A field experiment was conducted during kharif 2020 at the Instructional Farm (Agronomy), Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur to study the effect of nutrient enriched compost (NEC) and zinc application on nutrient on quality, nutrient uptake and profitability of maize (Zea mays L.) cultivar MP –9 in sub-humid southern plain and Aravalli hill region of Rajasthan. Treatments comprised of four levels of NEC i.e. control (NEC0), 2.0 t NEC ha-1 (NEC1), 4.0 t NEC ha-1 (NEC2) and 6.0 t NEC ha-1 (NEC3) and four treatment of zinc (Zn) application i.e. control (Zn0), 10 kg ZnSO4 ha-1 as basal + 0.5% ZnSO4 foliar spray (Zn1), 15 kg ZnSO4 ha-1 as basal + 0.5% ZnSO4 foliar spray (Zn2) and 20 kg ZnSO4 ha-1 as basal + 0.5% ZnSO4 foliar spray (Zn3) taken in a factorial combination in randomized block design with three replications. The increasing levels of nutrient enriched compost and zinc up to 4 t ha-1 and 15 kg ZnSO4 + foliar spray of ZnSO4 0.5% ha-1 increased significantly found better nutrient and biological status in post harvest soil.and increased the availability of macronutrients (N and K), micronutrients (Zn and Cu), microbial population (bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes) as well as the dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase enzyme activity in post harvest soil of maize over control.Based on the statistical inference, application of nutrient enriched compost @ 4 t ha-1 along with basal application of 15 kg ZnSO4 increased significantly found better nutrient and biological status in post harvest soil profitability of maize in sub-humid southern plain region of Rajasthan,

Smallholder cocoa sustainability depends on farmers' adaptive capacity and on whether that capacity is translated into coordinated agribusiness functions. This study examined the mediating role of agribusiness system management in the relationship between farmer adaptation and cocoa agribusiness sustainability in North Kolaka Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. A cross-sectional survey of 100 cocoa farmers in Ngapa, Porehu, and Tolala was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling with a two-stage hierarchical component approach and 5,000 bootstrap subsamples. Farmer adaptation significantly improved agribusiness system management (β = 0.816, t = 33.656, p < 0.001), and agribusiness system management significantly improved sustainability (β = 0.729, t = 5.233, p < 0.001). The direct adaptation-sustainability path was not significant (β = 0.039, p = 0.705), whereas the indirect effect was significant (β = 0.595, t = 5.092, 95% CI [0.349, 0.811]). The model explained 66.6% of agribusiness system management and 57.9% of sustainability variance. The findings demonstrate indirect-only mediation, indicating that adaptive capacity generates sustainable outcomes when institutionalized through functioning input, production-processing, marketing, and support arrangements.

Coconut-producing districts in Indonesia face a recurring development challenge: raw-material availability does not automatically translate into deeper local processing, formal quality systems, or stable market integration. This study examined the readiness factors and strategic constraints associated with coconut agroindustrial downstreaming (hilirisasi) in North Kolaka Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. A cross-sectional multi-actor survey covered 100 respondents comprising 80 coconut farmers, 11 processors/small and medium enterprises, five traders/collectors, and four local-government representatives. A 53-item, five-point Likert instrument measured downstreaming performance (Y), eight readiness dimensions (X1–X8), perceived barriers (Z1), and development prospects (Z2). Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, Mann– Whitney U tests with rank-biserial effect sizes, and Spearman correlations were used. Aggregate readiness was moderate (mean 2.817/5; α=0.933). Institutional collaboration had the highest readiness score (3.196), whereas infrastructure/logistics (2.450) and quality/legal compliance (2.482) were the weakest dimensions. Respondents using modern equipment (n=61) showed higher downstreaming performance than non-users (3.052 vs. 2.406; p=0.012; rank-biserial r=0.298) and higher aggregate readiness (2.971 vs. 2.575; p=0.020; r=0.276). Quality/legal compliance showed the strongest association with downstreaming performance (Spearman ρ=0.867), followed by policy support (ρ=0.787), institutional collaboration (ρ=0.783), and human resources/management (ρ=0.759). The highest perceived constraints were weak actor coordination (3.43), limited processedproduct market access (3.22), and insufficient skills (3.17), all exceeding capital constraints (2.72). The findings indicate that equipment modernization is complementary rather than sufficient: district-level downstreaming requires coordinated improvements in standards, legal compliance, human capability, institutions, market linkage, and logistics.