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 …
To put it in a nutshell, the factors that have contributed to the lack of development of organic market in India include low awareness about the perils of chemically farmed products, high prices of organic produce, lack of consumer confidence in organic food standards and their erratic supply. Smritee Singh, …
The government's interventions have focused on promoting certified organic production, missing out the challenge of using the organic route to reward traditional, marginal farmers. This misplaced priority seems to be changing. A master plan for the production of organic coffee is almost ready. Formulated by the coffee board, the plan …
with the need to feed the burgeoning population on one hand, and the lack of arable land on the other, farmers across the world, more so in developing countries, are faced with a dilemma: how to increase crop yield while keeping production costs low. Use of pesticides, insecticides and high-yielding …
At a recent session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (csd), scientists, non-governmental organisations (ngo), farmers and industrialists discussed various farming methods that can maximise agricultural production. The session was held at the un headquarters in New York. Scientists and ngo groups presented data in front of government …
kerala government has decided to impose a ban on the use of plastic bags in the capital Thiruvananthapuram. The decision has been taken keeping in mind the non-biodegradable nature of plastic. Furthermore, says city mayor V Sivankutty, it will pose a big problem for a new garbage treatment plant being …
For the cultivation of the popular button mushrooms, many different types of composts have been used. However, experiments with six types in a completely randomised design at the Horticultural Research Station, Ooty during 1997-1998 have come up with surprising results. The different composts were prepared using the following base materials: …
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 …
guwahati is all set to get a clean image with the launch of two ambitious projects that will gradually rid the city of garbage. Under the new schemes, waste collected from the city will be used to produce bio-fertiliser and electricity in two separate ventures. Guwahati-based North East Green Tech …
new and more effective methods are to be adopted for waste disposal in Madurai. According to Madurai corporation commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi, the corporation has decided to gradually phase out the use of bullock carts to transport solid waste from the city. There are also plans to involve private operators …
Use of farmyard manure has resulted in a marked increase in groundnut production in India's Deccan Plateau. In a study conducted by the Centre for Research and Information on Low-External-Input and Sustainable Agriculture (ILEIA), it was discovered that when manure was used as fertiliser, yields were considerably higher as compared …
to the dismay of many environmentalists, it seems that a potent ozone-depleting pesticide scheduled for a gradual phase-out would be retained after all. us researchers have found that emissions of the agricultural fumigant gas methyl bromide could be reduced to what they claim are insignificant levels by applying composted manure …
Yields from the rice-wheat cropping system in the Indo-Gangetic plain are declining despite the increasing use of chemical fertilizers. Crop residues are important components of soil fertility management, but are burnt in some areas such as Punjab state. Not only does this mean a loss of nutrients but also causes …
a combination of high-yielding seed varieties, fertilisers and state-of-art production practices has resulted in an increases in agricultural productivity in India over the last few decades. However, there is growing realisation that over-dependence on chemicals to boost food output has an alarming, and wholly unwelcome, effect: deterioration of soil health. …
Two broad categories of organic fertilities - 'New Manor', for growing fruits and vegetables, and 'Green Manor' for cultivating grains obtained by recycling garbage - have been developed by a Beijing-based private firm. Research on the fertiliser technology began in 1994, and encouraged by the early results in 1996, the …
In the mid '80s, the traditional farming system in southern Benin had collapsed because extensive tilling affected soil fertility. The problem was aggravated by the spread of a grass weed Imperata cylindrica. When advised by researchers of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria, farmers were apprehensive about planting Mucuna …
THANKS to French researchers, farmers can do away with nitrogenous fertilisers which contribute to pollution of rivers and other reservoirs. Molecular biologists at the National Agronomic Research Institute (INRA) in Toulose, have succeeded in growing leguminous plants in soil that is poor in nitrogen. it has long been known that …
The Dutch plan of using India as a dung dump has been debunked. Import of the highly contaminated cattle dung as manure, had been banned by the Indian government last September, but it took the agriculture and fertiliser ministries several months of dithering to finally say no to a persistent …
