Assessing C-N balance and soil rejuvenation capacity of vermicompost application in a degraded landscape: A study in an alluvial river basin with Cajanus cajan.

The value and potential of organic-dependent agriculture has gradually become realized worldwide despite scarcity of data on its ability to rejuvenate land quality. In this work, a popular cultivar of Cajanus cajan was grown in a nutrient-fatigued area with vermicompost (VC) and farmyard manure (FYM) to partially replace chemical fertilization (CF) (reduced by 10 and 50%) over a four-year period. C-N mineralization kinetic equations were applied for the first time to assess the efficacy of vermicompost-based nutrient schemes on C-N balance in arable soil. The results suggested that 10 and 50% replacement of chemical fertilization with vermicompost was helpful to significantly improveC- and N-based mineralization in the cultivated soil. In addition, the gains of humified C (humic and fulvic acid) content (such as 4-and 10-fold increases) were achieved under CF50/VC50 and CF90/VC10 treatments, respectively. In the CF50/VC50 treatment, there was apparent improvement in soil organic C storage (SOCstr) (42.6-57.4%), water holding capacity, and microbial health along with reduction in bulk density (6.10-13.0%). Moreover, improvement in soil quality was strongly evident in terms of crop production with the application of CF50/VC50. Overall, this study successfully validated that vermicompost can be used effectively to achieve sustainable agricultural growth by efficiently arresting land degradation.

Impact of edaphic factors and nutrient management on the hepatoprotective efficiency of Carlinoside purified from pigeon pea leaves: An evaluation of UGT1A1 activity in hepatitis induced organelles.

Carlinoside is a unique compound well-known for its excellent curative potential in hepatitis. There is a substantial research gap regarding the medicinal use of carlinoside, as its concentrations are greatly variable (depending on locality). We cultivated Cajanus cajan using vermicompost as a major organic amendment at two locations (Sonitpur and Birbhum) with different soil types, but identical climate conditions. Sonitpur soils were richer in soil organic C (SOC), enzyme activation, and N/P content than Birbhum. However, vermi-treatment improved many soil properties (bulk density, water retention, pH, N/P/K, and enzyme activity) to narrow the locational gap in soil quality by 15-28%. We also recorded a many-fold increment in SOC storage capacities in both locations, which was significantly correlated with carlinoside, total phenol, and flavonoid contents in Cajanus leaves. This significantly up-regulated the carlinoside induced expression of the bilirubin-solubilizing UGT1A1enzyme in HepG2 cell and rat liver. Leaf extracts of vermicompost-aided plants could cure hepatitis in affected rat livers and in the HepG2 cell line. Accordingly, vermi-treatment is an effective route for the growth of Cajanus as a cash crop for biomedical applications and can produce a concurrent improvement in soil quality.