Veterinary antibiotics like sulfonamides are frequently detected in arable lands and they can potentially contaminate food crops. It is thus of great importance to identify strategies to reduce food crops’ uptake of antibiotics. For the first time, using a pot culture experiment, sulfathiazole (STZ) uptake by lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown in antibiotic-contaminated soils (10 and 100 mg STZ kg⁻¹ soil) and treated with (in)organic amendments, namely chemical fertilizer (NPK), compost, and hairy vetch, was investigated. Subsequent enhanced plant growth was witnessed when using hairy vetch treatment. The amount of antibiotic uptake was significantly reduced to 5 and 33% with hairy vetch application compared to compost or NPK application at 10 and 100 mg kg⁻¹ STZ, respectively. The total amounts of accumulated STZ in plant parts increased as the levels of STZ contaminated in soils were increased. STZ was much more abundant in the roots than the leaves. Within 30 days, the extractable STZ in the treated soils—especially with hairy vetch—diminished considerably to concentrations that are frequently detected in arable soils. We conclude that utilization of green manure (cover crop—hairy vetch) is a viable strategy for safer crop production in antibiotic-contaminated soils.

Rice soil is a source of emission of two major greenhouse gases (methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O)) and a sink of carbon dioxide (CO₂). The effect of inorganic fertilizers in combination with various organics (cow dung, green manure (Sesbania aculeata) Azolla compost, rice husk) on CH₄ emission, global warming potential, and soil carbon storage along with crop productivity were studied at university farm under field conditions. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design for 2 years in a monsoon rice (cv. Ranjit) ecosystem (June–November, 2014 and 2015). Combined application of inorganic (NPK) with Sesbania aculeata resulted in high global warming potential (GWP) of 887.4 kg CO₂ ha⁻¹ and low GWP of 540.6 kg CO₂ ha⁻¹ was recorded from inorganic fertilizer applied field. Irrespective of the type of organic amendments, flag leaf photosynthesis of the rice crop increased over NPK application (control). There was an increase in CH₄ emission from the organic amended fields compared to NPK alone. The combined application of NPK and Azolla compost was effective in the buildup of soil carbon (16.93 g kg⁻¹) and capacity of soil carbon storage (28.1 Mg C ha⁻¹) with high carbon efficiency ratio (16.9). Azolla compost application along with NPK recorded 15.66% higher CH₄ emission with 27.43% yield increment over control. Azolla compost application significantly enhanced carbon storage of soil and improved the yielding ability of grain (6.55 Mg ha⁻¹) over other treatments.