Krushna's Blogs

  DSSAT: The Flight Simulator for Farming Pilots never take off  an airbus without first training on a flight simulator. In the same way, agriculture today has its own simulator — DSSAT. It allows farmers, scientists, and climate experts to test crops, soils, water, and weather virtually. Before risking real fields, they can rehearse decisions in this digital farm lab. Agriculture has always been a game of uncertainties. Rainfall, soil quality, seed variety, fertilizer application, and weather shifts all determine the fate of a harvest.  To predict the future of a crop, traditionally, the only way to know the outcome was to wait patiently for the season to end. But now, DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer), offers a way to run these scenarios on a computer, like a laboratory experiment, without waiting months or risking heavy losses. DSSAT is a scientifically built crop growth simulator that allows us to experiment virtually with different fa...

 She Studied How Rhizobia Interact with Plant Roots to Provide Nitrogen                and Boosted Soybean Production in Brazil In May 2025, Mariangela Hungria, a Brazilian microbiologist, awarded the prestigious World Food Prize for her transformative research on sustainable farming.  The prize, valued at $500,000, is often called the “ Nobel Prize of Agriculture ” and recognizes remarkable contributions to global food security. Hungria’s work focuses on a natural process called biological nitrogen fixation . Instead of relying on chemical fertilizers, she studied how soil bacteria, particularly rhizobia, interact with plant roots to provide nitrogen, an essential nutrient for crops.  Her research has enabled farmers to maintain high crop yields while protecting the environment. Over her 40-year career, Hungria has applied her discoveries directly in the field. She convinced farmers that using microbial solutions would not ...

  Do You Know About Carbon Credits? Telangana Farmers Are Earning Money by Selling Them Paddy or rice (Oryza sativa), often criticized for high methane emissions and massive water use, now turning into a source of extra income for farmers. In Telangana, farmers are earning carbon credits while cultivating paddy more sustainably, thanks to Sow&Reap Agro, a climate-tech start-up. Sow & Reap Agro Private Limited, founded in 2021 in Hyderabad, focuses on sustainable and regenerative agriculture. The startups collaborates with farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve livelihoods through techniques like Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) for paddy cultivation.  Recently, it became the first Indian company to earn Gold Standard carbon credits for these efforts. It has developed methodologies to cut water consumption significantly and reduce methane emissions in paddy fields.  This not only helps the environment but also adds about ₹2,500 per hectare ...

  Do you know what is Project Farm Vibes:  It is changing the Farmers’ Life at Baramati, Maharashtra In the Pune district of Maharashtra, at Baramati, a silent revolution is taking place in agriculture. Here, farmers are experimenting on their fields with the help of satellites, sensors, and artificial intelligence. Since 2022, Microsoft has been piloting Project Farm Vibes at Baramati, Maharashtra . It is an open-sourced suite of AI and data-driven farm technologies designed to boost agricultural efficiency and sustainability. By aggregating data from multiple sources, it provides farmers with actionable insights, leading to higher crop yields and lower resource consumption. The project is supported by Sharad Pawar and Prataprao Pawar, along with researchers from the University of Oxford. At present, it is transforming the way 1,000 farmers cultivate their land. Project Farm Vibes: How It Works The system integrates data from satellites, sensors, and drones into a c...

  Viet Nam’s Green Funds: Increasing Farmers’ Income In rural Viet Nam, a Southeast Asian country rich in forests and farms, small farmers and forest workers was facing a big challenge. They wanted to grow trees for timber and plant different crops or try new ways of farming that could earn them more money.  But to do these things, they needed some extra money in the beginning as like a loan. When they went to the bank, the bank asked for two things: 1.      A long, detailed business plan. 2.      Collateral -like land papers or property as security. These farmers didn’t have time, skills, understanding or resources to prepare big business plans which bank was asking, and they didn’t have property to give as security.  So the bank avoided to give them money. For a long time they were unable to start new cultivation plans, even if they had good ideas. In 2021, a group called the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) , working with ...

  Is Nano-Urea Really Helping Farmers? A New Study Raises Concerns A new study by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, has raised serious concerns about Nano-Urea, a liquid fertilizer promoted by the Indian government and IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative). Nano urea was introduced as a revolutionary product to reduce fertilizer use and costs, but the latest findings suggest it might not be as effective as claimed. What is Nano-Urea? Nano-Urea is a liquid fertilizer made using nanotechnology. It contains 4% nitrogen in a 500 ml bottle (about 20 grams of nitrogen).  In comparison, a regular 45-kg bag of urea contains 20 kg of nitrogen. Unlike traditional urea, which is applied to the soil, Nano-Urea is sprayed on plant leaves. It was commercially launched in 2022 as an innovation to reduce fertilizer subsidies and import costs. It is used especially for major crops like wheat and paddy.  Instead of applying urea to the soil, farmers spray Na...

  Adaptation and Mitigation: Centre’s Twin Strategy for Climate-Resilient Agriculture A Warming World 2024 became the first year when the Earth's average temperature crossed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).  Experts warn that if emissions remain unchecked, the world could exceed 2°C warming by 2050, threatening food security, livelihoods, and ecosystems. At 15.1°C, (refers to the average global surface temperature of the Earth in the year 2024) was the hottest year ever recorded, with 11 out of 12 months crossing the 1.5°C threshold. This extreme heat was fuelled by El Niño conditions and the continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions.  Scientists like Roxy Mathew Koll from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and Prof. Joeri Rogelj from Imperial College London warn that the trend is deeply troubling. It highlights the urgent need for global decarbonisation to prevent even more dangerous l...

  Farewell to a People's Leader: V.S. Achuthanandan (1923–2025) Shri Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan, fondly known as VS, a veteran Communist leader and former Chief Minister of Kerala, passed away on July 21, 2025, at the age of 101. He cremated with full state honours on July 23, at the Punnapra-Vayalar Martyrs' Memorial in Valiya Chudukad, Alappuzha, at 9:15 p.m. Despite the heavy rains, thousands gathered to bid a tearful farewell to a leader they deeply admired and loved.  As the monsoon clouds hovered over the Alappuzha coastline, grief filled the air. People lined the roads from Thiruvananthapuram to Alappuzha, forming a human tribute to VS and his legacy. A ceremonial gun salute marked the final farewell to a man who became the conscience of Kerala’s Left politics. Early Life and Political Awakening: V.S. Achuthanandan was   b orn on October 20, 1923, in Punnapra, Alappuzha (then part of Travancore kingdom), now in Kerala State. VS lost both parents by ...

  Ensuring Transparency in GM Crop Approvals: New Rules for GEAC Experts The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has revised the rules for selecting expert members of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), which is India’s apex body for approving genetically modified (GM) crops. As per the new rules, experts must declare any conflict of interest, including all professional affiliations from the past 10 years. If a member is directly or indirectly involved with a matter being discussed, they are expected to disclose this before the meeting and may have to recuse themselves unless requested otherwise by the committee. This change follows a July 2023 Supreme Court order, which delivered a split verdict on the government’s approval of GM mustard. The Court emphasized the need for a national policy on GM crops and measures to address potential conflicts of interest. Concerns had earlier been raised by activists about links between experts and b...

Celebrating Science, Sustainability, and Women Empowerment:  Highlights from the 108th Indian Science Congress   From January 3 to 7, 2023, Nagpur witnessed a remarkable scientific celebration as the 108th Indian Science Congress unfolded at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU). The prestigious event was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and became a vibrant platform to explore themes of science, technology, sustainable development, and women empowerment. The five-day congress was a platform to promote inclusive growth, recognize women’s contributions in science, and explore sustainable solutions for the future. From science scholars to young school students, the event catered to a wide spectrum of participants, sparking discussions that were both insightful and forward-looking. Science with a Purpose The congress focused on holistic development and addressed the challenges faced by women in science and technology. Multiple sessions emphasized the n...