Send Message

Home / Current Article

Volume(7) / Issue(8)

Taking Science to Farmers: A Success Story under Khet Bachao Abhiyan

Shailendra Kumar Mishra et al.

The Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan under the Khet Bachao Abhiyan was implemented by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kotwa, Azamgarh-I, to strengthen the dissemination of scientific agricultural technologies through direct farmer?scientist interaction. During the campaign, field outreach activities were conducted in more than 100 villages across all 17 development blocks of Azamgarh district. Farmers received practical guidance on balanced nutrient management, Natural Resource Management (NRM), integrated pest and disease management (IPM), scientific crop production, horticultural practices, post-harvest management and household nutrition. Field visits, crop diagnostics and interactive discussions enabled timely technical support and strengthened the linkage between farmers and KVK scientists. The campaign demonstrated the effectiveness of field-based extension in delivering need-based scientific advisories and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

Read More

One Health: One World, One Future

Farhin Aktar Choudhury et al.

"Why human, animal and environment health are connected - and why treating them as one is the work of the century"


The environment, animals, and human health are all part of one story rather than three distinct ones. Ebola, COVID-19, bird flu, and the slow-burning problem of antibiotic resistance are all found where people, animals, and ecosystems converge. One Health is the term for the 20-year-old notion that these seams can only be addressed together, which has been embraced by the world's leading agricultural and health organisations. This feature examines the origins of this concept, why it is important to both veterinarians and the general public, how it appears in everything from the family dog to the world's livestock and wastewater, and why its potential still depends on dismantling disciplinary barriers.

Read More

Climate-Smart Agricultural Structures for Sustainable Food Production

Karishma Verma

Agriculture stands at the crossroads of two urgent global challenges: feeding a rapidly growing world population while simultaneously confronting the mounting pressures of climate change. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a strategic framework that seeks to enhance agricultural productivity and household incomes, strengthen climate resilience, and reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions where feasible. Without transformative adaptation strategies, climate change is projected to reduce global crop yields and increase food insecurity, while rising GHG emissions further exacerbate the crisis. This article explores the core structures, practices, and technologies underpinning CSA, including precision agriculture, regenerative farming, soil and water conservation, agroforestry, and digital tools, which together form an integrated pathway toward sustainable food production in an era of unprecedented environmental change.

Read More

Optimizing Source?Sink Relationships for Sustainable Crop Productivity

Murari Lal Meena et al.

Global agriculture must increase crop production while ensuring the sustainable use of available resources. Improving crop productivity depends not only on the genetic potential of crops but also on the efficient production, translocation and utilization of photoassimilates within the plant. The source?sink relationship plays a vital role in regulating crop growth, yield and quality. The source, mainly mature green leaves, produces carbohydrates through photosynthesis, while the sink includes developing grains, seeds, fruits, roots and tubers that utilize or store these assimilates. Maintaining a proper balance between source capacity and sink demand ensures efficient dry matter partitioning and higher harvestable yield. Agronomic practices such as balanced nutrient management, optimum plant population, efficient irrigation, foliar nutrition, canopy management and the use of plant growth regulators help improve source efficiency and sink strength. In addition, breeding approaches aimed at enhancing photosynthetic efficiency and sink capacity offer new opportunities for sustainable yield improvement. Thus, effective source?sink management enhances resource-use efficiency, improves crop productivity and quality and contributes to long-term food and nutritional security.

Read More

Machine Learning Applications Using Drone Acquired Data in Agriculture

Sakshi Sharma et al.

Agriculture is facing significant challenges such as rising food demand, food safety concerns, environmental sustainability issues and climate change, all of which are severely affecting global food security. Currently, over 815 million people are chronically hungry, with nearly 64% of them living in Asia (Friha et al. 2021; Pathak et al. 2020). In traditional farming systems, the late detection of crop stress, diseases and nutrient deficiencies often leads to reduced yield, lower crop quality and inefficient use of resources such as water, fertilizers and pesticides. Therefore, the adoption of modern technologies like drones and machine learning has become essential to improve risk assessment, disaster response and transparent evidence-based decision-making to support vulnerable farmers and enhance food security (Debangshi 2021). In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained increasing popularity due to their flexibility, ease of operation and ability to capture high spatial resolution data, enabling rapid and non-destructive extraction of crop phenotypic information (Deng et al. 2018). Equipped with RGB, multispectral and thermal sensors, drones generate large volumes of high-resolution data across different crop growth stages and field conditions. These data can be efficiently analyzed using machine learning algorithms such as Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). This integration enables early detection of crop stress and diseases, accurate yield prediction, improved irrigation scheduling and precise input management. Overall, it enhances productivity, resource-use efficiency and supports sustainable agriculture.

Read More

Mutation: Is It Useful or Harmful in Plant Breeding

Geetha Devi G.

All mutations are not harmful or all are useful but some can transform the future of agriculture. In the past mutations are considered to be harmful and it leads to genetic disorders in human beings, but in plant breeding mutations have played a remarkable role in the development of diverse cum superior crop varieties. This article includes about what is mutation, how mutations are created, merits and demerits and its application in crop improvement.

Read More

Disease Free Fish for Better Processing: Importance of Fish Health in Value Addition

C E Bridgete Princey and G. Anbu Kani Selvam

The production of disease-free fish is fundamental to ensuring the quality, safety, and value addition of seafood products. Fish health directly influences muscle quality, processing efficiency, shelf life, and consumer acceptance, making it an essential component of modern aquaculture and seafood processing. Infectious diseases and physiological stress can cause tissue damage, microbial contamination, biochemical deterioration, and quality defects that reduce the suitability of fish for processing into high-value products such as fillets, surimi, smoked fish, canned products, and ready-to-cook items. Furthermore, poor fish health contributes to increased post-harvest losses, economic losses, and food safety concerns throughout the seafood supply chain. Effective biosecurity measures, disease surveillance, hygienic harvesting, and Good Aquaculture Practices (GAP) help maintain fish quality before processing, while Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems, proper sanitation, cold-chain management, and advanced preservation technologies ensure product safety and quality during processing. Integrating fish pathology with fish processing technology provides a comprehensive farm-to-fork approach that enhances seafood quality, minimizes losses, supports sustainable aquaculture, and improves the production of safe and value-added fish products. Promoting disease-free fish production therefore benefits farmers, processors, consumers, and the seafood industry by improving profitability, food safety, and long-term sustainability.

Read More

CRISPR-Cas9: A New Way to Improve Crops Through Gene Editing

Aastha Kushwaha et al.

Biotic and abiotic stresses drive major global crop losses, a problem intensified by climate change. Classical breeding and genetic engineering, are useful but they are slow, limited in genetic diversity, and often face regulatory challenges. CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing offers a precise, affordable alternative, using a guide RNA and Cas9 enzyme to introduce targeted DNA changes without foreign gene insertion. India has emerged as a leader among developing nations, with public institutions developing transgene-free, genome-edited rice, wheat, and mustard varieties, while millets stand out as a promising next frontier for climate-resilient nutrition. Despite challenges?limited genomic resources, regulatory ambiguity, and smallholder access?supportive policies such as India's 2022 genome-editing guidelines are accelerating adoption. With continued investment and clear regulation, CRISPR-Cas9 can help build a more resilient, food-secure agricultural future.

Read More

Soil Compaction: Implications for Root Growth and Development

N. Sainath et al.

Soil compaction is a major constraint to sustainable agricultural production, adversely affecting soil physical properties, root growth, nutrient uptake, and crop productivity. It results from heavy machinery, livestock traffic, intensive tillage, repeated cultivation, and inherent soil characteristics, leading to increased bulk density and reduced pore space. Compacted soils restrict root penetration, limit oxygen availability, impair water infiltration and drainage, reduce nutrient accessibility, and increase the risk of soil erosion, ultimately affecting plant growth and yield. Effective management of soil compaction involves regular soil monitoring, conservation tillage, cover cropping, mechanical loosening through subsoiling or aeration, incorporation of organic amendments, and controlled traffic farming. Adopting these integrated management practices improves soil structure, enhances root development, and supports sustainable crop production while preserving long-term soil health.

Read More

The Epigenetics of Bloom: How Climate Stress Triggers Memory in Dahlia Tubers for the Next Growing Season

Aditi Nayak and Dr. Pragyanshree Mishra

Plants cannot flee from stress, they must endure it, adapt to it, and remember it. Dahlia variabilis, a geophyte with underground tuberous storage roots, offers a compelling model for understanding how climate-induced stress experiences are encoded in the plant body and carried into the next growing season. This article examines the molecular mechanisms by which heat, drought, and cold stresses imprint epigenetic marks, principally DNA methylation, histone modifications, and small RNA-mediated pathways onto dahlia tuber chromatin during the growing season. These marks persist through winter dormancy and influence gene expression upon resprouting the following spring, producing a primed, faster, and more robust response to the same stressors. Drawing on evidence from model species and geophytic analogues, we propose that epigenetic stress memory is functionally adaptive in dahlias ? a biological insurance policy written in chemistry rather than DNA sequence.

Read More