Infiltration Capacity of Soil Under Different Land Use

The infiltration capacity of soil in and around the Central Research Farm (Kalyani University ) under 7 different types of management practices viz. : (i) Solis treated with celax—a paper factory waste product and then maize and safflower crop was grown, (2) Soils treated with spenthop—a brewrey factory waste product and maize and safflower crop was grown, (3) Soil put to an annual forage crop Pennisetum peclicellatuni, (4) a pasture land, (5) an arable crop land put to Aus paddy every year (6) a mango orchard and (7) an overgrazed baren piece of land, were studied. The water infiltration rate was maximum in the celax treated plots (29.90 cm/hr) followcd. hy in soils under annual (24.5 cm/hour) and perennial (22.2 car) forage grasses, in soils treated with spenthop (18.5 cm/hr) and in soils under orchard (18.1 cm/hr). The minimum infiltration was recorded in barren land (4.6 cm/hr) followed by arable land put to Aus paddy crop every year (7.6 cm/hr). Soils which showed high rate of water infiltration also contained high organic carbon. Although the orchard soil contained high organic carbon yet its infiltration rate was low probably because the orchard was not cultivated Since long and received the tramplinis of animals and pedestrians. The soil being sandyloam had pore space percentage ranging from 39 to 46% under different management practices  the barren land and the arable crop land growing Aus paddy every year showed minimum proespace. Soils which contained more organic matter had higher water holding capacity than those whose organic matter content was low. Plots treated with celax and spenthop showed the promise of increasing crop yield per hectare per annum by taking maize and safflower in sequence as compared to growing Ms paddy crop year after year in such soils.