Ashok Patra - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ashok Patra

Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science

Innovative Saline Agriculture, 2016

World food production systems primarily crop lands are set to face unprecedented stress for match... more World food production systems primarily crop lands are set to face unprecedented stress for matching production with overwhelming population growth in the backdrop of increasing natural calamities and climate change. Another green revolution does not seem likely with the same approaches as followed in the past. A large extent of marginally productive lands (including salt affected) in India and the world presents opportunity for bolstering food security via land reclamation, improved productivity, and resource conservation by enhancing biological functions of soil. The presence of soluble salts in the soil and water, including surface water and groundwater, poses great threat to productivity of land. Land use practices, such as clearing and irrigation, have significantly increased the extent of the problem. The most obvious effect of salts in soil includes decline in agricultural productivity. High concentrations of salt in the soil are toxic to plants, restrict plant uptake of water, and prevent plants from taking up essential nutrients. There are several approaches to manage these lands including chemical reclamation, but they are very resource expensive. Nanotechnology as an emerging science may play a greater role for managing these salt-affected marginal lands. Though nanotechnology, in respect of both research and development, is as yet at a nascent stage, it can be effectively directed toward understanding and creating improved materials, devices, and systems and in exploiting the nano-properties for managing these lands. Nanotechnology has not left agricultural sector untouched and promises to revolutionize the agricultural sector with new tools for molecular treatment of plant diseases, rapid detection of diseases, and enhancing the ability of plant to absorb nutrients, thus increasing soil fertility and crop production. The potential of nanotechnology is yet to be fully exploited in salt-affected land management, and agriculture, yet if once realized, it is likely to bring a sea change in agricultural production and productivity.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences, 2013

Climate change is now the single gravest threat in the current century. Its impact is being inten... more Climate change is now the single gravest threat in the current century. Its impact is being intensely felt by the countries which largely depend on agriculture, and India being recognized among the worst-hit countries of the world. In this review, both the climatic and biological effects of elevated carbon dioxide (CO 2) and temperature on plant and soil, representing the most important constituents of the agricultural ecosystem have been discussed. Rising CO 2 promotes photosynthetic carbon assimilation and adversely affects the photorespiratory activity with alteration in stomatal behaviour. Higher level of atmospheric CO 2 is likely to affect C 3 and C 4 plants differentially. Atmospheric CO 2 enrichment enhances the growth rate of all plant species but enhancement is much significant in C 3 plants. The C 4 plant system represents an evolutionary adaptation to low CO 2 environment with lower CO 2 compensation point. On the contrary, rise in temperature beyond a critical limit would result in retardation of growth, physiological development and suppression of metabolic activities. The C 4 plants, being adapted to warmer environment may show less harmful effects than C 3 plants. Thus, a differential benefits to both types of plants may balance the overall effect of climate change as far as the plant processes are concerned. Soil processes simultaneously may have direct changes in soil carbon content, nutrient cycling and microbial diversity which will cumulatively have obvious impact on soil quality with several indirect ones like soil water balance and salinity, etc. Both plant and soil processes are interrelated, and under impending climate change how these components respond is extremely important to understand and develop strategies and technologies for mitigation and adaptation, and to minimize the impact on total agriculture of India.

Plants, 2020

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) is grown globally for its protein-rich seed. However, low ... more Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) is grown globally for its protein-rich seed. However, low availability of soil zinc (Zn) adversely affects the seed yield of pigeonpea. The present study was therefore conducted to assess the Zn efficiency of pigeonpea genotypes based on seed yield and seed Zn uptake efficiency. Field experiments were conducted at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research–Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, India with twenty different pigeonpea genotypes and two levels of Zn application under a split-plot design. The two levels of Zn were low (without application of Zn fertilizer) and high (with application of 20 kg Zn ha−1 (as ZnSO4∙7H2O) as basal soil application, in conjunction with three foliar sprays of 0.50% (w/v) ZnSO4∙7H2O aqueous solution) (with 0.25% lime as neutralizing agent) at flowering, pod formation, and pod filling stages). Application of Zn improved plant height, branches plant−1, pods plant−1, seeds pod−1, and 100 seed weight of pigeo...

Agriculture

Soil organic carbon (SOC) pool has been extensively studied in the carbon (C) cycling of terrestr... more Soil organic carbon (SOC) pool has been extensively studied in the carbon (C) cycling of terrestrial ecosystems. In dryland regions, however, soil inorganic carbon (SIC) has received increasing attention due to the high accumulation of SIC in arid soils contributed by its high temperature, low soil moisture, less vegetation, high salinity, and poor microbial activities. SIC storage in dryland soils is a complex process comprising multiple interactions of several factors such as climate, land use types, farm management practices, irrigation, inherent soil properties, soil biotic factors, etc. In addition, soil C studies in deeper layers of drylands have opened-up several study aspects on SIC storage. This review explains the mechanisms of SIC formation in dryland soils and critically discusses the SIC content in arid and semi-arid soils as compared to SOC. It also addresses the complex relationship between SIC and SOC in dryland soils. This review gives an overview of how climate cha...

Agriculture

Conservation agriculture (CA), comprising of minimum soil disturbance and crop residue retention ... more Conservation agriculture (CA), comprising of minimum soil disturbance and crop residue retention (>30%), with a diversified cropping system, has become increasingly popular around the world. It is recognized as a sustainable practice to improve soil health by augmenting key soil properties. However, scanty information exists about the effect of CA practices on soil organic carbon (SOC), aggregation and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in a vertisol. Thus, this study investigated the effect of CA practices on SOC, soil aggregation and GHG emission under soybean-wheat and maize-chickpea cropping systems in a vertisol in Central India. Treatment consisted of three different tillage practices, being conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT), and no tillage (NT) under four cropping systems viz., Soybean–Wheat, Soybean + Pigeon pea (2:1), Maize–Chickpea and Maize + Pigeon pea (1:1). Regardless of cropping system, the soil under NT and RT exhibited better aggregation (20.77 to 25.97...

Sustainability

Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy is emerging as one of the most promising technologies, as it is a... more Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy is emerging as one of the most promising technologies, as it is a rapid and cost-effective alternative to routine laboratory analysis for many soil properties. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of mid-infrared spectroscopy for the rapid and nondestructive measurement of some important soil properties of Alfisols. A total of 336 georeferenced soil samples fromthe 0–15 cm soil layer of Alfisols that were collected from the eastern Indian states of Odisha and Jharkhand were used. The partial least-squares regression (PLSR), random forest, and support vector machine regression techniques were compared for the calibration of the spectral data with the wet chemistry soil data. The PLSR-based predictive models performed better than the other two regression techniques for all the soil properties, except for the electrical conductivity (EC). Good predictions with independent validation datasets were obtained for the clay and sand percentages a...

Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 2020

The current experiment envisages estimating nitrification and elucidates the mechanistic processe... more The current experiment envisages estimating nitrification and elucidates the mechanistic processes of nitrogen mineralization in a long-term fertilizer experiment (LTFE) on a soybean-wheat cropping system. The experiment had four treatments: fallow (no fertilizer and no crop), control (no fertilizer), inorganic (recommended dose as 100% NPK), and integrated (100% NPK + farmyard manure FYM). The potential nitrification rate (PNR) estimated as µg NO 3 − produced g −1 soil d −1 was 0.88 in fallow, 1.86 in control, 1.278 in 100% NPK, and 1.493 in 100% NPK + FYM. Real-time PCR quantification of bacterial amoA gene (× 10 4 amoA gene copies g −1 soil) was 19.33 in fallow, 43.33 in control, 30.33 in 100% NPK, and 29.33 in 100% NPK + FYM. The amoA gene copies (x 10 4 gene copies g −1 soil) of archaea ranged from 11.67 to 38.67. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) of soils indicated that the intensity of the NH 4 + minerals was highest in control and lowest in fallow. Soybean grain and biomass yields were highest in 100% NPK + FYM and lowest in control. The study highlights that continuous cropping without fertilizer may alter soil microbial metabolism for the acquisition of nitrogen from mineralization of readily unavailable mineral fractions.

Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 2021

Experiments were carried out to elucidate linkage between methane consumption and mineralization ... more Experiments were carried out to elucidate linkage between methane consumption and mineralization of phosphorous (P) from different P sources. The treatments were (i) no CH4 + no P amendment (absolute control), (ii) with CH4 + no P amendment (control), (iii) with CH4 + inorganic P as Ca3(PO4)2, and (iv) with CH4 + organic P as sodium phytate. P sources were added at 25 µg P·(g soil)−1. Soils were incubated to undergo three repeated CH4 feeding cycles, referred to as feeding cycle I, feeding cycle II, and feeding cycle III. CH4 consumption rate k (µg CH4 consumed·(g soil)−1·day−1) was 0.297 ± 0.028 in no P amendment control, 0.457 ± 0.016 in Ca3(PO4)2, and 0.627 ± 0.013 in sodium phytate. Rate k was stimulated by 2 to 6 times over CH4 feeding cycles and followed the trend of sodium phytate > Ca3(PO4)2 > no P amendment control. CH4 consumption stimulated P solubilization from Ca3(PO4)2 by a factor of 2.86. Acid phosphatase (µg paranitrophenol released·(g soil)−1·h−1) was higher i...

Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2021

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

The Journal of Agricultural Science, 2020

Biodegradation of chlorpyrifos under the influence of fertilizer application and climate factors ... more Biodegradation of chlorpyrifos under the influence of fertilizer application and climate factors such as elevated CO2, temperature and moisture was studied. Soybean was grown in control, inorganic, organic and integrated (both inorganic and organic) fertilized fields. Rhizospheric soils collected during the vegetative growth phase were amended with chlorpyrifos (10 μg/g soil) and incubated under different climate factors. The climate factors were CO2 concentration (400, 800 ppm), temperature (25, 45°C) and moisture-holding capacity (60, 100%). Chlorpyrifos degradation rate varied from 0.28 to 0.65 μg/g soil/d. The abundance of 16S rRNA gene copies of eubacteria varied from 13 × 106 to 7 × 105/g soil. Actinomycetes-specific 16S rRNA gene copies were in the range of 62.5 × 105 to 18.5 × 103/g soil. Microbial abundance was high in organic amended soil and low in control soil irrespective of climate factors. Elevated CO2 and high temperature inhibited (P < 0.05) chlorpyrifos degradat...

Sustainability

The deficiencies of nutrient elements and inappropriate nutrient management practices in agricult... more The deficiencies of nutrient elements and inappropriate nutrient management practices in agricultural soils of the world is one of the reasons for low crop productivity, reduced nutritional quality of agricultural produce, and animal/human malnutrition. We carried out the present study to evaluate the single and multi-nutrient deficiencies of sulfur (S) and micronutrients (zinc (Zn), boron (B), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn)) in agricultural soils of India for their effective management to achieve sustainable crop production, improved nutritional quality in crops and better animal/human health. Altogether, 24,2827 surface soil samples (0 to 15 cm depth) were collected from the agriculture fields of 615 districts in 28 states of India and were analyzed for available S and micronutrient concentration. The concentration of available S and micronutrients varied widely. There were variable and widespread deficiencies of S and micronutrients in different states. The deficiencie...

Radionuclides and Heavy Metals in the Environment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World

Industrial sector in India is witnessing rapid growth since the last decade of twentieth century ... more Industrial sector in India is witnessing rapid growth since the last decade of twentieth century with reforms in economic laws and with establishment of special economic zones (SEZ). Such rapid industrial growth has also increased threat to the environment. In spite of great difficulty in its remediation in comparison with polluted air and water, soil pollution as a threat to human life is by and large ignored at national level in India due to lack of comprehensive information on the subject. Though coordinated effort on assessment of soil pollution is absent at national level, sporadic information has been generated by several researchers on various aspects of pollution affecting soil quality. This chapter analyses these information and attempts to assess the quantum of threat being faced by agroecosystem in the country. It indicates that soil resources are facing threats from deliberate use of contaminated organics, amendment materials and irrigation water or from atmospheric depositions, spillage of effluents etc. Nature pollutants varies from salts, toxic metals, metalloids, persistent organics with varying degree of toxicity and may be of both industrial and geogenic origins.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science

Innovative Saline Agriculture, 2016

World food production systems primarily crop lands are set to face unprecedented stress for match... more World food production systems primarily crop lands are set to face unprecedented stress for matching production with overwhelming population growth in the backdrop of increasing natural calamities and climate change. Another green revolution does not seem likely with the same approaches as followed in the past. A large extent of marginally productive lands (including salt affected) in India and the world presents opportunity for bolstering food security via land reclamation, improved productivity, and resource conservation by enhancing biological functions of soil. The presence of soluble salts in the soil and water, including surface water and groundwater, poses great threat to productivity of land. Land use practices, such as clearing and irrigation, have significantly increased the extent of the problem. The most obvious effect of salts in soil includes decline in agricultural productivity. High concentrations of salt in the soil are toxic to plants, restrict plant uptake of water, and prevent plants from taking up essential nutrients. There are several approaches to manage these lands including chemical reclamation, but they are very resource expensive. Nanotechnology as an emerging science may play a greater role for managing these salt-affected marginal lands. Though nanotechnology, in respect of both research and development, is as yet at a nascent stage, it can be effectively directed toward understanding and creating improved materials, devices, and systems and in exploiting the nano-properties for managing these lands. Nanotechnology has not left agricultural sector untouched and promises to revolutionize the agricultural sector with new tools for molecular treatment of plant diseases, rapid detection of diseases, and enhancing the ability of plant to absorb nutrients, thus increasing soil fertility and crop production. The potential of nanotechnology is yet to be fully exploited in salt-affected land management, and agriculture, yet if once realized, it is likely to bring a sea change in agricultural production and productivity.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences, 2013

Climate change is now the single gravest threat in the current century. Its impact is being inten... more Climate change is now the single gravest threat in the current century. Its impact is being intensely felt by the countries which largely depend on agriculture, and India being recognized among the worst-hit countries of the world. In this review, both the climatic and biological effects of elevated carbon dioxide (CO 2) and temperature on plant and soil, representing the most important constituents of the agricultural ecosystem have been discussed. Rising CO 2 promotes photosynthetic carbon assimilation and adversely affects the photorespiratory activity with alteration in stomatal behaviour. Higher level of atmospheric CO 2 is likely to affect C 3 and C 4 plants differentially. Atmospheric CO 2 enrichment enhances the growth rate of all plant species but enhancement is much significant in C 3 plants. The C 4 plant system represents an evolutionary adaptation to low CO 2 environment with lower CO 2 compensation point. On the contrary, rise in temperature beyond a critical limit would result in retardation of growth, physiological development and suppression of metabolic activities. The C 4 plants, being adapted to warmer environment may show less harmful effects than C 3 plants. Thus, a differential benefits to both types of plants may balance the overall effect of climate change as far as the plant processes are concerned. Soil processes simultaneously may have direct changes in soil carbon content, nutrient cycling and microbial diversity which will cumulatively have obvious impact on soil quality with several indirect ones like soil water balance and salinity, etc. Both plant and soil processes are interrelated, and under impending climate change how these components respond is extremely important to understand and develop strategies and technologies for mitigation and adaptation, and to minimize the impact on total agriculture of India.

Plants, 2020

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) is grown globally for its protein-rich seed. However, low ... more Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) is grown globally for its protein-rich seed. However, low availability of soil zinc (Zn) adversely affects the seed yield of pigeonpea. The present study was therefore conducted to assess the Zn efficiency of pigeonpea genotypes based on seed yield and seed Zn uptake efficiency. Field experiments were conducted at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research–Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, India with twenty different pigeonpea genotypes and two levels of Zn application under a split-plot design. The two levels of Zn were low (without application of Zn fertilizer) and high (with application of 20 kg Zn ha−1 (as ZnSO4∙7H2O) as basal soil application, in conjunction with three foliar sprays of 0.50% (w/v) ZnSO4∙7H2O aqueous solution) (with 0.25% lime as neutralizing agent) at flowering, pod formation, and pod filling stages). Application of Zn improved plant height, branches plant−1, pods plant−1, seeds pod−1, and 100 seed weight of pigeo...

Agriculture

Soil organic carbon (SOC) pool has been extensively studied in the carbon (C) cycling of terrestr... more Soil organic carbon (SOC) pool has been extensively studied in the carbon (C) cycling of terrestrial ecosystems. In dryland regions, however, soil inorganic carbon (SIC) has received increasing attention due to the high accumulation of SIC in arid soils contributed by its high temperature, low soil moisture, less vegetation, high salinity, and poor microbial activities. SIC storage in dryland soils is a complex process comprising multiple interactions of several factors such as climate, land use types, farm management practices, irrigation, inherent soil properties, soil biotic factors, etc. In addition, soil C studies in deeper layers of drylands have opened-up several study aspects on SIC storage. This review explains the mechanisms of SIC formation in dryland soils and critically discusses the SIC content in arid and semi-arid soils as compared to SOC. It also addresses the complex relationship between SIC and SOC in dryland soils. This review gives an overview of how climate cha...

Agriculture

Conservation agriculture (CA), comprising of minimum soil disturbance and crop residue retention ... more Conservation agriculture (CA), comprising of minimum soil disturbance and crop residue retention (>30%), with a diversified cropping system, has become increasingly popular around the world. It is recognized as a sustainable practice to improve soil health by augmenting key soil properties. However, scanty information exists about the effect of CA practices on soil organic carbon (SOC), aggregation and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in a vertisol. Thus, this study investigated the effect of CA practices on SOC, soil aggregation and GHG emission under soybean-wheat and maize-chickpea cropping systems in a vertisol in Central India. Treatment consisted of three different tillage practices, being conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT), and no tillage (NT) under four cropping systems viz., Soybean–Wheat, Soybean + Pigeon pea (2:1), Maize–Chickpea and Maize + Pigeon pea (1:1). Regardless of cropping system, the soil under NT and RT exhibited better aggregation (20.77 to 25.97...

Sustainability

Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy is emerging as one of the most promising technologies, as it is a... more Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy is emerging as one of the most promising technologies, as it is a rapid and cost-effective alternative to routine laboratory analysis for many soil properties. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of mid-infrared spectroscopy for the rapid and nondestructive measurement of some important soil properties of Alfisols. A total of 336 georeferenced soil samples fromthe 0–15 cm soil layer of Alfisols that were collected from the eastern Indian states of Odisha and Jharkhand were used. The partial least-squares regression (PLSR), random forest, and support vector machine regression techniques were compared for the calibration of the spectral data with the wet chemistry soil data. The PLSR-based predictive models performed better than the other two regression techniques for all the soil properties, except for the electrical conductivity (EC). Good predictions with independent validation datasets were obtained for the clay and sand percentages a...

Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 2020

The current experiment envisages estimating nitrification and elucidates the mechanistic processe... more The current experiment envisages estimating nitrification and elucidates the mechanistic processes of nitrogen mineralization in a long-term fertilizer experiment (LTFE) on a soybean-wheat cropping system. The experiment had four treatments: fallow (no fertilizer and no crop), control (no fertilizer), inorganic (recommended dose as 100% NPK), and integrated (100% NPK + farmyard manure FYM). The potential nitrification rate (PNR) estimated as µg NO 3 − produced g −1 soil d −1 was 0.88 in fallow, 1.86 in control, 1.278 in 100% NPK, and 1.493 in 100% NPK + FYM. Real-time PCR quantification of bacterial amoA gene (× 10 4 amoA gene copies g −1 soil) was 19.33 in fallow, 43.33 in control, 30.33 in 100% NPK, and 29.33 in 100% NPK + FYM. The amoA gene copies (x 10 4 gene copies g −1 soil) of archaea ranged from 11.67 to 38.67. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) of soils indicated that the intensity of the NH 4 + minerals was highest in control and lowest in fallow. Soybean grain and biomass yields were highest in 100% NPK + FYM and lowest in control. The study highlights that continuous cropping without fertilizer may alter soil microbial metabolism for the acquisition of nitrogen from mineralization of readily unavailable mineral fractions.

Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 2021

Experiments were carried out to elucidate linkage between methane consumption and mineralization ... more Experiments were carried out to elucidate linkage between methane consumption and mineralization of phosphorous (P) from different P sources. The treatments were (i) no CH4 + no P amendment (absolute control), (ii) with CH4 + no P amendment (control), (iii) with CH4 + inorganic P as Ca3(PO4)2, and (iv) with CH4 + organic P as sodium phytate. P sources were added at 25 µg P·(g soil)−1. Soils were incubated to undergo three repeated CH4 feeding cycles, referred to as feeding cycle I, feeding cycle II, and feeding cycle III. CH4 consumption rate k (µg CH4 consumed·(g soil)−1·day−1) was 0.297 ± 0.028 in no P amendment control, 0.457 ± 0.016 in Ca3(PO4)2, and 0.627 ± 0.013 in sodium phytate. Rate k was stimulated by 2 to 6 times over CH4 feeding cycles and followed the trend of sodium phytate > Ca3(PO4)2 > no P amendment control. CH4 consumption stimulated P solubilization from Ca3(PO4)2 by a factor of 2.86. Acid phosphatase (µg paranitrophenol released·(g soil)−1·h−1) was higher i...

Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2021

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

The Journal of Agricultural Science, 2020

Biodegradation of chlorpyrifos under the influence of fertilizer application and climate factors ... more Biodegradation of chlorpyrifos under the influence of fertilizer application and climate factors such as elevated CO2, temperature and moisture was studied. Soybean was grown in control, inorganic, organic and integrated (both inorganic and organic) fertilized fields. Rhizospheric soils collected during the vegetative growth phase were amended with chlorpyrifos (10 μg/g soil) and incubated under different climate factors. The climate factors were CO2 concentration (400, 800 ppm), temperature (25, 45°C) and moisture-holding capacity (60, 100%). Chlorpyrifos degradation rate varied from 0.28 to 0.65 μg/g soil/d. The abundance of 16S rRNA gene copies of eubacteria varied from 13 × 106 to 7 × 105/g soil. Actinomycetes-specific 16S rRNA gene copies were in the range of 62.5 × 105 to 18.5 × 103/g soil. Microbial abundance was high in organic amended soil and low in control soil irrespective of climate factors. Elevated CO2 and high temperature inhibited (P < 0.05) chlorpyrifos degradat...

Sustainability

The deficiencies of nutrient elements and inappropriate nutrient management practices in agricult... more The deficiencies of nutrient elements and inappropriate nutrient management practices in agricultural soils of the world is one of the reasons for low crop productivity, reduced nutritional quality of agricultural produce, and animal/human malnutrition. We carried out the present study to evaluate the single and multi-nutrient deficiencies of sulfur (S) and micronutrients (zinc (Zn), boron (B), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn)) in agricultural soils of India for their effective management to achieve sustainable crop production, improved nutritional quality in crops and better animal/human health. Altogether, 24,2827 surface soil samples (0 to 15 cm depth) were collected from the agriculture fields of 615 districts in 28 states of India and were analyzed for available S and micronutrient concentration. The concentration of available S and micronutrients varied widely. There were variable and widespread deficiencies of S and micronutrients in different states. The deficiencie...

Radionuclides and Heavy Metals in the Environment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World

Industrial sector in India is witnessing rapid growth since the last decade of twentieth century ... more Industrial sector in India is witnessing rapid growth since the last decade of twentieth century with reforms in economic laws and with establishment of special economic zones (SEZ). Such rapid industrial growth has also increased threat to the environment. In spite of great difficulty in its remediation in comparison with polluted air and water, soil pollution as a threat to human life is by and large ignored at national level in India due to lack of comprehensive information on the subject. Though coordinated effort on assessment of soil pollution is absent at national level, sporadic information has been generated by several researchers on various aspects of pollution affecting soil quality. This chapter analyses these information and attempts to assess the quantum of threat being faced by agroecosystem in the country. It indicates that soil resources are facing threats from deliberate use of contaminated organics, amendment materials and irrigation water or from atmospheric depositions, spillage of effluents etc. Nature pollutants varies from salts, toxic metals, metalloids, persistent organics with varying degree of toxicity and may be of both industrial and geogenic origins.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research