Evaluation of Trench Cum Bund (TcB) as Soil and Water Conservation Measure for Black Cotton Soils in Tribal Watersheds: A Case Study

Trench cum Bund (TcB) is taken up as in-situ soil and water conservation measure as a part of watershed development projects to addresses challenges of soil erosion, waterlogging, and drought/dry spells in medium to deep black soil zone of erstwhile Adilabad district of Telangana state of India. This study investigates the efficacy of Trench cum Bund (TcB) in eight watersheds inhabited mainly by tribal communities in the erstwhile Adilabad district. The evaluation study revealed that the cross-sectional area of bunds varied from 0.5 to 0.75 m², while the length of TcB varied from 100 m to 300 m per hectare. It was found that the TcB technique improved crop yields on an average by 20% for Cotton and 25% for Soybean, the two major crops in the region. Economic evaluation indicates that TcB is a viable intervention with Benefit-Cost Ratios (BCR) greater than 1, Net Present Worth (NPW) of Rs. 5221 and Rs. 12377 per acre for Cotton and Soybean+Chickpea cropping patterns, respectively. The study concludes that TcB is effective for rainwater conservation, reducing the problem of waterlogging, soil erosion control, and enhancing productivity, and merits promoting the technique under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) as a climate resilient agriculture practice in a big way for the benefit of small and marginal tribal farmers in the district.