Academic literature on the topic 'Organic and low chemical input crop production'

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the world’s most widely grown crop, cultivated in over 115 nations. Organic agriculture, a production system based on reducing external inputs in order to promote ecosystem health, can be defined as a system that prohibits the use of synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides and genetically modified organisms. Organic agriculture is increasing in popularity, with a 60% increase in the global acreage of organically managed land from the year 2000 to 2004. Constraints that may be associated with organic grain production include reduced yields due to soil nutrient deficiencies and competition from weeds. Global wheat breeding efforts over the past 50 yr have concentrated on improving yield and quality parameters; in Canada, disease resistance and grain quality have been major foci. Wheat varieties selected before the advent of chemical fertilizers and pesticides may perform differently in organic, low-input management systems than in conventional, high-input systems. Height, early-season growth, tillering capacity, and leaf area are plant traits that may confer competitive ability in wheat grown in organic systems. Wheat root characteristics may also affect competitive ability, especially in low-input systems, and more research in this area is needed. The identification of a competitive crop ideotype may assist wheat breeders inthe development of competitive wheat varieties. Wheat varieties with superior performance in low-input systems, and/or increased competitive ability against weeds, could assist organic producers in overcoming some of the constraints associated with organic wheat production. Key words: Triticum aestivum L., wheat breeding, low-input agriculture, plant height, early-season growth, tillering capacity, leaf area index

In 1999, West Virginia University (WVU) established an organic farming systems project with a market garden section consisting of 32 plots measuring 16 × 25 ft arranged in a completely randomized design. Sixteen of these plots were managed as high-input and 16 as low-input plots. High-input plots received 10 tons/acre per year of dairy manure and a rye-vetch (Secale cereale and Vicia villosa) cover crop during each winter season since the inception of the experiment in 1999. Fertility in low-input plots was managed solely with an annual rye-vetch cover crop while both treatments also received 5 tons/acre of mixed species hay used as mulch in 2 of every 4 years. A 4-year rotation of crops, green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), zucchini (Cucurbita pepo), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), green pepper (Capsicum annuum), and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) in the Fabaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Solanaceae, and Asteraceae families, was established in 1999 and has been maintained ever since. Soil organic matter (SOM) in the upper 6 inches of the soil profile (4.4% in 1999) has remained unchanged in low-input plots at 5.2% in 2004 and 5.4% in 2014, the year following transition and most recent data collection, respectively. During this same time period, significant increases in SOM from 6.4% in 2004 to 8.7% in 2014 were observed in high-input plots. Bulk density was lower in high-input plots than low-input plots in 2014. Despite these improvements in soil quality, high-input plots showed very high levels of phosphorus and potassium. Over the duration of the experiment, yearly manure application increased yields by 22% in all crops combined; however, individual crops responded quite differently. The yield was 9%, 25%, 24%, and 24% higher in high-input plots than in low-input plots for tomato, pepper, zucchini, and green bean, respectively. Manure application in addition to green manures and hay mulch incorporation was found to result in significant economic returns.

AbstractProducers in the semi-arid Dark Brown Chernozemic (Typic Boroll) soil zone of the Canadian Prairie are contemplating changes to land-use practices, moving away from conventional high-input production systems that specialize in one or two annual grain crops to more diversified and extended cropping systems that use reduced-input and organic management practices. This study examined the economic merits of nine cropping systems, consisting of a factorial combination of three input management methods and three levels of cropping diversity. It was conducted over the 1996–2007 period on a loam soil at Scott, Saskatchewan. The input treatments were: (1) high input (HIGH), which used conventional tillage and full recommended rates of fertilizers and pesticides ‘as required’; (2) reduced input (RED), which used conservation tillage and integrated weed and nutrient management practices in an effort to lower requirements for fuel, fertilizers and pesticides; and (3) organic input (ORG), which used tillage, non-chemical pest control, higher seeding rates, delayed seeding and legume crops to replenish soil nutrients. The crop diversity treatments included: (1) a fallow-based rotation with low crop diversity (LOW); (2) a diversified annual rotation of cereal, oilseed and pulse grains (DAG); and (3) a diversified rotation using annual grains and perennial forages (DAP). All crop rotations were 6 years in length. At the 2007 input costs and prices, average net returns and 12-year net present values were higher for organic than for non-organic treatments, with the ORG input/LOW crop diversity system being the most profitable (net returns=$234 ha−1yr−1and net present value=$1953 ha−1). Net returns averaged about 10% less for ORG/DAG compared to the most profitable system, and about 22% less for HIGH/DAG and RED/DAG (the best non-organic systems). The DAP treatments that included forage were not economically competitive with the other treatments, often producing economic losses. The relative profitability of the organic treatments was highly dependent on the existence of organic price premiums. When price premiums for organic crops were reduced to less than 70% of the 2007 levels, the organic treatments were less profitable than the comparable non-organic treatments. The organic treatments also experienced significantly lower (and often negative) net returns compared to the non-organic treatments during completion of the 3-year organic certification period. We estimated that it required 5–7 years after completion of certification for the organic treatments to break even with the comparable non-organic treatments. Thereafter the organic treatments produced consistently higher net earnings. Production costs averaged 16% lower with ORG management compared to the HIGH-input treatments, but we found little difference in total costs between the respective HIGH- and RED-input treatments. The organic treatments also displayed lower income variability than the non-organic treatments, with the ORG/LOW system being preferred by risk-averse producers, who do not subscribe to all-risk crop insurance, and with the ORG/LOW and ORG/DAG systems preferred by low and medium risk-averse producers when having the added financial protection from the Canada/Saskatchewan all-risk crop insurance program.

Crithmum maritimum L., similarly to other halophytes, could be an essential plant in marginal areas of the Mediterranean basin; it can grow with low inputs and thus tackle environmental risks of soil erosion and biodiversity caused by climate change. The leaves can be used as food because of their good chemical and nutritional parameters, as a cosmetic product and in medicine. The three treatments studied in the context of organic farming (control without input, irrigated with irrigation water only and fertigated with organic liquid fertilizer diluted in irrigation water) have provided encouraging results; in fact, regardless of the meteorological trend of the two years of experimentation, the production of aerial biomass remained at satisfactory levels and in particular, in the year following the transplantation, the production saw a significant increase in the treatments tested with low inputs (irrigated and fertigated). So, in the second year of production, a low nitrogen input with fertigation induced the plants to produce significantly more leaf biomass than the irrigated treatment, which in turn was significantly superior to the control. The production results for dry biomass are encouraging and may promote the spread of the local germplasm of this species around the Conero Park, where it is being studied to produce fermented vegetable conserves.

This paper observed the effect of low external input agricultural farming system on the efficiency of resource poor farmer. In India majority of farmers are small scale entrepreneurs whose farm actions are performed with low input agricultural technologies. Majority of the technologies contained the refined indigenous information system. Farm size, labour inputs, capital inputs, planting materials and organic manure are the most determinants of the gross income of LEISA farmers. High external input Agriculture (HEIA) are technologies that apply high external inputs such as inorganic or chemical fertilizers to extend nutrient reduction from the soil, pesticides to manage pests and diseases, herbicides to regulate weeds and irrigation facilities for water management within the farms. Farmers inclinations for low input system vary significantly provisional upon the phase of crop production which include technologies for land groundwork use of draught animals, natural/organic substitute for inorganic pesticides and fertilizers, seed growth technologies, simple irrigation and drainage method, low input processing. There is also a substantial interest among farmers for low input methods for most phases of production. There is therefore the need for farmers to adopt these cost active agricultural technologies since they are not only readily available, but also they do not require too much skills and also poses the capacity of making the process of rural development more sustainable.

Legumes have become important crops, due to an increasing global population and its demand for feed protein. Furthermore, legumes can improve the characteristics of the soil, improve biodiversity levels in crop rotations, and be cultivated in both organic and sustainable farming systems. In this study, a two-factor field experiment was conducted in Gorzyń, Poland in 2011–2015. The first factor was the farming system: low-external inputs (LI; without fertilization and chemical protection), medium-input (MI; medium fertilization level and chemical protection), and high-input (conventional—CONV; high fertilization level and chemical protection). Narrow-leaved lupin cultivar was the second factor; the indeterminate cv. Kalif and the determinate cv. Regent. We evaluated (a) weed infestation levels, (b) seed and protein production, and (c) the economic effects of narrow-leaved lupin cultivation under different farming conditions. A total of 12 weed species were identified, with the lowest weed density level and biomass production observed in CONV, and the greatest weed density level observed in LI. Seed yield was determined by the farming system; the greatest in CONV and significantly lower in LI (by 0.73 t h−1) and MI (by 0.18 t ha–1). Little difference was observed in seed yield between cultivars. The greatest production values for the Kalif and Regent cultivars (996€ and 949€ ha–1, respectively) were recorded in CONV, although LI proved to be the most profitable (with the highest gross agricultural income and lowest total cost of production). LI farming systems, in conjunction with chemical weed control, should be investigated in future studies.

Farmers are now facing a reduction in agricultural crop yield, due to the infertility of soils and poor farming. The application of chemical fertilizers distresses soil fertility and also human health. Inappropriate use of chemical fertilizer leads to the rapid decline in production levels in most parts of the world, and hence requires the necessary standards of good cultivation practice. Biofertilizers and biopesticides have been used in recent years by farmers worldwide to preserve natural soil conditions. Biofertilizer, a replacement for chemical fertilizer, is cost-effective and prevents environmental contamination to the atmosphere, and is a source of renewable energy. In contrast to chemical fertilizers, biofertilizers are cost-effective and a source of renewable energy that preserves long-term soil fertility. The use of biofertilizers is, therefore, inevitable to increase the earth’s productivity. A low-input scheme is feasible to achieve farm sustainability through the use of biological and organic fertilizers. This study investigates the use of microbial inoculants as biofertilizers to increase crop production.

SUMMARYFruit and vegetable farming generally involves high levels of chemical inputs despite the fact that consumers are increasingly concerned about the sanitary and organoleptic aspects of fruit quality. Pineapple is largely subject to these issues since it is dominated by conventional monocropping with high levels of agrochemical inputs due to nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) fertilisation, weed management, crop protection and flowering induction. However, low-input pineapple cropping systems are both rare and little documented. Our study aimed at replacing all or part of the chemical fertilisers used with local organic fertilisers. It was conducted on the cultivar ‘Queen Victoria’, without pesticides or herbicides, in Reunion Island. We compared the impacts of three fertilisation treatments on pineapple growth and yield, fruit quality traits, symptoms of two major fungal diseases in fruit and production costs and labour times: (i) conventional: NPK fertiliser at recommended doses (265.5 kg ha−1 N–10.53 kg ha−1 P–445.71 kg ha−1 K); (ii) integrated: Mucuna pruriens green manure (240.03 kg ha−1 N, 18.62 kg ha−1 P, 136.11 kg ha−1 K) incorporated into the soil and a half-dose of NPK fertiliser and (iii) organic: M. pruriens green manure incorporated into the soil and foliar applications of sugarcane vinasse from a local distillery, rich in K (14.44 g L−1). Our results showed that NPK fertilisation could be replaced by organic fertilisers as well as by integrated fertilisation. ‘D’-leaf analysis showed that vinasse supplies a largely sufficient K level for growing pineapples. With organic fertilisation, pineapple growth was slower, 199 days after planting vs. 149 days for integrated or conventional fertilisations, and fruit yield was lower, 47.25 t ha−1 vs. 52.51 and 61.24 t ha−1, probably because M. pruriens green manure provided an early increase in soil mineral N, whereas N requirements are much higher four months after planting. However, the fruit weight (709.94 ± 123.53 g) was still within the size range required for the export market (600–900 g). Interestingly, organic fertilisation significantly reduced Leathery Pocket disease and produced the best quality fruit with the highest total soluble solids contents (TSS) and the lowest titratable acidity (TTA). Fruit quality was also significantly improved with integrated fertilisation, with fruit weight similar to that of conventional fertilisation. To conclude, these findings have implications for the sustainability of pineapple production and could lead to low-input innovative cropping systems that reduce production costs and develop local organic inputs.

Coffea arabica L. is the most traded commodity and the principal source of revenue for coffee cultivation sectors in Ethiopia and its market has been growing from time to time. With the demand changing, use and consumption of natural products has been growing, so there has been greater interest in research in this area. Added to this interest, is the concern of environmental impact caused by chemical inputs. Soil fertility management strategies for improving plant nutrients and crop productivity include the use of application of composts, vermicomposts and manures, and application of bio fertilizer or microbial inoculants. Bio-fertilizer technologies can contribute to efficient utilization of limited resource of phosphorus fertilizers under low-input farming systems and guarantee the environment for livelihood. Therefore, they are a good alternative for the so called perennial field crop production organically; because in addition to their numerous activities, they have low cost, and are sustainable, safe and effective. The application of efficient phosphate-solubilizing microbial inoculants in agriculture opens up new insight for future crop productivity besides sustaining soil health. The purpose of this review is to raise potential applications of organic and bio-fertilizer inputs in coffee production system to sustain organic coffee cultivation and to elucidate the main obstacles for yield reduction in the coffee production sectors. In this regard this review has also shown that phosphate-solubilizing microbes (PSMs) have tremendous potential as bio-fertilizers. This review also contains information on coffee consumption custom in Ethiopia and its role in cultural systems. Finally, this review focuses on relevant research performed and success in using bio-inoculants during the last decade that can help us improve sustainable coffee production.

Background: There is increasing evidence that the reliance on synthetic chemical pesticides and mineral fertilizers in agriculture has significant negative environmental and/or health impacts and poses a risk for future food security. Systematic reviews/meta-analyses showed that organic production systems, which omit the use of agrochemicals, produce crops with lower yields, but superior nutritional composition. However, the agronomic parameters responsible for differences in crop yields and nutritional quality are poorly understood. Methods: Here we report results for four field vegetable crops from the Nafferton Factorial Systems Comparison (NFSC) trial. This long-term factorial field experiment was designed to (i) identify effects of growing season/climatic variation, and contrasting rotational designs, crop protection protocols and fertilization regimes used in organic and conventional systems on crop health, yield and nutritional parameters and (ii) estimate the relative importance of climatic and agronomic drivers for crop health, yield and nutritionally relevant quality parameters. Quality parameters monitored in harvested products, included phenolic, glucosinolate, vitamin C, vitamin B9, carotenoid, cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and glycoalkaloid concentrations. Results: Climatic conditions during the growing season were found to have a larger impact on crop yield and quality than the agronomic factors (pre-crop, crop protection, fertilization) studied. However, the (i) interactions between growing season with contrasting climatic conditions and agronomic factors identified by ANOVA for crop health, yield and quality parameters and (ii) the associations between the three climatic drivers (precipitation, temperature, radiation) and crop yield and quality parameters differed substantially between the four crop plant species. Among the agronomic factors, fertilization had a substantially larger impact compared with both pre-crop and crop protection. Specifically, crop yields were found to be significantly increased by the use of (i) conventional fertilization and crop protection methods in potato, (ii) conventional fertilization, but organic crop protection methods in cabbage, and (iii) conventional fertilization regimes in lettuce, while none of the agronomic factors had a significant effect on onion yields. When important crop pest and diseases were assessed, (i) conventional crop protection resulted in significantly lower late blight severity in potato, while (ii) organic crop protection resulted in lower bird damage and cabbage root fly (CRF) incidence in cabbages, and Sclerotinia incidence in lettuce and (iii) organic fertilization resulted in lower CRF and Sclerotinia incidence in cabbage and lettuce respectively. When concentrations of nutritionally relevant phytochemicals were compared, organic fertilization resulted in significantly higher phenolic concentrations in potato, cabbage and lettuce, higher glucosinolate and carotenoid concentrations in cabbage, higher vitamin C concentrations in potato and cabbage and higher vitamin B9 concentrations in potato and lettuce—but lower concentrations of toxic glycoalkaloids in potato. Significant effects of crop protection protocols on phytochemical concentrations were only detected in cabbage with conventional crop protection resulting in higher glucosinolate and vitamin B9 concentrations. When toxic metal concentrations were compared, organic fertilization resulted in significantly lower Cd concentrations in all four crops and lower Ni concentrations in potato, cabbage and onion. Significant effects of crop protection were only detected in cabbage, where organic crop protection resulted in lower Ni concentrations. Pb concentrations were not affected by any of the agronomic factors. The potential implications of results for improving (i) strategies to reduce the use of non-renewable resources and environmental impacts of vegetable production and (ii) the productivity of organic and other low-input vegetable production systems without compromising food quality are discussed. Conclusions: The study confirms that organic vegetable production protocols result in higher concentrations of phenolics and other nutritionally desirable phytochemicals, but lower concentrations of the toxic metals Cd and Ni in harvested products. It also demonstrates, for the first time, that this is primarily due to differences in fertilization regimes. The finding that in three of the four crops (cabbage, lettuce and onion) the application of synthetic chemical crop protection products had no measurable positive impact on crop health and yield should be considered in the context of the growing concern about health impacts of pesticide use in field vegetable crops.

Abstract Low and unreliable rainfall, along with poor soil health, is a main constraint to maize production in the semi-arid parts of Kenya that account for over 79% of the country's land area. In the vast county of Laikipia, farmers continue to plant maize despite the predominantly low quantities of precipitation. Participatory farmer experimentation with Conservation Agriculture (CA) was undertaken for six consecutive growing seasons between July 2013 and December 2016 to determine the effectiveness of CA as a method of improving soil properties and enhancing maize yields with the limited rainfall quantities received in these parts of Kenya. The main CA practices tested include chisel tine furrow opening (ripping) and live legume (Lablab purpureus) cover crop, as well as maize stover mulches, all implemented under varying inorganic fertilizer rates. The research was done across 12 administrative locations of Laikipia County where soils are mainly Phaeozems and Vertisols with a clay-loam texture. The research design used was researcher-designed and farmer-managed. In each of the 12 trial sites, participatory farmers' assessments and field days were carried out as a way of outreach to the bigger farming communities around the trial sites. The research findings obtained demonstrated that the use of CA impacts positively on soil properties and is a viable practice for enhancing maize yields in these moisture deficit-prone parts of the country. Soil chemical analysis assessment results showed that CA impacted positively on a number of soil mineral components including organic carbon, total nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and pH. Midseason chlorophyll content assessment of the maize crop showed that there was good response to fertilizer application, as well as to mulching with crop residues for soil cover. Maize grain yield data also showed that the use of a CA package comprising chisel tine ripping combined with mulching by plant residues and use of mineral fertilizer resulted in a two- to threefold increase in grain yields above the farmer practice control. Mean maize grain yield in farmer practice plots was 1067 kg ha^-1 compared with the CA-treated plot with mineral fertilization that yielded 2192 kg ha^-1.

Faba bean is an important pulse crop in terms of protein source, area coverage, and volume of annual production in Ethiopia. The aim of this paper is to assess the agronomic and crop physiology investigations in the past two decades in Ethiopia. The production limiting factors of this crop are low input usage, natural disasters, depletion of macronutrients, and unavailability of essential nutrients. Phosphorus is among the main limiting nutrients in soil systems in Ethiopia. Seed yield and biomass yield of faba bean were increased from 1338 to 1974 kg/ha and from 3124 to 4446 kg/ha when phosphorous was changed from 0 to 52 kg/ha, respectively at Holeta whereas application of 40 kg P ha − 1 resulted in higher grain yield (6323 kg ha−1) and 3303 kg ha−1 at Lemu-Bilbilo and Bore highlands, respectively. The highest grain yield of 32 kg ha−1 was obtained from the application of 92 kg P2O5 ha−1 at Sekela district while application of 46 kg P2O5 ha−1 resulted in a substantial increase in seed yield over unfertilized plots on vertisols of Ambo. On the other hand, the results suggest that using starter nitrogen from 0 to 27 kg/ha has marginally increased faba bean yield but, a farther increase of nitrogen has indicated deteriorate of yield at Arsi zone. Proper plant populations play a crucial role in enhancing faba bean production. Planting faba bean at 30 cm × 15 cm spacing gave the highest grain yield in Duna district while it was 30 × 7.5 cm at vertisols of Ambo University research farm. Significantly higher seed yield (4222 kg/ha) was observed in the 40 cm inter-row spacing as compared to 50 cm inter-row spacing, which gave the lowest seed yield per hectare (3138 kg/ha) on fluvisols of Haramaya University. Intercropping and crop rotation are cropping systems that can increase soil fertility and crop yield. Intercropping of faba bean with barley at Debre Birhan increased land equivalent ratio than both crops when planted as sole. An additional income of 18.5% and 40% was gained than planting sole faba bean and wheat, respectively at Kulumsa. Faba bean can fix about 69 kg/ha nitrogen in Northern Ethiopia. Generally, the current review results showed that only limited studies in organic and bio fertilizer, plant density, and cropping systems were done on faba bean in Ethiopia. Hence, studies regarding soil acidity, organic fertilizer, and secondary plus micronutrient impacts on faba bean production and productivity along soil types and weather conditions need great attention in the future in Ethiopia.

Kaolinitic soils are the most widely occurring soils in the tropics, especially in tropical Africa. They comprise about 70% of the soils in the low-altitude tropics. Typically, these soils have a sandy, loamy sand, or sandy loam surface soil and sandy clay to clayey subsoil containing approximately 20-60% clay in the lower B horizons. Silt content is usually low throughout the profile (< 20%) with the exception of soils derived from loess materials. Soil erosion, compaction, and low nutrient- and water-holding capacities are the major constraints under intensive cropping. Ideally, kaolinitic soils in the humid and subhumid regions should be used for natural forest reserves and tree farms. In drier regions, sustainable land use includes natural grasslands and managed pastures with low stocking rates. When kaolinitic soils are used for annual crop production, crop rotation and managed fallow must be included in the farming system after a short cropping cycle to restore soil physical, chemical, and biological fertility and to sustain crop yield in the long term. Kaolinitic soils may be further distinguished into two subgroups based on inherent chemical fertility, namely, high-base-status and low-base-status kaolinitic soils. High-base-status kaolinitic soils usually have pH values of 5.3 or higher (measured in soil-water suspension), and a base saturation (BS) of 70% or higher throughout the soil profile calculated on the basis of effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC). Low-base-status kaolinitic soils generally have a pH value of 5.2 or lower, and a base saturation below 70%. The properties of high-base-status and low-base-status kaolinitic soils are given in tables 10-1 and 10-2, respectively. The common properties of these two soils are the dominance of kaolinite in the clay fraction, a low CEC, and a high bulk density in the subsoil horizon. The differences are the degree of base saturation, soil pH, degree of exchangeable Al saturation, and the quality of soil organic matter. In other words, the cation exchange sites of soil organic matter in the low-base-status soil are dominated by Al3+, whereas Ca++ and Mg++ are the dominating ions in the high base-status soil.

In the natural world, plant species evolve and adapt to specific soil and climatic conditions. The productivity and stability of a natural soil-plant continuum or ecosystem are maintained through diversity, succession, and internal nutrient cycling. Hence, there are no rich soils or poor soils but different soils supporting different ecosystems. From an agricultural viewpoint, however, the term soil fertility may be defined as the capacity of a soil, under a given rainfall or water management regime, to support the growth of common food and fiber crops with minimum or no external inputs for a long period of time without adversely degrading the chemical, physical, and biological properties of the soil. Thus, a naturally fertile or productive soil usually possesses the following features: • good soil tilth or workability • adequate organic matter content in the surface layer • adequate permeability • adequate available water-holding capacity • slightly acidic to neutral pH • loamy-textured topsoil • moderate amounts of smectite and weatherable minerals Worldwide, the most fertile soils are prairie soils derived from glacial till, young alluvial soils in river valleys and deltas and high-base-status volcanic ash soils. These soils are also known as Mollisols, high-base-status Entisols and high-base- status Andisols, respectively, according to the Soil Taxonomy classification. At the other end of the scale are the so-called infertile soils. These are the highly weathered and strongly leached soils or “lateritic soils” of the tropics. Ultisols and Oxisols rich in kaolinite and Fe and Al oxides fall into this category. The soil fertility status of other types of soils falls in between these two groups. In general, parent material and stage of weathering are good indicators of soil fertility. Moderately weathered soils derived from basic parent rocks such as basalts and limestone and recent alluvial deposits are invariably more fertile than those derived from acidic parent rocks such as sandstone, quartzite, and coarse-grained granite. Strongly weathered soils generally have a low fertility because primary minerals containing plant nutrients such as Ca, Mg, and K have long disappeared through dissolution, acidification, and leaching. The dominant clay-size minerals in strongly weathered soils, kaolinite and Fe and Al oxides, possess little capacity to retain these cations.

Since the Green Revolution era, the farming sector exploited the soils for food, fiber, fodder, etc., with high input responsive varieties that excavated vast amounts of chemical fertilizers. The burgeoning population of the country calls for a commensurate increase in food production to satisfy the demands of its inhabitants. Further, due to innovative mechanization in agriculture, specialization, and government policy programs, the productivity of food has soared. Subsequently, it ensued greater productions and minimized food prizes. Regrettably, intensive agricultural operations degraded the soil quality and now reached such a stage where without external inputs, growers unable to achieve their targeted yields. India has lost 68% innate productive capacity of agricultural soils. This plunder of land’s quality continues unabated, further resulting in low nutrient use efficiency and insufficient yields of agroecosystems. Therefore, this is high time to realize the dreadful impacts of intensive crop production on the natural ecosystem. Irrefutably, both soil and its nutrients are the wondrous gifts of nature to humankind; utilizing them sustainably is imperative. The present chapter highlights the impacts of non-judicious nutrient management on soil productivity, nutrient use efficiency, and novel technologies required to promote sustainable agriculture and achieve the target of doubling farmer’s income in India.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is the main fruit crop found in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. It naturally adapts to the adverse environments of extreme heat and water scarcity and prevents further desertification in addition to producing fruits with high nutritional value. It is seen in many parts of the world that traditional cultivation practices such as mixed planting and chemical fertilizers have led to low fruit quality resulting in low market values. Long generation time also hinders production of the dates. Tissue culture is therefore considered the most promising solution for rapid large-scale production of trueto- type clonal plants. The plantlets originating from in vitro callus proliferation are transferred from synthetic media to soil. The conventional method of using chemical fertilizers also leads to low plantlet viability with increased environmental and health risk. The current research targets the use of a local microalga, Tetraselmis sp. QUCCCM8, identified as an organic source of nutrients, a substitute for chemical fertilizers to acclimatize cultured date palmlets to soil. Soil was supplemented with different concentrations of algal biomass and plant growth was monitored for 3 months. Soil without any fertilizer and soil amended with 1 g conventional fertilizer were used as negative and positive control, respectively. Supplementation with 0.5 g of algal biomass led to higher plant growth rates, 100% survival rates, high ability of rooting (3.17 ± 0.14 roots), higher number of leaves (2.5 ± 0.25 leaves), largest stem thickness, longer shoot (33.75 ± 1.56 cm), and higher total chlorophyll (159.61 ± 9.6 mg L⁻ ¹) as compared to conventional fertilizer. These stated findings are significantly higher than the control. Furthermore, elemental analysis of the soil showed that supplementation with algal biomass increased the soil total nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus contents essential for plant growth. Finally, the comparison of heavy metals composition between soils amended with conventional fertilizer and algae-based fertilizer highlights the potential use of algae as a safe and efficient biofertilizer post tissue culture mode of plantlet generation. This enhanced the viability of healthy plantlets without affecting the environment, averting usage of chemical fertilizers.