Studies on Dynamics of Post-Kharif Rice Fallows Using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Techniques in India

Abstract

India has largely become self-sufficient in food grain production at macro level. However, the mismatch between the demand and supply, imbalance in food grain components, declining growth rate of food grain yields especially in cereals, pulses, oilseeds, rice, and wheat in the last decade add to the woes of malnutrition and food security problems. The rice, wheat and pulse crops constitute the main components of food security mission. Optimal utilization of land resources among these crops is the need of the hour. Large proportions of area under kharif rice gets transformed into rabi cropped area crops in the following rabi season. However, a significant proportion of this area remains fallow during the ensuing rabi season, i.e., left uncultivated, as only a single crop is taken up during the kharif season. The residual soil moisture and nutrients from the kharif season could easily support the growth of short-duration crops during the ensuing rabi season. Hence, identifying and studying the dynamics of these under-utilized agricultural lands is a very important factor towards optimizing the land resources. Rice fallows present considerable scope for crop intensification and diversification provided the appropriate technology is applied. The objective of the present study is to estimate the areas which are left fallow after kharif season in India is over. The dynamics of these fallow lands has been studied using the classified thematic data of kharif rice areas of one season in conjunction with the rabi cropped area estimates of the subsequent rabi season. Datasets of three successive kharif-rabi seasons of 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 have been used. The study has been carried out for 13 major rice-growing states that contribute to about 86% of national rice acreage and 93% of the total rice production. The areas where short-duration pulses could be introduced have been identified. The National Food Security Mission could concentrate on Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu for improving the rabi cropped areas during rabi season so as to bring the available arable fallow lands under cultivation. There is scope for introducing short-duration pulse crops for improving the nutritional value and also improving the soil fertility in West Bengal. The percentage of fallows to post-kharif rice areas was above 60% in Andhra Pradesh, while in Assam, the lands are kept fallow during the period between January and March. The post-kharif rice fallows decreased significantly from 2007-08 to 2009-10 in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh states. There is marginal increase in fallow lands in Karnataka from 2007-08 to 2009-10, which is attributed to the seasonal fluctuations of rainfall and availability of residual moisture. The high proportions of fallows to kharif rice areas observed in Tamil Nadu are typical to the state and its cropping patterns are dependent on NE monsoon.

        Keywords: food security, kharif rice fallows, seasonal rainfall, residual soil moisture