Staygreen is one such trait in which genotypes possessing this trait maintain more photo synthetically active leaves (& less senescent) than genotypes not possessing this trait. Delay of leaf senescence also known as stay-green character, has been identified as an important component in the genetic improvement of several crops to promote stress tolerance and yield gain. Although the stay-green phenotype is superficially similar in all species and genotypes, the genetic and physiological routes the traits are diverse. Photosynthetically active leaves for longer period depends on the concentration of chlorophyll pigment absorbing sunlight for photosynthesis. An multi dimensional approach for studying the senescence pathway rather than studying only the physiological role made a significant role in improvement. Hence new approaches like genomics, proteomics and metabolomics studies are necessary to understand the various transcription factors involved in regulating the leaf senescence process. Therefore, this review has aimed to bring light to major aspects of the stay-green character, showing its potential use in plant breeding.

Brassinsteroids (BRs) are a class of novel plant hormones gaining importance as potential allies of agricultural development worldwide. Research findings on influences of exogenous BRs application on various aspects of growth and development like vegetative growth, flowering, fruit set, fruit growth, ripening, storage, and tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses in fruit plants’ have been reviewed and discussed. The molecular or biochemical aspects of BRs responses to modulate growth and productivity by activating or withholding enzymatic reaction of different biochemical pathways of fruit plants have been elaborated. BRs are involved in ripening and fruit quality development of climacteric and non-climacteric fruits; as per reports of many researchers, they improve fruit color, phenolics, anti-oxidant activities and post-harvest life of many fruits. Fruit cracking in litchi has been found to be significantly reduced due to BRs application. This group of plant hormones possess the capacity to negate genetoxicity and pesticidal residues in many horticultural crops; it reflects the extension of their uses in producing consumer-friendly fruits through BRs application. One of the biggest advantages of BRs application is controlling favorable plant responses under abiotic and biotic stresses; plants have been reported to manage these stresses through modifications in various gene expressions and physiological processes under the influence of the BRs. The need for in-depth studies has been speculated for optimizing the concentration of BRs application together with the standardization of critical stages for harnessing the benefit of quality orchard productivity under varied growing conditions.

The investigation on the impact of coriander CO (CR) 4 intercropping with the clipping type of amaranthus (CO3) for managing the defoliator, Spoladea recurvalis Fabricius was conducted in two different locations. To assess the influence of coriander and its repellency effects in varied planting ratio of amaranthus and coriander viz., 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, and 5:1 were evaluated along with amaranthus sole crop. The results obtained on the aspects of amaranthus plant height, number of branches per plant, number of larvae per plant, percent foliage infestation, and total green yield clearly indicated that there is no more negative impact on the plant height aspect was registered due to intercropping with coriander crop. Among the different ratios evaluated, the highest plant height was observed and registered in the 5:1 ratio of planting, which is significantly higher than amaranthus sole crop. In the aspect of the number of branches per plant, the 1:1 and 2:1 ratio recorded the highest number of branches compared with the 4:1 and 5:1 ratio. It was considering the number of larvae per plant and percent foliage infestation 2:1 and 3:1 ratio of planting registered the lowest larval population (1.22 – 1.45/plant) and foliage infestation with the higher average yield of 31.79 and 30.02 tonnes/hectare (sum of 10 clippings) when compared with amaranthus sole crop cultivation. Among the varied ratio evaluated, the 2:1 and 3:1 ratio of amaranthus : coriander planting was found to be better in registering the lowest percent foliage infestation (10.52 -11.25%) with a higher yield (30.02 – 31.79 tonnes/ha.).

Tripura is a land of high hills, hillocks, interspersed with rivers and valleys having moderately warm and humid climate, well distributed annual rainfall of 2500 mm. The terrain soil and climate of Tripura are ideally suited for rain-fed Horticulture. Tripura, being endowed with fertile soils, abundant moisture and sub-tropical climate offer immense scope for production of a wide variety of tropical and sub-tropical fruits. The climatic conditions of the state suitable for production of a large variety of horticultural crops chief among which include ‘Queen’ and ‘Kew’; varieties of Pineapple. Pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) is a monoecious, monocotyledonous, monocarpic and xerophytic herbaceous perennial plant and its perennial in nature is propitiated through suckers. ‘Queen’ and ‘Kew’ (‘Smooth Cayenne’) are the main cultivars grown in different parts of Tripura. Among the states of north east India Assam is leading in terms of area and production and Tripura is just behind the Assam both in terms of area and production. Tripura produces 178.45 thousand MT from 12.57 thousand ha area (Anonymous, 2017), which is India’s fifth leading state of in pineapple production and Tripura is also share 9.30 per cent of India’s total pineapple production. The variety ‘Queen’ being the most popular for fresh consumption and occupying the largest area. These varieties are well known in the rest of the country. These Fruit products are free of any chemical residue thus making the fruits of Tripura products of organic farming. Pineapple production for export market is a realistic for organic cultivation for small scale organic farmers. The positive effects of organic pineapple production by default in Tripura competing on the global export market for pineapple.

The physical properties of seeds are very important to optimize the design parameters of various agricultural equipment used in their production, handling, and storage processes. Determination and use of these properties are also essential for the development of optimum seed metering mechanism and also in the design of a hopper for a planter for precise sowing of seeds. Physical properties such as length, surface area, breadth, roundness, equivalent diameter, sphericity, angle of repose, and coefficient of friction were determined for the development of the seed metering unit. The physical properties of seeds were calculated initially. Three varieties of maize seed Rasi-3033, NMH-589, and KMH-2589. The mean values of seed length, width, thickness, sphericity, geometric mean diameter, surface area, bulk density, coefficient of static friction, angle of repose, and thousand kernel weight were 11.00 mm, 7.75 mm, 4.58 mm, 0.65, 7.09 mm, 158.14 mm2, 746.4 kg m-3, 0.60, 28.17o and 0.23 kg, respectively. These properties were used in the development of efficient planter components to work effectively.

A field experiment entitled “Weed Dynamics of Hybrid Rice under the Influence of fertilizer Levels and Weed Management Practices” was conducted during the Kharif season of 2017 at the Research Farm, TCA, Dholi, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur (BIHAR). The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with twelve treatments. Among different levels of fertilizer, application of 100 % RDF recorded a minimum number of weeds/m2 (58.36/m2), weed dry weight production (73.12 g/m2), and weed growth rate (0.024 g/m2/day). In the case of weed management practices, Hand weeding (twice) was found to be the most efficient weed control (71.32%), a minimum number of weeds/m2 (25.11/m2), weed dry weight production (21.12 g/m2) and weed growth rate (0.011 g/m2/day) but the minimum weed index (45.87%) was observed in weedy check.

Growth and productivity of pearl millet are majorly governed by climate and adopted field management practices viz. nutrient, water, weed, etc. Weeds are undesirable plants both spatially and temporally which grow in close association with the crop competing for light, moisture, spaces, and nutrients. Studies indicated that the losses due to weeds were higher compared to other crop pests, thus posing a serious threat to national food security. In this context, adopting the right and efficient method of weed control is essential to achieve the yield potential of the crop. The manual hand weeding method of weed management, although efficient, is extremely strenuous and time-consuming. Moreover, the unavailability of labor is another serious drawback of this method. Besides, cultural, mechanical, and biological methods to do not ensure complete weed removal at critical stages of the crop-weed competition, especially during bad weather conditions. Hence, chemical control is the only efficient alternative left. However, selection of crop dosage, crop stage, and variety through proper understanding of mode and mechanism of action of herbicide determine its efficiency. This review mainly focuses in providing a clear understanding of the right dose and crop stage for scheduling different herbicides solely or integrated with other methods targeting efficient weed management in pearl millet.

In order to investigate the effect of zinc nutrition on growth, yield, and quality parameters of sweetcorn, a field experiment comprising of nine treatments with three replications was carried out in Randomised Block Design during Kharif, season 2020 on sandy clay soils of Agricultural College Farm, Bapatla. The analysis of variance showed a significant effect of zinc application on growth and yield parameters. The detailed results of the study showed that among the various zinc fortification treatments, RDF + Zn EDTA @ 10 kg ha-1 (Soil) + Nano ZnO @ 250 ppm at 20 & 40 DAS (Foliar spray) registered superior plant growth characters like plant height at harvest (214.4 cm) leaf area index at harvest (2.94) and dry matter accumulation at harvest (9903 kg ha-1). The yield parameters like no. of seed rows per cob (16.84), no. of seeds per row (32.57), green cob yield (12,638 kg ha-1), and green fodder yield (19,674 kg ha-1) were maximum with RDF + Zn EDTA @ 10 kg ha-1 (Soil) + Nano ZnO @ 250 ppm at 20 & 40 DAS (Foliar spray) which was significantly superior over rest of the treatments whereas lower growth and yield was noticed with RDF alone.

A field experiment entitled “Effect of Crop Establishment Methods and Nitrogen Management on Growth and Yield of Rice” was conducted during the kharif season of 2019 and 2020 at the College Farm, Bapatla. The experiment was laid out in strip-plot design with three replications. The results revealed that among crop establishment methods, conventional tillage registered highest plant growth parameters at harvest like plant height (125.6 and 125.9 cm), number of tillers m-2 (423.6 and 426.9), plant dry matter (13304 and 13443 kg ha-1) and yield attributes i.e. the number of panicles m-2 (302.6 and 305.3), number of grains panicle-1 (219.3 and 225.3), grain (5870 and 5916 kg ha-1) and straw yield (8049 and 8000 kg ha-1) and was found statistically at par with dry seeding on puddled soil and significantly superior over rest of the treatments. Among nitrogen management, growth parameters at harvest i.e. plant height (125.9 and 128.0 cm), number of tillers m-2 (427.2 and 429.3), plant dry matter (12390 and 12503 kg ha-1) and yield parameters i.e. the number of panicles m-2 (284.9 and 289.6), number of grains panicle-1 (210.4 and 215.8), grain (5650 and 5699 kg ha-1) and straw yield (7783 and 7526 kg ha-1) the highest were recorded with the application of 50% STBN through fertilizer + 50% N through cured poultry manure (N5), which was found statistically at par with 75% STBN through fertilizer + 25% N through cured poultry manure (N4) and significantly superior over other treatments.

The irrigated crops Demand based on water requirement is 2.12 m.ha.m (44.72 percent). This Demand-supply gap is 0.48 m.ha.m. (Palanisami 2013). India food grain need is 450 MT by the year 2050. The irrigation sector consumes the majority of water, and more attention is required in this sector. Almost all the utilizable potential will have to be harnessed to meet the demand for agriculture, industry, energy generation, and domestic consumption. The National Water Policy (2002) gives overriding priority to drinking water over other uses. Taking an average of 200 liters per capita per day (liter per consumer demand), the urban demand for water for the population of 1000 million (2012 estimate) would be 73.17 BCM, of which consumptive use should only be 14.63 BCM (20%). A quantity of 14.63 BCM is too tiny compared to the total potential to pose any supply problem. Due to improper wastewater management, the water Demand projected as 60 BCM compared to the actual demand 14.63 BCM. The drinking water Demand is 10 BCM at the present level of 40 liter per consumer and it would be 29 BCM by 2050 d (Ministry of Water Resources, 2018 estimate).

A study was carried out by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Malkangiri during 2018-19 to find out the yield gap between farmer’s practices and demonstration practices through cluster front line demonstration in South Eastern Ghat Zone of Odisha. The results showed a 32.9% increase in the average yield of groundnut with demonstration practices as compared to farmer’s practices. Higher economic return was also obtained with demonstration practices. The average technology gap, extension gap, and technology index were 3.2 q/ha, 5.4 q/ha, and 12.8%, respectively. The yield potential of groundnut could be enhanced to a great extent through cluster front line demonstration with improved production technologies. Hence, it is necessary to educate the farming community for more adoption of improved cultivation techniques of groundnut to increase productivity and economic return.

Various models of sustainable indigenous farming practices exist among the tribal population, especially among tribes of the North East Region of India. These practices are often considered as an alternative to old age practices of shifting cultivation which has a negative impact on the natural ecosystem in many ways. This paper focuses on the practices and importance of the Zabo farming system, an indigenous farming model practiced by the Naga tribe in Nagaland. The word “Zabo” means impounding of water in the local dialect. Zabo farming comprises integrated agricultural activities such as forest land for silviculture, water harvesting, animal husbandry, and paddy cultivation along the slope of the hills.

Precision nutrient management is the most advanced agronomic strategy for improving crop yields and managing soil and environmental quality. Considering the above, a field experiment was conducted at the Agriculture Research Farm, Baghasala of Centurion University of Technology and Management during the rabi season of 2020-21 to find out the impact of nitrogen management options on growth and productivity of maize (Zea mays L.). The experiment was consisted of eight treatments, viz., T1: control, T2: 150% RDN, T3: 125% RDN, T4: 100% RDN, T5: 75% RDN, T6: 50% RDN, T7: LCC (25 Kg/ha N @basal, 45 Kg/ha N at 21 DAS, 45 Kg/ha N @ LCC<5 at 45 DAS) and T8: SPAD (75 Kg N/ha @basal, 20 Kg N/ha @SPAD<45 at 21 and 45 DAS). The treatments were laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications. The maximum values of growth attributes, namely, plant height, dry matter accumulation, leaf area index and crop growth rate and yield attributes, such as cob length, cob girth, grains per cob, test weight inclusive of grain yield (6.65 t/ha), straw yield (8.42 t/ha) were obtained with the application of 150% RDN. For expression of crop growth characters, yield attributes and yields application of 150% RDN proved its superiority and it was followed by 125% RDN and 100% RDN at different growth stages. The treatments with precision N management tools like Leaf Colour Chart (LCC) and SPAD meter also resulted in crop performance with close proximity to 150% RDN, 125% RDN and 100% RDN treatments

Plants face to different changes in environmental conditions that keep on challenging its normal growth and acclimatization. Cereal crops play a key role in supplying food and energy to growing population and these crops are bare to substantial environmental changes causing inferior growth and performance. To overcome the abiotic stresses experienced by plants, several differential molecular and physiological responses were evolved that make the plants to mitigate climatic aberrations. Latest technological developments in genetic engineering as well as molecular breeding register a significant role in developing crop varieties and hybrids those are tolerant to environmental aberrations. Several Transgenes and their Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) were invented and incorporated into crops for superior performances against abiotic factors in cereals like wheat and rice.

Self-help groups have emerged as a vital tool for economic development in India. In hill states like Himachal Pradesh importance of self-help group increases manifold due to higher number of fragmented small and marginal landholdings. Self-help groups must sustain as an economic venture for the overall development of rural areas. It is very important to study individual member traits to understand the sustainability of self-help groups. The present study was conducted in the state of Himachal Pradesh to assess socio-personal, socio-economic, and communication variables of self-help group members and to make a comparison with non-member farmers. Findings of the study reveal that most of the SHG members were of the middle age category, with dominating membership by women farmers. Most of the SHG members adopted vegetable farming along with other agriculture activities with medium vegetable growing experience. SHG members attended significantly higher training programmes than non-member farmers. Most of the farmers have marginal landholding but SHG members put a significantly higher portion of landholding in vegetable cultivation when compared to non-member farmers. Significantly higher vegetable production was reported for SHG member vegetable farms, and the reason for this was higher media exposure and significantly higher extension contacts of SHG members than non-members.

Mushroom cultivation is one of the technically feasible and profitable agriculture practices which are widely recognized by researchers and farmers as the source of high income, employment, and rural development. Such employment generation and poverty alleviation ventures have a significant role in strengthening the socio-economic profile of marginalized population, especially to the rural women. Extensive training programs and workshops have been conducted by various agricultural universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, and research centers from time to time to skill the women for mushroom cultivation. Therefore, pieces of training have been a widely accepted strategy with high returns on investment. In this research work, the study was done to evaluate the knowledge and skill development among the women and to identify the problem and challenges towards mushroom cultivation. The majority of women respondents (75%) have a medium level of knowledge, followed by a high level (13.3%) and a low level of knowledge (11.67%) of post-training mushroom cultivation. This might be due to the high interest of trainees, convenient farming, and method followed for transfer of technology. 73.33% of women have shown a favorable attitude towards mushroom cultivation. It has been observed that the mushroom cultivation training has shown a favorable attitude which helped in income generation, thus aiding financial assistance to the family.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is different from earlier employment programmes launched by the government of India as, on the one hand, it is a demand-driven scheme while, on the other hand, it treats employment as the right of the rural household. This act was adopted by the Indian government to reduce rural unemployment and poverty so that it leads to the reduction of rural-urban migration in search of employment. This scheme also provides income directly to unskilled workers in rural areas. Women Empowerment is the important objective of this act; emphasis was laid on promoting gender equality through providing wage employment to women. This paper will mainly focus on the impact of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on the empowerment of women in the five-gram panchayats of Mandya district of Karnataka. It also focuses on the significant improvement of the status of rural women through MGNREGA socially, economically, and psychologically.

Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) is one of the important oilseeds produced in India. It is used as an ingredient in the preparation of various cuisines and used as a green manure by vegetable growers. Overuse of chemical fertilizers, poor irrigation facilities, and other anthropogenic activities has led to increased salt concentrations in the soil. Salt stress has been found to decline the growth and yield of Indian mustard. Salinity negatively affects seed germination, which is the first stage of the plant’s life cycle. Excessive salt has a huge impact on plant physiology. Mangrove soil provides shelter to various halotolerant plant growth-promoting bacteria like Azotobacter, which may provide a tool for sustainable crop improvement due to their multifarious features. Two fast-growing efficient isolates of halotolerant Azotobacter spp viz., AI, and AII were isolated from mangrove rhizospheric soil. Microscopic and biochemical characteristics of the isolates were studied. Both isolates showed PGP activities like phosphate solubilization, IAA, and ammonia production. A1 isolates tolerated salt concentration up to 0.5% and A2 till 2%. Seed germination parameters of uninoculated and isolate inoculated seeds under salt stress (0%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.4% of NaCl) were recorded. Salt stress significantly affected the germination traits. However, inoculation favored germination of mustard seeds in comparison to uninoculated ones under salt stress

In the wake of changing climatic scenario, dimnishing natural resources and growing food demands, the availability of germplasm capable to withstand biotic and abiotic pressures is crucial to ensure sustainability in agriculture system. Among the biotic stresses, fungal leaf spot disease cause significant yield reduction in mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) and urdbean (Vigna mungo L.), which are predominently grown in India and many parts of South and Southeast Asia. The present investigation was designed to identify resistant donors against the fungal leaf spot in mungbean (200) and urdbean (100) accessions by phenotyping under natural field conditions during kharif 2019. Though none of the 200 mungbean lines were found resistant to fungal leaf spot, 8 lines displayed moderate resistance. Likewise, out of 100urd bean accessions three germplasm lines unveiled resistance and 6 moderate resistance against the disease leaving others suceptible to highly sucepetible. The DNA of pathogen causing fungal leaf spot were isolated (Jhansi isolate) from the fungal mycelium and infected plants, respectively for molecular characterization and it was amplified using published primers for ITS and β-tubulin region for sequencing. A phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequence of the Jhansi isolates along with the reference sequences from NCBI, GenBank revealed maximum identity (98.53 per cent) of isolate with Corynespora cassiicola of cowpea reported from Ghana. Further β-tubulin sequence also showed 88.55 per cent similarity with C. cassiicola isolate from China. This was further confirmed by leaf sensitivity test against crude fungal toxin cassicoin secreted by C. cassiicola.