Effects of grass vegetation strips on soil conservation and crop yield under rainfed conditions in the Indian sub-Himalayas B. N. G HOSH 1 , P. D OGRA 1 , R. B HATTACHARYYA 2 , N. K. S HARMA 1 & K. S. D ADHWAL 1 1 Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, 218 Kaulagarh Road, Dehradun, 248 195, Uttarakhand, India, and 2 Centre for Environment Science and Climate Resilient Agriculture, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, NRL Building, New Delhi, 110 012, India Abstract Vegetation strips (VS) along with conservation tillage, application of organic amendments and weed mulching improve crop yields by reducing run-off and topsoil erosion. To investigate these issues, an experiment was conducted under rainfed conditions using grass VS for four and a half years (June 2007 to October 2011) at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, in the Indian Himalayan region. VS were incorporated in the experimental plots (Entisols) in a randomized complete block design in permanent 100 9 20 m (2000 m 2 ) plots with a 2% slope to evaluate the effects of vegetation strips on run-off, soil loss and crop yield. Three treatments were evaluated: (i) without VS with recommended NPK under conventional tillage, (ii) panicum as VS with recommended NPK under conventional tillage and (iii) palmarosa+ that consists of palmarosa as VS along with organic amendments (farmyard manure, vermicompost and poultry manure) and weed mulch under minimum tillage. The results show that soil loss and run-off were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in plots under palmarosa+ than without VS treatment. Mean soil loss of 3.4, 5.2 and 7.1 t/ha was recorded from palmarosa+, panicum and without VS treated plots, respectively. Mean run-off was 234, 356 and 428 mm from plots under palmarosa+, panicum and without VS, respectively. Maize yield was lower on the plots under palmarosa+ compared with panicum, but significantly higher (P < 0.05) than without a strip. The succeeding rainfed wheat yield was significantly greater in plots under palmarosa+ than in the initial years. The wheat yield equivalent was significantly higher in plots under palmarosa+ followed by panicum and without VS. Thus, vegetation strips are recommended for wider adoption to reduce run- off and soil loss and to increase crop yield. The long-term goal is to achieve a palmarosa+ system (palmarosa as a vegetation strip along with organic amendments, farmyard manure, vermicompost and poultry manure) and weed mulch under minimum tillage. Keywords: Vegetation strips, organic amendments, weed mulch, minimum tillage, soil conservation Introduction In the north-west Indian Himalayan (NWIH) states of India, agriculture is mostly on hill slopes where erosion losses are often very high (Dhruva-Narayana & Babu, 1983). Although bunding is an effective soil and water conservation measure, it is costly and requires frequent maintenance (Sharda et al., 2008). Hence, vegetation strips (VS) with permanent strips of closely spaced grass grown along contours are an alternative to bunding on gently sloping land (2–8%) in the lower areas of the Indian sub-Himalayas. For VS, grasses of economic value that give dense and perennial cover are selected. These include Panicum maximum (Guinea grass), Vetiveria zizanioides (Khus khus) and Eulaliopsis binata (Bhabar) and have been found suitable in the Shivalik hills, which are the youngest east-west mountain chain of the Himalayas and in the lower Indian sub-Himalayan region (Ghosh, 2011). The Shivalik hills are the southernmost and youngest east-west mountain chain of the Himalayas. Silt is transported by run- off and is deposited near VS. Such sediment deposition and later tillage lead to the formation of benches (size ranges from 15–40 m in length and 3–5m in width). Other advantages of VS are reduced sheet, rill and ephemeral gully Correspondence: B.N. Ghosh. E-mail: bnghosh62@rediffmail.com Received January 2012; accepted after revision August 2012 © 2012 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2012 British Society of Soil Science 635 Soil Use and Management, December 2012, 28, 635–646 doi: 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2012.00454.x Soil Use and Management