A research trial was conducted at Agronomy Farm (SKUAST-K, Wadura, Jammu & Kashmir), during kharif 2017 and 2018 to evaluate nutrient removal in rice under various rice establishment methods and weed control measures. The study comprised of two factors: rice establishment techniques {Transplanting (TPR); Direct seeding (DSR) and System of rice intensification (SRI)} as main plot treatments and weed control measures {Butachlor @ 1500 g a.i ha⁻¹ (B); Penoxsulam @ 22.5 g a.i ha⁻¹ (P); Pyrazosulfuron ethyl + Pretilachlor @ 15 and 600 g a.i ha⁻¹ (PP); Bensulfuron methyl + Pretilachlor @ 60 and 600 g a.i ha⁻¹ (BP); 2 Conoweeding/Hand Weeding (CW/HW); Weed free (WF) and weedy check (WC)} as sub-plot treatments meant to evaluate the best establishment method and weed management practice for rice. Over DSR and transplanted rice, the SRI technique yielded a significant increase in dry biomass accumulation (17.04 and 17.20 t ha⁻¹) and grain (7.92 and 8.17 t ha⁻¹) and straw (9.60 and 10.17 t ha⁻¹) yields. Penoxsulam herbicide significantly showed higher grain and straw yield of 8.19 and 8.28 t ha⁻¹ and 10.13 and 10.44 t ha⁻¹, respectively, than other weed management measures by comparing the means using critical difference. TPR excelled in reducing dry weed biomass more than other established methods. All herbicides considerably reduced dry weed biomass, but Penoxsulam herbicide showed the greatest reduction in dry weed biomass and proved superior against complex weed flora. Weeds showed maximum contribution towards total Biomass under DSR, among rice establishment techniques. In contrast, among different weed control measures, it was maximum in weedy check treatment (Untreated Control) and minimum in penoxsulam treatment. SRI significantly excelled in crop (grain and straw) nutrient uptake compared to the DSR and TPR method, although different crop establishment techniques non-significantly influenced nutrient concentrations. Furthermore, penoxsulam treatment demonstrated higher crop (grain and straw) nutrient uptake among the various weed management measures. However, available soil nutrients were observed among establishment techniques, highest in DSR and lowest in SRI. Moreover, direct-seeded rice excelled SRI and transplanted rice in weed nutrient uptake, and among the different herbicidal treatments, penoxsulam recorded the lowest uptake in weeds. Nutrient budgeting demonstrated that DSR showed the maximum percentage of nutrient removal by weeds, and the minimum ratio was in TPR. In contrast, the lowest rate of nutrients removed via weeds were seen in penoxsulam application under various weed management measures.

The western Himalayan region is susceptible to minor climate changes because of its fragile ecology, which might threaten the valley’s prestigious ecosystems and socio-economic components. The Himalayas’s local climate and weather are vulnerable to and interlinked with world-scale climatic changes since the region’s hydrology is predominantly dominated by snow and glaciers. The Himalayas, notably the Jammu and Kashmir region in the western Himalayas, has clearly shown distinct and robust evidence of climate change. This study used observed data to examine the climatic variability and trends of change in precipitation and temperature for the Kashmir valley between 1980 and 2020. Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Kokernag, Qazigund, Kupwara, and Srinagar (Shalimar) meteorological stations in the Kashmir valley were studied in detail for long- and short-term as well as localized fluctuations in temperature and precipitation. The annual temperature and precipitation fluctuations were calculated using Sen’s slope approach, and the sloping trend was determined using linear regression. The research showed statistically insignificant growing trends in maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the Kashmir valley. The average annual temperature in the Kashmir valley increased by 1.55 °C during the last 41 years (from 1980 to 2020), with a higher rise in maximum and minimum temperature by 2.00 and 1.10 °C, respectively. However, precipitation showed a non-significant decreasing trend concerning time series analysis over 1980 to 2020 in Kashmir valley. Results of annual average maximum temperature at all the stations revealed that Pahalgam (2.2 °C), Kokernag (1.8 °C), and Kupwara (1.8 °C) displayed a steep upsurge and statistically significant trends; however, annual average minimum temperature followed an increasing trend from 1980 to 2020 at all the stations except Shalimar. However, non-significant declining trends in precipitation were recorded at all the locations in Kashmir valley. This changing pattern of temperature and precipitation could have significant environmental consequences, affecting the western Himalayan region’s food security and ecological sustainability.

Screening for drought tolerance requires precise techniques like phonemics, which is an emerging science aimed at non-destructive methods allowing large-scale screening of genotypes. Large-scale screening complements genomic efforts to identify genes relevant for crop improvement. Thirty maize inbred lines from various sources (exotic and indigenous) maintained at Dryland Agriculture Research Station were used in the current study. In the automated plant transport and imaging systems (LemnaTec Scanalyzer system for large plants), top and side view images were taken of the VIS (visible) and NIR (near infrared) range of the light spectrum to capture phenes. All images were obtained with a thermal imager. All sensors were used to collect images one day after shifting the pots from the greenhouse for 11 days. Image processing was done using pre-processing, segmentation and flowered by features’ extraction. Different surrogate traits such as pixel area, plant aspect ratio, convex hull ratio and calliper length were estimated. A strong association was found between canopy temperature and above ground biomass under stress conditions. Promising lines in different surrogates will be utilized in breeding programmes to develop mapping populations for traits of interest related to drought resilience, in terms of improved tissue water status and mapping of genes/QTLs for drought traits.

The changing patterns in day to day weather situations, rising CO₂ concentrations, rising sea level, increasing temperature is an indicative of the fact that climate change being encountered by the life of earth at present. Climate change is caused by natural and anthropogenic factors-the natural being due to the periodic tidal pulls exerted by the astronomical bodies on earth’s atmosphere and the enhanced one’s are due to Changes in the climate through past and present are being evidenced through tephrochronological, dendrochronological, paleonological and archaeological measurements.Climate change has an impact on entire ecosystem, the greatest being on agriculture. Increasing CO₂ concentration increases photosynthetic rates in C3 plants, and reduces transpiration due to decreased stomatal aperture, thus increasing water use efficiency Elevated CO₂ at 330 ppm raised rice yields by 20% and further increase to 700 ppm increased yield by 26.4%. Increased yield is counteracted by a higher temperature that causes moisture stress, delays the maturity of crops due to increased senescence and reduction in grain filling period. Under warm temperature, 2°C above normal, decline in grain yield was to the tune of 8.4% in rice and 12.2% in wheat. A decline in yield to the tune 12.1% and 8.9% in rice and maize has been reported with the decline in solar radiation by 10% from normal. A yield decline of about 13% has been reported with an increased exposure to UV radiations at 320 nm caused due to ozone depletion. On an average the crop climate models suggest a decline in productivity by 3-17°C with 2°C rise in temperature, suggesting future research to recognize the potential interactions of climatic variables to ameliorate the adverse influence of changing climate on agro ecosystems. Climate change is expected to adversely affect the sustainable development capabilities of most Asian developing countries by aggravating pressures on natural resources and the environment. Development of sustainable cities in Asia with fewer fossil fuel-driven vehicles and with more trees and greenery would have a number of co-benefits, including improved public health. (IPCC 2014). To overcome this we have to Increase crop diversity by inter-cropping and appropriate cropping systems/rotations/land use; Adopt land/water conservation agriculture methods suited to varied agro-climates, balanced use of biocides/chemicals; Increase carbon fixation in the soil by growing deep-rooted crops so as to decrease carbon foot - print; Use water judiciously: more crop/unit of water; Use less fossil fuels; Use more solar/wind sources of energy; Climate smart agriculture needs to be adopted for better tomorrow.

Legumes are well recognized for their nutritional and health benefits as well as for their impact in the sustainability of agricultural systems. The threatening scenario imposed by climate change highlights the need for concerted research approaches in order to develop crops that are able to cope with environmental stresses, while increasing yield and quality. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plays a significant role in human diets around the world, especially in developing countries and particularly in Asian Sub continent. It is very rich in protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Common beans face major production challenge in the form of various abiotic stresses like drought, cold temperature and salinity. Abiotic stresses play a major role in determining overall returns and also affects the differential distribution of the plant species across different types of environments. These stresses hamper production potential of beans and result in declining of final harvests. These traits are very complex in their expression behavior and their per se inheritance from one generation to next one. Abiotic stress resilience is most of the times governed by polygenic nature of inheritance and often conditioned by multiple factor interacting mechanisms right from physiological, biochemical and genetical processes. Enough has to be explored regarding effect severity and crop stage susceptibility against drought or moisture stress and to optimize the severity of stress to be put on in the field. This review draft will consider different aspects of common bean with respect to different prevailing abiotic stresses, and will suggest an better plant ideotype with a summation of most desirable traits to handle effectively with the unpredictability of abiotic stress, and their heavy impact.

A crop simulation model is a computerized program which is used to describe the process of growth and developmental stages of crop in relation to weather data, crop conditions and soil conditions to solve the real-world problems. Crop simulation models plays an important role in decision making process as these models can save time and resources. The prediction accuracy of simulation models is one of the most vital components in decision making process. Our review shows the prediction accuracy and efficiency of the simulation models like DSSAT and APSIM. We have compared the prediction accuracy of these models on various growth and development stages of crops along with yield prediction. Both the models have performed well while predicting various growth and developmental stages of crops. The present scenario of traditional research is site-specific, Resource consuming and time consuming. Hence the information obtained through traditional research by qualitative analysis has many limitations, Because of changing climate and weather parameters there is a need for computerized based statistical tool which can provide decision support system for more than 10-15 years. By this we strongly believe that Crop simulation models can be a vital tool in future agricultural research and climate change mitigation strategies.