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 …
Undoubtedly, GR made Punjab one of the richest states in India in terms of per capita income. From Rs 2,674 in 1980-81, the per capita income at current prices rose to Rs 19,770 in 1997-98. Compared to Punjab, Tamil Nadu's per capita income was only Rs 12,989, while that of …
AS FAR AS the eye can see, it is a mass of horns in a desiccated, semi-arid landscape. The horns emerge sideways from the head, turn up, and then arch back at the tips, as if swept back by the wind. Kankrej, native to northern Gujarat, is quite a regal-looking …
Japan's high population density of 335 people per square km is eight times the world average of 40. With very limited land available, the country's options for disposing sewage and waste are limited. Yet the Japanese have set about the task in a typically efficient manner. The country treats all …
THOUSANDS of small industrial units in developing countries like India do not invest in clean technologies because of prohibitively high costs. Now the Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd (HortResearch) has developed a low-cost technology that can help treat contaminated soil and at the same time provide …
Agricultural scientists at Hydro Agri in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, have developed optical sensors, which when mounted on a tractor, can tell exactly how much fertiliser each square metre of a field needs to achieve higher yields. Some areas in a field produce a better yield than others because the quality of …
Scientists at the Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, have developed a new technology that allows plants to utilise the urea present in fertilisers more efficiently. A substantial part of urea, when added as fertiliser, is lost in the atmosphere. Urea is broken down to ammonia by …
Cultivable lands in southern Bangladesh have been badly affected by saline water from the Bay of Bengal. Seawater and river water due to unplanned construction of embankments, reports the Bangladesh Observer. A survey has revealed that saline water enters Andharmanik river in Patuakhali district, although it is 46 kms away …
the decision of the Nepal government to do away with the subsidy on chemical fertiliser has attracted criticism from all quarters. This decision was taken by the previous regime in 1997 and is meant to end the monopoly on chemical fertilisers and to introduce competition in the fertiliser market. The …
three decades of pesticide use in the Peruvian highlands has unsettled the balance of the Andean ecosystem. The rise in the number of cases of poisoning among farmers, declining soil fertility and reports of pests becoming resistant to agrochemicals has made the "technological revolution' in Peru far from successful. There …
europe's forests are deteriorating at an alarming rate despite measures to reduce air pollution, says a new report. About 35 per cent of trees assessed throughout Europe can be classified as "healthy,' about 40 per cent are in the "warning stage,' while about a quarter of trees are rated "damaged,' …
National Report on the Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (CCD)
agro-scientists in India are a troubled lot these days because there are indications that the soil in some of the most-productive regions of the country is losing its micronutrient content. “However, in India, little attention is paid to the possible health impact of depleting micronutrients in the soil,” laments V …
Why are soil micronutrients important in agriculture? Any country can be held to ransom if it does not have food security. We have to take appropriate measures to see that we are self-reliant on the food situation. The soil contains different types of elements which are essential for the development …
Nitrogen is the basic building block of plant and animal proteins, and is essential to all forms of life. But studies in recent times have shown that human activity, including agriculture, energy production and transport, have overwhelmed the natural nitrogen cycle. This has resulted in excess nitrogen in the ecosystem, …
The National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a non-governmental organisation providing agricultural scientists a forum to Interact on important agricultural issues, released a policy paper entitled Fertiliser Policy Issues (2000-2025) - agricultural scilentirts perreptions - in New Delhi on April 15,1997. Based on a symposium held in 1996 on the use …
recycling crop wastes to produce enriched manure, besides improving the fertility of the soil, also facilitates hygienical waste disposal and prevents environmental pollution. Sugarcane trash is a commonly available farm waste in sugarcane growing countries. At present, most of the trash is burnt in fields as an easy way of …
on the face of it, fire is damaging. But as far as ecology goes, it may prove to be constructive. One of the products of fire, charcoal, is an inert addition to soil that has more of physical rather than chemical effects. Yet it is well known that charcoal can …
farming in Nepal expectedly is a tough job with hilly terrains all around where irrigation is extremely difficult. The bleak economic scenario, too, adds to the disadvantages and the use of external inputs such as chemical fertilisers is minimal. Cultivation of crops almost entirely depends on locally available nutrients from …
