Rice (Oryza sativa) is the major food crop in terms of production and economy and grown in all ecological regions of Nepal. Rice is cultivated traditionally through transplanting of 20-25 days old seedling in the country. Due to unavailability of suitable technology for rice cultivation, there is a huge yield gap in rice production of Nepal. Country has made target of self-sufficiency in rice production by 2020 AD. This target can be achieved through adoption of Direct seeded rice cultivation technology of rice cultivation which also helps to adapt in the climate change scenario of Nepal. Due to issues of water scarcity and expensive labour, direct seeded rice cultivation technology is adopting worldwide. Direct seeded rice is a resource conservation technology and reduces water and labor use by 50%. Productivity of DSR is 5-10% more than the yield of transplanted rice. It offers a very exhilarating opportunity to improve water and environmental sustainability. Methane gas emissions is lower in DSR than with conventionally tilled transplanted puddle rice. It involves sowing pre-germinated seeds into a puddled soil surface (wet seeding), standing water (water seeding) or dry seeding into a prepared seedbed (dry seeding). Precise water management, particularly during crop emergence phase (first 7-15 days after sowing), is crucial in direct seeded rice. Furthermore, weed infestation is the major problem, which can cause large yield losses in direct seeded rice. Weed management in DSR can be done through chemical, hand weeding or stale seed bed method.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the major vegetable crops of Nepal. Potato is grown all over the globe and consumed as either vegetable or staple food depending upon the crop production scenario. It is also an integral part of human diet. Potato is a high nutrient mining crop and needs higher fertilization for economic tuber production. Despite sufficient application of Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P2O5), low replenishment and widespread potassium deficiency are limiting the potato production in Nepalese condition. Growth parameters such as plant height, leaf area and chlorophyll% was positively correlated with potassium application. Potassium alleviated stresses of frost and drought and reduced incidence of diseases like late blight, black scurf and hollow heart. Potassium also decreased the reducing sugar content and improved chips color and quality. Similarly, potassium application before harvest was found to increase storage life of potato tubers. Furthermore, potassium application significantly increased the yield of potato tubers and quality parameters such as Vitamin C content and specific gravity. Source of potassium and method of potassium application also affected growth, yield and quality parameters. Soil application of potassium in splits coupled with foliar spay was found to perform better.  Optimum dose of potassium was recommended for economic tuber production Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(2): 161-166