Identification, validation and quantification of thymoquinone in conjunction with assessment of bioactive possessions and GC-MS profiling of pharmaceutically valuable crop Nigella (Nigella sativa L.) varieties.

Background: Plants have been pivotal in traditional and modern medicine globally, with historical evidence supporting their therapeutic applications. Nigella (Nigella sativa L.) is an annual herbaceous plant of the Ranunculaceae family and is cultivated in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Western and Central Asia. The medicinal use of plants dates back thousands of years, documented in ancient writings from various civilizations. Alkaloids, phenolics, saponins, flavonoids, terpenoids, anthraquinones, and tannins found in plants exhibit antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, and antidiabetic activities. Methodology: This study specifically examines the pharmacological potential of Nigella sativa L., emphasizing thymoquinone-a compound with diverse nutraceutical benefits. The extraction, characterization, and quantification of thymoquinone, alongside other physicochemical parameters, were carried out using ethanol through Soxhlet extraction procedures on five nigella varieties. HPLC analysis was performed to determine the maximum accumulation of thymoquinone in the released variety of the plant and the chemical composition of the seed oil isolated from Nigella sativa L., varieties utilized in the study was determined through GC-MS analysis. Results: The research revealed that the Ajmer nigella-20 variety stands out, exhibiting elevated levels of thymoquinone (0.20 ± 0.07%), antioxidants (76.18 ± 1.78%), and substantial quantities of total phenols (31.85 ± 0.97 mg GAEg-1 seed) and flavonoids (8.150 ± 0.360 mg QE 100 g-1 seed) compared to other varieties. The GC-MS profiling showed the presence of 11 major compounds in the studied varieties, with p-cymene, longifolene, and myristic acid identified as the major chemical compounds present in the oil. Conclusion: The observed variations among Nigella varieties indicate the Ajmer nigella-20 variety as particularly promising for thymoquinone and bioactive compound extraction. This study underscores Nigella's potential as a source of pharmacologically active compounds, highlighting the need for further exploration in therapeutic applications.

Agriculture models for restoring degraded land to enhance CO2 biosequestration and carbon credits in the Vindhyan region of India.

The study's objective was to evaluate the status of converted degraded land into productive agricultural models by improving the physicochemical properties of the soil, soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions (active and passive), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC), while also generating carbon (C) credit for additional farmers' income. Six models were analyzed, namely: (1) Arjun forest-based agroecosystems (AFBAE); (2) Lemon grass-based agroecosystems (LGBAE); (3) Legume-cereal-moong-based agroecosystems (LCMBAE); (4) Bael-black mustard-based agroecosystems (BMBAE); (5) Guava-wheat-based agroecosystems (GWBAE), and (6) Custard apple -lentil -based agroecosystems (CALBAE). These models were replicated three times in a randomized block design (RBD). Soil samples were collected from the study area at two depths (0-0.30 and 0.30-0.60 m). At a 0-0.30 m depth, the highest bulk density (ρb) of 1.50 Mg m-3 was observed in LCMBAE, while the lowest ρb of 1.43 Mg m-3 was recorded in BMBAE. The soil organic carbon (SOC) and SOC stock values exhibited a range of 4.2-7.7 g kg-1 and 19.0-33.4 Mg ha-1, respectively. In the AFBAE, the highest levels of 163.1 % MBC were found over LCMBAE. At a 0-0.30 m depth, the recalcitrant index (RI) and lability index (LI) ranged from 0.35-0.46 to 1.97-2.11, respectively. Additionally, the AFBAE exhibited the highest total biomass accumulation (39.23 Mg ha-1), carbon dioxide (CO2) biosequestration (287.9 Mg ha-1), and the total social cost of CO2 at US$ 277 ha-1. Furthermore, in the AFBAE, there was a 198.1 % increase in total C credit (US$ 161 ha-1) compared to LCMBAE (US$ 54 ha-1). However, at 0.30-0.60 m depths, GWBAE and CALBAE were statistically equivalent (p ≤ 0.05) in total C stocks. Principal component analysis (PCA) reveals that component-1 accounts for 77.4 % of the variability, while component-2 contributes 18.6 %. This article aimed to convert the degraded land into a sustainable agricultural module by increasing SOC and CO2 biosequestration and producing more C-credit, or climate currency, on underutilized land.

Advanced technological adaptations can improve the energy-cum-carbon-efficiency of diverse rice production systems.

Worldwide, there is an urgent need to develop energy-cum-carbon smart and cost-effective rice production systems for farmer's adoption. Data were collected from 280 farmer's fields representing the South Asia rice production system. Out of these 75 fields following transplanted rice (TPR), 55 fields of wet direct seeded rice (WDSR), 60 fields of drill sown direct seeded rice in line (DSR L), 60 fields of traditional direct seeded rice (DSR) and 30 fields of DSR + beushning (DSR + B). Results show that grain and straw yields in the TPR were 6056 and 7752 kg ha-1, respectively; however, they were neither profitable, energy efficient, or eco-friendly. At the same time, the grain and straw yields in DSR L were recorded by 5832 and 7757 kg ha-1, respectively. It was profitable with the highest net returns (1111.5 US$ ha-1), energy use efficiency (12.77), energy productivity (0.41 kg MJ-1), energy profitability (11.77 US$ MJ-1), energy output efficiency (1314.3 MJ day-1) environment friendly in terms of carbon efficiency 7.20, carbon sustainability index (6.20) and had most diminutive carbon footprint (0.14 kg CO2 eq kg-1 grain) with a comparable carbon credit. DSR L is productive, economically viable, energy efficient, and environmentally safer among rice production systems.

Interaction impact of biocompost on nutrient dynamics and relations with soil biota, carbon fractions index, societal value of CO2 equivalent and ecosystem services in the wheat-rice farming.

This experiment aimed to understand the recycled industrial biocompost interaction with fertilizers doses on soil nutrient dynamics, soil organic carbon (SOC) fraction indexes, microbial population, positive ecosystem services, carbon dioxide (CO2) societal values and economy in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-rice (Oryza sativa L.) production. Based on the field and lab data, a significant interaction was observed between the biocompost and fertilizer levels; the fertilizer doses (FD)3 × biocompost (BC)1 were observed 80.6 grain and 56.0% higher straw yield in the wheat-rice crops than FD0 × BC9. Based on the results of soil organic carbon (SOC), the treatment FD3 × BC1 was observed more very labile (5.06 g kg-1) and moderately labile (4.26 g kg-1) carbon (C) fractions. However, C liability and recalcitrant indexes were recorded as non-significant. Further, the interaction effects of FD3 × BC1 found 65.7% more CO2 sequestration over FD0 × BC9. In terms of microbial dynamics, at 45 days after sowing (DAS), the treatment FD3 × BC4 was found to be the highest soil bacteria (56.6 × 107), fungi (32.3 × 105), and actinomycetes (49.1 × 106 cfu g-1) population. Further, regarding ecosystem services, the FD3 × BC1 found a maximum of US$ 1236 and 322 ha-1 year-1 grain and straw-based ecosystem services, respectively. However, the treatment FD3 × BC1 observed the maximum societal value (US$ 2041 ha-1). In contrast, higher economic values of 77.9 and 138.8% gross and net returns were recorded in the FD3 × BC1 compared to FD0 × BC9 in the wheat-rice cropping sequence (WRCS), respectively. Therefore, the study's hypothesis was to know the impact of the biocompost with fertilizers doses to enhance the nutrient and microbial dynamics, increasing SOC fractions (active and passive) and pools, CO2 sequestration, and restoring the soil health in the WRCS.

Industrial garbage-derived biocompost enhances soil organic carbon fractions, CO2 biosequestration, potential carbon credits and sustainability index in a rice-wheat ecosystem.

The objectives of this experiment were i) to study on the garbage composting to improve the soil organic carbon (SOC) pools (active and passive), ii) work out the carbon (C) budgeting, and iii) cut off C footprints (CFs) in the rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) farming to achieve the long-term sustainability. The main plots show four fertilizer levels (F0 = control, F1 = 112.5:45:45 kg nitrogen; phosphorus; potassium (NPK) ha-1, F2 = 150:60:60 kg NPK ha-1 and F3 = 150:60:60 kg NPK ha-1+ 5 kg iron (Fe) + 5 kg zinc (Zn) were applied, while in sub plots with the combination of three industrial garbage (I1 = carpet garbage; I2 = pressmud; I3 = bagasse) and three microbial culture (M1 = Pleurotus sajor-caju, M2 = Azotobacter chroococcum; M3 = Trichoderma viride) made into nine treatment combinations were applied. Based on the interaction, treatment F3 × I1+M3 resulted in a maximum of 25.1 and 22.4 Mg ha-1 total CO2 biosequestration by rice and wheat, respectively. However, it was cut off CFs by 29.9 and 22.2% more than F1 × I3+M1. Based on the soil C fractionation study, in the main plot treatment, F3 was active very labile C (VLC) and moderately labile C (MLC) and passive less labile C (LLC) and recalcitrant C (RC) SOC fractions contributed by 68.3 and 30.0%, respectively, of total SOC. However, in the sub plot, treatment I1+M3 found 68.2% and 29.8% active and passive SOC fractions, respectively, of total SOC. Regarding the soil microbial biomass C (SMBC) study, F3 had 37.7% higher than F0. However, in the sub plot, I1+M3 was seen to be 21.5% greater than I2+M1. Furthermore, wheat and rice had higher 1002 and 897 US$ ha-1 potential C credit in F3 × I1+M3, respectively. SOC fractions were perfectly positively correlated with SMBC. A positive (+) correlation was observed among grain yield (wheat and rice) and SOC pools in soil. However, a negative correlation was found between the C sustainability index (CSI) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI). The variability in wheat and rice grain yield was 46 and 74%, respectively, contributed by the SOC pools. Therefore, this study hypothesised that applying inorganic nutrients and industrial garbage converted into biocompost cut off C emissions and reduced the demand for chemical fertilizers, opening garbage disposal, and simultaneously enhancing the SOC pools.

Utilizing waste compost to improve the atmospheric CO2 capturing in the rice-wheat cropping system and energy-cum­carbon credit auditing for a circular economy.

The study aimed to manage industrial wastes and create a module for using compost from waste for crops cultivation to conserve energy, reduce fertilizer use and Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improve the atmospheric CO2 capturing in agriculture for a green economy. In the main-plot, the experiment's results using NS3 found 50.1 and 41.8 % more grain yield and total carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in the wheat-rice cropping sequence, respectively, compared to the NS0. Moreover, the treatment CW + TV in the sub-plot observed 24.0 and 20.3 % higher grain yield and total CO2 sequestration than B + PS. Based on interaction, the NS3× CW + TV resulted in a maximum total CO2 sequestration and C credit of 47.5 Mg ha-1 and US$ 1899 ha-1, respectively. Further, it was 27.9 % lower in carbon footprints (CFs) than NS1 × B + PS. Regarding another parameter, the treatment NS3 observed a 42.4 % more total energy output in the main-plot than that of NS0. Further, in the sub-plot, the treatment CW + TV produced 21.3 % more total energy output than B + PS. Energy use efficiency (EUE) and net energy return in the interaction of NS3× CW + TV were 20.5 and 138.8 % greater than the NS0 × B + PS, respectively. In the main-plot, the treatment NS3 obtained a maximum of 585.0 MJ US$-1 and US$ 0.24 MJ-1 for energy intensity in economic terms (EIET) and eco-efficiency index in terms of energy (EEIe), respectively. While in the sub-plot, the CW + TV was observed at a maximum of 571.52 MJ US$-1 and US$ 0.23 MJ-1 EIET and EEIe, respectively. The correlation and regression study showed a perfect positive correlation between grain yield and total C output. Moreover, a high positive correlation (0.75 to 1) was found with all other energy parameters for grain energy use efficiency (GEUE). The variability in the wheat-rice cropping sequence's energy profitability (EPr) was 53.7 % for human energy profitability (HEP). Based on principal component analysis (PCA), the eigenvalues of the first two principal components (PCs) had been greater than two, explaining 78.4 and 13.7 % of the variability. The experiment hypothesis was to develop a reliable technology for safely using industrial waste compost, minimizing energy consumption and CO2 emissions by reducing chemical fertilizer input in agriculture soils.

Efficient nutrient management for enhancing crop productivity, quality and nutrient dynamics in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) in the semi-arid region of northern India.

Various faulty farming practices and low-performance cultivars selection are reducing crop yields, factor productivity, and soil fertility. Therefore, there is an urgent need to achieve better nutrient dynamics and sustainable production by selecting more nutrient-responsive cultivars using efficient nutrient management. The present experiment aimed to enhance crop productivity, seed quality, nutrient efficiency, and soil nutrient dynamics through efficient nutrient management under different lentil cultivars. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design, assigning three cultivars (viz. Sapna, Garima, and HM-1) in the main plots and ten nutrient management practices in the sub-plots, replicating them thrice. Results revealed that cultivar HM-1 recorded significantly higher seed yield (1.59-1.61 Mg ha-1) and the uptake of N (67.2-67.6 kg ha-1), P (6.8-7.0 kg ha-1), K (13.8-13.9 kg ha-1), Zn (60.4-61.1 g ha-1), and Fe (162.5-165.2 g ha-1) in seed compared to Sapna and Garima. Also, the cultivar HM-1 was more efficient in terms of partial factor productivity for NPK (PFP; 24.27-24.59 kg kg-1), partial nutrient balance (PNB; 2.09-2.13 kg kg-1) and internal utilisation efficiency (IUE; 11.64-11.85 kg kg-1). The study showed that the lentil cultivar HM-1 could be successfully grown by substituting 50% RDN with organic manures, i.e., vermicompost, without compromising crop productivity and soil fertility, thereby sustaining soil-human-environment health.

Advance methodological approaches for carbon stock estimation in forest ecosystems.

The forests are a key player in maintaining ecological balance on the earth. They not only conserve biodiversity, reduce soil erosion, and protect watersheds but also promote the above and below-ground ecosystem services. Forests are known as air cleaners on the planet and play a significant role in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere. As per programs launched in the Conference of Parties (COP) 26, there is a need to promote policies and programs to reduce the atmospheric carbon (C) through the forest ecosystem; it is because forests can capture the atmospheric CO2 for a long time and help to achieve the goals of net-zero emission CO2 on the earth. Therefore, there is an urgent need to know the advanced technological approaches for estimating C stock in forest ecosystems. Hence, the present article is aimed at providing a comprehensive protocol for the four C stock estimation approaches. An effort has also been made to compare these methods. This review suggests that tree allometry is the most common method used for the quantification of C stock, but this method has certain limitations. However, the review shows that accurate results can be produced by a combination of two or more methods. We have also analyzed the results of 42 research studies conducted for C stock assessment along with the factors determining the amount of C in different types of forests. The C stock in vegetation is affected by temporal and spatial variation, plantation age, land use, cropping pattern, management practices and elevation, etc. Nevertheless, the available results have a large degree of uncertainty mainly due to the limitations of the methods used. The review supports the conclusion that the uncertainty in C stock measurements can be addressed by the integration of the above-mentioned methods.

Application of analytical hierarchical process, multi-influencing factor, and geospatial techniques for groundwater potential zonation in a semi-arid region of western India.

Groundwater resources are alarmingly depleting due to over-exploitation and significant climate changes over time. Therefore, demarcation of groundwater potential zones is essential for addressing the needs of various industries in semi-arid area. Depleting groundwater resources, topography, aquifer features and climatic factors make it necessary to demarcate ground water potential zones in semiarid region of Rajasthan. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Geographic Information System (GIS), and Multi Influence Factor (MIF) were used to determine the groundwater potential zones (GWPZs) in the semi-arid region of Jaipur, located in western Rajasthan. In present study, ten influential factors were employed i.e., geomorphology, land use/land cover (LULC), drainage density, rainfall, topographic wetness index (TWI), soil texture, slope, roughness, topographic position index (TPI) and curvature. In AHP technique, the pairwise comparison matrix was generated, and weightages were given to each thematic layer while for MIF, a proposed score for each layer was computed from the aggregate weight of major and minor effects. The GWPZ map generated by AHP technique was categorised into three parts: high, moderate and poor potential zones, covering 13%, 50.7% and 36.3% of the district. While, the GWPZ map produced with the MIF technique was also divided into the same poor, moderate, and high categories, encompassing 35.3, 44.1, and 20.6% of the district, respectively. The results of AHP and MIF techniques were then cross-validated with well depth data obtained from CGWB report, 2019-20. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) were plotted and the findings shows that the Area under the Curve (AUC) was 79% and 76% for AHP and MIF, respectively which is considered as moderate to high in predictive precision. The study would be helpful in locating drilling sites for groundwater exploration and developing sustainable groundwater and land use policies.

Managed pollination is a much better way of increasing productivity and essential oil content of dill seeds crop.

Dill seeds (Anethum graveolens L.) is the most valuable medicinal seed spice crop of Apiaceae. It bears small yellow flowers in the form of umbels. Being a cross-pollinated crop, floral visitors play vital role in pollination and seed sets. Hence, the present study was conducted at the ICAR-National Research Centre on Seed Spices, Ajmer (Rajasthan), India to discover the pollinator's community, foraging behaviour and abundance of most frequent pollinators and different modes of pollination on seed yield and quality of this seed spice crop. The insect visitors community of dill seeds was composed of 28 insect species belonging to 14 families of 6 orders. Most of floral visitors started their foraging activity at 8.00 h, reached peak activity between 12.00 and 14.00 h and their activity ceased at 18.00 h. Apis florea, A. dorsata, A. mellifera, solitary bee, Halictus sp. and two unidentified species of Hymenoptera; Episyrphus balteatus (DeGeer), Episyrphus sp., Eristalis sp and two other Musca species of Diptera were identified as potential and regular floral visitors of dill seeds. The highest seed yield of 1505.63 kg/ha was recorded in the treated plots provided with only 10% jaggery solution and was at par with the open pollination. A lower seed yield of 1432.5 kg/ha was recorded in plots pollinated only with A. mellifera inside insect cages. Open pollination with 10% jaggery solution spray increased the seed yield of dill seed crop by 57%, one-thousand seed test weight by 96% and the essential oil content by 27% over control plots. These results show that managed pollination is a much better way to enhance yields and quality of dill seed crop than other treatments including only honeybee-based pollination.

Reuse of poor-quality water for sustainable crop production in the changing scenario of climate.

The availability of freshwater is limited for agriculture systems across the globe. A fast-growing population demands need to enhance the food grain production from a limited natural resources. Therefore, researchers and policymakers have been emphasized on the production potential of agricultural crops in a sustainable manner. On the challenging side, freshwater bodies are shrinking with the pace of time further limiting crop production. Poor-quality water may be a good alternative for fresh water in water scarce areas. It should not contain toxic pollutants beyond certain critical levels. Unfortunately, such critical limits for different pollutants as well as permissible quality parameters for different wastewater types are lacking or poorly addressed. Marginal quality water and industrial effluent used in crop production should be treated prior to application in crop field. Hence, safe reuse of wastewater for cultivation of food material is necessary to fulfil the demands of growing population across the globe in the changing scenario of climate.

Pulse-based cropping systems for soil health restoration, resources conservation, and nutritional and environmental security in rainfed agroecosystems.

Pulses are an important source of energy and protein, essential amino acids, dietary fibers, minerals, and vitamins, and play a significant role in addressing global nutritional security. The global pulse area, production, and average productivity increased from 1961 to 2020 (60 years). Pulses are usually grown under rainfed, highly unstable, and complex production environments, with substantial variability in soil and environmental factors, high year-to-year output variability, and variation in soil moisture. Since the last six decades, there is not much satisfactory improvement in the yield of pulses because of their cultivation in harsh environments, coupled with their continuous ignorance of the farmers and governments in policy planning. As a result, the global food supplies through pulses remained negligible and amounted to merely ~1.0% of the total food supply and 1.2% of the vegan food system. In this situation, protein-rich food is still a question raised at the global level to make a malnutrition-free world. Pulses are a vital component of agricultural biological diversity, essential for tackling climate change, and serve as an energy diet for vegetarians. Pulses can mitigate climate change by reducing the dependence on synthetic fertilizers that artificially introduce nitrogen (N) into the soil. The high demand and manufacture of chemical fertilizers emit greenhouse gases (GHGs), and their overuse can harm the environment. In addition, the increasing demand for the vegetal protein under most global agroecosystems has to be met with under a stressed rainfed situation. The rainfed agroecosystem is a shelter for poor people from a significant part of the globe, such as Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. Nearly, 83% [over 1,260 million hectares (ha)] of cultivated land comes under rainfed agriculture, contributing significantly to global food security by supplying over 60% of the food. In rainfed areas, the limitation of natural resources with the shrinking land, continuous nutrient mining, soil fertility depletion, declining productivity factor, constantly depleting water availability, decreasing soil carbon (C) stock, augmented weed menace, ecological instability, and reduced system productivity are creating a more challenging situation. Pulses, being crops of marginal and semi-marginal soils of arid and semi-arid climates, require less input for cultivation, such as water, nutrients, tillage, labor, and energy. Furthermore, accommodation of the area for the cultivation of pulses reduces the groundwater exploitation, C and N footprints, agrochemical application in the cropping systems, and ill effects of climate change due to their inherent capacity to withstand harsh soil to exhibit phytoremediation properties and to stand well under stressed environmental condition. This article focuses on the role of pulses in ecological services, human wellbeing, soil, environmental health, and economic security for advanced sustainability. Therefore, this study will enhance the understanding of productivity improvement in a system-based approach in a rainfed agroecosystem through the involvement of pulses. Furthermore, the present study highlighted significant research findings and policy support in the direction of exploring the real yield potential of pulses. It will provide a road map to producers, researchers, policymakers, and government planners working on pulses to promote them in rainfed agroecosystems to achieve the United Nations (UN's) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Nitrogen fixation in maize: breeding opportunities.

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a highly versatile crop with huge demand of nitrogen (N) for its growth and development. N is the most essential macronutrient for crop production. Despite being the highest abundant element in the atmosphere (~ 78%), it is scarcely available for plant growth. To fulfil the N demand, commercial agriculture is largely dependent on synthetic fertilizers. Excessive dependence on inorganic fertilizers has created extensive ecological as well as economic problems worldwide. Hence, for a sustainable solution to nitrogenous fertilizer use, development of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in cereals will be the best alternative. BNF is a well-known mechanism in legumes where diazotrophs convert atmospheric nitrogen (N≡N) to plant-available form, ammonium (NH4+). From many decades, researchers have dreamt to develop a similar symbiotic partnership as in legumes to the cereal crops. A large number of endophytic diazotrophs have been found associated with maize. Elucidation of the genetic and molecular aspects of their interaction will open up new avenues to introgress BNF in maize breeding. With the advanced understanding of N-fixation process, researchers are at a juncture of breeding and engineering this symbiotic relationships in cereals. Different breeding, genetic engineering, omics, gene editing, and synthetic biology approaches will be discussed in this review to make BNF a reality in cereals. It will help to provide a road map to develop/improve the BNF in maize to an advance step for the sustainable production system to achieve the food and nutritional security.

Soil microbial and nutrient dynamics under different sowings environment of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) in rice based cropping system.

Farmers are not growing diversified crops and applying huge amounts of agrochemicals and imbalanced fertilizers in the rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS), since the 1960s. The objective of this study was to evaluate the microbial and nutrient dynamics in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) under various sowing environments and nutrient sources during Rabi season (October-March), 2015-2016. The experiment was laid out in the split-plot design with three sowing dates in main-plots, and eight nutrient sources in sub-plots. The maximum bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes population, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), dehydrogenase activities, and available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur (NPKS) were recorded on November 17 sown crop, and the lowest was observed on December 7 sowing during both the years, and in the pooled analysis. Furthermore, applied nutrient sources, highest bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes population, available NPKS, SMBC, and dehydrogenase activity were observed in 75% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + 25% N through pressmud (PM) + Azotobacto + phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB) than other nutrient sources. In conclusion, high demand and cost of chemical fertilizers can be replaced by 25% amount easily and locally available organic manures like PM compost to sustain the soil health and crop productivity. It will be helpful to restore the soil biodiversity in the RWCS and provide a roadmap for the researchers, government planners, and policymakers for the use of PM as a source of organic matter and nutrients.