Browsing by Author "Sweta Kumari"

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Dry Direct Seeded Rice Emerged as Viable Option based on Energetics and Economics- Experiences from Middle Gangatic- Plains of Bihar, India
(AESSRA, 2024) Sweta Kumari; Amitava Rakshit
In the Indo-Gangetic plain of India, rice (Oryza sativa) is grown in around 60-70% of cultivated land. Therefore, finding an energy-efficient approach for rice establishment techniques is crucial for environmental sustainability and food security. In order to determine the most effective rice establishment techniques for increasing productivity, profitability, energy efficiency, and cost effectiveness, the performance of three crop establishment methods-Manual Transplanting (MT), Dry Direct Seeded (Dry DSR), and Wet Direct Seeded (Wet DSR)-was evaluated in the field at Samastipur District of Bihar in the years 2021-2022. Results revealed that Dry DSR recorded significantly higher grain yield as compared to MT and Wet DSR. The Dry DSR and MT method of rice cultivation produced 35.15% and 18.2% higher grain yield as compared to Wet DSR, respectively. Energy input was the highest in manual transplanted rice (20637 MJ ha-1) and the lowest in dry DSR (12752 MJ ha-1). HI is highest in Dry DSR (50%), followed by MT (44%) and Wet DSR (23.1%). The Dry DSR method was the most energy-efficient whereas wet DSR was the least energy efficient. Similarly, the gross returns (' 110,940 ha-1), net returns (' 79,390 ha-1) and benefit: cost ratio (3.51) was recorded significantly highest under Dry DSR. Among all crop establishment methods, the Wet DSR recorded least profit. Hence, the existing farmer's practices can be profitably replaced with adoption of Dry DSR methods of crop establishment under Indo-Gangetic plain. © 2024 AESSRA. All rights reserved.
Polymer Derived Carbon Nanostructure Electrodes for Solid-State Supercapacitor
(IOP Publishing Ltd, 2022) Shanu Mishra; Sweta Kumari; Jaidev Harjwani; Ashish Kumar Mishra
To resolve the energy storage challenges in portable electronic devices, flexible and solid-state supercapacitor are need of the hour. These devices are appealing as replacements to conventional lithium-ion batteries due to their high power density, long cycle life, chemical stability, and safety. We have synthesized sp2 hybridized porous carbon nanostructure using poly-paraphenylenediamine (PpPD) as a polymer and activated the prepared material via chemical activation for supercapacitor application. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the demonstration of poly-paraphenylenediamine (PpPD) derived N-enriched porous activated carbon (PNAC) electrode with PVA/H2SO4 electrolyte for solid-state supercapacitor (SSC) device with high energy density and excellent cyclic stability. PNAC electrodes-based SSC electrochemical studies exhibit a high specific capacitance value of 39 F g-1 at 0.2 A g-1 current density. The solid-state supercapacitor attained energy density of 21.66 Wh kg-1 at power density of 199 W kg-1 and 0.2 A g-1 current density. The symmetric solid-state supercapacitor displays an outstanding cyclic stability up to 10,000 galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) cycles. High energy density and stability of the prepared device suggests it utility in portable energy storage application. © 2022 The Electrochemical Society ("ECS"). Published on behalf of ECS by IOP Publishing Limited. [DOI: 10.1149/2162-8777/ac62ed].
Trichoderma as a potent bioprimer for horticultural crops
(Elsevier, 2024) Jayesh Singh; Subhadip Paul; Prabhakar Barnwal; Sweta Kumari; Deepranjan Sarkar; Manoj Parihar; Vijay Singh Meena; Amitava Rakshit
In current changing agricultural production system increased use of agrochemicals to prevent plant diseases, pests for enhancing the crop production has become a major concern. The current farming practices are having significant impact on pest and disease resurgence, reduced soil organic carbon leading to degraded soil health, and has detrimental effects on ecosystem. Therefore, one of the feasible alternatives is microbial intervention in crop production. Numerous bacteria and fungi, especially endophytic fungi, work as plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria. Among the scientists and farmers microbial inoculants products based on Trichoderma are getting emphasis because of their potential to increase crop output, nutritional quality, and resistance to a variety of environmental challenges like pests and plant pathogens. Moreover, Trichoderma as bioinoculant has much higher potential to be disseminated and used at mass level as its culture preparation, multiplication, and application is very simple resulting to become more adaptable to the farmers. In this chapter, numerous horticultural crops have been extensively explored for the use of Trichoderma species as bioinoculant. They also enhance soil fertility and control pathogens, among other advantages. However, there are numerous commercial formulations of Trichoderma sp. available in the market. Multiple carrier materials, including talc, plant growth medium (PGM), rice bran, coco peat, and coconut husk, are utilized to extend the shelf life of microbial products. The usage of Trichoderma sp. carrier formulation varies depending on the crop’s adaptability, its availability, and the farmer’s preference. Talc-based formulations are frequently utilized among the many Trichoderma formulations. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.