More and more urea

Fertilisers boost plant growth but imbalanced application soon leads to use-fatigue

"Subsidy culture has killed local agriculture"

Thupstan Chhewang, Chief Executive Councillor and chairperson of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) speaks to Down To Earth.

Ladakh on the move

Ladakh is the one region in India where sustainable development is the only way ahead. Dry toilets, water efficient crops, cooperative farming, a …

As told to Parliament (July 26, 2023): Trend of decreasing monsoon rainfall observed in five states in 1989-2018 period

All that was discussed in the House through the day

Towards sustainability: Arunachal’s Apatanis use a unique, integrated cultivation method; it needs encouragement

 Integrated rice-fish cultivation is a low-input and eco-friendly practice

Maharashtra approves field trials of GM food crops

Only GM cotton is grown in fields in India as of now

Mark of distinction

Genetic marker for authenticating Darjeeling tea

India-Pakistan nuclear war can starve humanity: Study

Food supplies may drop over 20% in 70 poor countries with 1.3 bln people, the study estimated  

Agroforestry boosts rice and biodiversity in India

In West Bengal, the adoption of useful trees into paddy fields has boosted crop yields and crop diversity, and has also sparked a movement that …

Meet the Kerala farmer who preserves genetic diversity of rice

He received the National Plant Genome Saviour Award for his efforts towards conserving 45 varieties of rice seeds

How much is the crop loss in flood-hit states?

In Uttar Pradesh, over 30,000 hectares of sown crops have been affected by the floods in 12 districts

Science and Technology - Briefs

Field day

India's soils are in a bad shape. T V Jayan investigates

Not just green: Natural farming in Andhra yielded more produce than conventional methods, shows study

Apart from the higher yield, nutrient availability was also unaffected in Zero Budget Natural Farming

Depleting food grain stock ring alarms: Is India staring at a rice crisis?

Over 44 million tonnes of grains in stock compared to 78.6 million tonnes last year; Wheat dangerously close to buffer limit

Why climate change studies on rice production are important in Wayanad

Area under rice cultivation has been declining rapidly in north Kerala district between 2004-05 and 2018-19 

Traditional seeds need to be conserved for organic farming

At the 19th Organic World Congress, more than 55 groups have come together to call for the conservation of indigenous seeds and shunning GM crops

Despite having toilets at home, many in rural India choose to defecate in open

Programmes launched to promote use of latrines have failed to influence sanitation behaviours of many people

Outstanding grain

The aromatic enigma makes basmati a clear winner among grains. The lack of knowledge of what traditional basmati is and an inability to take …

Science and Technology - Briefs

The many ways of GM contamination

Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist in the food and environment programme at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), is among the most …

Scientists identify genes that can increase drought resistance in plants

African ‘orphan’ crop varieties to help plants battle high temperatures  

Agriculture is egocentric

Norman Uphoff, professor emeritus of government and international agriculture at Cornell University, US, likes to say that the system of rice …

Straw in the wind

Punjab's paddy dilemma

In 2009, Punjab became the first state in the country to enact a law banning the sowing of rice before a stipulated date. The aim was to arrest …