Vegetable production is an important sector of economy for farmers in Nepal. The analysis was carried out to explore the trends in vegetable production sector in Nepal along with the recent trend of some major vegetables in terms of area, production and yield. The time series data from 1977/78 to 2016/17 (40 years) of vegetables production and 5 years data (2011/12 - 2015/16) of major vegetables were collected from reliable source and analysis was done through Microsoft Excel. The results show that between 1977/78 and 2016/17 the area under vegetables cultivation has jumped by 222.8% while production is increased by 728.21% and productivity is increased by 156.6% during this course. The result also reveals that during the period of 5 years (2011/12 - 2015/16), solanaceous and cruciferous vegetables has an increasing trend in area, production and yield except for the area under cultivation for eggplant (declined by 5.2%) and for radish (declined by 6.0%) respectively while cucurbitaceous vegetables has increasing trend in area and production but an declining trend in yield except for the yield of cucumber (increased by 15.8%). However, the trend of other major vegetables is seen highly fluctuating over the years.

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Low grain protein in hard red winter (HRW) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a serious challenge for rainfed wheat growers, particularly in years with elevated grain yield.Proper nitrogen (N) management with adequate N rate and application timing is critical for optimizing grain yield and protein content. This 2-yr experiment evaluated the effects of different N rates and application timings (fall, spring, and split) on grain yield and protein of two HRW wheat cultivars. Field studies were conducted at four different sites across Nebraska under rainfed conditions in 2018/2019 (Year 1) and 2019/2020 (Year 2). A split-plot randomized complete block design with wheat cultivars as the whole plots and factorial combinations of six N rates and three application timings as the subplots was used in four replications. Grain yield was associated positively and grain protein negatively with the water supply to demand ratio (WS/WD) in the season. Freeman cultivar yielded better in a year with higher WS/WD and a newly developed cultivar, Ruth, yielded better in a lower WS/WD year. Nitrogen fertilization significantly increased grain yield in the site-years with moderately higher WS/WD. There was an increase in grain protein with increasing N rates at all siteyears. Spring and split-applied N resulted in better grain yield than fall application in the site-year when there was a risk of N loss. This experiment suggested that an effective N management strategy for winter wheat should account for and be adaptable to weather variability to optimize grain yield and protein content.

Besides a proper agronomic management followed by Nepalese farmers, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production has been severely affected by changing climate. There are many interventions, including climate-smart practices, to cope with this situation and possibly enhance crop and soil productivity. Field experiments were set up in a randomized complete block design with six treatments (TRT) with four replications in three locations (LOC) during wheat-growing seasons in Nepal from 2014 to 2016. Treatments included (i) Controlled Practice (CP), (ii) Improved Low (IL), (iii) Improved High (IH), (iv) Climate Smart Agriculture Low (CSAL), (v) Climate Smart Agriculture Medium (CSAM), and (vi) Climate Smart Agriculture High (CSAH), whereas those LOC were Banke, Rupandehi and Morang districts. There was a significant main effect of TRT and LOC on grain yield and a significant interactionn effect of TRT × LOC on biomass yield in 2014–2015. About 55.5% additional grain yield was produced from CSAM treatment compared to CP in 2014–2015. Among locations, grain yield was the highest in Banke (3772.35 kg ha−1) followed by Rupandehi (2504.47 kg ha−1) and Morang districts (2504.47 kg ha−1). In 2015–2016, there was a significant interaction effect of TRT × LOC on grain and biomass yields. The highest grain yield was produced from CSAH treatment in Banke district in 2015–2016. Overall, grain yield and other parameters showed a better response with either of the climate-smart interventions (mostly CSAH or CSAM) despite variability in geography, climate, and other environmental factors indicating the potential of climate-smart practices to improve wheat production in southern plains of Nepal.

Saurav Das is a postdoctoral research associate, Deepak Ghimire is a graduate student, and Bijesh Maharjan (corresponding author) is an assistant professor in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska. Keith Berns is co-owner of Green Cover Seed, Bladen, Nebraska, and was the chair of Nebraska Healthy Soils Task Force.

A proper understanding of variability of soil chemical properties over an area is important for identifying the soil nutrients related production constraints. The suggestions for remedial measures and execution of appropriate nutrient management strategies are also based on the good knowledge of variation in soil nutrients. A case study was undertaken with an objective of assessing spatial variability of selected soil chemical properties of agricultural land. Soil samples from the surface (0 to 15 cm) were collected from farmers’ field in the central part of Kavrepalanchowk district of Nepal in February 2018. Soil samples were analyzed for soil pH, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K). Descriptive statistics revealed that the soil in the study area was slightly acidic and contained the low status of TOC, P, and K, while the N content was medium. Coefficient of variation (CV) indicated that soil pH was the least variable (CV= 9.37% with values ranging from 5.3 to 7.7) among the investigated soil samples while N was the most variable (CV= 98.81% with content values ranging from 0.03% to 0.67%). Other selected properties (TOC, P, and K) were found to be highly variable (CV= 49.94%, 94.89%, and 57.53% respectively). These variations in soil chemical properties were mostly related to the different cropping systems and soil management practices, including nutrient management carried out in the study area. Owing to the higher variability of nutrients, the results suggested to take into account various soil and nutrient management practices for sustained soil fertility and enhanced productivity.

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