Sustainable Agroecosystems for Livelihood Security in Indian Himalayas

Agroforestry systems are an age-old practice in the Indian Himalayan region. Agroforestry deals with the combination of tree species with crop plants, fisheries, animals, bee keeping, and so on, and it is based on the principle of optimum utilization of land. Agrihorticulture, silvihorticulture, hortipastoral, and silvipastoral systems are diversified land use options for agroforestry in the hill region. The study was conducted at experimental farm Hawalbagh (29o36′N and 79o 40′ E, 1250 m amsl) of Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora, India. Study in an agri-horti system revealed that ragi (Eluesine coracana) and soybean (Glysine max) during kharif (rainy season) and wheat (Triticum estivum) and lentil (Lens esculenta) during rabi (winter season) can be grown successfully with pecan nut (Carya illinoinensis) tree without significant reduction in the yield of the crop. However, grain yield of these crops was numerically higher in the field without pecan nut tree. In fruit-based agri-horti system four fruit crops, hill lemon (Citrus limon), pear (Pyrus communis), plum (Prunus domestica), and apricot (Prunus armeniaca) were planted with soybean in kharif and dual purpose wheat during rabi season. During initial years, no significant effect on grain yield was observed with the presence of different fruit trees. Green forage yield varied from 4600 to 5900 kg/ha in different treatments. In different treatments, ginger (Zingiber officinale) and turmeric (Curcuma longa), turmeric and taro (Colocasia esculenta), and two varieties of turmeric (Pant Pitabh and Swarna) were grown under Grewia optiva, Quercus leucotrichophora, Bauhinia variegata, and Celtis australis. Turmeric and ginger produced significantly higher yield (12.04 and 7.99 t/ha) under oak. The highest rhizome yield was obtained under Quercus leucotrichophora (11,738 kg/ha) followed by Bauhinia variegata. Pant Pitabh gave significantly higher yield (10,860 kg/ha) than swarna. Improved systems with five tree species, that is, Grewia optiva, Quercus leucotrichophora, Bauhinia retusa, Melia azedarach, and Morus alba and four grasses, that is, Setaria kazugulla, Setaria nandi, Congo signal, and Broad leaf paspalum (Paspalum spp.) were tested under the silvipastoral system. Quercus leucotrichophora yielded (10,675 kg/ha) significantly higher green biomass than others, and the lowest green biomass was harvested from Grewia optiva. Among grasses, Setaria nandi produced the highest green forage (6234 kg/ha). Thus, in hilly terrain, planting of interspatial woody perennials, with least negative influences on the agronomic crops, seems productive in agroforestry system for settled farming. Therefore, agroforestry is a set of land use alternative, which if developed for resource poor farmers, can provide increased values and reduced risks and it should be made more popular in the rural areas

Soil Enzymes: Indicator for Soil Health under Fruit based Agri-Horti System

Agroforestry as a sustainable land management system, which increases the yield of the land, combines production of crops (including tree crops) and forest plants and/or animals simultaneously or sequentially. Among the different agroforestry system practices in hill area agri-horti system is one of the most important system because of its specific environmental conditions and natural availability of wide range of fruit trees (citrus, apple, walnut, plum, peach, pear, apricot etc.). In Northwestern hill region viz. Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir horticulture is the backbone of these states economy which supports about 1.5-2.0 million families and, provides direct or indirect employment to 8-10 million peoples with revenue of more than 1 billion $ (USD) annually. In several studies it was reported that plant’s active root system releases about 17% of photosynthate detained in the form of organic compounds into the rhizosphere, most of which is available to the plant by the different soil microbial activities. The soil enzymatic activity play a significant role in efficient utilization of natural resources through agri-horti production system to enhance the soil sustainability and system productivity by the mechanisms of organic matter decomposition, soil stabilization, nutrient cycling, catalyzing several biochemical reactions in the soil system1,2. In recent years, studies soil enzymes activity have engaged the attention of many researchers. However, most of these studies are confined to agricultural cropping systems3 and forest ecosystems but, information regarding those under temperate fruit crops like peach, pear, apricot, lemon, plum etc., are very limited. The hypothesis of this experiment was that the different temperate fruit crops could have differential microbial activity in the rhizospheric soil (surface and sub-surface), influenced by management practice as well as quality of litter fall and root exudates. We assume that information produced from this study will help in understanding of microbial mediated nutrient dynamics and their management under temperate fruit crops in N-W hilly area

Evaluation of digital elevation model in hilly region of Uttarakhand: A case study of experimental farm Hawalbagh

Not AvailableDigital Elevation Model (DEM) is used to display terrestrial information on map. Moreover, DEMs are often used in geographic information systems (GIS), and serve as a basis for generation of relief map. The present study was conducted to evaluate the google earth (GE) derived DEM with three established open source DEMs such as, shuttle radar topographic mission (SRTM) DEM, advanced space borne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) DEM and advanced land observing satellite phased array type l−band synthetic aperture radar (ALOS PALSAR) DEM. The study area of present research is experimental farm, Hawalbagh of the ICAR− Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS), Almora, India which lies in middle Himalayas using online tool (GPS visualizer). The accuracy statistics were evaluated using 100 points in the study area having varying topography with three DEMs such as, SRTM DEM, ASTER DEM and ALOS PALSAR DEM. The result showed that google earth data was positively correlated with all established 2 DEM with r value of 0.88 for SRTM, 0.92 for ALOS PALSAR Dem and 0.83 for ASTER DEM. The result showed that the accuracies for the google earth derived DEM is suitable for hydrological and other water resources modelling.Not Availabl

Climatic Variation and Its Impacts on Yield and Water Requirement of Crops in Indian Central Himalaya

Climate is most important factor affecting agriculture, and issues related to climate and its implications have attracted attention of policy makers globally. The farm sector, particularly marginal ecosystems in mountains are vulnerable because of unpredictable variation and severe sink limitations. Efforts to impart resilience to farm and its allied sector are an urgent need. The climatic parameters play very important role to determine type of crops, cattle rearing and the life style adopted by the people. Moreover, weather has a significant impact on crop growth and development. Weather plays a vital role and affects the production and productivity of the crops. According to an estimate, weather contributes 67% variation in productivity and rest of the factors (soil, nutrient and management practices etc.) accounts for 33%. Therefore, there is a need of in-depth analysis of each meteorological parameters and identification of their trend over the years in order to identify and adapt suitable agriculture practices, better adaptable crops, varieties and their duration, time of field preparation, sowing time and irrigation as per the climatic conditions of the region. This will lead farming community to plan strategies of agriculture operation to obtain optimum yield. The climatic data from the meteorological observatory of ICAR-VPKAS, Hawalbagh located at mid hill condition (1250 m amsl) were analyzed for different periods (annual, seasonal, monthly, weekly). It was revealed that rainfall is decreasing over the years but significant (P < 0.05) decrease was recorded at mid hills. The maximum temperature is increasing significantly (P < 0.05) during post-monsoon and winter season however decreasing in monsoon season whereas minimum temperature is decreasing round the year. These changes in rainfall and temperatures are affecting production and productivity of the crops, as hills are largely rainfed. In terms of crop water demand, there is no need to apply irrigation during the rainy season except the transplanted rice. However, during the winter season as there is more than 60% of water deficit to irrigate the crops. The proper understanding of climate is necessary to bring sustainability in hill agriculture by adjusting crop sowing window and other operations as per suitability of the climate

Obeticholic acid for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: interim analysis from a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial

Background Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common type of chronic liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis. Obeticholic acid, a farnesoid X receptor agonist, has been shown to improve the histological features of NASH. Here we report results from a planned interim analysis of an ongoing, phase 3 study of obeticholic acid for NASH. Methods In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, adult patients with definite NASH,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity score of at least 4, and fibrosis stages F2–F3, or F1 with at least oneaccompanying comorbidity, were randomly assigned using an interactive web response system in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive oral placebo, obeticholic acid 10 mg, or obeticholic acid 25 mg daily. Patients were excluded if cirrhosis, other chronic liver disease, elevated alcohol consumption, or confounding conditions were present. The primary endpointsfor the month-18 interim analysis were fibrosis improvement (≥1 stage) with no worsening of NASH, or NASH resolution with no worsening of fibrosis, with the study considered successful if either primary endpoint was met. Primary analyses were done by intention to treat, in patients with fibrosis stage F2–F3 who received at least one dose of treatment and reached, or would have reached, the month 18 visit by the prespecified interim analysis cutoff date. The study also evaluated other histological and biochemical markers of NASH and fibrosis, and safety. This study is ongoing, and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02548351, and EudraCT, 20150-025601-6. Findings Between Dec 9, 2015, and Oct 26, 2018, 1968 patients with stage F1–F3 fibrosis were enrolled and received at least one dose of study treatment; 931 patients with stage F2–F3 fibrosis were included in the primary analysis (311 in the placebo group, 312 in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 308 in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group). The fibrosis improvement endpoint was achieved by 37 (12%) patients in the placebo group, 55 (18%) in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group (p=0·045), and 71 (23%) in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group (p=0·0002). The NASH resolution endpoint was not met (25 [8%] patients in the placebo group, 35 [11%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group [p=0·18], and 36 [12%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group [p=0·13]). In the safety population (1968 patients with fibrosis stages F1–F3), the most common adverse event was pruritus (123 [19%] in the placebo group, 183 [28%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 336 [51%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group); incidence was generally mild to moderate in severity. The overall safety profile was similar to that in previous studies, and incidence of serious adverse events was similar across treatment groups (75 [11%] patients in the placebo group, 72 [11%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 93 [14%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group). Interpretation Obeticholic acid 25 mg significantly improved fibrosis and key components of NASH disease activity among patients with NASH. The results from this planned interim analysis show clinically significant histological improvement that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. This study is ongoing to assess clinical outcomes

pH-Mediated Collective and Selective Solar Photocatalysis by a Series of Layered Aurivillius Perovskites

Semiconductor photocatalysis under natural sunlight is an emergent area in contemporary materials research, which has attracted considerable attention toward the development of catalysts for environmental remediation using solar energy. A series of five-layer Aurivillius-phase perovskites, Bi5ATi4FeO18 (A = Ca, Sr, and Pb), are synthesized for the first time. Rietveld refinements of the powder X-ray diffraction data indicated orthorhombic structure for the Aurivillius phases with Fe largely occupying the central octahedral layer, whereas the divalent cations (Ca, Sr, and Pb) are statistically distributed over the cubo-octahedral A-sites of the perovskite. The compounds with visible-light-absorbing ability (Eg ranging from ∼2.0 to 2.2 eV) not only exhibit excellent collective photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B–methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B–rhodamine 6G mixture at pH 2 but also show almost 100% photocatalytic selective degradation of MB from the rhodamine B–MB mixture at pH 11 under natural solar irradiation. The selectivity in the alkaline medium is believed to originate from the combined effect of the photocatalytic degradation of MB by the Aurivillius-phase perovskites and the photolysis of MB. Although a substantial decrease in MB adsorption from the mixed dye solution (MB + RhB) together with slower MB photolysis at the neutral pH makes the selective MB degradation sluggish, the compounds showed excellent photocatalytic degradation activity and chemical oxygen demand removal efficacy toward individual RhB (at pH 2) and MB (at pH 11) under sunlight irradiation. The catalysts are exceptionally stable and retain good crystallinity even after five successive cyclic runs without any noticeable loss of activity in both the acidic and alkaline media. The present work provides an important insight into the development of layered perovskite photocatalysts for collective degradation of multiple pollutants and selective removal of one or multiple pollutants from a mixture. The later idea may open up new possibilities for recovery/purification of useful chemical substances from the contaminated medium through selective photocatalysis

Effect of different crop management practices for better economic returns from Kharif onion: Effects of NPKS fertilizer levels and spacing on Kharif onion

The present study was undertaken at the Agricultural Research Substation, Sumerpur-Pali to find out the effect of different fertilizer levels and crop geometry on kharif onion (Allium cepa L.) production. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with NPKS levels as main plot and crop geometry as subplot with three replications. Spacious crop geometry with highest dose of fertilizer (15 cm x 15 cm + 140 N: 80 P: 80 K: 40 S kg ha-1) produced maximum plant height (98.20 cm), leaves plant-1 (20), bulb polar diameter (79.34 mm), equatorial diameter (85.10 mm), bulb weight (137.44 g) and harvest index (51.30) with huge quantity of split/multiplier bulbs (6.54 t ha-1). Marketable yield (43.71 t ha-1), gross return (` 5.25 lakhs), net return (` 4.25 lakhs) and B: C ratio (4.25) were higher in the closer crop geometry (10 cm x 10 cm) with highest dose of fertilizer, whereas maximum biological yield (126.75 t ha-1) and total bulb yield (61.60 t ha-1) were reported in the closest spacing with highest dose of fertilizer (7.5 cm x 7.5 cm + 140 N: 80 P: 80 K: 40 S kg ha-1), which also produced the highest quantity (28.69 t ha-1) of unmarketable bulbs. It is concluded that for maximum production of better quality of kharif onion bulb, the seedlings should be planted at 10 cm x 10 cm spacing with the highest level of fertilizer dose (140 N: 80 P: 80 K: 40 S kg ha-1)

An Approach to Combat Climate Change in Indian Himalaya

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Volume 2: Application in Crop Production and Protection

Not AvailableThis book is a compilation of case studies from different countries and covers contemporary with future prospective for sustainable development of agriculture. The book highlights the real-world as well as future generation situations facing the challenges for the twenty first century will be production of sufficient food and highlights the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, to meet the needs of fast growing population it is imperative to increase agricultural productivity in an environmentally sustainable manner. Due to imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers and agrochemicals has a considerable negative impact on economy and environmental sustainability of nation, for the sustainable alternative means to solve these problems, the efficient utilization of biological agents have been extensively studied. Naturally existing plant-microbe-environment interactions are utilized in many ways for enhancing plant productivity. A greater understanding of how plants and microbes live together and benefit each other can therefore provide new strategies to improve plant productivity, in most sustainable way. To achieve the objective of sustainable agricultural practices there is a need for understanding both basic and applied aspects of agriculturally important microorganisms. Focus needs to be on transforming agricultural systems from nutrient deficient to nutrient rich soil-plant system. This book is split into two parts, with an aim to provide comprehensive description and highlight a holistic approach. It elucidated various mechanisms of nutrients solubilisation and its importance in enhancement of plant growth, nutrient content, yield of various crops and vegetables as well as soil fertility and health. Unit-1 in this book explains the importance of soil microbes in sustainable crop production. It contains chapters detailing the role and mechanism of action of soil microbes which enhances the productivity via various bio-chemical and molecular channels. In unit-2 the role of microbes in plant protection is elaborated. With the help of case studies of food crops, multiple ways in which soil microbes help in fighting and preventing plant diseases is explained. With the given content and layout book will be an all-inclusive collection of information, which will be useful for students, academicians, researchers working in the field of rhizospheric mechanisms, agricultural microbiology, soil microbiology, biotechnology, agronomy and sustainable agriculture and also for policy makers in the area of food security and sustainable agriculture.Not Availabl

Volume I: Plant-soil-microbe nexus

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