Alternative Uses, in and off-Field Managements to Reduce Adverse Impact of Crop Residue Burning on Environment: A Review

Residues of various crops are considered nuisance but they can be helpful in increasing organic matter in soil and better cycling of nutrients in soil if managed properly. Better management and utilization of crop residues (CR) is necessary for better productivity and quality of crops. Sowing into loose residues is the major issue in adapting the drill sowing method. Apart from the higher quantity of rice (192.82 mt) and wheat residue (120.70 mt), the residue of sorghum, maize, barley, chickpea, groundnut, rapeseed, mustard, sugarcane trash, potato, soybean, sunflower and some other minor cereals also contribute substantially towards total amount of about 462.93 million tonnes in India in 1997-98. Three quarters of the total residue is produced by rice, wheat and oil seed crops with remaining quarter coming from sugarcane and sorghum. Crop residue is important component of low external input for sustainable agriculture without sacrificing productivity. The crop residues left behind is considered as burden forcing farmers to burn them as cheap and easiest method with mistaken belief that it enhances the soil fertility and helps in controlling weeds, insects and pests. Different studies revealed that burning of residues causes air pollution and nutrient loss in soil. Improvements in soil properties and the sustainability in crop productivity could be achieved if CR are proper managed. Long-term field studies at sites carefully selected with variations in temperature, moisture, soil mineralogy and management of agricultural residues representing various cropping systems across regions should be identified and sustained. The possible benefits of crop residues for the improvement of degrading soil fertility would be completely understood only then. Owing to the competing requirements for such biomass for feed, fuel or building material, smallholder farmers typically find it difficult to maintain a soil cover for crop residue or a cover crop

Application of Digital Technologies for the Next Level of Agriculture Growth and Transformation under Changing the Indian Agriculture: A Critical Review

The rapid population growth has driven the demand for more food, fiber, energy, and water, which is associated to an increase in the need to use natural resources in a more sustainable way. The growing connectivity in the rural environment, in addition to its greater integration with data from sensor systems, remote sensors, equipment, and smart-phones have paved the way for new concepts from the so-called digital agriculture. The information that crops offer is turned into profitable decisions only when efficiently managed. Current advances in data management are making Smart Farming grow exponentially as data have become the key element in modern agriculture to help producers with critical decision-making. Valuable advantages appear with objective information acquired through sensors with the aim of maximizing productivity and sustainability. These kind of data-based managed farms rely on data that can increase efficiency by avoiding the misuse of resources and the pollution of the environment. Data-driven agriculture, with the help of robotic solutions incorporating artificial intelligent techniques, sets the grounds for the sustainable agriculture of the future. Digital agriculture offers far-reaching opportunities for accelerating agricultural transformation. Although there are concerns that digital agriculture will enhance the market power of large agribusiness enterprises and increase the digital divide, a combination of new actors and public action can help accelerate the supply of digital agricultural technology, manage threats of market concentration, and harness the opportunities of digital agriculture for all. The agriculture industry has radically transformed over the past 50 years. Advances in machinery have expanded the scale, speed, and productivity of farm equipment, leading to more efficient cultivation of more land. Seed, irrigation, and fertilizers also have vastly improved, helping farmers increase yields. Now, agriculture is in the early days of yet another revolution, at the heart of which lie data and connectivity. Artificial intelligence, analytics, connected sensors, and other emerging technologies could further increase yields, improve the efficiency of water and other inputs, and build sustainability and resilience across crop cultivation and animal husbandry. This paper reviews the current status of advanced farm management systems by revisiting each crucial step, from data acquisition in crop fields to variable rate applications, so that growers can make optimized decisions to save money while protecting the environment and transforming how food will be produced to sustainably match the forthcoming population growth

Field-based Evaluation of Rice Genotypes for Enhanced Growth, Yield Attributes, Yield, and Grain Yield Efficiency Index in Irrigated Lowlands of the Indo-Gangetic Plains

Funding Information: This work was supported by the UKRI-GCRF South Asia Nitrogen Hub (SANH, NE/S009019/1). The authors thank the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, for providing a senior research fellowship for the entire duration of Ph.D. work to S.G.Peer reviewedPublisher PD