University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University or CU) is a collegiate public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.&nbsp;Within India it is recognized as a &quot;Five-Star University&quot; and accredited &quot;A&quot; Grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

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The University of Calcutta has secured the Fifth position among the Universities of India in the prestigious &quot;Indian University Ranking 2019&quot; list, released by the NIRF of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

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It was established on 24 January 1857, and was one of the first institutions in Asia to be established as a multidisciplinary and Western-style university. Its alumni and faculty include several heads of state, heads of government, social reformers, prominent artists, only academy award winner and Dirac medal winner in India, many Fellows of the Royal Society and five Nobel laureates as of 2019 which is highest in South Asia.

University Of Calcutta

The effects of ‘bovine-blood-rumen-digesta-mixture’ (BBRDM), an organic fertilizer prepared from recycled rural slaughterhouse wastes on the yield of vegetable crops and soil health were studied. Sophisticated waste management technologies are difficult to apply in rural abattoirs due to poor infrastructure and low waste generation resulting in environmental as well as human health hazards. Bovine blood and rumen digesta (3:1) were mixed and dried at 100−120 °C for 6−8 hours using a tray dryer to obtain BBRDM (N/P/K = 7.63:1:1.16; C/N = 4.68). Application of 6 g BBRDM kg−1 of soil showed two-fold higher yields of bell pepper in comparison with the control as well as N/P/K = 10:26:26+urea treatment. Plants fertilized with 13 g BBRDM kg−1 of soil died after second phase of application due to the presence of labile C fraction in BBRDM. Crop yield was two-fold higher during residual cultivation of amaranth after 12 weeks of bell pepper cultivation in soils treated with BBRDM in comparison to the other treatments. The abundance, diversity and composition of bacterial communities were superior in soils fertilized with BBRDM compared to soils cultivated with chemical fertilizer as revealed by V3-V4 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Air-soil methane fluxes recorded in soils of the abattoir waste dumping sites ranged from 13.13–28.55 μg g−1 hr−1 which were around 150 times higher than those emitted from soils of BBRDM treated bell pepper pots. Recycled slaughterhouse wastes promoted healthy growth of plants and abundance of soil beneficial microbes. This recycling methodology may be advantageously adopted in rural slaughterhouses. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.

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GENERAL

Scientia Horticulturae

Application of recycled slaughterhouse wastes as an organic fertilizer for successive cultivations of bell pepper and amaranth

Organic wastes of rural slaughterhouses in developing countries comprise of blood and undigested rumen contents harboring infectious microbial pathogens and having impermissible BOD5 and COD values. Previously we demonstrated valorization of blood and rumen contents through drying and conversion to an efficacious organic fertilizer which was free from infectious pathogens and heavy metals. Here we describe fabrication of a novel helical-ribbon mixer dryer for transition from the current small-scale household cooking to equipment-driven sustainable produc-tion. Blood and rumen digesta mixed in a 3:1 ratio, having initial moisture of 85%, were dried at 90– 110 °C for 3–4 h to attain 15.6% final moisture-containing organic fertilizer. Energy consumption and moisture extraction rate were 49.4 MJ per batch and 18.9 kg h−1 respectively. Using this method, small abattoir owners could emerge as multi-product producers to enhance earnings while farmers could source the fertilizer locally for organic farming. The two activities can be complementary to each other and become a sustainable circular economy model. We applied a spreadsheet-based model for calculation of cash flow, breakeven point and conducted financial cost–benefit analysis on the projected operation of the dryer. Fertilizer production parallel with the meat trade should be profitable for slaughterhouse owners and farmers apart from generating local employment oppor-tunities. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Fulltext

Sustainability (Switzerland)

Development of a novel helical-ribbon mixer dryer for conversion of rural slaughterhouse wastes to an organic fertilizer and implications in the rural circular economy

Healthy soils are essential for progressive agronomic activities. Organic fertilization posi-tively affects agro-ecosystems by stimulating plant growth, enhancing crop productivity and fruit quality and improving soil fertility. Soil health and food security are the key elements of Organic Agriculture 3.0. Landfilling and/or open-dumping of animal wastes produced from slaughtering cause environmental pollution by releasing toxic substances, leachate and greenhouse gases. Direct application of animal carcasses to agricultural fields can adversely affect soil microbiota. Effective waste management technologies such as thermal drying, composting, vermicomposting and anaerobic digestion transform animal wastes, making them suitable for soil application by supplying soil high in organic carbon and total nitrogen. Recent agronomic practices applied recycled animal wastes as organic fertilizer in crop production. However, plants may not survive at a high fertilization rate due to the presence of labile carbon fraction in animal wastes. Therefore, dose calculation and determination of fertilizer application frequency are crucial for agronomists. Long-term animal waste-derived organic supplementation promotes copiotrophic microbial abundance due to enhanced substrate affinity, provides micronutrients to soils and protects crops from soil-borne pathogens owing to formation of plant-beneficial microbial consortia. Animal waste-derived organically fertilized soils possess higher urease and acid phosphatase activities. Furthermore, waste to fertilizer conversion is a low-energy requiring process that promotes circular bio-economy. Thus, considering the promotion of soil fertility, microbial abundance, disease protection and economic considerations application of animal-waste-derived organic fertilizer should be the mainstay for sustainable agriculture. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Agronomy

Agronomic efficiency of animal-derived organic fertilizers and their effects on biology and fertility of soil: A review

Thirty-six rice genotypes were evaluated for thirteen different quality parameters along with yield/plant to assess genetic estimates of the traits and the extent of genetic diversity among the varieties. Analysis of variance was conducted to determine GCV, PCV, heritability and GA of the genotypes with respect to all characters. Significant variation was observed in many traits among the genotypes offering scope for selection. Correlation analysis determined the nature of relationship among these characters. UPGMA studies revealed six major clusters and cluster I and II were the largest with maximum number of genotypes. The study identified that the varieties namely, Black Gora, Kalinga-2, Dudheswar, ARC 10086, IR-36, IR-64 and Nipponbare possessed good quality traits and high yield performance. The current study indicated that developing rice varieties for consumer acceptance with good grain quality traits along with high yield will be very useful in rice breeding and in selection of parents for hybridization to combine both high yield and improved quality traits. © 2020, Agricultural Research Communication Centre. All rights reserved.

Agricultural Science Digest

Grain quality and multivariate analysis of various quality parameters in rice genotypes

Aim : To identify bacterial leaf blight resistant genes in some rice varieties so that these resistant varieties can be used as a good source of donor for BLB resistant genes in genetic enhancement program. Methodology : A total of sixty-one rice genotypes including resistant and susceptible checks were screened in field condition by artificial inoculation using 1X020 strain of Xoo for two years (Kharif 2016 and 2017). These varieties were also genotyped for seven SSR markers tagged with major BLB resistant genes, Le.,Xa4, xa5, xa13 and Xa7. Results : In artificial screening, significant disease development was recorded and the varieties were categorized using disease scoring scale of IRRI, 1996 where seven cultivars exhibited resistance, while twenty-seven were found to be moderately resistant. In genotyping, there was distinct difference in banding position for resistant and susceptible genotypes. Genotypes having resistant disease reaction, carrying BLB resistant genes were identified. Interpretation : Genotypes IR-64, IR-68144-2b-2-2-3-1-127, Ratna, Surjamukhi, Kalinga-2, Azucena and Zheshan-2 expressed bands of RM markers closely linked toXa4, xa5, xa13 and Xa7BLB resistant genes and field testing also confirmed resistant host reaction against pathogens. © Triveni Enterprises, Lucknow (India)

Journal of Environmental Biology

Identification of BLB resistant genes in some rice varieties for development of high yielding bacterial leaf blight tolerant types

Sunflower, an important oil seed crop, needs a balanced nutrition for its optimum growth and thorough maintenance of soil health. A field experiment was conducted to study the impact of integrated use of organic, inorganic and biofertilizers on soil fertility, soil organic carbon fractions, soil microbiological and biochemical parameters as well as yield of sunflower (cv. GK 2002) in alluvial soil at Agricultural Experimental Farm, University of Calcutta, Baruipur, India, during 2013-14 and 2014-15. There were ten different treatments with three replications. After analysis, the data clearly showed significant difference among treatments in sunflower yield and a prominent impact of integrated use of organic, inorganic and biofertilizers was found under the treatments. Microbial biomass carbon, basal soil respiration, activities of soil enzyme and different carbon fractions showed higher values for those treatments where only organic inputs were given. The best possible combination for higher seed yield was recorded in T10/T6 treatment (vermicompost 2.5 t ha-1 or FYM (5 t ha-1) with phosphate solubilizing bacteria @ 8 kg ha-1 soil application + Azotobacter @ 8 kg ha-1 soil application + 50% recommended dose of chemical fertilizers + foliar spray (2% urea)). T10/T6 treatment is thus recommended for sunflower cultivation in alluvial soil considering the soil quality and seed yield of sunflower. © 2019, Indian Academy of Sciences.

Current Science

Effect of integrated nutrient management in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) on alluvial soil

The effect of row spacing and foliar application of nutrients on the performance of greengram var. 'K-851'was studied at the Agricultural Experimental Station of Calcutta University, Baruipur, 24-Parganas (South), on Gangetic alluvial soil. The experiment was laid out in a factorial RBD with three different row spacings and four different foliar sprays (750 1/ha), thus giving 12 treatment combinations replicated thrice. The results revealed that row spacing caused remarkable improvement in growth attributes such as plant height, dry matter accumulation, RGR, CGR and NAR at different growth stages which resulted in higher productivity. Maximum CGR, RGR and NAR were observed under 30 cm row spacing closely followed by 25 and 20 cm. Among the foliar treatments, higher CGR and NAR were recorded with spraying of DAP (2%) followed by urea (2%) and KNO, (0.5%). Spraying with DAP (2%) recorded the maximum RGR followed by KNO 3 (0.5%) and urea (2%). The results on yield attributing characters revealed that row spacing and foliar spray had significant effect on the crop productivity in terms of number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and 1000-grain weight. Treatment combination of foliar spray of DAP (2%) and 20 cm row spacing revealed 32.67% higher yield over control followed by 25 cm row spacing and foliar spray of KNO 3 (0.5%). The results suggested that for achieving higher productivity in summer greengram, 20 cm row spacing and foliar spray with nutrients like DAP (2%) seemed to be the most effective agronomic practices for greengram cultivation in Gangetic alluvial soil of West Bengal.

Research on Crops

Growth and yield of greengram (Vigna radiata) as affected by row spacing and foliar application of nutrients

The agronomic performance of 18 M4 generation mutants of aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.) was evaluated along with their two mother genotypes, IET 14142 and IET 14143. IET 1412 and IET14143 were developed from Tulaipanja, an aromatic non-basmati rice cultivar, popularly grown in northern parts of West Bengal - an important rice growing province of India. The results indicate that there is a considerable amount of genetic variability among mutants with respect to thirteen quantitative characters. Some of the mutants had a combination of both positive and negative forms of important yield contributing characters. The performance of four mutants (T1m 1, T1m6, T2m4 and T 2m8) indicated considerable improvement in grain yield over their respective control. The increased grain yield per plant in the above high yielding mutants is primarily due to increase in panicle number per plant, spikelet number per panicle, grain number per panicle and test weight. These mutants need further evaluation in multilocation trials to judge their potential as varieties of aromatic rice. The other mutants may be used in cross-breeding programmes of aromatic rice for agronomically useful characters i.e., early flowering, short stature, erect flag leaf, high grain number, heavy weight per 100 grains. The apparent changes in different characters in an individual mutant may not be due to genetic changes in all the affected characters. The possible role of pleiotropic effects of mutant genes cannot be ruled out. © 2012 Trop. Agric.

Tropical Agriculture

Evaluation of gamma ray induced mutants of aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.)

A field experiment was conducted at Baruipur Farm, Calcutta University during spring seasons of 2004 and 2005 on Entisol, to study the effect of nitrogen, sulphur and foliar spray of nitrate salts on sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Nitrogen application up to 120 kg/ha improved the physiological growth parameters, yield attributes and seed yield by 20% over 60 kg N/ha. A significant increase in the growth parameters was observed with 60 kg S/ha over 30 kg S/ha. Application of 60 kg S/ha resulted in significantly higher seed yield of 2.27 tonnes/ha which was 33% higher over no sulphur. Foliar spray of 0.406% Ca(NO3)2 at 50% flowering improved the yield attributes and seed yield over 0.50% KNO3. Application of 120 kg N along with 60 kg S/ha and foliar nutrition of 0.406% Ca(NO3) 2 was found most effective in increasing sunflower production in spring season on Entisol.