Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers in the agricultural production systems to keep pace with the food and nutritional demand of the galloping population had an adverse impact on ecosystem ...services and environmental quality. Hence, an alternative mechanism is to be developed to enhance farm production and environmental sustainability. A nanohybrid construct like nanofertilizers (NFs) is an excellent alternative to overcome the negative impact of traditional chemical fertilizers. The NFs provide smart nutrient delivery to the plants and proves their efficacy in terms of crop productivity and environmental sustainability over bulky chemical fertilizers. Plants can absorb NFs by foliage or roots depending upon the application methods and properties of the particles. NFs enhance the biotic and abiotic stresses tolerance in plants. It reduces the production cost and mitigates the environmental footprint. Multitude benefits of the NFs open new vistas towards sustainable agriculture and climate change mitigation. Although supra-optimal doses of NFs have a detrimental effect on crop growth, soil health, and environmental outcomes. The extensive release of NFs into the environment and food chain may pose a risk to human health, hence, need careful assessment. Thus, a thorough review on the role of different NFs and their impact on crop growth, productivity, soil, and environmental quality is required, which would be helpful for the research of sustainable agriculture.
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•Nanofertilizers (NFs) are the best alternative to traditional chemical fertilizers.•Nutrients use efficiency of NFs is higher than the conventional chemical fertilizers.•NFs can increase the tolerance of plants against biotic and abiotic stresses.•Supra optimal dose of NFs had a negative impact on crops, soil, and the environment.
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•Efficient agri-waste management can improve food and energy security.•Agri-waste can potentially be utilized for industrial use and value addition.•Agri-waste would be exploited for ...second-generation biofuels production.•Science led agri- waste management to reduce environmental pollution.
Globally agricultural production system generates a huge amount of solid waste. Improper agri-waste management causes environmental pollution which resulted in economic losses and human health-related problems. Hence, there is an urgent need to design and develop eco-friendly, cost-effective, and socially acceptable agri-waste management technologies. Agri-waste has high energy conversion efficiency as compared to fossil fuel-based energy generation materials. Agri-waste can potentially be exploited for the production of second-generation biofuels. However, composted agri-waste can be an alternative to energy-intensive chemical fertilizers in organic production systems. Furthermore, value-added agri-waste can be a potential feedstock for livestock and industrial products. But comprehensive information concerning agri-waste management is lacking in the literature. Therefore, the present study reviewed the latest advancements in efficient agri-waste management technologies. This latest review will help the researchers and policy planners to formulate environmentally robust residue management practices for achieving a green economy in the agricultural production sector.
One of the biggest challenges to be addressed in world agriculture is low nitrogen (N) use efficiency (<40%). To address this issue, researchers have repeatedly underlined the need for greater ...emphasis on the development and promotion of energy efficient, and environmentally sound novel fertilizers, in addition to improved agronomic management to augment nutrient use efficiency for restoring soil fertility and increasing farm profit. Hence, a fixed plot field experiment was conducted to assess the economic and environmental competency of conventional fertilizers with and without nano-urea (novel fertilizer) in two predominant cropping systems viz., maize-wheat and pearl millet-mustard under semi-arid regions of India. Result indicates that the supply of 75% recommended N with conventional fertilizer along with nano-urea spray (N75PK+nano-urea) reduced the energy requirement by ~8-11% and increased energy use efficiency by ~6-9% over 100% nitrogen through prilled urea fertilizer (business as usual). Furthermore, the application of N75PK+ nano-urea exhibited ~14% higher economic yields in all the crops compared with N50PK+ nano-urea. Application of N75PK+nano-urea registered comparable soil N and dehydrogenase activities (35.8 μg TPF g-1 24 hrs-1 across all crops) over the conventional fertilization (N100PK). This indicates that application of foliar spray of nano-urea with 75% N is a soil supportive production approach. More interestingly, two foliar sprays of nano-urea curtailed nitrogen load by 25% without any yield penalty, besides reducing the greenhouse gases (GHG) emission from 164.2 to 416.5 kg CO2-eq ha-1 under different crops. Therefore, the application of nano-urea along with 75% N through prilled urea is an energy efficient, environmentally robust and economically feasible nutrient management approach for sustainable crop production.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A 60‐day feeding trial was carried out to examine the ameliorative effects of graded levels of dietary L‐threonine T1 = 7.3 (un‐supplemented), T2 = 10.6, T3 = 13.5 and T4 = 16.4 g/kg feed on immune ...response, nutritional physiology and disease resistance in rohu (Labeo rohita) fingerlings against different stocking densities and Aeromonas hydrophila. A total of 504 numbers of uniform‐sized rohu fingerlings (3.0 ± 0.03 g) were stocked at two stocking densities, that is, in high stocking density (30 numbers/tank) and low stocking density (12 numbers/tank) in triplicate groups and hand‐fed to apparent satiation twice daily. The findings indicated significantly (p < 0.05) improved growth and feed utilization (specific growth rate, absolute weight gain, food conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio) in a fish‐fed diet incorporated with 13.5 g/kg of L‐threonine at low stocking compared with the higher stocking. Haematological (haemoglobin, red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells) and serum stress indices (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose) showed significantly (p < 0.05) improved performance in the same diet group. Likewise, immune response (lysozyme activity, myeloperoxidase, nitro blue tetrazolium, total immunoglobulin) and antioxidant activities (glutathione peroxides, catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione S‐transferase, malondialdehyde) were significantly (p < 0.05) better in the same diet group at low stocking density. The low stocking group showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower cumulative mortality challenged with A. hydrophila. This investigation has proved the efficacy of supplementation of 13.5 g/kg of dietary L‐threonine by amelioration of immunity, nutritional physiology, antioxidant activity and disease resistance in rohu by reducing crowding stress as well.
Soil quality restoration and sustainable crop production in the rainfed ecosystem of the Indian Himalayas can be achieved through effective conservation tillage and organic management. Hence, a ...six‐year (2013 to 2019) study was conducted to quantify the effect of tillage and organic nutrient management on soil properties, productivity, and profitability of the maize‐vegetable pea (Pisum sativum) system. Three tillage practices conventional (CT), reduced (RT), and no‐till (NT) and four organic nutrients management practices (ONM)‐farmyard manure @ 8 Mg ha−1 farmers practice (ONM1), 100% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) through manures (ONM2), 75% RDN through manures + maize/vegetable pea stover in either of the crops (ONM3), and 50% RDN through manures + maize/vegetable pea stover in either of the crops (ONM4) were tested. The results indicated that the NT had higher soil organic carbon (SOC, 16.49 g kg−1), available N (354.5 kg ha−1), and lesser bulk density (1.31 Mg m−3) and penetration resistance (1.85 MPa) in comparison with that of CT at 0–10 cm depth. The system productivity under NT was 9.6% higher than that obtained under CT. The ONM3 had higher SOC content, plant‐available N, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) than ONM1. The integration of RT‐ONM2 enhanced SMBC, DHA, maize, and vegetable pea yield by 27.2%, 35.7%, 38.0%, and 60.3%, respectively, over CT‐ONM1. Thus, the study suggested that the adoption of effective conservation tillage with adequate organic nutrient management has the potential to advance the soil properties and productivity of maize‐vegetable pea system in the Himalayan Region.
Environmental crises, land degradation, and frequent crop failure threaten the livelihoods of millions of the populace in the semi-arid agroecosystems. Therefore, different combinations of annual ...crops with fruit trees were assessed to restore the soil carbon, and enhance farm productivity and profitability in a semi-arid climate. The study hypothesized that the integration of fruit trees with seasonal crops may enhance farm productivity, economic returns, and environmental sustainability. Integration of phalsa (Grewia asiatica) with mung bean (Vigna radiata) -potato (Solanum tuberosum) system recorded the highest system productivity (25.9 Mg/ha) followed by phalsa -cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)-mustard (Brassica juncea) systems (21.2 Mg/ha). However, Karonda (Carissa sp.)-mung bean -potato system recorded maximum net return (3529.1 US$/ha), and water use efficiency (33.0 kg/ha-mm). Concerning the benefit-cost (B:C) ratio, among the agroforestry systems, the karonda+cowpea-mustard system registered a maximum BC ratio (3.85). However, SOC density remained higher (9.10 Mg/ha) under the phalsa + cowpea-mustard and Moringa + mung bean-potato system (9.16 Mg/ha) over other systems. Similarly, phalsa-mung bean-potato system had the highest C sustainability index (27.6), carbon sequestration potential (0.6-0.67 Mg/ha/year), and water use efficiency (33.0 kg/ha-mm). Hence, the study suggested that the integration of fruit trees with short-duration leguminous and oilseeds offer a myriad of benefits and an efficient system for restoring the soil C without compromising the food and livelihood security of the rural populace in semiarid regions.
Intense cultivation with narrow row spacing in wheat, a common practice in the Indo-Gangetic plains of South Asia, renders the crop more susceptible to lodging during physiological maturity. This ...susceptibility, compounded by the use of traditional crop cultivars, has led to a substantial decline in overall crop productivity. In response to these challenges, a two-year field study on the system of wheat intensification (SWI) was conducted. The study involved three different cultivation methods in horizontal plots and four wheat genotypes in vertical plots, organized in a strip plot design. Our results exhibited that adoption of SWI at 20 cm × 20 cm resulted in significantly higher intercellular CO2 concentration (5.9-6.3%), transpiration rate (13.2-15.8%), stomatal conductance (55-59%), net photosynthetic rate (126-160%), and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) interception (1.6-25.2%) over the existing conventional method (plant geometry 22.5 cm × continuous plant to plant spacing) of wheat cultivation. The lodging resistance capacity of both the lower and upper 3rd nodes was significantly higher in the SWI compared to other cultivation methods. Among different genotypes, HD 2967 demonstrated the highest recorded value for lodging resistance capacity, followed by HD 2851, HD 3086, and HD 2894. In addition, adoption of the SWI at 20 cm × 20 cm enhanced crop grain yield by 36.9-41.6%, and biological yield by 27.5-29.8%. Significantly higher soil dehydrogenase activity (12.06 μg TPF g-1 soil hr-1), arylsulfatase activity (82.8 μg p-nitro phenol g-1 soil hr-1), alkaline phosphatase activity (3.11 n moles ethylene g-1 soil hr-1), total polysaccharides, soil microbial biomass carbon, and soil chlorophyll content were also noted under SWI over conventional method of the production. Further, increased root volumes, surface root density and higher NPK uptake were recorded under SWI at 20×20 cm in comparison to rest of the treatments. Among the tested wheat genotypes, HD-2967 and HD-3086 had demonstrated notable increases in grain and biological yields, as well as improvements in the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and chlorophyll content. Therefore, adoption of SWI at 20 cm ×20 cm (square planting) with cultivars HD 2967 might be the best strategy for enhancing crop productivity and resource-use efficiency under the similar wheat growing conditions of India and similar agro-ecotypes of the globe.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Inadequate nutrient management is one of the major challenges for sustainable soybean production in semi-arid climatic conditions. Hence, a 3-year (2015–2017) field experiment was conducted to assess ...the effect of foliar application of macro- and micronutrients on the growth, productivity, and profitability of soybean. Eight foliar nutrient sprays at the pod initiation stage—water spray (WS), 2% urea solution, 2% di-ammonium phosphate solution (DAP2%), 0.5% muriate of potash solution (MOP0.5%), 2% solution of 19:19:19 nitrogen phosphorus and potassium (NPK2%), and a 0.5% solution each of molybdenum (Mo0.5%), boron (B0.5%), chelated-zinc (Zn 0.5%) and no-foliar nutrition (NFN)—were compared with a basal-applied recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF: 30 kg N, 75 kg P, and 40 kg K ha−1) in a randomized block design (RBD), replicated three times. Foliar-applied chelated Zn@0.5% (Zn0.5%) at the pod initiation stage resulted in more pods per plants. In addition to Zn0.5%, urea2%, NPK2%, and B0.5% significantly improved the pods per plant over treatment by no-foliar nutrition (NFN). The RDF-supplied soybean subsequently sprayed with Zn0.5% produced the highest seed yield, which was 18.5–37.8% higher than that of NFN treatment Yield improvement due to the application of B0.5%, DAP2%, and urea2% varied between 19.2–23.7, 16.6–20.4 and 18.6–20%, respectively. Foliar nutrition showed the largest net returns from Zn0.5%. The water-use efficiency (WUE) and production efficiency increased by 18.4–37.6 and 34.9–37.5%, respectively, due to Zn0.5% over the efficiencies from NFN treatment. Monetary efficiency (ME) gains due to Zn0.5% were 24% higher, while ME efficiency gains due to urea2%, NPK2%, and B0.5% varied between 15–16%. Thus, this study suggested that the foliar application of 0.5% Zn and B, urea, NPK fertilizer, and DAP at 2%, along with RDF. is a profitable nutrient management option for quality soybean production in a semiarid region. However, nutrient partitioning, changes in soil chemical and biological indicators, and environmental aspects need critical examination in future studies.
Nitrogen (N) is an essential element required for the growth and development of all plants. On a global scale, N is agriculture's most widely used fertilizer nutrient. Studies have shown that crops ...use only 50% of the applied N effectively, while the rest is lost through various pathways to the surrounding environment. Furthermore, lost N negatively impacts the farmer's return on investment and pollutes the water, soil, and air. Therefore, enhancing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is critical in crop improvement programs and agronomic management systems. The major processes responsible for low N use are the volatilization, surface runoff, leaching, and denitrification of N. Improving NUE through agronomic management practices and high-throughput technologies would reduce the need for intensive N application and minimize the negative impact of N on the environment. The harmonization of agronomic, genetic, and biotechnological tools will improve the efficiency of N assimilation in crops and align agricultural systems with global needs to protect environmental functions and resources. Therefore, this review summarizes the literature on nitrogen loss, factors affecting NUE, and agronomic and genetic approaches for improving NUE in various crops and proposes a pathway to bring together agronomic and environmental needs.
Rice cultivation always remains significant for food and livelihood security. The predictions of increasing water deficiency under a changing climate and escalating labor shortages in agriculture ...have brought a paradigm swing in rice cultivation from conventionally flooded transplanting to direct-seeded rice (DSR). DSR cultivation can potentially address the concerns of diminishing natural resources and mounting production costs in the establishment of transplanted rice. The transition towards DSR saves water, reduces duration to maturity as well as labor required, and reduces negative environmental footprints. Despite all these recompenses, the potential yield losses through enormous weed menaces under DSR remains a challenge and may reduce yield by up to 50%. In this review, we examine the extent of weed infestation, weed shift and the losses in dry DSR (DDSR). Various regional and global scientific efforts made under DDSR have been assessed in the present and the smart weed-management strategies suggested can be adopted after scrutiny. Integration of different weed management approaches, namely prevention, cultural, mechanical, and chemical, have been discussed, which can pave the way for worldwide adoption of DDSR, especially in South Asia. In Asia, 22% of the acreage of total rice cultivation is under DSR and the region-specific integration of these weed-management approaches might reduce herbicide use in these areas by up to 50%.
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