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Grains of four pearl millet hybrids viz. HHB-60, HHB-67, HHB-94 and HHB-146 were analyzed for starch, crude protein and ether extract content to know their suitability for beer production. Pearl millet hybrid HHB-67 with highest starch content of 56.88% and less crude protein (12.70%) and ether extract (7.8%) among all hybrids was selected for amylolytic enzyme activation during malting. A steeping period of 10 h with 72 h of germination period at 200C resulted into highest alpha-amylase (96.12 DUN units) and beta-amylase (179.63 µmole of glucose/g of green malt) activity. Among various wort samples prepared with differential grit combinations of pearl malt, the 100% pearl millet wort had lower extract and reducing sugars than control barley wort. Fermentation of hopped pearl millet wort (100%) with Saccharomyces uvarum NCDC-48 at a pitching rate of 0.3% (w/v) generated beer with 3.5% (v/v) alcohol content comparable with control barley beer (3.6%v/v).

The present study was conducted to evaluate the long term effect of zero-tillage practices on physico-chemical properties of soil at 0-15 and 15-30 cm depth under rice-wheat cropping system in Karnal. Soil texture was loamy at Karnal sampling sites and results of the study revealed that pH, EC and BD (bulk density) was not significantly affected by zero-tillage (ZT) practices. On adopting ZT, soil organic carbon (SOC) increased from 0.49 to 0.52% at surface soil and 0.41 to 0.43% at sub-surface soil in comparison to CT. More available N, P, K, and total N were recorded in surface soil samples under zero tillage as compared to conventional system, however, C:N ratio was observed to be slightly affected by this management practice. Therefore, the ZT practices resulting, improved SOC, can be suitable for improving productivity and soil health under the rice- wheat cropping system (RWCS).

Chickpea is one of the important pulse crops among legumes due to its high protein content. During the last few decades chickpea production has declined because of various biotic and abiotic factors. To increase its production farmers are relying on the traditional methods (using chemical fertilizers) that pollute the environment. An alternative to chemical fertilizers is the eco-friendly process of endophytic inoculation. Compatible endophytic coinoculations improve plant growth as compared to single inoculation due to the synergistic performance of the constituent bacteria. In the current study, the compatibility of six bacterial inoculants (BM5 (rhizobial), BP2 and P36 (phosphate solubiliser), RE2, HE8, and ME9 (other endophytes) was tested. Among these bacterial inoculants, endophyte ME9 was found to be compatible with phosphate solubilising bacteria (P36) and rhizobial culture BM5. However, the endophytic bacteria RE2 and HE8 were found to be incompatible with phosphate solubilising bacteria and rhizobial bacteria. Further, individual inoculation, combined compatible and combined incompatible inoculants were applied to chickpea seeds in the pot house experiment. The results revealed that among all the inoculations, compatible bacterial consortia (ME9, P36 and BM5) produced highest increase in shoot (225%) and root dry weight (600 %) and grain weight (250 % ) compared to the control group. The incompatible inoculations were ineffective in improving the root dry weight, shoot dry weight, and grain weight in comparison to the respective individual inoculations.

In India, enormous microorganisms that are present in nature are being exploited for various value-added importance. Among the microbes, fungi are considered as most useful microbes with wider application. To minimize the use of pesticides in agriculture the most alternative source is fungi for development of sustainable crop improvement. Hence, the search of diversified potent fungi for its broad spectrum of applications is the need of the hour. In this chapter, a detailed summary of diversification and classes of fungi and its economic importance are discussed in detail.

Microbial co-inoculation strategy utilizes a combination of microbes to stimulate plant growth concomitant with an increased phytopathogen tolerance. In the present study, 15 endophytic bacterial isolates from rhizosphere and roots of wild chickpea accessions (Cicer pinnatifidum, C. judiacum, C. bijugum and C. reticulatum) were characterized for morphological, biochemical and physiological traits. Two promising isolates were identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens strain LRE-2 (KR303708.1) and Pseudomonas argentinensis LPGPR-1 (JX239745.1) based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Biocompatibility of selected endophytes with Mesorhizobium sp. CH1233, a standard isolate used as a national check in All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) was assessed to develop functional combinations capable of producing Indole acetic acid, gibberellins, siderophores and improving seed vigour (in vitro). In vivo synergistic effect of promising combinations was further evaluated under national AICRP, (Chickpea) at two different agro-climatic zones [North-West plain (Ludhiana and Hisar) and Central zones (Sehore)] for three consecutive Rabi seasons (2015−18) to elucidate their effect on symbiotic, soil quality and yield parameters. On the pooled mean basis across locations over the years, combination of Mrh+LRE-2 significantly enhanced symbiotic, soil quality traits and grain yield over Mrh alone and highly positive correlation was obtained between the nodulation traits and grain yield. Superior B: C ratio (1.12) and additional income of Rs 6,505.18 ha−1 was obtained by application of Mrh+LRE-2 over Mrh alone and un-inoculated control. The results demonstrate that dual combination of Mrh and Pseudomonas sp. from wild Cicer relatives can be exploited as a potential bio-fertilizer for increasing soil fertility and improving chickpea productivity under sustainable agriculture.

The climatic variations and swiftly increasing the world’s population are crucial drivers of universal famines and lead to the stern food insecurity. These factors affect all the magnitudes of food collateral, such as food accessibility, consumption, reliability, and constancy, and also strengthen additional calamities allied with health concerns of plants, animals, and environment. Although applications of agrochemicals to the soil largely contributed to increased food production, extensive use of these leads to the nutrient disparity and environmental hazards resulting in considerable economic losses. Consequently, it is utmost important to manage the application of agrochemicals with the aim of increased food production in environmental as well as economical unthreatened manner. Legumes have a great potential to enhance crop diversity as well as productivity and to reduce dependence on exterior inputs as legumes are well known for their illustrious capabilities such as nitrogen (N) fixation by biological means, increase in soil organic matter (SOM), efficient roles in nutrient and water retention, and improvement in soil properties which contribute to recover soil health. These manifold abilities of legumes make them potential candidates for management of agriculture in a sustainable way. The upshots of sustainable agriculture can be optimistic for higher food production and to ensure future food availability in an eco-friendly manner by reducing the usage of agrochemicals and maintaining the nutrient balances in the soil.

The present study on co-fermentation of paddy straw and cheese whey was carried out to assess the efficacy of whey as nutritional supplement for bioethanol production. Also, co-fermentation of paddy straw and molasses was carried out for enhanced ethanol production to make downstream processing and purification process easier. For agro-residues like paddy straw, breaking of recalcitrant lignin sheath is the first and success determining step in bioethanol production. To achieve this efficiently, five factors optimized were temperature, pressure, pH, residence time and particle size of paddy straw. Paddy straw (particle size: 0.5 mm) immersed in 2% sodium hydroxide solution (pH 10.0) in 1:10 was subjected to delignification using steam collected under pressure (temperature 121°C; pressure 15 psi) for 1 h. This resulted in 83.3% lignin removal with 86.4% cellulose and 11.1% hemicellulose recovery. Polysaccharide rich substrate was saccharified using commercial enzyme loaded at 7.5 FPU g-1 substrate at 50°C for 2 h. Hydrolyzed substrate was fermented with yeast strain Candida utilis. The combined fermentation of paddy straw with cheese whey increased ethanol production from 29.0 mL L-1 to 31.0 mL L-1 without yeast nutrient supplementation and with molasses increased to 51.0 mL L-1 ethanol with yeast nutrient supplementation.

Ethanol production from alkali treated rice straw was investigated by simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation (SSCF) using commercial cellulase and 3 different yeast strains viz., Saccharomyces cerevisiae HAU-1, Pachysolen tannophilus and Candida sp. individually as well as in combination at varied fermentation temperature and incubation time. Dilute alkali (2%) pretreatment of straw resulted in efficient delignification as observed by low residual lignin (12.52%) with 90.6% cellulose and 28.15% hemicellulose recovery. All the 3 yeast strains were able to produce ethanol form alkali treated rice straw and overall ethanol concentration varied from 5.30 to 24.94 g/L based on different fermentation time and temperature. Comparative analysis of ethanol production from different yeast strains combinations revealed maximum ethanol concentration of 23.48 g/L after 96 h incubation at 35ºC with P. tannophilus individually and 24.94 g/L when used as co-culture with Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Pretreatment of paddy straw with 2% sodium hydroxide at 15 psi for 1 h resulted in 83% delignification. The hydrolysis of alkali treated paddy straw with a commercial preparation of cellulase for 2 h at 50°C resulted in release of 65% total reducing sugars. Maximum sugars were released at enzyme loading of 1.5% (v/v). The fermentation of hydrolysate supplemented with nutrients by S. cerevisiae resulted in the production of 20-30 g L(-1) ethanol after 48 h incubation which was further improved with addition of yeast nitrogen base and inoculated with 1% (w/v) yeast cells.

Four white-rot fungal cultures were examined for their ability to decolorize and bioremediate anaerobically digested molasses spent wash (DMSW) generated by biomethanation plants. Two cultures Coriolus versicolor and Phanerochaete chrysosporium showed an ability to decolorize and reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of diluted DMSW (12·5% v/v). Both cultures required an additional labile carbon source to carry out decolorization while additional organic nitrogen did not significantly improve it further. Optimum growth and decolorization occurred at 35–40°C, pH 5·0, glucose at 3–5%(w/v). Maximum decolorization (71·5 and 53·5%) and COD reduction (90·0 and 73·0%) were achieved in 6·25% (v/v) DMSW medium by C. versicolor and P. chrysosporium , respectively. These values decreased significantly at higher concentrations of DMSW (12·5 and 25% v/v), nevertheless both cultures have profound potential applications in reducing the pollution of DMSW effluent prior to its disposal.

Biologically treated paddy straw was hydrolysed using commercial cellulase and fermented to ethanol by yeast. Lignin degrading fungus Pleurotus sajor-caju removed 35.1% lignin from paddy straw at 40 days incubation. Hydrolysis of biologically treated paddy straw with cellulase enzyme loaded at 5 FPU/g substrate at 50°C resulted in about 119 mg/g sugar release. Fermentation of enzymatic hydrolysate by Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in production of 2.0% ethanol after 72 h incubation at 30°C.

Ethanol production from direct sugarcane and sugarcane juice was studied using different yeast strains. The yeast isolates RY-5, RY-8 and a standard culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae produced 8-10 % ethanol from sugarcane juice and 6.23, 6.40 and 6.64% ethanol by direct sugarcane fermentation after 24h at 300C. A fermentation period of 24h and inoculum size of 2% was optimum for ethanol production from sugar cane and juice. The yeast biomass could be recycled upto three cycles without affecting ethanol production efficiency.

A bacterial isolate LAB-1 identified as Lactobacillus casei was cultivated in a fermentation medium containing biogas plant effluent. This effluent was generated after anaerobic digestion of molasses spentwash in biogas fermenters. In the bioremediation process of this very dark coloured effluent through the cultivation of L. casei, decrease in effluent's colour of 49 and 52% and reduction in COD level up to 54 and 57% were achieved using bacterial cells in free and immobilised system, respectively, in 5 days batch cultivation. During this process of bioremediation, a metabolite lactic acid was produced by this bacterial isolate with the yield of 10.9 and 11.3 mg/ml, in free and immobilised cells fermentation, respectively.