Intensive agriculture is based on the use of high-energy inputs and quality planting materials with assured irrigation, but it has failed to assure agricultural sustainability because of creation of ecological imbalance and degradation of natural resources. On the other hand, intercropping systems, also known as mixed cropping or polyculture, a traditional farming practice with diversified crop cultivation, uses comparatively low inputs and improves the quality of the agro-ecosystem. Intensification of crops can be done spatially and temporally by the adoption of the intercropping system targeting future need. Intercropping ensures multiple benefits like enhancement of yield, environmental security, production sustainability and greater ecosystem services. In intercropping, two or more crop species are grown concurrently as they coexist for a significant part of the crop cycle and interact among themselves and agro-ecosystems. Legumes as component crops in the intercropping system play versatile roles like biological N fixation and soil quality improvement, additional yield output including protein yield, and creation of functional diversity. But growing two or more crops together requires additional care and management for the creation of less competition among the crop species and efficient utilization of natural resources. Research evidence showed beneficial impacts of a properly managed intercropping system in terms of resource utilization and combined yield of crops grown with low-input use. The review highlights the principles and management of an intercropping system and its benefits and usefulness as a low-input agriculture for food and environmental security.

The experiment was conducted at agricultural farm of Palli Siksha Bhavana, Visva-Bharati at Sriniketan of Birbhum district, West Bengal during pre-rabi season of 2015 to study the effect of zinc on growth and productivity of baby corn. The soil at experimental site was analysed sandy loam in texture with low in available N, medium in available P 2 O 5 and K 2 O and slightly acidic (p H : 4.78) in nature. The experiment was carried out in RBD with 8 treatments. Each treatment was replicated thrice and the different treatments viz. absolute control, soil application of Zn @ 6 kg ha-1 , soil application of Zn @ 10 kg ha-1 , seed

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Oat is one of the important fodder crops widely grown during winter season for grain purpose as well as green fodder in different parts of the World. The experiment was conducted during rabi seasons of 2014-15 and 2015-16 at Agricultural research farm, Institute of Agriculture (Palli Siksha Bhavana), Sriniketan, West Bengal, India for studying the effect of nutrient solublizers combination with on growth, productivity and economics on grain oat. The treatments consists of eleven treatments including absolute control viz.,

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