Economic benefits of animal pollination to Punjab agriculture

Indian Punjab is gradually becoming the promised land of diversified farming with beekeeping as an important component, as farmers are looking for ways to get out of the paddy-wheat cycle. With this consideration, the present study estimated that the contribution of animal pollinators toward state agriculture. The economic value due to pollination service (EVP) was Rs 1391.2 crores forming about a 2 per cent share in the EV of output from state agriculture. Among the entomophilous crops, the insect pollination was essential for 2; great for 3; modest for 4 and of little importance to another 4 crops. About 42 per cent of the non-animal pollination-dependent crops accounted for a major share in the EV i.e. 97.87 per cent of the total agriculture output of the state. The share of cereals was the highest in the EV i.e. 86.79 per cent followed by vegetables (5.50%), fruits (5.32%), cotton (1.69%), sugarcane (0.35%), oilseeds (0.32%) and gram (0.01%) while based on dependence rate, the EVP was the highest in fruits (49.78%) followed by vegetables (21.49%), cotton (19.85%) and oilseeds (8.88%) and there existed no EVP for cereals and sugarcane and gram. The crops having great dependence on pollination contributed the maximum (Rs 741.13 crore) i.e. about 53 per cent to the EVP and about 1 per cent to the EV in the state agriculture. There is a strong need to realize the potential of this segment and formulate crop and commodity-specific strategies for optimum utilization of animal pollination inputs followed by crop diversification to high-value commodities. Punjab agriculture faces challenges on the production front and increased production cost needs such as “micro concepts” with “macro-economic” impacts

Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, flowering and yield of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) Cv. Pusa Basanti Gainda

According to the result of the current study, plant height, canopy, stem girth, number of primary branches and total dry matter of the plant at 30 DAT, 60 DAT, 90 DAT were recorded maximum with the application of 100% RDF. The maximum yield parameters, such as a number of flowers per plant, yield/plant, yield/plot and yield/ha., flowering parameters, such as minimum days to first flower bud appearance, 50% flowering, first harvest and maximum flowering duration, i.e., the highest gross return/ha and the net return/ha were recorded highest by the application of 75% RDF + Vermicompost (1.25t/ha)

Non-timber forest genetic resources of arid and semi-arid regions of India

Forests have evolved in their natural ecosystems over millennia to become the world’s most important and valuable renewable natural resources. Genetic variety in perspective trees has been defined as Forest Genetic Resources (FGRs). Forest genetic resources directly or indirectly sustain human livelihoods and provide raw materials for various forest-based enterprises. This chapter focuses on the FGRs of the arid and semiarid regions, which have a wide range of land formations, soils, fauna, plants, water balances, and human activities. Cultivating trees that have the potential to generate lucrative non-timber goods is the primary source of revenue in this problematic climatic situation. Arid and semi-arid regions have a diverse gene pool of tree species.  The increased pressure and ongoing desertification threaten the gene pool of tree species in arid and semi-arid environments. These regions' FGRs are not sufficiently documented, and there is no way to access and use them effectively. This paper intends to establish a framework for writing, better understanding, protecting, and understanding the utility of non-timber forest genetic resources (NTFGR) in dry and semi-arid regions. It focuses on arid and semi-arid tree species that have the potential to yield non-timber value, to increase awareness and understanding of Forest Genetic Resources

Heterosis and Combining ability analysis in F1 hybrids of bread wheat

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most auspicious cereal food crop with regard to production, consumption, nutritional value, storage space, quality, adaptability and transportation. The all 15 F1 cross combinations and their parents were planted in a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. Out of 15 cross combinations, only 10 show significant heterobeltiosis for early maturity over the standard check-in desirable direction. Five cross combinations PBW 343 x PBW 65, RAJ 2184 x PBW 65, PBW 343 x RAJ 2184, CPAN 3004 x RAJ 2184, HD 1981 x PBW 154 show significant positive heterobeltiosis whereas two cross combinations HD 1981 x PBW 154 and PBW 343 x PBW 65 show significant positive heterosis over commercial check for seed yield. The GCA (General combining ability) effects of the parent PBW343 showed significant positive effect for most of all the traits followed by CPAN3004, PBW154 and PBW65. Out of fifteen, two cross crosses, namely PBW 343 x PBW 65 and CPAN 3004 x RAJ 2184 showed a significant positive SCA (specific combining ability) effect for grain yield

Impact of foliar spray of thiourea on growth attributes of two cultivars of soybean

Soybean is one of the major oilseed crops cultivated in India and globally. In India, it is mainly cultivated in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana. Despite being grown in large areas, the importance of soybean and its oil is still very prevalent. The objective was to investigate the impact of foliar spraying of thiourea at three different concentrations (250, 500, and 750 ppm) during two growth stages (20-25 days after sowing and 50-55 days after sowing) on two soybean varieties, PS1347 and SL958. Several growth parameters were recorded and then analysed, such as plant height, plant dry weight, stem girth, leaf chlorophyll content, intercepted PAR, crop growth rate and relative growth rate. It was found that thiourea brought a positive influence on the crop, and the maximum improvement was recorded by foliar spraying of 750 ppm thiourea, which was statistically at par with the foliar spray of thiourea at the concentration of 500 ppm