Ploughing parallel to the contours of a hill slope to form a natural barrier for water to flow down the slope is also known as

🌾 Contour Ploughing or Contour Farming or Contour Bunding
→ It is the farming practice of ploughing and/or planting across a slope following its elevation contour lines.
→ These contour lines create a water break that reduces the formation of rills and gullies during heavy water run-off, preventing soil erosion.
→ The water break also allows more time for the water to settle into the soil.
→ In contour ploughing, the ruts made by the plough run perpendicular rather than parallel to slopes, generally resulting in furrows that curve around the land and are level.

📌 Important Points
→ Option 3 is correct.

📝 Additional Information
→ Contour barriers are stones, grass, and soil used to build barriers along contours. Trenches are made in front of the barriers to collect water. So, option 1 is NOT correct.
→ Mulching involves covering the bare ground between plants with a layer of organic matter like straw to retain soil moisture. So, option 2 is NOT correct.
→ Terrace farming is done on steep slopes to create flat surfaces for growing crops. It helps reduce surface run-off and soil erosion. So, option 4 is also NOT correct.