bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of different transplanting date and weed management practices on yield and quality of basmati rice (Pusa Basmati-1509)
Authors: Kumar Vikram , Hooda V. S. , Nandal D. P. , Kumar Sunil , Gupta Gaurendra
Published: April 2018

A field experiment was conducted during kharif 2014 at students’ farm of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, college of agriculture, Kaul (Kaithal). The experiment consisted of four transplanting dates (June 15, July 5, July 25 and August 15) in main plots and six weed control treatments in sub plots treatments consisted of pre-emergence application of pretilachlor, oxadiargyl alone and sequential application of pre and post emergence herbicides viz., pretilachlor fb bispyribac, oxadiargyl fb bispyribac, weed free check and unweeded check. Based on research investigation it was observed that early transplanting dates (June 15 and July 5) produced taller plant, higher tillers/m2 and crop dry matter accumulation at all growth stages. Early transplanting produced significantly higher number of effective tillers/m2 (263) along with higher number of filled grain/ panicle (85) than delayed planting (July 25 and August 15). The 1000-grain weight was not affected by time of transplanting. The highest grain yield (4363 kg/ha) was recorded under June 15 transplanting which was statistically at par to the grain yield (4058 kg/ha) obtained under July 5 transplanting. Among the weed management practices tried, weed free check resulted in the highest values of plant height (104.2 cm), tillers/m2 (305), crop dry matter accumulation (964 g/ m2), effective tillers/m2 (271), grains length (8.5 cm), filled grains/panicle (86.3) as well as grain (4516 kg/ha) and straw yield (5506 kg/ha) which were however, comparable to pre-emergence application of oxadiargyl followed by bispyribac-sodium applied at 25 DAT and pretilachlor followed by bispribac-sodium at 25DAT.
Long-term effect of inorganic fertilizers and amendments on productivity and root dynamics under maize-wheat intensive cropping in an acid Alfisol
Authors: Shambhavi Shweta , Kumar Rakesh , Sharma S. P. , Verma Gayatri , Sharma R. P. , Sharma Sanjay K.
Published: April 2018

Study on the soil nutrient status and crop productivity under continuous use of inorganic fertilizers and amendments in an acid Alfisol after 36 years (1972-73 to 2008-09) was carried out at Palampur, HP. Results showed that application of Recommended Dose of Fertilizer (120:60:40 kg/ha to maize and 120:60:30 kg/ha to wheat) with 10 t farmyard manure/ha applied once a year for 36 years resulted in 786 and 515 per cent increase in maize and wheat yields, respectively over control. Soil acidity rose from 5.8 to 4.58 with the application of fertilizers over 36 years. Conjoint use of FYM with 100 per cent NPK substantially improved the Organic Carbon status by 4.95 g/kg as well as available P, K and S by 154.1, 14.5 and 12.5 kg/ha, respectively in soil over its initial values, thereby indicating significant contribution towards sustaining the soil health. On the other hand, there was a drastic decline in the available N status of soil in all the treatments as compared to the initial value. The various root parameters viz., root mass density (4.08 kg m-3), root volume density (10.84 m3 m-3x10-3), root length density (2.60 m m-3 x 10-4), root surface area (204.12 m2 x 10-4) and root cation exchange capacity (8.37 c mol (p+) kg-1) were found to be highest in the plots with the application of 100% NPK + FYM. Thus, balanced use of fertilizers continuously either alone or in combination with amendments is necessary for sustaining soil fertility and productivity of crops.
Estimation of combining ability analysis in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) for yield, nutritional and processing quality improvement
Authors: Kumar Chandan , Singh S. P.
Published: April 2018

Combining ability for yield and nutritional quality traits in tomato were studied by involving 28 cross combi-nations obtained from crossing 8 diverse lines in diallel mating fashion. Based on GCA effects of parents, the varie-ties Pant T-3, Arka Alok and Sel-7 were good general combiners for most of the traits under study. The crosses viz., Pant T-3 x H-24 (1.052%), Arka Meghali x Punjab Chhuhara (0.768%) and H-88-78-1 x Azad T-5 (0.768%) were found to be high positive specific combining ability effect for yield per plant. For quality traits, the crosses Arka Me-ghali x Punjab Chhuhara and H-24 x Sel-7 were also superior specific combiner for number of seeds per fruit and ascorbic acid, while cross Punjab Chhuhara x H-88-78-1 was superior specific combiner for number of seeds per fruit (24.165%), yield per plant (0.677%) and titrable acidity (0.183%). These elite hybrids may be tested for yield and other quality traits under different agro-climatic conditions for commercial exploitation of hybrid vigour.
Physico-chemical changes during fruit growth and developmental stages in yellow type passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa Degener) accessions
Authors: Ghosh Arkendu , Dey Koyel , Bauri Fatik K. , Dey A. N.
Published: April 2018

Physiological and biochemical changes during fruit growth, development and maturity of six yellow type passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa Degener) accessions were studied at weekly interval after fruit set from 21 days to 91 days after fruit set and after dropping from vine also. Fruit growth of passion fruit followed a single sigmoid growth curve. Fruit length (cm), diameter (cm) and weight (g) increased continuously (25.24%, 33.13% and 75.08% respectively) (from the initial stage till maturity up to 84 days), which slightly declined at ripening stage. Fruits developed acceptable physico-chemical qualities with good colour, when harvested at 84 to 91 days after fruit set (DAF). The study further revealed that the days taken from fruit set to maturity and ripening, colour change, total soluble solids and acidity may be considered as the most reliable maturity indices for taking harvest decision in pas-sion fruit.
Nutritional evaluation of products prepared from fresh beans
Authors: Rani Mamta , Punia Darshan
Published: April 2018

The objective of this study was to determine the nutritional composition of products prepared from fresh beans. Four types of fresh beans powder viz. cluster bean (Cyamposis tetragonaloba), cowpea bean (Vigna unguic-ulata), french bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris) and sem bean (Dolichhos lablab) were used for dry vegetable preparation. Moisture content of beans vegetable prepared using fresh beans ranged from 76.49 to 82.25 per cent. The cowpea bean vegetable had the highest (17.19%) and sem bean vegetable had the lowest (12.67%) amount of crude pro-tein. Crude fiber content was found to be highest in cowpea bean vegetable (6.69%) followed by cluster bean vege-table (6.60%), french bean vegetable (6.41%) and sem bean vegetable (5.54%). Among the four types of beans vegetables, total, insoluble and soluble dietary fiber content was found to be highest in cluster bean vegetable and the lowest in sem bean vegetable. Sem bean vegetable contained the maximum (135.81 mg/100g and 251.46 mg/100g) amount of calcium and phosphorus while french bean vegetable contained the minimum (51.03 mg/100gand 243.55 mg/100g) amount. Iron content was significantly (P<0.05) higher in cluster bean vegetable and cowpea bean vegetable as compared to french bean vegetable and sem bean vegetable. Cowpea bean vegetable contained the maximum (101.51mg/100g) while sem bean contained minimum (61.19mg/100g) amount of magnesium-um. It was observed that all the four types of beans vegetable differed significantly (p?0.05) among themselves for their potassium content. Earlier studies were conducted on raw seeds or pods of beans but information on cooked beans was scanty. This study explains about the effect of cooking on different nutritional components of fresh beans pods.
Studies on the effect of post harvest treatments on shelf life and quality of mango [Mangifera indica l.] cv. Amrapali
Authors: Mounika T. , Reddy N. N. , Lakshmi N. Jyothi , Joshi Veena
Published: April 2018

he physicochemical characteristics and shelf life of mango[Mangifera indica L.] fruits treated with calci- um chloride (CaCl2-1%, 2%), calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2-1%, 2%), potassium nitrate (KNO3-1%, 2%) and carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC - 0.5, 1%) were studied. Untreated fruits served as the control. All tested treatments indicated a significant delay in the change of weight loss (16.84%), ripening (51.66%), decaying percentage (46.66) and retained firmness (3.23 kg/cm2) of fruits and biochemical qualities viz., total soluble solids(22.33Brix), sugar accumulation (18.17%) and tritratable acidity on 16th day in mango fruits compared to control. The significant (5%) impact of treatment is found on the least decay percentage in the order of fruits treated with calcium nitrate (2%) followed by 1% Ca(NO3)2, 2% CaCl2 and 1% CaCl2. Hence, it could be concluded that post harvest chemical treatment with calcium nitrate, calcium chloride (1%, 2%) has the potential to control spoilage, prolong the storage life and preserve valuable attributes of post harvest quality of mango, presumably because of its effect on inhibition of ripening and senescence processes by lowering the respiration rate.
Optimization of biogas production from water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)
Authors: Rozy Rozy , Dar Rouf Ahmad , Phutela Urmila Gupta
Published: April 2018

The present investigation reports the optimization of process parameters for biogas production from water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). The different parameters like particle size, inoculum concentration, incubation temperature, metal ions and pH were optimized for biogas production. Maximum biogas was observed with water hyacinth of 1cm size, 40 % inoculum concentration. The temperature of 45°C along with neutral pH i.e. 7 was found to be most suitable for biogas production in the presence of manganese chloride (0.2 mM). Under optimized conditions, 44.9 l biogas/kg water hyacinth, 360.09 l/kg total solids and 397.95 l biogas/kg volatile solids were produced in a period of 40 days. The water hyacinth has proven to be a good source of biogas production and thus can be utilized as a potential feedstock for the biogas production.
Effect of growth regulator treatment on bud sprouting of hardwood cutting in different ornametal plants
Authors: Kaur Ramandeep , Grewal H. S.
Published: April 2018

The hardwood cuttings of Calliandra haematocephala, Cassia biflora, Pyrostegia venusta and Clerodendrum splendens were treated with different growth regulator concentrations and combinations (T1: NAA100 mg/l, T2: NAA 300 mg/l, T3: NAA 500 mg/l, T4: IBA100 mg/l, T5: IBA 300 mg/l, T6: IBA 500 mg/l, T7: NAA 100 mg/l + IBA 50 mg/l, T8: NAA 50 mg/l + IBA100 mg/l, T9: NAA 100 mg/l + IBA100 mg/l and T10: Control) for 12 h and planted either in polybags containing soil or in sand beds for callusing. The treatment of hardwood cuttings with T6: IBA (500 mg/l) for 12h resulted in the maximum (33.33%) mean per cent sprouting 60 days after direct planting in all the four genotypes. Among the genotypes, the per cent sprouting was significantly more in C haematocephala (47.33%), followed by P venusta (8.66%), C splendens (7.33%) and C biflora (7.33%), irrespective of the growth regulator treatment. The hard-wood cuttings, planted in the sand beds for callusing (2 weeks) exhibited the maximum (28.33%) mean per cent sprouting with T6: IBA (500 mg/l, 12h), 60 days after transplanting in the polybags in all the four genotypes. Among the geno-types, the per cent sprouting was significantly more in C haematocephala (48.67%), followed by P venusta (6.67%) and C splendens (2.67%), irrespective of the growth regulator treatment, however, the cuttings failed to exhibit sproutingin C biflora. The treatment of cutting with IBA 500 mg/l increase the sprouting percentage in C haematocephala, P venusta and C splendens which otherwise were difficult to propagate through cutting.
Effect of pinching and spacing on growth, flowering and yield of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) under semi-arid conditions of Haryana
Authors: Nain Sheena , Beniwal B. S. , Dalal R. P. S. , Sheoran Sonu
Published: April 2018

The present study was conducted at experimental orchard of Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana), India with a view to optimize pinching time and spacing in African marigold for achieving better growth, flowering and yield. Design of the experiment was factorial Randomized Block Design with three replications. Experiment comprises of two levels of pinching (no pinching & pinching at 28 DAT i.e. Days After Transplanting) and three levels of spacing (40 x 40 cm, 40 x 30 cm & 30 x 30 cm) in all possible combinations. Maximum number of branches/plant (12.11), plant spread (63.59 cm), fresh weight of plant (358.79 g), number of buds/plant, duration of flowering (53.95 days), number of flowers/plant (54.54), stalk length and flower yield/plant (403.68 g) and flower yield/hectare (33.33 t) were significantly recorded in plants pinched at 28 DAT at 5% level of significance, whereas, maximum plant height (73.52 cm), flower diameter (6.38 cm), fresh weight of flower (8.93 g) was obtained in un-pinched plants. In case of spacing, maximum plant spread (64.01 cm), primary branches/plant (11.42), fresh weight of plant (370.20 g), number of buds/plant, number of flowers/plant (51.43), duration of flowering (53.98 days), flower diameter (6.42 cm), fresh weight of flower (9.03 g), flower yield/plant (460.42 g) was recorded at 40 x 40 cm, whereas, maximum plant height (71.76 cm), stalk length, flower yield/hectare (36.34 t) was observed with 30 x 30 cm. Results revealed that plants pinched at 28 DAT with widest spacing (40 x 40 cm) were found best for better growth, flowering and yield of African marigold.
Studies on pyrolytic conversion of waste plastic carry bags into plastic crude oil
Authors: Prabha B. , Ramesh D. , Kamaraj S.
Published: April 2018

The utilization of plastic carry bags in our modern life is increasing every year and also increasing pressure on safe disposal of these bags. Worldwide the disposal of these kinds of plastic wastes is becoming serious issue due to their non-degradable nature. The main aim of this study is to exploit the potential of waste plastic carry bags for the production of plastic crude oil by using non-electric pyrolytic unit. The heat required for pyrolysis process supplied from biomass gas stove and coconut shell used as combustible fuel. To optimize the heating conditions for higher plastic crude oil recovery, different quantities of coconut shell were utilized and the maximum recovery of plastic crude oil was recorded. The yield of crude oil ranged from 34.5 to 40.7 per cent for the reaction temperature ranged from 457 to 517 °C. For 4 kg fuel supplied as heating source, the crude oil recovered was 40.7 per cent at a reaction temperature of 486 oC and residence time of 58 min. The calorific value of the waste plastic carry bags and plastic crude oil was found to be 34.4 and 38.6 MJ/kg, respectively.
Suppression of soil borne fungal pathogens associated with apple replant disease by cyclic application of native strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Sharma Ranjna , Pal Joginder , Rana Sheetal , Kaur Mohinder
Published: April 2018

Plant growth promoting fluorescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains An-E and An- F were used for the suppression of replant disease organisms which were isolated from replant site of apple in Shimla district of Hima-chal Pradesh. Full and half concentration of individual and consortial strains were used for the experiment. Among all the treatments, full concentration of compatible consortial strains were quite effective in decreasing the deleterious rhizobacterial (197-99 cfu/g) and fungal population (7-0 cfu/g). Total rhizobacterial count starts decreasing after each cyclic application of fluorescent P. aeruginosa strains An-E and An-F due to root colonization property of these plant growth promoting strains in the replant site of apple. Establishment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains at replant site was inversely correlated with decreasing deleterious bacterial and fungal population in the replant site. 70 per cent survival of apple rootstocks was recorded in full concentration of consortial treatment (An-E and An- F) as compared to control after three years of plantation. Four major fungal pathogens viz. Dematophor anecatrix, Phytophthora cactorum, Pythium ultimum and Fusarium oxysporum were isolated and identified from National centre for fungal taxonomy, New Delhi. These strains can be further exploited and recommended for the management of replant problem of apple.
Preparation of Myrica nagi (Box myrtle) drink and effect of storage temperature on its quality
Authors: Thakur Abhimanyu , Thakur N. S. , Kumar Pradeep
Published: April 2018

Box myrtle (Myrica nagi) belongs to family Myricaceae is a sub-temperate tree found throughout the mid-Himalayas at an elevation of 1300 to 2100 meters above mean sea level. Its fruits are known for their ravishing taste and have been reported as rich source of anti-oxidants like phenols and anthocyanins. In the present study drink was prepared from box myrtle juice and quality evaluation was carried out during six months of storage of fruit drink. Different combinations of juice (8%, 10%, 12%, 14% and 16 %) and sugar syrup/TSS (Total soluble solids) (12 oB and 15 oB) were tried to standardize proper combination for drink. The drink prepared by following the best selected recipe (14 % juice and 12 oB TSS) was packed in glass and PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and stored for six months under ambient and refrigerated temperature conditions. Drink could be safely stored for a period of six months under both the storage conditions without much change in various quality characteristics. Various physico-chemical characteristics increased/decreased like TSS (12.05 to 12.48 oB), reducing sugars (7.80 to 8.69 %), titratable acidity (0.30 to 0.27 %), ascorbic acid (1.09 to 0.47 mg/100 g), total phenols (27.35 to 19.11 mg/100 g) and anthocyanins (6.14 to 3.69 mg/100 g). However, the changes in the quality characteristics of the drink were slower in refrigerated storage conditions as compared to ambient conditions. Both the packaging materials viz. PET and glass bottles were found suitable, with comparatively less changes occurring in glass bottles stored under refrigerated conditions.
Integrated nutrition management in pigeon pea intercropping systems for enhancing production and productivity in sustainable manner– A review
Authors: Kumawat Narendra , Kumar Rakesh , Morya Jagdeesh , Tomar I.S. , Meena R. S.
Published: April 2018

India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world accounting for about 29 per cent of the world area and 19 per cent of the world’s production. In order to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses, the projected requirement by the year 2025 is estimated at 27.5 MT. To meet this requirement, the productivity needs to be enhanced to 1000 kg/ha, and an additional area of about 3-4 Mha has to be brought under pulses besides reducing post-harvest losses. This uphill task has to be accomplished under more severe production constraints, especially abiotic stresses, abrupt climatic changes, emergence of new species/ strains of insect-pests and diseases, and in-creasing deficiency of secondary and micronutrients in the soil. This requires a two-pronged proactive strategy, i.e. improving per unit productivity and reducing cost of production. The yield levels of pulses have remained low and stagnant, also area and total production. Among the pulses pigeon pea is second most important grain-legumes and major constraints in pigeon pea production is mostly grown in grown on marginal lands under rainfed agriculture and without nutrient management, hence are prone to abiotic stresses. Therefore, it is essential for higher production and productivity of pigeon pea, use of high yielding varieties which suitable for intercrop as well as sole cropping system with best nutrient management practices.
Evaluation of bupirimate against rose powdery mildew
Authors: Adhikary N. K. , Samaddar S. , Venkatesh I. , Dolai A. K. , Tarafdar J. , Bhattacharyya S. K.
Published: April 2018

Bupirimate 25% Emulsifiable concentrate (EC) was evaluated for efficacy on Sphaerotheca pannosa, the causal agent of rose powdery mildew in vivo. In this experiment Bupirimate 25% EC 6 ml/L and 4 ml/L effectively reduced the powdery mildew infection over rest of the treatments and improved the flower yield. Moreover, application of Bupirimate 25% EC at the doses of 2, 4 and 6 ml/L and even at higher dose 8 ml/L did not show any phyto-toxic symptoms on rose plant. Thus, Bupirimate 25% EC may be considered as compared to other fungicides.
Effect of wheat seed dressing fungicides, botanicals and bio-control agent on Karnal bunt incidence in natural condition
Authors: Kumar Shrvan , Singh Dhanbir , Dhancholia Subhash , Sinha Asha
Published: April 2018

In this study the efficacy of four fungicides, three botanicals and one bio-control agent under field conditions revealed that all the treatments gave reduction of Karnal bunt over check at significant level (P=0.05). Maximum disease control was achieved with Tilt 25EC (48.72%) followed by Bavistin 50WP (47.08 %), Vitavax 75WP (45.30%) and Raxil 2DS (37.61%). Among botanicals L. camara was adjudged best as it gave 41.88 per cent disease control. However, seed treatment of T. viride (Ecoderma) resulted in 28.21 percent disease control. In all treatments over all disease control level was ranged between 28.21 to 48.72 per cent. For effective disease management, source of primary inoculum must be destroy. Primary inoculum of Karnal bunt is present in seed. There-fore, eco-friendly seed treatment of wheat is necessary process for diseases management.
Mycotoxin management through transformations – A review
Authors: Negi Archana , Sharma Roopali , Shukla Nandani , Modak Sourav Kumar , Negi Manjari , Kabdwal Bhupesh Chandra
Published: April 2018

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolic products of various fungi, mainly belonging to the genera Fusarium (Trichothecenes, Zearalenone), Aspergillus (Aflatoxin) and Penicillium (Ochratoxin) and can be found in almost 25% of the world’s agricultural commodities. These compounds are toxic to humans, animals and plants and therefore, efforts should be made to avoid mycotoxin contamination in food and feed. It has been estimated that at least 300 of these fungal metabolites are potentially toxic to animals and humans. In India 50% losses of agricultural commodities are due to postharvest losses. A number of physical and chemical approaches have already been taken to reduce the effect of mycotoxins, but due to certain limitations of physical and chemical strategies prompted search for other solutions to the mycotoxin hazards. Thus, there is an increasing public pressure for a safer and eco-friendly alternative to control these organisms. Consequently, a new approach is applied for managing mycotoxins through transformations that offer specific, efficient and eco-friendly way for detoxification of mycotoxins. This review aims to brings about the up-to-date management strategies mainly through transformation (genetic and bio) to pre-vent or reduce post harvest damages to the crops caused by storage fungi and the contamination of food and feed by mycotoxins. It will make aware of the new technologies or management methods for mycotoxins through transformation. The transformation methods may become the technology of choice, as they offer a specific, irreversible, efficient and environment friendly way of detoxification that leaves neither toxic residues nor any undesirable by-products.
Investigation of optimum conditions for the growth of Fusarium solani EGY1 causing root rot of guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.)
Authors: Singh Simranjit , Rani Upasana , Tiwana U.S. , Singh Devinder Pal , Sirari Asmita
Published: April 2018

Guar gum (Galactomannan) is extracted from Guar (Cluster bean), which is extensively used in petroleum, food and pharmaceutical industry. Root rot of guaris caused by Fusarium solani EGY1 under Punjab, having sub-tropical climatic conditions. This study was undertaken to evaluate different culture media, grain substrates (sorghum, maize, cowpea, guar and pearl millet), temperatures (20, 25, 30, 35oC), pH levels (5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0), light and darkness for the identification of optimum conditions for the growth and sporulation of the fungus. Czapek’s dox media was found to be best for growth (84.65 mm) and sporulation (1.8 x 104microconidia and 3.0 x 104 macro conidia) of fungus. For mass multiplication of the fungus, sorghum grains proved to be the best substrate. The fungus showed maximum radial growth at temperature of 25oC (84.36 mm) and pH of 6.0 (84.43 mm) whereas sporulation was highest at 30oC (2.0 x 104 microconidia and 3.2 x 104 macroconidia) and pH of 8.0 (1.8 x 104 microconidia and 3.1 x 104 macroconidia) respectively. Continuous light favoured radial growth (84.62 mm) whereas sporulation (1.8 x 104 microconidia and 3.1 x 104 macroconidia) was favoured by darkness.
Organic farming: Present status, scope and prospects in northern India
Authors: Wani Sartaj A. , Wani Muneeb Ahmad , Mehraj Sheikh , Padder Bilal A. , Chand Subhash
Published: April 2018

Organic agriculture has emerged as an important priority area globally in view of the growing consciousness for safe and healthy food, long term sustainability and environmental concerns despite being contentious in history. Green revolution although paved way for developing countries in self-sufficiency of food but sustaining production against the limited natural resource base demands has shifted steadily from “resource degrading” chemical agriculture to “resource protective” organic agriculture. The essential concept remains the same, i.e., to go back to the arms of nature and take up organic farming to restore the loss. Organic farming emphasizes on rotating crops, managing pests, diversifying crops and livestock and improving the soil. The rainfed areas particularly north-eastern regions where least or no utilization of chemical inputs due to poor resources provides considerable opportunity for promotion of organic farming thereby reflecting its vast but unexplored scope. However, significant barriers like yield reduction, soil fertility enhancement, integration of livestock, marketing and policy etc., arise at both macroscopic and microscopic levels; making practically impossible the complete adoption of ‘pure organic farming’; rather some specific area can be diverted to organic farming and thus a blend of organic and other innovative farming systems is needed. Adoption of Integrated Green Revolution Farming can be possible to a large extent, where the basic trends of green revolution are retained with greater efficiency and closer compatibility to the environment. This review paper attempts to present the recent global and regional scenario of organic farming particularly highlighting the scope, prospects and constraints in the northern areas.
Larvicidal action of Nux-vomica (Strychnus nux-vomica L.) against Diamond back moth (Plutella xylostella L.)
Authors: Selvaraj C. , Kennedy J. S. , Suganthy M.
Published: April 2018

The present investigation reports on larvicidal efficacy of plant extracts of Nux-vomica, Strychnus nux-vomica against Diamond back moth (DBM). In this investigation shade dried and powdered nux-vomica plant sam-ples (leaves, root bark, stem bark, seed and fruit rind) were extracted with organic solvents ethanol, methanol, ace-tone, hexane and chloroform and also formulated as Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC) using surfactant and solvents. This formulated plant extracts were tested against third instar larvae of DBM for larvicidal efficacy using leaf disc bioassay method under laboratory condition. Among the five solvent extracts tested, hexane extracts of root bark 11.11 EC @ 2 % showed highest larval mortality of 76.66 % followed by seed 14.25 EC, leaf 16.66 EC, stem bark 12.50 EC and fruit rind 12.50 EC extracts exhibited maximum mortality @ 2 % concentration recording 66.66, 63.33, 56.66 and 40.00 per cent mortality respectively. Positive and negative control such as respective solvent and water showed 10.00 and 3.33 % larval mortality respectively. The results of these experiment clearly indicate that nux-vomica plant possess promising larvicidal action against diamond back moth.
Performance of garden pea varieties for their growth and yield characteristics in Vidharbha region of Maharashtra, India
Authors: Khichi Pushpendra , Pant Rajani , Upadhayay Sandeep
Published: April 2018

An experiment was conducted in 2013 to study the performance of different varieties of garden pea under Akola condition at Department of Horticulture Dr.Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidhyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra. Eight varieties were evaluated on black soil in replicated randomized block design and Results were found significant for all characters among these varieties. All varieties exhibited considerable variation in their performance for most of the parameters. Better growth and yield parameters in terms of plant height (cm), number of branches/plant, days to first flowering, number of green pod/plant, green pod weight, green pod length, pod yield/plant, green pod yield per plot and green pod yield per ha were noticed in all varieties. Maximum plant height was observed in Jawahar Matar-2 (72.26 cm) and minimum was in Palam Priya (28.46 cm). In case of number of pods plant-1 was maximum in PB-89 (16.43) followed by Palam Triloki (13.9) and minimum in Jawahar Matar-2 (9.83). Similarly for pod characters, average pod weight, maximum pod weight was recorded in PB-89 (6.12 g) and minimum was recorded in Arka Kartik (3.27g). Green pod yield/plant was highest in PB-89 (87.93 g), Palam Triloki (75.45 g) and Ankur (68.42 g). Whereas, maximum green pod/yield. was recorded in PB-89 (93.12q/ha) followed by Palam Triloki (76.97q/ha). Among all these varieties highest protein and Total Soluble Solid contents was recorded in Palam Triloki variety (23.06% and 17.67% respectively). PB-89, Palam Triloki and Ankur had the highest yields over the others, hence, they are recommended to farmers in semi-arid condition of Vidharba region for cultivation.
Study of physico-chemical parameters of orange (Citrus reticulate Blanco) for the development of orange wine
Authors: Patharkar S. R. , Shendge S. N. , Khapre A. P.
Published: April 2018

Physico-chemical properties are an essential factor during processing and preservation of food. The retention and changes in physico-chemical properties depends upon the processing technique. In this work, physicochemical parameters of orange like vitamin C (ascorbic acid), pH, total soluble solids (TSS), % acidity, temperature and color were studied with all the optimized conditions of fermentations for the development of orange wine. The fermentation of the fruit juice was completed within 7 days period at temperature 27oC, pH 4.5 and total soluble solids of 24oBrix with an inoculum level of 10% (v/v). Thus, orange wine with ethanol content of 8.5% (v/v) was prepared from the orange variety ‘Nagpur Santra’ (Citrus Reticulata Blanco) in controlled physico-chemical parameters.
Non parametric measures to estimate GxE interaction of dual purpose barley genotypes for grain yield under multi-location trials
Authors: Verma Ajay , Singh J. , Kumar V. , Kharab A. S. , Singh G. P.
Published: April 2018

GxE interaction of seventeen dual purpose barley genotypes evaluated at ten major barley locations of the country by non parametric methods. Non parametric measures had been well established and expressed ad-vantages over their counter parts i.e. parametric measures. Simple descriptive measures based on the ranks of gen-otypes i.e. Mean of ranks (MR) pointed towards RD2925 and BH1008 and standard deviation of ranks (SD) for KB1401 and UPB1054 whereas Coefficient of variation (CV) for JB322 and RD2925 as stable genotypes. Nonpara-metric measures based on original values (Si1, Si2, Si3, Si4, Si5, Si6, Si7) indicated the stable performance of NDB1650, JB322 and UPB1054 while UPB1053, RD2715, RD2927 and RD2035 were observed of unstable nature. CSi1, CSi2, CSi3, CSi4, CSi5, CSi6 and CSi7 measures based on the ranks of corrected grain yield identified JB322, RD2552, RD2925 and NDB1650 as stable genotypes. Spearman’s rank correlation established highly significant positive correlation of yield with SD (0.67), Si1(0.65), Si2(0.59), Si5(0.68), Si7(0.67) whereas negative association observed for CMR (Mean of corrected ranks) (-0.62), CMed (Median of corrected ranks) (-0.60). NPi(2) expressed negative correlation with CV(-0.32), Si6 (-0.30), CMR(-0.34) and CMed(-0.48). More over NPi(3) maintained negative correlation with most of the measures though the magnitude was of low magnitude.
Efficacy of various pesticides against Red ant (Dorylus orientalis, Westwood) of potato
Authors: Saikia Nabadeep , Nath Kapil Deb
Published: April 2018

Several management approaches against red ant of potato Dorylus orientalis (Westwood) were studied at farmer’s field in Cachar district of Assam (India) during 2015-16 cropping season to find out the most effective man-agement technique. Combination of Malathion 5% dust @ 40 kg per hectare and Mustard Oil Cake (MOC) @ 150 kg per hectare reduced red ant damage significantly (p ? 0.05) followed by Dursben 20% EC @ 5 ml per litre and Car-bofuran 3G @ 25 kg per hectare. Malathion and MOC was applied at the time of first earthing up gave the lowest infestation of red ant (9.2%) and with (64.31%) infestation reduction over control closely followed by Dursban 20% EC (13.5%) and with (59.32%) infestation reduction over control. Highest infestation (47.6%) was recorded in the control untreated plot where; only chemical fertilizers were applied at recommended dose.
Nutritional attributes, bioactive components and overall acceptability of pineapple grown under different farming system
Authors: Mishra Lokesh K
Published: April 2018

Nutritional attributes, bioactive components and sensory qualities of pineapple (kew variety) grown under fertilizer based and traditional (organic by default) farming system were determined and compared in this study. The results revealed that organically grown (without adding any chemical inputs as per traditional practices) pineapple had significantly higher bioactive components (vitamin c and total soluble phenolics ranging from 23.19 % to 24.04 % and 28.69 mg/100g FW to 29.54 mg/100g fresh weight (FW) respectively for organically grown fruits and 19.84% to 20.01% and 21.32 mg/100g FW to 21.93 mg/100g FW respectively in conventionally grown in fruits). The study also reports that the organically grown pineapples had significantly higher overall acceptability (4.5 and 4.3 in 2013 and 2014 respectively) and popularity (4.26 and 4.32 in 2013 and 2014 respectively) as compared to the pineapples grown under conventional farming system using fertilizers (2.8 overall acceptability in 2013 and 2014; 2.96 and 2.86 popularity in 2013 and 2014 respectively).
Population dynamics of natural enemies on bt / non bt cotton and their correlation with weather parameters
Authors: Rawal Roomi , Dahiya K. K. , Lal Roshan , Kumar Adesh
Published: April 2018

The field study was carried out at Research Farm of cotton section, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, India to determine the effect of environmental factors and seven cotton genotypes (Bt and non Bt) on three natural enemies namely chrysoperla, coccinellids beetle and spi-ders. Natural enemies remained active throughout the crop season (with two peaks) with little differences among them. Chrysoperla and coccinellids both were remained active from 25th to 40th SMW (June to October, 2014) while spiders were active from 25th to 41st. It was observed that highest population of Chrysoperla (1.17 eggs/plant) and spiders (1.59 adult/plant) was observed on Bt cotton cultivar namely RCH-134 and JK-1947 respectively. However, coccinellids preferred non Bt genotype (HHH-223) for their population build-up. Chrysoperla and coccinellids popula-tion was significantly negatively correlated with maximum temperature (r = -0.527 at 5% and r = -0.626 at 1% re-spectively); positively correlated with RHm, RHe; negatively correlated with minimum temperature and wind speed without significance. While, spiders population showed negative correlation with all weather parameters except sun-shine hours. It was observed that population of the natural enemies fluctuated under different environmental conditions during cotton season.
Economic analysis of trout feed production in Jammu and Kashmir, India
Authors: Gawa Stanzin , Kumar Nalini Ranjan , Prakash Swadesh , Yadav Vinod Kumar , Hatte Vinay Maruti , Mahida Navghan
Published: April 2018

The Present study is an attempt to understand the economics of trout feed production in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Trout feed production is capital intensive business which requires high initial capital investment. The results revealed that major fixed investment required in trout feed production was feed mill itself which accounted about 71.44 percent of the total investment. The cost and return analysis showed that the variable cost accounts 59.16 percent whereas fixed cost accounted 40.84 percent of the total cost respectively. Among the variable cost raw material was found out to be single most important factor which accounted about 56.37 percent of the total cost which was about 95.28 percent of the total variable cost. The average cost of production of trout feed was Rs.84.33/kg which ranged from Rs.78.45/kg in Kokarnag trout feed mill to Rs.90.2/kg in Manasbal trout feed mill but government has fixed selling price at Rs.73/Kg for the feed to maintain reasonable price level for private trout farmers. The availability and high price of raw material were found to be major constraints faced by feed producers. Economics analysis revealed that both the feed mills are operating at suboptimal level and there is need to utilize the feed mill to its full potential and export the surplus production to neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh and other Himalayan states like Sikkim and Arunachal which will help the state fisheries department to generate extra income which can be used in other developmental activities.
Growth, yield and nutrient uptake of hybrid rice as influenced by nutrient management modules and its impact on economic of the treatments
Authors: Srivastava Ashish Kumar , Singh Anil Kumar
Published: April 2018

Field experiment was conducted at Instructional Farm of Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Faizabad to develop nutrient management modules for efficient cultivation of hybrid rice. Results showed that growth and yield characters viz. plant height, number of tilers and panicles per hills were high-est under nutrient management module of 100% NPK + 5 t press mud (T3). Significantly higher grain and straw yield was recorded under treatment T3 over all the treatment except treatment T1, T2, T4, T5 and T6 which were recorded on par. Uptake of NPKS and Zn was significantly improved under treatments having organic manure along with inorganic levels (100%, 75% and 50% NPK) of fertilizer over alone levels of inorganic fertilizer. NPKS and Zn uptake was higher in treatment module T3 followed by treatment T2 (100% NPK + 10 t FYM ha-1). The net return Rs. 27373.70 ha-1 and 26087.0 ha-1 and benefit: cost ratio (1.53 and 1.45) was maximum in treatment T3 closely followed by T2. Findings of this study warranted that treatment module T3 resulted higher growth and yield of rice crop. Net return was also higher in this treatment.
Determination of genetic divergence in pointed gourd by principal component and non-hierarchical euclidean cluster analysis
Authors: Verma Priyanka , Maurya S. K. , Yadav Hridesh , Panchbhaiya Ankit
Published: April 2018

The present investigation was carried out at Vegetable Research Centre, Pantnagar to estimate the ge-netic divergence using Mahalanobis D2 statistics for twelve characters on 35 genotypes of pointed gourd. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to identify the most discerning trait responsible for greater variability in the lines and on the basis of mean performance, genotypes were classified into different groups. Five principal components (PC) have been extracted using the mean performance of the genotypes and 83.23 per cent variation is yielded by the first five principal components, among them high mean positive value or higher weight age was obtained was obtained for days to first female flower anthesis and days to first fruit harvest among all the vectors, indicates that these traits are important component of genetic divergence in pointed gourd. Non- hierarchical Euclidean cluster analysis grouped the genotypes into seven clusters and the highest number of genotypes were found in cluster number IV i.e. eleven whereas maximum inter-cluster distance was found between the cluster III and VI i.e. 74.250, it indicates that a wide range of genetic divergence is present between the genotypes present among these two clusters. And as per contribution toward total divergence, traits like fruit yield per hectare and number of fruit per plant contributed 92.64% toward total divergence. The high diversity found in the genotypes showed its great potential for improving qualitative as well as quantitative traits in pointed gourd.
Influence of crop geometry and cultivars on growth, yield and production efficiency of dry direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Authors: Kumar Sandeep , Singh Manoj Kumar , Meena Ram Swaroop , Hingonia Kiran
Published: April 2018

A field experiment was conducted during kharif (summer) season of 2014, aim of the experiment was to investigate suitable crop geometry and cultivar and their influences on performance of dry direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.), experimental treatments were consisting of 15 treatments, namely, main plots: five cultivars (MTU 7029, NDR 97, HUR 105, HUR 4-3 and PRH-10) and sub-plots: three crop geometry’s (20 x 10, 20 x 20 and 25 x 25 cm2). All the data recorded were statistically analyzed using the standard procedures of split-plot design. The results indicated that amongst cultivars, aromatic rice hybrid PRH-10 recorded significantly more grain yield (5582.32 kg/ha) than cultivar HUR 4-3 (4612.99 kg/ha) and NDR 97 (3397.82 kg/ha), whereas; it was statistically comparable with cultivar MTU 7029 (5489.24 kg/ha) and HUR 105 (5022.03 kg/ha). The cultivar PRH-10 also registered higher gross return (105771.9 `/ha), net return (66389.08 `/ha) and production efficiency (592.76 `/ha/day) than the remaining cultivars. The higher grain yield of PRH-10 over these cultivars was due to considerable improvement in most of its yield attributing characters like panicle length (27.92 cm), a number of grains/panicle (178.70) and test weight (26.35 g). In a case of crop geometry treatment, plant spacing of 25 x 25 cm2 recorded higher grain yield as compared to remaining plant spacing while the plant spacing of 20 x 10 cm2 recorded higher gross return, net return and production efficiency as compared to 20 x 20 and 25 x 25 cm2. Plant geometry plays an imperative role towards improving the grain yield of cultivars in direct seeded rice by optimal utilization of natural resources. Therefore, for getting higher net return and production efficiency, cultivar PRH-10 at plant spacing 20 x 10 cm2 can be raised in dry direct-seeded rice in Varanasi region of Eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Occurrence of functional single-lobed ovary in Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton,1822) brood fish from Assam, India
Authors: Bhattacharjya B. K. , Saud B. J. , Verma V. K. , Debnath D. , Kumar D. , Yadav A. K. , Yengkokpam S. , Sarkar U. K.
Published: April 2018

Occurrence of abnormally developed gonads in fish is rather more uncommon in freshwater fish than marine fish. It is therefore worthwhile to disseminate the information of occurrence of a single-lobed ovary in Cirrhinus mrigala brood fish as an abnormal phenomenon. During April 2011 to March 2013, around 500 brood fish samples of Indian major carps (Labeo rohita, Catla and C. mrigala) were collected from different government and private fish farms of Assam and Tripura located in the Northeast of India. Among them, one C. mrigala specimen measuring 41 cm in total length and 640 g in weight collected from Ulubari fish seed farm of Guwahati, Assam during June, 2012 was found to have a single-lobed ovary instead of the normal bilobed structure. The ovary occupied the entire body cavity and the majority of ova were round and translucent. The ovary contributed substantially to the total body weight with gonado-somatic index of 32.81 which was the highest among all the mrigal specimens examined. The study indicates possibility of artificially inducing development of single-lobed ovary in C. mrigala for achieving possible higher spawn outputs in induced breeding of the cultivable species.
Combining ability and heterosis analysis for fibre yield and quality parameters in roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.)
Authors: Sharma Hariom Kumar , Choudhary Shashi Bhushan , Kumar A. Anil , Maruthi R. T. , Pandey S.K.
Published: April 2018

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) is second important bast fibre crop after jute in India. With an aim to ex-ploit non-additive genetic variance present experiment was designed to identify good general combining parents and specific cross combination for fibre yield and fibre quality parameters (fibre fineness, fibre tenacity) in roselle. A total of 11 parents were crossed in complete diallel fashion which resulted 55 F1, 55 RF1 (reciprocal F1). Parents, F1s and RF1s were grown in randomized block design. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences (P< 0.01, P<0.05) among the parents and their hybrids. The parents AMV 1, AMV 5, GR 27 and AHS 160 were identified as good combiners since they recorded significant general combining ability (GCA) effects for fibre yield and quality parameters. Further, For fibre yield only three crosses (AMV 1 × AMV 4, AMV 1 × GR 27, HS 4288 × JRR 07) showed significant specific combining ability (SCA) effects from them hybrid AMV 1 × GR 27 (fibre yield=27.37g/ plant) exhibited positively significant best parent (Non bris 4, Mean fibre yield=21.16g/plant) heterosis (29.35%). Similarly, for fibre tenacity, hybrid GR 27 × JRR 07 (fibre tenacity=23.47g/tex) exhibited positively significant best parent (HS 4288; fibre tenacity=20.35g/tex) heterosis (15.30%).
The Academic Adaptation of Immigrant Students with Interrupted Schooling
Authors: Potochnick Stephanie
Published: April 2018

This study provides the first national-level assessment of the size and academic performance of immigrant students with interrupted schooling. Exploiting unique aspects of the Educational Longitudinal Study (2002), a national-level survey of U.S. 10th graders, this study identifies students with interrupted schooling and uses multivariate analysis to assess their academic performance compared to other immigrants and nonimmigrants. Results indicate that over 10% of foreign-born youth experience interrupted schooling. These students have lower academic achievement and attainment than their peers, but are just as or more engaged in school. Premigration demographics, but not postmigration family and school characteristics, explain some of these academic performance differences and the consequences of interrupted schooling differ for primary- and secondary-grade-age arrivals.