Harvesting and marketing potentiality of Chiraito (Swertia chirayita), Amriso (Thysanolaena maxima), and Timur (Zanthoxylum armatum) in western mid hills of Nepal

This study carried out in April, 2016 assesses the market potentiality and different factors affecting the collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), mainly Chiraito (Swertia chirayita), Amriso (Thysanolaena maxima), and Timur (Zanthoxylum armatum) (CAT) found in the Panchase region of western Nepal. Three communities Bagefadke (Syangja), Ramjha (Parbat), and Bhadaure Tamagi (Kaski) of Panchase region were selected as the study site. Data were collected using a structured schedule interview with 105 randomly selected households (HHs) and included information collected from key informants (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs). Collection of CAT varied across the HHs; on average they collected 0.38 kg of Chiraito, 7.28 Bhari Amriso, and 0.62 kg Timur seasonally. The findings revealed that age, large family size, illiterate peoples, and near users were more likely to collect CAT. Similarly, sex was found to significantly reduce the activity of collection and trade of NTFPs. Walking distance to the resource significantly increases the favor of collection indicating that the valuable CAT collected are from near locations. While the positive relationship between family size, distance from home, and collection (p<0.1) implies that large family size and users near to the forest are more likely to collect CAT than other variables. Market potentiality of CAT is seen high (55%, 67%, and 68%, respectively), Amriso and Timur have seen more market potentiality compared to Chiraito. It may be due to the high availability of Amriso and Timur in the area

Diversity study and development of bee floral calendar for Kavrepalanchowk district, Nepal

A purposive survey was carried out at Mandandeupur, Jyamdi, and Novobudda of Kavrepalanchowk  for two consecutive years (January 2022-December 2023) to identify diversity of bee floral resources and to establish the floral calendar of honey bees in the district. A total of 153 plant species of 50 families were identified as floral resources in the district. Recorded flora was categorized into four groups; trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers. The highest category of bee flora grouped into tree (72 flora) followed by herbs (41), shrubs (30) and climbers (10 flora), respectively. The highest (104 plants) and the lowest (11 plants) number of flowering plants were observed during April and December, respectively. A sufficient number of flowering plants was noticed in March (93 plants), May (68 plants) and February (53 plants) of the spring season as well as during September (49 plants), October (44 plants) and November (41 plants) of the autumn season. From the total available flowering plants in the Kavrepalanchowk district, 90.84% of plants were sources of both nectar and pollen, while only 5.88% as pollen and the remaining 3.26% as sources of nectar only. To ensure sustainability, it is crucial to maintain the existing bee flora and so the floral calendar is important for effective honey production

Field screening of linseed genotypes against alternaria blight (Alternaria lini)

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) is a promising but underexplored oilseed crop in Nepal, with considerable expansion potential. However, it faces a significant threat from leaf blight disease, caused by Alternaria lini resulting in notable yield reductions. This study aimed to identify genetic sources of resistance to this pathogen. Fourty-two linseed genotypes, including resistant check ACC#7622 and susceptible check Sarlahi local, underwent disease resistance screening over two years (2021-2022) in field disease screening nurseries at the Oilseed Research Program, Sarlahi, using an incomplete block design. Each block contained seven genotypes, replicated twice. Disease severity, yield and yield attributing traits were assessed. Significant variations in disease and yield traits were observed among the genotypes over the years. While only 19% showed moderate resistance with minimal symptoms compared to susceptible types. None were immune and resistance, with 13 genotypes (31%) classified as moderately susceptible, 26% susceptible and 24% highly susceptible. A significant negative correlation (P≤0.05) between disease severity and grain yield was evident. Genotypes ACC#(5-ICLI-2001-5), ACC#96-001, ACC#7622, ACC#96-004, TN#04, ACC#(9-ICLI-2001-9), ACC#(1-ICLI-2001-1), and TN#08 demonstrated both high yield and moderately resistance to alternaria leaf blight, offering valuable genetic resources for enhancing linseed resilience to this disease through breeding initiatives

Abiotic and biotic factors affecting formation of soil in the Earth

The soil is formed and affected by a number of biotic and abiotic factors. The soil forming factors are climate, organisms, relief, parent material and time.  A review on factors of soil formation was carried out with support from relevant literatures in this study. This review provides an overview of factors of soil formation with relevant research findings which could be useful to undergraduate and graduate students in agriculture and forestry sectors. Climate, organisms, relief, parent material and time are universally accepted factors of soil formation. Recently, ‘human activities’ has been discussed widely for its recognition as a soil forming factor. The soil forming factors are interacting and changing over time, so a system approach may be needed to understand their dynamics and impacts

Effect of different weed management practices on growth and yield of spring rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Banke, Nepal

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important crop in Nepal, despite having significant contribution to food security and agricultural economy, its production is being affected greatly by weed infestation. A field experiment was conducted during the spring season of 2022 to evaluate the different weed management practices in transplanted spring rice at Radhapur, Banke, Nepal. Seven weed management treatments were laid in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments were pre-emergence application of Pendimethalin 50% EC, 1 kg a.i./ha, at 3 DAT, post-emergence application of Bispyribac Na 10% SC, 25 g a.i./ha, at 28 DAT, pre-emergence application of Pendimethalin followed by post-emergence Bispyribac Na, Pre-emergence application of Pendimethalin followed by one hand weeding at 40 DAT and Farmer’s practice i.e. one hand weeding at 40 DAT along with two controls (weedy free and weedy check). The rice variety Hardinath-1 was used in the experiment. Data regarding the weed flora, weed density, weed dry weight, rice growth, yield attributes and yield was recorded and analyzed. Weed flora in the experimental plot comprised of 11 weed species viz. five were broadleaf weeds belonging to four families, four grasses belonging to Poaceae family whereas three sedges belonging to Cyperaceae family. Sedges weeds were dominant as compared to broadleaf and grasses. The highest number of effective tillers per m2 (413) and number of grains per panicle (101.33) were obtained in Pendimethalin followed by Bispyribac Na treated plot. The plot treated with combination of pre-emergence followed by post emergence recorded significantly the lowest weed density (9.67 weeds/m2) at 60 DAT. This treatment significantly gave higher grain (4780 kg/ha), straw yield (4318 kg/ha) yield, harvest index (52.55%), other traits like sterility (22.19%) was recorded least and thousand grains weight was significantly higher (23.61g). The yield on weedy check plot produced the lowest yield as compared to weed free plot. Sedges weeds such as Cyperus difformis, Cyperus iria and Fimbristylismiliaceae were dominant as compared to dicots such as Amaranthus spinosus, Chenopodium album and grasses such as Echinochloa crus-galli, Echinochloa colonum at the experimental field. The ultimate overall analysis revealed that the application of pre-emergence followed by post-emergence herbicide was the best treatment so far as compared to other weed management treatments considering various data regarding variables

Effects of meteorological and agricultural droughts on crop production in Arsi Zone Ethiopia

Natural disasters, known as droughts, are mostly brought on by a prolonged decrease in precipitation levels. In the Arsi zone, there is an undiscovered study gap regarding the transmission of drought impacts and factors. The primary goal is to assess how crop output is affected by weather patterns and agricultural droughts while also offering direction for the research area. The Ethiopian Meteorology Institute provided meteorological data, and CHG-UCSB provided CHIRPS data for the years 1991 through 2020. Data on runoff and soil moisture were sourced from USGS FEWS NET between 1991 and 2020, while information on cereal crops was sourced from the Ethiopian Statistical Service between 1995 and 2020. The analysis tools that were employed were ANN, Python, and DrinC. The study\u27s findings demonstrated the spatiotemporal droughts that stretched across time scales from SPI3 and RDI3 to SPI12 and RDI12. Drought indices showed a range of drought events over short to long time scales, including meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological droughts that were mild, moderate, severe, and intense. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) showed a significant and increasing propensity to correlate throughout both short and long time periods, but the severity of the droughts differed. With magnitudes of 0.83 across time scales, the maize and barley yield drought correlation was found to be highly correlated. In terms of time scales, the barley and wheat yield drought correlation value was 0.95, while the maize and wheat yield drought correlation was 0.77. Meteorological droughts lead to agricultural droughts, which significantly reduce crop yields in the study area. The degree of the spatiotemporal drought has an impact on the output of wheat, barley, and maize crops throughout time. The results of this work can help improve monitoring and mitigation of droughts, especially for future drought data, and can improve our understanding of the mechanisms causing zonal droughts. This allows us to plan and manage our water resources, soil conservation, and drought-tolerant crop choices in the research region in a more sustainable manner

Impact of wild pigs in agriculture and their management

Wild pigs cause substantial damage to the agriculture crops and leads to the economic loss of rural farmers. They harm the environment by shifting plant composition and decreasing its productivity. Wild pigs destroy habitat, predation and competes for resources with rare, threatened and endangered species in ecosystem. Their damage in fields can be accessed by regular monitoring which can be achieve by the use of drones. The management approaches to control wild pig encroachment in farm lands are baiting, hunting, fencing and catching with the use of dogs. Among them shooting or hunting is more common in practice. In addition, they transmit the various diseases like classical swine fever and Brucella spp. to livestock. This review summarizes the importance of wild pigs as genetic resources, factors affecting human-wild pig conflict, crop raiding and economic loss and various management approaches. This study suggests the controlling of wild pigs in farm lands which leads to the increase in agricultural production

Evaluation of carrot varieties for morphological traits, yield attributes and nutritional profile in Bhaktapur, Nepal

Carrot is an important root vegetable and commonly used as a snack, part of salads, cooked in curries and used in making pickles. A research was carried out to evaluate the performance of different carrot varieties for their morphological traits, yield attributing characters and nutritional parameters from Feb 2023 to June 2023 at Thimi Municipality-2, Bhaktapur. There were five carrot varieties such as Nepa Dream, Red Champion, Sigma, SK3, and New Kuroda. The experimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications. Results showed that there were significant differences in growth parameters, morphological characters, and nutrient composition. Nepa Dream showed the greatest root length (25.24 cm), weight (100.25 g), total yield (27.48 t/ha), βcarotenoid (12.34 mg/100 g), dry matter (12.35%) and TSS (11.25 ºBrix). New Kuroda had the maximum plant length (78.17 cm). The results of the current study showed that varieties differed significantly for morphological traits, yield attributes and other nutritional aspects. Nepa Dream was found to be the appropriate variety in terms of yield, TSS, β-carotene and dry matter content for growing at Thimi, Bhaktapur, Nepal. Among other varieties, SK3 seemed to be the promising for its overall traits and so it needs to be further tested over multiple seasons and locations

Soil organic carbon and nutrient status in forest and agroforestry lands in tropical region of Nepal

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) concentration, stock and soil nutrients vary considerably according to land use practices and soil depth. The rationale for studying SOC and nutrient status in Nepal\u27s tropical forest and agroforestry lands stems from the vulnerability of these soils to degradation, the importance of these systems in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation, and the need for sustainable land management practices to ensure food security and biodiversity conservation. The objective of the study was to assess the soil organic carbon and nutrient status in Navajagriti community forest, Bharatpur Metropolitan-11 and home gardens (agroforestry) in Kalika Municipality-9 of Chitwan district, Nepal respectively. Soil samples were collected randomly from both land use types. Soil samples were collected from soil depths up to 30 cm at variable depth interval of 0-10 cm and 10-30 cm.  The results showed that SOC stock was found higher in agroforestry (25.66 t/ha) than in forest (24.84 t/ha) whereas bulk density was found higher in forest (1.53 g/cmᶾ) than in agroforestry (1.31 g/cmᶾ).  The average SOC stock of forest and agroforestry land in 0-10 cm soil depth was found to be 11.40 t/ha and 10.64 t/ha, and those in 10-30 cm soil depth was found to be 13.44 t/ha and 15.02 t/ha respectively. However, both were found non-significant (p<0.05).  Likewise, pH (6.5) in agroforestry and 6.29 in forest, total nitrogen in agroforestry (0.216%) and (0.08%) in forest, available phosphorus 37.21 ppm in agroforestry and 7.42 ppm in forest, available potassium in agroforestry 152.22 ppm and 108.8 ppm in forest were found which showed higher nutrient status in agroforestry but these nutrients   were not significantly (P>0.05) among both land use type. The carbon-nitrogen ratio was found higher in forest (7.466) than in agroforestry (3.78), with statistical significant difference.  The study concluded that SOC concentration, stock,  and soil nutrients were highly influenced by management practices like regular tillage, use of organic manure and multistory farming in agroforestry rather than old aged, degraded and unmanaged forest. Hence, forest management applying relevant silvicultural systems based on management objectives and multistory system can improve carbon and nutrient in community forest

Adoption status of good agricultural practices among vegetable growers in the Arghakhanchi district of Nepal

The vegetable sector substantially contributes to the Nepalese economy and offers instant income, nutrition, and food security. The unsystematic use of agrochemicals for commercialising production has posed a threat to the sustainability of the vegetable sector in recent decades. The usage of agrochemicals in commercial vegetable production may be reduced by implementing Good Agriculture Practices (GAP). This study aims to find out the knowledge, application, and perception of farmers towards Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) along with the adoption index in the Arghakhanchi district of Nepal from February 2023 to June 2023. Altogether 125 households from Sandhikharka Municipality and Chhatradev Rural Municipality were chosen using stratified random sampling technique. Focus group discussion (FGD), Key Informant Interview (KII), and preliminary field visits were carried out to gather primary data, and a variety of literatures were reviewed to gather secondary data. The results showed that 38.4% of households (HHs) were aware of the GAP. The higher adopters were 15.48% HHs with a mean adoption value of 19.57. About15.4% HHs  were low adopters with an adoption value of 9.45 and 70.73% of HHs were medium adopters with an adoption value of 14.92 out of 29. The low level of GAP application was found in the harvesting method with the lowest mean score of 0.136, however, storage duration had the highest average score of 0.992. Farmers ranked insect pest damage as the most severe problem with an index value of 0.79, while weather as the least severe problem with an index value of 0.33 in rank I, and V respectively. All respondents gave their perception of GAP with 75.2% agree, 12.8% neither agree nor disagree and 12% strongly agree that GAP helps them to increase their productivity