Recently, most agrarian countries have witnessed either declining or stagnant crop yields. Inadequate soil organic matter (SOM) due to the poor physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil leads to an overall decline in the productivity of farmlands. Therefore, the adoption of integrated nutrient management (INM) practices is vital to revive sustainable soil health without compromising yield potential. Integrated nutrient management is a modified nutrient management technique with multifarious benefits, wherein a combination of all possible sources of plant nutrients is used in a crop nutrition package. Several studies conducted in various parts of the world have demonstrated the benefits of INM in terms of steep gain in soil health and crop yields and at the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other related problems. The INM practice in the cropped fields showed a 1,355% reduction in methane over conventional nutrient management. The increase in crop yields due to the adoption of INM over conventional nutrient management was as high as 1.3% to 66.5% across the major cropping systems. Owing to the integration of organic manure and residue retention in INM, there is a possibility of significant improvement in soil aggregates and microbiota. Furthermore, most studies conducted to determine the impact of INM on soil health indicated a significant increase in overall soil health, with lower bulk density, higher porosity, and water-holding capacity. Overall, practicing INM would enhance soil health and crop productivity, in addition to decreasing environmental pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and production costs.

The fall armyworm of maize, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera; Noctuidae) is capable of causing a 100% yield loss due to its unforeseen occurrence from the seedling to the cob formation stage. To manage this serious pest, maize growers are tending to apply a high dosage of pesticides. This indiscriminate usage of pesticides has resulted in an unacceptable amount of insect resurgence in maize, harming maize production and consumption. In this review, we prepared a list of practical pest management options, including host plant resistance, agronomical, cultural, biological, botanical, chemical, and biotechnology approaches. It was found that cultivation of tolerant genotypes, adjusting sowing windows, and practicing specific intercultural and cropping systems measures in addition to chemical and non-chemical pest management strategies showed encouraging results for sustainable management of fall armyworm, which could protect the crop. This review highlights novel and successful management options advocated in various parts of the world. Recommendations documented in this paper would certainly pave the way for successful management of fall armyworm in maize and other concerned crops.

A field experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif) seasons of 2013 and 2014 at Mudhol, Karnataka, to find out suitable maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids and to optimize plant population and fertility levels for higher produc- tivity and profitability of maize. Treatments comprised 3 maize hybrids (NK 6240, Super 900 M and Arjun), 2 plant populations (111,111 and 83,333 plants/ha) and 5 fertility levels [(N P O K O (150, 65 and 65 kg/ha (150) 2 5(65) 2 (65), of N, P O K O respectively), N P O K O , N P O K O , N P O K O and N P O 2 5 2 (187) 2 5(81) 2 (81) (225) 2 5(97) 2 (97) (262) 2 5(114) 2 (114) (300) 2 5(130) K O )]. Among the hybrids, significantly higher grain yield (10.14 t/ha), stover yield (14.38 t/ha), gross returns ( 2 (130) 139,487/ha), net returns ( 87,560/ha) and benefit: cost ratio (2.68) were recorded in NK 6240. Plant population of 111,111 plants/ha gave significantly higher grain (9.80 t/ha) and stover yields (14.68 t/ha), gross returns ( 135,233/ha), net returns ( 84,563/ha) and benefit: cost ratio (2.65) over 83,333 plants/ha. Application of N (300) P O K O kg/ha showed significant improvement in growth and yield attributes and it was reflected in signifi- 2 5(130) 2 (130) cantly higher grain yield (10.42 t/ha) and stover yield (14.08 t/ha). The similar trend was also noticed in gross re- turns ( 142,969/ha), net returns ( 87,859/ha) and benefit: cost ratio (2.65). Interactive effects of hybrids, plant population and fertility levels reveled that, combination of hybrid NK 6240 under plant population of 111,111 plants/ha supplied with N P O K O kg/ha recorded significantly higher grain yield (12.14 t/ha), stover (300) 2 5(130) 2 (130) yields (16.65 t/ha) and uptake of nutrients (366.0 kg N/ha, 71.9 kg P/ha and 172.1 kg K/ha). Gross returns ( 166,759/ha), net returns ( 109,148/ha) were significantly higher in this treatment than rest of the treatments.

Exploring ecosystem services for environment sustainability is the trending area of research in the field of natural resource management (NRM). Water is an important entity of agro-ecosystem, dryland agriculture greatly suffers due to want of moisture. Bi-cropping is one practice where different crops are grown in proximity to realize various benefits under uncertainties of dryland agriculture. Literacy among multifarious benefits of bi-cropping over monoculture is fairly rich among the researchers as well as growers. However, bio-irrigation is one such co-benefits which address about drought alleviating strategies under bi-cropping practice. In this technique, deep rooted plants suck up water from deep moist sub-soil and deposit part of that sucked water in the upper dry soil layers due to water potential gradient, during this hydraulic lift and redistribution shallow rooted neighboring crops in close proximity gets due benefits of this lifted water in alleviating drought. This is high time to device cropping systems of water limited environment to unlock the potentiality of dryland production units. Based on the published studies Piliostigma reticulatum, Guiera senegalensis, Panicum maximum, Festuca arundinacea and Cajanus cajan were identified as potential bio-irrigator arid agro-ecosystem.

Edible oil is an integral part of everyday cooking, due to remarkable gain in vegetable oil consumption in India over the past few decades. Accomplishing edible oil requirement of the ever-growing population is a formidable task before the country. On the contrary, annual compound growth rate of major edible oilseeds in India is declining. This phenomenal disparity in demand and supply of vegetable oil in the country is tending to bother through profuse investment on overseas purchase. At this point of time, in order to meet on-growing demand of edible oil, rice bran oil can be the available option before the country. India being the major producer of rice, yields significant amount of bran which contain upto 24% edible grade superior quality vegetable oil. It essentially contains 48.48% oleic acid, 35.26% linoleic acid, 14.54% palmitic acid, 8.15% free fatty acid besides contain good number of antioxidants such as tocopherols, tocotrienols and oryzanol. Therefore, rice bran oil became the integral part of oil market in India and abroad. Inspite of its benefits, it has not been fully exploited. If its potentiality is harnessed completely, rice bran oil could emerge as silver lining of Indian edible oil economy.

Introduction: Nitrogen (N), an essential plant nutrient characterized by the lowest use efficiency and multiple loss pathways, challenges its management in rainfed castor. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted over three consecutive Kharif seasons (2022-2024) to develop an adoptable N management strategy for rainfed castor cultivation. Methodology: The study investigated the impact of eight N management modules viz. , Recommended rate of fertilizer (RRF) (40-40–25 kg N-P ₂ O ₅ -K ₂ O ha ^-1 ), 50% recommended rate of basal N (RRBN) +2 ml l ^-1 Nano Urea at 30 and 60 days after sowing (DAS), 50% RRBN + 2% Urea spray at 30 and 60 DAS, 75% RRBN + 2 ml l ^-1 Nano Urea at 30 and 60 DAS, 75% RRBN + 2% Urea spray at 30 and 60 DAS, 100% RRBN + 2 ml l ^-1 Nano Urea at 30 and 60 DAS, 100% RRBN + 2% Urea spray at 30 and 60 DAS, and recommended rate of phosphorous and potassium (RRPK) (00-40–25 kg N-P ₂ O ₅ -K ₂ O ha ^-1 ) and were arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications. Results and discussions: The study found that the combined soil and foliar application of N had a promising effect on crop productivity than soil-only N application. Aqueous solution of urea (2%) proved effective than Nano-Urea (2 ml L ^-1 ) for foliar fertilization of N. Specifically, application of 100% RRBN through soil (20 kg ha ^-1 ), followed by foliar sprays of 2% Urea at 30 and 60 DAS, improved growth and yield traits of castor. Consequently, it produced significantly higher seed yield (1546 kg ha ⁻¹ ), oil content (42.7%), and N uptake in castor (34.9 kg ha ⁻¹ ). Due to inverse relationship, N substituted via foliar fertilization enhanced the partial factor productivity (67.8–106 kg kg ^-1 ) compared to soil-only N application (32.5 kg kg ^-1 ). Foliar fertilization depletes the soil N pool as observed through +ve N balance index (10.7-12.1). Furthermore, 100% RRBN + foliar sprays of 2% Urea at 30 and 60 DAS found to be remunerative, besides enhancing energy (58,726 MJ ha ⁻¹ ), carbon (C) output (1,947 kg-CE ha ⁻¹ ), net energy and C-gain. These findings highlight that partial N substitution through foliar applications optimizes castor productivity, economics, energy, and environmental security in rainfed castor.