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Abstract The global scarcity of irrigation water poses a significant challenge to the sustainable production of rice and its availability worldwide. With a growing population driving increased demand for rice, it is crucial to enhance rice production while minimizing water usage. Achieving this requires a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between water and nitrogen dynamics and the formulation of strategies to optimize the application of irrigation water and nitrogen fertilizers. This study aims to investigate the impact of varying irrigation regimes and nitrogen application rates on rice growth attributes, yield performance, overall crop productivity, and economic returns. In the 2021 and 2022 rice growing season, two field experiments were carried out in split plot design with four nitrogen levels in sub plots [N0: Control, N1: 75% RDN (Recommended dose of nitrogen; @ 120 kg N ha−1), N2: 100% RDN, and N3: 125% RDN] and four irrigation treatments in main plots [I1: recommended irrigation scheduling, I2: at field capacity (20 L m−2), I3: 10% depletion from field capacity (20 L m−2), and I4: 20% depletion from field capacity (20 L m−2). The experiments were replicated three times. The suggested irrigation scheduling treatment (flooded) showed improved growth characteristics, such as plant height, dry matter accumulation, leaf area index, tiller count, SPAD (Soil Plant Analysis Development) value, NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) value, leaf relative water content, and yield attributes; however, these were comparable to the application of irrigation water at field capacity. Due to improved plant growth and yield-attributing characteristics, the I1 treatment recorded the highest grain yield of 8.58 t ha−1 and 8.4 t ha−1, although it was comparable to the I2 treatment, which had grain yields of 8.27 t ha−1 and 8.15 t ha−1 in 2021 and 2022. The grain yield reported by the N3 treatment were significantly greater than those of the N2 treatment, IN 2021 and 2022 respectively. Applying nitrogen at 125% RDN (Recommended dose of nitrogen) and irrigation water at field capacity produced the highest benefit–cost ratio (1.64), which was closely followed by the same irrigation regime and 100% RDN application (1.60 BC ratio). Comparable to irrigation at field capacity, the suggested irrigation schedule demonstrated enhanced growth features, yield attributes, productivity, and profitability. The best way to achieve the optimum growth, productivity, and profitability in transplanted rice was to provide irrigation water at field capacity and nitrogen @ 100% RDN.

Heavy metal ions pose significant risks to human health, pelagic, and several other life forms due to perniciousness, tendency to accumulate, and resistance to biodegradation. Waste bio-materials extend a budding alternative as low-cost adsorbent to address the removal of noxious pollutants from wastewater on account of being cost-effective and exhibiting exceptional adsorption capacities. The current exploration was accomplished to gauge the performance of raw and modified human hair concerning lead scavenging in a down-flow fixed bed column. The appraisal of column performance under varying operational parameters encompassing bed height (15–45 cm), influent metal ion concentration (60–140 mg L−1), and a solution flow rate (20–40 mL min−1) was performed by breakthrough curve analysis. The consequences acquired were evaluated using the Yoon Nelson, Thomas, Adam-Bohart, and Bed Depth Service Time (BDST) model. Among these employed models, Bed Depth Service Time (BDST) and Thomas models exhibited the highest R-squared value compared to the Yoon Nelson and Adam-Bohart's model for most cases. In addition, the optimization of lead adsorption was followed using the Box-Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal conditions (desirability-1.00) for achieving a goal of maximum percent removal of lead ions were marked to be a bed height of 42.79 cm, solution flow rate of 20.92 mL min−1, and an initial metal concentration of 139.51 mg L−1. Under these optimized conditions, the percent amputation of lead in a fixed bed was observed to be 82.31 %, while the results of the experiment performed approximately under these optimized conditions revealed a percent removal of 85.05 %, reflecting a reasonable conformity with values acquired through Box-Behnken design.

Abstract Background The tomato fruit borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a serious insect pest owing to its polyphagous nature, migrating long distances, greater capacity to develop resistance against insecticides and persistence in cropping areas. The comparative evaluation of temperate, sub-tropical and tropical H. armigera NPV (HearNPV) isolates was carried out to determine the potential of local and exotic HearNPV isolates for the management of H. armigera in Kashmir, India, having a temperate climate. Results Mortality of 2nd instar H. armigera larvae with three different HearNPV isolates at different concentrations ranged between 13.40 and 73.25%, with significant differences between the concentrations in each isolate under laboratory conditions. The median lethal concentration (LC50) values of HearNPV-IND-K, HearNPV-IND-J, and HearNPV-IND-B isolates against 2nd instar H. armigera larvae were 4.62 × 103, 5.99 × 104, and 7.24 × 104 OBs/larva at 10th day post inoculation, with significant differences among the isolates. In time response bioassays, the cumulative mortality (%) caused by median lethal concentration (LC50) of HearNPV-IND-K, HearNPV-IND-J and HearNPV-IND-B isolates over a period of 10 days was 50.33, 49.00 and 49.00%, respectively. Their median survival time (ST50) values against 2nd instar H. armigera larvae were 8.10, 8.94 and 9.50 days, respectively, with significant differences among the isolates. The results revealed that the LC50 and ST50 values of HearNPV-IND K isolate were significantly lower than HearNPV-IND-J and HearNPV-IND-B isolates. The cumulative mortality of H. armigera larvae with HearNPV-IND-K, HearNPV-IND-J and HearNPV-IND-B isolates at different concentrations ranged between 22.00–68.32, 20.54–55.17, 11.66–44.33%, respectively, on tomato crop under field conditions. The highest mortality rate of 68.32% was observed at the local isolate (HearNPV-IND-K). Conclusions It’s concluded that the local isolate had the potential for the development of species-specific and environmentally safe biocontrol agent for organic farming and its incorporation into Integrated Pest Management program may reduce the use of chemical insecticides in Kashmir.

The major yield governing factors especially under rainfed ecosystem are the agro-meteorological indices. Hence, an experiment was conducted in 2021 kharif season to examine the impact of nutrient omission on phenology, yield and agro-meteorological indices of Quality Protein Maize (QPM) under the North Western Himalayas of India at the Agronomy farm of FoA (Faculty of Agriculture), Wadoora, Sopore, SKUAST-Kashmir. Eight treatments were used in the experiment viz. (T1-Absolute control, T2-N120P75K40, T3-N120P75K40Zn5S10, T4-P75K40Zn5S10 (-N), T5-N120K40Zn5S10 (-P), T6-N120P75Zn5S10 (-K), T7-N120P75K40S10 (-Zn) and T8-N120P75K40Zn5 (-S)), using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results demonstrated that recommended dose of fertilizer plus zinc and sulphur (T3-N120P75K40Zn5S10) noted higher grain (9.78 t ha−1) and biological (22.05 t ha−1) yield, a longer period of time to reach various phonological stages thereby achieved maximum heat units or growing degree days (GDD), heliothermal units (HTU), photo-thermal units (PTU), pheno-thermal index (PTI) and heat use efficiency (HUE). Nitrogen was the most limiting nutrient thereby accumulating least heat units and HUE. The agrometeorological indices could be therefore helpful in predicting the phenology and maize yield. The outcomes of the experiment showed that using the recommended fertilizer dosage plus zinc and sulphur in QPM should be adopted to attain higher yield under the North Western Himalayas of India, However, additional agro-ecological study is required to further validate the findings.

Soil microbial activity (SMA) is vital concerning carbon cycling, and its functioning is recognized as the primary factor in modifying soil carbon storage potential. The composition of the microbial community (MC) is significant in sustaining environmental services because the structure and activity of MC also influence nutrient turnover, distribution, and the breakdown rate of soil organic matter. SMA is an essential predictor of soil quality alterations, and microbiome responsiveness is imperative in addressing the escalating sustainability concerns in the Himalayan ecosystem. This study was conducted to evaluate the response of soil microbial and enzyme activities to land conversions in the Northwestern Himalayas (NWH), India. Soil samples were collected from five land use systems (LUSs), including forest, pasture, apple, saffron, and paddy-oilseed, up to a depth of 90 cm. The results revealed a significant difference (p < 0.05) in terms of dehydrogenase (9.97–11.83 TPF µg g−1 day−1), acid phosphatase (22.40–48.43 µg P-NP g−1 h−1), alkaline phosphatase (43.50–61.35 µg P-NP g−1 h−1), arylsulphatase (36.33–48.12 µg P-NP g−1 h−1), fluorescein diacetate hydrolase (12.18–21.59 µg g−1 h−1), bacterial count (67.67–123.33 CFU × 106 g−1), fungal count (19.33–67.00 CFU × 105 g−1), and actinomycetes count (12.00–42.33 CFU × 104 g−1), with the highest and lowest levels in forest soils and paddy-oilseed soils, respectively. Soil enzyme activities and microbial counts followed a pattern: forest > pasture > apple > saffron > paddy-oilseed at all three depths. Paddy-oilseed soils exhibited up to 35% lower enzyme activities than forest soils, implying that land conversion facilitates the depletion of microbiome diversity from surface soils. Additionally, reductions of 49.80% and 62.91% were observed in enzyme activity and microbial counts, respectively, with soil depth (from 0–30 to 60–90 cm). Moreover, the relationship analysis (principal component analysis and correlation) revealed a high and significant (p = 0.05) association between soil microbial and enzyme activities and physicochemical attributes. These results suggest that land conversions need to be restricted to prevent microbiome depletion, reduce the deterioration of natural resources, and ensure the sustainability of soil health.

Abstract Background The tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a serious pest of solanaceous plant species, mainly Solanum lycopersicum L. The entomopathogenic fungi, an alternative to chemical insecticides, proved to be an efficient biocontrol agent in reducing pest population density. In the present study, an entomopathogenic fungus, Purpureocillium lilacinum isolated from soil was identified based on the morphological and molecular characteristics and its pathogenicity was tested against target pest. Results The micromorphological characters showed variations in growth pattern, shape and colour on different cultural media. For molecular analysis, a phylogenetic tree based on ITS/LSU and ITS/β-tubulin (benA) gene regions was constructed which revealed the isolate (FC18) as P. lilacinum (Thom) Luangsa-ard, Houbraken, Hywel-Jones and Samson (Family: Ophiocordycipitaceae). Further, the pathogenicity of P. lilacinum was tested using different spore concentrations (1 × 108, 1 × 107, 1 × 106, 1 × 105 and 1 × 104 spores/ml) on larval and pupal stages of T. absoluta, which showed a dose-dependent mortality. At the highest concentration (1 × 108 spores/ml), the mean mortality of 92.99, 83.05, 72.0% of second, third and fourth instar was observed, respectively. Pupal mortality also showed significant differences at different spore concentrations. Conclusion Obtained results showed that the virulence of the indigenous strain of P. lilacinum on T. absoluta can be utilized in the field suppression of the pest as a potent biocontrol agent.

The study aimed at evaluating the influence of water-chestnut starch-based coatings loaded with rosemary essential oil (REO) at concentrations of 0.10%, 0.25% and 0.50% (w/v) on postharvest cold storage stability of apple var. Golden delicious for 120 days. Average droplet diameter of nanoemulsions was in range of 315–450 nm and it increased with increase in the REO concentration. Minimum weight loss was observed in fruits treated with coating material containing 0.50% REO. Samples coated with starch+0.50% REO exhibited highest firmness value of 68.22 ± 1.02 N under controlled atmosphere storage (CAS). Anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were retained in all samples coated with formulated emulsion. Antifungal assay against Pencillium expansum indicated that 0.50% REO had maximum antifungal activity. Increase in REO concentration from 0.10 to 0.50% in starch coating formulations resulted in reduced lesion diameter in coated samples under both the storage conditions. Lesion diameter (LD) was found highest in control (39.40 ± 0.20 mm) under ambient conditions. Coated fruit samples showed a significant (p≤0.05) reduction in LD under both the ambient and CAS conditions however, more pronounced effect was reported under CAS. Fruits coated with edible coatings enriched with different REO concentrations under CAS exhibited significantly (p≤0.05) lower chilling injury index (ST+0.50%REO

Food security and environmental health are directly linked with soil carbon (C). Soil C plays a crucial role in securing food and livelihood security for the Himalayan population besides maintaining the ecological balance in the Indian Himalayas. However, soil C is being severely depleted due to anthropogenic activities. It is well known that land use management strongly impacted the soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and also regulates the atmospheric C chemistry. Different types of cultivation practices, i.e., forest, plantations, and crops in the Kashmir Himalayas, India, has different abilities to conserve SOC and emit C in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2). Hence, five prominent land use systems (LUC) (e.g., natural forest, natural grassland, maize-field-converted from the forest, plantation, and paddy crop) of Kashmir Himalaya were evaluated to conserve SOC, reduce C emissions, improve soil properties and develop understanding SOC pools and its fractions variations under different land use management practices. The results revealed that at 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm profile, the soil under natural forest conserved the highest total organic carbon (TOC, 24.24 g kg−1 and 18.76 g kg−1), Walkley-black carbon (WBC, 18.23 g kg−1 and 14.10 g kg−1), very-labile-carbon (VLC, 8.65 g kg−1, and 6.30 g kg−1), labile-carbon (LC, 3.58 g kg−1 and 3.14 g kg−1), less-labile-carbon (VLC, 2.59 g kg−1, and 2.00 g kg−1), non-labile-carbon (NLC, 3.41 g kg−1 and 2.66 g kg-1), TOC stock (45.88 Mg ha−1 and 41.16 Mg ha−1), WBC stock (34.50 Mg ha−1 and 30.94 Mg ha−1), active carbon pools (AC, 23.14 Mg ha−1 and 20.66 Mg ha−1), passive carbon pools (PC, 11.40 Mg ha−1 and 10.26 Mg ha−1) and carbon management index (CMI, 100), followed by the natural grassland. However, the lowest C storage was reported in paddy cropland. The soils under natural forest and natural grassland systems had a greater amount of VLC, LC, LLC, and NLC fraction than other land uses at both depths. On the other hand, maize-field-converted-from-forest-land-use soils had a higher proportion of NLC fraction than paddy soils; nonetheless, the NLC pool was maximum in natural forest soil. LUS based on forest crops maintains more SOC, while agricultural crops, such as paddy and maize, tend to emit more C in the Himalayan region. Therefore, research findings suggest that SOC under the Kashmir Himalayas can be protected by adopting suitable LUS, namely forest soil protection, and by placing some areas under plantations. The areas under the rice and maize fields emit more CO2, hence, there is a need to adopt the conservation effective measure to conserve the SOC without compromising farm productivity.

The present study was conducted in three villages of district Budgam in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to find out how farmers differentiate the quality of soils and to determine the level of concurrence between farmers perception and scientific assessment of soil quality. Five fields in each village were selected and ranked on the basis of soil quality indices computed from the minimum data set of indicators, including plant available nutrients N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, OC, BD, WHC (water holding capacity), CEC (cation exchange capacity) as well as microbial count. The respondents ranked the same 5 selected fields on the bases of their experience and perceptions of soil quality. The study reveals that 58% of farmers ranked the best soils correctly whereas, the percentage of farmers who ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th soils correctly was 40, 30, 40, and 45%, respectively. The study found that a greater number of farmers from the remotest village Dalwash were able to judge the soils properly, thereby indicating more profound knowledge and better cognitive abilities to understand soils in the local context. The results divulged by the current study highlight the remarkable local soil knowledge of the farmers and therefore, linking this knowledge system with scientific concepts would prove valuable for sustained land-use management.

Soil quality assessment serves as an index for appraising soil sustainability under varied soil management approaches. Our current investigation was oriented to establish a minimum data set (MDS) of soil quality indicators through the selection of apt scoring functions for each indicator, thus evaluating soil quality in the Himalayan foothills. The experiment was conducted during two consecutive years, viz. 2016 and 2017, and comprised of 13 treatments encompassing different combinations of chemical fertilizers, organic manure, and biofertilizers, viz. (i) the control, (ii) 20 kg P + PSB (Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria), (iii) 20 kg P + PSB + Rhizobium, (iv) 20 kg P + PSB + Rhizobium+ FYM, (v) 20 kg P + 0.5 kg Mo + PSB, (vi) 20 kg P + 0.5 kg Mo + PSB + Rhizobium, (vii) 20 kg P + 0.5 kg Mo + PSB + Rhizobium + FYM, (viii) 40 kg@ P + PSB, (ix) 40 kg P + PSB + Rhizobium, (x) 40 kg P + PSB + Rhizobium+ FYM, (xi) 40 kg P + 0.5 kg Mo + PSB, (xii) 40 kg P + 0.5 kg Mo + PSB + Rhizobium, and (xiii) 40 kg P + 0.5 kg Mo + PSB + Rhizobium + FYM. Evaluating the physical, chemical, and biological indicators, the integrated module of organic and inorganic fertilization reflected a significant improvement in soil characteristics such as the water holding capacity, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and molybdenum, different carbon fractions and soil biological characteristics encircling microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and total bacterial and fungal count. A principal component analysis (PCA) was executed for the reduction of multidimensional data ensued by scoring through the transformation of selected indicators. The soil quality index (SQI) established for different treatments exhibited a variation of 0.105 to 0.398, while the magnitude of share pertaining to key soil quality indicators for influencing soil quality index encircled the water holding capacity (WHC), the dehydrogenase activity (DHA), the total bacteria count, and the available P. The treatments that received an integrated nutrient package exhibited a higher SQI (T10—0.398; T13—0.372; T7—0.307) in comparison to the control treatment (T1—0.105). An enhanced soil quality index put forth for all organic treatments reflected an edge of any conjunctive package of reduced synthetic fertilizers with prime involvement of organic fertilizers over the sole application of inorganic fertilizers.

The phenological events, height class distribution, volume and biomass of Himalayan birchor bhojpatra (B. utilis D. Don) were monitored along the altitudinal gradient in distinct ecological settings at Sindh and Tangmarg forest divisions in western Himalayas, Kashmir. The observations recorded revealed high synchrony throughout the altitudinal gradients, especially for bud set, bud burst, peak flowering and seed maturation. All the phenological events began early at lower elevation as compared to higher elevation. The timing of phenophases along the altitude was governed by the timing of snow-melt which is usually responsible for early phenological changes in the northern alpine habitats. The height, volume and biomass showed a decreasing trend with increasing altitude at both the sites. Higher number of trees (116.71 trees/ha) with maximum height, volume (112.38 m3/ha) and biomass (57.31 tonnes/ha) were recorded at 3 000-3 200 m asl. The values for all these parameters decreased with increasing altitude from 3 200-3 400 and 3 400-3 600 m amsl, respectively. The short growing seasons, reduced air and soil temperature (an adiabatic effect), increased exposure to wind, lower availability of nutrients and increased exposure to frost are some of the common features of high altitude niches which greatly influences the growth of the existent vegetation.