Contents: Foreword. Preface. I. Organic waste for organic farming: 1. Introduction/B.L. Chaudhary. 2. Can India switch over to organic farming/A.V. Rao. 3. Organic matter for agricultural sustainability/S.K. Sharma and G.S. Ameta. 4. Maintenance of soil organic carbon in tropics/R.K. Beniwal and M.L. Soni. II. Characterisation of soil organic matter: 1. Status, nature and characteristics of soil organic matter in major agro-eco regions of India/B.N. Swami. 2. Characterization of humic substances/D.C. Joshi. 3. Nitrogenous constituents of soil organic matter and their role in soil fertility/Vimal Sharma. 4. Biochemistry of proteins and nucleic acid degradation/Raghvendar Singh. 5. Biochemistry of carbohydrate degradation/Raghvendar Singh. III. Organic waste for integrated nutrient management: 1. The concept of integrated plant nutrition/L.L. Somani. 2. Organic matter as a source of carbon and nitrogen/R.K. Beniwal and M.L. Soni. 3. Organic matter as a source of phosphorus/J.C. Tarafdar. 4. Organic matter as a source of micronutrients/R.K. Mehra. IV. Soil health and residue management: 1. Soil resilience and soil quality-concept and some frameworks for soil quality assessment/A.K. Misra, M. Mohanty and K.K. Bandyopadhyay. 2. Biological indicators of soil health/R.L. Shyampura. 3. Organic matter influences on soil aggregation/A.K. Misra and K.K. Bandyopadhayay. V. Soil fauna, organic residue decomposition and humus synthesis: 1. Soil fauna in ecosystem/S.C. Bhandari. 2. Recent advances in microbial diversity/D.L.N. Rao. 3. Nematode management through plant products/A.U. Siddiqui. 4. BNF and biofertilizer research in India-current status and future perspective/D.L.N. Rao. 5. Effect of insecticides on macro and micro-organisms and soil health/H.C.L. Gupta. 6. Phytotoxicity associated with crop residues and other sources of organic matter/M.K. Porwal. 7. Influence of organic matter recycling on the efficiency of heterotrophic biofertilizers/S.K. Sharma and G.S. Ameta.
"Organic farming is being talked at various forum as a new approach and panacea for conservation of soil health and natural resources. Huge organic wastes being produced at crop fields, cattle yards, poultry farms, fish hatcheries, municipal waste and garbage which need to be properly utilized to save our environment. This compendium presents basic concepts about the characteristics and composition of organic waste and its potentials for crop production. The chemistry and biochemistry of organic waste, its decomposition and mineralisation and manifestations on soil physical, chemical and microbial make up are highly specialized fields of study. Specialists in each of these topics have been invited to contribute and thus a comprehensive account on the biochemistry of organic residues, as source of plant nutrients, humification process and influence on soil fauna have been thoroughly dealt with. The compendium will be very useful for those involved in maintaining soil health, natural resource conservation and organic farming movement. The book will also be equally beneficial for teachers and students of agricultural and environment sciences." (jacket)
