By reducing the amount of water required for crop production through integrating breeding/ genetic engineering and agronomic approaches along with resource management; water productivity can be increased at field and basin level is a key strategy for achieving food security and water sustainability in a world with growing demands for the both. Also greater awareness of these options among growers and policymakers can encourage more cost-effective water management strategies that can free up water for other uses. However, appropriate management strategies to increase crop water productivity will vary regionally.
A field experiment was conducted during 2017-2018 at N. E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre of Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, to study effect of different integrated weed management practices on yield and economics of dry direct seeded rice in tarai region. Higher grain yield, biological yield, harvest index characters were recorded under pre emergence application of pendimethalin fb penoxsulam (PoE) fb 1HW 45 DAS at 25 cm spacing which was statistically at par with stale seed bed with shallow tillage fb application of pre-emergence application of pendimethalin fb 1 mechanical weeding (MW) with conoweeder at 25 DAS along with 1HW at 45 DAS, mulch fb penoxsulam (PoE) fb 1HW at 45 DAS, Sesbania line sowing with pre-emergence application of Pendimethalin fb 1 mechanical weeding fb 1HW at 45 DAS and stale seed bed with shallow tillage fb Sesbania line sowing fb pre-emergence pendimethalin fb brown manuring with 2,4-D at 500 g/ha fb1 HW at 45 DAS. Whereas, benefit cost ratio was found higher (2.1) under pre emergence application of pendimethalin fb penoxsulam(PoE) fb 1HW 45 DAS at 25 cm spacing which was statistically at par with stale seed bed with shallow tillage fb application of pre-emergence application of pendimethalin fb 1 mechanical weeding (MW) with conoweeder at 25 DAS along with 1HW at 45 DAS, mulch fb penoxsulam (PoE) fb 1HW at 45 DAS and Sesbania line sowing with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin fb 1 mechanical weeding fb 1HW at 45 DAS. From the study it can be concluded that above three integrated practices were same effective as recommended practice for controlling weed with higher return.
Crop residue management (CRB) is a global environmental, economic, and health concern. CRB, a common practice in developing countries, is a long-term agricultural waste management strategy. It harms air quality, soil health, and human well-being. It persists due to labor shortages, economic constraints, and limited access to alternative technologies despite its widespread negative consequences. CRB management includes surface retention, mulching, and farm mechanization are examples of on-field management methods; off-field methods include baling, livestock feed supplementation, composting, mushroom cultivation, biochar production, biogas generation, and industrial applications. Modern machinery, such as the Happy Seeder, enables zero-tillage farming and crop residue management. Long-term solutions are required to address this issue. An integrated approach is required to agricultural waste management, combining technological innovation with policy support and community engagement, to reduce the adverse effects of crop residue burning while promoting sustainable agricultural practices.
Background: Excessive and unbalanced chemical fertilization in crop husbandry has attracted much attention because of soil health issues, reducing crop quality, increasing production cost and environmental risks. Organic farming is perceived as the best-known alternative method and has numerous environmental benefits. “Vermiwash” is liquid manure extracted from earthworms rich-vermicompost containing soluble nutrients, growth hormones, enzymes and many micro-organisms. As a result, the purpose of this study was to see how vermiwash affected the production and quality of black gram. Methods: During the kharif 2018, a field experiment was set up in a randomized block design to assess the effect of nine vermiwash treatments prepared from different organic wastes like cow dung, buffalo dung, green and dry field wastes and their combinations on growth, yield attributes and yield, nutrients and protein content of organic black gram (var. PU-31) and biochemical properties of vermiwash. Result: The neutral to slightly alkaline pH (7.72), E.C. (1.39 dSm-1) and maximum nutrients content, greatest average microbiological count (total number of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes) and enzyme activity (acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and dehydrogenase) were significantly found in treatment (T1) among the various vermiwash treatments at 35 days after collection. Moreover, the foliar application of vermiwash treatment (T1) significantly recorded highest growth, seed yield, nutrients and protein content. Based on-field results, it is possible to infer that treatment T1 (foliar spray in two equal split applications at a rate of 10% at the onset of flowering and 15 days following the first spray) is a better fertilizer practice for organic black gram cultivation.
Abstract Agriculture has neglected silicon (Si) fertilization due to the widespread belief that soil has enough of Si and it is beneficial under any kind of biotic or abiotic stress, often neglecting its usefulness under optimum and stress-free conditions. A two-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of foliar spray of orthosilicic acid (OSA) on the growth, yield, nutrient content, and quality of fodder maize. The experiment was conducted in Zaid season at the Research Farm of Agronomy Section, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India. Seven treatments with different concentrations of OSA (0.05%, 0.10%, 0.15%, 0.20%, 0.25%, and 0.30%) were applied along with the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF). RDF without OSA application was used as control. The results showed that OSA application significantly improved green fodder yield (GFY) and dry fodder yield (DFY). The concentration of 0.25% OSA resulted in the highest GFY (53.63 t ha − 1 ) and DFY (13.35 t ha − 1 ), which were 10.6% and 45.3% higher than the control, respectively. The application of OSA also positively influenced growth parameters such as crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), dry matter accumulation (DMA), leaf:stem ratio, and physiological parameters including SPAD (chlorophyll content), relative water content (RWC%), and leaf area index (LAI). OSA foliar spray improved the nutrient content and uptake in fodder maize. Nitrogen (N%), potassium (K%), and calcium (Ca%) concentrations were significantly increased with OSA application, while phosphorus (P%) concentration remained unaffected. The uptake of N, P, K, and Ca was also significantly higher in the OSA-treated plots, with the 0.25% OSA treatment showing the highest nutrient uptake. OSA application recorded higher dry matter (DM%), crude protein (CP%), total ash (TA%), and lower neutral detergent fiber (NDF%), and acid detergent fiber (ADF%). Economic analysis revealed that OSA at 0.25% concentration resulted in the highest gross return, net return, and benefit-cost ratio (B:C), indicating its economic viability. Therefore, foliar spray of OSA, at 0.25% concentration, improved the growth, yield, nutrient content, and quality of fodder maize. This study highlights the potential of OSA as a beneficial foliar spray for enhancing production and quality of fodder maize.
Optimizing nutrient management strategies is crucial for enhancing the growth, yield, and nutritional quality of fodder maize (Zea mays) while minimizing environmental impacts. This study investigated the effects of innovative nitrogen (N) and zinc (Zn) management approaches on fodder maize production. Different combinations of nitrogen fertilizers, including conventional urea and nano-urea, were applied in conjunction with targeted foliar sprays of zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) and nano-zinc. The experiment was carried out in a Factorial Randomized Block design with four nitrogen management strategies (control N, 100% recommended nitrogen dose RDN through urea, 50% RDN through urea + two sprays of nano-urea at six and ten leaves stages, and 33.33% RDN through urea + two sprays of nano-urea at six and ten leaves stage) and four zinc management strategies (control Zn, soil application of ZnSO4, foliar application of ZnSO4, and foliar application of nano-Zn) which were replicated thrice. The study revealed that applying 50% of RDN through urea, along with dual foliar sprays of nano-urea, achieved comparable productivity to the 100% RDN through urea only. Among the Zn managements, both foliar and soil applications of conventional ZnSO4 recorded similar green and dry fodder yields, although foliar application of ZnSO4 was observed to be superior in terms of qualitative attributes. Maize subjected to the integrated nitrogen and zinc management strategy exhibited elevated protein content and reduced fiber fractions. These findings highlight the potential of nano-urea and foliar zinc application in enhancing both productivity and nutritional quality, while reducing dependence on conventional chemical fertilizers.
A field experiment was conducted during 2017-2018 at N. E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre of Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, to study the integrated weed control option for dry Direct seeded Rice under irrigated ecosystem. Study reveals that stale seed bed with shallow tillage with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin followed by 1 mechanical weeding (MW) with conoweeder at 25 DAS along with 1HW at 45 DAS, Mulch followed by penoxsulam (PoE) followed by 1HW at 45 DAS, Sesbania line sowing with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin followed by 1 MW followed by 1HW at 45 DAS and Stale seed bed with shallow tillage followed by Sesbania line sowing supplemented with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin followed by brown manuring with 2,4-D followed by 1 HW at 45 DAS resulted lowed weed density (gassy, BLWs and sedges), weed biomass accumulation and higher WCE (%) i.e. 90.2, 89.7, 89.3 and 88.1 respectively which were similar to recommended practice under 25 cm row to row spacing i.e. pre-emergence application of pendimethalin followed by post emergence application of penoxsulam supplemented with 1 HW at 45 DAS. Higher benefit cost ratio was recorded under stale seed bed with shallow tillage with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin followed by 1 mechanical weeding (MW) with conoweeder at 25 DAS along with 1HW at 45 DAS, mulch followed by penoxsulam (PoE) followed by 1HW at 45 DAS and Sesbania line sowing with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin followed by 1 MW followed by 1HW at 45 DAS. From the study it can be concluded that above three integrated practices were same effective as recommended practice for controlling weed with higher return.
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