Climate-resilient strategies for wheat farming: minimizing climate impact, optimizing productivity, and maximizing profitability in the subtropical agroecological landscape of India

Vijay Singh Meena^1*RAJ KUMAR JAT^2*Dr Shubham Durgude²S Kumar²R K Sohane³Ratnesh Kumar Jha⁴A KUmar⁵U Kumar⁵A Kumar⁶R N Singh³Illathur Rajesh Reddy²Pazhanisamy Selvaganesan²Rakesh Kumar⁵Sunita K Meena⁴Ved Prakash⁵S Kumar³B Kumar³T Kumar⁴S Mandal³M Prasad³R Sahu³R Kumar³Anirban Mukherjee⁵P Kumar³M Kumar³D Mandal³A KUMAR³R SINGH³B K Mandal³N K SIngh³A Kumari³J Kumar³S K Gangwar³J Soren³Sourav Choudhury⁴R S Rajput⁴M Kumar³V Kumar³K Sardha³U N Umesh³Krishna Bahadur Chhetri⁴Dr Ranjan Kumar Singh³R Chaubey³Vikash Kumar³A Yadav⁴A Kumar³M Kumar³A Chaurasiya³R Senapati⁴S Kumar³D Kumar³Dr. Prabhat Kumar Singh⁴Sudip Sarkar⁵S Kumari³V KUMARI³K Kumari³P KUMARI³A KUMAR⁵S K Rai⁵T Pratap⁵B K Jha⁴A K Jha⁷D P Tripathi⁷S Sagar³

• ¹Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
• ²CIMMYT-Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA),, Samastipur, Bihar, India
• ³Bihar Agricultural University (BAU), Bhagalpur, Bihar, India
• ⁴Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Samastipur, Bihar, India
• ⁵ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patana, Bihar, India
• ⁶Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, Delhi, India
• ⁷Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar (GoB), Patna, Bihar, India

This study builds upon existing knowledge to quantify the extent of on-farm yield gaps and identify the most effective climate-resilient strategies (CRSs) to bridge them. By addressing these objectives, the study seeks to enhance wheat yield and resilience in the adverse climatic conditions. Productivity and adoption of CRSs are key indicators to monitor the progress towards more resilient production systems. Total eight project hubs were identified across Bihar (Banka, Bhagalpur, Gaya, Khagaria, Madhubani, Munger, Nalanda, and Nawada) for farmers-field experiment-cumdemonstration during rabi season (2019-2020). Three climate-resilient technologies (i) zero tillage (ZT), (ii) raised bed (RB), and (iii) happy seeder (HS) were evaluated across varying planting times from November 13 to December 31. Field experiments-cum-demonstrations conducted across 566 hectares involving 980 farmers in eight districts of Bihar revealed that early wheat planting (13-30 November) significantly enhanced grain productivity (up to 4.96 t/ha) and profitability (net returns up to $863/ha, B:C ratio 1.92), while delayed sowing (post-mid-December) led to yield reductions of up to 57%. Among crop establishment methods, happy seeder (HS) and zero tillage (ZT) consistently outperformed conventional farmer-managed practices, achieving 12.6-14.5% higher net returns and benefit-cost ratios up to 2.02, underscoring the agronomic and economic advantages of timely planting and resource-conserving technologies. The study concludes that sowing wheat in the second week of November using the Happy Seeder (HS) significantly boosts productivity and profitability.These results offer robust evidence to refine regional planting advisories and promote climateresilient practices for enhancing wheat adaptation across subtropical India.