Micronutrient deficiency also known as “hidden hunger” refers to a condition that occurs when the body lacks essential vitamins and minerals that are required in small amounts for proper growth, development and overall health. These deficiencies are particularly common in developing countries, where a lack of access to a varied and nutritious diet makes it difficult for people to get the micronutrients they need. Micronutrient supplementation has been a topic of interest, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, due to its potential role in supporting immune function and overall health. Iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), iodine (I), and selenium (Se) deficiency in humans are significant food-related issues worldwide. Biofortification is a sustainable strategy that has been developed to address micronutrient deficiencies by increasing the levels of essential vitamins and minerals in staple crops that are widely consumed by people in affected communities. There are a number of agricultural techniques for biofortification, including selective breeding of crops to have higher levels of specific nutrients, agronomic approach using fertilizers and other inputs to increase nutrient uptake by crops and transgenic approach. The agronomic approach offers a temporary but speedy solution while the genetic approach (breeding and transgenic) is the long-term solution but requires time to develop a nutrient-rich variety.

The study assessed the impact of climatic factors on productivity and biodiversity of apple in Kullu valley area. The secondary meteorological data was used to evaluate the impact of climate change on apple diversity with the help of correlation, trend analysis, step up regression and Utah model. The annual average maximum temperature of lower Kullu valley showed increase of 1.2°C in the period of 1985–2009. Winter temperature and summer temperature were found to be increasing at the rate of 0.09°C and 0.06°C per year, respectively. A decreasing trend of rainfall was observed during the winter months. The productivity of apple crop during 1985–2009 showed a cyclic pattern with an overall decreasing trend of 0.4 tonnes/ha. The productivity sensitivity analysis with maximum temperature showed a negative rate of 3.89 every year. Regression analysis revealed that minimum temperature of January, February and November, rainfall of December, and maximum temperature for March and October were important factors to predict the apple yield. The farmers’ perception revealed adverse effects on apple biodiversity due to change in climatic conditions. The farmers reported that change in the snowfall pattern led to depletion and shifting of ecological niche of traditionally and commercially important apple varieties and an increase in low chill cultivars. Apple growers specifically in lower Kullu valley switched over to alternate crops and some preferred shifting their orchards to higher altitudes. Cumulative chill units showed a decrease of 9.52 in negative and 6.5 chill units every year in Positive chill units hours of Utah model in Kullu district due to increase in temperature.

This study assessed the climate vulnerability of the agriculture, horticulture, and livestock sectors at the block scale in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. This region exhibits the most conspicuous manifestations of climate change. The study sites were selected to represent different elevation zones. A total of 108 indicators for the sectors were chosen to assess climate vulnerability as a methodological framework suitable for a mountain perspective. The net climate vulnerability in the agriculture sector was lowest in blocks that had greater accessibility to the road network, were nearer to markets, had high literacy and more institutions, and were shifting to enterprises other than agriculture. The net vulnerability index (VI) for horticulture revealed that vulnerability was reduced by a shift toward off-season vegetable cultivation, productive soils for crops, and the establishment of new orchards. The net VI of the livestock sector was lower if there were fewer diseases and pests and they were quickly managed, if there was good access to veterinary facilities, if slopes were less steep, and if improved grassland was available. The composite net VI of all blocks in different sectors of this farming system revealed that the Naggar block, followed by Kullu and Nirmand, was the least vulnerable.

Spatial and temporal rainfall variability under rain-fed scenarios has a greater influence on the sustainability of a cropping system and food security. A rainfall analysis was conducted on a monthly, annual, and seasonal basis across selected agro-climatic zones (I, II, and III) of Himachal Pradesh. The results indicated that South–West (SW) monsoon (July–October) rainfall contributed to 84% of zone-I, 76% for zone-II, and 47% for zone-III of the total annual rainfall. The mean annual precipitation concentration index (PCI) value reflected irregular monthly precipitation distribution (PCI > 20) for zone-II and zone-III, whereas moderate precipitation distribution value of PCI = 11–15 was for zone-I indicated less variability in rainfall. The Sen’s slope estimator revealed that the rainfall decreased at a rate of − 8.021 mm/year, − 6.830 mm/year, and − 5.050 mm/year in zone-I, zone-II, and zone-III, respectively. The water balance study showed that peak surplus water availability observed a shift from July to August month corresponding with peak rainfall during the SW monsoon in recent decades for all agro-climatic zones. During 1986–2020, low-hill regions (zone-I) experienced water surplus during monsoon season and deficit during winter season, while the mid-hill regions (zone-II) experienced water deficits during monsoon season and surplus during winter season. Therefore, the erratic rainfall pattern and shift of available water balance have an impact on agricultural productivity by shortening the cropping calendar and time duration between the two crops. Thus, findings can be used to develop agronomic management strategies for sustainable crop management.

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], one of the commercial crops grown under rainfed conditions in Himachal Pradesh produced low yields due to uneven weather conditions. This study presents outcome of a simulation study to evaluate the impact of projected climate change on yields of soybean and simulated adaptations in the face of climate change. During past three decades the region has experienced increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall. The validated InfoCrop model runs for 20 years (1989-2008) to assess impacts of the projected climate change on soybean production. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values were 8.8 days and 190.4 kg/ha for days to maturity and crop yield between simulated and observed yields of five years (2004-08) under two sowing environments. The elevated levels of 50 and 100 parts per million (ppm) carbon dioxide (CO2) increased soybean yield by 5.0 to 10.2%. The projected yield losses due to elevated levels of temperature by 1 and 2oC alone ranged between 1.3 to 3.5 and 4.5 to 6.0 percent respectively, for all planting windows. The elevated temperature of 1oC coupled with 50 ppm elevated level of carbon dioxide (420ppm) showed increase in yield up to 4.9 percent with shortened average growing period up to 2 days. The further rise of temperature to 2oC with 50 ppm elevated level of carbon dioxide caused increase in simulated yield up to 2.3 percent in simulations of 1989-2008 compared to control conditions. Similarly, 100 ppm elevated level of carbon dioxide with 1oC rise in temperature caused increase in yield between 8.8 to 10.2 percent in all planting windows whereas it was 3.1 to 3.9 percent lesser in 2oC rise in temperature with 100 ppm elevated level of carbon dioxide with compared to 1oC rise in temperature. The climatic grid of 10 percent reduction in rainfall from recent decade 1998-2008 showed small decrease in yield but yield increase of 5.2 to 8.5 percent was observed when coupled with 50 ppm elevated carbon dioxide and 1oC rise in temperature. Hence rise of temperature with elevated carbon dioxide in general increase the yield in region.