Table 4. Recommended and Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation Practices. Red
Soil, Medium to High Rainfall Areas. Mysore and Bangalore Districts, Karnataka

 Item Practices
 Recommended Indigenous

 Soil conservation Graded bunds Field bunds with waste weirs
 Field drains with waste weirs
 Vetiver grass on field bund/
 drains with waste weirs

 Moisture Contour farming Short term fallowing
 conservation Criss-cross plowing
 Seeding across the major slope
 Tied ridging as a part of the
 interculture (Bangalore)
 Frequent interculture
 Runoff disposal Central waterways Field to field through waste weirs
 Boundary waterways

 Gully control Stone checks to stabilize gullies More investigation needed

 Water harvesting Farm ponds for supplemental Divert runoff from gullies for
 irrigation perennial crops (by gravity flow)



Table 5. Recommended and Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation Practices. Hilly,
Low Rainfall Areas. Kurnool and Anantapur Districts, Andhra Pradesh

Item Practices
 Recommended Indigenous

 Soil conservation Continuous contour bunds Stone bunds on the boundary
 (across the major slope)

 Moisture conservation Contour farming Frequent shallow tillage and
 interculture

 Stone mulching

 Disposal of runoff Field to field through earthen Field to field through stone
 hook on contour bunds bunds

 Gully control Stone checks to stabilize Stone checks on boundary to
 gullies harvest soil and reclaim gullies

 Water harvesting Farm pond More investigation needed


GATEKEEPER SERIES NO. SA34