil bacteria leading, to rich replenishment of plant nutrients in the soil. |
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| Replenishment of Soil by Addition of Manure and Fertilizers |
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| The farm yard manure or organic manure or bio fertilizers and inorganic fertilizers supply the necessary plant nutrients to the soil. Thus, application of such materials increases the nutrient value of the soil. |
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