CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE PRACTICES TO MEET CHALLENGES OF GLOBAL WARMING

1
CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE PRACTICES TO MEET
CHALLENGES OF GLOBAL WARMING

• By
• Dr. S. K. Tandon
• Assistant Director General (Engg.)
• Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR),
  KAB-II, New Delhi-12(India)
• Email sktandon_at_icar.org.in/skt4339_at_yahoo.com

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INTRODUCTION
Diverse natural conditions, high population,
limited degraded natural resources
3
Contd

• Rice-Wheat - 72 m. ha.
• Areas under No- Tillage - World 90 m.ha
• - India - 3.43 m.ha.
• -
  China - 1.30 m. ha.
• Excessive use of Energy - Contributing to
  Global
• 
  Warming
• Fuel Price - US 140
  per barrel
• GOI - Blending
  of biofuel ,
• 
  5 , 10 20
• 
  (2012) (2019) (2020)
• 
  - to reduce import cost bill
• -
  to reduce CO2 emission

4
Contd._______Contd.

• Conservation Agriculture (CA)
• - Permanent soil cover
• - No- tillage
• - Diversified crop rotations
• Should also include
• - Water input use
• - Chemical use
• - Avoid burning of farm residue

5
KKYOTO PROTOCOL AND CDM

• Adopted in 3rd World Conference of UNFCC (Cop 3)
  at
• Kyoto Japan on 11th Dec., 1997
• 197 - Countries signed the document
• 4 EU Countries of 25 Czech, Greece, Italy
  Poland
• UK is squabbling with EC over its
  Emission Allowance
• India become signatory in 2003
• K.P. - Contrives and suggested reduction of GHG
  into the
• atmosphere and fixed individual
  quotes for each of the
• ISO countries
• - Designed to cut GHG by making the
  polluter start
• paying for climate change
• K.P. - CDM
• - Joint Implementation
• - Carbon Trading
• Developed Countries Reduce Carbon Emissions -
  20 by 2010.

6
Contd.

• Carbon Credits Tradable Permit Bonds set with a
  signatory
• monitarable
  value that have been devised to
• implement a
  global cut back on gas emissions
• Countries get one credit for each ton of reduced
  CO2 Emission
• Concern shown on carbon credits Russia (30)
• Develop technologies to reduce emissions
• - Varieties
  tolerable to temperature
• - drought
• - floods
• - Organic farming
• If temp. rise by 4.5oF (2.2o C) - 30 of earth
  spices could disappear
• If temp. rise by 6.3o F (3oC) - 70 of earth
  spices could disappear
• Hardest hit Plants
• - Animals in cooler
  climate/higher elevations with limited ranges or
  
• tolerance for
  temperature change.

7
INDIAN POSITION WITH REGARD TO CDM

• Integration of CDM in National Policy -
  Established an Inter Ministerial
• 
  Committee on Climate
  change
• National CDM Authority
  - By legislation passed by Cabinet Committee
• 42 Sustainable Development Criteria - Set
  by GOI approved by Inter Ministerial
• 
  Committee
• India CDM authority
  - December 2003
• 
  - 1st Project on CDM
  registered in March 2005
• 
  - 1st Project received
  CERs-October 2005
• 818 CDM Project sanctioned
  - 285 projects( 35 ) located in India
• 
  - 123 Projects (15 ) located
  in China
• 
  - 3 in Chile
• 
  - 12 in Mexico
• 
  - 13 in Brazil
• 
  - 22 others

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Aggregate Emissions from anthropogenic activities
amounted to 7,93,490 Gg of CO2 18,083 Gg of CH4
178 Gg of N2O . In terms of CO2 eq.(Tg_CO2 eq)
12,28,540 Gg.
Per capita CO2 emissions were 0.87t-CO2 in 1994 4
of US per capita 8 of Germany 9 of UK 10
of Japan 23 of Global Average
9
Share of Diesel Demand from Retail Outlets in
Various Sectors
10
Share of Diesel demand from retail outlet for
Agriculture
11
Share of Gasoline Demand from Retail Outlets for
road Transport Sector and other uses
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CLIMATE CHANGE

• India more likely to be impacted due to climate
  change
• 
  - dryland farmers
• - coastal settlements
• - surface water run off
  dependent communities and grasslands
• Rural climatic sectors
  Agriculture, fisheries forestry
• Climate change will impact on - food
  production
• 
  - Water resources
• 
  - Drought incidence
• 
  - Retreat of glaciers
• 
  - Untimely rains
• Forest ecosystems - Loss of
  biodiversity
• - Change in
  forest types
• - Shift in forest
  boundaries
• Rise in sea level
• Rise in diseases

13
Contd..

• National Action Plan on Climate change released
  by PM
• - Mandates setting up of energy bench
  marks for each sector
• and allows trade in energy saving
  certificates
• - Proposed to save 10,000 MW by end of
  2010 through energy
• efficiency measures
• Key demands of the Indias National Action Plan
  as Climate change are
• - Solar energy boost (1000mw solar power
  by 12th Plan)
• - Steel, power and textile indus. to
  trade in energy efficiency targets
• - Minimum target of 5 RE for power
  grids
• - Nuclear power port on climate
  mitigation package
• - Critical data to be digitized sharing
  and access made easier
• - Recycling from automobiles at end of
  the life.
• - 5000MW thermal power plants to close
  by 11th plan additional 10,000 MW to be
• shut or ovehauled by 12th Plan
• ICAR launched Network Project on Climate change
• - 15 Research Institutes SAUs for
  conducting critical research on crops,
• livestock and fisheries.

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Missions Launched under National Action Plan on
Climate Change

• National Solar Mission
• National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
• National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
• National Water Mission
• National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan
  Ecosystem
• National Mission for Green India
• National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
• National Mission for Strategic Knowledge for
  Climate Change

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Goals of National Action Plan

• Evolving a sustainable development strategy
  considering climate change to protect venerable
  sections
• To achieve ecological sustainability through
  mitigation of GHG
• Deploying appropriate technologies to adaptation
  and mitigation of GHG
• Implementation of effective prog. through
  linkages with civil society organisations and PPP
• Welcoming international cooperation and sharing
  of knowledge and transfer of technol.

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CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE STUDIES TO MITIGATE THE
EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

• 1971 AICRP on ERAS
• to assess energy use in various farm operations
  for different production sectors of agriculture.
• to locate critical components of use and
  technique to improve system efficiency by
  reducing wasteful uses
• make assessment of future energy demand
• Results have provided a bench mark of spatial and
  temporal variations in the energy use pattern in
  Indian Agriculture
• In 1980s zero tillage concept introduced by
  ICI to promote gramaxone
• Tractor drawn zero-till drill developed in Punjab
  by Shukla, Tandon Verma for sowing wheat after
  paddy without land preparation
• Reversible shovel
• Clod formation

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Comparative performance of No-Tillage and
conventional Tillage Systems for Growing wheat
after paddy
18
Comparisons of zero tillage and reduced tillage
for sowing wheat after paddy and in fallow field
19
Back view of No-till drill designed for direct
drilling of wheat with boot type furrow openers
and coulters
Wheat Crop stand sown with Conventional tillage
drilled with no-till drill after paddy harvesting
20
Wheat directly drilled with No-till drill under
Fallow -wheat rotation
Wheat directly drilled with No--till drill under
paddy- wheat rotation
21

• In 1996 -
• Pantnagar (GBPUAT) zero-till drill with
  Inverted T-type furrow openers.
• 100 drills sanctioned under FLD.
• NATP 30 centres zero-till drills.
• RWC formed for address problems of R-W growing
  countries of IGP.
• In India 3.43 m.ha. zero-tillage Punjab,
  Haryana, Bihar, U.P.

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Conservation drills
23
Field Performance
Figures in bracket show savings over
Conventional Practice. ( Assum. CO2 emitted is
2.6 Kg/l of fuel)
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CONSERVATION PRACTICES IN PADDY

• Puddling Labour, fuel, time, cost
• No tillage on raised bed
• Water applied in furrow
• 10-15 saving in water (30-40) no standing
  water required.
• Direct seeded rice saves Rs. 6000 (US 133) per
  ha as compared to traditional practice
• So less no. of hours of use of pumps run by
  diesel engines
• So less CO2 emissions

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Conservation Practices in Paddy

• Paddy raised in nursery
• Transplanted
• Laborious
• drudgerous operation
• requires frequent irrigation
• 2000-3000 lit of water-1 kg of rice
• Pre-germinated paddy seeder
• Mat type transplanter
• Direct drilling on raised bed
• Sesbania sisbon (brown manuring)

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Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed System (FIRBS)
Raised bed planter

• Wheat raised in small and broad beds
• 50 saving in seed
• 30-40 saving in water
• higher yields
• reduction in drudgery
• facilitates mechanical weeding by tractor
• offers opportunity for last irrigation at grain
  filling stage
• avoids temporary water logging problems
• allows subsurface basal and top dressing of
  fertilizer
• reduces N losses promotes rain-water
  conservation

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Paddy sown on raised bed
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Raised bed planting
( ) savings over conventional practice
savings over fresh bed planting
29
Production economics of rice after wheat straw
covered and straw incorporated
30
Production economics
Saving in water Fresh bed 30 Permanent
beds 40
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R.C. through use of laser land leveling
Laser land leveler

• Leveling by animal tractor drawn leveler -
  Poor crop stand, Over irrigation and uneven
  distribution due to unevenness
• Laser land leveler-
• increase water application efficiency up to 50
• cropping intensity by 40
• labour requirement by 35
• crop yield by 15 to 66
• Saving in time 24
• 2.m.ha by laser land leveller save 1.5 m. ha. m
  3 of irrigation water
• Saving- 200 m. lit. diesel
• Reduce GHG by 500 million kg.

• Yield water saving for laser leveled field
  traditionally leveled plots for rice crop

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Uneven distribution of irrigation water under
traditional land leveling
Laser leveled field prepared for rice
transplanting
Waterlogging in a wheat field
Non-uniform crop stand in an undulated field
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Residue management and reduction of enviornmental
pollution through CA Practices
34
Residue Management and Reduction in
Environmental Pollution

• Paddy straw burnt
• Pollution
• GHGs
• soil degradation (loss of organic matter)
• mulch and promote ground water recharge
• reduces soil erosion
• solve liming problem in acidic soils
• About 1000 kg of biomass can give 10 litres of
  ethanol

Straw Cutter cum spreader
35
RDD seeding in full residue
Roto till drill
Happy combo seeder
Turbo seeder seeding in full residue
36
Straw incorporated tillage seeding
37
Straw mulch minimum tillage rice-wheat
38
Production economics of wheat after rice straw
covered and straw incorporated
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Straw Combine
Straw Baler
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LONG TERM STUDIES ON BUILD OF ORGANIC CARBON DUE
TO DIFFERENT TILLAGE TREATMENTS.

• Long term tillage studies
• CRIDA, Hyderabad 8 yrs
• Global conversion to all crop lands
• - to CT sequester 25 Gt C over 50 yrs
• CCX Payment based on assumption - -
• - that CT sequester-0.3 t C /ha/yr
• West and Post (2002) analysed global database of
  67 long term experiments found that
• - Change from Conv. to No-tillage
• sequesters 0.57 t C/ha/yr
• - The sequestration rates peak in 5-10 yrs
  a new equilibrium Carbon level is reached in
  15-20 yrs.
• Cover crops-also sequester C
• Crop rotation in maize-soybean regions of US. -
  sequester 0.01-0.03 Pg C/yr

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METHODS FOR MEASUREMENT OF CO2 EMISSION AND
CARBON CREDITS.

• Soil Carbon Content
• Concentration () or stock (t/ha)
• Convert one unit to another depth of
  measurement BD is needed
• C content BD varies with depth
• For every ton of carbon lost from soil adds
• 3.67 ton of CO2 gas to the atmosphere
• OR
• -- Every 1 ton/ha increase in soil
• organic C represent 3.67 ton of
• CO2 sequestered from the
• atmosphere

• Grace et al (2003) Gupta (2007)
• 1 litre of fuel emits 2.6 kg of CO2
• Hence, (Table 3) taking fuel saving of 24
  lit./ha
• - Estimated Annual Saving
• following zero tillage
• - saving in CO2 emission are
• 24x2.6 62.0 kg/ha
• So Adoption of zero tillage in 90 m.ha area in
  the world would save 5.5 80 million tons of CO2
  equivalent
• Thus saving 2160 million litres of diesel/year

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Contd..

• Malik et al (2004)
• - Zero tillage farming in 0.25 m
• ha saved 75 million m3 of water
• - Hence 3.43 m.ha would save
• 1029 million m3 of water every
• year.
• - This would result in less no. of
• hours of operation of pumps
• - Less CO2 emission from diesel
• engines operating these pumps
• - So more Carbon credits.

• Area under No-tillage - 3.43 m.ha
• Saving in CO2 Emisison (3.43x2.6)
• 0.2 Million tons of CO2
• equivalent
• Saving in diesel (3.43 x 2.4)
• 82.32 million litres
• Saving in cost ( 82.32x35)
• Rs 2881.2 million (US 61.30 million)
  annually.
• Zero tillage reduce CO2 emission by slowing
  oxidation of the carbon stock due to reduced soil
  disturbance

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Conclusions

• To Mitigate the affect of climate change
• Reduce emissions of CO2,CH4, N2O by following
  CA
• Identify rank the barriers to the introduction
  of CA equipment
• Protection of environment by elimination of
  burning of straw (Cattle feed),Facilitating
  recycling of residue and plant nutrients (Back
  to soil)
• Opportunities for sensible/profitable crop
  rotations
• Systematic long term studies to analyse technical
  options for mitigating GHG other harmful
  emissions from tractors, engines and combines be
  initiated
• Mega Project on CA to mitigate the effect of
  climate change be launched by involving plant
  breeders, agronomists, environmentalists and
  engineers.

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WE Need to Follow CA Practices to Mitigate Effect
of Climate Change
THANK YOU