bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ability of arbuscular mycorrhiza to promote growth of maize plant and enzymatic activity of an alluvial soil
Authors: Singh Mahendra , Beura Kasturikasen , Pradhan Amit Kumar , Rakshit Rajiv , Lal Manohar
Published: April 2018

A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of selected species of mycorrhizae for root colonization and phosphorus uptake by maize in an alluvial soil. Of all the species of mycorrhizae taken under consideration, Glomus mosseae was found to perform better in terms of root colonization, number of spores, grain yield and phosphorus uptake. The maximum plant height (28.5 cm), shoot dry weight (19.45 g plant-1) and root dry weight (4.77 g plant-1) was also found with the application of G. mosseae. Its application significantly increased the root dry weight by 99.58 and 72.82% over application of G. intraradices and control respectively, and was at par with the application of G. coronatum and Gigaspora decipiens. Application of G. decipiens reported the highest bacterial (39.11 cfu g-1 soil) and fungal count (30.68 cfu g-1 soil) that was found to be at par with application of G. mosseae. Application of G. mosseae significantly increased the actinomycetes population by 44.71 and 55.97% over application of a local mycorrhizal strain and control. Maximum dehydrogenase activity (56.00 g-1 TPF g-1 24 h-1) and acid phosphatase activity (0.299 mg PNP g-1 h-1) and was also observed with application of G. mosseae, which in turn resulted in higher yield which was 27.28%, 28.52%, 9.35 and 11.7% more than G. intraradices, G. coronatum, G. decipiens and the local species respectively. G. mosseae inoculation proved to be effective in modifying the soil microbe population and community structure and also in enhancing the soil enzymatic activities and phosphorus uptake of the crop.
Variability for seed oil content and seedling traits in Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre
Authors: Kumar Rakesh , Kaushik Naresh
Published: April 2018

Twenty three CPTs (Candidate Plus Trees) of Pongamia pinnata were selected from different agro-climatic conditions of Haryana state of India and were assessed to identify the elite planting material for improvement of the species in terms of oil content. The differences among CPTs of P. pinnata were significant for seed oil content and all growth parameters of the progenies of these CPTs at the seedling stage. Oil content in P. pinnata varied from 27.07 (P12) to 38.17% (P2). The estimates of genotypic coefficients of variation for the characters studied were less as compared to the phenotypic coefficients of variation for all the characters examined. The highest phenotypic coefficient of variation (49.33) and genotypic coefficient of variation (28.56) was recorded for the germination percentage followed by height of the first branch. Number of leaves (0.5551**), inter-nodal length (0.5580**) and number of branches (0.6182**) showed high and positive correlation with the seed oil content. The progeny number 9, 21 and 2 were found to be the best on basis of oil content (36. 37, 36.83 and 38.17 %, respectively), and other characters examined. D2 analysis grouped the CPTs into 5 clusters. The highest numbers of progenies were included in the cluster I followed by cluster III and least number of progenies i.e., two were observed in cluster II. The intra cluster distances ranged from 4.12 (cluster V) to 5.96 (cluster II). The maximum inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster II and III (10.02) followed by I and III and minimum was between clusters I and cluster V. The crosses between clusters II and III may result sufficient segregation for further improvement of the species. Therefore, the progenies belonging to the clusters II and III could be taken as parents for a successful hybridization program.
Phenotypic (assessment of rice Oryza sativa L.) genotypes for genetic variability and varietal diversity under direct seeded condition
Authors: Tripathi Anurag , Kumar Sudhir , Singh Mithilesh Kumar , Kumar Arun , Karnwal Mukesh Kumar
Published: April 2018

The study on variability and diversity of 32 genotypes of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under direct seeded condition revealed significant variability at 5% level among the genotypes for all the characters. High level of broad sense heritability was observed for days to 50% flowering (0.986) followed by filled grains (0.8216) and 1000-grain weight (0.7306). Expected genetic advance was highest for yield per hectare (39.639) and filled grains per panicle (51.39). Genetic divergence analysis using Mahalanobis’s D2 statistic grouped the genotypes into 7 clusters. Cluster II had maximum number (16) of genotypes. Maximum inter cluster distance was found between cluster IV and VII (984.82). However, intra cluster distance was maximum in cluster III (363.58). Genotypes from diverse clusters viz.NR 89, PAU 3284, ARIZE SWIFT, RY 248, Varadhan, RYC489, MTU 1010 and RYC 674 could be recommend-ed for inclusion in hybridization programme for breeding under aerobic rice condition.
Design and development of FRP mobile fish vending trolley for hygienic fish marketing
Authors: Mohapatra B. C. , Sahoo P , Majhi D. , Anantharaja K. , Jayasankar P.
Published: April 2018

A mobile fish vending trolley has been designed and developed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - All India Coordinated Research Project on Plasticulture Engineering and Technology (AICRP on PET) centre at ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), Bhubaneswar to aid the fisher folks for vending their fish harvests in hygienic condition. The unique selling proposition (USP) of the vending unit is its unibody design, where icebox for storing fish, 20 l capacity water storage tank for hand washing, tool box, fish cutting deck and waste collection chambers are integrated into the unit. The icebox can store 100 kg of fish in ice which can be sold in a single day by the fisher folks. The complete unit of mobile fish vending carriage is fabricated with fibre reinforced plastic (FRP), because of its high strength compared to other plastics, ease of fabrication and good insulation property of fiberglass (i.e. thermal conductivity= 0.04 w/mK at normal room temperature 25 ºC). The dimensions of the carriage unit is 4.0’x2’9”x2’6” in which half portion is dedicated for the insulated ice box and the remaining portion houses the fish cutting deck, waste collection chamber and tool box. This fish vending trolley would be a boon for the marginal fish vendors, who want to sell fish in a hygienic condition and to increase income generation potential by selling 100 kg fish in a day.
Waterlogged wasteland treatment through agro-forestry: A review
Authors: Sarvade S. , Gautam D. S. , Kathal D. , Tiwari Prabhat
Published: April 2018

India covers 147.75 mha degraded area, whereas 6.41 mha area confined to waterlogging problem in Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan and few other states. The transpiration principle of plants is used in bio-drainage treatment to reclaim such problematic areas sustainably. Evergreen broad leaved species recorded high transpiration rate and contribute highly in reclamation of waterlogged saline soils. Short rotation fast growing tree species like Salix, Eucalypt, Acacia, Albizia, Terminalia, Prosopis, Populuswere the suitable species for such areas. Agri-silviculture, agri-horti- silviculture, silvi-pasture, multipurpose woodlots, strip plantation and boundary plantations were widely used for reclamation of saline-waterlogged conditions of India. In agri-silviculture system, Eucalypt based agroforestry systems are widely used for reclamation of waterlogged areas as compared to other woody plant based systems. 0.84–0.86 m total drawdown of ground water in 3 years Eucalypt tree species. The vertical and horizontal root spreading of tree species is one important character for capturing and transpiration of excess water from waterlogged area. From the present investigation, longest root system was recorded from Prosopis cineraria (20-60 m) species.
Study of seasonal incidence and impact of abiotic factors on sucking pests of brinjal
Authors: Javed Shaik , Lakshmi K. Vijaya , Reddy C. Narendra , VidyaSagar B. , Shanthi M.
Published: April 2018

The present investigation was undertaken to find the impact of abiotic factors on seasonal incidence and sucking pest complex of brinjal under field conditions during kharif 2015-2016. The incidence of leaf hopper population (2.80 Lh/L i.e., Leaf hopper mean population/leaf) was noticed during 34th standard week and reached peak by 40th standard week (5.00 Lh/L) (October) whereas the aphid population was noticed during the 34th standard week (3.00 Lh/L) and peak population observed during the 40th standard week (4.60 Lh/L) (October). Correlation studies showed that among the various abiotic factors, maximum temperature showed highly significant positive correlation (r= 0.77) and sunshine hours (r = 0.61) showed significant positive correlation with the leaf hopper population. In case of aphid population, maximum temperature showed significant positive correlation (r = 0.70), rainfall showed highly significant negative correlation (r = -0.74) and relative humidity evening (r = -0.59) showed significant negative correlation with aphid population. The present investigations will give a brief idea about how the abiotic factors influencing the sucking pests of brinjal.
Integrated approach for the management of white grub and collar rot in groundnut (Arachishypogaea L.) in South West Haryana
Authors: Gaur Ram Karan , Sharma Sushil , , Pathak D.V. , Dashad S. S.
Published: April 2018

Field experiments were conducted at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bawal (Rewari), Haryana during Kharif seasons of 2011 and 2012. Fifteen treatments including three insecticides, one fungicide, three antagonists, one amendment and one neem formulation were evaluated in sole and combination treatments as seed dresser whereas chlorpyriphos 20 EC and poultry manure were incorporated in soil to find out effective combination for control of collar rot and white grub of groundnut. Minimum disease incidence 0.3 and 0.7 per cent and white grub infestation 1.2 and 1.5 per cent was recorded during 2011 and 2012 with seed treatment of chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 25 ml/kg seed + PM 4 @ 10 ml/kg seed + captan 3g/kg seed followed by imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 7 ml/kg seed and chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 25 ml /kg seed + Bacillus thuriengensis@ 10 ml/ kg seed + captan 3 g/kg seed. The yield was significantly (at 5% level) low (7.10 q/ha during 2011 and 6.8 q/ha during 2012) in control as compared to chlorpyriphos 20 EC + PM-4 + captan treatment (20.20 q/ha during 2011 and 19.80 q/ha during 2012) which ranked at first place. The seed treated with imidacloprid 17.8 SL 7 ml /kg seed also produced good yield in both the years and was rated as second best treatment followed by chlorpyriphos + Bacillus thurengiensis+ captan. The results obtained herein provide the foundation for an effective and sustainable programme of management for groundnut white grub and collar rot. Integrated approach having chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 25 ml/ kg seed, Pseudomonas maltophilia(PM4) @ 10 ml/kg seed and captan 3 g/kg seed was found to be most effective for control of collar rot and white grub infestation in ground nut.
Evaluation of agricultural land resources for irrigation in the cotton growing Yavatmal district, Maharashtra, India
Authors: Bhaskar B. P. , Prasad Jadish , Tiwari Gopal
Published: April 2018

The main objective of this study is to evaluate suitability of shrink-swell soils for surface irrigation system based upon a parametric evaluation system in low irrigation potential (7%) of cotton growing Yavatmal district, Maharashtra, India. The thirty three shrink-swell soil series on basaltic landforms were identified from reconnaissance soil survey on 1:50,000 scale and evaluated for surface irrigation methods using Geographic Information System (GIS). The standard weekwise rainfall data showed that the rainfall is less than 20% of total precipitation during September and December, the top A horizon reaches to wilting point and needs supplementary protective irrigation to cotton based cropping systems . It was estimated that ten soil mapping units (1.8 Mha and 13.89%) of shrink-swell soils on moderate slopes (5 to 8%) were evaluated as suitable for surface methods and calculated the irrigation intervals that vary from 8.61±1.35 days for cotton to 8.9±1.4 days for wheat and 10±1.64 days for sugar cane. The study emphasized the utility of soil resource maps helps to delineate the soils with large PAWC(>200mm) with slight yield advantage and will serve as benchmark sites to monitor the interrelationships of soil water dynamics with respect to climate and cotton yields.
Effect of different dates of sowing on yield attributes, yield and quality of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars
Authors: Chaudhary Ankur , Sewhag Meena , Hooda V.S. , Singh Bhagat , Kumar Parveen
Published: April 2018

A study was conducted during rabi2013-14 at Barley Research Area of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar with the objective to study the effect of different date of sowing on growth, yield and quality characters of barley cultivars. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with five date of sowing (30th October, 10th, 20th, 30th November and 10th December) in main plots and four cultivars (BH 902, RD 2552, DWRUB 52 and RD 2668) kept in sub plots replicated thrice. Crop sown on 30th October produced significantly higher values of growth parameters, yield attributes (115 productive tillers per meter row length, no. of grains per spike- 37 and test weight -46.90) and yield (grain yield- 4733 kg ha-1 and straw yield- 8368 kg ha-1). But it was statistically at par with 10th November sowing date. Grain protein content, hectoliter weight and bold grains percentage decreased significantly with delay in sowing while malt content percentage was recorded significantly higher (89.53%) in 10th December date of sowing. Among the cultivars DWRUB 52 produced significantly higher grain yield (4516 kg ha-1) and quality attributes like malt content (86.25%) than other cultivars.
Efficacy of different extracts of propolis against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium: In vitro and in vivo study
Authors: Kalia Preeti , Kumar Neelima R , Harjai Kusum
Published: April 2018

Present study focussed on the antibacterial and antioxidative effect of honey bee propolis on typhoid causing bacteria i.e. Salmonella. Water, ethanol, methanol were used as solvents for making of extracts. Both Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were calculated for all the three extracts. MIC of ethanolic extract of propolis was 160 mg/ml. It was 200 mg/ml for methanolic and 220mg/ml for wa-ter extracts respectively. Moreover, time kill analysis results confirmed that there was a significant reduction (p<0.05) in log count of bacteria when treated with ethanolic extraxt of propolis (3.98±0.15 log cfu/mL) and methanolic (4.66±0.05log cfu/mL) extract of propolis as compared to Salmonella control (7.72±0.03 log cfu/mL) in in vitro experiments. For the in vivo studies, BALB/c mice was used as an murine model of typhoid. Levels of different liver marker enzymes and antioxidants like Lipid peroxidation (LPO) and Reduced Glutathione (GSH) were observed in infected and all the treated groups. By comparing the results, it was concluded that ethanolic extract of propolis showed maximum antimicrobial activity as compare to the rest two. So the results of present study encourages the potential of ethanolic extract of propolis as an alternative treatment for typhoid and its use in combination with standard antibiotics can also be explored.
Studies of alternaria black spot disease of pomegranate caused by Alternaria alternata in Punjab
Authors: Kumar Adesh , Chahal Tanjeet Singh , Singh Mandeep  Hunjan Singh , Kaur Harminder , Rawal Roomi
Published: April 2018

Alternaria black spot of pomegranate caused by Alternaria alternata pose significant economic losses in India as it reduce the crop yield. Farm survey was undertaken at Punjab Agricultural University, Pomegranate Research Block, Fruit Research Station, Jallowal- Lesriwal Jalandhar during 2015. Among all the five cultivars highest disease incidence (70%) and severity (30%) was registered in cultivar Bhagwa. Twenty two isolates of A. alternata were recovered from infected fruits and clustered using UPGMA (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages) on the basis of disease score produced in five cultivars (Ganesh, Ruby, Bhagwa, Jyoti and Mridula). It was revealed that five isolates namely AL14, AL15, AL20, AL21 and AL22 were highly virulent on almost all the pomegranate cultivars. Two cultivars viz. Bhagwa and Mridula were found to be most susceptible as 45.45 % isolates were found to be highly virulent on them.Thein vitro antifungal effects of the six fungicides on mycelial growth were investigated. Based on the inhibition of mycelial growth, all the fungicides showed most toxic reaction with 50% effective concentrations (EC50) of < 1 ppm. However, they varied in EC90 values. 10 ppm cocentration of Tilt (azole group) showed 90% effective concentration (EC90). Folicur also showed approximately same results as Tilt while EC90 value of Natio and SAAF was <25 ppm and > 20 ppm. However, two fungicides namely Dithane Z-78 and Bavistin showed less toxicity against Alternaria alternata as compared to other with EC90 value at concentrations <50 ppm and > 25 ppm. Azole group fungicides (Tilt and Folicur) were found most effective to inhibit the pathogen growth.
Genetic studies for flower yield and component traits in Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat
Authors: Telem R. S. , Sadhukhan R. , Sarkar H.K. , Akoijam R. , Haribhushan A. , Wani S. H.
Published: April 2018

Study on genetic variability, character association and path analysis was carried out with sixty chrysan-themum genotypes keeping in mind of their applicability in future crop improvement programmes. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation were found for the character such as number of flower per plant, number of branches per plant, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, plant spread and plant height. High heritability coupled with high expected genetic advance was observed for number of flower per plant, number of secondary branches and branches per plant. In general, genotypic correlation coefficients were found to be higher than the phenotypic correlations for most of the characters. Number of flowers per plant showed highly positive significant correlation at both genotypic and phenotypic level with plant spread (0.977,0.974), number of primary branches (0.952,0,828), number of branches per plant (0.956, 0.950), number of flower per spray (0.932, 0.821) and number of secondary branches (0.770, 0.744). Path analysis revealed that plant spread, number of primary branch-es, number of flower per spray and number of branches per plant had highest positive and direct effects on number of flowers per plant at genotypic and phenotypic levels. Thus, the useful cultivars can be used as parents in hybridization programme to obtain admirable progenies
Soil evaporation studies using mini-lysimeters under differently established rice-wheat cropping sequence in Punjab, India
Authors: Bhatt Rajan , Kukal S. S.
Published: April 2018

Present investigations were carried out in rice-wheat cropping sequence as a whole including the intervening period under divergent establishment methods from 2012-14 at experimental farm of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab. Treatments included tillage in wheat viz. zero (ZTW) and conventionally tilled wheat (CTW) - main followed by establishment methods viz. direct seeded rice (DSR) and mechanically transplanted rice (MTR) - sub while tillage in rice viz. puddle (PTR), conventionally tilled (CTR) and zero tilled rice (ZTR) - sub-sub plot. Mini-lysimeters were used for delineating the evaporation trends which found to be fast, low cost, reliable and accurate. During rabi seasons, CTW plots evaporated 15.8 and 3.0% faster respectively, as compared to the ZTW plots. CTW plots during 2012-13 evaporated 7% higher than during 2013-14 while ZTW plots evaporated with almost same pace during both the years. After rabi season during intervening period, ZTW plots evaporated 6.8 and 13.6% faster than the CTW plots during 2012-13 and 2013-14, respectively. During rice seasons, among pure tillage system, zero tilled plots viz. ZTWDSRZT evaporated 21.7 and 22.2% faster than CTWDSRCT plots during rice 2013 and 2014, while coming over to the mixed tillage systems, CTWDSRZT evaporated 36.7 and 18.4% faster than the ZTWDSRCT plots. The results from this and other studies suggest that mulching suppress the evaporation losses which further improves the water use efficiency and finally land productivity of the rice-wheat sequence in the region.
Evaluation of casing variables for cultivation of Agaricusbisporus strain U3 in Punjab, India
Authors: Kaur Amanpreet , Johl Prem Pal , Sodhi Harpreet Singh
Published: April 2018

Casing is an important step during cultivation of button mushroom. It promotes a shift of vegetative mycelium to form pinheads leading to mature basidiocarps. Therefore, An experiment was planned at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana in which farm yard manure (FYM), biogas slurry (BS), burnt rice husk (BRH), spent compost (SC), coir pith (CP) and sandy soil (SS) were used in six combinations to evaluate their impact on yield of Agaricusbisporus strain U3. Casing mixtures were analyzed for the moisture, water holding capacity (WHC), bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and mineral analysis. The moisture content of casing mixtures ranged between 33 to 56.3% with maximum in FYM+CP (1:1) and FYM+BS (1:1) which results in more water holding capacity with 160% and 100% for FYM+CP (1:1) and FYM+BS (1:1) respectively. The bulk density of different casing mixtures ranged between 33.3 to 83.3% and maximum for FYM+BS as well as the control FYM+SS (4:1). No significant variation in pH of casing mixture was observed while EC was significantly higher in FYM+BS (1:1) with 1.7 mmhos cm-1. Microbial count of different casing mixtures was between 3.0-5.7×105 which was statistically non-significant with respect to casing mixtures. A mixture of FYM+BRH (1:1) gave maximum yield of 15.1 kg with heavy fruit bodies. Number of fruiting bodies in casing mixture FYM+BRH (1:1) were 31.4, 26.4, 148.1,31.4 and 8.1 percent higher over FYM+CP (1:1), FYM+SC (1:1), FYM+BS (1:1), FYM and FYM+SS (4:1,control), respectively. The casing mixture FYM+BRH (1:1) with higher number of fruiting bodies with maximum fruiting bodies weight was the best alternate in mushroom growing industry.
Influence of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and integrated nutrient management (INM) on yield and economics attributes of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)
Authors: Kumari Amrita , Singh V. K. , Kumar Vikash , Nirgude Vishal
Published: April 2018

The present experiment was conducted to study the response of naphthalene acetic acid NAA and integrated nutrient management on yield and yield attributes as well as and economics of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) with four levels of NAA (0 ppm, 25 ppm, 50 ppm and 75 ppm) and five levels of vermicompost (VC) along with RDF (V0-100% Recommended dose of fertilizer i.e. 120:60:60 Kg N P K /ha ), V1-100% N through Vermicompost, V2-75% N through VC + 25% (RDF), V3-50% N through VC + 50% (RDF) , V4-25% N through VC + 75% (RDF), having 20 treatment combinations. The results revealed that the combine application of 50 ppm NAA and 100% N through vermicomposti.e. P2V1 performed well in respect of fruit length (8.73 cm), fruit diameter (1.46 cm) and fruit weight (2.91 g) while the application of NAA 50 ppm + 50% N through vermicompost along with 50% RDF i.e. P2V3 gave significantly (P=0.05) maximum number of fruits/plant (73.86) and fruit yield per hectare (121.20 q) with higher gross income (Rs.2,66,640.00/ ha), net profit (Rs.1,98,946.00/ ha) and benefit - cost ratio (2.94). Therefore, it can be concluded that the combine effect of NAA 50 ppm along with 50 % N through vermicompost +50% inorganic fertilizers (RDF) gave better result regarding growth and yield attributes and also generated maximum gross income, net return and B:C ratio while the next best treatment was application of NAA 75 ppm along with 25 % N through vermicompost + 75 % inorganic fertilizers (RDF).
Performance of high yielding drought tolerant varieties of maize and in situ moisture conservation techniques in Kandi region of Punjab, India
Authors: Kumar Vijay , Sharma Vivek , Sharma S. C. , Singh Sukhvinder
Published: April 2018

In the present investigation, 87 front line demonstrations (FLDs) of maize were conducted on farmers’ fields to demonstrate the impact of high yielding drought tolerant varieties (JH 3459, Parkash and PMH 1) and in situ moisture conservation techniques (ridge sowing, sowing across the slope, summer ploughing and earthing up) on production and economic benefits in Kandi region of Punjab state during kharif seasons from 2011 to 2013 under rainfed situation. The improved production technologies recorded additional yield ranging from 29.7 to 47.6 q/ha with a mean yield of 37.1 q/ha and 24.4 to 42.6 q/ha with a mean yield of 32.7 q/ha for drought tolerant varieties and in situ moisture conservation techniques, respectively. The per cent average increase in yield of drought tolerant varieties over local cultivars was 35.8, while 15.6 for in situ moisture conservation techniques.The average extension gap, technology gap and technology index were 9.8& 4.4 q/ha, 3.7& 6.1q/ha and 9.1& 16.7 per cent, respectively in drought tolerant varieties and in situ moisture conservation techniques. FLDs recorded higher mean net returns i.e. Rs. 36,292 and 28,234 per ha. with B:C ratio of 2.53 and 2.17 for drought tolerant varieties and in situ moisture conservation techniques, respectively. The FLDS conducted revealed that availability of suitable high yielding variety and lack of knowledge about improved production technologies is the main bottleneck in maize production, enhancement of yield and knowledge of the farmers. Hence, the productivity of maize can be increased by adoption of the recommended management practices and the study resulted in convincing the farming community about potentialities of the recommended production technologies in yield enhancement.
Combining ability analysis in near homozygous lines of okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] for yield and yield attributing parameters
Authors: Lyngdoh Y. A. , Mulge R. , Shadap A. , Singh Jogendra , Sangwan Seema
Published: April 2018

Line × tester analysis was carried out with the objective of identifying the good combiners and to decide the breeding strategies for developing potential and productive genotypes or cultivars. Parents and hybrids differed significantly for GCA and SCA effects for all the characters respectively. Specific combining ability (SCA) variance was higher than the general combining ability (GCA) variance which shows the predominance of non-additive gene action for the improvement of all the characters studied. The parents and crosses having highest and significant GCA and SCA effects viz., KO-18 (13.69), KO-6 (9.54) and KO-2 × Parbhani Kranti (19.28) for plant height; KO-12 (0.34), KO-14 (0.19) and KO-5 × V5 (0.60) for number of branches per plant; KO-14 (-0.66) and KO-15 × Arka Anamika(-1.66) for days to first flowering; KO-1(1.10), Arka Anamika (0.46) and KO-9 × VRO-5 (3.28) for fruit length; KO-7 (7.91), VRO-5(1.68) and KO-18 × VRO-6 (8.64) for average fruit weight; KO-2 (1.18) and KO-17 × Arka Anamika (2.80) for number of fruits per plant; KO-9(0.05), VRO-6 (0.01) and KO-11 × VRO-6 (0.10) for total yield per plant were identified as good general and specific combiners. The results establish the worth of heterosis breeding for effective usage of non-additive genetic variance in okra.
Efficacy of some insecticides against Thrips, Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom cowpea crop ecosystem
Authors: Yadav Gopi Ram , Srivastava Poonam , Mishra Vijay Kumar , Chauhan Deepika , Rajveer Rajveer
Published: April 2018

The study was conducted to determine efficacy of insecticides against Thrips, Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom on cowpea grown at field experiments were conducted at Breeder Seed Production Centre, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 2014.The most effective treatment for the control of thrips Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom was seed treatment with fipronil @ 3 ml/kg + spray with fipronil @ 5 ml/lt with maximum reduction (70.06%) in the thrips population of cowpea while lowest effective treatment for the control of thrips Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom was seed treatment with imidacloprid 17.8SL @ 10ml/kg + spray with monocrotophos 36SL @ 2ml/lt with minimum reduction (16.02%) in the thrips, Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom population of cowpea crop.
Trend of Crop Water Requirement at Akola (Maharashtra), India
Authors: Lokhande J. N. , Kale M. U. , Wadatkar S. B.
Published: April 2018

Climate change scenario badly affects the agriculture. The present study aimed to characterize the trend in maximum temperature and crop water requirement over a last decade at Akola station (Maharashtra State), because of changing trend in meteorological parameters. Study investigated the trends in temperature and reference evapotranspiration using various statistical parameters like mean, coefficient of variation, coefficient of skewness and coefficient of kurtosis. Monthly maximum air temperature showed slightly decreasing trend over summer season while increasing trend over monsoon and winter season. On the contrary, the monthly reference evapotranspiration showed decreasing linear trend over monsoon and winter season, while increasing trend over summer season. The study concluded that as the monthly reference evapotranspiration showed decreasing linear trend over cropping seasons (i.e. monsoon and winter), the crop water requirement at Akola station shall decrease in future.
Studies on changes in quality characteristics of Indian horse chestnut (Aesculus indica Colebr.) flour during storage
Authors: Kumar Pradeep , Thakur N. S.
Published: April 2018

Indian horse chestnut (Aesculus indica Colebr.) is a rich source of starch but contains toxic compound known as saponins which makes it bitter and unsuitable for edible purposes. To exploit the starch source for edible purpose first of all the saponins were removed to a acceptable limit by pretreating the crushed mass of Indian horse chestnut as suggested earlier. Edible mass of Indian horse chestnut was dried and milled into flour and packed in different packaging materials and further stored under refrigerated (4-7°C) and ambient (18-25°C) storage conditions for 6 months. The flour packed in aluminium laminated pouches and stored under refrigerated condition showed minimum increase in physico-chemical and rheological characteristics like moisture content (6.49%), water activity (0.155), reducing sugars (1.72%) and retained highest amounts of total solids (93.50%), total sugars (3.75%), starch (63.89%), ash (2.36%), proteins (102.23 mg/100g) along with oil absorption capacity (1.54 ml/g), water absorption capacity (4.44 ml/g) and bulk density (0.635 g/ml). The sensory characteristics scores like colour (7.60), taste (7.25), aroma (6.88), texture (6.87) and overall acceptability (7.08) were retained highest in this packaging material as compared to others.
Selection of parental lines among round fruited brinjal for hybridization aiming at export promotion
Authors: Shende Varun Durwas , Seth Tania , Mukherjee Subhra , Chattopadhyay Arup
Published: April 2018

Selection of parental lines for considering export trade in hybridization programme is a new approach in brinjal breeding. Eight quantitative characters were taken to estimate genetic variation and relationships among twenty seven genotypes of round fruited brinjal, and to identify potential donors for the development of recombinants suitable for export. Analysis of variation revealed considerable level of variability among the genotypes. High broad sense heritability (?80 %) and genetic advance as per cent of mean (?20 %) were observed for the maximum number of traits under study. Among the yield components, only number of marketable fruits per plant showed positive and significant correlation (r = 0.771 and 0.725 at genotypic and phenotypic level, respectively) with marketable fruit yield per plant. However, number of marketable fruits per plant (1.24) followed by average fruit weight (0.834) ex-hibited maximum positive direct effects on marketable fruit yield per plant suggesting to give emphasis on these traits while imposing selection for amenability in fruit yield of round fruited brinjal. Principal component analysis showed the amount of variation by principal components 1 to 4 viz., 26.75, 49.98, 69.81 and 84.28 %, respectively. Divergence analysis based on various yield component traits grouped 27 brinjal genotypes into nine main clusters. Dendrogram based on hierarchal clustering grouped genotypes based on their yield component traits rather than their geographic origin. Based on averages and principal component analysis, six genotypes (BCB-30, Deshi Makra, Gujrat Brinjal Round, 09/BRBWRes-3, BCB-10, 10/BRRVar-2) appeared to be promising donors for use in export oriented breeding programme.
Toxicological studies on Helicoverpa armigera in pigeonpea growing in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, India
Authors: Salunke P. B. , Lande S. S. , Wadaskar R. M.
Published: April 2018

Insecticide resistance level in pigeonpea pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) to technical grade insecticides collected from major pigeonpea growing districts of Vidarbha viz., Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Yavatmal and Washim was worked out. LDP indicated LD50 of Cypermethrin in the range of 1.402 to 9.209 ppm with maximum in Yavatmal (9.209 ppm); LD90 within range of 6.021 to 18.427 ppm. LD50 of Quinalphos in the range of 1.303 to 4.789 ppm with maximum in Yavatmal (4.789 ppm); LD90 within range of 3.150 to 14.194 ppm.LD50 of Methomyl in the range of 1.297 to 3.792 ppm with maximum in Yavatmal (3.792 ppm); LD90 within range of 4.993 to 16.737 ppm.LD50 of Indoxacarb in the range of 0.521 to 2.709 ppm with maximum in Yavatmal (2.709 ppm); LD90 within range of 2.819 to 20.947 ppm.LD50 of Spinosad in the range of 0.713 to 2.408 ppm with maximum in Buldhana (2.408 ppm); LD90 within range of 6.413 to 18.349 ppm. The resistance level is visibly high in cypermethrin, moderate to indoxacarb, quinalphos, spinosad and low to methomyl; Yavatmal and Washim strains expressed higher resistance level to cypermethrin, quinalphos and methomyl, whereas Yavatmal and Buldhana strains expressed higher resistance level to indoxacarb and spinosad. The investigation will help to track resistence level in Helicoverpa armigera to different groups of insecticides.
Tribal farmers' perceived constraints in the adoption of good dairy farming practices in the northern hills zone of Chhattisgarh, India
Authors: Mooventhan P. , Kadian K. S. , Kumar R. Senthil , Manimaran A. , Karpagam C.
Published: April 2018

This study was carried out during the year 2014-15 to explore the perceived constraints encountered by the tribal dairy farmers in the successful adoption of Good Dairy Farming Practices (GDFPs). Out of 27 districts in Chhattisgarh, three tribal populated districts were selected for this study from northern hills zone of the state and totally 300 respondents were selected for constraints analysis. The study revealed that 55.33 % of the tribal farmers realised that insufficient knowledge and awareness towards good dairy farming practices is the major constraints in the adoption process, majority (70.00 %) of the tribal farmers perceived that lack of progeny tested superior bulls for AI and natural service are the main constraint in the adoption of good breeding practices, about (75.70 %) of the tribal farmers expressed the higher cost of concentrates, mineral mixtures and vitamin supplements are the main constraints in the adoption of good feeding practices, majority (70.70 %) of the tribal farmers responded that less number of veterinary hospitals in their locality is the main constraints and its ranks first in the healthcare constraints list, little less than three-fourths (67.67 %) of the tribal farmers articulated that lack of advanced farm machineries (portable milking unit) for small dairy holders is the main constraints in the adoption of good management practices and about three-fourths (75.30 %) of the tribal farmers conveyed that the lack of insurance for longer period is the main constraints and tops in the socio-economic constraints. This constraints study will be highly useful to policy makers and the scientific community to assess the dairy production technologies for refinement and appropriate strategies can be formulated to promote tribal dairying from subsistence level to intensive in order to increase the income from dairy sector.
Trends in marine fish production in Tamil Nadu using regression and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model
Authors: Anuja A. , Yadav V. K. , Bharti V. S. , Kumar N. R.
Published: April 2018

Tamil Nadu is situated in the south eastern coast of the Indian peninsula with a coastal line of 1076 km (13% of the country’s coast line), 0.19 million sq.km of EEZ (9.4 % of total national EEZ) and a continental shelf of about 41,412 sq. km. This is one of the country’s leading state in marine fish production and ranks third in marine fish production. In Tamil Nadu, Ramanathapuram district is a leading maritime district followed by Nagapattinam and Thoothukudi. The objective of this study was to investigate the trends in marine fish production in Tamil Nadu. Yearly fish production data for the period of 1988-1989 to 2012-2013 were analyzed using time-series method called Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model and Regression analysis (curve estimation). In our study, the developed best ARIMA model for Tamil Nadu marine fish production was found to be ARIMA (1, 1, 1) which have the minimum BIC (Bayesian Information Criterion). ARIMA model had got a slightly higher forecasting accuracy rate for forecasting marine fish production of Tamil Nadu than Regression trend analysis. The independent sample test showed there was no significant difference between the two models. The limitations of ARIMA model include its requirement of a long time series data for better forecast. It is basically linear model assuming that data are stationary and have a limited ability to capture non-stationarities and nonlinearities in series data. Both the models indicated that Tamil Nadu marine fish production has plateaued and fishermen should be encouraged to adopt sustainable fishing practices.
Management of the major pests of french bean through development and validation of certain IPM modules, Assam, India
Authors: Sharmah D. , Rahman S.
Published: April 2018

The present investigation was carried out in the ICR farm, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat during 2013-14 and 2014-15 for management of the major pests through development and validation of certain IPM modules. Lesser per cent incidence of aphid (0.60 %) was seen in Module-I than Module-III (2.58 %) and Module-II (6.0 %) and has significant at 5 % probability level. But highest percentage of aphid incidence (13.40 %) was registered in Module-IV. The mean population of thrips varied from 1.0 to 10.0 per cent among the modules. Module-I was found to be superior by recording significantly less incidence of thrips (1.04 %) than Module-III (2.6 %) and Module-II (4.0 %). Considerably higher per cent incidence of thrips was observed in Module-IV (10.0 %). The per cent population of mite was least (1.0 %) in Module-I compared to Module-III (3.0 %) and Module-II (7.6 %). Maximum incidence of mites was recorded in Module -IV (9.0 %). Whitefly incidence was recorded to be minimum (1.2% in Module -I compared to Module-III (2.80 %) and Module-II (4.0 %). The highest percent incidence of whitefly was registered in Module -IV (10.8 %). Module-I was found to be superior by recording significantly less incidence of pod borer (0.40 %) and was significantly differed from Module-III (3.2 %) and Module-II (5.8 %). The highest healthy green bean yield ha-1 was achieved in Module-I (13.99 tha-1) followed by Module-III (13.91 tha-1), Module-II (13.56 tha-1) and Module-IV (9.88 tha-1). The effectiveness of IPM Modules in respect to B:C ratio were obtained to be 2.06, 1.95 and 1.97 from Module–I, II and III respectively. The present experimental findings can be used as alternative for chemical pesticides at farmer’s field and will certainly be reduce the detrimental effect of insecticides application.
Genetic variation and characterization of different linseed genotypes (Linum usitatissimum L.) for agro-morphological traits
Authors: Paul Satish , Kumar Nimit , Chopra Pankaj
Published: April 2018

Forty five linseed genotypes (local collection) were subjected to study the genetic variability at the Experimental Farm of the Department of Crop Improvement, CSK Himachal Pradesh KrishiVishvavidyalaya, Palampur, during rabi 2015-2016. Analysis of variance revealed that the differences among all the genotypes were significant for all the traits. Mean performance of genotype KLSA-15 for seed yield recorded highest contribution of 3.69 grams. The PCV values were greater than the GCV values for all the traits studied indicating that the apparent variation is not only due to genotypes but, also due to the influence of environment. The highest PCV (64.17) and GCV (64.09) were found for biological yield per plant. Higher estimates of PCV and GCV were obtained for primary branches per plant, secondary branches per plant, capsules per plant, biological yield per plant, harvest index (45.94 and 44.60) and seed yield per plant (52.39 and 50.94). All the characters studied in the present investigation expressed high heritability estimates ranging from 62.95 to 99.77 percent for technical height and biological yield per plant respectively. It was revealed that most of the traits under study showed low genetic advance, high heritability (94.23) and high genetic advance (31.06) was recorded for harvest index indicating predominance of additive gene action for this character. Simple selection based on phenotypic performance of this character would be more effective. The cluster analysis showed that the genotypes were placed into four clusters, showing inter-cluster divergence, which is important for future hybridization programme.
Standardization of mixed fruit cheese from Guava (Psidiumguajava cv. Hisar Safeda) and Mango (Mangiferaindica var. Safeda) and its quality evaluation during storage
Authors: Sucheta Sucheta , Gehlot Rakesh , Siddiqui Saleem
Published: April 2018

The present investigation was carried out to prepare fruit cheese, a fruit confectionery prepared by combining fruit pulp with sugar, pectin and acid from blended fruit pulp of guava (Psidiumguajava) and mango (Mangiferaindica). The storage studies of mixed fruit cheese packed in HDPE bags showed significant changes in chemical properties during three months storage. Total sugars, reducing sugars and browning increased significantly from 66.8 to 68.7 %, 21.1 to 23.4 % and 0.25 to 0.37, while carotenoids and total phenols decreased significantly from 1.2 to 0.7 mg/100g and 39.1 to 35.2 mg/100g in guava-mango cheese during storage. Carotenoids was maximum (2.5 mg/100g) in guava-mango cheese containing highest mango pulp content, while ascorbic acid and total phenols was maximum (13.0 and 54.7 mg/100g) in cheese with highest guava pulp content. The cost of production was found minimum (Rs. 140/kg) in guava-mango cheese with 100 guava: 0 mango pulp ratio and increasing concentration of mango pulp showed a increasing trend in the cost of production of fruit cheese.
Soil test crop response based Integrated plant nutrition system for desired yield target of preseasonal sugarcane ratoon on Inceptisols
Authors: Ghube N. B. , Kadlag A. D. , Kamble B. M.
Published: April 2018

Studies on Soil Test Crop Response based Integrated Plant Nutrition System (STCR - IPNS) were conducted adopting the Inductive cum Targeted yield model onInceptisols (VerticHaplustepts) in Rahuri, District Ahemadnagar, Maharashtra, India in order to develop fertilizer prescriptions through IPNS for the desired yield targets of preseasonal sugarcane ratoon. The field experiments were carried out with maize as gradient crop for plant cane and after harvest of plant cane, pre-seasonal sugarcane ratoon as test crop. Using the data on yield, initial soil test values on available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), doses of fertilizers and farmyard manure (FYM) applied and NPK uptake, the basic parameters viz., nutrient requirement, contribution from soil, fertilizers and FYM were computed. It was found that 1.56 kg N, 0.58 kg P and 1.04 kg K were required for producing one tonnemillable cane of preseasonal ratoon sugarcane. The per cent contributions of N, P and K from soil and FYM for preseasonal sugarcane ratoon were 37.65, 85.88 and 19.82 per cent and 11.83, 10.88 and 12.24 per cent, respectively. Making use of these basic parameters, fertilizer prescription equations were developed for pre-seasonal sugarcane ratoon (var. C0-94012) and an estimate of fertilizer doses formulated for a range of soil test values and desired yield targets under NPK alone and IPNS (NPK plus FYM).
Refinement of fertilizer recommendation based on Soil Test Crop Response technology for rice under System of Rice Intensification
Authors: Vijayakumar M. , Santhi R. , Jalaluddin S. Mohamed
Published: April 2018

A study on Soil Test Crop Response based Integrated Plant Nutrition System (STCR - IPNS) were conducted adopting an Inductive cum Targeted yield model in non-calcareous sandy loam soils of Lithic Haplusteptat Regional Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Paiyur, Tamil Nadu during Kharif 2013 in orderto develop fertilizer prescriptions equation (FPEs) through IPNS for the desired yield targets of rice under SRI technique. A ready reckoner of fertilizer doses at varying soil test value, for attaining 6 to 9 t ha-1 target grain yield of rice has been worked out. Using these equations a validation trial was conducted on Kharif 2014 at this station. The grain yield of rice ranged from 2.54 t ha-1 in absolute control to 8.65 t ha-1 in STCR-IPNS-9 t ha-1. The STCR-IPNS @ 8 t ha-1 was effective and economical as compare with any other treatments. The deviation recorded in the achievement of targets aimed was within the range of ± 10 per cent (90 – 110 %) proving the validity of the FPEs. The STCR treatments recorded relatively higher response ratio (RR) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) over blanket and farmer's practice and STCR-IPNS treatments recorded relatively higher RR and BCR over STCR-NPK alone treatments. Post-harvest soil tests for NPK revealed that there was maintenance of soil fertility. The STCR-IPNS @ 8 t ha-1 was effective and economical as compare with any other treatments. Thus, the Inductive cum Targeted yield model used to develop fertilizer prescription equations provides a strong basis for soil fertility maintenance consistent with high productivity and efficient nutrient management for sustainable and enduring Agriculture.