Technological Breakthrough for Large Scale Bioconversion of Coir Pith towards Sustainable Soil Health Management and Development of Source Point Methane Abatement Model

Coir pith, a byproduct of coir industry, continues to be dumped as a waste in India, because despite its utility being claimed in different applications, an efficient and adoptable technology for its safe utilization is yet unavailable. Due to high lignin content and high C:N ratio, coir pith when left untreated can take decades to decompose, which not only leads to environmental pollution but most importantly methane emission, thereby contributing to climate change. However, once composted, coir pith can transform into an effective soil rejuvenator, considering its utility towards amelioration of especially marginal/ agriculturally degraded soil and improvement of soil productivity. But so far, there is no available composting technology in this respect which is practically feasible, economically viable and socially acceptable. Under IBM-IORF Sustainability project (2022-23) at Mandya, Karnataka, an effort was initiated utilizing Novcom Composting Technology, towards bioconversion of coir pith into safe, mature and qualitative compost for sustainable soil management, especially looking at the stony red soils of the area which are erosion prone, and have a poor productive potential. Periodical study of Novcom coir pith compost samples on 0, 10, 20 and 30 days confirmed effective degradation as demonstrated by the rapid decline of C:N ratio from 1:100 to < 1:25, appreciation of total nitrogen by 98 percent and 60 % degradation of lignin within a 30 days’ time period. The facts are corroborated by the respective very high (in the order of 1016 c.f.u. per gm or one Trillion Billion microflora per ton compost) population of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes. Phytotoxicity Bioassay test values confirmed not only the absence of phytotoxic elements in compost, but also indicated that this compost can actually accelerate seed germination and root growth process. Estimation of methane mitigation potential under this technology utilizing the carbon assessment tool - Agriculture Carbon Footprint Assessor (ACFA, version: 1.0) indicated that untreated coir pith can potentially emit methane in the range of 5897 – 6025 kg CO2 equivalent (taking GWP24 years of methane: 75). GHG emission during biodegradation of coir pith utilizing Novcom Composting Technology, was found to be about 31 times lower (6.47 kg CO2 equivalent/ ton treated waste) than the reference values recorded in respect of any other standard biodegradation process. Especially in terms of methane the negligible emission under this composting technology is the highlight, as corroborated by the documented value of 0.61 kg CO2 equivalent/ ton treated waste. The evaluation confirmed that bioconversion of coir pith utilizing Novcom Composting Technology can enable methane mitigation of about 6000 ton CO2 equivalent per 1000 ton waste, directly from the source point. The study indicated that Novcom Composting Technology can transform not only a potential pollutant to a quality organic soil amendment, the process also etches out and effective pathway for methane abatement directly from the source point that has crucial impact not only in respect of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, but also SDG 15, SDG-3 and most importantly SDG-2. Hence, bioconversion of coir- pith utilizing this technology can also facilitate an effective model towards the Net Zero commitment with significant social and environmental impacts.

Comparison of Serum Biochemical and Mineral Profiles of Cattle Reared Under Island and Coastal Ecosystem

The present study was conducted in the Department of Animal Reproduction Gynaecology and Obstetrics, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, OUAT, BBSR in collaboration with ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Portblair (Andaman and Nicobar Island). Crossbred cattle with the history of anoestrus and repeat breeding were considered for the present investigation. The basic difference in serum biochemical and mineral profiles of cattle reared under two quite different ecosystems namely Island and coastal ecosystem was estimated which might be due to the variability in rainfall, ambient temperature, day light length and humidity. The incidence of different infertility conditions in both the ecosystems also might vary as per the environment. Serum samples were collected for estimations of biochemical parameters like total protein, glucose, cholesterol, Ca, P and Ca:P ratio. The overall incidence of infertility was recorded to be 47.62 % in island and 45.90 % in coastal ecosystem. No significant difference in serum levels of total protein, glucose, cholesterol, zinc, copper and manganese could be observed in between cattle reared in both ecosystems. It was concluded that the variations in humidity, ambient temperature, rain fall and day light length between Portblair, Andaman and coastal climate of Odisha, did not have much effect on reproduction of cattle

Attachment of spermatozoa to in vitro matured bovine oocytes in TCM-199 and MEM media.

Investigation was undertaken to study the efficacy of TCM 199 and MEM media in the process of oocyte maturation and fertilization after harvesting the oocytes from slaughtered cow and heifer ovaries by aspiration and mincing techniques. Out of 354 number of ovaries, mincing method could yield 1.35 (50.98%) of good quality oocytes per ovary as comparison to 0.61 (55.45%) by aspiration method. The TCM 199 and MEM could record the maturation of 85.71% and 60.26% of oocytes and the rate of sperm penetration was higher in TCM 199 matured oocytes (97.21%) as compared to MEM matured ones (74.46%). The staining of oocytes by aceto-orcein stain was also employed.