CROPS

INTRODUCTION
■ India is an agrarian economy. A vast majority of land is used for
farming. It is estimated that approximately 500-550 Mt of crop
residues are produced per year in the country. These crop residues
are used for animal feeding, soil mulching, biomanure making,
thatching for rural homes and fuel for domestic and industrial use.
Thus crop residues are of tremendous value to the farmers.
■ However, a large portion of the residues is burnt on-farm primarily
to clear the field for sowing of the succeeding crop. The problem of
on-farm burning of crop residues is intensifying in recent years due
to shortage of human labour, high cost of removing the crop
residues by conventional methods and use of combines for
harvesting of crops. The residues of rice, wheat, cotton, maize,
millet, sugarcane, jute, rapeseed-mustard and groundnut are
typically burnt on-farm across different states of the country.
Fig 1. Burning of rice residue in north west India
■ The burning of crop residue is not only degrading the
environment but also making a loss of precious nutrients
imbedded in the straw. Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus,
potassium, and other nutrients retained in various
proportions in different crop residues are lost by 20–100%
upon burning (Singh et al., 2008).
■ Considering the severity of residue burning problem, the
Government of India has made several policy
interventions such as subsidy on purchasing of residue
handling machines, subsidy on farm implements, setting
up the custom hiring centres for farm implements, ban on
crop residue burning, etc.
UTILIZATION AND ON-FARM BURNING
OF CROP RESIDUES IN INDIA

The utilization of crop residues varies across different states of the

country. Traditionally crop residues have numerous competing uses such
as animal feed, fodder, fuel, roof thatching, packaging and composting.
The residues of cereal crops are mainly used as cattle feed. Rice straw and
husk are used as domestic fuel or in boilers for parboiling rice. Farmers
use crop residues either themselves or sell it to landless households or
intermediaries, who further sell them to industries. The remaining residues
are left unused or burnt on-farm. In states like Punjab and Haryana, where
crop residues of rice are not used as cattle feed, a large amount is burnt
on-farm
ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES OF ON-FARM
BURNING OF CROP RESIDUES

■ Burning of crop residues leads to release of soot particles and smoke

causing human and animal health problems. It also leads to emission
of greenhouse gases namely carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
oxide, causing global warming and loss of plant nutrients like N, P, K
and S.
■ The burning of crop residues is wastage of valuable resources which
could be a source of carbon, bio-active compounds, feed and energy
for rural households and small industries.
■ Heat generated from the burning of crop residues elevates soil
temperature causing death of active beneficial microbial population,
though the effect is temporary, as the microbes regenerate after a
few days. Repeated burnings in a field, however, diminishes the
microbial population permanently.
REASONS BEHIND ON-FARM BURNING
OF CROP RESIDUES
■ Major reasons for rapid increase in the use of combines are labour shortage, high
wages during harvesting season, 9 ease of harvesting and thrashing and
uncertainty of weather. On using combine harvesting; about 80% of the residues
are left in the field as loose straw that finally ends up being burnt on farm.
■ The time gap between rice harvesting and wheat sowing in north-west India, for
example, is only 15-20 days. In this short duration, farmers prefer to burn the
rice straw on-farm instead of harvesting it for fodder or any other use. The latter
options also involve a huge transportation cost.
■ On-farm burning is also perceived to boost soil fertility, although burning
actually has a differential impact on soil fertility. It increases the shortterm
availability of some nutrients (for example P and K) and reduces soil acidity, but
ultimately leads to a loss of other nutrients (for example N and S) and organic
matter
RESIDUE MANAGEMENT
OPTIONS
■ Crop residues have multiple agricultural and industrial applications.
Different in-situ and off-field options for crop residue management
along with their advantages and challenges are compiled and
discussed under the following heads:
 In-situ Management Options
o In Field Residue Burning
o Surface Retention Of Crop Residue
 Off-field Options
o Livestock Feed In India
o Energy Source
o Industrial Application
o Biochar Production
 IN-SITU MANAGEMENT
OPTIONS
■ The management of crop residue within the field is one of the effective
strategies, which eliminates the transportation cost, recycles essential
nutrients back to the soil and saves time.
■ Under such management practices, crop residue is either mixed with soil or
it is retained on the soil surface and seeding operation is performed with a
suitable machinery package.
■ The recycling of crop residue to soil provides many ecosystem services,
which are essential for improving the soil health. In-situ crop residue
management options are discussed in details under the following sub-
sections:
a) In Field Residue Burning
b) Surface Retention Of Crop Residue
a) IN-FIELD RESIDUE
BURNING
■ The burning of rice residue and sugarcane trash is a routine practice
at many places in northern Indian Plains due to their poor suitability
as fodder and immediate removal required from the fields for timely
seeding of wheat crop. In addition to the cost and time savings,
farmers derive other benefits of weeds, diseases and pests control by
burning the crop residues.
■ Residue burning also imposes the negative effects on soil
temperature, local microbial population, flora and fauna and soil
organic carbon. The burning of crop residue is associated with
multifaceted losses when considering nutrients loss, soil quality
degradation, environmental pollution and human health collectively as
presented i
b) SURFACE RETENTION OF CROP
RESIDUE

■ The retention of crop residue on the soil surface is an energy and

environment conservative approach for in-situ crop residue
management. Recent developments in farm machinery allow the
direct seeding of crops under residue covered soil conditions by
opening the narrow slits for seed and fertilizer placement while
leaving the rest soil surface undisturbed.
■ The mulching effect of crop residue on the soil surface modulates the
soil and canopy temperature in addition to reducing the evaporation
losses and irrigation requirement, which ultimately favours crop
development especially in the spring season. Moreover, retention of
crop residue on soil surface reduces the soil erosion, sequestrates soil
carbon and increases crop tolerance against the terminal heating.
Off-field options

■ Crop residue collected from the field after harvesting the crop can be
utilized for various agricultural, energy and industrial applications. The
practice of manual collection of the crop residue is rarely adopted, as
it creates a burden in terms of labour cost, time consumption and
delay in sowing of the next crops.
■ Usually, it is done with the help of baling machines, which collect the
crop residue and make cylindrical or square bales, which can be
stored and utilized for different purposes. Prior to the direct use of
crop residue in industrial applications, it passes through the processes
such as drying, pretreatment, etc. The various off-field options for
managing crop residue are discussed under the following sub-
sections:
 LIVESTOCK FEED IN INDIA

■ the crop residues are traditionally utilized as animal feed as such or

by supplementing with some additives. However, crop residues, being
unpalatable and low in digestibility, cannot form a sole ration for
livestock.
■ Crop residues are low-density fibrous materials, low in nitrogen,
soluble carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins with varying 10
amounts of lignin which acts as a physical barrier and impedes the
process of microbial breakdown.
■ To meet the nutritional requirements of animals, the residues need
processing and enriching with urea and molasses, and supplementing
with green fodders (leguminous/non-leguminous) and legume
(sunhemp, horse gram, cowpea, gram) straws.
ENERGY SOURCE

■ Biomass can be efficiently utilized as a source of energy. In

comparison with other renewable energy sources such as solar and
wind, biomass source is storable, inexpensive, energy-efficient and
environment-friendly.
■ Availability of residues, transportation cost and infrastructural
settings (harvest machinery, modes of collection, etc.) are some of
the limiting factors of using residues for energy generation
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION

■ Crop residue has wide scale applications in paper industry, biotechnology

sector, pharmaceuticals, cement based structures and cosmetics industry.
The application of crop residue such as rice straw is also extended to
production of bioplastic with acceptable mechanical properties by which
synthetic plastic can be replaced partially and associated environmental
pollution can be reduced (Bilo et al., 2018).
■ There is a large potential of using the crop residue in novel industries viz.
biomedical, cosmeceuticals, pharmaceuticals, etc., where biodegradable
thermoplastics, polylactic acid, hydrogels, biopolymers, bacterial cellulose
and multi-functional carbon materials are used.
■ There is large applicability of crop residue in industrial applications but it
requires future research and development for setting up the processing unit
for residue pretreatment at block level, residue-specific suitability for
industrial applications, strong supply chain and making the pretreatment
process and extraction of various components more economical.
BIOCHAR PRODUCTION

■ Biochar is a high carbon material produced through slow pyrolysis

(heating in the absence of oxygen) of biomass. It is a fine-grained
charcoal and can potentially play a major role in the long-term storage
of carbon in soil, i.e., C sequestration and GHG mitigation.
■ However, with the current level of technology, it is not economically
viable and 14 cannot be popularized among the farmers. However,
once all the valuable products and co-products such as heat energy,
gas like H2 and bio-oil are captured and used in the biochar
generation process, it would become economically-viable.
■ There is a need to develop low cost pyrolysis kiln for the generation of
biochar to utilize surplus crop residues, which are otherwise burnt on-
farm.
NEW OPPUORTUNITIES AND
CHALLENGES WITH IN SITU RESIDUE
MANAGEMENT
 There is an urgent need for rapid degradation of all types of crop
residues generated like paddy straw, maize stalks, sugar cane trash,
flower waste, garden waste and kitchen waste as an alternate to
burning. Some microbial formulations have been developed to
overcome this problem but these are not easy to use under field
conditions.
 At IARI, New Delhi, Pusa decomposer, a consortium of seven fungi,
has been developed on the basis of their lingo cellulolytic enzyme
production potential. Since composting technology has been
recognized as the most suitable means to convert agro-wastes into
nutrient-enriched product that conditions soil and nourishes plants,
this technology has great significance in the present scenario.
 The methodology is also tested at large scale at IARI farm for
bioconversion of farm agro wastes. Currently Pusa decomposer is
 This practice is also providing economical and effective solution of
menace of rice straw burning and management of agri -horti residues.
 In-situ and ex-situ bio-degradation of crop residue and farm waste
helps in improvement of soil health by increasing the organic carbon
in soil and reduces air pollution by preventing farmers from burning of
crop residue. Whenever people use synthetic chemicals, fertilizers,
and manure, they estimate the cost and benefit which comes out from
the investment.
 Manures are not so costly as compared to other synthetic materials in
terms of soil heath and the overall performance of crop plants. When
we use manures developed from agri-waste, there will be no cost on
pesticide purchasing. Use of locally produced manure for the purpose
of rehabilitation of damaged lands increases farmer income and
enhances performance of crop growth and development.
■ Burning of crop residue causes damage to other micro-organisms
present in the upper layer of the soil as well as its organic quality. Due
to the loss of friendly pests, the wrath of enemy pests has increased
and as a result, crops are more prone to disease.
■ The solubility capacities of the upper layers of soil have also been
reduced. Therefore, development of fast degrading, easy to pusa
decomposer technology is giving a permanent solution to the farmer
community.
■ Farmers and entrepreneurs is relieved of disposal of paddy residue
within 25 days time without burning and polluting the environment
and also enhanced decomposition of paddy waste into a value added
product i.e, compost would help as source of income. Industry is
highly benefitted to get eco-friendly, low cost technology for farmer
acceptable as well as entrepreneur adaptable Pusa decomposer
formulation.
■ This formulation is an easy to apply, appropriate formulation of the
decomposer consortium which is being scaled up for manufacture and
used by farmers for ex situ as well as in situ degradation of
agricultural waste especially paddy straw the most highlighted waste
in India. So, the current issues of air pollution caused by mass burning
■ Pusa Decomposer plays an important role in in-situ and ex-situ
decomposition of paddy straw. For In-situ management, harvesting
paddy with combine followed by chopper plus mulcher and spraying
Pusa Decomposer followed by rotavator and light irrigation to keep
the field moist has shown accelerated decomposition of the paddy
straw and enabled the farmer to do timely wheat sowing.
■ This was widely demonstrated in Punjab, Haryana, UP and NCR Delhi.
Use of Pusa Decomposer does not provide any machine substitution.
It accelerates process of paddy straw decomposition and makes the
field ready for wheat sowing in 25 days. Use of Pusa Decomposer
enhances chemical, biological and nutritional profile of soil.
EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS

■ Last two years in 2020 and 2021 Delhi Govt. had the Pusa Decomposer solution
sprayed on farmlands (1,935 acres) in the capital and found it decayed the crop
stubble in around 20-25 days in time for the farmers to make the fields ready for
next crop sowing. 90% of the farmers said the stubble and straw decomposed
within 15-20 days when earlier it took 50-60 days. The farmers were happy that
the wheat crop benefitted, as the yield increase was found to be 8-10%.
■ In 2021, ICAR-IARI in collaboration with a company is preparing to bring about
>6000 acres under the Pusa Decomposer spray in Punjab alone for which 25,000
farmers have been selected to participate. UP Govt. is planning for 5000 ha to be
brought under Pusa Decomposer. The technology has been licensed to 10
companies and each of them is keen to help the farmer to curtail the straw
burning by mass production of the Pusa Decomposer product and making it
readily available. Its use enriches the soil with organic carbon (OC), nutrients
and soil biological and physical properties also improve.
■ In contrast, burning of paddy straw kills beneficial microorganisms
and in addition causes air pollution. Therefore, Pusa Decomposer is a
long term sustainable solution for management of paddy straw in
conjunction with machinery
BENEFITS OF CROP RESIDUE
MANAGEMENT

■ Crop residue management has numerous benefits for both farmers and
the environment. A few of them have been listed below:
■ Soil health and fertility: Crop residues are an important source of
organic matter and nutrients for soil. By properly managing crop
residues, farmers can improve soil health and fertility, which can lead to
better crop yields, reduced need for synthetic fertilizers, and long-term
sustainability of their land.
■ Reduced soil erosion: Crop residues can help to prevent soil erosion
by acting as a protective layer on the soil surface. This is particularly
important in areas with steep slopes or heavy rainfall, where erosion can
be a major problem. By reducing soil erosion, farmers can preserve the
quality and productivity of their land.
3. Water conservation: Crop residues can also help to conserve soil
moisture by reducing evaporation and runoff. This is especially
important in arid and semi-arid regions, where water is scarce and
irrigation is often necessary.
4. Reduced greenhouse gas emissions: Proper crop residue
management can also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By
incorporating crop residues into the soil rather than burning them or
letting them decompose in the open air, farmers can reduce the
amount of carbon dioxide and other gases released into the
atmosphere.
■ Livestock feed and biofuels: Crop residues can be used as a
valuable source of livestock feed and bedding. They can also be used
as a feedstock for biofuels, which can reduce reliance on fossil fuels
and provide an additional source of income for farmers.
CONCLUSION

■ In conclusion, crop residue management is an essential component of sustainable

agriculture. Proper management of crop residues can improve soil health, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, and provide a renewable energy source. By adopting
sustainable agriculture practices, farmers can contribute to conserving natural
resources and promoting economic viability for their communities.
■ Moreover, sustainable agriculture practices can help promote biodiversity and
contribute to the conservation of natural resources. By managing crop residues
effectively, farmers can provide habitat for beneficial insects and microorganisms,
which can help control pests and reduce the need for pesticides. Additionally,
sustainable agriculture practices can help conserve water resources and protect
water quality by reducing soil erosion and nutrient runoff. In this way, sustainable
agriculture practices can help protect the environment for future generations.