• Authors:
    • Patel, B. S.
    • Mehta, R. S.
    • Meena, S. S.
  • Source: The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences
  • Volume: 80
  • Issue: 11
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: A field experiment was conducted during 2006-08 at Sardarkrushinagar to find out optimum irrigation level and weed management practices for getting higher yield of fenugreek ( Trigonella foenum-graecum L.). Monocot weed at 40 days after sowing and at maturity as well as dicot and sedges weed population and dry weight of weeds at 40 days after sowing and at maturity and yield of fenugreek were exhibited significantly higher with irrigation at 1.0 irrigation water/cumulative pan evaporation ratio, followed by 0.8 ratio. Besides weedy check, the highest dry weight and population of weeds at 20 days after sowing was recorded by hand weeding at 20 and 40 days after sowing and hand weeding at 20 days after sowing+inter-culturing at 40 days after sowing but at 40 days after sowing the highest weed population and dry weight was recorded with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin 0.75 kg/ha and pendimethalin 0.75 kg/ha+interculturing at 40 days after sowing and at maturity the lowest dicot and sedge population was recorded by pre-emergence application of pendimethalin 0.75 kg/ha+interculturing at 40 days after sowing but lowest monocot weed population and dry weight of weed was recorded with hand weeding at 20 and 40 days after sowing. Besides, weedy check, the highest weed control efficiency at 20 days after sowing was recorded with pendimethalin 0.75 kg/ha+interculturing at 40 days after sowing but at 40 days after sowing and maturity the highest weed control efficiency was observed with hand weeding at 20 and 40 days after sowing.
  • Authors:
    • Dagar, J. C.
    • Chaudhari, S. K.
    • Pandey, C. B.
    • Singh, G. B.
    • Singh, R. K.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 110
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Tillage is known to reduce soil organic carbon (SOC) and increase soil N mineralization, but information on the level of tillage that increases net soil N mineralization and simultaneously maintains a considerable amount of SOC is poorly known. This study investigated the effect of four levels of tillage (15-cm deep by a local made plough) on net soil N mineralization rate (NMR), net nitrification rate (NNR), pools of NO(3)(-)-N and NH(4)(+)-N, and microbial biomass carbon (MB-C), water content of soil (WCS) and soil temperature (ST) in a Dystric fluvisols in the hot humid tropical climate of South Andaman Island of India. We hypothesized that: (1) tillage would increase NMR and reduce amount of SOC. But, these changes would depend on frequency of the tillage, i.e. greater would be the tillage frequency; higher, the NMR and decline in the amount of SOC; (2) low tillage would increase NMR, but reduce SOC nearly equal to short term zero tillage. Tillage levels included: (1) long term zero till (not tilled from 1983 to 2002; then from 2003 to 2006 crops (maize-okra rotation) were sown by dibbling, and weeds were cut and mulched), (2) frequent till (tilled three times before each crop sowing in the crop rotation from 1983 to 2002 and 2003 to 2006 as well; weeds were removed), (3)low till (not tilled from 1983 to 1999; then tilled once before each crop sowing in the crop rotation from 2000 to 2002 and weeds were removed; from 2003 to 2006 tilled like 2000-2002, but weeds were uprooted and buried in situ), and (4) short term zero till (from 1983 to 2002 tillage history was the same as in the low till; from 2003 to 2006 the crops were sown by dibbling in the crop rotation and weeds were cut and mulched in situ). Maize (Zea mays L.) was cultivated during wet season (WS, May to October) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L) during post-wet season (PWS, November to January) in all tillage treatments. Soils were sampled in all tillage treatments (levels) across the WS, PWS and dry (DS, February to April) seasons over two annual cycles (2004-2005 and 2005-2006) and analyses were done for the parameters investigated. We found that WCS was the highest (44-48%) during the WS and the lowest (10-16%) during the DS, however, ST was the lowest (25.5-26.5 degrees C) during the WS and the highest (30.5-33.4 degrees C) during the DS in all tillage treatments. Across the tillage levels, NMR increased from 1.06 to 1.96 mu g g(-1), day(-1) and NNR from 1.21 to 1.88 mu g g(-1) day(-1), and pools of NO(3)(-)-N and NH(4)(-)-N from 3.98 to 11.1 mu g g(-1) and 24.76 to 42.51 mu g g(-1), respectively. The increase was, however, the highest in the frequent till and the lowest in the long term zero till treatment. The NMR and NNR were the lowest (0.53-0.93.1 mu g g(-1), day(-1) and 0.49-0.86 mu g g(-1) day(-1), respectively) during the WS and the highest (1.09-1.71 mu g g(-1) day(-1) and 1.06-1.61 mu g g(-1) day(-1)) during the PWS in all tillage treatments. The NMR was positively correlated with the MB-C in all tillage treatments. Concurrent with the increase in the NMR, the SOC declined in all tillage treatments, but the decline was the highest in the frequent till and the lowest in the long term zero till treatment. Across the tillage treatments, the MB-C was correlated to the SOC. The SOC in the low till (7. 9 mg g(-1)) treatment was nearly equal to that in theshort term zero till treatment (8.8 mg g(-1)), but NMR was higher (0.86 mu g g(-1) day(-1)) particularly during the WS when plant's demand for N is usually high. Our results supported both the hypotheses, and suggested that low tillage might be a good option for soil fertility maintenance and carbon stock build-up in the soils of the hot humid tropics. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • Pasricha, N. S.
  • Source: Journal of Oilseeds research
  • Volume: 27
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: A review of the recently published information on the nutritional aspects of oilseed crops in relation to their yield and quality reveals a substantial scope for increasing their production in the country. National self-sufficiency of edible oil would be enhanced if the productivity of the oilseed crops on marginal soils under rainfed conditions is increased through adoption of improved management technology and improved germplasm. This warrants intensive research efforts in these areas. Applying mineral fertilizers in balanced amounts and in an integrated manner by combining with bulky organic manures and crop residues can ensure sustainable production at higher productivity and higher quality level of the oilseed crops. For optimum utilization of other essential inputs, fertilizer requirements need to be fine tuned, especially in oilseed-based cropping systems and intercropping systems. Besides making best use of the applied nutrients, such management practices can substantially benefit the major cereal crops from the fixed-N, if the accompanying oilseed crop happens to be a leguminous like soybean and groundnut. Combining a cheap source of sulphur with other basic nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and required micronutrients like zinc is very essential in case of oilseeds for both yield and higher oil production under irrigated as well as rainfed conditions. To make best use of the soil-derived phosphorus, inoculation with naturally occurring phosphorus solubalizing micro-organism can be successfully employed.
  • Authors:
    • Srivastva, A. K.
    • Mina, B. L.
    • Kundu, S.
    • Bhattacharyya, R.
    • Chandra, S.
    • Pandey, S. C.
    • Gupta, S.
    • Saha, S.
  • Source: Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems
  • Volume: 86
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: To date, the sustainability of wheat ( Triticum aestivum)-soybean ( Glycine max) cropping systems has not been well assessed, especially under Indian Himalayas. Research was conducted in 1995-1996 to 2004 at Hawalbagh, India to study the effects of fertilization on yield sustainability of irrigated wheat-soybean system and on selected soil properties. The mean wheat yield under NPK+FYM (farmyard manure) treated plots was ~27% higher than NPK (2.4 Mg ha -1). The residual effect of NPK+FYM caused ~14% increase in soybean yield over NPK (2.18 Mg ha -1). Sustainable yield index values of wheat and the wheat-soybean system were greater with annual fertilizer N or NPK plots 10 Mg ha -1 FYM than NPK alone. However, benefit:cost ratio of fertilization, agronomic efficiency and partial factor productivity of applied nutrients were higher with NPK+FYM than NPK, if FYM nutrients were not considered. Soils under NPK+FYM contained higher soil organic C (SOC), total soil N, total P and Olsen-P by ~10, 42, 52 and 71%, respectively, in the 0-30 cm soil layers, compared with NPK. Non-exchangeable K decreased with time under all treatments except NPK. Total SOC in the 0-30 cm soil layer increased in all fertilized plots. Application of NPK+FYM also improved selected soil physical properties over NPK. The NPK+FYM application had better soil productivity than NPK but was not as economical as NPK if farmers had to purchase manure.
  • Authors:
    • Shrivastava, G. K.
    • Lakpale, R.
    • Rathiya, P. S.
    • Bargali, S. S.
  • Source: Journal of Plant Development Sciences
  • Volume: 2
  • Issue: 1/2
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2004 and 2005 at the Instructional Farm, Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur (C.G.) to study the effect of nutrient blending with FYM and intercropping on biomass production and economics of hybrid cotton-soybean intercrops under irrigated condition. The growth characters of cotton like-plant height, number of branches, number of leaves, dry matter accumulation, LAI, CGR, and RGR were the highest with sole cotton with 100% RDF. In case of soybean, the growth parameters like-plant height, number of branches, number of leaves, dry matter accumulation, LAI, CGR, and RGR were the highest under sole soybean with 100% RDF. The bolls per plant in cotton were the highest under sole cotton with 100% RDF. Similar trend for yield components were observed in case of soybean. Sole cotton with 100% RDF resulted in maximum seed cotton and stalk yield as compared to other intercropping treatments. Similar trend was also noted with sole soybean with 100% RDF, which recorded significantly the highest seed and stover yield as compared to others. The maximum values of LER, cotton equivalent yield, monetary advantage gross realization, net realization ha -1 and B:C ratio were recorded under C+S (2:4)+100%RDF, which was closely followed by treatment C+S (2:4)+1 t FYM ha -1+75% RDF (BL).
  • Authors:
    • Dalal, R. C.
    • Blamey, F. P. C.
    • Rao, A. S.
    • Rao, D. L. N.
    • Mohanty, M.
    • Reddy, K. S.
    • Dixit, S. K.
    • Pandey, M.
    • Menzies, N. W.
  • Source: Proceedings of the 19th World Congress of Soil Science, Soil Solutions for a Changing World, 1–6 August 2010, Brisbane, Australia
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The Mother Baby Trial (MBT) approach is an on-farm participatory mechanism to introduce and test technology options suited to a heterogeneous community. In this study, the MBT concept was followed with integrated nutrient management (INM) technology in a soybean-wheat system. Seven treatments were tested in Mother trials in 2005-06 and 2006-07 on farmers' fields in the Rajgarh and Bhopal districts of Central India. In 2007-08, 100 Baby trials were conducted by farmers in 10 surrounding villages to demonstrate and test the INM technology. The Baby trials were based on the results of Mother trials which showed that INM using 50% of the recommended NPKS fertilizer+5 t FYM/ha+ Rhizobium to soybean and 75% of the recommended NPKS fertilizer+P-solubilizing bacteria to wheat produced higher soybean yield by 46% and higher wheat yield by 24% over the farmers' practice. In the Baby trials, there was a wide variation in soybean yield obtained with INM, balanced fertilization (BF) using inorganic fertilizers, and farmers' practice; in poorer yielding trials, some problems were evident in the control of weeds and insect pests. Wheat responded well to BF and INM in trials irrigated 3-4 times. The MBT approach proved valuable in demonstrating higher productivity of the soybean-wheat system, and the value of INM and BF technologies, but only with proper weed and pest management in soybean, and adequate irrigation in wheat, as a package of practices.
  • Authors:
    • Nalayini, P.
    • Praharaj, C. S.
    • Sankaranarayanan, K.
    • Bandyopadhyay, K. K.
    • Gopalakrishnan, N.
  • Source: The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences
  • Volume: 80
  • Issue: 7
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Climatic change affects cotton (Gossypium sp.) yield, photosynthesis, weeds and pest occurrence. Farmers should reduce inorganic inputs utilization to reduce the environmental effects of fertilizers and pesticides. N-fixing Azotobacter and Azospirillum, legumes rotation, application of slow-release N fertilizers, adoption of drip-fertigation, incorporation of cotton stalk could reduce fertilizer usage. The application of FYM, greengram ( Vigna radiata), Gliricidia sp. and sunnhemp ( Crotolaria juncea [ Crotalaria juncea]) as green manure recorded 15-32% increase in yield. Different cotton species should be planted on different environments. G. arboreum is suitable for environments with low and erratic rainfall with drought situations. G. herbaceum is salt tolerant. The available drought tolerant G. hirsutum genotypes, namely 'LRA 5166', 'KC 2' and 'AKH 081' may show better adaptation. The risk and uncertainty imposed by climatic change could be managed by adoption of location-specific intercropping and multi-tier cropping systems. In situ soil moisture conservation techniques include contour binding, graded, narrow or broad ridges or beds separated by furrows, ridges and furrow, opening of furrow after every rows of cotton, black polythene mulch, and spreads of crop residue were useful.
  • Authors:
    • Singh, G. P.
    • Singh, K. V.
    • Priyadarshi, A.
  • Source: INDIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL OF EXTENSION EDUCATION
  • Volume: 10
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: A study conducted among mango fruit growers revealed that nearly sixty per cent of fruit growers had moderate extent of adoption of mango production technology. With respect to extent of adoption of fruit growers on various components of improved mango production technology, majority of them had fully adopted land preparation, method of propagation, time, method and distance of planting, planting density, irrigation time, training and pruning, and harvesting method. Majority of farmers had partial adoption of such practices as adoption of high yielding variety, selecting good nursery, interculture practices, harvesting, packing and handling. However, majority of farmers did not adopt such practices as summer ploughing, application of manure and fertilizers (dose, time and method), intercrops, plant growth regulators, green manuring, insect pests and diseases, physiological disorders, and marketing procedures. Among the correlates of extent of adoption of mango production technology, religion, land size, education, farm power, socio-economic status, risk taking behaviour, innovativeness, economic aspiration, scientific orientation and credit orientation were positively and significantly associated with fruit grower's extent of adoption of improved mango production technology at 0.01 level of probability. Regression analysis of extent of adoption of fruit growers on improved mango production technology revealed that level of knowledge of mango cultivation practices was found to be contributing positively and significantly in predicting the extent of adoption of mango fruit growers.
  • Authors:
    • Indrakumar, N.
    • Jayapalaiah, G. P.
    • Sreenatha, A.
  • Source: International Journal of Agricultural Engineering
  • Volume: 3
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Finger millet also known as Ragi or Mandwa is the most important small millet food and fodder crop. It is extensively cultivated in Asian countries like India, Ceylon, Malaysia, China, Nepal and Japan and African countries. It is widely grown in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra and in the hilly regions of Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh. Karnataka is a major finger millet producing state in India covering about 43 per cent area of finger millet cultivation and producing nearly 49 per cent of the total food grain production (Anonymous, 2010). This crop is grown both in dryland as well as in irrigated conditions where irrigation facilities are available and it constitute only 5 per cent area of the finger millet grown in Karnataka. Whereas the rain fed finger millet is about 95 per cent and usually it is grown in Kharif and irrigated finger millet in Rabi or summer. Finger millet is often intercropped with legumes if it is grown under rain fed condition. Finger millet has outstanding properties as a subsistence food crop. Its small seeds can be stored safely for many years without insect damage, which makes it a traditional component of farmers' risk avoidance strategies in drought-prone regions of Eastern Africa and South Asia. Because the seed can be stored for decades (some say 50 years), it is highly valued as a reserve against famines. Finger millet is especially valuable as it contains the amino acid methionine, which is lacking in the diets of hundreds of millions of the poor who live on starchy staples such as cassava, plantain, polished rice, or maize meal. Finger millet can be ground and cooked into cakes, puddings or porridge. The grain is made into a fermented drink (or beer) in Nepal and in many parts of Africa. The straw from finger millet is used as animal fodder.
  • Authors:
    • Sujatha, S.
    • Bhat, R.
  • Source: Agricultural Water Management
  • Volume: 97
  • Issue: 7
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: A 5-year field trial to assess the impact of microsprinkler irrigation and nutrition on vanilla grown as intercrop in arecanut plantation was conducted on a laterite soil. Pooled analysis indicated that microsprinkler irrigation at 1.0 Epan resulted in significantly higher green bean yield (842 kg ha -1) than 0.75 Epan (579 kg ha -1). Organic manure application in the form of vermicompost (720 kg ha -1) and FYM (768 kg ha -1) and recommended NPK (718 kg ha -1) produced green bean yield at par with recycling of gliricidia prunings (625 kg ha -1). Irrigation at 1.0 Epan proved superior by registering maximum benefit:cost (B:C) ratio of 2.25 compared to 1.62 at 0.75 Epan. The highest B:C ratio was obtained with recommended NPK (2.27) followed by recycling of gliricidia prunings (2.10), vermicompost (1.87), vermicompost+arecanut husk mulching (1.80) and FYM (1.64). The soil pH increased by 0.4 units in 2008 compared with the pre-experimental soil pH of 5.6 in 2004. Nutrition alone and in combination with irrigation had significant impact on soil pH. Organic manure application increased the soil pH (6.1-6.2) significantly over recommended NPK (5.6) at the end of experiment in 2008. Significant variation in soil organic carbon (SOC) was noticed due to different nutrition treatments. Application of vermicompost and FYM significantly increased the SOC content by 38-54% in 2008 over initial levels in 2004. Bray's P availability was influenced by nutrition and its interaction with irrigation. Application of FYM continuously for 4 years has resulted in significant increase in Bray's P content (41.3 mg kg -1) compared to other nutrition treatments (9.4-17.2 mg kg -1). Irrigation equivalent to 0.75 Epan (223 mg kg -1) increased the K availability significantly over 1.0 Epan (172 mg kg -1). The K availability was significantly higher in recommended NPK (416 mg kg -1) than in other organic treatments (98-223 mg kg -1) at 0-30 cm soil depth. Overall, vanilla responded well to irrigation and nutrition in arecanut-based cropping system with a better economic output and improved soil fertility.