India’s development story is a conundrum. Recent economic developments have not matched the parallel development in the food security front of the nation. Agriculture and food security are interlinked. Without sustainable agriculture and allied sector development, zero hunger by 2030 cannot be achieved. About 21.9% of the population is recorded below the poverty line. The percentage of the undernourished population was recorded in the downward direction, but still, 14% population is facing undernourishment. The study’s findings further revealed 17.5% and 34.7% wasting and stunting among children under five years of age, which were caused by the absence of the required nutritional level of food. The mortality rate of children under five declined, i.e., from 5.2% in 2012 to 3.7% in 2020. The analysis results concerning agricultural production revealed positive growth in the production of cereals, coarse cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables, and livestock products such as milk, eggs, and meat during the period under investigation. India produced food items like cereals & millet, fruits, sugar, milk, and eggs much more than the nation’s requirements except pulses, vegetables, and meat. Despite this, the problems of food insecurity and malnutrition persisted in the nation. The difference in food intake might be due to constraints in food distribution at regional and local levels and household-specific economic and non-economic factors. Over the last few years, the government has made significant efforts by launching various policies targeting food security, nutrition support, housing for all with basic amenities, education for all, universal health coverage, road connectivity, social security, employment, livelihood diversification, skill development, etc. for the overall development of the deprived and economically backward section of the society. Bridging the deprivation gap is still a challenging task for the nation. The article provides an insight into the outcomes and impacts of different food security programs and the nation’s food production. The present study will help policymakers find loopholes in food security programs and policies to strengthen these programs for better results.

The present investigation was carried out to study genetic variability, correlation, and path coefficient analysis in thirty-six chickpea genotypes (Cicer arietinum L.). The success of the breeding program is largely dependent on the genetic variability available in the existing germplasm and its efficient utilization in the breeding program. GCV and PCV, heritability, and genetic advance expressed as a percentage of the mean were estimated. Correlation and path coefficient analysis was carried out to identify yield contributing traits. Phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) were higher than genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) for all the traits. The number of primary branches per plant and seed yield per plant exhibited moderate PCV & GCV. Maximum heritability and genetic advance over mean were recorded for 100-seed weight followed by seed yield per plant among all the characters studied. The traits 100-seed weight and number of pods per plant have a favorable and highly significant correlation with seed yield. 100 seed weight had the most positive direct effect on seed yield per plant, followed by the number of pods per plant. Correlation and path coefficient analysis indicated selection based on numbers of pods per plant and 100-seed weight are important to achieve higher seed yield in chickpea crop improvement.

The study utilized the dimension of soil fertility/land fertility to measure the agricultural performance of small and marginal farmers. Likert-type summated rating scale technique was employed to assess the practices adopted by these farmers to enhance their agricultural performance through soil fertility. Garrett’s ranking technique was then utilized to rank the preference of respondents based on the most frequently adopted practices for soil fertility. The findings revealed that pre-plowing activity, stubble burning, deep plowing, and exposure to sun were the most frequently utilized practices by the respondents to improve soil fertility. This can be attributed to the small landholding size, low economic status, and indigenous knowledge of small and marginal farmers. The majority of the respondents have lower level of adoption of soil fertility practices. These findings contribute to easy understanding of the practices influencing soil fertility management among small-scale farmers and can inform the development of targeted interventions and support programs to enhance soil health in similar contexts.

The primary objective of any plant breeding program is to develop high-yielding cultivars with desirable traits. In the context of cotton production, overcoming the yield plateau can be accomplished by identifying and utilizing hybrids that exhibit significant economic heterosis. Therefore, this study was undertaken to evaluate the heterotic potential of 30 hybrids generated from six parental plants. The experimental setup consisted of a full set of 36 entries, including the six parents, the 30 resulting F1 hybrids, and two standard checks (K12 and RG-8). All entries were sown during the Kharif season of 2022 at the Department of Cotton, TNAU. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant mean squares attributed to genotypes for each trait examined. Notably, the hybrids RG763 × K12, K12 × PDB29, and K12 × RG763 exhibited statistically significant and desirable heterosis for multiple yield-related traits, including the number of sympodia, boll weight, seed cotton yield per plant, seed index, and lint index. Moreover, the cross PDB29 × PA838 demonstrated positive heterosis for fiber quality parameters such as upper half mean length, fiber strength, and elongation percentage. Hence, these particular crosses hold the potential for exploitation in heterosis breeding programs aimed at enhancing cotton productivity.

In recent years, microbial bionematicide against plant parasitic nematodes has assumed great importance after realizing the drawbacks of exclusively relying on chemicals for nematode management. In the context of increasing worldwide awareness of environmental pollution, the development of bionematicides of microbial origin or plant products suitable to all cropping systems and agro-climatic situations, biological methods of nematode suppression and evolving new bioactive molecules of microbial origin have been recognized as the safest approaches to nematode management. The production of avermectins is a big challenge with commercial importance in the bio-pesticide market, because its output is remarkably inadequate for human consumption as of now.

In order to investigate the interactive influence of humic acid foliar spray on physiological growth indices in Redgram (Cajanus cajan ). The study was conducted during Kharif 2018-2019 at Main Agricultural Research Station, UAS, Raichur by using a randomized block design. The effectiveness of humic acid was studied with different levels as T1 – Humic acid liquid 15% @ 1.0 ml/l of water, T2 – Humic acid liquid 15% @ 1.5 ml/l of water, T3 – Humic acid liquid 15% @ 2.5 ml/l of water, T4 – Humic acid liquid 15% @ 4.0 ml/l of water, T5 – Planofix 4.5 % @ 20ppm and T6 – as a control. After the collection of data from redgram at different growth stages i.e. 30, 60, 90 DAS, and at harvest all the physiological growth indices including total leaf area, Leaf area index (LAI), total dry weight (TDW), , relative crop growth rate, crop growth rate (CGR), net assimilation rate (NAR), leaf area duration were measured. Significant differences (p<0.5) were observed for all the above-mentioned growth parameters across the humic acid concentration levels. Changes trend of total leaf area, Leaf area duration, leaf area index, and total dry matter significantly increased while the increased in the concentration of humic acid foliar spray. LAI, LAD, and NAR, like other growth indices, responded to the foliar sprays of humic acid and contributed the positive responses for an increase in the yield of redgram crops.

An experiment was performed to evaluate and standardize the various drying methods such as shade drying, cabinet drying, and fluidized bed drying and their impact on the physicochemical properties and bioactive compounds of dried moringa powder by GCMS. Drying by Fluidized bed drier exhibited antioxidant activity of per cent of 62.81 and bioactive compounds such as lauric acid, palmitic acid, and linolenic acid ester that possess various therapeutic properties were ascertained. About 11 compounds from the ethanolic extract of the M. oleifera leaves sample have been characterized. They were 9,12,15-dienooctadecadienoic acid ethyl ester (z,z,z) with the highest peak area of percent of 23.12. The next major compound characterized was undecanoic acid, 10-bromo with a peak area of 16.53 percent. Phytol with the peak area of 16.01 percent and a retention time of 14.13 minutes. Palmitic acid, ethyl esters, and hexadecanoic acid were the other compounds exhibited. A fluidized bed dryer was proven to retain the antioxidant and physicochemical properties of moringa leaf powder.

The present study examined the effect of foliar spray of humic acid on root growth, yield components, and quality in Redgram (Cajanus cajan ). The study was conducted during Kharif 2019-20 at Main Agricultural Research Station, UAS, Raichur by using a randomized block design. The effectiveness of humic acid was studied with different levels as T1 – Humic acid liquid 15% @ 1.0 ml/l of water, T2 – Humic acid liquid 15% @ 1.5 ml/l of water, T3 – Humic acid liquid 15% @ 2.5 ml/l of water, T4 – Humic acid liquid 15% @ 4.0 ml/l of water, T5 – Planofix 4.5 % @ 20ppm and T6 – as a control. The redgram productivity is limited by flower and pod drop during the crop growth. Management of same through foliar application of humic acid 15% is planned. Result of the research study revealthat redgram root growth including root length, shoot length, root dry weight , shoot dry weight , leaf area, dry matter production, flower drops, minerals content (quality), and yield components was measured at 60,90 DAS and at harvest, respectively. Significant differences (p<0.5) were observed for all the above-mentioned parameters across the humic acid levels. Based on this study, the foliar application T4-Humic acid liquid 15% @ 4.0 ml/l of water may be recommended to improve growth physiology, quality, and yield components of the program in similar environmental conditions. Further, research is required in diverse plant environments to determine economically feasible application levels of Humic acid while comparing it with other plant growth regulators sources.

Rice is one of the most important crops of the world. During storage, rice is attacked by insect pests and causes economic losses. Angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella Oliveris one of the important insect pest during storage. The management of this pest depends on chemical pesticides which have many ill effects. Plant products play an important role in the management of stored grain pests. The results of present experiment on the evaluation of leaf powders showed that all the powders were found effective in reducing pest infestation over control. The neem leaf powder @5g/kg was found most effective and was followed by neem kernel powder 5g/kg, and karanj leaf powder 5g/kg as it causes higher mortality, less weight loss, and less adult emergence.