New Paradigms in Soil Health Management for Sustainable Production of Plantation Crops

It is crucial to achieve economic and ecological sustainability in the production of plantation crops in view of their importance to support the livelihood of millions of farmers and agro-industrial entrepreneurs by supplying food, fiber, and industrial raw materials. Plantations are developed by clearing forests, and these perennial crops are confined to the same piece of land for decades. Due to the practice of unsustainable agronomic practices and enhanced influence of climate change on crops in recent years, the production system of plantation crops is confronted with several serious challenges. As soils influence agroecosystem productivity, new directions in soil health management based on ecological principles are required to attain sustainable intensification in plantations. The new paradigms in soil health management and crop nutrition in plantation crops need to be based on remediation, maintenance, and enhancement of soil health. Recent research efforts did result in the development of several low cost, simple, and viable technologies to enhance soil health and plantation ecosystem properties capable of achieving sustainability in the plantations. Management strategies for soil carbon sequestration by enhancing above-ground diversity and proper recycling of lignin-rich biomass have been shown to enhance below-ground biodiversity and together, these practices will contribute to achieve resilience in plantation farming systems. A holistic approach in soil health management in an agroecosystem mode, using integrated nutrient sources, harnessing the potential of biodiversity and carbon sequestration by recycling lignocellulosic plantation biomass will not only help to restore the degraded soils but also will enable to achieve sustainability in plantation crops by enhancing resilience of farming systems to extreme climatic events.