Browsing by Author "Nirmal De"

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Biological properties of selected overburdens of Singrauli coalfields
(Technoscience Publications, 2016) Priyal Pandey; Mahendra Kumar Verma; Raj Mukhopadhyay; Nirmal De; Resham Dwivedi; N.C. Karmakar; Sumit Pandey; Rakesh Kumar Singh
Coalfield mine overburden or abandoned mine sites is a major environmental concern. Overburden materials are nutrient-poor, loosely adhered particles of shale, stones, boulders and cobbles and are devoid of true soil character. Eco-restoration or natural transformation of overburden materials to soil for cultivation is a time taking process. In the present study, we focused on how the OB materials are different from nearby natural soil and explored the characterization of physical, chemical and biological properties of different aged overburden undergoing the process of eco-restoration. Further, we have analysed various microbial population, enzymatic activities and microbial respiration process in different aged overburdens vis-a-vis nearby soil. Microbial population was more in 16 year old overburden among different aged OB but less than nearby soil. Dehydrogenase, Urease activity showed an increasing trend with maturity age of overburden representing higher microbial population, while alkaline phosphatase activity is not following any trend. Soil microbial respiration was found to be increased with age of overburden. Carbon mineralization rate constant in all overburden lied in a narrow range (0.020-0.011) day-1 and it did not show any significant variation as compared to native forest soil (0.03 day-1). Mineralizable carbon was found more in native soil (7.95 mg C/kg of overburden) and 16 year old overburden (5.56 mg C/kg of overburden). Cumulative CO2 evolved was more in native forest soil (8.67 mg C/kg), and was comparable with 16 year old overburden (5.4 mg C/kg). Microbial population, enzymatic activity and carbon mineralization can act as an indicator for analysing changes in overburden spoil properties due to ecorestoration.
Boron availability in soils and its nutrition of crops under long-term fertility experiments in India
(Elsevier B.V., 2019) Ruma Das; Biswapati Mandal; Dibyendu Sarkar; Amit Kumar Pradhan; Ashim Datta; Dhaneshwar Padhan; Anindita Seth; Rahul Kumar; Nirmal De; V.N. Mishra; K.B. Polara; Sanjay Sharma; N.P. Thakur; Dileep Kachroo; M. Ray; Anil Sharma; K.P. Patel; Lalit Mohan Garnayak; W.N. Narkhede
Using 12 long-term (of 15 to 42 years duration)experiments with different cropping systems under various soils and agro-climatic conditions, we studied how different (inorganic and integrated)nutrient management practices influenced boron (B)availability in soils, and its nutrition of nine crops. To this end, four nutrient management practices viz., NPK (recommended dose of N, P and K), NPK + FYM (farmyard manure), control and fallow, which were common in all the experiments, were selected and their effects on B availability in soils were tested using four commonly used methods viz., hot-CaCl2 (HCC), KH2PO4 (PDP), mannitol-CaCl2 (MCC)and hydrochloric acid (HCl)in relation to B nutrition of wheat, rice, cowpea, sorghum, sesame, mustard, groundnut, soybean and lentil. Amounts of B extracted by the four different methods followed the order HCC = HCl > MCC > PDP across the tested soils. Averaged over the extractants, long-term nutrient management practices with NPK + FYM resulted in 15% increases in available B in soil over the control, which produced 20% increase in plant tissue B concentration. Such increases with integrated (NPK + FYM)nutrient management practices maintained available B in soils and plant tissues above its critical limits that supplied adequate amounts of B for nutrition of all the tested crops grown intensively for so many years. A B balance study in six experimental sites showed a net B accumulation over time as irrigation water contained and supplied (130–296 g B ha−1 year−1)more B than removed by harvested crops. Of the four methods used, HCC was the best for assessment of availability of B in soils under long-term cultivation. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.
Cadmium sorption by vermicompost produced from recycled organic wastes
(Enviro Media, 2014) Amit Kumar Pradhan; Kasturikasen Beura; Ipsita Das; Nirmal De
Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic heavy metal and therefore represents a potential threat to the environment and human health. A study has been carried out to evaluate the sorption and kinetics of Cadmium in various types of vermicompost. The experiment was conducted on six different types of vermicompost at Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Banaras Hindu University. Six vermicompost bins/units were developed for decomposition of a few selected base materials like, temple wastes, vegetable crop residues, grass residues, dry mango leaf litter, regular farmyard manure and Cow dung. The study concludes that vermicompost is an effective adsorbent for the removal of Cd (II) metal ions from its aqueous solution. Vermicompost is able to adsorb nearly 80-99% of the cadmium in solution at variable concentrations. Vermicompost can thus be recommended for application to the soil for removal of Cadmium, and owing to its good nutrient composition it would prove helpful in improving the physical and chemical properties of the soil. Copyright © EM International.
Cellulose-based phosphorylated bamboo with slow urea release and lower carbon footprints improves rainfed rice crop productivity in field trials
(Elsevier B.V., 2025) Rohit Rai; Rahul Ranjan; Sonal Kumari; Nirmal De; Prodyut Dhar
With unprecedented global climate changes, rice crop cultivation under rainfed conditions encounters alternate wetting and drying cycles with water and nutrient stress, which leads to poor yield, quality, and productivity. A modified cellulose-based, slow urea-releasing and water-retaining system from bamboo is developed for rainfed rice crops, to overcome such challenges to emerging rice crops and improve soil health for subsequent crop cycles. Bamboo was delignified to expose the cellulose and subsequent phosphorylation (DPB), followed by strategic urea infiltration and melting to deposit it into the microporous matrix. The melted DPB urea (MDU) presents a zone of influence of 52.5 cm3/cm3 MDU, with water retention of 72 h for supporting plant growth during water stress upto ~6 days. MDU also displays a sustained release of 45–55 % urea for ~11 days in black, red, and alluvial soils. The application of MDU in the field study of rainfed rice crops showed improved plant height (16.66 %), chlorophyll content (32 %), grain yield (230 kg/ha), nitrogen (1.60 %), and phosphate content (0.089 %) of rice grains with the presence of ureolytic microbes (Sporosarcina) for improved soil quality. Cellulose-based MDU is biodegradable (98.1 %) in soil and generates relatively lower carbon footprints during production (~70.7 % lower GWP) than non-degradable acrylamide. Cellulose from renewable forest resources like bamboo, has been modified strategically using an eco-friendly approach to enhance the rainfed rice crop yield and soil conditions creating a closed-loop circular bioeconomy with low-carbon footprints for sustainable agriculture. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.
Chemical characterization of selected overburdens of Singrauli coalfields
(Enviro Media, 2016) Mahendra Kumar Verma; Priyal Pandey; Raj Mukhopadhyay; Nirmal De; Resham Dwivedi; N.C. Karmakar; V.K. Bajaj
Mining particularly opencast mining contribute over 81% of total coal production in India. Opencast mining releases huge amount of mining wastes to the upper part of the land surface as overburden dump materials. Overburden materials are nutrient-poor, loosely adhered particles of shale, stones, boulders and cobbles and are devoid of true soil character. A brief idea of chemical properties of overburden is necessary to carry out successful eco restoration. In the present study overburden dumps of different ages under Singrauli coalfields were collected and characterized for various chemical properties. Chemical characteristics such as pH, Electrical conductivity, Organic carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium and micronutrient were analyzed. The overburden samples collected from the coal mining areas had pH in acidic range (6.1-6.7) while native forest has neutral pH (7.4). Organic carbon was found minimum in fresh overburden (0.11%) and increased with age of overburden (0.34 %) in 15 year old overburden. Available nitrogen and available phosphorus were deficient in overburden samples as compared to native forest soil. Iron, Zinc and Copper were found to be in permissible limit in overburden samples and native forest soil. Manganese was found to be deficient in overburden samples and native forest soil. Nickel was found within permissible limits in different aged overburden as well as in soil. Present study revealed that overburden samples were poor in nutrients but proper management with plantation of suitable plant species could be helpful in improving availability of essential nutrients in overburdens. Copyright © EM International.
Effect of biofertilizers, fertility level and weed management on weed growth and yield of late sown chickpea (Cicer arietinum)
(2006) Rajesh Kumar Singh; D.N. Shukla; Nirmal De
A field experiment was conducted during winter (rabi) season of 2000-01 and 2001-02 at the Agriculture Research Farm of Institute of Agriculture Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, integrating biofertilizers, fertility levels and weed management to minimize weed interference for higher yield of late sown chickpea (Cicer arientium L.). The fertility levels and biofertilizers applied to chickpea caused significant effect on the weed population, biomass and seed yield but no effect on seed protein content. Application of VAM alone was at par to inoculation of Rhizohium exhibited significantly lower weed population, dry matter accumulation and seed yield that the dual application of Rhizobium and VAM. Decreasing levels of fertility from 125 to 75% of recommended NPK dose exerted significantly marked reduction in population and dry matter of weeds and increased in seed yield by 0.43 tonnes/ha. Pre-emergence application of pendimethalin 0.5 kg ai/ha coupled with 1 hoeing at 40 days after sowing significantly reduced the density and dry matter of weeds which resulted in 16% higher seed yield over weedy check condition.
Effect of polymers and nutrient management on sesame (Sesamum indicum) under custard apple (Annona squamosa) based agri-horti system
(Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 2019) Shailesh Kumar; Ram Swaroop Meena; Nirmal De; D.S. Gurjar; Ajeet Singh; Gulab Singh Yadav; Gourisankar Pradhan
A field experiment was conducted in 2016–17 to study the effect of polymers and nutrient management on sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) under custard apple (Annona squamosa L.) based agri-horti system in rainfed conditions of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with four replications. Three levels of polymers, viz. Control, NCPC @ 5 kg/ha and Hydrogel @ 5 kg/ha and four level of the nutrient management as Control, 100% RDF, 100% RDF + Azotobacter and 100% RDF + PSB were taken in main-plots and sub-plots. Results indicated that the application of NCPC @ 5 kg/ha produced the best results in terms of the sesame seed yield (448.51 kg/ha) and stalk yield (609.97 kg/ha). The nutrient management with 100% RDF + Azotobacter gave better results as compared to control (no fertilizers). Their conjoint application can be beneficial to farmers for sustaining the crop productivity in the rainfed condition of eastern Uttar Pradesh. © 2019 Indian Council of Agricultural Research. All rights reserved.
Growth, yield and nutrient content of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) in response to INM in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India
(Bangladesh Botanical Society, 2015) Yubaraj Dhakal; R.S. Meena; Nirmal De; S.K. Verma; Ajeet Singh
Significant improvement in LAI, number of trifoliate, SPAD value of green leaf chlorophyll, dry matter accumulation, yield, harvest index (%) and nutrient content of mungbean were recorded due to application of 75% RDF + 2.5 t/ha vermicompost (VC) + Rhizobium (Rh)+ phosphorus solublizing bacteria (PSB), followed by 100% RDF + 2.5 t/ha VC and 100% RDF + Rh + PSB. The highest seed yield of mungbean was obtained with the application of 75% RDF + 2.5 t/ha VC + Rh + PSB (12.34 q /ha) followed by 100% RDF + 2.5 t/ha VC (12.05 q /ha) and 100% RDF + Rh+ PSB (11.95 q /ha). © 2015 Bangladesh Botanical Society. All rights reserved.
Impact of Thirty-Four Years of Fertilization and Manuring on Soil Nutrients Availability, Yield and Quality of Crops in Indo-Gangetic Plains
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2024) Priya Singh; Sunanda Biswas; Nandita Ghoshal; Nirmal De; Divyadarshan Singh
Dryland rainfed agriculture needs an appropriate fertilization strategy to achieve sustainable yield with good soil health. This study was aimed at assessing the impact of long-term fertilization on soil available nutrients, its enzymatic activities, and yield and quality of crops. Depth-wise soil samples were collected from a 34-year-old long-term fertilizer experiment (LTFE) with a rainfed rice-lentil cropping system. Treatments used for comparison were: control, 100% NPK (recommended NPK), 50% NPK, 50% FYM (50% of recommended nitrogen from farmyard manure), 100% FYM, and 50% NPK + FYM. Collected samples were analyzed for the physico-chemical and biological properties of soils along with the quality and yield of crops harvested. Among the treatments, 50%NPK + FYM showed the highest activities of dehydrogenase (DHA) (72.7%), alkaline phosphatase (ALKP) (48%), arylsulphatase (ASP) (92.8%) and urease (URE) (112%) compared with the control at the surface layer. It (NPK + FYM) also enhanced soil macro- (available N, P, K and S) and micro-nutrients (available Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn and B). The use of FYM either alone or in combination with inorganic fertilizer, had significant impacts on uptake of macro- and micro-nutrients by grains and straw of rice. Conjoint use of FYM and inorganic fertilizer also improved grain yield of rice (2038 kg ha-1) and lentil (965 kg ha-1), values of sustainable yield index (SYI), and quality of rice in terms of enrichment of N, P and K (1.34%, 0.37% and 0.24%) in grains. Results also revealed an improved agronomic efficiency (AE) and apparent recovery efficiency (ARE) of N (38.8%), P (33.7%) and K (91.4%) with FYM. With the exception of control, there was a positive apparent N and P balance shown in all the treatments, whereas negative apparent K balance in all except the FYM-treated plots. Application of NPK with FYM improves soil physico-chemical and biological properties, crop productivity and also its quality. It also ensures a steady supply of N, P and K to crops enhancing their use efficiencies. A balanced and conjoint application of inorganic fertilizer and FYM to rainfed rice-lentil cropping system is recommended for upkeeping soil health, improving crop productivity and its quality under Indo-Gangetic Plains. © The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Sociedad Chilena de la Ciencia del Suelo 2024.
Modeling time-dependent phosphate buffering capacity in different soils as affected by bicarbonate and silicate ions
(2008) Nirmal De; Samar Chandra Datta
The aim of this paper was to establish a relationship between phosphate buffering capacity and time in the presence of specifically sorbed anions like bicarbonate and silicate. P sorption isotherms were obtained at different times of equilibration for 3 surface soil samples, namely, Typic Haplustept, Calcic Chromustert, and Ultic Paleustalf in 3 different systems namely, bicarbonate (0.001 m), silicate (0.001 m), and a control system without any bicarbonate or silicate and having a common concentration of 0.1 m NaCl. Phosphate sorption data at different times could be fitted very closely to a modified Freundlich equation of the form: X/m = KCntp, where X/m is the amount of phosphate sorbed at solution phosphate concentration C and time t in hours. The values of n and p were positive fractions (mostly) and found to vary with soils and ionic medium. The silicate system was more effective in decreasing P sorption. Phosphate buffering capacity, defined as the first-order partial derivative of X/m with respect to C, KntpCn-1, was calculated at a particular concentration of 0.3 mg/L (usual P concentration of soil solution) at different times from the optimised value of K, n, and p. Phosphate buffering capacity was maximum in the control system and found to increase with time. Bicarbonate and, particularly, silicate ion decreased buffering capacity drastically and also the rate of change of buffering capacity with time. The practical implications of this decrease in buffering capacity by bicarbonate and silicate ions is discussed. © CSIRO 2008.
Moisture and nitrogen stress induces severity of wiltnematode complex of lentil grown in rice fallow in an inceptisol
(Indian Phytopathological Society, 2017) Raj Mukhopadhyay; Victor Phani; Nirmal De; Sumit Kumar Pandey; Rakesh Kumar Singh
Lentil (Lens culinaris) is a leading high protein pulse grown by the farmers as a rainfed rabi crop in lowland rice fallows in Indo Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India. Disease complex due to Fusarium oxysporum and Meloidogyne incognita possess a great threat to yield of lentil when grown as fallow crop after rice with residual soil moisture and nitrogen in dryland condition. This paper discusses the role of soil moisture and availability of soil NO3-N to the plants on wilt nematode disease complex under a long term rice-lentil cropping system. In our long term experimental conditions which prevailed under dry condition, low level of soil moisture and low availability of soil NO3-N to plants illustrated increased in fungus nematode wilt complex severity, which can be mitigated by use of farm yard manure as full source of nitrogen in rice. This leads to the enhancement of the available soil moisture and nitrogen for residual crops like lentil and also reduced wilt nematode complex. © Indian Phytopathological Society 2017.
Monitoring of soil CO2 evolution and dehydrogenase activity under the influence of Trichoderma harzianum encapsulated nanoclay polymer composite
(Clay Minerals Society of India, 2015) Raj Mukhopadhyay; Nirmal De; Tonoy Kumar Das
Monitoring of soil respiration and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) under the influence of Trichoderma harzianum encapsulated nanoclay polymer composite (TENCPC) was done to investigate the impact of TENCPC on soil CO2 evolution and the enzymatic activity, particularly dehydrogenase, which is an important indicator of soil health. Soil samples were collected from a long term fertilizer trial under dryland agriculture. The treatments were control (no nutrient supplemented)-T1, 100% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) i.e. 80-40-30 kg ha-1 N: P: K-T2, 100% N through farm yard manure (FYM)-T3, 50% N through FYM-T4, 50% RDF + 50% N through FYM-T5 and farmer’s general practice (20 kg N ha-1)-T6. At 4th hour, the average CO2 release from soil through microbial respiration was highest for T2 (100 % RDF) i.e. 1.5 mg CO2-C/g soil/hr whereas, for control (T1), it was 0.6. At 4th hr, CO2-C evolution rate was highest at 2.40 CO2-C (mg/ g soil/ hr) for T3 treated with TENCPC @ 1 mg/ 100 g soil, incubated up to 168th hour, and lowest was under T1 i.e. 0.97. The application of TENCPC in soil also increased the soil DHA during both the years. After the application of TENCPC in soil, the maximum DHA was for T3 i.e. 70.4 TPF µg/ g soil/ day and minimum was for T1 i.e. 26.61, whereas, the corresponding value before the application of TENCPC was 64.2 and 25.7, respectively after 7 days of incubation. © 2015, Clay Minerals Society of India. All rights reserved.
Natural gamma-ray spectrometry as a rapid sensing method for detecting variations in soil shrinking and cracking behaviour: An application case study
(Elsevier Ltd, 2023) Argha Basu; Varun Narayan Mishra; Nirmal De; Vimal Singh
Soils which develop desiccation cracks after drying are unsuitable for the making of earthenware. The present work was carried out to demonstrate the use of Natural Gamma-ray Spectrometry (NGS) as a rapid sensing method to detect the variation of cracking behaviour and types of clay dominant in soil using samples collected from the study region. Natural gamma-ray intensities due to potassium (K) and equivalent thorium (eTh) radioisotopes present in soil were recorded using an NGS device. Circular soil cakes of set diameter were sun-dried to find shrinking and cracking variations. Other tests included measurement of particle size distribution, Atterberg indices, basic soil physico-chemical properties, exchangeable cation contents using ICP-OES and XRD identification of clays. 6 soil varieties were identified from the distribution of data points in the binary plots of gamma-ray potassium (GR-K) and thorium (GR-eTh) counts per sec (C/s). Variation of GR-K was observed to be wider (2.14 C/s to 2.54 C/s) than GR-eTh (0.44 C/s to 0.63 C/s). The measured GR-K counts reflect changes in illite content. The soils displayed 3 categories of shrinking and cracking behaviour. The soil variety which displayed maximum mild shrinkage without fine desiccation cracks on the set surface area has the highest GR-K counts. The soil shrinking and cracking variations were not clearly defined by the classification based on the texture and plasticity chart, though the latter indicated dominant smectites. A strong linear relationship between GR-K and exchangeable K (R2 = 0.84) indicates K+ contribution mainly from illite and dominance of other clay types in outliers. Higher levels of polyvalent cations known for binding clay aggregates were observed in the non-cracking soils. Concomitant higher GR-K levels indicate that shrinking soils lacking fine desiccation cracks are associated with fluvial sediments of the recent past with parental mica. This research concludes that NGS-based portable devices can be used for rapid sensing of soils to detect variation in shrinking and cracking behaviour and dominant clay type and thus can be used for identification of soil suitable for earthenware making. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
Novel bio-filtration method for the removal of heavy metals from municipal solid waste
(Elsevier B.V., 2020) M.C. Manna; Asha Sahu; Nirmal De; J.K. Thakur; Asit Mandal; Sudeshna Bhattacharjya; Avijit Ghosh; Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman; Ravi Naidu; Udai Bhan Singh; Raja Dakhli; M.P. Sharma; Sukanya Misra
Fast urbanization, and agricultural escalation produce a lot of municipal solid wastes (MSW). There is need to recognize economically practical innovations to debase substantial metals to an innocuous state. The present investigation aimed to recognize proficient fungi and develop bio-filtration strategy utilizing them for expulsion of substantial heavy metals (HMs) from tainted MSW compost (MSWC). Six fungi were isolated from sewage sludge, namely, Trichoderma viride, Aspergillus heteromorphus, Rhizomucor pusillus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus, and Aspergillus awamori. Growths of all these fungi were highly susceptible to Cd at 5 ppm. Trichoderma viride, Aspergillus awamori, and Rhizomucor pusillus were highly susceptible to Cu at 50 ppm. Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus heteromorphus could tolerate Cr below 50 ppm. The varying degree of HM tolerance by different fungi may be due to diverse strategies to dodge HM toxicity. Functional groups like amide (-NH2), hydroxyl (-OH), carboxylate anions (-COO), carbonyl groups (-CO), C-F and C-Br were responsible for bio-sorption of heavy metals by fungi through chelation with HMs. We found Trichoderma viride and Aspergillus flavus based bio-filters were capable to remove the highest amount of Pb (>40%) and Cd (>20%). Aspergillus heteromorphus based bio-filters was the most efficient to remove Cu and Cr from MSWC (∼20%). Trichoderma viride, Aspergillus heteromorphus, Rhizomucor pusillus and Aspergillus flavus based bio-filters were equally effective for elicitation of Zn (∼30%) and Ni (>30%) toxicity. Differential minimum inhibitory concentration, uptake of HMs, bio-sorption capacity of HMs by fungi resulted in unequal efficacy of fungal bio-filters. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
Remote sensing vis a vis ground truthing in agricultural crops for growth and stress identification
(Elsevier, 2024) Hemant Jayant; Nirmal De
Crop health status forms a crucial part of agriculture risk management, which decides the growth and production potential of particular crop. From which time-to-time monitoring of crop health is required during the life cycle of plant from its germination to grain maturity. This helps in the fulfillment of plant needs whether it is soil related (nutrient requirements, such as N, P, and K), irrigation demand, and protection needs such as herbicide and pesticide. To maintain such decorum of plant health and vigor point data (location or plant-specific data) is much more required for the precision agriculture. This information is thus acquired from the ground truthing and through surveying of the area being targeted used in the management and strategic planning of the problem studying. In agriculture and many other sectors, such as water shade delineation, mapping and management, soil resource mapping and monitoring, land degradation mapping, weather forecasting, crop area estimation, and digital soil mapping, remote sensing has become a potentially useful tool with technological advancements for monitoring and location mapping. The potential of remote sensing is well known among us to create a data pool for various sectors to extract useful information for decision-making and solution implementation. Agriculture or our crop cultivation is susceptible to different biotic (insect, pest, and diseases) and abiotic (temperature, precipitation, and soil health) factors that lead to put out effort in farming at risk. To handle these stresses point information about crop that is, plant being affected by stress, factor identification causing stresses and its contamination potency, how to manage such stresses are much needed input. The information thus obtained cross-validated with the remote sensing images by analysis and interpretation and finally implemented in the decision support system. So such system can be possible by integration of remote sensing and GPS-based ground truthing could be adopted in the present and near future. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Response of polymers and nutrient management on growth, yield, and quality of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea)
(Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 2020) Ram Swaroop Meena; Divya Patel; Nirmal De; Ajeet Singh; D.S. Gurjar; Sunil Kumar; Gourisankar Pradhan
Afield experiment was conducted during winter season of 2015-16 at IAS, BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (India) to evaluate the response of polymers and nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of Indian mustard. Result showed that the application of polymer as NCPC @ 5 kg/ha and nutrient management with 100% RDF -I- KSB improved the growth parameters, yield attributes and yields, quality and net return of the Indian mustard. © 2020 Indian Council of Agricultural Research. All rights reserved.
Soil quality and crop productivity under 34 years old long-term rainfed rice based cropping system in an Inceptisol of sub-tropical India
(Frontiers Media SA, 2023) Sunanda Biswas; Priya Singh; Riaj Rahaman; Kalyani V. Patil; Nirmal De
Introduction: Soil quality deterioration with the introduction of modern agriculture is a major threat to agricultural sustainability and food security and the problem is more aggravated specially under rainfed agriculture. Asessment of soil quality is a tortuous task as it can not be measured directly. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the effect of long-term fertilization and manuring on soil quality and identify the most sensitive indicators of assessing soil quality under rainfed rice based system. Methods: Soil samples were collected from selected six treatments viz. control, 100%NPK, 50%NPK, 50%FYM, 100%FYM and 50%NPK+FYM of 34 years old long-term fertilizer experiment with rainfed rice-lentil cropping system situated at BHU Varanasi, India. Results and discussion: Result revealed that continuous organic manure application along with inorganic fertilizer increased soil organic carbon by 54.1% over control treatment.Principal component analysis (PCA) was done to screen out key indicators and mean weight diameter, available Fe, available N, potentially mineralizable N, available Zn, FDA hydrolase activity and Clay were selected as key indicators of soil quality. The highest soil quality index (SQI) of 0.95 was found in 50% NPK+FYM treatment. Regression analysis showed better agreement of equivalent rice yield and SQI (0.87). Therefore, the balanced fertilization with organic and inorganic fertilizers is important for sustainability of the rainfed rice-lentil cropping system and this practice may be recommended for rainfed rice based system of Indian Inceptisol. Copyright © 2023 Biswas, Singh, Rahaman, Patil and De.
Sustainable extraction and conservation of soil resources: New insights through Natural Gamma-ray Spectrometry based Proximal Sensing Method
(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Argha Basu; Varun Narayan Mishra; Nirmal De; Vimal Singh
Soil is one the most extracted natural raw materials. The vast expanses of fertile alluvial soils of the Indo Gangetic Plains have long remained as abundant soil resource pool for brick manufacturing and construction sectors. Unmonitored continuous removal of soil is reported to cause depletion of soil reserves, loss of soil fertility and affect crop yield. Excavation and removal of soil from isolated patches of land creates low lying and elevated degraded areas which disrupts normal crop cultivation pattern. Natural gamma-ray spectrometry (NGS) can be used as a non-destructive and rapid geophysical sensing method, for identification and delineation of areas with suitable soils. During this work brick kiln areas were visited to understand soil's availability and extraction pattern. NGS measurements of samples from soil profiles were carried out to find if gamma-ray intensities varied with soil clay content. Soil texture and plasticity of the same samples were obtained following standard testing procedures. Winkler and Plasticity charts were used to assess suitability of the soils. A strong linear relationship between gamma-ray potassium (K) intensity and clay contents of soil profile samples (R2 = 0.88) was observed. NGS based devices can be used to scan soil samples rapidly and log shallow depth boreholes in grid sampling design. The gathered spectral gamma-ray data can be then used to predict and generate high resolution 3D models of soil properties, based on which resource areas of suitable soils can be delineated for long term soil extraction without affecting cultivated areas. This will help in delineating areas restricted for soil extraction, which will not only make soil mining sustainable but also address soil conservation by setting aside large cultivated fertile soil areas untouched. Adopting NGS methods will prevent unsystematic removal of fertile soil and creation of degraded lands. This will ultimately result in efficient soil resource management. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd
Synthesis, characterization and application of chitosan-g-acrylamide composite on soils of gangetic plain region
(Editorial board of Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, 2019) Priyal Pandey; Mahendra Kumar Verma; Nirmal De
The present study was formalized to address the effect of chitosan-grafted polyacrylamide composite on soil and therefore an innovative eco-friendly chitosan-based composite was synthesized and its probable effect on soil chemical and biological properties were analyzed. Chitosan grafted polyacrylamide composite has been synthesized in the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University. Synthesized Chitosan grafted polyacrylamide was characterized by Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Composite showed rough morphology with an average roughness 26.17 nm, found to be partially amorphous with the presence of functional group from both acrylamide and chitosan. A lab incubation study for six months revealed that synthesized composites addition in soils (Alfisol and Inceptisol) of Gangetic plain region significantly increased soil electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), catalase activity, dehydrogenase activity, and soil microbial biomass carbon content. Composite addition in soil did not altered soil pH, acid phosphatase activity, alkaline phosphatase activity and only urease activity in soil was found to be decreased during the incubation period. The implication of information about the effect of composite addition on soil properties is crucial for its usage and application in the soil system. This valuable information might be helpful in promoting more effective use of biopolymer-based composite rather than acrylate based composite in agriculture as a slow release carrier of fertilizers and water in the soil. © 2019, Editorial board of Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences. All rights reserved.
Urea and Trichoderma harzianum Loaded Clay-Polymer Composite in Conjunction with Farmyard Manure Sustains Soil Moisture and Nitrogen Availability to Manage Fusarium-Meloidogyne Disease Complex in Lentil (Lens culinaris)
(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2024) Raj Mukhopadhyay; Arkadeb Mukhopadhyay; Subhadip Paul; Nirmal De; Rakesh Kumar Singh
The present investigation reports the development and characterization of a clay-polymer composite loaded with urea and Trichoderma harzianum (UTCPC) to enhance soil moisture and nitrogen availability and manage wilt-nematode complex in lentil grown in residual moisture after rainfed rice. The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterization proved successful synthesis of UTCPC. The bentonite clay (8% w w−1) and Th concentration (10% w w−1) were optimized based on the maximum spore count of the UTCPC and viability of the Th spores at one month of storage at room temperature. The incubation and pot culture experiments were laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with six N levels replicated thrice in combinations with UTCPC. Under incubation experiment, the treatment of 100% N through farmyard manure (FYM) along with UTCPC application (T3) resulted in the highest soil moisture (18.5%) and lowest nitrate (NO3-N) content (42%) at 6 and 10 days after incubation, respectively, suggesting its sustained moisture-retaining and slow nitrate (NO3-N) release properties of the UTCPC. Under pot experiment, the treatment T3 expressed the highest soil moisture (28.8%) and NO3-N (17.6 kg ha−1) content even at 60 days after sowing. The disease severity index of all the treatments comprising UTCPC with or without nutrient application was significantly lower than the untreated soil. The lowest population of Fusarium spp. (13.8%) and Meloidogyne spp. (8%) were observed in T3. Therefore, UTCPC can be considered as an eco-friendly agri-input in enhancing moisture retention and sustaining nutrient release to the soil as well as providing biocontrol agents to manage Fusarium-Meloidogyne complex in lentil. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.