Background: At the present situations, sole croppingand generalized fertilization recommendations could not produce advantageous results for neither profitable crop production nor for a sustainable environment. Therefore, the study focuses on evaluating the response of pearl millet to various cropping systems and different nutrient management techniques for enhancing crop productivity and sustaining soil fertility.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: The field trial took place at the instructional farm of Karunya Institute of Technology and Science in the Coimbatore district of western Tamil Nadu, India. The trial spanned over two growing seasons and followed a factorial randomized block design, with 2 factors: cropping systems and nutrient management, replicated three times. The design resulted in a total of 12 treatment combinations, comprising 3 levels of cropping system viz., sole cropping of pearl millet, pearl millet with black gram and cowpea intercropping systems; and 4 levels of nutrient management comprising different doses of fertilizer levels in combination with biofertilizers such as Azospirillum and PSB and foliar sprays of 2% urea and 3% Panchagavya.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The experimental findings indicated that intercropping treatment, Pearl millet + Black gram at a 1:1 ratio, exhibited superior results in enhancing plant growth, improving the crop nutrient uptakeand enriching soil fertility. In the case of nutrient management treatments, application of 75% of recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + Azospirillum and phosphate solubilizing bacteria + foliar application of 2% urea at 15 and 35 days after transplanting (DAT) resulted in producing higher plant height, enhanced dry matter production, efficient crop nutrient uptake, improved soil fertility status for sustainable agriculture.&nbsp;

Evaluation on the Influence of Cropping Systems and Nutrient Management Practices in Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Growth, Crop Nutrient Uptake and Soil Fertility Status

Background: Constant use of chemical fertilizer in agriculture field, degrade overall soil quality and increases the environmental pollution. Integrated nutrient management is an eco-friendly and cost-effective method that involves the combined application of organic amendment and inorganic fertilizer resulting in upgrading soil health, crop productivity, carbon sequestration and mitigating climate change. The current study aimed to examine the combined effects of organic amendment and inorganic fertilizer on soil quality and crop productivity in maize-wheat cropping systems. 
&nbsp; 
Methods: A two-year field experiment was conducted in the month of June-October (2021-2022) for maize and Nov-April (2021- 2022 and 2022-2023) for wheat crop. Fertilizer treatments, viz., control (zero fertilizer), NPK (recommended fertilizer), 50% NPK + A. chroococum, 50% NPK + green manure, 50% NPK + karanja cake, 50% NPK + poultry waste, 50% NPK + wheat residue, 50% NPK + maize residue were applied in a randomized block design with four replications. 
&nbsp; 
Result: Application of 50% NPK+ poultry waste showed higher soil organic carbon (0.91% and 0.92%) and microbial biomass carbon (353.42 mg kg-1 and 394.35 mg kg-1) followed by 50% NPK+ karanja cake. Application of 50% NPK + poultry waste increased grain yield by 48.5% and 23.25% in maize and wheat respectively over control. Poultry waste, as a replacement for sole NPK, could be a promising strategy for the management of soil health as well as crop productivity. 
&nbsp;

Integrated Nutrient Management: Effect on Soil Properties and Crop Yields on Sandy Clay Loam Soil under Maize-wheat Cropping System

Background: Crop establishment methods and nutrient management practices treatments were continuously practiced in the same plots since 2011-12 as a part of long-term experiment. A field study was conducted during 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 i.e. during 9th and 10th year of study to investigate the effects of CE methods and nutrient management on growth, physiological, biochemical, yield attributes and yield of rice crop. 
 
Methods: Field experiments were carried out at the Agricultural Research Farm, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, laid out in split plot design replicated thrice with four crop establishment (CE) methods viz., CT (puddled transplanted) rice-CT wheat (CE1),CTDSR rice-CT wheat (CE2), CTDSR- ZT wheat (rice residue retention) (CE3), ZT rice-ZT wheat (residue retention in rice and wheat) (CE4) in main plots and three nutrient management (NM) practices viz., FP (164 kg N, 50 kg P2O5, 32 kg K2O and 4 kg Zn ha-1) (N1), RFD (150 kg N, 60 kg P2O5, 60 kg K2O and 5 kg Zn ha-1) (N2) and SSNM- RWCM recommendation (N3). The rice variety used was &lsquo;Sarju-52&rsquo; in the present study. 
 
Result: The recorded data revealed that ZT rice&ndash;ZT wheat (CE4) recorded significantly higher plant height, tillers hill-1, leaf area, RWC, total chlorophyll content and protein content as compared to other CE methods. Among NM practices, SSNM-RWCM (N3) recorded significantly higher plant height, tillers hill-1, leaf area and protein content, whereas, RWC and total chlorophyll content did not differ significantly over farmer&rsquo;s practice and recommended fertilizer dose. Improved growth and physio-chemical attributes in ZT rice-ZT wheat (CE4) and SSNM-RWCM (N3) resulted in significantly higher panicles hill-1, fertility percentage and number of filled grains panicle-1 over other CE methods and NM practices. Panicle length, spikelets panicle-1 and test weight showed non-significant differences. Grain yield, straw yield and biological yield were significantly higher in ZT rice-ZT wheat (CE4) among CE methods and SSNM-RWCM (N3) among NM practices. The harvest index showed non-significant differences for CE methods and NM practices both.

Physiological and Biochemical Basis of Variation in Yield of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) under CA-based Crop Establishment Methods and Nutrient Management in R-W Cropping System

<div>Background: Freshwater in sufficient quantity and adequate quality is a prerequisite for human societies and natural ecosystems. To adequately feed 9.3 billion people in 2050, consumptive water use (i.e. transpired water) by all food and fodder crops needs to increase from its present estimated level of 7000 km3/year to 12,586 km3/year. However, fresh water resources are increasingly getting scarce because of increased competition among a multitude of users. Getting agriculture to perform with progressively smaller allocation of renewable water resources will remain a challenge on global scale. To meet the challenge there is an urgent need to improve the crop water productivity to ensure the sustainability of agriculture. 
 
Methods: An experiment was carried out at village Menawali, Hanumangarh, Rajasthan during both kharif and rabi seasons to assess productivity, economics, N-uptake and water use of different crops. An area of 187 ha comprising 25 farmers irrigated by common irrigation channels were selected to collect the information. The information required i.e. soil, crop management, growth, phonological, yields, water balance, N-uptake and water use efficiency of each crops were collected from 15 farmers. Bt-cotton and clusterbean of kharif and wheat and Indian mustard in rabi were prominent crops, cotton-wheat, cotton-mustard, clusterbean-wheat and clusterbean-mustard were major cropping sequences of the study region. 
 
Result: In kharif season, Bt-cotton gave higher economic yields than clusterbean and amongst rabi season crops, economic yields of wheat and mustard were 4255, 1778 kg/ha, respectively. The economic yield of cropping sequences varied from 3741-6514 kg/ha and were higher for cotton-wheat (6218 kg/ha), intermediate for clusterbean-wheat (5785 kg/ha) and lower for cotton-mustard (3741 kg/ha) and clusterbean-mustard (3308 kg/ha). The cotton-wheat (₹1181.2 mm) sequence had highest water use. Clusterbean-wheat cropping system recorded highest water productivity (16.5 kg/ha mm) followed by clusterbean-mustard (14.9 kg/ha mm). The clusterbean-mustard (₹456/ha mm) cropping sequence was most profitable and fetched highest net return followed by clusterbean-wheat (₹383/ha mm).</div>

Assessing Crop and Water Productivity Performance of Different Crops and Cropping Systems

Background: Even though rice farming is crucial to farmer&rsquo;s livelihoods, using technology can be challenging, particularly in places with various traditional knowledge. This study investigated how introducing an integrated crop management system tailored to local knowledge could raise farmers&rsquo; incomes. 
 
Methods: Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed on the data. The integrated crop management system and community knowledge in paddy rice farming were revealed qualitatively using a phenomenological approach. R-C ratio, farmers&rsquo; income difference test and quantitatively computed income. 
 
Result: The result demonstrated that, compared to the non-integrated system, which generates IDR 26,636,128/ha, the integrated crop management system with local knowledge can use resources more efficiently and provide a higher income of IDR 36,459,191/ha. The R/C ratio of 5.7, which is higher than 3.8 for the non-integrated system, shows the superiority of the integrated system. This result shows that the costs incurred for the integrated system yielded more significant revenues, indicating its economic viability. 
&nbsp;

Increasing the Income of&nbsp; Rice Paddy Farmers with an Integrated Crop Management System and Local Wisdom

<div style="text-align:justify">Cropping system involves proper management of inputs in a synergistic manner. Latest advancements in cropping system has resulted in including new rewarding crops in an appropriate manner with higher efficiency in utilization of resources. This ultimately effects the farmers with higher gross returns. Considering this fact, proper cohesion of nutrients/resources is essential to maintain an optimum fertility in the soil. This involves precise integration of synthetic chemicals, organics and biofertilizers; so that these practices may not incur a deterioration in soil health. Thus, this review projects the techniques of efficient pre-requisites in a cropping system for achieving higher productivity in a eco-friendly manner.</div>

Prospects of Cropping System and Nutrient Management Towards Sustainability in Agriculture: A Review

Background: Rice and rice based cropping systems are of prime importance in global food production but continuous rice mono cropping and excessive dependence on chemical fertilisers degrade the soil quality, which can be partly solved by changing into rice-legume system. 
 
Methods: The field experiment was conducted during kharif and rabi of 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar to evaluate direct and residual effect of nutrient management and rice establishment methods on productivity, profitability, nutrient uptake and resource use efficiency in rice-groundnut system. 
&nbsp; 
Result: Transplanted rice increased the yield attributes of rice in both the years resulting in 6.0-8.1% higher grain yield than direct seeding. Integrated nutrient management (INM) significantly improved the growth and yield of rice as compared to sole organic and inorganic. Carryover effect of direct seeding increased growth and yield of succeeding groundnut. Residual effect of organic in preceding rice increased pod yield of groundnut. INM to groundnut increased yield parameters of the crop resulting in 19.7-20.2 and 38.9-40.0% higher pod yields than 100% and 75% soil test based fertiliser, respectively in both the years. Direct seeding of rice with INM practice in both the crops performed superior in rice-groundnut cropping system.

Direct and Residual Effect of Nutrient Management and Rice Establishment Methods on Productivity, Profitability, Nutrient Uptake and Resource Use Efficiency in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)-Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Cropping System

Background: The most common goal of intercropping is to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land by making use of resources that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop. The continuous application of inorganic fertilizers even in balanced form may not sustain soil fertility and productivity. However judicious use of chemical fertilizers in combination with organic manure is required to improve the soil health as well as to achieve sustainable crop production. Thus balanced fertilization and cropping system offers a great scope for increasing the productivity.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: A field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2019 and 2020 in the experimental farm, Department of Agronomy, Nagaland University, SAS, Medziphema campus to study the effect of cropping system and nutrient management practices on production potential of rice-based cropping system. The experiment was conducted in randomized block design with factorial concept with 3 replications. The treatment consisted of five cropping systems and three nutrient management practices.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The result revealed that among intercropping system, rice + soybean (3:1) cropping system recorded highest plant height (cm), number of leaves plant-1, number of panicles m-2, grain yield, straw yield and rice equivalent yield. Among different nutrient management practices, application of 75% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha-1 + biofertilizer consortium @ 20 g kg-1 seed recorded significantly higher plant height (cm), number of leaves plant-1, number of panicles m-2, panicle length, grain yield and straw yield.

Production Potential of Rice-based Cropping System under Different Nutrient Management Practices

<div style="text-align:justify">Background: The measure of energy flow in crop production system provides a good indicator of the production of technological aspects of crop production systems in agriculture. Sustainable agricultural management technologies should be studied in terms of increased productivity, profitability, energy saving and efficiency of agricultural inputs usage by using efficiency indices and sustainable indicators.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: A field experiment was conducted at Agriculture Research Station, Janawada, Bidar during kharif and rabi seasons for two consecutive years (2014-15 and 2015-16) to know the energy use for achieving target yield. The experiement was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The treatments viz., The two genotypes of soybean (JS335 and DSB 21) and chickpea (JG 11 and GBM 2) were tested for target yield of 2.0 t ha-1, 2.5 t ha-1, 3.0 t ha-1, 3.5 t ha-1, farmers practice and RDF were tested in medium black soils in randomized block design with three replications. The soil testing was carried out to determine the quantity of major nutrient for different target yields.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The experimental results revealed that the significantly higher energy efficiency (5.28 MJ ha-1), net energy (1,71,039.00 MJ ha-1), energy productivity (0.40 kg MJ-1), energy intensity (1,71,039.00 MJ ha-1) in physical terms (13.29 MJ kg-1) and economic terms (3.68 MJ Rs.-1), crop profitability (723.53 Rs.ha-1 day-1), system profitability (417.05 Rs.ha-1day-1) and relative economic efficiency (2.75) and soybean equivalent yield (5683 kg ha-1) were noticed in JS 335/JG 11 + target yield 3.0 t ha-1 compared to rest of the treatments. Thus, it could be concluded that various efficiency indices also used as alternative indices for achieving target yield in cropping system.</div>

<div style="text-align:justify">Energy use and Economic Analysis for Achieving Target Yield through Site Specific Nutrient Management in Soybean (Glycine max L.)- Chickpea Cropping System (Cicer arietinum L.)&nbsp;</div>

<div style="text-align:justify">Background: Pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp] is the sixth most important food legume of the world and grown on about 5 million hectares globally in about 50 countries. India has the largest area (4 million ha.) under pigeon pea and accounts for about 80 per cent of area of the world. 
&nbsp; 
Methods: A field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2015-16 at Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot, Satna (M.P.) to find out the suitable pigeon pea based inter cropping system and their nutrient management. The 16 treatments were tested in split plot design in which 6 cropping system were kept in main plot and 2 fertility levels in sub plots. 
 
Result: Result showed that sole pigeon pea, sole black gram, sole green gram and sole sesame produced significantly higher seed and stover yield over intercropped mean. Under cropping system, yield attributes wear at par but the maximum grain yield of (744 kg ha-1) was recorded under pigeon pea + black gram (1:1) alternate rows but stover yield (3910 kg ha-1) in pigeon pea + sesame (1:1) alternate rows. As regards, the fertility levels, the yield contributing characters and yields were higher in 125% Recommended dose of Fertilizers (RDF). Intercropped black gram and intercropped green gram formed almost similar yield attributes and yields under both cropping system (1:1 and 2:2). The application of 125% RDF produced better yields attributes and yields of black gram and green gram. Intercropped and sole sesame produced and statistically equal yield contributes but seed and stover yields of sesame sole was significantly higher them intercropped sesame. Application of 125% RDF had superior yield attributes and yields of sesame. Pigeon pea + green gram (1:1 row ratio) with 125% RDF maximised the pigeon pea grain equivalent yield of 1505 kg ha-1, land equivalent ratio (1.65), net profit of ₹ 84826 per ha and benefit : cost ratio (4.68) followed by pigeon pea + green gram (2:2 row ratio) with 125% RDF.</div>