Ley Farming Speaker
Aaliya Afroz
Ph.D. Scholar
Department of Entomology

Definition of ley farming
 The growing of grass or legumes in rotation with grain or tilled crops as a
soil conservation measure.
 Example: grass + stylosanthes
 This system involves the use of various annual and perennial crops (grasses,
legumes), grown in long-term and short-term, to manage the soil.

Pasture
Cereal crop
(Maize)
Legume crop
(Green gram)
Or

Ley Farming
 Emphasis is placed on the value of
grass-legume mixture to get fodder
for livestock and improve soil fertility
for obtaining higher yields of arable
crops.
 For maximum crop yield, the best use
of available land.
 Latest methods of crop husbandry
are put into practice.
Dynamic and integral
system of agriculture
Soil Plants Livestock

How ley farming was introduced?
Highest yield
Cultivated fields were abandoned
when yields started to decline
Yield tend to decrease with successive crops
New fields were taken over for cultivation
Farmers have recognised that yields of arable crops are the highest after ploughing up of old grasslands.

Contd.
Shifting cultivation
Fallowing of land
Next stage of agrarian development
Legumes introduced in place of fallow
‘Crop rotation’ was thus initiated to obtain better yield with
maintenance of soil fertility

Advantages
1. Improvement of nitrogen content for subsequent plantations
 Legumes improve the fertility of the soil, the quality of the grain and increase the
volume of crops.
 Most of the nitrogen in the soil gets used up by grains, so the alteration with legume
crops gives an extremely positive effect.
2. Restoration of soil and organic matter structure
 Legume pastures can't produce the desired effect if used separately; in this case, grass
can become an excellent helper, since it promotes the production of organic materials.
 It has been scientifically proven that meadow grasses increase soil organic matter by
about 0.1% per year.

3. Controlling the growth of weeds
 Cattles that eat unwanted plants can graze on these pastures.
 This approach is especially effective in combating weeds annually.
4. Preventing deep drainage and erosion
 On perennial pastures, the root system develops quite well, which provides access to
water and nutrients at a considerable depth.
 As a result, the top layer becomes dry, and the loss of water and useful substances
during drainage is prevented.
 Shallow soil is quite unstable as it does not hold water well, so ley pastures are able to
become good tools for reducing drainage.

5. Improving livestock efficiency
 During the grazing season, animals receive high nutritional support so
farmers can obtain milk of better quality.
6. Natural fertilizers

Disadvantages
 Considerable time and investment of lots of money.
 Problems could also arise due to improper preparation of the seeds, their low
quality or unfavorable weather conditions.
 It is necessary to remove all modern forms of plant cultivation from the soil
before sowing new under the ley farming system.
 Sometimes, in order to ensure a good future harvest, it is required to observe
a certain interval before removing and sowing plants.

Conclusion
 Ley systems are more profitable than continuous cropping.
 Intensity of ley increased, the profit per year is also enhanced.
 Cost of cultivation is low due to reduced cultivation operation, unlike cultivation
of cereal crops, where these costs are considerable.
 It is eco-friendly and very relevant to the arid and infertile soil profile to achieve
progress.
 The technology is not specific for the undermined areas and ecosystems, so it is to
be adopted everywhere to raise the outputs for the betterment of socio-economic
conditions of the farming community.