Maximizing agricultural yield: The advantages of crop residue management
Kuldeep Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar Singh, Jitendra Kumar Malik and Saurabh
Despite the fact that crop residues are abundant in plant nutrients, farms burn a lot of them—roughly 90 metric tons—mostly to make room for new crops to be sown. However, a manpower shortage prevents farmers from burning crop residues. They simply burn off the residue in order to dispose of it (NPMCR, 2019). Raindrop impact is absorbed by crop residue, and wind is deterred from blowing across the soil surface. This lessens wind and water erosion as well as the separation of soil particles. Additionally, there is less surface crusting through the soil's surface, which enhances infiltration and lowers runoff. According to Cox et al. (2004), crop leftovers serve as substitute hosts for a variety of insects, pests, and illnesses. In light of the aforementioned, we work to gather information and provide a range of technical and policy options for managing agricultural straw in order to outlaw burning it, increase soil fertility, and stop environmental damage. Important suggestions include incorporating crop residues into soil, following the ICAR's advice on crop rotation or in the soil care given to farmers, encouraging competitive alternatives for using crop residues in small-scale industries like straw paper, cardboard, and packaging materials, and establishing biomass power plants under a public-private partnership model to guarantee farmers financial returns and maintain soil fertility and food production while halting environmental degradation in the nation.
