Effect of Shifting Cultivation on Soil health and Microbial Diversity in Junnar Taluka of Pune District

Background: Swidden cultivation, slash and burn cultivation, and bush-fallow agriculture are other names for shifting cultivation. Around the world, its name is different. Crop type and farming methods have an impact on the physico-chemical properties of the soil. Soil health is also influenced by the quantity and biomass of microorganisms present.

Aims: The goal of the current study was to determine how soil bacterial communities and soil quality in Pune district's western ghat region were affected by shifting farming.

Study Design: 18 soil samples from 4 villages of the Junnar tehsil were collected after harvesting the cultivated crop.

Place and Duration of Study: The sample was collected within the 2 to 4 acres of the shifting cultivation plots identified in the villages in the western ghat region of Pune district.

Methodology: The soil samples were collected after harvesting every crop and from the fallow land. Analysis of Physico–Chemical properties of soil samples was performed. Bacteria were isolated and identified from the soil samples. Statistical analysis was done to interpret the obtained results.

Results: The fallow land and crop (Varai, Khursani, Sawa, Nachani, and Hulga) harvested soils were among the soil samples. Different numbers of ten distinct bacterial genuses were isolated from each soil. When compared to fallow soil, the Total Viable Count (TVC) of the crop harvest soil was shown to have significantly dropped. It was also discovered that certain soil characteristics improved throughout the fallow period.

Conclusion: The results pointing out the importance of the length of the fallowing on the soil health and thus on the crop yield.