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This multi-location field validation study was conducted across 13 representative farmer-managed sites in the southern districts of Karnataka to evaluate the effectiveness of the Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) approach for precision nutrient management in Maize (Zea mays L.). The research compared eight nutrient management strategies, including STCR-targeted yield goals of 70 and 65 qha-1 delivered via the Dhartimitra digital decision-support tool and manual soil test values, against the General Recommended Dose (GRD), the Soil Test Laboratory approach, and farmersandrsquo; prevailing practices. The results demonstrated that the STCR approach for a targeted yield of 70 qha-1 recorded the highest mean grain yield (71.58 qha-1), followed by the software-guided T1 treatment (70.46 qha-1), representing a significant improvement over both GRD (62.56 qha-1) and farmersandrsquo; practice (55.25 qha-1). Precision-based treatments also exhibited superior economic returns, with the Dhartimitra software approach achieving a high response yardstick (15.22) and a minimal percent deviation (+0.65%) from the target yield. Furthermore, STCR-guided management significantly enhanced nitrogen and potassium use efficiency while maintaining critical post-harvest soil fertility compared to the andldquo;soil miningandrdquo; or imbalanced buildup observed in conventional and farmer practices. The study concludes that integrating STCR methodology with digital platforms like Dhartimitra provides a scalable and highly accurate strategy for optimizing maize productivity and soil health across diverse agro-ecological zones of Karnataka.

Maize productivity in drought-prone regions of Karnataka is seriously constrained by climate change and diminishing water availability. The present study was carried out at Agricultural Research Farm of University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during kharif season to determine genetic variability, trait association and access role of secondary traits in drought tolerance in maize hybrids. The 50 maize hybrids were tested in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications under well-watered and managed drought stress conditions. Observations were recorded for important morpho-physiological and yield-related traits including days to 50 per cent silking, anthesis-silking interval (ASI), plant height, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content, kernels per row, 100-grain weight, and grain yield. Significant difference between the genotype, environments and genotype andtimes; environment interaction were observed for all traits by analysis of variance, showing that great genetic variability exists among the hybrids. High GCV and PCV were observed for grain yield (21.84% and 23.12%), ASI (18.64% and 20.42%), and 100-grain weight (16.92% and 18.11%), suggesting wider variability and better scope for selection. The grain yield showed high heritability (89.3%) and high genetic advance (42.54%) which reflected that the additive gene action is dominant. Grain yield was highly correlated with RWC (0.74), kernels per row (0.79), chlorophyll content (0.67), and 100 grain weight (0.72), while ASI was highly correlated with negative value (-0.71). Path coefficient analysis showed all three characters had high positive direct effect on grain yield; kernel per row showed direct effect 0.48, RWC 0.42 and 100 grain weight 0.37 and ASI showed negative direct effect (-0.58). The study revealed that reduced ASI, 100-grain weight, kernels per row, chlorophyll content and RWC are important secondary traits that can be used for better drought tolerance in maize hybrids.

Sunflower is an important crop of the coastal part of South 24 Parganas due to its ability to thrive well in salinity-affected soil with low water requirements. But the yield of sunflower is very poor due to the non-availability of promising hybrids, lack of knowledge on phosphorus management and soil management practices to minimize soil salinity. Keeping those ideas in view, an experiment was conducted at the Instructional Farm of The Neotia University, West Bengal, during rabi (winter), 2025, to study the effect of phosphorus and mulching on the growth and yield of sunflower in coastal saline areas. The experiment was laid out in split plot design replicated thrice. The treatments consisted of six main plot treatments, i.e. P0: No P2O5 (control), P1: 50% recommended dose of P2O5, P2: 75% recommended dose of P2O5, P3: 100% recommended dose of P2O5, P4: 50% recommended dose of P2O5 + seed inoculation with VAM, P5: 75% recommended dose of P2O5 + seed inoculation with VAM and 3 sub plot treatments M0: No mulching (Control), M1: Paddy straw mulching, M2: Plastic mulching. The hybrid considered for the study was DRSH-1. The results revealed that the treatment 75% recommended dose of P2O5 + seed inoculation with VAM recorded highest value in plant growth parameters, yield attributes and yield. Among, mulching, the plastic mulching outperformed straw mulching and control. The study concluded that the application of 75% recommended dose of phosphorus and seed inoculation with VAM under plastic mulching could be considered as the best practice to achieve higher growth and productivity of sunflower.

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) is a climate-resilient and nutritionally rich cereal crop with immense potential for ensuring food and nutritional security. The present study was conducted to evaluate the relationships among 13 quantitative traits using Pearsonandrsquo;s correlation analysis and to assess the genetic diversity of 100 finger millet genotypes through principal component analysis (PCA). Correlation analysis revealed that grain yield per plant exhibited significant positive associations with ear length, finger length, number of fingers per ear, leaf length, finger width, and fodder yield per plant indicating their importance as selection criteria for yield improvement. PCA identified five principal components with eigenvalues greater than one, collectively accounting for 72.88% of the total phenotypic variation. The first principal component alone explained 24.18% of the variability and was mainly influenced by ear length, finger length, grain yield, fodder yield, and leaf length. The PCA biplot showed considerable overlap among genotypes from different geographical regions, suggesting that genetic diversity was independent of geographical origin. The identified variability and key yield-contributing traits provide valuable information for selecting diverse parental lines and developing high-yielding, climate-resilient finger millet cultivars through efficient breeding programmes.

Kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum L.) is a climate resilient nutri-cereal, which has tremendous potential to improve food and nutritional security in rain-fed environments. To study the impact of nutrient levels on the growth, yield, economics and stability of pre-released Kodo millet genotypes, a field experiment was conducted at the Zonal Agricultural Research Station (ZARS), University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, Gandhi Krishi Vigyana Kendra (GKVK), Karnataka during kharif season. This experiment was designed in a Factorial Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications, four fertility levels (control, 75% RDF, 100% RDF and 125% RDF) and three genotypes (KMV 588, TNAU 86 and JK 137). The results indicated that the fertility levels and the genotypes of Kodo millet significantly affected growth, yield and economic data. Increased levels of fertility resulted in better growth, yield attributes, yield, straw yield, and profitability. The genotype TNAU 86 always performed well in terms of productivity and economic returns. Stability analysis using Eberhart and Russell model showed that TNAU 86 had high yield potential, extensive adaptability and stable performance in various fertility environments. The study demonstrated that the use of 125% RDF gave improved productivity and profitability, with the introduction of TNAU 86 as the most promising genotype in the sustainable cultivation of Kodo millet under rain fed conditions.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) play a vital role in food security and as livestock feed in arid and semi-arid regions due to their drought tolerance, early maturity, and low nutrient requirements. Despite their importance, yields in parts of Kenya remain low, largely due to sub-optimal nitrogen (N) management. This study assessed the effects of four nitrogen levels (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg N ha-1) on the growth and yield of pearl millet and sorghum in Kiambu and Bomet Counties. A randomized complete block design with split plots was used, with crop species (sorghum and pearl millet) as main plots and nitrogen rates as subplots. The treatments were replicated three times. Data on plant height, tiller number, and grain yields were collected. Results showed a significant difference (p andlt; 0.05) across nitrogen rates, crop species, and locations. Application of 120 kg N ha-1 produced the tallest plants (163.7 cm in Kiambu and 168.7 cm in Bomet at Flowering). Pearl millet produced more tillers (up to 13 per plant) than sorghum at high nitrogen rates. Grain yield increased consistently with nitrogen application, with 120 kg N ha -1 giving the highest yield at both sites. Interestingly, the yields for both sorghum and pearl millet were higher in Kiambu (KU) than in Bomet when not supplied with nitrogen fertilizers with yield differences for pearl millet between the two sites being 69% while the differences for the two sites for sorghum being 59%. The difference between non-fertilized treatment and highest N (120 kg ha-1) for pearl millet in Bomet was 31 folds while for KU it was 13 folds. Conversely, yield differences between control and highest dose at Bomet was 30 folds for sorghum and 14 folds at KU. The impact of N fertilizer was tremendous in Bomet site as compared to Bomet site. These findings demonstrate that nitrogen availability strongly enhances the vegetative growth and yield potential of both crops but this is strongly dependent on the site and growth stages of growth. Both crops are adoptable to low N with Sorghum being suited to low N than while pearl millet. The study concludes that despite these crops being considered orphan crops, their demand for N is particularly higher than initially assumed and that 120 Kg ha-1 was not the optimal amount.

Digital agriculture seems to be a promising solution to enhance access to scientific information, to boost extension services, and to promote sustainable farming. Evidence of the impacts of digital extension platforms to increase farmersandrsquo; knowledge and decision-making is still relatively scarce, especially in semi-arid agricultural areas. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of the digital extension platforms in enhancing the knowledge and decision-making ability of farmers in Northern Karnataka, India. An ex-post facto research design was used and data collected from 150 farmers using a structured and pre-tested interview schedule. The effectiveness of digital extension services was evaluated using knowledge improvement, decision making capability, adoption pattern of digital platforms and constraints analysis. The findings show that farmersandrsquo; overall agricultural knowledge significantly increased when they were exposed to digital advisor platforms (54.6%). The area with the greatest improvement was in the use of information for weather-based decision making and information related to markets. Digital extension services were also used to improve the capacity of the farmers to make informed decisions on their crop management, irrigation scheduling, pest management and marketing. The results of regression analysis showed that the digital literacy, frequency of using smart phone and exposure to education and extension training were major factors affecting the improvement of knowledge. Lack of access to good internet connectivity, lack of digital literacy and difficulty in understanding technical information were highlighted as significant restraints. The study finds that digital extension platforms can be useful complements of traditional extension systems to enhance access to information and farmer decision-making. Enhancing digital infrastructure in rural areas, increasing digital literacy and creating farmer-friendly extension services are crucial to secure inclusive and sustainable digital agricultural transformation.

and Sulphur on Growth, Yield Attributes, Yield and Quality of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)andrdquo;, The experiment took place throughout the kharif season of 2023. The student instructional field managed by the Department of Agronomy at the School of Agriculture, GD Goenka University, Gurugram, Haryana, served as the research site. The experiment itself employed three duplicate blocks in a randomized block design, and researchers evaluated ten different treatment options viz, T1 (NPKS @ 50:20:30:10), T2 (NPKS @ 50:20:30:15), T3 (NPKS @ 50:20:30:20), T4 (NPKS @ 50:40:30:10), T5 (RDF) (NPKS @ 50:40:30:15), T6 (NPKS @ 50:40:30:20), T7 (NPKS @ 50:60:30:10), T8 (NPKS @ 50:60:30:15), T9 (NPKS @ 50:60:30:20) and T10 Control (NPKS @ 50:0:30:0). Sesame seeds of the variety: HERO MS-543, were planted at 45.0 andtimes; 15.0 cm spacing. Researchers investigated how varying levels of phosphorus and sulfur impact sesame. The study aimed to assess the effects on multiple aspects, including plant growth parameters, yield attributes, yield, overall sesame quality and economic returns. For maximum profit in sesame crops, treatment T9 (NPKS @ 50:60:30:20) emerged as the superior choice due to its increased economic returns (net and gross) and benefit-cost ratio compared to other treatments. Further exploration of this topic through additional research is warranted for better understanding.