2024, Vol. 9, Special Issue 6

Soybean farmers in Maharashtra face significant challenges due to severe disease outbreaks. While the Green Revolution in the mid-1960s improved food security through high-yield variety seeds, chemical fertilizers, and irrigation, it also resulted in environmental degradation, soil depletion, and loss of biodiversity. In response, some farmers and organizations have adopted alternative farming methods, such as Organic Farming and Zero Budget Natural Farming, which promote agroecology and biodiversity. However, these practices lack comprehensive scientific validation. To address this gap, a study was conducted at College of Agriculture, Pune, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Maharashtra, India during the Kharif season of 2023 with an aim to assess the effect of different farming practices on naturally occurring diseases of soybean. The experiment compared five farming systems: Farmers' practices, MPKV (Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth) Recommended Package of Practices, Organic Farming, Natural Farming, and Climate Resilient Farming. During the experiment, yellow mosaic disease of soybean was observed in all the plots, which is caused by Mung Bean Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV) and transmitted by the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. The least disease incidence was observed in Climate resilient farming (4.10%) while the highest disease incidence was observed in Natural farming (34.99%).