Nutrient Dynamics for Sustainable Crop Production
Nutrient Dynamics for Sustainable Crop Production

Author: Ram Swaroop Meena

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2019-09-06

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9811386609

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The cropping system is one of the important components of sustainable agriculture, since it provides more efficient nutrient cycling. As such, balanced fertilization must be based on the concept of sustainable crop production. Feeding the rapidly growing world population using environmentally sustainable production systems is a major challenge, especially in developing countries. A number of studies have highlighted the fact that degradation of the world's cultivated soils is largely responsible for low and plateauing yields. Soil is lost rapidly but only formed over millennia, and this represents the greatest global threat to nutrient dynamics in agriculture. This means that nutrient management is essential to provide food and nutritional security for current and future generations. Nutrient dynamics and soil sustainability imply the maintenance of the desired ecological balance, the enhancement and preservation of soil functions, and the protection of biodiversity above and below ground. Understanding the role of nutrient management as a tool for soil sustainability and nutritional security requires a holistic approach to a wide range of soil parameters (biological, physical, and chemical) to assess the soil functions and nutrient dynamics of a crop management system within the desired timescale. Further, best nutrient management approaches are important to advance soil sustainability and food and nutritional security without compromising the soil quality and productive potential. Sustainable management practices must allow environmentally and economically sustainable yields and restore soil health and sustainability. This book presents soil management approaches that can provide a wide range of benefits, including improved fertility, with a focus on the importance of nutrient dynamics. Discussing the broad impacts of nutrients cycling on the sustainability of soil and the cropping systems that it supports, it also addresses nutrient application to allow environmentally and economically sustainable agroecosystems that restore soil health. Arguing that balanced fertilization must be based on the concept of INM for a cropping system rather than a crop, it provides a roadmap to nutrient management for sustainability. This richly illustrated book features tables, figures and photographs and includes extensive up-to-date references, making it a valuable resource for policymakers and researchers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students of Soil Science, Agronomy, Ecology and Environmental Sciences.

Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) in a Sustainable Rice-Wheat Cropping System
Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) in a Sustainable Rice-Wheat Cropping System

Author: Anil Mahajan

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-05-07

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1402098758

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Agriculture is the main occupation in India and about 75% of its population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihood. It is the dominant sector that contributes 18% of the gross domestic product. Thus, agriculture is the foundation of the Indian economy. The maximum share of Indian exports is also from the agriculture sector. As the population of the country is increasing trem- dously, approximately at the rate of 19 million every year over the existing popu- tion of more than 1 billion (approximately 1. 18 billion), the food grain production must necessarily be increased. This can be done by increasing crop production to match the population growth rate of 2. 2% per annum, which is expected to stabilize at 1. 53 billion around 2050. There is no doubt that the Green Revolution in India during the late 1960s brought self-sufficiency in food grain production, mainly through the increase in rice and wheat crop yields – the two main crops of the country which play an important role from food security point of view. However, the excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, and the neglect of organic manures for these crops, has resulted in the deterioration of physical, chemical and biological health of the ri- and wheat-growing soils. Owing to the deterioration of the health of these soils, the productivity of the rice–wheat cropping system has now either got reduced or in some places has become constant for the last decade.

Nutrient Use Efficiency: from Basics to Advances
Nutrient Use Efficiency: from Basics to Advances

Author: Amitava Rakshit

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-12-26

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 8132221699

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This book addresses in detail multifaceted approaches to boosting nutrient use efficiency (NUE) that are modified by plant interactions with environmental variables and combine physiological, microbial, biotechnological and agronomic aspects. Conveying an in-depth understanding of the topic will spark the development of new cultivars and strains to induce NUE, coupled with best management practices that will immensely benefit agricultural systems, safeguarding their soil, water, and air quality. Written by recognized experts in the field, the book is intended to provide students, scientists and policymakers with essential insights into holistic approaches to NUE, as well as an overview of some successful case studies. In the present understanding of agriculture, NUE represents a question of process optimization in response to the increasing fragility of our natural resources base and threats to food grain security across the globe. Further improving nutrient use efficiency is a prerequisite to reducing production costs, expanding crop acreage into non-competitive marginal lands with low nutrient resources, and preventing environmental contamination. The nutrients most commonly limiting plant growth are N, P, K, S and micronutrients like Fe, Zn, B and Mo. NUE depends on the ability to efficiently take up the nutrient from the soil, but also on transport, storage, mobilization, usage within the plant and the environment. A number of approaches can help us to understand NUE as a whole. One involves adopting best crop management practices that take into account root-induced rhizosphere processes, which play a pivotal role in controlling nutrient dynamics in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. New technologies, from basic tools like leaf color charts to sophisticated sensor-based systems and laser land leveling, can reduce the dependency on laboratory assistance and manual labor. Another approach concerns the development of crop plants through genetic manipulations that allow them to take up and assimilate nutrients more efficiently, as well as identifying processes of plant responses to nutrient deficiency stress and exploring natural genetic variation. Though only recently introduced, the ability of microbial inoculants to induce NUE is gaining in importance, as the loss, immobilization, release and availability of nutrients are mediated by soil microbial processes.

Integrated Nutrient Management for Sustainable Agriculture
Integrated Nutrient Management for Sustainable Agriculture

Author: Subhash Chand

Publisher: Daya Publishing House

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 9789388173681

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The book "Integrated Nutrient Management for Sustainable Agriculture" is a compilation of best integrated nutrient management strategies for suggesting answers of various soil and crop related problems, like disparity in NPK consumption, imbalance use of fertilizers, decreasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and decreasing factor productivity etc. The present book suggested appropriate and best INM options for important crops viz., rice, wheat, sorghum, maize, pearl millet, soybean, groundnut, sunflower, cotton, mustard, sugarcane, pulses, vegetables, spices, fruit crops and ornamental plants besides important cropping system of the country for sustaining their productivity on one hand and maintaining soil health for future generation on the other hand. For better understanding of students and researchers some comprehensive and detailed information about soils and crop are provided through appendices. The INM production recommendations and practices given in the book will be very useful for farmers, agriculturists, agronomists, soil scientists, environmentalists, agriculture extension workers, researchers, students, research institutions etc. The book contains 200 INM options covering important crops and cropping systems prevailing in various states for ensuring food security. This books serves as text cum reference book for students, research scholars and those who are actively engaged in different field of Agriculture.

Microbial Inoculants in Sustainable Agricultural Productivity
Microbial Inoculants in Sustainable Agricultural Productivity

Author: Dhananjaya Pratap Singh

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-02-22

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 813222647X

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How to achieve sustainable agricultural production without compromising environmental quality, agro-ecosystem function and biodiversity is a serious consideration in current agricultural practices. Farming systems’ growing dependency on chemical inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, nutrients etc.) poses serious threats with regard to crop productivity, soil fertility, the nutritional value of farm produce, management of pests and diseases, agro-ecosystem well-being, and health issues for humans and animals. At the same time, microbial inoculants in the form of biofertilizers, plant growth promoters, biopesticides, soil health managers, etc. have gained considerable attention among researchers, agriculturists, farmers and policy makers. The first volume of the book Microbial Inoculants in Sustainable Agricultural Productivity - Research Perspectives highlights the efforts of global experts with regard to various aspects of microbial inoculants. Emphasis is placed on recent advances in microbiological techniques for the isolation, characterization, identification and evaluation of functional properties using biochemical and molecular tools. The taxonomic characterization of agriculturally important microorganisms is documented, along with their applications in field conditions. The book exploresthe identification, characterization and diversity analysis of endophytic microorganisms in various crops including legumes/ non-legumes, as well as the assessment of their beneficial impacts in the context of promotingplant growth. Moreover, it provides essential updates onthe diversity and role of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and arbuscular mycorrhizal mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Further chaptersexamine in detailbiopesticides, thehigh-density cultivation of bioinoculants in submerged culture, seed biopriming strategies for abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, andPGPR as abio-control agent. Given its content,the book offers a valuable resource for researchers involved in research and development concerningPGPR, biopesticides and microbial inoculants.

Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Africa
Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Africa

Author: Nteranya Sanginga

Publisher: CIAT

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9290592613

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Forward. A call for integrated soil fertility management in Africa. Introduction. ISFM and the African farmer. Part I. The principles of ISFM: ISFM as a strategic goal, Fertilizer management within ISFM, Agro-minerals in ISFM, Organic resource management, ISFM, soil biota and soil health. Part II. ISFM practices: ISFM products and fields practices, ISFM practice in drylands, ISFM practice in savannas and woodlands, ISFM practice in the humid forest zone, Conservation Agriculture. Part III. The process of implementing ISFM: soil fertility diagnosis, soil fertility management advice, Dissemination of ISFM technologies, Designing an ISFM adoption project, ISFM at farm and landscape scales. Part IV. The social dimensions of ISFM: The role of ISFM in gender empowerment, ISFM and household nutrition, Capacity building in ISFM, ISFM in the policy arena, Marketing support for ISFM, Advancing ISFM in Africa. Appendices: Mineral nutrient contents of some common organic resources.

Soil Fertility Management for Sustainable Development
Soil Fertility Management for Sustainable Development

Author: Deepak G. Panpatte

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-03-07

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 9811359040

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Soil fertility is the backbone of agricultural systems and plays a key role in determining food quantity and quality. In recent decades, soil fertility has decreased due to indiscriminate use of agrochemicals, and nations around the globe are now facing the challenge of increasing food production while sustainably maintaining soil fertility. Written by leading international scientists in the field, this book explores soil fertility management strategies, including agronomic, microbiological and soil-science based strategies. Highlighting the practices that can be incorporated into organic farming and discussing recent advances, it is a valuable resource for researchers wanting to broaden their vision and the scope of their investigations.

Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems
Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems

Author: Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2017-03-15

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 0128054018

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Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems examines the climate, environmental, and human effects on agroecosystems and how the existing paradigms must be revised in order to establish sustainable production. The increased demand for food and fuel exerts tremendous stress on all aspects of natural resources and the environment to satisfy an ever increasing world population, which includes the use of agriculture products for energy and other uses in addition to human and animal food. The book presents options for ecological systems that mimic the natural diversity of the ecosystem and can have significant effect as the world faces a rapidly changing and volatile climate. The book explores the introduction of sustainable agroecosystems that promote biodiversity, sustain soil health, and enhance food production as ways to help mitigate some of these adverse effects. New agroecosystems will help define a resilient system that can potentially absorb some of the extreme shifts in climate. Changing the existing cropping system paradigm to utilize natural system attributes by promoting biodiversity within production agricultural systems, such as the integration of polycultures, will also enhance ecological resiliency and will likely increase carbon sequestration. - Focuses on the intensification and integration of agroecosystem and soil resiliency by presenting suggested modifications of the current cropping system paradigm - Examines climate, environment, and human effects on agroecosystems - Explores in depth the wide range of intercalated soil and plant interactions as they influence soil sustainability and, in particular, soil quality - Presents options for ecological systems that mimic the natural diversity of the ecosystem and can have significant effect as the world faces a rapidly changing and volatile climate