scholarly journals Crop Yield and Soil Quality Are Partners in a Sustainable Agricultural System

Agronomy ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 140
Author(s):  
Efimia M. Papatheodorou ◽  
Nikolaos Monokrousos
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Chemical Fertilizers

Agricultural practices involving the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides pose major risks to the environment and human health [...]

scholarly journals CHANGING AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND IT’S SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (46) ◽  
pp. 11289-11295
Author(s):  
Reena Trivedi
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Soil Pollution ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Living Condition ◽  
Residue Management ◽  
Chemical Fertilizers ◽  
Water And Soil Pollution

Agricultural technology advancements are continuously taking place in India, as the progress of agricultural sector directly impacts a major proportion of population and its living condition. Farmers are interested to adopt new inventions and technologies in agriculture. Modern agricultural practices are significantly affecting human health and environment. The release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are adversely affecting biodiversity and increasing air, water and soil pollution. Agricultural residue management, use of pesticides and insecticides, inorganic manure, chemical fertilizers leads to harmful effect on human health and increasing environmental pollution. Recent agriculture trends emphasizes on enhancing agricultural production in terms of quantity in less time, overlooking its adverse affects. In this paper we have analyzed the negative effects of modern agricultural practices on human health and environment. It leads to decline in soil fertility, loss of biodiversity, climate change, air, water and soil pollution, environmental degradation etc. Our farmers are now adopting modern agricultural techniques, using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, expanding irrigation facilities, using high yielding varieties of seeds, modern machines, varying crop sequences etc. But these efforts of expanding food supply in less time is taking place at the cost of human health and environment degradation. Spray of harmful chemicals on crops not only pollutes underground water and air but also bad for human and animal health. Non harmonious, unwise and unsustainable agricultural practices have a considerable impact on environment and also harmful for living beings.

scholarly journals Combined application of biochar with fertilizer promotes nitrogen uptake in maize by increasing nitrogen retention in soil

Biochar ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Peng ◽  
Xiaori Han ◽  
Na Li ◽  
Kun Chen ◽  
Jinfeng Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yield ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Nitrogen Retention ◽  
N Recovery ◽  
Chemical Fertilizers ◽  
Total N ◽  
Residual Rate ◽  
The Third ◽  
Combined Application ◽  
Entire Experiment

AbstractCombined application of biochar with fertilizers has been used to increase soil fertility and crop yield. However, the coupling mechanisms through which biochar improves crop yield at field scale and the time span over which biochar affects carbon and nitrogen transformation and crop yield are still little known. In this study, a long-term field trial (2013–2019) was performed in brown soil planting maize. Six treatments were designed: CK—control; NPK—application of chemical fertilizers; C1PK—low biochar without nitrogen fertilizer; C1NPK, C2NPK and C3NPK—biochar at 1.5, 3 and 6 t ha−1, respectively, combined with chemical fertilizers. Results showed that the δ15N value in the topsoil of 0–20 cm layer in the C3NPK treatment reached a peak of 291 ‰ at the third year (2018), and demonstrated a peak of 402 ‰ in the NPK treatment in the initial isotope trial in 2016. Synchronously, SOC was not affected until the third to fourth year after biochar addition, and resulted in a significant increase in total N of 2.4 kg N ha−1 in 2019 in C3NPK treatment. During the entire experiment, the 15N recovery rates of 74–80% were observed highest in the C2NPK and C3NPK treatments, resulting in an annual increase in yields significantly. The lowest subsoil δ15N values ranged from 66‰ to 107‰, and the 15N residual rate would take 70 years for a complete decay to 0.001% in the C3NPK. Our findings suggest that biochar compound fertilizers can increase C stability and N retention in soil and improve N uptake by maize, while the loss of N was minimized. Biochars, therefore, may have an important potential for improving the agroecosystem and ecological balance. Graphic abstract

scholarly journals Identification of sensitive indicators to assess the interrelationship between soil quality, management practices and human health

SOIL ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Zornoza ◽  
J. A. Acosta ◽  
F. Bastida ◽  
S. G. Domínguez ◽  
D. M. Toledo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Aggregate Stability ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Soil Quality Index

Abstract. Soil quality (SQ) assessment has long been a challenging issue, since soils present high variability in properties and functions. This paper aims to increase the understanding of SQ through the review of SQ assessments in different scenarios providing evidence about the interrelationship between SQ, land use and human health. There is a general consensus that there is a need to develop methods to assess and monitor SQ for assuring sustainable land use with no prejudicial effects on human health. This review points out the importance of adopting indicators of different nature (physical, chemical and biological) to achieve a holistic image of SQ. Most authors use single indicators to assess SQ and its relationship with land uses – soil organic carbon and pH being the most used indicators. The use of nitrogen and nutrient content has resulted sensitive for agricultural and forest systems, together with physical properties such as texture, bulk density, available water and aggregate stability. These physical indicators have also been widely used to assess SQ after land use changes. The use of biological indicators is less generalized, with microbial biomass and enzyme activities being the most selected indicators. Although most authors assess SQ using independent indicators, it is preferable to combine some of them into models to create a soil quality index (SQI), since it provides integrated information about soil processes and functioning. The majority of revised articles used the same methodology to establish an SQI, based on scoring and weighting of different soil indicators, selected by means of multivariate analyses. The use of multiple linear regressions has been successfully used for forest land use. Urban soil quality has been poorly assessed, with a lack of adoption of SQIs. In addition, SQ assessments where human health indicators or exposure pathways are incorporated are practically inexistent. Thus, further efforts should be carried out to establish new methodologies to assess soil quality not only in terms of sustainability, productivity and ecosystem quality but also human health. Additionally, new challenges arise with the use and integration of stable isotopic, genomic, proteomic and spectroscopic data into SQIs.

Salinity and irrigation method affect crop yield and soil quality in watermelon (Citrullus lanatusL.) growing

2008 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davor Romic ◽  
Gabrijel Ondrasek ◽  
Marija Romic ◽  
Borosic Josip ◽  
Mijo Vranjes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Irrigation Method

scholarly journals More Irrigated Crop Production with Less Water Use

2019 ◽  
pp. 218-226
Author(s):  
Ahmed Ibrahim Ekhmaj ◽  
Younes Daw Ezlit ◽  
Mukhtar Mahmud Elaalem
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yield ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Unit Volume ◽  
Unit Area ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Common Practices ◽  
The Common ◽  
Production Output

Three major performance indicators developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI, 1998) are used in this paper to evaluate the performance of the irrigated crops in the region according to the commonly followed practices among farmers as compared with their performance under conditions of much improved irrigation management and agricultural practices. These indicators include the Standardized Gross Value Production (SGVP), the unit area production output (crop yield or its financial value per hectare) and the unit volume of irrigation water production output (crop yield or its financial value per cubic meter). The comparison between the two agricultural practices indicated that the unit area output of the common practices among farmers did not exceed 6483 Libyan Dinars / hectare, while that under the improved practices was 11605 Libyan Dinars / hectare. The unit volume of irrigation water output for the common practices was 0.63 Libyan Dinar / cubic meter, while that under the improved practices reached 1.63 Libyan Dinar / cubic meter. These results clearly show the importance of the applied performance indicators in the assessment and clarification of the economic impacts of any introduced interventions aiming at the improvement of and/or the differentiation among irrigation management practices and alternative agricultural cropping systems.

scholarly journals Organic Vegetable Cultivation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usha Nandhini Devi Harinarayanan ◽  
Pugalendhi Lakshmanan
Keyword(s):  
Green Manure ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
International Markets ◽  
Chemical Fertilizers ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Organic Cultivation ◽  
Premium Price ◽  
Green Manure Crops

Present day agricultural practices are posing a serious threat to the human population due to unscrupulous use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Conventional agricultural practices wherein large quantities and unscrupulous use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are no longer safer as it directly enter the food chain. Hence, organic cultivation of vegetables is gaining momentum among the growing population. Organic practices rely on crop rotations, crop residues, plant and animal manures, growing of legume and green manure crops and biological control of pests and diseases. It aims to combine tradition, innovation and science in a balanced proportion to utilize the environment in safer manner and maintain ecological balance. Organic cultivation assures protection of the environment and plays a major role on the economy of a nation. Sustainable production of organic vegetables needs to be ensured to fetch premium price in the domestic as well as international markets. Organic farming has shown expansion in the recent years in the European countries offering scope for a better price in the international market.

scholarly journals Climate Smart Agriculture: A New Approach for Sustainable Intensification

2020 ◽  
pp. 138-147
Author(s):  
Gayatri Sahu ◽  
Pragyan Paramita Rout ◽  
Suchismita Mohapatra ◽  
Sai Parasar Das ◽  
Poonam Preeti Pradhan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Sustainable Intensification ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
World Population ◽  
Resource Degradation ◽  
Security Challenge ◽  
Smart Agriculture

World population is increasing day by day and at the same time agriculture is threatened due to natural resource degradation and climate change. A growing global population and changing diets are driving up the demand for food. The food security challenge will only become more difficult, as the world will need to produce about 70 percent more food by 2050 to feed an estimated 9 billion people. Production stability, agricultural productivity, income and food security is negatively affected by changing climate. Therefore, agriculture must change according to present situation for meeting the need of food security and also withstanding under changing climatic situation. Agriculture is a prominent source as well as a sink of greenhouse gases (GHGs). So, there is a need to modify agricultural practices in a sustainable way to overcome these problems. Developing climate smart agriculture is thus crucial to achieving future food security and climate change goals. It helps the agricultural system to resist damage and recover quickly by adaptation and mitigation strategies. Sustainable Intensification is an essential means of adapting to climate change, also resulting in lower emissions per unit of output. With its emphasis on improving risk management, information flows and local institutions to support adaptive capacity, CSA provides the foundations for incentivizing and enabling intensification. Since climate smart agriculture is defined along three pillars (productivity increases, building resilience and adapting, and GHG emission reduction), key concepts such as productivity, resilience, vulnerability and carbon sequestration provide indicators for future empirical measurements of the climate smart agriculture concept.

A review on the use of nanomaterials in agriculture: benefits and associated health risks

2022 ◽  
Vol 07 ◽  
Author(s):  
Punit Kumar ◽  
Sujata Malik ◽  
Kashyap Kumar Dubey
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Pollution ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Soil Microflora ◽  
World Population ◽  
Chemical Fertilizers ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Agricultural Output ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Commercial Applications

Background: The present world population is about 7.9 billion and it is increasing continuously. Thus, there is an urgent requirement to enhance the agricultural output sustainably. Agricultural approaches such as the use of advanced agriculture methods, high productivity varieties, and enhanced application of fertilizers and pesticides have significantly increased food grain production but in an unsustainable way. Chemical-based conventional fertilizers and pesticides have been found associated with environmental pollution and other unwanted effects on the ecosystem, soil quality, and soil microflora, etc. Nanomaterials may be used to replace conventional fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. Objective: The aim of this review is to provide information about the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the use of nanomaterials in agriculture. Including this, the health risks of nanomaterials are discussed. Method: This review article includes a survey of literature from different online sources (for example, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar, etc.). Results: The improvement in agricultural output using chemical fertilizers and pesticides is considered unsustainable as it is increasing the cost of production, affecting the soil quality, disturbing nutrient availability in crops, and causing environmental pollution. Nanotechnology is a potent innovative practice and nanomaterials may be used in agriculture as nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, and nanosensors. Although these approaches have the potential to enhance agricultural productivity in a sustainable way, nanomaterials are also assumed to exhibit potential health risks to humans. Reports have indicated that nanomaterials have been found associated with many systematic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, neurotoxicity, and toxicity to the reproductive system, etc. Conclution: It is well accepted that chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture cause environmental toxicity and affect ecosystem activity. Nanomaterials have the potential to enhance agricultural output, but these are also associated with health risks. Thus, detailed scientific studies must be conducted about the potential health risk of nanomaterials before their commercial applications in agriculture.

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