SCIENTISTS JOINED AS LIFE MEMBER OF SOCIETY OF KRISHI VIGYAN

85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. Astha, Subject Matter Specialist (Plant Protection), KVK, Amritsar (Punjab) Balkaran Singh, Subject Matter Specialist (Agronomy), KVK, Mukatsar(Punjab) C D Badgujar, Subhadra, Plot No. 17, 94/1, Suraksha Nagar, Jalgaon (Maharashtra) Deepanjali Deori, Programme Coordinator, KVK, Upper Subangsiri (Assam) Deepjyoti Baruah, Scientist (Fisheries), Assam Agricultural University, Hekra (Assam) Divya Pandey, Subject Matter Specialist (Home Science), KVK,West Kameng, Dirang (Arunachal Pradesh) Gurbir Kaur, Subject Matter Specialist (Plant Protection), KVK, Sangrur (Punjab) Hiranya Kumar Bhattacharyya, Programme Coordinator,KVK, Romai-Kardoibam,Dibrugarh (Assam) Ishwar Singh, Programme Coordinator, KVK, Jalgaon (Maharashtra) K P Chaudhary, Deputy Director (Instruction) CAU, Imphal (Manipur) Kiran Grover, Senior Extension specialist, Department of Food and Nutrition, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab) Madhu Shelly, Subject Matter Specialist (Animal Science), KVK, Mukatsar(Punjab) Manmeet Kaur, Assistant Professor (Extension Education),Department of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab) Manoj Sudhakar Talathi ,Programme Coordinator,KVK, Killa-Roha(Raigad), (Maharashtra) Meharban Singh, Senior Extension Specialist ( Soil Science), Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab) Mridusmita Borthakur, KVK, Chirang (Assam) Navneet Kumar Mishra, Subject Matter Specialist (Agril. Extension),KVK, West Kameng, Dirang (Arunachal Pradesh) Parminder Singh, Associate Professor, Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension, GADVASU, Ludhiana (Punjab) Pramod Maruti Mandavkar, Subject Matter Specialist (Agril. Extension),KVK, KillaRoha(Raigad), (Maharashtra) Programme Coordinator, KVK, Bandipora(Putushai),(Jammu and Kashmir) Programme Coordinator, KVK, Dooru (Anantnaag)( Jammu and Kashmir) Programme Coordinator, KVK, Kulgam(Pombay),(Jammu and Kashmir) Programme Coordinator, KVK, Kupwara (Wadura Campus), Shopore (Jammu and Kashmir) Rajeev Kumar Raina, Programme Coordinator, KVK,Chamba (Himachal Pradesh) Ranjay Kumar Singh, Programme Coordinator, KVK,Chatra (Jharkhand) Ravindra Kumar, Subject Matter Specialist (Soil Science) KVK, Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) Rekhi Singh, Programme Coordinator, KVK, Shopian ( Jammu and Kashmir) S. Subash Kumar, Scientist (Dairy Extension),NDRIs Southern Regional Station, Bengaluru (Karnataka) T J Ramesha, Programme Coordinator, KVK,Lower Dibang Valley (Arunachal Pradesh) Vipin Kumar Misra, Subject Matter Specialist (Fisheries), KVK,West Kameng, Dirang (Arunachal Pradesh) Wahengbam Purnima Devi, Subject Matter Specialist (Agronomy), KVK,West Kameng, Dirang (Arunachal Pradesh)

Presidents Message
In India, feeding a huge population was great challenge post independence. Indian agriculture responded to the challenge with intensification of agriculture. Since independence, the country has made significant strides in agriculture, to meet the growing demands of our growing population. However, now the sustainable growth in agriculture and its allied sectors is a major challenge for Indian agriculture as there is a decline in the productivity of land, labour and water. Thus the sustainable intensification is new mantra in agriculture. In spite of declining resources, technologies continue to play a major role in achieving sustainable production in agriculture and allied sectors. Technologies emerging out of research and their dissemination to the farmers with the help of development departments and infrastructure institutions would continue to be the major strategy for increasing agricultural production in the country. KVKs established across the country aims at the assessment, refinement and demonstration of location specific technology modules in agriculture and allied enterprises. The technological modules demonstrated by the KVKs would focus on the agriculture prosperity at district in particular and meeting the future demand of farm products at state and national level. However documentation of KVK experiences is need of the day. I would partly borrow from Frank Smith who said Reading is learned by reading and say that writing is learned by writing. The more you write, the better you get. Scientists are in fact judged on their ability to produce and publish papers. Jobs and research funding in science hinge on the quality and quantity of research papers. The scientific community relies on reading and writing research papers to communicate and build upon our results and ideas. Thus, I encourage you all to write and contribute to this journal. The journals main focus has been to ensure the continued prioritization of KVK-initiated research. SKV publishes this journal to serve agricultural scientists and has made it online at Indianjournals.com. Congratulations to all those who worked so hard to publish the current issue of Journal of Krishi Vigyan . Printing of a journal is a tough job, but we intend to be up to the task and aiming for timely bringing out this half yearly publication. Thanks to the work of our executive council, with the efforts of outstanding executive members, Society of Krishi Vigyan (SKV) is getting in good shape. So, why should you be an SKV member and support this society? SKV is devoted to promoting the discipline of agriculture. This means using all of our resources to provide venues for our members to share their findings whether in person, print or online and to establish important contacts to facilitate scientific exchange and collaboration. Also, at SKV we are trying to bring together all the agriculture scientists together and to keep it collegial by establishing camaraderie among colleagues. So, thank you for your continued support, and please dont hesitate to let us know what you think will make us even better. With best wishes (M S Gill)

CONTENTS
Sr. No. Title 1. Adoption Level of Oilseed Production Technology in Konkan Region of Maharashtra. Pramod Mandavkar and Manoj Talathi Case Study of Water Saving Through Temporary Water Storage Ponds in Village Vadavathur in Namakkal District. B Mohan, R Sangeetha, S Alagudurai, C Sharmila Bharathi, K Senthilkumar, S Aanand, M Daisy, K Pannerselvam and G Gohila Comparative Profile of Job Card Holders Under NREGA Programme in Imphal West of Manipur. Daya Ram, K P Chaudhary , K H Stina and Angad Prasad Confederation of Potato Seed Farmers: A Study of Innovative Management System in Punjab. R K Kalra, Sanatombi K H and Manmeet Kaur Effect on Planting Time on Growth and Yield of Winter Maize (Zea mays L.) after Harvesting Rice. Rima Taipodia and A K Shukla Effectiveness of Different Weedicides on Weed Biomass, Nutrient Uptake and Yield of Rice. P K Dubey, R K Jha, V P Singh and Sunil Kumar Evaluation of Major Kharif Crops Varieties to Climate Variability in Vertisols of Hadoti Region of Rajasthan. B S Meena And G S Meena Evaluation of Vocational Training Programmes Organized on Mushroom Farming By Krishi Vigyan Kendra Patiala. Rachna, Rajni Goel and G P S Sodhi Improvement in Fruit Set, Retention, Weight and Yield of Apple Cv. Royal Delicious Through Foliar Application of Plant Growth Regulators . Ajay Kumar Banyal, Rajeev Raina and Rajesh Kumar Kaler Indigenous Techniques of Breeding Indian Major Carps Under Confined Conditions. Deepjyoti Baruah Mithun Production and Management System in Papum Pare District of Arunachal Pradesh. Tilling Tayo, Taba Heli, Bengia Atul and Nabam Gama OnFarm Evaluation of Management Practices of Rice and Wheat in Sub-Montane Subtropical Low Hills Zone of Himachal Pradesh. S K Sharma, S C Negi , S K Subehia and S S Rana Page No. 1

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Sr. No. Title 13. Quality Evaluation of Blended Rice Bran and Mustard Oil. Monika Choudhary and Kiran Grover Relationship Between Buffering Capacity and Chemical Composition of Poultry Feedstuffs. Anuradha Yadav, Parminder Singh and S S Sikka Soil Fertility Status of Rampur District of Uttar Pradesh. Ravindra Kumar, A S Rathi, Laxmikant, N C Tripathi and Pramod Kumar Technological Problems and Training Needs of Dairy Farmers. Manoj Sharma, Gurdeep Singh and Madhu Shelly Use and Availability of Recommended Pesticides in District Kapurthala Gurmeet Singh, Gagandeep Kaur, Manoj Sharma, Gurpreet Kaur and Gobinder Singh Use of Azola (Azolla pinnata) as Cattle Feed Supplement. G N Mathur, Ramakant Sharma and P C Choudhary Utilization of Navigation Systems to Enhance the Efficiency of Field Workers. Gagan Jyot Kaur, Udit Jain and Jagbir Rehal Yield Gap Analysis in Paddy Based on Method Demonstration on Seed Treatment Technique for Control of Bacterial Leaf Blight. Amandeep Kaur, Hardeep S Sabhikhi, Gurpreet Singh, Jaswinder Singh and Gurpreet Kaur

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Short Communications 1. Comparative performance of Serrated Sickle V/S Desi Ordinary Sickle Used by Rural Farm Women of Junagadh District in Gujarat. Hansa S Patel, Brijendra Singh Rajawat and Minaxi K Bariya. 2. Introduction of Sweet Corn Cv. Sugar 75 Through Front Line Demonstration in Tribal Area of Navsari District in Gujarat. K A Shah, B M Tandel and C K Timbadiya Rare case of Foetal ascitis in a kid. H K Bhattacharyya and S Baruah Validation of Wilt Management Technology Through On Farm Trials in Coloured Capsicum. Arti Shukla

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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 1-4

Adoption Level of Oilseed Production Technology in Konkan Region of Maharashtra

Pramod Mandavkar* and Manoj Talathi Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Roha, Raigad Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli-402 116 (Maharashtra)
ABSTRACT The front line demonstration is the concept evolved by Indian Council of Agricultural Research with the inception of the Technology Mission on Oilseed during mid-eighties. Under this programme the technologies are demonstrated for the first time by the scientists themselves before being fed to the main extension system of the state department of agriculture. However, this study regarding adoption level and correlation between various characteristics of oilseed growers found that 60.0 per cent respondents were medium adopters. Low adoption level was found in small farmers category as compared to medium and big farmers category. The possible reason might be low level of scientific orientation and low risk bearing ability of small farmers. Full adoption in case of variety and seed rate was due to simplicity of technology and partial adoption of agronomic practices was due to non-availability of labour, high cost of inputs and untimely technical guidance. Non adoption of seed treatment and plant protection was due to their complexity in use. Adoption of oilseed technology by the respondents is significantly associated with education, annual income, social participation, experience of oilseed cultivation, extension contact, extension participation and scientific orientation of demonstrator farmers. For achieving higher production, emphasis should be given to conduct off campus training program and field demonstrations in specific laggards blocks about recommended oilseed production technology especially on seed treatment and plant protection measures. Key Words : Oilseed, Demonstrations, Adoption, Correlation. INTRODUCTION Oilseeds form the second largest agricultural commodity in India after cereals sharing 14 per cent of gross cropped area and accounting for nearly 3 per cent of the gross national product and 10 per cent of value of all agricultural products. The country also occupies a distinct position in terms of diversity in annual oilseed crops. The compound growth rates registered for nine oilseeds during 1951 to 2009 in respect of area, production and productivity being 1.59, 3.03 and 1.42 percent per annum, respectively. India, as the worlds third largest consumer of vegetable oils after China and European Union, has seen per capita consumption increase from about 4 kg per annum to 14 kg per annum in the past four decades though much lower than most of the developed countries. The countrys demand for vegetable oils is expected to increase from current level of 16 MT to 18.3 and 21.8 MT by 2015 and 2020, respectively (Damodaran and Hegde, 2010). India rank first in castor, safflower and sesame production and the second largest producer of groundnut and third in rapeseed and mustard production, however it ranks fourth, fifth and tenth in linseed, soya bean and sunflower, respectively. In Konkan region of Maharashtra, efforts are being put in to boost up the oilseed production and also its productivity. With this in mind a study was conducted to determine the adoption level of oilseed growers with respect to selected package of practices and to find out the relationship between background variables of respondents with their adoption level about oilseed production technology. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was conducted in 25

*Corresponding Authors Email : manoj84048@yahoo.co.in ; mandavkarpm@rediffmail.com

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 1-4

Mandavkar and Talathi villages from Konkan region of Maharashtra, where Krishi Vigyan Kendra of respective district has already done the work of technology transfer in oilseed crop production. For selection of respondents for this study, a list of front line demonstration (FLD) farmers was collected from four KVKs. By adopting systematic sampling design, 250 respondents who had actually undertaken the demonstration with control trial were selected for the study. The data were collected one year after FLD programme through personal interview technique with the help of interview schedule developed for the study. Adoption level of the farmers was measured on a three point continuum, viz., Full, Partial and No. Based on total score the adoption index was worked out by using formula. Adoption score of the respondent Adoption Index (AI) = x 100 Maximum adoption score RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Adoption level The adoption level of the farmers was categorized into low, medium and high categories on the basis of adoption index (Table 1).
Table 1. Distribution of the respondents according to the adoption index.

recommended practices of oilseeds among different category of farmers (Table 2). It was evident that the small farmers adoption level was lower (51.9%) as compared to medium and big farmers, while maximum number of medium category farmers adoption level was found 80.2 per cent (Table 2). Also, the big farmers adoption level was found to the medium extent i.e. 46.5 per cent followed by high extent (37.2%). Low adoption level in small farmers category might probably be due to low level of scientific orientation and low risk bearing ability. These finding were in agreement with Jaiswal et al (1987) and Nagraj and Katteppa (2002). Adoption level of recommended package of practices of oilseeds On perusal of data (Table 3), it was found that overall 73.2 per cent farmers adopted the recommended variety/hybrid of oilseed. Regarding use of seed rate 47.2 per cent and 32.8 per cent farmers adopted fully and partially, respectively, whereas, 20.0 per cent farmers did not follow recommended seed rate. Majority (62.0%) of the groundnut growers adopted proper seed rate. In case of spacing more than half (59.2%) number of respondents partially adopted recommended spacing, while, only 17.6 per cent farmers adopted fully. Thirty eight per cent farmers did not perform seed treatment whereas, 35.2 per cent and 26.8 per cent farmers belonged to full and partial adoption category, respectively. Regarding application of farm yard manure 26.0, 40.0 and 34.0 per cent of farmers belongs to full, partial and non-adoption category and of fertilizer application 32.4 per cent and 47.6 per cent farmers belongs to full and partial adoption category, respectively. In case of intercultural operations majority (48.4%) of farmers belongs to partial adoption

Category Adoption index Low Medium High Up to 13.77 13.78 to 53.79 53.80 and above

Frequency 62 150 38

Percentage 24.8 60.0 15.2

It was noticed that 60.0 per cent of the respondents were from medium category followed by low (24.8%) category whereas only 15.2 per cent farmers were in high adoption category. Overall average adoption index of oilseed growers was found to be 35.6. The data were further analyzed to know the adoption level of
Category of the farmers Low Small farmers (81) Medium farmers (126) Big farmers (43) Total (250) 2 No. 42 13 07 62 % 51.9 10.3 11.6 24.8

Table 2. Adoption level of recommended practices of oilseeds among different category of farmers.

Adoption level Medium No. 29 101 20 150 % 35.8 80.2 46.5 60.0 No. 10 12 16 38

High % 12.3 9.5 37.2 15.2

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 1-4

Adoption Level of Oilseed Production Technology followed by full (31.6%) adoption category. Plant protection measures were not adopted by (48.4%) farmers and full adoption was only by 19.6 per cent farmers. Further, 44.4 per cent and 35.6 per cent farmers belong to partial and full adoption category regarding weed and water management. In case of harvesting and threshing majority (61.2%) of oilseed growers adopted improved practices partially.

Table 3. Adoption level of farmers about recommended package of practices of oilseeds.

S. No. Practices Kharif groundnut (N=50) Freq. % 3 4 42 08 84.0 16.0

1 1.

Selected oilseeds Summer Niger Sunflower groundnut (N=50) (N=50) (N=100) Freq. % Freq. % Freq. % 5 6 7 8 9 10 87 13 87.0 13.0 30 20 60.0 40.0 24 26 48.0 52.0

Total oilseeds (N=250) Freq. 11 183 67 % 12 73.2 26.8

Improved Variety/Hybrid Full adoption Partial adoption Non-adoption 2. Seed rate Full adoption Partial adoption Non-adoption 3. Spacing Full adoption Partial adoption Non-adoption 4. Seed treatment Full adoption Partial adoption Non-adoption 5. Application of FYM Full adoption Partial adoption Non-adoption 6. Fertilizer application Full adoption Partial adoption Non-adoption 7. Intercultural operations Full adoption Partial adoption Non-adoption 8. Plant protection measures Full adoption Partial adoption Non-adoption 9. Weed/Water management Full adoption Partial adoption Non-adoption 10. Harvesting and Threshing Full adoption Partial adoption Non-adoption

25 17 08 04 38 08 20 08 22 11 27 12 14 28 08 22 20 08 17 08 25 20 22 08 05 37 08

50.0 34.0 16.0 08.0 76.0 16.0 40.0 16.0 44.0 22.0 54.0 24.0 28.0 56.0 16.0 44.0 40.0 16.0 34.0 16.0 50.0 40.0 44.0 16.0 10.0 74.0 16.0

62 31 07 12 81 07 40 36 24 35 51 14 44 49 07 25 68 07 22 58 20 40 53 07 08 85 07

62.0 31.0 07.0 12.0 81.0 14.0 40.0 36.0 24.0 35.0 51.0 14.0 44.00 49.00 07.0 25.0 68.0 07.0 22.0 58.0 20.0 40.0 53.0 07.0 08.0 85.0 07.0

11 23 16 10 16 24 10 10 30 03 14 33 09 25 16 10 24 16 02 48 15 19 16 34 16

22.0 46.0 32.0 20.0 32.0 48.0 20.0 20.0 60.0 06.0 28.0 66.0 18.0 50.00 32.0 20.0 48.0 32.0 04.0 96.0 30.0 38.0 32.0 38.0 32.0

26 04 19 18 13 19 18 13 19 16 08 26 14 07 19 22 09 19 10 12 28 14 17 19 31 19

52.0 08.0 40 36.0 26.0 38.0 36.0 26.0 38.0 32.0 16.0 52.0 28.0 14.0 38.0 44.0 18.0 38.0 20.0 24.0 56.0 28.0 34.0 38.0 31.0 19.0

118 82 50 44 148 58 88 67 95

47.2 32.8 20.0 17.6 59.2 23.2 35.2 26.8 38.0

65 26.0 100 40.00 85 34.0 81 119 50 79 121 50 49 80 121 89 111 50 47 153 50 32.4 47.6 20.0 31.6 48.4 20.0 19.6 32.0 48.4 35.6 44.4 20.0 18.8 61.2 20.0 3

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 1-4

Mandavkar and Talathi During data collection it was noted that full adoption in case of variety and seed rate was due to simplicity of technology and partial adoption of agronomic practices was due to non-availability of labour, high cost of inputs and untimely technical guidance. No adoption of seed treatment and plant protection was due to their complexity in use. Relationship between adoption level and various characteristics of the farmers Data presented in Table 4 revealed that adoption of the oilseed technology by the respondents was significantly associated with education, annual income, social participation, experience in oilseed growing, extension contact, extension participation and scientific orientation of demonstrator farmers. It implies that adoption level of the respondents increase with increase in their education, annual income, social participation, experience in oilseed growing, extension contact, extension participation and scientific orientation. These findings were in agreement with those of Kubde et al (1999). However, size of family of respondents had a significant but negative relation with the adoption level, while age, land holding and risk orientation did not show significant association. All these characteristics having positive and significant relationship with adoption level have helped the farmers to acquire knowledge for better adoption and exposed to new technologies and their urge to know the new things in agriculture which have significantly contributed in adoption of a technology.
Table 4: Correlation between selected characteristics of the respondents and adoption level of oilseed growers.

*Significant at 5 % level, ** Significant at 1 % level ,NSNon Significant

CONCLUSION Adoption level of maximum oilseed growing farmers was found to be full in case of improved varieties and seed rate but was found poor in case of partially adopted practices like proper spacing, application of farm yard manure, application of fertilizer, intercultural operations, weed/water management and harvesting and threshing. With respect to seed treatment and plant protection measures majority of demonstrator farmers belonged to non-adoption category. The findings of the study had brought certain action implication for extension agencies/ policy makers regarding the issues related to availability, accessibility and affordability of the farm inputs. Emphasis should be given on off campus training and field demonstrations in specific laggards blocks about recommended oilseed production technology especially on seed treatment and plant protection measures. There is need to step up extension efforts to motivate oilseed growers to adopt all the recommended practices. Steps may also be taken to overcome the constraints faced by the farmers in the adoption of oilseed production technology. REFERENCES
Damodaran T and Hegade D M (2010). Oilseed Situation: A Statistical Compendium. Directorate of Oilseed Research, Hyderabad. p 486. Jaiswal D K, Mishra P K and Mishra Anupam (1987). Adoption gap of recommended wheat technology among the farmers of Bundelkhand region. Maharashtra J Ext Edu 6: 205-06. Kubde V R, Tekale V S and Bhople R S (1999). Knowledge and adoption of Soybean production technology by farmers. Maharashtra J Ext Edu 18: 185-88. Nagaraj K H and Katteppa (2002). Adoption of improved cultivation practices of groundnut by farmers. J Ext Edu 13(1): 327-28. Received on 26-08-2013 Accepted on 19-11-2013

Sl.No. Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 4

Correlation coefficient (r value) -0.103NS 0.261* -0.108** 0.144* 0.561** 0.302* 0.490** 0.256* 0.361NS -0.012NS -0.103NS

Age Education Family Size Social Participation Experience in oilseed growing Extension Contact Extension Participation Scientific orientation Risk Orientation Land Holding Annual income

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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 5-7

Case study of Water Saving Through Temporary Water Storage Ponds in Village Vadavathur in Namakkal District
B Mohan, R Sangeetha, S Alagudurai, C Sharmila Bharathi, K Senthilkumar, S Aanand, M Daisy, K Pannerselvam and G Gohila Krishi Vigyan Kendra Namakkal - 637 002 (Tamil Nadu)
ABSTRACT Vadavathur in Namakkal District is a drought prone village. The annual rainfalls is 400 mm. Farmers pump water from open and bore wells and store it in unlined temporary water storage pond and then irrigate the grown crops. Under the NICRA scheme fourteen temporary storage ponds were lined with HDPE 200 GSM UV irradiated plastic sheets. Most of the farm ponds were of the size of 65 ft length, 45 ft breadth and 6 ft depth with water holding capacity of 17,550 cu.ft. When water was stored in plastic sheet lined ponds, the seepage loss was minimized to ft only in 15 d compared to ft of water loss within 3 days in unlined storage ponds. Ground nut pod yield (22 q/ha) increased by 18 per cent as compared to 18q/ha obtained from fields irrigated from unlined ponds. The increase in yield was due to increased frequency of irrigation once in 10 d in lined pond compared to once in 15 d in unlined ponds. Similarly the weight of onion bulb was 23-25 g in field irrigated with the lined ponds compared to 9-11 g from fields of unlined ponds. This intervention helped in saving water as well as increasing the yield of crops. Key Words: Water saving, Temporary water storage, Ponds, INTRODUCTION Water is essential component in agriculture and animal husbandry for year round productivity. The importance of water has percolated deeply in the minds of farmers especially in drought prone areas, where it is pumped from open and bore wells, stored in surface temporary water storage ponds for irrigation to the field crops. But many constraints like quick drying of open and bore wells, interrupted electricity supply, hinders adequate pumping and storage of water and assured productivity. Hence, for effective storage of water in temporary water storage ponds many methods like, clay lining, plastic lining, stone pitching, concrete flooring, are practiced on a project base. Among these, one low cost technology is plastic lining of temporary water storage ponds.
Corresponding Authors Email: namakkalkvk@gmail.com

MATERIALS AND METHODS The study area of Vadavathur village, Erumapatti block, Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu is a drought prone village. The annual rainfall is 400 mm; hence this village was selected to implement the National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) Project during the year 2010. The site for temporary storage of water was the highest elevated area in the farmers field. The ponds were dug using excavator and later manually the stones and weeds were removed. The inner surface of the pond was made smooth as possible, so as to avoid tear to the plastic lining sheets. The standard size of the pond was 65 ft length, 45 ft breadth and six ft depth. Fifteen hours of JCB excavator was used for deepening the pond and strengthening the bunds @ Rs.650/hr and the

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 5-7

Mohan et al total cost was Rs.9750/-. The cost of the HDPE 200 GSM UV irradiated polythene lining sheet was Rs.6/sq.ft and for lining a pond of 65 ft x 45 ft it amounted to Rs.17,550/-. The plastic lining sheets were layed inside the pond first and then brought outward to the bunds and fixed with stay rods with the rings on the edges of the sheet. After laying the plastic sheets, water was pumped into the pond using 3 to 5 HP motors. During summer months (February to May) it takes 8 -10 d to fill the pond with a water holding capacity17,550 cubic feet, whereas during July to September it takes 5 8 d and during October to January it takes 3 -5 d to fill the pond, depending on the water table in the bore wells. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The depth of open wells ranged from 60 to 120 ft and bore wells are as deep of 300 to 650 ft. The low discharge from these bore wells and open wells during summer months is inadequate for direct surface irrigation and hence, the common practice is to pump waterfrom bore wells and open wells mostly fitted with 5 HP air compressor pumps. The pumped water is stored in small surface storage ponds lined with clay from where it is pumped through centrifugal pump or taken under gravity flow to irrigate the fields entailing very low overall irrigation efficiency. The soil of Vadavathur village is mostly red and sandy loam. Seepage rate from these soils is quite high and therefore water stored in the surface storage ponds was quickly lost. Similar observation was also reported by Selvi et al (2013). To avoid this problem of excessive seepage from the storage ponds, lining of these temporary storage ponds with HDPE 200 GSM UV irradiated polythene lining sheet was demonstrated in 14 farmers field in Vadavathur village during 2011 to 2013. The pond was dug as per the size requested by farmers. Pond bed and sides were made weed and stone free to prevent any damage to the plastic sheet. The total cost of the intervention was approximately Rs. 30,000 /- since it varied from site to site, which included cost of polythene sheet and pond formation. The water from the open and bore wells were first pumped into this pond and then taken
6

by gravity to irrigate the fields. Evaporation and percolation of water losses were minimized to ft only in 15 d. compared to a loss of ft of water in 3 d in unlined storage pond. Nega and Kimeu (2002) reported that the water exposed to direct sunshine, winds are lost by evaporation and the loose soil leads to seepage. It can be minimized by providing the storage tank with a lined covers. Similar observation was made by Subudhi and Senapati (2013) who reported that the water loss was 326 l/ d in lined pond and 24,000 l/d in unlined pond. In the study village, eight farmers cultivated ground nut variety TMV 7 during kharif season. Farmers irrigated the ground nut crop once in fifteen days during the year of 2011-2012 using water stored in temporary unlined storage ponds and the yield of pod was 18q/ha and haulms 37.5q/ ha, whereas when water was stored in plastic lined ponds they could irrigate once in 10 d as a result of which the pod yield (22q/ha) and haulms yield (45q/ha) increased by 18 and 16 per cent, respectively. All the fourteen farmers cultivated onion using the water stored in temporary plastic lining ponds. Through this intervention moisture stress was avoided due to increased frequency of irrigation once in 14 d, it resulted in production of larger size onion bulb clusters from 9-11g to 23-25 g and shrinkage loss was minimized. Similar observation was reported by Subudhi et al (2013) where utilization of line pond water produced highest tomato yield of 48 q/ha. During the year 2011-2012 with the water stored in unlined temporary water storage ponds farmers were able to cultivate only onion and sorghum, since only 30 per cent area was irrigated per day. In the same field where temporary water storage ponds were lined with plastic sheets, seepage loss was minimized and 40 per cent area was irrigated per day and farmers cultivated in addition to onion and sorghum, crops like ground nut and short duration vegetables like snake gourd and ridge gourd. CONCLUSION Temporary water storage ponds lined with plastic sheets were effective storage models in the open fields. The water seepage was minimized to ft only in 15 days. The irrigation interval was

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 5-7

Water Saving Through Temporary Water Storage Ponds

Measuring the size of the ponds

Lining the pond with polythene

Storing the water in lined ponds

Storing the water in unlined ponds

Selvi V, Singh D V, Kannan K, Khola O P S and Mohanraj R (2013). Water saving through silpaulin linning of surface storage ponds in Ayalur water shed, Tamil Nadu. In: Proceedings of conference on farmers first for conserving soil and water resources in Southern Region, 12- 16, March, Bangalore, India, pp. 65(Abstr). Subudhi C R and Senapti S C (2013). Water harvesting through farm pond and utilization of conserved water to increase productivity and livelihood security in North Eastern ghat of Odisha. In: Proceedings of conference on farmers first for conserving soil and water resources in Southern Region, 1216, March, Bangalore, India, pp. 62 (Abstr). Received on 12-10-2013 Accepted on17-11-2013

reduced from 15 d to 10 d. Through this intervention moisture stress was avoided in onion and ground nut crops and resulted in round the year cultivation of crops. REFERENCES
Nega H and Kimeu PM (2002). Low-cost methods of rainwater storage: Results from field trials in Ethiopia and Kenya. RELMA Technical Report Series 28, Nairobi, Kenya. pp 58 + viii.

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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 8-11

Comparative Profile of Job Card Holders Under NREGA Programme in Imphal West of Manipur
Daya Ram, K P Chaudhary, K H Stina and Angad prasad College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Imphal-795 004 (Manipur)
ABSTRACT The present study was conducted in Imphal West District of Manipur using the ex-post facto research design. Multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted to select the appropriate number of the respondents. Total 120 respondents (Job Card Holders) were selected based on proportional random sampling method. The data were collected using structured interview schedule and then analyzed using appropriate statistical tools namely, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, simple correlation coefficient and multiple regression. It was concluded that there is a need of sound and sustainable strategy to improve the socio-economic status of the job card holders under NREGA through organizing effective and efficient training programme regarding guidelines of NREGA, its objective, goals, salient features and most importantly about the rights given to the job card holders under NREGA. Key words: Socio-economic Status, Job Card Holders, National Rural Employment Guarantee Schem. INTRODUCTION The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) aims at enhancing the livelihood security of the people in rural areas by giving the guarantee for hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The objective of the scheme is to create durable assets and strengthen the livelihood resource base of the rural poor. The choice of works suggested in the Act addresses causes of chronic situation like drought, deforestation, soil erosion etc., so that the process of employment generation is sustainable. The Act envisages that the scheme will lead to a large scale creation of livelihood assets in rural areas which can have a sustainable impact on rural poverty. Upholding the rights perspective, the Act clearly defines the fundamental principles and the basic entitlements of the labourers and workers. It is the latest form of wage employment programme which offers 100 days of guaranteed employment to the rural unemployed poor. The unique feature which distinguishes this scheme from previous employment programmes is that the NREGS is endorsed by a legal guarantee.
*Corresponding Authors Email : d.dram@rediffmail.com

Accordingly, NREGS is implemented under NREGA a law enacted by Indian Parliament. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was enacted on August 25, 2005. The scheme has been introduced in 200 districts of the country on Feb 2, 2006 extended to another 130 districts w.e.f. April 1, 2007. From April 2008, the scheme has been extended to all rural districts of India. In Manipur, the scheme was launched in Tamenglong district on 13 th April 2006 in the first phase, Churachandpur and Chandel were brought under the Act during the year 2007-2008 and the remaining six districts viz; Thoubal, Bishnupur, Imphal East, Imphal West, Senapati and Ukhrul districts have been covered during the 2008-2009. Keeping in view the formulation and implementation of this Act, a strong need was felt to conduct a study on socio-economic characteristics and correlates of awareness of job card holders under NREGA scheme in Imphal West District, Manipur. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was conducted in Imphal West District of Manipur using the Ex-post facto research design. Multi-stage sampling procedure

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Ram et al was adopted to select the appropriate number of the respondents. In Imphal-West District, there are 2 blocks namely Haorangsabal and Wangoi. Out of two blocks, Wangoi block was selected and from 15 Gram Panchayats, 2 Gram Panchayats namely Naoriya Pakhanglakpa and Sangaiprou were selected. 3 villages and 2 villages from each Gram Panchayat were selected randomly. Total
Table1.

120 respondents (job card holders) were selected based on proportional random sampling method. The data were collected using structured interview schedule. The data collected were then analyzed using appropriate statistical tools namely, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation simple correlation coefficient and multiple regression.
Frequency 18 82 20 65 00 00 55 25 00 00 14 34 33 14 60 44 00 00 16 42 64 10 4 00 82 29 9 18 91 11 37 83 22 63 31 4 19 101 00 Percentage 15.00 68.33 16.67 54.17 00.00 00.00 45.83 20.83 00.00 00.00 11.67 28.33 27.50 11.67 50.00 36.67 00.00 00.00 13.33 35.00 53.33 08.33 03.33 00.00 68.33 24.17 07.50 15.00 75.83 09.17 30.80 69.20 18.33 52.50 25.83 03.33 15.83 84.17 00.00 9

Distribution of respondents based on their socio-economic characteristics.

Sr. No. Particulars 1. Age

Category Young (< 31yr ) Middle (31-51 yr) Old ( > 51 yr) Agriculture Agriculture and service Service Other occupation Illiterate Read only Read and write Primary Middle school High school Graduate No participation Member of any organisation Member of > 1 organisation Office bearer Participation in any community or village work landless marginal small medium large kutcha semi-pucca pucca low medium high joint family nuclear family small medium largevery large low (<10000) medium (10000-20000) high (>20000)

2.

Occupation

3.

Education

4.

Social Participation

Size of land holding

6.

Housing type

7.

Material possession

8. 9.

Family type Family size

10.

Annual income(Rs.)

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Profile of Job Card Holders Under NREGA RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The data presented in Table 1 shows that majority of the respondents belonged to the middle aged group (68.3%) followed by old aged category (16.7%) and young age category (15.0%) respectively. Out of 120 respondents, 54.2 per cent were in agriculture, followed by (45.8%) respondents of other occupation. In case of education 28.3 per cent of the respondents were educated up to middle school, followed by those up to high school (27.5%) and illiterate (20.8%) and low percentage (11.7%) was seen each for both primary and graduate level. On further analysis, it was found that majority of the respondents (50%) were in the category of no social participation of any organisation, followed by members of one organisation category (36.7%) whereas 13.3 per cent were in the category participation in any community or village work. In case of size of land holding majority of the respondents (53.3%) belonged to marginal category, followed by landless category (35.0%), small category were (8.3%) and medium category were (3.3%). 68.3 per cent respondents were in the kutcha house type followed by semi-pucca house type (24.2%) and (07.5%) respondents in pucca house respectively. Maximum (75.8%) respondents were having in medium category of material possession followed by low category (15.0%) and high category (9.2%) respectively. In case of family type majority of respondents (69.2%) belonged to the nuclear family which was followed by joint family (30.8%).Majority of respondents (52.5%) were in medium size, followed by (25.8%) large sizes, (18.3%) were small and very few (3.3%) were very large family size, respectively. The data further revealed that majority of the respondents (84.1%) were in the medium category of annual income and which was followed by low category (15.8%). It was found that none of the respondents were in the high category of annual income. The results on correlation coefficient between socio-economic characteristics and awareness of job card holders under NREGA are presented in the Table 2. It was observed that the social participation and housing type were positive and significantly related with awareness of the job card holders on NREGA. Age, occupation, education,
10

size of land holding, material possession, family type, family size, annual income and opinion on benefit of NREGA were not significantly related with awareness of the job card holders on NREGA. The data (Table3) revealed that out of total independent variables only one of them i.e. social participation was found positive and significant (P<0.01). This indicates that this variable was important in contributing towards the change in awareness of job card holders. The R 2 value (0.403) suggests that 40.3 per cent was contributed towards the changes in awareness of job card holders due to independent variables. Besides the above independent variables the other independent variables were also responsible in contributing towards the change of dependent variable even though they were not significant. Further, the variable whose regression coefficient was found positive and significant social participation could be term as good predictors of awareness of job card holders on NREGA.
Table 2. Correlation Coefficient in between independent variables and dependent Variable.

Sr. No. Independent variables 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Age Occupation Education Social participation Size of land holding Housing type Material possession Family type Family size Annual income Opinion on benefit of NREGA

Correlation coefficient (r) -0.129 (NS) 0.042 (NS) 0.066 (NS) 0.615** 0.077 (NS) 0.182* 0.075 (NS) 0.008 (NS) -0.039 (NS) -0.115 (NS) 0.050 (NS)

** Significant at the 0.01 level * Significant at the 0.05 level NS= Non Significant

CONCLUSION Majority of the respondents belonged to the middle aged group (68.3%) followed by old aged category (16.7%) and young age category (15.0%) respectively. Out of 120 respondents 54.2 per cent were in agriculture, followed by (45.8%) respondents of other occupation. In case of size of land holding majority of the respondents (53.3%) belonged to marginal category, followed by landless category (35.0%), small category were

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Ram et al
Table 3. Regression analyses of independent variables and dependent variable. Sl. No. Independent variables Beta Regression coefficient b 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Age Occupation Education Social participation Size of land holding Housing type Material possession Family type Family size Annual income Opinion on benefit of NREGA -0.054 0.079 -0.062 0.602 0.044 0.027 0.071 0.041 0.015 -0.081 0.071 -0.079 0.772 -0.456 6.779 0.889 0.639 0.578 1.288 0.286 -1.467 0.181 Std.error (S.E) t value

0.119 0.818 0.644 0.893 1.601 2.324 0.957 3.099 2.109 1.574 0.207

-0.665 NS 0.943 NS -0.708NS 7.594** 0.555 NS 0.275 NS 0.603 NS 0.416 NS 0.136 NS -0.932 NS 0.874 NS

** Significant at the 0.01 level * Significant at the 0.05 level NS= Non Significant R=0.403 F=6.628

(8.3%) and medium category were (3.3%). 68.3 per cent respondents were in the kutcha house type. Maximum (75.8%) respondents were having in medium category of material possession. In case of family type majority of respondents (69.2%) belonged to the nuclear family which was followed by joint family (30.8%). It was found that the social participation and housing type were positive and significantly related with awareness

of the job card holders on NREGA . It was thus concluded that there is a need of sound and sustainable strategy to improve the socioeconomic status of the job card holders under NREGA through organizing awareness programme as well as meaningful training programme and its objective, goals, silent features and most importantly about the rights given to the job card holders.
Received on 04-11-2013 Accepted on 20-11-2013

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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 12-14

Confederation of Potato Seed Farmers: A Study of Innovative Management System in Punjab

R K Kalra*, Sanatombi KH and Manmeet Kaur Department of Extension Education Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana- 141 004 (Punjab)
ABSTRACT The study was conducted on potato seed producing group, Confederation of Potato Seed Farmers (POSCON), Jalandhar, operating at state level. A combined questionnaire and interview approach was used to survey group members. Out of the total 250 members, 40 members were randomly selected. The study examines the effectiveness and also determines the facilitating and hindering factors for effective group functioning. It was found that all functioning characteristics were found to be effective. The overall Functioning Effectiveness Index (FEI) of the group was more than 0.70 indicating that the group functioned effectively in terms of selected group characteristics. The major variables such as group goal achievements, group motivation, group cooperation and participation in group activities had contributed highly for the effective performance of the group. Important facilitating factors for effective functioning of the group were increased income, knowledge gain of advanced technical information in potato seed production, transparency in functioning and easy availability of loan. The main hindering factors were inadequate government support for lobbying issues, marketing and policies that favor farmers. Key Words:Potato,Seed, Farmers, Confederation,Management system, Punjab INTRODUCTION Potato is a starchy, edible tuber that is cultivated throughout the world and is consumed as a major staple food. After wheat, rice and maize, potato is the most important food crop in the world. It contributes to almost 50 per cent of the total tuber and root crop production.It is vastly consumed as a vegetable and is also used in various forms such as starch,flour,alcohol, and dextrin and livestock fodder. India is placed 3rd in the list of major potato producing countries of the world. The area, production and productivity of potato in India is 1,181 (000 ha), 28,580 (000 t) and 157.8 (q/ha) respectively. In India,the biggest area under potato cultivation is in Uttar Pradesh cultivating on 527.4 thousand hectare area with a productivity of 205 q/ha and followed by Bihar,West Bengal and Punjab.Punjab state has 81.1 thousand hectare area under potato cultivation with a productivity of 246.7 q/ha (Anonymous, 2008).In Punjab, majority of the large farmers in Jalandhar district are producing
*Corresponding Authors Email : rajinderkaurkalra@yahoo.com

potato seeds in a large scale. With the self help initiatives of the large farmers Confederation of Potato Seed Farmers (POSCON) was establishedin the year 2007 to bring together all potato seed producers in Punjab under one umbrella., The group was registered in 2008 as a society within the state and started functioning; it is the only potato crop organization affiliated with the Government of Punjab. The groups primary objective is to promote, develop, build and propagate seed potato cultivation in Punjab for the benefit of seed potato growers in the state by adopting and applying the most advanced and modern technologies. It aims to produce and market the best quality potato seed in order to compete with the best seed potato growers in the world. This paper examines the effectiveness of the farmer-based self-help group in the state of Punjab. It shows how the changing nature of extension in India has influenced the group and examines the functional characteristics and role of the group. While highlighting important

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Kalra et al characteristics of successful groups, it also determines the facilitating and hindering factors for effective group functioning. MATERIALS AND METHODS The potato seed producing group (POSCON), Jalandhar operating at a state level with 250 members was selected for the study.A combined questionnaire and interview approach was used to survey group members. Out of the total members, 40 members were randomly selected from the group. Records of group activities were examined and overall information relating to the group was procured from executive members of the group through personal visits and discussion. The Functioning Characteristic Index was computed by using the modified scale developed by Sherin (1998). The index score was calculated for each respondent separately and was later used to calculate the average score of a group for that functional characteristic. The score of each (surveyed) individual member of a self-help group, for the 8 functioning characteristics, were summed to generate the functioning score of that member. The sum of the functioning score of all members of a group provided the total functioning score. The self-help group functioning effectiveness index of the group determined the overall effectiveness of the group. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1. Average Functioning Index of the selected Functioning Characteristics of the POSCON group members. (n = 40)

achievement (0.840.08) followed by group motivation (0.830.09), group cooperation (0.800.11) and participation in group activities (0.790.10) and the lowest average index score was for interpersonal trust (0.740.11). Lowest deviations were found for group goal achievement and group motivation while deviations were slightly higher for group cooperation, interpersonal trust, group decision-making and group interaction. The average index score ranged from 0.740.84 which indicates that all functioning characteristics in the POSCON group were on the higher side and found to be effective. Facilitating and Hindering Factors Important facilitating factors for effective functioning of the group, as perceived by the respondents, were increased income (100%), knowledge gain of advanced technical information in potato seed production (100%), transparency in functioning (95%), easy availability of loan (82%), faith in executive members and their professional abilities (75%) etc. The main hindering factor indicated by members (57.5%) was inadequate government support for lobbying issues, marketing and policies that favor farmers . CONCLUSION The results suggest that almost all group characteristics contributed significantly to the effective working of the groups. However four group characteristics i.e., group cooperation, group motivation, group goal achievement and participation in group activities ranked high in the group. Nicholson et al. (2001) noted that most human associations between individuals having common interests, shared outlook, or merely meeting frequently facilitates development of an emotional bond or liking as well as trust in each other. Over a period of time, the emotional bond can become the driving force in the relationship.Group interaction, group cohesiveness, interpersonal trust and group decision making ranked low positions. Increased income, availability of advanced technical information and transparency in functioning were major facilitating factors for group participation. Parida and Sinha (2010)
13

Group Functioning Index Mean Standard Median Deviation Group Interaction 0.75 0.12 0.76 Group Cooperation 0.80 0.11 0.81 Interpersonal Trust 0.74 0.11 0.75 Group Decision Making 0.75 0.11 0.75 Group Motivation 0.83 0.09 0.83 Group Cohesiveness 0.77 0.10 0.78 Group Goal Achievement 0.84 0.08 0.85 Participation in Group 0.79 0.10 0.80 Activities Overall Functioning Index 0.78 0.10 0.79

Functioning and Effectiveness of the Group The results (Table 1) revealed that from the eight functioning characteristics, average index score was found to be highest in group goal

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Confederation of Potato Seed Farmers

Table 2. Facilitating and Hindering factors affecting the working of POSCON group , Jalandhar .(n=40)

Sr.No.

Factors

Number of respondents 40 40 38 33 32 30 29 28 25 24 20 12 10 23

Percentage

Ranks

Facilitating Factors 1 Availability of advanced technical knowledge 2 Increased income 3 Transparency 4 Easy availability of loans 5 Professional executive members 6 Faith in executive members 7 Strong linkages with government and private agencies 8 Enthusiasm for functioning 9 Honest office secretary 10 Easy to get support from government 11 Working jointly with problems of potato seed farmers 12 Socialization 13 Improved social status Hindering Factor Inadequate government support

100.0 100.0 95.0 82.0 75.0 75.0 72.0 70.0 62.5 60.0 50.0 30.0 25.0 57.5

1.5 1.5 3 4 5.5 5.5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1

revealed that the performance of self-help groups depends upon the awareness of members about overall group objectives as well as the capacity of the group to develop members managerial and technical skills. Gianatti and Carmody (2007) stated that access to the latest information and research allows group members to make the best possible decisions for their farming business. The other facilitating factors that enhanced group participation were increased income, greater savings and socialization. Economic and social benefits were also pointed out as the outcome of group participation by Panda (2009). Thus group participation and increased socio-economic benefits are both mutually dependent. The group members claimed that besides sustained efforts and hard work linkages with government, NGOs and other institutions are the factors affecting successful functioning of the group. Easy access to loan was another important factor stated by members as the main advantage of being in the group. The overall FEI of the group was more than 0.70 indicating that the group functioned effectively in terms of selected group characteristics. However, we acknowledge that the above conclusion is based on the study of only a

single producer group. Although these suggestions have a broader perspective,further empirical studies would help to strengthen our arguments and suggestions. A detailed study of self-help groups from different parts of the country could help gain a deeper understanding of the functioning of these groups. REFERENCES
Anonymous (2008). Directorate of Economics and statistics. Ministry of Agriculture, Govt .of India. Gianatti T M and Carmody P ( 2007). The use of networks to improve information flows between grower groups and research. Field Crops Res 104(13): 16573. Nicholson C Y, Compeau L D and Sethi R ( 2001). The role of interpersonal liking in building trust in long-term channel relationships. J Acad Mktg Sci 29(1): 315. Panda D K ( 2009). Assessing the impact of participation in women self-help group based microfinance: Non experimental evidences from rural households in India. Intl J Rural Manag 5(2): 197215. Parida P H and Sinha A ( 2010). Performance and sustainability of self-help groups in India: A gender perspective. Asian Dev Rev 27(1): 80103. Sherin M J (1998). An analysis of characteristics of women groups and their role in rural development. M.Sc.Thesis, Department of Extension, Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala, India. Received on 06-11-2012 Accepted on 06-07-2013

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Effect of Planting Time on Growth and Yield of Winter Maize (Zea mays L.) after Harvesting Rice
Rima Taipodia1* and A K Shukla2 ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Basar, West Siang-791 001 (Arunachal Pradesh)
ABSTRACT A study was conducted to assess the effect of planting time on growth and yield of winter maize (Zea mays L.) after harvesting rice for two successive winter season at Nyigam village, West Siang District near ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Arunachal Pradesh centre Basar. Two planting time viz 15th and 30th November were tested in three replications. After 90th day stage of crop growth (120 DAS and maturity) the maize planted on 15th November produced taller plants, more green leaves, leaf area, leaf area index and dry matter production plant-1. Due to variation in the planting time, almost all the yield attributing characters i.e. cobs plant-1, first and second cobs plot-1 , cob length and girth (cm), kernels row cob-1, kernels row-1, grains cob-1, grain weight (g cob-1 ), test weight (g), first and second cobs grain yield (kg plot-1), shelling percentage, harvest index were affected and showed significant superiority in the crop planted on 15th Nov. than sown on 25th Nov. Higher grains and stover yields (kg ha-1) were also observed in 15th Nov. planting. In the maize planted on 15th Nov nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) content in grain and stover found higher. The uptake of N, P and K by grain and stover as well as total uptake of nutrients by crop was more with 15th Nov planting. However, the available N, P and K content in soil at harvest was more with 30th Nov planting. In the grain of maize crop planted on 15th Nov the grain quality parameters such as protein and carbohydrate percentage were found in higher amount. Key Words: Planting Time, Winter Maize, Yield INTRODUCTION In India, Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important cereal crop and ranks third in production after rice and wheat. It is gaining an important position in the cropping system due to higher yield potential, short growing period, higher food value, forage and feed for livestock, poultry and a cheaper source of raw material for agro-based industry. It has greater nutritional value as it contains about 72 per cent starch, 10 per cent protein, 4.8 per cent oil, 8.5 per cent fiber, 3 per cent sugar and 17 per cent ash (Chaudhary, 1983). Requirement of about 305 mt of food grains is anticipated for 1.4 billion population of India, and the substantive demand for individual food grains has been expected to about 120 mt for rice, 95 mt for wheat, 25 mt for maize and 24-26 mt for pulses by the year 2025 (Tiwari, 2001). Yield of maize is significantly affected by date of sowing. The recommended time of sowing for winter maize in state is 15th Oct. to 15th Nov. for optimum production. But usually the planting of maize when following the rice crop, is delayed. The information regarding affect of time of planting on maize yield in such situation where maize is to be grown preceded by rice crop is quite meager. Keeping the above facts in view, the present study was undertaken to find out the effect of planting time on growth and yield of winter maize (Zea mays L.) after harvesting rice. MATERIALS AND METHODS During the winter season of 2007-08 and 2008-2009, the present investigations were carried out on maize ( Zea mays) hybrid All Rounder at Nyigam village, West Siang, NEH Region. Soil of investigation fields was sandy

1. STO O/O Deputy Commissioner, Dibang Valley, Annini, Arunachal Pradesh 2. Prof. Faculty of Science and Computeronics, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak, M.P. *Corresponding Authors Email: rtaipodia@yahoo.com

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15

Taipodia and Shukla loam. The two planting time viz 15th November (D1) and 30th November (D2) were tested. Using Fisher and Yates random table (Panse and
Parameters Plant height at harvest (cm) Number of green leaves plant-1 (120 DAS) Leaf area index Dry matter accumulation (g plant-1) at harvest Days to 50% tasseling Days to 50% silking Days to 50% maturity Barren plant plot-1 Crop lodging (No. of plant plot-1) Cobs plant-1

Sukhatme, 1985) the treatments were allocated to each plot in three replications. With intra row spacing at 25 cm, the inter row spacing maintained
D1 236.54 230.34 8.77 8.63 3.47 3.44 293.48 284.10 110.50 108.47 116.24 113.42 136.23 132.19 5.38 6.35 1.10 1.10 0.92 0.91 57.02 54.84 2.26 2.56 14.89 14.76 11.35 11.18 13.50 13.44 443.09 432.47 244.63 240.44 109.61 104.91 5.53 5.02 0.26 0.29 77.85 77.73 6671 6194 10554 9835 37.61 37.51 D2 229.28 218.36 7.07 6.79 3.11 3.06 265.12 259.19 105.13 102.57 110.80 108.17 128.30 125.03 09.45 09.74 1.40 1.36 0.86 0.84 52.76 51.66 1.99 1.56 14.11 14.16 10.77 10.69 13.21 13.18 398.37 392.04 234.78 232.96 94.19 91.77 4.23 3.99 0.20 0.15 75.75 75.60 5334 5050 9424 8945 35.03 34.99 SEM 1.89 0.89 0.06 0.10 0.03 0.02 3.35 3.53 0.69 0.51 0.45 0.23 0.45 0.48 0.13 0.20 0.21 0.12 0.01 0.003 0.40 0.23 0.06 0.05 0.18 0.20 0.14 0.16 0.11 0.10 4.82 4.31 2.74 1.83 1.65 1.31 0.08 0.08 0.005 0.01 0.26 0.26 82 75 168 145 0.27 0.26 CD (p=0.05) 5.97 2.80 0.20 0.32 0.09 0.06 10.55 11.13 2.18 1.61 1.43 0.73 1.43 1.52 0.41 0.63 NS NS 0.02 0.01 1.25 0.74 0.19 0.19 0.58 NS 0.45 0.50 NS NS 15.17 13.57 8.62 5.78 5.20 4.14 0.25 0.25 0.016 0.02 0.81 0.81 260 237 529 456 0.85 0.83

Table 1. Effect of planting time on phonological stages, yield and yield attributes of winter maize

First cobs plot-1 Second cobs plot-1 Cob length (cm.) Cob girth (cm.) Kernel rows cob-1 Grains cob-1 Test weight (g.) Grain weight cob-1 (g) First cobs grain yield (kg plot-1) Second cobs grain yield (kg plot-1) Shelling percentage Grain yield (kg ha-1) Stover Yield (kg ha-1) Harvest index in % (HI)

Year 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09

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Effect of planting time on growth and yield of winter maize was 60 cm to maintain optimum plant stand (66,600 ha-1). The observations on growth and yield characteristics of the crop were recorded by using the standard procedures. The data thus obtained was subjected to statistical analysis for Analysis of Variance (Cochron and Cox, 1992). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 1. Effect of planting time on growth and developmental characters The crop responded absolutely to planting time in respect to growth parameters but the differences were non-significant. The values of all growth parameters like plant height, green leaves, leaf area, leaf area index and dry matter production per plant recorded higher in crop planted on 15th Nov. than 30th Nov. Regarding number of days to 50 per cent silking, maturity and barren plants plot1 , the effect of 15th November planting time found significant over the 30th Nov. planting. (Table 1) As compared to 30th November planting time the values of almost all the yield attributes as well as grain and stover yields were recorded maximum in 15th November planting time. 2. Effect of planting time on nutrient content and its uptake and available nutrient in soil Maximum content of N, P and K content in grain and stover, as well as their uptake by grain, stover and total uptake by crop were recorded maximum with 15th November planting time. However, the available N, P and K content in soil

Table 2: Effect of planting time on nutrient content of grain and soil after harvest of winter maize

Parameters N Grain content (%) N Stover content (%) P Grain content (%) P Stover content (%) K Grain content (%) K Stover content (%) Grain Protein (%) Grain Carbohydrate (%) Nitrogen uptake by grain and stover (kg ha-1) Phosphorus uptake by grain and stover (kg ha-1) Potassium uptake by grain and stover (kg ha-1) Available N (kg ha-1) after crop harvest Available P (kg ha-1) after crop harvest Available K (kg ha-1) after crop harvest

Year 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09 2007-08 2008-09

D1 1.63 1.63 0.45 0.45 0.34 0.32 0.20 0.19 0.42 0.41 1.64 1.65 10.50 10.47 65.85 65.98 164.87 152.30 49.77 43.99 208.93 193.54 212.19 213.58 16.58 16.62 183.88 84.75

D2 1.61 1.60 0.44 0.44 0.33 0.30 0.19 0.18 0.41 0.40 1.62 1.64 9.98 9.92 64.49 64.64 128.53 120.72 37.21 32.90 176.62 169.25 213.02 214.51 16.87 16.94 184.15 85.30

SE SEm 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.004 0.01 0.005 0.004 0.003 0.01 0.005 0.01 0.005 0.06 0.04 0.29 0.28 2.54 2.15 0.76 0.70 3.28 2.82 0.65 0.65 0.22 0.25 1.40 1.23

CD (p=0.05) 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.013 0.02 0.015 0.01 0.009 0.02 0.017 0.02 0.015 0.18 0.14 0.90 0.88 7.97 6.77 2.40 2.21 10.34 8.88 NS NS NS NS NS NS 17

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Taipodia and Shukla at crop harvest was the more in maize sown on 30 th Nov. planting time (Table 2). The carbohydrate and protein content of grain was more in 15th Nov. planted maize as compared to 30th Nov. planting (Table 2). CONCLUSION To maximize the yield of winter maize, the 15th November planting time found best in rice based cropping system under agro-ecological region of Basar. Maximum grain and stover yields were obtained when the crop was planted on 15th Nov. and thus can be considered be as the optimum time to plant winter maize under the prevailing agro ecological situations. REFERENCES
Chaudhary A R (1983). Maize in Pakistan, Punjab Agri. Res. Coordination Board, Univ. Agric., Faisalabad. Cochron W G and Cox G M (1992). Experimental Designs. (2nd Ed). John Wiley and Sons, Singapore. Pp53-58. Panse V G and Sukhatme P V (1985). Statistical methods for agricultural workers. ICAR Publication, New Delhi-12. pp. 336-340. Tiwari K N (2001). Phosphorus need of Indian soils and crops. Better Crops Intl 15(2): 6-10. Received on 28-06-2013 Accepted on 21-10-2013

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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 19-22

Effectiveness of Different Weedicides on Weed Biomass, Nutrient Uptake and Yield of Rice
P K Dubey, R K Jha*, V P Singh and Sunil Kumar Department of Agronomy G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar- 263 145(Uttaranchal)
ABSTRACT An experiment was conducted to find out the effectiveness of different herbicides on weed biomass, nutrient uptake and yield of rice. Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha plus Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT was found to be superior than all the other herbicides tested. Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha followed by Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT gave slightly lower grain yield of 4.70t./ha. Among the herbicides, the lowest grain yield (3.66 t./ha) was obtained from Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP @ 0.020 kg a.i./ha applied at 8 DAT, however, all the herbicides were significantly superior to the non weeded control. The lowest weed dry matter was found in Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha plus Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT which was significantly lower than treatment receiving Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP @ 0.025 kg a.i./ha applied at 8 DAT. The uptake of NPK by the plants followed almost the similar pattern. Key Words: Rice, Weedicides, Nutrient uptake INTRODUCTION Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most widely grown crop in a wide variety of climatic and land situations and is attacked by a large number of insect- pests, diseases and weeds. The weeds alone account for more than 33 per cent of yield loss by different pests taken together (Kulshrestha and Pawar, 1992) and this extent of loss may go up to 51 per cent (Nyarko and De Datta, 1991). In rice, weed management through repeated cultural and mechanical methods has been found to be very effective as compared to the chemical methods (Sarkar, 2001) but due to scarcity of labour especially in the large and intensive farming systems, the manual weeding becomes quite expensive and time consuming. The uneven and erratic distribution of rainfall compels the farmers and the farm labours to be engaged in timely completion of transplanting operation than to be engaged in manual weed control but by that time, there might be a severe yield loss. The herbicides not only save time and money but also allow coverage of more area in short period of time (Nyarko and De Datta, 1991).
*Corresponding Authors Email : kvksaran@yahoo.co.in

MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was conducted in the crop research centre of GBPUA and T, Pantnagar during two kharif seasons. The soil of the experimental plot was alluvial silty clay loam, rich in organic matter, phosphorus and potassium and low in available nitrogen. Nine treatments comprising of Butchlor (Machete) 50EC @ 1.5 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T1), Butchlor (MON 46996) 90EC @ 1.5 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T2), Fentrazamide 50 WC @ 0.105 ai/ha applied at 4 DAT (T 3), Fentrazamide 50 WP @ 0.120 a.i./ha applied at 4 DAT (T4), Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP @ 0.020 kg a.i./ha applied at 8 DAT (T5), Pyrazosulfuronethyl 5 WP @ 0.025 kg a.i./ha applied at 8 DAT (T 6 ), Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha plus Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T7), Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha followed by Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T8) and Non-weeded control (T9) were tried in Randomized Block Design with 4 replications. The herbicides were applied in solution form @ 1000 lt. of water per ha with the help of Maruti Foot sprayer fitted with flat fan

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 19-22

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Dubey et al nozzle. Full recommended dose of phosphorus (60 kg/ha) and potassium (40 kg/ha) along with half recommended dose of nitrogen was applied as basal. The remaining quantity of N was top dressed in two equal splits (i.e.1/4th of total) at tillering and (i.e.1/4th of total) at 5-7 days before panicle initiation stage. Rice variety Jaya was transplanted at 20 cm 20 cm distance. A thin film of water (2-3 cm) was maintained during initial stage of crop growth and then about 5 cm of water was maintained up to milk dough stage. The total rainfall during the growing season was 1356.6 cm during first year and 1389.4 cm during second year which was slightly lesser than normal rainfall (1400 mm). The distribution of rainfall was uneven and hence irrigations were done as and when needed. The Relative Humidity varied from 72 to 93 per cent at 7 A.M and from 41 to 86 per cent in the afternoon (at 2 P.M.). All the cultural operations were conducted as per recommended agronomic practices. Toxicity ratings (0-10 scale) were recorded on 10th and 20th DAT as per the procedures outlined in the All India Coordinated Rice Agronomy Trials DRR-2002 i.e. 0 No toxicity, 10 100% killing of the plant). The data on weed population and nutrient uptake by weeds were analyzed after doing log e (X+1) transformation. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION As evident from Table 1, the highest grain yield (4.84 t/ha) was obtained in the treatment receiving Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha plus Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T7), however this treatment was found to be at par with Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha followed by Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T 8), Butchlor (MON 46996) 90EC @ 1.5 kg ai/ha applied at 3 DAT (T 2 ), Fentrazamide 50 WC @ 0.105 ai/ha applied at 4 DAT (T3) and Fentrazamide 50 WP @ 0.120 ai/ha applied at 4 DAT (T4). Amongst the herbicides, the lowest grain yield was obtained in Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP @ 0.020 kg a.i./ha applied at 8 DAT (T5), however, all the herbicides were found to be statistically superior to the untreated control. In untreated control, there was almost 54 per cent reduction in grain yield over the highest grain yield. This was in confirmation with the findings of Shetty and Gill (1974) and Reddy (1988). The straw yield followed the similar trend. The toxicity effects of the herbicides were observed only in the treatment receiving Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha plus Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T7) with a toxicity rating of 3 (Table 2). All other herbicides

Table 1. Yield and Yield attributes of rice (cv. Jaya) as affected by chemical, mechanical and IWM methods (Average of two years)

Treatment

Butachlor 50EC @ 1.5 kg ai/ha Two hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAT without herbicide Butachlor 50EC @ 1.5 kg ai/ha plus one hand weeding Integrated Weed management T5Non-weeded control S.Em. C.D at 5% C.V. (%)

Plant No. of No. of Total Filled Percent 1000 Grain Straw Grain/ Height shoots/ panicles spikelets spikelets unfill grain yield yield Straw (cm) m2 /m2 (000)/ /panicle spikelets weight (t/ha) (t/ha) ratio m2 93 208 208 22 88 26.5 27.0 3.7 4.74 0.75 103 241 241 27 104 22.5 29.0 5.71 5.99 0.93

101

202

220

18.6

94

30.6

29.0

5.69

5.65

0.70

95 97 2.0 NS 4.0

326 165 13.9 40.0 13.1

326 165 13.9 40 13.1

36.9 15.5 2.14 6.2 19.10

98 66 7.2 21.0 15.2

23.8 43.4 3.8 10.6 22.6

29.2 29.3 0.94 NS 6.6

5.92 2.24 0.35 1.00 16.60

6.20 3.20 0.57 1.60

0.99 0.70 0.92 NS

21.20 20.20

20

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 19-22

Effectiveness of Different Weedicides on Rice

Table 2. Effect of different herbicides on Toxicity, Nutrient uptake and Yield of Rice (Average of two years)

Tr. No. Treatments

Rate (kg ai/ha)

Time (DAT)

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9

Butchlor (Machete) 50EC Butchlor (MON 46996) 90EC Fentrazamide 50 WC Fentrazamide 50 WP Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP Almix 20 WP plus Butachlor (Machete) 50 EC Butachlor 50 EC followed by Almix 20 WP Non-weeded control S.Em. C.D at 5% C.V. (%)

1.5 1.5 0.105 0.120 0.020 0.025 0.004 0.938 0.938 0.004 -

3 3 4 4 8 8 3 3 -

Crop Yield (t/ha) Toxicity Score 10 20 Grain Straw DAT DAT 1 1 3.7 4.74 1 1 4.12 4.48 1 1 4.40 5.53 1 1 4.06 4.67 1 1 3.66 5.54 1 1 3.75 4.50 3 2 4.84 5.28 1 1 1 1 4.70 4.86

Nutrient Uptake by plant (kg/ha) N 93.1 87.2 64.7 60.7 73.9 73.7 96.5 94.3 P 34.7 33.5 28.5 26.6 25.4 21.8 35.0 34.5 K 77.4 74.2 70.3 66.8 73.5 67.1 82.1 79.3 33.7 6.95 20.0 18.14

2.24 3.22 46.7 14.7 0.35 0.57 6.60 2.26 1.00 1.60 19.0 6.5 16.60 21.20 14.60 14.71

were found to be non-toxic with a toxicity rating of only 1. Even this combination of herbicides had only a slight toxicity when applied at 20 DAT with a Toxicity Rating of 2. The highest N-upake by the crop (96.5 kg/ ha) was under the treatment Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha plus Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ ha applied at 3 DAT (T7). Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha followed by Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T8) observed slightly lesser N-uptake (94.3 kg/ha). The lowest N-uptake by the crop (60.7 kg/ha) was in the treatment Fentrazamide 50 WP @ 0.120 ai/ha applied at 4 DAT (T4) lower except the untreated control (46.7 kg/ha). The P-uptake by the crop was highest (35.0 kg/ha) in the treatment receiving Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha plus Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T7) closely followed by Butchlor (Machete) 50EC @ 1.5 kg ai/ha applied at 3 DAT (T1). The lowest Puptake (21.8 kg/ha) was in Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP @ 0.025 kg a.i./ha applied at 8 DAT (T6) except the control (14.7 kg/ha). The highest Kuptake by the crop (82.1 kg/ha) was found again in the treatment receiving Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha plus Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ ha applied at 3 DAT (T7) and the lowest K-uptake (66.8 kg/ha) was found in the Fentrazamide 50 WP @ 0.120 ai/ha applied at 4 DAT (T4) except

the control (33.7 kg/ha). The nutrient uptake by the weeds was found to be directly related with weed population and inversely related with grain yield. Almost similar results were observed by Raju and Reddy (1986) and Reddy (1988). As evident from that data presented in Table 3, the lowest number of weeds at 30 DAT (2.76/ m2) was observed in the treatment receiving Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha plus Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T7). Slightly higher but statistically at par (2.86/m2) weeds were found in Butachlor 50 EC @ 0.938 kg a.i./ha followed by Almix 20 WP @ 0.004 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT (T 8 ). These two treatments observed significantly lower weed population than all other treatments. The lower weed densities was probably responsible for increased number of panicles/m 2 thereby increasing the yield. This confirms the findings of Sarkar (2001) and Singh (2002). The highest number of weeds at 30 DAT (42/m2) was observed in the treatment receiving Fentrazamide 50 WP @ 0.120 ai/ha applied at 4 DAT (T4) and Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP @ 0.020 kg a.i./ha applied at 8 DAT (T 5 ) except the untreated control (58/m2), however, at 60 DAT the highest number of weeds (32/m 2 ) was in the treatment Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP @ 0.025 kg a.i./ha applied at 8 DAT (T6) except the control (44/m2 ).
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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 19-22

Dubey et al
Table 3. Weed Biomass as affected by different herbicides and Nutrient uptake by weeds (Average of two years)

Tr. No. Treatments

Rate (kg ai/ha)

Time (DAT)

Total No. of weeds/m2 30 DAT 3.44 (31) 3.54 (34) 3.71 (40) 3.70 (42) 3.56 (42) 3.47 (35) 2.76 (18) 2.86 (18) 4.10 (58) 0.20 0.5 12.20 60 DAT 3.13 (23) 3.21 (24) 3.22 (25) 3.23 (25) 3.20 (26) 3.45 (32) 2.68 (14) 2.86 (17) 3.80 (44) 0.14 0.4 9.25

Total Weed Dry Matter (g/m2) 5.02 (170) 5.04 (189) 5.20 (155) 5.16 (191) 5.10 (168) 5.32 (206) 4.70 (109) 4.80 (131) 5.80 (328) 0.20 0.6 8.9

Nutrient Uptake by weeds (kg/ha) at 60

N 2.22 (8.5) 2.23 (8.8) 2.73 (17.2) 2.78 (15.3) 3.10 (24.4) 3.11 (21.6) 2.17 (8.2) 2.23 (8.7) 3.79 (48.3) 0.21 0.6 18.41

P 1.10 (2.0) 1.20 (2.4) 1.57 (3.8) 1.28 (3.2) 1.81 (5.1) 1.76 (4.8) 0.83 (1.3) 1.0 (1.8) 2.44 (10.5) 0.12 0.3 20.44

K 1.86 (7.80) 1.85 (8.20) 2.56 (12.20) 2.51 (11.5) 2.84 (18.5) 2.93 (17.8) 2.07 (7.4) 2.20 (8.5) 3.75 (41.4) 0.27 0.80 25.42

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9

Butchlor (Machete) 50EC Butchlor (MON 46996) 90EC Fentrazamide 50 WC Fentrazamide 50 WP Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 5 WP Almix 20 WP plus Butachlor (Machete) 50 EC Butachlor 50 EC followed by Almix 20 WP Non-weeded control S.Em. C.D at 5% C.V. (%)

1.5 1.5 0.105 0.120 0.020 0.025 0.004 0.938 0.938 0.004 -

3 3 4 4 8 8 3 3 3 3 -

Note: Figure in the parenthesis are original values

CONCLUSION It is concluded from the above study that highest grain yield (4.84 t/ha), N-uptake (96.5 kg/ ha), P- uptake (35.0 kg/ha), K- uptake (82.1 kg/ ha) by the crop and the lowest number of weeds at 30 DAT was recorded in the treatment where Almix 20 WP @0.0004 kg a.i. /ha plus Butachlor 50 EC @0.938 kg a.i./ha applied at 3 DAT. It was closely followed by Butachlor 50 EC @0.938 kg a.i. /ha. REFERENCES
Kulshrestha G and Pawar B S (1992). Resource management for sustainable crop production. Indian Soc Agron pp 339-343. Nyarko A K and De Datta S K (1991). A Hand Book for weed control in rice, IRRI, Los Banos, Languna, Philippines, p. 175.

Raju R A and Reddy M N (1986). Protecting the worlds rice crops. Agri Inf Dev Bull 8(2): 17-18. Reddy R K L (1988). Weed control studies in rice. M Sc (Agronomy) thesis, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, pp 40-52. Sarkar N C (2001).Studies on chemical weed control in transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.). M Sc (Agronomy) thesis, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, pp 108112. Shetty S V R and Gill H S (1974). Critical period of crop weed competition in rice. Indian J Weed Sci 6(2):101-107. Singh D (2002). Integrated weed management in transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.). Thesis, Ph.D. G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, pp 160-172. Received on 21-10-2013 Accepted on 18-11-2013

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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 23-25

Evaluation of Major Kharif Crop Varieties To Climate Variability in Vertisols of Hadoti Region of Rajasthan
B S Meena and G S Meena Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kota Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur (Rajasthan)
ABSTRACT Demonstrations of improved technologies along with existing technologies were conducted at farmers field during kharif 2011. The soils of selected demonstration plots were clay loam with medium in available nitrogen and phosphorus and high in available potassium. Short duration or drought resistant crop varieties of soybean (JS 9560, JS 9305 and RKS 24) and maize (PEHM 2), drought tolerant varieties of black gram (KU 963 and PU 31) and high water tolerant variety of sesamum (Ujjawal) were demonstrated at farmers field along with their local check varieties. All the recommended cultivation practices were followed to raise the crop. Results revealed that the soybean variety JS 95-60 took minimum number of days for attaining maturity whereas variety JS 9305 took 13 days more to increase its yield by 0.70 q/ha from the variety JS 9560. The short duration maize variety (PEHM 2) performed better with 11.6 per cent increase in yield over the check variety. The drought tolerant black gram variety proved better for recording 35 per cent increase in yield over the check variety. The sesamum variety (Ujjawal) proved better for high rainfall situation with almost double the yield over the check variety. Selection of improved varieties for extreme weather conditions will help the farmers to cope with such extremes and taking good yields for better returns over the existing technologies. Key Words: Demonstration , Kharif crops, Maize, Sesamum, Black gram,Soybean. INTRODUCTION The climate change impacts on agriculture are being witnessed all over the world, but India is more vulnerable in view of the huge population dependent on agriculture, excessive pressure on natural resources and poor coping mechanisms. Enhancing productivity of major kharif crops therefore, is critical for ensuring food security for all, particularly the resource poor small and marginal farmers who would be affected most. Some factors responsible for low productivity of kharif crops under rain fed conditions are, availability of long duration varieties, unawareness about high yielding varieties, scattering rainfall and early withdrawal of monsoon. Farmers of the area are facing the problem of failure of sown crop and long duration varieties are not performing well in that situation.
*Corresponding Authors Email : bhawanidamaria@gmail.com

At the same time, there is a scope to improve the resilience of agriculture by application of exiting knowledge and technologies at the farmers field as a holistic package. This study was conducted to enhance the resilience of crops to climatic variability and climate change through development and using improved production and risk management technologies under rain fed condition of south-east Rajasthan. MATERIALS AND METHODS A set of demonstrations was conducted during kharif 2011 in selected village Choma Kot of Kota district of Rajasthan under National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) Project to develop improved technologies through short term research and also demonstrate the existing technologies at farmers fields for enhancing the

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 23-25

23

Meena and Meena resilience. The soils of the village fields were clay loam, heavy textured with pH ranging from 8.32 to 8.53, medium in available nitrogen (145-160 Kg/ha), phosphorus (23-34 Kg/ha) and high in available potassium (345-434 Kg/ ha). The average annual rainfall received during crop season was about 965 mm. Introducing of short duration crop varieties of soybean (JS 9560 and JS 9305) and maize (PEHM 2), introduction of drought tolerant new variety of black gram (KU 963 and PU 31) and introduction of new variety of sesamum in high rainfall situation i.e. Ujjawal were demonstrated at farmers field. The existing varieties viz. JS 335, Navjot, T 9 and Pratap Til C 50 were used for soybean, maize, black gram and sesamum, respectively. Crops were sown in first week of July, 2011. Technology was demonstrated on 0.4 ha. area of each farmer. All the recommended cultural operations to raise the crop were followed as and when required. Crops were harvested manually in last week of September to first week of October, 2011. A net plot area of 25 m2 from each demonstration was harvested for seed yield as measurable indicator of output and economics were workout and compared with farmers practices. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Among the three soybean varieties, the variety JS 9560 took minimum number of days in attaining maturity (82 days) in comparison to farmers practice (103 days) which attributed to their genetic characteristics. It matured 18, 20 and 23 days early from JS 335, RKS 24 and JS 9305, respectively (Table 1). The variety RKS 24 took the highest number of days (105 d) for attaining maturity, whose yield was more affected due to early withdrawn of monsoon (II nd week of September). The maize variety JS 9560 gave the maximum yield of 21.3 q/ha, with an average yield of 17.5 q/ha) where as variety JS 9305 recorded the highest average yield (18.2 q/ha), gross return (Rs 36,400/ha) with benefit cost ratio (2.52) closely followed by JS 9560 in demonstration as compared to check (JS 335). Increase in yield was 19.7, 16. 7 and 1.3 per cent, respectively under demonstrations over JS 335 and gave Rs 6,000/-, 4,600/- and 200/-ha additional returns to farmers. Average yield of maize variety PEHM 2 under demonstrations was 25.1 q/ha,
24

whereas it was 22.5 q/ha under check (Navjot). The increase in yield was 11.6 per cent under demonstrations, and it gave additional returns of Rs 2,340/-ha over farmers practice. Choudhary and Singh (2010) also noted similar finding in maize. Black gram variety PU 31 gave an average yield of 10.4 q/ha, with gross returns of Rs 34,320/ -ha. and benefit cost ratio of 2.68, whereas variety KU 963 gave an average yield of 10.2 q/ha with gross returns of 33,660/-ha and benefit cost ratio of 2.63. Black gram varieties PU 31 and KU 963 gave 35.0 and 30.8 per cent higher yield under demonstrations over farmers practice. Similar finding in black gram were reported by Sheoran et al (2010). Under excessive rainfall and continuous cloudy weather conditions, new variety of sesamum Ujjawal proved better and gave an average yield of 6.5 q/ha, which was 97 per cent higher with benefit cost ratio (3.0) and the additional net return (Rs 16,000/-ha) over check (3.2 q/ha). Low yield of check variety (pratap til C 50) was recorded in Vertisols of this region due to excessive rainfall and continuous cloudy weather condition and high incidence of diseases. These short duration varieties offers certain advantages like faster growing habit, early crop maturity by 15-19 days, less water requirement, mitigate early withdrawn monsoon effect, often higher yield, low production cost and more profit. Meena and Tomar (2010) and Meena et al (2012) also reported the similar findings. CONCLUSION On the basis of results, it was concluded that the output of these technology will help the district and regional farmers prone to extreme weather condition like drought, excessive rainfall, and dry spell etc. to cope with such extremes and also provide higher yield and benefit under climate variability in Vertisols of Hadoti region, Rajasthan. REFERENCES
Choudhary J and Dilip Singh (2010). Influence of intercropping and weed management in pop corn (Zea mays) under South Rajasthan agro-climatic conditions. In: Proceeding of XIX National Symposium on Resource Management Approaches Towards Livelihood Security 2-4 December, 2010 Bengaluru,Karnataka. Meena B S and Tomar S S (2010). Productivity and profitability of soybean (Glysine max.) varieties at farmers field in rainfed condition. In: Proceeding of XIX National Symposium on Resource Management Approaches Towards Livelihood

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 23-25

Table 1 : Seed yield and economics evaluation of demonstrations on climate resilient technology packages on farmers field

Crop

Technology demonstrated/ variety Check Avg. 18.2 15.2 15.0 15.1 22.5 7.8 7.7 3.3 97.0 32,250 3.0 35.0 34,320 2.68 30.8 33,660 2.63 25,740 25,740 16,250 11. 6 22,590 1.62 20,250 1.3 30,600 2.12 30,200 2.17 1.66 2.09 2.09 1.56 16.7 35,000 2.43 30,000 2.15 82 105 83 73 72 90 19.7 17.5 15.3 25.1 10.2 10.4 6.5

No. of farmers

Area (ha)

Measurable indicators of output yield(q/ha)

% increase in yield

Soybean 15 4 36 36 4 21 10.5 6.0 7.5 2 10.0 11.5 18 8.2 11.3 10 20.0 35.7 2.0 14.2 15.7 6.0 15.0 21.3

JS 93-05

38

15.2

Min. 14.5

Demo. Max. 21.0

Economics of demonstration (Rs/ha) Gross BCR Return 36,400 2.52 4,600 200 2,340 7,920 8,580 16,000

Economics of Days toNet returns check (Rs/ha) maturityover check (Rs/ha) Gross BCR Return 30,400 2.18 95 6,000

JS 95-60

RKS 24

Maize

PEHM-2

Black gram

KU 96-3

PU 31

Sesamum

Ujjawal

Evaluation of Kharif Crop Varieties to Climate Variability

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 23-25

Received on 10-11-2013 Accepted on 23-11-2013

FP: Farmers practice, BCR: Benefit: cost ratio

Security 2-4, December, 2010 Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Sheoran P, Sardana V, Singh, S and Bharat Bhushan (2010). Bioeconomic evaluation of rainfed maize(Zea maize) basesd intercropping systems with blackgram(Vigna mungo) under different spatial arrangements. Indian J Agril Sci 80 (3): 2423.

Meena B S ,Goyal M C, Baldevram and Suwalka R L (2012). Evaluation of soybean+ maize intercropping systems on farmers field in rainfed condition. 3rd International Agronomy Congress, 2012 held at IARI, New Delhi. Nov. 26-30, 2012, Vol 2:432-433.

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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 26-29

Evaluation of Vocational Training Programmes organized on Mushroom Farming by Krishi Vigyan Kendra Patiala
Rachna, Rajni Goel* and GPS Sodhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Patiala, 147 001(Punjab)
ABSTRACT Training programme is generally conducted with a goal that the participants after being trained will translate the acquired knowledge and skill into action. One hundred and forty six trainees were imparted training on mushroom farming by conducting 7 vocational training programmes. In order to evaluate these training programmes, the present study was undertaken to assess the gain in knowledge of the participants, adoption status of the enterprise and suggestions from the ex-trainees of the mushroom to enhance the entrepreneurship in mushroom farming. It was found that a maximum adoption of 40.9 per cent was observed during the year 2008-09. Among the various practices of mushroom cultivation, maximum knowledge gain (52.2%) was observed in compost preparation. Aspect of diseases and pest management was least understood by the participants (23.4%) followed by variety/cultivation method (37.3%). Hence, it was concluded that more emphasis needs be given to these practices during future training courses. The characteristics of the participants viz. Education level, farming experience and extension media contact had positive influence on the knowledge gain of the participants. As perceived by 100 mushroom growers, availability of quality spawn (62.0%), insurance of crop (53.0%) and reducing the cost of inputs (45.0%) were three major suggestions for successful development of mushroom entrepreneurship in Punjab. Key Words: Mushroom farming, Evaluation, Training, Krishi Vigyan Kendra INTRODUCTION With the increasing pressure on land for more production per unit area through adoption of modern technologies and use of capital inputs, marginal and small farmers are unable to keep pace with the rapid technological advances in crop production. Therefore, extension endeavours are directed towards net income increase from agricultural and allied activities. To augment the farmers income, different vocational trainings are being conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendras of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana especially for the youth. Mushroom farming can play a significant role to eradicate malnutrition, alleviate poverty and create employment opportunity for educated unemployed youth. In this context, there is a wide spread agreement among agricultural scientists to the importance of adoption of mushroom farming as subsidiary occupation in rural areas. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Patiala is imparting trainings in mushroom cultivation to the farmers, farm women and rural youth. During 2005-06 to 2009-10, seven such vocational training programmes of 5 days duration were organized regarding mushroom farming in which 146 farmers participated. In order to evaluate the outcome of these training programmes, a study was conducted to assess the socio economic profile of the trainee, gain in knowledge, adoption status of the enterprise and to get suggestions from the ex-trainees for enhancing the entrepreneurship in mushroom farming among the rural farmers of the district.

Corresponding authors E-mail: rajni04@rediffmail.com

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Rachna et al MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted in the district Patiala. A performa was developed comprising general information, background of participants such as age, education, occupation, landholding etc. Seven vocational training courses on mushroom farming were organized at KVK, Patiala during the years 2005 to 2010 in which a total of 146 farmers were trained. Out of these, 59 farmers were contacted personally to know whether they had set up the enterprise or not after getting training. To study the gain in knowledge, a simple evaluation performa consisting of 35 questions (five questions for each practice) was distributed among 59 trainees before and after training. One mark was assigned for each correct answer and zero for every incorrect answer. Thus, 5 marks were given for each practice and total attainable score for each practice came out to be 59X5=295 marks. Hence, gain in knowledge was calculated from the difference of scores obtained in pre and post knowledge test of the trainees. The dependant variable of this study was gain in knowledge of participants. The following characteristics were selected as independent variables namely age, education, family type, membership of society, farming experience and extension media contact. The relationship was further explored between each of the selected characteristics of participants (independent variables) and their knowledge gain regarding mushroom cultivation (dependent variable). Furthermore, a sample of 100 mushroom growers was selected proportionately to collect the data regarding suggestions to boost the mushroom entrepreneurship through structured schedule by personal interview with the respondents. The data was tabulated and analyzed using frequency and percentage. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Socio-economic profile The data (Table 1) showed that maximum number of the respondents belong to middle age group (54.2 %), having education up to middle (30.0%) and matriculation (20.0%). The trainees were predominantly from rural background. More than 50 per cent of the respondents engaged in farming belonged to joint family. The subsidiary occupation of mushroom farming attracted persons from farming background as the inputs required for its cultivation are readily available at their farms e.g. wheat straw (Turi) and fertilizers etc. Only 20.3 per cent of the respondents were members of cooperative society which shows their low social participation. Thirty two per cent farmers each belonged to marginal and landless category. It was noticed that the percentage of small holding farmers (<1 ha.) increased from 19.2 per cent in 1980-81 to 34.4 per cent during 200304 (Anonymous, 2003). As mushroom farming enterprise does not require arable land so the respondents from marginal land holding and landless category wanted to adopt this enterprise to augment their family income. Adoption status The maximum adoption of 40.9 per cent was observed during 2008-09 and minimum adoption 34.0 per cent during 2007-08 (Table 2). The percentage of non-adopters was on higher side (65.9 %) probably due to the fact that small scale mushroom farming is a seasonal activity. Another reason for higher rate of non-adoption could be that the farmers do not acquire trainings before starting any enterprise. Similar results were also reported by Singh et al (2010). Gain in Knowledge Pre-training score of various practices ranged from 6.8 per cent in case of diseases and pest management to 28.8 per cent in case of filling and spawning. Post-training score of various practices ranged from 30.2 per cent in case of diseases and pest management to 71.9 per cent (in case of filling and spawning). Pre training knowledge score was not at all satisfactory for all the aspects of training programme. However, the knowledge score after training was quite satisfactory among the participants in all aspects of the training programme except diseases and pest management and variety/cultivation method where the gain in knowledge was 23.4 and 37.3 percent, respectively. These two aspects were least understood by the participants. So, more emphasis needs be given to these practices during training courses. Relationship between participants characteristics and their knowledge gain
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Evaluation of vocational training programme

Table 1. Socio economic profile of the respondents (n= 59)

S. No. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 6.

Variables Age Young (18-25) Middle (25-45) Old (above 45) Education Illiterate Primary Middle Matriculate Higher secondary Graduation and above Occupation Farming Others (service, business and labour) Family type Nucleus Joint Members of a society/organization Farm size Landless Marginal (< 1 ha) Small (1-2 ha) Semi medium (2-4 ha) Medium (4-10 ha) Large (> 10 ha)

Frequency 16 32 11 3 7 18 15 12 4 32 27 21 38 12 19 19 16 5 0 0

Percentage 27.1 54.2 18.6 5.0 11.8 30.5 25.4 20.3 6.7 54.2 45.7 35.6 64.4 20.3 32.2 32.2 27.1 8.5 0 0

Table 2. Adoption status of vocational trainings .

Year 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

No. of vocational trainings conducted 1 1 2 2 1

No. of participants 22 18 47 44 15

Adopters 8 7 16 18 6

Non adopters 14 11 31 26 9

Percentage adoption (%) 36.4 38.9 34.0 40.9 40.0

Table 3. Gain in knowledge about different practices of mushroom cultivation.

Technology

Variety and Cultivation method Compost preparation Filling& spawning Casing Crop management Diseases & pest control Food value & value addition
Figures in parenthesis are percentage value

Score points obtained before training 70 (23.7) 45(15.3) 85(28.8) 40(13.6) 33(11.2) 20(6.8) 75(25.4)

Score points obtained after training 180 (61.0) 199(67.5) 212(71.9) 179(60.7) 166(56.3) 89(30.2) 210(71.2)

(n= 59) Gain in points

110(37.3) 154(52.2) 127(43.0) 139(47.1) 133(45.1) 69(23.4) 135(45.8)

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Rachna et al Farmers score differently due to their varied personal, socio-economic or psycho-physical characteristics. Hence, the nature of relationship between participants characteristics and their knowledge gain was assessed by correlation coefficient (Table 4). Three of the selected characteristics of the participants out of six viz. education (r= 0.57), farming experience (r= 0.62) and extension media contact (r= 0.57) showed significant positive correlation with the knowledge gain of participants. The positive and significant correlation indicate that the participants with higher level of education, more farming experience and extension media contact had better knowledge gain. An interesting finding was that the age of the respondents showed non-significant relationship (r = -0.02) with knowledge gain of the participants which lead to the fact that knowledge gain of the participants was not affected by the age of the participants. Similarly, family type (r= -0.21) and membership of society (r= 0.09) also showed non- significant relationship with knowledge gain of the participants. The above findings were in conformity with the findings of Jahan et al (2010). Suggestions given by the farmers The results showed that supply of quality and certified spawn, insurance of crop and reducing cost of input were the three major suggestions as more than 45.0 percent of the respondents viewed that without such components mushroom entrepreneurship cannot be boosted up. Similar results were reported by Mishra (2008). There should be some government policy for seed certification in mushroom farming as in field crops. Beside these suggestions, 41.0 percent of the respondents felt that regular visits of extension workers to the mushroom farms of the farmers can improve the output of the farm and 36.0 percent of respondents suggested that availability of the facilities for storage, preservation and value addition of the mushrooms will give renewed impetus to the mushroom cultivation occupation. CONCLUSION The above findings clearly indicate that conductance of the trainings will provide much needed guidance to the trainees. Mushroom growing enterprise does not require additional arable land, thus farmers with small and marginal land holdings can augment their dwindling farm income. REFERENCES
Anonymous (2003). Sustaining productivity of rice-wheat cropping system and its potential alternative. Annual report, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Jahan N, Moonmoon M and Shah, M M I (2010). Growers response to mushroom cultivation technologies disseminated by mushroom development project. J Agric Soc Sci 6: 96100. Mishra, S (2008). Entrepreneurship development for farm women through mushroom cultivation. Oryza 45 (1): 68- 71. Singh K, Peshin R and Saini S K (2010). Evaluation of the agricultural vocational training programmes conducted by the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Farm Science Centres) in Indian Punjab. J Agril Rural Dev tropics and subtropics. 111 (2): 65-77. Table 4. Correlation between knowledge gain of the participants and their selected characteristics.

Characteristics Age Education Family Type Membership of society Farming experience Extension media contact

Correlation coefficient (r) -0.02* 0.57 -0.21* 0.09* 0.62 0.57

*Non significant at p<0.05 level of significance

Table 5. Suggestions given by the respondents.

Suggestion Certified spawn Insurance of crop Reducing cost input Regular field visit Storage, preservation and value addition Practical demonstration Training on advanced cultivation methods

Frequency 62 53 45 41 36 30 20

Ranking I II III IV V VI VII

Received on 16-07-2013 Accepted on 16-11-2013

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Improvement in Fruit Set, Retention, Weight and Yield of Apple Cv. Royal Delicious Through Foliar Application of Plant Growth Regulators
Ajay Kumar Banyal*, Rajeev Raina and Rajesh Kumar Kaler** Krishi Vigyan Kendra Saru, Chamba-176 310 (Himachal Pradesh)
ABSTRACT This investigation was carried out during 2012 and 2013 seasons on 15 years old Royal Delicious apple trees grafted on seedling rootstock grown in a private orchard at Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh to study the effect of different plant growth regulators on fruit set, fruit retention, fruit drop, fruit weight and yield. The data revealed that foliar application of Sitofex (CPPU) at 10 mm fruit size resulted in higher fruit set, fruit retention and lower fruit drop percentages, and also produced maximum fruit weight and fruit yield in comparison to other treatments under study. Based on this study, apple growers of the chamba district are advised to spray their apple orchards with Sitofex (CPPU) at 10 mm fruit size for producing maximum yield and improving fruit quality, especially fruit weight. Key Words: CPPU, Royal Delicious Apple. INTRODUCTION In Chamba district, apple is being grown mainly in all the blocks, except Bhatiyat, followed by walnut and stone fruits. The apple orchards are mainly located in Churah, Bharmaur, Chamba and Pangi tehsil and Salooni sub-tehsil, where Delicious varieties of Red, Royal and Golden etc. are mostly grown. However, average productivity level of apple in the district is too low (less than one mt /ha.). Major problems in the apple cultivation in this region are high percentage of fruit drop and very less proportion of marketable sized fruits. Produce, mostly constitutes undersized and unmarketable apple fruits and farmers did not get good prices for their produce in the market. Under such circumstances, the role of plant growth substances for enhancing fruit set, yield and fruit quality particularly the fruit size/fruit weight has become most important these days. It has been documented that final fruit size depends on many factors, viz., the number of cell present at fruit set, rate of cell division that occur subsequently and the extent to which these cells expand. Therefore, early fruit cell division is normally influenced by the natural growth hormones, especially cytokinins. Sitofex (CPPU) is a new plant growth regulator which has strong cytokinins like activity by inducing fruit growth at low rates Nickell (1986). El-Sabagh (2002) in apple; Flaishman et al (2001) and Guireguis et al (2003) in pear have reported the beneficial effects of using CPPU in reducing fruit drop and increasing productivity as well as improving fruit size. The apple growers of the district are using mainly boric acid at petal fall for improving the fruit set, retention and yield of apple orchards. However, the awareness about the use of other plant growth regulators viz., CPPU and Biozyme for improving yield is not known to them. Therefore, the present studies were conducted at farmers field with the objective to study the possible effects of different concentrations of

*Corresponding Author Email: ajaybanyal_pom@yahoo.co.in ** Litchi Mango Research Station, Nagrota Bagwan, Kangra, HP

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Banyal et al CPPU at different stages and other treatments in improving the productivity and quality of fruits. MATERIALS AND METHODS The research trials were conducted in the private orchards at four locations in Chamba district during the years 2012 and 2013. The uniform looking trees of 15 years age of the cultivar Royal Delicious raised on seedling rootstocks and spaced at 6 x 6 m apart were selected for this study. Each treatment was replicated five times. The different treatments were T1; Foliar application of Boric acid @ 0.1% at Petal fall;T2 Foliar application of Sitofex (CPPU) @ 7.0 ppm at Petal fall; T3 Foliar application of Sitofex (CPPU) @ 5.0 ppm at 10 mm fruit size and T4 Foliar application of biozyme @ 2.0 ml/ litre at petal fall. Parameters studied Fruit set Counting of all fruits was done 20 d after petal fall and the following formula was used to determine the fruit set and expressed in percent.
x100 Number of flower clusters The total numbers of fruits retained on the tagged branches were counted at the time of harvest and the percentage of fruit retained was calculated on the basis of total number of fruits at the time of fruit set.
Fruit retention (%) Number of fruits as harvest Number of fruit set x100

replication were weighed on top pan balance and production was expressed quintal / hectare. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Fruit Set As evident from the data presented in Table 1 the different plant growth regulators had no significant effect on fruit set in apple during both the years. However, maximum fruit set (16.6 and 17.5 %) was recorded with foliar application of Boric acid @ 0.1% at Petal fall (T1) during both the years, whereas, treatment T 3 registered minimum per cent fruit set of 15.7 and 16.1 per cent in the year 2012 and 2013, respectively. The probable reason for the higher fruit set in T 1 (farmers practice) might be the fact that boron plays an important role in pollen production, germination and pollen tube growth in fruit trees. Fruit Retention The effect of different plant growth regulators on fruit retention was found to be significant during both years. Maximum fruit retention (25.7 and 26.2 %) was found with foliar application of Sitofex (CPPU) @ 5.0 ppm (T3) and minimum (10.2 and 11.3 %) was observed with T1 (Control), during both years when fruit is 10 mm in size. However, maximum fruit retention observed in the treatment T3, which was significantly higher than T2, T4, and T1 treatments. These results were in accordance with those obtained by El-Sabagh (2002) on apple trees and Guirguis et al (2003) on pear trees. They indicated that synthetic Cytokinins have a significant role in increasing fruit set which was probably due to the ability of cytokinins to mobilize assimilate to the area of application and responsible for increase fruit set and final fruit retention. Fruit Drop It was noticed that fruit drop significantly reduced with the foliar application of Sitofex (CPPU) @ 5.0 ppm at 10 mm fruit size (T3) and application of Sitofex (CPPU) @ 7.0 ppm at Petal fall (T2) (Table 1). Foliar application of Sitofex (CPPU) at 10 mm fruit size, after fruit set recorded lowest (74.3 and 73.8 % during 2012 and 2013, respectively) fruit drop than other treatments during both years. Regarding the effect of CPPU
31

Fruit set (%)

Number of fruits set

Percent fruit drop Percent fruit drop was worked out by subtracting per cent fruit retention from 100 and average was worked out. Fruit weight: Samples of ten fruits from each replicate were taken at random at harvest time (September 8th and September 9th) in 2012 and 2013 seasons, when fruits of the control attained maturity to determine fruit weight (g). Fruit yield At the time of harvest, all the fruits from each

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Improvement in fruit set of apple through Plant Growth Regulators

Table 1. Effect of foliar application of plant growth regulators on fruit set, retention, drop, weight and yield of apple cultivar Royal Delicious.

Treatments Fruit set(%) 2012 2013 T-1 16.6 17.5 T-2 16.2 17.1 T-3 15.7 16.1 T-4 16.4 16.9 CD0.05 NS NS

Fruit retention (%) 2012 2013 10.2 11.3 22.3 23.4 25.7 26.2 12.6 13.7 1.9 2.1

Fruit drop (%) 2012 2013 90.8 88.7 77.7 76.6 74.3 73.8 84.6 86.3 2.1 2.3

Fruit weight(g) 2012 2013 187 181 223 227 239 246 202 205 NS NS

Yield(q/ha) 2012 2013 21.4 18.7 69.4 71.3 82.3 87.2 22.9 24.3 4.3 4.7

concentrations, it was clear that all concentrations reduced the percent fruit drop when compared with the T1 (farmer practice), which recorded the maximum percent fruit drop. The obtained reduction in fruit drop as a result of Sitofex application might be due to the role of cytokinins in increasing fruit set. Fruit Weight The data (Table 1) revealed that the highest values of fruit weight (g) were obtained from spraying Sitofex (CPPU) @ 5.0 ppm at 10 mm fruit size (T3) followed by application of Sitofex (CPPU) @ 7.0 ppm at Petal fall (T2). The positive effect of the Sitofex (CPPU) application was also noticed by El-Sabagh (2002) on Anna apple trees. Fruit size is frequently increased commercially by reducing crop load using chemical or hand thinning but in the present study, it increased fruit size and reduced the fruit drop. Therefore, the increase in fruit size could be attributed directly to the CPPU effects. Exogenous application of CPPU acts early cell division in the fruit let and also on subsequent growth. Thus, the fruit becomes bigger in size due to the efficient of cells, the building blocks of fruit mass and also because the cells have been able to attract so much water, minerals and carbohydrates that enable the fruit to expand to large size (Kano, 2003). Similar results were also reported by Flaishman et al (2001) on pear and El-Sabagh (2002) on apple. Fruit Yield The data presented (Table 1) showed that fruit yield (q./ha) were influenced by the Sitofex (CPPU) application. The treatment T3 obtained highest fruit yield (82.3 and 87.2 q/ha) during both years followed by T2 which also recorded significantly higher fruit yield in comparison to

farmer Practice (T 1) and Biozyme (T 4). With respect to the effect of Sitofex concentrations, the data exhibited that, both Sitofex concentrations significantly increased tree fruit yield as compared to the control (T1) which produced the minimum yield. This increment in yield was attributed to Sitofex (CPPU) application effect in increasing fruit size and weight. These findings are in agreement with those obtained by Fawzi and Hafez (2004) on grapevines who reported that, Sitofex application significantly increased the total yield. CONCLUSION It is concluded that spraying Royal Delicious apple trees with Sitofex (CPPU) @ 5.0 ppm at 10 mm fruit size was found to be the best treatment due to the fact that it not only produced maximum fruit yield but also improved fruit quality particularly fruit weight, fruit retention and reduced the fruit drop in apple. REFERENCES
El-Sabagh A S (2002). Effect of Sitofex (CPPU) on Anna apple fruit set and some fruit characteristics. Alex J Agri Res 47(3): 85-92. Fawzi M I F and Omaima M Hafez (2004). Effect of some growth regulators on yield and fruit quality of Perlette grapes. Annals Agri Sci Ain Shams Univ, Cairo, 49(2): 671-86. Flaishman M A, Shargal A and Stern R A (2001). The synthetic sytokinin CPPU increased fruit size and yield of Spadona and Costia pear (Pyrus communis L.). J Hort Sci & Biotech 76: 145-149. Guirguis N S, Eman S Attala and Ali M M (2003). Effect of Sitofex (CPPU) on fruit set, fruit quality of Le Conte pear cultivar. Annals of Agri Sci Moshtohor 41(1): 271-282. Kano Y (2003). Effect of GA and CPPU treatments on cell size and types of sugars accumulated in Japanese pear fruit. J Hort Sci & Biotech 78(3): 331-334. Nickell L G (1986). The effects of N (2-chloro-4pyridyl)-Npheylurea at the 3-chloro-benzyl ester of decomba on the growth and sugar content of grapes. Acta Hort 179: 805-806. Received on 31-10-2013 Accepted on 16-11-2013

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Indigenous Techniques of Breeding Indian Major Carps Under Confined Conditions

Deepjyoti Baruah Livestock Research Station, Hekra Assam Agricultural University, Kamrup -781 127 (Assam)
ABSTRACT Breeding and hatching of Indian Major Carps under confined conditions are being practiced on traditional ways since a long time by the fishers of rural Assam. A survey conducted in the lower stretch of river Brahmaputra revealed that breeding and spawning of Indian Major Carps (IMC) under confined water conditions has been made possible by simulating artificial riverine environment to brood fishes using locally available devices and indigenous techniques by the rural fish farmers. The cost of operation was found to be lower than the regular methods of breeding carps in hatcheries. Fertilization rate of eggs released during breeding was successful with 70 to 80 per cent survivability. The breeding technique was found to be simple, handy and farmer friendly and can be executed in remote and furlong areas for a ready availability of fish seeds. Key Words: Breeding confined water, IMC, Indigenous. INTRODUCTION Indian Major Carps (IMC) comes under fishes which do not ordinarily spawn in confined or stagnant water bodies such as ponds, lakes etc. but breed in natural water bodies as in rivers, wetlands, paddy fields and other low lying areas. Environmental factors such as light, temperature, water condition play an important role in stimulating the fish for reproduction (Rath, 2008). Major carps usually spawn in inundated terrains of rivers and streams during rainy season. This spawning site is advantageous for its survival and propagation where the fresh flood kills all terrestrial fauna and flora therein and their decay causes the growth of micro flora and micro fauna on which the fry and fingerlings feeds (Padhi and Mandal, 1994). Moreover, the water in the inundated terrains is warm and rich in oxygen which is essential for rapid embryonic development and hatching (Thomas, 2003). On the other hand, the fish seeds collected from natural spawning grounds is scanty and does not fulfill the annual requirement for inland aquaculture in the country (Ayyappan, 2011). Henceforth, efforts have been paved to artificially breed the IMCs in hatcheries such as Chinese Ecohatcheries, Portable carp hatcheries, Glass jar hatchery etc. but in all the cases it has been observed that the cost of operation in the hatcheries is quite high. In the present study, an effort was made to investigate indigenous techniques practiced by the rural mass for producing carp seeds in their backyard ponds and culture tanks by simulating a similar environment required for carp breeding with an involvement of negligible investment. MATERIALS AND METHODS A survey was carried out by a team of students undergoing Bachelor of Fisheries Science (BFSc) during their tenure of Fisheries Work Experience Programme (FWEP) at Livestock Research Station, Assam Agricultural University, Hekra, Kamrup, Assam. The survey was carried out in 6 villages viz., Chaplai, Dhanbori, Laoduba of Goalpara district and Hekra, Mondira, Malibari of Kamrup districts. Data were collected from the fish breeders of the villages by personal interview, farm visit

Corresponding Authors Email: deep_baruah@rediffmail.com

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Baruah and practical demonstration. Quantity and fertilization rate of eggs was measured by volumetric or gravimetric method. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION i. Brood stock management For breeding of fish and seed production, mature and healthy brood stock weighing 2 to 4 kg are utilized. In the survey, it was found that the fish breeders procure the brood fishes from natural resources such as rivers, streams, wetlwnds and from recognized fish pond owners during months of March and April. The brood fishes are conditioned in hapas in confined water (pond) before being injected with hormones. In case of brooders collected from culture ponds, it is desired that yearlings of required species of carps are collected from natural ground or from farm reared stock. These yearlings are stocked in brood stock ponds for a year or two with proper husbandry practices and bred for seed production. As a preliminary management practice, brood stock ponds are prepared by eradicating aquatic weeds, predatory and weed-fishes and harmful insects. Lime is applied according to the pH of the water (Table 1).
Table 1. Dose of lime applied as per pH of water

a) Breeding hapa: A breeding hapa is a rectangular shaped structure made up of fine mesh mosquito net cloth or nylon net. The size of the breeding hapa used by the breeders measures 6.5 x 3.5 x 1 m to 4.0 x 1.5 x 0.9 m. However, size of hapa is set according to the size and number of brood fish. All the four corners on upper and lower sides of the hapa are stitched with laces so that the net can be tied to four bamboo poles fixed in the water column at both upper and bottom ends. The hapa is installed in a fully stretched condition in the water column and care is taken so that the upper surface is raised at least 30 to 40 cm above the water level whereas the lower surface does not touch the muddy bottom. The upper surface of the hapa is provided with an opening to keep and remove the brood fishes during breeding operation and for collection of eggs afterwards. b) Hatching hapa: It is a double chambered rectangular shaped enclosure. The outer hapa is made of bolting cloth (0.5 mm mesh size) and the inner hapa is made of mosquito net cloth or nylon cloth (2.0-2.5 mm mesh size). The hapa are installed in water by means of four bamboo poles as described for breeding hapa. (iii) Pump set and uses: A pump set of capacity 2 HP or above is installed on a suitable embankment or near the net with the help of a bamboo rack or poles. The pump sets are run by diesel and kerosene oil in areas where electricity supply is poor. Care was to be taken so that lesser noise is produced by the pump sets to avoid failure of the breeding programme. The pump sets helps to release water into the pond at a desired speed for simulating an artificial riverine situation for carrying out the breeding programme under confined water. (iv) Breeding methodology: Mature and healthy male and female brood fish at a stocking density of 2-4 kg/m3 are put together in the ratio of 2:1 respectively in breeding hapa in the afternoon hours. A riverine environment is simulated by generating a mild water current with the help of water pump. Shower is

pH of water 4.0-4.5 4.5-5.5 5.5-6.5 6.5-7.5

Dose (kg/ha) 700 1000 500 700 250 500 200 250

Organic manure and inorganic fertilizers are added to pond to obtain the desired level of plankton. Stocking density is maintained @ 900 to 1100 kg/ha and 1/5th of the water of the pond is replenished at least once in a month. Fish ration provided to the brood fishes consists of groundnut oil cake 70 kg., rice bran 28 kg., common salt 1.5 kg., vitamin C 10g. and vitamin E 3g. Feeding was done @ 3-4% of the body weight once every day. (ii) Setting of hapa Two types of hapa are usually used during breeding of fish in confined water which are explained as follows;

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Techniques of breeding Indian major carps provided in the hapas to simulate rain. In the evening hours, water current is stopped and hormone is administered, while shower is continued. Generally, fresh pituitary glands are collected by the breeders from other mature fishes from various sources and an extract is prepared for administration. Females are injected with pituitary gland extract @ 2-3mg/ kg body weight as the first dose and 10-12 mg/kg of body weight as second dose after 5 to 6 hrs. of administration of first dose. Half numbers of the males were injected with one dose of pituitary gland extract @ 4-6 mg/kg body weight at the time when second dose is injected to females. The pituitary gland extract is injected either by intramuscular or intraperitoneal method. The water current is restarted with the help of the pump sets. Water speed is maintained at around 0.1-0.2 m/sec. The spawning of each female is completed within 1.0 to 1.5 hrs. of initiation. Water flow and shower are stopped after the spawning is over. Brood fish are collected and released back into the brood stock pond. Fertilized eggs are collected in early morning hours and transferred to the hatching hapa. Normally for IMC optimum temperature is 28 to 30oC and incubation period is 14 to 20 hrs. Water current with speed of 0.01 to 0.02 m/sec is generated. Direction of water current is changed by changing the direction of water inflow. The survivability rate of the spawn is about 70 to 80 per cent. After 70 to 72 hrs. of incubation, the spawn is transferred to earthen nurseries and is reared for 15 to 20 d. till they become fry. The small fries are transported by vendors to different sites as per demand of the local entrepreneurs and farmers. CONCLUSION Construction of a regular type circular carp hatchery for IMC breeding and hatching is a major constraint in rural areas due to its high cost of construction, higher water budget and maintenance. Hapa breeding method is cheaper amounting for Rs. 10000/- to 15000/- per season and construction of a circular hatchery accounts for Rs. 6 to 8 lakh. Hapas can be installed at any suitable area and is portable whereas a circular hatchery cannot be dismantled. Moreover water budget in hapa breeding is maintained by reusing the same pond water which is utilized for breeding, hatching and stocking. Usage of water pump has several advantages as it creates an unpolluted environment for the brood fish, mild water current simulating riverine system for fishes to exhibit better courtship behaviour with higher spawning efficiency. An improvement in the indigenous hapa breeding technique can produce quality seeds with better survivability rate. This method can be practiced at farmers site at low cost and minimizing the difficulty in seed transportation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author convey sincere thanks to the Chief Scientist of Livestock Research Station, Mondira, Hekra for rendering help and support and the students from College of Fisheries in all the way for conducting the research and to make the necessary arrangements. The author is also thankful to the farmers and fish breeders of the surveyed villages for providing the necessary information during the research. REFERENCES
Ayyappan S ( 2011). Handbook of fisheries and aquaculture, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. Pp: 590640. Padhi J K and MandaI R K (1994). Improper fish breeding practices and their impact on aquaculture and fish biodiversity. Curr Sci. 66: 624-626. Rath R K ( 2008). Fresh water Aquaculture, Scientific Publishing House, Jodhpur. Thomas P C (2003). Breeding and seed production of fin fish and shell fish, Daya Publishing House, New Delhi. Pp: 1-122. Received on 30-09-2013 Accepted on 15-11-2013

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Mithun Production and Management System in Papum Pare District of Arunachal Pradesh
Tilling Tayo*, Taba Heli, Bengia Atul and Nabam Gama Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Papum Pare, Karsingsa-791 123 (Arunachal Pradesh)
ABSTRACT Present study was carried out in three villages viz., Mani, Midpu and Chiputa, in 2011. It was found that all the farmers (100%) followed free range system of rearing, natural random mating system, zero-input feeding system and salt as medium to keep close contact with the Mithun. Less than 1 per cent farmers trained their Mithun to come near by their house timely by making sound and offer bunch of hay or grass along with salt. Majority of the farmers (69%) said age at first calving was 36 months and 64 per cent of the respondents said inter calving period was 13 months and 91 per cent of them had breeding bull. Deworming, ectoparasitic control and antibiotics were used by 9 , 21 and 12 per cent farmers, respectively and only 25 per cent farmers vaccinated the Mithun against the foot and mouth disease. Weaning was done at 20 months of age by following natural method and male calves were never castrated. Sixty nine per cent of the respondents paid proper attention to the pregnant Mithun whereas 81 per cent farmers sell the animal at the time of adversity. Key words: Mithun, Production, Management, Salt hunger, Tribal community. INTRODUCTION Mithun (Bos frontails) is one of the oldest domesticated animals known to the tribes of Arunachal, many a time mithun has been referred and quoted in folk lore of tribal community. Arunachal Pradesh has the highest Mithun population in India followed by Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. Mithun population density accounts highest in Papum Pare district of the state. So, there is a great potential for mithun production but barely any attempt has been made to record systematically and analyze the mithun production and management system, practiced by the farmers, in-spite of much deeply rooted in the socio economic and religious importance of the Mithun, Therefore, the present study was undertaken to understand the prevailing production and management system followed by the farmers in Papum Pare district. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out in Papum Pare districts of Arunachal Pradesh, during 2011-12 in Doimukh block. Three villages namely Mani,
*Corresponding Authors Email: tilling.tayo@gmail.com

Cheputa and Midpu were selected to carry out this study. Total number of Mithun in the three villages was 433 (73 male, 198 female, 75 calf, 87 heifer) and from each selected village, twenty five Mithun farmers were selected randomly to make a sample size of 75 respondents. An uniform questionnaire was prepared on five different aspects of rearing, breeding, feeding, health care, and general care and management practices through interview and self-observation methods (fortnightly), the information was recorded. The respondents answers and reasons for following certain practices were also recorded in each individual questionnaire sheet. The data were analyzed with the help of frequencies and percentages. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Rearing practices The prevailing rearing system followed by Mithun farmers (100%) is a free range system (Fig. No.1) where, the Mithuns are let-loose freely in the jungle, except during health problems and introduction of Mithun to new area. Another

36

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Tayo et al method known as tethering method, (Fig. No. 2) is followed for few days or months until the health of animal is stable or adapted to newly introduced area. Other method of rearing Mithun is not feasible at farmers level because of its grazing habit and physical movement activity which needs larger area to keep them healthy and encounter harsh environment condition of hilly area. On interrogations, majority of farmers said that Mithun reared under free range system are healthier as compare to other system of rearing. However, wild beast viz. wild dogs, tigers and leopards are main menace in free range system. Almost all farmers (99%) said that Mithun reared in tethering method are more susceptible to health problem and disease condition, apart from extra care and repeated changing of grazing area time to time, which is laborious and tedious job (Table 1). knew the AI method of breeding. Majority (69%) of the farmers said age at first calving was 36 months. A greater majority (64%) of the respondents said inter calving period of 13 months and 91 per cent of them in the study area were rearing breeding bull. Rearing mithun bull is considered to be prestigious and reflection of wealth within the farming community. Whereas 9 per cent of the farmers did not rear breeding bull, they sold or exchanged the male calf for female calf on economic point of view with the concept that female mithun will calve after attaining sexual maturity. Feeding practices It is one of the most important aspects of livestock farming as it account for 65-80 per cent of total cost of production. However, Mithun is reared under zero input system by all the farmers. Basically Mithun thrives on the forages, tree fodders, shrubs, herbs and other natural vegetations. It prefers to browse and move around the forest in search of selective forages (Das et al, 2008). The commonly green grasses or fodder available in the forest are Saccharum spontaneum ( thatch grass ), Carex crusiata , Thysoleuna maxima (phool jaru), Seteria pamifolia ( aruna grass ), Moniliera curculiodes, Phrynium pubinerve, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii (bamboo), Musa paradisiacal, Boemeria species, Clerodendron kolebrokianu, Ficus semicaudata, Spondias pinnata, Bauhinia purpurea (Kanchan) and Bauhinia verigatea etc. With no addition of concentrate diet in their ration except for little amount of slat they offered to the mithun on weekly basis while tracking their Mithun in forest. This system of feeding practices are followed by 99 per cent of the farmers, because it is

Fig. No. 1 Free range

Fig. No. 2. Tethering system

Breeding practices Breeding age of mithun was reported to be 24 to 30 months for female and 48 to 54 months for male, all the farmers (100%) follow natural service through random mating. Artificial insemination (AI) on mithun was unknown to them except for the cattle, 25 percent of farmers

Fig. No. 3. Salt Feeding system

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37

Mithun production and management system

Table 1. Production and management practices followed by the farmers. Sl. No. Name of the practice Frequency A. Rearing practices Intensive 0 Semi-intensive 0 Free range 75 B Breeding practices b.1 Age at first calving: 36 Months 52 40 Months 23 b.2 Calving interval 13 Months 48 15 Months 27 b.3 Rearing of bull for breeding purpose: Reared 68 Not reared 07 b.4 Service of Mithun: Natural service with bull 75 Artificial insemination 0 C Feeding practices c.1 Method of feeding Semi-range 01 Free-range 74 Stall 0 c.2 Types of ration used: Roughage (Natural fodder) 75 Roughage with concentrate 0 c.3 Feeds additives: Salt used 75 Salt not used 0 D Health care practices d.1 Use of antibiotic: Used 09 Not used 66 d.2 Vaccination: Practiced 19 Not practiced 56 d.3 FMD vaccine Cause abortion 5 Cause death 8 Protection against FMD 62 d.4 Deworming: Used 12 Not used 63 d.5 Use of ectoparasitic drugs: Used 16 Not used 59 E General Care and Management Practices e.1 Weaning: Practiced 0 Not Practiced (Naturally) 75 percentage (%) 0 0 100

69 31 64 36 91 09 100 0

01 99 0 100 0 100 0

12 88 25 75 7 11 82 09 91 21 79

0 100

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Tayo et al
e.2 Castration of Male calf: Practiced Not Practiced Special care to pregnant mithun Taken Not taken Special care to Mithun after calving Taken Not taken 0 75 70 05 73 02 0 100 93 07 97 03

e.3

e.4

economically feasible and no extra labour is required for collecting feed and fodder. In contrary to this feeding practices very few farmers (<1%) in addition to free grazing system train their mithun to come near by their house timely by making noise or ringing bell periodically and offer bunch of hay or grass along with salt (Fig. No.3). It was revealed that mithun have an extra salt hunger behavior, so every farmer (100%) used salt as a source to remain close contact with their mithun. Similar finding was observed by (Prakash et al, 2007). Health care practices The most prevalent diseases of Mithun in the study area were diarrhea, ectoparasitic infestation like ticks, mites, leaches, biting flies and foot and mouth disease (FMD). Similar findings were observed by (Tayo et al, 2013). Routine deworming and use of ectoparasites control were followed by 9 and 21 percent farmers, respectively and only few (12%) farmers used antibiotics (oxytetracycline) during the outbreak of any disease to mitigate further spread of disease. Few farmers (25%) vaccinated Mithun against FMD through the animal health camp conducted by the state department from time to time. Nevertheless, majority of the farmers (82%) said FMD vaccination had successfully prevented the occurrence of FMD in endemic area and mithun had developed immunity against the disease. It was observed that animal health coverage programme like routine de-worming, vaccination and timely attending of common bacterial, viral diseases, parasitic infestation and other traumatic injury of animal is not practically feasible due to remoteness and hilly terrain topography of mithun dwelling area in different pocket of Arunachal Pradesh. This result in heavy morbidity and mortality (Sharma, 2010) at the time of any outbreak of disease.

General care and management practices The study revealed that 100 per cent calves are weaned naturally at the age of 20 months under natural conditions. Castration of male calf was never practiced in Mithun except for cattle which are reared for drought purpose. All the farmers knew that castrated animal becomes docile and it can be easily targeted by the wild beast which is a predisposing factor and not suitable for the survival of Mithun in the forest. Ninty three per cent respondents paid proper attention to their pregnant animal and 97 per cent took special care after calving. The reason cited by the farmers was that the pregnant mithun need to be traced once in two days especially during last trimester so that immediately after parturition the calf ears can be notched as an identification mark. As such there is no established marketing system for Mithun. However, majority of the farmers (81%) sell their Mithun at the time of rundown when all most all the savings are exhausted so mithun is also considered as automated teller machine (ATM) among farming community (Panor, 2010). The pricing system is based on general appearance of body conformation and horn size is taken as unit to ascertain the age of Mithun. Mature male Mithun is more costly as compared to female Mithun of same age but conversely calves are cheaper than heifers because mature Mithun looks more majestic due to its beautiful longer horn and masculine appearance, as well as higher meat production per animal and its meat is most preferable meat in tribal community as compared to any other livestock meat. Some of the notable constraints in Mithun production in prevailing raring system are ownership dispute, crop raid, wild beast, parasitic infestation, viral and bacterial disease (Tayo et al, 2013).

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39

Mithun production and management system CONCLUSION Mithun management and production system can be greatly improved without much change in traditional practices by little intervention through scientific method on health issue viz. regular deworming, vaccination and nutritional management of pregnant mithun especially sodium chloride ,which is present in very low level in soil as well as fodder of hilly area. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Authors are thankful to the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) for providing all the facilities to carry out the studies under the project Mithun conservation and it habitats through community participation. REFERENCES
Das K C, Prakash B and Rajkhowa C (2008). Nutrition and Feeding of Mithun (Bos frontalis) in Hill Livestock Farming System. Indian J Anim Nutr 25: 1-10. Panor J (2010). Mithun: The ATM. Biological Park, Itanagar. http://arunachalnews.com/mithun-the-atm.html. Prakash B, Das K C, Dhali A, Rathore S S, Meck A, Sangtham M, Walling I, and Rajkhowa C (2007). Estimation of macro andmicro-minerals in some the important foliages of Medziphema area. Annual Report. National Research Centre on Mithun (ICAR), Jharnapani, Medziphema, Nagaland. Sharma A K (2010). Foot and Mouth Disease in livestock- Combat and Management (Seminar, Itanagar). http:// www.worldvet.org/node/7270. Tayo T, Heli T, Atul B and Gama N (2013). Mithun Husbandry - Issues and Strategies in Papum Pare District of Arunachal Pradesh. J Krishi Vigyan 1(2): 56-59. Received on 08-10-2013 Accepted on 17-11-2013

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OnFarm Evaluation of Management Practices of Rice and Wheat in Sub-Montane Subtropical Low Hills Zone of Himachal Pradesh
S K Sharma, S C Negi , S K Subehia and S S Rana Department of Agronomy, Forages and GM CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur -176 062 ( Himachal Pradesh)
ABSTRACT An on-farm experiment was conducted in sub-montane and low hills sub-tropical zone of Himachal Pradesh to study the impact of application of recommended dose of nutrients and full package of practices as against farmers practice in rice-wheat cropping sequence under irrigated conditions. The treatments were evaluated at eight locations for three consecutive cropping seasons of 2004-05 to 2006--07. Results of the study revealed that single intervention of applying recommended fertilizer nutrients over the existing farmers practice increased the overall grain yields of rice and wheat by about 23 and 32 per cent, respectively. The application of full recommended package of practices further increased rice and wheat yields by about 9 and 17 per cent whereas rice equivalent yield and net returns by about 42 and 51 per cent over the farmers practice. Key Words: Rice-wheat, Cropping sequence, Nutrients. INTRODUCTION In India rice-wheat is the most prevalent cropping system. In Himachal Pradesh, this system has sustained over years but now the productivity of both the crops have stagnated and factor productivity is declining year after year because there is great difference in actual and achievable yield. This is due to use of low yielding traditional varieties, imbalance and inadequate use of fertilizers, sub-optimal plant stand and heavy weed infestation particularly in rice, use of inadequate irrigation and improper plant protection measures. Apart from this, lack of knowledge about the non-monetary inputs is the major constraint which influences the productivity level. As the system is very exhaustive, there is greater drain on the native soil fertility emphasizing balanced application of nutrients to sustain the productivity. The cultivation of improved varieties, timely and proper control of weeds, insect pests and diseases are essential for sustaining the yields. It is therefore, necessary to demonstrate the effect of proper nutrient
*Corresponding Authors Email : s.suresh0061@gmail.com

management and recommended package for ricewheat system on the farmers fields. Keeping in view these considerations, present study was undertaken at farmers fields to demonstrate appropriate production technology for increasing productivity of rice and wheat. MATERIALS AND METHODS Field experiment on cultivators fields was conducted for three years (2004-05 to 2006-07) at Nakroh and Katohar centres of district Una and Channaur and Adhwani centres of district Kangra. Eight locations; two at each centre in both the districts were selected. The soils of the experimental locations were inceptisols having soil texture loamy sand to silty clay loam with pH slightly acidic to neutral, medium to high in organic carbon, available N and P and medium in available K contents. The total rainfall received was 1043.9 mm, 744.7mm and 1106.5 mm during 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, respectively, with maximum and minimum temperatures ranging from 19.0-39.2 C and 4.6-30.8 C, respectively.

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41

Sharma et al Rice variety Kasturi Basmati and wheat varieties PBW-343 and HPW-184 were sown during the period under study. The different treatments were: T1: Farmers practice (application of FYM @ 5t/ha, N @ 40 per cent of recommended dose of N, no criteria of seedling age and seed rate, method of sowing, plant protection measures and inappropriate weed control measures without considering critical stage), T 2: Recommended dose of nutrients (90 Kg N and 40 Kg P2O5 and 40 Kg K2O/ha in rice, 120 Kg N, 60 Kg P2O5 and 30 Kg K2O in wheat and other practices as in farmers practice). T3: Full recommended package of practices (100% NPK, transplanting of seeding at proper stage with proper method and spacing, irrigation at proper stage, herbicidal weed control and proper plant protection measures). One trial was laid out at each location. Yields were harvested from net plot. Economics of the treatments was computed based upon prevalent prices. The statistical analysis of the data was performed in randomized block design considering locations as replication. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Crop yield The data (Table 1) revealed that application of recommended fertilizer nutrients to the farmers practice resulted in significantly higher grain and straw yields of rice and wheat over farmers practice alone, in both the farming situations during all the years of investigation. Single intervention of applying recommended fertilizer nutrients in the existing farmers practice increased the grain yield of rice and wheat by about 34,18 and 18 per cent, and 35, 30 and 33 per cent, respectively, during 2004-05, 2005-06 and 200607, respectively. Such a response to recommended application of nutrients clearly depicts that in states like Himachal Pradesh, productivity of these crops can be substantially boosted up by applying balanced nutrient doses. Yields further increased by adopting full package of practices in both the farming situations. Based on the overall mean, the magnitude of increase in rice and wheat yields owing to the
42

application of recommended package of practices over full NPK was 8, 9 and10 per cent, and 16, 11 and 13 per cent during 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, respectively. Such a response to applied nutrients and improved cultivation practices can be expected in the farmers fields. Balanced application of nutrients and improved cultivation practices have been reported to be essential for sustained productivity (Prasad et al, 2002, Rinwa et al, 2003 and Sharma et al, 2011). Rice equivalent yield Owing to increased rice and wheat yields, the system productivity as expressed in terms of rice equivalent yield was significantly higher under recommended application of fertilizer nutrients over the farmers practice alone in both the farming situations (Table 2). Rice equivalent yield further increased with the adoption of full package. On an average, the recommended package of practices increased rice equivalent yield by about 50, 39 and 38 per cent over the farmers practice and about 12, 11and 11 per cent over recommended application of nutrients during 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 , respectively. Net Returns The higher yields following the application of recommended fertilizers to the farmers practice and full recommended package of practices fetched increased gross and net returns in both the farming situations. On an average, the recommended technology package ( T3 ) recorded 79, 46 and 43 per cent higher net returns over farmers practice and 13, 10 and 12 per cent higher net returns over recommended application of nutrients, during 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 , respectively. CONCLUSION The findings of the present investigation conclusively inferred that for feeding the growing population, farmers should go for recommended package of practices in rice-wheat cropping system without any compromise. Resource poor and marginal farmers who can not afford to apply the full package, they should at least apply the recommended dose of nutrients to sustain yields and fetch higher returns.

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Table 1. Effect of treatments on yields of rice and wheat in rice-wheat cropping sequence. Treatment Rice Wheat -1 -1 -1 Grain (kg ha ) Straw (kg ha ) Grain (kg ha ) Straw (kg ha-1) 04-05 05-06 06-07 Mean 04-05 05-06 06-07 Mean 04-05 05-06 06-07 Mean 04-05 05-06 06-07 Mean Una (4 locations) 2801 3465 3799 349 2170 2417 2688 96 308 NS 148 268 436 291 2598 4062 3105 3960 3709 3273 5636 4557 4488 2363 4077 3160 3688 3642 2751 5057 3961 3923 2077 3639 2722 3426 3262 1964 4226 2952 3047 2727 3623 4213 250 364 350 434 308 334 301 489 449 5201 6034 6965 618 3754 4923 4728 5145 4932 3789 4057 4662 4169 5166 5407 3463 4608 4142 4713 4488 3363 3686 4199 3749 4282 5041 2654 2935 3602 3855 3464 2558 2505 3198 2754 3220 3414 3914 5213 5691 322 3904 4860 5732 427 3944 4839 5636 3516 4845 5421

Farmers practice

2367

2793

Recommended nutrients 3636

3290

Recommended package

3862

3602

LSD (P=0.05)

266

164

Kangra (4locations)

Farmers practice

2272

1789

Recommended nutrients 2571

2102

Recommended package

2812

2296

LSD (P=0.05)

170

140

Table 2. Effect of treatments on rice equivalent yield and economics in rice-wheat cropping sequence.

Treatment 06-07 74483 95138 104681 5694 50430 59659 48575 2068 66311 4065 63478 76946 87237 3809

Rice equivalent yield (kg ha-1) 04-05 05-06 06-07 Mean Gross Returns 04-05 05-06 38512 54362 60369 4236 5019 6113 6883 33963 42799 3412 61725 56277 42075 5754 7646 8397 500 6783 8078 8959 536 207 5130 4538 3751 341 6297 7632 5714 6950 4514 5188

Mean 51690 68592 75591

Net Returns 04-05 17949 30671 33961 4236 49290 59801 67374 13401 19109 22167 2068

05-06 21513 32586 35317 3412 29868 35968 39903 4065

06-07 52086 68847 75608 5694 40951 50665 58164 3809

Mean 30516 44035 48295

Una (4 locations)

Management practices of rice and wheat in sub-montane zone

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Farmers practice

5297

Recommended nutrients

7489

Recommended package

8202

LSD (P=0.05)

600

Kangra (4locations) 28073 35248 40078

Farmers practice

4522

Recommended nutrients

5723

Recommended package

6561

LSD (P=0.05)

385

43

Sharma et al REFERENCES
Prasad R, Sharma S N, Singh S and Shivay Y S (2002). Relative productivity, profitability and NPK removal from soil by some rice based cropping systems. J Sustainable Agri 19(3): 31-37 Rinwa R S, Gupta S C, Mundra M C and Singh B P (2003). Impact on production of predominant cropping systems with different inputs management in Haryana. Crop Res 25(3): 468-471 Sharma S K, Rana S S, Subehia S K, Negi S C and Sharma Sanjay (2011). Impact of improved practices in comparison with farmers practice on the productivity of maize-wheat system in rainfed areas of sub-montane low hills of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal J Agri Res 37(2):157-164 Received on 21-08-2013 Accepted on 10-11-2013

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Quality Evaluation of Blended Rice bran and Mustard oil

Monika Choudhary* and Kiran Grover Department of Food and Nutrition Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141 004 (Punjab)
ABSTRACT Rice bran oil (RBO) is nutritionally superior non-conventional vegetable oil and mustard oil (MO) is traditional oil widely used in domestic cooking in rural India. So, the present study was designed to develop a healthier and stable blend of RBO and MO. Therefore, RBO was blended with MO in two ratios i.e. 80:20 and 70:30. These blends were analyzed for fatty acid composition, physiochemical properties, oxidative stability, and antioxidant activity. Consequently, RBO+MO in the ratio of 80:20 contained 16.9 percent SFA, 32.9 percent MUFA and 50.8 percent PUFA whereas the percentage of SFA, MUFA and PUFA present in RBO+MO (70:30) was 15.2, 25.6 and 59.2 respectively. RBO+MO in the ratio of 70:30 showed adequate smoke point (188C), frying temperature (180C) and had low acid value (0.28 mg KOH/g) and saponification value (224.0 mg KOH/g) as well as a low percentage of free fatty acids (0.14%). In terms of oxidative stability and antioxidant activity, RBO+MO (70:30) showed least percent increase (33.9 %) in peroxide formation after 28 days of incubation period and also had highest radical scavenging activity (57.5 %) whereas the highest content of total natural antioxidants (2291.3 mg/kg) was present in RBO+MO (80:20). A significant (pd0.05) difference was found in all the quality parameters of vegetable oils and it was concluded that RBO+MO in the ratio of 70:30 was an ideal blend in terms of overall quality parameters. Key Words: Rice bran oil, Mustard oil, Fatty acid composition, Oxidative stability, Antioxidant activity. INTRODUCTION A good quality vegetable oil must be low in saturated fat, linolenic acid, and has good flavor, high oxidative stability and should be trans fat free (Venkattakumar and Padmaiah, 2010). Rice bran oil (RBO), a non-traditional vegetable oil meets these requirements due to its unique nutritional characteristics. RBO has high levels of phytosterols, gamma-oryzanol, tocotrienols as well as tocopherols and it extends the shelf - life of snack foods (Ramesh and Murughan, 2008). As India imports considerable quantity of edible oil, use of domestic rice bran oil can help in import substitution, thus saving valuable foreign exchange. However, proper promotion of this nontraditional oil as health oil, remains the most important factor in increasing its acceptability as
*

a cooking oil among the masses. Mustard is the second most important edible oilseed sharing 27.8 per cent in the Indias oilseed economy. In India, 82 per cent of rural consumers use mustard oil (MO) as their staple edible oil, with monthly consumption varying between 2-4 liters per family. The Indian cultivars of mustard, due to high content of erucic acid and glucosinolates, have limited preference in international market. Though the nutritional advantages of mustard oil available in India outdo many other edible oils (lowest amount of harmful saturated fatty acids, and contains two essential fatty acids linoleic and linolenic), the presence of erucic acid and glucosinolates are considered to be undesirable. Hence, blending can be a feasible technique to reduce the amount of erucic acid.

Corresponding Authors Email: moni0986@gmail.com

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45

Choudhary and Grover Both rice bran oil and mustard oil are less expensive edible oils and RBO has also been scientifically proved best for blending. Hence, the present work was designed to develop a stable and healthier blend of a non-traditional (RBO) and traditional (MO) at reduced cost. MATERIALS AND METHODS Refined rice bran oil (RBO) and mustard oil (MO) were purchased from local market. All the analytical and gas chromatography grade chemicals and solvents used were supplied by Himedia (Mumbai, India). Preparation of blends A 100 ml mixture of RBO and MO was placed in duplicate in 250-ml beakers and was mixed by using a mechanical stirrer at 180 rpm for 15 min to prepare blends of RBO and MO. The blend was prepared in two ratios i.e., 80:20 and 70:30 (Bhatnagar et al, 2009). These blends were analyzed for physiochemical properties, fatty acid composition, oxidative stability, natural antioxidants and radical scavenging activity. Fatty acid composition by gas chromatography (GC): Oil samples were analysed for their fatty acid composition by gas chromatography using fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) preparation (Appleqvist, 1968). FAMEs were analysed on a gas chromatograph (Varian CP 3800, USA), equipped with a flame ionization detector (FID) and a fused silica capillary column (50 m x 0.25 mm i.d.), coated with CP-SIL 88 as the stationary phase. The oven temperature was programmed at 200 C for 13 min. The injector and FID were at 250 C. A reference standard FAME mix (Supelco Inc.) was analyzed under the same operating conditions to determine the peak identity. The FAMEs were expressed as relative area percentage. Physicochemical properties: Smoke point and frying temperature were determined according to the AOCS Method Cc 9a-48 (1990). Viscosity of vegetable oil was recorded with the help of viscometer (Patent no: 688/del/85). Peroxide value, iodine value, saponification value, acid value and free fatty acids of the vegetable oils were determined by using AOAC (2000) methods. Oxidative stability: Samples were placed in
46

beakers (50- ml) capacity and incubated at 37C and 55 per cent RH in a lab incubator to study the oxidative stability of the blends over a period of 4 weeks (28 days). Samples were withdrawn at weekly intervals and analysed for their peroxide value (PV). The PV is a titration measure of all peroxides and lipid oxidation products that will oxidize the potassium iodide under operating conditions. Five grams of the oil sample was poured into a 250 ml flask. Thirty millilitres of glacial acetic acid/chloroform (3:2, v/v) solutions were added and stirred. A stopper was inserted and the flask was shaken for 1 min and left for 5 min in the dark at 1525 oC. Thirty millilitres of distilled water was added, and the librated iodine was titrated with 0.01 N Na2S2O3, using starch as indicator. The PV was calculated following the AOCS (2003) method. Antioxidant activity: To analyze antioxidant activity of blend, natural antioxidants (oryzanol, -tocopherol equivalent) and radical scavenging activity (RSA) towards DPPH radicals were determined. Natural antioxidants: The alpha tocopherol equivalent was determined by Emmerie Engel assay modified by Baker and Frank (1988). Three stoppered centrifuge tubes were taken and labelled as standard, sample, and blank. To these labelled tubes, 0.5 ml of DL- - Tocopherol acetate (standard), 0.5 ml of blended oil (sample ) and 0.5 ml of distilled water ( blank ) were added respectively. In each centrifuge tube, 0.5ml of ethanol and 0.5ml of xylene were added. All the three stoppered centrifuge tubes were mixed and centrifuged for 15min. In other three clean stoppered tubes, 0.5ml of each xylene layer was transferred. To this 0.5ml of dipyridyl reagent was added and 0.5 ml of this mixture was pipetted into spectrophotometer cuvettes (Systronics UV-VIS108, Bangalore, India) and the absorbance of sample and standard against the blank was read at 460 nm. To the blank, standard and sample, 0.33 ml of ferric chloride reagent was added and mixed for 30 seconds. After 1.5 minutes of the addition, zero setting was done at 520 nm and absorbance of the sample and standard against the blank was read. The alpha tocopherol equivalent was calculated by using this formula:

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Ealuation of blended rice bran and mustard oil Alpha tocopherol equivalent (mg%) = [alpha tocopherol in standard (mg %) x {sample OD520 (0.29 x sample OD460)}/standard OD520] Oryzanol content of blended oil was determined by a spectrophotometric method (Gopal et. al. 2006) by dissolving 0.01 ml of the sample in 10 ml of hexane and reading the absorbance at 314 nm in a 1-cm cell (Systronics UV-VIS-108 spectrophotometer, Bangalore, India). The oryzanol content was calculated by using the formula: [(A/W) X (100/358.9)] Where A is the absorbance of the sample, W is the weight of the sample in gram/100 ml, 358.9 is specific extinction coefficient for oryzanol. Radical Scavenging Activity (RSA) toward DPPH Radicals: DPPH radical scavenging activity was measured using the method described by Erasto et al (2007) and Miraliakbari and Shahidi (2008). This assay is based on the determination of the concentration of 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methanolic solution, after adding the antioxidants. DPPH concentration is reduced by the existence of an antioxidant at 515 nm and the absorption gradually disappears with time. A 0.1 mM methanolic solution of DPPH was prepared. The oil samples (1 ml after tenfold dilution) were placed in test tubes and a 2-ml aliquot of DPPH methanolic solution was added and the mixture was vortexed for 20 s at ambient temperature. Against a blank of pure methanol without DPPH, the decrease in absorption at 515 nm was measured in 1-cm quartz cells after 1, 30, and 60 min of mixing, using a spectrophotometer (Systronics UV-VIS-108, Bangalore, India). RSA toward DPPH radicals was estimated from the differences in absorbance of methanolic DPPH solution with or without sample (control) and the inhibition percent was calculated using the following equation: % inhibition = [(absorbance of control absorbance of test sample)/absorbance of control] X 100 Statistical analysis: All the determinations were carried out in triplicate and the results were expressed as mean standard error. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and their statistical significance (pd0.05) was ascertained using a computer programme package (CPCS1). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Fatty acid composition Fatty acid composition of RBO and its blends is given in Table 1. The total amount of SFA, MUFA and PUFA present in RBO was 15.4, 38.0 and 46.6 percent respectively. RBO+MO in the ratio of 80:20 contained 16.9 percent SFA, 32.9 percent MUFA and 50.8 percent PUFA whereas percentage of SFA, MUFA and PUFA present in RBO+MO (70:30) was 15.2, 25.6 and 59.2 respectively. Oleic content of RBO+MO (32.3 %) in the ratio of 80:20 was higher than RBO+MO (25.6%) in the ratio of 70:30. The percentage of oleic acid in both ratios was lower than RBO (38.0%). Oleic acid had been described to reduce the cardiovascular risk by reducing blood lipids, mainly cholesterol (Lopez-Huertas, 2010). The amount of linoleic acid in RBO+MO (45.2%) in the ratio of 70:30 was higher than RBO+MO (39.1%) in the ratio of 80:20 but the percentage of linoleic acid in both ratios was lower than RBO (46.6%). A significant (pd0.05) difference was found in MUFA and PUFA content of vegetable oils. The World Health Organization (2008) has recommended the fatty acid ratio of vegetable oil to be 1:1.5:1. The results showed that blending changed the fatty acid ratio of RBO i.e. 1:2.5:3 to 1:1.9:3 (80:20) and 1:1.7:3.9 (70:30) in the blend RBO+MO. Physical properties The data on physical properties of RBO and its blends are given in Table 2. The smoke point is the temperature at which a fat or oil produces a continuous wisp of smoke when heated. Results showed that smoke point of RBO was 242C whereas RBO+MO showed lower value of smoke point i.e. 200C and 188C in the ratio of 80:20 and 70:30 respectively. This does not meet the standard requirement for frying oils which should have a smoke point above 200C (AOCS, 2003). But according to the opinion of the Working Group of Regional Food Chemistry Experts and the German Federal Public Health Department of 1991, the smoke point of a cooking oil must be at least 170 C and must not differ from the
47

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Choudhary and Grover temperature of the fresh oil by more than 50 C so that the oil can still be classified as usable. Frying temperature of RBO was observed to be 174C whereas this value was higher for RBO+MO (70:30) i.e. 180C. Frying temperature of RBO+MO in the ratio of 80:20 was 177C. A significant (pd0.05) difference was observed in frying temperature of vegetable oils but still the frying temperature was within the range (150190C) suggested by Choe and Min (2007). With respect to viscosity, RBO had the highest (40 CST) value followed by RBO+MO (38 CST) in the ratio of 80:20 and RBO+MO (37 CST) in the ratio of 70:30 respectively. Chemical properties The data on chemical properties of RBO and its blends are given in Table 2. Peroxide value is a useful indicator of the early stages of rancidity occurring under mild condition and it is a measure of the primary lipid oxidation products. So, greater the peroxide value, the more will be the rate of oxidation in the oil (Atinafu and Bedemo, 2011). It was found that RBO had lowest peroxide value i.e., 0.62 meq /Kg whereas RBO+MO in the ratio of 80:20 and 70:30 had higher peroxide values i.e., 1.33 and 1.73 meq /Kg respectively. Still the peroxide values of blended oils were in agreement with the maximum Codex standard peroxide value (10 meq O2/Kg) for vegetable oil deterioration. Iodine value is an index of the unsaturation, which is the most important analytical characteristic of oil (Otunola et al, 2009). Iodine value of RBO+MO in the ratio of 80:20 and 70:30 was recorded to be 114.7 g and 115.1 g respectively which were higher than the iodine value of single oil i.e. 102.0 g (RBO). The greater the degree of unsaturation (or high IV), the more rapid the oil tends to be oxidized, particularly during deep-fat frying (Alireza et al, 2010). Although the highest iodine value was observed in RBO+MO, the protective role of the natural antioxidants induced by the presence of rice bran oil (i.e., oryzanol, alpha-tocopherol equivalent) resulted in a lower value of iodine value (Gopal et al, 2005). Acid value is a measure of the free fatty acids in oil. Acceptable levels for all oil samples should be below 0.6 mg KOH/g (measured in potassium hydroxide per gram) (AOCS, 2003). Acid value
48

of RBO+MO in the ratio of 80:20 and 70:30 was recorded to be 0.37 and 0.28 mg KOH/g respectively whereas the acid value of RBO was 0.42 mg KOH/g. Free fatty acids occur in fats as a result of enzymatic hydrolysis by lipases, metal ions acting as free radicals or at an elevation of temperature (Gulla and Waghray, 2011). The percentage of free fatty acids was found to be highest in RBO+MO (80:20) i.e. 0.19. The percentage of free fatty acids in the RBO was lower than percentage of free fatty acids present in RBO+MO (80:20) and RBO+MO (70:30). Saponification value is an indication of the molecular weights of triglycerides in oil (Muhammad et al, 2011). The highest saponification value was found in RBO+MO (80:20) i.e. 285.6 mg KOH/g as compared to the other oils. Similar findings were reported by Nasirullah et al, (2012). There was significant difference (p<0.05) among the vegetable oils in terms of chemical properties. Oxidative stability Oxidative stability of oil can be improved by modification of fatty acid composition and addition of antioxidants to the oil. The oxidative stability of single and blended oils is given in Table - 3. A significant (pd0.05) difference was found in peroxide value of all vegetable oils after 28 days. It was observed that peroxide formation in RBO increased by 52.2 percent whereas RBO+MO in the ratio of 80:20 and 70:30 showed increase in peroxide formation by 39.3 and 33.9 percent respectively after 28 days. So, blends in both ratios showed least percent increase in peroxide formation as compared to single oil. Highest percent increase in peroxide formation in RBO could be due to presence of PUFA as given in Table 1. Recent studies reported that oxidative stability was inversely proportional to PUFA content of vegetable oil (Bhatnagar et al, 2009). There was a significant (pd0.05) steady increase in PV of rice bran oil blends, but this increase was seen to be the least. The nutritional contribution of the three minor components of tocopherol, tocotrienols and -oryzanol in rice bran oil blends may have conferred this greater oxidative stability (Gulla and Waghray, 2011).

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Ealuation of blended rice bran and mustard oil Antioxidant activity The term total natural antioxidants collectively refers to total alpha tocopherol equivalent and oryzanol content in vegetable oils. Results showed that the amount of total natural antioxidants present in RBO, RBO+MO (80:20) and RBO+MO (70:30) was 2968.3, 2459.6 and 2449.3 mg/kg respectively (Table 4). By comparing both ratios, it was found that RBO+MO in the ratio of 70:30 had highest (57.5%) RSA towards DPPH radicals (Fig. 1). This could be due to the presence of natural antioxidants i.e. oryzanol (2272.7 mg/Kg) and alpha tocopherol equivalent (176.6 mg/Kg). In vegetable oils alpha-tocopherol inhibits the effects of singlet oxygen during sensitized photoxidation (Min and Boff, 2002). Scientific studies reported that higher the alpha tocopherol and oryzanol content, the higher the DPPH scavenging activity would be (Malik et al, 2011; Vorarat et al, 2010). Interestingly, RSA towards DPPH radicals was found on the higher side in the ratio of 70:30 whereas the amount of total natural antioxidants was more in the ratio of 80:20. A significant (pd0.05) difference was found in RSA of all vegetable oils. CONCLUSION By comparing both ratios, it was found that fatty acid ratio of RBO+MO (70:30) i.e. 1:1.7:3.9 were close to the recommendations given by WHO. In terms of physicochemical properties RBO+MO in the ratio of 70:30 showed adequate smoke point (188C), frying temperature (180C) and had low acid value (0.28 mg KOH/g) and saponification value (224.0 mg KOH/g) as well as low percentage of free fatty acids (0.14%). In terms of oxidative stability and antioxidant activity, RBO+MO (70:30) showed least percent increase (33.9 %) in peroxide formation after 28 days of incubation period and also had highest radical scavenging activity (57.5 %) whereas the highest content of total natural antioxidants (2291.3 mg/ kg) was present in RBO+MO (80:20). Hence, the present study revealed that blending of nontraditional oil (RBO) with traditional oil (MO) in the ratio of 70:30 to obtain stable and healthier blended oil can be done as it also reduces the demand and cost of traditional oils. REFERENCES
Alireza S, Tan C P, Hamed M and Che Man Y B (2010). Effect of frying process on fatty acid composition and iodine value of selected vegetable oils and their blends. Int Food Res J 17: 295-302. AOAC (2000). Oils and Fats. In Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International. (Ed. William, H), AOAC International, Maryland, USA. Pp: 1-69. AOCS (1990). Official Methods and Recommended Practices of the American Oil Chemists Society. AOCS Press, Champaign, Illinois. AOCS (2003). Sampling and Analysis of Commercial Fats and Oils. AOCS Official Method Cd 8-53 Surplus Peroxide Value Acetic AcidChloroform Method Definition, New York, USA, AOCS Cold Spring Harbour. Appleqvist L (1968). Rapid methods of lipid extraction and fatty acid ester preparation for seed and leaf tissue with special remarks on preventing the accumulation of lipid contaminants. Ark. Kenci. 28: 351-370. Atinafu D G and Bedemo B (2011). Estimation of total free fatty acid and cholesterol content in some commercial edible oils in Ethiopia, Bahir DAR. J Cereals Oilseeds 2: 71-76. Baker H and Frank O (1988). Determination of serum hysicrol. In: Varleys Practical clinical Biochemistry. (Ed. Gowenlock, AH), 902. Bhatnagar S A, Kumar K P, Hemavathy J and Krishna G A (2009). Fatty acid composition, oxidative stability and radical scavenging activity of vegetable oil blends with coconut oil. J Amer Oil Chem Soc 86: 991-999. Choe E and Min D B (2007). Chemistry of deep-fat frying oils. J Food Sci 72: 77-86. Erasto P, Grierson D S and Afolayan A J (2007). Evaluation of antioxidant activity and the fatty acid profile of the leaves of Vernonia amygdalina growing in South Africa. Food Chem 104: 63642. Gopal K A G, Hemakumar K H and Khatoon S (2006). Study on the composition of rice bran oil and its higher free fatty acis value. J Amer Oil Chem Soc 83: 117-20. Gopal K A G, Khatoon S and Babylatha R (2005). Frying performance of processed rice bran oils. J Food Lipids 12: 111. Gulla S and Waghray K (2011). Effect of storage on physicchemical characteristics and fatty acid composition of selected oil blends. J Life Sci 3: 35-46. Lopez-Huertas E (2010. Health effects of oleic acid and long chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) enriched milks. A review of intervention studies. Pharmacol Res 61: 200-7. Malik A, Kushnoor A and Saini V (2011). In vitro antioxidant properties of Scopoletin. J. Chem Pharma Res 3: 659-665. Min D B and Boff J M (2002). Chemistry and Reaction of Singlet Oxygen in Foods. Compr Rev Food Sci F 1: 58-72. Miraliakbari H and Shahidi F (2008). Antioxidant activity of minor components of tree nut oils. Food Chem. 111: 421427.

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Choudhary and Grover

Muhammad N, Bamishaiye E, Bamishaiye O, Usman L, Salawu M, Nafiu M. and Oloyede O (2011). Physicochemical properties and fatty acid composition of cyperus esculentus (Tiger Nut) Tuber Oil. Biores Bull 5: 51-54. Nasirullah Ankaiah K N, Krishnamurthy M N, Nagaraja K V (2011). Quality characteristics of edible vegetable oil blends. J Amer Oil Chem Soc 68: 446-447. Otunola A G, Adebayo G B and Olufemi O G (2009). Evaluation of some physicochemical parameters of selected brands of vegetable oils sold in Ilorin metropolis. Intl J Phys Sci 4: 327329. Table 1. Fatty acid composition of vegetable oils. Ramesh P and Murughan M (2008). Edible oil consumption in India. Asia and Middle East Food Trade J 3: 8-9. Venkattakumar R and Padmaiah M (2010). Adoption Behaviour of Oilseed Growers in India. Indian Res J Ext Edu 10: 75-83. Vorarat S, Managit C, Iamthanakul L, Soparat W and Kamkaen N (2010). Examination of antioxidant activity and development of rice bran oil and gamma- Oryzanol microemulsion. J Health Res 24: 67-72. WHO (2008). Interim Summary of Conclusions and Dietary Recommendations on Total Fat & Fatty Acids. The Joint FAO/ WHO Expert Consultation on Fats and Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition, WHO, Geneva. Pp: 1-14.

Fatty acid (%) Palmitic acid (C16:0) Stearic acid (C18:0) Oleic acid (C18:1) Linoleic acid (C18:2) Linolenic acid (C18:3) Arachidic acid (C20:0) SFA % MUFA % PUFA % SFA:MUFA:PUFA

RBO(100%) 14.50.8 0.90.3 38.01.3 46.61.0 ND ND 15.41.0 38.01.3 46.61.0 1:2.5:3.0

RBO+MO(80:20) 16.40.6 0.50.2 32.30.6 39.11.2 8.60.4 3.10.3 16.90.4 32.30.6 50.81.1 1:1.9:3.0

RBO+MO(70:30) 14.90.9 0.30.1 25.60.8 45.20.3 9.80.9 4.20.9 15.20.8 25.60.8 59.20.3 1:1.7:3.9

CD% NS NS 2.7 2.1 NS 2.5 2.2 -

Values are expressed as mean SE,%= Significant 5% , ND- Not detected, NS-Non significant, RBO rice bran oil, MO Mustard oil

Table 2. Physicochemical properties of vegetable oils.

Physical Properties Smoke point (C) Frying temperature (C) Viscosity (CST) Chemical Properties Peroxide value (meq/Kg) Iodine value (g) Acid value (mg KOH/g) Free fatty acids (%) Saponification value (mg KOH/g)

RBO(100%) 2420.0 1740.3 400.1 RBO(100%) 0.620.1 1020.1 0.240.1 0.120.1 199.70.9

RBO+MO(80:20) 2000.3 1770.2 380.3 RBO+MO(80:20) 1.330.1 114.70.1 0.370.1 0.190.0 285.60.0

RBO+MO(70:30) 1880.6 1800.2 370.3 RBO+MO(70:30) 1.730.1 115.10.1 0.280.0 0.140.0 224.00.0

CD% 0.5 0.4 NS CD% 2.2 1.5 0.8 0.3 0.2

Values are expressed as mean SE,% = Significant 5% , NS-Non significant, RBO rice bran oil, MO Mustard oil

Table 3. Peroxide values (meq/Kg) of vegetable oils for oxidative stability after weekly interval.

Sample RBO (100%) RBO+MO (80:20) RBO+MO (70:30) CD% Sample RBO (100%) RBO+MO (80:20) RBO+MO (70:30) 50

Peroxide value 0 7 days 14 days 0.620.07 0.720.07 0.980.10 1.330.12 1.520.07 2.090.26 1.730.09 1.930.07 2.530.28 2.8 NS NS Percent increase in peroxide value 7 days 14 days 21 days 13.9 26.5 36.8 12.3 27.3 32.4 10.3 23.7 29.4

21 days 1.551.85 3.090.26 3.590.09 0.9 28 days 52.2 39.3 33.9

28 days 3.240.22 5.090.47 5.430.33 2.3

Values are expressed as mean SE,% = Significant 5% , NS-Non significant, RBO rice bran oil, MO Mustard oil

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Table 4. Total natural antioxidants and DPPH radical scavenging activity of vegetable oils.

Sample RBO (100%) RBO+MO (80:20) RBO+MO (70:30) CD%

Oryzanol (mg/kg) 2803.01.8 2291.31.9 2272.71.2 1.4

Alpha tocopherol equivalent (mg/kg) 165.31.1 168.30.3 176.60.2 0.5

Total natural antioxidants (mg/kg) 2968.31.9 2459.61.4 2449.31.3 0.9

Values are expressed as mean SE,% = Significant 5% , NS-Non significant, RBO rice bran oil, MO Mustard oil

Fig. 1. DPPH radical scavenging activity of vegetable oils. CD value between time intervals (0, 30, 60 minutes) - 0.5 (pde0.05), CD value between vegetable oils- 0.3 (pde0.05)
Received on 14-07-2013 Accepted on 15-11-2013

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Relationship Between Buffering Capacity and Chemical Composition of Poultry Feedstuffs

Anuradha Yadav, Parminder Singh* and S S Sikka Department of Animal Nutrition, College of Veterinary Science Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana -141 004 (Punjab)
ABSTRACT Five samples each of maize, deoiled rice bran, rice polish, wheat bran, soybean meal, limestone and dicalcium phosphate were collected from various sources and their proximate analysis was done. Each sample was grinded and suspended in distilled water and shaken with magnetic stirrer. The pH was recorded using a magnetic stirrer and the amount of 0.1 M HCl required to reduce the pH of the sample to 5 was measured as its B-value. pH and B-value were compared with the crude protein and ash content of the sample. The results showed that ingredients with high protein content had high B-value. B-value for lime stone and dicalcium phosphate were the highest. Knowing the B-value of the ingredients the B-value of the diet can be calculated. Key words: pH, Buffering capacity, feeds, feed stuffs INTRODUCTION The concept of manipulating stomach acidity by adding acid to feeds or using feeds of low acidbinding or buffering capacity has been around for a long time and addition of organic acids to broiler feeds is a common practice. However, there is little information on the buffering capacity (B-value) of ingredients that are used in formulation of complete feeds. Buffer action of any solution is its capacity to resist change in its pH when acid or alkaline solution is added to it. Buffering capacity is the amount of 0.1 M HCl required to reach a pH of 5( Bolduan et al,1988). Poultry diets usually have high alkalinity characteristics .Vegetable proteins and calcium carbonate in feeds have a strong buffer. The use of diets characterized by such a high buffer capacity can compromise the intestine capability to keep an acidity level that can support growth and in some cases, maintain beneficial intestinal micro flora. Many harmful bacterial species have growth around pH 7, whereas useful bacterial species such as Lactobacillus and Enterococcus have their best growth at pH around 6. Poultry intestinal tract acidification allows modulation of the intestinal bacterial flora in a positive and natural
*Corresponding Authors Email : pschawla@sify.com

way and, at the same time, it works against the multiplication of that bacterial flora that besides being harmful and dangerous for the animal health can represent a problem of legal nature connected to the feed stuffs health. In proventriculus, gastric juice is secreted. This lowers pH in between 2.0 to 4.0. A low gastric pH is important to activate pepsin from pepsinogen, which digests protein. Fermentation of undigested protein by microbes leads to formation of toxic biogenic amines. Low gastric pH controls bacterial population. In the acid environment, pathogenic bacteria such as E.coli and Klebsiella species as well as bacteroids diminish. Beneficial bacteria, such as Bifido and Lactobacilli species are more tolerant towards low pH values. In young animals, capacity to secrete gastric juice is limited. High B-value may pose problems of multiplication of pathogenic bacteria. The recommended B-value for poultry is about 1-10 for first 10 days of age and 10-20 for 11-30 days age (Makknick, 2001). It may not be possible to reduce B-value of feed sufficient low. Keeping in view the present study was undertaken to measure the Buffering capacity of feeds commonly fed to poultry.

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Yadav et al MATERIALS AND METHODS Five samples each of maize, deoiled rice bran, rice polish, wheat bran and soybean meal were collected and analysed for proximate principles (AOAC, 1990). pH of each sample was measured by suspending 10 g of fully grinded feed ingredient in 100 ml of distilled and deionised water and stirred continuously with a magnetic stirrer. Digital pH meter was used for recording the pH. Initial pH of the feed sample was recorded and then titration was done using 0.1M HCl till the pH of 5 obtained. Initial pH and all further readings were taken after equilibrium of 3 minutes. B-value of each sample was calculated as the amount of 0.1 M HCl required for lowering the pH of a feed to a pH of 5. Feed and ingredients with a pH less than 5 were titrated as above but against 0.1 M NaOH until pH 5 was obtained. Bvalues in these cases were given negative values. The data of proximate principles, ph and B-values was subjected to statistical analysis (Snedecor and Cocharan, 1989). Mean differences were compared by using Duncan Multiple Test (Duncan, 1955). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION After procurement of 5 samples each of maize, deoiled rice bran, rice polish, wheat bran, dicalcium phosphate and limestone, all of them were analysed by the standard methods of AOAC (1990). pH and B value of the samples were studied simultaneously to know that they are correlated or not. By knowing the B-value of ingredients B-value of the diet can be formulated. Variation in the proximate composition In maize, all the proximate parameters differed significantly (P<0.05) with different samples. The average protein value of maize was 9.260.26 with pH of 6.940.02 and B-value of 2.950.53. The dry matter of deoiled rice bran varied significantly (P<0.05) with in samples but the crude protein content did not differ significantly. The crude fibre of sample 1 (13.87%) was more than all other samples but the ether extract was significantly less (Pd0.05).The pH value of all the samples had a mean range of 5.47 to 5.60 but differed significantly(Pd0.05) from each other. Similarly, the B-value of rice polish ranged between 5.55 for sample 1 and 5.85 for sample 2 which also differed significantly (Pd0.05) from each other. The data regarding wheat bran indicated that crude protein, crude fiber, ether extract, total ash, pH and B-values of samples showed wide variation and differed significantly (Pd0.05) among themselves. In soybean meal, crude protein , pH and B-values differed significantly (Pd0.05) from sample to sample. pH and B-value of various samples of DCP and limestone powder differed significantly (Pd0.05) from each other. The data indicated that the average pH and B-value of DCP was less than the limestone powder. Correlation of pH and B-values with crude protein and ash contents Crude protein and B-value of all the feed ingredients had significant correlation. The highest correlation was obtained for soybean followed by maize and wheat bran (Table 3). The pH and crude protein for maize and wheat bran had significant correlation of 0.65. Crude protein and pH for soybean meal had non significant relationship between them. Ash and pH showed a correlation of -0.85 for soybean meal. Correlation Coefficient between ash and pH of rice polish was though positive but non significant (0.46), with ash and B-value the correlation was negative (0.17). Crude protein and B-value erere significantly correlated (0.64). Crude protein and pH did not gave positive correlation (0.34) Initial pH and B-value for the various feed ingredients were similar to that obtained by Riverdin (2002) and Jasitis et al (1987). Cereals had lower pH as compared to the legumes and minerals had alkaline pH (Bolduan, 1988). Ash had basic effect, some ingredients showed positive correlation between ash and B-value but the results were non consistent for all ingredients. Among all the proximate parameters crude protein was the best predictor of the pH and Bvalue which means ingredients with high protein content (pulses) have high pH and B-value as compared to the cereals. Protein content best explained the variation in B-value of feedstuffs was also found by Riverdin (2002). A higher crude protein content generally increased the pH and B-value of the feed due to the buffering ability of the amino groups. The
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Buffering capacity and chemical composition of poultry feedstuffs

Table 1. Percent chemical composition and B-value of feed ingredients.

Parameter Dry matter Crude protein Crude fiber Ether extract Ash pH B-value

Maize 88.640.36 9.260.26 2.320.08 3.800.20 1.900.14 6.940.02 2.930.53

Deoiled Rice bran 91.030.21 12.960.20 13.010.32 1.210.10 3.410.01 5.560.03 5.660.02

Rice Polish 90.070.22 13.190.24 8.760.46 3.600.18 1.610.01 6.630.01 14.260.01

Soybean Meal 89.980.08 45.670.92 5.670.89 1.890.67 6.120.34 6.790.91 22.000.81

Wheat Bran 89.160.36 16.160.25 11.200.14 4.030.09 5.740.18 6.750.01 11.280.04

Table 2. pH and B-value of dicalcium phosphate and lime stone powder.

Sample 1 2 3 4 5 Average

Dicalcium Phosphate pH B-value 7.10.02a 242.01a 7.23.04b 241.01a 7.24 .01b 245.07b 7.31.09c 243.01a 7.25.03b 240.02a 7.280.91 2400.79

Lime stone powder pH B-value 9.28.01a 1710.00a 9.48.01c 1720.03a 9.52.02d 1725.01b 9.42.01b 1730.02d 9.40.01b 1728.01d 9.380.02 17201.02

Means with different superscripts in a row differ significantly at (P<0.05)

Table 3. Correlation of pH and B-values with crude protein and ash content of different ingredients. Ingredient pH B-value Crude protein Ash Crude protein Maize 0 .65* -0.50 0.88* Deoiled rice bran 0.45 -0.39 0.67* Rice polish 0.34 0.46 0.64* Soybean 0.38 -0.85 0.97* Wheat bran 0.65 -05.02 0.88*
*Shows significant correlation

Ash -0.39 0.34 -0.17 -0.48 -0.396

amount of fiber also contributes to feed B-value (Burney et al, 1983). This applies to the byproducts of the cereals like wheat bran and rice polish. The higher B-value of these feeds as compared with other energy feeds, was in part due to their high fiber content. The B-value of individual mineral additives depended on whether the sample was a carbonate or phosphate compound and also whether it was monobasic, dibasic or tribasic. The carbonates and dibasic or tribasic mineral additives were generally found to have higher B-value than phosphates or the more acid mineral additives. CONCLUSION The present study revealed that cereals had lower pH as compared to the legumes and minerals had alkaline pH. The cereals by products have higher B-values due to the increased fibre content. Protein, among all the proximate parameters is the best indicator of B-value. Minerals also show high
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B-values. If the B-values of ingredients are known the B-value of the diet can be formulated favouring proper digestion and growth performance. REFERENCES
AOAC (1990). Official methods of analysis. 12thedn. Bottom of Form Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Washington, DC. Bolduan G, Jung H, Schnabel E and Schneider R (1988). Recent advances in the nutrition of weaner pigs. Pig News and Information. 9: 381-85. Burney M I, Van Soest P J and Chase L E (1983). Cation exchange capacity and buffering capacity of neutral-detergent fibers. J Sci Food Agri 34: 910. Duncan D B (1955). Multiple ranges and multiple E test. Biometric. 11: 1-42 Jasitis D K, Wohlt J E and Evans J L (1987). Influence of feed ion content on buffering capacity of ruminant feedstuffs in vitro. J Dairy Sci 70:13911403 Reverdin S (2002). Characterization of feedstuffs for ruminants using some physical parameters. Ani Feed Sci Tech 86:5369 Snedecor G W and Cocharan W G (1989). Statistical Methods 8th Ed. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa. Received on 12-11-2013 Accepted on 21-11-2013

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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 55-58

Soil Fertility Status of Rampur District of Uttar Pradesh

Ravindra Kumar, A.S.Rathi, Laxmikant, N.C. Tripathi and Pramod Kumar Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Rampur- 244 901(Uttar Pradesh)
ABSTRACT Within a soil, nutrient variability exists depending upon the hydrological properties of the soil and cropping system. In the present study 209 soil samples were collected from 21 gram panchayats and were analysed. The soil samples were collected from rice-wheat cropping sequence. Analysis of soil samples revealed that 82 per cent samples were medium in organic matter content, 100 per cent soil samples were deficient in available nitrogen, while 92 per cent P and 100 per cent K samples were in medium range respectively. Among the micronutrients tested copper and iron were in sufficient range while manganese and zinc were deficient in soil. Key Words: Soil fertility, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Organic matter, Micronutrients, Analysis INTRODUCTION The soil fertility is one of the important factors controlling yields of the crops. Soil characterization in relation to fertility status of soil of an area is an important aspect for sustainable agriculture production. Due to use of imbalanced and inadequate fertilizers, the response of chemical fertilizer has declined tremendously under intensive agriculture. Recent diagnostic survey indicates that in many areas, farmers use higher than recommended dose of fertilizers, especially nitrogenous fertilizer to maintain the crop productivity at optimum levels attained earlier. This is an indication of decline in factor productivity. Under irrigated ecosystem, nutrient replenishment through fertilizers and manures remain far below than the crop removal, thus causing the mining of native nutrient reserves. As a result, the deficiencies are so intense and severe that visual symptoms are often observed in major crops. The crop productivity is becoming stagnant and therefore in order to give a boost, use of balanced inorganic fertilizers, organic source of nutrients such as farm yard manure, compost, green manure, crop residue incorporation, use of industrial waste and bio-fertilizer has become inevitable. However, variation in the nutrients supply is a natural phenomenon and varies at
*Corresponding Authors Email : ravindradrsoil@rediffmail.com

different locations depending upon the hydrological properties of the soil and the cropping system followed in that area. Hence, different locations require different management practices to sustain crop productivity and for this, complete information about the nutrient status is important. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess the nutrient status of soils of Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh. MATERIALS AND METHODS The district Rampur is located between 7905' E and latitude 2848' N. It is surrounded by district Udham Singh Nagar in north, Bareilly in east, Moradabad in west and Badaun in south. The height from sea level is 190.2 m. in north and 166.4 m. in south. The study area covers Milak Tehsil of Rampur district. Soil samples of 0-15 cm depth were collected from 209 sites covering 21 gram panchayats. Collected soil samples were air dried under shade, crushed gently with a wooden roller and passed through 2.0 mm sieve to obtain a uniform representative sample. Samples were properly labeled with the aluminum tag and stored in polythene bags for analysis .The processed soil samples were analyzed by standard methods for pH and electrical conductivity (1:2 soil water suspensions), organic carbon (Walkley and Black, 1934), available nitrogen (Subbiah and

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Kumar et al Asija, 1956), available phosphorus (Olsen et al,1954), available potassium (Jackson, 1973) and available micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) after extracted by diethylene triamine penta acetic acid (DTPA) solution (0.005M) DTPA + 0.01M CaCl2 +0.1M triethanolamine, pH 7.3 as outlined by Lindsay and Norvell (1978). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The soil samples were collected from the villages where rice-wheat cropping system was followed. Farmers usually apply N @ 150-200 kg ha-1 along with P @ 40-50 kg ha-1 and K @ 40 kg ha-1. Zinc application in rice was done by all the farmers and compost application was done by 45 per cent of farmers, while green manuring was practiced by 12 per cent farmers and bio fertilizers use was not prevalent. 84 per cent of the farmers reported increase in fertilizers use to harvest same amount of crop. Chemical Properties It was observed that soil pH varied from 7.2 to 8.2 with an average of 7.8. According to classification of soil reaction, 23 samples were normal (7.2 to 7.3), 49 samples were mildly alkaline (pH 7.4 to 7.8) and 123 samples were moderately alkaline (7.9 to 8.2). The minimum value of pH 7.2 was observed in Durgapur and Maximum value of pH 8.2 was observed in Nangla Udai, Nipanya and Kamrudeen Nagar villages (Table 1). The relatively high pH of soils might be due to the presence of high degree of base saturation. The electrical conductivity of the soil varied from 0.190to 0.545dSm-1. Organic Matter Content The organic carbon content of the soil varied from 3.4 to 6.8 g kg-1 soil. The organic carbon content was low (<0.50%) in 1.8 %, medium (0.5 to 0.75%) in 82 % soil samples (Table1). High temperature and more tillage practice in the soil increases the rate of oxidation of organic matter resulting reduction of organic carbon content. Available N, P and K Content The available N content varied from 155.58 to 252.79 kg ha-1 with an average value of 220.09

Table 1: Soil properties (weighted mean) of Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Sr.No.

Name of village

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Duganpur Narkhera Naglaudai Nankar Pagamberpur Brijpur Sayeednagar Nipanya Jadopur Kamrudeen Nagar Shankarpur Niyamatnagar Maghhra Brijpur Maghhra Dhamora Haraiya Himmatganj Imratpur Kamora Daniyapur Mankara

No of samples collected 15 7 6 15 13 12 15 8 15 15 10 15 6 11 8 8 5 5 7 6 7 Mean

pH

EC (dSm-1) 0.357 0.376 0.388 0.215 0.366 0.416 0.436 0.241 0.290 0.396 0.340 0.339 0.421 0.455 0.292 0.190 0.257 0.424 0.374 0.545 0.440 0.359

OC (g kg-1) 5.6 5.4 6.8 5.2 6.4 5.3 6.3 5.5 6.6 6.6 4.8 4.5 3.4 6.5 5.5 5.7 6.2 5.1 6.3 5.4 4.6 5.6

Available N (kg ha-1) 190.46 217.92 252.79 207.76 245.34 216.16 240.42 221.09 232.60 247.88 207.21 189.80 155.58 248.36 223.25 222.90 234.45 209.15 243.07 213.54 202.17 220.09

Available Available P2O5 (kg ha-1) K2O (kg ha-1) 28.16 32.86 42.84 45.31 35.40 31.16 40.83 38.88 43.87 51.61 27.34 34.80 25.09 40.78 29.79 39.98 36.25 40.23 46.21 38.33 27.7 37.02 187.39 198.04 237.90 238.26 223.12 205.98 241.52 178.10 220.62 263.70 200.76 171.69 168.51 198.10 220.27 218.06 267.60 226.2 207.30 193.93 209.67 213.22

7.2 7.9 8.2 8.0 7.9 7.8 8.0 8.2 8.0 8.2 7.8 8.0 7.8 7.9 7.4 7.3 8.1 8.0 7.8 7.4 7.6 7.8

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Soil fertility status of Rampur district kg ha . All soil samples were found to be low (<250 N kg ha-1) in available N. Recommendation of 150 kg N/ha each to rice and wheat has been suggested to the farmers along with application of organic material and green manuring because most of the soil nitrogen is in organic form. The available P content varied from 25.09 to 51.61 P2 O5 kg ha-1 with a mean value of 37.02 P2O5 kg ha1 . Ninty two per cent soil samples were found to be in medium (20 to 50 P2O5 kg ha-1) and 8 per cent in high (>50 P 2 O 5 kg ha -1) category of available phosphorus. In soil more than 50 per cent of phosphorous is present in organic form, so maintenance of soil organic matter by application of organic materials has been suggested to farmers. The status of available K in the soil ranged from 168.5 to 267.6 K2O kg ha-1 with an average value of 213.2 K2O kg ha-1. All samples were medium (125 to 300 K2O kg ha-1) in K content (Table1). Micronutrients The DTPA extractable copper in the surface soil (0-15cm) of 21 gram panchayat varied from 0.265 to 2.422 mg kg-1 soil. All the observed values were well above the critical limit of 0.20
S.No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Name of village No of samples collected Duganpur 15 Narkhera 7 Naglaudai 6 Nankar 15 Pagamberpur 13 Brijpur 12 Sayeednagar 15 Nipanya 8 Jadopur 15 Kamrudeen Nagar 15 Shankarpur 10 Niyamatnagar 15 Maghhra Brijpur 6 Maghhra 11 Dhamora 8 Haraiya 8 Himmatganj 5 Imratpur 5 Kamora 7 Daniyapur 6 Mankara 7 Range
-1

mg kg-1. Iron content varied from 3.212 to 16.925 mg kg-1 and the critical limit for iron is 4.5 mg kg1 soil . The DTPA- extractable manganese in surface soil of 12 gram panchayat was found to be deficient in available manganese and varied from 1.701 to 8.351 mg kg-1 while the critical limit of available manganese in soil is 1.0 mg kg 1 .Hence application of Mn as manganese sulphate @ 5kg/ha as basal dose has been recommended to the farmers. The available Zn in surface soil (0-15 cm) ranged from 0.423 to 1.923mg kg-1 . According to critical limit 0.6 mg kg-1, all the surface soil samples with the exception of Sayeednagar, Dhamora and Daniyapur villages, were sufficient in available Zn content (Table 2). CONCLUSION The study of soil samples revealed that the soil of Milak Tehsil of Rampur District did not follow a particular pattern due to variation in management practices. Nutrient status regarding to the available macro and micro nutrient in surface soil indicated that soils are low in available nitrogen and medium in available phosphorus and potassium. Soils were deficient in micronutrient
Fe(mg kg-1) 16.925 10.783 8.536 13.645 6.155 6.235 8.572 3.212 4.810 5.639 8.211 4.839 7.620 3.739 11.269 6.383 4.035 4.544 5.619 4.985 10.592 3.212-16.925 Mn(mg kg-1) Zn(mg kg-1) 3.550 1.562 2.669 1.631 3.526 0.820 5.524 1.702 3.139 1.923 4.153 0.824 5.501 0.534 1.926 0.774 2.961 0.831 2.255 1.639 3.997 1.314 3.217 0.673 2.843 0.645 1.701 0.756 5.191 0.423 2.667 0.854 5.160 0.605 4.617 0.885 2.957 1.079 2.562 0.585 8.351 1.735 1.701-8.351 0.423-1.923 57

Table 2: DTPA- extractable micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) status of soil in district Rampur.

Cu(mg kg-1) 0.835 0.854 0.265 0.871 0.932 0.879 0.753 1.027 1.321 2.422 2.033 1.712 0.873 1.373 1.223 0.620 1.531 1.168 0.913 0.793 2.041 0.265-2.422

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Kumar et al such as zinc and manganese, normal to slightly alkaline in reaction and low to medium in organic carbon content. REFERENCES
Lindsay W L and Norvell W A (1978). Development of DTPA soil test for zinc, iron, manganese and coper. Soil Sci Soc Amer J 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. Subbiah B V and Asija G L (1956). A rapid procedure for the determination of available nitrogen in soil. Curr Sci 25: 259260. Walkley A J and Black I A (1934). Estimation of soil organic carbon by the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci 37: 2938. Received on 23-09-2013 Accepted on 13-11-2013

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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 59-63

Technological Problems and Training Needs of Dairy Farmers

Manoj Sharma*, Gurdeep Singh# and Madhu Shelly## Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kapurthala-144 620 (Punjab)
ABSTRACT A survey was conducted to assess the present status of dairying in Kapurthala district. For this, 3 blocks namely Kapurthala, Sultanpur and Dhilwan were selected. From each block, a cluster of 10 villages (10 dairy farmers from each Village) was selected. It was evident that majority of dairy farmers were either land less or small and medium. On the other hand only 8 per cent farmers who were possessing land more than 10 ha. kept dairy animals which show that large farmers gave more attention to crop production than the dairy farming. Similarly, it was observed that 44.5 and 48.8 per cent of population was keeping up to 5 and 15 animals, respectively. Only 4.3 per cent farmers possessed between 16 to 25 animals and a very small population (2.4%) was possessing more than 25 animals. This showed that very few farmers were practicing dairy business on commercial scale (2.4%) and majority of farmers (93.3%) were having up to 15 animals. Further, it was also noticed that dairy farmers (74.9%) were possessing cows with daily milk yield varying from 4 to 10 l./d and 85.8 per cent of farmers were keeping buffaloes with daily milk yield ranging between 2 to 8 l./d. Major problems of the small dairy farmers were cow dung management while for semi commercial and commercial farmers mastitis was the major problem. Training in the area of feed management was the top priority for domestic and semi commercial farmers. Key Words: Technological Problems, Training, Needs, Dairy farmers, INTRODUCTION In India, the extension efforts have been largely taken up by the state departments of agriculture and allied departments, state agricultural universities. Till date, 635 KVKs have been set up at district head quarters all over India for providing different services to the farmers, farm women and rural youth. Dairying is a secure path and future of our rural development and it can contribute substantially to farmers income (Gangasagare and Karanjkar, 2009) but in order to improve the economic condition of dairy farmers, it is of utmost importance to know their prevailing status which will help in identifying the major technological problems being faced by them in dairy farming. High milk production can be achieved by providing good health and comfortable environment. Similarly, balanced feed
#Assistant Professor (Ext. Education), KVK, Mansa; ##Assistant Professor (Animal Science), KVK, Mukatsar *Corresponding Authors Email: drmanojsh1@gmail.com

is also prerequisite for improved milk production (NRC, 1989). It has been noted that few dairy farmers are supplementing mineral mixture in compounded feed leading to mineral deficiency and thus low productivity and reproduction in dairy animals (Garg et al , 2000). Thus, it was imperative to know the current scenario of dairy farming in the district. In this context, a survey was conducted to assess the present status of dairy farmers with regard to land holding, type of animals kept, total milk produced and to understand major bottlenecks in expanding the dairy entrepreneurship. MATERIALS AND METHODS For assessing the current scenario of dairy farming in district Kapurthala three blocks namely Sultanpur, Kapurthala and Dhilwan were selected.

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Sharma et al From each block, a cluster of 10 villages were selected. Thus, a random sample of 300 dairy farmers was selected (10 dairy farmers from each village). The data were collected with the help of questionnaire through personnel interview. The data thus collected had been analysed by frequencies, percentages and ranking. Preparation of questionnaire A questionnaire was prepared to know the different levels of dairy farming, land holding of dairy farmers, milk production of cows and buffaloes, problems and training needs of dairy farmers. Based on the scale of dairy occupation farmers were classified into three categories. Categories of dairy farmers: Dairy farmers were categorized into three categories viz: domestic, semi commercial and commercial based on the number of kept by them and milk produced. Domestic : Farmers having dairy unit size of 5 animals or less to meet the milk need of family. Semi commercial : Having 6 to 25 number of dairy animals and selling surplus quantity of milk to supplement their farm income. Commercial : Farmers having more than 25 animals and dairying was main occupation were classified under this category. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Number of animals kept by dairy farmers In order to know technical problems in the dairy herd, it was necessary to know number of animals kept. It was found that 44.5 and 48.8 per cent farmers were keeping up to 5 and 15 animals, respectively. Only 4.3 per cent farmers possessed between 16 to 25 animals and a very small population (2.4%) was possessing more than 25 animals. The data showed that very few farmers were practicing dairy business on commercial scale and majority of farmers (93.3%) were having up to 15 animals. Since these farmers were keeping milch animals for meeting out their daily home consumption and not for commercial purpose. This may be one of the reasons that they were not making proper use of scientific information available with the research institutes. Further, it was found that 29.2 per cent had dairy for domestic purpose only. Almost seventy per cent (68.40 %) of farmers had semi commercial dairy farms and only 2.4 per cent of farmers had fully commercial dairy farms (Table 1).
Table 1. Classification of dairy farmers according to number of animals kept and scale of marketing.

Sr. No. Different categories of Farmers 1. Domestic 2. Semi commercial 3. Commercial

Per cent of Dairy farmers 29.20 68.40 02.40

Milk yield The data (Table 2) showed that 26.2, 25.2 and 23.5 per cent of dairy farmers were keeping cows yielding milk between 4 to 6 l./d, 6 to 8 l./d and 8 to 10 l./d, respectively. In addition to this, only 0.8% farmers were possessing cows yielding milk between 14 to18 l./d and 13.9 per cent farmers were with cows with a daily milk yield of 2 to 4 l./ d .It was thus evident that majority of dairy farmers (74.9%) were possessing cows with daily milk yield varying from 4 to 10 lt./d. Hence, there is a great scope in enhancing the milk yield in cross bred cows kept by 74.9 per cent farmers by educating them in scientific rearing of livestock. Regarding buffaloes, it was observed that 28.1, 33.3 and 24.4 per cent of farmers were keeping buffaloes yielding milk between 2 to 4 l., 4 to 6 l. and 6 to 8 l./d, respectively. Only about 9.0 per cent farmers were with buffaloes yielding milk between 8 to 10 l./d. Therefore, it can be seen that 85.8 per cent of farmers keeping buffaloes with daily milk yield ranging between 2 to 8 l/d (Table 3). Further, in spite of low milk yield obtained from buffaloes than cross bred cows, farmers of the area were keen to possess buffaloes. The main reasons for keeping buffaloes were higher milk fat content (>7.0%), comparative more hardiness, can thrive well on low grade roughages and easy to maintain than a cross bred cow. Hence, farmers were required to learn more about feed and feeding practices of the dairy animals besides disease prevention and housing management.

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Technological problems of dairy farmers

Table 2. Frequency of farmers keeping cows based on milk yield and number of animals.

Milk Yield (Lt) Upto2 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10 10-12 12-14 14-16 16-18 Up to 5 2 16 14 18 10 2 -

Number of cows 6-15 16-25 2 16 34 12 36 28 12 4 8 2 1 1 -

Per cent farmers Above 25 4 4 4 1.7 13.9 26.2 25.2 23.5 7.0 1.7 0.4 0.4

Table 3. Frequency of farmers keeping buffaloes based on milk yield and number of animals

Milk Yield (Lt) Upto2 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10 10-12 12-14 14-16 16-18 Up to 5 6 42 36 20 6 -

Number of buffaloes 6-15 16-25 2 34 46 4 38 8 16 4 2 -

Per cent farmers Above 25 4 2 03.0 28.1 33.3 24.4 08.9 01.6 00.7 -

Land holding of dairy farmers The data collected through questionnaire were used to classify dairy farmers into landless, marginal (<1 ha), small (1-2 ha), small (1-2 ha), semi medium (2-4 ha), medium (4-10 ha) and large (10 ha or more). It was observed that only 8.5 per cent farmers possessed more than 10 ha land whereas 18.3 per cent were landless, 6.1per cent marginal, 20.1 per cent small, 22.0 per cent semimedium, and 25.0 per cent medium (Table 4). From this observation it was evident that majority of dairy farmers were either land less or small and medium. On the other hand only 8 per cent farmers who were possessing land more than 10 ha kept dairy animals which show that large farmers gave more weightage to crop production than the dairy. The main reason could be labour intensive entrepreneur. Moreover, throughout the year, owner will have be there in the dairy unit otherwise there may be mortality among animals or reduced production. On the other hand, small and medium farmers can pay more attention to get more profit from animals as they possess small

holdings. The very interesting feature of this study was that 18.3per cent farmers were landless and still they were keeping animals. The probable reason is that they can produce and sell milk in order to earn their livelihood.
Table 4. Land holding of dairy farmers.

Land holding Landless Marginal (less than 1 ha) Small (1-2 ha) Semi medium (2-4 ha) Medium (4-10 ha) Large (10 ha and above)

Dairy farmers(per cent) 18.3 06.1 20.1 22.0 25.0 08.5

Technological problems Total numbers of dairy farms were classified on the basis of selling of milk in the open market. It was observed that 29.2 per cent farmers having domestic dairy only, whereas, 68.4 per cent population was running dairy business on semi commercial basis, i.e. they were selling surplus milk after meeting out their daily requirements. However, very small percentages (2.4 %) were running on commercial basis. Hence, there is a
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Sharma et al need to put maximum efforts to make these domestic and semi commercial into full fledged commercial dairy units.
Table 5. Analysis of problems of different category of dairy farmers.

different types of problems, hence their training needs were also found to be different. Assessment of training needs Training needs were assessed based on the ranking from 1 to 10 . Score 1 was given to the activity adjudged on the top priority and consequently least important at no. 9. The data (Table 6) indicated that in order to run dairy on commercial scale, farmers gave top priority on housing management whereas under domestic and semi commercial purposes, priority was on feed management. Since, feed alone cost about 70 per cent of total expenditure involved in milk production.
Table 6. Training needs of dairy farmers.

S. No.Problem Ranking of problem by dairy farmers Domestic Semi Commcomm- ercial ercial 1. Anoestrus 4.0 2.0 3.0 2. Cow dung management 1.0 9.0 8.5 3. Feed availability 3.0 4.0 8.5 4. Green fodder availability 2.0 7.0 5.0 5. Indigestion 8.0 6.0 7.0 6. Marketing problems 5.0 4.0 7. Mastitis 6.0 1.0 1.0 8. Repeat breeders 5.0 3.0 2.0 9. Wheat straw availability 7.0 8.0 6.0

Area

The problems being faced by these three categories of dairy farmers were also different. The landless laborers who were keeping animals reported that the disposal of the fresh cow dung was the major problem as they were not possessing land, whereas, this was not a problem for those who were running business on semi commercial or commercial basis. The major technical problems in cross bred cows reported were of mastitis followed by anestrous and repeat breeding. Since, these farmers were having large number of cows and thus due to deficiency in proper management and feeding of cross bred cows problems persisted under both the conditions (Table 5). The farmers who were keeping small number of animals (domestic dairy) were not facing such problems because they were taking care of each animals individually to the maximum possible extent but availability of green fodder and concentrate was on the top list probably due to poor financial conditions. Availability of green fodder was a major concern under commercial dairy farming and not in semi commercial conditions. It is thus suggested that in order to meet out green fodder requirements of milch animals, farmers must opt for silage making. This practice will reduce cost of milk production on one hand and prevent nutritional diseases on the other. From the table 5, it was concluded that all these three categories of dairy farming were facing

Ranking of training needs by dairy farmers Domestic Semi CommComm- ercial ercial Calf management 6.0 8.0 8.0 Care of dry and 8.0 7.0 5.0 pregnant animals Feed management 1.0 1.0 4.0 Health management 6.0 6.0 6.0 Housing management 7.0 5.0 1.0 Marketing and processing 4.0 2.0 9.0 Milk production 3.0 3.5 3.0 Reproductive management 2.0 3.5 7.0

Likewise, marketing and processing of milk was ranked at no. 2 after feed management under semi commercial conditions whereas reproduction management was found to be at no. 2 under domestic purpose. This was probably due to poor feeding and management condition followed by this category of farmers. Under commercial dairy, there was no problem in the marketing of milk as the score 9 was given. However, for small and medium farmers this was placed on priority at serial number 4 and 2 probably in order to increase their margin of profit. Higher milk production was ranked at no. 3 by all the categories of farmers which indicated that to get more income was sole criterion, however, calf management and care dry and pregnant of animals was not given due consideration by all the farmers. Thus, training in this aspect is required at all the levels. Conclusively, it can be said that in order to make

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Technological problems of dairy farmers the training and demonstrations more effective in technology transfer, assessment of training need of each category is of utmost importance. Otherwise, total exercise made by extension staff engaged in the dairy sector will go futile. CONCLUSION In the current situation of Punjab agriculture where soil health is deteriorating due to intensive farming and water table is going down due to over exploitation, dairy farming has been suggested as the most suitable alternative. Although Punjab is leading in total milk production but productivity is low. To improve the status of dairy farming and to make dairy a commercial venture it is necessary to remove the bottle necks and to develop trained dairy farmers. Now, more number of farmers are opting dairy on large scale still gap is there. Identification of problems and training needs of dairy farmers can lead to overall socio- economic development of the farming community. REFERENCES
Gangasagare P T and Karanjkar L M (2009). Status of milk Production and economic profile of dairy farmers in the marathwada region of Maharashtra. Vety World 2(8):317-320. Garg M R, Arora, S P , Bhandari B M, Sherasia P L and Singh D K ( 2000). Mineral status of feeds and fodders in Kaira district of Gujarat. Indian J Dairy Sci 53: 291-97 NRC (1989). Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle. 6th revised edition. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. Received on 26-07-2013 Accepted on 19-11-2013

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Use and Availability of Recommended Pesticides in District Kapurthala

Gurmeet Singh*, Gagandeep Kaur, Manoj Sharma, Gurpreet Kaur and Gobinder Singh Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kapurthala-144 620 (Punjab)
ABSTRACT In the light of observation that farmers are not using pesticides recommended by State Agricultural University, a market survey was conducted in district Kapurthala to ascertain the availability of recommended pesticides (insecticides and fungicides). Survey was conducted in five blocks of district choosing ten dealers per block using random sampling technique. Out of 262 brands of pesticides, 200 brands were those of insecticides and 62 brands were of fungicides available with the dealers. Of all the stock available with retailers, only 38 insecticides brands and 8 fungicides brands were recommended by State Agricultural University while rest of brands were non- recommended. In addition to this, there were certain brands (13 brands) available in the market whose active ingredients are yet to be tested. Certain mixtures (41 brands) were also found available in the market. Out of these, 9.54% brands (25 brands) were insecticides and 6.10% brands (16 brands) were fungicides. Key Words: Insecticides, Fungicides, Availability, Survey, Kapurthala INTRODUCTION Although various methods are used to control pests in different pest management systems, yet use of pesticides continue to be the major component of most of the pest control programmes and will probably remain so in the near future. However, several reports have highlighted the indiscriminate and excessive use of insecticides by the farmers. This large scale use of pesticides has caused many environmental problems like pesticide poisoning, insecticide resistance, resurgence of pests and effect on nontarget organisms. One solution to combat these problems is to use recommended pesticide at the right time with the recommended dose and not to make use of banned or restricted pesticides at all. The reason being that the recommended pesticides are good as they are less persistent and more toxic to the target species than their natural enemies and provide required control of insect pest or disease. It is pertinent to mention that before making any recommendation within a state, the State agricultural universities conduct a large number of experiments to test the brand developed by a
*Corresponding Authors Email:kvkkapurthala@gmail.com

pesticide firm in the laboratory as well as at the farmers field. Later on, these recommendations are passed on to farmers through various extension agencies including the Krishi Vigyan Kendras(KVK) working at the district headquarter in a district. The availability, efficacy and suitability of pesticides for the control of insects and disease are major factors considered while providing solution to the problems of farmers. Farmers are advised by the KVK to use only recommended dosages of insecticides or fungicides. However, during several interactions with the farmers, it was observed that despite the efforts of KVK to educate farmers about the right use of pesticides, farmers are still using nonrecommended insecticides. Thus as prelude to this study, an interview of hundred farmers was conducted and it was found that though they are aware of recommendations of various pesticides but only 7 per cent were using recommended brands of pesticides. The reason cited was non availability of recommended pesticides in the market. Thus the current study was planned to know the availability of recommended pesticides

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Singh et al (insecticides and fungicides) in the district Kapurthala besides availability of banned or restricted pesticides and pesticide mixtures. MATERIALS AND METHODS A survey was conducted to know the availability of different pesticides in the district. There are five blocks namely Dhilwan, Kapurthala, Nadala, Phagwara and Sultanpur in the district and 10 pesticide dealers per block were selected for the purpose of interview. A list of all recommended pesticide chemicals was prepared and the dealers were asked about the presence of various brands (recommended and nonrecommended) corresponding to that chemical. The collected data were then analysed based on the groups of different pesticides available with the retailers in the market. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION As discussed earlier that a lis tof all pesticide chemicals was prepared and the dealers were asked about the presence of various brands corresponding to that chemical. The following 22 chemicals having insecticidal nature were examined about the presence of various brands in the market. A) Availability of Recommended insecticides 1. Chlorpyriphos: It is recommended in wheat, paddy, sugarcane, pulses etc. for the control of stem borers, leaf folders and termites (Anonymous 2013a, b) . Out of total 28 brands of chlorpyriphos available in the market, only 6 brands (21.4%) were recommended. 2. Thiomethoxam: It is recommended in wheat, paddy, cotton etc for the control of sucking pests particularly aphids and jassids. Its recommended brands are Actara and Extra super. Actara was found available in blocks Sultanpur Lodhi, Kaputhala and Phagwara whereas in the district 13 brands of Thiomethoxam were available but only one brand (7.7%) was found to be recommended. 3. Imidachloprid: It is recommended in wheat, paddy, cotton, citrus etc for the control of sucking pests particularly aphids and jassids. Its recommended brands are Crocodile, Confidor, Confidence, Imidacel, Markdor and Extra super. Confidor was found available in blocks Sultanpur Lodhi, Dhilwan and Phagwara while Crocodile and Confidor were available in Kapurthala block but no recommended brand of imidachloprid was found available in Nadala block. A total of 30 brands of Imidachloprid were available, out of these only 3 (10%) were recommended while rest of the available brands were nonrecommended (Table 1). For seed treatment purpose, recommended brand of imidachloprid is Gaucho 70 WS but the formulation available was Gaucho 600 FS. 4. Lambda Cyhalothrin: None of the brand of Lambda cyhalothrin is recommended yet, 19 brands of this chemical are being used by the farmers for the control of stem borer and leaf folder in paddy. 5. Indoxacarb: It is recommended in cotton, fruit plants and vegetables etc for the control of bollworms particularly American bollworm (Anonymous 2013c, d). Its recommended brand in only Avaunt which was found available in Sultanpur Lodhi (vegetable growing area) and Phagwara blocks only. Out of 4 brands available, only one is (Avaunt) recommended. 6. Cypermethrin: It is used in cotton, maize, pulses etc. for the control of bollworms particularly maize borer and American bollworm. Its recommended brands are Cymbush, Ripcord and Cyperguard. Cymbush was available in block Phagwara only whereas out of 11 brands of Cypermethrin, only one (9.1%) was recommended. 7. Dichlorvos: It is recommended in pulses for the control of leaf eating insects particularly hairy caterpillars and the recommended brand is Nuvan which was available in Sultanpur Lodhi and Phagwara blocks only. One recommended brand (7.7%) out of 13 brands was available in the district. 8. Flubendamide: It is recommended in cotton for the control of pink bollworm, spotted bollworm and American bollworm. Its recommended brand is NNI 001 which was
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Availability of recommended pesticides

Table 1. Prevalence of recommended and non-recommended brands of insecticides in Kapurthala district. Sr. No. Chemical Name Brands Name Recommended Non-recommended 1. Chlorpyriphos Lethal, Classic, TKS-CHLO,Clearout,Krishan, Super 777, Jailsan, Dhanvan, Lethal, Coroban, Massban, Jailsan, Krushan, Tricel, Laser, Unichban, Radar, Durmet, Dhamaka500, Dhanvan-20, Chlorocid, Pyrifex, Lethal Super Dursban 550, Aldrin TC 20, Tafaban, Rusban, Predator, Dhanwan, Massban, Golden, Aldrin RTU 2. Thiomethoxam Actara Arrow, Kri-Oxam, Exaam, Jai-Oxam, Areva, Kri-oxam, Spike, Arrow, Gizmo, Dotara, Actor, Areva, Imexo, Caper, Areva, Shine star 3. Imidachloprid Gaucho 600 FS Immediate Plus, Tatkal, Anucida, Josh, Suju, JaipridMida, Media, ConfidorCrocodile Josh, Victor, Jumbo, Super SpectraTouch, Active Super, Media, Admire 10 WG, Tata mida, Amida, Touch, Chemida, Atom, Imida, Super Spectra, Imidacare, M-con, Bildar, Victor, Dawn, Pectus 4. Lambda Bravo 5000, Wrestler, Coro lambda, Metador, Hammer, Deva , cyhalothrin Shakti, Loc 2.5, Loc 5, Fire, Dabang 4.9%, Khanjar 5.0%, Garud, Dhoom, Khanjar, Xylo S, King Kong, Belton, Lambrador, Metador, He man Super, Khanjar, Fire, Dabang 4.9%, Icon 10 WP, Metador 5. Indoxacarb Avaunt Kare, Lashkar, King Doxa 6. Cypermethrin Cymbush Kricyp, Jai cyperin-10, Anilofos 30%, Jai cyperin-10, Jackpot 25, Cypergun, CyperMass 10%, Super Fighter 20%, Cypermil, Super , Fighter 20%, Cypermil, Cyper Mass, Super Killer 25 7. Dichlorvos Nuvan Teer, Anu Vista, Jai Dichlorvos, Dhruv Tara, Divap-100, Massvan, Univan 76%, DDFea 76%, Decent 76%, Dhruv Tara 76%, Badal 76%, DD Fex, B Zoom 8. Flubendamide Fame, Takumi, Suraksha. 9. Triazophos Tarzan , Kranti, Ghatak 10. Profenofos Krifos, Ajanta 11. Fipronil Regent 5% SC Fipro 0.3%, Urgent 0.3% Regent GR 0.3% 12. Novaluron Rimon Rudra, Novel, Crazy 13. Carbofuran Furadan 3G Carbogran, Touch 3G 14. Cartap Hydrochloride NidanCaldan Rickdan, Jaildan, Virat, Kritap, Capsi, Grip, Indan, Veeta power, Current, Sumo, Jaildan, Indan 15. Buprofezin Applaud Kri March, Tribute, Chemrise, Blunt, Tribute, Apple 16. Phorate 10% Granules Furatox 10 G, Thimet 10 G 17. Monocrotophos Monocil Zeephos, Shaktimaan, Anucron, Uniphos-36 18. Malathion Cythion, Milthion 19. Quinalphos Ekalux Jaikalux, Vazra, Unilux 25, Dhanulux 20. Thiodicarb Larvin 21. Chlorantraniliprole FerterraCoragen 22. Dimethoate Rogor -

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Singh et al not available in any of the block of Kapurthala district. Two brands of this chemical namely Fame and Takumi manufactured by Bayer Crop Science and Tata Rallis, respectively were found available in different blocks . Farmers are using this chemical for the control of stem borer and leaf folder in paddy and on vegetables particularly on tomato and brinzal at their own level. As no recommended brand of Flubendamide was available, hence the availability of unrecommeded brands of Flubendamide was 100 per cent. Moreover, cotton is not grown in this district still, this chemical was available under different non recommended brand names. 9. Triazophos: It is recommended in paddy for control of stem borer and leaf folder and white fly in cotton. Sutathion is its recommended brand which was not available in any of the block. Hence, percent availability of nonrecommended brands was 100 per cent. 10. Profenofos: It is recommended in cotton for the control of pink bollworm, spotted bollworm, American bollworm and mealy bug. Its recommended brands are Curacron, Krina, Profex which were not available in the district because cotton crop is not grown in this area. However, 2 non recommended brands were available. 11. Fipronil: It is recommended in wheat for termite control and stem borer and leaf folder in paddy. Its recommended brands are Regent 5% SC and Regent GR 0.3%. Both the formulations of Regent were available but in block Sultanpur Lodhi, only Regent 5% SC was available while in block Nadala granular formulation of Regent was found available. Granular formulations of non-recommended brands were available in block Sultanpur Lodhi and Nadala .Out of total 4 brands of Fipronil available, 2 were found recommended and 2 non-recommended. Hence percentage of availability of recommended brands were 50. Kapurthala district but only one (25%) was recommended. 13. Carbofuran: It is recommended in maize for the control of maize shoot fly. Its recommended brand is Furadan 3G which was available in 3 blocks. Two non-recommended brands i.e. Carbogran and Touch were also found available in block Nadala and Kapurthala, respectively. 14. Cartap hydrochlorde: It is recommended in basmati rice for the control of stem borer and leaf folder. Its recommended brands are Padan, Nidan, Caildan, Regent, Dursban 10G etc. Availability of Nidan was found in all the blocks of Kapurthala district. In Nadala block, 8 non-recommended brands of cartap hydrochloride were found against only 1 recommended brand. In block Dhilwan, 2 non-recommended brands and in block Kapurthala and Phagwara, only 1 nonrecommended brand of cartap hydrochloride was found. Of the total 14 brands of cartap hydrochloride available, 2 were found recommended and 10 non-recommended. Hence percentage of availability of recommended brands were only 16.7 in whole of Kapurthala district. 15. Buprofezin: It is recommended in cotton for the control of mealy bug. Its recommended brands are Applaud and Tribune. In Nadala and Dhilwan block, only non-recommended brands Krimarch and Tribute, respectively were found while in rest of the blocks, recommended brands were found available. In whole of the district, 5 non-recommended brands were available against the availability of 1 recommended brand. Hence percentage of availability of recommended brands was 16.7 per cent. 16. Phorate granules: This chemical is used for the control of bollworm in sugarcane, rice root weevil in paddy, shoot fly in maize and stem fly in peas . Its recommended brands are Thimet and Furatox which were found in all the blocks and no non recommended brand was there in the district.

12. Novaluron: It is recommended in cotton for the control of tobacco caterpillar. Its recommended brand is Rimon and was found 17 . Monocrotophos: Being systemic in nature, available in block Phagwara. Four brands this chemical is used in paddy for the control were found available in all the five blocks of J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 64-72 67

Availability of recommended pesticides of stem borer and leaf folder, pink bollworm, spotted bollworm and American bollworm. Only one brand of monocrotphos has been recommended in paddy namely Monocil while 10 brands have been recommended in cotton. Availability of Monocil was found in all the blocks of Kapurthala . Hence, percent availability of recommended brand was 100. 18 . Malathion: Being systemic in nature, this chemical is widely used in agricultural crops for the control of aphid in rapeseed and mustard, thrip in summer moong and mash, red pumpkin beetle in curcurbits, to disinfect the walls of godowns. No specific brand name of Malathion has been listed in package of practices for Rabi and Kharif crops, hence this chemical cannot be graded as recommended and non-recommended. Only brand Cythion is recommended for disinfecting the walls of godowns which was found available in block Kapurthala only. In block Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala and Phagwara, brand Milthion was available manufactured by Insecticide India Limited . Due to the availability of more effective and alternative brands of malathion, its use is decreasing in farmers. 19 . Quinalphos: It is the chemical which is recommended in cotton for the control of Pink bollworm, spotted bollworm and American bollworm, in wheat for the control of hairy caterpillars, American bollworm and pink bollworm and in some vegetables for the control of above mentioned insect pests. Its recommended brands are Ekalux and Quinguard. Ekalux was found available in block Kapurthala and Phagwara only. In block Nadala and Dhilwan, no brand whether recommended or non-recommended was available. In block Sultanpur Lodhi, Jaikalux was the brand name manufactured by the Jai Farm Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. was found available. 20. Thiodicarb: This chemical is recommended in cotton for the control of pink bollworm, spotted bollworm and American bollworm. Its recommended brand is Larvin. This brand was found available in blocks Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala and Phagwara. No nonrecommended brand of this chemical was
68

available in whole of the district Kapurthala .Hence, in terms of recommended brands, its availability was 100 per cent. 21. Chlorantraniliprole: This chemical is recommended in cotton for the control of tobacco caterpillar and for the control of stem borer and leaf folder in basmati rice. Its recommended brands are Coragen and Ferterra. Coragen and Ferterra is recommended in basmati rice. Coragen alone is recommended in cotton and Ferterra alone is recommended in Sugarcane for the control of bollworms. Brands Coragen and Ferterra were available in blocks Sultanpur Lodhi, Dhilwan, Kapurthala and Phagwara while these brands were not available in Nadala block. 22 . Dimethoate : It is the chemical which is recommended in wheat and pulses for the control of aphid. Its recommended brand is Rogor. Rogor was found available in all the blocks of district Kapurthala except Nadala. No non-recommended brand was found available in any of the block of district Kapurthala. Hence, the availability of recommended brand of Dimethoate was 100 per cent. B) Available insecticide brands whose chemical is yet to be tested Thiacloprid: Thiacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide with novel mode of action, is found to be effective against several lepidopteran as well as hemipteran pests. It belongs to imidachloprid and Thiomethoxam like chemicals belong. It is the chemical which has not been recommended for the control of any of the pest till now. This chemical is being used by the farmers on vegetables particularly tomato and brinzal. During the survey, 2 brands of Thiacloprid were found available in whole of the Kapurthala distric. These brands were Alanto and Splendour. Alanto was found available in blocks Sultanpur Lodhi, Dhilwan and Phagwara whereas brand Splendour was available in Kapurthala block. In Nadala block, no brand of this chemical was available. C) Available Recommended fungicides As for as the fungicides were concerned, the

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Singh et al following 5 chemicals were examined in context the presence of various brands pertaining to that chemical in the market. 1. Pencycuron: It is recommended for the control of sheath blight in paddy and for seed treatment in potato. Its recommended brand is Monceren and was found available in all the blocks except the Nadala block . The availability of recommended brand was 100 per cent. 2. Carbendazim: This chemical is widely used in agricultural crops to disinfect the seed in order to kill the soil borne fungi . It is used in wheat for seed treatment, for the control of sheath blight in paddy, for seed treatment of gram, maize, basmati rice , etc. Only one brand of carbendazim is recommended namely Bavistin and was found available in block Kapurthala and Phagwara only. In Kapurthala block, 5 non-recommended brands of carbendazim were found against one recommended brand. 10 nonrecommended brands of carbendazim were found available in whole of the Kapurthala district against only 1 recommended brand . Hence, the availability of bavistin was 9.0 per cent (Table 2). 3. Mancozeb: It is a contact fungicide which is recommended in almost all the agricultural
Name of chemical Carbendazim Pencycuron Mancozeb Propinconazole Tebuconazole

crops. For the control of late blight in potato and tomato, downy mildew in cucurbits, Ascochyta blitght in gram and leaf spot diseases in maize etc. Only 1 brand of Mancozeb is recommended i.e. Indofil M-45 and was found available in all the blocks except Nadala. During the survey, 3 nonrecommended brands of Mancozeb namely Marlet, Manzate, Luzem were found available in block Kaputhala and 4 non-recommended brands namely Leo M-45, Abic, RM-45 and M- Guard 45 were found available in Phagwara block. Hence, the availability of Indofil M-45 was 9.0 per cent. 4. Propinconazole: It is recommended in paddy, wheat, citrus, sugarcane etc. for the control of yellow rust, brown rust in wheat, sheath blight and sheath rot in paddy, pathological fruit drop in citrus and for treating seed of sugarcane. Its recommended brands are Tilt, Shine and Bumper and were found available in all the blocks except Nadala where nonrecommended brands like Zerox and Sona were available. 11 brands of propiconazole were there in the market out of which only 3(27.2%) were recommended. 5. Tebuconazole: It is recommended in paddy and wheat for the control of yellow rust, brown rust in wheat and sheath blight and sheath rot

Table 2. Availability of recommended and non-recommended brands of fungicides in district Kapurthala.

Recommended Brand Name Non-recommended Brand Name Bavistin Batista, Fungy, Pearl, Sriston-50, Carzim, Adrin, G-zim, Pearl, Histastin, Sahara, Batista Monceren Indofil M-45 Emzeb-45, Marlet, Manzate, Luzem, Leo M-45, Abic, RM-45, M-Guard 45, Benfil Tilt 25 EC,Bumper 25 EC Bonus, , Kontrol, Result, Zerox, Sona, Kilt, Zerox, Swift, Cobler Shine 25 EC Folicur, Raxil 2%

Table 3. Availability of recommended and non-recommended brands of fungicides whose chemical is yet to be tested.

Active ingredient Difenoconazole Validamycin Hexaconazole Tricyclazole

Recommended Brand Name -

Non-recommended Brand Name Dividend, Score 25 EC V-3 Jaizole Plus, A-one Plus, Corohexaplus, Krizole++5, Krizole++5, Avon Plus, Revolt Plus, Nector Plus, Hexstar Plus Tric

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Availability of recommended pesticides in paddy. Its recommended brand is Folicur 25 EC. Folicur was found available in all the blocks except Nadala . The interesting fact about this very chemical was that no nonrecommended brand was found available in all the five blocks of the district. Hence, the percentage of availability of recommended brand over non-recommended brands was 100 per cent. D) Available fungicide brands whose chemical is yet to be tested 1. Difenoconazole: It is the chemical which has not been recommended for the control of any of the disease till now but the farmers of the area is using on paddy and vegetables. During the survey, 2 brands (Score and Dividend) of Difenoconazole were found available. Score was available in Kapurthala and Phagwara block while Dividend in Sultanpur Lodhi block. 2. Validamycin: It is the chemical which has not been recommended but is being used by the farmers on potato for seed treatment purpose for the control of black scurf and potato scab. It is also being used on paddy for the control of sheath blight disease. Only 1 brand of Validamycin namely V-3 manufactured by Krishi Rasayan Export Pvt. Ltd. was found available but the availability of this brand was found in all the five blocks .
Sr.No. 1 2 Active ingredients in the mixture Deltamethrin 1% + Triazophos 35% Profenofos 40%+ Cypermethrin 4% EC

3. Hexaconazole: It is the chemical which has not been recommended but is being used by the farmers on paddy and basmati rice for the control of sheath blight disease. 8 brands of Hexaconazole were found available in all the five blocks except Dhilwan. 4. Tricyclazole: It is the non recommended chemical being used by the farmers on basmati rice for the control of blast disease. This is the chemical which was responsible for rejection of basmati rice consignment for export purpose. This chemical is banned in foreign countries for use on agricultural crops. During the survey programme, only 1 brand of Tricyclazole namely Tric manufactured by Krishi Rasayan Export Pvt. Ltd. was found available . E) Available brands of Pesticides mixtures During the survey, a number of brands (41 brands) were also found available in the market whose formulation is a mixture of two active ingredients. Out of these brands, 9.5% brands (25 brands) were of insecticides and 6.1% brands (16 brands) were of fungicides (Table 4). A total of 262 brands were studied. Out of these brands, availability of recommended insecticides (30 brands) was 11.5 per cent and of non-recommended insecticides (143 brands) was

Table 4. Brands of insecticides and fungicides whose formulation is a mixture of two active ingredients.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Chlorpyriphos 16%+Alpha cypermethrin 1% Chlorpyriphos 50 + Cypermethrin5% Cypermethrin 18%+Alphacypermethrin Cymoxanil +Mancozeb Carbendazim 12% +Mancozeb 63% Matalazyl 8%+ Mancozeb 64% WP Captan 70%+ Hexaconazole 5% WP Carbendazim 1%+Mancozeb 0.3% Fenamidone 10%+Mancozeb 50%

Brand name Tiger, Clark, Corobill, Trizo plus, Shark, Tridelter, Jadu, Jalva Googly, Cypro, Rocket 44 EC, Banjo super, Blast 44, Deck, Ceres, Profit plus, Smash, Kilcron plus, Power plus 404, Krifos super Junoon Nurocombi, Dhamaka 500, Tatex 505 Naat Elpis, Delmix , Combi , lus, CM 75, Dost, Gomeda, Sure, Starlet, Companion Krilazyl MZ 72% WP, Master, Kemoxyl Kick, Taqat Stump Sixer

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Singh et al
Table 5. Summary of all the available recommended and non-recommended pesticides in the market.

Sr. No. Chemical name

No. of available recommended brands

No.of available nonrecommended brands 22 12 27 19 3 10 12 3 3 2 2 3 2 10 5 0 4 4 0 0 0 143 2 2 0 10 9 8 0 27 2 1 7 1 11 8 12 1 3 1

Total no. of available brands

Percentage availability of recommended brands 21.4 7.7 10.0 0.0 25.0 9.1 7.7 0 0 0 50.0 25.0 33.3 16.7 16.7 100.0 20.0 100.0 20.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0

Recommended Insecticide Chemical 1. Chlorpyriphos 2. Thiomethoxam 3. Imidachloprid 4. Lambda cyhalothrin 5. Indoxacarb 6. Cypermethrin 7. Dichlorvos 8. Flubendamide 9. Triazophos 10. Profenofos 11. Fipronil 12. Novaluron 13. Carbofuran 14. Cartap hydrochloride 15. Buprofezin 16. Phorate 17. Monocrotophos 18. Malathion 19. Quinalphos 20. Thiodicarb 21. Chlorantraniliprole 22. Dimethoate Total Insecticide chemical yet to be tested Thiacloprid Total Recommended fungicide Chemicals 23 Pencycuron 24 Carbendazim 25 Mancozeb 26 Propiconazole 27 Tebuconazole Total Fungicide Chemicals yet to be tested 28 Difenoconazole 29 Validamycin 30 Hexaconazole 31 Tricyclazole Total Available brands of Pesticides mixtures 32 Deltamethrin + Triazophos 33 Profenofos + Cypermethrin 34 Chlorpyriphos +Alpha cypermethrin 35 Chlorpyriphos+ Cypermethrin 36 Cypermethrin +Alphacypermethrin

6 1 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 30 0 0 1 1 1 3 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

28 13 30 19 4 11 13 3 3 2 4 4 3 12 6 2 5 2 5 1 2 1 173 2 2 1 11 10 11 2 35 2 1 7 1 11 8 12 1 3 1

100.0 9.1 10.0 2.7 100.0

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0

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Availability of recommended pesticides

37 38 39 40 41 42 Cymoxanil +Mancozeb Carbendazim 12% +Mancozeb 63% Mataxyl+ Mancozeb Captan+ Hexaconazole WP Carbendazim 1%+Mancozeb 0.3% Fenamidone +Mancozeb Total Grand Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 262 1 8 3 2 1 1 41 1 8 3 2 1 1 41 0 0 0 0 0 0

54.6 per cent, recommended fungicides (8 brands) was 3.1 per cent, non-recommended fungicides (27 brands) was 10.3 per cent, insecticide brands whose chemical is yet to be tested (2 brands) was 0.7 per cent, fungicide brands whose chemical is yet to be tested (11brands) was 4.2 per cent, insecticide mixture (25 brands) was 9.5 per cent and fungicide mixture (16 brands) was 6.1 per cent. CONCLUSION This can be concluded that very few recommended brands of pesticides are available while large number of non-recommended pesticides were prevalent in the market. Thus, the farmers were forced to use non-recommended insecticides. Also it could be due to the reason that farmers are being influenced by the aggressive campaign of the manufacturers and the commission agents. Also some industries push their molecules directly to the market with combination of formulations where one of the

constituents acts as insecticide and other as hormone which increases the crop yields in addition to control of disease making the farmers happy. Another reason for non availability of recommended pesticides in market is that some old recommendations are no longer effective. Also the cost of the recommended brands is another factor. Thus all the stakeholders mainly the Registration Committee for pesticides, state agricultural universities, farmers, manufacturers and dealers need to be look into it. REFERENCES
Anonymous (2013a). Package of practices for the Kharif crops. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Anonymous (2013b). Package of practices for the Rabi crops. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Anonymous (2013c). Package of practices for the Vegetable crops. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Anonymous (2013d). Package of practices for the Fruit crops. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Received on 22-08-2013 Accepted on 12-11-2013

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J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 73-75

Use of Azolla (Azolla pinnata) as Cattle Feed Supplement

G N Mathur, Ramakant Sharma and P C Choudhary Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ajmer-305 001 (Rajasthan)
ABSTRACT Azolla (Azolla pinnata) has enormous potential as a livestock feed due to its high content of protein, essential amino acids, vitamins, growth promoter intermediaries and minerals. KVK, Ajmer pioneered the Azolla cultivation technique in Rajasthan and developed a prototype for its cultivation. This technology of cultivation of Azolla was transferred through conductance of demonstrations in five villages. Feeding of Azolla as livestock feed to milch animals resulted in increase in milk yield and fat content. Success of the technology led to its wide scale adoption and KVK Ajmer has so far established 523 Azolla cultivation units during the last five years in the district . Key Words: Azolla, Livestock, Milk yield, INTRODUCTION Despite being largest producer of milk, in India there acute shortage of feed and fodder for dairy animals. Shortage of dry fodder, green fodder and concentrate has been estimated to be 12 to 14 per cent, 25 to 30 per cent and 30 to 35 per cent, respectively. The shortage of fodder is therefore, compensated with the use of readymade commercial feed resulting in increased cost of milk production. The search for alternatives to green fodder and concentrates led to a wonderful plant Azolla, which holds the promise of providing a sustainable feed for livestock. Azolla is a free floating, rapidly growing aquatic fern on water surface. It floats as small, flat, compact green mass. Under ideal conditions it grows exponentially, doubling its biomass in every three days. There are at least eight species of Azolla worldwide; Azolla caroliniana, Azolla circinata , Azolla japonica , Azolla mexicana , Azolla microphylla, Azolla nilotica, Azolla pinnata and Azolla rubra. The common species of Azolla in India is Azolla pinata. It produces more than 4 to 5 times of protein of excellent quality in comparison to lucern and hybrid napier. Besides this, the bio- mass production is almost 4 to 10 times when compared with hybrid napier and lucern, respectively. These two parameters are
*Corresponding Authors Email: kvkajmer@gmail.com

very important to enhance economic livestock production to establish that Azolla is reckoned as The Super Plant. MATERIALS AND METHODS Considering the nutritive value of Azolla, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ajmer developed a cost effective prototype of Azolla cultivation for mass multiplication and its feeding to livestock. Details of technology: Ajmer Model for

cultivation of Azolla. Maintenance of Azolla - Add water to maintain the depth up to 10 cm.

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Mathur et al Add 5 Kg. of cow-dung after mixing it thoroughly in water every month. Add 20 g super phosphate every month along with the cow-dung to maintain daily yield of 1.5-2.0 Kg. Azolla. Remove Azolla and change water and soil completely after every third month and reinoculate as a fresh bed. each farmer were taken to study the impact of feeding of Azolla. Approximately 1.5 to 2.0 Kg. fresh Azolla was fed to the milch animals per day along with usual ration. The animals were maintained on chaffed sorghum fodder at ad lib and 3 to 4 kg of commercial concentrate mixture. These selected animals had already completed a period of three months of lactation period. The observations on milk yield and milk fat percentage was recorded for three months starting from one month after the Azolla was included in ration of animals. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The data revealed there was 20.96 per cent increase in milk yield of cows when ration was supplemented with Azolla while it resulted in 16.90 per cent increase in buffalo milk yield. The milk yield and fat percentage increased from 1.0 to 1.5 l and 4.3 to 4.7 per cent in cows and from 1.0 to 1.4 l and 6.2 to 6.9 per cent in buffaloes, respectively (Table 1). Kamalasanana et al (2002) also found an increase in milk yield when Azolla was combined with regular feed, and that 15-20 per cent of commercial feed could be replaced with the same quantity of Azolla on dry weight basis without affecting milk production, providing a 20 to 25 per cent savings on buying commercial feeds. General reaction of the farmers was that the animal starts showing excellent sign of health such as improved hair coat condition, brightness in eyes, moist muzzle and always activeness after feeding of Azolla.

Utilization of Azolla as cattle feed The hitherto produce Azolla should be harvested with a large sieve having holes of 1 cm. mesh size to drain the water. Harvested Azolla should be washed with clean water to get rid of the cow dung smell. This Azolla may be was fed to cattle after mixing in concentrate ratio in 1:1 ratio.1.5 to2.0 Kg of Azolla may be fed to milch animal per day. Economics of Azolla production Azolla Production in one unit during one year (Approx.) = 680 kg. Giving due consideration to the one-time cost of permanent structure and recurring expenses, the cost of Azolla Production would be less than 60 paisa per Kg. Effect of feeding Azolla as cattle feed supplement The technology was demonstrated in five villages namely Bhagwanpura, Surajpura, Ganaheda, Picholia and Motisar by selecting six farmers from each village. Thus, a total of 30 farmers and one cow and one buffalo each from
Kuccha Trench Digging charges of trench (size of unit 6.0 x 1.0 x 0.2 mt) Cost of silpauline sheet (120 G) Nylon Shady net 50 %( 7 x 2 mt). @ Rs. 30/- mt Azolla 2 kg @ Rs. 50/-kg Cow dung 70 kg (5-10 kg.+ 5kg./month) Super phosphate 240 gms. @20 gm. / month Total

Rs. 100.00

Pucca Trench 200 Bricks Cement 3 bags @ Rs. 270/Gitti + Sand Nylon Shady net 50 %( 7 x 2 mt). @ Rs. 30/- mt Azolla 2 kg @ Rs. 50/-kg Cow dung 70 kg (5-10 kg.+ 5kg./month) Super phosphate 240 gms. @20 gm. / month

Rs. 700.00 Rs. 810.00 Rs 400.00 Rs. 420.00 Rs. 100.00 Rs. 70 .00 Rs. 2.00 Rs. 2502=00

Rs. 350.00 Rs. 420.00 Rs. 100.00 Rs. 70 .00 Rs. 2.00 Rs. 1042=00

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Use of Azolla (Azolla pinnata) as cattle feed

Table1. Effect of feeding of Azolla as livestock feed on milk parameters (n=30)

Parameter

Cow Initial Milk yield (l/ d) 6.20 Milk Fat (%) 4.3

Buffalo Final 7.50 4.7

Initial 7.10 6.2

Final 8.30 6.9

Horizontal spread of technology Inspired by the easy method of cultivation, good yield and economy of production and being exposed to extension interventions made by KVK, large number of farmers started practicing cultivation of Azolla on small scale. After the impact of the technology was established and feed back of farmers was encouraging, the KVK contacted Project Director of ATMA, Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Rajasthan for its faster horizontal spread and was successful in getting approval of 50 per cent subsidy of Rs. 2000/- for construction of Azolla in pucca trench. Through this approach, large numbers of livestock owners were contacted and 523 Azolla cultivation has been established by KVK Ajmer from year 2008 to 2013. (Table 2)
Table:-2. Year-wise Azolla unit established by KVK Ajmer

CONCLUSION The study on feeding of Azolla indicated that the farmers of Ajmer district have adopted this hitherto developed model of KVK Ajmer model for cultivation of Azolla. Farmers felt that the technology is highly useful because of easy methodology and the results are also visible within a short period of time. The improvement in health and physical condition of animals, increase in milk yield particularly, motivated the farmers to talk about Azolla and enhance its horizontal spread of this technology. REFERENCES
Kamalasanana P, Premalatha, S and Rajamony, S (2002). Azolla A sustainable feed substitute for livestock. Leisa India, March, 2002, pp. 15-17.

Year 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Total

Quantity of Azolla (Kg) 130 260 98 78 236 244

No. of unit established 65 130 49 39 118 122 523

Received on 13-11-2013 Accepted on 23-11-2013

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Utilization of Navigation Systems to Enhance the Efficiency of Field Workers

Gagan Jyot Kaur, Udit Jain and Jagbir Rehal* Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Moga-142 001(Punjab)
ABSTRACT A field study was carried out by the extension workers to evaluate the importance of navigation system in agriculture. Two set of field workers with and without the navigation system were deployed to dispense the farm literature to pre decided subjects at specific locations. It was recorded that the field workers with a navigator saved on time and expenses while the worker without the navigator took more time and incurred more expenses under given conditions. The working conditions were more cordial when a navigator was handed over to the worker. Kew Words: Navigation, Agriculture, Time saving, Efficiency of field workers. INTRODUCTION Navigation system comprises of an electronic map combined with route instructions, displayed on a screen. The system communicates via global positioning system (GPS) to display on the screen, the users geographic location and direction of travel. In the system an input in the form of destination is fed using a keypad and then it calculates the shortest route, giving both visual and audible directions to the destination. Different types of navigation systems are used for road, rail and air transportation. These are present in devices like Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs), Automobile Navigation Systems and the most popular and commonly used Smart Mobile Phones. (Abbott and Powell, 1999).The navigation system works as shown in Fig 1. The GPS systems are used extensively in agriculture extension for Mapping soil properties, Chemical application, Chemical prescriptions, Tillage maps, Yield mapping, Pest mapping, Topographic maps and Planting maps( Dana,1997). The system has improved the working efficiency of the extension work. Apart from this the need of navigation has been realized in finding the routes/directions to the various villages. Considering the state Punjab (Table 1), it has 22 districts, 145 blocks and 12813 villages (Anon, 2013). On an average there are 500 villages per district in Punjab. For field staff to work efficiently and reach the farmers in the remote areas, navigation plays a vital role. Field staff faces great difficulty in reaching the remote areas. Mostly they either ask people on the way or get the directions over the phone calls, by following sign boards or milestones (if present). The whole exercise involves spending extra time in finding the location leaving less time for the productive work. Other than this it involves consumption of extra fuel and increased expenditure over phone calls and diesel. To overcome all these hurdles, navigation seems to be a good alternative. Navigation based upon GPS can be used effectively for reaching the unreached. The present study was undertaken to compare

Fig1: Flow diagram of working model of navigation system.

*Corresponding Authors Email: jagbir@pau.edu

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Kaur et al the native system of navigation to the computer based navigation systems, its optimal utilization to enhance the productivity and /or efficiency of field workers and the economic benefit in utilizing
Table 1. District wise division of blocks and villages in Punjab State.

to determine the significance. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The result of using computer aided navigation system can easily be deduced in the form of saving of time and other expenses that includes fuel, phone calls etc. The observations revealed that time required to reach location 1 by first field worker was 15 min more in comparison to the second field worker ( with navigator) and the fuel consumption was also more by 0.5 lt. Similar trend was recorded for other four locations. The time saving of 30, 20, 60 and 15 min. was recorded for location 2,3,4 and 5, respectively .The diesel saving from 0.5 to 2 lt. was recorded for various locations. Field worker 1 took more time and incurred more expense in comparison to field worker 2.On average, the time saved was 140 min (approx 2.5 hrs) and the fuel saved was 4 lt. which sums to an economic advantage of Rs 200/- (Table 2).

S. No 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

District No. of Blocks No. of Villages Amritsar 9 736 Barnala 3 125 Bathinda 8 282 Firozepur 6 688 Fatehgarh Sahib 5 446 Fazilka 4 313 Faridkot 2 166 Gurdaspur 11 1208 Hoshiarpur 10 1410 Jalandhar 11 954 Kapurthla 5 691 Ludhiana 12 910 Moga 5 329 Mansa 5 240 Muktsar 4 228 Mohali 4 408 Pathankot 5 659 Patiala 8 914 Sangrur 10 565 Rupnagar 5 598 Taran Taran 8 485

the navigation system. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two field workers were employed with private vehicle to dispense useful literature in the preselected villages. First worker was without navigating system while the second worker was provided with the a smart phone with GPS enabled feature and pre-downloaded Google/Nokia maps used to navigate to pre selected villages .The observations were recorded in terms of travel time and the journey expense (fuel consumption, phone calls etc.).The results were statistically analyzed
Fig 2 (a)Time consumed

2(b) Fuel consumed to reach locations

Table 2: Time and fuel consumption in common methods and Navigation System.

Sr.No 1. 2. 3. 4. 2.

Destination Location Location Location Location Location Total 1 2 3 4 5

Practice Navigation Savings Time (min) Fuel (lt.) Time (min) 30 1.7 15 90 3.2 60 45 2.5 25 90 4 30 50 1.3 35 305 12.7 165

Fuel (lt.) 1.2 2.5 2 2 1 8.7

Time (min) 15 30 20 60 15 140

Fuel (lt.) 0.5 0.7 0.5 2 0.3 4 77

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Navigation systems to enhance the efficiency of field workers The field workers working under field conditions with a navigator saved on time and expenses while the worker without the navigator took more time and incurred more expenses under given conditions. The working conditions were more cordial when a navigator was handed over to the worker. There are few villages in the remote areas where route maps are unavailable, so the future work needs to done in mapping every village of the district in the state. The cost of mobile phone was not considered during the study as mobile is an integral part of every person in todays world. CONCLUSION The present study shows that the efficiency of field workers increased with the use of navigator as it saves both time and money. Navigation with a navigator was a better option when compared to traditional methods (following road signs, asking people, over the phone) of navigation. Mobile phones were considered most appropriate due to their compatibility with different navigating software and moreover they are an integral part of everyones life. REFERENCES
Anonymous ( 2013). http://www.punjabstat.com/default.aspx. Abbott E and Powell D (1999). Land-Vehicle Navigation Using GPS. Proceedings of the IEEE, 87:1. Dana P H (1997).Global Positioning System (GPS) Time Dissemination for Real-Time Applications. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Received on 21-10-2013 Accepted on 21-11-2013

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Yield Gap Analysis in Paddy Based on Demonstration on Seed Treatment Technique For Control of Bacterial Leaf Blight
Amandeep Kaur, Hardeep S Sabhikhi*, Gurpreet Singh, Jaswinder Singh and Gurpreet Kaur Farm Advisory Service Scheme, Patiala- 147 001 Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab)
ABSTRACT Rice is the worlds most important food crop and a primary source of food for more than half of the worlds population. Severe incidence of bacterial leaf blight (BLB) in paddy resulted in potential yield gap between achievable yield and yield realized by the farmers. To show the importance of proper method of seed treatment for control of BLB, total 328 demonstrations were conducted during the years 2009, 2010 and 2011. These demonstrations were conducted at different locations throughout the district. The existing farmers practice was taken as a control for comparison. The yield performance of both control and demonstration plots was recorded and the yield gap, technology gap, extension gap and technological index were analyzed. The yield of demonstration plots was 70.0 q/ha as compared to 66.2 q/ha of untreated plots. Paddy yield of demonstration plots recorded 5.8 per cent increase over the farmers practice. Average extension gap was recorded 3.9 q/ha. The yield gap analysis emphasized the need to educate the farmers through various extension means for the adoption of improved agricultural technologies to revert the trend of wide extension gap. Key Words: Seed Treatment, Yield Gap Analysis, Technology Index, Extension Gap, Paddy. INTRODUCTION Paddy (Oryza sativa L.) is cultivated over an area of 28.18 lakh ha in Punjab, with an annual production of 105.42 lakh tones (Anony 2013). Paddy crop is prone to many diseases particularly bacterial leaf blight (BLB). The incidence of BLB increases due to the sowing of untreated seed, unrecommended varieties of paddy, use of higher dose of nitrogenous fertilizers and faulty disease control measure. The occurrence of BLB is the major reason for the loss of yield in paddy. So the present investigation was designed to assess the yield gap between farmers practice and recommended practice of seed treatment technique for the control of BLB in paddy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Numbers of farmers were educated through
*Corresponding Authors Email: hardeepkvk@gmail.com * Asstt. Professor (Plant Protection) KVK, Patiala

village level and on-campus training camps organized before the start of crop season. Interested farmers were identified for conducting demonstration on seed treatment technique for control of BLB in paddy. Thus, a total 328 demonstrations (0.4 hectare each) were conducted during the year 2009, 2010 and 2011 in different blocks at different locations. The recommended package involved seed treatment with recommended fungicide + antibiotic before nursery sowing. For this eight Kg of paddy seed was soaked in water (10 l) + Emisan 6 (5 g) + Streptocycline (1 g) solution for 8-10 hrs. Soaked seeds were then removed from the treatment solution, kept in shade by maintaining proper moisture and covered with gunny bags for 24 hrs. and then sown in the prepared bed. The existing farmer practice of seed treatment (either no seed

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80
No. of demo.

Table: Yield gap, technology gap, extension gap and technology index analysis of disease management in rice

Block

Year

Bhunerheri

Sanour

Rajpura

Patiala

Kaur et al

Nabha

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70.03 66.18 5.82 9.97 3.85

Ghanour

2009 2010 2011 Mean 2009 2010 2011 Mean 2009 2010 2011 Mean 2009 2010 2011 Mean 2009 2010 2011 Mean 2009 2010 2011 Mean 12.46

Potential 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80

Yield (q/ha) Demonstration Local check 75.07 67.5 78.12 74.58 71.08 68.12 74.76 70.07 74.86 68.43 73.78 67.81 73.04 71.62 73.89 69.29 71.14 65.3 61.64 56.56 62.08 60.5 64.95 60.79 73.83 69.27 72.87 67.62 73.34 69.37 73.35 68.75 72.56 67.84 70.34 68.2 74.21 73.57 72.37 69.87 65.26 61.1 57.34 55.62 60 58.28 60.87 58.33

% increase over check 11.21 4.75 4.35 6.69 9.40 8.80 1.98 6.64 8.94 8.98 2.61 6.84 6.58 7.76 5.72 6.69 6.96 3.14 0.87 3.58 6.81 3.09 2.95 4.35

Technology gap 4.93 1.88 8.92 5.24 5.14 6.22 6.96 6.11 8.86 18.36 17.92 15.05 6.17 7.13 6.66 6.65 7.44 9.66 5.79 7.63 14.74 22.66 20.00 19.13

Extension Technological gap (q/ha) index % 7.57 6.16 3.54 2.35 2.96 11.15 4.69 6.55 6.43 6.43 5.97 7.78 1.42 8.70 4.61 7.64 5.84 11.08 5.08 22.95 1.58 22.40 4.17 18.81 4.56 7.71 5.25 8.91 3.97 8.33 4.59 8.31 4.72 9.30 2.14 12.08 0.64 7.24 2.5 9.54 4.16 18.43 1.72 28.33 1.74 25.00 2.54 23.91

Total demo. Pooled Average

16

19 18 16 17.67 13 16 18 15.67 15 16 11 14 18 20 16 18 21 17 15 17.67 16 13 10 13 288 80

Yield Gap Analysis in Paddy treatment or wrong method of seed treatment by the farmers) was taken as control or local check for comparison. The comparison in demonstration plots and farmers practice was made from 6 blocks of district Patiala. The impact of transfer of technology was assessed in terms of per cent increase in yield and extension gap (Samui et al., 2000). Technology gap, extension gap and technology index were calculated as per following formulae.
Technology gap = potential yield demonstration yield Extension gap = demonstration yield farmer yield

al (2007) reported an increase in the potato yield by 29.8 q/ha and presented a gain in yield to the tune of 13-19 per cent resulting from treatment of potato seed against blight disease. In all the blocks the extension gap from year 2009 to 2011 recorded a decreasing trend which shows good performance of technical interventions to increase the yield performance of rice and lower the losses caused by the bacterial leaf blight disease in rice. The technological index shows the feasibility of the demonstrated technology. Lower the value of technology index, more is the feasibility of the technology demonstrated (Sagar and Chandra, 2004). The technology index was 12.46 in three years of demonstration from six blocks. CONCLUSION The study of yield gap analysis of disease management through demonstrations of seed treatment of paddy revealed that the yield losses caused by BLB disease could increase by 0.87 to 11.21 per cent. The technology gap which shows the gap in the demonstration yield and potential yield ranged from 1.88 to 22.66 q/ha and can be attributed to the dissimilarities in soil fertility and local field situations. Extension gap ranged between 0.64 to 7.57 q/ha, which emphasizes the need to educate the farmers through various means like village level/ on campus trainings, method demonstrations, front line demonstrations etc. Technology index which shows the feasibility of the technology demonstrated has depicted good performance of the intervention. REFERENCES
Anonymous (2013). Package of Practices for crops of Punjab, Kharif. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. Filippi M C and Prabhu A S (1997). Integrated effect of host plant resistance and fungicidal seed treatment on rice blast control in Brazil. Plant Disease 81:351-355. Mishra, D K, Tailor R S, Pathak G, and Deshwal A ( 2007). Yield Gap Analysis of Blight Disease Management in Potato through Front Line Demonstration. Indian Res J Ext Edu 7 (2&3): 8284 Samui S K, Maitra S, Roy D K, Mandal A K and Saha D (2000). Evaluation on front line demonstration on groundnut. J Indian Soc Costal Agril Res 18 (2): 180-183 Sagar, R L and Ganesh Chandra (2004). Frontline Demonstrations on sesame in West Bengal. Agri Ext Rev16 (2): 7-10 Received on 09-04-2013 Accepted on 10-11-2013

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The perusal of data revealed that in the demonstration plots, paddy yield was found substantially higher than the control plots under farmers practice during all the three years. In all the blocks , the paddy yield ranged between 60.87 q/ ha to 74.76 q/ ha which was 2.50 to 4.69 q/ha higher than the local check. On overall basis 4.28 to 6.76 per cent increase in yield was recorded. These results corroborate with the findings of Filippi and Prabhu (1997) who recorded 4.22 per cent increase in yield over the untreated plot against rice blast. However, the variation in yield from location to location can be accounted for varying field conditions, prevailing microclimate and variation in the agricultural practices followed. The technological gap i.e. the difference between potential yield and yield of demonstration plots was 5.24, 6.11, 15.05, 6.65, 7.63 and 19.13 q/ha in the Bhunerheri, Sanaur, Rajpura, Patiala, Nabha and Ghanour blocks, respectively. The average technology gap in all the six blocks in three years was 9.97 q/ha. Technology gap imply researchable issues for realization of potential yield while the extension gap implies what can be achieved by the transfer of existing technologies. On an average basis of three years study, an extension gap of 4.69, 4.61, 4.59, 4.17, 2.54 and 2.50 q/ha was observed in Bhunerheri, Sanur, Patiala, Rajpura, Ghanur and Nabha, respectively. An average extension gap of 3.8 q/ha emphasizes the need to educate the farmers through various extension means for the adoption of improved agricultural technologies to revert the prevailing trend of wide extension gap. Similarly Mishra et

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Short Communication

Comparative Performance of Serrated V/S Ordinary Sickle Used By Rural Farm Women in Junagarh District of Gujarat
Hansa S Patel*, Brijendra Singh Rajawat and Minaxi K Bariya# Krishi Vigyan Kendra Junagadh -Ambuja Cement Foundation, Ambujanagar -362 715(Gujarat)
The harvesting of cereal crops in India is mostly done manually by sickles. Though combine harvesters are being introduced for harvesting of cereal crops but more than 90 per cent area is still harvested manually by sickles. There is large variation in the types of sickles being used in different parts of the country. Mostly the sickles are made by village artisans with wide variation in shapes and sizes. The serrated sickle introduced by Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal consists of a steel blade with special serration and a special handle that makes operation of the sickle easy and comfortable compared to the traditional sickle. The good quality steel used and the special serration gives a cutting tooth profile that easily cuts both dry and wet crops. The special shape of the handle gives protection of fingers from getting rubbed to the soil or stubbles. The sickles have been found very useful for harvesting wheat, rice, fodder and other crops that do not have woody stem. Women population is nearly half of the population and the empowerment to this population is equally important in the nations development. Farm women and women labour are the most important functionaries in agriculture and related activities. The ordinary sickle being used for harvesting the fodder grasses is very simple and the design has not been changed for years. As a result, these sickles are very rough to handle and gives poor working efficiency. On the other hand, serrated sickle developed at Bhopal for harvesting purpose is lesser in weight, easy to handle and also saves harvesting time. It is worth to mention that the land holding capacity of
Corresponding Authors Email : hspatelkvk@gmail.com

Kaneri farmers is very small and on the average, less than 0.5 ha is available with each farmer. Moreover, lack of right tools for carrying out various farm operations is the major constraint. Hence, this study was undertaken to popularize the serrated sickle and compare its performance with ordinary desi sickle being used by the rural farm women for cutting grasses, fodder and cereal crops for maximizing efficiency and safety in use. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted in Junagadh district of Gujarat state. Farm women were from 3 talukas and from each taluka, 2 villages were selected to carry out this study. A total of 100 farm women were selected and divided in to two groups consisting of 50 farm women each. One group was allowed to use the desi ordinary sickle whereas another group was provided with serrated sickle developed by CIAE, Bhopal for cutting down of fodder crops. In order to compare the performance of both these sickles, various parameters noted were time taken to harvest one hectare area of fodder, cost of operation and level of drudgery. The method used to collect information was interview of the farm women selected to undertake the harvesting of fodder crop. For this purpose, a semi structured interview schedule was developed to know change in level of drudgery during harvesting, time taken to harvest a unit area and cost involved. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION During the fodder cutting all farm women

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Patel et al were bending position and none was squatting. However, the bend position during longer periods of work may lead to tensing of certain muscles and thus result in quicker, tiredness and soreness (Pheasant, 1991). To reduce these feelings, farmers occasionally stand upright or sharpen their sickles which result in wastage of time.
Table 1. Performance of serrated v/s ordinary sickle.

S. No. Parameter 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Time consumption (hr/ha) Level of drudgery Cost of sickle + operation (Rs) Benefit over ordinary sickle (%) Time saving (%)

Serrated Sickle 20.2 Low 60.0 25.0 26.0

Ordinary Sickle 27.3 Medium 80.0 -

is farmer friendly and does not result in any damage to the worker. Hence, it reduces the drudgery amongst the farm women while working in the fields. According to Kulkarni and Sirohi(1985) the sharpened part of a sickle is the most important factor affecting the working capacity of farmers and the handle determining the convenience in using this tool may also have an indirect effect on working capacity. Likewise, Sen and Chakrabarti (1989) stated that the use of serrated sickles may improve working efficiency. The present findings were, thus, in agreement with these workers. CONCLUSIONS It was thus concluded that use of improved serrated sickle by the farm women is desirable for cutting of fodder as well as cereal crops due to the fact that it reduces drudgery on one hand and saves time and money on the other hand. Hence, such improved technologies need to be demonstrated on a large scale among the rural farm women. REFERENCES:
Kulkarni, S D and Sirohi, B S(1985). sickle handle and its impact on performance efficiency of a work for crop harvesting Agri.Engg.Today, 23-27 Pheasant, S (1991), Ergonomics, work and Health. Mac millan Press: pp.261-267 Sen , R N and Chakraberti, D(1989). An ergonomics study of sickle designs for a reaping task in Indian agriculture. Proceeding of the Ergonomics Society Annual Conference.Taylor and Francis Ltd. London. Received on 26-08-2013 Accepted on 19-11-2013

Advantage of using serrated sickle over the Traditional desi sickle The data ( Table 1) shows that there is 26 per cent saving in the harvesting time with the use of serrated sickle over the ordinary sickle. Similarly, economical benefit is to the extent of 25 per cent due to the reason that ordinary sickle requires its grinding more frequently which wastes time as well as money whereas serrated sickle does not require it at all. In addition to this the design of traditional sickle is not comfortable for the user as sometimes the fingers as well as lower portion of the hand get rubbed with the soil and cause pain. On the other hand, design of serrated sickle

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Short Communication

Introduction of Sweet Corn Cv. Sugar 75 Through Front Line Demonstration in Tribal Area of Navsari District in Gujarat
K A Shah*, B M Tandel, C K Timbadiya and Nital N Patel Krishi Vigyan Kendra Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari- 396 450 (Gujarat)
The agriculture is the back bone of the country and more than 65 per cent population of country directly or indirectly depends on agriculture for their livelihood. In most of the tribal areas of the country, traditional agricultural practices with old crops or cropping system are being practiced in order to fulfill the needs of the family. The farmers of the eastern tribal region of South Gujarat particularly Chikhali and Vansda taluka of Navsari district grow low value crops like wheat, gram, kidney bean, sorghum etc. after paddy in Rabi season. Therefore, to enhance the production and income per unit area, it is very essential to grow high value short duration crops like sweet corn, which will not only increase awareness about this crop in tribal people but also meet requirement of good quality fodder for their milch animal which will result in an increased milk production and thus, enhance the income of farmer. Hence, the present study was conducted to demonstrate the cultivation of sweet corn cv. Sugar 75 through front line demonstration in the tribal area of Navsari district in Gujarat. MATERIALS AND METHODS Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Navsari conducted front line demonstration (FLD) on sweet corn ( Sugar 75) at the farmers field of Vansda and Chikhali taluka of Navsari district during Rabi season of 2010-11 and 2011-12 under the tribal sub plan scheme, Vansda. A total of 126 and 295 FLDs on cultivation of sweet corn were conducted on an area of 30.0 and 68.75 ha. during the years 2010-11 and 2011-12, respectively under irrigated conditions. The soil of demonstration plots ranged
Corresponding Authors Email : kvknavsari@yahoo.com

from medium black to latterite. The various aspects included in the FLD were introduction of high value new crops (sweet corn), variety (Sugar 75), integrated nutrient management, weed management, proper irrigation schedule , integrated pest management and harvesting. The detail guidance regarding scientific cultivation practices of sweet corn were given to the farmers to increase the awareness of improved technology and to increase productivity of sweet corn through conducting training programmes both at KVK as well as off campus. The crop was sown during second fortnight of November in both the years. In demonstrations plots, seeds were treated with the bio- fertilizers like azotobacter and phosphate solublizing bacteria before sowing and application of chemical fertilizer @ 120:60:60 kg N:P:K/ha was done. The yield data was recorded from demonstrated as well as control (Farmers practice) fields. Under contract farming system, memorandum of understanding was signed with M/s Vadilal industries to solve the marketing problem of the crop later on . RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The sweet corn variety Sugar-75 performed better in demonstration plots owing to best management practices like integrated nutrient management, weed management, irrigation and pest management practices. The data regarding performance of sweet corn in front line demonstrations presented in Table 1. The average cob yield and straw yield of demonstration plots in Vasada taluka were 90.9q/ha and 83.3q/ha, respectively, whereas, the average cob yield and

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Shah et al
Table 1 : Performance of front line demonstration of Sweet corn Cv. Sugar 75 .

Name of Taluka Observations Vasada Average Chikhali Average Average 2010-11 2011-12 2010-11 2011-12 of two Talukas Number of demonstration 106 172 139 20 123 72 105 Average cob yield under demonstration (q/ha) 92.4 89.4 90.9 92.4 96.0 94.2 92.5 Average cob yield under control (q/ha) 74.0 73.9 74.0 79.8 75.5 76.7 75.8 Percent increase in cob yield over control 24.6 21.1 22.8 16.3 27.2 21. 8 22.3 Average straw yield under demonstration (q/ha) 84.0 82.6 83.3 85.6 88.2 86.7 85.1 Average straw yield under control (q/ha) 69.1 67.9 68.5 72.0 68.4 70.2 69.4 Percent increase in straw yield over control 21.6 21.5 21.6 19.1 29.0 24.1 22.8

straw yield of control plots were 74.0 q/ha and 68.5 q/ha, respectively. The average cob yield and straw yield of demonstration plots in Chikhali taluka were 94.2 q/ha and 86.7q/ha, respectively, whereas, the average cob yield and straw yield of control plots were 76.7q/ha and 70.2q/ha, respectively. The average per cent increase in cob yield and straw yield of demonstration plot over the control plot in Vasada taluka were 22.8per cent and 21.6 per cent, respectively. The average per cent increase in cob yield and straw yield of demonstration plot over the control plot in Chikhali taluka were 21.8per cent and 24.1per cent, respectively. There was overall 22.3 per cent and 22.8 per cent increase in cob yield and straw yield, respectively, in demonstration plots where all the best management practices were adopted over the

control plots. The increase in yield in demonstration over control plots due to integrated nutrient management were also reported by Dhemre and Desale (2010) in radish crop. CONCLUSION Results of the frontline demonstration had shown that the use of improved variety, scientific cultivation practices and plant protection measures resulted in higher productivity of sweet corn. Best management practices approximately increased 22 per cent cob and straw yield in sweet corn. REFERENCES
Dhemre J K and Desale S B (2010). Impact of front line demonstration on production technology of radish cv. DHAWAL KRANTI in Dhule district of Maharastra. Asian J Hort 5(2): 350-52. Received on 12-02-2013 Accepted on 18-05-2013

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Short Communication

Rare Case of Foetal Ascitis in a Kid

H K Bhattacharyya* and S Baruah Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dibrugarh Assam Agricultural University, Romai-Kardoibam Dibrugarh 786010 ( Assam)
Foetal ascitis or dropsy of peritoneum is usually ascribed to derangement of foetal circulation. It may either be hereditary or associated with brucellosis (Roberts, 1982). The condition is common in bovines but rare in other domestic animals (Noakes et al, 2001). On vaginal examination ascitic foetus shows increased size of abdomen that fluctuates on pressure and such animals are usually born dead. If alive they are weak with less survival. The present case describes a rare case of ascitis in a kid. MATERIALS AND METHODS Case history, Observation and Treatment A pleuriparous crossbred full termed goat weighing 18 Kg. was presented with the history of straining since 2 days. The goat was anorectic, depressed, severely dehydrated and slightly feveric (103.8 0 C) with pale and dry mucus membrane. The animal was frequently getting up and down showing extreme abdominal pain. Examination of external genitalia revealed slightly swollen vulva discharging fetid purulent materials. Pervaginal examination indicated fully dilated os. The kid was in posterior longitudinal presentation and dorso-sacral position; however, both hind limbs were flexing at hock. Haematological examination of the doe revealed 6 g/ dl Haemoglobin (Hb), 41% packed cell volume (PCV), 5.12X10 6 / l erythrocytes (RBC) and 17X103/ l leucocytes (WBC). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION After careful repelling of the foetus, both the hind limbs were corrected manually (Fig-1) however, the foetus was tightly retained in the birth canal due to its enlarged abdomen. Lubrication
*Corresponding Authors Email: drhiranyabh@yahoo.co.in

of the birth canal was achieved by applying vaseline and the male foetus was extracted out (Fig-2). Although, the kid was delivered alive it died after about 5 minutes probably due to forceful exhaustion of the foetus leading to bradychardia and shock during the prolonged phase of labour. Rectum of the foetus was also found everted through anus. Succussion of the foetus revealed fluid splashing sound. On abomasocentesis a large amount of abdominal fluid (1.5 l) came out and thus the condition was diagnosed as foetal ascitis. Another dead female foetus, which was in anterior longitudinal presentation, was also removed by mild traction and no ascitis in this second foetus was observed. After removing both the foetuses the goat was treated with injection Ciprofloxacin @ 10 mg/ kg IM bid X 7 days, injection Rintose @ 300 ml IV od X 3 days, injection Feritas 1ml IM (each ml contains iron sorbitol citric acid-50 mg, folic acid-500 mcg and cyanocobalamin50 mcg; Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Ahmedabad, India) at weekly intervals for 3 occasions and 2 boli of Furea were administered through intrauterine route. The body weight of the dam following removal of foetus was 12 Kg. The animal discharged same day of treatment and information of the patient was taken telephonically every alternate day. The goat was found active and alert resuming normal appetite after 10 days. Marked improvement in clinical status 20 days post treatment as indicated by increase in level of Hb (9 g/ dl) and RBC (9.10X106/ l) and decrease in PCV (35%) and WBC (10.2X10 3 / l) was recorded with an extra body weight gain of 2 Kg. The level of MCV (80.08 pg), MCH (11.72 fL) and MCHC (14.63%) before treatment revealed severe macrocytic and hypo chromic anaemia that

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Bhattacharyya and Baruah could be due to deficiency of iron (Fe), folic acid and cyanocobalamin in the feed (Radostits et al, 2000). After administration of haematinic (Inj. Feritas) a marked improvement in the haemogram and haematological indices (MCV 38.46 pg, MCH 9.89 fL and MCHC 25.71%) was observed. Severe leucocytosis (17X10 3 / l) before treatment revealed acute bacterial infection and a drastic reduction in the WBC count (10.2X103/l) was observed following Ciprofloxacin administration. The severe macrocytic and hypo chromic anaemia along with bacterial infection might have resulted in deterioration of dams health and foetal death. In the present case hereditary nature in the occurrence of foetal ascitis could not be ascertained due to non availability of record as the goat purchased form the local market only few months earlier. The probable involvement of brucellosis causing fetal ascitis was also ruled out by conducting serum agglutination test. The occurrence of this condition in goat from rural Assam is reported for the first time. REFERENCES
Noakes E D, Parkinson T J and England G C W ( 2001). Arthurs Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics. 8th edn., Harcourt (India) Private Ltd., New Delhi. Radostits O M, Gay C C, Blood D C and Hinchcliff K W ( 2000). Veterinary Medicine, 9th edn, W.B. Sounders, London. Roberts S J (1986). Veterinary Obstetrics and Genital diseases, 3rd ed. Edward Brothers Michighan, U.S.A.

Fig 1: Removal of hind limbs after correction

Fig 2: Ascitic kid showing abdominal enlargement

Received on 03-06-2013 Accepted on 08-11-2013

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Short Communication

Validation of Wilt Management Technology Through On Farm Trials in Coloured Capsicum

Arti Shukla Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kandaghat-173 215 Dr. Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (Himachal Pradesh)
The climatic conditions of Himachal Pradesh ideally suits for protected cultivation of vegetables. The major vegetables being grown under protected conditions are capsicum tomato, cucumber, cauliflower, bush beans and leafy vegetables. Among these, coloured capsicum occupies maximum acreage and give maximum returns to the growers. This technology further got impetus with the implementation of Pt. Deen Dyal Kisan Bagwan Samridhi Yojna by the State Agriculture Department in 2008-09 under which farmers were given 80 per cent subsidy for the construction of polyhouse. Since then, it is gaining momentum in the state and presently 220 ha. area has come under protected cultivation of vegetables. Out of which, 150 ha is being occupied by capsicum only. In Solan district, 1190 polyhouses have been constructed covering an area of approximately 1,13,013m2 and most of the farmers are growing coloured capsicum only. The varieties which are being grown are Bomby, Spinx ( Red), Orebelle and US-26 (Yellow). Besides favouring the luxuriant growth of the plants, the environmental conditions inside the polyhouse is very congenial for the development of various diseases of fungal, bacterial and viral nature. Under protected conditions, fungal wilt caused by Phytophthora capsici, Phytophthora nicotianae var. nicotianae and Fusarium oxysporum fsp. capsici is the major limiting factor for successful cultivation of coloured capsicum. Disease incidence up to 30 to 70 per cent have been recorded and sometimes the disease wipes out the whole crop resulting in 100 per cent loss. None of the varieties or hybrids which are available in the market and being grown
Corresponding Authors Email : artikvksolan@gmail.com

commercially has resistance against the wilt. In the absence of resistant varieties, farmers are compelled to grow the varieties which succumb to the disease very easily. Keeping in view the devastating magnitude of the disease, KVK has designed an intervention on wilt management and the technology was disseminated to the farmers through conductance of on farm trials and front line demonstrations. MATERIALS AND METHODS Factors responsible for development and spread of the disease: Periodic surveys of different polyhouses were conducted to find out the various factors involved in high incidence of the wilt and data on response of farmers to these factors were collected (Table 1). Following factors were found associated with high disease incidence: 1. Use of improper growth media: During surveys, it was observed that farmers generally do not use proper growth media (2 parts soil: 1 part sand: 1 part FYM). They only incorporate FYM in the soil and that too in insufficient quantity and in most of the wilt affected areas, soil type is clay which supports perpetuation of the fungal pathogens for a longer period. 2. Monoculture: In district Solan, farmers are mainly cultivating coloured capsicum or tomato under protected conditions. Due to monoculturing of these solanaceous crops, inoculum of soil borne diseases like wilt has increased tremendously. Once the inoculum establishes itself in the field, it becomes very difficult to eradicate it.

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Arti Shukla 3. Lack of seed or soil treatment: It was found that initially, none of the farmer go for seed and /or soil treatment and on the appearance of the disease, they use fungicides indiscriminately. Hence sterilization of soil with formaldehyde solution (5%) is must to grow crop in polyhouse during next season.
Table 1. Factors associated with wilt incidence (N=15). Factor associated with Response of farmers wilt incidence (Yes/No) Yes No Use of proper growth media 0 15 Monoculture 14 1 Seed treatment 2 13 Soil treatment 0 15

On Farm Trials were conducted at the farmers fields at different locations of the district for three years i.e. 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 consecutively to validate the efficacy of wilt management technology. Keeping in view the above mentioned factors, following treatments were given either alone or in combination and were compared with farmers practice. The nursery soil with formaldehyde (5%) solution in order to ensure use of healthy nursery. Different treatments were as T1 (Farmers practice) i.e., no seed and soil treatment + indiscriminate use of fungicides, T 2 (Soil treatment) i.e., beds were thoroughly wetted with water one day prior to treatment. Next day, drenching of beds was done with 5 per cent formaldehyde solution and were covered with transparent polythene sheets (50 ) in such a way that no air should enter inside. After one week, sheet was removed and raking of soil was done twice a day until there was no smell of ammonia in the soil. Third treatment was T 3 (T 2 +Seed treatment + drenching of soil with copper oxychloride (0.3%) alternated with spray of carbendazim (0.1%) + mancozeb (0.25%) at 7 days intervals). In order to avoid seed borne inoculum, seed treatment was done with Captan @3g/kg seed before sowing. Drenching of soil with copper oxychloride 0.3% followed by spray of mancozeb 0.25%+ carbendazim 0.1% alternatively at an interval of 7 days at flowering stage or at the appearance of disease symptoms was done.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The perusal of the data (Table 2) revealed that there was a remarkable decrease in disease incidence in the polyhouse where treatment was done as compared to the untreated one. During 2009-10, it was found that 73.0 and 83.3 per cent disease control was achieved in T2 (soil sterilization with 5% formalin) and T 3 treatment (soil sterilization with 5% formalin+ seed treatment with captan @ 3.0g/kg of seed + drenching with copper oxychloride 0.3% alternate with spray of carbendazim 0.1% + mancozeb 0.25%) with 48.57 and 58.09 percent increase in yield in demonstration plots as compared to farmers practice (FP). There was a net return of 35.60 and 39.00 lakhs/ha and a B:C ratio of 2.81 and 2.90 was achieved in T2 and T3 treatments, respectively as compared to only 17.55 lakhs/ha net return and a B:C ratio of 1.92 in FP . Similar trend was observed during 2010-11 and 2011-12 also. During 2010-11, 67.61 and 78.23 per cent disease control was achieved in T 2 and T 3 treatments, respectively with 43.75 and 56.25 per cent increase in yield over farmers practice and a B: C ratio of 2.86 and 2.98 was observed as compared to 1.96 in farmers practice. Similarly, 41.30 and 52.17 per cent increase in yield and a B: C ratio of 3.45 and 3.49 was recorded in 201112 in T 2 and T 3 treatments, respectively as compared to a B: C ratio of 2.40 in farmers practice. CONCLUSION In order to have a good crop in the polyhouse consecutively, farmers must go for crop rotation with non solanaceous crops, use of proper growth media, healthy nursery, soil and seed treatment. From the present studies it can be concluded that in order to harvest good crop of capsicum in the polyhouse consecutively, soil sterilization with formalin @5% can prove very effective as preventive measure but once the incidence of disease appears, the soil and seed treatment should be followed by soil drenching with copper oxychloride 0.3% and spray of carbendazim (0.1%)+ mancozeb (0.25%). However, in order to minimize threat to the environment, there is need to find out some more economical and environmentally safe methods like resistant varieties.
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90
2011-12 8.4 5.2 8.4 12.33 83.3 78.23 74.6 830 750 700 58.09 12.5 15.67 73.0 67.61 67.7 780 690 650 48.57 43.75 56.25 41.30 52.17

Table 2: Effect of soil treatment and fungicides on wilt management.

Treatments

T1 = Farmers practice (No seed and soil treatment + indiscriminate use of fungicides) T2 = Soil sterilization with 5% formalin T3 = T2+ seed treatment with Captan @ 3.0g/kg of seed + drenching with copper oxychloride (0.3%) alternated with spray of carbendazim (0.1%)+ mancozeb (0.25%) at 7 days interval

Wilt incidence(%)Per cent disease control over check(T1)Yield (q/ha)Per cent increase in yield 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2009-10 2010-11 31.2 38.6 48.6 525 480 460 -

Wilt Management Technology

J Krishi Vigyan 2013, 2(1) : 88-90

Wilt affected crop Healthy crop
Received on 13-07-2013 Accepted on 13-11-2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The editorial office of Journal of Krishi Vigyan expresses its extreme gratitude to the following honorable reviewers from across the country, for reviewing the manuscripts and providing their expert comments. The valuable input by the worthy reviewers in terms of their precious time and sincere efforts is greatly admirable.

Reviewers Name
Anil Kr. Dixit Avneet Kaur Bhupinder Singh Deepanjali Deori Doni Jini Gagandeep Kaur Gobinder Singh Gurdeep Singh Gurmeet Singh Gurpreet Kaur K P Chaudhary Meharban Singh R R Singh Ranjay Kr Singh Rishi Kumar S K Acharya S Subash Kumar Sangita Sood Simerjeet Kaur T A Shah T J Ramesha Vinod Kr Khatta

No. of Articles
1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

State
Chattisgarh Punjab Haryana Assam Arunachal Pradesh Punjab Punjab Punjab Punjab Punjab Manipur Punjab Uttar Pradesh Jharkhand Haryana West Bengal Karnataka Himachal Pradesh Punjab J&K Arunachal Pradesh Haryana

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