Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ABSTRACT
The floodplain soils of Bihar comprising of alluvial deposits of various
rivers in their lower course have shaped the agricultural destiny of the
state. Although soil fertility is not generally a severe concern in these soils
because of regular deposition of fertile alluvium, these soils which are in
fact just sedimentary deposits, pose serious soil physical problems due
to concentration of very similar textural separates in a season's debris.
Besides there is little or no profile development in the characteristic In-
ceptisols and Entisols in the state. A large chunk of these problems are
related to the physical quality and can be mitigated by improving the struc-
ture and stability of the floodplain soils. Adding stabilized carbon such as
biochars to the soils and cultivating horticultural crops for an economic
advantage is a proposition for these soils. Various advantages of biochar
addition in soils including increasing cation exchange capacity, increas-
ing water holding capacity, offering hiding space for useful bacteria and
fungi, modifying the soil hydrothermal regime, affecting the dynamics of
mineral nutrients in soils, etc., are enumerated followed by a brief discus-
sion of biochar technology in horticulture. Biochar can be a substrate of
growing ornamental plants and also a substrate for protected cultivation
in green houses or poly houses. Biochar is a suitable material for making
the earth ball for saplings to be transplanted and also a potential inoculant
carrier for biofertilizers. Moreover, it is overall a good soil conditioner
for ameliorating soil physical constraints encountered in floodplain soils.
All these advantages can potentially lead to sustainably high horticultural
crop yields from biochar interventions. However, there is still a need for
strategic research efforts, to allow elucidation of mechanisms, differenti-
ated by environmental and management factors and to include studies over
longer time frames.
13.1 INTRODUCTION
Floodplains are the lands comprising of alluvial deposits of soils in the
vicinity of the streams or rivers. Although inherently fertile and usually
productive, these soils have their own specific problems. These include,
among others, frequent seasonal floods and accompanying soil erosion
and siltation, water logging and scarcity at different times of the year, tex-
