Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the important staple food crop accounting 44 % of the total food grains and contributes 20 per cent of share in national AGDP. A total of 700-1500 mm of water is required per cropping season to cultivate rice under traditional practices in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia depending on soil texture and prevailing

Direct-seeded rice (DSR) is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method of crop establishment. Weed menaces in DSR considerably reduce the yield potential, which can be addressed by effective irrigation and weed management practices. Information on the impact of various water-saving irrigations and brown manure (BM) on water use, weed studies, and the yield of drum-sown rice is very limited. A field investigation was conducted to determine the effects of alternate wetting and drying irrigation (AWDI) methods (10 cm, 15 cm dropped from FWT and farmers practices) and BM (Sesbania at 15, 20 and 25 kg ha-1, Pretilachlor 0.45 kg ha-1 as PE fbBispyribac Na 25 g ha-1 as PoE + hand weeding (HW) on 45 DAS, HW at 20 and 45 DAS, and weedy check. The results revealed that AWDI at 15 cm depletion of FWT with HW on 20 and 45 DAS increased the water use efficiency (5.3 kg ha mm-1), water productivity (0.53 kg m-3), water saving percentage (35.83%), and reduced the water consumption (770 mm). Continuous submergence with HW at 20 and 45 DAS significantly increased grain (4.4 t ha-1) and straw yield (6.5 t ha-1). At the same time, it reduced the grasses (53.3 and 58.4%) and sedges (76 and 75%), density and dry weight, respectively, over AWDI at 10 cm dropped from FWT. Thus, irrigation at 10 cm below FWT with sesbania BM at 20 kg ha-1 could be recommended for higher productivity of drum-sown rice under sodic soil conditions.

Direct seeded rice (DSR) production has been recognised as a more efficient way for conserving both labour and water. However, in regards to irrigation and brown manuring (BM), DSR has gotten relatively little attention. Hence, a field study was conducted to findout the effect of irrigation and brown manuring on physiological characters and yield of DSR (TRY 3) under sodic soil condition. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design and each replicated thrice. The main plots consist of irrigation after 10 cm (M1) and 15 cm (M2) depletion of field water tube and irrigation after the disappearance of ponded water (M3). The sub plots consist of sesbania BM at 15 (S1), 20 (S2) and 25 kg ha-1 (S3), PE Pretilachlor at 0.45 kg ha-1 fb PoE Bispyribac sodium at 25 g ha-1 + hand weeding (HW) on 45 DAS (S4), HW (S5) and weedy check (S6). Results revealed that higher SPAD value was recorded under M3 which was on par with M1. Among sub plots maximum SPAD value was recorded with S5 followed by S4 and S2. Treatment M2 recorded maximum proline content. There is no significant difference found in relative water content (RWC). However, higher RWC content was observed in M3. At the same time, higher grain and straw yield were recorded under M3 with S5, followed by M1 with S5. However, due to a large amount of water required and the higher labour costs associated with hand weeding, M1 with S2 was the best choice for increasing DSR productivity.

Green gram prefers neutral soil reactions and is sensitive to saline and alkaline soil conditions. Around 2.1 % of the country's geographical area is salt-affected, of which 3.77 million ha is sodic soil. Rehabilitation of salt-affected soil using drainage is expensive and leaching with good quality water is not feasible. To overcome this, a field experiment was conducted at Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tiruchirappalli, during summer 2022 to study the effect of soil amendments and foliar nutrition under sodic soil. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with three replications. The treatments comprised of different varieties in main plots (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 and M6)  and different soil amendments with foliar application in sub plots (S1, S2 and S3). The results showed that VBN (Gg) 4 + gypsum @ 50 % GR + pressmud @ 10 t ha-1 + FS of brassinosteroid 0.2 ppm (M4S1) registered higher plant height (18.31, 31.52 & 60.63 cm), DMP (907, 1932 & 2969 kg ha-1), CGR (3.02, 6.83 & 4.15 g m-2 d-1) and SPAD value (37.56, 41.62 & 30.57) at 30, 45 DAS and harvest. The same treatments increased grain and haulm yield of 997 and 2232 kg ha-1. It also increased all agro-meteorological indices viz., GDD, HTU, PTU, RTD and HUE of green gram. However, comparable results were obtained with VBN (Gg) 4 + gypsum @ 50 % GR + CSR GROMOR @ 25 kg ha-1 + FS of brassinosteroid 0.2 ppm (M4S2).

Organic farming, which essentially excludes the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, is becoming popular worldwide. The covid-19 pandemic has positively impacted on the market due to growing awareness towards the healthy and nutritional diets. As a result, demand for organic fruits and vegetables has increased over the world. Organic fruits and vegetables are in higher demand than ever before, owing to lower production and rising global consumption. However, due to the high cost of production, organic fruit and vegetable supply is limited in comparison to demand. Several experiments were conducted for comparing the organic and conventional fruits and vegetables quality. The results obtained from the studies showed Vitamins like ascorbic acid and beta carotene, Total polyphenols, dry matter accumulation, fiber content and Total Soluble Solids were higher in organic fruits and vegetables than conventional farming. Other mineral nutrient contents like Ca, Mg, K, Cu, Fe, Zn, PO4, SO4 were found similar both in organic and conventional farm produce. Cooking of organic vegetables at high temperatures is not preferable because it shows higher polyphenols losses during cooking than conventional produces. Heavy metals contamination, pesticide residues, ammonium and nitrate contents were lower in organic produce than conventional crops. Organic foods are better for the environment and more nutritious. It can be concluded that organic crops have a lower amount of contaminants, but a higher quality compared to conventional crops.