August 13th 2024.
In a remarkable development, scientists from the ICAR-National Rice Research Institute in Cuttack have made a groundbreaking breakthrough in the field of climate-smart agriculture. According to officials, the research team, led by Pratap Bhattacharyya, Head of the Crop Production Division and Principal Scientist at NRRI, has identified a bacterium that could potentially solve one of the pressing environmental concerns – methane emissions from rice fields.
Speaking about the significance of their work, Bhattacharyya stated that their goal is to provide a solution for mitigating the impact of climate change on agriculture. The research began in 2019 when the team discovered a strain of methanotroph bacteria in the soils of Sundarban mangroves ecosystem. After conducting extensive laboratory and field trials, they found that this strain, known as 'MT-22', showed promising results in rice fields.
Recently, on August 9, 2021, this bacterial strain was registered with the National Center for Biotechnology Information under the accession number MZ683316. Additionally, the team has also developed an environmentally-friendly and user-friendly solid formulation product using this methanotroph, which is currently awaiting patent approval.
The director of ICAR-NRRI, AK Nayak, emphasized that the implications of such technologies go beyond just environmental benefits. They also play a crucial role in the emerging market for carbon credits, where reducing greenhouse gas emissions can bring economic benefits to farmers. He further commented that such technologies are essential for decarbonizing agriculture and achieving India's Nationally Determined Contribution goals.
Officials explained that the breakthrough involves the isolation and application of methane-oxidizing bacteria, also known as methanotrophs. These bacteria have shown remarkable results in reducing methane emissions, which is a potent greenhouse gas. It is estimated that rice cultivation contributes to 4-6% of global anthropogenic methane emissions, releasing 23-34 teragrams of methane annually. In India, irrigated rice fields alone are responsible for approximately 3.97 Tg of methane emissions each year.
The introduction of the methane-oxidizing bacteria-based formulation product containing MT-22 by ICAR-NRRI offers a promising solution to this challenge by achieving a reduction of 10-12% in methane emissions. As this technology is on the verge of being commercialized for large-scale use, it has received recognition from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, highlighting its viability and potential for widespread adoption. This breakthrough not only addresses a crucial environmental concern but also has the potential to bring economic benefits to farmers, making it a significant step towards sustainable and climate-smart agriculture.
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