Quantification of yield gaps in rain-fed rice, wheat, cotton and mustard in India

Rainfed farming / Crop yield / Simulation / Rice / Wheat / Cotton / Mustard / India

Physico-Chemical Characterization Of Sweet Chestnut (Castanea Sativa L.) Starch Grown In Temperate Climate Of Kashmir, India

Studies were conducted to characterize the chestnut starch for physico-chemical properties. Chemical composition of chestnut starch showed low levels of protein and ash indicating purity of starch. The results revealed low water and oil absorption capacity of chestnut starch. Starch showed high swelling power and low solubility index. Swelling power and solubility index of chestnut starch increased with increase in temperature (50–90 °C). The results revealed high initial, peak, setback, breakdown, and final viscosity but low paste development temperature. Transmittance (%) of the starch gel was low and decreased with increasing storage period. The chestnut starch gel showed increase in % water release (syneresis) with increase in time of storage but was less susceptible to repeated cycles of freezing and thawing. Starch was also characterized for granule morphology. Starch granules were of round and oval shapes, some granules showed irregular shape

Hydrological consequences of cultivating Jatropha crop in degradable waste lands of India and ecosystem trade-offs at watershed scale

Biofuel production from feedstocks grown on wastelands is considered as a means to address concerns about climate change and improve energy security while at the same time provide an additional source of income for improving livelihood. The establishment of biomass plantations on wastelands is likely to affect local livelihoods and surrounding ecosystems by influencing hydrologic flows and processes such as erosion. We analyzed the technical feasibility for cultivating Jatropha on degraded waste lands in India using a water balance approach. More specifically, an assessment was made for a wasteland located in the Velchal watershed, Andhra Pradesh, India, which recently was converted to a biofuel plantation with Jatropha. The previous land-use, in this case grazing, could continue in the Jatropha plantations. Several desirable effects occurred as a result of the land-use conversion: non-productive soil evaporation was reduced as a larger share of the precipitation was channeled to productive plant transpiration and groundwater recharge, and at the same time a more stable (less erosive) runoff resulted in reduced soil erosion and improved downstream water conditions. A win-win situation between improved land productivity and soil carbon content was observed for the Jatropha plantations. Results did not show a negative impact on the blue water generation after introducing Jatropha on waste lands. Using parameterized and validated hydrological model “Soil and Water Assessment Tool” we assumed the impact of Jatropha cultivation on 13.4 million ha of wastelands (15% of the total wasteland area) in seven states of India. The analysis shows that 22 million tons of Jatropha seed could be produced from Jatropha cultivable waste lands in India. In addition, Jatropha plantations on waste lands would not create negative impact on downstream water availability and ecosystem services

Conservation agriculture for improving water productivity in Vertisols of semi-arid tropics

Large variability and uncertainty of rainfall are the main limiting factors for crop growth in rainfed agriculture. Agriculture water management interventions are considered as suitable adoption strategy to enhance crop yield, productivity and income in rainfed condition. Three-year experimental data collected at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi- Arid Tropics, Patancheru, India are analysed to study the impact of in-situ interventions (tillage and crop residue) on field water balance and grain yield under the two different cropping systems (maize + chickpea sequential and maize/pigeon pea intercropping). One dimensional water balance model is calibrated to capture field hydrology (soil water, surface runoff). Weather data calibrated for 36 years showed that incorporating crop residues reduced surface runoff by 28% compared to control fields. However, the impact of tillage and residue treatment on soil water was not consistent throughout the growing period. Water productivity values for intercropping systems (WUE = 0.61 to 1.49 kg m–3) were relatively higher compared to sequential cropping systems (WUE = 0.47 to 1.06 kg m–3). Second crop in sequential cropping system often suffered from water stress that led to poor crop yield. However, a few rain events at the end of the monsoon period were beneficial to second crop. Simulation results indicated that the conservation agriculture could save up to 30% yield loss incurred due to water stress during deficit rainfall compared to conventional agricultural practices

A simple and farmer-friendly decision support system for enhancing water use efficiency in agriculture: tool development, testing and validation

In the semi-arid tropics (SAT) farmers practice calendar- based irrigation scheduling, which generally results in over irrigation and poor water use efficiency. The lack of a simple decision tool to decide timing and quantity of water to be applied is a bottleneck. An Excel-based decision support system termed Water Impact Calculator (WIC) is developed using data collected at the ICRISAT, which were validated at three pilot sites on farmers’ fields in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Telangana. Field studies were conducted under two land-form treatments (broad bed and furrow (BBF) and flat fields); and irrigation water was applied following two different methods (drip and flood). The data collected at micro-watershed at the ICRISAT and three other sites showed that WIC could be used under wide range of soil and rainfall conditions. WIC simulated soil moisture was comparable with the observed moisture data, which forms the basis of irrigation scheduling. The WIC-based water balance at these experimental sites showed that number and amount of irrigation could be reduced by 30–40% using WIC-based irrigation scheduling without compromising the crop yield. The WIC could be a potential tool for water resources planning and efficient management at the field and watershed scale in the SAT

Comparative Evaluation of Inductively Coupled Plasma–Optical Emission Spectroscopy and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry for Determining DTPA-Extractable Micronutrients in Soils

A study was conducted for comparative evaluation of atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) for determining extractable zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and iron (Fe) in sixty diverse soil samples having a wide range in pH and organic carbon (C). The results were significantly affected by the method of analysis and soil type but generally did not follow a definite trend. Results for extractable Fe in Alfisol samples were significantly greater when using ICP-OES than AAS; and the results for Zn, Cu, and Mn were not significantly different for the two methods. For Vertisol samples, the results for extractable Cu were significantly greater by ICP-OES than by AAS, whereas extractable Fe and Zn were significantly greater by AAS than by ICP-OES, and the results for Mn were not significantly different for the two methods. The results are discussed relative to soil type and differences in soil organic carbon and pH of the samples used in the study

Improved Livelihoods - A Case Study from Asian Paints Limited

Asian Paints Umited and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) collaborated to improve rural livelihoods through integrated watershed development programme. Six villages in Patancheru mandal of Medak district, Telangana, India covering an area of 7143 ha were selected in consultation with the local community for Asian Paints Limited-ICRISAT watershed. The prime mitigation strategy for addressing water scarcity was initiated in the project by rainwater harvesting, efficient use of available water resources and recycling of grey water..

Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in earthworm casts and surrounding soil in relation to soil management of a semi-arid tropical Alfisol

Spores and infective propagules of vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhiza were examined in earthworm casts and field soils collected from three different soil management treatments (zero tillage with straw amendment, deep tillage without amendment (bare), and zero tillage with previous perennial cropping of Stylosanthes hamata) on an Alfisol in the semi-arid tropics (SAT) of India. The average mean of spore counts and most probable number (MPN) of infective propagules of VA mycorrhiza (VAM) were significantly (P earthworm casts than in field soil across the three soil management treatments. There was no significant difference in the number of VAM spores or propagules among field soils from the three different soil management treatments, but the number of VAM spores and propagules in the earthworm casts from the deep tillage bare treatment was significantly higher (P earthworm casts from the other two treatments. In the deep tillage bare treatment, the number of spores and MPN of infective propagules were significantly (P earthworm casts than in field soil. Therefore, it may be concluded that earthworms can concentrate VA mycorrhizal spores and propagules in their casts