Biomass burning and options for its management

Abstract

There are several options which can be practiced to manage residues in productive manner. Besides use as cattle feed, large amount of residues can be used for preparation of compost, generation of energy such as biogas or electricity, briquetting, pelletalization, production of bio-fuel, as packaging material, for hard board and mat making, mushroom cultivation and recycling in soil through incorporation/ bio-char/ mulch. The residues are the renewable resource and are of economic value as fodder, fuel and raw material for various industries. However, a large amount of residue is burnt in fields leading to emission of air pollutants. The residues can be put to various uses and this is possible only if residue is collected and managed properly. Awareness should be created among the farming communities about the adverse impacts of burning and importance of crop residues incorporation for maintaining soil health and sustainable agricultural productivity.