Empirical Analysis of Farmers Preferences and Willingness towards Organic Farming in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Background: Organic farming is an eco-friendly approach in the agricultural production system that ensures food safety, reduces health problems, promotes environmental conservation, and generates employment opportunities for local communities.Methods: The survey was conducted using a well-structured questionnaire that focused on the scope and potential of organic farming in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Pakistan. The data were collected from randomly selected 150 respondents in nine districts of GB between May and June (2019). This survey analyzed the factors influencing the willingness of farmers to pay attention to organic farming and evaluated the possibilities of espousal organic farming as an effective approach.Results: In general, mixed perceptions were revealed by the behavior and attitudes of the farmers, however, it is necessary to notice the intentions of the farmers for substitute methods to make organic farming feasible. Based on the survey, people were not reluctant to adopt organic farming to ensure better market value for their products. As a result, they will sustainably get a better livelihood.Conclusion: The current study is concluded that the espousal of organic farming could have a positive and noteworthy outcome on a farmer’s life in terms of profitability, compatibility, productivity, and sustainability in GB. There is a dire need for organic certification to increase the market value both at local and international levels.Keywords: Gilgit-Baltistan; Eco-friendly; Organic farming; Practices; Survey

Assessment of Seed Priming Effect on Germination and Cotton Productivity of Two Cotton Varieties in Multan

Background: Cotton is one of the important cash crops for fiber production globally. It is highly sensitive to abiotic stresses such as temperature, drought and salinity resulting in poor seedling germination and emergence leading to a decline in cotton productivity. Seed germination can be improved through physiological techniques mainly seed priming, which is a pre-sowing treatment that enables the seed to germinate more efficiently. Therefore, to assess the effects of seed priming on growth and yield production an in vivo study was performed with two different cotton cultivars (namely, BS-13 and FH-Lalazar).Methods: A field trial was conducted at Multan that comprised six treatments including T1: non-primed seeds (control) and treated seeds such as T2: hydro-priming (water), T3 & T4: hormonal priming (two different concentrations of indole acetic acid) and T5 & T6: halo-priming (two different concentrations of KNO3). The data were collected to evaluate the rate of seed germination, growth and yield of cotton under the effect of seed priming.Results: The study revealed that halo priming treatment with KNO3 enhanced the rate of seed germination by 83% as well as seedling emergence by ~90% in both cotton cultivars. Results showed that seed priming with KNO3 (3 g L-1) had the most promising effect on growth traits up to a variant extent as compared to the control plant. Meanwhile, yield attributes such as the number of cotton bolls and boll weight per plant significantly increased by 45% as compared to non-primed plants. Similarly, priming with KNO3 treatment displayed a significantly high cotton yield by 17% (767 kg ha-1) in both cotton cultivars as compared to their respective control treatment.Conclusion: Current study concluded that seed priming is an efficient and cost-effective technique that plays a vital role in better crop establishment consequently increasing germination rate, plant growth attributes and productivity of the cotton crop.Keywords: Multan; Cotton; Seed germination; Seed priming; Yield; KNO3 

Anti-mycotic potential of Trichoderma spp. and leaf biomass of Azadirachta indica against the charcoal rot pathogen, Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid in cowpea

Abstract Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid is a destructive pathogen of cowpea that causes serious charcoal rot disease with significant yield losses. Antifungal activity of three indigenous Ascomycetes viz., Trichoderma harzianum, T. viride, and T. hamatum, and two Meliaceae members, i.e., Melia azedarach L. and Azadirachta indica L. were assessed against the pathogen. Laboratory screening trials with cell-free culture filtrate showed the maximum reduction in growth of M. phaseolina with T. harzianum, followed by T. viride. Various concentrations (1–5%) of methanolic leaf extract of A. indica showed more reduction in fungal biomass than M. azedarach. Pot experiment was performed by T. harzianum, T. viride, and dry leaf biomass of A. indica against M. phaseolina. Results revealed that potted soil amended with T. harzianum in combination with 1–3% dry leaf biomass of A. indica held a significant potential to decrease disease incidence to 20–25% and improve plant growth attributes up to fourfolds over positive control inoculated with M. phaseolina only. Physiology of the host plant was altered due to the incorporation of various soil amendments resulting in reduced activities of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, and phenylalanine ammonia lyase). It was concluded that fungal antagonists and allelopathic chemicals would be an effective and eco-friendly means of managing the charcoal rot disease

Mitigating salinity stress and improving cotton productivity through integrative use of gypsum and compost amendments with exogenous proline

Abiotic constraints, such as salinity, significantly damage crop yields worldwide. Cotton, though moderately salt-tolerant, suffers from reduced growth and yield under saline-sodic soil conditions. Effective integrated mitigation strategies are crucial to address this challenge. Our study, conducted in Lodhran, Punjab, Pakistan, investigated six treatments using an integrated strategy such as gypsum, compost and exogenous proline combining effect in improving cotton productivity under salinity stress. We assessed plant growth, agronomic traits, physio-chemical parameters, cotton yield, and soil characteristics. Our experimental results showed that the combined application of amendments such as T5: gypsum + proline and T6: compost + proline gave better results as compared to individual treatments (T2, T3 & T4) over the control (T1). A significant improvement was observed in plant length and dry weights of shoot and root by 64 %, 81 % and 47 %, respectively under the effect of T5, also increased cotton yield up to 2 folds (888 kg) over control (324 kg ha−1). Likewise, significant improvement in the plant physio-chemical parameters was recorded such as high activities of antioxidant enzymes and the maximum accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) content by 60–71 %, as well as reduction in the oxidative burst by 55–65 % after the integrated treatments (T5 & T6) as compared to salt-stressed plants (control). Likewise, contents of nutrients are improved in plants viz., N: 70; P: 61 %; K: 33 % and Mg: 86 % under the positive effect of gypsum + proline over control. Results of soil analysis showed that the soil was moderately saline-sodic. Furthermore, soil analysis revealed that there was a significant improvement in NPK, S and Mg content in the soil after treated salt-stressed soil with gypsum and compost (T2, T3, T5 and T6) while a significant reduction was observed in Ca (17 %) and Na content (28 %), as well as EC (dSm−1) was decreased by 38 % and SAR (mmol/L)1/2 by 27 % under the effect of gypsum + proline over the control treatment. The outcomes of the current study reveal that the reclamation potential of gypsum and compost applied individually or together with exogenous proline improved plant growth, yield and plant defense system under salinity stress