A three-year field experiment was carried out to assess the efficacy of various tillage and residue management practices, as well as weed management approaches, in a rice–wheat–green gram rotation. The treatments included: conventional till transplanted rice–conventional till wheat–fallow (T1); conventional till transplanted rice–zero-till wheat–zero-till green gram (T2); conventional till direct-seeded rice—conventional-till wheat—zero-till green gram (T3); zero-till direct-seeded rice—zero-till wheat—zero-till green gram (T4); zero-till direct-seeded rice + residue zero-till wheat + residue zero-till green gram (T5). In weed management, three treatments are as follows: recommended herbicides (W1); integrated weed management (W2); and unweeded (W3). The integrated weed management treatment had the lowest weed biomass, which was 44.3, 45.3, and 33.7% lower than the treatment W3 at 30 and 60 days after sowing and harvest, respectively. T1 grain and straw yielded more than T2 in the early years than in subsequent years. The conventional till transplanted rice–zero-till wheat–zero-till green gram system produced 33.6, 37.6, and 27.7% greater net returns than the zero-till direct-seeded rice—zero-till wheat—zero-till greengram system, respectively. Conventional till transplanted rice–conventional till wheat–fallow had the biggest reduction (0.41%) in soil organic carbon from the initial value. The findings of the study demonstrated that adopting the transplanting method for rice, followed by zero tillage for wheat and green gram, enhanced productivity and profitability, while simultaneously preserving soil health.

The Green revolution era has been the golden period for boosting food production specifically in South-Asia, but the signs of fatigue in the late 1980s with a sharp decline in factor productivity, stagnation in crop yields with dwindling and marginal farm incomes pose a serious threat to food security, agricultural sustainability, soil and environmental health. In a nutshell, growing concerns related to the decline in soil health, productivity and nutrient-use efficiency (NUE) are compelling farmers to use higher amounts of chemical fertilizers during the last two decades. The low NUE and associated environmental pollution as well as global warming problems have increased serious apprehension about the existing nutrient management practices. As such, it is high time to develop sitespecific nutrient management (SSNM) technologies that are able to balance crop and soil nutrient dynamics. The SSNM is need-based feeding of crops with nutrients while acknowledging the inherent spatial variability, which enhances crop productivity, profitability, NUE and avoids nutrient loss. For efficient and effective SSNM, the use of soil and plant nutrient status sensing devices, decision support systems, simulation models, and machines for varying applications of nutrients plays a major role. This paper deals with the SSNM technologies and tools that have the potential to enhance NUE, crop productivity, profitability as well as sustainability.

The experiment entitled “Impact of different tillage and nutrient management strategies on productivity and profitability of direct seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.)” was conducted in an ongoing trial at the Agronomical Research Farm (plot no. 5) of Tirhut College of Agriculture, Dholi (RPCAU, Pusa) during Kharif 2019. The experiment was laid out in a ‘split-plot design’ with tillage practices under main plot treatments and nutrient management practices as subplot treatments. The results revealed that both tillage and nutrient management practices significantly influenced all the growth parameters of rice. Significantly higher plant height, no. of tillers/m2, dry matter production and superior CGR at all the stages of crop growth were recorded in Zero tillage + Residue management over conventional tillage among tillage practices which was statistically at par with Zero tillage and in SSNM based on Nutrient expert over RDF among nutrient management treatments which was statistically at par with 60 % RDN + GSGN + 100% PK of RDF. Zero tillage + Residue management and Zero tillage increased the grain yield of direct seeded rice to the tune of 14.03 and 10.15 per cent over Conventional tillage, respectively. While SSNM based on Nutrient expert and 60 % RDN + GSGN + 100% PK of RDF increased grain yield of direct seeded rice to the tune of 14.91 and 12.07 per cent over RDF, respectively.