Impacts of conservation agriculture on crop yield and soil carbon sequestration: a meta-analysis in the Indian subcontinent.

In the quest of achieving sustainable crop productivity, improved soil health, and increased carbon (C) sequestration in the soil, conservation agriculture (CA) is increasingly being promoted and adopted in the Indian subcontinent. However, because some researchers from different regions of the world have reported reduced crop yield under CA relative to agriculture based on conventional tillage (CT), a meta-analysis has been conducted based on published research from India to evaluate the effects of CA on the yield of crops, accumulation of soil organic C as an index of soil health, and C sequestration in the soil in different regions and soil textural groups in the country. The meta-analysis is based on 544 paired observations under CA and CT from 35 publications from India was carried out using Meta Win 2.1 software. The results showed an overall significant (p < 0.05) reduction of 1.15% crop yield under CA compared to CT. Yearwise data showed a reduction of yields under CA from 2009 to 2016, but an increase from 2017 to 2020. Yield reduction was observed in the eastern, north-eastern, and southern regions of India but in western, northern, and north-western regions of the country, an increase was observed under CA rather than CT. Sandy loam and clayey soils exhibited higher crop yield under CA than under CT. Compared to CT, soil organic C content and soil C sequestration under CA increased by 8.9% and 7.3%, respectively. Also, in all the regions and soil textural groups both soil organic C accumulation and soil C sequestration were higher under CA than under CT. Factors such as rainfall, soil depth, available nitrogen (N), and total N significantly influenced the extent of yield increase/decrease and soil organic C accumulation under CA. Overall, results of the meta-analysis suggest that the promotion of CA in India will have to be location-specific taking into consideration the crops, soil attributes, and climatic conditions.

Mechanistic modeling of light-induced chemotactic infiltration of bacteria into leaf stomata.

Light is one of the factors that can play a role in bacterial infiltration into leafy greens by keeping stomata open and providing photosynthetic products for microorganisms. We model chemotactic transport of bacteria within a leaf tissue in response to photosynthesis occurring within plant mesophyll. The model includes transport of carbon dioxide, oxygen, bicarbonate, sucrose/glucose, bacteria, and autoinducer-2 within the leaf tissue. Biological processes of carbon fixation in chloroplasts, and respiration in mitochondria of the plant cells, as well as motility, chemotaxis, nutrient consumption and communication in the bacterial community are considered. We show that presence of light is enough to boost bacterial chemotaxis through the stomatal opening and toward photosynthetic products within the leaf tissue. Bacterial chemotactic ability is a major player in infiltration, and plant stomatal defense in closing the stomata as a perception of microbe-associated molecular patterns is an effective way to inhibit the infiltration.

Soil enzymes activity: Effect of climate smart agriculture on rhizosphere and bulk soil under cereal based systems of north-west India.

In agriculture production system, soil enzymes are important indicators of soil quality. Measurements of soil quality parameter changes are essential for assessing the impact of soil and crop management practices. Keeping this in view, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the enzyme activities namely dehydrogenase (DHA), ß-glucosidase, acid and alkaline phosphatase (AcP & AlP), fluorescein diacetate hydrolases (FDH), cellulase, urease and aryl sulphatase in rhizosphere and bulk soil after 8 years of different management regimes. Soil organic carbon (SOC), moisture content and few enzyme indices such as enzymatic pH indicator (AcP/AlP), alteration index three (Al3) and geometric mean (GMea) were also measured. The treatments were conventional rice-wheat system (termed as scenario (Sc1), CT system), partial conservation agriculture (CA)-based rice-wheat-mungbean system (Sc2, PCA-RW), partial climate smart agriculture (CSA)-based rice-wheat-mungbean system (Sc3), partial CSA-based maize-wheat-mungbean system (Sc4), full CSA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system (Sc5), and full CSA-based maize-wheat-mungbean system (Sc6). Soil samples were collected from rhizosphere and away from roots (bulk soil) at 0-15 cm soil depth before sowing (from rhizosphere of previous crops), at maximum tillering, flowering, and after harvesting of wheat crop. Results showed that DHA activity was higher before sowing (59.8%), at maximum tillering (48.4%), flowering (8.6%) and after harvesting (19.1%) in rice based CSA systems (mean of Sc3 and Sc5) over maize based CSA systems (mean of Sc4 and Sc6) in rhizospheric soil. On average, ß-glucosidase activity was significantly higher in rhizospheric soils of rice based system over maize based CSA system. Before sowing of wheat, significantly higher (21.4%) acid phosphatase activity was observed in rhizosphere over bulk soils of maize based CSA system. Significantly higher alkaline phosphatase activity was observed before sowing of wheat in bulk soils of rice (25.3%) and maize (38.5%) based CSA systems over rhizospheric soils. Rice based CSA systems showed 27% higher FDH activity than maize based systems. Significant interaction effect was observed between the managements and enzymes. SOC played an important role in regulating the enzymes activity both in rhizosphere and bulk soil. Significant variation in AcP/AlP, Al3 and GMea was observed among the managements. Therefore, CSA managements are beneficial in improving enzyme activities not only in rhizosphere but also in bulk soil where residues are retained thereby may help in improving nutrient cycling.

Engineering modeling frameworks for microbial food safety at various scales.

The landscape of mathematical model-based understanding of microbial food safety is wide and deep, covering interdisciplinary fields of food science, microbiology, physics, and engineering. With rapidly growing interest in such model-based approaches that increasingly include more fundamental mechanisms of microbial processes, there is a need to build a general framework that steers this evolutionary process by synthesizing literature spread over many disciplines. The framework proposed here shows four interconnected, complementary levels of microbial food processes covering sub-cellular scale, microbial population scale, food scale, and human population scale (risk). A continuum of completely mechanistic to completely empirical models, widely-used and emerging, are integrated into the framework; well-known predictive microbiology modeling being a part of this spectrum. The framework emphasizes fundamentals-based approaches that should get enriched over time, such as the basic building blocks of microbial population scale processes (attachment, migration, growth, death/inactivation and communication) and of food processes (e.g., heat and moisture transfer). A spectrum of models are included, for example, microbial population modeling covers traditional predictive microbiology models to individual-based models and cellular automata. The models are shown in sufficient quantitative detail to make obvious their coupling, or their integration over various levels. Guidelines to combine sub-processes over various spatial and time scales into a complete interdisciplinary and multiphysics model (i.e., a system) are provided, covering microbial growth/inactivation/transport and physical processes such as fluid flow and heat transfer. As food safety becomes increasingly predictive at various scales, this synthesis should provide its roadmap. This big picture and framework should be futuristic in driving novel research and educational approaches.

Changes in soil organic carbon under perennial crops.

This study evaluates the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) under perennial crops across the globe. It quantifies the effect of change from annual to perennial crops and the subsequent temporal changes in SOC stocks during the perennial crop cycle. It also presents an empirical model to estimate changes in the SOC content under crops as a function of time, land use, and site characteristics. We used a harmonized global dataset containing paired-comparison empirical values of SOC and different types of perennial crops (perennial grasses, palms, and woody plants) with different end uses: bioenergy, food, other bio-products, and short rotation coppice. Salient outcomes include: a 20-year period encompassing a change from annual to perennial crops led to an average 20% increase in SOC at 0-30 cm (6.0 ± 4.6 Mg/ha gain) and a total 10% increase over the 0-100 cm soil profile (5.7 ± 10.9 Mg/ha). A change from natural pasture to perennial crop decreased SOC stocks by 1% over 0-30 cm (-2.5 ± 4.2 Mg/ha) and 10% over 0-100 cm (-13.6 ± 8.9 Mg/ha). The effect of a land use change from forest to perennial crops did not show significant impacts, probably due to the limited number of plots; but the data indicated that while a 2% increase in SOC was observed at 0-30 cm (16.81 ± 55.1 Mg/ha), a decrease in 24% was observed at 30-100 cm (-40.1 ± 16.8 Mg/ha). Perennial crops generally accumulate SOC through time, especially woody crops; and temperature was the main driver explaining differences in SOC dynamics, followed by crop age, soil bulk density, clay content, and depth. We present empirical evidence showing that the FAO perennialization strategy is reasonable, underscoring the role of perennial crops as a useful component of climate change mitigation strategies.

A Mechanistic Model for Bacterial Retention and Infiltration on a Leaf Surface during a Sessile Droplet Evaporation.

Evaporation of sessile droplets on the surface of plant leaves is a process that frequently occurs during plant growth as well as postharvest processes. Evaporation-driven internal flows within sessile droplets can transport microorganisms near the leaf surface, facilitating their adhesion to surface microstructures such as trichomes, and infiltration into available openings such as stomata and grooves. A mechanistic model for this retention and infiltration pathway was developed. Solution domain is a sessile droplet located on a leaf surface, as well as its surrounding gas. The model includes fluid flow within the droplet and gas phases, gas-water interface tracking, heat transfer, transport of vapor in gas, and transport of sugar and bacteria within water. The model results are validated based on available literature data and experimental images. The results showed that a hydrophilic surface would promote bacterial retention and infiltration. Evaporation-driven flows increase concentration of bacteria around or inside microstructures at the leaf surface, facilitating their adhesion and infiltration. Larger microstructures having wider spacing between them increased the retention. A higher evaporation rate led to higher infiltration. Chemotaxis toward nutrients at the leaf surface and random motility were shown to decrease the retention and infiltration during evaporation.

Temporal changes in soil microbial properties and nutrient dynamics under climate smart agriculture practices.

Climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices are emerging as sustainable alternative to conventional rice-wheat system to pull up natural resources degradation across south Asia. After five years of continuous CSA based experiment, a two years study was conducted to evaluate changes in microbial biomasses (microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen), enzyme activities (alkaline phosphatase, dehydrogenase and ß-glucosidase), nutrient release and uptake (N, P and K) at different wheat crop growth stages. Effect of CSA practices was also studied for carbon mineralization in an incubation experiment. Four scenarios (Sc) were included in this study- conventional tillage (CT) based rice-wheat system (Sc1), partial CSA based rice-wheat-mungbean system (Sc2), full CSA based rice-wheat-mungbean system (Sc3), and full CSA based maize-wheat-mungbean system (Sc4). Soil samples were collected from scenarios at 0-15 and 15-30 cm depth at different growth stages of wheat crop namely sowing, crown root initiation (CRI), active tillering, panicle initiation, and harvesting. Analysis of soil was done for chemical properties viz. pH, electrical conductivity, available N, P, K, NPK uptake and mineralizable carbon and biological properties viz., microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), dehydrogenase activity (DHA), alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) and ß-glucosidase. Significantly higher microbial biomass carbon (42 %) and nitrogen (79 %) were found in surface soil (0-15 cm depth) under CSA based scenarios (Sc2, Sc3 and Sc4) at harvest stage of wheat over CT based/ conventional scenario (Sc1). At surface soil, alkaline phosphatase, dehydrogenase and ß-glucosidase activity was 58, 14 and 13 % higher in CSA based scenarios, respectively than CT based scenario. CSA based scenarios showed significantly higher C mineralization after 3 days of the incubation experiment at harvest. An increase of respectively 15, 48 and 17 % of N, P and K uptake was observed with CSA based scenarios than CT based scenario. At harvest stage, 7 % higher amount of dry matter was reported with full CSA based scenarios (mean of Sc2 to Sc4) compared to Sc1. Higher wheat grain yield of ∼10 % was recorded with CSA based scenarios over CT based scenario. Therefore, CSA based scenarios with improved biological properties and nutrient availability and uptake at different wheat growth stages resulted in higher yields and hence need to be popularized among the farmers.

Effects of tillage, crop establishment and diversification on soil organic carbon, aggregation, aggregate associated carbon and productivity in cereal systems of semi-arid Northwest India.

Intensive tillage based management practices are threatening soil quality and systems sustainability in the rice-wheat belt of Northwest India. Furthermore, it is accentuated with puddling of soil, which disrupts soil aggregates. Conservation agriculture (CA) practices involving zero tillage, crop residue management and suitable crop rotation can serve as better alternative to conventional agriculture for maintaining soil quality. Soil organic carbon is an important determinant of soil quality, playing critical role in food production, mitigation and adaptation to climate change as well as performs many ecosystem functions. To understand the turnover of soil carbon in different forms (Total organic carbon-TOC; aggregate associated carbon-AAC; particulate organic carbon- POC), soil aggregation and crop productivity with different management practices, one conventional agriculture based scenario and three CA based crop management scenarios namely conventional rice-wheat system (Sc1), partial CA based rice-wheat-mungbean system (Sc2), full CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system (Sc3) and maize-wheat-mungbean system (Sc4) were evaluated. TOC was increased by 71%, 68% and 25% after 4 years of the experiment and 75%, 80% and 38% after 6 years of the experiment in Sc4, Sc3 and Sc2, respectively, over Sc1 at 0-15 cm soil depth. After 4 years of the experiment, 38.5% and 5.0% and after 6 years 50.8% and 24.4% improvement in total water stable aggregates at 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil depth, respectively was observed in CA-based scenarios over Sc1. Higher aggregate indices were associated with Sc3 at 0-15 cm soil depth than others. Among the size classes of aggregates, highest aggregate associated C (8.94 g kg-1) was retained in the 1-0.5 mm size class under CA-based scenarios. After 6 years, higher POC was associated with Sc4 (116%). CA-based rice/maize system (Sc3 and Sc4) showed higher productivity than Sc1. Therefore, CA could be a potential management practice in rice-wheat cropping system of Northwest India to improve the soil carbon pools through maintaining soil aggregation and productivity.

Impact of organic and mineral inputs onto soil biological and metabolic activities under a long-term rice-wheat cropping system in sub-tropical Indian Inceptisols.

Long-term use of organic and mineral inputs has an overriding impact on soil biological and metabolic activities and crop management. Farm yard manure (FYM), paddy straw (PS) and green manure (GM, Sesbania sesban L.) were used for 24- years old rice (Oyza sativa L.) -wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system in sub-tropical India to predict whether the screened soil biological and metabolic activities are correlated with system yield. The integrated approaches viz., NPK + FYM, NPK + PS and NPK + GM significantly increased both rice and wheat yield together by 67.5, 44.4 and 55.4%, respectively over control. However, for a few exceptions both soil microbial activity and metabolic activity were remarkably enhanced under integrated treatment NPK + FYM followed by NPK + PS, and NPK + GM, respectively. Among the studied attributes fluorescein diacetate hydrolyzing, dehydrogenase, ß-glucosidase activity (ß-glu) and microbial biomass C (C(mic)) were screened through principal component (PCA) and discriminate analysis (DA) that explained nearly 89% of total variations of the entire data set. Among the four identified attributes, only ß-glu assay value could predict system yield (R2 = 0.65). Further, estimation of ß-glu activity in soil can predict other soil biological properties (R2 = 0.96).

Tissue poromechanical deformation effects on steam pop likelihood in 3-D radiofrequency cardiac ablation.

Radiofrequency Cardiac Ablation (RFCA) is a common procedure that heats cardiac tissue to destroy abnormal signal pathways to eliminate arrhythmias. The complex multiphysics phenomena during this procedure need to be better understood to improve both procedure and device design. A deformable poromechanical model of cardiac tissue was developed that coupled joule heating from the electrode, heat transfer, and blood flow from normal perfusion and thermally driven natural convection, which mimics the real tissue structure more closely and provides more realistic results compared to previous models. The expansion of tissue from temperature rise reduces blood velocity, leading to increased tissue temperature, thus affecting steam pop occurrence. Detailed temperature velocity, and thermal expansion of the tissue provided a comprehensive picture of the process. Poromechanical expansion of the tissue from temperature rise reduces blood velocity, increasing tissue temperature. Tissue properties influence temperatures, with lower porosity increasing the temperatures slightly, due to lower velocities. Deeper electrode insertion raises temperature due to increased current flow. The results demonstrate that a 5% increase in porosity leads to a considerable 10% increase in maximum tissue temperature. These insights should greatly help in avoiding undesirable heating effects that can lead to steam pop and in designing improved electrodes.

Inflammation-induced subcutaneous neovascularization for the long-term survival of encapsulated islets without immunosuppression.

Cellular therapies for type-1 diabetes can leverage cell encapsulation to dispense with immunosuppression. However, encapsulated islet cells do not survive long, particularly when implanted in poorly vascularized subcutaneous sites. Here we show that the induction of neovascularization via temporary controlled inflammation through the implantation of a nylon catheter can be used to create a subcutaneous cavity that supports the transplantation and optimal function of a geometrically matching islet-encapsulation device consisting of a twisted nylon surgical thread coated with an islet-seeded alginate hydrogel. The neovascularized cavity led to the sustained reversal of diabetes, as we show in immunocompetent syngeneic, allogeneic and xenogeneic mouse models of diabetes, owing to increased oxygenation, physiological glucose responsiveness and islet survival, as indicated by a computational model of mass transport. The cavity also allowed for the in situ replacement of impaired devices, with prompt return to normoglycemia. Controlled inflammation-induced neovascularization is a scalable approach, as we show with a minipig model, and may facilitate the clinical translation of immunosuppression-free subcutaneous islet transplantation.

Computer-aided food engineering.

Computer-aided food engineering (CAFE) can reduce resource use in product, process and equipment development, improve time-to-market performance, and drive high-level innovation in food safety and quality. Yet, CAFE is challenged by the complexity and variability of food composition and structure, by the transformations food undergoes during processing and the limited availability of comprehensive mechanistic frameworks describing those transformations. Here we introduce frameworks to model food processes and predict physiochemical properties that will accelerate CAFE. We review how investments in open access, such as code sharing, and capacity-building through specialized courses could facilitate the use of CAFE in the transformation already underway in digital food systems.

A predictive computational platform for optimizing the design of bioartificial pancreas devices.

The delivery of encapsulated islets or stem cell-derived insulin-producing cells (i.e., bioartificial pancreas devices) may achieve a functional cure for type 1 diabetes, but their efficacy is limited by mass transport constraints. Modeling such constraints is thus desirable, but previous efforts invoke simplifications which limit the utility of their insights. Herein, we present a computational platform for investigating the therapeutic capacity of generic and user-programmable bioartificial pancreas devices, which accounts for highly influential stochastic properties including the size distribution and random localization of the cells. We first apply the platform in a study which finds that endogenous islet size distribution variance significantly influences device potency. Then we pursue optimizations, determining ideal device structures and estimates of the curative cell dose. Finally, we propose a new, device-specific islet equivalence conversion table, and develop a surrogate machine learning model, hosted on a web application, to rapidly produce these coefficients for user-defined devices.

A bioinspired scaffold for rapid oxygenation of cell encapsulation systems.

Inadequate oxygenation is a major challenge in cell encapsulation, a therapy which holds potential to treat many diseases including type I diabetes. In such systems, cellular oxygen (O2) delivery is limited to slow passive diffusion from transplantation sites through the poorly O2-soluble encapsulating matrix, usually a hydrogel. This constrains the maximum permitted distance between the encapsulated cells and host site to within a few hundred micrometers to ensure cellular function. Inspired by the natural gas-phase tracheal O2 delivery system of insects, we present herein the design of a biomimetic scaffold featuring internal continuous air channels endowed with 10,000-fold higher O2 diffusivity than hydrogels. We incorporate the scaffold into a bulk hydrogel containing cells, which facilitates rapid O2 transport through the whole system to cells several millimeters away from the device-host boundary. A computational model, validated by in vitro analysis, predicts that cells and islets maintain high viability even in a thick (6.6 mm) device. Finally, the therapeutic potential of the device is demonstrated through the correction of diabetes in immunocompetent mice using rat islets for over 6 months.

Climate-smart agriculture practices influence weed density and diversity in cereal-based agri-food systems of western Indo-Gangetic plains.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA)-based management practices are getting popular across South-Asia as an alternative to the conventional system for particular weed suppression, resources conservation and environmental quality. An 8-year study (2012-2013 to 2019-2020) was conducted to understand the shift in weed density and diversity under different CSA-based management practices called scenarios (Sc). These Sc involved: Sc1, conventional tillage (CT)-based rice-wheat system with flood irrigation (farmers' practice); Sc2, CT-rice, zero tillage (ZT)-wheat-mungbean with flood irrigation (partial CA-based); Sc3, ZT rice-wheat-mungbean with flood irrigation (partial CSA-based rice); Sc4, ZT maize-wheat-mungbean with flood irrigation (partial CSA-based maize); Sc5, ZT rice-wheat-mungbean with subsurface drip irrigation (full CSA-based rice); and Sc6, ZT maize-wheat-mungbean with subsurface drip irrigation (full CSA-based maize). The most abundant weed species were P. minor > A. arvensis > M. indicus > C. album and were favored by farmers' practice. However, CSA-based management practices suppressed these species and favored S. nigrum and R. dentatus and the effect of CSAPs was more evident in the long-term. Maximum total weed density was observed for Sc1, while minimum value was recorded under full CSA-based maize systems, where seven weed-species vanished, and P. minor density declined to 0.33 instead of 25.93 plant m-2 after 8-years of continuous cultivation. Full CSA-based maize-wheat system could be a promising alternative for the conveniently managed rice-wheat system in weed suppression in north-west India.

An inverse-breathing encapsulation system for cell delivery.

Cell encapsulation represents a promising therapeutic strategy for many hormone-deficient diseases such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, adequate oxygenation of the encapsulated cells remains a challenge, especially in the poorly oxygenated subcutaneous site. Here, we present an encapsulation system that generates oxygen (O2) for the cells from their own waste product, carbon dioxide (CO2), in a self-regulated (i.e., "inverse breathing") way. We leveraged a gas-solid (CO2-lithium peroxide) reaction that was completely separated from the aqueous cellular environment by a gas permeable membrane. O2 measurements and imaging validated CO2-responsive O2 release, which improved cell survival in hypoxic conditions. Simulation-guided optimization yielded a device that restored normoglycemia of immunocompetent diabetic mice for over 3 months. Furthermore, functional islets were observed in scaled-up device implants in minipigs retrieved after 2 months. This inverse breathing device provides a potential system to support long-term cell function in the clinically attractive subcutaneous site.

Topsoil Bacterial Community Changes and Nutrient Dynamics Under Cereal Based Climate-Smart Agri-Food Systems.

Soil microorganisms play a critical role in soil biogeochemical processes, nutrient cycling, and resilience of agri-food systems and are immensely influenced by agronomic management practices. Understanding soil bacterial community and nutrient dynamics under contrasting management practices is of utmost importance for building climate-smart agri-food systems. Soil samples were collected at 0-15 cm soil depth from six management scenarios in long-term conservation agriculture (CA) and climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices. These scenarios (Sc) involved; ScI-conventional tillage based rice-wheat rotation, ScII- partial CA based rice-wheat-mungbean, ScIII- partial CSA based rice-wheat-mungbean, ScIV is partial CSA based maize-wheat-mungbean, ScV and ScVI are CSA based scenarios, were similar to ScIII and ScIV respectively, layered with precision water & nutrient management. The sequencing of soil DNA results revealed that across the six scenarios, a total of forty bacterial phyla were observed, with Proteobacteria as dominant in all scenarios, followed by Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria was 29% higher in rice-based CSA scenarios (ScIII and ScV) and 16% higher in maize-based CSA scenarios (ScIV and ScVI) compared to conventional-till practice (ScI). The relative abundance of Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria was respectively 29% and 91% higher in CT than CSA based rice and 27% and 110% higher than maize-based scenarios. Some taxa are present relatively in very low abundance or exclusively in some scenarios, but these might play important roles there. Three phyla are exclusively present in ScI and ScII i.e., Spirochaetes, Thermi, and Euryarchaeota. Shannon diversity index was 11% higher in CT compared to CSA scenarios. Maize based CSA scenarios recorded higher diversity indices than rice-based CSA scenarios. Similar to changes in soil bacterial community, the nutrient dynamics among the different scenarios also varied significantly. After nine years of continuous cropping, the soil organic carbon was improved by 111% and 31% in CSA and CA scenarios over the CT scenario. Similarly, the available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium were improved by, respectively, 38, 70, and 59% in CSA scenarios compared to the CT scenario. These results indicate that CSA based management has a positive influence on soil resilience in terms of relative abundances of bacterial groups, soil organic carbon & available plant nutrients and hence may play a critical role in the sustainability of the intensive cereal based agri-food systems.

Designing profitable, resource use efficient and environmentally sound cereal based systems for the Western Indo-Gangetic plains.

In the western Indo-Gangetic plains, issues of deterioration in soil, water, and environment quality coupled with low profitability jeopardize the sustainability of the dominant rice-wheat (RW) system. To address these issues, crop diversification and conservation agriculture (CA)-based management hold considerable promise but the adoption of both approaches has been low, and additional evidence generation from a multi-criteria productivity and sustainability perspective is likely required to help drive the change. Compared to prevailing farmers' practice (FP), results suggest that CA-based rice management increased profitability by 13% and energy use efficiency (EUE) by 21% while reducing irrigation by 19% and global warming potential (GWP) by 28%. By substituting CA-based maize for rice, similar mean profitability gains were realized (16%) but transformative improvements in irrigation (- 84%), EUE (+ 231%), and GWP (- 95%) were observed compared to FP. Inclusion of mungbean in the rotation (i.e. maize-wheat-mungbean) with CA-based management increased the system productivity, profitability, and EUE by 11, 25 and 103%, respectively while decreasing irrigation water use by 64% and GWP by 106% compared to FP. Despite considerable benefits from the CA-based maize-wheat system, adoption of maize is not widespread due to uneven market demand and assured price guarantees for rice.

Perspectives from CO+RE: How COVID-19 changed our food systems and food security paradigms.

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