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Residues of various crops are considered nuisance but they can be helpful in increasing organic matter in soil and better cycling of nutrients in soil if managed properly. Better management and utilization of crop residues (CR) is necessary for better productivity and quality of crops. Sowing into loose residues is the major issue in adapting the drill sowing method. Apart from the higher quantity of rice (192.82 mt) and wheat residue (120.70 mt), the residue of sorghum, maize, barley, chickpea, groundnut, rapeseed, mustard, sugarcane trash, potato, soybean, sunflower and some other minor cereals also contribute substantially towards total amount of about 462.93 million tonnes in India in 1997-98. Three quarters of the total residue is produced by rice, wheat and oil seed crops with remaining quarter coming from sugarcane and sorghum. Crop residue is important component of low external input for sustainable agriculture without sacrificing productivity. The crop residues left behind is considered as burden forcing farmers to burn them as cheap and easiest method with mistaken belief that it enhances the soil fertility and helps in controlling weeds, insects and pests. Different studies revealed that burning of residues causes air pollution and nutrient loss in soil. Improvements in soil properties and the sustainability in crop productivity could be achieved if CR are proper managed. Long-term field studies at sites carefully selected with variations in temperature, moisture, soil mineralogy and management of agricultural residues representing various cropping systems across regions should be identified and sustained. The possible benefits of crop residues for the improvement of degrading soil fertility would be completely understood only then. Owing to the competing requirements for such biomass for feed, fuel or building material, smallholder farmers typically find it difficult to maintain a soil cover for crop residue or a cover crop.

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India is on the verge to reduce its intensity of carbon emissions with an significant impetus to increase grid-based solar photovoltaic capacity, but there is a rising carbon footprint in the agricultural sector. In irrigated agriculture, there is a huge subsidies for electricity and diesel to pump groundwater combined with lack of water withdrawal regulations resulting in both groundwater over-exploitation and increased carbon emissions. To meet global energy demands with renewable energy such as solar Agrophotovoltaic (APV) systems are needed because of the relatively diffuse nature of solar energy requires large surface areas. Huge portions of the land will increase the competition for land-based resources by using solar APV farming, while demand for food production as well as energy grow and compete for limited land resources with increasing population. There was also a marked increase in the late-seasons biomass for APV panels were considerably more water-efficient. In order to minimize conflicts between food and energy production on land use, APV combines biomass cultivation and solar energy production at the same site for increasing land and water use efficiency. In conclusion, this review study suggests that little adaptation of crop practices should be required to move from an open crop to an agri-voltaic crop system, and attention should be focused on minimizing light reduction and selecting plants with maximum radiation efficiency under these fluctuating shade conditions for improving land and water use efficiency. Further, APV increases the economic benefit of agriculture in rural areas will contribute to decentralized, off-grid electrification and thus boost farm productivity. As such, APV can serve as a valuable technical approach to sustainable agriculture, helping to meet energy and food production challenges and also climate change hazards, simultaneously serving land and water resources.