Impact of Resource Conservation Technologies in Haryana

The study was conducted in Panipat district of Haryana during 2013–14 crop season including purposively selected 120farmers adopting resource conservation technologies (RCTs). The adoption pattern of resource conservation technologies revealed that 84.17% of the farmers had adopted zero tillage, 38.33% rotary tillage, 88.33% laser land leveler, 26.67% zero tillage + rotary tillage, 72.5% zero tillage + laser land leveler, 34.17% rotary tillage + laser land leveler and 22.5% zero tillage + rotary tillage + laser land leveler. A majority of the farmers reported saving of time, used the same quantity of seed rate and found same germination under both zero tillage and rotary tillage sowing., Farmers adopted zero tillage observed reduction in overall weed population, cost saving, harvested similar yield, no change in crop duration, increased soil fertility, increased organic carbon in the soil, increased moisture retention capacity of soil, less lodging and avoiding of terminal heat in case of zero tillage. Most of the farmers (91.30%) told that there is a decrease in cost of cultivation and 56.52% got more yield under rotary tillage. The average time for leveling of one acre of land was 1.86 hours but it ranged from 1 hour to 3.5 hours depending on the condition of the field. All the farmers observed that there was 2–3% increase in area under cultivation with the adoption of laser land leveler. All the farmers observed one-third time and 30–40% water saving in irrigation after laser leveling. Almost all the farmers (97.17%) recorded more yield and less lodging due to even distribution of water in laser leveled fields.