Nitrogen challenges and opportunities for agricultural and environmental science in India

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Moring, A., Hooda, S., Raghuram, N., Adhya, T. K., Ahmad, A., Bandyopadhyay, S. K., Barsby, T., Beig, G., Bentley, A., Bhatia, A., Dragosits, U., Drewer, J., Foulkes, J., Ghude, S. D., Gupta, R., Jain, N., Kumar, D., Kumar, R. M., Ladha, J. K., Mandal, P. K., Neeraja, C. N., Pandey, R., Pathak, H., Pawar, P., Pellny, T. K., Poole, P., Price, A., Rao D.L.N., Reay, D. S., Singh, N. K., Sinha, S. K., Srivastava, R. K., Shewry, P. R., Smith, J., Steadman, C. E., Subrahmanyam, D., Surekha, K., Venkatesh, K., Varinderpal-Singh., Uwizeye, A., Vieno, M. and Sutton, M. A. 2021. Nitrogen challenges and opportunities for agricultural and environmental science in India. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 5, p. 505347. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.505347

AuthorsMoring, A., Hooda, S., Raghuram, N., Adhya, T. K., Ahmad, A., Bandyopadhyay, S. K., Barsby, T., Beig, G., Bentley, A., Bhatia, A., Dragosits, U., Drewer, J., Foulkes, J., Ghude, S. D., Gupta, R., Jain, N., Kumar, D., Kumar, R. M., Ladha, J. K., Mandal, P. K., Neeraja, C. N., Pandey, R., Pathak, H., Pawar, P., Pellny, T. K., Poole, P., Price, A., Rao D.L.N., Reay, D. S., Singh, N. K., Sinha, S. K., Srivastava, R. K., Shewry, P. R., Smith, J., Steadman, C. E., Subrahmanyam, D., Surekha, K., Venkatesh, K., Varinderpal-Singh., Uwizeye, A., Vieno, M. and Sutton, M. A.
Abstract

In the last six decades, the consumption of reactive nitrogen (Nr) in the form of fertilizer in India has been growing rapidly, whilst the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of cropping systems has been decreasing. These trends have led to increasing environmental losses of Nr, threatening the quality of air, soils, and fresh waters, and thereby endangering climate-stability, ecosystems, and human-health. Since it has been suggested that the fertilizer consumption of India may double by 2050, there is an urgent need for scientific research to support better nitrogen management in Indian agriculture. In order to share knowledge and to develop a joint vision, experts from the UK and India came together for a conference and workshop on “Challenges and Opportunities for Agricultural Nitrogen Science in India.” The meeting concluded with three core messages: (1) Soil stewardship is essential and legumes need to be planted in rotation with cereals to increase nitrogen fixation in areas of limited Nr availability. Synthetic symbioses and plastidic nitrogen fixation are possibly disruptive technologies, but their potential and implications must be considered. (2) Genetic diversity of crops and new technologies need to be shared and exploited to reduce N losses and support productive, sustainable agriculture livelihoods. Móring et al. Nitrogen Challenges and Opportunities (3) The use of leaf color sensing shows great potential to reduce nitrogen fertilizer use (by 10–15%). This, together with the usage of urease inhibitors in neem-coated urea, and better management of manure, urine, and crop residues, could result in a 20–25% improvement in NUE of India by 2030.

KeywordsNitrogen; Nitrogen use efficiency; Indian agriculture; Nitrogen management; Fertilizer
Year of Publication2021
JournalFrontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Journal citation5, p. 505347
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.505347
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeIndo-UK Centre for the improvement of Nitrogen use Efficiency in Wheat (INEW)
Publisher's version
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online18 Feb 2021
Publication process dates
Accepted08 Jan 2021
PublisherFrontiers Media SA
ISSN2571-581X

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