Search

Agricultural waste, if not managed efficiently, can pose significant environmental threats. Biochar production, a cost-effective solution, offers a potential to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and thereby combat climate change. However, the environmental impact of this process is not uniform and varies depending on the agricultural residue used. These impacts, spanning the entire lifecycle from cultivation to disposal, underscore the necessity of a thorough assessment before biochar can be widely adopted for practical applications. This study employs a cradle-to-gate approach to evaluate the life cycle assessment (LCAs) of producing biochar from various agro-residues, such as rice husk, sugarcane bagasse (SB), and corn cob (CC). The LCA was conducted using SimaPro software, version 9.5.0.1, and the ReCiPe impact assessment method. The results indicate that CC cultivation has the highest impact across most categories, while rice husks exhibit higher water consumption (2.8 × 103m3). Using diesel, electricity, and fertilizers significantly contributes to global warming potential (GWP). SB shows the most negligible impact during biomass cultivation. However, pyrolysis processes exhibit high implications on various indicators. Applying biochar to soil for carbon sequestration and improvement can reduce GWP. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates a notable reduction in GWP and cumulative energy demand, approximately 10%–24% and 4–11 MWh, respectively. Paddy cultivation and rice husk biochar production have a lesser environmental impact. Changing energy sources during biomass growth and biochar production significantly influences environmental factors.A cradle-to-gate approach is used to evaluate the life cycle assessment of producing biochar from various agro-residues, such as rice husk, sugarcane bagasse, and corn cob. The LCA uses SimaPro software and the ReCiPe impact assessment method.Graphical Abstract

The multitude of agronomic merits of a traditionally tall and photosensitive japonicarice landrace C14-8 has enabled its popularity in the tropical Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. However, we noticed distinct variation for grain husk colour in this culture. Field evaluation of four grain husk color selections over 4 years across three major rice growing islands revealed significant variation for agro-morphological traits studied. In the overall population, harvest index was identified as the potent selectable trait for indirect selection. Through AMMI stability analysis, the environmental, G?×?E interaction and genotype effects were recorded as 24.4%, 12.5% and 12.3%, respectively. The highest positive genotypic index was recorded at C14-8-11-108 (0.39) followed by C14-8-11-113 (0.29) and C14-8-11-91 (0.20) which also out-yielded the original population by about 20% across years thus indicating the consistency and favorability of these selections under marginal ecosystem. The findings of this paper will be useful for the breeding and conservation perspectives of such unique germplasm having climatically adaptive traits under marginal ecosystems.

This is a study of long-term nutrient management and cropping systems on depth-wise distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) pools, SOC sequestration and accumulation, and their appositeness with soil quality to figure out the present and future research approaches. Depth-wise soil samples from 0 to 60 cm soil profile (at 15 cm interval) were collected after 13 years of experiment to assess labile and recalcitrant carbon (C) pools, total organic carbon, SOC sequestration, and accumulation rates. The experiment was laid out in strip plot design with 100% organic nutrient management, 100% inorganic, and integrated nutrient management practices in columns and four cropping systems, i.e., CS1(Basmati rice–wheat-sesbania), CS2(maize-potato-okra + sesbania), CS3(rice-barley-green gram), and CS4(maize-mustard-sesbania) in rows. The 100% organic treatment recorded 23.35% higher SOC over 100% inorganic treatment, irrespective of cropping systems. Addition of 100% organic nutrient treatment in CS3showed highest carbon accumulation (32.0 Mg C ha−1) and carbon sequestration rate (1.52 Mg C ha−1year−1). Furthermore, in terms of sensitivity index (SI), water-soluble C (WSC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) were highly sensitive to different nutrient management practices. Similarly, carbon management index (CMI) was in the order of organic > integrated > inorganic. Overall, the rice-barley-green gram (CS3) cropping sequence with 100% organic nutrient management practices not only had higher C sequestration and accumulation in surface and deep soil layers, but also had better SOC pools and ~ 33% greater CMI than 100% inorganic treatment in surface soil. Therefore, inclusion of legume crops along with organic nutrient sources could be considered an effective system to maintain the future soil quality and productivity of the studied soil where intensive cultivation is predominated.