Rashtriya Krishi (English)

Prava Kiran Dash ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar (Odisha), IN

Abstract

Zinc (Zn) is an essential element necessary for plant, humans and micro-organisms required relatively in small concentrations (5–100mg kg^-1) in tissues for healthy growth and reproduction of plants. It is considered as one of the eight essential trace elements required for crop growth and production. It is present on earth’s crust in tune of 0.008 per cent and zinc has an important role in nutrition and metabolic activities of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms and act as a cofactor or metal activator in various enzymatic systems. Plants absorb Zn as zinc ions (Zn²⁺). Since Zn does not have variable valence, it has no role in influencing oxidation-reduction (redox) processes directly.The worldwide prevalence of Zn deficiency in crop is due to low solubility of Zn, rather than low Zn availability in soil (Iqbal et al., 2010). The unavailable zinc can be reverted back to available form by application of bacterial strain capable of solubilizing it.

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Prava Kiran Dash ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar (Odisha), IN

Abstract

The harvest waste, both the field residues that are left in an agricultural field or orchard after the crop has been harvested and the process residues that are left after the crop is processed into a usable resource is more popularly termed as ‘crop residue’. Stalks and stubble (stems), leaves and seed pods are some common examples for field residues. Sugarcane bagasse and molasses are some good examples to process residue (Hoornweg and Bhada-Tata, 2012 and Obi et al., 2016). India generates on an average 500 Million tons (Mt here after) of crop residue per year (MNRE, 2009). The same report shows that a majority of this crop residue is in fact used as fodder, fuel for other domestic and industrial purposes. However, there is still a surplus of 140 Mt out of which 92 Mt is burned each year.

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