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Soil erosion is a serious threat to agriculture and environmental sustainability in the risk‐prone rainfed Himalayan ecosystem. Hence, runoff and soil loss mitigation ability of four maize‐based intensified systems; maize (Zea mays) + turmeric (Curcuma longa), maize + ginger (Zingiber officinale), maize + colocasia (Colocasia esculenta), and maize + sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) were tested against the sole maize. The study recorded 41 erosive events during the 2020–2022 monsoon season. A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to transform correlated rainfall parameters into orthogonal principal components. A two‐dimensional biplot analysis examined the relationship between PCs, rainfall events, and rainfall parameters. The rainfall events were divided into three regimes based on cluster analysis using PC. Rainfall regime 1 was characterized by low rainfall, I30, rainfall erosivity (E), and moderate rainfall duration (D), regime2 with moderate rainfall, short duration, high I30, and E, and regime3 with high D, I30, and rainfall erosivity. The soil loss of regime‐3 was 9.29 and 3.24 times higher than regime‐1 and regime‐2, respectively. Cover crops reduced runoff by 21.5%–69.3% and soil loss by 54.1%–77.0% over control. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that rainfall parameters (I30, I60, D, and E) had a significant direct influence across the systems, explaining 37.7%–54.9% of response variable variance, with E being the most influential (47.4%–54.9%), indicating varied impacts on runoff and soil loss. The sweet potato was best suited with maize as an intercrop to minimize soil erosion and maximize the system's profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millets gained a great attention at the global level in 2023 which is celebrated as the “International Year of Millets” to create awareness to eventually promote consumption and production. An attempt is made here to understand the cultivation and production dynamics of millets as influenced by their demand and supply. We also assess challenges and emerging opportunities to make millets more productive, competitive, and relevant to future farming. Millets registered a 60% decline in area and a 200% rise in productivity, but production has remained the same during the last seven decades. The demand of millets decreased as food due to greater incentives (purchasing grain at a pre‐determined price) and policies (distribution of grains to the public at a subsidized rate) in favor of wheat and rice. Millets would play a greater role in future agriculture due to challenges posed by climate change, limited water supply, and reduced agro‐biodiversity. This would need a much greater intensity of investment in millet research and adequate support as extended to wheat and rice. Increased emphasis on their genetic improvement and agronomic management is required to develop cultivars, using new tools and technologies, with high production potential and adequate environmental adaptation to make millets competitive with other crops. Mainstreaming the nutritional traits in millet breeding is also critically important to develop high‐yielding cultivars with improved grain quality traits. Promoting millet consumption would remain the key issue for increasing their demand as food, feed, and industrial raw materials through policies and awareness programs. Strengthening of value chain will help in diversifying agri‐food production system and creating an ecosystem for millet promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present study is related to financial analyse and marketing of fish in Meerut District of Uttar Pradesh, to analyse the budgetary, marketing channels and price spread. Sixty respondents were selected purposively for present investigation and the average size of pond was 1.40 hectare. The cost and return analysis indicated that farmers incurred overall average cost of Rs. 98966.82 and decreases with increase of pond size, the realized overall net profit was Rs. 140666.05 per hectare. The fish farming enterprise was found to be economically profitable and advantageous with benefit cost ratio (BCR) of 2.42. The producer's share in consumer rupee estimated and varies from 74.00 percent to 96.15 percent. Findings of the study recommends higher possibilities of integrated fish farming in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the experiments were conducted to test the efficacy of culture filtrate of bioagents against larval mortality and egg hatching of Meloidogyne graminicola. In this experiment, five bioagents viz. Bacillus subtilis, Trichoderma S13, Trichoderma S7, Paceliomyces lilacinus and Pochonia chlamydosporia and one nematicide (Carbofuran @ 0.02%) were taken at 5 and 10% concentration and data were recorded after 24, 48 and 72 hours of inoculation. Maximum larval mortality of 71.65% and minimum egg hatching of 45% were recorded in Trichoderma @ 10% concentration whereas minimum larval mortality of 41.65% and maximum egg hatching of 63.30% were recorded in P. lilacinus at 10% concentration after 72 hours of inoculation. While, 100% larval mortality and 75% egg hatching was recorded in carbofuran @ 0.2% concentration after 72 hours of inoculation. In the case of Potato Dextrose Broth @ 10% larval mortality of 6.65% and egg hatching of 86.65% were recorded. Whereas, control (distilled water) recorded 3.30% larval mortality and egg hatching of 83.30% was recorded after 72 hours of inoculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]