Agriculture is the cornerstone of Indian economy and a major part of agriculture in India is rainfed. The uncertainty and uneven distribution of rainfall and loss of water through runoff, which leads to low and unstable productivity of crops due to moisture stress in critical stages of crop growth. So it becomes essential to adopt in situ soil moisture conservation measures for sustainable crop production in rain fed agriculture. There are several soil and water conservation measures for reduction of runoff and soil loss such as contour farming, contour and graded bunding etc. Conservation tillage is one of the most important practices for improving the soil properties and reducing both runoff and soil loss. Tillage creates soil environment favorable for plant growth. Since continuous soil tillage strongly influence the soil properties, it is important to apply appropriate tillage practices that avoid the degradation of soil structure, maintain crop yield.

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