R. P. Sharma, R. S. Singh and S. K. Singh
The pressure on land resources has increased manifold with the increasing human and animal population. Catering to the needs of this rapidly increasing population was a factor for encroachment on the fallow lands and wastelands, but the lure of cash crops under Green Revolution gradually became a major cause of decline in fallow and waste lands. Therefore, efficient management of land and water resources is a major challenge for the scientists, planners, administrators and farmers to ensure food, water and environmental security for the present and future generations. The new paradigm of Green-Revolution-mediated intensification of cropping has also brought some new challenges as demands from the fast-increasing human and livestock population started to outpace the supply, while the impacts of utter neglect of the traditional strength of the livestock sector, and apathy towards a sustainable agricultural input management policy began to be felt. The soil resource studies can be best utilized for making a rational agricultural land use plan for farming community. In the present study the strategies of agricultural land use planning are highlighted with a case study of Bhilwara. Soil resources of Bhilwara district were assessed for development of sustainable land use plan. The study area has three physiographic units viz. Eastern plain (76.2%), Aravalli (11.36%) and Vindhyan landscape (9.01%) and 11 blocks. The soils has been studied and classified in 40 series. The area receives 600 to 900 mm annual rainfall with potential evapotranspiration (PET) of 1380 mm. The soils of Bhilwara district has been evaluated for agricultural land use planning for Kharif and Rabi crops and other optimized use; considering the limitations of topography (slope, erosion, stoniness), soil (depth, texture, PSC, AWC), fertility (pH, organic carbon, CaCO3) and salinity (EC, ESP).
