Root system architecture plays a vital role in plant growth, development, and adaptation by absorbing water and nutrients and providing mechanical support for growing plants. Unfortunately, little information is available in the literature on the root dynamics of summer mung bean under conservation agriculture conditions. In this study, field experiments were conducted during the summer seasons of two consecutive years (2020 and 2021) to investigate the root system dynamics of summer mung bean under different conservation agriculture practices. The highest stem and system width, depth to width length, number of nodal roots, taproot diameter, secondary root length (both right and left) of summer mung bean were recorded in the Soybean (permanent bed; PB)-Wheat(PB)-Summer mung (PB)(+Residual; +R) based cropping systems, followed by Maize(PB)-Wheat(PB)-Summer mung (PB)(+R), while, the lowest values of above parameters were recorded in the Puddled Transplanted Rice–Conventional till (PTR-CT)Wheat-Summer mung (-R). Further, the pod length, number of seeds per pod, number of pods per plant, seed yield and symbiotic parameters (including number of nodules per plant, leghaemoglobin content) and root dry weight were recorded highest in Soybean (PB)-Wheat (PB)-Summer mung (PB)(+R). Interestingly, the yield of summer mung bean increased around 13.4–29.5% when residues were retained on the soil surface with treatments involving residual removal. The soil dehydrogenase enzyme activity increased significantly under Soybean (PB)-Wheat (PB)-Summer mung (PB)(+R) based cropping system as compared to PTR-CT Wheat-Summer mung (-R). In addition, the number of pods per plant exhibited a significantly positive correlation with yield during both crop seasons. Overall, this study suggests that the inclusion of summer mung in soybean-based cropping systems may substantially improve the root architecture and soil quality and increase crop yield under conservation agriculture.

A field experiment was carried out during rabi season of 2020-21 in Pearl millet – Chickpea, Clusterbean + Sesamum (6:2) - Chickpea system to study the effect of nutrient management practices ((1.) Recommended fertilizers (100% RDF) (2.) 75% RDF + 5 t FYM (3.) 75% RDF + 5 t FYM + Biofertilizers (4.) 50% RDF + 5 t FYM + Biofertilizers + Crop residue) on crop growth, yield attributes and yield of chickpea. The results of the study revealed that the integration of 75% of the Recommended Dose of Fertilizers (RDF) with farmyard manure (FYM) and biofertilizers (BF) significantly enhanced chickpea growth and yield. This improved plant height, dry matter accumulation, branch number, and pod count, reflecting the synergistic effect of combining organic and inorganic inputs. This approach not only boosted the seed yield by 22.11% compared to the 75% RDF + 5t FYM but also matched the performance of the 100% RDF, offering a more sustainable cultivation strategy. These findings underscore the importance of adopting integrated nutrient management practices in chickpea cultivation, particularly in the arid region of western Rajasthan. Such practices have the potential to improve crop performance, increase yields, and promote sustainable agriculture in the area.

Efficient utilization of water and fertilizers is important for maximizing yield for moth bean production through improvement the nutrient use efficiency under arid ecosystem. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of irrigation and nitrogen fertilizers on growth, yield and nutrient content of moth bean in the western zone of Rajasthan during 2020 & 2021. Treatments included three levels of nitrogen (N₁:15 kg N as basal + foliar spray of urea (2%) at flowering stage, N₂: 15 kg N + foliar spray of urea (2%) at pod development stage and N₃: 15 kg N + foliar spray of urea (2%) at flowering and pod development stages) and levels three levels of irrigation (I₁: single irrigation at branching stage, I₂: two irrigation at branching + pod development stages and I₃: two irrigation at flowering + pod development stages) were laid down in factorial combinations of randomized block design with three replications. The results revealed that 15 kg N + foliar spray of urea (2%) at flowering and pod development stage recorded significantly higher nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content in seed and haulm over 15 kg N + foliar spray of urea (2%) at flowering stage and 15 kg N + foliar spray of urea (2%) at pod development stage. However, the phosphorus content in seed and haulm was not significantly influenced by N₃ and statistically equivalent with N₂ and N₁ during 2020 and 2021. Potassium content in seed showed significant enhancement under N₃, while K content in haulm was not affected significantly during 2020 and pooled basis. Further, irrigation management practices did not show any significant improvement on N, P, K content in seed and haulm during years of 2020 and 2021. While, N content in seed and haulm was significantly improved under I₂ over I₃ and I₁ on pooled basis. Thus, 15 kg N as basal application + foliar spray of urea (2%) at flowering and pod development stages with two irrigations at branching + pod development stages improved the nutrient content in moth bean in arid condition.

A field experiment was conducted at ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Regional Station, Bhopal to evaluate the residual effect of the fertilizer with organic manure on the growth indices of chickpea in soybean-chickpea system in Vertisol of central India. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design comprising two levels of farm yard manure (5 t FYM ha^-1 or No FYM) in the main plots and six micronutrient management levels (control, 25 kg ZnSO₄ ha^-1, 12.5 kg ZnSO₄ ha^-1 + zinc solubilizer, ammonium molybdate (AM) 1 g kg^-1 seed treatment + 25 kg ZnSO₄ ha^-1, ammonium molybdate (AM) 1 kg ha^-1 soil application + 25 kg ZnSO₄ ha^-1, and ammonium molybdate (AM) 1 g kg^-1 seed treatment + 0.5% foliar spray of ZnSO₄ at 30 and 60 days after sowing) in sub-plots with three replications. The results revealed that the application of 5 t FYM ha^-1 resulted in significantly higher values of plant height, dry matter accumulation, branches plant^-1, leaf area index, leaf area duration, absolute growth rate, crop growth rate, and relative growth rate than no application of FYM. Furthermore, ammonium molybdate (AM) at 1 kg ha^-1 as a basal application with 25 kg ha^-1 ZnSO4 significantly improved all the growth parameters, viz. plant height, dry matter accumulation (DMA), branches plant^-1, leaf area index, leaf area duration, absolute growth rate, crop growth rate, and relative growth rate over the control, 25 kg ZnSO4 ha^-1 and 12.5 kg ZnSO4 ha^-1 + zinc solubilizer. However, it was statistically on par with the AM 1 g kg^-1 seed treatment + 25 kg ZnSO4 ha^-1 + 25 kg ZnSO4 ha^-1 and AM 1 g kg^-1 seed treatment + 0.5% foliar spray of ZnSO4 with respect to all growth parameters. Thus, the application of farmyard manure 5 t ha^-1 with AM at 1 kg ha^-1 as a basal application with 25 kg ha^-1 ZnSO4 could be used to sustain chickpea production and maintain soil fertility. The results highlight the importance of using plant nutrients from various sources and methods of application for realizing high chickpea productivity.