Effect of variety and planting date of rice on population of natural enemies of brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stal)

The present study on the effect of variety and planting date of rice on population of natural enemies of brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stal) showed that during August, the mean population of spiders was statistically on par on CSR 30 and PR 114. The population differed with dates and was significantly (p=0.05) higher (9.0/10 hills) in D2 during 2011 only. There was no significant difference in the population of spiders on two varieties and dates of transplanting during September 2011 only. However, significantly higher population of spiders was recorded in variety PR 114 (21.65/10 hills) and D2 (20.52/10 hills) than on CSR 30 (13.67/10 hills) and D1 (14.80/10 hills) during September, 2012. The mean population of spiders did not differ significantly with the dates during October, 2011 and 2012. However, it was significantly higher on variety PR 114 (27.65/10 hills) than on CSR 30 during both the crop seasons. Mirid bugs did not appear in the month of August, 2011 and 2012 whereas during September 2011, the variety CSR 30 and D1 registered significantly higher population than other variety and date. However, a reverse trend was observed with varieties and dates during 2012. The mean population of coccinelid, carabid and staphylinid beetles remained very low on both the varieties in the month of August during 2011 and 2012. However, the population of these predators was influenced significantly by the varieties and dates during 2012. The population of nymphal-adult parasitoids also remained very low during both years and was not influenced by varieties and dates

Response of african marigold to NPK , biofertilizers and spacings

A field experiment on African marigold (TagetserectaL.) was conducted during winter season of 2014-15 to study the effect of NPK, biofertilizers and plant spacings on growth and yield of African marigold (Tagetes erecta Linn). The treatment combinations F6 100 % RDF of NPK + Azotobacter + PSB recorded the maximum longevity of intact flower (27.93), average diameter of flower (7.37 cm), average weight of flower (8.96 g) number of flowers per plant (56.54), yield of flowers per plant (515.62 g), per plot (11.93 kg) and highest flower yield ha (184.13 q). The spacing D3 (60× 60 cm) registered significant (5 %) maximum longevity of intact flower, larger size flower (7.80 cm), average weight of flower (9.14 g) and highest flower yield per plant (456.22 g). Highest flower yield per plot (10.19 kg), number of flower per plant (52.22) and per hectare flower yield (157.29 q/ha) with 60× 45 cm. These results are conclusive that application of 100 % RDF of NPK + Azotobacter+ PSB and plant spacing (60× 45 cm) may positively increase the growth and flowers yield parameters of marigold

Floral biology studies of Egyptian clover, Trifolium alexandrinum L.

Floral biology studies of Egyptian clover, Trifolium alexandrinum was studied at Forage Section, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2012 and 2013. T. alexandrinum flower head of cultivar HB-2 consisted of numerous yellowish-white flowers that measured 22.7+1.3 mm in length and consists of a mean of 70.5+1.70 florets. The mean length of a floret, sepals, petals and stamen were 12.3±1.9, 4.4+0.6, 4.1+2.2 and 3.4+0.5 mm, respectively.  On an average a floret, remained in bud stage (A+B+C) for a longer period of 80.4+1.2 hours during 2012 than in 2013 (69.7+7.7 h). The overall mean duration of bud stage A (petals concealed in bud) was the longest (35.6+5.4 h) as compared to stage B when petals became visible but not expended (26.2+3.0 h) and C (24.8+2.0 h) when petals expended but anthers were not visible. The bud stage (A+B+C) lasted for a mean duration of 75.1+3.9 hours. The overall mean duration of the anthesis stage (D1+D2) was 63.1+5.6 hours (range 45-87 hours) and that of post anthesis at 37.8+6.9 (range 30-51) hours. The life cycle of T. alexandrinum flowers on an average was completed in 186.8±7.0 hours

Bundling subsurface drip irrigation with no-till provides a window to integrate mung bean with intensive cereal systems for improving resource use efficiency

The future of South Asia’s major production system (rice–wheat rotation) is at stake due to continuously aggravating pressure on groundwater aquifers and other natural resources which will further intensify with climate change. Traditional practices, conventional tillage (CT) residue burning, and indiscriminate use of groundwater with flood irrigation are the major drivers of the non-sustainability of rice–wheat (RW) system in northwest (NW) India. For designing sustainable practices in intensive cereal systems, we conducted a study on bundled practices (zero tillage, residue mulch, precise irrigation, and mung bean integration) based on multi-indicator (system productivity, profitability, and efficiency of water, nitrogen, and energy) analysis in RW system. The study showed that bundling conservation agriculture (CA) practices with subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) saved ~70 and 45% (3-year mean) of irrigation water in rice and wheat, respectively, compared to farmers’ practice/CT practice (pooled data of Sc1 and Sc2; 1,035 and 318 mm ha−1). On a 3-year system basis, CA with SDI scenarios (mean of Sc5–Sc8) saved 35.4% irrigation water under RW systems compared to their respective CA with flood irrigation (FI) scenarios (mean of Sc3 and Sc4) during the investigation irrespective of residue management. CA with FI system increased the water productivity (WPi) and its use efficiency (WUE) by ~52 and 12.3% (3-year mean), whereas SDI improved by 221.2 and 39.2% compared to farmers practice (Sc1; 0.69 kg grain m−3 and 21.39 kg grain ha−1 cm−1), respectively. Based on the 3-year mean, CA with SDI (mean of Sc5–Sc8) recorded −2.5% rice yield, whereas wheat yield was +25% compared to farmers practice (Sc1; 5.44 and 3.79 Mg ha−1) and rice and wheat yield under CA with flood irrigation were increased by +7 and + 11%, compared to their respective CT practices. Mung bean integration in Sc7 and Sc8 contributed to ~26% in crop productivity and profitability compared to farmers’ practice (Sc1) as SDI facilitated advancing the sowing time by 1 week. On a system basis, CA with SDI improved energy use efficiency (EUE) by ~70% and partial factor productivity of N by 18.4% compared to CT practices. In the RW system of NW India, CA with SDI for precise water and N management proved to be a profitable solution to address the problems of groundwater, residue burning, sustainable intensification, and input (water and energy) use with the potential for replication in large areas in NW India

Genetic diversity and population structure analyses in barley (Hordeum vulgare) against corn-leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch)

Corn-leaf aphid (CLA), Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is a serious economic pest of barley worldwide. Breeding for aphid resistance in plants is considered a cost-effective and environmentally safe approach for aphid control, compared to the use of chemical pesticides. One of the challenges in breeding for aphid resistance is the identification of resistant plant genotypes, which can be achieved through the use of molecular markers. In the present study, a set of aphid specific 10 simple-sequence repeats (SSR) markers were used to investigate genetic diversity and population structure analyses in 109 barley genotypes against R. maidis. Three statistical methods viz., multivariate hierarchical clustering based on Jaccard’s similarity coefficient, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and the Bayesian approach were utilized to classify the 109 barley genotypes. The analyses revealed four subpopulations i.e., SubPop1, SubPop2, SubPop3 and SubPop4 with 19, 46, 20 and 24 genotypes including admixtures, respectively and represented 17.43%, 42.2%, 18.34% and 22.01% genotypes of the total population size, respectively. The studied SSR markers produced 67 polymorphic bands, with an average of 6.7 and ranging from 3 to 12 bands. Heterozygosity (H) was found to be highest in SSR28 (0.64) and lowest in SSR27 (0.89). The observed genetic diversity index varied from 0.10 to 0.34 (with an average of 0.19). Major allele frequency varied from 74.08% to 94.80%. On an average, 87.52% of the 109 barley genotypes shared a common major allele at any locus. Based on the Aphid Infestation Index (AII), only 2 genotypes were found to be resistant against CLA. SubPop2 also had lowest mean aphid population (28.83), widest genetic similarity index (0.60-1.00) and highest genetic similarity coefficient (0.82), which highlighted its potential for inclusion in future CLA resistance breeding programs

A decade of climate-smart agriculture in major agri-food systems: Earthworm abundance and soil physico-biochemical properties

Earthworms (EWs) could be a viable indicator of soil biology and agri-food system management. The influence of climate-smart agriculture (CSA)-based sustainable intensification practices (zero tillage, crop rotations, crop residue retention, and precision water and nutrients application) on earthworms’ (EWs) populations and soil physico-biochemical properties of rice-wheat cropping system in the Indo-Gangetic plains of South Asia was investigated. This study investigates the effect of 10-years adoption of various CSA practices on the abundance of earthworms and physical and biochemical properties of the soil and EWs’ casts (EWC). Five scenarios (Sc) were included: conventionally managed rice-wheat system (farmers’ practices, Sc1), CSA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system with flood irrigation (FI) (Sc2) and subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) (Sc3), CSA-based maize-wheat-mungbean system with FI (Sc4), and SDI (Sc5). Results revealed that EWs were absent under Sc1, while the 10-year adoption of CSA-based scenarios (mean of Sc2–5) increased EWs’ density and biomass to be 257.7 no. m−2 and 36.05 g m−2, respectively. CSA-based maize scenarios (Sc4 and Sc5) attained higher EWs’ density and biomass over rice-based CSA scenarios (Sc2 and Sc4). Also, SDI-based scenarios (Sc3 and Sc5) recorded higher EWs’ density and biomass over FI (Sc2 and Sc4). Maize-based CSA with SDI recorded the highest EWs’ density and EWs’ biomass. The higher total organic carbon in EWC (1.91%) than in the bulk soil of CSA-based scenarios (0.98%) and farmers’ practices (0.65%) suggests the shift of crop residue to a stable SOC (in EWC). EWC contained significant amounts of C and available NPK under CSA practices, which were nil under Sc1. All CSA-based scenarios attained higher enzymes activities over Sc1. CSA-based scenarios, in particular, maize-based scenarios using SDI, improved EWs’ proliferation, SOC, and nutrients storage (in soil and EWC) and showed a better choice for the IGP farmers with respect to C sequestration, soil quality, and nutrient availability

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Not AvailableThe oilseeds crop occupies an important position in agriculture economy in the world. Indian agriculture has made considerable progress, particularly in respect of food crops such as wheat and rice in irrigated areas; however, performance has not been so good in case of other crops particularly oilseeds, pulses, and coarse cereals. Therefore, after achieving self sufficiency in food grains the government is focusing attention on these agricultural commodities. On the oilseeds map of the world, India occupies a prominent position, both in regard to acreage and production. India is the 4th largest edible oil economy in the world and contributes about 10 percent of the world oilseeds production, 6-7% of the global production of vegetable oil, and nearly 7 percent of protein meal. This sector also has an important place in the Indian agricultural sector covering an area of about 26.5 million hectares, with total production of over 25.3 million tonnes in the triennium ending 2015-16 (GOI, 2016). This constitutes about 14.8 per cent of the gross cropped area in the country. A wide range of oilseed crops is produced in different agro-climatic regions of the country. Insectspests are one of the limiting factors in the production of oilseed crops. Management of these pest problems by using possible control techniques could increase the quality and quantity of the products. These crops are damaged by a more number of insect pests, of which some are more serious. These pests can be effectively controlled by the integration of different techniques such as use of various safe insecticides/biopesticides, some modification in cultural practices and use of pest tolerant varieties. Integrated pest management approaches will help to increase the production and productivity of oilseed crops by reducing the pest damage without any adverse effect on the agro- system and erosion in the environment.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableQuantification of Egyptian clover Trifolium alexandrinum crop's value as provider of surplus honey and pollen was studied at CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2012 and 2013. Colony performance parameters like area honey, nectar, pollen, brood, drone and whole bee population showed significantly higher trend during I, III, and IV weeks of May during both the years and declined marginally at end of the flowering.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableSugarcane is one of the most important commercial crops grown in India as well as in Haryana state. The sugarcane and sugar production in India typically follow a 6 to 8 year cycle, wherein 3 to 4 years of higher production are followed by 2 to 3 years of lower production. After two consecutive years of declining sugar production India's total centrifugal sugar production in 20I0/II is forecast at24.7 million tons (including 435,000 tons of khandsari sugar up 27 percent from the 2009 /L0, on expected improved sugarcane supplies due to higher cane planting and yields. Gur production is forecast lower at 5.6 million tons compared to 6.6 million tons last year on expected weak prices. cent) Sugarcane production in Haryana is expected to fall to around 490 lakh quintals in 2009-10 (October-September), around 4.5% less than last yea4 maintaining a trend that started two years back as farmers shifted from cane to more remunerative crops like wheat and paddy. Sugarcane output in 2007-08 was 886 lakh quintals, which declined to 513 lakh quintals in 2008-09 seasons. A big reason for drop in cane output has been fall in acreage, which shrunk to around 75,000 hectares this year from 90,000 hectares in 2008-09. Sugarcane has an important impact on the economy of the country since time immemorial. About one-sixth of the total labour force is employed in sugarcane production, sugar manufacturing and associated industries. In addition to the employment earns valuable foreign exchange for the country. But the sugarcane production decrease day by day due to attack of insect pests.Not Availabl