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.
Plants experience oxidative stress upon exposure to heavy metals that leads to cellular damage. In addition, plants accumulate metal ions that disturb cellular ionic homeostasis. To minimize the ...detrimental effects of heavy metal exposure and their accumulation, plants have evolved detoxification mechanisms. Such mechanisms are mainly based on chelation and subcellular compartmentalization. Chelation of heavy metals is a ubiquitous detoxification strategy described in wide variety of plants. A principal class of heavy metal chelator known in plants is phytochelatins (PCs), a family of Cys-rich peptides. PCs are synthesized non-translationally from reduced glutathione (GSH) in a transpeptidation reaction catalyzed by the enzyme phytochelatin synthase (PCS). Therefore, availability of glutathione is very essential for PCs synthesis in plants at least during their exposure to heavy metals. Here, I reviewed on effect of heavy metals exposure to plants and role of GSH and PCs in heavy metal stress tolerance. Further, genetic manipulations of GSH and PCs levels that help plants to ameliorate toxic effects of heavy metals have been presented.
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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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•Synthesis of material is done by sol-gel method which is easy and cost effective.•SEM shows that the film is macro porous and porosity lies in range of 50–100nm.•Minimum particle ...size calculated by TEM is 6.7nm.•The LPG sensing of barium titante film below LEL was performed for the first time at room temperature.•The value of maximum sensitivity was found 3.5 and % sensor response was found 250 for 4 vol. % LPG.
Perovskite barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanocomposite thin film has been prepared using spin coating technique. Surface morphological, structural, compositional and optical properties of the film were investigated by various techniques such as SEM, XRD, TEM, EDS, UV-Spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and FTIR. SEM images showed the macroporous cubic structure of the film. The minimum crystallite size was evaluated as 11nm by XRD and confirmed by TEM. Band gap of BaTiO3 was evaluated as 3.9eV. Raman Spectroscopy confirmed the formation of BaTiO3 at 540cm−1. LPG sensings were carried out for vol.% 0.5–4 of LPG and sensor was found robust for the detection of LEL for LPG also.
Day by day, the quantum of “end-of-life tires” (ELT) is increasing at a rapid rate across the globe. The conventional methods, namely landfilling, stockpiling, and burning adopted for the management ...or disposal of this hazardous waste, are proven to have a greater amount of adverse impact on the environment, ecological systems, and health of human beings. The feasible and voluminous utilization of this inexpedient hazardous waste is only possible either in concrete industries or as an amendment of soil to attain the cleaner production for the rubber manufacturing and tire retreading and regrooving industries. Besides that, it could resolve the problems of authorities associated with the environmental aspect of waste rubber tire disposal. This paper enlightens the published research work carried out by geotechnical investigator’s fraternity on the geotechnical properties of fine-grained soil containing various forms of end-of-life tires, namely shreds, granulates (crumbles), fibres (buffings), chips, and ash. The effects of different forms of end-of-life tires on Atterberg’s limits, compaction parameters, shear strength, tensile strength, consolidation, swelling, permeability, California bearing ratio, durability, dynamic properties, and microstructure of fine-grained soil have been reviewed. Review reveals that inclusions of ELT in fine-grained soil have a promising future for its disposal, but still more in-depth investigations are required to solidify the conclusions drawn by past investigators for its popularization as construction material for embankments of highways and railways, as base and sub-base material for roads, and as filler material behind retaining wall.
Gram pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hub.) is the major insect pest of pigeonpea and prediction of number of generations (no. of gen.) and generation time (gen. time) using growing degree days (GDD) ...approach during three future climate change periods viz., Near (NP), Distant (DP) and Far Distant (FDP) periods at eleven major pigeonpea growing locations of India was attempted. Multi-model ensemble of Maximum (Tmax) and Minimum (Tmin) temperature data of four Representative Concentration Pathways viz., RCP 2.6, 4.5, 6.0 and 8.5 of Coupled Model Inter comparison Project 5 (CMIP5) models was adopted here. The increase in projected Tmax and Tmin are significant during 3 climate change periods (CCPs) viz., the NP, DP and FDP over base line (BL) period under four RCP scenarios at all locations and would be higher (4.7-5.1 °C) in RCP 8.5 and in FDP. More number of annual (10-17) and seasonal (5-8) gens. are expected to occur with greater percent increase in FDP (8 to 38%) over base line followed by DP (7 to 22%) and NP (5to 10%) periods with shortened annual gen. time (4 to 27%) across 4 RCPs. The reduction of crop duration was substantial in short, medium and long duration pigeonpeas at all locations across 4 RCPs and 3 CCPs. The seasonal no.of gen. is expected to increase (5 to 35%) with shortened gen. time (4 to 26%) even with reduced crop duration across DP and FDP climate periods of 6.0 and 8.5 RCPs in LD pigeonpea. More no. of gen. of H. armigera with reduced gen. time are expected to occur at Ludhiana, Coimbatore, Mohanpur, Warangal and Akola locations over BL period in 4 RCPs when normal duration of pigeonpeas is considered. Geographical location (66 to 72%), climate period (11 to 19%), RCPs (5-7%) and their interaction (0.04-1%) is vital and together explained more than 90% of the total variation in future pest scenario. The findings indicate that the incidence of H. armigera would be higher on pigeonpea during ensuing CCPs in India under global warming context.
Pearl millet Cenchrus americanus (L.) Morrone is a staple food for more than 90 million farmers in arid and semi-arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa, India and South Asia. We report the ∼1.79 Gb draft ...whole genome sequence of reference genotype Tift 23D
B
-P1-P5, which contains an estimated 38,579 genes. We highlight the substantial enrichment for wax biosynthesis genes, which may contribute to heat and drought tolerance in this crop. We resequenced and analyzed 994 pearl millet lines, enabling insights into population structure, genetic diversity and domestication. We use these resequencing data to establish marker trait associations for genomic selection, to define heterotic pools, and to predict hybrid performance. We believe that these resources should empower researchers and breeders to improve this important staple crop.
Research over the last decade on emerging trace organic contaminants in aquatic systems has largely focused on sources such as treated wastewaters in high income countries, with relatively few ...studies relating to wastewater sources of these contaminants in low and middle income countries. We undertook a longitudinal survey of the Ahar River for a number of emerging organic contaminants (including pharmaceuticals, hormones, personal care products and industrial chemicals) which flows through the city of Udaipur, India. Udaipur is a city of approximately 450,000 people with no wastewater treatment occurring at the time of this survey. We found the concentrations of many of the contaminants within the river water were similar to those commonly reported in untreated wastewater in high income countries. For example, concentrations of pharmaceuticals, such as carbamazepine, antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ranged up to 1900 ng/L. Other organic contaminants, such as steroid estrogens (up to 124 ng/L), steroid androgens (up to 1560 ng/L), benzotriazoles (up to 11 μg/L), DEET (up to 390 ng/L), BPA (up to 300 ng/L) and caffeine (up to 37.5 μg/L), were all similar to previously reported concentrations in wastewaters in high income countries. An assessment of the population densities in the watersheds feeding into the river showed increasing population density of a watershed led to a corresponding downstream increase in the concentrations of the organic contaminants, with quantifiable concentrations still present up to 10 km downstream of the areas directly adjacent to the highest population densities. Overall, this study highlights how a relatively clean river can be contaminated by untreated wastewater released from an urban centre.
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•Emerging contaminants were detected in a longitudinal survey of a small Indian city’s river receiving untreated wastewater.•Minimal attenuation of contaminants beyond city limits indicated the river is largely composed of untreated wastewater.•A wastewater treatment facility would substantially reduce most contaminant loads within the receiving environment.
In the present study, a total of 53 promising salt-tolerant genotypes were tested across 18 salt-affected diverse locations for three years. An attempt was made to identify ideal test locations and ...mega-environments using GGE biplot analysis. The CSSRI sodic environment was the most discriminating location in individual years as well as over the years and could be used to screen out unstable and salt-sensitive genotypes. Genotypes CSR36, CSR-2K-219, and CSR-2K-262 were found ideal across years. Overall, Genotypes CSR-2K-219, CSR-2K-262, and CSR-2K-242 were found superior and stable among all genotypes with higher mean yields. Different sets of genotypes emerged as winners in saline soils but not in sodic soils; however, Genotype CSR-2K-262 was the only genotype that was best under both saline and alkaline environments over the years. The lack of repeatable associations among locations and repeatable mega-environment groupings indicated the complexity of soil salinity. Hence, a multi-location and multi-year evaluation is indispensable for evaluating the test sites as well as identifying genotypes with consistently specific and wider adaptation to particular agro-climatic zones. The genotypes identified in the present study could be used for commercial cultivation across edaphically challenged areas for sustainable production.
Context.
Vortex flows exist across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales in the solar atmosphere. Small-scale vortices are thought to play an important role in energy transport in the solar ...atmosphere. However, their physical properties remain poorly understood due to the limited spatial resolution of the observations.
Aims.
We explore and analyze the physical properties of small-scale vortices inside magnetic flux tubes using numerical simulations, and investigate whether they contribute to heating the chromosphere in a plage region.
Methods.
Using the three-dimensional radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulation code MURaM, we perform numerical simulations of a unipolar solar plage region. To detect and isolate vortices we use the swirling strength criterion and select the locations where the fluid is rotating with an angular velocity greater than a certain threshold. We concentrate on small-scale vortices as they are the strongest and carry most of the energy. We explore the spatial profiles of physical quantities such as density and horizontal velocity inside these vortices. Moreover, to learn their general characteristics, a statistical investigation is performed.
Results.
Magnetic flux tubes have a complex filamentary substructure harboring an abundance of small-scale vortices. At the interfaces between vortices strong current sheets are formed that may dissipate and heat the solar chromosphere. Statistically, vortices have higher densities and higher temperatures than the average values at the same geometrical height in the chromosphere.
Conclusions.
We conclude that small-scale vortices are ubiquitous in solar plage regions; they are denser and hotter structures that contribute to chromospheric heating, possibly by dissipation of the current sheets formed at their interfaces.
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