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Key soil parameters, organic matter, soil pH and plant nutrients determine the capacity of a soil to sustain plant and animal productivity. Conservation agriculture (CA) and crop diversification or intensification may change these soil parameters positively or negatively, which eventually affect long-term sustainability. We monitored these key soil properties (at depths of 0–15 and 15–30 cm) under CA-based sustainable intensification practices: zero-till (ZT), and crop residue retention, and crop rotations on Inceptisols and Entisols in the Eastern Ganga Alluvial Plains from 2014 to 2017. The rainfall of this sub-tropical region is 1273–3201 mm. Soil organic carbon (C) ranged within 0.46–1.13% and generally followed (positive) rainfall gradients. At all sites, the soil under ZT tended to have higher organic C than conventional tillage (CT). Soil pHH2O ranged within 5.7–7.8 across the region. At all sites, soil pH generally decreased under ZT compared to CT. This was most marked at some acidic soil sites where pH decreased by up to 0.4 units; the lower the initial soil pH, the higher was the decrease in pH under ZT practice. In contrast, the reverse trend was observed for soil organic C. Partial nutrient balances for N, P and K in rice–wheat and rice–maize systems were positive for N and P (<50 kg ha–1) but negative for K (up to 90 kg ha–1) under both tillage practices; more so under ZT practice even though crop residues were retained. Changes under ZT provide an opportunity to maintain soil organic C. However, remediation measures such as liming and efficient use of fertilisers are required for long-term sustainability of the farming systems in this agriculturally important region of South Asia.

The eastern sub-Himalayan plain of India is a popular potato growing belt in which vast scope exists to introduce processing grade cultivars. The selection and introduction of a better quality processing grade cultivar in this region may pave the way for the processing industries. Keeping these in the backdrop, this study was conducted at Instructional Farm of Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya (UBKV), Pundibari, Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India under eastern sub-Himalayan plains during winter seasons of 2016–17 and 2017–18 in which seven processing type potato cultivars (Kufri Chipsona-1, Kufri Chipsona-3, Kufri Chipsona-4, Kufri Frysona, Kufri Himsona, Kufri Surya and Kufri Chandramukhi) were evaluated in terms of different quality parameters pre-requisite for chips processing viz., dry matter content, specific gravity, starch content, chips colour score, crispiness and hardness of chips through randomised complete block design (RCBD). The study revealed wide variation in all quality parameters amongst the cultivars. Cultivar ‘Kufri Frysona’ showed the highest specific gravity (1.121) as well as dry matter content (23.35%) followed by ‘Kufri Chipsona-3’. The cultivar ‘Kufri Frysona’ showed the highest starch content (28.52%) too. Chips prepared from ‘Kufri Chipsona-1’ were recorded to be crispier with a relatively lower value of deformation before the first break and less hardness value. All processing type potato cultivar reflected the chips colour score <3 (evaluated, based on 1–10 scale, 10 being the darkest and least desirable) though ‘Kufri Frysona’ had the lowest chips colour score (1.50) signifying its superiority for the region. ‘Kufri Frysona’ cultivation could be recommended in this agro-climatic region particularly for chips manufacturing potato industries.

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