Raised Bed Crop Planting
Raised Bed Crop Planting
Technology for growing row crops on beds and furrows is gaining momentum amongst the progressive farmers, mainly because the cost of crop production is considerably reduced as a result of minimum tillage, water saving etc. Bed shapers are also used with tractors to form furrow-beds to sow row crops particularly wheat.
Some of the advantages associated with furrow-bed-irrigation technology of crop production are:
- Saving of about 30 percent irrigation water.
- Reduced chances of plant submergence due to excessive rain or over irrigation.
- Lesser crusting of soil around plants and, therefore, more suitable for saline and sodic soils.
- Adaptable for various crops without changing basic design/layout of farm.
- Enhanced fertilizer use efficiency due to localized application
- Minimum chances of lodging of crops.
In view of the above benefits, Bed and Furrow planting of cotton has gained acceptance and popularity amongst farmers during the recent years and more than 50% cotton is planted through this technology besides Maize and Wheat crops
Now efforts are being made to promote raising of crops on Permanent Raised Beds (PRBs). The Permanent Raised Bed (PRB) farming system aims at creating and maintaining a seedbed with near ideal physical and fertility conditions. The objectives are to develop a root-zone for crops that absorbs rain and irrigation water more quickly, makes this water easily available to plants, and allows plant roots to freely explore the soil for water and nutrients. A raised bed farming system achieves these soil properties by retaining root material from previous crops and practicing minimal soil disturbance with only a pre-seeding blade ploughing at 25 cm depth (with zero soil inversion) and no-tillage crop establishment i.e. seeding crops with minimal cultivation only in the sown row. Both operations retain the roots of previous crops and do not expose soil organic matter or biota to the atmosphere.