Forage Production Technology for Arable Lands - Indian Grassland ...

system in these problematic soils gives 25% higher net return over rice-wheat croppingsystem. Application of pyrites 2-4 t/ha increases berseem yield by 16-26 per cent.Application of pyrite/gypsum (5.0 t/ha) depending upon the gypsum requirement of thesoil in different crops like sorghum, pearl millet and perennial grasses gives 2-4 foldincrease in the forage productivity. Integration of the reclamation approaches withproper nutrient management further increase the productivity of these crops by 15-21 percent.Specific benefits : Increased availability of herbage for sustained livelihood from nonproductive land, efficient utilization of natural resource and gradual reclamation of thesoil due to improvement in physico-chemical properties of soil and regular employmentgeneration opportunity to the farmers.Constraints in adoption: Availability of the good quality water for reclamation of thesesoils is major constraint. Initial cost of amendments, irrigation facility and installation ofdrainage in currently non productive land restricts the adoption of this technology.Scope for commercialisation: In India, several programmes are running forreclamation of saline and sodic soils. Forage based cropping system can be integratedwith these programmes to promote the forage production and conservation/improvement of natural resources.4.2. Forage production in acid soilsThe crop production in acid soils (below pH 5.5) are impaired due to excess activity ofAl, Mn and Fe and deficiency of P, Ca, Mg and Mo. Low soil biological activity affectnutrient cycling in these soils. Other constraints in these soils are low base status, lowCEC and poor soil fertility. Technology developed for amelioration of acid soil forfodder production needs to be undertaken by sensitizing the stake holders. Grasses arefound to be more tolerant than annual crops, like legumes and cereals. In slightly tostrongly acid soils (pH 5.5 - 6.0) maize, Deenanath grass, napier bajra hybrid, guineagrass and Setaria grass performs better than other fodder crops.Adaptation area: Acid soils occupyabout 100 m ha in India; out of this 49m ha are under crop cultivation. Acidsoils occur mostly in North-EasternStates, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh,Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir,Karnataka, Jharkhand and northBengal. These soils are under rainfed34 Forage Production Technology for Arable Lands