Arti Bhatia

Nitrogen (N) fertilizers boost agricultural yields, but N lost from agricultural systems may endanger the ecosystem. The agronomic practices leading to high N recovery with decreased losses without compromising yields need to be identified. Field experiments were conducted for two consecutive wheat growing seasons using three levels of N fertilizer...

Rice field agroecosystems are pivotal for global food security, providing rice, a staple for over half the world’s population, while sustaining farmers’ livelihoods and cultural heritage. However, conventional rice cultivation faces challenges jeopardizing environmental sustainability and agricultural efficiency, including soil degradation, water s...

Agriculture is considered as a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission leading to global climate change. Organic farming practices mainly focused on improved soil health and ecosystem biodiversity, chemical-free crops, crop quality, and sustainable balance of production, minimize environmental burdens. It is a production system in harmony wit...

Introduction Climate change significantly impacts food production by influencing crop growth and soil processes. Rising atmospheric CO2 levels and temperatures may affect reactive nitrogen losses from cultivated soils. This study aimed to quantify the effects of nitrification and urease inhibitors on reactive nitrogen losses from wheat soils in the...

Achieving high-yielding crops while also improving nitrogen use efficiency is a significant challenge for agricultural production in Bangladesh. We investigated the impacts of applying nitrogen (N) using different management options in wetland rice on a calcareous dark gray soil over three seasons. These included (1) the recommended dose of availab...

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)—wheat (Triticum aestivum (L.) emend Fiori & Paol) cropping system with conservation agriculture (CA) practices is being recommended for diversification of the rice (Oryza sativa L.)—wheat (RW) system in South Asia including Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). But, long-term studies are limited on the impacts of CA-based manag...

The escalating concerns about climate change and its impact on global ecosystems have prompted a necessary analysis of agricultural practices, which are significant emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG). Effective soil management strategies hold massive potential in sequestering carbon dioxide (CO2) from the environment and lowering methane (CH4) and...

Introduction Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is lower for South Asia than for most other regions of the world, and average crop NUE is on the decline in India. This inefficient use of nitrogen fertilizers has implications for agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability. Materials and Methods Using data from 14,669 farmers in India, th...

Maintaining soil carbon is vital under changing climate. Conservation agriculture (CA) is reported to have potential to store soil organic carbon (SOC). The impact of carbon inputs on SOC dynamics and mineralization kinetics, and the priming effect of residue addition under long-term CA in subtropical regions, however, are not clear or adequately e...

The impact of climate change on methane (CH4) emissions from rice production systems in the Coimbatore region (Tamil Nadu, India) was studied by leveraging field experiments across two main treatments and four sub-treatments in a split-plot design. Utilizing the closed-chamber method for gas collection and gas chromatography analysis, this study id...

Introduction Global food security is challenged by the increasing levels of air pollutants like ozone (O3) through their impacts on crop productivity. The present study was conducted to quantify the interactive effect of elevated ozone (O3) and carbon dioxide (CO2), on different rice varieties in northern India. Methods An experiment was conducted...

Modern agriculture, driven by diesel-fed machinery, is both energy and carbon-intensive, primarily due to the improper use of inputs. Designing a production module with lower carbon emissions, greater productivity, and enhanced energy use efficiency is crucial for achieving the environmental sustainability. Conservation agriculture based integrated...

Introduction There is a global priority to ensure food security, environmental conservation and sustainability. The adoption of inputs such as organic manures, biofertilisers, and biopesticides has been widely promoted as a way to enhance agricultural sustainability, yet their adoption rates remain notably low. The study examines the determinants a...

The concomitant quandaries of pedospheric health deterioration and diminishing factor productivity constitute the preeminent apprehensions within the realms of crop cultivation, particularly in the densely populated South Asian region. Conventional tillage practices, coupled with indiscriminate fertilizer application in wheat-based rotations, preci...

Tropospheric ozone is the most important air pollutant of global concern since it affects crops negatively by causing oxidative damage. The increased levels of carbon dioxide positively impacted the C 3 plants. The impacts of elevated O 3 and CO 2 on most crops have been studied, but the information in relation to the interactive effects of O 3 and...

Conservation agriculture (CA) practices like zero-till and residue retention along with nitrogen management is vital for improving degraded soil health and optimizing the yield potential of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crop. Present study was carried out during winter (rabi) seasons of 2021–22 and 2022–23 at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Instit...

Nitrogen (N) losses from agriculture through leaching and volatilization have significant environmental and economic impacts. To find better options for reducing N losses, different N management approaches were compared to determine leaching losses of Nr (NH4⁺-N and NO3⁻-N) and ammonia (NH3) volatilization from wetland rice. The experiment comprise...

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from anthropogenic activities are the most significant drivers of observed climate change, which has both direct and indirect effects on crop production. The study was conducted during the kharif season of 2019 inside the Open Top Chamber (OTC) at the Genetic-H field of ICAR-Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI...

A free air concentration enrichment experiment of different mustard varieties was conducted under elevated (e) ozone (eO3), carbon dioxide (eCO2), a mixture of eO3 × eCO2, and ambient air concentration. The study was conducted to investigate the relationship between plant physiological parameters and changes in atmospheric concentration of O3 and C...

An experiment was conducted during 2020 and 2021 at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, to study the interactive effect of nutrient and PGPR (Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria) on growth and yield of chickpea (Cicer aeritinum L.) cv. Pusa 3043 under ambient and elevated levels of ozone in FAOE (Free air ozone enrichment). A l...

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) faces significant food security risks, primarily due to low soil fertility leading to low crop yields. Climate change is expected to worsen food security issues in SSA due to a combined negative impact on crop yield and soil fertility. A common omission from climate change impact studies in SSA is the interaction between ch...

Advanced facilities for climate change research and greenhouse gas mitigation are essential in our efforts to understand and address the challenges posed by climate change. These facilities include eddy covariance system, Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE), Temperature gradient tunnel (TGT), Carbon dioxide and Temperature Gradient Chamber (CTGC), Free...

Multi-year datasets from field experiments and simulations at five agricultural sites in the Northern Hemisphere were developed for three cropland sites in Ottawa (Canada), Grignon (France) and Delhi (India) and two grassland sites at Laqueuille 23 (France) and Easter Bush (UK). The cropland sites have rotations with wheat, triticale, maize, rapese...

A field experiment was conducted during rainy () seasons at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to evaluate a series of Zn and P solubilizing microbial culture enriched nanoclay biopolymer composite (NCBPC) loaded with nitrogenous fertilizer (urea) and the efficiency of the products for maize (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aes...

The future of reactive nitrogen (N) for subtropical lowland rice to be characterised under diverse N-management to develop adequate sustainable practices. It is a challenge to increase the efficiency of N use in lowland rice, as N can be lost in various ways, e.g., through nitrous oxide (N2O) or dinitrogen (N2) emissions, ammonia (NH3) volatilizati...

Food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa is partly due to low staple crop yields, resulting from poor soil fertility and low nutrient inputs. Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM), which includes the combined use of mineral and organic fertilizers, can contribute to increasing yields and sustaining soil organic carbon (SOC) in the long term. Soi...

Conservation agriculture (CA) based intensification of maize (Zea mays L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend Fiori and Paol) system through inclusion of greengram (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) during summer may improve productivity and promote sustainability. However, weeds are the major biotic constraint that limit productivity of short-duration gree...

An experiment was conducted during 2020–21 and 2021–22 under FACE (Free air concentration enrichment) to assess the effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and nutrient on gaseous exchange and yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under tropospheric ozone (O3). Chickpea PUSA 3043 (Desi) crop grown with PGPR treated and untreated seed...

A field experiment was conducted during rainy (kharif) seasons of 2020–21 and 2021–22 at the research farm of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to assess the effects of nitrogen and residual sulphur (S) on maize crop in the 11th year of a long-term conservation agriculture (CA)-based maize (Zea mays L.)-Indian mustard [Brassica...

A two-year field study was carried out at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute New Delhi, from rabi 2020-21 to 2021-22, with the aim of examining the impacts of tillage and residue management on yield, greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions, global warming potential (GWP) and carbon efficiency ratio (CER) of wheat in a split plot design. The resul...

An experiment was undertaken during rabi season of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 at experimental field of Division of Environmental Science, ICAR-Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi inside Open Top Chambers (OTCs) to study the growth and physiological response of aestivum (HD 3226) and durum wheat (HI 8627) varieties to elevated tempe...

A two-year field study was carried out during winter (rabi) seasons of 2020-21 and 2021-22 at the research farm of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi with the aim of examining the impacts of various methods of tillage, residue management and nitrogen (N) application on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield, water use efficiency (WU...

Sustainability of contemporary crop establishment and management practices is questioned due to soil degradation, higher carbon emission and declining soil productivity. Hence, this study was conducted to address the impacts of conservation agriculture (CA) practices like permanent broad beds (PBB), permanent narrow beds (PNB) and zero tilled flat...

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from anthropogenic activities are the most significant drivers of climate change, which has both direct and indirect effects on crop production. The study was conducted during the kharif season for two years inside the Open Top Chamber (OTC) at the Genetic-H field of ICAR-Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) t...

Conservation agriculture practices have been globally recognized for improving soil quality by enhancing soil organic carbon, mitigating climate change, and boosting resilience, thereby supporting food security. However, declining soil organic carbon (SOC) is reported as a significant issue in Indian soil, particularly in Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP)....

Conservation agriculture practices have been globally recognized for improving soil quality by enhancing soil organic carbon, mitigating climate change, and boosting resilience, thereby supporting food security. However, declining soil organic carbon (SOC) is reported as a significant issue in Indian soil, particularly in Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP)....

Weeds are the major biological barriers to achieving higher yields in agro-ecosystem. We aimed to determine weed community (seedbank and aboveground) and crop yield responses to conventional tillage (CT) and different types of conservation agriculture (CA) practices with variable nitrogen (N) doses in a maize (Zea mays L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum...

Owing to the similar chemistry of phosphorus (P) and arsenic (As), sodium bicarbonate (0.5 N NaHCO 3) is commonly used to extract plant accessible As in soil. This extractant has neither been tested widely in relation to plant As, nor is this extractant compatible with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) due to the high concentrat...

A field experiment was carried out at the Research farm, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi under bare soil and wheat crop to evaluate the performance of capacitance-based soil moisture sensors in an automatic basin irrigation system. Three capacitance-based soil moisture sensors (SMS) were placed at 25%, 50% and 75% of field le...

Current widespread and intensive soil degradation in India has been driven by unprecedented levels of population growth, large‐scale industrialization, high‐yield agriculture, urban sprawl and the spread of human infrastructure. The damage caused to managed and natural systems by soil degradation threatens livelihoods and local services and leads t...

Nitrogen (N) fertilizers are widely used worldwide to increase agricultural productivity. However, significant N losses contributing to air and water pollution ultimately reduce the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of crops. Numerous research studies have emphasized the use of a low dose of N fertilizer, but few have focused on screening N-efficient r...

Human health is the biggest issue with consumption of contaminated vegetables and water. This study aimed to quantify heavy metals in soil, irrigation water, and vegetables in five urban and peri-urban area of Delhi. Under this study, vegetable crops, i.e. spinach, tomato, carrot, potato, onion and mustard were selected and soil, water and vegetabl...

This study presents detailed crop and gas flux data from two years of rice production at the experimental farm of the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. In comparing 4 nitrogen (N) fertiliser regimes across 4 rice cultivars (CRD 310, IR-64, MTU 1010, P-44), we have added to growing evidence of the environmental costs of...

Soil nitrogen and nutrient management interventions are crucial for sustainable agriculture and reducing negative environmental impacts. Various tools and apps help farmers optimize nitrogen and nutrient management at the farm level. These tools and apps can do many different things like figure out how much nitrogen and nutrients a crop needs, test...

Carbon is the key element for living beings, including agriculture. The continuous rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere alters the carbon source-sink chemistry. The sudden and sharp rise in carbon equivalent emissions creates extreme weather events which are affecting the agricultural production. Carbon management is now cr...

Healthy soils are the foundation for producing healthy food and creating a healthy environment. Therefore, we assessed the changes in the physical and chemical properties of soil, and their long-term impact on yield, quality, and nutritional status of rice grains in an organic basmati rice-based cropping system in a typic Ustchrept Soil of India. T...

The continuing decline in water resources under the ever-changing climate compels us to re-orient our focus to a more sustainable practice. This study investigates the performance of Triticum aestivum wheat genotypes viz. HD-2967, HD-3086, HD-3249, DBW-187, and HD-3226 under well- and deficit-watered conditions for their root-traits, biomass and ni...

After six years of continuous Conservation Agriculture practices, we investigated the impact of crop residue retention and GreenSeeker N fertiliser supply on soil carbon indices. The lability of carbon appears to be more in zero tillage without residues (ZTWoR) plots than zero tillage with residues (ZTWR). More carbon pools were observed in 33%N+GS...

A field experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif) and winter (rabi) seasons of 2015-16 and 2016-17 at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, to evaluate the effects of conservation agriculture (CA) and carryover weed management on weed interference and crop productivity of wheat [Triticum aestivum (L.) emend Fiori & Po...

Multi-model ensembles are becoming increasingly used for estimation of agricultural carbon-nitrogen fluxes, productivity and sustainability. There is mounting evidence that with some site-specific observations available for model calibration (with vegetation data as a minimum requirement), median outputs assimilated from biogeochemical models (mult...

Delayed sowing of maize hybrids could exacerbate the capability of maximizing the yield potential through poor crop stand, root proliferation, nutrient uptake, and dry matter accumulation coupled with the inadequate partitioning of the assimilates. This study appraised the performance of five recent maize hybrids viz., PMH-1, PJHM-1, AH-4158, AH-42...

After six years of continuous Conservation Agriculture practices, we investigated the impact of crop residue retention and green seeker N fertiliser supply on soil carbon indices. The lability of carbon appears to be more in zero tillage without residues (ZTWoR) plots than zero tillage with residues (ZTWR). More carbon pools were observed in 33%N+G...

After six years of continuous Conservation Agriculture practices, we investigated the impact of crop residue retention and green seeker N fertiliser supply on soil carbon indices. The lability of carbon appears to be more in zero tillage without residues (ZTWoR) plots than zero tillage with residues (ZTWR). More carbon pools were observed in 33%N+G...

The contamination of soil and water with arsenic directly or indirectly affects millions of people, particularly in Southeast Asia. Efficiently managing contaminated sites cost-effectively requires an understanding of the spatial distribution of contamination in soil. In this study, different interpolation methods, including Ordinary Kriging (OK),...

Sensible heat flux (H) plays a crucial role in the energy balance of crop surfaces to estimate crop evapotranspiration and can be estimated based on atmospheric turbulence theory. Large aperture scintillometer (LAS) is an efficient method to record sensible heat fluxes over a larger foot print area which works on the Monin-Obukhov similarity princi...

Earthworms are important macro-organisms in the soil as they play a vital role in improving soil properties. This paper aims to estimate the population and their relationship with crop yields and soil physicochemical properties (soil bulk density, soil organic carbon, and soil penetration resistance) in fields where long-term conservation agricultu...

Different soil parameters were studied, total 121 soil samples were collected from 0-15 and 15-30 cm depths from saline soil of Karnal district, Haryana. The study aimed to determine the spatial variability of these soil parameters in district level. With the help of geostatistical analyst of ArcGIS software krigged map of different soil parameters...

The adverse impact of climate change on crop yield has accelerated the need for identification of crop cultivars resistant to abiotic stress. In the present study, a cultivar assortment index (CAI) was generated for the evaluation of forty Amaranthus hypochondriacus cultivars response to elevated ozone (EO) concentrations (AO + 30 ppb) in Free Air...

Potential methane-oxidizing-plant growth-promoting yeast was isolated and characterized during 2017-18 at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Yeast isolates belonging to the genus Meyerozyma guilliermondii were isolated from five major flooded paddy growing regions of India. Among all the isolates, Meyerozyma guilliermondii...

Citrus peels have high flavonoids known for potent pharmaceutical and food applications. The present study explores the infusion of citrus peel polyphenols (CPP) into ash gourd (Benincasa hispida) through vacuum impregnation (VI). The intent was to functionalize ash gourd for diversifying its food use. Vacuum infused ash gourd (VIAG) cubes were eva...

Delayed sowing of maize hybrids could exacerbate the capability of maximizing the yield potential through poor crop stand, root proliferation, nutrient uptake, and dry matter accumulation coupled with the inadequate partitioning of the assimilates. This study appraised the performance of five recent maize hybrids viz., PMH-1, PJHM-1, AH-4158, AH-42...

A pragmatic approach has been chosen to assess the risk of arsenic (As) in the water-soil-plant-human continuum in an arsenic-prone area of Nadia district in West Bengal. Arsenic is a dangerous carcinogen, and people’s exposure to As via rice consumption is widely recognized. For this purpose, 201 paired soil and rice grain samples were collected f...

Owing to the similar chemistry of phosphorus (P) and arsenic (As), sodium bicarbonate (0.5 N NaHCO 3 ) is commonly used to extract plant accessible As in soil. However, 0.5 N NaHCO 3 is not compatible with the ICP-MS measurement due to the large amount of dissolved solids. This investigation set out to devise a suitable extractant for determining e...

Aggregate-associated soil organic carbon (SOC) controls organic carbon stabilization. The research question of this paper was: what were the effects of conversion of forest land uses to agriculture at Ranchi, India on SOC pools, soil aggregation and aggregate-associated C? The samples were taken from six different land uses viz. native forest (NF),...

The sustainability of conventional rice (Oryza sativa L.) production systems is often questioned due to the over-mining of groundwater and environmental degradation. This has led to the development of cost-effective, resource-efficient, and environmentally clean rice production systems by optimizing water and nitrogen (N) use. Hence, a 2-year field...

There is a growing realisation that the complexity of model ensemble studies depends not only on the models used, but also on the experience and approach used by modellers to calibrate and validate results, which remain a source of uncertainty. Here, we applied a multi-criteria decision-making method to investigate the rationale applied by modeller...

There has been a growing trend for achieving sustainable crop intensification without jeopardizing land productivity through conservation agriculture (CA). The CA has paved the way for cultivation of pulses in diverse cropping systems. A field experiment was conducted at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during 2018-19 and 2019...

Conservation agriculture (CA) has been successfully developed in many regions of the world. These systems, however, have not been widely adopted by Indian farmers for many reasons. Through greater CA adoption in India, there is enormous potential to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC), which would: (i) help mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions t...

Puddled transplanted rice followed by conventional till wheat, the most predominant cropping system in South Asia is unsustainable, highly energy intensive and leads to significant carbon equivalent emissions. Conservation agriculture (CA) practices like zero till dry direct seeded rice, zero till wheat, residue retention and diversified crop rotat...

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contribute enormously to climate change. N2O is a crucial greenhouse gas emitted from crop fields and is affected by management and soil properties of the crop field. Agronomical management practices such as irrigation profoundly affects nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from soil. Proper irrigation management considering...

Contrasting tillage and land configuration have important roles in porosity and pore size distribution (PSD), which in turn affects the carbon mineralization in soil. Information on the effects of these treatments on PSD and subsequent carbon mineralization is very limited. Hence, an attempt was made to evaluate the long-term impact of soil tillage...

Conservation agriculture (CA) involving minimum mechanical soil disturbance, permanent soil cover with crop residue mulch and diversified crop rotation, plays a crucial role in sustainable crop production. A field experiment was conducted at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during rabi seasons (November-April) of 2018-19 and 2...

Agricultural practices are vital to ensure food and overall sustenance of life. Agricultural operations also emit greenhouse gases (GHGs) like methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). GHGs emission from Indian agriculture sector during a period of 1970–2010, has risen by 75%. This is majorly attributed to input intensive agricultural practices which...

Climate change affects nitrogen dynamics in crops and diazotrophic microorganisms with carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestering potential such as cyanobacteria can be promising options. The interactions of three cyanobacterial formulations (Anabaena laxa, Calothrix elenkinii and Anabaena torulosa–Bradyrhizobium japonicum biofilm) on plant and soil nitroge...

A total of six vegetables (S. tuberosum, D. carota, S. lycopersicum, A. esculentus, S. oleracea and B. juncea) were analysed for five heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Hg, and Pb) to evaluate the contamination load in vegetables collected from five cultivated and two market sites (n=504) at Delhi, India. The irrigation water samples and soil samples (n=180...

A field experiment was conducted at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during rabi seasons of 2018-19 and 2019-20 cropping cycles in wheat involving maize-wheat-mungbean system to assess the effects of conservation agriculture (CA) on weed interference and crop productivity. Results showed that CA-based practices with residue re...

The continuous monocropping of cereals and faulty nutrient management practices becomes challenging issue for sustainable production (Jat et al., 2019. Therefore, there is a need to opt for possible replacement of rice and wheat crops with other remunerative crops like baby corn, sweet corn, fenugreek and cowpea along with suitable nutrient managem...

Nitrate leaching is one of the prominent problems of extensive agriculture for attaining maximum yield. Excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers leads to nitrate (NO3-) pollution in the groundwater and detrimental effects on the environment. In this study we have phycoremediated the sewage wastewater and evaluated the impact of remediated wastewate...

Pearl millet-based cropping systems with intensive tillage operations prior to sowing have limited sustainable productivity in the low-irrigation conditions of semi-arid farming ecologies, such as those in the north Indian plains. The adoption of improved management practices such as zero tillage with residue retention (ZTR) and diversification wit...