S.PRAVEENA KATHARINE

Scopus Publications

FTIR based assessment of microplastic contamination in soil water and insect ecosystems reveals environmental and ecological risks
S. Rathikannu, Sneha Gautam, Suneel Kumar Joshi, Praveena Katharine, K. E. Mithra, P. Banusaranya, V. M. Amudhavarshini, R. Gayatri, Chang-Hoi Ho
Scientific Reports, 2025
Microplastic (MP) pollution has emerged as a critical global environmental concern, impacting soil, water, and insect ecosystems. This study quantified MP prevalence in soil, water, and insect samples collected from specified rural and semi-urban study areas in the southern India, using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for contamination assessment. The results revealed a predominance of polypropylene/polystyrene (PP/PS; 91.3%), followed by polyethylene (PE; 15.1%), polyethylene terephthalate (PET; 9.2%), and polyamide (PA; 6.2%). Insect samples showed high MP adherence, particularly in blister beetles, click beetles, and carpenter bees, suggesting their role as vectors for MP dissemination, mainly through adherence pathways. FTIR analysis confirmed characteristic MP absorption peaks at 1637.6 cm −1 (PP/PS), 1031.9 cm −1 (PE), 582.5 cm −1 (PET), and 3448.7 cm −1 (-OH groups), indicating interactions between MP and organic matter. FTIR analysis of soil samples showed PE as the dominant MP, with higher quantities in garbage sites (36.0%) and residential areas (34.9%) compared to agricultural farms (18.9%). Soil samples varied significantly, with bulk density (1.1–1.4 g cc⁻¹), porosity (36.1–58.0%), and organic carbon content (0.7–1.9%), indicating potential impacts on fertility and microbial activity. Water samples from irrigation sources showed detectable PET (1.2%) and PA (0.7%) concentrations, with a distinct peak at 2316.5 cm⁻¹, raising concerns about agricultural sustainability and food safety. These findings highlight the urgent need for stricter waste management regulations and further studies into the long-term environmental and human health risks of MP pollution.
Beyond the surface: Microplastic pollution its hidden impact on insects and agriculture
Sneha Gautam, S. Rathikannu, S. Praveena Katharine, Lindsay Kimdesa R. Marak, Mohammed Alshehri
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 2024
Evaluating the Soil Nutrient Status using GIS and Remote Sensing Technology-A Case Study at Coimbatore District
R. Alex Immanual Jeyasingh, M. Suguna Devakumari, R. Susan Poonguzhali, S. Praveena Katharine, S. Carolin Jeeva
Agricultural Science Digest, 2023
Background: Soil nutrients are the major source of plant nutrition that helps for the plant growth. Soil resource is currently facing threats due to various soil nutrients deficiency. Assessing the spatial variability of soil nutrients quality is necessary for agriculture. Quickly and efficiently monitoring soil nutritional status using remote sensing technology is of great significance for farmland soil productivity, food security and sustainable agricultural development. Methods: The present study focuses on spatial variability of soil quality. Current research has been conducted to estimate and map soil nutrient contents in large areas using GIS technology and other related maps were prepared from remote sensing data in ArcGIS 10.1. 288 soil samples were collected for the study from different Blocks of the Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu. The Organic carbon, N, P, K, pH and EC status of the soil were analysed and reported. Result: The organic carbon status of the soil is very low in most of the parts of Coimbatore and the pH status is slightly alkaline. The primary nutrients N, P and K were found to be low and found to have micronutrient imbalance which is highly influenced by the changes in pH.
Influence of Paper Mill Effluent Irrigated Soil Characteristics under Laboratory and Field Conditions
M. Suguna Devakumari, S. Praveena Katharine, S. Carolin Jeeva
Agricultural Science Digest, 2023
Background: The solid wastes and the wastewater (effluent) generated in the pulp and paper industry can be used to improve the soil fertility. However, the cation concentration in these residues can influence the bioavailability of some nutrients and soil properties. The objective of this study is to experiment the availability of the cations namely Ca, Mg, Na and K in laboratory (column) and the field. Methods: An experiment with PVC column was carried out in the laboratory to study the availability of cations as influenced by 13 irrigations with papermill effluent vis-à-vis in a field experiment in the Department of Environmental Sciences, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during 2019-2020. Result: The pH, EC and the concentration of the cations were higher in the field soil compared to the column soil barring magnesium. This may be due to the clogging of pores resulting in decreased infiltration in field soil.
Approaches to Plant Nutrient Management Through Fertilization in India: Then, Now and the Future
Praveena Katharine S, Suguna Devakumari M
Reviews in Agricultural Science, 2022
Sustainable use and management of fertilizers depend on the plant nutrition and fertilizer recommendation approaches. The Build-Up and Maintenance approaches are based on the concept of “Feed the soil and Feed the crop” where fertilizers are applied over the selected time period until nutrient levels are raised to the critical soil test levels, then applications are continued at a rate to maintain the nutrient levels to sustain that soil test. The common approach of fertilizer adjustments based on Soil test rating equates general or blanket recommendation to medium fertility status of soil available NPK. For soils testing low or high category, the fertilizer recommendations are increased or decreased by 30 per cent of the general recommendations. Nutrient recommendations through post-harvest soil test values prediction equations have much practical significance. The relevance and value of soil testing increases through yield targeting based fertilizer recommendations. Futuristic approaches like precision agriculture, use of GIS, GPS and RS, Cloud computing, and Big data are versatile components of plant nutrients / fertilizer recommendation. In these approaches, variability of conditions in each field is accounted for and fertilizer recommendation is made precisely so as to optimize the use of soil resources, increase yield, reduce production costs, minimize negative impacts to the environment and ensure optimum returns from its investment. Digital Ag and Big Data analytics bring new opportunities to yield optimization by precision fertilizer management.
Drip Fertigation with Fertilizer Prescription Through STCR—IPNS—A Way Forward Towards Climate Change Mitigation
Santhi Rangasamy, Maragatham Subramaniyam, Praveena Katharine Stephen, Pradip Dey
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, 2022
Evaluation of soil test crop response based Integrated Plant Nutrition System (STCR-IPNS) recommendations for transgenic cotton on Inceptisol
S. Praveena Katharine, R. Santhi, C. N. Chandrasekhar, S. Maragatham, K. M. Sellamuthu
Research on Crops, 2014
Soil test based fertilizer prescription equations (FPEs) were developed for desired yield target of transgenic cotton under Integrated Plant Nutrition System (IPNS) through drip fertigation on Vertic Ustropept of Tamil Nadu, south India. To validate the equations, an experiment was conducted on the same soil series. The results revealed that the deviation recorded in the achievement of target aimed, was within the range of ±10% (90–110%) proving the validity of the FPEs. STCR treatments greatly influenced the growth and yield attributes of the crop and recorded significantly higher yield, response ratio (RR) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) than blanket, farmer's practice and control. STCR-IPNS treatments performed better than STCR-NPK alone treatments. There was build-up of post-harvest soil fertility in the STCR treatments. The treatment, STCR-IPNS for 4.0 t/ha of cotton proved its superiority over all other treatments in terms of yield, uptake, response ratio, BCR and quality parameters. This treatment recorded an yield increase of 62.4 and 65.6%, respectively, over blanket and farmer's practice. Therefore, it could be concluded that these FPEs could be made use of for prescribing soil test based fertilizer doses for transgenic cotton on Inceptisols under drip fertigation.