Assesment of Crop Residue Generation in Major Crops of Telangana, India

Abstract

India is one of the key producer of food grains, oilseeds, sugarcane and other agricultural products. Agricultural crops generate considerable amounts of leftover residues, with increase in food production crop residues also increasing. These leftover residues exhibit not only resource loss but also a missed opportunity to improve a farmer’s income. Crop residue burning has become a major environmental problem causing health issues as well as contributing to global warming. Composting, biochar production and mechanization are a few effective sustainable techniques that can help to curtail the issue while retaining the nutrients present in the crop residue in the soil. The main aim of this paper is to assess the amount of crop residue generated in four major crops paddy, maize, red gram and cotton of Telangana in the year 2021. The assessment of crop residue generation is done using the residue production ratio of the above four crops and the total production in the year 2021 in Telangana state. The results shows that the paddy crop generating high amount of crop residue i.e., 15,29,60,297 followed by cotton, maize and redgram. The generated crop residue is needed to be disposed or managed without causing any harm to the environment. The study suggests that the proper management of crop residue by various methods like in-situ incorporation, cattle feed, industrial purpose etc., instead of burning of the crop residue which causing environmental pollution with the emission of harmful gases.