Challenges and opportunities for agricultural sustainability in changing climate scenarios: a perspective on Indian agriculture

Climate change and resilience, adaptation, and sustainability of agriculture in India: A bibliometric review

Climate change (CC) is a global issue, with effects felt across nations, including India. The influences of CC, such as rising temperatures, irregular rainfall, and extreme weather events, have a direct impact on agricultural productivity, thereby affecting food security, income, livelihoods, and overall population health. This study aims to identify trends, patterns, and common themes in research on Climate Change and Resilience, Adaptation, and Sustainability of Agriculture in India (CCRASAI). It also seeks to illuminate potential future research directions to guide subsequent research and policy initiatives. The adverse impacts of CC could push farmers into poverty and undernourishment, underscoring the imperative to focus on the resilience, adaptation, and sustainability of agriculture in India. A bibliometric review was conducted using Biblioshiny and VoSviewer software to analyze 572 articles focused on CCRASAI from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, published between 1994 and 2022. There was an evident upward trend in CCRASAI publications during this period, with steady growth appearing after 2007. Among the States and Union Territories, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka have the highest number of published research articles. Research on CCRASAI is most concentrated in the southern plateau, the trans-Gangetic and middle Gangetic plains, and the Himalayan regions. The frequently used terms-'climate change impacts,' 'adaptation strategies,' and 'sustainable agriculture'-in CCRASAI research emphasize the focus on analyzing the effects of CC, creating adaptation strategies, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

Mitigating climate change and pandemic impacts on global food security: dual sustainable agriculture approach (2S approach)

MAIN CONCLUSION

Simultaneous application of two sustainability approaches such as the application of biofertilizers to GM plants and microbe bioengineering to enhance physiological response and beneficial interaction with GM plants may have a significant impact on strengthening global food security amid climate change and the pandemic. The second sustainable development goal (SDG 02, Zero Hunger) aims global agricultural sustainability and food security challenges. The agriculture sector has been an integral part of developing countries for millions of farmers and their families. Their contribution provides stability of raw matter related to food availability. But climate change, higher population growth and worldwide pandemics are the main obstacles to food quality, higher crop productivity and global food security. Scientists are concerned with the manifestation of agriculture sustainability in the modern crop management approach to resolving the issues. It is the only way to higher yield productivity by protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, and slowing climate change. Several strategies can be an option to implement, yet the proposed two sustainability approach or 2S approach will be the significant way toward the goal of zero hunger. The first sustainability approach is an application of genetically modified (S1: GMO) Plants and the other is an application of beneficiary plant growth-promoting microbes (S2: Biofertilizers) to the plants for both higher crops and maintenance of the environment. This study summarizes the essential points of S1 and S2 for the widespread utilization of the 2S approach in agriculture and recommends the potential alternatives to be implemented to produce food for all. Simultaneous application of the 2S approach can defeat all threats to gain sustainability in agriculture.

Plant Essential Oils as Biopesticides: Applications, Mechanisms, Innovations, and Constraints

The advent of the "Green Revolution" was a great success in significantly increasing crop productivity. However, it involved high ecological costs in terms of excessive use of synthetic agrochemicals, raising concerns about agricultural sustainability. Indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides resulted in environmental degradation, the development of pest resistance, and possible dangers to a variety of nontarget species (including plants, animals, and humans). Thus, a sustainable approach necessitates the exploration of viable ecofriendly alternatives. Plant-based biopesticides are attracting considerable attention in this context due to their target specificity, ecofriendliness, biodegradability, and safety for humans and other life forms. Among all the relevant biopesticides, plant essential oils (PEOs) or their active components are being widely explored against weeds, pests, and microorganisms. This review aims to collate the information related to the expansion and advancement in research and technology on the applications of PEOs as biopesticides. An insight into the mechanism of action of PEO-based bioherbicides, bioinsecticides, and biofungicides is also provided. With the aid of bibliometric analysis, it was found that ~75% of the documents on PEOs having biopesticidal potential were published in the last five years, with an annual growth rate of 20.51% and a citation per document of 20.91. Research on the biopesticidal properties of PEOs is receiving adequate attention from European (Italy and Spain), Asian (China, India, Iran, and Saudi Arabia), and American (Argentina, Brazil, and the United States of America) nations. Despite the increasing biopesticidal applications of PEOs and their widespread acceptance by governments, they face many challenges due to their inherent nature (lipophilicity and high volatility), production costs, and manufacturing constraints. To overcome these limitations, the incorporation of emerging innovations like the nanoencapsulation of PEOs, bioinformatics, and RNA-Seq in biopesticide development has been proposed. With these novel technological interventions, PEO-based biopesticides have the potential to be used for sustainable pest management in the future.

In vitro assessment of Bacillus subtilis FJ3 affirms its biocontrol and plant growth promoting potential

Bacillus species and their metabolites have potential alternative uses as chemical pesticides that can limit the growth of potential plant pathogens and enhance crop productivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of Bacillus subtilis FJ3 for promoting plant growth and controlling fungal plant pathogens. The study evaluated the ability of the strain to promote plant growth in vitro by characterizing its growth-promoting traits, which included the production of hydrolytic enzymes, indole acetic acid, siderophores, biofilm formation, and phosphate solubilization. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing revealed that strain FJ3 has the potential to produce lipopeptides such as fengycin, surfactin, mycosubtilin, and pilpastatin. Through in vitro antagonism testing it was demonstrated that strain FJ3 is able to inhibit Fusarium oxysporum by 52% compared to the untreated control and was antagonistic against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, and Rhizopus oryzae using a dual method. The minimum inhibitory concentration of Bacillus crude extract resulted in a 92%, 90%, 81.5%, and 56% growth inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum, A. niger, A. flavus, and Rhizopus oryzae, respectively. In FT-IR and GC-MS analysis of crude LPs extract, the transmission and mass spectrum confirmed the existence of aforesaid lipopeptides containing β-fatty acids with chain lengths ranging from C14 to C21 in which the majority were saturated fatty acids. Greenhouse experimentation revealed that Bacillus strain FJ3 and its metabolites significantly diminished the disease incidence with an average reduction of 31.56%. In sterilized soil, FJ3 and its metabolites caused 24.01% and 10.46% growth promotion, respectively, in chickpea. The results demonstrated that Bacillus strain FJ3 has broad-spectrum antifungal and plant growth-promoting applications and could be a promising candidate for development into a commercialized biobased product for use in sustainable agriculture practice.

Characterization and reuse of waste from the magnesium nitrate fertilizer industry

Currently, liquid fertilizers are considered strategic products in the sector, particularly those with nitrogen and magnesium in their composition. During their synthesis, the generated muddy and sticky residue is usually managed as a toxic waste because its properties and feasible valorization methods have not yet been studied. For the first time, this residue has been thoroughly characterized, and, on the results obtained, its possible reuse options have been discussed. This material, with 47 % moisture content, a neutral pH, and a specific density of 0.85, still contains 35 % dry weight of nitromagnesite. These findings, together with a high cation exchange capacity and the presence of iron, aluminium, calcium and silicon as minority components, make its reintroduction into the manufacturing process of fertilizers the most viable option for its valorization, having two alternatives for this purpose. The first is to use it as a feedstock for the production of solid fertilizers by adding 30 % quicklime to the residue to improve its mechanical properties, thus obtaining a fertilizer with 5.7 %, 5.0 % and 24.3 % (dry weight) of magnesium, nitrogen and calcium, respectively. The second option, which focused on obtaining a liquid fertilizer, allowed the recovery of approximately 86 % of the remaining nitromagnesite in the residue by washing it with nitric acid, reducing its initial dry mass by 77 %. Then, the resultant liquid phase, with 16 % magnesium nitrate, could be enriched to the 35 % concentration demanded by liquid fertilizer consumers by a subsequent acid attack of the raw rock.

Impact of average temperature, energy demand, sectoral value added, and population growth on water resource quality and mortality rate: it is time to stop waiting around

It is an overwhelming concern that increases in global average temperature lead to serious consequences on the natural environment in the form of deteriorating water resource quality and damaging healthcare sustainability agenda. The sustainable innovation forum (COP21) shows a high concern on climate changes and suggested to reduce global average temperature less than 2 °C. The study brings an idea from the stated theme and analyzed the relationship between climate change and water resource quality in order to redesign economic and environmental policies to improve water quality and healthcare sustainability in the context of Pakistan. The country has serious issues regarding the provision of safe drinking water, improved water resource quality, and healthcare sustainability, which can be achieved by sustainable policies to handle the extreme temperature in Pakistan. The study employed simultaneous generalized method of moments (GMM) technique in order to estimate parameters of the study during the period of 1980-2016. The results show that energy demand and industry value added substantially decrease water resource quality (WRQ), while agriculture value added and per capita income significantly increase WRQ in a country. The other regression apparatus, where health expenditures serve as the response variable, shows that average temperature, industry value added, population growth, and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows significantly increase healthcare expenditures while WRQ has a negative impact on healthcare expenditures in a country. The final regression model shows that average temperature and per capita income decrease, while WRQ and industrial value added increase mortality rate in a country. The overall results confirm that WRQ affected by climate change, energy demand, and population growth that need sustainable water resource policies in order to achieve long-term sustained growth. The climate actions required more policy instruments to combat environmental challenges that should support healthcare sustainability agenda across the globe.