Physical and conservation constraints and management components for SAT Alfisols [a review article]
1987
El-Swaify, S.A. | Singh, S. | Pathak, P.
The Alfisols of the semi-arid tropics are well-drained soils, but possess low water-storage capacities. They are, therefore, cropped only during the rainy (monsoon) season. With traditional rainfed farming, the soils are both unproductive and prone to excessive runoff and erosion. Efforts to improve management of these soils for conventional cropping have succeeded in increasing crop yields over traditional management systems, but effective practices for improved soil and water conservation remain to be formulated. This is primarily because of the extreme structural instability of the soils. Physical components of improved management have been subject to many0927 investigations and many promising trends have emerged, but no integrated set of practices can, as yet, be confidently recommended for sustaining agricultural productivity on small farms. In this background paper, evidence primarily from research at ICRISAT is used as a basis for discussion of the physical constraints and the promising developments that have been made in improving the conservation and management of these s
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