Nitrogen challenges and opportunities for agricultural and environmental science in India

Móring, Andrea; Hooda, Sunila; Raghuram, Nandula; Adhya, Tapan Kumar; Ahmad, Altaf; Bandyopadhyay, Sanjoy K.; Barsby, Tina; Beig, Gufran; Bentley, Alison R.; Bhatia, Arti; Dragosits, Ulrike ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9283-6467; Drewer, Julia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6263-6341; Foulkes, John; Ghude, Sachin D.; Gupta, Rajeev; Jain, Niveta; Kumar, Dinesh; Kumar, R. Mahender; Ladha, Jagdish K.; Mandal, Pranab Kumar; Neeraja, C.N.; Pandey, Renu; Pathak, Himanshu; Pawar, Pooja; Pellny, Till K.; Poole, Philip; Price, Adam; Rao, D.L.N.; Reay, David S.; Singh, N.K.; Sinha, Subodh Kumar; Srivastava, Rakesh K.; Shewry, Peter; Smith, Jo; Steadman, Claudia E.; Subrahmanyam, Desiraju; Surekha, Kuchi; Venkatesh, Karnam; Singh, Varinderpal; Uwizeye, Aimable; Vieno, Massimo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7741-9377; Sutton, Mark A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6263-6341. 2021 Nitrogen challenges and opportunities for agricultural and environmental science in India. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5, 505347. 16, pp. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.505347

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Abstract/Summary

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. (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.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.505347
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	2571-581X
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	nitrogen, nitrogen use efficiency, Indian agriculture, nitrogen management, fertilizer
NORA Subject Terms:	Agriculture and Soil Science
Date made live:	22 Feb 2021 12:06 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/529701

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