Indian Journal of Soil Conservation

A field study was conducted to determine the effect of various bioengineering measures like vegetative barriers of citronella, lemon, vetiver and Geranium grass and mechanical soil conservation measures like contour bund, graded bund and graded bund with vegetative single row live hedge of 0.40 m² cross section were evaluated to assess their effectiveness in reducing soil erosion and supplementing residual moisture. Popular hill millet i.e. ragi (Elucine coracana) grown in this area was selected as representative crop to assess erosion. A vertical interval of 1.5 m was maintained in case of different soil conservation measures while an area of 0.1 ha was maintained under each treatment. Average run off and soil loss during the year 2002 to 2004 on weekly as well as on annual basis revealed that run off (mm) was maximum in control plot (206.20) followed by plots with geranium grass (121.58), citronella grass (102.65), lemon grass (91.80), contour bund (85.80), graded bund (73.89) and graded bund with vegetative hedge (71.26), while the soil loss (t ha⁻¹) showed a different trend in all these treatments. Maximum soil loss was observed in control plot (8.63), followed by plots with graded bund (3.20), citronella grass (3.75), geranium grass (3.54), lemon grass (2.69), contour bund (1.74) and graded bund with vegetative hedge (1.56). Plots with graded bund with vegetative hedge (T₇) were the most effective in reducing run off as well as preventing soil erosion, hence, it is recommended as the best soil conservation practice for this region.