scholarly journals Management of Crop Residues for Improving Input Use Efficiency and Agricultural Sustainability

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 9808
Author(s):  
Sukamal Sarkar ◽  
Milan Skalicky ◽  
Akbar Hossain ◽  
Marian Brestic ◽  
Saikat Saha ◽  
...  

Crop residues, the byproduct of crop production, are valuable natural resources that can be managed to maximize different input use efficiencies. Crop residue management is a well-known and widely accepted practice, and is a key component of conservation agriculture. The rapid shift from conventional agriculture to input-intensive modern agricultural practices often leads to an increase in the production of crop residues. Growing more food for an ever-increasing population brings the chance of fast residue generation. Ecosystem services from crop residues improve soil health status and supplement necessary elements in plants. However, this is just one side of the shield. Indecorous crop residue management, including in-situ residue burning, often causes serious environmental hazards. This happens to be one of the most serious environmental hazard issues witnessed by the agricultural sector. Moreover, improper management of these residues often restrains them from imparting their beneficial effects. In this paper, we have reviewed all recent findings to understand and summarize the different aspects of crop residue management, like the impact of the residues on crop and soil health, natural resource recycling, and strategies related to residue retention in farming systems, which are linked to the environment and ecology. This comprehensive review paper may be helpful for different stakeholders to formulate suitable residue management techniques that will fit well under existing farming system practices without compromising the systems’ productivity and environmental sustainability.

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Pierre Hiel ◽  
Sophie Barbieux ◽  
Jérôme Pierreux ◽  
Claire Olivier ◽  
Guillaume Lobet ◽  
...  

Society is increasingly demanding a more sustainable management of agro-ecosystems in a context of climate change and an ever growing global population. The fate of crop residues is one of the important management aspects under debate, since it represents an unneglectable quantity of organic matter which can be kept in or removed from the agro-ecosystem. The topic of residue management is not new, but the need for global conclusion on the impact of crop residue management on the agro-ecosystem linked to local pedo-climatic conditions has become apparent with an increasing amount of studies showing a diversity of conclusions. This study specifically focusses on temperate climate and loamy soil using a seven-year data set. Between 2008 and 2016, we compared four contrasting residue management strategies differing in the amount of crop residues returned to the soil (incorporation vs. exportation of residues) and in the type of tillage (reduced tillage (10 cm depth) vs. conventional tillage (ploughing at 25 cm depth)) in a field experiment. We assessed the impact of the crop residue management on crop production (three crops—winter wheat, faba bean and maize—cultivated over six cropping seasons), soil organic carbon content, nitrate (${\mathrm{NO}}_{3}^{-}$), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) soil content and uptake by the crops. The main differences came primarily from the tillage practice and less from the restitution or removal of residues. All years and crops combined, conventional tillage resulted in a yield advantage of 3.4% as compared to reduced tillage, which can be partly explained by a lower germination rate observed under reduced tillage, especially during drier years. On average, only small differences were observed for total organic carbon (TOC) content of the soil, but reduced tillage resulted in a very clear stratification of TOC and also of P and K content as compared to conventional tillage. We observed no effect of residue management on the ${\mathrm{NO}}_{3}^{-}$ content, since the effect of fertilization dominated the effect of residue management. To confirm the results and enhance early tendencies, we believe that the experiment should be followed up in the future to observe whether more consistent changes in the whole agro-ecosystem functioning are present on the long term when managing residues with contrasted strategies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maninder Singh ◽  
Anita Jaswal ◽  
Arshdeep Singh

Crop residue management (CRM) through conservation agriculture can improve soil productivity and crop production by preserving soil organic matter (SOM) levels. Two major benefits of surface-residue management are improved organic matter (OM) near the soil surface and boosted nutrient cycling and preservation. Larger microbial biomass and activity near the soil surface act as a pool for nutrients desirable in crop production and enhance structural stability for increased infiltration. In addition to the altered nutrient distribution within the soil profile, changes also occur in the chemical and physical properties of the soil. Improved soil C sequestration through enhanced CRM is a cost-effective option for reducing agriculture's impact on the environment. Ideally, CRM practices should be selected to optimize crop yields with negligible adverse effects on the environment. Crop residues of common agricultural crops are chief resources, not only as sources of nutrients for subsequent crops but also for amended soil, water and air quality. Maintaining and managing crop residues in agriculture can be economically beneficial to many producers and more importantly to society. Improved residue management and reduced tillage practices should be encouraged because of their beneficial role in reducing soil degradation and increasing soil productivity. Thus, farmers have a responsibility in making management decisions that will enable them to optimize crop yields and minimize environmental impacts. Multi-disciplinary and integrated efforts by a wide variety of scientists are required to design the best site-specific systems for CRM practices to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability while minimizing environmental impacts.


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santosh Shiwakoti ◽  
Valtcho D. Zheljazkov ◽  
Hero T. Gollany ◽  
Markus Kleber ◽  
Baoshan Xing ◽  
...  

Crop residues are an important source of plant nutrients. However, information on the various methods of residue management on micronutrients in soil and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) over time is limited. A long-term (84-year) agroecosystem experiment was assessed to determine the impact of fertilizer type and methods of crop residue management on micronutrients over time under dryland winter wheat-fallow rotation. The treatments were: no N application with residue burning in fall (FB), spring (SB), and no residue burn (NB); 45 kg N ha−1 with SB and NB; 90 kg N ha−1 with SB and NB; pea vines; and farmyard manure (FYM) and a nearby undisturbed grass pasture (GP). Wheat grain, straw, and soil samples from 1995, 2005, and 2015 were used to determine tissue total and soil Mehlich III extractable Mn, Cu, B, Fe, and Zn, and soil pH. After 84 years, extractable Mn and B in the top 10 cm of soil decreased in all plots, except for B in FYM and SB. The FYM plots had the highest extractable Mn (114 mg kg−1) in the top 10 cm soil; however, it declined by 33% compared to the GP (171 mg kg−1). Extractable Zn in the top 10 cm of soil increased with FYM while it decreased with inorganic N application in 2015; however, total Zn in grain increased by 7% with inorganic N (90 kg ha−1) application compared to FYM application. The results suggest that residue management had similar impact on soil micronutrients. Inorganic N and FYM application can be integrated to reduce micronutrient losses from cultivation.


Author(s):  
Sunil Kumar Dadhich ◽  
Govind Kumar Yadav ◽  
Kamlesh Yadav ◽  
Chiranjeev Kumawat ◽  
Mahesh Kumar Munalia

Burning of crop residues have become a challenging issue for scientist’s community as well as policy makers worldwide as it directly affects environment, soil health and the productivity of crops. Microbial mediated recycling of crop residues into an amorphous dark brown to black colloidal humus like substance under conditions of optimum temperature, moisture and aeration is need of the hour. Crop residue recycling increases sequestration of organic carbon in soil which ultimately leads to improve soil physical, chemical and biological health. Organic carbon acts as a reservoir for nutrients, needed in crop production. Crop residue management recycling is a cost-effective option for minimizing agriculture's input with maximizing output. Besides supplying nutrients to the current crop, their residual effects on succeeding crops in the system are also important. This review emphasizes on crop residue recycling by different techniques. This review paper maybe helpful to the policy makers and researchers.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4281
Author(s):  
Gaurav Kumar Porichha ◽  
Yulin Hu ◽  
Kasanneni Tirumala Venkateswara Rao ◽  
Chunbao Charles Xu

In recent studies, various reports reveal that stubble burning of crop residues in India generates nearly 150 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), more than 9 million tons of carbon monoxide (CO), a quarter-million tons of sulphur oxides (SOX), 1 million tons of particulate matter and more than half a million tons of black carbon. These contribute directly to environmental pollution, as well as the haze in the Indian capital, New Delhi, and the diminishing glaciers of the Himalayas. Although stubble burning crop residue is a crime under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Air and Pollution Control Act (APCA) of 1981, a lack of implementation of these government acts has been witnessed across the country. Instead of burning, crop residues can be utilized in various alternative ways, including use as cattle feed, compost with manure, rural roofing, bioenergy, beverage production, packaging materials, wood, paper, and bioethanol, etc. This review article aims to present the current status of stubble-burning practices for disposal of crop residues in India and discuss several alternative methods for valorization of crop residues. Overall, this review article offers a solid understanding of the negative impacts of mismanagement of the crop residues via stubble burning in India and the other more promising management approaches including use for bioenergy, which, if widely employed, could not only reduce the environmental impacts of crop residue management, but generate additional value for the agricultural sector globally.


Author(s):  
May Zar Myint ◽  
Raihana Habib Kanth ◽  
F. A. Bahar ◽  
S. S. Mehdi ◽  
A. A. Saad ◽  
...  

Soil is the fundamental and necessary natural resource for the agricultural production system. Due to the increasing global population and the impact of climate changes, natural resources are the major limiting factor to use widely for food production. The major factors responsible for the deterioration of natural resources are extreme events caused by man-made activities and unexpected and unpredictable adverse natural forces of nature. Among the different degradation processes, soil erosion is one of the serious threatens to the deterioration of soil for the agricultural sector and healthy ecosystem conservation. Intensive agricultural practices are particularly caused by the acceleration of the soil erosion process. Therefore, the good and systematic management of soil resources is indispensable not only for sustainable agriculture or conservation agriculture but also for the protection and reduction of the natural ecosystem. Covering crop residues on soil enhances organic matter, protects the soil surfaces, maintains water and nutrients, improves soil biological activity and chemical composition, and contributes to pest management. Therefore, crop residue management is one of the conservation practices and is designed to leave sufficient residue on the soil surface to reduce wind and water erosion. It includes all field operations that affect the amount of residue, its an orientation to the soil surface and prevailing wind and rainfall patterns and the residue distribution throughout the period requiring protection. This paper especially highlights the status of soil erosion, crop residues, and management in crop residues in sustainable agriculture.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
MT Uddin ◽  
K Fatema

The study aimed to examine the present status of rice crop residue management and its impact on farmers’ livelihood covering two sub-districts in Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. A total of 100 farmers (50 for crop residue practicing farmers and 50 for the farmers involved in traditional farming) were selected randomly for data collection. A combination of descriptive, statistical and mathematical techniques were applied to achieve the objectives and to get the meaningful results. The results of descriptive statistics showed that retention was found higher in far distance plots from homestead. No retention of crop residues was found in case of Aus and Aman rice. The whole retention was found only in case of Boro rice. The shortage of labour in season and the wage rate were also important factors for the retention of crop residues. However, farmers’ perceptions about the use of crop residues were mostly adding organic matter to the crop field followed by mulching and feeding animal. The recycling of resources among crop retention and livestock has the great potential to return a considerable amount of plant nutrients to the soil in the rice based crop production systems. Due to crop residue practices, crop and livestock both were benefited through resource interdependences. The sampled farmers were benefited from retention of crop residues by improving soil quality, soil moisture, etc.; and farmers used less amounts of fertilizer, irrigation water, etc. for the succeeding crops. Consequently, succeeding crop productivity, profitability and annual income were increased significantly. The result of logit regression model shows that age of household head, farm size, agricultural income and non-farm income were found as significant variables in explaining the variation in crop residue adoption of farm households. To assess the livelihood pattern of sample farm households through asset pentagon approach, noteworthy improvement was found s on different capitals. The study identified some problems regarding crop residue management and finally, recommended that if the farmers get proper training for such management, it would be helpful to improve their livelihood.Progressive Agriculture 27 (2): 189-199, 2016


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Havermann ◽  
Klaus Butterbach-Bahl ◽  
Baldur Janz ◽  
Florian Engelsberger ◽  
Maria Ernfors ◽  
...  

<p>Crop residues are a significant source for soil N<sub>2</sub>O emissions and major component affecting the C storage in arable soils. The balance between C sequestration and N<sub>2</sub>O emissions is delicate and depends on the type of residues and its management. Thus, residue management might be a feasible option to reduce the GHG footprint of crop production. However, the mitigation potential of residue management is highly variable and strongly affected by the crop residue quality (C and N content, C:N ratio, concentrations of lignin, cellulose and solutes), field management (incorporation depth, amount applied) as well as soil physical and soil biogeochemical properties. In the frame of the EU-ERAGAS project RESIDUEGAS, we investigated the impact of different crop residue qualities on soil respiration and reactive N fluxes as well as soil ammonium (NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>) and nitrate (NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>) concentrations in order to test and possibly improve existing IPCC emission factors for GHG emissions from crop residue management.</p><p>In this study, we used sieved and homogenized soil columns of 8 cm height and 12 cm diameter filled with arable soil taken from a site near Gießen, Germany. Soil columns were incubated in the laboratory for 60 days at constant soil temperature (15°C) and water-filled pore space (60 %). Residues from nine different crops (oilseed rape, winter wheat, field pea, maize, potato, mustard, red clover, sugar beet, ryegrass) were re-wetted according to field moisture level and incorporated over approx. 0-4 cm topsoil layer one week after soil re-wetting and start of the measurements. The CO<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>O (as well as NO and NH<sub>3</sub>) fluxes were measured automatically using a dynamic chamber approach. Soil samples were additionally analyzed for soil NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> concentrations at specific time steps during the experiment.</p><p>Re-wetting of the dry soil immediately resulted in a sharp increase of soil N<sub>2</sub>O and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, which, however, was less pronounced than peak emissions following residue incorporation. Those were 4-5 times higher as compared to soil cores without residue amendment. Elevated emissions were short-lived and declined to background levels within 10 days for N<sub>2</sub>O and within 30 days for CO<sub>2</sub>. However, a small but significant period of higher than background N<sub>2</sub>O emissions was observed in the second half of the incubation period, which might be directly related to the decomposition of slower decomposable organic matter such as lignin and cellulose from crop residues. Generally, the emission magnitude was strongly affected by the crop residue quality, with highest N<sub>2</sub>O as well as CO<sub>2</sub> emissions being calculated for residues with a narrow C:N ratio. However, C:N ratio was not the single explaining factor. The range of calculated emission factors (fraction of cumulatively emitted N<sub>2</sub>O-N to crop residue N input) over a 60 day period was larger than the range given by IPCC in 2006.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Amjad Bashir ◽  
Abdur Rehim ◽  
Qurat-Ul-Ain Raza ◽  
Hafiz Muhammad Ali Raza ◽  
Limei Zhai ◽  
...  

Plant growth stimulators (growth regulators + biostimulants; PGS) are chemical substances (organic/inorganic), helpful in plant growth and development. These are not considered as the replacement of fertilizers but can help in improved crop and soil quality. Both compounds can amplify the root biomass, nutrients translocation, enzymatic activities, crop yield, physiology, and nutrient uptake. Biostimulants are rich in minerals, vitamins, plant hormones, oligosaccharides, and amino acids. These compounds have a serious role to improve soil health, fertility, sorption, and desorption of nutrients. Hence, have a vital character in nutrients cycling, abiotic stress control, heavy metals bioavailability, and greenhouse gaseous emission. This chapter focuses on the discussions about the influence of plant growth regulators and biostimulants in crop production, soil health, heavy metal cycling, greenhouse gases emission with environmental sustainability. Whereas, the impact of biostimulants on greenhouse gases is a research gap.


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