Due to complexity of smallholder farms, many times technologies with great potential fail to achieve the desired impact in leveraging productivity and profitability of the farming community. In the Indo-Gangetic Plains there is an urgent need to understand the diversity of farm households, identifying the main drivers deciding their system thus, classifying them into homogenous groups. In the present study, the diversity of smallholder farms was assessed using crop, livestock and income related characteristics and associated farm mechanization. Using principal component analysis and cluster analysis for 252 farm households, 4 farm types were identified i.e. Type 1. Small Farm households with cereal-based cropping system and subsistence livestock (39%), Type 2. Small Farm households with diversified cropping system dominated by cereal and fodder crops with only cattle herd (9%), Type 3. Marginal Farm household with diversified cropping system dominated by cash crop and herd comprising of only cattle (39%), Type 4. Marginal Farm household with diversified cropping system dominated by cereal crops and herd dominated by small ruminants (12%). Based on the constraints identified for different components of farming systems, low-cost interventions were planned for each farm type. These interventions have resulted in 84.8–103.2 per cent increase in the income of the farm HH under study suggesting usefulness of typology-based intervention planning in increasing income of small farm holders.

Land terracing is a vital means to minimize soil erosion in steep slopes of north eastern region of India. Monocropping of turmeric is one of the main production systems in these terraces, resulting in poor land productivity and profitability. Hence, a fixed plot field experiment was undertaken during five consecutive years (2012–17) at ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Meghalaya by involving five vertical cropping combinations, viz. turmeric (Curcuma longa)+cucumber (Cucumis sativus), turmeric+bottlegourd (Lagenaria siceraria), turmeric+sponge gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca), turmeric+squash (Sechium edule) and turmeric sole (open cultivation) to find out the best cucurbits for vertical integration with turmeric for efficient utilization of natural resources and profit maximization. Results revealed that integration of bottle gourd with turmeric in vertical fashion recorded the maximum system productivity (33.94 t/ha), profitability (` 1308 ha/day) and B:C ratio (3.37). Over all, vertical integration of cucurbits increased 38.52% yield of turmeric over open cultivation. Maximum enhancement in soil organic carbon (SOC) (2.18%), available N (241 kg/ha), P (22.2 kg/ha) and K (194.7 kg/ha) were recorded when squash was integrated with turmeric followed by turmeric + bottlegourd vertical cropping system. Integration of cucurbits with turmeric improves soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) level by 9.85% over the open cultivation of turmeric in dry terraces. Hence, vertical integration of cucurbits with turmeric not only enhances the system productivity and monetary returns of dry terraces but also improves the soil fertility status over open cultivation of turmeric.

Achieving an economically feasible and environmentally robust model in agriculture while satisfying the expanding population’s food demands is a global challenge. Hence, a three-year (2014–2017) study was conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana to design environmentally clean, energy-efficient, and profitable cropping systems. Twelve cropping systems viz., rice-wheat (CS1), basmati rice-hayola (transplanted)-mung bean (CS2), basmati rice-radish-maize (CS3), maize-potato-maize (CS4), maize + turmeric-barley + linseed (CS5), maize + turmeric-wheat + linseed (CS6), maize + radish-wheat + linseed-mung bean (CS7), groundnut + pigeon pea (5:1)-wheat + sarson (9:1) (CS8), maize + black gram-pea (bed) + celery (furrows) (CS9),: maize + pigeon pea-chickpea (bed) + gobhi sarson (furrows) (CS10), maize (green cobs) + vegetable cowpea + dhaincha (Sesbania spp.)-chickpea + gobhi sarson (CS11) and sorghum + cowpea (fodder)-wheat + gobhi sarson (9:1) (CS12) were tested in a four-times-replicated randomized block design. CS11 had the maximum system productivity (28.57 Mg ha−1), production efficiency (78.27 Kg Day−1 ha−1), irrigation water use efficiency (2.38 kg m−3), system net returns (4413.3 US$ ha−1), and benefit to cost (B:C) ratio (2.83) over others. In comparison to the CS1 system, this cropping system required ~78% less irrigation water for a unit economic production. However, the cultivation of CS12 registered the highest energy use efficiency (49.06%), net energy returns (6.46 × 103 MJ ha⁻¹), and global warming potential (GWP) (Mg CO2 e ha−1) at spatial scale. Among all the intensified systems, CS11 had the lowest GHGI (0.29 kg CO2 e kg−1). Furthermore, cultivation of CS6 resulted in the maximum bacterial and actinomycetes population in the soil, while CS5 yielded the highest fungal count (23.8 × 103 cfu g−1 dry soil) in soil. Our study suggests that the cultivation of CS11 is a resource-efficient, economically viable, and environmentally clean production system and could be a potential alternative to rice-wheat systems for developing a green economy policy for agricultural development in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India.

The government of India has long been striving to increase the food and nutritional security of rural and urban households. In this regard, kitchen/homestead gardens of limited available space can play an important role in fullfilling the demand for year-round diversified vegetable requirements. Considering the scope to self-reliant in year-round vegetable production and consumption through kitchen garden model, a field experiment was conducted for consecutive two years (2018–19) at the homestead garden of ICAR - IIFSR Modipuram Meerut. A total of 28 vegetables were selected for year-round vegetable cultivation and were planted in 15 beds varied from 2 to 8 m2. The year-round vegetable patterns under each bed were grown into 3 to 4 cropping seasons. The fifteen cropping patterns were arranged in 62 m2 net areas. The total year-round production of vegetables was 568.7 kg from 62 m2 net areas. Among the different groups of vegetables, 196 kg of root, bulb and tubers vegetables; 160.1 kg leafy and flower vegetables; 184.6 kg of fruit/vegetables and 25.8 kg of leguminous vegetables were obtained from 62 m2 net areas. In our finding, nearly 163 kg vegetable shortage to fullfills the demand of 5 members household. The shortage quantity of vegetables 163 kg can be obtained from increasing 18 m2 net areas in addition to exiting 62 m2. Notably, this model which fullfill the household demands of year-round vegetable requirements in a sustainable way as well as improve the food and nutritional security.

In the present investigation, the genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation, heritability, correlation and path coefficient analysis were worked out for yield and its contributing characters of 77 French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L) genotypes at Horticultural Research Station, TNAU, Udhagamandalam, Nilgiris,Tamil Nadu, India in 2018 with the objective of identifying desirable traits contributing to higher yield in French bean. Phenotypic coefficient of variation was slightly higher than genotypic coefficient of variation for all the characters suggesting the presence of environmental influence to some extent in the expression of these characters. High heritability along with high genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed for plant height, pods per plant and seed yield per plant indicating that these characters would be amenable for phenotypic selection. A considerable amount of genetic variability was observed among all the genotypes for all the characters under study. Genotypic coefficients variance and Phenotypic coefficients variance were highest for seed yield per plant followed by biological yield and number of pods per plant. High genetic advance coupled with high heritability were observed for plant height, days to 50% flowering, number of primary branches per plant, pod length, pod girth, seeds per pod, number of pods per plant, biological yield and seed yield per plant. Combined results of correlation coefficient and path analysis revealed that pods per plant, pod length, pod girth, biological yield and seed yield are major component traits for improvement of grain yield. The present findings could be useful in selecting superior genotypes in French bean breeding programmes.