Soil Use Planning and Decelerating Crop Productivities: Policy Implications for Indian Punjab

Abstract

Soil is the prime natural and economic resource of any nation. Soils are heterogeneous in composition due to difference in parent material, soil texture, physical and chemical properties, climatic conditions and occurrences on different topographic positions. Soils of the Indian Punjab have been developed on alluvium in flood plain (alluvial soils). Others are loamy, sandy, desert and kandi soils. These soils are different in their inherent soil fertilities, presenting options to cultivate various crops. The combination of major breakthrough in Mexican wheat and Filipino rice cultivars, availability of well-developed irrigation network, adequate marketing infrastructure and price support policy led to predominantly monoculture oriented rice-wheat rotation in the Indian Punjab. This has resulted in manifestation of several adverse effects on soil use efficiency and fast deceleration of crop productivities. To improve soil fertility, annually 1.3 × 10⁶ t of nitrogen, 0.354 × 10⁶ t of phosphorus and 0.039 × 10⁶ t of potash fertilizers are added to soils. The use of chemical fertilizers in the state has risen from 0.213 × 10⁶ t in 1970–1971 to 1.698 × 10⁶ t in 2007–2008. Even though the soil fertility (macro- and micronutrients) is depleting continuously, calling for a pragmatic soil/land use planning for crop diversification is based on soil suitabilities in different areas of the state for particular crop(s).