102

SCIENTISTS JOINED AS LIFE MEMBER OF SOCIETY OF KRISHI VIGYAN

202. Anuradha Ranjan Kumari, I/C Programme Co-ordinator, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Malahana, Post Office, Bankata Mishra, Deoria-274 506 (Uttar Pradesh)

203. Chandra Kumar Singh, Subject Matter Specialist (Agronomy), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tawang-790 104 (Arunachal Pradesh)

204. Kanwaljit Singh Sandhu, Post Graduate Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College, Amritsar-143 002 (Punjab)

205. Kaushal Arvindbhai Prajapati, Subject Matter Specialist (Animal Science),Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kheda 387 411 ( Gujarat)

206. Laxmipriya Pradhan, Scientist, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Keonjhar, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar - 751 001 (Odisha)

207. Manoj Kumar Singh, Subject Matter Specialist (Horticulture), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, East Kameng 790 102 (Arunachal Pradesh)

208. Nilesh Biwalkar, Assistant Professor (Soil and Water Engineering), Department of Soil and Water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141 001(Punjab)

209. Pankaj Prakash Patil, Scientist ( Plant Protection), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dhule-424 001 (Maharashtra)

210. Rakesh Thakur, Extension Specialist (Veterinary/Animal Science), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mandi at Sundernagar-175 019 (Himachal Pradesh)

211. Sandeep Kumar, Subject Matter Specialist (Plant Protection) Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jaunpur, Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Faizabad-224 229 (Uttar Pradesh)

212. Soibam Peter Singh, Senior Research Fellow, ICAR- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hayuliang 792 104 (Arunachal Pradesh)

213. Somendra Nath, Subject Matter Specialist (Agronomy) Krishi Vigyan Kendra,Jaunpur, Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Faizabad-224 229 (Uttar Pradesh)

214. Tara Shankar Mishra, Subject Matter Specialist (Horticulture),Krishi Vigyan Kendra, West Kameng-790 114 (Arunachal Pradesh)

215. Tarun Kumar Das, Subject Matter Specialist (Agricultural Extension) Krishi Vigyan Kendra, ICAR, Tura, West Garo Hills, Meghalaya-794 104 ( Meghalaya)

216. Vikramsinh Ingale, Ph.D Scholar, Dept. of Agricultural Process Engineering, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri- 413 722 (Maharashtra)

217. Vipul Manohar Vasave, Scientist ( Animal Science and Dairy Science), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dhule-424 001 (Maharashtra)

1

INTRODUCTIONThe major groundnut growing districts of

Tamil Nadu are Thiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Vellore, Namakkal, Salem, Erode, Pudukottai and Kancheepuram districts which constitute 64.9 per cent of the area under groundnut in the state. In district Pudukkottai about 23.4 percent of the gross area sown is rain fed. Black soil, Red loamy, Sandy coastal Alluvium and Red sandy soil are major soil type in the district. The total annual rainfall occurred was 633.1 mm during 2013-14 against the normal rainfall of 887.4 mm for the district. The annual precipitation is very low with 254.3 mm, out of which 8.1 mm is received in winter, 135.7 mm in hot weather, 286.5 mm in southwest monsoon and 202.8 mm in northeast monsoon.

Groundnut is mostly grown as kharif crop and sulphur is considered as the fourth essential

Assessment of Sulphur Oxidising Bacterial Inoculums on Groundnut Yield in Pudukkottai District of Tamil Nadu

Noorjehan A K A Hanif1 and V Krishnamoorthi2

ICAR Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Vamban colony, Pudukkottai -622 303 (Tamil Nadu)

ABSTRACTAn on farm research entitled “Assessment of Sulphur Oxidising Bacterial (SOB) inoculums on groundnut yield” was conducted during 2014-2015 to improve the sulphur availability to groundnut which in turn directly contribute to higher pod yield. The technologies compared in this study were farmer friendly and cost effective. The field experiment was laid out in five replications at five locations with three treatments in Aranthangi block of Pudukkottai district. The treatments were T1: Farmers’ Practice i.e. No application of sulphur nutrition, T2: Gypsum application at flowering stage @ 400Kg/ ha and T3 : Seed treatment with Sulphur Oxidising bacterial inoculums @ 1kg/ha and Rhizobium @ 1kg/ha and soil application of SOB @ 5kg/ha on 45 DAS + Gypsum 400kg/ha. The results revealed that the treatment T3 recorded significantly higher yield (2109.6 kg/ha) compared with T2 (2012.6 kg/ha) and T1 (1962.4 kg/ha) with more number of pods per plant (39.4), shelling percentage (71.8 %), higher benefit to cost ratio (BCR) and improved soil sulphur content after the harvest of the groundnut crop. Hence it was inferred that under micro level situation, use of sulphur oxidising bacterial inoculums certainly improve soil sulphur nutrition that result in sustainable higher yield. Key Words: Groundnut, Soil sulphur, SOB, Rhizobium, Gypsum, Pod yield.

nutrient next to nitrogen (N),phosphorus (P) and potash(K). However, its wide spread deficiency in soils and consequent losses on crop productivity have been reported during last three decades due to the continuous use of sulphur free fertilizers and intensive cultivation with high yielding varieties (Sakal et al 2000). So, the crop have become increasingly dependent on the soil to supply the sulphur that they need for the synthesis of proteins and a number of essential vitamins and co- factors (Kertesz and Mirleau, 2004). The soil microbial biomass is the key driving force behind all sulphur transformations. The biomass acts as both a source and sink for inorganic sulphate. They make available sulphate from element or any reduced forms of sulphur, through oxidation process in the soil. Use of sulphur oxidizers enhance the natural oxidation and speed up the production of sulphates. Bio inoculants are most often made by incorporation

Corresponding Author’s Email: noorjehantry@gmail.com 1. Asstt. Prof. (Agril. Ext) TNAU, ICAR, KVK, Vellore2. Asst. Prof. (Hort.) TNAU, Agril College & Research Instructor, Madurai

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of the microbial inoculums into solid carrier, which provides a convenient base for packing and facilitates application and use of the product.

Most Sulphur containing minerals are metal sulphides and the best known is perhaps pyrite. The most common SO42- containing mineral is gypsum. Plants grown on S-deficient soils have suppressed development of reproductive organs that, in rapeseed, can even lead to pod abortion. Reproductive growth and the proportion of the reproductive tissues in total dry matter are significantly increased by the application of S during pod development. The presence of S maximizes the seed and oil yield of other plants (Ahmad et al 2007).

Biological N2-fixation, nodulation and yield of peanut crop are reduced with sulphur deficiency (Varin et al 2010). Therefore, an on farm research was carried out with application of Sulphur Oxidising Bacterial (SOB) inoculums on growth and yield of groundnut during 2014-2015. The main objective of the study was to improve the soil sulphur availability to groundnut growing belt of Pudukkottai district which in turn contributes to higher pod yield.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe operational area of the study was five

operational villages having higher area under groundnut cultivation in Aranthangi block of Pudukkottai district. A baseline survey was conducted in the villages and five farmers’ fields were selected located in five different hamlets of Maramadakki revenue panchayat. The field experiment was laid out at five locations with three treatments. The treatments were T1: Farmers’ Practice i.e. No application of sulphur nutrition, T2: Gypsum application at flowering stage @ 400kg/ ha and T3 : Seed treatment with Sulphur Oxidising bacterial inoculums @ 1kg/ha and Rhizobium @ 1Kg/ha and soil application of SOB @ 5kg/ha on 45 DAS + Gypsum 400kg/ha. Soil samples were collected for analysis of nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and sulphur content before sowing of the

groundnut. The farmers were provided with CO6 groundnut seeds @70 kg, SOB @ 1.2 kg, gypsum @ 160 kg and Rhizobium @200g to lay out T2 and T3. The T1 laid out by farmers themselves during kharif 2014 i.e. July II to IV week.

Method demonstration of seed treatment with SOB was performed at all the locations before sowing and ensured the correct usage and method. The various growth and yield parameters were recorded in five trials at each stage of seed treatment cum sowing, vegetative/pre flowering, flowering, pegging (second hand weeding and earthing up) and harvest stage. The groundnut crop was harvested during Oct-Nov. 2014. The data collected were tabulated for its growth and yield parameters. After the harvest of the crop, soil samples were collected from the fields. Both pre harvest and post harvest soil samples were got analysed for sulphur content from the Department of Soil Science, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore and the results were tabulated.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONPlant height and pod formation

It was found that in the first treatment T1 wherein the farmers had not given any application of sulphur nutrition, mean plant height recorded was highest (75.4 cm) followed by T3 (66.2 cm) and T2 ( 62.4 cm) (Table 1). The number of pods per plant recorded the highest in the treatment T3 (39.4) followed by T2 (33.4) and T1 (29.0). Hence, it can be said that lesser number of pods per plant might be due to unavailability of soil nutrition and /or inefficient utilisation of soil sulphur. The treatment T2 which included application of gypsum at peak flowering stage resulted in medium number of pods with moderate plant height. In T2 sulphur nutrition was given just before pegging / pod development stage and resulted in higher numbers of pods per plant in comparison to T1. In T3 sulphur nutrition was given both as seed treatment and soil application i.e. seed treatment of groundnut seeds with SOB and soil application of SOB and gypsum. The combined effect of sulphur nutrition through

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Hanif and Krishnamoorthi

3

seed treatment and soil application improved the seed vigour, germination, crop establishment, more number of pods and yield.

Yield, Shelling percentage and Benefit cost ratioThe data (Table 1) clearly showed that the

mean yield in treatment T1 recorded significantly lowest (1962.4 kg/ha) followed by T2 ( 2012.6 kg/ha) and T3 (2109.6 kg/ha). In treatment T1, pod yield was lowest obviously for the reason that no sulphur nutrition was provided to groundnut crop neither as seed treatment nor soil application. In T2 yield recorded was the second highest wherein one time soil application of gypsum was applied at peak flowering stage and sulphur was made available during pod initiation and development stage. The major reason for T3 to record highest mean yield was due to combined effect of sulphur nutrition by seed treatment with SOB and Rhizobium and soil application of SOB and gypsum. The Sulphur Oxidizing Bacterial (SOB) inoculums increased the vigour of seeds and soil sulphur availability to

plants enhancing more number of pods. The shelling percentage was also found higher in the harvested groundnut pods of T3 followed by T2 and T1.

It was observed that the gross cost variation among the treatments T1 and T2, T3 was meagre while net returns recorded wide variations due to increase in yield of groundnut pods in T2 and T3. The net returns per hectare for the treatments T1, T2 and T3 were Rs.26,880/-, Rs.34,726/- and Rs.37,948/-, respectively with highest net returns in T3. Further, the benefit cost ratio (BCR) for the treatments T1, T2 and T3 were 1.84, 1.97 and 2.06, respectively. Hence T3 was proved to be better than other treatments in terms of yield and BCR.

These findings were in line with Anandham and Sridar (2001) who used sulfur oxidizing bacteria pellets (25×106 CFU/g) at three different doses, viz., 20 kg, 40 kg and 60 kg ha-1 along with Rhizobium application as seed treatment and found that 60 kg pellets ha-1 with Rhizobium application produced the

Table 1. Growth and yield parameters of Groundnut under different treatments.Parameter T1 T2 T3 SEd CDPlant height (cm) 75.4 62.4 66.2 1.2 2.4Days taken for 50% flowering 37.0 35.0 35.0 0.9 1.8Number of pods /plant 29.0 33.4 39.4 0.9 1.8Yield (kg/ha) 1962.4 2012.6 2109.6 19.1 38.5Shelling (%) 68.4 70.2 71.8 0.4 0.9Gross returns (Rs) 32,000 35,800 35,800 - -Gross cost (Rs) 58,880 70,526 73,748 - -Net Return (Profit) (Rs. / ha) 26,880 34,726 37,948 - -Benefit Cost Ratio 1.84 1.97 2.06 - -

Table 2. Status of soil sulphur content before and after the groundnut crop.Sr. No

Replication Soil sulphur before sowing (ppm)

Soil sulphur after harvest of crop (ppm)

Percent increase in soil sulphur ( %)

1 R1 6.49 7.63 17.62 R2 6.40 7.19 12.33 R3 6.44 7.41 10.34 R4 6.39 7.16 12.15 R5 6.37 6.78 6.4

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Assessment of Sulphur Oxidising Bacterial Inoculums on Groundnut

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highest nodule number (136.3), nodule dry weight (0.74 g), pod yield (2,006 kg ha-1) and oil content (52%). It can thus be said that sulphur oxidizing bacteria can be used as a bio-fertilizer for groundnut to meet the requirement of sulphur nutrition.

Soil sulphur contentThe soil sulphur content in the soil was also

improved by the application of SOB inoculums (Table 2). The increase in soil sulphur before and after harvest of the groundnut crop in the five replications varied between 6.4 to 17.6 per cent . These variations may be due to differences in soil nutrient content, soil type and cultivation practices followed by farmers at the five locations. The overall inference was that application of SOB inoculums improved the soil fertility and soil sulphur content in the soil.

CONCLUSIONIt was concluded that the treatment T3 performed

well by giving higher yield (2109.6 kg/ha compared with T2( 2012.6 kg/ha) and T1(1962.4 kg/ha) with more number of pods per plant, higher BCR and improved soil sulphur content after the harvest of the groundnut crop. T3 was found significantly higher in comparison with T1 and T2 for growth and yield parameters viz., plant height, number of pods per plant, days taken for 50 per cent flowering, mean

yield and shelling percentage. Hence, under micro level situation, use of sulphur oxidising bacterial inoculums will improve soil sulphur nutrition and in turn higher yield of groundnut.

REFERENCESAhmad G A, Jan M, Arif M and Khattak R (2007). Influence

of nitrogen and sulphur fertilization on quality of canola (Brassica napus L.) under rainfed condition. Journal of Zhejiang University Science B 8: 731-737.

Anandham R and Sridar R (2001). Use of sulphur bacteria for increased yield and oil content of groundnut. In: Proceedings of the National Workshop on ‘Recent Developments in Biofertilizers for Rice Base Cropping System’, Coimbatore, India, 16-18 August 2001 and published in book entitled Biofertilizers technology 2004, pp. 365-371, ISBN 81-7233-359-5, edited by Kannaiyan S. Kumar K and Govindarajan K.

Kertesz M A and Mirleau P (2004). The role of soil microbes in plant sulphur nutrition. Journal of Experimental Botany 44: 1939- 1945.

Sakal R, Sinha R B, Singh A P, Bhogal N S and Ismail M D (2000). Influence of sulphur on yield and mineral nutrition of crops in maize and wheat. J Ind Soc Soil Sci 48: 325–29.

Varin S, Cliquet J B, Personeni E, Avice J C, Lemauviel-Lavenant S (2010). How does sulphur availability modify N acquisition of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) J Exp Bot 61(1): 225-234.

Received on 22/12/2015 Accepted on 18/03/2016

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INTRODUCTIONRice (Oryza sativa) belongs to family gramineae

and is a well-known cereal, because it is staple food for more than half of world population (Jamal et al 2009). It is grown in almost all continents of the world due to its wide adaptability to diverse agro-climatic conditions but mainly grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions of world. To feed that increasing population, 35 per cent more rice production will be required than present rice production (Kaur and Dhaliwal, 2014; The major rice production countries are China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Brazil, Philippine, Japan, Myanmar, U.S.A and Pakistan. Rice is the main food crop of India and contributing about 45 per cent of the total production and hence sustain sufficiency food in the country (Sharma et al 2011). It is the major kharif crop of India and ranks second after wheat in terms of area, production and productivity in Punjab state. In Punjab, rice currently occupies an area of 28.51 lakh hectare with production of 112.67 lakh tonnes

Comparative Performance of Different Varieties of Rice in Muktsar District of Punjab

Balkaran Singh Sandhu* and Nirmaljit Singh Dhaliwal

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sri Muktsar Sahib -152026 (Punjab)

ABSTRACTA field experiment was conducted during kharif 2013, 20 and 20 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sri Muktsar Sahib (Punjab), to find out the best suitable variety of rice for the area. PR 111, PR 114, PR 121, PR 122, PR 123 and PR 124 were the six different varieties tested under this experiment. Fifty Per cent flowering was earlier in variety PR 124 as compared to PR 111, PR 121 and PR 123 and was statistically at par with PR 114 and PR 122. However, among days taken to maturity, variety PR 111 matured earlier (139) and statistically differ from PR 121 (141), PR 124 (141.5) and PR 123 (143.7), PR 114 (145) and PR 122 (146.3). Variety PR 121 produced higher number of effective tiller (447.3/m2), which was statistically at par with PR 122 (441.7/m2) and PR 114 (435.3/m2) but significantly superior from PR 111 (414/m2), PR 123 (413.3/m2) and PR 124 (412.5/m2). Higher grain yield was recorded with variety PR 121 (79.3 q/ha), which was statistically at par with PR 124 (78.5 q/ha), PR 122 (77.3 q/ha) and PR 123 (77 q/ha) but was significantly superior from PR 111(68.5 q/ha), PR 114(71.5 q/ha). The varieties PR 121 and PR 124 produced higher yield and also matured in less time. So these two varieties are best suitable for the area.Key Words: Short duration, Tillers, Rice, Variety, Yield,

*Corresponding Author’s Email : balkaransandhu@gmail.com

with an average yield of 5.93 t ha-1 (Anonymous, 2015). District Sri Muktsar Sahib is also a major rice growing district of Punjab. Agricultural production is decreasing these days due to biotic and abiotic stresses. The major abiotic stresses are high salinity, drought, submergence and cold (Thakur et al 2010; Mantri et al 2012). Among all abiotic stresses, salinity is the major factor of restricting productivity of rice worldwide (Munns and Tester, 2008). Lot of water logged area is present in Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab and salt stress is increasing due to certain factors like climate change, excess canal water for irrigation without proper drainage. To avoid this problem development of rice varieties, which are high yielding and resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses must be included. Punjab Agricultural University recommended a number of high yielding rice varieties for cultivation in whole of Punjab state. These varieties gave different yield at different places. The soil and irrigation water of Sri Muktsar Sahib is totally different from whole

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DOI : 10.5958/2349-4433.2016.00002.7

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the Punjab state. The district contains high salinity and water logged area. Hence, the objective of present study was to evaluate the performance of short duration and high yielding varieties of rice in Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab.

MATERIALS AND METHODSA field experiment was conducted during kharif

seasons of 2013, 2014 and 2015 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sri Muktsar Sahib (Punjab), to find out the best suitable variety for the area. The experimental site is situated at 30°26′788″ North latitude and 74°30′523″ East longitude during kharif 2013, 30°26′778″ North latitude and 74°30′508 during kharif 2014 and at 30°26′722″ North latitude and 74°30′501″ East longitude″ during kharif 2015. The area is characterized by semi-arid type of climate with hot and dry early summers from April-June followed by hot and humid period during July-September and cold winters during December-January. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures show considerable fluctuations during different parts of the year. Summer temperature exceeds 38°C and may go up as high as 45°C with dry summer spells. The annual rainfall of the area is 430.7 mm, most of which is received during July to September (Anonymous 2011). The soil properties of the experimental fileds are given in Table 3. Wheat was grown as the previous rabi crop in these experimental plot during all the three years. PR 111, PR 114, PR 121, PR 122, PR 123 and PR 124 were the six different varieties tested under this experiment. PR 124 tested for two years but all other five varieties were tested for all the three years of the study. All the varieties were transplanted in the second fortnight of June and were harvested in the month of October according to the maturity of the variety during all the study period of three years. All the other agronomic practices were as recommended by PAU, Ludhiana. Nitrogen was applied in three equal splits, one third as basal, one third at 21 days after transplanting and remaining one third at 42 days after transplanting. Irrigations were applied according to the requirement of the

crop. The data on number of effective tillers per square meter, plant height, number of grains per panicle, 1000 grain weight and grain yield were collected through field observations. Collected data were further analyzed by using randomize block design.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONDue to increasing the depth of water table

of Punjab state, duration of rice cultivar is very important factor. In the pooled average of the three years the variety PR 124 produced earlier 50 per cent flowering (97.5), which was statistically at par with PR 111 (98), PR 121 (99) and PR 123 (99.7) but significantly earlier from PR 114 (103) and PR 122 (103.3). However, among days taken to maturity, the variety PR 111 matured earlier (139) as compared to other varieties (Table 2), which statistically differed from PR 121 (141), PR 124 (141.5) and PR 123 (143.7). Higher days taken for maturity were observed in PR 114 (145) and PR 122 (146.3). The plant height of different varieties differed non significantly (Table 2).

During kharif 2013, the number of effective tillers/m2 was higher in PR 121 (435/m2) followed by PR 122 (421/m2), and lower effective tillers were obtained in PR 114(412/m2) PR 111(410/m2) and PR 123 (402/m2), whereas, in kharif 2014, PR 114 (460/m2) and PR 122 (460/m2) produced higher effective tillers followed by PR 121 (452/m2) and PR 123 (422/m2). Lower effective tillers were obtained with PR 124 (412/m2) and PR 111 (412/m2) variety (Table 2). However, during kharif 2015, higher number of effective tillers were obtained with PR 121 (455/m2) followed by PR 122 (444/m2) PR 114 (434/m2) and PR 123 (426/m2). Lower effective tillers were obtained with PR 124 (413/m2) and PR 111 (422/m2) variety. In the pooled data the higher number of effective tillers per square meter were obtained in the variety PR 121 (447.3/m2), which was statistically at par with PR122 (441.7/m2) and PR 114 (435.3/m2) but significantly superior from PR 111(414/m2), PR 123(413.3/m2) and PR 124(412.5/m2). All the different varieties failed to

Sandhu and Dhaliwal

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Tabl

e 1

Eff

ect o

f diff

eren

t var

ietie

s on

dura

tion,

pla

nt h

eigh

t and

eff

ectiv

e til

lers

.

Vari

ety

Day

s tak

en to

50

% fl

ower

-in

gD

ays t

aken

to m

atur

ityPl

ant h

eigh

t (cm

)E

ffec

tive

tille

rs/m

2

2013

2014

2015

Aver

age

2013

2014

2015

Aver

age

2013

2014

2015

Aver

-ag

e20

1320

1420

15Av

er-

age

PR 1

1198

9799

98.0

140

139

138

139.

010

3.6

101

99.7

101.

441

041

242

241

4.0

PR 1

1410

510

010

410

3.0

145

145

145

145.

098

.810

3.7

105.

310

2.6

412

460

434

435.

3PR

121

101

9610

099

.014

314

014

014

1.0

102.

299

.310

1.3

100.

943

545

245

544

7.3

PR 1

2210

399

108

103.

314

714

614

614

6.3

103.

210

611

1.7

107.

042

146

044

444

1.7

PR 1

2310

099

100

99.7

144

143

144

143.

710

1.8

105.

310

410

3.7

402

422

426

413.

3

PR 1

24-

9699

97.5

-14

214

114

1.5

-10

0.3

112

106.

2-

412

413

412.

5

CD

(p=0

.05)

3.03

1.4

NS

18.6

Tabl

e 2

Eff

ect o

f diff

eren

t var

ietie

s on

grai

n yi

eld

and

yiel

d co

ntri

butin

g ch

arac

ters

.Va

riet

yN

o of

gra

ins /

pani

cle

1000

gra

in w

t (g)

Gra

in y

ield

(q/h

a)20

1320

1420

15Av

erag

e20

1320

1420

15Av

erag

e20

1320

1420

15Av

er-

age

PR 1

1113

312

515

313

724

.223

.424

.123

.965

.076

.564

.068

.5PR

114

142

114

158

138

24.6

24.8

24.5

24.6

70.6

72.0

72.0

71.5

PR 1

2114

013

714

013

925

.524

.624

.624

.976

.085

.576

.079

.3PR

122

146

115

150

137

26.1

24.4

23.8

24.8

75.5

83.3

73.3

77.3

PR 1

2314

712

814

614

024

.723

.825

.124

.578

.075

.877

.377

.0PR

124

-11

315

413

3-

24.6

25.2

24.9

-78

.878

.378

.5C

D (p

=0.0

5)N

SN

S6.

2

Comparative Performance of Different Varieties of Rice

J Krishi Vigyan 2016, 4(2) : 5-8

8

produce any significant effect on the number of grains per ear and 1000 grain weight (Table 3).

During kharif 2013, the grain yield was higher in variety PR 123 (78 q/ha) followed by PR 121(76 q/ha), PR 122 (75.5 q/ha), whereas in kharif 2014, PR 121 (85.5 q/ha) gave higher grain yield followed by PR 122 (83.3 q/ha), PR 124 (78.8 q/ha) and PR 111 (76.5 q/ha) but lower grain yield was obtained with PR 114 (72.0 q/ha). Similar results were obtained in kharif 2015, where higher grain yield was obtained with PR 124 followed by PR 121 and PR 122 and lower grain yield was obtained with PR 111 variety (Table 3). In the pooled data the higher grain yield was recorded with variety PR 121 (79.3 q/ha), which was statistically at par with PR 124 (78.5 q/ha), PR 122 (77.3 q/ha) and PR 123 (77 q/ha) but significantly superior than grain yield from PR 111(68.5 q/ha) and PR 114(71.5 q/ha).

CONCLUSIONThe varieties PR 121 and PR 124 produced

higher grain yield and also matured in less time. Hence, these two varieties are most suitable for Muktsar district of Punjab.

REFERENCESAnonymous (2011).Report of Central Ground water board,

Ministry of water resource. Government of India, North Western Region, Chandigarh

Anonymous (2015).Package of practices for cultivation of Kharif crops. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Jamal, Khalil I H, Bari A, Khan S and Zada I (2009). Genetic variation for yield and yield components in rice. ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science 4(6):60-64

Kaur A and Dhaliwal L K (2014). Growth parameters and yield attributing characters of PR-118 (V1) and PR-116 (V2) varieties of rice (Oryza sativa L.) as influenced by different planting methods. Journal of Applied & Natural Science 6 (2): 755 – 762.

Mantri N, Patade V, Penna S, Ford R and Pang E (2012). Abiotic stress responses in plants: present and future. In: Ahmad P, Prasad MNV (eds.) Abiotic stress responses in plants: metabolism, productivity and sustainability. Springer, New York, pp. 1-19.

Munns R and Tester M (2008).Mechanisms of salinity tolerance. Annual Review of Plant Biology 59: 651- 681.

Sharma A, Dhaliwal L K, Sandhu S K and Singh S (2011). Effect of plant spacing and transplanting time on phenology, tiller production and yield of rice (Oryza sativa L.)International Journal of Agricultural Science 7: 249-253.

Thakur P, Kumar S, Malik J A, Berger J D and Nayyar H (2010) Cold stress effects on reproductive development in grain crops: An overview. Environmental and Experimental Botany 67: 429-443.

Received on 03/02/2016 Accepted on 28/04/2016

Table 3 Soil characteristics of different experi-mental sites.

Parameter Kharif 2013

Kharif 2014

Kharif 2015

pH (1:2) 8.1 7.95 8.2

EC (dS m-1) 0.932 0.938 0.912

OC (%) 0.20 0.24 0.22

P (kg/ha) 15.2 17 14.0

K (kg/ha) 626.0 710 640

Soil texture Sandy loam Sandy loam

Sandy loam

Sandhu and Dhaliwal

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INTRODUCTIONGlobally, banana ranked fourth most important

crop after rice, wheat and corn. It is grown in more than 130 countries across the world in an area of 8.25Mha. producing 97.38 MT of banana and plantains. India is largest producer of banana in the world, contributing nearly about 25 per cent to the world production of banana with total production of 27.0 MT from an area of 0.77 million ha. Banana is a crop of tropics and subtropics requiring hot and humid climate. The most suitable climate for banana growth is one with warm moist weather throughout the year without strong winds. Bhattacharyya and Madhava Rao (1965) reported effect of climatic factors on growth of Robusta banana.

Favorable factors for banana production are rainfall in excess of 100 mm per month and the temperature range of 10 to 40o C (Sommonds1966). Both internal and external factors influence growth and production of the banana. The internal factors are genetically related characters of the variety while the external factors include climate, soil, pest and diseases. (Borges et al 2000).Weather is an important production factor in agriculture. Unfortunately, this production factor can hardly be controlled. In fact, weather risks are source of uncertainty in agriculture. The effects of weather

Correlation Study of Weather and Growth Parameters in BananaC D Badgujar

Banana Research Station, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Jalgaon – 425 001 (Maharashtra)

ABSTRACTWeather is an uncontrolled and important factor, the effect of which on banana is difficult to quantify under the field experiments. Phenological studies of the banana crop based on the meteorological data of last 30 years (1980 - 2009) was subjected for the correlation analysis and evaluated. The study indicated that the rainfall, relative humidity had positive correlation with the bunch weight but negative correlation with temperature. Significantly negative correlation of bunch weight was recorded with wind velocity, evaporation and sunshine hours. Key Words: Cavendish banana ,Rainfall, Temperature, Relative humidity, Wind velocity, Evaporation, Sunshine hours, Correlation.

can either lead to increase metabolism and disease and pests incidence in field environment.

The relationship between weather parameters and plant growth, durational and yield attributes in field crops as well as plantation crops have been reported by many research workers however, such type of information is limited in banana and plantain. For sustainability in banana production, response to changing climatic conditions is an important factor for consideration. Hence, this work was carried out to find out the correlation in between weather parameters and plant growth and yield attributes over a period of thirty years (1980-2009) at Banana Research Station, Jalgaon.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThirty years (1980-2009) data of annual averages

of weather parameters (rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, evaporation, and sunshine hours) was collected from the Oil Seeds Research Station, Jalgaon. The growth, duration and yield attributes data (plant height, plant girth, number of leaves, number of hands, number of fingers, days to flower, days to harvest, finger length, finger girth and bunch weight) of respective years was also collected from old records of Banana Research Station ,Jalgaon. The simple correlation

*Corresponding Author’s Email : badgujarcd@gmail.com

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has been worked out and tested its significance as per methods suggested by Panse and Sukhatme (1985).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONRainfall

The correlation coefficients of the weather parameters with the plant parameters are depicted in Table 1. The average annual rainfall of this area is 735 mm and the average rain fall of 30 years was recorded as764.1 mm. It was found that all the plant attributes were non- significantly correlated. Only two attributes viz. days for flowering and harvesting were negatively correlated whereas rest of attributes recorded positive correlation with rainfall. Rain fall recorded positive but week correlation with bunch weight. Similar results were reported by Pillai et al (1996).

TemperatureThe average maximum temperature of 30

years was 34.7 0C. Out of 10 attributes studied, five attributes exhibited negative correlation with maximum temperature whereas rest of the

attributes correlated positively. The days for flowering and harvesting recorded significantly positive correlation with maximum temperature. Bunch weight recorded very week and negative correlation with maximum temperature. All plant growth attributes were recorded non- significant correlation with minimum temperature. Out of 10 attributes, pseudo stem height and girth, number of fingers per bunch, finger length and girth and bunch weight recorded negative correlation, however rest were positively correlated. These results were in agreement with the findings of Pillai et al (1996) and Kothawade et al (1985).

Relative humidityThe average humidity of 30 years at morning

and evening was 88.11 and 40.6 per cent, respectively. All the plant attributes except number of leaves, days to flower and days to harvest recorded a negative correlation with morning relative humidity and for rest of the attributes it was positive. The days to flowering and harvesting exhibited the significant negative correlation with morning humidity. Relative humidity at evening

Table 1. Correlation coefficient of climatic parameters with banana.Banana Attributes Annual

rainfall(mm)

Temperature (0C) Relative Humidity(per cent)

WindVelocity(km/hr)

PanEvapora-

tion(mm)

Sun-shineHours

Max Min Morn. EvenPlant height (cm) 0.10 (- ) 0.08 (- )0.17 0.16 0.45* 0.50** (-)0.51** (-)0.34Plant girth (cm) 0.32 0.06 (- )0.03 0.28 0.35 (-)0.40* (-)0.42* (-)0.24No. of leaves/ plant 0.01 0.10 0.24 (- )0.20 (-)0.20 0.61** 0.53** 0.25No. of hands/bunch 0.27 (- )0.22 0.04 0.18 (-)0.01 (-)0.40* (-)0.45* (-)0.21No. of fingers/bunch

0.26 (- )0.29 (- )0.13 0.27 (-)0.20 0.47** (-)0.57** (-)0.22

Days to flower (- )0.15 0.38* 0.28 0.47** 0.48** 0.61** 0.58** 0.54**Days to harvest (-) 0.20 0.40* 0.18 0.53** 0.46* 0.70** 0.67** 0.48**Finger length (cm) 0.08 0.07 (- )0.22 0.09 0.64** 0.54** (-)0.41* (-)0.35Finger girth (cm) 0.15 (- )0.06 (- )0.33 0.23 l.41* 0.64** (-)0.60** (-)0.46*Bunch weight (Kg) 0.13 -0.01 (- )0.26 0.29 0.47** 0.63** (-)0.56** -0.37*

*, ** significant at 5% and 1% respectively

Badgujar et al

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have recorded significant positive impact on plant height, finger length, finger girth and bunch weight however, it was negative with the days to flowering and days to harvest. Similar results were recorded by Pillai et al (1996) and Kothawade et al (1985) and Turner (1971).

Wind velocity The average wind velocity of 30 years was

14.10 km/h. All the attributes of banana showed significant correlation with wind velocity. Of these, number of leaves, days to flower and harvest recorded significant positive correlation whereas rest of attributes were correlated negatively. These results were in agreement with Pillai et al (1996), Kothawade et al (1985) and Sommonds (1966).

Evaporation The average evaporation of thirty years was 10.6

mm. All the growth and yield parameters of banana have been significantly influenced by evaporation. The number of leaves, days for flowering, and harvesting were recording positive correlation; however it was negative for the rest of the attributes. Similar results were reported by Pillai et al (1996).

Sunshine hoursSunshine hours were also recorded significant

positive impact on days for flowering and harvesting however, it was significantly negative for finger girth and bunch weight. Bunch weight and finger girth was negatively correlated with sunshine hours.

CONCLUSION Weather is most important production

parameter in banana cultivation. In the present study the relationship between weather parameters and growth, durational and yield attributes was established by using the weather data for the last

30 years. It was found that majority the attributes were non significantly correlated with the rainfall and temperature, however, relative humidity, wind velocity, evaporation and sunshine hours were found to affect all the attributes of banana production significantly. Out of 10 attributes, half of the attributes exhibit correlation with temperature, whereas rest of attributes show positive correlations. Relative humidity recorded significant positive impact on all attributes but durational factors were found to be shown negative correlation with relative humidity. All the attributes show significant positive correlation with wind velocity except plant girth and number of hands per bunch, evaporation was found to impact most of attributes negatively, except the durational attributes. Sunshine had negative impact on most of attributes of banana production except the durational factors.

REFERENCESBorges A L, Soura L da S and Alves E L (2000). Banana, In Z

J M Cordeiro (ed). Banana.

Bhattacharyya R K and Madhava Rao V N (1965). Influence of meteorological parameters on the cropping of banana grown under soil covers and soil moisture regimes. Banana News letter 8 :7-8 ( August)

Kothawade D V, Mahajan P R , Sanghvi K U and Patil D R (1985).Effect of leaf area on the growth and yield of basrai banana. South Indian Hort 33(2):122-123.

Panse V G and Sukhatme P V (1985). Statistical methods for agricultural workers. ICAR, New Delhi (IV Edition)

Pillai P Balakrishna, Venugopalan K, Keshava Rao A V R and Lincy Devis P (1996). Crop weather relationship of rainfed banana under different times of plantings. Bananas :Eds: Singh H P and K L Chadha ,pp 317.

Sommonds N W (1966). Bananas ,2nd Ed. Longmans Green and Co., London. pp 512.

Turner D W (1971). Effect of climate on rate of banana leaf production. Trop Agric (Trinidad) 48 (3):283-287

Received on 08/09/2015 Accepted on 23/03/2016

Weather and Growth Parameters in Banana

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INTRODUCTIONAonla (Phyllanthus emblica L or Emblica

officinalis G) also known as Indian goose berry, Nelli, Amalkanu or Amla. Aonla cultivation is common in India particularly in Uttar Pradesh comprising of Rae Bareilly, Pratapgarh, Varanasi, Sultanpur, Kanpur, Agra and Mathura districts (Chadha, 2001). Its cultivation is increasing in dry land areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, its cultivation

Determination of Engineering Properties of Aonla (Phyllanthus emblica L or Emblica officinalis G) Fruits

Ingale V M1 , H G More and V P Kad

Department of Agricultural Process Engineering Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri – 413 722 ( Maharashtra)

ABSTRACTThe engineering properties of Aonla (Phyllanthus emblica L or Emblica officinalis G ) fruits are pre requisites in designing the equipments for handling, storage and processing of the aonla fruits. It is essential to determine the relevant characteristics of such fruits but this kind of properties appeared to be lacking in the literature. Hence this study was undertaken to determine some physical and mechanical properties such as size, shape, roundness, sphericity, volume, density, surface area and penetration force for the design of pricking machine for aonla fruits. The fruits of four Aonla cultivars namely Chakaiya, Kanchan, Krishna and Francis were used for this study. The fruits were cleaned with water to remove all dirt adhering to the fruits and the experiments were conducted at room temperature. All physical and mechanical parameters were studied for 10 fruits from each cultivar. The Fresh fruits were randomly selected for determination of physical properties. The shape of the Aonla fruits were found to be ranging from round to prolate. The size of the fruits was characterized using length, breadth and thickness i.e. major, intermediate & minor axis of Aonla fruits. The average volume of the fruits ranged from 31.565 to 42.809 cm3 and the average sphericity ranged from 0.954 to 0.995 whereas the range of the rolling resistance found to be 12.51 to 21.990. The range of fruit size was observed to be 3.10 to 4.47 cm. It was also observed that the volume was higher for the variety Francis with 42.809 cm3 followed by Kanchan, Krishna and Chakaiya with 37.565, 31.565 and 27.513 cm3, respectively. The maximum value of volume was found in Francis (84.245 cm3) and minimum in Chakaiya (31.115 cm3). The rolling resistances of the Aonla fruits of Chakaiya, Kanchan, Krishna and Francis varieties were found to be 19.167°, 18.890°, 16.384° & 14.653°, respectively. The maximum value of the rolling resistance was found in Chakaiya variety (21.990°) and minimum in Francis variety (12.310°). The penetration force required to penetrate into the fruits of Kanchan, Chakaiya, Krishna and Francis varieties of Aonla was found to 37.62, 26.29, 21.98 and 19.35 N, respectively. The maximum penetration force was found in Kanchan variety because of more compactness of the fruit and minimum in Francis variety.Key Words: Aonla, Physical properties, Mechanical properties, Cultivars.

is increasing in Pune, Nagar, Aurangabad, Akola and Amravati districts. The area under Aonla in India is 49,620 ha with 3.03 t/ha productivity. Maharashtra produces 2,960 MT of Aonla per annum (Anonymous, 2003). Some important cultivars recommended for commercial cultivation in North India are Banarasi, Bansi Red, Chakaiya Pesi, Hathijhool and Pink tinged (Bajpai and Shukla, 1985). Banarasi is recognized for its large size fruits .

Corresponding Author Email : vingale03@gmail.com1Ph.D. Scholar

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Aonla is considered as “Wonder fruit for health” because of its unique qualities. It has acquired wide popularity all over the world due to its medicinal properties. It is a rich source of vitamin C and its content of ascorbic acid is next to only that of Barbados cherry (Malpighia glabra L). Aonla fruits are attractive, round, deeply ribbed and pale green. It is divided into size segment through pale linear grooves. The surface of fruit is shiny and size varies from small marbel to large plum .It is quiet hard with thin and translucent skin. The fruit taste extremely acidic and bitter. Aonla has good nutritional value. It contains 600-1000 mg/100gm vitamin C. One tiny Aonla equal to vitamin C value of about two oranges. The fruit is rich source of pectin and thus highly useful in making jam and jellies. It contains 0.5 per cent protein, 13.7 per cent carbohydrates, 10-40 mg/100gm minerals, and 600mg of vitamin C (Gopalan et al 1980).

Aonla is recognized as king of arid fruits. Fruits are sour and astringent in taste and are occasionally eaten raw. It is much esteemed for making pickles, preserves and jellies. Aonla fruit has been held in high esteem indigenous medicine. Aonla fruits are highly perishable in nature, most difficult to store or transport over long distances. Therefore, it needs immediate marketing and utilization. In order to have good return to avoid market glut it becomes essential to store the fruits for a considerable period. Recently, a number of processed products of Aonla, such as Aonla pulp, RTS, nectar, squash, candy pickle, sauce and dehydrated shreds are available with longer shelf life.

The physical properties of Aonla fruit are pre requisites in designing the equipments for handling, storage and processing of the fruit. It is essential to determine the relevant characteristics, but such properties appear to be lacking in the literature. Hence this study was undertaken to determine some physical properties such as size, shape, roundness, sphericity, volume and density, surface area and cutting force for the Aonla fruit.

MATERIALS AND METHODSMaterial

Fruits of four Aonla cultivar namely Chakaiya, kanchan, Krishna and francis were used for this study. The fruits used for the study were obtained from Dry land Agriculture Research Institute, MPKV Rahuri. The fruits were harvested from the field in the first week of December 2012 and stored in cool place before conducting the experiment. The fruits were harvested when surface colour changed from green to yellowish green and seed colour creamy white to brown. The good healthy matured fruits were selected for the study. The fruits were cleaned with water to remove all dirt adhering to the fruits. The experiment was conducted at room temperature. All physical and mechanical parameters were studied for 10 fruits from each cultivar.

Measurement of physical properties aonlaThe Fresh fruits was randomly selected for

determination of physical properties. Statistical analysis was used to determine maximum, minimum, mean and standard deviation of the aonla fruit dimensions. In order to determine size and shape of the fruits, 10 fruits of each variety randomly selected from the lot. The fruit mass was measured by using an electronic balance of 0.001 g sensitivity.

Size of fruitThe three linear dimensions namely length( L)

in mm, width ( W )in mm, thickness ( T) in mm, of each fruits was measured with a vernier caliper with 0.01 mm least count. The geometric mean diameter or size, Dp of the fruit will be calculated by using formula = (abc)1/3 where Dp = geometric mean diameter ; a = major diameter ;b = minor diameter ;c = intermediate diameter.

In the identification of the shape of the fruit, the tracing of longitudinal and lateral cross sections of the fruit was compared with the shapes listed on standard chart. Using standard charts, the shape of the product can be defined either by a number on

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the chart or by descriptive terms as specified for fruits and vegetables by Mohsenin (1965).

SphericityThe sphericity of the Aonla fruit was estimated

by the following equation given by Curray(1951) i.e. Sphericity = (abc)1/3/ a where a = major diameter; b = minor diameter and c = intermediate diameter.

VolumeThe shape of Aonla fruit was approximately to

prolate spheroid. The volume of Aonla fruit was calculated by using the formula as Volume = 4П AB2/ 3 where A = a / 2 and B = b/2 ; a = major diameter; b= minor diameter.

Rolling resistance The rolling resistance of the fruits was

determined on stainless steal surface. The length of plate was 500 mm. The experiment set up was made according to Mohsenin(1970).The angle of rolling Aonla fruits can be calculated by using formula

Where l = length of base;h = Height measured when fruits sliding.

Measurement of mechanical propertiesPenetration force

The mechanical properties and force deformation behavior were determined by compression loading test. For accurate result, samples were placed under

Table 1. Physical properties of Aonla varities.Variety Sfc Weight

(gm)Length (mm)

Breadth (mm)

Thick-ness

(mm)

Size (mm)

Sphe-ricity (%)

Volume (cm3)

Rolling Resistance

(degree)CHAKAIYA Mean 25.196 37.721 37.233 33.825 36.130 0.958 27.513 19.167

Max 28.689 39.510 39.010 38.500 38.766 1.020 31.115 21.990Min 16.267 34.680 34.410 24.990 31.011 0.880 21.500 17.450Sd 3.933 1.686 1.668 5.200 2.362 0.054 3.461 1.183CV 0.156 0.045 0.045 0.154 0.065 0.056 0.126 0.062

KANCHAN Mean 29.644 38.733 38.272 36.317 37.750 0.974 29.906 17.144Max 32.916 41.100 41.500 39.500 40.622 0.995 37.063 18.890Min 24.845 36.080 35.680 31.110 34.380 0.940 24.077 15.420Sd 3.198 1.835 1.988 2.921 2.168 0.016 4.434 1.063CV 0.108 0.047 0.052 0.080 0.057 0.017 0.148 0.062

KRISHNA Mean 30.241 39.463 38.908 34.880 37.651 0.954 31.565 16.384Max 36.527 41.880 41.720 41.300 41.499 0.996 38.168 18.890Min 22.280 35.630 34.360 29.760 33.151 0.904 22.025 14.360Sd 4.965 2.171 2.387 3.986 2.417 0.037 5.320 1.714CV 0.164 0.055 0.061 0.114 0.064 0.039 0.169 0.105

FRANCIS Mean 37.315 41.706 43.782 38.633 41.194 0.988 42.809 14.653Max 42.969 45.170 63.170 42.600 44.663 1.108 84.245 16.590Min 32.790 39.520 39.420 34.290 37.662 0.944 32.155 12.510Sd 4.063 1.886 7.062 2.992 2.295 0.046 15.440 1.104CV 0.109 0.045 0.161 0.077 0.056 0.047 0.361 0.075

Engineering Properties of Aonla

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compression loading test. The maximum force were determined by Universal testing machine equipped with 500N compression load cell or samples. In this test, special needle with 10 mm / min speed as penetrate 8 mm into the samples and the maximum force required to penetrate the sample was measured in ‘N’

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONFruit size

The size of fruit depends upon its variety and maturity. The geometric mean diameter of the Chakaiya, Kanchan, Krishna and Francis ranged from 36.130 to 41.194 mm. among all the four varieties, Francis has higher diameter (size) with standard deviation (2.295) followed by Kanchan (2.168), Krishna (2.417) and Chakaiya (2.362). The deviation of size more in Chakaiya (2.362) variety as compared to other three varieties.

Fruit ShapeThe shape of the fruit was assessed after

calculation and comparing the results with the standard chart reported by Mohsenin (1965). The shape was observed to the ranging from round to prolate since sphericity was more than 0.90. The sphericity of the fruits Chakaiya, Kanchan , Krishna and Francis were found to be 0.958, 0.978,0.954 and 0.988, respectively. Among all the fruits, Francis variety was more spheroidal than other three varieties (Table1).

Fruit volume and rolling resistanceIt was observed that the volume was higher for

the variety Francis with 42.809 cm3 followed by Kanchan,Krishna and Chakaiya with 37.565,31.565 and 27.513 , respectively. The maximum value of volume found in Francis (84.245) and minimum in Chakaiya (31.115 cm3). The rolling resistance of the fruits Chakaiya, Kanchan, Krishna and Francis were found to be 19.167°, 18.890°, 16.384° and 14.653°, respectively. The maximum value of the rolling resistance was found in Chakaiya (21.990°)

and minimum in Francis (12.310°). The penetration force required to penetrate fruits of four varieties of Aonla was found to 26.2915, 37.6266, 21.9801 and 19.3504 N respectively. The maximum penetration force found in Kanchan and minimum in Francis.

CONCLUSIONThe shape of Aonla fruits were found to be

ranging from round to prolate. The size of the fruit was characterized using length, breadth and thickness i.e. major, intermediate and minor axes of Aonla fruits. The average volume of the fruit ranged from 31.565 to 42.809 cm3. The average sphericity of the fruit ranged from 0.954 to 0.995. The range of the rolling resistance was found to be 12.510 to 21.990° and the range of fruit size was observed to be 31.011 to 44.663. The penetration force was found to be higher for Kanchan variety because of more compactness of the fruit.

REFERENCESAnonymous, (2003). Area and Production of fruit crops.

Directorate of Horticulture, M.S. Pune.

Bajpai P N and H S Shukla (1985) Aonla In : “Fruits of India: Tropical Subtropical” (T K Bose ed.) Noya Prakash, Culcutta, India, pp.757-767

Chadha K L (2001). Dry land Horticulture Crops. Indian Horticulture PP. 18-20.

Curray J K (1951). Analysis of sphericity and roundness of quartz grains. M.S. thesis in Minerology. The Phennsylvania State University, University Park. Quoted by Oje K et al, 1991. Some physical properties of oil bean seed. J Agric Engg Res 50: 303-313

Gopalan C, Ramasastry B V and Balsubramanium S C (1980). Nutritive value of Indian foods. National Institute of Nutrition. ICMR. Hyderabad. India.

Mohsenin N N (1965). Physical Properties of Agricultural products. Transactions of the ASAE 8 (1): 0025-0029 (DOI: 10.013031/2013.40418)

Mohsenin N N (1970). Physical Properties of Plant and Animal Materials. New York: Gordon and Breach, pp. 51-87.

Received on 03/02/2016 Accepted on 23/04/2016

Ingale et al

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INTRODUCTIONWaste is a complex, subjective and sometimes

controversial issue. There are many ways to define, describe and count it, depending on how you look at it. Citizens, technicians, businessmen, politicians, activists; all of them use a different approach to waste and its management. It is notably difficult, for example, to compare waste in rich and poor countries. The topic is also sometimes political, especially when it comes to the trade and disposal of hazardous and nuclear wastes. All waste data should therefore be handled with care (Davis and Masten, 2004).

To generate the minimum amount of waste, the waste hierarchy has taken many forms over the past decade, “reduce, reuse, and recycle” are the 3Rs in the waste hierarchy, it classify waste management strategies according to their desirability. Reduce is design for minimal use of energy, minimize or

Economic Analysis of Jewellery Developed from Leftovers and Solid WasteKaur G*, Kaur D** and Gandotra V***

Department of Apparel and Textile Science, College of Home Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004 (Punjab)

ABSTRACTThe investigation entitled was carried out in Ludhiana city. An interview schedule was prepared for the purpose of collection of data for design development from leftovers and solid waste. For collection of data 90 respondents between the age group of 17-25 years were selected through purposive random sampling technique from three colleges of Ludhiana city. The results of the study revealed that majority of the respondents were between 17-21 years of age group and were higher secondary, belonged to nuclear families and had monthly family income ranged between Rs. 25,001/- to Rs.50,000/-. Another interview schedule was prepared to study the cost effectiveness of the developed jewellery. For this purpose same sample of ninety respondents were selected and developed jewellery were shown to them. All the jewellery sets were highly appreciated on the basis of wear ability, colour combination, overall impact and appearance. Majority of the respondents rated all the jewellery sets as very good. The quoted prices of the jewellery sets were found to be adequate there by 15.74 to 66.67 per cent profit can be earned by making jewellery developed leftovers and solid waste.Key Words: Design, Jewellery, Leftovers, Miniatures, Solid waste.

eliminate waste material. Reuse refers to use an item more than once, this is a way without reprocessing which help save time, money, energy and resource. Recycle is the third component of the waste hierarchy, and is processing used waste materials into new products (Leung Yee Man, 2011).

To counter the problem of waste produced, many efforts are undertaken to reduce its negative contribution towards environment. One of such measures is textile recycling- the reuse as well as reproduction of new products and accessories. This importance of reuse of waste does not just lie in the fact that it is reusable waste but in its usefulness to reduce the human sufferings, so the study was planned to develop jewellery from leftovers and solid waste with the objectives to access consumer acceptance and to study cost effectiveness of the developed jewellery.

*Corresponding Author’s Email: gurleenkaur5339@yahoo.com * M.Sc. Student** Senior Scientist*** Associate Professor

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MATERIALS AND METHODSThis investigation was conducted in Ludhiana

city. Three colleges of the city namely Government College for Girls, Bharat Nagar Chowk; Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town and College of Home Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana were selected for studying the preferences of girls for different types of jewellery. Thirty respondents were selected from each college. In samples of 90 colleges going girls between the age group 17-25 years were selected purposively as the respondents from this particular age group were more receptive towards new trends in fashion. An interview schedule was framed for collection of data regarding preferences of the respondents for development of designs for different jewellery items from left over and solid waste. On the basis of information collected the most preferred ten miniatures of jewellery sets were prepared by using

leftovers and solid waste. All the respondents were again interviewed regarding cost effectiveness and consumer acceptance for developed jewellery on the basis of colour combination and appearance.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONPreferences of the respondents on the basis of color combination

The preferences of the respondents on the basis of colour combination (Table 1) revealed that Jewellery C1 (small bulbs) got a weighted mean score of 3.02 and was given first rank. It was followed by jewellery H2 (pistachio shells), A2 (buttons), F1 (plastic bottles) and G1 (CDs) which got weighted mean scores of 3.01, 2.88 each and 2.80 and were placed at second, third for both and fourth rank, respectively. Jewellery with weighted mean scores of 2.70, 2.38, 2.04, E1 (bottle caps), D2

Table 1. Preferences of the respondents on the basis of color combination for developed jewellery. (n=90)

Jewellery code Order of preference WMS RanksI II III IV

A2 (Buttons) 32 (35.5) 17 (18.9) 40 (44.4) 1 (1.1) 2.88 III

B1 (Textured sheets) 26 (28.8) 3 (3.3) 8 (8.9) 53 (58.9) 2.02 VIIIC1 (Small bulbs) 28 (31.1) 37 (41.1) 24 (26.7) 1 (1.11) 3.02 I

D2 (Toothpicks) 6 (6.6) 23 (25.5) 61 (67.7) --- 2.38 VIE1 (Bottle caps) 16 (17.7) 38 (42.2) 29 (32.2) 7 (7.8) 2.70 V

F1 (Plastic bottles) 21 (23.3) 49 (54.4) 9 (10.0) 11 (12.2) 2.88 IIIG1 (CDs) 17 (18.8) 44 (48.8) 23 (25.6) 6 (6.7) 2.80 IV

H2 (Pistachio shells) 27 (30.0) 4 0 (44.4) 20 (22.2) 3 (3.4) 3.01 II

I1 (Cardboard) 28 (31.1) 3 (3.3) 4 (4.5) 55 (61.1) 2.04 VII

J1 (Wires) 26 (28.8) 3 (3.3) 8 (8.9) 53 (58.8) 2.02 VIII

Figures in parentheses indicate percentages Weighted Mean Score - WMSKruskal –Wallis H-test H=.29* *Significant at 5 per cent

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(toothpick), I1 (cardboards) were given fifth, sixth and seventh ranks, respectively. While jewellery B1 (textured sheets) and J1 (wires) were least preferred (weighted mean score 2.02 each). Since the sample size is large the Kruskal –Wallis H-test statistically follows χ2distribution=16.9. The Kruskal –Wallis H-test i.e. H=0.29* was found to be significantly different from each other at 5 per cent in all the cases.

Preferences of the respondents on the basis of appearance Data in table 2 revealed that Jewellery C1 (small bulbs) with a weighted mean score of 2.47, was given the first rank on the basis of appearance. It was followed by Jewellery H2 (pistachio shells), B1 (tex-tured sheets), E1 (bottle caps) and F1 (plastic bottles) with weighted mean scores 2.43, 2.36, 1.87 and 1.81 and were given second, third, fourth and fifth rank,

respectively. Jewellery G1 (CDs), I1 (cardboards), A2 (buttons) and D2 (toothpicks), obtained weight-ed mean scores 1.80 each and were hence ranked at sixth place, 1.58 were ranked seventh and 1.43 were ranked eighth respectively. Jewellery J1 (wires) was least preferred with weighted mean score 1.32. Since the sample size is large the Kruskal –Wallis H-test statistically follows χ2distribution=16.9. The Kruskal –Wallis H-test i.e. H=1.05* was found to be significantly different from each other at 5 per cent in all the cases.Opinion of the respondents regarding jewellery developed from leftovers and solid waste

The opinion of the respondents regarding the jewellery developed from leftovers and solid waste was taken on a of three point scale - very good, good and fair. It was found that 77.8 per cent, rated

Table 2. Preferences of the respondents on the basis of appearance for the developed jewellery (n=90)

Jewellery code Order of preference WMS RanksI II III IV

A2 (Buttons) 6 (6.7) 9 (10.0) 17 (18.9) 58 (64.4) 1.58 VIII

B1 (Textured sheets) 9 (10.0) 44 (48.8) 8 (8.9) 29 (32.2) 2.36 III

C1 (Small bulbs) 14 (15.6) 41 (45.5) 8 (8.9) 27 (13.0) 2.47 I

D2 (Toothpicks) 5 (5.6) 2 (2.2) 20 (22.2) 63 (70.0) 1.43 IX

E1 (Bottle caps) 7 (7.8) 13 (14.4) 32 (35.5) 38 (42.2) 1.87 IV

F1 (Plastic bottles) 8 (8.9) 10 (11.1) 29 (32.2) 43 (47.7) 1.81 V

G1 (Ds) 11 (12.2) 18 (20.0) 4 (4.5) 56 (62.2) 1.80 VI

H2 (Pistachio shells) 17 (18.9) 36 (40.0) 6 (6.7) 31 (34.4) 2.43 II

I1 (Cardboard) 12 (53.3) 3 (3.4) 30 (33.3) 45 (50.0) 1.80 VII

J1 (Wires) 4 (4.5) 1 (1.1) 15 (16.6) 70 (77.7) 1.32 X

Figures in parentheses indicate percentages Weighted Mean Score – WMS Kruskal –Wallis H-test H=1.05* *Significant at 5 per cent

Economic Analysis of Jewellery Developed from Leftovers and Solid Waste

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the jewellery A2 made from buttons as very good while it rated as good by 13.4 per cent and only 8.9 per cent respondents considered it to be fair.

As regards to jewellery B1 developed from textured sheets, it was considered very good by 80 per cent of the respondents followed by 15.6 per cent who rated it as good while only 4.4 per cent of the respondents rated it as fair. Jewellery C1 (small bulbs) was rated as very good by 90 per cent of respondents while 6.7 per cent rated it as good and 3.3 per cent of the respondents rated it as fair.

With respect to jewellery D2 design using toothpicks, it was rated as very good by 74.4 per cent of the respondents, good by 18.9 per cent while 6.7 per cent of the respondents rated it as fair. In the case of jewellery E1 (bottle caps), 73.3 per cent of the respondents rated it as very good, 21.1 per cent rated it as good and 5.6 per cent of the respondents rated it as fair.

Jewellery F1 (plastic bottles) was rated as very good by 77.8 per cent of respondents while 16.7 per cent of the respondents rated as good and 5.5 per cent of the respondents rated it as fair. In case of Jewellery G1 (CDs), 82.2 per cent rated it as very good. It was rated as good by 13.3 per cent of the respondents while only 4.5 per cent of the respondents rated it as fair. Jewellery H2 (pistachio shells) was rated as very good by 93.3 per cent of respondents while 2.2 per cent of the respondents rated as good and 4.5 per cent rated it as fair.

In case of Jewellery I1 (cardboards) 70 per cent of the respondents rated it as very good. It was considered good by 23.3 per cent of the respondents and fair by 6.7 per cent of the respondents. Eighty percent of the respondents rated jewellery J1 (wires) to be very good while 14.4 per cent of the respondents rated it as good and 5.6 per cent as fair. In all the cases more than 70 per cent of the respondents consider all the jewellery products as very good.

Assessment of cost effectiveness of the developed jewellery

In the case of Jewellery A2 made from left over buttons the cost price was Rs.215/- and majority of the respondents preferred to buy it for Rs.255/- with the profit of 18.6 per cent (Table 3).

In the case of Jewellery B1 (textured sheets), the cost price was Rs 210/- and average selling price was `252 with 20.0 per cent of profit margin. Jewellery C1 (small bulbs) had the cost price of Rs 222 and average selling price was found to be Rs 286/- leading to a profit margin of 28.8 per cent.

For the Jewellery D2 (toothpicks), the cost price was Rs 72/- while the average selling price was Rs 106/-, thus, there was a profit margin of 47.2 per cent. Jewellery E1 made from plastic bottles had a cost price of Rs 54/- and average selling price was Rs 85/-. Therefore a profit margin of 57.4 per cent could be earned. The cost of Jewellery F1 (bottle caps) was Rs 108/- and its average selling price was Rs 125/- , leading to a profit margin 15.7 per cent.

In the case of Jewellery G1 (CDs), the cost price was Rs 84/- and average selling price was Rs 133/-, with profit margin of 58.3 per cent. The cost price of jewellery H2 (pistachio shells), was Rs 132/- and its average selling price was Rs 171/-, hence, a profit margin of 29.5 per cent could be earned.

For Jewellery I1 (cardboards) and J1 (wires) the cost price was Rs 48/- and Rs 60/-, while the average selling price was Rs 80/- and 100/- leading to profit margin of 66.7 per cent each, respectively.

It was evident from the results that the profit margins in jewellery developed from leftovers and solid waste varies, depending on the design, jewellery and accessories used. Product ranging between 15.7 to 66.7 per cent profit can be earned by developing such jewellery.

As for all the jewellery there was significant difference between cost price and average selling price (average selling prices were significantly

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more). The developed jewellery was found to be acceptable and even the consumers were ready to pay more than the expected selling price. The high acceptability and profit margins of the jewellery made with leftovers and solid waste showed that the concept is commercially viable. When manufactured commercially, then the cost of production will get

reduce leading to an increase in the profit margins making it commercially more viable.

The studies conducted by Sunidhi (2004) and Kaur ( 2011) revealed that it was possible to earn 20.7 to 50 per cent, and 21.2 to 66.8 per cent, profit, respectively by making articles based on preferences of the consumers.

JEWELLERY DEVELOPED FROM LEFT OVERS AND SOLID WASTE

Jewellery A2 developedfrom left buttons

Jewellery B1 developedfrom textured sheets

Jewellery C1 developedfrom small bulbs

Jewellery D2 developedfrom toothpicks

Jewellery E1 developedfrom plastic bottles

Jewellery F1 developedfrom bottle caps

Jewellery G1 developedfrom CDs

Jewellery H2 developedfrom pistachio shells

Jewellery I1 developedfrom cardboards

Jewellery J1 developed from wires

Economic Analysis of Jewellery Developed from Leftovers and Solid Waste

J Krishi Vigyan 2016, 4(2) : 16-21

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Table 3. Opinion of respondents regarding the suitability of cost price and average selling price of the Jewellery developed. (n=90)

Jewellery code Cost price Average selling price

Z-value Percent Profit

(Buttons)A2

215 255.0 7.89* 18.6

(Textured sheets)B1

210 252.0 4.76* 20.0

(Small bulbs)C1

222 286.0 9.61* 28.8

(Toothpicks) D2

72 106.0 3.28* 47.2

(Bottle plastic) E1

54 85.0 0.57* 57.4

(Bottle caps)F1

108 125.0 3.35* 15.7

(CDs) 11G1

84 133.0 8.23* 58.3

(Pistachio shells) H2

132 171.0 5.75* 29.5

(Cardboard) I1

48 80.0 8.51* 66.6

(Wires)J1

60 100.0 7.19* 66.6

*Significant at 5 per cent,

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J Krishi Vigyan 2016, 4(2) : 16-21

CONCLUSIONIt was concluded that development of jewellery

form leftovers and solid waste would provide entrepreneurs a new idea for making use of different leftovers and solid waste to produce new products along with different accessories to start with very less investments. The results related to wearability, colour combination, overall impact and appearance would be beneficial to the housewife’s to utilize the leftovers and solid waste at home. Majority of the respondents i.e. 60 per cent rated all the jewellery as very good. Average selling price of all the ten developed jewellery ranged between Rs 80/- to Rs 286/- and was accepted by majority of the

consumers. Profit margin ranged between 15.74 to 66.67 per cent which is quite good earning.

REFERENCESDavis and Masten (2004) what is waste. http://scp.eionet.

europa.eu/themes/wasteKaur R (2011) Development of decorative articles using card

weaving technique.M.Sc. thesis, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India.

Leung Yee Man (2011) Creation of sustainability in fashion accessories. http://www.itc.polyu.edu.

Sunidhi (2004) Development of decorative articles with finger weaving techniques. M. Sc. thesis, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India.

Received on 23/09/2015 Accepted on 25/04/2016

22

INTRODUCTIONMaize is the third important cereal crop after

rice and wheat and is grown across a wide range of climates in India. Maize is relatively a short duration crop, capable of utilizing inputs more efficiently and producing large quantity of food grains per unit area (Farhad et al 2009). Maize has greater nutritional value as it contains about starch (72 %), proteins (10 %), oil (4.8 %), fibre (8.5 %), sugar (3 %) and ash (1.7 %) (Chaudhary, 1993). Maize being a C4 plant is having high genetic potential and is photosynthesis explorative crop (Rowan and Xin, 2011).

The cultivation of spring season maize (Feb-June) is expanding rapidly in northwest India. Farmers in the central plain zone of Punjab generally prefer cultivation of maize hybrids developed by the private firms namely Pioneer (31Y45 and P 1844), Monsanto (DKC 9108) and Dow (Dow 2244) in

Effect of Application of Various Inputs by the Farmers and the Yield of Spring Maize Hybrids

Jatinder Manan, Manoj Sharma, Gurmeet Singh and Gobinder Singh

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kapurthala 144 620 (Punjab)

ABSTRACTA study was conducted to assess the use of various inputs by farmers in the cultivation of spring maize and its impact on yield obtained as compared to the recommendations made by the research institutes. The data suggested that farmers in Kapurthala district mainly opt for spring maize hybrids namely DKC 9108, 31Y45, Dow 2244 and P 1844 and achieved an average gross return of Rs 70,104 to Rs.76,860/ha. It was observed that farmers were applying urea in recommended dose but the time of application was different than the recommendations. As per recommendations, urea needs to be applied in three equal splits during basal, vegetative and tasseling stage. While, farmers were applying 75 per cent urea only during vegetative stage and 24 per cent during tasseling stage. In case of DAP, 63 per cent of farmers were adding higher quantity of phosphorus fertilizer than the recommended dose. Insecticide application was not adopted by 32.3 per cent of the farmers, simultaneously herbicide application was not adopted by 50 per cent farmers and only 29 per cent farmers applied insecticide and herbicide both in their fields. It was also observed that grain yield of spring maize during spring 2015 was reduced to 11.9 per cent as compared to spring 2014 season.Key Words: Spring, Maize, Hybrids, Fertilizer, Insecticides, Pesticides, Sowing time, Yield.

the district. 31Y45 hybrid is the first true spring maize hybrid launched in India and is suitable for sowing between January and March in north India. Now, DKC 9108 is the first spring hybrid of private firm recommended by the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana for cultivation in Punjab. This hybrid is best suited for January and February sowing with an average yield of 80 q/ha. P 1844 is the new spring hybrid from Pioneer launched during the year 2015.

The cultivation of spring maize is very prominent in the region due to its suitability in the cropping rotation (Paddy-potato-spring maize) followed by the potato growers in the area. It is pertinent to mention that there are few farmers, who buy wheat from the market for their domestic consumption because they are of the view that this is the most remunerative cropping sequence as compared to rice-wheat. However, vegetative growth of spring maize

Corresponding Author’s Email: jatinderkm@rediffmail.com

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J Krishi Vigyan 2016, 4(2) : 22-27 DOI : 10.5958/2349-4433.2016.00006.4

23

and its yield are highly dependent upon external factors, i.e., application of urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP), insecticide, herbicide, irrigations and other important management practices. Hence, the present study was undertaken with the objective to study the effect of application of various inputs by the farmers for increasing the yield of spring maize hybrids in the district.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study was conducted in the district covering

4 blocks namely Nadala, Dhilwan, Kapurthala and Sultanpur lodhi during kharif, 2015. A questionnaire was developed on the package of practices of spring maize which included area sown, name of the maize hybrid, sowing and harvesting dates, average yield and price obtained, fertilizers and pesticides used. A total of 128 farmers covering an area of 502.4 ha under different maize hybrids were interviewed personally and data were recorded. The survey was conducted during the entire growing period of the crop and the data regarding grain yield were obtained in the grain market at the time of selling of the produce by the farmer. The values were interpreted in the form of number and percentage.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONArea under spring maize in different blocks

The study showed that maximum number of farmers was from Kapurthala followed by Sultanpur block whereas only 9.4 and 15.6 percent farmers were from Nadala and Dhilwan blocks, respectively. The probable reason for less number of farmers from Nadala and Dhilwan was that the grain markets are available only at Kapurthala and Sultanpur; therefore, farmers from Nadala and Dhilwan sell their produce either at Kapurthala or Jalandhar. Moreover, the major cropping system followed in Kapurthala and Sultanpur blocks is paddy-potato-spring maize, whereas, in Nadala and Dhilwan blocks it is rice – wheat cropping system.

Total area studied under spring maize cultivation was found to be 134.8, 104.8, 109.2 and 153.6 ha in

Dhilwan, Nadala, Sultanpur and Kapurthala blocks, respectively (Table 1).

Performance of spring maize hybrids at farmers’ field

Out of total 502.4 ha area, maximum area was found under hybrid DKC 9108 (47.0 %), followed by 31Y45 (19.8 %), Dow 2244 (19.3 %) and P 1844 (13.9 %). The highest average yield obtained was of spring maize hybrid DKC 9108 (90.0 q/ha) followed by Dow 2244 (85.3 q/ha), 31Y45 (79.3 q/ha) and P 1844 (73.8 q/ha), respectively. It was found that selling price of maize hybrid P 1844 was higher in the market due to its orange colour grain which attracted buyers more in the market. On the other hand, the gross returns obtained by the farmers followed the same trend as that of area sown (Table 2). This showed that based on last year experience, farmers select the variety, hybrid or even crop to be sown during a season.

On comparing the present results with that of study conducted by Sharma et al (2014) during last year, it was noticed that the average yield, selling rate, days to harvesting, productivity and gross returns were drastically reduced during spring 2015 season (Table 3). The grain yield during current year was reduced by 11.9 per cent compared to last year. The probable reason might be late harvesting of potato due to occurrence of heavy and frequent rainfall during January and February, 2015 which delayed the sowing of spring maize and thus reduced the grain yield as compared to 2014.

Table 1. Number of spring maize cultivating farmers and area covered

Block Farmers Area coveredNumber Per cent Hectare Per cent

Dhilwan 20 15.6 134.8 26.8Nadala 12 9.4 104.8 20.9Sultanpur 42 32.8 109.2 21.7Kapurthala 54 42.2 153.6 30.6Total 128 100.0 502.4 100.0

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Due to decreased productivity, the average selling price increased from Rs 856/- to 873/- per quintal but this increase could not compensate the reduction in yield and hence, gross returns during the year 2015 decreased from Rs 81,886/- to 73,765/-per hectare.

From the data (Table 3) it can be inferred that only two hybrids of spring maize, i.e., 31Y45 and DKC 9108 dominated the region. The area under hybrid DKC 9108 remained static, whereas, farmers shifted from 31Y45 to other hybrids like Dow 2244 and P 1844 during 2015, which resulted in steep decline in area under 31Y45. The probable reason for adoption of DKC 9108 was that this hybrid got recommendation from PAU, Ludhiana, higher maize productivity (kg/ha/day) and lesser number of days taken to maturity as compared to other hybrids. The other probable reason for adoption of new hybrid Dow 2244 was higher yield levels (85.3 q/ha) and for P 1844 was higher market price (Rs 935/q) as compared to 31Y45, which recorded average yield of 79.3 q/ha and market price of Rs 884.6/- per quintal.

Table 2. Performance of different spring maize hybrids at the farmer’s field

Hybrid Area covered

(%)

Average number of days taken for

maturity (days)

Farmers covered

(%)

Average Yield (q/ha)

Selling Price (Rs/q)

Gross Returns (Rs/ha)

DKC 9108 47.0 110 56.3 90.0 854.0 76,86031Y45 19.8 111 21.9 79.3 884.6 70,104Dow 2244 19.3 121 4.7 85.3 832.3 70,995P 1844 13.9 113 17.1 73.8 935.0 69,003

Table 3. Comparative performance of spring maize hybrids at the farmers’ fieldHybrids % Farmers % Area cov-

eredYield (q/ha) Rate (Rs/q) Days taken to

harvestingMaize pro-ductivity (kg/ha/day)

Gross returns (Rs/ha)

2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015

P 1864 4.8 - 2.3 - 100.8 - 953.3 - 121.5 - 83.4 - 95,087 -

PMH 1 0.8 - 0.2 - 70.0 - 1100.0 - 115.0 - 60.8 - 77,000 -

31 Y 45 48.0 19.8 52.1 21.9 96.0 79.3 851.8 884.6 122.2 111.0 79.9 71.4 81,361 70,105

DKC 9108 46.4 47.0 45.4 56.3 96.2 90.0 855.0 854.0 121.5 110.0 80.6 81.8 81,842 76,860

Dow 2244 - 19.3 - 4.7 - 85.3 - 833.3 - 121.0 - 70.5 - 71,081

P 1844 - 13.9 - 17.1 - 73.8 - 935.0 - 113.0 - 65.3 - 69,003

Source: Sharma et al (2014)Effect of urea application

Spring maize being a medium duration crop highly responds to the urea application. The recommended dose of urea is 312.5 kg/ha. It was noticed that on 26.2 per cent area, farmers were using 25 per cent less urea and on 65.4 per cent area, farmers were using more than recommendation (Table 4).

Table 4. Effect of urea application on yield of spring maizeUrea (kg/ha) Area covered

(%)Yield (q/ha)

<250 26.2 81.5250-312.5 8.4 82.3312.5-375 27.7 84.0>375 37.7 84.5

The application of 125 kg/ha more urea than the recommended dose increased maize yield to the extent of 3q/ha. The cost of extra urea comes out to be Rs. 1,000/- whereas, benefit is about

J Krishi Vigyan 2016, 4(2) : 22-27

Effect of Application of Various Inputs by the Farmers

25

Rs.2,425/-. Therefore, it can be said that site specific nutrient management is essential because the recommendations were generally given based on medium soil types.

It has been recommended that 33 per cent of nitrogen each at 3 stages i.e., basal, knee height stage and at pre-tasseling needs to be applied. Hybrid wise, urea application study suggested that urea was applied during 15-20 DAS and 25-30 DAS on 39.7 and 35.1 per cent of area & only in 0.9 and 24.3 per cent of area at basal and tasseling stages (Table 5). Lesser urea application at tasseling stage had negative impact on overall crop yield; whereas, no basal dose application would have resulted in lower shoot growth and overall lesser vegetative growth.

DAP application to previous crop and its impact on yield

The quantity of DAP recommended is 125 kg/ha at the sowing time of spring maize whereas it was found that only on 36.9 per cent of area, farmers were adding recommended DAP dose and on 63 per cent area, farmers were using higher dose than the recommendation (Table 6). Although, application of 50 kg more quantity of DAP fertilizer resulted in 5.6 per cent increase in yield of spring maize.

Table 5. Urea application in spring maize hybrids at different time intervals

Hybrid Percent area coveredBasal dose 15-20 DAS 25-30 DAS At Tasseling

31Y45 1.1 42.4 25.2 31.4DKC 9108 2.6 39.9 38.9 18.5Dow 2244 0.0 38.7 38.7 22.6P 1844 0.0 37.7 37.7 24.7 0.9 39.7 35.1 24.3

Table 6. Effect of DAP application on yield of spring maize

DAP(kg/ha) Area covered (%) Yield (q/ha)125 36.9 79.8125-187.5 6.9 82.3>187.5 56.2 84.3

It has been established that DAP fertilizer added remains in soil for next season also, so the variation in DAP applied during previous crop must have affected the yield of spring maize. It was observed that in the fields with potato as previous crop, the increase in spring maize yield was 5.5 per cent with Rs.1,157/-ha higher returns as compared to other crops (pea, cucurbits other vegetables etc) (Table 7). This increase was probably due to residual effect of DAP fertilizer applied to the potato crop.

Effect of number of irrigations on yield of spring maize

Maize being a C4 plant , the irrigation requirements of spring maize is high and further more the maturity of maize coincides with the occurrence of maximum temperature during May- June, that further increases the requirement of irrigation water for proper grain filling during soft dough and milking stage. On an average spring maize requires 10-15 irrigations in life cycle.

Numbers of irrigations to spring maize ranged between 8 to17. Further, it was found that on 34.7 per cent of area, farmers applied less than 10 irrigations and on 33.5 per cent of area, farmers applied more than 15 irrigations (Table 8). The increase in yield with 5 additional irrigations, on an average was

J Krishi Vigyan 2016, 4(2) : 22-27

Manan et al

26

5.6 per cent. Due to high evapo-transpiration rate during the growing period as well as knowledge gap on irrigation water requirement leads to application of water in much higher quantity than required for physiological processes. This further adds to the growing challenge of declining water table, a major concern for agricultural sustainability in northwest IndiaEffect of insecticide and pesticide application on yield of spring maize

The recommendation is to apply herbicide within 2 days of sowing and two applications of in-secticide (one at 20 DAS and second at knee high stage). The date (Table 9) revealed that the interac-

Table 7. Effect of DAP application to previous crop on yield of spring maize

Previous crop DAP added to previous crop (kg/ha)

Yield of spring maize (q/ha)

Rate(Rs/q) of spring maize

Returns from spring maize (Rs/ha)

Potato 421.5 82.8 869.6 72,003/-

Other than potato

226.5 78.5 902.5 70, 846/-

Table 8. Effect of irrigations applied on yield of spring maize

Number of irrigations Area covered (%) Yield (q/ha)

<10 34.7 80.310-15 31.8 83.5>15 33.5 84.8

Table 9. Adoption of insecticide and herbicide application and net returns from spring maize

Insecticide applied

Herbicide appliedPercent area basis Net returns (Rs/ha)

Yes No Yes NoNo 21.0 12.3 70,000/- 58,331/-Once 26.9 35.5 71,637/- 70,518/-Twice 0.2 2.2 73,030/- 72,460/-Thrice 1.9 0.0 74,219/- ---

50.0 50.0 72,221/- 67,103/-

tion between insecticide and herbicide application affected the returns of spring maize. On 12.3 per cent area, farmers neither applied insecticide nor herbicide and earned gross returns of Rs 58,331/-ha whereas, one insecticide spray and herbicide appli-cation was practiced on 26.9 per cent area and farm-ers accrued a gross returns of Rs 71,637/-ha.

However, increasing the insecticide sprays to two with one herbicide application resulted in 1.9 per cent increase in gross returns. Increasing further insecticide sprays had very little impact on returns. It was also concluded from the data that majority of the farmers do insecticide spray only once (on 62.4 % area) and more than once (on 4.3 % area).

J Krishi Vigyan 2016, 4(2) : 22-27

Effect of Application of Various Inputs by the Farmers

27

CONCLUSIONThe yield levels and price of maize were

drastically reduced during current year due to heavy rainfall during Jan-Feb and so the gross returns were lower by 9.9 per cent. Even then farmers were using inputs like DAP and irrigation at higher levels as compared to recommended levels which resulted in lower net returns and also exhausted precious natural resources. In case of urea application, farmers used recommended quantity of fertilizer but at inappropriate stages of growth in spring maize. The adoption of insecticide and herbicide is also very less, as 12% were not adding both and only 2% were adding herbicide and using insecticide more than once. So overall, farmers were changing recommendations based on their own assumptions and needs to be educated for precise input use. With

the precise use of inputs the yield levels and gross returns may be further increased.

REFERENCES Chaudhary A R (1993). Maize in Pakistan. Punjab Agriculture

Coordination Board, Univ. Agric., Faisalabad.

Farhad W, Saleem M F, Cheema M A, and Hammed H M (2009). Effect of poultry manure levels on the productivity of spring maize (Zea mays L.). J Ani & Plant Sci 19(3): 122-125.

Rowan F S and Xin G Z (2011). Exploiting the engine of C4 photosynthesis. J Experimental Botany 62(9): 2989-3000.

Sharma Manoj, Singh Onkar, Singh Gobinder and Kaur Gurpreet (2014). A snap shot of spring maize cultivation in Kapurthala and Jalandhar district under central plain zone of Punjab. J Krishi Vigyan 3(1): 1-4.

Received on 15/12/2015 Accepted on 26/03/2016

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INTRODUCTIONProcessing of potato is gaining momentum at

faster pace in India since last decade because of development of processing varieties, and their production and storage technologies (Kumar et al 2011). Potato chips and French fries are the major processed products in India. Unlike the popularity of chips among children, freshly fried French fries are most common convenience food of people of all age groups. Huge growth in the requirement of French fries from 2,500 MT in 2005-06 to 24,000 MT in 2010-11 attracted some Indian companies to undertake French fry production venture but soon they felt handicapped due to non-availability of sufficient quantities of good size French fry quality potatoes. Processing of potatoes into French fry requires certain minimum quality attributes that include oblong to long tubers (preferably more than 75 mm size) with shallow eyes, low peeling losses, low reducing sugars (200 mg/100 g fresh tuber

Effect of Fertility Levels and Varieties on Tuber Yield and Processing Quality of French Fry Grade Potato

K S Sandhu, M S Shahi, R K Sharma and Gurbax Singh

Post Graduate Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College, Amritsar – 143002 ( Punjab)

ABSTRACTA field experiment was conducted during rabi seasons of 2013 to 2014, at Amritsar in split plot design having three potato varieties (Kufri Frysona, Kufri Chipsona 1 and Kufri Surya) in main plot and four fertility levels (F1; 187.5 kg N/ha [N 93.7kg (planting) + N 93.7kg (earthing)] + 62.5 kg P2O5 + 62.5 kg K2O /ha soil application; F2 ; 187.5 kg N/ha [N 84.7kg (planting) + N 84.7 kg (earthing) + 2 foliar spray (2 % urea) at 60 and 80 days after planting] + 62.5 kg P2O5 + 62.5 kg K2O /ha; F3; 270 kg N/ha [N 135 kg (planting) + N 135 kg (earthing)] + 62.5 kg P2O5 + 90 kg K2O /ha; F4; 270 kg N [N 126 kg (planting) + N 126 kg (earthing) + 2 foliar spray (2 % urea) at 60 and 80 days after planting] + 62.5 kg P2O5 + 90 K2O kg/ha.) in sub plots with three replications. French fry grade (FFG) tuber yield was significantly higher in F1 than F3, F4 and F2. Tuber dry matter and French fry color were in highly acceptable range throughout the fertility treatments. Significantly more number of Chip grade (45-75mm), processing grade (>45mm), total and French fry grade tubers (>75mm) were noticed in Kufri Chipsona 1 and Kufri Surya, respectively. Kufri Surya and Kufri Frysona produced significantly higher FFG tuber yield, whereas chip grade tuber yield was significantly highest in Kufri Chipsona1 (18.8 t/ha). Tuber dry matter was significantly higher in Kufri Frysona and Kufri Chipsona1 than Kufri Surya. Key Words: Processing, Varieties, Nitrogen levels, French fry grade tubers, Processing attributes.

weight) and more than 20 per cent tuber dry matter for crispy and light colored French fries (Marwaha, 1997). Important factors influencing French fry grade as well as total tuber yield are nutrient management and choice of cultivars. Enhanced application of N and K in Kufri Chipsona 1 and Kufri Chipsona 2 improved the both processing quality and yield (Kumar et al 2007 a,b). Therefore, first Indian processing variety Kufri Chipsona 1, first heat tolerant and suitable for early planting variety Kufri Surya and first high yielding variety for French fries Kufri Frysona were evaluated for maximum French fry grade tuber production under different fertility levels at Amritsar.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe field experiment was conducted on sandy

loam soil (Typic Ustochrept) during rabi seasons of 2013 to 2014 at Students’ Farm, Khalsa College, Amritsar, India (74o 55’ N, 31o 37’ N, 236 m above

Corresponding Author’s Email: kanwaljit74@gmail.com

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mean sea level) in split-plot design with three replications. The main plot treatments consisted of three potato varieties with long tubers (Kufri Frysona, Kufri Chipsona 1 and Kufri Surya), while sub-plots consisted of four fertilizer management treatments (F1; 187.5 kg N/ha [N 93.7kg (planting) + N 93.7kg (earthing)] + 62.5 kg P2O5 + 62.5 kg K2O /ha soil application; F2 ; 187.5 kg N/ha [N 84.7kg (planting) + N 84.7 kg (earthing) + 2 foliar spray (2 % urea) at 60 and 80 days after planting] + 62.5 kg P2O5 + 62.5 kg K2O /ha; F3; 270 kg N/ha [N 135 kg (planting) + N 135 kg (earthing)] + 62.5 kg P2O5 + 90 kg K2O /ha; F4; 270 N kg [N 126 kg (planting) + N 126 kg (earthing) + 2 foliar spray (2 % urea) at 60 and 80 days after planting] + 62.5 kg P2O5 + 90 K2O kg/ha.) in sub plots with three replications. The inter-row spacing was kept 67.5 cm with intra-row spacing of 25 cm. Chemical analysis of the soil (0-15 cm) showed neutral pH (7.05), low organic carbon content (0.31%) and low alkaline KMnO4-N (157.4 kg/ha), high Olsen’s (0.5 M NaHCO3 extractable) P (29.6 kg/ha) and medium 1N ammonium acetate extractable K (146.8 kg/ha). Half N (as per treatment), full P and full K (as per treatment) were applied at the time of planting as band placement. The remaining half N (as per treatment) was applied in soil at the time of earthing up (25 days after planting) as band placement. In two treatments (F2 and F4), foliar spray of urea (2%) was also done at 60 and 80 days after planting (DAP) with the view to extend the maturity period to have higher French fry grade tuber number and yield. Nitrogen was applied through calcium ammonium nitrate at the time of planting and through urea at earthing up. Phosphorus and potash were applied through diammonium phosphate and muriate of potash, respectively. The experimental crop was planted on 2nd and 4th October during 2013 and 2014, respectively. Well-sprouted seed tubers (weighing 50-60 g and about 40-45 mm in size) were planted in plots of 4.05×4 m size. The experimental crop was raised under assured irrigation using the furrow method. Dehaulming was done manually at 100 DAP and harvesting was done two weeks later after

skin setting. Total, French fry grade (> 75 mm), chip grade (45-75 mm) and small (<45 mm) tuber number and yield were recorded at harvest from the whole produce of the plot. To estimate tuber dry matter content five French fry grade tubers from each plot were chopped in fine pieces and 50 g sample was oven dried at 80 oC till constant weight was achieved (Kumar et al 2007a).

At harvest five French fry size tubers were selected randomly from each plot and used for determining French fry colour score. Potato fries were prepared at laboratory scale which involved peeling of tubers in abrasive peeler, cutting into 1×1cm thick French fries using manual French fry cutter, washing and drying on paper towel. Dried fries were then fried in refined sunflower oil in a thermostatically controlled deep fat fryer at 180 oC till 5 min. Fries were evaluated for fry colour on a scale of 1-10, subjectively with the help of colour cards (Ezekiel et al 2003), where scale 1 represents white fries, free from any browning and of highly acceptable colour while 10 is brown and unacceptable colour. The fries with colour range of 1 to 3 were considered acceptable. Data of each character collected from the experiments were statistically analyzed using standard procedures of variance analysis with the help of statistical software IRRISTAT (IRRI, 199).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONTuber Number

Except French fry grade, there was no significant variation in chip grade, total processing grade, small and total tuber yield under different fertility levels (Table 1). Maximum and significantly higher French fry grade tubers were noticed in F1 than F3, F4 and F2 which were statistically at par with each other. On the other hand, F4 produced slightly higher number of chip grade, processing grade, small and total tubers than others three treatments. Most suitable fertility treatment for French fry grade and chip grade tubers were F1 and F4, respectively. An increase in number of tubers by N fertilization

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has also been on record (Kumar et al 2007a) and (Kumar et al 2012).

Among varieties, Kufri Surya and Kufri Chipsona 1 produced maximum and significantly higher French fry grade and chip grade tubers than other verities, respectively. Kufri Chipsona 1 gave significantly higher processing grade, small and total tuber number than Kufri Surya (Table 1). This variation in tuber setting among varieties may be ascribed to their genetic makeup (Horton, 1987).

Tuber yieldDifferent fertility levels did not show significant

change in tuber yield recorded under different size categories. Except chip grade tubers, yield of all others categories was slightly higher in F1 (Table 2). Nitrogen application at the rate of 187.5 kg/ha seems to be sufficient to potato crop throughout the growing period leaving no scope for improvement of tuber yield under different categories either by higher rate or by foliar spray of nitrogen. These results corroborate the findings of Kumar et al (2007a) and Kumar et al (2012).

Kufri Surya being at par with Kufri Frysona gave significantly higher French fry grade (FFG) tuber yield than Kufri Chipsona 1, whereas, significantly highest chip grade as well as small tuber yield was recorded in Kufri Chipsona 1 (Table 2). Total processing and total tuber yield was also slightly higher in Kufri Chipsona-1 than other varieties. Singh et al (2010) observed similar variation among different genotypes.

Processing qualityTuber dry matter is an important parameter from

processing point of view because it determines the recovery of final fried products. Tuber dry matter was slightly higher in treatment F4 (21.2%) than other three fertility level (Table 2) whereas, variety Kufri Frysona exhibited significantly more tuber dry matter (23.1%) than Kufri Chipsona 1 (21.8%) and Kufri Surya (17.8%) which may be ascribed to their genetic make-up (Kumar and Kang, 1998). Tuber dry matter content already reported to be significantly influenced by nitrogen levels (Kumar et al 2007a) as well as varieties (Kumar et al 2007b).

Table 1. Effect of fertilizer management and varieties on growth and graded tuber number of po-tato (Pooled data of two years)

Treatment Emergence (%)

Tuber number (thousand/ha)French fry

grade (>75 mm)

Chip grade (45-75 mm)

Processing Grade

(>45 mm)

Small (<45 mm)

Total

Fertilizer ManagementF1 94.5 99.0 200.3 299.3 169.3 468.6F2 94.9 81.0 218.2 299.2 164.5 463.7F3 95.1 87.3 202.8 290.1 161.1 451.2F4 94.9 82.1 225.6 307.7 171.3 478.9SEm+ 0.6 4.4 10.1 11.1 10.4 18.0CD (0.05) NS 13.0 NS NS NS NSVarietiesKufri Frysona 94.2 92.7 203.1 295.8 169.1 464.9Kufri Chipsona 1 95.2 58.6 263.7 322.3 199.3 521.6Kufri Surya 94.7 110.6 168.5 279.1 131.2 410.3SEm+ 0.5 7.2 5.5 8.8 7.7 16.0CD (0.05) NS 28.4 21.5 34.3 30.2 63.2

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French fry colour did not show significant variation and was, in highly acceptable colour range (<3CCS) throughout the fertility levels (Kumar et al 2007a) and varieties (Table 2).

CONCLUSIONIt was concluded that fertility treatment F1 was

suitable for the production of higher FFG, TPG and total tuber yield. Among varieties Kufri Frysona, Kufri Surya and Kufri Chipson 1 were suitable for FFG and Chip grade tubers with acceptable processing attributes, respectively.

REFERENCESEzekiel R, Singh Brajesh and Kumar Dinesh (2003). A

reference chart for Potato chip color for use in India. Journal of Indian Potato Association 30 (3, 4): 259-265.

Horton D (1987). Potatoes: Production, Marketing and programs for developing countries. IT Publications, London, U.K. pp. 36-47.

IRRI (1991). IRRISTAT for windows version 4.0 Biometrics Unit, IRRI, Los Banos, Philippines

Kumar P, Pandey S K, Singh B P, Singh S V and Kumar D ( 2007a). Effect of nitrogen rate on growth, yield,

economics and crisp quality of Indian potato processing cultivars. Potato Research 50 (20): 143-155.

Kumar P, Pandey S K, Singh B P, Singh S V and Kumar D (2007b). Influence of source and time of potassium application on potato growth, yield, economics and crisp quality, Potato Research 50 (1): 1-13.

Kumar Parveen, Pandey S K, Singh S V, Kumar Dinesh, Singh B P, Singh Sukhwinder, Rawal S and Meena R L (2012). Influence of N and K rates on yield and quality of chipping variety Kufri Chipsona-3. Potato Journal 39 (2) : 191-196.

Kumar Parveen, Pandey S K, Singh S V, Kumar Dinesh, Singh B P, Singh Kapur, Rawal S and Singh Sukhwinder (2011). Effect of growth duration, N application and row spacing on productivity, profitability and processing quality of potato. Potato Journal 38 (2) : 137-142.

Marwaha R S (1997). Processing of potatoes: current status, need, future potential and suitability of Indian varieties - A critical appraisal. Journal of Food Science and Technology 34: 457-471.

Singh S V, Pandey S K, Kumar Dinesh, Marwaha R S, Manivel P, Kumar Parveen, Singh B P, and Bhardwaj Viney (2010). Kufri Frysona: First high yielding potato variety for French fries in India. Potato Journal 37 (3,4): 103-109.

Received on 22/01/2016 Accepted on 26/04/2016

Table 2. Effect of fertilizer management and varieties on graded tuber yield and processing quality of potato at harvest (Pooled data of two years)

Treatment Tuber yield (t/ha) Tuber dry matter

(%)

French fry colour French fry

grade

(>75 mm)

Chip grade (45-

75 mm)

Process-ing grade (>45 mm)

Small

(<45 mm)

Total

Fertilizer managementF1 12.35 14.21 26.56 4.22 30.78 21.0 1.84F2 11.13 15.04 26.17 3.92 30.08 20.3 1.80F3 11.97 14.32 26.29 3.91 30.20 21.0 1.78F4 10.90 15.53 26.43 3.81 30.23 21.2 2.01SEm+ 0.57 13.85 0.76 0.25 0.89 0.55 0.17CD (0.05) NS NS NS NS NS NS NSVarietiesKufri Frysona 12.60 13.85 26.46 3.99 30.45 23.1 1.88Kufri Chipsona-1 7.70 18.79 26.49 4.79 31.28 21.8 1.82Kufri Surya 14.45 11.67 26.12 3.11 29.24 17.8 1.81SEm+ 0.92 0.50 0.80 0.13 0.89 0.42 0.17CD (0.05) 3.62 1.95 NS 0.53 NS 1.67 NS

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INTRODUCTIONMushrooms belong to the group of edible

fungi and are a rich source of protein. The most commonly grown mushrooms are Agaricus bisporus commonly known as white button mushroom. They are highly perishable with high nutritional value and short shelf life of 3-4 days(Lee, 1999) compared to most of the vegetables at ambient temperatures, because they have no cuticle to protect them from physical or microbial attack or water loss (Martine et al 2000). The transpiration rate of mushrooms is 2.5mg/cm2 which is higher than tomato due to absence of protective skin which leads to higher moisture loss (Mahajan et al 2008).There is a need to extend the shelf life of the mushrooms for which special handling is required.Minimally processed fruits and vegetables are getting a good response commercially as they have some advantages of cost and labour (Hoover, 1997).

Polythene is the cheapest and most widely used for food packaging in developing countries. It is available in a wide range of thickness and grades, all

Effect of Packaging Material and Temperature on Firmness of Minimally Processed Button Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus)

Gagan Jyot Kaur* and Jagbir Rehal2

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Moga-142 001 (Punjab)

ABSTRACTMushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) are one of the most perishable horticultural produce with high nutritional value and short shelf life usually 1-3 days at ambient temperature. The market acceptance of mushroom is mainly affected by its colour and firmness. In the current study, experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of storage conditions on firmness ofminimally processed mushrooms. Mushrooms were packed in polythene bags (a) 100 gauge (b) 200 gauge (c) 300 gauge (with and without macro-perforations)and stored at (i) 13°C (ii) 18°C (iii) 24°C (iv) 4±1 °C (refrigeration temperature) and (v)-18°C (deep freezer). It was observed that the samples packed in 200gauge polythene bags and stored at refrigeration temperature had a longer shelf life due to delayed deterioration in the firmness when compared to mushrooms stored at13,18 and 24˚C.The mushrooms stored at deep freezer (-18˚C) showed a different trend as the firmness increased significantly due to phase change of water present in the produce. Key Words: Button Mushroom,Packaging, Shelf life, Temperature.

of which are flexible,relatively tough,heat sealable and transparent.The Low Density Polythene (LDPE) has relatively poor barrier properties in comparison to HDPE (High Density Polythene) 200-500 gauge as they have comparatively better barrier properties against moisture, air and odours. The current study was carried out with an objective to assess the effect of the packaging material and storage temperate on the firmness of freshly harvested minimally processed mushrooms. To investigate the mushrooms were packed in polythene bags (a) 100 gauge (b) 200 gauge (c) 300 gauge (with and without macro-perforations) and stored at (i) 13°C (ii) 18°C (iii) 24°C (iv) 4±1 °C (refrigeration temperature) and (v)-18°C (deep freezer)at atmospheric and sub atmospheric conditions.

MATERIALS AND METHODSWhite button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus)

were obtained during the first stage of maturity and transported in the refrigerated van to the laboratory within 3 hours of picking. The damaged

Corresponding Author’s Email:engg-gagan@pau.edu2Department of Food Science & Technology, PAU, Ludhiana

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and bruised mushrooms were removed while the sound mushrooms were packed in polythene bags of 200,300,400 gauge (with and without perforations).The area under macro perforations was 1per cent of the total packed area uniformly. The sub atmospheric conditions were created with a vacuum pump, the pipe attached was used to eliminate the air present in the polythene bag and sealed with a sealing machine. These samples were stored at different roomtemperatures (13°C, 18°C, 24°C), refrigeration temperature ( 4±1° C) and deep freezer(-18±1°C).

TextureSoftening of mushrooms was determined by

penetration test using penetrometer(Mc Cormick Fruit Tester FT-327)in the range 0.2-5 kg/cm2 and 1.5-12 kg/cm2.The needle of penetrometer was axially inserted through the button portion parallel to stipe. With the uniform application of force, the needle on the dial moved and the reading was recorded as firmness (kg/cm2). The study was so designed that the initial firmness for a lot under specific storage conditions were taken as constant.

Firmness=Reading on the gauge (kg)/Area of the penetrometer (cm2)

Statistical AnalysisExperiments were arranged in completely

randomized design and each composed of three replicates. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed using statistical program for social sciences (SPSS 13.0) and the differences at P≤0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONEffect of packaging material on the firmness

The initial firmness of mushrooms varied from 3.35kg/cm2 to 4.95 kg/cm2.These were packed in polythene bags and stored at constant temperature. The firmness of the mushrooms packed in polythene bags of variable thickness decreased with time.

The parameters had a significant effect on the firmness of the mushroom. The minimum loss of 15.6 per cent in the firmness was recorded for the samples packed in 200 gauge and 12.7 per cent for mushrooms packed in 400 gauge polythene bags with macro pores at atmospheric pressure. The effect of packaging at 13°C under sub atmospheric pressure was non-significant. The bags without macro-perforations showed precipitation of water, the moisture within the package appeared to have

Table 1. Effect of packaging material on the firmness (kg/cm2)of the mushrooms. Parameter Initial 200 gauge 300 gauge 400 gauge Packaging

MaterialShelf Life (d)

CD

3rd Day at 13°CAP 3.7 3.12 2.9 2.97 0.41 0.69 0.54MP 3.7 2.6 2.96 3.23 0.19 0.52 0.34SAP 3.7 2.82 3.0 2.57 NS 0.63 NS

3rd Day at 18°CAP 4.05 2.72 2.35 2.3 0.21 0.89 0.43MP 4.05 2.62 2.90 2.78 N.S 0.96 NSSAP 4.05 2.62 2.72 2.57 N.S 0.87 NS

3rd day at 24°CAP 4.95 4.35 4.43 4.65 0.66 1.17 0.87MP 4.95 4.15 4.15 4.18 0.19 1.47 0.61SAP 4.95 4.35 4.46 4.45 NS 1.23 NS

AP (Atmospheric Pressure),MP (Macro Perforations),SAP (Sub Atmospheric Pressure)

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no effect on the mushroom softening (Beecher et al 2001).The condensation rather depends upon the water uptake during cultivation and storage at RH 90-95 per cent (Table 1).

At 18°C the effect of packaging material was non-significant for both the samples stored in polythene bags with macro perforations and samples packed in polythene bags at sub atmospheric conditions. Minimum loss of firmness of 32 per cent was observed for mushrooms stored in polythene bags 200gauge, in comparison to the control (41.6%).

At 24˚C, the effect of packaging material with macro perforations was non-significant. Minimum loss of 14.2 and 14.4 per cent was recorded for the samples packed in 200 and 300 gauge at atmospheric pressure while the control recorded a loss of 41.8 per cent. The mushrooms packed in 200gauge at atmospheric pressure retained the maximum firmness. With the increase in temperature the gradient increased resulting in the transfer of water from the mushrooms to the surroundings. As the temperature increases the loss of water increases and the texture deteriorated at a fast pace. Similar results of water loss and senescence have been reported by Nerya et al (2006).

Table 2. Effect of packaging material on the firmness of the mushrooms on the 12th day at Refriger-ation Temperature (4± 1 °C)Parameter Initial 200 gauge 300 gauge 400 gauge Packaging

MaterialShelf

Life(d)CD

AP 4.95 3.6 3.85 3.36 0.66 1.17 0.87MP 4.95 2.41 2.23 2.03 0.19 1.47 0.61SAP 4.95 3.25 2.93 2.90 NS 1.23 NS

AP (Atmospheric Pressure), MP (Macro Perforations), SAP (Sub Atmospheric Pressure)

At refrigeration temperature the quality of mushrooms on the 12th day of storage was comparable to the 3rd day at room temperature so the data for that period is reported. Maximum firmness was retained by mushrooms packed in 300 gauge followed by those packed in 200 gauge and 400gauge, respectively at atmospheric conditions. Similarly, the loss in firmness was higher at higher temperature when compared to refrigeration temperature. Similar trend was recorded by Zivanovic et al (2000) and it could be attributed to protein and polysaccharide degradation, hyphae shrinkage, central vacuole disruption and expansion of intercellular space at pileal surface. The mushrooms packed under sub atmospheric conditions had a non-significant effect on the packaging material. Comparing the firmness at different room temperatures (13, 18, 24°C) and the refrigerated temperature, it was observed that the firmness decreased in comparison to fresh mushrooms but the deterioration of the samples stored at refrigeration temperature was delayed (Table 2).

A reverse trend was recorded for the samples stored in the deep freezer. Due to low temperature

Table 3. Effect of packaging material on the firmness of the mushrooms on the 8th day at Deep Freez-er (-18°C)Parameter Initial 200 gauge 300 gauge 400 gauge Packaging

MaterialShelf Life (d)

CD

AP 3.35 5.03 5.53 5.25 1.38 1.22 0.87MP 3.35 5.3 5.5 5.31 NS 1.37 NSSAP 3.49 4.39 4.3 5.25 0.18 0.89 0.47

AP (Atmospheric Pressure), MP (Macro Perforations), SAP (Sub Atmospheric Pressure)

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the water present in the mushroom (bound and unbound) changed from liquid to solid form resulting in the increased firmness. More force was required to penetrate through the pelus. Slow freezing led to the formation of big ice crystals damaging the adjacent cell wall. When these mushrooms were exposed to the room temperature thawing took place and phase change of water from solid to liquid occurred. The ruptured cells lost the turgidity and resulted in poor textural properties making it unacceptable for the market.

It was recorded that temperature had a significant effect when compared with the packaging material. As the temperature increased the texture of the mushroom deteriorated with time. This could be due to increased respiration rate with the time. At room temperature minimum loss in the firmness was recorded for samples packed in 200gauge polythene bags under atmospheric condition and 400 gauge macro perforated polythene bagsat24˚C and 13˚C, respectively.

The macro perforation had a non-significant effect on the in the packaging material and shelf life of the mushrooms. The firmness of samples packed in macro-perforated polythene bags was similar to control due to absence of the barrier to control the water vapor transmission rate. These samples showed similar characteristics of veil opening, turning the gills brown, elongation of the stem and reduced texture (Lopez-Briones et al 1992).

The sub-atmospheric conditions created by eliminating the oxygen with the vacuum pump reduced the concentration of oxygen present. The small amount of oxygen present restricted the respiration rate thus reducing the moisture content maintaining the firmer texture, retarded cap development, reduced aerobic deterioration and weight loss. Similar results of decrease in rate of senescence stored in LDPE at 12°C though the concentration of carbon dioxide and oxygen varied were reported by Roy et al ( 1995).It was reported by Martin and Beelman (1996) that less than 2 per cent

of oxygen can cause anaerobic microbial growth such as Clostridium botulinum and Staphylococcus aureus. For the packs stored at sub- atmospheric condition detrimental deterioration was observed, mushrooms with dark brown blotches and opening of the veil. Carbon dioxide concentration higher than 12 per cent causes loss of firmness and an increase in the enzymatic browning of Agaricus bisporus due to cell membrane damage. The concentration of carbon dioxide and oxygen is very critical. The degree of sensitivity towards carbon dioxide varies with the type of mushrooms. Excessive carbon dioxide inside the package can cause physiological injuries resulting in severe browning and off flavors (Jacxsens et al 2002).

CONCLUSIONThe samples stored at refrigeration showed

the maximum shelf life for the samples packed in 200gauge polythene bags. The size of the perforations was big which subsided the characteristics of the individual polythene sheet. Small openings uniformly distributed can be considered for further studies. The samples stored in deep freezer showed an increase in the firmness but due to slow freezing the rupture of adjacent cells took place and it destroyed the texture which was prevalent during thawing. Mushroom is highly nutritious horticulture produce and for maximum retention of the nutrients there is a lot of scope in freeze drying of mushrooms.

REFERENCESBeecher T M, Magan N and Burton K S (2001). Water

potentials and soluble carbohydrate concentrations in tissues of freshly harvested and stored mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). Post Harvest Bio. and Tech 22:121-131.

Hoover D G (1997). Minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Reducing microbial load by non-thermal physical treatments. Food Tech 51(6):66-69.

Lee J S (1999). Effect of modified atmosphere packaging on the quality of chitosan and CaCl2 coated mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). Korean J Fd Sci Tech 31(5): 1308-1314.

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Lopez- Briones G L,Varoguaux P, Chambroy Y, Bouquant J, Bureau G and Paseat B (1992) . Storage of common mushroom under controlled atmosphere. Intl J Fd Sci Tech 27:493-503.

Mahajan P V, Rodgrigues F A S , Motel A and Leonhard A (2008). Development of moisture absorber for packaging of fresh mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). Post Harvest BioTechnol 48:408-414.

Martin S T and Beelman R B (1996). Growth and Enterotoxin production of Staphylococcus aureus in fresh packaged mushrooms(Agaricus bisporus). J Fd Prot 59 (8):819-826.

Martine B, Gaelle L P and Ronan G (2000). Post harvest treatment with citric acid or hydrogen peroxide to extend the shelf life of fresh sliced mushroom. Leben-Wissen and Technol 33:285-289.

Nerya O, Ben-Arie R, Luzzatto T M, Khativ S and Vaya J (2006). Prevention of Agaricus bisporus post-harvest browning with tyrosinase inhibitors. Post harvest Bio and Technol 39: 272-277.

Roy S, Anantheswaran R C and Beelman R B (1995).Fresh mushroom quality as affected by modified atmosphere packaging. J Fd Sci 60:334-340.

Zivanovic S, Buescher R W and Kim K S (2000). Textural changes in mushrooms(Agaricus bisporus)associated with tissue ultrastructure and composition. J Fd Sci 65:1404-1408.

Received on 06/07/2015 Accepted on 27/04/2016

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INTRODUCTIONProbiotics are defined as live microbial feed

supplements that improve the health of livestock, or in other words, organisms or substances that contribute to intestinal microbial balance referred as probiotics (Parker, 1974). The main objectives of application of probiotics in the rearing of young animals are improved survival, inhibition of diarrhea, superior growth and better feed conversion efficiency (Jin et al 1996). Dietary use of probiotics is thus preferred to that of antibiotics to enhance nutrient utilization, improve feed efficiency and maintain health status because of their non-harmful effect on consumers (Onifade et al 1999).

A wide range of microbial feed additives for ruminants has been described, including bacterial cultures and mixtures of bacteria and fungi. Beneficial bacterial concentrates, i.e., probiotics used in feed enhance growth rate and metabolic activities by stimulating digestion and immunity and also to act as prophylactic and therapeutic medium (Fuller, 1992; Rolef, 2000). Saccharomyces is one of the major species of beneficial micro-organism in the gut of monogastric animals (Blaut, 2002). The fore-stomach of ruminants in very early life is

Effect of Probiotic Supplementation on Growth Performance of Pre-Ruminant Buffalo Calves

P K Sharma, K A Prajapati and M K Choudhary

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kheda -387810 ( Gujarat)

ABSTRACTTo study the effect of Probiotic ( Saccharomyces cervisiae) supplementation in pre-ruminant (0-3 months age) buffalo calves, twenty buffalo calves were divided into two groups of ten calves each according to their body weight. One group was the control while the other group was supplemented with bacteria Saccharomyces cervisiae -containing Probiotic @ 15g/calf/d in milk for a period of two months under field condition. Fortnightly growth rate of calves revealed that the effect of Saccharomyces cervisiae was more effective (P<0.01) during first month of supplementation but could not sustain in the second month. Never the less, probiotic supplementation led to an overall improvement (P<0.05) in the growth rate of buffalo calves. It also helped in preventing occurrence of diarrhea and reduced mortality during early stage of life.Key Words: Saccharomyces cervisiae, Probiotic, Buffalo calves, Growth performance.

similar to that of monogastric animals and hence supplementation with Saccharomyces cervisiae improves digestibility of nutrients and ultimately growth in pre-ruminant calves. Hence, this study was undertaken with a view to note down effect of probiotic supplementation on growth performance in pre-ruminant buffalo calves.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe experiment was conducted on growing

pre-ruminant (0-3 month’s age) buffalo calves. A total of twenty buffalo calves were divided into two groups of ten calves each according to their body weight.

Calves were maintained individually in concrete-floored, well-ventilated pens in a properly managed shed. The body weight of the calves was recorded with standard method using the formula of measuring the heart girth and length at the start of experimental feeding and thereafter regularly at fortnightly intervals. Weighing was done before feeding and watering in the early morning. One group served as the control, while the other was supplemented with probiotics (Saccharomyces cervisiae) @ 15 g/animal/d with milk. Milk was

Corresponding Author’s Email : mukesh.choudhary96@gmail.com

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fed according to the age of calves. The amount was 1/10th of the body weight from 0-20 days of age, thereafter up to one month of age, it was 1/15 of their body weight, from 1-2 months, it was 1/20th of their body weight, and thereafter till three months of age, it was 1/25th of body weight. Milk feeding was done in the morning at 7.00 a.m. and in the evening at 5.00 p.m. in divided doses, calves had access adlib to water for two hours in the morning as well as in the evening. The probiotic supplement was given daily for a period of two months, and the average daily gain (ADG) was calculated.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONEffect on body weight gain

The data pertaining to average body weight gain indicated that out of the total period, in the initial one month, body weight gain was significantly (P<0.01) improved in the supplemented group, while the effect was non-significant in the second month leading to a reduced overall (P<0.05) effect on the growth performance of the buffalo calves (Table 1).

Similar finding were reported by Mudgal et al (2010). They described that feeding of probiotic to calves up to two months of age did not have significant effect on body weight gain of calves as compared to controlled groups. In contrast to above findings, Malik and Sharma (1998), Pandey and Agrawal (2001), Prahalada et al (2001), Magalhaes et al (2008) Hossain et al (2012) and Gupta et al (2015) also reported higher growth rate and feed conversion efficiency in cross bred acalves

Table 1. Effect of probiotic supplementation on average body weight gain of buffalo calves.Group Birth wt

(kg)1st fortnight (kg)

2nd

Fortnight(kg)

ADG at1 month

3rd

Fortnight(kg)

4th

Fortnight(kg)

OverallADG at2 month(g)

T1 (Control) 30.9 32.8 36.6 187g/d 41.6 45.8 247g/dT2 (Probiotics) 30.2 33.2 37.9 257 **g/d 42.9 47.1 281*g/d

* (P<0.05) and ** (P<0.01)

supplemented with probiotics. Similarly, when Pashupathy et al (2002) added Lactobacillus acidophilus to the diet of growing mongrel pups, they observed improved growth rate in the early stage of life, while in later stages when there was higher fiber in the diet, reduction in the growth rate was observed, so that ultimately the growth what at the level of the control group.

CONCLUSIONIt may be concluded that supplementation with

Saccharomyces cervisiae is more beneficial in initial stages of calves’ life when the fiber level in the diet is low and that the effect was found to be declining with the advancement of age.

REFERENCES

Blaut M (2002). Relationship of probiotics and food to intestinal microflora. Euro J Nutri 41: 148-150.

Fuller R (1992). History and development of probiotics, p. 1-7. R. Fuller (Ed.) Probiotics: The Scientific Basis. Chapman & Halt, London, United Kingdom.

Gupta P, Sharma K S, Porwal M and Joshi M (2015). Biological performance of female calves fed diets supplemented with different strains of Lactobacilli. Int J of Sci Environment and Technology 4: 1181 – 1187.

Hossain S A, Parnekar S , Haque N, Gupta R S, Kumar D and Tyagi A K (2012). Influence of dietary supplementation of live yeast (Saccharomyces Cervisiae) on nutrient utilization, ruminal and biochemical profiles of Kankrej calves. Int J App Anim Sci 1: 30-38.

Jin L Z, Ho Y W, Abdullah N, Ali A M and Jalaudin S (1996). Effect of adherent Lactobacillus spp. on in vitro adherence of Salmonellae to the intestinal epithelial cells of chickens. J Appl Bacteriol 81: 201-206.

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Magalhaes V J A, Susca T F, Lima F S, Yoon, A F T and Santos J E P (2008). Effect of Feeding Yeast Culture on Performance, Health and Immunocompetence of Dairy Calves. J. Dairy Sci 91:1497–1509.

Malik R and Sharma D D (1998). Influence of mixed probiotic on growth, feed conversion efficiency and incidence of diarrhoea in young calves. Indian J Anim Nutr 15: 228- 231.

Mudgal V and Baghel R P S (2010). Effect of probiotic supplementation on growth performance of pre-ruminant buffalo (Bubalus Bubalis) calves. Buffalo Bulletin 29: 3

Onifade A A, Odunsi A A, Babatunde G M , Olorede B R and Muma (1999). Comparison of the supplemental effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and antibiotics in low protein and high fiber diets fed to broiler chickens. Arch Tierernahr 52: 29-39.

Pandey D and Agrawal I S (2001). Nutrient utilization and growth response in crossbred calves fed antibiotic and probiotics supplemented diets. Indian J Anim Nutr 18: 15-18.

Parker R B (1974) Probiotics, the other half of the antibiotics story. Anim Nutr Health, 29: 4-8.

Pashupathy K, Sahoo A, Kamra D N and Pathak N N (2002). Effect of Lactobacillus supplementation and increased fiber level on growth and nutrient utilization in growing pups. Indian J Anim Nutr 19: 359-64.

Prahalada H K, Kamra D N and Pathak N N (2001). Effect of feeding Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus acidophilus on nutrient utilization and performance of crossbred cattle calves. Indian J Anim Sci 16: 103-107.

Rolef R D (2000). The role of probiotics cultures in the control of gastrointestinal health. J Nutr 130: 396-402.

Received on 15/03/2016 Accepted on 30/04/2016

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Probiotic Supplementation on Growth Performance of Pre-Ruminant Buffalo Calves

40

INTRODUCTIONEmpowerment is a multidimensional process

and refers to the expansion of freedom of choice and action in all spheres of life –social, political, cultural and economic. It implies control over resources and autonomy in decision making. At the individual level, it refers to enhancing individual capabilities and at the collective level, it stands for the ability to organize and mobilize, to take action and to solve their problems. Economic Empowerment involves the ability of women to engage in income generating activities which will give them an independent income. Economic independence requires that women be provided opportunities for acquiring knowledge and skills which leads to technical as well as social empowerment. Income generating activities are considered as those initiatives that

Empowerment of Farm Women through Income Generating Activities

L Pradhan1, P Das2 and M P Nayak3

Krishi Vigyan Kendrs, Keonjhar Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubaneswar (Odisha)

ABSTRACTWomen empowerment is a process in which women gain greater share of control over resources material, human and intellectual and financial resources and control over decision making in the home, community, society, nation and to gain power. Economic independence is one of the means to empower the women. This study was undertaken in five blocks of Bhadrak district of Odisha comprising 150 numbers of respondents. The study revealed that, among various income generating activities, the extent of involvement of farm women in agro-processing (Rank I) then vegetable cultivation, mushroom cultivation, backyard poultry rearing, dairy farming, Goat farming , Craft making and vermin- composting etc. Promotion of income generating activities in rural areas not only enhance national productivity, generate employment but also help to develop economic independence, personal and social capabilities farm women. Economic empowerment, improved standard of living, self confidence, enhanced awareness, sense of achievement, increased social interaction, engagement in political activities, increased participation level in meeting, improvement in leadership qualities, involvement in solving problems related to women and community, decision making capacity in family and community are the positive outcome.Key Words: Empowerment, Economic independence, Farm women, Income generating activities.

affect the economic aspects of people’s lives through the use of economic tools such as credit. Income generating activity is an important tool for empowerment of rural women. The self-help group provides an appropriate platform for initiating and sustaining income generating activities for the women. The State Odisha is an agrarian state with agriculture and animal husbandry sector contributing less than 20 per cent to the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GSDP) providing employment directly or indirectly to 60 per cent of the total work force. Different agencies have been promoting different Income generating activities for economic empowerment of farmwomen. Agriculture and allied departments along with Krishi Vigyan Kendras of Odisha are taking initiative for economic upliftment of the farm families. Therefore, the present study

Corresponding Author’s Email: laxmiouat@yahoo.co.in1. Scientist, KVK, Keonijhar.2. Professor, College of Home Science, OUAT.3. Joint Director Information, OVAT, Bhubaneswar.

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was undertaken to study the extent of involvement and empowerment of farm women through income generating activities.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present study was undertaken in Bhadrak

district of Odisha. Purposively the five blocks namely Basudevpur, Bhadrak, Bonth, Dhamnagar and Tihidi were selected, in which the Krishi Vigyan Kendra and Agriculture departments of Bhadrak district were carrying out various income generating activities. 30 farm women selected from each blocks thus making a total sample size of 150 participants. Data were collected through schedule questionnaire, group discussion, observation during field visit and personal interview. The data were tabulated, analysed and presented with the help of frequency and percentage.

Table1. Involvement of form women in income generating activities.Sr.No. Income Generating Activity Extent of Involvement

Very Much Much Little1 Agro-processing 48 54 482 Mushroom cultivation 42 60 483 Backyard poultry farming 32 54 644 Vegetable cultivation 30 55 655 Dairy farming 28 46 766 Goat farming 27 45 787 Craft making 25 42 838. Vermi- composting 15 32 103

Table 2. Extent of involvement in different activities.Sr.No. Activity Extent of Involvement

Score Mean Score Rank1 Agro-processing 300 2.0 I2 Mushroom cultivation 294 1.96 II3 Vegetable cultivation 265 1.77 III4 Backyard poultry farming 264 1.76 IV5 Dairy farming 252 1.68 V6 Goat farming 249 1.66 VI7 Craft making 242 1.61 VII8 Vermi-composting 212 1.41 VIII

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONInvolvement of farm women in different activities:

The extent of involvement of farm women was studied and presented in Table 1.

It was noticed that the farm women were very much involved in agro-processing like badi and papad making, chhatua, rice puffed, paddy puffed, rice flake, rice flour preparing, rice ladu (mudhi & chuda muan), arisa making, dal making etc. and much involvement in mushroom cultivation and least interested in vermi-composting. Less interest shown in composting activity may be due to unawareness about its utility and techniques.

The extent of involvement of farm women was much in agro-processing (Rank I) because in all the blocks, the farm women were engaged in agro-processing activities. Mushroom cultivation

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Table 3. Extent of Economic Empowerment.Sr.No. Economic Parameter Extent of Empowerment

Score Mean Score Rank1 Self Confidence 345 2.30 I2 Food habit 307 2.04 II3 Decision on Expenditure 295 1.96 III4 Family Standard 288 1.92 IV5 Decision making in financial aspect 280 1.86 V6 Helping in family finance 278 1.85 VI7 Saving 265 1.76 VII

Average mean score was 1.96

Table 4. Extent of Social Achievement.Sl.No Social Parameter Extent of achievement

Score Mean Score + / - than aver-age

Rank

1 Education of the children 328 2.18 + I2 Health care 282 1.88 - II3 Social participation 281 1.87 - III4 Social identity 270 1.80 - V5 Cosmopolitanisms 283 1.89 - IV

Maximum Obtainable Score was 4.5 and Average Mean Score was 1.92

secured Rank II because the paddy straw is plenty available in Bhadrak district. Likewise, vegetable cultivation followed by backyard poultry farming, dairy farming, goat rearing, craft making and vermi-composting in order of rank ( Table 2).

Extent of economic empowermentThe data (Table 3) revealed that after adopting

the agri-enterprises the farm women got self-confidence which is highly essential for any development or empowerment and secured rank I. Food habit secured rank II, because their attitude changed from food quantity to its quality. Decision making regarding spending of money secured rank III. Likewise, increase in family standard, decision making in financial matters, helping in family finance and saving were in order of rank (Table 3).

Extent of Social AchievementLot of research indicated that social and

economic development must go together and should be complementary and supplementary in nature. Social participation indicated that participation of an individual in different social organization, which are prevalent in the society and do have influence on the social behaviour of the inhabitants. In this study, following social parameter achieved through income generating activities.

The table 4 revealed that the farm women were more concerned about their child education as they thought that education change the behaviour, attitude and knowledge of a child but in social participation, social identity, cosmopolitanisms and health care, the farm women don’t have so much liberty and thus need to be strengthen.

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CONCLUSIONIncome generating activities are the important

tool for empowerment of rural women. Farm women much involved in agro-processing and mushroom cultivation than vegetable cultivation, poultry farming, dairy farming, goat rearing, craft making and vermin- composting. The farm women built self-confidence, changed food habit from quantity to quality and enhanced decision making

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ability. Regarding social participation, the farm women were more concerned about their children education but in social participation, social identity, cosmopolitans and health care, the farm women were not so much empowered and thus, need to be strengthened. Women empowerment never be possible if they will not achieve social, economical, political and technological empowerment.Received on 08/02/2016 Accepted on 30/04/2016

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INTRODUCTION Sapota (Manilkara acharas Mill.) is also called

as Chikoo is an evergreen tree known for producing delicate flavour, melting pulp with sweet taste. It is hardy, highly productive and generally free from major pests, diseases and physiological disorders. Hence, it is most popular and widely cultivated in the country. In India it is cultivated on area of 1.77 lakh ha. with production of 17.44 lakh MT and productivity of 9.90 MT per hectare. Maharashtra is leading state in which sapota is grown on 73,000 ha. with production of 4.74 lakh MT and Productivity of 6.50 MT per hectare (Anonymous, 2014). Most of the present day cultivars are seedling selections and its cultivation is based on narrow genetic base. Therefore, an attempt was made to evaluate eight year old eight sapota cultivars viz. Kalipatti, PKM 1, PKM 2, PKM Hy 7/1, Cricket Ball, CO 1, CO 2 and Kirti Bharti under National Agriculture Research Project, Ganeshkhind, Pune.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present investigation was carried out

under National Agriculture Research Project,

Evaluation of Sapota Cultivars for Growth and Yield Under Pune Conditions

S G Bhalekar1 and S U Chalak2

College of Agriculture, Pune -411 005 ( Maharashtra)

ABSTRACTA study on evaluation of eight year old eight sapota cultivars viz. Kalipatti, PKM 1, PKM 2, PKM Hy 7/1, Cricket Ball, CO 1, CO 2 and Kirti Bharti was carried out under National Agriculture Research Project, Ganeshkhind, Pune. The study revealed that the cv. PKM 1 was found vigorous in growth by showing maximum East-West spread (3.77 m), North- South spread (3.96 m). The average number of fruits/tree/ yr (523.5) and fruit yield (46.2 kg ) was recorded in cv. PKM 1 whereas the average fruit yield of other cultivars ranged between 2.16 kg/tree/yr for Cricket Ball to 24.0 kg/tree/yr for (PKM 2). It was noticed that maximum fruit weight (99.3 g) was found in cv. PKM 2, however, the varietal differences for fruit diameter and number of seeds/fruit were non-significant. Key Words : Sapota, Varieties, Yield, Quality.

Ganeshkhind, Pune for two years. Eight leading sapota cultivars grafted on Khirni (Manilkara hexandra L) planted in June 2002 with spacing of 10 X 10 m in deep black alluvial soil. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The observations were recorded on two plants of each cultivar in each replication considered as a plant unit. The various observations recorded were plant height, east west spread, noth south spread, trunk girth at 30 cm above the ground level, number of fruits/tree/yr, fruit dimensions, total soluble sugars (TSS), number of seeds/fruit and shape of fruit. The data were analyzed as per method suggested by Panse and Sukhatme (1985).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONGrowth characters

The cv. PKM Hy 7/1 recorded maximum plant height (4.4 m) and trunk girth (38.7 cm), whereas the minimum plant height (3.3 m) and trunk girth (28.0 cm) were observed in cv. cricket ball. The maximum east west (EW) and north south (NS) spread was observed in PKM 1 and Kalipatti cultivers. The plant height varied between 3.3 m

*Corresponding Author’s Email : sunilchalak@gmail.com1Associate Professor, Horticulture2Senior Research Assistant, NARP, (PZ) Ganeshkhind Pune.

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to 4.0 m., trunk height at 30 cm between 28.0 cm to 38.7 cm. ( Table 1). These wide variations for growth characters among the cultivars may be due to their genotypic differences and adaptability to the local conditions. Similar results have been reported by Shirol et al (2009) and Saraswathy et al (2010).

Fruit yieldSignificantly maximum fruit length (6.4 cm)

was observed in PKM 2 whereas the varietal differences for fruit diameter were found to be non significant. PKM Hy 7/1 recorded 5.8 cm fruit length and minimum fruit diameter (3.8 cm), which was mainly due to its characteristic long oval fruit

shape. However, PKM 2 recorded significantly maximum fruit weight (99.3 g.) which was 66.5 g. in PKM Hy 7/1. The major yield influencing character is number of fruits/tree. In this context PKM 1 recorded profuse bearing (523.5 fruits/tree/yr) that resulted in significantly maximum fruit yield (46.2 kg/tree/ yr). The maximum fruit yield in PKM1 might be due to more canopy spread and adaptability to the local climatic conditions. These findings were in agreement with Saraswathy et al (2010) for PKM 1. Kadam et al (2005) have reported that fruit yield from a tree is influenced by its age. It has also been revealed that in sapota,

Table 1. Growth and yield performance of different Sapota cultivars under Pune conditions.Sr.No.

Cultivar Plant height(m)

Trunk girth at 30 cm(cm)

Plantspread (EW) (m)

Plant spread (NS) (m)

FruitLength(cm)

Fruitdia. (cm)

Av. fruitweight. (g)

No. offruitstree-1

Yield(kg tree-1)

TSS(oBrix)

No. ofSeedsfruit-1

Shape of fruit

1 Kallipatti 3.6 34.3 3.8 3.7 5.8 4.8 83.2 140.2 12.1 19.7 1.7 Oval

2 PKM 1 4.0 34.7 3.8 3.9 5.3 5.5 88.3 523.5 46.2 14.5 2.7 Oval

3 PKM 2 3.5 32.1 3.5 3.5 6.4 4.5 99.3 261.2 24.0 16.1 2.3 Oblong to oval

4 PKM HY 7/1

4.4 38.7 3.3 3.3 5.8 3.9 66.5 217.7 14.7 16.8 1.0 Long oval

5 Cricket Ball

3.3 28.0 2.3 1.9 5.2 4.8 74.3 28.7 2.2 18.5 1.7 Round

6 CO 1 3.3 32.5 3.1 2.8 4.7 4.8 82.1 41.0 3.3 18.2 1.7 Long oval

7 CO 2 3.8 32.8 3.6 3.4 4.9 4.9 85.1 40.3 3.4 15.4 2.7 Ovate round

8 Kirti Bharti

3.4 29.0 3.0 3.4 5.0 7.5 83.9 39.5 3.2 18.6 2.7 Egg shape

S.E.± 0.16 1.80 0.16 0.19 0.15 0.81 3.64 7.05 0.89 0.22 0.44

C.D. at 5%

0.47 5.18 0.47 0.54 0.44 N.S. 10.49 20.34 2.58 0.69 N.S.

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fruit yield go on increasing up to 30 years of age of the tree. Chundawat and Bhuva (1982) indicated great variation in fruit size, production and quality of fruits in sapota.

Quality characters The variety Kalipatti recorded highest TSS

(19.67 o Brix) which was superior over rest of cultivars however, minimum TSS (14.50 o Brix) was recorded in cv. PKM 1. The varietal differences with respect to number of seeds/fruit were non- significant. Regarding the fruit shapes, it was observed that, cv. Kalipatti and PKM 1 have oval shape fruits, PKM 2 have oblong to oval fruits, PKM Hy7/1 and CO 1 have long oval shape fruits and CO 2 have ovate to round. The variety Kirti Bharti produced egg shaped fruits with ridges on the rind. These results were in agreement with Shirol et al (2009). The cv. PKM 1 recorded maximum fruit yield but the TSS of the fruit was less and which was not desirable for commercial sapota cultivation. In sapota the negative co-relation between yield and TSS has been reported by Saraswathy et al (2010).

CONCLUSIONThe findings revealed that sppota cultivar PkM 1

was vigorous and recorded highest fruit yield (46.2 kg/tree/year) whereas TSS was highest (18.75° Brix) in Cricket Ball. Further, a negative correlation existed between fruit yield and the quality.

Literature Cited Anonymous (2014). Horticulture Database, National Horticulture

Board, Govt. of India publication , pp 122-123.

Chundawat B S and Bhuva, H P (1982). Performance of some cultivars of sapota (Acharas sapota L ) in Gujarat. Hariyana J Hort Sci 11: 154-159.

Kadam D D, Jadhav Y R and Patgaonkar D R (2005). Linear relationship between yield and number of fruits of sapota and sweet orange trees. South Indian Hort 53:15-17.

Panse V G and Sukhatme P V (1985). Statistical Methods for Agricultural workers. 4th ed. ICAR New Delhi.

Saraswathy S, Parameswari C, Parthiban S, Selvarajan M, and Ponnuswami V(2010). Evaluation of sapota genotypes for growth, yield and quality attributes, Electronic J of Plant Breeding 1(4):441-446

Shirol A M, Kanamadi V C, Patil Shankargouda and Thammaiah N(2009). Studies on the performance of new sapota cultivars under Ghataprabha command area. Karnataka J Agric Sci 22 (5):1056-1057.

Received on 03/02/2016 Accepted on 24/04/2016

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INTRODUCTIONThere is a worldwide trend to plant fruit trees

at higher density in order to control tree size and maintain desired architecture for better light interception and ease in operations such as pruning, pest control and harvesting. The high density planting and several other operations are involved in improving the yield and quality of guava fruits. Among them, heading back and pinching were important factors to sustain the yield and quality of fruits in high density planted guava (Sahay and Singh, 2001; Mehta et al 2012). There are number of horticultural economic and practical reasons for heading back and pinching in guava to obtain productive and efficient trees and orchards. Some of these are firstly to control tree size and shape and secondly, for renewal of bearing shoots, rejuvenation of older plants especially in high density planting, fruit thinning to improve fruit size, yield and quality. Pinching of current season’s growth is an alternative practice used to control vigor.

Impact of Heading Back and Pinching on Vegetative and Reproductive Parameters of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) under

High Density Plantation Hemant Saini*, S Baloda and Vijay

Department of Horticulture Choudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004 (Haryana)

ABSTRACT An investigation to evaluate the effect of heading back and pinching on growth and yield parameters of Guava (Psidium

guajava L.) under high density plantation was carried out at experimental orchard, Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during the year 2013-14. There were two treatments i.e. heading back and pinching. Heading back at the level of 150, 175 and 200 cm was done in the month of March and compared with control (no heading back). Pinching i.e. no pinching, one pinching (last week of June), two pinchings (last week of June and July) and three pinchings (last week of June, July and August) were done on the headed back plants. The study revealed that all the treatments were effective in increasing the growth characters, however, heading back at the level of 200 cm and two pinchings were found most effective in increasing the growth characters i.e. number of sprouts per shoot, flowering intensity, fruit setting, number of fruits/plant and yield over control and other treatments. Plant height, plant spread and tree volume were significantly reduced by various heading back treatments, however, the effect of different numbers of pinching was found non significant in altering the plant height, spread and volume.

Key Words: Heading back, Pinching, Growth, Yield, High density plantation, Guava

At present there is little documentation regarding the effect of heading back and pinching on the subsequent tree growth and productivity of guava especially under North Indian conditions. Thus, to gather the requisite information about the aforesaid cultural practice, an investigation to note down the effects of heading back and pinching on vegetative and reproductive characters of guava (Psidium guajava L.) under high density plantation was undertaken.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study was carried out at experimental

orchard, Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during the year 2013-14. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design allocating four levels of heading back i.e. Control (no heading back), 150, 175 and 200 cm above ground level and four pinchings i.e. no pinching, one pinching in last week of June, two pinchings in last week of

*Corresponding Author’s Email: sainihemant721@gmail.com

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July and three pinchings in last week of August with three replications, comprising 16 treatment combinations.

Trees taken for the study were uniformly grown six year old, spaced at the distance of 6 m x 2 m. They were kept under uniform condition of orchard management during the study period where all the agronomic practices were carried out as per package of practices. The number of sprouts on each experimental tree were counted on four selected branches one in each direction during second fortnight of April. On each experimental tree the shoot length was recorded from four tagged branches, one in each direction. The average shoot length per branch was calculated and expressed in centimeter (cm). Height of the trees was measured with the help of measuring pole up to the maximum point of height ignoring only the off type shoots and expressed in meters. The distance between points to which most of branches of a tree had grown in the North-South and East-West directions were measured and expressed in meters (m). The tree volume was calculated in (m3) by formula given by Roose et al (1986) as V = 4⁄6 πr2h

where, h= height of tree (m) and sum of E-W and N-S directions (m)

r = ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––4

E-W= East – West; N-S= North – South

Flowering intensity was measured by fixing a meter cube (quadrat) in the plants and counting the numbers of flowers in the cube. It was expressed as flowers/m3. The per cent fruit set was calculated one month after anthesis from four tagged branches. The average per cent fruit set was calculated by formula given below-

Number of fruits setFruit set (%) = ––––––––––––––––––––– x 100

Total flowers countedThe number of fruits was counted on four tagged branches and average was worked out. The total fruit yield per tree was calculated by multiplying total number of fruits per plant with the average fruit weight and expressed in kilogramme (kg).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONNumber of sprouts per shoot

Heading back at 200 cm and 175 cm level significantly increased the number of sprouts per shoot over control (Table 1). Pinching numbers and interaction between heading back levels and pinching numbers were found non-significant in increasing the number of sprouts per shoot. Increase in number of sprouts per shoot by heading back may be due to overcome of apical dominance and supply of more food materials. These results were in line with earlier work carried out by Lakhpathi et al (2013). It was reported that pruning intensity at 30 cm increased the number of sprouts per shoot

Table 1. Effect of heading back and pinching on number of sprouts per shoot of guava under high density plantation.

Pinching

Heading back

No Pinching

One pinching

Two pinchings

Three pinchings

Mean

Control 2.00 2.20 2.26 2.03 2.12150 cm 2.36 2.38 2.35 2.25 2.34175 cm 2.20 2.55 2.67 2.63 2.51200 cm 2.65 2.40 2.76 2.55 2.59Mean 2.30 2.38 2.51 2.37

CD at 5%: Heading back (H) - 0.38, Pinching (P) – NS, H x P - NS

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whereas, Dubey et al (2001) in guava reported that 25 per cent pruning intensity produced maximum number of sprouts per shoot as compared to control.

Shoot lengthThere was marked increment in shoot length

per branch of guava hybrid Hisar Safeda due to severe pruning (heading back at 150 cm) and least shoot length was found in control (Table 2). This increase in shoot length may be attributed to the reserve food material in the main scaffolds or branches due to which new growth was put forth just after the heading back. In present study, shoot length decreased with increasing numbers of pinchings. This decrease in shoot length may be due to overcome of apical dominance and emergence of lateral shoots. Shoot length was significantly

Table 2. Effect of heading back and pinching on shoot length (cm) of guava under high density plantation.

Pinching

Heading back

No Pinching

One Pinching

Two pinchings

Three pinchings

Mean

Control 25.80 23.10 21.20 20.80 22.73150 cm 49.40 45.20 42.30 41.20 44.53175 cm 48.10 40.10 38.00 36.20 40.60200 cm 36.30 30.70 32.90 27.50 31.85Mean 39.90 34.78 33.60 31.43

CD at 5%: Heading back (H) - 0.68, Pinching (P) – 0.68, H x P – 1.37

affected by the interaction of heading back levels and pinching numbers. Increase in shoot length with increase in pruning level was also reported by Mohammed et al (2006) in guava.

Plant height Plant height decreased significantly with

increasing severity of heading back (Table 3). Minimum plant height was found with severe heading back (150 cm) and maximum plant height was recorded with control (no heading back). It might be due to the fact that pruned trees were unable to make up the loss of growth caused by severe pruning in this short period. Numbers of pinchings and its interaction with different levels of heading back were found non significant in altering the plant height of guava. Similar findings

Table 3. Effect of heading back and pinching on plant height (m) of guava under high density plantation.

Pinching

Heading back

No Pinching

One Pinching

Two pinchings

Three pinchings

Mean

Control 5.47 5.33 5.27 5.24 5.33 150 cm 3.18 2.95 3.00 2.95 3.02 175 cm 3.73 3.63 3.60 3.37 3.58 200 cm 3.73 3.83 3.83 3.68 3.77 Mean 4.03 3.94 3.93 3.81

CD at 5%: Heading back (H) - 0.14, Pinching (P) – NS, H x P - NS

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were obtained in guava cv. Sardar by 30 cm pruning level by Rajwant and Dhaliwal (2001). Kumar and Rattanpal (2010) also reported similar results in guava by removal of half the vegetative growth. The present investigation was also in consonance with the findings of Singh et al (2012) and Prathiba et al (2013) in guava.

Plant spreadThere was marked reduction in plant spread of

guava cultivar Hisar Safeda due to severe heading back at 150 cm (Table 4). In present study, pinching numbers and interaction of different levels of heading back and pinching numbers had non significant effect on plant spread. The reduction in plant spread with increasing severity of heading back might be attributed by the fact that pruned trees were unable to make up the loss of growth caused

by severe pruning in this short period. Likewise, in mango, Lal and Mishra (2008) reported greater canopy spread in unpruned trees than in pruned trees. Similar findings were observed by Kumar and Rattanpal (2010), Singh et al (2012) and Prathiba et al (2013) in guava.

Tree volumeWith severe heading back, there was significant

reduction in tree volume (Table 5). The fact that pruned trees was unable to make up the loss of growth caused by severe pruning in this short period. Pinching numbers and interaction of heading back levels and pinching numbers were found non significant in altering trees volume of guava. Similar results were observed by Kumar and Rattanpal (2010) where they found maximum tree volume (118.8 m3) in control trees and was

Table 4. Effect of heading back and pinching on plant spread (m) of guava under high density plantation

Pinching

Heading back

No Pinching

One Pinching

Two pinchings

Three pinchings

Mean

Control 5.58 5.45 5.32 5.30 5.41150 cm 3.70 3.40 3.43 3.55 3.52175 cm 4.05 4.10 4.22 4.14 4.13200 cm 4.42 4.51 4.45 4.34 4.43Mean 4.44 4.37 4.35 4.33

CD at 5%: Heading back (H) - 0.26, Pinching (P) – NS, H x P - NS

Table 5. Effect of heading back and pinching on tree volume (m3) of guava under high density plantation.

Pinching

Heading back

No Pinching

One Pinching

Two Pinchings

Three Pinchings

Mean

Control 89.81 86.55 79.15 75.87 82.84 150 cm 33.01 29.64 28.53 28.15 29.83 175 cm 42.19 42.36 40.64 44.15 42.34 200 cm 48.93 51.54 51.29 50.01 50.44 Mean 53.48 52.52 49.90 49.55

CD at 5%: Heading back (H) - 6.56, Pinching (P) – NS, H x P - NS

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minimum (57.1 m3) under pruning treatment by removal of half vegetative growth in guava. Singh et al (2012) showed that pruning decreased the tree canopy volume in guava.

Flowering and fruiting charactersIt is appropriate to mention here that after

heading back of guava plants in March 2014, there was no flowering up to one year i.e. following rainy and winter season except in control plants because the plants entered into juvenile phase. Hence, the discussion given below is for rainy season crop of 2015.

Flowering intensityFlowering intensity was found significantly

higher in plants headed back at 200 cm in comparison to control because less current season wood was available due to no pruning in control plants (Table 6). Similarly, the pinching numbers also had a significant effect on flowering intensity in comparison to control. Trees pinched twice (June and July) produced maximum number of flowers, whereas, minimum flowering intensity was recorded in trees which were not pinched. The interaction between heading back and numbers of pinching was also found significant. The increase in flowering intensity with pinching as compared to the unpinched trees indicates that pinching resulted in production of new growing points on the pinched trees. The trend of results of the present study was

similar to Mohammed et al (2006) who reported that maximum flowering intensity was recorded in 60 cm pruning treatment in guava. However, these results of present study were in contradiction with the earlier findings of Jadhav et al (2002) who showed that number of flowers per shoot on severely pruned (60%) trees of guava were more than mild pruned (30 %) trees and control.

Fruit settingPer cent fruit set was significantly increased

with decreasing severity of heading back (Table 7). Maximum fruit set was recorded with trees headed back at 200 cm level and minimum in control. The increase in fruit set with pruning as compared to the unpruned trees indicates that pruning resulted in production of new growing points on the pruned trees. Further, it also reduced flower drop, thus directly increase the number of fruits per tree and resulted in higher fruit set. Numbers of pinchings also significantly affected the fruit set in guava. Highest fruit set was recorded in plants pinched two times (June and July). This increase in fruit set may be attributed to the fact that pinching produces lateral shoots which in turn gives new growing points. Dhaliwal and Singh (2004) and Brar et al (2007) also reported higher fruit set in pruned trees of guava. However, the results are contrary to the findings of Dubey et al (2001) who found, maximum fruit set in control and minimum with 100 per cent pruning intensity in guava.

Table 6. Effect of heading back and pinching on flowering intensity (flowers/m³) of guava under high density plantation

Pinching

Heading back

No Pinching

One Pinching

Two Pinchings

Three Pinchings

Mean

Control 58.0 62.3 68.0 64.7 63.3150 cm 72.3 77.0 83.3 83.0 78.9175 cm 90.7 94.0 103.0 99.3 96.8200 cm 98.0 105.3 110.0 108.7 105.5Mean 79.8 84.7 91.1 88.9  

CD at 5%: Heading back (H) - 0.93, Pinching (P) – 0.93, H x P – 1.86

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Number of fruits per plantThere was marked increment in number of fruits

per plant with decreasing severity of heading back where 200 cm heading back level increased the fruits significantly in comparison to other heading back levels and control (Table 8). The increment in fruit number may be attributed to the increment in the bearing shoot on the tree due to heading back and pinching. In respect to pinching numbers, trees pinched twice (June and July) produced maximum number of fruits. Number of fruits per plant was found significant with the interaction effect of different heading back levels and numbers of pinching. In unpinched plants number of fruits per plant is less due to shading effect of close planting. Similar observations were reported by Mohammed et al (2006) and Brar et al (2007) in guava.

Table 7. Effect of heading back and pinching on fruit setting (%) of guava under high density plantation.

Pinching

Heading back

No Pinching

One Pinching

Two pinchings

Three Pinchings

Mean

Control 76.8 77.8 77.9 77.9 77.6150 cm 80.8 81.5 85.5 81.8 82.4175 cm 84.8 85.3 85.5 85.9 85.4200 cm 88.6 88.7 90.7 89.2 89.3Mean 82.8 83.3 84.9 83.7

CD at 5%: Heading back (H) - 1.2, Pinching (P) – 1.2, H x P - NS

Fruit yieldYield was affected significantly by all the

heading back levels as well as by pinching numbers (Table 9). Regarding level of heading back, plants headed back at 200 cm level registered the highest yield. In case of pinching numbers, trees pinched twice (June and July) gave maximum yield. The better effect of heading back on the yield per plant may be ascribed to production of shoots conducive to flowering and fruiting. The yield in severe heading back was lower due to reduced number of fruits. In unpinched plants yield is poor due to shading effect of close planting. A similar observation was also reported by Sahay and Singh (2001) and Mehta et al (2012) in guava.

Table 8. Effect of heading back and pinching on number of fruits per plant of guava under high density plantation.

Pinching

Heading back

No Pinching

One Pinching

Two pinchings

Three pinchings

Mean

Control 146.0 153.0 156.3 155.2 152.6150 cm 163.7 173.3 190.3 189.4 179.2175 cm 178.3 188.3 194.0 190.3 187.8200 cm 194.3 197.3 212.3 208.1 203.0Mean 170.6 178.0 188.3 185.8

CD at 5%: Heading back (H) - 3.54, Pinching (P) – 3.54, H x P – 7.09

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CONCLUSIONFrom the experimental results it can be inferred

that heading back and pinching in guava under high density plantation in north-western Indian conditions is effective in improving growth, yield and yield attributes. Heading back at the level of 200 cm and two pinchings were found most effective in increasing the parameters particularly number of sprouts per plant, flowering intensity, fruit setting, number of fruits per plant and finally the yield over other treatments. These intercultural operations might have helped in controlling and managing the excessive growth and vigour of the plant which ultimately helped in enhancing the productivity of the crop.

REFERENCESBrar J S, Thakur A and Arora N K (2007). Effect of pruning

intensity on fruit yield and quality of guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. Sardar. Haryana J Hort Sc 36(1/2): 65-66.

Dhaliwal G S and Singh G (2004). Effect of different pruning levels on vegetative growth, flowering and fruiting in Sardar guava. Haryana J Hort Sci 33 (3&4): 175-177.

Dubey A K, Singh D B and Dubey N (2001). Deblossoming of summer season flowering of guava (Psidium guavjava L.) by shoot pruning. Prog Hort 33(2): 165-168.

Jadhav B J, Mahurkar V K and Kale V S (2002). Effect of time and severity of pruning on growth and yield of guava (Psidium guavjava L.) cv.Sardar. Orissa J Hort 30(2): 83-86.

Kumar Y and Rattanpal H S (2010). Effect of pruning in guava planted at different spacings under Punjab conditions. Indian J Hort 67: 115-119.

Table 9. Effect of heading back and pinching on fruit yield (kg/tree) of guava under high density plantation.

Pinching

Heading back

NoPinching

OnePinching

Twopinchings

Threepinchings

Mean

Control 12.89 14.07 15.86 14.88 14.43150 cm 13.79 15.26 15.99 15.87 15.23175 cm 14.55 15.80 16.50 16.54 15.85200 cm 17.77 19.09 22.16 21.03 20.01Mean 14.75 16.06 17.63 17.08

CD at 5%: Heading back (H) - 0.65, Pinching (P) – 65, H x P - NS

Lakhpati G, Rajkumar M and Chandersekhar R (2013). Effect of pruning intensities and fruit load on growth, yield and quality of guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. Allahabad Safeda under high density planting. International J Current Research 5(12): 4083-4090.

Lal B and Mishra D (2008). Studies on pruning in mango for rejuvenation. Indian J Hort 65(4): 405-408.

Mehta S, Singh S K, Das B, Jana B R and Mali S (2012). Effect of pruning on guava cv. Sardar under ultra high density orcharding system. Vegetos - An International J Plant Res 25(2): 192-195.

Mishra H K and Pathak R A (1998). Effect of shoot pruning on crop regulation in guava (Psidium guavjava L.) cv. L-49 (Sardar). Prog Hort 30(1-2): 78-81.

Mohammed S, Sharma J R, Kumar R, Gupta R B and Singh S (2006). Effect of pruning on growth and cropping pattern in guava cv. Lucknow-49. Haryana J Hort Sci 35(3&4): 211-212.

Pratibha Lal Shant and Goswami A K (2013). Effect of pruning and planting systems on growth, flowering, fruiting and yield of guava cv. Sardar. Indian J Hort 70(4): 496-500.

Roose M L, Cole D A, Atkin D and Kuper R S (1986). Yield and tree size of four citrus cultivars on 21 rootstocks in California. J Amer Soc Hort Sci 114: 135-140.

Rajwant K and Dhaliwal G S (2001). Effect of time and pruning intensity on tree canopy volume, girth and plant height in Sardar guava. Haryana J Hort Sci 30: 154-156.

Sahay S and Singh S (2001). Regulation of cropping in guava. Orissa J. Hort 29(2): 97-99.

Singh N K, Shrivastava D C and Bhandarkar A P (2012). Growth, yield and quality of guava as influenced by varying rejuvenation periods. Indian J Hort 69(2): 181-184.

Received on 07/02/16 Accepted on 26/04/2016

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INTRODUCTIONMushroom is considered to be a nutritious

food, rich in protein, low in fat and carbohydrates. However, mushroom growing can help in a long way in the efficient utilization of agricultural and industrial waste. It can also play a significant role to alleviate poverty and generate employment opportunity for educated unemployed youth (Rachna et al 2013). In this context, the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana organized vocational training course for farmers, farm women and rural youth on various aspects of cultivation of mushroom. During the year 2015-16, two vocational training courses of 5 days duration each in which a total of 85 rural youth and farmers participated. An evaluation study of such self employment oriented programme would help to throw more light on the possibility of improving the programme in future. In order to know the impact of these training programmes on the gain in knowledge of the trainees, the present study was undertaken.

MATERIALS AND METHODSA questionnaire was formulated comprising of

general information, background of participants,

Impact of Training Course on Knowledge Gain of Mushroom Trainees

Kulvir Kaur

Directorate of Extension Education Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana- 141 004 (Punjab)

ABSTRACTEighty five trainees were imparted training on mushroom cultivation by conducting two vocational training courses. In order to evaluate these training prgrammes, present study was undertaken to find out knowledge gain by the participants and suggestions from the trainees in order to bring improvement in the coming training courses. It was found that majority of respondents joined the training course to adopt mushroom cultivation as an occupation and only 10.5 percent joined training course just to get certificate of training. Maximum gain in knowledge (94.1% and 92.9%) was observed for diseases of mushrooms, its prevention and variety of mushrooms, respectively. More emphasis on practical classes, supplying of printed material and wide publicity were three suggestions given by the participants for bringing improvement in future programmes.Key Words: Mushroom cultivation, Training, Gain in knowledge.

landholding etc. A pre test was conducted to know the level of knowledge of participants regarding variety, diseases of mushrooms as well as their storage and preservation etc. Similarly, after completion of the training course, post evaluation was performed in order to assess the knowledge gained by the trainees and effectiveness of training. To test the knowledge of trainees, a set of 11 questions related to mushroom growing, nutrients present in mushroom, different products prepared from mushroom, storage and harvesting of mushroom etc. were used. Hence, gain in knowledge was calculated from the difference of scores obtained in pre and post knowledge test of the trainees. Likewise, the suggestions from the trainees were recorded for bringing further improvement in the training. The data were tabulated and analyzed using frequency, percentages and ranking.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONSocio-economic profile

The participants differed in age, education, occupation and landholding. The data (Table 1) showed that the age of participants was between

*Corresponding Author’s Email : kulvirkaur70@pau.edu

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20 to 68 years. More than half of trainees were in age group of 20-30 whereas 22.4 per cent were above 40 years of age. Information with respect to caste showed that participants irrespective of caste system were involved in the training. Assessment of the trainees with respect to education indicated that 35.3 per cent studied up to senior secondary level followed by graduation (24.7%) and matriculate level (20.0%). More than half of trainees belonged to farming background and only 8.2 per cent belonged to service class. It was also inferred (Table 1) that 29.4 per cent farmers were having

small land holding whereas few farmers (3.5%) were large landholders. Further, 21.1 per cent participants were from landless category and thus it was evident that mushroom farming enterprise does not require much land and therefore, landless farmers were found to be interested to adopt this enterprise to supplement their family income.

Reasons of participationThe factors which motivated the respondents

to join the training course were given for ranking in order of importance as perceived by them. As

Table 1. Socio-economic profile of trainees (n=85)Sr. No. Particulars Frequency Percent1. Age

Up to 30 yrs31-40 yrsAbove 40 yrs

501619

58.818.822.4

2. CasteScheduled casteBackward CasteOthers

117

67

12.98.2

78.83. Education

PrimaryMiddle levelMatriculateSenior SecondaryDiploma holderGraduatePostgraduate

24

17303

218

2.34.7

20.035.33.5

24.79.4

4. OccupationFarmingBusinessServiceHousewifeOthers (Retiree, student)

4614799

54.116.58.2

10.610.6

5. LandholdingLandlessMarginal (<1 ha)Small (1-2 ha)Semi medium (2-4 ha)Medium (4-10 ha)Large (>10 ha)

1815251593

21.217.629.417.610.63.5

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shown in the table 2, 63.5 per cent respondents joined training course to adopt mushroom growing as an occupation, 12.9 per cent wanted to learn about mushroom growing techniques for self consumption and 10.6 per cent joined the training course just to get the certificate of training. Lesser participants showed their interest to establish linkage with university, knowledge about mushroom growing and to teach fellow farmers about mushroom growing. Similar results were also reported by Suharban et al (1991). It was evident that majority of respondents joined the training course to adopt mushroom growing as an enterprise.

Increase in level of knowledgeIn pre-evaluation test, the knowledge range of

different participants was 3.5 per cent regarding preparation of mushroom seed to 49.4 percent in case of knowledge about identification of usable and non usable mushrooms. Post training score of various practices ranged from 90.5 per cent in case of cost and income from mushroom to 100 per cent in case of various practices like variety of mushrooms, presence of nutrients in mushroom, diseases of mushrooms, storage and harvesting, value addition to mushroom, identification of usable and non usable mushroom (Table 3).

It was thus noticed that pre training knowledge score was not much satisfactory for all the aspects of training programme. However, the knowledge score gained by participants after taining was more

Table 2. Reasons of participation in training programme in mushroom cultivation. Sr. No. Reasons Number Percentage 1. To adopt mushroom growing as an enterprise 54 63.52. To learn about mushroom growing techniques for self consumption 11 12.93. Just to know about mushroom growing 5 5.94. To get certificate of training course 9 10.65. To establish linkage with university 4 4.76. To teach fellow farmers about mushroom growing 2 2.4

Table 3. Gain in knowledge after acquiring training with respect to different operation . n=85

Sr. No.

Parameter Pre-evaluation (%)

Post-evalua-tion (%)

Gain in knowledge

1. Variety of mushrooms 7.0 100.0 93.02. Nutrients present in mushroom 24.7 100.0 75.33. Diseases prevented by nutrients present in mush-

room17.6 96.5 77.9

4. Knowledge about identification of usable and non usable mushrooms

49.4 100.0 50.6

5. Diseases of mushrooms and its prevention 5.9 100.0 94.16. Cost and income from mushroom 21.1 90.6 69.57. Method of compost making 8.2 96.5 88.38. Preparation of mushroom seed 3.5 94.1 90.69. Method of preparation of casing 9.4 97.6 88.210. Storage and harvesting mushroom 25.9 100.0 74.111. Value addition to mushroom 31.8 100.0 68.2

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satisfactory in all aspects. The reason behind the satisfactory gain in knowledge might be well educational background of participant also having keen interest of participants.

Suggestions given by the traineesThe suggestions offered by the trainees for

further improvement of the training course were presented in table 4. The results showed that more importance to practical classes, supply of printed materials and wide publicity on mushrooms were the main suggestions as more than 40 per cent participants viewed that by applying these suggestions, trainees might got knowledge regarding required information for mushroom growing with more satisfaction level that would be beneficial to start and flourish mushroom enterprise in future. Besides these suggestions, 39 per cent of the respondents felt that financial assistance by government should be provided for mushroom growing and 27 per cent respondents also gave

Table 4. Suggestions given by the trainees.Sr. No. Suggestion Frequency Ranking 1. Give more importance to practical classes 54 I2. Supply printed informatic materials 49 II3. Give wide publicity on mushrooms 40 III4. Help to get financial assistance 39 IV5. Increased duration of training 27 V6. Organize training at different out stations of the university 13 VI

stress on increase in duration of training.

CONCLUSIONIt can be concluded from the study that good

conduct of training provide trainees needed information and guidance to start and flourish any enterprise. Mushroom growing is such an enterprise in which requirement of land is not a big issue so even landless farmers can augment their income through mushroom cultivation.

REFERENCESRachna, Goel R and Sodhi G P S (2013). Evaluation of

vocational training programmes organized on mushroom farming by Krishi Vigyan Kendra Patiala. J Krishi Vigyan 2(1): 26-29.

Suharban K, Rahman O and Nair M C (1991). An evaluation of mushroom cultivation course. Indian Journal of Extension Education 27(3-4): 118-121.

Received on 30/01/2016 Accepted on 25/04/2016

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INTRODUCTIONThe Garo Hills of Meghalaya which is bordered

by state Assam and the country Bangladesh. With its undulating topography and high intensity of rainfall, suffers from erosion problem and ecosystem degradation. The tribal population is highly dependent on agriculture and horticulture for their food security and income (Meena and Punjabi, 2012). In Meghalaya, the Garo Hills has highest tribal population of different communities but the area is mainly dominated by the Garo tribes. Several village of the district are the homeland of some Indo-Mongoloid tribes like the Hajong, Rabha, Banai, Koch, Bodo etc. (Deka et al, 2009).The tribal population is highly dependent on horticulture

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Different Tribes of Garo Hills districts of Meghalaya towards Scientific Horticulture

Tanmay Samajdar, Tarun Kumar Das and Biswajit Lahiri1

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, ICAR, Tura West Garo Hills, Meghalaya-794 104 (Meghalaya)

ABSTRACTThe study was conducted in tribal areas of Garo Hills, Meghalaya during 2013 to evaluate the knowledge attitude and practices of different tribal farmer community towards scientific horticulture. A total of 150 tribal respondents, 30 each from Rabha, Hajong, Koch, Banai and Garo tribal area were selected randomly. The selected respondents were interviewed with the help of a semi structured interview schedule. It was found that majority (48%) of the respondents have primary level of education. 83.3 per cent of the farmers cultivate in their own land except Banai tribe where almost 50 per cent of the respondents cultivate on leased land. 70.7 per cent of the respondents have annual income between Rs. 30,000/- to Rs. 60,000/- from main source. Eighty four per cent of the respondents have farming experience between 3-9 years and above 12 years. It was also revealed that 96 and 81.3 per cent of the respondents have land under vegetables cultivation and orchard is less than 0.4 ha, respectively. In the study area it was found that 49.3 per cent of the respondents have farming as primary occupation and majority (68%) of the respondents have poor level of knowledge and neutral attitude towards modern horticulture, respectively. It was also found that education, source of land and farming experience were negatively correlated with knowledge level which was mainly because with higher education, respondents loose interest in farming and their involvement in farming reduces and thus knowledge level in horticulture comes down. Results of the study revealed that knowledge, attitude and cultivation practices level were considerably low among almost all the tribes though it varied from one community to other living in a same geographical area. Key Words: Tribal Farmers, Knowledge level, Attitude, Practices, Scientific farming, Adoption.

for their livelihood. The tribal people earn by forestry, shifting cultivation, settle agriculture and horticulture, and industrial labour, animal husbandry, fishing, traditional commerce including handicraft. Most of the tribal, whether young or old have limited knowledge about modern horticultural methods and food production (Nidheesh , 2010).

The main livelihood occupation for most of the Garo tribes is through horticulture/Jhum cultivation and the commercial commodities produced in the district are Arecanut, Cashewnut, Paddy, Maize, Ginger, Tuber crops, Vegetables and rearing of pig, dairy and poultry bird. The major sources of water for cultivation are through rivers, streams and rainfall. They grows paddy in plain land and

*Corresponding Author’s Email:tsamaj@rediffmail.com1College of Home Science, Central Agricultural University, Tura, West Garo Hills, Meghalaya

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mixed horticultural crops in jhum land. They were very rarely used fertilizer in their field but practices mono cropping, mulching and farm yard manure in to their field. This study was mainly undertaken to study the socio-economic status of main different tribes, the knowledge level in horticultural practices and the adoption of the modern horticultural practices by the different tribes in Garo Hills.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study was conducted in Garo hills districts

of Meghalaya, India namely West Garo Hills, South Garo and South West Garo Hills during April to September, 2013 because the districts are dominated by different communities( Garo, Rabha, Hajong, Koch and Banai). Four blocks i.e, Dalu and Selsella in West Garo Hills, Zikzak and Betasing in South West Garo Hills and Gasuapara in South Garo Hills were selected for the study. Two village from each block were selected. The village were selected on the basis of distribution of inhabitants of the five different tribes.15 numbers of respondents were selected from each village through simple random sampling. Therefore, 30 respondents were selected from each tribe making the total number of respondents to 150. The selected respondents were interviewed with the help of a semi structured interview schedule in order to get relevant information. The data collected were tabulated and statistically analyzed using simple statistical tools to interpret the results.

Characteristics of different tribesRabha community

Horticulture is also the main occupation of the Rabha community. Earlier they used to practice shifting cultivation but later on they shifted to settled cultivation. Besides horticulture they also engaged in forest based activities and handloom weaving. Basically the Rabha women are engaged in weaving since the early ages. In the ancient period when these Rabha tribes used to dwell in the forests, maximum of them practice shifting cultivation. Apart from these, the Rabha people are also

engaged in government jobs and other occupations but their development is less as compared to other communities.

Hajong Tribes Hazong tribes are a small tribal group spread

across the north east India. This tribal group resides in North Cachar Hills district, Karbi Anglong district and in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya. The villages are located on elevated grounds close to wet paddy lands and people build their houses in clusters in the courtyard of the village headman called `Adhikari. Agriculture and horticulture is the primary occupation of the Hajong tribes. The womenfolk are skilled weavers. Almost every house here has a loom and the dresses required by the female members of the family are mostly handmade. It is custom of the Hajong to weave the clothes required during weddings at the family loom. Hajongs are also good carpenters and are experts in manufacturing of bamboo and cane products.

Koch (Rajbongshi)Koch (Rajbongshi) community can be found

in entire parts of present Assam, West Bengal, Kishanganj in Bihar, Meghalaya and country Nepal and Bangladesh. It is a tradition for Koch Rajbongshi to go for hunting in a group. Usually every house has a mango , Jackfruit and a small kitchen garden, a small pond where they keep fish. Koch Rajbonshi people have their ancient tradition of treatment which is not very well known to the modern world and even not known to Ayurveda Medicine Scientists. Majority of them depend on cultivation of paddy and vegetables and rearing of cattle and poultry for their food security.

BanaiThe Banai is a sub-tribe of the Koches is regarded

as a tribe of India. The Banai was mentioned in the census report of 1891 which states about the sub-communities of the Koches. The term “Dasgaya” actually refers to the areas on the southern tract of Garo Hills of Meghalaya and includes the villages Batabari, Kapasipara, Gasuapara, Jatrakona,

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Makkabaripara etc, which had been inhabited by the Banai since ancient times. These areas are still referred to as Daskaniya or Dasgaya by the oldest living people of the area. Majority of them depend on cultivation of rice, vegetables and rearing of livestock but they are very much backward and lacking of knowledge in scientific crop and livestock production. The educational level among them is also low. The Government of Meghalaya recognizes the importance of horticultural sector in terms of its potential to address the key challenges of unemployment and poverty in the tribal region of Garo Hills districts. The Central Governments as well as Government of Meghalaya have undertaken a number of projects, programmes and initiatives such as an Innovative Project for Enhancement of Livelihood of Farmers to improve the a horticulture situation and reduce poverty.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONEducational status

Majority of the respondents (48.7%) have primary level of education where as only 0.6 per cent of the respondents have higher secondary onwards (Table1). It was evident that maximum number of respondents had primary status of education in case of Garo, Hajong, Banai and Rabha where as in Koch tribe, there are less number people having primary education but literate people are more. Only one respondent had higher secondary onwards but number of people who does not have even primary

Table 1. Distribution of the Tribes according to their Education status.Tribes Education Status

No formal Education

Literate Primary Education

Secondary Education Higher Secondary onwards

Garo 6 4 18 2 0Hajong 2 1 15 12 0Banai 12 0 13 5 0Rabha 0 2 20 8 0Koch 8 10 7 4 1Total 28 (18.7%) 17 ( 11.3%) 73 (48.7%) 31 ( 20.7%) 1 (0.6%)

education among these tribe is considerably high and overall educational status is not so good.

Land holding and farming experienceIt was noticed that 83.3 per cent of the

respondents had their own land where as only 10.7 per cent had rented land or leased in because they are poor and marginal farmers. It was observed that almost all the respondents cultivate in their own land except Banai tribe (50%), because most of them does not have their own land. Further, 84.0 percent of the respondents have farming experience in between above 3 & below 9 years and above 12years of farming experience where as 13.3 and 2.7 percent have in between less than 3 years and in between above 9 and below12 years, respectively (Table 2).Table 2. Frequency of distribution of respondents in relation to their farming experience.

Farming Experience(Yrs) Frequency PercentLess Than 3 4 2.7 Above 3 & below 9 63 42.0Above 9 & below12 20 13.3Above 12 63 42.0Total 150 100

Marital statusThe data (Table 3) revealed that 94.0 per cent of

the respondents were married where as 3.3 and 2.0 per cent were single and divorced, respectively.

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Table 3. Frequency distribution of respondents in relation to their marital status.

Marital Status Frequency PercentSingle 5 3.3Married 141 94.0Divorce 1 0. 7Widow 3 2.0Total 150 100

Cultivation of vegetables and fruits It was inferred that 96.0 per cent of the

respondents cultivate vegetables in less than 0.4 ha of area where as only 4.0 percent cultivate in between 0.4 - 1.07 ha. Likewise, 81.0 per cent of the respondents have less than 0.4 ha of area under orchard where as only 16.0 and 2.7 per cent had in between 0.4-1.07 ha and more than 1.07-1.47 ha, respectively.Table 4. Frequency distribution of respondents in relation to the primary occupation.

Income Frequency PercentageFarming 74 49.3Agricultural Labour 13 8.7Non agricultural Labour 19 12.7Service 31 20.6Bussiness 13 8.7Total 150 100

The data (Table 4) show that 49.3 per cent of the respondents have farming as primary occupation and only 21.3 per cent of the respondents perform agricultural or non agricultural labour. After farming, service ( 20.6%) and business ( 8.7%) was preferred by the participants.

It was found that 70.7 per cent of the respondents had annual income between Rs. 30, 000/- to 60,000/- from their main source where as only eight numbers of respondent had annual income in between Rs,1,50,000-2,00,00/ and above Rs.2,00,000/- .respectively (Table 5).

Table 5. Frequency of distribution of respondents in relation to their Annual income from primary occupation.

Yearly income ( ) Frequency Percent30,000-60,000 106 70.760,001-90,000 18 1290,001-1,20,000 13 8.71,20,001-1,50,000 4 2.71,50,001-2,00,000 4 2.7Above 2,00,000 5 3.3Total 150 100

Relationship between knowledge level of farmers with different independent variables.

It was found that education, source of land and farming experience were significantly (P<0.01) negatively correlated with knowledge level mainly because with higher education, respondents loose interest in farming and their involvement in farming reduces and thus, the knowledge level in agriculture also comes down. It was also found that with more farming experience lower was the knowledge level in horticulture because most of the tribal farmers are traditional bound especially elder people and their knowledge level in modern horticultural practices was less. On the other hand, it was found that type of land holding status and knowledge level in horticulture was significantly (P<0.01) positively correlated and was higher in case of those farmers, who have their own land (Table 6).Table 6. Correlation between knowledge level and other independent variables.

Independent Variables Correlation Coefficient (r)

Age 0.089Marital Status -0.123Education -0.211**Source of Land 0.566**Farming Experience -0.327**Yearly income from Main source -0.103Area under Vegetables 0.058Area under Orchard 0.016

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*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Knowledge level in modern horticultural package and practices

The data (Table 7) indicated that 68.7 per cent of the respondents have poor level of knowledge in modern horticultural package and practices and 8.7 per cent of the respondent have very good level of knowledge. Among the five major tribes, the Rabha tribe were found to possess poor level of knowledge.

Use of recommended horticultural practicesIt was found that 80.7 per cent of the respondents

used poor level of horticultural practices and which

Table 7. Distribution of the tribes according to their knowledge level.

Category Tribes Total

Garo Hajong Banai Rabha Koch

Knowledge Level Poor Number 20 (13.3) 23(15.3) 9(6.0) 26 (17.3) 25 (16.7) 103 (68.7)

Average Number 10 (6.7) 2 (1.3) 2 (1.3) 4 (2.7) 5 (3.3) 23 (15.3)

Good Number 0 (0.0) 4 (2.7) 7 (4.7) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 11 (7.3)

Very Good Number 0 0.0% 1(0.7) 12 (8.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 13 (8.7)

Figures in parenthesis represent percentage.

Table 8. Distribution of the Tribes according to the horticultural practices.

Category Tribes Total

Garo Hajong Banai Rabha Koch

Practice Poor Count 28 (18.7) 12 (8.0) 22 (14.7) 30 (20.0) 29 (19.3) 121 (80.7)

Average Count 0 (0.0) 16 (10.7) 7 (4.7) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 23 (15.3)

Good Count 1 (0.7) 1 (0.7) 1 (0.7) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 3 (2.0)

Very Good Count 1 (0.7) 1 (0.7) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 1 (0.7) 3 (2.0)

Figures in parenthesis represent percentage.

the Garo tribe found more. Only two percent of the tribes have very good level of horticultural practices (Table8).

Attitude level and other independent variablesThe data (Table 9) revealed that farming

experience was negatively correlated (P<0.01) with attitude level of farmer. The aged farmers with higher farming experience were mostly tradition bound and possess negative attitude towards modern agricultural practices. However, type of land holding was positively correlated with attitude level, which was significant (P<0.05). Those respondents, who have their own land have positive attitude towards modern horticultural practices.

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Table 9. Correlation between attitude level and other independent variables.

Independent Variables Correlation Coefficient (r)

Age -0.013Marital Status -0.055Education 0.091Type of Land Holding 0.174*Farming Experience -.487**Yearly income from Main source -0.086Area under Vegetables 0.129Area under orchard 0.082Attitude 1N 150

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Correlation between farming practice level and other independent variables

An attempt has been made to find out relationship between practice level of farmers with other independent variables. The correlation existed but it was non significant ( Table 10).

Regression analysis of knowledge, Attitude and Practice level (KAP) of farmers

The regression analysis of knowledge, attitude and practice level (KAP) of farmers was presented by β-values(unstandardized partial regression co-efficient), Standard Errors of unstandardized partial regression coefficients, β –values (standardized partial regression coefficients), the coefficient of multiple regression determination (R2) and the corresponding F-values. From the table12, it was evident that type of land holding, farming experience, age, marital status, annual income from primary occupation have substantial effect on KAP level of tribal farmers. Thus, an unit change in age, marital status, type of land holding, farming experience, annual income from primary occupation will contribute a change in KAP level farmer to the extent of 0.103, -0.0152, 0.438,-0.342, 0.084 units, respectively.

Table 10. Correlation between practice level and other independent variables.

Independent Variable Correlation Coefficient (r)

Age -0.052Marital Status -0.014Education 0.072Type of Land Holding 0.018Farming Experience -0.124Yearly income from Main source -0.089Area under Vegetables -0.018Area under Orchard 0.045Practice 1N 150

*. Correlation was significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).**. Correlation was significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

The R2 value was found to be 0.422 which means all the casual variables put together, the amount of variation in the consequent variable has to be the tune of 42.2 per cent and its F- value suggest that it was significant (P<0.01). So, on the basis of this regression analysis, the following model can be suggested for KAP level of tribal farmers of Meghalaya.Y= 48.71+ 0.1X1 - 0.15X2 + 0.44X4 - 0.34X5 + 0.08X8

Where, X1 X2, X3………………… X8 are independent variables and Y is dependent variables.

Again, another attempt was made to find out any significant difference present among the five different tribes of Garo Hills in relation to their KAP level towards scientific horticulture. For this purpose, a non parametric Chi-square test(Kruskal – Wallis) has been conducted. The result of the test have been presented in the Table 13.

• Based on 150 sampled tables with starting seed 299883525.

• Kruskal- Wallis Test ;• Grouping Variable: Tribes

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The mean rank of the KAP level of different tribes suggested that Banai tribe has the highest KAP level, which was followed by Hajong tribe (Table 13). The KAP level of Garo, Koch and Rabha tribes was much lower than that of other two tribes. The Chi-square value of Kruskal-Wallis test was found to be 82.113 with P-value 0.02 at 4 degrees of freedom. The P-value was less than 0.05 which inferred that Chi- square value was significant (P<0.05) and alternate hypothesis was accepted. Thus, non- parametric Chi- square test (Kruskal – Wallis) suggested that there exists a significant difference among the different tribes of

Table 12. Values of regression Co-efficient of KAP Level of Famers.

Coefficients(a) Model

B

Unstandardized Coeffi-cients

Standardized Co-efficients

Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 48.713 15.91 - AGE(X1) 3.056 2.184 0.103* Marital Status(X2) -8.784 3.883 -0.152* Education(X3) -1.006 1.423 -0.051 Type of Land Holding (X4) 28.394 4.681 0.438** Farming Experience(X5) -7.048 1.659 -0.342* Area under Vegetable(Bigha) (X6) 1.238 7.28 0.012 Area under orchard(Bigha) (X7) -0.826 3.482 -0.019 Yearly income from primary occupation(X8) 1.356 1.121 0.084*a. Dependent Variable: KAP Level

R2=0.422; F=11.365**; **Both 5% and 1% level of significance

Table 13. Mean rank distribution of KAP level of different tribes.

Tribes N Mean RankKAP Lev-el

Garo 30 49.55Hajong 30 105.12Banai 30 122.78Rabha 30 43.90Koch 30 56.15

Total 150

Table 14. Kruskal – Wallis test statistics.

Test Statisticsb,c KAP Level

Chi-Square 82.113Df 4Asymp. Sig. 0.000Monte Carlo Sig.

Sig. 0.000a

95% Con-fidence Interval

Lower Bound

0.000

Upper Bound 0.020

Garo Hills in terms of KAP level towards scientific horticulture.

CONCLUSIONAmong the five tribes, the knowledge level of all

the tribes was poor accept the Banai tribes which has average level of knowledge. The knowledge level of all the tribal farmers on scientific horticulture is still need to be improved by imparting training

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and awareness programme. As their attitude level towards scientific horticulture among all the tribes was neutral, it can be converted to favourable condition by pursuing the viable modern technology through method and result demonstration etc. In terms of practices, all the tribes still depend on traditional method. It was also found that majority of the tribal farmers never use fertilizers whether its chemical or biochemical. It was essential to make tribal farmers aware of the benefit of scientific horticulture. So, the institution, both governmental and non Governmental, need to join hand to enhance their knowledge leading to favourable attitude towards scientific horticulture and persuade them to practice the same in their life which will lead to

better productivity of the horticultural crops in the Garo Hills and ultimately better livelihood for the farmers of the region.

REFERENCESDeka D and Sarma G C (2009). Traditonal used herbs in the

preparation of rice-beer by the Rabha tribe of Goalpara district, Assam. Indian J Traditional Knowledge 9(3) : 459-62.

Meena, G L and Punjabi N K (2012). Farmers Perception Towards Agriculture Technology in Tribal Region of Rajasthan. Rajasthan Ext Edu 2: 92-96.

Nidhees, K.B. (2010). Agriculture Knowledge and Perception of Tribal Communities. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 9(3); 531-535.

Received on 25/01/2016 Accepted on 27/04/2016

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INTRODUCTIONApplication of potassium plays a regulatory

role in many physiological and biochemical processes of fruit plants such as photosynthesis, nucleic acid metabolism, protein and carbohydrates biosynthesis which in result increase leaf mineral content (Krauss and Jiyun, 2000) and fruit yield (Alva et al 2006). Foliar application of K has been found to rectify the deficiencies of nutrients as the availability of nutrients through foliar application is easy and quick to the plants (Miller and Hofman, 1988). The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the effect of foliar application of potassium and spray schedule on nutrient concentration of the leaf of sweet orange cv. Jaffa.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present investigation was conducted

at experimental orchard of Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana). Forty five sweet orange cv. Jaffa trees having uniform size and plant vigour were selected for investigation. All the fifteen treatments were replicated three times taking one plant as a

Nutritional Status of Leaf and Fruit Yield of Sweet Orange Influenced by Foliar Application of Potassium

Vijay*, R P S Dalal and Hemant Saini

Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004(Haryana)

ABSTRACTA field study to evaluate the effect of foliar application of potassium sources at various concentration and spray schedule on sweet orange cv. Jaffa was undertaken at experimental orchard, Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during the year 2013-14. The results revealed that the foliar application of potassium nitrate @ 2 and 4 per cent and potassium sulphate at 1.5 and 3.0 per cent improved nitrogen and potash content of leaf over control (water spray) irrespective of spray schedule. Phosphorus content of leaf was not influenced due to K sources at various concentrations. Spray schedule did not affect the nutritional status of the leaf. There was an increase in fruit yield with the increase in K doses of KNO₃ and K₂SO₄. The maximum yield (74.76 kg/plant) was recorded with the application of KNO₃ at 4 per cent. Fruit yield was found the highest with three sprays of K in the last week of April, May and August but at par with two sprays in the last week of April and August.Key Words: Sweet orange cv. Jaffa, Foliar application, K sources, Leaf NPK, Yield

single unit which was carried out in randomized block design (RBD). Uniform cultural practices and plant protection measures were followed for these trees throughout the study period as per package of practices (Anonymous, 2013). The experiment comprised of four treatments of K fertilizers and its rate of application viz. potassium nitrate at 2 per cent (T₁) and 4 per cent (T₂), potassium sulphate at 1.5 per cent (T₃) and 3.0 per cent (T₄) which were compared with T i.e. control (water spray). There were three spray schedules i.e. S₁ (two sprays at the last week of April and August), S₂ (two sprays at the last week of May and August) and S₃ (three sprays at the last week of April, May and August). Nitrogen and phosphorus content of the leaf was estimated by using the method described by Jackson (1967) and potassium by Piper (1966) and expressed in per cent. Total yield per plant was recorded at harvest and the data was analyzed in RBD.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONNitrogen, phosphorus and potash content of leaf

The results of the present study revealed that nitrogen content of the leaves was found maximum

Corresponding Author’s Email: shotreturns@gmail.com

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(1.66%) with foliar application of KNO₃ at the rate of 4 per cent which was found at par with all other potassium treatments except control (Table 1). Foliar application of Potassium nitrate was marginally superior to potassium sulphate in enhancing nitrogen content of leaf. Potassium spray schedules did not influenced leaf nitrogen content significantly. The increase in nitrogen content with KNO₃ may be due to additional supply of nitrogen to the leaves. The results are in accordance with the findings of Mostafa et al (2005) and Mostafa and Saleh (2006) in Balady mandarin.

Phosphorus content of leaves was recorded non-significant with foliar application of potassium doses from various sources and spray schedules (Table 2). Similar results were found by Haggag (1988) in Washington Navel orange. In Clementine

Table 1. Effect of foliar application of potassium and spray schedule on nitrogen content (%) in leaves of sweet orange cv. Jaffa.

Treatments Spray schedule MeanS₁ S₂ S₃

T₁ : KNO₃ 2 % 1.62 1.60 1.62 1.61T₂ : KNO₃ 4 % 1.65 1.65 1.67 1.66T₃ : K₂SO₄ 1.5% 1.60 1.62 1.59 1.60T₄ : K₂SO₄ 3% 1.60 1.60 1.58 1.59T₅ : Control (water spray) 1.51 1.55 1.50 1.52Mean 1.60 1.60 1.59CD at 5% Spray Schedule (S)= NS, Treatments (T) = 0.08 , SxT= NS

citrus, Hamza et al (2012) observed that levels of leaf P were not affected by foliar K application (5 and 8% KNO₃ and 2.5 and 4% K₂SO₄ sprayed two or three times).

Leaf potassium content increased significantly with all potassium treatments and there was an increase in leaf potassium content with an increase in K doses of KNO₃ and K₂SO₄, irrespective of spray schedule (Table 3). Foliar application of KNO₃ @ 4% gave maximum leaf potassium content (1.40%). Spray schedule of potassium did not significantly influence leaf potassium content however, maximum value was with three sprays of potassium in the last week of April, May and August. These results were in accordance with the findings of Mostafa et al (2005) and Mostafa and Saleh (2006).

Table 2. Effect of foliar application of potassium and spray schedule on phosphorus content (%) in leaves of sweet orange cv. Jaffa

Treatments Spray schedule MeanS₁ S₂ S₃

T₁ : KNO₃ 2 % 0.15 0.15 0.16 0.15T₂ : KNO₃ 4 % 0.15 0.15 0.16 0.15T₃ : K₂SO₄ 1.5% 0.14 0.15 0.15 0.15T₄ : K₂SO₄ 3% 0.14 0.15 0.15 0.14T₅ : Control (water spray) 0.14 0.14 0.15 0.14Mean 0.14 0.15 0.15CD at 5% Spray Schedule(S) = NS, Treatments(T) = NS, SxT= NS

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Fruit yieldYield increased significantly with all potassium

treatments over control and there was an increase in fruit yield with an increase in K doses of KNO₃ and K₂SO₄, irrespective of spray schedule (Table 4).

Maximum yield (74.76 kg) was recorded with KNO₃ at the rate of 4 per cent. Similarly, increased frequency of K sprays increased the yield. Maximum yield (70.72kg) was observed with three sprays of potassium in the last week of April, May and August followed by two sprays during April and August. The increase in yield might be attributed to increased fruit reserves in the plant due to the foliar application of K. Similar results were also observed by Sangwan et al (2008) where they found maximum yield with KNO₃ at 2

Table 3. Effect of foliar application of potassium and spray schedule on potassium content (%) in leaves of sweet orange cv. Jaffa.

Treatments Spray schedule MeanS₁ S₂ S₃

T₁ : KNO₃ 2 % 1.26 1.22 1.31 1.26T₂ : KNO₃ 4 % 1.42 1.36 1.43 1.40T₃ : K₂SO₄ 1.5% 1.18 1.17 1.31 1.22T₄ : K₂SO₄ 3% 1.24 1.26 1.30 1.27T₅ : Control (water spray) 1.10 1.17 1.17 1.15Mean 1.24 1.24 1.30CD at 5% Spray Schedule (S) = NS, Treatments (T)= 0.09, S xT= NS

Table 4. Effect of foliar application of potassium and spray schedule on yield (kg/plant) of sweet orange cv. JaffaTreatments Spray schedule Mean

S₁ S₂ S₃T₁ : KNO₃ 2 % 71.24 67.91 72.34 70.50T₂ : KNO₃ 4 % 76.90 71.05 76.32 74.76T₃ : K₂SO₄ 1.5% 67.88 66.12 68.79 67.60T₄ : K₂SO₄ 3% 69.71 69.05 70.47 69.74T₅ : Control (water spray) 65.21 64.60 65.66 65.16Mean 70.19 67.75 70.72CD at 5% Spray Schedule(S) = 2.32 , Treatments (T) = 3.45, SxT= 5.62

per cent in Kinnow mandarin. Mostafa and Saleh (2006) reported that spraying potassium nitrate with girdling had a positive effect on fruit yield of Balady mandarin. Dutta et al (2011) found similar results with foliar application of K₂SO₄ at the rate of 1.0 per cent in mango.

CONCLUSIONFrom the study it can be inferred that foliar

application of potash in the form of potassium nitrate or potassium sulphate at different doses influenced nutritional status of the leaves which, in turn, might have helped in enhancing fruit yield of sweet orange cv. Jaffa. Potassium nitrate @ 4 per cent was found most effective and produced significantly higher yield than other treatments. Foliar application of

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K in the last week of April and August was found better than that in the month of May and August but at par with 3 sprays in the month of April, May and August.

REFERENCESAlva A K, Mattos D J, Paramasivam S, Patil B, Dou H

and Sajwan K S (2006). Potassium management for optimizing citrus production and quality. International Journal of Fruit Science 6:3-43.

Anonymous (2013). Package of Practices for Horticultural Crops and Products. Directorate of Publications, Haryana Agric. Univ., Hisar, India.

Dutta P, Ahmed B and Kundu S (2011). Effect of different sources of potassium on yield, quality and leaf mineral content of mango in West Bengal. Better crops-South Asia. pp. 16-18.

Haggag M N (1988). Effect of spraying different potassium salts on fruit creasing, quality and leaf mineral composition of Washington Navel orange. Alexandria Journal of Agricultural Research 33(3)

Hamza A, Bamouh A, Guilli M El and Bouabid R (2012). Response of Clementine citrus var. Cadoux to foliar potassium fertilization; Effects on fruit production and quality. e-ifc No. 31, pp:8-15.

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Vijay et alJackson M L (1967). Soil chemical analysis. Prentice Hall of

India, New Delhi.

Krauss A and Jiyun J (2000). Strategies for improving balanced fertilization. International Potash Institute, Basel, Switzerland.

Miller J E and Hoffman P J (1988). Physiology and nutrition of citrus fruit, growth with special reference to Valencia. A mini-review. Proc. 6th Int. Citrus Cong., Tel Aviv, pp. 503-510.

Mostafa E A M, Hassan H S A and Sabag A S (2005). Influence of spraying GA₃ and KNO₃ on yield, fruit quality and leaf mineral contents of Balady mandarin trees. Minufiya J Agric Res 30(1):283-295.

Mostafa E A M and Saleh M M S (2006). Response of Balady mandarin trees to girdling and potassium sprays under sandy soil conditions. Res J Agric and Biol Sci 2(3):137-141.

Piper C S (1966). Soil and Plant Analysis. Hans Publications, Bombay. pp:368.

Sangwan A K, Rattanpal H S, Arora N K and Dalal R S (2008). Effect of foliar application of potassium on fruit yield and quality of Kinnow mandarin. Environment and Ecology 26(4C):2315-2318.

Received on 08/02/2016 Accepted on 28/04/2016

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INTRODUCTIONIn Punjab, about 91 per cent of area under paddy

cultivation is harvested by combines and generally not fed to the animals whereas, paddy straw has some end uses in areas like briquetting, bedding for ruminants, thermal power generation, liquid and gaseous fuel. Despite several uses of paddy straw, major portion goes as waste and is generally burnt in fields because of its availability in loose form scattered on the farms. Thus, paddy straw management in combine harvested paddy fields is a major problem in paddy-wheat rotation. About 60-70 per cent farmers opt for burning paddy straw, as it is assumed to be quick and easy method for disposal of paddy residue which enables the farmers to plant the next wheat crop well in time. In general, farmers operate stubble shaver on paddy straw after harvesting the crop by combine harvester and then burn it. In this process about 12.6 MT of paddy straw is burnt in Punjab every year. It is estimated that paddy straw worth crores of rupees is burnt in the field and 38.0 lakh tons of organic carbon, 59.0 thousand tons of nitrogen, 2.0 thousand tons of

Performance Evaluation of Tractor Operated Paddy Straw Mulcher

AseemVerma*, Arshdeep Singh, Amandeep Singh, Gurinder Singh Sidhu and Anoop Dixit

Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004 (India)

ABSTRACTPaddy straw management in combine harvested paddy fields is a major problem in paddy-wheat rotation. A study was conducted to evaluate the performance of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher in combine harvested paddy field. Effective field capacity of the tractor operated paddy straw mulcher was 0.32 ha/h at forward speed of 2.64 km/h. Average fuel consumption for the machine was 5.88 l/h. The percent chopped straw size by paddy straw mulcher up to 10 cm was 83.44 %. No or very little straw accumulation was observed in operation of spatial no till drill for direct drilling of wheat after the operation of paddy straw mulcher. Average grain yield for treatment T1 (Paddy straw mulcher + wheat sowing with spatial no-till drill) was 2.39 and 0.33% less than T2 (paddy straw chopper-cum-spreader + wet mixing with rotavator + no till drill) and T3 (clean field + disc harrow + cultivator x 2 + planter + traditional seed drill) respectively whereas the cost of operation for treatment T1 was 24.38 and 23.55% less than T2 and T3 respectively.Key Words: Direct seeding, Paddy straw mulcher, Straw management, Wheat sowing.

phosphorus and 34.0 thousand tons of potash is lost every year in burning of paddy straw.

To incorporate the leftover paddy straw into soil, farmers generally undertake 4-5 harrowing + 2-3 cultivator operations + 2-3 planking operations accounting for 8-11 tractor operations (Chokkar et al 2005). Incorporation of straw improves the soil fertility but excessive tillage is energy, time and cost consuming and has adverse effects on different soil physical, chemical and biological properties (Shukla et al 1996).

Direct drilling helps in timely sowing of wheat after paddy in paddy-wheat rotation. It reduces cost of production, controls soil erosion and weeds, conserves soil moisture and also increases the quantity of organic matter in the soil. However, direct drilling in combine harvested paddy field is not possible due to loose straw and chaff spread over the field surface after combine operation. During direct drilling of wheat in combine harvested paddy field there is problem of accumulation of straw in drill’s furrow openers, traction problem in the

* Corresponding author, E-mail: aseemverma@pau.edu

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ground wheel due to the presence of loose straw and non-uniform depth of seed placement due to frequent lifting of the implement under heavy trash conditions (Shukla et al 2002).

Recently, a new machine named paddy straw mulcher has been introduced in Punjab. The function of mulcher is to cut the standing stubbles and loose straw of paddy left after combine harvesting and the press wheel fitted on the machine presses the chopped straw and makes a layer of chopped straw which serves as mulch for the field. The present work was conducted to study the performance of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher in combine harvested paddy field and to evaluate the wheat sowing technologies under different paddy residue conditions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Description of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher

The tractor operated paddy straw mulcher consisted of a rotary shaft mounted with blades named as flails for chopping the paddy straw. The working width of the machine was 1600 mm. Diameter of the rotary shaft was 200 mm. Total 18 flail blades were mounted on the rotary shaft in spiral form. The shape of the flail blades was Inverted “Y” type. The power from the tractor PTO to the machine gear box was supplied through universal shaft. Power to the rotary shaft was supplied through belt and pulley from the shaft passing through the gear box. The gear box had a gear ratio of 6:9 and the diameter of the drive pulley was 225 mm. A cylindrical press roller was provided at the rear of machine. Diameter of the press roller was 160 mm and length of the press roller was 1600 mm. Brief

Table 1. Specifications of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher.

Sr. No. Parameters Specification

1. Type of machine PTO driven, Mounted type2. Power source Tractor (45 hp or above)3. Overall dimensions

Length, mm 1670Width, mm 1160Height, mm 930

4. Diameter of the rotary shaft, mm 2005. Number of spirals on shaft 26. Number of flails / spiral 97. Flail spacing, mm 2008. Shape of flail Inverted “Y” type9. Press roller dimensions (DxL), mm 160 x 160010. Depth adjustment settings 311. Transmission

Gear ratio 6:9Diameter of drive pulley, mm 225Type of pulley C-section, V-beltNumber of pulleys 2

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specifications of the tractor operated paddy straw mulcher are given in Table 1. Stationary views of the machine are shown in Fig. 1 and detailed drawings are shown in Fig. 2 and 3.

Evaluation ProcedureThe field experiments for the evaluation of

the tractor operated paddy straw mulcher were carried out at Research Farm of Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Tractor of 50 hp was used for operating the machine during the experiment. A view of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher in operation is shown in Fig.4. Paddy variety PR-111 was chopped with a tractor operated paddy straw mulcher. Paddy field conditions after combine operation are given in Table 2.

Fig. 3: Front view of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher

Fig. 1: Stationary view of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher

Fig. 2: Side view of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher

Table 2. Paddy field conditions after combine harvesting.

Parameter ObservationMoisture content, % (wb) 48.4-53.1Height of standing stubble, cm 41-50 (Av. 43.66)Length of loose straw, cm 33-64 (Av. 55.16)Straw load (standing stubble + loose straw), t/ha

10.39

For measuring chopped straw size, chopped straw samples of 100 g were collected from each plot. For this study, chopped straw was categorized in to five different ranges of sizes viz. up to < 2 cm. 2-4 cm, 4-7 cm, 7-10 cm and > 10 cm. The weight of straw retained on each sieve was noted using electronic weighing balance and size was expressed in percent weight.

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Comparative performance evaluation of two wheat seeding technologies in straw chopped conditions was carried out and compared with traditional method. Different wheat seeding treatments were as T1 = Paddy straw mulcher + spatial drill; T2 = Paddy straw chopper-cum-spreader + wet mixing with rotavator + No till drill and T3 = Control (Clean field + disc harrow + cultivator x 2 + planter + traditional seed drill).

A spatial drill is a modified no-till drill having frame with three rows of furrow openers as compared to two in the conventional no-till drills. Furrow openers were staggered to provide maximum lateral clearance of 80 cm between the adjacent openers. Vertical clearance of the frame from the ground was increased from 30 cm to 60 cm by using longer shank of furrow opener. Other components of the machine like inverted T-type furrow opener, seed and fertilizer boxes etc. are same as already used in conventional no-till drill.

Clogging of seed drill was determined by weighing the straw accumulated/entangled within the frame and tynes during 15 meter run of the drill. Number of times when it was fully blocked with straw was also observed. A view of spatial zero till drill in operation is shown in Fig. 5.

The different crop growth parameters viz. germination count, tiller height, tiller count, ear head length, number of grains per ear head, thousand grain weight and grain yield were

Fig. 4: View of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher in field.

recorded. The germination count for 7, 14 and 21 days after sowing (DAS) was recorded. The number of seedlings per one meter row length at four places was recorded in each plot and their mean value was determined. The effective tiller count was taken at the time of maturity of crop. One meter row length was marked for measuring the effective tiller count. Five observations were recorded in each treatment and average of these values was calculated.

Wheat crop was manually harvested randomly at four places in each treatment having an area of 4 m2 each with the help of square meter. Crop was manually harvested and threshed with a plot threshed and yield per hectare was calculated. Cost of operation of the three wheat seeding technologies was done using straight line method (Sahay, 2010). Rate of interest was taken as 12 per cent per annum. The fuel cost and the labour cost were taken as per the market rate during November 2014. Cost of fuel was taken as Rs 53.37/liter whereas cost of skilled labour was taken as Rs 320.53/day and that of unskilled labour was Rs 266.03/day. The cost of operation of different wheat seeding technologies was calculated in terms of Rs/ha.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONField performance of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher

The data ( Table 3) showed that the effective working width of the tractor operated paddy straw

Fig. 5: View of wheat sowing being done in chopped straw field with spatial zero till drill.

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Table 3. Performance of tractor operated paddy straw mulcher.

Sr. No.

Parameter Observation

1. Effective working width, m 1.62. Effective field capacity, ha/h 0.323. Forward speed, km/h 2.644. Fuel consumption, l/h 5.885. Chopped straw size, %

<2 cm 13.902-4 cm 35.214-7 cm 18.667-10 cm 15.67>10 cm 16.56

Table 4. Straw accumulations during operation of spatial drill in paddy straw mulcher operated field.

Furrow opener 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Weight of clogged paddy residue, gm

119.7 91.4 118.5 134.6 84.5 128.8 35.5 55.0 129.9

SD 122.1 74.18 214.05 80.06 31.08 134.82 41.63 26.23 124.66CV 1.02 0.81 1.8 0.59 0.36 1.04 1.16 0.47 0.95

mulcher was 1.6 m. Effective field capacity of the tractor operated paddy straw mulcher was 0.32 ha/h at forward speed of 2.64 km/h and average fuel consumption was 5.88 l/h. The percent chopped straw size in < 2 cm category was 13.90, 2-4 cm was 35.21, 4-7 cm was 18.66, 7-10 cm was 15.67 and > 10 cm was 16.56.

Straw accumulationStraw accumulated/entangled within the frame

and tines of spatial drill was collected for 15 m run of spatial drill while drilling in chopped paddy residue conditions after tractor operated paddy straw mulcher. The paddy residue accumulated/entangled in each tine was collected and the average clogged residue in each tine is given in Table 4.

Table 5. Comparative performance of different wheat seeding techniques.

Sr. No. Parameter TreatmentT1 T2 T3

1. Germination count, (DAS)7 20.6 28.1 28.614 36.6 40.5 42.628 51.2 55.6 56.1

2. Tiller height, cm 70-99 (82.06) 67-95(79.18) 82-97 (92.25)3. Tiller count/m 58-70 (64) 52-68 (60) 60-79 (68.8)4. Ear head length, cm 10-13 (11.5) 6-11(10) 9-12 (10.77)5. Number of grains per ear head 47-67 (55.75) 40-61(51.92) 39-76(58.16)6. Thousand grain weight, gm 41.5-45.5 (43) 40.5-46(42) 42-43.5(42.75)7. Grain yield, kg/ha 3850-4550

(4183.33)3900-4350 (4285.87)

3850-4275 (4197.33)

8. Cost of operation, Rs/ha 3541 4683 4632

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Comparative performance of different wheat seeding techniques

The germination count under treatment T1, T2 and T3 was 20.6, 28.1 and 28.6, respectively at 7 DAS; 36.6, 40.5 and 42.6 respectively at 14 DAS and 51.2, 55.6 and 56.1 respectively at 28 DAS (Table 6). Tiller height under T1 varied from 70-99 cm, T2 was 67-95 cm and T3 was 82-97 cm. The range of tiller count/m for T1 was 58-70, for T2 was 52-68 and for T3 was 60-79 with an average of 64, 60 and 68.8 respectively.

Ear head length for T1, T2 and T3 varied from 10-13, 6-11 and 9-12 cm, respectively. Number of grains/ear head for T1 was 47-67, for T2 was 40-61 and for T3 was 39-76. Thousand grain weight for T1 was 41.5-45.5 g, for T2 was 40.5-46 g and for T3 was 42-43.5 g with an average of 43, 42 and 42.75 g, respectively (Table 6).

Average grain yield for T1, T2 and T3 were 4183.33 kg/ha, 4285.87 kg/ha and 4167.33 kg/ha respectively. The cost of operation for treatment T1, T2 and T3 was Rs. 3,541/-, Rs. 4,683/- and Rs. 4,632/-ha, respectively.

CONCLUSIONEffective field capacity of the tractor operated

paddy straw mulcher was 0.32 ha/h at forward speed of 2.64 km/h. Average fuel consumption for the machine was 5.88 l/h. The percent chopped

straw size by paddy straw mulcher up to 10 cm was 83.44 per cent. No or very little straw accumulation was observed in operation of spatial no till drill for direct drilling of wheat after the operation of paddy straw mulcher. Average grain yield for treatment T1 was 2.39 and 0.33 per cent less than T2 and T3, respectively whereas the cost of operation for treatment T1 was 24.38 and 23.55 per cent less than T2 and T3, respectively.

REFERENCESChokkar R S, Sharma R K, Gathala M K, Pundir A K and

Kumar V (2005). Grow zero-till wheat for more profit. Intensive Agriculture 43:11-12.

Garg I K (2004). Design and development of rice straw chopper-cum-spreader. J Res Punjab Agric Uni 41(1): 130-138.

Shukla L N, Chauhan A M, Dhaliwal I S and Verma S R (1996). Development of minimum till planting machinery. Agric. Mech. In Asia, Africa and Latin America 15(3): 19-21.

Shukla L N, Sidhu H S and Bector V (2002). Design and development of loose straw thrower attachment for direct drilling machine. Agricultural Engineering Today 26(3-4):23-29.

Singh A, Dhaliwal I S and Dixit A (2011). Performance evaluation of tractor mounted straw chopper cum spreader for paddy straw management. Indian Journal of Agricultural Research 45(1): 21-29.

Sahaj J (2010). Elements of agricultural engineering. Standard Publisher & Distributors, Delhi, 4:160-61.

Received on 21/02/2016 Accepted on 30/04/2016

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INTRODUCTIONIn order to exploit full potential of hybrids, it is

necessary to assess the performance of promising hybrids at graded levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Effective nitrogen management plays an important role in increasing the response of the plant to fertilizers. Inadequate N application adversely affects the grain production, while excess nitrogen may lead to excess vegetative crop growth, favorable conditions for attack of insect pests and diseases (Ohm et al 1996). Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to study the performance of rice (Oryza sativa L.) hybrids under three different fertility levels.

MATERIALS AND METHODSField experiment was conducted at Agronomy

Research Farm of Narendra Deva University of

Performance of Various Hybrids and Fertility Levels on Yield Attributes, Yield and Economics of Hybrid Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Somendra Nath * Sandeep Kumar **and S K Kannaujiya***

Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology Kumarganj, Faizabad-224 229 (Uttar Pradesh)

ABSTRACTThe present investigation was conducted at Agronomy Research Farm of Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Narendra Nagar (Kumarganj), Faizabad for two years. Twenty one treatment combinations comprised of three levels of fertility (N120P60K60 kg ha-1, N150P75K75 kg ha-1 and N180P90K90 kg ha-1) with seven hybrids viz. (SHP 01, SHP 02, SHP 03, SHP 04, SHP 05, SHP 06 and NDRH 2) were executed in split plot design keeping fertility levels in main plot with four replications. The soil of experimental plot was silty loam in texture with low in organic carbon and nitrogen, medium in phosphorus and high in potassium. The crop received normal recommended agronomic practices and plant protection measures. The highest grain and straw yield was recorded with N180P90K90 kg ha-1, which remained at par with N150P75K75 kg ha-1 but significantly superior over N120P60K60 kg ha-1. Hybrid SHP 04 registered significantly higher values of grain, straw yield and nutrient uptake components over hybrids SHP 01, SHP 02, SHP 03, SHP 05 and SHP 06 and was found at par with NDRH 2 during both the years. The interaction effect of the fertility levels and rice hybrids was found non significant increase in grain yield of hybrid SHP 04 (71.37 q ha-1). The highest net return of Rs. 45,082/- and Rs. 54,495/- and B:C ratio of 1.69 and 1.96 was recorded with SHP 04 fertilized with N180P90K90 kg ha-1. Key Words: Grain yield, Nutrient uptake, Fertility levels, Hybrid rice.

Agriculture and Technology, Narendra Nagar (Kumarganj), Faizabad during two kharif seasons of 2008 and 2009. Twenty one treatment combinations comprised of three levels of fertility (N120P60K60 kg ha-1, N150P75K75 kg ha-1 and N180P90K90 kg ha-1) with seven hybrids (SHP 01, SHP 02, SHP 03, SHP 04, SHP 05, SHP 06 and NDRH 2) were executed in split plot design keeping fertility levels in main plot with four replications. The soil of experimental plot was silty loam in texture with low in organic carbon and nitrogen, medium in phosphorus and high in potassium. The crop received normal recommended agronomic and plant protection measures.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONEffect of fertility levels on grain and straw yields

Grain and straw yield increased with increase in

*Corresponding Author’s Email: snathkvkjnp82@gmail.com*Subject Matter Specialist (Agronamy), KVK, Jaunpur**Subject Matter Specialist (Plant Protection) KVK, Jaunpur***Programme Coordinator, KVK, Jaunpur

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Table 1 NPK uptake (kg ha-1) as affected by fertility levels.Treatment Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium

1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd yearFertility levelsN120P60K60 120.74 126.05 21.12 21.78 135.14 137.32N150P75K75 137.21 144.56 24.56 25.44 169.55 175.47N180P90K90 142.30 148.40 25.25 25.96 177.47 181.53

SEm± 1.89 1.67 0.34 0.33 2.59 2.40

CD (P=0.05) 6.56 5.77 1.19 1.14 8.95 8.30Hybrids

SHP 01 123.91 129.29 22.61 23.04 149.87 152.09SHP 02 135.29 138.57 22.85 23.56 159.11 159.87SHP 03 133.23 138.47 23.90 24.23 162.66 165.76SHP 04 158.62 161.66 28.36 29.14 187.09 191.12SHP 05 134.09 139.12 24.13 24.64 164.79 167.50SHP 06 109.44 123.95 19.17 21.35 132.96 147.37NDRH 2 150.84 153.79 26.61 26.73 178.54 182.79

SEm± 2.92 2.86 0.83 0.79 3.12 3.07

CD (P=0.05) 9.14 8.62 2.52 2.48 9.42 9.25F x V NS NS NS NS NS NS

Table 2 Available NPK (kg ha-1) in soil after crop harvest as affected by fertility levels and various rice hybrids

Treatment Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd year

Fertility levelsN120P60K60 190.70 193.20 17.90 18.10 225.70 228.30N150P75K75 205.70 209.10 20.00 20.30 236.30 240.20N180P90K90 211.80 215.20 21.30 21.60 248.20 252.10SEm± 3.70 4.27 0.40 0.41 4.30 3.46CD (P=0.05) 12.81 14.76 1.39 1.43 14.89 11.99Hybrids SHP 01 208.53 211.72 20.46 21.57 258.50 262.03SHP 02 200.15 203.21 19.45 19.74 233.71 237.10SHP 03 204.11 207.23 19.83 20.14 223.34 226.80SHP 04 192.91 195.86 18.70 19.03 210.27 213.53SHP 05 208.07 211.25 20.27 20.53 257.96 261.49SHP 06 222.64 227.21 21.70 22.05 272.82 276.78NDRH 2 171.73 174.36 17.69 16.94 200.53 203.44SEm± 5.41 5.90 0.51 0.58 6.36 6.63CD (P=0.05) 15.34 16.72 1.45 1.65 18.04 18.79F x V NS NS NS NS NS NS

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fertility levels and highest grain yield (65.36 q ha-1 and 67.54 q ha-1) and straw yield (74.83 q ha-1 and 75.91 q ha-1) were recorded under highest fertility level of N180 P90 K90 kg ha-1 (Table 3), which showed an increase of 8.9 and 9.9 per cent in grain and 7.49 and 8.19 per cent in straw yield over N120 P60 K60 kg ha-1 and remained at par with N150 P75 K75 kg ha-1. Similar findings were reported by Dwivedi et al (2006) and Singh et al (2005).

Nutrients uptakeNutrient (NPK) uptake increased with increase

in fertility levels. On an average, highest values of uptake of 145.35 kg N, 25.60 kg P and 179.5 kg K ha-1 was recorded with N180 P90 K90 kg ha-1, which was 21.95 kg N, 4.15 kg P and 43.27 kg K more than that of lowest fertility level of N120 P60 K60 kg ha-1 (Table 2). The differences between both the higher fertility levels were non-significant. Dwivedi et al (2006) and Fageria (2005) also reported an increase in available

nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium with N180 P90 K90 kg ha-1, which was at par with N150 P75 K75 kg ha-1 and significantly higher over N120 P60 K60 kg ha-1 showing an increase of 21.55 kg N, 3.45 kg P and 23.15 kg ha-1 over that of N120 P60 K60 kg ha-1.

Grain yieldOn an average, highest grain yield of 71.69 q

ha-1 and straw yield of 81.63 q ha-1 was recorded in hybrid SHP 04, which was significantly higher than those of other hybrids (SHP01, SHP-02, SHP-03, SHP-05 and SHP-06) and at par with NDRH 2, respectively (Table 3). Similarly, maximum nutrient uptake of 160.14 kg N, 28.75 Kg P and 189.10 kg K was recorded with hybrid SHP 04 which was significantly higher over other rice hybrids but at par with NDRH 2 during both the years (Table 1).

Economic returnsHighest net return of Rs. 45,082/- and Rs.

54,495/- was recorded with N 180 P 90 and K 90 kg

Table 3. Grain yield, straw yield and harvest index as influenced by fertility levels and hybrid rice

Treatment Grain yield(q ha-1)

Straw yield (q ha-1)

Harvest Index(%)

1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd yearFertility levelsN120P60K60 56.72 57.62 67.34 67.72 45.75 45.98N150P75K75 63.71 64.50 73.77 75.72 46.31 46.41N180P90K90 65.36 67.54 74.83 75.91 46.64 46.69

SEm± 1.32 1.17 1.50 1.41 0.00 0.00

CD (P=0.05) 4.56 4.05 5.17 4.89 NS NSHybridsSHP 01 58.93 59.68 69.12 69.53 46.07 46.15SHP 02 61.14 61.54 72.30 71.84 45.79 46.08SHP 03 62.35 62.84 74.04 74.25 45.72 45.83SHP 04 71.37 72.01 81.34 81.93 46.72 46.81SHP 05 60.56 61.13 69.23 69.82 46.65 46.68SHP 06 52.46 57.86 60.82 66.71 46.32 46.45NDRH 2 66.70 67.48 76.98 77.75 46.42 46.46

SEm± 1.78 1.70 2.04 1.99 0.00 0.00

CD (P=0.05) 5.06 4.81 5.79 5.63 NS NSF x V NS NS NS NS NS NS

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Table 4 Comparative economics of various treatment combinations

Combinations Gross Returns(Rs./ha)

Net Returns(Rs./ha)

Benefit : Cost Ratio

1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd year 1st year 2nd yearN120 P60 K 60 SHP-01 50,070 59,244 25,751 33,675 1.06 1.32N120 P60 K 60 SHP-02 51,990 61,084 27,670 35,515 1.14 1.39N120 P60 K 60 SHP-03 53,053 62,449 28,734 36,880 1.18 1.44N120 P60 K 60 SHP-04 60,566 71,393 36,246 45,824 1.49 1.79N120 P60 K 60 SHP-05 53,924 63,634 29,604 38,065 1.22 1.49N120 P60 K 60 SHP-06 44,555 57,409 20,236 31,840 0.83 1.25N120 P60 K 60 NDRH-2 54,088 63,925 29,768 38,355 1.22 1.50N150 P75 K 75 SHP-01 55,161 65,276 29,696 38,557 1.16 1.44N150 P75 K 75 SHP-02 56,812 67,420 31,347 40,700 1.23 1.52N150 P75 K 75 SHP-03 57,492 68,878 32,027 42,159 1.26 1.57N150 P75 K 75 SHP-04 67,939 80,671 42,475 50,351 1.67 1.88N150 P75 K 75 SHP-05 59,350 70,239 33,885 43,520 1.33 1.62N150 P75 K 75 SHP-06 48,986 63,194 23,521 36,474 0.92 1.36N150 P75 K 75 NDRH-2 59,665 71,675 34,201 44,955 1.34 1.68N180 P90 K 90 SHP-01 57,637 68,318 31,048 40,479 1.17 1.45N180 P90 K 90 SHP-02 59,782 704,29 33,192 42,590 1.25 1.53N180 P90 K 90 SHP-03 60,943 719,84 34,353 44,145 1.29 1.59N180 P90 K 90 SHP-04 71,672 823,34 45,082 54,495 1.69 1.96N180 P90 K 90 SHP-05 62,111 733,60 35,521 45,521 1.34 1.64N180 P90 K 90 SHP-06 51,251 661,89 24,661 38,349 0.93 1.38N180 P90 K 90 NDRH-2 63,172 752,05 36,582 47,365 1.37 1.70

ha-1 with hybrid SHP 04 which was closely followed by other hybrids fertilized with N150 P75 and K75 kg ha-1 against lowest net return of Rs. 20,236/- and Rs. 31,840/- obtained with SHP 06 fertilized with N120, P60 and K60 kg ha-1, respectively. The highest B:C ratio of 1.69 and 1.96 was obtained with hybrid SHP 04 at N 180, P 90, K 90 (Table 4).

CONCLUSIONIt was concluded that for obtaining higher yield

and monitory benefit from rice, hybrid SHP 04 may be adopted with a fertilizer dose of 180 kg N, 90 kg P2O5 and 90 kg K2O ha-1 under irrigated conditions of Uttar Pradesh.

REFERENCESDwivedi A P, Dixit R S and Singh G R (2006). Effect of

nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels on growth, yield and quality of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.). Oryza, 43 (1): 64-66.

Dwivedi A P, Dixit R S, Singh S P and Kumar I I (2000). Response of hybrid rice to N, P and K levels (in) extended summaries of National Symposium on Agronomy: Challenges and Strategies for the New Milleneium, held during 15-18 November 2000 at Gujrat Agricultural University Campus, Junagarh, p. 38.

Fageria N K and Baligar V C (2005). Enhancing nitrogen use efficiency in crop plant. Advances in Agronomy 88: 97-185.

Ohm H, Kalyal SK and Dhiman SD 1996. Response of rice hybrid PMS 2 A/IR 31802 to seedling vigour and nitrogen levels in Haryana, India. Int. Rice Res Notes 21: 47-48

Singh K K, Singh K, Singh C S and Singh R, (2005). Nitrogen nutrition in rice a review. Crop Research 29 (2): 330-336.

Srivastava, B.K. and Tripathi. R.S (2000). Effect of fertility levels in rice cultivars, Oryza 36(4): 386-388.

Received on 20/02/2016 Accepted on 29/04/2016

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INTRODUCTIONMaize (Zea mays L) is one of the most important

cereals having wider adaptability under varied agro-climatic conditions. Globally, maize is known as queen of cereals because it has the highest genetic yield potential among the cereals. In India, maize occupies third position both in area and production after rice and wheat.According to advance estimate, maize is cultivated in 8.7 m ha (2010-11) mainly during Kharif season which covers 80 per cent area. Maize in India, contributes nearly 9 per cent in the national food basket and more than Rs.100 billion to the agricultural GDP at current prices apart from the generating employment to over 100 million man-days at the farm and downstream agricultural and industrial sectors. In addition to staple food for human being and quality feed for animals, maize serves as a basic raw material as an ingredient to thousands of industrial products that includes starch, oil, protein, alcoholic beverages, food sweeteners, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, film, textile, gum, package and paper industries etc.

Popularization of Maize Production Technology through Front Line Demonstration in Tribal Areas of East Godavari

Jyothi Swaroopa V1, Mounica D2 Pavani U3 and Dhanu Sree4

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pandirimamidi, East Godavari District 533 288 (Andhra Pradesh)

ABSTRACTThe study was carried out during 2011-14 at farmer’s fields of 7 agency mandals of East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. Front Line Demonstration on maize crop was conducted on an area of 100 ha with active participation of 250 farmers with improved technologies composed of DHM 117 variety and integrated crop management (deep ploughing + seed treated with thiram 75% WP @ 3g/kg seed). The results revealed that maximum mean grain yield 85.3 q/ha with an increase in 75.6 per cent over local check (64.6 q/ha). Improved technologies of maize recorded progressively increased average grain yield during four years of study, from 62.0 to 85.3 q/ha. The extension gap can be bridged by popularizing package of practices of maize including improved variety (DHM 117), use of optimum seed rate, balanced nutrition and recommended plant protection measures. Improved technologies gave higher net return of Rs. 67,925/-ha with benefit cost ratio 3.87 as compared to local check (Rs. 63,543/-ha, benefit cost ratio 3.82). Key Words: Maize, Yield, Improved technology, Benefit cost ratio.

In Andhra Pradesh it is grown on 1m ha area with production of 1.1 MT and productivity of 1,100 kg/ha. Farmers of area are preferring maize as a suitable alternative to soybean and rice in soybean –wheat and rice – wheat cropping system. Water-limiting potential yield for a site could be determined by growing crops without any growth constraints, except water availability (Singh et al, 2001) However, the productivity of maize in Godavari district is very low as compared to average national productivity(2,435 kg/ha). Lack of suitable high yielding varieties as well as poor knowledge about production practices are described as main reasons for low productivity of maize in the district. The productivity of maize per unit area could be increased by adopting recommended scientific and sustainable management practices using a suitable high yielding cultivar. Taking into account the above considerations, frontline demonstrations (FLD) were carried out in a systematic manner on farmers’ field to show the worth of a new variety and convincing farmers to adopt improved production management for enhancing productivity of maize.

Corresponding Author’s Email: jyothivadlamudi2@gmail.com 1,2,3Research Associate, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pandirimimidi East Godavari District.4Assistant Professor, College of Home Science.

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In agency area of East Godavari District, Paddy is grown under rain fed condition in kharif season and the land is kept fallow during rabi season or used for cultivation of less remunerative crops. In order to bring the fallow land into cultivation front line demonstrations for promotion of maize cultivation in the agency area were laid out.

MATERIALS AND METHODSFront line demonstrations on Maize were

conducted in collaboration with Directorate of Maize Research, New Delhi and Agricultural Technology Management Agency ( ATMA), East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh during 2011-12 to 2013-14. The demonstrations were laid out in 7 agency mandals of East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. Each demonstration was conducted in a block of 0.4 ha area in order to have better impact of the technologies demonstrated against the local checks. A total area of 100 ha was put under FLD.

Production and economic data for FLDs and local practices were collected.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONFront line demonstration technology and farmer’s practices

The data in Table 1 show the comparison between the FLD and farmer’s practices and it was noticed that maize variety DHM 117 was grown under the guidance of KVK scientist. Similarly, farmers were not using seed treatment, plant protection measures and integrated crop management practices which were demonstrated under FLD plot. Likewise, time of sowing was also different and no chemical control of weeds was followed by the farmers.

Yield attributes and grain yieldThe data (Table 2) revealed that number of

cobs under the demonstration were more (2 cobs/plant) compared to farmer’s practice (1 cob/plant).

Table 1. Comparison between demonstrated package and existing farmer’s practice of maize production

Sr. No. Intervention Demonstrated package Farmers’ practice1 Farming situation Rabi Rainfed2 Variety DHM 117 Local3 Seed treatment Seed treated with thiram 75% WP@3g/kg Nil4 Time of Sowing 15th to 30th October 1st to 10th November5 Method of Sowing Line sowing with proper crop geometry Broadcasting6 Seed rate 18 to 20 kg/ha 20-25kg/ha7 Fertilizer dose 100:50:40 (NPK kg/ha) 100:40:08 Plant protection Need based application of carbofuran 3G@10

kg/ha to protect against stemborerNil

9 Weed management Atrazine @2.5kg/ha as pre-emergence, Para-quat 2.5l/ha as post-emergence followed by one hand weeding at 30 days after sowing

One hand weeding at 30-35 days after sowing

Table 2. Yield attributes obtained under demonstration v/s farmer’s practice in maize.

Sr. No. Parameter Demonstration Farmer’s practice1 Number of cobs/plant 2 12 No. of Kernel rows 18-20 15-183 Length of cob (cm) 18.5-21.5 16.0-20.54 1000 grain wt (g) 220.5-248.0 186.0-210.5

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Similarly, 1000 grain weight was also high (220.5-248.0 g) under demonstration compared to the farmer’s practice (186-210.5g) which ultimately resulted in higher grain yield of 85.3q/ha.

On an average, maize grain yield under front line demonstration was higher by 32 per cent as compared to farmer’s practices (64.6 q/ha) (Table 3). The results indicated that the demonstration has given good impact in terms of yield and income. The higher productivity of maize under improved technologies was due to the sowing of latest high yielding crop variety and adoption of improved nutrient and pest management techniques. Similar results have been reported earlier by Jeengar et al (2006) and Dhaka et al (2010).

Economical analysisIt can be inferred that conductance of

demonstrations on new technologies help the farmers in increasing the farm income. The net returns under the FLD plots (Rs. 67,925 /ha) increased by 6.8 per cent over the farmer’s practice (Rs. 63543/ha). During the years, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14, the benefit cost ratios were recorded as 3.73, 3.97 and 3.92, respectively.

CONCLUSIONFront line demonstrations conducted under

the close supervision of scientists is one of the most important tools of extension to demonstrate crop management practices at farmers’ field.

Table 3. Economics of maize cultivation under FLD and farmer’s practice.

Sr. No.

Year Cost of cultiva-tion (Rs/ha)

Gross returns (Rs/ha)

Net returns (Rs/ha)

B:C ratio Grain Yield (q/ha)

IP FP IP FP IP FP IP FP IP FP1 2011-12 23,400 21,800 87,500 83,000 64,100 61,200 3.73 3.8 84.0 62.02 2012-13 23,125 22,450 92,000 86,000 68,875 63,550 3.97 3.83 87.0 68.03 2013-14 24,200 23,120 95,000 89,000 70,800 65,880 3.92 3.84 85.0 65.0

Mean 23,575 22,456 91,500 86,000 67,925 63543 3.87 3.82 85.3 64.6 IP – Improved practice (Demonstration); FP – Farmer’s practice

FLDs are playing important role in motivating the farmers for adoption of improved agriculture technology resulting in increasing their yield and profits. Keeping in view of importance in transfer of technology, FLDs should be designed and conducted carefully and effectively and provisions should be made for other supportive extension activities such as field days, technical trainings, interaction meeting, etc. for speedy dissemination of demonstrated technology among farming community. The production under FLD created awareness and motivated the other farmers to adopt cultivation of maize during Rabi season particularly in the agency area of the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

REFERENCESDhaka B L, Meena B S and Suwalka R L (2010). Popularization

of Improved Maize Production. Govt. of Rajasthan. Agricultural Statistics Rajasthan. Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur. pp. 37-42.

Jeengar K L, Panwar P and Pareek O P (2006). Front line demonstration on maize in Bhilwara District of Rajasthan. Current Agriculture 30 (1-2): 115-116.

Singh P, Vijaya D, Chinh N T, Pongkanjana A, Prasad K S, Srinivas K and Wani S P (2001). Potential Productivity and Yield Gap of Selected Crops in the Rainfed Regions of India, Thailand, and Vietnam. Natural Resource Management Program Report no. 5, 50. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.pp.1-25.

Received on 30/07/2015 Accepted on 30/03/2016

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INTRODUCTIONSorghum (Sorghum bicolor) – wheat (Triticum

aestivum L) cropping sequence of India occupying 25-30 per cent of the total cultivated area of Uttar Pradesh. Wide adoption of this system is mainly due to stable food to human being and fodder for animals but continuous adoption of this sequence led to reduce soil fertility which ultimately resulted in declining the efficiency and productivity of the system. More over sorghum –wheat cropping sequence in an exhaustive cropping sequence which deplete soil nitrogen and other essential

Physico-Chemical and Biological Properties of Soil under Sorghum – Wheat Farming System of Bulandshahr and Meerut

Districts in Uttar PradeshRavindra Kumar, R R Singh, Manoj Singh, Laxmi Kant and Yogesh Kumar

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Rampur, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut-250 110 ( Uttar Pradesh)

ABSTRACT The depth wise soils of sorghum- wheat farming system from different locations were analyzed to find the physico – chemical and biological properties like bulk density, pH, EC, CEC, organic carbon, macro- micronutrients and bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes. The pH of soil samples varied from 7.9 to 8.7 and range of electrical conductivity of 1:2 soil water extraction was 0.139 to 0.347 d Sm-1 at 25 0C. None of the soil was found in saline category. CEC of soil varied from 9.21 to 18.25 c mol (p+) kg-1 and was positively and significantly correlated with clay content. The organic carbon content which declined with soil depth varied from 2.4 to 7.5 g kg-1 soil. Organic carbon was correlated positively and highly significantly with available nitrogen, total nitrogen, positively with available P, K, micronutrient and microbial biomass carbon and negatively with bulk density and CEC in all the cropping sequences soil. The available nitrogen ranged between 41.25 to 107.49 kg ha-1. It decline with soil depth. The available phosphorus and potassium ranged between 4.48 to 14.84 and 68.30 to 325.00 kg ha-1and declined with increasing soil depth. Among the different cationic micronutrients with exception of zinc the availability of rest micronutrients was in sufficiency range. In some case the availability of zinc was in deficient range. DTPA extractable Cu ranged from 0.075 to 1.983, Fe 2.221 to 8.474, Mn 0.408 to 5.551 and Zn 0.107 to 1.232 mg kg -1 soil. The availability of these micronutrients declined with increase in soil depth. Except Mn and available potassium others nutrients were significantly and positively correlated with organic carbon. The biological properties of soil, the range of bacteria varied from 2.0x 102 to 6.5x 108, fungi 1.0x 102 to 8.6x 104 and actinomycetes 1.0x 102 to 8.0x104 count g-1 soil. Microbial biomass carbon 75 to 400 μg g-1 soil and dehydrogenase activity 10 to 90 μg TPF g-1day-1. All the microbial population, microbial biomass carbon and dehyrogenase activity declined as the soil depth increases.Key Words: Sorghum-wheat, Physico-chemical ,Biological properties.

nutrients extensively. So to maintain soil fertility and sustained crop production in this sequence, integrated nutrient management is the only option. Presently fertilizer application by farmers is based on the nutrient requirement of individual crop and the carryover effect of the organic manures or fertilizer or crop residues applied to preceding crop are generally ignored. Fertilizer application through inorganic source even in balanced amount does not sustain soil fertility and productivity under continuous cropping on same site.

Corresponding Author’s Email: ravindradrsoil@rediffmail.com

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J Krishi Vigyan 2016, 4(2) : 83-89 DOI : 10.5958/2349-4433.2016.00020.9

84

Recently stagnation or declining tread in rice- wheat productivity at same location has been reported (Singh et al 1992) which may be associated with declining in soil organic matter content and other edaphic factors. On the other hand, crop residue in machine harvested area are being burnet to clear the field for planting the next crop. This practice results in loss of valuable organic matter and nutrients particularly nitrogen and sulphur and caused environmental problem. Further, continuous cultivation of same crop on same field by the farmers coupled with inadequate replenishment on nutrients from the external sources has led to severe depletion of soil available nutrients in this area. Soil characterization in relation to evaluation of fertility status of the soil of an area or region is an important aspect for sustainable crop production because of imbalance and inadequate fertilizer use efficiency of chemical fertilizer has declined tremendously under intensive cropping system in recent year (Chandra et al 2008).

Information on soil fertility status of macro and micro nutrients of the study area in not available, therefore, present study was carried out to evaluate the soil fertility status of sorghum– wheat cropping system of Meerut and Bulandshar districts of Uttar Pradesh. An attempt was also made to correlate soil available nutrients content with other soil properties.

MATERIALS AND METHODThe soil samples of 0-15, 15-30 and 30-

45 cm depth were collected from four different locations of Meerut and Bulandshar districts under sorghum – wheat cropping sequence with the help of auger and stored in plastic box. Collected samples were air dried in shade, crushed gently with a wooden roller and pass through 2.0 mm sieve to obtain a uniform representative sample. The processed soil samples were analyzed for physico – chemical properties using standard method for pH and electrical conductivity (1:2 soil water suspensions), organic carbon (Walkley and Black, 1934), available nitrogen (Subhiah and Asija, 1956), available phosphorus (Olsen et al

1954), available potassium (Jackson, 1973) and cationic micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn) in soil samples extracted with a diethylene triamine penta acetic acid (DTPA) solution (0.005M) DTPA +0.01 M Cacl2 + 0.1 M triethanolamine , pH 7.3 as outlined by Lindsay and Norvell (1978). The concentration of micronutrients was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (GBC Avanta PM). For the biological properties Soil samples were incubated at 25 ±1 °C for 7 days. Soil moisture content during incubation was adjusted to field capacity for all the microbial counts and biochemical properties were studied as described by Wollum (1982). All the analysis of soil samples was carried out in laboratory of department of soil science, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe Soil samples collected from different

villages at surface and sub surface soil where sorghum- wheat farming system was followed. Farmers usually apply 130-150 kg N/ha along with 60-80 kg P/ha. and 50-60 kg K/ha. Zinc application in sorghum- wheat farming system done by all the farmers and compost application was done by 40 per cent of the farmers while green manuring practiced by 10-12 per cent farmers and bio-fertilizers use was not prevalent. It was noted that 85 per cent farmers reported increased use of fertilizers to harvest same quantity of grain yield at four different locations of Meerut and Bulandshare districts.

Chemical propertiesSoil Reaction (pH)

Soil pH estimated for soil of various depths was usually found normal to alkaline in reaction (Table 1). It was observed that soil pH ranged from 7.9 to 8.5 for surface soil (0 -15 cm) while 8.1 to 8.6 in subsurface soil (30 - 45 cm). The soil EC ranged from 0.145 to 0.347 dSm-1 for surface soil while 0.144 to 0.292 dSm-1 in subsurface soil. The CEC ranged from 11.21 to 16.13 cmol (p+) kg-1 for surface soil (0-15 cm) while 9.21 to 18.25 cmol

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(p+) kg-1 in subsurface soil (30-45cm) cmol (p+) kg-1 soil.

Organic Carbon contentThe organic carbon (OC) in surface (0-15cm)

and subsurface soil (30-45cm) varied from 4.8 to 7.5 and 2.4 to 3.3 g kg-1 soil, respectively. The Maximum OC content 7.5 g kg-1 at surface (0-15 cm) was found in soil of Khanpur Meerut while minimum 4.8 g kg-1in Kalapuri, Bulandshahr. In the sub surface soil maximum OC content 3.3 g kg-1 was found in Nagli Isha, Meerut and minimum 2.4g kg-1 Khetanpur, Bulandshahr. Lower OC in the area may be due to prevailing high temperature and good aeration in the soil which increase the rate of oxidation of organic matter content.

Nutrients status and soil fertilityNitrogen

Soil fertility exhibits the status of different soils with regard to the amount and availability of nutrients essential for plant growth. The available nitrogen (N) content in surface (0-15cm) and subsurface soil (30-45cm) varied from 86.14 to 97.06 and 41.25 to 80.4 kg ha-1 (Table-1) suggesting that all soils were low in available nitrogen. Available N was found to be maximum 97.06 kg ha-1 in Nagli Isha and minimum 86.14 kg ha-1 in Khetanpur, Bulandshahr in surface soil (0-15 cm) while in sub surface soil 30-45cm) the highest available N 80.4 kg ha-1 in Nagli Isha and minimum 41.25 kg ha-1 in Khanpur, Meerut. The available N content was low and found decreasing with increasing depth which may be due to decreasing trend of organic carbon with depth and moreover cultivation of crops is mainly confined to the surface soil only at regular interval and N is supplemented by the external addition of fertilizers during crop cultivation (Rani et al 1992). Walia et al (1998) reported that available N in the soils of Bundelkhand region accounted for 12 to 40 peer cent of total N in the range of 95 to 159 N kg-1 in surface soil and 51 to 159 mg N kg-1 in sub surface horizon. The continuous mineralization of organic matter in surface soils was responsible for the higher values.

Phosphorus In sorghum- wheat cropping sequence the

available phosphorus (P) in surface (0-15 cm) and sub surface soil (15-30 & 30-45cm) varied from 5.33 to 14.84, 4.48 to 10.94 and 4.36 to 10.45 kg ha-1, respectively. Available P was found to be maximum14.84 kg ha-1 in Khetanpur and minimum 5.33 kg ha-1 in Nagli Isha, Meerut in surface soil (0-15 cm) while in sub surface soil 30-45cm) the highest available nitrogen 10.45 kg ha-1 in Khetanpur and minimum 4.36 kg ha-1 in Nagli Isha, Meerut.kg ha-1. The highest available P was observed in the surface soil and decrease with increasing depth. It might be due to the confinement of crop cultivation to the rhizosphere and supplementing the depleted P by external sources. The lower P content in sub surface soil could be attributed to the fixation of released phosphorus by clay minerals (Leelavathi et al 2009).

PotassiumIn sorghum - wheat cropping sequence the

available potassium (K) in surface (0-15 cm) and sub surface soil (15-30 & 30-45cm) varied between 97.19 to 307.12, 68.3 to 312.83 and 79.38 to 325.00 kg ha-1, respectively. Available K was found to be maximum307.12 kg ha-1 in Khanpur, Meerut and minimum 97.19kg ha-1 in Nagli Isha, Meerut in surface soil (0-15 cm) while in sub surface soil 30-45cm) the highest available nitrogen 325.00 kg ha-1 in Khanpur, Meerut and minimum 79.38 kg ha-1 in Nagli Isha, Meerut.kg ha-1. The available K was higher in surface soil and it declined with increasing soil depth.

MicronutrientsCopper

The DTPA extractable Cu in sorghum - wheat cropping sequence varied from 0.763 to 1.983 mg kg-1 soil in surface (0-15cm) while 0.483 to 1.323 and 0.075 to 1.110 mg kg-1 in sub surface soil (15-30 & 30-45cm), respectively. All the soil sample in sorghum-wheat farming system were found to be sufficient in available Cu content by considering

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the critical limit of 0.20 mg kg1 soil suggested by Lindsay and Norvell (1978). A decreasing trend in available Cu with increasing depth was noticed in all locations. The available Cu was more in surface layer and decreased with depth.

IronIn sorghum – wheat cropping sequence the

DTPA- extractable iron in surface (0-15cm) and sub surface soil (15-30 & 30-45cm) varied from 3.512 to 8.474, 3.105 to 7.049 and 2.221 to 6.101 mg kg-1 soil, respectively. According to critical limit of 4.5 mg kg-1 soil as proposed by Lindsay and Norvell (1978) all the surface soil (0-15cm) was sufficient in available Fe. A decreasing trend with depth in available Fe was noticed in all locations of sorghum – wheat farming sequence.

MnIn sorghum – wheat cropping sequence the

DTPA- extractable Mn content in surface (0-15cm) and subsurface soil (15-30 & 30-45cm) varied from 1.952 to 5.551, 1.373 to 4.027 and 0.408 to 3.475 mg kg-1 soil, respectively.. According to critical limit of 1.0 mg kg-1 as proposed by Lindsay and Norvell (1978) all the soil was sufficient in available Mn.

ZnIn sorghum - wheat cropping sequence the

DTPA -extractable Zn ranged from 0.543 to 1.163 mg kg-1 in surface (0-15cm) While 0.265 to 0.613 and 0.107 to 0.381 mg kg-1 soil in sub surface soil (15-30 & 30-45cm), respectively. Considering 0.6 mg kg-1 as critical level (Lindsay and Norvell 1978) all the surface soil sample was sufficient in available Zn content.

Microbiological Properties:In sorghum –wheat cropping sequence the

population of bacteria in surface (0-15cm) and sub surface soil (15-30 & 30-45cm) varied from 4.7 x 106 to 9.0 x 106, 5.0 x 104 to 8.0 x 104 and 4.8 x 102 to 7.0 x 102 count g-1 soil with an average value of 6.4 x 106, 6.2 x 104 and 5.6 x 102 count g-1 soil, respectively. The population of fungi in surface (0-15cm) and sub surface soil (15-30 & 30-45cm)

varied from 1.6 x 104 to 2.0 x 104, 1.5 x 102 to 1.9 x 102 and 1.2 x 102 to 1.7 x 102 count g-1 soil with an average value of 1.75 x 104, 1.70 x 102 and 1.4 x 102 count g-1 soil, respectively. Actinomycetes population in surface (0-15cm) and sub surface soil (15-30 & 30-45cm) varied from 1.8 X 104 to 2.2 X 104, 1.2 x 102 to 1.9 x 102 and 1.0 X 102 to 1.5 X 102 count g-1 soil with an average value of 2.0 x 104, 1.6 x 102 and 1.2 X 102 count g-1, respectively. Microbial biomass carbon in surface (0-15cm) and subsurface soil (15-30 & 30-45 cm ) varied from 198 to 293, 150 to 160 and 75 to 85 μg g-1 soil with an average value of 219.75, 154.50 and 79.25 μg g-1 soil, respectively . The mean value of microbial biomass carbon for 0-45 cm depth varied from 142.66 to 154.33 μg g-1 soils.

In sorghum – wheat cropping sequence dehydrogenase activity in surface (0-15) and sub surface soil (15-30 & 30-45cm ) varied from 62 to 75, 18 to 28 and 10 to 13 μg TPF g -1soil day-1 with an average value of 65.55, 23.00 and 11.25 μg TPF g -1soil day-1, respectively. The mean value of dehydrogenase enzyme activity in soil for 0-45 cm depth varied from 30.00 to 38.00 μg TPF g -1soil day-1.

Correlation studySimple correlation coefficient of soil properties

with various elements revealed that the soil organic carbon was positively and highly significantly correlated with available N (r = 0.827**), DTPA extractable Cu (r = 0.708**), Zn (r = 0.804**) and microbial biomass carbon (r = 0.728**), positively and significantly with total N (r = 0.596*) while positively correlated with CEC (r = 0.152), available P (r = 0.315), available K (r = 0.281) Fe (r = 0.268) and Mn (r = 0.055). A negative and significant correlation of soil organic carbon (r = - 0.616) was found with bulk density

The soil pH was negatively correlated with Cu (r = - 0.154) and significantly negatively with Zn (r = - 0.669*). Soil pH was positively correlated with Fe (r = 0.382) and Mn (r = 0.559). CEC of soil was related negatively and highly significantly with

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Table 1. Physico-chemical properties of soil under Sorghum –wheat cropping sequence.

Locations Depth(cm)

pH EC(dSm-1)

CEC(c-mol(p+)

kg-1)

BD mg/m3

O.C.g/kg

Available macronutrientsN

(kgha-1)P

(kgha-1)K

(kgha-1)Kalapuri (B) 0-15

15-3030-45

8.58.78.6

0.3470.3070.292

12.5212.0012.60

1.331.351.36

4.83.22.6

90.8484.9367.22

13.2610.9410.09

115.70105.30114.30

Khetanpur (B)

0-1515-3030-45

7.98.08.4

0.2630.1600.144

11.219.219.21

1.351.381.40

5.84.22.4

86.1480.6150.32

14.8410.8210.45

125.5586.9488.20

Nagli Isha (M)

0-1515-3030-45

8.08.18.1

0.1840.1440.139

15.3110.0116.00

1.351.381.45

4.93.83.3

97.0683.4080.40

5.334.484.36

97.1968.3079.38

Khanpur (M) 0-1515-3030-45

8.08.48.6

0.1450.1520.153

16.1316.5618.25

1.301.321.33

7.54.52.4

107.4988.9741..25

10.338.756.68

307.12312.83325.00

Mean 0-1515-3030-45

---

0.2340.1900.182

13.8911.9614.01

1.331.351.39

5.753.922.67

95.3884.7759.79

10.948.747.89

161.39143.34151.72

Table 2. DTPA extractable micronutrient (mg kg-1) at various soil depths under Sorghum – wheat cropping sequence

Locations Depth(cm)

Available micronutrientsFe

mgkg-1Mn

mgkg-1Cu

mgkg-1Zn

mgkg-1

Kalapuri (B) 0-1515-3030-45

8.4747.0496.101

5.5514.0273.475

0.8710.7990.323

0.5430.3360.261

Khetanpur (B) 0-1515-3030-45

3.5123.1052.970

1.9821.6691.570

0.7630.4830.075

0.7760.6130.381

Nagli Isha (M) 0-1515-3030-45

4.6134.2573.277

1.9521.3730.408

0.8370.6770.587

1.2320.3570.270

Khanpur (M) 0-1515-3030-45

5.7715.8912.221

2.0951.8771.688

1.9831.3231.110

1.1630.2650.107

Mean 0-1515-3030-45

5.5925.0753.642

2.8952.2611.785

1.1130.8200.523

0.9280.3920.254

In parentheses B denotes Bulandshahr and M for Meerut.

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sand (r = - 773**) however highly significantly and positively with clay (r = 0.838**) while significantly and positively with silt (r = 0.645*). A highly significant and positive correlation was observed between available soil nitrogen and microbial biomass carbon (r = 0.723**) while significant and positive correlation with total N(r = 0.567) Sarade and Prasad (2008).

CONCLUSIONThe study of soil samples of Meerut and

Bulandshar districts revealed that the soil were normal to moderately alkaline in reaction, low to medium in organic carbon. As far as nutrient status in concerned on the bases of mean value, the soils were low in available nitrogen, low to medium in available phosphorus and potassium and in general

sufficient in available Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in surface soil and declined with soil depth. Among the biological properties of soil, the range of bacteria varied from 2.0x 102 to 6.5x 108, Fungi 1.0x 102 to 8.6x 104 and actinomycetes 1.0x 102 to 8.0x104 count g-1 soil. Microbial biomass carbon 75 to 400 μg g-1 soil and dehydrogenase activity 10 to 90 μg TPF g-1day-1. All the microbial population, microbial biomass carbon and dehyrogenase activity decline as the soil depth increases.

REFERENCESChandra R, Rana N S, Kumar S and Panwar G S (2008).

Effect of sugarcane, residue and green manure practices in sugarcane- ratoon – wheat sequence on productivity, soil fertility and soil biological properties. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science 54 (6): 651 – 664

Table 3. Bacteria(Countg-1soil), Fungi (Countg-1soil), Actinomycets microbial biomass carbon and Dehydrogenase activity (Μg TPF g-1 soil) at various soil depths under Sorghum – wheat cropping sequence.

Location Depth, cm

Bacteria(Count g-1soil),

Fungi (Count g-1soil),

Actinomy-cetes

(Countg-

1soil),

Microbial biomass carbon

μg g-1 soil

Dehydrogenase activity

mg TPF g-1 soil

Kalapuri (B) 0-1515-3030-45

4.9×106

5.6×104

5.3×102

1.7×104

1.5×102

1.2×102

2.0×104

1.8×102

1.4×102

29315379

622510

Khetanpur (B) 0-1515-3030-45

4.7×106

6.5×104

5.6×102

1.6×104

1.6×102

1.2×102

2.0×104

1.9×102

1.5×102

21816085

752813

Nagli Isha (M) 0-1515-3030-45

7.0×106

8.0×104

7.0×102

1.7×104

1.8×102

1.5×102

1.8×104

1.5×102

1.0×102

22015078

652112

Khanpur (M) 0-1515-3030-45

9.0×106

5.0×104

4.8×102

2.0×104

1.9×102

1.7×102

2.2×104

1.2×102

1.0×102

19815575

621810

Mean 0-1515-3030-45

6.4×106

6.2×104

5.6×102

1.75×104

1.70×102

1.40×102

2.0×104

1.6×102

1.2×102

219.75154.579.25

65.5523.0011.25

In parentheses B denotes Bulandshahr and M for Meerut.

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Jackson M L (1973). Soil chemical analysis prentice hall of India, New Delhi, 498.

Leelavathi G P, Naidu M V S, Ramavatharram N and Karuna Sagar G (2009). Studies of genesis, classification and evaluation of soil for sustainable land use planning in Yerpedu Mandal of Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. J. Indian society of soil science 57 (2): 109-120.

Lindsay W L and Norvell W A (1978). Development of DTPA soil test for zinc, iron, manganese and coper. Soil Science Society of America Journal 42: 421-428.

Olsen S R, Cole C V,Watanabe F S and Deen L A(1954). Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. USDA CIRC. 939.Unied State Dept. of Ag. Wasignton.D.C.

Rani Prasuna, Pillai R N, Prasad Bhanu and Subbaiah G V (1992). Nutrient status of some red and associated soil of Nellore district under Somasila Project in Andhra Agriculture Journal 39: 1-5.

Sarade S D and Prasad J (2008). Characteristics and classification of guava- growing soils of Bhandara district, Maharashtra. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science 56: 300-304.

Singh J P, Dahiya D J, Kumar V and Singh M (1992). Distribution and status of different forms of N in soils of Haryana. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science 40:698-704.

Subbiah B V and Asija G L (1956). A rapid procedure for the determination of available nitrogen in soil. Current Sci. 25: 259-260.

Walkley A J and Black I A (1934). Estimation of soil organic carbon by the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci. 37: 29-38.

Walia C S, Ahmed N, Uppal K S and Rao Y S (1998). Studies profile distribution of various forms of total nitrogen and C: N ratio in some lands of Bundelkhand region of U.P. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science 46: 193-198.

Wollum A G (1982). Cultural methods for soil microorganism. In A.L., Page, R.H. Miller, and D.R. Keeney (ed.) method of soil analysis, part 2. Chemical and microbiological properties, Agronomy monograph No. 9,ASA-SSSA, Publisher Madison, Wisconsin, USA, pp. 781-814.

Received on 26/2/2016 Accepted on 28/04/2016

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INTRODUCTIONVegetable cultivation has become highly

commercialized but still there is a wide gap between current production and potential productivity. With the view to achieve a high level of production, it is not only enough to develop farm innovations but is also necessary to transfer the latest technology from the research system to ultimate users i.e. farmers and farm women. Women play a significant and crucial role in vegetable production. It is most unfortunate that the role of women and their contribution in farm activities are yet to be recognized. Although they perform almost all the activities in farm buy by and large they have been remained as invisible workers. Vegetable cultivation in Deoria district has a vast potential of improving the economical status of farming community. It has been observed that in a farming family, the participation of women in decision making as well as in the implementation and management of farm planning was very poor, although the contribution towards

Role and Contribution of Rural Women in Vegetable ProductionAnuradha Ranjan Kumari1, Laxmikant2, Ravindra Kumar3 and Manoj Singh4

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (IIVR) Malhana, Deoria (Uttar Pradesh)

ABSTRACTThe study was conducted in Salempur and Bhatpar Rani Blocks of Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh to ascertain women participation in vegetable production. 120 houses having land for vegetable cultivation were selected. 60 rural women from 60 houses selected from each block. Female respondents from each house were interviewed. The data were collected personally through structured interview schedule. Data collected included the extent of participation and decision making of women in various activities of vegetable production. Study revealed that in vegetable cultivation various intervention points are addressable. Women were involved in operations such as cleaning of land, sowing of seed, transplanting of vegetable nursery, hoeing and weeding, scaring of birds and rodents, harvesting and processing of vegetable and storage of seed. Non participation of women in various operations was due to more fatigue, requirement of more muscle power, lack of knowledge and awareness with respect to decision making. It was observed that women played only supportive role and less participation of women in decision making could be attributed to customs, traditions, social barrier, their illiteracy, ignorance and less participation in extension programmes. Women’ education, technical training and adequate extension facilities can create a positive impact leading to a better tomorrow.Key Words: - Rural women, Participation, Vegetable production.

total land and labour is significant. Therefore, the study was carried out to determine the extent of women participation in different activities and the role in decision making, in vegetable cultivation so that suitable interventions can be planned and undertaken in future.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present study was conducted in Deoria

district of Uttar Pradesh state. Out of twenty blocks, two blocks namely Salempur and Bhatpar Rani were selected and from each block, 10 villages were selected. A total of 120 women respondents were selected from twenty villages of these two blocks. A structured schedule was used to collect the data by personal interview method. The data collected included information related to different farm activities and decision making used for vegetable production. The data were processed, tabulated and presented in the form of table.

*Corresponding Author’s Email: anuradha_rau@rediffmail.com1Incharge, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, (IIVR), Makhana, Deoria (Uttar Pradesh)2,3 & 4Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dhamora, Rampur (Uttar Pradesh)

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONSocio economic characteristics

The socio-economic characteristics of the respondents were presented in table 1. The majority of the respondents belonged to middle age group (53.3%) followed by young age (30.0%) and old age (16.7%) group. It was also revealed that majority (63.3%) belonged to nuclear family followed by joint family (36.7%). Results on cast categories indicated that maximum (63.9%) of respondents were from backward caste followed by schedule caste (27.2%) and only (6.7%) belonged to general caste. Regarding educational status, it was found that majority (54.4%) were illiterate followed by educated up to fifth class (29.4%)

and only (16.2%) were having middle and above level of education in the study area. Agriculture and animal husbandry were the main occupation of respondents (64.4%) followed by 21.7, 8.9 and 5.0 per cent in agricultural, animal husbandry and service professions, respectively.

It was also revealed that majority (63.9%) of respondents were from middle income group (Rs 10,000/- to Rs.30,000/-) followed by high income group (27.2%) and only 8.9 per cent were low income group. The data (Table 1) revealed that most of the respondents (47.8%) had land holding size less than 1 ha., 1 to 2 ha. (36.6%) and 15.6 per cent were landless. In this situation income from

Table 1. Participation of women in various activities of vegetable Production. (N=120)

Sr. No. Activities Frequency Per cent 1. Land preparation

Ploughing 0 0.0Cleaning of field 120 100.0FYM application 0 0.0Forming ridges and furrows 0 0.0

2. Pre sowing and sowing operationsSeed treatment 26 21.7Sowing of seed 120 100.0Plant treatment 0 0.0Raising vegetable nursery 29 24.2Nursery after care 68 56.7Transplanting of vegetable nursery 120 100.0

3. Intercultural operationsIrrigation 19 15.8Hoeing and weeding 120 100.0Fertilizer application 64 53.3Pesticide and weedicide application 13 10.8Scaring of birds rodents and animals 120 100.0

4. Harvesting and post harvesting operationsVegetable harvesting 120 100.0Storage of seed 8 6.7Marketing 28 23.3Vegetable processing 120 100.0

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Table 3. Decision making of women in different operations of vegetable Production. (N=120)

Sr. No.

Operations Frequency Per cent

1. Land selection 22 18.32. Selection of crops to be grown 25 20.83. Method of cultivation 11 9.24. Selection of farm machinery and its implementations 9 7.55. Varietal selection 20 16.76. Fertilizer selection and application 7 5.87. Choice of irrigation 32 26.78. Sale of vegetable produce 39 32.59. Storage of seed 74 61.710. Vegetable processing 108 90.0

Table 2. Socio economic characteristics of farm women in vegetable production.

Sr. No. Parameter Categories Frequency Percentage1. Age Young (< 25 years)

Middle (26-50years) Old (>50 years)

549630

30.053.316.7

2. Type of family

Nuclear Joint

11466

63.336.7

3. Caste GeneralOBCSchedule caste Schedule tribes

12115494

6.763.927.2 2.2

4. Education IlliteratePrimaryMiddle and above

985329

54.429.416.2

5. Main occupation AgricultureAHAgriculture +AHService

39161169

21.7 8.964.4 5.0

6. Annual income

Low (belowes 10,000)Medium(Rs 10,000- 30,000)High (above Rs 30,000)

1611549

8.963.927.2

7. Land Holding Landless Marginal (<1hecture)Small (<1-2hecture)

288666

15.647.836.6

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livestock production play a major role for their subsistence in such type of rural area.

Participation of women in vegetable production activities

The data (Table 2) indicated that different activities performed by female were cleaning of land, sowing of seeds, transplanting of vegetable nursery, scaring of birds, rodents and animals and harvesting. In vegetable processing, cent percent women showed their participation. These findings were in agreement with those reported by Baba et al (2010) for the study in Jammu Kashmir. Above fifty per cent of women involved in nursery management and fertilizer application while 24.2 and 21.7 per cent participated in raising vegetable nursery and seed treatment, respectively.

Non participation of women in ploughing, forming ridge and furrows was due to hard labour and in plant protection, due to lack of awareness and knowledge. Similar case has been reported by Srivastava and Singh (2011) for their study in Ballia. Non participation in various agricultural activities was due to drudgery faced in operations by farm women.

Role of women in decision makingThe data (Table 3) indicated that it was highest

(90.0%) in vegetable processing followed by 61.7 per cent engaged in storage of seed and 32.5 per cent participation in selling of vegetable produce. Choice of irrigation (26.7 %), selection of crops to be grown (20.8%), land selection (18.3 %), varietal

selection (16.7%), method of cultivation (9.2%), selection of farm machinery and its implements (7.5 %) and lowest (5.8%) in fertilizer selection and application. The study further revealed that women has played only supportive role. Less involvement of women in decision making could be attributed to customs, traditions, social barrier and illiteracy, ignorance and less participation in extension programmes. These findings were in conformation of Baba et al (2010) for their study in Jammu Kashmir.

CONCLUSIONThe study showed that in vegetable production

on commercial scale, women participation was found more prominent in sowing of seed, transplanting of vegetable nursery, hoeing and weeding, scaring of birds and rodents, vegetable harvesting and processing. With respect to decision making, women played only supportive role. Women’ education, technical training, adequate extension facilities for women can create a positive impact leading to a better tomorrow.

REFERENCESBaba S H, Bilal A, Zargar, Ganaie, S A, Yousuf, Shoaib and

Sher Huma (2010). Gender participation in Kashmir valley. Indian Res Ext Edu 10(2):60-66.

Srivastava P L and Singh B P (2011). Role of housewives and agricultural farm female farm labourers in agricultural operations. J Progressive Sci 2(1) :70-73.

Received on 25/10/2015 Accepted on 26/03/2016

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INTRODUCTION Fertiliser is defined as any substance intended

to be used as a source of one of more essential plant nutrients and as specified by Fertiliser Control Order, 1985 including mixtures of fertilisers and special mixture of fertilisers. Mixture of fertilisers includes physical mixtures and granulated mixtures. Bio-fertilisers like bacterial fertilisers are not included under the term fertilisers for the purpose of regulation under Fertiliser Control Order. However, from layman’s point of view, fertilisers may be defined as the carriers of plant nutrients. These are applied to the soil in order to meet the crop nutrient requirement. Therefore, prevention of nutrient depletion from the soil to sustain crop productivity is the basis of fertilisation.

The environmental impacts of agriculture can be classified into the beneficial and harmful effects. Except for production of food, fodder, fibre, etc, and generation of employment, agriculture is not beneficial to the environment (Reddy, 2003). The adverse and harmful effects of agriculture on environment are far and wide. These effects are direct and indirect in nature. The direct effects are mainly due to the extensive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in agricultural sector.

Suggested and Actual Application of Chemical Fertilizers in the Agricultural Sector of Kerala

N Karunakaran

Post Graduate Department of Economics EKNM Government College, Elerithattu – 671 314( Kerala)

ABSTRACT The adverse effects of agriculture on environment are direct and indirect in nature. Direct effects are due to the overuse of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Globally India ranks third in fertiliser consumption compared to other countries. The consumption of chemical fertilisers in Kerala is also high with respect to other states. To study the overuse of chemical fertilisers in the state, among six crops selected, rubber and banana cultivators used overdose of chemical fertilisers and under use of organic manures and lime compared to other crops. The overuse of NPK fertilisers compared to suggested dose as contrast to very low NPK soil fertility status in the rubber plantations is a paradox in the agriculture sector of Kerala. Key Words: Chemical fertilisers, Suggested dose, Actual dose used, Agricultural sector.

The growing use of fertilisers leads to chemical pollution of water resources (Karunakaran, 2015). The use of nitrogenous fertilisers produces nitrates which end up in streams and groundwater reservoirs (Chattopadhyay, 2015). Continuous high intensity fertiliser use leads to a progressive increase in the nitrate content of confined water bodies particularly groundwater (Chandrasekhar, 2008). Studies also revealed that nitrogen loss to the atmosphere through de-nitrification may contribute to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Kayarkanni, 2006). Therefore, it was planned to study the difference between the suggested and actual application of chemical fertilisers in the agricultural sector of Kerala.

MATERIALS AND METHODS To know whether there is over use of chemical

fertilisers in Kerala, the northern most Kasaragod district and six crops (paddy, coconut, arecanut, cashewnut, rubber and banana) were selected for this case study. Further, six panchayaths namely Vorkady panchayath (paddy), Panathady panchayath (coconut), Karadka panchayath (arecanut), Enmakaje panchayath (cashewnut), West-Eleri panchayath (rubber) and Mangalpady panchayath(banana) were selected for data collection

Corresponding Author’s E mail: narankarun@gmail.com

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where these crops were largely cultivated. A total number of 210 farmers were interviewed to get information on the total quantity of NPK fertilisers, lime and organic manure used in their respective farms. On the basis of the data collected average actual dose of chemical fertilisers (NPK), lime and organic manures used by farmers for paddy, coconut, arecanut, cashewnut, rubber and banana plants were worked out. The secondary data were collected from various publications like Economic Review, Statistics for Planning, Agricultural Statistics, Analytical Register, Soil Fertility Card and Package of Practices.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Fertiliser consumption

India ranks third in the world in fertiliser consumption but the average use is very low

compared to other countries. The consumption of fertiliser in the country rose to 24,482 thousand tonnes during 2013-14 from 292 thousand tonnes in 1960-61. The use of fertilisers is increasing along with the high yielding varieties in Kerala. In 1980-81, the consumption of total NPK chemical fertilisers in the state was 97,530 t, increased to 2,44,380 t during 1990-91 and in 2013-14 it was 3,22,170 t (Anonymous, 2014). This shows the growing importance of fertilisers in the agricultural economy of Kerala.

Table 1 shows the consumption of total NPK chemical fertilisers in Kerala during 1980-81 to 2013-14 and it revealed that the total cropped area in the state decreased about 9.29 per cent during 1980-81 to 2013-14 period while the total NPK chemical fertiliser consumption increased by 230.33 percent.

Table1. NPK chemical fertiliser consumption in Kerala.

Sr. No. Year Total Cropped Area (in ’000 hectare)

Total NPK chemical fertiliser consumption (in tonnes)

1 1980-81 2,885 97,5302 1983-84 2,862 1,29,4773 1986-87 2,870 1,51,3634 1989-90 3,019 2,12,4545 1992-93 3,046 2,05,3336 1995-96 3,067 2,03,8977 1997-98 2,969 2,19,4838 1999-00 3,017 2,11,6329 2004-05 2,996 2,11,70110 2006-07 2,918 2,13,48411 2009-10 2,669 2,64,89112 2010-11 2,647 2,81,15013 2011-12 2,662 3,01,33014 2012-13 2,592 3,07,17015 2013-14 2,617 3,22,17016 Percentage increase

over 1980-81-9.29 230.33

Source: - Computed from (i) Statistics for planning (various issues), Department of Economics and Statistics, Govt. of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. (ii) Economic Review (various issues), State Planning Board, Govt. of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. (iii) Agricultural Statistics At a Glance (2014), Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Govt. of India, New Delhi.

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Fertiliser application by the farmers The data (Table 2) show the rate of application of

fertilisers in the Kasaragod district during different years, where variation occurred substantially. It has been found that in some areas farmers were over using chemical fertilisers and pesticides by 20 to 50 per cent which created chemical pollution (Chandrasekhar, 2008).

Use of Fertilisers by the farmersTo know whether there is overuse of chemical

fertilisers, data on the difference between suggested and actual applications of chemical fertilisers to six crops (paddy, coconut, arecanut, rubber, cashewnut and banana) were collected and analysed. The data (Table 3) give information on the recommended dose of NPK fertilisers, lime and organic manures suggested by the Agricultural Department on the basis of the soil fertility status tested. It also gives information about the difference between the suggested and actual application of fertilisers and it was revealed that paddy, arecanut and coconut farmers were using, to a certain extent, the same quantity of NPK fertilisers as suggested by the scientists whereas, the rubber cultivators using thrice of the suggested dose of NPK and banana cultivators using more than double of the suggested

Table 2. Estimated NPK chemical fertiliser consumption in Kerala and in Kasaragod district

Sr. No. Total Cropped Area Total NPK chemical fertiliser consumption

(in kg/ha)

Total NPK chemical fertiliser consump-tion in different cropped areas (in kg/ha

Year Area in Kasaragod district (ha)

NPK fertiliser con-sumption in kg/ha in

Kerala

Crops NPK fertiliser consump-tion in kg/ha in Kasara-

god district1 1985-86 1,37,952 52.7 Rubber 1,000 2 1990-91 1,41,755 65.5 Cashewnut 5003 1995-96 1,53,210 66.5 Arecanut 400 4 2000-01 1,54,735 70.2 Coconut 400 5 2008-09 1,55,094 99.2 Paddy 1756 2013-14 1,44,921 123.1 Banana 1,500

Source: - Computed from (i) Agricultural Statistics (various issues), Department of Economics and Statistics, Govt. of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. (ii) Agricultural Statistics At a Glance (2014), Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Govt. of India, New Delhi. (iii) Primary data

dose of NPK fertilisers. The suggested dose of NPK fertilisers for rubber is only 0. 774 kg per plant in West-Eleri panchayath but the average actual use is 2 kg/plant and the recommended dose of NPK fertilisers is only 1.402 kg/plant for banana while the actual consumption is 3 kg/plant in the Mangalpady Grama panchayath.

Another important feature revealed was that farmers in these panchayaths were using very low quantity of lime (paddy farmers were using 50 kg/ha short of suggested dose, coconut cultivators one kg/plant short of the suggested dose, arecanut cultivators 0.5 kg/plant short of the suggested dose and banana cultivators 0.35 kg/plant short of the suggested dose). The rubber and cashewnut cultivators were not using lime in the study area. Paddy cultivators and arecanut cultivators were using almost half of the organic manure as suggested by the agriculture department. Coconut cultivators were using 20 kg/plant as against 25 kg/plant of organic manure as suggested by the department (5 kg/plant short as suggested). Rubber cultivators in the study area were using only 2 kg/plant instead of 10 kg/plant of organic manure as recommended. Like that banana cultivators were also using a shortage of 8 kg/plant of organic manure as suggested.

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Table.3. Suggested dose and actual applications of Fertilisers to various crops

Crops Item

Paddy Coconut Arecanut Rubber Banana Cashewnut

(1) Suggested dose of fertilisersLime (kg/ha) 300 1.500 0.700 0.700 0.600 0.700

N (kg/ha) 61 0.400 0.136 0.105 0.322 0.100

P(kg/ha) 74 0.900 0.120 0.477 0.610 0.500

K(kg/ha) 28 1.065 0.194 0.192 0.470 0.200

NPK (kg/ha) 163 2.365 0.450 0.774 1.402 0.800

Organic ma-nure(kg/ha)

2500 25 24 10 10 10

( 2) Average actual application of fertilisersLime (kg/ha) 250

0.500 0.200 0 0.250 0

NPK (kg/ha) 175

2 0.400 2

3 1

Organic manure (kg/ha)

1250

20 10 2

2 2

Unit of suggested dose and actual used doses of Fertilisers is Kg per hectare for paddy and Kg per plant for Coconut, Arecanut, Rubber, Cashewnut and Banana.Source: - Soil fertility card, District Panchayath, Kasaragod and primary data.

Soil fertility statusAll the samples selected had low or very low

soil pH status (<5%) and the application of lime to solve that problem was suggested by the scientists. The rubber and cashewnut cultivators in the sample area were not using lime for their plants. The reason they provided was the lack of knowledge regarding that. For coconut, arecanut and banana the usage was below 50 per cent as suggested. Paddy farmers use 83 per cent of the lime as suggested.

All the farmers in the sample area under study were using NPK total fertilisers rather than NPK separate dosage as suggested. Rubber farmers were using 2.58 more of NPK fertilisers/plant of the suggested dose and the banana planters were using 2.14 more of the NPK fertilisers/plant of the dose recommended. Cashewnut farmers were using 20

per cent more of the NPK fertilisers/plant of the dose recommended. The paddy cultivators in the area were using a margin of 12 kg/ha more of total NPK fertilisers as suggested. Coconut and arecanut farmers were using approximately the same amount of fertilisers of the suggested dose. The reason provided by all the farmers for this type of usage is the easy handling and availability of the fertilisers.

All the cultivators in the study area were using organic manures in the form of farm yard manures (like cow-dug, ashes, green leaf, etc.) and readymade organic manures. Paddy cultivators were using (50%), coconut cultivators (80 %) and arecanut farmers (42%) of the suggested dose of organic manures whereas the rubber, cashewnut farmers and banana cultivators were using 20 per cent of the suggested dose. The high price of organic

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manures, the lack of availability and the difficulty of handling were the reasons given by farmers for this type of usage. Out of the six crops selected for the study rubber and banana cultivators used over dose of chemical fertilisers and under use of organic manures and lime showing ineffective application of fertilisers compared to other three crops.

Over or under use of fertilisers Table 4 shows the overuse of NPK fertilisers in

the rubber plantations compared to suggested dose. This established the findings of earlier studies that the organic matter content on rubber plantations had lower values than other cropping systems and vegetations (Shaji and Abraham, 1994).

CONCLUSION Among six crops selected, rubber and banana

cultivators used overdose of chemical fertilisers and under use of organic manures and lime showing ineffective application of fertilisers compared to other four crops. The overuse of total NPK fertilisers in the rubber plantations compared to the suggested

dose in contrast to very low NPK soil fertility status in the rubber cropping system is a paradox in the agrarian economy of Kerala.

REFERENCES Chandrasekhar T C (2008). Agriculture-Fertiliser-

Environment: Interface some policy issues-India. Agricultural Situation in India 65(4): 217-222.

Anonymous (2014). Economic Review, State Planning Board, Thiruvananthapuram: 17-40.

Karunakaran N (2015). Crop Diversification for Sustainable Agriculture, Pointer publishers, Jaipur, India: 85-105.

Kayarkanni S (2006). Economic analysis of fertiliser use for major crops in Tamilnadu, Nidhi Book Centre, Delhi: 1-186.

Reddy K K (2003). Agriculture and Environment. Agriculture in India- Policy and Performance (Ed), by Sambasiva Rao, Serial Publications, New Delhi: 116-122.

Chattopadhyay Srikumar (2015). Environmental Consequences of Rubber Plantations in Kerala, Discussion paper No. 44, CDS, Thiruvananthapuram: 1-54.

Received on 01/02/2016 Accepted on 30/04/2016

Table 4. Difference between suggested and actual applications of Fertilisers to various crops in the Kasaragod District.

Crops Item

Paddy Coconut Arecanut Rubber Banana Cashewnut

Lime (-) 50.00 (-) 1.00 (-) 0.500 (-) 0.700

(-) 0.350

(-) 0.700

Deviation (in %)

(-) 16.67 (-) 66.67 (-) 71.43 (-) 100.00 (-) 58.33

(-) 100.00

NPK total (+)12.00

(-) 0.365 (-) 0.05

(+) 1.226

(+) 1.598

(+) 0.200

Deviation (in %)

(+) 7.36

(-) 15.43 (-) 11.11 (+)158.40

(+)113.98

(+)25.00

Organic ma-nure

(-) 1250

(-) 5.00 (-) 14

(-) 8.00

(-) 8.00

(-) 8.00

Deviation (in %)

(-) 50.00 (-) 20.00 (-) 58.33 (-) 80.00

(-) 80.00

(-) 80.00

Source: - Calculated from Table. 3.

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INTRODUCTIONHamirpur, the smallest district of Himachal

Pradesh is known for its high literacy rate and highest road density in the country. In agriculture sector, maize and wheat are the main cereal crops while in dairy sector, buffalo is the preferred milch animal. The situation in field of poultry rearing isn’t encouraging as depicted by 2007 census data wherein the entire poultry population in the district was a meager 4,488 birds. There is no poultry brooding unit in the district neither under government nor in private sector and the demand for day old chicks is being met from the Govt. Hatcheries located in other parts of the state under different government schemes. Further, due to insufficient knowledge of poultry husbandry, there is heavy mortality in chicks at the farmer’s level, thus discouraging the farmer to undertake poultry farming as an avenue for self employment. Hence the present intervention was planned to address these problems for augmenting poultry production in the district.

MATERIALS AND METHODSIn 2008, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hamirpur

started imparting vocational trainings to potential poultry farmers at the KVK campus of six days duration covering important aspects of poultry husbandry. Similarly, few off campus trainings of one or two day’s duration were also conducted to meet the demand of existing poultry farmers. Resource persons from College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Palampur and Central

Short Communication

Capacity Building: An Effective Tool for Augmenting Poultry Production in Himachal Pradesh

Rakesh Thakur#, Varun Sankhyan1 and P K Dogra1

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hamirpur at Bara 177 044 (Himachal Pradesh)

Poultry Development Organization, North Zone, Chandigarh were invited for providing wholesome training to the stakeholders as well as farmers. During training course, besides theoretical lectures, the trainees were also taken to exposure visits to local poultry farms and were provided hand on experience on brooding of chicks, handling of birds, symptoms of healthy/sick bird and guided about the importance of balanced feeding and record keeping. The trainees were linked to Department of Animal Husbandry for various benefits being provided through different schemes like 200 chick scheme, backyard poultry scheme etc. Table 1. Number of participants and vocational training courses organized on poultry farming at KVK, Hamirpur.

Year Number of trainings Participants2008 01 202009 03 1502010 02 1042011 02 622012 02 582013 02 57

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONAs per Census 2012, the poultry population in

district Hamirpur was 43,073 showing a tenfold increase in population in comparison to 2007 census. The increase in population was observed both in backyard and as well as commercial sectors.

*Corresponding Author’s Email: drthphau@gmail.com Krishi Vigyan Kendra Mandi at Sundernagar 175 019, Himachal Pradesh 1 Dr G C Negi College of Veterinary and Animal Science, Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya Palampur 176 062 ( Himachal Pradesh)

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The backyard poultry population stood at 10,492 while the poultry in farm/hatchery was 32,581. The poultry population during this period has increased both at national (12.4%) and state level (36.6%). In majority of the districts in Himachal Pradesh, poultry population has revealed a growing trend but there is no parallel to the sharp increase reported in district Hamirpur. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project were involved in promoting backyard poultry rearing and providing day old chicks to farmers in the district and the population recorded during census 2012 reflected their genuine efforts. There is no organized farm or hatchery under government or public sector in the district so the poultry population of 32,581 under the head farm/hatchery reflected the birds being reared commercially by progressive poultry farmers. These chicks were being provided by private companies/hatcheries like Venkys, Shivalik and Rainbow etc. Katoch et al (2010) reported that most important production system prevailing in the state was traditional poultry production system since commercial scale poultry enterprise has failed to pick up.

Training is a vital component for starting and successfully running an entrepreneurship in agriculture and allied sectors. In poultry farming also rearing a large commercial flock or a small backyard flock need sound knowledge and technical support. So the vocational trainings imparted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra has created a skilled workforce for rearing poultry and the poultry population figures put forth by recent census 2012 amply supports these claims. Poultry farming is now being looked upon by youngsters as a lucrative avenue to earn livelihood in district .

Table 2. Poultry population in district Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh.

Poultry Population 2007 2012Backyard Commercial Total

Hamirpur 4,488 10,492 32,581 43,073Himachal Pradesh 8,08,431 2,54,498 8,49,978 11,04,476

Source- Livestock Census 2007 and 2012

A momentum in favour of poultry rearing was evident in the period from 2007 to 2012. Similar trainings could not be organized at other Krishi Vigyan Kendra for want of resource person/extension specialist of concerned discipline so it is believed that if such capacity building programmes would have been organized at other places this growth might have replicated in other districts of the state as well.

CONCLUSIONCapacity building of farmers is an effective tool

to augment poultry production and such trainings should be organized at regular interval to sustain the enterprise.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe authors gratefully acknowledge the financial

support received from Agricultural Technology Management Agency, Hamirpur for organizing these trainings at Krishi Vigyan Kendra Hamirpur at Bara.

REFERENCESKatoch S, Kaila O P, Sankhyan V, Mahajan K, Verma N,

Sharma L M and Reen J K (2010). Rural poultry production for sustainable livelihood in Himachal Pradesh. Proc. National Seminar on conventional and modern breeding technologies for genetic improvement of livestock and poultry. Pantnagar, India. 22-23 Oct, Pp 47-49.

Livestock census (2007). http://dahd.nic.in/dahd/updates/whats-new/18th-livestock-census-2007.aspx 09 Feb 2016.

Livestock census (2012). http://hpagrisnet.gov.in/Agrisnet/AnimalHusbandry/pdf%20files/ 19th% 20 Livestock%20Census-2012.pdf 09 Feb 2016.

Received on 10/03/2016 Accepted on 30/04/2016

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3. All the authors have made substantive and intellectual contributions to the article and assume fullresponsibility for all opinions, conclusions and statements expressed in the articles.

4. I (we) agree to abide by the comments of referees/editorial board and will modify the article as per theirrecommendations for publication in Journal of Krishi Vigyan.

5. If the above article is published in Journal of Krishi Vigyan, the copyright of this article will vest with theSociety of Krishi Vigyan, who will have the right to enter into any agreement with any organization inIndia or abroad engaged in reprography, photocopying, storage and dissemination of information containedin it, and neither we nor our legal heirs will have any claims on royalty.

Name of the author(s) Designation Present official address Signature with date

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

The Journal of Krishi Vigyan, a peer-reviewed, half yearly, journal is being published by theSociety of Krishi Vigyan. The publication is aimed at providing access to academicians, researchers,extension workers and industry professionals from across the globe to publish their work on all aspectsof agriculture and allied fields through research papers, short communications and review articles.

The editorial board of SKV welcomes the submission of manuscripts within the aim and scope ofthe journal for publication. The articles may be submitted via regular mail in duplicate, each with a setof original figures and photographs to the Editor, Journal of Krishi Vigyan electronically in MS WORDformat as e-mail attachments to the editoriskv@gmail.com or secretarykvk2011@gmail.com .

Please refer to the instructions for authors before submitting an article.

General guidelinesIt is the responsibility of the authors to ensure that

1. Papers are submitted strictly as per the style and format of JKV. The articles not confirming fullyto the style and format of JKV will be returned to author(s) by the editorial office foramendment, prior to a review for its scientific merit.

2. Submission of an article is understood to imply that the article is original and has not been publishedpreviously, is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and if accepted, it will not bepublished elsewhere in the same form, in English or any other language. The submission ofthe article has the approval of the all co-authors and the authorities of the host institute where workhas been carried out.

3. The editorial board of JKV discourages the submission of more than one article dealing withrelated aspects from the same study; this includes different aspects of data derived from oneparticular experiment, or cases in which the analytical techniques, animals or experimentalprocedures are common to all papers. If author(s) have valid reasons for separation of reports ofone particular experiment or study into more than one paper, these must be submitted simultaneously.

4. The Author(s) may suggest the names of at least three experts/reviewers, not from the hostorganization/institute where the work had been carried out (along with their complete mailingaddress, contact nos. and e-mail id) whom they feel qualified to evaluate their research article.These suggestions will only be considered if e-mail Ids are also provided. Submission of suchnames does not imply that they will definitely be used for scrutiny.

5. The “Article submission certificate” duly signed by all the authors/head of host department / institute(optional) on a prescribed format must be furnished along with article at the time of submission. Ifthe article is sent through e-mail, the scanned copy of certificate (signed / stamped) may be attached.

6. For publication of articles in JKV, all the contributing authors has to be the member (either life orannual) of Society of Krishi Vigyan.

7. The submitted manuscripts will be assessed from editorial points of view, at first, and if foundsuitable for publication, it will be sent for peer-review. The review process will be a double-blindprocess where author(s) and referees are unaware of each others’ name. The author(s) must abideby the suggestions of referee and the editorial board of JKV. The final decision to publish anarticle will lie with the Editor and Publisher of the journal.

8. The corresponding author will be sent the PDF file of his/her published article free of cost via e-mail. No hard copies of the reprints will be provided.

9. Journal of Krishi Vigyan has no page charges.

10. For enquiries regarding submission, please contact the editorial office atsecretarykvk2011@gmail.com

Manuscript preparationLanguage: Papers must be written in English. The text and all supporting materials must use UKspelling conventions. It is up to the authors to make sure there are no typographical errors in themanuscript.

Typescript: Manuscripts must be typed in Microsoft Word, using Times New Roman font at 12 points,double spaced on one side of A4 size bond paper with 2.5 cm margin on all sides. All pages should benumbered consecutively in the right corner on the top. Indent new paragraphs.

Words: Papers should not normally exceed up to 8000 words for review articles; 4000 words fororiginal full length papers and 1500 words for short communications.

Headings: Main Headings - Major headings are centered, all capitals, boldface in Times New Romanfont at 12 points, and consist of ABSTRACT, INTRODUCTION, MATERIALS AND MATHODS,RESULTS AND DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (optional) andREFERENCES.

First subheadings are placed in a separate line, begin at the left margin, and are in italics. Text thatfollows should be in a new paragraph.

Second Subheadings should begin with the first line of a paragraph, indented and in italic. The textfollows immediately after the second subheading.

Contents: The contents must be arranged in an orderly way with suitable headings for each subsection.The recommended subdivision of contents is as follows:-

Running head: The running head or short title of not more than 50 characters, in title case andcentered should be placed above the main title of the study.

Title: The title must be informative and brief. The initials and name of the author(s), the address of thehost institution where the work was done must follow the title.

Superscripts (1,2,3) should be used in cases where authors are from different institutions. Thesuperscript # should be appended to the author to whom correspondence should be addressed, andindicated as such together with an e-mail address in the line immediately following the keywords. Thepresent postal address of authors, if currently different from that of the host institution should also besuperscripted appropriately and inserted in the lines following the key words.

Abstracts: It must summarize the major objectives, methods, results, conclusions, and practicalapplications of the study conducted. The Abstract must consist of complete sentences and use ofabbreviations should be limited.

Keywords: The Abstract is followed by three to five keywords from the title to be used for subjectindexing. These should be singular (e.g. paper, not papers). The abstract, including key words shouldbe separated by horizontal lines places before and after the text.

Introduction: This should include a statement of why the subject under investigation is considered tobe of importance, a concise indication of the status quo of published work in this field and a declarationof the aims of the experiment or study i.e. the hypothesis.

Materials and Methods: These should be concise but of sufficient detail to enable the experiment tobe replicated by an outside party. Particular care should be taken to ensure that the appropriatestatistical analyses have been carried out. Specify the design used, factors tested or the statisticalmodel employed. Non significant differences (P> 0.05) should not be discussed.

Results and Discussion: Results and discussion should be combined to avoid repetition. It should bepresented in a logical sequence in the text, tables and figures. The repetitive presentation of the samedata in different forms should be avoided. The discussion should consider the results in relation to anyhypotheses advanced in the Introduction and place the study in the context of other work.

Conclusion: The conclusion should consist of a short integration of results that refer directly to thestated aims of the experiment and a statement on the practical implications of the results.

Acknowledgements (optional): A brief and formal acknowledgment section, if desired, should followthe conclusion statement. Do not include titles of persons; such as Dr., Mr., or Ms., use only initialsand surnames.

References: The existing relevant literature restricted to those with a direct bearing upon the findingsmust be appropriately cited.

References appearing in the text – References in the text should be given as : Sharma and Rao(1983). Use änd” and not “&”. A reference by three or more authors should be identified in the textonly by the first author followed by et al (in italic) and the year.

Where several references are quoted consecutively in the text, the order should be chronological or,within a year, alphabetical (by first author or, if necessary, by first and second author(s).

Where references are made to several papers by the same author(s) in the same year, the year shouldbe followed by a, b, c, etc.

Personal communications and unpublished work should be cited in the text only and not in the referencelist, giving the initials, name: for example (M. S. Gill, unpublished), (M.S. Gill, personalcommunication).

References to internet sites should be quoted in the normal way in the text e.g. FDA (2008). In thereference list, the full URL must be given, followed by the date that the website was assessed.

References appearing in reference section : All publications cited in the text should be presented inthe list under Reference section, in alphabetical order. The title of the article should be given in thereference and journal’s name should be cited in italic as abbreviated by the journal. It is the fullresponsibility of the authors to cross check reference in the text of the article with those in the list ofreferences. In all cases, a reference must provide sufficient information to enables the reader to locateit.

Examples of references – (Hanging indent 1 cm)

For journals/periodicals

Mufeed S (1998). Evaluating employee performance: A successful instrument for human resourcedevelopment. Indian J Trg and Dev 28 (2): 72-93.

For books

AOAC (1980). Official Methods of Analysis. 13th edn. Association of Official Analytical Chemists.Washington, DC.

For Chapters in bookBarnabas A P and Lakshmiswaramma M (1980). “Assessment of Evaluation system for Rural

development”. In: Monitoring and Evaluation of Rural Development: Some Asian Experiences.(eds Kuldeep Mathu and Inayatulloah) Kuala Lumpur U.N. Asian and Pacific Development Centre.Pp: 121-22.

Bray R A (1994). The leucaena psylid. In: Forage Tree Legumes in Tropical Agriculture (eds. R CGutteridge and H M Shelton). CAB International, Oxford. Pp. 283-91.

For proceedings of conferences/symposia etc.

Vivero J L P (2002). Forest is not only wood: the importance of non-wood forest products for the foodsecurity of rural households in Ethiopia. In: Proceedings of the Fourth, Annual Conference forestrysociety of Ethiopia 14-15 January 2002, Ethiopia pp 102.

Elangovan A V ,Tyagi P K, Mandal A B and Tyagi P K (2007). Effect of dietary supplementation ofstain on egg production performance and egg quality of Japanese quail layers. Proceedings ofXXIV Annual Conference of Indian Poultry Science Association and National Symposium , 25-27April, Ludhiana, India, pp. 158 (Abstr.).

For thesesFayas A M (2003). Viability of self help groups in vegetables and fruit promotion council Keralam- amultidimensional analysis, MSc (Ag.) thesis, Kerala Agricultural University.

For online (internet site) citationFDA (2008). Effect of the use of antimicrobials in food producing animals on pathogen load: Systematicreview of the published literature. www.fda.gov/cvm/antimicrobial/PathRpt.PDF Accessed January11, 2012.

Tables/Figures/Illustrations : Tables should be self contained and complement, but not duplicateinformation contained in the text. The table number (given as an Arabic numeral) should be given atthe top, followed by a concise title. Give essential details as footnotes. Keep the number of columns toa minimum. Column headings should be brief, with the units of measurement clearly stated inparentheses. Where one unit applies to all the data in the body of the table include it in the title. Cite alltables in the text, in numerical order at first mention. Significant differences between means in columnsor rows should be indicated by superscript letters, and accompanied by a standard statement underneaththe table, e.g. “Means in columns not sharing a common superscript differ significantly (P<0.05)”.

Figures: Number all figures/illustrations consecutively, in order of appearance in the text, using Arabicnumerals. Keep lettering

on illustrations to a minimum and include essential details in the legend. Tables/Figures/illustrationsetc. should be submitted along with the main text of the paper with each on a new page, and shouldtake account of the page size of the journal. Wherever possible, figures should be suitable for subsequentdirect photographic reproduction.

Coloured figures : Use of coloured photographs is discouraged. If found necessary, the photographsshould be submitted as good quality, glossy colour prints.

Abbreviation and units: Use only standard abbreviations. The word ‘Figure’ should be shortened toFig. unless starting a sentence. SI units (metre, kilogram etc.) should be used wherever possible.Statistics and measurements should always be given in figures; i.e. 15mm, except where the numberbegins the sentence. When the number does not refer to a unit measurement (e.g. 15mm), it is speltout, except where the number is greater than nine.

Style and format of short communications: A short communication should be a maximum of 1500words. It contains a very brief abstract followed by a brief introduction, text including tables andfigures and a brief conclusion followed by references. No subheadings are to be included except forthe abstract and reference section. Format, tables and figures must conform to the conventions of theJournal.