This report evaluates emission mitigation options to achieve net-zero carbon emissions through marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves for the existing plants in the fertiliser industry. MAC curves were developed for three major fertilisers produced in India, which account for 85 per cent of total fertiliser production—urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), and …
The Sharma household at Chaina village in Faridkot is buzzing with activity. Charanjeet Kaur is busy ensuring that she does not run out of gram flour, jaggery, green chillies, garlic and neem leaves. No she is not preparing for a lavish lunch. This is a "magic potion' for her two-hectare …
After decades of promoting urea to increase soil fertility, the government has begun to acknowledge that it has achieved quite the opposite. The fact is soil fertility in parts of India is declining because of excessive and imbalanced use of fertilizers. And this confession has come from none other than …
There is a direct subsidy on urea Notified subsidy on DAP, or diammonium phosphate, which has 18 per cent nitrogen and 46 per cent P2O5 (ameasure of phosphorous); MoP, or muriate of potash, which has 60 per cent K2O (a measure of potassium); SSP, or single super phosphate, which has …
Aquatic vegetation is generally considered as nuisance plant communities which cause hindrance to aquaculture practice, resulting in the loss of aquaculture yields. Despite all these disadvantages, the importance of freshwater vegetation and their resources to human welfare can not be neglected rather invites attention too.
Rainfed agriculture productivity has constrained even in watershed areas after the termination of the watershed development activities in most places in India due to lack of exit mechanism and social regulation on use of groundwater. Under high risk, low productivity and fragile rainfed farming situation, 'water bodies' are found to …
function table() { var popurl="image/20060731/44-graph.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=400,height=320,scrollbars=yes") } Organic is not organic in Doddaballapur taluk, near Bangalore. A lot of prodding has to go into convincing farmers to go organic. A recent study conducted by Svaraj/Oxfam India, Bangalore, showed that chemical fertilisers and pesticides degrade soil fertility. Following the study, the …
strongest glue: A bacterium that inhabits rivers, streams and human aqueducts uses nature's strongest glue to stay in one place, according to a study by scientists from Indiana University Bloomington and Brown University, both in the US. The scientists found a force of about 1 micronewton had to be applied …
Organic is happening in the wetlands of Hollagaru village in Shimoga district of Karnataka. The high production of arecanut, paddy, vanilla and coffee has changed the fortunes of the local farming community. There are about 200-300 farmers in the village. Each owns between one and two acres of land. The …
continuous submerged paddy cultivation doesn't harm soil as believed. Rather, it improves fertility as compared to other agricultural systems, claims a study by researchers from Hyderabad-based International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (icrisat) and the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Pattern, Nagpur. The study found …
Recently, certain Mumbai temples have become sites of an initiative that's not entirely religious. Nirmalaya, floral offerings made by devotees, is composted at these temples and the manure is sold for Rs 20 per kilogramme. Nirmalaya manure has become quite a hit among devotees. The project is the brainchild of …
There are worry lines all over the face of M K Bhojan, a small tea grower in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. Tea prices have fallen cataclysmically in the last few years, affecting small farmers like Bhojan most acutely. In 1997-98, one kilogramme (kg) of green tea leaf fetched …
Last week, on a visit to the cold desert of Ladakh, I learnt something important. It made me see the ongoing agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organization's meet in Cancun, Mexico in a different light. I learnt that what the industrialised world is doing to our agriculture, Punjab and …
Animal parts strewn all over the place; dogs and vultures preying over these wretched remains; dirt festering all around; horrible stench that makes your innards wrench with revulsion. Check out the meat you eat. For such horrific features are common to most slaughterhouses in the country. Most abattoirs across the …
Thirty years after banning manual scavenging under the Night Soil Carrying System Abolition Act, Karnataka is still a fair way away from flushing it out of the system. On April 25, 2003, though, a minuscule step was taken in this direction when the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) inaugurated a mobile …
The M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (mssrf) is promoting rural entrepreneurship as a solution to alleviating poverty. The organisation's J R D Tata Ecotechnology Centre located in the village of Kannivadi, in Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, conceives and implements many innovative projects in the region. The centre's coordinator, S Bose, …
Dhanpao village: Two patches of land adjacent to each other. Wheat is sown on both tracts. But while one yields numerous saplings, the other is barren. The reason: organic manure was used in the lush green field to grow ginger before wheat was planted. Lachiwala village: A mound of organic …
RIGHTS ISSUE: A patent on atta chakkis (flour mills). It sure was unexpected. But it's been granted. The latest victim of the patent rights regime is the Asian traditional knowledge of producing atta. The US patent office has given patent rights to Nebraska-based ConAgra Inc for the "method for producing …
This show, with music, puppets and plays, received a wide audience. But those who missed the beginning had no clue what was going on, except for the mute banners. It ended up as just a meaningless 'cultural' evening. Logon kachra nahi pheko aur isse khaad banao, (Make fertiliser from waste), …
KISHAN PAL collects wasps for a living. He feeds them beefliver and chicken to ensure they retain their sting. Farmers make a beeline at Pal's house to buy these tiny cannibals. They are more than willing to pay Rs 500 for each carton of wasps. When let loose on fieldsthese …
