Biochar production and applications in soil fertility and carbon sequestration – a sustainable solution to crop-residue burning in India

The atmosphere of New Delhi during the months of October to the January next year (every year) remains critical due to factors such as stubble burning in the nearby state of Punjab, air pollution rising out of Diwali fireworks and the smog during December and January. Stubble burning is the intentional incineration of paddy / any other field stubbles by farmers after the harvest. It is usually done to eliminate pests such as rats, crickets and hoppers. The availability of short time between rice harvesting and sowing of wheat is the most important reason for burning of crop residues. Also yield and quality of wheat gets severely affected if there is delay in sowing. Since the time gap is very limited (about 3 – 4 weeks) between rice and wheat, burning of crop residues is preferred since it is the quickest and easiest solution for the farmers. According to reports, New Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad recorded a peak Air Quality Index (AQI) of around 480 – 490 in the month of November 2019. Health effects of air pollution include respiratory diseases, skin and eye irritation and other ailments. An important factor is shortage of labor contributing to burning of rice straw. Apart from stubble burning, farmers burn wood for domestic cooking, removal of municipal solid wastes and accidental / intentional wildfires. Use of combined harvester – Happy Seeder machine is a profitable and less labour-intensive management of rice residue. Yet many farmers still have the perception that there are no alternative solutions for crop residue management. Besides Happy Seeder machine, there are other machines such as rotavator, reaper binder and no-till seed drill that can be alternatives for crop residue burning. In 2019 – 20, the Punjab government disbursed a certain amount to farmers for not burning stubble as compensation, yet many farmers adopted the stubble burning process. Other measures such as adoption of villages by Confederation of Indian Industries, MoU with institutes for wast

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Alternative Uses, in and off-Field Managements to Reduce Adverse Impact of Crop Residue Burning on Environment: A Review

International Journal of Environment and Climate Change ◽

10.9734/ijecc/2021/v11i130347 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 100-118

Author(s):

R. K. Naresh ◽

S. S. Dhaliwal ◽

M. S. Chandra ◽

S. K. Malhotra ◽

J. Harish ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Fertility ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Field Studies ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

External Input ◽

Nutrient Loss ◽

Seed Crops

Residues of various crops are considered nuisance but they can be helpful in increasing organic matter in soil and better cycling of nutrients in soil if managed properly. Better management and utilization of crop residues (CR) is necessary for better productivity and quality of crops. Sowing into loose residues is the major issue in adapting the drill sowing method. Apart from the higher quantity of rice (192.82 mt) and wheat residue (120.70 mt), the residue of sorghum, maize, barley, chickpea, groundnut, rapeseed, mustard, sugarcane trash, potato, soybean, sunflower and some other minor cereals also contribute substantially towards total amount of about 462.93 million tonnes in India in 1997-98. Three quarters of the total residue is produced by rice, wheat and oil seed crops with remaining quarter coming from sugarcane and sorghum. Crop residue is important component of low external input for sustainable agriculture without sacrificing productivity. The crop residues left behind is considered as burden forcing farmers to burn them as cheap and easiest method with mistaken belief that it enhances the soil fertility and helps in controlling weeds, insects and pests. Different studies revealed that burning of residues causes air pollution and nutrient loss in soil. Improvements in soil properties and the sustainability in crop productivity could be achieved if CR are proper managed. Long-term field studies at sites carefully selected with variations in temperature, moisture, soil mineralogy and management of agricultural residues representing various cropping systems across regions should be identified and sustained. The possible benefits of crop residues for the improvement of degrading soil fertility would be completely understood only then. Owing to the competing requirements for such biomass for feed, fuel or building material, smallholder farmers typically find it difficult to maintain a soil cover for crop residue or a cover crop.

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Ploughing down harvest residues of preceding crops for the purpose of soybean yield improvement

Journal of Agricultural Sciences Belgrade ◽

10.2298/jas1903215d ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 64 (3) ◽

pp. 215-224

Author(s):

Vojin Djukic ◽

Zlatica Miladinov ◽

Gordana Dozet ◽

Svetlana Balesevic-Tubic ◽

Jegor Miladinovic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Source ◽

Soil Fertility ◽

Soil Structure ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Maize Crop ◽

Soybean Yield ◽

Yield Increase ◽

Organic Fertilisers

Soybean yield depends on the choice of cultivar, soil fertility, cultivation practices, and weather conditions in different years. Ploughing down crop residues increases the content of soil organic matter, and thereby positively affects soil fertility. The use of crop residues as an energy source has been promoted in recent years. It would be wrong to refer to this as a renewable energy source as the removal of crop residues from agricultural fields reduces and ultimately damages soil fertility, which in turn leads to reduced yield and a crop residue decrease in the future. Due to the reduced application of manure and organic fertilisers, it is necessary to return crop residues to the soil to preserve soil structure and prevent soil fertility decline. The effect of ploughing down crop residues of preceding crops on soybean yield has been the focus of studies for eleven years. Ploughing down maize crop residues resulted in the soybean yield increase by about 11.69%, i.e. the annual yield increase ranged from 2.89% to 15.94%.

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Crop Residue Burning in India: Policy Challenges and Potential Solutions

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16050832 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 832 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

S. Bhuvaneshwari ◽

Hiroshan Hettiarachchi ◽

Jay Meegoda

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Sustainable Management ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Management Practices ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Agricultural Waste ◽

Stakeholder Involvement ◽

Effective Implementation ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

The Government

India, the second largest agro-based economy with year-round crop cultivation, generates a large amount of agricultural waste, including crop residues. In the absence of adequate sustainable management practices, approximately 92 seems a very small number of metric tons of crop waste is burned every year in India, causing excessive particulate matter emissions and air pollution. Crop residue burning has become a major environmental problem causing health issues as well as contributing to global warming. Composting, biochar production and mechanization are a few effective sustainable techniques that can help to curtail the issue while retaining the nutrients present in the crop residue in the soil. The government of India has attempted to curtail this problem, through numerous measures and campaigns designed to promote sustainable management methods such as converting crop residue into energy. However, the alarming rise of air pollution levels caused by crop residue burning in the city of Delhi and other northern areas in India observed in recent years, especially in and after the year of 2015, suggest that the issues is not yet under control. The solution to crop residue burning lies in the effective implementation of sustainable management practices with Government interventions and policies. This manuscript addresses the underlying technical as well as policy issues that has prevented India from achieving a long-lasting solution and also potential solutions that have been overlooked. However, effective implementation of these techniques also requires us to look at other socioeconomic aspects that had not been considered. This manuscript also discusses some of the policy considerations and functionality based on the analyses and current practices. The agricultural waste sector can benefit immensely from some of the examples from other waste sectors such as the municipal solid waste (MSW) and wastewater management where collection, segregation, recycling and disposal are institutionalized to secure an operational system. Active stakeholder involvement including education and empowerment of farmers along with technical solutions and product manufacturing can also assist tremendously. Even though the issue of crop residue burning touches many sectors, such as environment, agriculture, economy, social aspects, education, and energy, the past governmental efforts mainly revolved around agriculture and energy. This sectorial thinking is another barrier that needs to be broken. The government of India as well as governments of other developing countries can benefit from the emerging concept of nexus thinking in managing environmental resources. Nexus thinking promotes a higher-level integration and higher level of stakeholder involvement that goes beyond the disciplinary boundaries, providing a supporting platform to solve issues such as crop residue burning.

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MONITORING OF RICE CROP IN PUNJAB AND HARYANA WITH RESPECT TO RESIDUE BURNING

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-3-w6-31-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol XLII-3/W6 ◽

pp. 31-36

Author(s):

P. Kumar ◽

S. K. Rajpoot ◽

V. Jain ◽

S. Saxena ◽

S. S. Ray ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crop Residue ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Infrared Imaging ◽

Ground Truth ◽

Rice Crop ◽

Burnt Area ◽

Ground Truth Data ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

Sar Data ◽

Proactive Measures

Abstract. This study is based on the fortnightly monitoring of residue burning in fields of kharif rice crops after harvesting in Punjab and Haryana. The kharif rice area (2018&ndash;19) was derived using multi-date Sentinel-1A(Microwave SAR) data under FASAL project. The expected harvesting dates of kharif rice (crop duration 140 days) are derived on the basis of transplanting dates (derived from SAR data), NDVI profiles and Ground truth data. Daily active crop fire events in Punjab and Haryana were taken from VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) product in the month of October and November 2018. It was observed from the study that the crop fire events showed a similar pattern as observed in expected harvest dates. Multi-date AWiFS data used to identify the crop residues- burnt areas during October and November 2018. The study reveals that maximum rice residue burning period is 2nd fortnight of October to 1st fortnight of November in both the states Punjab and Haryana. Maximum burning density was observed in the Mansa and Bhatinda district of Punjab and Fatehabad district of Haryana. In total 2.63 lakh ha burnt area was estimated in Haryana which is 20% of total kharif rice acreage while in Punjab it is 18.7 lakh ha (66% of total kharif rice acreage). Thus this study could show the relationship between the satellites derived harvesting dates and the spread of crop fire events. Monitoring of crop residue burning at regular intervals especially before each crop harvesting season to ensure effective implementation of proactive measures to curb the practice of burning of crop residue.

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Determinants of crop residue burning practice in the Terai region of Nepal

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0253939 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. e0253939

Author(s):

Sugat B. Bajracharya ◽

Arabinda Mishra ◽

Amina Maharjan

Keyword(s):

Crop Residue ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Probit Model ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Primary Data ◽

Agricultural Crop ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Recursive Bivariate Probit ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

Combine Harvesters

The open burning of agricultural crop residue is a key environmental issue facing the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, the Indo-Gangetic plain in particular. There is a varying intensity in the incidence of open agricultural burning in this region, and multiple drivers that determine why farmers in this region decide to burn their crop residues. While there have been research studies conducted for other countries in the region, research into the determinants of crop-burning in the Nepalese context is missing. Using primary data from a survey of 388 farming households across three districts of the Nepal Terai―Nawalparasi, Rupandehi and Kapilvastu―applying a recursive bivariate probit model, this study seeks to find out what drives the Nepalese farmers to burn their crop residue instead of using them in a sustainable manner and suggest policy recommendations for mitigation. Our findings show that the major determining factors that influence the farmers’ behavior in Nepal are livestock ownership, combine harvester use and awareness level of the farmers. While the effects of crop residue burning is transboundary in nature, the mitigation measures require to be region specific. Based on the findings, the study proposes raising livestock, using technology like Happy Seeders or upgrade the combine harvesters, raising awareness and changing perception of farmers, and promoting alternative uses of crop residue as viable mitigation measures.

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Effets combinés du biocharbon et du fumier sur les propriétés physico-chimiques d’un sol ferrugineux tropical sous culture de mil en zone semi-aride du Burkina Faso

Journal of Applied Biosciences ◽

10.35759/jabs.157.3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 157 ◽

pp. 16172-16181

Author(s):

Désiré Jean Pascal Lompo ◽

Lambiénou Yé ◽

Abdoudramane Balboné ◽

Siélé Ibrahima Sori

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Fertility ◽

Burkina Faso ◽

Crop Production ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Arid Zone ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Chemical Parameters ◽

Soil Chemical Parameters

Objectifs : L’une des contraintes majeures des systèmes de production agricole au Burkina Faso demeure la dégradation des sols. La présente étude menée à Kongoussi (Burkina Faso) avait pour objectif de déterminer les effets du Biocharbon utilisé comme amendement sur le sol et les paramètres agronomiques du mil. Méthodologie et résultats : Un dispositif en blocs simple comportant 3 traitements en 5 répétitions a été utilisé. Les traitements comprenaient T0= Fumier + NPK, T1= Biocharbon + Fumier + NPK, T2= Biocharbon + NPK. Les matières fertilisantes ont induit une amélioration des paramètres chimiques du sol. Les meilleurs paramètres chimiques du sol ont été observés avec T1 (Biocharbon + Fumier + NPK) qui a permis l’obtention du plus grand rendement grains du mil comparativement à ceux obtenus avec les traitements T0 (Fumier + NPK) et T2 (Biocharbon + NPK) qui étaient statistiquement équivalents. Conclusions and application des résultats : La combinaison du biocharbon au fumier améliore la fertilité du sol et le rendement du mil. Cela constitue une solution intéressante en vue restaurer et ou maintenir la fertilité des sols, accroitre les rendements des cultures tout en réduisant les effets néfastes des changements climatiques à travers la séquestration du carbone dans le sol. La technologie du Biocharbon constitue une alternative intéressante pour la valorisation des résidus culturaux peu ou pas exploités pour améliorer durablement la qualité des sols et assurer la sécurité alimentaire tout en protégeant l’environnement. Mots-clés : fertilité des sols ; Biocharbon ; amendement organique ; séquestration du carbone, ABSTRACT Combined effects of biocharbon and manure on physico-chemical properties of a tropical ferruginous soil under millet cultivation in the semi-arid zone of Burkina Faso Objectives: One of the major constraints of agricultural production systems in Burkina Faso is the low soil fertility. The objective of this study conducted in Kongoussi (Burkina Faso) was to determine the effects of Biochar used as soil amendment in combination with manure on soil fertility and some agronomic parameters of millet. Methodology and results: A simple block disign with 3 treatments in 5 replicates was used. The randomly distributed treatments included T0= Manure + NPK, T1= Biochar + Manure + NPK, T2= Biochar + NPK. The Lompo et al., J. Appl. Biosci. 2021 Effets combinés du biocharbon et du fumier sur les propriétés physico-chimiques d’un sol ferrugineux tropical sous culture de mil en zone semi-aride du Burkina Faso. 16173 applied fertilizers improved some soil chemical parameters. The best soil chemical parameters were observed with T1 (Biochar + Manure + NPK), which induced the highest millet grain yield as compared to those obtained with T0 (Manure + NPK) and T2 (Biochar + NPK), which were statistically equivalent. Conclusions and application of findings : The combination of biochar with manure improves soil fertility and millet yield. This is an interesting solution to restore and/or maintain soil fertility, to increase crop yields while reducing the adverse effects of climate change through carbon sequestration into the soil. The Biochar technology is an interesting alternative for the valorization of crop residues little or not well exploited in order to sustainably improve soil quality and food security while protecting the environment. Keywords: Crop production ; Soil fertility ; Biochar ; organic amendment, carbon sequestration.

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Nexus Between Crop Residue Burning, Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development Goals Over North-Western India

Frontiers in Energy Research ◽

10.3389/fenrg.2020.614212 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

V. Venkatramanan ◽

Shachi Shah ◽

Ashutosh Kumar Rai ◽

Ram Prasad

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Production ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Air Pollutant ◽

Residue Management ◽

Soil Productivity ◽

Western India ◽

Crop Residue Management ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

North Western

The crop residue burning in India particularly North-western India is responsible for air pollution episodes and public health concerns; greenhouse gases emissions and radiation imbalance; and declining soil organic matter and soil productivity. The objectives of this paper are to estimate the crop residue burning and emissions from crop residue burning, to recommend interventions in crop residue management and to propose a crop residue management-bioeconomy model incorporating strategies to sustainably manage the crop residues through interventions that enable waste valorization, food and nutritional security, farmers’ livelihood and sustainable agricultural production system. A national inventory on crop residue burning including the pollutant species was prepared using the IPCC methodology. The crop types included for the estimation are cereals, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton, jute and Mesta. The total amount of crop residues generated and burned for the year 2017–18 was estimated at 516 million tonnes and 116 million tonnes respectively. It is estimated that 116.3 Tg of crop residues burning released about 176.1 Tg of CO2, 10 Tg of CO, 313.9 Gg of CH4, 8.14 Gg of N2O, 151.14 Gg of NH3, 813.8 Gg of NMVOC, 453.4 Gg of PM2.5, and 935.9 Gg of PM10. The emission estimates can be a proxy to prepare the national level inventory of air pollutant species from crop residue burning. The crop residue management (CRM) demands a transition from the traditional zone of CRM to bioeconomy zone of CRM, wherein the interventions aim at the sustainability of agroecosystem. The proposed bioeconomy model has a four-pronged strategy that includes smart agriculture practices, waste bioeconomy involving aspirational principles of bioeconomy, capacity building of stakeholders’ and proactive government policy. Sustainable agricultural bioeconomy provides ample opportunities to reduce crop residue burning, increase farmers’ livelihood and decarbonize the agricultural production. India’s efforts and policies can provide lessons for other agricultural regions having similar environmental constraints.

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Metadata Analysis to Evaluate Environmental Impacts of Wheat Residues Burning on Soil Quality in Developing and Developed Countries

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13116356 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 6356

Author(s):

Mohsen Jamali ◽

Esmaeil Bakhshandeh ◽

Mohammad Yaghoubi Khanghahi ◽

Carmine Crecchio

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Nutrient Losses ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

Metadata Analysis

Crop residues are widely considered as a biofuel source and used in livestock feeding, or are burned off to clean the field for tillage and planting. Nonetheless, crop residue burning poses serious threats to the soil stability and sustainability of the food chain. This study aimed to investigate the potential environmental impacts of wheat residues burning on declines in soil quality in developing (Iran) and developed (Italy) countries by analyzing metadata of the last 50 years. All metadata were provided from the ‘Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) including wheat harvested area, annual production, and biomass burning, to assess the potential impact of crop residue burning on soil quality. In detail, the greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission, and energy and nutrient losses by the wheat residues burning were estimated. Our results showed a robust interdependence between wheat residues burning and environmental effects in both developed and developing systems. Accordingly, the global warming potential increased in Iran (4286 to 5604 kg CO2eq) and decreased in Italy (3528 to 1524 kg CO2eq) over the last 50 years. Amongst all nutrient losses, nitrogen represents the higher lost value in both countries, followed by potassium, sulfur, and phosphorus.

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Nepal Ambient Monitoring and Source Testing Experiment (NAMaSTE): Emissions of particulate matter from wood and dung cooking fires, garbage and crop residue burning, brick kilns, and other sources

10.5194/acp-2017-510 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Thilina Jayarathne ◽

Chelsea E. Stockwell ◽

Prakash V. Bhave ◽

Puppala S. Praveen ◽

Chathurika M. Rathnayake ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Particulate Matter ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Inorganic Ions ◽

Brick Kiln ◽

Ambient Monitoring ◽

Organic Species ◽

Brick Kilns ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

Testing Experiment ◽

Combustion Sources

Abstract. The Nepal Ambient Monitoring and Source Testing Experiment (NAMaSTE) characterized widespread and under-sampled combustion sources common to South Asia, including brick kilns, garbage burning, diesel and gasoline generators, diesel groundwater pumps, idling motorcycles, traditional and modern cooking stoves and fires, crop residue burning, and a heating fire. Fuel-based emission factors (EF; with units of pollutant mass emitted per kg of fuel combusted) were determined for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), inorganic ions, trace metals, and organic species. For the forced draught zig-zag brick kiln, EFPM2.5 ranged 1–19 g kg−1 with major contributions from OC (7 %), sulfate expected to be in the form of sulfuric acid (31.9 %), and other chemicals not measured (e.g., particle bound water). For the clamp kiln, EFPM2.5 ranged 8–13 g kg−1, with major contributions from OC (63.2 %), sulfate (20.8 %), and ammonium (14.2 %). Our brick kiln EFPM2.5 values may exceed those previously reported, partly because we sampled emissions at ambient temperature after emission from the stack or kiln allowing some particle-phase OC and sulfate to form from gaseous precursors. The combustion of mixed household garbage under dry conditions had an EFPM2.5 of 7.4 ± 1.2 g kg−1, whereas damp conditions generated the highest EFPM2.5 of all combustion sources in this study, reaching up to 125 ± 23 g kg−1. Garbage burning emissions contained relatively high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs), triphenylbenzene, and heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Sb), making these useful markers of this source. A variety of cooking stoves and fires fueled with dung, hardwood, twigs, and/or other biofuels were studied. The use of dung for cooking and heating produced higher EFPM2.5 than other biofuel sources and consistently emitted more PM2.5 and OC than burning hardwood and/or twigs; this trend was consistent across traditional mud stoves, chimney stoves, and 3-stone cooking fires. The comparisons of different cooking stoves and cooking fires revealed the highest PM emissions from 3-stone cooking fires (7.6–73 g kg−1), followed by traditional mud stoves (5.3–19.7 g kg−1), mud stoves with a chimney for exhaust (3.0–6.8 g kg−1), rocket stoves (1.5–7.2 g kg−1), induced-draught stoves (1.2–5.7 g kg−1), and the bhuse chulo stove (3.2 g kg−1), while biogas had no detectable PM emissions. Idling motorcycle emissions were evaluated before and after routine servicing at a local shop, which decreased EFPM2.5 from 8.8 ± 1.3 g kg−1 to 0.71 ± 0.4 g kg−1 when averaged across five motorcycles. Organic species analysis indicated that this reduction in PM2.5 was largely due to a decrease in emission of motor oil, probably from the crankcase. The EF and chemical emissions profiles developed in this study may be used for source apportionment and to update regional emission inventories.

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