LAND RESOURCE INVENTORY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF FARM HOUSEHOLDS FOR WATERSHED PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT HONGAHALLI-2 (4B3E2A2b) MICRO WATERSHED Gundlupet Taluk, Chamarajanagara District, Karnataka

Abstract

The land resource inventory of Hongahalli-2 Microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and the physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 644 ha in Gundlupet taluk of Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought-prone with an average annual rainfall of 734 mm, of which about 254 mm is received during south–west monsoon, 268 mm during the north-east and the remaining 212 mm during the rest of the year. An area of about 64 per cent is covered by soils, 25 per cent by forest and 10 per cent by others. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 10 soil series and 20 soil phases (management units) and 7 land management units.  The length of crop growing period is about 150 days starting from the 3rd week of June to 3rd week of November.  From the master soil map, several interpretative and thematic maps like land capability, soil depth, surface soil texture, soil gravelliness, available water capacity, soil slope and soil erosion were generated.  Soil fertility status maps for macro and micronutrients were generated based on the surface soil samples collected at every 250 m grid interval.  Land suitability for growing major agricultural and horticultural crops were assessed and maps showing the degree of suitability along with constraints were generated.  About 64 per cent area is suitable for agriculture.  About 17 per cent of soils are shallow (25-50 cm), 16 per cent are moderately shallow (50-75 cm), 12 per cent of the soils are moderately deep (75-100 cm), 9 per cent of the soils are deep (100-150 cm) and 10 per cent are very deep (>150 cm).  About 8 per cent of the area has clayey soils at the surface, 40 per cent area has loamy soil and 17 per cent area sandy soils, at the surface.  About 16 per cent of the area has non-gravelly soils and 46 per cent gravelly soils (15- 35 % gravel) and about 2% very gravelly (35-60%) soils.  About 33 per cent has soils that are very low (<50 mm/m), 21 per cent are low (51-100 mm/m) in available water capacity and an area of 10 per cent has very high (>200 mm/m) available water capacity.  Entire area of about 53 per cent has very gently sloping (1-3% slope) and 11 per cent soils are gently sloping (3-5%) lands.  An area of about 31 per cent has soils that are slightly eroded (e1) and 33 per cent soils are moderately eroded (e2).  An area of about 16 per cent has soils that are neutral (pH 6.5-7.3), an area of about 34 per cent has soils that are slightly acid (pH 6.0 to 6.5) and 13 per cent has soils that are moderately acid (pH 5.5 to 6.0).  The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the soils are <2 dsm-1indicating that the soils are non-saline.  About 58 per cent of the soils are low (>0.5%) and 6 per cent of the soils are medium (0.5-0.75%) in organic carbon.  About 41 per cent of the soils are medium (23-57 kg/ha) and 23 per cent are high (>57 kg/ha) in available phosphorus.  About 1 per cent of the soils are low (<145 kg/ha) and 63 per cent are medium (145- 337 kg/ha) in available potassium.  About 44 per cent of the soils are low in available sulphur and 20 per cent are medium (10-20 ppm) in available sulphur.  Available boron is low (<0.5 ppm) in about 56 per cent and medium (0.5-1.0 ppm) in 8 per cent area.  Available iron is sufficient in the entire area of the microwatershed.  Available manganese and copper are sufficient in the entire area of the microwatershed.  Available zinc is deficient (<0.6 ppm) in 62 per cent and sufficient (>0.6 ppm) in 2 per cent.  The land suitability for 27 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the Microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable(S1) Moderately suitable(S2) Highly suitable(S1) Moderately suitable(S2) Sorghum 97 (15) 101 (16) Guava 36 (6) 135 (21) Maize 93 (14) 78 (12) Banana 36 (6) 84 (13) Redgram 93 (14) 162 (25) Jackfruit 36 (6) 58 (9) Horsegram 93 (14) 208 (32) Jamun 62 (10) 58 (9) Field bean 36 (6) 162 (25) Musambi 62 (10) 58 (9) Groundnut 58 (9) 192 (30) Lime 62 (10) 58 (9) Sunflower 13 (2) 107 (17) Cashew 36 (6) 135 (21) Cotton 39 (6) 136 (21) Custard apple 120 (19) 182 (28) Onion 36 (6) 162 (25) Amla 120 (19) 182 (28) Potato 36 (6) 136 (21) Tamarind 62 (10) 58 (9) French Beans 36 (6) 162 (25) Marigold 93 (14) 181 (28) Beetroot 36 (6) 136 (21) Chrysanthemum 36 (6) 162 (25) Mango 36 (6) 58 (9) Turmeric 36 (6) 136 (21) Sapota 36 (6) 135 (21) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 7 identified LMUs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital to crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested to these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. Baseline socioeconomic characterisation is prerequisite to prepare action plan for program implementation and to assess the project performance before making any changes in the watershed development program. The baseline provides appropriate policy direction for enhancing productivity and sustainability in agriculture. Methodology: Honagahalli-2 micro-watershed (Gopalapur sub-watershed, Gundlupet taluk, Chamarajanagar district) is located in between 11047’ – 11050’ North latitudes and 76032’ – 76036’ East longitudes, covering an area of about 644 ha, bounded by Barangi, Deshipur and Masahalli villages with a length of growing period (LGP) 120- 150 days. We used soil resource map as basis for sampling farm households to test the hypothesis that soil quality influence crop selection, and conservation investment of farm households. The level of technology adoption and productivity gaps and livelihood patterns were analyses. The cost of soil degradation and ecosystem services were quantified. Results: The socio-economic outputs for the Honagahalli 2 Microwatershed (Gopalapur sub-watershed, Gundlupet taluk, Chamarajanagar district) are presented here. Social Indicators;  Male and female ratio is 56.5 to 43.5 per cent to the total sample population.  Younger age 18 to 50 years group of population is around 45.7 per cent to the total population.  Literacy population is around 71.6 per cent.  Social groups belong to other backward caste (OBC) is around 60 per cent.  Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is the source of energy for a cooking among 90 per cent.  About 50 per cent of households have a yashaswini health card.  Majority of farm households (40%) are having MGNREGA card for rural employment.  Dependence on ration cards for food grains through public distribution system is around 90 per cent.  Swach bharath program providing closed toilet facilities of all sample households.  Women participation in decisions making are around 30.0 per cent of sample households. 2 Economic Indicators;  The average land holding is 0.80 ha indicates that majority of farm households are belong marginal and small farmers. The total land cultivated on dry land condition of the sample households.  Agriculture is the main occupation among 31 per cent and agriculture is the main and agriculture labour is subsidiary occupation for 64 per cent of sample households.  The average value of domestic assets is around Rs. 9478 per household. Mobile and television are popular media mass communication.  The average value of farm assets is around Rs. 10727 per household, among all sample farmers are owing plough.  The average value of livestock is around Rs. 24667 per household; about 80 per cent of household are having livestock.  The average per capita food consumption is around 545.7 grams (1324.2 kilo calories) against national institute of nutrition (NIN) recommendation at 827 gram. Around 79.1 per cent of sample households are consuming less than the NIN recommendation.  The annual average income is around Rs. 56437 per household. Around 80 per cent of households were below poverty line.  The per capita average monthly expenditure is around Rs. 818. Environmental Indicators-Ecosystem Services;  The value of ecosystem service helps to support investment to decision on soil and water conservation and in promoting sustainable land use.  The onsite cost of different soil nutrients lost due to soil erosion is around Rs. 555 per ha/year. The total cost of annual soil nutrients is around Rs. 228021 per year for the total area of 644.34 ha.  The average value of ecosystem service for food grain production is around Rs. 6500/ ha/year. Per hectare food grain production services is maximum in cotton (Rs. 20828) followed by sorghum (Rs. 8848) and horse gram (Rs. 8490). The groundnut and sunflower are negative return.  The average value of ecosystem service for fodder production is around Rs. 1792/ ha/year. Per hectare fodder production services is maximum in groundnut (Rs. 3952), followed by sorghum (Rs. 1205) and horse gram (Rs. 220).  The data on water requirement for producing one quintal of grain is considered for estimating the total value of water required for crop production. The per hectare value of water used and value of water was maximum in cotton (Rs. 51423), sorghum (Rs. 42845), sunflower (Rs. 33797), horse gram (Rs. 21541) and groundnut (Rs. 20615). 3 Economic Land Evaluation;  The major cropping pattern is cotton (64 %) followed by horse gram (22 %), sorghum (5 %), sunflower (5 %) and ground nut (4 %).  In Honagahalli 2 Microwatershed, major soil is soil of Kannigala (KNG) soil series are having moderately deep soil depth covers around 11.9 % of area, the major crop grown is cotton. Berambadi (BMD) soil series are having shallow depth cover around 11.1 % of area, they major crops grown are ground nut (50 %), horse gram (50 %). Kallipura (KLP) soil series having deep soil depth cover around 8.9 % of areas, crops are cotton (50 %), and horse gram (50 %). Hullipura (HPR) soils are moderately shallow soil depth cover around 7.2 % of area crops are cotton. Hindupur soils (HDR) series is having shallow soil depth cover around 5.8 % of area. On this soil farmers are presently growing cotton (50 %), and horse gram (50 %). Devarahalli (DRH) soil of moderately shallow soil depth are having cover around 4.8 % of area, the crops are sorghum (50 %), and sunflower (50 %). Annurkeri (ARK) soils are very deep soil depth cover around 2.0 % of area, they major crops grown are cotton.  The total cost of cultivation and benefit cost ratio (BCR) in study area for horse gram ranges between Rs.16536/ha in BMD soil (with BCR of 1.41) and Rs.8788/ha in KLP soil (with BCR of 2.25).  In cotton the cost of cultivation ranges between Rs.67790/ha in ARK soil (with BCR of 1.09) and Rs.28015/ha in KLP soil (with BCR of 1.80).  In ground nut the cost of cultivation in BMD soil is Rs.33327/ha (with BCR of 1.01).  In sorghum the cost of cultivation in DRH soil is Rs.30512/ha (with BCR of 1.33) and sunflower the cost of cultivation in DRH soil is Rs.50172/ha (with BCR of 1.10).  The land management practices reported by the farmers are crop rotation, tillage practices, fertilizer application and use of farm yard manure (FYM). Due to higher wages farmer are following labour saving strategies is not prating soil and water conservation measures. Less ownership of livestock limiting application of FYM.  It was observed soil quality influences on the type and intensity of land use. More fertilizer applications on deeper soil to maximize returns. Suggestions;  Involving farmers is watershed planning helps in strengthing institutional participation.  The per capita food consumption and monthly income is very low. Diversifying income generation activities from crop and livestock production in order to reduce risk related to drought and market prices. 4  Majority of farmers reported that they are not getting timely support/extension services from the concerned development departments.  By strengthing agricultural extension for providing timely advice improved technology there is scope to increase in net income.  By adopting recommended package of practices by following the soil test fertiliser recommendation, there is scope to increase yield in cotton (42.2 to 18.2 %), groundnut (56.6 %), horse gram (49.4 to 24.1 %), sorghum (49.9%) and sunflower (38.3 %)