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Slow initial growth makes linseed crop more vulnerable to weed infestation, which requires proper attention to obtain expected plant growth and yield. Control of weeds at early stages play a vital role for attaining robust plant growth that results in higher yield. Depending on location and method of cultivation, various types of weeds such as broad leaf, sedges and grasses are found in linseed field. In linseed crop, weeds can be controlled by manual, chemical or both the methods. As manual weeding is labour intensive and needs more time, chemical method of weed control is preferred to enhance profitability of the crop. Pre-emergence application of herbicide controls the weeds from the initial stage of plant growth that culminates with higher yield and more profit.

Context Rice-based cropping system is a key for food security in the Indian subcontinent. However, the productivity of such systems has declined continuously due to deterioration in soil quality. The present study was carried out to identify key soil quality indicators and to develop indices of soil quality under long-term rice-based cropping systems in the hot sub-humid eco-region (HSE) of India. Methods Surface soil samples were collected from farmers’ field from two soil orders (Vertisols and Inceptisols) and with four long-term rice-based cropping systems: (1) rice-wheat (RW); (2) rice-chickpea (RC); (3) rice-lathyrus (RL); and (4) rice-fallow (RF). A minimum data set (MDS) of 24 soils attributes were screened to identify soil quality indicators using principal components analysis (PCA), and soil quality index (SQI) was determined. Key results The MDS indicators (in descending order of sensitivity) are field capacity (FC) (35.4%) followed by pH (30.5%) > porosity (13.6%) > potentially mineralisable carbon (PMC) (11.8%) > available boron (AB) (8.7%). Soil moisture content under FC was found as the most sensitive indicator affecting soil quality and rice equivalent yields (REY). The SQI of Vertisols (0.83) was significantly higher (P

South interior Karnataka, being a major rainfed zone contributing to production of pigeonpea, finger millet,groundnut, etc., suffers from severe yield instability due to dependency on rainfall. As the distribution of rainfall(spatial and temporal) is erratic, droughts are becoming a common phenomenon and adversely affecting regional crop production by influencing soil moisture availability. Regression studies on per cent available soil moisture (PASM) and yield were conducted based on long-term field observations in 2014–19 on soil moisture and crop yields in finger millet, pigeonpea and groundnut at UAS-GKVK, Bengaluru. The outcomes indicated large yield variability due to minor soil moisture differences. In finger millet, at 58 PASM, 50% (1500 kg/ha) of normal yield was obtained and at 40 PASM, only 25% of normal yield was obtained. In pigeonpea, the crop yield recorded at 25 PASM was 8–18% (202–347 kg/ha) of the normal yield. In groundnut 50 PASM gave 41% of normal yield. The outcome indicated different soil moisture requirement for different crops, stressed the need for amending existing non-crop specific PASM ranges for drought declaration. Amendments were brought in by considering different PASM levels in these three crops finger millet: 20–40 as severe, 40–60 as moderate, >60 as no drought; in pigeonpea, 25–30 as severe, 30–60 as moderate, >60 as no drought; in groundnut, 35–50 as severe, 50–70 PASM as moderate, >70 as no drought. Since the practicality of the study was proven, the amendments were given in the drought manual published by ministry of farmers’ welfare.

Labeo rohita, one of the Indian major carps, is the most popular culture species in Indian subcontinent due to its consumer preference and delicacy. A selective breeding program for harvest body weight has resulted in an average genetic gain of 17% per generation. Transcriptome resource for this species is scanty. Here, we have characterized the liver and muscle transcriptomes of rohu using Roche 454 GS-FLX next generation sequencing platform. In total, 1.2 million reads were generated, de novo assembly and clustering resulted in 4171 transcripts. Out of these, 4171 had significant blast hit against NCBI nr database, and 2130 transcripts were successfully annotated. In total, 289 SSRs were identified with an identification rate of 5.8%, and dinucleotide repeat motifs were observed to be the most abundant SSRs. Further, 2231 putative SNPs were identified with high confidence. Validation of eight putative SNPs using Sanger sequencing resulted in 100% true SNPs. Significant allelic imbalance of M1, M4 and M5 loci between growth selected and control individual were observed. Furthermore, 13 transcription factors were identified in the present study belonging to six different transcription factor families. The present study demonstrated the utility of RNAseq to develop genomics resources in non-model fish species, and the marker resources developed would support the genetic improvement program of this species.

A simulation experiment was carried out using Agriculture Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) model to assess the impact of climate change (change in temperature and rainfall patterns) on productivity of maize in the state Madhya Pradesh. Thirty districts with 74 soil profiles from Madhya Pradesh state were considered for the study. However, we are presenting the average results over districts and soil profiles. A well-parameterised and validated APSIM model was used to simulate the effects of temperature and rainfall on maize grain and biomass yield. Increase in temperature having negative effects on both grain and biomass yield of maize. While increasing the temperature from base to 5 °C, the grain and biomass yield of maize decreased by 40% and 28%, respectively. Further, increasing the temperature by 1 °C could reduce the grain and biomass yield by 10% and 8 %, respectively. A small increase in maize yield was observed by 10% decrease of rainfall from the base. While rainfall increase by 10% or more and decrease by >20% would results in lower maize yield and biomass. The decrease in maize yield due to increase in temperature could be attributed to decrease in duration of the crop. One-degree increase in temperature may decrease the duration of crop by 4.3 days. This study also revealed that agronomic management practices such as delaying of sowing dates could reduce the impact of climate change on crop yield to a considerable extent. By adopting the sowing date between 7th and 14th July, it may be possible to reduce the impact of temperature change on maize grain and biomass yield in central Indian condition.

A study was conducted to assess soil health in a participatory mode whereby farmers were sensitized, involved, trained, and provided with low-cost tools for assessing the soil health of their fields. The study was carried out in two selected villages in the districts of Bhopal and Sehore. Management practices consisted of different nutrient management practices, namely organic manure-based farming, integrated (organic + inorganic) nutrient-based farming, and inorganic fertilizer-based farming. In this approach, both qualitative and quantitative assessments of soil parameters were done to characterize soil quality and enhance soil health and productivity. It helped farmers to assess their soil health periodically and prepare a Soil Health Card for their farm. About 12 soil parameters comprising of physical, chemical, and biological health indicators were selected for the study. Results revealed that different nutrient management-based farming systems significantly affected soil pH, electrical conductivity, soil organic carbon, aggregate stability, mean weight diameter, soil moisture retention, soil penetration resistance, and crop yield. In addition, results indicated that organic-based farming recorded ‘good’ Soil Health Card values compared to integrated and inorganic fertilizer-based farming, regardless of location. In Parwalia village, results indicated that high soil quality index (SQI) was observed under organic nutrient management (0.61), followed by integrated (0.52) and inorganic nutrient (0.34) management. In Vaidakhedi village, the corresponding values were 0.63, 0.50, and 0.33, respectively. The improvement in soil quality also influenced the crop yield significantly. Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between field assessed values to the laboratory values in this study. Thus, adopting either organic or integrated nutrient-based farming helps sustain soil health and improve crop yield compared to the application of inorganic fertilizers. Results also highlight the importance of low-cost tools for assessing soil health in a participatory mode, which helps in the efficient allocation of manures and fertilizer nutrients as per requirement. This study reinforces the importance of soil physical (i.e. MWD, aggregate stability and penetration resistance) and biological (macro-life diversity and earthworm counts) indicators for inclusions in Soil Health Card for making it a comprehensive assessment of soil health.

The evaluation of climatic change impact on maize grain and biomass yield under different N management practices through a well-calibrated and validated APSIM model in Vertisol of central India has been made. Climate scenarios were derived from seven global climate models (GCM) for two representative concentration pathways (RCPs), i.e. RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, and two-time slices, i.e. 2050 and 2080. The five N scenarios, namely N0%, N50%, N100%, N150%, and 100% organic, were studied in different climatic scenarios. The probability of exceedance showed that N0%, N50%, N100%, N150%, and 100% organic treatments have a 50% chance of yield greater than 1.0, 3.40, 4.20, 4.45 and 3.84 t ha-1, respectively. The average reduction of maize yield was -44.4, -20, -19.7 - 17.9 and 22.5 per cent in N 0%, N 50%, N 100%, N 150%, 100% organic, respectively under RCP4.5 over the baseline period (1980-2010). For RCP8.5, the average reduction of maize yield in N 0%, N 50%, N 100%, N 150%, 100% organic was 41.2, 21.2, 20.8 20.6 and 23.1 per cent, respectively. Simulation results suggested that a higher decrease of maize yield in 100 per cent organic treatments than inorganic treatments is due to variability in N uptake.

The effects of climate change on crop yields vary greatly from region to region across the globe. The projected climate change will also adversely affect soil quality by changing its physiochemical and biological properties. The soil's biological properties and processes are primarily mediated by microbial diversity and their distribution. The presence of soil microbes facilitates the production of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The microorganism also responded to global warming and climate change by either producing greenhouse gases or utilizing them in the environment. Soil microorganisms can recycle and transform the essential elements such as carbon and nitrogen that make up cells. Even small changes in the soil moisture content result in a change in the microbial habitat, particularly the fungal communities. However, the bacterial communities remain intact. The increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide not only increases methane production from the soil but also reduces the uptake of methane by up to 30% in the soil microbial population. The microbial communities of the tree leaves act on plant residue during this process. The increase in temperature is likely to accelerate the rate of decomposition that emits carbon dioxide from the soil. However, higher temperatures also elevate soil nitrogen levels, which suppresses the rates of fungal decomposition. This affects microbial communities. At the same time, trees and shrubs that advance towards the north in the tundra under the influence of temperature alteration can also influence microbes in unknown ways through the shadows they cast on the ground.

Cancer is a disease having global consequences. Though several new strategies and treatments have been developed so far, they often come with malicious side effects and this paved ways for demand of naturally extracted/driven product as potent anti-cancer agent owing to their reduced toxicity and side effects. One such common Indian household plant Neem (Azadirachta Indica) and its extract have variegated immunomodulatory effects as anti-cancer agent. Neem Leaf Glycoprotein (NLGP) modifies immune cells present in the tumor surroundings as well as in the peripheral system, rather than directly attacking the cancer cells. NLGP acts as a natural immunomodulator showing several functions like sustained tumor growth regulation by stimulating central and effector memory cells as a vaccination adjuvant, normalization of angiogenic activities, controls hypoxia, improves immune evasion techniques as well as suppresses the activity of several immunological cells (Tregs, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and tumor-associated macrophages) which promote tumor growth and metastasis in the tumor microenvironment (TME). NLGP prioritises type1 immune-microenvironment which consists of T-bet

While destruction associated with floods during the monsoon season and cyclones receives wide attention, the extreme weather in the form of hail, lightning and high winds have also caused widespread devastation over India on a small spatial scale in recent years, especially during the period of March to June. India Meteorological Department (IMD) organized a special forecast improvement campaign during the period March to June of 2017–2019 when the weather forecasts at all offices of IMD were targeted towards an accurate forecast of the extreme form of thunderstorms and their associated impact in short range to nowcasting timescale and their dissemination. The purpose of this study is to quantify the improvement in operational thunderstorm forecast accuracy, in short range (24 h Severe Weather Guidance at subdivisional level) and nowcast scale (nowcasts for individual stations valid for 3 h and issued every three hours) during March to June of 2017 to 2019 and compare the same with the accuracy of previous years. As a result of these efforts, there has been a significant jump in forecast accuracy in the 24-h thunderstorm forecast as well as 3-h nowcast guidance for thunderstorms across the country. Probability of Detection (POD) scores for India as a whole for the 24-h thunderstorm forecast has doubled, while the false alarms (FAR) have remained at the same level as before the start of the forecast campaign. The results indicate that since a thunderstorm is a disastrous weather event, the forecasters generally tend towards spatial over-forecasting. However, this is not uniform across the months. There is systematic lower accuracy in the season transition months of March (winter to summer) and June (dry summer to wet summer). While POD decreases in both March and June, FAR decrease throughout the season. The significant evolution of atmospheric parameters (moisture in particular) as the season changes, favours the maturation of thunderstorms to cumulonimbus stage as the season progresses, and the problem of over forecasting in March becomes a problem of under forecasting of thunderstorms in June. Another reason for false alarms is the unconscious linkage of the thunderstorm with the pattern of rainfall occurrence. However, since all rain-giving clouds over India do not necessarily mature to the cumulonimbus stage, and vice versa, the two are not always related. This is particularly true for the more arid regions of the country, especially in March, where false alarms are higher. The poor density of reporting observatories compared to the mesoscale nature of the events may also increase false alarms, especially over the small maritime islands and the arid regions of the mainland. The accuracy of the All India 3 hourly station level nowcast also improved systematically since 2017. Despite these constraints, the improvements at all scales were possible due to (a) augmentation of observation network by the rapid expansion of Doppler radars network throughout the Indian mainland as well as the installation of a ground-based lightning detection network, (b) numerical modeling products introduced in 2019 to provide short-range forecasts for all aspects of convection; both of which are incorporated into the forecast framework through Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to standardize the forecast procedure throughout the Indian region. A more objective forecast strategy, using data generated from a denser network of DWRs and crowdsourcing methods as well as more accurate mesoscale models will go a long way to further improve the thunderstorm forecasts.

Sugarcane crop requires huge quantity of seed cane for planting under conventional method, which contributes a major share in cost of cultivation. Besides, large quantity of seed material poses a big challenge for transportation and handling. This problem can be effectively addressed through adoption of sustainable sugarcane initiative through planting of bud chips, which can save the cost and inconveniences associated with conventional planting methods. Several authors have reported advantages of planting single bud chips over conventional methods with respect to germination, crop establishment, growth and development of sugarcane crop. Sustainable sugarcane initiative technology favourably influenced various yield attributing factors such as plant stand, millable cane per clump and weight of single cane thereby resulting in higher yield. Some authors have also recorded higher brix value and higher juice weight at harvesting stage with planting of single chip bud seedlings of sugarcane. Compared with conventional method, economics of cultivation goes in favour of bud chip method of planting. Based on research findings by various workers, it can be said that planting of sugarcane by bud chip method is superior to planting by conventional methods.

Due to declining soil quality and increasing climate change, resource conservation technologies are often advocated for the food production system. Conservation agriculture (CA) is one of the technologies that increase soil nutrient status without jeopardizing the soil health and quality. The effects of conservation tillage, residue retention, and cropping systems on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties within the irrigated agricultural system are well established. However, scanty information is available on the combined impact of tillage, residue, and cropping system available on the major and micro-nutrient in the rainfed farming systems. Thus, a field experiment was conducted to measure the short-term effect of CA practices on soil properties and major (N, P, and K) and micro (Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu)-nutrients in a Vertisol of Central India. The field experiment was laid out in a split-plot design consisting of two tillage systems (TS), conventional tillage (CT) and reduced tillage (RT), as the main plots and six cropping systems (CS) as subplots. A total of 144 soil samples were collected after four crop cycles to assess soil properties and nutrient (major and micro-nutrient) status. Results demonstrated that in the surface soil layer (0–5 cm), the major and micro-nutrient concentrations were higher than subsurface layers, regardless of TS and CS. In the surface soils, soil organic carbon (SOC) varied from 0.58 to 0.60% under CT and from 0.60 to 0.62% under RT. Tillage and cropping systems had a significant effect (p

Horsegram (Macrotyloma uniflorum) is one of the important pulse crops with the unique characteristics with tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. This crop has the ability to be grown under rainfed situations in marginal lands and can be considered as a climate resilient crop. Still, it has not attracted due attention and has been underexploited. This is a late kharif crop mostly sown in the month of August or even during July depending upon local climatic conditions. Line sown horsegram crop maintains proper plant stand, hence is considered as the suitable sowing method to obtain desirable yield. Depending on variety used and growing environment, a plant population of 3.33 to 4.44 lakh/ha is recommended by various researchers to harvest good yield. Among various plant nutrients, phosphorus plays a vital role to enhance the yield through accelerating root and shoot growth. With proper agronomic management practices, horsegram can provide potential yield, even under unfavourable situations.

Of late, intensive farming for higher food production is often associated with many negative implications for soil systems, such as decline of soil organic matter (SOM), increase in risks of soil erosion by wind and/or water, decline in soil biological diversity, increase in degradation of soil physical quality, lower nutrient-use efficiency, high risks of groundwater pollution, falling water tables, increasing salinization and waterlogging, in-field burning of crop residues, pollution of air and emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), leading to global warming, and decline in factor productivity. These negative implications necessitate an objective review of strategies to develop sustainable management practices, which could not only sustain soil health and ensure food security, but also enhance carbon sequestration, decrease GHG emissions, and offer clean and better ecosystem services. Conservation agriculture (CA), that includes reduced or no-till practices along with crop residue retention and mixed crop rotations, offers multiple benefits. Adoption of a system-based CA conserves water, improves and creates more efficient use of natural resources through the integrated management of available soil nutrients, water, and biological resources, and enhances use efficiency of external inputs. Due to apparent benefits of CA, it is increasingly being adopted and now covers about 180 million hectares (Mha) worldwide. However, in South Asia its spread is low (

Exploring diversity of endophytes from cultivated crop offers immense promise for plant growth promotion. Present study evaluated plant growth promoting efficiency, phosphorus, and potassium solubi...

Accelerated erosion removes fertile top soil along with nutrients through runoff and sediments, eventually affecting crop productivity and land degradation. However, scanty information is available on soil and nutrient losses under different crop covers in a vertisol of Central India. Thus, a field experiment was conducted for 4 years (2010–2013) to study the effect of different crop cover combinations on soil and nutrient losses through runoff in a vertisol. Very limited information is available on runoff, soil, and nutrient losses under different vegetative covers in a rainfed vertisol. Thus, the hypothesis of the study was to evaluate if different crop cover combinations would have greater impact on reducing soil and nutrient losses compared to control plots in a vertisol. This experiment consisted of seven treatment combinations of crop covers namely soybean (Glycine max) (CC1), maize (Zea mays) (CC2), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) (CC3), soybean (Glycine max) + maize (Zea mays) − 1:1 (CC4), soybean (Glycine ma x)) + pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) −2:1 (CC5), maize (Zea mays) + pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) − 1:1 (CC6), and cultivated fallow (CC7). The plot size was 10 × 5 m with 1% slope, and runoff and soil loss were measured using multi-slot devisor. All treatments were arranged in a randomized block design with three replications. Results demonstrated that the runoff and soil loss were significantly (p

Dioscorea bulbifera (Pita aalu) is a medicinal plant belongs to famility Dioscoreaceae, used to cure various diseases like malaria, diarrhoea, diabetes, dysentery, cancer, piles and skin infections. We designed the present study to analyse phytochemical and antibacterial activity of D. bulbifera fruit so as to conform its edible property. For this we followed phytochemical screening of the fruit extracts and found that it is consist of tannin, saponin, phenols, steroids, terpenoids and some carbohydrates in high concentration. The antibacterial activity of aqueous extract of the fruit against Streptococcus mutans pathogen was determined by using agar well diffusion, disc diffusion and broth dilution assay. From the results it was confirmed that the aqueous extract of the fruits of D. bulbifera showed high inhibition zone at 100µg/ml is 19 mm in agar well diffusion, 14 mm in disc diffusion assay. The minimum inhibitory concentratiom (MIC) of extract of D. bulbifera arranged in respect to the parts from 100 µg/ml, 200 µg/ml, 300 µg/ml, 400 µg/ml, 500µg/ml and inoculums control showed visible growth due to no antimicrobial agents, whereas the broth control showed no growth due to absence of bacteria. Presence of primary and secondary metabolites indicates the nutraceutical value of D. bulbifera fruits. So the fruits of D. bulbifera can be used as a tool against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Root architecture serves as a promising target for efficient resource capture below the soil. Understanding its dynamics and performance under varying management practices is quite pivotal for the development of efficient cultivars in the era of resource crunch and vagaries of climatic scenarios. Because of the tedious methodology and time involvement, there is a limited study of root system architecture (RSA) performance under management practices; thus, in the present chapter, we reviewed the effect of varying tillage on root proliferation, resource capture, and its uptake. There is a presence of nutrient-specific transduction systems in roots for selectively absorb nutrients from the soil, and they modify as per the level of stress in the soil. This chapter also highlights how tillage alters both biotic and abiotic factors that, in turn, affect the root growth significantly. In addition, studies on the long-term effect of management practices on root dynamics/RSA are quite necessary for a complete understanding of resource capture and the pattern of its distribution in soil.

Feeding the increasing global population, which is projected to increase between 8.9 and 10.6 billion by 2050, there has been increasing demands for more improved/sustainable agricultural management practices that can be followed by farmers to improve productivity and maintain environmental sustainability without jeopardizing the ecosystem. About 95% of our food directly or indirectly comes from soil. It is a precious resource, and sustainable soil management is a critical socio-economic and environmental issue. South Asia (SA) has been experiencing high economic growth but still suffering from extreme rate of poverty, hunger, and deterioration of natural resources including soil. In this region, the presence of a large rainfed area with its associated challenges urgently calls for cost-effective resource conservation technologies such as conservation agriculture (CA). The Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of SA region is one of the hotspots for the adoption of no-till farming/CA. Although conventional tillage (CT)-based farming offers some important short-term benefits, long-term adoption of these practices may lead to the loss of soil organic carbon/fertility, poor soil health, and soil degradation. Conservation agriculture (CA) is being practiced globally approximately in 180 M ha of land, whereas in south Asia it remains less than 5 Mha. Thus, CA is one of the major sustainable soil/agricultural management systems that can meet the needs of farmers as well as offer numerous benefits to farmers as well as ecosystem services. CA is a multi dimensional approach that is studied not only for its positive environmental and ecological impacts but also as an alternative to reduce crop residue burning. In this chapter, issues, challenges, benefits, and future perspectives of CA have been discussed.

To mitigate the changing climate due to the increase concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, studies on carbon (C) sequestration potential of different agricultural management practices are receiving worldwide attention. Conservation agriculture (CA) is highly recommended for its high C sequestration capacity and the productive use of crop residues that are otherwise burnt and pollute the environment. The adoption of CA offers preservation of soil moisture by leaving at least 30% of the soil surface covered with crop stubble/leaf litters, thereby decreasing wind and water erosion. The amount of residue cover left on the field depends on the type of operation, availability of implements and the fragility of the residue. Under CA, if 1 ft of residue is left on the field, an additional amount of 1.6–2.0 t/ha of crop residue is being added in to the field compared to farmers’ practice that improves soil aggregation, infiltration, organic C status and enhanced biological properties. The C sequestration in CA is accomplished through the addition of carbon through residues, protection of soil organic carbon in soil aggregates under minimum soil disturbance and addition of soil organic carbon (SOC) to deeper soil layer due to the inclusion of legumes in the cropping system. In fact, practising CA can potentially sequester C at rates of 300–600 kg C/ha/year depending on the type of soil and climatic conditions. In addition, CA practices are widely adopted to increase soil productivity, revert soil degradation, improve C sequestration and also increase input use efficiency and crop yields. Therefore, location-specific CA must be developed and advocated. The challenges and bottlenecks in disseminating CA in a large scale must be addressed and overcome by further studies with policy initiatives and interventions.

The Xi(-)(b)pi(+)pi(-) invariant mass spectrum is investigated with an event sample of proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016-2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb(-1). The ground state Xi(-)(b) is reconstructed via its decays to J/psi Xi(-) and J/psi Lambda K-. A narrow resonance, labeled Xi(b)(6100)(-), is observed at a Xi(-)(b)pi(+)pi(-) invariant mass of 6100.3 +/- 0.2(stat) +/- 0.1(syst) +/- 0.6(Xi(-)(b)) MeV, where the last uncertainty reflects the precision of the Xi(-)(b) baryon mass. The upper limit on the Xi(b)(6100)(-) natural width is determined to be 1.9 MeV at 95% confidence level. The low Xi(b)(6100)(-) signal yield observed in data does not allow a measurement of the quantum numbers of the new state. However, following analogies with the established excited Xi(c) baryon states, the new Xi(b)(6100)(-) resonance and its decay sequence are consistent with the orbitally excited Xi(- )(b)baryon, with spin and parity quantum numbers J(P) = 3/2(-).

In India, out of total cropped area (142 Mha), 86 Mha is under rainfed agriculture. These rainfed areas are prone to land degradation, dry spells, water scarcity, and increased poverty and malnutrition. Therefore, it is the urgent need for adopting cost-effective resource conservation technologies such as conservation agriculture (CA) that can act as an essential prerequisite for achieving enhanced productivity in the region. The crop residue burning not only deteriorates soil health but also has adverse environmental and ecological impacts. This is minimized with the retention/incorporation of the crop residue with minimal soil disturbances in CA technologies. It not only returns much needed C and other nutrients to the soil but also improves soil aggregation and reduces soil erosion. Availability of specialized machinery in CA is a greater problem as it is difficult to sow a crop in the presence of residues of preceding crop. However, with the widespread adoption of CA in India, new variants of zero-till seed-cum-fertilizer drill/planters have been developed for direct drilling of seeds even in the presence of surface residues. In order to generate benefits from CA, untapped area of rainfed regions needs to be explored and utilized for CA interventions for carbon sequestration and enhancing the productivity of those areas. Appropriate location-specific CA technologies need be developed for the dominant cropping systems in the rainfed regions.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) turnover simulation models have been widely used to predict SOC changes with changing climatic and management conditions. Rothamsted carbon model, RothC 26.3 is one of the most widely used C turnover simulation model, however, this model has not been extensively tested under the Indian conditions. Model prediction accuracy depends upon correct initialization procedure as wrong initialization can simulate the data incorrectly. We initialised the RothC model using the data set from three long-term fertilizer experiments (LTFE) of India. The model was parameterized for the pre cultivated soils of the three major soil orders (Vertisol, Alfisol and Inceptisol) of India for the treatments of nil fertilization (control), balanced fertilization (NPK) and NPK+ Farm Yard Manure (FYM). The RothC was successfully initialized (forward mode) by iteratively adjusting the C input and inert organic matter (IOM) stock of soil at steady state. The agreement between the modelled and measured data of SOC stocks across three different soil types was satisfactory, with root mean square error (RMSE) for LTFE treatments ranged from 2 to 14%. The results of the RothC simulations demonstrated that NPK and NPK+FYM increased SOC stocks at the 0–30 cm soil depth by 12–61 and 30–107%, respectively, over the initial value at the three sites. The SOC stocks reached steady state for the treatments of NPK and NPK+FYM between 48 and 95 and 68 to 116 years, respectively, in three different soil types. Therefore, the RothC model can successfully predict C dynamics under Indian conditions provided initialization and parametrization of the model is accurate.

The selection of input parameters in joining processes has remained a crucial task due to the energy-intensive behavior of welding processes. Low carbon alloy steel is the most widely welded material in the industry. The Manual Metallic Arc Welding (MMAW) of mild steel is most well-known among all welding procedures, as it offers a low-cost remedy, finds extensive use in structural work, restoration, & maintenance. The current study focuses on selecting suitable MMAW parameters for welding mild steel, taking into consideration power and joint quality as the decisive factors. The experiments conducted were designed using Minitab 18 software. The transverse tensile strength, joint hardness, and the impact energy of the joint region are measured as quality parameters of the welded joint. Measurement of power has been conducted using a power analyzer. Artificial Neural Network is utilized for training the network using data acquired from the experiments carried out. The regression model was applied in Matlab R2019a to determine the relationship between the input and result variables to greatly help predict the perfect mix of joint input parameters.

Manufacturing had never been more focused on environmental issues as of today. The path toward sustainability is not deprived of barriers for the successful realization of economic, environmental and social goals of manufacturing. Sustainability has become a major issue today for the better life of our future generations. The large industries are continually equipping themselves with increasing green manufacturing practices. But in practice, the scenario is quite different for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs in developing countries like India face a different set of challenges in the post-globalization era, such as stiff competition and reduced market domination from their multi-national counterparts, mainly due to their failure to embrace modernization and innovation. The present work tries to fill the gap by identifying the potential barriers for successful implementation of sustainability for Indian SMEs, after analyzing the issues faced by the manufacturing sector since 1991, till date, i.e., the post-globalization period in the Indian manufacturing industry.

Sustainability has become a buzz word worldwide due to increasing concern towards environmental pollution. Milling is a widely adopted energy-intensive process in industry. Reduction in energy consumption in machining can greatly relieve load on the environment. This paper presents a methodology for enhancing energy efficiency by reducing specific cutting energy and maintaining surface finish, a major quality parameter. The current study focuses on the selection of optimum milling parameters set in Vertical Milling Machine for machining Stainless Steel and Bright Steel, considering Surface Finish and Specific Cutting Energy as output parameters during the process. The conducted experiments have been designed using TAGUCHI orthogonal array using Minitab 18 software. The cutting speed, feed, depth of cut, cutter diameter and work material are considered as potential input parameters affecting the output parameters of the milling process. Power consumption has been measured using a power analyzer. The regression model has been implemented using Artificial Neural Network on Matlab R2017b. The input and output variables have been correlated using ANN to select the best possible combination of milling input parameters.

The aim of this study is to highlight involvement of facial nerve as a presenting symptom in rhino cerebral mucormycosis. A retrospective longitudinal study was carried out for a period of 1 year from May 2017 to May 2018 in Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College and Hospital, Kolhapur. The usual presentation include nasal stuffiness, headache, eye pain and orbital swelling, ophthalmoplegia and visual loss. However we had four patients who presented to our OPD with facial nerve palsy and rhino cerebral mucormycosis. All four patients were diabetic. The available clinical and laboratory data was retrospectively collected and analyzed. Facial nerve palsy is an unusual but significant sign in presentation of mucormycosis. It could be misdiagnosed as CVA with subsequent delay in the treatment. A high index of suspicion for mucormycosis in diabetic patients presenting with facial palsy will be helpful in achieving early and accurate diagnosis with prompt management and better outcome.