Sustainable Horticulture in Semiarid Dry Lands
This book discusses ways of increasing production/unit area by making full use of the soil and water under the harsh climatic conditions of semiarid areas. This leads to improved sustainability, increased availability of fresh produce, which is vital for
- PDF / 13,706,267 Bytes
- 406 Pages / 504.63 x 737.01 pts Page_size
- 37 Downloads / 154 Views
Sustainable Horticulture in Semiarid Dry Lands
Sustainable Horticulture in Semiarid Dry Lands
Shrikant Hiwale
Sustainable Horticulture in Semiarid Dry Lands
Shrikant Hiwale Fruit Crops Central Horticultural Experiment Station Vejalpur, Gujarat, India
ISBN 978-81-322-2243-9 ISBN 978-81-322-2244-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2244-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2014960269 Springer New Delhi Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer India 2015 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer (India) Pvt. Ltd. is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Foreword
Semiarid and arid zone areas account for almost 70 % of the total cropped area of the country. In these areas, physical constraints like low and erratic rainfall, high temperature, high wind velocity, low fertility, poor soil structure, and salinity of soil and ground water are the deterrents to assured crop production. In the absence of aggregation of any type, the soils are highly erodable, structureless and very coarse in texture with low water holding capacity. The ever-increasing population has put tremendous pressure on agricultural lands with the result that even the marginal and sub-marginal lands are put under cultivation. The net result is desertification and degradation of land, water and vegetation resources. Intensification of production of annual crops in rain-fed areas, if carried out in an unbalanced manner, as usually is the case, accelerates run-off and soil erosion and other degradation processes causing damage to the ecosystem. Resource conservation showed that the effect of intensive agricultural practices, increasing population pressure, climatic changes, environmental pollution, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, salinisation and water depletion is all threatening the sustainability of agriculture. In view of the mounting demand for food and need for linking of enhancing food production with nutritional security, con
Data Loading...
