Highlights Four summer cover crops under two irrigation regimes were tested for soil wind erosion control. Soil aggregate stability and wind erosion losses were improved with plant cover in the peak summer. Sorghum sudan is a prominent summer species for wind erosion control in the arid southwest. Abstract . Cover crops can have significant impacts on minimizing soil erosion by wind, which is a common problem in the arid southwest. A study was conducted at NMSU Leyendecker Plant Science Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico, to evaluate the impacts of selected summer cover crops on soil loss during wind erosion events. Four summer grass species [Japanese millet (Echinochloa esculenta), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), brown top millet (Urochloa ramosa (L.) Nguyen), and sorghum sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor × S. bicolor var. Sudanese)] were randomly assigned to four blocks under two irrigation regimes (full-irrigation and deficit-irrigation). Results showed significant effect of grasses on horizontal soil flux compared to control under both irrigation regimes. When comparing the grasses, sorghum sudan grass performed better than the other tested summer cover crops for soil surface protection from wind erosion with its higher ground coverage, higher plant density, taller plant height and higher amount of biomass, while brown top millet was least effective in terms of plant and erosion control characteristics (P=0.05). Pearl millet and Japanese millet performed better than brown top millet, but was as effective as sorghum sudan as barriers against the wind erosion. Therefore, sorghum sudan is a prominent cover crop for summer in the arid zones of desert southwest. Producers of this region can be significantly benefited from the current research recommendations about cover crops choices for summer season. Keywords: Arid climates, Cover cropping, Summer grasses, Wind erosion control.

For sustainable productivity, integrated nutrient management based on cropping system can plays an important role to meet the oil requirement of the growing population especially in developing countries like India. The inclusion of grain legumes in a cropping system has great potential in N saving and in the development of sustainable agriculture. A three year field experiments were carried out to investigate the nitrogen requirement of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) following grain legume clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) to realize the residual benefits. After the harvest of clusterbean, four levels of N i.e. 0, 33, 66 and 100 kg N ha(-1) were tested in Indian mustard. The grain yield of Indian mustard sown after clusterbean increased significantly only up to 66 kg N ha(-1) and further increase in N to 100 kg ha(-1) resulted in marginal decline in grain yield during all the three years of experimentation. The uptake of N, P and K in grain increased significantly only up to 66 kg N ha(-1), however, in straw N, P and K uptake increased significantly up to 100 kg N ha(-1) during all the three years. Agronomic efficiency of N, apparent N recovery and physiological efficiency decreased with increased level of N. These results suggest that integration of grain clusterbean in cropping sequence can save 33 kg N ha(-1) in raising subsequent Indian mustard crop without any extra cost.