Journal of Applied and Natural Science
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Effect of nitrogen and plant growth regulators on seed yield per plant and seed quality parameters in brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)
Get PDFThe present investigation on effect of nitrogen [N0 (Control), N1 (50 kg N/ha), N2 (100 kg N/ha), and N3 (150 kg N/ ha)] and plant growth regulators [G0 (Control), G1 (50 ppm GA3), G2 (50 ppm NAA) and G3 (500 ppm Cycocel)] on seed yield per plant and seed quality parameters in brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) cv. GJB 3 was carried out at the Instructional Farm, Department of Agronomy, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh during kharif 2015-16. The experiment was laid out in field as per randomized block design (Factorial) with three replications. The seed harvested from 16 different treatments combinations replicated thrice from the field were analyzed in the laboratory following completely randomized design (factorial) for various seed quality parameters. Application of nitrogen @ 150 kg N/ha recorded significantly (P<0.05) highest seed yield per plant, shoot fresh weight, root dry weight, shoot dry weight and vigour index – 2 (mass), while application of 100 kg N/ha resulted in significantly (P<0.05) highest germination percentage, root length, shoot length, root fresh weight and vigour index – 1 (length). Application of GA3 at 50 ppm recorded significantly the highest seed yield per plant, germination percentage, root length, shoot length, root fresh weight, shoot fresh weight, root dry weight, shoot dry weight, vigour index – 1 (length) and vigour index – 2 (mass). Among the 16 different treatment combinations, nitrogen @ 150 kg/ha and GA3 50 ppm noted the maximum seed yield per plant, shoot dry weight and vigour index – 2 (mass), while significantly the maxi-mum germination percentage, root length, shoot length, root fresh weight, shoot fresh weight and vigour index – 1 (length) were registered in treatment combination nitrogen 100 kg N/ha and GA3 @ 50 ppm. Therefore, it is advised that application of 100-150 kg of N/ha as a nitrogenous fertilizer and spray GA3 @ 50 ppm (G1) at 45 days after transplanting helps in increasing the seed yield per plant and seed quality parameters in brinjal seed production
Boron availability in relation to some important soil chemical properties in acid soils of Cooch Behar district, West Bengal
Get PDFIn the present study, we investigated the distribution of soil available boron and its relationship with some soil properties in the samples collected from different locations in acidic alluvial soils of Cooch Behar district in West Bengal during 2013-2014. For the study about two hundred fifty (250) georeferenced surface soil samples covering 11 blocks of the districts were collected with the help of a global positioning system (GPS). The soil results revealed that pH of the analyzed samples varied from 4.91-7.28 (mean value 5.68) which indicated that soils of the district were in the acidic to slightly acidic in reaction. Organic carbon content of the soils varied from 0.42 to 1.62 % with a mean value of 0.96 % and about 93.7 % of the samples were high whereas about 5.2 and 1.2 % of the samples analyzed were in medium and low category, respectively. Results also indicated that the available B content in the soils of the districts ranged from 0.04 to 3.87 mg kg-1 with a mean value of 0.51 mg kg-1 and about 38.26 % soil samples were classified under low, whereas, 3.58 and 0.35 % samples were categorized as medium and high in available B content. It was further indicated that the content of available B in soil was positively correlated with organic carbon (r = 0.170**) and negatively correlated with pH (r = -0.021). Organic carbon status was also found to be positively and non significantly correlated with soil pH (r = 0.062). The results of the study would be immensely helpful for the extension workers to recommended B application considering pH and organic carbon status in acidic soils of the district for a profitable crop production
Design, development and demonstration of a Shallow solar tunnel dryer for non-electrified areas
Get PDFThis paper presents the design, construction and performance evaluation of a shallow solar tunnel dryer for agro and industrial products. In the shallow solar tunnel dryer, there are three separate units viz.: an air heating unit, drying unit and air diversion unit. Total area of the solar tunnel dryer was 21 m². The heated air from a separate solar air heating zone is passed through a product bed, and at the same time, the drying tunnel bed absorbs solar energy directly through the transparent UV stabilized plastic sheet used as covering material. This dryer was not required any external sources of the power to operate the electrical fan. The system was designed to operate at a temperature of 50 to 60oC. The system was installed at the institute and initial testing was conducted. After that the system was also demonstrated at the actual potential user’s site. The results obtained during the test period revealed that the temperatures inside the tunnel drying zone and solar air heating zone were much higher than the ambient air temperature during most hours of the day-light. The temperature rise inside the drying tunnel was up to 67.4°C at peak hour’s period (noon). The drying rat e and thermal efficiency of the collector were 1.73 kg/h and 26.0% respectively. The high outlet temperature indicated the scope of loading the dryer further
A study of infection stages among anemic, non-anemic children and women living in rural areas of Ludhiana district of Punjab, India
Get PDFThe effect of iron deficiency on infection stages in 312 women (15-45 years) and 312 children (6-59 months) belonging to the families of agricultural labourers and of small and marginal farmers residing in rural areas of Ludhiana district of Punjab was assessed. The blood hemoglobin levels were below normal in 50.64% of women and 55.77% of children. No significant difference in the mean values of C-Reactive protein (CRP) and Alpha-1acid glycoprotein (AGP) was observed among non-anemic and anemic women and children, however the average total leukocyte count was significantly (p?0.01) higher in anemic as compared to non-anemic women and children. CRP indicating acute stage of infection was raised in 10.58% of women while AGP representing chronic infection was higher in 8.65% of the women. The CRP values were high in 7.7% in children, however AGP values were higher in 23.4% of the children. On the basis of combined levels of CRP and AGP, 11.7% of non-anemic and 15.3% of anemic women were detected with infections while 18.8% of non anemic and 26.0% of anemic children were in infection state. The results suggest that iron deficiency is quite frequent in children and women. The blood picture showed that more number of anemic women and children were in acute or chronic infection stages as compared to non-anemics, hence, a comprehensive research on the role of iron deficiency anemia in immunity is needed as lower immunity is one of the significant factor of malnutrition which is the most important nutritional challenge for the global community
Integrated approach for the management of white grub and collar rot in groundnut (Arachishypogaea L.) in South West Haryana
Get PDFField experiments were conducted at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bawal (Rewari), Haryana during Kharif seasons of 2011 and 2012. Fifteen treatments including three insecticides, one fungicide, three antagonists, one amendment and one neem formulation were evaluated in sole and combination treatments as seed dresser whereas chlorpyriphos 20 EC and poultry manure were incorporated in soil to find out effective combination for control of collar rot and white grub of groundnut. Minimum disease incidence 0.3 and 0.7 per cent and white grub infestation 1.2 and 1.5 per cent was recorded during 2011 and 2012 with seed treatment of chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 25 ml/kg seed + PM 4 @ 10 ml/kg seed + captan 3g/kg seed followed by imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 7 ml/kg seed and chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 25 ml /kg seed + Bacillus thuriengensis@ 10 ml/ kg seed + captan 3 g/kg seed. The yield was significantly (at 5% level) low (7.10 q/ha during 2011 and 6.8 q/ha during 2012) in control as compared to chlorpyriphos 20 EC + PM-4 + captan treatment (20.20 q/ha during 2011 and 19.80 q/ha during 2012) which ranked at first place. The seed treated with imidacloprid 17.8 SL 7 ml /kg seed also produced good yield in both the years and was rated as second best treatment followed by chlorpyriphos + Bacillus thurengiensis+ captan. The results obtained herein provide the foundation for an effective and sustainable programme of management for groundnut white grub and collar rot. Integrated approach having chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 25 ml/ kg seed, Pseudomonas maltophilia(PM4) @ 10 ml/kg seed and captan 3 g/kg seed was found to be most effective for control of collar rot and white grub infestation in ground nut
Fast protocol for high frequency in vitro cloning of Banana (Musa acuminata) cv. Grande Naine
Get PDFAn investigation was conducted on Fast Protocol for High Frequency in vitro cloning of Banana (Musa acuminata) cv. Grande Naine at the Biotechnology-cum-Tissue Culture Center, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, during the year 2012. This has helped to determine the best media compositions for shoot multiplication and rooting of cv. Grande Naine, so as to get optimum results with a minimized cost of production. MS medium supplemented with 4.0 mg/1 Benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 2.0 mg/1 Kinetin gave the highest number of shoot/explants (11.33) in 30 days. However, MS medium when supplemented with 6.0 mg/1 BAP produced a maximum number of leaves (19.07) with a maximum height 2.73 cm. Among various concentrations of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) for rooting. Half MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/1 IBA was found to be ideal for early rooting and producing more number of roots in 21 days. However, MS basal medium was found to be the best treatment to support the formation of long roots. This protocol can be very useful to the future research worker and as well as entrepreneurs for mass production of banana (Musa acuminata) cv. Grande Naine
Effect of potassium and zinc on growth, yield and economics of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cv. CO-34
Get PDFA field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different levels of potassium and zinc on growth, yield and economics of sweet potato. The experiment was laid out on clay and loam soil by adopting randomized block design with factorial technique (FRBD). The sixteen treatments consisted of combination of four levels of po-tassium (0, 80, 100 and 120 kg/ha through muriate of potash and four levels of foliar zinc (control i.e. water spray, 10, 20 and 30ppm) through zinc sulphate. The individual application of potassium 120 kg K2O/ha significantly in-creased the number of tubers per plant (4.60), average weight of tuber (275.31 g), length of tuber (16.77 cm), diam-eter of tuber (5.69 cm), tuber yield per plot (9.71 kg), tuber yield per hectare (49.04 t) respectively as compared to control. With the foliar application of zinc (30 ppm) significant increase in number of tubers per plant (4.18), average weight of tuber (234.73 g), length of tuber (18.12 cm), diameter of tuber (5.16 cm), tuber yield per plot (8.33 kg) and tuber yield per hectare (42.05 t) was recordedas compared to control. The treatment combination (120 kg K2O+30ppm Zn) recorded the maximum yield parameters i.e. chlorophyll content (37.00 mg/100 g), average weight of tuber (302.17 g), length of tuber (19.82 cm), diameter of tuber (5.97 cm), maximum tuber yield per plot (11.02 kg), tuber yield per hectare (55.67 t) and benefit-cost ratio (B: C ratio) of 4.22:1.While, the treatment (120 kg K2O+30ppm Zn) had the maximum number of tuber (4.86), minimum number of tuber was recorded in control. From the experi-ment, it appeared that application of potassium and zinc can be used to improve yield and higher net monetary re-turns of sweet potato
Performance of high yielding drought tolerant varieties of maize and in situ moisture conservation techniques in Kandi region of Punjab, India
Get PDFIn the present investigation, 87 front line demonstrations (FLDs) of maize were conducted on farmers’ fields to demonstrate the impact of high yielding drought tolerant varieties (JH 3459, Parkash and PMH 1) and in situ moisture conservation techniques (ridge sowing, sowing across the slope, summer ploughing and earthing up) on production and economic benefits in Kandi region of Punjab state during kharif seasons from 2011 to 2013 under rainfed situation. The improved production technologies recorded additional yield ranging from 29.7 to 47.6 q/ha with a mean yield of 37.1 q/ha and 24.4 to 42.6 q/ha with a mean yield of 32.7 q/ha for drought tolerant varieties and in situ moisture conservation techniques, respectively. The per cent average increase in yield of drought tolerant varieties over local cultivars was 35.8, while 15.6 for in situ moisture conservation techniques.The average extension gap, technology gap and technology index were 9.8& 4.4 q/ha, 3.7& 6.1q/ha and 9.1& 16.7 per cent, respectively in drought tolerant varieties and in situ moisture conservation techniques. FLDs recorded higher mean net returns i.e. Rs. 36,292 and 28,234 per ha. with B:C ratio of 2.53 and 2.17 for drought tolerant varieties and in situ moisture conservation techniques, respectively. The FLDS conducted revealed that availability of suitable high yielding variety and lack of knowledge about improved production technologies is the main bottleneck in maize production, enhancement of yield and knowledge of the farmers. Hence, the productivity of maize can be increased by adoption of the recommended management practices and the study resulted in convincing the farming community about potentialities of the recommended production technologies in yield enhancement
Development and evaluation of plastic based solar still for production of distilled water
Get PDFSolar still was developed and evaluated at Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Dediapada. The average yield of distilled water in developed solar still varied from 1055-1498 ml/m 2 -day during winter and summer where as in already developed still varied 1350 to 1550 ml /m 2 day . Thermal efficiency of developed solar still was found as 20 per cent .The physicochemical analysis was carried out to examine the effect of distillation on tap water. A drastic reduction in the TDS, Chlorides, Calcium hardness and magnesium hardness, dissolved silica was observed through solar distillation. The payback period of the unit was only 6 months and after that period the unit produced net profit. The manufacturing cost of this developed solar still was only Rs. 1640/- which was totally manufactured in plastic material so no any corrosive material came in contact for changing the property of distilled water as output. Cleaning of solar still could be easily carried out by just removing the w shape dome of developed device which cannot be possible in available solar still in market
Scanning electron microscopic studies of Beauveria bassiana against Lipaphis erysimi Kalt
Get PDFThis work was aimed to identify the LC50 of the indigenous fungal isolates for controlling L. erysimi infesta-tion in mustard aphid besides to probe the mechanism of action of the local isolates and comparison of the efficacy with the reference culture and commercial formulation ‘Mycojaal’. Three isolates of entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana were tested for infection on nymph of Lipaphis erysimi Kalt. using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to record any variation. The SEM revealed adhesion of spores of B.bassiana followed by penetration of L.erysimi nymph surface. It was observed that all Beauveria isolates showed little variation with respect to penetration and adhesion at different time intervals. Further, lethal concentration (LC50) values of B. bassiana isolates against L. erysimi was recorded and was lowest (0.05x107 spores/ml) in B. bassiana MTCC 4495 and highest (0.11.X107 spores/ml) was recorded in native isolate F10 after 120 hours of treatment. The study has established the need for the isolation and evaluation of the indigenous Beauveria isolate. Moreover, it also exhibited the efficacy of the reference and commercially available biocontrol agents