Artificial fruit ripening agents have become increasingly popular in recent years. During the off-seasons, various ripening agents are used for the ripening of banana fruits. The effects of various ripening agents of banana fruits (variety: Malbhog) were studied. Seven treatments consisting of distilled water, Gibberellic acid (GA3) @ 100 ppm, GA3 @ 200 ppm, GA3 @ 300 ppm, kinetin @ 3 ppm, kinetin @ 5 ppm, and kinetin @ 7 ppm were laid out in a Completely Randomized Design with three replications. The maximum loss in weight (9.195%), Total Soluble Solids (20.33 B), the highest color score (6), pH (4.767), Total Soluble Solids/Titratable Acidity TA (34.23), and Pulp peel ratio (2.84) were observed in banana sprayed with distilled water whereas the minimum value for TSS (12.67 B), pulp peel ratio (1.813), peel color rating (2.67), TSS/TA (15.32) were observed in GA3 @ 300 ppm treated fruits. The maximum (32.67 days) and the minimum (18.33 days) shelf-life was observed in GA3 @ 300 ppm and distilled water respectively. This research will help in the regulation of ripening as per the needs of consumers and the distance of the market. In horticulture, it will help to extend storage life and reduce quality and economic loss.

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About 70-80% losses in agricultural production due to microbial disease is caused by fungal pathogens. There are around 8,000 fungal species that cause 100,000 diseases in plants. It is impossible to control such a large species of fungi with chemical fungicides alone. Even if it is made possible, it would bring negative impacts to the environment and human health. Thus, it is a high time to seek an alternative to chemical fungicides which should be eco-friendly. Botanical fungicides can be the viable and sustainable alternative in this regard. A number of researches have proved the fungicidal properties of phytochemicals. They are easily degradable; maintain soil properties and safe to the environment and human. In the present context, researchers are showing interest towards botanical fungicides. Nevertheless, their commercialization and wide-scale adoption have not yet achieved. Thus, this study aims to reveal the current status and fungicidal properties of various potential plants and, also to investigate challenges for its adoption in commercial scale through critical analysis of the related literatures. Lack of sufficient knowledge and extension facilities at the farmer’s level and slow result as compared to chemical fungicides are the major reasons behind their poor adoption. Thus, it is a high time for the collaboration among researchers, policy makers, businessman and farmers for the exploration, legalization, proper marketing and wide-scale adoption of botanical fungicides. If the approaches like sustainable agriculture, organic farming and integrated pest management (IPM) need to be extended, focuses should be given towards botanical fungicides.

Forests play a vital role in Nepalese rural communities, which rely on them for firewood, employment, additional meals, and good health to sustain and improve their lifestyles. It has contributed to the Nepalese farming system. Soil helps in regulating ecological processes like nutrient uptake, decomposition, and water availability in the forest. Nepal’s annual soil loss ranges from 2-105 t ha-1 with 34% water-induced erosion, 60% mass wasting (geological erosion), and 3 % by wind erosion. Forest soil requires various management and conservation practices to minimize the exploitation of forest lands. Hence, this article explains the ongoing soil conservation approaches like Afforestation, Agroforestry, and community forest management in Nepal. This article can also be the roadmap for the formulation of appropriate policies in soil conservation, and indirectly in maintaining sustainability in the ecology.

Present irrational crop and nutrient management practices have raised several concerns of high merit. The concerns include low factor productivity or nutrient use efficiency (NUE), declining crop productivity, farmer’s profitability, impaired soil health and ecological contamination. Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM), after considering indigenous nutrient supplying capacity of soil using plant and soil analysis, can feed the crop in synchrony with its nutrient requirement in different physiological growth stages. Besides, several modern geospatial techniques viz. remote sensing techniques, geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), proximal sensing; information and communication technologies (ICTs) including decision support system, smartphone apps and web services can also assist in diagnosis of soil and crop nutrient status, fertilizer recommendation and its dissemination to users. Optical and thermal remote sensing can effectively detect crop stress including nitrogen (N) deficiency through several vegetation indices especially normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). GIS techniques with spatial data acquired by GPS, can create spatial variability map and management zone (MZ) for precise farm operations including variable rate fertilization. Proximal crop sensors viz. chlorophyll meter and Green Seeker can also recognize crop nitrogen status and promote fertilizer N use efficiency by synchronizing fertilizer N supply with crop requirement. Even proximal soil sensing using electromagnetic radiation and contact electrode can estimate soil properties like soil pH, electrical conductivity, major and micronutrient content. Several decision support systems such as QUEFTS based model, crop manager, nutrient expert® and smartphone apps like ‘crop doctor’ can suggest for precise application of agro-inputs to rural youths and farmers. Yield monitoring and mapping tool can generate historical GIS database for spatial variability of crop yield under farmers’ crop management practices and assessment of nutrient uptake. Variable rate machinery based on variability map and sensor technologies can also be used for fertilization under different management zones. Therefore, SSNM technologies can enhance NUE; improve and sustain crop productivity, profitability; avoid nutrient wastage; maintain good soil health and environmental safety.