Sustainable intensification of wheat through early sowing: insights from the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains

Sustainable intensification among smallholder farming in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia aims to enhance productivity while reducing negative environmental impacts. Early wheat sowing is promoted to increase yields and may have the co-benefit of reducing nutrient pollution, as it minimizes ph...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Paudel, Gokul, Chamberlin, Jordan, Grote, Ulrike, Nguyen, Trung Thanh
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Springer 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179695
_version_ 1855538249186934784
author Paudel, Gokul
Chamberlin, Jordan
Grote, Ulrike
Nguyen, Trung Thanh
author_browse Chamberlin, Jordan
Grote, Ulrike
Nguyen, Trung Thanh
Paudel, Gokul
author_facet Paudel, Gokul
Chamberlin, Jordan
Grote, Ulrike
Nguyen, Trung Thanh
author_sort Paudel, Gokul
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Sustainable intensification among smallholder farming in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia aims to enhance productivity while reducing negative environmental impacts. Early wheat sowing is promoted to increase yields and may have the co-benefit of reducing nutrient pollution, as it minimizes physiological stress and thus maximizes nutrient uptake. However, evidence of these co-benefits is sparse in 'real-world' conditions. We address this gap by analyzing farm survey data collected from Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states in Eastern India. Using an instrumental variable method, our results indicate that early wheat sowing (i.e., before the third week of November) improves nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium use efficiencies by 5-8% and increases productivity by 6-8%. However, these benefits are heterogeneous, with larger farms and those applying higher doses of fertilizer being the primary contributor to environmental pollution. Our findings suggest targeted policy interventions to optimize the yield and environmental benefits of early wheat sowing in the Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states within the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace179695
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
publishDateSort 2025
publisher Springer
publisherStr Springer
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1796952026-01-13T02:14:30Z Sustainable intensification of wheat through early sowing: insights from the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains Paudel, Gokul Chamberlin, Jordan Grote, Ulrike Nguyen, Trung Thanh wheat sowing productivity nutrient use efficiency environment sustainable intensification Sustainable intensification among smallholder farming in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia aims to enhance productivity while reducing negative environmental impacts. Early wheat sowing is promoted to increase yields and may have the co-benefit of reducing nutrient pollution, as it minimizes physiological stress and thus maximizes nutrient uptake. However, evidence of these co-benefits is sparse in 'real-world' conditions. We address this gap by analyzing farm survey data collected from Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states in Eastern India. Using an instrumental variable method, our results indicate that early wheat sowing (i.e., before the third week of November) improves nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium use efficiencies by 5-8% and increases productivity by 6-8%. However, these benefits are heterogeneous, with larger farms and those applying higher doses of fertilizer being the primary contributor to environmental pollution. Our findings suggest targeted policy interventions to optimize the yield and environmental benefits of early wheat sowing in the Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states within the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains. 2025-12 2026-01-12T15:28:28Z 2026-01-12T15:28:28Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179695 en Open Access application/pdf Springer Paudel, G. P., Chamberlin, J., Grote, U., & Nguyen, T. T. (2025). Sustainable intensification of wheat through early sowing: insights from the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains. Environment Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-025-07167-3
spellingShingle wheat
sowing
productivity
nutrient use efficiency
environment
sustainable intensification
Paudel, Gokul
Chamberlin, Jordan
Grote, Ulrike
Nguyen, Trung Thanh
Sustainable intensification of wheat through early sowing: insights from the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains
title Sustainable intensification of wheat through early sowing: insights from the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains
title_full Sustainable intensification of wheat through early sowing: insights from the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains
title_fullStr Sustainable intensification of wheat through early sowing: insights from the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains
title_full_unstemmed Sustainable intensification of wheat through early sowing: insights from the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains
title_short Sustainable intensification of wheat through early sowing: insights from the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains
title_sort sustainable intensification of wheat through early sowing insights from the eastern indo gangetic plains
topic wheat
sowing
productivity
nutrient use efficiency
environment
sustainable intensification
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179695
work_keys_str_mv AT paudelgokul sustainableintensificationofwheatthroughearlysowinginsightsfromtheeasternindogangeticplains
AT chamberlinjordan sustainableintensificationofwheatthroughearlysowinginsightsfromtheeasternindogangeticplains
AT groteulrike sustainableintensificationofwheatthroughearlysowinginsightsfromtheeasternindogangeticplains
AT nguyentrungthanh sustainableintensificationofwheatthroughearlysowinginsightsfromtheeasternindogangeticplains