Friday, November 5, 2010

Sustainable Agriculture Methods for Adoptation and Mitigation to climate change

Affect of climate change
Methods in CMSA
Increased droughts and floods
Mulching

Conservative / dead furrow
- Crop diversity/ poly cropping
- With improved soil organic matter absorption of 
    rain water and lower runoffs     
- Healthy, robust plants

Extreme temperatures and diurnal variations

Multistoried cropping based on photo candle light requirement and leaf mulch on soil

Increased incidence of pests and diseases
- Building of improved pest ecology with
       proliferation of beneficial insects                   
-  Managing pests by understanding life cycles
   Crop diversity
- Lower application of Urea etc makes plants less 
      prone
Decline in water resources

- Rain water harvesting – Farm ponds
- Selection of low water requirement crops
- Bund plantation – Acts as wind breaks develops  
      micro climate and reduces evaporation
- In situ moisture conservation
- SRI in Paddy

Increased risk

Crop diversity – Spreading risk
Increased yield frequency
Agro forestry

Soil nutrient depletion due to high temperatures

- Soil fertility management by monocot/dicot crop
        combinations
- Mulching
- Azolla in Paddy
- Creating enabling atmosphere for local deep  
       borrowing earth worm
- Dung based inoculants
- Recycling of biomass
- In situ Soil fertility management
- Tank silt application
- Green manure crops

- Green leaf manure

Increased weed problems

Weed as source of mulching

GHG emissions

SRI in Paddy
Using biomass for composting rather than burning
Eliminating chemical fertilizer usage
Aerobic composting methods like NADEP

Energy use

Animal power or human power
No machinery using fossil fuels
Low or no fossil fuels
Zero tillage

Increased Co2 in atmosphere

Bund plantation of green leaf manure and other plants

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