Dear Anand,

Rice is a major contributor of methane, a greenhouse gas fairly powerful

Growing rice. This category refers to the anaerobic decomposition of organic material in flooded rice fields that produces methane, which escapes into the atmosphere primarily by air bubbles and being transported through the rice plants. The emitted quantity depends on the species of rice, the number and the duration of the crop, the soil type and the temperature, irrigation method, and fertilizer use.

Methane is naturally emitted by the hot soils and waterlogged rice fields. Research has shown that these emissions occur mainly when the ground rice is completely waterlogged. So we can reduce emissions by changing the duration of saturation of water in rice fields or by draining the water in mid-season, irrigating rice fields intermittently. Similarly, we can reduce emissions by pouring organic fertilizers, including manure, in not when waterlogged rice fields - which stimulates methane emissions - but at the drainage. Furthermore, application of ammonium sulphate supplements can promote soil microbial activity and reduce microorganisms living in the soil and produce methane as a metabolic by-product.

With my best regards

Prof. Bachir ACHOUR

Thank you Bachir Sir for giving information.

Dear Anand,

There are several techniques available to estimate GHG emissions from rice paddy. As rice is cultivated under inumdated conditions, anaerobic conditions in the soil lead to release of high emounts of methane. Methane production in the soil and its release to the atmopshere are governed by microbial, plant and soil climatic factors. Therefore, to understand how much methane is emitted within a season, one needs to measure mthane fluxes from the ecosystem. There are enclosure based and eddy covariance based methods of estimating methane/GHG emissions. I can help you with these methods. Please let me know your experimental set up details and research questions you intend to address in your study. I have already sent you some of my publications to your private gmail ID. You contact me at [email protected] - my email ID. Wish you the best - Shurpali

Dear Anand,

There are various direct measurement methods available for measuring CH4 and other GHG flux. I used a Tunable Diode Laser and a West Systems mass spectrometer for ppb/'s measurement of CH4 flux. I also measure CO2 and H2S. These technologies have come a long way in the last 10 years and much of the criticism of the accumulation chamber technique, which predates these advances, for measuring flux is now unfounded. I hope this helps. Regards, Clint

Dear Colleague,

it is not correct that irrigation is the main source of GHG emissions in agriculture.

It is correct that irrigation regime is the main determinant of GHG emissions (methane) in paddy rice fields. Mitigation actions in this area involve mainly water management, in particular the adoption of wet-dry cycles that minimize anoxic conditions hence reduce methane emissions during the growing season.