Research
Biomass and Bioenergy Research
1. Jatropha curcas (Biodiesel Crop):
Through a long-term (5 years; 2007-2012) multisite agronomical (different doses of irrigation, fertilizers, various plant densities by decreasing spacing and applying pruning) experiment with one elite accession (CSMCRI-GUJ-Banas-0106-C-3; IC No. 559365), identified out of 24 elite accessions, we developed agrotechnology for the cultivation of Jatropha on marginal lands in India. The performance of Jatropha was assessed based on a range of plant growth parameters, seed yield, and oil percentage. Site-specific responses in growth and yield were observed; however, seed yield at any location was not as higher as hypothesized and promoted nationally and globally (Singh et al. 2013).
The performance of 24 elite accessions on degraded sodic lands (alkaline soils) was investigated for five years (2006-2010) in another experiment (Singh et al. 2013). There was a large variation in growth and yield among these accessions, and the average seed yield (118 g plant−1) and oil content (30%) of Jatropha on the sodic land were sufficiently low to make it an economically feasible venture for biofuel production. In order to make it an economically viable proposition, some preliminary screening was done to identify the superior accessions based on growth and yield traits, that have attained an average seed yield of 178–246 g plant−1 with 27–38% oil content at five years. There was no correlation between seed and oil yield of best-performing accessions of Jatropha with its various physiological parameters such as photosynthetic rate, transpiration, stomatal conductance, and water use efficiency.
Given Jatropha was promoted to be an ecologically fit candidate for soil health restoration and biodiversity support we investigated the soil restoration potential of Jatropha and compared its effectiveness with Prosopis juliflora another non-native fuelwood species in India (Singh et al. 2014). Jatropha to some extent improved soil organic matter and decreased soil pH beneath its canopy but there was no other vegetation in proximity to this plant. However, compared to a 0-year plantation soil restoration outside the canopy was negligible.
2. Wild Perennial Grasses (Lignocellulosic Biomass Production):
The socio-economically (economically viable with social and cultural values) and ecologically (support biodiversity, no competition with food crops and arable lands, and restore/regenerate soil health) sustainable biomass production to support the burgeoning growth of the bioeconomy industry is a great challenge. First, we proposed the idea of designer ecosystems to solve the conservation-exploitation dilemma (Awasthi et al. 2016) and show how diverse and perennial cropping systems (DPCS) developed on degraded/marginal/unproductive lands (Awasthi et al. 2017) can support ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation through biomass production and how DPCS can help in job creation and provide livelihood support marginal farmers (Singh et al. 2020). We established the first biodiversity and ecosystem functioning experiment exclusively on rhizomatous and tall perennial grasses that are otherwise underutilized and neglected for economic benefits (Singh et al. 2018) to identify multifunctional communities of perennial grasses.
3. Commercial Perennial Grasses (Lignocellulosic Biomass and Industrial Products):
A biodiversity and ecosystem functioning experiment on commercially established perennial aromatic grasses was conducted to understand if increasing taxonomic diversity and application of consortium of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria can increase biomass production and improve the fertility of marginal lands (Maddhesiya et al. 2021; Maddhesiya et al. 2022).
Updating.....
Ecological Restoration and Land Rehabilitation
Restoration of Degraded Lands through Afforestation and Cropping Systems
Outreach and Extension Activities