Delayed sowing and its ramifications: biophysical, yield and quality analysis of wheat cultivars in the northwest Indo-Gangetic plains.

Background: The continuous cultivation of rice-wheat in the same field is a key element of double-cropping systems in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Yields of such cropping systems are increasingly challenged as climate change drives increases in temperature, terminal stress and uneven rainfall, delaying rice harvesting and subsequently delaying sowing of wheat. In this paper, we evaluate the optimum sowing dates to achieve high grain yield and quality of wheat cultivars in northwest India.

Above and below-ground growth, accumulated dry matter and nitrogen remobilization of wheat () genotypes grown in PVC tubes under well- and deficit-watered conditions.

The continuing decline in water resources under the ever-changing climate compels us to re-orient our focus to a more sustainable practice. This study investigates the performance of wheat genotypes viz. HD-2967, HD-3086, HD-3249, DBW-187, and HD-3226 under well- and deficit-watered conditions for their root-traits, biomass and nitrogen accumulation and remobilization, and water use efficiencies, grown in PVC-tubes.

Timely sown maize hybrids improve the post-anthesis dry matter accumulation, nutrient acquisition and crop productivity.

Delayed sowing of maize hybrids could exacerbate the capability of maximizing the yield potential through poor crop stand, root proliferation, nutrient uptake, and dry matter accumulation coupled with the inadequate partitioning of the assimilates. This study appraised the performance of five recent maize hybrids viz., PMH-1, PJHM-1, AH-4158, AH-4271, and AH-8181 under timely and late sown conditions of the irrigated semi-arid ecologies.

Conservation agriculture based integrated crop management sustains productivity and economic profitability along with soil properties of the maize-wheat rotation.

Field experiments were conducted to evaluate eight different integrated crop management (ICM) modules for 5 years in a maize-wheat rotation (M); wherein, ICM-'business-as-usual' (conventional flatbed maize and wheat, ICM-conventional raised bed (CT) maize and wheat without residues, ICM-conservation agriculture (CA)-based zero-till (ZT) flatbed maize and wheat with the residues, and ICM CA-based ZT raised bed maize and wheat with the residues. Results indicated that the ICM produced significantly (p < 0.05) the highest maize grain yield (5 years av.

Long-term conservation agriculture and best nutrient management improves productivity and profitability coupled with soil properties of a maize-chickpea rotation.

Conservation agriculture (CA)-based practices have been promoted and recouped, as they hold the potential to enhance farm profits besides a consistent improvement in soil properties. A 7 years' field experiment consisting of three crop establishment practices viz., zero-till flatbed (ZTFB), permanent beds (PNB), conventional system (CT) along with the three-nutrient management; nutrient expert-based application (NE), recommended fertilization (RDF), and farmers' fertilizer practice (FFP), was carried out from 2013 to 2020.