Bhubaneswar: In a pioneering step toward climate-smart agriculture, scientists from the ICAR-National Rice Research Institute (NRRI) in Odisha’s Cuttack have developed a groundbreaking solution to one of the environment's pressing concerns—methane emissions from paddy fields.

The innovative breakthrough involves the isolation and application of methane oxidizing bacteria, known as methanotrophs (named MT-22), which have shown remarkable results in reducing methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas.

Paddy cultivation is known to contribute between 4-6 per cent of global anthropogenic methane emissions, releasing 23 to 34 teragrams (Tg) of methane annually. Specifically in India, irrigated paddy fields are responsible for approximately 3.97 Tg of methane emissions each year. The introduction of the methane-oxidising bacteria-based formulation product containing MT-22 by ICAR-NRRI offers a promising solution to this challenge by achieving methane emissions reductions of 10 to 12 per cent.

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Dr. Pratap Bhattacharyya, Crop Production Division chief and Principal Scientist at NRRI, led the research team that identified this bacterium. "Our work is to provide a solution to mitigate climate change in agriculture. Our research started in 2019 when this methanotroph bacterial strain (MT-22) was isolated from the soils of Sundarban mangroves ecosystem. However, after exhaustive laboratory and multi-location field trials, it showed promising results in rice fields,” he said.

Dr. AK Nayak, Director, ICAR-NRRI further emphasized the strategic importance of this innovation for India, an agrarian country where paddy fields are prevalent and methane emissions from paddy cultivation are notably high.

“The implications of such technologies extend beyond just environmental benefits and play a crucial role in the emerging market for carbon credits, where reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can translate into economic benefits for farmers. Such technologies are imperative for decarbonisation of agriculture and in achieving Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goals of India,” he commented.

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Moreover, as this technology is on the verge of being commercialised for large-scale use. It has received recognition from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) highlighting its viability and potential for widespread adoption.

India cultivates paddy over an area of 44.6 million hectares. Currently, lowland continuous flooded irrigated system paddy fields emit approximately 0.55 kg methane (CH4) per hectare per day. However, with the application of the new methanotroph-based solid formulation product, this emission could be reduced to about 0.49 kg CH4 per hectare per day. The reduction achieved by applying this formulation is equivalent to the emissions produced by a diesel vehicle traveling 10 kilometers daily.