Assessment of soil physical characteristics as affected by soil conservation treatments under a semiarid tropical environment

Water erosion affects not only the productivity of agricultural land but also the economic and social well-being of the present and future generations on the earth.However, cultivating maize wheat as arable land use with outdated technology makes water erosion more damaging in the foothills of Shivalik.Thus, keeping these points in view, an investigation was undertaken at DR Bhumbla Zonal Research Station for Kandi Area, Ballowal -Saunkhari, district SBS Nagar, Punjab to assess soil chemical and physical characteristics as affected by soil conservation treatments.The four different soil conservation treatments imposed were: cultivation along the slope with recommended doses of inorganic fertilizers (T 1 ), Contour bunding and cultivation across the slope with the application of recommended doses of inorganic fertilizers (T 2 ), cultivation of leveled land with application of recommended doses of inorganic fertilizers (T 3 ), and cultivation of leveled land with recommended doses of inorganic fertilizers plus farmyard manure (T 4 ).The 5-depth layers considered for soil sampling were such as 0-5cm, 5-10 cm, 10-15 cm, 15-30 cm, and 30-60 cm.However, each treatment was replicated thrice, and Factorial Randomized Block Design was followed.The maize crop variety Prakash was sown on June 25 th .In total, 60 soil samples (Treatments -4, depths-5, and replications -3) were collected and analyzed for their physical characteristics.Soil conservation treatments T 2 , T 3 , and T 4 over T 1 improved significantly soil physical characteristics such as bulk density, porosity, penetration resistance, and saturated hydraulic conductivity, respectively.However, the interactive effects of soil conservation treatment(s) and depth(s) differed in their magnitude in affecting soil physical characteristics.Whereas, of the evaluated treatments, the treatment T 4 proved promising in improving soil physical characteristics and maintaining more sustainable soil quality in the area.