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.
Abstract
The design and selection of ideal emitter discharge rates can be aided by accurate information regarding the wetted soil pattern under surface drip irrigation. The current field ...investigation was conducted in an apple orchard in SKUAST- Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, a Union Territory of India, during 2017–2019. The objective of the experiment was to examine the movement of moisture over time and assess the extent of wetting in both horizontal and vertical directions under point source drip irrigation with discharge rates of 2, 4, and 8 L h
−1
. At 30, 60, and 120 min since the beginning of irrigation, a soil pit was dug across the length of the wetted area on the surface in order to measure the wetting pattern. For measuring the soil moisture movement and wetted soil width and depth, three replicas of soil samples were collected according to the treatment and the average value were considered. As a result, 54 different experiments were conducted, resulting in the digging of pits 3 emitter discharge rates × 3 application times × 3 replications × 2 (after application and 24 after application). This study utilized the Drip-Irriwater model to evaluate and validate the accuracy of predictions of wetting fronts and soil moisture dynamics in both orientations. Results showed that the modeled values were very close to the actual field values, with a mean absolute error of 0.018, a mean bias error of 0.0005, a mean absolute percentage error of 7.3, a root mean square error of 0.023, a Pearson coefficient of 0.951, a coefficient of correlation of 0.918, and a Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient of 0.887. The wetted width just after irrigation was measured at 14.65, 16.65, and 20.62 cm; 16.20, 20.25, and 23.90 cm; and 20.00, 24.50, and 28.81 cm in 2, 4, and 8 L h
−1
,
at 30, 60, and 120 min, respectively, while the wetted depth was observed 13.10, 16.20, and 20.44 cm; 15.10, 21.50, and 26.00 cm; 19.40, 25.00, and 31.00 cm
,
respectively. As the flow rate from the emitter increased, the amount of moisture dissemination grew (both immediately and 24 h after irrigation). The soil moisture contents were observed 0.4300, 0.3808, 0.2298, 0.1604, and 0.1600 cm
3
cm
−3
just after irrigation in 2 L h
−1
while 0.4300, 0.3841, 0.2385, 0.1607, and 0.1600 cm
3
cm
−3
were in 4 L h
−1
and 0.4300, 0.3852, 0.2417, 0.1608, and 0.1600 cm
3
cm
−3
were in 8 L h
−1
at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm soil depth in 30 min of application time. Similar distinct increments were found in 60, and 120 min of irrigation. The findings suggest that this simple model, which only requires soil, irrigation, and simulation parameters, is a valuable and practical tool for irrigation design. It provides information on soil wetting patterns and soil moisture distribution under a single emitter, which is important for effectively planning and designing a drip irrigation system. Investigating soil wetting patterns and moisture redistribution in the soil profile under point source drip irrigation helps promote efficient planning and design of a drip irrigation system.
Environmental crises, land degradation, declining factor productivity, and farm profitability questioned the sustainability of linear economy-based existing agricultural production model. Hence, ...there is a dire need to design and develop circular economy-based production systems to meet the twin objectives of environmental sustainability and food security. Therefore, the productive capacity, natural resource conserving ability, and biomass recycling potential of four intensified maize-based systems viz. maize (Zea mays) + sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)-wheat, maize + colocasia (Colocasia esculenta)-wheat, maize + turmeric (Curcuma longa), and maize + ginger (Zingiber officinale) were tested consecutively for three years (2020, 2021 and 22) in a fixed plot manner at Dehradun region of the Indian Himalaya against the existing maize-wheat systems. The result showed that the maize + sweet potato-wheat system significantly reduced runoff loss (166.3 mm) over the maize-wheat system. The highest through fall (68.12 %) and the lowest stem flow (23.54 %) were recorded with sole maize. On the contrary, the maize + sweet potato system has the highest stem flow (36.15 %) and the lowest through fall. Similarly, the maize + sweet potato system had 5.6 times lesser soil erosion and 0.77 t ha−1 higher maize productivity over the maize-wheat system. Furthermore, the maize + sweet potato system recorded significantly higher soil moisture (19.3%), infiltration rate (0.95 cm h−1), and organic carbon (0.78%) over the rest of the systems. The maize + sweet potato system also recycled the highest nitrogen (299.2 kg ha−1), phosphorus, (31.0 kg ha−1), and potassium (276.2 kg ha−1) into the soil system. Hence, it can be inferred that concurrent cultivation of sweet potato, with maize, is a soil-supportive, resource-conserving, and productive production model and can be recommended for achieving the circular economy targets in the Indian Himalayas.
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Healthy soils are the foundation for producing healthy food and creating a healthy environment. Therefore, we assessed the changes in the physical and chemical properties of soil, and their long-term ...impact on yield, quality, and nutritional status of rice grains in an organic
basmati
rice-based cropping system in a typic Ustchrept Soil of India. The experiment was laid out in a strip plot design with three replications. The vertical strips consisted of two rice-based cropping systems, namely,
basmati
rice-wheat-mung bean (RWM) and
basmati
rice-wheat-
sesbania
(RWS), whereas seven combinations of different organic materials and biofertilizers (BF) were assigned to horizontal strips,
viz.
, control (no manure application), farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost (VC), FYM + crop residues (CR), VC + CR, FYM + CR + BF, and VC + CR + BF. The results revealed that soil moisture content (SMC), soil organic carbon (SOC), soil total N, and soil available P, Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu were significantly higher under the RWS system than in RWM. The application of organic manures either alone or in conjunction with CR and BF significantly lowered the soil pH (∼3.0%), EC (43.1%–45.8%), and BD (3.3%–9.2%) as compared to the control. Water holding capacity (WHC), SMC, and SOC were increased by 5.7%–14.7%, 8.7%–49.3%, and 35.3%–76.5%, respectively under single or co-application of FYM/VC with CRs and BFs as compared to control. Similarly, sole or conjoint application of organic manures, CR, and BF significantly enhanced the soil available macro (N, P, and K) and micro (Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu) nutrients over the control. Grain yield, protein content, N uptake, and cooking quality parameters were significantly higher under the RWS system than under RWM. However, the Zn concentration and its uptake by grains were significantly higher under the RWM system over RWS. The grain yield was significantly increased by 25.8%–49.2% under different organic nutrient management options over control. The single or conjoint application of FYM/VC with CR and BF increased the hulling, milling, head rice recovery, and protein concentration in grain by 9.4%–9.8%, 23.2%–28.4%, 22.7%–25.5%, and 9.6%–10.7%, respectively over control. The concentration of N, P, K, Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu was significantly improved by 9.7%–11.3%, 45.5%–63.6%, 16.7%–20.8%, 66.9%–74.1%, 72.9%–81.9%, 87.1%–97.0%, and 48.9%–67.2%, respectively under co-application of FYM/VC with CR and BF compared to control. Thus, our results indicate that improved soil properties could significantly increase the physical and nutritional quality of
basmati
rice grain. Therefore, adopting
basmati
rice-based cropping systems with different organic nutrient sources can sustain soil health, end global hunger, produce nutritious food, and create a healthy environment.
System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) can outperform conventional wheat cultivation. However, the manual planting (dibbling) of two seeds in each hill, with hills laid out in a 20 × 20 cm square ...pattern essential for SWI, is a laborious task and requires more time, manpower, energy, and monetary expenditure. To deal with these constraints, a scientific team of Agricultural Engineers and Agronomists at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, developed a single-row manual SWI-planter (SRMSWIP) to make SWI planting easier, faster, and more economical. The SRMSWIP was field-evaluated for wheat var. HD-2967 during the winter season of 2015–2016 in a randomized complete design block thrice-replicated study with eight treatments. These treatments comprised (i) sowing with SRMSWIP using treated seeds (MSWIT); (ii) sowing with SRMSWIP using non-treated seed (MSWINT); (iii) manual sowing with SWI-management using treated seeds (MLSWIT); (iv) manual sowing with SWI-management using non-treated seeds (MLSWINT); (v) recommended planting with SWI-management using treated seeds (RPSWIT); (vi) recommended planting with No-SWI management using non-treated seeds (RPNoSWIT); (vii) check-row with SWI-management using treated (CRSWIT), and (viii) check-row with SWI-management using non-treated seeds (CRSWINT). The results showed that SWI-management increased the grain yield by 0.61–1.52 t/ha, with an overall average increase of 1.12 t/ha over control plots. The greatest increase (~25%) in grain yield was achieved with the mechanical seeder and seed treatment. At the same time, straw yield was lower by 0.09–0.66 t ha
−1
under SWI-management, with one treatment exception. The increase in grain yield is attributable to SWI methods that led to an increase in the harvest index, i.e., in the wheat plant phenotypes. The water productivity and production efficiency were higher under SWI compared to conventional seed drilling with or without SWI-management. The gross returns using SWI planting ranged between Rs.123,526/ha in MLSWINT to Rs. 139,210/ha in MSWIT vs. Rs. 117,113/ha in RPNoSWIT. However, SWI with manual sowing (MLSWIT and MLSWINT) increased the cost of cultivation (COC) by Rs. 9,623/ha over RPNoSWIT. This increase in COC was lowered to Rs. 5,475/ha when planting was performed using SRMSWIP. Thus, owing to higher gross returns, SWI planting and management, barring MLSWINT, resulted in net returns of an increment of Rs. 7,615–16,372/ha over conventional planting without SWI-management. The B:C in MSWIT and MSWINT was significantly higher than RPSWI. The monetary efficiency (ME) was highest with MSWIT (Rs. 702/ha/day). Overall, the SRMSWIP may facilitate wheat sowing using SWI methods, with greater feasibility and economic viability achieved. The promotion of this low-cost SRMSWIP may be a boon in enhancing the adoptability of SWI-technology among wheat growers, particularly small and marginal farmers in India and adjoining regions.
The 20-year study investigated the effects of conservation practices (CPs) and farmers' practices (FPs) on various soil quality parameters, yield, and economics of horticultural land use systems. CPs ...demonstrated significant improvements in soil organic carbon (SOC), available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), compared to FPs. Horticultural systems exhibited higher SOC and available N and P contents than FPs, with substantial variations among different fruit species. CPs also enhanced soil quality index, functional diversity, culturable microbial populations, enzyme activity, and soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) compared to FPs. It was observed that the SMBC values were 25.0–36.6% and 4.12–25.7% higher in 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm, respectively, under CPs compared to FPs for all the land use systems. In CPs, dehydrogenase activities (DHAs) in surface soils were 9.30 and 7.50 times higher under mango- and citrus-based horticultural systems compared to FPs. The CPs adopted in aonla, guava, mango, litchi, and citrus-based horticultural systems increased SOC by ~27.6, 32.6, 24.4, 26.8, and 22.0%, respectively, over FPs. Canopy spread, fruit yield, litter yield, and soil moisture were significantly higher in fruit-based horticultural systems under CPs. Economic viability analysis indicated higher net present values (NPVs), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and shorter payback periods (PBPs) for horticultural land use systems under CPs. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that CPs had a more positive influence on soil parameters, particularly DHA, acid and alkali phosphatase activity, available N, P, and K contents, soil microbial load, and organic carbon. The maximum ecosystem services were contributed through mango-based land uses among all land uses. Mango-based horticultural systems exhibited the least impact from both CPs and FPs, while peach-based systems were most affected by CPs. Overall, the findings highlight the benefits of conservation practices in improving soil quality, microbial populations, enzyme activity, and crop productivity in horticultural systems.
Food security and environmental health are directly linked with soil carbon (C). Soil C plays a crucial role in securing food and livelihood security for the Himalayan population besides maintaining ...the ecological balance in the Indian Himalayas. However, soil C is being severely depleted due to anthropogenic activities. It is well known that land use management strongly impacted the soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and also regulates the atmospheric C chemistry. Different types of cultivation practices, i.e., forest, plantations, and crops in the Kashmir Himalayas, India, has different abilities to conserve SOC and emit C in the form of carbon dioxide (CO
2
). Hence, five prominent land use systems (LUC) (e.g., natural forest, natural grassland, maize-field-converted from the forest, plantation, and paddy crop) of Kashmir Himalaya were evaluated to conserve SOC, reduce C emissions, improve soil properties and develop understanding SOC pools and its fractions variations under different land use management practices. The results revealed that at 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm profile, the soil under natural forest conserved the highest total organic carbon (TOC, 24.24 g kg
−1
and 18.76 g kg
−1
), Walkley-black carbon (WBC, 18.23 g kg
−1
and 14.10 g kg
−1
), very-labile-carbon (VLC, 8.65 g kg
−1
, and 6.30 g kg
−1
), labile-carbon (LC, 3.58 g kg
−1
and 3.14 g kg
−1
), less-labile-carbon (VLC, 2.59 g kg
−1
, and 2.00 g kg
−1
), non-labile-carbon (NLC, 3.41 g kg
−1
and 2.66 g kg-1), TOC stock (45.88 Mg ha
−1
and 41.16 Mg ha
−1
), WBC stock (34.50 Mg ha
−1
and 30.94 Mg ha
−1
), active carbon pools (AC, 23.14 Mg ha
−1
and 20.66 Mg ha
−1
), passive carbon pools (PC, 11.40 Mg ha
−1
and 10.26 Mg ha
−1
) and carbon management index (CMI, 100), followed by the natural grassland. However, the lowest C storage was reported in paddy cropland. The soils under natural forest and natural grassland systems had a greater amount of VLC, LC, LLC, and NLC fraction than other land uses at both depths. On the other hand, maize-field-converted-from-forest-land-use soils had a higher proportion of NLC fraction than paddy soils; nonetheless, the NLC pool was maximum in natural forest soil. LUS based on forest crops maintains more SOC, while agricultural crops, such as paddy and maize, tend to emit more C in the Himalayan region. Therefore, research findings suggest that SOC under the Kashmir Himalayas can be protected by adopting suitable LUS, namely forest soil protection, and by placing some areas under plantations. The areas under the rice and maize fields emit more CO
2
, hence, there is a need to adopt the conservation effective measure to conserve the SOC without compromising farm productivity.
A field experiment was conducted in a split plot design at the research farm of ICAR-Indian Agricultural ResearchInstitute (IARI), New Delhi during summer and kharif seasons of 2015 and 2016 to study ...the influence of in-situ and ex-situ green manuring and zinc fertilization on nutrient uptake, yield attributes, correlation between yield and yield attributes, and yield of Basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.). Results of this study revealed that the incorporation of Sesbania aculeata green manure @ 33.8 and 35.6 t/ha prior to transplanting of Basmati rice during 2015 and 2016, respectively resulted in higher yield attributes and yield of Basmati rice compared with Vigna umbellata, Leucaena leucocephala and summer fallow during both the years. Foliar application of 0.5% solution of chelated Zn-EDTA at 20, 40, 60 and 80 days after transplanting (DAT) was better than soil application of Zn with regard to yield attributes and yield of Basmati rice and uptake of nutrients by the crop. In general, there was significant and positive correlation of grain yield with yield attributes. The uptake of nutrients by the crop was highest with incorporation of Sesbania aculeata and lowest in summer fallow.
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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.
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