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,Comb"ating Desertification'':-111'.: Arid ",~Zone"Of,Rajasthan

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, THE Great Indian desert forms a part of Thar desertwhich extends over Pakistan in the west.' The'arid zoneln, India covers about 12 percent ofthe country's geog-raphical area and 'occupiis over 3.2 lakh sq km of hot-

~ desert located in parts' of' R~jasthan, Haryana . andI;, Gujarat besides, smallpockets in peninsular India.' In

addition to this, an area of about '70 000 sq kin of colddesert in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir presents entirelydifferent set of agroclimatic conditions as compared tothe' hot desert.. About 6i'percent of thehot arid areasof 1.11ecountry is located in Rajasthan. Roughly three-fifths of Rajasthan lying north-west of' Arravellies fallswithin the limit of. arid zone, and it comprises the ~2western districts of the State, namely, Banner, Bjkaner,Churu, Gangaaagar, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jhunjhunu,Jodhpur, Nagaur, Pali, Sikar and Sirohi.L'The arid areasare characterised by acute ecological imbalances. Theproblems imposed by.a low annual'precipitation (366 mm)

I ; are accentuated by' its frequent erratic distribution,I !r

4,°Om5sOeasolnto season, a high solar radiation1 of

~ 5 - 5 ca ories per sq em per day, and wind .ve ocity~ of 10 .20 km per hour resulting in a higb potentialIi evapotranspiration (6 mmrday) and consequent high

mean aridity index ranges from 76-78 percent. As a .result the subterranean flow of water becomes erratic,groundwater lies very deep generally brackish andsaline and there are no perennial rivers. Apart fromthe Gang and Bhakra Canals in 'Sri Ganganagardistrict, there are very few flew irrigational facilities.Added to these, soil salinity and alkalinity complicatesthe situation.

Desertification

Desertification has been for a long time a commonfeature of the Rajasthan arid 'zone. By arid zonestandard the Rajasthan desert is one of the most thicklypopulated desents of the world, the density of populationper sq km being 4& as against 3 persons per sq km inmost other deserts -of the world. In arid zone of Rajas-than, starting with a base of roughly 3. 567 millions in190~ the population registered a linei'll escalation andincreased 'to 10 .236 millions, thus registering aboutthree-fold .increase over the base yeall 1901. Mostof the labour force (over 80 % of the working population)is tied up to a pre-modern agriculture which suffersfrom an additional handicap of increasing scarcity of

104

S.P. Malhotra, Acting Director

Central Arid Zone Research InstituteJodhpur

crop la~d. Th0 negativesooio-economic effects Of thefast growing, population' in the arid zone of Rajasthan,addedto the' harsh agro-climatic conditions, are beco-ming glaringly visible. The' man-land-ratio. is fastdeclining. The improved technology' has 'not beenadopted to any significant extent by 'the farming popu-lation. As a consequence more and. more marginallands are being brought under the plough, as is evidentfrom the land use statistics, resulting a substantialincrease in sown area at the expense of grazing lands.But at the same time th~ livestock population increases~leading inevitably to the over 'exploit~tion of the evershrinking grazing 'lands. Crop production on sanddunes and marginal lands is not only low but is also asoil conservation hazard. This contributes to theaccentuation of desersic conditions. The yield per un-itof cultivated area is exhibiting a declining trend. Theannual linear growth Fate (1954-70) of principal cropsshows a negative trend for pearl millet -0.66, sorghum-4.&8., pulses -2.17, sesamum -6.08, gr,am-1.20 andbarley -0.18.. The declining yields may be attributedlarge:tL!o the use iof the marginal and sub-marginallands for cultivation purposes'. .

Similarly, due to the increase in population and thenumber of households, not only more land has beenbrought under plough reducing the number' of treesand shrubs, but also the increased demand-of wood forfuel which has led to a.n over exploitation of vegetationresources.

With the persistance of human demands a process,of progressive degradation of resources has set in overgrazed lands. Shrinking forests and eroded agriculturalfields show the imprints of man's activities on his envi-ronment. Surveys on the experience of the fanners.have further revealed thatthe region has been experien-cing accentuation in conditions of desertification overthe last 25-30 years. The' dwellers perceived and attri-buted this process to the prevalence of 'improper winds',lesser precipitation, greater erraticity and uneven dis-tribution of rainfall, resulting in decreased natural vege- 'tation, the appearance of xeric conditions, impoveri-shment of soil, .increasirrg salinity, lower crop yieldsand -increasing number of famine periods over the last25-30 years. A reckless exploitation of land, substantialincreases of human' and livestock population coupledwith the above factors thus suggest a corrosive effect

THE ARID ZONE in India constitutes3.2 lakh sq km of hot desert, 96 lakh sq kmof semi-desert and 0.7 lakh sq km of colddesert of Ladakh with an inhabited popula-tion of over 19 'million. It is the mostlythickly populated arid land in the world-48 persons per sq km as against 3 in otherdeserts. Picture shows moving sand dunesnear Udairamsar about; 15 km fromBikaner. .

and continuation of desertification trend in the aridzone of Rajasthan ..

Combating Desertification

The Government of India, in recogmtion of thedesert problems arranged a symposium in 1952 underthe auspicies of National Institute of Sciences. Asa recommendation of this symposium, a Desert Affore-station Research Station was established at Jodhpurin 1952 to cany out afforestation research work andforestry extension including the erreotion of shelter beltsand afforestation of sand dunes and waste-lands unfitfor cultivation of crops. In 1957, the scope of thestation was enlarged by inclusion of soil conservationprogrammes, and it was named as the Desert Affore-station and Soil Conservation Station for conductingresearches for development of crop husbandry andgrasslands as well. Subsequently, it was felt necessary toestablish a full-fledged research institute at Jodhpur forunder-baking basic and applied researches for the deve-lopment of the arid areas of the country. Highlights ofsome work done at the Institute are presented below.

Multi-discipllnary Sun'tys for Rational 'Utilisation ofNatural Resources

Based on the study of the aridity index, the arid andsemi-arid areas in Rajasthan have been delineated.A full knowledge of the available natural resources andtheir present use in the area is a must before the stepsfor harnessing the optimum utilisation of these resourcescould be suggested. FOl1 the purpose, multi-disciplinaryintegrated 'surveys have been completed in 45269 sqkm area in arid zone of Rajasthan. In addition, semi-detailed surveys have belen conducted at the develop-ment block level in about 34000 sq km besides detailedvillage level surveys in priority areas. These surveys

have provided comprehensive information with regardto (a) land use capability classes based on land use data,land forms, erosion hazards (wind and water), soiltypes and type and intensity of dunes; (b) pasture types;(c) tree communities; (d) water. resources (surface andground water), .water quality, waite); potential zonesand their capabilities to supply ground water and villagetanks and their water potentials; (e) socio-economiccorrelations of various caste groups, household structure,rural working force, class of farmers and land holdingsize, animal-vegetation-human relationships, forms ofsettlement etc. Integration of these attributes in termsof land resource units provides information on thedifferential nature of management and conservationneeds, resource potential and a scientific basis for. deve-lopmental planning for major land use policy decisionwhich will go a long way in combating desertificationprocesses.

Crop Production TechnologyArid zone of Rajasthan inherited a poor and undi-

versified economy crippled through decades of neglectand feudal exploitation. Despite scarcity of waterneeded for crop production and increasing scarcity ofcrop lands the majority of workers (over s.o percent)are tied to an outmoded and inefficient agriculture andcrops are sown in about 40 percent of the land area.annually. Irrigation facilities in the region' are limitedcrop production under. rainfed conditions is highlyunstable and the crop yields with traditional varietiesand package of practices is dismally low. VadetieS-o,fthe traditional crops like pearl millet and moong beans,possessing high yield potential, synchronous maturityand growth. and development rhythms matching therainfall pattern have been identified and developed.

Impr-oved agronomic practices centering around

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effioientfertilizer, herbicide and pesticide use, maintenan-ce of optimum cro.p stands in relation to moisture avail-ability, tillage, soil arid moisture conservation measuresbearing a direct relationship with agricultural productionin 1he region have' been developed, Crop productions1!ta'tegiysbefitting varying rainfall patterns and aberrantweather. situations .hav!, been formulated. Crops likecastor and sunflower have been found to perform' betterthan: cereals :under late: sown conditions. ' ,".. . .

Crop production technology heving ai direct bearingoil desert control has been' developed. 'For instance,it 'is now possible to. adopt a double cropping systemOn dr5'la.rtds 'in 'years of'good 'and extended rainfall.

106

Adoption of remunerative double cropping system likepearl millet-mustard, moong beans+safflower/mustard,early fodder crops-guar beans/castor, will goa long V!ayin giving protective covering to bare soil in the winterseason, besides resulting in .higher productivity andmonetary returns. 'Simple practices like -provisionof wind breaks around cropped 'fields, ploughing acrossthe wind direction, leaving crop stubbles of about 15em height or so a.uharvest, water harvesting procedures,timely ,cul~ural operations (particularly .weed, control)8111 together, will help' ameliorate. desertio ,conditio.~soperating hi the arid, regions. Inter cropping of annualgrain legumes in established pastures of Ce'nchrus ,qiliari&

S.P. MALHOTRA

etc. and inclusion of crops like cluster beans and castorin the croping programmes will impart shbUity to, dry-land agriculture in this region.

A need to develop a suitable technology f01 limitedmoisture supply conditions was long felt. Crops likemustard have b;,.n found to ba the most eJicient utili-Z~B of limited moiiture, as against CLOP'> like wheatwhich make i a heavy demand on water and nutrients.Efficient techniques, guananting optimum, water use,like spcinkler and drip irrigation, coupled with the useof saline water in drip irrigation, have been developed.With the introduction of early maturing a~d high yieldingvarieties of potato, like Kufri Chandramukhi, in theOperational Research Project, new vistas of high yieldand productivity (200 q/ha) and efficient!use of limitedwater supplies through the sprinkler irrigation system,have been opened. Increase in yield and stability in CI'OP

production will lead to lesser use of marginal and sub-marginal lands for cultivation purposes, consequently re-sulting in checking desertification processes in tho region.

Range and Pasture Improvement

Paradoxical as it! might appear, on the one handthere has been a shrinkage of grazing lands while onthe other the livestock population increased from 10.27million in 1951 to 16.44 million in 1971. The highpressure of livestock on guazing lands specifically inview of its low carrying capacity results in the OVeruseof these lands and in depletion of natural vegetationresources. Population has often to resort to migration

BHAGIRATH VOL. XXIV

and nomadic life for meeting the.needs of their livestock ..Studies have revealed that each type of nomad is asso-ciated with some kind of livestock which make indis-criminate use of the meagre available water and grazingresources and destroy the local soil conservation mea-sures. The nomads in the present day thus prove amenace for the whole society and their sedeutarizationis inescapable. Based on their kinship structure, cul-tural values and socio-economic life sedentarizationschemes have been formulated. <

The grasslands and pastures are valuable resourcesand mainly provide fodder and forage to the livestock,research was, therefore, undertaken to ests blish theprinciples and practices of better pasture managementto improve livestock product-ivity which also wouldcontribute to reclamation and development of the region.

Results have shown that simple enclosures to keepaway animals at ctitical stages of gnass growth led toimproved grassland productivity from 116.3 percentto 14&. 3 percent depending on the inherent: soil pro-ductivity,its depth etc. .within a period of 2 years of theirestablishment. Practices like contour furrows (30 emcross section) in areas having over 5 percent slopes andpitting in pre-monsoon in level lands resulted in over,30 percent increase in forage yield compared with,control. Reseeding of grassland with the identifiedand recommended species of perennial grasses likeLasiurus sindicus Cenchrus species and Dicanthiumannulatum suiting the agro climatic conditions haveprovided encouraging forage yields. For adequate

U . idi t ~MAN'S STR GGLE agamst arr ity star edin antiquity has to continue but with intensiveresearch and extensive application of latestscientific knowledge to suit the local condi-tions and ecology. .The effectiveness of sanddune stabiJisation in Shivbari village onBikaner-J odhpur Road is seen here. Thesand dunes which once threatened to engulfthe village are. now a vast green patch, fullof fodder trees and grasses.

107

livestock management, the feed should have; atloast7 percent protein in their diet Stylosnnthes species isrecommended for western districts of Rajasthan and't is likely to be successful because of its ability to with-jtand drought. The technology evolved together with

commended practices would not only increase anditabilise forage yields and provide additional fodder'or livestock productivity but would also give a protec-ive vegetation cover to the existing almost barren lendsf the desert,

These measures would, thus, ensure adequate feedsnd fodder for the livestock and would check excessiveexploitation of the grazing lands and reduce desertifi-ation hazards in the region.

and Dune Stabilization, Afforestation and Shelter BeltPlantation

Dune infested area in Western Rajasthan alone con-titutes approximately 58.5 percent of the total area.Of this area 11.5 percent area is very severely (80~100ercent), 4.8 percent severely (60~&0 percent), 14.7ercent strongly (40~60 percent) 18. 6 percent moderately20-40 percent). and 8.9 percent slightly (0~20 percent).nfested. Techniques of stabilisation of shifting dunesonsists of (a) protection of shifting dunes against alliotic interference; (b) effective micro-wind breaks onhe windward side of dune either in 5 m parallel strips11 5 m square chess board; (c). sowing of grasses orransplauting of trees and shrub species raised in suntied earthern bricks on the leeward of micro-wind

break. The suitable species for afforestation of theshifting dunes are trees like Prosopis c-ineraria, Prosopis'uliflora, Acacia tortilis, Acacia senegal, Albizzia labbek;shrubs calligonum polygonoldes, Lycium barbarum, Acaciaiacquemontii: Clerodendrum Phlomoides and Zizyphus»ummularia; and grasses like Saccharum bengalensis,

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THE SCIENTISTS of theCentral Arid Zone ResearchInstitute, Jodhpur, the onlyresearch station of its kindin South-East Asia, havedemonstrated that Car frombeing an economic liability,the desert areas have a vastpotential to contribute to theNation's economy. Shri S.P.Malhotra, Acting Director ofthe Institute, is seen hereexplaining the desert techno-logy for reclaiming barren,salty and sandy soils to thevillagers in one of the opera-tional research fields.

Lasiurus sindicus, Panicum antidotale, Panicum turgidum,Cenchrus ciliaris and Cenchrus setigerus. In extremelyaeid conditions Acacia tortilis, Prosopis juliflora andCalligonum polygonoides and Acacia jacquemontii havebeen found suitable. The economic. analysis of thodune stabilization technology indicated that averageannual cost of Rs 760.00 per ha will be repaid afterthe end of the thirteenth year.

For the afforestation work a large number of speciesof Eucalyptus, Acacia and other general from similariso-clirnatic zones of the world Were introduced. Outof different exotic tree species, Acacia tortilis. A.aneura, A. radiana, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. mela-nopholia, E. terminalis, Cassia phyllodenea etc. have beenfound to be promising for planting in the Indian arid'zone. For raising saplings for plantation in large num-bers, nursery techniques have been evolved.

The technique of establishing shelter belts with anumber of species were developed by this Instituteafter raising 103 km long sbelter belts at the CentralMechanised Farm, Suratgarh (Rajasthan). The treespecies like Acacia tortilis, Prosopis juliflora, Tamarixarticulata, Acacia nilotica and Cassia siomea iecom-mended for the purpose are fast growing, root firm,forma dense crown covel' and litter in abundance inthe plantation floor. The species are also droughthardy and frost resistant. This Institute has alsoevolved technology for raising avenue cum roadsideplanting along highways (207 km) in arid regions ofRajasthan and also for raising plantations at vulnerableplaces along the railway track (5 km) to check themovement of sand blowing and covering over the trackscausing hinderance to the rail traffic.Arid Horticulture

As mentioned earlier there has been over-saturationin cultivation and development of alternate avenues of

JULY 1977 COMBATING DESERTIFICATION IN A.RID ZONE BHAGIRATH VOL. XXIV

livelihood would reduce pressure on ·lands-a steptowards arresting ·desel'tification. Research on· thedevelopment of arid hort'fculture was, therefore takenup. The arid lands of Rajasthan, except for the irri-gated area in Ganganagar district are by and largedevoid of fruit trees. The only fruit tree encounteredin abundance in the desert tract is ber (Zizyphus num-mularia) which has t mall size red berries. Looking toits potential for improvement, budding techniqueswere perfected by which it bas been possible. to trans-form these Zizyphus bushes into bel' varieties suchas gola and seb which are characterised by large size,luscious and tasty fruits with a -production Yange ofabout 40-60 kg/tree. About 4 000 ber . seedlings ofgola and' seb in the Operational Reseatch Project area.have been planted and the programme has been verywidely accepted and is achieving a great SUccess. Underdryland conditions, with suitable water harvestingtechniques, pomegranate, guava, custard, apple andgonda (Cordia mixa) have been successfully ~grcwn.With supplementary irrigations, sour lime and amlamay be grown. Under- conditions of assured irrigationfacility, fruit crops like phalsa, grape, date palm, orangesand papaya can be grown profitably. Preliminaryobservations have indicated that a seedless variety ofpomegranate, the gola and seb varieties of bcr, Kagzilime, Allahabadi safeda, and Lucknow-49 guava, HoneyDew and Washington varieties of pap~ya and the Beautyvariety of seedless grape grow quite well in this region.Detailed varietal evaluation work on these crops iscurrently under progress. Four date. palm varieties,viz. Khadrawi, Medjool, Shamran and Hillawi haveflowered four years after planting. In the fifth year,the yield of fruits per palm has been 9.2 kg in Shamranand 5.5 kg in Khadrawi, Sucker production per palmin the fifth year- after planting bas been 9. &, 9.7, 8.7and 6 kg in Khadrawi, Medjool, Shamran and' Hillawj .

cultivers respectively.Rodent Control

Rodent constitute' one of the largest mammaliangroups in the desert. Their role i~' intensification ofdesertic conditions may be comprehended from the totalnumber of species (seventeen) and density, 74 to 523per ha andbiomess 435 to' 2 641 gm per ha. Studieshave clearly indicated that rodents are potent consu-mers of the desert biome and are opposed to' man Inhis endeavours 'for maximising productivity from thisinhospitable terrains, and- would not permit any grassgrowth unless their populations are properly managed.The ecology of different species and their bait preferences,shyness, seed consumption, dose response to lethalchemicals, optimum season (May' and, June) for controletc. have been evaluated. Technology has been estab-lished for control of field rodents which cost only 30-45paisa/he. No other programme of development would,however, warrant a greater necessity for communityaction than the rodent control. In tbe OperationalResearch area, therefore, emphasis was placed onachieving a consensus which ultimately involved thewhole community inhabiting tbe cluster of five villages,as participants in the programme. This yielded veryfruitful results.

Solar Energy UtilisationThe Rajasthan arid zone is blessed with abundant

solar energy and researches conducted at the Institutefor its utilization have Jed to successful fabrication ofSolar Water Heater, Solar Oven, Solar Cabinet Dryerand Solar Distillation Kits etc. These gadgets arevery cheap and cost around Rs 300/- to Rs 350/- onlyso :".S to enable the population inhabiting arid zone tomake use of this as their own. Efforts arc under wayfor developing a solar pump which would go a long wayin combating desertification, in . arid areas.

NOMADS on the Move in search ofwater in Rajasthan- A consequence ofDesertification.

109