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Nanofertilizers have emerged as an effective alternative to traditional fertilizers. They contribute to increased agricultural production by increasing input efficiency and reducing relevant losses. The present study was carried out at the G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India, during 2016-17 to study the effect of synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on the growth and productivity of wheat and field pea crops. The results of the study revealed that significantly greater wheat and field pea plant height was recorded with 10, 20 and 50 ppm concentration of ZnO NPs, which decreased at 100 ppm concentration. A significantly higher yield of wheat was recorded at 50 ppm ZnO NPs concentration (3.28 ± 0.51 g plant-1), followed by 20 ppm (3.05 ± 0.43 g plant-1), which was at par with 100 ppm (3.02 ± 0.45 g plant-1), and the minimum at 10 ppm concentration (2.70 ± 0.34 g plant-1) over control. A similar trend in yield was observed for field pea. With respect to the mode of application, a higher yield of wheat was observed in the seed-soaking method (3.05 ± 0.43 g plant-1); however, in the case of field pea, a higher yield was observed using foliar spray (6.21 ± 0.52 g plant-1) method of ZnO application. Higher Zn content was observed in 50 ppm concentration for wheat (42.39 µg g-1) and field pea (26.00 µg g-1). The higher Zn use efficiency in terms of physiological efficiency was recorded at 20 ppm concentration (1.46) for wheat and 10 ppm (5.51) for field pea. Hence, it can be concluded that the applied ZnO NPs have stimulating effects on wheat and field pea crop growth and yield through increased zinc content in plants, zinc uptake and zinc use efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study conducted in India to determine the carbon and water footprints of rice, wheat, and corn cultivation across different regions, highlighting the highest water footprint for rice farming and the highest carbon footprint for rice cultivation in South India.

To reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from rice and wheat cultivation several mitigation options have been suggested. However, economic impact of these technologies has been poorly documented. In the present study economic analysis of some emerging GHG mitigation technologies for rice-wheat system of the Indo-Gangetic Plains has been carried out. The experiment consisted of six combinations of wheat- rice crop rotation using eight treatments, including conventionally tilled wheat (CTW), zero tilled wheat (ZTW), transplanted puddled rice (TPR), dry direct seeded rice (DSR), intermittent wetting and drying (IWD), application of rice straw (RS) with ZTW and use of neem oil-coated urea (NOCU) in TPR and ZTW. Cost of various inputs and income from grain and straw were used for computing the benefit to cost (B : C) ratio in the different treatments. ZTW showed higher yield and B : C ratio compared to CTW along with reduction in fuel consumption during tillage operation. In spite of lower yield under DSR and IWD, saving of water, labour and energy in these treatments lowered the cost of cultivation and enhanced B : C ratio similar to TPR. Application of rice straw and NOCU also showed positive impact on crop yield. B : C ratio of rice-wheat system ranged from 1.62 to 1.86 in the first year and from 1.86 to 2.16 in the second year. B : C ratio was significantly higher in all the treatments in the experimented rice-wheat system compared to conventional system, i.e. CTW-TPR. The ZTW + RR - DSR (WR5) showed highest B : C ratiofollowed by ZTW + DSR (WR4) in both the seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]