Techno-economic assessment of agricultural land remediation measures through nutrient management practices to achieve sustainable agricultural production

Abstract

The use of chemical fertilizers is expensive and one of the main sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture. On the other hand, the use of organic manure is always debated for low productivity and profitability while many suggest that it is an effective strategy to improve soil fertility, reduce the production cost and mitigate the GHG emissions from agricultural fields. The aim of this study was to assess the technical performance, economic feasibility, and environmental sustainability of various nutrient management practices in three major cropping systems in Maharashtra. Based on the data collected, a comparative analysis, for the benefit-cost (BC) ratio, GHG emission, and crop productivity, was performed to evaluate the chemical, organic, integrated, and conventional nutrient management practices. The results showed that crops managed with integrated nutrient practices and organic manures showed a higher BC ratio, comparatively higher yield, and lower GHG emissions. In comparison with conventional nutrient practices, the fertilizer-induced GHG intensity was reduced considerably when the crops were treated with organic manure alone (60.17%) and integrated nutrient management (52.21%). The plots treated with organic and integrated nutrient management reported positive BC ratios in most of the crops while plots treated with chemical fertilizers and conventional practice reported negative BC ratios in many crops. Also, the use of organic manure helps in mitigating crop losses caused by bio-physical stresses to a certain extent. Increased use of organic inputs will bring many tangible and intangible benefits which will help to make the agricultural production system more sustainable. The results obtained are helpful to strengthen the recommendation of the use of organic manures to improve soil health, sustain productivity, increase profitability and reduce the environmental footprints of agriculture production systems.