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Abstract Day-by-day increasing irrigation water scarcity requires the application of water-saving irrigation techniques to sustain agriculture production. A two-year field investigation was conducted during 2018 to 2020 to determine the effects of various mulches and irrigation volumes on the growth, leaf chemicals and soil properties of one-year-old sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis) cv. Mosambi. The study included three irrigation schedules, viz.100% ETc (I1), 80% ETc (I2), and 60% ETc (I3), and five different mulches were used, viz. without mulch, white polythene, coriander straw, dry grass and black polythene mulches, replicated thrice. Results demonstrated that drip irrigation with 100% ETc and mulching with black polythene mulch significantly increase the plant growth attributes like height of the plant (28.64%) (30.31%), rootstock girth (36.61%) (37.90%), plant canopy spread (E-W and N-S) (EW- 63.82%, NS- 63.87%) (EW- 67.56%, NS- 67.90%) and leaf area (2.4%) (2.34%). Furthermore, plant leaf chlorophyll content (2.41 mg g-1) (2.41 mg g-1) and leaf mineral content such as N (2.39%) (2.40%), P (0.16%) (0.165%), K (1.57%) (1.59%), Ca (47.34 g kg-1) (47.80 g kg-1), Mg (4.54 g kg-1) (4.57 g kg-1), Fe (120.51 g kg-1) (123.15 g kg-1) and Zn (39.00 g kg-1) (37.84 g kg-1) were noted to be significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher in plants that received 100% (were ETc (I1) and mulching with black polythene mulch (M1) treatment. Taken together, the results suggested that treatments I1 and M1 have the potential to maximize plant growth, leaf chemicals and soil nutrients of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) cv. Mosambi plants.

Rice followed by wheat is the dominant cropping system in the middle Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP). Lower productivity (4.8 t ha−1) of this cropping system in Bihar, compared to the national average (6.8 t ha−1) due to several climate- and production-related issues, is a matter of concern for the farmers and the policymakers. Keeping all these in view, an experiment with rice–wheat cropping system was carried out during 2020–21 and 2021–22 in 17 adopted villages of 13 districts of Bihar under the Project “Climate Resilient Agriculture Program (CRAP)” to evaluate the feasibility of early transplanting of rice in the month of June with the aim of achieving higher system productivity by early harvesting of rice and subsequent timely sowing of wheat before 15 November with the provision of assured irrigation. In this study, the concept of an innovative community irrigation approach and single-phase 3-hp submersible pump was employed. Long-duration rice variety (150 days) Rajendra Mahsuri-1 was sown during 20–25 May in the nursery and transplanted through puddling operation during 15–20 June in 17 locations. Under delayed conditions, the nursery sowing and transplanting window were 10–15 June and 10–15 July, respectively. Timely sown rice grown with the provision of a community irrigation system achieved a grain yield of 5.2 t ha−1 and 85.8% higher water productivity, compared to late-sown crops. Following the harvest of rice, the HD-2967 variety of wheat was planted in the first fortnight of November and harvested in the first week of April, yielding 4.9 t ha−1 with the application of 2–3 irrigations based on soil type and evaporative demand. Timely harvesting of wheat facilitated farmers of the region to take an additional crop of summer green gram. With an assured irrigation system and shifting planting dates and thereby managing climatic risks, the overall productivity of the rice–wheat cropping system was achieved to the tune of 10.1 t ha−1 with a cropping intensity of 300% for better adaptation and sustainable production.

In the current study area (Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddha Nagar), the aerosol concentration is very high, adversely affecting the environmental conditions and air quality. Investigating the impact of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) on Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) helps us to develop effective solutions for improving air quality. Hence, the spectral indices derived from LULC ((Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), Soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), Enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and Normalized difference build-up index (NDBI)) with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Multiangle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) high spatial resolution (1 km) AOD from the years 2010–2019 (less to high urbanized period) has been correlated. The current study used remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques to examine changes in LULC in the current study region over the ten years (2010–2019) and the relationship between LULC and AOD. A significant increase in built-up areas (12.18%) and grasslands (51.29%) was observed during 2010–2019, while cropland decreased by 4.42%. A positive correlation between NDBI and SAVI (0.35, 0.27) indicates that built-up soils play an important role in accumulating AOD in a semi-arid region. At the same time, a negative correlation between NDVI and EVI (−0.24, −0.15) indicates the removal of aerosols due to an increase in vegetation. The results indicate that SAVI can play an important role in PM2.5 modeling in semi-arid regions. Based on these findings, urban planners can improve land use management, air quality, and urban planning.