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The study was conducted during 2018 cropping season at Dugda Woreda to investigate the effect of in situ moisture conservation techniques on grain yield and yield components of maize. Treatments comprised of tied ridge, furrow closed at both end and farmer’s practices (as the control). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replication. The grain yield and thousand seed weight showed highly significantly difference (p 0.05) varied on tied ridge, furrow closed at both end and farmer practice, respectively. Tied ridge practices had increases maize grain yield and thousand seed weight (g) by up to 45.52% (2.7913 ton ha-1) and 41.43% above farmer practice (control), respectively. Also furrow closed at both end increased the grain yield and thousand seed weight (g) by up to 30.68% (1.882 ton ha-1) and 27.63% as compared to farmers' practice, respectively. These results claim the potential use of tied ridge and furrow closed at both end improved grain yield and thousand seed weight in the study areas by enhancing moisture in the soil. Therefore, in situ moisture conservation (tied ridge and furrow closed at both end) structure is a promising moisture conservation structures to mitigate dry spell period and improve maize production in the study area and similarly agro ecology. Key words: Tied ridge, furrow closed at both end, yield, moisture deficit.

The work was conducted in the north of Cote d’Ivoire, central pivot cotton production savannah area, to make the diagnosis of soil fertility for cotton cropping. Cotton cropping, the mainstay of the savannah's economy, suffered from low productivity in relation to the soils chemical properties. Prior cultivation, soils samples were collected at a depth of 0 to 30 cm, collecting 32 simple samples to generate a complete sample. The samples were sent to the soil laboratory to measure the pH unities, CEC, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, zinc, copper and manganese contents. In order to facilitate the interpretation of analysis results, the nutrients critical level recommended for optimum production of cotton were used. Results showed that soils had pH ranging from 4.4 to 6.4. On the other hand, the need to add nitrogen, magnesium and phosphorus to the soils and to augment the low carbon, calcium and potassium content. There is the need to search for fertilizer formulations with nitrogen, magnesium phosphorus and calcium for the Cote d'Ivoire cotton belt.

Soybean has the potential to bring significant benefits in diversified cropping systems, which could help restructuring soil fertility and allow smallholders to increase grain yield. Rhizobium inoculation improves the biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in legume crops and assists resource-poor farmers to increase grain yield at lower financial costs. The efficacy of symbiotic bacteria on legumes can also be improved through supplementation of phosphorus fertilizer. In this work, a meta-analysis of 29 peer-reviewed studies was performed to understand the effects of various Rhizobium strains and phosphate fertilizer application on soybean nodules. Results showed that Rhizobium inoculation was highly effective in increasing the number of soybean nodules, nodule dry weight, and shoot dry weight. Application of phosphorus fertilizer increased the overall nodule number due to improved BNF processes by Rhizobia. The main effects of both Rhizobium inoculation and phosphate fertilizer resulted in moving grain yields to 1.67 t ha-1 and 1.95 t ha-1, respectively. Furthermore, the interaction of Rhizobium inoculants and phosphorus led to relatively higher grain yield (2.51 t ha-1). Therefore, African smallholders were advised to adopt Rhizobium inoculation in soybean fields concomitantly to phosphate fertilizer application, to improve soybean productivity at lower costs. Key words: Phosphorus application, nodule number, nodule dry weight, shoots dry weight, grain yield.

Inter cropping which is also known as mixed cropping has ability of increasing usage of nutrient and water efficiently, enhancing crop productivity, and plasticity to abiotic and biotic stress resulted by change in climate. In this agroecological farming method, two or more crops are cultivated together on the same farm area. Cereal with legume is a common combination. Crop selection is not profitable unless characteristics useful in intercrops, such as intercropping in legume and cereal cultivars, are considered. Inter cropping can result in enhanced soil fertility and structure, improved weed suppression, the conservation of soil moisture, and comparatively better control of diseases and pests, resulting greater yield and increased profitability. The biggest benefit of intercropping systems is the fact that they combine above-ground and below-ground benefits: these benefits include both short and tall plant components, which helps them to harness sunlight for photosynthesis, as well as deep and shallow rooted plant components, which assists them in using water and nutrients for crop production. Intercropping is popular in areas of the world including China, Mali, Indonesia, India, Ethiopia, and Niger due to its high growing popularity in agriculture. General & Specific Combining Ability principles in hybrid breeding have been applied for crop combinations and cultivars, and their impacts are recognized as General/ Specific Mixing Ability. The other considerable advantages of intercropping include greater land use efficiency, competitive ability towards weed, favorable exudates from the component legumes, and greater yield stability which cannot be achieved in monocropping. Plant breeding enables intercropping systems to better use their genetic diversity by conducting plant breeding research and harnessing this variability to cross-crop adaptability. High labor inputs in harvesting, higher cost of maintenance and reduction of the main crop are some disadvantages of intercropping.

Thailand is the largest nature rubber exporter in the world. The rubber industry is particularly important for both the national economy and farmers. However, the increasing popularity of monoculture rubber plantation has posed challenges for the sustainable development of rubber industry due to the negative impacts of homogeneous cropping systems. Rubber crop diversity system is expected to alleviate the environment degradation and secure rubber farmers’ income. Nevertheless, the rubber diverse cropping systems adoption is more complicated for most rubber farmers in Thailand. Using the data on rubber farmers which cover 3344 observations from Office of Agricultural Economics in Thailand throughout the period of 2012–2014, this paper investigated the influential factors of rubber crop diversity adoption. The results indicate that rubber farmers are usually lack of management skills, information, and market access in crop diversity adoption. Adequate rainfall and water, household labour, land right certificate, land degradation, the use of organic fertilizer, crop sales channels and irrigation access have positive impacts on the adoption of rubber crop diversity. On the other hand, in the southern region, the hiring of foreign labours, agricultural training, off-farm work, male household heads as well as their age and education level are negatively associated with crop diversity adoption. According to the empirical results, it is necessary for rubber institutions to pay more attention to training programmes and education on rubber farmers’ diverse cropping system management skills. Moreover, rubber sustainable development strategies should offer rubber households additional incentives and financial support to relieve their financial constraints and improve the market accessibility. In addition, it is also necessary to focus on rubber households with poor natural resources and agricultural infrastructure and offer supports for infrastructure, such as irrigation systems, to increase rubber crop diversity adoption in Thailand.

Synthesis and analysis of past cropping research can provide valuable information to direct future decisions around crop management. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are considered gold standards in the synthesis and analysis of scientific research because they distil large amounts of information about complex issues, provide a summary of knowledge to date, and identify knowledge gaps. However, several issues concerning the methodologies employed to conduct systematic reviews have been identified; among them is the risk of publication bias when a review relies too heavily on ‘white’ literature from published academic sources and in so doing fails identify relevant ‘grey’ literature. Grey literature is inherently difficult to identify and collect, but forms a large portion of information available in many fields including agricultural-based research within Australia. The Online Farm Trials (OFT) database is a digital database of crop research field trial data from across Australia that has the potential for use as a discipline-specific source of grey literature to inform systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Using a case study approach to investigate the amount of information available on time of sowing (sowing date) on crop yield across Australia, we demonstrate that the OFT database provides easy access to transparent and reproducible search results similar to other commonly used academic databases.

The fragile balance in the world’s carbon equilibrium through the discovery of cheap carbon-based fuels in the nineteenth century has led to mass industrialisation and an explosion in the world human population, including that of Pakistan. Farmers worldwide will need to adapt their production systems to accommodate global warming and increased climate extremes resulting from these man-made environmental changes. The focus will need to be on smallholder farmers who generate 53% of the world’s food but who are least equipped to accommodate climate change. The most major limitation will be fresh water supply, no more exemplified than in Pakistan as Himalayan snowfall decreases and peak snow melt comes earlier in spring, limiting irrigation water for summer C4 crops such as corn, millet, sorghum and sugarcane. These are destined to replace the traditional C3 crops of wheat and rice, which will not be as suited to climate change conditions resulting from a projected mean 2°C rise in ambient temperature. Smallholder farmers will need to access superior-quality seed for crop cultivars for both human food and animal forage bred to withstand climatic change. Quantitative genetic selection programs for tropically adapted livestock must be implemented with a major focus on Pakistan’s Nili Ravi and Kundhi buffalo, together with Sahiwal cattle servicing the milk consumption needs of Pakistan’s burgeoning population of 211 million. The quality of forage available for livestock emanating largely from crop residues needs to be improved to meet the country’s greenhouse-gas production targets in line with international expectation. The challenge remains for governments to sustain marketing chains that allow them to be profitable when operating in an increasingly hostile environment. The conservation of soil fertility through increased carbon sequestration will be an important imperative. It is likely that females will play a more important role in directing adaptation in these communities. Successful adjustment will be dependent on effective extension programs working with all sectors of the community including males, females and children from all walks of life in both rural and urban environments. Failure to do so will lead to rapid increases in climate refugee numbers, which the world can ill-afford.

Silicon (Si) is increasingly recognized as a pivotal beneficial element for plants in ecology and agricultural sciences, but soil-plant Si cycling has been considered mostly through the prism of abiotic mineral weathering, whilst numerous biological processes have been overlooked. Leveraging ecological processes that impact soil-plant Si cycling in cropping systems might improve crop Si status, but this remains hypothetical to date. We aim to comprehensively compile information about biotic and abiotic processes driving soil-plant Si cycling, and translate their potential beneficial effects in agricultural practices. We emphasize the fundamental need to consider the effects of agricultural practices on Si mobility in soil-plant systems when striving towards sustainable agroecosystems. Regarding soil abiotic factors, degree of soil weathering, mineralogy, texture and pH are key predictors of soil Si dynamics, while soil aggregation processes deserve further investigation. The biological processes associated with mycorrhizal associations, silicate-solubilizing bacteria, and soil macrofauna enhance Si mobility in soil-plant systems, while the effect of root exudates is likely, but deserves further studies. Large herbivores strongly affect soil-plant Si mobility by increasing plant-derived Si turnover rates and redistribution, thereby making integrated crop-livestock systems a promising perspective to improve crop Si status. Recycling crop residues and implementing suitable cover crops promotes Si mobility in soil-plant systems by leveraging the relatively high solubility of plant-derived Si-bearing minerals. The soil-root-microorganism interactions facilitated by cereal-legume intercropping systems also contributes to the mobility of Si in the soil-plant continuum. The capacity of certain agricultural practices to increase Si mobility in soil-plant systems stresses the need to understand complex soil-plant-animal interactions when aiming to enhance Si-based plant stress resistance in agroecosystems.

Pre scaling up of malt barley was conducted at Dodola District of West Arsi Zone to increase production and productivity among malt barley producer’s farmers. Dodola district was selected due to its potential for barley production. Again three kabeles namely Ganata,Danaba and Kechema were selected purposively based on potential of the crop for malt barley production. From selected kebales 139 farmers were selected, for cropping season (2017/18). An improved variety of malt barley called IBON 174/03 distributed for farmers.One hundred quintals of malt barley seed was given for the selected farmers. The seed covered the land size of 83.5 ha at the rate of 125kg per hectare by the malt barley during the production year (2017/18).Orientation was given for the farmers on the advantages of producing in cluster over the conventional (traditional) way. In Addition to this awareness on production and packages of malt barley was also delivered to the farmers on set of June which was sponsored by Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR). Two times Monitoring and evaluation have been done in collaboration with Sinana research center researchers and agricultural office experts of Dodola district .Exchange visit as well as both villages based and large scale field day were arranged for further promotion of malt barley to other potential areas. From one hectare the productivity of improved malt barley (IBON 174/03 an average grain yield scored 45.1 q/ha, 40 q/ha and 35 q/ha at Ganata,Danaba and Kechema Kabeles respectively.Malt barley is potential crop in the highlands of West Arsi Zone in general and at Dodola district in particular. The crop is used for household consumption as well as industrial crop in generating income for small holder farmers. IBON 174/03 was acceptable during field day by farmers due to their disease tolerant, early maturity. After harvesting farmers like the variety IBON 174/03 due to its productivity (high yield per hectare). Thus, highland farmers should use IBON 174/03 variety of malt barley in order to increase their malt barley production and generate more income for their livelihood. Further dissemination of malt barley is more expected from concerned body for addressing potential areas.

The study determined the profitability of three different cropping systems. Data collected include cost of fixed assets, cost of variable inputs, yields and prices of outputs. Data were subjected to budgetary technique; analysis of variance and significant means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at 5% level of probability. Results of the gross margin analysis showed that both the intercropping and only sole Amaranth vegetable production were profitable. The intercrop production had a gross margin of N567,920/ha with a total revenue of N1, 600,000 /ha and having the highest output of 8000kg/ha while the sole Amaranth vegetable production had a gross margin of N179, 920/ha with a total revenue of N1,200,000/ha and having an output of 6000kg/ha. Also, the intercrop vegetable production had a benefit cost ratio, rate of return and gross ratio of 1.51, 0.52 and 0.66, respectively while sole Amaranth production had a benefit cost ratio, rate of return and gross ratio of 1.15, 0.15 and 0.87, respectively. The result indicates that the two vegetable productions were profitable. Further analysis revealed that intercropping did not have significant (p

Positive relationships between plant species diversity, soil microbial function and nutrient cycling have been well documented in natural systems, and these relationships have the potential to improve the production and sustainability of agroecosystems. Our objectives were to study the long-term effects of planted species composition and nitrogen (N) fertilization on soil microbial biomass C, extracellular enzyme activity, changes in total soil C, soil fertility and aboveground biomass yield in mixtures of native prairie species managed with and without N fertilizer for bioenergy production at four sites in Minnesota (MN), USA. Species were sown into mixture treatments and composition was not maintained (i.e., no weeding) throughout the duration of the study. Species mixture treatments at establishment included a switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) monoculture (SG), a four-species grass mixture (GM), an eight-species legume/grass mixture (LG) and a 24-species high diversity forb/legume/grass mixture (HD). Species diversity and aboveground productivity were similar for most mixture treatments at final sampling after 11 or 12 years of succession. Despite this homogenization of productivity and diversity throughout the study, the effects of planted species diversity and a decade of succession resulted in some differences in soil variables across species mixture treatments. On a peat soil in Roseau, MN, soil enzyme activities including β-glucosidase (BG), cellobiohydrolase (CBH) and phosphatase (PHOS) were highest in HD compared to GM treatments. On a sandy soil at Becker, MN, total soil C increased in all treatment combinations at the 0–15 and 15–30 cm depth intervals, with SG showing greater increases than HD at the 15–30 cm depth. Final soil pH also varied by species mixture at the Becker and Roseau sites, but differences in treatment comparisons varied by location. Nitrogen fertilization did not affect any response variable alone, but interacted with species mixture treatment to influence PHOS and total soil C at Becker. The inconsistent effects of species mixture and N fertilization on soil biological and chemical properties observed across sites highlight the importance of local soil and climate conditions on bioenergy and ecosystem service provisioning of perennial bioenergy cropping systems.

Perennial energy crop (PEC) fields need to be reintegrated into the farm's crop rotation when yield performance declines after years of use or when the farm operation requires it. In this study, 8‐year‐old stands of cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.) and lucerne grass followed by field grass were converted to arable cropping, while continuous silage maize (Zea mays L.) grown over the same period served as a control. The study aimed to assess changes in the weed flora, control of cup plant regrowth, pre‐crop value of PECs for subsequently grown maize and N release through mineralization of crop litter and soil organic matter in the first year after converting the PECs. The previously practiced cropping systems resulted in widely divergent maize weed populations. About 90% of the cup plant volunteers were successfully eliminated by two treatments of herbicides containing clopyralid. Maize following cup plant exhibited a faster soil cover, earlier male and female flowering, taller plants and a 10.6% and 13.6% higher aboveground biomass yield than former field grass and maize respectively. The N release by mineralization of 222 and 238 kg N ha−1 following cup plant and field grass conversion, respectively, clearly exceeded the 129 kg N ha−1 observed in the maize control. The residual mineral nitrogen in the 90 cm soil profile after the maize harvest was also significantly higher in the former field grass and cup plant plots than in the maize control. The excess N in the first year after reverting to annual cropping runs the risk of N leaching. Given that N fertilization is substantially reduced after cup plant and field grass conversion, maize appears to be a well‐suited follow‐up crop due to its good suppression of cup plant volunteers and high N uptake capacity which helps minimize nutrient losses to the environment.

Taoyuan County is a large grain and rapeseed production county. Taking advantage of the resource advantage of soil rich in selenium in Taoyuan County, it promotes high-yield cultivation and assembly technology of selenium-rich rice and rapeseed rotation in one-season rice area, optimizing the aggregate structure of the soil, improving the soil ecology and reducing the content of heavy metals in the soil, laying the foundation for the continuous increase in agricultural efficiency and farmers’ income. Through rice and rapeseed rotation, the overwintering base of rice field borers are reduced, and the incidence of pests and diseases in the coming year is effectively reduced. The popularization of assembling and supporting technologies for rice-rapeseed rotation cropping and the promotion of high-quality varieties and planting techniques can increase the farmers' income significantly. This paper will describe the methods and technologies in detail from three aspects: the assembling and supporting methods of selenium-enriched rice and rapeseed rotation high-yield cultivation, main points of the supporting technology for the rice selenium-enriched cultivation and main points of supporting technology for the rapeseed selenium-enriched cultivation.

Failure to sustain most of the rural poor and food security programmes in Nigeria after their life span is due to poor productivity of the capital investment of a project to generate a remunerative income to sustain a typical agrarian farming household in Nigeria. Thus, to critically investigate this hypothetical proposition, this research aimed at evaluating the viability of the IFAD rice project among the beneficiaries in Niger State of Nigeria. Undated data of the 2018 rainfed cropping season was elicited from 111 farmers through a multi-stage sampling technique and the information were collected viaa structured questionnaire complemented with an interview schedule. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected. The empirical results showed that the rice project in the study area is likely not to be sustained after the stipulated time frame for the programme as inspite of the programme aim of doubling farmers’ income viz. value chain. The capital investment is not productive to sustain an average farming household composed of 8 persons having an operational holding of less than two hectares. Therefore, the study recommends provision of consumption credit in addition to the production credit advanced to the farmers in order to make the capital investment viable so that its turnover after each production season will be consistently re-invested into the rice project and possibility of a farmer taken-up additional activities along the chain, thus keeping the business going concern viable and sustainable.

PEGADA HÍDRICA DO ARROZ CULTIVADO SOB DIFERENTES MANEJOS DE IRRIGAÇÃO EMANUELE BAIFUS MANKE1; ARYANE FARIAS DOS SANTOS2; MARÍLIA ALVES BRITO PINTO²; JOSÉ MARIA BARBART PARFITT3; ADILSON LUÍS BAMBERG3 E LESSANDRO COLL FARIA2 1Doutora em Ciências, Faculdade de Agronomia Eliseu Maciel, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, UFPel. Capão do Leão, RS, Brasil, manumanke@gmail.com ²Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, UFPel. Pelotas, RS, Brasil, aryanefarias@hotmail.com; ma.agro@gmail.com; lessandro.faria@ufpel.edu.br 3Embrapa Clima Temperado, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Embrapa, Pelotas, RS, jose.parfitt@embrapa.br; adilson.bamberg@embrapa.br 1 RESUMO O arroz é um dos cereais mais produzidos e consumidos no mundo. O manejo da água na orizicultura é complexo, sendo os estudos acerca da pegada hídrica do arroz menos frequentes em relação a outras culturas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar de forma simplificada a pegada hídrica do arroz irrigado por aspersão e inundação sob diferentes manejos de irrigação, adotando como base a metodologia tradicional de estimativa da pegada hídrica. Os dados utilizados são provenientes de dois experimentos conduzidos na Estação Experimental Terras Baixas, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa) Clima Temperado, Capão do Leão, RS, Brasil. No Experimento 1 foram analisados três manejos de irrigação na safra do arroz de 2011/2012 e quatro na safra de 2012/2013. No Experimento 2 foram analisados quatro manejos de irrigação nas safras 2015/2016 e 2016/2017. Os manejos nas tensões de 20 e 10 kPa (aspersão) e por irrigação contínua (inundação) apresentaram menor pegada hídrica simplificada. Comparando-se a irrigação por aspersão e inundação, concluiu-se que na inundação, o manejo de irrigação contínua resultou em uma pegada hídrica simplificada menor. Palavras-chave: Oryza sativa, métodos de irrigação, inundação, aspersão MANKE, E. B.; SANTOS, A. F. dos; PINTO, M. A. B.; PARFITT, J. M. B.; BAMBERG, A. L.; FARIA, L. C. WATER FOOTPRINT OF RICE CULTIVATED UNDER DIFFERENT IRRIGATION MANAGEMENTS 2 ABSTRACT Rice is one of the most produced and consumed cereals in the world. The water management in rice farming is complex, and studies on the rice water footprint are less frequent than other cultures. The objective was to estimate the simplified water footprint of a sprinkler and flood-irrigated rice under different irrigation management, taking as model the traditional methodology of water footprint estimation. The raw data used are from two experiments performed using rice in the “Terras Baixas”, Experimental Station, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) Temperate Climate, located in Capão do Leão, RS, Brazil. In Experiment 1, three irrigation management applied in the rice cropping season of 2011/2012 and four in the cropping season of 2012/2013 were analyzed. In Experiment 2, four irrigation managements in the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 cropping seasons were evaluated. The irrigation managements in the tensions of 20 and 10 kPa (sprinkler) and continuous irrigation (flood) presented smallest simplified water footprint. Comparing sprinkler and flood irrigation, it can be concluded that the flood method, under continuous irrigation, resulted in a smallest simplified water footprint. Keywords: Oryza sativa, irrigation methods, flooded, sprinkler

Soil aggregates not only store carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) but hold a critical role in determining the nutrients supply, crop productivity, and climate change mitigation. However, the impact of cropping system and N fertilization on aggregate-associated C and N in both topsoil and subsoil remains unclear. Here, we assessed the effect of cropping systems (wheat–soybean vs. wheat–maize cropping systems) and N fertilization rates (0 N; medium N, 120 kg N ha−1; high N, 240 kg N ha−1) on soil water-stable aggregates distribution, as well as aggregate-associated C and N based on a field study in North China Plain. Our study suggests that the variations of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks were more affected by N fertilization than short-term cropping systems. In the wheat–soybean system, medium N increased the SOC stock by 19.18% and 15.73% as compared to high N in the topsoil and subsoil, respectively. Additionally, medium N resulted in 6.59–18.11% higher TN stock in the topsoil for both wheat–soybean and wheat–maize cropping systems as compared to 0 N and high N. Notably, the water-stable macroaggregates (> 0.25 mm) in the topsoil occupied more than 70% of the soil, which increased under medium N in the wheat–soybean cropping system. In conclusion, medium N fertilization combined with a legume-based cropping could be used to improve SOC stock, promote soil aggregation, and enhance aggregate-associated C.

Improving the groundwater governance structure can help reduce groundwater decline and improve the state of an aquifer. This study develops an approach to modify groundwater governance based on a participatory, water-food-energy (WFE) nexus. Given the need for the participation of actors in the decision-making for the WFE nexus, we identified and selected some powerful nexus actors. Using the actor’s viewpoints, factors that led to excessive withdrawal of groundwater resources in each sector were identified as governance challenges. Using the DPSIR (Driving Force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) approach, the actors assessed the cause-and-effect relationships of the groundwater governance challenges and proposed modification in the groundwater governance. Thirteen groundwater governance scenarios were defined. Then, the impact of scenarios on WFE sectors was evaluated by the participation of nexus actors and the nexus assessment ranking of the scenarios. The results show that, out of the 13 groundwater governance scenarios, only seven scenarios had positive effects in all three sectors (WFE). The scenario of developing and enforcing region-specific cropping patterns and value-chain management has the highest rank. This paper highlights the need for the participation of actors in decision-making and the use of WFE nexus in modifying the groundwater governance system.

This study aimed to examine the impacts of different cropping sequences of dryland crops in southern NSW Australia on root colonization levels by the native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) of the soil and biomass weight of some upland cereal and legume crops (sorghum, oats, soybean, and sub-clover) grown on the soil samples in the glasshouse of the University of Western Sydney. The field soil samples were taken from southern NSW areas having different histories of dryland cropping, namely pasture only (PO), pasture-canola-wheat (PCW), and pasture-wheat (PW). For each category of cropping history, there were two sites sampled, each with two bulk field replicates. Each replicate of field soil sample was also analyzed for its content of nutrients and AMF spores and colonization levels of the field crop roots. The results indicated that there were no significant different in soil properties between categories of cropping history, except for Mg and Na contents, which were highest in PO than in PCW and PW soil. There were positive significant correlation between field root colonization and sub-clover colonization and soybean biomass, between total spores and colonization of sorghum and sub-clover, between available P and biomass of sorghum, sub-clover and oats, between Mg or Na and sorghum colonization, between Ca and oats biomass, and negative correlation between Mg and sorghum biomass. However, there were significant interaction between cropping history and several soil properties, indicating significant impacts of cropping history on the relationship between soil properties or AMF colonization and biomass of the glasshouse crops

The objective of this study was to determine the effects irrigation, fertilizer and manure on pore-water nutrient availability, rice yield and soil fertility improvement. The experiment was laid ou...

The characteristics of imperfect markets are characterized by the presence of transaction costs. One sector that is an imperfect market is the agricultural sector. The purpose of this study was to analyze the structure of transaction costs and the implications of transaction costs on the benefits of hybrid corn farming. The research method uses transaction cost analysis and multiple linear regression. The research was conducted in Dompu Regency, West Nusa Tenggara with 120 respondents as corn farmers. The results show that implementation costs are the component of transaction costs that have the highest percentage of 43.35%, then supervision costs are 28.37%, transportation costs are 20.61%, negotiation costs are 3.70%, information costs are 3.41% and coordination 0.57%. These transaction cost components are distributed in each hybrid corn farming cycle, among others; (1) birth cycle; (2) cropping cycle; (3) maintenance cycle; (4) supervision; (5) harvest cycle; and (6) postharvest cycle. The postharvest cycle is the cycle that has the highest percentage of 23.17%, then the maintenance cycle is 18.53%, the harvest cycle is 17.65%, the cropping cycle is 17.28% and the control cycle is 13.99%. Transaction costs have a positive and significant effect on the profits of hybrid corn farming.

Aims: The study is done with the objective of assessing the impact of groundwater irrigation development on cropping intensity and crop productivity in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, India. Study Design: Purposive random sampling Place and Duration of Study: Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu, India during 2019-20. Methodology: The data on irrigation sources and area under various irrigation sources in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu and India is subjected to growth analysis using trend studies and CAGR (Compound Annual Growth rate) to study the ground water irrigation development. Whereas, regression analysis was done with the primary data collected from 120 farming households in Krishnagiri on agricultural land use and irrigation to study the impact of groundwater irrigation on cropping intensity and crop productivity. Results: As the net tube wells and other well irrigated area to net sown area (GWA) increases, there has been a corresponding increase in cropping intensity and crop productivity. The rise in percent of net tank and canal irrigated area to net sown area and percent of fertilizer applied area to net sown area have also increased cropping intensity and crop productivity whereas the increase in percent of net rainfed area to net sown area have decreased the cropping intensity and crop productivity. Conclusion: The ground water utilization through tube well construction have increased the cropping intensity and crop productivity.

Clubroot, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, is an important soilborne disease of canola (Brassica napus) in Alberta, Canada. As clubroot prefers acidic soils, the application of lime to increase ...

A modeling system was used to calculate the resource footprints (land, water, nutrients, energy, fuel, electricity, and carbon) on a large scale in agricultural production systems (Iran as a case study), and this report is an introduction of this modeling system for future studies. Under irrigated conditions, the highest land footprint was observed in pulses and oil grains (0.6 ha t−1). The lowest water footprints were found in silage corn (300 m3 t−1), and the highest water footprints were observed in oil grains (4525 m3 t−1). The highest footprints of nitrogen were observed in maize (31.7 kg t−1), wheat (30.9 kg t−1), and oil grains (30.4 kg t−1), and the lowest value belonged to production of sugar crops (2.6 kg t−1). Most of the energy, fuel, electricity, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were occurred under irrigated cropping systems compared with the rainfed systems. Under irrigated conditions, the highest footprints of energy, fuel, and electricity and GHG emissions occurred in the production of oil grains, and their values were 24397 MJ t−1, 161 L t−1, 1195 kWh t−1, and 1699 kg CO2eq. t−1, respectively. In general, wheat production in Iran has the highest cost in terms of resource use (water, elements, energy, and carbon) compared with the other plant products. Livestock and poultry products (especially red meat) also had the highest ecological footprint among the products.

The granting of permits for the use of water resources has been legislated to ensure adequate access to water for all user sectors. However, this management instrument may not effectively perform quantitative control over the granting process, and permits for flows greater than the water availability may be granted and thus are not always representative of the actual abstractions. Therefore, the present study aimed to develop a methodology to optimize the use of water in shared management schemes under conflict conditions. The proposal is based on the initial evaluation of water availability conditions within a legal plan, in which the flows that consider all uses are associated with the annual run-of-river water availability, and, subsequently, for the segments where the demands are higher than the availability, on the analysis of water availability condition in an operational plan. At the operational level, the demands are characterized by the permitted flows that consider all uses except those corresponding to irrigation activities, which are estimated based on the flows required by the equivalent hectares. In this plan, the availability is considered on a monthly run-of-river basis and with the presence of flow-regulation reservoirs. For the application of the proposed methodology, the Rio Branco basin in western Bahia State is considered. The results indicated that management bodies require extensive knowledge of the actual abstractions corresponding to the permits granted, the potentialities of considering the minimum monthly run-of-river water availability and potential water availability of the basin under regulated-flow conditions, changes in cropping calendars and the use of deficit irrigation under conditions with conflicts over water use.

The increasing demand for food production with limited available water resources poses a threat to agricultural activities. Conventional optimization algorithms increase the processing stage and perform in the space allocated from user. Therefore, the proposed work was used to design better performance results. The conjunctive allocation of water resources maximizes the net benefit of farmers. In this study, the novel hybrid optimization model developed is the first of its kind and was designed to resolve the sharing of water resource conflict among different reaches based on a genetic algorithm (GA), bacterial foraging optimization (BFO) and ant colony optimization (ACO) to maximize the net benefit of the water deficit in Sathanur reservoir command. The GA-based optimization model considered crop-related physical and economic parameters to derive optimal cropping patterns for three different conjunctive use policies and further allocation of surface and groundwater for different crops are enhanced with the BFO. The allocation of surface and groundwater for the head, middle and tail reaches obtained from the BFO is considered as an input to the ACO as a guiding mechanism to attain an optimal cropping pattern. Comparing the average productivity values, policy 3 (3.665 Rs/m3) has better values relating to policy 1 (3.662 Rs/m3) and policy 2 (3.440 Rs/m3). Thus, the developed novel hybrid optimization model (GA-BFO-ACO) is very promising for enhancing farmer's net income and can be replicated in other irrigated regions to overcome chronic water problems. The productivity value of policy 3 was 6.54% greater than that of policy 2, whereas that of policy 1 was 6.45% greater. Overall, the comparison shows that the better performance analysis of various optimization was done successfully. HIGHLIGHTS Hybrid optimization model using three meta-heuristic algorithms (GA, BFO and ACO) was developed.; The developed hybrid model is used for optimizing the cropping area, conjunctive water allocation and net returns for different reaches.; The net returns from the developed hybrid model (GA-BFO-ACO) outperform GA- BFO model.; The developed hybrid model is the first of its kind to unravel the sharing of water resources for profit maximization which can be adopted globally to overcome chronic water problems.

Quantifying the impacts of water consumption on available water resources forms one of the core indicators of many life cycle assessments (LCAs). Methods for measuring this impact have been under development for over a decade, with the Available Water Remaining (AWARE) method being the current consensus approach. Available characterisation factors rely on global databases, which are built from potentially inappropriate information. This analysis aims to develop AWARE factors specific to Australian basins using the most recent meteorological data and water consumption statistics available. Australian cotton cropping is used as a case study in the application of the newly developed characterisation factors, and a cotton-specific characterisation factor is developed. The analysis involved the compilation of meteorological data quantifying water run-off and statistical data on domestic, industrial and agricultural water consumption. A geographical information system (GIS) software was used to map the information at the Australian basin level. The information was used to develop a set of monthly and annual characterisation factors for each basin and at the country level, using the AWARE method. All underpinning information is available in a public repository. A cotton-specific AWARE factor was calculated based on land cropped and average irrigation requirements over the past 10 years. Comparing the data collected for this analysis with the data underpinning the current AWARE factors revealed some significant disparities. Using up-to-date statistics suggests that irrigation water requirements are 72% lower than the value currently used in AWARE, and that the characterisation factor for Australia should be up to 35% lower than currently reported. Basin definition was reviewed to align with the Life Cycle Inventory work conducted in Australia as part of AusLCI, so that characterisation factors correspond to the elementary flows defined in the Australian database of inventories. The new breakdown provides more granularity in the Murray-Darling division, where two-thirds of Australian irrigation water is consumed. Using the updated data to develop a factor for cotton shows a 20% reduction against using the current factors. The use of up-to-date water availability and consumption data for Australia would increase the robustness of the current AWARE impact assessment method for the region. All collected information was compiled to be easily updated for future iteration. The factors could be integrated in the global database of AWARE factors, though there may be inherent complexities in this process due to the variations in the geographical definitions of basins.

Marine and coastal pollution is a global issue for human health and biodiversity. We have investigated pollution sources, flow patterns, hotspots, challenges, and adaptation policies in Bangladesh. Industries, ship breaking yards, sewage, tourism, and transboundary depositions are the main sources of pollutions. The Ganges, Padma, Jamuna, Brahmaputra and Meghna carry wastes to the Bay of Bengal. Pollution hotspots are Dhaka, Gazipur, Narshingdi, Narayanganj, Chittagong, Khulna, Mongla port and Sylhet city. Textile and dyeing industries discharge 12.7–13.5 million m3 waste waters annually and pollute 20% of fresh water. Ship breaking yards dump about 22.5 tons polychlorinated biphenyls in a year. More than 50% of the marine oil pollution comes from urban activities. Plastic wastes at 3000 t day-1 and tourism are also contributing to the coastal pollution. Effluent releasing standards are not maintained, and thus higher concentrations of heavy metals are found with marine fishes. Use of heavy metal tolerant crops (rice: BRRI dhan47, potato: Cardinal, mustard: Brassica napus, flower: Marigold, vegetables: Cucumber, fibre: Kenaf, and so on), trap cropping, deep placement of fertilizers, integrated rice-fish-duck culture, etc can be adopted in polluted areas. There are laws for environmental issues, but coordination and financial capabilities does not warrant its effectiveness. Necessary steps are to be taken to improve infrastructure to ensure sanitation and benign discharge of industrial effluents. Systematic study on sources, fate and extent of current effluents dumping in water ways need to be assessed for wellbeing of aquatic life and human health.

The Mekong Delta produces 55% of Vietnam’s rice (Oryza sativa L.) through double or triple cropping each year. It accounts for a large proportion of Vietnam’s anthropogenic methane (CH4) emissions. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) is a paddy water management practice recognized as a promising CH4 mitigation option and may increase rice yield. However, AWD may also increase nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and its implementation is troublesome for farmers. Therefore, a simplified form of AWD (referred to here as “multiple drainage,” MD) is often adopted in An Giang Province, where full dike systems are prevailing, in the Mekong Delta. To evaluate the effects of MD on rice yield and emissions of CH4 and N2O in An Giang Province, we carried out 2-year field experiments at three remote sites each surrounded by the dike systems. We compared MD and continuous flooding (CF) at each site under conventional agronomic practices through six consecutive rice growing seasons. Fluxes of CH4 and N2O were measured by a closed chamber method. MD was achieved with varying degrees of success at each site, except during heavy rainfall events. Rice yield was significantly (P

Currently, ear cropping and tail docking are practised surgeries at veterinary clinics. These procedures have been around for centuries with first cases already performed in ancient Rome. The purpose of such body modifications is based on editing ear and tail shapes in a Since 1997, ear cropping and the tail docking is prohibited in Poland, with an exception for when animal’s life is endangered and depends upon it. This law also applies to other European countries and the rest of the world, including laws on crossing their boarders with pets recently subjected to this kind of surgery; all of which are regulated by adequate ruling bodies. The aim of this research study was to explode various opinions and level of knowledge on this topic of residents of Stargard city, as well as their personal position with regard to the ear cropping and tail docking at dogs. The research material was collected by direct survey and the selection of respondents was random. Achieved results explicitly pointed at predominating number of negative opinions of performing described surgeries on dogs.

Dual-purpose cropping (sowing crops with the intention of both grazing them during vegetative growth and harvesting grain thereafter) has become a widespread farming practice in southern Australia. This synopsis paper integrates research from a multi-institutional research project conducted at three nodes located near Hamilton (south-western Victoria), Wagga Wagga (southern NSW) and Canberra (ACT), and sets out 11 principles for the effective utilisation of dual-purpose crops in meat production systems to increase profit and manage risk. Dual-purpose crops can be used to overcome feed quality gaps in late summer–autumn or feed quantity gaps in late autumn/winter. They provide large quantities of high-quality forages for grazing in summer, autumn and winter and can provide a substantial contribution to the annual number of grazing days on a farm. Utilisation of the high-quality dry matter provided by dual-purpose crops is most effective when directed at young growing stock for sale or future reproduction rather than reproducing adult ewes. For example, sale weight of yearlings per ewe was increased by 16% in systems at the Canberra node when dual-purpose crops were prioritised for grazing by weaners. Wool production was also increased in systems that included grazing of dual-purpose crops. Grazing crops in winter does not necessarily reduce supplementary feeding costs for winter or spring lambing. Modelling suggests that inclusion of dual-purpose crops does not substantially change the optimum time of lambing for sheep meat systems. Financial analysis of the experimental data from the Canberra node showed that although cash expenses per hectare were increased in the crop-grazing systems, the overall profitability of those systems over the life of the experiment was greater by AU$207/ha.year than that of the pasture-only system. Factors driving improved profitability included income from grain, higher income from meat and wool, and lower supplementary feeding costs. However, increasing the area sown to crop from 10% to 30% of the farm area in this Southern Tablelands system appeared to increase risk. In south-western Victoria, spring-sown canola carried risk similar to or less than other options assessed to achieve ewe-lamb mating weight. It is likely that at least part of the reduction in risk occurs through the diversification in income from the canola produced as part of the system. It was concluded that the grazing of cereal and canola crops for livestock production can be profitable and assist in managing risk.

The paper evaluates varying trends in ten climate variables, i.e., maximum temperature (Tmx), mean temperature (Tmp), minimum temperature (Tmn), diurnal temperature range (Dtr), total precipitation (Pre), cloud cover (Cld), wet day frequency (Wet), vapor pressure deficit (Vpd), vapor pressure (Vap), and potential evapotranspiration (Pet), and their impacts on wheat yields during Rabi cropping season in India from 1986 to 2015 using regression modeling and correlation analysis. There are three aspects in the present study, i.e., comprehensive coverage of climate variables, use of cropping season over weather classification, and investigation of India as study area because India accounts for ~1/6th of the world population and ~14% of global wheat production. We find that Tmx, Tmp, Tmn, Vpd, Pet are increasing in eight and Dtr and Cld in seven Indian states, whereas Wet and Vap are decreasing in five and Pre in four Indian states. Most climate variables in the present study negatively impact wheat yields. The climate trends drive total wheat yield losses up to ~309 kg/ha (~11%) over the study period. The regression models explain up to ~80% of wheat yield variability. The paper provides strong evidence that varying climate trends are negatively impacting wheat yield in India, thus presenting a global concern. Water supply and water demand are important climate variables, essential to be investigated in future studies. Using cropping season over standard weather classification provides more practical insight in the crop yield. This study emphasizes timely attention and intervention in agriculture practices leading to policy formation, amendments and practical execution.

The novel coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) and related lockdown regulations have impacted socio-economic activities, the environment, and human health. Generally, the decision to plan...

Southern China is a major rice-producing region where mixed rice cropping systems (single cropping rice (SCR) and double-cropping rice (DCR)) are widely practiced. An accurate estimation of the spa...

Vegetable growers in Florida face rising production costs, reduced crop value, and competition from foreign markets. Relay cropping is a variant of double cropping, where the second crop is planted into the first crop before the harvest is finished. This cropping system may be a potential solution to lower production costs per crop by sharing some inputs for two crops. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of cropping sequence and transplanting date of the secondary crop when relay cropping tomato and bell pepper. Two field experiments were conducted at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, FL, in 2018 and 2019. In the first experiment, tomato was grown as the primary crop and bell pepper was added as the secondary crop, with multiple transplanting dates (8 Aug., 23 Aug., 7 Sept., and 24 Sept.). The second experiment had the same setup but the reverse cropping sequence. Bell pepper yield as the secondary crop was reduced by 65% when grown with tomato as the primary crop compared with bell pepper planted alone. Transplanting date had no effect on bell pepper yield (P = 0.091). Tomato yield was unaffected by the presence of the secondary crop. In the second experiment, tomato yield as a secondary crop was 36% lower when grown with bell pepper as the primary crop compared with tomato crop alone (monocropped). However, tomato yield was significantly reduced by the presence of bell pepper only when tomato crop was planted within 30 to 45 days after planting bell pepper. Based on these results, we recommend relay cropping tomato as the secondary crop within 30 days of planting of bell pepper as the primary crop. However, we do not recommend relay cropping bell pepper as the secondary crop with tomato.

Pulses are important components in sustainable diets and cropping systems. This study evaluated the environmental impact of cultivation of five Swedish pulses (yellow peas, grey peas, faba beans, common beans and lentils) in a life-cycle perspective. The impact of selected Swedish pulses (conventional or organic) was then compared with that of imported pulses in Sweden, including contributions from processing, packaging and transport. The influence of origin and transportation mode and differences between home cooking and canned pulses (Tetra Recart) were considered. The impact of cultivation differed considerably between the Swedish pulses, ranging between 1.6–3.3 MJ, 0.18–0.44 kg CO2e and 3.1–5.9 m2 land use per kg dry product. In general, pulses with higher yield had lower cultivation impact. However, intercropping pulses and cereals showed potential to reduce environmental pressures, despite low per-hectare yield of the pulse crop. When processing, packaging and transport were included, the variation in impact was even greater, illustrating the importance of including post-farm activities in the assessment when comparing pulses. Emissions of greenhouse gases per kg cooked product ranged from 0.1 kg CO2e for Swedish pulses purchased dry to 0.8 kg CO2e for canned beans. Long transport distances contributed considerably to energy use and climate impact, particularly when the pulses were processed and packaged far from the final destination, due to high moisture content of the product. Origin affected also biodiversity impact, since the risk of species losses differs widely between ecoregions. Pesticide use is reported to be high in many countries, and residues are commonly found in many pulses. However, lack of data prevented comparisons of ecotoxicity or pesticide use for different imported pulses. The important role of origin and post-farm activities, in particular transport, for the environmental impact of pulses calls for increasing awareness and action amongst purchasers, food industries, and consumers to achieve more sustainable sourcing of pulses.

We estimate a risk‐based programming, individual farm model and apply it to study the wealth effects of crop‐related, decoupled direct payments under the European Union (EU) Common Agricultural Policy. The model expands on previous work on estimating risk‐based programming models by applying a robust Bayesian econometric framework. The results indicate that the wealth effect varies greatly between individual farms, but that its impact on aggregate crop production is small. For larger farms, in particular, removing the decoupled payments, while keeping total land constant, increases the diversity of the cropping plan.

Aim: The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of combined application of rock phosphate with water soluble phosphorus fertilizers on its efficiency in relation to soil and crop production. Methodology: Rock phosphate and single super phosphate were used as supplemental source of phosphorus and applied in variable combinations at graded doses, with maize and groundnut as test crop. Lime was applied in combination with 100% SSP to analyse its effect. The composite surface (0-15 cm) soil samples were collected at critical growth stages of maize and groundnut and further analyzed for different physical and physico-chemical characteristics. The plant samples were collected from each treatment at harvest stage for nutrient analyses. Results: Application of rock Phosphate increased the available phosphorus in soil. The combined treatment significantly influenced the yield attributes and nutrient uptake of both maize and groundnut crops. Among the combination, equal proportion of soluble single super phosphate and insoluble rock phosphate source of P outreached the other combination ratios. The highest agronomic phosphorus use efficiency and relative agronomic efficiency of the cropping sequence was obtained with the combined treatment of Single super phosphate along with lime. Interpretation: Combination of rock phosphate which has been reported to be farmer’s pocket friendly along with single super phosphate under acid soil conditions holds the potential to produce better results as compared to use of lone conventional water soluble phosphatic fertilizer like single super phosphate.

Aim: Assessment of energy input output relationship, greenhouse gases emission and carbon footprint of diversified jute-rice cropping systems under different nutrients and crop residue management practices. Methodology: The inventory was prepared for all inputs required for crop cultivation and outputs of crops in cropping systems. These inputs and outputs were converted into energy by multiplying with energy equivalent coefficient and CO2 emission coefficient following standard procedure. Results: Jute-rice-baby corn cropping system recorded significantly higher net energy (324 GJ ha-1) and energy use efficiency (8.02). Among different nutrient and crop management (NCRM) practices, significantly higher energy output (336.9 GJ ha-1) and net energy (291.4 GJ ha-1) recorded 100% NPK with crop residue. The highest carbon footprint recorded with rice-rice (0.44 kg COe kg-1 economic yield) and the lowestwith jute-rice-pea (0.29 kg COe kg-1 economic yield) cropping system. Among different NCRM practices, higher carbon footprint was (0.38 kg COe kg-1 economic yield) recorded with 100% NPK with crop residue. Interpretation: The energy efficient and low input required cropping systems which include legume crops like garden pea and mungbean should be considered for cultivation for diversifying the existing rice-rice cropping system in Eastern India.

Cashew is an important economic tree crop cultivated for its wood, apple and most especially the nut. The large plant spacing involved in its cultivation encourages intercropping. Intercropping cashew during the early phase of establishment with arable and sometimes tree crops is usually practiced which serves as food security, cultural weed control and means of additional income to farmers. The aim of this study is to look into some experimented cashew intercrop and gaps in the intercrop patterns. Review of past literatures was used in discovering cashew intercrop patterns in Nigeria and some major cashew producing countries. Intercropping cashew with arable crops is more popular and profitable than with tree crop except in Sri-lanka where intercropping with coconut seems profitable than cashew sole cropping. Intercropping of cashew with arable crops, legumes and vegetables did not affect the growth of young cashew except millet, sorghum and pigeon-pea. Cashew/maize and cashew/cassava/yam had high returns respectively. Intercrop combinations with more than two crops affected the growth of cashew. Cashew/rice and cashew/plantain intercrop suppressed the growth of weeds with no negative effect on cashew growth. More concise and implementable research can be done where information on weed control, growth parameters, nutrient demands, yield and economic returns can be gotten from an experiment on the various cashew intercrop patterns as this will make the findings more adoptable by the farmers. Intercropping cashew with more than 2 crops should be discouraged.

Soil health and fertility are the basis for gaining sustainable profit through higher productivity by the farmers. Using optimal doses of fertilizers and cropping pattern as per the scientific recommendations is the first step towards sustainable farming. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the most important component in maintaining soil quality because of its role in improving physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil. Organic matter is an important source of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. Soil Health card is a Government of India's scheme promoted by the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, apart from giving the health index of soil, will also indicate fertilizer recommendations and soil amendment required for the farm. Under Govt. of Haryana sanctioned Soil Health Card project, ARF carried out the fertility status study of 3000 acres of land of village Baroda Mor, block Mundlana, Tehsil Gohana, Sonipat, Haryana and distribute the cards well before the harvesting of Rabi crop with proper recommendation on dosage of appropriate fertilizer as per deficiency of essential nutrient parameter. View Article DOI: 10.47856/ijaast.2021.v08i6.001

The field experiments were conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Hukkeri, Belagavi, Karnataka, India during 2018–19 and 2019–20 to study the system productivity and resource use efficiency of alternative cropping systems for sugarcane. There were 11 treatments involving different cropping systems viz., soybean–sorghum–ridge gourd, pigeon pea±green gram (1:1)–beans, pigeon pea±soybean (1:1)–cowpea, soybean–wheat–groundnut, groundnut–sorghum–sesame, maize–cabbage–fallow, soybean–wheat–green gram, maize–wheat–sesame, Bt cotton–groundnut, sugarcane±onion (1:2) and sugarcane (sole) replicated thrice and laid out in randomized complete block design. Among the cropping systems, maize-cabbage-fallow system recorded significantly higher total system productivity (58,234 kg ha-1), water use efficiency (199.67 kg ha-1-mm) and energy use efficiency (129.91 MJ ha-1) compared to rest of the cropping systems. However, sugarcane (sole) recorded (1,11,008 kg ha-1, 68.64 kg ha-1-mm and 16.58 MJ ha-1, respectively). Based on alternative cropping systems involving only field crops, maize-wheat-sesame (9633 kg ha-1, 30.65 kg ha-1-mm and 132.20 MJ ha-1, respectively), soybean-wheat-groundnut (7602 kg ha-1, 27.40 kg ha-1-mm and 32.35 MJ ha-1,, respectively), soybean-wheat-green gram (6424 kg ha-1, 23.05 kg ha-1-mm and 31.91 MJ ha-1, respectively) and Bt cotton-groundnut (4503 kg ha-1, 17.97 kg ha-1-mm and 16.95 MJ ha-1, respectively) were significantly higher. By adopting the alternative cropping systems, there was water saving of approximately 45% compared to sugarcane monocropping and sugarcane±onion (1:2) intercropping.