The Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) is one of the biggest research institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), an autonomous organization working under the aegis of the Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of Government of India. CAZRI has the distinction of being one of the first institutes in the world exclusively devoted to arid zone research and development. The institute made a humble beginning in 1952 when Government of India initiated Desert Afforestation Research Station at Jodhpur to carry out research on sand dune stabilization and for establishment of shelter belt plantations to arrest wind erosion.It was reorganized as Desert Afforestation and Soil Conservation Station in 1957 and finally in its present form Central Arid Zone Research Institute in 1959 on recommendation of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) expert, Prof. C.S. Christian of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia. In 1966, the institute was brought under the administrative control of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi.The institute conducts multi-disciplinary research to seek solutions to the problems of farming in arid regions of the country. The hot arid zone covers about 32 million ha area in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, while the cold arid zone, covering about 7 million ha area, is located in the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.The Institute earned the prestigious Sardar Patel Outstanding ICAR Institution Award for the Year - 2017 for the Large Institute Category. Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & DG (ICAR) conferred the Award including Plaque, Citation and Certificate during an event organized at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa, New Delhi..
Water, energy, food, and environment are strongly interconnected in agricultural systems, and understanding these linkages is essential for sustainable crop production. This study evaluated the inter-linkage among water-energy-food-greenhouse gas (WEFG) dimensions in Indian mustard under varying irrigation, nitrogen (N) rates and bio-regulator (BR) application using WEFG framework to identify resource-efficient and environmentally-sound management practices. A three-year field experiment was conducted in arid region of India with three irrigation levels [full (FI, 100 % ETc), moderate deficit (MDI, 70 % ETc), severe deficit (SDI, 40 % ETc)], three N rates (40, 80, 120 kg N ha(-1)), and three BR treatments [without BR, thiourea (500 ppm), salicylic acid (0.5 mM)]. Water and energy use, yield, profitability, resource-use efficiency and CO2-eq emissions were quantified and integrated through WEFG Nexus Index (WEFGNI). Irrigation accounted for 95 % of water and 37-66 % of energy use. FI produced highest yield but substantially increased water/energy use and emissions, while SDI reduced resource consumption and emissions but caused substantial yield/profit losses. MDI reduced water (similar to 25 %) and energy (20-40 %) consumption with negligible yield loss (<= 4 %), achieving higher resource use efficiencies. Higher N rates under FI and MDI enhanced yield/profitability but also enhanced emissions, while BR application enhanced productivity, profitability and efficiency particularly under MDI and SDI. The combination of MDI, 120 kg N ha(-1), and BR application achieved highest WEFGNI, indicating optimal balance among productivity, efficiency and environmental performance. The WEFG framework effectively capture trade-offs and synergies across nexus dimensions, offering a tool to guide sustainable crop management strategies aligned with the SDGs.
Endemism is essential for biodiversity conservation, as species with limited ranges are more susceptible to habitat loss due climate change. This study evaluates the Area of Endemism (AoE) for Acacia jacquemontii, Anogeissus sericea var. nummularia, Calligonum polygonoides, Commiphora wightii, and Tecomella undulata, which are found in the arid and semi-arid areas of western India. The Area of Endemism (AoE) for these species was assessed using Machine Learning-Staking Species Distribution Modelling (SSDM). Study indicated that the mean temperature of the wettest quarter (Bio-8, 30 to 33 degrees C), the maximum temperature of the warmest month (43.3 to 46.2 degrees C), the annual temperature range (Bio-7, 35.1 to 35.4 degrees C), and the precipitation of the coldest quarter (Bio-19, 11-13 mm) significantly influence the AoE and percentage of endemism. The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) indicated that the examined endemic species inhabited both homogeneous and diverse settings. The topographical features, including elevation (10 to 30 m), slope 1 (10-15 % gradient), and slope 2 (30 to 45 % gradient), were deemed more appropriate. SSDM modeling indicated that the present optimum AoE is located in the Marwar region of the Thar Desert, covering the western districts of Rajasthan. This investigation revealed the following key trends: (a) as climatic conditions change, suitable habitats are shifting northward, whereas southern Rajasthan (Barmer, Jaisalmer, Nagaur, Pali, Jalore) is seeing a reduction in optimal habitat, (b) optimal AoE is decreasing at a more accelerated rate than the moderate, particularly in north-central Rajasthan and Gujarat, (c) the western limit of Jaisalmer district shows indications of recovery under RCP 8.5, with expected new habitat patches arising in Churu, Bikaner, and Sikar. The results identified specific sites for biodiversity protection, so enabling adaptive management measures to reduce species extinction in vulnerable habitats.
CONTEXT: Land degradation in red and lateritic soils of India, particularly in the northeast, poses a serious threat to agroecological stability, agricultural productivity, soil health, and rural livelihoods. Agroforestry is increasingly recognized as a sustainable approach for restoring degraded ecosystems, rejuvenating soil health, and improving farmers' livelihoods, yet region-specific empirical evidence remains limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the long-term ecological and economic viability of various agroforestry systems for rehabilitating degraded land and enhancing the delivery of multiple ecosystem services in red and lateritic soils of Northeast India. METHODS: A decade-long agroforestry field experiment (2014-2024) with silvi species Gmelina (Gmelina arborea Roxb), fruit plant sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck), and grain legume pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp) under monoculture and integrated agroforestry system was conducted in West Bengal in eastern India. Seven systems (monoculture and agroforestry-based) were evaluated using eleven biophysical and economic indicators, including biomass recycling, soil organic carbon, enzyme activity, microbial resilience, net margin, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The tri-component agroforestry system (Gmelina-sweet orange-pigeon pea) showed the highest multifunctionality index, producing 7.26 t ha-1 yr-1 of recyclable biomass, and significantly improving soil carbon, dehydrogenase activity, water-holding capacity, and biodiversity. Economically, this system outperformed monocultures with 2-3 times higher net margin and energy efficiency. Although associated with higher GHG emission, this system offered net environmental benefits through enhanced carbon sequestration and resilience. SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that the locally adapted agroforestry systems have potential to restore degraded red and lateritic soils while delivering broad ecosystem services and improving farmers' livelihoods. These results support the scaling of such systems across similar agroecological zones in India and globally.
Rodent management in India has undergone significant conceptual and experimental advances in the new millennium. The focus has shifted from traditional rodenticide-centric methods towards more integrated pest management systems, though most farmers continue to rely primarily on zinc phosphide and bromadiolone for routine control. This review brings together two and a half decades of research by Indian scientists, documenting progress in rodent diversity, population dynamics, disease ecology, crop damage evaluation, and control technologies. Key research-stage innovations include fertility control agents from plants and synthetic compounds, nanotechnology delivery systems, and pheromone-based behavioural strategies. Rodent infestations cause annual field and storage losses estimated at 10–25 million tons of food grain, equivalent to 5–15
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is a climate-resilient legume essential for food security and dryland farming in semi-arid regions of India. This study delineates climate-smart suitability zones by integrating Ensemble Species Distribution Modelling (ESDM) with Analytic Hierarchy Process-Multi-Criteria Evaluation (AHP-MCE) to incorporate climatic, soil, and land-use determinants. Seven modelling algorithms (GLM, GAM, MARS, CTA, RF, ANN, SVM) were applied under baseline, 2050, and 2070 climates (RCP 4.5 and 8.5), achieving strong ensemble performance (AUC = 0.84-0.88; TSS = 0.62-0.67). Precipitation variables dominated current suitability, while temperature extremes shaped future patterns. Integrating soil and LULC data through AHP-MCE substantially improved spatial precision, expanding optimum suitability zones and identifying new target regions in central, southern and eastern India. The integrated framework offers practical value for breeding programs (identifying heat- and drought-prone target environments), agricultural policy and investment (site-specific irrigation, diversification, climate-risk planning), and farm-level decision making. By quantitatively combining climatic, soil and land-use predictors in a unified GIS-based ensemble system, an advancement over existing legume suitability studies, this work provides a scalable tool for climate-resilient crop planning and adaptive agricultural development.
