New farming expertise holds potential to cease desertification

An progressive experiment to develop wheat for the primary time within the arid land, utilizing desert ‘soilification’ expertise powered by an indigenous bioformulation, holds the potential to cease the growth of western Rajasthan’s Thar desert in direction of the National Capital Region. The desertification course of has accelerated with gradual destruction of the Aravali ranges.

Amid the adjustments within the rainfall sample, unfold of sand dunes, unscientific plantation drives and degradation of land, the researchers on the Central University of Rajasthan (CUoR) right here have taken up an experiment for wheat farming, preventing towards odds and coming to phrases with the tough desert ecology.

The researchers have primarily carried out modification of desert sand into soil utilizing polymers for reaping its full agricultural potential. After the laboratory experiment with three bioformulations and three crops — bajra, guar gum and chickpea — the scientific exploration has been shifted to an agricultural discipline for rising wheat.

The groundbreaking achievement was made with 13 kg seeds of wheat-4079 indigenous selection, which have been grown at 1,000 sq. metres of desert land at Banseli village close to Pushkar in Ajmer district in November 2024. Following the applying of bioformulation throughout the crop cycle, the wheat required solely three irrigations, which demonstrated the expertise’s excessive water-retention efficacy.

Akhil Agrawal, Associate Professor in CUoR’s Department of Microbiology, who led the group of researchers, instructed The Hindu that the bioformulation developed by the group had enhanced water retention in sandy soil, promoted cross-linking of sand particles to enhance soil construction, and stimulated useful microbial exercise that boosted the crop’s stress resistance.

The crop was harvested in April 2025, yielding 26 kg of wheat per 100 sq. metres. The ratio of seeds sown and harvested was 1:20, which was twice within the polymer-amended sand as compared with the arid land zone.

The challenge was executed with the assist of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and the State authorities’s Horticulture Department, whose facilitation helped scale the field-level trials in an actual desert surroundings. The KVK officers designed the structure plan on the land, which is located on the fringe of Thar desert.

“This experiment is an instance of utilized science turning into societal influence,” Prof. Agrawal mentioned, including that it had proved that even barren desert land might turn into agriculturally productive utilizing the fitting biotechnological strategy. Research scholar Diksha Kumari, who executed the sector implementation, mentioned the decreased water enter and wholesome crop development in a “hostile surroundings” have been necessary points of the work.

The variety of irrigation cycles have been decreased to 4 utilizing the bioformulation when in comparison with 5 to 6 cycles for regular wheat agriculture, as the answer transformed sand into soil-like construction.

Higher yield

In the second part, an experimental discipline was ready in a 400 sq. toes space on the college campus by spreading 100 tonnes of sand introduced from Jaisalmer. The bajra, guar gum and chickpea have been examined within the discipline trial, the place the researchers acquired 54% increased yield in bioformulation-amended sand.

Encouraged by the success of the pilot wheat crop, the CUoR plans to broaden the expertise to different crops resembling millet and inexperienced gram within the dry areas of Rajasthan and past.