Archives of Agriculture and Environmental Science
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Salinity induced deleterious effects on germination, growth, physiological and biochemical process of two varieties of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)
Get PDFThe present study was accomplished to find out the effects of salinity on germination, growth, physiological and biochemical processes of two different groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea L.), varieties viz., Dacca-1, and Zhinga groundnut. The experiments consisted of five salinity treatments viz., control (no salinity), 3, 6, 9, and 12dS/m during germination and vegetative stage of groundnut varieties. Results showed that germination percentage of both the groundnut varieties was significantly decreased with the increase of salt concentration. During the germination stage, maximum shoot and root length, shoot and root fresh weight and shoot and root dry weight of groundnut varieties were recorded from Zhinga groundnut variety at salt stress. The same result occurred during the vegetative stage of Dacca-1 variety while the Zhinga groundnut variety showed maximum parameters than Dacca-1. Fresh weight, as well as dry weight, of shoots and roots of both the groundnut varieties was also decreased with the increase of salt concentrations while leaf proline concentrations were increased among these varieties. Salinity caused significant (P<0.001) reduction in chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll content in both the genotypes. Between two genotypes, Zhinga groundnut recorded higher chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll content than Dacca-1. From the studies, it is concluded that the groundnut genotype Zhinga was identified as the tolerant genotype to salt stress than Dacca-1. Overall results indicate that high salinity condition is not suitable for growing the groundnut
A review on Bangabandhu and agriculture: Future path for self-sufficiency in food production of Bangladesh
Get PDFBangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is one of the rabble rousing, undisputable and charismatic leaders in the global history. Due to his inherent and extra ordinary qualities he gained the trust, support and hope of the general peoples (East-Bengalis). This paper aims to review the key roles played by him for uplifting the agricultural sector of Bangladesh. Bangladesh wouldn’t become independent and a sovereign country without his bold contribution. After the bloody liberation war of 1971; the country had a poor and fragile economy and shortage of all sorts of basic needs specially food. After the formation of government, the leader took revolutionary steps for reformation of the agricultural sector of the country. From his intuition he felt that, for agricultural development and gaining self-sufficiency in food production; some major changes have to be done. Thus, he put special emphasis on agricultural education, research, extension, industries and markets; he also waived the taxes on agricultural lands. To encourage innovative and talented students to study agriculture; he upgraded the status of the agriculturists to first class officer. Bangabandhu’s vision was clear, challenging and reality based. He decorated the agricultural policies basing on the farmers and their economic conditions. The leader put special importance in practicing integrated agriculture so that we may get all types of food (cereal, pulse, oil, vegetable, fruits, fish, and livestock). Due to his dynamic efforts and future guidelines at that time (1972-1975); today Bangladesh has not only achieved food security but also became a role model for agricultural development globally. Through his ideology and principles Bangladesh is moving rapidly forward to become a developed country by 2041
Seeds infection of Fusarium moniliforme in different Rice varieties grown in mid-hills of Nepal
Get PDFFusarium moniliforme is one of the important seed-borne fungi responsible for foot rot disease in rice. The study was conducted at the Plant Pathology Division of NARC, Khumaltar from July- December 2019 to find out the level of seed infection of F. moniliforme in different varieties of rice from mid-hills of Nepal. A total of 20 seed samples of different varieties of rice with 240 seeds of each sample were tested following a deep-freeze blotter method distributing 80 seeds per replication and maintaining 3 replications. Seed to seedling transmission test was carried out under screen house conditions. Two hundred seeds of each highly infected five varieties from laboratory test data were planted in eight pots, twenty-five seeds per pot, and categorized into four replications. Component plating was done to determine the location of F. moniliforme infection in a seed. Data analysis was done using STAR at a 5% level of significance. There was a significant difference among all the varieties. The highest incidence of F. moniliforme infection was found in seeds of Khumal-9 variety and lowest in Fan-10 variety. From seed to seedling transmission test, Khumal-4 variety was found highly susceptible to foot rot among the 5 varieties planted. Transmission percentage of disease from seed to seedling was found ranging from 16.19-72.31%. Equally, Component plating concludes that seed coat, as well as endosperm, was the location of F. moniliforme infection in rice seed. Foot rot being one of the serious diseases of rice at present time researches should be done more on this for its effective management and control. Seed health status testification before taking seeds to the field should be done so that timely control like seed treatment could be applied to control the outbreak of the disease in the field
A review on the role of emerging anthropogenic activities in environmental degradation and emphasis on their mitigation
Get PDFEnvironmental degradation is the deterioration of natural resources such as air, water, soil, flora, fauna, and all other living and non-living component of the planet earth. There are two main reasons for environmental degradation i.e. anthropogenic causes like industrialization, overpopulation, deforestation, mining, etc. and natural causes like flood, landslide, desertification, temperatures, etc. Nowadays, the demand for natural resources is increase due to the exceeding population. To fulfill the demand of humans, over exploration of the natural resources in carrying out, due to this they are under pressure. The anthropogenic activities disturbed and degraded the environmental component such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. All the environmental component is linked together if one is disturbed than its disturbed the other one also. However, in this paper, we discussed the anthropogenic activities that affect the environmental component directly or indirectly and we also suggested the recommendation and mitigation measures to sustain the environmental component developed by the agencies and policymaker
Growth, yield and quality of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) in response to sowing date and phosphorus fertilization
Get PDFAn experiment was carried out to study the effect of date of sowing and level of phosphorus on the yield, yield components and seed protein content of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during November 2018 to March 2019 to study the influence of sowing date and phosphorous fertilization on the growth, yield and quality of faba bean (V. faba). Three date of sowing viz. 25 November, 5 December, 15 December and five levels of phosphorus viz., 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 kg P ha-1 were used in this experiment laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. At 60 DAS, 25 November sowing fertilized with 40 kg P ha-1 showed significant influence on all characters except dry matter production. Early sowing on 25 November produced the tallest plant (42.95 cm), highest number of branches plant-1 (8.31), number of pods plant-1 (49.87), 1000-seed weight (97.55 g), seed yield (1.21 t ha-1), stover yield (1.98 t ha-1) and seed protein content (31.54%) while the corresponding lowest values were recorded from late sowing on 15 December. The crop fertilized with 40 kg P ha-1 produced the highest number of branches plant-1 (8.33), number of pods plant-1 (49.05), 1000-seed weight (97.40 g), seed yield (1.33 t ha-1), stover yield (2.28 t ha-1) and seed protein content (38.17%) while control treatment (0 kg P ha-1) produced the lowest values of all parameters. In case of interaction, the highest number of pods plant-1 (58.42), seed yield (1.59 t ha-1), stover yield (2.44 t ha-1) and protein content in seeds (39.60) were recorded with 25 November sowing fertilized with 40 kg P ha-1 whereas the lowest seed yield (0.54 t ha-1), stover yield (1.32 t ha-1) and seed protein content (25.90%) were obtained from 15 December sowing along with control treatment. Therefore, early sowing (25 November) with 40 kg P ha-1 appears as the promising combination for higher yield and seed protein content of faba bean
Preliminary toxicity assessment of chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) on terrestrial snail (Helix aspersa)
Get PDFChromium and lead are among the major toxicants that have their own environmental concerns and are very harmful for living organisms even in small concentrations. The present study is performed to evaluate the acute toxicity potential of chromium and lead on terrestrial garden snail (Helix aspersa) at different concentration ranges from 1.0 mg/L to 20 mg/L at different exposure time. In determining acute toxicity, LC50 values after 24, 48, 72 and 96 h for both the metals were determined by probit statistical analysis method. Graphs also plotted between percent mortality and used concentrations to obtain regression equation and R2 values. The obtained median lethal concentration (LC50) for chromium were 15.13 mg/L, 12.88 mg/L, 6.76 mg/L and 4.027 mg/L for 24, 48, 72 and 96 h period of exposure, respectively. Similarly, for lead obtained LC50 values were 15.282 mg/L, 6.095 mg/L, 2.094 mg/L and 1.352 mg/L for 24, 48, 72 and 96 h period of exposure, respectively. The study signifies the role of these metals in causing metal stress which leads to variation in electrolytes and A/G (Albumin to Globulin) ratio. The analysis of obtained results revealed that chromium is less toxic to H. aspersa in comparison to lead at similar concentrations and exposure time. It is concluded that the present study is one of its own kind of approach which may contribute in developing standard protocols for determining preliminary toxicity assessment of different heavy metals
Present status and future prospects to safeguard Nepali citrus industry against Chinese citrus fly (Bactrocera minax Enderlein)
Get PDFUnlike other Tephrid flies, the Chinese citrus fly (Bactrocera minax Enderlein) is univoltine and oligophagous species strictly restricted to citrus fruits. It has been a serious threat to the citrus industry in China, Bhutan, India and Nepal causing up to 100% of fruit drop before the harvest. Citrus groves, especially tight-skinned cultivars, sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) in mid-hill districts like Ramechhap, Sindhuli, Dolakha, Kavre, Syangja, Gulmi, etc. have been threatened while in some pockets, lemon, acid lime, and mandarin have vanished due to the Chinese citrus fly (CCF). The driver behind the spread of this invasive pest seems to be poor research works on the phenology of the pest, ill-equipped management practices, flying nature of adult fly and easy movement of infested fruits. Therefore, with reviewing published data, this study aimed to figure out the most appropriate management technology for curbing the CCF and make comprehensive material for safeguarding the citrus industry in the future. Since Area-Wide Integrated Pest Management (AW-IPM) or Area-Wide Control Program (AWCP) was found to be an effective tool to control the CCF, individual practices are crucial to incorporate. Monitoring the pest with the lure of protein hydrolase (PH) and subsequently killing adults with attractive protein baits of 25% hydrolyzed protein + insecticide as lethal dinner is mentioned exceptionally better. In AWCP domestic practice: orchard sanitation is not so effective if the orchards are sloppy while shallow tillage adds less to the natural enemy mechanism of CCF pupae in the soil. Equally, we conclude that Sterile Insect Technology (SIT) is not so economical and the boons of natural enemies, parasitoid and entomo-pathogens against CCF, is yet to be exploited
Growth and yield of boro rice (Oryza sativa L.) in response to crop establishment methods and varieties
Get PDFPhysiological attributes and yield performance of high yielding varieties (HYV) of rice cultivars need to be assessed by crop establishment methods before promoting a suitable crop establishment method in Bangladesh. We, therefore, conducted an experiment to study the effects of crop establishment methods on the growth and yield of boro rice. The experiment comprised of two factors; factor A: methods of crop establishment viz., dry direct seeding, unpuddle transplanting, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and puddle transplanting; factor B: rice cultivars viz., BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan58, BRRI dhan74 and BRRI hybrid dhan3. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with three replications where method of crop establishment was assigned to the main plot and rice cultivar was assigned to the sub plots. Data were collected at different growth stages and at harvest. From the results, it was found that growth, yield and yield contributing characters were significantly influenced by crop establishment methods. The highest leaf area index (LAI), total dry matter and grain yield were found in puddle transplanting method. The highest grain yield was obtained in puddle transplanting method due to accumulation of maximum dry matter and production of highest number of effective tillers hill-1 and grains panicle-1. Among the varieties the highest grain yield was obtain in BRRI hybrid dhan3 due to highest number of grains panicle-1 and 1000-grain weight. The highest grain yield (6.21 t ha-1) was found in puddle transplanting with BRRI dhan28, while the lowest grain yield (2.80 t ha-1) was produced in dry direct seeding with BRRI dhan28. Therefore, puddle transplanting with BRRI dhan28 might be recommended due to best physiological performance and obtaining highest grain yield of boro rice
Interactive effects of soil salinity and water table depth on soil properties and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) production
Get PDFSoil salinity and water table are the most prevalent and widespread problems limiting crop productivity in irrigated agriculture. Our experiment aims to evaluate the effect of soil salinity and water table on some soil properties, growth, and yield of sorghum (variety Giza 15) grown along two successive seasons. Nine different sites were chosen, representing three levels of soil salinity (i.e. ECe < 4, 4-8 and 8-16 dS m-1). For each salinity level three water table were selected (i.e. shallow ≈ 55 cm, medium ≈ 80 cm and deep ≈ 120 cm). Results revealed that there are main considerable effects of salinity and water table on some soil properties. Increasing of salinity caused significant decreases in plant growth, weight of 1000 grains (g), protein content% and seed yield (t/ha) which decreased by 36.98%, 32.27%, 20.45%, 29.95 % and 57.46% respectively, when salinity increased from S1 to S3. On the other hand, decreasing of water table lead to improvement in all mentioned soil properties and plant growth. The results indicated that need to maintain low or moderate salinity and deep water table, which is essential for producing high sorghum grain yield with satisfactory quality
Weed management and crop performance of rice as influenced by different crop residues
Get PDFTo investigate the effect of different plant residues on weed inhibition and yield of transplant aman rice, an experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during June 2017 to December, 2017. The experiment comprised of three rice cultivars i.e. BR11, BRRI dhan34 and BRRI dhan49 and five different plant residues treatment viz., no crop residues (control), soybean, wheat, bishkatali and sorghum crop residues @ 2.0 t ha-1 of each. The experiment was laid out following randomized complete block design with three replications. Weed population and weed dry weight were significantly affected by cultivars and crop residues treatment. The highest percent inhibition of 58.31%, 46.84%, 66.85%, 66.94% and 57.6% was in Panikachu (Monochoria vaginalis), Shama (Echinochloa crusgalli), Chesra (Scirpus juncoides), Sabujnakful (Cyperus difformis) and Amrul (Oxalis corniculata), respectively caused by sorghum crop residues. The grain yield, as well as the yield contributing characters produced by BR11,was the highest among the studied varieties. The highest number of effective tillers hill-1 (8.41), number of grains panicle-1(118.08) and 1000-grain weight (20.54 g) were observed in sorghum crop residues. BR11 under sorghum crop residues @ 2.0 t ha-1 produced the highest grain (5.76 t ha-1) and straw yield (6.39 t ha-1). So, to reduce herbicide use in the present situation of Bangladesh, natural herbicide or crop residues like sorghum might be used as an alternative way for weed management for effective and sustainable rice production