Diversified crop rotation (DCR) improves the efficiency of farming systems all over the world. It has the potentiality to improve soil condition and boost system productivity. Improved soil attributes such as increased soil water uptake and storage, and a greater number of beneficial soil organisms, may improve yield tolerance to drought and other hard growing conditions in a variety of crop rotations. Crop rotations with a variety of crops benefit the farmers,reduce production risk and uncertainty, and enhance soil and ecological sustainability. Farmers may be able to diversify their sources of income by adopting diversified crop rotations. Furthermore, because of the distinct structure, function, and relationship of plant community with soil in DCR, it contributes to the long-term development of soil health by decreasing insect, weed, and disease incidence and increasing the physical and chemical structure of the soil. DCR is becoming more popular approach for maintaining sustainable crop production. This review provides the evidence of the significance of DCR, challenges to adapt it, and possible way out to overcome the challenges.

Estimation of total biomass and carbon sequestration in any forest is crucial as it gives ecological and economic benefits through various environmental services. With an aim to quantify the carbon stock densities in the two different ecological regions–the Hills and the Terai, two Community Forests (CFs) having the dominance of Shorea robusta were selected from Gorkha (in the Hills) and Chitwan (in the Terai) districts for the purpose of the study. Systematic random sampling with 1% sampling intensity was used to collect necessary data. The total carbon stock in the CFs of the Hills and the Terai were found to be 234.54 t ha-1 and 479.29 t ha-1, respectively. The biomass carbon stock density in the CF of the Terai was found to be higher (384.20 t ha-1) than the one in the Hills (123.15 t ha-1). Carbon densities of different carbon pools such as tree; sapling; leaf litter, grass and herbs were significantly higher (P<0.05) in the Terai than in the Hill forest whereas dead wood and stumps and the soil organic carbon density were found to be not significantly different in these regions. Similarly, the highest amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) was found in the uppermost soil horizon in the forests of both the regions. These results revealed that the biomass carbon stock density was higher in the Terai S. robusta forest than in the Hill S. robusta forest. However, the SOC obtained was in inverse relation to that of the biomass carbon stock in both the ecological regions. It would not be biased if different ecological regions with similar forest types are intervened with different management strategies for having more carbon stocks and for the conservation of biodiversity in the days to come.Banko JanakariA Journal of Forestry Information for NepalVol. 26, No. 1, Page: 24-31, 2016

Postharvest loss is one of the major problems in tomato production. This study was conducted to assess the post-harvest practices and losses of tomato at the farmers’ fields in three districts namely Kathmandu (Kavresthali), Lalitpur (Lubhoo, and Lamatar), and Bhaktapur (Tathali and Kaushaltar). By using a simple random sampling method, the sample size of 60 respondents was chosen. A pre-tested questionnaire, group conversation, and key-informant survey were applied in this study. The results revealed that 10.3% of the respondents produced the tomato on a small scale whereas 58.8% of respondents produced on large scale. 10% of total losses were found from harvesting to marketing. In the field, during harvesting and packaging, there was a 2% loss. The tomato loss was negligible during grading and washing. 4% loss was found during the transportation of tomato and 2% of the loss during the storage of tomato. To the producer level, the insufficient knowledge about the storage, packaging, transportation, and random harvesting led to the maximum loss of tomato. In the study area, the producers played important role in reducing the postharvest loss of tomato, therefore, public awareness should be increased through mass media about the proper harvesting and storing of tomato.