Sustainable Agriculture

Mycorrhiza and Bacteria-Enriched Microbiomes

Mycorrhizae are beneficial soil fungi that establish a symbiotic association with host plant roots. In nature, they also associate with bacteria during different stages of their life cycle. Cross-kingdom associations formed between plant roots and mycorrhizae have been proficient in positively influencing plant growth as these associations are evolutionarily selected and maintained in nature, and are hence more powerful than introduced, non-native, combinations of biofertilizer bacterial strains.

Impact of Nature-based Innovative Biofertilizers on Agriculture

Ms Vatsala Koul

Global climate changes have resulted in unexpected drought, extreme temperatures, excessive rainfall, and unanticipated storms, causing disasters that had never occurred in the past. Considering this, establishment of an environment friendly mechanism is of vital importance. In recent years, there has been an unrestricted and unchecked use of agrochemicals to obtain higher yield which on the flip side has given rise to several agricultural problems and damaged soils.

TERI team has developed nanofertilizers for climate smart agriculture

Nanofertilizers developed by TERI's Sustainable Agriculture Program for achieving climate-smart agriculture are approved by the Department of Agriculture for manufacturing and marketing

Dr Pushplata Singh

Nanofertilizers have promised to overcome the adverse effect of excessive conventional fertilizers on environment and health. Our extensive studies have shown that the use of nanofertilizers, in combination with ‘bulk’ fertilizer(s), can reduce the application size of conventional fertilizers by 25-50 % in agricultural fields. TERI has developed three nano-fertilizer technologies up to commercial scale. These include nano Urea, nano DAP and nano Phosphorous.

Connecting with the Community: How FOLU India engages farmers to improve nutrition

Ms Meena Sehgal

Ms Vidhu Gupta

Nano steps towards Climate Smart Agriculture

Its deceptively small size is no measure of its impact. Nanotechnology may work at a small scale, but the minuscule size of nanomaterials belies their efficiency. Little wonder then that the technology is being increasingly applied in agriculture to enhance efficacy and, importantly, to shrink the adverse impact of conventional chemical fertilizers on the environment and health.