Reply by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in compliance to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order dated January 21, 2024 in the matter of ‘News item titled “Feeling anxious? Toxic air could be to blame” appearing in Times of India dated 10.10.2023’. NGT had directed CPCB to file a …
At present about 2.5% of agriculture GDP is contributed by rice, earning a foreign exchange of Rs 7000 crores. India also needs production enhancement for feeding soaring population growth. Rice production from irrigated area is almost stagnant. Rainfed area needs to be exploited. Rainfed uplands are one such area where …
Rice is the most important Kharif crop of Punjab. With the increase in production of rice there is concomitant increase in the production of residue (rice straw), which is approximately 18.75 MT. About 80 percent of the rice residue it burnt in the fields, particularly after harvesting rice by combine …
Rice-wheat is a major crop rotation in the Indo-Gangetic region. Tillage is one of the major crop production operations and is an important contributor to the total cost of production. It is a common observation that direct tilling of any crop into combine-harvested rice stubbles from a reasonable rice yield …
Harvesting a crop generates a huge amount of crop residue. Uttar Pradesh tops the list of the Crop Residue Producing States followed by Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and so on. A large part of this crop residue is burnt in the open fields since the farmers do not have any worthwhile …
A diagnostic survey was conducted in rice-wheat and maize-wheat blocks of Bulandshahr district for identification of tillage and other related soil physical constraints in farmers' fields.
A decision support system was developed for reclamation and management of alkali soils. The decision support system identified different reclamation and management techniques as land levelling, gypsum requirement and its addition, cultivation of tolerant crops, cultural practices, afforestation, groundwater recharge, groundwater use and surface drainage.
An evaluation of response of one disturbed, one rehabilitated and one mature forest soil in lower subtropic China to simulated acid rain (SAR) were studied using a controlled laboratory leaching experiment. Land use change is one of the important factors in controlling soil response to acid deposition.
almost 57 per cent of geographical area in India suffers soil degradation. The reason attributed for this is often chemical intensive agricultural practices. But a recently published research justifies chemical intensive agriculture saying it maintains soil health. The study has been criticized on several counts. It says organic carbon in …
The report by K.Van Oost et al., "The impact of agricultural soil erosion on the global carbon cycle" (26 October 2007, p. 626) raises two serious concerns. First, the eroded soil is severely depleted of its soil organic matter (SOM) pool, which is preferentially removed by surface runoff because it …
Perhaps genetic engineering could help to increase the efficiency with which crops absorb nitrate from soil (5 January, p 28). However, the claim by Arcadia Biosciences that this will substantially cut agricultural emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide appears Utopian rather than Arcadian. (Letters)
Farming contributes more to global warming than all the world's cars, trains, ships and planes put together. And the single biggest problem with farming is not carbon but nitrogen. From the maize fields of Kansas to the emerald rice paddies of China, today's bountiful harvests depend on generous applications of …
In view of the environmental problems generated by large-scale production of fly ash, increasing attention is now being paid to the recycling of fly ash as a good source of nutrients. Because availability of many nutrients is very low in fly ash, available ranges of such nutrients must be improved …
With the aim to study the comparative effects of vermicompost, farm yard manure, biofertilizer and chemical fertilizers on growth, yield and quality of food product, the most common vegetable crop - Lady's Finger was selected and the impact of these four supplements on shoot length, fruits, plant and protein content …
In ancient India, agriculturists were quite aware of the relation between soil properties and crop production. Several systems of soil classification were in vogue. Ancient Indian scriptures contain elaborate injunctions regarding the use of various kinds of manures for crop production.
In Bangladesh, the first Farmer Field Schools were organised in the early 1990s, assisted by the FAO inter-country programme for IPM in rice. After initial positive experiences, several other donors (UNDP, CARE-Bangladesh and DANIDA) started projects to spread IPM to hundreds of thousands of farmers through IPM Farmer Field Schools. …
For drylands with low inherent levels of biological productivity, coping with climate change presents particular problems. The world’s drylands cover over 40 % of the global terrestrial area and house more than 2 billion inhabitants MEA, (2005). The world’s poorest people live in these areas and they will be hit …
reuse of wastewater for irrigation is touted as an environmentally sound practice. But little is known about its long-term effects. A recent study from Jordan says that the frequent use of treated wastewater can affect plant growth and crop yield. Researchers say the use of wastewater has to be continuously …
india's fertilizer subsidy for 2007-08 is worth Rs 22,532 crore, which is estimated to be less than half of the requirement. So should the fertilizer subsidy be doubled? Or is it time to think through the model of fertilizer subsidy, as the union government is finally doing (see News: Govt …
Crude oil is of organic origin and is an extremely complex structure of hydrocarbons. Besides carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur many other elements are present in crude oil. In oil fields, during drilling, gathering, transporting or in some other operations, some quantity of the crude oil gets spilled over the …
the proposed dam on the Pedhi river in Maharashtra has sparked protests in the state. People of Bhatkuli tehsil in Amravati district have threatened to intensify agitation against the proposed irrigation project after they learnt that they had been "duped' about a "non-existent committee supposedly looking into the issue'. "After …
