Organic Amendments Boost Soil Fertility and Rice Productivity and Reduce Methane Emissions from Paddy Fields under Sub-Tropical Conditions
, Tareq Ahmed 4, Md Ehsanullah 5, Md Neaul Karim 6, Mt. Samima Akter 6, Muhammad Aamir Iqbal 7, Alaa Baazeem 8, Adel Hadifa 9, Sharif Ahmed 10 and Ayman EL Sabagh 11,*Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear Authors,
I have reviewed the paper and found it an interesting paper.
General comments
This research deals with important aspects relative to evaluate the effects of different rates of NPK (inorganic) fertilizer along with the single or combined application of bio solids and FYM manure in respect of soil fertility, rice productivity, and CH4 emission from the transplanted aman rice field.
The findings show the below:
The CH4 emission, soil redox potential (Eh), soil pH, soil nitrogen and organic carbon, available phosphorus, rice grain and straw were greatly affected by the application of different rates and sources of the nutrient. However, the soil exchangeable K content, plant height, and harvest index were not affected. Among the treatments, the application of 75% RF + biosolid 2 t ha–1 (T3) was the most effective and showed the superior performance in terms of available P (12.90 ppm), the number of grains panicle–1 (121), and 1000–grain weight (24.6g), rice grain and straw yield along with 42 the moderate CH4 emission (18.25 mg m–2h–1 ). On the other hand, the lowest soil Eh (–158 mV) and 43 soil pH (6.65) were measured from the treatmentT3. The finding of this study revealed that the application of75% of RF + biosolid2 t ha–1 can be recommended as the preferable soil amendment for boosting rice yield, reduce CH4 emission and sustainably maintain soil fertility.
Comments
- Moderate English changes required.
- Cross-reference all of the citations in the text with the references in the reference section.
- Make sure that all references have a corresponding citation within the text and vice versa.
- Double-check the spelling of the author names and dates and make sure they are correct and consistent with the citations.
- Spell out all journal titles in the reference section.
- Make sure that all figures and tables are cited within the text and they are cited in consecutive order.
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 1
General comments
This research deals with important aspects relative to evaluate the effects of different rates of NPK (inorganic) fertilizer along with the single or combined application of bio solids and FYM manure in respect of soil fertility, rice productivity, and CH4 emission from the transplanted aman rice field.
Response: Thank you for the comments on the research article and constructive instructions to improve the quality of the article. We have revised the article, followed your instructions and use paid software to improve the quality of English.
The findings show the below:
The CH4 emission, soil redox potential (Eh), soil pH, soil nitrogen and organic carbon, available phosphorus, rice grain and straw were greatly affected by the application of different rates and sources of the nutrient. However, the soil exchangeable K content, plant height, and harvest index were not affected. Among the treatments, the application of 75% RF + biosolid 2 t ha–1 (T3) was the most effective and showed the superior performance in terms of available P (12.90 ppm), the number of grains panicle–1 (121), and 1000–grain weight (24.6g), rice grain and straw yield along with 42 the moderate CH4 emission (18.25 mg m–2h–1 ). On the other hand, the lowest soil Eh (–158 mV) and 43 soil pH (6.65) were measured from the treatmentT3. The finding of this study revealed that the application of75% of RF + biosolid2 t ha–1 can be recommended as the preferable soil amendment for boosting rice yield, reduce CH4 emission and sustainably maintain soil fertility.
Response: Thank you for the comments on the research article and constructive instructions to improve the quality of the article
- Moderate English changes required.
Response: we have used paid software to improve the quality of English.
- Cross-reference all of the citations in the text with the references in the reference section.
Response: we have corrected
- Make sure that all references have a corresponding citation within the text and vice versa.
Response: considered
- Double-check the spelling of the author names and dates and make sure they are correct and consistent with the citations.
Response: we have changed
- Spell out all journal titles in the reference section.
Response: we have done
- Make sure that all figures and tables are cited within the text and they are cited in consecutive order.
Response: we considered your comments
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The paper is a nice contribution to the applied environmental and agricultural science/economics. The abstract is too lengthy. Embed the research question in a broader context of development economics. To this end refer to
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/7/4/113
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41287-019-00221-7
To increase the readability of the abstract the abstract has to be radically shortened. The last subsection is too short. Please provide an extensive discussion of the results in a broader context. Put Table 5 in the appendix. Explain, why you don't employ a regression analysis and rely just to bivariate correlation analysis. Provide the underlying dataset as supplementary variable.
Author Response
Response to Reviewer_2 comments
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The paper is a nice contribution to the applied environmental and agricultural science/economics. The abstract is too lengthy. Embed the research question in a broader context of development economics. To this end, refer tohttps://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/7/4/113
Authors’ response: Response: Thank you very much for your valuable instructions and comments on the research article.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41287-019-00221-7
To increase the readability of the abstract the abstract has to be radically shortened. The last subsection is too short. Please provide an extensive discussion of the results in a broader context. Put Table 5 in the appendix. Explain, why you don't employ a regression analysis and rely just to bivariate correlation analysis. Provide the underlying dataset as supplementary variable.
Authors’ response: Response: Thank you very much for your valuable instructions and comments on the research article. We hereby revised the article, reduced the length of the abstract and add a few sentences where necessary. Furthermore, we also revised results and discussion portions and shifted Table 5 to supplementary materials as Table S1. In our perspective regarding data, we prefer bivariate correlation analysis for the article.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
