ABSTRACT
Agriculture is the largest sector in the world, which supplies raw material to almost all the industries right from the food industry to textile, construction, mechanical, and energy to even the cosmetics industry. It produces a different type of raw materials for different industries like cereal crops, sugar cane, vegetables, and oil crops for the food industry, cotton for the textile industry, wood for construction and mechanical industries, and different plant products/extracts to make cosmetic products. Besides, the agriculture industry includes crop residues (CR), animal dung, sugarcane bagasse, livestock animal dead bodies, pruning waste, cotton stalk, etc. These wastes can be used for the betterment of soil and plant health, including energy production, by converting them into useful products. These products are produced by some processes like composting, biochar, and manure production. Some other uses of agricultural wastes (AW) include as biosorbents for heavy metals, crop residue supply to soils, mulching, and energy production from household to large scales. This chapter discusses the prospects of AW uses for soil and plant health improvement along with future directions.
