614
Sustainable Pest Management Practices and Improved Crop Varieties
and Breeds
Climate change and weather variability is also linked to increased pest and diseases.
CSA must also ensure that pest management is timely and done in an ecological
manner to ensure low environmental and food and fiber contamination. Where necessary, judicious use of pesticides is recommended at appropriate rates and observing safety period to ensure that there are no pesticide residues in food and fiber. To
attain CSA and prevent crop losses due to pests at farm level, studies on surveillances and forecast of pest are needed. Selection of the right crop varieties and
livestock breeds resilient to drought, rising temperatures, pest, and diseases is crucial to attain CSA (Scherr et al. 2012). While the improved crop varieties and livestock breeds require specific studies, studies that integrate the choice of the varieties
and livestock breeds based on the environmental condition and socio-economic
analysis are also needed.
4.2 Climate Smart Agriculture and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The GHG emissions from agriculture include N 2 O, CO 2 , and CH 4 for submerged
crops, especially rice. Emission of N 2 O from agriculture is related to transformation
of soil N and SOM, which tend to increase due to use of N-containing fertilizers, soil
physical manipulations which favor SOM decomposition, or burning of crop residues
to release CO 2 to the atmosphere. The release of N 2 O, CO 2 , and CH 4 from agricultural
soils is a natural phenomenon mediated by soil microorganism; CSA requires that
these emissions must be accompanied by high productivity, and that the emissions for
each kilogram of food and fiber produced are kept low (Lipper et al. 2014). Despite
these recommendations, the practice to achieve low emissions in CSA is hampered by
limited studies that measure emissions versus productivity in the tropical conditions.
Bwana (2019) measured N 2 O emissions in 30 kg N/ha and 60 kg N/ha in organic and
conventional cotton production practices. He reported low cumulative yield scale
emissions of 0.09 g N 2 O-N/kg to 1.65 g N 2 O-N/kg seed cotton in organic and 0.06 g
N 2 O-N/kg to 1.48 g N 2 O-N/kg seed cotton in conventional practices associated with
low cotton yields of 0.38 Mg/ha to 1.42 Mg/ha for organic and 0.43 Mg/ha to 1.56 Mg/
ha for conventional practices. Thus, to ensure no increase in emissions, the same N
input rate can be used in conjunction with soil moisture conservation and practices to
increase SOC to boost yield and to reduce yield emissions. Rosenstock et al.’s (2019)
analysis showed that most studies addressing CSA examined one pillar of CSA,
mostly productivity, while about 32% study two pillars (mostly productivity and adaptation) and less than 1% study all three of CSA, making mitigation and emissions of
CSA least studied. Thus, estimation of GHG emissions and mitigation is essential to
optimize the three pillars of CSA.
Agricultural practices with low GHG emissions are needed. There has been a
dilemma on best practices that will increase productivity with minimum GHG emisB. R. Singh et al.
Sustainable Pest Management Practices and Improved Crop Varieties
and Breeds
Climate change and weather variability is also linked to increased pest and diseases.
CSA must also ensure that pest management is timely and done in an ecological
manner to ensure low environmental and food and fiber contamination. Where necessary, judicious use of pesticides is recommended at appropriate rates and observing safety period to ensure that there are no pesticide residues in food and fiber. To
attain CSA and prevent crop losses due to pests at farm level, studies on surveillances and forecast of pest are needed. Selection of the right crop varieties and
livestock breeds resilient to drought, rising temperatures, pest, and diseases is crucial to attain CSA (Scherr et al. 2012). While the improved crop varieties and livestock breeds require specific studies, studies that integrate the choice of the varieties
and livestock breeds based on the environmental condition and socio-economic
analysis are also needed.
4.2 Climate Smart Agriculture and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The GHG emissions from agriculture include N 2 O, CO 2 , and CH 4 for submerged
crops, especially rice. Emission of N 2 O from agriculture is related to transformation
of soil N and SOM, which tend to increase due to use of N-containing fertilizers, soil
physical manipulations which favor SOM decomposition, or burning of crop residues
to release CO 2 to the atmosphere. The release of N 2 O, CO 2 , and CH 4 from agricultural
soils is a natural phenomenon mediated by soil microorganism; CSA requires that
these emissions must be accompanied by high productivity, and that the emissions for
each kilogram of food and fiber produced are kept low (Lipper et al. 2014). Despite
these recommendations, the practice to achieve low emissions in CSA is hampered by
limited studies that measure emissions versus productivity in the tropical conditions.
Bwana (2019) measured N 2 O emissions in 30 kg N/ha and 60 kg N/ha in organic and
conventional cotton production practices. He reported low cumulative yield scale
emissions of 0.09 g N 2 O-N/kg to 1.65 g N 2 O-N/kg seed cotton in organic and 0.06 g
N 2 O-N/kg to 1.48 g N 2 O-N/kg seed cotton in conventional practices associated with
low cotton yields of 0.38 Mg/ha to 1.42 Mg/ha for organic and 0.43 Mg/ha to 1.56 Mg/
ha for conventional practices. Thus, to ensure no increase in emissions, the same N
input rate can be used in conjunction with soil moisture conservation and practices to
increase SOC to boost yield and to reduce yield emissions. Rosenstock et al.’s (2019)
analysis showed that most studies addressing CSA examined one pillar of CSA,
mostly productivity, while about 32% study two pillars (mostly productivity and adaptation) and less than 1% study all three of CSA, making mitigation and emissions of
CSA least studied. Thus, estimation of GHG emissions and mitigation is essential to
optimize the three pillars of CSA.
Agricultural practices with low GHG emissions are needed. There has been a
dilemma on best practices that will increase productivity with minimum GHG emisB. R. Singh et al.