ABSTRACT
Agriculture is the main source of producing food by raising various crops on natural soil resources. The rising population requiring more food as a basic need has brought about intensification in the agricultural process world over – the main target of all agricultural practices being increased food production. In the process, the importance of soil resource which is much more than just food production gets neglected and soil health suffers from continuous unsustainable cultivation of crops. Farming practices of nowadays focusing more on this food production in terms of quantity, considering soil merely for producing more and more food has detrimental effects on this crop supporting resource the soil itself. Unsustainable agricultural activities have a negative effect on soil through changes in important soil health attributes, both physicochemical and biological ones. Agricultural activities affect soil health and productivity by processes of erosion, compaction, and salinization. The major practices disturbing soil health include mechanical tillage, mono-cropping, application of agrochemicals and irrigation with waste and industrial waters. All these disturb vital soil attributes like aggregate stability, pH, organic matter levels, microbial parameters, and soil fauna. Ultimately this leads to reduced soil fertility and decreased crop yields. To overcome this problem faced by agricultural soils, it is very important to understand how diverse agricultural practices impact soil health attributes. This will help to identify and develop best soil management sustainable agricultural practices. This study is a step towards it. Finally, these practices will only help us achieve the goal of increased good quality food production and proper soil management.
