agrinenv.com October 2020

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Volume 1- Issue 2

October 2020 agrinenv.com

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Volume 1 – Issue 2 [October 2020]

Editorial

Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Sericulture

Parameswaranaik J

Scientist B, Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute, Central Silk Board, MoT, GoI,

Berhampore, West Bengal. E-mail: [email protected]

The ongoing health crisis around COVID-19 has affected all walks of life. Protecting lives of

people suffering from the disease as well as frontline health responders have been the priority of any

nation. Indian Government has swung into actions since the corona virus attack created an

unprecedented situation. It declared a three-week nation-wide lockdown till mid-April in the initial

phase, which was subsequently extended for achieving satisfactory containment of the virus spread.

The lockdown from the viewpoint of economic growth and development has severe repercussions.

All the sectors in the economy are hard hit by COVID-19 and sericulture is not an exception to this.

The poor sections of society are always the hardest hit in any disaster or pandemic situation.

Sericulture is an agro-based industry. It involves rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk,

which is the yarn obtained out of cocoons spun by certain species of insects. The major activities of

sericulture comprises of food-plant cultivation to feed the silkworms which spin silk cocoons and

reeling the cocoons for unwinding the silk filament for value added benefits such as processing and

weaving. About 8.5 million people are engaged in various sericulture activities in India majority of

them were small and marginal farmers.

The spread of illness can devastate poor, small-and marginal sericultural farmers who are

already facing challenges such as weak resilience, poor socio-economic condition and limited access

to resources and services. Nevertheless, the pandemic and related disruptions of trade, travel and

markets could reduce sericultural production and silk products availability. The restrictions on

movements of people and vehicular traffic during lockdown have raised negative implications of

COVID19 pandemic on sericulture. Several reports portrayed that severe disruption had happened to

the supply of silkworm seeds and critical inputs of silkworm rearing and most drastic hit of pandemic

was on marketing of harvested cocoons in the market.

After successful silkworm rearing farmers would harvest the good quality cocoons and they

will transport the de-flossed cocoon to the mandis (cocoon market yards) for procurement operations

by reelers. During the lockdown period farmers were frightened to transport there harvested cocoon

produce not only because of restrictions on inter-district and inter-state movement of vehicles but

due to fear of possibility of getting infected with COVID-19.

The prices of cocoons are mainly decided by silk reelers, who have increased the price due to

the absence of Chinese silk at the Market. The outbreak of the corona virus has resulted in a

complete stop of raw silk import from China, leading to increased prices for the cocoons grown

locally. Sericulturists are having a windfall with prices of silkworm cocoons shooting up. The

bivoltine cocoon, which was selling for anywhere between Rs 425 and Rs 500, is sold at Rs 616-625

per kg. The cross-breed cocoons, which were trading at Rs 300-325, are sold at Rs 500-575 per kg.

This has benefited majority of sericulture farmers.



Initial days of COVID-19 (January to February months) farmers enjoyed the increased

returns from sericulture. But in later part due to complete nation-wide lockdown the demand for

ready silk products got drastically reduced in the consumer market and export also got affected as

other countries in the world were too distressed from the pandemic. Accordingly the prise of raw silk

stared decreasing drastically thus, reelers showed very least interest in purchasing of cocoon and to

continue the reeling activity during lockdown which directly affected the price of cocoon in the local

mandies.

Sericulture farmers faced many problems during the pandemic some of the major were

Some of the farmers have stopped silkworm rearing due to non-availability of 2nd

instar chawki/larvae at chawki rearing centres (CRCs) or quality DFLs as they were

closed/unavailable during lockdown period.

Non-availability of critical inputs and silkworm rearing appliances as majority of shops

were closed during lockdown

Farmers encountered personal inconveniences viz., lack of transportation, lack of

boarding & lodging during marketing of harvested cocoons and possibility of getting

infected with COVID-19 are few instances etc.

To sustain the demand for silk products, investments in key logistics must be enhanced.

Moreover, e-commerce and delivery companies particularly for silk products with more safety &

security and innovative start-ups need to be initiated and encouraged with suitable policies and

incentives. The small and medium enterprises, running with raw materials from the sericulture also

need special attention so that the sericulture sector doesn’t collapse. Investments in sericultural

programmes can help people become

more self-reliant, mitigate the impact

of severe events, increase rural

prosperity, ensure more sustainable

sericulture development in fragile

states.

Sericulture in India is a

concurrent subject, and has been

observed in past years policies and

programs vary from one State to the

other. However, central organisations

are working for interconnection of

sericultural activities and programmes

between the states and regions. As

the next sericulture crop is fast

approaching in different parts of the

country critical inputs of sericulture like silkworm eggs (DFLs), disinfectants, chawki worms,

fertilizers and agro-chemicals have to be pre-positioned for easy availability.

With a burgeoning population, there is a corresponding rise in silk products demand in India

as well as in the world. It is thus desirable to switch over to a suitable policy with a far stronger focus

where silk products are more diverse and striking. A post-COVID situation offers that unique

opportunity to repurpose the existing sericultural policies for sustainable sericultural development in

India.


There have been global concerns, rather speculations, on restriction of imports of goods

including silk products from China by a few global players. India, being exporter of silk products

may seize the opportunities by exporting silk products with a stable silk-exports policy. India’s

sericultural exports are valued at 1498.39 crores in 2019-20 and can rise up further with conducive

policies. Development of export-supportive infrastructure and logistics would need investments and

support of the private sector that will be in the long term interests of farmers in boosting their

income.

Although it is still too early to discern the full effects of the outbreak on Indian sericulture,

the reports of supply chain interruptions clearly indicates the effect of COVID-19 on sericultural

production is disruptive in some leading states of sericulture. More broadly, the crisis is expected to

have profound effects on the global economy, which will certainly affect small and marginal

sericultural producers on a much broader scale.


INDEX

Article ID Title of the article Page

No.

AEN-2020-01-02-001 Sewage Sludge - A Potential Alternative Source of Manure for Crop

Production

1

AEN-2020-01-02-002 Cost Effective Conservation Agriculture for Sustaining the Farm Income 5

AEN-2020-01-02-003 Environmental Impact on Mushroom Cultivation 15

AEN-2020-01-02-004 Crop Modeling - Rebuilding Past for Future 18

AEN-2020-01-02-005 Is Biological Pest Control an Alternative for Chemical control…? 23

AEN-2020-01-02-006 Integration of GIS and Remote Sensing for Evaluating

Forest Canopy Density Index

27

AEN-2020-01-02-007 Significance of Boron in Fruit Crops 30

AEN-2020-01-02-008 Quality Breeding in Bulbous Vegetables 33

AEN-2020-01-02-009 Significance of Drones in Precision Agriculture 36

AEN-2020-01-02-010 Fertigation: An effective tool in agriculture 41

AEN-2020-01-02-011 Agricultural Production with Changing Climatic Scenario 46

AEN-2020-01-02-012 Pigeonpea – As a Vegetable 52

AEN-2020-01-02-013 E-Krishi Kendra: An Innovative Frontier for Making Digital Indian

Agriculture

54

AEN-2020-01-02-014 Soil Quality Indicators: A Brief Review 57

AEN-2020-01-02-015 Blood in India's Rice Bowl with More Farmer's Committing Suicide! 61

AEN-2020-01-02-016 Microorganisms: Role in coral reefs health 64

AEN-2020-01-02-017 Agnihotra: Homa Organic Farming 67

AEN-2020-01-02-018 Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Environment and Human Health 73

AEN-2020-01-02-019 Biofertilizer: Impact on Soil Health and Plant Growth 80

AEN-2020-01-02-020 Impact of Covid-19 on Indian Agriculture Sector 84

AEN-2020-01-02-021 Precision Agriculture – A New Smart Way of Farming 87

AEN-2020-01-02-022 Save Grapes from Diseases 93

AEN-2020-01-02-023 Need of Rain Water Harvesting 95

AEN-2020-01-02-024 WhatsApp: An Effective Digital Tool for Information Dissemination 99

AEN-2020-01-02-025 Crop Residue Management- Challenges and Solutions: A New

Paradigm in Agriculture

103

AEN-2020-01-02-026 Nectarine a remunerative crop in low hills of Himalayan region farmers 107

Volume 1 – Issue 2 [October 2020] P a g e | 1

Article ID: AEN-2020-01-02-001

Sewage Sludge - A Potential Alternative Source of Manure for Crop Production

Sachin K. S.*, Varatharajan T. and Harish M. N

PhD Scholar, Division of Agronomy, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Urbanization and industrialization accompanied with increased production of sewage sludge

from different sources in India. Its disposal and management in a cost effective and environmentally

friendly way is one of the serious problems of the country. An estimated 38,354 million liters of

sewage with an equivalent amount of sludge per day is presently generated in India (Kaur et al.

2012). Due to high economic and environmental costs involved in its disposal through incineration

and land filling operation, land application of sewage sludge in agriculture may be a more preferred

option as it provides an opportunity to recycle the plant essential nutrients and organic carbon (OC)

to soil which provides win-win strategy of solid waste management and also manure for crop

production to maintain green and clean mother earth. However, their potential hazardous over long

period usage has to be carefully monitored and regulated from time to time.

Introduction

Sewage sludge is the residual, semi-solid substance produced as a by-product during the

sewage treatment of industrial or municipal wastewater. Properly treated and processed, sewage

sludge are nutrient-rich organic materials. Moreover, sewage sludge can be recycled and applied as

fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth. The management

options other than directly letting in to waterbodies helps in controlling water pollution

Scenario of sewage generation in world and India

According to central pollution control board (CPCB), New Delhi, about 38354 million liter

per day (MLD) wastewater generated from cities and towns is the main cause of freshwater pollution

in India. However less than half of this quantity only about 11786 MLD is treated by the sewage

treatment plants and rest of the sewage is discharged without treatment. Therefore, almost all the

water bodies including lakes, ponds wetlands, streams, rivers and their catchments areas are severely

polluted due to the discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage effluent.

Sewage sludge as potential source of manure for crop production

During the recent years, waste minimization and recycling or reuse policies have been

introduced so as to reduce the amount of waste generated and alternative waste management

strategies are being exploited, to reduce the negative environmental footprints. Sewage sludge as raw

material for industrial production, energy production and soil amendment. The research reports

clearly indicates the use of sewage sludge enhances the overall growth and yield of agricultural crops

and reduce the application of chemical or synthetic fertilizers.



Management options for sewage sludge

Different sources of sludge generation

a) Municipal sewage sludge: It is the sludge generated from waste water treatment of municipal

water which is directly let into the outskirts of the city or nearby tanks after treatment or in some

cases directly discharged. It is a good source of plant nutrients hence farmers having their farmlands

near by peri urban areas use it as an alternative source of manure for crop production because of

meagre of animal manure due to low livestock population.

b) Tannery sludge: Tannery sludge is a potential source of organic matter, macro and

micronutrients, essential for plant growth; it improves the soil productivity. However, the application

of tannery sludge to agricultural land may introduce toxic heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Mn, Cu, and Ni) into

the food system.

c) Brewery sludge: Due to increasing environmental concerns and regulations, there have been

attempts to utilize this brewery byproduct in an ecofriendly manner of brewery waste water sludge

(BWS) as an organic fertilizer in agriculture.

d) Bio methanated sludge: Distillery waste is rich in organic matter and nutrients especially

nitrogen. potassium and can also be utilized as a source of irrigation water in water scarcity areas.

Thus, the availability of nutrients in distillery effluents and the possibility of substituting these for

inorganic fertilizer in agriculture have a great promise.

e) Dairy sludge: The dairy industry consumes 2 to 6 m3 of water per tonne of milk entering the plant.

Over 75,000 tonnes of sludge gets generated in India from the treatment of wastewater from milk

processing plants. Nutritional composition of dairy sludge depends on the different dairy products

production and its methodologies. For example, cheese factories have 50% more phosphorus than

Sewage sludge

LANDFILLING LAND

APPLICATION

BIO-PROCESSING THERMAL

PROCESSING

MISCELLANEOUS

APPLICATION

Composting/

Vermi-composting

Anaerobic

Digestion

Agricultural

Recycling

Forestry,

Horticulture,

Silviculture,

etc.

Land

Reclamation

Incineration Co-combustion Gasification Pyrolysis Wet

Oxidation

Refuse

Derived

Fuel

( RDF )

Used in –

Road/highway

embankments,

in construction

industry etc.


fresh milk dairies. Dairy sludge has lower levels of heavy metals or other harmful components than

sewage sludge.

Physico-chemical properties of sewage sludge Generally, the sewage sludge is made up of 20% fat, 50% carbohydrate (sugar, starch and

fibre), 30-40% organic matter, 3-4% N, 1.5-2% P and 0.7-1.5% K. The pH of the sewage sludge is

normally ranged 6.5 -7.0 (Swapnil et al. 2011). Apart from the basic beneficial constituents of

sewage sludge it is characterized by the presence of certain toxic heavy metals that is a global

environmental concern when it comes to their land application. One of the prime reason for heavy

metal contamination in sewage sludge is unplanned or miss-managed urban sewage system that leads

to mixture of sewage with industrial wastewater and also from commercial sources, waste water

runoff from city roads etc. Concentrations of elements like Cu, Cd, Co, Ni and Zn were found to be

constantly greater in sewage sludge

Effects of sewage sludge on soil properties

Land application of sewage sludge has earned popularity in view of its potential to recycle

valuable components of sewage sludge such as organic matter, N, P, and other plant nutrients and

more so especially for soils deficient in organic matter. Soil properties like structure, porosity of soil,

soil moisture, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity and humus content are significantly

modified due to addition of sewage sludge (Pascual et al., 2009). However, indiscriminate sludge

application may disturb the soil properties due to presence of higher levels of toxic constituents and

heavy metals.

High levels of organic matter and available nutrients in organic amendments like sewage

sludge lead to enhanced soil microbial activity biochemical activity and also microbial biomass

initially. Sewage sludge amendments can affect soil enzyme activity in following ways.

1. Solid phase surface properties of sewage sludge could lead to increased stabilization of

extracellular enzymes.

2. It could enhance soil enzymatic activity by providing substrates such as peptides and

proteins thereby increasing microbial proliferation. Though sewage sludge amendment added to the

soil results in increased soil microbial, enzymatic activities, but the presence of heavy metals in the

sludge may also affect the soil enzymatic activities indirectly resulting in reduced soil enzyme

activities during longer incubation and higher heavy metal availability.

Remediation of heavy metals toxicity in contaminated soils

For remediation of heavy metal contaminated soils, a wide array of techniques has been

proposed. Physical remediation, chemical remediation, phytoremediation, and agro-ecological

engineering techniques are the major remediation techniques of heavy metals in soils.

Excavation, removal, washing, and land filling of metal contaminated soils are some of the

physical remediation techniques which are very effective at lowering risk, however, they are

expensive to implement.

Although phytoremediation, i.e., use of hyper accumulator plants (Typha sp.) for ameliorating

contaminated soils, has received considerable attention but one of the major problems associated

with this approach is low metal removal rate for example. In addition, phytoremediation is of limited

applicability in urban soils.

Primary mechanisms involved in chemical remediation of heavy metals through different

amendments are cation exchange, adsorption, surface complexation and precipitation. Alkaline


materials used as chemical immobilization treatments include calcium oxides, fly ash, and calcium

and magnesium carbonates. They can reduce heavy metal solubility in soil by increasing soil pH and

concomitantly increasing metal sorption to soil particles.

Effect on growth and development crop plants

Land application of sewage sludge for agricultural purposes has been a widely practiced

disposal method due to its multiple benefits of recycling of plant nutrients, improvement in soil’s

physicochemical and biological properties, rich source of organic matter, all of which contribute

significantly towards plant growth, development and increasing crop yields. Sewage sludge

application provides varying amounts of macronutrients mainly nitrogen and phosphorus to crops.

Heavy metal effects on plants Sensitivity of plants to metal toxicity can be associated with the tendency to accumulate the

metal in shoots. The concentrations of trace metal elements in plant parts follow a pattern with the

concentration in roots > leaves > stems > grain. Thus, the potential hazard from metals is apparently

reduced if only the seed is harvested and used as a food source. The translocation factor (TF) is a

common index that is used for estimating the movement of heavy metals from roots to shoots there

by evaluating the relative risks associated with consumption of the shoot parts of plants. Decreasing

values of translocation factors for heavy metals with increasing application of sewage sludge

indicating stronger accumulation of heavy metals in roots than in shoots.

Environmental issues related to agricultural utilization of sewage sludge

It contains various potentially toxic elements such as heavy metals, persistent organic

pollutants, different polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, alkyl sulfonates, nanoparticles, from

personal care products, pharmaceuticals and pathogenic agents (i.e. bacteria, protozoa, viruses).

Conclusion

Production of majority of the agricultural crops has also been benefitted from the land

application of sewage sludge. But the major problem associated with its use in the crop land arises

due to increase in the concentration of bioavailable heavy metals to soil when applied at excessively

high rates or when the sludge bears high concentration of these metals. However, low doses of

sludge application do not cause heavy metals accumulation above the safe limit in edible portion of

the crops to cause health hazards to both humans as well as animals. It is therefore recommended that

prior to application in the soil the dose of sewage sludge must be standardized for a particular crop

based on heavy metal and other pollutant concentrations.

References

Swapnil, R., Chopra, A.K., Pathak, C., Sharma, D.K., Sharma, R. and Gupta, P.M. 2011.

Comparative study of some physiochemical parameters of soil irrigated with sewage water

and canal water of Dehradun city. India. Arch. Appl. Sci. Res. 3(2): 318–325.

Pascual, I., Jone, A., Fermi M., Francisco J., Corpas, Manuel Palma, Rubeal, V. and Manuel, S. A.

2010. Growth, yield, and fruit quality of pepper Plants amended with Two sanitized sewage

sludges. J. Agric. Food. Chem. 58: 6951–6959.

Kaur, R., Wani, S.P., Singh, A.K. and Lal, K. 2016. Wastewater production, treatment and use in

India, presented at the 2nd Regional Workshop on Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture.



Cost Effective Conservation Agriculture for Sustaining the Farm Income

T. Pandiaraj*, Prakash Yadav and D. K. Singh

College of Agriculture, (Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology,

Kumarganj, Ayodhya), Kotwa, Azamgarh-276001, Uttar Pradesh


Agriculture in general in the region has been changing from traditional subsistence farming to

modern commercial farming practices at various rates. This has led, generally, towards intensified

and specialized/commercialized farming with mechanization, intensive tillage and increased

agrochemical use. But the intensification of farming with high inputs and labour-saving technologies

has led, in some cases, to some important ecosystem-based practices such as crop rotation and

diversified cropping being abandoned, although they have been allowed for cultivation of large

areas.

In the Indian context, especially in the western Indo-Gangetic plains, the production system is

facing serious challenge of soil and water degradation, rising production cost and increasing

uncertainty in the form of: declining soil fertility, declining ground water, salinity and sodicity build-

up, hard soil pan formation, burning of crop residues, reduced organic matter content, increased

reliance on fertilizers and chemicals, increased cost of cultivation: tillage cost, late sowing of rabi

crop: wheat, degradation of eco-system. These factors are deteriorating the quality of natural

resources, adversely affecting crop yields and witnessing unprecedented raising cost of production.

CA has emerged a major way forward from the existing unsustainable conventional agriculture, to

protect the soil from degradation processes and make agriculture sustainable.

What is conservation agriculture?

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is defined as a concept for resource-saving agricultural crop

production that strives to achieve acceptable profits, high and sustained production levels while

concurrently conserving the environment (FAO, 2009). CA is based on enhancing natural biological

processes above and below the ground. CA is characterized by three principles which are linked to

each other, namely:

1. Minimum mechanical soil disturbance throughout the entire crop rotation

2. Permanent organic soil cover,

3. Diversified crop rotations in case of annual crops or plant associations in case of perennial

crops

The concept of conservation agriculture is relatively new in modern cultivation practices. It is

differentiated with the conventional agriculture. Broadly, the conventional agriculture is

characterized as intensive tillage, straw burning and external inputs. Such practices lead to soil

degradation through loss of organic matter, soil erosion and compaction. On the contrary,

conservation agriculture is a range of soil management practices that minimise effects on

composition, structure and natural biodiversity and reduce erosion and degradation. Conservation

agriculture practices are applicable to virtually all the crops, including cereals, horticulture and

plantation crops. However, these are more popular in maize, soybean, rice and wheat.

The available information revealed that conservation agriculture is largely adopted in

different parts of the world. The estimates show that conservation agriculture is adopted in an area of

little more than 125 million ha (FAO, 2015). The adoption of conservation agricultural practices was

rapid; from 45 million hectare in 1999 to 95 million in 2005 and now estimated to be more than 125



million hectares. Table 1 shows that as high as 43.4 per cent of the total area under conservation

agriculture is in South America, which is followed by North America (34 per cent) and Australia (13

per cent). Rapid growth of conservation agriculture in developing countries is clear indication of

high dividends realized by the poor farmers.

Table 1. Continent wise area under conservation agriculture

Continent Area (mha) Share in %

South America 55.43 43.36

North America 43.09 33.71

New Zealand and Australia 16.2 12.67

Asia 4.7 3.67

Russia and Ukraine 6.4 5.01

Europe 1 0.78

Africa 1 0.78

(FAO, 2015)

Benefits of Conservation Agriculture

Short term benefits (1-4 years)

• Conserves water.

• Saves on inputs.

• Better establishment and crop growth.

• Higher yields.

• Improves nutrition available to households.

• Increases profit and return to labor.

Long-term benefits (beyond 4 years)

• Improves soil fertility.

• Stabilizes yields.

• Reduces weeds.

• Conserves soil moisture.

• Reduces soil erosion.

• Reduces production costs.

What can Conservation Agriculture achieve on farm profit?

Increased organic matter of soil

80% fuel saving

30% labor saving

30% reduction in irrigation requirement

50% reduction in operational costs

Reduced pollution of waterways


Role of CA on farm profitability

Through minimum soil disturbance

In recent times, the concept of conservation tillage (and also conservation agriculture) has

been well tested, perfected and widely adopted in irrigated areas of Indo-Gangetic plain. The area

under zero tillage in Indo-Gangetic plains of India was estimated to be 1.90 million hectare in 2005,

which increased to 2.5 million hectares in 2007. In India, Erenstein and Pandey (2006) did some

systematic studies to quantify benefits of conservation agriculture in the Indo-Gangetic plain. Some

of the measured benefits are listed below:

Yield advantage of zero tillage to rice and wheat by 10-17 per cent over conventional tillage.

Cost reduction by about Rs. 5760 per hectare (roughly by 5 to 10 per cent); ranging from Rs.

3055 to Rs. 8500 per hectare in different soils and ecoregions.

Water saving by 20-35 per cent, and energy saving, especially of tractor time saved by 60-90

per cent.

Projected saving of 1 million barrel of oil if the zero-tillage practice is adopted in about 3.5

million hectare area of Indo-Gangetic plain.

High internal rate of returns (57 per cent) assuming 33 per cent adoption of conservation

agriculture in Indian part of Indo-Gangetic plain.

An on‐station trial was conducted to evaluate the performance of three hybrid varieties of

rice, Arize 6444 (Proagro, Bayer), NK Sahadri (Syngenta), and PBH 71 (Pioneer), under direct

seeding (zero‐till) and puddled transplanting along with commonly grown inbred cultivar (MTU

1001) for comparison. Hybrid rice yielded higher when it was drill seeded in ZT than when

transplanted in puddled soil (Table 2). The gain in grain yield and net income ranged from 0.2 to 1.2

t/ha and $54 to $216/ha, respectively, when hybrids were direct drill seeded rather than transplanted

in puddled soil.

Table 2. Grain yield, input cost, and net income of different rice hybrids under zero-till direct

seeding (ZT‐DSR) and transplanting conditions (CT‐TPR).

Variety Yield (t/ha) Input cost (US$/ha) Net income ($/ha)

CT-TPR ZT-DSR CT-TPR ZT-DSR CT-TPR ZT-DSR

Arize 6444 5.00 5.47 340 330 491 584729

NK Sahadri 5.06 6.25 331 313 513 780

PBH-71 5.29 5.48 332 316 726 414

MTU-1001 4.44 3.90 293 234 447 627

Mean 4.95 5.27 324 298 544

LSD.05 Tillage (T)=0.10; Variety=

0.51; TxV=0.72

(IRRI, 2009)

Another study revealed that gross returns were Rs. 60181/ha in ZT and Rs. 59070/ha in CT.

The net return amounted to Rs.34057/ ha in ZT and Rs. 29135/ha in CT method of wheat production.

The net income was higher in ZT method due to higher yield and lower cost of cultivation as

compared to CT method of wheat cultivation. The cost of cultivation amounted to Rs. 26124/ha in

ZT method and Rs. 29935/ha in CT method. The lower cost of cultivation was due to lower expenses

on human labour (5.74%), machine labour (46.30%) and irrigation (17.65%) in ZT than in CT


method. The benefit-cost ratio of 2.30 was observed in ZT as against 1.98 in CT method of wheat

production Table 3.

Table 3. Cost and return in wheat production using CT and ZT methods in Haryana

(Source: Tripathy, 2013, CSSRI, Karnal)

Erenstein and Laxmi (2008) provide a comprehensive review of the impacts of conservation

tillage wheat in India’s rice-wheat systems, including effects on land preparation and crop

establishment, water use, soils and biotic stresses, yields, and cost savings and profitability. Their

review shows that zero-tillage wheat after rice generates substantial benefits at the farm level by

enhancing farm income from wheat cultivation (US$97 per hectare) through the combined result of a

yield effect and a cost-saving effect.

Laser land leveling

Farmers in India now practice two technologies for leveling land: (i) traditional land leveling

(TLL) and (ii) laser land leveling (LLL). The TLL, which uses scrapers or leveling boards drawn by

draft animals or tractors or even bulldozers in the case of highly undulated land, cannot achieve the

desired accuracy and hence, is less likely to minimize uneven distribution of irrigation water (Jat et

al., 2006). As the quality of land leveling impacts most of the farming operations along with input

use efficiency and crop yield, there is a need for alternative method of land leveling. The LLL is an

alternative to achieve desired level of accuracy as this uses laser equipped drag buckets in leveling

land. Its use also facilitates uniformity in the placement of seeds/seedlings and better crop stands

which eventually contributes to higher crop yield. More recent study by Jat et al., (2009) found that

rice-wheat system productivity is approximately 7% higher under LLL compared with TLL and

compared with TLL; LLL saves 10-12% irrigation water in rice and 10-13% in wheat. Jat et al

(2004) evaluated the economics of laser land leveling in wheat for two consecutive years and found

that during the first year of cropping though the returns were slightly less compared to traditional

Particulars Conv. tillage Zero tillage Change (%)

Cost on human labour 11257 10610 -5.75

Cost on machine labour 5754 3090 -46.30

Cost on seeds 2237 2153 -3.73

Cost on fertilizer 3178 3432 +8.00

Cost on weedicides 1995 2201 +10.35

Cost on plant protection chemicals 1323 1393 +5.28

Irrigation charges 1511 1245 -17.64

Overhead cost 2680 2000 -25.37

Total operational cost (cost C1) 29935 26124 -12.73

Gross income 59070 60181 +1.88

Net income over cost C1 29135 34057 +16.89

Benefit-cost ratio over cost C1 1.98 2.30 +16.16


leveling but in the succeeding year there was remarkable increase in the monetary advantage

compared to traditional leveling practice (Table 4).

Table 4. Economic evaluation of laser land leveling in wheat for two consecutive years

Treatments Gross Return

(Rs ha-1)

Additional Cost for

laser leveling (Rs ha-1)

Gross Returns after subtracting

cost of leveling (Rs ha-1)

1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd year

LLRB 37000 38927 5000 0 32000 38927

TLRB 33820 35302 1000 800 32820 34502

LLFB 34720 36524 5000 0 29720 36524

TLFB 31160 32446 1000 800 30160 31646

(Source: Jat et al., 2004)

LLRB - planting on raised beds with laser land leveling; TLRB - planting on raised beds with

traditional land leveling; LLFB - planting on flat beds with laser land leveling; TLFB - planting on

flat beds with traditional land leveling

Crop residue management The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE, 2011), Govt. of India has estimated

that about 500 Mt of crop residues are generated every year. The generation of crop residues is

highest in Uttar Pradesh (60 Mt) followed by Punjab (51 Mt) and Maharashtra (46 Mt). Among

different crops, cereals generate maximum residues (352 Mt), followed by fibres (66 Mt), oilseeds

(29 Mt), pulses (13 Mt) and sugarcane (12 Mt) (Fig.1). The cereal crops (rice, wheat, maize, millets)

contribute 70% while rice crop alone contributes 34% to the crop residues. Wheat ranks second with

22% of the crop residues whereas fibre crops contribute 13% to the crop residues generated from all

crops.

Fig. 1 Residue generation by different crops in India (calculated from MNRE, 2011)

Burning of crop residues leads to release of soot particles and smoke causing human and

animal health problems. It also leads to emission of greenhouse gases namely carbon dioxide,

methane and nitrous oxide, causing global warming and loss of plant nutrients like N, P, K and S.

Heat generated from the burning of crop residues elevates soil temperature causing death of active

beneficial microbial population, though the effect is temporary, as the microbes regenerate after a

few days.


Optimizing competing uses of crop residues

Analyzing the benefit: cost, socio-economic impact and technical feasibility of off and on-

farm uses of crop residues.

Optimizing residues use that can be retained for conservation agriculture without affecting

the crop-livestock system, particularly for the regions where residues are the main source of

fodder.

Assessing the suitability of residue retention/ incorporation in different soil and climatic

situations.

Quantifying the permissible amount of residues of different crops which can be

incorporated/retained, depending on the cropping systems, soil characteristics, and climate

without creating operational problems for the next crop or chemical and biological

imbalance.

Assessing benefit:cost and environmental impact of residue retention/incorporation in

conservation agriculture vis-à-vis residue burning for short and long term time scales.

Mehta and Singh conducted on-farm trial at Gurdaspur to determine the beneficial effects of

left-over rice straw over its burning on the yield of succeeding wheat crop. They noted interesting

point that grain yield of wheat with the application of 125 kg N/ha supplemented with incorporation

of paddy straw was at par when paddy straw was burnt along with application of 187.5 kg N/ha. So,

with the help of incorporation of paddy straw, the additional nitrogen of 62.5 kg/ha in comparison to

when it was burnt can be saved (Table 5).

Table 5. Effect of rice straw on succeeding crop of wheat at Gurdaspur

Nitrogen

rates (kg/ha)

Wheat grain yield (q/ha)

Incorporation of paddy straw Burning of paddy straw

62.5 51.7 45.1

125.0 53.8 50.2

187.5 54.1 53.7

(Mehta and Singh, 2002)

Crop diversification

Diversification of agriculture in favour of more competitive and high-value enterprises is

considered as an important strategy to augment farm income, generate employment, alleviate poverty

and conserve precious soil and water resources (Joshi et al., 2007). High-value crops have enormous

demand potential in India as is reflected by the rapid increase in the consumption of high-value food

commodities (Kumar et al., 2003). In the recent past, diversification in agriculture has occurred

largely through crop substitution. The high intensity cropping sequences in major ecologies have

shown marked advantage over existing cropping systems. The introduction of new cropping systems

or diversification of one or more component crops resulted in enhanced annual productivity ranging

between 25 and 117 percent over the existing cropping systems (Sharma et al., 2002). Crops and

cropping systems should be selected such that the residual resource left by one crop is efficiently

utilized by the following crops. Intercropping is one of the important ways to increase the

productivity and provide income stability under limited soil moisture conditions. Some of the

promising intercropping system are maize + blackgram at Palampur, Ranchi and Banswara; maize +

soybean in Ranchi; maize + cowpea at Karjat; sorghum + soybean at Sehore; sorghum + pigeon pea

at Indore; Pigeon pea + green gram at Bichpure and Hunumangarh; rice + soybean at Kalyani and


Jabalpur and wheat + rapeseed at Indore. Net profit from these intercropping systems were quite high

15 to 200 percent when compared with sole cropping. Most of these intercropping systems were

evaluated on farmers fields and found to be highly remunerative over the sole cropping (Anonymous,

2003).

Table 6. Evaluation of prominent cropping systems in relation to yield, variable cost, net

returns, irrigation water applied and land use efficiency (average of 3 years)

Cropping system Rice

equivalent

yield (t/ha)

Total variable

cost (Rs./ha)

Net returns

(Rs./ha)

Irrigation

water applied

(cm)

Land use

efficiency

(%)

Rice-wheat 13.7 34437 40586 205 73.2

Maize-wheat 12.6 32681 36186 84 70.4

Maize-wheat-summer

mungbean

15.0 41405 39490 117 82.9

Maize-potato-summer

mungbean

18.2 58428 41216 124 80.8

Maize-potato-onion 27.6 76139 71804 127 87.7

Cotton.wheat 10.2 33610 22093 82 88.7

Cotton-African sarson 8.1 29956 14275 74 87.6

Cotton-transplanted

gobhi sarson

8.4 29956 17230 68 86.1

Summer Groundnut-

toria+ gobhi sarson

10.3 36367 20016 71 87.4

Summer Groundnut-

potato-bajra (fodder)

16.0 55557 31643 109 88.7

(Gill and Brar, 2005)

Another success story of crop diversification technology is that a demonstration was

conducted in the village continuously for two consecutive years from 2012-13 to 2013-14 in

Nongthymmai village in Ribhoi district of Meghalaya under the subtropical hill agro-climatic zone is

a climatically vulnerable area mostly affected by acute scarcity of water during rabi season. The

main occupation of the population rests on agriculture and allied activities. Generally, mono-

cropping system of rice cultivation is practised. Instead of taking up second crop after kharif rice,

farmers leave rice field fallow during rabi season mainly owing to lack of irrigation facilities.

Therefore, in order to enhance the cropping intensity, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region,

Meghalaya introduced the crop diversification under zero tillage technology in village. The result

revealed that 15-20 percent higher income was obtained from rice-pea cropping system under zero

tilled fields. Details of average yield, income etc. are summarized in the Table 7.


Table 7. Economic return from different cropping sequences rice –fallow (monocropping) VS

rice-pea (zero tillage)

Year Cropping

sequence

Cropping

component

Average

yield

(q/ha)

Gross

expenditur

e (Rs./ha)

Gross

income

(Rs./ha

)

Net

income

(Rs./ha

)

B:C

Ratio

2012

-13

Rice fallow 37.25 19250 37250 18000 1.94

Rice-pea

(Zero

tillage)

Rice

(var.Shasarang

)

38.00 20000 38000 18000 2.00

Pea (var.

Vikash)

31.65 31500 76125 44625 2.42

Rice+Pea 69.65 51500 114125 62625 2.22

2013

-14

Rice fallow 38.15 19850 38150 18350 1.92

Rice-pea

(Zero

tillage)

Rice

(var.Shasarang

)

38.80 20000 38800 18800 1.94

Pea (var.

Vikash)

32.75 33250 81900 48650 2.46

Rice+Pea 71.55 53250 120700 67450 2.27

(Source: Technology Demonstration Component of NICRA Project, ICAR Research Complex for

NEH Region, Meghalaya)

Adverse effect of Conservation Agriculture on hiking farm expenses

It is also quite possible that CA may decrease the farm profitability due to decreased yields

mainly during the initial years and increased labor and pesticide requirement for weed and insect-

pest and disease control in CA fields. As inter culturing with man or bullock drawn implements are

prohibited in CA fields which are sometimes cheaper than the costly herbicides and their application

costs; the cost of cultivation may increase due to CA. Besides, crop residues maintained on soil

surface may lead to carry over of insect-pests and disease pathogens from one season to the next

season thus, increasing the severity of their incidence in succeeding crop in rotation in fields under

CA. This may require application of higher amount of pesticides to protect the crops thereby

increasing the cost of cultivation and reducing the net profitability. Moreover, the environmental cost

of applying pesticides for weed, insect-pest and disease control in CA fields may be much higher and

many a times unaccountable with severe ecological

hazards and consequences.

Conclusion

Conservation agriculture is a holistic concept for sustainable management of agricultural

lands. There are potential benefits of conservation agriculture across different agroecoregions and

farmers groups. The benefits range from nano-level (improving soil properties) to micro-level

(saving inputs, reducing cost of production, increasing farm income), and macro-level by reducing

poverty, improving food security alleviating global warming. In view of huge expected benefits, as


witnessed during the green revolution period, the conservation agriculture may be aggressively

promoted. In India, the concept of conservation agriculture may be integrated with various

government programs by sensitizing policy advisors, professionals and financial institutions. The

benefits of conservation agriculture need to be effectively communicated to all the stakeholders for

its widespread adoption by the farming community. Failing that the sustainability of agriculture

would be under threat and adversely affect natural resources and agricultural production. The most

affected would be the underprivileged and poor farmers in unfavorable and marginal areas.

References

Anonymous. 2003. Annual Progress Report. All India Coordinated Research Project on Cropping

System. Department of Agronomy and Agro meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University,

Ludhiana.

Erenstein O, Laxmi V. 2008. Zero tillage impacts in Indiaʹs rice‐wheat systems: a review. Soil

Tillage Res. 100:1‐14.

Erenstein, Olaf and VijayLaxmi Pandey (2006), Impact of Zero-Tillage Technology, CIMMYT,

Mexico.

FAO. 2015. World agriculture: towards 2030/2050. Interim report, Rome.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2009. Conservation Agriculture.

http://www.fao.org/ag/ca Rome, Italy.

Gill and Brar L.S.. 2005. Conservation Agriculture and Resource Conserving Technologies.

Published by Centre for Advancement of Sustainable Agriculture, National Agriculture

Science Centre (NASC) Complex DPS Marg, Pusa Campus, New Delhi 110 012

IRRI. 2009. Revitalizing the Rice-Wheat Cropping Systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plains: Adaptation

and Adoption of Resource-Conserving Technologies in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal Report

submitted to theUnited States Agency for International Development(USAID)

Jat, M. L., Singh, G. Ravi, M.K. Saharawat, Kumar, V. Gathala, H.S. Sidhu, and Raj Gupta. 2009.

”Innovations Through Conservation Agriculture: Progress and Prospects of Participatory

Approach in Indo-Gangetic Plain”, in 4th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture held

on 4-7 February 2009 in New Delhi, organised by the National Academy of Agricultural

Sciences, (Vol. Lead Papers), pp. 60-64.

Jat, M.L., Chandna, P., Gupta, R., Sharma, S.K. & Gill, M.A. 2006. Laser land levelling: a

precursor technology for resource conservation. Rice-Wheat Consortium Technical Bulletin

Series No. 7. New Delhi, India, Rice- Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains. 48 pp.

Jat, M.L., Pal, SS, Subba Rao, AVM, Sirohi, K, Sharma, SK and Gupta, RK. 2004. Laser

landleveling-the precursor technology for resource conservation in irrigated eco-system of

India. In: Proceedings of National Conference on Conservation Agriculture: Conserving

Resources-Enhancing Productivity, September 22-23, 2004, NASC Complex, Pusa New

Delhi, pp 9-10.

Joshi, P. K., Ashok Gulati, P.S. Birthal and Ralph Cummings JR. 2007. Agricultural Diversification

and Smallholders in South Asia, Academic Foundation, New Delhi.

Kumar, P., Mruthyunjaya and P.S. Birthal. 2003. “Changing Consumption Pattern in South Asia”,

Paper presented in the International Workshop on Agricultural Diversification and Vertical

Integration in South Asia, Organised by FICCI-ICRISAT-IFPRI, November 5-6, New Delhi.

Mehta, A.K. and Singh, R. 2002. Zero-tillage Sowing of Wheat . A Profitable Technology. Booklet

published by Zonal Coordinating Unit-1 (TOT) ICAR, PAU Campus, Ludhiana.

MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Resources) (2011) Govt. of India, New Delhi.

www.mnre.gov.in/biomassrsources


Sharma, G., E. Sharma, R. Sharma & K. K. Singh. 2002. Performance of an age series of alnus

cardamom in the Sikkim Himalaya : Productivity, Energetics and efficiencies. Annals of

Botany 89:261-272.

Tripathi, R.S., R. Raju and K. Thimmappa. 2013. Impact of Zero Tillage on Economics of Wheat

Production in Haryana. Agricultural Economics Research Review 26(1):101-108.



Environmental Impact on Mushroom Cultivation

Amit Kumar Maurya1*, Vinny John1 and Rakhi Murmu2

1Research Scholar, Department of plant pathology, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture,

Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj (U.P.), 211007, India 2Senior Technical Officer, Regional Plant Quarantine Station, Kolkata


Mushroom cultivation is not only a source for nutritious protein-rich food, it can also

contribute to the production of effective medicinal products. Another significant aspect of mushroom

cultivation is to help reduce pollutants in the environment. One of the primary roles of mushrooms in

the ecosystem is decomposition, which is performed by the mycelium. Mushroom mycelium can

produce a group of complex extracellular enzymes, which can degrade and utilize the lignocellulosic

wastes to reduce pollution. Mushroom mycelia can also play a significant role in the restoration of

damaged environments.

Light

The quality and quantity of light are important in the formation and maturation processes.

The duration of light and its intensity should be carefully considered for individual species, line or

strain. The inhibitory effect of light on fruit body intiation is known for shiitake. For this mushroom,

the exposure to light intensities greater than 50 lux during spawn run may inhibit primordial

formation.

Positive phototrophism in Pleurotus species has been observed .A light intensity of 10 lux in

sufficient to induce the response. At least 15 minutes in full sunlight are required for fruit body

initiation in Volvariella volvocea Fruiting in the mushroom has been obtained under a 12 hr light: 12

hr dark cycle and under continue light at an intensity of 500 lux. Sufficient light for fruit body

initiation and maturation in most shiitake and Pleurotus species is provided by “cool white”

fluorescent bulbs for 2-5 hr/ day. Further, sufficient light is usually provided during normal picking

seriods. Light responses of various mushrooms are tabulated.

Light response of various mushrooms

Mushroom Light effect Inductive Light effect

Inhibitory Initiation Maturation

Agaricus bitorquis No No No

Pleurotus ostreatus Yes Yes

Volvariella valvacea No No No

Flammulina velutipes No Yes

Lentinula edodes No Yes Yes

Pholiota nameko Yes Yes



Temperature

Optimum fructification temperatures for most mushrooms are lower than optimum vegetative

growth temperatures. Each species has its own temperature optima for fructification which may or

may not coincide with that for vegetative growth . Agaricus bitorquis, Flammulina velutipes

Lentinula edodes, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus florida, and Pholiota nameko have lower optimum

fructification temperature ranges than vegetative growth temperature ranges.

The optimum temperature for fructification of a give species may be either close to the

vegetative growth optimum, as in Volvariella volvacea and Tremella fuciformis or considerably

lower as in Flammulina velutipes, Pholioto nameko and in some lines of Pleurotus ostreatus.

Temperature optima of some mushroom are listed below.

Temperature range of some Mushroom:

Mushroom Optimum range (0C)

Vegetative Fructification

Agaricus bitorquis 30 25

Auricularia spp. 20-24 12-30

Flammulina velutipes 22-25 8-15

Lentinula edodes 22-27 15-20

Pholiota nameko 24-26 5-20

Pleurotus eryngi 20-30 20-22

Pleurotus flabellatus 25-30 22-26

Pleurotus florida 30 25

Pleurotus sajor-caju 25-32 25

Tremella fuciformis 20-25 20-27

Volvariella valvacea 20-25 28-32

Temperature influences morphology of mushroom. The stipes of Lentinula edodes and

Pholiota nameko may elongate and the pileus diameter may be reduced at temperatures above 160C.

In Flammulina vetutipes, production of fruit bodies at the optimum vegetable growth temperature

(22-250C) results in small and slender mushrooms. Mushrooms should be produced near their

optimum temperature range to obtain a maximum quality product.

Water Relations

Some mushrooms have particular substrate moisture optima that may depend, on the type of

substrate used. A moisture content of 55-68% is optimal for nutrient –supplemented sawdust used to

produce Lentinula edodes. In contrast, an optimum moisture content of 70% is needed for spawn run

of L. edodes on natural logs. The optimum moisture content of traditional rice paddy straw substrate

used to produce Volvariella valvacea should be in the range of 65-70%, while that of cotton waste

substrate should be about 70%.


Carbon Dioxide

Carbon dioxide levels as low as 0.1% may delay sporophere formation and reduce

sporophore initials in Agaricus bisporus. In Lentinula edodes, restricting aeration by capping cultures

with polypropylene membranes does not prevent the formation of pigmented buried primordial or

exudation but reduces and delays the number of primordial formed. Elevated levels of carbon

dioxide cause stipe elongation and piles expansion. In Agaricus bisporus, stipe growth increases at

carbon dioxide levels of 1%. In Flammulina velutipes, pileus diameter decreases with increasing

concentration of carbon dioxide (0.06 to 4.9%). Stipe elongation is less sensitive to carbon dioxide

than pileus expansion and both stipe elongation and pileus expansion are prevented by high

concentrations of carbon dioxide. High carbon dioxide concentrations cause elongation and

branching of the stipes in Pleurotus.



Crop Modeling - Rebuilding Past for Future

Pooja A. P.* and Arunjith P.

PhD Scholar, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram,

Kerala - 695 522


Crop is an aggregation of individual plant species grown in a unit area for economic purpose.

Crop Model is a simple representation of a system or a process. Modelling is based on the

assumption that any given process can be expressed in a formal statement or a set of statements.

Crop model is a simple representation of a crop. They are tools of system research which help in

solving problems related to crop production. Crop models require some input data which is used by

the model to further generate the crop yield.

Fig 1. Components of a crop modelling system

Importance of crop modeling

• To assimilate knowledge gained from field

• To provide a structure that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration

• To promote system analysis for solving problems

• To provide dynamic, quantitative tool for analyzing the complexity of cropping system

Crop models require certain input data which is used by the model to further generate the required

output.

Inputs

Genotype information

Soil information

Weather information

Management information

Crop Model

Based on mechanism of plant

growth and development (some

may be presented empirically)

Outputs

Biomass

Yield

Water use

Nitrogen use

Carbon balance



Fig 2. Schematic representation of crop model

Input data requirement

Crop modeling requires data related to weather, crop, soil, management practices and insect

pests. Weather data includes maximum and minimum temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, solar

radiation and wind speed. It is required at daily time step crop growth processes. Crop data includes

crop name, crop phenology, LAI, grain yield above ground biomass, 1000 grain weight. Soil data

includes thickness of soil layer, pH, EC, N, P, K, Soil organic carbon, soil texture, sand and clay

percent, soil moisture, field capacity, and wilting point of soil and bulk density. Crop management

data like date of sowing of crop is required to initiate the simulation process. Generally sowing date

is taken as the start time for the simulation. In case of transplanted rice, date of transplanting is used

instead of sowing date. Seed rate and depth of seeding are also required. Use of inputs in the crop

field, namely, irrigation, fertilizer, manure, crop residue etc. needs to be mentioned. Amount of these

inputs are specified along with their type, date of application and depth of placement. If crop residues

or organic nutrient source are applied in the field then C: N ratio of those sources are quantified. Pest

data includes name and type of pest, their mode of attack, pest population at different crop growth

stages. Data on insects or pests are included only in those models which contains the pest module

(Oteng-Darko et al., 2013).

Steps in modelling:

a) Define goals: Agricultural system is complex comprising of various disciplines. In order to

develop or understand a crop model one requires strong knowledge base of different subjects.

b) Define system and its boundaries: In agriculture, crop field is chosen as a system. It can either be

a fallow land or a cultivated field. The crop field chosen along with its surroundings has to be

demarcated from others to reduce error and increasing the accuracy of the modelling process.

c) Define key variable in the system: Variables include state, rate, driving and auxiliary variables.

State variables are those which can be measured or quantified, e.g. soil moisture content, crop yield

etc. Rate variables are the rates of different processes operating in a system, e.g. photosynthesis rate,

transpiration rate. Driving variables are the variables which are not part of the system but the affect

the system, e.g. sunshine, rainfall. Auxillary variables are the intermediate products, e.g. dry matter

partitioning, water stress etc. these variables are identified in the crop field. After identification of

these variables relationship among different variables is determined and a relational diagramme is

drawn (Fig. 1.). This helps in better understanding of the whole process.

d) Quantify the relationship: Once the relationship is established, it is then quantified using

different mathematical equations and functions.

Soil

Climate

Plant

Management

M

O

D

E

L

Crop

Yield


e) Calibration or validation: When the model is developed, it requires calibration and validation.

First the model is run with any experimental data set and calibrated accordingly. Calibrated model is

then validated with another experimental data set to check its simulation ability under different

situations or environment.

f) Sensitivity analysis: Validated model is then tested for its sensitivity to different factors (e.g.

temperature, rainfall, N dose) to check the responsiveness of the model to the changing factors.

g) Simplification: Any model is initially written in computer programming languages. But they are

made simple by making it user friendly.

h) Use of models in decision support: Once developed, calibrated and validated any model can be

used in any decision support system for forecasting or making suitable decisions regarding crop

management.

Fig 3. Factors determining the crop production

Types of models

Statistical models: These models express the relationship between yield or yield components and

weather parameters. In these models relationships are measured in a system using statistical

techniques. Example: Step down regressions, correlation, etc.

Mechanistic models: These models explain not only the relationship between weather parameters

and yield, but also the mechanism of these models (explains the relationship of influencing

dependent variables). These models are based on physical selection.

Deterministic models: These models estimate the exact value of the yield or dependent variable.

These models also have defined coefficients.

Stochastic models: A probability element is attached to each output. For each set of inputs different

outputs are given along with probabilities. These models define yield or state of dependent variable

at a given rate.

Dynamic models: Time is included as a variable. Both dependent and independent variables are

having values which remain constant over a given period of time.


Static model: Time is not included as a variable. Dependent and independent variables having values

remain constant over a given period of time.

Simulation models: Simulation is the process of building models and analyzing the system.

Computer models, in general, are a mathematical representation of a real world system. It estimates

agricultural production as a function of weather and soil conditions as well as crop management.

Descriptive model: It defines the behavior of a system in a simple manner. It reflects little or none of

the mechanisms that are the causes of phenomena, consists of more mathematical equations. Eg:

equation derived from successively measured weights of a crop. The equation is helpful to determine

quickly the weight of the crop where no observation was made.

Explanatory model: This consists of quantitative description of the mechanisms and processes that

cause the behavior of the system. To create this model, a system is analyzed and its processes and

mechanisms are quantified separately. The model is built by integrating these descriptions for the

entire system. It contains descriptions of distinct processes such as leaf area expansion, tiller

production etc. Crop growth is a consequence of these processes.

Uses and applications of Crop Growth Models in Agricultural Meteorology/agriculture

Uses:

To solve problems of crop yield variations in agricultural meteorology.

To predict crop performance in regions where the crop has not been grown before or not

grown under optimal conditions.

Evaluation of one or more options that are available: determination of optimum planting date,

determining best cultivars and the evaluation of weather risk and investment decisions

Estimation of potential yield and yield gaps

Environmental impact

G X E interaction (genotype Environment)

Can be used in such applications for regional development and agricultural planning in

developing countries.

Applications:

The EPIC, ALAMANC, CROPSYST, WOFOST, ADEL models are being successfully used

to simulate maize crop growth and yield.

The SORKAM, sormodel, SORGF and ALMANAC models are being used to address

specific tasks of sorghum crop management.

CERES-pearl millet model, CROPSYST, pm-models are being used to study the suitability

and yield simulation of pearl millet genotypes across the globe.

The two most common growth models used in application for cotton are the GOSSYM and

COTONS models.

The PNUTGRO for groundnut, CHIKPGRO for chick pea, WTGROWS for wheat,

SOYGRO for soybean, QSUN for sunflower.

Crop growth modeling and simulation have become accepted tools for agricultural research.

The two popular models that frequently used in agro-meteorological studies are De Wit

School of models and IBSNAT and DSSAT models.

Limitations Crop models

Crop models are not able to give accurate projections because of inadequate understanding of

natural processes and computer power limitation. Moreover, most models are not able to provide


reliable projections of changes in climate variability on local scale, or in frequency of exceptional

events such as storms and droughts. Model performance is limited to the quality of input data.

General Circulatory Models (gcms) have so far not been able to produce reliable projections of

changes in climate variability, such as alterations in the frequencies of drought and storms, even

though these could significantly affect crop yields

LIMITATIONS OF MODELING (Developing model)

Input data: models require large amount of input data, which may not be available with the

user

Skilled man power

Knowledge of computer and computer language

Limited awareness and acceptance towards modeling

Multidisciplinary knowledge

No model can take into account all the existing complexity of biological systems. Hence

simulation results have errors

A model is a tool for improving critical thought, not substitute for it

Models can help formulate hypothesis and improve efficiency of experiments, but they do not

eliminate the need for continued experimentation

Models developed for a specific region cannot be used as such in another region. Proper

parameterization and calibration are needed before using a model

Various kinds of models such as statistical, mechanistic, deterministic, stochastic, dynamic,

static, simulations are in use for assessing and predicting crop growth and yield. Crop growth

model is a very effective tool for predicting possible impacts of climatic change. on crop growth

and yield. These models are useful for solving various practical problems in agriculture in the

future.



Is Biological Pest Control an Alternative for Chemical control…?

Prathamesh Pandharinath Thorat

Student of College of Agriculture, Sonai. Affiliated to MPKV, Rahuri, Maharashtra

E-mail: [email protected]

Last month the Indian government prepared a draft to ban few widely used pesticides for

being harmful to the health of humans and animals. However many of the manufacturers claim that

their products are not so harmful. What about that? Anyway. Why not we move towards the

biocompatible pesticides? It is safer for farmers, crops, and indirectly the environment. So today's

need is spreading awareness about biocontrol management.

In the year 1919, the first time coined the term ''biological control'' by Harry Scott Smith for

in the meeting of the American Association of Economic Entomologists in Riverside, California.

Biological control is a method of controlling pests such as insects, mites, weeds, plant diseases, etc.

using the influence of other organisms. Biological control is maintaining another organism's

population density by the action of parasites, predators, or pathogens. The benefit of biocontrol is

Highly economical, Selective with no side effects, Self-propagating and self-perpetuating, No

harmful effects on humans, livestock's and other organisms, Virtually permanent, Efficiency, greater

ability to search their prey, Improved quality of produce, Compatible with most of the IPM

components.

Methods of biological control

There are three biological pest control strategies: importation, augmentation, and conservation.

Importation: It is the process of the introduction of natural enemies to a new environment area

where they do not occur naturally. When they are established in the new geographical area, they

multiply and reproduce and help to control pests. Rodolia cardinalis ( Vedalia beetle) was imported

from Australia to California and show result successfully controlling the cottony cushion scale.

Augmentation: The process of rearing and releasing natural enemies like parasites, predators, or

parasitoids to add to the number of naturally occurring enemies.

There are two approaches to augmentation:--

1. Inoculative releases :- In this method, a large number of individuals are liberated only once in a

season and are expected to reproduce within the population. Thus, it is expected from the offspring

and their subsequent generation to control the pest's population.

2. Inundative releases:- This method comprises mass multiplication and occasional release of natural

enemies when the population of pests approaches damaging levels. Natural enemies are not expected

to Reproduce and multiply in number. Hence control can be achieved through releasing them

periodically when the pest population reaching a damaging level.

Conservation

Most important stage of biological control pest. We have to Conserve Natural enemies that

are already present in the environment and prevent the use of chemical control which is harmful to

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them. Pesticides are not target specific and kill beneficial insects and pathogens as well as pests.

Rapid use of pesticides may create resistance and resurgence in pests and leads to outbreaks of

secondary pests that were initially suppressed. Many rare beneficial parasites, predators are

conserving by reducing the pesticide use after releasing the biocontrol agent in the field later on his

Progeny have to conserve and make Mass multiplication and use again. Some naturally occurring

predators like lady beetles, praying mantis, spiders, lacewings, etc are conserved by the growing

flower plants and ground cover.

Biological control Agents Predator: - an organism that feeds on another organism i.e prey which may be smaller or weaker

than itself. Normally predator is larger than its prey.

Characteristics of predator have evolved a variety of physical adaptations for detecting, catching,

killing, and digesting prey.

Few Examples are presented in below given table.

Species Host Field rate

Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Aphids, Scales, Mealy bugs, Eggs of

lepidopteron

3000-4000/ha

Rodalia cardinalis

*Data taken from Agricultural Pests of South Asia and Their

Management book

Fig; Cryptolaemus montrouzieri feed on mealy bug

Parasitoid: It is an Insect parasite, which completes its larval stage within the host and ultimately

kills the host and comes out as an adult.

Characteristics of Parasitoid: Host searching capacity, Host specificity, Universal adaptability,

Dispersal ability, Amenability to mass culture, Ability to withstand competition, Ability to

outnumber the pest, Survival capacity. Few Examples are presented in below given table. Source:

Agricultural Pests of South Asia and Their Management book.

Species Host Stage Field rate

Trichogramma

chilonis

Eggs of sugarcane

internodes borer,

cotton bollworm,

rice leaf folder

Egg Parasitoid 1.50-2.50 Lakh/ha

Goniozus nephanidis Coconut Black-

Headed Caterpillar

Larval Parasitoid 15-20/plant


Fig.T.chilonis

Microbial agents

Defined as control of pests by use of microorganisms like viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi,

and nematodes, which kill their host.

Fungi: They act as parasites of insects and ultimately kill or disable them.Some Examples are shown

below.

fungi Target host dosage

Metarhizium anisopliae Coleopterans, soil

inhibiting pests, BPH,

Grasshopper

1-2 kg/ac spray

Beauveria bassiana Lepidopteron,

Coleopterans, leaf

hoppers, plant hoppers,

whiteflies

0.4-1.0 kg/ac Foliar

spray

Verticillium lecanii coffee green scale 0.4-1.0 kg/ac Foliar

spray

Mites 1-5 g/ l of water

*Data taken from Agricultural Pests of South Asia and Their Management book

Bacteria: Bacteria used for biological control infect insects via their digestive tracts. So the offer

only limited options for controlling insects with sucking mouthparts such as aphids and scale insects.

Some examples: Bacillus thuringiensis host rage is Caterpillars, black flies, wax moths, beetles.

Viruses: - Some viruses are specific to individual insect host species and be useful in biological pest

control. Some Examples are as follow;

Virus Host

NPV Gypsy moth ,caterpillars

HaNPV H. armigera

*Data taken from Agricultural Pests of South Asia and Their Management book

These are some biological agents for controlling pests of crops. There so many biocontrol

agents available for different pests, by the use of these bioagents we will minimize the chemical

usage.


Advantages:-

Exploitation for pest control is environmental safety due to host specificity.

Microorganisms have natural capability of causing epizootic levels due to their persistence in

soil and efficient transmission.

Compatible with chemicals insecticides.

The cost of development and registration of microbial insecticide is much less than that of

chemical insecticide.

Large scale culture and application is relatively easy and inexpensive.

No resistant development.

Limitations:-

Incompatibility with conventional pesticides is also a major problem

Biological control is sometimes unpredictable. Its unpredictability lies mostly in the fact that

natural enemies are significantly dependent on environmental conditions.

It works slowly process. It requires a lot of time for the biological agents to act upon pests.

A lot of research is required in the biological pest control field for a particular pest.

Biological pest control causes delays due to the presence of alternative hosts.

Availability of bio-agents.

Summary

The farmers lose the significant part of their income arising from crop and produce due to

sudden outbreak, environmental changes, the resistance created in the pest, and so on…. But these

problems occur due to the excessive use of chemicals, hybrid varieties, and climate change; hence

we have to think of an alternative to the pest control management practices. The biological pest

control may be alternative to chemical to some extent; the various methods of biological control

should be adopted in Indian agriculture. Farmer is unaware of the biological management practices,

these management practices are helpful to control the pest.

For the "doubling the farmer's income" government initiative, biological pest control will be

helpful because it reduces the cost of production. Biological pest control is safe for environmentally

as well as human life. Crop protection plays important role in the increase in farm income,

production and avoids losses by using both chemicals and biological control on the farm. Biological

control helps to reduce the resistance of pest against chemicals, resurgence and increase the yield;

hence biological control is the supplementary to chemical control.

Biological Control has vital importance concerning environmental safety. But these methods

are not suitable solely managing pests or diseases because due to several challenges that our

agriculture is facing such as sudden climatic changes, development of new pests, a major outbreak of

pests, etc. Hence we cannot completely rely on biological control as it is a slow process and requires

large amounts of time thus cannot give immediate effects. So cannot be said that chemical means of

control should not be used at all. Chemical control is needed in cases where immediate control over

pests is needed, when the population of pest reaches at Economic Threshold Level (ETL), on pest

which cannot be controlled with help of biological control, and in many more of such cases.

Biological control doesn't leave any residue, doesn't harm soil and environment, and does not create

resistance in pests. So due to some limitations, biological control needs to be used as a

supplementary with compatible chemicals for efficient control.



Integration of GIS and Remote Sensing for Evaluating

Forest Canopy Density Index

Trupti Ranjan Sahoo

MSc, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India


The forest is a complex ecosystem consisting mainly of trees that buffer the earth and support

a myriad of life forms. The trees help create a special environment which, in turn, affects the kinds of

animals and plants that can exist in the forest. Trees are an important component of the environment.

They clean the air, cool it on hot days, conserve heat at night, and act as excellent sound absorbers.

Forests can develop wherever the average temperature is greater than 10 °C in the warmest

month and rainfall exceeds 200 mm annually. In any area having conditions above this range there

exists a variety of tree species grouped into a number of forest types that are determined by the

specific conditions of the environment there, including the climate, soil, geology, and biotic activity.

Forests can be broadly classified into types such as the taiga (consisting of pines, spruce, etc.), the

mixed temperate forests (with both coniferous and deciduous trees), the temperate forests, the sub-

tropical forests, the tropical forests, and the equatorial rainforests. The six major groups of forest in

India are moist tropical, dry tropical, montane sub tropical, montane temperate, sub alpine, and

alpine. These are subdivided into 16 major types of forests.

India has a long history of traditional conservation and forest management practices. Under

British rule, forest management systems were set in place mainly to exploit forests. Nonetheless,

there were some attempts to conserve forests and meet the needs of local communities. The Indian

National Forest Policy of 1894 provided the impetus to conserve India’s forests wealth with the

prime objectives of maintaining environmental stability and meeting the basic needs of the fringe

forests user-groups. Consequently, forests were classified into four broad categories, namely forests

for preservation of environmental stability, forests for providing timber supplies, forests for minor

forest produce, and pasture lands. While the first two categories were declared as reserve forests, the

rest were designated as protected forests and managed in the interests of the local communities.

Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from the carbonaceous waste of various human and

natural activities. It is derived from numerous sources, including the by-products from the timber

industry, agricultural crops, raw material from the forest, major parts of household waste and wood.

Biomass does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon in

growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel. Its advantage is that it can be used to generate

electricity with the same equipment or power plants that are now burning fossil fuels. Biomass is an

important source of energy and the most important fuel worldwide after coal, oil and natural gas.

Traditional use of biomass is more than its use in modern application. In the developed world

biomass is again becoming important for applications such as combined heat and power generation.

In addition, biomass energy is gaining significance as a source of clean heat for domestic heating and

community heating applications. In fact in countries like Finland, USA and Sweden the per capita

biomass energy used is higher than it is in India, China or in Asia.

Biomass fuels used in India account for about one third of the total fuel used in the country,

being the most important fuel used in over 90% of the rural households and about 15% of the urban



households. Over the past few years there is noticeably changes are found in the climate all over the

world. Global warming is a big concern. Here we have taken three National Park from different

states and different climatic conditions in India. The National Park is named as Simillipal Tiger

Reserve Forest. The purpose for choosing these National forest was to consider the area change

which can be seen as we have taken one from North, Central and East India respectively. The

climatic change in Simillipal Tiger Reserve Forest which directly affect the forest in the respective

regions. We can say that there might be the difference in all this regions as Odisha supports hot

region, so this will be more humid is respect to the others. What are the conditions that support the

Vegetation and what type of vegetation are found in the regions. The Variation in the climate in the

regions and the effect of it in the phenology of the area. The National Park we chose are Tiger

reserve indirectly we can link our reading and finding in finding what changes are taking places in

Simillipal Tiger Reserve Forest that are causing the tiger elephant conflict from the past years.

Mapping Forest canopy Density

Satellite remote sensing plays a crucial role in determining, improve and monitor the overall

carrying capacity. The repetitive satellite remote sensing in various spaces times offers the cheapest

means of evaluate the environmental parameters and the impact of Development processes.

Anthropogenic intervention in natural forest reduces the number of trees per unit area and canopy

closure. Satellite remote sensing was reproduced pivotal role in generating information on forest

cover, type of vegetation and changes in land use. Forest cover monitoring is an essential tool for the

sustainable management of natural resources. Forest cover density (FCD) is one of the most useful

indices to consider in planning and implementing the rehabilitation program and is an important


factor in assessing the state of forests and manipulation interventions. Forest cover density mapping

is one of the most useful parameters to consider when planning and executing afforestation and

reforestation programs. The model is synthesized using the three parameters, which include the

Advanced Vegetation Index (AVI), the Bare Soil Index (BSI) and the Canopy Shadow Index (SI).

The Landsat image is processed in the R studio and ArcGIS software to determine the distribution of

FCD in the study area. The objective of this study is to explore the ability of satellite imaging in FCD

assessment to serve resource management. Forest canopy the deck can be mapped using a popular

and efficient method. Vegetation technical difference, i.e. normalized index (NDVI). It can be pixel

based and object oriented classification for high resolution images or sub-pixel for medium

resolution images. When using NDVI, the AVI model is the most effective determine the indexation

of vegetation.

Based on the percentage, each cell was classified into four forest cover density classes: dense

forest density, moderate forest density, low forest density, and non-forest density. The density of a

dense forest responds with an area that has a value of 70 to 100%. Similarly, 40-70%, 10- 40% and

less than 10% received moderate forest density, low forest density and no forest respectively. Central

part the study area falls within the high forest density class and the part of the outer boundary part it

falls within the part of low forest density. In which, the dense forest occupied only a Large area

along the western part of the study area. Most of core area is covered with dense and moderate forest

density. Several small rolling hills have seen in the central part of the study area where the density of

the canopy cover found. But shadow

The effect of the mounds can divert the whole thing classification based on what was the

shade index of the foliage created to remove the shadow effect from the file canopy cover. The bare

soil index was calculated to detect non-forest or bare areas land visible in the photo. This index can it

will also be useful to detect the categories other non-forest areas. All these levels (AVI, BSI, and

SSI) you have been asked to create ads crown density map. The weighted overlay is a file technique

for applying a common measure scale of values at different and dissimilar inputs for create an

integrated analysis.

Geographical problems often require an analysis of many different factors. For example,

delimitation the foliage density map requires several factors such as AVI, BSI and SI, etc. It is

possible to measure crown density more accurately, but needs more parameters like DEM, Slope,

Soil type and others values depending on the environment of Study area. To meet the needs of these

parameters advanced indices were taken into consideration. These indices are the integrated result of

others parameters such as DEM, Slope, etc. How much more parameters used the result will be more

accurate. Therefore, it can be concluded that the foliage density is la integrated result of the various

parameters and therefore can be found more accurate than normal classification scheme. Data from

Landsat 8 was used to estimate large-scale dense forest variations in this study. The forest canopy

density map expressed the forest situation of Similipal Tiger Reserve Forest through the canopy

density level.



Significance of Boron in Fruit Crops

Desai N. B.

PhD Scholar, Department of Agronomy, Anand Agricultural University, Anand- 388 110, Gujarat


India is the second largest producer of fruits after China. During 2018-19, the country

produced 97.97 million tonnes of fruits. A large variety of fruits are grown in India, of which mango,

banana, citrus, guava, grape, pineapple and apple are the major ones. Although, fruits are grown

throughout the country, the major fruits growing states are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,

Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Fruits are rich sources of carbohydrate, protein,

fiber, essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins etc.

Among micronutrients, boron is indispensable for the normal growth and development of

plants. Boron was recognized as an essential plant nutrient by Warington in 1923. Boron deficiency is

second most widespread, hence, it become economically important in horticultural crops. More than

90% of the boron in plants is found in cell walls, and it’s most important role is associated with cell

wall formation, functioning and strength. Boron requirement is much higher during reproductive

growth than vegetative growth in most plant species because high demand of B by reproductive

organs containing pectin. Immobile nature of boron in plant which produced various deficiency

disorders in growing and reproductive parts in fruit crops under its unavailability in soils. The

availability of boron in soils as influenced by many factors like pH, soil texture, soil moisture,

organic matter, type of clay, lime content, quality of irrigation water and nutrient interaction etc.

Therefore, foliar application of boron is best option for fruit crops.

Yield and yield attributes:

Patil (2012) reported that foliar application of borax @ 0.05% at flowering stage and one

month after first spray produced significantly higher flowers/shoot, fruit set, fruits/shoot and fruit

weight, while lower value of fruit drop in sapota. Bhatt et al. (2012) observed that pre- foliar spray of

borax @ 0.5% at marble stage resulted significantly higher values of fruit weight, fruit volume and

field yield as compared to other treatments in mango. Modi et al. (2012) revealed that the application

of borax at 0.3 per cent through three foliar spray at 30, 60 and 90 DAT resulted significantly

increased average fruit weight, fruits/ plant, fruit yield (kg/tree) in papaya. Gurjar et al. (2015)

observed significantly higher fruit retention, no. of fruits/ plant, fruit weight, fruit volume and yield/

plant with spraying of 0.2% boric acid + 0.5% ZnSO4 at fruit set and peach size stage of kinnow

mandarin.

Quality parameters:

Meena et al. (2008) found that twice foliar sprays of 0.9% borax at growth stage and 2nd at

pea stage gave significantly higher TSS, total sugar, reducing sugar, non- reducing sugar and ascorbic

acid content in ber which was also remained statistically at par with foliar sprays of 0.6% borax in

terms of those parameters. Shekar et al. (2010) reported that the combined application of 0.1% borax

with 0.25% CuSO4 + 0.25% MnSO4 at 60 and 90 DAP gave significantly higher TSS, total sugar,

ascorbic acid and lower acidity content in papaya. Nehete et al. (2011) revealed that foliar spray of

1% ZnSO4 + 1% FeSO4 + 0.5% borax at initiation of flowering & at pea stage recorded significantly

higher total sugar, reducing sugar, TSS, ascorbic acid content in mango fruits followed by foliar



spray of 1% borax and 1% ZnSO4 + 1% FeSO4. Yadav et al. (2014) showed that significantly higher

fruit set and lower fruit drop were noted with foliar spray of 0.6% zinc sulphate + 0.6% borax before

flowering and after fruit set in guava.

Nutrient accumulation in plant:

Sajid et al. (2010) found that three foliar spray of 1.0% ZnSO4.7H2O + 0.02% H3BO3 at

before flowering, after fruit set and plum size fruit resulted significantly lower boron deficiency

disorders like die back, chlorosis and rosette in sweet orange, it was also statistically at par with foliar

spray of 0.5% ZnSO4.7H2O + 0.04% H3BO3. Sankar et al. (2013) reported that foliar spray of 0.02%

boric acid significantly increased the content of N, P, K and B (ppm) in mango leaves. Likewise, the

boron content in bael leaves was recorded significantly higher with foliar spraying of 0.6% Borax at

fruit set and 30 days after the first spray (Dhaker et al., 2013).

Summary Among the micronutrients, boron element plays a defensive role for enhancing yield and

quality of fruits crop due to betterment in translocation of photosynthates from source to sink. From

foregoing discussion, it can be concluded that the application of boron either alone or combined with

other micronutrients significantly increased growth, yield attributes and yield as well as improved

quality parameters and nutrient composition in major fruit crops like mango, citrus, guava, papaya,

banana, ber etc. Application of boron through foliar spray during growth to reproductive stages gave

better results in terms of yield and quality of fruit crops than soil application. Boron application may

also reduce boron deficiency symptoms and disorders like chlorosis, rosette, fruit cracking, internal

necrosis, die back, fruit hardening etc. in fruit crops particularly boron deficient soils.

References

Aashiq, M. D., Nautiyal, B. P. and Negi, M. (2017). Effect of zinc and boron application on fruit set,

quality and yield of apple (Mallus domestica Borkh.) cv. Red delicious. Journal of Crop and

Weed, 13(2): 217-221.

Bhatt, A., Mishra, N. K., Mishra, D. S. and Singh, C. P. (2012). Foliar application of potassium,

calcium, zinc and boron enhanced yield, quality and shelf life of mango. HortFlora Research

Spectrum, 1(4): 300-305.

Dhaker, M., Soni, A. K., Yadav, P. K., Chandra, A. and Kumar, H. (2013). Response of different

levels of farm yard manure and boron on growth and yield of beal (Aegle marmelos Corr.).

The Asain Journal of Horticulture, 8(2): 767-771.

Gurjar, M. K., Kaushik, R. A. and Baraily, P. (2015). Effect of zinc and boron on the growth and

yield of kinnow mandarin. International Journal of Scientific Research, 4(4): 2277-

8179.

Meena, V. S., Yadav, P. K. and Bhati, B. S. (2008). Yields attributes of ber (Zyzypus mauritiana

LAMK.) cv. Gola as influenced by foliar application of ferrous sulphate and borax.

Agricultural Science Digest, 28(3): 219-221.

Modi, P. K., Varma, L. R., Bhalerao, P. P., Verma, P. and Khade, A. (2012). Micronutrient spray

effect on growth, yield and quality of papaya (Carica papaya L.). Madras Agricultural

Journal 99(7-9): 500-502.

Nehete, D. S., Padhiar, B. V., Shah, N. I., Bhalerao, P. P., Kolambe, B. N. and Bhalerao, R. R.

(2011). Influence of micronutrient spray on flowering, yield, quality and nutrient content in

leaf of mango cv. Kesar. Asian Journal of Horticulture, 6(1): 63-67.

Patil, A.V. (2012). M.Sc. (Hort.) Thesis (published). Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh.


Sajid, M., Rab, A., Ali, N., Arif, M., Ferguson, L. and Ahmed, M. (2010). Effect of foliar application

of Zn abd B on fruit production and physiological disorders in sweet orange cv. Blood orange.

Sarhad Journal of Agriculture,26(3): 355-360.

Sankar, C., Saraladevi, D. and Parthiban, S. (2013). Effect of foliar application of micronutrients and

sorbitol on fruit quality and leaf nutrient status of mango cv. Alphanso. Asian Journal of

Horticulture, 8(2): 714-719.

Shekhar, C., Yadav, A. L., Singh, H. K. and Singh, M. K. (2010). Influence of micronutrient on plant

growth, yield and quality of papaya fruit (Carica papaya L.) cv. Washington. Asian Journal

of Horticulture, 5(2): 326-329.

Yadav, R. K., Ram, R. B., Kumar, V., Meena, M. L. and Singh, H. D. (2014). Impact of

micronutrient on fruit set and fruit drop of winter season guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv.

Allahabad safeda. Indian Journal of Science and Technology,7(9): 1451-1453.



Quality Breeding in Bulbous Vegetables

Ramavath Ramesh Babu* and Basavaraj T.

PhD Research scholar, Division of Vegetable science, University of Horticultural Sciences,

Bagalkot, Karnataka


Quality refers to the suitability or fitness of an economic plant product in relation to its end

use. Quality is the degree of excellence for a specific use or to serve a specific purpose. A trait that

defines some aspect of produce quality is called quality trait (Singh, 2016).

Bulb crops are important vegetables known for their nutritional, therapeutic, medicinal and

processing qualities. Quality improvement is an important component in nutritional security; it is of

prime importance for the consumers and processing industries. Therefore, improving quality through

suitable breeding approach is an important task.

Classification of quality traits:

1. Morphological Quality Traits: It is related to produce appearance. It includes size, shape, surface

and colour of produce. It is easily observable. It has main role in determining consumer acceptance

of the produce.

2. Organoleptic Quality Traits: It is related to palatability of the produce. It includes taste, aroma,

smell, juciness, softness. It is easily detected. It is important in influencing consumer preferences.

3. Nutritional Quality Traits: It determines the value of produce in human nutrition. It includes

protein, oil, vitamin and mineral content also the presence of anti-nutritional factors. It is not easily

detectable but important in determining the human health.

4. Biological Quality Traits: It is actual usefulness of the produce. It includes protein efficiency

ratio, biological value, body weight gain. It is valuable in determining the utility of produce for

consumption.

5. Undesirable Traits: Doubles/splitters, sprouting, bolting (Singh, 2016).

Breeding approaches to improve the quality: • Clonal selection

• Genetic variability is an important prerequisite for improvement of a crop.

• Mass selection

• Recurrent selection

• Hybridization

• Biotechnological applications (Ram, 2012)

Onion:

• It is one of the important bulb vegetable.

• Rich source of vitamin C, iron, phosphorous, calcium and fructans

• Pungency-allyl propyl disulphide

• Red colour varieties are more pungent followed by brown, yellow and white.

• It contains different pigments and they are responsible for different colours viz.,

Red-anthocyanin, yellow-querectin

Quality parameters:

• Longer bulb storage life

• Single centered bulbs



• Bulb shape, colour and size varies according to consumers preference

• Pungency and TSS

• Firm bulbs

• Free from splitters and bolters

• Dormancy- to extend the storage life

• High antioxidants

Quality parameters for dehydration:

• Pure white globose shaped bulbs (5-7.5 cm diameter)

• Small and tight necked with short root zone

• Thin neck


• Low ratio of reducing to non-reducing sugars

• High pungency and TSS (15-20%)

• Drying ratio (6:1)

• Wider seasonal adaptability

• Long storage capacity

• Not less than 80% moisture

• Resistant to storage pests and diseases

• Free from greening

Quality parameters for export:

• Bigger sized bulbs (>60 mm diameter)


• Less pungency

• High TSS

• Uniform in shape, size and colour

• Free from splitters and bolters (Ram, 2012)

Character Gene symbol

Bulb colour

Red ii, CC, RR ii, Cc, RR ii, CC, Rr ii, Cc, Rr

Yellow ii, CC, rr ii, Cc, rr

White ii, cc, RR ii, cc, rr ii, cc,Rr II,--,-- Ii,--,--

Bulb size

(weight, diameter) Polygenes and additive gene action

Dry matter content Poly genes, additive gene action

Bulb shape non additive gene action

TSS non additive gene action

Garlic:

• It has higher nutritive value than other bulb vegetables.

• Rich source of carbohydrates, protein, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium and

phosphorous.


• Flavour-diallyl disulphide

• It consists of a compound called allicin.

Quality parameters:

• Longer bulb storage life

• Larger bulb size

• White coloured bulbs

• High pungency

• Firm bulbs with compact cloves

• Free from splitters and bolters

• High dry matter and TSS (Ram, 2012)

Summary

Breeding for quality improvement provide more consumer acceptance and satisfaction which

in turn enable producer to get good return. Nutritional improvement along with yield is important to

combat micronutrient deficiency and malnutrition. There are cultivars developed in bulb vegetables

for quality attributes viz., dehydration purpose (Pusa White Flat and Arka Yojith), export purpose

(Arka Pitamber and Arka Sona) in onion and Agrifound Parvathi and Yamuna Safed-1 in garlic. In

future more emphasis must be given for multi-nutrient rich variety and also to have more quality

attributes in one variety along with yield.

References:

1. Dixit, V. and Chaudhary, B. R., 2014, Colchicine-induced tetraploidy in garlic (Allium

sativum L.) and its effect on allicin concentration. J. Hortic. Sci. Biotechnol., 89(5): 585-591.

2. Eady, C. C., Kamoi, T., Kato, M., Porter, N. G., Davis, S., Shaw, M., Kamoi, A. and Imai, S.,

2008, Silencing onion lachrymatory factor synthase causes a significant change in the sulfur

secondary metabolite profile. Plant Physiol., 147:2096-2106.

3. Kato, M., Masamura, N., Shono, J., Okamoto, D., Abe, T. and Imai, S., 2016, Production and

characterization of tearless and non-pungent onion. Sci. Rep., 6:1-8.

4. Mahajan, V. and Gupta, A. J., 2016, Breeding white onion varieties for processing under

short day conditions of India. Acta Hort., 1143: 303– 309.

5. Ram, H.H., 2012, Vegetable Breeding (Principles and Practices). Kalyani Publishers, New

Delhi, 512-538.

6. Sandhu, S. S., Brar, P. S. and Dhall, R. K., 2015, Variability of agronomic and quality

characteristics of garlic (Allium sativum L.) ecotypes. SABRAO J. Breed. Genet., 47(2): 133-

142.

7. Singh, B. D., 2016, Plant Breeding (Principles and Methods). Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi,

527-558.



Significance of Drones in Precision Agriculture

U. B. Zalavadiya* and R. N. Vasoya

PG Scholar, Department of Soil and Water Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and

Technology, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh-362001, Gujarat, India


Drone or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is upcoming technology in the field of

agricultural sector. Agriculture drones are introduced for spraying, mapping, sensing, and managing

the farm which can improve the efficiency of agriculture. Drones are more popular for the precise

application of liquid pesticide, fertilizer and herbicide to crops using spraying applications.

Agricultural drones with sensors and digital imaging capabilities (Multi-spectral and hyper-spectral

aerial and satellite imagery) give farmers a richer picture of crops grown on their field. The analytics

of the image data can provide the farmers with time and specific information regarding crop under

stress, growth bottlenecks, and pest or disease attack on the crop for easy decision making. Drones

are also increasingly used in the agricultural insurance and assessment sector, including in insurance

claims forensics. According to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International

(AUVSI), agriculture is expected to account for about 80% of all commercial UAVs and is predicted

to have an $80 billion economic impact within the next ten years. Therefore, it is necessary to create

awareness about this advanced technology.

Introduction

DRONE (Dynamic Remotely Operated Navigation Equipment) provide eyes in the sky. The

flying drone makes a noise like a flying male honey bee that is why it is called a drone. Drones are

also known as UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) or RPVs (Remotely Piloted Vehicles), which

operate without a human pilot on board. Initially, UAVs are commonly used in both military and

police forces in situations where the risk of sending a human piloted aircraft is unacceptable, or the

situation makes using a manned aircraft impractical. In modern times drones are gaining popularity

in day to day mapping applications. Drone technology is one of the many promising technologies

that will eventually have a huge impact on education, agriculture, weather forecasting, healthcare,

disaster management, defense, and other sectors.

Drones are the latest platform to collect precision agricultural data. Drones are a tool in the

implementation of precision agriculture strategies: Know the precise time, location, and precise

action to be taken to maximize the yield. Drones capture ultra high detailed data as they fly below

the clouds, which are much more detailed as satellite imagery. Drones can take on remote monitoring

and analysis of fields and crops. It can achieve results much more quickly than traditional methods

while reducing the amount of labour. It can help farmers know precisely where to apply pesticides

and fertilizers when needed and assist with water and disease management. It will also reduce the

drudgery of farmworkers. It can be used to survey crops on a more frequent basis. Autopilot, GPS

functionality, and auto return home features add to the ease of use. It can significantly enhance risk

and damage assessments and revolutionize the way we prepare for and respond to disasters that

affect the livelihoods of vulnerable farmers and the country’s food security.



Major Applications of Drones in Agriculture

Crop Health Monitoring:

Agriculture is the most promising area, where drones have the potential to address major

challenges. UAVs can help farmers get a more detailed view of their crop using infrared, thermal,

multi-spectral, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) sensors to assist with early

detection of any health issues. For example, near-infrared sensors can identify stress in plants up to

10 days before it can be perceived at eye level. They can also obtain data such as sunlight absorption

rates and transpiration rates. Farmers can identify issues earlier and quickly resolve them. Inefficient

crop monitoring is a huge obstacle. With drones, time series animations can show the development

of a crop and reveal production inefficiencies, enabling better management. You can calculate the

index that works best with your crop and generate specific classifications and prescriptions to better

manage your field. You can optimize inputs such as fertilizers and improve irrigation efficiency and

water management. By scanning a crop using both visible and near-infrared light, drone carried

devices can help track changes in plants and indicate their health, and alert farmers to disease.

Nowadays many startups have come forward for crop health monitoring and assessment using drones

in field of agriculture.

Crop Spraying:

Spraying by drones is very precise and accurate and also avoids excessive use of liquids. It

saves the environment and money. For spraying purpose capacity wise agriculture drone models are

available in 5, 7, 10, 15, and 20 liters. The Drone can be used for herbicide, insecticide/pesticide,

fungicide, and nutritional spraying purposes. No direct human contact of pesticides during spraying

by drones so it saves life and avoids other casualties. 80 to 90% water saving achieve as in traditional

method 1 Acre of farm needs at least 150 liters (10 pumps) of water, whereas drone covers 1 Acre in

just 10 liters. It saves farmers time to a great extend as the drone can spray 1-2 Acre farm land in just

15-20 minutes (Two flights of 10 liter drone). Agricultural drones can fly up to 20 m (60 feet)

vertically and 3 km horizontally, any heightened crop can spray with any density. Drones can scan

the ground, spraying in real time for even coverage. The result of aerial spraying is five times faster

with drones than traditional machinery. Drone powered aerial spraying of pods with seeds and plant

nutrients into the soil supplies necessary supplements for plants, also the drones can be programmed

to atomize liquids by regulating the distance from the ground surface depending on the terrain.


Crop Scouting:

Farmers can avoid the painstaking process of traditional crop scouting. With drones,

continuous monitoring of agricultural lands can be done easily. Drones are capable to be used as a

scouting tool to continuously monitor the crops. The high resolution images are a great source to

monitor the growth as well as weeds. Drone images provide high resolution data where farmers can

identify anomalies of their agriculture lands precisely. Farmers can identify diseases, insects, weeds,

crop progress, crop stress, etc. using a drone in crop scouting. Drones can survey a crop every week

or every day that combined to create a time series, which shows the change in the crop, revealing

trouble spots or opportunities for better crop management. In case of infected plants, by scanning

crops in both RGB (Red Green Blue) and infrared light, potential multi-spectral images can be

generated using drone devices. Through this individual and the specific cluster of plants infected in

any region of the field can be spotted and supplied with remedies at once.

Land Management:

Drone images not only provide data for visualization but it can be processed to accurate

Digital Surface Model (DSM) which represent the elevation. The elevation data can be used to aid

land management decisions. Replanting decisions, drainage issues, and seeding rates can be done by

using drones during land management. Determining plant density and identifying canopy gaps is

crucial for good plantation management; this helps predict yields and to maximize the yield by

refilling planting gaps. Images taken from drones allow accurate plant counts and the identification

of plant mortality for several hundreds of hectares per day. By producing precise 3D maps for early

soil analysis, drones can play a role in planning seed planting and gathering data for managing

irrigation and nitrogen levels.

Water Management:

The drone has the potential to estimate evapotranspiration and plant water status at high

spatial resolution. UAV can be a potential tool for applying the site specific irrigation management.

Data from UAV can be used to validate and calibrate the Remote Sensing Energy Balance (RSEB)

models. UAV can be used to determine plant water status for several crop species. An exciting

scientific-technical challenge will be to combine this technology with an approach that would allow

us to estimate chlorophyll fluorescence as a proxy for Water Use Efficiency (WUE) at the crop scale.

Sensor drones can identify which parts of a field are dry or need improvement. UAVs are highly

useful and adapted tools for precision agriculture and water irrigation management. UAVs can be

also used for planning, monitoring, and evaluation of watershed management.

Tracing Plantation Lines:

Plantation like sugarcane needs their planting lines along the contours of a field’s slope to

avoid erosion and improve natural irrigation on hillside fields. But the process of mapping these

contours lines is labour intensive, usually taking several days on the tractor. Drone generated contour

maps are a faster, safer method for tracing planting lines. Drones provide every accurate elevation

data of the ground, which eliminates labour intensive surveying methods and speeding up the whole

process in about 75%. Startups have created drone-planting systems that decrease planting costs by

85%. These systems shoot pods with seeds and nutrients into the soil, providing all the nutrients

necessary for growing crops.


Biomass Estimation:

Data collected by drones, when used with an accurate terrain models, can accurately measure

biomass and heights of select species in monoculture plantations. Because of their low cost and

potential for rapid development, drones overcome the cost and time barriers often associated with

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and field inventories.

Integrated GIS Mapping:

Farmland can be mapped to produce highly precise, geo-referenced 2D maps and 3D models.

The photographs can be used with a Geographic Information System (GIS) to provide a more

detailed analysis. As well, using UAV is a lot cheaper than satellite imagery and the photos are at a

higher resolution. The multi-spectral images taken from the drone cameras blend hyper-spectral

images with 3D scanning techniques to define the spatial information system employed for acres of

farm land. This renders guidance throughout the lifecycle of the plant as a temporal component. It

also provides control over when, how, and where the images are collected.

Summary and Scope

Drones are light and small aerial vehicles they may fly at extremely high altitudes and carry

various navigation systems or recording devices such as RGB camera, infrared camera, multi-

spectral camera, and other sensors. Due to their ability to deploy various sensors and capture high

resolution and low cost images of current crop conditions, drones are very useful in farming. Remote

sensing indices are currently being tested and improved to propose proxies that reflect crop’s

physiological status under changing environmental conditions. These remote sensing physiological

estimations, coupled with UAVs flying capacity could allow for a more user-friendly tool for plant

diagnostics. Drone based crop monitoring could allow for further crop management, perhaps, even in

combination with ground sensors or Smartphone Apps, not only for crop productivity, but also for

crop quality. Such Drone based solutions in agriculture sector have a lot of implications like dealing

with adverse climatic conditions, productivity gains, precision farming and crop yield management.

Crop monitoring and crop health assessment prevail as one of the most important domains in

agriculture to offer drone based solutions in coactions with computer vision technology and AI

(Artificial Intelligence). Drones with high resolution cameras gather precision field images which

can flow through convolution neural network to detect areas with weeds, individual crops requiring

more water, the plant stress level in various growth stages. This enables fusion of these image data

and features identification parameters for plant stress recognition.

In agriculture, there is a quick adaptation to drone technology in its various farming

operations. Drone technology is giving agriculture a high-tech makeover. UAVs may one day consist

of autonomous swarms of drones, collecting data, and performing tasks. The biggest obstacle to that

becoming a reality is sensors capable of collecting high quality data and number crunching software

that can make that high-tech dream a reality. Agricultural drones can be available and commercially

viable in ownership as well as in lease mode. Drone companies like Precision Hawk offer packages

to farmers which include robotic hardware and analysis software. Recently The Union Ministry of

Agriculture said that India is the first country in the world to control locust attacks by using drones

after finalizing the protocols and getting all statutory approvals. Farming solutions which are drone

technology powered enables a farmer to do more with less, enhancing the quality, also ensuring a

quick digital strategy for crop security.


Conclusion

Drones allow farmers to precisely analyze their farms, accurately predict their yield, and take

immediate measures if the crop condition as not as expected. By using precise technology, farmers

can optimize both farm productivity and profitability based on real time field information thus

protecting the environment, which can be a turning point to success. The future of farming in the

times to come is largely reliant on adapting cognitive solutions. Overall it proves that drones have a

great potential to be used as a tool for precision agriculture.

References

Bonneau, V. and Copigneaux, B. (2017). Industry 4.0 in agriculture: Focus on IoT aspects.

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/dem/monitor/content/industry-40-agriculture-

focus-iot-aspects

Clercq, M., Vats, A. and Biel, A. (2018). Agriculture 4.0: The Future of Farming Technology.

https://www.worldgovernmentsummit.org/observer/reports/2018/agriculture-4.0-the-future-

of-farming-technology

Dharmaraj, V. and Vijayanand, C. (2018). Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Agriculture. International

Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences 7(12): 2122-2128.



Fertigation: An effective tool in agriculture

Harmanjot Kaur*, Antul Kumar and Anuj Choudhary

Ph. D Scholar, Department of Botany, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana: 141004, Punjab


Due to climate change conditions, there are various biotic and abiotic stresses, which

drastically affects the nutritional quality of crop. One of the main goal of agronomists, horticulturists,

physiologists, soil scientists, geneticists and plant breeders is to enhance food production as well as

quality. Fertigation is an emerging tool in increasing crop productivity along with lesser consumption

of nutrients as well as water with no pollution is emphasized. It is an advanced and efficient method

of fertilization, whose main objective is to provide nutrients in balanced state in agricultural crops.

This method is very suitable in commercial agriculture for obtaining huge profit as well as yield.

Introduction

For ensuring food security worldwide, fertile and productive soils are two most important

factors which are responsible from ancient times. Healthy soil act as the central pillar of ecosystem,

which not only ensure growth of plants but provides source of food, fibre and feed for animals, along

with water and energy security. Soil fertility is defined as potential of soil to supply essential

nutrients to plants in balanced proportion at correct time according to requirement of crop (Singh and

Singh, 2015).As the rapid increase in industrialization and increasing population, the cultivation land

area is decreasing which is threat for food security (Oliver and Gregory, 2015).

There is urgent need of hour to supply enough food among growing world population by

using high yielding varieties along with improved water and fertilizer use efficiency. For this,

precision farming was initiate for improving fertilizer use efficiency using new developed

technologies. Protection cultivation and precision farming are two major components play major role

in increasing the crop productivity from the decreasing cropped area with high water and fertilizer

use efficiency utilizing latest technologies.

The major objective in fertigation is to assure a proper nutrient balance among various

vegetables or fruit crops. In this, there is application of nutrients directly at the active root zone site.

This method also helps in saving water and increasing the quality of crops. There are various

methods like sprinkler, surface as well as drip irrigation through which fertigation can be practiced

which are shown in fig 1.

What is fertigation?

The main aim in precision farming is to have maximum possible use efficiency of applied

inputs especially water and fertilizers. In fertigation, fertilizers are dissolved in appropriate

concentrations in water and applied via irrigated water using micro irrigation systems. This method

is known as fertigation, in which the nutrients as well as water are suppliedat proper time in the root

zone so that maximum absorption of applied nutrients and water is ensured to achieve more crop per

drop of water. A wide range of fertilizer products are suitable for fertigation depending on their



physico chemical properties. The fertilizers which are in solid state are comparatively less expensive.

According to Kafkafi and Tarchitzky (2011) there are four major factors that are needed to be

considered for selecting fertilizers for purpose of fertigation :

i. Plant type and its growth stage

ii. Soil conditions

iii. Quality of water

iv. Availibility of fertilizers and its price

During selection of fertilizers, it should be considered that they possesshigh purity and solubility,

along with low salt levels and with an acceptable pH which is suitable for farm management program

in terms of cost also.

Need and essentiality of fertigation

The uneven growth is seen in fertilizer consumption across states and crops culminating in

inadequate and imbalanced fertilizer application often resulted in increased use of fertilizer and

dependence on import of fertilizers. Further the decline in crop response to applied fertilizer due to

imbalanced fertilizer application weakens the relationship between fertilizer use and yield potential.

This also attenuates the need for balanced application of fertilizer in water soluble form as per the

stage wise requirement of the crop in the active root zone in order to achieve maximum use

efficiency of both water and fertilizer (NCPAH, GOI, 2017).

Benefits of fertigation:

It ensures the efficient use of water.

It improves nutrient use efficiency as well as application of fertilizers will be more uniform

(Fig 2).

There will be immediate supply of nutrients to plants.

Fertilizers can be supplied at those growth stages, whenever nutrient demand is maximum.

It provides better quality and high yield in crops.

Prevents loss of fertilizers via leaching, volatilization in the soil.

Decrease the weed growth and plant diseases.

Lessens the ground water pollution.

Precautions for fertigation:

The fertilizers should be fully dissolved in waterbefore fertigation.

The selected fertilizers should be fullycompatible with each other.

The quality of irrigation water should beproperly checked and managed before mixing.

Incorrect application may lead to salinityproblem, crop damage, leaching of nutrients

andpollution of ground water.

The time needed to distribute the fertilizershould be less than the time needed to

supplyenough water to the field; otherwise salinity mayarise.

Over irrigation should be avoided.


The ratio NH4/NO3 of nitrogen sources should be such as to have a nitrogen mixture with

80% of nitrates and 20% of ammonium to regulate pH

Conclusion and future prospective:

The economic use of fertilizers and water for realizing the potential yield and for sustainable

agriculture is the need for the hour. This is required to harvest more quantity produce with a

competitive price which can be planned for seasons of high demand under protected cultivation

system. The efficient use of water and fertilizers for more yield per unit area is necessary for food

security and for keeping the soil and water in a pollution free environment. Fertigation is not an

alternate way but the need of the hour and the best way to realize the potential yield with highest

fertilizer and water efficiency and with minimum pollution with more control over factors of

productivity.

Fig. 1. Devices used for implementation of fertigation


Fig. 2. Diagramatic representation of irrigation and water use efficiency suggested by water

technology centre, TNAU

Figure 3 Examples of plant cultivation using fertigation in green house

References

1. Singh, B. & Singh, Y. (2015). Soil Fertility: Evaluation and Management. In. Rattan, R.K. Katyal,

J.C. Dwivedi, B. S. Sarkar, A. K. Bhattacharya, T., Tarafdar, J. C. Kukal, S.S.(Eds). Soil

Science: an Introduction. Indian Society of Soil Science., New Delhi. pp. 649-669.


2. Oliver, M.A. & Gregory, P.J. (2015). Soil, food security and human health: a review. Eur J Soil

Sci., 66: 257– 276.

3. Kafkafi, U. & Tarchitzky, J, (2011). Fertigation: A Tool for Efficient Fertilizer and Water

Management. International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) International Potash

Institute (IPI) Paris., France. 141p.

4. National Committee on Plasticulture Applications in Horticulture (NCPAH), GOI. 2017.

Technical bulletin on fertigation. http://ncpahindia.com [Available: 09 January 2017]

http://ncpahindia.com/



Agricultural Production with Changing Climatic Scenario

Karan Chhabra*, Manoj Kumar

ICAR-CITH, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Baramulla-193404, Jammu &Kashmir, India


Agriculture and climate change are inextricably linked with crop yield, biodiversity and water

use, as well as soil health, and these all are directly affected by a changing climate. Climate change,

which is largely a result of burning fossil fuels, is already affecting the Earth's temperature,

precipitation, and hydrological cycles, with continued changes in the frequency and intensity of

precipitation, heat waves, and other extreme events, which will impact agricultural production.

Moreover, compounded climate factors can decrease plant productivity, resulting in price increases

for many important agricultural crops.

Agriculture is a major driver of climate change. According to IPCC 5th Assessment Report,

Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFLOU) contribute 20-24 percent of anthropogenic GHG

emissions. IPCC estimates that agriculture accounts for 13.5 percent of GHG emissions. These

measured emissions are largely the results of synthetic fertilizer use, methane from large-scale

animal operations, and methane release from rice paddies (IPCC 2014). It is projected that climate

change will put around 49 million more people at risk of hunger by 2020. About 65 percent of farm-

related emissions come from methane caused by cattle belching and soil treated with natural or

synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, according to the World Resources Institute. Agriculture and climate

change pose complex challenges for scientists trying to improve crop yields on smallholder farms in

developing countries. Sustainable intensification based on conservation agriculture principles,

including minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, economical and diversified crop rotations,

is an important strategy to combat the negative impact of agriculture on the climate and other natural

resources while improving the income of smallholder farmers. Agriculture is the second biggest

emitter of greenhouse gases after the energy sector (IPCC, 2014).

General Introduction: Explaining Climate Change

There is a scientific basis that is the Earth's climate is changing as a consequence of human

activity on the planet. The most important aspect of this change is that the average temperature of the

earth surface is rising, slowly but steadily, as a consequence of the emission of greenhouse gases

(GHGs) and their increasing concentration in the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases are

contributing to global warming, carbon dioxide (CO2) is most significant, although there are other

gases that also play this role, notably methane. CO2 is emitted when fossil fuels are burnt in any

form, ranging from traditional open coal fires to modern devices or processes like thermal power

plants or the heating systems of buildings. A critical factor in the rise in the Earth's temperature is the

quantity of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. The earth has a carbon cycle, arising from the partial

absorption by oceans and other water bodies and by vegetation on land, of the CO2 in the

atmosphere.

All climate models indicate a rising trend in temperature. Precipitation pattern has changed

with decreased rainfall over south and south-east Asia. More intense and longer droughts have

occurred since the 1970s. Perpetual snow cover has declined in both area and depth of snow cover.

Global mean sea level is projected to rise by 0.18 to 0.59 m by the end of the century. Six out of the

ten countries most vulnerable to climate change are in the Asia-Pacific. Bangladesh tops the list



followed by India, Nepal, Philippines, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. In Bangladesh, about one-fifth of

the nation's population would be displaced as a result of the farmland loss estimated for a 1.5 m sea-

level rise. The Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean would have one-half of their land area inundated

with a 2 m rise in sea level.

All flora and fauna are sensitive, to varying degrees, to climatic conditions. Flowering plants

are sensitive to seasonal variations of temperature. Species of marine life, including fishes, are

particularly sensitive to the temperature of ambient water. Total rainfall and its seasonal variation are

critical for agricultural crops, particularly in areas of rainfed agriculture. For instance, the

susceptibility of crops to pests may be affected by climate variations. The authoritative source for

information regarding such effects remains the periodic assessment reports of the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007).

Table 1: Predicted effects of climate change on agriculture over the next 50 years (Mahato A.,

2014)

Climatic

element Expected changes by 2050's

Confidence in

prediction Effects on agriculture

CO2

Increase from 360 ppm to 450

- 600 ppm (2005 levels now at

379 ppm)

Very high

Good for crops: increased

photosynthesis; reduced

water use

Sea level

rise

Rise by 10 -15 cm Increased

in south and offset in north by

natural subsistence/rebound

Very high

Loss of land, coastal erosion,

flooding, salinisation of

groundwater

Temperature

Rise by 1-2°C. Winters

warming more than summers.

Increased frequency of heat

waves

High

Faster, shorter, earlier

growing seasons, range

moving north and to higher

altitudes, heat stress risk,

increased evapotranspiration

Precipitation Seasonal changes by ± 10

percent Low

Impacts on drought risk' soil

workability, water logging

irrigation supply,

transpiration

Storminess

Increased wind speeds,

especially in north. More

intense rainfall events.

Very low

Lodging, soil erosion,

reduced infiltration of

rainfall

Variability

Increases across most climatic

variables. Predictions

uncertain

Very low

Changing risk of damaging

events (heat waves, frost,

droughts floods) which effect

crops and timing of farm

operations

Daily and seasonal temperature patterns could change with increases in both maximum and

minimum temperatures. Temperature increases will be the greatest over land in the northern

latitudes, with fewer cold days and nights and an increasing number of hot days and nights.


Climate Change and Agriculture Productions: An Indian Scenario

We shall highlight three aspects of the relationship between climate change and agriculture.

First, climate change has a direct bearing on the biology of plant growth and secondly is, any

assessment of the impact of climate change on agriculture must consider the interaction between the

direct biological effects of climate change on the one hand, and other such as soil conditions, seed-

water-fertilizer-pesticide technologies, plant entomology and other agricultural technology. Thirdly,

we must consider the impact of climate change on society and economy, and the ability to existing

social and economic institutions, particularly in rural areas, to deal with the challenges posed by

global warming.

India's agriculture is more dependent on monsoon from the ancient periods. Any change in

monsoon trend drastically affects agriculture. Even the increasing temperature is affecting the Indian

agriculture. In the Indo-Gangetic Plain, these pre-monsoon changes will primarily affect the wheat

crop (>0.5°C increase in time slice 2010-2039; IPCC 2007). In the states of Jharkhand, Odisha, and

Chhattisgarh alone, rice production losses during severe droughts (about one year in five) average

about 40 percent of total production, with an estimated value of $800 million (Pandey et al., 2007).

Increase in CO2 to 550 ppm increases yields of rice, wheat, legumes and oilseeds by 10-20 percent.

A 1°C increase in temperature may reduce yields of wheat, soybean, mustard, groundnut, and potato

by 3-7 percent. Much higher losses at higher temperatures. The productivity of most crops to

decrease only marginally by 2020 but by 10-40 percent by 2100 due to increases in temperature,

rainfall variability, and decreases in irrigation water. The major impacts of climate change will be on

rain-fed or un-irrigated crops, which is cultivated in nearly 60 percent of cropland. Possibly some

improvement in yields of chickpea, Rabi maize, sorghum and millets; and coconut in the west coast.

Less loss in potato, mustard, and vegetables in north-western India due to reduced frost damage.

Increased droughts and floods are likely to increase production variability.

Recent studies concluded that the possibility of loss of 4-5 million tons in wheat production

in future with every rise of 1°C temperature throughout the growing period. Rice production is slated

to decrease by almost a tonne/hectare if the temperature goes up by 2°C. In Rajasthan, a 2°C rise in

temperature was estimated to reduce production of Pearl Millet by 10-15 percent. If maximum and

minimum temperature rises by 3°C and 3.5°C respectively, then Soybean yields in M.P. will decline

by 5 percent compared to 1998. Agriculture will be worst affected in the coastal regions of Gujarat

and Maharashtra, as fertile areas are vulnerable to inundation and salinization. The warming may be

more pronounced in the northern parts of India. The extremes in maximum and minimum

temperatures are expected to increase under changing climate; few places are expected to get more

rain while some may remain dry. Leaving Punjab and Rajasthan in the North West and Tamil Nadu

in the South, which shows a slight decrease on an average a 20 percent rise in all India summer

monsoon rainfall over all states are expected. A number of rainy days may come down (e.g. MP) but

the intensity is expected to rise at most of the parts of India (e.g. North East). Corals in the Indian

Ocean will be soon exposed to summer temperatures that will exceed the thermal thresholds

observed over the last 20 years. Currently, the districts of Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara in Odisha;

Nellore and Nagapattinam in Tamilnadu; and Junagadh and Porbandar districts in Gujarat are the

most vulnerable to impacts of increased intensity and frequency of cyclones in India (NATCOM,

2004).

Impacts on agriculture and food production

Food production in India is sensitive to climate changes such as variability in monsoon

rainfall and temperature changes within a season. Studies by Indian Agricultural Research Institute

(IARI) and others indicate greater expected loss in the Rabi crop. Every 1°C rise in temperature

reduces wheat production by 4-5 MillionTonnes. Small changes in temperature and rainfall have


significant effects on the quality of fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee, aromatic and medicinal plants, and

basmati rice. Pathogens and insect populations are strongly dependent upon temperature and

humidity, and changes in these parameters may change their population dynamics. Other impacts on

agricultural and related sectors include lower yields from dairy cattle and decline in fish breeding,

migration, and harvests. Global reports indicate a loss of 10-40 percent in crop production by 2100.

Indian climate is dominated by the southwest monsoon, which brings most of the region‘s

precipitation. It is critical for the availability of drinking water and irrigation for agriculture.

Agricultural productivity is sensitive to two broad classes of climate-induced effects (1)

direct effects from changes in temperature, precipitation or carbon dioxide concentrations, and (2)

indirect effects through changes in soil moisture and the distribution and frequency of infestation by

pests and diseases. Rice and wheat yields could decline considerably with climatic changes (IPCC

1996; 2001). However, the vulnerability of agricultural production to climate change depends not

only on the physiological response of the affected plant but also on the ability of the affected socio-

economic systems of production to cope with changes in yield, as well as with changes in the

frequency of droughts or floods. The adaptability of farmers in India is severely restricted by the

heavy reliance on natural factors and the lack of complementary inputs and institutional support

systems. The loss in net revenue at the farm level is estimated to range between 9 percent and 25

percent for a temperature rise of 2°C to 3.5°C. Scientists also estimated that a 2°C rise in mean

temperature and a 7 percent increase in mean precipitation would reduce net revenues by 12.3

percent for the country as a whole. Agriculture in the coastal regions of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and

Karnataka is found to be the most negatively affected. Small losses are also indicated for the major

food-grain producing regions of Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand,

West Bengal, Orissa, and Andhra Pradesh are predicted to benefit to a small extent from warming

Effect of rising CO2 level Carbon dioxide is a perfect example of a change that could have both positive and negative

effects. Carbon dioxide is expected to have positive physiological effects through increased

photosynthesis. The impact is higher on C3 crops such as wheat and rice than on C4 plants like maize

and grasses. The direct effects of changes in CO2 concentration will be through changes in

temperature, precipitation and radiation. However, indirect effects will bring changes in soil moisture

and infestation by pests and diseases because of rising temperature and relative humidity. Such

indirect effects through the increase in temperature will reduce crop duration, increase crop

respiration rates, evapo-transpiration, decrease fertilizer use efficiency and enhance pest infestation.

There is general consensus that the yield of main season (Kharif) crop will increase due to the effect

of higher CO2 levels. However, large yield decreases are predicted for the Rabi crops because of

increased temperatures. The rising CO2 level in atmosphere has indirect impact on insect population.

Soybean crop in higher CO2 concentration had 57 percent more insect damage (Japanese beetle,

Leafhopper, Root worm, Mexican bean beetle) than earlier. It causes increase in level of simple

sugars in the leaves that stimulates more feeding by insects. Increased C/N ratio in plant tissue due to

increased CO2 level may slow insect development and increase life stages of insect pests vulnerable

to attack by parasitoids. At our current rate of greenhouse emissions, several of the main pests that

target corn will increase in number and expand their range by the end of 21st century.

Warmer temperature requires a number of insecticide applications (i.e., three, more than

normal) for controlling corn pests. Entomologists predict more generation of insects in the warm

climate that necessitates more number of insecticide applications. It will increase the cost of

protection and environmental pollution. Synthetic pyrethroids will be less effective in higher

temperature. Therefore, it is advisable for the farmers not to use insecticides with the similar mode of

action frequently to avoid development of resistance in case of more number of applications.


Cultural management practices e.g. early planting may not be helpful because of early emergence of

pests due to warmness.

Climate change: Mitigation and adaptation in crop production

1. Assist farmers in coping with current climatic risks by providing value-added weather services

to farmers. Farmers can adapt to climate changes to some degree by shifting planting dates,

choosing varieties with different growth duration, or changing crop rotations.

2. An early warning system should be put in place to monitor changes in pest and disease

outbreaks. The overall pest control strategy should be based on integrated pest management

because it takes care of multiple pests in a given climatic scenario.

3. Participatory and formal plant breeding to develop climate-resilient crop varieties that can

tolerate higher temperatures, drought and salinity.

4. Developing short-duration crop varieties that can mature before the peak heat phase set in.

5. Selecting genotype in crops that have a higher per day yield potential to counter yield loss from

heat-induced reduction in growing periods.

6. Preventive measures for drought that include on-farm reservoirs in medium lands, growing of

pulses and oilseeds instead of rice in uplands, ridges and furrow system in cotton crops,

growing of intercrops in place of pure crops in uplands, land grading and leveling, stabilization

of field bunds by stone and grasses, graded line bunds, contour trenching for runoff collection,

conservation furrows, mulching and more application of Farm yard manure (FYM).

7. Efficient water use such as frequent but shallow irrigation, drip and sprinkler irrigation for high

value crops, irrigation at critical stages.

8. Efficient fertilizer use such as optimum fertilizer dose, split application of nitrogenous and

potassium fertilizers, deep placement, use of neem, karanja products and other such

nitrification inhibitors, liming of acid soils, use of micronutrients such as zinc and boron, use

of sulphur in oilseed crops, integrated nutrient management.

9. Seasonal weather forecasts could be used as a supportive measure to optimize planting and

irrigation patterns.

10. Provide greater coverage of weather linked agriculture-insurance.

11. Intensify the food production system by improving the technology and input delivery system.

12. Adopt resource conservation technologies such as no-tillage, laser land leveling, direct seeding

of rice and crop diversification which will help in reducing in the global warming potential.

Crop diversification can be done by growing non-paddy crops in rain fed uplands to perform

better under prolonged soil moisture stress in Kharif.

13. Develop a long-term land use plan for ensuring food security and climatic resilience.

14. National grid grain storages at the household and community level to the district level must be

established to ensure local food security and stabilize prices.

15. Provide incentives to farmers for resource conservation and efficiency by providing credit to

the farmers for transition to adaptation technologies.

16. Provide technical, institutional and financial support for establishment of community banks of

food, forage and seed. Provide more funds to strengthen research for enhancing adaptation and

mitigation capacity of agriculture.

17. Crop breeding for development of new climate tolerant crop varieties is a key tool for adapting

agriculture to a changing climate. History and current breeding experience indicate that natural

biodiversity within crops has allowed for plant adaptation to different conditions, providing

clear evidence that plant breeding has great potential to aide in the adaptation of crops to

climate change.


18. Cropping system development is another tool that can help agriculture adapt. For example the

use of crop mixtures that have several crops growing at one time can help systems exhibit

greater durability during periods of high water or heat stress.

Conclusion

Climate change is a reality; an outcome of the "Global Warming" has now started showing its

impacts worldwide. Climate is the main determinant of agricultural productivity which directly

impact on food production across the globe. The agriculture sector is the most sensitive sector to the

climate changes because the climate of a region or country determines the nature and characteristics

of vegetation and crops. Increase in the mean seasonal temperature can reduce the duration of many

crops and hence reduce final yield. Indian agriculture is likely to suffer losses due to climatic

variability and climate change in which Kharif crop shows a more negative impact on rainfall

variability while Rabi crops by minimum temperature. There will be the major factor influencing

future security. The net impact of food security will depend on the exposure to global environmental

change and the capacity to cope with and recover from global environmental change. Coping with

the impact of climate change on agriculture will require careful management of resources like soil,

water, and biodiversity. To cope with the impact of climate change on agriculture and food

production, India will need to act at the global, regional, national and local levels.

References

Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests, (2004).India’s Initial National

Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (NATCOM

I), New Delhi, available at http://www.natcomindia.org/natcomreport.htm, October 25, 2010.

IPCC, (1996). The IPCC second assessment report, Vol.2, Scientific-technical analyses of impacts,

adaptations and mitigation of climate change, Chaps 13 and 23. In: Watson RT, Zinyowera

MC, Moss RH (eds) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 427–467, 745–771.

IPCC, (2001). Climate Change: The Scientific Basis. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

IPCC, (2007). Climate Change: The Physical Science Basis. Extracts from the IV Assessment

Report. Survey of the Environment 2007, The Hindu, pp147-155.

IPCC, (2014). Report on Asia, Working Group II, Cambridge University Press, 1327-1370.

Mahato A. (2014). Climate Change and its Impact on Agriculture. International Journal of Scientific

and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 4, April 2014 1 ISSN 2250-3153.

Pandey, S., H. Bhandari, H. and B. Hardy, B. (2007). “Economic costs of drought and rice farmers

coping mechanisms: a cross-country comparative analysis,” International Rice Research

Institute, Manila.

http://www.natcomindia.org/natcomreport.htm



Pigeonpea – As a Vegetable

Akshatha, M.G.

M.Sc. (Agri.)., Department of Genetics and Plant breeding , GKVK, University of Agricultural

Sciences Bengaluru, India


Malnutrition especially the protein deficiency is one of the major problems in developing and

under developed countries. At global and national level several nutritional development programs

were implemented and are facing a tough challenge to meet the targeted protein demand with ever

growing human population. But protein availability in developing countries at present is about one-

third of its normal requirements. In India pulses serve as the major source of protein for vegetarians

and Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] is one among the important pulse crop which is being

cultivated since many years and occupies an important place in rainfed agriculture.

In some parts of the world, pigeonpea is used as a vegetable which is harvested while it is

immature. It is nutritious and forms a substitute for green pea [Pisum sativum L.].Vegetable type

pigeon pea is much nutritious compared to matured seeds (Faris et al. 1987). Tender green pods

constitute a favourite vegetable in some parts of India. The fully grown seeds of pigeonpea, when

harvested green before loosing their green colour, are used as fresh, frozen, or canned vegetable.

Pigeonpea occupies an area of 5.41 m ha with an annual production of 4.49 m t and a mean

productivity of 829 kg ha-1 globally (Anon. 2016a). India occupies first position both in production

and consumption of tur with an annual production of 4.02 m t on an area of 4.42 m ha with a

productivity of 909 kg per ha recorded in the year 2017-18, followed by Myanmar (0.90 m t),

Malawi (0.23 m t) and Kenya (0.09 m t) (Anon. 2016a). In India, it stands second after chickpea both

in area and production. More than 85 per cent of the global pigeonpea is produced and consumed in

India.

In India, Maharashtra has largest area with a share of 32 per cent, followed by Karnataka

(17%) and Madhya Pradesh (15%). These states account for over 70 per cent of the total pigeonpea

area in India. The major pigeonpea growing states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,

Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. There is an increase in two per cent area every year, but the yield level

has stagnated at around 600-700 kg ha-1 over last five decades.

In Karnataka, it is grown in an area of about 0.88 m ha with a production of 0.73 m t and

average productivity of 824 kg ha-1 (Anon. 2016b). It is mainly grown in the northern parts of


Karnataka such as Kalburgi (Gulbarga), Bidar, Bellary, Koppal, Raichur and Yadgir districts.

Kalburgi is considered as the pulse bowl of Karnataka. It is cultivated either as sole crop or mixed

crop along with cereals.

Vegetable pigeonpea seeds are considered superior to dry splits in nutrition. The green

pigeonpea seeds have exhibited higher crude fiber, fat, and protein digestibility. As far as trace and

mineral elements are concerned, the vegetable pigeonpea is better in phosphorus by 28.2 per cent,

potassium by 17.2 per cent, zinc by 48.3 per cent, copper by 20.9 per cent, and iron by 14.7 per cent

(Faris et al.1987). Vegetable type pigeonpea have high polysaccharides and crude fiber content than

dal, irrespective of its seed size. The crude fiber content in vegetable type pigeonpea and garden pea

Pisum sativum (L.) are considered to be almost similar Singh et al. (1984 a and b). Trypsin inhibitor

activity was also higher in pigeonpea dhal than vegetable type pigeonpea.

Apart from nutritionally superiority, vegetable type pigeonpea provides early income to the

farmers and the total crop duration gets reduced. Pigeonpea being a pulse, fix atmospheric nitrogen ,

organic matter and micronutrients to the soil and break hard plough pan with it’s long tap roots and

thereby sometimes referred to as ‘biological plough’. This crop can be grown successfully in a wide

range of soil types and is capable of producing reasonable quantity of nutritive food even in the

degraded soils, with minimum external input.

References

Anonymous, (2016a), Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nation, (FAO-

[email protected]).

Anonymous, (2016b), Project Coordinators’ Report of AICRP on pigeonpea 2017-1 8, Indian

Institute of Pulse Research, Kanpur, p.3-4.

Faris, D. G. (1987). Vegetable pigeonpea: a promising crop for India (No. Folleto 11554).

Singh, U., Jain, K. C., Jambunathan, R., & Faris, D. G. (1984a). Nutritional quality of vegetable

pigeonpeas [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.]: Dry matter accumulation, carbohydrates and

proteins. Journal of Food Science, 49(3), 799-802.

Singh, U., Jain, K. C., Jambunathan, R., & Faris, D. G. (1984b). Nutritional quality of vegetable

pigeonpeas [Cajanus cajan (L.) Mill sp.]: Mineral and trace elements. Journal of Food

Science, 49(2), 645-646.




E-Krishi Kendra: An Innovative Frontier for Making Digital Indian Agriculture

Naima Shaikh1*, Narendra Savaliya2

1Ph.D. Research scholar, ASPEE Agribusiness Management Institute, Navsari Agriculture

University, Navsari. 2Founder & CEO of E -Agro Tech Pvt. Ltd.


E-Krishi Kendra is an open access platform for providing Agriculture’s digital services under

a single roof. It’s bring evolution in agriculture with the way of digitalization. It touch the lives of

over millions of farmers, clocking a positive growth year to year. Digital revolution changing the face

of Agriculture.it is seen as an emerging field focusing on the enhancement of Agriculture and rural

development through improve information and communication processes. The digitalization and the

spread of mobile telephony and internet in rural areas allow farmers and entrepreneurs to gain access

to information, services and markets they could previously not benefit from, and represent a

transformational opportunity for rural populations, both as producers and consumers. The internet,

mobile phones, and all the other tools to collect, store, analyses and share information digitally –

have spread quickly. Some specific factors such as Age, literacy and education of the target group,

farm size, gender, motivation, awareness, information sharing influence the use of the mobile phone

and the confidence in the information. E-Krishi Kendra reduce gap by implementing F2B, B2B and

B2C platform for agriculture. Development of nation depends upon development of agriculture. By

making digitalization in agriculture we might increase the agriculture’s contribution in GDP of

nation.

Introduction

E-Krishi Kendra is a Agriculture Portal which is a unified network for farmers, Agribusiness

sector, Agri Bazaar, Agri-Experts and Students, with innovative frontier of digitalization for make

Digital Indian Agriculture. It give digital infrastructure for implementing of Agriculture portal for

Prosperous Indian Agriculture. The provider of foundation for a online platform of Agriculture’s

digital services with strong focus on e-Agriculture, farming e-commerce, e-retailing, e-Agro-

Trading, e-Marketing, e-Commerce, e-Learning, Agro-Industries, Farm-to-Laboratory, Farm-to-

Table. This is expect to this unlock the potential of Indian Agriculture and strengthen the functioning

of Digital Agriculture. The Internet and mobile technologies transformed traditional Agriculture in to

Digital Agriculture, this transformation is accelerating in profound ways with the use of online

Agriculture portal like 'E-Krishi Kendra'. It has e-commerce platform with Agricultural network

which Digital technologies and analytics are revolutionize agriculture in fundamental way. Portal’s

Digital Agriculture Service help the Agriculture to fulfill it's potential. ‘E-Krishi Kendra’ Portal

integrates and processes data from multiple sources in to a single hub. By generating detailed insights

in to farm operations, it assist farmers in making data-based decisions to optimize yield and boost

revenue while minimizing expenses. Including multidisciplinary agronomic services, information to

farmers on a variety of issue related to farming, commodity market and government’s schemes.

Opportunities to companies for the online retailing of Agri-inputs. Hassle free, transparent supply

chain of Agri-commodities by removal of middlemen. The hub for connecting the farmers to the

Agri-Experts with a steady stream of information and services throughout year improving farming

which making farm’s operations more efficient.


Highlights of E-Krishi Kendra

E-Krishi Kendra is an e-commerce platform for batter tomorrow of Indian Agriculture. It has

professional and positive approach to the work in agriculture with digital services. It is committed to

ensuring consistent services throughout year. It is a podium for blooming of Agribusiness with e-

commerce platform. It offering multidisciplinary agronomic services at one place and an integrated e-

education portal for Agriculture students. An initiative to conduct longest serving by integrated

distribution Services under one roof and framework for e-trading of agriculture produces.

Peculiarity of E-Krishi Kendra

E-Krishi Kendra have content generated by subject matter specialists and provide lower-cost

solutions tailored to the specific needs of farmers. Agricultural related news are update on daily basis,

and day to day update of central and state government schemes. Get success stories of progressive

farmers on a single platform. Agri experts are given guidance on multi-disciplinary Agriculture

problems. National and International Agricultural Exhibition information available at one click.

Through this portal and APP suppliers and buyers connect digitally and can create new business.

Actual price discovery of Agriculture produces available at one place and integrated Agri produce

distribution service under one roof. Farmers can create own distribution network.

Working area of E-Krishi Kendra

E-Krishi Kendra portal is work in five phase which is Farmers, Agri Input, Agri-Experts, Agri

Students/professions and Agri-Bazaar

Farmer

Multidisciplinary agronomic services, information to farmers on a variety of issue related to farming,

commodity market and government's schemes. Direct Marketing of farm products. The hub for

connecting the farmers to the Agri-Experts with a steady stream of information and services


improving farming throughout year. E-Krishi Kendra provide Timeline (Social Media Corner),

Purchase corner, Government corner, Crop Sell corner, Solution corner, Training corner and Recent

Event Corner to farmers

Agri input

It offers new ways to connect, collaborate, conduct business and build bridge between people. E-

Krishi Kendra is a B2B and B2C online portal which help to grow business. E-Krishi Kendra provide

Pageline (Social Media Corner) , Sale corner, Crop purchase corner, Dealer system, Ad corner,

Discussion corner and Recent Event corner to Agri Input sector.

Agri bazaar

E-Krishi Kendra is a platform to connect farmers with buyers, retailers, traders, corporate, industrial

users, exporters, etc for selling their agricultural produce through Agri Baazar facility at better and

competitive rates. E-Krishi Kendra provide Pageline (Social Media Corner), Farmer Crop (B2C)

Corner, B2B (Buy/Sell) Corner, Commodity Update Corner, Discussion corner, Placement Corner,

Event Corner to Agri Bazaar.

Agri expert

Agricultural experts can give agricultural information, agricultural knowledge and agricultural

question solutions to farmers through the portal. E-Krishi Kendra provide Live Video Corner,

Groupline Social Media corner, Advice Corner, Blog Corner, Discussion corner, Training Corner,

Student Corner to Agri Expert.

Agri students

An integrated e-education portal for Agriculture students. Best agriculture organization connection

for bright future. E-Krishi Kendra provide Studentline (Social Media), Study Corner, Job Corner,

Blog Corner, Discussion corner, Training Corner, Event Corner to Agri Student.

Benefits from E-Krishi Kendra

Delivery of Agri extension service would ensure that even small and medium sized farmers

get benefits from optimum Agri information. Flexibility to order Agri input online and get input

products at comparative price. Reap rich revenue on investments. It reduce delivery time and

transportation cost. Opportunities to manage business from anywhere in the world, suppliers and

buyers connect digitally, and create new business. Experts digitally connect with farmers for provide

end to end integrated solutions and experts extend their knowledge with each other at one platform.

Experts give guidance to students across the country at one place. It make Agri-products distribution

strengthen by transparency and barrier-free intra-state and inter-state trade of Agri commodities. It

give price realization to farmers through reduce gap between producer’s price and consumers rupee.

It ensure fair and remunerative price to farmers through price discovery.

Improved market links is found to help sustain the use of technical improvements.

e-learning for students with Agri experts

Strengthening future with best Agricultural organizations

Input Availability at Finger touch, Customized Trading of Agri Commodities, Advisory for

all the needs of farmers from experts, and student asset as the future of Indian agriculture, which is

digital infrastructure to empower Indian agriculture which is E-Krishi Kendra.



Soil Quality Indicators: A Brief Review

Geethu Jacob*, Pooja A P and Dr. K C Manorama Thampatti

College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram


What is Soil Quality?

Soil quality is the capacity of a specific kind of soil to function within natural or managed

ecosystem boundaries to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air

quality and to support human health and habitation. Soils vary naturally in their capacity to function

therefore, quality is specific to each kind of soil. This concept encompasses two distinct but

interconnected parts: inherent quality and dynamic quality.

Inherent Quality: Characteristics such as texture, mineralogy etc are innate soil properties

determined by the factors of soil formation like climate, topography, vegetation, parent material, and

time. Collectively these properties determine the inherent quality of a soil.

Dynamic Quality: The dynamic quality of soils, defined as the changing nature of soil properties

resulting from human use and management. Some management practices, such as the use of cover

crops can increase the organic matter content and can have a positive effect on soil quality.

Soil quality mainly refers to the dynamic quality of soil and soil quality evaluation is a tool to

assess management induced changes in soils and to link existing resource concerns to

environmentally sound land management practices.

Useful indicators are:

Easy to measure.

Able to measure changes in soil functions.

Assessed in a reasonable amount of time.

Accessible to many users and applicable to field conditions.

Sensitive to variations in climate and management.

Representative of physical, biological or chemical properties of soil.

Assessed by qualitative and or quantitative methods.

Soil Quality Indicators

Soil quality assessments are conducted by evaluating indicators. There are three main

categories of soil indicators: chemical, physical and biological. Typical soil tests only focus on

chemical indicators but soil quality assessment attempts to integrate all the three types of indicators.

Table 1. Relationship between indicator type and soil function

Indicator category Related soil function

Chemical Nutrient Cycling, Water Relations Buffering

Physical Physical Stability and Support, Water Relations, Habitat

Biological Biodiversity, Nutrient Cycling, Filtering

http://soilquality.org/functions/filter_buffer.html

http://soilquality.org/functions/physical_support.html

http://soilquality.org/functions/water_relations.html

http://soilquality.org/functions/biodiversity.html

http://soilquality.org/functions/biodiversity.html

http://soilquality.org/functions/nutrient_cycling.html

http://soilquality.org/functions/filter_buffer.html


Organic matter or more specifically soil carbon transcends all three indicator categories and

has the most widely recognized influence on soil quality. Organic matter is tied to all soil functions.

It affects other indicators, such as aggregate stability (physical), nutrient retention and availability

(chemical), and nutrient cycling (biological) and is itself an indicator of soil quality.

Indicator Categories

1. Chemical indicators can give you information about the equilibrium between soil solution (soil

water and nutrients) and exchange sites (clay particles, organic matter), plant health, the

nutritional requirements of plant and soil animal communities, levels of soil contaminants and

their availability for uptake by animals and plants.

Chemical Indicators include measures of:

pH, EC,

Available nutrient content

Organic carbon pools,

Carbonate content

Base saturation

Nmin

C/N ratio,

Exchangeable Na

Heavy metal content

2. Physical indicators provide information about soil hydrologic characteristics such as water entry

and retention, which influences water availability to plants. Some indicators are related to

nutrient availability by their influence on rooting volume and aeration status. Other measures tell

us about erosional status.

Physical Indicators include measures of

Bulk density, particle density, particle size distribution,

Plant-available water, aggregate stability

Max root depth, penetration resistance

Hydraulic conductivity, infiltration rate

Water holding capacity

Porosity, aggregate size distribution.

Soil depth, soil temperature, colour

3. Biological indicators can tell us about the organisms that form the soil food web which are

responsible for decomposition of organic matter and nutrient cycling.

Biological Indicators include measures of:

Earthworms, nematode, termite populations

Ergosterol activity – Fungal by product

Mycorrhiza populations

Respiration activity

Soil Enzymes activity – dehydrogenase, urease, phosphatase activity

Microbial Biomass Carbon

N min


How are indicators selected?

The selection of indicators should be based on:

- the land use

- the relationship between an indicator and the soil function being assessed

- the ease and reliability of the measurement;

- variation between sampling times and variation across the sampling area

- the sensitivity of the measurement to changes in soil management

- compatibility with routine sampling and monitoring

- the skills required for use and interpretation.

Minimum Data Set is the smallest set of soil indicators needed to measure or characterize soil

quality. The identification of key soil properties or attributes that are sensitive to changes in soil

functions establishes a minimum data set.

Table 2. Example of Minimum Data Set

Indicator Relationship to soil health

Soil organic matter (SOM) Soil fertility, structure, stability, nutrient retention, soil

erosion, and available water capacity

Physical

Soil structure Retention and transport of water and nutrients, habitat for

microbes, and soil erosion

Depth of soil and rooting Estimate of crop productivity potential, compaction, and

plough pan

Infiltration and bulk density Water movement, porosity, and workability

Water holding capacity Water storage and availability

Chemical

Electrical conductivity Plant growth, microbial activity, and salt tolerance

Extractable N, P & K Plant available nutrients and potential for N and P loss

Biological

Microbial biomass carbon C and N Microbial catalytic potential and repository for C and N

Soil respiration Microbial activity

Potentially mineralizable N Soil productivity and N supplying potential


Time for assessment of soil quality indicators

Table 3. Best time for assessment of quality indicators of soil

Indicators Time

Stage of crop Moisture Tillage

Earthworms Pre-plant, active growth Good soil moisture Before

Soil organisms Pre-plant, active growth Good soil moisture Before

Smell Anytime Adequate soil moisture Anytime

Organic Material Pre-plant, active growth NA After

Residue Decomposition Anytime Adequate soil moisture NA

Compaction Anytime Adequate soil moisture Anytime

Workability Pre-plant, post harvest Adequate soil moisture During tillage

Soil structure Pre-plant, active growth Adequate soil moisture Anytime

Soil Aggregates Pre-plant, active growth Adequate soil moisture Not too soon

prior to or after

tillage

Porosity Pre-plant, active growth Adequate soil moisture Not too soon

prior to or after

tillage

Crusting Pre-plant, active growth Adequate soil moisture Anytime

Water infiltration Anytime After irrigation or rain Not too soon

prior to or after

tillage

Drainage Anytime After irrigation or rain Anytime

Water holding capacity Pre-plant, active growth After irrigation or rain Anytime

Wind or water erosion Anytime Any Anytime

Crop vigour Active growth Adequate soil moisture NA

Plant roots Active growth Adequate soil moisture NA

Root mass Active growth Adequate soil moisture NA

Salts Any Any Any

Sodium Any Any Any



Blood in India's Rice Bowl with More Farmer's Committing Suicide!

Hashmat Jan

B.Sc. Hons Agriculture Student, The Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of

Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Wadura, Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, India


Suicidal behaviour is not new among farmers in India. Between 1995 and 2012, a total of

298,084 cases of suicides are recorded among Indian farmers with an estimation that nearly 16,500

farmers die by suicide in India each year (Nagaraj et al., 2014). This number is likely to be

underreported as the cases of suicide are less likely to be documented, and the underlying reasons

associated with those cases remain unexplored and unaddressed. A review evaluated factors

associated with such a high burden of suicide among Indian farmers (Merriott, 2016), which found

that socioeconomic factors, rather than psychiatric problems, were predominantly associated with

suicidal behaviour in this vulnerable population. Those factors include a lack of agricultural

investments, increased credits from noninstitutional sources, the use of cash crops, issues related to

irrigation, and challenges associated with trading the crops. These challenges highlight the

importance of emphasizing on social determinants of mental health among Indian farmers. Their

day-to-day life is constrained by structural inequities that affect their socioeconomic wellbeing and

quality of living (Merriott, 2016; Nagaraj et al., 2014). Moreover, a prolonged deterioration of

psychosocial health and wellbeing often leaves them helpless and hopeless, making it difficult for

them to cope with acute stresses, often leading to suicidal behaviour.

Major reasons

There are a lot of reasons as to why farmer suicides happen in our country. All these reasons

come together to make this worrying issue prevalent. One of the main reasons is droughts. When the

crops do not get sufficient rainfall they do not yield much produce. This, in turn, poses as a great loss

to the farmers as their money gets wasted and they go in debt. Areas that have frequent droughts have

higher cases of farmer suicides. Similarly, floods are also as dangerous as droughts. The crops of the

farmers erode away and they do not get any product from those crops. Furthermore, the high debt

which the farmers have to pay for the land is another major factor. As they take heavy loans for

growing crops and fail to do so, they kill themselves as they do not have money to pay their debt

back.

In addition, family pressure is too high for farmers. They fail to make ends meet and thus

commit suicide because of this failure.

The Coronavirus lockdown is adversely affecting the agriculture sector and is imposing

psychosocial challenges among individuals and populations, which can be unique and severe

among marginalized populations like Indian farmers who have a pre-existing psychosocial burden

of suicidal behaviour.


What is the solution?

As a starter, farmers need to be protected from falling into the trap of the spiralling debt,

which is the primary risk factor for suicide. For this, farming must be protected from failure and

made profitable. Possible policy efforts are listed below; these are not in any specific order, and

priorities would depend on circumstances.

Small and marginal farmers should be encouraged to pool their farmland to leverage the

advantages associated with larger land holdings, such as the use of modern and mechanized

farming techniques

Water supply for irrigation must be insulated from the vagaries of nature by better water

management systems; attention must particularly be paid to rainwater harvesting and

resolution of interstate river water sharing disputes

Farmers must necessarily be educated about modern farming techniques and practices

Younger professionals must be encouraged to participate in farming activities

Farm loans at soft interest rates need to be made available, and loan recovery procedures need

to respect human rights; farmers should be discouraged from dealing with private money

lenders

Financially wasteful expenditure arising from unnecessary and even harmful social practices

must be discouraged; this includes matters ranging from alcohol use to dowry gifts and large

wedding spending. Savings should be encouraged, and saving instruments should be devised

for the farming population

Storage and food processing units need to be established in rural areas

Comprehensive but affordable insurance schemes should be made available, covering farmers

and crops from problems at every stage of the crop cycle. There should be a quick, simple,

and corruption-free approach to crop damage assessment with disbursement of relief directly

into the claimant's bank account

In addition to regular mental health interventions, it is necessary to assess the social

determinants of suicidal behaviour in this population and adopt multipronged multilevel

interventions, including social and economic support to the affected individuals. Furthermore, a

well committed policy level collaboration among mental health practitioners, researchers, health

policymakers, and stakeholders from social welfare authorities is critical to acknowledge and

address suicide among vulnerable farmers in India.

References

BBC, 2020. Coronavirus: India’s pandemic lockdown turns into a human tragedy - BBC News.

URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52086274 (accessed 5th Sept. 2020).

Merriott, D., 2016. Factors associated with the farmer suicide crisis in India. J. Epidemiol. Glob.

Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2016.03.003


Nagaraj, K & Sainath, P & Rukmani, & Gopinath, R. 2014. Farmers' Suicides in India: Magnitudes,

Trends, and Spatial Patterns, 1997–2012. Review of Agrarian Studies. 4. 53-83.



Microorganisms: Role in coral reefs health

Ranjith Sellappan

Ph.D. scholar, Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu-641003, India


Coral reefs play pivotal role the in marine ecosystem. Because of climatic changes and

anthropogenic activity, coral population was reduced drastically. Corals are very sensitive to small

stress in their surrounding environment. Microorganisms are one of the key drivers for coral health

and nutrient uptake. Maintaining coral microbiome is one of the best strategies for coral health. In

this case study of coral microbiome and their role is needed. In this chapter, we reviewed the

importance of microorganisms for improving coral health and resilience.

Introduction

Corals are anemone like invertebrate in the marine ecosystem. It’s built by thousands of

genetically identical tiny polyps. Healthy coral reefs provide economic goods and ecosystem

services; nearly 500 million people rely on coral reefs. It also provides shelter for fishes and other

marine organisms (Ainsworth et al., 2010). Corals are highly productive and contribute to coastal

protection and tourism. Coral biodiversity is the key to finding new medicine for the 21th centuries.

Today, coral reefs are in critically threatened rates, because of climatic changes, water quality,

overfishing and changed land management (Peixoto et al., 2017). Because of coral decline huge

peoples livelihood will be affected and the resources from the ocean also reduced. Today’s research

focused on ways to enhancing the resilience of corals to various environmental stresses through

microorganism.

Coral microbiome

The microorganism’s concentration and species diversity present in the corals varied in

different part of the corals. The microorganism present in coral tissues are Ralstonia spp,

Actinobacteria spp, Endozoicomonas spp, Symbiodinium spp. α proteobacteria, Symbiodinium spp,

Alteromonas spp, Trichodesmium spp, Prochlorococcus spp are present in coral cavity. Coral

skeleton has filamentous algae, bacteria, archaea and fungi. Coral mucus composed of glycoproteins,

enriched with nutrients (Nitrogen and organic matter). Other organisms present in corals are fishes,

crabs, crustaceans, bivalves and worms (Bourne et al., 2016).

Functional role of coral microbiome

Carbon cycle

Symbiodinium spp. fixed 60 to 80% of carbon is transferred to coral host. Coral associated

chemoautotrophic bacteria and archaea also assimilate inorganic carbon and transferred it to the

symbiotic corals. Endolithic algae are protecting corals during bleaching (Symbiodinium spp.

expulsion) events through basal photosynthetic activity (Peixoto et al., 2017).


Nitrogen cycle

Nitrogen (N) is one of the limited nutrient sources for coral reef ecosystems. Symbiodinium spp.

possess RUBISCO and nitrate reductase (inorganic organic) enzymes, which is used for nitrogen

reduction. Symbiodinium spp. acquired nitrogen is transferred to the corals in the form of ammonia

(NH3). Diazotrophs mediated nitrogen fixation can provide 11% of the Symbiodinium spp. nitrogen

requirement within the coral holobiont. Some fungal species are involved in conversion of nitrate

and nitrite to ammonia. Archaea also regulate ammonium concentration by nitrification and

dinitrification process (Beinart et al., 2014).

Sulphur cycle

Symbiodinium spp can produce high amount of Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) within the coral

tissues. DMSP have potential a role in stress response to the corals and also act as an osmolytes

and/or cryoprotectant of coral tissues. Recent research has demonstrated that the coral animal (Raina

et al., 2013) and other organisms like Roseobacter spp, Spongiobacter spp, Vibrio spp,

and Alteromonas spp synthesis DMSP. Coral associated bacterial groups metabolize DMSP and

consuming for their metabolic activity. The catabolism of DMSP also generates sulfur based

antimicrobial compounds such as tropodithietic acid (TDA) which inhibit the coral pathogen namely

Vibrio coralliilyticus, Vibrio owensii (Howella et al., 2013).

Biocontrol activity of coral microbiome

Corals can protect against pathogen infection using the mucus microbiome. Corals harbor a great

diversity of bacteriophages and archaeal phages feasibly involved microbial dynamics,

biogeochemical cycling and bio-control activity. Endozoicomonas spp. (bacteria) present

predominantly in healthy coral (in mucus, skeleton) which play important role in the biocontrol

activity (Peixoto et al., 2017). Beneficial microbes reduce pathogen in corals by production of

antibiotics and niche competition with pathogens.

Conclusion

Microorganisms are acting as the probiotic of coral reef ecosystem. Disruption of coral

microbiome leads to bleaching and death. BMCs (Beneficial Microorganisms for corals) mean

applying beneficial microbes to the corals. It acts as a probiotics to improve coral resistance after

bleaching events/ environmental changes. BMCs approaches will be challenging and there are many

large knowledge gaps that need to be filled before BMCs can be suitable for the real world.

Coral microbiome

Bacteria

α-Proteobacteria

Firmicutes

Actinobacteria

Cyanobacteria/algae

Synechococcus spp

Prochlorococcus spp

Oscillatoria spp

Symbiodinium spp

Fungi

Acremonium spp

Cladosporium spp

Penicillium spp

Trichoderma spp

Verticillium spp

Aspergillus spp

Archaea

Thermoplasma spp

Desulfurococcus spp

Halobacterium spp

Methanosarcina spp

Methanococcus spp

Pyrodictium spp

Viruse

s

Geminivirdae

Nanoviridae

Tymoviridae

Potyviridae

Caulimovirida

Partitiviridae

Reoviridae


References

Ainsworth, T. D., Thurber, R. V., & Gates, R. D. (2010). The future of coral reefs: a microbial

perspective. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 25(4), 233-240.

Beinart, R. A., Nyholm, S. V., Dubilier, N., & Girguis, P. R. (2014). Intracellular

Oceanospirillales inhabit the gills of the hydrothermal vent snail A. lviniconcha with

chemosynthetic, γ‐Proteobacterial symbionts. Environmental Microbiology Reports, 6(6), 656-

664.

Bourne, D. G., Morrow, K. M., & Webster, N. S. (2016). Insights into the coral microbiome:

underpinning the health and resilience of reef ecosystems. Annual Review of Microbiology, 70.

Howells, E. J., Berkelmans, R., van Oppen, M. J., Willis, B. L., & Bay, L. K. (2013). Historical

thermal regimes define limits to coral acclimatization. Ecology, 94(5), 1078-1088.

Peixoto, R. S., Rosado, P. M., Leite, D. C. D. A., Rosado, A. S., & Bourne, D. G. (2017). Beneficial

microorganisms for corals (BMC): proposed mechanisms for coral health and

resilience. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, 341.

Raina, J. B., Tapiolas, D. M., Foret, S., Lutz, A., Abrego, D., Ceh, J., & Motti, C. A. (2013). DMSP

biosynthesis by an animal and its role in coral thermal stress response. Nature, 502(7473), 677-

680.

.



Agnihotra: Homa Organic Farming

Jani C. P.

Department of Agronomy, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh, India


The intensive chemical agriculture that has been followed after successful green revolution in

our country is causing heavy pollution of our soil, food, drinking water and air. The harmful

chemicals are ingested into the body when we eat food grown under these conditions. The answer to

our problems lies in Agnihotra Organic Farming. Agni means fire Hotra means healing. It’s written

in the Vedas that “HEAL THE ATMOSPHERE AND IT WILL HEAL YOU”. The most significant

aspect of Agnihotra is that it combines the energies of five elements sun, space, air, water and earth

to produce subtle changes in the living organisms and helps to restore the bio-rhythm.

Agnihotra can be referred as a non-convectional approach as it reduces microbial count and

toxic gases in air and improve atmospheric quality. It increases plant growth, yield and quality

parameter. Application of Agnihotra ash and biosol improve soil quality by increasing beneficial soil

microorganism. It lowers the incidence of pest and diseases as well as heals the atmosphere by

preventing it from minimizing the use of chemical fertilizer which are toxic for human, plant and

livestock health. Agnihotra ash also work to purify water and make it suitable for agricultural use. So

perform Agnihotra daily with any good organic practice will improve the effect of that practice on

farm.

Introduction Agni means fire and Hotra means healing. This is a process which is known to purify the

surrounding atmosphere thorough a specially prepared fire using the cow dung cakes smeared with

cow ghee. The most significant aspect of Agnihotra is that it combines the energies of five elements

Sun, space, air, water and Earth to produce subtle changes in the living organisms and helps to

restore the bio-rhythm. The great saints of Saraswati Indus civilization (9500 years ago) performed

Agnihotra yagya in order to purify the environment, as detailed in Rigveda (oldest of Vedas).

“Kramishchmi vrastischmi yagnen kalptama”. In Yajurveda hymn no 1 to 29, chapter 18 it is stated

that Yajna is basic unit of agricultural, physical, mental and spiritual progress, it brings prosperity in

plant kingdom, good health and protector of atmospheric purity. Agnihotra is also mentioned in

Bhagavad Geeta, Krishiparasara Agnipuran and Vriksha Ayurveda. It’s written in the Vedas that

“HEAL THE ATMOSPHERE AND IT WILL HEAL YOU”.

What is homa organic farming? Homa therapy means healing the environment using the ancient vedic science of yagya or

havan. When homa therapy is applied to agriculture it is called homa organic Farming. The backbone

of this ancient science of homa therapy is Agnihotra. In homa organic Farming two more simple

homas are practiced, vyahruti homa and om tryambakam homa. It is holistic healing for agriculture

and can be used in conjunction with any good organic farming system. By practising homa organic

farming one can grow maximum yield in minimum agricultural area and keep the soil fertile, the

water pure and the atmosphere nutritious.


Why Agnihotra? With chemical fertilizers and pesticides, it becomes necessary to increase the dosage and

strength or alter formulas as years go by. Then a stage comes when nothing grows unless you use

them. If you do use them they ruin the soil and subsoil water. The harmful chemicals are ingested

into the body when we eat food grown under these conditions. Then a few years later nothing grows

at all. These are some of the reasons why several communities started thinking in terms of organic

farming and biological pest control. This worked for a while but as the pollution content of the

atmosphere increased and things got compounded, organic farmers came into terrific difficulties. The

answer to our problems lies in Agnihotra Organic Farming.

Types of Agnihotra

1. Agnihotra homa: It is most important and should be practised exactly at sunrise and sunset

time daily.

2. Vyahruti Homa: It can be performed at any time except sunrise and sunset. It is also

performed when commencing Om Tryambakam Homa.

3. Om Tryambakam Homa: It should be performed at least 4 hours every day. It should be

performed for 24 hours on full moon and no moon days. The quantity and quality of

agricultural crops was greatly improved along with their resistance to unfavourable

environmental factors and pests due to Om Tryambak Homa.

Procedure of Agnihotra:

A few minutes before the actual time of sunrise and sunset, start to prepare the agnihotra fire as

follows:

1. Place a flat piece of dried cow dung at the bottom of the copper pyramid. Arrange pieces of

dried cow dung in the pyramid in such a manner as will allow air to pass

2. Apply a little Ghee to a small piece of cow dung and light it. Insert this lighted piece of cow

dung in the middle of the pyramid. Soon all the dung in the pyramid will catch fire. However,

do not blow on the fire so as to avoid bacteria from the mouth affecting the fire.

3. Take a few grains of rice in a dish or left palm and apply a few drops of ghee to them.

4. Exactly at sunrise utter the first Mantra and after the word SWAHA add a few grains of rice

(as little as you can hold in the pinch of fingers will sufficient) to the fire. Utter the second

Mantra and after the word SWAHA add a few grains of rice to the fire. This completes

morning Agnihotra.

5. At sunset do the same by using evening Mantras. This completes evening Agnihotra. After

each Agnihotra try to spare as many minutes as you can for meditation. You can sit at least

till the fire gets extinguished itself.

6. Just before the next Agnihotra collect the ash and keep it in a glass or earthen container. This

highly energized ash can successfully be used as organic fertilizer.

What happened during Agnihotra? It should be emphasized that the purpose of Agnihotra is not to burn the substances that are

added in the form of oblations, rather it is to vaporize them, i.e. to heat them just to the extent that

they are transformed into vapor phase. The fumes/vapors from the burning components rise high up

in space. When all the volatile substances are diffused in the surrounding atmosphere, these are

further subjected to photochemical reactions in the sunlight. The aroma can be experienced easily in

the surroundings when yagya is performed due to diffusion of substances in pine like terpinol,

eugenol, ammonia, indol, formalin etc. Thereby, these substances diffuse into the surrounding air and

transform the air quality favorably.


Agnihotra mantras

(Put brown rice mixed with ghee into the fire at each “swáhá”)

Meaning: Unto the sun I am offering this offering. This is not mine, this is Thine.

(Put brown rice mixed with ghee into the fire at each “swáhá”)

Meaning: Unto the fire I am offering all. This offering is not mine it is Thine.

Graph 1: Plant Growth, Shoot and Root Length of Seedlings Treated with Agnihotra and

without Agnihotra

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Treated Untreated

Effect of Agnihotra on plant growth

Shoot length Root length

Abhang et al. (2015) studied the plant growth, shoot and root length of seedlings treated with

Agnihotra and without Agnihotra and observed that plant treated with Agnihotra give good shoot and

root length compare with untreated.

Direct use of Agnihotra ash in agriculture:

1. Treatment of seeds and seedlings Mixture of cow urine and water in a ratio of 50:50, 4 tablespoons of Agnihotra ash per 5 litres

of solution are added and stirred. Seeds and seedlings should soak in this solution for 30-40 minutes.

Sooryáya Swáhá Sooryáya Idam Na Mama

Prajápataye Swáhá Prajápataye Idam Na Mama

Agnaye Swáhá Agnaye Idam Na Mama

Prajápataye Swáhá Prajápataye Idam Na Mama


Like cow dung, cow urine has antibacterial effects and provides a protective coating around the seeds

and seedlings. They should be dry enough to spread, but moist enough so that the core of the seed

doesn’t dryout. Seedlings may be planted immediately after being treated with the solution.

Effect of Agnihotra ash on germination of seeds, following water were used-a. tap water, b.

control ash water (1 gm normal ash + 100 ml water) and c. Agnihotra ash water (1 gm Agnihotra

ash + 100 ml water)

Pathade and Abhang (2014) observed that Agnihotra ash give good seed germination.

2. Agnihotra ash can applied as:

As Fertilizers: Agnihotra ash contains 97% P, 2.32% K and 0.34% N, so it can be dusted

after irrigation gives nutrition as natural fertilizer.

As water treatment: If 2.5-5.0g Agnihotra ash mixed in 1-liter water add in tube well or

open well, it reduces salt content in water and neutralize pH.

What is biosol?

Homa biosol is a liquid bio-fertilizer based on Agnihotra ash which was developed by Gloria

Guzman Mendez in Peru, South America. It is prepared under anaerobic conditions in a bio-digester.

Agnihotra Ash has a significant positive effect on all the materials used in the preparation of biosol.

Biosol can be used as a foliar application to nourish plant kingdom or applied directly to the soil to

rebuild soil health.

Materials used (for 500 litre tank): Vermicompost: 80 kg, Fresh cow dung: 80 kg, Cow urine: 10

lit, Agnihotra ash: 250 gm, Shree yantra: 1 unit, Water 200 lit.

Preparation of gloria biosol 1. Put one copper Shree Yantra at the bottom of the tank facing upwards. (Shree Yantra

geometrical design is engraved in copper and, according to traditional knowledge, is a

powerful energy attractor).

2. Collect 80 kg fresh cow dung, 80kg vermicompost and 10 liters’ cow urine.

3. Divide the cow dung and vermicompost into 3 piles each.

4. Mix 1 part vermicompost, 1-part cow dung, about 3 liters of cow urine and about 50 liters of

Agnihotra ash water solution and stir to a slurry and pour it into the tank.

5. Repeat the same process with the second portion of the materials while stirring the material

continuously and then add the second slurry to the tank.

6. Finally repeat the process a third time and add the slurry to the tank.

7. Add the remaining Agnihotra ash water solution to the tank and again stir

Tap water Control ash Agnihotra ash


Application of gloria biosol

1. It should be used for foliar applications with water at a ratio of 1:15 to 1:20 depending on

density of plant population.

2. We can spray Biosol liquid on any type of crop at an interval of seven days. Roughly 20 liters is

required per acre per month.

3. If we preserve Biosol liquid in airtight cans it will last longer, say about six months.

4. Left over solid Biosol which is having maximum macro nutrients should be mixed with any type

of organic manure at a ratio of 1:5.

The following photos show one part of the Narmada River, Madhya Pradesh, India, before and after

Agnihotra ash had been added. Within three days a big improvement could be seen:

This shows that it is a very good habit to regularly add some of your Agnihotra ash to water bodies in

your vicinity. If you have your own well, then best to do so regularly.

Table.1: Experiences with Homa organic farming in soybean

Parameters Conventional Agriculture Homa Organic Farming

Average seed weight per

1000 seeds

103.66 g 142.60 g

Protein content % in seed 39.15% 39.50%

Oil content % in seed 19.54% 19.62%

Urease activity*(average) 7.94 7.86

*Urease activity in soyabean is important in the cattle feed industry when urea and soyabean meal

are combined in cattle feed. The urease activity must be low enough that the urea will not be

decomposed.

Heschl (2009) carried out experiment in soybean and found that homa organic farming give

higher average seed weight per 1000 seeds (g), protein content % in seed, oil content % in seed and

less urease activity compare with Conventional Agriculture.

Precautions:

• The exact timing must be maintained for individual yagya.

Narmada River before Agnihotra ash

was added

Narmada River after Agnihotra ash was

added


• Only whole Kernel rice is used. Best when brown rice is used.

• Only copper and gold pyramid can be used.

• Only dried cow dung can be used.

• Content should be mixed in proper ratio.

Limitations of Agnihotra:

• The spray solution must be sprayed little before flowering and later at maturity stage.

• Only dry ash should be sprayed as it will not interfere pollination. There is no effect on weed.

Conclusion:

Agnihotra reduces microbial count and toxic gases in air and improve atmospheric quality

also increase plant growth, yield and quality parameter. Application of Agnihotra ash and biosol

improve soil quality by increasing beneficial soil microorganism and work to purify water. It lowers

the incidence of pest and disease. So perform Agnihotra daily with any good organic practice will

improve the effect of that practice on farm.

References:

Abhang P., Patil M. and Moghe, P. (2015). Beneficial effects of agnihotra on environment and

agriculture. International Journal of Agricultural Science and Research (IJASR), 5: 111-119.

Heschl, K. (2009). Experience with Homa organic farming in soybean. In : The Proc. of ‘Brain

Storming Conference’ on ‘Bringing Homa Organic Farming in to the Main Stream of Indian

Agricultural System’ held at Tapovan, Parola-Amalner Road, Parola, Dist.: Jalgaon,

Maharashtra, pp. 14-15.

Pathade, G. and Abhang P. (2014). “Scientific study of Vedic knowledge- Agnihotra”, Bhartiya

Bouddhik Samada, Quarterly science journal of Vijnana Bharati. pp. 18-27.



Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Environment and Human Health

Chetan Panda*, Jyoti Prakash Sahoo, Kailash Chandra Samal

Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, OUAT, Bhubaneswar – 751003, India


The Covid-19 virus that has exploded through different countries of the world causing major

upheaval and spreading rampantly to geographical locations such as a wildfire not initially affected

by the deadly viral pandemic where the overall number of cases is close to 29 million and deaths

nearly a million. The outbreak of Covid-19 is confirmed to have significant environmental

consequences, such as increased environmental waste. The outbreak of Covid-19 decreases

greenhouse gas emissions, but more effort is required to stop air pollution.

Introduction

An outbreak of cases of unidentified low respiratory infections was first reported to the WHO

Country Office in China on December 31, 2019, found in Wuhan, the largest metropolitan region in

China's Hubei province. Published literature can track the initiation of symptomatic people back to

early December 2019. As they were unable to classify the causative agent, these first cases were

identified as "pneumonia of unknown aetiology." An ambitious outbreak investigation programme

was coordinated by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local CDCs.

A novel virus belonging to the coronavirus (CoV) family is responsible for the aetiology of this

disease. On February 11, 2020, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

announced that "COVID-19," which is the acronym for "Coronavirus Disease 2019," was the disease

caused by this new CoV. The new virus was initially named 2019-nCoV. Subsequently, it was called

the SARS-CoV-2 virus by the experts of the International Committee on Virus Taxonomy (ICTV)

because it is very similar to the one that caused the SARS outbreak (SARS-CoVs). The CoVs have

been the main pathogens of new outbreaks of respiratory illness. They are a large family of single-

stranded RNA viruses (+ ssRNA) that may be isolated in various species of animals.

These viruses can cross species boundaries for reasons yet to be clarified, and can cause

diseases in humans ranging from the common cold to more serious diseases such as MERS and

SARS. Interestingly, these latter viruses possibly originated from bats and then passed to other

mammalian hosts before jumping to human, the Himalayan palm civet for SARS-CoV and the

dromedary camel for MERS-CoV. Actually, the dynamics of SARS-Cov-2 are unclear, although

there is speculation that it is also of animal origin. Owing to the presence of spike glycoproteins on

the envelope, CoVs are positive-stranded RNA viruses with a crown-like appearance under an

electron microscope. There are four genera of CoVs in the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae of the

family Coronaviridae (order Nidovirales): alphacoronavirus (alphaCoV), betacoronavirus (betaCoV),

deltacoronavirus (deltaCoV) and gammaCoV. In addition, five sub-genera or lineages are

categorised into the betaCoV genus. Genomic characterisation has shown that the gene origins of

alphaCoVs and betaCoVs are possibly bats and rodents. On the contrary, avian species tend to

represent the deltaCoV and gammaCoV gene sources. Members of this broad family of viruses can

cause numerous animal species, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats, to develop respiratory,

enteric, hepatic, and neurological diseases. Seven human CoVs (HCoVs) have been identified to date


that are capable of infecting humans. In the mid-1960s, some of the HCoVs were recognized, while

others were only identified in the new millennium.

Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on environment

Many studies related to the Covid-19 epidemic that surrounded the world and killed many

people have been published in the medical field. However, it has not adequately analyzed the

environmental and energy impacts (Figure 1). Some reports claim that outbreak of Covid-19

decreases environmental emissions, while others claim that major environmental harm awaits us.

Here we put our exact efforts on some of the Covid-19 results. On surroundings. Because of the

outbreak, the capacity growth projections for wind energy for 2020 are expected to decrease by 4.9

GW and 28 per cent in solar energy. There are serious dismissals and discontinuities in the energy

sector. In order to reduce the negative impact of the outbreak on the renewable energy sector,

governments should urgently make the necessary interventions.

Figure 1. Impact of Covid19 on environment

(Source - https://venngage.com/blog/coronavirus-impact-on-environment-infographic/)

Air Pollution and Covid-19

China has placed strict traffic restrictions and self-quarantine measures in place to monitor

the SARS-CoV2 expansion. The changes in air pollution were produced by these acts. At Wuhan and

China, respectively, NO2 was reduced by 22.8 μg / m3 and 12.9 μg / m3 due to quarantine. PM 2.5

in Wuhan fell by 1.4 μg / m3 but decreased in 367 cities by 18.9 μg / m3. All these improvements in

air quality created human health benefits in China alone which have outnumbered confirmed deaths

of SARS-CoV2 so far (Chen et al., 2020). The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air has

announced that in the two weeks following the Chinese New Year holiday, CO2 emissions in China

were down by 25 percent. Air pollution influences the environment and can cause dramatic

environmental changes, which can also intensify outbreaks of infectious diseases by disrupting the

dynamics of pathogens, hosts, vectors, and transmission. Over the last few years air quality in China

has been decreased, resulting in increased hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases. This trend

may have been slowed at least in part by the country's response to COVID-19. Owing to the

introduction of travel restrictions, international air travel has also declined significantly since the


start of the COVID-19 outbreak. Most certainly, these types of behaviour would have similar

positive effects, at least temporarily, on the reduction of air pollution, as seen in China by limiting

the use of fossil fuels and limiting the discharge from production systems.

Covid-19 impact on water tourism

One of the most valuable assets of natural resources found in coastal areas is beaches

(Zambrano-Monserrate et al., 2018). They provide resources (land, sand, leisure, and tourism) that

are vital to coastal communities' survival and have inherent values that need to be protected from

over-exploitation (Schlacher et al., 2016). As a result of social distancing measures due to the latest

corona virus pandemic, the shortage of visitors has caused a drastic shift in the appearance of many

beaches around the world. Beaches such as Acapulco (Mexico), Puri beach (Odisha, India) or

Barcelona (Spain) for example, today look cleaner and have crystal-clear water.

Environmental noise level and Covid-19

Environmental noise is characterised as an unwanted sound that could be created by high-

volume anthropogenic activities (for example, industrial or commercial activities), the transit of

motor vehicles, and melodies. One of the key sources of irritation for the community and the

environment is ambient noise, causing health issues and altering the ecosystem's natural conditions

(Karczewski et al., 2019). The imposition by most governments of quarantine measures has forced

people to stay at home. With this, the use of private and public transportation has greatly declined.

Commercial operations have also ceased almost entirely. In most cities in the world, all these

improvements have caused the noise level to drop considerably.

Increased waste during Covid-19 outbreak

The quarantine policies which have been developed in most countries have led consumers to

increase their demand for home delivery online shopping. Thus, household-generated organic waste

has increased. Food bought online is also delivered packaged, so inorganic waste has risen as well.

Medical waste is on the rise too. During the outbreak, hospitals in Wuhan produced an average of

240 metric tonnes of medical waste a day, compared to their previous average of less than 50 tonnes.

In other countries such as the USA, garbage from personal protective equipment such as masks and

gloves has been growing (Halcomb, 2020).

Reduction in waste recycling and Covid-19

Recycling is a common and efficient means of preventing emissions, saving energy and

conserving natural resources (Varotto and Spagnolli, 2017; Zhu et al., 2019). Countries such as the

United States have suspended recycling services in some of their cities as a result of the pandemic, as

officials were worried about the possibility of COVID-19 spreading to recycling centers. Waste

management has been limited in especially affected European countries. Italy has for example

forbidden contaminated residents to sort their waste.

Effect of Covid 19 outbreak on the renewable energy sources

In the clean energy market, another major consequence of the Covid-19 outbreak is. Due to

issues such as delays in the supply chain, issues in tax inventory markets and the possibility of not

being able to benefit from government incentives ending this year (Birol 2020), the industry is

struggling. The outbreak also triggers a severe decrease in energy demand. The outbreak also

affected renewable energy, and its spread. The first significant effect on the current situation;

investments in renewable energy; and incentives in the second programme, due to the large number

of incentives that countries put into practise in the fight against the Covid-19 outbreak.


At this stage, the International Energy Agency's Executive Director (Birol 2020) is urging

governments to increase their guarantee and contract frameworks to minimize financial risks, and

this move will deter investors from turning away from renewable energy investments due to the

Covid-19 outbreak. The disease has triggered nearly 30 years of sharp decline worldwide, causing

significant concern for businesses. The Covid-19 epidemic has also had a devastating effect on the

global supply chain of renewable energy. If the incentives to be made are away from renewable

energy goals, a severe decline in clean energy investments and a domino effect will possibly occur

(Smith 2020). The projections for the crisis in wind energy, for example, have already begun. It is

therefore estimated that wind energy additions will decrease by 4.9 GW globally in 2020 (Guan

2020). One of the key examples of the outbreak 's impact on the renewable energy sector is the

spread of the Covid-19 outbreak (110 confirmed cases) and the closure of the facility (Jabri 2020) at

a wind power plant in North Dakota.

Water quality and Covid-19

Water in the canals in Venice cleared and witnessed greater flow of water. The increase in

water clarity was attributed to the settlement of sediments disturbed by boat traffic and the reduction

in air pollution along the waterways was stated. Evidently, water pollution in most of the world's

most unclean rivers, such as the Ganges in Varanasi District, is being recharged with clean water

from glacial sources, as the harmful effects of human activity as well as the reduction of net

environmental contaminants have been largely deterred due to government-imposed lockdowns.

Impact of Covid-19 on wildlife

Some animals were seen in cities as individuals stayed at home due to lockdown and travel

restrictions. Thanks to the reduced levels of human intervention and light pollution, sea turtles were

spotted laying eggs on beaches they had once avoided (such as the coast of the Bay of Bengal). In the

United States, between March and April, fatal vehicle collisions with animals including deer, elk,

moose, bears, mountain lions dropped by 58 per cent. Conservationists predict that, since they have

no alternative source of revenue, African countries will experience a major increase in bush meat

poaching. Environmental activists anticipate smuggling to go up for high-value items such as rhino

horn and ivory. On the other hand, Gabon agreed to ban bats and pangolins from human use, to

curtail the spread of zoonotic diseases, as the novel corona virus is thought to have transmitted itself

through these animals to humans. Myanmar approved the breeding of endangered animals such as

tigers, pangolins, and elephants in June 2020. Experts fear that attempts by the Southeast Asian

country to deregulate the hunting and breeding of wildlife could establish "a New Covid-19."

Deforestation and reforestation

The pandemic's destruction provided cover for illicit deforestation operations. This was

observed in Brazil, where satellite imagery showed Amazon rainforest deforestation increasing by

more than 50 per cent compared with baseline levels. Unemployment caused by the COVID-19

pandemic encouraged the recruiting of staff over five years for Pakistan's 10 Billion Tree Tsunami

programme to plant 10 billion trees, the projected annual global net loss of trees.

Impact of Covid-19 outbreak on human life

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has impacted everyday lives and slows the global economy.

Thousands of people, either sick or killed because of the spread of this disease, have been affected by

this pandemic (Dash et al., 2020). Fever, cold, cough, bone pain, and breathing difficulties are the

most common signs of this viral infection and eventually contributing to pneumonia. This, being for

the first time a new infectious disease affecting humans, vaccines are still not available. Therefore,


the emphasis is on taking thorough precautions such as extensive hygiene procedures (e.g. washing

hands regularly, avoiding face-to - face contact, etc.), social distancing, mask wearing, and so on.

This virus spreads area wise exponentially. Countries are preventing individual meetings to

propagate and split the exponential curve. Many countries lock up their communities and impose

strict quarantine to monitor the spread of this highly communicable disease's havoc.

Coronavirus concerns are changing our psychology. Our psychological reactions to ordinary

experiences that can lead us to behave in unexpected ways can alter the danger of contamination.

The danger of this latest disease pandemic scares a large part of our minds. Our psychological

wellbeing is profoundly threatened by anxiety. For instance, the fear of infection does not encourage

us to act like a responsible, open-minded adult, but we are forced to choose more conventional

actions. Intolerance towards problems such as migration and immigration are becoming more

popular nowadays. Not only does the pandemic impact the population's wellbeing, but it kills the

accountability in our mentality, resulting in an inequitable community. People are being victimized

for new pain such as wearing masks and keeping a social and physical gap. Young minds are being

frustrated due to uncurved COVID-19 biting circumstances to ponder about their near future. Owing

to a lack of adequate shelter and self-hygiene, homeless people are heavily exposed to the contagion.

There are millions of less fortunate people around the world who do not have the luxury of running

water accessibility, and who appear to suffer greatly from the current pandemic. As a consequence,

less fortunate and poor people are dying the most apart from losing jobs and livelihood.

Table 1. Effect of COVID-19 in daily life in correlation to affecting human lives

Healthcare Economic Social

i. Challenges in the

diagnosis,

quarantine and

treatment of

suspected or

confirmed cases

ii. Overloading of

medical shops

iii. Overload on doctors

and other healthcare

professionals, who

are at a very high

risk

i. Slowing of the

manufacturing of essential

goods

ii. Significant slowing down

in the revenue growth

iii. Losses in national and

international business

i. Disruption of

celebration of cultural,

religious and festive

events

ii. Undue stress among the

population

iii. Social distancing with

our peers and family

members

iv. Closure of the hotels,

restaurants and religious

places

v. Closure of places for

entertainment such as

movie and play theatres,

sports clubs,

gymnasiums, swimming

pools, and so on.

vi. Postponement of

examinations


Conclusions

The epidemic triggered by Covid-19 is causing people to have little social freedom

worldwide. In the environmental context, it causes extreme environmental waste because of medical

mobility. On the other hand, because people who are alone at home are afraid of waste due to their

sociological issues, this often leads to a decline in household waste and agricultural waste (Sahoo et

al., 2020). On the other hand, decreases in greenhouse gas emissions have been observed due to

substantial decreases in road transport, manufacturing, educational and other activities, but it has

been shown that this is not adequate for all pollutants to minimize air pollution. In the renewable

energy sector, the epidemic has created very serious problems, such as delays in the supply chain,

difficulties in the tax inventory markets and the possibility of not being able to take advantage of the

government incentives ending this year. Investors are behaving unstable because of business

instability. Therefore, very serious renewable energy incentives need to be demonstrated by

countries. From very early days, developing countries such as India have faced a number of

epidemics and pandemics. In the course of India's history, numerous cases of influenza, cholera,

dengue, smallpox and many others have been observed. Just some of them we've been able to

eliminate and many diseases still pose a danger to the human population. It is not unusual for sudden

and rapid outbreaks to occur in India and environmental issues, poor health conditions, a lack of

adequate public health system in many parts of the world may be the main cause. There is a need to

inform the public about COVID-19 pandemic prevention and self-protection in the country from the

NGOs, NSS and NCC cadres.

References

1. Jabri, A., Kalra, A., Kumar, A., Alameh, A., Adroja, S., Bashir, H., & Hedrick, D. P. (2020).

Incidence of stress cardiomyopathy during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. JAMA

network open, 3(7), e2014780-e2014780.

2. Birol, F., & Argiri, M. (1999). World energy prospects to 2020. Energy, 24(11), 905-918.

3. Halcomb, E., McInnes, S., Williams, A., Ashley, C., James, S., Fernandez, R., & Calma, K.

(2020). The Experiences of Primary Healthcare Nurses During the COVID‐19 Pandemic in

Australia. Journal of Nursing Scholarship.

4. Chen, N., Zhou, M., Dong, X., Qu, J., Gong, F., Han, Y., & Yu, T. (2020). Epidemiological

and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan,

China: a descriptive study. The Lancet, 395(10223), 507-513.

5. Guan, W. J., Ni, Z. Y., Hu, Y., Liang, W. H., Ou, C. Q., He, J. X., ... & Du, B. (2020).

Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 in China. New England journal of

medicine, 382(18), 1708-1720.

6. Smith, A. C., Thomas, E., Snoswell, C. L., Haydon, H., Mehrotra, A., Clemensen, J., &

Caffery, L. J. (2020). Telehealth for global emergencies: Implications for coronavirus disease

2019 (COVID-19). Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 1357633X20916567.

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Weston, M. A. (2016). Human threats to sandy beaches: A meta-analysis of ghost crabs

illustrates global anthropogenic impacts. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 169, 56-73.

8. Zhu, N., Zhang, D., Wang, W., Li, X., Yang, B., Song, J., ... & Niu, P. (2020). A novel

coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. New England Journal of

Medicine.

9. Karczewski, K. J., Francioli, L. C., Tiao, G., Cummings, B. B., Alföldi, J., Wang, Q., ... &

Gauthier, L. D. (2019). Variation across 141,456 human exomes and genomes reveals the

spectrum of loss-of-function intolerance across human protein-coding genes. BioRxiv,

531210.


10. Varotto, A., & Spagnolli, A. (2017). Psychological strategies to promote household recycling.

A systematic review with meta-analysis of validated field interventions. Journal of

Environmental Psychology, 51, 168-188.

11. Zambrano-Monserrate, M. A., Silva-Zambrano, C. A., Davalos-Penafiel, J. L., Zambrano-

Monserrate, A., & Ruano, M. A. (2018). Testing environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in

Peru: the role of renewable electricity, petroleum and dry natural gas. Renewable and

Sustainable Energy Reviews, 82, 4170-4178.

12. Sahoo, J. P., Samal, K. C., & Behera, D. (2020). A Blueprint to Boost Indian Agriculture in

the Era of Covid-19 Pandemic. Biotica Research Today, 2(8), 780-782.

13. Dash, M., Sahoo, J. P., & Samal, K. C. (2020). Climate Change: It’s Impact on Biodiversity

and Human Society. Biotica Research Today, 2(6), 484-486.



Biofertilizer: Impact on Soil Health and Plant Growth

Sushmita Jain1*, Sumit Jain2 and Shweta Tiwari3

1Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa

Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, MP, India 2Department of Agronomy, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, MP, India 3Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur,

MP, India


Biofertilizers are the inoculants of microorganism bacteria, fungus, algae and also a

combination of microorganism which makes nutrient available to plant in a sufficient amount. It is

less hazardous, expensive and more environment-friendly when compared to synthetic or chemical

fertilizers as well as improves the soil health and plant growth. Biofertilizers enhance the crop yield

and protect the plant from soil born diseases, drought and other harmful effects. Without

biofertilizers nitrogen fixation, phosphorous solubilization and other activities are not possible. It is

an essential component of organic farming and an important part of integrated nutrient management.

Biofertilizers have some drawbacks also that it slowly releases the nutrients, its application depends

on soil and plant also, comparatively its nutrient efficiency is low, etc.

Introduction

Biofertilizer is the great think of modern agriculture in which excludes the use of chemical fertilizers

or pesticides against the crop plant and soil. Biofertilizers are the fertilizers that contain living micro-

organisms. According to Buscot and Varma, 2010 soil micro-organisms are key elements in the

biogeochemical cycles of elements on our planet. It is the richest source of nutrients which makes the

soil healthy and more fertile without leaving any harmful impact on soil and plant. It also maintains

the soil biodiversity which contains all beneficial microbes like fungus, bacteria, VAM (Vesicular

Arbuscular Mycorrhiza), nitrogen fixers and plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium. Biofertilizers

are cost-effective, sustainable, eco-friendly, renewable sources of plant nutrients and an important

component of an integrated plant Nutrient system. Biofertilizers keep the soil environment rich in all

kinds of micro- and macro-nutrients via nitrogen fixation, phosphate and potassium solubilization or

mineralization, the release of plant growth regulating substances, production of antibiotics and

biodegradation of organic matter in the soil. (Sinha et al., 2014). By the biofertilizer, a nutrient is not

directly supplied to plants, it needs the medium for nutrient supply to plant which is living

microorganism. Biofertilizers are the microbial carrier of nitrogen-fixing, phosphorous solubilizing

and decomposition of cellulose. It is applied to soil and seed which improves soil health, plant

growth and increases the microbial population in the soil.

Root Nodules Azolla BGA


Role of biofertilizer

• Biofertilizers are cost-effective and eco-friendly compared to chemical or synthetic fertilizers.

• It improves the physical and chemical condition of the soil as well as improves the soil structure

and water holding capacity of the soil.

• Biofertilizers enhance the fertilizer use efficiency which makes the soil more fertile as a result of

more crop production.

• Microorganism functional for a long duration which improves soil fertility.

• Rhizobium bacteria fix the atmospheric nitrogen into the soil by leguminous crops.

• They increase the available phosphorous content into the soil by phosphorous solubilization.

• Biofertilizer release the certain growth-promoting hormones which improve root proliferation.

• Biofertilizer increases the crop yield by up to 15-30%.

• Biofertilizer develops the resistance to drought and soil born disease as well as protects the

plants and soil also.

• It Increases the sustainability in agriculture.

• It reduces pollution and maintains environmental health and also reduces the risk of crop failure.

The use of biological N2-fixation technology can decrease N fertilizer application and reduce

environmental risks (Raimam et al., 2007).

• Bio-fertilization aims to accelerate the microbial processes which augment the availability of

nutrients that can be easily assimilated by plant and to increase the number of useful

microorganisms in the soil (Mahdi et al., 2010).

• Microorganisms improve crop growth and yield by increasing photosynthesis, producing

bioactive substances, such as hormones and enzymes, controlling soil diseases, and accelerating

decomposition of lignin materials in the soil (Higa, 2000; Hussain et al., 2002).

Limitations of use of biofertilizers

They are crop and soil specific.

Compare to synthetic fertilizers they slowly release the nutrients.

Its efficiency is low compare to synthetic fertilizers.

It requires a large number of biofertilizers compare to chemical fertilizer for getting more yield.

Profile of different biofertilizers

• Rhizobium fixes 60-100 kg of atmospheric nitrogen ha-1 in legumes and enhances the yield up to

10-30%.

• Azatobacter fixes 20-25 kg N ha-1 and increases the yield 10-20% in wheat, maize, cotton,

mustard and vegetable crops.

• Azospirillum also fixes the 20-30 kg of Nitrogen per hater and gets 10-15% more yield in rice,

maize, sugarcane, pearl millet etc.

• Blue-green algae (BGA) is best suitable for flooded or submerged rice fixes the nitrogen 25-30

kg ha-1 as well as Azolla also fixes the nitrogen up to 30-90 kg ha-1 and increases the yield.


CLASSIFICATION OF BIOFERTILIZERS

Uses of biofertilizers

• Seed Treatment: 10 kg of seed treated with 200 g of biofertilizer in 300- 400 ml of water and for

adhesive to these biofertilizer use gum or jaggery solution, etc. and then treated seeds spread on

a clean sheet or cloth for dry, after drying seed sow immediately.

• Seedling Root Dip: This method is mostly used for the transplanted rice crop, in this method

made a field bed and filled with water. Then add the recommended biofertilizers and mixed in

water, then the seedling root is dipped in water and after 8-10 hour transplant the plant.

• Soil Treatment: For soil treatment use 4 kg of the recommended biofertilizers is mixed in 200 kg

of compost and kept for overnight. Then added this mixture in the soil at the time of sowing or

planting.

Nitrogen

Fixers

Phosphate

Solubilizing

Organic Matter

Decomposers

Symbiotic Nitrogen-fixers

For legumes Rhizobium

For Non- legumes Frankia

Associative Nitrogen-Fixers

BGA, Anabeana, Azospirillum,

Beijernikia

Free Living Nitrogen-Fixers

Azatobacter, Clostridium

Phosphate

Solubilizing

Bacillus, Pseudomonas,

Aspergillus, Penicillium

Phosphate Mobilizer

Vam, Comus, Gigapore

Cellulolytic Decomposer Trichoderma, Trichurus,

Cytophage, Paecilomyces

Lignolytic

Decomposer

Pleurotus, Agaricus,

Polypores, Fomes


Conclusion

Biofertilizers play a vital role in maintaining soil health, make it more sustainable to

agriculture and increase production. It is one of the important parts of organic farming. Biofertilizers

contain the microorganism like rhizobium which fixes the atmospheric nitrogen in the soil and make

available to plant. It makes the environment eco-friendly. Biofertilizers are applied in different ways

like seed treatment, soil treatment etc.

References

Buscot, F., & Varma A. (2010). Micro-Organisms in Soils: Roles in Genesis and Functions,

Springer, Lexington.

Higa, T. (2000). What is EM technology? EM World Journal, 1:1-6.

Hussain, T., Anjum A.D. & Tahir J. (2002). The technology of beneficial microorganisms. Nature

Farming & Environment, 3, 1-14.

Mahdi S.S., Hassan G.I., Samoon S.A., Rather H.A., Showkat A.D. & et al. (2010). Bio-fertilizers in

organic agriculture. Journal of Phytology, 2(10), 42-54.

Raimam, M.P., Albino U., Cruz M.F., Lovato G.M., Spago F., Ferracin T.P., et al. (2007).

Interaction among free-living N-fixing bacteria isolated from Drosera villosa var. villosa and AM

fungi (Glomus clarum) in rice (Oryza sativa), Applied Soil Ecology, 35, 25-34.

Sinha, R.K., Valani D., Chauhan, K. & Agarwal, S. (2014). Embarking on a second green revolution

for sustainable agriculture by vermiculture biotechnology using earthworms: reviving the dreams

of Sir Charles Darwin. Int J Agric Health Saf, 2(7), 113-128.



Impact of Covid-19 on Indian Agriculture Sector

Tank Prashant

M.Sc. Student, Department of Agronomy, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh-362001,

Gujarat, India


Rural demand is driving up India’s electricity consumption, backed by a 3.4% farm sector

growth amid 23.9% contraction in GDP in the first quarter of the current fiscal. Primarily agrarian

states in the northern and eastern regions are posting healthy growth in power consumption, while

heavily industrialized states in the western and southern regions continue to falter due to sluggish

recovery in industrial activity.

After announcing a lockdown, the Indian government was quick to declare agriculture as an

essential sector. Implementation and enforcement in a country of 1.3 billion people comes with its

challenges, such as maintaining smooth logistics and countering misinformation. However, the

situation has also provided opportunities for innovative approaches, and may lead to lasting changes.

When the corona crisis started, India’s agriculture sector was on the way to recovery after three years

of subdued prices. In the Indian economy, agriculture contributes 11 percent of the GDP but provides

a livelihood for 52 percent of the working population.

Agriculture value chain in India


Lockdown Period occur simultaneously with rabi harvesting Season

As Rabi crop harvest season coincides with the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, the ready to

be harvested crops unabatedly stands in the fields, on account of the dearth of agricultural laborers.

Already reeling under an unprecedented confluence of pressure, the agrarian economy is now

struggling to keep its head above water. However, timely intervention by the center and state govt.

has brought a big respite to the farmers of India.

The Center and State Governments are now working in harmony to redress the grievances of

farmers by introducing a hantle of measures every day such as subsidies, including crop insurance to

farmers, free flow of agricultural credit, unemployment allowance to rural landless/migrant workers

under MANREGA, etc. The govt. is using every arrow in its quiver to ensure the health of farmers

by continuously sensitizing the farmers about working in fields with covered faces while maintaining

social distancing.

With a 16.5 percent contribution to GVA (Gross Value Added) and 43 percent population

engaged, the food and agriculture sector has immense potential to wean India out of the economic

crisis abyss. The incessant fast lane solutions and swift actions by the govt. to empower the farmers

will surely succor India in winning the war against the life and livelihood pulverizing coronavirus

pandemic.

Tackling labour issue

For starters, the available labour should be put to use. Workers should be given

unemployment allowances, while district authorities should deploy the available labour to the most

critical areas, given how crucial the current harvesting season is. Outside of these domestic woes, the

experts point out the range of export challenges unfolding. Lockdowns in major economies across

the globe have caused delays and backlogs in supply chains. Currently, around half a million tonnes

of Indian rice is locked up in the supply chains, while perishable crops are not being transported at

all for fear of deterioration in delayed transit.

Inputs Record fertilizer sales were witnessed during the lockdown period in the month of April. The

forecast of a normal monsoon this year would normally increase the crop area and the consumption

of fertilizers. However, if the lockdown persists, there may be a reduction in cropping area due to the

unavailability of labour and agribusiness inputs as well as logistical challenges and limited capital for

inputs (also due to lower remittances as workers return from cities). This shows the importance of

having access to and relations in various parts of the country. Bayer recently joined hands with Pune-

based e-commerce firm for farm inputs ‘AgroStar’ for home delivery of seeds and crop protection

products in Central, Northern and Western India.

Processed food Processed food companies ramped up production after the lockdown, as people are stocked

up on (packaged) groceries. Modern retail, representing only 2.4 percent of grocery retail India,

benefited from this in the short term. However, regulations limiting store operations as well as

disruptions in logistics and labour movement led to low inventory and sales. Private label branded

products were introduced or their distribution ramped up. India’s import of palm oil dropped by 58

percent in the month of March when compared to March 2019, due to lower horeca demand, logistics

challenges and higher import duties. In general, there was a drop of 40 percent in edible oil


processing, packaging and distribution due to labour shortage. Animal markets were closed and

affected export of meat (products).

A healthcare crisis in rural India The pandemic has also highlighted the potential public health crisis awaiting rural India and

farming communities. Basic preventive measures such as regular hand washing, social distancing

and self-isolation pose a unique challenge for rural communities. In a country which is already

water-scarce, and where there is irregular water supply in many areas both rural and urban, repeated

hand washing is a luxury that cannot be put into practice.

In addition, social distancing and isolation are a huge challenge for farming communities who

rely on daily labor and wages for their subsistence. As we adjust to a new normal and “business as

unusual”, it is imperative for a predominantly agrarian country like India to leverage the lessons from

the pandemic and the severe impacts it has had on the farming community.

The key lessons are:

Long food supply chains involving multiple stakeholders and entities are clearly vulnerable to

shocks such as the pandemic. Mapping and optimizing supply chains will be key for future

resilience.

Building a resilient food system is not about production, but also about ensuring access to

nutritious food to people in times of crisis.

Smallholder farmers are highly vulnerable to crisis as a result of their limited access to

resources, credit and basic healthcare facilities. Measures will need to be taken by

governments and businesses to protect the community.

Conclusion Time will tell how the Indian economy will be impacted by COVID19 and the measures

taken. It is expected that India will remain among the world’s fastest growing economies. According

to Nielsen India, urban Indian consumers are likely to cut spending on discretionary items

(restaurants, luxury brands, etc.) in the coming months but spending will increase on organic food

and fitness. Consumers are expected to increasingly demand safety-branded food, and buy animal

proteins from the organized sector rather than wet markets. Ready to eat /easy to cook products will

also become popular, as out of home consumption will be restricted.



Precision Agriculture – A New Smart Way of Farming

Mokariya L.K.1* and Malam K.V.2

Dept. of Agronomy, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh-362001, Guj., India


Precision agriculture refers to the use of technology that helps farmers to manage their fields

in a more precise and accurate manner. The goal of PA is to ensure profitability, sustainability and

protection of the environment. PA is also known as satellite agriculture, as-needed farming and site-

specific crop management (SSCM). Precision agriculture relies upon specialized equipment,

software and IT services. Precision agriculture (PA) is an approach to farm management that uses

information technology (IT) to ensure that the crops and soil receive exactly what they need for

optimum health and productivity. Precision agriculture offers the potential to automate and simplify

the collection and analysis of information. It allows management decisions to be made and quickly

implemented on small areas within larger fields. With new technological advancements in the

agricultural revolution of precision farming, each farmer will be able to feed 265 people on the same

acreage.

Precision Agriculture gives farmers the ability to use crop inputs more effectively including

fertilizers, pesticides, tillage and irrigation water. More effective use of inputs means greater crop

yield and quality, without polluting the environment. At present time of increasing input costs,

decreasing commodity prices and environmental concerns, farmers and Government authorities are

looking for new ways to increase efficiency, cut costs and subscribe to sustainable agriculture.

Despite the disadvantages to precision farming, there is great hope that utilizing this technology will

greatly enhance the benefits of farmers who decide to get on this technology.

Introduction

Precision agriculture is an integrated information and production based farming system that is

designed to increase long term, site specific and whole farm production efficiency, productivity and

profitability while minimizing unintended impacts on wildlife and the environment. It’s about doing

the right thing, in the right place, in the right way, at the right time. It requires the use of new

technologies like GPS (satellites) and GIS. Precision agriculture is based on information and

knowledge is a new combined technique for the scientific management of modern agriculture. It is a

complete system that takes full advantage of available agricultural resources, reduces pollution to

protect environment and promotes sustainable agriculture.


Precision agriculture refers to the use of technology that helps farmers to manage their fields

in a more precise and accurate manner. These technologies include:

Using precision agriculture technology to predict and monitor crop yields.

Using sensors to measure a variety of field parameters.

Using remote sensing, such as satellite imagery data to detect problems in the field and

monitor field performance.

Decision support software tools.

Robotics – precision application of inputs, such as fertilizers, pesticides and seeds.

The Need for Precision Agriculture:

• In some fields, within-field variability can be substantial. In one field, the best crop growth

was observed near waterways and level areas of the field.

• Side slopes where erosion depleted topsoil showed moisture stress and reduced plant stands.

• This does not necessarily mean having the same yield level in all areas of the field.

• A farmer's mental information database about how to treat different areas in a field required

years of observation and implementation through trial-and error.

• Precision agriculture offers the potential to automate and simplify the collection and analysis

of information. It allows management decisions to be made and quickly implemented on

small areas within larger fields.

Fig.1: Precision agriculture cycle

Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM):

SSNM is a plant-based approach that provides principles that can be used everywhere. SSNM

also gives guidelines for effective N, P, and K management so that farmers give their crop the right

amount of essential nutrients. With SSNM, plant-essential nutrients are supplied as and when

required to ensure the feeding of the crop to optimally meet its nutrient needs. SSNM provides

guidelines, tools and strategies that allow farmers to determine when and how much nutrients they

need to apply to their rice fields under actual growing conditions in a specific season and location.


Fig.2: Site-specific nutrient management

Right product: Match the fertilizer product or nutrient source to crop needs and soil type to ensure

balanced supply of nutrients.

Right rate: Match the quantity of fertilizer applied to crop needs, taking into account the current

supply of nutrients in the soil. Too much fertilizer leads to environmental losses,

including runoff, leaching and gaseous emissions, as well as wasting money. Too little

fertilizer exhausts soils, leading to soil degradation.

Right time: Ensure nutrients are available when crops need them by assessing crop nutrient

dynamics. This may mean using split applications of mineral fertilizers or combining

organic and mineral nutrient sources to provide slow-releasing sources of nutrients.

Right place: Placing and keeping nutrients at the optimal distance from the crop and soil depth so

that crops can use them is key to minimizing nutrient losses. Generally, incorporating

nutrients into the soil is recommended over applying them to the surface. The ideal

method depends on characteristics of the soil, crop, tillage regime and type of fertilizer.

Tools

Precision agriculture is usually done as a four-stage process to observe spatial variability:

1. Data collection

2. Variables

3. Strategies

4. Implementing practices


1. Data collection

• Geolocation a field enables the farmer to overlay information gathered from analysis of soils.

• Geolocation is done in two ways:

2. Variables

• Intra and inter-field variability may result from a number of factors

• These include climatic conditions, soils, cropping

practices, weeds and disease.

• Permanent indicators are chiefly soil indicators provide information

about main environmental constants.

• Point indicators allow them to track a crop's status. i.e., to see whether

diseases are developing, if the crop is suffering from water stress,

nitrogen stress, or lodging.

3. Strategies

• Using soil maps, farmers can pursue two strategies to adjust field

inputs:

• Predictive approach: based on analysis of static indicators (soil, resistivity, field history, etc.)

during the crop cycle.

• Control approach: information from static indicators is regularly updated during the crop

cycle by:

• sampling

• remote sensing

• proxy-detection

• aerial or satellite remote sensing

4. Implementing practices

• New information and communication technologies (NICT) make field-level crop

management more operational and easier to achieve for farmers.


• Precision agriculture uses technology on agricultural equipment (e.g. tractors, sprayers,

harvesters, etc.):

• Positioning system (e.g. GPS receivers that use satellite signals to precisely determine a

position on the globe);

• Geographic information systems (GIS), i.e., software that makes sense of all the available

data; variable-rate farming equipment (seeder, spreader).

Mobile apps

With the growing use electronic devices like smart phones, tablets, etc and availability of

internet connectivity, it is very easy to share or get any information from anywhere. Android apps

provide quick and efficient functionality to be grown with technology. In the field like PA farmers

can get more benefits from the apps developed for the agriculture monitoring and information

exchange. Apps used for agriculture monitoring give information like weather information, market

rate and availability etc. Similarly, apps can also provide predictive weather analysis, variety of

seedlings available, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides available, etc.

Benefits:

• Compile and analyze data in real time

• Reduce water waste and improve crop management

• Get optimum results from labor & resources

• Produce food to feed the entire world

• Monitor soil & plant parameters

• Help automate field management

• Provides better information for making management decision

• Reduce pollution

Problems in Precision Agriculture:

• Moreover, precision farming cannot be utilized completely in every crop.

• It needs the farmers to embark on various technological, technical, and economic conditions

before the adoption of this technology.

Table.1: Precision farming V/S Traditional farming

Sr.

no. Precision farming Traditional farming

1 Farm field is broken into “management

zones”

Whole field approach where field is

treated as a homogeneous area

2 Management decisions are based on

requirements of each zone

Decisions are based on field averages

3 PF tools (e.g. GPS/GIS) are used to

control zone

Inputs are applied uniformly across a

field

Some Facts:

• The first agricultural revolution was the increase of mechanized agriculture, from 1900 to

1930. Each farmer produced enough food to feed about 26 people during this time.


• The 1990s prompted the Green Revolution with new methods of genetic modification, which

led to each farmer feeding about 155 people.

• It is expected that by 2050, the global population will reach about 9.6 billion, and food

production must effectively double from current levels in order to feed every mouth.

• With new technological advancements in the agricultural revolution of precision farming,

each farmer will be able to feed 265 people on the same acreage.

Future prospects

Future prospects for PA include improvement in the availability and performance of existing

technologies. These include improvements in internet connectivity, sensor technology, better and

more accurate mobile applications, machinery equipment’s, etc. However, the most promising

prospect in the future of PA is the application of drones towards the implementation of PA. Drones

eliminate the need for GPS and strong internet connectivity it requires. With the drone technology

we can speedup crop scouting, identifying pest or nutrient issues in crops and addressing them right

away, checking for weather damage, finding pivot breakdowns on irrigation systems, checking

drainage system performance, the list goes

Conclusion:

Precision Agriculture gives farmers the ability to use crop inputs more effectively including

fertilizers, pesticides, tillage and irrigation water. More effective use of inputs means greater crop

yield and quality, without polluting the environment. At present time of increasing input costs,

decreasing commodity prices and environmental concerns, farmers and Government authorities are

looking for new ways to increase efficiency, cut costs and subscribe to sustainable agriculture.

Despite the disadvantages to precision farming, there is great hope that utilizing this technology will

greatly enhance the benefits of farmers who decide to get on this technology.

References

American Society of Agronomy (ASA). 1989. Decision Reached on Sustainable Agriculture.

Agronomy News. January 1989, p. 15. (ASA, Madison, Wisconsin, USA).

Blackmore, B. S., Wheeler, P. N., Morris, J., Morris, R. M. and Jones, R.J.A. 1994. The role of

precision farming in sustainable agriculture: A European perspective. In: Proceedings of

the 2nd International Conference on Precision Agriculture. edited by P. C. Robert, R. H.

Rust and W. E. Larson. (ASACSSA- SSSA. Madison, WI, USA) pp. 773–793.

Leiva, F. R., Morris, J. and Blackmore, B. S. 1997. Precision Farming Techniques for Sustainable

Agriculture. Proceeding of the 1st European Conference on Precision Agriculture. edited

by J. V. Strafford (BIOS Scientific Publishers Oxford, UK).

Mehta, A. 2018. Precision Agriculture – A Modern Approach to Smart Farming. International

Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 9(2), 23-26.

Patil, S., Kokate, A. R., Kadam, D. D. 2016. Precision Agriculture: A Survey. Electronics &

Communication Engineering, 5(8), 1837 – 1840.

Schilfgaarde, V. J. 1999. Is Precision agriculture sustainable? American Journal of Alternative

Agriculture, 14(1), 43–46.



Save Grapes from Diseases

Aditya1*, J N Bhatia2, R S Jarial3 And Kumud Jarial4

1M.Sc Student (Plant Pathology), Department of Plant Pathology, Dr. Y S Parmar University of

Horticulture and Forestry, College of Horticulture and Forestry – Neri, Hamirpur (H.P.) India 2Principal Scientist, CCS HAU, Hisar, India 3Assistant Scientist, Department of Plant Pathology, Dr. Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and

Forestry, College of Horticulture and Forestry – Neri, Hamirpur (H.P.) India 4Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Dr. Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and

Forestry, College of Horticulture and Forestry – Neri, Hamirpur (H.P.) India)


Grape is one of the important fruit crop and also considered as the queen of fruits. A grape

are classified under the family of berries and comes in different varieties as well as colours viz.,

green, red, blue, purple and black. Grapes are a good source of fiber, potassium, and a range of

vitamins and other minerals & may help protect against cancer, eye problems, cardiovascular

disease, and other health conditions. Grape crop is affected by number of diseases which reduce the

yield to a greater extent. The main symptom of the diseases and their management are given below:

1. Anthracnose (Elsinoe ampelina):

Most wide spread and destructive disease of grapes. Small dark brown spots with darker

margins are formed on young leaves around mid rib and main veins. The lesions on canes are

however elongated sunken and dark brown in colour with dark purple raised margins. Ashy

grey spots with brown margins appeared on fruits.

Management strategies:

Systematic pruning of vines before bud burst should be followed so that the diseased

vines should be removed.

Dead twigs, vines and fallen leaves should be collected and brunt.

Pruned vines should be sprayed with 0.2% bavistin fungicide before bud burst in

dormancy.

The spray of benlate or bavistin @0.2% in the first week of May, last week of July and

second and third week of August should be given.

2. Dead arm (Cryptosporella viticola):

This is also one of the dreaded diseases of grape mostly severe in winters due to the attack of

this disease. Cankers are formed on the branches and ultimately the branches die.


Apply balanced and recommended doses of fertilizers.

During pruning the infected twigs should be removed and brunt.

Pruning parts should be immediately pasted with the bordeaux paste (4:4:50).

Spray of captan or bavistin @ 0.2% should be applied.


3. Powdery mildew (Uncinula necator):

The symptoms of the disease have been observed on all plant parts particularly on leaves,

vines, flowers and fruits. Initially small white powdery spots appear on upper parts of the

leaves and ultimately cover the entire surface of the leaves with advancing age into big spots.

The white powdery mass also accumulates on flowers and bunches of grapes. Affected

flowers are shriveled, while fruits turn into brown and dry completely. The diseased leaves

later on change to brown discoloration and fall down.

Control measures:

Spray karathane and calixin @0.1% or sulfex @0.25% as and when the disease appears

on the crop.

4. Downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola):

Downy mildew is an extremely serious fungal disease of grapes that can result in severe crop

loss. The pathogen attacks all green parts of the vine, especially the leaves. Lesions on leaves

are angular, yellowish, sometimes oily and located between the veins. As the disease

progress, a white cottony growth can be observed on the lower leaf surface. Young berries

are highly susceptible, appearing grayish when affected. Berries are less susceptible when

mature. Eventually, infected berries will drop.


Maintain plant vigor by applying balanced fertilizers.

Remove fallen leaves which are the source of overwintering inoculums.

All dead and infected shoots should be pruned regularly.

Fungicides like captan or copper oxychloride or mancozeb or metalaxyl should be applied

just before the blooming.

5. Root knot nematode (Meloidogyne hapla):

Affected vines remain stunted in growth. Branches and leaves size is reduced. Affected

leaves dries and fallen on the ground. Nematodes feeding on young feeder roots inducing

giant gall formation usually resulting in root galls. These galls interfere with water and

nutrients uptake. Due to the severe infection the affected roots starts decaying and the plants

ultimately dried.


Apply carbofuran (Furadan 3G) @13 g/sq. m around the stem of vines in an area of 9 sq.

m (117 g/vine) and immediately apply irrigation. The insecticide should be applied before

the one week of sprouting of vines.

Intercropping of garlic should be encouraged between the vines.



Need of Rain Water Harvesting

Tari Vinaya Satyawan Savitri

University of Mumbai, Ratnagiri Sub-Center, Maharashtra, India


Rainwater is an ultimate source for water on the planet ‘Earth’ usually generated through the

water cycle (hydrological cycle). The driving force of the hydrological cycle is the sun. We people

are continuously trying to win the world and challenge nature through our everyday activities but

actually, these are dangerous stepping stones towards the end of existence of life on this beautiful

planet.

We should not forget that the groundwater has limits. Some environmentalists have already

quoted, "The third world war will be due to water crisis." and coined the term 'Water war'. This war

will be very disastrous than the previous two wars.

This may be stopped only and only by the daily activities of each human being. Because man

is the main constructor and modular of nature and only human being has an efficient brain to think

about than the other animals. Hence, it is the prior duty of humans that we all should save every drop

of water as water is a very precious resource on the planet.

The rainwater is the ultimate source to recharge the groundwater. Now a day groundwater

level is gradually and continuously depleting because of over-extraction and injudicious use. That

may be the alerting bell about the upcoming world-war and therefore being eco-friendly we should

take some stand to save the water.

Here are some options to overcome this environmental problem such as

Judicious use of water

Use recycled water wherever possible

Use treated water for domestic purpose

Use treated water for washing and boiling purpose at the industrial level (both small scale and

large scale)

Besides these one can use rainwater which is being wasted in huge quantity unknowingly every

year. The way of conserving this water is through Rain Water Harvesting (RWH). This is a new

trend (already adopted in many developed countries) coming in eco-friendly houses, buildings, and

institutions for conservation of water.

Methods of rainwater harvesting:

1. Storage of rainwater in underground or aboveground artificial tanks. The artificial tanks can be constructed above ground as depicted in Fig. No. 1 or under ground as

in Fig No. 2 however, catchment area is roof top of the buildings. This kind of harvesting can

store millions of litre water per rainy season. This water can be used for gardening and car wash,

flushing, firefighting, etc. Each fire brigade station must have this plant of their own in heavy

rains areas. Water is acquired from the direct roof of the building to the artificial tanks.


Fig. 1: Above Ground Artificial Tank

Fig. 2: Underground Artificial Tank

2. Direct recharging of the water table through dug up pit. The rain water harvested from roof top can be stored in underground pit. This Pit is specially

constructed with some layers of removable wire screen, sand, pebbles, stones etc (Fig. No.3).

Then harvested rain water will be entered through collection pipe from catchment area. This rain

water will be filtered through sand, pebbles and stones. However, such filtered rain water help for

fast recharging of water table.


Fig. 3: Water Table Recharge through Dug Up Pit

3. Ground Water Recharge through percolation. Surface runoff leads to inefficient percolation of water hence it is recommended by

environmentalist to recharge groundwater by percolation pits (Fig. No.4). This water is

conserved for watering the gardens and agricultural lands which helps to maintain subsoil

moisture as well as increasing the groundwater level.

Fig. 4: Ground Water Recharge by Percolation


4. Direct recharging the water table through bore well. Rooftop collection of water can be directly used to release underground where the bore well is

located, so that water table can be recharged easily and faster way (Fig No. 5).

Fig. 5: Ground Water recharge through Bore Well

Rainwater harvesting is a very effective and environmentally safe method of conservation. It

requires a one-time investment during construction and nominal yearly maintenance. If we

humans can think over the environmental problem and have such a great solution then why not

start from today, better to start now. Let us start the movement and protect nature as well as

ensure self-existence on this planet earth.



WhatsApp: An Effective Digital Tool for Information Dissemination

Kungumaselvan T.* and Katiki Srikar

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India


India is an agriculture country. Agriculture and allied enterprises play a vital role in the

Indian economy. Our Indian farmers are started to adopt modern technologies in the agriculture

which opens the way for application of artificial intelligence and ICT tools in farms. WhatsApp can

transform agriculture value chain actors such as Agri input dealers, agripreneurs and Agriculture

extension agents and create value for the small farmers by providing real time informations.

WhatsApp provides the agriculture information in the forms of text messages, images, videos which

makes the farmers to get right information at the right time to the group of farmers.

Introduction

Indian agriculture is changing towards modernization with the help of innovations,

technologies and improved scientific package of practices. Most of the farmers are utilizing the

technologies given by the public and private sectors to achieve higher yield. All the technologies can

be provided mechanically in which human labour intervention can be minimized. But in case of

advisory services/information services, it is very difficult to farmers to shift from extension agent-

oriented communication to Information Communication Tools (ICT) oriented communication due to

the validity and credibility of the information.

ICT innovations like web portals, mobile phone applications and social media forums are

currently widely used worldwide by the researchers, extension agents and farmers for interacting to

get informations. It can be accepted that ‘mobile applications will not plough the farm fields’ but

these applications able to guide the farmers how to do the particular practice. Many social media

platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Blogs, Instagram, etc. are providing the agriculture information

in the forms of text messages, images, videos which makes the farmers to get right information at the

right time. WhatsApp is one of the widely used social media platforms other than the YouTube,

Facebook, etc.

Importance of WhatsApp in knowledge sharing

Innovative farmers and experts sharing the information and experiences related to agriculture

and allied activities to fellow members of the group through WhatsApp. Majority of the members

used to share their personal farm experience and informations in the WhatsApp. WhatsApp act as a

discussion stimulator for socialization and internalization which leads to learning exchange. This

type of learning exchange by the farmers is termed as ‘innovative farmer-led extension delivery’.

The importance of WhatsApp needs to be enhanced and modified to provide location specific

informations (Nain et al., 2018).

Role of WhatsApp in agriculture value chain

The core concept of agriculture value chain is ‘farm to plate’. Thanks to low cost smart

mobiles which make rural people also able to afford it, utilize it and reaping benefits from it. The

potential of WhatsApp is growing positively through which farmers are benefitted by getting not

only advisory also able to sell their produce over cyber. WhatsApp can improve the agriculture value

chain by connecting the stakeholders like agricultural input dealers, small and marginal


entrepreneurs (SME) and extension agents and small farmers. The major advantage of using

WhatsApp is we can create groups and able to send various types of messages at a time to all the

group members. Farmers mainly use WhatsApp to gather news and events related to agriculture and

mostly prefer pictured information and voice messages rather than text form of message (Naruka et

al., 2017).

WhatsApp is not only act as a virtual marketing tool and also creates the farmers support

network to exchange the resources and produces all over the country/world. The social media

enabled WhatsApp platform provides advisories regarding field operations, pest and disease

management, input source and market informations which helps the farmers to make decisions

effectively.

Kisan Call Centres and WhatsApp:

These KCC provide on-call advisory and also SMS for the farmers according to their need.

The major limitation was observed in KCC is the resource person/experts have to completely depend

on the information/query asked by the farmers through voice mode. Most of the times it is difficult to

give most appropriate solution for the farmers’ queries due to less time factor which leads to

provision of general advisory by the KCC staffs to the farmers (Thakur et al., 2017).

The farmers who asked queries are not monitored by the KCC authorities which lead to the

question of ‘whether the solution was appropriate or failure?’. These above discussed issues can be

resolved by the use of WhatsApp messages. Farmers can send voice messages along with the photos,

videos of the problem which highly helps the experts to understand the problem and need of the

farmers and proper and exact solution will be provided by proper follow-up (Mittal et al., 2010).

Peer discussions and fewer disturbances by the noise and other factors are major advantages of using

WhatsApp. Training follow-up can be highly practiced and achieved through WhatsApp.

SWOT analysis on WhatsApp Messenger

Strengths

Works on various platforms

No extra cost except cost

incurred for internet connectivity

Usage skill can be learned easily

Sharing the knowledge to others

(images, texts, videos)

Group interaction feature

Weakness

Need of good internet

connectivity

Number of participants are

limited to certain extent

Limitation in the size of the data

can be sent

Opportunities

Enhanced quality and

productivity of the information

New innovative ideas can be

generated

Act as a online platform to sell

the produce

Threats

Difficult to check the credibility of

the information

Some admins charges money to

join the group and access the

information

Competition by other platforms of

social media

Source: Kamani et al., (2016)


Few major farmers WhatsApp groups in India

SN Name of the group Participants Type of information

sharing

1 Krishi Jargan Group Farmers of Maharashtra,

Uttar Pradesh and

Madhya Pradesh

Crop varieties, package

of practices, input

companies, price of the

commodities and

machineries

2 Baliraja Maharashtra farmers Images of agricultural

produces and general

problems and advisory

solutions

3 Pashu Palan Group Farmers of Maharashtra,

Uttar Pradesh, Haryana,

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh

and Rajasthan

Complete informations

on Livestock

management

4 Goat owners Group Pune and Mumbai

farmers

Livestock management

and marketing

5 Young progressive farmers group Punjab farmers Informations on Seed

treatment of paddy and

wheat, soil testing,

advisory on yellow rust

disease, trainings

6 Traditional organic farming group Farmers of Tamil Nadu Information on organic

cultivation of crops and

livestock.

Source: Kamal, 2014

1. Limitations in WhatsApp in agriculture

Many ICT projects are lack in providing location specific information (Yadav et al., 2015).

Information received from mobile phone apps are criticised by the farmers as general, routine and

credibility (Mittal et al., 2010).

Content management by the administrator is biggest challenge.

Enthusiasm and continuity of the group may lose if administrator and members are unstable.

Limitation of farmers’ data package.

Few farmers may post irrelevant content (memes, jokes. Greeting images, pictures of gods, etc.).

Issue of having social media as a means of information source for professional and technical

applications (Saravanan and Bhattacharjee., 2014).

Readiness of the extension professional to use WhatsApp as a communication medium

(Saravanan et al., 2015).


Conclusion

WhatsApp is considered as widely used social media platform by the Indian population to

share the informations which also include the farming community. Even though India is an

agriculture country many of the technologies and its values are not explored. WhatsApp creates the

way to use information technology in agriculture. Many of the farmers have their own smart phones

in which they can use WhatsApp Messenger for sharing and getting knowledge from the world.

Currently many KVK’s are creating WhatsApp groups to give advisory services to farmers groups.

Even though WhatsApp has many advantages and limitations, it has to be used in a proper manner by

the expertize which makes the information sharing more credible and effective adoption.

Reference

Kamal, K.S. (2014). Agro officer using WhatsApp to connect with farmers, Hindustan Times,

Gurdaspur, October 9, Punjab, India. http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/agroofficer-

using-WhatsApp-to-connect-with-farmers/story-2OFvrDU3pvmPFXpBupwytO.html

Kamani K.C., et al., (2016) Empowering Indian Agriculture with WhatsApp – A Positive Step

towards Digital India. International Journal of Agriculture Sciences, ISSN: 0975-3710 & E-

ISSN: 0975-9107, Volume 8, Issue 13, pp.-1210-1212.

Mittal, S., Gandhi, S., & Tripathi, G. (2010). Socio-economic impact of mobile phones on Indian

agriculture. p. 53. New Delhi: Indian Council for Research on International Economic

Relations.

Nain, M.S., Rashmi, S. and Mishra, J.R. (2018). Social networking of innovative farmers through

WhatsApp messenger for learning exchange: A study of content sharing. Indian Journal of

Agricultural Sciences, 89 (3): 556–8.

Naruka, P.S., Shilpi, V., Sarangdevot, S.S., Pachauri, C.P., Shilpi, K., and Singh, J.P. (2017). A

Study on Role of WhatsApp in Agriculture Value Chains. AJAEES, 20(1): 1-11

Saravanan, R., and Bhattacharjee S. (2014). Social Media: New Generation Tools for Agricultural

Extension. AESA Blog 42, December

2014.http://www.aesagfras.net/Resources/file/Saravanan%20Final%20blog%2042.pdf.

Saravanan, R., Bhattacharjee S., Chowdhury, A., Hambly Odame, H. and Hall, K. (2015). Social

Media for Rural Advisory Services. Note 15. GFRAS Good Practice Notes for Extension and

Advisory Services. GFRAS: Lindau, Switzerland.

www.gfras.org/en/download.html?download=355:ggp-note-15-social-media-for-rural-

advisoryservices

Thakur, D., Mahesh, C., and Sushil,S. (2017). WhatsApp for farmers: Enhancing the scope and

coverage of traditional agricultural extension. International Journal of Science, Environment

and Technology, 6(4): 2190-2201.

Yadav, K., R. Sulaiman V., N.T. Yaduraju, V. Balaji and T.V. Prabhakar. 2015. ICTs in knowledge

management: the case of the Agropedia platform for Indian agriculture. Knowledge

Management for Development Journal 11(2): 5-22.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/agroofficer-using-whatsapp-to-connect-with-farmers/story-2OFvrDU3pvmPFXpBupwytO.html

http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/agroofficer-using-whatsapp-to-connect-with-farmers/story-2OFvrDU3pvmPFXpBupwytO.html

http://www.aesagfras.net/Resources/file/Saravanan%20Final%20blog%2042.pdf

http://www.gfras.org/en/download.html?download=355:ggp-note-15-social-media-for-rural-advisoryservices

http://www.gfras.org/en/download.html?download=355:ggp-note-15-social-media-for-rural-advisoryservices



Crop Residue Management- Challenges and Solutions: A New

Paradigm in Agriculture

Debjeet Sharma

CAAST Project Fellow [M.Sc.]; Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, India


India being an Agricultural dominant country, it is the primary source of livelihood for about

58% of India’s population. Gross Value added by Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries is estimated at

INR 18.55 lakh crore in financial year 2019. The modern day Agriculture has been made easy with

the use of Agriculture machines and tools, and several crops are grown in Kharif, Rabi and Zaid

season respectively which ultimately results in production of a lot of crop residues.

Introduction

Crop residues are materials left on cultivated land after the crop has been harvested. There are

generally two types of Agricultural crop residues namely Field residues & Process residues. Field

residues are materials that are left in the field after the crop has been harvested. These include stalks

and stubbles, leaves and pods. This residue can be ploughed and burned. Process residues are left

out materials after the crop has been processed into anything useful. They may be husks, seeds,

bagasse, molasses, press mud or roots.

India produces around 700 million tons of crop residues. Food crops like wheat, rice, maize,

bajra, jowar and others contribute around 368 million tons of crop residue which is around 54% of

the overall crop residue produced. Sugarcane alone produces around 111 million tons of crop

residues and this accounts for about 16% of total crop residues produced. Individually rice produces

154 million tons of crop residue and wheat produces around 131 million tons of crop residue. About

178 Mt of surplus crop residues are available around the country (TIFAC 2018). An estimated 87 Mt

of surplus crop residues is burnt in different croplands (TERI 2019). The two crops as rice and wheat

are produced large amount of residues in India. Biomass production from agriculture is at 140 billion

metric tons reported in Feb. 2019. Sugarcane tops is generally surplus residue, which are burnt after

the harvesting by the farmers in the fields. Other crops as oilseeds, pulses, chilli and cotton are

generate surplus residue which is used as fuel.

When crop residues are burnt there also is a lot of air pollutants produced. For example, the

PM2.5 emission (g/kg) from the burning of different types of crop residues follows the order:

sugarcane (12.0) > maize (11.2) > cotton (9.8) > rice (9.3) > wheat (8.5) (TERI 2019). Crop residue

burning also emit SOX, NOX, NH3, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (Jain, Bhatia, and

Pathak 2014) which are precursors for the formation of particulates in the atmosphere. In addition,

Jain, Bhatia, and Pathak (2014) have estimated that more than 8.5 Mt of carbon monoxide is emitted

to the atmosphere during the burning of crop residues. According to estimates of Sardar Patel

Renewable Energy Research Institute [2004], around 72 million tons of crop residues are burnt on-

farm annually.


Crop residue burning

As a result of residue burning, Green house gases are emitted in the environment. Soil

microbes die in the soil as well as the soil nutrients are depleted to a great extent. Burning around

100 million tons of crop residues produces 8.7 MT of SOX, 0.23 MT of NOX, 8.7 MT of Carbon

monoxide, 141.15 MT of Carbon dioxide & 1.21 MT of particulate matter. Heat generated from

burning the residue also increases the soil temperature. It increases exchangeable NH4+-N and

bicarbonate extractable Phosphorus content but there is no build up of nutrients in the profile.

Due to these serious problems managing the crop residues produced in the field and also

during processing has become an utmost are of importance for everyone. Crop residue management

means maintaining the cover on 60% of the soil surface at planting to protect the water quality. Crop

residue management also provides seasonal soil protection from wind and rain erosion, adds organic

matter to the soil, conserves soil moisture, and improves infiltration, aeration and tilth. Benefits may

include reduction in soil erosion, sedimentation and pollution from dissolved sediment attached

substances [Agriculture Cost Share Program]. Crop residue management is an important component

of Sustainable Agriculture.

The benefits of Crop Residue Management are

Reduced soil erosion up to 90% if residues are left effectively.

There is improved surface water quality as soil nutrient particles are held.

Improved water infiltration as residues act as tiny dams to slow water runoff.

Increased organic matter as crop residues slowly decomposes building up organic matter in

top 2-3 inches of soil.

Soil compaction is decreased.

Reduce labor as residues are left so work of labor less for tillage practices.

Reduced machinery wears and fuel savings.

Reduced release of carbon gases and air pollution is decreased.

Crop residue management is not an easy task as there are a lot of challenges faced in

accomplishing the task. Knowledge, skills, effective measures are required for proper crop residue

management.


Challenges faced due to Crop Residues:

A series of challenges exist in using crop residues and their management especially in respect to

conservation agriculture.

There is difficulty in sowing and application of fertilizer and pesticides.

Higher levels of crop residue left requires more attention on timings and placement of

nutrients, pesticides and irrigation.

Nutrient management is very difficult and complex due to higher residues.

When there are residues in the soil, Nitrogen is given as basal dose at time of seeding which

results in a loss of its efficiency and also causes environmental problems.

Sometimes some specific nutrients are to be added and due to residues left in the soil, specific

equipments are required to incorporate the nutrients adding to the high investment costs.

When combine harvester without straw management system is used to keep residues then it

becomes very difficult to manage.

There is transportation cost of moving the crop residues and due to great volume produced it

becomes expensive to transport.

Since many times, the time between harvest of one crop and sowing of another is very less,

farmers opt for burning the residues as it is easy, which ultimately results in pollution and

depletion of nutrients in soil and damage to microflora of soil.

Additional management skills, apprehension of lower crop yields or economic returns,

negative attitudes and institutional constraints add for improper management.

Farmers have preferences of clean fields so they easily burn out the left over residues.

Too much residue on soil surface can cause planting the next crop.

In areas with cold wet springs, too much residue slows down soil drying and warming,

delaying planting.

Solutions for Crop Residue Management:

There are different opportunities to manage crop residues; however a road map is required to

develop by which sustainable utilization of crop residues occur through different management

options.

¤ Regions where crop residues are used for animal feed and other useful purposes, some

amount of residues should be incorporated into soil and recycled.

¤ Crop rotation can be reevaluated in regions of rice-wheat based cropping system by

encouraging farmers to use other cropping cycles.

¤ Crop residues of 30-40% of lower lignin content i.e., <20%, should be left in the crop land

after harvest and managed with in-situ crop residue management machinery.

¤ The State government can mandate existing thermal power plants to use 5-10% paddy straw

in co-fixing mode which can then utilize 0.72 & 0.87 MT annually.

¤ The Central and State government of India have notified several policies to manage the

surplus crop residues meant to encourage private investment in crop residue collection

business and provide options to disperse residues and build a feasible business model to

establish crop residue supply mechanism.

¤ Solid biomass fuels [wood, agriculture residues] are converted into gaseous fuel [producer

gas] by a series of thermochemical processes which can be used as fuel in internal

combustion engines to produce mechanical power and electricity.


¤ Happy seeder is one of the potential technologies for managing crop residues when there is a

lot of residue left, whereas Paddy chopper cuts and mixes the residue in soil.

¤ Paddy and Wheat straw can be used as a substrate for mushroom production.

¤ There should be development of region specific crop residues inventory for evolving

management strategies.

¤ Also there should be use of satellite imageries to estimate amount of residues burnt on farm

¤ Proper implementation of legislation on prevention and monitoring of on farm crop residue

burning through incentives and punishment should be done.

National Policy for Management of Crop Residues [NPMCR], 2014

This policy was introduced in 2014 to deal with issue of crop residue.

It envisages adoption of technical measures including diversified uses of crop residues,

capacity building and training, along with formulation of suitable legislation, to deal with

issue of disposing of stubbles.

It emphasizes that crop residues can be utilized for livestock feed, composting, power

generation, biofuel production and mushroom cultivation mat and toy making.

Food security is the most challenging task for India due to its ever increasing population. So

farming should address local, national and international challenges. Since in India there is a plethora

of so many different kinds of crops produced, naturally the amount of crop residues is also very

large. Due to this reason proper management strategies should be implied upon to manage these

residues. The research, policies and ways to manage residues for sustainable development should be

implemented at every field of Agriculture.



Nectarine a remunerative crop in low hills of Himalayan region farmers

Paramjeet Sajwan, Girish Sharma, Ashok Yadav and Sanjay Negi

Dr. YSP UHF Nauni Solan Himachal Pradesh- 173230, India


Nectarine (Prunus persica var. nucipersica) is part of Rosaceae

family likely originated in China, evolved from peach by mutation, trait

lacks pubescence controlled by a single recessive gene, smaller than

peach, intense red blush compared to peach, acidic and sour while parent

is extremely juicy and sweet with rich winy flavor highly aromatic

differs from nectarine. Consumption of nectarine restricts occurrence of

some chronic diseases namely heart disease, muscular degeneration and

dreaded cancer also reported in number of studies. Fruits are store house

of phytochemicals e.g., lycopene and lutein, latter control yellow and red

color in nectarine, rich source of flavonoids, carotenes and natural sugars.

Fruits have double the vitamin A content, more vitamin C, also markedly rich in mineral (s) -

potassium and fibers quantity than peach. The major growing areas Nilgiris, Jammu and Kashmir,

Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab (Sharma et al., 2014).

Nutritive Value

Nutritive value of Nectarine (Prunuspersica var. nucipersica),fresh fruit /100 g.

Nutrient Nutritive Value Nutrient Nutritive Value

Energy (Kcal) 44.0 Protein (g) 1.06

Carbohydrates (g) 10.55 Total Fat (g) 39-55 %

Dietary Fiber (g) 1.70 Riboflavin (mg) 0.03

Folates (mg) 5.00 Thiamin (mg) 0.03

Niacin (mg) 1.13 Vitamin A (IU) 332

Pantothenic acid (mg) 0.19 Vitamin C (mg) 5.40

Pyridoxine(mg) 0.03 Vitamin E (mg) 0.77

Vitamin K(mg) 2.20 Potassium (mg) 201

Calcium (mg) 6.00 Manganese (mg) 0.54

Copper (mg) 0.09 Phosphorus (mg) 26.0

Iron (mg) 0.28 Zinc(mg) 0.17

Magnesium (mg) 9.00 Carotene-B (pg) 150

Lutein-zeaxanthin

(pg) 130

Crypto-xanthin-

B(pg) 98.0

Source: USDA National Nutrient data base

Smooth-skinned peach, cultivated in the entire warmer temperate regions of both the

Northern and Southern hemispheres. A genetic variant of common peaches, both similar, nectarine

likely domesticated in China more than 4,000 years ago, trees of both are similar difficult to make

distinction at early growth stages. Recessive allele is responsible for the smooth skin of nectarine

lack of fuzzy fruit character of peach fruits. Further stone and kernel features match each other likely

https://www.britannica.com/plant/peach

https://www.britannica.com/science/domestication

https://www.britannica.com/science/allele


freestone types, when ripe flesh separates from stone, usually have red, yellow/white flesh has high

content of vitamins A and C, eaten fresh or used as jams, and pies and in other products.

In recent times Himachal Pradesh has become a suitable place for its cultivation due to high

quality and regular production. Few cultivars, Snow Queen, Silver King, May Fire, Red Gold and

Independence after their introduction have attracted farmers attention. Its cultivation has become

more paying than peach and more areas in the mid hills of Himachal Pradesh have started its

cultivation.

Nectarine Cultivars

Nectarine is other side of peach. Fruits but more susceptible to aphid damage and brown rot

disease, cultivars may be clingstone, freestone or intermediate. Nectarines needs judicious thinning

for marketable size fruit. Both trees and fruit buds are more susceptible to winter cold than peach.

Therefore it is necessary to select appropriate site for its plantation.

Silver King Mutant of an unnamed cultivar in France (1975). Fruits greenish yellowish in color, red

blush covering 80 per cent on fruit surface, flesh firm white red coloured at pit. Fruits ripe(harvest)

last week of May(HP) Fruits weight 62.5g, TSS 14.2° Brix, acidity 0.72 per cent, total sugars 11.13

per cent and yield of 6 years old plant is 12.3kg/plant.

Snow Queen Sweet, juicy nectarine, adapts to mild winter climates. Trees are produce plenty of harvest

harvested a week before Silver King, fruits weight 55.60g, TSS 14.0, acidity 0.78 per cent and total

sugars is 10.92 per cent. Yield of 13.3kg/plant from 6 year old plant.

May Fire Attractive, small to medium in size (30-50g) glossy skin with attractive red blush turning

deep red at maturity, yellow flesh melting type, cling stone, TSS 9-100 degree Brix, ripens in first

fortnight of May, fetch a good price for its early trait.

Red Gold Medium-large sized fruits (80-100g) glossy deep red gold skin, yellow flesh red coloration

near pit, freestone TSS 100 Brix, self-fruitful ripens in first week of July, has good shelf life and

ships well. Trees are productive fair hardy

Independence Gold, blushed with a brilliant cherry red colour, flesh yellow, firm fine texture and flavor, tree

productive and vigorous.

Fantasia

Ripens late with Crest haven peach, fruit medium-large, attractive, bright red with a yellow

ground-colour, freestone, firm-fleshed. Trees moderately hardy and resistant to bacterial spot,

commercially grown in Niagara Peninsula.

Flavortop

https://www.britannica.com/science/vitamin-A

https://www.britannica.com/science/vitamin-C


Fruits large, ovate freestone excellent quality. Peel highly blushed over attractive under-

colour. Flesh yellow, firm smooth textured. Trees are vigorous produce light crops and tender to

winter cold. Fruit more susceptible to bacterial spot.

Harblaze

This cultivar has promise as a commercial-type nectarine that ripens during the late Redhaven

season. The vigorous, productive trees bear attractive medium-to-large-sized fruit that are semi-

freestone. Fruit tends to soften quickly near maturity during final swell. Relatively winter hardy and

has a good level of resistance to bacterial spot, brown rot and powdery mildew.

HarflameTM

Ripens 1 day before Harblaze. Tree hardy as Redhaven, medium in vigour, slightly upright

moderate in productive showed good field resistance to bacterial spot, brown rot and canker. Fruit

attractive, medium sized 80 per cent blushed on yellow background. A semi-freestone, ripens

uniformly medium-firm yellow fleshed, medium quality low incidence of split-pits.

Redgold

A late maturing nectarine. Freestone rich red blush over a yellow ground colour. Flesh yellow

with red near pit holds firmness, an excellent storage and shipping type. Trees, vigorous produce

light crops, tender to winter cold, susceptible to bacterial spot and mildew.

Cultivation Practices

Climate

Fruit globally grown between 30 to 40° latitude marked with strong light and clear skies,

grows successfully at height of 1000-2000 m above sea level, chilling hours range from 600-900 hrs.

Crop likes deep soil-sandy loam with of humus, pH range from 6to6.5. Roots are very sensitive to

water logging, avoid such soils also from the places where it was grown earlier being prone to

"peach tree short life" syndrome (PTSL, also called peach tree decline), markedly limit orchard

productivity. Nematodes cause poor growth and limit plant life.

Propagation:

Propagated on wild peach rootstock by tongue grafting done in February - March. Planting

done in winter months, placed in square system, pits of 1m x1m x 1m size are dug at 4.5m apart in

September-October, plants submerged in soil to a point where roots emerge. Fill the pits, add

Chlorpyriphos (1m/liter) to avoid insects damage.

Irrigation:

Essential for large, quality fruits production and trees health, trees need water in 2-3 weeks time,

adequate soil moisture for fruit maturity and fruit size. Water stress restrict growing terminal,

resultant growth with low winter hardiness. Lack or no irrigation in dry hot summer markedly

reduced fruit size and increase in fruit drop while water logged conditions damaged trees. Avoid

heavy clay soils.

Fertilization:

To one year old trees apply 10 kg of FYM, 70:35:100g NPK viz., 280g CAN, 220g SSP and

166g MOP. Fertilizers dose increased annually in a systematic manner. When about 7 years

supplement with 40 kg FYM, 500g N, 250g P2O5 and 700g K2O through 2000g CAN, 1563g SSP

and 1166g MOP. Farmyard manure (Full quantity), P and K applied in December-January. Half N in

spring before flowering and the remaining half a month later provided irrigation is available. N

fertilizers given in one lot 15 days before bud break under rainfed conditions (Sharma and Sharma

2019).

Weed Control: Competition cause severe nitrogen deficiency, little or no growth, keep the soil surface/basin

area free of weeds by any means, manually/chemically in an area upto tree spread/canopy. Use thick


mulch of hay/black polythene, practice intercropping, green manuring with leguminous crops, they

restrict weed competition enhance nutrient availability and supply for better growth, cropping and

fruit quality.

Training and Pruning: Needs cool nights for red skin color development, though color is a function both of cultivar

and light intensity. Open centre system used to trap high levels of sunlight. Before pruning, know the

bearing habit of the crop to avoid fruiting terminals, which is on laterals of previous season’s growth,

so pruning is important function for regular production. Pruning done in dormant season in

December-January as per prevailing climatic conditions every year to induce fresh vegetative growth

on which flowering and fruiting takes place.

Harvesting:

Changes in skin ground color from green to yellow finally red in most cultivars is the harvest

time (Silver King and Snow Queen) which occurs in last week of May, starts bearing after three

years of planting, bear for nearly 20 years.

Storage:

Fruits posses short shelf life, 2 weeks under varied cultivation conditions, fruits spoil quickly

at room temperatures, needs adequate cold storage to slow restrict breakdown processes and prolong

storage.

Insect and Disease Management

Trees are subjected to diseases ‘peach leaf curl’, ‘bacterial gummosis’ and ‘brown rot’ and many

more, important to keep trees free of them by effective sprays of insecticides and pesticides

regularly. To control peach leaf curl aphid, spray 0.025 % oxy demeton methyl or 0.03 per cent

dimethoate.

i. Nectarine leaf curl – leaves curl and swell.

ii. Aphids – techniques and organic treatments to avoid it.

iii. Scale insects.

iv. European brown rot – the nectarines rot on the nectarine tree.

Conclusion Nectarine is a very useful summer fruit liked by consumers which fetches high prices of produce.

Fruits highly delicious, sold at Rs. 30-50/kg in local market. Silver King and Snow Queen nectarines

identified as highly potential cultivars in Himachal Pradesh and its cultivation ensure added income

to the farmers.

References

Sharma Girish, Lata suman and Yadav Ashok. 2014. Low chill peaches and nectarines. International

Journal of Farm Sciences 4(2): 47-50.

Sharma S and Sharma DP. 2019. Effect of orchard floor management practices on growth, yield, leaf

and soil nutrients in nectarine (Prunus persica)Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 89 (11):

1982–4, November 2019.

https://www.nature-and-garden.com/gardening/peach-leaf-curl.html

https://www.nature-and-garden.com/gardening/aphids.html

https://www.nature-and-garden.com/gardening/scale-insects.html

https://www.nature-and-garden.com/gardening/european-brown-rot.html

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agrinenv.com October 2020