Plummeting anthropogenic environmental degradation by amending nutrient-N input method in saffron growing soils of north-west Himalayas

Anil Sharma,Amit Kumar,Javid Iqbal Mir,Shakeel Ahmad Khan,Sarvendra Kumar,Sanjay Arora,Desh Beer Singh,Om Chand Sharma

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-81739-x

Abstract

Nitrous-oxide emission and nitrate addition from agriculture to earth’s environment are two main agriculture related anthropogenic causes of environmental degradation that needs greater attention. For addressing the aforesaid issue, new techniques/practices need to be developed and implemented. The present investigation, which was focused on this issue, resulted in developing a new mode of nitrogen (N) placement, i.e. ‘mid rib placement upper to corms in two splits (MRPU-2S)’, that could reduce nitrous oxide N emission by around 70.11% and, nitrate N leaching and runoff by around 68.26 and 67.09%, respectively, over conventional method, in saffron growing soils of northwest Himalayas. Besides plummeting environmental degradation, MRPU-2S further resulted in enhancing saffron yield by 33.33% over conventional method. The findings of the present investigation were used to develop new empirical models for predicting saffron yield, nitrate N leaching and nitrous-oxide N emission. The threshold limits of nitrate N leaching and nitrous oxide N emission have also been reported exclusively in the present study.

Highlights

Pessimistic modification in the intrinsic composition of nature, by various human induced activities and practices, results in anthropogenic environmental degradation
Low nitrogen use efficiency results in low biomass production, whole of which is incorporated in the soil, which further leads to low soil organic carbon stocks and low saffron yield in sequential years
Nitrate N leaching in conventional method 1 (BS-1S) was 23 mg L −1 and was well above the maximum permissible limit (MPL), leading to very high polluting potential (> 20 mg L −1)

Summary

Introduction

Pessimistic modification in the intrinsic composition of nature, by various human induced activities and practices, results in anthropogenic environmental degradation. Taken up by crop, fixes in soil as reserve, leaches from the root zone, escapes to atmosphere as gas and moves as surface r unoff[2,4,5] Later three of these five processes are considered as the main contributor to environmental deterioration. The aforesaid nitrogen losses, in agricultural crops, and their pollution potential has persuaded researchers to identify adaptable management practices that ensure enhanced N use efficiency and reduction in its losses that cause environmental deterioration. Amongst these agricultural crops N management of Saffron (Crocus sativus), one of the most expensive agricultural crops of the world[26], as its approximate price ranges from US$500 to US$5,000 per pound, needs greater consideration. Even if not in all but in few of the important agricultural crops grown worldwide, the right nutrient N placement mode is standardized and followed, it will help in enhancing use efficiency of external N supplied but will reduce environmental degradation due to N too

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion