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A GPS based soil sampling and testing was done in 10 blocks of Birbhum district under monitoring of Rathindra Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Birbhum during 2018 and 2019. In this regard, some soil chemical properties were analysed through Mridaparikshak (soil testing kit). After statistical analysis, pooled data of different soil nutrients were compared based on GPS to prepare a data base for easy fertiliser recommendation of different crops without soil testing. It was found that soil pH (6.29 to 5.50), soil O.C (0.77 to 0.31%), available K (292.12 to 226.60 kg/ha), available B (0.81 to 0.17 mg/kg)  and available Fe (44.4 to 21.5 mg/kg) had been decreased with the increase in latitude from 23°04' 07.4500" to 24°11' 15.3400" and longitude. Recommendation of more liming, organic manure, K, B may be done accordingly. On the other hand, available N (184.0 to 296.95 kg/ha), available P (15.05 to 62.76 kg/ha), available S (11.43 to 44.52 kg/ha) and available Zn (0.20 to 1.04 mg/kg) showed sharp direct relation with the increase in Latitude as supported by higher CV value.

I N CEREAL crops Zinc (Zn) deficiency has become a major problem which causes reduction in yield and nutritional quality of the cereal grain, thus affecting human health. Being an essential micronutrient for the production of rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop, Zn deficiency appears to be an acute problem for the human population whose staple food is rice. Small increase in the nutritive value of rice can thus contribute to the human nutrition. Thus, increasing the micronutrient content of a food crop with the help of enriched fertilizers appears to be an effective way. During two successive growing seasons (wet season, 2017 and dry season, 2018) at the experimental farm of PalliSiksha Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, West Bengal, India, field experiments were carried out to assess the potential of Zn fertilizer on plant height, grain quality, leaf chlorophyll and leaf Zn content of rice plant variety MTU-1010 by application of foliar Nano-ZnO (Zinc oxide) and soil ZnSO 4 .7H 2 O (Zinc Sulphate Hepta Hydrate). In both seasons, each experiment was conducted in a randomized block design (RBD) with three replicates. Soil Zn as ZnSO 4 .H 2 O applications were assigned in the plots at the rate of 5 kg/ha and 0.30% nano-ZnO were assigned as foliar Zn spray along with the basal doses of 80 kg nitrogen (N), 40 kg phosphorus (P 2 O 5 ) and 40 kg potassium (K 2 O)/ha as per the treatment details. After 15 days, 30 days, 45 days from transplanting and at the time of flowering as well as post-flowering chlorophyll (a, b, a+b) and Zn in rice plant leaves were determined. Plant heights were recorded after 30 days, 60 days and 90 days from transplanting and at the time of harvest. Quality parameters such as amylose, starch and crude protein content of the grain samples were determined at harvest stage. The results obtained from present assessment showed that, application of soil as well as foliar Zn resulted in significant increase in leaf Zn content, chlorophyll content, grain crude protein and plant height compared to the control. No significant effect on starch and amylose was recorded with Zn fertilization. Foliar spraying with 0.30% nano-ZnO at the time of flowering and post flowering showed a significant augmentation in leaf Zn concentration, chlorophyll content, plant height and quality of rice grain compared to the treatments receiving soil Zn application. Therefore, it is considered as a more beneficial treatment in the cultivation of rice plants to promote plant growth and quality.

Agricultural production in India is highly vulnerable to climate change. Transformational change to farming systems is required to cope with this changing climate to maintain food security, and ensure farming to remain economically viable.  The south Asian rice-fallow systems occupying 22.3 million ha with about 88% in India, mostly (82%) concentrated in the eastern states, are under threat. These systems currently provide economic and food security for about 11 million people, but only achieve 50% of their yield potential. Improvement in productivity is possible through efficient utilization of these fallow lands. The relatively low production occurs because of sub-optimal water and nutrient management strategies. HHaJathrough Historically, the Agro-met advisory service has assisted farmers and disseminated information at a district-level for all the states. In some instances, Agro-met delivers advice at the block level also, but in general, farmers use to follow the district level advice and develop an appropriate management plan like land preparation, sowing, irrigation timing, harvesting etc. The advisories are generated through the District Agrometeorology Unit (DAMU) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) network, that consider medium-range weather forecast. Unfortunately, these forecasts advisories are general and broad in nature for a given district and do not scale down to the individual field or farm. Farmers must make complex crop management decisions with limited or generalised information.  The lack of fine scale information creates uncertainty for farmers, who then develop risk-averse management strategies that reduce productivity.  It is unrealistic to expect the Agro-met advisory service to deliver bespoke information to every farmer and to every field simply with the help of Kilometre-scale weather forecast. New technologies must be embraced to address the emerging crises in food security and economic prosperity. Despite these problems, Agro-met has been successful. New digital technologies have emerged though, and these digital technologies should become part of the Agro-met arsenal to deliver valuable information directly to the farmers at the field scale.  The Agro-met service is poised to embrace and deliver new interventions through technology cross-sections such as satellite remote sensing, drone-based survey, mobile based data collection systems, IoT based sensors, using insights derived from a hybridisation of crop and AIML (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning) models. These technological advancements will generate fine-scale static and dynamic Agro-met information on cultivated lands, that can be delivered through Application Programming Interface (APIs) and farmers facing applications.  We believe investment in this technology, that delivers information directly to the farmers, can reverse the yield gap, and address the negative impacts of a changing climate.