Role of bio-decomposer in rice residue management and its effect on succeeding crop: A review

Abstract

India produces more than 500 million tonnes of crop wastes each year due to its extensive agricultural industry. A considerable amount of leftover crop residues are burnt in the fields primarily to clear the left-over straw and stubbles after the harvest. The major causes of crop residue burning in the fields are a lack of labour, a high cost of residue removal from the field, and an increase in the usage of combines for crop harvesting. Burning crop residues has a negative impact on air quality, results in the loss of nutrients like N, P, K, and S, destroys the characteristics of the soil and wastes residue, which is now viewed as a valuable resource all over the world. Fungi can be employed for the in situ breakdown of crop leftovers and have the ability to degrade lignocellulose. Species of fungi that break down lignocellulose were isolated and their lignocellulolytic enzyme activity was assessed. Trichoderma spp. increases the rate of crop residue decomposition by producing enzymes such as cellulases, hemicellulases, proteases, and â-1, 3-glucanase. Alternate option of rice residue burning are the adoption of residue incorporation with microbial consortia as in-situ for succeeding crop have a great potential to increase the crop yield and improve soil health in rice based system.