Status of major wheat diseases in sub mountainous region of district Ropar, Punjab, India

The wheat diseases, including yellow rust, brown rust, powdery mildew and karnal bunt, continue to be the major impediments to the successful cultivation of wheat crops in the sub-mountainous region of Ropar (Punjab). During the survey, it was observed that the yellow rust disease is a pre-dominant disease of wheat in this region and has always appeared first foci of infection in Ropar district for the last several years in Punjab. The disease caused maximum infection on cultivar Barbat, HD 2967, Shriram 212 followed by WH 1105, HD 3086, PBW 677, HD 3226 and low infection on Unnat PBW 343 and PBW 1 Zn, DBW 222 and PBW 766. However, no infection was recorded in PBW 725, Unnat PBW 550 and PBW 752. The brown rust disease was absent from most of the fields. Although, occasionally found in few low-level fields (5-10S among infested fields). The head blight disease was primarily recorded in durum wheat in wet areas and the maximum incidence (16.45%) was found in the Barbet cultivar in season 2021-22. The karnal bunt disease frequently appeared in this region depending upon the weather condition at the booting stage of the crop and recorded the prevalence range of 0.1-0.40 per cent in surveyed fields. The survey reports will help to prioritize disease management in extension programmes in this region

Comparative analysis of various soils concerning chemical parameters in command (canal irrigated) and uncommand (well irrigated and rainfed) areas of Raisinghnagar, District Sriganganagar (Rajasthan)

Soil is a vital source for the cultivation of all types of crops. The crop’s cultivation depends on the soil's physical and chemical properties. The optimum plant growth and crop yield depend not only on the total amount of nutrients present in the soil at a particular time but also on their availability which in turn is controlled by the physical and chemical properties of soil. So, in the present study, a comparative analysis was undertaken between various soil parameters (chemical properties of soil) of different vicinity like Command (canal irrigated) and Uncommand (well irrigated and rainfed) agriculture fields of various villages in Sriganganagar District, Rajasthan. The cumulative analysis of soil chemical parameters regarding the Command (canal irrigated) area and Uncommand (well irrigated and rainfed) area were undertaken during the study period

Productivity of mungbean (Vigna radiata) as influenced by phosphorus fertilizer

A Field experiment was conducted at the agriculture faculty of Kunduz University farm during the summer season of 2023 to study the effect of genotypes and phosphorus levels on growth, yield attributes and yield of mungbean. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with two genotypes of mugbean viz watani and Zirati, four phosphorus levels viz control (no fertilizer), 20, 40 and 60 kg P2O5 ha-1 with three replications The experimental findings indicated that the growth parameters, yield attributes and yield viz. plant height (63.50cm), days to 50% flowering stage (36.50 days), days to maturity (76.5), LAI at harvest (1.61), dry matter (111.83gr/plant), branches/plant(10.33), pod length (6.73cm), pods/plant (16.66), seeds/pod (7.66),100 seed weight (32.5gr), seed yield (1227.83 kg/ha), stover yield (1,977.50 kg/ha) and biological yield (3,205.33kg/ha) were enhanced due to watani genotypes along with application of 60 kg P2O5ha-1, whereas the minimum growth parameters, yield attributes and yield was obtained in the plots Zirati genotypes with no phosphorus application

Imidacloprid residues in cotton guttation fluid, pollen and soil when applied as seed dressings

Guttation fluid and pollen are possible pathways where pollinators may be exposed to systemic insecticides. During the investigation, Gossypium hirsutum v. H 1098i seeds were coated with Gaucho (Imidacloprid 600 FS at 2.4 g a.i. kg-1seeds) and planted in the field. Guttation fluid, pollen, and soil samples were collected during the season and the samples were analysed by HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography). The guttation fluid and pollen were collected at three times after 50 per cent flowering. Soil samples were collected before sowing and at harvest. Method validation was achieved by performing a recovery experiment at two fortification levels of 0.05 and 0.10 mg kg-1. The average recoveries obtained from guttation fluid, pollen and soil samples were above 85 per cent. The residues of imidacloprid in guttation fluid, pollen and soil in treated and untreated seed were below detectable levels

Effect of nano nitrogen and phosphorus on growth, yield and quality of ber, Ziziphus mauritiana Lam

An experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Mandor, Jodhpur (Raj.) to find out the effects of nano nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers on growth, yield and quality of ber using Factorial Randomized Block Design with 5 replications from October 2021 to March 2022. The result showed that the maximum rise (6.45 %) in plant height (79.17 cm), number of primary branches (14.72), secondary branches (22.09), chlorophyll contents (55.34 SPAD value), fruit volume (20.63cm3), specific gravity (0.95), fruit length at harvest (3.42 cm), fruit diameter at harvest (3.16 cm), pulp thickness (12.56 mm), pulp weight (15.79 g), pulp: stone ratio (19.20), fruit setting (6.92 %), average fruit weight (18.00 g), yield/ tree (64.57 kg), ascorbic acid (65.75 mg/100g pulp), total soluble solid (15.77°Brix), total sugar (9.20 %), reducing sugar (4.83 %), non-reducing sugar (4.37 %), fruit pH (5.50) whereas minimum stone weight (0.82 g) and fruit drop (49.38 %) was recorded with the application of nano nitrogen @ 2 ml/ litter water +  nano phosphorus @ 2 ml/ litter water spray over the control

Microbiological resources- an alternate approach for sustainable management of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)

Fall Army Worm (Spodoptera frugiperda), with the traits of devastating, voracious, polyphagous nature had recently imposed a global threat. Possessing these traits, this pest constituted a threat to global food security by ambushing more than several host plant species. To tackle this pest, insecticide management approaches was used initially. Later, with a better comprehension of the dynamic biology of the pest, such as their long migration capability, their ability to develop resistance against insecticide and the adverse effects of pesticides on human and the environment, an alternative strategy which is environmentally safe i.e., biological control approaches that is effective and low-risk is laid emphasis. A rich diversity of microbial populations which have the ability to infect the pest to a certain degree in nature remains untapped, and if so, identification of high virulence and productive strains within the population is lacking hitherto. This review focused on the information regarding the scenario of the occurring pest and its damaging nature to the host plants and microbial agents with their surplus potentialities along with the mode of interactions with the insect pest and self-perpetuating nature and their boon of disarming nature. The details of each microbe viz., fungi, bacteria and viruses that possess the traits of controlling the pest naturally are briefed with an insight into molecular information, present findings, constraint and future prospects

Assessing the mercury removal efficiency of natural adsorbents from wastewater

Organic waste materials viz., coir pith, rice husk, and water hyacinth were studied in the batch experiments to evaluate their potential for mercury removal from wastewater. Five pH (4,5,6,7,8) and five different contact times (1,2,4,6,8 hours) were studied with a constant mercury concentration of 0.1 ppm. SEM (Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy) and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) were used for characterizing the biochars i.e., rice husk biochar (RHBC), coir pith biochar (CPBC) and water hyacinth biochar (WHBC), used for the experiment before and after adsorption studies. Adsorption capacities of each different biochar used for the experiment varied due to their wide range of surface area as well as different shift patterns in the FTIR. Based on the experimental results, among the three adsorbents used for mercury removal from wastewater, coirpith biochar (CPBC) has a maximum removal efficiency of 46.2% followed by rice husk biochar (RHBC–44.8%) and water hyacinth biochar (45.6%) with 6 hours of contact time

Efficacy of organic inputs on nutrient management and cost-benefit ratio on pulse crops in organic farming

The wide range of external solid organic sources of nutrients viz., FYM, vermicompost, goat manure, etc., are available, out of them, FYM & vermicompost are found to good in terms of yield and quality of the different pulse crops. Several options are available for liquid manures, among them higher yield, quality and cost-benefit ratio of the produce reported with the application of Panchagavya and jeevamrut. Crop residue mulching with organic manures was also found effective. Integrated application of organic and natural inputs as solid and liquid manures gave better results than sole application