• Authors:
    • Dube, R. K.
    • Dhyani, S. K.
    • Sharma, A. R.
    • Ratan, S.
  • Source: Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences
  • Volume: 81
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: A field experiment was conducted at Selakui, Dehradun during 2001-04 to study the effect of tillage (conventional and minimum) and mulching practices (no mulching and live mulching) under artificially created varying land slopes (0.5, 2.5, 4.5 and 9.5%) on soil-moisture conservation, productivity and nutrient uptake in maize ( Zea mays L.)-wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. emend Fiori & Paol.) cropping system. Sunnhemp ( Crotalaria juncea L.) intercropped with maize gave 0.87-1.09 tonnes biomass (dry weight) and accumulated 24.8-31.4 kg N/ha at 30 days of growth when it was mulched. Biomass and N accumulation generally decreased with increasing land slope and under minimum tillage. Maize performed better on moderate slopes (2.5-4.5%) than on the relatively flat (0.5%) and highly sloping land (9.5%). However, the yield of wheat decreased linearly and significantly with increasing slope due to less conservation of soil moisture on sloping lands during the previous rainy season. Conventional tillage gave significantly higher productivity of both maize and wheat than the minimum tillage. Intercropping of maize with sunnhemp and spreading the cut biomass as mulch at 30 days (live mulching) improved soil moisture conservation at maize harvest (+1.63 to 1.94%), and yield of maize (12.0%) as well as of following wheat (13.8%) compared with the no mulching.
  • Authors:
    • Alok, T.
    • Sarawgi, S.
    • Shrikant, C.
    • Singh, M.
    • Vijendra, J.
  • Source: Journal of Soils and Crops
  • Volume: 21
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Field experiment was conducted on different intercropping under irrigated condition during rabi season of 2009-10 at Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur to evaluate the yield, economics and to undertake weed studies of intercropping in rabi cereal, legume, oilseeds and spices in rice based cropping system in inceptisols. Maximum wheat equivalent yield, (65.55 q ha -1) of rabi crops was recorded in onion+coriander system over all the other intercropping treatment. Wheat+fenugreek intercropping was next in order which has also recorded significantly higher WEY (36.58 q ha -1) overwheat followed by rice, the existing cropping system (30.61 q ha -1), castor+lentil (32.78 q ha -1) and wheat+lentil (28.18 q ha -1). The highest net returns (Rs.65,292 ha -1) from rabi crops were recorded with onion+coriander because of higher value of the produce. The highest B:C ratio of rabi intercrops was recorded in onion+coriander (1.98) followed by mustard+lentil (1.90) and wheat (1.89). On the other hand, the highest weed population (172.33 and 147.00 m -2) and dry matter production (7.8 and 194 g m -2) was observed in mustard+lentil at 30 and 60 DAS. The lowest weed dry production was found in onion+coriander (1.8 g m -2) at 30 DAS, and under wheat+fenugreek (82.07 g m -2) at 60 DAS. On an average, the available N, P, K and organic carbon content were increased by 6.1, 3.6, 11.8, and 4.2%, respectively over initial values in soil after the harvest of the rabi crop.
  • Authors:
    • Munindra, B.
    • Ajanta, N.
  • Source: Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics
  • Volume: 65
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: It is an attempt to draw a clear picture of development disparities among the districts of Assam in agriculture with the help of composite index. Eighty-three indicators are considered here which are directly related to the agriculture. On the basis of these indicators Nagaon, Borpeta, Dhubri and Kamrup are developed districts but Karbi Anglong, Hailakandi, Dhemaji and N.C. Hills are low developed districts. The developed districts cover 18.31 percent areas and 30.47 percent population of the state whereas low developed area covers 25.35 percent areas and 7.94 percent population of the state. The entire agriculture sector is divided into seven sub sectors namely Production of miscellaneous crops, Production of pulse, cereals and oil seeds, Fertilizer used, and Percentage of livestock population, Rice production, Fish production and Infrastructure facilities. In each sector developed and low developed districts have been identified. In crop production Kokrajar, Dhubri and Sonitpur are high-developed, Jorhat, N.C. Hills and Nagaon are low developed. In production of pulse, cereal and oilseeds Goalpara, Sonitpur, Bongaigaon and Karbi Anglong are developed districts and Nagaon, Tinsukia, Karimganj, Jorhat and Morigaon are low developed districts. In case of livestock population Jorhat is the developed district and Dhemaji, Hailakandi and N.C. Hills are low developed district. In fish production Nagaon, Borpeta, Cachar and Karimganj are developed districts and Karbi Anglong and N.C. Hills are low developed districts. In case of rice production Golaghat, Karimganj, Hailakandi, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Cachar are high developed and Bongaigaon, Borpeta, Nalbari, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur are low developed. In case of infrastructure facilities e.g. irrigation, use of electricity in agriculture etc. are availed by the districts Nagaon, Nalbari, Borpeta and Kamrup are high developed and Hailakandi, Dhemaji, N.C. Hills are low developed. From the study it also reveals that the districts, which are low developed in overall agriculture sector they are also low developed in using infrastructure facilities essential for agriculture except Karbi Anglong. For bringing the uniform development in the state, model districts and potential target for low developed districts have been identified.
  • Authors:
    • Jadhav, A.
    • Alse, U.
  • Source: Journal of Cotton Research and Development
  • Volume: 25
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Performance of four Bt and non Bt cotton hybrids with three irrigation levels and two water saving practices were studied during summer, 2007 and 2008 on clayey soils. The application of irrigation at 75 mm CPE significantly increased the number of sympodia and green bolls/plant. However, the monopodia and plant height was found significantly more under 50 mm CPE irrigation than 100 mm CPE. Water saving practices did not show any significant effect on morphological traits and quality parameters. Bt and non Bt cotton hybrids expressed their genetical potential. The height was significantly more in Kashinath Bt than all other cotton hybrids owing to its genetical character, while green bolls, sympodia and boll weight were significantly more in Dhroov Bt than other cotton hybrids. The maximum seed cotton was obtained in Dhroov Bt (31.46 q/ha) than Dhroov non Bt (27.48 q/ha) followed by Kashinath Bt (20.21 q/ha) and Nathbaba non Bt (24.61 q/ha). Kashinath Bt found significantly superior in quality parameters than other cotton hybrids.
  • Authors:
    • Mohamed, M.
    • Azam, A.
  • Source: Bulletin of Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University
  • Volume: 62
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: The present study aimed at identifying the knowledge level of potato farmers regarding export conditions of potatoes to the European Union (EU), to determine the differences between the knowledge degrees of the farmers in two villages to identify farmer opinions regarding the environmental effects of the agricultural part of the Egyptian-European convention, and to identify the problems facing farmers since the implementation of the Egyptian-European convention. The study was conducted in the village of "Sayedna Solomon" in Nobariya area, Beharia Governorate as one of the largest areas inside the Pest Free Area (PFA), and the village of "Talia", Menofia Governorate as one of the largest areas outside the Pest Free Area (PFA). A random sample of 50 farmers was chosen from Sayedna Solomon village and 100 farmers from Talia village. Data were collected through personal interviews with respondents by using pre-tested questionnaires prepared specifically to achieve the study objectives. Frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations, in addition to "t" test were used to present and analysis of the obtained data. The most important results of the study were 1 - There was significant differences at 0.05 level between farmers' level of knowledge in the two studied villages regarding the export conditions of potatoes to the (EU). 2 - There was an increase in the negative environmental effects on small farmers resulting from applying the Egyptian-European convention as the investigated farmers expressed, and the differences between the two studied villages were significant at 0.01 level. 3 - There were main problems facing small farmers in the "Sayedna Solomon" village concerning the market of the crop locally, the low export prices, and the shortage of irrigation water in the summer, while the main problems in "Talia" village were concerning the lack of input supply and the high prices of the inputs, the irrigation problem, and the problem of marketing the crop locally.
  • Authors:
    • Singh, J.
    • Bhatnagar, P.
    • Kaul, M.
  • Source: Acta Horticulturae
  • Issue: 922
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Studies of variation in plant environmental factors of Kinnow mandarin for at Agriculture Research Station, SriGanganagar district of Rajasthan state in India during 2002-04 with respect to three differential irrigation treatments revealed that overall maximum carboxylation efficiency (A) was estimated at 70% Etc treatment from April to June with a linear trend. It showed depression in September and October followed by a steady rise in November and December months. Stomatal conductance revealed oscillating trend with maximum in 70% Etc treatment for April and May months followed by steep rise in 40% Etc treatment for June-July. It remained static in August and September, but a trend reversal occurred in October-November with maximum stomatal conductance in 100% Etc treatment. The cumulative overall high stomatal resistance in 40% treatment might have attributed to low photosynthetic rates followed by 100% treatment and the better assimilation rates were observed under 70% treatment and were correlated with low rates of stomatal resistance. The daily course of transpiration in all the three irrigation treatments was not closely linked to solar irradiation but rather to leaf temperature. Temperatures of 25-30degreesC are optimal for photosynthesis but temperatures above 30degreesC definitely reduce photosynthetic activity. The annual trend for three consecutive years' data revealed occurrence of cyclic oscillations in photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, stomatal resistance, transpiration rate and photosynthetic active radiation under field conditions. Citrus belong to C3 plants, with photosynthetic rates lower than C4 plants. Assimilation rates ranging from 1.28 to 7.93 mmol m -2 s -1 observed under differential irrigation treatments seem realistic under optimal irrigated conditions of Western Rajasthan.
  • Authors:
    • Chidankumar, C.
    • Siddappa
    • Chandraju, S.
  • Source: Current Botany
  • Volume: 2
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Germination of Cotton and Ground nut seeds was made by irrigated with distillery spentwash of different concentration. The spentwash i.e. primary treated spentwash [PTSW] 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 spentwash were analyzed for their plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and physical & chemical characteristics. Experimental soil was tested for its chemical physical parameters. Cotton and Ground nut seeds were sowed in the prepared land and irrigated with raw water (RW), 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 (SW: RW) spentwash. The nature of germination of seeds was studied. It was found that, the germination was good (100%) in 1:3 SW irrigation, while very poor in 1:1 SW (25%), moderate in 1:2 SW (80%) and 95% in RW irrigations.
  • Authors:
    • Devraj
    • Jain, P.
    • Promila, K.
    • Duhan, B.
    • Bhattoo, M.
  • Source: Journal of Cotton Research and Development
  • Volume: 25
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: A field experiment was conducted at Research Farm, CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2007 and its Regional Cotton Research Station, Sirsa during 2008 to find out the optimum crop geometry and fertilizer doses for Bt cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) hybrids RCH134. A closer spacing of 67.5*60 cm gave significantly higher seed cotton yield (3230 and 3906 kg/ha at Hisar and Sirsa, respectively) than other two spacing i.e. 100*45 and 100*60 cm at both the locations. The highest seed cotton yield (3061 and 3902 kg/ha at Hisar and Sirsa, respectively) was recorded with a fertilizer dose of 125 per cent RDF (187.5-75-75 kg/ha N, P 2O 5 and K 2O) as compared to 75 per cent RDF and 100 per cent RDF at both the locations. The crop geometry, 67.5*60 cm and fertilizer dose of 187.5 kg/ha N, 75 kg/ha P 2O 5 and 75 kg/ha K 2O is ideal for getting higher seed cotton yield of Bt cotton RCH134.
  • Authors:
    • Virendra, K.
    • Gorantiwar, S. D.
    • Gadge, S. B.
    • Mahesh, K.
  • Source: Journal of Agrometeorology
  • Volume: 13
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: A study was carried out to estimate crop evapotranspiration (ETc) for different crops growing under surface (SI) and microirrigation (MI) methods in the command area of Mula Irrigation Project in Maharashtra, India. A spreadsheet-based computer model was developed to estimate the ETc values and compute the water requirement. The climatological data obtained from the meteorological observatory located at All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Water Management, Rahuri (Maharashtra), from 1975 to 2005 was used. The crop water requirement under MI methods was less than that under SI methods. The saving in water for MI method was maximum under pomegranate and lime (88%) and minimum for summer groundnut (38%) when compared to the SI method. Similar saving in water was also observed for other crops under MI methods. The percentage saving in MI methods was 75, 62, 64, 73, 68, 61, 43, 51, 65, 48, 53, 70, 63, 65, 63, 40, 52 and 63% for pawpaw, banana, sugarcane, grapes, kharif soyabean, rabi tomato, kharif groundnut, rabi onion, cotton, gram, potato, kharif brinjal [aubergine], cabbage, summer brinjal, summer cucumber, summer onion, summer okra and summer chilli, respectively, when compared to the water requirement under SI method. Thus, there is a saving of at least 50% of water if drip irrigation method is used instead of SI method. This indicates that in the case of water scarcity there is possibility of bringing additional area under irrigation by using the saved amount of water.
  • Authors:
    • Goel, V.
  • Source: Acta Horticulturae
  • Issue: 895
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: This study discusses how asset positions, cane cultivable practices and chain coordination mechanisms for sugar cane growers vary in Punjab (India). The study is based upon field surveys of cane farmers classified on the basis of cane cultivated area - Group I (below five acres), Group II (five to ten acres) and Group III (above ten acres). Across the three groups of cane growers little variation has been observed in their farm asset positions except for land size and cane cultivable practices. All cane growers enter into informal verbal contracts with several upstream chain partners to lease land, hire labour and purchase operational inputs. In contrast, they all enter into formal written contracts with their downstream chain partners i.e. sugar mills for cane disposal. Upward chain coordination ensures that farmers have sufficient land to achieve some economies of scale for the optimal utilization of complementary farm assets, timely availability of labour and timely availability of other operational inputs. However, owing to frequent and unexpected power cuts, farmers turn to diesel operated pump sets to ensure timely irrigation and open markets for the purchase of fertilizers because cooperative societies are not always able to ensure timely and adequate supplies. Downward chain coordination ensures timely cane disposal for farmers while regular and timely cane supplies to mills. However, cooperative sugar mills often fail to make timely cane payments to farmers. Thereupon, Group II and III sized cane farmers have a propensity to shift to private sugar mills for cane disposal and to divert some part of their land holdings to alternative field crops i.e., paddy/cotton. In contrast, Group I farmers shift to the cultivation of alternative crops.