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As acid soils of Odisha have been facing a major constraint in phosphorus availability, application of native P solubilizing bacteria could be promising as well as ecofriendly step towards sustainable P availability for crop growth and development. To address the problem of P availability in acid soil of Bhubaneswar, Odisha, rhizosphere soil samples (pH ≤ 5.50) with rice -- pulses (green gram/black gram) cropping system were collected and phosphate solubilising bacteria were isolated. In vitro characterization of the PSB isolates were conducted with calcium, aluminium and iron phosphates to recover soluble P. All the five strains i.e.Bacillus cereus BLS18 (KT582541), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens CTC12 (KT633845), Burkholderia cepacia KHD08 (KT717633), Burkholderia cepacia KJR03 (KT717634), Burkholderia cepacia K1 (KM030037) could solubilize Ca3(PO4)2, AlPO4, FePO4, and Fe3(PO4)2. Higher recovery of soluble P was with Ca3(PO4)2 while the least was with AlPO4. All the strains exibited a trend similar with respect to P recovery i.e. Ca3(PO4)2> FePO4> AlPO4> Fe3(PO4)2. B. amyloliquefaciens CTC12 was most efficient in solubilizing calcium and iron phosphates whereas B. cepacia KHD08 recovered maximum P with aluminium phosphate. All the inorganic salt fortified mediums showed a significant decline in pH which necessitated the identification of compounds present in the mediums. Organic acids viz; acetic, citric, gluconic, lactic, malic, succinic, tartaric acids in the mediums were identified by HPLC. Tartaric acid was only found in the mediums supplemented with AlPO4. B. amyloliquefaciens CTC12 and B. cepacia KHD08 showed promising results in in vitro analysis of P solubilization. The present study is focused on problematic acid soils where phosphorous is unavailable and mostly fixed with aluminium and iron ultimately making it unavailable for the crops to take up. This leads to unbalanced and frequent use of chemical fertilizer. Hence the study is a significant attempt to characterize native PSBs with capacity to solubilize Al-P and Fe-P. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stubble burning in India continues despite the severe consequences on the environment and the massive health crisis in the country. Farmers resort to such practices as a cheap and hasty solution post-harvest, which helps them prepare for their next crops. This study employs a mathematical model, the ADM1 (Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1), to design a virtual biogas plant in the SIMBA simulation platform. The plant was designed keeping the small-scale farmers in mind, hence, cost-effectiveness, simplicity in design and operation remained a priority. Simulations were performed with different crop leftovers that are widely subjected to on-farm burning in the country such as from rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton and maize. Simulation trials were performed for each crop residue for nearly two years, to observe the digester performance and possible disruptions over prolonged periods. The optimal feeding ratio and operating conditions for process stability were determined. Simulations revealed generation of nearly 9–10 m3 methane per day, equivalent to 90–100 kWh electricity. Co-fermentation with animal manures was strongly recommended by the model for process stability and to avoid pH disruptions due to organic acid accumulations. Policy makers and farmers are, thus, encouraged to explore a sustainable alternative to generate energy from stubble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant growth promoting (PGP) activities of soil bacteria directly help plants in taking up the nutrients, attuning the growth hormones and indirectly safeguard by inhibiting diverse groups of fungal pathogens. In this study, we explored the native P solubilizing bacteria (PSB) isolated from the acid soils (pH < 5.5) of Odisha for selection of efficient PGPR with antifungal potential. Five PSB strainswere checked for their P solubilization efficiencies with Ca3(PO4)2,AlPO4,FePO4 and Fe3(PO4)2. The bioconversion of P by all the five strains in the broth medium followed the order Ca-P > Fe(III)-P > Fe(II)-P > Al-P. The strains interestingly showed potential plant growthpromoting properties including indole acetic acid (IAA) and siderophore production in in vitro tests. These five strains also exhibited antifungal activities against fungal pathogens (Pythium aphanidermatum, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium debaryanum, Thanatephorus cucumeris and Aspergillus niger) of groundnut. A field study was carried out with two of the above PSB strains [identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (KT633845) and Burkholderia cepacia (KT717633)] with groundnut. Both the stains significantly influenced the plant growth (plant height, nodule no. and nodule dry weight) and pod yield. However, these two strains inoculated along with doses of inorganic phosphate (SSP, single super phosphate) resulted in significantly higher pod yield as well as residual soil P. Additionally; the prevalence of both seedling mortality and plant mortality due to collar rot and stem rot were found to be reduced significantly in the inoculated plots. The findings substantiate the growth promoting ability of the two P solubilizing strains, and thus qualifies to be used as biofertilizers either alone or as components of INM practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding oil spill detection, modelling is critical in formulating oil spill response to minimize the catastrophic environmental impact due to oil spill. This paper provides the key research results for oil spill response from various published literatures over few decades which are based on case studies, laboratory tests, field visits and modelling work. This paper presents an overview and summary of literature reviews on off shore oil spills, fate of spilled oil, response plans and cleanup methods. A brief discussion on the technological advancements in identifying oil spills and oil spill modelling is presented. Discussions on the response methods include recent advances in spill response plans and cleanup methods. The synthesis of published literatures from various previous work on understanding and mitigation strategies of oil spill disaster would immensely contribute scientific knowledge to deal with the future oil spill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Chromium (Cr) contamination in soil is a growing concern in sustainable agricultural production and food safety. Remediation of Cr from contaminated soils is a challenging task which may not only help in sustaining agriculture but also in minimizing adverse environmental impacts. Pot culture experiments were performed with the application of varied concentration of Cr +6 to assess the Chromium accumulation potential of Lemongrass and to study the impact of toxic concentration of Cr +6 on morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters of the plant. The results showed an increasing accumulation trend of Chromium with increasing Chromium concentrations in both root and shoot of 60 days old Lemongrass plants, while the protein and chlorophyll contents decreased. Similarly, accumulation of Cr increased the levels of proline and antioxidant enzymes indicating the enhanced damage control activity. The potentiality of the plant with the capacity to accumulate and stabilize Cr compound in Cr contaminated soil by phytoremediation process has been explored in the present investigation., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)