Effects of grass vegetation strips on soil conservation and crop yield under rainfed conditions in the Indian sub‐Himalayas

Vegetation strips (VS) along with conservation tillage, application of organic amendments and weed mulching improve crop yields by reducing run‐off and topsoil erosion. To investigate these issues, an experiment was conducted under rainfed conditions using grass VS for four and a half years (June 2007 to October 2011) at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, in the Indian Himalayan region. VS were incorporated in the experimental plots (Entisols) in a randomized complete block design in permanent 100 × 20 m (2000 m²) plots with a 2% slope to evaluate the effects of vegetation strips on run‐off, soil loss and crop yield. Three treatments were evaluated: (i) without VS with recommended NPK under conventional tillage, (ii) panicum as VS with recommended NPK under conventional tillage and (iii) palmarosa+ that consists of palmarosa as VS along with organic amendments (farmyard manure, vermicompost and poultry manure) and weed mulch under minimum tillage. The results show that soil loss and run‐off were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in plots under palmarosa+ than without VS treatment. Mean soil loss of 3.4, 5.2 and 7.1 t/ha was recorded from palmarosa+, panicum and without VS treated plots, respectively. Mean run‐off was 234, 356 and 428 mm from plots under palmarosa+, panicum and without VS, respectively. Maize yield was lower on the plots under palmarosa+ compared with panicum, but significantly higher (P < 0.05) than without a strip. The succeeding rainfed wheat yield was significantly greater in plots under palmarosa+ than in the initial years. The wheat yield equivalent was significantly higher in plots under palmarosa+ followed by panicum and without VS. Thus, vegetation strips are recommended for wider adoption to reduce run‐off and soil loss and to increase crop yield. The long‐term goal is to achieve a palmarosa+ system (palmarosa as a vegetation strip along with organic amendments, farmyard manure, vermicompost and poultry manure) and weed mulch under minimum tillage.