AGRICULTURE POLLUTION

SUBJECT – ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

SECTION – J

SEMESTER – 1

GROUP – 10

GROUP MEMBERS ENROLLMENT NUMBERS

NIKESHWAR REDDY 971
SAI JATHIN REDDY 935
SRUTHIKA 698
DHANUSH REDDY 290
MANEESHA 959

INTRODUCTION
Agriculture pollution refers to biotic and abiotic byproducts of farming practices that
result in contamination or degradation of the environment and surrounding ecosystems
and cause injury to humans and their economic interests. The pollution may come from
a variety of sources, ranging from point source water pollution to more diffuse,
landscape-level causes, also known as non-point source pollution. Management
practices play a crucial role in the amount and impact of these pollutants. Management
techniques range from animal, management and housing to the spread of pesticides
and fertilizers in the global agricultural practices .

BIOTIC RESOURCES : The term “BIOTIC” is formed by the combination of two terms,
“BIO” means life and “IC” means like. Thus, the term means life-like and is related to all
living entities present in an ecosystems.

ABIOTIC RESOURCES: The term “ABIOTIC” refers to all the non-living factors present in
an ecosystem

CAUSES OF AGRICULTURE POLLUTION

1. SOIL EROSION:
It is the displacement of the upper layer of soil; it is a form of soil degradation. The
natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosion agents, that is, water,
ice, snow, air, animals, and humans.

2. CONTAMINATED WATER:
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human
activities. Water bodies include for example lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers,
groundwater.

3. HEAVY METALS:
The term heavy metals refers to any metallic chemical element that has a relatively
high density and is toxic or poisonous at low concentration. For example mercury,
cadmium, arsenic, chromium, thallium, and lead .

4. ANIMAL MANAGEMANT:
It involves the control and regulation of pet(otherwise called companion) animals by
Local Government. It is a community management service that pursues a twofold
objective: Promote a municipal environment of responsible and considerate animal
ownership
5. LAND MANAGEMENT:
It is the process of managing the use and development of land resources. Land are
used for a variety of purposes which may include organic agriculture, reforestration,
water resources management and eco tourism projects .

6. MANURE MANAGEMENT:
It refers to capture, storage, treatment, and utilization of animal manures in an
environmentally sustainable manner. It can be retained in various holding facilities.
Manure management is a component of nutrient management.

EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURE POLLUTION

1. WATER POLLUTION:
It occurs when harmful substances often chemicals or microorganisms contaminate
a stream, river, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the
environment.

2. SOIL POLLUTION:
It is defined as the process of toxic chemicals (pollutants or contaminants) in the
soil, in high enough concentrations to pose a risk to human health and the
ecosystem.

3. AIR POLLUTION:
It is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Ozon, a gas, is a major part of
air pollution in cities.

4. EFFECTS ON PLANTS:
Agriculture pollution can even change the dynamics of the whole ecosystem as it
becomes a problem for parts of the local plants since new invasive species could
impact the pollution of native species in an adverse way.

5. EFFECTS ON ANIMALS:
Agriculture pollution can also have adverse effects on animals. Since animals
consume parts of crop yield, they are heavily affected by pesticides and can even
die from the consumption of these contaminated crops.

6. EFFECTS ON AQUATIC ANIMALS:

Fertilizers, manure, waste, and ammonia turn into nitrate and phosphates, and when
washed into nearby water bodies, the production of algae gets enhanced that reduces the
amount of oxygen present in water, which results in the death of many aquatic animals.
 SOLUTIONS OF AGRICULTURE POLLUTION

1. Reduce the use of fertilizer and pesticides

2. Avoid soil erosion by planting all over the year
3. Plant trees or grasses along the edges of fields
4. Adjust the intensity of tillage of a field
5. Improve manure management
6. Prevent excessive nutrients from reaching the water
7. Raise the awareness of farmers on the topic of agricultural pollution

LIVE EXAMPLE
STUBBLE BURNING: A PROBLEM FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, AGRICULTURE AND
HUMANS

Crop residue burning in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh has been known,
but nowadays its spreading more frequently in other parts of country.

Wheat stubble burning is a relatively new issue which started with mechanized
harvesting using combine harvesters. In the last four to five years, farmers from UP’s
Ghazipur district, especially Zamania and chandauli areas, have been burning wheat
stubble at a large scale.

The government officials are not paying attention towards this. Ramnagina Kushwaha,
a farmer from Zamania, Ghazipur, recently died in a field after being set ablaze while
burning wheat stubble.

The state government has not implemented the National Policy for Management of crop
Residues to protect the parali (crop residue). On December 10, 2015, the National
Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned crop residue burning in the states of Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

Burning crop residue is a crime under Section 188 of the IPC and under the Air and
Pollution Control Act of 1981. However, government’s implementation lacks strength.

The Delhi High court had also ordered against burning residues, while Punjab
government imposed a penalty of crop residue.

Although the actual amount of fitness charged was not available; farmers continue to
burn residues every season—this making both the soil and air poisonous.

In addition to wheat and paddy, sugarcane leaves are most commonly burnt. According
to an official report, more than 500 million tonnes of parali (crop residues) is produced
annually in the country, cereal crops (rice, wheat, maize and millets) account for 70 per
cent of the total crop residue.

Of this, 34 per cent comes from rice and 22 per cent from wheat crops, most of which is
burnt on the farm. According to an estimate, 20 million tonnes of rice stubble is
produced every year in Punjab alone, 80 per cent of which is burnt.

Instead of burning of the stubble, it can be used in different ways like cattle feed,
compost manure, mushroom cultivation, packing materials, fuel, paper, bio-ethonal and
industrial production, etc.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEAKTH RISK

A study estimates that crop residue burning released 149.24 million tons of carbon
dioxide (CO2), over 9 million tones of carbon monoxide(CO), 0.25 million tones of
oxides of sulphur (SOX), 1.28 million tones of particulate matter and 0.07 million tones
of black carbon. These directly contribute to environmental pollution, and are also
responsible for the haze in Delhi and melting of Himalayan glaciers .

Burning of crop residue causes damage to other micro-organisms present in the upper
layer of the soil as well as its organic quality. Due to the loss of ‘friendly’ pests, the
wrath of ‘enemy’ pests has increased and as a result, crops are more prone to disease.
The solubility capacity of the upper layers of soil have also been reduced.
According to a report, one tonne stubble burning leads to a loss of 5.5 kilogram
nitrogen, 2.3 kg phosphorus The heat from burning paddy straw penetrates 1
centimetre into the soil, elevating the temperature to 33.8 to 42.2 degree Celsius. This
kills the bacterial and fungal populations critical for a fertile soil.
, 25 kg potassium and more than 1 kg of sulfur —  all soil nutrients, besides organic
carbon.
A study conducted by Vitull K Gupta, professor of medicine, Bathinda, in 2016, revealed
that 84.5 per cent people were suffering from health problem due to increased
incidence of smog. It found that 76.8 per cent people reported irritation in eyes, 44.8 per
cent reported irritation in nose, and 45.5 per cent reported irritation in throat.
Cough or increase in cough was reported by 41.6 per cent people and 18.0 per cent
reported wheezing. Another study by the Institute for Social and Economic Change,
Bengaluru, estimated that people in rural Punjab spend Rs 7.6 crore every year on
treatment for ailments caused by stubble burning.
Solutions to the burning problem 
In 2014, the Union government released the National Policy for Management of Crop
Residue. Since then, crop residue management has helped make the soil more fertile,
thereby resulting in savings of Rs 2,000/hectare from the farmer’s manure cost.
Farmers can also manage crop residues effectively by employing agricultural machines
like:

● Happy Seeder(used for sowing of crop in standing stubble)

● Rotavator (used for land preparation and incorporation of crop stubble in the soil)
● Zero till seed drill (used for land preparations directly sowing of seeds in the
previous crop stubble)
● Baler (used for collection of straw and making bales of the paddy stubble)
● Paddy Straw Chopper (cutting of paddy stubble for easily mixing with the soil)
● Reaper Binder (used for harvesting paddy stubble and making into bundles)

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE
(i) Notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards;
(ii) Formulation of environmental regulations / statutes;
(iii) Setting up of monitoring network for assessment of ambient air quality;
(iv) Introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels like gaseous fuel (CNG, LPG etc.)
(v) Promotion of cleaner production processes.
(vi) Launching of National Air Quality index by the Prime Minister in April, 2015;
(vii) Implementation of Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) norms in 63 selected cities
(viii) Decision taken to leapfrog directly from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel standards by 1st
April,
(ix) Taxing polluting vehicles and incentivizing hybrid and electric vehicles;