Browsing by Author "Ardith Sankar"

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Biocides through pyrolytic degradation of biomass: potential, recent advancements and future prospects
(Elsevier, 2021) Avedananda Ray; Sabuj Ganguly; Ardith Sankar
Sustainable agriculture employs efficient management of environmental bio-resources which can be used satisfy anthropogenic needs while maintaining conserving natural resources at the same time. However, sustainable agriculture also focuses at lowering the pest incidence without disturbing nature's balance. Pyrolysis process is one of the methods chosen in order to strive for bio-pesticide formation. Pyrolysis is an eco-sustainable technique in the energy conversion of biomass to produce bio-oil, biochar and syngas. Slow pyrolysis was often selected as it lowers down heating rates and longer retention time enhances vapors formation from complete secondary reactions forming wood vinegar and biochar. Hardwood or softwood vinegar is an aqueous liquid mixture of organic acids and compounds such as acetic acid, methanol, furfural, phenol, acetaldehyde, furan, formic, propionic and butyric acid, and other volatile organics. Various researchers suggest that this aliquot can be used as an organic biocide as it had not showed any detrimental effects to the environment. This article reviews the potential of various biomass pyrolysis for liquid smoke production along with future prospects. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Effect of trichoderma and hydrogel on growth, yield and yield attributes of direct seeded rice (Oryza sativa) under rainfed condition
(Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 2019) Avijit Sen; Ram Kumar Singh; Deshraj Yadaw; Puja Kumari; V.K. Srivastava; Pravin Kumar Upadhyay; Ardith Sankar; Jyotipraksh Mishra; Ajoy Das; Najam Waris Zaidi; Manzoor Hussain Dar
A trial was conducted both in field and pot during the kharif season of 2015 at Banaras Hindu University, India to study the effect of hydrogel in combination with bio-agent on the performance of rice under rainfed condition. The field trial consisting of IR64 and DRR42 and Trichoderma and hydrogel making 10 treatments altogether was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) while in case of pot it was a factorial experiment. DRR42 + hydrogel (seed coating)+Trichoderma (seed treatment @ 12 g/kg) recorded higher yield (2.83 t ha -1 ) which was 43.76% higher than control but it remained at par with IR64. In the pot experiment hydrogel (seed coating)+Trichoderma (seed treatment) and hydrogel soil application registered higher RGR, CGR, root length, root weight. Survival of plants after imposition of drought at 60 days after sowing (DAS) was also found to be longer under the same treatments. © 2019 Indian Council of Agricultural Research. All Rights Reserved.
Energy Budgeting of Rice-Based Cropping Systems in the Indian Subcontinent
(Springer Nature, 2023) Ardith Sankar; Deepranjan Sarkar; Sabuj Ganguly; Rajni Sinha
There is a driving consensus to shift our food production systems toward low-carbon economies. The cropping systems of Gangetic Plains or South Asian countries are mostly rice-based or resource-intensive, which are practiced by smallholder farmers. Agricultural sustainability would be overlooked unless we estimate the energy footprint. Earlier, the performance of an agricultural system was judged by economic analysis only. Eventually, scientists are recommending including the energy cost for audits. In this chapter, we discussed energy indices and the relationship of energy input and output in rice, the agroecosystems. Our understanding of energetics will create options to reduce the energy requirements and increase the energy-use efficiency of cropping systems. Interventions to reduce our dependency on nonrenewable energy inputs will be crucial in solving the socioeconomic and environmental challenges of agroecosystems. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.
On-farm seed priming interventions in agronomic crops
(University of Ljubljana, 2018) Neha Chatterjee; Deepranjan Sarkar; Ardith Sankar; Sumita Pal; H.B. Singh; Rajesh Kumar Singh; J.S. Bohra; Amitava Rakshit
Priming techniques are gaining importance in agriculture with the increase in environmental stresses. Resource-poor farmers are in urgent need of such techniques as they are simple, economical, and value-added intervention associated with low-risk bearing factors. Seed enhancement methods are key to improve seed performance and achieve a good stand establishment. Worldwide beneficial effects of priming are recorded. But these technologies have still not reached most farmers. This review highlights the importance of on-farm priming strategies in modern crop production system to yield better productivity and obtain higher economic returns. Stimulation of the pre-germination metabolic changes by priming is necessary to overcome the environmental challenges that a plant can encounter. Thus, the study also focuses on mechanisms associated with priming-induced stress tolerance of crops. Various safe practical methods of seed priming can be easily adopted by the farming community to alleviate the levels of different stresses which can hamper productivity. Simultaneously they can produce good quality seeds and use them further for the next crop cycle cutting the costs of seed purchase. © 2018 University of Ljubljana. All rights reserved.
Optimizing nutrient use efficiency, productivity, energetics, and economics of red cabbage following mineral fertilization and biopriming with compatible rhizosphere microbes
(Nature Research, 2021) Deepranjan Sarkar; Ardith Sankar; O. Siva Devika; Sonam Singh; Shikha; Manoj Parihar; Amitava Rakshit; R.Z. Sayyed; Abdul Gafur; Mohammad Javed Ansari; Subhan Danish; Shah Fahad; Rahul Datta
Conventional agricultural practices and rising energy crisis create a question about the sustainability of the present-day food production system. Nutrient exhaustive crops can have a severe impact on native soil fertility by causing nutrient mining. In this backdrop, we conducted a comprehensive assessment of bio-priming intervention in red cabbage production considering nutrient uptake, the annual change in soil fertility, nutrient use efficiency, energy budgeting, and economic benefits for its sustainable intensification, among resource-poor farmers of Middle Gangetic Plains. The compatible microbial agents used in the study include Trichoderma harzianum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Bacillus subtilis. Field assays (2016–2017 and 2017–2018) of the present study revealed supplementing 75% of recommended NPK fertilizer with dual inoculation of T. harzianum and P. fluorescens increased macronutrient uptake (N, P, and K), root length, heading percentage, head diameter, head weight, and the total weight of red cabbage along with a positive annual change in soil organic carbon. Maximum positive annual change in available N and available P was recorded under 75% RDF + P. fluorescens + B. subtilis and 75% RDF + T. harzianum + B. subtilis, respectively. Bio-primed plants were also higher in terms of growth and nutrient use efficiency (agronomic efficiency, physiological efficiency, apparent recovery efficiency, partial factor productivity). Energy output (26,370 and 26,630 MJ ha−1), energy balance (13,643 and 13,903 MJ ha−1), maximum gross return (US $ 16,030 and 13,877 ha−1), and net return (US $ 15,966 and 13,813 ha−1) were considerably higher in T. harzianum, and P. fluorescens treated plants. The results suggest the significance of the bio-priming approach under existing integrated nutrient management strategies and the role of dual inoculations in producing synergistic effects on plant growth and maintaining the soil, food, and energy nexus. © 2021, The Author(s).
Organic interventions conferring stress tolerance and crop quality in agroecosystems during the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2021) Deepranjan Sarkar; Pradeep Kumar Dubey; Rajan Chaurasiya; Ardith Sankar; Shikha; Neha Chatterjee; Sabuj Ganguly; Vijay Singh Meena; Sunita Kumari Meena; Hanuman Prasad Parewa; Amitava Rakshit
Excessive use of synthetic chemicals in conventional agriculture largely degraded the agroecosystems that constitute approximately 40% of the global terrestrial ecosystems. Moreover, changing climate resulted in a substantial loss in agricultural productivity (both in quantity and in quality) mainly due to diverse abiotic and biotic stresses. This draws public awareness about depleting natural resources, viz., soil, land, and water due to unsustainable agricultural practices and equivalently concerns for food-related animal and human health risks. Modern organic agriculture has shown positive impacts in terms of food/biomass production, climate resilience, soil health, biodiversity, nutritional security, and good quality of life; and is of prodigious demand for nutrient-rich organic food products. In the ensuing decade, owing to the principal focus for the quality aspects or health benefits of organic agriculture, this review explores how organic interventions affect the nutritional value and yield quality in a production system; enable plants to adapt to adverse futuristic environmental conditions, and address the global food and nutritional security challenges. The chronological emergence, current global status, public perceptions, and key components of organic agriculture with their attached health benefits are inextricably synthesized herein. Fostering the ethos of organic agriculture under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) is highly imperative for agroecosystem restoration and its sustainable management. Moreover, the multidimensional paybacks of organic agriculture help in attaining important global goals and targets such as the Bonn Challenge and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) by the year 2030. Therefore, invigorating the escalation of organic farming as a concurrent strategy of soil, land, and ecosystem restoration is the need of the hour. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Scientific validation of indigenous organic formulation-panchagavya for sustaining rice productivity and residual effect in rice-lentil system under hot semi-arid eco-region of middle indo-gangetic plains
(National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR), 2019) Pravin Kumar Upadhyay; Avijit Sen; Sanjay Singh Rathore; Bipin Kumar; Ram Kumar Singh; Saroj Kumar Prasad; Ardith Sankar
Combined application of organic source of nutrient and inorganic fertilizers increases nutrient synchrony and reduces losses leading to sustainable productivity. With this concept in mind a field trial was conducted at Varanasi, India during 2013–14 and 2014–15, to evaluate and validate the efficiency and efficacy of panchagavya (blend of five cow products i.e. dung, ghee, curd, urine and milk) in combination with recommended doses of fertilizers (RDF) on rice yield, soil microbial population, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), soil enzymatic activity and their residual effects on lentil. Application of panchagavya (D4-seedling root dip + one spray at 30 days after transplanting-DAT @ 6% + application through irrigation water at 60 DAT) produced higher productive tillers/m2, number of filled spikelets/panicle, leaf area index (LAI), grain yield, soil bacterial and fungal population, SMBC and dehydrogenase activity. Application of 100% RDF significantly increased grain yield (5935 kg/ha) but 120% RDF recorded the highest straw yield (8283 kg/ha) and biological yield. Residual effect of panchagavya at D4 level resulted in higher (19.1% over control) seed yield of lentil. However, conjunctive use of 100% RDF and D4 ensured maximum net return (1194.9 $/ha).Therefore, use of indigenous product i.e. panchagavya in combination with fertilizer can be inferred to improve soil health, ascertain high productivity, profitability and sustainability in rice-lentil production, while preserving natural resource base under hot semi-arid eco-region of middle Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). © 2019, National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR). All rights reserved.
Soil Health, Energy Budget, and Rice Productivity as Influenced by Cow Products Application With Fertilizers Under South Asian Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains Zone
(Frontiers Media S.A., 2022) Pravin Kumar Upadhyay; Avijit Sen; Yashwant Singh; Ram Kumar Singh; Saroj Kumar Prasad; Ardith Sankar; Vinod Kumar Singh; S.K. Dutta; Rakesh Kumar; Sanjay Singh Rathore; Kapila Shekhawat; Subhash Babu; Rajiv Kumar Singh; Bipin Kumar; Abir Dey; G.A. Rajanna; Ramesh Kulshekaran
The comprehensive use of organic, inorganic, and biological components of nutrient management in rice ecologies can potentially address the twin challenges of declining factor productivity and deteriorating soil health. A field study was thus conducted at Varanasi, India during the year 2013–14 and 2014–15 to assess the effect of the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) along with cow product (blends of 5 cow by-products i.e., dung, ghee, curd, urine, and milk that is known as panchagavya) on soil health, energy budget, and rice productivity. The results revealed that the inclusion of panchagavya as seedling root dip + 6% spray at 30 days after transplanting (DAT) + an application with irrigation water (15 l ha−1) at 60 DAT (D4) along with 100% RDF (F3) noted significantly higher rice grain yield (6.34 t ha−1) and higher dehydrogenase activity. However, the soil bacterial and actinomycetes population, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), urease, and alkaline phosphatase activities were significantly higher with D4 along with 120% RDF (F4). Carbon output (5,608 kg CO2 eq ha−1), energy use parameters viz. energy output (187,867 MJ ha−1), net energy returns (164,319 MJ ha−1), and energy intensity valuation (5.08 MJ (Figure presented.)) were significantly higher under F4. However, the energy ratio (8.68), energy productivity (0.292 kg MJ−1), and energy profitability (7.68) remained highest with 80% RDF (F2), while the highest carbohydrate equivalent yield (4,641 kg mha−1) was produced under F3. The combination of F3 with D4 resulted in the highest productivity, optimum energy balance, and maintaining soil quality. Therefore, a judicious combination of cow product (panchagavya) with RDF was found to improve the rice productivity, energy profitability, and soil quality under south Asian eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGPs). Copyright © 2022 Upadhyay, Sen, Singh, Singh, Prasad, Sankar, Singh, Dutta, Kumar, Rathore, Shekhawat, Babu, Singh, Kumar, Dey, Rajanna and Kulshekaran.