Energy Budgeting and Carbon Footprints Estimation of Fodder Maize Varieties Sown under Different Nutrient Management Practices in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

 

The MS entitled:

“Energy budgeting and carbon footprints estimation of fodder maize varieties sown under different nutrient management practices in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India”

 

When I checked the website, I found many similar published materials related to our MS such as

- Manoj, K.N.; Shekara, B.G.; Sridhara, S.; Mudalagiriyappa; Chikkarugi, N.M.; Gopakkali, P.; Jha, P.K.; Vara Prasad, P.V. Carbon Footprint Assessment and Energy Budgeting of Different Annual and Perennial Forage Cropping Systems: A Study from the Semi-Arid Region of Karnataka, India. Agronomy 2022, 12, 1783. https://doi.org/10.3390/ agronomy12081783

- Yin W, Qiang Chai, Zhilong Fan, Falong Hu, Hong Fan, Yao Guo, Cai Zhao, Aizhong Yu (2022). Energy budgeting, carbon budgeting, and carbon footprints of straw and plastic film management for environmentally clean of wheat-maize intercropping system in northwestern China. Science of The Total Environment, 826, 154220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154220.

- Ghosh S, T.K. Das, K.S. Rana, D.R. Biswas, D.K. Das, Geeta Singh, Ranjan Bhattacharyya, Debarati Datta, Neelmani Rathi, Bhatia B (2022). Energy budgeting and carbon footprint of contrasting tillage and residue management scenarios in rice-wheat cropping system. Soil and Tillage Research, 223, 105445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2022.105445.

- Meena BP, A.K. Biswas, Muneshwar Singh, H. Das, R.S. Chaudhary, A.B. Singh, A.O. Shirale, Ashok K. Patra (2021). Energy budgeting and carbon footprint in long-term integrated nutrient management modules in a cereal- legume (Zea mays – Cicer arietinum) cropping system. Journal of Cleaner Production, 314, 127900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127900.

 

And some of these published articles, related to “maize in Indo-Gangetic Plains” such as:

- Shahida Nisar, Dinesh Kumar Benbi, Amardeep Singh Toor, (2021). Energy budgeting and carbon footprints of three tillage systems in maize-wheat sequence of north-western Indo-Gangetic Plains. Energy, Volume 229, 120661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120661.

 

General comments:

1- The abstract is very long, contains many abbreviations, which must write in a complete form, then abbreviations! Like Ln 27-28: RDF, PGPR, FYM, PGPR

2- Section of Keywords, please do not repeat any word already mentioned in the title!

3- Introduction section, please you have 3 major topics in this MS, and each one should be wirttin on these topics as follows:

(1) Energy budgeting and carbon footprints, (2) fodder maize varieties, and (3) nutrient management practices, and may be one for “Indo-Gangetic Plains of India” if you like!!

4- Materials and Methods:

- please in a table explain the actual amounts of used fertilizers to add your treatments

- Where the analysis of FYM, what ate the NPK content in this manure?

- Which PGPR, which species, and why?

- What are the main components of this “Foliar spray of Panchagavya”?

- Where the irrigation analysis and amount, type of irrigation, and when during the study?

- Flowchart is recommended including all inputs and outputs of this work, please! Including all studied parameters, main treatments, measured parameters, sampling, etc.

- Please change “2.5. Statistical Analysis” into 2.5. Statistical Analyses

- on which base the authors selected the treatments “fodder maize varieties” and “nutrient management practices”

The MS needs major revision, Thanks!

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript is very well written with clearly indicates the problems, challenges, and possible solutions.

Energy budgeting for varietal trials would give precise information on the most efficient variety. The reduction of carbon footprints in the environment is also important, especially in the climate-changing era. The importance of carbon footprint estimation for nutrient management experiments in fodder crops is also very high as it accounts for the maximum share in carbon footprints among all agricultural operations.

I highly appreciate the authors' efforts to study on energy and carbon budgeting for fodder crops as very rare literature are available on fodder crops. However, after the critical examination, I have noticed some grammatical and technical errors in manuscript text which should be corrected or improved. My vote for this manuscript is acceptance after minor revision.

General Comments

Please revise/ improve the stye of all references as it did not follow the journal style. There are some minor mistakes like Journal name:

Line No: 637, 640 – Journal name is abbreviated, while full name was mentioned for other references.

Similarly for Line No: 671, 724, 730, 747, 759, etc. – Abbreviated name of Journal

Line No: 736, Rewrite Journal name as Range Management and Agroforestry

Similarly for Line No: 764-765, Rewrite Journal name as Indian Journal of Agronomy

 

Such mistakes need to be corrected throughout reference section

Specific Comments for correction/ improvement of sentence

L21: ……practices consume more input energy and emit higher greenhouse gases (GHGs)…..

L22: climate change, thereby threatens to …..

L25: mention name of crop season

L29: replace word 'use' by 'application'

L33: Detele 'application of'

L54-55: Use abbreviated word 'GHGs'. Explain only at first time in the manuscript. Also, in Line No. 66, 541,

L64: if the proper management practices are not adopted.

L67: replace word 'caron' by 'carbon'.

L82: replace word 'in' by 'of'.

L82: replace word 'in' by 'of'.

L89: replace word 'also' by 'popularly'.

L100: Re-write as…. resulted in significant improvement of crop productivity and soil fertility..

L101: Elaborate 'FYM' and 'PGPR'….first time in the manuscript.

L118: Italic 'Kharif'

L119: The location is….

L127: Give methodology of Panchagavya preparation

L130-131: The recommended dose of FYM was……. Use abbreviated form as first time explained in L101.

L135: Delete 'amount of'

L136: Re-write as 'Panchagavya was applied at 25 and 40 days after sowing (DAS) through foliar spray'

L142: Delete 'and used' …… fodder samples were collected for dry matter……

L180: Delete 'individual'

L186-195: Please correct the reference order. The reference no. 43 in Line No 186 and then directly reference no. 48 in Line No. 195. Where is the reference no. 44, 45, 46 & 47 ????.

L241: Repeated word should be deleted 'all the'

L392: replace word 'was' by 'were'. Similarly in Line no. 393, 395.

L475: replace word 'proved' by 'proven'.

L491: replace word 'its' by 'their'.

L530: replace word 'ascribed' by 'attributed'

L423: Re-write as 'increment, variety J-1006 recorded 31.0 and 15.%'...... 

L581-582: Re-write as 'Particularly, higher output of energy, carbon and dry biomass resulted in'……..

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

many thanks for your corrections

all the best

Reviewer 2 Report

accepted