Nitrogen is the main limiting nutrient after carbon, hydrogen and oxygen for photosynthetic process, phyto-hormonal, proteomic changes and growth-development of plants to complete its lifecycle. Excessive and inefficient use of N fertilizer results in enhanced crop production costs and atmospheric pollution. Atmospheric nitrogen (71%) in the molecular form is not available for the plants. For world’s sustainable food production and atmospheric benefits, there is an urgent need to up-grade nitrogen use efficiency in agricultural farming system. The nitrogen use efficiency is the product of nitrogen uptake efficiency and nitrogen utilization efficiency, it varies from 30.2 to 53.2%. Nitrogen losses are too high, due to excess amount, low plant population, poor application methods etc., which can go up to 70% of total available nitrogen. These losses can be minimized up to 15–30% by adopting improved agronomic approaches such as optimal dosage of nitrogen, application of N by using canopy sensors, maintaining plant population, drip fertigation and legume based intercropping. A few transgenic studies have shown improvement in nitrogen uptake and even increase in biomass. Nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, glutamine synthetase, glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase and asparagine synthetase enzyme have a great role in nitrogen metabolism. However, further studies on carbon–nitrogen metabolism and molecular changes at omic levels are required by using “whole genome sequencing technology” to improve nitrogen use efficiency. This review focus on nitrogen use efficiency that is the major concern of modern days to save economic resources without sacrificing farm yield as well as safety of global environment, i.e. greenhouse gas emissions, ammonium volatilization and nitrate leaching.

/pdf/fate-of-nitrogen-in-agriculture-and-environment-agronomic-246qu8ghc0.pdf

Fate of nitrogen in agriculture and environment: agronomic, eco-physiological and molecular approaches to improve nitrogen use efficiency.

Brazil is a major sugarcane producer and its production more than doubled over the last decades to meet global bioenergy demands for reducing crude oil dependency and mitigating climate change. Nevertheless, the adverse effects of this growth on jeopardizing the sustainability of sugarcane production are not known, especially when environmental impacts of agricultural inputs and production processes are not judiciously managed. This article is a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-knowledge and the main advances made thus far in the sugarcane sector. Here, we review the major environmental impacts of rapidly expanding sugarcane plantation on the land use change and its competition with food production, as well as those associated with sugarcane cultivation in Brazil. Our main finding are that sugarcane plantation did not contribute to direct deforestation, and its expansion on degraded pastures with the attendant increased yields of food crops and livestock intensification decreased land competition between food and sugarcane. Non-burning sugarcane harvesting is a win-win strategy because of its benefits involving agronomic and environmental aspects, but soil compaction is among the main issues in sugarcane cropping systems. Sugarcane is highly efficient in terms of nitrogen use efficiency, which is an important factor for its high energy balance. But, special attention should be given regarding emissions of nitrous oxide when straw mulching is combined with application of nitrogen fertilizer and vinasse. Recent advances in the sugarcane sector also show significant reductions in water consumption, making sugarcane ethanol one of the most favorable options in terms of water footprint. Growing realization of a vast potential indicates the need to further enhance the environmental benefits of sugarcane ethanol by optimizing the agricultural production chain. Based on this improved knowledge, the adoption of best management practices is among researchable priorities that can be developed to consolidate the large potential of sugarcane production towards greater sustainability.

/pdf/sustainability-of-sugarcane-production-in-brazil-a-review-1f113giofw.pdf

Sustainability of sugarcane production in Brazil. A review

Water quality in agricultural lands draining to the Great Barrier Reef: A review of causes, management and priorities

The potential for sugarcane ethanol from Brazil to mitigate GHG emissions is undeniable, but the way that ethanol is produced during the agricultural and industrial phases will ultimately determine its benefits to society In this paper, we evaluate the environmental impacts of sugarcane agriculture and ethanol production in Brazil as management practices continue to change and production expands to new frontiers We focused our evaluation on the impacts on water, atmosphere, and soils, including how the application of organic and inorganic fertilizers and the accumulation of crop residue in the field affect emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) We also addressed the impacts of land use changes on threatened biomes and discussed some of the present obstacles regarding conservation and restoration efforts We concluded that, since a similar assessment was put forth in 2008, our knowledge about the environmental impacts of sugarcane ethanol in Brazil has advanced with regard to soil degradation, nitrogen dynamics, and soil carbon stocks However, more information is still needed about the impacts of the increasing use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers in sugarcane agriculture, especially on water resources Furthermore, without a better understanding about how landscape fragmentation affects the biodiversity of terrestrial and aquatic tropical ecosystems and the services they provide, policies created to protect and restore them may be ineffective On the other hand, the use of presently available scientific information to end unsustainable farming and the implementation of conservation strategies proposed by the Brazilian Forest Code could be a first step to guarantee that ethanol is produced more sustainably in Brazil

Reassessing the environmental impacts of sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil to help meet sustainability goals.

Environmental impacts of irrigated sugarcane production: Nitrogen lost through runoff and leaching

Leaching of nutrients from a sugarcane crop growing on an Ultisol in Brazil.

Components of the water balance in soil with sugarcane crops

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Leaching of nutrients from a sugarcane crop growing on an Ultisol in Brazil.

Components of the water balance in soil with sugarcane crops