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Conventional agricultural practices that rely heavily on blanket fertilizer recommendation, eventually leading to deteriorated partial factor productivity and N use efficiency. We investigated the effect of SPAD-based N-management on productivity and N use efficiency of rice and wheat in eastern India. Here, in the experiment three SPAD thresholds (34, 36 and 38 in rice and 38, 40 and 42 in wheat) using three N levels (15, 25 and 35 kg N ha−1) in split were incorporated as real-time N management (RTNM), one fixed-time N management (FTNM), farmers’ fertilizer practice (FFP) and control (No fertilizer) were introduced in wet and dry seasons for rice and wheat, respectively, during the years 2010 to 2012. Topdressing with 25 kg N ha−1 at medium SPAD (S36 in rice and S40 in wheat) increased soil N availability, leaf N content and grain yield of rice (5215 kg ha−1) and wheat (4483 kg ha−1) over the grain yield recorded under a low rate of N topdressing at low SPAD. While saving 33.3% N in rice and 18.8% N in wheat, the agronomic N use efficiency (58.5% in both rice and wheat) and nitrogen recovery efficiency (32.2% in rice and 15.1% in wheat) can be increased when compared with conventional FTNM. The SPAD-based management strategy showed great promise in efficient management of N fertilizer, and we estimated the optimal SPAD threshold for rice and wheat as 37.5 and 41.8, respectively.

In Indian semi-arid tropics (SATs), low water and crop productivity in Vertisols and associated soils are mainly due to poor land management and erratic and low rainfall occurrence. This study was conducted from 2014 to 2016 at the ICRISAT in India to test the effect of broad bed furrows (BBF) as land water management against conventional flatbed planting for improving soil water content (SWC) and water and crop productivity of three cropping systems: sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]–chickpea (Cicer arientinum L.) and maize (Zea mays)–groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) as sequential and pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.)] + pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] as intercropping, grown under different nutrients management involving macronutrients (N, P, and K) only and combined application of macro- and micronutrients. The results stated that the SWC in BBF was higher over flatbed by 9.35–10.44% in 0- to 0.3-m, 4.56–9.30% in 0.3- to 0.6-m and 3.85–5.26% in 0.6- to 1.05-m soil depths during the cropping season. Moreover, depletion of the soil water through plant uptake was higher in BBF than in flatbed. Among the cropping systems, sorghum–chickpea was the best in bringing highest system equivalent yield and water productivity with the combined application of macro- and micronutrients. The BBF minimized water stress at critical crop growth stages leading to increase crop yield and water productivity in SATs. Thus, BBF along with the application of macro- and micronutrients could be an adaptation strategy to mitigate erratic rainfall due to climate change in SATs.

We categorized chickpea nodules based on their size (mm) [large (> 7), medium (2–7), small (

Production of improved valued tea is in high demand due to its pharmacological properties against various neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, an attempt was made to compare the protective effect of the tea grown under organic and inorganic nutrient management practices against intra-cerebroventricular (i.c.v) colchicine induced memory impairment and oxidative damage in rat model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Results showed that chronic intraperitoneal (i.p) administration of tea extract (20 mg/kg i.p) significantly improved the cognitive dysfunction and memory impairment in colchicine treated AD rat model. This beneficial effect occurred with an increase in α-secretase activity, Superoxide dismutase, Catalase activities, and a decrease in Acetylcholinesterase level, Aβ -42 level, Cox-2-linked neuro-inflammation by intraperitoneal injection of tea extract grown organically and inorganically. The amyloid Aβ concentration in the rat model of AD was 84 ± 1.7 pg/mg protein. With administration of tea extract, the amyloid Aβ concentration decreased significantly to 55 ± 1.5, 52 ± 1.3 and 49 ± 1.5 pg/mg protein with the field level management of inorganic, integrated and organic nutrients, respectively. In this study celecoxib (20 mg/kg i.p) is used as a reference standard. This study stated organic tea as a promising neuroprotective agent or adjuvant to prevent AD.

Tea (Camellia sinensis) having anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and free radical scavenging properties, may be beneficial to prevent the symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this present study, field experiments using the productive tea clone (TV25) with four nutrient management treatments were conducted during 2015 to 2017 in the research farm of Agricultural and Food Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. The four nutrient management treatments were no application of fertilizer (control), organic fertilizer (OF), inorganic fertilizer (IF), and integration of OF and IF (IF+OF). The total phenolic content of tea leaves in terms of gallic acid equivalent (GAE) in control, OF, IF, IF+OF were 263±2.4 mg/g, 292±1.6mg/g, 203±2.43 mg/g ,288.6±2.11 mg/g, respectively. Tea leaf samples of these treatments were fed to the intracerebroventricular (ICV) colchicine administered rats. The animal study was double-blinded and randomized. Assessment of anxiety status was done for the rat model in an elevated open field with a novel object in two intervals (14-day and 21-day study). Anxiolytic behaviour with the lower corticosterone (CORT) level (82ng/ml) was observed in ICV colchicine administered rat models of AD. After feeding of organically and inorganically grown tea extract (20 mg/kg) for 14 days and 21days, it was found that the anxiolytic behaviour decreased with the increased concentration of serum CORT. However, organic tea showed greater increase in CORT level (216.1 ng/ml) as compared to inorganic tea (214 ng/ml). Thus, this study showed organic tea may act as a favourable agent or adjuvant in the improvement of the anxiolytic behaviour in rat model of AD.

Aerobic rice cultivation has gained recognition for resource conservation and ecosystem services. However, aerobic/partially-aerobic rice productivity is often constrained by several deficiencies in soil-plant system including phosphorus (P), because of reduced soil P dissolution and crop P acquisition. The study aimed to design sustainable P management option(s) for non-flooded rice [system of rice intensification (SRI)]-lentil system in an alkaline Fluvisol by evaluating the effect of system-based sole fertilizer-P and integrated P management treatments on crop yields, soil P dynamics, P pools, soil biophysical and biochemical attributes. The treatments consisted of one control and three variable seasonal distribution sole fertilizer-P treatments [subscript value (kg P ha−1)] in non-flooded rice (SRI)-lentil (L) rotation ([SRI0-L0], [SRI22-L22], [SRI33-L11], [SRI11-L33]), three integrated P management treatments ([SRI11-L11+phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB)], SRI16.5-L5.5+rice residue incorporation (RR)+PSB, SRI5.5-L16.5+lentil residue incorporation (LR)+PSB)]. Besides this, a conventional flooded rice-lentil system with the recommended sole fertilizer-P rate ([PTR22-L22]) as a treatment was evaluated to compare soil P dynamics in flooded versus non-flooded rice ecologies. Soil P availability was significantly reduced (7–8%) in the non-flooded rice compared to the flooded rice ecology. The integrated treatment involving suboptimal fertilizer-P rate (22 kg P ha−1y−1), rice residue recycling, and PSB increased soil P availability in rice (5-6%) and lentil (9-10%) seasons as well as system productivity by 8.3% over the recommended sole fertilizer-P treatment ([SRI22-L22], 44 kg P ha−1y−1). The rice residue recycling integrated treatment increased NaHCO3-Pi (11%) and dissolved non-reactive P (6%) over the recommended sole fertilizer-P treatment. The positive effects of the lentil residue recycling integrated treatment on soil P availability and crop yields were relatively lower than the rice residue recycling integrated treatment possibly because of the lower residue C-input. Correlation results indicate that microbial biomass carbon, soil aggregation and labile organic carbon have a positive influence on P availability in this alkaline soil. The significant positive correlation between the active C-pool and total dissolved non-reactive P suggested that oxidisable C input could improve bioavailable P forms. Results indicated the role of balanced P fertilization in C-stabilization, which had the lowest in the P control treatment. The study with one soil type suggested that in-situ crop residue recycling integrated P management (rice residue in particular) could be a sustainable option for improving P bioavailability, nutrient cycling, and productivity of non-flooded rice-legume system in tropical alkaline soil, but, for the validation of the results, more studies with diverse soil properties are warranted.

Sustainable crop production in sub-tropical countries is severely affected by the unscientific application of fertilizers. The SPAD based N management of the rice–wheat sequence was investigated in eastern India. Topdressing of 25 kg N ha−1 was applied at SPAD 36 and 40 (S36 and S40) for rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), respectively, reduced the N requirement by an average of 26.5% (33.3% in rice and 18.8% in wheat) over the fixed-time N management (FTNM) without reducing the grain yield. The 25 kg N ha−1 increased nutrient removal in the system having high agronomic N use efficiency (21.4) and nitrogen recovery efficiency (0.60) with the lower N requirement (62.5 kg N ha−1) over the FTNM. The treatment with medium SPAD (S36 for rice and S40 for wheat) under 25 kg N ha−1 increased the agronomic N use efficiency by 58% in rice and 58.5% in wheat compared to that under FTNM and recorded the highest gross (2106.1$ ha−1 Year−1) and net (1202.5$ ha−1 Year−1) returns from the rice–wheat system. The SPAD-based N management increased the water content in N-treated plots compared to that in the control plots, and the utmost moisture custody was observed when using a moderate (25 kg ha−1) N topdressing at a moderate SPAD (S36 for rice and S40 for wheat) for a given soil suction. This study suggests that using SPAD meter in rice–wheat system can cover the productive N management and profitability and can be dependably used in precision agriculture to manage the spatial variation in farmers’ field.

The climate change due to mingled effect of rising [CO2] level and temperature will influence crop production by affecting various components of the production system. In the present study, Open Top Chamber (OTC) facility has been used to realize the consequence of rising [CO2] with nutrient management on rice crop. The experiment was organized in open field and inside OTC with ambient [CO2] (400 ppm) and elevated [CO2] (25%, 50% and 75% higher than ambient) in wet season of the year 2017- 18 at Kharagpur, India. Increase in [CO2] level resulted decreasing trend in growth, yield attributes (filled grains number) and grain yield. The nutrient management with use of only chemical fertilizer at recommended dose gave highest grain yield, which was comparable with integrated management using chemical and biofertilizer. Post-harvest processing quality such as head rice percentage and the head rice yield decreased significantly with CO2 elevation. The elevated [CO2] with 25 to 75% higher than ambient, reduced the head rice percentage by 13 to 21 %. The research stated that investigations on climate change adaptations should be made to avoid the negative impact of rising [CO2] level and temperature on crop yield and processing quality.

Elevated CO2 might have differential impact on the growth, development, and yield of wheat under varying nutrient management, especially in a warmer climate when the global atmospheric temperature is already increasing. Field experiments were conducted in subtropical Eastern India during the rabi seasons of 2014–2016 to study the performance of wheat under the elevated CO2 environment with different nitrogen (N) management. Wheat was grown in open field and inside open top chambers (OTCs) with ambient (˜390 μmol mol−1) and elevated (˜585 μmol mol−1) level of CO2 without any fertilizer addition (N0), and with application of N through chemical fertilizer (CF) at normal (100%) recommendation [N100(CF)] and 50% higher dose [N150(CF)] and through integration of organic and chemical fertilizer [N150(OF + CF)]. Results showed that CO2 enrichment had a positive effect on various growth parameters and yield attributes of wheat. Elevated CO2 tended to increase the crop growth rate and the fraction of leaf biomass and leaf N, especially for the N management using chemical fertilizer [N100(CF) and N150(CF)]. Elevated CO2 [+˜200 μmol mol−1] caused 17% increase in wheat grain yield above ambient as averaged over the N fertilized treatments. Application of N at 50% higher dose than normal through CF did not increase the grain yield significantly under the open field and OTC with ambient [CO2] environment, whereas the yield increment was significant under the elevated [CO2] environment. Elevated CO2 also resulted in higher agronomic N use efficiency and nitrogen harvest index with the increased N fertilizer dose. Thus, wheat production under the elevated CO2 environment in Eastern India might be maintained or improved through the normal and increased dose of N fertilizer application.

A comparative study on the effect of elevated CO2 environment on soil nitrogen availability in different rice planting system is needed to develop nutrient management strategies in future climate scenarios. A field experiment was conducted inside open top chambers (OTC) to study the effect of elevated CO2 environment with varying nitrogen management on soil NH4+–N and NO3−–N status in two planting system of rice, direct-seeded rice (DSR) and puddled transplanted rice (PTR). The nitrogen management included chemical fertilizer (CF) at 100% (CF100) and 150% (CF150) of the recommended dose, integrated nitrogen management including organic fertilizer (OF) and CF as CF75+ OF75, and site-specific N management through CF using SPAD meter. The soil NH4+–N content was higher in PTR, but NO3−–N was higher in DSR. The soil NH4+–N and NO3−–N content decreased significantly under elevated CO2 environment as compared to ambient in both planting system, except the NO3−–N content at flowering in DSR. The decrease was around 8% for NH4+–N and 5% for NO3−–N content. Soil nitrogen content in DSR can be maintained by following integrated nutrient management (CF75 + OF75) and SPAD-based nitrogen management for sustainable yield. Grain yield, in general, increased with CO2 elevation in both planting system. Under ambient environment, CF150 increased the grain yield by 23% as compared to CF100 in DSR, but no change was noted in PTR. However, under elevated CO2 environment, CF150 increased the grain yield by 13% in PTR. Under elevated CO2 environment, the yield increase of the hybrid rice to additional N fertilizer application was noted in PTR but not in DSR. This study suggests that for sustainable rice production under increasing CO2 environment in future climate scenarios, higher dose of N fertilizer is recommended in PTR, but normal dose in DSR production system.

Smallholders of dryland ecosystems continue to live below the poverty line while facing significant economic and social deprivation with decreasing landholding. Most dryland farmers perform conventional disintegrated farming practices due to a lack of knowledge and resource inefficiency. This study investigates the possibility of an Integrated Farming System (IFS) to address the current dryland farming issues and explore various factors affecting its adoption among the farming community. This study aims to apply and compare supervised learning techniques to assess the primary drivers affecting the adoption of the IFS in rural southern India. The study shows that organic fertilizer production, farmers’ age, and involvement in the extension activity are the major factors affecting the adoption of IFS among dryland farmers. The study supports that small and marginal farmers have a high possibility of realizing the higher benefit from IFS. The study recommends that these components be given proper policy consideration in designing and implementing an effective farming system in dryland areas to improve farmers’ income levels.

Our understanding of crop response to elevated [CO2] concerning its growth and yield has improved significantly. However, little is known about the germination and vigour of seeds harvested from mother plant grown under elevated [CO2], particularly in rice. Since elevated [CO2] influences the physiological functions of crop and seed development process, it is expected that such changes will alter the quality of the seed. To test this hypothesis, rice crop (IR 36) was grown in open top chamber (OTC) with varying [CO2] [410 (ambient), 510, 610 and 720 ppm] and seed quality in terms of germination and vigour [accelerated ageing test (AAT) and electrical conductivity (EC)] was assessed. Elevated [CO2] up to 610 ppm had no effect on seed germination; but, [CO2] at 720 ppm reduced the germination of freshly harvested seeds. Elevated [CO2] at 610 and 720 ppm reduced seed vigour. An increase in abnormal seedlings and dead seeds were symptomatic of the seed physiological deterioration associated with loss of seed vigour. Elevated [CO2] at 720 ppm reduced seed nitrogen content, substrate availability, and its subsequent translocation. Thus, atmospheric [CO2] above 610 ppm reduced seed vigour of rice.

Temperatures have a major effect on potato crop growth and yield attributes during the crop growing season. In this study, the SUBSTOR-Potato model was used to simulate the potato crop growth and yield in a sub-tropical region of West Bengal comprising of three districts, namely West Medinipur, Bankura and Birbhum in India. Also, the effect of temperature and planting dates scenario on potato crop growth was evaluated by using 30 years historical weather data of the aforesaid districts. Field experiments were conducted on potato crops of cultivar Kufri Jyoti under two planting dates (10th and 25th of December) and different fertilizer treatments in the years 2013–2014 and 2014–2015, respectively. The statistical results showed the satisfactory performance of the model with an R2 of 0.82 to 0.98 and d-stat of 0.94 to 0.98 for the year 2013–2014 and an R2 of 0.89 to 0.98 and d-stat of 0.97 to 0.98 for the year 2014–2015. Evaluation of planting dates with past 30 years historical data showed planting dates 20th and 30th of November resulted in average higher yield than planting dates 10th, 25th and 30th of December, respectively, in current climate scenario. Furthermore, the study suggests that amending the planting dates is an effective climate change adaptation strategy for reducing the effect of temperature on the yield of a potato crop in the near future.

Water management technologies under projected climate change will play key role in sustainable rice production. Modeling approach was used to assess the impact of climate change on rice production under drip irrigation (DIR) and conventional puddle transplanted (PTR) in subtropical India. The genotype coefficients of CERES-Rice model (cv. Naveen) were determined and tested using experimental data for the years 2012–2014. Close match between the observed and simulated values was recorded during both the years which led to higher d-index (> 0.95) and lower normalized RMSE (RMSEn) values. Under the projected climate change scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5), grain yield reduced over the period 2020–2080, with higher decline in RCP 8.5. Over the period, higher nitrogen (N) use efficiency in DIR led to lower yield reduction over PTR. Among the different adaptation measures, higher fertilizer N dose was able to mitigate negative impact of temperature rise up to 3.3 °C over base period, beyond which grain yield was significantly reduced. Results of the simulations for the different sowing dates stated higher reduction in grain yield with delayed sowing in DIR as well as in PTR for both (RCP 4.5 and 8.5) climate change scenarios. However, early sowing resulted in better crop establishment in DIR leading to better yield compared to PTR in both the climate change scenarios.

The root induced changes in soil chemical and biological properties of five winter pulses (rajmash, fieldpea, lathyrus, lentil, and chickpea) were examined in mild-alkaline soil (pH ~ 7.8). Rhizospheric acidification was common in all pulses, and chickpea resulted in maximum reduction in rhizospheric pH in (4.8%). The resulted acidification substantially influenced the rhizospheric nutrient availability and scale of increase was highest for available-P. The relative changes for different nutrients followed the sequence P (37.4%) > Zn (35.8%) > Fe (32.4%) > N (18.4%) > S (17.5%). However, the available K did not differ significantly. Soil biological indicators like microbial biomass carbon (C) and fluorescein diacetate were enhanced by 63–243.5 and 9.8–36.3%, respectively over the bulk soil. Likewise, improvement in soil organic C was also evident. The rhizospheric soil had higher passive C-pool indicating pulses can improve soil resistant C-fractions, which persists for a longer time. Among the pulses, chickpea had the maximum rhizospheric alteration and thus distinguished as most potential winter pulse crop under the mild-alkaline soil.

To study the effect of high CO2 environment on grain filling of rice (Oryza sativa L.), plants were exposed to different environments: ambient (CO2 ~ 390 ppm) and elevated CO2 (CO2 ~ 490 ppm) throughout the growing period during wet season (2012 and 2013) in subtropical India. The experiment was conducted in open top chambers with three indica rice cultivars (Badshabhog, IR36 and Swarna) of varying duration and yield potential. Grain yield of selected rice cultivars (IR36 & Swarna) declined by 12%, but increased by 8% for Badshabhog, with increasing CO2 (+100 ppm) and air temperature (+1 °C) above the ambient value. Interestingly our analysis during rice grain filling period with CO2 elevation revealed significant reduction of OsSUT1 gene expression in the flag leaf and grain of IR36 (52% and 95.7%, respectively) and Swarna (58.5% and 89.6%, respectively). However, the expression of OsSUT1 gene in Badshabhog remained mostly unaffected under CO2 elevation. Further, the non-reducing sugar content decreased in grain tissues of IR36 and Swarna at 14 and 21 days after flowering, respectively; but not in Badshabhog with elevated CO2. Together, this study shows that there is scope for genotype-dependent yield improvement by selective breeding or transgenic technology under elevated CO2 condition.

Aerobic or partially-aerobic rice cultivation techniques like direct-seeding of rice (DSR) and system of rice intensification (SRI) are gaining recognition, particularly for water-saving. However, their productivity is often constrained by several deficiencies in the soil-plant system (crop nutrition in particular). The study aimed to assess crop eco-physiology and soil-plant nutrient dynamics in rice-lentil system in an alkaline Fluvisol as influenced by different rice cultivation techniques (RCT) viz., DSR, SRI and conventional transplanted flooded-rice (PTR). The lower (9–11 %) yield of DSR crop compared to PTR crop was attributed to reduced root growth, effective tiller, and panicle and seed weights. Likewise, the SRI crop yield was lower (4–7 %) than the PTR crop. The reduced availability of soil KMnO4-N (7%) and Olsen-P (9%) in the rice seasons caused lower N (12–14 %), P (10 %), K (5–7 %) accumulations in DSR crop as compared to PTR crop (p

Aerobic rice is gaining global recognition for its role in the conservation of water. However, its productivity is often constrained by several deficiencies in the soil-plant system. Particularly, in absence of flood-induced phosphorus (P) desorption, it is likely that P availability in aerobic soils would be reduced thus affecting the productivity. Presently, our understanding of soil P dynamics and its bioavailability in aerobic rice-based system(s) is limited, particularly in alkaline soils. In this study, the impact of sole fertilizer and integrated P management on soil P dynamics, biochemical and biophysical properties and crop yields in direct-seeded rice (DSR)-lentil rotation in alkaline soil was assessed to devise sustainable management option(s). Seven different P treatments in aerobic direct seeded rice-lentil system [subscript value (kg P ha−1)] i.e., P control (P[0−0]), three sole fertilizer-P treatments with variable rate application to component crops (P[22−22], P[33−11], P[11−33]), and three integrated treatments ([P11−11+ phosphate solubilizing bacteria (B)], [P16.5−5.5+ rice residue recycling (RR)+B], [P5.5−16.5+lentil residue recycling (LR)+B]) in aerobic direct seeded rice-lentil system along with a conventional flooded rice-lentil system with the recommended fertilizer-P rate (P[22−22]FR) were studied. Given the recommended sole fertilizer-P rate, the aerobic rice soil (P[22−22]) had lower available-P (8–10 %) compared to the flooded rice soil (P[22−22]FR). The rice residue recycling integrated treatment (P16.5−5.5+RR + B) increased soil available-P in both the rice (5–6 %) and lentil (12–13 %) crop season over the recommended sole fertilizer-P treatment (P[22−22]), and also increased the system productivity by 6–7 %. The higher NaHCO3-Pi (13 %) and dissolved non-reactive P (DNRP) (7%) in the treatment P16.5−5.5+RR + B over the treatment P[22−22] suggested a higher soil P mobilization potential of rice residue recycling integrated treatment. The effect of lentil residue recycling integrated treatment (P5.5−16.5+LR + B) and recommended sole fertilizer-P treatment P[22−22] was similar on soil P and crop yields, and would thus be an option when considering the reduction of P fertilizer use in aerobic rice. Soil aggregation, very-labile carbon, microbial biomass carbon, DNRP exhibited positive correlations with P bioavailability in the aerobic rice soil. Our results suggested that C-stabilization in aerobic rice soil is altered with P input, the lowest rate being recorded in the control treatment. Hence, the study concluded that reduced soil P availability could limit the productivity potential of aerobic rice-lentil system in alkaline soils, and integrated treatments involving in-situ crop residue recycling (rice in particular) and suboptimal fertilizer rate could improve soil P bioavailability, soil quality parameters, and crop yields, thus, recommended for sustainable management.

The Extended Range Forecasts System (ERFS) has been generating monthly and seasonal forecasts on real-time basis throughout the year over India since 2009. India is one of the major rice producer and consumer in South Asia; more than 50% of the Indian population depends on rice as staple food. Rice is mainly grown in kharif season, which contributed 84% of the total annual rice production of the country. Rice cultivation in India is rainfed, which depends largely on rains, so reliability of the rainfall forecast plays a crucial role for planning the kharif rice crop. In the present study, an attempt has been made to test the reliability of seasonal and sub-seasonal ERFS summer monsoon rainfall forecasts for kharif rice yield predictions at Kharagpur, West Bengal by using CERES-Rice (DSSATv4.5) model. These ERFS forecasts are produced as monthly and seasonal mean values and are converted into daily sequences with stochastic weather generators for use with crop growth models. The daily sequences are generated from ERFS seasonal (June–September) and sub-seasonal (July–September, August–September, and September) summer monsoon (June to September) rainfall forecasts which are considered as input in CERES-rice crop simulation model for the crop yield prediction for hindcast (1985–2008) and real-time mode (2009–2015). The yield simulated using India Meteorological Department (IMD) observed daily rainfall data is considered as baseline yield for evaluating the performance of predicted yields using the ERFS forecasts. The findings revealed that the stochastic disaggregation can be used to disaggregate the monthly/seasonal ERFS forecasts into daily sequences. The year to year variability in rice yield at Kharagpur is efficiently predicted by using the ERFS forecast products in hindcast as well as real time, and significant enhancement in the prediction skill is noticed with advancement in the season due to incorporation of observed weather data which reduces uncertainty of yield prediction. The findings also recommend that the normal and above normal yields are predicted well in advance using the ERFS forecasts. The outcomes of this study are useful to farmers for taking appropriate decisions well in advance for climate risk management in rice production during different stages of the crop growing season at Kharagpur.

SUMMARYTopdressing of N fertilizer, whenever leaf greenness, as measured by Chlorophyllmeter (SPAD), falls below the threshold value can be used for site-specific N management in wheat cultivation. Herein, a field experiment was conducted to analyse the effect of SPAD-based N management on wheat productivity and N use efficiency during the dry season of 2010/11 and 2011/12 on acid lateritic soil of eastern India. The experiment had 12 treatments, with nine treatments combining three SPAD thresholds (38, 40 and 42) and three N levels (15, 25 and 35 kg N ha−1) as real time N management (RTNM), one fixed time N management (FTNM), one farmers’ fertilizer practise (FFP) and control (Zero N), with three replications. The grain yield of RTNM ranged from 90 to 113% as that of FTNM, but using considerably less N. Maintaining SPAD threshold of 40 up to heading stage by topdressing 25 kg N ha−1 at each time (N25S40) caused the highest grain yield (4483 kg ha−1). While saving 22.5 kg N ha−1 (18.8%), N25S40 increased agronomic N use efficiency by 58.5%, nitrogen recovery efficiency by 15.1% and partial factor productivity of applied N by 26.4% when compared with conventional fertilizer recommendations (i.e. FTNM). The SPAD-based N management strategy was found very promising in efficiently managing N fertilizer in wheat for improving wheat productivity and N use efficiency.

Sustainability of the rice (Oryza sativa)–wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system (RWCS) is fundamental for the food security of Asian countries. Continuous practice of RWCS has emerged soil and environmental issues, which are now increasingly being evident. Lack of crop diversification, intensive tillage practices, residue burning, overexploitation of groundwater and imbalanced use of fertilizers have been found as major reasons for deteriorating soil health and sustainability of RWCS. Results of long-term experiments demonstrated that depletion of soil organic carbon (SOC) in RWCS primarily threatens the sustainability of the system. In parallel, increase in the SOC of tropical soils is equally important for conserving the natural resources and up-scaling resource-use efficiency. Grain legumes add a significant amount of C to soil through root biomass, leaf fall and release of root exudates. Moreover, the potential of legume cover crop on soil health is also known. Therefore, inclusion of grain legumes in RWCS is a promising approach for crop diversification and maintaining positive C balance. Further, stabilization of non-labile C (recalcitrant C-pool) from legume residue is important for SOC persistence in the long term. Particular to the Indo-Gangetic Plain region, growing of mung bean (Vigna radiata) in summer fallow of RWCS and inclusion of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) in RWCS have been found to be effective to improve the SOC, particularly when legume residue is returned to soil. Rice–wheat–mung bean/urdbean (Vigna mungo), rice–wheat–cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), rice–chickpea/lentil (Lens culinaris)/field pea (Pisum sativum) and pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan)–wheat are alternative rotations, which could be popularized in RW-growing areas for improving soil health and to enhance C-sequestration. In-depth understanding of C-sequestration processes is essential to design alternative pulse-inclusive rotation/s and mitigating the known consequences of continuous RWCS.

Organic farming is rapidly gaining recognition worldwide as a promising means to offer healthier food and to ensure environmental sustainability. Currently, organic produce including organic rice is in huge demand owing to its potential to fetch premium price in the global market. Despite the fact that rice performs well under organic production system, a set of constraints including nitrogen stress at critical growth stages, unavailability of rapidly mineralizable organic amendments, lack of appropriate varieties and intense crop–weed competition pose major challenges to realize the potential yield. Use of diverse organic nutrient sources including the split application of fast mineralizable nutrient-rich manures (vermicompost, poultry manure), green manures and bio-fertilizers can supply optimum nutrients in organic rice system. In parallel, development and deployment of rice varieties having response to organic nutrient inputs, resistance to diseases/insects and ability to compete with weeds can help minimize the risk of crop failure. Further, higher emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in organic rice field deserves greater attention in view of environmental sustainability. Strategic water management and selection of appropriate organic amendments could help address this issue. However, a substantial research gap still exists demanding a deeper understanding of the organic rice system in order to register higher yield gains. This review article outlines the latest advances in organic rice production system with an emphasis on nutrient supply and ensuing dynamics, the outflow of GHGs, pest dynamics, produce quality and key attributes of rice cultivars for organic cultivation. We underscore the urgency for alignment of modern agricultural techniques with organic rice production to improve both the system productivity and the produce quality along with effectively avoiding the risks associated with in discriminate use of chemicals in agriculture.

Field experiments were conducted to analyse the changes in soil organic carbon (SOC), NH4 +-N and NO3 −-N and the yield of paddy rice due to application of organic (vermicompost, vermiwash, Azotobacter and crop residue) and inorganic sources of N in varied amounts and timing in dry-seeded rice during wet seasons (June–October) of 2013 and 2014. The residual effect of these nutrients was also assessed on pod yield of chickpea that was grown after rice. The experiment laid in a randomized complete block design comprised eight treatment combinations of organic and inorganic nutrient management and one control, where nothing was added. Our results indicated that recommended dose of N (100 kg ha−1) through vermicompost (VC) applied full as basal and in splits (half at basal and the other half at panicle initiation stage) to rice could attain 75 and 88% grain yield of chemical fertilizer (CF), respectively. The split application of VC was comparable to CF alone and CF + VC treatment in maintaining organic carbon, NH4 +-N and NO3 −-N contents of soil at panicle initiation stage of the rice crop. The residual effect of split application of VC gave significantly higher pod yield of chickpea compared to the rest of the treatments. Hence, split application of VC to rice was effective in improving rice grain yield than its one-time application and yield of following chickpea crop in lateritic soil.

Intensive use of chemical fertilizer results in environmental pollution that disturbs the local ecosystem and causes reduction in the long-term crop yield. There is a need to explore the alternative source of plant nutrition such as de-oiled microalgal biomass as biofertilizer for sustainable production of food crops in a relatively pollution free environment. This study reports sustainable and improved agriculture of rice crop (cv. IR 36) by valorizing de-oiled microalgal biomass waste (DOMBW) of Scenedesmus sp., as eco-friendly fertilizer. The microalga (MA) was cultivated in open raceway pond using wastewater and flue gas. Performance evaluation and comparison of DOMBW with respect to growth and yield of rice plants vis-a-vis commercial chemical fertilizers (CF) and vermicompost (VC) applied individually or together, established the superiority of the former. The experiment comprised of five nutrient management treatments (CF100, VC100, MA100, MA50+CF50, and MA50+VC50) meeting 100% nitrogen (N) recommendation either through a single source or combined application in the soil. Combining the application of microalgal based organic fertilizer with chemical fertilizer (MA50+CF50), showed the highest performance in terms of plant height, tiller number, biomass, and grain yield. At the harvest stage, MA50+CF50 also resulted in maximum plant dry weight, panicle weight, and 1000-grain weight in comparison to other treatments. This study revealed that the application of DOMBW as a biofertilizer is potentially sustainable and effective in improving the yields of rice crop with reduced use of chemical fertilizer.

With the rise in population, under future scenarios, global food demand is expected to increase. Biotic and abiotic factors such as climate change are threat to food security owing to its variability, occurrence, duration and magnitude of extreme events. Since, the climate change is unequivocal, the adaptations and mitigations for sustainable agricultural production can minimize its negative impact on agriculture and improve food grain productivity. The grain yield of rice and peanut was simulated for the base period (1969–1999) and future periods 2020 (2011–2040), 2050 (2041–2070) and 2080 (2071–2100) under A2 and B2 scenarios of HadCM3 Global Climate Model. Under the A2 and B2 scenarios, the yield of both rice and peanut declined from base period to the future periods 2011–2040, 2041–2070 and 2071–2100. The cultivar ‘IR 36’ was found to be more sensitive to rising temperature under future climate scenarios as compared to ‘Swarna.’ The yield decline for future climate scenarios increased with locations from higher (Kharagpur and Cuttack) to lower latitude (East Godavari and Vizianagaram). Earlier transplanting time of rice compared to normal (15 July) and sowing time of peanut from normal (9 February) increased the simulated yields of rice-peanut system at higher latitude and reduced the yield loss at lower latitude in future climate scenarios. Delayed planting caused maximum grain yield reduction of the cropping system in future climate scenarios at all the locations.

Data mining deals with the theory of knowledge discovery or gaining meaningful information from a dataset. The gaining of meaningful information may vary from subject to subject and person to person as per the requirement of the situation. Data sharing and information sharing among two or more parties or upon a common platform or upon a common cluster always needs special priority and special attention regarding the security issue as well as getting the exact information in the exact place. Privacy preservation deals with the security issue upon a distributed platform or upon a common sharing platform. So in a distributed data mining upon which data shared, needs special priority regarding the privacy and security of the information. Proteins are the large biological molecule in a living body which contains number of amino acid sequence. Protein secondary structure prediction is the prediction of the three dimensional structure of the amino acid sequences which are generally changed from time to time by the effect of external agents or by the applications of different type of drugs. So when this type of research data are shared upon a common platform to gain knowledge by different researchers for different drug design it needs some special attention and some special security. In this paper we have proposed a technique for the privacy preservation of the genomic data sharing or the secondary structure sharing when these are takes place upon a common platform. This technique will provide a better security for different researcher from different place of this Globe when they are sharing the data in a distributed platform with a common intention.

Location specific adaptation option is required to minimize adverse impact of climate change on rice production. In the present investigation, we calibrated genotype coefficients of four cultivars in the CERES-Rice model for simulation of rice yield under elevated CO2 environment and evaluation of the cultivar adaptation in subtropical India. The four cultivars (IR 36, Swarna, Swarn sub1, and Badshabhog) were grown in open field and in Open Top Chamber (OTC) of ambient CO2 (≈390 ppm) and elevated CO2 environment (25% higher than the ambient) during wet season (June–November) of the years 2011 and 2012 at Kharagpur, India. The genotype coefficients; P1 (basic vegetative phase), P2R (photoperiod sensitivity) and P5 (grain filling phase) were higher, but G1 (potential spikelet number) was lower under the elevated CO2 environment as compared to their open field value in all the four cultivars. Use of the calibrated model of elevated CO2 environment simulated the changes in grain yield of −13%, −17%, −4%, and +7% for the cultivars IR 36, Swarna, Swarna sub1, and Badshabhog, respectively, with increasing CO2 level of 100 ppm and rising temperature of 1 °C as compared to the ambient CO2 level and temperature and they were comparable with observed yield changes from the OTC experiment. Potential impacts of climate change were simulated for climate change scenarios developed from HadCM3 global climate model under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emission Scenarios (A2 and B2) for the years 2020, 2050, and 2080. Use of the future climate data simulated a continuous decline in rice grain yield from present years to the years 2020, 2050 and 2080 for the cultivars IR 36 and Swarna in A2 as well as B2 scenario with rising temperature of ≥0.8 °C. Whereas, the cultivar Swarna sub1 was least affected and Badshabhog was favoured under elevated CO2 with rising temperature up to 2 °C in the sub-tropical climate of India.

Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration has a potential impact on the growth and yield of rice (Oryza sativa L.), but little is known on grain milling quality. A field experiment in open-top chamber (OTC) was conducted to assess the effect of elevated CO2 under varying N management on brown rice, milled rice and head rice yield. The experiment was conducted during wet season (June–November) of the year 2011 and 2012 at Kharagpur, India, using a long-duration, high-yielding cultivar ‘Swarna Sub1,’ which was grown in open field and in OTCs of ambient and elevated CO2 environment (25 % higher than ambient) with five different N management levels. The elevated CO2 reduced the brown rice, milled rice and head rice percentage by 1.2, 1.4 and 14 %, respectively, as compared to ambient environment in OTC. Due to elevated CO2, the reduction in processed yields were 9 and 4 % in brown/milled rice and 21 and 15 % in head rice under sole application of chemical fertilizer and integration of chemical and organic sources, respectively. The decrease in rice milling quality was associated with increasing canopy temperature (+0.8 °C) during grain-filling stage under elevated CO2 environment. The elevated CO2 has a substantial adverse impact on grain milling quality, and to some extent, this can be compensated through proper N management.

Nutrient management plays an important role in yield and quality of tomatoes. A field experiment was conducted during the years 2008–09 and 2009–10 to analyze the effect of organic and conventional sources of fertilizer on yield and quality of tomatoes in an acid lateritic soil of India. The organic sources of fertilizer were vermicompost (VC), crop residue (CR), vermiwash (VW) and biofertilizer (BF). The conventional input was chemical fertilizer (CF) applied at recommended dose of 100:80:60 kg ha−1 of N:P2O5:K2O for the tomato. The organic source VC was used to supply 100% N recommendation as single source or 50% N recommendation when combined with CF or organic sources. Maximum fruit yield was recorded when CF was applied at full dose, which was on a par with VC at full recommendation. A higher percentage of large-size fruits (>7 cm) was obtained in VC-based treatments compared with CF treatment. Vermicompost at full dose increased ascorbic acid, beta carotene, total soluble solids and color value comp...

Privacy of data is one of the major issues in every network. The network may be wired or wireless and the network may be ad-hoc, pear to pear or distributed network privacy of data is an important factor in each case. In each case in a distributed or shared network all people connected in a network work with the protocol. But there is no guarantee of security threat and data lost or stolen. So precautions needed in each case to maintain the network and to maintain the private data. An Ad-hoc network is a Local Area Network (LAN) which is built spontaneously as devices connect. Instead of depending upon a base station to manage the dataflow, each node in a network forward data packets to each other. As all most all nodes are responsible for data flow, so the probable data lost or stolen of information cannot be neglected. In order overcome these problems in data mining there should be some proper protocols as well as some special precautions should be taken. There are many experiments and developments already done in this aspect to secure data as well as to secure the network. This paper provides a review of various security challenges that are already taken for protection of privileged information in various peer to peer network, shared or distributed network. We have also proposed a technique for privacy preservation of privileged information in case of an Ad-hoc network. This technique may provide a better security for the privileged information in an Ad-hoc network.

We investigated the effects of climate change on rainfed rice yield using the CERES-rice crop growth model and identified suitable agro-adaptation measures to address the threats induced by climate change on rice production in Northeast Thailand. The crop physiological data from field experiments conducted in the region was used to calibrate the model. Future climate scenarios for the periods 2020-2029, 2050-2059 and 2080-2089 were developed using the global climate model ECHAM4 and downscaled using the regional climate model PRECIS. Results indicated a decline in the rice yield in the region by 17.81, 27.59 and 24.34% for the 2020s, 2050s and 2080s, respectively, compared to the average yield during 1997-2006 under the ECHAM4 A2 climate change sce- nario. Simulation experiments suggested that for a given temperature, the yields of 2 rice varieties, KDML105 and RD6, increase with increases in CO2 concentration. On the contrary, increases in tem- perature reduce the yield at a constant CO2 concentration. The overall decrease in yield under future climatic conditions can be mitigated significantly by proper nutrient management and altering plant- ing dates. Hybrid rice cultivars having a high temperature tolerance can also help to address the challenges imposed by future climate.