Precision nutrient and conservation agriculture practices for enhancing productivity, profitability, nutrient-use efficiencies and soil nutrient status of maize (Zea mays) hybrids

A field experiment was conducted at New Delhi during kharif season to study the effect of precision nutrient and conservation agriculture practices for enhancing productivity, profitability, nutrient-use efficiencies and soil nutrient status of maize (Zea mays L) hybrids. Using nutrient expert system based site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) practices higher dose of K and N while lower dose of P were estimated for hybrid maize over recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF). Data of the previous crop, target yield, residue management and soil nutrient status were entered in the nutrient expert system. The significant interaction of SSNM and hybrids showed that hybrid PMH 3 along with site specific nutrient management (SSNM) produced significantly higher grain yield under conservation agriculture. The SSNM practice gave 14.7% higher grain yield (5 491 kg/ha) over RDF (4 182 kg/ha). Significantly higher gross return, net return (Rupees 41 137) and B:C ratio (1.57) was obtained with SSNM and the net returns of the maize were improved by rupees 7 856/ha by SSNM over RDF. Amongst genotypes, PMH 3 produced significantly higher gross, net return and B:C ratio over HQPM 1, however, it remained at par with PMH 1, S 6217 and CMH 08-292. Significantly higher partial factor productivity of applied N, P and K was obtained with 50% RDF while it remained at par for applied P by SSNM. Significantly highest agronomic efficiency of applied N and P was obtained with SSNM while for applied K it was significantly highest with 50% RDF. Initially before crop sowing, significantly highest organic carbon in soil was in 100% RDF plots. However, significantly higher organic carbon build up was obtained with SSNM which remained at par with 100% RDF, after crop harvest. In SSNM plots, significantly higher ammonical nitrogen and potassium was observed after maize harvest

Prospect and potential of Burkholderia sp. against Phytophthora capsici Leonian: a causative agent for foot rot disease of black pepper

Foot rot disease is a very destructive disease in black pepper in Malaysia. It is caused by Phytophthora capsici Leonian, which is a soilborne pathogenic protist (phylum, Oomycota) that infects aerial and subterranean structures of many host plants. This pathogen is a polycyclic, such that multiple cycles of infection and inoculum production occur in a single growing season. It is more prevalent in the tropics because of the favourable environmental conditions. The utilization of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as a biological control agent has been successfully implemented in controlling many plant pathogens. Many studies on the exploration of beneficial organisms have been carried out such as Pseudomonas fluorescens, which is one of the best examples used for the control of Fusarium wilt in tomato. Similarly, P. fluorescens is found to be an effective biocontrol agent against the foot rot disease in black pepper. Nowadays there is tremendous novel increase in the species of Burkholderia with either mutualistic or antagonistic interactions in the environment. Burkholderia sp. is an indigenous PGPR capable of producing a large number of commercially important hydrolytic enzymes and bioactive substances that promote plant growth and health; are eco-friendly, biodegradable and specific in their actions; and have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity in keeping down the population of phytopathogens, thus playing a great role in promoting sustainable agriculture today. Hence, in this book chapter, the potential applications of Burkholderia sp. to control foot rot disease of black pepper in Malaysia, their control mechanisms, plant growth promotion, commercial potentials and the future prospects as indigenous PGPR were discussed in relation to sustainable agriculture

Seven years of conservation agriculture in a rice–wheat rotation of Eastern Gangetic Plains of South Asia: Yield trends and economic profitability

Water, energy and labour scarcity, increasing cost of production, diminishing farm profits and uncertain weather events are major challenges faced by the farmers under intensive tillage based conventional rice–wheat (RW) production system of Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) in South Asia. To address these challenges, conservation agriculture (CA) based crop management practices are being developed, adapted and promoted in the region. We evaluated agronomical productivity and economical profitability of various combinations of tillage, crop establishment and residue management practices in rice–wheat rotation of Eastern IGP of India: a smallholder, poorly resourced and most vulnerable regions for the climatic variability. The long-term trial was initiated in 2006 having 7 combinations of tillage, crop establishment and residue management in rice–wheat rotation. These consisted of conventional till puddled transplanted rice followed by conventional tilled wheat (CTR–CTW); CTR followed by zero tilled wheat (CTR–ZTW); direct seeded rice followed by wheat both on permanent raised beds (PBDSR–PBW); zero-till direct seeded rice followed by CTW (ZTDSR–CTW); ZTDSR followed by ZTW without residues (ZTDSR–ZTW); ZTDSR followed by ZTW with residues (ZTDSR–ZTW + R) and unpuddled transplanted rice followed by ZTW (UpTPR–ZTW). All these treatments were completely randomized and replicated thrice within a block

Soil organic carbon changes after seven years of conservation agriculture in a rice–wheat system of the eastern Indo‐Gangetic Plains

Sequestration of soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important strategy to improve soil quality and to mitigate climate change. To investigate changes in SOC under conservation agriculture (CA), we measured SOC concentrations after seven years of rice (Oryza sativa L.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotations in the eastern Indo‐Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India under various combinations of tillage and crop establishment methods. The six treatments were as follows: conventional till transplanted rice followed by conventional till wheat (CTR‐CTW), CTR followed by zero‐till wheat (CTR‐ZTW), ZT direct‐seeded rice followed by CTW (ZTDSR‐CTW), ZTDSR followed by ZT wheat both on permanent raised beds with residue (PBDSR‐PBW+R), and ZTDSR followed by ZTW both with (ZTDSR‐ZTW+R) and without residues (ZTDSR‐ZTW). We hypothesized that CA systems (i.e. ZT with residue retention) would sequester more carbon (C) than CT. After seven years, ZTDSR‐ZTW+R and PBDSR‐PBW+R increased SOC at 0–0.6 m depth by 4.7 and 3.0 t C/ha, respectively, whereas the CTR‐CTW system resulted in a decrease in SOC of 0.9 t C/ha. Over the same soil depth, ZT without residue retention (ZTDSR‐ZTW) only increased SOC by 1.1 t C/ha. There was no increase in SOC where ZT in either rice or wheat was followed by CT in the next crop (i.e. CTR‐ZTW and ZTDSR‐CTW), most likely because the benefit of ZT is lost when followed by tillage. Tillage and crop establishment methods had no significant effect on the SOC stock below the 0.15‐m soil layer. Over the seven years, the total carbon input from above‐ground residues was ca. 14.5 t/ha in ZTDSR‐ZTW+R and PBDSR‐PBW+R, almost sixfold greater than in the other systems. Our findings suggest that the increased biomass production achieved through a combination of ZT and partial residue retention offers an opportunity to increase SOC whilst allowing residues to be used for other purposes

Performance of portfolios of climate smart agriculture practices in a rice-wheat system of western Indo-Gangetic plains

Several resource use efficient technologies and practices have been developed and deployed to address the challenges related to natural resource degradation and climatic risks management in rice-wheat (RW) rotation of Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). However, the practices applied in isolation may not be effective as much as in combination due to changing input responses under varied weather abnormalities. Therefore, a multi-location farmer’s participatory strategic research was conducted to evaluate the effects of layering key technologies, practices and services in varied combinations and compared with business as usual (farmer’s practice) for productivity (crop, water and energy), profitability and global warming potential (GWP) in a RW system. Altogether, six scenarios were compared that includes; Farmer’s practice (FP); Improved FP (IFP) with low intensity of adaptive measures; IFP with high intensity of adaptive measures (IFP-AM); Climate smart agriculture (CSA) with low intensity of adaptive measures (CSA-L); CSA with medium intensity of adaptive measures (CSA-M); CSA with high intensity of adaptive measures (CSA-H). Results revealed that climate smart agricultural practice with high intensity of adaptive measures (CSA-H) recorded 7–9 and 19–26% higher system productivity and profitability, respectively compared to farmers’ practice in all the three years. CSAPs (mean of CSA-L, CSA-M and CSA-H) improved the system productivity and profitability by 6 and 19% (3 yrs’ mean) whereas, IFPs (mean of IFP and IFP-AM) by 2 and 5%, respectively compared to farmer’s practice (11.79 t ha−1 and USD 1833 ha−1). CSA with high (CSA-H) and medium (CSA-M) intensity of adaptive measures saved 17–30% of irrigation water and improved irrigation and total water productivity (WPI and WPI+R) by 29–54 and 21–38%, respectively compared to FP in the study years. Across the years, CSA-H improved the energy-use-efficiency (EUE) and energy productivity (EP) by 43–61 and 44–56% respectively, compared to farmers’ practice. On 3 years mean basis, CSA-H lowered global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity by 40 and 44% respectively, compared to FP (7653 kg CO2 eq ha−1 yr−1 and 0.64 kg kg−1 CO2 eq ha−1 yr−1). On 3 years mean basis, our study revealed that CSA with high intensity of adaptive measures (CSA-H) increased 8% in system productivity, 23% in profitability, 31% in total water productivity and 53% in energy productivity with 24% less water while reducing the GWP by 40%. The improvement in yield, income as well as use efficiency of water and energy and reduction in GHGs was increasing with layering of portfolio of practices on farmers’ practice. This study helps in prioritizing the technological practices from the portfolio of CSAPs for maximizing crop productivity, profitability and input use efficiency while improving the adaptive capacity and reducing the environmental footprints

Reducing Global Warming Potential through Sustainable Intensification of Basmati Rice-Wheat Systems in India

This study examines the effects of tillage, residue management and cropping system intensification through the inclusion of green gram on the performance of the rice-wheat (RW) system in NW India. We hypothesized that zero tillage (ZT) with residue retention provides a means of sustainably intensifying the RW system through lower production costs and higher economic profitability, whilst at the same time minimizing soil and environmental trade-offs. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated six combinations of tillage, residue management and green gram integration in RW rotation in northwest Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India. Treatments included in the study were: rice and wheat under conventional tillage (CT) with and without green gram (CTR-CTW, CTR-CTW+GG), both crops under zero-tillage (ZT) with and without green gram (ZTR-ZTW-R, ZTR-ZTW-R+GG) and both crops under ZT plus residues with and without green gram (ZTR-ZTW+R, ZTR-ZTW+R+GG). Based on two consecutive years of data, the net return from the RW system was significantly higher in the ZT than CT systems. Methane emissions were only observed under flooded conditions in CT rice plots; otherwise, emissions were negligible in all other treatment combinations. N2O emissions were dictated by N fertilizer application with no other treatment effects. Overall, ZT with residue retention resulted in the lowest global warming potential (GWP) ranging from −3301 to −823 kg CO2-eq ha−1 year−1 compared to 4113 to 7917 kg CO2-eq ha−1 year−1 in other treatments. Operational inputs (tillage, planting, and irrigation) and soil C sequestration had significant effects on total GWP. The water footprint of RW production system was about 29% less in CA-based system compared to CT-based systems. Our study concludes that ZTR-ZTW+R and ZTR-ZTW+R+GG in RW systems of northwestern IGP have the potential to be agronomically productive, economically viable with benefits also for the environment in terms of soil health and GHG emissions

Long-term impact of conservation agriculture and diversified maize rotations on carbon pools and stocks, mineral nitrogen fractions and nitrous oxide fluxes in inceptisol of India

Given the increasing scarcity of production resources such as water, energy and labour coupled with growing climatic risks, maize-based production systems could be potential alternatives to intensive rice-wheat (RW) rotation in western Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). Conservation agriculture (CA) in maize systems has been widely promoted for minimizing soil degradation and ensuring sustainability under emerging climate change scenario. Such practices are also believed to provide mitigation co–benefits through reduced GHG emission and increased soil carbon sequestration. However, the combined effects of diversified crop rotations and CA-based management on GHG mitigation potential and other co-benefits are generally over looked and hence warrant greater attention. A field trial was conducted for 5–years to assess the changes in soil organic carbon fractions, mineral–N, N2O emission and global warming potential (GWP) of maize-based production systems under different tillage & crop establishment methods. Four diversified cropping systems i.e. maize–wheat–mungbean (MWMb), maize–chickpea–Sesbania (MCS), maize–mustard–mungbean (MMuMb) and maize–maize–Sesbania (MMS) were factorially combined with three tillage & crop establishment methods i.e. zero tilled permanent beds (PB), zero–tillage flat (ZT) and conventional tillage (CT) in a split–plot design. After 5–years of continued experimentation, we recorded that across the soil depths, SOC content, its pools and mineral-N fractions were greatly affected by tillage & crop establishment methods and cropping systems. ZT and PB increased SOC stock (0–30 cm depth) by 7.22–7.23 Mg C ha−1 whereas CT system increased it only by 0.88 Mg C ha−1as compared to initial value. Several researchers reported that SOC & mineral–N fraction contents in the top 30 cm soil depth are correlated with N2O–N emission. In our study, global warming potential (GWP) under CT system was higher by 18.1 and 17.4%, compared to CA-based ZT and PB, respectively. Among various maize systems, GWP of MMS were higher by 11.2, 6.7 and 6.6%, compared that of MWMb (1212 kg CO2–eq. ha−1), MCS (1274 kg CO2–eq. ha−1) and MMuMb (1275 kg CO2–eq. ha−1), respectively. The results of our study suggest that CA and diversified crop rotations should be promoted in north-western IGP and other similar agro-ecologies across the globe for ensuring food security, restoration of soil health and climate change mitigation, the key sustainable development goals (SDGs)

Identifying optimum rates of fertilizer nitrogen application to maximize economic return and minimize nitrous oxide emission from rice–wheat systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

Rice–wheat (RW) cropping system in India is a major source of N2O emissions. In such system, defining N rates that deliver minimal N2O emissions and economically optimum yield would benefit both food production and the environment. We measured yield and N2O fluxes from RW systems in Northwest IGP under two tillage systems and five N rates (0, 75, 150, 225 and 300 kg N ha−1) for both rice and wheat using static chamber method. Seasonal pattern of N2O emission was mainly influenced by fertilizer and water application events with no significant effect of tillage systems. Mean annual N2O emission from RW system was 1.49 kg N ha−1 in N75 plot and 2.97–3.04 in the plots receiving ≥150 kg N ha−1. On average, the yield-scaled N2O emissions of rice and wheat were 0.25 and 0.52 kg N2O–N mg−1, respectively. Our finding suggests that N rates between 120–200 kg N ha−1 in rice and 50–185 kg ha−1 in wheat provide the most economical returns and application rates beyond these ranges would be both economically and environmentally unsustainable. Within the range of N rate studied, fertilizer-induced N2O-EF for rice and wheat were 0.41% and 0.79%, respectively

Greenhouse gas measurement from smallholder production systems: guidelines for static chamber method

Renewed interest in quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from soil has led to development and application of multitude of techniques. But, chamber-based flux measurement technique is most common and frequently used method for GHG flux measurement in smallholder production systems. Despite the apparent conceptual simplicity of chamber-based methods, chamber design, deployment, and data analyses can have marked effects on the quality of the flux data derived from chamber-based measurement. This also have implications on making comparisons of GHGs emissions from the studies by various researchers even within similar cropping systems and management practices. Therefore, harmonization of GHGs emission studies by chamber based method is necessary. This synthesis provides standard guidelines to scientists involved in GHG quantification by using chamber based methods as well as to facilitate inter study comparison

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Not AvailableThe membrane lipids serve as the first line of defence to protect the cells from stress. The membrane glycerophospholipids and the associated enzymes have an important role in membrane stability, fluidity, and function. One of the key regulators in membrane dynamics is phospholipase D (PLD) which produces phosphatidic acid for dual working as a producer of membrane lipid diversity and as a secondary messenger. Phosphatidic acid has a binding affinity for many effector proteins including NADPH oxidase, MAP kinases etc. which actively participate in signalling pathways. Under various abiotic stresses, the role of various isoforms of PLD has been documented. The different isoforms behave differently. Two isoforms PLDα and PLDδ have been studied well and through the mutant analyses, their role under specific stress conditions has been highlighted. There is a cross-talk among PA, Ca2+, and NO through integrated signalling pathways which needs further investigation for dissecting the role of individual species.Not AvailableNot Availabl