Long-Term Evaluation of Crop Production Systems Based on Locally Available Biological Inputs in India

Crop production systems that require chemical fertilizers, pesticides, machinery for tillage, and irrigation water, being input-intensive, present challenges for long-term sustain- ability, especially as climate change creates new constraints. Agricultural practices should be both regenerative to sus- tain their productivity and resilient so as not to succumb to stresses. In countries like India, current production systems have started to undermine the water security of the economy and population, and increasing soil and water pollution, par- ticularly when synthetic pesticides are used injudiciously, presents hazards for both soil health and human health. It is true that agriculture as practiced a century ago without modern inputs had lower productivity than most of the present systems of production now. However, many “premodern” agronomic practices, such as the use of organic manures to enhance soil fertility and herbal extracts to protect crops from pests and disease, can now be produced and used more effectively with the scientific knowledge that has been gained over the past century, making crop production more sustainable, even regenera- tive, while achieving higher productivity. Higher crop productivity can be achieved by using envi- ronmentally friendly options such as microbial inoculants and plant products (including canopy extract, seed extract, herbal compost wash, Gliricidia sepium loppings, etc.) that can help convert animal and vegetable wastes, sea- weed, leaf fall from trees, and crop residues into effective alternatives to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. These options are becoming more popular as evident from the published literature such as on the use of organic manures (Jannoura et al., 2013) and biopesticides (El-Tarabily, 2008) and growing experience with conservation tillage (Chapter 23) and green manures (Chapter 25). This chapter reports the results from a full decade of research conducted at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) at Patancheru near Hyderabad in Telangana, India, between 1999 and 2009 on a rainfed vertisol. The first six years of these trials were reported in the first edition of this book. For this second edition, we have gone back and analyzed all ten years of data. The experiment would have been extended longer but for the untimely death of its principal investigator, Dr. O.M. Rupela. The project examined the possibility of achieving high yields with low-cost inputs, plant biomass in particular, that are available in the vicinity of the farm or that could be pro- duced in situ. The field trials utilized biological approaches that are reported in the published literature and/or from tra- ditional farmer knowledge. While some of these methods require considerable labor – more than many farmers might be able or willing to invest at present – these approaches are relevant to a very large number of households in the semi- arid and humid tropics that have small landholdings and family labor available, but with very little cash on hand. As seen below, the methods reviewed here have proved them- selves to be profitable in terms of their returns to labor as well as to land and the other factors of production. With further innovation and adaptation, they could be scaled up for use in larger farming operations, substituting capital for labor. Production practices such as using crop residues or other biomass as surface mulch; applying green manures (Chapter 25), compost (Chapter 27), plant growth-promot- ing rhizobacteria (PGPR), and Trichoderma (Chapters 15 and 31); intercropping of legumes in cropping systems; and the biocontrol of insect pests and diseases (Chapter 32) can all help to enhance yields and sustain soil fertility and health (Fettell and Gill, 1995; Mäder et al., 2002; Delate and Cambardella, 2004; Gopalakrishnan et al., 2011a; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2018; Sathya et al., 2016; Vijayabharathi et al., 2018).

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