Indian Council of Agricultural Research

Deputy Director-General (Natural Resource Management) is the Head of the Division, and is assisted by 3 Assistant Directors-General (ADGs) – ADG (Soils), ADG (Agronomy and Agroforestry), ADG (Integrated Water Management); two Principal Scientists and one Senior Scientist. The division has 6 Research Institutes, 3 Research Complexes, 1 Bureau, 1 Project Directorate, 2 National Research Centres, 11 All-India Co-ordinated Research Projects and 3 Network Projects.

Thrust Areas

• Inventorization, characterization and monitoring of natural resources using modern tools and techniques.
• Development of Sustainable land use plans for different agro-ecological sub-regions in the country.
• Devising cost effective methods of resource conservation and reclamation.
• Enhancing fertilizer, water and other inputs use efficiency through monetary and non- monetary measures.
• Integrated plant nutrient management combining inorganic fertilizers, organic manures/composts and bio-fertilizers for sustained soil health and crop productivity.
• Multiple uses of water to enhance productivity and livelihood.
• On-farm water management to enhance water-use efficiency.
• Standardization of micro-irrigation and fertigation systems.
• Development of cost-effective drainage technology including bio-drainage for saline and waterlogged lands.
• Utilization of poor and marginal quality waters for agriculture.
• Development of location specific model watersheds in various agro ecological zones of the rainfed areas for resource conservation, enhancing productivity and livelihood generation.
• Agro-eco-zone specific diversification of agriculture.
• Developing package of practices for organic farming.
• Developing location specific integrated farming systems involving agriculture, horticulture, livestock and fisheries etc to enhance productivity, income and livelihood.
• Agro-forestry systems to support supplies of fodder, fuel, industrial wood, small timber and biofuel on a sustainable basis.
• Technology development for coastal shelter belts.
• Development of weather-based expert systems for enhanced production and improvement in agro met advisory services.
• Monitoring of climate change and adaptation to mitigate its adverse effects on agricultural production systems.

Achievements

• Prepared soil maps of the country (1:1 million scale), states (1:250,000 scale) and several districts (1:50,000 scale).



• Prepared soil degradation map of the country (1:4.4 million scale) and soil erosion maps for states (1:250,000 scale) for effective resource conservation planning.
• Twenty agro-ecological regions and sixty agro-ecological sub-regions of the country have been delineated and mapped on 1:4.4 million scale.
• A network of 47 model watersheds developed, making a basis for the National Watershed Development Programme for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA).
• Developed soil and water conservation/bio-engineering measures for mountainous watersheds that reduced runoff from 42 to 14% and the soil loss from 11 to 2 tonnes/ha.
• The techniques of sand-dune stabilization and shelter-belt plantation have been developed for arresting movement of sand-dunes and deposition of sand in canals in arid zone.
• Alternate farming systems to shifting cultivation increasing cropping intensity and productivity in hills have been developed.



• Devised drip and sprinkler irrigation systems saving water (30-50%), labour (50%), fertilizer (30-40%) and increasing yields (12-76%).
• A pressurized irrigation system fed through a reservoir in adjunct to the canal system for irrigation either by pumping or by gravity was developed with benefit-cost ratio of 2.6.
• Water harvesting structures for different dry land/rainfed situations developed. ·
• Devised recharge filters for sediment free runoff water in open wells and tube wells.
• Design parameters of runoff recycling based irrigation system have been developed and evaluated.
• The soil carbon stocks under different land use systems of the country documented.
• Digitized soil fertility maps (N,P,K,S and micronutrients) for different states prepared.



• Developed ready reckoners for soil test based fertilizer recommendations. Also documented integrated nutrient management packages for major cropping systems of the country to promote balanced fertilization.
• Developed biofertilizer technology for mass multiplication and adoption by the farmers.
• The techniques for enriched/vermi composts developed.
• Leaf Colour Chart (LCC), a simple device for nitrogen management (saving 15 kg N/ha in rice), developed.
• Standardized raised & sunken bed system for higher productivity in waterlogged lands.
• Resource conservation technologies viz., zero-tillage, bed planting, laser land levelling recommended for Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) to save time, labour, energy, water, and nutrients and, thereby, reduce cost of cultivation.
• Prepared acid soils map of the country (1:1million scale).
• A technology package for amelioration of 25 million ha of critically degraded acid soils has been developed. Liming @ 2-4 q/ha along with the recommended fertilizers has potential to increase food grain production by 25 million tonnes per annum.
• Digitized maps of salt affected soils of the country (1:1million scale) and eight states (1: 2,50,000 scale) prepared.
• A cost effective amelioration technology with reduced dose of gypsum (@ 25 % of gypsum requirement) and growing of sodicity tolerant varieties (rice- CSR 13 and wheat - KRL 19) developed to ensure higher crop productivity of sodic soils.
• Feasibility of sub-surface drainage technology for waterlogged saline soils has been demonstrated.
• The norms for recycling of saline water for irrigation were developed. Dorovu technology for skimming fresh water overlying the saline water perfected for coastal saline areas.
• Productive, sustainable and eco-friendly crops/cropping systems for various agro-ecological regions (AERs) developed.
• Agroforestry models developed for bio-amelioration of salt-affected lands.
• A comprehensive on-line database on agro-forestry entitled “Agro-forestry BASE” generated.
• Developed agroforestry systems linking to paper, pulp wood and herbal medicines based industries.
• Developed integrated Farming systems involving crops, horticulture, agroforestry, fisheries, poultry, piggery, mushroom cultivation and bee-keeping etc. with potential to increase productivity by 2-7 times.
• Appropriate weed management practices developed for different agro-ecological situations of the country.
• A website “Crop Weather Outlook” for agromet and weather based agro-advisories made operational at CRIDA, Hyderabad.

Consultancy Services

• Soil resource mapping & Land Use Planning
• Participatory watershed management
• Development of integrated farming systems
• Reclamation of saline-alkaline/acidic/waterlogged soils
• Preparation of digital soil fertility maps.
• Establishment of soil testing laboratory
• Establishment of biofertilizer manufacturing unit.
• Establishment of vermi-composting unit
• Production of enriched composts
• Agronomic and economic evaluation of new fertilizer products
• Rehabilitation of mine spoils/torrents/ravines/landslides/slips
• Construction of water harvesting structures ·
• Groundwater recharging
• Sand dune stabilization and shelter belt plantation to combat desertification
• Makhana cultivation.