Core principles and cropping layout
- Contour strip cropping: Sowing alternating crop strips along contour lines on sloped land to intercept surface water runoff and enhance moisture infiltration.
- Field strip cropping: Planting uniform parallel strips across farm fields where contouring is impractical due to undulating topography.
- Wind strip cropping: Establishing alternating strips perpendicular to prevailing dry winds in arid and semi-arid zones to arrest wind erosion and sand drifting.
- Buffer strip cropping: Permanent vegetative grass or legume strips left between cultivated bands to absorb excess runoff.
Crop combinations and agronomic benefits
- Row crops (erosion-susceptible): Maize, cotton, pearl millet, and sorghum that leave exposed soil between rows during early growth.
- Cover crops (erosion-resistant): Dense canopy legumes like cowpea, green gram, black gram, groundnut, or forage grasses like stylo and rye.
- Soil health enhancement: Deep-rooted cover crops add organic matter, fix atmospheric nitrogen, and improve soil aggregation and water retention.
- Pest suppression: Diverse plant strips disrupt pest migration corridors, acting as natural biological pest barriers.
Implementation and field maintenance
- Strip widths are designed based on slope gradient, soil texture, rainfall intensity, and farm machinery wheel widths (typically 15 to 30 meters).
- Rotate crops annually between strips so that soil-building legumes precede nutrient-demanding cereal crops.
- Recommended by ICAR soil conservation institutes and supported under national watershed development programs.
Official source
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ICAR - Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation ↗Related on KisanPe
Common questions
What is the primary objective of strip cropping?
To reduce water and wind erosion, conserve topsoil, and improve soil moisture retention on cultivated land.
Which crops are used in strip cropping systems?
Erosion-prone row crops like maize and cotton are alternated with dense cover crops like cowpea, groundnut, and grasses.
How does strip cropping prevent soil erosion?
Dense vegetative strips slow down surface water runoff, allowing sediment to settle before it leaves the field.
What is contour strip cropping?
It is strip cropping practiced along contour lines of equal elevation across sloping land to control water erosion.
General guidance, not personal advice. For your farm, ask your local Krishi Vigyan Kendra or agriculture officer.
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