-The Hindu Business Line The declining response ratios due to excess spraying of Fertilisers, which leads to wasteful expenditure on fertiliser subsidy, only leads to loss of key national resources Hyderabad: India is on the verge of a looming soil crisis which can potentially impact its agriculture in the near future, says a report. A third of the total 350 million hectares has already turned problematic. Soil is turning either acidic, saline, sodic...

-The Indian Express Modi government’s decision to hike import duty on edible oils has come too little, too late for soyabean farmers Latur: Arun Kulkarni planted soyabean on 10 out of his 14-acre holding in the recent kharif season and harvested 65 quintals of the crop towards September-end. But unlike most of his neighbours, this farmer from Tandulja village in Latur — Maharashtra’s largest soyabean-growing district and the country’s No. 2...

-The Financial Express Every year, the onset of winter in Delhi unfailingly brings to the fore the burning of paddy residue in Punjab and Haryana, given the practice contributes significantly to the national capital’s air pollution woes, with severe consequences for public health. According to an IIT study, 17% of the PM 10 load and 26% of the PM 2.5 load in October-November in Delhi can be attributed to post-monsoon crop...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A petition seeking a ban on 99 pesticides already outlawed or restricted in advanced nations has prompted the Supreme Court to seek responses within four weeks from the ministries of agriculture and chemical-and-Fertilisers besides the Central Insecticides Board. These pesticides are killing hundreds in India and causing serious illness to thousands, the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud heard on Monday. Moved...

-The Financial Express For most consumers, ‘organic’ is probably a code for ‘safe’ or ‘residue-free’, not necessarily produce grown without chemical Fertilisers and pesticides. But marketers use the tag to tap into a seam of fear in some urban parents who are so anxious about health that they are willing to pay for advertising that spells ‘well-being’. A brand of ‘organic’ jaggery, for example, on the shelves of Reliance Fresh stores...