Sustainable agricultural production depends on increasing crop productivity while preserving soil health and reducing environmental risk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of biochar (10 t ha-1) based organic and inorganic fertilizer for increasing okra productivity through a field experiment conducted in Gajuri, Dhading. A 130 m2 area was divided into six treatment groups, each with four replications, using a Randomized Complete Block Design. The following were the treatments: i) inorganic fertilizer (RF); ii) biochar plus inorganic fertilizer (BF); iii) biochar plus vermicompost (BVC); iv) biochar plus poultry manure (BPM); v) biochar (BC); vi) control; neither biochar nor fertilizer (CK). The recommended rates of urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), and muriate of potash (MOP) were applied to the mineral NPK fertilizers in RF and BF. The rate whereby organic fertilizers were applied was 200 kg N ha-1. Plots treated with biochar and various fertilizer groups were compared in terms of growth and yield efficiency. The BVC treatment was found to exhibit poorer growth performance in terms of plant height, number of leaves, primary branches, and nodes compared to the combination of biochar and poultry manure. Fruit output rose by 170% over CK (7.13 mt ha-1) and by 53.26% over RF (12.58 mt ha-1) after BPM treatment (19.28 mt ha-1). While BF and RF did not significantly differ in terms of growth characteristics, BF outproduced RF by 29% and CK by 126.79% in terms of pod yield. BF and BPM offered greater financial rewards than alternative treatments.

Field experiments were conducted to evaluate yield and nutrient use efficiency in maize in response to various rates of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in silty clay loam soil of Khumaltar, Nepal during 2019 and 2020. Three factorial randomized complete block designs with 27 treatment combinations were used in experiments, which were repeated three times. Three factors were N levels (150, 180, 210 N kg ha-1), P levels (40, 60, 80 P2O5 kg ha-1), and K levels (40, 60, 80 K2O kg ha-1). The results recommend to revise fertilizer dose since N210 kg ha-1 and K2O 80 kg/ha were optimum for increased maize production with grain yields of 10.95 t ha-1 and 10.54 t ha-1, respectively. Partial factor productivity, partial nutrient budget, internal efficiency, physiological efficiency, recovery efficiency, and agronomic efficiency of NPK for hybrid maize were mostly influenced by nutrient levels. Application of higher rate of P and K fertilizer improved maize N efficiencies, and case was valid for P and K efficiencies. Maize was more responsive to N and K fertilizer and lower rate of P application limited efficient use of applied N and K. To increase overall NUE, we recommend to revise dose of fertilizer for hybrid maize under mid hill condition of Nepal.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the important spices in the world. Nepal is the fourth largest producers of ginger in the world, which produced 271.863 MT in 2016. In Nepal, seventy districts are producing ginger and around 400.000 households are involving in the ginger farming which is the chief source of the household income. Moreover, ginger has prioritized by several policies and strategies of the Government of Nepal. This paper examined the production trend and market access of Nepali ginger considering the ginger global market. A diagnostic study of production, value addition, and the marketing system was carried out between the eastern and the western part of Nepal. The secondary information was reviewed and analysed for the study. Likewise, the key informant survey was performed for the primary data and information. For Nepali ginger, India is found constantly top destination. The result of price index suggested that Nepali ginger is losing significant potential earning by not having top most lucrative markets for fresh ginger. Moreover, the trend of the export is ever fluctuating and the result showed that trade of ginger to India in term of export is more stable from the western region as compared to the eastern region. The study found that the major determinants of ginger market access are quality of ginger produced, value addition, level of trade facilitation, and domestic production and the import of India from other countries.

Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) is an alternative cultivation technique to the conventional Transplanted Rice (TPR). In this method, seeds are directly sown to the field without the necessity of nursery raising and transplanting. DSR can generally be divided into dry-DSR (sowing dry seeds in dry soil), wet-DSR (sowing pre-germinated seeds in moist soil) and water-seeding (sowing dry or pre-germinated seeds in standing water). This helps in saving water alongside the labour and results in early harvest due to quick crop establishment. DSR is proved to be sustainable and eco-friendly since it emits less methane than in TPR. However, there are few constraints associated with DSR such as weed infestation, crop lodging and nutrient loss. If these major issues are fixed, DSR can result in greater economic returns as compared to TPR. In absence of puddling, the soil structure can be maintained which leads to greater yields of succeeding crops. This technique has been successfully practiced in many countries like Srilanka, Malaysia and USA. In developing nations like Nepal, irrigation and labour constraints can be tackled by adopting direct-seeding for rice cultivation.

‘Circular economy’ in agriculture centres on the production of agricultural commodities using a minimal amount of external inputs, closing nutrient loops and reducing negative discharges to the environment (in the form of wastes and emissions). This can be achieved through the (re)design of maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling. Under the principles of CE, products and materials approaching their end-of-life stage can be regenerated or restored or replaced. Circular agriculture is aimed at closing the loop of materials and substances, and reducing both resource use and discharges into the environment. New measures like environmental taxes, insurance for liability resulting from environmental damage, cap and trade system and environmental labelling can be explored to promote transition of a current linear model to a circular one. The circular economy in Nepal is in infant stage and there is plenty of works to be done in this sector. The results of the paper will be instrumental for the transition of Nepalese agricultural sector to a more circular one.

The paper attempts to explore the factors affecting the farm mechanization in Nepal, where agriculture is the primary livelihood of most people and the mechanization is crucial for efficient production and productivity. The government has also introduced a separate policy for agriculture mechanization in 2014. A primary data was collected from 300 households and analysed to assess and quantify the determinants of the farm mechanization. A descriptive analysis was carried out for understanding the data and the results were interpreted. Similarly, the multiple regression was executed to assess the factors affecting total investment in the farm machinery. The five different models were specified and compared for the better results. Moreover, to have deeper insight, the farm machinery was categorized into light machinery, heavy machinery and animal power. The results showed that light machinery is an essential part of Nepali farming system. Likewise, the presence of animal power, income per capita, per capita farm area, adaptation due to change in temperature, Household size, Farm area and income are significant determinants for total investment in farm mechanization.