Browsing by Author "Rajan Bhatt"

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Balanced and Secure Micronutrients in Crop Field Influence the Efficient Utilization of Macronutrients or Vice-Versa
(wiley, 2022) Akbar Hossain; Mst Tanjina Islam; Md Sohidul Islam; Rajan Bhatt; Sukamal Sarker; Sagar Maitra; Ram Swaroop Meena
In agriculture, the exceptional significance of micronutrient is unavoidable, as plant relies primarily on micronutrient. Although required in small amounts of micronutrients, viz., B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, they have a prominent role to play in improving yield potentials under stressed conditions. There is a large number of elements in nature out of which 16 are important for the proper growth and development of crop plants. Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potash, Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulfur are called macro- or major nutrients and required in comparatively large amounts. Iron, Copper, Zinc, Boron, Molybdenum, Manganese, and Chloride are the micro- or minor nutrients required in smaller quantities for the vegetative and reproductive growth of crop plants. C, H, and O contribute 85-90% of the total plant content. N gives dark green color to crop plants and it increases the vegetative growth of crop plants. It is most important for the preparation of starch in leaves and the production of amino acids. P is the constituent of certain nucleic acids, phosphatides, chromosomes, and co-enzymes. P works as a catalyst in about 60 enzymatic systems of the plants and regulates the water in plants and reduces the negative effects of salts in the plants. Ca is the important constituent of the plant cell wall and it promotes early root growth and development. In consideration of the important role micronutrients have in promoting and maintaining human health, more research is needed to determine the advantages of using the optimum level of micronutrients instead of their critical level as an indicator with regard to yield, quality, and enrichment objectives for the future. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.
Cost-Effective and Eco-Friendly Agricultural Technologies in Rice-Wheat Cropping Systems for Food and Environmental Security
(Springer Singapore, 2021) Akbar Hossain; Rajan Bhatt; Sukamal Sarkar; Manashi Barman; Debjyoti Majumder; Saikat Saha; Mst. Tanjina Islam; Sagar Maitra; Ram Swaroop Meena
Both rice and wheat in the “rice-wheat cropping systems” (RWCS) of South Asia and China feed more than 3.1 billion people. It is the most productive and vital agricultural systems worldwide to meet the food safety of the growing population.Although the RWCS have great concern for food security, however, one of the foremost complications in the systems is that soils are puddled with repeated tillage by the traditional way for transplanting rice seedlings which lead to alteration in soil physical and chemical properties. Besides these, repeated tillages for puddling create a hard plow pan layer at the root zone of the rice plant that creates poor infiltration and waterlogging for the next dry season crop particularly wheat. Farmers in the systems generally use excessive synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for getting higher yield for both rice and wheat. As a result, repeatedtillage and also imbalance application of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides increase the production cost as well as influence greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Since the systems have several hostile effects on the environment due to traditional farming, it is already confirmed that the systems are the key source of food production for more than 3.1 billion people in the countries of South and Southeast Asia. Therefore, it will not be a wise decision to replace the system from the regions. In the meantime, researchers have recommended numerous advanced technologies in the RWCS for sustainable rice and wheat production. The chapter discusses cost-effective and ecological-friendly technologies for RWCS of South Asia for food and environmental security. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.
Ecological Intensification for Sustainable Agriculture in South Asia
(Springer Singapore, 2021) Akbar Hossain; Sukamal Sarkar; Atikur Rahman; Rajan Bhatt; Sourav Garai; Saikat Saha; Mst. Tanjina Islam; Ram Swaroop Meena
In South Asian countries huge population pressure, foster urbanization and industrialization lead to dwindle the agro-ecological resources like land, water, agroforestry, human and climatic stability. Agricultural intensification has been accompanied by a set of innovations, collectively referred to as the Green Revolution, which has increased food production significantly. However, the intensification poses a major threat to the physical environment such as the loss of natural resources, genetic diversity, land degradation and non-judicious application of water and nutrient. Recent evidence recommends that ecological intensification (EI) of distinctive agriculture particularly in rice-based cropping systems of South Asia can preserve the food production in addition with environmental welfares. Since EI of sustainable agriculture could organize the precise constituents of biodiversity and can be used to either balance synthetic-input as well as expand the productivity without adverse effect on agricultural production. Besides, it is also reported that the performance of organic and agro-ecological farming system is much better in case of ecosystem services relevant to climate change, carbon sequestration from a soil depth of 30 cm and other parameters like soil water holding capacity, etc. Therefore, scientists and policymakers consequently and progressively have emphasized the welfares of ecological-intensifying agriculture to a sociable way towards food, nutritional, environmental and livelihood security by assisting biodiversity and enhance the ecosystem services. This chapter highlights the available agro-ecological resources for improving crop productivity to obtain the goal of sustainable agricultural intensification without negotiating the agricultural outputs. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.
Input Use Efficiency for Food and Environmental Security
(wiley, 2022) Rajan Bhatt; Ram Swaroop Meena; Akbar Hossain
Ending hunger, achieving food security and promoting sustainable development are at the top of the list of United Nations (UN) sustainable global development priorities. In the times of high population growth and increasing pressure of agricultural systems, efficiency in use of natural resources has been at the epicenter of sustainable agricultural. The concept of ‘Input efficiency’ implies production of high quantity and quality of food, from using only finite natural resources as inputs, in the form of mainly land, water, nutrients, energy, or biological diversity. In this book, editors provide a roadmap to the food, nutritional, and environmental security in the agricultural systems. They share insight into the approaches that can be put in practice for increasing the input use efficiency in the cropping systems and achieve stability and sustainability of agricultural production systems. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, climate change scientists, capacity builders and policymakers. Also the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, agroforestry, agroecology, and environmental sciences. National and international agricultural scientists, policymakers will also find this to be a useful read. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.
Input Use Efficiency in Rice-Wheat Cropping Systems to Manage the Footprints for Food and Environmental Security
(wiley, 2022) Rajan Bhatt; Ram Swaroop Meena; Akbar Hossain
Global population is escalating at a faster rate that could reach to 9 billion up to the 2050, and to feed such a higher population in a sustainable way from the limited resources of land and water is not an easy task. Popular conventional crop establishment techniques among the farmers are energy, water, labor, and capital intensive have higher carbon, water and energy footprints which further led to declined soil health, ground water levels, land and water productivities and higher micronutrient deficiencies. Adverse effects of the overall global warming and their influence on the agricultural production further complicated the situations of achieving food and environmental security in a sustainable manner. All result in reduced yields of the system as a whole. To improve their yields, farmers tend to add more resources, viz., water, fertilizers, and even, pesticides, which instead of helping this further deteriorated the production of higher volumes of greenhouse gases and more edible leaves, causing pollution in both soil and water bodies. Emphasis must be placed on the enhancement of the soil organic matter status to improve soil properties. Moreover, frequent escape of the greenhouse gases, viz., carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) must be checked for mitigating the adverse effects of the climate change to have sustainable environmental security and higher use efficiency of the applied inputs. There is also a need to put the problematic soils, viz., salt affected, wastelands, or waterlogged, sandy soils under cultivation by reclaiming them sustainably for having their contribution in the food security. Food security is a must for the global population but in a sustainable manner. Sustainable crop residues management can avoid the open burnings in fields, secure the quality of the environment, and minimize the complications of the global warming. Reducing food loss and wastage helps to reduce the targets of food production and exploitation of the natural resources. Farmers must be educated for reducing the water, energy, and C footprints by improving their use efficiencies (rather to enhance their dose) through different technologies in the most prevalent cropping sequence of the region, viz., minimum tillage, precision land leveling, tensiometer guided irrigations particularly in rice, un-puddled direct rice grains seeding, bed planting, etc. These technologies are also known as Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs) that depend on soil textural class and agro-climatic conditions. Hence, to serve the purpose of improving the use efficiency of applied inputs, viz., water, fertilizers, pesticides and energy, these RCTs are recommended in the region so as to have global food and environmental security in a sustainable and climate smart way. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.
Long-term application of agronomic management strategies effects on soil organic carbon, energy budgeting, and carbon footprint under rice–wheat cropping system
(Nature Research, 2024) R.K. Naresh; P.K. Singh; Rajan Bhatt; Mandapelli Sharath Chandra; Yogesh Kumar; N.C. Mahajan; S.K. Gupta; Nadhir Al-Ansari; Mohamed A. Mattar
In the plains of western North India, traditional rice and wheat cropping systems (RWCS) consume a significant amount of energy and carbon. In order to assess the long-term energy budgets, ecological footprint, and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollutants from RWCS with residual management techniques, field research was conducted which consisted of fourteen treatments that combined various tillage techniques, fertilization methods, and whether or not straw return was present in randomized block design. By altering the formation of aggregates and the distribution of carbon within them, tillage techniques can affect the dynamics of organic carbon in soil and soil microbial activity. The stability of large macro-aggregates (> 2 mm), small macro-aggregates (2.0–2.25 mm), and micro-aggregates in the topsoil were improved by 35.18%, 33.52%, and 25.10%, respectively, over conventional tillage (0–20 cm) using tillage strategies for conservation methods (no-till in conjunction with straw return and organic fertilizers). The subsoil (20–40 cm) displayed the same pattern. In contrast to conventional tilling with no straw returns, macro-aggregates of all sizes and micro-aggregates increased by 24.52%, 28.48%, and 18.12%, respectively, when conservation tillage with organic and chemical fertilizers was used. The straw return (aggregate-associated C) also resulted in a significant increase in aggregate-associated carbon. When zero tillage was paired with straw return, chemical, and organic fertilizers, the topsoil's overall aggregate-associated C across all aggregate proportions increased. Conversely, conventional tillage, in contrast to conservation tillage, included straw return as well as chemical and organic fertilizers and had high aggregate-associated C in the subsurface. This study finds that tillage techniques could change the dynamics of microbial biomass in soils and organic soil carbon by altering the aggregate and distribution of C therein. © 2024, The Author(s).
Natural Resources Intensification and Footprints Management for Sustainable Food System
(Springer Singapore, 2020) Akbar Hossain; Sukamal Sarkar; Manashi Barman; Sourav Garai; Rajan Bhatt; Mst. Tanjina Islam; Ram Swaroop Meena
The global population are approaching to 10 billion by the year 2050, therefore to encounter the food security of the increasing population it has been anticipated that production of food must be improved by 70%. Despite more food production and increasing the poverty level are the foremost difficulties to fulfil the nutrition and food demand for the emerging world. At the same time, climate change creates a great barrier to improve agricultural productivity. It has been recognized and proved that traditional agricultural practices do not reduce the rural poverty and degradation of the ecosystem. Food production systems are not always environmentally friendly and cost-benefit depends on imbalanced use synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Therefore, it is indispensable to expand environmentally friendly technologies for sustaining crop yield. Earlier evidence proved that under the future changing climate, the food demand for the growing people across the globe can be only attained through the management of agroecology; since it emphasizes on resource conservation farming practices, reworking small farm enterprises, the participation of more farmers, traditional knowledge of the farming community, improved plant genetic multiplicity, and avoid to use of imbalanced synthetic pesticides and manures. The chapter focuses on the sustainable agroecological based crop production systems without hindering the agroecological environment for the nourishment of the growing population particularly in emerging nations of South Asia under changing climate. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.
Potassium and water-deficient conditions influence the growth, yield and quality of ratoon sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) in a semi-arid agroecosystem
(MDPI, 2021) Rajan Bhatt; Jagdish Singh; Alison M. Laing; Ram Swaroop Meena; Walaa F. Alsanie; Ahmed Gaber; Akbar Hossain
Groundwater and soil potassium deficiencies are present in northern India. Sugarcane is a vital crop in the Indian Punjab; it is grown on approximately 91,000 hectares with an average yield of 80 tonnes ha−1 and a sugar recovery rate of 9.59%. The role of potassium (K) fertilizer under both sufficient and deficient irrigation in ratoon sugarcane crops is not well documented. We conducted a split-plot ratoon cane experiment during 2020–2021 at the Gurdaspur Regional Research Station of Punjab Agricultural University, India, on K-deficient soils. Main treatments were fully irrigated (I1) and water stressed (I0) conditions, with sub-treatments reflecting K fertilizer application rates of 0 (M1), 67 (M2), 133 (M3), and 200 (M4) kg K ha−1. The ratoon sugarcane performance was assessed in terms of growth, productivity, sugar quality and incidence of key insect pests. At harvest, trends in the growth and yield parameters in I1 were improved over the I0 treatment, with cane height (+12.2%), diameter (+3.3%), number of internodes (+5.4%), biomass yield (+7.6%) and cane yield (+5.9%) all higher, although little significant difference was observed between treatments. Ratoon cane yield under irrigation was 57.1 tonnes ha−1; in water-stressed conditions, it was 54.7 tonnes ha−1. In terms of sugarcane quality parameters, measured 12 months after harvesting the initial seed crop, values of Brix (+3.6%), pol (+3.9%), commercial cane sugar percentage (+4.0%) and extractable sugar percentage (+2.8%) were all higher in the irrigated treatments than the water-stressed plot. Irrigated treatments also had a significantly lower incidence of two key insect pests: top borer (Scirpophaga excerptalis) was reduced by 18.5% and stalk borer (Chilo auricilius) by 21.7%. The M3 and M4 treatments resulted in the highest cane yield and lowest incidence of insect pests compared to other K-fertilizer treatments. Economic return on K-fertilizer application increased with increasing fertilizer dosage. Under the potassium-deficient water-stressed conditions of the region of north India, a fertilizer application rate of 133 kg K ha−1 is recommended to improve ratoon sugarcane growth, yield, and quality parameters and economic returns for sugarcane farmers. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Preface
(wiley, 2022) Rajan Bhatt; Ram Swaroop Meena; Akbar Hossain
[No abstract available]
Publisher Correction: Long-term application of agronomic management strategies effects on soil organic carbon, energy budgeting, and carbon footprint under rice–wheat cropping system (Scientific Reports, (2024), 14, 1, (337), 10.1038/s41598-023-48785-z)
(Nature Research, 2024) R.K. Naresh; P.K. Singh; Rajan Bhatt; Mandapelli Sharath Chandra; Yogesh Kumar; N.C. Mahajan; S.K. Gupta; Nadhir Al-Ansari; Mohamed A. Mattar
In the original version of this Article, Mohamed Mattar was omitted as a corresponding author. Correspondence and requests for materials should also be addressed to mmattar@ksu.edu.sa. © The Author(s) 2024.
Soil organic carbon restoration in India: Programs, policies, and thrust areas
(CRC Press, 2021) Ram Swaroop Meena; Sandeep Kumar; Seema Sheoran; Manoj Kumar Jhariya; Rajan Bhatt; Gulab Singh Yadav; Kodigal A. Gopinath; Cherukumalli Srinivasa Rao; Rattan Lal
[No abstract available]
Strategies to practice climate-smart agriculture to improve the livelihoods under the rice-wheat cropping system in South Asia
(Springer Singapore, 2019) Rajan Bhatt; Ramanjit Kaur; Amlan Ghosh
The rice-wheat cropping sequence (RWCS) is the world's largest agricultural production system occupying around 12.3 M ha in India, 0.5 M ha in Nepal, 2.2 M ha in Pakistan, and 0.8 M ha in Bangladesh; and around 85% of this area falls in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). It is energy, labor, and capital intensive, favors global warming, and ultimately has a detrimental effect on the natural resources and soil biodiversity. Furthermore, the rice-wheat cropping sequence has a number of sustainability issues, viz., declining land and water productivity, poor soil health, and arising micronutrient deficiency which is an alarming issue. Integrated approaches must be developed for improving the declining livelihoods in the region. The changing climate and its consequences are complicating the situation of the available natural resources, viz., water, soil, atmosphere, etc. Carbon (C) and water footprints need to be identified in the currently practiced rice-wheat cropping sequence for filling the gaps to improve livelihoods by one or other means. Resource conservation technologies (RCTs) partition greater fraction of water from unproductive evaporation to the desired transpiration which is further reflected on the higher grain yields. Transpiration causes a greater inflow of water and nutrients which ultimately increases the grain yield with lesser consumption of irrigation water, which further increases water productivity. There is a need to focus on the issue to sustain the rice-wheat productivity in South Asia. This book chapter is focused on all the strategies to practice climate-smart agriculture for improving livelihoods in South Asia, which include irrigation based on scheduling, precision laser leveling, direct seeded rice (DSR), mechanical transplanting, crop diversification, short-duration crop varieties, and delaying transplanting time, and reevaluate their effect on water and land productivity under divergent soil textural classes under different climatic conditions in South Asia. There is a need to come out with an integrated package for the farmers depending upon their conditions. Delineation of the residual consequence of used RCT on available moisture during the intervening periods is there, as it affects the performance of intervening crops and certainly adds to the livelihood of the farmer. The aim of this chapter is to review different technologies and their impact on land and water productivity and thereby try to come up with some integrated approach for improving livelihoods of farmers of the region. Therefore, scientists must be very careful while advocating any single RCT or a set of RCTs to the farmers with a must consideration of their social, financial, and geological conditions for enhancing both land and water productivity in South Asia. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019.
Water Footprint in Rice-Based Cropping Systems of South Asia
(Springer Singapore, 2020) Rajan Bhatt; Akbar Hossain; Mutiu Abolanle Busari; Ram Swaroop Meena
Global population is increasing at an alarming rate, need to produce more food grains with the shrieking infinite natural resources, and water security is a major problem on the planet. In the agriculture various level of water pollution due to urbanization, industrialization, changing dietary habits, higher trends of food wastage, etc., its management is a need of hour. In the present scenario reducing the water footprint (WF) for the future generation is a key factor for the society welfare and sustainability on the planet, and agriculture is a big sector that is exploiting the quality water on the earth. There is an urgent need to focus on the ecofriendly water saving approaches with efficient use in the agricultural systems. Rice–wheat cropping system (RWCS) is covering a major area ~12.5 Mha in South Asia; it is using a huge amount of water compared to the other agriculture systems. Scientists across the region are working for reducing the share of the WFs in agriculture and in this regard, many technologies known as resource conservation technologies (RCTs) are advocated in the region. Among different RCTs—laser land levelling (LLL), short duration cultivars, timely transplanting of rice, irrigation scheduling through tensiometers, direct seeding of rice, crop diversification, raised bed planting, mechanical transplanting are the main technologies recommended for the RWCS. Hence, these technologies are not universally effective in reducing the WFs, hence, their proper selection at farmer’s fields in their conditions is a must for reducing the WFs. Further, among all, only two, viz., short period cultivars and appropriate transplanting reduce the drainage (which could be reused) share instead of reducing the share of evaporation (which cannot be reused). Further, as evaporation reduced its reduced share diverted to transpiration which further improves the nutrient inflows and finally yields. This chapter is focused on the integrated invented, tested approaches, those are recommended for the south Asian farmers’, and practicing in the rice-based cropping systems. It can help in reducing the WF to improve the land and water productivity for their livelihoods security. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.