In this article we review how different management technologies like integrated nutrient management, tillage practices, mulching, addition of clay, surface compaction, conservation tillage, use of polymers, etc. can favourably modify the soil physical properties like bulk density, porosity, aeration, soil moisture, soil aggregation, water retention and transmission properties, and soil processes like evaporation, infiltration, run-off and soil loss for better crop growth and yield.

Drought stress is a serious constraint, especially in rainfed rice production, and breeding for drought tolerance by selection based on yield under stress, though effective, is slow. Mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for yield and its components under drought stress predominant in rainfed target populations of environment (TPE) will help overcome this limitation.

Pulses are an indispensable part of the Indian diet, but ever increasing prices are making them unaffordable for the poor. The persistent gap between demand and supply of pulses is only expected to widen if domestic production levels are not raised substantially through necessary policy measures.

As climate change threatens India’s food security, adaptation in the agriculture sector is becoming increasingly important. However, for too long, adaptation has been characterized by individual efforts and by small, time-bound pilot projects.

Stabilizing smallholder crop yields under changing climatic conditions in subSaharan Africa will require adaptation strategies focused on soil and water management. Impact studies of climate change on crop yields often ignore the potential of adaptation strategies such as rainwater harvesting (RWH). While RWH is bringing benefits to agricultural systems today, it is still unclear which regions could increasingly benefit from RWH under changing climatic conditions.

A special emphasis is given on the gender factor in India as a determinant for unequal distribution of climate change impacts both on household and community. However, a quantitative research on role of gender in climate change and livelihoods in rural India is often missing.

Rain water use efficiency (RWUE) is the assessment of a rainfed cropping system’s capacity to convert water into plant biomass or grain. Comparison of RWUE of various crops grown under traditional tribal farming system and its performance in drought year will give an insight for prioritization of crops grown in rainfed tribal areas. A study was undertaken in a tribal watershed of Koraput district to prioritize the commonly grown crops based on RWUE and their comparative performance during water stress condition.

Ensuring that the world's food needs are met by 2050 will take a doubling of global food production. To improve agricultural yields on that scale will require a radical rethink of global water-management strategies and policies. Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicentre of this challenge. Ninety-five per cent of sub-Saharan agriculture depends on 'green water': moisture from rain held in the soil. In large parts of the continent, most rain evaporates before it generates 'blue water', or run-off, so little of it recharges rivers, lakes and groundwater.

2015 is the International Year of Soils. This Soil Atlas shows what can succeed and why the soil should concern us all.

The sustenance of food and nutritional security are the major challenges of the 21st century. The domestic food production needs to increase per annum at the rate of 2% for cereals and 0.6% for oilseeds and pulses to meet the demand by 2030. The Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and the black soil regions (BSR) are the two major food production zones of the country. Since irrigation potetential is limited and expansion of irrigated area is tardy, rainfed agriculture holds promise to satisfy future food needs.

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