Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse gas that is also capable of destroying the ozone layer. Agricultural soil is the largest source of N2O. Soybean is a globally important leguminous crop, and hosts symbiotic nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria (rhizobia) that can also produce N2O. In agricultural soil, N2O is emitted from fertilizer and soil nitrogen. In soybean ecosystems, N2O is also emitted from the degradation of the root nodules. Organic nitrogen inside the nodules is mineralized to NH4+, followed by nitrification and denitrification that produce N2O.

Integrating perennials with food crops could restore soil health and increase staple yields, say Jerry D. Glover, John P. Reganold and Cindy M. Cox.

Legumes are widely used in many cropping systems because they share their nitrogen fixation products and phosphorus mobilization activities with their neighbors. In the current study, however, we showed that co-cultivation with legumes increased cadmium (Cd) contamination in the adjacent crops. Both field and mesocosm experiments indicated that legumes increased Cd levels in edible parts and shoots of four neighboring crops and five maize varieties tested, regardless of the Cd levels in the soil.

The article reviews and summarizes the climate change mitigation and adaptation work undertaken by ICRISAT. The effects of climate change are already being experienced in several parts of the world. Even though the effects of climate change will be felt over all kinds of agricultural production systems, they will be more pronounced in dryland areas

Numerous reports have emphasized the need for major changes in the global food system: agriculture must meet the twin challenge of feeding a growing population, with rising demand for meat and high-calorie diets, while simultaneously minimizing its global environmental impacts. Organic farming—a system aimed at producing food with minimal harm to ecosystems, animals or humans—is often proposed as a solution.

India’s food and nutrition problems continue to be formidable and malnutrition is still one of the crucial problems in the process of development. The magnitude of malnutrition and the ignorance about the relationship between food and health among a majority of the population at all levels necessitates the need for nutrition education. This approach in the long term may promote self-reliance and self-support in the communities.

Carrying capacity (CC) in the context of Indian agriculture, denotes the number of people and livestock an area can support on a sustainable basis. CC is dynamic in nature, varying from time to time based on utilization of resources, technology application and
management. In India, rainfed agriculture occupies nearly 58% of the cultivated area, contributes 40% of country’s food production, and supports 40% of the human and 60% of the livestock population.

India is the largest producer, consumer, importer and processor of pulses in the world. Ironically, the country’s pulse production has been hovering around 14–15 Mt, coming from a near-stagnated area of 22–23 M ha, since 1990–91. For meeting the demand of
the growing population, the country is importing pulses to the tune of 2.5–3.5 Mt every year. Strong upward trend in the import of pulses is a cause of concern, since an increase in demand from India has shown to have cascading effect on international prices,
thus draining the precious foreign exchange.