Background: Rapid expansion in population increased the global food demand. To meet this surge in demand for food and to ensure food and nutritional security addition of pulses in the cropping system is a visible alternative. Pulses intensifies cropping intensity, enhances health and fertility status of the soil and acts as a good source of dietary protein etc. However, due to a wide gap between the potential and actual yield of pulses in rainfed areas. Hence, identification and adoption of best management practices has become a pre-requisite. The present study was undertaken as the information available on foliar nutrition and different crop geometries on performance of different blackgram genotypes in rainfed condition is meagre. 
 
Methods: In this investigation conducted during kharif&nbsp;season of 2018 at Advanced Centre for Rainfed Agriculture, SKUAST-Jammu, Rakh Dhiansar. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with 3 factors and 3 replications. The factor-1 consisted of three blackgram cultivars (Uttara, PU-31 and Mash-114), factor 2 consisted of two crop geometries (30&times;10 cm and 45&times;10 cm) and factor-3 consisted of three foliar nutrition (Foliar spray of molybdenum as sodium molybdate @ 0.1% at 20 DAS, Foliar spray of 1.5% KCl at flowering and Foliar spray of molybdenum as sodium molybdate @ 0.1% at 20 DAS fb 1.5% KCl at flowering). 
 
Result: The results from the present investigation indicated that adoption of Mash-114 at 30&times;10 cm crop geometry, supplemented with foliar application of molybdenum as sodium molybdate @ 0.1% at 20 DAS fb 1.5% KCl at flowering could be a viable technological proposition under rainfed conditions of Jammu.

Effect of Foliar Nutrition and Crop Geometry on Cultivars of Blackgram in Shiwalik Foothills of Jammu

<div>Background: The Corn crop (Zea mays) was one type of feed crop which is a good source of crude fiber for ruminant. Corn crops had several types of genotypes and each genotype had its advantages in terms of productivity and nutritional content.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: The study was conducted from January to May 2018, at the Agricultural Research and Development Research Studio located at Arjasari Village, Arjasari District, Bandung Regency, West Java, in Indonesia. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of various genotypes and crop ages on crude protein, crude fiber, crude fat, energy and Nitrogen free extract of Corn forage. This research was designed with an experimental method using a Completely Randomized Design. The treatments in this study were the genotype of Corn crop and the crop age. 
 
Result: The results of the statistical analysis showed that the interaction of genotype and age gave different results on Nitrogen free extract and crude fiber at 5% significant level test. Genotype and age interaction did not give different results on Energy, Crude Fat and Crude Protein at 5% significant level test.</div>

<div>The Genotype and Crop Age Effect on Nutritive Value of Corn Forage</div>

Livestock nutrition is crucial for sustaining the health and productivity of farm animals, which are a cornerstone of the global food supply. Proper nutrition ensures that animals receive the necessary nutrients for essential bodily functions, growth, reproduction and lactation. Tailored, balanced diets that cater to the specific nutritional needs of different livestock species and their developmental stages also boost reproductive performance, leading to higher birth rates and healthier offspring. Conversely, inadequate nutrition can lead to stunted growth, diminished productivity, and increased vulnerability to diseases, ultimately resulting in significant economic losses. Nutritional imbalances among animals, especially in dairy goats and cattle, pose a significant challenge in livestock management. These disorders result from inadequate or imbalanced nutrient intake, leading to a range of metabolic and health issues. Fodders are essential to livestock nutrition, providing a balanced diet that supports overall animal health, growth and productivity. They are primary sources of energy, with grasses and cereals supplying carbohydrates needed for maintenance and production activities. Leguminous fodders like alfalfa and clover are rich in protein and crucial for muscle development, milk production and growth. Additionally, green fodders offer vital vitamins (A, D, E, K) and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, which are necessary for various metabolic functions. The high fibre content in fodders aids in proper digestion and prevents digestive disorders. Overall, the review highlights the impact of various nutrient deficiencies on livestock, including the effects of anti-nutritional factors and the mechanisms of nitrate, oxalate and prussic acid toxicity in animals. It underscores the importance of agronomic bio fortification as a promising strategy to enhance the nutritional quality of fodder crops, thereby improving animal health and welfare, while also contributing to food security and sustainable agriculture.

Enhancing Animal Nutritional Security Through Biofortification in Forage Crops: A Comprehensive Review

<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

<div style="text-align:justify">Background: Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.), commonly known as urdbean, mash, black mapte and other names, is a popular short-season pulse crop farmed throughout India. This crop is extensively sown in conjunction with various cropping systems under residual moisture conditions after wheat harvest as summer crops under irrigated conditions and due to its high protein and carbohydrate content, as well as its short duration crop, it is suitable in summer crop grown between wheat and rice. 
 
Methods: Field experiments was carried out during two consecutive summer seasons of 2018-19 and 2019-20 to study residual effect of biofertilizer and foliar nutrition on plant height and yield attributes of summer blackgram (Vigna mungo) under different fertility levels at the Research Farm, Division of Agronomy, SKUAST- J, Chatha. The experiment was laid out in split-split plot design with three factors replicated thrice.&nbsp; 
 
Result: Maximize residual effect of nutrients on blackgram after raised wheat as a major crop among the fertility levels including biofertilizer and foliar application, recommended dose fertilizer achieved, growth parameters viz, yield attributing characters, number of pods/plants, number of grains /plants, 1000-grains weight, seed yield, stover yield and harvest index as compared to 75% of RDF. However, control recorded lowest values of all growth, yield attributing parameter and yield of blackgram crop. Whereas, soil application of biofertilizer consortium recorded higher plant height and yield attributing characters of blackgram in comparison to seed treatment with biofertilizer consortium applied in wheat as main crop. Among the foliar application of 2% of NPK (19:19:19) higher values of growth character, yield and yield attributing parameters of blackgram were recorded in foliar application of 2% NPK (19:19:19) at flowering stage as compared to tillering and tillering + flowering stages of wheat crop during both the years. Economics of blackgram in terms of net return and B:C ratio was influenced by residual effect of various applied in wheat crop and recorded higher in RDF fertility, soil application of biofertilizer consortium and foliar application of 2% NPK at flowering stage.</div>

Residual Effect of Fertility Levels, Biofertilizer and Foliar Nutrition on Yield and Yield Attributes of Summer Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) in Wheat-blackgram Cropping System under Subtropical Conditions in Jammu

Background: Zinc, an essential micronutrient performing a key function in agricultural system, influencing crop yield, nutritional valueand overall development and growth of plants. Intercropping is referring to the most important practices to improving land utilization rates in India, which has limited arable land resources.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: The study aim to investigate the effect of different zinc levels on yield and qualitative characteristics of maize and soybean in 2:2 strip intercropping. The field study was conducted during kharif 2023 at Lovely Professional University, Punjab. The experiment was conducted with a set of nine treatments in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. 
 
Result: The results revealed that the maximum yield and yield attributes such as cobs per plant (1.44), number of rows per cob (13.81), number of grains per row (25.07), number of grains per cob (372.28) and grain yield (17.47 q ha-1), number of pods per plant (35.31), number of seed per pod (2.82), number of seeds per plant (95.33), seed index (13.02). Maximum maize equivalent yield (48.57 q ha-1), maize production efficiency (18.39 kg ha-1 day-1), soybean production efficiency (12.06 kg ha-1 day-1) were recorded in T9 (soil supplementation of 19 kg ha-1 of ZnSO4 + foliar spray of 0.2% ZnSO4). In contrast, T2 (sole maize) showed the highest grain yield (32.33 q ha-1), stover yield (67.57 q ha-1), biological yield (96.80 q ha-1). Similarly, T1 (sole soybean) showed the highest pod yield (24.97 q ha-1), haulm yield (51.18 q ha-1), biological yield (76.15 q ha-1) but lower values for other parameters compared to T9. Applying zinc significantly rises the zinc concentration in maize grains, stover (24.92 to 28.05 mg kg-1, 26.90 to 35.25 mg kg-1), soybean pods, haulm (23.92 to 35.03 mg kg-1, 25.95 to 41.38 mg kg-1), with variations across treatments.

Enhancing Crop Yield and Nutritional Values Through Zinc Biofortification in Maize-soybean Strip Intercropping System

<div style="text-align: justify;">Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM) are one of the major air pollutants emerging out of the industrial development and human activities. Plants exhibit differential sensitivity to SO2 pollution and its affect on plant growth can be both direct and/or indirect. The present study was conducted in controlled tunnels to assess the effect of particulate matter (PM) and SO2 on growth attributes of two cereals (bread and durum wheat and barley) and a legume (chickpea) species. Relative sensitivity of crops to elevated SO2 followed the following order: durum wheat &lt; bread wheat &lt; barley &lt; chickpea. This study clearly shows that the presence of particulate matter in the growing environment severely inhibits crop growth while the SO2 enriched environment promotes plant growth and S uptake across crops and that the tolerant crop species are capable of utilizing SO2 towards the plant S pool.&nbsp;</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">Crop adaptation to air pollution I. Effect of particulate and SO2 pollution on growth, yield attributes and sulphur nutrition of wheat, barley and chickpea&nbsp;</div>

Background: Soil test crop response (STCR) approach assists in determining the appropriate amount of fertilizer to use for particular season and location based on the initial soil fertility status and crop response in terms of nutrient uptake and yield. A field experiment was conducted during 2020-21 at Dharwad, by adopting the Inductive Cum Targeted Yield Model to develop soil test-based fertilizer prescriptions under STCR and STCR-IPNS approach to achieve desired target yields of maize in vertisols of Northern Karnataka, India.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: In the experiment&rsquo;s first phase, an exhaust crop fodder maize was grown in three different fertility strips. After the harvest of fodder maize, the soil fertility levels varied significantly among the strips, indicating the creation of fertility gradients. In the second phase of the experiment, a test crop (hybrid maize) was grown and the response of maize to four levels of N, P and K and three levels of FYM under different fertility gradients was studied. The basic parameters viz, nutrient requirement (NR), contribution of nutrients from soil (Cs), fertilizers (Cf) and FYM (Cfym) were computed using the data from test crop experiment. The basic parameters viz, nutrient requirement (NR), contribution of nutrients from soil (Cs), fertilizers (Cf) and FYM (Cfym) were computed using the data from test crop experiment.&nbsp; 
 
Result: Using the basic parameters, fertilizer prescription equations for desired yield targets of maize under NPK fertilizers alone and under STCR-IPNS (with FYM) were derived based on initial soil test values. Results of the validation experiment in kharif 2021 revealed that the grain yield was significantly higher under STCR-IPNS equation with a target yield of 100 q ha-1 as compared to other treatments. STCR-IPNS equation with the application of FYM to achieve 100 q ha-1 target yield resulted in savings of 11, 10 and 15 percent of N, P2O5 and K2O as compared to STCR-NPK alone equation.

Development of Soil Test Crop Response (Stcr) and Stcr-Integrated Plant Nutrition Supply (Ipns) Models to Achieve Targeted Yields of Maize (Zea mays L.) in Vertisols of Northern Karnataka

<div>Background: In an effort to develop micronutrient-rich chickpea lines, a study to examine the variability in yield and nutritional traits was conducted. 
 
Methods: 99 genotypes were studied, the data was recorded and analyzed on yield traits, protein, iron and zinc content in Rabi 2019-20. 
 
Result: Maximum variability was recorded in plant yield followed by iron concentration (mg/kg), hundred seed weight and number of pods per plant. Of the total entries, nine entries namely, RGH4, RGH56, RG2016-84, ICC251762, RGH53, IPC98-12, RG2016-03, ICC1053 and RGH58 recorded high protein content (&gt;20%). All these entries possessing high protein had pink flower. One chickpea accession (RGH53) accumulated the highest concentration for both protein and zinc, with an average of 21.86% and 73.00 ppm, respectively, but it showed low iron concentration (20.77 ppm). The first six principal components provided a reasonable summary of the data and explained 80.19% of the total variation. Ninety nine genotypes were grouped into ten clusters. Maximum inter cluster distance was observed between clusters VI and IX; VI and VII and IV and VI. The genotypes of these clusters are suggested for utilization in the crossing programs to breed varieties of chickpea for high yield with amenability to nutrients.</div>

Exploiting Genomic Resources for Efficient Utilization of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Crop Improvement based on Agro-morphological, Yield and Nutritional Traits

<div>Background: In the era of precision agriculture, application of fertilizer based on soil testing is an essential tool to prescribe nutrient doses for crops to improve nutrient use efficiency and yield of hybrid castor.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: Field experiment was conducted in 2021 at the Tapioca and Castor Research station, Yethapur,&nbsp; region near Salem city, Tamil&nbsp; Nadu, India (11o35&rsquo;N, 78o29&rsquo;E). By adopting inductive cum targeted yield model fertilizer prescription equation (FPEs) were developed for hybrid castor under irrigated condition for Alfisol soil order. Initially soil fertility gradient were established with respect to soil available N, P and K nutrients and twenty four treatment were imposed in three fertility strips under factorial randomized design. The basic parameters [nutrient requirement (NR) and nutrients contributions from soil (Cs), fertilizer (Cf) and farmyard manure (Co)] were calculated from the field experimental data.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The nutrient required for producing one quintal of hybrid castor seed yield was evaluated as 3.20 kg of nitrogen, 1.23 kg of phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) and 3.28 kg of potassium oxide (K2O). The study revealed that soil nutrient contribution was high in case of available phosphorus (41.87%), available nitrogen (21.56%) and available potassium (19.12%) respectively toward P, N and K nutrient uptake by hybrid castor. The nutrient contribution from farmyard manure (Co) towards the total uptake was 21.40% of N, 10.35% of P2O5 and 26.06% of K2O respectively. Using basic data, FPEs were developed for hybrid castor and ready reckoner were developed for operational range of soil test values for desired yield target under NPK alone and IPNS (NPK and FYM).</div>