Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges &
Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
Venkateswarlu, B. 2019. Water harvesting: A key strategy for climate change adaptation in
rainfed agriculture. In proceedings of 13th International Conference on Development
of Dryland Areas, February11-14, 2019, ICAR-CAZRI, Jodhpur. Pp.218-227.
Improved Jhum in southern part of Mizoram
H. Vanlalhmuliana, S. Sisi and Lalrinengi
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Siaha district, Mizoram -796901
kvksaiha@gmail.com
T1-45 P-1532
In India, Jhumming is practiced mainly in the northeastern hilly region. Although it is both a
labour intensive and land-extensive method of cultivation, it occupies a distinct place in the
tribal economy and constitutes a vital part of the lifestyle and socio-economic set-up of hills.
Traditional shifting cultivation also known as Jhum, has always been a major source of
livelihood for the farming community of Mizoram which consists of clearing of jungle by
burning the vegetation and cultivating the plot of land for one or two years. These lands usually
lie on the slopes of hills in thickly forested landscapes. A thick smog and haze eclipse the sun
all through the day when jhum areas are burnt. Burning the felled trees helps release nutrients
for farming. After this, the cultivated land is left fallow to regain the vegetation cover once the
land loses fertility. Then, the jhum farmer shifts to another forest patch and returns to the same
site for another cropping phase only after a few years. They also have a practice of bunding the
fields using logs. The entire jhum system in Mizoram depends on the natural indicators and
seasons that governs their stages of activities like selection of land, clearance of jungle,
burning, sowing, harvesting etc. This method of cultivation is viewed as the first step in
transition from food gathering and hunting to food production. It encompasses mixed cropping,
viz., horticulture and annual cropping, perennial tree crops, animal husbandry and management
of forest and fallows in sequential or rotational cycles.
Methodology
The On-farm trials was conducted during March 2022 - October 2022 at Tisopi village, Siaha
district, Mizoram under NICRA project. The agroclimatic zone was humid subtropical hill zone
and major soil type was red laterite and is slightly acidic in nature. The major climatic
constrains of Tisopi was high drought prone area and high erodibility of soils and the average
rainfall was 2030mm. The study comprised of three varieties of local rice viz., Saphuapa, Sasu
kylyno and Idaw kylyno in traditional jhum field without maintaining spacing. In one jhum
field, all the three varieties were grown side by side with and without logwood bunding. The
size of the field for each variety is 1 acre and half of the field is under traditional jhum without
logwood and another half was under logwood bunding. The data was recorded from such three
jhum fields grown by three (3) different farmers in the same cluster. The data was carefully
116 | Page Resilience through land and water management interventions, water management and governance