Lentil (Lens culinaris) is an important winter season annual legume crop known for its highly valued seed in human and animal nutrition owing to its high lysine and tryptophan content. Shortage of water during the crop growth period has become the major impediment for cultivation of pulses in rice fallow in particular. Under such conditions, the application of hydrogel can be a potential alternative to improve photosynthetic efficiency, assimilate partitioning, and increase growth and yield. A field experiment was conducted from November to February during 2015–16 to 2017–18 on clay loam soil that was medium in fertility and acidic in reaction (pH 5.4) at Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Manipur. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications. There were three hydrogel levels in total in the main plot and foliar nutrition with five different nutrient sprays in sub-plots, together comprising 15 treatment combinations. The data pooled over three years, 2015–2018, revealed that application of hydrogel at 5 kg/ha before sowing recorded a significantly greater number of pods per plant (38.0) and seed yield (1032.1 kg/ha) over the control. Foliar application of nutrients over flower initiation and pod development had a positive effect on increasing the number of pods per plant eventually enhanced the seed yield of lentil. Foliar application of either 0.5% NPK or salicylic acid 75 ppm spray at flower initiation and pod development stages recorded significantly more pods per plant over other nutrient treatments. Further, the yield attributed improved because of elevated growth in plant. Significantly maximum seed yield (956 kg/ha) recorded in the NPK spray of 0.5% remained on par with salicylic acid 75 ppm (939 kg/ha) over the rest of the treatments.

India imports the most edible oils because domestic demand exceeds production. Horizontally expanding groundnut production in non-traditional areas especially in the potato-paddy rice-fallow system is possible for increasing production and it requires trait-specific cultivars. Only 1% of oilseeds are grown in non-traditional regions. Nine interspecific groundnut derivatives were tested in potato-fallow system at Deesa, Gujarat, and Mohanpura, West Bengal, and non-potato fallow areas in Junagadh during Kharif 2020 to examine their performance and adaptability. Genotype-by-environment (G×E) interaction significantly affected pod yield and its components in the combined ANOVA. "Mean vs. stability" showed that the interspecific derivative NRCGCS 446 and variety TAG 24 were the most stable and valuable genotypes. GG 7 yielded more pods in Junagadh, whereas NRCGCS 254 yielded more in Mohanpur. Low heritability estimates and strong G×E interaction for flowering days showed complicated inheritance and environmental effects. The shelling percentage was significantly correlated with days to 50% blooming, days to maturity, SCMR, HPW, and KLWR, demonstrating negative connections between maturity, component characteristics, and seed size realisation.

Water/drought stress experiments are frequently conducted under imposed stress or rainout shelters, while natural drought hot-spot investigations are rare. The “drought hot spot” in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India, is appropriate for drought stress evaluation due to its hot, arid environment, limited rainfall, with over 50% rainfall variability. According to reports, 30 out of 200 groundnut cultivars in India are supposed to possess drought-tolerant characteristics. However, these cultivars are yet to be evaluated in areas that are prone to drought. This study tested these drought-tolerant genotypes in naturally drought-prone areas of Anantapur under rainfed conditions from Kharif 2017 to 2019. Pod yield and rainfall-use-efficiency (RUE) were measured for these genotypes. Genotype and genotype*environment interactions affected pod yield and RUE (GEI). The AMMI model exhibits significant season-to-season variability within the same area with environmental vectors > 90° angles. GGE biplot suggested the 2018 wet season for drought-resistant cultivar identification. Kadiri5 and GPBD5 were the most drought-tolerant cultivars for cultivation in Anantapur and adjacent regions. These types could also be used to generate drought-tolerant groundnut variants for drought-prone regions.