Book of Extended summaries ISDA

Extended Summaries 

22-24 December, 2022 

Supported by 

Department of 

Science & 

Technology 

Government of 

India 

Organized by 

Indian Society of Dryland Agriculture 

ICAR-Central Research Ins tute for Dryland Agriculture 

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

Extended Summaries 

First International Conference 

Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: 

Challenges & Opportunities 

22 – 24 December 2022 

Edited by 

C A Rama Rao, M Srinivasa Rao, S Suvana, A K Shanker, G Pratibha, 

R Rejani, S Kundu, H B Santosh, B V Asewar, J Rohit, K V Rao & V K Singh 

Organized by 

Indian Society of Dryland Agriculture 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture 

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

Citation 

Rama Rao, C.A., Srinivasa Rao, M., Suvana S, Shanker, A.K., Pratibha, G., Rejani, R., Kundu, S., 

Santosh, H.B., Asewar, B.V., Rohit, J., Rao, K.V. & Singh, V.K. 2022. First International Conference in 

‘Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges and Opportunities’. Extended Summaries. Indian 

Society of Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad. p. 915. 

© Indian Society of Dryland Agriculture (ISDA), Hyderabad 

December 2022 

Published by 

Organizing Secretary 

First International Conference 

ICAR-CRIDA 

Hyderabad 500059 

ISBN: 978-93-80883-67-0 

Copyright © 2022 Indian Society of Dryland Agriculture, ISDA & 

ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, CRIDA 

Assisted by: 

Girish, P., Gayatri, D.L.A, Navya, M., A Siva Kumar., Samba Shiva, G., Lokesh, 

G., Deepika, S. Kalyan, Pratyusha G.S. 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication by the authors are their own and these do not 

necessarily reflect those of the organizers / sponsors or their respective institutes.

Contents 

Theme Title Page No. 

1 Resilience through land and water management 

interventions, water management and governance 

2 Ecosystem based approaches for climate change 

adaptation, ecosystem services, integrated farming 

system models, Land degradation neutrality 

1-139 

140-235 

2a Climate resilient agriculture for risk mitigation 236-330 

3 Managing genetic resources for enhanced stress 

tolerance 

4 Sustainable soil management for resilient rainfed 

agro-ecosystem: conservation agriculture, organic 

farming, INM, soil-microorganisms-plant 

interactions 

331-429 

430-557 

4a Resource conservation and rainfed agriculture 558-693 

5 Emerging approaches (RS, AI, ML, Drones etc) for 

crop management & assessment 

6 Institutional and policy innovations for accelerated 

and enhanced impacts 

694-793 

794-915

Resilience through land and water 

management interventions, water 

management and governance 

Theme– 1

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges & 

Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad 

Theme – 1: Resilience through land and water management 

interventions, water management and governance 

List of Extended Summaries 

S.No Title First Author ID 

1. Low-Cost Tube-well Recharge Technology 

for Enhancing Water Availability 

2. Modified Agronomic Practices for 

Enhancing Efficiency of Hydrogels in 

Groundnut under Semi-arid Ecologies of 

Andhra Pradesh 

3. Farm Ponds in Semi-Arid Region of 

Maharashtra 

4. Climate Resilience Through Inclusive Water 

Management Over A Decade: A Successful 

Case Study of Yelerampura Gram 

Panchayat, Tumakuru District, Karnataka 

5. Resilience through water conservation and 

adoption of drought tolerant crop variety in 

NICRA village Gunia, Gumla, Jharkhand 

6. Transforming agriculture through 

Hydroponics: An innovative water-efficient 

technology for rainfed areas 

7. Enhancing Water Productivity in Rainfed 

Agriculture through in-situ and ex-situ Rain 

Water Harvesting- NICRA Experiences 

8. Enhancement of Rainfed Cotton Production 

Through Supplemental Irrigation in 

Vertisols Tract of Southern Tamil Nadu 

9. Enhancing Climate Resilient Agriculture in 

Semi-Arid Region through Group Micro 

Irrigation by Collectivization and Equitable 

Sharing of Groundwater: Case Study in 

Maharashtra and Telangana, India 

10. Soil Preferential Flow: A Case Study from 

Semi-arid Watershed 

11. Micro-Irrigation Based Supplemental 

Irrigation Using Harvested Rainwater for 

Sustainable Agriculture Under Rainfed 

Ecosystems 

12. Increasing the Productivity of Rainfed Rice- 

Based Double Cropping System Through 

Supplemental Irrigation Under Medium 

Lowland Situation of North Bank Plains 

Zone (NBPZ) of Assam 

Navab Singh 

GA Rajanna 

Sarita Chemburkar 

Ramesh 

T1-01O-1003 

T1-02O-1125 

T1-03O-1133 

T1-04O-1181 

Sanjay Kumar T1-05 O-1189 

Ankur Agarwal 

BV Asewar 

M Manikandan 

Arun Bhagat 

Pushpanjali 

Abrar Yousuf 

Arun Jyothi 

T1-05aO-1375 

T1-05bO-1161 

T1-06R-1005 

T1-07R-1062 

T1-08R-1149 

T1-09R-1172 

T1-10R-1382 

Resilience through land and water management interventions, water management and governance 

1 | Page




13. Evaluation of In Situ Moisture Conservation 

Techniques for Sustainable Productivity of 

Chick pea in Bundelkhand Region 

CM Tripathi 

T1-11R-1402 

14. Jalkund: Low-cost water harvesting 

structure for sustainable livelihood in rainfed 

agroecosystem of Chandel district, Manipur, 

India 

15. Effect of Hydrogel and Organic Manures to 

Mitigate Abiotic Stress in Groundnut Under 

Rainfed Conditions of Saurashtra Region 

16. Straw Mulching as Climate Resilience 

Measure for In-situ Water Management and 

enhancing Productivity of Rainfed Soybean 

17. Irrigation Requirement of Major Crops 

Under Changing Climatic Scenarios in 

Northern Gujarat Zone 

18. Resilience in Rainfed Agriculture through 

Rainwater Management based on 

Catchment-Storage-Command Relationship 

in Assured Rainfall Zone of Marathwada 

Region 

19. Nutrient uptake, harvest index and 

economics of wheat varieties as influenced 

by alternate furrow irrigation 

20. Comparison of sustainable dryland cropping 

under Reduced Runoff Farming in Alfisols 

of Karnataka 

21. Conservation Furrow-A Low-Cost Climate 

Resilient Technology to Enhance the 

Productivity of Rainfed Crops and Cropping 

Systems in Scarce Rainfall Zone of Andhra 

Pradesh 

22. Conservation and Rainwater Storage 

Structure (CNB) on Drainage Line for 

Developing Groundwater Regimes in 

Vidarbha Region 

23. Effect of Irrigation and Nitrogen Sources on 

Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Lettuce 

(Lactuca Sativa L.) in West Bengal 

24. Effect of Irrigation and Mulch on Summer 

Babycorn (Zea mays L.) in New Alluvial 

Zone of West Bengal 

25. Enhancing Water Productivity in the Scarce 

Rainfall Zone of Andhra Pradesh through 

Farmponds with Seepage Control 

Kangjam Sonamani 

Singh 

PD Vekariya 

SH Narale 

R Rejani 

Ananya Mishra 

Jyoti 

Santosh Nagappa 

Ningoji 

A Malliswara Reddy 

RS Patode 

Madhurima Dey 

VVS Jaya Krishna 

Boini Narsimlu 

T1-11aR-1526 

T1-12P-1011 

T1-13P-1023 

T1-14P-1037 

T1-15P-1057 

T1-16P-1070 

T1-17P-1078 

T1-18P-1083 

T1-19P-1129 

T1-20P-1144 

T1-21P-1145 

T1-22P-1197 

2 | Page Resilience through land and water management interventions, water management and governance




26. Maximize the Production of Blackgram 

Through Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed 

Planting Methods Under Aberrated Climatic 

Regions 

27. Integrating Improved Land, Water 

Management Practices and Cropping 

Systems for Sustainable Farming in 

Drylands of Northern Karnataka: A Case 

Study 

28. Effect of Supplemental Irrigation on Yield 

and Economics of Different Pulse and 

Oilseed Crops under Dryland Condition in 

Palamau Region of Jharkhand 

29. Water Use Yield and Economics of Maize as 

Influenced by Drip Irrigation Schedules and 

Nitrogen Levels 

30. Jalkund Low Cost Rain Water Harvesting 

and Utilization for Rabi Season Vegetable 

Production in Rabitar, Namchi District, 

Sikkim, India 

31. Economic Feasibility of Farmponds: A case 

study of Drainage Line Treatment Scheme in 

Wayanad District, Kerala 

32. Optimum Sowing window and water stress 

at critical stages on the growth and yield of 

groundnut crop- A modeling approach 

33. Effect of Super Absorbent Polymers 

(Hydrogel), Bioagent (Trichoderma) and 

Organic Manures in Water Management of 

Rainfed Wheat (Triticum aestivum) in 

Eastern Uttar Pradesh 

34. Ratooning Sorghum for Agronomic 

Rainwater Management 

35. Performance of Groundnut Under Micro 

Irrigation Methods, Schedules and Varied 

Fertilizer Doses 

36. Water harvesting technologies for enhancing 

productivity of rainfed agriculture contribute 

to resilience 

37. Performance evaluation of standard 

performance indicators of telugu ganga 

project in Andhra Pradesh 

38. Catchment–Storage-Command Relationship 

for Increasing Water Productivity in Micro- 

Watershed of Raichur District 

RK Singh 

MS Shirahatti 

Nargis Kumari 

Y Deepthi Kiran 

Indra Prashad 

Shivakoti 

S Lokesh 

AVM Subba Rao 

Sayoni Das 

V Maruthi 

K Sathish Babu 

KV Rao 

Ch Murali Krishna 

RH Rajkumar 

T1-23P-1198 

T1-24P-1229 

T1-25P-1265 

T1-26P-1275 

T1-27P-1290 

T1-28P-1321 

T1-29P-1322 

T1-30P-1327 

T1-31P-1334 

T1-32P-1335 

T1-33P-1357 

T1-34P-1358 

T1-35P-1384 


3 | Page




39. Impact of Raising Bund Height Around Rice 

Field on Water Management, Growth, Yield 

and Economics 

40. Performance of Land Shaping as a Climate 

Smart Model for the Sundarban 

41. Irrigation Requirement of Different Crops of 

Krishna Basin Under Changing Climatic 

Scenarios 

42. Impact of Borewell Recharging Structures in 

NICRA Village 

43. Recycling of harvested rainwater through 

farm pond to enhance productivity of rabi 

crops under semi-arid region 

44. Rain Water Harvesting Technology, Jalkund 

- A Boon for Far Flung Hilly Farmers Under 

NICRA 

45. In-Situ Moisture Conservation and Natural 

Nitrification Inhibitors for Adaptation And 

Mitigation Of Climate Change In Semi-Arid 

Rainfed Regions 

46. Impact of Subsoiling on Soil moisture 

dynamics, soil physical properties and yield 

under finger millet + pigeonpea and groundnut 

+ pigeonpea cropping systems 

47. Checkdams - A way for rainwater harvesting, 

climate resilience and sustainability of rainfed 

farmers in Ananthapuramu, Andhra Pradesh 

Deokaran 

PK Garain 

D Kalyana Srinivas 

G Hiregoudar 

JK Balyan 

R Lalrambeiseia 

G Pratibha 

K Devaraja 

B Chandana 

T1-36P-1400 

T1-37P-1416 

T1-38P-1424 

T1-39P-1430 

T1-40P-1432 

T1-41P-1449 

T1-42P-1462 

T1-43P-1494 

T1-44P-1517 

48. Improved Jhum in southern part of Mizoram H Vanlalhmuliana T1-45P-1532 

49. Development of digital weighing type 

lysimeter to monitor soil water balance 

parameters 

50. Popularization of Climate Smart Technology – 

Jalkund/Farm Pond for Crop Cultivation Post 

Monsoon Period 

51. Land Configuration Management for 

Enhancing the Crop Productivity 

52. Impact and Effectiveness of Rainwater 

Management Activities and Water Utilization 

for Rainfed Crops in the Semi-arid Region -A 

Case Study 

53. Effect of In-situ moisture conservation 

practices on productivity and economics of 

maize based cropping system under rainfed 

ecosystem of South Bihar 

54. Evaluation of cherry tomato (Solanum 

lycopersicum var. cerasiformae) cultivars 

Ajita Gupta 

T Amrutha 

Sreedhar Chauhan 

S Vijayakumar 

MK Singh 

Harendra Kumar 

T1-46P-1533 

T1-47P-1574 

T1-48P-1582 

T1-49P-1281 

T1-50P-1617 

T1-51P-1383 





under hydroponics for growth, yield, and 

quality parameters 

55. Impact Assessment of Farm Pond on Demand 

Scheme of Maharashtra 

56. Impact of Soil and Water Conservation 

Interventions on The Livelihood of Tribal 

Farmers from The Hilly Area of Palghar 

District 

57. Application Technologies for Harvested 

Rainwater in Ponds: Issues and Prospects 

S Gireesh 

Pavan Jadhav 

Manoranjan Kumar 

T1-52P-1307 

T1-53P-1503 

T1-54P-1755 


5 | Page



T1-01O-1003 

Low-Cost Tube-well Recharge Technology for Enhancing Water 

Availability 

Navab Singh, P. P. Rohilla, S. K. Singh, and Dilip Matwa 

ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Zone-II 

CAZRI Campus, Jodhpur-342 005. Rajasthan. INDIA. 

In India, climate vulnerabilities addressed are drought, flood, cyclone, heat waves, cold waves, 

etc. which are likely to threaten the food security and livelihood of millions of people in urban, 

peri-urban, and rural areas as well. Groundwater is clearly the preferred source for farmers. 

This is one of the reasons why India has experienced explosive growth in groundwater demand 

during recent decades (Pendke et al. 2017). The NICRA villages have become hubs of learning 

on climate-resilient agriculture in a short span, opening up opportunities for horizontal and 

vertical diffusion of successful interventions in other parts of the districts. Due to changes in 

climatic conditions and rainfall, the climate changed in Rajasthan, since the last ten years 

rainfall pattern has changed, the dry spell is more, and also an uneven distribution of rains. It 

is therefore important to enhance the residence of the Indian agriculture production system to 

climate variability and change. In this regard, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Bharatpur under NICRA 

Project developed low-cost tube-well recharge technology to improve the groundwater quality 

and availability as well. 

Methodology 

Water stress is being felt in different parts of the country owing to the increasing demand 

resulting from the population explosion (CGWB 2007). Most of the farmers were unaware of 

in-situ soil and water conservation techniques. A few farmers were recharging their tube wells 

by using indigenous methods, viz., by the opening valve of the Kachcha tube well in the rainy 

season to restore run-off water. But due to filtration problems silt is deposited in the pit and 

needs frequent cleaning, which is a tiresome process and huge water losses. Based on the above 

findings and the usefulness of recharging tube-well; KVK Bharatpur has developed indigenous 

wisdom of farmers with scientific input to design a low-cost recharging structure of tube-well 

(`10000/-only) using locally available cement pipes (perforated), brick wall in tube-well and 

prepared a pit also for water filtration separately outside the tube-well. 

Results 

More than 125 tube-well recharging structures have been completed successfully in Sitara 

village of Bharatpur district and farmers of Sahenti and Mukundpura nearby villages have also 

adopted this low-cost technology. Major crops in the rabi season minimized 90% of the yield 

losses due to recharged groundwater (8-10ft); due to which farmers cultivated wheat, barley, 




and vegetables other than mustard. Collected run-off water helped farmers to pre-irrigate fields 

for sowing of rabi crops when September rains were not received. This intervention 

significantly increased in shallow acquirer level (2.5 to 4.0 m) and collected approximately 

4000 cubic meters of rainwater which was continuously delivered in tube wells. Similar results 

have been reported by earlier workers (Palanisami et al. 2006, Kambale et al. 2009, and 

Honnannavar et al. 2016). 

Details of parameters of Wheat demonstrations at farmers’ fields under NICRA Project 

Year Variety No. of 

farmers 

Area (ha) 

Local check 

Average yield q/ha 

Demonstrations % increase 

2017-18 Raj. 4238 148 150.54 36.90 52.15 41.33 

2018-19 Raj. 4238 112 80.50 39.50 55.57 40.68 

2019-20 Raj. 4238 118 47.20 37.80 54.00 42.85 

2020-21 Raj. 4238 120 48.00 37.50 53.83 43.55 

Total -- 498 326.24 151.68 215.52 168.0 

Average -- -- -- 37.92 53.88 42.00 

Details of parameters of Barley demonstrations at farmers’ field under NICRA Project 


farmers 

Area (ha) 

Local check 



2017-18 RD-2794 52 31.16 23.25 31.40 35.05 

2018-19 RD-2794 15 8.00 21.30 29.08 36.50 

2019-20 RD-2794 15 6.00 22.80 30.98 35.80 

2020-21 RD-2794 20 8.00 23.50 31.35 33.40 

Total -- 102 53.16 9.84 122.80 140.80 

Average -- -- -- 22.71 30.70 35.20 

Details of parameters of Mustard demonstrations at farmers’ field under NICRA Project 


farmers 

Area 

(ha) 

Local check 



2017-18 DRMRIJ-31 134 54.22 19.25 28.00 45.45 

2018-19 DRMRIJ-31 188 75.20 20.30 29.50 45.30 

2019-20 DRMRIJ-31 118 47.20 19.20 27.80 44.80 

2020-21 DRMRIJ-31 120 48.00 21.40 31.35 46.50 

Total -- 560 224.62 80.16 116.60 182.00 

Average -- -- -- 20.04 29.15 45.50 

This low-cost tube-well recharge technology proved highly useful in decreasing irrigation 

costs, and soil salinity due to improvement in groundwater quality. This successful intervention 

has increased irrigated area as well as percent increase yield of 42.00, 35.20, and 45.50, 


7 | Page



respectively in wheat, barley, and mustard This intervention has created awareness among the 

farming community and helped them immensely in solving the water deficit problem and 

encouraged them for water conservation practices. Recently, Veeranna and Jeet (2020) have 

studied similar groundwater recharge technology for water resource management following the 

standard guidelines of CGWB. 

Conclusion 

The low-cost tube-well recharge technology has been found very economic and useful in 

decreasing irrigation costs due to which most of the farmers have adopted it in several villages 

of the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. Soil salinity has also been decreased due to improvement 

in groundwater quality which has been successfully used for growing vegetable crops in 

addition to wheat, barley, and mustard crops in the study area. Hence, such type of innovation 

should be up-scaled and replicated under prevailing farming situations to improve groundwater 

quality and to decrease soil salinity as well. 

References 

CGWB. 2007. Guide on artificial recharge to Groundwater: 1-54 

(http://www.cgwb.gov.in/documents/Manual-Artificial-Recharge.pdf). 

Honnannavar, S., Kambar, J., Patil, S. and Savant, C. 2016. Borewell recharging through 

rainwater harvesting by V-wire technology. J. Chem. Pharm. Res. 8(3):47-50. 

Kambale, J.B., Sarangi, A., Singh, D.K. and Singh, A.K. 2009. Performance Evaluation of 

filtration unit of groundwater shaft: groundwater study. Curr. Sci. 96(4): 471-474. 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24105453. 

Palanisami, K., Raviraj, A., and Thirumurthi, S. 2006. Artificial Recharge in Hard Rock Areas 

of Coimbatore District –A Case Study. International Conference on Groundwater 

sustainable Development problems, perspectives, and challenges (IGC-2006). 

http://jnuenvis.nic.in/publication/IGC%202006%20Abstracts.pdf. 

Pendke, M.S., Asewar, B.V., Gore, A.K., Wasker, D.P. and Samindre, M.S. 2017. Open and 

bore well technology. AICRP for Dryland agriculture. ISBNo: 978-93-85456-19-0. 

Veeranna, J. and Jeet, P. 2020. Groundwater Recharges Technology for Water Resource 

Management: A Case Study. 10.5772/intechopen.93946. 




T1-02O-1125 

Modified Agronomic Practices for Enhancing Efficiency of Hydrogels in 

Groundnut under Semi-arid Ecologies of Andhra Pradesh 

G.A. Rajanna, B. C. Ajay, K. K. Reddy and C. S. Praharaj 

ICAR-Directorate of Groundnut Research, Regional Station, Ananthapur, Andhra Pradesh 515701 

One of the main oilseed crops, groundnut accounts for around 26% of India's total oilseed 

production. About 7.6 lakh hectares of groundnut are grown in Andhra Pradesh, with an annual 

production of 4.8 lakh tonnes. It is a significant oilseed crop in the Rayalaseema districts of 

Andhra Pradesh (Ananthapur, Karnool, Cuddapah, Chittoor, and Sathya Sai Jilla). Because of 

the high erratic nature of the rainfall in these locations, farmers were unable to make use of the 

extra moisture. However, during the flowering and pod-filling periods, the groundnut crop is 

severely stressed by dryness. Due to lack of appropriate water absorption materials, the 

inconsistent rainfall that the crop got during that time was effectively wasted. Polymer 

hydrogels are one such material that can absorb the excess rainwater and release as and when 

the crop needs (Rajanna et al., 2022). However, the typical way of applying hydrogel is soil 

application, led to erroneous germination and reduced crop yields in the long run. To maximise 

the advantages of polymer hydrogels, we must thus change the way they are applied. According 

to Rajanna et al. (2021), seed treatment with pusa hydrogel and SPG 1118 led to higher 

biological and seed yields in the soybean-wheat system than soil application. In light of this, a 

field study was carried out to investigate the impact of altered agronomic procedures for 

improving various hydrogels efficiency in terms of growth and yield qualities in semi-arid 

conditions of Andhra Pradesh. 

Methodology 

A field study was conducted at ICAR-Directorate of Groundnut Research, Regional Station, 

Ananthapur during kharif season of 2021-22 to study the effect of modified agronomic 

practices for enhancing efficiency of hydrogels in groundnut under semi-arid ecologies of 

Andhra Pradesh. The experiment consisted of ten treatments having two types of hydrogels 

(SPG 1118 and Aaridhar) applied with three types of method of application (soil application, 

slurry application and seed treatment) along with FYM, no gypsum application and control 

plots using RBD with three replications. Sowing was done on 06 th July 2021 using Kadari 

Lepakshi (K1812) variety of groundnut planted at a planting interval of 30×10 cm in a gross 

plot area of 27 m 2 . The recommended rate of fertilizer used was 20:40:50 kg NPK/ha along 

with gypsum application (500 kg/ha) at 25 days after sowing. The source of fertilizers were 

DAP, Urea and MOP. At various growing phases, all growth and yield observations were 

recorded, and the data was statistically analyzed. 


9 | Page



Results 

Results of the study indicated that, seed treatment with SPG-1118 hydrogel application 

exhibited significantly higher pod yield (1674.1 kg/ha), haulm yield (3919.5 kg/ha), kernel 

yield (1153.2 kg/ha) and shelling percentage (69.0%) as compared to control plots and other 

aaridhar hydrogel applied plots. However, harvest index was found to be non-significant. Soil 

application of commercially available Aaridhar hydrogel recorded significantly lower growth 

and yield attributes. Similarly, hydrogels with no gypsum applied plots also recorded 

significantly lower yields than others. Concurrently, higher soil moisture content was observed 

under application of FYM+ SPG1118 hydrogel applied plots over other plots. 

Yield (kg/ha) 

4500 Pod yield (kg/ha) Haulm yield (kg/ha) 

4000 

Kernel yield (kg/ha) Shelling % 

3500 

3000 

2500 

2000 

1500 

1000 

500 

0 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Harvest index (%) & shelling % 

Effect of seed treatment, slurry and soil application on yield attributes and yields of groundnut 

Conclusion 

Seed treated hydrogel plots having significantly higher germination rates over soil applied 

hydrogel plots. Therefore, under variable rainfall conditions, modifying method of application 

of hydrogels in terms of seed treatment having higher yield advantage over normal practice of 

soil application. 

References 

Rajanna, G.A., Manna, S., Singh, A., Babu, S., Singh, V.K., Dass, A., Chakraborty, D., 

Patanjali, N., Chopra, I., Banerjee, T., Kumar, A., Khandelwal, A. and Parmar, B.S. 2022. 

Biopolymeric superabsorbent hydrogels enhance crop and water productivity of 

soybean–wheat system in Indo-Gangetic plains of India. Scientific Reports, 12:11955. 

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-16049-x 




Rajanna, G.A., Pathanjali, N., Singh, A., Manna, S., Dass, A. and Singh, V.K. 2021. Seed 

treatment and slurry application of hydrogels enhances wheat yields under soybeanwheat 

system. (In) Extended Summaries: 5 th International Agronomy Congress, 

November 23-27, 2021, India, pp 1042-1043. 

Farm Ponds in Semi-Arid Region of Maharashtra 

Sarita Chemburkar, Taufique Warsi, Ankita Yadav 

WOTR’s Centre of Resilience Studies (W-CReS), Pune 

T1-03O-1133 

Groundwater is an important natural resource used across the globe for various purposes, including 

household activities, agriculture, industries, and urbanization. Agriculture productivity has always 

been largely influenced by water, which directly affects farmer's income and livelihood. Farmers 

also face challenges with water scarcity around the world, such as reduced crop production due to 

a lack of water, and decreased income due to unpredictable rainfall. Due to climate changes, rainfall 

distribution is uncertain, which results in lower income due to erratic amounts of rain, and farmers 

can only grow crops during the rainy season. Farm ponds are becoming an increasingly popular as 

a water storage tanks or reservoirs, designed for rainwater harvesting on agricultural land for 

irrigation purposes, cattle feed, and fish farming. The Maharashtra State Government, as well as 

Central Government, has been promoting Farm Pond through various schemes with the provision 

of subsidy. Farm ponds are traditional water harvesting structures to capture surface runoff and to 

utilize this stored rainwater during lean periods for agriculture. Benefits of the farm ponds include 

improvement in land productivity, supplemental irrigation to crops, reduced water logging in high 

rainfall events, and fish culture when sufficient water is available. Observations indicate that 

multiple sources of water are used to fill the farm ponds, with bore wells and dug wells accounting 

for the majority of the supply. Thus, for filling the farm ponds, farmers exploit groundwater which 

eventually affects the water level of the neighboring farmers (non-Farm pond owners). The problem 

of using farm ponds as a storage tank has imposed a negative impact on surrounding farmers that 

leads to inequality among the different sizes of landholding of farmers. The marginal and small 

farmers are suffering the most because they have less capability to invest a large amount of money 

for individual facilities. The negative externalities mostly impact poor farmers and fail ineffective 

agriculture activities. It is important to relook and regularize the policy for proper use and to ensure 

groundwater sustainability as epitomized in the current study. 


11 | Page



T1-04O-1181 

Climate Resilience Through Inclusive Water Management Over A Decade: 

A Successful Case Study of Yelerampura Gram Panchayat, Tumakuru 

District, Karnataka 

P.R. Ramesh 1 , N. Loganandhan 1 , J. M. Prashanth 1 , Praveen Kumara 1 and D.V.S. 

Reddy 2 

1 ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hirehalli, Tumakuru-572 168, Karnataka, India 

2 ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Zone-XI, H.A. Farm Post, 

Bengaluru-560024, Karnataka, India 

Water is one of the primary life sources for all the species living on the earth, including the 

mankind. It is also one of the major constituents for production of food, another source of life, 

on which human beings are dependent. The dry spells affect the productivity of crops, due to 

non-availability of water during the critical stages of growth, intensive rainfalls spoil by 

instigating flower droppings, deterioration of grains in standing crops, crop lodging etc., apart 

from another major impairment called soil erosion. As per a study conducted by Santanu 

Kumar Bal et.al., (2022) on principal rainfed crops in major dryland regions of India, the yield 

loss due to impact of dry spells was about 75–99% in 24% of sorghum, 23% of groundnut and 

13% of pearl millet and it was about 50–74% in 44% of cotton, 24% of groundnut, 17% of 

maize, 16% each of pearl millet & sorghum and 12% of pigeon pea growing regions. As per 

another study conducted by Yan li et.al., (2019) in the United States, excessive rainfall can 

reduce maize yield up to −34% (−17 ± 3% on average), relative to the expected yield from the 

long-term trend, comparable to the up to −37% loss by extreme drought (−32 ± 2% on average) 

from 1981 to 2016. So, if any one thinks of a single solution that would solve this twin-issues, 

he cannot forego the key climate resilient interventions like farm ponds, percolation ponds and 

simple in-situ moisture conservation practices like trench cum bunding, formation ridges and 

furrows, etc. In order to mitigate the above described climate vulnerability, a national level 

project was initiated by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), by the name - 

National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture’ (NICRA) in the year, 2010. Planning, 

coordination and monitoring of the programme at national level is the responsibility of ICAR- 

Central Research Institute for Dryland Horticulture CRIDA, Hyderabad. At district level, the 

selected KVK is responsible for implementing the project at village level through farmer’s 

participatory approach. Under this programme, the interventions were focused only to address 

climate related constraints for stabilizing the productivity and not general agriculture 

development. 




Methodology 

Tumakuru is a district with a high occurrence of drought with a poor coping mechanism. As 

part of NICRA, several technologies were introduced at Durgada Nagenahalli village of 

Yelerampura gram panchayat in Tumakuru district, for minimizing the impact of dry spells 

and drought by leveraging the scientific techniques and application of science for enhancing 

the productivity of dryland farming systems and sustaining livelihoods. Later, Tanganahalli 

and Chikkadoddawadi villages of same gram panchayat were added. 

The average annual rainfall of the district is about 697 mm. About 70% of the cultivation is 

under dry lands, as the irrigated area is only 30%. The resilient technologies were prioritized 

in consultation with the farmers. Similarly, the appropriate locations for water harvesting 

systems such as check dam, farm ponds, percolation tanks, etc. were identified and 

demonstrated. Identification of appropriate coping practices and technologies relevant to 

address specific climatic vulnerabilities was accomplished through interactions with farmers in 

selected villages by KVKs based on participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and focused group 

discussions (FGDs). The National Agricultural Research System (NARS) comprising of ICAR 

and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) served as the source of proven technologies along 

with the indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) of participating farmers. 

Results 

The natural resource management (NRM) component of the project focused on soil and water 

management practise. The soil conservation part of the NRM component is very important, 

considering the soil erosion status of the villages, before initiation of the project. The 

technologies of soil management short listed for adoption are Trench cum bunding, Ploughing 

across the slope and formation of ridges and furrows. Important resilient practices 

demonstrated in the villages D.Nagenahalli and Tanganahalli for soil management are as given 

below: 

Trench cum bunding: The trench cum bunding technology was adopted in low to medium 

slope regions where arable cropping is practiced in the NICRA project. This method served 

dual purpose: firstly the bunds built across the slope with appropriate sections arrested soil 

erosion and secondly the trenches served as water reservation pits that keep soil moisture intact 

for longer duration. About 130 ha area was brought under trench cum bunding involving about 

180 farmers. As per the research estimates, in one hectare of land around 50,000 litres of water 

could be harvested in one filling by the trenches dugout. So, this accounts to be about 6.5 

million litres of water, getting stored in situ in the farmers’ fields during rainfall events. 


13 | Page



Treatment 

Ground nut crop yield under trench cum bunding 

Seed yield 

(Qtl/ha) 

Percentage 

increase in 

yield 

Gross 

returns 

(Rs./ha) 

Net returns 

(Rs./ha) 

Trench cum bunding 15.3 

59,670 33,780 

27.5 

without trench cum bunding 12.0 46,800 22,175 

Farmer Sri Nagarajaiah had cultivated Groundnut in his 1 ha farm. The yield of Ground nut 

with trench cum bunding was 15.30 qt/ha, compared to that of Ground nut without trench cum 

bunding (12 qt/ha). The yield of the Groundnut increased to an extent of 27.50 in average. The 

farmer benefitted with additional yield of 3.30 quintal and an additional income of Rs. 11,605/- 

Ploughing across slope and formation of ridges and furrows: Ploughing across slope 

reduces soil surface erosion as well as any risk of nutrient mobilization on the soil surface. 

Soils cultivated across the slope also hold more water in surface depressions before surface 

flow is initiated. The low-cost interventions like ploughing across the slope and cultivation 

through ridges and furrows were demonstrated in 15 ha, benefitting 40 farmers and 5 ha, 

benefitting 25 farmers, respectively. 

Crop 

Effect of formation of ridges and furrows on crops yields and economics 

Crop yields 

(q/ha) 

(Average) 

Demo 

Local 

Economics with R&F (Rs./ha) 

(Average) 

Gross 

Return 

Net 

Return 

Economics without 

R&F (Rs./ha) 

(Average) 

Gross 

Return 

Net 

Return 

Red gram BRG-2 5.8 4.3 29,000 13,500 21,500 5,900 

Farmer Sri Manjunath had cultivated Groundnut in his 1 ha farm. The yield of Redgram with 

Ridges and furrows was 5.8 qt/ha, compared to that of Redgram without Ridges and furrows 

(4.3 qt/ha). The farmer benefitted with an additional income of Rs. 7,600/-. The technologies 

of water conservation and management implemented in the NICRA villages are as follows: 

New farm ponds, Check dams, Water storage structures, Desilting and widening of catchment 

channels, Fixing the leakage of community tank, Desilting and widening of defunct farm 

ponds, Desilting and widening of check dams. Considering the importance of harvesting water 

for critical irrigation for saving crop during drought in the villages, 108 farm ponds have been 

created. The total rainwater storage capacity of the 108 farm ponds dug during the project 

implementation is 30,950 Cu m and it has benefited over 119 farmers. The total water storage 

capacity of the newly constructed 5 check dams is 6,750 Cu m and has benefited 11 farmers. 

The total rainwater storage capacity of the 13 percolation ponds for underground recharge is 

1,750 Cu m and has benefited over 13 farmers. The total water storage capacity of the 18 

rejuvenated farm ponds is 8,230 Cu m benefited 23 farmers. The total water storage capacity 




of the 11 rejuvenated check dams is 11,210 Cu m and benefited 20 farmers. The total rainwater 

storage capacity of the 3 rejuvenated community tanks is 5,500 Cu m and has benefited 12 

farmers. The total water storage capacity of the renovation of community tanks is 3,68,040 Cu 

m and benefited 63 farmers. The overall water storage capacity of water harvesting structures 

is 4,28,890 Cu m. Seventeen out of 32 open wells and 11 out of 29 bore wells were recharged 

due to water harvesting structures. The water storage capacity of the various water harvesting 

structures is shown. Around 92.5 ha additional area was brought under protective irrigation by 

utilizing harvested water from these structures. Efforts were made to provide access to water 

for as many households as possible by way of convergence with the ongoing developmental 

programmes being taken up in the villages. About 221 households got access to water, thus 

farmers in the NICRA can now save the crops during the dry spells by way of critical irrigation 

and can enhance area under cropping during good rainfall years during Rabi with harvested 

water, thus stabilized productivity during drought years and enhanced income by way of 

cropping intensification during normal years. 

Details of rainwater harvesting structures and their capacity, constructed in NICRA 

villages of Yelleramapura gram panchayat 

Water conservation 

structures 

No. of 

Units 


farmers 

Water Storage Capacity 

(Cu m) 

Protective 

irrigation 

(ha) 

New farm ponds 108 119 30950 58 

Percolation ponds 13 13 1750 - 

New check dams 05 11 6750 1.5 

Water storage structures 05 05 1960 03 

Rejuvenation of farm 

ponds 

Rejuvenation of check 

dams 

Rejuvenation of 

community tanks 

18 23 8230 06 

11 20 11210 7 

05 63 368040 17 

Total 428890 92.5 

Check dam helps in ground water recharge of the area. Around five check dams were 

constructed in the D. Nagenahalli village. The water storage capacity developed is 6,570 cu m 

in total. Around 11 farmers benefited due to this intervention. In one of the success stories 

considered for this study, farmer Sri Chandranna who benefitted from one check dam of size 

40 m x 50 m x 3 m. He used to cultivate only Finger millet and Maize earlier in two acre farm 

during monsoon. After the construction of check dam under the NICRA project, he took up 

Ragi, Maize and Brinjal in the year 2021-22, in 0.5-acre land, supported by the check dam 


15 | Page



water of 6,000 cu m capacity. The yield of Brinjal was 97.8 quintal that provided an income of 

Rs.92,690, owing to the supplemental irrigation from this check dam. 

Details of impact of check dam constructed in Sri Chandranna’s farm 

Crop Variety Area 

(acre) 

Before NICRA 

Yield 

Gross Cost 

(Rs.) 

Gross benefit 

(Rs.) 

Net benefit 

(Rs.) 

Finger Millet Local 1.0 6 q 2,100 7,500 5,400 

Maize Local 1.0 15q 9,200 18,000 8,800 

Total 11300 25500 14200 

After NICRA 

Finger Millet ML365 1.0 12 q 9,050 30,000 20,950 

Maize MAH-14-5 0.5 9 q 4,700 10,800 6,100 

Brinjal Arka Shirish 0.5 97.8 q 19,780 1,12,470 92,690 

Conclusion 

Total 33,530 1,53,270 1,19,740 

Conservation of rainfall water and its judicious use of it is the primary activity in combating 

the climate variability in vulnerable village. Even the soil conservation related interventions 

like trench cum bunding and cultivation of crops in ridges and furrows are also recommended 

in the farmers’ fields with a sole motive of in situ conservation of rain water. The interventions 

carried out in Yelerampura gram panchayat under NICRA project were well received not only 

by the farmers of that panchayat but also other government officers and law makers. Various 

promotional efforts taken by the KVK team in the last one decade resulted in adoption of 

similar measures in other parts of the district. Recognizing the interventions by the KVK, in 

the area of water conservation for achieving climate resilience in agriculture, National Water 

Award-2020 was bestowed on the Yelerampura gram panchayat by the Ministry of Jal Shakti 

in March 2021. 

References 

Santanu Kumar Bal, VM Sandeep, P Vijay Kumar, AVM. Subba Rao, VP Pramod, N 

Manikandan, Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Naveen P Singh, S Bhaskar. 2022. Assessing impact 

of dry spells on the principal rainfed crops in major dryland regions of India. 

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Volume 313. 

Yan li, Kaiyu Guan, Gary D. Schnitkey, Evan DeLucia and Big Peng. 2019. Excessive rainfall 

leads to maize yield loss of a comparable magnitude to extreme drought in the United 

States. Global Change Biology, 25(7): 2325-2337. 




T1-05O-1189 

Resilience Through Water Conservation and Adoption of Drought 

Tolerant Crop Variety in NICRA Village Gunia, Gumla, Jharkhand 

Sanjay Kumar 1 , Atal Bihari Tiwari 1 , Anjani Kumar Singh 2 , Amrendra 

Kumar 2 and 1 Subhayan Das 

1 Krishi Vigyan Kendra Gumla, Jharkhand 83523, India 

2 Director ICAR-ATARI Patna, Zone-IV, Patna-801 506, Bihar 

Climate change and global warming impacts all sectors of human life and agriculture is 

particularly vulnerable to it. Increase in atmospheric and surface temperatures leads directly to 

increase in evaporation rates of water at the earth’s surface. These factors leads to more 

vigorous hydrology cycle, influencing precipitation amounts, Intensities, frequencies and 

extreme. Keeping the major vulnerability viz. water stress and crop failure, in the centre KVK 

Gumla implemented the NICRA project in severely affected (Low rainfall) village of Gunia of 

Ghaghra block since 2010-11. Under the project focus was given on water management and 

crop production. And accordingly, strategic plan viz. community involvement especially for 

water conservation and effective utilization, involvement of policy makers, departmental 

convergence and promotion of drought tolerant resilient crop varieties were taken as a major 

tools in mitigation of water stress/ scarcity and enhancement in adoption of resilient crop 

varieties. As a result farmers of the adopted village succeeded in storage of good volume of 

water in created/ developed structure and harvested good crop yield. Through water 

management and adoption of resilient crop varieties, resiliency developed against the 

vulnerability. And in the village, resilient measures taken under NICRA project have left the 

significant impact in the district. 

Methodology 

The goal of technology demonstration component under NICRA is to maintain some of the 

successful practices and technologies that promote resilience to climate risks. And accordingly 

the strategic plan was formulated for successful implementation of the intervention with an 

objective to conserve and harvest the rain and flowing water to ensure crop production and 

cope with water stress vulnerabilities. Although NICRA adopted area receive about 1100 mm 

rainfall annually. There was a high degree variation in the spatial and temporal distribution 

rendering the farming community vulnerable. There was no proper water storage/ harvesting 

structure that can support agriculture during dry spell and beyond kharif season. After assessing 

the problem and for its solution major action was undertaken viz. renovation/ excavation of 

pond, well, canal and development of Sand bag check dam (Bora-Bandh) for whom community 

involvement was ensured. And impression of intervention on the mindset of villagers and other 


17 | Page



villagers was so strong that they also started mobilizing themselves to adopt it for crop 

production and diversification against the vulnerabilities. 

Results 

Resilient intervention viz. Water conservation/ Harvesting, Renovation, Parapet construction, 

Canal cleaning and sand bag check dam resulted in providing lifesaving irrigation during water 

stress condition, increased area under double or multiple crop, enhanced cropping intensity, 

increased crop productivity, increased ground water level, increase water storage capacity and 

water level rise by 7 to 10 feet. 

Climate resilient crop varieties were found as one of the most important technological factor 

for ensuring the better crop harvest and income. Results of the findings clearly show that 

improved and tolerant crop varieties along with the proper crop management practices can 

enhance the coping ability through risk reduction in vulnerable environment. Ensuring the 

availability of the resilient varieties in various crops at the appropriate time to the farmers is an 

important challenge to address climate vulnerabilities. Under the NICRA project focus was 

given to identify the suitable resilient major crop varieties for up scaling in the district. 

Details of water harvesting structures 

Unit 

No. 

Structure 

Name 

Dimension (in meter) 

Storage 

Capacity 

(m 3 ) 

Net utilized 

water (m 3 ) 

Area Covered 

(ha) 

Before After Before After Before After Before After 

Storage 

capacity 

increase 

d (%) 

2 

Community 

Pond 

35x40x2.5 36.5x41x3 6420 8025 3210 4815 32 48 50.00 

2 Pond - 30.5x36.5x3 - 5200 - 3104 - 31 100.00 

1 Pond 28.6x28.9x2.1 30.5x30.5x3 1440 2831 792 1700 08 17 112.50 

1 Pond 38.7x35x2.1 39.5x36.5x2.5 2323 3207 1287 1934 12 19 58.33 

1 Pond 

82.2x71.6x2.1 

91.5x76.2x2.5 

1200 

0 

1625 

0 

4920 7313 49 73 48.98 

25 Dova - 7.6x6x3 -- 2500 -- 2000 -- 20 100.00 

03 Pond - 15.2x15.2x3 -- 1200 -- 1000 -- 9 100.00 

Total 

- 35 

- 

2228 

1 

3891 

3 

1020 

9 

2816 

6 

101 217 




1E+10 

9E+09 

8E+09 

7E+09 

6E+09 

5E+09 

4E+09 

3E+09 

2E+09 

1E+09 

0 

Sarita 

Storage 

capacity (m 3 ) 

sarita.che 

mburkar@ 

wotr.org.in 

Impact of water storage structure 

91 

Net UtilizedWater 

(m 3 ) 

Others 

Indian 

Impact of water storage structure 

NGO 

Area Covered 

(in ha) 

Area in ha 

Extent of Adoption in NICRA Village 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

0 

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 

Rice var.- Lalat 

Rice var.- Anjali 

Rice var.- Sahbhagi Dhan 

Ragi var.- GPU-28 

120 

100 

Area in ha 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

Extent of Adoption in NICRA Village 

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 

Blackgram var.- PU-30 

Niger var.- Birsa Niger-3 

Wheat var.- K-9107 

Mustard var.- PM-30 

50 

Productivity trend 

50 

Productivity trend 

Productivity in q 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 

Lalat Anjali Sahbhagi Dhan 

Productivity in q 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 

PU-30 Birsa Niger-3 K-9107 PM-30 


19 | Page



Conclusion 

Location specific conservation technologies, water conservation and their efficient 

management and adoption strategies as well as enabling policies on crop insurance along with 

robust early warning system, weather-based advisories will further facilitates enhancing the 

resilience of Indian agriculture to climate change and climate variability. The need for stress 

short duration and drought tolerant varieties has become paramount in the present context of 

climate change, apart from various adaptation and mitigation strategies to feed the everincreasing 

population. These stress tolerant cultivators can play an important role in coping 

with climate variability as well as enhancing the productivity and farmers income. 

T1-05aO-1375 

Transforming Agriculture through Hydroponics: An Innovative Water 

Efficient Technology for Rainfed Areas 

Ankur Agarwal* and Devkanta P. Singh 

Defence Institute of Bio-Energy Research (DIBER), DRDO, Haldwani, 

Distt Nainital, P.O. Arjunpur, Uttarakhand- 263139, India 

*ankurdr@rediffmail.com 

The challenge to agriculture in the coming decades is to provide safe food to the ever-growing 

population without destroying natural resources. Himalayan states of India have a key role in 

biodiversity conservation, but these states are also going through the problem of decreasing 

share of agricultural livelihood and a rapidly increasing problem of migration from border 

villages. Among the various factors reported for migration, few important are depleting 

productivity from agriculture due to changing climatic conditions, problem of wild animals and 

search for better livelihood opportunities. Hence, measures are required to increase the 

livelihood opportunities in these border areas to curb the problem of migration through 

intervention of modern technologies. Among these technologies, soil-less cultivation 

(hydroponics) have shown potential for sustainable agriculture in varying environments. Most 

of the time due to topographical challenges, it is not possible to codon the farm area with 

fencing and thus make it vulnerable to attack by stray and grazing animals vis-à-vis wild 

animals. Secondly, possibility of vertical farming allows farming in a compact area with 

substantial water saving due to reuse and recycling and hence dependency on rain can be 

minimized for farming. Another important feature this technology has offered is production of 

safe fresh food without residual toxicity. Defence Institute of Bio-Energy Research (DIBER), 

DRDO has successfully standardized and customized technology of cultivation of multiple 

vegetable crops viz., leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach, coriander, parsley, pakchoy, oregano, 

lahi); fruit vegetables (tomato, cucumber, brinjal, capsicum, broccoli, strawberry, bitter gourd, 

sponge gourd, etc) and root vegetables (beetroot, turnip, and radish) under single nutrient 




solution. This customized hydroponics technology allows the cultivation of more than 10 

vegetables simultaneously under a single nutrient system thereby ensuring year-round 

vegetable cultivation with a higher yield. In comparison to conventional agriculture, 

hydroponics technology allows vertical utilization of space, water saving to the tune of 80%, 

and near-to-zero use of pesticides and weedicides, thus ensuring no residual toxicity. This 

technology also makes it possible to use collected rain water as the requirement for water is 

low. The entire system is low cost, low maintenance and environment friendly. The institute 

has also developed a suitable nutrient composition suitable for wide range of vegetables. The 

article deals with the hydroponics technology in detail vis-à-vis efforts made at DIBER for 

standardization of hydroponics technology. 

T1-05bO-1161 

Enhancing Water Productivity in Rainfed Agriculture through in-situ and ex-situ Rain 


B.V. Asewar and M.S.Pendke 

Department of Agronomy, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani 431402 

In Marathwada region, out total cultivated area of 57.94 lakh ha, 49.60 lakh ha area is rainfed. 

The impact of climate change and variability in the country on agricultural production is quite 

evident in the recent years. The weather aberrations like drought and floods, extreme events 

like high intense rainfall, hail storms, heat wave, cold wave etc, are recurrent in most parts of 

the country during the crop growing periods. The South-West monsoon account for nearly 75% 

of the precipitation received in the country and exerts a strong influence on the kharif food 

grain production and the economy in terms of agricultural output, farmers income and price 

stability. The onset of South west monsoon, the amount of rainfall and its distribution are 

crucial factors which influence the performance of agriculture. The probability of erratic 

monsoon rains is about 40% which implies that 4 out of 10 years there would be an adverse 

impact on the crop production. There is need to develop appropriate strategies to deal with such 

eventualities. Many contingency plans are available at different scales. However, any 

contingency intervention either technology related (land, water, soil, crop) or institutional and 

policy based, which are implemented on a real time basis in any crop growing season 

considered as “Real Time Contingency Plan” is the need of hour to stabilize crop stands, 

production and income in rainfed regions. Marathwada region comprising of eight districts 

(Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani) is traditionally 

a drought-prone region. The region receives annual rainfall in the range of 500 to 1100 mm 

and comes under assured rainfall zone (60%), moderately high rainfall zone (20%) and scarcity 

zone (20%). The soils in the region are deep black and medium black. Major kharif crops of 

the region are cotton, soybean, pigeon pea, sorghum, green gram black gram, and pearl millet, 

whereas major rabi rainfed crops are rabi sorghum, safflower and chickpea. Rainfall is the key 


21 | Page



variable influencing crop productivity in rainfed farming. Intermittent and prolonged drought 

are the major cause of yield reduction in most of the crops. Based on the farmers need, technical 

interventions were taken up under NICRA (National Innovations in Climate Resilient 

Agriculture) action research project through preparedness and real time contingency measures. 

Methodology 

In-situ moisture conservation through conservation furrow in sole soybean and soybean 

+ pigeonpea (4:2): Before introduction of this project, the farmers were cultivating sole 

soybean crop on flat bed without opening of conservation furrow. However yield reductions 

were observed due to moisture stress during dryspells . Under improved practice, opening of 

conservation furrow after every 4 rows in sole soybean and soybean + pigeon pea (4:2) 

intercropping after 30 to 35 days of sowing was adopted as a strategy for moisture conservation 

on farmers field during 2011-2015. 

Soybean + pigeonpea (4:2) intercropping system: Traditionally, farmers were cultivating 

soybean crop as sole crop which is very sensitive to moisture stress as well as excess moisture. 

The drastic yield reductions were observed due to dryspells. Under such circumstances soybean 

+ pigeonpea (4:2) intercropping system was introduced and adopted on farmers field during 

2011- 2015. 

In-situ moisture conservation through broad bed & furrow (BBF) in soybean: 

Performance of BBF technique for sowing of soybean on farmers field was evaluated during 

2014-15 to 2016-17. 

Results 

Adoption of conservation furrow technique: The effect of in-situ moisture conservation 

practice like conservation furrow in sole soybean on crop productivity (yield), net monetary 

returns, BC ratio and RWUE was analyzed. 

Effect of conservation furrow on crop productivity, NMR, BC ratio and RWUE 

Intervention/Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Mean 

Yield 

(kg/ha) 

Conservation 

furrow in Soybean 

1850 2620 1750 668 632 1504 

No furrow 1424 2146 1506 446 487 1202 

Net 

returns 

(kg/ha) 

Conservation 


21017 30723 41250 10844 3024 22571 

No furrow 16177 21546 32710 7240 5374 18609 

B:C 

ratio 

Conservation 


1.52 2.53 3.06 2.02 1.61 2.14 




No furrow 1.16 2.07 2.63 1.34 1.42 1.72 

RWUE 

(kg/hamm) 

Conservation 


4.14 5.50 1.78 2.36 2.21 3.19 

No furrow 3.19 4.5 1.53 1.58 1.7 2.50 

Results indicated that, with conservation furrow, a sole soybean yield of 1504 kg/ha was 

obtained with a yield advantage of 302 kg/ha over the treatment of no conservation furrow 

(1202 kg/ha). The net returns of Rs. 22571/ha was obtained due to adoption of conservation 

furrow technique and found to be higher than the net return of Rs. 18609 in no furrow system. 

The BC ratio under adoption of conservation furrow technique was found to be 2.14 as against 

BC ratio of 1.72 with no furrow system. Similarly, the RWUE of 3.19 was found with 

conservation furrow as compared to RWUE of 2.50 in no furrow system. The effect of in-situ 

moisture conservation practice like conservation furrow in sole soybean on crop productivity 

(yield), net monetary returns, BC ratio and RWUE was analyzed and the data is presented. 


Yield 

(kg/ha) 

Net 

returns 

(kg/ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

Intervention/Year 2011- 

12 

Conservation furrow in 

Soy + PP (4:2) 

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Mean 

2900 1496 1610 513 1731 1650 

No furrow 1875 1160 1205 272 1430 1188 


Soy + PP (4:2) 

38840 38848 43180 16572 19840 31456 

No furrow 18750 26080 27790 8786 16390 19559 


Soy + PP (4:2) 

3.15 3.16 3.39 2.24 1.62 2.71 

RWUE 

(kg/hamm) 

No furrow 2.04 2.44 2.54 1.18 1.33 1.90 


Soy + PP (4:2) 

6.50 3.14 1.63 1.81 6.07 3.83 

No furrow 4.20 2.43 1.22 0.96 5.01 2.76 

In soybean + pigeonpea (4:2) intercropping system, an additional soybean equivalent yield of 

462 kg/ha was obtained with adoption of conservation furrow technique as compared to no 

furrow with net monetary benefit of Rs. 11897/ha. The increase in yield and net return is due 

to 30 per cent more moisture conservation resulted in better crop growth and crop performance 

even during dry spells. 


23 | Page



Climate Resilient Technology: intercropping system: The effect of intercropping system as 

compared to sole crop under climatic variations over a period of years on crop productivity 


Effect of intercropping on crop productivity, NMR, BC ratio and RWUE 

Year 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Mean 

Yield 

(kg/ha) 

Net 

returns 

(kg/ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

RWUE 

(kg/hamm) 

Soybean + 

Pigeonpea (4:2) 

Intercropping 

system 

2464 2859 2443 1340 1731 2167 

Sole Soybean 1577 2251 1790 446 527 1318 

Soybean + 


Intercropping 

system 

31715 50623 61132 20164 19840 36695 

Sole Soybean 26494 39857 44791 6711 6040 24778 

Soybean + 


Intercropping 

system 

1.98 1.64 3.5 1.59 1.62 2.06 

Sole Soybean 1.44 1.29 2.56 0.52 0.49 1.26 

Soybean + 


Intercropping 

system 

5.52 6.0 2.58 4.74 6.07 4.98 

Sole Soybean 3.53 4.72 1.89 1.58 1.85 2.71 

Soybean + Pigeonpea (4:2) intercropping system recorded significantly higher soybean 

equivalent mean yield of 2167 kg/ha as against the sole soybean mean yield of 1318 kg/ha i.e. 

farmers practice over a period of five years. The mean net returns in soybean + pigeonpea 

intercropping system was recorded as Rs. 36695/ha as against mean sole soybean net return of 

Rs. 24778/ha in farmers practice. The BC ratio and RWUE was also higher in soybean: 

pigeonpea intercropping system as compared to sole soybean crop. During 2014 and 2015, 

despite of more than 50% deficit rainfall, the intercropping system sustained even in prolonged 

dryspell during 2015. The dryspell was occurred at flowering and pod filling stage of soybean 

and vegetative stage in pigeonpea. 

In-situ moisture conservation through broad bed & furrow (BBF) in soybean: The data 

on. crop yield, net return, BC ratio and RWUE under BBF technology as compared to farmers 

practice is presented. 




Comparison of BBF technique with farmers practice for soybean 

Soil type Intervention Mean 

Seed 

yield kg/ 

ha 

Light to 

medium 

black 

soil 

Stover 

yield 

/ha 

kg 

Net returns, 

Rs./ha 

BC ratio 

RWUE, 

kg/ha-mm 

BBF 1337 1847 19733 1.62 2.166 

Farmers 

practice 

1122 1433 14384 1.46 1.79 

Above table indicated that due to use of BBF technology, the yield increase was recorded. 

Similarly, the net returns, BC ratio and RWUE was found to be higher in BBF technique as 

compared to farmers practice. This BBF technique was proved as climate resilient technique 

under changing climate. 

Well and bore well recharging model: An Experience in NICRA Village A National 

Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project in being implemented on 

farmers field at village Babhulgaon Tq.Dist.Parbhani. Open well and bore well recharge 

technology was demonstrated on 10 and 7 farmers field through participatory mode 

respectively. The pre-& post monsoon water levels in the wells were monitored. Also, the 

aquifer characteristic viz. transmissivity and specific yield were determined. Accordingly, the 

ground water recharge was determined. The Recharge wells recorded higher ground water 

potential as compared to un-recharged wells. 

Conclusion 

Preparedness like adoption of climate resilient crops and varieties, adoption of in-situ and exsitu 

moisture conservation techniques i.e. Broad bed furrow sowing method, conservation 

furrow, farm pond, recharging of well and bore wells and intercropping system plays a crucial 

role in dryland agriculture for sustaining crop productivity. The Broad Bed and Furrow sowing 

technique (BBF) was found to be most efficient climate resilient technology under variable 

climatic conditions over a period of 5 years with respect to yield enhancement and thereby the 

increased net returns. Also, BBF technique resulted in more moisture conservation as reflected 

by mean soil moisture status. 

References 

Ramchandraapa B.K., M.N. Thimmegowda, A. Satish, B.N. Jagadeesh, K. Devaraja, P.N., 

Srikanth Babu, M.S. Sativa 2016. Real time contingency measures to cope with rainfall 

variability in southern Karnataka. Indian Journal of Dryland Agricultural Research and 

Development 31(1): 37-43. 


25 | Page



T1-06R-1005 

Enhancement of Rainfed Cotton Production Through Supplemental 

Irrigation in Vertisols Tract of Southern Tamil Nadu 

M. Manikandan* 1 , S. Manoharan 1 , K. Baskar 1 , V. Sanjivkumar 1 , G. Guru 1 and 

G. Ravindra Chary 2 

1 AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Kovilpatti Main Centre, ARS, TNAU, Kovilpatti – 628 501 

2 ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500 059, Telangana 

* manikandan.m@tnau.ac.in 

Rainwater harvesting through farm ponds in the rainfed areas is one of the most promising 

technology for enhancing crop productivity. Farm ponds would help the farmers to use stored 

water for managing the dry spells during the season. Studies have revealed that providing SI 

during dry periods at different stages of crop growth has improved the yields by 29 to 114 per 

cent for different crops. SI not only increases the yield but also improves water productivity 

when SI and rainwater are used conjunctively. Though sufficient records are available for SI 

as an effective practice to alleviate dry spell effects, some challenges of SI are to plan the timing 

and depth of water to be applied and the practical feasibility of storing and retaining water till 

the period when crops needed despite heavy seepage and evaporation losses (Oweis and 

Hachum, 2012). This study aims to assess the feasibility of using the farm pond water for giving 

supplemental irrigation to rabi cotton, particularly for farmers having small size land holdings 

in the rainfed areas. 

Methodology 

This research was conducted in AICRPDA Kovilpatti main centre at Agricultural Research 

Station, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu in India from 2011 to 2021. Vertisols constitute nearly 70 per 

cent of the total area. The depth of soil varies from 110 to 150 cm and the rate of infiltration is 

0.9 cm hr -1 . Soil develops typical cracks at least one cm wide and reaches a depth of more than 

50 cm during the period moisture stress. Annual average rainfall was 711 mm in 42 rainy days, 

with respect to seasonal rainfall, the main contribution was from north east monsoon (NEM) 

i.e. 393 mm. The experiment was conducted in rainfed cotton with two treatments viz. (i) 

providing supplemental irrigation to the crop and (ii) pure rainfed crop. Cotton (KC3) was 

grown with a spacing of 45 x 15 cm on the ridges, furrows were formed by 45 cm spacing. 

Crops were cultivated and all the practices were followed as per the crop production guide of 

Tamil Nadu State. A rectangular shaped farm pond of 25 m x 13 m x 1.5 m, lined with random 

rubble masonry was used for harvesting runoff from a one ha catchment area. A 5 HP diesel 

engine was used for pumping water from the pond. One raingun with tripod stand having 

discharge rate of 3.5 lps and radius of throw of 20 m was used for sprinkling water. Changes 

in water level in the farm pond were observed during the rainy season and runoff drained into 




farm pond was worked out. Since the crops are grown in rainfed regions, there was no irrigation 

to the crop other than rainwater, the total rainwater utilized by the crop throughout the crop 

season to calculate rainwater use efficiency (RWUE). In case supplemental irrigation, the depth 

of supplemental irrigation would be added to the cumulative depth of rainfall. 

Results 

Annual rainfall and NEM rainfall, runoff causing rainfall, actual runoff generated, runoff water 

harvested in the pond during 2011 to 2021 is presented here. 

Year 

Runoff water generated and rainwater harvested in the farm pond 

Rainfall, 

mm (rainy 

days) 

Annual 

rainfall 

Excess / 

Deficit 

Rainfall, 

mm (rainy 

days) 

NEM 

rainfall 

Excess / 

Deficit 

Runoff 

causing 

rainfall, 

mm 

Runoff, 

mm 

Water 

harvested 

in pond, m 3 

2011 787.6 (42) 7% Excess 503.4 (22) 26% Excess 244.6 46.5 480 

2012 392.9 (23) 46% Deficit 228.3 (14) 42.4% Deficit 81.8 32.6 326 

2013 421.3 (28) 42% Deficit 252.8 (17) 35.4 % Deficit 105.8 41.0 409.8 

2014 666.8 (48) 7.7% Deficit 301.2 (21) 23 % Deficit 63.6 20.3 215 

2015 988.6 (52) 35.3 % Excess 475.8 (21) 21 % Excess 59.4 18.8 188 

2016 199.6 (15) 72 % Deficit 80.2 (7) 79.8 % Deficit 0 0 No runoff 

2017 801.7 (36) 12.3 % Excess 421.4 (17) 6.2 % Excess 282.4 26.8 268 

2018 410.6 (34) 42.5 % Deficit 213.9 (19) 46 % Deficit 0 0 No runoff 

2019 668.1 (46) 5.2 % Deficit 426.4 (28) 9.2 % Excess 108.9 25.8 258 

2020 905.6 (47) 29.5 % Excess 473.3 (26) 21.2 % Excess 125.6 27.4 274 

2021 914.7 (60) 28.65% Excess 532.3 (29) 33.9 % Excess 151.9 48.0 481 

Mean 650.68 (39) 355.36 (20) 111.27 26.11 263.62 

Out of 11 years, 5 years experienced excess annual and seasonal rainfall ranging from 7 to 35 

per cent over normal rainfall. Total water harvested in the farm pond over the study period was 

263.6 cubic m. Pond reaches its full capacity of 480 m 3 when NEM rainfall is 450 mm. SI was 

given when runoff water drained into pond was greater than 250 m 3 . Runoff coefficient 

obtained from rainfall-runoff was found to be 0.24. 

Ridges and furrows were found to be the most promising in-situ moisture conservation 

practices in the catchment area for cotton production. Rainwater harvested from this area was 

stored in the farm pond and was used for supplemental irrigation to 0.4 hectares when the dry 

spell exceeded 15 days during active crop growth stages. The response of SI on yield and 

RWUE in rainfed cotton production is presented as follows. 


27 | Page



Response of SI on yield and RWUE in rainfed cotton production 

Year 

NEM 

Rainfall 

Pure 

rainfed 

Yield, kg 

Pure 

rainfed+SI 

Increase in 

Yield 

SI, 

mm 

RWUE, kg ha -1 mm -1 

Pure 

rainfed 

Pure 

rainfed+SI 

2011/12 503.4 1515 1730 14.2 50 3.01 3.13 

2013/14 252.8 790 820 3.8 44 3.13 2.76 

2017/18 421.4 876 987 12.7 25 2.08 2.21 

2020/21 473.3 677 793 17.1 50 1.43 1.52 

Mean 355.36 964.50 1082.50 11.95 2.41 2.41 

Cotton crops responded positively to the SI for all the years. Further, giving supplemental 

irrigation was found to produce higher cotton production per unit of water than rainfed. 

Supplemental irrigation to a total depth of 50 mm resulted in 14.2 per cent, 12.7 per cent and 

17.1 per cent increased yield in cotton compared to that of unirrigated crop during rabi season 

of 2011-12, 2017-18 and 2020-21 respectively. During 2013-14, the yield difference between 

treatments was very less, hence this effect has been reflected in RWUE. The increase in yield 

of cotton by SI is mainly by the reduction of soil moisture stress experienced during the critical 

growth stages. Rainfed cotton combined with SI has recorded higher RWUE over pure rainfed 

cotton and it ranges from 1.52 to 3.13 kg ha -1 mm -1 . 

Conclusion 

This study examined the scope of supplemental irrigation during the moisture stress period for 

cotton production. The runoff coefficient obtained was 0.24. Supplemental irrigation from farm 

pond to cotton during vegetative, flowering, boll formation stages resulted 12.7 to 17.1 per cent 

increased yield. Rainwater combined with SI recorded higher RWUE of 1.52 to 3.13 kg ha -1 

mm -1 . At farm level runoff water harvesting in a pond and reusing harvested water through 

supplemental irrigation combined with in-situ rainwater management is a great option with a 

higher potential for increasing productivity in rainfed areas. 

References 

Oweis, T. and Hachum, A., 2012. Supplemental Irrigation—A highly efficient water-use 

practice. Aleppo, Syria, 16. 




T1-07R-1062 

Enhancing Climate Resilient Agriculture in Semi-Arid Region through 

Group Micro Irrigation by Collectivization and Equitable Sharing of 

Groundwater: Case Study in Maharashtra and Telangana, India 

Arun Bhagat*, Upasana Koli, Jyothirmayee Kandula and Marcella Dsouza 

WOTR Centre for Resilience Studies (W-CReS), Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), Pune 

(India) 

*arun.bhagat@wotr.org.in 

Groundwater is one of the primary sources of irrigation for food production in many countries 

of the world, and India, which significantly contributes to the food supply for countries, is the 

most groundwater-dependent country on earth. Despite their importance, the resources are 

heading for a crisis in many regions, mainly due to their enormous exploitation to increase 

production to feed the growing population. Climate change, it is anticipated, will pose an 

additional significant threat to groundwater resources in the future (Shahid et al., 2017), and 

has affected agricultural practices to the extent that farmers have increased the use of synthetic 

fertilizers and agrochemicals to protect themselves from the damages. Therefore, looking at 

the challenging water scenario, the government has been stressing about increasing the efficient 

use of water. However, despite the numerous schemes, technological inputs, and new methods 

of productivity enhancement, it has scarcely addressed the water problem in its entirety. To 

address these issues and challenges, Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) undertook an 

action research project - the Group Micro Irrigation (GMI) approach, devised to enhance 

agriculture productivity for a group of smallholder farmers with special attention to efficient 

water use. 

Methodology 

Water is considered a common good rather than privately owned in this approach. This 

viewpoint is to help manage scarce water resources judiciously and equitably. The GMI 

approach comprises four main components: groundwater management on the supply and 

demand side, promotion of CRA practices, facilitation of market linkages, and integration of 

applied research by providing small methods or tools to support farmers. In the first component 

of GMI, measures such as harvesting rainwater and construction of soil and water conservation 

structures to recharge groundwater are taken to support the supply side. And to support the 

demand side, accumulating private groundwater resources and distributing water through a 

common-drip-irrigation system are the measures taken. The second component of promoting 

Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) as a package of practices is a measure undertaken to boost 

soil health and plant resilience to ensure a harvest in the face of weather and environmental 

challenges. The third component involves encouraging market linkage through Farmer 


29 | Page



Producer Organisations (FPO), giving access to better prices. And the fourth component is 

about integrating applied research to support farmers using simple tools and methods includes 

maintaining field books by farmers, crop water budgeting, and assessing groundwater 

availability by testing well water depth and pump discharge. 

The study was focused on the water scare area of Maharashtra and Telangana states. The GMI 

model details are given here under. 

GMI 

Model 

Details of GMI models developed in Maharashtra and Telangana states 

Location 

No of 

Farmers 

Year of 

estb. 

Area 

(Acre) 

Water Source 

GMI-I Tigalkheda, Jalna (MS) 14 2017 32.45 Dugwell (01) 

GMI-II Ranmala, Ahmednagar (MS) 06 2020 06 Dugwell (01) 

GMI-III Bhangadewadi, Ahmednagar (MS) 47 2020 65.5 Large Farm 

Pond 

GMI-IV Israipalli, Mahabubnagar (TS) 18 2013 18 Borewells (03) 

GMI-V Badunapur, Rangareddy (TS) 6 2016 16.5 Borewells (06) 

GMI-VI Rampur, Rangareddy (TS) 9 2016 19.6 Borewells (06) 

Results 

Asignificant rise is observed in cropped and irrigated areas, cropping intensity, and crop and 

water productivity due to GMI intervention. 

Impact of GMI intervention on cropped and irrigated area, cropping intensity, and crop 

and water productivity 

Assessment indicator 

Average rise in the cropped area (%) 40.01 

Average rise in Irrigated area (%) 99.20 

Average rise in cropping intensity (%) 67.42 

Average rise in crop Productivity (%) 82.86 

Average rise in water productivity (%) 77.81 

Average change in cropping pattern 

Comparison between Pre and Post-intervention 

Shifted from grain crops to high-valued crops e.g. vegetable 

RULES (BY GROUPS) FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE GMI 

Water budgeting and crop planning before every season. The selection of crops should be the same for all or 

with the same harvesting duration based on the water budget decisions 

Compulsory use of micro-irrigation systems and water-intensive crops are not allowed when water 

availability is limited 

Follow climate-resilient agricultural practices 

A compulsory contribution of group funds based on GMI land area for maintenance and repair expenditures 




Conclusion 

The assessment revealed that the GMI approach had a significant impact in addressing issues 

related to the sustainable use and equitable sharing of water resources, and the barriers to 

adopting both micro-irrigation and climate-resilient farming practices. At the field level, a rise 

in cropping intensity with diversified crops of high economic value and increased yield and 

water productivity resulted from this approach's effectiveness. Also, it enabled an attitude of 

cooperation rather than competition, helped strengthen interpersonal relationships through 

constant and effective coordination, and lowered individual investment. Additionally, it 

provided easy access to subsidies and water-efficient technologies like micro-irrigation 

systems for those who otherwise could not afford them within the group. It perpetuated risktaking 

abilities to indulge in experimenting with varied and advanced agricultural techniques 

and technology and provided sufficient bargaining power for their outputs. 

References 

Shahid, S., Alamgir, M., Wang, X. J., & Eslamian, S. (2017). Climate change impacts on and 

adaptation to groundwater. In Handbook of Drought and Water Scarcity, pp. 107-124, CRC 

Press. 

Soil Preferential Flow: A Case Study from Semi-arid Watershed 

Pushpanjali, K.S. Reddy, K. Sammi Reddy and Vinod Kumar Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad- 500 059, India 

T1-08R-1149 

Semi-arid ecosystems are important ecological and economic hotspots that comprise over 40% 

(6B ha) of the world’s total land surface. In general, a semi-arid landscape is characterized by 

shallow soils and large proportions of bare rock, both expected to influence infiltration and 

groundwater recharge processes considerably. The dynamic soil matrix generally precludes the 

use of the traditional, deterministic modelling approach to predict flow and transport at the field 

scale. Preferential flow is a generic term used for obvious flow paths like biopores, fractures 

and macropores whereby water movement through a porous medium follows favoured routes 

bypassing other parts of the medium (Luxmoore 1991). It was not until the late seventies that 

increasing agricultural and environmental concerns created a renewed interest in the subject 

(Beven and Germann 2013). Since then, numerous studies have been undertaken to describe, 

measure, and model preferential flow. Application of geographic information system (GIS) and 

image analysis helps reduce field work and traversing and establish relationship between 

landform and soil in the watershed and its sub-divisions. 

A semi-arid landscape is characterized by shallow soils and large proportions of bare rock, both 

expected to influence infiltration and groundwater recharge processes considerably. The dynamic 


31 | Page



soil matrix generally precludes the use of the traditional, deterministic modelling approach to 

predict flow and transport at the field scale thus it is often very difficult to estimate solute transport 

by a preferential flow. Different methods have been used for evaluating or quantifying the 

characteristics of macropores and preferential flow. Various researchers found that food-grade dye 

Brilliant Blue FCF has been an excellent dye tracer for soil water flow and solute transport owing 

to the high-water solubility, limited toxicity, similar transport property to water, low adsorption in 

sand soil, and distinct visibility. A better understanding of preferential water flow would benefit 

for the understanding of the ecological and hydrological functions of soil. So, the overall goal of 

this study was to investigate the role of preferential flow, as affected by different land use, on the 

subsurface movement of water in a micro-watershed. A micro-watershed at Hayathnagar, 

Hyderabad, India, was taken up to generate detailed information on soil preferential flow. 

Hayathnagar micro-watershed is situated in Hayathnagar village, Rangareddy district of Telangana 

lying between 17 ° 20’18.00’’to17 ° 21’8.94” N latitude and 78 ° 35’26.14’’ to 78 ° 36’4.89’’ E 

longitudes. The total area of the micro-watershed is 154 ha. The area has been divided into 3 

units upper-reach, middle and lower-reach. The area under upper-reach is 54 ha, middle-reach is 

60 ha and the lower-reach is about 40 ha. 

The study shows significant effect of preferential flow on the nutrient movement down the profile 

in the different land-use. At the upper reach, SOC for all the land-use systems was between 0.4 to 

0.5% in flow path while in the soil matrix it was found to be between 0.25 to 0.35%, similar results 

were observed for middle reach. Soil microbial biomass carbon was 50 to 70 % higher in flow path 

than in the soil matrix. These findings lead us to understand that there exist a completely different 

channels in the soil letting nutrients and microbes to travel within the horizons in soil. 

Upper reach 




Middle reach 

Lower reach 

Typical soil profile under different elevation and land use (upto 30 cm) 

Based on preferential flow fraction parameters compared under different elevations, the 

preferential flow advantage of forest land is more evident than that of fallow land. In upper 

reach of watershed, surface soil mostly has heterogeneous matrix flow and fingering 

while subsurface was observed to have more macropores with low interaction. Thus, the 

surface soil shows flow instability due to coarse texture and water repellence while subsurface 

is poorly permeable soil. Middle and lower reach was heterogeneous matrix flow and fingering 

as major flow type in the surface while macropores with mixed interaction in the subsurface 

of the soil profile. While taking watershed as unit to study preferential flow, we found that 

different land uses and elevations play an important role in deciding the type of preferential 

flow which may lead to better management practices of respective soils for better water and 

crop productivity. 


33 | Page



References 

Beven K and Germann P. 2013 Macropores and water flow in soils revisited. Water 

Resources Research, 49:3071-3092. 

Luxmoore RJ. 1991. On preferential flow and its measurement (No. CONF-911255-1). 

OakRidge National Lab., TN (United States). 

T1-09R-1172 

Micro-Irrigation Based Supplemental Irrigation Using Harvested 

Rainwater for Sustainable Agriculture Under Rainfed Ecosystems 

Abrar Yousuf, M.J. Singh, Anil Khokhar, Parminder Singh Sandhu, Mohammad Amin 

Bhat, Balwinder Singh Dhillon 

Punjab Agricultural University-Regional Research Station, AICRPDA Centre 

Ballowal Saunkhri, Balachaur, Punjab-144521, India 

The Indian economy is mainly dependent on agriculture which contributes 21% of the 

country’s capital GDP and 60 percent of employment potential. Out of the total net sown area 

in India, about 51% is under rainfed agriculture, which contributes around 40% of the total 

food production. The rainfed agriculture is usually at risk as crop security depends on arrival, 

distribution and withdrawal of rainfall during the monsoon season. Crop failures, taking heavy 

toll on farmers’ income, are very common in rainfed ecologies due to the dearth of the irrigation 

water. In Punjab, rainfed farming is being practiced in lower Shivalik region, locally known as 

Kandi area. This region is characterized by erratic distribution of rainfall, small landholdings, 

lack of irrigation facilities, heavy biotic pressure on the natural resources, inadequate 

vegetative cover, heavy soil erosion, landslides, declining soil fertility and frequent crop 

failures resulting in scarcity of food, fodder and fuel (Yousuf et al., 2017).In this region, about 

80% of total annual rainfall is received from July to September. Though sufficient rainfall is 

received to meet the crop water requirement, the crops are subjected to early, mid-season and 

terminal droughts leading to crop failures and low yields. To raise the productivity of rainfed 

crops in the region, it is necessary to harvest the excess rainwater. Rainwater management is 

one of the most critical components of rainfed farming and the successful production of crops 

largely depends on how efficiently soil moisture is conserved in situ and the surplus run-off is 

harvested, stored and reused for supplemental irrigation and also for recharging (Rao et al., 

2017). Farm pond technology is identified as one of the most important and cost-effective 

technology for management of the excess rainwater. The excess rainwater, termed as surface 

runoff, can be harvested in farm ponds and utilized for supplemental or life-saving irrigation 

during dry spells. Keeping this in view, an experiment was conducted to study the effect of 

supplemental irrigation on yield, water use efficiency and economics of maize-wheat and 

vegetable-based cropping systems. 




Methodology 

The study was conducted at the research farm of AICRPDA centre Ballowal Saunkhri during 

2019-2021.The study area lies in sub-humid subtropical climate having hot summers and cold 

winters. The study area receives an average annual rainfall of about 1050 mm, out of which 

80% is received during the monsoon season. The farm pond having a capacity of 696 m 3 was 

constructed to harvest the excess rainwater. The harvested rainwater was used to provide 

supplemental irrigation to maize and okra during kharif and wheat and pea during rabi season. 

The supplemental irrigation was applied to maize and okra through furrow irrigation. The 

sprinkler irrigation was applied to wheat while drip irrigation was applied to pea. The 

experiment was laid in the random block design. 

Catchment-storage-command relationship of farm pond 

Catchment area (ha) 1.8 

Storage capacity, m 3 696 

Command area, ha 0.5 

Catchment-storage Ratio 25.8 

Storage command Ratio 0.14 

Catchment command Ratio 3.6 

Method of irrigation 

Amount of water applied (mm) 

Results 

Maize, okra and pea: furrow: wheat: sprinkler 

Maize and okra: 50 mm, pea 50 mm, wheat: 50 mm 

During kharif season, one supplemental irrigation in maize and okra resulted in yield of 3758 

kg/ha and 126.5 q/ha which was 70.2% and 75.2 % higher over rainfed maize (2208 kg/ha) and 

okra (72.2 q/ha), respectively. The water use efficiency increased by about 38.7% and 46.6% 

in maize and wheat, respectively due to the application of supplemental irrigation. Similarly, 

the supplemental irrigation resulted in increased B-C ratio by 60.7% and 62.5% in maize and 

okra respectively. During rabi season, one supplemental irrigation to wheat resulted in 65.9% 

higher yield over rainfed wheat. While in pea, an increase of about 76% was observed in pod 

yield over the rainfed pea The water use efficiency increased from 11.25 to 19.67 in wheat, and 

6.28 to 14.96 in pea due to the application of supplemental irrigation. Similarly, the 

supplemental irrigation resulted in increased B:C ratio by 53.5% and 41.1% in wheat and pea, 

respectively. 


35 | Page



Effect of supplemental irrigation on crop yield, water use efficiency and economics 

Crops 

With 

supplemental 

irrigation 

Economic yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Without 

supplemental 

irrigation 

Water use efficiency 

(kg ha -1 mm -1 ) 

With 

supplemental 

irrigation 

Without 

supplemental 

irrigation 

With 

supplemental 

irrigation 

B:C 

Without 

supplemental 

irrigation 

WSI WOSI WSI WOSI WSI WOSI 

Maize 3758 2208 5.34 3.85 2.09 1.30 

Okra 12654 7224 18.47 12.60 2.47 1.52 

Wheat 3448 2078 19.67 11.25 2.41 1.57 

Pea 3288 1869 14.96 6.28 1.75 1.24 

Conclusions 

Farm pond is a farmer friendly option for rainwater harvesting toprovide life-saving irrigation 

to standing crops when theyare exposed to mid-term/terminal drought and also forpre-sowing 

irrigation in post-rainy crops in rainfed areas.The application of supplemental irrigation 

resulted in increased yield, WUE and B-C ratio in both kharif and rabi crops. 

References 

Rao, C.S., Rejani, R., Rao, C.A., Rao, K.V., Osman, M., Reddy, K.S., Kumar, M and Kumar 

P. 2017. Farm ponds for climate-resilient rainfed agriculture. Curr. Sci., 112:471-477. 

Yousuf, A., Bhardwaj, A., Tiwari, A.K and Bhatt, V.K., 2017. Simulation of runoff and 

sediment yield from a forest micro watershed in Shivalik foothills using WEPP Model. 

Indian J. Soil Conserv., 45:21–27. 

T1-10R-1382 

Increasing the Productivity of Rainfed Rice-Based Double Cropping 

System Through Supplemental Irrigation Under Medium Lowland 

Situation of North Bank Plains Zone (NBPZ) of Assam 

Arunjyoti Sonowal, Bibha Ozah, Bikram Borkotoki, Pallab Kumar Sarma, Nikhilesh 

Baruah, Rekhashree Kalita, Prabal Saikia, Ravindra Chary 

AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Biswanath College of Agriculture, 

Assam Agricultural University, Biswanath Chariali, Assam-784176, India 

Rice is one of the predominant cereal crops in the north-eastern part of India and is grown in 

majority of the area of Assam. In Assam, rice occupies about two-third of the total cropped 

area in the state. The Lakhimpur district is located in the north eastern part of Assam and agroclimatically 

lies in the north of river Brahmaputra. The average rainfall in this region is 2949 

mm. The region is also called as district of rivers due to presence of turbulent rivers and 




tributaries spreading all over the district. It may also be noted that the sali season mainly 

coincides with the time of heavy rainfall in the district, i.e., May/June-July/August due to which 

rice crop were badly affected and there occurs significant reduction in the production. Keeping 

the importance of above facts in mind, the present study was conducted with the hypothesis 

that productivity and profitability of rainfed rice fallow systems can be improved by growing 

rabi crops as second crop with the application of supplemental irrigation during dry spells only 

with the objectives: i) To study the effect of rice varieties on the performance of subsequent 

rabi crops, ii) To find out the efficiency of harvested rainwater on productivity of rabi crops. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted at the experimental field of Regional Agricultural 

Research Station, North Lakhimpur, AAU, Assam in collaboration with All India Coordinated 

Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, Biswanath Chariali centre during 2018-2019, 2019- 

2020, 2020-2021 in randomized block design. It is situated at 101 m above mean sea level 

(MSL) with 26°48' and 27 o 53' Northern latitude and 93 o 42' and 94 o 20' East longitude. The 

texture of the soil of the experimental field was clay loam with a pH of 4.89 and organic carbon 

of 0.69. The field capacity of the soil is 23.41% and wilting point is 5.10%, soil was medium 

in available nitrogen (360.20 kg ha -1 ), available phosphorus (23.45 kg ha -1 ), and available 

potassium (170.65 kg ha -1 ). The rice-based cropping system was evaluated in a randomized 

block design with two factor combinations involving four replications. The factors were sowing 

dates (second crops preceded by medium duration rice varieties and second crops preceded by 

long duration rice varieties) and types of irrigation (flood irrigation and lifesaving sprinkler 

irrigation during dry spells only). The age of seedlings were 25 days and 60 days for medium 

duration rice variety (Kanaklata) and long duration rice variety (Gitesh) respectively. The 

individual plot size was 50 m 2 (10 m × 5 m) with a gross area of 2500 m 2 and the rabi crops 

grown were toria (TS-67), niger (GA-10), pea (Kaveri Improved). The seed rate of toria, niger, 

and pea were 10 kg ha -1 , 8 kg ha -1 , and 50 kg ha -1 respectively. Post harvesting of the kharif 

crops (medium and long duration rice varieties), the land preparation was done by tractordrawn 

plough followed by harrowing and levelling. The spacings were maintained at 25 cm x 

10 cm (Toria), 25cm x 5 cm (Niger), and 30cm x 10cm (Pea) row-to-row and plant-to-plant 

respectively. The fertilizer was applied as per recommendation of the package of practices 

(POP) of Assam in terms of Urea, SSP, and MOP. The crops were sown in the second fortnight 

of November and first fortnight of December. The daily meteorological data (rainfall) during 

the period of experimentation was collected at the meteorological observatory of the station, 

RARS North Lakhimpur, Assam Agricultural University, Lakhimpur. The soil properties were 

analysed separately after the harvesting of all the rabi crops. The water was applied as life 

saving irrigation during the occurrence of 10-days dry spell only through hose pipes and 

sprinkler irrigation systems from the harvested rainwater during the rabi crops only. The yield 


37 | Page



of the rabi crops was converted to rice equivalent yields and comparison was done amongst 

the rabi crops (toria, niger and pea). 

Results 

The long duration rice variety (4-6.5 t ha -1 ) gives better yield than the medium duration rice 

variety (4-5.5 t ha -1 ). The yield of each rabi crops significantly decreased when sown after 

Gitesh (long duration rice variety) as compared to sowing of the same rabi crops after 

Kalanklata (medium duration variety). Though, the types of irrigation didn’t significantly affect 

crop yield, but 50 % water could be saved with sprinkler irrigation as compared to flood 

irrigation. The system yield of the cropping sequence reduces when sowing was delayed from 

1 st of December to 15 th Dec with flood and sprinkler irrigation, respectively. The sowing date 

had an impact in the yield and yield attributes of all the rabi crops irrespective of the irrigation 

treatments and the sprinkler irrigation gives better yield than the flooded irrigation for all the 

rabi crops. The system yield comes to be higher in case of all the rabi crops preceded by 

medium duration kanaklata variety, which indicates that the sowing date had an impact in the 

rabi crops irrespective of the irrigation types applied. The irrigation water used for rabi crops 

(preceded by medium duration rice variety) is 14% more than the water used for rabi crops 

(preceded by long duration rice variety). The difference in irrigation water used for the rabi 

crops in both the different varieties of preceded rice varieties is only due to the dry spells 

occurred during the crop periods. Though the irrigation water applied is at par in both the 

sprinkler and flooded irrigation, the time consumption (thus, more labour intensive) is more in 

case of flooded irrigation. The lowland areas can be used for growing of the rabi crops with 

life-saving irrigation depending on the dry spells occurred after the medium and long duration 

crops rather than keeping it fallow (general tradition of the farmers) in such land situations. 

The interaction effect of sowing date and irrigation types on the growth and yield attributing 

characters and yield of the crops are presented. 

System yield: The system yields of the different cropping sequences (rice-toria, rice-niger and 

rice-pea) were calculated for each year individually and pooled analysis was done. The study 

revealed that cropping sequence of medium duration rice (Kanaklata) – Pea shows the highest 

system yield of 88.43 q ha -1 and the lowest system yield (58.32 q ha -1 ) was observed in cropping 

sequence of Long duration rice (Gitesh) – Niger amongst all the cropping sequences 

respectively. 




System yield of the different cropping sequences based on two types of life saving 

irrigation during the study period 

Sl. 

No. 

Cropping sequence 

1. Medium duration rice 

(Kanaklata) -Toria 


(Kanaklata) –Toria 

3. Long duration rice 

(Gitesh) -Toria 


(Gitesh) -Toria 


(Kanaklata) -Niger 

6. Medium duration 

rice(Kanaklata) – 

Niger 


(Gitesh) - Niger 


(Gitesh) - Niger 


(Kanaklata) -Pea 


(Kanaklata) –Pea 


(Gitesh) - Pea 


(Gitesh) - Pea 

Types of 

life saving 

irrigation 

System 

Yield 

2018-19 

System 

Yield 

2019-20 

System 

Yield 

2020-21 

System 

Yield 

(Pooled) 

B:C 

Flood 94.43 77.32 79.72 83.82 2.13 

Sprinkler 90.93 78.71 81.96 83.87 2.20 

Flood 60.98 53.45 72.00 62.14 0.81 

Sprinkler 65.85 55.66 77.75 66.42 0.92 

Flood 61.81 52.50 61.73 58.68 1.75 

Sprinkler 62.43 53.78 62.66 59.62 1.83 

Flood 55.28 50.23 69.46 58.32 1.16 

Sprinkler 54.39 51.10 69.84 58.44 0.89 

Flood 85.45 77.75 85.60 82.93 1.63 

Sprinkler 85.65 82.65 96.98 88.43 1.71 

Flood 76.1 66.90 85.90 76.30 1.24 

Sprinkler 76.6 68.75 87.40 77.58 1.32 

Conclusion 

The yield of each rabi crops significantly decreased when sown after Gitesh (long duration rice 

variety) as compared to sowing of the same rabi crops after Kalanklata (medium duration 

variety). The system yield of the cropping sequence reduces when sowing was delayed from 

1 st of December to 15 th Dec with flood and sprinkler irrigation, respectively. The sowing date 

had an impact in the yield and yield attributes of all the rabi crops irrespective of the irrigation 

treatments and the sprinkler irrigation gives better yield than the flooded irrigation for all the 

rabi crops. The system yield comes to be higher in case of all the rabi crops preceded by 

medium duration kanaklata variety, which indicates that the sowing date had an impact in the 

rabi crops irrespective of the irrigation types applied. The lowland areas can be used for 

growing of the rabi crops with life-saving irrigation depending on the dry spells occurred after 


39 | Page



the medium and long duration crops rather than keeping it fallow (general tradition of the 

farmers) in such land situations. 

T1-11R-1402 

Evaluation of In Situ Moisture Conservation Techniques for Sustainable 

Productivity of Chick pea in Bundelkhand Region 

C.M. Tripathi, Manoj Kumar, Satish Pathak and K.S. Shukla 

Deendayal Research Institute, Tulsi Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ganiwan, Chitrakoot 210206, M.P. 

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is commonly known as gram which is one of the important pulse 

crop of India. About 65% of global area with 68% of Global chickpea is contributed by India. 

In India, the area under chickpea was 7.37 million hectares with a production of 5.891 million 

tons and productivity of 799.19 kg ha -1 during rabi 2018-19 (Agropedia). In India, Madhya 

Pradesh is one of the major chickpea producing states. The problem under dryland agriculture 

is low yield and unstable production. Despite the realization that it is much difficult to increase 

the production from drylands, it cannot be neglected, as a large number of farmers with more 

than two-thirds of the cultivated area of the country is involved. Soil moisture conserve is a big 

challenge of dryland area, because its area is poor and unevenly distributed of rainfall for the 

period of crop growing stages. While, the soil moisture is utilized to crop for transpiration and 

taken up of nutrient, when the rainfall becomes insufficient to meet the potential needs to 

transpiration. These are causes to depletion in soil moisture storage and reduced the production 

and a situation which may be designated as agricultural drought. The major problem is 

agricultural drought. Agricultural drought reduced through the application of various In Situ 

moisture conserving technologies i.e. Contour bunding, Trench cum bund, land levelling, 

mulching and land shaping, and enhanced soil moisture conserving capability and productivity 

of this reason. 

Methodology 

The demonstrations (36) were organized on farmer’s field to demonstrate the impact of 

moisture conservation technology on chick pea productivity over three years during kharif 

2015 - 2018 at Tithara and Rampurva villages at farmer’s fields in Chitrakoot under 

Bundelkhand reason. The soil of demonstration plots ranged from medium black to loamy soil. 

The average rainfall of this district is 850 mm and more than 75% of the precipitation is 

received over four months i.e. July - October. Five technologies were comprised like contour 

bunding, trench cum bund, land level and bunding, land shaping and farmer practices. The 

farmers used all packages and practices of this crop remaining to above technologies. The 

demonstrations were conducted to study the increase percentage of yield and moisture percent. 

The yield data were collected from both the demonstration and farmers practice by random 




crop cutting method. Qualitative data were converted into quantitative form and expressed in 

terms of per cent increase in yield calculated using following formula: 

(Potential yield – Demonstration yield) 

Technology index = X 100 

(Potential yield) 

Technology gap = Potential Yield – Demonstration yield 

Extension gap = Demonstration yield – Farmers practices yield 

(Improved practices – Farmers practices) 

% increased over farmers practices = 

(Farmers practices) 

X 100 

Tabular analysis involving simple statistical tools like mean was done by standard formula to 

analyze the data and draw conclusions and implications. For technologies, different extension 

approaches were made. In this region was supplied with moisture conservation technologies 

through KVK, Chitrakoot because more than area is to be found in undulated situation. The 

technology could successfully out yield all other farmers practices and recorded eye-catching 

higher yield. During 2018, the area under technology expanded horizontally to 120 hectares 

from a mere 2.5 hectare during first year (2015) of introduction and adopted by 31 farmers in 

2 villages. Due to efforts of KVK, scientists field visit, interpersonal communication and 

individual efforts of the farmers, the technology could spread to more than area of district. 

Results 

Effect of in situ moisture conservation practices on grain yield: Results of in situ moisture 

conservation techniques demonstrations was conducted during rabi 2015 and 2016 at farmers 

field. During the investigation years, the maximum chick pea grain yield was recorded with 

land levelling and bunding fallowed by mulching as compare to farmer practice. The enhanced 

grain yield 17.71% with creation of bunding and levelling as compared to farmers practices. 

The creation of land levelling and bunding to improve the soil moisture and nutrient availability 

resulted that enhanced yield over farmers practices. Improved soil moisture was mainly due to 

stay of water in field and reduced runoff intensity of water which facilitated better crop growth 

and yield of chick pea. 

Performance of technologies under dry land situation in chick pea crop (Mean data of 3 years) 

Technologies 

Area 

(ha) 

Benefited 

farmers 

Average Yield (q ha -1 ) 

P. Yield Demo. Increase % 

Av. 

G.I. 

Av. 

N.I. 

B:C 

Ratio 

Contour bunding 3.0 6 24.00 15.25 16.41 61000 35500 2.39 

Trench cum bund 3.5 7 24.00 14.95 12.37 59800 34300 2.35 

Land level and 

bunding 

5.48 11 24.00 15.92 17.71 63680 38180 2.50 

Land shaping 2.8 7 24.00 14.80 11.48 59200 33700 2.32 

Farmer practices 

(Undulated land) 

- - 24.00 13.10 0.00 52400 26900 2.05 


41 | Page



Performance of technologies under dry land situation in chick pea crop (Mean data of 3 years) 

Technologies 

Moisture 

(%) 

Extension 

gap (q ha -1 ) 

Soil Moisture status: The average soil moisture was highest in levelling land and bunding 

fallowed by contour bunding and further in land shape techniques. Further it is indicated that 

all in situ techniques recorded higher moisture conserve during the crop growth period as 

compare to farmer’s practices. 

Extension gap: Higher extension gap 12.9 q ha -1 was found during investigation years. This 

extension gap should be assigned to adoption of improved transfer technology in 

demonstrations practices resulted in higher seed yield than traditional farmer practices. This 

emphasized the need to educate the farmers through various means for more adoption of 

improved high yielding varieties and newly improved agricultural technologies to bridge the 

wide extension gap. More use of new high yielding varieties by the farmers will subsequently 

change this alarming trend of extension gap. The new technologies will eventually lead to the 

farmers to discontinuance of old varieties with the new technology. 

Technology gap: The demonstrations recorded the technology gap of 10.9 q ha -1 during the 

study year, which was higher than that during 2016. The technology gap observed may be 

attributed to dissimilarity in the soil and weather situation. 

Technology index: The lower value of technology index is more feasibility. The technology 

index was reduced average 45 per cent during the experimentation year, which shows the 

higher feasibility of the demonstrated technology. 

Gross and net monitory returns: Among the various technologies, land level and bunding 

recorded higher average gross and net income (Rs. 63680 ha -1 and 38180 ha -1 ) as compared to 

all other technologies and fallowed by contour bunding (Rs. 61000 ha -1 and 35500 ha -1 ). 

However, the lowest gross and net monitory return was found with farmers practices (Rs. 52400 

ha -1 and 26900 ha -1 ) in traditional method. Maximum B:C ratio recorded with bunding and 

levelling (2.50) fallowed by contour bunding (2.39) over rest of the technologies. Therefore, 

minimum B:C ratio was found with farmers practices (2.05). 

Technology gap 

(q ha -1 ) 

Technology 

index (%) 

Contour bunding 26.2 10.75 8.75 36.46 

Trench cum bund 23.5 11.05 9.05 37.71 

Land level and bunding 28.1 10.08 8.08 33.67 

Land shaping 24.8 11.2 9.2 38.33 

Farmer practices 22.7 12.9 10.9 45.42 




Conclusion 

It is concluded that the evaluation of various in-situ moisture conservation techniques in chick 

pea crop under dry land situation in Bundelkhand region. Among the technologies, higher yield 

was recorded with land levelling and bunding practice and further improve soil moisture 

followed by contour bunding over to farmers practices in above situation. 

T1-11aR-1526 

Jalkund: Low-cost Water Harvesting Structure for Sustainable Livelihood 

in Rainfed Agroecosystem of Chandel district, Manipur, India 

Kangjam Sonamani Singh* 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Chandel 

ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Manipur 

* sonamanisingh@gmail.com 

Climate change is one of the biggest environmental threats facing the world, affecting natural 

resources and thus potentially impacting food production and security, sustained water supply, 

biodiversity of forests and other natural ecosystems, human health, and settlements. Chandel 

is one of the districts most strongly affected by climate change. The threat is especially greater 

wherever people’s livelihoods are particularly dependent on natural resources. In these 

vulnerable areas, climate adaptation measures are of central importance for the protection of 

rural livelihoods and for ensuring sustainable development. Field observation was conducted 

during the rabi season of 2019, the Kharif and rabi season of 2020 and the Kharif season of 

2021 at farmers’ fields with the objective to study the sustainable livelihood of the hill farmers 

of Chandonpokpi Village, Chandel District, Manipur, India. The rainwater or run-off from the 

mountain streams can be harvested using an eco-friendly low-cost rainwater harvesting 

structure called Jalkund and used for multiple purposes. A dimension of 5 m x 4 m x 1.5 m has 

been found optimum for hills. During winter months when there is little or no rainfall, water 

conserved in poly-lined ponds (Jalkund) acts as a lifeline for the seasonal crops. Life-saving 

irrigation provided by these Jalkund broke the shackles of the otherwise age-old monocropping 

which has been the norm traditionally. These small water conservation units have 

made the farmers earn an additional extra income through double cropping. Jalkund truly came 

as a blessing for the farmers of Chandel who could cultivate a variety of vegetable crops after 

the harvesting of paddy. 


43 | Page



T1-12P-1011 

Effect of Hydrogel and Organic Manures to Mitigate Abiotic Stress in 

Groundnut Under Rainfed Conditions of Saurashtra Region 

P. D. Vekariya*, H. R. Vadar, V. D. Vora, K. S. Jotangia and D. S. Hirpara 

Main Dry Farming Research Station, Junagadh Agricultural University, Targhadia (Rajkot), 

Gujarat, 360 023 India 

* pdvekaria@jau.in 

India is the second largest producer of groundnut in the world and contributes to 19.49 % of 

world’s groundnut production next to China (36.29%). Groundnut is the premier oilseed crop 

of Gujarat and ranks first in the area and production. In Gujarat, 82 % of total areas of 

groundnut fall in the Saurashtra region under rainfed condition and thus exposed to the vagaries 

of monsoon. Also soils of the Saurashtra region are having high clay content and cracking is a 

natural phenomenon during stress period. The soil application of superabsorbent polymers 

(SAPs) is found to be a promising methodology in rainfed areas. One such developed product 

is ‘Pusa hydrogel,’ which is the first successful indigenous semi-synthetic superabsorbent 

technology for conserving water and enhancing crop productivity and thereby increasing water 

use efficiency. This technology could be promising in terms of productivity improvement of 

rainfed crops and in combating the moisture stress in agriculture. Hence an experiment was 

planned to study the effect of hydrogel and organic manures on the productivity and rain water 

use efficiency of groundnut. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted during the kharif seasons of 2018to 2020at Main Dry 

Farming Research Station, Targhadia (Rajkot) under rainfed conditions. The soil of the 

experimental site was clayey, medium in available nitrogen and phosphorus and high in 

available potassium with mildly alkaline and non-saline. The experiment was laid out in 

factorial randomized block design with three replications with a gross plot size of 5.4 m X 4.8 

m and net plot size of 3.6 m X 2.4 m. The experiment comprised of 9 treatment combinations, 

consisting of 3 levels of hydrogel (0, 2.5 and 5.0 kg ha -1 ) and 3organic manure treatments 

(control, FYM @ 10 t ha -1 and vermicompost @ 2 t ha -1 ). The amount of hydrogel as per 

treatment was mixed with dry and fine sand of less than 0.25 mm size in 1:10 ratio, to distribute 

uniformly in the furrow. The sand mixed hydrogel was applied in furrow through drilling 

before sowing of seed. Groundnut (GG-20) was sown with the onset of monsoon each year at 

the distance of 60cmusing seed rate of 120 kg ha -1 and applied 12.5 kg N + 25.0 kg P2O5 ha -1 . 

The total rainfall received during the crop season (June to October) was 614, 1336 and 1160 

mm in 26, 39and 45 rainy days in the year 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. Productivity and 

rain water use efficiency of groundnut and soil moisture content was pooled over three years. 




Economics of different treatments was worked out based on pooled results of pod and haulm 

yield of groundnut in terms of net returns ha -1 and B:C ratio considering the prevailing market 

price of produce and cost of cultivation. 

Results 

Based on three years pooled mean pod and haulm yield of groundnut and soil moisture content 

was affected significantly due to the application of hydrogel and organic manures. 

Significantly highest pod and haulm yield and soil moisture content was recorded under 

application of hydrogel @ 2.5 kg ha -1 over control. Among organic manures, application of 

FYM @ 10 t ha -1 was recorded significantly highest pod and haulm yield as well as soil 

moisture content as compared to control, but it was remained at par with vermicompost @ 2.0 

t ha -1 in respect of pod yield and soil moisture content. Maximum rain water use efficiency 

(4.28 kg ha -1 mm -1 ) was obtained with application of hydrogel@ 2.5 kg ha -1 and FYM @ 10 t 

ha -1 as compared to rest of treatments under different levels of hydrogel and organic manure, 

respectively. Similarly, the application of hydrogel @ 2.5 kg ha -1 and FYM @ 10 t ha -1 gave 

the highest net returns of Rs. 82363 ha -1 and 80600 ha -1 with B: C ratio of 2.50 and 2.42, as 

compared to the rest of treatments under different levels of hydrogel and organic manure, 

respectively. 

Productivity, soil moisture content, rain water use efficiency and economics of groundnut as 

influenced by hydrogel and organic manures under rainfed conditions (pooled mean of 3years) 

Treatments 

Hydrogel levels (kg ha -1 ) 

Productivity 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Pod 

Haulm 

Soil 

moisture 

content 

(%) 

Rain 

water use 

efficiency 

(kg ha -1 mm -1 ) 

Net 

return 

(Rs. 

ha -1 ) 

B:C 

Ratio 

Control 1919 4809 21.70 3.85 71478 2.36 

2.5 2119 5411 23.75 4.28 82363 2.50 

5.0 2034 4853 23.76 4.07 72679 2.27 

SEm+ 48 141 0.35 

CD (P=0.05) 135 402 1.00 

Organic manures 

Control 1933 4757 22.47 3.86 72928 2.42 

FYM @10 t ha -1 2126 5381 23.80 4.28 80600 2.42 

Vermicompost @ 2.0 t ha -1 2013 4936 22.93 4.06 72992 2.29 

SEm+ 48 141 0.35 

CD (P=0.05) 135 402 1.00 

Conclusion 


45 | Page



From the above findings, it could be concluded that application of hydrogel @ 2.5 kg ha -1 and 

FYM @ 10 t ha -1 was found superior in increasing the productivity, rain water use efficiency 

and economics of groundnut under rainfed conditions of Saurashtra region. 

T1-13P-1023 

Straw Mulching as Climate Resilience Measure for In-situ Water 

Management and Enhancing Productivity of Rainfed Soybean 

S.H. Narale*, M.S. Pendke, W.N. Narkhede, B.V.Asewar and P.H. Gourkhede 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani (M.S.) 

*sskhune2602@gmail.com 

Soybean is a major kharif crop grown in Marathwada region of Maharashtra under rainfed 

condition and is being apreferred crop by the marginal and small rainfed farmers. The region 

receives mean annual rainfall of 880 mm. Rainfall in uncertain and erratic in this region. The 

productivity of soybean particularly in Marathwada region is variable due occurrence of 3 to 4 

dryspells during July to September. The crop productivity decreases with either deficiency of 

rainfall or its distribution or due to moisture stress in critical growth period. Mulching is one 

of the important practices to conserve rainwater and thereby soil moisture which help sustain 

the crop productivity. It was also noted that straw mulching increased soil moisture content in 

the maize-wheat cropping system in the north-western regions of India, and thus enhanced crop 

productivity (Sharma et al. 2010).The study evaluated the effect of straw mulching on 

productivity and profitability of soybean with in-situ moisture conservation on farmer’s field. 

Methodology 

Research demonstrations were conducted on farmers’ fields during 2016-17 to 2020-21 under 

FLD at village Babhulgoan in Parbhani District in Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Most 

of the farmers were cultivating soybean under rainfed condition and were advocated to apply 

straw mulch in inter-row of soybean crop for moisture conservation. Demonstration fields were 

selected based on the willingness of the farmers. The rainfall data was collected from the 

nearest rain gauge station. The duration of dryspells and number of dryspells were recorded 

every year. The data on crop yield in both the field i.e. with straw mulch and without straw 

mulch were recorded. 

Results 

The mean annual rainfall of the station is 880.9 mm. Out of the 5years, above normal rainfall 

occurred during 4 years and below normal rainfall was observed in one year. However, the 

distribution of rainfall was different in every year. Out of the 5 years, 3 years i.e. 2017, 2019 

and 2020, 4 dryspells were observed every year which has resulted moisture stress during crop 

period. 




Results show that yield attributes and yield viz., effective tiller/m 2 (89.3), finger length 

(6.38cm), ear weight (6.38g), no of grains/ear (938) and grain weight/ear/gram (3.32g) and 

1000 grain weight (3.28) were highest in technology option IV i.e. improved varieties (GPU- 

282) with (N40P30K20) and transplanting 20 days sold seedling in line sowing (PP10 cm & RR 

30cm). The maximum grain yield (23.46 q/ha) and straw yield (59.64 q/ha) were recorded in 

technology option IV followed by technology option III, TO-II & I. respectively. High yielding 

varieties with line sowing and recommended nutrient management increased the grain yield 

with increased nutrient supply on yield attributing the characters like effective tillers/m 2 , finger 

length, ear weight, number of grain/ear and grain weight/ear. Application of recommended 

dose of nutrients and line sowing facilitate weeding to operate three-time dry land weeder 

which lead to increase availability of nutrients and improve the soil properties, absorption and 

translocation of nutrient by crop resulting in increased yield. These results are in line with the 

finding of AK. Roy et al (2018). 

Data indicated that, with application of straw mulch, 29.53 per cent mean soil moisture was 

recorded during crop growth period as against the soil moisture of 24.22 per cent in the 

treatment of without mulching. Due to application of straw mulch, additional moisture of 21.92 

per cent was conserved. Aulakh and Sur (1999) conducted study on effect of mulching on soil 

moisture and found that due to mulching, additional soil moisture was conserved. 

Intervention 

Mean soil moisture during crop growth period 

Mean soil moisture (%) 

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 Mean 

With mulching 28.64 29.55 29.12 30.36 29.98 29.53 

Without mulching 23.54 24.28 24.18 24.95 24.17 24.22 

Conclusion 

Soybean grain yield was found significantly increase by 16.40 per cent due to application of 

straw mulch. The gross and net monetary returns were found significantly increase by 17.17 

and 22.61 per cent respectively, due to application of straw mulch. The BC ratio of 1.98 was 

observed due to application of straw mulch as against the BC ratio of 1.89 without application 

of straw mulch. Due to application of straw mulch, additional moisture of 21.92 per cent was 

conserved. 

References 

Aulakh PS and Sur HS. 1999. Effect of mulching on soil temperature, soil moisture, weed 

populationgrowth and yield in pomograinate. Prog. Hort. 31: 131-133 

Bu LD, Liu JL, Zhu L, Li SQ, Hill RL, Zhao Y. 2013: The effects of mulching on maize growth, 

yield and water use in a semi-arid region. Agric. Water Manag., 123: 71–78. 


47 | Page



Kumar R, Srivastva BKand Kumar R. 1998. Influence of different mulching materials on yield 

and quality of winter tomato. Proc. National Aca Sci. India Biol Sci 68(3-4): 279- 282 

Sekhon NK, Hira GS, Sidhu AS and Thind SS. 2005. Response of soybean (Glycine max Mer.) 

to wheat straw in different cropping seasons. Soil Use Manag.,21: 422-426 

Sharma AR, Singh R, Dhyani SK, Dube RK. 2010: Moisture conservation and nitrogen 

recycling through legume mulching in rainfed maize (Zea mays)-wheat 

(Triticumaestivum) cropping system. Nutr. Cycling Agroecosyst., 87: 187–197. 

T1-14P-1037 

Irrigation Requirement of Major Crops Under Changing Climatic 

Scenarios in Northern Gujarat Zone 

R. Rejani*, K.V. Rao, K. Sammi Reddy, D. Kalyan Srinivas, G.R. Chary, 

K.A. Gopinath, M. Osman and M. Prabhakar 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad- 500 059, India 

*rrejani10@gmail.com 

Prolonged dry spells during the critical growth stages of the crops affect the rainfed crops, 

especially in the arid, semi-arid regions and dry sub-humid zones which in turn results in crop 

failure or reduction in yield. In India, the average temperature is predicted to increase by 2 to 

4 0 C with changes in the distribution and frequency of rainfall, number of rainy days and 

extreme events. Long term data analysis (1953-2000) indicated that Rajasthan, Gujarat and 

Andhra Pradesh are severely affected by drought. Many studies projected the adverse impacts 

of climate change on India’s water resources, agriculture and other ecosystems and hence 

concerted efforts are required for its mitigation and adaptation to reduce the adverse impacts 

and make Indian agriculture more resilient. In rainfed areas, the adoption of suitable in-situ 

interventions and supplemental irrigation are very essential to save the crops from prolonged 

dry spells. The selected study area, Northern Gujarat zone also suffers from prolonged dry 

spells coinciding with the vegetative and reproductive stages of the major rainfed crops and the 

adoption of suitable interventions are very important. Therefore, adoption of suitable in-situ 

moisture conservation measures and supplemental irrigation is very important for this area. 

Hence the present study was taken up to estimate the irrigation requirement of the major crops 

spatially and to find its variability over the years and also under changing climatic scenarios. 

Methodology 

The Northern Gujarat zone includes Ahmedhabad, Banaskantha, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan 

and Sabarkantha districts and this region is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. 

This zone is semi-arid with an average annual rainfall of 613 mm. Around 94% of the rainfall 

is contributed by south-west monsoon, 4% by north-west monsoon and the remaining 2% is 




from summer rains. The normal onset of monsoon occurs during third week of September and 

prolonged dry spells are very common in this region mainly in August and September 

coinciding with the vegetative and reproductive stages of the major rainfed crops such as 

pearlmillet, castor, clusterbean, greengram and cowpea. The texture of the soil is sandy to sandy 

loam. Even though FAO Penman-Monteith method has been recommended as the sole standard 

method for ETo calculation (Allen et al., 1998), based on data availability for future scenarios, 

the Hargreaves and Samani (1985) method was used in the present study. The runoff was 

estimated spatially and temporally for a period of 63 years from 1951 to 2013 using IMD data 

and also under changing climatic scenarios(2030s) using ENSEMBLE data of CMIP 5 

corresponding to RCPs 4.5 and 6.0. 

Results 

Spatial and temporal variation of rainfall and irrigation requirement of major crops in the 

current and climate change scenarios 

Long term data from 63 years (1951 to 2013) is analyzed spatially and temporally to find the 

variability of rainfall patterns. At the Northern Gujarat zone, most of the sub-districts have rainfall 

ranged from 480 to 860 mm. The spatial and temporal variation in rainfall was analysed during 21 

years interval (1951-1971, 1972-1992, and 1993-2013). There was an increase in the number of 

high rainfall blocks. This shows the climate change impacts and there is an increased potential for 

rainwater harvesting and its utilization in the region, especially in the high rainfall blocks. Under 

climate change scenarios, irrigation requirements of major crops such as pearlmillet, castor, 

clusterbean, cowpea and green gram are predicted. An increase in the irrigation requirement of 

pearl millet is predicted for all the districts by 2030s compared to the baseline period under RCP 

4.5 and 6.0. Other crops have an increase in the irrigation requirementin some areas where as 

decrease in other areas by 2030s as in case of castor, clusterbean and greengram under both the 

scenarios. In case of castor and greengram, only a slight increase is noted in some areas and in case 

of clusterbean, the increase is negligible. Based on the irrigation requirement, water availability in 

the region and net profit from different crops, the optimization models were formulated for 

determining the optimal cropping patterns to enhance the farmers' income from the study area under 

the current scenario. 

Conclusion 

In this study, the irrigation requirement of major crops was determined using Hargreaves method 

and GIS during 1951-2013 and for 2030s using ENSEMBLE data of CMIP 5.0. There was an 

increase in the number of high rainfall blocks. An increase in the irrigation requirement of pearl 

millet is predicted for all the districts by 2030s under RCP 4.5 and 6.0 compared to baseline period. 

Other crops have an increase in the irrigation requirementin some areas whereas decrease in other 

areas by 2030s as in case of castor, clusterbean and greengram under changing climatic scenarios. 


49 | Page



The variability in the irrigation demand in the near future will help in the sustainable planning of 

water harvesting structures and its utilization. 

References 

Allen, R.G., Pereira, L.S., Raes, D and Smith, M., 1998. Crop evapotranspiration- Guidelines for 

computing crop water requirements, FAO Irrigation and drainage paper. 56. FAO, Rome, 

300(9): D05109. 

Hargreaves, G.H. and Samani, Z.A.1985. Reference crop evapotranspiration from temperature. 

Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 1(2): 96-99. 

T1-15P-1057 

Resilience in Rainfed Agriculture through Rainwater Management based 

on Catchment-Storage-Command Relationship in Assured Rainfall Zone of 

Marathwada Region 

Ananya Mishra 1 , M.S. Pendke 1* , W.N. Narkhede 1 , P.H. Gourkhede 1 , D.P. Waskar 1 and 


1 AICRP on Dryland Agriculture, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani 

(M.S.) 

2 ICAR-CRIDA Hyderabad 500 059, Telangana 

*pendkemadan@gmail.com 

Marathwada region is a rainfed area. Though the majority area falls under assured rainfall zone, 

it is characterized by 2-3 prolonged dry spells during the crop growth period which resulted in 

variations in crop production and productivity. The average productivity of all kharif crops 

varies depending on monsoon behavior. In the present case study, surface runoff was estimated 

for the assured rainfall zone of Marathwada region for further planning of small rainwater 

harvesting structures (farm ponds). The importance of farm ponds is increasing greatly in recent 

years. Farm ponds are the small dugout ponds constructed for rainwater harvesting and thereby 

to supply water for supplemental/protective irrigation during dry spells in kharif or in rabi 

season for sustaining crop productivity. Farm pond technology is proven as most climate 

resilience technology under rainfed region 

Methodology 

The daily runoff for each runoff-producing rainfall event was estimated from 2011 to 2021 

using SCS curve number method. Considering the available maps of land use/ land cover and 

hydrological soil group, the area of each class of land was worked out. Assigning the suitable 

curve numbers for respective land use and HSG to each area, the weighted curve number was 

determined and used in the estimation of runoff potential. Based on the runoff potential from 

the standard catchment area, the fortnightly runoff volume was estimated and considering the 




pan evaporation and seepage rate from the soil strata, the cumulative runoff potential to be 

harvested in the farm pond was estimated. Accordingly, the sizes of farm pond as per catchment 

area were worked out. 

Result 

The hydrologic soil group for the region was observed as ‘D’ with slope range of 0.5-3.5 %. 

The weighted curve numbers for Parbhani station were calculated as 77, 89 and 95 for AMC I, 

II and III respectively. From the rainfall data of the last 11 years (2011-2021), the daily surface 

runoff was estimated and thereby, the yearly runoff was calculated. The average runoff data 

was used for farm pond designs. Data revealed that the average rainfall causing runoff was 

found to be 853.43 mm which generated mean runoff of 257 mm i.e. 28.31 per cent. 

Year-wise rainfall, runoff and % runoff 

Year Annual rainfall (mm) Rainfall 

(mm) 

Runoff (mm) 

% Runoff 

2011 677.5 636 164 25.78 

2012 688.2 678 140 20.64 

2013 1217.1 1134.4 345 30.41 

2014 560.2 422.7 60 14.19 

2015 574.8 414.1 70 16.90 

2016 1159.5 1142.1 385 33.70 

2017 995.7 987.2 375 37.98 

2018 808.1 802.4 304 37.88 

2019 968.6 950.8 299 31.44 

2020 1098.7 1023.6 376 36.73 

2021 1719.3 1196.4 309 25.82 

Average 951.60 853.43 257 28.31 

Maximum 1719.3 1196.4 385 37.98 

Runoff 

500 

400 

300 

200 

Rainfall-runoff relation-Parbhani 

y = 0.4043x - 88.882 

R² = 0.8687 

100 

0 

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 

Rainfall 


51 | Page



Satheesh Kumar et.al. (2017), used rainfall-runoff modelling using SCS-CN method and 

similar results were obtained from the current study. The rainfall runoff relationship was 

worked out for further planning of small rainwater harvesting structures like farm ponds. The 

runoff potential is found to be 28.31 % of the rainfall indicating a good scope for rainwater 

harvesting and thereby, many more rainwater harvesting structures can be constructed based 

on site-specific conditions. A relation between rainfall and runoff for was worked out as Y = 

0.4043X – 88.882 (R 2 value - 0.8687). The linear rainfall-runoff relation obtained can be used 

for finding out runoff corresponding to any rainfall occurring in the area. Based on rainfallrunoff 

relationship and catchment–storage relationship and also looking to the climatic 

variations particularly rainfall intensity, duration and frequency in the last decade, the farm 

pond sizes for assured rainfall zone of Marathwada region were redesigned and standardized 

for further implementation of farm pond programme in the region. The details of farm pond 

sizes, storage capacity, the area under protective / supplemental irrigation and area under pond 

construction is presented as follows. 

Catchment 

area 

(ha) 

Farm pond sizes for assured rainfall zone of Marathwada region 

Top 

size of 

pond 

(m x 

m) 

Bottom 

size of 

pond 

(m x m) 

Side 

slope 

Depth 

of 

pond 

(m) 

Capacity Area 

of pond under 

(m 3 ) irrigation 

(ha) 

Area 

irrigated 

% 

% 

catchment 

area under 

pond 

1.0 21 x 21 12 x 12 1.5 : 1 3 837 1.3 130 4.41 

2.0 27 x 27 18 x 18 1.5 : 1 3 1539 2.40 120 7.29 

3.0 33 x 33 24 x 24 1.5 : 1 3 2457 3.93 131 10.89 

Thus, rainwater harvesting based on catchment- storage relationship created an assured source 

of water for providing protective irrigation, particularly during dry spell periods for sustaining 

crop productivity to create resilience in rainfed agriculture. 

Conclusion 

Rainwater harvesting appears to be one of the most promising alternatives for the escalating 

demand for fresh water for rainfed agriculture. Rainfall-runoff relationship proved to be the 

most valuable information for the identification of runoff potential at any station. The runoff 

potential is found to be 28.31 %, indicating a good scope for rainwater harvesting. Farm pond 

sizes were standardized for recommendation to State Department of Agriculture for further 

implementation of farm pond programme in the region /state. 




References 

Satheesh Kumar, S., Venkateswaran, S and Kannan, R. 2017. Rainfall–runoff estimation using 

SCS–CN and GIS approach in the Pappiredipatti watershed of the Vaniyar sub basin, 

South India. Modeling Earth Sys. Environ., 3(1):24. 

T1-16P-1070 

Nutrient Uptake, Harvest Index and Economics of Wheat Varieties as 

Influenced by Alternate Furrow Irrigation 

Jyoti, Parveen Kumar*, Pawan Kumar and S.K. Thakral 

Department of Agronomy, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India 

*kumar10@hau.ac.in 

Wheat productivity is determined by better cultivars combined with efficient production 

methods. The most essential component in fulfilling a variety's production potential is its 

suitability to a certain agro-climate and crop production practices, particularly nitrogen and 

irrigation application. The lower dose of nitrogen results in poor yield while higher dose of 

nitrogen causes environmental pollution and increases cultivation cost. Therefore, nitrogen 

should be applied in sufficient quantities through organic and inorganic sources is essential. 

Nitrogen loss and NO3-N contamination of surface and subsurface water can be resulted from 

flood irrigation with traditional flat planting and excessive nitrogen application (Akele; 2019). 

Alternate furrow irrigation (AFI) is a water-saving technique that is both affordable and simple 

to deploy. When compared to traditional furrow irrigation, AFI can reduce the irrigation water 

use by 40 per cent without reducing yield, resulting in increased water use efficiency (Cao et 

al. 2010). 

Methodology 

Field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2021-22 at Agronomy Research Farm 

of the C.C.S. Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India. The soil of the 

experimental site was sandy loam in texture, slightly alkaline in reaction, low in organic carbon 

and available nitrogen, medium in available phosphorus and high in available potassium. The 

experiment was carried out in split plot design with sixteen treatment combinations replicated 

thrice. The four varieties (WH 1105, HD 3086, HD 2967 and WH 1184) were assisted in main 

plot and nitrogen sources viz. control, 100% RDN through urea, 50% RDN through urea + 50% 

RDN through VC and 50% RDN through urea + 25% RDN through VC + 25% RDN through 

FYM in sub plots. The pre-sowing irrigation was applied through canal water and the 

subsequent two irrigations were applied in alternate furrow at CRI and flowering stage through 

an open channel using parshall flume. Furrows subjected to irrigation were open-ended; 

however, water does not exceed the edge of the plot, whereas other furrows not subjected to 


53 | Page



irrigation were closed-ended. The rainfall received during the crop season was 71 mm. The 

nutrient uptake, harvest index and economics were calculated by using the standard formula. 

Results 

Nutrient uptake: Among varieties, significantly higher nutrient uptake (N, P and K) was 

recorded with the variety HD3086 over HD2967, however, it was statistically at par with 

variety WH 1184 in respect of N and K uptake and with WH 1105 and WH 1184 in respect of 

phosphorous uptake in grain. Similarly, significantly, higher nutrient uptake (N, P and K0 in 

straw was found in variety HD3086 over variety WH 1105, HD 2967 and WH 1184. Among 

nitrogen sources, significantly higher nutrient uptake in straw was found with the application 

of 50% RDN through urea + 25% through VC + 25% FYM over other control, 100% RDN 

through urea and 50% RDN through urea + 50% through VC. Similar, trend was observed in 

respect of nutrient uptake by straw. 

Harvest index: Among varieties, significantly higher harvest index was registered with HD 

2967, which did not differ significantly with WH 1105 and WH 1184.Among nitrogen sources, 

100 per cent RDN through urea resulted in significantly higher harvest index but it did not 

differ with 50 per cent RDN through urea + 25 per cent RDN through VC + 25 per cent RDN 

through FYM and 50 per cent RDN through urea + 50 per cent RDN through VC. 

Benefit: cost ratio: The highest net profitability in terms of benefit cost ratio was obtained 

under HD 3086 with the application of 100 per cent RDN through urea followed by 50 per cent 

RDN through organic + 50 per cent RDN through VC. 

Effect of varieties and nitrogen sources on nutrient uptake, harvest index and 

economics of wheat under alternate furrow irrigation method 

Treatments Nutrient uptake (kg ha -1 ) Harvest 

Grain 

Straw 

index 

(%) 

N P K N P K 

Varieties 

WH 1105 52.8 7.4 8.3 52.1 7.8 67.2 37.5 1.2 

HD 3086 56.6 7.8 9.0 62.7 8.9 78.2 35.1 1.3 

HD 2967 48.2 6.7 7.7 44.9 7.0 58.3 39.1 1.1 

WH 1184 53.8 7.6 8.5 55.4 8.2 71.8 36.4 1.2 

CD 3.7 0.5 0.5 4.4 0.6 2.6 1.5 - 

Nitrogen sources 

Control 30.0 2.9 4.8 29.2 3.2 47.0 35.2 1.0 

100% RDN through urea 53.5 7.8 8.8 48.9 7.9 65.4 39.1 1.4 

50% RDN through urea + 50% through 

VC 

61.4 9.0 9.6 59.5 9.6 77.6 37.6 

B:C 

1.3 




50% RDN through urea + 25% through 

VC + 25% FYM 

66.6 9.9 10.3 77.4 11.1 85.7 36.2 

CD 3.8 0.6 0.7 4.1 0.6 2.4 2.0 - 

References 

Akele, Z. (2019). Evaluation of alternate, fixed and conventional furrow irrigation systems with 

different water application level on onion yield in Dubti. Afar, Ethiopia, 9(5) 

Cao, Q., Wang, S. Z., Gao, L. H., Ren, H. Z., Chen, Q. Y., Zhao, J. W., Wang, Q., Sui, X. L. 

and Zhang, Z. X. (2010). Effect of alternative furrow irrigation on growth and water use of 

cucumber in solar greenhouse. Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural 

Engineering, 26(1): 47-53 [in Chinese with English abstract]. 

1.1 

T1-17P-1078 

Comparison of sustainable dryland cropping under Reduced Runoff 

Farming in Alfisols of Karnataka 

Santosh Nagappa Ningoji, M.N. Thimmegowda, Mudalagiriyappa, B.G. Vasanthi and 

H.S. Shivaramu 

All India Co-ordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru 

India is an agrarian country, where rainfed agriculture accounts for two-thirds of the total 

cropped area (66 %) and contributes 40 per cent to the national food basket. The mean annual 

rainfall in rainfed region ranging from 400 mm to 1000 mm, which is uncertain, erratic and 

unevenly distributed. Among 400 M ha-m of rainfall received, 150 M ha-m flows as surface 

runoff, subsurface runoff and will not available to any type of production in India. To mitigate 

the runoff caused by uneven, erratic and heavy rains, in-situ and ex-situ water harvesting 

techniques can be used efficiently. During the rainy season when water is not required for 

irrigation, the excess water can be stored in a ancillary reservoir or farm ponds and used 

effectively during crucial periods of crop growth (Ramachandrappa et al., 2017). The in-situ 

water harvesting can be attained through selection of proper cropping systems. In this regard, 

the predominant crops and cropping systems of Eastern dry zone of Karnataka were selected 

to standardize the efficient cropping system to reduce the runoff, soil loss and nutrients loss. 

Along with cropping systems the harvested water in farm pond is used as protective irrigation 

during dry spells to the know effect on yield and yield parameters of different cropping systems. 

Methodology 

Experiment was carried out to study ‘Comparison of sustainable dryland cropping under 

Reduced Runoff Farming in Alfisols of Karnataka’ at the All-India Co-ordinated Research 

Project on Dry Land Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru in 


55 | Page



the Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka during 2019-20 and 2020-21. The experiment was 

conducted using RCBD design with factorial concept with two factors viz., Cropping system 

for harvesting of runoff water from the micro watershed in farm ponds’ consist of cropping 

system viz., T1 : French bean sole (Arka Arjun), T2 : Finger millet sole(MR-1), T3 : Pigeonpea 

(BRG-5)+ field bean (1:1) (HA-4), T 4 : Finger millet (MR-1) + Pigeonpea (8:2), T 5: Perennial 

mixed fruit (Pomelo + Guava) orchard and Kitchen garden (Ladies finger, capsicum, tomato, 

french bean, brinjal, leafy vegetables, green chilli, knol khol, cluster bean, ridge guard, 

cabbage) and ‘Water productivity enhancement strategies’ consist of I 1 : Protective advanced 

irrigation (sensor based micro irrigation during dry spell) and I2 : Control. 

Results 

The results revealed that significantly higher grain/ pod yield was recorded with application of 

one sensor based micro irrigation during dry spell in french bean (10097 kg ha -1 ), finger millet 

(4126 kg ha -1 ), pigeonpea (887 kg ha -1 ) & field bean (3258 kg ha -1 ) in pigeonpea + field bean 

(1:1) cropping system, finger millet (3768 kg ha -1 ) & pigeonpea (166 kg ha -1 ) in finger millet+ 

pigeonpea (8:2) cropping system, pumelo fruit yield (15429 kg ha -1 ) as compared to their 

respective control. The kitchen garden recorded a total of 9982 kg ha -1 yield from various crops 

grown during the study in kitchen garden. The results are in line with Bhandarkar and Reddy 

(2010), where they noticed two-fold increase in yield of soybean, chickpea, rice and wheat with 

application of protective irrigation from farm pond. Similarly, application of one irrigation 

during dry spell also increased stover/straw yield of cropping system as compared to their 

respective control. Among different cropping systems french bean with one protective 

irrigation has recorded higher finger millet equivalent yield (9627 kg ha -1 ) as compared to other 

cropping systems and it was followed by pigeonpea + field bean (1:1) cropping system (5624 

kg ha -1 ). Rain water use efficiency and total water use efficiency were also higher with 

application of one protective irrigation at dry spell as compared to their control. The increased 

yield resulted in higher rain water use efficiency and total rain water use efficiency as compared 

to control. 

Conclusion 

It can be concluded from two years of experiment that application of sensor based micro 

irrigation during dry spell by using runoff water stored in the farm pond has resulted in higher 

yield in french bean (24.46 %), finger millet (21.17 %), pigeonpea (25.45 %) & field bean (37.4 

%) in pigeonpea + field bean (1:1) cropping system, finger millet (25.39 %) & pigeonpea (36.06 

%) in finger millet + pigeonpea (8:2) cropping system, pumelo fruit yield (21.37 %). 

References 

Bhandarkar, D. M. and Reddy, K. S., 2010, Water harvesting and recycling technology for 

sustainable agriculture in vertisols with high rainfall in National Workshop cum Brain 




Storming on Rainwater harvesting and reuse through farm ponds, CRIDA, Hyderabad. 

India, April 21-22, 2009, pp. 276 – 289. 

Oweis, T., 1997, Supplemental irrigation: A highly efficient water-use practice. ICARDA, 

Aleppo, Syria, pp. 16. 

Ramachandrappa, B. K., Thimmegowda, M. N., Anitha, M., Srikanth Babu, P. N., Devaraja, 

K., Gopinath, K. A., Srinivasa Rao, C. H. And Ravindrachary, G., 2017, Efficient 

rainwater harvesting and its diversified utilization in Alfisols of Eastern Dry Zone of 

Karnataka. Indian j. dryland agric. res. dev. 32 (2): 83 - 90. 

Yield and yield parameters as influenced by water productivity enhancement strategies 

Treatments 

T 1: French bean sole* 

in different cropping systems under reduced runoff farming 

Grain or 

pod yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Stover or 

straw yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Harv 

est 

index 

Number of 

ears or 

pods/plant 

Length of 

ears or 

pods 

(cm) 

Weight of 

pods or 

grains 

(g)/plant 

T 1I 1: French bean 10097 3967 0.72 41.8 15.83 112.34 

T 1I 2: French bean 8112 3380 0.71 35.99 14.05 93.49 

‘t’ test @ 5% S S NS S S S 

T 2: Finger millet sole** 

T 2I 1: Finger millet 4126 5182 0.44 7.8 8.83 17.71 



T 3: Pigeonpea** + field bean* (1:1) 

T 3I 1: Pigeonpea 887 3521 0.2 193.07 5.87 81.24 

T 3I 2: Pigeonpea 707 2959 0.19 154.42 5.77 60.49 


T 3I 1: Field bean 3258 3927 0.46 31.27 6.73 49.35 

T 3I 2: Field bean 2370 3423 0.42 23.77 6.45 41.57 


T 4: Finger millet**+ pigeonpea**(8:2) 




T 4I 1: Pigeonpea** 166 645 0.21 74.72 5.71 41.13 

T 4I 2: Pigeonpea** 122 581 0.17 68.1 5.64 32.31 


T 5: Pomelo 

T 5I 1: Pomelo 15429 


57 | Page



T 5I 2: Pomelo 12712 

‘t’ test @ 5% S 

Water productivity enhancement strategies 

I 1: Sensor based micro irrigation during dry spell 

Note: * Pod yield per ha ** Grain yield per ha 

I 2: Control 

S- Significant; NS- Not Significant 

T1-18P-1083 

Conservation Furrow-A Low-Cost Climate Resilient Technology to 

Enhance the Productivity of Rainfed Crops and Cropping Systems in 

Scarce Rainfall Zone of Andhra Pradesh 

A. Malliswara Reddy 1 , B. Sahadeva Reddy 1 , C. Radhakumari 1 , B. Ravindranatha 

Reddy 1 , R. Veeraraghavaiah 1 , G. Ravindrachary 2 and K.A. Gopinath 2 

1 Agricultural Research Station, Ananthapuramu-515 001, Andhra Pradesh, India. 

2 

ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad-500 059, India 

Among various extreme climatic events, of which drought (moisture stress) is one of the most 

important abiotic stresses which influence the rainfed crops productivity. In India, moisture 

stress is a recurring chronic problem, which has a sizeable proportion of area falling in arid and 

semi-arid tropics. Two-thirds of India’s agricultural land is vulnerable to moisture stress of 

various intensities, and the probability of occurrence of moisture stress is over 35 per cent. The 

intra-seasonal dryspells due to erratic distribution of rainfall coupled with crop season 

significantly influenced the productivity of rainfed crops. Adequate moisture is essential during 

key developmental stages and even short periods of moisture stress during these stages can 

cause significant loss in yield of rainfed crops. Efficient management of a dry spells with a 

suitable rainwater management practice is desired for different crops under rainfed agriculture. 

The conservation furrow is a simple and low cost in situ rain water conservation practice 

adopted in alfisols and associated soils with problems of crusting and sealing for rainfed areas 

(400-900 mm rainfall) with moderate slope varying from 1 to 4 %. Furrows at 3-5 m apart on 

contour or across slope are opened either during planting or during intercultural operation using 

a country plough in this system. These furrows harvest the local runoff water and improve soil 

moisture in the adjoining crop rows, particularly during the period of water stress. This practice 

has been found to increase the crop yields by 10-25% (Venkateswarlu et al., 2016). Hence, the 

present study was conducted to identify the most suitable and efficient low-cost climate 

resilient technology to enhance the productivity in predominant rainfed crops and cropping 

systems under scarcity zone of Andhra Pradesh. 




Methodology 

On-farm demonstrations were conducted at farmers’ fields during 2017-2021 under the project 

entitled “National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)”, which is an 

operational area at Vannedoddi village of Gooty mandal, Ananthapuramu district of Andhra 

Pradesh, which is geographically situated in between 15 0 08 ’ N latitude and 77 0 40 ’ E longitude. 

The predominant soils in this region are red sandy loam in texture with near neutral in reaction, 

low in organic carbon and available nitrogen, medium in available phosphorus and potassium. 

Demonstration fields were selected based on the willingness of the farmers to implement 

participatory research to evaluate the science-based approach. The selected farmers in the 

village participated in every intervention like soil sampling, input application and growth and 

yield estimation. At the demonstration site, the normal rainfall was 595.6 mm. Out of five years 

study (2017-2021), 2018 is rain deficit year in which 44 per cent deficit rainfall was recorded. 

Three years i.e. 2019, 2020 and 2021 were rainy excess years in which 29, 95 and 61 per cent 

excess rainfall was recorded respectively. The rainfall during 2017 was found normal. The 

variations in rainfall patterns clearly showed that rainfall vulnerability. During the above study 

period (2017-2021), the dryspells were recorded at different phenophases of crop growth period 

in rainfed crops. During the study period, 2 to 4 dryspells occurred with 11 to 67 consecutive 

rainless days was noticed. To overcome this dryspells, the climate resilient technologies like 

in-situ moisture conservation through formation of conservation furrows at every crop row in 

sole castor and pigeonpea + pearlmillet (1:1) intercropping system were conducted on farmer 

fields as participatory approach during 2017-2021. 

Results 

The five years data indicated that higher seed yield, net monetary returns, benefit-cost ratio and 

rainwater use efficiency were recorded with formation of conservation furrow at every crop 

row compared to control (without conservation furrow). Mean data revealed that, the seed yield 

of castor was increased by16.3% and additional net returns of Rs.4331ha -1 was realized with 

the formation of conservation furrows compared to control. This might be due to conservation 

furrows helps to conserve more rainwater in the root zone, which in turn beneficial to cope up 

with mid-season drought in castor. 


59 | Page



Effect of conservation furrows on castor productivity, economics and rainwater use 

efficiency 

Year Intervention 

Seed 

yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

% Yield 

increase 

over 

control 

NMR 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

B:C 

Ratio 

RWUE 

(kg ha -1 

mm -1 ) 

2017 Formation of conservation furrows 745 14.2 18920 1.95 1.50 

Control (without conservation 

furrows) 

652 -- 13780 1.52 1.24 

2018 Formation of conservation furrows 437 18.4 -892 0.94 0.65 


furrows) 

369 -- -3204 0.79 0.55 



furrows) 

550 -- 11200 1.71 1.48 



furrows) 

750 -- 13750 1.85 1.17 



furrows) 

930 -- 31450 2.76 1.62 

Effect of conservation furrows on productivity and economics of intercropping system 

Year Intervention 

2017 Formation of conservation 

furrows 


furrows) 


furrows 


furrows) 


furrows 


furrows) 


furrows 


furrows) 


furrows 


furrows) 

Pigeonpea 

equivalent 

yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

% yield 

increase 

over 

control 

NMR 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

B:C 

Ratio 

RWUE (kg 

ha -1 mm -1 ) 

1392 14.5 24,688 2.97 1.26 

1216 -- 22,359 2.74 1.13 

192 20.8 -1998 0.84 0.72 

159 -- -2846 0.70 0.60 

546 16.9 15302 1.94 0.82 

467 -- 10836 1.66 0.70 

975 19.5 30,050 2.13 1.57 

816 -- 22,227 1.88 1.32 

488 14.8 2,460 1.09 0.85 

425 -- 510 1.01 0.73 




Similarly, formation of conservation furrows influenced the yield and economics of 

pigeonpea+pearlmillet (1:1) intercropping system. The data revealed that the higher pigeonpea 

equivalent yield, net returns, B:C ratio and rainwater use efficiency were recoded with 

formation of conservation furrows compared to without conservation furrows. The pigeonpea 

equivalent yield was increased by17.3% and realized additional monetary net returns of Rs. 

53086 ha -1 with formation of conservation furrows compared to control. Conservation furrows 

act as mini reservoirs through harvesting the local surface runoff water and improves soil 

moisture in the adjoining crop rows, particularly during the period of water stress 

(Venkateswarlu et al., 2016). 

Conclusion 

Conservation furrows enhanced the seed yield, economics and rainwater use efficiency in 

castor and pigeonpea + pearlmillet (1:1) intercropping system. Hence, formation of 

conservation furrows are low cost climate resilient technology to cope mid-season drought in 

rainfed crops under scarcity zone of Andhra Pradesh. 

References 

Venkateswarlu, B., Chary, G. R., Singh, G and Shivay, Y. S. 2016. Climate Resilient 

Agronomy. The Indian Society of Agronomy, New Delhi.120-142. 


T1-19P-1129 

Conservation and Rainwater Storage Structure (CNB) on Drainage Line 

for Developing Groundwater Regimes in Vidarbha Region 

R. S. Patode, Ranee Wankhade, V. P. Pandagale, V. V. Gabhane, M. M. Ganvir, 

A. B. Chorey and R. S. Mali 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi 

Vidyapeeth, Akola (M.S.), India 

Groundwater resources appraisal in various areas of the country is must for the integrated 

management and development of water resources. A wide spatial-temporal change in the 

amount of groundwater resources warrants systematic exploration to place most excellent open 

wells and bore well location for tapping this important natural resource. The water conditions 

for agriculture, municipal and industries are responsible for increase than the yearly 

groundwater recharge and it was observed that during last decades every country will be facing 

scanty rainfall, thus day by day decreases groundwater table. On the other hand, nonstop 

exploration from groundwater reservoir in surplus of replenishable groundwater recharge may 

direct effect in lowering of groundwater table, agricultural production and also human 

organism (Khadri and Pande, 2016). The further insufficiency of water for various agricultural 

production systems should be overcome by using efficient soil and water conservation and 

61 | Page



management practices. Moreover, the strategy decisions on water management are more 

essential for groundwater resource management and also for impact assessment on 

groundwater regime with efficient method at any country level. Groundwater resources 

evaluation in many areas of the Vidarbha region is important for the developmental strategies 

of integrated watershed development and management. 

Methodology 

The study was undertaken under Agri-CRP on Water project (Funded by ICAR-IIWM, 

Bhubaneswar) to analyze the impact of rainwater harvesting structure on groundwater seasonal 

fluctuations at Kajaleshwar-Warkhed watershed Tq. Barshitakli, Distt. Akola in Maharashtra. 

The work of Nala widening/deepening and repairs of rainwater harvesting structure was done 

for quantification of groundwater recharge and agricultural development in the dryland area in 

the watershed. Groundwater level data has been collected from 51 observation wells for 

analysis of rainwater harvesting impact on groundwater regime in watershed area. 

Groundwater levels data were monitored for groundwater analysis with the help of GIS 

software. Groundwater fluctuation maps have been generated from interpolation techniques in 

Arc GIS 10.3 software. The beneficiaries/ farmers in the vicinity of this drainage line were 

selected for crop planning and uses of harvested water through micro-irrigation system. The 

wells located surrounding these drains were surveyed and monitored for groundwater levels. 

Results 

The rainwater harvesting activity is more essential for agricultural development. Groundwater 

level fluctuation analysis is mainly depending on the variation of water level data during postmonsoon 

periods which can be directly related to recharge and discharge of groundwater 

regime. Groundwater level data has been collected from 51 observation wells in the vicinity of 

10 CNBs for analysis of rainwater harvesting impact on groundwater regime in watershed area. 

It was observed that, during 2019 (51 wells) average depth of water level was 2.81 m and 

during 2020 (51wells) average depth of water level was 2.17. The groundwater level 

fluctuations in 2020 as compared to 2019 were observed. The well water levels were observed 

to be increased in 2020 as compared to 2019 for maximum wells. The average depth in the 

wells in 2020 was increased by 0.64m with respect to the levels in 2019 and by 4.08 m as 

compared to the well levels during 2016 (Patode et al., 2016). This is due to the storage of 

rainwater in the widened and deepened nala for longer duration. It was also possible to utilize 

the recharged water for protective irrigations to different crops. 

Increase in yield during kharif and rabi season 

Increase in the ground water levels in wells and availability of water in the wells as well as 

CNBs benefited to farmers to take other crops like turmeric, onion, cabbage, brinjal and chilly 

other than soybean and chickpea. One protective irrigation during the dry spell from stored 




water and also groundwater used for soybean demonstration plots have resulted in significant 

increase in yield as compared to rainfed condition or without irrigation at the Warkhed- 

Kajaleshwar watershed. It was observed that the average yield of soybean with one protective 

irrigation was increased in the range of 16.00 % to 33.00 % over without irrigation. During 

rabi season for chickpea the stored rainwater was used for protective irrigation. It was observed 

that the average yield of chickpea with one protective irrigation was increased in the range of 

16.92 % to 29.52 % over without irrigation. Similarly, the average yield with two protective 

irrigations was increased in the range of 30.18 % to 52.00 % over without irrigation. 

Conclusion 

It can be inferred that due to storage of water for longer time in the drainage line (Nallas, 

CNBs), the well recharge took place resulting into increase of ground water table. Thus, 

sufficient water will be available for providing protective irrigations to different crops. The 

farmers were able to raise different crops thereby having more income generation compared to 

earlier situation. Crop diversification and sustainability in agriculture occurred. Based on these 

results it can be recommended to undertake the deepening and widening of existing drainage 

line network along with construction or repairing of the permanent structures and reuse of 

harvested water through micro-irrigation in the entire Vidarbha region of Maharashtra for 

sustainable crop production and water resources development. 

References 

Khadri, S.F.R. and Chaitanya Pande. 2016. GIS based analysis of groundwater variation in 

Mahesh River Basin, Akola and Buldhana Districts, Maharashtra, India. Int.J. Pure 

and Applied Res. Engrg. Technol., 4 (9):127-136. 

Patode RS, Nagdeve MB and Pande CB. 2016. Groundwater level monitoring of Kajaleshwar- 

Warkhed watershed, Tq. Barshitakli, Dist. Akola, India through GIS Approach. 

Adv.in Life Sci., 5(24), 11207-11210. 


T1-20P-1144 

Effect of Irrigation and Nitrogen Sources on Yield and Water Use 

Efficiency of Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa L.) in West Bengal 

Madhurima Dey, Manimala Mahato and Dhananjoy Dutta 

Department of Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, 

Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India 741252 

Leafy vegetables like lettuce demands more water and nutrients for better production, which 

sometimes leads to unbalanced and indiscriminate application of inputs. A field experiment 

was designed to find out the performance of lettuce under irrigation scheduling based on 

IW/CPE ratio combined with application of nitrogen through different sources. 

63 | Page



Methodology 

The field experiment was carried out during the rabi seasons of 2017-18 and 2018-19 at 

B.C.K.V in sandy loam alluvial soil laid out in split-plot design with four main plot treatments 

viz. I1 = Irrigation at 15 days intervals (farmers’ practice), I2 = Irrigation at IW/CPE ratio 0.6, 

I 3= Irrigation at IW/CPE ratio 0.8, I 4= Irrigation at IW/CPE ratio1.0 and three subplot 

treatments viz. N1=100% RDN (Recommended dose of nitrogen) @ 100 kg N ha -1 (inorganic 

urea), N 2=75% RDN (inorganic urea) +25% RDN (vermicompost) and N 3= 100% RDN 

(vermicompost) replicated thrice. Vermicompost containing 1.8 % N was applied @ 5.5 and 

1.4 t ha -1 to supplement 100 kg and 25 kg N ha -1 in N3 and N2 treatments respectively. P2O5 

and K 2O @ 60 and 50 kg ha -1 respectively were applied uniformly to all plots. Irrigations based 

on IW/CPE ratio 1.0, 0.8 and 0.6 were given as per treatments when cumulative pan 

evaporation (CPE) reached at 50, 62.5 and 83.3 mm respectively and 50 mm depth of irrigation 

water was maintained in each irrigation. Seedlings of lettuce var. ‘Chinese Yellow’ were 

transplanted with a spacing of 40 cm × 30 cm in 4.8 m × 3.6 m plots with other management 

practices. 

Results 

Pooled results revealed that irrigation scheduled at 15 days interval along with 75% RDN from 

inorganic urea and 25% RDN from vermicompost treatment (I 1N 2) performed significantly 

better in terms of plant height (20.80 cm), fresh weight (681.55 g), yield (32.85 t ha -1 ) and 

water use efficiency (92.38 kg ha-mm -1 ), whereas, maximum no. of leaves plant -1 (52.89) was 

recorded in irrigation scheduled at 15 days interval along with 100% RDN from inorganic urea 

treatment (I1N1) which was statistically at par with I1N2. However, irrigation scheduled at 

IW/CPE 0.6 along with 100% RDN from inorganic urea treatment (I 2N 1) recorded lowest yield 

(18.15 t ha -1 ). 

Conclusion 

The study concluded that irrigation scheduled at 15 days interval along with 75% RDN from 

inorganic urea and 25% RDN from vermicompost can be recommended for better yield and 

water use efficiency in lettuce in New alluvial zone of West Bengal. 

Effects of irrigation and nitrogen sources on growth and yield of lettuce (Pooled) 

Treatment 

I 1 (Irrigation at 

15-day 

interval) 

Plant height 

(cm) 

No. of leaves 

plant -1 

Fresh weight 

plant -1 (g) 

Irrigation Level (I) 

Yield 

(t ha -1 ) 

19.72 51.08 632.76 27.76 

Water use 

efficiency 

(kg ha-mm -1 ) 

78.39 




I 2 (IW: CPE 

0.6) 

I 3 (IW: CPE 

0.8) 

I 4 (IW: CPE 

1.0) 

17.47 42.78 507.81 19.01 

18.36 43.66 531.04 20.88 

19.48 47.01 607.55 24.93 

S.Em (±) 0.21 0.36 5.43 0.95 -- 

C. D. (P= 0.05) 0.74 1.26 18.80 3.27 -- 

N 1(100% RDN 

inorganic urea) 

N 2(75% RDN 

(inorganic 

urea) +25% 

RDN 

(vermicompost) 

N 3 (100% RDN 

(vermicompost) 

Nitrogen Sources (N) 

18.42 47.48 573.57 23.70 

19.52 47.60 612.78 25.59 

18.34 42.73 523.03 19.92 

S.Em (±) 0.15 0.21 4.94 0.47 -- 

C. D. (P= 0.05) 0.48 0.64 14.79 1.40 -- 

Interaction (I× N) 

85.97 

79.77 

79.01 

83.04 

88.74 

70.58 

I 1N 1 19.35 52.89 628.12 27.96 81.13 

I 1N 2 20.80 52.40 681.55 32.85 92.38 

I 1N 3 19.03 47.99 588.64 21.57 61.67 

I 2N 1 16.13 42.68 486.53 18.15 81.53 

I 2N 2 18.39 44.12 547.93 20.03 90.66 

I 2N 3 17.89 41.56 488.98 18.84 85.72 

I 3N 1 18.07 45.13 517.96 19.93 77.58 

I 3N 2 19.40 45.56 603.73 23.89 91.74 

I 3N 3 17.63 40.31 471.44 18.81 69.98 

I 4N 1 20.14 49.17 661.66 28.76 91.93 

I 4N 2 19.50 48.33 617.92 25.57 80.16 

I 4N 3 18.81 43.56 543.08 20.47 64.95 

I×N N×I I×N N×I I×N N×I I×N N×I I×N N×I 

S.Em (±) 0.22 0.31 0.43 0.55 9.87 10.65 0.94 1.33 -- 

C. D. (P= 0.05) 0.74 0.93 1.29 1.27 29.59 23.66 2.81 3.09 -- 


65 | Page



T1-21P-1145 

Effect of Irrigation and Mulch on Summer Babycorn (Zea mays L.) in New 

Alluvial Zone of West Bengal 

V.V.S. Jaya Krishna, Abhijit Saha and Dhananjoy Dutta 

Department of Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalay, 

Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India-741252 

Optimization of irrigation schedules along with use of mulch is an effective moisture 

conservation technique for raising summer crops under limited water. Moreover, the use of 

biodegradable mulches like jute based geo-textile, crop residues etc. has widely been accepted 

technology due to beneficial effects on soil. Hence, an attempt was being made to obtain higher 

yield and better quality of summer babycorn through efficient management of irrigation and 

mulches. 

Methodology 

Field investigation was conducted at BCKV, West Bengal during summer (March – May) of 

2016 & 2017 to find out the growth, yield, nutrients uptake, quality, water use efficiency 

(WUE), economics and water stress index of babycorn (cv. G-5414) under different irrigation 

scheduling and mulching in a split-plot design with three irrigation treatments in main plot 

like IW/CPE 1.0, 0.80 & 0.60 and four mulch treatments in sub-plots such as no mulch, black 

polythene mulch (30 µ), paddy straw mulch @ 5t/ha and jute based geo-textile mulch @ 500 

gsm replicated thrice in sandy loam soil, neutral pH (6.52), medium fertility, field capacity of 

18.58% and permanent wilting point of 8.1%. The crop was planted in raised-bed with 45 cm 

× 20 cm spacing and fertilized uniformly with 10 t FYM + N:P2O5: K2O @ 120: 60: 40 kg/ha 

as basal. Polythene and jute (geo-textile) sheets were placed over the bed before sowing and 

seeds are dibbled in wholes adjusted with the spacing, while straw mulch was applied 5-7 days 

after germination. Other standard agronomic package of practices was followed. Irrigation 

depth 5 cm was maintained by V notch. 

Results 

In respect to main effect of treatments, irrigation at IW/CPE 1.0 (I 1) and polythene mulch (M 1) 

was found superior than others and therefore, their interaction (I1M1) excelled other 

combinations in terms of growth attributes like plant height (208.38 cm), dry matter 

accumulation (1912.55 g/m 2 ) and yield attributes like cob no. /plant (2.22), cob weight without 

husk (8.36 g) and cob yield (2019 kg/ha), uptake of N (56.12 kg/ha), P2O5 (22.84 kg/ha) and 

K 2O (51.71 kg/ha), crude protein (15.98%), crude fibre (41.96%), consumptive water use 

efficiency (10.59 kg/ha-mm), net return (Rs. 161294/ha) and benefit-cost ratio (3.07). 




Effect of irrigation and mulch on cob length with and without husk (pooled) 

Treatment 

Irrigation(I) 

Plant height 

(cm) 

Cob 

no./plant 

Cob yield 

(kg/ha) 

N uptake 

(kg/ha) 

Benefitcost 

ratio 

WUE (kg/hamm) 

I 1 (IW/CPE 1.0) 186.46 2.04 1618 41.55 2.67 8.83 

I 2 (IW/CPE 0.8) 179.21 1.92 1242 36.60 2.22 8.32 

I 3 (IW/CPE 0.6) 171.80 1.67 962 31.55 1.88 8.42 

CD at 5% 1.94 0.15 26.77 1.17 

Mulching (M) 

M 0 (No mulch) 159.49 1.71 918 25.42 2.25 6.48 

M 1 (Polythene 

mulch 30 µ) 

M 2 (Paddy straw 

mulch @ 5t/ha) 

M 3 (Jute mulch @ 

500 gsm) 

198.00 2.06 1557 49.23 

176.55 1.76 1210 34.04 

182.60 1.98 1411 37.57 

CD at 5% 2.27 0.14 23.79 0.74 

Interaction 

2.57 9.98 

2.44 8.28 

1.77 9.28 

I 1M 0 166.21 1.84 1064 29.10 2.58 6.34 

I 1M 1 208.38 2.22 2019 56.12 3.07 10.59 

I 1M 2 182.17 1.95 1586 38.54 2.95 8.56 

I 1M 3 189.09 2.17 1803 42.44 2.09 9.51 

I 2M 0 160.44 1.78 914 25.24 2.25 6.23 

I 2M 1 197.40 2.11 1529 49.11 2.54 9.82 

I 2M 2 176.93 1.78 1133 34.14 2.35 7.99 

I 2M 3 182.08 2.00 1392 37.89 1.75 9.12 

I 3M 0 151.81 1.50 776 21.93 1.92 7.04 

I 3M 1 188.20 1.84 1124 42.45 2.10 9.22 

I 3M 2 170.56 1.56 911 29.44 2.03 8.19 

I 3M 3 176.63 1.78 1037 32.37 1.46 9.12 

I×M M×I I×M M×I I×M M×I I×M M×I 

CD at 5% 3.94 3.92 NS NS 41.21 44.53 1.28 1.59 

Conclusion 

Irrigation at IW/CPE 1.0 along with polythene mulching can be recommended for enhancing 

productivity, profitability and water use efficiency of summer babycorn in West Bengal. 


67 | Page



T1-22P-1197 

Enhancing Water Productivity in the Scarce Rainfall Zone of Andhra 

Pradesh through Farmponds with Seepage Control 

Boini Narsimlu 1 , N. Kishore, 2 , Sahadeva Reddy 2 , G. Ravindra Chary 1 , K.B. Sridhar 1 

and K.A. Gopinath 1 

1 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500059, Telangana. 

2 AICRPDA centre, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Ananthapuramu-515001, A.P 

Rainfed agriculture in India accounts for about 51% (72.98 m ha) of the net cultivated area, 

supports 40% of total food grain production, 60% of livestock population and is mainly 

depends on rainfall. It is mainly monsoon reliant, risk prone and often encounters extreme 

variations in rainfall resulting in wide variation and instability in crop yields. Rainfed area 

covered in Andhra Pradesh is about 67% (25.03 lakh ha) and in scarce rainfall zone it is about 

72% (14.88 lakh ha) area. This scarce rainfall zone is drought prone which is characterized by 

inadequate and erratic rainfall coupled with high evapotranspiration rate and eroded soils. 

Water harvesting is an ancient tradition and used for millennia in most dry lands of the world; 

many different techniques were developed. The on-farm runoff collection into farm ponds and 

recycling through supplemental irrigation can increase and stabilize the crop production. There 

is an abundant scope and opportunity for harvesting excess runoff in the rainfed region in 

different states of the country. In a case study a farm pond with capacity of 50 m 3 , by using 

drip system irrigation system, it is adequate to meet supplemental irrigation requirement for a 

kitchen garden of 300– 600 m 2 planted with 90 days growing period cabbages. The cost-benefit 

analysis showed that farm ponds are feasible solutions to persistent crop failures in semi-arid 

areas (Ngigi et al., 2005). Harvested rainwater in farm pond will be able to provide life-saving 

irrigation to standing crops when they are exposed to mid-term/terminal drought and also for 

pre-sowing irrigation in post-rainy crops in rainfed areas. Study results on Nadi system 

established under RKVY scheme in Bhilwara district during the year 2011–2013 indicates an 

increased the water productivity by 28 to 48.5% in both the seasons (Jat et al., 2016). The 

objectives are to study the performance and economics of lined vis-à-vis unlined farm ponds 

and to assess the efficacy of lining material used in farm ponds in minimizing the seepage 

losses across different zones. 

Methodology 

Study area is in scarce rainfall zone of Andhra Pradesh State and is under arid (hot) climate 

with mean annual rainfall of 544 mm. The dominant soils of the region are alfisols (red soils) 

and few black soil packets with predominant groundnut based rainfed production system. 

Major crops grown during kharif season area groundnut, pigeonpea, maize, sunflower, rice, 

cotton and in rabi finger millet and chickpea. The farm holding size of the regions is small and 




marginal farmers counting to 70 percent. A large number of farm ponds were dug with the 

support of programmes such as State Government special program of 1.0 lakh farm ponds for 

enhancing groundwater recharge, MGNREGA and watershed development programmes, 

NGO’s (RDT) introduced and ICAR-NICRA programmes in the study area. On-farm data was 

collected through inventory of farm ponds in farmers’ fields to assess the benefits of different 

lining material used for seepage control and effective utilisation of harvested rainwater in 

scarce rainfall zone. Data attributes like size of farm pond, lining material used and availability, 

water harvested, seepage losses, crops grown etc., were recorded and analysed for benefit cost 

ratio. 

Without lining HPDE 250 GSM lining Soil cement lining 4:1 ratio Soil cement lining 6:1 

Results 

Inventory results samples collected from locations which were identified with GPS includes 

lined and unlined farm ponds in Ananthapuramu district of A.P. The lining material used by 

farmers are HDPE sheet of 250, 300 and 500 microns, LDPE, Bricks+cement, local 

stoneslabs+cement and soil +cement in 8:1 ratio for seepage control and effective utilisation. 

On-farm inventory in the scarce rainfall zone with annual average rainfall of 544 mm under 

arid alfisols in Andhra Pradesh, among the different seepage control methods used, a farm pond 

with capacity of 250 m 3 , under 1 ha catchment with soil+cement (6:1) lining was efficiently 

used (two irrigation of 1.0 cm each) during dry spells on groundnut crop. The crop productivity 

by lined farm pond is 1230 kg/ha, when compared to 820 kg/ha from unlined farm pond. The 

constraints observed during the study for sustainability of farm ponds in these agroclimatic 

zones are exposure of material to high temperature, physical damage by animals, poor 

maintenance of lining material, availability of runoff during the offseason etc. 

Conclusions 

In the scarce rainfall zone with annual average rainfall of 544 mm under arid alfisols in Andhra 

Pradesh, shows among the different seepage control methods used, a farm pond with capacity 

of 250 m 3 , under 1 ha catchment with soil+cement (6:1) lining was efficiently used (two 

irrigation of 1.0 cm each) during dry spells on groundnut crop. The crop productivity by lined 

farm pond was 1230 kg/ha, when compared to 820 kg/ha from unlined farm pond. Farm pond 

are found suitable to address the issue of water scarcity by storing excess of canal water as well 

as rainfall for applying to field as and when required. The major constraints observed in this 


69 | Page



study was exposure of lining material to high temperature and unavailability of runoff during 

offseason. 

References 

Jat, M. and Mahela. M. 2016. Economic feasibility of refinement or renovation of a water 

harvesting structure (Nadi)-Asuccess story. Indian J. Soil Conserv., 46(1): 60–67. 

Ngigi, S.N., Savenije, H.H.G., Thome, J.N., Rockström, J., De Vries, F.W.T.P. 2005. Agrohydrological 

evaluation of on-farm rainwater storage systems for supplemental 

irrigation in Laikipia district, Kenya. Agric. Water Manage., 73: 21–41. 

T1-23P-1198 

Maximize the Production of Blackgram Through Furrow Irrigated Raised 

Bed Planting Methods Under Aberrated Climatic Regions 

R.K. Singh 1 , S.R.K. Singh 2 and D.P. Sharma 3 

1 Directore ATARI Zone IX and 4 Director Extension Services 

Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Chhatarpur- 471201, M.P. 

Blackgram (Vigna mungo.) is an important economic pulse crop and considered as a good 

source of protein for human being. Blackgram has been a predominant crop in Madhya 

Pradesh especially in Chhatarpur district which accounts for 65.1% (2, 61,450 ha) area under 

Blackgram Cultivation. The district Chhatarpur falls under central portion on the plateau of 

Bundelkhand region in Madhya Pradesh. and lies between north latitudes 240 06’ and 250 

20’ and longitude 790 59’ and 800 26 East. Current average productivity of the crop in the 

district is 540 kg per ha as against the state and national productivity of 730 and 585 kg per 

ha respectively. Though there are several factors for low production and productivity of 

blackgram in the district, however, lower seed replacement with improved varieties and 

uncertainty of rainfall is crucial one. Because climate change during the last decade, the 

rainfall pattern and distribution has exhibited frequent aberrations with extreme situation of 

sudden downpour or long dry spells entailing in to severe stress on blackgram crop that results 

reduction in yield. Keeping the above facts, the act of Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed Planter 

and improved variety of blackgram PU 31 and IPU 2-43 strategies for minimizing risk of crop 

failure and stabilizing blackgram production was felt. Under such circumstances, KVK 

Chhatarpur of Madhya Pradesh introduced Furrrow Irrigated raised bed planter equipment to 

line sowing of Blackgram through front line demonstration at farmer’s field under NICRA 

Village. These demonstrations brought out enhancement in yield of Blackgram as 7.5 q/ha 

over farmers practice 4.2 q/ha. The benefit cost ratio was recorded as 1: 2.6 as compared to 

farmers practices 1:1.7. The ridge and furrow equipment save the soil moisture through 




increased infiltration rate of rain fall and reduced runoff that leads slow rate of soil erosion. 

The furrow which allows drainage of excess water in case of heavy precipitation, while serves 

as in situ moisture conservation during dry spells, thus mitigating the detrimental effects of 

excess and dry spell situation. 

T1-24P-1229 

Integrating Improved Land, Water Management Practices and Cropping 

Systems for Sustainable Farming in Drylands of Northern Karnataka: A 

Case Study 

M. S. Shirahatti 1 , V.S. Surakod 1 , S.G. Kanti 1 , H.S. Patil 1 and G. Ravindra Chary 2 

1 AICRP on Dryland Agriculture, Vijayapura, Karnataka 

2 ICAR - CRIDA, Hyderabad – 500 059, Telangana 

The total amount of rainfall in the semi-arid tropics (SAT) regions is adequate to meet the water 

requirement of the crops and cropping systems, its erratic distribution results in periods of 

excess and deficit water availability, leading to low productivity and degradation of natural 

resources. In recent years, due to climate change, the weather aberrations such as delayed onset 

of monsoon, prolonged dry spells and high rainfall events during the crop growth period have 

become common, thereby reducing the yields of rainfed crops. Under the climate change 

scenario, the number of rainy days is decreased, but rainfall intensity increases. Therefore, an 

integrated water resources management approach comprising in-situ water conservation, 

harvesting of excess water in ponds and groundwater recharging and its efficient use through 

appropriate supplemental irrigation methods, improved crop varieties and cropping systems, 

balanced nutrition of crops, crop diversification and intensification with high value crops and 

crop protection is needed to produce more food and income per unit of rainfall. 

Methodology 

The Northern Dry zone of Karnataka falls in the semi-arid tropics, annual rainfall is low and 

erratic (LPA of 594 mm and CV of 30%). High insolation (18.9-21.0 MJ/m 2 /day) and high 

wind speed during mid kharif season (20 km/hr) cause annual potential evaporation (1,574 

mm) that far exceeds rainfall, leading to 988 mm of water deficit and aridity index of 62%. The 

rainfall and runoff studies revealed that generally there would be 5 to 6 runoff events occurring 

in the year, and a minimum 22 mm rainfall is required for the occurrence of the runoff. Long 

term runoff data analysis revealed that annual runoff would be about 12-14 per cent of the 

annual rainfall. Further, the ground water balance study revealed that ground water recharge 

normally occurs during September and October months. The annual ground water recharge is 

about 8 % of the annual rainfall. 80 per cent of the soil is shallow to medium to deep black soil. 

The infiltration rate of the black cotton soil is low and 1-2% slope is prevailed in the area, 

which gives the less opportunity time for infiltration. 


71 | Page



Under the DARE, GoI, SFC funded project, during 2013-15, Honwad village, was selected 

from the Vijayapura district. SWC structures (bunds, farm ponds) were constructed in 500 ha 

area of project village, also other dry land practices were demonstrated and custom hire service 

centre was established. Under the project, the largescale demonstrations at the micro watershed 

level with the farmers’ participation comprising in-situ water conservation, harvesting of 

excess water in ponds and groundwater recharging and its efficient use through appropriate 

supplemental irrigation methods, improved crop varieties, cropping systems were conducted 

in the farmers’ fields of the Honwad village. The Honwad village is located about 25 kilometers 

from the Vijayapura city. 

A. Soil and water conservation works undertaken at Honwad micro-watershed 

The graded bund, Zing conservation, Pipe outlet, Waste weir, Farm Pond and Open well 

recharge structures were constructed at Honwad micro watershed. 

a. Zing conservation: The concept of contour bunding is widely practiced to conserve in-situ 

rain water. The practice of contour bunding could be slightly modified by leveling 1/3 or 

1/4 area on the upstream side of the bund to form a zing terrace. The leveled portion of zing 

conservation helps to increase the water spread area and provides more opportunity time 

for the rain water to percolate in. The increased moisture retention in-situ helps the crops 

to yield more in years of normal rainfall. The impact is more pronounced during sub normal 

rainfall years. It also provides opportunities for double cropping in the leveled portions. 

The high value and horticultural crops could be successfully raised in the leveled portions. 

In the unleveled areas drought crops may be grown. 

b. Farmpond: During the year 2013-14, two farmponds were dug in the micro-watershed 

each measuring 23 X 17 X 3 m (1198 cum & 1211.62 cum), which were not only the source 

of drinking water for the people and animals living around ponds but also providing water 

for taking up sprays to control pests by the farmers in the area. When there were no 

expectations of rains after the sowing of sorghum, the irrigation provided from the ponds 

with the 1.5 HP petrol start-diesel run pump and sprinkler system saved the sorghum and 

bengalgram crop. The ponds were full with the receipt of first rains. It was refilled with the 

receipt of subsequent rains. Till the end of February 2015, more than 50% of water was 

available to use. 

c. Open well recharge: The runoff from the nearby nala was diverted to the open well 

through the filter. This technique was initiated at two locations to demonstrate the 

importance of open well recharge to enhance the farm productivity by providing 

supplemental irrigations at crops critical stages. With the receipt of first rains, the open well 

was recharged with water up to 20 ft, while the second rain filled the open well completely. 

This water was sufficient to irrigate two acres. Till now the well was full for seven times. 




It helped to irrigate crops especially during summer. It was witnessed in the increase in 

amount of water in the nearby bore wells. The quality of water improved now compared to 

earlier times. The water table too increased in the area surrounding open well. 

d. Graded bunds also reduce the runoff velocity and there by enhance in-situ rain water 

harvesting. 

e. Pipe outlet and waste weir: These structures act as safe rainwater disposal units, if rainfall 

received in high intensity. 

Results 

i. Compartment bunding: An in-situ conservation practice of “Compartment bunding” was 

developed by the AICRP, Centre, Vijayapura, Karnataka. After receipt of few showers in June- 

July 2013, land was harrowed to remove germinating weeds. Compartment bunds were 

demonstrated over an area of 23 ha covering 25 farmers’ fields in which observations on yield 

impact were recorded in 8 demonstrations under compartment bunding. After adoption of 

compartment bunding in safflower, sunflower and chickpea they have recorded yield advantage 

of 16.70, 79.80 and 12.07 per cent respectively over no compartment bunding or flat planting. 

ii. Crop varietal demonstrations: The new crop variety in various crops viz., rabi sorghum 

(DSV-4), sunflower (KBSH-53) & chickpea (JG-11) were demonstrated as a sole crop as well 

intercropping systems. The results revealed that the yield advantage of 10.55 to 41.67 per cent 

in case of introduction of new crop varieties. During 2014-15, effect of SWC structures and 

improved varieties on crop productivity was measured by recording yields of five principle 

crops from demonstration farmers, ten non-demonstration watershed farmers benefitted from 

SWC structures and ten outside watershed farmers and the average was worked out. The 

highest per cent increase of demonstration yields over non-demonstration in watershed was 

13.53 in sunflower followed by wheat (11.40), safflower (9.65), sorghum (9.40) and 

bengalgram (7.88) while the per cent increase of watershed demonstration over outside 

watershed ranged from 18.33 (sorghum) to 33.50 (sunflower). 

iii. Demonstration on intercropping systems: The intercropping systems viz., sorghum+ 

chickpea (2:4), chickpea + safflower (4:2) were introduced in the form of demonstrations in 

which intercropping systems recorded 160 and 18.05 per cent higher yield advantage over sole 

cropping. 


73 | Page



Effect of SWC structures and improved varieties on crop productivity (2014-15) 

Crop 

Outside 

watershed 

Nondemonstration 

Watershed 

Demonstration 

Per cent 

increase of 

demonstration 

over non-demo 

in watershed 

Per cent 

increase of 

watershed 

demonstration 

over outside 

watershed 

Bengalgram 1350 1585 1710 7.88 26.66 

Sunflower 961 1130 1283 13.53 33.50 

Sorghum 1396 1510 1652 9.40 18.33 

Safflower 920 1088 1193 9.65 29.67 

Wheat 1337 1508 1680 11.40 25.65 

Conclusion 

An integrated water resources management approach comprising in-situ water conservation 

measures including both inter terrace and terrace level practices, harvesting of excess water in 

ponds and groundwater recharging, improved crop varieties and improved inter-cropping 

systems produce more food and income per unit of rainfall. 

T1-25P-1265 

Effect of Supplemental Irrigation on Yield and Economics of Different 

Pulse and Oilseed Crops under Dryland Condition in Palamau Region of 

Jharkhand 

Nargis Kumari, Mintu Job, D.N. Singh, Abhishek Patel and Asha Kumari Sinha 

All India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland agriculture, Chianki, 

Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi- 834 006, Jharkhand 

Rainfed agriculture is the main feature of Jharkhand state and rice is the most important crop 

in major part of eastern India comprising Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh 

and eastern UP during the kharif and growing second crops in rice - fallow after rice harvesting 

during rabi, soil moisture availability is the main limiting factor for growing second crops in 

rainfed rice fallows of eastern India (Kar et al., 2006). In view of rapid increase in population 

and day by day decrease in water resources and to fulfill the increasing pulse demand and 

decreasing pulse production; sustainable water management practices and estimation of water 

requirement will help to increase productivity of pulses, water productivity, water use 

efficiency and area of pulses under irrigation. Improving water use efficiency in agriculture 

will require an increase in crop water productivity i.e., an increase in marketable crop yield per 

unit of water used by plant and reduction in water losses from the crop root zone. Among the 

sustainable water management practices, scheduling irrigation based on evaporation is one of 

the best methods in semi-arid condition where annual rainfall is low. Crop water requirement 

is the total water needed for evapotranspiration, from planting to harvest for a given crop in a 




specific climate regime, when adequate soil moisture maintained by rainfall and/or irrigation 

so that it does not limit plant growth and crop yield. The assessment of water needs of the crop 

based on day-to-day weather parameters seems to be more rational than any other method in 

agricultural fields, large spatial variations in soil water content are associated with soil 

heterogeneities such as precipitation level, land cover, topography, evapotranspiration etc. 

Keeping this in view, the present investigation “yield and economics of pulses and oilseed as 

influenced by irrigation levels in Dry Zone of Jharkhand” was taken up during kharif 2020 and 

2021 at Zonal Research Station, Palamau, Jharkhand. 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted in split plot design during winter season for two consecutive 

years from 2020-21 & 2021-2022 having three levels of supplemental irrigation one irrigation 

at Pre- flowering stage at 50-60 DAS (I1), One irrigation at pre - Pod formation at 60-70 DAS 

( I 2 ) & combinations of both (I 3) to provide lifesaving irrigation at critical stages of different 

pulse and oilseed crops viz.C1 - Chickpea, C2 – Lentil, C3 - Linseed and C4 – Safflower at Zonal 

Research Station, Chianki (Palamau) under All India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland 

agriculture of Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi (Jharkhand).The soil was sandy loam in 

texture, with pH 5.6, organic carbon 0.47%, available nitrogen 265.4 kg ha -1 , phosphorus 14.7 

kg ha -1 and potassium 175.2 kg ha -1 . 

Results 

Different rabi pulse and oilseed crops were compared in respect of irrigation levels ie. 

supplemental irrigation at different crop development stage. Significantly higher mean seed 

yield (1141 kg ha -1 ) was recorded when two supplemental irrigations (I3) were supplied to the 

crop ie 1 st at Pre- flowering stage (50-60 DAS) and 2 nd at Pre -pod formation stage (60-70 

DAS). Similarly, maximum Net return (Rs.29111 ha -1 ), B:C ratio (1.81) and RWUE (40.49 kg 

ha -1 mm -1 ) were obtained with I3 which showed its superiority over irrigation level I1& I2. 

Among different pulse and oilseed crops, results revealed that maximum mean seed yield (1073 

kg ha -1 ) was exhibited by Chickpea crop which was significantly superior to safflower yield 

but at par with lentil (919 kg ha -1 ) & linseed yield (914 kg ha -1 ). Similarly, higher mean value 

of Net return (29697Rs. ha -1 ) & RWUE (38.16kg ha -1 mm -1 ) but B:C ration was higher in lentil 

crop (2.06) it might be due to differences in cost of cultivation. 

Conclusion 

The treatment combination of irrigation provides to life saving irrigation at critical stages of 

chickpea recorded a significantly higher yield 1141 kg ha-1 than the rest of the combinations. 

Hence scheduling irrigation (I 3) in pulses enhances growth and yield in rainfed areas of 

Jharkhand. 


75 | Page



Effect of irrigation levels on productivity and profitability of different pulse and oilseed 

crops under dryland conditions 

Treatment Seed yield (kg ha -1 ) Net return (Rs. ha -1 ) B: C ratio 

Irrigation level 

I 1 816 17302 1.42 

I 2 830 18618 1.49 

I 3 1141 29111 1.81 

SEm± 25.12 1420.23 0.04 

CD (P=0.05) 101.27 5725.86 0.18 

Crops 

Chickpea 1073 29697 1.67 

Lentil 919 28483 2.06 

Linseed 915 3159 0.63 

Safflower 809 25369 1.93 

SEm± 29.01 1012.23 0.05 

CD (P=0.05) 86.86 3030.80 0.14 

References 

Kar, G., Verma, H.N. and Singh, R. 2006. Effects of winter crop and supplemental irrigation 

on crop yield, water use efficiency and profitability in rainfed rice-based cropping 

system of eastern India. Agric. Water Manage., 79: 280–292. 

Todorovic, M. 2005. Crop water requirements. In: Water Encyclopedia: Surface and 

Agricultural Water (Jay H. Lehr, Jack Keeley, Eds.), AW-59, p. 557-558, John Wiley 

& Sons Publisher, USA 

T1-26P-1275 

Water Use, Yield and Economics of Maize as Influenced by Drip Irrigation 

Schedules and Nitrogen Levels 

Y. Deepthi Kiran, V. Sumathi and G. Prabhakara Reddy 

Department of Agronomy, S.V.Agricultural College, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, 

Tirupati-517 502, Andhra Pradesh, India 

Water and nitrogen are two important resources for crop production. Yields in maize respond 

positively with an increase in the amount of water and nitrogen applied and reaches the plateau 

at their optimum doses. Hence, the present study was under taken to examine the appropriate 

irrigation schedule through drip as well as nitrogen application rate. 




Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted for two consecutive years (2013-14 and 2014-15) to 

evaluate the water use, yield and economic returns from maize under different irrigation 

schedules and nitrogen levels at S.V. Agricultural College, wet land farm, Tirupati, Andhra 

Pradesh. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design and replicated thrice. The treatments 

comprised of four main plots viz., M1 (drip irrigation at 0.7 IW/CPE ratio), M2 (drip irrigation 

at 0.8 IW/CPE ratio), M 3 (drip irrigation at 0.9 IW/CPE ratio) and M 4 (weekly check basin 

irrigation) and three sub plots viz., N 1 (160 kg N ha -1 ), N 2 (200 kg N ha -1 ) and N 3 (240 kg N 

ha -1 ). To schedule the drip irrigation at prescribed IW/CPE ratios the treatments were 

maintained to field capacity in the top 0-45 cm depth i.e. only effective root zone depth, 

whereas for check basin irrigation the depth of water was 50 cm. 

Results 

The study revealed that significantly, higher water use efficiency was recorded with irrigation 

through drip at 0.9 IW/CPE ratio, but the yield and economics of maize were found to be higher 

with weekly check basin method, which were on par to that obtained with drip irrigation at 0.9 

IW/CPE ratio (Table 1&2). With regard to nitrogen levels tried, water use efficiency, yield and 

economics were found to be superior with the nitrogen dose of 240 kg N ha -1 . This might be 

due to the better availability of nutrients under higher soil moisture and at high nitrogen 

conditions which might have increased the crop growth and translocation of photosynthates 

from source to sink. The benefit from per rupee investment, gross and net returns were higher 

with drip irrigation scheduled at 0.9 IW/CPE ratio. 

Water use and yield of maize as influenced by drip irrigation schedules and nitrogen 

levels 

Treatment 

M 1 : 0.7 IW/CPE under 

drip irrigation 





Water use efficiency 


Kernel yield (kg ha -1 ) 

2013-14 2014-15 2013-14 2014-15 

Irrigation schedules 

11.7 12.2 2582 2717 

14.7 14.9 3774 3813 

16.4 16.5 4572 4525 

M 4 : Weekly check basin 12.9 12.4 4630 4724 

Nitrogen levels 

N 1 : 160 kg ha -1 11.5 11.8 3177 3289 

N 1 : 200 kg ha -1 14.9 14.7 4166 4170 


77 | Page



N 1 : 240 kg ha -1 15.3 15.3 4326 4376 

SEm± CD SEm± CD SEm± CD SEm± CD 

M 0.43 1.53 0.54 1.91 128 453 141 498 

N 0.12 0.37 0.21 0.63 34 102 40 122 

Mat N 0.48 NS 0.64 NS 140 482 155 536 

N at M 0.75 NS 0.94 NS 223 234 244 278 

(CD at P=0.05) 

Among the nitrogen levels, monetary returns were higher with 240 kg N ha -1 . The interaction 

between the irrigation schedules and nitrogen levels indicated that higher yield and monetary 

returns were observed with scheduling irrigation either by weekly check basin method or by 

drip irrigation at 0.9 IW/CPE ratio along with 240 kg N ha -1 , but the water use efficiency was 

found to be non-significant. The highest water use efficiency yield, monetary returns under 

higher irrigation regimes of 0.9 IW/CPE ratio through drip and weekly irrigations using check 

basin method along with higher nitrogen doses might be due to increased kernel yields under 

favourable moisture conditions coupled with ample supply of nitrogen. Similar evidences were 

reported by Krishnasamy et al., (2012). 

Economics of maize as influenced by drip irrigation schedules and nitrogen levels 

Treatment 

Gross returns (Rs. ha -1 ) Net returns (Rs. ha -1 ) 

Returns per rupee invested 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

2013-14 2014-15 2013-14 2014-15 2013-14 2014-15 

Irrigation schedules 

M 1 : 0.7 

IW/CPE 

under drip 

irrigation 68993 72176 20922 24105 1.43 1.50 

M 2 : 0.8 

IW/CPE 

under drip 

irrigation 90033 91718 41301 42986 1.85 1.88 

M 3 : 0.9 

IW/CPE 

under drip 

irrigation 104311 104298 54919 54906 2.11 2.11 

M 4 : 

Weekly 

check 

basin 105717 108164 52863 54308 2.00 2.01 

N 1 : 160 kg 

ha -1 

N 1 : 200 kg 

ha -1 

N 1 : 240 kg 

ha -1 

Nitrogen levels 

79332 82119 30065 32601 1.61 1.65 

97151 97986 47388 47973 1.95 1.95 

100307 102162 50050 51654 1.99 2.02 




SEm± CD SEm± CD SEm± CD SEm± CD SEm± CD SEm± CD 

M 2246 7923 2455 8663 2246 7923 2455 8663 0.045 0.16 0.049 0.17 

N 596 1804 727 2200 596 1804 727 2200 0.012 0.04 0.015 0.04 

Mat N 2448 8441 2728 9363 2448 8441 2728 9363 0.049 0.17 0.055 0.19 

N at M 3890 8246 4253 9016 3890 8246 4253 9016 0.078 0.17 0.085 0.18 

(CD at P=0.05) 

Conclusion 

From the findings of the investigation, it can be concluded that scheduling irrigation by drip at 

0.9 IW/CPE ratio along with 240 kg N ha -1 is suitable combination for maximizing the yields 

of maize with higher WUE. 

References 

Krishnasamy, S., Mahendran, P.P., Gurusamy, A and Babu, R. 2012. Optimization of nutrients 

for hybrid maize under drip fertigation system. Madras Agric. J., 99(10-12): 799-802. 

T1-27P-1290 

Jalkund Low Cost Rain Water Harvesting and Utilization for Rabi Season 

Vegetable Production in Rabitar, Namchi District, Sikkim, India 

Indra Prashad Shivakoti, Basant Tamang, Nissi Gurung, Pravesh Shivakoty, Karma 

Peden Kaleon, Chewang Norbu Bhutia, Yangchenla Bhutia 

KVK, South Sikkim, Namchi District-737132, Sikkim 

kvknamthang@gmail.com 

Rain water harvesting has been practiced for many years in several regions globally and is 

mainly used for domestic or agricultural purposes. Various studies on rainwater harvesting in 

dry or tropical areas of growing and developing countries for agricultural use have proved its 

benefits such as an increase in crop yields and facilitated benefits to high-value crops. A lowcost 

technology for water harvesting structure Jalkund was demonstrated having dimensions 

5mx3mx1m was conducted at NICRA adopted village Rabitar, Namchi district, South Sikkim. 

The average supply from each Jalkund was about 15,000 L water. In the present study an 

approach to economical integrated ways of farming system was demonstrated to 10 numbers 

of farming families in the Village. The top most priority of the present study was to way out 

the source of water for meeting minimum critical water needs for post monsoon Rabi season 

vegetable production. Rainwater harvesting has great potential to achieve sustainable 

agriculture. 


79 | Page



T1-28P-1321 

Economic Feasibility of Farm Ponds: A case study of Drainage Line 

Treatment Scheme in Wayanad District, Kerala 

S. Lokesh 1 , P. Indira Devi 2 , A. Prema 2 and C.A. Rama Rao 1 

1 ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad – 500 059, Telangana 

2 Kerala Agricultural University Thrissur, Kerala 

The growing population and changes in the dietary habit of people are driving the growing 

demand for food crops. The agriculture industry is struggling to achieve the required 

production, as natural resources, viz., soil, water and biodiversity, are depleting over the 

decades. In addition to this, Climate Change is widening the demand-supply gap by triggering 

variations in temperature, weather, and increased pest and disease prevalence. Besides these, 

climate change is also hammering agriculture and food production with an increased 

probability of floods and drought occurrences. Floods are causing severe soil and water erosion, 

increased pest and disease incidences, and affect agricultural production. On the other hand, 

there were moderate to severe drought incidences, which affected crop sowing and agriculture 

production (Lokesh and Poddar, 2017). India is not different from this scenario. Various studies 

conducted in this regard have revealed that there would be an increased flood and drought 

occurrence in the country. The present study was conducted to understand the impact of farm 

ponds on crop yields and assess the Economic feasibility of the same. The study assumed that 

CRA technologies had impacted crop yield and the structures were economically viable. 

Methodology 

The study was conducted in the Wayanad District of Kerala, which was one of the most 

climate-affected Districts of the State (GoK, 2014). Multistage Random Sampling was used in 

the study to select the respondents, and the personal interview method was used to collect the 

information from the respondents. Ten farm pond beneficiaries in each village and a village in 

each block of the District were selected to make the total sample size 30. The percentage change 

method is used to analyze the changes in yield levels and the economic feasibility of the 

technologies tools like Net Present Worth (NPW), Internal Rate of Returns (IRR) and BC 

ratios. 

Net Present Value / Worth (NPV) 

Net present value (NPV) is the difference between the Present Value of cash inflows and the 

Present Value of cash outflows over time. It is mainly used to analyse the profitability of a new 

project. Project with positive NPV is worth considering, and ranking the projects based on the 

magnitude of NPV is also made. NPV also indicates the scale and volume of the project 




investments and returns. Projects with positive NPW are economically viable. It is estimated 

using the following equation 

NPV/W = 

P 

(1 + i) + P 

(1 + i) +. . . . . . . . . . . . . . + P 

(1 + i) 

where, P1…n = Net Cash flow in year n (Difference between cash outflows and inflows); i = 

Discount rate (9%); t = Time period (economic life of the Farm Pond based on respondents’ 

opinion) 

Benefit – Cost Ratio (BC Ratio) 

It is the ratio of benefits and costs of a project expressed in monetary terms. It reflects the 

efficiency of the investment. BC ratio of more than one indicates the profitability of the project. 

The project is selected if the BC ratio is more than one. It is estimated using the following 

equation 

BC Ratio = 

∑ 

∑ 

 

 

 

 

B 

(1 + i) 

C 

(1 + i) 

where, Bn = Benefits (Cash Inflows) received in year t; Ct = Costs (Cash Outflows) in year t ; 

I = rate of discount (9%); t = Time period (economic life of the Farm Pond based on 

respondents’ opinion); i = Discount rate 

Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 

Internal rate of return (IRR) is the discount rate at which NPV of net cash flows (NPV/W) from 

a project or investment equals zero, i.e. NPV/W=0. It is calculated by using the following 

formula. 

⎛ 

⎜ 

Lower discount Difference between 

IRR = + 

rate 

the two discount rates X ⎜ 

⎜ 

⎜ 

⎝ 


Present worth of 

the cash flow at 

the lower discount rate 

Absolute difference 

between the present 

worths of the cash flow 

at the two discount rates⎠ 

IRR should be higher than the opportunity cost of capital for the project. 

Results 

Wayanad is a hilly District in Kerala, is dominated by homestead farming, and plantation crops 

are the major sources of income. The general cropping pattern of the respondents includes 

coffee, pepper, rubber, banana, areca nut, ginger, turmeric and other crops. Results showed that 

in the post-adoption period of CRA technology, i.e. farm pond ginger (142.03%) gained the 

highest per cent area, it was followed by rubber (10.00%), coffee (4.69%) and banana (4.40%). 

⎞ 

⎟ 

⎟ 

⎟ 

⎟ 

81 | Page



In terms of productivity, arecanut has witnessed the highest productivity change, i.e. 107.56 

per cent, it was followed by coffee (88.59%), pepper (56.08), cardamom (37.78) and banana 

(35.54%). Additional income received by the respondents was calculated using changes in farm 

production, multiplied by the market price. Additional income gained by the respondents was 

used as income flow to calculate the NPV, IRR and BC ratio. The farm ponds’ economic life 

was considered 25 years based on the respondents' opinion, and a nine per cent discount rate 

was used. On average, Rs. 4.65 lakh was invested (by both Government and Farmers) in each 

farm pond, and it would receive gross returns of Rs. 29.90 lakhs in its economic life. 

Conclusion 

The study concludes that implementing Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRS) technologies, viz., 

farm ponds benefited the farmers at the micro level. It is equally important to note that farm 

ponds (CRA technology) fetched a better income than fixed investments at the banks which is 

indicated by higher IRR value. Thus, it is recommended that the CRA structures, viz., farm 

ponds and schemes like Drainage Line Treatment, can be extended further to other farmers of 

different regions in the State and Country as it is helping in getting sustainable agriculture 

production. 

Reference 

GoK [Government of Kerala]. 2014. Kerala State Action Plan on Climate Change (Online). 

Department of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Kerala. Available: 

https://envt.kerala.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Kerala-State-Action-Plan-on- 

Climate-Change-KSAPCC-2014-August.pdf. [27 th Oct. 2022] 

Lokesh, S. and Poddar, R.S. 2017. Impact of drought on water resources and agriculture in 

Karnataka. International J. Pure and Applied Biosci., 6 (2): 1102-1107. 

T1-29P-1322 

Optimum Sowing Window and Water Stress at Critical Stages on the Growth and 

Yield of Groundnut Crop- A Modeling Approach 

A.V. M. Subba Rao, Deepti Verma, V. P. Pramod, S. K. Bal and A. Suryachandra Rao 2 

1 All India Coordinated Research Project on Agrometeorology, 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana 500 009, India 

2 Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune 

For optimization of crop yield, sowing at a suitable time to fit the crop growth period is critical. 

If the optimal planting window is determined, then the farmers can utilize the planting 

opportunity that occurs in that optimal planting window (Sulochana et al., 2002). Groundnut is 

one of the important oilseed crops having exceeding demand for its oil. The water requirement 




of the crop is an important phenomenon to estimate the crop yield and understand the crop 

water necessity at different crop phenological stages as water deficits cause yield reduction. 

Crop growth simulation models are used for the optimization of sowing window and crop water 

stress during different stages of a crop during the season. In groundnut, flowering, pegging, 

and pod formation stages are the important growth stages where water availability is much 

needed for a better crop. Rainfall is one of the major weather parameters playing a crucial role 

in groundnut crop growth and yield. Simulation models help to simulate the crop water stress 

of different crops. There is a thresh hold of above a specific value (50%) that impacts crop 

growth and development process. On the other hand, the water requirement of groundnut varies 

with the stages and is lowest from germination to flower formation and reaches a maximum 

during pod formation. During these stages, if stress persists, the performance of the crop goes 

into trouble. In view of the above, a study has been conducted using the DSSAT model to 

simulate, identify and quantify the water stress at different crop stages of the Kharif sown 

groundnut crop. 

Methodology 

Experimental groundnut crop and weather 

data were collected from AICRPAM 

Anantapuramu center on Groundnut 

growth parameters and yields from the 

years 2009-2019. Calibrated and validated 

DSSAT Peanut model for K-6 variety used 

for simulating groundnut crop for different 

planting dates (15-June, 22-June, 30-June, 

7 July, 21 July, 28 July, 04 August, 11 

August and 15 August) and yields during kharif period. Simulations of pod yield and other 

yield attributes using the calibrated model were found to be quite accurate. The simulated 

output files further processed to extract the crop water stress. 

Results 

The optimum sowing window for Kharif groundnut in the Anantapur region is mid-June to mid 

of July and can continue up to 31 July, after that it is late sowing and will get a low yield after 

sowing 31 July. The CROPGRO model has been calibrated and validated for rainfed groundnut 

for the years 2019 and 2020 at the Anantapur agricultural station. In the package of practices 

for high yields of groundnut (K-6) in the Anantapur region planting in mid-June–15-July is 

recommended. The patterns of variation of the simulated yield with planting date, for the 11 

years (2009-2019) are shown in the figure. 


83 | Page



Results showed that variation in the simulated yield obtained is affected by different sowing 

dates. The highest yield was obtained in 

crop sown during the first fortnight of 

July. It may be due to no moisture stress 

coinciding with the critical stage of crops 

in crop sowing in this period. The critical 

stages identified are the vegetative stage, 

the flowering stage, the peg development 

and pod formation stage, and the pod 

filling stage (Nageswara Rao et al., 1985, 

1989). The crop sown in June has not 

received excess rainfall during the stage of vegetative growth and the initial dry spell after 

sowing helped in profuse flowering and synchronized peg formation may cause in reducing 

yield. 

The crop sown from 7 July-22 July is identified as the optimum sowing date which can give 

maximum yield because the crop sown during this period received rains during the vegetative 

stage after sowing and not allowing the crop to undergo initial moisture stress which is good 

for groundnut for synchronize and produce flowering. Crop sown on normal sowing date gives 

maximum yield because there is less water stress found during critical stages of Kharif 

groundnut. The figure showed that the sowing date (15 June, 22 June, 30 June, 07 July, 15 July, 

22 July, 28 July, 04 August, and 15 August) is simulated using the DSSAT crop simulation 

model to estimate the crop water stress at different crop phenological stages. Maximum water 

stress was found in early sown June and late August sown crops in comparison to normal 

sowing time (7-Jul, 15 July, and 22 July), which coincides with critical stages of groundnut. In 

June sown crop, maximum water stress was found in the first flower to first seed stage i.e., 

(>0.5) (50 %) and in the August sown crop maximum water stress was found > 0.5 (50%) in 

the first seed stage to physiological maturity. These stages are crucial for yield determination. 

Conclusion 

A crop sowing window is an important factor to understand the impact of crop growth and 

development. Rainfall plays a vital role for Kharif crops to supply water to the crops and soil 

moisture. For early sowing dates of June (15, 22, 30) and August (4, 11 15), late sowing of the 

Kharif groundnut crop shows high crop water stress during critical stages over the 2009-2019 

year. 

References 

Nageswara Rao, R. G., Singh, S., Sivakumar, M. V. K., 1985. Effect of water deficit at different 

growth phases of peanut I. yield responses. J. Agron. 77, 782–786. 




Nageswara Rao, R. C., Williams, J. H., Sivakumar, M. V. K., Wadia, K. D. R., 1989. Effect of 

water deficit at different growth phases of peanut II. Responses to drought during 

preflowering phase. J. Agron. 80, 431–438. 

Sulochana Gadgil, Seshagiri Rao, P. R., Narahari Rao, K. 2002. Agric Syst. 74, 431–457 

T1-30P-1327 

Effect of Super Absorbent Polymers (Hydrogel), Bioagent (Trichoderma) 

and Organic Manures in Water Management of Rainfed Wheat 

(Triticum aestivum) in Eastern Uttar Pradesh 

Sayoni Das 1 , Ombir Singh 1 , Sandeep Kumar 1 , Avijit Sen 2 

1 

CCR PG College, Muzaffarnagar, UP 

2 Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 

The greatest challenge to Indian agriculture in the twenty-first century appears to be water 

scarcity. According to estimates from the Central Water Commission, more than 54% of the 

nation is at risk of drought. India has 4% of the world's freshwater resources, with the 

agricultural sector using more than 85% of it. Water availability per person is steadily 

declining, which highlights the necessity of improving water use efficiency in agriculture. The 

usage of Super Absorbent Polymers (SAPs) has recently attracted a lot of interest for 

agricultural water management. These polymers have the ability to swell 350–500 times of 

their own weight in deionized water, and they have the capacity to produce more with less 

water. Additionally, bioagents (Trichoderma), organic manures (FYM and compost) have the 

ability to release of nutrients from soil or increase organic matter content, thus improving water 

retention capacity and maintaining the health of the soil. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted under Varanasi condition of eastern Uttar Pradesh during 

the rabi (winter) season of 2016-2017 at the Agricultural Research Farm, Institute of 

Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (India). The soil of 

the experimental field was sandy clay loam in texture with 0.35 % organic carbon. The 

experiment was laid out in randomized block design with 4 replications. HUW -510 variety of 

wheat was selected for the experiment. The experiment comprised of 7 treatments of different 

combinations of hydrogel, Trichoderma, FYM, D18 Compost and recommended doses of 

NPK. 

Results 

The maximum number of ear heads/running m was obtained with combined application of NPK 

+ FYM, which remained at par with FYM + Hydrogel + NPK and D 18 Compost + NPK, while 


85 | Page



the lowest number of ear heads was found in combined application of D18 compost + 

Trichoderma + NPK. Again, that maximum number of grains/ear head was recorded with 

combined application of NPK + FYM, but remained at par with all other treatment except D 18 

compost + Trichoderma + NPK and NPK. Different treatments registered non- significant 

effects on test weight of rainfed wheat. The highest grain yield (19.33 q/ha) was obtained with 

combined application of NPK and FYM and remained significantly superior to D18 compost 

+Trichoderma + NPK and NPK. The highest straw yield (36.89 q/ha) was obtained in 

combined application of NPK + FYM, but it remained at par with D 18 Compost + NPK and D 18 

Compost + hydrogel + NPK. Even though no significant difference was observed in the harvest 

index due to different treatments, FYM +Hydrogel + NPK registered the highest harvest index. 

Treatment 


ear head/ 

running m 


grains/ 

ear head 

Test 

weight 

(g) 

Grain 

yield 

(q/ha) 

Straw 

yield 

(q/ha) 

Harvest 

index 

(%) 

FYM+NPK 55.75 36.20 33.31 19.33 36.89 34.31 

FYM+Trichoderma 

+NPK 

45.25 33.13 33.18 15.79 29.64 34.67 

FYM+Hydrogel+ NPK 53.50 35.48 33.30 16.64 28.58 37.03 

D 18 Compost+ NPK 48.50 34.60 33.25 16.44 30.26 35.17 

D 18Compost+ 

Trichoderma+ NPK 

D 18Compost+ 

Hydrogel+ NPK 

41.25 31.08 33.15 13.76 27.86 32.98 

47.25 33.75 33.21 16.37 32.33 33.29 

NPK 44.25 31.30 33.16 14.8 29.09 33.94 

SEm± 3.69 1.90 0.27 2.11 3.21 3.51 

CD (P=0.05) 7.77 3.99 NS 4.45 6.75 NS 

Conclusion 

Since combined application FYM and NPK was found to be more effective, it can be accepted 

to be more logical for adaption for water conservation in rainfed wheat. Being organic in nature, 

it promotes environmental sustainability also. 

Ratooning Sorghum for Agronomic Rainwater Management 

T1-31P-1334 

V. Maruthi, K.S. Reddy, V.K. Singh, P.K. Pankaj, K. Srinivas, B. Sanjeeva Reddy, 

A.G.K. Reddy, Ashish S. Dhimate, V. Visha Kumari and M. Mounika 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-59, Telangana State, India 

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is mainly grown as a dual-purpose rainfed crop. 

During times of fodder scarcity, sorghum stover is of great consolation. However, eroded 




marginal soils produce a poor crop of sorghum, coupled with low market prices resulting in 

poor profits, thus, favored least by the farmers (Zalkuwi et al. 2015). Sorghum ratooning is one 

of the drought management practices tried earlier in rainfed areas, which could also be 

introduced and evaluated matching with the rainfall forecast. Not only does there seem to be a 

shift in rainfall distribution, but there may also be chances of receiving extra rain events beyond 

South West monsoon (SWM) season through the probability estimation. Horsegram 

(Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc) is a contingent pulse crop grown mostly during late 

kharif/ early rabi for grain and fodder purposes as well. 

Methodology 

With the extra rain events beyond South West monsoon, chance cropping of a pulse horse gram 

(HG) can be considered for sowing in the harvested strips/rows of strip row Sorghum and 

pigeonpea intercropping as a sequence crop, and the harvested sorghum crop was 

ratooned. This practice was carried out mainly during October- November months when we 

receive rain. However ratooning sorghum does not need seeding while horse gram did so. The 

recommended dose of nitrogen was applied to the sorghum ratoon and recommended amount 

of nitrogen and phosphorus was to the horse gram crop. The first set of sorghum ratooned and 

horse gram were sole crops while the second set was carried out in a 4:4 strip row intercropping 

system of sorghum and pigeonpea. Rainfall received was 299 mm and 63 mm respectively 

during both types of years for post-monsoon. 

Results 

Ratoon sorghum performed better during well-distributed rainfall while deficit rainfall affected 

its performance. Compared to the performance of sequence horse gram sown after the harvest 

of sorghum crop, horse gram needs sowing rains, seed, seedbed preparation, and sowing costs. 

This needs to be followed by the receipt of good post-rainy season rain events for a successful 

horse gram crop. 


87 | Page



Performance of ratoon sorghum as compared to the sequence horse gram for capitalizing in on post 

monsoon rains 

Conclusion 

Ratoon sorghum could be one alternate option if we are unable to sow sequence horse gram 

due to the non-receipt of post-monsoon rains timely. Further ratoon sorghum requires only the 

application of nitrogenous fertilizers either as a foliar spray or as a placement in soil. Cutting 

heights and low management need to be standardized. Further in place of ratoonability, if 

tillering is promoted in sorghum might be a great help for fodder production as the fodder 

demand is rising. 

References 

Zalkuwi, J. and Singh, R. and Bhattarai, M. and Singh, O.P. and Rao, D. 2015. Analysis of 

constraints influencing sorghum farmers using Garrett’s ranking technique; A 

Comparative study of India and Nigeria. Int. J.Scientific Res. Manage., 3(3): 2435-2440. 

T1-32P-1335 

Performance of Groundnut Under Micro Irrigation Methods, Schedules 

and Varied Fertilizer Doses 

K. Sathish Babu and Y. Padmalatha 

Agricultural Research Station, Garikapadu– 521175 

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India 

Among nine oilseed crops grown in India, groundnut occupies premier position with 18.8 % 

and 20.7 % of total oilseeds area and production, respectively. Water and fertilizers are the 

most important management factors by which farmers can control the plant growth and yield, 




which helps to achieve sustained crop production. Thus, the use of micro irrigation system 

comprises drip and micro sprinkler system offers a great degree of control over water and 

fertilizer application to meet the requirement of crops. Irrigation scheduling by these systems 

are usually based on water requirement of crop to maintain favourable soil water content in the 

root zone, that helps to achieve sustained growth and yield gains up to 100 per cent, water 

savings upto 40 to 80 per cent, and associated fertilizer, pesticide and labour savings over 

conventional irrigation systems. In recent years the water released from NSP left canal is 

reduced. Added to this, low groundwater recharges in the wells situated in the vicinity of NSP 

left canal command area warrants for growing of ID crops only. In view of the above, an 

investigation was undertaken to assess performance of groundnut under drip and micro 

sprinkler system with various doses of fertilizers comparison to the conventional system. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted for two consecutive years during rabi 2018-19 and rabi 

2019-20 at Agricultural Research Station, Garikapadu, Krishna district, ANGRAU with the 

objective to identify the suitable micro irrigation method, schedule and fertilizer dose for rabi 

groundnut crop. The treatments consist of three methods of irrigation as main plots i.e., 

sprinkler, drip irrigation and check basin methods with four fertilizer doses as subplots i.e., 100 

%, 75 %, 50 % RDF and soil test-based fertilizer application and three irrigation schedules i.e., 

IW/CPE ratio of 1.0, 0.8 and 0.6 as sub-sub plots. The experiment was laid out in a split-split 

plot design and replicated thrice. Groundnut variety Kadiri 6 Irrigation schedules were given 

based on the pan evaporimeter readings located in ARS, Garikapadu premises and imposed the 

treatments with 10 mm irrigation from 30 DAS to 60 DAS and 15 mm irrigation from 61 DAS 

to maturity in drip method, 30 mm irrigation from 30 DAS to maturity in mini sprinkler method 

and 50 mm depth irrigation from 30 DAS to maturity in check basin method. Biometrical 

observations at harvest, yield attributes and field water use efficiency recorded as per defined 

procedures. 

Results 

The results (pooled for 2018-19 and 2019-20) were recorded on number of pods plant -1 , 

hundred kernel weight (g), pod yield (kg ha -1 ) and field water use efficiency (kg ha -1 mm -1 ) are 

presented in Table 1. The number of pods plant -1 was significantly varied by irrigation 

schedules as well as interaction between methods of irrigation and fertilizer doses. Among 

irrigation schedules, IW/CPE ratios of 1.0 and 0.8 were comparable and significantly superior 

to IW/CPE ratio of 0.6. They were significantly lowest at IW/CPE ratio of 0.6 at all fertilizer 

doses. Irrigation methods and interactions between irrigation methods and fertilizer doses and 

interaction between all treatmental combinations have significantly influenced the pod yield of 

groundnut. Among methods of irrigation, significantly highest pod yield was with drip method 

of irrigation (2079 kg ha -1 ). While, rainport mini sprinkler irrigation and check basin method 


89 | Page



have recorded significantly comparable pod yields. Drip irrigation at 75% RDF (2206 kg ha -1 ) 

and STBF (2119 kg ha -1 ) were comparable and recorded significantly highest pod yield. A 

combination of drip irrigation at IW/CPE ratio of 1.0 with STBF and drip irrigation at IW/CPE 

ratio of 0.6 with 75% RDF were at par with each other and recorded significantly highest pod 

yield. Apart from one pre-sowing irrigation (50 mm) and rainfall (25.0 mm), till maturity, 250, 

200 and 150 mm under check basin method; 220, 205 and 165 mm under drip method; 270, 

240 and 180 mm depth of irrigation under rainport mini sprinklers for irrigation schedules of 

IW/CPE ratios 1.0, 0.75 and 0.5 respectively were given. Higher field water use efficiency was 

recorded with drip irrigation at IW/CPE 0.6 (8.6 kg ha -1 mm -1 ). Lowest field water use 

efficiency (5.2 kg ha -1 mm -1 ) was recorded with check basin method at IW/CPE 1.0. The higher 

water use efficienty noticed under drip irrigated treatment mainly owed to higher economic 

yield per unit, amount of water consumed by the crop (Mathukia et al., 2019). 

Conclusion 

Based on the two year experimentation results it was concluded that, groundnut can be 

cultivated during rabi season with significantly higher yield attributes and pod yield recorded 

significantly higher field water use efficiency was recorded with drip irrigation at IW/CPE 0.6 

(8.6 kg ha -1 mm -1 ), which is suitable for Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. 

References 

Mathukia RK, Chhodavadia SK, Sagarka BK and Bhalu VB. 2019. Summer groundnut 

response to micro-irrigation and transient water stress. Research & Reviews: Journal 

of Crop Science and Technology, 8: 16-20. 

Effect of irrigation and fertilizer doses on yield attributes and pod yield of 

Methods of irrigation (A) 

groundnut during rabi (Pooled data of 2018-19 & 2019-20) 


pods/plant 

100-kernel 

weight (g) 

Pod yield (kg 

ha -1 ) 

Field water 

use efficiency 

(kg ha -1 mm -1 ) 

Sprinkler irrigation 10.9 41.3 1814 6.7 

Drip irrigation 11.0 45.1 2079 8.6 

Check basin method 10.2 39.8 1769 5.2 

SE (m) 0.40 1.25 47.9 0.52 

CD (p=0.05%) 1.18 2.49 149 1.02 

Irrigation schedules (B) 

1.0 IW/CPE 11.1 40.4 1944 5.5 

0.8 IW/CPE 10.9 41.8 1927 7.2 

0.6 IW/CPE 9.9 39.7 1792 7.3 

SE (m) 0.52 1.20 42.9 0.42 




CD (p=0.05%) 1.08 2.38 152 1.24 

Fertilizer doses (C) 

100 % RDF 10.6 41.2 1891 5.8 

75 % RDF 10.8 40.3 2206 7.3 

50 % RDF 10.0 39.5 1863 7.2 

Soil test based fertilizer (STBF) 11.0 42.3 2119 7.4 

SE (m) 0.64 1.65 48.9 0.69 

CD (p=0.05%) 1.02 2.58 142 1.18 

Interactions 

AXB 

SE (m) 0.02 0.01 127 2.25 

CD (p=0.05%) NS NS NS NS 

BXC 

SE (m) 1.2 0.04 119 2.56 

CD (p=0.05%) NS NS NS NS 

AXBXC 

SE (m) 0.08 0.02 42.5 2.18 

CD (p=0.05%) NS NS 235 NS 

T1-33P-1357 

Water Harvesting Technologies for Enhancing Productivity of Rainfed 

Agriculture Contribute to Resilience 

K.V. Rao, B.V.S. Kiran*, J. V. N. S. Prasad, S. Kundu, Manoranjan Kumar, 

T. V. Prasad, K. Sammi Reddy and V. K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana, India 

* sagalkiran94@gmail.com. 

Rainfed agro-ecosystems occupy a significant place in Indian agriculture which is a source of 

millions of small holders. Out of 141 million ha of net sown area in the country, 80 million ha 

area is rainfed and will remain same for a foreseeable future (Srinivasarao et al., 2013). The 

impact of climate change and variability in the country on agricultural production is evident in 

the recent years. Rainfall and its distribution vary widely among the various agro ecosystems 

impacting the yields of crops. Droughts, floods, delayed onset of monsoons and prolonged dry 

spells are the major climatic vulnerabilities resulting the severe yield loss and affecting the 

sustainable livelihoods. Conservation of rainwater and its recycling is important for sustainable 

crop production in rainfed condition. The rainwater can be conserved either by in-situ or exsitu 

in natural or manmade structure for supplemental irrigation. Soil conservation is an 

important way to protect the productive lands. 


91 | Page



Methodology 

Participatory on-farm demonstrations were conducted on farmers’ fields during 2011-2021 

under the project “National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture” (NICRA) which is 

operational at 151 village clusters. Villages were selected based on the risk proneness and it 

represents the overall climatic constraint of the district. During 2019, about 68 KVKs involved 

in TDC program have received the normal rainfall between 19 to -19 per cent than long period 

average (LPA), 26 KVKs received the deficit rainfall of -20 to -59 per cent, 20 KVKs received 

the excess rainfall between 20 to 60 per cent and 7 KVKs received large excess rainfall between 

65 to 102 per cent more than the normal kharif rainfall. The climate resilient techniques viz., 

in-situ moisture conservation through conservation furrow, ridge and furrow, broad bed furrow, 

trench cum bunding and mulching were demonstrated at farmers’ field. 

Results 

The effect of water harvesting technologies on various crops are presented in Table 1. Data 

indicated that, check dams, farm ponds, percolation tanks, bore well recharge technologies in 

crops such as rice, maize, soybean, pigeonpea, cotton and wheat has increased the irrigated 

area and cropping intensification. By providing supplemental irrigation to kharif crops and pre 

sowing irrigation to rabi crops the yields were enhanced upto 112% and also augmented the 

ground water level increasing the water table upto 15-100% in various locations. In Hilly 

regions Jalkund was demonstrated to farmers to harvest the runoff and provide lifesaving 

irrigation to high value crops and increased crop diversification. The yield improvement 

obtained was more than 100% compared to farmers without jalkunds. In-situ approaches were 

also demonstrated at various locations, in low rainfall regions (



impounding water on the surface of the soil to increase the opportunity time for infiltration. In 

present study, it was observed that adoption of water harvesting technologies during deficient 

rainfall conditions benefitted by getting additional yield improvement of > 100% compared to 

farmers’ practice. 

References 

Singh, D. V., Vyas, A. K., Gupta, G. K., Ramteke, R. and Khan, I.R. 2011. Tractor drawn broad 

bed furrow seed drill machine to overcome moisture stress for soybean in Vertisols. 

Indian J. Agric. Sci. 81: 941-944. 

Srinivasa Rao Ch., Ravindra Chary G., Mishra, P K, Nagarjuna Kumar, R., Maruthi Sankar, G 

R, Venkateswarlu, B. and Sikka, A. K. 2013. Real time contingency Planning: Initial 

experiences from AICRPDA. AICRPDA, CRIDA, Hyderabad. 

Chary, R. G., Prasad, J. V. N. S., Osman, M., Ramana, D. B. V., Nagasree, K., Rejani, R., 

Subbarao, A. V. M., Srinivas, I., Rama Rao, C. A., Prabhakar, M., Bhaskar, S., Singh, A. 

K. & Alagusundaram, K. (Editors). (2019). Technology Demonstrations: Enabling 

communities to cope with climate variability and to enhance adaptive capacity and 

resilience. National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) Project, 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Research 

Highlights, p121. 

Impact of water harvesting measures on yield improvement and ground water increase 

Intervention Crop % yield 

improvement 

Check dams 

Percolation tank 

Bore well recharge 

technology 

Farm pond 

Jalkunds 

Blackgram, sesamum, 

pearlnmillet, wheat 

Rice, maize, pigeonpea, 

sorghum 

Soybean, pigeonpea, 

cotton 

Tomato, soybean, cotton, 

groundnut, greengram 

Rice, maize, cabbage, 

cauliflower, tomato, 

capsicum, broccoli 

% ground water 

increase 

56-112 25-30 

20-32 15-24 

25-29 36 

21-80 100 

60-250 - 

Compartmental bunding Sorghum 94 - 

Trench cum bunding 

Groundnut, pigeonpea, 

maize, mango 

Upto 56 - 

Ridges and furrow Cowpea and Radish 17-32 - 

Land level and bunding Chickpea 18 - 

Conservation furrow Soybean 35 - 


93 | Page



Opening furrow after 30 

DAS 

Mulching with 

sugarcane trash 

Cotton 61 - 

Maize 45 - 

Contour bunding Chickpea 17 - 

Broad bed furrow Pigeonpea 25 - 

Broad bed furrow Soybean 58 - 

T1-34P-1358 

Performance Evaluation of Standard Performance Indicators of Telugu 

Ganga Project in Andhra Pradesh 

Ch. Murali Krishna * , M.V. Ramana, B. Ramana Murthy, N.V. Sarala and 

H.V. Hema Kumar 

Agricultural Research Station, Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Anantapur, Andhra 

Pradesh, 

Sri Venkateswara Agricultural College, Tirupati, 

Agricultural Research Station, Perumallapalli, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. 

* muraliagengg@gmail.com 

Among different agricultural problems, water scarcity has been a growing global problem that 

is challenging sustainable development placing a few constraints on the production of enough 

food to meet the increasing food requirements. The population in India which is over a 1.2 

billion at present is projected to significantly increase to 1.4 billion by 2025. The National 

Water Policy envisaged that food grain production should increase to 350 million tons by 2025. 

Telugu Ganga Project (TGP) irrigation system is one of the major irrigation projects in south 

India. The irrigation system consists of an anicut on Krishna river starting at Srisailam, Kurnool 

district in Andhra Pradesh. The four commands were located in Chittoor, Nellore, Kurnool and 

Kadapa districts in Andhra Pradesh state (Narasimha et al., 2017). A study was conducted to 

assess the performance of four commands of Telugu Ganga Project in Andhra Pradesh using 

standard performance indicators viz., Equity, Uniformity, Irrigation intensity, Overall 

consumed ratio/efficiency, Adequacy, Yield (kg/ha), Yield (kg/m 3 ), Yield (kg/m 3 ) of Eto and 

Crop yield ratio. The values of performance indicators were derived for each command during 

2013 to 2019. 




Yield (kg/ha) 

6000 

5500 

5000 

4500 

4000 

3500 

3000 

2500 

2000 

1500 

1000 

500 

0 

Chittoor Nellore Kurnool YSR Kadapa 

5552 

5214 

4459 

3914 

Chittoor Nellore Kurnool YSR Kadapa 

Methodology 

Indicator values of yield attained in different districts in TGP command during 2013 to 2019 

Ranking of different parameters in four districts 

Ranks were assigned to different parameters for their mean values over years for assessing their 

superiority in different districts. The rank sums of parameters are given in Table. The rank 

sums were separately derived for 2 categories of parameters, viz., RS1 and RS2. RS1 comprised 

of (i) Equity, (ii) Uniformity, (iii) Irrigation, (iv) Overall consumed ratio/Efficiency, (v) 

Adequacy, (vi) Yield and (vii) Crop yield ratio. RS2 comprised of (i) Gross area, (ii) Volume 

of water, (iii) Command area, (iv) Total Volume of water, (v) Water demand, (vi) Rf, (vii) Dp, 

(viii) Area and (ix) Research station yield (Bos et al.,1994). Rank sums of RS1 indicated that 

Nellore was superior with minimum rank sum of 14, followed by Kurnool with rank sum of 

17, Kadapa with rank sum of 28, while Chittoor attained maximum rank sum of 31. Rank sums 

of RS2 indicated that Chittoor was superior with minimum rank sum of 14, followed by Nellore 

with rank sum of 16, Kurnool with rank sum of 19 and Kadapa with maximum rank sum of 20. 

The over-all rank sum indicated that Nellore was superior with minimum rank sum of 30, 

followed by Kurnool with rank sum of 36, Chittoor with rank sum of 45 and Kadapa with rank 

sum of 48 in the TGP command. 

Ranking of performance indicators in different districts under the TGP command 

Parameter Nellore Kurnool Chittoor Kadapa 

Equity (%) 3 4 2 1 

Uniformity (%) 3 4 2 1 

Irrigation intensity (%) 2 1 3 4 

Over-all consumed ratio/Efficiency (%) 2 1 3 3 

Adequacy (%) 3 2 1 4 

Yield (kg/ha) 1 3 2 4 

Crop yield ratio 2 4 1 3 


95 | Page



Gross area (acres) 1 3 4 2 

Volume of water (Mcum) 2 1 4 3 

Command area (acres) 1 2 4 3 

Total Volume of water (Mcum) 2 1 4 3 

Water demand (Mcum) 2 1 3 4 

Rf (Cum) 2 3 1 4 

Dp (Cum) 2 1 4 3 

Area (ha) 1 3 4 2 

Research station yield (kg/ha) 1 2 3 4 

RS1 14 17 31 28 

RS2 16 19 14 20 

Over-all rank sum 30 36 45 48 

Results 

Based on the study, we have assessed the superiority of performance of four commands of 

Telugu Ganga Project in Chittoor, Nellore, Kurnool and Kadapa districts in Andhra Pradesh 

using standard performance indicators like Equity, Uniformity, Irrigation intensity, Overall 

consumed ratio/efficiency, Adequacy, Yield (kg/ha), Yield (kg/m 3 ), Yield (kg/m 3 ) of Eto and 

Crop yield ratio observed during 2013 to 2019. The indicators were assessed in two groups 

viz., RS1 and RS2 where RS1 comprised of (i) Equity, (ii) Uniformity, (iii) Irrigation, (iv) 

Over-all consumed ratio/Efficiency, (v) Adequacy, (vi) Yield and (vii) Crop yield ratio, while 

RS2 comprised of (i) Gross area, (ii) Volume of water, (iii) Command area, (iv) Total Volume 

of water, (v) Water demand, (vi) Rf, (vii) Dp, (viii) Area and (ix) Research station yield. Based 

on RS1 group of indicators, Nellore was superior with best performance for all indicators 

having lowest rank sum of 14. Kurnool command was the 2 nd best with rank sum of 17, while 

Kadapa and Chittoor had a rank sum of 28 and 31 respectively. Based on RS2 group, Chittoor 

was superior for all indicators with minimum rank sum of 14, followed by Nellore with 16, 

Kurnool with 19 and Kadapa with rank sum of 20. When we considered both groups, Nellore 

was superior with minimum rank sum of 30, followed by Kurnool, Chittoor and Kadapa with 

rank sum of 36, 45 and 48 respectively in the TGP command. 

References 

Bos, M.G., Murray, R.D.H., Merry, D., Jonson, H.G. and Snellers, W.B. 1994. Methodologies 

for assessing performance of irrigation and drainage management. Irrig. Drain. Syst., 

7: 231-261. 

Narasimha, K., Girija, P., Ravi, S., and Suresh, M. 2017. Evaluate the cropping pattern in the 

command areas using satellite Remote sensing techniques of Godavari basin major 

irrigation projects. Int. J. Adv. Res. Publ., 5(7):1719-1725. 




T1-35 P-1384 

Catchment–Storage-Command Relationship for Increasing Water 

Productivity in Micro-Watershed of Raichur District 

R. H. Rajkumar* 1 , M.R. Umesh 1 , S.N. Bhatt 1 , M.S. Shirahatti 2 and G. Ravindra Chary 3 

1 AICRP on Dryland Agriculture, MARS, UAS, Raichur, Karnataka 

2 AICRP on Dryland Agriculture, RRS, Vijayapura, UASD, Karnataka 

3 AICRP on Dryland Agriculture, CRIDA, Hyderabad, Telangana State 

*halidoddiraju@gmail.com 

The long-term field experiment was conducted to find out the catchment–storage-command 

relationship for enhancing water productivity in micro catchment of UAS campus, Raichur. A 

square shaped (trapezoidal section) farm pond of size 18x18 m top width 10x10 m bottom width 

and2.70 m depth was excavated in the year 2017 in the dry land research plot at UAS, Raichur 

campus. The total capacity of the pond was 547.0 m 3 . The catchment and command area were 

delineated as 8 and 1 ha respectively. During the year 2020, 61 number of rainy days were 

recorded, of which, 19 numbers were runoff causing rainfall events as a result, the pond was 

filled and nine times and over flowed after exceeding its full capacity of 547.0 m 3 . This shows 

that, there is a scope to harvest more quantity of runoff water. Most of the runoff events were 

occurred during the month of May, June, July, August, September, and October. The May, June, 

July, August, September, and October months have received the rainfall of 130.4, 128.0, 296.6, 

164.4, 317.6, 179.6 mm respectively. Due to good rain in these months, the Pigeonpea crop 

during Kharif and groundnut crop during Rabi stand was good due to enough moisture in the 

soil profile. The water balance of the pond revealed that 438.68 m 3 of water was lost through 

evaporation and seepage losses together during the period from 27-09-2020 to 24-03-2021 (6 

months). The remaining 108.32 m 3 of water which was available in the pond was used for 

supplemental irrigation to the groundnut crop with an irrigation depth of 1.08 cm for a 0.485 ha 

area which amounted to 109 m 3 of water. The irrigation was given on two days i.e on 25-03- 

2021 and 26-03-2021. The sediment yield was also calculated by collecting the runoff samples 

from the runoff events. The highest amount of sediment was recorded on 19-09-2021 which is 

0.35 t/ha against the rainfall of 83.6 mm and runoff volume of 1526.6 m 3 . 


97 | Page



T1-36 P-1400 

Impact of Raising Bund Height Around Rice Field on Water Management, 

Growth, Yield and Economics 

Deokaran 1 , Ramkewal 1 , Mandhata Singh 1 , Ujjwal Kumar 1 , A Upadhyay 1 , Amrendra 

Kumar 1 , Anjani Kumar 1 , Hari Govid 2 and Arif Parvez 2 

1 ICAR-RCER, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Lalganj, Buxar-802103, Bihar 

2 ICAR ATARI Zone-IV, Patna, Bihar-14 

The rice acreage of the world under irrigated, rainfed, upland and flood prone ecosystems are 

55%, 25%, 13% and 7%, respectively. Contribution of rice yield as percentage of global rice 

production from irrigated, rainfed, upland and flood prone ecosystems are 76%, 17%, 4% and 

3%, respectively (IRRI., 1993). The productivity of rainfed rice ecosystem is observed to be 

quite lower than that of the irrigated rice ecosystem, which emphasizes that assured irrigation 

water supply plays a crucial role in determining rice production. In rainfed ecosystem, the 

general tendency of the farmers are to store maximum rainwater in the cropped fields to combat 

moisture deficiency during dry spells due to lack of regular sources of irrigation water, This 

storage is achieved by strengthening the bund height. Water resource development has played 

an important role in livelihood improvement and poverty alleviation by improving food 

security, protecting against drought, providing access to water, and increasing cropped area. In 

rainfed rice ecosystem, conservation of rainwater to maximum extent can reduce 

the supplemental irrigation water requirement of the crop and drainage need of the catchment. 

Pre-monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon precipitation during rainy season causes sub surface 

soil erosion, nutrient depletion by runoff and sometimes flood situation and crop damage 

resulting which reduces production and productivity of soil. While on the other hand; scattered 

and uneven rainfall, long intervals in dry spell and rainy days, creates prolonged droughts 

situation during the crop growth period have become a common occurrence in previous years 

observations. The productivity of the rain-fed rice ecosystem is observed to be significantly 

lower than that of the irrigated rice ecosystem. This underlined that assured irrigation plays a 

crucial role to determining rice production. This storage is and can be achieved by 

strengthening the field bund height (raising bund height and its maintenance). The objective of 

this study was to assessed the conservation of rainwater in rice fields through raising heights 

surrounding rice field. 

Methodology 

Case study was conducted for three consecutive years (2019–2021) under National Innovation 

onClimate Resilient Agriculture Project, NICRA –TDC at Krishi Vigyan Kendra Buxar, 

Adopted Village; Kukurah and Suroundha at 65 farmers field. The benchmark survey and 

participatory rural appraisal (PRA) technique were used for selection of participants and 




capacity building of farmers wereup skilled through training and experienced learning on 

conservation of rain water harvesting in rice field. The soil was loamy clay andhave deep 

percolation rate with Rice- Wheat cropping system. Technology demonstration component 

raising bund height (dimension 60x45x45 cm) have been demonstrated in 85.2 ha area of 

leveled rice field at 65 farmers field of village and the rainfall were stored up to 35 cm weir 

height plots, the existing farmers practice was symbolic field bunds (unshaped, zigzag 

shapelump sum



Conclusion 

The economics of demonstrated plot reveals that the net return is Rs 53780 ha -1 and the benefit 

cost ratio is 2.64. The average rain water 3750 m 3 ha -1 was stored during the crop season while 

the average rainfall was 934 mm. The area brought under rabi season were from 19.1 to 59.6 

ha in rabi 2018-19, 25.30 to 67.6 ha in 2019-20 and 27.65 to 120.1 ha in 2020-21 by using 

residual moisture. Keeping in view the aspects of conserving rainwater, sediment and nutrient 

and minimizing irrigation requirement, 30–45 cm of bund height is suitable for rice fields. 

T1-37 P-1416 

Performance of Land Shaping as a Climate Smart Model for the 

Sundarban 

P. K. Garain 1 , C. K. Mondal 1 , A. Saha 1 and F. H. Rahman 2 

1 Ramkrishna Ashram Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Nimpith, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal – 743338, 

India 

2 ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Bhumi Vihar Complex, Block- GB, 

Sector- III, Salt Lake, Kolkata -700097, West Bengal, India 

Sundarban, the world’s largest contiguous stretch of mangrove forest, is highly vulnerable to 

tropical cyclones, tidal surges and erratic distribution of rainfall, leading to intensive rain spells 

and dry spells. The frequency of severe cyclonic storms is also increasing in the northern part 

of Bay of Bengal. The last two decades has witnessed seven severe cyclones - Sidr, Nargis, 

Bijli, Aila, Fani, Bulbul, Amphun and Yaas. High storm surge often breaches the river 

embankment, forcing saline river water to inundate the inland. Intensive rainfall within short 

period of time leads to prolonged submergence of the ill drained and low-lying crop fields 

where long duration and low yielding traditional rice varieties are the only option. The winter 

and summer seasons witness acute dearth of freshwater for irrigation, rendering huge areas to 

remain fallow. Such climatic vagaries add anguish to the livelihood of the 4.5 million people 

residing in the coastal Sundarbans, who primarily depend on agriculture and forest resources 

for their sustenance. Poor economic return from farming forces the population to migrate to the 

nearby towns, in search of alternate livelihood. To address such climatic vulnerabilities, a 

project titled “National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture” (NICRA) was 

implemented by Ramkrishna Ashram Krishi Vigyan Kendra (RAKVK), in collaboration with 

Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (ICAR-CRIDA), Hyderabad and 

Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ICAR-ATARI) Kolkata from 2011 to 

2021, in the cyclone prone villages of Sundarbans (NICRA News, 2011). The present study 

was aimed at comparing the performance of land shaping technology in the coastal Sundarbans 

situation, both during climate stress and normal weather condition, against the traditional 

farming practice. 




Methodology 

The study was conducted in Bongheri village under the Kultali block of the South 24 Parganas 

district in West Bengal (Latitude: 22 o 2’3” N to 22 o 3’11” N; Longitude: 88 o 37’5” E to 88 o 

38’11” E). 

Land shaping and crop planning: One-fifth portion of a 0.26 ha plot was excavated to create 

a farm pond (0.05 ha). The excavated soil was used to raise the remaining plot upto 1-ft height 

and strengthen the land and pond embankments upto 3-ft height with a top width of 3 ft. 

Submergence tolerant and short duration (115 days) rice variety Ciherang sub-1 was grown on 

the elevated land (0.18 ha). Okra (0.01 ha), bittergourd (0.01 ha) and bottlegourd (0.01 ha) 

were planted on land and pond embankment during kharif (Table 1). In winter, brinjal and chilli 

were grown on the main field (0.15 ha) and land embankment (0.03 ha), respectively. 

Cucumber was grown (0.17 ha) in summer. Mixed fish farming was taken up in the pond (0.05 

ha). 

Farmers practice: Traditional rice variety Dudheswar was grown on 0.26 ha plot under 

medium land situation (1.5 ft water stagnation), during July to November. Lathyrus was sown 

as paira crop on 0.1 ha area. 

Data collection: 2019 was considered as “stress year” as it encountered two cyclones (Fani in 

May and Bulbul in November), intensive rainfall (120 mm and 94 mm), prolonged 

submergence after transplantation of rice (August), dry spells of more than 10 days (June and 

July), untimely rain (February and November) and 39% rainfall deficiency in kharif. The data 

of 2018 was taken as “normal year”. Both the practices (farmers practice and land shaping) 

were implemented in 15 farmers’ field of 0.26 ha size, separately. 

Results 

Land shaping offered scope of multiple cropping to the farmers as the cropping intensity 

increased to 254%. The elevated terrain became suitable for growing short duration and HYV 

rice. The vegetables, grown on the raised embankment were saved from prolonged water 

stagnation during intensive rainfall. The pond rainwater was used for irrigation during dry 

spells in 2019 and sustaining fishery throughout the year. Assured irrigation also allowed to 

grow vegetables in winter and summer season. Both during a normal year and stressful weather, 

the average net income was significantly higher from the land shaping plot in comparison to 

farmers practice. Even after cyclone Bulbul (November, 2019) the land shaping farmers 

suffered a minimum crop loss due to timely harvest of their short duration rice and improved 

drainage. Such farmers could also take up rabi vegetable in time, whereas there was 25-30% 

loss of rice and 100% loss of lathyrus under farmers practice. Land shaping has been reported 

to maximize farm income, even during climatic hazards (Rahman et al., 2016). 


101 | Page



Interven 

tion 

Farmers 

practice 

(0.26 ha) 

Land 

shaping 

plot 

(0.26 ha) 

Production and economics of land shaping plot over farmers’ practice (Rs./ 0.26 ha/ year) 

Weat 

her 

Norm 

al 

year 

Stress 

year 

Norm 

al 

year 

Stress 

year 

Rice: 

6.84±0.06* 

Rice: 

5.55±0.13 

Production (q) in different season 

Kharif Rabi Summer 

Rice: 8.28±0.05 

Okra: 1.32±0.01 

Bitter gourd: 3.27±0.02 

Bottle gourd: 3.05±0.02 

Rice: 7.74±0.06 

Okra: 1.30±0.01 

Bitter gourd: 3.05±0.02 

Bottle gourd: 2.04±0.02 

Lathyrus: 

0.36±0.01 

Lathyrus: 

total crop 

loss 

Brinjal: 

47.70±0.43 

Chilli: 

3.12±0.04 

Fish: 1.50±0.01 (year-round) 

Brinjal: 

43.08±0.32 

Chilli: 

2.71±0.03 

Fish: 1.42±0.01 (year-round) 

Fallow 

Fallow 

Cucumber: 

18.58±0.24 

Cucumber: 

13.42±0.16 

Cost of 

cultiva 

tion 

Gross 

return 

Net 

return 

B:C 

ratio 

6272±4 

1 a 13377±1 

16 b 7105±13 

9 b 2.13 

6015±3 

5 a 9990±22 

8 a 3975±21 

8 a 1.66 

50051± 

106 b 143130± 

891 d 93079±9 

31 d 2.92 

54420± 

150 c 126157± 

566 c 71738±5 

83 c 2.32 

SEm (±) 95.75 529.98 537.49 

CD (p=0.05) 273.29 1512.56 1534.01 

* Data represents mean of 15 observations ± standard error; abcd Data superscripted with same 

alphabets within a column are not significantly different at p≤0.05 on the basis of Tukey’s HSD 

Conclusion 

Land shaping technology is an effective climate resilient technology for the coastal Sundarbans 

farming situation. It not only provides additional income to the farm family but also engages 

the family members in farming, throughout the year, thus reducing chance of migration. 

References 

NICRA News. 2011. Land shaping to alleviate Aila effects, Nimpith, South 24 Parganas, West 

Bengal, Monthly e-Newsletter on Climate Resilient Agriculture, Pub. by CRIDA, 

Hyderabad, 1(3): 7. 

Rahman, F.H., Ghosh, D., Das, K.S., Mondal, S.K., Pal, P.P. and Roy, S.K. 2016. Monocropped 

fallow lowlands converted to multiple cropping options, In: NICRA 

Newsletter: Towards Climate Smart Agriculture, Pub. by ICAR-ATARI Kolkata, 2(2): 7. 




T1-38 P-1424 

Irrigation Requirement of Different Crops of Krishna Basin Under 

Changing Climatic Scenarios 

D. Kalyana Srinivas, R. Rejani, G.S. Pratyusha Kranthi, K.V. Rao and S. Deepika 

ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500059 

Indian agriculture is severely affected by climate change due to increased crop water 

requirement and decreased availability of water, particularly in drylands (Behera et al., 2016). 

The rise in surface temperature increases the evaporation rates, influences the precipitation, 

leads to extreme events and affects the soil moisture. Human activities, along with increased 

evapotranspiration and decreases in precipitation, have resulted in desertification in some 

drylands. The prolonged dry spell in rainfed areas reduces the growing period and crop 

productivity by causing water stress. Irrigation is the efficient usage of fresh water, and with 

the growing scarcity of this essential natural resource, it is becoming increasingly important to 

maximize efficiency of water usage. It implies accurate management of irrigation and control 

of application depths in order to apply water effectively according to crop needs. Assessing 

irrigation and agriculture potential is an important activity in successful agriculture 

management. 

Methodology 

The study area covers parts of four large states namely, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra 

Pradesh and Telangana with a geographical area of 258,000 km 2 (nearly 8% of India). The 

basin has a maximum length and width of about 701 km and 672 km and lies between 73°17' 

to 81°9' east longitudes and 13°10' to 19°22' north latitudes. Most of the basin is relatively flat 

and 90% lies below 750 m elevation. However, elevations in the Western Ghats reach up to 

1,900 m. Soils in the basin are generally shallow and clayey, with some areas of gravelly clay 

and loam. Soil types (based on the Soil Taxonomy classification system, NRCS 1999) include 

Entisols and Vertisols (black cotton soils) in the west and Alfisols (red soils) in the south and 

east. Soils tend to be deeper in valley bottoms and are deeper on average in Andhra Pradesh. 

The average annual rainfall of the basin is 784 mm. Dry spells are commonly experienced 

during July, August and September which concur with the vegetative or prolific stages of major 

rainfed crops which in turn affects the crop yield drastically. It is possible to increase the yield 

of pigeon pea, kharif maize, rabi maize and groundnut crops, by providing supplemental 

irrigations during critical growth stages significantly. To ensure the long-term sustainability of 

these crops, an attempt is made to find the irrigation water requirement of these crops of 

Krishna basin spatially for present and future scenarios. 


103 | Page



Results 

Site specific irrigation requirement of major crops was determined based on data availability 

for future scenarios, Hargreaves and Samani (1985) method was used instead of FAO Penman- 

Monteith method (Allen et al., 1998) for ETo calculation. Crop water requirement was 

estimated for pigeon pea, kharif maize, rabi maize and groundnut. The ensemble data of CMIP 

5.0 corresponding to two emission scenarios RCP 4.5 and RCP 6.0 was used. During the base 

line period, the irrigation requirement of pigeon pea, kharif maize, rabi maize and groundnut 

varied spatially from 87.9 mm to 267.2 mm, 32.7 mm to 189.9 mm, 306.1 mm to 373.6 mm, 

and 28.4 mm to 155.7 mm respectively, by 2030s under RCP 4.5, for pigeon pea, kharif maize, 

rabi maize and groundnut, it is expected to vary from -10.7 to 7.6 %, -29.8 to 17.5%, 1.5 to 3.6 

% and -5.9 to 3.0 % respectively. For RCP 6.0, for pigeon pea, kharif maize, rabi maize and 

groundnut, it is expected to vary from -9.3 to 12.7 %, -28.3 to 17.9%, 1.2 to 3.5 % and -4.2 to 

3.5 % respectively. According to the results, climate change has a considerable impact on the 

sustainability of the prevailing cropping system in Krishna Basin. 




Variation in the irrigation requirement of pigeon pea, kharif maize, rabi maize and groundnut at 

Krishna basin under RCP 4.5 and 6.0 (2030s) 

Conclusion 

The irrigation requirement predicted for pigeon pea, kharif maize, rabi maize and groundnut 

are varying substantially at Krishna Basin in coming years’/future scenarios. Due to the 

significant spatial variation in irrigation requirements of major crops, irrigation scheduling at 

sites in the Krishna basin needs to be site-specific irrigation scheduling. From this study, it 

was concluded that in future, the basin requires site specific water policy changes to ensure 

the constant sustainability of crops. 

References 

Allen RG, Pereira LS, Raes D and Smith M. 1998. Crop Evapotranspiration-Guidelines for 

computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56. FAO, 

Rome, 300 (9): D05109. 

Behera S, Khare D, Mishra PK and Sahoo S. 2016. Impact of climate change on crop water 

requirement for Sunei medium irrigation project, Odisha, India. International Journal 

of Engineering Trends and Technology, 34 (8): 358-367. 

Hargreaves GH and Samani ZA. 1985. Reference crop evapotranspiration from temperature. 

Applied Engineering Agricultural, 1 (2): 96-99. 


105 | Page



DK and Sarangi A. (2015). Strategies for climate change impacts on irrigated crops in 

National Capital Region of India. Journal of Applied and Natural Sciences, 7 (1): 388- 

393. 

Rejani R, Rao KV, Shirahatti MS, Surakod VS, Yogitha P, Chary GR, Gopinath KA, Osman 

M, Sammi Reddy K and Srinivasa Rao Ch. 2016. Irrigation requirement of crops under 

changing climatic scenarios in a semi-arid region of Northern Karnataka. Indian 

Journal of Dryland Agricultural Research & Development, 31 (2): 51-60. 

Impact of Borewell Recharging Structures in NICRA Village 

G. Hiregoudar, N.H. Bhandi, Gururaj Kombali 

ICAR-K.H.Patil Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hulkoti, Gadag 

T1-39 P-1430 

Gadag district is one of the drought-prone districts that comes under the agro-climatic zone of 

Northern Dry Zone-3 and Region-2 of Karnataka State. The climate of the district is semi-arid 

and annual rainfall of the district is 641 mm. Rainfall is usually erratic and the probability of 

agriculture drought is to the extent of 70 percent of the year. Long dry spells between two rains 

during June to September affects the crop yield and thereby the livelihood of the farmers. Out 

of 10 years rainfall cycle, farmers face 7 years of agricultural drought. Nearly, 30 percent of 

the district soil type is red sandy loam. In the district, 12 to 15 percent area is under irrigation 

which too in Malaprabha Command Area in the Naragund block. The remaining 6 blocks of 

the district are under rainfed. Farmers mainly cultivate greengram, groundnut, Bt. cotton and 

maize crops in kharif season, sorghum and bengalgram crops in rabi season. The crops are 

non-remunerative due to moisture stress during agricultural drought years. Mahalingapur 

cluster of villages comprising of Mahalingapur, Nabhapur, Kabalayatakatti and Beladhadi are 

tribal hamlets located in Kappatagudda hill terrain of the district. These villages are not an 

exception to climate vulnerability. Frequent occurrence of early, mid and terminal drought in 

kharif season has severely affected the productivity of field crops. The cluster village 

Mahalingapur is adopted by ICAR-KVK, Gadag since 2015-16 under the project “National 

Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)” with the support of Indian Council of 

Agricultural Research, New Delhi. The relevant climate resilient technologies have been 

implemented in these cluster villages. Under the Natural Resource Management, bore well 

recharging technology has been adapted for 17 numbers of bore wells covering 17 farmers 

during 2017 in the project village. This bore well recharging technology has resulted in good 

impact on increase in area under protective irrigation in the village from 2018 to 2021.In a span 

of 4 years (2018 to 2021), village received 74 mm run-off causing rains, which helped to 

harvest excess run off rain water and intern recharging of ground water through these bore 

wells. 




Total 229 lakhs liters of water is harvested that resulted in rise of ground water table upto 8.9 

meters. This in turn helped to increase area under protective irrigation in kharif (26.60 

hectares), rabi (19.80 hectares) and summer (11.20 hectares) seasons. 

In this protective irrigated area various crops are cultivated. Totally in four years period, 

different crops like maize, rabi sorghum and bengalgram crops are cultivated in 101.40 

hectares area in kharif and 72.60 hectares area in rabi season. Protective irrigation provided 

from the recharged bore well resulted in increase in yield and net returns of different crops. 

There was a significant increase in yield of various crops from 34.08 to 54.94 percent and net 

returns of Rs.5,116/- to Rs.16,679/- per hectare. An additional return of Rs.19.96 lakhs returns 

was gained by the farmers during 2018 to 2021. Hence, the recharging of bore wells is very 

important in the rainfed area to enhance the economic status of the farmers even during climatic 

variations. 

T1-40 P-1432 

Recycling of Harvested Rainwater through Farm Pond to Enhance 

Productivity of rabi Crops under Semi-Arid Region 

J.K. Balyan, Manjeet Singh 2 and R.K. Sharma 3 

1,3 

Dryland Farming Research Station, Arjia, Bhilwara, 

2 

College of Technology and Agriculture Engineering, Udaipur 

Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur (Rajasthan) 

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season 2016-17 to 2019-2020 in Inceptisol to 

explore the possibilities rainwater harvesting and recycling for the purpose of raising rabi crops 

to enhance the crop productivity and water productivity of Nadi system in semi-arid areas under 

All India Coordinated Research Development Project at Dryland Farming Research Station 

(Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur), Arjia, Bhilwara 

(Latitude 24”20’N and 74”40’ Longitude and 432 meter above sea level), Rajasthan. The site 

soils of experimental field were sandy clay loam in texture having pH 8.11, organic carbon 

0.42%, E.C. 0.44 dSm-1, bulk density1.51 gm cc -1 , the available N, P2O5 and K2O in soils were 

243.56,21.52 and 416.27 kg ha -1 , respectively. The field capacity and permanent wilting point 

moisture of surface soil layer was 21.4 and 9.2% on weight basis, respectively. There were 

three main plot treatments of crops as C 1-Lentil, C 2-Chickpea and C 3-Mustard and three in sub 

treatment of irrigation methods such as I0- Control (conserved moisture), I1- One irrigation at 

45 DAS and I 2- Two irrigation at 45 & 60 DAS. These treatments were laid out in Split plot 

design with three replications. Among the different crops, lentil crop gave 162% higher mean 

mustard seed equivalent yield (1765 kg ha -1 ) in comparison to linseed (672 kg ha -1 ). However, 

application of supplemental irrigation at 45 DAS and 45 & 60 DAS was increased mean 


107 | Page



mustard seed equivalent yield and recorded 63 and 91% higher over no irrigation (857 kg ha - 

1 

), respectively. Similarly, among the different crops, lentil crop obtained highest net returns 

(Rs. 56359.00 ha -1 ), benefit cost ratio (3.37) and water use efficiency (1.775 kg seed Cum -1 ). 

Further, application of one supplemental irrigation at 45 DAS was recorded higher WUE (1.377 

kg seed cum -1 ) as compared to two supplemental irrigations at 45 DAS & 60 DAS (0.944 kg 

seed Cum -1 ) but higher soil moisture content was recorded under two supplemental irrigations 

at 45 DAS & 60 DAS at all the three depth in all three crops at harvest in comparison to one 

irrigation and control. This might be attributed to that increase in mustard seed equivalent is 

not in proportion to the amount of supplement irrigation water. Therefore, it may be concluded 

that growing of lentil crop during rabi season with one supplemental irrigation at 45 DAS is 

more beneficial to get the higher production in semi-arid regions. 

References 

M.L. Jat, J.K. Balyan, Vuivek Kumar, Y.S. Rathi, R. Charry and S. Ojha. 2018. Feasibility of farm pond 

and recycling system to enhance productivity of rabi crops under semi-arid regions. Ind. J. Soil 

conserve 46 (1): 60-67. 

Jat M.L., Balyan J.K., Sammauria R. 2010. Effect of in-situ moisture conservation practices on 

productivity and economics under maize+blackgram cropping system in semi-arid region. Ind. 

Soil. conserv. 38 (1): 59-61. 

T1-41P-1449 

Rain Water Harvesting Technology, Jalkund - A Boon for Far Flung Hilly 

Farmers Under NICRA 

R. Lalrambeiseia, Henry Saplalrinliana, F. Lalthasanga 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hnahthial, Lunglei District, Mizoram - 796571 

Hnahthial village of Lunglei District has a total geographical area of about 16 sq km. The 

average annual rainfall is about 2000mm.The village receives high rainfall but lacks rain water 

harvesting structures and management leading to severe water scarcity, particularly during the 

post monsoon season (November -April). Rainwater storage and harmonious Water Use 

Efficiency (WUE) are the key to sustainable livelihood in the village. Under NICRA Project, 

KVK Lunglei demonstrated 75 numbers of low-cost rain water harvesting technology 

‘Jalkund’ in NICRA adopted village and its adjoining villages. The low-cost material like 

Polyethylene pond liners (200 GSM) was used to construct pond generally with a size of 

5x4x1.5m. The storage capacity of these tanks is in the range of 30000L 3 . Construction of 

Jalkund and recycling of water through this system increase the productivity of the farmers 

by diversifying farming system like crop and livestock. As noticed in Hnahthial and its 

satellite villages, Jalkund technology had uncountable big and small impacts on the livelihood 

of the farmers. 




T1-42 P-1462 

In-Situ Moisture Conservation and Natural Nitrification Inhibitors for 

Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change in Semi-Arid Rainfed 

Regions 

G.Pratibha*, K.V.Rao, I.Srinivas, A.K.Indoria, Sumanta Kundu, M.Srinivasa Rao, 

Shivakumar A, K.Srinivasa Rao, M.Prabhakar, B.M.K.Raju, K.Sammi Reddy and 

V.K.Singh 

Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500059, India 

*G.Pratibha@icar.gov.in 

The rainfed regions are characterised by frequent dry spells and uneven distribution of rainfall, 

during cropping season. The dry spells of two weeks or more may occur after seed 

germination, or during different growth stages of crop and this result in moisture stress 

conditions leading to decline in crop productivity and may also sometimes cause total crop 

failure. Therefore, for the sustainable production requires adoption of location specific in-situ 

soil moisture conservation technologies are need of the hour. In addition to moisture stress, 

low nitrogen use efficiency are also the main causes for low yields in the rainfed farming. 

Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient and a limiting factor for plant growth in most soils. The 

rising human population, especially in developing countries, has led to agricultural 

intensification with a high input of reactive N from chemical fertilizers. But the nitrogen use 

efficiency was low in general and in rainfed regions in particular. Improper time of application 

of nitrogen fertilizer results in low nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and gaseous losses of nitrous 

oxide (N 2 O) and ammonia (NH 3 ). Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) with global 

warming potential of 298 times greater than CO 2 emission. Nitrification and denitrification 

are the major biological processes responsible for N2O production. N 2 O levels in the 

atmosphere are raising at an alarming rate and are likely to quadruple by 2050. Hence suitable 

measures are required to reduce such emissions and increase the nitrogen fertilizer use 

efficiency. Arresting nitrification could be an important strategy to improve nitrogen (N) 

recovery and agronomic N use efficiency where the loss of N is significant and leads to 

environmental pollution. Nitrification inhibitor could lower N 2 O emission and increase the 

crop productivity by reducing nitrification rate and increasing NUE through enhanced NH + 4 

uptake. Though chemicals known to inhibit nitrifies and have been tested, but many of these 

chemicals use is not practical because of their high cost, limited availability, negative impact 

on beneficial soil microorganisms, and above all, poor extension and promotional activities 

are major constraints in this respect. Therefore, it is essential to develop plant-based 

nitrification inhibitors (natural nitrification inhibitors, NNI) for augmenting nitrogen use 

efficiency, crop productivity, and for safe guarding the environment. The advantages of NNI 


109 | Page



are that they are easily available, cheap, and eco-friendly. These nitrification inhibitors can be 

coated to urea by the farmers. Keeping in this view, an experiment was initiated in maize- 

castor cropping to develop strategies for enhancing adaption and mitigation of climate change. 

Methodology 

Field experiments were conducted in maize-castor annual rotation during 2012-2017 at 

Gunegal Research Farm (GRF) of the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture 

(CRIDA), Hyderabad, India (17◦23′N latitude, 78◦29′E longitude, altitude 540 m above mean 

sea level) in the semi-arid region of Southern part of India. Average seasonal (June–January) 

rainfall during the experimental season was 510 mm, which accounts for approximately 42% 

of annual potential evapo-transpiration. The soil at the experimental site represents Typic 

Haplustalf. The arable part of the soil consists of 71.10% sand, 6.30% silt and 22.60% clay. 

The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications. The treatments 

comprised of flat sowing, conservation furrow and tank silt application in main plots. The 

conservation furrow was made between the crop rows at the time of sowing with the 

implement fabricated at ICAR-CRIDA. This implement used for sowing, fertilizer application 

and conservation furrow at a time. Urea treated with natural plant products to retard 

nitrification of urea were taken as sub plots. The different natural nitrification inhibitors tested 

were neem cake, Karanj cake, Vitex leaf powder these were compared with FYM, un coated 

urea. The test crops were cultivated with all the recommended package of practices. 

Recommended dose of other fertilizer (P and K) was applied uniformly in all the treatments. 

Results 

In this study the different in-situ moisture conservation practices and nitrification inhibitors 

significantly influenced the yield and GHG emissions. It was also observed that differential 

impact of these practices on yield and N 2O emissions were observed in different years due 

inter annual variation of rainfall. Among the three moisture conservation treatments, 

conservation furrow recorded higher maize equivalent seed yield as compared to normal 

sowing and tank silt application. The yield increase ranged between 38 to 11 %. The yield 

improvement in in situ moisture conservation was higher in low rainfall years. Tank silt 

application recorded higher yield over normal sowing whereas tank silt application recorded 

higher yield than in-situ moisture conservation only during high rainfall years. 

All the natural nitrification inhibitors recorded higher maize equivalent yields as compared to 

urea and 50% nitrogen through FYM + 50% N through urea. Among the natural nitrification 

inhibitors Vitex coated urea recorded higher yields as compared to FYM + 50% N through 

urea, Karajin cake, neem cake coated urea, and urea alone respectively. 

GHG fluxes were recorded in different treatments. It was observed that CO 2 fluxes were not 

influenced by in-situ moisture conservation methods. Karanj cake coated, and neem cake 




coated urea treatments did not reduce the CO 2 emissions. Higher N 2 O fluxes were observed 

immediately after fertilizer application. Among natural nitrification inhibitors, vitex cake 

coated urea recorded lower N 2 O fluxes and this was followed by neem cake coated urea. 

Conclusion 

In- situ moisture conservation practices and Coating of urea with natural nitrification 

inhibitors were found quite effective for adaptation and mitigation of climate change in semiarid 

rainfed regions. 

3000 

Yields, kg/ha 

2000 

1000 

0 

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 

Conservation Furrow FYM Conservation Furrow Karanjan cake Conservation Furrow Neem cake 

Conservation Furrow Normal Conservation Furrow Vavilia Normal FYM 

Normal Karanjan cake Normal Neem cake Normal Normal 

Normal Vavilia Tank silt FYM Tank silt Karanjan cake 

Tank silt Neem cake Tank silt Normal Tank silt Vavilia 

Impact of in-situ moisture conservation and natural nitrification inhibitors on crop productivity in 

different years 

T1-43P-1494 

Impact of Subsoiling on Soil Moisture Dynamics, soil physical properties 

and Yield under Finger Millet + Pigeonpea and Groundnut + Pigeonpea 

Cropping Systems 

K. Devaraja, Mudalagiriyappa, M. Madan Kumar, B. G. Vasanthi, K. M. Puneetha and 

H. S. Latha 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, UAS, GKVK, Bangalore 

A subsoiler is a tractor-mounted farm implement used for deep tillage, loosening and breaking 

up of soil at depths twice the depth of the normal tillage implement i.e. depth more than 30cm. 

As subsoiler loosens the deep compacted soil, it increases the infiltration rate thereby 

conserving the soil moisture. Subsoiling will not overturn the top-soil but disturbs and breaks 

the plough layer, which result in improving the permeability of soil water, creating a "water 

reservoir" underneath the soil surface, increasing the efficiency of rainwater use, and improving 

the ability of water conservation in arid areas. Subsequently, it also minimizes the effect of 


111 | Page



drought and lead to an increase in crop yield. Keeping these in view, the present investigation 

was undertaken to assess the yield advantage and its impact on soil. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was carried out during Kharif for four years (2018-2021) at AICRP for 

Dry land Agriculture, Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra, to study the subsoiling effect on 

moisture conservation in finger millet + pigeon pea and groundnut + pigeon pea cropping 

system. The experiment was conducted in split plot design with two cropping system in main 

plot viz., C 1: Finger millet + Pigeon pea and C 2: Groundnut + Pigeon pea and five subsoiling 

treatments viz., S1: subsoiling at 2 m interval, S2: subsoiling at 4 m interval, S3: subsoiling at 2 

m interval with FYM, S 4: subsoiling at 4 m interval with FYM and S 5: Control in sub plots and 

replicated three times. 

Results 

Soil moisture content, Yield and Economics 

The data pertaining to soil moisture at 0-15 cm depth at different crop growing stages is 

presented from the year 2018 to 2021. Among the different subsoiling treatments, subsoiling 

at 2 m interval along with the addition of farm yard manure were found to be superior to rest 

of the treatments. Better root development in subsoiling treatment might be due to the better 

available soil moisture regime. Similar results were reported by Ramana et al. (2015). Among 

different sub soiling treatment during 2021 S 3 (finger millet equivalent yield: 2765 kg ha -1 , net 

returns: ₹. 53089 ha -1 and B:C ratio: 2.35) and S4 (finger millet equivalent yield: 2682 kg ha -1 , 

net returns: ₹. 51244 ha -1 and B:C ratio: 2.35) were on par and lower yield and net returns were 

found in the remaining treatments. There was no significant difference among the interaction 

effect on finger millet equivalent yield. In comparison with the pooled data from first three 

years (2018-2020), subsoiling at 2 m interval with FYM showed significantly higher finger 

millet equivalent yield (3088 kg ha -1 ), net returns (₹. 59273 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (2.56) and the 

increasing trend in the yield were S 3>S 4>S 1>S 2>S 5 during three years data (2018-2020) but the 

trend during 2021 was S3=S4>S1=S2=S5 which clearly showed that there was no subsoiling 

effect from the fourth year but due to the addition of organic manure in subsoiling at 2 m 

interval with FYM and subsoiling at 4 m interval with FYM for four consecutive years resulted 

in higher yield, net returns and benefit cost ratio. The increase in yield during 2018-2020 was 

due to break down of hard pan which increased the available soil moisture along with nutrient 

availability by the application of organic manure (Sun et al., 2017). 




Conclusion 

Subsoiling at 2m interval + organic manure (S 3) resulted in higher productivity and profitability 

for three years. From fourth year subsoiling had no effect, therefore subsoiling to be 

implemented once in three years and addition of organic manure also helps in enhancing the 

productivity. 

References 

Ramana, C., Sudhakar, P., Krishna Reddy, G., Nagamadhuri, K. V., Prasanthi, T., Lavanya 

Kumari, P., Gridhara Krishna, T. and Hemasri, A., Economic effect of mechanical 

intervention through subsoiling on growth and yield of rainfed pigeonpea (Cajanus 

cajan). Indian J. Agric. Sci., 85 (7): 873-876. 

Sun, X., Zaisong Ding., Xinbing Wang., Haipeng Hou., Baoyuan Zhou., Yang Yue., Wei Ma., 

Junzhu Ge., Zhimin Wang and Ming Zhao., 2017, Subsoiling practices change root 

distribution and increase post-anthesis dry matter accumulation and yield in summer 

maize. Plos One., 12 (4). 

Pooled data (2018-2020) and 2021 of Finger millet and ground yield and economics as 

influenced by subsoiling 

Treatment 

Finger millet 

equivalent 

yield 

Main Plot: Cropping system 

2018-2020 2021 

Net 

return 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

B:C 

ratio 

Finger millet 

equivalent 

yield 

Net 

return 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

B:C 

ratio 

C 1 2576 46813 2.36 2578 51802 2.50 

C 2 2560 43738 2.25 2114 31572 1.93 

S.Em± 53.19 - - 49.85 - - 

CD at 5 % NS - - 303.33 - - 

Sub plot: Subsoiling 

S 1 2497 41080 2.21 2110 31836 1.99 

S 2 2363 36576 2.04 2097 31202 1.94 

S 3 3088 59273 2.56 2765 53089 2.35 

S 4 2814 51515 2.41 2682 51244 2.35 

S 5 2078 37932 2.33 2078 41063 2.45 

S.Em± 58.45 - - 46.77 - - 

CD at 5 % 175.23 - - 140.21 - - 


113 | Page



30 

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 

Soil moisture content (%) 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

30 DAS 60 DAS 90 DAS 30 DAS 60 DAS 90 DAS 30 DAS 60 DAS 90 DAS 30 DAS 60 DAS 90 DAS 

2018 2019 2020 2021 

Soil moisture content at 15 cm as influenced by subsoiling during 2018-2021 

T1-44 P-1517 

Checkdams - A way for Rainwater Harvesting, Climate Resilience and 

Sustainability of Rainfed Farmers in Ananthapuramu, Andhra Pradesh 

B. Chandana, Malleswari Sadhineni, V. Sivajyothi, M. Ravi Kishore, K. Naveen Kumar, 

J.V. Prasad and J.V.N.S. Prasad 

ANGRAU- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Reddipalli, Andhra Pradesh – 515 701 

ICAR-ATARI, CRIDA campus, Hyderabad – 500 059 

TDC-NICRA, ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad – 500 059 

Ananthapuramu is one of the rain shadow regions of Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh with 

normal annual rainfall of 552 mm. The climate is characterized with low/ intermittent/uneven 

rainfall, which leads to decline in productivity of rainfed crops. Climate resilient technologies 

viz., checkdams will store the harvested rain water, increase groundwater availability and also 

prevent soil erosion (Bhargav and Tank, 2011). Checkdams control rain water runoff, rain 

water percolates down to the underground aquifers. Recharged aquifers will ensure ground 

water recharge in open wells and bore wells and create considerable opportunities to bring 

additional area under cultivation, increase the productivity and profitability of small and 

marginal farm holdings. 




Methodology 

Construction/renovation of checkdams was taken up as a natural resource management 

technology during 2011 to 2021 at Chamalur, Chakrayapeta and Peravali for improving the 

crop productivity and socio-economic conditions of farmers under National Innovations in 

Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project operating at KVK, Reddipalli, Ananthapuramu 

district. A total of 21 checkdam were constructed/renovated in these villages. For the present 

study, data was collected on size of checkdam, volume of water harvested, rainfall(mm) 

received, no of borewells, openwells recharged and economics of crops cultivated utilizing the 

water stored in checkdam during 2019-2021 in the adopted villages. 

Results 

With the NRM interventions of KVK-Reddipalli under NICRA project, 21 check dams were 

constructed/renovated in Chamalur, Chakraypeta and Peravali villages. Farmers used to 

cultivate groundnut and redgram majorly depending on rainfall. During the years 2019 to 2021, 

nearly 35967 m 3 , 101005 m 3 , 101914 m 3 of water was harvested and stored in check dams as 

shown in the table. During the years 2019 to 2021, 53 open wells and 166 bore wells were 

recharged in these three villages. Similar findings were reported by Venkateswarlu, 2019. In 

addition to the groundnut crop grown earlier, farmers started cultivating castor, greengram, 

redgram, paddy, yellow jowar, curry leaf, tomato, bhendi, pumpkin, lily, jasmine, sweet 

orange, banana, custard apple, guava, acid lime, pomegranate and fodders with the harvested 

rain water. 

The net income of the farmers increased from Rs.9171/ha with cultivation of rainfed groundnut 

before construction of checkdams to average net returns of Rs.64650/ha with cultivation of 

various agricultural and horticultural crops in NICRA adopted villages (Table 2). Net returns 

from rainfed groundnut cultivation increased from Rs.9171/ha to Rs.43163/ha due to 

availability of water for supplemental irrigation from checkdams or recharged 

borewells/openwells in vicinity of checkdams. Among the various crops grown curry leaf has 

recorded highest net returns (Rs.230000/ha) with a B:C ratio of 8.67 followed by jasmine 

(Rs.162500/ha, 3.60) and castor (Rs.94323/ha, 1.92). 

Conclusion 

Construction/renovation of check dams resulted in harvesting, storage of rain water, recharge 

of nearby open/bore wells. Timely availability of water for supplemental irrigation from these 

sources increased the cultivated area and income of rainfed farmers. 

References 

Bhargav, K. S. and Tank, U. N. 2011. Development of water resources at micro level through 

rain water harvesting. Agricultural Engineering Today 35(1): 16-19. 


115 | Page



Venkateswarlu, B. 2019. Water harvesting: A key strategy for climate change adaptation in 

rainfed agriculture. In proceedings of 13th International Conference on Development 

of Dryland Areas, February11-14, 2019, ICAR-CAZRI, Jodhpur. Pp.218-227. 

Improved Jhum in southern part of Mizoram 

H. Vanlalhmuliana, S. Sisi and Lalrinengi 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Siaha district, Mizoram -796901 

kvksaiha@gmail.com 

T1-45 P-1532 

In India, Jhumming is practiced mainly in the northeastern hilly region. Although it is both a 

labour intensive and land-extensive method of cultivation, it occupies a distinct place in the 

tribal economy and constitutes a vital part of the lifestyle and socio-economic set-up of hills. 

Traditional shifting cultivation also known as Jhum, has always been a major source of 

livelihood for the farming community of Mizoram which consists of clearing of jungle by 

burning the vegetation and cultivating the plot of land for one or two years. These lands usually 

lie on the slopes of hills in thickly forested landscapes. A thick smog and haze eclipse the sun 

all through the day when jhum areas are burnt. Burning the felled trees helps release nutrients 

for farming. After this, the cultivated land is left fallow to regain the vegetation cover once the 

land loses fertility. Then, the jhum farmer shifts to another forest patch and returns to the same 

site for another cropping phase only after a few years. They also have a practice of bunding the 

fields using logs. The entire jhum system in Mizoram depends on the natural indicators and 

seasons that governs their stages of activities like selection of land, clearance of jungle, 

burning, sowing, harvesting etc. This method of cultivation is viewed as the first step in 

transition from food gathering and hunting to food production. It encompasses mixed cropping, 

viz., horticulture and annual cropping, perennial tree crops, animal husbandry and management 

of forest and fallows in sequential or rotational cycles. 

Methodology 

The On-farm trials was conducted during March 2022 - October 2022 at Tisopi village, Siaha 

district, Mizoram under NICRA project. The agroclimatic zone was humid subtropical hill zone 

and major soil type was red laterite and is slightly acidic in nature. The major climatic 

constrains of Tisopi was high drought prone area and high erodibility of soils and the average 

rainfall was 2030mm. The study comprised of three varieties of local rice viz., Saphuapa, Sasu 

kylyno and Idaw kylyno in traditional jhum field without maintaining spacing. In one jhum 

field, all the three varieties were grown side by side with and without logwood bunding. The 

size of the field for each variety is 1 acre and half of the field is under traditional jhum without 

logwood and another half was under logwood bunding. The data was recorded from such three 

jhum fields grown by three (3) different farmers in the same cluster. The data was carefully 




recorded from randomly selected plants from with and without logwood bunding for taking 

biometrical observations and yield calculation. In one hill 2-3 seeds was sown without seed 

treatment, nor the application of fertilizer or plant protection chemicals. Log wood bunding 

techniques involved keeping different sizes of log across the slope at a distance of 3-5 meters 

for soil and water conservation and those logs mainly comes from clearing the jungle for jhum 

field itself. The plant parameters like, plant height, number of tillers per hill, number of 

effective tillers per square meter, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, test weight and 

grain yield. 

Results 

The growth and development parameters of rice viz., plant height, number of leaves per plant, 

flag leaf length, and number of tillers per hill under the logwood bunding method showed 

significant differences as compared to jhum field without logwood bunding as shown in the 

tables. These may be due to the fact that logwood bunding check the erosion of the topsoil and 

the decomposing weeds provided rich nutrients to the soil to enhance fertility for better growth 

and yield. The beneficial effect of logwood bunding method in enhancing the growth and yield 

over the traditional jhum method through increased height, leaves, number of tillers, leaf area 

ultimately reflected in higher yield attributing characters viz., number of panicles per hill, 

length of panicle, number of panicles, primary and secondary branch per panicles, number of 

filled grains per panicle, weight of filled grains per panicle, test weight and ultimately the grain 

yield obtained from the plant as represented in the tables. 

Parameters of Rice crops variety Saphuapa, Sasu kylyno and Idaw kylyno under Normal 

Sl. No. 

Parameters of crop 

jhum without log-wood bunding 

Local rice variety 

Saphuapa Sasu kylyno Idaw 

kylyno 

1. Average plant height (cm) 138.00 158.00 134.00 

2. Average number of leaves per plant 5.00 4.00 4.00 

3. Average flag Leaf length (cm) 47.00 84.00 62.00 

4. Average number of panicles per plant 18.00 12.00 19.00 

5. Average number of grains per panicle 186.00 264.00 361.00 

6. Average panicle length (cm) 22.25 20.50 21.00 

7. Average primary branch per panicle 12.00 16.00 15.00 

8. Average secondary branch per panicle 38.00 41.00 45.00 

9. Average number of tillers per hill 21.00 27.00 24.00 

10. Average effective tiller per square meter 218.00 278.00 257.00 

11. Average filled grain per panicle 135.00 169.00 148.00 

12. Average grain yield (t/ha) 1.15 1.45 1.20 


117 | Page



13. Average test weight 10.25 11.50 10.75 

14. Average length of the main root (cm) 8.50 7.00 11.00 

Parameters of the Rice crop variety Saphuapa, Sasu kylyno and Idaw kylyno under 

Sl. No. 

Parameters of crop 

improved jhum with log-wood bunding 

Local rice variety 

Saphuapa Sasu kylyno Idaw 

kylyno 

1. Average plant height (cm) 145.00 162.00 147.00 

2. Average number of leaves per plant 6.00 4.00 4.00 

3. Average flag Leaf length (cm) 59.00 87.00 69.00 

4. Average number of panicles per plant 21.00 15.00 20.00 

5. Average number of grains per panicle 215.00 298.00 369.00 

6. Average panicle length (cm) 23.00 22.50 23.00 

7. Average primary branch per panicle 13.00 18.00 16.00 

8. Average secondary branch per panicle 39.00 43.00 46.00 

9. Average number of tillers per hill 24.00 31.00 26.00 

10. Average effective tiller per square meter 229.00 285.00 262.00 

11. Average filled grain per panicle 139.00 177.00 152.00 

12. Average grain yield (t/ha) 1.45 1.95 1.60 

13. Average test weight 10.50 12.15 10.75 

14. Average length of the main root (cm) 10.50 8.25 11.00 

Conclusion 

As a result of implementation of improved jhum technique i.e logwood bunding method in 

cluster area of Tisopi village under NICRA project, local paddy production increased from 1.15 

-1.45t to 1.45 -1.95t per hectare. Owing to above result, it creates a good rapport between Krishi 

Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and Tisopi farmers. In addition. those farmers involved in the on-farm 

testing of logwood bunding method became a source of inspiration for fellow farmers of the 

area. The above data were from only one cropping season and need to repeat the trials to 

justified the findings in the future. Nonetheless, the farmers of Tisopi village were clearly 

motivated to take up logwood bunding measures in the sloppy land not only in paddy 

cultivation but for vegetables as well. They became aware on the importance of soil and water 

conservation in crop production and are ready to adopt Improved Jhum Technique in the 

coming season. 





T1-46 P-1533 

Development of Digital Weighing Type Lysimeter to Monitor Soil Water 

Balance Parameters 

Ajita Gupta * , R.K. Singh, and Mukesh Kumar 

ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal (M.P.)-462038 

* 

ajitagupta2012@gmail.com 

Enhancing water productivity (WP) of different crops by judicious irrigation scheduling is one 

of the major activities to ensure water saving in the agriculture sector. Scheduling the time and 

quantity of irrigation water application is primarily governed by crop evapotranspiration. 

Among various technologies, a lysimeter is generally used for direct measurement of crop 

evapotranspiration and water balance components. Various lysimeters have been installed by 

IMD in the agriculture stations of different climatic zones of India for the measurement of crop 

evapotranspiration. However, these lysimeters are bulky, manual, and need proper 

maintenance. Also available digital lysimeters are very complex and costly. Only very few 

studies have been executed in India for the development of weighing lysimeters with a digital 

measurement system, which is highly precise and accurate at a lower cost. 

Knowledge of crop evapotranspiration (ET) is important in modeling ET, crop growth 

simulation, scheduling irrigations, optimizing crop production, and irrigation project planning. 

The most accurate way to estimate crop water use and develop crop coefficients is with 

precision weighing lysimeters, which have generally been regarded as the standard against 

which other measures of ET are compared. A weighing-type lysimeter can measure the amount 

of water used in evaporation, transpiration, drainage, leaching, and other water-balancing 

parameters. However, high-precision lysimeters are very expensive and sophisticated. An 

inexpensive portable weighing lysimeter, which is very sensitive and precise, needs to be 

fabricated and put into the operations. This project is aimed at developing a weighing-type field 

lysimeter with digital output for developing judicious irrigation scheduling of different crops. 

Methodology 

An IoT-enabled digital weighing type field lysimeter was developed and tested at ICAR- CIAE, 

Bhopal. The lysimeter was designed as having an area of 1.38 m 2 , it was supported by a 1.5- 

ton single-point platform load cell. It was powered by two 5-watt solar panels and a 7 Ah 

battery for continuous power supply. The inner tank of the lysimeter was made in a cylindrical 

format with dimensions of 750 mm in height, and 450 mm in diameter using a 10-15 mm thick 

HDPE drum. To facilitate drainage, a 15 cm filter layer was added to the bottom of the lysimeter 

tank. The top of the tank was then filled with a 60 cm depth of soil. The drainage water was 

collected at the collector tank available at the bottom of the lysimeter. The collector tank was 

made using PVC pipe 110 mm in diameter and 45 cm in height. The depth of the water drained 

119 | Page



through the lysimeter was measured using a waterproof ultrasonic sensor installed at the top of 

the collector tank. The float switches and a 12-volt mini water pump have been used to empty 

the collector tank when water reaches a certain limit. Soil moisture sensors and soil temperature 

sensors (three each) were installed at 20 cm intervals from the top of the lysimeter. The 

developed lysimeter measures all the soil water balance components at an interval of 6 minutes. 

ESP8266 microcontroller board has been used to program the logic and also to establish WiFi 

connectivity. The controller has an LCD display (16×2) to check and examine the working of 

the lysimeter onsite. The sensor data are stored both in the SD card onsite and on the cloud 

server using the IoT platform (ThingSpeak). For real-time data monitoring remotely, it 

incorporates a WiFi-connected digital display unit operated by a Raspberry Pi microcontroller 

board. Therefore, the developed lysimeter was found to be precise, and its measurements were 

satisfactory for the study of water balance parameters for irrigation scheduling. 

Results 

Developed lysimeter with sensors and power sources 

The developed lysimeter was calibrated to measure the accuracy of soil moisture sensors, soil 

temperature sensors, water depth sensors, and load cells. During the testing of the developed 

lysimeter, the data were recorded in the Thingspeak IoT platform. These sensors were 

calibrated using standard procedures. During testing, the lysimeter showed high linearity and 

no hysteresis. The least count/resolution of the developed lysimeter measurement was in the 

range of 0.1 and 0.25 mm of the depth of water. A total of 20 soil moisture samples of different 

soil moistures (completely dry to completely saturated) were prepared and the moisture content 

of these samples was calculated using the gravimetric method as well as using soil moisture 

sensors. The moisture sensors show high accuracy with an R 2 value of 0.98. A single-point 

platform load cell was used to measure the change in the weight of the lysimeter tank. The load 




cell was pre-calibrated. However, the accuracy of load cell measurement was measured using 

the known standard weight. A pre-calibrated ultrasonic sensor was placed at the top of the 

drainage tank. The sensor reads the depth of water drained through the lysimeter tank. 

Corresponding to each reading of the sensor, a scale reading was recorded. A calibration graph 

was drawn between the sensor reading and scale value, which shows a high R 2 value of 0.99. 

Conclusion 

Data of different sensors of lysimeter received on Thingspeak IoT platform 

Lysimeter studies will be a crucial tool for translating the outcomes of small-scale research into 

results applicable to a wider geographic area. Combining lysimeter research with direct 

measurements in the field or catchment, as well as modeling methodologies, allows for scenario 


121 | Page



simulation of current climatic and hydrologic concerns (e.g. climate change, land management, 

groundwater recharge, etc.). 

T1-47 P-1574 

Popularization of Climate Smart Technology – Jalkund/Farm Pond for 

Crop Cultivation Post Monsoon Period 

Amrutha T., Azriel Mervin Tariang*, Arun K. Singha, and Rajumoni Bordoloi 

ICAR-ATARI, Zone-VII, Umiam 

Umroi Road, Umiam-793103, Meghalaya, INDIA 

* azrieltariang@gmail.com 

The preservation of moisture through water conservation structures like farm ponds and 

"Jalkunds" is one of the solutions that area farmers most frequently request. During monsoon, 

when rain is abundant, moisture or water is stored in these constructions to be used throughout 

the lean season, which is typically during the winter. Farmers used to be unable to cultivate 

crops during the winter months after harvesting paddy due to a lack of water. In addition, with 

the ongoing changes in rainfall patterns brought about by climate change the fields were 

typically left fallow. Some farmers find it burdensome because they are unable to cultivate the 

crop and earn more income throughout the season. For this reason, the majority of the farmers 

have sought assistance on this particular problem from various agricultural authorities. Since 

the project's inception, this specific intervention has benefited a number of farmers. According 

to the annual reports between 2015 and 2022, 211 farmers from the five states of Manipur, 

Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura that are part of ICAR-ATARI, Zone-VII, have 

benefited from the ex-situ moisture conservation intervention. The total cropping area under 

Jalkund was 119.83 ha, compared to the area without Jalkund which 23.02 ha was only, which 

represents a 420.54% increase in cropping pattern over the period. Naturally, crops grown in 

places with irrigation from water storage systems resulted in higher yields than those grown 

without irrigation from such systems. To site an example, the average yield from the cultivation 

cabbage varieties viz., Green Magic, Wonder Ball, Green Hero, Rare Ball, and Blue Jays which 

were cultivated under the intervention to crops under farmer's practice was reported to be 

243.47 q/ha and 187.28 q/ha, respectively. This represents a yield increase of 30% over the 

farmer's practice. The average net return and the BC ratio from the intervention to the farmer's 

practice was reported to be Rs. 133878.75 and Rs. 60222.00 and 2.86 and 1.75 per hectare 

respectively. All Rabi crops grown with irrigation from farm ponds and jalkunds are following 

the same pattern. This establishes the significance of the moisture conservation initiative in the 

region. Moreover, it was reported that a number of capable farmers have chosen to construct 

their own water storage structures for agricultural and allied purposes. It will gain popularity 

over time and the KVKs spearheading the technology are urged to collaborate with other 

departments to reach more farmers throughout the many districts. 




T1-48 P-1582 

Land Configuration Management for Enhancing the Crop Productivity 

Sreedhar Chauhan and D . Mohan Das 

Agricultural Research Station, Adilabad, PJTSAU, Telangana 

There is a need for in-situ soil and water conservation and proper drainage technology in deep 

black soils of the Northern Telangana Zone of Telangana, as the receipt of annual rainfall is 

1050 mm leads to crop damage regularly during the grand crop growth period either due to 

excess or deficit rains. Land configuration techniques such as ridges and furrows and broad 

bed and furrow (BBF) can play a vital role to overcome soil-related problems by providing 

easy and uniform germination as well as good growth and development of plants (Ramesh et 

al., 2020). To tackle the abiotic problems, a field experiment is carried out at Agricultural 

Research Station, Adilabad (PJTSAU) during Kharif, 2018-19 to 2020-21 to study the 

performance of various land configurations concerning moisture conservation, the effect of 

various land configurations on the growth and yield of various crops and cropping systems and 

the economics of various treatment combinations. 

Methodology 

Season: Kharif, 2018-19 to 2020-21; Soil type: BC soil; Design: Strip-plot, No. of treatments: 

15; No. of replication: 03; Varieties: Soybean - Basara; Redgram-PRG 176 (Ujwala) & Cotton- 

RCH-659 (BG-II hybrid); Spacings: Soybean-45 x 10 cm; Redgram-3.15/3.6 m x 0.20 m & 

Cotton-90 x 60 cm; Method of sowing: Dibbling of single seed per spot at a uniform depth of 

3-5 cm; RDF: PJTSAU recommendations. The treatments consisted of 3 main plots (Land 

configuration practices; L 1 - Flatbed system; L 2 - BBF system & L 3 - Ridges & furrow system) 

and 5 Subplots (Cropping sequences; C1 – Soybean – Chickpea; C 2 – Soybean – Rabi sorghum; 

C 3 – Soybean – Safflower; C 4 – Soybean + Pigeonpea (7:1) & C 5 – Cotton + Pigeonpea (4:1). 

Results 

Among the three land configuration practices (BBF, ridge & furrow, and traditional method of 

cultivation), crops sown on the BBF method recorded higher soybean seed equivalent yield 

(4786 kg ha -1 ) followed by ridge & furrow method of sowing (4121 kg ha -1 ) and flatbed 

methods (3670 kg ha -1 ). BBF method facilitated proper drainage in heavy rainfall periods as 

well as moisture conservation during drought situations and recorded 5.5 kg/ha-mm RUE. 

Similarly, among the different cropping sequences tested (soybean-chickpea, soybean-rabi 

jowar, soybean–safflower, soybean + pigeonpea, cotton + pigeonpea), the traditional 

intercropping system, cotton + pigeonpea (4:1) was found to be superior (4427 kg ha -1 of 

soybean SEY) and found at par with soybean-chickpea sequence crop (4307 kg ha -1 SEY). 

However, Soybean-rabi jowar/safflower (or) soybean + pigeonpea (7:1) recorded lower values 


123 | Page



viz., 3757, 3792, and 3716 kg ha -1 soybean SEY, respectively. Interaction effect between the 

land configuration practices and cropping sequences, no significant effect was observed on 

yield attributes, yield, and economics of either cotton or soybean intercropped with pigeonpea 

or soybean-based various crop sequences. 

Conclusion 

BBF method of cultivation is found to be superior to ridge and furrow method or traditional 

flatbed method of soybean cultivation. In Dryland agriculture or rainfed situations, based on 

soil moisture regimes, cultivation of intercrops or sequence crops are always better than sole 

crops by making use of proper land configuration practices like BBF or ridge & furrow 

methods. 

References 

Ramesh T, Rathika S, Nagarajan G and Shanmugapriya P, 2020. Land configuration and 

nitrogen management for enhancing the crop productivity: A review. The Pharma 

Innovation Journal 9(7): 222-230. 

Response of land configurations under various cropping sequences under rainfed conditions 

(Kharif, rabi/summer, 2018-19 to 2020-21) 

Treatments 

Main plots: 03 (Land configuration methods) 

Main (+) 

Inter crops 

MCEY (kg/ha) (Soybean) 

Sequence 

crops 

Total 

L 1 : BBF System 3520 1266 4786 

L 2: Ridges & Furrow System 2985 1136 4121 

L 3: Flat bed System 2652 1018 3670 

Sub plots: 05 (Cropping sequences) 

S. em+ 121.3 121.3 119.6 

CD (at 5%) 320.2 320.2 297.8 

C 1: Soybean – Chickpea 2477 1830 4307 

C 2: Soybean – Rabi Jowar 2264 1492 3757 

C 3: Soybean – Safflower 2262 1530 3792 

C 4: Soybean + Redgram (7:1) 3716 0.0 3716 

C 5: Cotton + Redgram (4:1) 4427 0.0 4427 

S. em+ 129.3 96.3 112.6 

CD (at 5%) 389.3 208.6 304.2 

Interaction 

S. em+ 230.8 230.8 177.6 

CD (at 5%) NS NS NS 




T1-49 P-1281 

Impact and Effectiveness of Rainwater Management Activities and Water 

Utilization for Rainfed Crops in the Semi-arid Region -A Case Study 

S. Vijayakumar, K.V. Rao, Manoranjan Kumar, R. Rejani, A.S. Dhimate, D.B.V. 

Ramana and V.K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad -500 059, Telangana 

Soil and water are the two important critical inputs in dryland agriculture. The land is fixed in 

supply, which cannot multiply but can be managed properly for optimum utilization. Water is 

another scarce input owing to erratic and poor distribution of rainfall, which limits the 

production of crops. In this direction, there is a need to emphasize the conservation of these 

limited resources with appropriate practices. Harvesting and recycling rainwater in dry lands 

is important to improve water use efficiency (Shankar and Shivakumar, 2005). Rainwater 

harvesting structures are used for collecting and storing runoff water. The construction of 

percolation tanks allows infiltration of the storage water through the topsoil to percolate deep 

to join the groundwater storage. 

Methodology 

To review the interest of farmers in the community approach to manage water resources, PRA 

was conducted in the village. Water scarcity and uneven and insufficient rainfall distribution 

are the major problems prioritized by the farmers in the watershed. Transact walk was 

conducted to identify the points for the construction of different rainwater harvesting structures 

displayed as physiographic of the Cluster villages in Rangareddy district Telangana State. 

Among the existing open wells (average depth 15-20 m) some of the wells shave dried up since 

2008 due to the indiscriminate drilling of bore wells. Further, the failure rate of the bore wells 

commissioned since 2014 was three for every successful bore well and resulting in increasing 

the financial liability of the farmer. The key activities taken up in the watershed area are given 

below: 

Renovation of traditional water bodies: Desilting activity involves the removal of silt from 

the water body using human labor. Farmers are encouraged to collect the silt and apply it to 

crop fields to improve soil fertility. 

Land development: The activities involve land leveling, bunding and terracing, which have 

been implemented on fallow or marginal croplands of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe 

farmers. Those lands, which were not cropped earlier, due to the slope and degraded nature of 

the land, are being brought under cultivation after the implementation of land development 

activities. Individual farmers levelled the fallow lands or wastelands, which were earlier not 

suitable for profitable crop cultivation. 


125 | Page



Artificial Recharge Intervention modules at adopted villages: The artificial recharge to 

groundwater aims at augmentation of groundwater reservoir by modifying the natural 

movement of surface water. 

Renovated rainwater harvesting structure 

Rainwater filled in the percolation tank 

A view of the rainwater harvesting structure in the watershed village 

Rainwater harvesting and its recycling /recharging of groundwater: Rainwater harvesting 

and recycling through farm ponds and restoration of old water harvesting structures in the 

village may be useful in rainfed areas. Percolation tanks and ponds may be tried for recharging 

of wells. 

Recharge of wells with rainwater: The groundwater is depleted year by year because of dense 

bore wells. These open wells may not be yielding enough water to meet the requirements of 

farm operation during early monsoon. The percolated water from rainfall requires a few weeks 

time to bring the water level up or recharge the wells. Farmers cannot store runoff water 

separately in the field itself. 

Impacts measurability: The activities implemented in villages include those that provide 

benefits in the short as well as long term. Further, some of the impacts will be visible only in 

the long term. 

Results 

Ex-situ rainwater harvesting and efficient utilization: The importance of rainwater 

harvesting has increased in recent years due to the increased rainfall variability, heavy rains 

and depletion of groundwater levels. Surface-water storage structures can play a vital role in 

augmenting groundwater recharge, especially in semiarid and arid regions. Rainwater 

harvesting for recharge of wells and recycling through farm ponds, restoration of old rainwater 

harvesting structures in rainfed areas, and open/bore wells for recharging groundwater are 

taken up for enhancing farm-level water storage in drylands. 

Increased well Yield: Water yield/recuperation rate before and after interventions for different 

wells indicates that the recharge rate increased by around 22% before interventions, the wells 




went dry after 1 to 1.5 hrs pumping and got recuperation in 24-36 hrs. After implementation of 

interventions, pumping could be done for 1-2 hrs before the well went dry and it took 18 to 24 

hrs to recuperate. 

On the basis of the data collected from the observation wells and the perception of farmers, it 

was found that the water levels rose to the tune of 2 to 6 meters in the surrounding area of 

unlined farm ponds and 2 to 8 meters in the surrounding area of percolation tanks. A total of 

30 wells (50%) were found to be partly of fully influenced by the water conservation measures 

in the watershed area. The data presented data clearly indicated that response was quick in 

showing its effect on recharge within 10 to 15 days of rainfall. Evaluation studies carried out 

on the functioning of the structures in the village have indicated that properly located, designed 

and constructed different structures can have estimated approximately an efficiency ranging 

from 78 to 91% with respect to recharge of groundwater, leaving the balance for seepage losses 

(from nil to 8%) and evaporation losses (up to 8%). It has increased irrigation area by 15% in 

watershed villages and farmers who have got farm pond or well are taking at least two assured 

crops in a year. Farmers risk bearing ability increased. The shift in vegetable cultivation is one 

strong indicator and it helps in the introduction of new crops i.e., fodder-based varieties, 

vegetable farming, etc. 

Conclusion 

The efforts of the structures were seen during the project as farmers reported satisfactory water 

levels in the wells. The area in rabi also indicates the effect of these structures despite a drought 

year (2011) (45% normal rainfall). Interventions have a very significant role in the areas of 

resource conservation on the local needs and cropping pattern. Engineering interventions have 

a remarkable impact on improving the livelihoods of the villages, as they are shown to improve 

yield levels by 15% and reduced costs by 30% besides improving the timeliness of operations. 


127 | Page



T1-50 P-1617 

Effect of In-Situ Moisture Conservation Practices on Productivity and Economics of 

Maize Based Cropping System Under Rainfed Ecosystem of South Bihar 

M. K. Singh*, Vinod Kumar and Sunil Kumar 

1 BAC, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, 813210, 

2 KVK, Munger, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour. 

* mahesh.agro@gmail.com 

Water is a critical natural resource and managing rainwater in situ is the key to sustaining 

rainfed farming. Moisture conservation holds the key for enhancing productivity and bridging 

the yield gaps. To meet the growing demands for food, the scope for further addition to area 

under agriculture is possible only through the proper utilization of agricultural land. Rainfed 

agriculture is mainly dependent on rainfall, especially in India, where the quantity and 

distribution of monsoon rain determine crop production. Soil water is the main limiting factor 

in the production of crops since food production in India largely depends on the action of the 

monsoon under dryland conditions (Choudhary et al. 2021). Different tillage practices are 

suitable for in-situ moisture conservation such viz, ridge and furrow system, off-season tillage, 

zero tillage, raised bed, broad beds and furrows are profitable (Rejani et al., 2017 and Hariom 

et al., 2013). Conservation tillage techniques, which involve soil-surface crop residue 

management systems with minimum or no tillage (Kar et al. 2021) are widely accepted as 

sustainable crop management that reduces soil and water losses, restores organic matter, 

increases biodiversity and fertility in degraded agriculture soils (Novara et al. 2021). Rabi 

oilseed and pulses required less water and ensure better monetary returns. 

Methodology 

The field experiments were carried out at Dryland research station, Munger during the year 

2016-17 to 2019-20 to evaluate the different in-situ moisture conservation practices on 

productivity and economics of maize-based cropping system under rainfed ecosystem of South 

Bihar: The sandy-loam soil of the experimental field was low in organic carbon (0.26%), 

available N (182.5 kg/ha), and available P 2O 5 (19.5 kg/ha) and medium in K 2O (168.6 kg/ha) 

with pH value 6.8. The experiment was laid out in Split Plot Design and replicated thrice with 

three levels of moisture conservation viz. M 1 Flatbed, M 2 Ridge and Furrow, and M 3 Raised 

bed in the main plot, whereas, four levels of Cropping system viz, S1: Maize-Linseed, S2: 

Maize- Mustard, S 3: Maize- Lentil, S 4: Maize-Chickpea in subplots. Maize is sown in 1 st week 

of July whereas, rabi crops are sown 3 -10 th of October every year of the experimentation. A 

Fertilizer dose was applied as per the recommendation of the package and practices. The full 

dose of Phosphorus as di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and potassium as murate of potash 

(MOP) was applied as basal on the day of sowing. The grain, stover, and biological yield were 




recorded as per treatments and expressed in q ha -1 . The economics was calculated as per 

standard procedures. 

Results 

Maize-rabi crops sown on raised bed produced significantly higher maize equivalent yield 

(93.13 q/ha), system return (Rs 123543/ha), and B: C ratio (2.34) over ridge and furrow sown 

and flatbed sown crop. Different tillage practices are suitable for in-situ moisture conservation 

such viz, ridge and furrow system, zero tillage, raised beds, broad beds are profitable (Rejani 

et al., 2017 and Hariom et al., 2013). Conservation tillage techniques, which involve soilsurface 

crop residue management systems with minimum or no tillage (Kar et al. 2021) are 

widely accepted as sustainable crop management that reduces soil and water losses, restores 

organic matter, increases biodiversity and fertility in degraded agriculture soils (Novara et al. 

2021).Maize–Mustard sequence sown on raised bed recorded significantly higher maize 

equivalent yield (102.10 q/ha), system return (Rs 135297), system B: C ratio (2.60), and system 

RWUE (13.32 kg/ha-mm) but found at par with Maize–Chickpea sequence sown on a raised 

bed. Similarly, Hariom et al., 2013. Reported that raised bed planting with residues is helpful 

for water stress management in addition to their other advantages. The surface soil moisture 

content at maize harvest was 7.87 and 6.67% higher in a Raised bed and Ridge & Furrow over 

a Flatbed whereas, subsurface moisture was 18.90 and 18.23% higher. Similarly, after the 

harvest of rabi crops surface soil moisture content was 15.87 and 9.64 % higher in the Raised 

bed and Ridge & Furrow over the Flatbed whereas subsurface moisture was 27.90 and 23.95 

% higher over the flatbed. 

Conclusion 

It may be concluded that the Maize–Mustard sequence sown on raised bed recorded 

significantly higher maize equivalent yield, system return, system B: C ratio, and system 

RWUE and retained higher soil moisture content. 

References 

Choudhary S., Pramanick B., Maitra S. and Kumar B. (2021) Tillage Practices for Enhancing 

Crop Productivity under Dryland Conditions, Just agriculture newsletter, 1:5. 

Hariom, Ansari M.A., and Rana K.S. (2013) Productivity and nutrient uptake of mustard 

influenced by land configuration and residual and directly applied nutrients in mustard 

under limited moisture conditions. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 83 (9): 933- 

938. 

Kar, S., Pramanick, B., Brahmachari, K., Saha, G., Mahapatra, B.S., Saha, A. and Kumar, A. 

(2021) Exploring the best tillage option in rice based diversified cropping systems in 

alluvial soil of eastern India. Soil and Tillage Research, 205(104761): 1-10. 


129 | Page



Novara A., Cerda A., Barone E., and Gristina L. (2021) Cover crop management and water 

conservation in vineyard and olive orchards. Soil & Tillage Research, 208 (6):104896 

Rejani R., Rao K.V., Osman M., Chary G.R., Reddy K.S. and Asrao C.S. (2015). Location 

specific insitu soil and water sustainable management of drylands. Journal of 

Agrometeorology 17 (1): 55-60 

Effect of Moisture conservation practices (Tillage) and cropping system on maize 

equivalent yield (q/ha) and System return (Mean data 2016-2020) 

Treatments 

Maize 

yield 

(q/ha) 

Rabi crop 

yield 

(q/ha) 

Moisture conservation Practices (Main plot) 

Maize 

equivalent 

yield (q/ha) 

System 

net return 

(Rs/ha) 

B: C 

ratio 

System 

RWUE 

kg/ha-mm 

Flat bed 39.98 7.80 65.19 87047 1.75 8.54 

Ridge and Furrow 57.63 9.31 88.32 117379 2.23 11.52 

Raised bed 61.45 9.57 93.13 123543 2.34 12.14 

S Em 0.68 0.09 0.71 1014 0.02 0.10 

CD (P=0.05) 2.66 0.36 2.79 3983 0.08 0.38 

Cropping System (Subplot) 

Maize-Linseed 53.12 6.46 70.52 93907 1.83 9.21 

Maize-Mustard 51.86 14.73 92.02 122153 2.39 12.02 

Maize- Lentil 53.13 6.87 78.68 104736 1.93 10.28 

Maize- Chick pea 53.97 7.51 87.64 116496 2.28 11.43 

S Em 0.54 0.10 0.68 958 0.02 0.09 

CD (P=0.05) 1.60 0.29 2.03 2847 0.06 0.27 

Interaction AxB AxB AxB AxB NS NS 

Interaction effect of Moisture conservation practices (Tillage) and cropping system on 

maize equivalent yield (q/ha) (mean 2016-2020) 

Treatments 

Maize- 

Linseed 

Maize- 

Mustard 

Maize- 

Lentil 

Maize- Chick 

pea 

Mean 

Flat bed 54.47 76.59 62.08 67.64 65.19 

Ridge &Furrow 77.01 97.38 84.25 94.65 88.32 

Raised bed 80.09 102.10 89.72 100.62 93.13 

Mean 70.52 92.02 78.68 87.64 

CD (P=0.05) 

S Em 

Factor A (MCP) 2.79 0.71 

Factor B (Cropping system) 2.03 0.68 

Factor(B) at same level of A 3.51 1.18 

Factor(A) at same level of B 4.09 1.25 




Interaction effect of Moisture conservation practices (Tillage) and cropping system on 

system net return (Rs/ha) (mean 2016-2020) 

Treatments 

Maize-Linseed 

Maize- 

Mustard 

Maize- Lentil 

Maize-Chick 

pea 

Mean 

Flat bed 72883 101930 82999 90376 87047 

Ridge & Furrow 102537 129233 112038 125710 117379 

Raised bed 106303 135297 119172 133402 123543 

Mean 93907 122153 104736 116496 

Factor 

(MCP) 

A 

Factor 

(Cropping 

system) 

CD (P=0.05) 3983 1014 

2847 958 

4931 1660 

B 

Factor(B) at 

same level of A 

Factor(A) 

at same 

level of B 

5786 1759 S Em 


T1-51 P-1383 

Evaluation of Cherry Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiformae) 

Cultivars under Hydroponics for Growth, Yield, and Quality Parameters 

Harendra Kumar*, Ankur Agarwal, Pradeep Kr. Yadav, Om Prakash, Basant Ballabh 

and Devkanta P. Singh 

Defence Institute of Bio Energy Research (DIBER), DRDO, Goraparao – 263 139 

Haldwani, Distt. Nainital, (Uttarakhand) 

*harendrahorti26@gmail.com 

Hydroponics system for vegetable crop production has shown tremendous potential for 

increasing crop productivity and improving quality. Globally, hydroponics technology has 

been accepted as sustainable technology to tackle all issues being reported in conventional 

agriculture system especially residual toxicity, water and nutrient loss and environmental 

issues. DIBER (DRDO) has been instrumental in standardizing the technology of hydroponics 

for various crop from snow bound hilly regions to Antarctica. In recent years, cherry tomato 

(Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) has gained lot of importance due to higher 

antioxidant activity, higher yield and premium price in selected market. This experiment was 

conducted during 2021-22 at DIBER, DRDO, Haldwani, Nainital (Uttarakhand). The objective 

of this study was to evaluate the Performance of cherry tomato cultivars under hydroponics 

culture. The Nursery of tomato was raised in the portrays during the month of September 2021 

and 30 days old seedlings were transplanted. The results revealed that performance of cherry 

tomato cultivar Serina and Esterina differed significantly on growth, yield and quality 

131 | Page



attributing traits. The observations were recorded on plant height, number of fruit/clusters, 

number of clusters/plants, Number of branches/plant, fruit girth, fruit length, pericarp 

thickness, Total yield, Carbohydrate content, protein content, Vit. C (mg/100g.), Tannin 

content (mg/ 100 g.), phenol (mg/100 g), Flavonoid content (mg/100g.). Esterina cultivar 

exhibited the highest value for plant height (370 cm), number of fruit/ cluster (22), number of 

cluster/plant (18.66), Total yield (4680.00g/plant), Tannin (7.49 mg/ 100 g.), Phenol (394.66 

mg/100 g), and Flavonoid content (4.91mg/100g.). Serina cultivar exhibited the highest value 

for Number of branch/plant (3.66), fruit girth (3.42 cm), fruit length (3.86 cm), pericarp 

thickness (4.16 mm), Carbohydrate (6.33 g/100g), protein (1.78 g/100g), Vit. C (18.68 

mg/100g.). 

T1-52 P-1307 

Impact Assessment of Farm Pond on Demand Scheme of Maharashtra 

S. Gireesh*, N.V.Kumbhare, R.N.Padaria, R.R. Burman, Pramod Kumar, 

Arpan Bhoumik and Shiv Prasad 

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute 

* gireeagri@gmail.com 

Farm pond is considered as the best alternative for irrigation source for efficient rain water 

management to improve productivity and protect the natural resource base in rainfed region. 

Maharashtra falls under the medium to high water stress category in terms of water availability. 

Considering the situation, Maharashtra govt was launched programme called farm pond on 

demand (Magel Tyala Shettale) in 2016 to enhance the irrigation potential for the benefit of the 

farming community. 

Methodology 

The study was conducted in purposively selected Vidarbha and Marathwada region of 

Maharashtra, considering major drought affected area. From each region two districts 

(Aurangabad & Jalna districts from Marathwada) and (Yavatmal & Buldhana districts from 

Vidarbha) were selected purposively. From each district two block and four villages were 

selected randomly. Twenty (20) respondents from each village including farm pond 

beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries were selected randomly. There were 80 respondents from 

one district. Hence, a total of 320 respondents from four districts were constituted the sample 

of the study. 

Results 

The study revealed that 100 per cent beneficiaries had large size farm pond, among only 5 per 

cent of the respondents constructed ponds as per govt. guidelines and harvesting water (5 %) 

from rain. Most of the respondents (72.50 %) farm ponds were 3 to 5 years old, and 70.63 per 




cent farm ponds had irrigation potential throughout the year with cultivated area of 2 to 3 ha. 

The state government exceeded its goal of building 1,35,257 farm ponds; the original goal was 

to build 1,12,311; Aurangabad and Amravati divisions met their goal and had the most farm 

ponds of any district in Maharashtra. The majority of beneficiaries (86.75 %) used farm pond 

water during rabi season, followed by summer season (70.63 %), adopted drip (68.75%) and 

sprinkler (18.75%) methods of irrigation for horticulture crops, and used sprinkler (51.25%) 

and manual (28.75%) methods of irrigation for vegetables. Only 23.75 per cent of beneficiaries 

were aware of the critical stages of irrigation and the irrigation schedule (75.63%). A little over 

33.75 per cent of them adopted, and 15 per cent of them stopped fishing following adoption. 

Majority respondents (49.38%) were observed in medium level of sustainability followed by 

high (31.25%) and low (19.37%) level of sustainability, respectively. The value of enterprises 

cost effectiveness index (ECEI) of major crops increased from 17.27 to 48.83 among 

beneficiaries and cultivated land utilisation index (CLUI) was found significant (1% level) in 

all major crops except sorghum and pearl millet. The coarsened exact matching method was 

done to know impact of farm pond on beneficiaries, it is found that overall income i.e 16,946.4 

and HHI index (0.052) was found significant at 1 % level. The analysis of logit regression 

result revealed that variables like dairy animal, fishery, income, income log, percentage of 

irrigation area and HHI were found significant at 1% level and it is also found that beneficiaries 

investing more in horticulture component (Mean±SD, 401) followed by animal component 

(Mean±SD, 360) and less in maintenance of farm pond (Mean±SD,136). The majority of 

beneficiaries (56.88%) used farm pond income to buy input, followed by buying farm 

equipment (18.13%) and lending money to others (1.25%), with an overall shift in 

beneficiaries' means of subsistence reported at 84.09%. 

Beneficiaries' top three perceived obstacles were Government funding for the farm pond was 

not fully covered, and the farm pond's shorter lifespan or lower output were caused by the 

adoption of less durable building materials. Major challenges faced by the respondent included 

a lack of labour, inadequate family labour, a lack of owned resources, low rainfall, unusual 

weather, a high rate of evaporation, high costs for building and maintaining the ponds, and a 

lack of credit facilities. Major perceived factors for discontinued farm ponds included: Draining 

a bore well or well used to store water in a farm pond is followed by a reduction in the 

productivity or lifespan of the farm pond, an inadequate or low water harvest, an insufficient 

amount of family labour, Low and prolonged rainfall. 

Conclusion 

Given the importance of farm ponds, the government should concentrate on maintaining the 

programme and extending benefits to small and marginal farmers, as well as making changes 

to the way subsidies are provided. Also, strict guidelines need to be put in place to prevent 

groundwater extraction for storage in farm ponds. 


133 | Page



T1-53 P-1503 

Impact of Soil and Water Conservation Interventions on The Livelihood of 

Tribal Farmers from The Hilly Area of Palghar District 

Pavan Jadhav 1 , D. Divate Anuja 2 and M. Jadhav Vilas 2 

1 Deepak foundation, Mokhada 

2 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kosbad Hill, Palghar 401703 

Palghar is a tribal district of the Maharashtra state and has eight talukas having 1008 villages 

and household size is 5-6. The economy and livelihood of the tribal people of Palghar District, 

Maharashtra is primarily based on rainfed agriculture and forest. The various livelihood 

activities include agricultural cultivation wage labour (farm and non-farm labour), collection 

of minor forest products, fishing, liquor brewing and selling, job/service, and businesses. The 

land holding pattern of the community ranges from 0.05 to 1.0 ha while the yielding capacity 

of agricultural land is very low poor economic status of farmers in the hilly region due to lack 

of irrigation facility, more soil erosion, undulating topography, no proper use of modern 

technology, lack of knowledge about water and soil conservation etc. District receiving annual 

rainfall of about 3000 mm during monsoon still farmers face the shortage of water in rabi and 

summer season. Hence, Rabi cultivation is almost lacking as well as very little scope for the 

diversification of crops. Therefore, many young boys and girls even the adults have migrated 

to cities and out of state for work; they are forced to do unsociable activities. This large-scale 

migration has a negative impact on the family’s health and the children’s education which 

directly affect the livelihood standards of tribal families. Assessment of soil and water 

management in agriculture describes a large untapped potential for upgrading rainfed 

agriculture and calls for increased water investments in the sector (Molden et al., 2007; 

Rockström et al., 2007). Therefore, rainwater harvesting and the adoption of soil conservation 

measures solve the stated problems in some extent. The present paper/ study conducted on 

reviewing the Impact of soil and water conservation interventions on the livelihood of tribal 

farmers from the hilly area of the Palghar district. 

Methodology 

The present work was conducted from September 2018 to July 2022 in the Dhamani, 

Brahmangoan, Kalamgoan, Beriste, Ase, Karoli and Bavalpada villages of Mokhada tahsil of 

Palghar district. The villages under the IVDP project were selected in consultation with District 

Administration based on the status of the migration, forest cover, crop productivity, the status 

of livelihood, health, education status, etc. A primary baseline survey of 1128 households were 

conducted in the selected villages through the questionaries to know the framer’s soicoeconomic 

condition. Defined soil and water conservation measures construction of CCT, farm 

ponds, cultivation of fruits crop on CCT, gravity-based drip irrigation system, recharging pit, 




ground water recharge of existing wells, and construction of new wells were implemented in 

the project area. After the successful implementation of interventions, interviews were 

conducted with farmers who applied soil and water conservation measure to assess the impact 

on crop productivity, environment, migration and employment generation household security, 

and socio-economic status. 

Results 

The selected villages have mainly two types of cropping patterns mainly cereal-pulses (Paddy- 

Finger millet- Little Millet- Udid- Tur) based cropping pattern and another is horticulture-based 

cropping pattern. Technological intervention for the cultivation of paddy and finger millet by 

SRI methods showed an improvement in crop productivity. The findings of the project showed 

that crop productivity of paddy and finger millet crops increased by 29 % and 19-20 % 

respectively. A total area of 566.5 ha of land comes under horticulture cultivation. After 4-5 

years cultivated fruit crops will start to produce fruits. Thereby, farmers will get a fixed income 

by selling fruits as well as providing nutritional security to farmers. Similar Findings were 

reported by (Gore, et al.2000, Ranade et al. 1995). The findings of the survey revealed that 

68.3% of the households migrated in search of employment either within the district (48.7%) 

or to other big cities (44.3%) like Mumbai & Nasik from the month of November to May. Soil 

and water conservation structures like CCT, farm pond, gravity-based drip irrigation system, 

jasmine cultivation etc resulted positive impact by creating employment generation at villages 

level. Through soil and water conservation measure interventions was able to mobilize more 

than 3000 human days of work to build across water conservation structures covering hundreds 

of acres of land. As a response, the people were incentivized with cash for their contribution to 

the initiative. Jasmine cultivation results more economical fulsheti model. It includes the 

cultivation of 220 jasmine plants on 500 sq. m (0.05 ha) of land, with an investment of Rs. 

3,000. Additional income of the some of the farmer has been raised by Rs. 30000 - 35000 per 

year by growing of jasmine using water of farm pond through gravity-based drip irrigation 

system. Hence the initiative was helpful in reducing migration up to 26% in all the 7 target 

villages. 

Soil and water conservation measures constructed under project indicated the increase in 

moisture content in soil/regime, ground water level. Also harvested rainwater can recycle for 

irrigation in rabi and summer seasons. Near about 12.77 lit water is conserved through CCT, 

farm ponds, recharge pit etc. It was found that water table of the open well was found increased 

by 0.5-1.0 m. The water retention period in the open well as well as in the nalas located at 

foothills was found to increase by 30-45 days during the observation period. To promote 

household food security a seasonal calendar of locally available vegetables was prepared and 

seed kits comprising seeds of location-specific seasonal vegetables from all three vegetable 

groups viz., green leafy vegetables, roots and tubers and other vegetables along with fruit 


135 | Page



sampling were given to the families. Implementation of defined soil and water conservation 

deliverable in the field and garden of households showed positive benefits in terms of health 

by improving quality of diet. Migration for survival is another important factor that affect food 

security in the targeted area. Availability water in rabi season due to soil and water conservation 

measures results in employment generation through jasmine cultivation, vegetable cultivation 

etc and this intervention helps to stop the migration of households in some extent. Total 132 

Farmers adopting jasmine cultivation with use of drip irrigation system has raised additional 

income 30000-40000 per year and 450 farmers adopted fruit cultivation which will give 

additional income in the coming years. Farmers get additional one more crop and good yield 

with minimum resources. Increased income enables a better life in terms of better food, clothes, 

education, health etc. A number of capacity-building training programmes and demonstrations 

of soil and water conservation technologies brought awareness among the farming community 

for the conservation of soil and water resources and utilization of water for crop production 

and crop diversification. Adopted measures have helped in improving livelihood among the 

farming community of the region. Vegetable grown in their kitchen garden is improving their 

quality of life. 

Conclusion 

Small soil and water conservation structures and effective use of harvested water through micro 

irrigation systems at field level were found effective in improving productivity and crop 

diversification. It was evident from the work done under programme that the cultivation of 

suitable crops/varieties by following improved management practices, jasmine cultivation 

could help to produce sufficient for feeding the family and additional income respectively. It 

resulted in an increase in the annual income of the farmers of the village. Also, the migration 

percentage of the people of the village in search of jobs was reduced. It was observed that there 

was an overall improvement in the livelihood status of farmers in the area. Hence it is also 

recommended that concerned agencies like Agriculture/Horticulture/Forestry line departments, 

NGO and private etc may take serious steps towards upscaling measures of soil and water 

conservation and the conservation of forests. 

The authors would like to thank to Dr, Jai Pawar Director Deepak Foundation or advisory 

support as and when required, during project implementation and Mr. Sunil Karale Assistant 

Vice President JM Financial Foundation for financial support under companies CSR Fund. 

References 

Gore, K. P., Pendke, M. S. and Jallawar, D. N. 2000. Impact assessment of soil and water 

conservation structure in Darakwadi watershed, Karnataka. J. agric. Sci., 13(3): 676- 

681. 




Molden, D., Karen Frenken, Randolph Barker et al. 2007. Trends in water and agricultural 

development. In Water for food, water for life: A comprehensive assessment of water 

management in agriculture, ed. D. Molden, 56–89. London, UK: Earthscan; and 

Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute 

Monica Singh & Sandeep Deshmukh et.al.2022. Gender and livelihood analysis of the tribal 

farm families. The Pharma Innovation Journal 2022; SP-11(10): 1570-1573 

Ranade, D. H., Chourasia, M. C., Gupta, R. K., Upadhyay, M. S. and Nema, R. S. 1995. Integrated 

approach for increased agricultural productivity in dry land areas of vertisols. Indian J. Soil. 

Cons., 23 (1): 30-33 

Rockström, J., Louise Karlberg, S.P. Wani et al. 2010. Managing water in rainfed agriculture – The 

need for a paradigm shift. Agri Water Manag. 97:543–550. 


T1-54P-1755 

Application Technologies for Harvested Rainwater in Ponds: Issues and 

Prospects 

M. Kumar, R. V. Adake, K. Sammi Reddy and V.K. Singh 

Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Saidabad (PO), Hyderabad-500 

059 

Rainwater harvesting in farm ponds for supplemental irrigation are considered as an important 

strategy in present day dryland farming. These are promoted through various development 

programs as a drought proofing strategy. However, the lifting technologies for the shallow 

depth farm ponds are rarely discussed. The present paper takes the account of present status of 

application technologies; describe different prevailing water lifting techniques used in different 

part of India, discuss issues associated with current water utilization techniques. 

Rainwater harvesting in farm ponds for supplemental irrigation is an important strategy for 

stabilizing yields of rainfed crops. Farm ponds are promoted in the integrated watershed 

programs and under MGNREGS as a drought proofing strategy. More recently, farm ponds 

are integrated with micro-irrigation programs under the National Horticulture Mission, 

particularly in states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. With continued over-exploitation 

of groundwater, it is important to use surface water harvested as surplus runoff in dug out 

ponds, either as standalone resource or in conjunction with groundwater for enhancing water 

productivity, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. 

Water Harvesting and utilization in agriculture: Indian Experience 

In view of the agricultural scenario of Indian rural settings, there is a shift in paradigm from 

ground water recharge to small size surface water harvesting and recycling to agriculture to 

attain sufficient soil moisture for successful crop production. The intervention of water 

137 | Page



harvesting enables to increase the cropping intensity substantially and thus increase farm 

income. The average productivity of 1.0 t/ha of dryland agriculture could be doubled easily by 

providing 1 or 2 irrigation. The major impediments in realizing the potential of water 

harvesting and recycling in dryland agriculture is however, the economical and effective means 

to lift water and distribute the same at the field. The existing means of lifting pumps is grossly 

mismatched because its turns to be over designed in view of small size water harvesting ponds 

(usually of capacity up to 1000 m 3 ). Moreover, the lifting pump depends upon the supply of 

either electricity or fossil fuels. Thus, the affordability of this means to the small and marginal 

farmers is a major concern. To avoid the economic liabilities associated with lifting pump and 

increase the profitability from limited land and climate resources, this class of farmers usually 

goes for hand watering of crop by fetching water as head load. This consumes lot of time along 

with physical labour. The present innovation is proved as the economical and efficient 

alternative to the water lifting and high-pressure requiring irrigation system. The present 

innovation is a perfect match between the water available and area under command can be 

extensively used for small scale vegetable production that improve quality of life by means of 

providing food and nutritional security along with income generation. 

Issues associated to current water utilization techniques 

The wastage occurring through storage, conveyance and distribution ultimately result in 

delivery of 30 to 35 % of stored water for plant uptake (Patil 1988). The traditional flood or 

ridge and furrow method of irrigating field suffers from numerous problems such as 

considerable seepage (Moolman 1985, Hodgson et al 1990, Kahlown and Kemper 2004), 

conveyance and evaporation loss (Singh et al 2006); higher energy cost; lower water 

productivity; irrigation-induced soil erosion (Gomez et al 2004), and leaching of costly 

agricultural inputs causing sub-surface water pollution (Humphreys et al 1989). Moreover, this 

method is supply driven rather than crop-demand driven causing mismatch between need of 

the crop and the quantity of water supplied. The decrease in the availability of water for 

agriculture, coupled with the requirement for the higher agricultural productivity, means that 

there is no option but to improve the water use efficiency. This has to include an efficient 

utilization of available water which otherwise would evaporate or percolate from the root zone 

of the soil. 

The recent advances in irrigation technology have made inroads in the cultivation of vegetables 

and horticultural crops. The frontier technology of micro-irrigation system not only provides 

higher water productivity but also minimize the problems associated with the traditional 

irrigation system. However, these irrigation systems work best with ground water and so its 

expansion concerns a lot. So there is a need to address the issue of suitable irrigation system 

for pond water. The issues are 




 

 

 

 

Water lifting techniques: The difference between water lifting methods from bore well and 

open source lies in the fact that bore well requires minimum suction head of 40 m whereas 

open source pond require only 5 meters. The pump for pond water should have higher 

delivery/suction ratio to achieve higher system efficiency. 

Pump sizes: Suitable pump sizes are needed to develop by keeping in view that the capacity 

of farm pond barely crosses 2000 m 3 , and hence higher capacity pump will be brought 

mismatch causing low system efficiency and higher investment. 

Standardization of command area under farm pond: The experience suggests that farm pond 

of size 30m X 30 m X 3 will be able to provide adequate irrigation to 1 acre of land. Hence 

the pumping requirement would not be more than 1.5 hp. These needs to be standardize for 

different capacity of pond and respective command for optimal use efficiency. 

Selection of Crop: The selection of crop is highly crucial to achieve the water productivity 

and profitability. 

References 

Gómez R. Fernández, L. Mateos and J. V. Giráldez, 2004. “Furrow irrigation erosion and 

management”. Irri. Sci., Vol. 23 Number 3 

Hodgson A. S., G. A. Constable, G. R. Duddy and I. G. Daniells, 1990. “A comparison of drip and 

furrow irrigated cotton on a cracking clay soil”. Irri. Sci., Vol. 11 Number 3 

Humphreys E., F. M. Melhuish, W. A. Muirhead, R. J. G. White, J. Blackwell and P. M. Chalk, 

1989. “The growth and nitrogen economy of rice under sprinkler and flood irrigation in 

South East Australia”. Irri. Sci., Vol. 10, Number 4 

Kahlown, M.A. and W.D. Kemper, 2004. “Seepage losses as affected by condition and composition 

of channel bank”. Agric. Wat. Manage. Volume 65, Issue 2. 

Moolmam J. H., 1985. “The effect of a change in irrigation water quality on the salt load of the 

deep percolate of a saline sodic soil — a computer simulation study”. Irri. Sci., Vol. 6, 

Number 1 

Patil R. K., 1988. “Experiences of farmer participation in irrigation management: Mula command 

Maharashtra State”. India, Irri. and Drain. Sys., Vol. 2, Number 1 

Singh, R., J.G. Kroes, J.C. van Dam and R.A. Freddes, 2006. “Distributed ecohydrological 

modelling to evaluate the performance of irrigation system in Sirsa district, India: I. Current 

water management and its productivity”. Journal of Hydrology Volume 329, Issues 3-4 


139 | Page

Theme– 2 

Ecosystem based approaches for climate 

change adaptation, ecosystem services, 

integrated farming system models, Land 

degradation neutrality



Theme – 2: Ecosystem-based approaches for climate change 

adaptation, ecosystem services, integrated farming system models, 

Land degradation neutrality 


Sl. No Title First Author ID 

1 Diversification of crops and cropping systems 

resilience to climate variability in rainfed agroecosystems 

of Odisha 

2 Mainstreaming agro biodiversity – an integrated 

approach to improve nutrition, livelihoods, 

ecosystem services and reduce climate vulnerability 

3 Ecosystem based cropping system for climate 

change adaptation – An experience from Odisha 

Millets Mission 

4 Integrated Farming System Approach for 

Sustainable Development of Small and Marginal 

Farmers of India 

5 Enhancing System Productivity of Farmers through 

Rainfed Integrated Farming Systems in Shivalik 

Foothills of Punjab 

6 Livelihood sustainability of rainfed farmers: Impact 

of various fodder based cropping systems in rainfed 

regions of Telangana 

7 Quantification of ecosystem services from 

multifunctional agroforestry established for family 

farming in Tamil Nadu 

8 Performance Evaluation of Ghungroo under 

Backyard Piggery Farming in South Garo Hills, 

Meghalaya - An Approach for Climate Change 

Adaptation. 

9 Documenting India’s Rainfed Mixed Indigenous 

Cropping Systems’ Features and Design 

SK Behera 

Jai C Rana 

Susanta Sekhar 

Chaudhury 

Ayesha Fatima 

Balwinder Singh 

Dhillon 

V Visha Kumari 

A Keerthika 

Rupam 

Bhattacharjya 

Prachi Patil 

T2-01O-1110 

T2-02O-1163 

T2-03O 

T2-04O 

T2-05R-1052 

T2-06R-1116 

T2-07R-1128 

T2-08R-1136 

T2-09R-1216 

10 Akkadi : A Sustainable Livelihood Cropping System 

in Raichur District of Karnataka 

11 Carbon sequestration as a major regulating 

ecosystem services from dryland agroforestry 

systems 

12 Integrated farming for food and nutrition security of 

small farmers besides making the system self-reliant 

13 Rainfed Integrated Farming System (RIFS) Model 

for Assured rainfall Zone of Marathwada Region 

14 Maize and blackgram strip-intercropping system for 

higher productivity and economics under rainfed 

Lokappa Nayak 

KB Sridhar 

B Bhargavi 

RS Raut 

Anil Khokhar 

T2-10R-1264 

T2-11R-1559 

T2-11aR-1591 

T2-12R-1626 

T2-13P-1036 

140 | Page 

Ecosystem based approaches for climate change adaptation, ecosystem services, integrated farming system models, 

Land degradation neutrality




conditions 

15 Influence of crop geometry and plant growth 

regulators on production potential of Pigeon pea 

(Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) 

16 Yield and Biological Efficiencies of Millet based 

Intercropping Systems under Dryland Conditions at 

Bastar Plateau Zone of Chhattisgarh 

SU Pawar 

Ashwani Kumar 

Thakur 

T2-14P-1073 

T2-15P-1112 

17 Effect of Mechanization Practices on Economics of 

Soyabean-Safflower 

Cropping System 

18 Performance and adaptability of different improved 

variety of backyard poultry in Garhwa district of 

Jharkhand 

19 Challenges in contemporary Indian agriculture: 

Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) for transformation 

20 Productivity and profitability of different rabi crops 

in maize based cropping systems under rainfed 

subtropics of Jammu 

21 Profitability of Rajmah based intercropping system 

under rainfed upland situation of Assam 

22 Effect of sowing windows on production of rabi 

sorghum (Sorghum bicolour L.) in scarcity zone of 

Maharashtra. 

23 Effect of sowing windows on production of chickpea 

(Cicer arietinum L.) in scarcity zone of Maharashtra 

24 Effect of thermal environment on yield of tomato 

under different microclimatic conditions at Upper 

Brahmaputra Valley Zone of Assam 

25 Natural Resource Management in Rapeseed, Field 

pea and Lentil under Senapati District 

26 Assessment of profitable intercropping system for 

Alfisols under dryland condition in Eastern Dry 

Zone of Karnataka 

27 Impact of Improved Practices in Rainfed Integrated 

Farming System on System Productivity and 

Employment Generation of Rainfed Farmers in 

Tumkuru District of Karnataka 

28 Livestock interventions as an additional source of 

income to rainfed farmers of Ananthapuramu 

district, Andhra Pradesh 

29 Kadaknath poultry farming as an emerging way to 

increase farmer’s income in rainfed farming systems 

in Jhabua 

SA Shinde 

Sushma Lalita 

Baxla 

Marneni Divya 

Sree 

Rohit Shrama 

Nikhilesh Baruah 

Vijay 

VM Londhe 

A Kalia 

Dipin 

Wangkheimayum 

Mudalagiriyappa 

HS Latha 

K Madhavi 

Chandan Kumar 

T2-16P-1117 

T2-17P-1232 

T2-18P-1251 

T2-19P-1268 

T2-20P-1278 

T2-21P-1292 

T2-22P-1302 

T2-23P-1315 

T2-24P-1472 

T2-25P-1482 

T2-26P-1497 

T2-27P-1511 

T2-28P-1545 

Ecosystem based approaches for climate change adaptation, ecosystem services, integrated farming system 

models, Land degradation neutrality 

141 | Page




30 Productivity and profitability of pigeon pea– 

vegetable mustard–okra cropping system as 

influenced by enriched organic formulations 

31 Deep liter Pig Housin- A venture for minimizing 

winter stress and other health managemental issues 

in piggery farming in West Jaintia Hill district of 

Meghalaya 

32 Indigenous Multi Cropping Systems of Rainfed 

Areas: A Present 

33 A review article on comparative performance of 

Vanaraja and Indigenous chicken under backyard 

system of rearing. 

34 Directed Seeded Rice: Prospects, Constraints and 

Researchable Issue 

35 Ecosystem-based adaptation for increased 

agricultural productivity through smallholder 

farmers in Ratlam District (M.P.) 

36 Effect of different legumes in legume-castor relay 

cropping system 

37 Effect of seeding rate on seed yield and yield 

components of alafalfa (medicago sativa) for 

minimizing abiotic stress. 

Kamal Garg 

Rimiki Suchiang 

Prachi D Pati 

Nunni Tayeng 

Satyendra Pal 

Singh 

Gyanendra 

Pratap Tiwari 

SP Deshmukh 

S Iqbal 

T2-29P-1550 

T2-30P-1570 

T2-31P 

T2-32P 

T2-33P 

T2-34P 

T2-35P 

T2-36P 

38 Impact of climate change on pokkali farming system PA Vikas T2-37P 

39 Impact of Front Line Demonstration on the Yield 

and Economics of Coriander under TDC-NICRA in 

Kota District of Rajasthan, India 

40 Impact of Onset date of monsoon on kharif crops in 

Bhadohi district of UP. 

41 Integrated Farming System module for strengthening 

traditional rainfed IFS for small and marginal farm 

holdings in Southern zone of Tamil Nadu 

42 Seasonal Growth Potential and Performance of 

Ramie Fodder Crop (Boehmeria nivea) Under 

Extreme Climatic Conditions in North India 

43 Impact of adaptation technologies on resilience in 

drought prone regions of Maharashtra, India 

Dilip Matwa 

Sarvesh 

Baranwal 

G Guru 

Ashutosh 

JVNS Prasad 

T2-38P 

T2-39P 

T2-40P 

T2-41P 

T2-42P-1679 

142 | Page 





T2-01O-1110 

Diversification of Crops and Cropping Systems Resilience to Climate 

Variability in Rainfed AGRO-ecosystems of Odisha 

S. K. Behera 1* , M. R. Panda 1 andD. K. Bastia 2 

1 AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), At/Po: 

Phulbani, Dist: Kandhamal, Odisha, Pin: 762001. 

2 Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Pin - 756001 

* subrat_behera@rediffmail.com 

Crop production in the rainfed lands in India is presently plagued with numerous problems 

like insufficient and erratic rainfall, land degradation and low soil fertility, poor supply of 

agri-inputs, weak technology dissemination system, low investment capacity of farmers, etc. 

Uneven and erratic rainfall in the rainfed area also creates moisture stress conditions during 

critical growth stages of crop life, resulting in severe yield reduction. Even when the rainfall 

is high, it is often lost as runoff, when the surface of the soil is not suitably formed. 

Therefore, it is of utmost importance to enhance the resilience of rainfed agriculture to 

climate change through the introduction of improved varieties, planned adoption of 

appropriate inter-cropping systems, and also with other management practices of natural 

resources. Keeping this in view, the present study was conducted to evaluate the response of 

improved varieties and promising intercropping systems as well as different management 

practices such as in-situ moisture conservation, nutrient management, pest and disease 

management and weed management for different crops and cropping systems to climate 

vulnerability such as drought in rainfed agro-ecosystems of Odisha. 

Methodology 

The on-farm research was conducted at the villages such as Budhadani and Gunjidraga of the 

Kandhamal District of Odisha under the NICRA program of AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, 

Phulbani, Odisha during Kharif season of 2019-21. These two villages often experience 

scarce and erratic monsoon rainfall during Kharif season. The villages received rainfall of 

1646.0 mm, 1957.0 mm and 1283.6 mm during Kharif season of 2019, 2020 and 2021 in 69, 

84 and 64 rainy days, respectively as against normal rainfall of 1407 mm with 65 rainy days. 

The total number of dry spells occurred during Kharif 2019, 2020 and 2021 were 2, 1 and 4 

respectively. The demonstrations were conducted on improved crop varieties such as Rice 

(var. Sahabhagi, Lalat), Maize (var. P-3501, NMH-51, OMH 14-27), Pigeon pea (var. NTL 

724), Cowpea (var. Gomti), Radish (var. Pusa Chetki), Tomato (var. Priya), Brinjal (var. Blue 

star), Bean (var. Raikia Local), Okra (var. JKOH 7315) and Watermelon (var. Black pearl). 

The demonstrations were also conducted on different intercropping systems such as maize + 

cowpea, maize + pigeonpea and pigeonpea + radish. The different management practices 



143 | Page



such as in-situ moisture conservation, nutrient management, pest and disease management 

and weed management were also taken care of for these crops and cropping systems. 

Results 

In situ moisture conservation practices of summer ploughing and raising the bund height in 

rice, maize crops recorded a yield advantage of 20% higher over farmers’ practice. The 

improved varieties of rice i.e. Sahabhagi, Lalat and Naveen in Budhadani and Gunjidrga 

villages recorded significantly higher grain yield of 2510, 2520 and 2420 kg/ha, respectively 

compared to the traditional varieties (1850 kg/ha). Increases in yield of different rice variety 

were found to be 35.67%, 36.21% and 30.81% than the local variety (Saria, Jhalka, Punia), 

respectively. Hybrid maize such as P-3501 and NMH-51 produced 80.2 % and 76.5% higher 

yield respectively as compared to local variety (KujiMakka). Variety P – 3501 was largely 

preferred by the farmers because of its yield advantage, grain quality and large cob size that 

fetches more monetary return and market price. Introduction of maize + cowpea (2:2) and 

maize + pigeonpea (2:2) intercropping systems resulted in higher maize equivalent yield with 

yield advantages of 80.3% and 50.5% respectively as compared to sole maize crops. The 

introduction of pigeonpea + radish (2:2) intercropping system resulted in a higher pigeonpea 

equivalent yield with yield advantages of 84.6% as compared to sole pigeonpea crops. 

Intervention in integrated nutrient management (INM) such as the application of organic and 

inorganic fertilizer along with micronutrients was applied in the demonstration of sole maize 

and maize + cowpea (2:2) intercropping system. In weed management, pre-emergent 

application of Pendimethalin @ 5 ml/l of water at 2-3 DAS along with one-hand weeding was 

done during the crop growing period. These interventions of INM, weed, pest, and disease 

management increase the yield by 15.4% than the farmers’ practices. Improved varieties of 

vegetable crops such as Tomato (var. Hybrid Priya), Brinjal (var. Blue star), Bean (var. 

Raikia bean), Okra (var. JKOH 7315),and Watermelon (var. Black pearl) resulted in higher 

yields than the farmer’s practice and net return of Rs. 1.0 to 1.2 Lakhs per hectare. 

Conclusions 

This study clearly indicated the advantage of adopting all improved rainfed agro technologies 

for different crops and systems in comparison to traditional practices. Assessment of 

improved varieties of rice to climate vulnerability like the drought situation in Odisha 

indicated that the rice variety “Sahabhagi” is drought tolerant whereas varieties like Naveen 

and Lalat are also promising in the rainfed situation. Improved maize varieties such as NTL- 

30 and P-3501 are also promising varieties in the rainfed situation of Odisha. The In situ 

moisture conservation practices such as of both summer ploughing and increasing the bund 

height as well as INM, weed, pest, and disease management also proved superior in 

improving both soil and crop productivity and sustainability of dryland farmers. 

144 | Page 





T2-02O-1163 

Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity – an Integrated Approach to Improve 

Nutrition, Livelihoods, Ecosystem Services and Reduce Climate 

Vulnerability 

Jai C Rana 

Rana, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT – India Office 

NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi – 110012 

In today’s complex and interconnected world, what we eat and how we produce it are 

inextricably bound together. With the global population expected to touch 9.7 billion by 

2050, there will be increasing pressure on our limited natural resources to produce more food, 

almost 50% more food, feed and bio-fuel than it did in 2012. Recent FAO report warns that 

the projected growth in world population is likely to be concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa 

and South Asia, with major concentration in India. This will pose immense problems, as 

expanding agriculture in India will be difficult because of scarcity of land and water 

resources. At present, there are worrying signs that yield growth is levelling off for major 

crops. Hence, high-input, resource-intensive farming systems, which have caused massive 

deforestation, water scarcities, soil depletion and high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, 

cannot deliver sustainable food and agricultural production. 

The Sustainable Development Goals recognize that these challenges are interconnected and 

multidimensional. Under these challenges, achieving food security in drylands is more 

challenging. Drylands cover 41% of the earth’s land area and are home to 38% of the world’s 

population, the majority of whom live in poverty. With changing climates threatening fragile 

ecosystems and high migration levels, the livelihoods of more than 2 billion people are at 

risk. Farm households and rural communities around the world, including in dryland systems, 

have long since used agricultural and tree biodiversity to diversify their diets and their 

production systems, to manage pests, diseases and weather-related stress. The evidence 

shows that biodiversity-based approaches intensify production while reducing pressures on 

the environment, for example, by improving soil quality. At the same time, a diversified diet 

is essential for human health. 

Healthy dryland ecosystems and agrobiodiversity are essential for dryland communities to 

overcome their poverty. A major challenge is how to facilitate agricultural growth without 

endangering the resource base. About 800 million farmers in drylands depend on limited 

crops diversity of cereals, millets, legumes, and oilseeds. When food supplies are scarce, 

traditional plant varieties are often lifesavers as they are well adapted to drought, variable 

rainfall and harsh environments. The adaptive traits of dryland organisms are of growing 

importance for coping with the impacts of climate change and using traditional varieties in 



145 | Page



production systems can increase the capacity of the system to adapt to unexpected or 

changing climate events, as they harbour higher levels of genetic diversity, and so are more 

able to respond to variation in their environment. 

Mainstreaming agrobiodiversity initiative led by Bioversity International and partners, is 

linking farmers to the seeds they need to face changing climatic conditions. This tricot-based 

crowd sourcing approach puts farmers in the role of citizen scientists, testing, observing and 

comparing different varieties, trying new farming techniques, and experimenting with 

different crop rotations to see what works for them. They evaluate different qualities of each 

variety such as yield, resilience, nutrition, taste and resistance to pests and diseases. The idea 

is to stimulate farmers to experiment with different landraces and varieties, while linking to 

geographical tools to make these efforts more targeted and more efficient. The approach also 

focus on strengthening local seed supply systems and the establishment of community 

genebanks, seed fairs, field evaluation trials (mother and baby trials that allow need based 

participatory selection), diversity fora and other adaptive technologies that enable farmers to 

benefit from diversity rich solutions. This also includes identification of suitable crop 

diversity to address such challenges, greater awareness and information on varietal adaptation 

based on scientifically sound evidence and its validation by farmers and communities. We 

have also develop successful value chains that improve farmers income and livelihoods 

through mainstreaming actions. 

T2-03O 

Ecosystem based Cropping System for Climate Change Adaptation – An 

Experience from Odisha Millets Mission 

Susanta Sekhar Chaudhury*, Biswa Sankar Das, Pulak Ranjan Nayak, Abhishek 

Pradhan, Bikash Das 

Programme manager (Research) Watershed Support Services Activities Network (WASSAN), 

Bhubaneswar, Odisha 

* sushantasekhar@rediffmail.com, susant@wassan.org 

Ecosystem-based approaches are becoming increasingly important as they can provide 

multiple benefits and are often considered cost-effective solutions as compared to 

technological approaches to tackling climate change. The underutilized cultivated species like 

millets, whose survival is dependent not only upon their resilience and adaptation but also on 

our own ability to recognize and promote sustainably their use in a context of changing 

markets, food trends and life styles. Out of an estimated portfolio of 30,000 edible plant 

species recorded worldwide, humankind depends upon just 12 crops for the bulk of its 

nutritional requirements. On the other hand, underutilized species (wild or cultivated), may 

hold as well as the key to future agro-ecosystem diversification and climate change 

146 | Page 





adaptation. Odisha Millets Mission (OMM) is a flagship programme implemented by 

Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN) with the support of Director 

Agriculture & Food Production (DAFP), Government of Odisha and Nabakrushna 

Choudhury Centre for Development Studies (NCDS), Bhubaneswar to an aim reviving millet 

in farm and on plates. 

OMM work with large number of farming communities to increase millets productivity by 

optimal utilization of available bio-resources with farmers’ friendly technologies. It has not 

only looking after only increasing productivity of the millets but also focusing on in-situ, exsitu 

and community conservation and modifying traditional cropping system with improved 

package of practices. It has set up an Agro-ecological center where different crops and 

varieties are conserve, characterize and evaluate both by farming communities and 

researchers through different methods. Collaboration with State Seed Testing Laboratories 

(SSTL) to restore the valuable germplasm in a cryogenic system. It has also taken Crop 

Diversity Blocks (CDB) in each block for community conservation and evaluation to 

strengthen the community seed bank which serve any seed loss or scarcity due to natural 

calamities. Participatory approach followed to document indigenous knowledge and mapping 

of landraces of different crops which help to prepare strategies for climate mitigation in 

future. The paper will explain different agricultural approaches like Participatory Varietal 

Trial, Community Managed Seed System, Poly-culture, Crop Diversity Block etc, taken in an 

ecosystem for climatic change adaptation. 

T2-04O 

Integrated Farming System Approach for Sustainable Development of 

Small and Marginal Farmers of India 

Ayesha Fatima 1 , Rajiv K. Singh 2 , P.K. Upadhyay 2 , S.S. Rathore 2 and Kapila 

Shekhawat 2 

1 Dr. Kalam Agricultural College, Kishanganj 855 107, Bihar 

2 Division of Agronomy, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 

The world’s population is estimated to be 9.73 billion by 2050 as projected by the United 

Nations and to meet the demands of this burgeoning population, agriculture will need to 

produce almost 50 percent more food, feed and biofuel than it did in 2012 (FAO, 2017). 

India, having population growth of 1%, the situation seems very alarming, particularly when 

the environment and soil health are deteriorating. Under this condition, there is a significant 

concern that how can we feed an expanding population without having harmful 

environmental and social repercussions? The potential answer to this question can be the 

adoption of location-specific, tailor-made integrated farming system (IFS) models depending 

on the existing resource base of the farmers. IFS represents integration of farm 



147 | Page



enterprises/components such as cropping systems, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry, 

duckery, poultry, sericulture etc. for optimal utilization of resources thereby it has the 

potential to significantly improve the economic status and livelihood of small and marginal 

farmers of India. In a nutshell, many of the emerging issues in modern agriculture, such as 

declining factor productivity, lowering production and profitability, increasing costs of 

farming, inefficient resource use, hidden unemployment, and degradation of the natural 

resource base, are successfully addressed by the IFS's core characteristics. 

IFS for Environmental Sustainability: The deterioration of natural resources, buildup of 

diseases and pests, and decline in factor productivity are just a few of the negative 

consequences of monoculture and continuous cropping, such as rice-wheat and rice-rice 

systems. All of this has endangered the sustainability of some of India's most productive 

regions. Environmental deterioration brought about by excessive use of high-energy inputs, 

such as fertilizers and pesticides, has been documented in many economically developed 

countries under the stress of intensive agriculture. Utilizing and recycling locally available 

inputs while integrating them with the minimum amounts of external inputs will improve the 

farm sustainability. In addition to being environmentally sustainable, using locally available 

inputs can help keep production costs within the reach of farmers. The role of indigenous 

technological wisdom in this process is significant. IFS is advantageous because of greater 

sustainability, diversification, intensification, productivity gains, and improvements to the 

utilization of natural resources. 

IFS for Improved Soil Health: Compared to cropping systems, integrated farming systems 

have several advantages. Applying livestock manure increases the amount of organic matter 

in the soil, which improves water infiltration, water holding capacity, and cation exchange 

capacity, all of which are mostly related to biological aeration. Manure and urine increase pH 

levels, which accelerate microbial activity and the decomposition of organic matter. With soil 

recuperation on a physical, chemical, and biological level, it helps to enhance and preserve 

the productive capacities of soils. Studies conducted under various IFS models across India 

have emphasized that recycling of livestock by-products such as FYM, poultry manure, etc. 

within the farm itself have led to improved soil physio-chemical properties. Solaiappan et al. 

(2007) reported that integration of poultry (20) + goat (4) + sheep (6) + dairy (1) along with 

conventional cropping system led to maximum organic carbon (0.35%), available soil N (134 

kgha -1 ), soil P (8.5 kgha -1 ) and soil K (378 kgha -1 ) at the end of experimental trial. Integration 

of rice-fish-duck system under coastal ecosystem has reported improved soil health due to 

effective nutrient recycling among different components. 

IFS for Risk Management in Agriculture: A single commodity-based agriculture is more 

vulnerable to climatic, biotic (pests and diseases) and economic (relative prices of input and 

output) changes compared to IFS. Adoption of IFS would help farmers escape such situations 

148 | Page 





and reduce the risk involved in the crop failure and it has been reported that IFS are often less 

risky than single enterprises-based production system. IFS enables farmers to strategically 

modify the allocation of inputs (land, water, and pasture) among and between enterprises in 

response to fluctuations in market and the climate. Under delayed monsoon onset conditions, 

anIFS comprising agri-horticulture, agri-pasture, silvi-pasture can provide sufficient fodder 

for 8 adult cattle along with milk and FYM. 

IFS for Higher System Productivity and Profitability: Analysis of IFS model at ICAR-IARI, 

New Delhi have revealed that simple integration of crop + dairy has the potential to enhance total 

system productivity as compared sole cropping. The increased productivity in the diversified IFS 

model may be ascribed to synergisms among the enterprises and the wastes or by-products from 

one enterprise used as inputs in other enterprise. In addition, simultaneous application of recycled 

pond silt, poultry manure, biogas slurry, nutrient rich pond water for irrigation and cow dung as 

FYM and vermicompost, nutrient enrichment through decomposition of stubbles and crop 

residues under different IFS enterprises provided congenial situation to increase the yield. When 

a fisheries unit was combined with a duckery unit, the fish production improved as well, owing to 

the fact that duck droppings served as a source of food for the fish. Crops applied with enriched 

pond silts having higher nutrients and integration of high value components like 

fish/poultry/duck/goat/cattle might contribute for better crop productivity. He also reported that 

the rice-wheat system had productivity of 7.25 tha -1 , cropping alone registered 9.21 tha -1 whereas 

higher productivity of 19.2 tha -1 was recorded in cropping + fish + poultry; 21.18 tha -1 in crop + 

fish + cattle and 21.20 tha -1 in crop + fish + duck + goat in Lower Gangetic Plains of Bihar. 

System productivity and net returns under different IFS models, mean of two years 

(2019-20 and 2020-21) 

IFS Model 

System productivity 

(t ha -1 ) 

Net returns 

(× 10 3 ₹ ha -1 ) 

Rice-wheat system 10.9 111 

Crop enterprise 24.4 129 

Crop + dairy 46.5 316 

Crop + dairy + fishery 51.4 344 

Crop + dairy + fishery + poultry 54.1 371 

Crop + dairy + fishery + poultry + duckery 56.8 392 

Crop + dairy + fishery + poultry + duckery + apiary 58.3 391 

Crop + dairy + fishery + poultry + duckery + apiary + 

boundary plantation 


boundary plantation + biogas unit 


boundary plantation + biogas unit + vermi-compost 

59.5 395 

59.9 399 

61.5 398 



149 | Page



The enterprises such as dairy, fisheries, poultry, duckery, etc. were very remunerative on 

account of round the year availability of economic products having higher market demand 

and better market price of these commodities. Inclusion of more number of self-sustaining 

enterprises can become a key for improving the farm profitability of small and marginal 

holders. Thus, adoption of IFS can enhance net returns by 4.3 to 4.8 times than sole cropping. 

Apart from providing higher productivity and profitability, the diversified IFS model can 

provide round the year employment to the farm family along with food and nutritional 

security owing to the diverse group of outputs obtained from the system. The biogas unit 

integrated in the model meets the energy requirement for lighting and cooking purposes for 

the farm family. This model also provides beneficial ecosystem services with the integration 

of apiary and boundary plantation enterprises. The Apis mellifera aids in pollination of 

different food and ornamental crops as well as trees apart from providing high value honey 

and complementary products such as beeswax, royal jelly, etc. The trees included in the 

boundary plantation prevent soil erosion and improves the landscape of the area. The 

ecologically oriented IFS model can stabilize the agriculture landscape and also enrich the 

biodiversity of the given area. IFS promotes a rich culture of biodiversity through 

maintaining a multi-enterprise system of flora and fauna. 

Conclusion 

Livelihood, food and nutritional security have been major concern of small and marginal 

farmers of India, which represent 86% of the farm families. Integrated farming system 

approach can serve to fulfill these concerns since it provides employment opportunities to the 

farm family round the year along with production of nutritious wholesome food. The 

integration of the enterprises should be done in a complementary way so that the by-products 

of one enterprise can be used effectively in another thereby enhancing the resource use 

efficiency and reducing dependence on purchased off-farm inputs. The benefits of IFS are 

multifold ranging from sustainability, environmental safety, conservation of resource base to 

socio-economic prosperity of the small farm holders. There is a dire need to develop locationspecific 

farming system models keeping in view the available resources and managerial 

ability of the farmers. 

References 

FAO. 2017. The future of food and agriculture – Trends and challenges. Rome. ISBN 978- 

92-5- 109551-5. 

Solaiappan, U., Subramanian, V. and Maruthi, Sankar, G.R. 2007. Selection of suitable 

integrated farming system model for rainfed semi–arid vertic Inseptisols in Tamil 

Nadu. Indian J. Agron.,52(3): 194–7. 

150 | Page 





T2-05R-1052 

Enhancing System Productivity of Farmers through Rainfed Integrated 

Farming Systems in Shivalik Foot hills of Punjab 

Balwinder Singh Dhillon*, M. J. Singh, Anil Khokhar, Abrar Yousuf, Mohammad 

Amin Bhatand Parminder Singh Sandhu 

Punjab Agricultural University-Regional Research Station, AICRPDA Centre BallowalSaunkhri, 

Balachaur, Punjab 144521- India 

* dhillonbalwinder@pau.edu 

In Punjab, rainfed area lies in North-Eastern part in the form of 10 to 20 km wide strip known 

as 'Kandi' area. The area of region is approximately 3.93 lakh ha which comprises 7.8% of 

total geographical area of the state. The crop production in rainfed area is mostly dependent 

on rainfall received during the monsoon season. The productivity of rainfed crops remains 

low which is attributed to erratic distribution of rainfall, intermittent dry spells during the 

crop season, delayed onset and early withdrawal of monsoon. Maize–wheat is the 

predominant cropping system in this region. Integrated farming system (IFS) approach has 

been widely advocated for improving productivity, profitability, livelihood and soil health 

under different agro-ecological settings of India (Sahoo et al. 2015; Balamati and Shamaraj 

2017). 

Improving the productivity of annual crops shall remain the focal point for improving the 

productivity of any farming system. The key elements for improvement of crop productivity 

envisaged for this region are: efficient rain water management, suitable tillage and sowing 

operations, selection of improved varieties, appropriate intercropping and crop rotation 

systems, efficient soil fertility management, proper plant protection measures and 

contingency crop planning. However, positive impact of these interventions on yield are more 

perceptible only in normal to mild drought years, causing reluctance of farmers to adopt these 

improved dryland farming technologies (Jodha et al 2012). But they are constrained mainly 

due to poor access to technical knowledge and critical inputs, long gestation period and high 

transaction cost of small marketable surplus. Due to small and scattered land holdings, the 

farmers in Shivalik foothills of Punjab have poor economic status. Integration of crops, 

animals and related subsidiary enterprises may enhance the net-income of the farm as a 

whole. Therefore, various rainfed integrated farming systems (RIFS)/models were established 

at farmers’ field under rainfedand partially irrigated conditions to compare the system 

productivity and economics of IFS models with maize-wheat cropping systems. 



151 | Page



Methodology 

Various rainfed integrated farming systems (RIFS)/models were established at farmers’ field 

in which integration of different components like pulses, oilseed, vegetables and fodder 

crops, fruits, animal, mushroom, vermicompost and sugarcane processing were taken into 

account. Total 24 farmers were taken, in both marginal and small category (3 in each 

category) under rainfed and partially irrigated conditions (12 in both farming 

situations).Various interventions like improved varieties of maize and wheat, introduced 

pulses (chickpea, lentil, moong, mash, soybean and arhar) and oilseeds (mustard-rapeseed, 

groundnut and sesame)crops, vermibags for vermicomposting, mushroom bags for mushroom 

production, seed of fodder crops, mineral mixture and uromin lick for strengthen the animal 

component, vegetable kits for kitchen gardening and training on sugarcane processing were 

given to the farmers and RIFS models were established under the flagship programme of onfarm 

rainfed integrated farming system research. 

Results 

System productivity of the marginal category farmers under Rainfed Integrated Farming 

System (RIFS) model was 9,664 kg per farming system (mean of 3 farmers), which was 

higher than traditional maize-wheat cropping system (4,671kg per farming system) in rainfed 

situations and RIFS model produced higher system productivity (10,985 kg per farming 

system) than maize-wheat cropping system (6,422kg per farming system) under partial 

irrigated conditions. Further, RIFS model for marginal category farmers resulted in additional 

net returns (Rs.99,922/-per farming system in rainfed conditions and Rs. 91,726/- per farming 

system in partial irrigated conditions) and additional employment generation (43 in rainfed 

situations and 47 man-days per year per farming system in partial irrigated conditions). 

Similarly, RIFS model for the small category farmers resulted in 21,996 kg per farming 

system in rainfed conditions and 18,446 kg per farming system in partial irrigated conditions, 

system productivity which was higher over maize-wheat (13,291 kg per farming system in 

rainfed situation and 12,678 kg per farming system in partial irrigated conditions. RIFS 

models for small category farmers recorded additional net returns (Rs. 1,74,998/- per farming 

system in rainfed conditions and Rs. 1,15,749/- per farming system in partial irrigated 

conditions) and additional employment generation (51 in rainfed situations and 94 man-days 

per year per farming system in partial irrigated conditions) than maize-wheat cropping 

system. 

Conclusion 

The study reveals that integration of dairy, mushroom, vermicomposting and sugarcane 

processing components with diversified crops through pulses, oilseeds and vegetables in 

152 | Page 





kandi region of Punjab is essential to offset the ecological imbalances arising due to 

continuous cultivation of maize-wheat cropping system with local varieties. 

References 

Balamatti, A. and Shamaraj, H. 2017. Participatory evaluation of choice and combination of 

enterprises for integrated farming system under dry-land and irrigated agro-ecosystems. 

Indian Journal of Agronomy 62(1): 8–15. 

Sahoo, H.K., Behera, B., Behera, U.K. and Das, T.K. 2015. Land productivity enhancement 

and soil health improvement in rainfed rice (Oryza sativa) farms of Odisha through 

integrated farming system. Indian Journal of Agronomy 60(4): 485–492. 

Jodha, N.S., Singh, N.P. and Bantilan, C.M.S. 2012. Enhancing farmers’ adaptation to 

climate change in arid and semiarid agriculture of India: Evidence from indigenous 

practices. Working Paper Series No. 32, ICRISAT, Patancheru, India, 

System productivity, net returns and employment generation of different categories 

Treatments 

Farming situation: Rainfed 

farmers under RIFS model in (Pooled data of 2 years) 

Category 

System 

productivity 

(kg/FS) 

Net returns 

(Rs/FS) 

Employment 

generation (mandays/season/FS) 

Integrated farming system Marginal 9,664 1,95,104 81 

Maize-wheat cropping system Marginal 4,671 95,182 38 

Integrated farming system Small 21,996 4,43,417 107 

Maize-wheat cropping system Small 13,291 2,68,419 56 

Farming situation: Partially irrigated 

Integrated farming system Marginal 10,985 2,22,543 87 

Maize-wheat cropping system Marginal 6,422 1,30,817 40 

Integrated farming system Small 18,446 3,72,405 147 

Maize-wheat cropping system Small 12,678 2,56,656 53 

FS; Farming system 



153 | Page



T2-06R-1116 

Livelihood Sustainability of Rainfed Farmers: Impact of Various Fodder 

based Cropping Systems in Rainfed Regions of Telangana 

V. Visha Kumari, S.S. Balloli, K. Srinivas, D.B.V. Ramana V. Manoranjan Kumar, V. 

Maruthi, M. Prabhakar, M. Osman, A.K. Indoria. M. Manjunath, G. Ravindra Chary, 

Purabi Banerjee, S.K. Yadav and V. K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar (P.O.), Hyderabad 500059 

In drylands, we have a restriction with very narrow sowing window apart from land 

degradation and poor productivity. Thus, to reduce the risk of crop failure and to have a 

sustainable farming, the farmers often prefer intercropping rather than single crop. However, 

at least for six months in a year there is no vegetal cover on cultivated soil. Even though dairy 

is an important component in dryland, availability of fodder from natural grasses or fodder 

crops are negligible. Growing perennial forage legume or grass viz., Desmanthus and Guinea 

grass with proved and existing promising cropping system of dryland is recommended. They 

grow fast and cover the land surface quickly even under low rainfall situations and provide 

considerable amount of green fodder. They can help in increasing the crop yield and resource 

use efficiency through their vegetation cover. The perennial system can also help in soil 

conservation and reducing water and soil runoff. It is possible to enhance the productivity of 

the livestock by integrating fodder production into the farmers’ cropping systems. Thus, a 

project was initiated to explore options for integrating quality fodder production into exiting 

cropping systems of rainfed areas. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted during 2015–2021 at Gungal Research Farm of ICAR- 

CRIDA (17°40' 40.4" N latitude and 78°39', 55.7” E longitude and at a mean sea level of 626 

m), Hyderabad, Telangana, India with seven cropping systems involving conventional crops 

either alone (100% area) or in combination with annual or perennial fodder species (50% area 

for crops, 50% for fodder species). The 7 treatments are: Sorghum + pigeonpea: desmanthus, 

sorghum + pigeonpea: guinea grass, castor: desmanthus, castor: guinea grass, sorghum: 

Fodder-clusterbean- Fodder-cowpea- Fodder-horsegram, Sole Sorghum and Sole pigeonpea. 

The standard crop management practices like uniform application of fertilizers, pest and 

disease management were followed. 

Results 

Results of seven-year long experiment revealed that sorghum + pigeonpea/guinea grass can 

produce on average 1350 kg of sorghum, 790 kg of pigeon pea from half hectare of land. 

Also, another half hectare can give 26500 kg of fresh fodder in 4-5 cuts. On the other hand, 

154 | Page 





sorghum+ pigeon pea-desmanthus can produce 16000 kg of fresh fodder apart from grain 

yield (Fig). A farmer with no animals would have more advantage with sorghum + 

pigeonpea/guinea grass as the system will yield more net returns. However, farmers with 

small ruminants could prefer sorghum+ pigeon pea-desmanthus, it was found to be the best 

fodder-based cropping system as it meets the dry matter, energy and protein requirement of 

more growing lambs for longer period of rearing. These two systems are also better in 

providing green fodder for at least 8-9 months without any supplemental irrigation. Along 

with that, we observed less soil loss, water loss (40-48% less), sediment loss (50-58% less) 

and less pest and disease incidence in these systems due to diverse crops and higher number 

of natural predators. 

Conclusion 

Perennial fodder based cropping system can improve the livelihood of rainfed farmers by 

increasing the income from crop, livestock and fodder. These systems also improve the soil 

health and reduce the soil and water losses. Diversity of crops reduces the pest and disease 

incidence and thus helps in improving yield. 

kg/ha 

60000 

40000 

20000 

0 

6000 

4000 

2000 

0 

kg/ha 

Grain SEY 

FSEY 

Sorghum grain (SEY) and Fodder Sorghum (FSEY) Equivalent yield (Averaged over years) 



155 | Page



T2-07R-1128 

Quantification of Ecosystem Services from Multifunctional Agroforestry 

Established for Family Farming in Tamil Nadu 

A. Keerthika 1 , K.T. Parthiban 2 , A.K. Shukla 1 , R.S. Mehta 1 , M.B. Noor Mohamed 1 and 

Kamla K Choudhary 1 

1 ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Pali Marwar, Rajasthan 

(RJ), India - 306 401 

2 Forest College and Research Institute, TNAU, Mettupalayam, India - 641 301 

lathikaconifers@gmail.com 

Agroforestry has witnessed challenges and changes every decade in the form of technology 

and marketing interventions. Although agroforestry is promoted for meeting food and 

nutritional security, it became the need of the hour to promote multifunctional agroforestry 

with the main focus on small-scale farmers to provide income throughout the year. Moreover, 

this multifunctional agroforestry has gained attraction recently because of nutritional and 

food security issues as committed in sustainable development goals (SDG). 

Methodology 

The experiment was carried out during 2018-2021 and is located at sylvan surroundings of 

the foothills of the Nilgiris perched at an altitude of 300 m (11°19’33ꞌꞌ N, 76°56ꞌ16ꞌꞌE). 

Multifunctional agroforestry model (MFA)’ was developed at Forest College and Research 

Institute, Mettupalayam, Tamil Nadu, India especially designed based on the concept of 

family farming and more specifically for small farmers. The designed MFA model comprises 

of 25 tree species and 08 intercrops covering 0.75 acre. It is unique model designed in a 

circular shape which is delineated to provide separate importance to each circle viz., high 

valued tree circle, timber circle, plywood circle, medicinal plants, fruits circle and moringa 

circle. The entire multifunctional agroforestry was divided into four equal quadrats. The 

spacing between each circle is of five meter and each quadrat has different intercrops. 

Quadrat I is of flower block (Jasminum grandiflorum, Jasminum officinale), quadrat II is of 

vegetable bock (crop selection differs for kharif and rabi), quadrat III comprises curry leaf 

(Murraya koeingii) and Nerium oleander, quadrat IV is of fodder grass block i.e., Guinea 

grass (Megathyrsus maximus) and Desmanthus (Desmanthus virgatus).Under this 

multifunctional model, ecosystem services were quantifiedi.e.,1.Provisioning services (food, 

fodder, fruits, timber, medicinal plants): Quantification was done in Kilograms and local 

market price was used for economic valuation. 2. Regulating services (Carbon sequestration): 

Non-destructive method was used and the carbon price of $4 (Neya et al., 2020) was used to 

calculate carbon revenue. Supporting services (Butterflies): Diversity of butterflies was 

estimated using Pollard walk method (Pollard and Yates, 1993). 4. Cultural services: two sets 

156 | Page 





of questionnaire were prepared and the respondents were asked to answer. Willingness to pay 

(WTP) method was followed for economic valuation. The total economic valuation of all 

these services was also calculated. 

Results 

The results revealed that the provisioning services delivered multiple outputs (timber/wood, 

food, fodder, flowers, fruits, fodders, medicinal plants and tree borne oil seeds) and also the 

value of provisioning service was Rs. 355103.20. This type of multifunctional agroforestry 

possessing diversified outputs (food/fruits) reduces the chances of total crop failure which is 

more common in monoculture. Multifunctional agroforestry possessing high tree densities 

with a mixture of species can accumulate a significant amount of carbon which is evident 

from the current investigation. Significantly higher biomass and carbon stock followed the 

order of Neolamarckia cadamba>Melia dubia>Lagerstroemia lanceoalata>Dalbergia 

latifolia>Tectona grandis. The total change in soil organic carbon stock over three years 

(2018-2021) was 32.05 Mg ha -1 and 11.55 Mg quadrat -1 respectively. The carbon revenue 

estimated from carbon sequestration of vegetation and soil was Rs.2812 and Rs.12844.40 

respectively. Under supporting services, a total of 37 butterflies species were sighted during 

the entire study period belonging to three families viz., Nymphalidae, Pieridae and 

Papilionidae indicated the supporting services of multifunctional agroforestry. Observations 

on the butterfly diversity provide information about the variations in the species richness and 

abundance shaped by the vegetation along the landscape (Öckinger and Smith, 2006) and the 

species interactions. Among different indicators of socio-cultural services, education and 

scientific knowledge ranked foremost followed by relaxation and walking. The willingness to 

pay depicted an average of Rs.33 per visit per respondent. The multiple linear regression 

analysis indicated that multifunctional agroforestry is a good fit (R 2 = 0.79) for studying 

cultural services. 

Conclusion 

The study recommends promotion of this multifunctional agroforestry model across different 

land-use system in the country to create sustainable income and employment generation 

activities particularly in small and marginal land-use system. 

References 

Pollard, E., and Yates, T. J. 1993. Monitoring Butterfies for Ecology and Conservation. 

Chapman & Hall, London 

Neya, T., Abunyewa, A. A., Neya, O., Zoungrana, B. J., Dimobe, K., Tiendrebeogo H. and 

Magistro, J. 2020. Carbon sequestration potential and marketable carbon value of 

smallholder agroforestry Parklands across climatic zones of Burkina Faso: Current 



157 | Page



Status and Way Forward for REDD+ Implementation. Environ. Manage., 65(2), 203– 

211. 

Öckinger, E. and Smith, H. G. 2006. "Landscape composition and habitat area affects 

S.No 

butterfly species richness in semi-natural grasslands." Oecologia, 149(3):526-534. 

Economic analysis of ecosystem services from multifunctional agroforestry 

Ecosystem 

services 

1. Provisioning 

Service 

nature/category 

Timber 

Nature of 

benefit 

Valuation 

method 

Economic valuation (Rs.) 

I year II year III year 

- 28446.00 

Food 27732.50 101305.00 

Fruits - 7180.00 

Flowers 

Direct Market price 

59000.40 117792.00 

Fodder - 4788.00 7865.00 

Medicinal plants - 692.00 

Tree borne oil 

seeds 

78.10 224.20 

2. Regulating Carbon stock Indirect Carbon price - - 15625.09 

3. Socio-cultural Recreation Indirect 

Willingness to 

- - 3465.00 

pay 

Gross value of ecosystem services (direct and indirect) - 91599 288946.11 

Total expenditure incurred towards multifunctional agroforestry 310970.00 292360.00 267740.00 

Net value of ecosystem services from multifunctional agroforestry 310970.00 200761.00 21206.11 

T2-08R-1136 

Performance Evaluation of Ghungroo under Backyard Piggery Farming in 

South Garo Hills, Meghalaya - An Approach for Climate Change 

Adaptation 

Rupam Bhattacharjya*, Athokpam Haribhushan, Tanya R Marak, 

BishorjitNingthoujam, Thongam Monika Devi and Amarjit Karam 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, South Garo Hills, Chokpot, Meghalaya, CAU, Imphal 

*rpmbhatta@gmail.com 

Backyard piggery farming is a part of farming systems mainly run by women farmers in rural 

areas. Pig farming contributes an important role especially for the socio-economic 

development of the weaker section of the society in the state of Meghalaya. Pig performance 

and productivity of non-descript local pigs under prevailing smallholder traditional pig 

production system is very low and poor exploitation of production potential due to shortage 

of feed and feed crops and high cost of commercial pig feed. Therefore, Krishi Vigyan 

158 | Page 





Kendra, South Garo Hills introduced Ghungroo, a breed of pig which is mostly black 

coloured with typical Bull dog face appearance. Breed is popular because of high prolificacy, 

good mothering ability, docile nature and ability to sustain in low inputs. The present 

investigation was carried out to evaluate the reproductive and growth performance of 

Ghungroo and local pig raised under existing low input tribal backyard pig rearing system. 

Methodology 

The present study conducted in three villages namely Bibragre, Dobogre and Dagalgopgre of 

Chokpot block in South Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. Forty farmers from the three 

villages were selected and each farmer was given one Ghungroo piglet for further breeding 

programme. Then from each farmer, one piglet (F1 generation) was collected and given to 

another forty farmers to reach out maximum beneficiaries. The selected villages were visited 

once a week by the investigator over a period of One year seven months from February 2021 

to September 2022. Data on sow reproductive performance and productive performance were 

collected by providing structured pre-tested schedule and discussion with the farmers and 

visual appraisal for evaluation and validation. Weight of different age group of pigs were 

measured by electronic weighing machine and body length (cm) and chest girth (cm) by 

measuring tape in order to give reference to the farmers so that later can estimate the weight 

of all the pigs more accurately. The information on existing pig production system such as 

rearing pattern, feeding, and breeding management and disease prevalence were monitored, 

and in addition piglet pre-weaning and post weaning mortality was recorded during visits 

Results 

Results obtained in this study were age at puberty; age at first conception, age at first 

farrowing and inter farrowing interval were statistically (P



Inter farrowing interval (months) 6.6±0.15 a 8.4±0.11 b 

Farrowing rate (%) 81.5±1.02 a 76.3±0.32 b 

Average litter size at birth 9.3±0.47 a 4.5±0.22 b 

Average litter size at weaning 6.9±0.46 a 3.21±0.11 b 

Means with different superscript within a row are statistically significant (P



Kadirvel, G., Kumaresan, A., Das, A., Bujarbaruah, K.M., Venkatasubramanian, V., 

Ngachan, S.V. 2013. Artificial insemination of pigs reared under smallholder 

production system in northeastern India: success rate, genetic improvement, and 

monetary benefit. Trop. Ani. Health Prod. 45(2):679-686. 

Kumar, S., Singh, S.K., Singh, R.L., Sharma, B.D., Dubey, C.B. 1990. Effects of genetic and 

non-genetic factors on body weight, efficiency of feed utilization, reproductive 

performance and survivability in Landrace, desi and their halfbreds. Ind J. Animal Sci. 

60(10):1219-1223. 

Sellier P. 1976. The basis of crossbreeding in pigs: A review. Livestock Production 

Science.3(3):203-226. 

Sharma BD, Dubey CB, Singh SK. A comparative study of growth in pure and crossbred 

pigs. Ind. J. of Animal Sci. 1990; (4):492-495. 

T2-09R-1216 

Documenting India’s Rainfed Mixed Indigenous Cropping Systems’ 

Features and Design 

Prachi Patil 1 , V. Swaran 1 , A. Ravindra 1 , Shailesh Vyas 2 , Soumik Banerjee 3 , Lokappa 

Nayak 4 , K. Phaneesh 5 , P. Vipindas 3 , Shamika Mone 3 , Tarak Kate 6 , Siddhesh Sakore 7 , 

Pramel Kumar 8 , Ritesh Guage 9 , Luna Panda 10 , Deepak Sharma 11 

1 Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN), Hyderabad - 500068, Telangana 

2 SATVIK - Promoting Ecological Farming, Kachchh, Gujarat, – 370023 

3 Independent researcher from Jharkhand and Kerala 

4 India Foundation for Humanistic Development, Bengaluru, Karnataka – 560025, India 

5 Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network (RRAN) Hyderabad, Telangana – 500068, India 

6 Dharamitra, Wardha, Maharashtra - 442 001, India 

7 AGRO RANGERS, Rajgurunagar, Maharashtra – 410505, India 

8 Green Foundation, Bengaluru, Karnataka – 560094, India 

9 Samaj Pragati Sahayog, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh– 455227, India 

10 Pragati Foundation, Gurugram, Haryana-122101, India 

11 Equality Empowerment Foundation, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India 

The current year, 2022, has so far exposed the vulnerabilities of wheat and rice - India’s two 

major cereal crops - and the conventional cropping system in which it is grown, to a changing 

climate (Khan 2022). Unprecedented heat waves affected the wheat cultivation leading to a 

ban on its export in May, whereas the drought situation in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) 

states has impacted paddy cultivation leading to a ban/tariff on its exports in September 

(Bhardwaj and Jadhav 2022). These recent experiences from the green revolution belts of 

Punjab and IGP draws our attention to the rainfed agriculture areas. 



161 | Page



In spite of about 68% of non-food and 48% of the food cropped area under rainfed agriculture 

this ecosystem has historically not garnered the public and public policy makers' imagination 

in India. And within the rainfed areas, multi-cropping systems i.e., “growing more than one 

crop on the same piece of land during one calendar year” are relatively underexplored by the 

National Agricultural Research System (Beets 1975). These systems present an alternative to 

the dominant green revolution paradigm of agriculture. This exploratory study was hence 

undertaken to understand the design and features of indigenous multi-cropping systems of 

India. 

Methodology 

The first step of the study involved identification of cropping system that has features like 

multi-cropping, one time sowing with multiple harvests at multiple times, multi-tier canopy, 

extended period of soil cover, selection of specific phenotypes etc. A detailed documentation 

of the selected cropping system was carried out by the research partners viz. NGOs and 

independent researchers after its selection by an expert panel consisted of senior researchers 

from NARS and NGOs. 

Between February and March 2022, research partners documented the following information 

of each cropping systems: cropping pattern, crop calendar, layout of the field, crop-risk 

mapping, time trends, soil and dietary nutrient flows and resource mapping. 

Multiple research methods employed in the study for documenting the aforementioned 

features include review of literature, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, 

visual documentation of the cropping practices (where it is still in practice).The twelve 

cropping systems and their locations documented in this study. 

Mixed Indigenous Cropping Systems Documented in the Present Study 

162 | Page 





Results 

Some common design principles of the cropping systems discerned during the workshop have 

implications for climate resilience. It includes the regular harvest of edible crops from its 

multi-tire mix of crops and its varieties viz. millets/cereals, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables, 

soil cover for seven to nine months, resource utilization complementarity between main crops 

and companion crops and use of border crops as windbreak and pest infestation barriers. 

Multiple harvesting of different crops from two to three months after sowing, gave food and 

nutrition security for the rainfed farmers along with stable source income. Inbuild resilience 

in the traditional multi cropping system reduced the risk of crop failure due to variability in 

rainfall and pest and disease infestation. 

Conclusion 

This study opens up region-specific traditional alternatives for mainstream cropping systems 

with climate resilience built into. These rainfed mixed-multi-cropping systems have potential 

applications in addressing existing crises in our agri-food systems, farmer livelihoods and 

could inform the practice and the public policy of rainfed area agriculture. 

References 

Bhardwaj, M. and Jadhav, R., 2022. India curbed rice exports after rise in shipments lifts 

local prices, Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Available at: 

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/india-restricted-rice-exports-rising-shipmentslift-local-prices-govt-official-2022-09-09/ 

(Accessed: September 20, 2022). 

Beets, W. C.,1975. Multiple-cropping practices in Asia and the Far East. Agric. and environ. 

2(3), 219-228. 

Khan, M.A., 2022. Monsoon 2022: Jharkhand farmers give up on Paddy Harvest due to 

scanty rains,Down To Earth. Available at: https://www.downtoearth.org.in 

/news/climate-change/monsoon-2022-jharkhand-farmers-give-up-on-paddy-harvestdue-to-scanty-rains-84498. 



163 | Page



T2-10R-1264 

Akkadi: A Sustainable Livelihood Cropping System in Raichur District of 

Karnataka 

Lokappa Nayak 1 , Prachi Patil 2 , Mallikarjun Patil 1 , V. Swaran 2 

1 

India Foundation for Humanistic Development, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560025, 2 Watershed 

Support Services and Activities Network, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500068 

An exploratory research study on an indigenous multi-cropping system, locally known as 

Akkadi, was undertaken in the Kannal village of Raichur district (Karnataka). Akkadi is an 

indigenous cropping system where rainfed farmers grow combinations of millets, pulses, oil 

seeds, and vegetables on the same farm land, same time. In this thoughtfully evolved 

traditional cropping system of Akkadi, crops are combined in such a manner that harvesting 

of crops starts from the second month after sowing and continues up to nine months. 

Pigeonpea, sorghum/pearl Millet crops constitute major proportion in Akkadi cropping 

system relative to the greengram, cowpea, moth bean, roselle, castor, and beans. The crop 

layout consists of three rows of sorghum or pearl Millet crop followed by a row of red gram 

intercrop (Fig). The row-to-row spacing between sorghum or pearl millet crop is 30 cm. 

To document the indigenous cropping system of Akkadi traditionally practiced in Lingusur 

and Maski tehsil of Raichur districts and understand the its design principles. 

Methodology 

Study Area: Akkadiis traditionally practiced in Lingusur and Maski tehsil of Raichur district 

Karnataka. Study was conducted in Kannal village 15°56'18.9"N& 76°28'31.6"E of 

Maskitehsil. The study was conducted in three steps. The first step was to explore the existing 

traditional cropping system through network groups. Cropping system was selected based on 

the characteristics such as multi-crops, one-time sowing with multiple harvests at multiple 

times, multi-tier, covers soils for a longer duration, and specific phenotypes of crops in the 

system. Detailed analytical documentation of the identified traditional cropping system was 

done, with focus group discussions, key informants interviews, and field visits. Researchers 

along with the panel of experts, analysed the documentation and evaluated the system for 

identification of any design principles guiding the traditional cropping system. 

164 | Page 





Results 

Akkadi Cropping System Layout Cover Duration of crop and 

soil cover 

The results of this exploratory study are analyses using following principle: multi-crops, one 

time sowing with multiple harvests at multiple times, multi-tier, covers soils for longer 

duration, specific phenotypes of crops and rainfall use efficiency 

Crop Diversity and its phenotypes: 

Akkadi cropping system is a glide of crops consisting of millets, pulses, oil seeds, and 

vegetables. Akkadi cropping system has different crop combination models, practiced based 

on the requirement of rainfed farmers. Crop combination with different maturity period, and a 

specific phenology helps the crops to complement each other growth. 

Multi-tier cropping system with multiple harvestings 

The Akkadi cropping system has crop combinations of varying heights (1 to 12ft) and 

maturity period (three to nine months), at any given point of time one can see some crops 

ready to harvest whereas other at their vegetative stage protecting the soil cover and 

improving its health because of crop biomass refer Crop combination of varying heights, root 

depths, maturing stages, harness sunlight, soil moisture, soil nutrient, and land space most 

effectively. 

Rainfall use efficiency: The hot arid climate of Lingusur region is subjected to prolonged 

dry spells and the erratic nature of rainfall.22% of the total annual average rainfall (599 mm) 



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is received during October to February month. Long duration crops of Akkadi system 

effectively utilises this rainfall. 

Household Nutrition 

With this indigenous farming system, rainfed farmers have access to food high in calories, 

protein and dietary fibre. This system ensures annual food and nutrition for the rainfed 

farmers and fodder security for livestock. 

Conclusion 

The study on the indigenous multi-cropping system of Akkadi demonstrates that traditional 

knowledge is core to adaptive changes using available resources essential to face climate 

change, the nutrition quality of food, and other current issues related to the mono-cropping 

system. Policy-level interventions for understanding these cropping systems and their 

mainstreaming are the need of the hour. Decentralized agroecological approaches and 

participatory research methods for establishing scientific evidence on biophysical and socioeconomic 

parameters of indigenous multi-cropping systems are needed to revitalize rainfed 

agriculture. 

T2-11R-1559 

Carbon Sequestration as a Major Regulating Ecosystem Service from 

Dryland Agroforestry Systems 

K. B. Sridhar*, G. Ravindra Chary 2 , Mudlagiriappa 3 , M.S Shirahatti 4 ., S.B Patil 5 ., M. 

R. Umesh 6 , B. Narsimlu 7 , K.A. Gopinath 8 

1,2,7,8 , All India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland Agriculture, CRIDA, Hyderabad 

3 AICRPDA Centre, UAS Bengaluru, Karnataka, India 

4,5 AICRPDA Centre, UAS Dharwad, Karnataka, India 

6 AICRPDA Centre, UAS Raichur, Karnataka, India 

*sriaranya@gmail.com 

Trees are the largest terrestrial sink of carbon dioxide. Agroforestry systems serve as a C sink 

and help mitigate GHG emissions from agriculture (Duguma et al., 2017). The potential of 

agroforestry in carbon capture and storage varies with the type of agroforestry practiced, the 

tree species used and climatic zones (Kuyah et al., 2019).Agroforestry has been recognized as 

having the greatest potential for C sequestration of all the land uses analyzed in the LULUCF 

report of the IPCC (2000).Agroforestry systems are believed to have a higher potential to 

sequester carbon (C) because of their perceived ability for greater capture and utilization of 

growth resources (light, nutrients, and water than single-species crop or pasture systems (Nair 

et al., 2010) About 50% of tree dry biomass is considered as carbon. As the trees grow, they 

sequester carbon in their tissues and release oxygen into the atmosphere. Land use systems 

166 | Page 





involving trees have the potential to positively impact climate change by reducing 

atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and providing long-term carbon (C) storage. Agroforestry 

offers greater potential to increase C sequestration of predominantly agriculture-dominated 

landscapes than mono-crop agriculture by storing C in above- and belowground biomass, 

soil, and living and dead organisms and further extending the duration of C in soils. Trees 

reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by sequestering carbon in new growth every 

year. The amount of carbon annually sequestered is increased with the size and health of the 

tree. The CO 2 Fix model is an easy-to-use model which simulates carbon in trees, soil and 

wood products as well. The objective of this study was to quantify carbon in trees in major 

agroforestry systems practiced in different agroclimatic zones and altitudinal gradients of 

different rainfed agro-ecologies. 

Methodology 

The study was conducted at three centers of All India Coordinated Research on Dryland 

agriculture. The agroforestry systems comprised of Melia dubia (semi-arid vertisols) at 

Raichur, Karnataka, Custard apple-based and Aonla-based agroforestry systems (semi-arid 

alfisols) at Bengaluru Karnataka, and Tamarind and guava-based agroforestry systems (semiarid 

vertisols) at vijaypura, Karnataka. The CO2 Fix model was usedto quantify carbon 

sequestration potential. This model simulates carbon in trees, soil and wood products as 

well.The present method is purely based on CAI (Current Annual Increment). The trees were 

categorized as fast-growing and slow-growing based on their nature of growth. Where Melia 

dubia was categorized as fast-growing (specific gravity -0.34), Tamarindus indica (specific 

gravity -0.72), Emblicaofficianalis (specific gravity -0.78), and Annona squamosa (specific 

gravity -0.65) was categorized as slow growing respectively. 

Results 

It was evident from the table that Melia dubia recorded the highest carbon sequestration 

potential 6.74 Mg C ha -1 yr -1 followed by Guava and Custard apple (4.40) and (4.41) Mg C 

ha -1 yr -1 respectively. The least was noticed in Aonla (2.16) and Tamarind-based agroforestry 

system (3.72). the net carbon sequestered in agroforestry systems over the simulated period 

of thirty years was found maximum in Melia dubia-based agroforestry systems 201.54 Mg C 

ha -1 yr -1 and the least was noticed in Aonla-based agroforestry systems. 64.80 Mg C ha-1yr-1. 



167 | Page



Estimated carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems (Mg C ha -1 yr -1 ) 

Parameters 

Melia 

dubia 

Tamarind Guava Custard 

apple 

Aonla 

Location Raichur Vijayapura Vijayapura Bengaluru Bengaluru 

Geographical Location 

Latitude (degrees) 16°11’ 

34’’ 

16° 46’ 

5.1’’ 

16° 46’ 

5.1’’ 

13° 5’14’’ 13° 5’14’’ 

Longitude (degrees) 77° 19’ 

01’’ 

75° 44’ 

42.4’’ 

75° 44’ 

42.4’’ 

77° 

34’12’’ 

77° 

34’12’’ 

Spacing (M) 5 X 5 10X3 3.5 X3.5 5X5 5X5 

Number of trees/ hectare 400 333 816 400 400 

Year of establishment 2017 2014 2018 2009 2008 

Tree Biomass 

(above and 

below ground ) 

in Mg DM ha -1 

Tree Biomass 

carbon 

(Mg C ha -1 ) 

Baseline Biomass 21.39 44.54 42.23 31.87 20.69 

Simulated 441.27 277.55 317.62 307.81 155.70 

Baseline Carbon 10.26 21.37 20.27 15.29 9.93 

Simulated 

211.80 133.22 152.45 147.74 74.73 

Net carbon sequestered in 

agroforestry systems over the 

simulated period of thirty 

years 

Carbon 

sequestered 

(Mg C ha -1 ) 

Estimated carbon 

sequestration potential of 

agroforestry system (Mg C 

ha -1 yr -1 ) 

201.54 111.84 132.18 132.45 64.80 

6.74 3.72 4.40 4.41 2.16 

Conclusion 

Agroforestry has the potential to provide both economic and environmental benefits. IPCC 

has recognized agroforestry as having the highest C sequestration potential of any land 

management system. The greater the land area that is occupied by trees, the greater the 

impact on atmospheric C. Agroforestry systems play an effective role in global carbon 

sequestration, involved in carbon capture and long-term storage of atmospheric carbon 

dioxide. There is a need to promote short rotation and fast-growing trees for quicker capture 

and storage of carbon di oxide. 

168 | Page 





References 

Duguma LA, Nzyoka J, Minang PA, Bernard F. 2017. How Agroforestry Propels Achievement of 

Nationally Determined Contributions. ICRAF Policy Brief no. 34. World Agroforestry 

Centre, Nairobi, Kenya. 

Shem Kuyah, Cory W. Whitney, Mattias Jonsson, Gudeta W. Sileshi, IngridÖborn, Catherine W. 

Muthuri, Eike Luedeling. 2019. Agroforestry delivers a win-win solution for ecosystem 

services in sub-Saharan Africa. A meta-analysis. Agronomy for Sustainable Development. 

39:47. 

Udawatta RP, Walter D, Jose S. Carbon sequestration by forests and agroforests: a reality check for 

the United States. Carbon Footprints 2022; 1:8. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/cf.2022.06. 

P.K Ramachandran Nair, Vimala D.Nair, B. Mohan Kumar and Julia M. Showalter., 2010. Carbon 

sequestration in Agroforestry systems. Advances in Agronomy. 108: 237-307. 

T2-11aR-1591 

Integrated Farming for Food and Nutrition Security of Small Farmers 

Besides Making the System Self-Reliant 

B. Bhargavi 1* , Umakanta Behera 2 , Swarna Ronanki 3 , G Ravindra Chary 1 , H.B. 

Santosh 1 , K.B. Sridhar 1 , B. Narsimlu 1 and V.K. Singh 1 

1 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 500059, Telangana, India 

2 College of Agriculture, Kyrdemkulai, CAU, Meghalaya 793103, India 

3 

ICAR- Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad 500030, Telangana, India 

*bhargavi.bussa@icar.gov.in 

The conventional monoculture practice without multi-disciplinary approach is unsustainable 

in meeting the food and nutritional security as well as the livelihood of smallholders 

(Mahapatra and Behera, 2011). Due to low purchasing capacity of small and marginal 

farmers, it is difficult for them to maintain an optimum level of nutritive food intake, leaving 

them undernourished. It is irony that farmers who supply the food are the poorest and most 

hungry population group in developing countries. According to the estimates, 39% of the 

total Indian population are undernourished with majority of them in rural areas (Rawal et al., 

2019). Integrated farming system provides nutrition security to a farmers’ family through the 

production of diversified food commodities such as cereal, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, 

egg, milk, fish, meat etc. The higher returns from IFS were not only due to higher 

productivity but also due to lower cost of production, as by-products of various components 

are recycled within the system (Bhargavi and Behera 2020). In India, farming systems 

research has been largely focused on enhancing production, productivity and profitability 

without much emphasis on nutritional and energy outcomes. In this regard, this present study 



169 | Page



was taken up to develop an IFS model that can ensure food and nutritional security for small 

land holders. 

Methodology 

This study was carried out during 2015-18 at ICAR-IARI, New Delhi on IFS encompassing 

crops (maize, pea, mustard, green gram, cotton, wheat, bottle gourd, onion and okra), dairy, 

fishery, duckery, poultry, biogas plant, fruit trees and agro-forestry on 1.0 ha area. Five 

cropping systems i.e., maize – pea – okra, maize – mustard – green gram, cotton – wheat, 

bottle gourd – onion and okra – wheat were taken up on 0.625 ha. Dairy unit with three 

crossbred cows (2 Holstein Friesian and 1 Jersey) was maintained. A biogas plant of Khadi 

and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) model of 2 m 3 capacity was established beside 

the dairy. Fisheries component was introduced through a fish pond covering an area of 1000 

m 2 with 50 m length, 20 m width and 2 m depth. Composite pisciculture was practiced with 

four species viz., catla (Catla catla), rohu (Labeo rohita), mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) and 

grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) of different feeding habits were stocked together in 

ratio of 3:4:3:2. A low cost poultry house has been constructed on the fish pond in which 

poultry birds of Aseel- 12, Kadaknath-14, Ankleswar-12, and Nikobari-12 were reared. 

Thirty-five ducklings (8 months old) of Khaki Campbell breed, were brought into the duck 

house. Ducks range and remain in the fish pond during the day time and shelter in the shed at 

night. Thirty-seven Kinnow (Citrus reticulata), 30 lemon (Citrus limon), 15 banana (Musa 

paradisiaca) plants were grown all along the farm boundary with 4 m spacing between 

plants. Ten guava (Psidium guajava) and 10 mango (Mangifera indica) and 21 moringa 

(Moringa oleifera) trees were planted on the fish pond dyke for fruit production. Entire 1.0 ha 

farm was protected with barbed wire fence. The country bean (Lablab purpureus) and 

Spinach (Basella rubra) were raised along the fence. 

Results 

According to the dietary guidelines for Indians (NIN, ICMR, 2011), a balanced diet of a 

small family with 2 adults and 3 children daily needs 1450 g of cereals, 300 g of pulses, 1600 

g of vegetable, 2100 ml of milk and 500 g of fruits. In the present study IFS produced diverse 

food products i.e., 2 cereals (wheat, maize); 2 pulses (green gram, pea); 1 oilseed (mustard); 1 

fibre crop (cotton); 6 vegetables (okra, onion, bottle gourd, brinjal, spinach, bean); 5 fruits 

(guava (Psidium guajava), mango (Mangifera indica), mandarin (Citrus reticulate), acid lime 

(Citrus limon), banana (Musa paradisiaca). Annual milk yield from 3 dairy cows was 11553 

litres, with 30 litres production per day. From the small duckery unit 5059 eggs (14 eggs/day) 

were produced from 12,168 duck days in a year with an average egg production of 41.6 % of 

the total duck days. A total of 2805 eggs were produced from poultry unit annually from 

13046 hen days with an average egg production of 21.5% of the total hen days. A total of 

170 | Page 





7864 eggs were produced annually of which family requirement is 1500 eggs year -1 . Annual 

meat production from IFS was 160 kgs (live birds weight). The total fish biomass production 

was 759 kg from 0.1 ha area of pond. IFS provided farmer’s family, an excellent quality of 

protein from fish and meat, which he was unable to purchase due to his low purchasing 

power. The high nutritional value of egg, fish, milk, meat overcome the undernourishment of 

vulnerable groups such as infants and pre-school children, pregnant and lactating women 

(Edwards, 2000). The results (table 2) indicated that out of total production of cereals, 

vegetables, fruits, oilseed and milk, 55, 71, 77, 68 and 93% was marketable surplus, 

respectively. An IFS is more secure in the supply of food as it has a diversified/greater 

number of food species than the commercial farming system (Behera et al., 2018). Farmers 

could ‘grow everything they eat and eat everything they grow’, which reflects the King’s 

philosophy of self-sufficiency. Apart from increased household nutrition and income, the 

added benefits of IFS are local availability of fresh products and the provision of employment 

for household members (Bhargavi and Behera, 2020). 

Annual production and surplus of farm produce in IFS 

S. No. Produce Annual production Annual family requirement 

(kg) 

Annual 

(kg) 

1. Cereals 1444 kg 654 (45) 790 (55) 

2. Pulses 150 kg 109 (73) 41 (27) 

3. Vegetables 2045 kg 584 (29) 1461 (71) 

4. Fruits 802 kg 182 (23) 620 (77) 

5. Oilseed 113 kg 36 (32) 77 (68) 

6. Milk 11553 litres 766 (7) 10787 (93) 

7. Egg 7864 No. 1500 (23) 7864 (77) 

*values in parentheses indicate the percentage of total production 

Conclusion 

surplus 

IFS produced diverse food products i.e., 6 field crops produce, 6 vegetables, 5 fruits, milk, 

eggs, meat and fish. Out of total production of cereals, vegetables, fruits, oilseed and milk, 

45, 29, 23, 32 and 7% was family requirement and the rest 55, 71, 77, 68 and 93% was 

marketable surplus respectively. IFS make the farmer self-sufficient in terms of ensuring 

family members a balanced diet for leading a healthy life. Further direct benefits from IFS, 

apart from increased household nutrition and income, are local availability of fresh products 

and the provision of employment for household members. 

References 



171 | Page



Behera, U. K., Bhargavi, B., Meena, S.L., Raj Singh, Singh, V.K. 2018. Integrated farming 

system model for livelihood security and doubling the Income of small and marginal 

farmers under changing climate scenario. Indian Farming. 68: 32–36. 

Behera, U. K., Mahapatra, I.C. 1999. Income and employment generation for small and 

marginal farmers through integrated farming systems. Indian J. Agron. 44(3): 431- 

439. 

Bhargavi, B., Behera, U.K. 2020. Securing the livelihood of small and marginal farmers by 

diversifying farming systems. Curr Sci. 119: 854-860. 

Dietary guidelines for Indians 2011 - A Manual, NIN, ICMR, pp-91. 

Rawal, V., Bansal, V., Bansal, P. 2019. Prevalence of undernourishment in Indian states. 

Economic & Political Weekly 54 (15):35. 

T2-12R-1626 

Rainfed Integrated Farming System (RIFS) Model for Assuredrainfall 

Zone of Marathwada Region 

R.S. Raut, W.N. Narkhede, M.S. Pendke, P.H. Gourkhede, S.S. Suryavanshi 

A.S. Gunjkar 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani (Maharashtra) India 431 402 

Rainfed Integrated Farming System (RIFS) entail a holistic approach to farming aimed at 

meeting multiple demands. RIFS are characterized by temporal and spatial mixing of crops, 

livestock, goatry, poultry along with dryland horticulture and other allied activities in a single 

farm. Thereby, they cater the needs of small and marginal farmers. Traditional rainfed 

farming system was in existence in the domain districts of Marathwada region. A details 

survey of traditional RIFS was conducted in the area and found that crops + large ruminants / 

small ruminants are the common RIFS in this area. On station experiment was conducted to 

assess the net income from various components as well as to strengthen and recommend the 

model of the RIFS in assured rainfall zone of Marathwada region for 1 ha area. This model 

was tested from 2017-18 to 2021-22 with 0.60 ha area under crop components viz soybean – 

rabi sorghum, soybean chickpea cropping system, soybean pigeonpea (4:2) intercropping, 

cotton + soybean (1:1) intercropping on 0.15 ha area each. Area of 0.12 ha for fodder ,0.16 

for rainfed fruit crops 0.05 area for goat keeping and poultry birds and 0.078 area for farm 

pond was allotted. Under goatery component (7 + 1) and under poultry 100 birds of 1 batch 

was taken for study, fruit crops (mango and custard apple) was taken under horticulture 

component. During the year 2017-18 the net income from cropping system was Rs. 37990/- 

172 | Page 





which was increased to Rs. 42780/- in the year 2021-22. The income from goatery was Rs. 

29896/- in the year 2018-19 which increased to Rs. 64060/- in the year 2021-22. The total net 

income from this model was Rs. 39369/- in the year 2017-18 which increased to Rs. 127245/- 

in the year 2021-22. After a period of 5 years since its establishment, the net money returns 

Rs.42780/- were received from crops and cropping system. Similarly, the net return of Rs. 

84465/- were received from other allied activities like fodder, horticulture, goat and poultry. 

Overall net return of Rs. 127245/- was received from 1 ha. RIFS model. 

T2-13P-1036 

Maize and Black gram Strip-Intercropping System for Higher Productivity 

and Economics under Rainfed Conditions 

Anil Khokhar*, M.J. Singh, Abrar Yousuf, Mohammad Amin Bhat, Parminder Singh 

Sandhu and Balwinder Singh Dhillon 

Punjab Agricultural University-Regional Research Station, AICRPDA Centre Ballowal Saunkhri, 

Balachaur, Punjab 144521, India 

*anilkhokhar@pau.edu 

In the rainfed Kandi region of Punjab intercropping of maize with blackgram, and greengram 

has been found to increase productivity, profitability, improve soil health, reduce soil erosion 

and conserve soil moisture (Khokhar et al., 2021). But these intercropping systems are labour 

intensive and create hindrances in the use of agricultural machinery for weed control, 

harvesting, threshing etc. Strip-intercropping could be a viable strategy to overcome the 

disadvantages of traditional intercropping systems. In strip intercropping, the width of the 

strip is wide enough to allow independent cultivation of component crops grown but the 

strips are close enough for the crops to interact agronomically. Maize is the most important 

cereal crop cultivated under rainfed conditions in the Shivalik foothills region of North India 

(popularly called Kandi region) during kharif while blackgram is the most important among 

the pulses which is cultivated in this region during kharif. Maize and blackgram stripintercropping 

system may not only meet the cereal and pulse requirements of the people in 

this region but it may also increase the profitability and sustain the income of the farmers. In 

maize and blackgram strip-intercropping system, identification of optimum strip width is of 

prime importance. But, little or no research has been conducted in the assessment of the 

optimum strip width for maize and blackgram strip-intercropping system which performs 

better than sole cropping of these crops. Thus, a field experiment was conducted for three 

years to find out the optimum strip width to increase the productivity and profitability of 

maize and blackgram strip-cropping as compared to sole cropping. 

Methodology 



173 | Page



A field experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif) season in 2019, 2020 and 2021 

under rainfed conditions in a randomised block design with 4 replications. There were 6 

treatments with different strip widths of maize and blackgram, which included maize strip 3 

m wide and black gram 2.4 m(T1), maizestrip6 m wide and black gram 2.4 m (T2), 

maizestrip3 m wide and black gram 4.8 m (T3) , maize strip 6 m wide and black gram 4.8 m 

(T 4), sole maize (T 5) and sole black gram (T 6).The maize variety PMH-1 was sown at a 

spacing of 60 cm x 20 cm and blackgram variety mash-114 was sown at 30 cm x 10 cm 

spacing respectively using 20 kg seed per hectare for each crop. The crops were harvested 

from the last week of September to the first week of October during three years of 

experimentation. 

Results 

Strip-intercropping of maize and black gram resulted in higher yield than sole crops of maize 

and black gram. The highest maize equivalent yield (MEY) was recorded in maize strip 6 m 

wide and black gram 2.4 m (3439 kgha -1 ) which was significantly higher overthe sole crop of 

maize by 11.3% and black gram by 14.8% but at par with maize and black gram stripintercropping 

systems. The highest LER (1.14), rain water use efficiency (4.98kg ha -1 mm -1 ) 

and net returns (Rs 40393 ha -1 ) was recorded with maize and black gram strip-intercropping 

in 6 m and 2.4 m, respectively. However, the BC ratio (2.32) was highest in maize strip 3 m 

and black gram strip width 4.8 m followed by 6 m and 2.4 m strip width (2.27). 

Effect of strip intercropping of maize and blackgram on maize equivalent yield (MEY), 

land equivalent ratios (LER), economics and rain water use efficiency (RWUE) (mean 

Treatments 

Maize 3 m strip and 

blackgram 2.4 m strip 







data of 3 year) 

Yield (kg ha -1 ) 

Net 

RWUE 

B:C 

MEY LER returns 

Maize Blackgram (Rs ha -1 ratio 

) (kg ha -1 mm -1 ) 

2119 403 3346 1.11 37891 2.25 4.70 

2589 279 3439 1.14 40393 2.27 4.98 

1420 591 3213 1.08 35991 2.32 4.27 

1997 425 3288 1.10 37221 2.25 4.57 

Sole maize at 60 cm x 20 cm 3052 - 3052 - 31348 1.84 4.69 

Sole blackgram at 30 cm x 

10 cm 

- 972 2931 - 32226 2.18 4.35 

CD (0.05) 125 60.0 263 0.10 5237 0.19 0.345 

Rainfall (mm) 659 

174 | Page 





Conclusion 

Results of this three-year study indicated that maize and blackgram strip-intercropping 

system is more effective than a monoculture system in resource utilization. The cultivation of 

maize in6 m wide strip and blackgram in 2.4 m wide or maize in3 m wide strip and 

blackgram in 2.4 m wide strip is the most efficient strip-intercropping system to get higher 

yield and economics than other combinations of rows. 

References 

Khokhar, A., Yousuf, A., Singh, M., Sharma, V., Sandhu, P.S., Chary, G.R. 2021. Impact of 

land configuration and strip-intercropping on runoff, soil loss and crop yields under 

rainfed conditions in the Shivalik foot hills of North-West, India. Sustainability. 13, 

6282. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116282. 

T2-14P-1073 

Influence of Crop Geometry and Plant Growth Regulators on Production 

Potential of Pigeon Pea (Cajanuscajan (L.) Millsp.) 

S.U. Pawar 1* , W.N. Narkhede 2 , B.V. Asewar 3 and Mirza Iab 4 

Department of Agronomy, 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani (M.S.) – 431402. 

*pawarsu7@rediffmail.com , agronomistsup@gmail.com 

Pigeonpea being highly branching and indeterminate growth habit responds very well to crop 

geometry. Hence to achieve potential yields, it is important to maintain optimum plant 

population which can effectively utilize available moisture, nutrients and solar radiation. The 

plant growth regulators are also known to enhance the source sink relationship and stimulate 

the translocation of photo assimilates, thereby increase the productivity. There is need for 

scientific manipulation by synchronizing plant growth through growth regulating chemicals, 

which can check the excessive vegetative growth, thereby creating proper balance between 

source and sink for enhanced crop yield and standardize the plant density to exploit yield 

potential. Considering these points the present investigation attempted to stabilize yield with 

the following objectives: the objectives: (i) To find out the effect of crop geometry on growth 

and yield of pigeon pea, (ii) To find out the effect of plant growth regulators on morpho 

physiological, yield components, productivity and seed quality of pigeonpea, and (iii) To find 

out effect of crop geometry and plant growth regulators on economics of pigeonpea. 

Methodology: 

The field experiments on pigeonpea (Var. BDN-711) were conducted at research farm of 

Agronomy department, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani (MS) 



175 | Page



during kharif season of 2018, 2019 and 2020. The field experiment was laid out in split plot 

design and replicated thrice. Treatment consisted of twenty treatment combinations 

comprising four crop geometry in main plot and five foliar applications of plant growth 

regulators in sub plot. Sowing was done on 26 th June 2018, 28 th June 2019 and 29 th June 

2020 during first, second and third year of experimentation, respectively. The recommended 

dose of NPK and plant protection schedule was followed. Periodical observations of growth 

and yield contributing characters of pigeonpea along with the yield data were recorded and 

statistically analyzed to evaluate the effect of different treatments. The fertility co-efficient 

of pigeonpea was arrived from relationship between the number of flowers produced per 

plant and the numberof pods produced per plant and the results were expressed in terms of 

percentage (Sumathi et al. 2016). 

Results: 

The data from tables revealed that, crop geometry and foliar application of plant growth 

regulators significantly influenced the growth, yield and economics of pigeonpea. Crop 

geometry of 120cmx20cm and 75-150cmx20cm recorded higher values of growth and yield 

parameters per plant, followed by crop geometry of 60-120cmx20cm.Maximum seed yield 

was recorded with the interaction of crop geometry 60-120cmx20cm (S3) with foliar 

application of Brassinosteroids @ 0.1 ppm which was at par with interaction of crop 

geometry 60-120cmx20cm with foliar application of NAA @ 40 ppm and interaction of crop 

geometry 90cmx20cm with foliar application of Brassinosteroids @ 0.1 ppm . These results 

agree with findings reported by Kashyap et al., (2002), Ramesh and Ramprasad (2013), 

Sumathi et al. (2016). The highest net realization was recorded with the interaction of crop 

geometry 60-120cmx20cm with foliar application of Brassinosteroids @ 0.1 ppm and 

interaction of crop geometry 90cmx20cm with foliar application of Brassinosteroids @ 0.1 

ppm, interaction of crop geometry 60-120cmx20cm with foliar application NAA @ 40 ppm 

and with interaction of crop geometry 90cmx20cm with foliar application of NAA @ 40 

ppm. 

Conclusion 

Based on the three years findings of present investigation, it is concluded that crop geometry 

of 60-120cmx20cm and 90cmx20cm for pigeonpea were found to be productive, profitable 

and remunerative as compared to crop geometries. While among the different plant growth 

regulators, foliar application of Brassinosteroids @ 0.1 ppm (02 sprays at bud initiation and 

flowering) was found to be beneficial in improving yield parameters, seed yield, net returns 

and also the fertility co-efficient of pigeonpea, as compared to other plant growth regulators. 

References 

176 | Page 





Kashyap, T. L., Shrivastava, G. K., Lakpale, R. and Chaubey, N. K. 2002. Productivity 

potential of pigeonpea (Cajanuscajan L. Mill sp.) genotypes in response to growth 

regulators under Vertisols of Chhatisgarh plains. Ann. Agric. Res. 24(2): 449-452. 

Ramesh, R. and Ramprasad, E. 2013. Effect of Plant growth regulators on morphological, 

physiological and biochemical parameters of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill.) 

Helix. 6:441-447. 

Sumathi, A., Babu Rajendra Prasad, V. and Mallika Vanangamudi. 2016. Influence of plant 

growth regulators on yield and yield components in pigeonpea. Legume Res. LR- 

3637 [1-7] 

Mean seed yield (kg ha -1 ) of pigeonpea as influenced by different treatments during 

2018, 2019, 2020 & pooled mean. 

Main Plot: Crop geometry 

Treatments Seed yield (kg ha -1 ) 

2018 2019 2020 Pooled 

S 1: 90 cm X20cm 1466 1782 1480 1573 

S 2 :120 cm x20cm 1239 1572 1284 1365 

S 3: 60-120 cm x20cm 1661 1982 1546 1729 

S4: 75-150 cm x20cm 1281 1361 1313 1318 

S.E.(m)+ 57.52 72.37 39.6 50.9 

C.D. at 5% 199.02 254.74 137.1 176.0 

Sub Plot (Plant Growth regulators) (02 sprays at bud initiation and flowering) 

G 1: NAA @ 40 ppm 1630 1847 1537 1671 

G 2: Mepiquat chloride @ 50 g a.iha -1 1384 1596 1360 1447 

G 3: Brassinosteroids @ 0.1 % 1742 2018 1576 1778 

G 4: Chlormequat Chloride @ 75 g a.iha -1 1212 1583 1334 1376 

G 5: Control 1089 1328 1210 1209 

S.E.(m)+ 34.97 79.55 46.0 33.0 

C.D. at 5% 96.78 220.18 132.6 95.1 

S X F Interaction 

S.E.(m)+ 69.94 159.12 92.02 74.85 

C.D. at 5% 193.56 440.36 254.68 207.16 

General Mean 1412 1674 1403 1496 



177 | Page



T2-15P-1112 

Yield and Biological Efficiencies of Millet-Based Intercropping Systems 

Under Dryland Conditions at Bastar Plateau Zone of Chhattisgarh 

Ashwani Kumar Thakur, Tejpal Chandrakar, Ashish Kumar Kerketta and 

G. Ravindrachary 

SG College of Agriculture and Research Station,Jagdalpur, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya 

(CG) India-494001 

agrosgcars@rediffmail.com 

Millet is one of the most popular food grain crops grown in almost all tribal belts of 

Chattisgarh. It is extensively grown under both a sole and mixed cropping system through the 

broadcast method of sowing. In Bastar Plateau Zone, the area under small millets was 28.41 

thousand hectares, which was 39.73 percent of Chhattisgarh State (71.50 thousand hectares). 

While, the total production was 7.95 thousand tons which were37.06 percent of Chhattisgarh 

State's production of small millets of 21.45 thousand tons. The intercropping system of 

cereals + pigeon pea/legumes were tested and found to be profitable system. Reason for the 

yield advantage in the intercropping system was because the component crops differed in the 

utilization of growth resources and converting them more efficiently resulting in a higher 

yield per unit area than that produced by the sole crops (Patil et al., 2010).This paper 

evaluated different millet based intercropping systems for their biological efficiency 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted during the Kharif season 2019 in the Entisols of 

Instructional cum Research Farm, Lamker, S. G. College of Agriculture and Research 

Station, Kumhrawand, Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, India. During the cropping season total of 

2033.00 mm rainfall was received with 78 rainy days. Available N was low available P was 

very low and available K was high in the experiment field with acidic reaction and bulk 

density was 1.35. The experiment consists of three replications with nine treatments that 

were laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The treatments are: T1: 1 st 

Base crop + intercrop (4:1), T 2: 1 st Base crop + intercrop (6:1), T 3: 1 st Base crop + 

intercrop (8:1), T4: 2 nd Base crop + intercrop (4:1), T5: 2 nd Base crop + intercrop (6:1), 

T 6: 2 nd Base crop + intercrop (8:1), T 7: Sole crop of 1 st Base crop, T 8: Sole crop of 2 nd 

Base crop, T 9: Sole crop of intercrop. Land equivalent ratio, Area time equivalent ratio, 

aggressivity, Relative Crowding Co-efficient , Harvest Index (%) and Millet Grain 

Equivalent Yield (MGEY kg ha -1 ) are computed with formula. 

178 | Page 





Results 

The study reveals that grain yield, straw yield, and test weight are influenced significantly 

due to different treatments. In base crop treatment, sole kodo millet (T 7) recorded 

significantly higher grain, straw, and test weight among all the treatments but it was observed 

at par with kodo millet + pgeonpea 8:1 ratio (T3), kodo millet + pigeonpea 6:1 ratio (T2) and 

kodomillet + pigeonpea 4:1 ratio (T 1) in straw yield and test weight. Harvest index was 

recorded as not significant effect due to different treatments but numerically highest HI was 

observed in sole barnyard millet (T 8) among all treatments. Similar results were reported by 

Kuriet al. (2012). The highest LER was recorded in the treatment kodo millet + pigeonpea 

4:1 ratio (T1) which was found on par with kodo millet + pigeonpea 6:1 ratio (T2), kodo 

millet + pigeonpea 8:1 ratio (T 3) and barnyard millet + pigeonpea 8:1 ratio (T 6). 

Conclusion 

Land equivalent ratio and relative crowding co-efficient were produced highest in sole 

Kodomillet. Aggressively was recorded higher positive sign in Kodo+ pigeon pea 8:1 row 

ratio in base crop and intercrop; Kodomillet + pigeonpea 4:1 row ratio produced higher 

positive aggressivity, area time equivalent ratio and millet grain equivalent ratio. 

References: 

Keerthanapriya, S., Hemalatha, M., Joseph, M. and Prabina, B.J. 2019. Assessment of 

competitiveness and yield advantages of little millet based intercropping system 

under rainfed condition. Int. J. Chem. Stud. 7(3): 4121-4124. 

Kuri, B. R., Yadav, R. S. and Kumawat, A. 2012. Evaluation of pear lmillet 

(Pennisetumglaucum) and moth bean (Vigna acconitifolia) intercropping systems in 

hyper arid partially irrigated north-western plains zone. Ind. J. Agric. Sci. 82(11): 

993-996. 

Patil, N. B., Halikatti, S. I., Sujay, Y.H., Kumar, P. Sanjay, B. H., Topagi, C. and Pushpa, 

V. 2010. Influence of intercropping on the growth and yield of little millet and 

pigeonpea. Int. J. Agric. Sci. 6(2): 602-604. 

Triveni, U., Sandhya Rani, Y., Patro, T. S. S. K., Anuradha, N. and Divya, M. 2017. 

Evaluation of different finger millet based intercropping systems in the north 

coastal zone of Andhra Pradesh. Int. J. Cosmet. Sci. (5), pp.828-831. 



179 | Page



Effect of different treatments on the Biological Efficiency of Intercropping System 

Treatment 

LER 

LEC 

CV % 6.06 6.89 6.79 11.64 9.16 

Treat descriptions are given in methodology section. 

T2-16P-1117 

Effect of Mechanization Practices on Economics of Soyabean-Safflower 


S.A. Shinde*, P.O. Bhutada and S.B.Ghuge 

All India Coordinate Research Project on Safflower, 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth Parbhani, Maharashtra, India. 

*santoshashinde338@gmail.com 

Oilseed crops are the second most important determinant of agricultural economy, next only 

to cereals within the segment of field crops. Among oilseed Safflower 

(CarthamustinctoriusL.) is an important oilseed crop with 35-40 % oil. It has been used as a 

source of edible oil and dying since ancient time. Effective use of agriculture machinery 

helps to increase productivity and production of output, undertake timely farm operations. 

This judicious use of time, labour and resources facilitates sustainable intensification and 

timely. Planting of crops, leading to an increase in productivity. Hence Mechanical power has 

become more economical and indispensable to meet targets of timeliness and efficient 

utilization of natural resources and inputs (Srinivasaraoet al., 2013) Mechanization in 

safflower crop will help to timely field operation and easy for harvesting and save huge cost 

of cultivation and sort the labour problem of farmer. This study is therefore carried out to 

determine suitable mechanization practice in safflower. 

Biological Efficiency 

Relative Crowding Co-efficient 

Ks Ki Ki ×Ks=K 

T1 1.75 0.76 0.84 1.59 1.23 

T2 1.71 0.73 0.78 0.78 0.57 

T3 1.65 0.68 1.04 0.29 0.29 

T4 1.53 0.59 0.53 0.58 0.32 

T5 1.60 0.64 0.81 0.36 0.3 

T6 1.61 0.67 0.86 0.28 0.23 

T7 1.00 1.00 0.00 - 0.00 

T8 1.00 1.00 0.00 - 0.00 

T9 1.00 1.00 - 0.00 0.00 

SEm± 0.05 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.02 

CD at 5% 0.15 0.10 0.07 0.13 0.05 

180 | Page 





Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted during the period of 2020-21 at All India coordinated 

Research Project on Safflower, V.N.M.K.V., Parbhani. The soil was clayey in texture, low in 

available nitrogen (231 kg ha-1), low in available phosphorus (12.64 kg ha-1), rich in 

available potash (474 kg ha-1), sulphur (15.25 kg ha-1) and slightly alkaline in reaction. The 

soil was moderately alkaline in reaction (8.13 pH). In general, weather conditions were 

favourable for plant growth and no severe pest and diseases noticed during experimentation. 

The study involved two treatment combinations two factors viz., Selective mechanization 

plot (SMP) and Farmer practice (FP) with two treatments. Each experimental unit was non 

replicated having Plot size 1000 m2 each of mechanical and normal plots. Sowing was 

completed as per treatments. Safflower variety PBNS -86 was sown at spacing of 45 cm 

(between rows) X 20 cm (between Plants) The fertilizer dose of 60:40:00 NPK kg ha-1 was 

applied at the time of sowing. The package of recommended practices were adopted. The data 

on growth and yield parameters were analysed with paired ‘t’ test and cost of cultivation, net 

returns, B:C ratio were worked out. Data on time period for each operation, energy used 

were converted into suitable energy units and expressed in MJ/ha. Energy equivalents of 

inputs and outputs were computed based on values suggested by Gopalanet al. (1978) The 

calculation of energy input and output equivalents, the indices of energy ratio (energy use 

efficiency), energy productivity and net energy were calculated as per (Rafieeet al., 2010) . 

Following parameter selected under selective mechanization vis-à-vis Farmers practice in 

terms of yield, economics and energy budgeting of Safflower 

S.No Name of field operation Mechanized condition Farmer's practice 

1 Sowing With Seed cum 

Fertilizer Drill 

Behind the bullock 

drawn plough 

2 Inter cultivation Power weeder Bullock drawn Danthi 

3 Plant protection Motorized/ power 

sprayers 

4 Harvesting, threshing and winnowing Combiner with minute 

modification 

Knapsack sprayer 

Manual 

Results 

Safflower seed yield (1485 kg/ha) which was higher than farmer practice (1251 kg/ha). Seed 

yield of safflower was increased by 18.70% observed under mechanized condition compared 

to farmers practice similar result recorded by Mandal (1975). Similarly Singh and Singh 

(1975) concluded that tractor farms gave higher yields of wheat, paddy and sugarcane and 

produced a higher overall gross output per hectare than non-tractor farms. Proper plant to 

plant population and optimum management practice can be adopted under mechanization 



181 | Page



than farmer practice which helps to increase or record good growth of crop than famer 

practice. Further, the cost of cultivation incurred for normal method of cultivation was higher 

(53921) compared to mechanized safflower cultivation (45101) leading to higher net returns 

(100699) and B:C ratio (3.20) in mechanized plot Comparing the yield and economics of 

cultivation methods, mechanized plot reduced the labour requirement, time of operation and 

cultivation cost in turn resulted higher benefits. 

The energy use efficiency in mechanized plot (0.56kg/MJ) was higher than normal plot (0.27 

kg/MJ). This lead to saving of 17 labour / ha and saved 35hrs time period/ha through 

selective mechanization of important operations. The results were in agreement with the 

findings of SaeedFirouzi and HashemAminpanah (2012) who reported that Energy output – 

input ratio, specific energy, energy productivity, and net energy gain computed were 3.93, 

4.74 MJ/kg, in semi-mechanized groundnut production. 

Safflower yield, system economics under mechanized cultivation vs farmer's practice 

Treatments 

Mechanized 

conditions 

Farmer's 

practice 

References 

Seed yield 

(kg/ha) 

Biological yield 

(kg/ha) 

Gross 

returns 

(Rs/ha) 

System economics 

Cost of Net 

cultivation returns 

(Rs/ha) (Rs/ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

Soybean Safflower Soybean Safflower 

1755 1485 4920 4725 145800 45101 100699 3.2 

1571 1251 4400 3865 126990 53921 73069 2.4 

Anonymous. 2015. All India Coordinated Research Project on Castor. Annual Report. ICAR- 

Indian Institute of oilseeds Research Hyderabad-500030 

Gopalan, C.B., Ramasastri, V. and Balasubramanian, S.C. 1978. Nutritive value of Indian 

foods (Hyderbad: National Instituteof Nutrition) 

Mandal, G.C. and Prasad R.N. 1975. Economics of Tractor Cultivation-A study of the district 

of Shahabad, Bihar. Shanti Niketan, Agro-Economic Research Centre, VisvaBharati. 

Rafiee, S., Mousavi Avval, S. H. and Mohammadi, A. 2010. Modelling and sensitivity 

analysis of energy inputs for apple production in Iran. Energy, 35:3301-3306 

Singh, L.R. and Singh, R.V. 1975. Impact of Farm Mechanization on Human and Bullock 

Labour Use in Two Regions of U.P. Dept of Agri. Economics. G.B. Pant Univ. of 

Agril.and Technology. 

Saeed, Firouzi and Hashem, Aminpanah.2012. Energy use efficiency for groundnut (Arachis 

182 | Page 





hypogaea L-) production in a semi-mechanized cultivation system. Annals of Biological 

Reseah, 3(8):3994-3997 

Srinivasrao, Ch., Sreenath, Dixit., Srinivas, I, Sanjeeva Reddy, B., Adake, R. V. and Shailesh 

Borkar. 2013. Operationalization of Custom Hiring Centres on Farm Implements in 

Hundred Villages in India. Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, 

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 151. 

T2-17P-1232 

Performance and Adaptability of Different Improved Variety of Backyard 

Poultry in Garhwa District of Jharkhand 

Sushma Lalita Baxla 1 , Ashok Kumar 2 and Sudhir Kumar Jha 3 

1,2 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Garhwa, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi-834006 Jharkhand, 

India 

3 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Palamu,Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi-834006 Jharkhand, 

India 

Backyard poultry farming is an age-old traditional practice in rural India. It comprises rearing 

of indigenous birds with poor production performance in terms of egg and meat. It plays a 

pivotal role in supplementary income generation and nutrition security to the rural poor 

(Choudhary et al., 2019, Kiskuetal., 2019). Generally in backyard poultry farming, farmer 

rears 5-10 indigenous desi birds which produce 50-60 eggs per year and low meat production 

(Shekhar et al., 2020). Jharkhand is tribal dominated state where backyard poultry is one of 

the main source of livelihood for tribal and other low income farmers. Garhwa is also having 

tribal and low-income group of scheduled caste as well as other backyard class of farmers 

who rear backyard poultry for their livelihood but due to lack of knowledge about improved 

breed and management practices, the productivity performance was very poor. There is 

constant demand for poultry meat and eggs in rural as well as urban areas of Garhwa district. 

Divyayan Red and Jharsim, an improved variety of dual purpose, multi colored plumage, 

better production potential, disease resistance and good scavenging behaviour poultry 

developed by Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand and Divyayan Krishi Vigyan 

Kendra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, respectively were taken as treatments in the present trial. The 

experiment was conducted at seven farmers field in two villages – Sangbariya and Tenar of 

Meral block of Garhwa district under NICRA project. The productivity and profitability of 

existing backyard poultry farming is very low. Considering these factors, an On Farm Trial 

was conducted to assess the performance of different improved variety of backyard poultry 

under free scavenging backyard system in Garhwa district of Jharkhand India 



183 | Page



Methodology 

An On Farm Trial was conducted at seven farmers field with three treatments of poultry in two 

villages – Sangbariya and Tenar of Garhwa district during the period of 2020 - 22. The 

treatmentswere : T1-Farmers Practice (rearing of non-descript desi poultry bird), T2 - Divyayan 

Red and T3 - Jharsim. Each treatment with 20 birds (15 days old) in 1:1 ratio of male and female 

were given to farmers.The birds were let loose in the backyard where there was provision of free 

scavenging during day and shelter at night. The experimental data of body weight gain, mortality 

rate, egg and meat productivity and economic parameters were taken as per standard norms. 

Results 

The highest egg productivity and B:C ratio were realized in Divyayan Red as compared to desi 

birds, whereas the Diyayan Red and Jharshim were at par with respect to body weight i.e 1.82 

and 1.90 kg and net return was 1912 and 1653 respectively but were significantly superior to 

desi-non descript breed .Mortality rate of 3.1 was also low in Divyayan Red followed by 

Jharsimi.e 4.3 as compared to non-descript desi birds which was quite higher i.e. 8.2.The net 

income of small, marginal and landless poultry farmers was increased due to rearing of Divyayan 

Red and Jharsim. 

Conclusion 

The study was concluded that improved variety of poultry likeDivyayan Red and Jharsim rearing 

under backyard system could serve as an outstanding dual purpose in Garhwa district of 

Jharkhand, due toits ability for faster growth, better weight gain, faster sexual maturity, low 

mortality, better egg production and good adaptability nature. The net income of farmers was also 

increased due to rearing of these improved variety of poultry under low input and high output 

pursuit within a very short span of timeand has better acceptability in poultry farming community 

and better adaptability to agro- climatic conditions in Garhwa district of Jharkhand. 

Assessment of Performance of Divyayan Red and Jharsim Poultry in Backyard System ( 

n=20) 

Treatment 

Av. Body wt. 

at 15-day old 

chicks 

(Kg/bird) 

Av. Age 

of sexual 

maturity 

(Days) 

Av. Body 

wt. of male 

& female at 

40 weeks of 

age 

(Kg/bird) 

Av. Egg 

production/ 

bird/at 72 

weeks 

(Nos) 

Mortality 

Rate (%) 

Gross 

Return (Rs/ 

bird/annum) 

Net return 

(Rs/bird/annum) 

T1: Farmers 0.096 195.25 1.32 75.21 8.2 1341 1091 2.31 

Practice : 

Non- descript 

Poultry 

T2: Divyayan 0.135 174.27 1.82 165.29 3.1 2377 1912 5.19 

Red Poultry 

T3: Jharsim 0.140 172.30 1.90 140.35 4.3 2123 1653 4.60 

Poultry 

SEm (0.05) 15.3 18.4 0.139 7.43 0.875 144 138 

CD % 32.6 20.8 0.38 18.4 2.26 292 270 

Note : Egg Rs. 12/egg Poultry meat - 350/Kg 

B:C 

Ratio 

184 | Page 





References 

Kisku, J., Oraon, J., Pandey, A.K., Singh, B.K. and Chandraker, K. 2019. Study of Adoption 

Level and Constraints Faced by Rural Women in Backyard Poultry Farming. J. 

Agri. Search. 6 (special ): 101-103. 

Choudhary, R.K., Roy, M.K., and Sohan, R.K., 2019. Livelihood upliftment of Tribal 

Farmers through Backyard Poultry Farming Intervention in Kishanganj district of 

Bihar.J. Agri.Search. 6, (Special): 90-92. 

Shekhar, S., Sanjay Kumar, and Rajni Kumari. 2020. Comparative Performance of Divyayan 

Red and Local Desi birds under Backyard Farming in Koderma District of 

Jharkhand India. J. Agri. Search, 7,2: 93-96. 

T2-18P-1251 

Challenges in Contemporary Indian agriculture: Integrated Farming 

Systems (IFS) for Transformation 

Marneni Divya Sree * , M. J. Mercykutty and Rose Mathews 

College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, Kerala, India- 

680656. 

*marnenidivyasree@gmail.com 

The green revolution in the 1960s was characterized by the cultivation of high-yielding 

varieties and the application of more intensive farming techniques, which transformed the 

agricultural landscape in the developing world. After the green revolution, cereal crop 

production in India increased dramatically. India is the world's second-largest wheat and rice 

producer, with 100.42 Million Tonnes and 112.44 Million Tonnes of production respectively 

in 2020-21 (GoI, 2021). However, its non-sustainable nature coupled with limited scope and 

subsequent impacts on the ecosystem has led to a quest for a more sustainable and greener 

alternative. With this backdrop, the objectives are framed as 1. To identify the challenges of 

contemporary Indian agriculture. 2. To identify the scope and importance of Integrated 

farming systems in India 

Methodology 

Data regarding stunted and wasted children was taken from UNICEF, 2019. The data 

regarding the average size of landholding and no. of holdings across all size groups was taken 

from GoI, 2016. 



185 | Page



Results 

To identify the challenges of contemporary Indian agriculture 

Though India has achieved self-sufficiency in food production, there area few challenges in 

the contemporary scenario like the sustainability of agricultural production systems and 

national food security. Impacts of climate change and soil degradation in the recent past. The 

increasing awareness of nutrition leading to dietary diversification is demanding widespread 

changes in cropping patterns. The shortage of regular access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious 

food, resulted in hunger and malnutrition. It is reported that during 2016-2018, around 31 per 

cent of the world’s stunted and 51 per cent of wasted children were in India (UNICEF, 

2019). The average size of land holding has come down from 2.28 ha. in 1970-71 to 1.08 ha. 

in 2015-16 (Fig) (GoI, 2016). This declining trend in the size of land holding and increasing 

no. of marginal and smallholder farmers poses a serious challenge to the sustainability and 

profitability of farming. This situation calls for an integrated effort to address the emerging 

livelihood issues. 

Figure 1 

2.5 

2 

1.5 

1 

0.5 

0 

1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 2000-01 2010-11 2015-16 

Average size of landholding (in hectares) 

To identify the scope and importance of Integrated farming systems in India 

There is a possibility for our food system to provide everyone with enough food for a healthy 

life, while maintaining a healthy environment, with the sustainable intensification of 

agriculture, collaborative, and inclusive policymaking. For sustainable intensification of 

agriculture Integrated farming system is the leading pathway. The adoption of different 

farming systems is considered the most powerful tool for enhancing the profitability of small 

and marginal farmers, with considerable scope for resource recycling and the concept of 

ecological soundness leading to sustainable agriculture (FAO, 2022). 

The farming system approach is not only a reliable way of obtaining fairly high productivity 

with considerable scope for resource recycling but also a concept of ecological soundness 

leading to sustainable agriculture. With the increasing energy crisis due to the shrinking of 

186 | Page 





non-renewable fossil-fuel-based sources, the fertilizer nutrient cost has been increasing 

steeply. This would leave the farmers with no option but to fully explore the potential 

alternate sources of nutrients for individual crops and in the cropping systems. 

Conclusion 

It can be concluded that in diversified farming, the thrust is mainly to minimize the risk, 

while in such situations a judicious mix of one or more enterprises along with cropping, there 

exist a complimentary effect through effective recycling of wastes and crop residues which 

encompasses an additional source of income to the farmer. 

References 

FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization]. 2022. Indian agriculture towards 2030. Rome, 

322p. 

GOI [Government of India]. 2016. All India report on Agriculture Census. Ministry of 

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, New Delhi, 26p. 

GOI [Government of India]. 2021. Agricultural statistics at a glance. Ministry of Agriculture 

and Farmers Welfare, New Delhi, 142p. 

UNICEF [United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund]. 2019. The state of the 

world’s children 2019, Children, food, and nutrition: growing well in a changing 

world. New York, 39p. 



T2-19P-1268 

Productivity and Profitability of Different Rabi Crops in Maize Based 

Cropping Systems under Rainfed Subtropics of Jammu 

Rohit Shrama 1* , A.P. Singh 1 , G. Ravindrachary 2 , K.A. Gopinath 2 , Jai Kumar 1 , Brinder 

Singh 1 , and Sunny Raina 1 

1 All India Coordinated Project for Dryland agriculture, Rakh-Dhiansar, Samba (UT of J & K) 

Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, RakhDhiansar, 

Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir (UT) 181 133 

2 ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad, 

* rohit_agros@rediffmail.com 

Globally maize is grown on an area of about 197.19 million hectares with production of 

1125.03 million tones and the average productivity is 5.71 tha -1 . In India, it is cultivated on an 

area of 9.21 million hectare with production of 25.13 million tones and productivity of 2.63 

tha -1 (Anonymous, 2020). In J&K Union Territory, maize is grown on an area of 

about262.35thousand hectares with a production of 5744thousand tones and productivity of2.12 t 

ha -1 (Anonymous, 2019). Agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir is characterized by marginal and 

187 | Page



small farm holdings with average operational land holding size of 0.7 ha which is further 

dwindling owing to fragmentation because of expanding family size and diversion of agricultural 

land to other uses. The predominant rainfed cropping system in the region is maize-wheat and 

being cereal-cereal system, it is threatening the soil fertility and yield sustainability apart from 

adversely affecting the economic returns. Growing of large number of crops is practiced in 

rainfed lands to reduce the risk factor of crop failures due to drought or irregular rains. Moreover, 

diversification of crops can soften impacts on environmental resources and is considered to be 

more remunerative, better input use efficient and less risk prone. Growing of different rabi crops 

in maize-based cropping system can maintain soil fertility and sustain crop productivity. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was carried out at research farm of Advanced Centre for rainfed agriculture, 

Rakh Dhiansar, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu 

during 2020-21.An experiment comprises of nine maize based cropping systems viz: Maize- 

Wheat, Maize- Chickpea, Maize- Lentil, Maize- Gobhisarson, Maize- Linseed, Maize-Barley, 

Maize-Taramira, Maize-Oat, Maize-Field pea were tested in randomized block design under 

sandy loam soil having slightly acidic in nature, well drained low in carbon, (0.22), low in 

available nitrogen (162 kgha -1 ) and potassium (102 kgha -1 ) and medium in available phosphorous 

(14.4 kg ha -1 ). All the crops in different cropping systems were raised in accordance with the 

recommended package of practices and technical programme. 

Results 

Evaluation of different maize-based cropping systems during rabi 2020-21under rainfed 

conditions. 

Treatment 

Grain 

yield (kg 

ha -1 ) 

WEY 

(kg ha -1 ) 

COC 

(Rs ha -1 ) 

Net 

Returns 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

B:C 

Ratio 

RWUE 

(kg ha -1 - 

mm) 

T1 Maize-Wheat 2618 2618 23200 44528 2.92 23.42 

T2 Maize- Chickpea 668 2029 18800 21280 2.13 18.15 

T3 Maize- Lentil 740 1896 16700 20740 2.24 16.96 

T4 Maize-Gobhisarson 1003 2362 17000 29640 2.74 21.12 

T5 Maize- Linseed 587 1783 16200 19020 2.17 15.95 

T6 Maize-Barley 2490 2143 22000 20330 1.92 19.17 

T7 Maize-Taramira 602 1676 16000 17110 2.07 15.00 

T8 Maize-Oat 28500 1587 15800 15550 1.98 14.20 

T9 Maize-Field pea 710 2157 18600 24000 2.29 19.29 

CD (5%) - 228.7 - - - - 

Among the different crops sown under different cropping systems during rabi 2020-21, 

wheat crop reported significantly highest wheat equivalent yield to the tune of 2618 kgha -1 

188 | Page 





under maize-wheat cropping system with the corresponding highest values of net returns, B:C 

ratio and RWUE of Rs. 44528ha -1 , 2.92, and 23.43 kgha -1 -mm, which was found statistically 

at par with Gobhisarson having yield of 2362kgha -1 with the corresponding values of net 

returns, B:C ratio and RWUE of Rs. 29640ha -1 , 2.74, and 21.12 kgha -1 -mm, respectively 

under maize-gobhisarson cropping system. While the lowest wheat equivalent yield of 1587 

kgha -1 was registered in oats (fodder) under maize-oats (fodder) system with net returns, B:C 

ratio and RWUE of Rs. 15550ha -1 , 1.98, and 14.20 kgha -1 -mm, respectively. Tripathi et al., 

1998 reported similar findings of MEY in maize-based cropping sequence. 

Conclusion 

Based on one year preliminarily observation, it may be concluded that maize wheat system 

was found to be superior among the other systems in terms of equivalent yield, net returns, 

B:C ratio and rain water use efficiency under rainfed conditions of Jammu. 

References 

Anonymous, 2019. Digest of Statistics 2018-19. Government of Jammu and Kashmir, finance 

department, directorate of economics and statistics. Available at: 

http://ecostatjk.nic.in/digeststat/DOS-2018-19-Final. Accessed on 19 June, 2022. 

Anonymous, 2020. World agricultural production, United States department of agriculture. Available 

at: https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/production. 

Jamwal J S. 2000. Production potential and economics of different crop sequence in rainfed areas of 

Jammu. Ind. J. Agrn. 45 (2): 269-273. 

Tripathi S C, Chauhan D S, Sharma R K, Dhillon O P. 1998. Productivity and economics of different 

wheat (Triticum aectivum) based cropping sequence. Ind. J. Agrn. 44(2): 237-241. 

T2-20P-1278 

Profitability of Rajmah based Intercropping System under Rainfed Upland 

Situation of Assam 

Nikhilesh Baruah, Nupur Kalita, Pallab Kumar Sarma, Bikram Borkotoki, Arunjyoti 

Sonowal, Rekhashree Kalita, and G. Ravindrachary 

AICRP on Dryland Agriculture Biswanath College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural 

University, Biswanath Chariali, Assam-784176, India 

Rajmah (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the most important pulse crops grown all over the 

country. In Assam, it is an important prospective and profit-earning rabi crops more 

particularly in Borak valley Zone of Assam. Due to presence of high amount of nutrients, it 

is called as “king of nutrition”. It is grown for seed as well as green vegetable due to good 

sources of vitamins and minerals. Generally, most of the pulse crops including rajmah are 

grown as a mono crop in the farmer’s field. There is scope for intercropping in rajmah which 



189 | Page



may lead to higher profit, may act as crop insurance against adverse weather conditions, 

meeting the diversification of crops and maximizing land use efficiency through efficient use 

of resources like moisture, nutrients and light, stabilizing the yield through risk minimization 

of crop failure and reduced pest and disease problems. (Coll et al., 2012), Therefore 

Intercropping of rajmah with other crops may be additional advantage for the farmers under 

rainfed situations. Considering the fact, the rajmah based intercropping with four rabi crops 

(toria, linseed, lentil and buckwheat) was undertaken for evaluation at AICRP for Dryland 

Agriculture, BN College of Agriculture, AAU, Biswanath Chariali, Assam for three years 

starting from rabi season of 2018-19 to 2020-21. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted at the experimental field of All India Coordinated 

Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, Biswanath College of Agriculture, Biswanath 

Chariali, Assam Agricultural University, during the rabi season of 2018-19, 2019-20 and 

2020-21 in randomized block design. The texture of the soil of the experimental field was 

sandy loam with a pH of 4.98 and organic carbon of 0.58%. The soil was medium in 

available nitrogen (330.10 Kg ha -1 ), available phosphorus (23.26 Kg ha -1 ), and available 

potassium (171.35 Kg ha -1 ). The rajmah based intercropping was evaluated in a randomized 

block design with 13 treatment combinations involving three (3) replication. The treatments 

consisted of T 1 - Rajmah Sole, T 2 - Toria Sole, T 3 – Linseed Sole, T 4 – Lentil sole, T 5 – 

Buckwheat sole, T6- Rajmah + Toria (1:1), T7 -Rajmah + linseed (1:1), T8 - Rajmah + lentil 

(1:1), T 9- Rajmah + buckwheat (1:1),T 10-Rajmah + toria (2:1), T 11- Rajmah+ linseed (2:1), 

T12 -Rajmah + lentil(2:1) and T13 - Rajmah + buckwheat (2:1). The individual plot size was 20 

m 2 (5m x 4m) and the variety selected for rajmah was ‘Arun’, TS-38 for toria, T-397 for 

linseed, KLS-218 for lentil, and local variety for buckwheat. The seed rate of rajmah, toria, 

linseed, lentil, and buckwheat were 75 kg ha -1 , 10 kg ha -1 , 20 kg ha -1 , 30 kg ha -1 , and 20 kg 

ha -1 respectively. The experimental plot was ploughed by tractor-drawn plough followed by 

harrowing and laddering. Rows were prepared for sowing manually at 30cm and plant-toplant 

distance was kept at 10cm. The fertilizer was applied as per recommendation of the 

package of practices of Assam in terms of Urea, SSP, and MOP. The crops were sown in the 

field within second to third week of each year. Weekly meteorological data in standard 

meteorological week (SMW) during the period of experimentation was collected at the 

meteorological observatory of the department of agricultural meteorology, Biswanath College 

of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Biswanath Chariali. The yield of the 

intercrops was converted to rajmah equivalent and comparison among the intercropping 

systems were made accordingly. 

Results 

190 | Page 





The growth and yield attributing characters and yield of the crops. As the bio-metric parameters 

and structural make up as well as morphology of the intercrops species differ widely due to their 

genetic variations, statistical analysis of the intercrops were not done and only average value was 

given in the Table. 

Equivalent yield of the system: The rajmah equivalent yields of the different intercropping 

system were calculated for each year individually and pooled analysis was done. The study 

revealed that rajmah + lentil (1:1) ratio was the best treatment showing highest yield of 13.48 q 

ha -1 which was at par with Rajmah +linseed (2:1): Rajmah +linseed (1:1) and Rajmah +lentil 

(2:1) with a system yield of 12.83 qha -1 , 12.66 qha -1 and 12.59 qha -1 , respectively. The toria nad 

buckwheat was not performing well with rajmah in both 1:1 and 2:1 ratio. For measuring of 

biological efficiency of the intercropping, land equivalent ratio (LER) was calculated and it was 

found that, linseed and lentil was more beneficial and economical as intercrop as compared to 

toria and buckwheat. 

The economics of different intercropping system was also calculated in terms of gross return, net 

return and B:C ratio. Among the intercropping system of lentil and linseed, both the ratio of 1:1 

ratio and 2:1 ratio is showing the B:C ratio more than 2 with a value of 2.58, 2.54, 2.50 and 2.50 

each in rajmah +linseed (2:1), rajmah +lentil (1:1), rajmah +linseed (1:1) and rajmah +lentil (2:1), 

respectively. The results can be supported by findings noted by Tripathi et al. where maize + 

cowpea-wheat combination was the most productive and economic intercrop combination, with 

an increase in net economic return (43.63%) and B: C ratio of 1.94. 

Conclusion 

Among the five different rabi crops studied to assess the best intercrops with rajmah it has been 

seen that lentil and linseed was found to be more efficient and profitable than toria and 

buckwheat. The highest land equivalent ratio, equivalent yield, and monetary advantage were 

recorded in the rajmah + linseed intercropping of 2:1 ratio. The rajmah crop was not performing 

well when intercropped with toria and buckwheat which is mainly due to the more height of the 

intercrops resulting competition for light and others more particularly at early stage of growth of 

the main crop rajmah. 

References 

Coll, L., Cerrudo, A., Rizzalli, R., Monzon, J. P. and Andrade, F. H. 2012. Capture and use of 

water and radiation in summer intercrops in the south-east Pampas of Argentina. Field 

Crops Research. 134: 105-113 

Tripathi, S. C., Venkatesh, K., Meena, R. P., Chander, S., & Singh, G. P., (2021). Sustainable 

intensification of maize and wheat cropping system through pulse intercropping, 

Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-10. 



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International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges & Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, 

Hyderabad 

Growth, yield attributes and yields of the main and intercrops of the different intercropping system 

Treatments 

Plant height 

(cm) 

Cyme/siliqua 

pod/plant 

Test weight.(g) Main crop yield (qha -1 ) Intercrop yield (qha -1 ) 

rajmah Intercrop rajmah Intercrop rajmah intercrop 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 Pooled 2018- 

19 

2019- 

20 

2020-21 Pooled 

T 1: Sole Rajmah 44.67 - 19.69 - 317.62 - 13.00 14.33 13.34 13.55 - - - 

T 2: Sole toria - 69.64 - 57.91 - 3.67 12.00 12.67 11.84 12.17 - - - 

T 3: Sole linseed - 46.02 - 24.30 - 5.11 7.83 6.67 6.60 7.03 - - - 

T 4: Sole lentil - 25.0 - 24.60 - 14.27 4.73 5.33 4.94 5.02 - - - 

T 5 : Sole buckwheat - 72.63 - 27.80 - 18.60 6.43 14.83 13.39 11.72 - - - 

T 6 : Rajmah +toria (1:1) 47.27 73.69 11.81 48.20 312.57 3.28 3.33 3.27 3.24 3.28 8.83 9.03 10.67 9.84 

T 7: Rajmah+linseed (1:1) 43.07 45.17 15.25 23.87 315.74 4.50 8.33 10.00 9.64 9.32 5.67 5.00 5.10 5.26 

T 8: Rajmah +lentil (1:1) 44.67 19.50 16.50 19.19 316.83 13.88 8.83 10.67 8.67 9.40 3.83 2.83 3.40 3.35 

T 9: Rajmah+buckwheat 44.84 81.22 13.67 31.24 316.15 11.72 

9.67 

4.10 

5.13 7.67 

(1:1) 

4.17 4.17 

4.14 

7.49 

T 10: Rajmah +toria (2:1) 42.10 69.33 14.34 41.75 312.56 3.32 4.83 3.67 4.10 4.27 7.67 8.50 8.14 8.10 

T 11: Rajmah +linseed (2:1) 44.00 46.57 18.48 32.98 316.12 4.98 9.50 10.83 11.20 10.51 3.93 3.67 4.20 3.94 

T 12: Rajmah +lentil (2:1) 46.12 20.93 13.20 24.27 316.24 13.56 9.17 9.83 9.54 9.52 3.43 2.27 2.96 2.90 

T 13: 

(2:1) 

Rajmah+buckwheat 44.10 83.02 12.96 34.80 316.11 12.30 

7.70 

5.17 

4.50 5.40 

5.83 5.33 

5.44 

5.87 

CD at 5% NS - NS - NS - - - - - - - - - 

Ecosystem based approaches for climate change adaptation, ecosystem services, integrated farming system models, Land degradation neutrality 

192 | Page

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges & Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR- 

CRIDA, Hyderabad 

Rajmah Equivalent Yield (REY) , Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) and Rain Water Use Efficiency (RWUE) of the system 

Treatments REY (qha -1 ) LER RWUE (Kgha -1 mm) 

2018 2019 2020 Pooled 2018 2019 2020 pooled 2018 2019 2020 Pooled 

T 1: Sole Rajmah 13.00 14.33 13.34 13.56 1 1 1 1 8.56 10.07 11.47 10.03 

T 2: Sole toria 8.00 8.44 7.89 8.11 1 1 1 1 5.27 5.93 6.76 5.98 

T 3: Sole linseed 5.22 4.44 4.40 4.68 1 1 1 1 3.44 3.12 3.56 3.37 

T 4: Sole lentil 5.52 6.22 5.64 5.56 1 1 1 1 3.64 4.37 4.98 4.33 

T 5: Sole buckwheat 5.36 12.36 8.05 8.55 1 1 1 1 3.53 8.68 9.89 7.37 

T 6: Rajmah +toria (1:1) 10.56 11.16 11.01 10.91 1.09 1.16 1.14 1.13 6.95 7.83 8.92 7.90 

T 7: Rajmah +linseed (1:1) 12.11 13.33 12.55 12.66 1.52 1.41 1.49 1.48 7.97 9.36 10.67 9.33 

T 8: Rajmah +lentil (1:1) 13.30 13.97 13.18 13.48 1.53 1.38 1.32 1.37 8.76 9.81 11.18 9.92 

T 9: Rajmah +buckwheat (1:1) 8.45 12.22 11.72 10.79 1.14 1.10 1.02 1.03 5.56 8.58 9.78 7.97 

T 10: Rajmah +toria (2:1) 9.94 9.33 9.5 9.59 0.93 0.95 0.98 0.97 6.55 6.55 7.47 6.86 

T 11: Rajmah +linseed (2:1) 12.12 13.28 13.1 12.83 1.62 1.38 1.46 1.46 7.98 9.32 10.62 9.31 

T 12:Rajmah +lentil (2:1) 13.18 12.48 12.14 12.59 1.48 1.25 1.30 1.29 8.67 8.76 9.98 9.14 

T 13:Rajmah+buckwheat (2:1) 8.83 10.56 10.32 9.90 1.17 1.08 0.95 1.00 5.82 7.41 8.44 7.22 

CD at 5% 1.29 1.65 1.40 2.38 - - - - - - - - 


193 | Page


Hyderabad 

Treatments 

COC 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

Economics of the different rajmah based intercropping system 

Gross return (Rs. ha -1 ) Net return (Rs. ha -1 ) B:C ratio 

2018 2019 2020 pooled 2018 2019 2020 pooled 2018 2019 2020 pooled 

T 1: Sole Rajmah 29880 78000 85980 80040 81340 48120 56100 50160 51460 2.61 2.87 2.67 2.71 

T 2: Sole toria 20670 48000 50640 47340 48660 27330 29970 26670 27990 2.32 2.44 2.29 2.35 

T 3: Sole linseed 20200 31320 26640 26400 28120 11120 6440 6200 7920 1.55 1.31 1.30 1.38 

T 4: Sole lentil 20770 33120 37320 29640 33360 12350 16550 8870 12590 1.59 1.79 1.42 1.60 

T 5: Sole buckwheat 19120 32160 54150 56950 47753 13040 35030 37830 28633 1.68 2.83 2.97 2.49 

T 6: Rajmah +toria (1:1) 30355 63360 66960 66120 65480 33005 36605 35765 35125 2.08 2.20 2.17 2.15 

T 7: Rajmah +linseed (1:1) 30680 72660 79980 78240 76960 41980 49300 47560 46280 2.36 2.60 2.55 2.50 

T 8: Rajmah +lentil (1:1) 30930 79800 83820 72420 78680 48870 52890 41490 47750 2.58 2.70 2.34 2.54 

T 9: Rajmah +buckwheat 

(1:1) 

30680 

50700 73320 72900 65640 20020 42640 42220 34960 1.65 2.38 2.37 2.13 

T 10:Rajmah +toria (2:1) 30117 59640 55980 57120 57580 29523 25863 27003 27463 1.98 1.85 1.89 1.90 

T 11: Rajmah +linseed (2:1) 30280 72720 79680 82800 78400 42440 49400 52520 48120 2.40 2.63 2.73 2.58 

T 12:Rajmah +lentil (2:1) 30405 79080 74880 75000 76320 48675 44475 44595 45915 2.60 2.46 2.46 2.50 

T 13:Rajmah 

(2:1) 

+buckwheat 

30280 

52980 63360 69480 61940 22700 33080 39200 31660 1.74 2.09 2.29 2.04 


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International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges & Opportunities 

during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad 

T2-21P-1292 

Effect of Sowing Windows on Production of rabi Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor 

L.) in Scarcity Zone of Maharashtra 

V. T. Jadhav*, V. M. Londhe, J. D. Jadhav and V. M. Amrutsagar 

Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, 

All India Coordinated Research Project on Agrometeorology, 

Zonal Agriculture Research Station, Solapur, Maharashtra. 413 002 

*vtj2009@rediffmail.com 

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.,) plays an important role as a grain and fodder crop for both arid 

and semi-arid regions of the world. This importance is due to its higher water use efficiency, 

relatively good tolerance to drought and salt stresses, and good competitiveness with weeds in 

advanced growth stages. Sorghum growth, development, and yield depends on environmental 

conditions as temperature and precipitation. Deciding on early or late planting depends on a 

farmer’s ability to deal with the risk of poor crop establishment with early planting or the effect 

of water or heat stress at reproductive stages with late planting. Since sorghum is cultivated 

majorly as a rainfed crop, its productivity is significantly influenced by climatic elements 

(Srivastava et al. 2010). Among the cereals in India, sorghum ranks third, next to rice and 

wheat. Sorghum is a rich source of carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, and vitamins B1 and B2. 

Keeping this in view, this experiment was conducted with the objective to study suitable 

variety under suitable weather conditions for optimum production and identify the suitable 

sowing date for better growth and yield of sorghum crop. 

Methodology 

The experiment was carried out for five years during the rabi season from 2016-17 to 2020-21 

at Dry Farming Research Station, Solapur (17.65º N 75º 90’ E and 483.6 m MSL) on medium 

black soil (60 cm soil depth). The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with four 

replications. Treatments were comprised of four sowing dates i.e. S1: MW 36 (Sept.03-09) 

Purva nakshatra, S 2: MW 38 (Sept.17-23) Uttara nakshatra, S 3: MW 40 (Oct.01-07) Hasta 

nakshatra, S4: MW 40 (Oct.15-21) Chitra nakshatra. Three sorghum genotypes i.e. V1: M-35- 

1, V2: Mauli, and V3: Yashoda were sown at a spacing of 45cm×15cm. The sowing of seed was 

done by dibbling method on the respective date of sowing. Recommended packages of 

practices were uniformly followed. 

Results 

Among all the sowing, dates the crop sown at MW 40 (01-07th Oct) S 3 produced maximum 

grain yield (808.29 kg ha -1 ) and total monetary returns (Rs. 26633 ha -1 ) over the rest of the 

treatments. These results are in concurrence with the findings of (Hulihalli et al. 2016). This 



195 | Page



might be due to uneven and inadequate distribution of rainfall and moisture during the 

vegetative growth period of crops. It is also seen that there was a delay in sowing increase in 

consistency in grain yield production than the earlier sowing. Among the varieties, M-35-1 

produced significantly higher grain yield (717.94 kg ha -1 ) and total monetary returns 

(Rs.24968 ha -1 ) over the other variety. 

The growth and development of crop is influenced by environmental conditions such as 

temperature, radiation, and photoperiod (Mokashi et al. 2008). The mean CUM and MUE 

recorded by sorghum crop was 240 mm and 2.7 kg ha- 1 mm. The highest CUM was recorded by 

S 3 sown crop (258 mm) however the MUE was recorded by S 3 sown crop (3.5 kg ha -1 mm). 

This indicated that S 3 sown crop (Hasta Nakshatra) utilized moisture more efficiently than 

other dates of sowing. The Tmax and Tmin were correlated with the grain yield of rabi sorghum. 

It showed a polynomial relationship with grain yield. This indicated that with an increase of 

Tmax there was an increase in grain yield upto 31.8 0 C and later on yield decreased with an 

increase in Tmax. This indicated that with an increase of T min there was an increase in grain 

yield up to 17.5 0 C later on yield decreased with an increase in T min. 

Pooled grain yield (kg ha -1 ) and total monetary returns (TMR) of rabi sorghum as 

influenced by sowing dates and varieties 2016 to 2020. 

Treatment 2016- 

17 

Main=Sowing dates 

2017- 

18 

2018- 

19 

2019- 

20 

2020- 

21 

Pooled 

yield 

Pooled 

TMR 

S 1 = MW 36 (Sept.03-09) Purva nakshtra 793.9 508.1 516.0 579.1 846.67 648.77 22108 

S 2 = MW 38 (Sept.17-23) Uttara nakshtra 897.4 618.2 583.3 701.6 926.92 745.46 25281 

S 3 = MW 40 (Oct. 01-07) Hasta nakshtra 1042.4 844.4 677.6 503.5 973.42 808.28 26633 

S 4 = MW 42 (Oct.15-21) Chitra nakshtra 480.9 434.0 379.9 357.2 424.24 415.25 14935 

Mean 803.7 601.2 539.2 535.4 792.81 654.44 22239 

Sub=Varieties 

V 1 = Maldandi (M-35-1) 884.3 659.1 594.3 588.5 863.56 717.94 24968 

V 2 = Mauli 770.2 573.2 514.8 534.3 801.44 638.79 21756 

V 3 = Yashoda 756.4 571.2 508.6 483.3 713.43 606.59 19994 

Mean 803.7 601.2 539.2 535.4 792.81 654.44 22239 

S.E.+ (Sowing dates) 57.1 44.4 37.02 25.2 27.2 44.5 1352.9 

C.D. at 5 % 182.6 142.1 118.45 80.7 87.1 137.1 4168.7 

S.E.+ (Varieties) 33.3 23.9 22.16 19.6 23.3 10.3 248.9 

C.D. at 5 % 97.1 69.6 64.69 57.3 68.1 29.7 716.9 

S.E.+ (SD X V) 66.5 47.7 44.32 39.3 46.7 20.6 497.7 

C.D. at 5 % NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 

196 | Page 

Ecosystem based approaches for climate change adaptation, ecosystem services, integrated farming system models, Land 




Conclusion 

Among the sowing dates crop sown at 40 MW (S3) recorded a significantly higher yield 

(808.29 kg/ha) with TMR. Hasta sown sorghum gets sufficient period for its growth and 

reproduction with higher CUM (240 mm), MUE (2.7 kg ha -1 mm), GDD (2984) and RUE (2.72 

g MJ -1 ). Positive correlation with Tmax up to 31.8 0 c and Tmin 17.5 0 c. Among varieties, V1 

performed significantly better than other varieties under study. 

CUM and MUE as influenced by sowing time in rabi sorghum (2016 to 2020). 

Sowing CUM (mm) MUE (kg ha -1 mm ) 

Time M-35-1 Mauli Yashoda Mean M-35-1 Mauli Yashoda Mean 

S 1 270 285 290 282 2.7 2.2 2.0 2.3 

S 2 240 268 270 259 3.4 2.7 2.6 2.9 

S 3 210 240 250 233 4.1 3.3 3.1 3.5 

S 4 185 189 192 189 2.5 2.1 2.0 2.2 

Mean 226 245 250 240 3.1 2.6 2.4 2.7 

GY (Kg/ha) 

900 

650 

Grain yield with CUM in Sorghum 

Grain Yield 

y = -0.0373x 2 + 15.477x - 737.45 

R² = 0.8693 

400 

100 150 200 250 300 350 

CUM (mm) 

GY (Kg/ha) 

900 

650 

Grain yield with Tmax in Sorghum 

Yield 

y = 31254x 2 - 2E+06x + 3E+07 

R² = 0.8657 

400 

31.031.231.431.631.832.032.232.432.632.8 

Tmax ( 0 C) 

GY (Kg/ha) 

Grain Yield 

1000 

y = 1243.5x 2 - 5234.8x + 5898.6 

800 R² = 0.8159 

600 

400 

2.10 2.30 2.50 2.70 2.90 

MUE (kg/ha mm) 

References 

Grain yield with MUE in Sorghum 

Hulihalli, U.K., Shantveerayya and Mammigatti, U.V. 2016. Effect of Planting Dates and 

Correlation studies on Growth and Yield of Rabi Sorghum Genotypes. Adv. Life Sci. 

5(12). 



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Mokashi, D.D., Jadhav, J.D, Khadtare, S.V. and Deshpande, A.N. 2008. Crop weather 

relationship in rabi sorghum. Internat. J. Agric. Sci. 4 (1). 

Srivastava, A., Naresh Kumar, S. and Aggarwal, P.K. 2010. Assessment on vulnerability of 

sorghum to climate change in India, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ.138: 160–169 

T2-22P-1302 

Effect of Sowing Windows on Production of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in 

Scarcity Zone of Maharashtra 

V. M. Londhe*, V. T. Jadhav, J. D. Jadhav and V. M. Amrutsagar 

Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, 

All India Coordinated Research Project on Agrometeorology, 

Zonal Agriculture Research Station, Solapur 413 002, Maharashtra 

*vikaslondhe603@gmail.com 

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is cultivated for food and fodder on a large scale in arid and 

semiarid regions. Chickpea is the second-most important pulse crop after pigeonpea in the 

World for human diet and other use. Pulses once referred to as the poor man’s meat is 

becoming increasingly important in crop production systems. Poor agronomic practices such as 

seed rate, date of sowing, selection of suitable genotypes, fertilizer management, etc. are 

responsible for the low productivity of chickpea in India. Within the genetic limits, time of 

sowing is an important agronomic factor affecting the productivity of most of the arable crops, 

owing to changes in environmental conditions to which phenological stages of crops are 

exposed. Amongst the agronomic practices, sowing methods and proper seed rate are of great 

importance (Reddy et al., 2003). Generally, chickpea adapts to high temperatures, however, 

heat stress during the reproductive phase can cause significant yield loss. with this view, the 

present studies were undertaken with the objective of predicting the economical yield of 

chickpea in relation to weather parameters. 

Methodology 

The study was conducted at the research farm of Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Solapur, 

Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra (India) during the year 2016-2020 in 

the rabi season. The experiment was conducted in a split-plot design with four replications. 

Treatment combinations were formed considering different cultivars viz., S 1 = MW 38 (Sept 

17-23), Uttara nakshatra, S 2 = MW 40 (Oct. 01-07), Hasta nakshatra, S 3 = MW 42 (Oct. 15- 

21), Chitra nakshatra and S4 = MW 44 (Oct. 29- Nov.04), Swati nakshatra. Late sowing, after 

November 18 reduced yield by 28% for every 10-day interval delay (Paikaray and Misra, 

1992). 

198 | Page 





Results 

Chickpea sown at MW 38 (S 1) (Uttara Nakshatra) produced a significant maximum grain yield 

(850.79 kg ha -1 ) and total monetary returns (Rs. 35247 ha -1 ) over S3 and S4 sown crop as 

discussed in the table below i.e. MW 42 and 44 (Chitra and Swati Nakshatra). Results are in 

close agreement with the finding of InduBalaSethi et al, (2016). Variety Digvijay produced 

more grain yield (719.87 kg ha -1 ), and total monetary returns (Rs. 29646 ha -1 ) over variety 

Vijay. This might be due to the efficient utilization of available soil moisture. . Parmar et al. 

(2015) revealed that maximum grain yield was recorded from early sown whereas minimum 

yield was obtained from the late sown crop of chickpea. 

The average CUM (288 mm) was recorded higher by the S 1 sown crop (MW 38 (Sept. 17-23), 

Uttaranakshatra) and MUE (3.7 kg ha -1 mm) was recorded higher by the S1 sown crop (MW 

38 i.e. Uttara sown crop). Among the varieties Digvijay recorded the highest average value of 

CUM and MUE as shown in Table. The yield was decreased if Tmax increases above 31.8 0 C. 

The Tmin of 18.3 0 C was found to be optimum for getting higher grain yield and thereafter 

there was a decrease in chickpea yield. 

Pooled grain yield (kg ha -1 ) and total monetary returns (TMR) (Rs ha -1 ) of rabi chickpea 

as influenced by various sowing dates and varieties. (2016 to 2020) 

Treatment 2016- 

17 

2017- 

18 

2018- 

19 

2019- 

20 

2020- 

21 

Pooled 

Yield 

Pooled 

TMR 

Main=Sowing dates 

S 1 = MW 38 (Sept 01-07) Uttara nakshatra 1255.8 660.0 564.5 712.5 1061.2 850.79 35247 

S 2 = MW 40 (Oct. 01-07) Hasta nakshatra 1113.1 510.6 467.1 507.9 880.3 695.80 29133 

S 3 = MW 42 (Oct. 15-21) Chitra nakshatra 985.6 483.2 413.3 396.5 769.0 609.53 25165 

S 4= MW 44 (Oct. 29- Nov.04) Swati nakshatra 812.3 354.5 310.3 342.7 465.9 457.15 18675 

Mean 1041.7 502.1 438.8 489.9 794.1 653.32 27055 

Sub=Two varieties 

V 1 = Vijay 937.1 433.9 371.6 439.7 751.6 586.76 24464 

V 2 = Digvijay 1146.3 570.3 506.0 540.1 836.6 719.87 29646 

Mean 1041.7 502.1 438.8 489.9 794.1 653.32 27055 

S.E.+ (Sowing dates) 25.2 29.1 26.7 40.4 41.4 28.6 1204 

C.D. at 5 % 80.6 93.1 85.4 129.2 132.3 88.0 3711 

S.E.+ (Varieties) 20.1 19.2 15.7 26.7 27.5 10.4 380.9 

C.D. at 5 % 62.0 59.2 48.3 82.2 84.8 31.2 1142.0 

S.E.+ (SD X V) 40.2 38.5 31.3 53.4 55.0 20.8 761.8 

C.D. at 5 % NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 



199 | Page



CUM and MUE as influenced in chickpea (2016-17 to 2020-21) 

Treatment CUM (mm) MUE (kg ha -1 mm) Treatment CUM (mm) MUE(kg ha -1 mm) 

S 1V 1 300.8 3.4 S 3V 1 250.2 3.0 

S 1V 2 275.2 4.0 S 3V 2 240.0 3.3 

S 2V 1 280.0 3.0 S 4V 1 190.8 2.1 

S 2V 2 269.8 3.4 S 4V 2 170.2 3.1 

Grain yield with CUM in Chickpea 

Grain yield with MUE in Chickpea 

Grain Yield 

Grain Yield 

GY (Kg/ha) 

y = 0.0058x 2 + 1.9489x - 55.185 

R² = 0.8078 

GY (Kg/ha) 

y = 381.7x - 413.56 

R² = 0.7558 

CUM (mm) 

MUE (kg ha -1 mm) 

Grain yield with Tmax in 

Chick pea 

Grain yield with Tmin in Chickpea 

Yield 

Yield 

GY (Kg/ha) 

y = -2037.5x 2 + 130073x - 2E+06 

R² = 0.8872 

GY (Kg/ha) 

y = -52.589x 2 + 1963.9x - 17279 

R² = 0.9241 

Tmax (°C) 

Tmin (⁰C) 

Conclusion 

Chickpea sown at 38 MW (S1) produced significantly higher yields and total monetary 

returns.Among varieties, Digvijay (V 2) recorded higher values than Vijay under study. 

References 

Indu, B.S., Meena, S., Kumar, P., and Jajoria, M. 2016. Yield performance of chickpea 

cultivars as influenced by sowing time and seed rate. BioScan. 11(1): 407-409. 

Paikaray, R.K., and Misra, R.C. 1992. Performance of chickpea under different dates of sowing 

in the eastern ghat highland zone of Orrisa, India. Int. Chickpea News. 27: 24-25. 

Reddy, B.V., Reddy, S., Bidinger, P.S., and Blummel, M. 2003. Crop management factors 

influencing- yield and quality of crop residues. Field Crops Res. 84: 57-77. 


200 | Page 




T2-23P-1315 

Effect of Thermal Environment on Yield of Tomato under Different 

Microclimatic Conditions at Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone of Assam 

A. Kalia*, P. Neog 1 , R.l. Deka, D. B. Phukan 2 , K.Kurmi 3 and K. Medhi 

Department of Agrometeorology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat- 785013 

1 Department of Agrometeorology, B. N. College of Agriculture, Biswanath Chariali- 784176 

2 Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat- 785013 

3 Department of Agronomy, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat- 785013 

* amlanika123@gmail.com 

A field experiment was conducted during 2019-20 at AAU, Jorhat to evaluate the effect of the 

thermal environment on the yield of tomato variety Arka Rakshak. The variety was planted on 

four planting dates starting from 25 October at 15 days intervals and three mulching treatments 

(non-mulch, rice straw mulch, and black polythene) in the split-plot design. The soil 

temperatures were recorded daily in twelve plots during the 43 to 12 SMW at two soil depths 

of 5 cm and 10 cm. Agro-climatic indices viz., growing degree day, Day temperature, and heat 

use efficiency (HUE) were calculated following standard procedures. The occurrence of lower 

daily minimum temperature (



In Assam, Tomato is usually grown during the rabi season as a rainfed crop. The soil moisture 

fluctuation and low temperature during the critical crop growth stages are the major limiting 

factors hindering the growth and yield of the tomato crop in Assam. Lowering both soil and air 

temperatures below 17ºC during the rabi season in Assam is a common phenomenon, which is 

detrimental to the growth and development, and yield of the tomato. Moreover, the daily 

minimum temperature goes below 10ºC for about two months (Mid -December to Mid - 

February), which adversely affects the reproductive stage of the tomato crop planted at the 

normal time. On the other hand fruit production of tomato is gradually dropped as the 

temperature increased by the end of the winter season. However, these problems can be 

nullified up to an extent with the adoption of suitable adaptation strategies like microclimatic 

modification with alteration of planting dates and application of mulches. The use of mulches 

modifies the microclimate of the crop by altering not only the soil hydrothermal as well as 

radiation regimes at the soil surface and within the crop canopy. Generally, polythene mulches 

increase both maximum and minimum soil temperatures (Ham et al., 1993), whereas, organic 

mulches decrease maximum but increase minimum soil temperature (Teasdale and Mohler, 

1993) as compared to un-mulched soil. Thus, modification of the thermal environment for 

increasing the yield of tomato crops seems to be very important. The study hypothesized that 

the mulching and altering dates of planting would create a congenial microclimate for matching 

growing periods to fit in the required microclimatic conditions and also for better growth, 

development, and yield of the crop. The investigation was planned to study the effect of 

modified thermal regimes on the yield of the Tomato under varying microenvironments. 

Methodology 

The study was carried out at the Experimental Farm of Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, 

Assam (26°42'39" N and 93°15'39" E) during rabi, 2019-20. Tomato cultivar Arka 

Rakshak was grown under rainfed conditions in the split-plot design with four dates of planting 

(P 1: 25th October, P 2: 14 th November, P 3: 3 rd December, and P 4: 8 th January) and three 

mulching treatments (M0: Non-mulch, M1: Rice straw mulch and M2: Black polythene). Daily 

meteorological data of maximum and minimum temperatures during the crop growth period 

were collected from the Department of the university and converted to weekly values according 

to Standard Meteorological Weeks (43 rd to 19 th weeks, 2019-20). Micrometeorological 

observations such as daily morning and evening soil temperature were recorded in representing 

plots. Growth parameters and phenological observations were recorded periodically. The 

accumulation of heat unit (GDD) from sowing to the end of the harvest and HUE was 

computed for different treatments following Medhi et al., (2019). The accumulated Day 

temperature during the crop growth period was also calculated following Venkatraman (1968). 

The fruit yield at maturity was recorded from a 1 m 2 area from each plot as well as from the 

whole plot. Thermal indices were utilized for studying the cause-effect relationship. 

202 | Page 





Results 

Variation of air temperature during the crop growth period: 

The variation of daily maximum temperatures during the growing period of the crop (from 25 th 

October 2019 to 12 th May 2020) ranged from 21.7 to 31.7°C with an average temperature and 

coefficient of variation of 26.7°C and 11.7 percent, respectively. The weekly maximum 

temperature recorded in the second week of the crop season was 30.4°C, which reduced 

continuously and reached the minimum of 20.7°C during 1 st SMW. Thereafter, the weekly 

maximum temperature started to increase and reached a maximum value of 31.7°C during the 

13 th standard week. It was observed that the daily maximum temperature never exceeded 

34.6°C during the crop growth period and always remained lower than the maximum cardinal 

temperature (38°C). However, increasing the daily maximum temperature above 30°C after 

mid-March (11 SMW) was detrimental to the growth and yield of the crop as it was well above 

the optimum cardinal temperature of 18 to 24°C of the crop. 

The mean daily minimum temperatures during different standard meteorological weeks in the 

crop growing season varied from 8.4°C to 20.8°C at 2 nd SMW and 19 th SMW, respectively. 

From the 45thSMW onwards, the minimum temperature decreased gradually and attained the 

minimum value of 8.4°C at 52 nd SMW, thereafter, it increased gradually and became 20.8°C at 

18 th SMW. It was observed that the mean daily minimum temperature during the first week of 

December to the first week of February remained below 10°C, with the maximum limit of 

6.2°C, which was even lower than the base temperature (7°C) of the crop. 

Variation of soil temperature under different microclimates 

The weekly mean morning and evening soil temperatures ranged from 11.4 to 23.7°Cand 15.1 

to 34.5°C, respectively under different planting dates and mulching treatments (Fig. 1). The 

highest morning soil temperatures with a weekly mean of 16.9°C were recorded under P1, 

which reduced gradually with successive delay in planting with the mean morning soil 

temperatures of 15.7 (P 2), 15.3 (P 3) and 14.9°C (P 4). The highest and the lowest mean evening 

soil temperature of 26.3°C and 23.6°Cwere recorded under P1 and P2, respectively. Like 

morning soil temperature, evening weekly average soil temperatures reduced gradually in the 

last two dates of plantings (P 3 and P 4). As expected in all planting dates irrespective of the 

mulching treatments, both weekly morning and evening soil temperatures started to decline 

from 47 th SMW and became the minimum between 1stto 3 rd SMW, thereafter it started to 

increase gradually towards the end of the crop season. Thus, the early stages of crop growth of 

the first planting were exposed to higher soil temperatures, while in reproductive growth stages 

of that planting were exposed to lower temperatures. On the other hand, early and later growth 

stages of the crop planted on later dates (P3 and P4) were sequentially exposed to lower and 

higher soil temperatures. 



203 | Page



Under non-mulched treatment, the mean morning soil temperatures varied from 14.3°C (P 4 ) 

to16.1°C (P1), while the evening soil temperature ranged from 23.3 (P2) to 25.9°C (P1 ) under 

different dates of planting. Irrespective of dates of planting the mean weekly temperatures were 

the highest under black polythene with mean values of 16.3°C and 27.2°Cin morning and 

evening, respectively, whereas, the lowest morning temperature was observed under nonmulched 

(with a mean value of 15.1°C) condition, but the lowest evening temperature was 

recorded under straw mulch (22.2°C). 

Deviation of weekly morning and evening soil temperatures under rice straw mulch and black 

polythene from the soil temperatures under non-mulched treatment were calculated and 

presented in Fig. 2. The weekly morning soil temperatures under both rice straw (M1) and 

black polythene mulch were higher by 0.54 (P3) to 0.63°C (P1) and 1.07 (P2) to 1.63°C (P1), 

respectively as compared to the non-mulched treatment. On the other hand, the weekly evening 

soil temperature was reduced by 1.02 (P1) to 1.18 °C (P2) under rice straw mulch (M1) but 

increased by 1.9 (P2) to 2.47 °C (P1) under black polythene mulch (M2) irrespective of planting 

dates. 

Fruit yield of Tomato: 

The fruit yield of tomato cultivar Arka Rakshak planted under different planting dates and 

mulching treatments ranged between 76.6 and 392.6 q ha -1 with an overall mean of 234.9 q ha -1 , 

irrespective of planting dates and mulching treatments, however, varied significantly under 

different dates of planting and mulching treatments. The highest and lowest fruit yield was 

recorded under the second and last date of planting with average yields of 137.3 and 99.9 q ha - 

1 , respectively. The highest fruit yield was recorded under the second date of planting (P2) with 

an average yield of 337.3 q ha -1 , which reduced gradually by 49.9 and 70.4 percent under the 

P3 and P4, respectively. The fruit yield in the case of crop planting on 25th October was also 

reduced by 3.3 as compared to P2. Among the mulching treatments, the highest fruit yield was 

recorded under black polythene (267.9 q ha -1 ), followed by rice straw mulch (234.2 q ha -1 ) and 

non-mulched treatment (173.7 q ha -1 ). 

The highest fruit yield in P 2 could be attributed to the occurrence of a favorable thermal 

environment resulting in better crop growth with higher yield attributing characters. In the case 

of late plantings (beyond 14 November), the period of the harvest was reduced considerably 

due to exposure of the harvesting stage of the crop to comparatively higher soil and air 

temperature resulting in poor fruit yield on later dates (P3 and P4). Despite experiencing a 

longer harvest period, exposure of the early growth period to the higher soil and air 

temperatures forced the crop to enter into the reproductive stage in advance with lower LAI 

and biomass, which caused a reduction of fruit yield in the first date of planting as compared to 

P 2. It is to be mentioned that fruiting and fruit maturity stages of the crop planted on the first 

204 | Page 





date of planting were exposed to the exceptionally lower minimum temperature (below 10°C) 

for about 9 weeks (49 to 5 th SMW). The 54.2 percent increase in fruit yield under black 

polythene as compared to the non-mulched condition might be attributed to the fact of 

recording of higher soil temperature (weekly mean), particularly during 49thto 5thSMW by up 

to 1.84°C under black polythene as compared to non-mulched condition. 

Thermal indices: 

Irrespective of mulching treatments, the GDD accumulation from planting to end of the fruit 

harvest in tomato variety Arka Rakshak reduced from 2140 to 1463°C Day, when planting the 

tomato cultivar was delayed from 25 th October to 3 rd December, but it again increased to 

1687°C Day when planting was further delayed to 8th January. Irrespective of planting dates, 

the highest GDD accumulation to attain the end of harvest from planting was observed under 

black polythene (1857°C Day), followed by rice straw (1784°C Day) and non-mulched 

treatment (1669°C Day), which might be due to increasing in crop duration as a whole under 

black polythene. 

Day temperature accumulation from planting to the end of the harvest was the highest on the 

first date of planting (3526°C) and lowest on the third date of planting (2502°C) without 

considering the effect of mulching treatment. The marginal increase in accumulated Day 

temperature on the last date of planting compared to the third date of planting was probably 

due to exposure of both vegetative as well as reproductive stages of the last planting to a 

continuous rise in both daily maximum and minimum temperatures. Irrespective of planting 

dates, the highest Day temperature accumulation from planting to physiological maturity was 

observed under black polythene (3064°C), followed by rice straw (2955°C) and non-mulched 

treatment (2782°C Day). The lower coefficient of variation of Day temperature accumulation 

to attain any maturity as compared with GDD is the indication of the efficiency of Day 

temperature as a better thermal index. 

The heat use efficiency (HUE) for fruit yield was influenced by both dates of planting and 

mulching treatments. Irrespective of mulching treatments, HUE for fruit yield ranged from 1.3 

to 5.2 kg ha -1 °C -1 , respectively. Relatively higher HUE recorded under the second date of 

planting as compared to later dates of plantings was possibly due to higher fruit yield in the 

crop planted on 14th November. Perhaps for the same region, HUE for both biomass and fruit 

yields was highest under black polythene (5.4 and 3.6 kg ha -1 °C -1 ) mulch as compared to rice 

straw (4.9 and 3. kg ha -1 °C -1 ) and non-mulched condition (3.6 and 2.3 kg ha -1 °C -1 ). 

Correlation studies between crop growth parameters and fruit yield, and thermal indices 

(Thermal time, Day temperature, and Heat use efficiency) confirmed the existence of a 

significant and positive correlation between fruit yield and thermal indices. Therefore, these 

indices can be utilized for developing equations for predicting the fruit yield of the tomato. 



205 | Page



References 

Anonymous. 2018. FAO Database: February, 2018. FAO, Rome, Italy. 

Ham, J.M., Kluitenberg, G.J. and Lamont, W.J. 1993. Optical properties of plastic mulches 

affect the field temperature regime. J. American Soc. Hort. Sci. 118: 188-193. 

Medhi, K., Neog, P., Goswami, B., Deka, R.L. and Hussain, R. (2019). Agrometeorological 

Indices in Relation to Phenology and Yield of Rice genotype (Oryza sativa L.) under 

Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone of Assam. Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci. 8(06): xxxx. 

doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.806.xx 

Naika, S., Jeude, J., Goffau, M., Hilmi, M. and Dam, B. 2019. Cultivation of tomato 

production, processing and marketing. ISBN Agromisa: 90-8573-039-2 ISBN CTA: 92- 

9081-299-0. 

Teasdale, J.R. and Mohler, C.L. 1993. Light transmittance, soil temperature, and soil moisture 

under residue of hairy vetch and rye. Agron. J. 85: 673-680. 

Venkatraman, S. 1968. Climatic consideration in cropping pattern Proc. symposium on New 

cropping pattern in India. ICAR, New Delhi, pp. 251-260. 

T2-24P-1472 

Natural Resource Management in Rapeseed, Field pea and Lentil under 

Senapati District 

Dipin Wangkheimayum, N. Jyotsna and R.S. Telem 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra-Senapati, Manipur, India 

This survey was conducted during the year 2011-19 on NHM of three selected crops at 

different villages of Senapati. In this paper, we studied the natural resource management of 

some selected agronomical crops viz., Rapeseed var. TS-36, Pea var. Aman and Lentil var. 

HUL57 to demonstrate their economics. We found that, yield of rapeseed, pea and lentil were 

7.12 q ha -1 ; 13.62 q ha -1 and 6.96 q ha -1 respectively. The gross cost of rapeseed, pea and lentil 

were reported as Rs.16900; 46000 and 32446 respectively. Highest net income was found in 

Pea var. Aman which was Rs 22100 and lowest was 11580 in rapeseed var. TS-36. The BCR 

for the crops rapeseed var-36, field Pea var. Aman and lentil var. HUL57 were found to be 

1:68:1; 1.48:1 and 1.5:1 respectively. During the year 2011-2018, we conducted the various 

intervention programmes viz., mulching with crop residue and sawdust of rabi crops; farm 

ponds construction and renovation; stone lining wall; and vermiculture and composting unit, 

mulching with paddy straw and crop residues; azolla cultivation; jalkund roof rain water 

206 | Page 





harvesting structure; zero tillage of rapeseed; check dam construction; open well development; 

minimum tillage of rapeseed var. TS-36; field pea var. Aman; and lentil var. HUL-57. In these 

intervention programmes; number of beneficiaries ranges from 2-14 were benefited by 

adopting the various programme mentioned above which were provided by the KVK Senapati 

for the socioeconomic sustainability. 

T2-25P-1482 

Assessment of Profitable Intercropping System for Alfisols Under Dryland 

Condition in Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka 

Mudalagiriyappa., B.G. Vasanthi, K. M. Puneetha, M. Madan Kumar, H.S. Latha, and 

K. Devaraja 

All India Co-ordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru 

Intercropping in the dryland areas ensures better utilization of all growth resources. The soils of 

the drylands are not only thirsty but also hungry. So, to replenish nutrient pool, conservation of 

soil and water and stability in yield, intercropping systems are necessary for the dryland 

conditions/areas. The experiment consists of assessing the finger millet, pigeonpea and 

groundnut along with suitable intercrops. The different intercropping yields were converted 

into the finger millet equivalent yield. 

Methodology 

The experimental field study was conducted at the AICRP for dryland agriculture, Bengaluru 

for three consecutive kharif seasons (2017-2019) to determine the profitable intercropping 

system for the red soils in the Eastern Dry Zone of the Karnataka under the dryland condition. 

In the Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka, the most predominant intercropping systems are viz., 

Ragi, Pigeon pea, Groundnut, Maize and Castor based intercropping systems for Alfisols under 

dryland situations. The cereal- legume interaction helps both the crops in their growth behavior 

and inputs requirements leading to improvement and efficient utilization of resources like 

nutrient, moisture, light and thereby increases productivity with enhancement of soil health by 

taking advantages of biological nitrogen fixation by the legumes. The experiment comprised of 

10treatments. viz, T 1: sole Finger millet, T 2: sole Pigeon pea, T 3: sole Groundnut, T 4: Finger 

millet + pigeonpea (DS with BRG-5 variety), T5: Finger millet + pigeonpea (TP with BRG-5 

variety), T6: Finger millet + akkadi, T7:Pigeonpea (BRG-1) + soybean (1:1), T8: Pigeonpea 

(BRG -2) + cowpea (1:1), T 9: Pigeonpea (BRG-2) + field bean (1:1) and T 10: Groundnut 

(ICGV-91114) + pigeonpea (BRG-5) (8:2). The crops were sown during kharif, finger millet 

sown during month of July, pigeonpea in the month of May, cowpea, soyabean and fieldbean 

in the month of May, groundnut in the month of June. The plot size of 3 m × 5m was adopted. 

The varieties used were; finger millet (MR-6), pigeonpea (BRG-2 and BRG-5), groundnut 

(variety ICGV 91114), Soyabean (Hardy), cowpea(IT 38956-1), fieldbean (HA-4).Akkadi crops 



207 | Page



comprised of mixture of fieldbean, cowpea, pigeonpea and mustard, and the recommended 

dose of fertilizer for finger millet was 50:40:37.5 kgha -1 ;pigeonpea, 25:50:25; groundnut, 

25:50:25; both for sole and intercropping system. For pigeonpea transplanted seedlings were 

raised in polythene cover during (May) and transplanted during July (45 days old seedling). 

Evaluation of the cropping system was carried out by using the following indices, 

Production efficiency: Production effieciency (PE) (kg/day) = 

System profitability: System profitability = 

 

 

Relative economic efficiency (REE):REE (%) = 

 

improved/diversified system; ENR- net returns in the existing system 

Finger millet equivalent yield (FMEY): 

Results 

() 

() 

× 100 where, DNR- net returns obtained under 

Yield of intercrop × price of inter crop 

FMEY = yield of main crop + 

price of main crop 

The different intercropping yields were converted into the finger millet equivalent yield. 

Among the different intercropping systems, comparing with finger millet based intercropping 

systems transplanted finger millet intercropped with pigeonpea(T5) recorded higher finger 

millet equivalent yield of 3946 kg ha -1 followed by finger millet + pigeonpea (Direct sown) 

(T 4) with FMEY (3284 kg ha -1 ). There was nearly 20.80 % and 4.84 % increase in yield over 

sole finger millet (T1)(3125 kg ha -1 ) . The higher yield attributes in finger millet might be due 

to the intercropping with pigeonpea, which could be ascribed to the ability of pigeonpea to fix 

atmospheric nitrogen, slow growth of pigeon pea in the initial period, better moisture 

conservation and also transplanting finger millet, resulted in good crop growth and 

establishment. These results were in conformity with findings of Anchal das and Sudhishri 

(2010). The better result was also due to the drought tolerance mechanisms of finger millet 

which showed noble yield under inconsistent rains during the cropping period. Among 

pigeonpea based intercropping system, higher finger millet equivalent yield of 1805 kg ha -1 

was recorded in T9 than sole pigeonpea T2(1163 kg ha -1 ). There was 35 % increase in yield in 

T 9. The increase in yield advantage was noticed when the component crops in an intercropping 

system do not compete for the same ecological riches and the interspecific competition for a 

given resources is weaker than the intraspecific competition. The bigger complementary effects 

and yield advantages occur when the component crops have different growing periods so as 

their major demands on resources varies with time (Ofori and Steen 1981) which was clearly 

seen under pigeonpea based intercropping system. Similarly, with respect to groundnut based 

intercropping system higher yield advantage was noticed in T 10 compared to growing sole 

ground nut (T3) (995 kg ha -1 ). The increase in yield of groundnut with pigeonpea as intercrop 

208 | Page 





was due to better use of environmental resources showing that crops with different maturity 

express the maximum demand for nutrients and moisture, aerial space and light and could be 

suitably intercropped (Enyi, 1977). With respect to the system profitability of the different 

intercropping system grown under the dryland conditions, T 5recorded higher system 

profitability 214 Rs. /ha/day followed by direct sown Finger millet + pigeonpea (170 

Rs/ha/day) and sole finger millet (165 Rs./ha/day). With respect to relative economic efficiency 

(%) higher relative economic efficiency 34.43 %, 461.69 % and 582.08 % was observed in 

T5[Finger millet+ Pigeonpea (TP)], T9 [Pigeonpea+field bean (1:1)] and T10[Groundnut+ 

Pigeonpea(8:2)] over their sole crops. Intercropping assures more efficient utilization of the 

resources and higher productivity compared with each sole crop of the mixture (Mucheru-muna 

et al. 2010). Increase in system profitability and relative efficiency % increase was due to 

better utilization of growth resources such as light, water and nutrients which was absorbed and 

converted into biomass by the intercrop over time and space. 

References 

Anchal das and Sudhishri, S., 2010, Intercropping in finger millet (Eleusinecoracana) with pulses for 

enhanced productivity, resource conservation and soil fertility in uplands of Southern Orissa. 

Indian J. Agon., 55(2): 89-94. 

Andrews, D.J. and Kassam, A.H. 1976. The importance of multiple cropping in increasing world food 

supplies. In: Papendick RI, Sanchez PA, Triplett GB (eds) Multiple Cropping. ASA Special 

Publication 27, American Science of Agronomy, Madison, WI, USA. 

Enyi, V.A.C. 1977. Grain yield in groundnut, Exp. Agric., 13: 101-110. 

Ofori, F. and Stern, W.R. 1987. Cereal-legume intercropping system, Adv in Agronomy, 41: 41-90. 

Yield, economics, RWUE, Production efficiency as influenced by the different 

intercropping system (pooled data of 3 years) 

Treatments 

Main 

crop 

(kg/ha) 

Inter 

crop 

(kg/ha) 

FMEY 

(kg/ha) 

Rain water use 

efficiency 


Production 

efficiency 

(kg day -1 ) 

Net 

returns 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

T1 3125 - 3125 6.39 28.41 60095 

T2 593 - 1163 1.63 10.57 4749 

T3 798 - 995 2.01 9.05 -7280 

T4 2829 243 3284 6.82 29.85 62077 

T5 3379 300 3946 8.15 35.88 78266 

T6 2640 127 2828 5.71 25.71 46643 

T7 698 100 1391 1.84 12.65 10322 

T8 684 151 1457 1.93 13.25 11589 

T9 650 362 1805 2.42 16.41 21045 

T10 1310 143 1872 3.10 17.02 13820 



209 | Page



S.Em± 153.31 0.40 1.39 

CD (0.05) 455.50 1.19 4.14 

* FMEY: finger millet equivalent yield 

T2-26P-1497 

Impact of Improved Practices in Rainfed Integrated Farming System on 

System Productivity and Employment Generation of Rainfed Farmers in 

Tumkuru District of Karnataka 

H. S. Latha, Mudalagiriyappa., K. Devaraja, M. Madan Kumar, B. G. Vasanthi, and K. 

M. Puneetha 

All India Co-ordinated research Project for Dryland Agriculture, UAS, GKVK, 

Bengaluru-560 065, Karnataka 

In Karnataka, the majority of farmers are small land holders having less than two hectares. 

These farmers generally practice subsistence farming, where they need to produce a 

continuous, reliable and balanced supply of food, as well as cash for basic needs and recurrent 

farm expenditure. Several methods of integrated farming system for bringing sustainability of 

irrigated ecosystem with ample data were developed. However, the research data base on IFS 

for rainfed ecosystem is meagre. Further, changing climate is devastating the sustainability of 

the fragile ecosystem. Also, the future food security in the country largely depends on the 

vertical expansion of allied activities in the rainfed ecosystem. Hence, the research for 

developing appropriate proportion of different components of IFS to rainfed ecosystem gains 

momentum. The research is implemented with the objectives 

1. To develop efficient, economically viable and environmentally sustainable IFS modules 

2. On-farm assessment/refinement/ strengthening of traditional rainfed farming systems with 

improved rainfed technologies 

3. To optimize on-farm integration of farm enterprises for enhanced farm incomes, resource/ 

input use efficiencies and employment opportunities 

Methodology 

The IFS villages have been selected in two blocks of Tumkur district viz.,Koratagare block: 

Elerampura, Vagginakurike and Pataganahalliof Koratagare taluk, Tumakuru district as block- 

I villages; and Tumakuru block: Seethakallu, Kalenahalli and Gidaganahalli of Tumkur taluk, 

Tumkur district as block-II villages.Among the six villages Kalenahallivillage of Tumkur 

taluk, Tumkur district was selected as study area under Eastern Dry Zone (Zone-5) of 

Karnataka. The study area is located at 13 º 18̍̍ 38"N Latitude, 77 º 16̍̍ 30"E Longitude and at a 

distance of about 80 km from GKVK campus. The selection of farmers based on the farming 

situation, farming system and farmer’scategory . 

210 | Page 





Based on the survey, technical interventions have been taken up under different themes as 

follows: NRM module: In-situ moisture conservation between paired rows of pigeon pea, 

Contour cultivation, Mechanization: Sowing through Bullock drawn seed drill and weeding by 

cycle weeder; Improved varieties: Finger millet (MR-1, GPU-28, ML-365), Groundnut (ICGV- 

91114, KCG-6, K-6, K-1812) and Pigeonpea (BRG-5, BRG-2); Intercropping system: Finger 

millet + Pigeonpea (8:2), Groundnut + Pigeonpea (8:2), Pigeonpea + Field bean (1:1) and 

Cowpea + Field bean (1:1); Fodder module: Fodder maize (SA-tall), Fodder sorghum, Napier 

multi-cut (CO-5); Perennial module: Melia dubia and tamarind has been introduced; Animal 

module: Deworming 5-10 mg/kg of body weight (40ml /cow), Dry fodder: 5-7 kg/day/animal, 

Green fodder: 25-30 kg/day/animal, Concentrates (Energy source: protein source: bran in 

50:25:25 ratio): 4 kg/day/animal, Perethrin soap, Hi-min- Multi mineral nutrient mixture 

(40g/animal/day) 

Results 

Among the different farmers category irrespective of different modules and farming situation 

there is considerable improvement in system productivity (6567 kg/farming system) and 

employment generation (343) in improved practices than the traditional farmers practice (4367 

kg/farming system and 309, respectively) in marginal farmers category. Similarly, in small 

farmer’s category higher system productivity (9321 kg/farming system) and employment 

generation (351) was recorded in improved technological interventions than existing farmers 

practices under rainfed farming situation. Further, under partially irrigated situation higher 

system productivity (11909 kg/farming system and 14397 kg/farming system) and employment 

generation (366- and 411-man days) was registered in improved practices both in marginal and 

small farmer’s category, respectively (Mudalagiriyappa et al., 2017 and Ramachandrappa et 

al., 2017). Further there was an increase in yield was noticed from 30 - 40 % and increase in 

net return from 33 - 45 % both in rainfed and partially irrigated farming situation. 

Conclusion 

Integrated farming practices viz., in-situ moisture conservation between paired rows of pigeon 

pea, sowing through bullock drawn seed drill and weeding by cycle weeder, using of improved 

finger millet, groundnut and pigeonpea varieties and implementation of mineral mixture for 

animals has enhanced the system productivity (kg/farming system) employment generation 

(man days) and in improved practices than traditional practices followed by farmers. The 

demonstrations also served as tools for up scaling the technologies to the surrounding farmers, 

extension functionaries and policy makers 

References 

Mudalagiriyappa., Ramachandrappa, B.K., Thimmegowda, M.N., Devraja, K., Krishnamurthy, 

R., Ravindra Chary, G., Puneetha, K.M., Savitha, M. S., Narayan Hebbal and Shree 



211 | Page



Harsha Kumar, S. S., 2017, Dryland technologies at farmer doorstep- A Real line at 

Baichenahalli, Tumakuru District. All India Co-ordinated Research Project for Dryland 

Agriculture, Directorate of Research, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, 

Karnataka, p.84. 

Ramachandrappa, B. K., Dhanapal, G. N., Mariraju, H., Indrakumar, N., Jagadeesh B. N.and 

Balakrishna Reddy, P. C., 2011, Dryland technologies for alfisols of Southern dry 

region of Karnataka and success stories. All India Co-ordinated Research Project for 

Dryland Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore 58 p. 

System productivity, employment generation and increase in yield (%) as influenced by 

improved technological interventions during 2020-21 

Farmer’s 

category 

Existing 

farmers 

practice 

Improved 

practice 

System productivity 

(kg/farming system) 

(FMEY)* 

Increase 

in yield 

(%) 

Rainfed 

Increase 

in 

Net 

returns 

(%) 

Existing 

farmers 

practice 

Improved 

practice 

Employment generation 

(man-days) 

Marginal 4367 6567 31.42 41.31 309 343 

Small 5737 9321 38.29 44.66 316 351 

Partially Irrigated 

Marginal 7837 11909 34.36 42.64 319 366 

Small 10146 14397 30.62 33.41 358 411 

T2-27P-1511 

Livestock Interventions as an Additional Source of Income to Rainfed 

Farmers of Ananthapuramu District, Andhra Pradesh 

K. Madhavi 1 , K. Sudha Rani 1 , B. Chandana 1 , V. Sivajyothi 1 , M. Ravi Kishore 1 , K. Naveen 

Kumar 1 , Malleswari Sadhineni 1 , J.V. Prasad 2 and J.V.N.S. Prasad 3 

1 Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Reddipalli, AP – 515 701 

2 ICAR-ATARI, CRIDA campus, Hyderabad – 500 059 

3 

ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad – 500 059 

Ananthapuramu is one of the drought prone districts of Andhra Pradesh particularly in southern 

India. The district secures least rainfall when compared to other districts of Rayalaseema 

region and other parts of Andhra Pradesh too. As the water is a scarce commodity, livestock 

suffered from lack of green grass and fodder. 

212 | Page 





Methodology 

Demonstration of establishment of improved fodder varieties, area specific mineral mixture, 

urea molasses blocks and backyard poultry rearing as an additional source of income 

generation were demonstrated to the farmers of NICRA adopted villages. 

Results 

Improved Fodder Varieties 

The correct amount and proportion of dry fodder, green fodder, and nutrients should be 

included in the animals’ balanced diet. Animals get the nutritional components they need for 

physical growth and milk production from green grass in general. As rainfall is chief constraint 

in Ananthapuramu district, even the dry fodder availability from crop residues is less due to 

less yield of majority of rainfed agriculture crops in this area. Hence, farmers are made aware 

of the perennial multicut fodder varieties (Super Napier &fodder sorghum) with high protein 

and crude fibre availability in the improved fodder varieties (Kabirizi et al., 2003). Farmers 

were distributed with Super Napier fodder slips &fodder sorghum seed from 2018 to 2021, 

green fodder was made available to animals through-out the year with an average yield of 167 

t/ha of fodder and thereby increasing the productive performance over that of locally available 

fodder with an average yield of 118 t/ha. 

Regional Specific Mineral Mixture 

Minerals are required by dairy animals for their metabolic functions, growth, milk production, 

reproduction and health. Animal cannot synthesize minerals inside its body and usually feeds 

and fodders fed to the dairy animals do not provide all the minerals in the required quantity 

(Sahoo et al., 2017). Therefore, animal should be supplemented with adequate amount of good 

quality mineral mixture in their ration. Level of minerals in feeds and fodder varies from region 

to region, thus mineral availability to the animal also varies. So, it is necessary to produce 

region specific mineral mixture accordingly. Area specific mineral mixture of 2kg each was 

supplied to 30 farmers every year from 2018-2021 in NICRA adopted villages, monitored the 

% increase in milk yield, fat and SNF% for a period of 60 days interval. The mean average 

milk yield, SNF% & Fat% recorded in the treatment group supplied with RSMM was 3.57 

l/day, 8.35% & 3.5% over the control group fed without supplementation of RSMM with 

recorded parameters of 2.90 l/day, 7.8% & 2.9%, respectively. 

Urea Molasses Mineral Blocks 

The principal forages used in India for livestock feeding are low in nitrogen, minerals and 

vitamins resulting in low productivity. To overcome this strategic nutrient supplementation is 

essential in this scenario to improve the use of poor-quality roughage. The Urea Molasses 

Mineral Block (UMMB) was developed at NDDB and supplementation of UMMB can show 



213 | Page



promising effects on productivity of animals. UMMB supplementation significantly increases 

feed intake, milk yield and growth rate and is therefore a cost-effective. UMMB provides 

fermentable nitrogen, energy and minerals necessary for optimum microbial growth. Molasses 

is noted for its sugar content and urea is a non-protein nitrogen compound (Rajesh Singh, 

2021). The UMMB supplementation in feed of Ruminants was carried out in NICRA adopted 

villages from 2018 to 2021. Feeding of UMMB to animals led in the marked increase in mean 

% of SNF (8.35%), milk yield (3.6 l/day) over that of the control group fed without 

supplementation of mineral blocks with mean % of SNF (7.93%), milk yield (2.95 l/day). 

Backyard Poultry Rearing 

Livestock and poultry provide a major contribution to India’s economy. In rural economy 

poultry farming contributes an important role especially for the socio-economic development 

of the weaker section of the society in India (Vermaet al., 2020). It generates self-employment, 

provides supplementary income and supplements protein rich diet at relatively low cost. In the 

state, the source of egg and meat production is mostly from exotic layers and broilers as well as 

the traditional local breeds. The high yielding layers and broilers cannot survive under suboptimal 

nutritional and managerial condition within stressful environment. The local breeds are 

very low productive with laying capacity of 20-30 eggs per year and very slower growth. These 

breeds are replaced with superior breeds phenotypically similar to existing poultry population 

& can acclimatize local climatic conditions. Under the NICRA project 60 rural women from 

NICRA adopted villages every year are supplied with kadaknath breed of poultry birds (10 

each) with good egg & meat production from which self-employment has been created by 

generation of additional income to women through sale of eggs & meat. 

References 

Sahoo, B., Kumar, R., Garg, A. K., Mohanta, R. K., Agarwal, A & Sharma, A. K. 2017. Effect 

of supplementing area specific mineral mixture on productive performance of crossbred 

cows. Ind. J. Ani. Nut., 34(4): 414-419. 

Rajesh Singh. 2021. Urea molasses mineral blocks as a feed supplement. 

Pashudhan Praharee Kabirizi, J., Muyekho, F., Mulaa, M., Nampijja, Z., Kawube, G., Namazzi, 

C and Alicai, T. 2017. Napier grass feed resource: production, constraints and 

implications for smallholder farmers in east and Central Africa. Environ Res. 

Verma, L. P., Sonkar, N., and Verma, C. 2020. Kadaknath chicken farming: Empowering 

Indian rural economy: A review. Breast, 16: 0-61. 

214 | Page 





Impact of supplementation of RSMM on productive performance of animals 

Year Benefited Avg. milk 

yield l/day 

Avg. 

SNF%/day 

Avg. 

Fat%/day 

Income Generated/ 

month 

No.of 

Farmers 

No.of 

Animals 

FP+ 

RSMM 

FP 

FP+ 

RSMM 

FP 

FP+ 

RSMM 

FP 

FP+ 

RSMM 

2018-19 30 30 3.5 2.9 8.4 8.0 3.8 3.0 4200/- 2610/- 

2019-20 10 30 3.6 3.0 8.4 7.6 3.5 2.8 4320/- 2700/- 

202--21 15 45 3.5 2.9 8.2 7.9 3.2 2.8 3885/- 3150/- 

2021-22 30 30 3.7 2.8 8.4 8.0 3.5 3.0 4440/- 3108/- 

Total/Mean 85 135 3.57 2.9 8.35 7.8 3.5 2.9 4212/- 2892/- 

FP 

-28P-1545 

Kadaknath Poultry Farming as an Emerging Way to Increase Farmer’s 

Income in Rainfed Farming Systems in Jhabua 

Chandan Kumar, I.S. Tomar and Anil Kumar Sharma 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Jhabua, RVSKVV Gwalior (M.P) 

Animal husbandry is an integral component of rainfed farming systems and, is a significant 

revenue stream for farmers. The livestock including sheep, goat and poultry which are integral 

to many rainfed areas go unnoticed, or get lesser than deserving attention. To conserve the 

native breed which is adaptive to local environment and having good potential of income 

generation known for its black colour which is very rare and precious known as Kadaknath in 

India found in Jhabua district of M.P. The Kadaknath chicken meat from Jhabua district of M.P 

received GI Tag in ‘Meat products, poultry & poultry meat’ category. The meat & egg of 

Kadaknath are rich source of Protein (21-24%) and lower source of Fat (1.96-2.6 %). Black 

meat of Kadaknath is very popular and delicious; its flesh is of higher value and is being used 

for the treatment of many human diseases by tribal living in Jhabua district. To maintain the 

purity of the birds and to increase their productive and reproductive efficiency, the scientific 

kadaknath production technology which includes balance diet, scheduled vaccination & proper 

medication as suggested by KVK Jhabuain NICRA adopted villageshas reduced the mortality 

rate from 50% to 10-12% and thus increases the survival percentage. The intervention of 

feeding Azolla Microphylla to kadaknath birds in the adopted village of NICRA shows 

significant effect and performs much better than traditional rearing system in Jhabua. This 

intervention not only checks mortality but also increase their body weight when fed 5% extra 

from recommended dose of grower feeds to 1 month old kadaknath grower birds. The bird is 

gaining the body weight in faster way and attaining saleable body weight of 1.10 kg in 105-120 

days. This technology gave higher monetary return to farmers due to huge demand for 



215 | Page



Kadaknath in the Maharashtra, Gujrat, Rajasthan which encourages Kadaknath production in 

the district. The scientific Kadaknath production technology has potential to sustain among 

small or sub-marginal farmers. 

Methodology 

The experiment was done at farmer’s field of adopted village of KVK Jhabua at Chapri (Rama) 

as control, Hatyadeli (Meghnagar) as T 1 and Parwaliya (Thandla) as T 2 of KVK Jhabua. For 

production of Azolla plastic azolla kit was given to them were used of size (6 x 3) feet. In each 

pit 20 kg of soil poured and make a soil bed 1 -2 cm. thick evenly. Each pit filled with water up 

to the height of 15-20 cm. Around 2.5 kg. Old cow dung/vermin compost and 15 -20 gm. of 

SSP mixed in 10 litre of water to make slurry and poured into water bed. Then added about 

100-150 g fresh A. Microphylla culture. Harvesting was done after 5 to 7 days and offered to 

Kadaknath birds after harvesting washing was done with clean water. 

For experimental purpose kadaknath chicks were selected and reared under same diet and same 

condition and from same lot of parent birds after attaining their age of 1 month 600 grower 

kadaknath birds were selected which have equal shape and size and weight randomly and 

grouped into 3 groups using Randomized Block Design which is further divided in 2 sub 

groups or replicates with 200 chicks in each. Fresh Azolla culture were used (3’x6’ size) for 

experiments. In T 1 (control)Group (200) two hundred kadaknath birds were fed normal diet 

only which contains nutrients,T2 group were fed basal commercial diets along with @ 5% extra 

supplementary feed (fresh azolla on DM basis),and in T 3 group 5 % replacement of basal diets 

with fresh azolla (DM basis) were fed. All the diets (starter and finisher) were prepared as per 

BIS (1992). The growth rate, mortality rate was recorded periodically for all the three groups 

of the experiments and data recorded. Sufficient management conditions like floor space, light, 

temperature, ventilation and relative humidity were provided to each of the groups. During the 

experimental period, they were fed ad libitum on replicate basis and provided with clean and 

wholesome water. Data on Initial and final body weight gain was recorded. The data obtained 

were statistically assessed by the Analysis of Variance through SPSS (17.0) Software 

considering replicates as experimental units. Duncan’s multiple range test was used to test the 

significance `f difference between the differences of significant at 0.01 and 0.05 %. 

Results 

The growth performance of the grower kadaknath birds fed different levels of azolla meals is 

presented in the Table. Average final weight of the birds at 140 days show were significantly 

different in T2 group (p



for this decreased gain. Highest value for gain in live weight was exhibited in T 2 group whereas 

lowest value was recorded in the T1 group. 

Overall growth performance (gm/birds of Kadaknath birds (4 th to 42 nd week of age) 

Age of the Birds 

T 1 weight 

in(gm)Chapri 

T 2 weight in(gm) 

Hatyadeli 

T 3 weight in(gm) 

Parwaliya 

Initial body weight 169.0±0.5 183.0 ±0.5 180.0±1.5 

1 -2 Month 501.0 ± 3.6 512.0±1.4 507.0±3.4 

2 - 3 Month 1081.0±2.4 1201±3.8 1107.0±0.71 

3 - 4 Month 1102.0±3.4 1311.0±4.4 1205.0±2.6 

4 – 5 Month 1508.0±3.1 1618±4.7 1403.0±4.2 

Final body weight 1423.0±3.5 1680±3.9* 1583.0±4.5 

The mortality rate of kadaknath birds in T1, T2, and T3groups were 6 %, 2%, and 3% 

respectively which is reflects the promising effect of feeding of A Micropylla in Kadaknath 

birds as in these birds 10 % mortality in the intensive condition is considered normal. The table 

below shows the cost of rearing of the T1 group was found to be Rs-37600 because only 188 

birds survived whereas in the T 2 group despite feeding Azolla (Rs-5/birds) the cost comes to 

around Rs-38220 as only 4 birds died so input cost increased, and in T3 due to replacement of 

feed cost comes around Rs-37830 only. The profit in the T 2 group of birds was found to be Rs- 

31200 more than the T 1 group which is quite impressive and justifies the rearing of kadaknath 

birds with Azolla. 

Groups 

No. of birds 

started with 

Economics of rearing of kadaknath birds (200) 

Mortality 

(No.) 

Input Cost 

(INR) 

Gross 

Return 

Net Return 

B:C 

Ratio 

T1 200 12 37600.00 131600.00 94000.00 3.5 

T2 200 04 38220.00 156800.00 118580.00 4.1 

T3 200 06 37830.00 145500.00 107670.00 3.8 

Conclusion 

The unorganized poultry sector which contributes around 20% of the total poultry population, 

Kadaknath is one of them reared by tribal as well as selected poultry growers. The palatability, 

digestibility, and potential to prevent birds from the disease are the main issues that need to be 

addressed in the changing climatic scenario which needs to be addressed. The rearing of 

locally adopted birds like kadaknath and rearing with Azolla show synergistic effects on the 

bird’s performance and also increases the income of the farmers in all typologies. 



217 | Page



T2-29P-1550 

Productivity and Profitability of Pigeon Pea–Vegetable Mustard–Okra 

Cropping System as Influenced by Enriched Organic Formulations 

Kamal Garg and Shiva Dhar 

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110 012, India 

India has made spectacular breakthrough in production and consumption of fertilizers during 

last four decades. However, the imbalanced and continuous use of chemical fertilizers in 

intensive cropping system has led to reduction in the crop yields and resulted in imbalance of 

nutrients in soil which has adverse effect on soil physico-chemical properties. Due to the 

dramatic rise in prices for commercial fertilizers, search for alternative sources of plant 

nutrients has become increasingly important, particularly for resource poor farmers of South 

Asia. Use of organics build up the soil humus improving the soil physical and biological 

properties. Therefore, organic nutrient management systems are needed to maintain agricultural 

productivity and protect the environment. Moreover, raw materials required to make FYM are 

easily available to farmers. The conversion of rice straw into value-added compost may have 

the potential to improve productivity of the crops and reduce environmental pollution as well 

as loss of plant nutrients and organic matter. Ashes from combustion of biomass are the oldest 

mineral fertilizers in the world. Biomass ashes are nearly free of N but contain significant 

quantities of P, K, Ca, Mg and micronutrients essential for plant nutrition (Bhattacharya et al., 

2002). The potato peel manure is very useful for farmers because NPK content was gradually 

increased in the soil. The integration of organic manures and composts of residues of various 

crops available with farmers would be able to maintain soil fertility as well as sustain crop 

productivity. Hence, the present investigation was conducted with the objective to find out the 

effect of enriched organic formulations on productivity and profitability of pigeon pea– 

vegetable mustard–okra cropping system for achieving higher yield and economics. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif), winter (rabi) and summer seasons 

of 2020–21 and 2021–22 at the research farm of Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New 

Delhi. The experiment comprised of one cropping system (pigeon pea–vegetable mustard– 

okra) and seven nutrient sources viz., control, 100% RDN through FYM, 100% RDN through 

improved RRC, 100% RDN through PHA-based formulation, 75% RDN through PHA-based 

formulation, 100% RDN through PPC-based formulation and 75% RDN through PPC-based 

formulation were tested in randomized block design with three replications. The pigeon pea 

variety ‘Pusa Arhar 16’, vegetable mustard cultivar ‘Pusa sag 1’, and okra variety ‘Pusa Bhindi 

5’ were taken in the experiment. The RDN of pigeon pea, vegetable mustard, and okra were 30, 

80, and 100 kg N ha -1 respectively. Pigeon pea was sown in the first week of July and 

218 | Page 





harvested in the first week of November. Vegetable mustard was sown in the second week of 

November and harvested in the third week of January. Okra was planted in the first week of 

March and harvested in the second fortnight of May during both tears of experimentation. After 

harvesting, threshing, cleaning, and drying, the seed yield of crops was estimated. Economic 

yields of the component crops were converted to pigeon pea-equivalent yield (PPEY), 

considering the prevailing minimum support price (MSP)/market prices of the crops. System 

productivity was calculated by adding the PPEY of the component crops. Production efficiency 

in economic terms was calculated by taking system net returns and the B: C ratio. The data 

obtained from the study for two years were analyzed statistically using the F–test. 

Results 

The yield of component crops of the system expressed as pigeon pea equivalent yield (PPEY) 

under various enriched organic formulations. Among the treatments, the application of 100% 

RDN through PHA-based formulation registered significantly highest PPEY (8.70 t ha -1 and 

8.97 t ha -1 ) over other treatments which was statistically on par with 100% RDN through PPCbased 

formulation and FYM during both the years of study. However, the treatment receiving 

100% RDN through improved RRC were also found statistically similar to 75% RDN through 

PHA-based formulation and PPC-based formulation. The application of 100% RDN through 

PHA-based formulation increased the PPEY to the extent of 53.5 per cent during 2020-21 and 

55.0 per cent during 2021-22, respectively over control. This might be due to balanced supply 

of nutrients to the crops throughout the crop growth period as FYM undergo decomposition 

during which series of nutrient transformation takes place and helps in their higher availability 

to the crops. Higher uptake of nutrients by the crops will result in higher yield. 

Production economics of cropping systems under various enriched organic formulations have 

been presented in Table. Critical examination of data revealed that application of 100% RDN 

through PHA-based formulation gave significantly maximum system net returns and B: C ratio 

(Rs.553.6 x10 3 ha -1 and Rs.567.8 x10 3 ha -1 ; 4.96 and 4.94 during 2020–21 and 2021–22, 

respectively), which remained statistically similar to 100% RDN through PPC-based 

formulation and FYM during both the years. Higher returns under PHA-based formulation 

might be due to the higher yield obtained from FYM coupled with a relatively lower cost of 

FYM during both years which had increased the net returns during both years. 

Conclusion 

Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that the application of 

organic nutrient sources at 100% recommended dose of nitrogen through PHA-based 

formulation was found to be most effective in achieving higher productivity and profitability 

in pigeon pea–vegetable mustard–okra cropping system. 



219 | Page



References 

Bhattacharya, S.S. and Chattopadhyay, G.N. 2002. Increasing bioavailability of phosphorus 

from fly ash through vermicomposting. J. Environ. Qual. 31(6): 2116–2119. 

Effect of enriched organic formulations on system productivity and economics of pigeon 

pea–vegetable mustard–okra cropping system 

Treatment 

Pigeon pea 

equivalent yield 

(PPEY, t ha -1 ) 

Net returns 

(x10 3 ₹ ha -1 ) 

B: C ratio 

2020-21 2021-22 2020-21 2021-22 2020-21 2021-22 

Control 6.09 6.31 356.8 368.3 4.10 4.10 

FYM 8.40 8.68 528.1 540.6 4.85 4.81 

Improved RRC 7.45 7.77 4465 464.7 3.94 4.03 

PHA based formulation (100% 

RDN) 8.70 8.97 553.6 567.8 4.96 4.94 

PHA based formulation (75% RDN) 7.33 7.67 447.1 466.4 4.26 4.29 

PPC based formulation (100% RDN) 8.50 8.77 537.0 550.3 4.89 4.85 

PPC based formulation (75% RDN) 7.17 7.42 432.3 445.7 4.20 4.18 

SEm ± 0.22 0.22 12.2 12.1 0.13 0.13 

LSD (P=0.05) 0.67 0.66 37.6 37.4 0.41 0.39 

FYM, Farm yard manure; RRC, Rice residue compost; PHA, Paddy husk ash; PPC, Potato peel compost 

T2-30P-1570 

Deep Liter Pig Housin- A Venture for Minimizing Winter Stress and other 

Health Managemental Issues in Piggery Farming in West Jaintia Hill 

District of Meghalaya 

Rimiki Suchiang, Dodo Paswet, Banylla Kharbamon, Alethea Dympep, Risakaru 

Lyngdoh, Marbiangdor Mawlong, Jaseama K. Marak and Firstborn Sutnga 

KVK Jaintia Hills, Moopun,Wahiajer 

West Jaintiahills , Meghalaya 

kvkjaintiahills@gmail.com 

Piggery farming is a growing industry in Meghalaya with pork being the most preferred meat 

in the state and offers a major source of livelihood for most of the rural people. However, there 

are various constraints inhibiting the growth of this enterprise such as improper housing 

management and health management issues. in order to address this constraint, kvk jaintia hills 

since the year 2019 has taken up a technology on construction of deep liter pig shed in order to 

tackle winter stress in pigs by maintaining a comfort zone for the pigs which was well suited 

220 | Page 





for physiological adaptation during extreme weather events. The marketable body weight was 

80-90 kg and there is a reduction in lameness by 6.6%, skin diseases by 25.5 %, diarrhea by 

15.2% and respiratory problem by 7.2 %. The average temperature of the shed recorded during 

peak winter months was within the range of 20-23 o C 

T2-31P 

Indigenous Multi Cropping Systems of Rainfed Areas: A Present from the 

Past to the Future 

Prachi D. Patil, Swaran Viswanathan, Ravindra Adusumilli, Shailesh Vyas, Soumik 

Banerjee, Lokappa Nayak, K. Phaneesh, P. Vipindas, Shamika Mone, Tarak Kate, 

Siddhesh Sakore, Pramel Kumar, Ritesh Guage, Deepak Sharma, Luna Panda 

WASSAN, Hyderabad 

The unprecedented heat waves across wheat-growing areas and drought in Indo Gangetic 

Plains hit the exports of wheat and rice badly during the year 2022. These events have exposed 

the vulnerabilities of rice and wheat - India’s two major cereal crops to a changing climate. 

Experiences from the green revolution belts of Punjab and the Ingo Gangetic Plains draw our 

attention to the rainfed agriculture areas. Despite constituting about 68% and 48% of the 

cropped area under non-food and food crops, rainfed agriculture is yet to garner the public and 

policy maker's imagination. India’s traditional rainfed multi-cropping systems are more 

climate resilient. The inherent diversity and rich complementary crop combination- of cereals, 

millets, pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables, grown on the same piece of land at the same time 

inbuild resilience to climate variability. 

An exploratory research study on documenting traditional multi-crop systems was conducted 

under the University of Cambridge’s project of Transforming India's Green Revolution by 

Research and Empowerment for Sustainable food Supplies (TIGR2ESS) across nine states of 

India in 2022. Twelve different traditional rainfed multi-cropping systems across eight 

agroecological zones were studied. The concept was to explore their potential in sustaining 

crop diversity and soil health, provisioning nutrition-rich food and feed, and climate resilience. 

These twelve systems are Kurwa (Jharkhand), Misa Chasa (Odisha), Navadhanya (Andhra 

Pradesh), Punam Krishi/Ponam Kuthu and Purayida Krishi (Kerala), Akkadi Salu (Karnataka), 

Baradhanya and Pata (Maharashtra), Olya and Sat Gajara (Madhya Pradesh), Rammol 

(Gujarat) and Hangari Kheti (Rajasthan). 

The mix of crops, their ratios, layout of the field, agronomic practices and flow of dietary 

nutrients to households, and their time trends was documented using multiple research methods. 



221 | Page



T2-32P 

A Review Article on Comparative Performance of Vanaraja and Indigenous 

Chicken under Backyard System of Rearing 

Nunni Tayeng, Neeta Lengjam, S. M. Hussain and R.K. Salam* 

KVK-East Siang, CHF, CAU, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, India 

* rubu28903@gmail.com 

Silluk is an interior most village of East Siang district with a 27 0 43 ’_ 29 0 20 ’ N latitude and94 0 

42 ’ -95 0 35 ’ E longitude with an elevation from 130 to 752 MSL. The population is nonvegetarian 

and prefers meat products in the diet. Furthermore, though indigenous birds are 

hardy, resistant to common avian disease and adopt well in adverse climatic condition, their 

productivity is much lower due to poor genetic potential, hence reducing the market potential 

as well as opportunity for extra income. Keeping these points in view KVK East Siang under 

NICRA project initiated an intervention of introducing backyard poultry rearing with Vanaraja, 

a dual-purpose high yielding chicken developed by Project Directorate of Poultry, Hyderabad 

and successfully introduced in various parts of our country. The information on performance of 

the Vanaraja against indigenous birds in backyard rearing system is scarce and disorganized 

for the north eastern region, especially for subtropical regions like that of Silluk village in East 

Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh. However, KVK-East Siang, has successfully conducted 

Front Line demonstrations on Vanaraja birds in backyard systems in villages of East Siang 

District (APR; 2015-2016, 2016-2017 and 2019-2020) concluded farmers showed great 

satisfaction for Vanaraja Bird and also recommended to be popularized in every villages of the 

district. Additionally, in the state of Assam some comparative performance of Vanaraja and 

indigenous chicken under backyard system studies have revealed that overall mean body 

weight, egg production and egg weights were significantly higher in Vanaraja in compare to 

indigenous birds. Also, in states like Nagaland and Mizoram with similar sub-tropical agroecosystem, 

the studies to analyze the backyard poultry production system practiced by the 

tribal farmers found that the traditional free range poultry production can possibly be improved 

through the use of dual-purpose birds like Vanaraja. All these studies show that the present 

intervention to be concluded in Silluk Village has a promising result to look forward to. 

Directed Seeded Rice: Prospects, Constraints and Researchable Issue 

T2-33P 

Satyendra Pal Singh and Awdhesh Singh 

RVSKVV-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Lahar (Bhind) M.P. 

Rice (Organ Sativa) is one of the most important food crops in the world and staple food for 

more than 50 percent of the global population. Being the major sources of food after wheat, it 

meets 43 percent of calorie requirement of more than two third of the Indian population. In 

222 | Page 





India rice is grown on an area of about 43.5 million ha with a total population of 105.5 MT and 

productivity of 2.4 tons per ha during 2014-15. Increasing water scarcity, water loving nation 

of rice cultivation and increasing labour wages triggers the search for alternative crop 

establishment method which can increase water productivity. In traditional rice cultivation, rice 

is sprouted in a nursery. Sprouted seedlings are then transplanted into standing water with 

direct seedling, rice seed is sown and sprouted directly into the field, eliminating the laborious 

process of planting seedlings by hand and greatly reducing the crops water requirement. Direct 

seeded crops require less labour and tend to mature faster than transplanted crops. 

Conventional method of rice growing which is not only intensive water user but also 

cumbersome and laborious. Different problems like lowering water table, scarcity of labour 

during peak periods, deteriorating soil health demands some alternative establishment method 

to sustain productivity of rice as well as natural resources direct seeded rice, the olds method of 

crop establishment, is gaining popularity because of its low-input demand. It saves labour, 

requires less water, less drudgery, early crop maturity, low production cost, better soil physical 

conditions for following crops and less methane emission, provides better option to be the best 

fit in different cropping systems. There are several constraints associated with shift PTR to 

DSR, such as high weed infestation, evaluation of weedy rice, increase in soil borne pathogens, 

nutrient disorders, poor crop establishment, lodging, incidence of blast, brown leaf spot etc. by 

overcoming these constraints DSR can prone to be a very promising, technically and 

economically feasible alternative to PTR. 

Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Increased Agricultural Productivity 

through Smallholder Farmers in Ratlam District (M.P.) 

Gyanendra Pratap Tiwari, SarveshTripathy* and Jitendra Bhandari 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jaora, Ratlam (M.P.)-457001 

*sarveshtripathy@gmail.com 

T2-34P 

The impacts of climate change are evident in the agriculture sector in India. These impacts are 

more severe and pronounced in a dry district like Ratlam due to the high reliance on agroeconomy 

and subsistence-based livelihoods by smallholder farmers that increase vulnerability 

and risks. This paper evaluated performance of BBF (Broad Bed Furrow), improved variety, 

soil test based nutrient management system and integrated pest and diseases management, by 

comparing their efficacy in terms of yield and reduction in disease pest problems. 

Methodology 

The trial was conducted in NICRA-adopted village of Ratlam district during 2020-21 and 

2021-22on farmer’s field in soybean, chickpea and wheat crop. Before and after comparisons 



223 | Page



on various variables were obtained with the help of baseline data and recall memories of 

respondents. 

Results 

The result was shows 25.93% yield increase in soybean due to introduction of extra early, 

thermo-insensitive, multiple resistant and high yielding variety JS-2034, over traditional 

practice with use of broad bed furrow (BBF) technology in Kharif season. Similarly in rabi 

season- heat tolerant, wilt resistance and high yielding variety chickpea variety RVG-202 has 

given higher yield of 19.8 % over traditional practice with use of BBF technology. Improved 

high yielding and heat tolerant wheat variety HI-1605 given higher yield of 23.57 % 

comparison to traditional variety LOK-1 with use of line show technology. These findings 

suggest that traditionally used practices have scientific basis and offer simple, affordable and 

climate friendly practices to improve the health of agro-ecosystem while supporting 

smallholder farmers to adapt to adverse impacts of climate change and build socio-ecological 

resilience. These practices can be also customized depending on the local context for wider 

adoption and scaling. Similar result were also found by Aggarwal P. K. (2003), Das et al. 

(2012 & 2014), Jasna et al. (2017), Parry et al. (2017) and Sonune & Mane (2018). 

Impact of climate change on productivity of soybean, chickpea and wheat. 

Treatment Year Variety Seed Yield 

(Kg/ ha) 

Gross returns 

(Rs/ha) 

Net returns 

(Rs/ha) 

B:C ratio 

IP 2020-21 JS-2034 16.74 64951 38554 1.46 

FP 2020-21 Local 13.30 51604 27546 1.14 

IP 2021-22 JS-2034 15.48 61146 36428 1.47 

FP 2021-22 Local 12.31 48624 27412 1.29 

IP 2020-21 RVG-202 14.81 75531 52411 2.27 

FP 2020-21 Local 12.37 63087 40452 1.79 

IP 2021-22 RVG-202 14.68 76776 51436 2.03 

FP 2021-22 Local 12.26 64119 41578 1.84 

IP 2020-21 HI-1605 38.28 75603 47854 1.72 

FP 2020-21 LOK-1 30.98 61185 35478 1.38 

IP 2021-22 HI-1605 35.29 71109 45263 1.75 

FP 2021-22 LOK-1 28.56 57548 34145 1.46 

IP: Improved practice; FP: Farmers’ practice 

Conclusion 

Broad Bed and Furrow technique and stress tolerant cultivars can play an important role in 

coping with climate variability as well as enhancing the productivity. These findings suggest 

that traditionally used practices have scientific basis and offer simple, affordable and climate 

224 | Page 





friendly practices to improve the health of agro-ecosystem while supporting smallholder 

farmers to adapt to adverse impacts of climate change and build socio-ecological resilience. 

These practices can be also customized depending on the local context for wider adoption and 

scaling. 

References 

Aggarwal, P. K. 2003. Impact of climate change on Indian agt1culture. J. Pl. Bio. 30: 189-98. 

Das, A., Patel, D.P., Munda, G.C., Ramkrushna, G.I., Kumar, M. and Ngachan, S.V. 2014. 

Improving productivity, water and energy use efficiency in lowland rice (Oryza sativa) 

through appropriate establishment methods and nutrient management practices in the 

mid-altitude of north-east India. Exp. Agric. 50(3): 353–375. 

Jasna, V.K., Burman, R.R., Padaria, R.N., Sharma, J.P., Varghese, E., Chakrabarti, B. and 

Dixit, S. 2017. Impact of climate resilient technologies in rainfed agroecosystem. Ind. J. 

Agric. Sci. 87(6): 816–824. 

Parry, M. L. and Carter, T.R. 1989. The impact of climate change on agriculture. In: Coping 

with Climate Change. Proceedings of the 2nd North American Conference on Preparing 

for Climate Change, Topping JC (ed). Climate Institute, Washington, DC, pp. 180–184. 

Sonune, S.V. and Mane, S.B. 2018. Impact of climate resilient varieties on crop productivity 

in NICRA village. J. Pharmacog. Phytochem. 1(special): 3210-3212. 

Wezel, A., Casagrande, M., Celette, F., Vian, J.F., Ferrer, A. and Peigne, J. 2014. 

Agroecological practices for sustainable agriculture- a review. Agron. Sust. Dev. 34: 1– 

20. 

Effect of Different Legumes in Legume-Castor Relay Cropping System 

S. P. Deshmukh*, V. Surve, T. U. Patel, H. H. Patel and D. D. Patel 

College of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural University, Bharuch, Gujarat – 392 012 

*swapnildeshmukh@nau.in 



225 | Page 

T2-35P 

In the scenario of conventional farming system, limited chances are available to cope with 

sustainability and productivity issues at the same time. Relay cropping may play a crucial role 

in tackling this concern, by increasing the sustainability with minimum tillage, continuous soil 

cover along with increase in land productivity. Lot of studies already reflected the benefits to 

crops sown after legume crop, so more emphasis was given in this study to directly relate the 

research towards a best choice of legumes for relay cropping in castor crop. With these 

thoughts this research was framed to study different legume-castor relay cropping systems 

viz.,greengram-castor, clusterbean (veg)- castor, blackgram-castor, cowpea-castor and sole



castor (control). The results revealed that greengram-castor and blackgram-castor are the best 

identified relay cropping system for obtaining higher castor equivalent yield and monetary 

returns as per the three years of experimentation. However, the study also showed that legumecastor 

relay cropping gives more than two folds returns than sole castor. 

Effect of Seeding Rate on Seed Yield and Yield Components of Alfalfa 

(Medicago Sativa) for Minimizing Abiotic Stress 

T2-36P 

S. Iqbal, Z. A. Dar, M. Habeeb, S. Nassir, Z. Rashied, S. Basheer, S. Majeed, F. Rasool, 

E. Shanaz, A. Lone 

Dryland Agriculture Research Station, Rangreth, SKUAST-Kashmir 

A new look at the effect of seeding rates on long-term alfalfa seed production is necessary to 

see if reducing seeding rates is an economically viable option to reduce biotic stress and cut 

input costs, without sacrificing seed yield and income. At this time, a wide range of seeding 

rates is being used in Ladakh without evaluating their effects on seed yield and seed yield 

components of alfalfa. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 

different seeding rates on seed yield and seed yield components of alfalfa in the Cold Arid 

Region of Ladakh. In this regard a field experiment was conducted at Mountain Agriculture 

Research and Extension Station Kargil (MAR&ES), Sub-station, SKUAST-K, to study the 

effect of seeding rate on seed yield and seed yield components of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) for 

two growing seasons. Seeding rate treatments were 2.5 kg ha -1 (SR 1 

), 5.0 kg ha -1 (SR 2 

), 7.5 kg 

ha -1 (SR 3 

), 10.0 kg ha -1 (SR 4 

) and 12.5 kg ha -1 (SR 5 

). Seed yield and seed yield components 

(number of pods per m 2 , number seeds per pod and 1000-seed weight) were determined for all 

treatments. The statistical results of the study indicated that seeding rate significantly (P = 

0.01) affected seed yield and number of pods per m 2 , but there was no significant difference in 

number seeds per pod and 1000-seed weight. The maximum value of seed yield (805.0 kg ha -1 ) 

and number of pods per m 2 (6610) was obtained in case of SR 1 

treatment. Conversely, the 

minimum value of seed yield (605.7 kg ha -1 ) and number of pods per m 2 (4620) was observed 

in case of SR 5 

treatment. Therefore, 2.5 kg ha -1 was found to be more appropriate seeding rate 

in improving seed yield of alfalfa in the cold arid region of Ladakh. 

226 | Page 





T2-37P 

Impact of Climate Change on Pokkali Farming System 

S. P. Vikas* and Shinoj Subramannian 

ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Ernakulam), ICAR- Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, 

Narakkal, Kochi- 682 505, Kerala 

* vikaspattath@gmail.com 

Pokkali is a unique farming system in coastal areas of Ernakulam, Thrissur and Alappuzha 

districts of Kerala where paddy and shrimp are cultivated alternatively in the same field. 

Uniqueness of this farming system is that the paddy is saline tolerant and there is no external 

inputs required either as fertilizer for paddy or feed for shrimp. The maximum salinity during 

paddy crop that is raised during June to September is 4 ppt and maximum salinity during 

shrimp crop that is raised during November to May is 30 ppt. The timing of both paddy crop 

and shrimp crop is critical as optimum levels of salinity and water quality are essential for 

successful crop. Monsoon showers normally occurring during the first week of June every year 

flush out salt accumulation in soil and bring down the salinity to safer levels to facilitate 

sprouting of paddy seeds. Subsequent to sowing, the water level in Pokkali fields is kept 

minimum by shutting down the field sluice gates till root development to prevent seeds getting 

washed away. The production from Pokkali fields reduced considerably in recent years. The 

cost of production also increased and the Pokkali farming became no longer profitable. In this 

context, a survey was conducted to examine the impact of climatic atrocities on these 

developments. The area selected was Kadamakkudy and Karumallur panchayaths in Ernakulam 

district of Kerala. The monsoon showers delayed by 3 to5 weeks during the past four years 

resulted corresponding delay in paddy sowing pushing the cropping period to July to October. 

This caused exposure of paddy crop to higher salinities upto 6 ppt resulting stress to the crop 

and reduced production. The average production of eight quintals per acre paddy dropped to 

5.5 quintals per acre. The subsequent shrimp farming also affected due to the delay. The 

average production of 3.6 quintals per acre dropped to 1.2 quintals per acre. Another issue 

expressed by the farmers is that the seeds are washed out in flash floods. There were times in 

these four years when the sowing had to be repeated upto three times incurring additional 

expenses. The seed cost per acre is Rs.2,700/-. 



227 | Page



Impact of Front-Line Demonstration on the Yield and Economics of 

Coriander under TDC- NICRA in Kota District of Rajasthan, India 

Dilip Matwa 1* , C.L. Meena 1 , P.P. Rohilla 2 , Mahendra Singh 2 , and R.R. Meena 2 

T2-38P 

1 ICAR-Agriculture Technology Application Research Institute Zone-II, Jodhpur, Rajasthan-344001, 

2 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Borkhera, Kota Agriculture University, Kota, Rajasthan-3240011, 

*dilip93matwa@gmail.com 

The study was carried out in National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA- 

TDC) Project village Chomakot of Kota district during 2011-12-13 to 2019-20. Total 184 front 

line demonstrations (FLDs) were conducted on coriander (Coriandrum sativum) in 92.6 ha by 

the active participation of the farmers with the objective of improved technologies of coriander 

production potentials. The improved technologies consist performance of high yielder 

&climate resilient varieties viz.RCr-436, RKD-18, balanced fertilizers (soil test based) 

application and integrated disease and pest management. The demonstrated recorded an 

average yield ranging from 875 kg to 2225 kgha -1 with a mean of 1602 kgha -1 . The per cent 

increase yield in demonstration ranged from 9.46% to 36.08% with a mean of 14.18 % in the 

respective years. The average demonstrated field gave higher net returns of Rs. 57383.56ha - 

1 

and B:C ratio 3.452., over control group i.e. Rs. 48639.56ha -1 with 3.259 B:C ratio from 

coriander variety, respectively. Present results clearly show that the yield and economics of 

Coriander variety having low temperature stress & stem gall disease tolerance, higher yielding 

can be boost up by adoption of recommended technology in Kota district of Rajasthan. 

T2-39P 

Impact of Onset Date of Monsoon on Kharif Crops in Bhadohi District of UP 

Sarvesh Baranwal*, Vishvendu Dwivedi, Rudal Prasad Chaudhary, G.K. Chaudhory 

ICAR-IIVR-KVK Bhadohi, UP, India 

*sarveshbaranwal@gmail.com 

Inter and intra seasonal fluctuation in climate has a significant impact on the sowing of crops. 

Climate change is now a reality as evident from the significant increase in CO2 concentration 

and global mean temperature. increasing levels of GHGs alter the energy balance between the 

atmosphere and the earth’s surface, in turn, the instability of monsoon. Monsoon plays a 

pivotal role in the sustenance of India's food & water security, prosperity and agro-ecological 

systems. An estimated ∼60% of the total population in the Indian subcontinent is dependent on 

monsoon rainfall. The fluctuations and changes in Indian monsoon rainfall on spatial and 

228 | Page 





temporal scale is closely linked to cropping pattern. Monsoon rain govern the sowing area of 

crop in kharif season. Over the years, it has been directly experienced that the erratic & 

irregular of monsoon entry at the district level is affecting the cropped area and its pattern. 

Premature and early arrival and late arrival of monsoon has been observed to affect the crops 

covered in the area. In the year 2021, monsoon onset started in second week of June in Bhadohi 

district of UP and their symmetrical contribution of rainfall (above normal rain) and 2 nd week 

of June monsoon onset in year 2021 boosted the area of paddy viz. 27397 ha and production 

was 84031 MT. Result concluded that onset of monsoon commencement date and monsoon 

pattern affected the area, production and productivity of kharif crops. 

T2-40P 

Integrated Farming System Module for Strengthening Traditional Rainfed 

IFS for Small and Marginal Farm Holdings in Southern Zone of Tamil Nadu 

G. Guru*, K. Baskar, S. Manoharan, V. Sanjivkumar and M. Manikandan 

AICRPDA Main Centre,Agricultural Research Station,Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, 

Kovilpatti- 628 501, Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu 

* gurusangeetha2005@gmail.com 

In general, in regions with rainfall of 500 to 700 mm, the farming systems should be based on 

livestock with promotion of low water requiring grasses, trees and bushes to meet fodder, fuel 

and timber requirements. In areas of 700 to 1100 mm rainfall, crop, horticulture and livestockbased 

farming systems can be adopted depending on the soil type and the marketability factors. 

Nearly 60% of the Indian population directly depends on agricultural activities as a source of 

livelihood. Indian agriculture is dominated by small and marginal farmers (86%), having only 

44% of the total arable land (GOI, 2014). In 2010–2011, the average size of an operating land 

holding was 1.16 ha, and farm size has been further reduced due to fragmentation. The 

fragmentation of land resources is posing a serious threat to future sustainability, food security, 

and profitability of Indian farming. Due to these aberrations, farmers are unable to get 

sufficient income to sustain their family. The rising cost of food and energy, depleting water 

supply, diminishing farm size, soil degradation, imbalanced fertilizer use, excessive use of 

agrochemicals, and climate change are all contributing to the problems of agricultural 

production system. Hence, the increasing area under agriculture to meet the burgeoning food 

demand is under threat. The modern agricultural production systems are simplified due to 

specialization and are intensified with high rates of external inputs to keep production 

conditions favourable and constant. 

Methodology 

In Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu with the mean annual rainfall is 711 mm, it was found 

that farmers with cropping activity alone incurred losses due to poor yield of maize, cotton and 



229 | Page



pulses, sometimes even failure of crops, as a result of drought/prolonged dry spells during crop 

growing season. On farm studies indicated that inclusive of livestock (milch cow – cross bred 

jersey) farmers was benefited by getting additional income from milch animals and crop 

component. AICRPDA - Kovilpatti main centre is selected Thoothukudi district for rainfed 

integrated farming system activities. It is a preferred district where the centre is located with 

representation for rainfed condition. Kayathar and Kovilpatti blocks were selected randomly 

for the RIFS studies. These blocks having more area under rainfed conditions. Similarly, three 

villages are randomly selected from each of the selected block of the district. Priority was 

given to the villages in the following order: villages having less than 10 % irrigated area > 

villages having less than 20 % area > villages having less than 30 % irrigated area. AICRPDA, 

Kovilpatti main centre surveyed totally 240 respondents from two blocks (6 villages). Sum of 

123 farmers under rainfed (RF) situation and 117 under partial irrigated (PIR) situation from 6 

villages of Thoothukudi district. Each 37 marginal farmers from RF and PIR, 40 small farmers 

from RF and 38 from PIR and 45 medium farmers from RF and 42 from PIR. Finally, 24 

farmers from Vadakupatti village of Kovilpatti were selected for implementing the on-farm 

research activity. Under each farming situations and farming systems, two farmers each in 

marginal, small and medium categories were selected to implement the RIFS activities. 

Results 

Among the module examined, the results revealed that in rainfed situation crop + large 

ruminant (milch cow-cross bred jersey) with intervention were recorded a maximum maize 

equivalent yield, net return and employment generation in marginal farm holdings (14423 

kgha -1 , Rs.119404 and 402 Man days) and small farm holdings (20407 kgha -1 , Rs.169253 and 

521 Man days)respectively over no intervention. In Partially Irrigated situation the module, 

crop + large ruminant (milch cow-cross bred jersey) with intervention were recorded a 

maximum Maize Equivalent Yield, Net Return and Employment generation in marginal farm 

holdings (25019 kgha -1 , Rs.193477 and 512 Man days) and small farm holdings (28557 kgha -1 , 

Rs.267956 and 689 Man days )respectively over no intervention. 

Name of the farmer Area(ha) Livestock 

(Nos.) 

Mean data for the Year 2020 – 21 and 2021-22 

Maize 

equivalent 

yield(kg) 

Rainfed situation 

Marginal 


cultivation/ 

production 

(Rs) 

Net 

returns 

(Rs) 

Employment 

generation 

(man-days) 

With intervention 0.87 1.67 14423 146946 119404 402 

No intervention 0.85 1.67 9411 103147 53430 339 

Small 


230 | Page 






Partially irrigated situation 

Marginal 



Small 



Conclusion 

Among the rainfed and partially irrigated situations, under partially Irrigated with intervention 

was the best promising IFS, which generated the highest system productivity, employment 

generation and net returns over rainfed situation. 

References 

GOI. 2014. District Census Hand Book. Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner 

of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 

Seasonal Growth Potential and Performance of Ramie Fodder Crop 

(Boehmeria nivea) Under Extreme Climatic Conditions in North India 

Ashutosh 1* , Ashish Kumar Singh 1 , Satish Kumar 2 and Anil Kumar 1 

1 Animal Physiology Division, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal-132 001, India 

2 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal-132 001, India 

* ludri_ludri@yahoo.co.in 

T2-41P 

The origin place of ramie is Malaysia. Ramie belongs to Urticaceae family & it is a perennial 

fodder and fibre crop grown in large areas of North Eastern states of India and Southeast Asian 

countries. The ramie plants have many herbal properties like vitamins, macro & micro minerals 

and other medicinal properties as per the available literature. The recent studies have shown 

that ramie has high content of protein and it provides around 21-25% crude protein. Out of the 

net sown area in country, 4.5% has been attributed to fodder crops. To satisfy the rapidly 

increasing demand of livestock products as well as to contribute to the government’s strategies 

to double the farmer’s income, it seems to be a need to increase the quantity and quality of 

fodder to support livestock. Better the quality of fodder better will be the livestock 

productivity. At the current level of growth in forage resources, there will be 18.4% and 13.2% 

deficit in green and dry fodder respectively in the year 2050 as per the estimates of ICAR 

vision report 2050.The use of ramie as a fodder may also be cost effective for providing protein 

rich fodder to livestock species for enhancing productive performance as well as it will also 



231 | Page



increase the income of farmers in the coming years in the harsh climatic condition specially 

during summer in North India. According to FAO (2005), ramie plants per hectare can produce 

up to 300 tons of fresh forage / year, equivalent to 42 tons of dry matter. Suryanah et al., 

(2018) also reported based on the research conducted till now, the best cutting age for the ramie 

plant as a source of forage is at the age of 30 days. 

Methodology 

One trial in previously planted ramie (Boehmeria nivea) field was planned and designed for 

accessing the seasonal growth performance and other related parameters during winter season 

(December 2021), hot humid season (August, 2021) and hot dry season (April 2022) at ICAR 

NDRI, Karnal field area. The month of April 2022 was marked as the hottest month in last 122 

years and by chance the dates of trials fall in this duration hence the recorded data have 

additional importance. Three years back the ramie plants were propagated by stem cuttings, 

layering, division of parent root stalks or rhizome cutting 10 to 15 cm long and 15-20 cm deep 

Suckers and planted in rows 100 to 120 cm apart, with individual plants spaced 30 to 60 cm 

apart the rhizomes were planted on ridges to keep it safe from water logged situations. Under 

experiment 40 lines of well grown ramie plants were harvested 4 inch above the ground level 

in one day and from the very next day (1 st day of experiment), the recording of parameters like 

total biomass per line in grams, plant height in centimeters, number of leafs per plant and 

percent water content were recorded daily for each line for next 40 days continuously on same 

time of the day during the experiment period in different seasons. 

Results 

The data recorded and its graphical presentation is given below. The seasonal comparison on 

plant growth number of leafs cut plants individual bund weight and water content percent was 

done. The plant growth (height in centimeter) was found to be highest during the month of 

April 2022(hot dry season) followed by August 2021(hot humid season) and lowest plant 

growth was recorded during December 2020-2021(winter season). During the trial of 40 days, 

the plant height was maximum at 40 th day which was 38.39cm in winter, 141.8 cm in July (hot 

season) and highest was in hot dry season, which indicates that ramie crop may be able to 

survive in high temperature and low humidity zones with regular irrigation facilities. 

The number of leafs per plant were highest during hot dry season as compared to winter and 

hot humid season. During hot dry season, the percent increase in number of leafs plants was 

lower as compared to hot dry season. The number of leafs remained 69.84% as compared to 

average value of 100%, whereas it was 81.62% in hot humid season whereas highest 

percentage number of leafs increased 148.3% as compared to the average scale of 100% that is 

around 1.5 times more than the average value, which clearly indicates that the average leaf 

232 | Page 





number was reduced to 30.16% in winter and 18.38% in hot humid season whereas 48.53% 

increases in hot dry seasons. 

Similarly, average bund weight for 40 days i.e. from day one to day 40 varied between 35.01 

grams (winter season), 523.86 grams (hot humid season) and highest was reported during hot 

dry season that is in March and April 2022(hottest in last 122 years). 

3000 

2500 

Average weight/ bund (gm) December 

Average weight/ bund (gm) April 

Average weight/ bund (gm) August 

Average weight/ bund (gm) 

2000 

1500 

1000 

500 

0 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2122 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 

Percent Water Content 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

Plant water content (%) December 

Plant water content (%) August 

Plant water content (%) April 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 

Plant water content (in percent) remained between 75 to 85 percent, which indicates that crop 

was well adapted to maintain its water content as well as its dry matter content during first 22 

to 24 days during hot dry period, thereafter the water content starts declining from 75 to 45 

percent after 25 days onwards, may be due to more temperature and low humidity, which 

caused dehydration in plants and second reason may be the increases in fiber content (lignin 

content) of the plant days 25 onwards. Similar, trend was observed during the month of 

December and plant water content declined from day 26 to 40 th day and ranged between 80.52 

to 66%. 

Conclusion 

In India under the changing climate scenario, green fodder production and its availability to the 

livestock round the year is a challenge particularly in India. The results of this experiment 

concluded that the ramie plant is capable of supplying green fodder round the year, during 

extreme climatic / environmental conditions round the year. The crop is capable of giving 12 to 



233 | Page



14 cuts per year with excellent biomass productivity (around 2400-2600 quintals/acre/annum) 

upto next 10 to 12 years without involving cost on major field operations like ploughing, 

regular seed cost (sowing) and others. Only minor operations like weed removal or thinning of 

old bunds and regular irrigations are required. Being the crop of South East Asia origin, which 

can only survive better in the hot humid zones/humid zones of the country need to be modified 

that this crop may also be grown in the areas with hot dry climatic conditions with exceeding 

maximum temperatures beyond 42 0 C. Therefore, more emphasis should be given on the 

production of alternate crops where ramie plants stand out to be a better option as dual-purpose 

crop for enhancing productivity of livestock species. 

References 

FAO. 2005. Animal Feed Resources Information System. Boehmeria nivea. 

http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/afris/Data/ 361.htm. 

ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research). 2015. Vision 2050, Indian Council of 

Agricultural Research, New Delhi 

Suryanah, S., Rochana, A., Susilawati, I. and Indiriani, N.P., 2018. Ramie (Boehmeria nivea) 

plant nutrient quality as feed forage at various cut ages. Animal Prod., 19(2):111-118. 

T2-42P-1679 

Impact of Adaptation Technologies on Resilience in Drought Prone Regions 

of Maharashtra, India 

J.V.N.S. Prasad 1* , K.K .Zade 2 , D.B. Devsarkar 3 , R. Rejani 1 , D.B.V. Ramana 1 , K. Sammi 

Reddy 1 , Lakhan Singh 4 , B.V.S. Kiran 1 , C.M. Pradeep 1 , Irfan Shaikh 2 , M. Prabhakar 1 , 

V.K. Singh 1 

1 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture 

(CRIDA) Hyderabad, India. 

2 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Aurangabad, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth (VNMKV), 

Parbhani, Maharashtra, India. 

3 Director of Extension Education, VNMKV, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India. 

4 ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI), Pune, India. 

*jasti2008@gmail.com 

Climatic stresses such as frequent droughts, dry spells, floods, frost, cyclones, heat and cold 

waves significantly effect agriculture. Several districts of Maharashtra particularly in the 

Marathwada region, receive relatively low rainfall are frequently impacted by variable and low 

rainfall and often drought. Several technologies developed by the national agricultural research 

system can potentially minimise the impact of variable rainfall and drought. As part of 

Technology Demonstration Component (TDC) of National Innovation on Climate Resilient 

234 | Page 





Agriculture (NICRA), promising technologies which can minimise the impact of drought are 

demonstrated in 121 climatically vulnerable districts. The present study was takenup at Shekta 

Village of Aurangabad district of Maharashtra as representative location of drought to assess 

the performance of the climate resilient technologies during a drought year. A systematic frame 

work is developed to examine the performance of the climate resilient technologies in terms of 

bio-physical yields and net returns during normal (2019-20) and drought (2018-19) years in 

comparison with the farmers’ practice. Adoption of the climate resilient technologies such as 

improved varieties, water management and livestock practices helped to increase the yield and 

income resilience compared to non-adopters during drought years. The extent of resilience 

achieved is highest from improved cultivars with supplemental irrigation which ranged from 25 

to 75% followed by livestock technologies which ranged from 89 to 112%. Adoption of 

multiple enterprises such as crop + livestock + horticulture enhanced income and resilience 

upto 112% when compared to single enterprise. Study suggests that, enhancing water storage 

potential has created ample opportunities for increasing cropping intensification and to address 

the drought in low rainfall areas which further helps to enhance the resilience. 



235 | Page

Theme– 2a 

Climate resilient agriculture for risk 

mitigation



236 | Page 

Theme-2a: Climate resilient agriculture for risk mitigation 


S. No. Title First Author ID 

1 Economic impact of adoption of climate resilient 

technologies in drylands of Karnataka, India 

2 Enhancing water productivity in rainfed 

agriculture through in-situ and ex-situ rain water 

harvesting- NICRA experiences 

3 Climate Resilient technologies for sustainable 

farm incomes in Kurnool district of Andhra 

Pradesh 

4 Climate change adaptation models for the major 

farming system typologies in Sundarbans 

5 Crop production interventions for reducing the 

impact of changing climate in North East 

6 An integrated index of climate, carbon, yield, and 

sustainability for identification of resilient 

management options under cereal-based cropping 

system 

7 Evaluation of yield performance in high yielding 

finger millet varieties in NICRA Villages of 

Ganjam 

8 Real-time contingency planning and preparedness 

to cope with weather aberrations in agriculture: 

Experiences from NICRA 

9 Performance of pigeon pea based intercropping 

systems under changing climatic conditions 

10 Does rise in atmospheric temperature and carbon 

dioxide adversely affect maize growth in acid 

soils of Northeast India? 

11 Environment-friendly utilization of basic slag and 

methanotroph to mitigate methane emission in 

lowland rice 

12 Sustainable intensification of rainfed lands 

through food-fodder based systems for climatic 

resilience and fodder security in semi-arid regions 

of India 

13 Characterizing different Indian farming systems to 

assess their resilience to climate change 

14 Impact of climate resilient interventions in 

NICRA village Rupana of Sirsa district in 

Haryana 

15 On-farm assessment of climate resilient 

interventions for sustaining crop productivity in 

rainfed eco-system 

Josily 

BV Asewar 

G Dhanalakshmi 

PK Garain 

T2a-01O-1095 

T2a-02O-1161 

T2a-03O-1238 

T2a-04O-1415 

Bagish Kumar T2a-05O -1509 

N Subhash 

S Mangaraj 

SB Patil 

M Sudhakar 

Ramesh 

Thangavel 

S Swain 

Sunil Kumar 

Abhilasha Singh 

DS Jakhar 

MS Pendke 

T2a-05aO-1339 

T2a-06R-1010 

T2a-07R-1054 

T2a-08R-1222 

T2a-09R-1224 

T2a-10R-1247 

T2a-11R-1300 

T2a-12R-1319 

T2a-13R-1587 

T2a-14P-1049 

Climate resilient agriculture for risk mitigation



16 Evaluation of mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) 

Czern and Coss] varieties to staggered sowing in 

changing climatic scenarios under custard apple 

based agri-horti system 

17 Assessment of different system of rice cultivation 

technique for combating climatic aberrations in 

rainfed medium land situation of Purulia district 

of West Bengal, India during kharif season 

18 Musk melon cultivation on reservoir basin: a 

climate smart and profitable farmer practice in 

arid zone of Rajasthan 

19 Effect of different types of mulching on growth 

and productivity of pointed gourd under stress 

climatic condition 

20 Demonstration of climate resilient practices to 

sustain crop productivity in various climatic 

vulnerability situations 

21 Makhana a highly profitable venture under flood 

prone waterlogged areas 

22 Effect of different sowing dates and nitrogen 

levels on the productivity of wet-seeded kharif 

rice under post-flood situation in Assam 

23 Effect of Black cumin (Nigella sativa) and Garlic 

(Allium sativum) as natural feed additive on 

growth performance of kaveri chicken 

24 Models of integrated farming systems resilient to 

soil erosion in a changing climate in 

mountain agriculture 

25 Effect of different planting dates and varieties on 

growth and yield of rice (Oryza Sativa) under 

irrigated subtropics of J&K UT 

26 Effect of in-situ moisture conservation measures 

and stress management practices on growth and 

productivity of rainfed cotton 

27 Enhancement in different cropping systems 

productivity and profitability under climate 

resilient agriculture (CRA) 

28 Crop water requirement and irrigation water 

management in changing climate for sugarcane 

crop in Baghpat district, U.P. 

29 Study of moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia) as a 

multifaceted climate resilient crop 

30 Dissemination of productivity enhancement 

technologies in pigeonpea through frontline 

demonstrations 

31 Demonstration of fish seed rearing in natural 

water bodies of rainfed agro-ecosystem: A case of 

Climate resilient agriculture for risk mitigation 

Sudhir Kumar 

Rajpoot 

T2a-15P-1069 

SK Bhattacharya T2a-16P -1077 

Chandan Kumar 

C Saha Parya 

Rashid Khan 

Hemant Kumar 

Singh 

KS Teja 

GK Londhe 

BU Choudhury 

Monika Banotra 

Mohammed 

Ashraf 

Reeta Singh 

Gaurav Sharma 

G Gomadhi 

Debesh Singh 

Ch Balakrishna 

T2a-17P-1120 

T2a-18P-1206 

T2a-19P-1231 

T2a-20P-1239 

T2a-21P-1243 

T2a-22P-1248 

T2a-23P-1249 

T2a-24P-1308 

T2a-25P-1369 

T2a-26P-1385 

T2a-27P-1388 

T2a-28P-1422 

T2a-29P-1435 

T2a-30P-1468 

237 | Page



a farmer from Srikakulam, district of north coastal 


32 Studies on the effect of rice varieties on flood 

tolerant in Karaikal District 

33 Crop diversification at agricultural landscape level 

for climate change adaptation in rainfed 

agroecosystems 

34 Demonstration of climate resilient technologies 

for mitigation in the North East 

35 Climate smart crop diversification through paddypea 

cropping system under raised beds in lowland 

rice fallow 

36 Impact of climatic variability on wheat varieties in 

NICRA villages of Kullu district of Himachal 

Pradesh 

37 Performance of climate resilient technology 

demonstrations in kullu district of Himachal 

Pradesh 

38 Studies on effect of weather on flowering and 

yield of mango 

39 Impact of technology demonstration through 

NICRA-interventions in Bhagalpur district of 

Bihar 

40 Effect of Pusa Hydrogel on pearl millet crop yield 

under rainfed farming 

41 Impact of climate resilient practices on cabbage 

productivity in nicra villages of Tuensang district 

in Nagaland 

42 Enhance the climate resilience through rainfed 

agriculture under NICRA Project in Srikakulam 

district of north coastal AP 

V Aravinth 

G Ravindra 

Chary 

M Thoithoi Devi 

Meghna Sarma 

Subhash Kumar 

RK Rana 

AP Mallikarjuna 

Gowda 

Sailabala Dei 

Ramesh Kumar 

Pijush Kanti 

Biswas 

G Naveen Kumar 

T2a-31P-1469 

T2a-32P-1478 

T2a-33P-1508 

T2a-34P-1562 

T2a-35P-1568 

T2a-36P-1571 

T2a-37P-1576 

T2a-38P-1583 

T2a-39P 

T2a-40P-1566 

T2a-41P-1493 

238 | Page 




T2a-01O-1095 

Economic Impact of Adoption of Climate Resilient Technologies in 

Drylands of Karnataka, India 

Josily Samuel*, C.A. Rama Rao, B. M. K. Raju, N. Pushpanjali, Nagarjuna Kumar, 

A. Gopala Krishna Reddy, Anshida Beevi and V. K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana 500059, India 

*s.josily@icar.gov.in 

Agriculture in India is largely rainfed with nearly 60 percent of the net sown area having no 

access to irrigation. In these regions, agriculture is dependent on monsoon rains which are 

known to be inadequate, erratic, and undependable. Despite the efforts to increase the 

productivity of rainfed drylands, continue to face food insecurity, and poverty and are 

vulnerable to climate change. Adoption of climate-resilient technologies (CRTs) is critical for 

securing income and improving the livelihoods of farmers specifically in vulnerable drylands. 

At the farm/household level, climate change impacts may reduce income level and stability, 

through effects on productivity, production costs, or prices (Komarek, 2020). Investing in 

resilient agricultural development is one of the important responses and the network program 

of the National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) is an important program 

to build resilience. Location-specific climate-resilient interventions through the climateresilient 

villages (CRVs) and their impacts on farmer income need better assessment and 

quantification. The aim is to improve the resilience of Indian agriculture to climate change by 

demonstrating technologies or adaptation of crops and livestock and thereby upscaling 

technologies (Raju et al., 2021). 

Methodology 

This study brings out the impact adoption of CRTs on the farmers of NICRA-adopted 

villages using the difference-in-difference model and the impact of various socio-economic 

factors influencing farm income in Karnataka, India. A total of 120 households were 

surveyed based on a random sampling technique with 60 farm households each from the 

treated and control villages. Both treated and controlled villages are purposively kept within 

the same district. A detailed pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data from both 

villages by experienced enumerators in the 2019-20 (Plate) household level, data on socioeconomic 

profile, land endowments, cropping pattern, the composition of household income, 

and employment before and after NICRA intervention. 


239 | Page



Interaction with farmers of Kalaburagi district, Karnataka 

Results 

The study revealed that the NICRA village had higher cropping intensity and the major crops 

grown were rice, red gram, cotton, and other vegetables. The NICRA village had more than 

80 percent of the farm household income from agriculture while in the control village it was 

below 60 percent. The average income of a farm household in the NICRA village is more 

than 40 percent compared to the control village. The study confirms the impact of NICRA 

interventions. Impact evaluation must determine and must rely on tools and techniques to 

estimate the income change in the absence of the program (Samuel et al., 2021). The Double 

Difference (DD) model output showed that the farm income of treated villages was 40 

percent higher showing that better climate-smart interventions improved the farm incomes. 

Conclusion 

Adoption of climate resilient and improved technologies though may not directly improve 

crop income but may have an indirect impact on farm income and resource allocation. 

Farmers need to take adaptation measures and technologies at the farm level like changing 

enterprises, diversifying the farming systems, adopting new soil and water conservation 

measures, and sometimes moving into non-farm activities. In addition to these, extension and 

information delivery to farmers need to be prioritized. 

References 

Komarek, A.M., de Pinto, A. and Smith, V.H. 2020. A review of types of risks in agriculture: 

What we know and what we need to know. Agric. Syst. 178, 102738 

Raju, B.M.K., Josily Samuel, Jagriti Rohit, Anshida Beevi, C.N., Rama Rao, C.A., Prasad, 

J.V.N.S., Prabhakar, M., Ravindra Chary, G., Singh, V.K., Bhaskar, S. and 

Chaudhari, S.K. 2021. Mainstreaming Climate Resilient Agriculture Technologies 

into National Schemes and Development Programmes: Scope and Opportunities, 

240 | Page 




ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, NICRA, ICAR-CRIDA, 

Hyderabad, P.110, ISBN: 978-93-80883-68-8 

Samuel, J., Rao, C. A. R., Raju, B. M. K., Reddy, A. A., Pushpanjali, Reddy, A. G. K., 

Kumar, R. N., Osman, M., Singh, V.K. and Prasad, J.V.N.S. 2022. Assessing the 

impact of climate resilient technologies in minimizing drought impacts on farm 

incomes in drylands. Sustainability, 14, 382. 

T2a-02O-1161 

Enhancing Water Productivity in Rainfed Agriculture through in-situ and ex-situ Rain 


B.V. Asewar and M.S.Pendke 

Department of Agronomy, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani 431402 

In Marathwada region, out total cultivated area of 57.94 lakh ha, 49.60 lakh ha area is 

rainfed. The impact of climate change and variability in the country on agricultural 

production is quite evident in the recent years. The weather aberrations like drought and 

floods, extreme events like high intense rainfall, hail storms, heat wave, cold wave etc, are 

recurrent in most parts of the country during the crop growing periods. The South-West 

monsoon account for nearly 75% of the precipitation received in the country and exerts a 

strong influence on the kharif food grain production and the economy in terms of agricultural 

output, farmers income and price stability. The onset of South west monsoon, the amount of 

rainfall and its distribution are crucial factors which influence the performance of agriculture. 

The probability of erratic monsoon rains is about 40% which implies that 4 out of 10 years 

there would be an adverse impact on the crop production. There is need to develop 

appropriate strategies to deal with such eventualities. Many contingency plans are available at 

different scales. However, any contingency intervention either technology related (land, 

water, soil, crop) or institutional and policy based, which are implemented on a real time 

basis in any crop growing season considered as “Real Time Contingency Plan” is the need of 

hour to stabilize crop stands, production and income in rainfed regions. Marathwada region 

comprising of eight districts (Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad 

and Parbhani) is traditionally a drought-prone region. The region receives annual rainfall in 

the range of 500 to 1100 mm and comes under assured rainfall zone (60%), moderately high 

rainfall zone (20%) and scarcity zone (20%). The soils in the region are deep black and 

medium black. Major kharif crops of the region are cotton, soybean, pigeon pea, sorghum, 

green gram black gram, and pearl millet, whereas major rabi rainfed crops are rabi sorghum, 

safflower and chickpea. Rainfall is the key variable influencing crop productivity in rainfed 

farming. Intermittent and prolonged drought are the major cause of yield reduction in most of 

the crops. Based on the farmers need, technical interventions were taken up under NICRA 


241 | Page



(National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture) action research project through 

preparedness and real time contingency measures. 

Methodology 

In-situ moisture conservation through conservation furrow in sole soybean and soybean 

+ pigeonpea (4:2): Before introduction of this project, the farmers were cultivating sole 

soybean crop on flat bed without opening of conservation furrow. However yield reductions 

were observed due to moisture stress during dryspells . Under improved practice, opening of 

conservation furrow after every 4 rows in sole soybean and soybean + pigeon pea (4:2) 

intercropping after 30 to 35 days of sowing was adopted as a strategy for moisture 

conservation on farmers field during 2011-2015. 

Soybean + pigeonpea (4:2) intercropping system: Traditionally, farmers were cultivating 

soybean crop as sole crop which is very sensitive to moisture stress as well as excess 

moisture. The drastic yield reductions were observed due to dryspells. Under such 

circumstances soybean + pigeonpea (4:2) intercropping system was introduced and adopted 

on farmers field during 2011- 2015. 

In-situ moisture conservation through broad bed & furrow (BBF) in soybean: 

Performance of BBF technique for sowing of soybean on farmers field was evaluated during 

2014-15 to 2016-17. 

Results 

Adoption of conservation furrow technique: The effect of in-situ moisture conservation 

practice like conservation furrow in sole soybean on crop productivity (yield), net monetary 

returns, BC ratio and RWUE was analyzed. 


Yield 

(kg/ha) 

Net 

returns 

(kg/ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

RWUE 

(kg/hamm) 

242 | Page 

Intervention/Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Mean 

Conservation 


1850 2620 1750 668 632 1504 

No furrow 1424 2146 1506 446 487 1202 

Conservation 


21017 30723 41250 10844 3024 22571 

No furrow 16177 21546 32710 7240 5374 18609 

Conservation 


1.52 2.53 3.06 2.02 1.61 2.14 

No furrow 1.16 2.07 2.63 1.34 1.42 1.72 

Conservation 


4.14 5.50 1.78 2.36 2.21 3.19 

No furrow 3.19 4.5 1.53 1.58 1.7 2.50 




Results indicated that, with conservation furrow, a sole soybean yield of 1504 kg/ha was 

obtained with a yield advantage of 302 kg/ha over the treatment of no conservation furrow 

(1202 kg/ha). The net returns of Rs. 22571/ha was obtained due to adoption of conservation 

furrow technique and found to be higher than the net return of Rs. 18609 in no furrow 

system. The BC ratio under adoption of conservation furrow technique was found to be 2.14 

as against BC ratio of 1.72 with no furrow system. Similarly, the RWUE of 3.19 was found 

with conservation furrow as compared to RWUE of 2.50 in no furrow system. The effect of 

in-situ moisture conservation practice like conservation furrow in sole soybean on crop 

productivity (yield), net monetary returns, BC ratio and RWUE was analyzed and the data is 

presented. 


Yield 

(kg/ha) 

Net 

returns 

(kg/ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

Intervention/Year 2011- 

12 


Soy + PP (4:2) 

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Mean 

2900 1496 1610 513 1731 1650 

No furrow 1875 1160 1205 272 1430 1188 


Soy + PP (4:2) 

38840 38848 43180 16572 19840 31456 

No furrow 18750 26080 27790 8786 16390 19559 


Soy + PP (4:2) 

3.15 3.16 3.39 2.24 1.62 2.71 

RWUE 

(kg/hamm) 

No furrow 2.04 2.44 2.54 1.18 1.33 1.90 


Soy + PP (4:2) 

6.50 3.14 1.63 1.81 6.07 3.83 

No furrow 4.20 2.43 1.22 0.96 5.01 2.76 

In soybean + pigeonpea (4:2) intercropping system, an additional soybean equivalent yield of 

462 kg/ha was obtained with adoption of conservation furrow technique as compared to no 

furrow with net monetary benefit of Rs. 11897/ha. The increase in yield and net return is due 

to 30 per cent more moisture conservation resulted in better crop growth and crop 

performance even during dry spells. 

Climate Resilient Technology: intercropping system: The effect of intercropping system 

as compared to sole crop under climatic variations over a period of years on crop productivity 



243 | Page



Effect of intercropping on crop productivity, NMR, BC ratio and RWUE 

Year 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Mean 

Yield 

(kg/ha) 

Net 

returns 

(kg/ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

RWUE 

(kg/hamm) 

Soybean + 

Pigeonpea(4:2) 

Intercropping 

system 

2464 2859 2443 1340 1731 2167 

Sole Soybean 1577 2251 1790 446 527 1318 

Soybean + 


Intercropping 

system 

31715 50623 61132 20164 19840 36695 

Sole Soybean 26494 39857 44791 6711 6040 24778 

Soybean + 


Intercropping 

system 

1.98 1.64 3.5 1.59 1.62 2.06 

Sole Soybean 1.44 1.29 2.56 0.52 0.49 1.26 

Soybean + 


Intercropping 

system 

5.52 6.0 2.58 4.74 6.07 4.98 

Sole Soybean 3.53 4.72 1.89 1.58 1.85 2.71 

Soybean + Pigeonpea (4:2) intercropping system recorded significantly higher soybean 

equivalent mean yield of 2167 kg/ha as against the sole soybean mean yield of 1318 kg/ha i.e. 

farmers practice over a period of five years. The mean net returns in soybean + pigeonpea 

intercropping system was recorded as Rs. 36695/ha as against mean sole soybean net return 

of Rs. 24778/ha in farmers practice. The BC ratio and RWUE was also higher in soybean: 

pigeonpea intercropping system as compared to sole soybean crop. During 2014 and 2015, 

despite of more than 50% deficit rainfall, the intercropping system sustained even in 

prolonged dryspell during 2015. The dryspell was occurred at flowering and pod filling stage 

of soybean and vegetative stage in pigeonpea. 

In-situ moisture conservation through broad bed & furrow (BBF) in soybean: The data 

on. crop yield, net return, BC ratio and RWUE under BBF technology as compared to 

farmers practice is presented. 

244 | Page 




Comparison of BBF technique with farmers practice for soybean 

Soil type Intervention Mean 

Seed 

yield kg/ 

ha 

Light to 

medium 

black soil 

Stover 

yield 

/ha 

kg 

Net returns, 

Rs./ha 

BC ratio 

RWUE, 

kg/ha-mm 

BBF 1337 1847 19733 1.62 2.166 

Farmers 

practice 

1122 1433 14384 1.46 1.79 

Above table indicated that due to use of BBF technology, the yield increase was recorded. 

Similarly, the net returns, BC ratio and RWUE was found to be higher in BBF technique as 

compared to farmers practice. This BBF technique was proved as climate resilient technique 

under changing climate. 

Well and bore well recharging model: An Experience in NICRA Village A National 

Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project in being implemented on 

farmers field at village Babhulgaon Tq.Dist.Parbhani. Open well and bore well recharge 

technology was demonstrated on 10 and 7 farmers field through participatory mode 

respectively. The pre-& post monsoon water levels in the wells were monitored. Also, the 

aquifer characteristic viz. transmissivity and specific yield were determined. Accordingly, the 

ground water recharge was determined. The Recharge wells recorded higher ground water 

potential as compared to un-recharged wells. 

Conclusion 

Preparedness like adoption of climate resilient crops and varieties, adoption of in-situ and 

ex-situ moisture conservation techniques i.e. Broad bed furrow sowing method, conservation 

furrow, farm pond, recharging of well and bore wells and intercropping system plays a 

crucial role in dryland agriculture for sustaining crop productivity. The Broad Bed and 

Furrow sowing technique (BBF) was found to be most efficient climate resilient technology 

under variable climatic conditions over a period of 5 years with respect to yield enhancement 

and thereby the increased net returns. Also, BBF technique resulted in more moisture 

conservation as reflected by mean soil moisture status. 

References 

Ramchandraapa B.K., Thimmegowda, M.N., Satish, A., Jagadeesh, B.N., Devaraja, K., 

Srikanth Babu, P.N., Sativa. M.S. 2016. Real time contingency measures to cope with 

rainfall variability in southern Karnataka. Ind. J. Dryland Agric. Res. and Dev. 31(1): 

37-43. 


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T2a-03O-1238 

Climate Resilient Technologies for Sustainable Farm Incomes in Kurnool 

District of Andhra Pradesh 

G. Dhanalakshmi, M. Sudhakar Scientist, E. Ravi Goud and P. Vishnu Mohan Reddy 

SHE &CS, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Yagantipalli. Kurnool dist. A.P-518124 

The improved agricultural practices evolved for diverse agro-ecological regions in India have 

potential to enhance climate change adaptation. Adaptation is the most prudent tool to face the 

losses due to climate change. Resiliency is the ability of a system to absorb shocks and recover as 

quickly as possible to normal conditions. NICRA is an ICAR initiative launched in 151 climate 

vulnerable districts across the country. A number of climate resilient technologies were 

demonstrated and capacity building of farmers was done in the project. The present study made 

an attempt to investigate the perception of farmers on climate change, their adoption and their 

economic returns through adoption of the technologies and use of Agro Advisory Services using 

ex- post facto research design. Kurnool was selected purposively as the locale of the study. 

Majority of the farmers are middle aged with high school education and are small farmers with 

good mass media exposure and medium extension contact. Majority of the farmers have high 

level of perception on climate change and its impact on agriculture in terms of increase in cost 

of cultivation, low yields due to dry spells and incidence of pest and diseases. Majority of the 

farmers are adopting climate resilient technologies. Eighty-four per cent of the farmers in 

Kurnool district are adopting conservation furrows and 92 per cent are adopting drought tolerant 

varieties and intercropping of red gram and setaria. Calf registration and establishment of fodder 

banks are highly adopted by the farmers in livestock management. 

Independent variables are highly correlated to perception and adoption of the climate resilient 

technologies. The study also revealed that renovation of percolation tank helped in increasing the 

cropping intensity. Intercropping of setaria and red gram gave additional net returns of Rs 

15,620/ha. Drought tolerant jowar variety NJ2446, Bengal gram NBeG-3 and medium duration 

red gram variety PRG-176 gave additional net returns over farmers’ practice. Calf mortality was 

reduced by 66 per cent and use of urea molasses and silage feeding to animal proved beneficial. 

Most of weather based agro advisory services given were pest and disease management followed 

by crop production, horticulture and livestock. Majority of the farmers felt that the services were 

utilized in selection of drought tolerant varieties and most of them strongly agreed that the 

messages were received in right time for control of pest and diseases. Fifty-eight per cent strongly 

agreed crop management advisories helped to increase their crop yields and fifty three percent 

strongly agreed cost of supplementary irrigation was reduced followed by total cost of cultivation 

of the crop and most of the farmers understood the message received. The study gave insight for 

the policy makers to emulate NICRA modules across the country and to redesign the already 

existing models with climate change perspective as it became a part of Indian farming. 

246 | Page 




T2a-04O-1415 

Climate Change Adaptation Models for the Major Farming System 

Typologies in Sundarbans 

P. K. Garain 1 , C. K. Mondal 1 , F. H. Rahman 2 and A. Saha 1 

1 

Ramkrishna Ashram KVK, Nimpith, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal – 743338, India; 

2 ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Bhumi Vihar Complex, Block- GB, 

Sector- III, Salt Lake, Kolkata-700097, West Bengal, India. 

An increased impact of climate change on the carbon balance, water cycle, biodiversity, 

agricultural productivity and food security is predominant problem globally (Jain et al., 

2013). The effect of climate change is being felt worldwide but the low lying coastal agroecosystems 

are more vulnerable and likely to experience increasing frequency of storm surge 

events, floods, coastal erosion and disastrous cyclones, in the coming decades. The Indian 

Sundarbans is highly vulnerable to such climatic adversities. There is a gradual decrease in 

total rainfall and rainy days and an increase in intensive rain spells (>60 mm per day) as well 

as increase in dry spells during monsoon period. Heavy rainfall during Kharif (rainy season 

crop) season and delayed monsoon are also common phenomena in this area (Nandargi and 

Barman, 2018). Intensive rainfall within short period of time leads to prolonged submergence 

of the ill drained and low-lying crop fields. Long duration and low yielding traditional rice 

varieties are the only option. The densely populated low-lying areas create an additional high 

risk and vulnerability from the impact of such tropical cyclones. There is a steep rise in the 

frequency of severe cyclonic storms during the last century over the Bay of Bengal 

(Chakraborty, 2015). During the last three decades the northern part of Bay of Bengal has 

witnessed seven severe cyclones - Sidr, Nargis, Bijli, Aila, Fani, Bulbul and Amphan. All 

these climatic vagaries add anguish to the coastal livelihood of the 4.5 million people residing 

in the area, who primarily depend on forest resources and agriculture for their sustenance. 

Hence, migration to the nearby towns, in search of alternate livelihood, is very common. 

Methodology 

A study was conducted to assess climatic vulnerabilities, under “National Innovations on 

Climate Resilient Agriculture” (NICRA) by Ramkrishna Ashram Krishi Vigyan Kendra 

(RAKVK), in collaboration with Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (ICAR- 

CRIDA), Hyderabad and Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ICAR- 

ATARI) Kolkata from 2011 to 2021, in the cyclone prone villages of Sundarbans (NICRA 

News, 2011). 

The study was conducted in Bongheri village under the Kultali block of the South 24 

Parganas district in West Bengal (Latitude: 22 o 2’3” N to 22 o 3’11” N; Longitude: 88 o 37’5” E 

to 88 o 38’11” E). to assess different set of technological packages on the five existing farming 


247 | Page



system typologies of the area (rainfed lowland, rainfed medium land, irrigated lowland, 

irrigated medium land and irrigated upland),. Five different packages of climate resilient 

technologies like mangrove barrier, land shaping, land embankment cultivation, broad bed 

cum trench system, flood and salinity tolerant crop varieties, animal health management, 

alternate livelihood options (backyard poultry, Asian catfish hatchery, ornamental bird), 

community seedbed, custom hiring centre, etc., were demonstrated (Table).. In each typology 

the data of demonstration plots were compared with the farmers plot following traditional 

farming practices from 2019-21. 

Results 

All interventions under different farming system typologies resulted in significant increase in 

net income over the traditional system. The rainfed medium land situation with crop + 

livestock farming system showed highest response (409% increase in net income). Even 

during cyclonic disturbances (Fani and Bulbul in 2019, Amphan in 2020 and Yaas in 2021) 

the village sustained farming activities as the river embankment was intact due to the 

mangrove barrier created during the project period. 

Lowland situation is most vulnerable to prolonged submergence during cyclones and 

intensive rainfall. Community based activities like mangrove restoration and rejuvenation of 

drainage canals were found to be important to provide climate resilience in the project 

village. Modification of land topography (through land embankment cultivation and broad 

bed cum furrow system) in this situation are important to increase crop diversity. Alternate 

livelihood support (through catfish hatchery & backyard poultry) also increased the overall 

farm income. The medium and upland situation is most vulnerable to dry spells in monsoon 

and acute irrigation scarcity during winter and summer. Rainwater harvesting through land 

shaping and desiltation of existing ponds assured irrigation. Modification of land topography 

(land shaping) was found to be important to increase cropping intensity. Availability of fresh 

pond water throughout the year helped to perform fishery and improve the overall net 

income. Dependence on mono-cropping increases vulnerability during a climatic hazard. 

Diversification in farming through effective integration of crop, livestock and fish helped the 

farmers to get assured income. 

Income from different climate resilient technology packages (average of 2019 to 2021) 

248 | Page 




Existing Farming 

System Typologies 

Interventions based on farming system typology 

Rainfed 

lowland 

(crop + 

livestock) 

Farmers Practice Rice + 

greengram + 

livestock 

Predominant 

and 

constraints 

Climate resilient technology packages demonstrated 

climatic 

resource 

Land 

development 

Croplivestock-fish 

Others 

Conclusion 

Saline water 

intrusion, 

submergence, 

low crop & 

animal 

productivity, 

excess soil 

moisture delays 

crop sowing in 

Rabi season 

Land 

embankment 

cultivation, 

broad bed cum 

trench system 

SUDHA 

method of 

Rice 

Paddy cum 

fish 

Short 

duration 

greengram 

Backyard 

poultry 

Asian 

catfish 

hatchery 

with 

rooftop 

rainwater 

harvesting 

Rainfed medium 

land 

(crop + livestock) 

Rice + lathyrus + 

livestock 

Saline water 

intrusion, 

submergence, low 

productivity of 

crops & animals 

Land shaping 

Submergence 

and salt 

tolerant, HYV 

Rice + 

vegetables 

Backyard 

poultry 

Asian catfish 

hatchery with 

rooftop 

rainwater 

harvesting 

Irrigated 

lowland 

(crop + 

livestock) 

Rice + 

greengram + 

livestock 

Saline water 

intrusion, 

submergence, 

low crop & 

animal 

productivity of, 

excess soil 

moisture delays 

crop sowing in 

Rabi season 

Land 

embankment 

cultivation 

SUDHA 

method of 

Rice 

Paddy cum 

fish 

Short 

duration 

greengram 

Sprinkler 

irrigation 

Backyard 

poultry 

Asian 

catfish 

hatchery 

Irrigated medium 

land 

(crop + fish + 

livestock) 

Rice + vegetable + 

fish + livestock 

Submergence, soil 

salinity in winter 

and summer, 

ponds silted up, 

low fish 

productivity, poor 

farm 

mechanization 

Desiltation, 

embankment 

cultivation 

land 

Submergence 

and salt 

tolerant, HYV 

Rice + 

vegetables 

Sprinkler 

irrigation 

Mixed fish 

culture 

Green fodder 

Irrigated 

upland 

(crop + fish + 

livestock) 

Rice + 

vegetable + fish 

+ livestock 

Ponds silted up, 

soil salinity in 

winter and 

summer, lack of 

green fodder, 

fish productivity 

low, poor farm 

mechanization 

Desiltation 

farm pond 


Improved 

varieties 

INM and 

IPM, 

mulching, 

Sprinkler 

irrigation 

Mixed fish 

culture 

Green 

fodder 

Restoration of Mangrove nursery, Rejuvenation of drainage canal, Custom hiring centre, Animal 

health camp, Community seedbed 

Sundarban has a complex farming system typology. Specific packages of climate resilient 

technologies are required to address the specific problems. Improvement of drainage, 

rainwater harvesting, stress tolerant varieties and farm based alternate livelihood 

opportunities helped to improve climate resilience. 


249 | Page



References 

Chakraborty, S. 2015. Investigating the impact of severe cyclone Aila and the role of disaster 

management department—A study of Kultali block of Sundarban. Am. J. Theo. Appl. 

Business. 1(1): 6–13. 

Jain, S. K., Kumar, V. and Saharia, M. 2013. Analysis of rainfall and temperature trends in 

northeast India. Int. J. Clim. 33(4): 968–978. 

Nandargi, S. S. and Barman, K. 2018. Evaluation of climate change impact on rainfall 

variation in West Bengal. Acta Scientifc Agric. 2(7): 74–82. 

T2a-05O-1509 

Crop Production Interventions for Reducing the Impact of Changing 

Climate in North East 

Bagish Kumar, M. Thoithoi Devi, Abul K. Azad and Rajesh Kumar 

ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Zone-VI, Guwahati, Assam, 

India 

The human interventions to the nature during the last century has shown its result in the last 

couple of decades in the form of climate change. The aberrant weather scenario is the 

showcase of climate change. As the agriculture is mainly dependent on the natural weather 

phenomenon, so it has been highly affected by the climate change. NICRA is one of the 

flagship initiative of the ICAR to make agriculture more resilient to climate change. It was 

also undertaken by the KVKs of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in North east. During 2018- 

19, KVK Dibrugarh, Assam introduced submergence tolerant paddy variety Ranjit Sub-1 in 

farmers field to replace the normal sali paddy in the highly flood prone area because Ranjit 

Sub-1 can endure underwater condition for two weeks without losing their potential yield. 

Yield obtained for local check and demonstration were 32.8 q/ha and 41.7 q/ha respectively. 

Increase in yield over local check was 27.13%. In Dibrugarh district of Assam, after 

harvesting of winter paddy, area remains fallow from December to June. For enhancing the 

production and productivity, short duration early ahu (autumn) paddy variety Dishang was 

introduced during March/April-June July. Yield of local check and demonstration were 32.8 

q/ha and 42.8 q/ha respectively. KVK Dibrugarh, Assam introduced high yielding toria 

variety TS – 36 with the aim of utilizing rice fallow and producing higher yield. Yield of 

local check and demonstration were 8.0 q/ha and 11.8q/ha respectively. Increase in yield over 

local check was 47.50% with B:C ratio of 1.65. KVK Dhubri, Assam introduced 

submergence tolerant paddy variety Swarna Sub-1 to overcome the flash flood situation in 

the district. Yield of local check and demonstration were 33.5q/ha and 39.0q/ha respectively. 

Increase in yield over local check was 16.42%. KVK Dhubri also introduced submergence 

250 | Page 




tolerance paddy variety Ranjit Sub-1. Ranjit Sub-1 gave a yield of 43.5 q/ha as compared to 

local check (32.0q/ha). Increase in yield over local check was 35.94%. In Dhubri, due to 

water stagnation during kharif, farmers were unable to transplant HYV of paddy at 

appropriate time with proper seedling age resulting in yield loss. It also revealed that flood 

damages kharif paddy during July to August even when transplanting was done in time. To 

overcome this situation, staggered planting high yielding paddy variety Gitesh having 

flexibility in respect of seedling age from 30-60 days was demonstrated in the farmers’ field. 

Gitesh gave an average yield of 39.8 q/ha as compared to local check resulting in 39.16% 

more yield than local check. In Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, major problem in maize 

cultivation was poor early growth and performance of maize due to insufficient soil moisture 

and quality deterioration of cob due to coinciding of harvesting time with pre-monsoon 

shower. In order to address these problems, sowing time of summer maize was advanced It 

was observed that advancement in sowing time of summer maize resulted in yield of 40.7 

q/ha as compared to check (29.8 q/ha). Increase in yield over local check was 36.58% with 

B:C ratio of 2.19. 

T2a-05aO-1339 

An Integrated Index of Climate, Carbon, Yield, and Sustainability for 

Identification of Resilient Management Options under Cereal-based 


N. Subash * , D. Dutta, P.C. Ghasal, Omkar Singh and Brahmdutt 

1 Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research (ICAR- 

IIFSR), Modipuram, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. 

*nsubashpdfsr@gmail.com/n.subash@icar.gov.in 

India is considered the "food basket of South Asia", particularly its most productive Indo- 

Gangetic Plains However, projections indicate that the average climate over India is likely to 

be warmer under business-as-usual (between Representation Concentration Pathway (RCP) 

6.0 and RCP 8.5) by 1.7 to 2.0 O C for 2030 and by 3.3–4.8 O C for the 2080 compared to the 

pre-industrial times. Precipitation is expected to increase by 5–6% in the 2030 and by 6–14% 

in the 2080. Changes in temperature and rainfall patterns can have a great impact on the 

organic matter and processes that take place in our soils. A farm level study found that rice 

yields will decline by 8–23% in the 2050 under RCP 8.5, whereas wheat yields will also 

decline by 6–29% under the current agricultural production system. Much of this variation is 

due to the variability of farm-level management practices. Under tropical conditions, 

continuous cropping without the addition of organic matter may further reduce soil health and 

crop productivity. In locations with high initial soil organic carbon (SOC), depletion of SOC 

was noticed due to continuous cropping, whereas SOC increased significantly at locations 


251 | Page



with low initial SOC in the rice-wheat cropping system. Cereal-based cropping system, an 

integral part of the agricultural food system of India depends on site-specific integrated 

nutrient management (INM) practices. Resilience is closely linked to low yield variability 

due to climate aberrations, higher soil carbon buildup, higher yield and sustainability. The 

predominant cereal-based cropping systems in South Asia are rice-rice, rice-wheat, 

pearlmillet-wheat, sorghum-wheat, rice-maize, maize-wheat and rice-mustard. In this study, 

we analyzed the response of long-term application of INM on yield sustainability of 

important cropping systems through the quantification of climate change parameters and 

changes in SOC with respect to cropping systems and climate variability and change. 

Finally, we developed a composite resilient index (CRI) as a function of yield sustainability, 

climate variability, SOC changes and opportunity for yield enhancement. 

Methodology 

Long-term experimental data from 28 sites representing different agro-ecological zones of 

India, recorded under AICRP-IFS data under different integrated management treatments 

were used to investigate for predominant cereal-based cropping systems viz., rice-rice, ricewheat, 

pearlmillet-wheat, sorghum-wheat, rice-maize, maize-wheat and rice-mustard during 

the period 1980-2015. In this study, all four factors, yield advantages, sustainability, climate 

variability, and soil fertility considered to develop the integrated index. Equal weightage was 

given to sustainability, climate, organic carbon, yield and based on the order of value of CRI, 

primary, secondary, and tertiary site-specific resilient integrated nutrient management 

practices were identified for all the sites with respect to different cereal based cropping 

systems. 

Results 

All the indices, viz., Sustainability yield index, coefficient of variation index, soil organic 

carbon index, and yield gap index were worked out separately for all the treatments, and the 

best treatments were identified based on the highest value of index in each category. As per 

the formula, with equal weightage of 0.25 assigned to each index and estimating the 

composite resilient index (CRI) based on the highest value, the respective management 

practices identified. This will be a "mid-way" path of management practices, which is smart 

and resilient with respect to sustainability, higher yield, less climate variability, and good for 

soil carbon. Three options for different stakeholders, based on the highest three composite 

resilient indices; primary, secondary, and tertiary management options, will provide different 

stakeholders with options based on local availability of resources. 50% substitution of 

nitrogen through green manure along with remaining recommended dose of fertilizer is the 

best management option to address sustainability-yield gap- low climatic variability and for 

high soil organic carbon buildup under rice-rice system in Rajendranagar. Similarly, 

identified site specific management option for other cropping systems also. The assessment 

252 | Page 




framework for the CRI is unique because it addresses the climate-carbon-yield-sustainability 

nexus under different cropping systems and different management practices options. Crop 

production is the function of weather conditions, soil, inputs, crop area, government 

incentives. Technological inputs have been growing steadily and are difficult to quantify, but 

the strict protocols of multi-specialized scientific officials involved in data recording and 

experimentation. The identified primary, secondary and tertiary site-specific resilient 

management practices under different cropping systems provide options to stakeholders, 

especially farmers and policy makers. CRI provides researchers, particularly plant breeders, 

with the opportunity to develop improved varieties; agronomists with the opportunity to 

develop/identify better management options; and plant physiologists with the opportunity to 

change crop geometry in future thinking and research to accommodate more partitioning to 

yield. As far as the farmer’s field is concerned, the resiliency is entirely different because, in 

addition to these four factors, several other socio-economic and location-specific 

characteristics prevail. The yield gap with respect to site-specific INM options versus district 

yield indicates that with site-specific intervention of already available management options, 

food security can be sustained and also address the local level impact of climate variability 

effects due to global climate change. There is a need to assess the same methodological 

framework of the composite resilient index concept at farmers' fields with intensive and 

accurate data collection of soil and management practices followed under different cropping 

systems, especially pertaining to the first, second, and third predominant cropping systems. 

T2a-06R-1010 

Evaluation of Yield Performance in High Yielding Finger Millet Varieties 

in NICRA Villages of Ganjam 

S. Mangaraj 1 , P. K. Panda 1 , S. K. Satapathy 1 , P. J. Mishra 1 , F. H. Rahman 2 and 

A. Mishra 1 

1 Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-751003, India; 

2 ICAR- Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute Kolkata, Bhumi Vihar Complex, Salt 

Lake, Kolkata–700097, India. 

Finger millet, well known as ragi (Eleusine coracana L.) is a non-glutenaceous nutri-cereal 

placed third in the country with respect to area and production and has noteworthiness in 

having the highest productivity among major and minor millets after sorghum and bajra. 

Finger millet is a nutritionally rich millet having 5-8% protein, 1.3% fat, 344 mg calcium, 70- 

76% slow releasing carbohydrate, 15-35 % dietary fibre, 2.86% lysine and 1.5-3.5% mineral 

which is being promoted as safe food for different co-morbid patients (Sebastin et al., 2005). 

Millets are grown in harsh environments and the performance of the variety is linked to its 

ability to adjust to fluctuating edaphic and climatic situations. Generally, farmers cultivate 


253 | Page



finger millet by using locally available varieties and save their seeds for next season too. Due 

to uninterrupted cultivation of the same and local varieties, farmers suffer from the reduction 

in yield. Actually, the crop is always grown in marginal land and in rainfed ecosystem of the 

state. In Southern Odisha, harsh and adverse climatic conditions coupled with marginal soils 

make agricultural production system unfavourable due to high risk of unpredictability during 

kharif season. One possible solution is to identify and increase the yield of finger millet that 

is highly adaptive to local climate, have high nutrient value and can efficiently withstand 

biotic and/or abiotic stresses. However, the new high yielding varieties should not be directly 

dissipated to the farming communities for large scale production before they are assessed for 

their performance. Standardisation of suitable varieties for a particular area is of prime 

importance to perceive the yield potential of finger millet. Their potential for enhanced 

nutritive value and climate resilient agriculture are also understudied. 

Ganjam district in the state of Odisha in India is delineated by a year-round equable 

temperature and high humidity, coastal area in particular. Normally, annual rainfall of the 

district is 1302 mm. About 80% of annual rainfall is received during S-W monsoon. On an 

average; there are 65 rainy days a year in district. The prevailing soil texture in the area is 

mostly sandy loam. Agricultural activity is primarily rainfed, and kharif (June–September) is 

the primary cropping season. The poor and marginal famers usually grow local landraces of 

finger millet, viz. budha mandia, nali mandia, and tholi mandia, using traditional agronomic 

practices. Finger millet is mostly cultivated in kharif on marginal lands in the upland with 

few or no external inputs, either as a pure crop or with a range of pulses, legumes and 

oilseeds under mixed cropping systems. Further, due to traditional cultivation practices, the 

grain yield is as low as 5-7 q/ha under broadcasting method, and even with traditional 

transplanting methods yield, it is only 7-9 q/ha. So there is an immediate requirement for 

enhancing the productivity of finger millet as well as to reach the potential of high yielding 

varieties. Keeping this point in view, an on-farm testing of high yielding finger millet 

varieties was taken up by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ganjam-I to assess the production potential 

of HYVs of finger millet in NICRA villages through NICRA project. 

Methodology 

The study was carried out through on farm testing in kharif-2019 at NICRA villages i.e. Nada 

(19.9202˚ N, 84.7517˚ E), Chikili (19.5564˚ N, 85.0052˚ E), and Chopara (19.9522˚ N, 

84.7592˚ E) of Ganjam district under of Odisha with an objective to evaluate suitable ragi 

varieties in Ganjam. The site of experiment was sandy loam in texture, slightly acidic in 

reaction (pH 6.12), Low in organic carbon (0.48 %), low in available nitrogen (202.6 kg/ha), 

medium in available phosphorus (18.6 kg/ha) and high in available potassium (289.2 kg/ha). 

The soil has good drainage capacity. The experiment was laid out in kharif season (June to 

October) of 2021 in a randomized block design (RBD) with four treatments (T1: Farmers’ 

254 | Page 




practice with traditional farming practices, T2: Bhairabi with improved package of practices, 

T3: Arjuna with improved package of practices and T4: Kalua with improved package of 

practices) and ten replications taking each farmer as a separate entity. The allocated land area 

to each farmer was equally split into four treatments to fit all the varieties. Finger millet 

nursery was done with seed rate of 10 kg/ha. Transplanting of 21 days old seedlings with 

spacing of 20 cm × 10 cm was done. Application of 100% RDF (40:20:20 kg N-P 2O 5- 

K2O/ha) and timely weeding and need-based plant protection measures were carried out. 

Basal application of half of nitrogen, total phosphorus and potash were applied over the main 

field just before transplanting. Remaining half of nitrogen was applied 21 DAT depending on 

soil moisture availability. 

Results 

Perusal data from the figure 1 revealed that Cultivation of Arjuna with improved package of 

practices resulted in significantly higher number of fingers/panicle (10.2) and grain yield 

(18.27 q/ha) than farmers’ practice of growing local varieties (4.8 and 10.04 q/ha, 

respectively). This is closely followed by cultivation of Kalua (7.8 and 16.02 q/ha, 

respectively) and Bhairabi (6.2 and13.22 q/ha, respectively). 

Conclusion 

Grain yield of high yielding ragi varieties 

(T1: Farmers’ practice T2: Bhairabi T3: Arjuna T4:Kalua) 

From the field experiment, it was concluded that Cultivation of Arjuna with improved 

package of practices performs better than cultivation of farmers’ local varieties in Ganjam 

district of Odisha. Thus, existing varieties of local ragi varieties may be replaced with high 

yielding Arjuna variety due to its superior agronomic performance. 


255 | Page



Reference 

Sebastin, L., Gowri, S. and Prakash, J. 2005. Quality characteristics of finger millet – 

incorporated Chakli – An Indian Deep-fried product. J. Food Proc. Preserv. 29(5-6): 

319-330. 

T2a-07R-1054 

Real-time Contingency Planning and Preparedness to Cope with Weather 

Aberrations in Agriculture: Experiences from NICRA 

S.B. Patil 1* , M.S. Shirahatti 1 , R.A. Nandagavi 1 , B.H. Kumara 1 , U.M. Momin 1 , 

H.S. Patil 1 and G. Ravindrachary 2 

1 AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Vijayapura 586 101, 

University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka; 2 AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, ICAR- 

CRIDA, Hyderabad 500059, Telangana 

*patilsb13617@uasd.in 

Weather aberrations make rainfed agriculture highly vulnerable, risk-prone and often 

unprofitable, impacting the livelihoods of smallholders. A range of dryland technologies are 

needed to deal droughts before they occur or when they are in progress. Several national 

initiatives were launched in India for climate change research, and significant among them is 

National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) by the ICAR. Strategic and 

anticipated research to understand the significant role of climate variability on rainfed 

agriculture is being pursued at a greater depth. There is an immediate need to demonstrate 

appropriate contingent measures to make rainfed agriculture resilient, economically viable 

and environmentally sustainable. The real-time contingency interventions included crops, 

varieties, rainwater conservation, efficient utilization, and various crop management 

practices. Any contingency measure, either technology-related (land, soil, water, crop) or 

institutional and policy-based, which is implemented based on real-time weather patterns 

(including extreme events) in any crop growing season, is considered as Real Time 

Contingency Planning (RTCP). Timely and effective RTCP implementation during the 

delayed onset of monsoon, seasonal droughts and floods resulted in better crop performance, 

higher agricultural production, better incomes and overall stability in household livelihoods 

(Srinivasa Rao et al., 2013). The RTCP at Vijayapura center was implemented with twopronged 

approaches, i.e., preparedness and real-time contingency measures. The experiences 

of AICRPDA-Vijayapura on the RTCP implemented in NICRA villages are highlighted. 

Methodology 

Vijayapura is in the Karnataka plateau (AESR3), and the climate is hot arid. The average 

annual rainfall is 594 mm, with a potential evaporation of 622 mm. The length of the growing 

256 | Page 




period is 90-120 days. Drought is common and occurs once in five years. The soils are 

shallow to deep loamy and clayey, mixed red and black soils. The dominant rainfed crops 

during kharif are pigeonpea and green gram, rabi crops are sorghum and chickpea. The 

NICRA sites are located at the Kavalagi and Honnutagi villages of Vijayapura district. The 

interventions on various dryland technologies have been implemented in the NICRA village 

from 2011-12. Since the project's inception at the AICRPDA-Vijayapura center, different 

weather aberrations like the delayed onset of monsoon, mid-season drought, terminal drought 

and extreme events like untimely excess rainfall events were experienced in NICRA villages. 

To overcome these situations and reduce crop losses, various RTCPs and preparedness were 

implemented, including crops and varieties change, soil, rainwater conservation and 

utilization, and different agronomic practices were demonstrated in a contiguous area in the 

village. In selecting the beneficiaries, the farmers most vulnerable to climatic variability, and 

the smallholders were given priority. It was also ensured that each demonstration had a 

control plot for all the implemented interventions to assess the impact of interventions in a 

short period. The details of RTCP implemented during various weather aberrations are 

presented in Table. 

RTCP for various weather aberrations implemented in NICRA villages 

Weather aberrations 

Delayed onset of 

monsoon 

Early season drought 

Mid-season drought 

Terminal drought 

Interventions 

Change of crop/variety depends on the farming situation, soil, rainfall and 

cropping pattern 

Resowing, thinning, removal of alternate row, weeding, inter cultivation 

and opening of conservation furrow 

Repeated inter cultivation, KNO 3 @ 0.5% spray, supplemental irrigation 

Harvest pearl millet for fodder, protective irrigation, prepare for rabi crops 

Results 

The real-time contingency measures were implemented in the selected villages to cope with 

various weather aberrations and enhance yield at the field level. NICRA villages have 

experienced the delayed onset of monsoon some years since its inception. Under this 

situation, we implemented the RTCPs, like changing crops and varieties. In 2021-22, the 

onset of the monsoon was normal. The improved varieties of green gram (BGS-9 and 

DGGV-7) and pigeonpea variety (TS-3R) were introduced in farmers' fields, replacing local 

varieties. The improved pigeonpea variety TS-3R recorded 24.99% increase, and green gram 

varieties DGGV-7 and BGS-9 noticed an increase of 31.73 and 24.19%, respectively, higher 

yield than the local variety and also recorded maximum RWUE, net returns, and B:C ratio. In 

an early-season drought situation, interventions like thinning, weeding, inter cultivation, and 

opening of conservation furrows were implemented in the various crops. There was an 

average yield increase of 16.20% in pigeonpea, 19.97% in green gram, 15.31% in chickpea, 


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28.48% in rabi sorghum and 12.86% in safflower due to inter cultivation during the 2021-22 

cropping season. As a mid-season correction to mitigate dry spells, the interventions like 

repeated inter cultivation, supplemental irrigation and foliar spray were implemented. Foliar 

application of KNO3 @ 0.5% observed higher yields with an increase of 20-26% in various 

crops than in no sprays. In a terminal drought situation, protective irrigation from a farm 

pond or other irrigation source saves crop life and stabilizes yield. The impact of RTCP on 

coping with aberrant weather situations was also studied in various AICRPDA centres 

(Srinivasa Rao et al., 2013). 

Effective drought preparedness and management is a planning and response process to 

predict drought and establish timely and appropriate responses to minimize the negative 

consequences of the drought. We demonstrated simple and easily implementable 

preparedness practices like in situ rainwater harvesting practices, climate resilient 

intercropping systems, integrated farming systems, energy management and other agronomic 

practices in NICRA village to cope with weather aberration and enhance yields. The villagelevel 

institutions like Village Climate Risk Management Committee (VCRMC) and the 

custom hiring center (CHC) established in NICRA village can contribute immensely to 

community participation in the successful implementation of NICRA activities. 

Conclusion 

Technology development in agriculture address weather aberrations, which will make 

agriculture more climate resilient. The different RTCPs and preparedness implemented under 

NICRA observed better crop yield and profitability under various weather aberrations. 

References 

Srinivasarao, Ch., Ravindra Chary, G., Mishra, P.K., Nagarjuna Kumar, R., Maruthi Sankar, 

G.R., Venkateswarlu, B., and Sikka, A.K., 2013. Real time contingency planning: 

Initial experiences from AICRPDA. All India Coordinated Research Project for 

Dryland Agriculture (AICRPDA), ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad, India. 63 p. 

T2a-08R-1222 

Performance of Pigeon pea based Intercropping Systems under Changing 

Climatic Conditions 

M. Sudhakar, G. Dhanalakshmi, K.V. Ramanaiah, E. Ravi Goud 

SHE &CS, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Yagantipalli. Kurnool dist. A.P-518124 

Adverse weather conditions like delay onset of rains and prolonged dry spells during the crop 

period is very common in rainfed situation. Such situation results in economic losses to the 

farmers due to partial or total failure of the sole crops. Pigeon pea is being cultivated in an area 

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of 45,000 ha and yields are limited by the amount and distribution of rainfall during monsoon 

period. Pigeon pea is a late maturing, tall growing, wide spaced crop with deep root system can 

accommodate rapidly growing, short duration and short statured crops like millets and pulses. 

To develop climate resilient alternative crop management systems and to reduce the impact of 

crop failure due to drought. During the years 2016-2018 eighteen pigeon pea based 

intercropping systems were assessed under rainfed situation ie pigeon pea + greengram (1:5), 

pigeon pea + blackgram(1:5),T3: pigeonpea + setaria(1:5 ) and T4: Pigeonpea Sole). 

The results indicated that, among the cropping systems, intercropping of pigeonpea + 

greengram (1:5) (1263 kg ha-1), pigeon pea + setaria(1:5) 1244kg/ha and blackgram with 

pigeon pea (1198 kg ha-1) resulted in maximum pigeon pea equivalent yield over sole crop of 

pigeon pea (986 kg /ha). The LER is high in pigeon pea + setaria intercropping system (1.67) 

as compared to other inter cropping systems. Among all intercropping Systems pigeon pea + 

setaria recorded highest net returns (26826 Rs/ha) followed by pigeon pea + greengram 

(24360Rs/ha) compared to pigeonpea + blackgram and sole pigeonpea. From the results it is 

evident that intercropping in rainfed areas stabilises the productivity and enhance the returns in 

terms of increased net returns and benefit cost ratio as well. Intercropping also act as insurance 

under the conditions of crop failures due to pest incidence, weeds and changing monsoon 

conditions. 


T2a-09R-1224 

Does Rise in Atmospheric Temperature and Carbon Dioxide Adversely 

affect Maize Growth in Acid Soils of Northeast India? 

Ramesh Thangavel*, B.U. Choudhury, A. Balusamy, M. Prabha Devi, Joymati Chanu, 

M. Chakraborty, S. Hazarika and V.K. Mishra 

Division of System Research and Engineering, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, 

Meghalaya-793103 

*rameshssac@yahoo.co.in 

Climate change was a myth or speculation in earlier times. However, now world has 

recognised that climate change is a fact. Today, the atmospheric concentration of CO 2 has 

risen to more than 400 ppm, warming the atmosphere by 0.84 o C (Vanaja et al., 2015). Global 

warming will have an impact on crop productivity. Plant development will be aided by 

increased photosynthesis and fertilisation effects brought on by elevated atmospheric CO 2 

(Kim et al., 2007). Increased temperature will result in physiological problems and heat 

injury, which will lower yield (IPCC, 2014). Depending on the regions, increased warmth 

brought on by increased CO 2 will have a significant impact on the production of food grains. 

Food grain production is expected to decline by up to 30% in tropical and subtropical nations 

like India as temperatures rise by 1.0 to 2.0 o C (IPCC, 2014). Therefore, adaptation strategies 

to sustain the crop productivity in the region is in urgent need. However, limited state of the 

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art facilities for climatic research is one of the major constraints to predict whether rise in 

temperature along with CO2 have positive or negative effect on crop yield of the region. This 

study involves one of the foremost state-of-the-art facilities like Free Air Temperature 

Enrichment (FATE) to test the positive or negative impact of elevated temperature and CO2 

on the second most important crop of the region i.e. maize after the rice. Similarly, what are 

the possible adaptation strategies, if crop performance is affected, to compensate the crop 

yield loss due to climate change. Therefore, we conducted this study under the state-of-the-art 

facility (FATE) under open field condition with an anticipation like other parts, the crop 

productivity may be adversely affected. 

Methodology 

An experiment using FATE chambers was conducted at the NICRA Research farm of ICAR 

Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya. The mean annual rainfall is about 

2208 mm with minimum temperature of 6.8 o C and maximum of 29.7 o C. The main 

treatments are (i) ambient CO 2 (ACO 2) and ambient temperature (AT) (ii) Ambient CO 2 + 

elevated temperature (ET) and (iii) Elevated CO2 (ECO2) +ET. The three adaptation 

strategies namely a) 100% organic (FYM) (T2), b) 100% inorganic fertilizers (T3) and c) 

integrated nutrient management practices (INM) (T4) were compared with the absolute 

control (T1). FYM was applied at the rate equivalent to nitrogen content in FYM and P was 

supplemented through rock phosphate in T2 and T4, accordingly. We selected maize (RCM 

1-61) as the test crop and conducted the experiment for two consecutive years (2021-22) 

during kharif season. The initial properties of the soil samples were analysed using the 

standard procedures. At the end of the harvest, plant parameters including yield were 

recorded as per the standard procedures. Harvest Index (HI) was calculated using the formula 

outlined by Kemanian et al. (2007). 

Results 

The plant height was significantly influenced by the ECO2 and ET. The plant height ranged 

from 290.5 cm (T 1) to 309.7 cm (T 3) in ACO 2+AT; 245.5 cm (T 1) to 257.2 cm (T 3) in 

ACO 2+ET and 275.8 cm (T 1) to 311.9 (T 3) under both ECO2+ET treatments. ET decreased 

the plant height by 19.3% over ACO2+AT however, addition of ECO2 along with ET 

nullified the negative impact of ET on plant height which is at par with ACO 2+AT (296.6 

cm). Irrespective of the nutrient management treatments, the biomass yield ranged from 8.37 

(T1) to 9.49 (T4) t ha -1 in ACO2+AT; 6.63 (T1) to 8.06 (T2) t ha -1 under ACO2+ET and 8.18 

(T 1) to 9.55 (T 4) t ha -1 under both ECO 2+ET treatments (Fig. 1a). Similarly, the maize grain 

yield ranged from 3.97 (T1) to 4.58 (T4) t ha -1 in ACO2+AT; 2.67 (T1) to 3.23 (T4) t ha -1 

under ACO 2+ET and 2.93 to 4.06 (T3) t ha -1 under both ECO 2+ET treatments (Fig. 1b). 

Overall, the biomass and maize grain yield were in the range between 6.63 to 9.55 t ha -1 and 

2.67 to 4.58 t ha -1 , respectively. ET caused 44% reduction in grain yield over ACO2+AT 

260 | Page 




(4.39 t ha -1 ) however, inclusion of ECO2 with ET showed only 26.6% reduction in the grain 

yield over ACO2+AT. On the other hand, 18% reduction in biomass yield was observed 

under ET alone. With the addition of ECO 2 with ET, 22% increase in biomass yield was 

recorded over ET alone i.e. about 4% higher over ACO2+AT. The harvest index (HI) ranged 

from 35.8 to 52.9%. Both ET alone and ECO 2+ET showed 20 and 32%, respectively 

reduction in HI over ACO 2+AT treatment. With respect to nutrient management practices, i.e. 

adaptation strategies, INM (T4) recorded the maximum grain yield (4.58 t ha -1 ), biomass yield 

(9.55 t ha -1 ) while 100% organic fertilizers (T 2) recorded the highest HI (52.9%) regardless of 

the ECO 2 and ET treatments. On an average, the adaptation strategy, INM, increased the 

biomass yield by about 17%, 4.5% and 10% compared to absolute control (T1), 100% organic 

(T 2) and 100% inorganic fertilizers (T 3), respectively. On the other hand, 100% inorganic 

fertilizers (T3) showed 4.5%, 7.5% and 23% increase in grain yield over T4, T2 and T1, 

respectively. Adaption INM and 100% organic nutrient management practices recovered the 

grain yield from 8 to 12% and biomass yield from 16 to 19% higher over the yield loss 

caused by elevated temperature. 

Effect of elevated CO2 and temperature on maize biomass yield (a) and grain yield (b) in acid soils of 

Meghalaya 

Conclusion 

The study showed that maize responded positively to elevated CO2 with respect to plant 

growth parameters. On the other hand, elevated temperature decreased the biomass and grain 

yield components of maize. ET alone decreased the HI significantly however; addition of 

CO2 with ET further decreased the HI significantly. The integrated nutrient management and 

FYM application could be better adaptation strategies for significant recovery of the yield 

loss caused by the elevated temperature. Further, these adaptation strategies could also 

improve the soil fertility under the changing climatic scenario. 


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References 

IPCC. 2014. Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Contribution of Working 

Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA p. 1150. 

Kemanian, A.R., Stöckle, C.O., Huggins, D.R. and Viega, L.M. 2007. A simple method to estimate 

harvest index in grain crops. Field Crops Res. 103(3): 208-16. 

Kim SH, Gitz DC, Sicher RC, Baker JT and Timlin DJ. 2007. Temperature dependence of growth 

development, and photosynthesis in maize under elevated CO 2. Env. Exp. Bot. 61: 224–236. 

Vanaja M, Maheswari M, Jyothi Lakshmi N. et al. 2015. Variability in growth and yield response of 

maize genotypes at elevated CO 2 concentration. Adv. Pl. Agric. Res. 2: 42. 

T2a-10R-1247 

Environment-Friendly Utilization of Basic Slag and Methanotroph to 

Mitigate Methane Emission in Lowland Rice 

S. Swain 1,2 *, P. Bhattacharyya 1 , P. Parida 2 , S. R. Padhy 1 , S. P. Parida 1 , S. K. Nayak 1 

and A. Das 1 

1 Crop Production Division, ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha-753006, India. 

2 Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Baripada, Odisha-757001, India. 

* saubhagyalaxmi36@gmail.com 

Basic slag is an alkaline waste product produced during the smelting of metal ore in the 

production of iron and steel and has a high concentration of electron acceptors like free 

oxides. Global steel production was169.2 million tons in March 2021 (World Steel 

Association, 2021). India was in second largest steel producer (10 million tons) after China 

(94.00 million tons) during 2021. So, the vast amounts of slags including basic slags have 

been also generated that need to be utilized properly (Singh and Rekha, 2020). Reducing, 

recycling, and reusing of waste is necessary for economic and environmental sustainability 

(Singh et al., 2013). Basic slag contains a variety of useful components; viz. calcium oxide 

(CaO), magnesium oxide (MgO), silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), alumina (Al 2 O 3 ), ferrous oxide 

(FeO), iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3), manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ), free calcium oxide (f-CaO), and 

free magnesium oxide (f-MgO) (Liu et al., 2019). It can be used as mineral fertilizer (Pang 

and Yang, 2020) including phosphate and silicon fertilizer. Apart from that it could also be 

used as soil a 0mendment for reducing GHGs emission from agricultural soils (Singla et al., 

2015; Gwon et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018a; Das et al., 2019). The rate of application of 

basic slag in soils is also important for regulating methane emission. Iron-free oxides present 

in slag play a major role in the mitigation of CH4 emissions from paddy soil (Wang et al., 

2015). 

262 | Page 




Further, in paddy fields, soil microbial activities are the main factors controlling the 

production and uptake of CH4 (Conrad 1996). Methanotrophs are aerobic to microaerophilic 

bacteria, that metabolize and convert methane into carbon-di-oxide by oxidizing 

up to 90% of the CH4 (Krause et al., 2010; Ma et al., 2013). The root treatment of 

methanotrophs is an effective option to mitigate the CH 4 emission (Dash et al., 2019). The 

addition of basic slag and methanotrophs to the rice soil could reduce the CH 4 emissions by 

affecting the physico-chemical and biological properties of the soil. So, in this study we 

have evaluated the individual as well as combined effect of the basic slag and methanotrophs 

on the methane emission in lowland rice to mitigate the GHGs emissions in rice by 

application of basic slag and methanotroph formulation. 

Methodology 

We have conducted the field trial at the experimental farm of ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack, Odisha. 

There were 8 treatments and 3 replications, and the experimental design was randomized 

block designing (RBD). The gas and soil samples were collected on critical growth stage 

(Panicle initiation) of rice with three replications for the estimation of GHGs emissions and 

soil parameters. The GHGs (CH 4, N 2O, and CO 2) fluxes from the rice ecosystems were 

estimated continuously at 5-7 days intervals by collecting the gas samples by using the 

‘manual close chamber method’ (Bhattacharyya et al., 2013, 2016). The GHGs concentrations 

were analyzed by using gas chromatography (Model no: Trace 1110 Gas Chromatograph; M/s 

Thermo). Enzymatic activities and carbon pools were estimated in the laboratory by using 

standard methods (Nayak et al., 2016). 

Treatment details: (i) RDF- recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), 80:40:40:: N: P 2O 5:K 2O 

kg ha −1 ; (ii) BS- basic slag (1 t ha -1 ); (iii) BS+MTH (R)- basic slag + methanotroph (root dipbroth)); 

(iv) BS+MTH (F)- basic slag + methanotroph (formulation as top dressed: acaciabased 

at 7 days after transplanting (DAT); (v) BS+MTH (R&F)- basic slag + methanotroph 

(root dip-broth + formulation as top dressed, at 28 DAT; (vi) MTH (R)- methanotroph (root 

dip-broth); (vii) MTH (F)- methanotroph (formulation as top dressed, at 7 DAT); (viii) MTH 

(R&F)- methanotroph (root dip-broth + formulation as top dressed, at 28 DAT). 

Results 

The soil carbon pools (microbial biomass carbon, readily mineralizable carbon and KMNO 4- 

C) and enzymatic activities (Dehydrogenase and fluorescein di-acetate) were highest in BS + 

MTH (R&F) treatments at the panicle initiation (PI) stage in lowland rice ecology. The CH4 

emission was lower in slag + methanotroph amendments than other treatments. In rice 

system, the CH4 fluxes were gradually increased after transplanting and reached at the peak at 

PI stage, after that gradually decreased towards harvesting period (Figure 1a). The methane 

emission for the treatment BS+MTH (R&F) was lower in relative to the RDF. The seasonal 


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CH4 emission was higher in RDF (85.11 kg ha -1 ) and lowest under BS + MTH (R&F) (72.23 

kg ha -1 ). The CH4 reduction percentage in BS + MTH (R&F) and MTH (R&F) over RDF, 

were 15.1 and 14.8%, respectively (Figure 1b). 

a 

CH 4 flux (mg m 2 h -1 ) 

8 

6 

4 

2 

0 

RDF BS BS+MTH(R) 

Days after transplanting 

[RDF- recommended dose of fertilizer; BS-basic slag; MTH(R)- methanotroph root dip; MTH(F)- 

(methanotroph formulation).] 

(a) Methane and (b) reduction percentage of methane per in rice at different growth stages of rice under 

different treatments in kharif season. 

Conclusion 

Our findings indicated that soil amendment with basic slag and methanotrophs enrichment in 

rhizosphere could be a sustainable option for mitigating methane emission from lowland rice. 

References 

Conrad, R., 1996. Soil microorganisms as controllers of atmospheric trace gases (H2, CO, CH4, 

OCS, N 2O, and NO). Microbio. reviews, 60(4), pp.609-640. 

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Gwon, H.S., Khan, M.I., Alam, M.A., Das, S. and Kim, P.J., 2018. Environmental risk 

assessment of steel-making slags and the potential use of LD slag in mitigating methane 

emissions and the grain arsenic level in rice (Oryza sativa L.). J. Hazardo. Mat. 353:236- 

243. 

Jackel, U., Thummes, K. and Kämpfer, P., 2005. Thermophilic methane production and 

oxidation in compost. FEMS Microbio. Eco. 52(2), pp.175-184. 

Krause, T., Andersson, G., Fröhlich, K. and Vaccaro, A., 2010. Multiple-energy carriers: 

modeling of production, delivery, and consumption. Proceedings of the IEEE, 99(1), 

pp.15-27. 

Wang, W., Lai, D.Y.F., Abid, A.A., Neogi, S., Xu, X. and Wang, C., 2018. Effects of steel slag 

and biochar incorporation on active soil organic carbon pools in a subtropical paddy 

field. Agron. 8(8), p.135. 

T2a-11R-1300 

Sustainable Intensification of Rainfed Lands through Food-Fodder based 

Systems for Climatic Resilience and Fodder Security in Semi-Arid Regions 

of India 

Sunil Kumar 

ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi-284003(UP), INDIA 

Globally in rainfed lands, livestock is considered important part of agriculture diversification, 

income enhancement, and crucial for nutrition enhancement. However, the productivity of the 

animals is low due to improper nutrition, health care and management in almost all the 

developing nations. The availability of quality feed and fodder is one of the main reasons for 

poor performance of livestock. The present availability of feeds in India is estimated to be 

only 40% of the total requirement of these animals. As per IGFRI Vision 2050 document, in 

India, at the current level of growth in forage resources, there will be 18.4 % deficit in green 

fodder and 13.2% deficit in dry fodder in the year 2050. However, in the current decade, food 

security is being pursued at policy and intervention level through appropriate mechanism. 

But, feed and fodder security to huge livestock still is questionable in wake of changing 

climate. IPCC 2022 has highlighted the climate change impacts, risks and vulnerabilities, and 

adaptation options. In the present scenario, the sustainable intensification is the approaches to 

be pursued through mixed farming in the form of the crop-livestock, crop-forestry, crophorticulture 

fish-pig, fish-duck, and paddy-fish etc. In developing countries, mixed farming 

system is helpful in decreasing the cost of production per unit area, increasing income and 

productivity and reduce the risk of farmers. The research conducted at ICAR-IGFRI, Jhansi, 

India has highlighted that in arable lands opportunities lies for adoption of food-fodder based 


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systems with soil & water conservation practices, livestock-based IFS models, watershed 

management, non-conventional fodders and contingent crop planning in vulnerable rainfed 

areas. Balanced approach with selection and integration of profitable and sustainable 

practices (food, fodder, fibre, fuel, fruit crops, livestock, fisheries, other subsidiary 

enterprises) with scientific NRM practices has been demonstrated and proved to enhance the 

productivity and income as well as reduce risk of climate variability (Dwivedi et al, 2018, 

Palsaniya et al, 2021 and Kumar et al, 2022).Therefore, it is the utmost need that the different 

components (Crop: monocrop, mixed/intercrop, multi-tier crops of cereals, legumes (pulses), 

oilseeds, forage etc; Livestock: milch cow, goat, sheep, poultry, bees; Tree: timber, fuel, 

fodder and fruit trees) of livelihood along with soil & water conservation measures to be 

chosen selectively. 

References 

Dwivedi, R.N., Tripathi, S.N., Tripathi, S.B., Singh, K.A., Agarwal, R.K., Sahay, C.S., 

Pandey, Sadhna, Dwivedi, P.N., Sunil Kumar, Singh,J.P., Kushwaha, B.P., Sunil 

266 | Page 

Kumar, Palsaniya D.R., Satyapriya, Narsimhlu, B. and Kumar, Anil, 2018. Enhancing 

productivity and livelihood of Bundelkhand farmers through crop-livestock based 

interventions. Curr. Adv. Agric. Sci. 18 (2): 84-88. 

Palsaniya, D.R., Sunil Kumar, Manoj Chaudhary, Khem Chand, Rai, S. K., Akram Ahmed, 

Sahay, C.S. and Mukesh Choudhary. 2021. Integrated multi-enterprise agricultural 

system for sustaining livelihood, energy use and resource recycling: a case study from 

semi-arid tropics of central India. Agrofor. Sys. 95, 1619–1634. 

Kumar Sunil, Purushottam Sharma, Satyapriya, Prabhu Govindasamy, Maharaj Singh, Sant 

Kumar, Hanamant, M. Halli and Bishwa Bhaskar Choudhary, 2022. Economic 

impression of on-farm research for sustainable crop production, milk yield, and 

livelihood option in semi-arid region of central India, Agron. J. 

DOI: 10.1002/agj2.21062. 

T2a-12R-1319 

Characterizing Different Indian Farming Systems to Assess their Resilience 

to Climate Change 

Upasna Sharma and Abhilasha Singh* 

Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 110016, India 

* Abhilasha.Singh@sopp.iitd.ac.in 

It is well established that the most unforgiving wrath of anthropogenic climate change is 

projected to fall on the agricultural sector due it its direct dependence on ecosystem services. 

The Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC has stated with robust evidence that the impact of 




climate change on crop production and different aspects of food security- access, utilization, 

and price stability, is going to be severe (IPCC 2017). Food systems across the world already 

experience multiple disruptions from extreme weather events, pest and pathogen attacks, 

water scarcity, economic shocks, and depleting natural resources (FAO, 2021). The added 

threat of climate change will exacerbate these disruptions and the magnitude of its impact 

would be determined by context-specific vulnerabilities and the resilience of agri-food 

systems. In a predominantly agrarian country with around 70% of the population almost 

completely dependent on agriculture for its livelihood, climate change acts as a threat 

multiplier for the Indian agrarian sector which is already reeling from multiple crises. 

Increased incidence of indebtedness, stagnating farm incomes, extreme poverty, growing 

distress migration, and rising farmer suicides are just some of the indicators of ongoing rural 

distress. 

Considering the complexity of challenges faced by agrarian economies like India, a multidisciplinary, 

holistic approach is required to make the agricultural ecosystems resilient. The 

pressing threat of climate change on the already ailing sector cannot be addressed in an 

isolated manner by a few technological fixes without considering the existing socio-economic 

context, and the local perspectives. Assessing the resilience of agroecosystems is a systemic 

approach to see if they can mobilize resources, identify opportunities, implement strategies, 

develop processes and transform in the face of a disturbance or unpredicted change (Cabell & 

Oelofse, 2012; Darnhofer, 2014). It is predicated on the understanding that each farming 

system has certain micro and macro level characteristics ranging from socio-economic 

circumstances, demography, cropping systems, and farming strategies to institutions, 

ecosystem health, market linkages, and its agro-climatic context. These characteristics 

determine the level of resilience of a farming system to sudden shocks and long-term stresses. 

This approach can provide invaluable insights for adaptive management and governance in 

heterogeneous agricultural landscapes. 

Methodology 

While there is no dearth of research available on the sector’s vulnerability to climate change, 

there exists a knowledge gap when it comes to studying the different farming practices and 

comparing their relative adaptive capacities and vulnerabilities to climate change. The paper 

seeks to address this gap by exploring the diversity of Indian agroecosystems to better 

understand the process of developing climate resilience. Based on an extensive review of the 

literature, the paper identifies two things – first, the different farming systems existing in 

India; and second, the characteristics/indicators of an agricultural system that make it resilient 

to climate shocks and other stressors. These characteristics will then be used in a later study 

for a comparative analysis of different farming systems in India concerning their climate 

resilience. 


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Results 

Different farming systems in different agro-climatic zones have different capacities to absorb 

climate shocks. In India, farmers have adopted a diverse range of farming practices suited to 

their specific climatic and cultural contexts. On the one hand, we have traditional smallholder 

subsistence farming systems like dryland agriculture, terrace farming, and shifting 

cultivation, on the other hand, irrigated farming systems that are input-intensive and chemical 

based have become prevalent as modern industrial agriculture ever since the Green 

Revolution. Sustainable agriculture forms the third category of farming systems in India that 

seeks to promote the use of traditional farming knowledge and agronomic practices alongside 

modern technological innovations in a manner that improves crop yields while also reducing 

the ecological footprint of agriculture. Such systems range from organic farming, precision 

agriculture, and conservation agriculture to more alternative farming systems based on 

agroecological principles. In fact, recently, many smallholder farming communities in states 

like Telangana and Karnataka are now switching to more sustainable, agroecology-based 

farming practices by employing their traditional, indigenous knowledge. 

Building resilience to climate change requires an in-depth understanding of the vulnerability, 

adaptive capacity as well as ability of each farming system to bounce back after a climate 

shock. These three attributes may vary across systems depending on characteristics such as 

farmers’ perceptions and experiences, their knowledge about climate change threats, and the 

available institutional mechanisms that facilitate access to credit, production of knowledge, 

and market access. An exploration of these attributes will help us to develop a framework to 

assess and compare the resilience capacities of different farming systems in a subsequent 

study. 

References 

Cabell, J. F., and Oelofse, M. 2012. An Indicator Framework for Assessing Agroecosystem 

Resilience. Eco. Soc. 17(1). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26269017 

Darnhofer, I. 2014. Resilience and why it matters for farm management. European Review of 

Agric. Econ. 41(3), 461–484. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbu012 

FAO. 2021. The State of Food and Agriculture 2021: Making agrifood systems more resilient 

to shocks and stresses. FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb4476en 

IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global 

and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report 

of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, 

Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1132 pp. 

268 | Page 




T2a-13R-1587 

Impact of Climate Resilient Interventions in NICRA Village Rupana of 

Sirsa District in Haryana 

D.S. Jakhar, Vinita Rajput and Sunil Kumar 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Sirsa, Haryana- 125055 

Climate change has affected crop yield, livestock production and soil health, adversely. The 

rainfed agro-ecological areas of Haryana are experiencing weather extremes such as heat 

wave, depleting groundwater levels, salinity, and erratic rainfall. To address these climate 

constraints and with an aim to develop climate resilient sustainable ecosystem, NICRA 

project was launched in 2011. For NICRA project, a village Rupana in block Nathusari 

Chopta was adopted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sirsa as the village addressed few climatic 

vulnerabilities. The village has a total cultivable area of about 780 ha out of which 70 ha area 

is rainfed, 60 ha area is salt affected. The main cropping patterns of the village are Cottonwheat, 

Paddy- wheat and Guar –Mustard. The soil specific and crop specific vulnerabilities 

were identified and based on these constraints, suitable interventions were demonstrated to 

the farmers. 

Methodology 

In the present study impact of two successful interventions has been described. To address 

the issue of water conservation, use of Laser leveler was demonstrated to the farmers. To 

address another climatic constraint of para wilt in cotton, occurring due to adverse weather 

conditions in the month of September, use of Cobalt Chloride @ 10 ppm was demonstrated. 

The demonstrated were conducted in the fields of selected farmers and fields were visited by 

the scientists from time to time. The data of yield were collected at the harvesting stage and 

BC ratio was calculated after discussion with farmer. 

Results 

Both the interventions were highly successful in the existing agro-climatic conditions of the 

village and effectively minimized the effect of climate stress. The use of laser leveler has 

resulted in increase in benefit cost (BC) ratio to the tune of 3.19 in demonstration fields with 

the 8.8 percent increase in crop yield, whereas, the respective value of BC ratio in farmer 

practice was 3.13. Use of laser leveler reduced the pumping hours per irrigation, and hence 

saved significant amount of irrigation water in paddy cultivation. The saving of water by the 

use of laser leveler has also been reported by Jat et al. (2015) and Naresh et al. (2014). 

Similarly, use of cobalt chloride 0.01 percent immediately after appearance of symptoms in 

cotton has effectively managed the problem of parawilt. A 20.3 percent increase in yield was 


269 | Page



recorded from the demonstration plot as compared to farmer practice. The BC ratio in 

demonstration plot (1.1) was higher as compared to farmer practice (1.6). 

Effect of cobalt chloride foliar spray on yield and economics of Bt Cotton 

Intervention 

Area 

(ha) 

No. 

Farmers 

Crop yield 

(q/ha) 


cultivation 

(Rs./ha) 

Gross 

return 

(Rs./ha) 

Net 

return 

(Rs./ha) 

Farmers practice 2 5 8 35900 40000 4100 1.1 

Demo 20 25 12 36200 60000 23800 1.6 

B:C 

ratio 

The results are in line the findings of Sarlach & Kaur (2013) and Singh et al. (2018) who 

observed reduced incidence of para wilt after application of 10 ppm cobalt chloride in cotton. 

Results are in line with Sarlach et.al (2008) who observed that foliar application of ethylene 

inhibitor (Cobalt chloride 10 μg mL -1 during 36-48 hrs.) after irrigation helped in complete 

recovery from parawilt within 5-7 days of spray. However, there was no recovery when 

permanent wilting has already set in. 

Conclusion 

Owing to better results in the demonstration of climate resilient interventions, their adoption 

percent increased among the farmers with time and presently hundreds of farmers in NICRA 

village and nearby villages having similar agro-ecological conditions are practicing these 

interventions. 

References 

Sarlach, R. S. and Kaur, G. 2013. Control of parawilt in different Bt cotton hybrids in Punjab, 

India. Eco. Env. & Cons., 19 : 521-23. 

Singh, G., Singh, P., Singh, K., Sodhi, G. P. S. and Sekhon, B. S. 2021. Economic Analysis 

of Parawilt Management in Bt-Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in Mansa District of 

South-western Punjab, India. Ind. J. Ext. Edu. 58(1), 93–96. 

Gill, G. 2014. An assessment of the impact of laser-assisted precision land levelling 

technology as a component of climate-smart agriculture in the state of Haryana, 

India. New Delhi, India: CIMMYT-CCAFS, International Maize and Wheat 

Improvement Center (CIMMYT). 

Jat, M., Singh, Y., Gill, G., Sidhu, H., Aryal, J. P., Stirling, C. and Gerard, B. 2015. Laser 

assisted precision land leveling: Impacts in irrigated intensive production systems of 

South Asia. In Advances in soil science, Ed. R. Lal, and B. A. Stewart, 323–52. 

Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. 

270 | Page 




Naresh, R., Singh, S., Misra, A., Tomar, S., Kumar, P., Kumar, V. and Kumar, S. 2014. 

Evaluation of the laser leveled land leveling technology on crop yield and water use 

productivity in Western Uttar Pradesh. Afr J Agric Res. 9 (4):473–78. 

doi:10.5897/AJAR12.1741. 

Sarlach, R.S., Sekhon, P.S., Sohu, R., and Gill, M.S. 2008. Parawilt in Bt cotton and its 

amelioration. Eco. Env. & Cons., 14 (2): 323-26. 

T2a-14P-1049 

On-farm Assessment of Climate Resilient Interventions for Sustaining 

Crop Productivity in Rainfed Eco-System 

M.S.Pendke*, W. N. Narkhede, B.V. Asewar, P.H. Gourkhede and D.P. Waskar 

AICRP on Dryland Agriculture, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani 431 402 

*pendkemadan@gmail.com 

Marathwada region of Maharashtra state majorly comes under assured rainfall zone. The 

climate of Marathwada experiences wide inter districts and intra districts variability. The 

mean annual rainfall of the zone is 880 mm. The occurrence of frequent droughts and 

unseasonal rains are the features of climate change in the region.The way to stabilize and 

enhance productivity in dryland agriculture lies with strategies which consists of the adoption 

of intercropping, rainwater harvesting & supplementary irrigation systems, foliar 

applicationand the adoption of in-situ moisture conservation practices. The rainfed 

technologies developed by the AICRPDA Centre were evaluated on the farmer’s field. 

Methodology 

The methodology involves the experimentation based on developed climate resilient 

technologies and its evaluation and validation on farmer’s field with respect to rainfed 

agriculture in Marathwada region. The climate resilient technologies viz., broad bed and 

furrow techniques, conservation furrow, intercropping, stress management, and protective 

irrigation through farm ponds were evaluated. 

Results 

The pooled data (2017-20) on soybean and cotton productivity, monetary returns, B:C ratio 

and rain water use efficiency as influenced by different treatments is presented in Tables. 


271 | Page



Soybean crop yield, monetary returns, B:C ratio and rain water use efficiency as 

influenced by different treatments 

Treatments 

Soybean yield (kg 

ha -1 ) 

GMR (Rs.) 

NMR 

(Rs.) 

B:C 

Ratio 

RWUE (kg 

ha -1 mm -1 ) 

L 1 : Flat Bed 837 26799 6128.7 1.30 2.93 

L 2 : BBF 1022 32689 12144.0 1.59 3.58 

L 3 : Ridges & Furrow 930 29745 9075.3 1.44 3.26 

SE + 28.36 602.96 602.9 - - 

CD 84.73 1668.7 1668.7 - - 

Cotton seed yield, monetary returns, B:C ratio and rain water use efficiency as 

influenced by different treatments 

Treatments 

Seed cotton yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

GMR (Rs.) 

NMR 

(Rs.) 

B:C 

Ratio 

RWUE (kg 

ha -1 mm -1 ) 

L1 :Flat Bed 732.0 32940 5911 1.18 2.56 

L 2 : BBF 916.1 41227 7746 1.23 3.21 

L 3 : Ridges & Furrow 853.1 38392 5911 1.18 2.99 

SE + 10.05 324.7 324.7 -- - 

CD at 5% 27.83 898.8 898.8 -- - 

The effect of land configurations on productivity was found significant. The productivity of 

soybean and cotton was recorded by treatment sowing on BBF was found significantly higher 

than sowing on flatbed. The significantly higher GMR, NMR, BC ratio and RWUE were 

observed with treatment sowing on BBF which was found significantly higher than other 

treatments. Singh (2011) found that BBF technology is effective to overcome moisture stress 

and increase in soybean yield. The pooled data on seed cotton yield, monetary returns, B:C 

ratio and rain water use efficiency as influenced by various stress management practices is 

presented in Table. 

Cotton seed yield, monetary returns, B:C ratio and rain water use efficiency as 

Treatments 

influenced by different treatments (2016-20) 

Seed 

cotton 

yield (kg 

ha -1 ) 

GMR 

(Rs.) 

NMR 

(Rs.) 

B:C 

Ratio 

RWUE 

(kg ha -1 

mm -1 ) 

T 1: RDF 687.0 30915 1218 1.04 2.41 

T 2: RDF + Straw mulch (35 and 65 DAS) 869.0 39105 5998 1.18 3.04 

T 3: RDF + Foliar application of Antitransparent 

Kaolin (35 and 65 DAS) 

752.0 33840 318 1.00 2.63 

272 | Page 




T 4: RDF + Foliar application of KNO 3 (35 

and 65 DAS) 

T 5: RDF + Foliar application of NPK 

(19:19:19) (35 and 65 DAS) 

T 6: RDF + Foliar application of MOP (35 

and 65 DAS) 

T 7: RDF + Foliar application of Thiourea 

(@ 250 g ha -1 at 35 and 65 DAS) 

898.0 40410 7158 1.21 3.15 

853.0 38385 6258 1.19 2.99 

799.0 35955 4397 1.13 2.80 

740.0 33300 2188 1.07 2.59 

T 8: RDF + Water sprays (35 and 65 DAS) 718.0 32310 2062 1.06 2.51 

T 9: 75% RDF + 25% through FYM 659.0 29655 -1347 0.95 2.31 

T 10 :75% RDF + Foliar application 

of KNO 3 (35 and 65 DAS) 

825.0 37125 5738 1.18 2.89 

SE + 59.33 826.4 147.7 -- - 

CD at 5% 177.50 2451.9 438.2 -- - 

Mean 780.0 35100 3399 1.10 2.73 

The effect of various stress management practices on cotton seed yield was found significant. 

The treatment T 4 i.e. RDF +KNO 3 exhibited the highest seed cotton yield of 898.0 kg ha -1 which was 

significantly superior over control, T9 and T10 and found at par with the rest of all the treatments. 

Pooled data indicated that cotton + soybean intercropping system recorded significantly superior 

seed cotton equivalent yield (2120 kg ha -1 ) than other cropping systems. Soybean + Pigeonpea 

and Sorghum + Pigeonpea recorded at par seed cotton equivalent yield. Conservation furrow in 

pigeonpea crop increased the yield of pigeon pea by 26.57 per cent. Whereas in the case of the 

soybean crop the yield was increased by 25.77 per cent due to conservation furrow over no 

furrow opening. The treatment of two protective irrigations at branching and flowering stages 

recorded significantly higher safflower yield over control. 

Conclusion 

All the climate resilient interventions proved better in respect of increase in crop yield with 

increased monetary returns and proved agricultural sustainability in the region under rainfed 

farming 

References 

Singh, D.V., Vyas, A.K., Gupta, G.K., Ramteke, R and Khan, I.R. 2011. Tractor drawn broad bed 

furrow seed drill machine to overcome moisture stress for soybean in vertisols. Indian J. Agric. 

Sci., 81:941-944 


273 | Page



T2a-15P-1069 

Evaluation of Mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern and Coss] Varieties to 

Staggered Sowing in Changing Climatic Scenarios under Custard Apple 

based Agri-Horti System 

Rajnish Pandey, Sudhir Kumar Rajpoot, D.E. Nirmal, Miryala Sushma and A.K. Nema 

Banaras Hindu University Varanasi (UP)–221 005 India. 

The prospect of changing the global climate has piqued scientists' interest, as these changes 

are having a severe influence on global crop productivity and jeopardizing global food 

security. Due to its high sensitivity to environmental factors, the mustard yield may be 

significantly impacted by climate change (Boomiraj et al., 2021). Negative growth rates in 

mustard yield since 1997 may have been caused by unfavorable monsoon conditions, which 

led to water stress (drought and excessive rainfall) and temperature increase. Temperature 

cannot be easily altered in the field, but sowing time can be adjusted such that the various 

physiological phases of the crop coincide with specified (most suited) temperature during the 

crop growth cycle, which is the most important non-monetary input for increasing production 

(Deshmukh and Patel, 2013). Selecting appropriate cultivars can also help to mitigate the 

negative impacts of delayed sowing on productivity, as the extent of yield reduction varies 

with variety (Lal et al., 2017). 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect on mustard [Brassica juncea(L.) 

Czern and Coss] varieties to staggered sowing in changing climatic scenario under custard 

apple based agri-horti system at Agricultural Research Farm, Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, 

Banaras Hindu University, Barkachha, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh during the rabi season of 

2021-22 in a split plot design with three replications. The main plot treatments were three 

planting dates (S1: 15 th October, S2:30 th October, and S3:15 th November), while the subplots 

were five distinct mustard varieties (Pitambari, RH-725, Giriraj, RH-749, and Kranti). 

Results 

Among the varieties, Giriraj outperformed other varieties in terms of growth, and yield 

parameters. Late sown (November) mustard crop exhibited more decline in yield, and yield 

characteristics than October sown crop, however among the varieties, Giriraj demonstrated 

more resistance to projected climate change than other varieties. The highest seed yield was 

recorded when the crop was sown on the 30 th of October ((1536.89 kg ha -1 ), followed by the 

15 th of October (1372.78 kg ha -1 ), and the lowest yield was recorded when the crop was sown 

on 15 th of November (1178.47 kg ha -1 ). Variety Giriraj had the highest seed yield (1583.27 kg 

ha -1 ), followed by variety RH-725(1499.75 kg ha -1 ), RH-0749 (1382.58 kg ha -1 ) Kranti 

274 | Page 




(1258.90 kg ha -1 ) and variety Pitambari had the lowest seed yield (1089.08 kg ha -1 ). The oil 

yield varied greatly depending on the date of sowing. The crop planted on the 30 th of October 

recorded highest oil yield (609.66 kg ha -1 ), followed by the crop sown on the 15 th of October 

(527.98 kg ha -1 ). The crop sown on the 15 th of November produced the lowest oil yield 

(446.48 kg ha -1 ). The oil yield was greatly impacted by different varieties of Indian mustard. 

The variety Giriraj had the highest oil yield (593.89 kg ha -1 ), followed by RH-725 (578.94 kg 

ha -1 ), RH-0749 (558.63 kg ha -1 ), and Kranti (473.29 kg ha -1 ) while the variety Pitambari had 

the lowest (435.45 kg ha -1 ). However, S2 (30 th October) yielded the highest net return of Rs. 

168435.96, followed by S 1 (15 th October) yielding Rs. 157596.66, and S 3 (15 th November) 

yielding Rs. 144625.81 which is the least among all. 

Effect of sowing dates and varieties onseed yield (kg ha -1 ), oil yield (kg ha -1 ), total cost of 

cultivation (Rs ha -1 ) and net return (Rs ha -1 ) under custard apple based agri-horti 

system. 

Treatment 

Sowing Dates 

Seed yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 


Oil Yield (kg 

ha -1 ) 

Total cost of 

cultivation (Rs ha -1 ) 

Net return (Rs 

ha -1 ) 

S1 (15 th October) 1372.78 527.98 59776.12 157596.66 

S2 (30 th October) 1536.89 609.66 59776.12 168435.96 

S3 (15 th November) 1178.47 446.48 59776.12 144625.81 

CD = (P = 0.05) 212.87 72.12 - 13956.00 

Varieties 

V1 (Pitambari) 1089.08 435.45 59783.32 136889.33 

V2 (RH-725) 1499.75 578.94 59783.32 166489.66 

V3 (Giriraj) 1583.27 593.89 59783.32 172033.52 

V4 (RH-0749) 1382.58 558.63 59783.32 158672.93 

V5 (Kranti) 1258.90 473.29 59783.32 150345.28 

CD (P = 0.05) 75.62 43.24 - 4853.28 

References 

Boomiraj, K., Chakrabarti, B., Aggarwal, P. K., Choudhary, R., and Chander, S. 2010. 

Assessing the vulnerability of Indian mustard to climate change. Agric. Ecosyst. and 

environ. 138 (3-4), 265-273. 

Deshmukh, S. P., and Patel, J. G. 2013. Influence of Non-monetary and Low-Cost Input in 

Sustainable Summer Pearlmillet (Penistum glaucumL.) Production. Int. J. of Agric 

Food Sci. Technol. 4 (6), 579-588. 

Lal, B., Gautam, P., Panda, B. B., Raja, R., Singh, T., Tripathi, R., and Nayak, A. K. 2017. 

Crop and varietal diversification of rainfed rice-based cropping systems for higher 

productivity and profitability in Eastern India. PLoS One 12 (4), e0175709. 

275 | Page



T2a-16P-1077 

Assessment of Different System of Rice Cultivation Technique for 

Combating Climatic Aberrations in Rainfed Medium Land Situation of 

Purulia District of West Bengal, India during kharif season 

S.K. Bhattacharya, B. Maity A. Chakraborty, M.K. Bhattacharjya, S. Thakur, 

P. Biswas and J. Gorain 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kalyan, Purulia, 723147, West Bengal, India 

kvkkalyanpurulia@gmail.com 

Rice is the staple food for 65% population of India which is increasing at a rate of 1.6% per 

year. Considering climatic aberrations like delayed onset of monsoon, intermittent drought 

and abnormally high temperature results in, not only transplanting of over-aged seedlings 

with low productivity, but also a major portion of rainfed Rice area remain fallow that 

brought down the overall area under rice cultivation during kharif season. Hence, there is a 

need to increase the productivity of rice to feed the burgeoning population under changing 

climatic situation. Field experiments were conducted to assess the suitability of System of 

Rice Intensification (SRI) and Direct seeding of pre-germinated paddy seeds using Paddy 

Drum Seeder with Farmers’ practices of transplanting rice variety MTU-7029 under rainfed 

medium land situation. The experiment was conducted in Jahajpur KVK instructional farm 

and Haramjanga (NICRA Village of KVK,), village of Purulia, West Bengal for the last three 

consecutive years. The results show SRI method and Direct seeding of pre-germinated paddy 

seeds using Paddy Drum Seeder. Both significantly out-yielded Farmer’s Practice of 

transplanting by 58.59% and 8.19% respectively. Moreover, the cost of weed management 

using cono weeder in SRI field and Direct Seeding was also reduced by 433.33% and 

263.63% respectively when it is compared with Farmer’s Practice of rice cultivation. It has 

also been revealed that improved technologies like SRI and Direct seeding of pre-germinated 

paddy seeds resulted higher net income Rs. 28,300.00/ha with a B:C ratio of 1.87 and Rs. 

10,220.00 with a B:C ratio 1.52 respectively as compared to Farmer’s Practice of rice 

cultivation of Rs. 5560.00 with a B:C ratio 1.36. Hence it may be concluded from the study 

that, SRI method of rice transplanting was found to be superior in producing more rice with 

less quantity of inputs such as water, seed, fertilizers and labour in view of combating 

climatic aberrations and stabilises the productivity with higher return. 

276 | Page 




T2a-17P-1120 

Musk Melon Cultivation on Reservoir Basin: A Climate Smart and 

Profitable Farmer Practice in Arid Zone of Rajasthan 

Chandan Kumar*, Dheeraj Singh, M. K. Chaudhary and Arvind Singh 

ICAR-CAZRI, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pali (Rajasthan) India 

* chandan.kumar@icar.gov.in 

The harsh climatic condition and poor quality of soil and water in arid region of Rajasthan 

make crop production very challenging. Only hardy crop species with very less water 

requirement is grown in these areas mainly in kharif or rabi season where assured irrigation 

is available. Mean annual rainfall in the region varies from about 500 mm along the slope of 

the Aravallis in the east to 100 mm along the border with Pakistan in the west, more than 

85% of which is received during the period of South West monsoon (June-September). The 

mean annual potential evapo-transpiration exceeds precipitation by a wide margin (1400- 

2000 mm). Crop failure is a common feature either due to inadequacy of rainfall or due to 

shortage of soil moisture to meet the crop water requirements during different phenophases 

(Faroda et al. 2007). Besides this, the arid region has several biotic and abiotic limitations 

that are responsible for low productivity. Under these conditions local farmers utilized agro 

ecological knowledge to convert stress into opportunity with autonomous adaptation. One of 

such example is the cultivation of vegetable and fruits in the reservoir basin during winter 

and summer season in the arid zone of Rajasthan. The small and landless farmers residing in 

the catchment area of the reservoir realized the potential of the soil of reservoir basin and 

started to cultivate it for the production of vegetables on residual soil moisture. However, the 

crop yield and profitability is poor due to fast depletion of soil moisture in the absence of soil 

moisture conservation technologies. 

Gradually, several indigenous knowledge or practices has been evolved to enhance 

conservation of residual soil moisture, productivity and profitability of the cultivation in this 

basin. Such an indigenous technology includes production of musk melon in the reservoir 

basin of Hemawas Dam, Pali with indigenous knowledge that is similar to modern concept of 

conservation agriculture. Therefore, we evaluated and compared the socio-economic aspects 

of indigenously evolved conservation agricultural practices for the cultivation of musk melon 

in the reservoir basin of Hemawas dam with conventional practices of musk melon 

production. 


277 | Page



Methodology 

The present study is comprised of study 

and documentation of indigenously 

developed conservation technologies for 

musk melon cultivation in the reservoir 

basin and its comparison with 

conventional methods of musk melon 

cultivation. For this purpose, we selected 

10 farmers practicing musk melon 

cultivation in the hamawas dam with 

indigenous knowledge (25.7343 0 North 

latitude and 73.3620 0 East longitudes) and 

10 farmers practicing conventional 

practice of musk melon on the 

conventional agricultural land in Naya 

Gaon village Sojat Tehsil (25.9238 0 North 

latitude and 73.6651 0 East longitudes) Pali 

District (Fig). The data on all the 

agronomical practices and plant growth, 

development and yield attributes were recorded for consecutively for three years (2017, 2018 

and 2019) from the field of all the selected farmers. From each location, five average size 

muskmelon plant and fruits were selected in each year, and data were recorded on different 

parameters and economics were calculated on the basis of cost of cultivation and price of 

fruit prevailing during the period. The mean of the data was subjected to analysis of variance 

(ANOVA) followed by post hoc test at 95% for comparing the significance of difference. 

Results 

Fig : Location map of the study area 

The growth and yield of the musk melon was influenced by both type of the cultivation 

practice. The growth, development and fruit yield was found significantly higher in 

conventional methods of cultivation as compared to traditional conservational practices. The 

conventional method had higher growth, number of fruits per vine (14.7), fruit weight (391.1 

g) and fruit yield per plant (5.77 kg) as compared to conservational practices in the reservoir 

basin (Table 1, 2 and 3) resulting into higher yield and gross as well as net returns per unit 

area. The mean fruits yield per hectare of muskmelon was about 25.16 % higher (96.2 t/ha) as 

compared to conservation practices (71.99 t/ha) over three years of observation. The gross 

return was Rs. 5,28,070/ha under conventional methods of cultivation while it was Rs. 

3,48,220/ha under conservation methods of cultivation over three years of observation. The 

higher yield under conventional system might be attributed to good plant growth due to 

278 | Page 




combined availability of soil moisture with proper nutrition and plant protection throughout 

the muskmelon growth period. The above results are close conformity with the various 

reporters in other crops (Anbumani et al. 2017; Ansary and Roy 2005; Rani et al. 2012). 

However, in spite of higher yield and net return under conventional systems, the conservation 

system was found more profitable as compared to conventional systems due to significantly 

higher benefit cost ratio. It was mainly attributed to low input cost and early maturity of the 

crops under conservation system as compared to conventional system. Early availability of 

musk melon fruit to the market fetched higher price per unit of fruits as compared to late 

mature crop under conventional systems resulting in higher B:C ratio combined with low cost 

of inputs. Further, the consumers preferred the muskmelons grown under conserved moisture 

conditions and they pay premium prices for crop due to earliness. 

References 

Anbumani, S., Nagarajan, R., Pandian, B.J., 2017. Water productivity and profitability of 

melon-based cropping system under drip fertigation and polyethylene mulching. J. 

Innov. Agric. 4(4): 1–8 

Ansary, S. H., Roy, D. C., 2005. Effect of irrigation and mulching on growth, yield and 

quality of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb). Environ Ecol. 23 (Spl-1): 141–143 

Faroda, A.S., Joshi, N.L., Singh, R., Saxena, A. 2007. Resource management for sustainable 

crop production in arid zone – A review. Indian J Agron. 52(3): 181–93 

Rani, R., Nirla, S. K., Suresh, R. 2012. Effect of drip irrigation and mulch on pointed gourd 

in calcareous soil of north Bihar. Environ Ecol. 30(3): 641–645. 

T2a-18P-1206 

Effect of Different Types of Mulching on Growth and Productivity of 

Pointed Gourd under Stress Climatic Condition 

C. Saha Parya, S. Biswas, F. H. Rahman and K. Mondal 

Dhaanyaganga Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachhi under aegis 

RKMVERI, Belur-Math, Howrah, WB, India, 

ATARI, Eastern Zone, ICAR, Kolkata, WB, India 

The earliest known example where the use of mulch as an agricultural technique was 

discussed in written record comes from China, around 500 BC. Since then the benefit of 

mulching is well established. The main benefits of mulching are early crop production, higher 

yields with better product quality, more efficient water use, reduced leaching of fertilizers, 

soil and wind erosion, reduced herbicide application, weed control, and others related to pest 

and disease management (Lamont, 2005). Some of these benefits are especially relevant in 


279 | Page



organic farming, rainfed condition, areas with limited resource facilities and also present 

scenario of climate change. Under climate change scenario, agriculture is experiencing 

adverse effects of increasing temperature, shifting seasonal rainfall and frequent occurrence 

of natural calamity. As a consequence, the time has come when farming should not always be 

input responsive rather it should be conservative in nature and to be planned in manner for 

efficient utilization of available resources. In the operational area, the pointed gourd is 

generally experiencing a long dry spell (from the time of planting to next 3-4 months crop 

growth period) as well as low crop growth rate, weed population hinder the crop production. 

Thus present investigation was planned to evaluate the effect of different types of mulching 

on growth and productivity of pointed gourd under climate change condition. 

Methodology 

Present study was designed as per mandate of On-Farm Trial in farmer’s field of Raninagar II 

Block, Murshidabad, West Bengal during consecutive two years 2020-21 and 2021-22 by the 

Dhaanyaganga Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachhi. There 

were four treatments including T1: Control (Without mulch), T2: Black Polythene Mulch, T3: 

Paddy Straw Mulch, T 4: Water Hyacinth Mulch. The pointed gourd (cv. Kajli) was planted in 

1 st fortnight of February and grown for 10-11 months. The experiment was laid out in 

Randomized Block Design with five replications. 

Results 

From the pooled data of two years, it was clearly noticed that all mulch treatments resulted 

significantly better plant growth compared to the control (without mulch). The vine length 

and vine girth of pointed gourd (at 90 DAS) was maximum when the crop was planted with 

black polythene mulch. It was followed by the paddy straw mulch and water hyacinth mulch. 

At 90 DAS, the un mulched plots showed a greater diversity of weed species than the 

mulched plots. The number of weed and dry weight of weed per m 2 showed significant 

differences in the different mulched treatments. Plots mulched with black polythene had the 

lowest number of invading weed species followed by straw mulch. Black polythene and straw 

mulch proved effective for weed suppression than the un mulched treatments which was 

traditionally practiced in the area. Weed infestation resulted in 20-25% yield loss. Among the 

mulch treatments Black Polythene mulch effectively controlled weeds by cutting down solar 

radiation, resulting in etiolated growth and the eventual death of weeds under the flim. Ossom 

et al. (2001) also observed significant differences in weed control between mulched and un 

mulched plots of sweet potato. 

Results of pooled analysis (Table) showed that application of black polythene mulch recorded 

significantly higher yield (23.87 tonnes/ha) followed by the paddy straw mulching (22.03 t/ 

ha). When the entire effort and results were transferred in terms of economics, it was clearly 

280 | Page 




indicated that among the mulching material, black polythene mulch was found most efficient 

with higher yields maximum net return as well benefit: cost ratio. The cost of production in 

control plot was low on the contrary due to lower productivity net return and benefit: cost 

ratio was less (Table). It was also effective in resource conservation through reducing weed 

infestation, reducing the evaporation loss thereby enhancing the water use efficiency, 

reducing the nutrient loss and maintaining favorable soil micro-climate. These factors 

cumulatively triggered growth attributes which in turn showed synergistic effect on the 

productivity of the pointed gourd. The result is corroborated with the findings of 

Ramakrishna et al 2006. 

Effect of different mulching treatments on growth attributes, productivity and 

economics of pointed gourd and weed growth in the field (Pooled of two years) 

Treatment 

Vine 

length 

(cm) 

Vine 

girth 

(cm) 


branches 

per plant 

Nos. of 

weed 

per m 2 

Dry weight 

of weed per 

m 2 (g) 

Fruit 

Yield 

(t/ha) 

Net 

return 

(Rs./ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

T 1 193 2.57 6.40 123.3 40.8 19.47 142180 2.55 

T 2 224 3.34 8.13 54.0 12.4 23.87 191640 3.02 

T 3: 213 3.23 7.70 84.7 24.67 22.03 177860 2.89 

T 4: 204 3.09 7.33 90.3 28.3 21.37 163740 2.76 

S.Em (±) 3.03 0.08 0.11 6.32 2.45 0.36 - - 

CD at 5% 9.01 0.23 0.32 18.05 7.07 1.11 - - 

It may be inferred from the study that all the mulch treatments showed significant 

improvement on crop growth and yield components of pointed gourd over the traditional or 

without mulch treatment It ultimately resulted in a yield increase of 22.6 %. The 

improvement in yield was higher in black polythene mulch treatment followed by paddy 

straw mulch. Thus, it may be recommended that the black polythene mulch is useful for 

pointed gourd production system with higher economic return. 

References 

Lamont, J., 2005. Modifying the microclimate for the production of vegetable crops. Hort. 

technol. 15, 477-481. 

Ossom, E.M., Pace, P.F., Rhykerd, R.L., Rhykerd, C.L. 2001. Effect of mulch on weed 

infestation, soil temperature, nutrient concentration, and tuber yield in Ipomoea 

batatus (L.) Lam. In Papua New Guinea. Trop. Agric. (Trinidad) 78, 144–151. 

Ramakrishna, A., Tam, H.M., Wani, S.P., Long, T.D. 2006. Effect of mulch on soil 

temperature, moisture, weed infestation and yield of groundnut in northern Vietnam. 

Field Crop Res. 95, 115-125. 


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T2a-19P-1231 

Demonstration of Climate Resilient Practices to Sustain Crop Productivity 

in Various Climatic Vulnerability Situations 

Dayanand, Rashid Khan, Rajendra Nagar, Raghunandan Khatana 

Krishi Vigyan kendra, Abusar-Jhunjhunu 

Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan lies between 27° 38′ & 28° 31′ north latitude and 75° 02′ and 

76° 06′ east longitude. It has been categorized under transitional plain of inland drainage zone 

among 10 agro-climatic zones of Rajasthan. This zone receives only 300-400 mm average 

rainfall annually. A national project “National Interventions on Climate Resilient Agriculture 

(NICRA) was sanctioned by ICAR-CRIDA in 2011 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jhunjhunu to 

demonstrate suitable climate resilient practices at farmers field to sustain crop productivity in 

various climate vulnerability situations. 

Village Bharu in Mandawa block of Jhunjhunu district was selected by Krishi Vigyan 

Kendra, Jhunjhunu in NICRA project. Village Bharu has several climatic vulnerabilities Viz., 

drought, low and erratic rainfall, frost, hot winds, low fertility, saline ground water etc. Krishi 

Vigyan kendra, Abusar-Jhunjhunu started demonstration of resilient practices to sustain 

productivity of crops in above vulnerability situations as follows: 1. Natural resource 

management: Soils of village are low fertile, sandy loam and having high pH. Ground water 

in village is saline having high pH and high EC. The resilient practices demonstrated are 

growing of green manure crop, Application of FYM, vermi-composting to maintain soil 

fertility, use of gypsum to maintain soil pH, 2. Crop demonstration: growing of short 

duration, high yielding and drought resilient varieties, integrated crop management practices, 

integrated insect-pest and disease management practices, use of agro-chemicals to mitigate 

drought, frost and terminal heat, 3. Livestock: scientific management of dairy animals, breed 

upgradation, feeding of mineral mixture, timely vaccination, feeding of azolla and green 

fodder round the year, improved shelter to avoid cold and heat stress, 4. Institutional 

intervention: establishment of Custom Hiring Centre, seed bank fodder bank. Results 

revealed that above practices are effective to sustain crop productivity in various climatic 

vulnerability situations. 

282 | Page 




T2a-20P-1239 

Makhana a Highly Profitable Venture under Flood Prone Waterlogged 

Areas 

Hemant Kumar Singh 1 , M.K. Roy 1 , Amrendra Kumar 2 and Anjani Kumar 2 

1 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kishanganj-813210, Bihar, India 

2 Agricultural Technology Application and Research Institute (ATARI), Patna, India 

India is the highest makhana producing country and it is also cultivated in Korea, Japan, and 

Russia some extent. It is also known as gorgon nuts. It originates from lotus seeds. Foxnut 

(Makhana) can be consumed alone as roasted one, desert items and can be combined with 

vegetables and prepared as a delicious porridge after popping it like corn. Makhana farming 

has the potential to be highly profitable, and its seeds are referred as a "black diamond." It 

has been demonstrated that the net profit from this aquatic cash crop. Fox nut or gorgon nut 

has significantly a larger area than the other cash crops and is being traditionally cultivated in 

the Mithila region of Bihar. It has been established that makhana is a highly nutritious cuisine 

that is also beneficial for daily health. Its pops pose many vitamins, essential minerals, 

digestible fibre and fat free organic produce consisting of many nutrient elements. For its 

successful cultivation requires a temperature range of 20 to 35 0 C for proper growth and 

development, as well as a relative humidity of 50-90 per cent and annual rainfall of 1000- 

2500 mm. Bihar alone produces more than 85% of all makhana produced in India and making 

it the nation's top producer. The state Kishanganj is one of the top Makhana producers’ 

districts. Makhana is cultivated either in perennial water bodies having water depth of 4-6 ft 

or in the field system. Field system: This is a new Makhana cultivation system that the 

research institute has standardised. Makhana cultivation is carried out in agriculture fields at a 

water depth of one foot in the system. The Makhana seedlings are initially grown in a nursery 

before being transplanted at the right time into the main field. The transplanting might take 

place anywhere from the first week of February to the third week of April, depending on the 

availability of the field and nursery. The length of the Makhana crop is shortened by this 

approach by up to four months. Helping farmers replace traditional cultivation systems with 

new methods, as well as providing commensurate subsidies, will result in a complete 

overhaul of the cultivation system, increasing per hectare yield and thus increasing the 

incomes of millions. Recently Makhana of Bihar received GI tag. 

Methodology 

The study was carried out by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kishanganj. Demonstrations were 

conducted with the selected 06 farmers of adopted village covering of unproductive and 

water logged due to flood area of 08 ha under NICRA project during 2021-22. Planting was 

done during 3 rd week of February. Demonstrations were conducted to study the gap between 


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the potential yield of Sabour Makhana-1 (33.5 q ha -1 , demonstration yield, technology gap 

and technology index in technology dissemination in adopted village under the objective of 

flood vulnerability of NICRA programme. The farmers were guided by KVK scientists in 

respect of package of practices to be followed during the crop season. The data on output of 

improved variety was recorded. Technology gap and technology index were calculated using 

following formula as suggested by Samui et al. (2000). 

Technology gap (kg ha -1 ) = Potential yield - Demonstration yield 

Technology Index (%) = Potential yield - Demonstration yield / Potential yield X 100 

Results 

The results of demonstration revealed that average nut yield of 27.24 q ha -1 were obtained 

during 2021-22. The technological gap (9.2 q ha -1 ) during 2021-22, reflected the farmer’s 

cooperation in carrying out such demonstrations. The technology gap observed may be 

attributed to variability in soil fertility and climatic conditions. More adoption of recent 

production technologies with high yielding varieties would subsequently change with timeto-time 

brain storming of stakeholders. The technology index showed the feasibility of the 

evolved technology at the selected field of village. The lowest values (27.46 %) of 

technology index indicate the more feasibility of the technology. The average net return/ha 

from the demonstration was Rs. 1,58,150/- and total return Rs.12,65,200/- from demonstrated 

land of adopted village under NICRA programme. 

Conclusion 

The result finds out that yield of makhana crop could be increased with the intervention of 

newly released variety Sabour Makhana-1 under water logged area due to the effect of flood 

hence, adopting integrated approach in cultivation of makhana will increase the income as 

well as the livelihood of the farmers. 

References 

Samui, S.K., Mitra, S., Roy, D.K., Mandal, A.K. and Saha, D. 2000 Evaluation of frontline 

demonstration on groundnut. J. Ind. Society Costal Agric. Res. 18(2):180-183. 

284 | Page 




T2a-21P-1243 

Effect of Different Sowing Dates and Nitrogen Levels on the Productivity of 

Wet-Seeded kharif Rice under Post-Flood Situation in Assam 

K. S. Teja, K. Kurmi, K. Pathak, J. Goswami and A. Hazarika 

Department of Agronomy, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India, 785013 

Rice (Oryza sativa L.), the world's important crop, is the primary food source for nearly half 

of the world's population. The total area under rice cultivation in Assam is 23.60 lakh 

hectares with a production of 52.60 lakh tonnes and productivity of 2,228 kg/ha. The 

optimum time of transplanting of sali or kharif rice under the agro climatic conditions of 

Assam is from the first week of July to the middle of August with 30-35 days old seedlings of 

long duration varieties. But, in practice, farmers of the state cannot complete transplanting 

within the optimum period due to many reasons and one of them being flood in the low-lying 

areas of Assam. High intensity of rainfall during the peak period of transplanting often 

submerges the crop resulting in partial or complete crop damage. These factors demand a 

major shift from puddled transplanting to wet direct seeding of rice with shorter duration high 

yielding photoperiod insensitive stress tolerant varieties in puddled condition. Since rice yield 

and quality are not only controlled by the method of establishment but are also largely 

influenced by environmental factors (Shimono et al., 2002), which can be manipulated to 

optimum level through different management practices of which sowing date and nitrogen 

fertilization are of prime importance. The right sowing date ensures vegetative growth during 

a period of satisfactory temperature and high levels of solar radiation (Farrell et al., 2003). 

The absence of transplanting shock in wet-seeded rice results in rapid vegetative growth 

during the early growth period and this results in N deficiency at the reproductive phase. 

Insufficient and inappropriate fertilizer nitrogen management may result in one half to two 

thirds of the gap between actual and potential yields. Therefore, the experiment was 

conducted considering the importance of dates of sowing and nitrogen management in 

delayed sali rice in Assam. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted in Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam during 

the kharif season of 2020 and 2021. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design 

comprising twenty treatment combinations with four dates of sowing viz., 10 th August, 20 th 

August, 30 th August and 9 th September in main plots and five levels of nitrogen viz., 40 kg, 

60 kg, 80 kg, 100 kg and 120 kg ha -1 in sub plots. The rice variety used as a test crop was 

Bina dhan-11. Fertilizer was applied in the form of urea, single super phosphate and muriate 

of potash in both the years. All the data pertaining to the present investigation were 


285 | Page



statistically analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), critical difference (CD) at a 5 % 

probability level was calculated only when the F value was significant. 

Results 

Influence of dates of sowing and levels of nitrogen on yield attributing characters, grain 

yield and straw yield 

Treatment 

A. Dates of sowing 

Panicles 

m -2 

Panicle 

length 

(cm) 

Filled 

grains 

panicle -1 

1000 grain 

weight (g) 

Grain 

yield (q ha - 

1 

) 

10 th August 222.60 22.96 98.21 26.47 31.56 37.65 

20 th August 217.93 21.96 86.76 26.29 26.18 39.17 

30 th August 204.89 21.31 76.63 26.07 20.82 46.46 

09 th September 182.68 20.59 56.75 23.90 9.95 52.18 

SEm (±) 2.37 0.18 2.55 0.06 0.69 1.46 

CD (5%) 8.21 0.63 8.83 0.22 2.39 5.04 

B. Levels of nitrogen 

40 kg/ha 189.20 20.42 73.16 25.34 17.54 37.79 

60 kg/ha 198.44 21.42 75.11 25.54 20.24 41.59 

80 kg/ha 206.51 21.96 78.87 25.67 22.70 44.68 

100 kg/ha 221.99 22.63 87.01 25.92 25.70 45.57 

120 kg/ha 218.98 22.11 83.77 25.94 24.47 49.68 

SEm (±) 2.54 0.18 1.94 0.07 0.69 1.49 

CD (5%) 7.31 0.51 5.59 0.22 1.99 4.29 

Interaction (AxB) ** NS NS NS NS NS 

** Significant, NS- Non-significant 

Straw yield 

(q ha -1 ) 

Among the different dates of sowing, 10 th August sowing date recorded the highest number 

of panicles m -2 , panicle length, total number of grains panicle -1 , number of filled grains 

panicle -1 , 1000 grain weight and grain yield (Table). This might be due to favorable weather 

conditions during the critical growth stages like panicle initiation, flowering (growth 

attributes) and grain filling periods and also the availability of more time for better growth 

(Singh et al., 2004) which may lead to the increase in all growth attributes. Whereas as the 

sowing was delayed, the straw yield increased significantly with the highest in 9 th September 

sown crop. The increase in straw yield with delayed sowing might be due to the unfavourable 

weather conditions experienced by the crop which might have restricted the translocation of 

photosynthates from source to sink. Among the nitrogen levels, 100 kg N ha -1 recorded 

highest growth attributes and grain yield but was statistically at par with 120 kg N ha -1 . The 

highest 1000 grain weight and straw yield were recorded in 120 kg N ha -1 (Table). 

286 | Page 




Conclusion 

From the present investigation it has been clearly evident that the crop sown on 10 th August 

and fertilized with 100 kg N ha -1 was found to be beneficial under post-flood situation in 

Assam. 

References 

Shimono, H., Hasegawa, T., and Iwama, K. 2002. Response of growth and grain yield in 

paddy rice to cool water at different growth stages. Field Crops Res. 73, (3): 67-79. 

Farrell, T. C., Fox R. L., Williams, Fukai, S. and Lewin, L.G. 2003. Avoiding low 

temperature damage in Australia’s rice industry with photoperiod sensitive cultivars. 

Proceedings of the 11 th Australian Agronomy Conference, 2-6 Feb. Geelong, Victoria, 

Australia: Deakin. 

Singh, T., Shivay, Y.S. and Singh, S. 2004. Effect of date of transplanting and nitrogen on 

productivity and nitrogen use indices in hybrid and non-hybrid aromatic rice. Acta 

Agron. Hung. 52, (3): 245-252. 

T2a-22P-1248 

Effect of Black Cumin (Nigella sativa) and Garlic (Allium sativum) as 

Natural Feed Additive on Growth Performance of Kaveri Chicken 

G. K. Londhe* and S. S. Shinde 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani 431402 

* glondhe71@gmail.com 

Poultry is one of fastest growing segments of agriculture sector in India. Feed additive are 

important materials that can improve the efficiency of feed utilization, animal performance 

and enhance immune response. At present numbers of feed additives are used to feed broiler 

birds for the purpose of increase in body weight gain and improve feed efficiency (FCR). 

However, availability of quality feed at the reasonable cost is a key to successful poultry 

operation (Basak et al. 2002). Black cumin seed (Nigella sativa) is called as black seed, kala 

jira or kalongiis an annual herbaceous flowering of Ranunculaceae family and native to 

southwest Asia. The seed of black cumin has been used for centuries in the Middle East, 

Northern Africa, Far East and Asia for the treatment of asthma and as an antitumor agent. 

Black cumin seed have been used in traditional medicine as diuretic and antihypertensive, 

digestive and appetite stimulant; also have antibacterial, antioxidant, antidibetic, anticancer, 

antiparasitic, analgesic, renal protective and anti-inflammatory properties due to presence of 

pharmacologically active compound like thymoquinone, dithymoquinone thymohydroquinone 

and thymol (Guler et al., 2006). Garlic (Allium sativum) which belongs to the family 


287 | Page



Alliaceae and the genus Allium is widely distributed and used in all over the world as a spice 

and herbal remedy for the prevention and treatment of variety of diseases (Javandel et al., 

2008). The key active ingredients in garlic is a powerful plant chemical called allicin which 

rapidly decomposes to several volatile oregano-sulphur compounds and it also contains 

organic sulphurous compounds such as allin, ajoene, ally propyl disulfide, dially trisulfide 

(Mansoub,2011). Moreover, garlic is very rich in aromatic oils, which enhances digestion and 

positively influenced respiratory system being inhaled into air sacs and lungs of bird. 

Therefore, present investigation was planned to study the effect of black cumin and garlic as 

a natural feed additive on growth performance of Kaveri chicken with the following 

objectives 

Methodology 

The Black cumin seed was mixed in basal diet as per treatments. Garlic was manually descaled 

and crushed with the help of grinder and subjected for hot air oven drying process at 50 0 C for 8 

hours. Ccommercial pre-starter, starter and finisher was procured from local market. Total three 

trials were conducted and every trial was conducted on 200-day old Kaveri chicks; obtained from 

local hatchery. On arrival, the chicks were weighted individually and randomly divided into five 

treatments with four replications and each replication has ten birds. Electric brooder was used to 

provide sufficient heat and light for first week of age. 

Birds were reared on deep litter system using dry paddy husk in a well-ventilated house. A 

weighed quantity of feed was offered ad-libitum to the experimental birds distributed in each 

treatment throughout day along with Fresh, clean, cool, potable drinking water. drinkers, feeders, 

and other equipment were cleaned and disinfected with 0.02% KMno4 solution every day. Lime 

was applied on side walls and floor with the aim to reduce the infestation before each trial. The 

treatments were T1- Basal diet (Control); T2- Basal diet + Antibiotic (BMD @ 250g/Tonne of 

feed); T 3- Basal diet + 1% Black cumin seed; T 4- Basal diet + 1% Garlic mash; T 5- Basal diet + 

0.5% Black cumin seed + 0.5% Garlic mash. 

Gain in body weight (g) per bird and feed conversion ratios of experimental birds 

(Pooled from trial I, II and III) 

Treatments Gain in body weight (g) per bird Feed conversion ratios 

T 1 1327.90 e 2.71 a 

T 2 1507.30 a 2.56 c 

T 3 1407.70 d 2.65 ab 

T 4 1426.60 c 2.63 bc 

T 5 1468.60 b 2.60 bc 

SE± 5.16 0.023 

C.D.at 5% 14.29 0.066 

(Means bearing different superscripts within a column differ significantly (P



Results 

The total gain in body weight of bird among treatment groups T2 was significantly higher 

(P



T2a-23P-1249 

Models of Integrated Farming Systems Resilient to Soil Erosion in a 

Changing Climate in Mountain Agriculture 

B.U. Choudhury, V. K. Mishra, T. Ramesh, and A. Balusamy 

ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya-793 103 

Land degradation due to soil erosion (SE) in the tropical mountain ecosystem is a serious 

environmental issue affecting agronomic development and ecosystem functions (Lobo & 

Bonilla, 2019; Pijl et al., 2020). In the eastern Himalayan India (EHI), more than two-fifths of 

the 26.2 million ha are subject to soil erosion and increased rainfall intensity in a changing 

climate exacerbates the threat to agricultural production. The main reason is large-scale 

deforestation, burning of vegetation, the expansion of shifting and sedentary agriculture along 

the steep slopes of the highlands, and abandonment of cropland. Such a shift from forest to 

traditional agriculture in sloping uplands has led to an estimated annual soil loss of 229.5 t ha - 

1 

(Choudhury et al., 2022). Cultivated uplands (sedentary and shifting agriculture) in the 

region cover only 1.0 M ha (only 4.04% GA) (Choudhury et al., 2021) and additional 

horizontal expansion without degradation of virgin forests is next to impossible. It is an 

ecological and economic compulsion for the region to diversify the agricultural production 

system, involving multiple complementary farming enterprises in the form of an integrated 

farming system (IFS) mode. Given this need, micro-watershed scale IFS models were 

introduced into the region's mountain ecosystem in the 1980s. To identify more resilient IFSs 

and design adaptation strategies in the context of soil erosion sensitivity to climate 

change, we evaluated the response of such hilly micro-watershed (HMW) based six IFS 

models, using field and simulation approaches (as per the Water Erosion Prediction Project, 

WEPP). 

Methodology 

Six micro-watershed based (HMW) IFS models were developed on a forested hill slope 

(32.0-53.18%) of the ICAR research complex for the NEH area, Umiam, Meghalaya. 

These were forestry (HMW 1), abandoned shifting cultivation (HMW 2), livestock with fodder 

crops (HMW3), agroforestry (HMW4), agri-horti-silvi-pastoral (HMW5), and horticulture 

(HMW 6). Different soil water conservation measures (SWCMs) such as contouring, 

terracing, grassed waterways, and vegetative barriers were adopted in all except HMW 1. All 

these HMWs were gauged at the outlet to measure runoff and soil loss for 24 years. The 

WEPP model was calibrated and validated with measured runoff and soil loss data for each of 

the six IFSs. Simulations on soil erosion were carried out for the baseline period (1976–2005) 

and three future time slices, i.e., early (2020s), mid (2050s), and end-century (2080s) under 

four RCPs, i.e., RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5. The relative percent change in runoff 

290 | Page 




and soil loss over the future periods was estimated using the respective baseline values. 

Plausible adaptation strategies were simulated in two categories: (i) residue 

addition/mulching (organic and inorganic) and (ii) sub-surface drainage system (plastic pipes 

and clay tile at 0.61 m deep) on cultivated HMWs, i.e., HMW3 to HMW6. The residue 

considered to be locally available dry beans, field beans, soybeans, maize, broom grasses, and 

stone mulch in the inter-cropped area. 

Results 

Measured soil erosion revealed that forests (HMW 1) had a mean (of 24 years) annual runoff 

loss of 405.5 (±113) mm, while soil loss was 11.0 (±2.4) Mg ha -1 yr -1 . In the cultivated 

HMWs (HMW4, 5 & 6), adoption of soil water conservation measures (SWCMs) reduced the 

runoff by 13.0% – 17.1% and soil loss by 12.6%–15.1% over HMW 1. However, in shifting 

cultivation (HMW7), runoff increased by 50.6%–87.6%, while soil loss was 50.3%–59.8% 

higher over the forest. The average annual runoff calibrated and validated by the 

WEPP model was comparable to the measured runoff and the differences were negligible (p 

< 0.05). The normalized RMSEn was 0.81 

during calibration and >0.75 during validation periods for all HMWs, indicating that model 

performance could be assessed as "very good". 

The projected annual SE (average) for all HMWs increased in all RCPs. The IFS based on 

shifting cultivation (HMW2) was the most vulnerable, with the highest percentage increase in 

SE (46–235%) compared to the baseline years under RCP 8.5. The cultivated IFSs (HMW3 to 

HMW 6) had 47.8–57.0% less runoff and 39.2–74.6% less soil loss than HMW 2 under RCP 

8.5. Of these, HMW6 followed by HMW4 and HMW5 were more effective in minimizing soil 

loss (Table 1). The simulated the effects of mulching (both organic and inorganic) in all the 

cultivated IFSs (HMW 3 to HMW 6) declined with an increase in the mulch application rate 

from 5.0 to 20 t ha -1 . Among organic mulches used, broom grass mulching at an application 

rate of 20 t ha -1 resulted in a maximum reduction in soil loss of 8.7, 9.3, and 11.9 t ha -1 yr -1 in 

the years 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s, respectively, compared to non-mulching. However, with a 

low residue application of 5 t ha -1 , dry bean residues were most effective in controlling soil 

erosion. Under stone mulching, simulated soil loss is projected to decrease in the range of 7.7 

to 13.3 t ha -1 yr -1 when applied @ 20 t ha -1 during 2080s. The adoption of underground 

drainage systems has demonstrated that the 6-inch diameter plastic pipe installed at a distance 

of 7 m provides a greater reduction in projected SE than a clay tile of the same diameter 

installed at a distance of 24 meters. 


291 | Page



Projected runoff and soil losses (% increase over baseline) under low to high 

emission climate change scenarios in different IFS based hilly micro-watersheds 

(HMWs) 

HMWs 

4 RCPs 

Baseline 

Projected annual soil loss 

% change (+) w.r.t. baseline 

t ha -1 yr -1 2020s 2050s 2080s 

Forest (HMW 1) Mean # 15.40 14.5 11.2 28.9 

Shifting cultivation (HMW 2) Mean # 39.54 68.4 94.4 150.4 

Livestock with fodder (HMW 3) Mean # 33.14 11.5 15.1 61.1 

Agroforestry (HMW 4) Mean # 26.66 17.5 20.2 40.4 

Agri-horti-silvi-pastoral (HMW 5) Mean # 29.17 21.6 22.1 44.4 

Horticulture (HMW 6) Mean # 21.65 15.4 16.8 35.5 

# 

: Average over 4 RCPs (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5). 

Conclusion 

The results from the measured data suggest that cultivation in IFS mode (especially 

Agroforestry and Horticulture) can reduce annual runoff and soil loss by over 10-15% 

relative to dense forests. This decline is attributable to the stability of land use practices and 

the adoption of SWCMs, specifically the combination of terracing, contour Bund, and grass 

waterways together than the only contour bunding in the IFS based on forage and livestock 

(HMW 3). Soil erosion projected in the CMIP5 climate change projections for four PCRs has 

shown an upward trend for future periods (2020, 2050 and 2080). The maximum SE was 

estimated in the shifting cultivation-based IFS (HMW 2) while the lowest was in forestry 

followed by horticulture and agroforestry. Therefore, it is recommended to promote IFS 

models based on horticulture and Agroforestry with SWCMs on steep slopes to control soil 

erosion while providing food and nutritional security. Mulching or installing underground 

drainage as adaptation strategies may make these cultivated IFS models more climate 

resilient. 

References 

Choudhury, B.U., Ansari, M.A., Chakraborty, M., and Meetei, T.T. 2021. Effect of land-use change 

along altitudinal gradients on soil micronutrients in the mountain ecosystem of Indian (Eastern) 

Himalaya. Sci. Rep. 11, 14279. 

Choudhury, B. U., Nengzouzam, G., Ansari, M. A., and Islam, A. 2022. Causes and consequences of 

soil erosion in northeastern Himalaya, India. Curr. Sci. 122(7), 1–18. 

Lobo, G. P., and Bonilla, C. A., Predicting soil loss and sediment characteristics at the plot and field 

scales: Model description and first verifications. Catena. 172, 113–124. 

Pijl, A., Lara, E. H., Quarella, E. R., Vogel, T. A., and Tarolli, P., GIS-based soil erosion modelling 

under various steep-slope vineyard practices. Catena, 2020, 193, 104604. 

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T2a-24P-1308 

Effect of Different Planting Dates and Varieties on Growth and Yield of 

Rice (Oryza Sativa) under Irrigated Subtropics of J&K UT 

Monika Banotra*, Mahender Singh, B.C.Sharma and Charu Sharma 

Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences &Technology of Jammu, 

Chatha, Jammu 180 009 U.T. of J&K, India 

* monikabanotra6@gmail.com 

Rice is one of the major crops. Planting time is one of the main factors that regulate the 

productivity of rice. Optimum planting time for a crop is location specific. Earliest planting 

of rice is preferable because of utilization of the entire growing season and thereby allowing 

greater profit margin. The most common method of planting rice in Jammu and Kashmir UT 

is through transplanting nursery which is more time consuming, laborious and is costly. 

Therefore, this method can be replaced by direct seeding. Direct seeding of rice is a method 

in which rice seeds are directly sown in the experimental field instead of transplanting 

seedlings from the nursery. In direct seeding of rice (DSR) rice was sown in unpuddled 

conditions in well pulverized soil which is the most reliable option to the farmers for efficient 

water saving and is cost and labour effective. Growth and development of crops are known to 

be influenced by multiple factors and amongst them selection of cultivars for a given set of 

environments is one of the major aspects besides soil fertility, temperature regimes, solar 

radiations, irrigation etc. and play a very important role in exploiting good crop growth and 

development. Several varieties of different yield potentials, quality and of varying maturity 

groups of different crops developed and released on the basis of different agro climatic 

conditions are tested for cultivation to assess their performance under varied environmental 

situations (Banotra et al., 2021). In this study different planting dates and varieties of rice 

were studied to assess the growth and yield under irrigated subtropics of Jammu and Kashmir 

UT. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted for consecutive three years from kharif 2018-2020 at 

Research field of Agrometerology section of Skuast-Jammu to evaluate the effect of different 

planting dates and varieties on growth and yield of rice (Oryza Sativa) in irrigated 

Subtropical conditions of J&K. The soil of the experimental field was sandy clay loam in 

texture, with low in organic C and available nitrogen but medium in available phosphorus 

and available potassium with pH 7.31. The experiment was conducted in randomized block 

design with three replications. The treatments comprised of three planting dates (1 st June, 16 th 

June and 1 st July) and three rice varieties ‘Pusa 1121’, ‘Basmati-370’ and ‘SRJ -129’. All the 

three varieties were sown by direct seeding on 1 st June, 16 th June and 1 st July during kharif 


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2018, kharif 2019 and kharif 2020. Rice varieties were sown at specified row to row distance 

of 20 cm and plant to plant distance of 10 cm. The plot size remains same 4.0 m ×3.6 m for 

all the three years. The recommended dose of nitrogen (45 kg/ha), phosphorus (30 kg/ha), 

potassium (15 kg/ha) were applied for variety ‘Pusa 1121’ where as for variety ‘Basmati-370’ 

and ‘SRJ -129’ the recommended dose of nitrogen (30 kg/ha), phosphorus (20 kg/ha), 

potassium (10 kg/ha) in the form of Urea, Diammounium phosphate and murate of potash 

.Full dose of Phosphorus and potassium were applied as basal in all the treatments .Half dose 

of nitrogen was applied as basal dose at the time of sowing whereas remaining half nitrogen 

was applied in two equal splits at 45 DAS and panicle initiation stage . The plant height and 

yield attributes viz., no. of tillers/plant, no. of grains/panicle and 1000-grain weight (g), grain 

yield, straw yield and biological yield were calculated by using standard formula during three 

years. The data recorded for various characters were subjected to statistical analysis 

according to procedure outlined by Cochran and Cox (1963). All the comparisons were 

worked out at 5 per cent level of significance during three years. 

Results 

Result of pooled data of plant height (cm) of rice presented in Table 1 revealed that plant 

height at harvest of rice was significantly influenced by different sowing dates and different 

varieties of rice during all the three-growing season by direct seeding. Among the three 

planting dates, significantly highest plant height at harvest (136.45 cm) was recorded with 

(early sown) 1 st June sowing date whereas significantly lowest plant height at harvest was 

recorded with (late sown) 1 st July sowing dates. 16 th June (Mid sown) sowing date was found 

significantly different from 1 st June and 1 st July sowing date in plant height (126.91 cm) 

during all the three crop growing season. It was might be due to the reason that late sowing 

(1 st July) had shorter growing period due to photoperiodic response whereas (1 st June sowing 

date had longer growing season which produced taller plants and had lesser dry matter 

accumulation as compared to other planting dates. Similar, results were also reported by 

Bashir et al., (2010). Among the different rice varieties significantly highest pooled plant 

height of rice (158.48 cm) at harvest was recorded with variety ‘Basmati-370’ whereas 

significantly minimum plant height at harvest was recorded with variety ‘SRJ -129’ whereas 

variety ‘Pusa-1121’ was found significantly different from other two varieties in plant height. 

This was might be due to reason of different genotypes of rice varieties which may be 

responsible for the difference in growth characters. These results were in line with the 

findings of Thomas and Lal (2012). Grain yield is the function of integrated effect of all 

individual yield components and interaction between the genetic makeup and plant 

environment during the growing period (Banotra et al., 2021). Yield parameters viz. grain 

yield and straw yield of rice were significantly influenced by different planting dates and rice 

varieties. Among the different planting dates significantly highest grain yield (28.42 qha -1 ) 

and straw yield (76.56 qha -1 ) of rice was recorded with 1 st June sowing date whereas 

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significantly lowest grain yield (21.82 qha -1 ) and straw yield (65.89 qha -1 ) of rice was 

recorded with 1 st July sowing date. Among the different rice varieties, significantly highest 

grain yield (29.72 qha -1 ) and lowest straw yield and of rice was recorded with variety ‘SRJ- 

129’ whereas significantly lowest grain yield (21.08 qha -1 ) and highest straw yield of rice 

were recorded with variety basmati-370. Variety Pusa-1121 was found significantly different 

from other two varieties in yield during three years. 

Effect of different planting dates and varieties on growth and yield of rice (Pooled data 

of 3 years) 

Treatments 

Plant height 

(cm) 

Direct seeding of rice / Date of Transplanting 

Grain Yield 

(q ha -1 ) 

Straw Yield 

(qha -1 ) 

D 1 - 1 st June 136.45 28.42 76.56 

D 2 - 16 June 126.91 25.13 71.89 

D 3 -1 st July 116.62 21.82 65.89 

CD (5%) 1.93 1.40 5.13 

Varieties 

V 1 - Pusa-1121 116.15 24.57 72.22 

V 2 -Basmati-370 158.48 21.08 80.63 

V 3 -SRJ-129 105.15 29.72 61.45 

CD (5%) 1.93 1.40 5.13 

Conclusion 

Based on three years study, rice variety when sown on SRJ-129 when sown on 1 st June can 

perform better than other planting dates and varieties in irrigated Subtropical conditions in 

Union Territory of J&K. 

References 

Bashir, M.S., Akbar, N., Iqbal, A. and Zaman, H. 2010. Effect of different sowing Dates on 

yield and yield components of direct seeded coarse rice (Oryza sativa). Pak. J. Agric. Sci. 

47(4), 361-365. 

Banotra, M., Sharma, B.C., Samanta, A., Gupta, L. and Kumar, R. 2021.Production and 

economics of irrigated transplanted basmati rice (Oryza sativa) as influenced by 

substitution of nutrients through organics in Jammu region of India. 66 (3): 295 -299. 

Cocharn, G. and Cox, G.M. 1963. Experimental design. Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 

India. 

Thomas, N., and Lal G ML. 2012. Genetic divergence in rice genotypes under irrigated 

conditions. Ann. Pl. and Soil Res. 14 (1): 109-112. 


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T2a-25P-1369 

Effect of in-situ Moisture Conservation Measures and Stress Management Practices on 

Growth and Productivity of Rainfed Cotton 

A. Mohammed Ashraf * , T. Ragavan and S. Naziya Begam 

College of Agricultural Sciences, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Vendhar Nagar, 

Baburayanpettai - 603201, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu, India. 

*ashrafbsa09040@gmail.com 

The moisture stress during crop growth period is the primary cause for the yield reduction in 

cotton. To improve the soil moisture availability, by reducing the evaporation losses and 

retaining the moisture in effective rooting zone. The soil application of superabsorbent 

polymers (SAPs) is found to be the promising methodology in rainfed areas. However, very 

limited research work has experimented on this. One of such developed product is ‘PUSA 

hydrogel’ which is first successful an indigenous semi-synthetic superabsorbent technology 

for conserving water and enhancing crop productivity and thereby increases the water use 

efficiency (IARI, 2012). To reduce transpiration losses, foliar application of nutrient 

formulations, growth regulators, antitranspirants etc. of cotton are being tried by many 

researchers. Keeping all these fact in view, the present study was undertaken to study the 

influence of different land configuration measures and soil conditioners in moisture 

conservation along with stress management techniques in soil moisture retention, growth and 

yield performance of rainfed cotton. 

Methodology 

Field experiments were conducted at Regional Research Station, Aruppukottai, Tamil Nadu 

Agricultural University, Tamil Nadu during rabi season of 2016 and 2017 with the test 

variety SVPR-2. The soil of the experimental fields was medium deep, well drained vertisol 

(Type Chromusterts) in texture. The soil low in available nitrogen, low in available 

phosphorus and high available potassium. All package of practices were carried out as per 

recommendation of (CPG, 2012). The field experiment was laid out in split plot design with 

three replications. The main plots were allocated with three insitu moisture conservation 

measures. viz., Broad Bed and Furrows (BBF) (I 1), Ridges and Furrows (RF) (I 2) and 

Compartmental Bunding (CB) (I 3). The subplot comprised of stress management practices 

viz., Soil application of pusa hydrogel @ 5 kg ha -1 (S1), Soil application of pusa hydrogel @ 5 

kg ha -1 + foliar spray of 1% KCl (S 2), Soil application of pusa hydrogel @ 5 kg ha -1 + foliar 

spray of 5% kaolin (S 3), Soil application of pusa hydrogel @ 5 kg ha -1 + foliar spray of 

PPFM @ 500 ml ha -1 (S4), Soil application of pusa hydrogel @ 5 kg ha -1 + foliar spray of 

salicylic acid 100 ppm (S 5) and control (S 6). The yield attributing characters like number of 

sympodia plant -1 , number of bolls plant -1 , boll weight and seed cotton yield were recorded. 

Further, rain water use efficiency, water use efficiency and soil moisture content at various 




depths and economics were also worked out and analyzed. The data obtained were subjected 

to statistical analysis and were tested at five percent level of significance to interpret the 

treatment differences as suggested by (Gomez et al., 1984). The data analysis for the 

probability occurrence of 30 years rainfall in a standard week showed that there is a 

possibility occurrence of getting more than 80 per cent of consecutive dry spell is laid with 

45 th and 50 th standard weeks. So, to avoid stress, foliar spray has given at 45 th and 50 th 

standard weeks for the years of study 2016 and 2017 based on historical rainfall probability 

analysis by Markov chain method to fix foliar spray application during the experimentation 

period. 

Results 

From the present study, it was also found that soil application PUSA hydrogel significantly 

improved soil moisture availability than control. Soil application of PUSA hydrogel @ 5 kg 

/ha recorded significantly higher soil moisture per cent at the depth of 0-15, 15-30 and 30-45 

cm. This might be due to the fact that the application of polymers buffer root zone with water 

by reducing the water loss from deep percolation and beneficial to the plant roots to grow and 

proliferate into soil profile and helps for sustaining crop growth and development. 

Application of hydrogel improves water retention capacity of soils and available water 

supplies to the crop. Water absorption by hydrogel was rapid and highest which increased the 

moisture retention linearly. Hence, the polymer allows water to infiltrate into the soil beyond 

its point of application. More soil moisture was retained under soil application of PUSA 

hydrogel @ 5 kg /ha upto 60 DAS. After that soil moisture content was gradually decreasing, 

due to absorption of moisture by the crops from hydrogel polymer. The super-absorbent 

polymers (SAPs) have special properties because of their three-dimensional structure. They 

are cross-linked macromolecules with segments of hydrophilic groups that can absorb and 

retain liquids and the absorbed water and release it slowly. These stored water in the SAPs 

are released slowly as required by the crop to improve growth under limited water supply. 

Yield is contributed by different yield components and any influence made by extraneous 

factor, will alter the yield significantly. In the present study, increased seed cotton yield could 

be attributed to better crop growth and yield components due to consistent soil moisture 

availability due to combined influence of BBF, soil conditioner and foliar application of 

PPFM. The broad bed furrow system significantly influenced the seed cotton yield as 

compared to other land configuration. BBF recorded significantly higher seed cotton yield of 

1,246 (2016) and 1,590 kg /ha (2017) which was 23 per cent (2016) and 19 per cent (2017) 

higher as compared to compartmental bunding. Increment in seed cotton yield was due to 

more soil moisture availability at the root zone which favoured better crop growth. This 

coupled with higher stomatal conductance and transpiration rate resulted accumulation of 

more dry matter and yield components and ultimately the seed cotton yield. Higher seed 


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cotton yield was realized with complementary alliance of insitu moisture conservation 

measures with stress management practices in the present study. Significant influence by 

stress management practices also recorded with soil application of PUSA hydrogel @ 5 kg 

/ha + foliar spray of PPFM @ 500 ml /ha, which registered higher seed cotton yield. 

Effect of insitu moisture conservation & stress management practices on sympodial 

plant -1 , boll weight (g boll -1 ), bolls plant -1 and seed cotton yield (kg ha -1 ) of rainfed cotton 

(Pooled data of rabi 2016 & rabi 2017) 

Treatments 

Sympodia 

Plant -1 

Insitu moisture conservation 

Boll 

weight 

(g boll -1 ) 

Bolls 

Plant - 

1 

Seed cotton 

yield (kg ha - 

1 

) 

Broad bed and furrows 13.0 3.76 18.1 1,590 

Ridges and furrows 11.9 3.53 15.8 1,467 

Compartmental bunding 10.9 3.36 13.5 1,350 

S.Ed 0.2 0.10 0.6 32 

CD (P=0.05) 0.5 0.24 1.6 117 

Stress management practices 

Soil application of pusa hydrogel @ 5 kg ha -1 11.3 3.42 13.7 1,376 

Soil application of pusa hydrogel @ 5 kg ha -1 + 

foliar spray of 1% KCl 


foliar spray of 5% Kaolin 

12.4 3.71 19.0 1,580 

12.2 3.50 16.7 1,485 


foliar spray of PPFM @ 500 ml ha -1 13.2 3.85 20.8 1786 


foliar spray of Salicylic acid 100 ppm 

12.0 3.48 15.2 1,476 

Control 3.31 9.4 1,109 

S.Ed 0.3 0.11 0.6 48 

CD (P=0.05) 0.6 0.16 1.2 100 

Conclusion 

Broad bed and furrows combined with foliar application of PPFM spray at 500 ml ha -1 

resulted in significantly taller plants, higher dry matter production, LAI, yield attributing 

characters like number of sympodia plant -1 , number of bolls plant -1 , boll weight and seed 

cotton yield under rainfed areas. The higher values indicate that the moisture conservation 

and stress management practices improved growth rate performance leading to higher yield 

potential of rainfed cotton. Broad bed and furrows combined with soil application of pusa 

hydrogel @ 5 kg ha -1 + foliar spray of PPFM @ 500 ml ha -1 during the stress period was 

found to be the best agronomic management practice in order to enhance yield in cotton 

under rainfed vertisols. 

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References 

CPG. 2012. Crop Production Guide. Coimbatore, India: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University 

Gomez, K.A., Gomez, K.A. and Gomez, A.A. 1984. Statistical procedures for agricultural 

research: John Wiley & Sons. 

IARI. 2012. PUSA Hydrogel: An Indigenous semisynthetic superabsorbent technology for 

conserving water and enhancing crop productivity Indian Agricultural Research 

Institute, New Delhi, India. 

Sivapalan, S. 2001. Effect of a polymer on growth and yield of soybeans (Glycine max) 

grown in a coarse textured soil. Paper presented at the Irrigation 11-12 July, 2001 

Regional Conference, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. 

Yazdani, F., Allahdadi, I. and Akbari, G.A. 2007. Impact of superabsorbent polymer on yield 

and growth analysis of soybean (Glycine max L.) under drought stress condition. Pak. J. 

Bio. Sci. 10(23): 4190–4196. 

Enhancement in Different Cropping Systems Productivity and 

profiTability under Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) 

Reeta Singh, Sushil Kumar Singh, Illathur Rajesh Reedy, Rohit Jaiswal 

KVK Katihar-854 105, Bihar, India 

T2a-26P-1385 

The Katihar district is suitable for cultivation of jute, makhana, banana, potato, maize, rice, 

wheat, oil seeds and vegetables crops in different seasons of the year. The productivity 

enhancement of the field, fiber and horticultural crops with the concept of integrated farming 

system module is the major arena of thrust for development of agriculture in the district. 

Adopted Villages in Katihar under CRA Program in Korha block-Korha, is a town and tehsil, 

in the Katihar District, State-Bihar, India. As per 2011, census, the Korha block has 54527, 

households with literacy rate of 50%. All the adopted five villages fall on this NH-31 

highway that makes it more visible. The major source of living is agriculture, 

rice/jute/wheat/maize and makhana along with pulses are much cultivated in most of the 

areas. 

Methodology 

In Katihar, this program has been implemented in five villages (Musapur, Mahinathpur, 

Basgarha, Baharkhal and Sisiya) of Korha Block. Climate Resilient Agriculture Program has 

been implemented in all the aforesaid five villages of Korha block since rabi-2020, three 

cropping season has been completed and rabi 2021-22 in progress Since then, total four 


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cropping season has been covered as per Climate Resilient Agriculture Program (rabi-2021, 

summer- 2021, kharif-2021 & rabi- 2021-2022). In all the selected villages, cropping cycle 

has been covered as per crop calendar prepared as per Climate Resilient Agriculture Program 

with the help of new generation machineries such as zero tillage multi crop-planter, new 

turbo happy seeder, raised bed multi crop planter, drum seeder and rice wheat seeder for 

timely showing of crop, to control weeds and pests (tractor mounted sprayers) have been used 

for time saving and cost cutting. 

While for timely harvesting and post-harvest management (SMS based harvester, straw 

reaper as well as straw baller) is used for harvesting and effective residue management. In 

CRA programme, eight cropping systems (Rice-Wheat-Mung bean; Rice-Lentil-Mung bean; 

Maize-Wheat-Mung bean; Rice-Chickpea-Mung bean; Rice-Mustard-Mung bean; Pearl 

Millet-Wheat-Mung bean; Soybean-Wheat-Mung bean; and Rice-Maize) were demonstrated 

at farmers field as well at KVK farm of Katihar district relative to that of farmers practices 

systems are compared and analyzed across the project site. 

Results 

Results showed that highest productivity was recorded in Rice - Maize- Mung bean 

cropping system (160 ha -1 ) followed by Maize – Wheat – Mung bean (121 q ha -1 ), Rice – 

Wheat – Mung bean (94 q ha -1 ), Soybean – Wheat – Mung bean (68.5q ha -1 ),Rice – Mustard 

– Mung bean (67 q ha -1 ), Pearl Millet – Wheat – Mung bean (63.5 q ha -1 ), Rice – Lentil – 

Mung bean ( 63.3 q ha -1 ) and lowest was recoded with Rice – Chickpea – Mung bean ( 63 q 

ha -1 ) . However, in case of district average productivity for rice – wheat cropping system 56 q 

ha -1 , respectively. In case of profitability, Results showed that highest profitability recorded 

in Rice - Maize- Mung bean cropping system (233800 Rs. ha -1 ) followed by Rice – Wheat – 

Mung bean (167100 Rs. ha -1 ), Soybean – Wheat – Mung bean (154650 Rs. ha -1 .), Maize – 

Wheat – Mung bean (152800 Rs. ha -1 ), Rice – Lentil – Mung bean (150260 Rs. ha -1 ), Rice – 

Chickpea – Mung bean (148700Rs. ha -1 ), Rice – Mustard – Mung bean (144600 Rs. ha -1 ), 

and lowest was recoded with Pearl Millet – Wheat – Mung bean (116700 Rs. ha -1 ). Rice - 

Maize- Mung bean cropping system with CRA intervention recorded highest productivity 

(160 ha -1 ) and profitability (233800 Rs. ha -1 ). Thus, we can say that CRA intervention is 

essential at present changing climate. 

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T2a-27P -1388 

Crop Water Requirement and Irrigation Water Management in Changing 

Climate for Sugarcane Crop in Baghpat District, U.P. 

Gaurav Sharma, Sandeep Chaudhary, Dev Kumar 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, India, Pin code-250101 

Variability in the rainfall pattern over the decade due to human-indulged activities inculcated 

several miserable circumstances that have elevated the sequences of unpredictable 

consequences in terms of frequent occurrences of extreme weather events such as drought, 

storms, flood, heat waves, and increase in water and vector-borne disease issues. Changes in 

the climatic parameters viz., maximum and minimum temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, 

sunshine hours, wind speed, and the rate of evapotranspiration had causes severe implications 

in terms of inadequate water availability, decreased crop production and its yields. Therefore, 

for effectual crop production and to render the impacts and complications posed by climate 

variability and human-induced activities efficient irrigation water management is critical. The 

crop water requirement (CWR) and irrigation water management strategies had been 

formulated as an objective of this extended summary for the sugarcane crop for the Baghpat 

district, Uttar Pradesh which will helps in rendering the impediment put forwards. In the 

above context variability in the rainfall pattern has been evaluated based on seasonal and 

annual rainfall, number of rainy days, 1-day maximum rainfall whereas crop water 

requirement (CWR) and irrigation requirement (IR) has been evaluated using CROPWAT 

software. The scenario based CWR and IR has been computed for normal year, drought year, 

flooded year and average year (35 years) which was evaluated based on departure analysis of 

seasonal rainfall. 

Methodology 

For climate change detection the expert team on climate change detection indices (ETCCDI) 

were evaluated. Based on the indices rainy days are counted as days when daily precipitation 

was greater than 2.5mm and 1-day maximum rainfall was computed as the precipitation 

observed in a complete year. Crop water requirement is defined as the amount of water 

needed to compensate the evapotranspiration loss from the cropped field. The crop water 

requirement is computed as a multiple of crop coefficient value and reference 

evapotranspiration. FAO Penman–Monteith method (Abeysiriwardana et al., 2022) has been 

used for computing the reference evapotranspiration using CROPWAT software (Surendran 

et al., 2015). India Meteorological Department (IMD) criterion was used to evaluate drought 

year as an area which receives a seasonal rainfall less than 75% of its normal (Appa Rao, 

1986). The daily gridded rainfall data of 35 years (1986-2020) had been used to carry out the 

analysis which was downloaded from Indian Meteorological department (IMD), Pune while 


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other climatic data was downloaded from NASA (https://power.larc.nasa.gov). Loamy 

textured soil is generally prevailing in the region (CGWB, 2014). 

Results 

Based on the assessment of rainfall data it is revealed that the annual rainfall in Baghpat 

district varies between minimum of 245 mm (1987) to maximum of 1488 mm (1997) with an 

average of 624 mm (1986-2020). The average number of rainy days varies between minimum 

of 24 days (1997) to maximum of 56 days (1996) with an average of 40 days. The average 

annual rainfall in Baghpat district showed a decreasing trend thus depicting quite a critical 

condition from the cropping pattern point of view. The 1-day maximum rainfall over the 

region showed a decreasing trend and the 1-d maximum rainfall varies between minimum of 

27 mm (1987) to maximum of 273 mm (1994) with an average of 74 mm. The indicatorbased 

analysis unveils the ill-effects of climate change over the region which calls for 

adaptation of suitable approaches to cope and to render the impacts thus generated. Based on 

the departure analysis of annual rainfall the drought year (50%) had been identified. Year viz., 1987, 1997, and 2014 had been identified 

as drought year, 1999 as normal year and 1994 as flooded year. For depicting the average 

CWR and IR, the average of 35 years (1986-2020) has been used for comparison with the 

years identified based on departure analysis of annual rainfall. 

As per ICAR-SBI, Coimbatore, there are four crop growth phases in sugarcane crop viz., 

germination phase (1-35 day), tillering phase (36-100 day), grand growth phase (101-270 

day), and maturity phase (271 up to harvest) which require irrigation water at the interval of 

7, 10, 7 & 15-days intervals in different phased respectively with the irrigation frequency of 

41. Therefore, the cumulative crop water requirement and irrigation water requirement as per 

the computation using CROPWAT software for sugarcane crop was 2442 mm and 1965 mm 

respectively. The irrigation water requirement for drought, normal, flooded years is depicted 

in table 1 and Figure 2 showed the variability in the irrigation water requirement (mm/yr). 

Irrigation water requirement for sugarcane crop 

Year Irr. Req. (mm/yr) 

1987 (D*) 2232.9 

1997 (D) 2159 

2014 (D) 2084.8 

1999 (N) 2012.9 

1994(FL) 1953.2 

Average 1965.1 

Note: * D= drought year, N= normal year, FL= flooded year, average (1986-2020) year 

302 | Page 




Crop water requirement for sugarcane 

Based on evaluation it was evidenced that the crop water requirement and irrigation 

requirement was maximum during the April to June period and is minimum during the winter 

season. The irrigation water requirement in the region varies between minimum of 1953 mm 

(flooded year) to maximum of 2232 mm (drought year). To cope with the changing 

environment and for efficient water management, irrigation intervals need to be subjugated as 

per the moisture content of the soil. Suitable irrigation and water carrying infrastructure need 

to be develop for efficient water management. 

Conclusion 

The changing environment put forwards unprecedented circumstances in terms of variability 

in the rainfall pattern and other meteorological parameter thus causes severe implication in 

terms of food security. Therefore, efficient and effective water management strategies need to 

be adopted especially in Baghpat district where water guzzling crop viz., sugarcane and rice 

are grown as major crop during kharif and wheat as Rabi crop. Cropping pattern need to be 

adopted as per the water availability in the region that will helps in rendering the impact of 

such devastating condition put forth by the changing climate. 

References 

Bloom, S., Silva, A., Dee, D., Bosilovich, M., Chern, J. D., Pawson, S., Schubert, S., 

Sienkiewicz, M., Stajner, I., Tan, W. W. and Wu, M. L. 2005. Documentation and 

Validation of the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) Data Assimilation System 

- Version 4, Technical Report Series on Global Modeling and Data Assimilation, 

NASA/TM. 26:140-606. 

Appa, Rao. G. 1986. Drought climatology.Jal Vigyan Samiksha, Publication of high level 

technical committee on hydrology, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee. 


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Abeysiriwardana, H. D., Muttil, N., and Rathnayake, U. 2022. A Comparative Study of 

Potential Evapotranspiration Estimation by Three Methods with FAO Penman–Monteith 

Method across Sri Lanka. Hydrology. 9(11), 206. 

Surendran, U., Sushanth, C. M., Mammen, G., and Joseph, E. J. 2015. Modelling the crop 

water requirement using FAO-CROPWAT and assessment of water resources for 

sustainable water resource management: A case study in Palakkad district of humid 

tropical Kerala, India. Aquatic Procedia. 4:1211-1219. 

T2a-28P-1422 

Study of Moth Bean (Vigna aconitifolia) as a Multifaceted Climate Resilient Crop 

G. Gomadhi, P. Sridhar and M. Sathyasivananthamoorthy 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu -604 002, India 

Pulses play a vital role in Indian Agriculture. India produces about 25 per cent of the world's 

pulses, but it eats 30 per cent of the world's pulses and buys 14 per cent of its pulses needs 

from other countries (Sanjay Kumar et al., 2022). India's pulse crop exhibits the productivity 

of 228 kg ha -1 (Choudhary et al., 2021) which are rich source of protein for a majority of the 

Indian population. Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia) is the most drought and heat tolerant pulse 

crop in Tamil Nadu and is used as a source of food, fodder, green manuring and green 

pasture. Farmers usually cultivate this moth bean crop under rainfed condition especially 

during rabi season immediately after completion of northeast monsoon under used in 

utilizing residual moisture for germination and further growth fully dependent on residual 

moisture and dew. So, it is commonly called as Panipayaru (Pani is a Tamil name for dew) in 

Tamil Nadu. Farmers fetching low income from the crop due to cultivation of desi varieties 

which gave fewer yields. Hence, under NICRA Scheme a front-line demonstration (FLD) 

was conducted with high yielding moth bean variety TMV 1 with foliar application of TNAU 

crop booster (Pulse wonder) to increase the income of farmers. The following intervention 

was studied in the cropping system and moth been TMV 1seeds are distributed during 21 

farmers of Thaniyal village under National Innovation in Climate Resilient Agriculture 

(NICRA) in the farming system typology is rainfed with animal. The nutritional value of the 

crop was analyzed by Community Science College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu 

Agricultural University, Madurai and its health benefits are given below. 

Nutrition in Moth Bean 

Component Nutritional value Health Benefits 

Carbohydrates 20.63 g Strong bones 

Dietary fiber 5.60 g Enhance immune system 

Total lipids (Fat) 0.53 g Reduce stress 

304 | Page 




Copper 0.36 g Repairment of Muscles 

Iron 3.80 g Assist to reduce weight 

Zinc 1.64 g Bowel movement 

Methodology 

The demonstration of drought tolerant high yielding moth bean variety TMV 1 as a climate 

resilient technology under rainfed farming system typology was carried out by the scientists 

of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Villupuram through NICRA scheme during rabi season of 2021 at 

Thaniyal village of Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu with the active participation of 

farmers. The soil of the village is sandy loam in texture with a pH of 7.54, EC 0.64 dS m -1 , 

low in organic carbon status (0.45%), available nitrogen and medium in phosphorus and 

potassium status. Sowing was taken were sown during the month of December with a seed 

rate of 8kg /acre. Each demonstration was conducted in an area of 0.4 ha and the same area 

adjacent to the demonstration plot was kept as farmer’s practices. The package of improved 

production technologies included improved variety (TMV 1) and foliar application of pulse 

wonder (TNAU crop booster) during flowering stage. 

Results 

Front-line demonstration of Moth bean TMV 1 conducted at NICRA village 

(2021-2022) 

Sl. 

No 

Name of the 

farmer 

Yield 

(Q ha -1 ) 


Cultivation 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

Gross Income 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

Net Income 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

B:C 

Ratio 

1 G. Mannakati 7.1 25550 45890 20340 1.8 

2 J. Subramiyan, 7.8 26000 50765 24765 2.0 

3 A. Selladurai 10.1 27000 65390 38390 2.4 

4 V. Perumal 11.6 27500 75140 47640 2.7 

5 D. Mohan 9.8 26550 63765 37215 2.4 

6 R. Anjalai 12.3 28790 80015 51225 2.8 

7 S. Munusami 12.1 28000 78390 50390 2.8 

8 G. Vijaya 9.1 26690 58890 32200 2.2 

9 K. Dhandapani 12.8 27980 83265 55285 3.0 

10 V. Munusami 11.6 28250 75140 46890 2.7 

11 

M. 

Madhialagan 

12.3 28700 80015 51315 2.8 

12 S. Valli 12.1 28880 78390 49510 2.7 

13 M. Sakkrapani 12.6 28790 81640 52850 2.8 

14 V. Dhandapani 11.8 27980 76765 48785 2.7 

15 A. Varathan 12.6 28990 81640 52650 2.8 

16 M. Jayaraman 12.3 28950 80015 51065 2.8 

17 N. Krishnan 11.6 28700 75140 46440 2.6 


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18 A. Murugan 11.3 27900 73515 45615 2.6 

19 C. Albert 11.1 28900 71890 42990 2.5 

20 C. Rajasekar 10.3 28800 67015 38215 2.3 

21 K. Umapathi 11.6 28400 75140 46740 2.6 

Average 11.1 27967 72277 44310 2.6 

Conclusion 

It was concluded that the yield of the Moth bean crop and net income of the Moth bean farmers 

were increased by the cultivation of TMV 1 variety of Moth bean along with integrated crop 

management practices under rainfed condition. To favor the climate change and dew fall, utilize 

crop without any irrigation. The farmers feel the subside of complex pest and diseases when 

compare to other pulse crops. The farmers were impressed with the performance of improved 

variety and crop booster which motivated other farmers to adopt the same at large scale and area 

extended up to 20 per cent. 

References 

Choudhary, H.R., Gopichand Singh. and Bhawana Sharma. 2021. Moth bean Cultivation under 

Rainfed Conditions of Nagaur District of Rajasthan. J. Krishi Vigyan. 9 (2): 143-146. 

Sanjay Kumar, Prashant Kaushik, Jasbir Singh and Verma, R.C. 2022. Increasing productivity 

and profitability of summer moong through frontline demonstration (FLD) in Kaithal 

district of Haryana. Pharma Innov. J. 11(7)(special): 14-17. 

306 | Page 

T2a-29P-1435 

Dissemination of Productivity Enhancement Technologies in Pigeonpea 

through Frontline Demonstrations 

Debesh Singh*, R.P.S. Tomar and Swati Tomar 

NICRA, RVSKVV, KVK, Morena 476001, M.P. 

*debeshtomar315@gmail.com 

The demonstration was conducted during kharif season 2017-18 and 2018-19 year under 

NICRA project at ATTA village, Block - Jaura, District- Morena (MP) where 26 

Demonstrations on pigeonpea crop were carried out an area of 10.40 ha by the active 

participation of farmers with the objective to demonstrate the improved technologies in 

pigeon pea to exploit production potential. The improved technologies consisted of use of 

improved wilt resistant variety, seed treatment with Rhizobium culture, balanced fertilizer 

application and integrated pest management. Frontline demonstrations (FLDs) recorded high 

yield as compared to farmer’s local practice. The improved technology recorded higher yield 

of 22.10 q ha -1 compared to 17.20 q ha -1 in farmer’s local practice. In spite of increase in 

yield, technological gap, extension gap existed. The improved technologies gave higher gross 

return, net return higher benefit/cost ratio then farmer’s practices. 




T2a-30P-1468 

Demonstration of Fish Seed Rearing in Natural Water Bodies of Rainfed Agro- 

Ecosystem: A Case of a Farmer from Srikakulam, District of North Coastal Andhra 

Pradesh 

Ch. Balakrishna 1* , K. Bhagya Lakshmi 1 , A. Devivaraprasad Reddy 2 , D. Chinnam 

Naidu 3 , S. Neelaveni 1 , G. Naveen Kumar 1 , V. Harikumar 1 , B. Suneetha 1 , S. Kiran 

Kumar 1 , S. Anusha 1 , B. Mounika 1 

1 ICAR- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Amadavalasa 

2 Dr. YSR Horticultural University, Venkataramannagudem, West Godavari District, Andhra 

Pradesh, India 

3 Agricultural college, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Naira, Srikakulam District, 

Andhra Pradesh, India 

* ch.balakrishna@angrau.ac.in 

India is endowed with inland freshwater resources, which contribute both livelihood and 

nutritional security to the rural community. These natural water bodies are biologically 

sensitive and threatened by an array of anthropogenic and climatic factors. Uncertainty in 

reception and availability of the water for fish culture causes inappropriate stocking of fish 

seed leading to poor fish production. Availability of quality fish seed at appropriate times is 

the major constraint for the development of aquaculture in these natural water bodies of 

Andhra Pradesh. To address this issue, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Amadalavalasa conducted a 

demonstration on captive nursery rearing of fish seed in Jagannathanaidu tank, of Srikakulam 

district of north coastal Andhra Pradesh, located at 18 0 48.037’ N, and 83 0 53.729’ E. Three 

to five-day-old spawn stage fish seeds of Indian Major Carps Catla (Catla catla), Rohu 

(Labeo rohita), and Mrigala (Cirrhinus mrigala) were released in a 27 m 3 water spread area 

of 6X3X1.5 m sized net cage at the rate of 1, 50,000 numbers. The culture of fish seed was 

carried out for 15 days up to the fry stage in net cages. It was observed 32.18 % of survival 

rate and produced 48270 numbers of fry. Through this activity, the farmer could save an 

amount of Rs.9394 on fish seed purchased from outside. This fry-stage fish seed was in turn 

reared in rearing ponds for 1-2 months until fingerling size to stock the grow-out culture tank 

immediately after reception of water. Based on the above results it is recommended that 

nursery rearing of fish seed is remunerative, reduces losses during transportation, and assures 

the quality of fish seed in the required quantity. 


307 | Page



T2a-31P-1469 

Studies on the Effect of Rice Varieties on Flood Tolerant in Karaikal 

District 

V. Aravinth and S. Jayasankar 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Madur, Karaikal District – 609 607. 

Flooding is one of the most hazardous natural disasters and a major constraint to rice 

production throughout the world, which results in huge economic loss. Approximately onefourth 

of the global rice crops (approximately 40 million hectares) are grown in rainfed 

lowland plots that are prone to seasonal flooding. Karaikal District is also flood prone area 

and received average rainfall of 1200-1300 mm per year. Considering seasonal flooding due 

to monsoon rain a Front-Line Demonstration was conducted in Karaikal District during 

samba (2020-21 and 2021-22) by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Madur, Karaikal District with three 

varieties of Rice varieties Viz., BPT 5204, VGD1 and ADT 54 raised in direct sown method 

to find their suitability under flooding condition. Apart from the varieties, seeds were treated 

with Bacillus subtilis 10 g per kg of seed, soil application of Azophos (1 kg per ha) bio 

fertilizer along with FYM and supply primary nutrient like NPK as recommended by TNAU 

(150:50:50 kg of NPK ha -1 ) as basal and topdressing. It was observed that, ADT 54 

exhibited higher plant height (165 cm), more number of tillers hill -1 (18 Nos.), more number 

of panicles per hill (13 Nos.), 1000 seed weight (16.3 g) and higher grain yield (5,220 Kg ha - 

1 

) as compared to BPT 5204 and VGD1. Gross and net returns were Rs. 1,01,032 and 43,548 

ha -1 , respectively in ADT 54 rice variety and BCR also high (2.32) as against other two 

varieties. Hence, to be safe and to avoid risk, ADT 54 variety is suitable for Karaikal district 

as direct sowing. 

T2a-32P-1478 

Crop Diversification at Agricultural Landscape Level for Climate Change 

Adaptation in Rainfed Agroecosystems 

G. Ravindra Chary*, V.K. Singh, M.S. Shirahatti, K.A. Gopinath, C.A. Rama Rao, 

B.M.K. Raju and K.V.Rao 


* rc.gajjala@icar.gov.in 

Rainfed agriculture is practiced in about 50 percent of net cropped area. It contributes 44% of 

food grains and supports 40% and 75% human and livestock population respectively. Rainfed 

agriculture contributes immensely to country’s food production and economy. Climate 

change and climate variability impacts Indian agriculture in general and more pronounced on 

rainfed agriculture. Rainfall is likely to decline by 5 to 10% over southern parts of India 

308 | Page 




whereas10 to 20% increase is likely over other regions. There is a probable decrease in the 

number of rainy days over major part of the country pointing at likely increase of extreme 

events. With current gains in the existing rainfed production systems, there is need for more 

profitable land use systems. While evolving strategies for bridging yield gaps, due attention 

must be given to regional imbalances in terms of natural resources. For yield maximization, 

selecting genotypes with wide adaptability, cropping systems and crop diversification and 

resilience to climate variability remains a challenge. There is increasing urgency for a 

stronger focus on adapting agriculture to future climate change. 

Methodology 

The experiments on cropping systems were conducted both on-station and on-farm at 

network centres of All India Co-ordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture 

(AICRPDA). The results are briefly presented. 

Results 

Crop diversification in India is generally viewed as a shift from traditionally grown less 

remunerative crops to more remunerative crops. Higher profitability and also the 

resilience/stability in production urge for crop diversification, and large number of crops are 

practiced as intercrops in rainfed lands to reduce the risk factor of crop failures due to 

drought. Crop diversification is recognized as one of the most feasible, cost-effective, and 

rational ways of developing a resilient agricultural cropping system, particularly in rainfed 

agroecosystems. The various strategies for land use diversification for climate change 

adaptation (drought mitigation) in rainfed agroecosystems are briefed below. 

a. Resilient crops and varieties: Introduction of alternate crops and new cultivars of rainfed 

crops is a strategy aimed at enhancing productivity, and/or building crop resilience to weather 

risks, and environmental stresses at the backdrop of climate change/variability. It reduces the 

risk of total crop failure and also provides alternative means of generating income, as 

different crops will respond to climate scenarios in different ways. Higher yields can be 

attained by sowing the suitable crops at the right time and with the right land use conditions. 

Beyond the sowing window, choice of alternate crops or cultivars depends on the farming 

situation, soil, rainfall and cropping pattern in the location and extent of delay in the onset of 

monsoon. The network centres of AICRPDA, over a period of research developed the 

following agro-ecology specific risk resilient alternate crops and intercropping systems to 

cope with delayed onset of monsoon for scaling out in various core rainfed agroclimatic 

zones. 

b. Alignment of agro-ecology specific resilient rainfed cropping systems : Crop 

diversification with intercropping systems enhances resource use efficiency, and overall 

system productivity and income per unit area to the small holders. Diversification with 


309 | Page



intercropping systems contributes to in achieving food and nutritional security, income 

growth, employment generation and sustainable rainfed agriculture. Double cropping system 

aims to make optimum use of land through permitting the production of an extra crop 

cultivated in winter/rabi after kharif season. In general, the double cropping becomes 

feasible when there is on time onset of monsoon rains that helps to successfully establish the 

first crop, then persist for an extended period of time to allow the planting and maturation of 

the second crop .To develop feasible and sustainable double cropping systems, production 

factors such as length of growing season, cropping sequence, crop compatibility, biological 

complementarity, and planting time must be considered (Ravindra Chary et.al. 2020; 2022). 

Agroclimate zone-wise, rainfed cereals, pulses, oilseeds and cotton-based production systems 

wise intercropping systems, double cropping systems are suggested. 

d. Building resilience at agricultural land scape level: Scientific land use planning in 

drought prone regions is one of the rational approaches for drought mitigation. Ravindra 

Chary et al. (2005) suggested that the delineation of Soil Conservation Units (SQUs), Soil 

Quality Units (SQUs) and Land Management Units (LMUs) from the detailed soil survey 

maps at cadastral level in a microwatershed would help in land resource management. SCUs 

and SQUs are merged in GIS environment to delineate land parcels in to homogenous Land 

Management Units with farm boundaries. LMUs would be operational zed at farm level for 

taking decisions on arable, non-arable and common lands for cropping, agroforstry, 

agrohorticulture, etc., and further, for leaving the most fragile land parcels for ecorestoration. 

Rainfed land use planning modules should be based on these units for risk minimization, 

enhanced land productivity and income, finally for drought proofing. 

Conclusion 

Crop diversification action plans need to be developed and implemented in convergence with 

various national/state programmes. 

a. Crop diversification with alternate crops aligning with agroecology specificity 

including fodder and vegetable crops beyond normal sowing windows of the rainfed 

crops 

b. Scaling out Real-time contingency plans as two-pronged approach i.e. preparedness 

and real-time response 

References 

Ravindra Chary, G., Vittal, K.P.R., Ramakrishna, Y.S., Sankar, G.R.M., Arunachalam, M., 

Srijaya, T. and Bhanu, U. 2005. Delineation of soil conservation units (SCUs), soil 

quality units (SQUs) and land management units (LMUs) for land resource appraisal and 

management in rainfed agro-ecosystem of India: A conceptual approach. Lead Paper. 

310 | Page 




Proceedings of the National Seminar on Land Resources Appraisal and Management for 

Food Security, Indian Society of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, NBSSLUP, 

Nagpur, India, 10-11 April 2005. 

Ravindra Chary, G., Gopinath, K.A., Bhaskar, S., Prabhakar, M., Chaudhari, S.K. and 

Narsimlu, B. 2020. Resilient Crops and Cropping systems to cope with Weather 

aberrations in Rainfed agriculture. AICRPDA. ICAR- CRIDA, Hyderabad-500 059.p. 

56. 

Ravindra Chary, G., Gopinath, K.A., Singh, V.K., Basant Kandpal, Bhaskar, S., Srinivasa 

Rao, Ch. And Chaudhari, S.K. 2022. Improved Agronomic Practices for Rainfed Crops 

in India. AICRPDA. ICAR- CRIDA, Hyderabad India. p.336. 


T2a-33P-1508 

Demonstration of Climate Resilient Technologies for Mitigation in the 

North East 

M. Thoithoi Devi, Bagish Kumar, Olivina Katharpi and Rajesh Kumar 

ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Zone-VI, Guwahati, 

Assam, India 

Climate change is not the corner stone of the natural aberration. It is very much obvious 

through abnormal weather conditions. This man-made calamity has negatively impacted 

every dimension of living. Agriculture of the entire country is not the exception from this and 

as far as north east region is concerned, due to its geographical position, it has affected it 

more. Considering the high vulnerability of the region, the ICAR has introduced the different 

climate resilient interventions in farmers’ field under Technology Demonstration Component 

(TDC) of NICRA in the state of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh & Sikkim. During 2018-19, in 

KVK Dhubri, Assam, an intervention on in-situ soil moisture conservation using straw mulch 

in Colocasia was introduced in farmers’ field. The main objective behind this intervention 

was to minimize the evaporation loss of water from soil and to supress weed growth. It was 

found that yield of local check was 43.51 q/ha whereas that of demonstration was 52.25 q/ha 

resulting in 20.09% increase in yield over local check. The other intervention undertaken by 

the same KVK was production of low cost vermicompost unit and reason behind the 

intervention was recycling of farm and household waste to convert them to nutrient rich 

vermicompost. From an unit of 6×3×2.5 cubic ft, net return of Rs. 4500.00 was obtained with 

B.C ratio of 2.5. In KVK Sonitpur, Assam, during 2018-19, paddy straw mulching in ginger 

variety Nadia was introduced in farmers’ field. During rabi season, rainfall was very less and 

low soil moisture affected the growth and development of winter crops. So this intervention 

was undertaken to conserve soil moisture as well as to suppress weed growth. Yield of local 

check and demonstration were 22 q/ha and 43 q/ha respectively. Increase in yield over local 

311 | Page



check was 95.45%. In Tirap, Arunachal Pradesh, the main climatic vulnerability was low soil 

moisture status and drought like situation during rabi season. So jalkund, water harvesting 

structure were constructed in farmers’ farm for giving supplemental irrigation to rabi crop 

namely potato (var. Kufri giridhari). The farmers were able to get an average yield of 150.6 

q/ha with B.C ratio of 2.29. Generally, the farmers of Tirap district did not apply any 

chemical fertilizers or organic nutrients in their field. So, fertility status or soil health of the 

district is decreasing year after year. Therefore, to maintain or enhance soil health, an 

intervention on preparation of vermicompost and its application in French bean (variety Pusa 

parvaty) was introduced in farmers’ field during 2018-19. It was observed that yield of local 

check was 29.2 q/ha whereas that of demonstration was 42.8 q/ha. Increase in yield over local 

check was 46.58% with B.C ratio 3.63. During 2019-20, in KVK Dhubri, Assam, low cost 

vermicomposting unit with raised bed was introduced in farmers’ field. Reason behind the 

intervention was to prevent the vermicomposting unit from flood. From a unit of 6×3×2.5 

cubic ft, net return of Rs. 6000.00 with B.C ratio of 2.57 was obtained. In KVK East Sikkim, 

Sikkim, no till cultivation of garden pea in rice fallow was introduced in farmers’ field with 

an aim to conserve soil moisture, save time and reduce cost of cultivation. Farmers were able 

to get an average yield of 57 q/ha with B.C ratio of 2.40. KVK East Sikkim also introduced 

bio mulching in ginger var. Bhaisey for reducing weed growth, moisture conservation and to 

get quality produce. Yield of local check obtained was 76.9 q/ha whereas yield of 

demonstration was 125.9 q/ha. 

T2a-34P-1562 

Climate Smart Crop Diversification through Paddy-Pea Cropping System under Raised 

Beds in Lowland Rice Fallow 

Meghna Sarma, Mokidul Islam, and Elgiva Wanshnong 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ri Bhoi, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umroi Road, Umiam- 

793103, Meghalaya, India 

Rice fallows occur due to the early withdrawal of monsoon rains leading to soil moisture 

stress at planting time of winter crops, water logging, and excessive moisture during 

November/December, lack of appropriate varieties of winter crops for late planting, and other 

socio-economic problems. In India, about 11.7 million hectares remain fallow after the 

harvest of rice, out of the 44.6 million ha of total rice area of the country. Approximately 

82% of the rice fallow lands are concentrated in the states of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, 

Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, and North East India (Layek 

et al. 2014). Low productivity, crop diversification, employment, and income are the major 

constraints of existing production systems of the high-rainfall North-Eastern Hill Region of 

India (Das et al. 2014). Crop diversification may enhance profitability, reduce pests, spread 

out labour more uniformly, and reduce risks from aberrant weather by different planting and 

312 | Page 




harvesting times and sources of high-value products from new crops (Reddy and Suresh, 

2009). The Kyrdem village in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya under the subtropical hill agroclimatic 

zone is a climatically vulnerable area mostly affected by an acute scarcity of water 

during rabi season or excess water in the lowland rice ecosystem which leads to rice fallow. 

Farmers grow lowland local long-duration paddy from May to August which is ready to 

harvest in November- December and remain fallow due to excess water and late harvesting of 

paddy leading to again low cropping intensity. Therefore, KVK Ri-Bhoidemonstrated climate 

resilient raised bed temporary land configuration technology with field pea variety Prakash 

under NICRA-TDC (Technology Demonstration Component) Project in rice–fallow area in 

the adopted village in order to enhance the cropping intensity, system productivity and 

profitability. 

Methodology 

The climate resilient technology of paddy (var. RCM 10) – pea (var. Prakash) cropping 

system under temporary land configuration using raised beds in low land rice fallow 

demonstrated at 95 farmers’ field covering 15 ha area at NICRA adopted Kyrdem village 

located at a latitude of 25° 41 ´487ʺ N and longitude92° 04ʹ 308ʺ E at an elevation of 864 m 

above MSL in Bhoirymbong block in Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya during 2015-18 to 

increase the cropping intensity, system productivity, and profitability. The population in the 

village was 1760, with households 220 witha cultivated area of 600ha with major crops of 

rice, maize, ginger, turmeric, and vegetables having only streams as the source of irrigation. 

The climatic vulnerability in the village was high intensity & erratic rainfall, hail storm, cold 

wave, frost, and terminal drought. Total Kharif (June -Sept) rainfall received during the 

paddy growing season was normal except during 2017 with an excess rainfall deviation of 

25.3 percent. The paddy variety RCM 10 (125 days duration - June-Sept) was sown in the last 

week of May and transplanted in the first week of June. The climate resilient technology 

demonstrated to mitigate the soil moisture stress at planting time, water logging, and 

excessive moisture in November/December in rice fallow through raised beds of size 1m 

width and 0.3m height and 5-8 length and sunken spacing of 1: 0.5 ratios. The field pea (var. 

Prakash) was grown in raised beds in October/November after the harvest of paddy in 

sequence on raised beds. The soil of the demonstrated site was high organic carbon (0.83- 

1.15%), low to medium nitrogen (KMnO4– N 243-276 kg/ha) and phosphorus (12.43-14.78 

kg/ha Olsen P), medium in potash (189-205.43kg/ha NH4OAC-K) and acidic to slightly 

acidic in reaction (pH 4.15-5.58). The system productivity in terms of rice equivalent yield 

was calculated by converting crop yields into rice equivalent yield (REY) with the physical 

output of each crop and their price of output. Market prices prevailing during the crop season 

each year were used for computing maize equivalent yield. 


313 | Page



Results 

Results revealed that the average paddy yield was enhanced by 91.3 percent from 21.6 to 

41.32 q/ha and the seed yield of field pea was 11.54 q/ha. The system productivity of 52.86 

qREY /ha in the paddy-pea cropping system was recorded which might be due to the 

introduction of HYV of paddy and additional yield from field pea under raised beds in rice 

fallow. The enhancement of net return fetched from Rs.14, 830 to Rs.76476/ ha with a 

profitability ratio of 2.44 in the paddy-pea cropping system and increased the cropping 

intensity from 100 to 200 percent (Table 2). Islam et al. (2020) and Samant T.K. (2015) also 

reported that the inclusion of pulses in maize and rice-based crop sequences improved the 

system productivity, profitability, resource use efficiency, and cropping intensity from 

monocropping to double cropping. 

Performance of crop diversification on climate-resilient raised bed technology 

Parameters Paddy-fallow Paddy- field pea in 

raised beds 

Percent 

increased 

Paddy (var. RCM 10) (q/ha) 21.6 41.32 91.3 

Field Pea (var. Prakash) (q/ha) 0 11.54 100 

System Productivity(q/ha) 21.6 52.86 145 

Net return (Rs/ha) 14830 76476 416 

B:C ratio 1.85 2.44 32 

Cropping Intensity (%) 100 200 100 

Conclusion 

The pea planted on the raised beds escaped crop losses due to temporary water logging and 

offers significant opportunities for intensification and diversification along with the 

utilization of paddy fields after harvesting to regenerate soil nutrients through leguminous pea 

plants. The successful demonstration of climate resilient paddy –pea cropping system in 

raised beds was realized by following the principles of “learning by doing” and “seeing is 

believing” which helped the farmers to grow peas successfully after Kharif paddy instead of 

keeping the rice field fallow during rabi season. The impressive performance of the 

technology awakened the farmers, farm women, and rural youths of the village as well as 

neighbouring villages to adopt this resilient technology for the second crop after paddy as it 

helps to increase the cropping intensity, fetched higher net income and also better 

reconciliation under the climatic stress condition. It was concluded that the existing ricebased 

cropping system can effectively be diversified with the inclusion of legumes to 

diversify rice-based mono-cropping into rice-field pea/pulses cropping system which had 

nutrient cycling advantages. Hence, the climate-smart crop diversification in rice fallow 

under raised beds enhanced system productivity, profitability, and cropping intensity 

spreading to six neighboring villages covering 125 ha area in Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya. 

314 | Page 




References 

Das, A., Patel, D.P., Ramkrushna, G.I., Munda, G.C., Ngachan, S.V., Buragohain, J., Kumar 

M. and Naropongla 2014. Crop diversification, crop and energy productivity under 

raised and sunken beds: results from a seven-year study in a high rainfall organic 

production system. Biol Agri. Horti, 30 (2): 73-87. 

Islam, M., Nath, L.K. and Samajdar, T. 2020. Sustainable diversification of maize (Zea mays 

L.) based cropping systems for productivity, profitability and resource-use efficiency 

in West Garo Hills of Meghalaya, India. Legume Res. 43(3): 427-431. 

Layek, J., Chowdhury, S., Ramkrushna, G.I, and Das, A. 2014. Evaluation of different lentil 

cultivars in lowland rice fallow under no-till system for Enhancing Cropping Intensity 

and Productivity. Indian J. Hill Farming 27(2):4-9. 

Reddy, B.N. and Suresh, G. 2009. Crop diversification with oilseed crops for maximizing 

productivity, profitability and resource conservation. Ind. J. Agron. 54(2): 206-214. 

Samant, T.K. 2015. System productivity, profitability, sustainability and soil health as 

influenced by rice-based cropping systems under mid central table land zone of 

odisha. Int. J. Agric. Sci. 7(11):746-749. 

T2a-35P-1568 

Impact of Climatic Variability on Wheat Varieties in NICRA Villages of 

Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh 

Subhash Kumar*, K. C. Sharma, R. K. Rana, Chandertkanta Vats, Ramesh Lal, Pooja 

Kumari and Surender Bansal 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bajaura Distt. Kullu (H.P.), CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, 

Palampur-175 125, India 

*subhashsoils@gmail.com 

The performance of wheat is heavily influenced by a variety of environmental factors and the 

most important of which is rainfall, which has a significant impact on its growth and 

development. The occurrence of erratic rainfalls, with a delay in the arrival of rains during 

the growing season, is among one the factors affecting the crop's performance and yields. 

Water stress causes morphological and biochemical changes in plants, which eventually lead 

to functional impairment and the loss of plant parts (Naeem et al., 2015). The large threat of 

climate change upcoming on agriculture, emphasizes conserving resources for sustained 

production which may be environmentally friendly. Development and dissemination of 

short-duration varieties, which can withstand the climatic irregularities predictable in the 

future, should be given priority in the mountain region (Hussain and Mudasser, 2007). 


315 | Page



Keeping in view the conditions above, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kullu at Bajaura (HP) 

demonstrated the short-duration and drought-resistant varieties intending to mitigate the 

impact of climatic aberrations. 

Methodology 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kullu laid 362 No. of frontline demonstrations (FLDs) on wheat in the 

NICRA villages viz. Choyal and Gadouri. These villages are located at 31°50’40” to 57°0’0” 

N latitude and 77° 05’20” to 77°10’40” E longitude at an elevation of 1,100-1,234 m a.m.s.l. 

The study involved the incorporation of the complete Improved Package (IP) which includes 

short duration and drought-resistant recommended varieties of the CSKHPKV Palampur, 

recommended fertilizer, and pesticide in comparison to the farmer's practice (FP). These 

varieties were tested in the rainfed conditions that prevailed in these villages. Based on data 

collected from the FLDs, the results were compiled and inferences were drawn. 

Results 

The data reflects that with the adoption of an improved package (IP) on wheat, the grain yield 

was invariably higher (2910 to 3650 kg ha -1 ) over the farmer's practice (FP) that ranges from 

2420 to 2840 kg ha -1 from 2015-16 to 2018-19 (Table 1) which may be ascribed to the 

adoption of recommended agro-technologies during the study period. With the adoption of IP 

in wheat, the yield levels could be raised by 15.61 to 28.93 % over the FP. The technology 

gap recorded ranges from 350 to 1240 kg ha -1 during the years of investigation. The highest 

technological gap was obtained during rabi 2018-19 in the variety HPW-349 (1240 kg ha -1 ) 

followed by 1090 kg ha -1 during rabi 2015-16 while the lowest gap was observed during rabi 

2018-19 (350 kg ha -1 ). This may be attributed to the lack of irrigation facilities and improper 

distribution of rainfall (Kumar et. al. 2015). The Extension gap ranges from 420 to 810 kg ha - 

1 

with the maximum during 2018-19 (810 kg ha -1 ) which indicates that there is a strong need 

to be aware and motivate the farmers to minimize the extension gap. The technology index 

indicates the feasibility of the evolved technology in the farmers’ fields under existing agroclimatic 

variations which varies from 9.59 to 41.89 %. Lower the value of the technology 

index and higher the feasibility of improved technology (Choudary, 2013). 

Yield of wheat affected by rainfall and improved practices over farmer's practice 

Year Variety Yield (kg/ha) Increase 

(%) 

2015-16 HPW- 

349 

HPW- 

236 

Technology 

Gap 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Extension 

Gap 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Technology 

index 

(%) 

WUE 

(kg ha -1 mm -1 ) 

IP FP IP FP 

3120 2420 28.93 1080 700 34.62 7.38 5.72 

2910 2420 20.25 1090 490 37.46 6.88 5.72 

2016-17 HPW 3230 2690 20.07 970 540 30.03 7.67 6.39 

316 | Page 




349 

HPW 

155 

HPW 

368 

2017-18 HPW 

349 

HPW 

368 

2018-19 HPW 

368 

3110 2690 15.61 890 420 28.62 7.39 6.39 

3340 2690 24.16 660 650 19.76 7.94 6.39 

2960 2540 16.54 1240 420 41.89 14.14 12.13 

3100 2540 22.05 900 560 29.03 14.80 12.13 

3650 2840 28.52 350 810 9.59 7.22 5.62 

Average 3177.50 2603.75 22.02 897.50 574 28.88 9.18 7.56 

The total seasonal water use during the crop growth period in wheat varied from 209.4 to 

505.5mm (Fig 1) from 2015-16 to 2018-19. Water use efficiency (WUE) varied from 6.88 to 

14.80 kg ha -1 mm -1 in the IP and 5.62 to 12.13 kg ha -1 mm -1 in FP (Table 1). IP has greatly 

improved the yields that enhanced the WUE of wheat as compared to FP plots, though the 

crop water use was the same under both conditions (Dhakal, 2021). 

Seasonal water use from 2015-16 to 2018-19 in NICRA village 

The harvest index was recorded in the range of 60.78 to 62.26 % with the highest recorded 

during 2018-19. The application of the IP also improved the additional net returns over the 

FP which was observed in the range of Rs. 3420/- to Rs. 8250/-. The IBCR was obtained in 

the range of 1.19 to 2.70 from 2015-16 to 2018-19 with IP over the FP. 

Conclusion 

IP enhanced the yields and water use efficiency of wheat as compared to FP. The locationspecific 

crop management is required to bridge the technological gap. Awareness and 

motivation among farmers to adoption of improved agricultural production technologies will 

result in better yields which will enhance the WUE in wheat with the same amount of 

seasonal water use in both IP and FP. IP can also greatly improve the livelihood and 

profitability of the farming community of the NICRA villages of Kullu district. 


317 | Page



References 

Choudhary, A.K. 2013. Technological and extension yield gaps in oilseeds in Mandi district 

of Himachal Pradesh. Ind. J. Soil conserve. 41(1): 88-97. 

Dhakal, A. 2021. Effect of drought stress and management in wheat – A Review. Food and 

Agribus. Manag. (FABM). 2(2): 62-66. 

Hussain, S.S. and Mudasser, M. 2007. Prospects for wheat production under changing 

climate in mountain areas of Pakistan – An econometric analysis. Agric. Sys. 94(2): 

494– 501. 

Kumar, S., Choubey, A.K. and Singh, R. 2015. Analysis of yield gaps in black gram (Vigna 

mungo) in district Bilaspur of Himachal Pradesh. Him. J. Agric. Res. 41(1): 49-54 

Naeem, M., Ahmad, M., Kamran, M., Shah, M. and Iqbal, M. 2015. Physiological Responses 

of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to Drought Stress. Int. J. Pl. Soil Sci. 6 (1): 1–9. 

T2a-36P-1571 

Performance of Climate Resilient Technology Demonstrations in Kullu 

District of Himachal Pradesh 

R K Rana*, Pooja Kumari, K C Sharma, Chanderkanta Vats Subhash Kumar, Ramesh 

Lal & Surender Bansal 

CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kullu HP 175125 

*drrameshrana70@gmail.com/ ranark@hillagric.ac.in 

Climate change trends and projections are on a global agenda. To reduce the ill effect of 

climate change, climate resilient agriculture is a sustainable approach for converting and 

reorienting agricultural systems through different adaptation and mitigation mechanisms 

(Debangshi 2021). Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate change and has shown its 

sensitivity to variations in different threats like temperature, precipitation, and incidence of 

natural events such as droughts which have impacted farm incomes. The Natural Resource 

Management (NRM) module of the National Network Project of ICAR- National Innovations 

on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) focuses to enhance the resilience of agriculture to 

climate change and climate vulnerability. The Technology Demonstration Component (TDC) 

of NICRA offers a great opportunity to work with farmers and apply such technologies under 

field conditions to address current climate variability. The objective was to demonstrate sitespecific 

technology interventions on farmer’s fields for coping with climate variability in the 

district 

318 | Page 




Methodology 

To address the climate vulnerabilities of the district, KVK Kullu selected one representative 

village for project implementation. Chhoel Gadauri village of Kullu block of the district 

Kullu was identified for technology demonstration under NICRA project based on the impact 

of climate change on agriculture in the village. A baseline was established, constraints were 

flagged and an action plan was prepared in consultation with the farmers and the innovative 

village climate risk management committee (VCRMC) created in the project to enable 

participatory decision-making and empowerment. Climatic variability in terms of historical 

rainfall trends over the last few decades was worked out which indicates that dry spells of 10- 

20 days are increasing particularly during Kharif season. Erratic rainfall, drought, and an 

increase in the temperature were the main constraints in the village. Therefore, to mitigate the 

drought to some extent, KVK decided to implement rainwater harvesting for life-saving 

irrigation. Water from perennial sources was brought from about 1.0 km through the span. A 

series of interlinked water storage tanks were constructed in the village which was later upscaled 

with the help of developmental departments. Warmer winter in lower elevations has 

resulted in the shifting of apples to higher elevations (Rana et. al. 2016). To counter the 

effect of climate change, farmers were motivated to plant pomegranates, which requires a hot 

and dry climate and are suitable for the changing climate in lower areas of the district. The 

demonstration on pomegranate cultivation in 15 ha area was conducted in the farmer’s field. 

Based on percent deviation in rainfall during the Kharif season the year 2014, 2016, and 2020 

were cited as stress years. The data on yield and net returns were averaged for three 

consecutive years. 

Results 

The major interventions under site-specific rainwater harvesting strategies were the 

construction of water storage tanks for water harvesting and to utilization of harvested water 

efficiently during the dry spell and critical stages of growth in rainfed areas. To reduce the 

effect of drought, a water storage capacity of 20.5 lakhs liter was created by constructing 65 

water storage tanks since the inception of the NICRA project with the help of developmental 

departments. The harvested water was utilized for supplementary lifesaving irrigations at 

critical stages of the crop during dry spells. Demonstrations on diversification towards highvalue 

cash crop tomato in Kharif, garlic in rabi season were conducted against cropping 

sequence of maize- wheat in the rainfed area. In tomato crops 4-5 life-saving irrigations were 

given through water-carrying pipes. During the Rabi season in garlic 3-4 numbers of 

lifesaving, irrigations were given through the sprinkler method. The performance during 

stress and a normal year of rainfall was quite high as compared to the farmer's practice in the 

rainfed areas. The average net return for three years (Table 1) was recorded at Rs 3.39 

lakhs/ha from tomato and Rs 23993/ha from maize during the Kharif season in the stress 


319 | Page



year. However, during the normal years of rainfall, the net income of Rs 4.16 lakhs/ha from 

tomatoes in rainfed areas and Rs 27605/ha from maize were obtained. Intervention in 

supplementary irrigation during the critical stages helped in maintaining the yield during 

stressful years. Reduction in yield was only 2.5 % and 4.8% in tomato and maize respectively 

during the stress year when compared to the normal year of rainfall. 

Similarly, in the rabi season, the performance of Garlic and wheat during the stress and 

normal years of rainfall were compiled. The net returns from garlic were compared with the 

net income from the wheat during rabi season. It was observed that a net return of Rs 2.15 

lakhs/ha from garlic and only Rs 49868 /ha from the wheat during rabi season in stress year. 

However, in normal years of rainfall, the net returns were observed to the tune of Rs 2.67 

lakhs/ha from garlic and only Rs 52316 /ha from wheat in the rabi season in the normal year 

of rainfall. The yield reduction was observed at 1.75% and 3% in garlic and wheat 

respectively when compared to the normal year of rainfall. No irrigation was given in maize 

and wheat. 

Effect of technology demonstration on yield and net income of farmers during stress 

and normal year of rainfall. 

Stress/ 

normal year 

Kharif season 

Performance 

during stress 

years 

Performance 

during 

normal years 

Rabi Season 

Performance 

during stress 

years 

Performance 

during 

normal years 

Intervention 

Tomato + Lifesaving 

irrigation 

Maize- farmer 

practice 

Tomato + Lifesaving 

irrigation 

Maize- farmer 

practice 

Garlic 

GHC-1+ life saving 

irrigation 

Wheat 

HPW-368 -farmer 

practice 

Garlic 

GHC-1+ lifesaving 

irrigation 

Wheat 

HPW-368 farmer 

practice 

Area 

(ha) 


farmers 

Avg. 

Yield 

(q/ha) 

Avg. 

Fodder 

yield 

(q/ha) 

Gross 

returns 

(Rs/ha) 

Net 

returns 

(Rs/ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

4.73 27 345.20 - 440633 339301 4.38 

28.22 33.08 46350 23993 2.07 

4.70 21 354.08 - 531120 416120 4.61 

29.65 37.65 50649 27605 2.17 

6.4 46 112.85 - 300333 215306 3.52 

30.90 37.08 77868 49868 2.78 

5.54 43 114.25 - 350875 267535 4.26 

31.87 38.25 80316 52316 2.86 

320 | Page 




Intervention in pomegranate cultivation was initiated during 2012-13 in the NICRA village as 

an alternate cash crop to apple. In the NICRA village, the area under pomegranate was only 5 

ha before the start of the project as per the baseline survey conducted by the KVK which has 

increased to 50 ha in ten years of implementation of the project. The pomegranate cultivar 

Kandhari Kabuli planted during 2012-13 started bearing in the third year of plantation. 

Conclusion 

It may be concluded that that intervention on water harvesting has opened up the opportunity 

for cultivating cash crops in rainfed area of the village by providing lifesaving irrigation 

during dry spells. The income of the farmers has been increased to many fold by adopting 

cash crops in comparison to cereal based farming. Similarly, intervention on pomegranate 

cultivation in the NICRA village has proven highly profitable. 

References 

Debangshi, U. 2021. Climate Resilient Agriculture an Approach to Reduce the Ill-Effect of 

Climate Change. Int. J. Recent Adv. Multidisciplinary Topics. 2(7) -309-315. 

Rana, R. K., Thakur, S.K., Sharma, K.C., Vats, Chaderkanta, Lal, R., Kapoor, D., Kirna Devi 

and Sharma, Deepak. 2016. Impact, adaptation and mitigation of climate change on 

horticulture in foot hill areas of district Kullu (HP). In: Souvenir cum Invited Paper 

Abstract Book, 7 th Indian Horticulture Congress- An International Meet for Doubling 

Farmers Income through Horticulture, ICAR, P-301. 

Studies on Effect of Weather on Flowering and Yield of Mango 

T2a-37P-1576 

A. P. Mallikarjuna Gowda, R. Krupashree, H. S. Shivaramu, M. N. Thimmegowda, 

M. H. Manjunatha and Lingaraj Huggi 

University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore-560065 

Any crop in a locality will grow and yield more under favourable climate and weather. While 

a crop or variety's suitability for a location is determined by the climate, its performance in 

that area is determined by the weather. Emphasizing the impact of short-term weather 

fluctuation on crop performance. For instance, changes in air temperature and rainfall affect 

several horticultural crops. Mango is growing well in areas receiving annual rainfall of 25 to 

250 cm. High humidity, rainfall and frost during the flowering period are harmful to the crop. 

Rainfall during flowering adversely affects fruit set, fruit development and yield. Excessive 

vegetative growth and flower drop occur due to heavy and prolonged rainfall. Fruits develop 

better colour and are less affected by diseases where the air is comparatively dry during 

flowering. Time and peak period of flowering, sex ratio, flowering behaviour, insect pests, 


321 | Page



diseases and weather parameters like temperature and relative humidity influence flowering 

and fruit set in mango. Hence a study was conducted to establish a relationship of weather 

parameters with the flowering behaviour and yield of mango using per cent hermaphrodite 

flowers, fruit set (%) and fruit yield of mango. 

Methodology 

The present investigation was executed at 2 locations/orchards with two management levels 

(M1: control and M2: With Plant Protection Chemicals) with a sample size of 5 plants each in 

2 locations with different age groups (20 and 28 years old plantation) located at Dryland 

Agriculture Project, Zonal Agricultural research station, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru analysed 

using factorial RCBD for two years (2020-21 and 2021-22). To manage the major diseases 

and pests like powdery mildew, anthracnose, fruit fly and mango hoppers two sprays were 

given to the spray treatment trees with Hexaconazole @ 5 % SC, Lambda Cyhalothrin @ 5 % 

EC and Sulphur @ 80% WP at the time of flower bud initiation and fruiting stage. 

Observations are recorded from the start of vegetative growth, and flowering till the 

harvesting of fruits. 

Results 

The per cent hermaphrodite flowers from the number of hermaphrodite flowers to the total 

number of flowers per panicle in each direction in Mallika hybrid was higher in 20 years old 

(24.0 %) with spray treatment (24.2 %) in the north direction of the tree (24.6 %) (Table 1). 

This may be due to the higher proportion of hermaphrodite flowers in the 20 years old tree 

and male flowers being more than bisexual flowers and along with the flowering behaviour, it 

was also affected by the temperature. Both male and hermaphrodite flowers are found within 

a single inflorescence. It is the hermaphrodite flowers that often undergo proper pollination 

and fertilization and set fruit. Low temperature during the floral morphogenesis period which 

is much before the flower emergence is critical for the proportion of hermaphrodite flowers in 

mango. Flower bud differentiation in different cultivars and seasons was associated with 

higher chlorophyll, carbohydrate and carbohydrate-nitrogen ratio, total phenol, soluble 

protein, cytokinin and ethylene, auxin and lower levels of IAA oxidase activity and 

gibberellic acid (Manjarekar et al., 2018, Rajatiya et al., 2018 and Saheda et al., 2019). 

The ability of cultivars to bear fruit set also depends upon the availability of pollen, its 

viability, population of pollinating insects and self and cross-compatibility of a cultivar, 

abortion of embryo, low stigmatic receptivity, lack of irrigation and competition between 

developing fruitlets. Along with these abiotic factors, the incidence of powdery mildew, 

anthracnose disease, and hoppers can cause flower and fruit drops. The temperature was 

found to play a superior role in fruit set, low, as well as high temperatures, affect the fruit set 

in mango. Mallika hybrid of 20 years of aged trees (3.4 %) with a spray of plant protection 

322 | Page 




chemicals (3.3 %) in the east direction of the tree (3.5 %) has shown a higher fruit set per 

cent. 

With all the increasing flowering and yield attributes which has contributed to increasing fruit 

yield in 20 years of aged trees with the plant protection chemicals spray. This is due to an 

increase in the per cent hermaphrodite flowers and higher fruit set percentage in these 

treatments. The flowering and fruiting depend on the supply of photosynthates during flower 

bud differentiation, fruit set and fruit development thus, act as a major sink for carbohydrates 

(Rattan et al., 2020). 

Per cent hermaphrodite flowers per inflorescence, fruit set per cent and yield as 

influenced by different ages, management practice and direction in Mallika mango 

(Pooled) 

20 years (A1) 28 years (A2) 

Fruit 

Treatment Control 

Control 

D Mean Treatment yield 

PPC (M2) 

PPC (M2) 

(M1) 

(M1) 

(kg/tree) 

Per cent hermaphrodite flowers 

20 years 

D 1 - North 24.6 25.4 24.1 24.2 24.6 (A 1) 

64.24 

D 2 - South 23.3 24.4 23.5 24.0 23.8 28 years 

D 3 - East 23.2 23.7 23.6 23.9 23.6 (A 2) 

46.60 

D 4- West 23.0 24.2 23.7 23.6 23.6 F test * 

A - Mean 24.0 23.8 S.Em.+ 2.08 

M - Mean 23.6 24.2 

A M D 

CD at 5% 6.42 

F - test NS * * Control 

S.Em.+ 0.11 0.11 0.16 (M 1) 

46.09 

CD at 5% NS 0.32 0.46 

AM AD MD AMD 

PPC (M 2) 64.75 

F - test * NS NS NS 

S.Em.+ 0.16 0.23 0.23 0.32 

F test * 

CD at 5% 0.46 NS NS NS 

S.Em.+ 2.08 

20 years (A1) 28 years (A2) 

Treatment Control 

Control 

D Mean 

PPC (M2) 

PPC (M2) 

(M1) 

(M1) 

Fruit set percent 

D 1 - North 3.2 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.2 

D 2 - South 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 

D 3 - East 3.6 3.6 3.4 3.4 3.5 

D 4- West 3.6 3.5 3.3 3.4 3.4 

A - Mean 3.4 3.3 

M - Mean 3.4 3.3 

A M D 

F - test * NS * 

S.Em.+ 0.03 0.03 0.05 

CD at 5% 0.09 NS 0.13 

AM AD MD AMD 

F - test NS NS NS NS 

S.Em.+ 0.05 0.07 0.07 0.09 

CD at 5% NS NS NS NS 


CD at 5% 6.42 

A 1M 1 54.13 

A1M2 74.34 

A2M1 38.04 

A2M2 55.17 

F test 

NS 

S.Em.+ 2.94 

CD at 5% 

NS 

323 | Page



The outcomes of the investigation indicated, realizing a higher yield of 32.3 – 34.1 o C 

temperature, 65.27 per cent relative humidity and 241.9- 319.2 mm of rainfall during mango 

flowering and fruiting period was found optimum. 

References 

Manjarekar, R. G., Khanvilkar, M. H., Shirke, G. D., Karle, S. S. And Ahire, P. G., 2018, Effect of 

fertilizer levels on flowering behaviour and yield of fruits in mango cv. Alphonso. Int. J. 

Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci., 18(6): 508-514. 

Rajatiya, J. H., Varu, D. K., Farheen, H. H. And Meera, B. S., 2018, Correlation of climatic 

parameters with flowering characters of Mango. Int. J. Pure App. Biosci., 6(3): 597-601. 

Rattan, C. S., Singh, S. K. And Badhan, B. S., 2020, Influence of tree age on vegetative growth, leaf 

nutrient content and yield of Kinnow trees. Plant Arc., 20(2): 5257-5262. 

Saheda, M. D., Balahussaini, M., Ramaiah, M. And Balakrishna, M., 2019, Study on Morpho- 

Physical Characters of Mango Flower Varieties/Hybrids in Kodur Agro-Climatic Conditions. 

Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App., 8(3): 28-38. 

T2a-38P-1583 

Impact of Technology Demonstration through NICRA-Interventions in 

Bhagalpur District of Bihar 

Arvind Kumar Sinha 1 , Sailabala Dei 2 , M.Z. Hoda 1 and A.K. Maurya 1 

1 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bhagalpur, 2 , Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur 

ddrbausabour@gmail.com 

National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) is a network project of the Indian 

Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched in February 2011. The project aims to enhance the 

resilience of Indian agriculture to climate change and climate vulnerability through strategic research 

and technology demonstration. The research on adaptation and mitigation covers crops, livestock, 

fisheries, and natural resource management. The project consists of four components viz. Strategic 

Research, Technology Demonstration, Capacity Building and Sponsored/Competitive Grants. Climate 

change has become an important area of concern for India to ensure food and nutritional security for 

the growing population. The impacts of climate change are global, but countries like India are more 

vulnerable because of the high population depending on agriculture. In India, significant negative 

impacts have been implied with medium-term (2010-2039) climate change, predicted to reduce yields 

by 4.5 to 9 percent, depending on the magnitude and distribution of warming. Since agriculture makes 

up roughly 16 percent of India’s GDP, a 4.5 to 9% negative impact on production implies a cost of 

climate change to be roughly up to 1.5 percent of GDP per year. The Government of India has 

accorded high priority to research and development to cope with climate change in the agriculture 

sector. 

324 | Page 




Methodology 

With this background, the ICAR launched a major Project entitled, National Initiative on 

Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) during 2010-11 with an outlay of Rs.350 crores for 

the XI Plan with the following objective to enhance the resilience of Indian agriculture 

covering crops, livestock, and fisheries to climatic variability and climate change through the 

development and application of improved production and risk management technologies, to 

demonstrate site-specific technology packages on farmers’ fields for adapting to current 

climate risks and to enhance the capacity building of scientists and other stakeholders in 

climate-resilient agricultural research and its application. 

Results 

The present study has been undertaken to assess the impact of the Technology Demonstration 

Component (TDC) of the NICRA programme being implemented by the Krishi Vigyan 

Kendra, Bhagalpur, Bihar running under the administrative umbrella of Agricultural 

University, Sabour, Bhagalpur. The performance of NICRA-interventions taken up during 

Kharif-2022 has been assessed for two villages having sizeable areas (12.50 – 17.39 %) and 

farmers (11.0 – 23.81%) under rainfed agriculture and compared with non-NICRA intervened 

farmers in the villages. The rainfall characteristics of the district during Kharif-2022 have 

been experienced as the drought year having total rainfall of 535.2 mm (45-61%) against the 

yearly amount of 1173.3 mm, total Kharif rainfall of 330 mm (14.54%) against normal of 

955.40 mm. During the major transplanting (paddy) months of July and August 2022, the 

district has only received a total rainfall of 43.60 (14.1%) & 77.00 mm (29.28%) respectively 

with three dry spells (710 days:01 & 715 days:02) which resulted in 15.20 days of delayed 

transplanting and the leap stage has been impacted with heavy weed infestation (28.5%) 

along with 35% decrease in transplanting area with a coverage of 36.6 acres. Concerning the 

variable weather condition, the NICRA-interventions such as transplanting by short-duration 

rice varieties; Sahbhagi, Sabour Harshit & Sita has been undertaken in three villages along 

with other climates resilient technologies like the introduction of paddy or Sabour Shree with 

DSR in the medium irrigated land significantly situated in the NICRA villages. Along with 

the technologies demonstration component on paddy varieties, for cattle, de-warmer & 

chelated mineral mixture along with PPR-vaccinated in goats have been demonstrated. There 

has been a significant in area production, productivity, and B: C ratio due to the NICRA 

intervention despite the drought stress experienced by farmers during Kharif-2022 in 

comparison to the non-NICRA farmers in the villages. 

Conclusion 

The project has made a significant initial impact and was well-received in most of the 

districts. Technologies such as on-farm water harvesting in ponds, supplemental irrigation, 


325 | Page



the introduction of early maturing drought-tolerant varieties, paddy varieties tolerant to 

submergence in flood-prone districts, improved drainage in waterlogged areas, recharging 

techniques for tube wells, site-specific nutrient management and management of sodic soils, 

mulching, use of zero till drills were enthusiastically implemented by the farmers in NICRA 

villages across the country. 

References 

Monsoon Action Plan - 2015 Village Level Contingency Plans for Climate Resilient Agriculture. 

Atlas on Climate Change Impacts on Crop Water Balance of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) and 

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) in Rainfed Districts of Andhra Pradesh. 

Atlas on Climate Change Impacts on Crop Water Balance of Cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) and 

Maize (Zea mays L.) in Telangana. 

AICRPAM - NICRA Annual Report 2014-15. 

Effect of Pusa Hydrogel on Pearl Millet Crop Yield under Rainfed 

Farming 

Ramesh Kumar, Ashish Shivran, Poonam Yadav and Manjeet 

T2a-39P 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mahendergarh, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, 

Hisar, Haryana 

sckvkmgarh@hau.ac.in 

Pearlmillet is a rainfed crop generally grown in arid regions due to high-stress tolerance, and 

low water use efficiency. In arid regions or rainfed regions agroclimatic conditions are very 

challenging due to scanty rainfall, its distribution, low fertility and poor water-holding 

capacity of soils, high evaporative demand, and extreme temperature during the year. The 

study's objective is to measure the effect of hydrogel in pearl millet by reducing water stress 

and improving grain yield. In the NICRA project, we have selected ten farmers’ in two 

rainfed villages i.e. Bairawas and Gadania in the Mahendergarh district of Haryana in India. 

Methodology 

Pearlmillet variety HHB-67 (Improved) was sown in 45 cm row spacing and recommended 

doses of fertilizers and other cultivation practices were adopted. Seed treatment was done and 

then sowing of seed with Pusa hydrogel. The rainfall received during the growing period 

(June to September) was 557.1 mm in 2022. Actual observed data collected from existing 

automated weather stations at KVK, Mahendergarh were used to establish the uncertainties of 

the secondary data. Focus Group Discussions (FGD) was designed to assess the existing 

326 | Page 




cropping system (e.g., rainfed vs. rainfed with hydrogel application), management practices, 

yield gaps, major constraints, and resource availability for the two sites. 

Results 

The two sites of study, Bairawas, and Gadania located in South Haryana of rainfed regions, 

presented a similar range of productivity despite their difference in cropping system 

management practices and their level of risk of climatic stresses. The average actual yield 

reported in the sites ranged from 22.5 to 25 q/ha. These yield values indicated a large 

potential to increase yield in these sites by using an application of hydrogel under the existing 

environmental conditions. The increase in pearmillet yield is 14 to 23 percent from rainfed + 

Pusa hydrogel as compared to rainfed pearlmillet only. 

Conclusion 

It may be concluded that the application of pusa hydrogel in the rainfed region is beneficial 

for water stress overcome in the pearl millet crop (HHB-67 Imp.) and increases crop yield. 

T2a-40P-1566 

Impact of Climate Resilient Practices on Cabbage Productivity in NICRA 

Villages of Tuensang District in Nagaland 

Pijush Kanti Biswas, Kerimenla and Watisenla Imsong 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tuensang, Nagaland-798612 

Cabbage is the number one vegetable and source of survival for majority of the small holder 

farmers across the Tuensang district. Yet the crop frequently fails when hit by the severe 

recurrent droughts. Small scale farmers beset by erratic rainfall and drought like situation in 

the district since many years. Cabbage variety Rareball performed very well in stress prone 

areas coupled with climate resilient practices like seedling raised in polypropylene trays, 

polythene mulching or mulching by locally available leaves. To know the impact of climate 

resilient practices on Cabbage productivity a study was carried out during 2021-22. A total of 

20 farmers were selected in adopted NICRA village as well as non-adopted nearby village. 

The result of the study revealed that majority of the farmers under adopted village who 

followed the proper climate resilient practices has achieved good yield compare to the nonadopted 

nearby village farmers. In drought or uneven and erratic rainfall situation of 

Tuensang district, drought resistant variety of Cabbage (Rareball) along with climate resilient 

practices is recorded productivity increase upto 20 percent over non-adopted farmers field. 


327 | Page



T2a-41P-1493 

Enhance the Climate Resilience Through Rainfed Agriculture under 

NICRA Project in Srikakulam District of North Coastal AP 

G. Naveen Kumar*, B.Mounika, S.Kiran kumar, K.Bhagya Lakshmi, P.Amara Jyothi, 

D.Chinnam Naidu, G.Chitti Babu, S.Neelaveni, Ch.BalaKrishna, V.Hari Kumar, 

S.Anusha, B.Suneetha 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Amadalavalasa, Srikakulam District, AP 

*naveengottapu.1992@gmail.com 

Rainfed agriculture is practiced in 80% of net cultivated area under Rabi in Srikakulam 

district. Due to lack of proper irrigation and water sources, farmers are mainly depending on 

rainfed agriculture during this period. By keeping this in view KVK Srikakulam implemented 

NICRA project in five villages to minimize the crop losses during rabi. Under NICRA project 

KVK, Srikakulam promoted water conservation and crop diversification with zero tillage 

maize, Rice fallows pulses, ICM practices in sesamum during rabi season. These efforts have 

been made through NICRA towards climate resilient rainfed agriculture to enhance the 

adaptive capacity of farmers. On-farm participatory demonstration of climate resilient 

practices under cluster village mode helped famers to cope with aberrant weather and offseason 

floods and dry spells. Establishing village level institutions such as village climate risk 

management committees (VCRMC), custom hiring centres for farm mechanization, seed and 

fodder production systems and mechanism for agro-advisories to develop climate resilient 

villages 

The initiatives like development or renovation of community tank bunds were promoted to 

build sustainable and risk resilient rainfed agriculture. Capacity building of farmers on 

climate resilient technologies increased preparedness for weather and climate risk. Several 

resilient technologies like water saving technologies and crop diversification with zero tillage 

maize, ragi cultivation, rice fallows pulses, ICM practices in sesamum in rabi season have 

been integrated to achieving climate resilient rainfed agriculture. Upscaling of resilient 

technologies through KVK initiative created better preparedness in climate resilient rainfed 

agriculture in adopted villages. Implementation of NICRA by KVK had done excellence in 

reimagining climate resilient rainfed agriculture for better living of farmers through reduced 

crop loss and increasing the net income of farmers in the region of Srikakulam district of 

north coastal Andhra Pradesh. 

NRM Works in NICRA Project: Renovation of Jagannada Naidu water tank under 

NRM- NICRA 

Due to low tank capacity, weakened sluices and bunds, floods in tank fed areas affected the 

crop yields. Main objective of this NRM work is to reduce the flood in tank fed fields and to 

328 | Page 




overcome water scarcity at early & later stages of the crop. In 2011-12 water storage capacity 

was 55,531m 3 . After completion of NRM through NICRA project the water storage capacity 

was increased up to 1,38,575 m 3 (25 acres in 4.5 feet depth) and the cultivated area increased 

from 12ha (2011-12) to 45ha (2021-22) in rabi season. 

Upscalling of Dry land crops in zero tillage cultivation in rice fallows 

In Srikakulam district farmers are following the conventional method of cultivation for crops 

such as maize, pulses, ragi, sunhemp, these methods of sowing not only waste the residual 

moisture of the field but also involves many operational costs. Thus, to avoid such moisture 

loss and to make it more economical KVK, Srikakulam has introduced zero tillage maize, 

ragi, sunhemp and pulses in rice fallows as part of NICRA project. Proper utilization of 

residual moisture coupled with remunerative prices for the farmers is the main objective of 

this NICRA project. 

Maize 

Ragi 

Upscalling Zero tillage maize cultivation in 

rice fallow in Iskalapalem village 

Sunhemp 

Upcalling Zero tillage Ragi cultivation in rice 

fallow in kondavalasa village 

Pulses 

Sunhemp seed production under rice fallow 

in sirusuwada village 

Conclusion 

Rice fallow pulses (Black gram, Greengram) 

in Iskalapalem village 


329 | Page



Krishi vigyan Kendra Srikakulam implemented various initiatives such as promotion of water 

saving technologies and crop diversification under NICRA villages in Srikakulam district of 

Andhra Pradesh. These initiatives not only reduced cost and labour but also created 

awareness among the farmers towards climate vulnerability. Various activities such as 

renovation of community tank bunds, capacity building of famers, promotion of climate 

resilient technologies and formation of VCRMC (Village climate risk management 

committee) by KVK helped the famers to mitigate climatic risk. 

330 | Page 


Theme– 3 

Managing genetic resources for enhanced 

stress tolerance



Theme – 3: Managing genetic resources for enhanced stress tolerance 



1 Evaluation of Eggplant Wild Relatives, 

Landraces and Cultivars for Deficit Moisture 

Stress Tolerance 

2 Mapping QTLs for Various Yield Component 

and Stress Indices in Recombinant Inbred Lines 

Populations of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) 

3 Studies on Soybean Based Rainfed Cropping 

Sequences in Vertisols of Madhya Pradesh 

4 Samrat Bt – A New, Early Maturing Bt Cotton 

Variety for Stress Resilience and Multiple 

Cropping in Rainfed Agro-Ecologies of South 

India 

5 Characterization and Evaluation of Pigeonpea 

Mini Core Collection for Moisture Stress 

Tolerance in Rainfed Condition 

KT Jayalakshmi 

Godawari Pawar 

Narendra Kumawat 

HB Santosh 

K Salini 

T3-01O-1297 

T3-02O-1393 

T3-03O-1463 

T3-04O-1123 

T3-05R-1029 

6 Salt Tolerance in Transgenic Pigeonpea Neeru Singh Redhu T3-06R-1584 

7 Performance of Tamarind Accessions under 

Dryland Conditions. 

8 Administering the Natural Genetic Diversity for 

Improving Stress Tolerance 

9 Effect of Different Weed Control Management 

Practices on Kharif French Bean 

10 Integrated Pest Management Strategies for Fall 

Army Worm in Southern Telangana 

11 Performance of Pigeonpea (BDN 711) Under 

Rainfed Condition in Beed District of 

Maharashtra 

12 Isolation and Quantitative Screening of Potential 

Fungal Isolates for Cellulase Activity 

13 Yellow revolution Success in Sodic Soil 

Through Salt Resistant Variety of Mustard (CS- 

58) 

14 Weed Management Strategies Under Different 

Tillage Systems in Wet Direct Seeded Rice 

AGK Reddy 

RS Telem 

KA Chavan 

A Ramakrishna Babu 

HS Garud 

Savitha Santosh 

AK Srivastava 

P Gayathri 

T3-07R-1040 

T3-08R-1444 

T3-09R-1356 

T3-10R-1220 

T3-11R-1009 

T3-11aR-1263 

T3-12P-1433 

T3-13P-1253 

331 | Page Managing genetic resources for enhanced stress tolerance




15 Screening Potato Varieties and Advanced 

Clones for Maximizing Organic Tuber 

Productivity 

16 Assessment of Performance of Drought Tolerant 

Rice Variety in Koshi region 

17 Drought Tolerant and High Yielding Groundnut 

Varieties for Rainfed Ecosystem in Perambalur 

district 

18 Eco-friendly Management of White Grub- A 

Devastating Insect Pest of Rainfed Agro- 

Ecosystem in Uttarakhand Hills 

19 Effect of Crop Geometry on Growth and Yield 

Under Direct Seeded Hybrid Rice (Oryza Sativa 

L.) Cultivars 

20 Evaluation of Bamboo Species Suitable for 

Southern Telangana Region 

21 Evaluation of Different Herbicides in Kharif 

Sweet Corn (Zea mays saccharata.L) 

22 Evaluation of F3:4 Population for Seedling 

Stage Salinity Tolerance in Rice (Oryza sativa 

L.) 

23 Evaluation of Newer Insecticides Against 

Safflower Aphid, Uroleucon compositae 

(Theobald) 

24 Evaluation of STRVs Under Different Crop 

Establishment System in Rainfed Stress-Prone 

Upland Rice Ecosystem of Eastern Uttar 

Pradesh 

25 High Resolution Dissection of Photosystem II 

Electron Transport Under Elevated CO2 and 

Elevated Temperature under Carbon Dioxide 

and Temperature Gradient Chambers (CTGC) in 

Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) 

26 Impact of Adoption on Improved Varieties of 

Chickpea (Cicer Arietinum) on Yield 

Performance under NICRA Village of Ratlam 

District in Madhya Pradesh 

Pooja Mankar 

PK Chaudhary 

M Punithavathi 

Kamal K Pande 

Ajoy Das 

G Venkatesh 

SB Tambare 

M Vani Praveena 

SM Gangurde 

Kajal Verma 

Arun K. Shanker 

GP Tiwari 

T3-14P-1485 

T3-15P-1208 

T3-16P-1414 

T3-17P-1425 

T3-18P-1285 

T3-19P-1045 

T3-20P-1218 

T3-21P-1420 

T3-22P-1543 

T3-23P-1191 

T3-24P-1050 

T3-25P-1470 

Managing genetic resources for enhanced stress tolerance 

332 | Page




27 Impact of Nutritional Manipulation in Cattle of 

Saline Coastal Areas of Sundarban for Stress 

Management 

28 Management of Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera 

Frugiperda in Organic Sorghum Cultivation 

29 Morpho-Physiological Characterization of 

Drought Stress Tolerance at Flowering Stage in 

Black Gram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) 

30 Performance of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum 

esculentum Moench) Genotypes Under Varied 

Fertility Levels in Northern Transition Zone of 

Karnataka 

31 Performance of Chickpea (Var.Phule Vikram) 

Under Rainfed Condition in Solapur District of 

Maharashtra 

32 Performance of Chickpea Varieties Under Late 

Sown Condition 

33 PGPR Strain Bbv57 Controls Stalk Rot of Maize 

Caused by Fusarium Verticillioides 

34 Physiological Parameters and Key Root Traits 

Contributing to Yield Potentital of Sorghum in 

the Northern Dry Zone of Karnataka 

35 Productivity Enhancement of Lentil (Lens 

esculenta Moench) in Rainfed Agro-Ecosystem 

in Koshi Region of Bihar 

36 Productivity Enhancement Using Drought 

Tolerant Banana Variety Through Frontline 

Demonstrations in Perambalur District of 

Tamilnadu 

37 Response of Clusterbean (Gum Gaur) Genotypes 

to Planting Geometry in Rainfed Conditions 

38 Screening Maize Inbred Lines Developed from 

Local Germplasm for Excess Moisture 

Tolerance 

39 Study on Inter-Relation of Yield and the 

Associated Traits in Maize Hybrids Under 

Rainfed Conditions 

C Majhi 

G Shyam Prasad 

B Sarkar 

HP Keerthi 

SG Jadhav 

SV Thombre 

Radhajeyalakshmi 

Raju 

RS Venkatesha 

KM Singh 

V Sangeetha 

RA Nandagavi 

E Lamalakshmi Devi 

KRV Sathya Sheela 

T3-26P-1489 

T3-27P-1188 

T3-28P-1331 

T3-29P-1525 

T3-30P-1336 

T3-31P-1418 

T3-32P-1223 

T3-33P-1211 

T3-34P-1554 

T3-35P:1426 

T3-36P-1240 

T3-37P-1245 

T3-38P-1241 





40 Transpiration Efficiency in Pearl Millet Hybrid 

and Open Pollinated Variety 

41 Variability in Growth and Yield Responses of 

Four Blackgram Genotypes at Elevated CO 2 

42 Varietal Performance Arid Fruit Crop 

Pomegranate under Vidarbha Region of 

Maharashtra State 

43 Assessment of Genetic Diversity Among the 

Maize (Zea Mays L.) Genotypes Based on SSR 

Markers Linked to Drought Tolerance 

N Jyothi Lakshmi 

M Vanaja 

RS Wankhade 

P Sathish 

T3-39P-1088 

T3-40P-1086 

T3-41P-1169 

T3-42P 


334 | Page



T3-01O-1297 

Evaluation of Eggplant Wild Relatives, Landraces and Cultivars for Deficit 

Moisture Stress Tolerance 

K.T. Jayalakshmi, R.H. Laxman, S. Kannan, P. Hemamalini, K.S. Shivashankara and 

T.H. Singh 

ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru-560 089, India 

Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), also known as brinjal belonging to Solanaceae family is an 

important vegetable grown in many tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Brinjal 

cultivation in India is estimated to cover about 8.14% of vegetable area with a contribution of 

9% to total vegetable production. The crop is exposed to various biotic and abiotic stresses. 

Among the abiotic stresses, deficit water stress is one the most serious environmental 

constraints affecting productivity. Under climate change conditions more frequent, longer, and 

intense drought spells would increase the scarcity of irrigation water. A series of consequent 

physiological or biochemical adjustments would bring in enhancement of the plant defence 

against deficit water stress (Kapoor et al., 2020) Identification of deficit moisture stress tolerant 

cultivars in eggplant is very important to realize sustainable production and judicious use of 

available water (Gobu et al., 2017). Significant differences among hundred varieties of 

eggplant and its wild relatives, for morphological and physiological characteristics, under 

drought stress condition were observed (Delfin et al., 2013). There are possibilities of selection 

of drought resistant eggplant varieties. Brinjal can also be used as rootstock as it provides root 

system to scions of tomato for enhancing tolerance to abiotic stresses. Eggplant is employed as 

an important rootstock because of its tolerance to biotic and abiotic factors. However, 

evaluation needs to be done for exploring the possibility of identifying and characterizing 

deficit water stress tolerant genotypes having better root characteristics. Thus, the present study 

was conducted with an objective to evaluate the diverse genotypes of eggplant wild relatives, 

land races and cultivars for deficit moisture stress tolerance and consequently identify the 

tolerant genotypes. 

Methodology 

Thirty-four eggplant genotypes were evaluated under 100 per cent field capacity up to 45 DAT. 

Based on the mean membership function value (MFV) for root characteristics, such as root 

length, root volume and root density and root dry weight, six genotypes with better root 

characteristics, viz., Arka Neelkanth, Arka Anand, Kheri Sindhi, Erengeri Local, Solanum 

macrocarpon, Solanum torvum and three genotypes, Solanum seaforthianum, Solanum 

insanum and Solanum acculeatissimum JRPH/15-008 with poor root characteristics were 

selected for further studies under two water regimes, viz., control (100% FC) and water deficit 




stress (50% FC). The observations on various growth, physiological and biochemical 

parameters were recorded following the established procedures. 

Results 

Under water stress conditions, the genotypes exhibited diverse physiological and biochemical 

responses. The genotypes with better root characteristics such as Kheri Sindhi, Erengeri Local 

and Solanum macrocarpon showed tolerance to deficit moisture through lower percentage 

reduction in root characteristics like root volume, root fresh weight and root dry weight 

followed by Arka Neelkanth and Arka Anand and the genotypes with poor root characteristics, 

Solanum seaforthianum, Solanum acculeatissimum JRPH/15-008 and Solanum insanum 

showed susceptibility with greater reduction in root characteristics. 

The genotypes Kheri Sindhi, Erengeri Local and Solanum macrocarpon showed lower percent 

reduction in total dry matter production and higher percent increase in root to shoot ratio, 

followed by Arka Neelkant and Arka Anand. They also showed lower percent reduction in 

leaf relative water content. These genotypes showed lower percent increase in canopy 

temperature, higher percent accumulation of proline content with lower production of MDA. 

The genotypes with better root characteristics showed lower ABA and higher cytokinin 

content. Whereas the genotypes, Solanum seaforthianum, Solanum acculeatissimum JRPH/15- 

008 and Solanum insanum showed lower proline accumulation and higher MDA content. These 

genotypes also exhibited higher activity of anti-oxidative enzymes and ABA content with 

lower cytokine content in roots. 

Conclusion 

From the results obtained from the present study it is concluded that the genotypes with better 

root characteristics, Kheri Sindhi, Erengeri Local and Solanum macrocarpon, Arka Neelkanth 

and Arka Anand showed tolerance to deficit moisture stress condition compared to genotypes 

with poor root characteristics. 

References 

Delfin, E., Manaday, S.J., Canama, A.O., Ocampo, E.T.M. and Maghirang, R. 2013. 

Assessment of the drought response of genetically diverse eggplant 

genotypes. Philippine Journal of Crop Science 38(1): 69-70. 

Gobu, R., Harish Babu B.N., Kailash Chandra, Shankar M. and Omprakash. 2017. Genetic 

Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance in Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) 

Genotypes under Normal and Osmotic Stress in invitro condition. Int. J. Curr. 

Microbiol. App. Sci. 6(3): 749-760. 


336 | Page



Kapoor, D., Bhardwaj, S., Landi, M., Sharma, A., Ramakrishnan, M. and Sharma, A. 2020. 

The impact of drought in plant metabolism: How to exploit tolerance mechanisms to 

increase crop production. Appl. Sci., 10(16): 5692. 

T3-02O-1393 

Mapping QTLs for Various Yield Component and Stress Indices in 

Recombinant Inbred Lines Populations of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) 

Godawari Pawar 1* , Vishwanathan Chinnusamy 2 , Monika Dalal 3 , S. Sudhir Kumar 2 , 

Harikrishna and Biswabiplab Singh 2 

1 VNMKV, Parbhani (MS), 2 ICAR-NIPB, New Delhi and 3 ICAR-IARI, New Delhi 

*gsp.mau@rediffmail.com 

An experimental set up comprising of 278 RILs and 2 parental lines was conducted at the 

Division of Plant Physiology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. 

Calculation of indices mainly focus on selecting genotypes that have high yield firstly under 

yield potential conditions (non-stress) and secondly under stress conditions. Multiple stress 

indices were calculated on the basis of grain yield, thousand grain weight, grain weight per ear, 

grain number per ear and harvest index. The correlation among multiple stress indices were 

seen and presented. Pattern of selection value of TOL, SSI and RCI as minimum and STI, MPI, 

YSI, HM, GMP and PCI as maximum were considered as indicator for selection of RILs. On 

this basis of TOL, SSI, RCI and YSI some RILs and on the basis of STI, MPI, HM, GMP and 

PCI we selected some RILs. These RILs are superior under stress condition. In Field trials 

calculated stress intensity is 0.38. The larger the value of SI, the more severe is the stress 

intensity. Grain yield under normal sowing is positively correlated with all indices except STI 

(-0.01) and YSI (-0.43). Grain yield under heat stress is showing strong positive association 

with HM (0.94) also with GMP (0.88), MP (0.78) negative with TOL (-0.51) and SSI (- 

0.74).This results concluded that population with higher HM are superior under stress 

conditions and negative association of yield under stress with TOL and SSI, it indicates yield 

loss under stress conditions. Stress indices MP (0.83, 0.78) and GMP (0.70, 0.88) are suitable 

to screen tolerance because positive association with grain yield of both treatments. From 

correlation of different indices, some indices are showing strong association among them so all 

indices were selected for further discussion except TOL and MP. Traits related to yield Viz., 

thousand kernel weight, grains/ear, grains weight/ear and harvest index were also used to 

calculate indices and their correlation were used for further discussion. 

Inclusive composite interval mapping (ICIM) analysis discovered the total of 55 putative QTLs 

controlling yield related traits and their stress indices based on heat and control conditions on 

field. These QTLs were found distributed across the chromosomes with LOD values varied 

from 2.509 to 5.485. Among multiple stress indices 9 QTLs controlling the harmonic mean and 




susceptibility tolerance index, likewise for geometric mean productivity, mean productivity 

and production capacity we found 8 QTLs for each index on the basis of different yield related 

traits i.e. grain numbers per spike, grain weight per spike, thousand kernel weight, total grain 

weight and harvest index. We propose this method for evaluation of wheat genotypes in terms 

of their resilience to stress and their production capacity. This methodology will reduce the 

time required for first selection and the number of first-selected genotypes for further 

evaluation by breeders and provide a basis for appropriate comparisons of genotypes that would 

help reveal the biology behind high stress productivity of crops. 

T3-03O-1463 

Studies on Soybean Based Rainfed Cropping Sequences in Vertisols of 

Madhya Pradesh 

Narendra Kumawat*, M.L. Jadav, D.V. Bhagat, S.K. Choudhary and K.S. Bangar 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Farming, College of Agriculture (RVSKVV) 

Indore – 452 001, Madhya Pradesh, India 

*kumawatandy@gmail.com 

The traditional cropping systems in kharif are soybean, cotton, maize, etc. and intercropping 

systems are soybean + maize/pigeonpea/etc. Length of growing period is 90-120 days. 

Generally, soybean is grown as a monsoon season crop under rainfed situation mainly under 

Vertisols and associated soils. It has resulted increased cropping intensity and profitability. In 

Malwa and Nimar valley region, its cultivation is largely practiced in rainy season followed by 

gram/wheat on conserved soil moisture. Under irrigated conditions, soybean is largely grown 

in soybean-wheat cropping system, while soybean-chickpea cropping system is prevalent under 

rainfed conditions. The major cropping system in the Vertisols and associated soils of Central 

India under regime is soybean-wheat in which soybean is a rainfed crop. 

Methodology 

Field experiments were conducted at AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, College of Agriculture 

(RVSKVV), Indore (MP) during 2018-19 to 2020-21, to find out the suitable cropping 

sequences for Malwa and Nimar valley region. Nine cropping sequences including 

soybean/maize/blackgram-based cropping systems, viz., soybean-chickpea, soybean-safflower, 

soybean-mustard, maize-chickpea, maize-safflower, maize-mustard, blackgram-chickpea, 

blackgram-safflower and blackgram -mustard were tested in randomized block design with 5 

replications. The present study mainly aims at finding the impact of soybean based cropping 

sequences on productivity and profitability under rainfed condition. 


338 | Page



Results 

Among the various sequences, soybean equivalent yield of maize–chickpea cropping sequence 

was the highest (4153 q/ha), followed by maize-mustard (3293 q/ha) and maize–safflower 

sequence (3222 q/ha). Existing soybean-chickpea sequence recorded soybean equivalent yield 

of 2586 t/ha, which is 60.60% lesser than maize-chickpea cropping sequence. The maizechickpea 

cropping sequence also recorded the maximum net returns (Rs. 146890/ha) and B:C 

ratio (4.67) followed by maize-mustard (Rs.1,48,200/ha Rs.1,08,200/ha and 3.71, respectively) 

and maize–safflower sequence (Rs.1,44,990/ha Rs.1,04,990/ha and 3.62, respectively. While 

the, highest land use efficiency (98.63%) was noticed with maize-mustard followed by 

blackgram-mustard sequence. This might be due to increase in the yield of maize and chickpea 

under maize-chickpea cropping sequence resulting increase the returns over other cropping 

sequences. Higher system profitability may be attributed to higher productivity of maize than 

other kharif crops and lower duration of the crops in sequence. Similar findings were also 

reported by Prajapat et al. (2015) and Singh et al. (2019). 

Soybean equivalent yield (SEY), economics and various efficiencies as affected by 

Cropping sequence 

cropping sequences (Mean data of 3 years) 

SEY 

(kg/ha) 

Net 

returns of 

system 

(Rs. /ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

Total 

duration 

(days) 

Land use 

efficiency 

(%) 

Relative 

Production 

efficiency 

(%) 

T 1-Soybean- chickpea 2586 76370 2.91 230 63.01 - 

T 2-Soybean- safflower 1606 32250 1.81 273 74.79 -37.91 

T 3-Soybean- mustard 1783 40220 2.01 259 70.96 -31.06 

T 4-Maize-chickpea 4153 146890 4.67 230 63.01 60.60 

T 5-Maize- safflower 3222 104990 3.62 273 74.79 24.59 

T 6-Maize- mustard 3293 108200 3.71 372 98.63 27.35 

T 7-Blackgram-chickpea 2314 64125 2.60 205 56.16 -10.52 

T 8-Blackgram - safflower 1481 26650 1.67 248 67.95 -42.73 

T 9-Blackgram - mustard 1444 24995 1.62 347 95.07 -44.15 

SEm+ 58 1678 0.07 - - - 

LSD (P=0.05) 168 4833 0.20 - - - 

References 

Singh, D.K., Singh, R., Singh, G.D., Singh, A.P., Chaturdevi, S., Singh, J.P., Rathi, A. and 

Singh, M. 2019. Diversification of rice (Oryza sativa)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) 

system and its influence on productivity, profitability and energetics under on-farm 

situation. Indian J. Agron., 62 (3): 255-259. 




Prajapat, K., Vyas, A.K. and Dhar, S. 2015. Effect of cropping systems and nutrient 

management practices on growth, productivity, economics and nutrient uptake of 

soybean (Glycine max). Indian J. Agric. Sci., 85(9): 1138-1143. 


T3-04O-1123 

Samrat Bt – A New, Early Maturing Bt Cotton Variety for Stress Resilience 

and Multiple Cropping in Rainfed Agro-Ecologies of South India 

H. B. Santosh *1,4 , S. Manickam 1 , S. B. Singh 1 , V. N. Waghmare 1 , K. P. Raghavendra 1 , 

Vivek Shah 1 , K. R. Kranthi 2 , Kunal Gaikwad 1 , S. S. Patil 3 , G. Ravindra Chary 4 and 

V.K. Singh 4 

1 ICAR – Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur 440010, Maharashtra 

2 International Cotton Advisory Committee, Washington DC 20006-1635, USA 

3 University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580005, Karnataka 

4 ICAR-Central Research Institute on Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 500059 

* hb.santosh@icar.gov.in 

Bt cotton was developed as an alternate strategy to the previously used hazardous insecticides 

to circumvent bollworm problem. Though majority of cotton production in India comes from 

Bt cotton, the cotton productivity in India is low compared to world average (>750 kg/hectare) 

and is found stagnated at around 500 kg lint per hectare for past many years (Kranthi and Stone, 

2020). One of the reasons attributed to this productivity stagnation is deployment of Bt 

technology in the form of Bt hybrids in rainfed conditions which accounts to more than 60% 

of cotton area in India. Majority of the popular Bt hybrids are long duration that suffer moisture 

stress at boll formation stage due to poor water retention of shallow soils in rainfed regions. 

Productivity enhancement in India can come from yield improvement in rainfed ecosystems 

through development and deployment of Bt cotton varieties (Singh et al., 2021). Additionally, 

to address the menace of Pink bollworm and also to enable farmers taking multiple crops, we 

embarked upon development of early maturing Bt cotton varieties for rainfed agro-ecologies 

of India. 

Methodology 

An F 2 population of the 4 parental cross [(Bikaneri Narma Bt × RCRSC7) × (RCRSC2 × 

RCRSC12)] was phenotyped for traits of interest like crop maturity, plant architecture, jassid 

tolerance, yield and fibre quality attributes at ICAR-CICR, Nagpur during Kharif, 2013-14. 

The promising plants were selected, advanced and stabilized through pedigree breeding during 

2014-15 to 2017-18. The presence of Bt gene (cry1Ac) and transgenic event (Mon531) was 

confirmed through ELISA and event specific PCR. The homozygosity of the transgene was 

confirmed through zygosity PCR. The rapid generation advancement was achieved by taking 

off-season crop at CICR Regional Station, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The most promising 

340 | Page



entries were sponsored for third party evaluation to ‘ICAR-AICRP on Cotton’ at different 

rainfed locations of South India. 

Results 

The sponsored entry, Bt 183059-2 was evaluated under rainfed conditions at 25 locations of south 

India over 3 years along with appropriate Bt and non-Bt checks. This variety has yielded an average 

of 1373 kg/ha of seed cotton across locations in ICAR-AICRP trials. The potential yield of this 

variety is 2414 kg/ha which was recorded at Mudhole during 2019-20. The average boll weight of 

this entry is 3.7g with a potential of 4.7g. This medium staple Bt cotton genotype possesses an 

average ginning out turn (GOT) of 36.7% with the potential of 42.0%. This variety is compact in 

plant architecture with an average of less than 1 monopodia for plant with average of 70.32 bolls 

for metre square indicating its amenability to HDPS. 

Performance of Samrat Bt in ICAR-AICRP trials under rainfed conditions of southern 

India during 2018-2021 

Trait group 

Plant 

architectural 

traits 

Yield and 

yield 

component 

traits 

Fibre quality 

traits 

Response 

against 

insects 

Trait 

Trial 

Locations 

Plant height (cm) 25 105.83 

Monopodia (No’s) 25 0.97 

Sympodia (No’s) 25 16.63 

Mean yield (kg/ha) 25 1373.64 

Bolls per plant (No’s) 25 16.4 

Bolls per square meter (No’s) 25 70.32 

Lint index 25 4.93 

Seed Index (g) 25 9.07 

GOT (%) 25 36.77 

Upper Half Mean Length (mm) 25 25.17 

Micronaire (µg/inch) 25 4.83 

Bundle Strength (g/tex) 25 25.1 

Uniformity Index (%) 25 82.4 

Samrat Bt 

(CICR-H Bt Cotton 63) 

Jassid/Leaf hopper (No. / 3 leaf) 16 3.69 (BETL) 

Thrips (No. / 3 leaf) 16 6.97 (BETL) 

Whitefly (No. / 3 leaf) 16 1.4 (BETL) 

Pink bollworm (no./10 bolls) 11 0.98 (BETL) 

Helicoverpa armigera (no. per 5 plants) 12 0 (BETL) 

Erias vittella (no. per 5 plants) 12 0 (BETL) 

Spodoptera litura (no. per 5 plants) 12 0 (BETL) 

Bacterial leaf blight (PDI) 7 6.83 (R) 

Response Alternaria leaf blight (PDI) 8 25.58 (MR) 

against 

diseases Rust (PDI) 6 16.74 (R) 

Grey mildew 7 8.45 (R) 

Note: BETL – Below economic threshold level; R- Resistant; MR – Moderately resistant; 




This variety was identified for release based on its exceptional performance in ICAR-AICRP 

on Cotton Trials for 3 years across locations. This variety was recommended in the 84 th meeting 

of Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for 

Agricultural Crops on 13 th July 2022 and consequently the variety was notified in the Official 

Gazette of Government of India via S.O. 4065(E) dated 31 st August 2022. 

Conclusion 

Field view, plant view, flower, green boll and open boll of the Bt variety – Samrat Bt 

This new Bt cotton variety (Samrat Bt) is a medium staple variety, tolerant to jassids (major 

sucking pest on cotton), early in maturity (140-150 days), suitable for HDPS and mechanized 

harvesting of cotton. It combines good tolerance to pest and diseases. With early maturity, 

Samrat Bt can help to Indian cotton farmers to escape from damage of pink bollworm, terminal 

drought stress and also provide an opportunity for taking up second crop. This new Bt variety 

can help cotton farmers in rainfed regions of south India achieve better productivity, 

profitability and sustainability of cotton production. 

References 

Kranthi, K. R. and Stone, G. D. 2020. Long-term impacts of Bt cotton in India. Nat. Plants. 

6(3): 188-196. 

Singh, S. B., Venugopalan, M. V., Santosh, H. B., Raghavendra, K. P. and Balasubramani, G. 

2021. Bt varieties for increasing cotton yields under rainfed ecosystem. Cotton Innovate. 

6(1): 1-3. 

ICAR-AICRP on Cotton Reports 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 available at 

http://aiccip.cicr.org.in/main_aiccip_reports.html 


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T3-05R-1029 

Characterization and Evaluation of Pigeon Pea Mini-Core Collection for 

Moisture Stress Tolerance Under Rainfed Condition 

K. Salini*, B. Sarkar, N. Sridhar, N. Jyothilakshmi, M.Vanaja, M. Maheswari and 

V. K. Singh 


*K.Salini@icar.gov.in 

Pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] is an important grain legume grown for its proteinrich 

seeds for human consumption, their ability to restore and maintain soil fertility by nitrogen 

fixation, and their suitability to fit very well into various cropping patterns. With climate 

change looming large and threatening agricultural production systems, the major emphasis is 

on the breeding of stress-tolerant crop varieties by utilizing genetic resources that may be better 

adapted to changing climatic conditions. The objective of the study was to identify the moisture 

stress tolerant accession among the mini-core collection of pigeon pea thereby genetic 

resources can be utilized for breeding for enhanced moisture stress tolerance. 

Methodology 

A total of 127 germplasm accessions of the mini-core collections of pigeon pea from ICRISAT 

were evaluated in rainfed conditions in Augmented Block Design at Hayathnagar Research 

Farm, ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad during 2018-19. Biometrical characters viz., days to 50% 

flowering, days to maturity, plant height (cm), number of branches, number of pods, pod weight 

(g), total biomass (g), harvest index and seed yield (g) were recorded. Physiological parameters 

like Soil Plant Analytical Development (SPAD) Chlorophyll Meter Reading, canopy 

temperature (SCMR) ( 0 C), net photosynthetic rate (µmolCO 2/m 2 /sec), stomatal conductance 

(mmol H2O/m 2 /sec), transpiration rate (cm/sec) and leaf temperature ( 0 C) were also recorded. 

Results 

In the mini-core collections, the days to 50% flowering ranged from 71 (ICP 14903) to 178 

(ICP 15109) with an average of 124 days. The days to maturity ranged from 113 (ICP 14819) 

to 233 (ICP 14801) with a mean of 183 days. The plant height ranged from 52.67 (ICP 11627) 

to 177.33 (ICP 10654) with an average value of 133.28 cm. The number of branches per plant 

ranged from 8 (ICP 11627) to 28 (ICP 10559) with an average of 17.06. The number of pods 

per plant ranged from 13 (ICP 14229) to 305 (ICP 7) with a mean of 72. Pod weight per plant 

ranged from 10.38 (ICP 14229) to 97.64 (ICP 10503) with an average of 33.55 gm/plant. Seed 

yield per plant ranged from 7.3 (ICP 15161) to 58 (ICP 7057) with an average of 22.18 

gm/plant. Total biomass ranged from 36.43 ((ICP 11627) to 233.8 (ICP 5142) with a mean of 




119.59 gm/plant. Harvest index ranged from 15.14 (ICP 10477) to 24.81 (ICP 9750) with an 

average of 19%. 

Based on days to 50% flowering, the genotypes were grouped into different maturity groups. 

Extra short maturing genotypes (51-70 days) were absent in the mini-core collection. Thirteen 

genotypes were grouped into the category of short duration (71-100 days), 12 in short medium 

duration (101-110 days), 79 in medium duration (111-140 days), 18 in medium-long duration 

(141-160 days) and five in long duration (>160 days). Upadhyaya et al., 2006 evaluated core 

and mini-core collection of pigeon pea for traits associated with drought tolerance under 

terminal drought stress conditions and earliness was used as characters for screening for 

drought tolerance. 

The promising accessions were identified for different characters. The accessions ICP10654, 

ICP4903, ICP7869, ICP12596, ICP10559, ICP9414, ICP9691, ICP8757, ICP1273 and 

ICP8602 recorded plant height of more than 153 cm. The highest number of primary branches 

per plant (>25) was observed in the accessions ICP10559, ICP12596, ICP7076, ICP12298, 

ICP9336, ICP9750, ICP4392, ICP4167and ICP6859. The accessions ICP7, ICP14444, 

ICP3049, ICP15493, ICP12142, ICP9691, ICP7223, ICP5863, ICP995, ICP6128 and ICP 939 

recorded more than 140 pods per plant. Higher pod weight (>55g/plant) was observed in 

accessions ICP10503, ICP7057, ICP6971, ICP6929, ICP12142, ICP7, ICP6992, ICP6370, 

ICP6049, ICP8152 and ICP 5863. High-yielding accessions (>35g/plant) were ICP7057, 

ICP12142, ICP7, ICP10503, ICP4307, ICP6929, ICP3049, ICP6971, ICP5142 and ICP6992. 

The accessions ICP5142, ICP11477, ICP6815, ICP5863, ICP13577, ICP6971, ICP6370, 

ICP10559, ICP11823, ICP12596 and ICP 7 recorded total biomass of more than 200g/plant. 

Higher harvest index (>20%) was recorded in accessions ICP9750, ICP9691, ICP9336, 

ICP10228, ICP8949, ICP12298, ICP13633, ICP14147, ICP12680, ICP12410 and ICP 8949. 

Choudhary et al., 2011 concluded that agronomic traits such as pods/plant and seed yield/plant 

under actual water deficit condition should be given much importance while breeding for 

drought resistance in pigeon pea. 

Physiological characterization of mini-core collection revealed that SCMR ranged from 43.27 

(ICP 6370) to 68.07 (ICP 4029) with an average value of 51.23. The canopy temperature ranged 

from 31.13 (ICP 11477) to 39.73 (ICP 8266) with a mean of 34.21 0 C. The net photosynthetic 

rate ranged from 2.39 (ICP 10710 to 18.97 (ICP 15185) with a mean of 8.15 µmolCO2/m 2 /sec. 

The stomatal conductance ranged from 0.01 (ICP 7221) to 0.12 (ICP 6929) with an average of 

0.05 mmol H2O/m 2 /sec. The transpiration rate ranged from 0.37 (ICP 7221) to 3.30 (ICP 

13577) with an average of 1.56 cm/sec. Leaf temperature ranged from 30.82 (ICP 7) to 32.90 

(ICP 1156) with a mean of 31.96 0 C. 

The genotypes ICP4029, ICP11543, ICP6123, ICP11627, ICP14701, ICP14444, ICP12142, 

ICP15109, ICP6992 and ICP3451 recorded SPAD values more than 55. Low canopy 


344 | Page



temperatures (14 µmolCO2/m 2 /sec) 

was recorded in genotypes ICP15185, ICP13577, ICP11477, ICP13575, ICP6929, ICP1126, 

ICP2698, ICP11321, ICP13579 and ICP6370. The genotypes ICP6929, ICP13577, ICP4029, 

ICP348, ICP13579, ICP939, ICP3451, ICP13662, ICP8949, ICP11321, ICP14701 and 

ICP4307 recorded the highest stomatal conductance (>0.09 mmol H 2O/m 2 /sec). The Lower 

transpiration (



Gene expressions play a pivotal role in achieving tolerance in plants under salinity stress. 

Several genes such as transcription factors, phospholipases, defense-related genes, etc. 

including the helicases are known to express under the influence of various abiotic stresses. 

The helicases are ubiquitous enzymes that catalyze the unwinding of DNA duplexes (DNA 

helicases) or RNA duplexes (RNA helicases). The constitutive expression of such genes can 

provide stress tolerance when overexpressed. PDH45, p68 and LecRLK homolog from Pisum 

sativum has been reported to provide salinity stress tolerance by overexpression in tobacco and 

rice plants (Tuteja et al. 2014; Passricha et al. 2020). RuvB helicase is a highly conserved, 

multifunctional, and essential enzyme, primarily involved in numerous mechanisms such as 

DNA damage repair, mitotic assembly, switching of histone variants, and assembly of 

telomerase core complex. Several studies observed its upregulation in rice under salinity, cold, 

and heat stress. The presence of unique helicases and the upregulation of their transcripts under 

abiotic stress conditions suggests their involvement in multiple cellular pathways. The present 

study aims to characterize RuvB helicase and identify its potential proteins that might play a 

role in imparting tolerance against salt stress in transgenic pigeon peas with the RuvB gene 

from Oryza sativa under a constitutive promoter. 

Methodology 

The sequence of the RuvB-like genes from Oryza sativa was retrieved in the FASTA format 

from the Rice Annotation Project Database. The Gene Structure Display Server 

(http://gsds.gao-lab.org/) and Fegensh+ were used to determine the gene structure. Protein 

family, Domain, DNA/RNA/Protein binding sites, and conserved regions were predicted using 

CDD, Predictprotein, and Pfam. The Swiss Model was used for structure prediction. QMEAN, 

SAVES, molprobity, etc. were further used for structure assessment, optimization, and 

verification of the predicted models. Interacting protein partners were predicted using the 

String database. 

Results 

The sequence of the RuvB-like genes from Oryza sativa with locus ID Os01g0837500 was 

retrieved in the FASTA format. Fegensh+ predicted protein coding sequence at the minus 

strand. The sequence contains both 3’ and 5’ UTR regions and 14 exons. Heat, cold, and salt 

tolerance was associated with trait ontology and the highest expression of the gene has been 

identified in inflorescence, ovary, and pistil by the RAP-DB. The expression of the gene was 

also identified in the leaf blade as well as in the endosperm. DNA binding (from amino acid 

residues 1-15, 63-67, and 218-224), RNA binding (from amino acid residues 2-13 and 219- 

223), and Protein binding (from amino acid residues 9-14, 295-297 and 427-429) sites were 

predicted using Predictprotein. The possible role of OsRuvb is predicted biological processes 

like Organic cyclic compound, cellular aromatic compound, and heterocycle metabolic 


346 | Page



process. 42.97% of the amino acid were predicted as buried by Predictprotein. Conserved 

Domain Database (CDD) predicted that OsRuvb protein belongs to AAA+ ATPase family and 

TIP49 (TBP interacting) superfamily. Human RuvB-like helicase (PDB-Id: 2C9O) with 99% 

query coverage and 73% sequence identity was selected as a template. Swiss model was used 

for the homology modeling of OsRuvB and the model with minimum energy -13955 KJ and 

RMSD of 0.134 Angstroms was selected for further studies. OsRuvB’s COGs functional 

partners were identified as auxillary units of IIF (transcription initiation factor), and Nop 

domain of Prp31 (RNA processing factor). One of the functional partners listed was the stressresponsive 

gene 6 protein (Srg6). The COGs also highlighted the possible role of OsRuvB in 

chromatin remodeling, histone acetyltransferase activity, and methylated histone binding. 

Conclusion 

OsRuvB is DNA helicase that expresses in the leaf blade vegetative and endosperm, this might 

help plant under salt stress during germination as well. The highest expression of the gene in 

inflorescence, pistil, and ovary lead to higher productivity of transgenic pigeon pea. The 

possible role of OsRuvb is predicted in biological processes like Organic cyclic compounds, 

cellular aromatic compounds and heterocycle metabolic processes. OsRuvB’s COGs functional 

partners were identified as auxiliary units of IIF (transcription initiation factor), and Nop 

domain of Prp31 (RNA processing factor). This also highlighted the possible role of OsRuvB 

in chromatin remodeling, histone acetyltransferase activity, and methylated histone binding. 

The helicase might have a role in the unwinding of DNA for salt-responsive gene 6 

transcriptions. The transcriptomics study might shed light on the detailed mechanism for salt 

tolerance acquired by the transgenic pigeon pea containing the OsRuvB gene under a 

constitutive promoter. 

References 

FAO. 2020. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nation. FAO statistical database. 

Tuteja, N., Banu, M. S. A., Huda, K. M. K., Gill, S. S., Jain, P., Pham, X. H., & Tuteja, R. 

2014. Pea p68, a DEAD-box helicase, provides salinity stress tolerance in transgenic 

tobacco by reducing oxidative stress and improving photosynthesis machinery. PloS one, 

9(5), e98287. 

Passricha, N., Saifi, S. K., Kharb, P. & Tuteja, N. 2020. Rice lectin receptor-like kinase 

provides salinity tolerance by ion homeostasis. Biotechnology and bioengineering, 

117(2), 498–510. 




T3-07R-1040 

Performance of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) Accessions Under 

Dryland Conditions 

A.G.K. Reddy, M. Osman, S.K Yadav, N. Jyothi Laxmi, T.V. Prasad, Pushpanjali, K. 

Salini, K. Sreedevi Shanker, Vinod Kumar Singh and Jagati Yadagiri 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500 059 

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the performance of tamarind (Tamarindus indica 

L.) accessions under dryland conditions. Tamarind popularly known as Imli is one of the 

auspicious, versatile trees in the Indian sub-continent and is particularly abundant in the States 

of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu 

and West Bengal. Tamarind is an important cash crop in India and enjoys t h e sixth position 

in terms of export earnings. Tamarind tolerates high pH and is well suited to wastelands, 

drylands, saline and sodic soils. The trees act as a wind break in many areas and a re also 

suitable for drought prone areas. Tamarind thrives in a tropical climate with hot, dry summers 

and moderate winters. It can withstand drought but is prone to frost. Tamarind can be grown 

in almost all types of soil even on poor and margin soils, since; its life-span is long, deep loamy 

soils with adequate soil moisture holding capacity is ideal. The objectives of the study are (1) 

evaluation and characterization of tamarind germplasm as per the minimum descriptors (2) 

collection of tamarind germplasm from Telangana and Bastar plateau and identification of elite 

material and (3) to study the flowering and fruiting behaviour of the tamarind trees with 

reference to climatic conditions and soil parameters. 

Methodology 

The study was conducted at Hayatnagar Research Farm, ICAR-CRIDA Hyderabad from 2020 

to 2021 to record the flowering and fruiting characteristics of elite genotypes as well as a 

quality among the forty tamarind accessions kept at the research farm. The field trial was 

established in 1998 and evaluated during the fruiting season of 2020-2021 (22years aged 

plants). Three replications and 40 genotypes were used for the experiment, which has been 

arranged in a randomized block design. At a 5% level of probability, the significance of the 

mean was assessed using the Critical Differences (CD) test (Panse and Sukhatme,1985). 

Results 

The average number of inflorescences per branch Hasanur #5 accession recorded the highest 

value of 13.87 followed by NZB (S) (12.94), NTI-14 (12.72) and the lowest was noticed in 

SMG-7(7.4) followed by Urigam CT 164 (7.62). The average number of branches per tree in 

Hasanur #5 accession recorded the highest value of 6.11 followed by NZB (S) (5.94), Salem 


348 | Page



132 (5.92) and the lowest was noticed in SMG-7(3.21) followed by Urigam CT 164 (3.57). 

Average yield per plant (kg) NZB (S) accession recorded the highest value of 15.72 followed 

by Hasanur #5 (15.09) and the lowest was noticed in SMG-7 (2.47) followed by NTI-82 (5.74). 

The highest pulp weight per fruit was recorded in NZB (S) accessions (9.27 g) followed by 

Hasanur #5 (9.24 g). The lowest pulp weight was found in CMK-6 of 3.46g followed by 

Urigam CT 164 (3.53). Similarly, the highest fibre weight per fruit was recorded in NTI-42 

(0.81) followed by Vantoor (0.73) the lowest was noticed in NZB (S) (0.22) followed by Salem 

132 (0.24). Regarding seed characters, accession NZB (S) recorded the highest total number of 

seeds per pod (10.78) which was the highest among forty tamarind accessions followed by 

Prathistan (10.54). The highest normal number of seeds per pod was recorded in NZB (S) (9.38) 

followed by Hasanur #5 (10.54) and the lowest was noticed in SMG-4 (4.27) followed by NTI 

-86 (4.75). The highest number of seeds damaged per pod was recorded in Hyd (local) (1.54) 

followed by NTI- 39 (1.53) and the lowest in NZB (S) (0.62) followed by Hasanur #5 (0.82). 

Conclusion 

Among the forty tamarind accessions evaluated, NZB(S), Hasanur#5, Salem132, NTI-14 and 

SMG–3 recorded the highest values in all the growth, pod and yield characters. NZB (S) 

recorded the highest number of flowers per inflorescence (14.62), Hasanur #5 recorded the 

highest number of inflorescence per branch (13.87). NZB (S) recorded the highest average fruit 

weight (g) (19.24), pulp weight per fruit (g) (9.27), Total seed per Pod (no’s) (10.78), Normal 

seed /pod (no’s) (9.38) compare to remaining all tamarind accessions and also NZB (S) 

recorded the lowest fibre weight per fruit (g) (0.22), Damaged seed per pod (no’s) (0.62). 

References 

Panse Vand, Sukhatme, P.V. 1985.Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers. ICAR, New 

Delhi. 

T3-08R-1444 

Administering the Natural Genetic Diversity for Improving Stress 

Tolerance 

R.S. Telem 1 , W. Dipin 1 , N. Jyotsna 1 and Romila Akoijam 2 

1 Krishi Vigyan Kendra- Senapati, 795129, Manipur, India 

2 ICAR- RC for NEH Region, Manipur Centre, 795004, Lamphelpat, Imphal, India 

The modern agricultural system often compromises with the cost of biodiversity over the 

improvement in yield. This is because the plants have a diverse genetic functions and 

regulation systems. During the process of the domestication and continuous artificial selection, 

genetic variation in the wild cultivars has been vanish in many present-day crop cultivars. 




Breeding of crops chosen yield over other attributes such as stress tolerance, which could be 

restored under farmers’ supervision and other agricultural methods. Therefore, when compared 

to the present-day crop varieties, wild cultivars of crops could practically tolerate and survive 

under an extensive scale of weather variations and unfavorable habitats. Hence, the wild 

cultivars of different crop plants can be regarded as a principal pool of genetic diversity and it 

should be given more importance for exploration of their stress-tolerant characteristics. Besides 

the genetic resources from wild cultivars, genes from diverse plants such as extremophiles, 

which are adapted to utmost environmental situations, can also provide a collection for stresstolerant 

alleles. Hence, to obtain a more useful understanding of stress-tolerant characters 

available in naturally occurring stress-resistant plants, further relative studies between the 

present-day crops/model plants and crop progenitors/natural accessions/extremophiles are 

needed. 

Loss of stress tolerance during domestication 

Domestication of crops by artificial selection often arises in differences to natural selection. 

For example, farmers recommend the trait of non-shattering seeds, which is obviously a nonrecommendable 

character for plants in nature that they require to propagate their offspring. The 

breeding plans mostly target to evolve high yielding crop varieties. Thus, domestication has 

outcome in growth of productivity but restricted genetic diversity, frequently by losing helpful 

alleles such as stress-tolerant genes. During domestication procedure, useful characters can be 

lost by gene loss, changes in gene regulation, and gene activity modification (i.e., sequence 

variations in coding sequence). 

Alleles for stress tolerance 

Arabidopsis thaliana accessions (ecotypes) are largely dispersed to the different regions of the 

world, and this dispersal contributes to the genetic diversity of Arabidopsis that are pivotal for 

stress adaptation. Thus, genetic diversity among the Arabidopsis accessions give a helpful 

genetic model to discover both unique stress tolerance mechanisms and important stresstolerant 

alleles. For example, Jha et al. found a positive correlation between AtAVP1 transcript 

levels and salinity tolerance. In comparison to Col and C24, the Ler and Ws accessions 

exhibited higher transcript abundance of AtAVP1 in relation with higher salt stress tolerance. 

In the first place, rice is a chilling-sensitive crop obtained from tropical or sub-tropical regions 

of Asia. Rice cultivars comprises two subspecies, indica and japonica. When compared to 

indica, the japonica rice cultivars were rated to be more cold-tolerant and grow at higher 

altitudes and latitudes and temperate zones. Rice ecotypes include two major types, upland rice 

and lowland rice. Lowland rice grows on flooded soils, while upland rice grows on dry soil; 

therefore, upland rice cultivars are drought tolerant. In maize, the drought-responsive gene 

ZmDREB2.7 shows natural variations in corporation with drought tolerance. The 


350 | Page



polymorphisms of DNA at the 50 untranslated regions of ZmDREB2.7 gene were shown to be 

essential in controlling the levels of drought tolerance in maize varieties. 

Polytrichastrum alpinum is a kind of polar moss that exist in the utmost environment in the 

Antarctic. Hence, a stress-responsive transcriptional co activator gene, multi-protein bridging 

factor1c (PaMBF1c), was segregated for comparison with Arabidopsis MBF1c (AtMBF1c). 

Earlier, the AtMBF1c gene was already recognised as a key regulator for thermo tolerance 

reactions and the AtMBF1c gene over expression improved heat tolerance in Arabidopsis. 

Transgenic Arabidopsis plants over expressing the PaMBF1c gene when compared with 

AtMBF1c over expressing Arabidopsis lines, both lines showed high tolerance to heat stress. 

Conclusion 

Of late, many researchers detailed the application of the genetic resources from wild crop 

progenitors/relatives and extremophiles and authenticated many of them to be better alleles 

than alleles from model plants in crop improvement against abiotic stresses. Hence, it would 

be required to broaden our efforts to realize the natural genetic variations in the wild 

progenitors or accessions which are able to adapt in the extreme environments. To know the 

significance of their stress-eluding strategies will allow us to plan and design the breeding and 

biotechnological programs to develop crop plants with varied stress tolerance ability. An 

important thing to be noted here is that the natural occurring genetic resources might have not 

been selected during domestication process due to its deleterious effects on yield. Therefore, 

detailed depiction of the “superior” alleles must be executed to avert any compromise of yield 

in crop improvement. 

T3-09R-1356 

Effect of Different Weed Control Management Practices on Kharif French 

Bean 

K.A. Chavan*, V. P. Suryavanshi, B. V. Asewar, S. V. Thombre and S. G. Mane 

*College of agriculture, Latur, Maharashtra, India, 

VNMKV Parbhani, Maharashtra, India. 

* chavank1903@gmail.com 

French bean is short duration high yielding grain legume crop and it can be used both as pulse 

and vegetable. French bean is important source of protein calories in human diet. It has very 

high nutritional value containing 20.69 to 25.81% crude protein, 1.72% fats, 72.42% 

carbohydrates and 5.83 mg of iron. Among the major constraints, initial heavy infestation of 

weeds is one of the important factors, which hinders its overall growth and productivity. 

Among the various weed management options herbicide use is not only efficient method but it 




is cost effective also. On the other hand, physical weed control measure viz. hand weeding are 

safe but labour intensive. Therefore, the present investigation on “Integrated weed management 

in Kharif French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)” was undertaken for different weed control 

measures and their efficiency and economics in French bean. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted during kharif 2018-19 at Farm of Agronomy section, 

College of Agriculture, Latur. The soil of experimental plot was low in available nitrogen 

(129.31 kg ha -1 ), medium in available phosphorus (20.42 kg ha -1 ), high in available potassium 

(460.00 kg ha -1 ) and alkaline (pH 8.1) in reaction. The experiment was laid out in Randomised 

block design with three replications and variety HPR-35 as a test crop along with seven 

treatments viz., T 1-Pendimethalin 30% EC @1.0 kg a.i.ha -1 (PE) , T 2- Quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% 

EC 100 g a.i. ha -1 at 20 DAS (POE), T3 -Pendimethalin 30% EC @1.0 kg a.i.ha -1 (PE) + One 

hoeing at 30 DAS, T 4 - Quizalofop-p- ethyl 5% EC 100 g a.i. ha -1 at 20 DAS + One hoeing at 

30 DAS, T5 - One hoeing followed by One hand weeding (farmers practice), T6- Weed free 

(Three hand weeding), T 7- Weedy check. The effect of treatments on yield parameters and 

cost economics with respect to French bean. 

Results 

Yield and economics: The seed yield of French bean was differed significantly due to different 

weed control treatments. The weed free treatment (T 6 ) recorded higher seed yield (950 kg ha - 

1 ) which was at par with treatment Pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i.ha -1 (PE) + One hoeing 

at 30 DAS (T 3) and Quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC 100 g a.i. ha -1 at 20 DAS + One hoeing at 30 

DAS (T4) and found significantly superior over rest of the treatments. 

Treatments 

T 

1 

- Pendimethalin 30% EC @1.0 kg a.i.ha -1 

(PE) 

T 

2 

- Quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC 100 g a.i. ha - 

1 

at 20 DAS (POE) 

Yield and economics 

Seed yield (kg 

ha -1 ) 

Straw yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

GMR 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

NMR 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

B: C Ratio 

760 1956 76000 40845 2.16 

732 2161 73166 38167 2.09 

T - Pendimethalin 30% EC @1.0 kg a.i.ha - 

3 

1 

(PE) + One hoeing at 30 DAS 

T - Quizalofop-p- ethyl 5% EC 100 g a.i. ha - 

4 1 at 20 DAS + One hoeing at 30 DAS 

910 2476 91000 54850 2.52 

888 2427 88800 52857 2.47 

T - One hoeing followed by One hand 

5 

774 2048 77400 37643 1.95 

weeding (farmer practice) 

T - Weed free 

6 

950 2612 95000 45115 1.90 


352 | Page



T 

7 

- Weedy check 559 1840 55900 22622 1.68 

S.E.± 37 152 3663 3663 0.10 

CD at 5% 113 469 11287 11287 0.31 

General Mean 796 2217 79609 41728 2.1 

The straw yield (kg ha -1 ) of French bean was differed significantly due to different weed 

control treatments. The weed free treatment (T 6 ) recorded significantly higher straw yield 

(2612 kg ha -1 ) which was at par with treatment Quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC 100 g a.i. ha -1 at 

20 DAS (POE) (T2), Pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 (PE) + One hoeing at 30 DAS 

(T 3) and Quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC 100 g a.i. ha -1 at 20 DAS + One hoeing at 30 DAS (T 4) 

which was found significantly superior over rest of the treatment. 

Mean gross monitory return of French bean was Rs.79609 ha -1 . The gross monetary return 

(Rs ha -1 ) of French bean was differed significantly due to different weed control treatments. 

The weed free treatment (T 6 ) recorded significantly maximum gross monetary (Rs 950000 ha - 

1 ) which was at par with Pendimethalin 30% EC @1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 (PE) + One hoeing at 30 DAS 

(T3) and Quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC 100 g a.i. ha -1 at 20 DAS + One hoeing at 30 DAS (T4) 

and found significantly superior over rest of the treatments. 

The mean net monetary return of French bean was Rs. 41728 ha -1 . The net monetary return 

was influenced by significantly due to different treatments. The application of Pendimethalin 

30% EC @1.0 kg a.i.ha -1 (PE) + One hoeing at 30 DAS (T 3) recorded significantly higher net 

monetary return Rs.54850 ha - 1 which was at par with Quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC 100 g a.i. ha - 

1 

at 20 DAS + One hoeing at 30 DAS (T 4) and weed free treatment (T 6) and found significantly 

superior over rest of the treatment. The application Pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 

(PE) + One hoeing at 30 DAS (T3) recorded higher B:C ratio (2.52) of French bean which was 

closely followed by Quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC 100 g a.i. ha -1 at 20 DAS + One hoeing at 30 

DAS (T 4) with B:C ratio 2.47. 

Conclusion 

Considering growth, yield, economics, it could be concluded that application of Pendimethalin 

30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 (PE) + one hoeing at 30 DAS (T 3) or application of Quizalofop-pethyl 

5% EC @ 100 g a.i. ha -1 at 20DAS + one hoeing at 30 DAS (T4) were more effective in 

French bean. 




T3-10R-1220 

Integrated Pest Management Strategies for Fall Army Worm in Southern 

Telangana 

A. Ramakrishna Babu, Kasthuri Rajamani, P. Archana and M. Goverdan 

Regional Agricultural Research Station, Palem-509217, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State 

Agricultural University, Telangana, India 

A recent invasive pest from African countries, the Fall Army Worm (FAW), Spodoptera 

frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) has become a major pest in maize crop, 

cultivated across the globe. FAW is a polyphagous species that occurs on over 80 different host 

plants with maize as the primary host, and its incidence was reported on maize from Telangana 

State during the year 2018-19 (kharif, 3-60% and rabi, 30.8%). The voracious feeding and 

long-distance flight behaviors exhibited by the fall armyworm indicated a significant threat to 

agriculture with rapid dispersion throughout the hemisphere. The emergence of this notorious 

pest presents a major challenge to maize farmers, as well as national food security in India. 

FAW has the potential to cause yield loss of 8.3 to 20.6 M metric tons of maize annual 

production per year, to minimize these losses and to safeguard the modest gains made in 

securing the country’s food production, several actions have been undertaken by both farmers 

and scientists. The conventional chemical management strategies are sometimes inconsistent 

and often unsatisfactory to control the pest in maize. The use of insecticides as a pest 

management tool for small-scale farmers in Mahabubnagar district is more frequent and causes 

more damage to the ecosystem. To protect the environment, it is very important to follow 

integrated pest management (IPM) packages which are cost-effective for smallholder farmers 

in the region. An effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy for control of FAW will 

employ a variety of integrated approaches including biological control, cultural control, and 

safer pesticides, to protect the crop from economic injury while minimizing negative impacts 

on people, animals, and the environment. Keeping this in view, the present study was conducted 

to popularize IPM measures against FAW at farmers’ fields as Front-Line Demonstrations 

(FLD’s) during the kharif and rabi seasons of 2019-20 and 2020-21. 

Methodology 

The present study of front-line demonstration of integrated pest management of fall armyworm 

in maize was taken up by District Agricultural Advisory and Transfer of Technology Centres 

(DAATTCs), Mahabubnagar, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University 

during kharif and rabi seasons of 2019-20 and 2020-21. The total demonstrations were 

conducted in seven locations covering seven villages in the Mahabubnagar district. The 

farming situation under the study area was sandy to sandy loam with low to medium soil 


354 | Page



fertility status, besides well-irrigated sources. Further, conducted baseline survey before 

grounding the demonstrations to identify the issues related to maize production and also studied 

the socio-economic status of adopted farmers. The front-line demonstrations on Integrated Pest 

Management of fall armyworm in maize comprised cultural, mechanical, and chemical 

methods. At each location, the demonstration was laid out in an area of 0.4 ha and adjacent 0.4 

ha was considered as control (farmers’ practice) for comparison studies. Apart from 

showcasing the viability of pest management components, farmers were also sensitized on the 

relevance of these technologies by organizing awareness programs, focused group discussions, 

conducting method demonstrations and training programs. 

Results 

The results of front-line demonstrations on integrated pest management of fall armyworm in 

maize (Table 1 and 2) indicated that the pest incidence and damage due to FAW range was 8.4- 

14.0 percent in IPM followed plots during kharif 2019-20, whereas the average pest incidence 

was 11.44 percent. In the Non-IPM plots, it was found that the pest incidence ranged from 28.6 

to 36.4 percent and the average pest incidence was 32.6 percent. During rabi 2020-21, the FAW 

damage was very less compared to kharif season, and the damage range was 3.3 – 10.0 percent 

in IPM followed plots, whereas the average pest incidence was 6.98 percent. The Non-IPM 

plots showed that the pest incidence ranged from 13.3 to 23.1 percent, with an average pest 

incidence of 16.6 percent. 

Influence of FAW on maize yield and incidence during kharif, 2019-20 

S.No. Name Village / Manda; Yield 

(kg/ha) 

COC (Rs/ha) Gross returns B.C Ratio Pest incidence 

1. Mahipal Reddy Gurkunta 

/Nawabpet 

2. P.Shankaraiah Karkonda 

/Nawabpet 

3. Kosgi Chandraiah Nainonipalli/ 

Nawabpet 

4 K.Anantaiah Venkatreddypalli 

/Gandeed 

Check Demo Check Demo Check Demo Check Demo Check Demo 

4725 4950 

(4.76%) 

4500 5125 

(13.89%) 

4875 5375 

(10.26%) 

5375 5775 

(7.44%) 

45500 38750 94500 99000 2.07 2.55 Moderate to 

severe, 

48000 47950 90000 125000 1.87 2.60 High 

incidence of 

FAW 

57500 51250 80194 88419 1.39 1.72 High 

incidence of 

FAW 

58750 55000 86000 92400 1.46 1.68 Severe 

incidence 

Average 4869 5306 52438 48238 87674 101205 2.58 2.23 

Low 

FAW 

FAW 

controlle 

d 

FAW 

controlle 

d 

FAW 

controlle 

d 




S. 

No 

Name 

1. Sudhaker 

Reddy 

2. Rajeshwar 

Reddy 

Influence of FAW on maize yield and incidence during rabi, 2020-21 

Village 

/Mandal 

Tirumalagiri 

/ gandeed 

Machanpally/ 

mahabubnagar 

Yield 

(kg/ha) 

COC 

(Rs/ha) 

Gross returns B.C Ratio Pest incidence 

Demo Check Demo Check Demo Check Demo Check Demo Check 

5000 

(17.65%) 

5000 

(11.11%) 

3. Venkataih Buddaram /Hanwada 3250 

(8.33%) 

4250 62500 45000 88000 57200 1.40 1.27 Effectively 

controlled 

4500 50000 40000 88000 61600 1.76 1.54 Effectively 

controlled 

3000 45000 40000 52000 48000 1.15 1.2 Moderately 

controlled 

Average 4416 3250 52500 41666. 76000 55600 1.44 1.33 

Moderate to 

severe 

High incidence 

of FAW 

High incidence 

of FAW 

The data revealed yield differences among IPM strategies and Non-IPM practices on integrated 

pest management of fall armyworm in maize at farmers’ fields of Mahabubnagar district. The 

percent increase in yield in all the demonstration locations over farmers’ practice ranged from 

4.76 to 13.89 during kharif 2019-20, whereas the percent increase in yield varied 8.33 to 17.65 

percent rabi 2020-21 with the highest being recorded during rabi, compared to kharif season. 

There was an average yield increase of 9.09 and 12.36 percent during kharif 2019-20 and rabi 

2020-21, which clearly indicated that the adoption of IPM technology against fall armyworm 

in maize had a profound influence on yield in both seasons. Lavakumar et al., (2019) reported 

from the southern part of Telangana has a substantial increase in maize grain production 

following the adoption of IPM protocol against fall armyworm. Thus cultivation of maize by 

IPM module is found economically prudent to suppress Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) 

(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) incidence to boost production. 

References 

Lavakumar, M., Omprakash, S., Rajinikanth, E., Saicharan, M., Lakshmisoujanya P. and 

Mallaiah, B. 2019. Management of Fall Army Worm on Maize in the State of 

Telangana-An IPM Strategy Recommended. Trends in Biosciences 12(22), 1418-1421. 


356 | Page



T3-11R-1009 

Performance of Pigeonpea (BDN 711) Under Rainfed Condition in Beed 

District of Maharashtra 

H.S. Garud 1 *, B.B. Gaikwad 2 , T.B. Surpam 2 and D.C. Patgaonkar 2 

1 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Khamgaon Ta. Georai Dist. Beed 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani 431 402 (MS), India 

*garudhanuman@gmail.com 

In India, particularly in Maharashtra region, for last few decades is facing severe problems of 

drought due to vagaries of monsoon like late onset, early withdrawal, prolonged dry spell 

between two rains etc. As a result of this, crop failure due to lack of water availability has 

become a common phenomenon. Though pigeonpea is widely grown in Beed district, various 

factors influence the potential yield of the crop such as, faulty sowing practices, and lack of 

knowledge about high yielding and disease resistant varieties. Lack of awareness about seed 

treatment with biofertilizers Rhizobium, PSB, Trichoderma viridae and improper management 

of pod borer. Above all in the district predominantly noticed problems for pigeonpea 

cultivation are high incidence of wilt and terminal drought condition. Hence drought tolerant 

variety appears to be major challenge to increasing productivity. With this background, Front 

line demonstrations were conducted to show the worth of high yielding and drought tolerant 

BDN 711 improved variety of pigeonpea. 

Methodology 

Technology demonstration on pigeonpea variety BDN 711 was conducted by Krishi Vigyan 

Kendra, Khamgaon during 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 in the district of Beed. A total 50 

number of demonstration was conducted in 20 ha area each year. In general, the soil of the area 

under study is medium to heavy and medium in fertility status. The component demonstration 

technology in pigeonpea was comprised i.e. university recommended improved variety BDN 

711 which was medium duration, escaping terminal drought and wilt resistant. In the 

demonstration, one control plot was also kept where farmer's practices were carried out. The 

demonstration was conducted to study the technology gap between the potential yield and 

demonstrated yield, the extension gap between demonstrated yield and yield under existing 

practice and the technology index. The yield data were collected from both the demonstration 

and farmer's practice by random crop cutting method and analyzed by using simple statistical 

tools. The percent increase yield, technology gap, extension gap and technology index were 

calculated by using the following formula as per Samui et al. (2000) as given below- 

Percent increase in yield = 

Demonstration yield – Farmers practice yield 

Farmers practice yield 

X 100 




Technology gap = Potential yield - Demonstration yield 

Extension gap = Demonstration yield –Farmers practice plot yield 

Results 

Technology index (%) = 


Potential yield X100 

Frontline demonstration studies were carried out in Beed district of Maharashtra state in 

kharifseason of2019-20 to 2021-22. The results revealed that in the demonstration on 

pigeonpea an average seed yield recorded 1660 kg ha -1 under demonstrated plots as compared 

to farmer's practice 1267 kg ha -1 . The highest seed yield in the demonstration plot was 1800 kg 

ha -1 during 2021-22. The average yield of pigeonpea increased by 31.11 per cent. These results 

indicated that the higher average seed yield in demonstration plots compared to farmer's 

practice due to integrated crop management practices and awareness of drought resistance of 

BDN 711 variety. 

The extension gap observed during different years was 280, 350 and 550 kg ha -1 during 2019- 

20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively. On an average, the extension gap observed in three 

years under FLD implemented villages was 393 kg ha -1 . The highest extension gap 550 kg ha - 

1 

was recorded in 2021-22 followed by 350 kg ha -1 (2020-21) and 280 kg ha -1 (2019-20). The 

technology gap observed during different years was 770, 450 and 400 kg ha -1 during 2019-20, 

2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively. On an average, the technology gap observed in three years 

under FLD implemented villages was 540 kg ha -1 . The highest technology gap 770 kg ha -1 was 

recorded in 2019-20 followed by 450 kg ha -1 (2020-21) and 280 kg ha -1 (2021-22). 

On an average, the technology index observed was 25.74 % for three years where front-line 

demonstrations were conducted. This shows the efficiency and effectiveness of the improved 

technologies. The cultivation of pigeonpea under improved technologies FLD gave higher net 

returns of Rs.57500, Rs. 78000 and Rs. 76400 per hectare as against to farmer's practices i.e., 

Rs. 35500, Rs. 60800 and Rs 48750 per hectare during the years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021- 

22 respectively. The B:C ratio of pigeonpea observed during different years 2019-20, 2020-21 

and 2021-22 under improved cultivation practices were 1.90, 2.33 and 3.06 respectively while 

it was 1.61, 1.95 and 2.62under farmer's practice for the respective years. The highest B:C ratio 

in demo plots is because of higher yields obtained under improved technologies compared to 

farmer's practices during all three years. 


358 | Page



Yield, technology gap, extension gap and technology index in pigeonpea cultivation 

during 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. 

Year 

Potential 

yield (kg 

ha -1 ) 

Average seed yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Demo 

Farmers 

Practice 

Percent 

increase 

Technology 

gap (kg ha -1 ) 

Extensio 

n gap 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Technology 

index (%) 

2019-20 2200 1430 1150 24.34 770 280 35.00 

2020-21 2200 1750 1400 25.00 450 350 20.00 

2021-22 2200 1800 1250 44.00 400 550 22.22 

Mean 2200 1660 1267 31.11 540 393 25.74 

Economic impact of pigeonpea cultivated under FLD and Farmers' practice during 

2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. 

Year 


Demo 

Area 

(ha) 

Gross income 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

Demo 

Farmers 

Practice 

Demo 

Net income 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

Farmers 

Practice 

Demo 

B: C Ratio 

Farmers 

Practice 

2019-20 50 20 75500 49500 57500 35500 1.90 1.61 

2020-21 50 20 105000 85800 78000 60800 2.33 1.95 

2021-22 50 20 113400 78750 76400 48750 3.06 2.62 

Mean 50 20 97967 71350 70633 48350 2.43 2.06 

Conclusion 

Pigeonpea variety BDN 711 gave higher seed yield, gross monetary returns, net monetary 

returns and B: C ratio under rainfed conditions over farmer's practice. 

References 

Samui, S.K., Maitra, S., Roy, D.K., Mandal, A.K., Saha, D. 2000. Evaluation of frontline 

demonstration on groundnut. J. Indian Society Costal Agricultural Research. 18 

(2):180-183. 




T3-11aR-1263 

Isolation and Quantitative Screening of Potential Fungal Isolates for 

Cellulase Activity 

Savitha Santosh 2 , Diksha Ramteke 1 , K. Velmourougane 1 , D. Blaise 1 , V. K. Singh 2 

1 ICAR – Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur 440010 

2 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 500059 

* savitha.santosh@icar.gov.in 

Plant biomass is an abundant renewable natural resource that can be transformed into chemical 

feedstocks and mostly made up of hemicelluloses, cellulose, lignin and a small amount of 

protein and pectin depending on the source (Xu et al., 2018). Many microorganisms are capable 

of degrading and utilizing cellulose and hemicellulose as carbon and energy sources. The fungi 

represent the predominant group of organisms responsible for lignocelluloses degradation. 

Fungi have two types of extracellular enzymatic systems: the hydrolytic system, which 

produces hydrolases that are responsible for polysaccharide degradation; and a unique 

oxidative and extracellular ligninolytic system, which degrades lignin and opens phenyl rings. 

The cellulases are enzymes produced by cellulolytic microorganisms, which are essential for 

releasing fermentable sugars from lignocellulosic biomass. Enzymatic saccharification of 

natural lignocellulose is required, and the use of cellulose-degrading enzymes becomes crucial 

when working with lignocellulosic substrates (Zhang et al., 2021). Endoglucanases (CMCase), 

exoglucanases (FPase), and β-glucosidases are the most relevant enzymes for cellulose 

degradation. Therefore, this study was carried out with an aim to isolate and quantify cellulase 

activity of potential fungal isolates. 

Methodology 

The soil samples were collected from seven different locations of Nagpur district, Maharashtra. 

The isolation of fungi was carried out by serial dilution and colonies growing over the medium 

were observed for their morphological characteristics and identified. The isolates were 

subjected to quantitative screening in submerged cultivations in Erlenmeyer flasks containing 

50 ml of basal medium [1.4 g/L (NH 4) 2SO 4, 2.0 g/L KH 2PO 4, 0.4 g/L CaCl 2, 0.3 g/L MgSO 4, 

1.56 mg/L MnSO 4.H 2O, 5.0 mg/L FeSO 4.7H 2O, 1.4 mg/L ZnSO 4.7H 2O and 2.0 mg/L CoCl 2 

containing 10.0 g/l of CMC (pH 5.0)]. After sterilization of the basal medium, the flasks were 

incubated with plugs (5 mm diameter) and the fungal mycelia were grown on medium and 

incubated at 30°C with shaking at 150 rpm. The crude enzyme was collected at different 

incubation days (7,14 and 21) using centrifugation at 10,000 rpm and 4°C for 15 min and 

analysed for Endoglucanase (CMCase), Exoglucanase (FPase) and β- glucosidase activity 

(Namnuch et al., 2021). 


360 | Page



Results 

The four fungal isolates (T1, T2, Bb1 and TV1) were isolated which produced cellulolytic 

enzymes in different quantities in Table. The T 1 isolate was the one with highest CMCase 

enzyme activity with 35.122 IU/ml after 21 days of incubation on the other hand, 19.36 IU/ml 

was observed for TV1 after 21 days of incubation which is least among all. With respect to β- 

glucosidase activity, T1 isolate produced highest enzyme activity (44.0 IU/ml). In case of 

FPase activity, T 1 showed 27.7 IU/ml after 21 days of incubation enzymatic activity, being the 

best and Bb1 showed the least productivity of 20.4 IU/ml after 21 days of incubation. 

Cellulolytic activity of potential fungal isolates 

CMCase (IU/ml) Β-Glucosidase (IU/ml) FPase (IU/ml) 

7 days 14Days 21Days 7 days 14Days 21Days 7 days 14Days 21Days 

T1 2.303 7.557 35.122 40.8 73.6 44.0 23.6 25.6 27.7 

T2 1.822 6.447 19.360 22.9 33.5 24.0 12.5 22.7 23.1 

Bb1 2.858 2.081 31.422 9.2 10.4 11.5 4.7 11.7 20.4 

TV1 1.378 18.398 27.093 19.8 36.3 23.6 25.6 25.7 24.7 

Control 0.971 0.971 0.601 2.6 3.3 3.4 4.0 2.4 2.6 

Conclusion 

The fungal isolates have an enormous potential for utilization of cellulosic substrates, as they 

are the major group of microorganisms capable of synthesizing enzymes to degrade these 

substrates. The fungal isolates identified in the study would be valuable for effective cellulose 

degradation. 

References 

Namnuch, N., Thammasittirong, A. and Thammasittirong, S.N.R., 2021. Lignocellulose 

hydrolytic enzymes production by Aspergillus flavus KUB2 using submerged 

fermentation of sugarcane bagasse waste. Mycology, 12(2):119-127. 

Xu, R., Zhang, K., Liu, P., Han, H., Zhao, S., Kakade, A., Khan, A., Du, D., Li, X., 2018. 

Lignin depolymerization and utilization by bacteria. Bioresour. Technol., 269: 557– 

566. 

Zhang, Z., Shah, A.M., Mohamed, H., Tsiklauri, N. and Song, Y., 2021. Isolation and 

Screening of Microorganisms for the Effective Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic 

Agricultural Wastes. BioMed Res. Int., 2021: 514745. 




T3-12P-1433 

Yellow Revolution Success in Sodic Soil Through Salt Resistant Variety of 

Mustard (CS-58) 

A.K. Srivastava, Naveen K. Singh and Ashutosh Srivastava 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Pratapgarh- 229408, Uttar Pradesh, India 

Salinity and sodicity stresses affect an area of 932.2 million hectares in the world and an area 

of nearly 6.73 million hectares is affected by these stresses in India. This crop is often subject 

to saline stress, as it is grown extensively in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Soil and 

water salinity stresses contribute to greater yield losses (both seed and oil yield), and this low 

economic yield is related to susceptibility of the crop. Hence, it is necessary to develop salttolerant 

genotypes in Indian mustard. CS-58 is a newly developed, salt-tolerant, high-yielding 

Indian mustard variety from ICAR- CSSRI, Karnal, to harness the yield potential of saltaffected 

soils of India. It produced 24-25% higher seed yield than the national check varieties 

Varuna and Kranti and was adopted by farmers in salt-affected areas. It grows up to a height 

of 180-185 cm. It matures in about 125-130 days and 1000 seed weight was 5.6-6.0 g. It is 

recommended for saline soils up to soil salinity level (ECe) up to 12.0 dS m -1 and in alkali soils 

upto pH 8.5-9.3. It is highly suitable for saline and sodic soil conditions. It yields around 39% 

oil content even under salt stress conditions. The yield potential in normal soils is 26-28 q ha -1 

and in salt affected soils (having pH up to 9.3 and soil salinity upto 9.0 dS m -1 ) is 22-24 q ha -1 . 

In NICRA village on the basis of five-year (2015-16 to 2020-21) demonstration conducted for 

saline conditions in NICRA village Chhachhamau, CS-58 provided a mean seed average yield 

of 2040 kg ha -1 under sodic condition (pH 8.5-9.0), which was 22-26% higher than the yields 

of check variety Varua. It gives higher yield at less cost, with less water requirements, and with 

more resilience to climatic stresses – are desirable and should be evaluated. Introduction of 

mustard salt tolerant variety CS-58 plays a significant role in high pH condition. 

T3-13P-1253 

Weed Management Strategies under Different Tillage Systems in Wet 

Direct Seeded Rice 

P. Gayathri, Nimmy Jose, Jyothi Sara Jacob, A.K. Ambily and M. Surendran 

Rice Research Station, Moncompu, Kerala Agricultural University, 688502, Kerala, India 

The shift in the crop establishment method from transplanting to direct sowing is not gaining 

momentum among farming community due to the difficulties associated with the weed 

management in wet direct seeded rice (DSR). In wet DSR, weeds and seeds emerge at the same 

time and cause severe yield loss. As no weedicides can give broad spectrum management, 


362 | Page



integration of cultural and chemical methods is required for effective management of weeds 

especially sedges in wet DSR. Conservation agriculture is a machine, herbicide and 

management driven agriculture with integrated weed management involving chemical and nonchemical 

methods for its success in the long-run (Sharma et al., 2014). In addressing weed 

control challenges, studies have shown that minimum and no-tillage reduce the weed 

population and also provide other ecosystem services like sustainable land management, 

environmental protection and climate change adaptation and mitigation (Sims et al., 2018). 

Unless weed management is sustainably addressed in conservation agriculture, particularly in 

the initial years, weed pressure, weed resistance and inherent crop yield losses may deter 

farmers from adopting conservation practices. With this background, this study was conducted 

to evaluate integrated weed management options for the effective management of weeds in 

rice, especially sedges which have become difficult to control in DSR. 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted at Rice Research Station, Moncompu, Kerala Agricultural 

University, during the rabi 2021 -22 and kharif 2022, in split plot design with three main plots 

and five sub plots. The main plots were different land preparation practices viz., zero tillage 

followed by stale seed bed technique (SSB) and herbicide application to destroy the germinated 

weeds, tillage followed by SSB technique and herbicide application to destroy the germinated 

weeds, and tillage followed by SSB technique and destroying the germinated weeds again by 

tillage (repeated tillage). In the sub plots, various herbicides were evaluated for its effectiveness 

under different tillage conditions, viz., pre-emergence application of Pyrazosulfuron @ 0.02 kg 

ai/ha followed by post-emergence application of Penoxulam + Cyhalofop butyl @ 0.135 kg 

ai/ha, post-emergence application of Fenoxaprop ethyl @ 0.06 kg ai/ha followed by 

Metsulfuron methyl + Chlorimuron ethyl @ 0.004 kg ai/ha, post-emergence application of 

Fenoxaprop ethyl @ 0.06 kg ai/ha followed by 2,4-D @ 1.00 kg ai/ha, two hand weedings and 

weedy check. The most popular rice variety of the region, Uma (MO 16) was used in the 

experiment. Observations on plant height, plant population, tiller count, total dry matter 

production, weed count and weed dry weight was recorded at 15, 30, 60, 80 and 110 DAS of 

the crop. Grain and straw yield were also recorded at harvest. 

Results 

The results revealed that at 15 DAS, main plots, where land preparation was done by zero 

tillage followed by SSB with application of broad-spectrum herbicide to destroy the germinated 

weeds had significantly lower weed population followed by plots where land preparation was 

done by tillage followed by SSB with application of broad-spectrum herbicide. Significantly 

higher weed population was noticed in the treatment with tillage followed by SSB technique 

and destroying the germinated weeds by tillage (repeated tillage). At 30 DAS, plots where land 




was prepared by tillage followed by SSB with application of broad-spectrum herbicide had 

significantly lower weed population followed by zero tilled plots. Increase in weed population 

at 30 DAS in zero tilled plots compared to that at 15 DAS may be due to the increase in the 

germination of grass weeds from the soil surface, which is a problem in conservation 

agriculture. Species wise observation on weeds at 30 DAS clearly revealed the significantly 

higher populations of grass weeds in zero tilled plots followed by plots with repeated tillage 

and herbicide application. Giller et al., (2009) reported that small-seeded weeds that require 

light to break dormancy will likely become the dominant weed species in minimum and notillage 

systems, including in the first years of adoption of conservation agriculture. Population 

of broad-leaved weeds and sedges were significantly higher in repeated tillage than zero tilled 

plots both at 15 and 30 DAS. Repeatedly tilled plots recorded significantly higher total weed 

dry weight at 60 DAS. 

Various weed management strategies were adopted in the sub plots considering the severe 

infestation of weeds viz., Fimbristylis, Cyperus, Leptochloa, Echinochloa, Isachne, 

Monochoria, Lindernia and Ludwigia. Pre-emergence application of Pyrazosulfuron @ 0.02 

kg ai/ha at 3-5 DAS resulted in significantly lower weed population at 15 DAS in all sub plots 

irrespective of the main plots. Application of pre-emergent herbicide reduced the weed 

population by 70% compared to weedy check at 15 DAS. Singh et al. (2009) reported that 

application of pre and post–emergent herbicides is an effective solution for weed control in 

zero-tilled DSR either with residue or cover crops as it produced statistically similar yield to 

the puddled transplanted rice. At 30 DAS, weed population in all herbicide applied plots were 

on par with that of hand weeded plots. Total weed dry weight at 60 DAS in all the sub plots 

with herbicides were on par and significantly higher than hand weeding. In all the herbicide 

combinations evaluated, it was observed that sedges were the difficult-to-control weeds 

compared to broad leaved and grass weeds. There was 40% reduction in the total weed dry 

weight in the weedy check plots with zero tillage compared to that in repeated tillage which 

reveals the advantage of zero tillage in preventing weed seed germination. 

The interaction of main plot treatment with sub plots was also observed to be significant for 

various parameters under study. Comparison of yield in the different main plot treatments 

revealed superiority of zero tillage. Yield obtained in zero tilled plots was significantly higher 

than that in repeatedly tilled plots (tillage both at land preparation and after SSB). Eventhough 

the yield obtained from zero tilled plots was on par with plots with tillage (only at land 

preparation), significantly lower weed population in zero tilled plots will contribute to less soil 

seed bank enrichment than repeated tillage, which will be observed only after two or three 

cropping seasons. In all the main plots, the sub plots with pre-emergent herbicide application 

followed by post-emergent application gave significantly superior yield. This yield advantage 


364 | Page



may be due initial reduction in weed population on application of pre-emergent herbicide 

compared to various combinations of post-emergent herbicides alone. 

Conclusion 

Land preparation with zero tillage followed by stale seed bed with the application of broadspectrum 

herbicide reduced the weed population by 40 per cent. Yield obtained in zero tilled 

plots was significantly higher than that in repeatedly tilled plots. Weeds during the crop season 

in the zero tilled field can be effectively managed by application of pre-emergent herbicide 

Pyrazosulfuron @ 0.02 kg ai/ha at 3-5 DAS followed by post-emergent herbicide Penoxulam 

+ Cyhalofop butyl @ 0.135 kg ai/ha at 18-20 DAS. 

References 

Giller K E.,Witter E., Corbeels M and Tittonell, P. 2009. Conservation agriculture and 

smallholder farming in Africa: The heretics’ view. Field Crops Res., 114: 23–34. 

Sharma A R., and Singh V P. 2014. Integrated weed management in conservation agriculture 

systems. Indian J. Weed Sci., 46(1): 23–30. 

Sims B., Corsi S., Gbehounou G., Kienzle J., Taguchi M. and Friedrich T. 2018. Sustainable 

Weed Management for Conservation Agriculture: Options for Smallholder Farmers. 

Agriculture. 8(8):118. 

T3-14P-1485 

Screening Potato Varieties and Advanced Clones for Maximizing Organic 

Tuber Productivity 

Pooja Mankar, Sanjay Rawal, S.K. Luthra, V.K. Gupta and Manoj Kumar 

ICAR- Central Potato Research Institute, Regional Station, Modipuram, 

Meerut (UP)-250110 India 

Potato is the fourth most important crop in world after rice, wheat, and maize, and is a major 

food crop which is consumed by over a billion people. It is identified as the future food and 

has immense potential for global as well as national food and nutritional food security. Potato 

production, area, and yield have increased by 34, 9.3, and 3.7 times, respectively over the past 

seven decades in the country. Now, India holds second position in potato production at global 

level as third advance estimate of 2021-22 has estimated that total production, area, and 

productivity of potato is around 54.2 m tonnes, 2.24 m ha and 2.4 t/ha, respectively 

(Anonymous, 2022). The prevailing domestic scenario of this crop requires diversified 

production strategy and further utilization in the national and international markets. One way 

may be organic potato cultivation which has good avenues for domestic and export markets. 




Organic farming has gained significant attention and is developing as a dynamic ‘Alternate 

Farming System’. Key objective of organic production system is quality food production for 

humans and animals, while maintaining ecological balance and economic viability. Safety, 

protection, and conservation of the environment are the need of hour and organic cultivation 

practices ensure this. It is becoming popular in domestic and international markets as 

consumers are becoming more serious about food quality, especially chemical residues. This 

awareness and demand for quality food have created new market opportunities for farmers with 

premium selling prices and potato is no exception to all these trends. To meet the future 

challenges of increasing food demand, while simultaneously decreasing its environmental 

impact, efforts on increasing the performance of organic production systems, e.g., improving 

nutrient use efficiency are necessary. One of the major hurdles in organic potato production is 

the choice of variety as this is the major yield limiting factor. As per the National Standards for 

Organic Production (NSOP) norms, species and varieties cultivated under organic farming 

should be adapted to local soil and climatic conditions and should be resistant to pests and 

diseases. Genetic diversity should be taken into consideration while choosing a variety of crops 

to be taken in organic cultivation. Therefore, identification and development of varieties would 

play a very significant role in this direction. With this background, field experiments were 

conducted to screen the advanced clones better than newly released popular varieties for 

harnessing the potential of this crop in organic nutrition and have tuber yields comparable to 

the conventional inorganic system. 

Methodology 

Eighty-four advanced clones and varieties were evaluated in sandy loam soils of ICAR-CPRI 

RS, Modipuram research farm during 2019-21 in randomized block design having three 

replications. Potential genotypes were selected based on their productivity under organic 

nutrition and percent yield maintenance while comparing with the conventional inorganic 

system. These were evaluated in the field during subsequent crop seasons for their suitability 

under organic nutrition. Recommended packages of practices as per NPOP norms were 

followed for these genotypes to raise a successful crop. Planting was done in the last week of 

October and the haulm cutting date varied due to different maturity periods (80-110 days) of 

different genotypes. All observations related to emergence, growth and productivity were 

recorded as per the schedule during the crop season. Tuber harvesting and grading were done 

manually, and tubers of >20 mm size were considered marketable. Data from two crop seasons 

were pooled and analyzed using IRRISTAT statistical software and inferences were drawn 

(IRRI, 1999). 


366 | Page



Results 

The marketable and total tuber number (000 ha -1 ) had significant variations among different 

genotypes, and also due to the source of nutrition. Interactions were also significant for 

marketable and total tuber number. Marketable and total tuber numbers decreased markedly in 

the organic system over inorganic nutrition. Alike, tuber numbers, marketable and total tuber 

yield (t ha -1 ) varied significantly among various genotypes and due to different nutritional 

approaches. Interaction effect for both the factors was also significant. Two main challenges 

i.e. disease and nutrient management have been identified in organic potato production (Finckh 

et al., 2006). Among all the screened clones and varieties, advanced hybrid MS/15-1001 

attained the highest mean marketable productivity (22.0) remaining comparable to hybrid 

HT/12-751 (19.2), MS/16-1156 (19.1) and CP4409 (18.0). Total tuber yield also followed a 

similar trend. Tuber dry matter content (%) was acceptable for the best-performing clones and 

was above 18%. Lombardo et al. (2012) also worked on similar lines and could identify two 

clones comparable to popular variety in Italy in terms of their higher total yield and nutritional 

value (total protein and vitamin C content) under organic cultivation system. Green manure at 

higher rates (400 and 200 Kg/ha) increased the accumulation of dry matter in potato above 

ground parts and tubers as observed by Mohamed et al. (2017). As compared to inorganic 

nutrition, better tuber dry matter content was observed in organic nutrition with better taste and 

flavour. 

Tuber yield (t/ha) 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

MS/15-1001 

HT/12-751 

CP 4409 

MS/16-1156 

MS/14-505 

MSP/17-07 

K. Lima 

MS/15-1422 

MCIP/17-89 

HT/MK-21 

MS/11-664 

MS/15-758 

K. Mohan 

K. Sangam 

HT/12-830 

MS/9-723 

K. FryOm 

MS/13-391 

MCIP/16-209 

K.Ganga 

MS/14-243 

MS/14-1381 

MCIP/9-11 

K. Chipsona-4 

K. Chipsona-3 

K. Lalit 

MS/9-2196 

K. Lauvkar 

MSP/16-300 

K Chipsona-1 

K. Thar-2 

MCIP/11-185 

MS/8-1148 

MS/13-527 

HT/MK-8 

K. Chandramukhi 

MP/12-105 

MSP/16-307 

MS/16-1157 

K. Neelkanth 

MS/15-1505 

ATL 

K. Karan 

K. Kiran 

Lady Rosetta 

MSH/14-7 

MS/16-375 

MSP/16-216 

MSP/15-60 

K. Pukhraj 

Marketable Non-marketable Dry matter (%) 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

Tuber dry matter content(%) 

Yield performance of advanced clones and varieties during 2019-21 (Pooled means) 

Conclusion 

Screening and evaluation of potential advanced clones having wide base of parental lines can 

help in attaining sustainable potato yields in organic nutrition as some of the advanced hybrids 

like MS/15-1001, HT/12-751, CP4409 and MS/16-1156 have shown their yield and qualitative 




potential in comparison to popular new varieties like Kufri Lima, Kufri Lohit, Kufri Sangam, 

Kufri FryOm and Kufri Ganga. 

References 

Anonymous. 2022. Department of agriculture and farmers welfare. (https/ agricoop.nic.in/ en/ 

statistics/ horticulture- crops- 2019- 20- second- advance- estimates, 10 November 2022). 

Mohamed E.M., Watthier M., Zanuncio J.C. and Santos R.H. 2017. Dry matter accumulation 

and potato productivity with green manure. Idesia, 35(1): 79-86. 

Lombardo S., Monaco A.L., Pandino G., Parisi B. and Mauromicale G. 2012. The phenology, 

yield and tuber composition of ‘early’ crop potatoes: A comparison between organic and 

conventional cultivation systems. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 28(1): 50- 

58. 

Finckh M.R., Schulte-Geldermann E. and Bruns C. 2006 Challenges to organic potato farming: 

Disease and nutrient management. Potato Research, 49: 27- 42. 

IRRI. 1999. IRRISTAT for windows version 4.0., Biometrics unit, IRRI, Los Banos, 

Philippines. 

T3-15P-1208 

Assessment of Performance of Drought Tolerant Rice Variety in Koshi region 

P.K. Chaudhary, M.K. Ray and M. Kumar 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Supaul, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kishanganj, BAU Sabour. 

Rice is one of the main crop of Bihar but its productivity is very poor. More than 60% rice area 

is concentrated in Bihar in low productivity zone and this zone contributes more than 50% of 

rice production of the State. Area coverage under rice with high yielding varieties is about 65% 

and irrigation facility is available for about 40% rice area in the State. If the productivity of 

low productivity zone is increased, the rice production can be increased considerably without 

increasing the area under rice. Inspite of the good soil condition and plenty of critical natural 

resource i.e water the overall rice productivity and overall system productivity of the district 

are low. The productivity of major crops in the district is less that the state and national average 

except maize. In case of rice the productivity is very less and it is about 50 to 60 percent of 

state and national average. The low productivity of rice has been observed due to unavailability 

of suitable, stress tolerant rice variety as per the land topography and delayed transplanting. 

This study has been focused on the performance of drought tolerant short duration paddy 

variety Sahbhagi dhan demonstrated in different year. 


368 | Page



Methodology 

This study was carried out in adopted villages of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Supaul under 

NICRA project during kharif season in different year. The demonstrations on stress tolerant 

paddy variety Sahbhagi dhan were conducted in three different adopted villages i.e. 

Sadanandpur, Bishanpur and Besa of Supaul district in Bihar over the period. The Supaul 

district is situated adjust to Koshi river and the river flows across the district. This particular 

variety was chosen for demonstration because of suitability of soil and climatic condition. The 

performance of Sahbhagi dhan were compared with local variety known as Butraj. All the 

participating farmers were trained on various aspects of rice production technologies and 

recommended agronomic practices. The soil of demonstration site was slightly acidic in nature 

(pH-5.5 to 6.5) with sandy loam in texture. The normal annual rainfall of the district was 1344 

mm and more than 85% of it was received during rainy season. In year 2018-19 two dry spell 

of one week in the month of June and one dry spell of one week in the month of July and 

August each were observed. Whereas in year 2019-20, June months was almost dry and one 

week dry spell in July month was also observed. It is clearly visible that the most of the 

precipitation has been occurred during the rainy season from June to September during south 

west monsoon. 

Results 

The demonstrated paddy variety Sahbhagi dhan has shown stress tolerance capacity up to 10- 

15 days which is more than the local variety Bhutraj. The maximum yield obtained of Shabhagi 

was 34.0 q/ha in transplanted field where as the local variety maximum yield was less as 27.0 

q/ha. It has been observed that there is an increase in yield of 25 to 30 % during the study 

period. 

Yield performance and percentage yield increase 

Crop Year Demo 

Variety 

Demo yield 

(Q/ha) 

Check 

Variety 

Check 

(Q/ha) 

% increase 

Paddy 2016 Sahbhagi 34 Bhutraj 27 25.93 



Due the drought resistance performance of Sahbhagi dhan, the farmers are assured about yield. 

During the Kharif season of year 2018 there was two dry spell of one week in the month of 

June and one dry spell of one week in the month of July but Sahbhagi dhan performed well and 

maintained the yield. However, in year 2017 slightly less yield were observed because of 

submergence and loss of crop due to high precipitation in the month of July and August. In 

above table the highest yield increase of 30 % observed in year 2018. Whereas minimum yield 




increase of about 23 % observed in year 2017. Also, in year 2016 a significant increase in yield 

of about 26 % over conventional variety were observed. The average yield increase of 26.92 

percent was observed over the period. 

Year 

Demo 

Gross 

Cost 

Economic parameters of demonstration 

Demo 

Gross 

Return 

Demo 

Net 

Return 

Demo 

BCR 

Local 

Gross 

Cost 

Local 

Gross 

Return 

Local 

Net 

Return 

Local 

BCR 

2016 28000 54400 26400 1.94 25500 43200 17700 1.69 

2017 27000 51200 24201 1.89 26500 41600 15100 1.56 

2018 27000 59500 32500 2.2 25000 45500 20500 1.82 

A significant increase in net return and benefit cost ratio were observed in comparison of local 

variety over the period. In year 2018 the highest net returns of Rs. 32500.00 per hectare under 

demonstration was observed and it was about 58 % higher than the return from local variety 

which was Rs. 20500.00 per hectare. The benefit cost ratio of demonstration was also 

significantly higher than the local variety. 

Conclusion 

The above results revealed that the performance of demonstrated drought tolerant rice variety 

Sahbhagi Dhan was superior over the local variety Bhutraj due to the highly drought tolerant 

capacity and short duration with more productivity. The demonstrated variety Sahbhagi dhan 

was superior on all the major parameters. In Koshi region, Shabhagi dhan has shown its 

potential to dominate and replace the local variety because of higher yield and enhanced net 

return per hectare. 

T3-16P-1414 

Drought Tolerant and High Yielding Groundnut Varieties for Rainfed 

Ecosystem in Perambalur District 

M. Punithavathi, V. E. Nethaji Mariappn, P.Dominic Manoj and V. Sangeetha 

ICAR – Krishi Vigyan Kendra 

Hans Roever Campus, Valikandapuram, Perambalur District, Tamil Nadu - 621115 

kvk.perambalur@icar.gov.in; kvkroever@gmail.com 

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important Oilseed crop mainly cultivated under rainfed 

condition in Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu. In present investigation, three Groundnut 

varieties namely Dharani, Co7 and TMV 7 were used to assess the drought tolerance and 

yielding potential. Erratic rainfall and frequent drought during the crop growth period, 

Groundnut yield are generally low under rainfed condition. Drought during the critical crop 


370 | Page



growth stages are crucial for loss in yield of Groundnut varieties, but tolerant genotypes may 

give significant yield due to maintenance of physiological responses that were triggered during 

drought. In Perambalur district, On Farm Testing (OFT) was conducted by ICAR-Krishi 

Vigyan Kendra, Perambalur, Tamil Nadu, to assess suitable drought tolerant and high yielding 

Groundnut variety in terms of yield, acceptability and adoption potential during rabi 2020-21. 

The study revealed that Dharani recorded higher pod yield (2402 kg ha -1 ), high number of pods 

plant -1 (26) and optimum Plant population (26.3 plants m -2 ) as compared to farmers practice. 

The groundnut variety Dharani resulted in the highest shelling percentage (75%), while the 

lowest was registered with TMV 7 (71%). The Gross and Net returns were Rs. 1, 15,324 and 

Rs. 66,593 ha-1 respectively by cultivating Dharani as against Rs. 87, 523 and 41, 550 ha -1 in 

the check variety. Groundnut variety Dharani would be a better option for rainfed cultivation 

in Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu. 

T3-17P-1425 

Eco-Friendly Management of White Grub a Devastating Insect Pest of 

Rainfed Agro- Ecosystem in Uttarakhand Hills 

Kamal K. Pande, Harish Chandra Joshi, Nawal Kishor Singh and Himanshu Bhatt 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (ICAR-VPKAS), Kafligair- 263628, Bageshwar, Uttarakhand 

The Agriculture in the north western Indian Himalayan Hilly region is being practiced mostly 

by the marginal and resource poor farmers and they face several biotic and abiotic stresses due 

to the fragile ecosystem and harsh climatic conditions. In north western Himalaya majority of 

areas comes under rainfed condition and cropped areas is under well drained sandy soil along 

hill slopes which is favourable for growth and development of white grubs so the white grub is 

a major challenge in rainfed agriculture. White grubs are polyphagous insect with cosmopolitan 

nature. A grub is the larval stage of scarab beetle. More than 75 species of white grub have 

been recorded in Uttarakhand but Anomala dimidiata, Holotrichia longipennis and Holotrichia 

seticollis have been reported as the dominant white grub species in this state. The grub damages 

the root of many cultivated field and vegetable crops, whereas their adult beetles cause severe 

defoliation of many fruit and forest trees. The damage caused by the grub under rainfed 

conditions may vary on an average 10-30 % to sometime complete crop failure. Several 

insecticides are recommended for the control of white grub, but in fact the insecticide does not 

satisfactory control unless used in very high doses, which in turn become hazardous and 

uneconomical besides being unsustainable. The adult beetles are attracted towards light, hence 

light traps were found to be effective tool for trapping of adult of white grub so ICAR- 

Vivekanand Patvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora designed and developed VL 

White Grub Beetle Trap -1. This technology is low cost, ecofriendly and provides long term 

integrated insect pest management. Therefore, this ecofriendly novel technology was 




demonstrated for the management of white grub beetle by installing VL White Grub Beetle 

Trap -1 at NICRA adopted village Karalapalari of KVK Bageshwar under TDC-National 

Innovations of Climate Resilient Agriculture (TDC- NICRA) project. Karalapalari is located 

in Kafligair Tehsil, 35 km away from district head quarter Bageshwar, Uttarakhand. In this 

village 64 households are present and the village is having 45.61 ha total geographical area and 

20.05 ha rainfed cultivated area. 

Methodology 

Before NICRA project intervention the farmers of this village were mostly unaware about the 

life cycle and management of the white grub. Therefore, awareness programme for the farmers 

were conducted to adopt VL White Grub Beetle Trap -1. The light traps were installed at 

strategic locations for the management of white grub beetles in village Karalapaladi. Data 

collection for the trapped white grub beetles was done at weekly interval for five months 

starting from June 2022 till October 2022 with the participation of farmers. 

Results 

Very encouraging results were found and 1.32 lakh beetle were trapped between June to Oct 

2022 in the first year of installation of VL White Grub Beetle Trap -1. The data also showed 

that maximum trapping of white grub beetles was concentrated from second week of July to 

third week of August. While in first week of June and last week of October, it was the 

minimum. It is projected that this trapping of beetles will consequently result in 80-90% 

reduction in grub population. This huge reduction in beetle and grub population will ultimately 

improve the rainfed agro- ecosystem in a sustainable manner. 

T3-18P-1285 

Effect of Crop Geometry on Growth and Yield under Direct Seeded Hybrid 

Rice (Oryza sativa l.) Cultivars 

Ajoy Das*, Sujan Biswas and Uday Narayan Das 

Dhaanyaganga Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Murshidabad, West Bengal 

* ajoydasblp92@gmail.com 

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the major staple food grains for more than 50% of the world’s 

population. The option of intensifying the area under rice in the near future is limited. The 

major challenge is to achieve this gain with less water, labor, and chemicals, thereby ensuring 

long-term sustainability. Depending on water and labor paucity, farmers are altering either their 

rice establishment methods from transplanting to direct seeding in unpuddled soil with 

adopting DSR, it is possible to save water. Among the cultural technologies, planting density 

is one of the important components, the manipulation of which is an essence for optimizing 


372 | Page



yield. Improper spacing reduced yield up to 20-30% (IRRI, 1997). The optimum spacing 

ensures the plant to grow in both aerial and underground parts through efficient utilization of 

solar radiation and nutrients (Khan et al., 2005). Therefore, an attempt was made to test the 

yield potential of five rice cultivars under direct-seeded conditions with narrow and wider 

spacing. 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2021 at the experimental farm of 

Dhaanyaganga Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachi. The 

investigation was laid out in a split-plot design replicated thrice. The treatments comprised five 

cultivars (Arize 6444, PHB 71, PRH 10, MTU 7029 and HUR 105) assigned to main plots. 

Each main plot was further divided into two sub-plots to accommodate two crop geometry 

treatments i.e. 20 × 10 and 25 × 25 cm 2 . A herbicide mixture of bispyribac sodium @ 25g ha -1 

and Azimsulphuron @30 g ha -1 was also applied at 18 DAS to control weed flora. Plant height, 

number of tillers m -2 and dry matter accumulation m -1 running row, leaf area index among crop 

growth characters, yield attributing characters like panicle length, panicle weight, number of 

effective tillers m -2 , number of grains panicle -1 and test weight. All the data obtained from the 

experiment were statistically analyzed using the F-test (Gomez and Gomez, 1984). 

Results 

Cultivars 

The maximum plant height and number of tillers m -2 were recorded in Arize 6444. It also had 

significantly higher dry matter accumulation m -1 running row and leaf area index than PHB 71, 

PRH 10, MTU 7029, and HUR 105. At 90 DAS, the plant height of PRH 10 was statistically 

at par with Arize 6444 and in the case of a number of tillers, m -2 Arize 6444 became statistically 

similar with PRH 10 and MTU 7029. In contrast, HUR 105 recorded lesser growth attributing 

characters. Yield attributing characters like panicle weight, number of effective tillers m -2 , 

number of grains panicle -1 and test weight of Arize 6444 was significantly higher than other 

cultivars. Yield attributes in HUR 105 were lesser in most of the characters like panicle length, 

panicle weight, number of effective tillers m -2, and number of grains panicle -1 than the rest of 

the cultivars. The minimum test weight was recorded in MTU 7029. Consequently, Arize 6444 

recorded the highest grain yield. The higher values of yield attributes recorded in Arize 6444 

than other cultivars were due to higher growth attributes and hybrid vigor. 

Spacing 

Square spacing (25 × 25 cm 2 ) recorded more plant height, dry matter accumulation, number of 

tillers m -2 , and leaf area index in comparison to 20 × 10 cm 2 . Differences in plant height at both 

spacings were statistically at par. However, significantly higher dry matter accumulation m -1 




running row, the number of tillers m -2 , and leaf area index were recorded in square spacing (25 

× 25 cm 2 ) as compared to plant spacing (20 × 10 cm 2 ). In the case of yield attributing characters 

like panicle length, effective tillers m -2 , number of grains panicle -1 , and test weight were 

significantly higher at wider plant spacing (25 × 25 cm 2 ) as compared to narrow spacing (20 × 

10 cm 2 ). As a result, grain yield was significantly higher in wider plant spacing (25 × 25 cm 2 ) 

as compared to narrow spacing (20 × 10 cm 2 ). The improvement in the yield attributing 

characters and yield of Arize 6444 might be the result of better utilization of space, light, and 

other inputs mainly due to the reduced inter- and intra-plant competition which ultimately 

favored bolder grains at wider spacing transforming into grain yield. 

Conclusion 

Grain yield in cultivar Arize 6444 at 25 × 25 cm 2 and PHB 71 at 25 × 25 cm 2 was found superior 

to the rest of the cultivars. Rice hybrid Arize 6444 recorded significantly higher grain yield 

(56.14 q ha -1 ) compared to cultivar PHB 71 (53.16 q ha -1 ), MTU 7029 (51.23 q ha -1 ), PRH 10 

(51.02 q ha -1 ) and HUR 105 (42.67 q ha -1 ). 

Effect of cultivars and spacing on growth, yield attributing characters and yield in directseeded 

rice at 90 DAS 

Treatment 

Cultivar 

Plant 

height 

(cm) 

Dry 

matter 

m -1 

running 

row 

Number 

of tillers 

m -2 

Leaf 

area 

index 

(LAI) 

Panicle 

length 

(cm) 

Panicle 

weight 

(g) 

Effective 

tillers 

m -2 


grains 

panicle -1 

Test 

weight 

(g) 

Yield 

(Kg ha -1 ) 

Arize 6444 106.98 85.20 492.16 4.07 25.66 7.34 337.98 189.33 25.21 5614.90 

PHB 71 104.26 71.61 477.33 3.69 27.66 6.18 280.27 176.5 23.6 5361.30 

PRH 10 86.98 78.96 461.50 3.38 30 6.28 260.14 181.83 24.57 5102.50 

MTU 7029 64.65 73.49 486.83 3.75 22.16 6.03 288.13 154.17 18.38 5123.40 

HUR 105 83.61 64.02 456.16 3.40 20.83 5.61 238.24 145.83 20.96 4267.90 

SEm± 0.89 1.93 5.90 0.07 0.47 0.25 2.96 2.96 0.21 77.19 

CD 2.93 6.30 19.25 0.22 1.55 0.82 9.67 9.68 0.7 251.72 

Spacing (cm 2 ) 

20 × 10 89.40 79.27 465.46 3.92 24.8 6.54 275.99 156.86 22.08 4978.69 

25 × 25 89.20 70.04 484.13 3.39 25.73 6.00 285.91 173.20 23 5209.29 

SEm± 0.37 0.60 19.25 0.04 0.11 0.16 2.65 1.66 0.18 43.21 

CD NS 1.91 18.33 0.14 0.36 0.53 8.37 5.24 0.57 133.00 

References 

Gomez, K. A., and Gomaz, A. A. 1984. Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research. J. 

Wiley and Sons, Singapore. 


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IRRI (International Rice Research Institute), 1997. Rice Production Manual, p: 95. UPLB, Los 

Banos, The Philippines. 

Khan, M.B., Yasir, T.A. and Aman, M. 2005. Growth and yield comparison of different linseed 

genotypes planted at different row spacing. Int. J. Agric. Biol., 7: 515–517. 

T3-19P-1045 

Evaluation of Bamboo Species Suitable for Southern Telangana Region 

G. Venkatesh, K. Sammi Reddy, K.A. Gopinath, V.K. Singh and R. Rejani 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad- 500059 

Bamboos in India, is an exceptionally diverse plant group consisting of nearly 76 genera and 

136 species. It encompasses about 8.96 million hectares of forest area, which is equivalent to 

12.8 per cent of the total forest cover of the country. Bamboo is the fastest growing, 

multipurpose plant and has several advantages over tree species in-terms of sustainability; 

increase in green cover; provides various ecosystem services viz., carbon sequestration, 

preventing soil erosion and cultural rituals in rural areas (Kaushik et al. 2015; Tewari et al. 

2016). Bamboos have the potential to be incorporated into agroforestry systems in the semiarid 

tropics in place of conventional tree species. The major user of bamboo in India is the 

paper industry. In addition, bamboo supports a number of traditional cottage industries, 

including production of handicrafts, incense sticks, and related articles. So far systematic 

research on bamboo has been carried out in high rainfall/irrigated areas. Very limited work on 

bamboo has been done in dryland/rainfed areas for evaluating the performance of bamboo 

species. For extending bamboo cultivation, species suitability need to be tested and evaluated 

for dryland areas of Southern Telangana for large scale promotion and adoption. The aim of 

this study was to evaluate the growth performance of three bamboo species under rainfed 

Alfisols of Southern Telangana conditions. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was initiated at Hayatnagar Research Farm during 2021 with three bamboo 

species (germplasm resources of TFRI, Jabalpur) viz., Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa tulda and 

Bambusa nutans under rainfed Alfisol. The experiment was set up in randomized block design 

with four replications. For each species, 12 clumps (3 x 4; rows x clumps) per replication was 

established at 8 x 8 m spacing. Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) was applied as 

recommended by National bamboo Mission to the planted bamboo species. Bamboo species 

were planted during August, 2021. 




Results 

Initial observations on culm height, collar diameter and number culms per species were 

recorded after planting. The survival of bamboo species was 100% at the end of one year. 

Performance of three bamboo species were observed for culm height, 5 th internode diameter 

and total no of culms. Among the three species, Bambusa nutans (99.21 cm) recorded higher 

average culm height followed by Bambusa balcooa (70.9 cm) and Bambusa tulda (61.4 cm); 

whereas Bambusa balcooa (0.80 cm) recorded higher average collar diameter (0.80 cm) and 

total no of culms (82) followed by Bambusa nutans (0.59 cm and 68, respectively) and 

Bambusa tulda (0.52 cm and 52, respectively) at end of 06 months after planting. 

Conclusion 

Preliminary results indicated that, all three bamboo species performed well under rainfed 

conditions. 

References 

Kaushik, S., Singh, Y.P., Kumar, D., Thapliyal, M and Barthwal, S. 2015. Bamboos in India, 

ENVIS Centre on Forestry, National Forest Library and Information Centre. Forest 

Research Institute, Dehradun, 326 pp. 

Tewari, R.K., Ram, A., Dev, I., Sridhar, K.B and Singh, R. 2016. Farmers’ friendly technique 

for multiplication of bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris). Current Science 111(5): 886–889. 

T3-20P-1218 

Evaluation of Different Herbicides in kharif Sweet Corn (Zea mays 

saccharata. L) 

S.B. Tambare, G.D. Gadade, S.U. Pawar and B.V. Asewar 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani – 431402, Maharashtra. 

Sweet corn an excellent source of sugars, dietary fiber, vitamin-C, beta-carotene, niacin, 

calcium and potassium faces the problem of season-long weed competition which ultimately 

reflects into considerable yield loss. Weeds not only compete for light, water, nutrient and 

carbon dioxide but interfere with harvesting and increase the cost involved in crop production. 

Thus weeds in sweet corn reduce the green cob yield upto 56%. Weed management is a difficult 

task for kharif sweet corn due to slushy or hard field conditions that emerges as a result of 

aberrations of monsoon and scarcity of labour. Under such circumstances chemical weed 

management is more feasible, less laborious, cost effective and economical in sweet corn. 

Studies reported that herbicides controlled 65-90% of weed flora and gave 100-150% more 

maize yield than weedy check (Nadeem et al. 2006). Taking into consideration the above facts, 


376 | Page



the present investigation was undertaken with the objectives to study the effect of different preemergence 

and post-emergence herbicides on growth and yield of kharif sweet corn, weed 

control efficacy of different herbicides in kharif sweet corn and to work out the economics of 

different treatments. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted at research farm of AICRP on Irrigation Water 

Management, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani (MS) during kharif 

2021. The field experiment was laid out in randomized block design with eight treatments and 

replicated thrice. Treatment consisted of five different molecules of post emergence herbicides 

and for comparison one treatment each of pre-emergence herbicide, weedy check (unweeded 

control) and weed free treatment (2 Hand weeding). Seeds of sweet corn (Var. Sugar-75) were 

dibbled at the spacing of 60cm x 20cm on 29 June 2021. The recommended dose of NPK 

(150:75:75 NPK kg ha -1 ) and plant protection schedule was followed. 

Results 

The data furnished in Table revealed that green cob yield, GMR and NMR of sweet corn was 

significantly influenced by different weed management treatments. Weed free treatment (T 7) 

recorded significantly higher green cob yield and GMR of sweet corn, however it was 

comparable with application of PoE Mesotrione 2.27% w/w + Atrazine 22.7% w/w SC @ 875g 

a.i.ha -1 at 20-25 DAS (T 6), PE Atrazine @ 1 kg a.i. ha -1 + one hand weeding at 20 DAS (T 1) 

and PoE Tembotrione 34.4% SC 120g a.i.ha -1 at 20-25 DAS(T4). These findings are parallel 

with the earlier findings reported by Chhokar et al. (2019) wherein mesotrione and atrazine 

combination has synergistic effect, which ultimately helped in managing diverse weed flora in 

maize and enhancing its productivity. Due to cost effective weed management higher NMR 

was obtained in herbicidal treatments. Application of PoE Mesotrione 2.27% w/w + Atrazine 

22.7% w/w SC @ 875 g a.i.ha -1 at 20-25 DAS (T6) recorded significantly higher NMR and 

was at par with PE Atrazine @ 1 kg a.i. ha -1 + one hand weeding at 20 DAS (T 1), PoE 

Tembotrione 34.4% SC 120g a.i.ha -1 at 20-25 DAS (T4) and weed free treatment (T7). Similar 

trend was observed in respect of B:C ratio. 

Mean green cob yield, GMR and NMR of sweet corn as influenced by different weed 

management treatments 

Treatments 

T 1 : PE Atrazine @ 1 kg a.i. ha -1 + one hand 

weeding at 20 DAS 

Green cob 

yield (q ha -1 ) 

GMR 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

NMR 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

B:C 

Ratio 

162.62 167417 109834 2.89 




T 2: PoE Topramezone @ 33.6 g a.i.ha -1 at 20-25 

DAS . 

141.11 146152 90036 2.60 

T 3: PoE 2,4-D @1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 at 20-25 DAS 133.96 141053 89895 2.76 

T 4: PoE Tembotrione 34.4% SC 120g a.i.ha -1 at 20- 

25 DAS 

T 5: PoE Halosulfuron methyl @ 67.5g a.i.ha -1 at 

20-25 DAS 

T 6: PoE Mesotrione 2.27% w/w + Atrazine 22.7% 

w/w SC @ 875g a.i.ha -1 at 20-25 DAS 

157.62 163151 108192 2.97 

129.89 137848 81216 2.43 

165.09 169217 113934 3.06 

T 7: Weed free ( 2 Hand weeding) 167.98 171864 109382 2.75 

T 8: Weedy check (Unweeded control) 74.75 85448 35965 1.73 

SE + 6.06 6664 5722 _ 

C.D. (5%) 18.30 20121 17277 _ 

General mean 141.63 147769 92307 2.65 

Conclusion 

Based on the present findings, it can be concluded that application of PoE herbicide Mesotrione 

2.27% w/w + Atrazine 22.7% w/w SC @ 875 g a.i.ha -1 at 20-25 DAS or PE Atrazine @ 1 kg 

a.i. ha -1 + one hand weeding at 20 DAS or PoE Tembotrione 34.4% SC 120g a.i.ha -1 at 20-25 

DAS was found profitable, cost effective and one of the good alternative options for hand 

weeding. 

References 

Chhokar, R.S., Sharma, R.K., Gill, S.C and Singh, R.K. 2019. Mesotrione and atrazine 

combination to control diverse weed flora in maize. Indian Journal of Weed Science. 

51(2): 145-150 

Nadeem, M.A., Tufail, M.S and Tahir, M. 2006. Effect of different herbicides on growth and 

yield of spring maize (Zea mays L.). In: International Symposium on Sustainable 

crop improvement and integrated management, Faisalabad. Proceedings. Faisalabad: 

University of Agriculture, 2006. 


378 | Page



T3-21P-1420 

Evaluation of F3:4 Population for Seedling Stage Salinity Tolerance in Rice 

(Oryza sativa L.) 

M. Vani Praveena, P. Venkata Ramana Rao, B. Jyothi, Ch. Sreenivas and D. Ramesh 

Agricultural college, Bapatla, ANGRAU 

RARS, Maruteru-534122, ANGRAU 

ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR), Rajendranagar, Hyderbad-500030 

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is most widely consumed cereal crop with its demand expected to 

increase by 38% within 30 years (Ali et al. 2013). With increasing world population, there is a 

necessity to increase overall grain production by 1.5% every year, requiring a 35% increase in 

production by 2030 and greater than 70% by 2050. Hence, improving rice productivity is 

critical to maintain economic growth, food security and sustainable production. However, the 

increasing trend in rice production is severely hampered by various abiotic stresses arising due 

to climate change and environmental variabilities. In crop plants drought, salinity and 

alkalinity, nutrient toxicity or deficiency, flooding and poor drainage, high or low soil pH, high 

and low temperatures and heavy metals are some of the important abiotic stresses arising due 

to environmental factors which are complex thus limiting the crop production globally. Among 

these, drought and salinity have high impact on rice productivity, salinity being second 

important abiotic stress in rice after drought. In India about 6.73 million hectares of land is saltaffected, 

of which 3.77 and 2.96 million hectares are sodic and saline soils respectively. Rice 

is most sensitive to soil salinity at both vegetative and reproductive stages. At the seedling 

stage, salinity causes poor rice crop establishment, shorter roots/shoots, and smaller leaves 

leading to early plant mortality. Therefore, understanding seedling stage salinity tolerance is 

very important for early plant establishment under saline stress which could help the plant to 

achieve good vegetative growth later. So, the objective of the present investigation is to 

evaluate F3:4 population for seedling stage salinity tolerance and to identify the tolerant lines. 

Methodology 

A total of 205 F 3:4 population with two parents i.e., MTU 1061 (salt tolerant) and MTU 1121 

(salt susceptible) were screened for salinity tolerance at seedling stage in greenhouse following 

the standard protocol of IRRI with some modifications (Gregorio et al., 1997). The screening 

experiment was conducted in a complete randomized design with 2 replications. Two pregerminated 

seeds of 205 F3:4 lines with parents (MTU 1061 and MTU 1121) and checks (MTU 

1010 and FL 478) were placed on the styrofoam seedling float. A total 24 styrofoam sheets 

were used for screening all the 204 F3:4 lines. The seedling floats were placed inside the 

greenhouse. Initially, the seedlings were grown in normal water for two days, followed by 

nutrient solution for following two days in Yoshida medium (Yoshida et al., 1976). When the 




seedlings were at two leaf stage, they were subjected to initial salinity stress of EC=6 dSm -1 by 

adding NaCl to nutrient solution and the pH was adjusted to 5.0. After eight days of initial 

salinization, the EC was increased to 12 dSm -1 . Initial scoring of the selected individual plants 

was recorded at 10 days after initial salinization as per SES of IRRI (1997). The description of 

the standard evaluation score of 1 - 9 was presented in Table. The final score was recorded at 

16 days after initial salinization. 

Standard evaluation score (SES) of visual salt injury at seedling stage 

Score Observation Tolerance 

1 Normal growth, no leaf symptoms Highly tolerant 

3 Nearly normal growth, but leaf tips or few leaves whitish and rolled Tolerant 

5 Growth severely retarded, most leaves rolled; only a few are 

elongating 

Moderately Tolerant 

7 Complete cessation of growth; most leaves dry; some plants drying Susceptible 

9 Almost all plants dead or dying Highly susceptible 

Results 

F3:4 families were categorized according to standard evaluation scores recorded and presented in 

the Table 1 and Figure. In the present study, 204 F3:4 individuals derived from the cross between 

salt tolerant parent MTU1061 and salt susceptible parent MTU1121 were screened for salt 

tolerance at seedling stage following hydroponics system at two stress levels (EC=6 dS/m and 

EC=12 dS/m). Out of 204 genotypes screened for salt tolerance twelve genotypes showed tolerant 

reaction with SES of 3, forty-seven genotypes showed moderately tolerant reaction with a score of 

5 and twenty-four genotypes showed highly susceptible reaction with a score of 9. More than 

hundred genotypes manifested susceptible reaction with salt evaluation score of 7. Salt tolerance is 

governed by multiple factors, tolerant reaction of the genotypes in this study might be attributed by 

mechanisms like tissue tolerance, ion exclusion, compartmentalization, activity of different growth 

regulators, transcriptional factors and several stress combating pathways (Krishnamurthy et al., 

2020). 

Reaction of F 3:4 families against seedling stage salinity 

Score Count Salt tolerance 

3 12 Tolerant 

5 47 Moderately tolerant 

7 121 Moderately susceptible 

9 24 Highly susceptible 


380 | Page



150 

Count 

100 

50 

0 

3 5 

Score 

7 9 

Graphical distribution of genotypes falling under different salt tolerance levels 

References 

Ali, S., Gautam, R.K., Mahajan, R., Krishnamurthy, S.L., Sharma, S.K., Singh, R.K. and 

Ismail, A.M., 2013. Stress indices and selectable traits in SALTOL QTL introgressed rice 

genotypes for reproductive stage tolerance to sodicity and salinity stresses. Field Crops 

Res., 154: 65-73. 

Gregoria, G.B., Senadhira, D. and Mendoza, R.D., 1997. Screening rice for salinity 

tolerance (No. 2169-2019-1605). 

Krishnamurthy, S.L., Pundir, P., Warraich, A.S., Rathor, S., Lokeshkumar, B.M., Singh, N.K. 

and Sharma, P.C., 2020. Introgressed saltol QTL lines improves the salinity tolerance in 

rice at seedling stage. Front. Plant Sci, 11: 833. 

Yoshida, S., Forno, D.A., Cock, J.K. and Gomez, K.A., 1976. Routine procedure for growing 

rice plants in culture solution. In: Laboratory manual for physiological studies of rice. 3rd 

edn. The International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines, pp 61–65. 

T3-22P-1543 

Evaluation of Newer Insecticides Against Safflower Aphid, Uroleucon 

Compositae (Theobald) 

S.M. Gangurde, P.S. Neharkar, S.D. Bantewad and P.R. Zanwar 

Department of Agricultural Entomology, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Parbhani-431 402 (M.S.) -India 

Safflower, Carthamus tinctorius Linn. is the most important oilseed crop growing in the rabi 

season. The safflower crop is damaged by as high as 79 insect pests. The safflower aphid 

(Uroleucon Compositae Theobald) is the regular and most destructive pest in India. Therefore, 

it is the most important pest of safflower. Safflower aphids can be controlled by different 

insecticides recommended by many workers. Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 50, 70, and 100 




g.a.i./ha were found most effective than imidacloprid 17.8 SL and dimethoate 30 EC in 

reducing aphid population. Akashe et al. (2007) reported that thiamethoxam 0.005 percent was 

effective in the control of safflower aphids. The indiscriminate and frequent application of 

insecticides has created resistance development in the target pest, the presence of pesticide 

residues in seed and oil, destruction of natural enemies and different pollinators. It was, 

therefore necessary to evaluate the efficacy of different seed treatment insecticides as well as 

foliar application of insecticides to find out the insecticides harmful to the aphids and safer to 

the natural enemies and pollinators, especially honeybees. Therefore, the seed treatment 

insecticides and newer insecticides were evaluated to manage safflower aphids. 

Methodology 

A field trial was carried out to test the efficacy of insecticides against safflower aphids during 

the rabi season of 2020-21 and 2021-22 at the Research Farm of the Department of Agricultural 

Entomology, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani. The Seed treatment 

with imidacloprid 48 FS and thiamethoxam 30 FS was done before sowing and soil drenching 

of clothianidin 50 WDG was done 15 days after sowing as per the treatment. The sowing of 

safflower variety PBNS-12 was done in randomized block design with three replications by 

dibbling at a spacing of 45x20 cm. The first spray of insecticides was applied on the appearance 

of a sufficient population of safflower aphids while the second spray was given at an interval 

of 15 days as per the treatment. The observations on the number of aphids per 5 cm apical shoot 

length per plant were recorded a day before as a precount and 5, 7, 10, and 14 days after 

spraying of insecticide on five randomly selected plants from each plot. The seed yield of 

safflower from each plot was recorded separately at harvesting and the data on aphid count and 

seed yield were statistically analyzed as per the method suggested by Panse and Sukhatme 

(1965). 

Sr. 

No. 

Treatment 

Treatment details 

Dose 

1 Seed treatment with imidacloprid 48 FS 9 ml/kg seed 

2 Seed treatment with thiamethoxam 30 FS 10 ml/kg seed 

3 Soil drenching with clothianidin 50 WDG 2.5 g/10 lit. water 

4 Seed treatment with imidacloprid 48 FS and one foliar spray 

of spinetoram11.70 SC 

5 Seed treatment with imidacloprid 48 FS and one foliar spray 

of cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD 

6 Seed treatment with thiamethoxam 30 FS and one foliar spray 


9 ml/kg seed and 420 ml/ha 




382 | Page



Results 

7 Seed treatment with thiamethoxam 30 FS and one foliar spray 


8 Soil drenching with clothianidin 50 WDG and one foliar spray 


9 Soil drenching with clothianidin 50 WDG and one foliar spray 



2.5 g/10 lit. water 

and 420 ml/ha 

2.5 g/10 lit. water 

and 900 ml/ha 

10 Two foliar sprays of spinetoram11.70 SC 420 ml/ha 

11 Two foliar sprays of cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD 900 ml/ha 

12 Untreated control -- 

It is revealed from results that the minimum overall mean number of aphid population/5 cm 

apical shoot length/plant was recorded in the treatment with two foliar sprays of 

spinetoram11.70 SC @ 420 ml/ha (9.93 aphids/ 5 cm apical shoot length/plant) which was at 

par with the treatment with two foliar sprays of cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD @ 900 ml/ha (11.22 

aphids/ 5 cm apical shoot length/plant). The next better treatment in order of efficacy were seed 

treatment with thiamethoxam 30 FS @ 10 ml/kg seed & one foliar spray of spinetoram11.70 

SC @ 420 ml/ha and seed treatment with thiamethoxam 30 FS @ 10 ml/kg seed & one foliar 

spray of cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD @ 900 ml/ha which were at par with each other by recording 

15.08 and 17.35 aphids/ 5 cm apical shoot length/plant, respectively. However, the treatments 

with seed treatment with imidacloprid 48 FS @ 9 ml/kg seed & one foliar spray of 

spinetoram11.70 SC @ 420 ml/ha , seed treatment with imidacloprid 48 FS @ 9 ml/kg seed & 

one foliar spray of cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD @ 900 ml/ha, soil drenching with clothianidin 

50 WDG & one foliar spray of spinetoram11.70 SC and soil drenching with clothianidin 50 

WDG & one foliar spray of cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD which were at par with each other by 

recording 25.21, 27.21, 29.94 and 31.96 aphids/ 5 cm apical shoot length/plant, respectively. 

In an untreated control, higher population of 181.13 aphids/ 5 cm apical shoot length/plant was 

recorded. 

Seed yield: The results showed that the seed yield of safflower under all the treatments were 

significantly superior over untreated control. The treatment with two foliar sprays of 

spinetoram11.70 SC @ 420 ml/ha was recorded highest seed yield of 14.63 q/ha which was at 

par with the treatment with two foliar sprays of cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD @ 900 ml/ha (14.24 

q/ha). The treatments with seed treatment with thiamethoxam 30 FS @ 10 ml/kg seed & one 

foliar spray of spinetoram11.70 SC @ 420 ml/ha and seed treatment with thiamethoxam 30 FS 

@ 10 ml/kg seed & one foliar spray of cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD @ 900 ml/ha which recorded 

12.91 and 12.56 q/ha seed yield, respectively. The next better treatments were seed treatment 

with imidacloprid 48 FS @ 9 ml/kg seed & one foliar spray of spinetoram11.70 SC @ 420 

ml/ha, seed treatment with imidacloprid 48 FS @ 9 ml/kg seed & one foliar spray of 




cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD @ 900 ml/ha, soil drenching with clothianidin 50 WDG & one foliar 

spray of spinetoram11.70 SC and soil drenching with clothianidin 50 WDG & one foliar spray 

of cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD which recorded seed yield in the range of 9.82 to 11.56 q/ha. 

Conclusion 

The overall results on bio efficacy of insecticides revealed that the treatments with two foliar 

sprays of spinetoram 11.70 SC @ 420 ml/ha and the treatment with two foliar sprays of 

cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD @ 900 ml/ha were found most effective for the control of safflower 

aphid and in obtaining higher seed yield. 

References 

Akashe, V.B., Ghadge, S.M., Gud, M.A., Kale, S.D., Kankal, V.Y. and Deshpande, A.N., 2007. 

Efficacy of some newer insecticides for the control of safflower aphid (Uroleucon 

compositae Theobald). In Abst.ISOR Nation Semi. January 29-31, pp.191-192. 

Panse, V.G. and Sukhatme, P.V., 1965. Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers, ICAR, 

New Delhi. 

T3-23P-1191 

Evaluation of STRVs under Different Crop Establishment System in Rainfed 

Stress-Prone Upland Rice Ecosystem of Eastern Uttar Pradesh 

Kajal Verma* and U. P. Singh 

Institute of Agricultural sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India-221005 

*kajal@bhu.ac.in 

Globally, rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important food grains. In India, out of 44 m 

ha of total rice producing area about 45 per cent is irrigated, 33 per cent is rainfed lowland, 15 

per cent is rainfed upland and 7 per cent is flood prone. As major portion (55 per cent) of rice 

producing area is rainfed, crop often suffers from a variety of stresses. In recent past, the area 

under rice has decreased due to increased cost on transplanting and weeding operations. At the 

same time, delay in transplanting due to labour shortage and non-availability of irrigation 

water at the peak period causes yield reduction and less profit (Gangwaret al., 2008). Hence, 

the major challenge is to mitigate the adverse effects of changing climate so that growth in 

rice production can be sustained and food security can be achieved. To increase the 

productivity of stress-prone ecosystems, a combination of improved varieties and crop 

management options that are more tolerant to volatile climate under stress-prone environment 

is necessary to ensure food security and at the same time provide viable incomes for resource 

poor rice farmers (Haefeleet al., 2010, Singh et al., 2014). As all stress tolerant rice varieties 


384 | Page



(STRVs) do not perform same under different establishment systems, thus site-specific 

experimentation is required to evaluate explore their performance. Therefore, present research 

evaluated appropriate crop establishment and STRVs for better stress tolerance, enhanced 

yield stability and profitability under rainfed stress-prone environment. 

Methodology 

The present investigation was carried out at the Agricultural Research Farm, Institute of 

Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh during kharif season 

of 2017 and 2018 for evaluating the performance of STRVs under different crop establishment 

methods in rainfed upland ecosystem. The experiment consisted of two factors i.e. STRVs and 

crop establishment systems. Research trial was laid out in split-plot design with three crop 

establishment systems i.e. puddled transplanted, direct drill seeding on flat bed, direct seeding 

on furrow irrigated raised bed (FIRB) in main plots and five STRVs i.e. DRR42, DRR44, 

Sukha dhan5, Sukhadhan 6, Sarjoo 52 in sub plots and was replicated thrice. The allocation of 

treatments was based on principles of randomization. 

Results 

Analysis showed that significantly higher growth and yield attributes was recorded in direct 

seeding on raised bed than with puddling method of crop establishment. Among different 

STRVs, better growth and yield attributes was recorded for DRR 44 followed by DRR 42, 

Sarjoo 52 and Sukhadhan 6 while minimum growth and yield attributes was recorded for 

Sukhadhan 5. Due to better moisture retention in direct seeding on raised bed, improvement in 

yield attributes occurred resulting in greater stress tolerance and higher yield. The highest net 

return and B:C for rice was also obtained from direct seeding on raised bed followed by direct 

drill seeding on flat and puddled transplanting as Higher cost was incurred for tillage operations 

under conventional system. 

400 

350 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

No. of tillers per m2 at 90 DAS 

Dry matter accumulation at 90 DAS(g m-1) 

0 

Crop 

establishment 

systems (CE) 

CE1: Puddle 

transplanting 

CE2: Direct 

drill seeding on 

flat 

CE3: Direct 

seeding on 

raised bed 

(FIRB) 

Varieties 

(STRVs) 

V1: DRR 42 V2: DRR 44 V3: Sukha 

Dhan 5 

V4: Sukha 

Dhan 6 

V5: Sarjoo 52 

Influence of STRVs and crop establishment systems on growth attributes of rice under rainfed stressprone 

rice ecosystem 




Conclusion 

Based on the results, it could be concluded that establishment of rice by direct seeding on raised 

bed/direct drill seeding on flat with stress tolerant rice varieties DRR 44/DRR42 would be 

useful inbetter stress tolerance and higher yield stability under rainfed stress-prone 

environment of eastern Uttar Pradesh. 

References 

Gangwar, K.S., Gill, M.S., Tomar O.K. and Pandey. D.K. Effect of crop establishment methods 

on growth, productivity and soil fertility of rice (Oryza sativa) - based cropping 

systems. Indian J.Agron., 53(2):102-106, 2008. 

Haefele, S.M., A.M. Ismail, D.E. Johnson, C. Vera Cruz and B. Samson. “Crop and Natural 

Resource Management for Climate-Ready Rice in Unfavorable Environments:Coping 

with Adverse Conditions and Creating Opportunities”. Paper from the CURE 

Workshop on Climate Change, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 2010. 

Singh S., Singh U.P., Singh R.K., Haefele S. and Ismail A.M. 2014. Climate-ready rice 

leveraging synergy of tolerant varieties and good management for better system 

productivity in flood-affected rainfed lowlands. In:4 th international Rice Congress, 

Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 1180. 

T3-24P-1050 

High Resolution Dissection of Photosystem II Electron Transport Under 

Elevated CO2 and Elevated Temperature Under Carbon dioxide and 

Temperature Gradient Chambers (CTGC) in Pearl Millet 

(Pennisetum glaucum L.) 

Arun K. Shanker * , M. Vanaja, S. K. Yadav, M. Prabhakar and V. K. Singh 

ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 

* arunshank@gmail.com 

Heat stress tends to impede and restrict the efficiency of photosynthesis, chlorophyll 

fluorescence, and maximum photochemical quantum yield in plants based on their 

characteristic ability to interfere with the electron transport system in photosystem II. Elevated 

CO2 has beneficial effects on photosynthesis and these two situations can have multifarious 

effects on photosystem II. An experiment was conducted in under Carbon dioxide and 

Temperature Gradient Chambers in Pearl Millet. We attempted a high-resolution dissection of 

electron transport in PSII with studies on chlorophyll a fast fluorescence kinetics and Non- 

Photochemical Quenching (NPQ) under elevated CO 2 and three gradients of elevated 


386 | Page



temperature in pearl millet. Our results indicate that Oxygen Evolution Complex (OEC) 

damage is the primary effect of heat stress and is not seen in the elevated CO 2 conditions. Low 

exciton absorption flux in heat stress caused an electron transport traffic jam in the donor side 

of PSII. Our results indicate that the functional state of photosystem II has differentially 

sensitivity to heat and elevated CO 2. Maximum quantum yield of Photosystem II 

photochemistry reduced in G2 and G3 gradient chambers in both elevated temperature and 

elevated CO 2. C 4 plants have a higher temperature optimum for photosynthesis. The driving 

force for higher dry matter production under eCO 2 in combination with temperature is more 

due to an optimum temperature rather than elevated CO2. Elevated CO2 mitigated the adverse 

effect of G1(Ambient + 1.5 ± 0.5℃) on photosystem II electron transport. 

We bring out the mechanism by which maximum quantum yield of Photosystem II 

photochemistry reduced in G2 and G3 gradient chambers in both elevated temperature and 

elevated CO 2. It was shown that OEC was affected in the plants reflecting in low 

photosynthetic efficacy in the higher gradients of temperature and was not affected by elevated 

CO 2. The possible reason for this was seen as C4 plants have a higher temperature optimum 

for photosynthesis. A model (Fig.) was developed to show how photosystem II was affected 

by eCO2 and high temperature. 

Electron transport model of PSII under eCO2 and G1 and G2 gradients of high temperature 




T3-25P-1470 

Impact of Adoption on Improved Varieties of Chickpea (Cicer Arietinum) 

on Yield Performance Under NICRA Village of Ratlam District in Madhya 

Pradesh 

Gyanendra Pratap Tiwari, Sarvesh Tripathy* and Jitendra Bhandari 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jaora, Ratlam, M.P-457001 

* sarveshtripathy@gmail.com 

The adoption pattern of improved varieties of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and their impact 

on farm income in NICRA village of Ratlam district with small household’s farmers spread 

over village Nawabganj and Sabalgrah during 2021 and 2022. Farmers of this region mostly 

preferred local varieties of chickpea as compared to improved varieties (JG-14 and RVH-202). 

The major constraints expressed by farmers in the adoption of improved varieties of chickpea 

included: low awareness of the new varieties; lack of pest-resistant varieties; non-availability 

of seeds of improved varieties; lack of access to credit; high cost of seeds; and lack of short or 

extra short duration varieties. The physical and financial performance of JG-14 and RVG-202 

were found to be better as compared to local varieties of chickpea. The result shows that the 

rate of adoption pattern of seed replacement of improved varieties increased up to 11% in year 

2022. The finding put in place a system for demonstrating the production potential of the new 

and promising chickpea varieties and providing timely information, credit, inputs and market 

support to accelerate the adoption and production of chickpeas in the state. The results also 

provide deep insight to stakeholders of chickpea not only to penetrate in seed markets but also 

help in deciding how to design an R&D program as well. 

T3-26P-1489 

Impact of Nutritional Manipulation in Cattle of Saline Coastal Areas of 

Sundarban for Stress Management 

C. Majhi 1 , M.H. Molla 1 , K. Pal 1 , S. Banerjee 1 , A. Nayak 1 , P.K. Pathak 1 , B. Tudu 1 , F.H. 

Rahaman 2 and N.J. Maitra 3 

1 North 24 Parganas Krishi Vigyan Kendra, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, 

Ashokenagar, North 24 Parganas, 

2 ICAR-ATARI, Kolkata 

3 West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Belgachia, Kolkata 

kvkashoke@gmail.com 

Climate change is an ever-growing challenge throughout the world now-a-days. Rise of 

temperature, recurrent events of natural calamities, erratic climatic aberration, rise of salinity 

in environment are leading to heat stress, decreased productive and reproductive performance, 


388 | Page



increasing vector borne diseases and declining immunogenic response observed in livestock of 

coastal areas of Sundarban. Cattle, the main milk producing animals at the area, are directly 

affected through different biotic and abiotic stress leading to economic loss of farmers. The 

present study was aimed to reduce the heat stress by nutritional manipulation through 

supplementation of different fodders. The study shows that among different treatments 

supplementation of matured Super Napier fodder @ 10 kg / day / animal with market available 

cattle feed @ 2 Kg / day /animal showed significant (p < 0.05) ameliorative effect against heat 

stress observed through body temperature, respiration rate, blood cortisol level, milk and body 

weight parameters within the time period of June to September. 

T3-27P-1188 

Management of Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda in Organic 

Sorghum Cultivation 

G. Shyam Prasad, J. Stanley, S. Aruna Sai, K. Srinivasa babu and B. Gangaiah 

ICAR- Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad- 500 030, Telangana 

Sorghum bicolor (L). Moench is one of the important crops for human and animal consumption, 

particularly in the semi-arid tropics and south Asian countries. It is grown in hot climate and 

best suited for drought conditions as it exhibits morphological adaptations for dry spells 

(Ramatoulaye et al. 2016). Sorghum is affected by many insect pests like shoot fly, stem borers, 

shoot bug, aphids, white grubs etc. Recently, fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda 

(JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is being reported as the major pest causing economic 

losses. FAW is a highly polyphagous insect pest that attacks more than 80 plant species, 

Majorly, maize, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, and vegetable crops in India (Prasanna et al. 2018). 

The young caterpillars of FAW start feeding on the leaves, that shows patches on the leaves 

called windows. By stage 4, the caterpillar will be bigger and have reached the whorl, where it 

does the most damage, resulting in ragged holes in the leaves. Feeding on young plants can kill 

the growing point, resulting in reducing the growth of new leaves and cobs. Though there are 

many insecticides recommended for the management of this pest, it is needed to have a biointensive 

pest management module for sorghum farmers as the crop is grown mostly under 

organic farming condition. 

Methodology 

A field trail was conducted at research farm of ICAR - Indian Institute of Millets Research, 

Hyderabad, Telangana. India during two consecutive Rabi seasons of 2018-2019 and 2019- 

2020 to evaluate the efficacy of biocontrol agents in sorghum. The experiment was laid out in 

randomized block design (RBD), with seven treatments viz., T1 (Trichogramma pretiosum 1 

card per acre), T2 (T1 + NBAIR Bt 2%), T3 (T1 + Metarhizium anisopliae NBAIR-Ma 35, 




0.5%), T4 (T1 + EPN Heterorhabditis indica NBAIR H38), T5 (T1 + Pseudomonas 

fluorescens (Pf DWD 1%)), T6 (Insecticidal check (Emamectin benzoate 0.4g/l)) including (T 

7 )untreated control each replicated thrice. The commercial variety CSV 29 was grown in ~40 

m 2 plot size. The crop was grown following all the agronomic practices and fertilizer 

application as per the package of practices recommended for the zone without plant protection 

measures to ensure natural infestation. The treatments T6 and T7 were imposed with a buffer 

crop spread at 200 m from rest of the treatments. Observations were made on the whorl 

infestation at 20DAE (Pre-Treatment) and 30DAE, 40DAE (post-Treatment) to identify the 

reduction in egg patches, larval population and plant damage and percent reduction was 

calculated over untreated check. 

Results 

The incidence of fall armyworm was observed to be moderate and the incidence was observed 

from 10DAE of crop. It inflicted irregular cuts on the leaves and later stages in whorl. A 

significant reduction in the number of eggs laid was observed after the application of first round 

of treatments as compared to control in all treatments. The egg patches ranged from 0.66-2.66 

egg patches/ 10 plants/ plot during the first year and 0-3.0 eggs patches/ 10 plants/ plot in the 

second year of experimentation. By the second round of treatments egg patches were not 

observed across the treatments. 

Larvae per 10 Plants: It was found that no larva was found in T6 (insecticide) after the 

application of second round of treatment. The next best treatments were T2 – T. pretiosum + 

M. anisopliae (1.00 larvae/10 plants) which is on par with T1 - T. pretiosum + Bt (1.33) in the 

first year of experimentation. All the treatments had registered significant reduction in larval 

population with respect to untreated control and pre-treatment count. 

Plant damage (%): Two sprays Insecticidal treatment was found to register significant 

reduction in pest population and thus the plant damage also. Treatments with Bt and 

Metarhizium anisopliae (Ma) also registered very less damage of 1.17 and 1.27% after two 

rounds of application in the first year. In the second year also, 93.8 and 91.4% reduction in leaf 

damage over the untreated control was observed in Ma and Bt, respectively after two rounds 

of application. The release of egg parasitoid, Trichogramma pretiosum was found effective but 

not sufficient in the management of fall armyworm in our previous experiments (Jaraleño- 

Teniente et al., 2020). So, the release of T. pretiosum was kept constant in all the treatment, 

since it is not sufficient to manage the pest, spray of NBAIR Bt 2%, Metarhizium anisopliae 

NBAIR-Ma, EPN Heterorhabditis indica NBAIR H38 and Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf DWD 

1%) were tested. 


390 | Page



Conclusion 

The results revealed that the Metarhizium anisopliae NBAIR-Ma 35 0.5% and NBAIR Bt 2% 

are equally effective in managing the pest. So, M. anisopliae and B. thuringiensis can be 

recommended for the management of fall armyworm in sorghum crop grown under organic 

farming. 

References 

Jaraleño-Teniente, J., Lomeli-Flores, J. R., Rodríguez-Leyva, E., BujanosMuñiz, R., 

Rodríguez-Rodríguez, S. E. 2020. Egg parasitoids survey of Spodoptera frugiperda 

(Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in maize and sorghum in Central Mexico. Insects. 

11:157. 

Prasanna, B. M., Huesing, J. E., Eddy, R., Peschke, V. M. 2018. Fall Armyworm in Africa: A 

Guide for Integrated Pest Management, 1 st ed.; CIMMYT: Edo Mex, Mexico. 

Ramatoulaye, F., Mady, C., Fallou, S., Amadou, K., Cyril, D., and Massamba, D. 2016. 

Production and Use Sorghum: A Literature Review. Journal of Nutritional Health & 

Food Science. 4(1): 1-4. 

T3-28P-1331 

Morpho-Physiological Characterization of Drought Stress Tolerance at 

Flowering Stage in Black Gram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) 

B. Sarkar, Y. Varalaxmi, K. Tejasree, N. Jyoti Lakshmi, M. Vanaja, Salini K., Satish P., 

S.S. Shishodia, M. Prabhakar A.K. Shanker, S.K. Yadav and V.K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500059 

Black gram is the fourth most important pulse crop after chickpea, pigeon pea and green 

gram in acreage, production in India. Drought is the major factor affecting black gram 

productivity specially in the era of climate change. When exposed to drought stress, 

plants trigger various morpho-physiological responses (Baroowa and Gogoi 2012; 

Baroowa et al.2016, Gurumurthy et al., 2018) to cope with stress for completing its life 

cycle. Although grain yield is commonly used as criterion to measure drought tolerance, 

dissecting yield into its contributing traits is critical for screening of germplasm and 

utilizing in breeding program. Drought stress affects various morpho-physiological 

traits like relative water content, membrane stability index, proline, apart from yield 

attributes, eventually adversely affecting realization of source and sink potentials 

(Anjum et al., 2011). Hence, it is paramount to develop drought-tolerant varieties to 

improve crop productivity and make it more profitable to the farming communities. 

Characterization and identification of traits are important for efficient utilization of 




available germplasm in crop improvement program. In this context, the present study 

was conducted to characterize black gram genotypes for morpho-physiological and 

yield related traits following imposition of water stress at flowering stage for identifying 

tolerant genotypes and using in genetic enhancement program. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted under well-watered and water stressed conditions 

during kharif 2021 with 40 genotypes in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) 

having 3 replications. The various morpho-physiological traits were recorded where a 

dry spell of 10 days coincided with the flowering stage. The data recorded were on 

various morpho-physiological traits including SPAD chlorophyll meter reading 

(SCMR), NDVI, CTD, fv/fm, RWC, membrane stability index (MSI), proline, 

malondialdehyde (MDA), yield and its attributes. The data were statistically analyzed 

with SAS software (Version 9.3; SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Analysis of variance and 

least significant difference (LSD) test was applied to compare the genotypes. 

Results 

The pooled analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant genotypic differences 

(p0.05) for all morphophysiological 

logical traits 

indicating the magnitude of 

differences in genotypes were 

sufficient to select superior 

genotypes against drought stress. 

While, the genotype × treatment 

interaction effect was also found 

to be significant for most of the 

morpho-physiological 

traits except pod length 

and cluster number. The 

significant variation due to 

genotype, treatment and 

their interaction indicated 

that these traits were 

influenced by both genetic 

and treatment conditions. 

The genotypes under 

water stress showed 


392 | Page



reduction in the various physiological and yield related traits. Physiological traits 

showed that proline content under control and stress conditions varied from 12–28 μg/g 

FW and 14–32 μg/g FW with increased accumulation under stress condition. The 

genotypes IPU-7-3, IPU-11-2, IPU-96-12, IPU-11-6, and IPU-13-6 accumulated 2.54 to 

1.49 folds more proline under stress conditions compared to control. While, MDA 

content under control and stress conditions varied from 6.55–16.40 μmol/g FW and 

9.78–23.75 μmol/g FW. The genotypes IPU-10-32, IPU-13-1, IPU-11-2, IPU-96-7 and 

IPU-10-21 had lower MDA content and were less affected by stress. The genotypes 

IPU-10-1, IPU-10-26, IPU-10-33, IPU-11-6, IPU-2-37, IPU-9-13, IPU-94-4 and LBG- 

623 maintained higher relative water content, membrane stability index and yield both 

under well-watered and water stress conditions (Table 1). The correlation analysis 

revealed significant positive correlations between different traits under well-water and 

water stress conditions. Under well-watered conditions significant positive correlations 

were observed for pod yield with hundred seed weight, seed yield, total biomass while 

hundred seed weight with total biomass and seed yield with total biomass. Under waterdeficit 

stress conditions significant negative correlation was observed between RWC 

and plant height; total biomass with harvest index. 

Black gram genotypes performing better both under well-watered and water deficit 

Genotype 

Relative 

water 

content (%) 

Membrane 

stability index 

(%) 

stress conditions 

Days to 

50% 

flowering 

Pod yield 

(g/plant) 

Seed yield 

(g/plant) 

100 seed 

weight (g) 

WW WD WW WD WW WD WW WD WW WD WW WD 

IPU-10-1 83.12 81.25 67.61 58.33 34 35 5.80 6.27 4.47 4.53 4.07 4.03 

IPU-10-26 78.76 77.40 63.53 52.97 33 33 6.93 6.33 5.05 4.40 4.20 4.67 

IPU-10-33 79.21 78.93 76.88 67.52 34 34 8.47 8.19 5.34 4.95 4.42 4.42 

IPU-11-6 83.50 80.11 68.06 56.56 33 33 9.98 8.13 5.12 4.17 4.81 3.88 

IPU-2-37 84.06 81.80 80.62 55.92 35 36 7.06 5.60 4.86 4.73 4.42 4.31 

IPU-9-13 78.93 78.19 64.93 58.84 34 34 6.13 6.20 5.39 4.74 4.19 3.85 

IPU-94-4 81.91 80.93 59.65 56.06 34 34 7.09 6.40 5.12 4.30 4.77 4.17 

LBG-623 79.63 74.30 68.93 65.86 35 37 7.40 6.92 5.20 4.27 4.77 4.40 

WW: well-watered; WD: water-deficit stress 

Conclusion 

The present study revealed differential responses for morpho-physiological and yield traits 

among black gram genotypes. Drought stress affected morpho-physiological traits including 

RWC and MSI with reduced growth and development, while parameters like proline, MDA 

showed enhanced activities. Genotypes maintaining similar levels of morpho-physiological 

activities under stress when compared with well-watered conditions can work as an important 

stress marker. These morpho-physiological traits may be useful for selection of drought tolerant 




genotypes for improved productivity in drought prone environments. Among various traits MSI 

and proline content were having contrasting behaviour in stress and well-water conditions 

indicating its role in distinguishing genotypes for stress tolerance. Among genotypes tested, 

IPU-10-1, IPU-10-26, IPU-10-33, IPU-11-6, IPU-2-37, IPU-9-13, IPU-94-4 and LBG-623 

performed better both under well-watered and water stress conditions. While, the genotypes 

IPU-7-3, IPU-11-2, IPU-96-12, IPU-11-6, and IPU-13-6 accumulated 2.54 to 1.49 folds more 

proline under stress conditions compared to control. Thus, morpho-physiological 

characterization of black gram may be useful for selection of drought tolerant genotypes for 

improved productivity in drought prone environments. 

References 

Anjum S.A., Xie X., Wang L., Saleem M.F., Man C., Lei W. 2011. Morphological, 

physiological and biochemical responses of plants to drought stress. Afr J Agric Res 

6:2026-2032 

Baroowa B., Gogoi N. 2012. Effect of induced drought on different growth and biochemical 

attributes of black gram (Vigna mungo L.) and green gram (Vigna radiata L.). J Env Res 

Dev 6:584–593 

Baroowa B., Gogoi N., Farooq M. 2016. Changes in physiological, biochemical and 

antioxidant enzyme activities of green gram (Vigna radiata L.) genotypes under drought. 

Acta Physiol Plant (2016) 38:219. DOI 10.1007/s11738-016-2230-7 

Gurumurthy S., Sarkar B., Vanaja M., Jyoti Lakshmi N., Yadav S.K. and Maheswari M. 2018. 

Morpho-physiological and biochemical changes in black gram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) 

genotypes following imposition of water stress at flowering stage. Acta Physiologae 

Planta. 41:1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-019-2833-x 

T3-29P-1525 

Performance of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) Genotypes 

under Varied Fertility Levels in Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka 

H. P Keerthi, S. A Biradar, U. K Hulihalli * and Geeta S. Tamgale 

College of Agriculture, UAS Dharwad 580005, Karnataka 

*hulihalliuk@uasd.in 

Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (common buckwheat) is an herbaceous erect annual plant with 

a diploid chromosomal number (2n = 16). It is a member of the polygonaceae family. 

Buckwheat is one of the most significant pseudo cereal crops of the alpine region, widely 

planted between 1,800 and 4,500 m above MSL during the kharif season in the middle and 

higher Himalayas. Buckwheat is evolved in Central Asia's temperate climate. Buckwheat is 


394 | Page



grown on an area of 2.04 million hectares in the world, with production of 2.4 million tonnes 

and productivity is 1000 kg ha -1 . Buckwheat is grown for food and fodder in a number of Asian 

nations, including India. Buckwheat is primarily grown in the temperate zones of the Northern 

hemisphere, particularly in Russia (Oshini, 2004). It's grown in the United States, Canada, 

France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, 

Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Brazil, China, South Korea, Nepal and Bhutan. 

It is a multi-purpose crop cultivated mainly for grains (11-14 % gluten free protein) for human 

consumption, livestock, piggery and poultry feeds, as green manure crop, soil binding crop and 

as a smother crop. Except in select areas of Tamil Nadu, farmers in south India are largely 

unaware of the crop. Recently it is introduced in the Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka, 

hence to know suitable genotypes and nutrition which plays vital role to exploit its fullest 

potential is the need of the hour. 

Methodology 

The experiment was carried out at MARS, UAS, Dharwad during kharif 2021-22. It was laid 

out in split plot design with nine treatment combinations and replicated thrice. The treatments 

consist of three genotypes viz., G 1: Nilagiri (Dharwad selection-1), G 2: IC-79147 and G 3: PRB- 

1 in main plots and three fertilizer levels viz., F1: 100 % RDF (30:15:15 N:P2O5:K2O kg ha -1 ), 

F 2: 125 % RDF (37.5:18.75:18.75 N:P 2O 5:K 2O kg ha -1 ) and F 3: 150 % RDF (45:22.5:22.5 

N:P2O5:K2O kg ha -1 ) in sub plots were taken. Crop was sown during Kharif 2021 and full dose 

of NPK was applied at the time of sowing. The standard procedures are followed to record the 

yield and yield observations. 

Results 

The results of experiment was indicated that among the genotypes, IC-79147 recorded 

significantly higher attributes viz., number of clusters planr -1 , number of grains clusters -1 , test 

weight and grain yield. Higher yield attributes with IC-79147 were mainly due to a higher 

capacity to convert photosynthates from source to sink and a higher yield parameter in IC- 

79147 led to a higher grain yield. The genotype IC-79147 was on par with Nilagiri as per as 

grain yield was concerned. However, the straw yield was higher with PRB 1 and it was mainly 

due long growing period and lower harvest index. Higher net returns were recorded with IC- 

79147 as compared PRB 1. Gross returns and the BC ratio showed a similar pattern. Similar 

results were observed by Maruti et al. (2018), Among the fertility levels, application of 150 % 

RDF recorded significantly higher yield attributes viz., number of clusters plant -1 , number of 

grains clusters -1 , grain yield and straw yield and it was on par with 125 % RDF. Higher yield, 

yield attributes and economics were due to higher nutrient application which was used by 

buckwheat efficiently. Among the interaction effect genotype IC-79147 with 150 per cent RDF 

resulted in significantly higher yield, yield attributes and economics. 




Conclusion 

With this study, it was concluded that genotype IC-79147 with 150 per cent RDF can be 

recommended for Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka to get higher grain yield, net returns 

and BC ratio during Kharif season. 

References 

Maruti, Hulihalli U.K. and Aravind Kumar B.N. 2018, Production Potential of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) 

as Influenced by Genotypes and Fertilizer Levels in Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka. Int. J. Curr. 

Microbiol. Appl Sci. 7(09): 537-545. 

Oshini, 2004, The origin of cultivated buckwheat (Fagopyrum tarticumL.). Proceedings of 9th International Symposium on 

buckwheat. Advances in Buckwheat Resident 4. Cultivation and plant nutrition 18-22 August 2004, Congress 

Centre of the Agricultural University. Prague-Suchdol (Czech Republic), pp. 16-21. 

Number of clusters plant -1 , number of grains clusters -1 , grain yield, straw yield, net 

returns and B:C ratio of buckwheat as influenced by genotypes, fertilizer levels and 

their interaction effects 

Treatments 

Main plot (Genotypes) 


clusters 

plant -1 

Number 

of grains 

clusters -1 

Grain 

yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Straw 

yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Net 

returns 

( ha -1 ) 

B:C 

ratio 

G 1 12.61 a* 7.22 ab 940 ab 1774 b 30214 ab 2.62 ab 

G 2 13.29 a 7.60 a 985 a 1831 a 32513 a 2.75 a 

G 3 9.39 b 6.39 b 860 b 1912 a 26337 b 2.41 b 

S. Em.± 0.29 0.15 16.4 25.6 846 0.05 

Sub-plot (Fertilizer level) 

F 1 10.22 b 6.14 b 760 b 1528 b 21362 b 2.18 b 

F 2 11.72 ab 7.17 ab 959 a 1907 a 31305 ab 2.69 ab 

F 3 13.35 a 7.90 a 1065 a 2083 a 36399 a 2.92 a 

S. Em.± 0.31 0.20 34.8 65.3 1804 0.10 

Interaction (G x F) 

G 1F 1 10.33 de 6.21 de 770 de 1467 c 21795 cd 2.20 bc 

G 1F 2 12.77 c 7.42 bc 959 a-d 1808 a-c 31180 abc 2.68 ab 

G 1F 3 14.73 ab 8.02 ab 1091 ab 2049 a 37667 ab 2.99 a 

G 2F 1 11.81 cd 6.46 cde 801 c-e 1506 c 23420 cd 2.29 bc 

G 2F 2 13.06 bc 7.78 ab 1022 ab 1895 ab 34432 ab 2.86 a 

G 2F 3 15.01 a 8.56 a 1131 a 2093 a 39688 a 3.09 a 

G 3F 1 8.53 e 5.75 e 708 e 1610 bc 18870 d 2.04 c 

G 3F 2 9.32 e 6.30 cde 897 b-e 2019 a 28302 bcd 2.53 abc 

G 3F 3 10.31 de 7.12 bcd 974 a-c 2107 a 31841 abc 2.68 ab 

S. Em.± 0.53 0.32 51.9 95.9 2688 0.15 


396 | Page



T3-30P-1336 

Performance of Chickpea (Var. Phule Vikram) Under Rainfed Condition 

in Solapur District of Maharashtra 

S.G. Jadhav*, T.R.Walkunde., P.N.Madavi. and V.G. Vairagar 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Moho l(Solapur-II) Ta. Mohol Dist. Solapur 

Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri 413 722(MS), India 

* sharadjadhav48@gmail.com 

Though chickpea is widely grown in Solapur district, various factors influence potential yield 

of the crop such as, faulty sowing practices, lack of knowledge about high yielding and disease 

resistant varieties. Lack of awareness about seed treatment, integrated nutrient management, 

integrated pest management and varieties suitable for mechanical harvesting and use of micro 

irrigation at critical growth stage etc. Above all in the district predominantly noticed problems 

for chickpea cultivation are high incidence of wilt, terminal drought condition, labor shortage 

for harvesting etc. Hence, climate resilient variety appears to be major challenges to increase 

productivity. This can be achieved by means of use of high yielding, climate resilient and 

suitable for mechanical harvesting variety and improved cultivation practices. With this 

background, Cluster Front line demonstrations were conducted to show the worth of high 

yielding, climate resilient and mechanically harvested improved variety of chickpea 

Methodology 

Technology demonstration on chickpea variety Phule Vikram was conducted by Krishi Vigyan 

Kendra, Mohol during 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 in district of Solapur. About 100 

demonstration was conducted on 40 ha area during 2019-20, while total 75 demonstarion was 

conducted on 30 ha area each year during 2020-21 and 2021-22. In general soil of the area 

under study was medium to heavy. The component demonstration technology in chickpea was 

comprised i.e. university recommended improved variety Phule Vikram which was wilt 

resistant, suitable for mechanical harvesting, high yielding. In the demonstration, one control 

plot was also kept where farmers practices was carried out. The demonstration were conducted 

to study the technology gap between the potential yield and demonstrated yield, extension gap 

between demonstrated yield and yield under existing practice and technology index. The yield 

data were collected from both the demonstration and farmers practice by random crop cutting 

method and analyzed by using simple statistical tools. The percent increase yield, technology 

gap, extension gap and technology index were calculated by using following formula as per 

Samui et al., (2000), as given below- 




Percent increase in yield = 

Demonstration yield – Farmers practice yield 

Farmers practice yield 

X 100 

Technology gap = Potential yield - Demonstration yield 

Extension gap = Demonstration yield –Farmers practice plot yield 

Results 

Technology index (%) = 


Potential yield X100 

Cluster Frontline demonstrations studies were carried out in Solapur district of Maharashtra 

state in Rabi season from 2019-20 to 2020-2021, 2021-22. During three years of technologies 

results obtained are presented in Table 1. The results revealed that the demonstration on 

chickpea an average seed yield recorded 1322.66 kg/ha under demonstrated plots as compare 

to farmers practice 983.33 kg/ha. The highest seed yield in the demonstration plot was 1610 

kg/ha during 2021-22. The average yield of chickpea increased 34.87 per cent (Table 1). These 

results clearly indicated that the higher average seed yield in demonstration plots compared to 

farmers practice due to integrated crop management practices and awareness of wilt resistant 

and high yielding Phule Vikram variety. Adoption of scientific package of practices like seed 

treatment, integrated nutrient management, bio-pesticide, micro irrigation at critical growth 

stage, seed treatment with bio-fertilizers and need based right plant protection practices resulted 

in higher yields. 

Based on observation made, extension gap, technology gap and technology index were worked 

out. The extension gap observed during different years was 292, 296 and 430 kg/ha during 

2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively. On an average extension gap observed in three 

years under CFLD implemented villages was 339.33 kg/ha. The highest extension gap 430 

kg/ha was recorded in 2021-22 followed by 296 kg/ha (2020-21) and 292 kg/ha (2019-20). 

Technology gap is the difference between potential yield and demonstrated plot yield. The 

technology gap observed during different years was 618, 324 and 40 kg/ha during 2019-20, 

2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively. On an average technology gap observed in three years under 

FLD implemented villages was 327.33 kg/ha. The highest technology gap 618 kg/ha was 

recorded in 2019-20 followed by 324 kg/ha (2020-21) and 40 kg/ha (2021-22). 

On an average technology index observed was 19.83 % for three years where cluster front line 

demonstrations were conducted. This shows the efficiency and effectiveness of the improved 

technologies as a result of successful technical interventions to increase the yield performance 

of chickpea. Economics returns related to input and output prices of commodities prevailed 

during the study period, were recorded. The cultivation of chickpea under improved 

technologies CFLD gave higher net returns of Rs. 20358, Rs. 27626 and Rs. 40730 per hectare 


398 | Page



as against to farmers practices i.e., Rs. 9020, Rs. 11530 and Rs 16514 per hectare during the 

years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively. 

The Benefit: cost ratio of chickpea observed during different years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021- 

22 under improved cultivation practices were 1.81, 1.69 and 1.93 respectively while it was 

1.39, 1.28 and 1.36 under farmers practice for the respective years. The highest B:C ratio in 

demo plots is because of higher yields obtained under improved technologies compared to 

farmers practices during all the three years. 

Yield, technology gap, extension gap and technology index in chickpea cultivation 

Year 

Potential 

Yield 

(Kg/ha) 

Average seed yield 

(Kg/ha) 

Demo 

Farmers 

Practice 

during 2019 to 2022 

Percent 

increase 

Technology 

gap 

(Kg/ha) 

Extension 

gap 

(Kg/ha) 

Technology 

index (%) 

2019-20 1650 1032 740 39.45 618 292 37.45 

2020-21 1650 1326 1030 28.73 324 296 19.63 

2021-22 1650 1610 1180 36.44 40 430 2.42 

Mean 1650 1322.66 983.33 34.87 327.33 339.33 19.83 

Economic impact of chickpea cultivated under CFLD and Farmers practice during 

2019 to 2022 

Year 


Demo 

Area 

(ha) 

Gross income 

Rs./ha. 

Demo 

Farmers 

Practice 

Net income Rs./ha. 

Demo 

Farmers 

Practice 

Demo 

B: C Ratio 

Farmers 

Practice 

2019-20 100 40 45408 31820 20358 9020 1.81 1.39 

2020-21 75 30 67626 52530 27626 11530 1.69 1.28 

2021-22 75 30 84230 61714 40730 16514 1.93 1.36 

Mean 83.33 33.33 65754 48688 29571 12354 1.81 1.34 

Conclusion 

Chickpea variety Phule Vikram gave higher seed yield, gross monetary returns, net monetary 

returns and B: C ratio under rainfed condition over farmers practice. 




Performance of Chickpea Varieties Under Late Sown Condition 

S.V. Thombre 1 , B.V. Asewar 2 , V.V. Goud 2 , K.A. Chavan 2 and S.G. Mane 2 


1 VNMKV Parbhani, Maharashtra, India 

2 Dr. PDKV Akola-444 104 Maharashtra, India 

T3-31P-1418 

Chickpea is cool season crop. It’s yields and quality are mostly depending on climatic 

parameters and time of sowing. It is short durational crop and requires relatively low 

temperature for its optimum growth. In India, mid-October to mid-November is ideal period 

for sowing chickpea. Any deviation from this period causes conspicuous reduction in yield. 

Due to global warming, temperature is increasing day by day, also the rainfall pattern is 

disturbed and the rainy season is extended up to first fortnight of November. As a result, 

duration of winter season is reduced. In such condition, there is a need to adjust the sowing 

date with suitable cultivars of chickpea for obtaining higher yields. Hence field experiment 

entitled “To Study the Effect of Sowing Dates on Growth and Yield of Chickpea Varieties 

Under Late Sown Condition” was conducted at Pulse Research Unit, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh 

Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted during rabi 2017-2018 at Pulse Research Unit, Dr. 

Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola. The experiment was laid out in factorial 

randomized block design with three replications consisting of twenty-eight treatment 

combinations in each. The treatments consist of four sowing dates (15 th November, 30 th 

November, 15 th December and 30 th December) and seven chickpea varieties i.e. (PDKV 

Kanchan, Phule Vikram, BDN 797, AKG 70, RVG 202, RVG 203 and BDN 9-3). The soil 

experimental field was clayey in texture, low available nitrogen (184.58 kg/ha), medium in 

available phosphorus (16.21 kg ha -1 ) and high available potassium (375.43 kg ha -1 ) and 

slightly alkaline in reaction (pH 8.2). The gross and net plot size were 3.6 x 3.00 m 2 and 3.0 x 

2.8 m 2 , respectively. The chickpea crop was sown as per treatment by dibbling by one seed 

per hill at spacing of 30 x 10 cm 2 . Recommended fertilizer dose was applied. 

Results 

Effect of sowing dates : Different sowing time had a profound influence on the grain yield. 

Significantly superior grain yield (1737 kg ha -1 ) was obtained when crop was sown on 15 th 

November than later sowing time of 30 th November, 15 th December and 30 th December. Crop 

sown on 30 th December recorded the lowest grain yield (653 kg ha -1 ). The mean values were 

higher when the crop was sown on 15 th November for all vegetative and reproductive attributes 

indicating that 15 th November sowing enabled the crop to express the inherent potential to the 

400 | Page



maximum as compared to later sowings. Ganguly and Bhattacharya (2001) have noted 

similar decisive effect of sowing time on chickpea growth and development and reported 

reductions in various morpho-physiological attributes with delayed sowing due to less 

favourable weather variables. There was significant variation in mean straw yield due to sowing 

dates. The higher straw yield recorded by 15 th November sowing date, which was found to be 

on par with sowing on 15 th December. The lowest straw yield (978 kg ha -1 ) recorded on 30 th 

December. 

The gross monetary returns were significantly influenced by different sowing dates. 

Significantly higher gross monetary return (Rs 78938 ha -1 ) was obtained by crop sown at 15 th 

November over rest of the sowing dates. The lowest value of gross monetary returns was 

recorded on sowing time 30 th December (Rs 31273.91 ha -1 ). The net monetary return was 

significantly influenced with sowing dates. The highest net monetary return (Rs 55846 ha -1 ) 

was recorded by 15 th sowing over rest of the sowing dates. The highest benefit: cost ratio (3.42) 

was recorded at 15 th November sowing. The lowest value was recorded at 30 th December 

sowing treatment. 

Effect of varieties: There was statistically significant variation in seed yield due to varieties. 

The highest grain yield (1460 kg ha -1 ) was recorded in variety RVG 203 which was found at 

par with variety RVG 

202. However lowest grain yield (1207 kg ha -1 ) was produced by variety AKG 70. Difference 

in straw due to different varieties was significant. Variety RVG 203 recorded significantly higher 

straw yield (1875 kg ha -1 ), which was at par with variety RVG 202, BDN 797, and Phule 

Vikram. The lowest straw yield (1559 kg ha -1 ) observed in variety AKG 70. The cost of 

cultivation for all varieties, was Rs. 23092 ha -1 . Chickpea variety RVG 203 significantly 

recorded higher gross monetary returns of (Rs 66758 ha -1 ) as compared to remaining varieties. 

The highest net monetary return (Rs 43666 ha -1 ) was recorded by RVG 203 variety over rest 

of the varieties. The highest benefit: cost ratio (2.89) was recorded in RVG 203 variety at rest of 

the varieties. The lowest value of benefit: cost ratio (2.41) was recorded in AKG 70. The 

interaction effect between sowing dates and varieties were found to be non-significant in straw 

yield, except in grain yield 




Effect of sowing dates on yield and economics of chickpea varieties (late sown) 

Treatment 

Grain 

Yield (kg 

ha -1 ) 

Straw 

yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Gross 

monetary 

return 

(Rs ha -1 ) 

Net 

monetary 

return (Rs 

ha -1 ) 

Benefit: 

cost ratio 

D1- 15 Nov (46 MW) 1737 2120 78938 55846 3.42 

D2- 30 Nov (48 MW) 1578 2000 71957 48865 3.12 

D3- 15 Dec (50 MW) 1442 1969 65958 42866 2.86 

D4- 30 Dec (52 MW) 653 978 31273 8181 1.35 

S.E. (m)± 14.84 24.33 716 718 - 

C.D. at 5 % 43.53 71.35 2102 2107 - 

V1- PDKV Kanchan 1319 1733 60562 37470 2.62 

V2- Phule Vikram 1354 1818 62105 39013 2.69 

V3- BDN 797 1313 1708 60294 37202 2.61 

V4- AKG 70 1207 1559 55645 32553 2.41 

V5- RVG 202 1416 1842 64811 41719 2.81 

V6- RVG 203 1460 1875 66758 43666 2.89 

V7- BDN 9-3 1398 1834 64049 40957 2.77 

S.E. (m) ± 19.63 32.18 948 950 - 

C. D. at 5 % 57.59 94.39 2780 2788 - 

Conclusion 

S.E. (m) ± 39.27 64.36 1896.15 1901.41 - 

C.D.at 5 % 115.17 NS NS NS NS 

GM 1353 1767 62032 38940 

From the present investigation it is concluded that sowing at 15 th November was better than 

rest of the sowing dates in experiment. Also, it was convinced that late sowing would reduce 

the dry matter production and yield irrespective of the varieties. Among the varieties the 

highest yield was recorded by the variety RVG 203 irrespective of the date of sowing. Hence 

it is suggested that the variety RVG 203 could be preferred over other varieties to get high 

yield under late sown condition. 

References 

Ganguly, S.B. and Bhattacharya, A. 2001. Effect of physiological traits on chickpea yield 

under normal and late seeding. Legume Res., 24(1): 6-10. 


402 | Page



T3-32P-1223 

PGPR Strain Bacillus subtilis (Bbv57) Controls Stalk Rot of Maize Caused 

by Fusarium verticillioides 

Radhajeyalakshmi Raju 1* , Sathyasheela Veluchamy 1 , Selvakumar 

Thambiyannan 1 , Satheeshkumar Natesan 1 , and Karthikeyan Gandhi 2 

1 Maize Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Vagarai-624613 

2 Department of Plant Pathology, Center for Plant Protection Studies, 

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003 

* radhajeyalakshmi@hotmail.com 

The most important diseases associated with maize are caused by fungi, which are primarily 

represented by the genus Fusarium. In India, the disease is prevalent in most of the maize 

growing areas, particularly in rainfed areas viz., Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, 

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu 

and Karnataka, where water stress occurs after flowering stage of the crop (Singh et al., 2012). 

The incidence of Post Flowering Stalk Rot complex (Charcoal rot, Fusarium stalk rot, Late 

wilt) was observed to be varying from 5 to 40 per cent at different parts of the country (Lal et 

al. 1998). The annual loss due to maize diseases in India was estimated to the tune of 13.2 to 

39.5%. The estimated loss due to Fusarium stalk rot has been reported as 38% in total yield. 

Irrespective public and private bred hybrids all are succumbing to severe stalk rot. Fusarium 

stalk rot was observed in the plant age group of 55 to 65 days which coincides with tasseling 

and silking and immediately followed grain formation stage. The soil borne pathogen led to 

breakage of stalk rotting, lodging and premature death of the infested plants. Hence, the present 

study was undertaken with an objective to work out management strategies using Bacillus as 

one of the components for this threatening disease. 

Methodology 

The present investigation was carried out during 2019 – 2020 at Maize Research Station, 

Vagarai, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. Isolations was done by plating surface sterilized 

(4 per cent sodium hydrochloride) small pieces of infected tissues on Potato Dextrose Agar 

(PDA) medium. Purification of cultures was made by hyphal tip method. 

Inoculations should be made with of 45-50 days old plants just after flowering stage, in the 

lower internodes (second) above the soil level. Disease symptoms appeared in the inoculated 

plants about 20-25 days after inoculation. The disease intensity and severity is recorded 

following 1-9 rating scale (Meena Shekhar & Sangit, 2012). 1 - Healthy or slight discolouration 

at the site of inoculation, .2 - Up to 50% of the inoculated internode is discoloured, 3 - 51-75% 

of the inoculated internode is discoloured. 4 - 76-100% of the inoculated internode is 




discoloured, 5 - Less than 50% discolouration of the adjacent internode, 6 - More than 50% 

discolouration of the adjacent internode, 7 -discolouration of three internodes, 8 - discolouration of 

four internodes, 9 - discolouration of five or more internodes and premature death of plant. 

To assess the field performance of bioagents, the trials were conducted at Maize Research 

Station,Vagari, Dindigul region of Tamil Nadu namely in randomized block design with three 

replications maintaining spacing of 60 cm between rows and 20 cm between plants. The bioagents 

T.asperellam (1x10 4 cfu/g) and B.subtilis (1x10 5 cfu/g) were applied in the soil before sowing @ 

200g/m 2 . Unamended plots served as check. Seeds were treated with the slurry of carbendazim 

(0.2%) and bioagents of talc based formulation viz., T.asperellam (4g/kg), B.subtilis (10g/kg). Soil 

application of T.asperellam and B.subtilis was done @ 2.5kg/ha just before sowing. The 

fungitoxicants were applied in the form of spray on the above ground parts of the plants. Two foliar 

sprays, first two days after inoculation followed by the second 15 days later were made. 

Observations on disease severity were recorded 45 days after tooth pick inoculation of the pathogen 

following 1-9 scale devised by (Meena Shekhar & Sangit,2012). Disease scoring was done until 

cob development stage. 

Results 

In vivo studies on the efficacy of Bacillus subtilis (Bbv57) strain on Post Flowering Stalk Rot of 

Maize caused by Fusarium verticillioides in maize were conducted under artificial epiphytotic 

conditions at Maize Research Station, Vagarai where the disease incidence was 3-10%. The 

experimental results revealed the reduction of 2.9% with increased yield of 6.5 tonnes/ha in 

Bacillus subtilis (Bbv57) treated plots compared to untreated control, which showed 5.1% disease 

incidence (Table), with low yield of 5.6 tonnes/ha. Bacillus subtilis one of the biocontrol agent 

found to colonize the roots of Maize and to control Fusarium at early stages of crop growth with 

high competitive ability in terms of colonizing the roots @ 1.4 x 10 7 cfu / g / root.Bacillus subtilis 

one of the biocontrol agents found to colonize the roots of Maize and to control Fusarium at early 

stages of crop growth with highly competitive ability in terms of colonizing the roots 10 7 cfu / g / 

root (Data not shown). 

In vivo efficacy of Bbv 57 strain against Fusarium stalk rot of maize under artificial 

Epiphytotic condition 

S.No Treatment PDI (%) Yield (kg/ha) C:B ratio 

1 ST + SA with Trichoderma asperellam (Tv1) 3.25 6367 1:1.17 

2 ST + SA with Bacillus subtilis (Bs1) 2.00 6517 1:2.10 

3 ST + SA with Carbendazim (0.2%) 4.13 6302 1:1.10 

4 Untreated control 7.50 5573 

CD (0.05%) 1.05 1912 

*ST: Seed Treatment; SA: Soil Application 


404 | Page



Conclusion 

The present investigation highlighted the potentialities of talc-based formulations of Bacillus 

subtilis obtained from Department of Plant Pathology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, 

Coimbatore-641003, Tamil Nadu, India in managing disease of maize. Seed treatment and soil 

application of Bacillus subtilis reduced disease incidence under in vivo conditions with high 

yield and the same isolate may be recommended for ecofriendly management of maize Post 

Flowering Stalk Rot in dryland ecosystems. 

References 

Lal, S., Leon, D. C., Saxena, V. K., Singh, S. B., Singh, N. N., Vasal, S. K. 1998. Maize stalk 

rot complexes: Innovative Breeding Approaches. Proc Seventh Asian Regional Maize 

Workshop, Los Banos, Philippines 

Meena Shekhar and Sangit. 2012. Inoculation methods and disease rating scales for maize 

disease. Directorate of Maize Research (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) Pusa 

Campus, New Delhi – 110 012 (India) 

Munkvold, G. P., and Desjardins, A. E. 1997. Fumonisins in maize. Can we reduce their 

occurrence?. Plant Dis. 81: 556-584. 

Singh, N., Rajendran, A., Meena, S., and Mittal, G. 2012. Biochemical response and hostpathogen 

relation of stalk rot fungi in early stages of maize (Zea mays L). African J 

Biotech. 11(82): 14837-14843. 

T3-33P-1211 

Physiological Parameters and Key Root Traits Contributing to the Yield 

Potential of Sorghum in the Northern Dry Zone of Karnataka 

R.S. Venkatesha 1 , B.O. Kiran 2 , V.H. Ashvathama 1 , B.R. Brahmesh Reddy 1 , 

S.B. Patil 2 , R.B. Jolli 2 , R. Navyashree 1 and C.M. Nawalagatti 1 

1 University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad 580 005, Karnataka 

2 Regional Agricultural Research Station Vijayapura 586 101, Karnataka 

Sorghum, which is locally known as jowar, it is generally grown in both kharif and rabi 

seasons. The major states contributing to national sorghum acreage, during rabi season, are 

Karnataka and Maharashtra. The productivity of sorghum in Karnataka recorded 1194 kg ha -1 

with area of 8.2 lakh hectares contributing to 9.8 lakh tons to India’s total sorghum production. 

Drought can reduce crop productivity which leading to lower income for farmers. Yield 

reduction can vary between 34 and 68 % depending on the developmental timing of the drought 

stress. The rabi sorghum is generally cultivated under stored and receding soil moisture with 




raising temperature at post-flowering stage.it experiences both the soil and atmospheric 

drought which is one of the major constraints responsible for destabilizing the rabi sorghum 

productivity. It has been documented that root growth, leaf area development and osmotic 

adjustment under stress are some of the guidelines characterizing for stress tolerance. The 

plasticity of root growth and development in response to changing moisture and nutrient status 

of the soil provide opportunities for exploring natural variation to identify beneficial root traits 

to enhance plant productivity in agricultural systems. Plant roots play an important role in plant 

growth by exploiting soil resources via the uptake of water and nutrients. Root traits such as 

root length, root volume, root density, and root fresh and dry weight are considered as useful 

traits for improving plant productivity under drought conditions. 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Vijayapura situated 

16°49’N and 76° 34’E with an altitude of678 meters above the mean sea level. The experiment 

was conducted in RCBD with three replications with 20 sorghum genotypes for physiological 

characterization and identification of key root traits contributing to yield and yield attributing 

characters. The water stress was induced by withholding irrigation post-40 days after sowing. 

The chlorophyll content was estimated using method suggested by Barnes et al. (1992) while 

relative water content was estimated by the method suggested by Barrs and Weatherly (1962). 

The membrane injury index was calculated by following the protocol of Kocheva et al. (2004). 

The root length was measured physically with a scale, root volume was measured by water 

displacement method while the dry mass was measured by drying the roots in the hot air oven 

at 70℃ for 72 hours intermittently after taking the fresh weight. 

Results 

The chlorophyll content of the leaf is expressed from the SPAD index, chlorophyll a, 

chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll content. Figure 1 represents the relationships of 

physiological parameters with the grain yield. It revealed that the grain yield has significant 

positive association with chlorophyll a content (0.99), chlorophyll b content (0.86), total 

chlorophyll content (0.98) and SPAD index (0.95). This is representative that the 

photoassimilates being produced in the leaf tissues is converted into the grain yield. The total 

chlorophyll content has also shown significant positive associations with the yield attributes 

such as test weight (0.98) and harvest index (0.94). The chlorophyll content does not show 

significant positive association with the panicle weight (0.03). The significant positive 

association of the chlorophyll content with the harvest index describes the efficient partitioning 

of photoassimilates to the panicle. The relative water content has also shown a significant 

positive association with the grain yield (0.97) and the number of grains per plant (0.97). This 

is indicative of the plant that a higher water content in the leaf tissues under drought contributes 


406 | Page



to the efficient functioning of the cell organelle which is reciprocated in the relationship of the 

membrane injury index with the physiological and yield attributes. The membrane injury index 

has shown to have a strong negative relationship with the relative water content (-0.97), total 

chlorophyll content (-0.98), grain yield (-0.98) and the number of grains per plant (-0.98). The 

sorghum genotypes capable of avoiding damages to the membranes are more capable of 

producing photo-assimilates and reducing water losses from the leaf tissues in-turn resulting in 

better yields. Figure 2 describes the relationships of the root parameters such as root length, 

root volume, root diameter and root biomass. The grain yield has shown a positive relationship 

with the root length (0.69), root volume (0.78), root biomass (0.89 for root fresh weight and 

0.71 for root dry weight). The longer roots are capable of absorbing water from the deeper 

layers of soil regime when they face reduced availability of moisture in the upper layers. The 

large volume and greater biomass represent the superior establishment of the roots aiding the 

sorghum plants to better absorb the water and nutrients from the soil. The negative association 

of the root diameter with the grain yield (-0.41) is because the spreading of roots in the upper 

layers of the soil regime is not beneficial to plant growth. 




Conclusion 

Yield is a variable dependent on the crucial physiological and root parameters for efficient 

production of photoassimilates and their partitioning. 

References 

Barrs, H.D and Weatherly, P.E. 1962. A re-examination of relative turgidity for estimating 

water deficits in leaves. Aus. J. Bio. Sci., 413-428. 

Barnes, J.D., Blaguer, L., Manrique, E., Elvira, S and Davison,,A.W. 1992. A reappraisal of 

the use of DMSO for the extraction and determination of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll 

b in lichens and higher plants. Env. Exp. Bot., 32:85-100 

Kocheva, K., Lambrev, P., Georgiev, G., Goltsev, V. and Karabaliev, M. 2004. Evaluation of 

chlorophyll fluorescence and membrane injury index in the leaves of barley cultivars 

under osmotic stress. 63: 121-124. 


408 | Page



T3-34P-1554 

Productivity Enhancement of Lentil (Lens esculenta Moench) in Rainfed 

Agro-ecosystem in Koshi Region of Bihar 

K.M. Singh 1 *, Md. Nadeem Akhtar 1 and Amarendra Kumar 2 

1 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Agwanpur, Saharsa -852201, Bihar 

2 ICAR-ATARI, Zone IV, Patna 

*kmsingh66@gmail.com 

Lentil (Lens esculenta Moench.) is an important rabi season pulse crop of Bihar. Farmers 

generally go for sole and paira cropping of lentils under low fertility and poorly managed soil 

in rainfed agro-ecosystem in the Koshi region resulting in poor yield of the crop. These areas 

are also vulnerable to drought and flood. The present investigation conducted as an On-Farm 

trial on farmer’s fields during 2019-20 & 2021-22 revealed that the technology of Improved 

variety (HUL 57) + Recommended Fertilizer (20:40.:20 kg N: P: K/ha) + Biofertilizer 

(Rhizobium and PSB@ 1 liter/ha) + Boron 1 kg ai/ha enhanced the productivity of lentil from 

the farmers level of 6.50 q/ha to the tune of 11.50 q/ha. This could be achieved with a better 

expression of yield contributing factors (branches/ plant, pod/plant, seed/pod, 1000-seed wt.) 

due to the balanced nutrition of plants. The economics of study also realized higher net return 

(Rs 38000/-) and B: C ratio (2.94) under the technology option of improved variety (HUL 57) 

+ RDF+ Biofertilizer (Rhizobium culture, PSB) + Boron 1 kg ai/ha in comparison to farmer’s 

practice. The application of recommended fertilizer along with biofertilizer (Rhizobium & 

PSB) has also contributed to improvement in soil fertility parameters. 

T3-35P-1426 

Productivity Enhancement Using Drought Tolerant Banana Variety 

Through Frontline Demonstrations in Perambalur District of Tamilnadu 

V. Sangeetha, V.E. Nethaji Mariyappn and M. Punithavathi 

Indian Council of Agricultural Research Hans Roever KVK, Perambalur District, Tamil Nadu 

Banana is an important fruit crop in Kurumbalur village of Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu. 

The productivity is low due to occurrence of drought during critical period of growth stage of 

banana. Also, major part of the village is affected with saline irrigation water. Thus affects the 

soil properties and inhibit the uptake of nutrients and leads to reduction in yield. Therefore, 

efforts have been made to demonstrate improved drought tolerant banana variety ‘Kavery saba’ 

to increase productivity which is also suitable for saline, sodic and marginal soils through front 

line demonstration. The variety Kaveri saba was released by NRC Banana, Trichy during the 

year 2019. The present study was carried out by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Perambalur, Tamil 

Nadu to assess the impact of popularization of Banana variety Kaveri saba. Results showed 




that, the Banana variety Kaveri saba was performed well in Kurumbalur hamlets of Perambalur 

district also given the high yield under less irrigated condition during rabi season (2020-22). 

An average yield of 468.56 q ha -1 was recorded in front line demonstration and in farmer 

practices it was just 392.23 q ha -1 . Thus, the average technology gap, extension gap and 

technology index of 121.44, 76.33 and 20.50 percent were observed between demonstration 

and farmer practices. The average yield of banana increased by 20.58 percent over farmers' 

practices. Moreover, farmers inferred that the fruits have high market preference and fetching 

premium price owing to its good keeping quality with green life of 7-8 days. 

T3-36P-1240 

Response of Clusterbean (Gum Gaur) Genotypes to Planting Geometry in 


R. A. Nandagavi 1 *, S. B. Patil 1 , V. S. Surakod 1 , M. S. Shirahatti 1 , M. A. Gaddanakeri 1 , 

H. S. Patil 1 and G. Ravindra Chary 2 

1 AICRPDA, RARS, Vijayapura-586101 (UAS, Dharwad), Karnataka, India 

2 AICRPDA, ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad 500059, Telangana, India 

* nandagavira@uasd.in 

Cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) is popularly known as guar, chavli kayi, guari, 

khutti etc in local languages of southern India. Dry regions of West Africa as well as India are 

considered as centres of origin of cluster bean though diverse opinion on exact origin of cluster 

bean is still prevails. It is characterized as a short-day erect or bushy annual plant (Purseglove, 

1981). It is a drought tolerant, warm season legume crop with deep and well-developed root 

system, cultivated mainly as rainfed crop in arid and semi-arid regions during rainy (kharif) 

season for vegetable, galactomannan gum, forage and green manure. Cluster bean is mainly 

cultivated for food, feed and fodder (Reddy et al., 2017). North Eastern part of Karnataka 

experiences frequent and intermittent droughts coupled with high temperature. The farmers are 

following the traditional cropping system of Rabi sorghum-sunflower production system. The 

market price of Rabi sorghum is very low and that of sunflower is very much fluctuating and 

often gets infected with powdery mildew. The variation in market price results in loss to the 

farmers and even they are unable to meet out the cost of cultivation. Rabi sorghum is the main 

food crop of the Northern Karnataka. Hence farmers are growing rabi sorghum for food 

requirement and fodder to their livestock. Apart from growing Rabi sorghum, there is a scope 

for introduction of cluster bean (gum type) so that the farmers can get an additional income 

apart from food grains. Keeping the above in mind the present investigation was taken up to 

evaluate and identify the suitable genotype and to standardize the suitable planting geometry. 


410 | Page



Methodology 

This study was carried out to assess the feasibility of introduction of cluster bean under dryland 

conditions during kharif seasons for three years (2016 to 2018) at Regional Agricultural 

Research Station (RARS), Vijayapura (Karnataka). The experiment was laid out in split plot 

design with six spacings in main plot viz., S 1: 30×10cm, S 2: 45×10cm, S 3: 45×15cm, 

S4:45×20cm, S5: 60×10cm and S6: 60×20cm and four genotypes of cluster bean viz., V1: RGC 

938, V 2: RGC 1033, V 3: RGC 1038 and V 4: RGC 1066 in subplots. Recommended fertilizer 

dose and cultural practices including need-based plant protection measures were followed to 

raise a good crop. Observations from five randomly selected plants of each genotype in each 

replication were recorded. The mean of three years values was used for statistical analysis and 

they are presented. 

Results 

The plant height, number of pods per plant, grain yield (kg/ha), benefit cost ratio (B:C ratio) 

and rain water use efficiency (RWUE) were estimated using the pooled data of three years. 

Among the crop geometry tried, cluster bean sown at 30 cm×10 cm gave significantly higher 

grain yield of 408 kg per ha as compared to 45 cm×15 cm (361 kg/ha), 45cm×20cm (293 

kg/ha), 60cm×10cm (275 kg/ha) and 60cm×20cm (229 kg/ha). But it was on par with 

45cm×10cm (401 kg/ha). The B:C ratio and RWUE was also significantly higher in above said 

treatment. Whereas, pods per plant were significantly higher in less dense treatment. Among 

four cluster bean genotypes, RC 1033 and RC 938 recorded significantly higher grain yield 

(345 and 341 kg/ha, respectively) than other genotypes. The cost benefit ratio and rain water 

use efficiency was also significantly higher in these genotypes. The genotypes RGC 938 and 

RGC 1033 was significantly taller and smaller, respectively compared to other 

genotypes. Number of pods per plant were significantly less in genotype RGC 1066. 

Influence of spacing and genotypes on growth, yield, economics and RWUE of cluster 

bean 

Plant 

Seed yield 

RWUE 

Treatment 

Pods/plant 

B:C ratio 

height 

(kg/ha) 

(kg/ha-mm) 

Spacing (S) 

S1: 30X10cm 23.03 9.8 408 8.09 1.72 

S2: 45X10cm 23.78 9.7 401 7.95 1.69 

S3: 45X15cm 24.08 10.5 361 7.16 1.41 

S4: 45X20cm 22.54 10.4 293 5.81 1.25 

S5: 60X10cm 22.52 9.5 275 5.46 1.13 

S6: 60X20cm 21.85 11.3 229 4.55 0.88 

S.Em ± 0.21 0.2 8 0.15 0.04 

CD(p=0.05) 0.64 0.5 23 0.47 0.12 




Genotypes (V) 

V1: RGC 938 24.01 10.3 341 6.76 1.41 

V2: RGC 1033 21.96 10.7 345 6.85 1.41 

V3: RGC 1038 23.20 10.7 327 6.48 1.32 

V4: RGC 1066 22.71 9.1 298 5.91 1.24 

S.Em ± 0.23 0.1 3 0.07 0.02 

CD(p=0.05) 0.67 0.4 10 0.20 0.05 

Interactions (S×V) * * * * * 

Among the interactions, the genotypes RC 1033, RC 938 and RGC 1038 performed well 

under 45×10cm and 30×10cm geometry and produced significantly higher seed yield 

compared to other combinations. Similar trend was observed with respect to economics 

and RWUE. The genotype RC 1033 and RGC-938 showed superiority over the rest due to 

production of more pods per plant by utilisation of rain water more efficiently, which leads to 

effective translocation and distribution of photosynthates from source to sink in turn more pod 

yield per plant. Similar kind of observations made by Satpal et al. (2020) and Gangadhara 

(2013) in case of cluster bean. 

Interaction effect of spacing and genotypes on yield of cluster bean 

Spacing/Genotypes 

V1: RGC 

938 

V2: RGC 

1033 

V3: RGC 

1038 

V4: RGC 

1066 

S1: 30×10cm 431 427 423 354 408 

S2: 45×10cm 427 459 429 287 401 

S3: 45×15cm 381 392 344 326 361 

S4: 45×20cm 266 302 290 313 293 

S5: 60×10cm 287 294 260 260 275 

S6: 60×20cm 253 201 215 248 229 

Mean 341 345 327 298 

For comparing S. Em± CD (0.05) 

Spacing 8 23 

Genotypes 3 10 

Spacing at same or different 

Genotypes 10 32 

Conclusion 

The study concluded that the crop geometry of 30 × 10 cm and 45 × 10 cm is ideal for cluster 

bean genotypes RC 1033 and RGC-938 for getting higher yield and economic returns in 

northern dry zone of Karnataka. 

Mea 

n 


412 | Page



References 

Gangadhara, T. C. 2013. Evaluation of elite cluster bean [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) taub.] 

genotypes for vegetable and gum purpose in the northern dry zone of Karnataka. M. Sc. 

(Hort) Thesis, University of Horiculture Sciences, Bagalkot (India). 

Purseglove, J. W. 1981. Leguminosae. Tropical Crops: Dicotyledons. Longman Group Ltd, 

Essex, U. K. Pp- 250-254. 

Reddy Rajashekar Dodla, Saidaiah, P., Reddy Ravinder, K., and Pandravada, S. R. 2017. Mean 

performance of Cluster Bean Genotypes for Yield, Yield Parameters and Quality Traits. 

Int. j. curr. microbiol. appl. sci. 6(9): 3685-3693. 

Satpal, Panchta R., Arya, S., Singh, D. P., Suresh Kumar, and Neelam. 2020. Performance of 

cluster bean genotypes as influenced by crop geometry and fertilizer levels. Forage Res. 

45 (4): 314-317. 

T3-37P-1245 

Screening Maize Inbred Lines Developed from Local Germplasm for 

Excess Moisture Tolerance 

E. Lamalakshmi Devi 1* , Krishnappa Rangappa 2 , Ayam Gangarani 3 , Ch. Chinglen 

Meetei 1 , Yankey Bhutia 1 , Harendra Verma 4 , B. U. Choudhury 2 and R. Laha 1 

1 ICAR-RC- NEH Region, Sikkim Centre, Tadong, Sikkim, India; 

2 ICAR RC NEHR, Umiam, Meghalaya, India; 

3 ICAR-RC- NEH Region, Lembucherra, Tripura, India; 

4 ICAR-RC- NEH Region, Medzhiphema, Nagaland, India 

* elangbamlama@gmail.com 

North- Eastern regions of India are the biodiversity hub for many crops but these regions are 

often exposed to adverse climatic conditions like flood, drought, cold, soil acidity, etc. During 

the monsoon season, farmers often faced flooding condition/ soil saturation due to heavy 

rainfall and during the rabi season, drought/ water scarcity is the main challenge. The 

vegetative stage is considered one of the most critical periods affected under waterlogged 

conditions. In maize, Root System Architecture (RSA) is a key determinant of nutrient and 

water uptake efficiency (Liu et al. 2017) and thus, root traits are emerging as effective 

parameters that can be targeted for screening genotypes tolerant to waterlogged condition in 

maize. It is promising to manipulate RSA towards distribution of roots to optimize water and 

nutrient uptake under stressful condition. Keeping in view the existence of different local 

landraces of maize adapted in highly rainfall areas of the region, the present study was 

undertaken to phenotype and screen the diverse landraces of maize collected from different 




parts of North-Eastern region of India based on root architecture for their tolerance to 

waterlogged condition at vegetative stage. 

Methodology 

A total of 37 inbred lines (32 from ICAR, Sikkim Centre and 5 from ICAR-IIMR, Ludhiana) 

were used for the present study. The evaluation of landraces for waterlogging tolerance at V 5- 

6 stage was undertaken under 2 sets of experiments viz., field and microcosm in 2 replications 

at Research farm of ICAR-RC-NEH Region, Sikkim Centre during 2022. For screening, 

artificial flooding was provided at V 5-6 stage to a depth of 20cm above the soil surface 

continuously for 15 days and data are recorded based on maize Shovelomics. The “Response 

Coefficient” (RC) as phenotypic plasticity index (Poorter and Nagel 2000, Abenavoli et al. 

2016) and Waterlogging Tolerance Index (WTC) (Liu et al. 2010) were calculated. 

Results 

Root scanner images of the roots of inbred lines showed sharp differences between the control 

and waterlogged conditions. Based on visual scoring of root architecture using Shovelomics, 

score ranged from 1 to 9 for the traits brace roots angle (BA), brace roots branching density 

(BB), crown roots number (CN), crown root s angle (CA) and crown roots branching (CB). 

Some of the promising lines identified based on WTC and RC values from the 1 st year trail 

were UMI-1810, IML-418-1, RCS-31(Mani-31-2-2), RCS-29 (Mizo-29-4-1), RCS-4 (Mani-4- 

1-1) and RCS-21(Mizo-21(B)-2-3). 

Root scanner images of roots of maize inbred lines under waterlogged and control conditions 


414 | Page



Images of brace roots angle (BA), brace roots branching density (BB), crown roots number (CN), 

crown root s angle (CA) and crown roots branching (CB) displayed were scored with 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 

Conclusion 

The maize inbred lines used in the present study were developed from the genetic resources of 

NEH regions. Diverse maize landraces showing distinct and unique traits with high ability to 

face extreme weather conditions are reported from this region and these genotypes are being 

utilized for developing inbred lines. These lines needs to be screened for various abiotic stresses 

including excess moisture stress for developing hybrids tolerant to excess moisture conditions. 

References 

Abenavoli, M. R., Leone, M., Sunseri, F., Bacchi, M. and Sorgona, A. 2016. Root phenotyping 

for drought tolerance in bean landraces from Calabria (Italy). J Agron Crop Sci. 202(1): 

1–12. 

Liu, Y.Z., Bin, T., Zheng, Y. L., Xu, S. Z. and Qiu, F. Z. 2010. Screening methods for 

waterlogging tolerance at maize (Zea mays L.) seedling stage. Agricultural Sciences 

in China. 9(3): 362-369. 

Liu, Z., Gao, K., Shan, S., Gu, R., Wang, Z., Craft, E. J., Mi, G., Yuan, L. and Chen, F. 2017. 

Comparative Analysis of Root Traits and the Associated QTLs for Maize Seedlings 

Grown in Paper Roll, Hydroponics and Vermiculite Culture System. Front. Plant Sci. 

8:436. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00436 

Poorter, H. and Nagel, O. 2000. The role of biomass allocation in the growth response of plants 

to different levels of light, CO2, nutrients and water. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 27: 595– 

607. 





T3-38P-1241 

Study on Inter-Relation of Yield and The Associated Traits in Maize 

Hybrids Under Rainfed Conditions 

K.R.V. Sathya Sheela 1* , S. Lakshmi Narayanan 2 , R. Radhajeyalakshmi 1 , T. Selvakumar 1 

and N. Satheesh Kumar 1 

1 Maize Research Station, TNAU, Vagarai 624 613, Tamil Nadu, India 

2 AC&RI, Madurai, TNAU, Coimbatore 641003, Tamil Nadu, India 

*sathyakrv@yahoo.co.in 

Maize (Zea mays L.), known as ‘queen of cereals’ is the third important food crop after rice 

and wheat. In addition to staple food for human being and quality feed for animals, maize 

serves as a basic raw material as an ingredient to thousands of industrial products that includes 

starch, oil, protein, alcoholic beverages, food sweeteners, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, film, 

textile, gum, package and paper industries etc. It is grown under wider agro-climatic 

conditions. Selection of promising genotypes and planning management practices to improve 

yield is a challenging issue under rainfed conditions. Spatio-temporal variations in rainfall and 

temperature affects maize production (Premalatha and Kalamani, 2010). Water limitation has 

adverse effect on yield and the development of hybrids with reasonable level of drought 

tolerance is essential for sustainable maize production under water limited conditions. 

Reduction in grain yield and yield components of maize hybrids under stress conditions is often 

correlated with changes of some phenotypic expressions. This study aimed to assess the 

responses of grain yield and important phenotypic characteristics of maize hybrids under water 

limited conditions. 

Methodology 

The experimental study was conducted at Maize Research Station, Vagarai during October - 

January 2021. In this study, 19 hybrids from newly developed crosses along with two checks 

were evaluated in two replications in Randomized Block Design under rainfed conditions. The 

biometrical traits viz., plant height, ear height, days to to 50% tasseling, days to 50% silking, 

anthesis silking interval, cob length, no of rows per cob, hundred seed weight, shelling 

percentage and grain yield were recorded. Correlation among the traits was studied using 

TNAU Stat statistical package. 

Results 

Grain yield, as a complex variable, can reflect the interaction of the environment and 

management with the growth and development processes that occur throughout the crop’s 

maturation cycle (Adnan et al., 2020 and Premalatha et al., 2010) and in addition, yield 

component traits adjust their expressions to determine grain yield under different 

416 | Page



environmental and agronomic conditions. Genotypic correlations among the yield and the 

biometrical traits were studied. 

Trait 

s 

EH 

DAT 

DAS 

ASI 

CL 

NRC 

HSW 

SP 

GY 

Correlation of yield and the associated traits under rainfed conditions 

PH EH DAT DAS ASI CL NRC HSW SP 

0.7952 

** 

- 

0.8227 

** 

- 

0.9291 

** 

- 

0.7016 

** 

0.8998 

** 

0.8576 

** 

0.8009 

** 

0.8244 

** 

0.8415 

** 

- 

0.8159 

** 

- 

0.9511 

** 

- 

0.7507 

** 

0.7585 

** 

0.6496 

** 

0.7697 

** 

0.4365 

* 

0.5137 

** 

1 

0.862* 

* 

0.3603 

* 

- 

0.7914 

** 

1 

-0.3256 

0.7834 

** 

- 

0.783* 

* 

- 

0.4877 

* 

1 

0.2077 -0.1836 

-0.3278 

- 

0.497* 

* 

- 

0.508* 

* 

- 

0.804* 

* 

- 

0.4719 

* 

- 

0.4984 

** 

- 

0.592* 

* 

- 

0.5362 

** 

417 | Page Managing genetic resources for enhanced stress tolerance 

1 

-0.87** 

0.9999 

** 

0.9248 

** 

0.8655 

** 

0.7958 

** 

1 

0.5051 

** 

0.8108 

** 

0.9889 

** 

1 

0.9999 

** 

0.8762 

** 

1 

0.9999 

** 

* Significance at 1 % level; ** Significance at 1 % level; Plant Height (PH); Ear height (EH); Days to 50% 

tasselling (DAT); Days to 50% silking (DAS); Anthesis Silking Interval (ASI); Cob length (CL); No of rows per 

cob (NRC); Hundred seed weight (HSW); Shelling % (SP); Grain Yield (GY). 

The range of the grain yield varied from 5167 kg/ha to 7450 kg/ha. The hybrid VAH 21007 

recorded highest yield of 7450 kg/ha under rainfed conditions. Plant height, ear height, cob 

length, number of rows per cob, hundred seed weight and shelling percentage exhibited positive 

association with yield at 1% significance level. Days to 50% tasselling and days to 50% silking 

showed negative association with yield at 1% significance level. Cob length had positive 

association with number of rows per cob, hundred seed weight and shelling percentage. Maize 

is a cross pollinated crop and the prolonging of Anthesis to silking interval will lead to poor 

seed set and it is proved by the negative association of ASI with yield. Water stress during 

1



flowering will lead to delay in silking which will ultimately increase the anthesis to silking 

interval and poor seed set (Bharathi et al., 2021). Hence selection of genotypes with shorter 

ASI, smaller tassels and stay green traits will assist in breeding for water stress conditions. 

Water stress during anthesis and silking reduces yield. 

Conclusion 

The knowledge on the association of yield and its components is of the great importance in 

breeding. Hence low ASI and the cob characters viz., cob length, number of rows per cob, 

number of kernels per row, shelling percentage can be given more importance in selection 

criteria under rainfed conditions as they are contributing to yield. 

References 

Adnan, A. A., Diels, J., Jibrin, J. M., Kamara, A. Y., Shaibu, A. S., Craufurd, P., and Menkir, 

A. 2020. CERES-Maize model for simulating genotype – by- environment interaction 

of maize and its stability in the dry and wet savannas of Nigeria. Field Crops Res. 253, 

107826. 

Bharathi, P., Ravikesavan, R., Yuvaraja, A., Iyanar, K. and Manikanda Boopathi, N. 2021. 

Genetic variability and correlation in maize inbred lines under irrigated and moisture 

stress condition. Electron. J. Plant Breed. 12(3): 928-933 

Premalatha, M., and Kalamani, A. 2010. Correlation studies in maize (Zea maysL.) Int. J. Plant 

Sci. 5(1) :376-380. 

T3-39P-1088 

Transpiration Efficiency in Hybrid and Open Pollinated Variety of Pearl 

Millet 

N.M. Vanaja, B. Sarkar, S. K. Yadav, P. Sathish, Amol Patil, 

K. Salini, Arun K. Shanker and V.K. Singh 

Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 500059, Telangana, India 

Worldwide, agriculture consumes over 70% of fresh water resources used annually (Bacon, 

2004). The rapid decline in fresh water resources, coupled with the demand for increased food 

production to meet the population growth, poses a great challenge to agriculture. To maintain 

or further increase agriculture output depends in part on the efficient management of water to 

maximize water productivity, the concept of assessing agricultural output based on water 

consumed rather than land area. Improvement in transpiration efficiency (TE), the inherent 

water use efficiency, defined as biomass produced per unit water transpired through plants, 

may be another viable approach to increase water productivity. Having higher TE could 


418 | Page



contribute to a lower rate of soil moisture depletion. In general, plants with the C4 

photosynthesis pathway are more efficient in water use than plants with the C 3 photosynthesis 

pathway (Bacon, 2004). Differences in TE among species are well known. However, variation 

in TE within a species has been reported in maize (Jyothi et al., 2020) and blakgram (Jyothi et 

al., 2017). As a C 4 crop, pearl millet possesses high TE and is well adapted to semi-arid 

environments. Hybrid (ICMH-356) and open pollinated variety (OPV, ICMV-221) were 

evaluated to understand the variations in water use and transpiration efficiency from sowing to 

grain harvest (during Kharif in rainout shelter facility). The experiment was a completely 

randomized block design with five replications. Growth observations and water balance in pots 

quantified components of whole-plant TE. 

Methodology 

Transpiration efficiency was determined by gravimetric method with modifications. Whole 

plant level TE was determined gravimetrically in 15 litres plastic pots filled with a mixture of 

red soil and farm yard manure. Recommended dose of fertilizer was used. Two seeds were 

planted per pot and thinned to one plant at 7 days after emergence. The pots were then covered 

from both ends with poly bags. A slit was cut in the top bag to permit seedling growth. The slit 

was further sealed with a piece of clear adhesive tape. The poly bags were tightly fixed onto 

the pots with an elastic band. The initial weight recorded. The pots were weighed every 3 days 

(from 7 days after covering with poly bags) and measured quantity of water was supplemented 

through a funnel placed into the poly bag and again sealed with tape after watering. When the 

plants reached maturity, they were harvested at soil level and final pot weight was recorded. 

Individually plants were partitioned into leaves, stems and cobs and the dry weight was 

recorded. Total water transpired was calculated by subtracting the final pot weight from the 

initial weight and then adding the amount of water that has been applied at regular intervals. 

TE biomass and TE seed was calculated by dividing the above ground dry biomass and seed yield 

by the amount of water transpired. 

Results 

The water transpired was 19.02 l/p and 20.84 l/p for OPV (ICMV-221) and Hybrid (ICMH- 

356) for the total growth period. The total biomass was 67.3 g/p and 107.9 g/p and seed yield 

was 30.81 and 43.6 g/pl for OPV and hybrid respectively. In OPV, TE biomass and TE seed yield 

was 3.54 (g biomass/1 water) and 1.61 (g seed/ l water) and increased to 5.17 and 2.09 

respectively in hybrid. TEbiomass and TEseed (biomass/seed produced per unit of water transpired) 

in hybrid improved by 46.0% and 29.8% respectively. High TE in hybrid was due to enhanced 

biomass production (60.3%) and seed yield (41.5%) with extra water use (9.6%) as compared 

to OPV (ICMV-221). 




Total biomass, seed yield, water transpired and TE in hybrid and OPV of pearl millet. 

Parameters ICMV-221(OPV) ICMH-356 (Hybrid) 

Total biomass (g/plant 67.3 107.9 (60.3%) 

Seed yield (g/plant) 30.81 43.6 (41.5%) 

Water transpired (L/Plant) 19.02 20.84 (9.6% 

TE biomass (g biomass/ L water) 3.54 5.17 (46.0%) 

TE seed yield (g seed/ L water) 1.61 2.09 (29.8%) 

TR biomass (L water/ kg seed) 289.7 194.6 (-32.8%) 

TR seed yield (L water/ kg seed) 639 479.4 (-25.0% 

Values in parenthesis are % increase or decrease over OPV 

120 

Total biomass 

22 

Water transpired (L/plant) 

6 

Transpiration effficiency 

100 

20 

5 

Biomass (g/plant) 

80 

60 

40 

20 

Water transpired (L/Plant) 

18 

16 

14 

12 

TE (g dry wt. /L water) 

4 

3 

2 

1 

0 

ICMV-221 

ICMH-356 

10 

ICMV-221 

ICMH-356 

0 

ICMV-221 

ICMH-356 

Seed wt Husk Leaf stem 

Shoot TE 

Seed TE 

Total biomass, seed yield and transpiration efficiency in pearl millet hybrid (ICMH-356) and OPV 

(ICMV-221) 

Conclusion 

Transpiration ratio (TR) which is the ratio of amount of water transpired by a plant during its 

growing season to the weight of seed produced, decreased from 639 L H 2O/kg seed in OPV to 

479.4 L H2O/kg seed in hybrid. Results clearly show that 25% less water was transpired to produce 

a kilogram seed suggesting that less water will be required for hybrid compared to open pollinated 

variety. Hybrids have high TE compared to open pollinated varieties. 

References 

Bacon, M.A., 2004. Water Use Efficiency in Plant Biology. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Boca 

Raton, FL. 

Jyothi Lakshmi, N., Vanaja, M., Yadav, S. K., Amol Patil, Ram Prasad, Ch., Sathish, P., Salini, 

K., Arun K.Shanker and Maheswari, M. 2020. Assessing genetic diversity of maize 

genotypes for transpiration efficiency. Electron. J. Plant Breed. Vol 11(3):822-830. 


420 | Page



Jyothi Lakshmi, N., Vanaja, M., Yadav, S. K., Amol Patil, Ram Prasad, Ch., Sathish, P., Vijay 

Kumar, Vagheera, Salini K., and Maheswari, M. 2017. Genetic variability for grain 

yield and water use efficiency in blackgram genotypes. J. Appl. Nat. Sci. 9 (3): 1592- 

97. 

T3-40P-1086 

Variability in Growth and Yield Responses of Four Blackgram Genotypes 

at Elevated CO2 

M.Vanaja*, P. Sathish, B. Sarkar, N. Jyothi Lakshmi, A. Sushma, Ch. Mohan, 

S.K. Yadav, M. Prabhakar and V.K. Singh 

Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 500059, Telangana, India 

* m.vanaja@icar.gov.in; vanajamaddi@gmail.com 

The earth atmospheric CO2 concentration continuously rising, and the current levels have 

reached 411 ppm (https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxi de/). The impact of 

elevated CO2 (eCO2) was positive with C3 crops especially legumes for both biomass and seed 

yield as compared to C 4 cereal crops. The eCO 2 brings about an increase in photosynthetic 

rates, growth, development, and yield of a wide range of cultivated crops (Pan et al., 2018). 

The productivity of most agricultural crops increases under eCO2 in the range of 15 to 41% for 

C3 crops and 5 to 10% for C4 crops (Kimball, 2011). For nutritional security, especially for 

the vegetarian population inclusion of pulses is essential. Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) also 

called as urad is the ‘King of pulses’ and is considered as originated in India. It belongs to the 

Leguminosae family and in India, it is grown in 3.5 million hectares with a production of 

around 2.0 million tonnes. The present study was aimed at the quantification of the biomass 

and yield responses of this important pulse crop to eCO 2 and variability in genotypes with high 

yield potential. 

Methodology 

To assess the impact of eCO 2 on growth and yield of four blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) 

genotypes (IPU-06-02, PLU-826, PSRJ-95016 and IPU- 94-1), a field experiment was 

conducted in Open Top Chamber (OTC) facility during Kharif 2022. The OTC facility consists 

6 chambers of 3m × 3m × 3m and two of them were maintained at ambient CO2 (aCO 2) and 

four at eCO2 of 550ppm (Vanaja et al., 2016). The observations were recorded on phenology 

of flowering, physiological, biomass and yield parameters. 

Results 

The phenology of 50% flowering was early under eCO2 condition by 2.0 (PLU-826) to 3.7 

days (PSRJ-95016) as compared with ambient condition. The eCO 2 condition improved Net 




Assimilation, Anet (17%) and water use efficiency, WUE (19%) and reduced the stomatal 

conductance, gs (24%), and transpiration, Tr (3%) of blackgram genotypes than at aCO 2. 

Among the four selected genotypes, IPU-06-02 registered highest response to eCO 2 for all 

these physiological parameters. The improvement of total biomass with eCO2 ranged from 22% 

(IPU- 94-1) to 30% (IPU-06-02) and seed yield from 27% (PSRJ-95016) to 45% (IPU- 94-1). 

The improved seed yield was mainly contributed by increased per plant pod number (24%), 

number of seeds (19%) and 100 seed weight (12%) indicating that the enhanced CO 2 

concentration with improved assimilative capacity increasing pod set as well as seed filling. 

The presence of eCO2 improved both vegetative and reproductive biomass and impacted the 

proportion of enhanced biomass towards seed. It was observed that the overall impact of eCO 2 

on this pulse crop was higher for reproductive biomass (32%) than vegetative biomass (22%) 

and this was reflected in improved harvest index, HI (3.6%). Similarly, Ziska and Blowsky 

(2007) also reported a significant increase in pod number, pod weight, and total seed weight at 

elevated CO2 concentration in mung beans. 

Improvement of physiological parameters in black gram with eCO2. 


422 | Page



Conclusion 

Improvement of biomass and yield parameters in black gram with eCO2. 

The elevated CO 2 of 550ppm reduced the days to flowering and improved the physiological 

performance, biomass, and seed yield of the blackgram crop. However, the selected four 

blackgram genotypes showed differential responses for physiological, biomass, and yield 

parameters with eCO 2. The highest response to eCO 2 for physiological parameters was with 

genotype IPU-06-02, for vegetative biomass was with PLU-826, and seed yield with IPU- 94- 

1. The improvement in seed yield was due to the increased number of pods, seeds and test 

weight revealing that the eCO2 condition provided a beneficial impact through increased pod 

set and seed filling of this C3 leguminous crop. 

References 

Kimball, B. A. 2011. Lessons from FACE: CO2 Effects and Interactions with Water, 

Nitrogen, and Temperature. In: Hillel, D. and Rosenzweig, C., Eds., Handbook of 

Climate Change and Agroecosystems: Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation, Imperial 

College Press, London, 87-107. 

Pan, C., Ahammed, G. J., Li, X., and Shi, K. 2018. Elevated CO2 improves photosynthesis 

under high temperature by attenuating the functional limitations to energy fluxes, 

electron transport and redox homeostasis in tomato leaves. Front. Plant Sci. 9: 1739. 

https:// doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.01739. 




Vanaja, M., Maheswari, M., Ratnakumar, P. and Ramakrishna, Y.S. 2006. Monitoring and 

controlling of CO 2 concentrations in open top chambers for better understanding of plants 

response to elevated CO 2 levels. Indian J. Radio Space 35: 193-197. 

Ziska, L.H. and Blowsky, R. 2007. A quantitative and qualitative assessment of mung bean 

(Vigna mungo L. Wilczek) seed in response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide: 

potential changes in fatty acid composition. J. Agric. Food Chem.87: 920-23. 

T3-41P-1169 

Varietal Performance Arid Fruit Crop Pomegranate under Vidarbha 

Region of Maharashtra State 

R. S. Wankhade 1* , Y. D. Charjan 1 , N. H. Ramteke 2 and H. H. Dikey 3 

1 

Agriculture Research Station, Dr. P.D.K.V.Achalpur Dist. Amravati- 444805 

2 

Dr. P.D.K.V., Akola- 444104 

3 

Regional Research Centre, Dr. P.D.K.V., Amravati Dist. Amravati- 444 603 

*rswankhade70@gmail.com 

Pomegranate (Punicagranatum L.) is an important arid zone fruit cropand has emerged as a 

commercially important fruit crop. However, the performance of the plant will be excellent if 

maintenance is with protective irrigation. In the recent past, pomegranate has attained export 

potential and foreign exchange. Fruits are exported to Europe, Middle East, Africa, America 

and Asian countries. It is commercially cultivated in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, 

Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The major pomegranate growing 

area under rainshadow districts of Maharashtra regions particularly Solapur, Sangli, Nashik, 

Ahmednagar, Pune, Dhule, Aurangabad, Satara, Osmanabad and Latur. In Vidarbha region 

pomegranate cultivation is at infant stage. Many varieties are under cultivation in this region 

but evaluation and recommendation regarding their suitability for this zone has not been done. 

In this regard, present work was carried out to know promising variety which is suitable to 

Vidharbha region of Maharashtra state. 

Methodology 

Field experiment was conducted at Agriculture Research Station, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh 

Krishi Vidyapeeth, Achalpur, (M.S.), India to select best suited variety for commercial 

cultivation under Achalpur condition of Amravati district of Maharashtra state during 2015- 

16 to 2017-18. In this experiment three varieties which are planted in September-2015 at 

Agriculture Research Station, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Achalpur, (M.S.), 

farm was Ganesh, Bhagwa and Arakta were selected. The design of experimental plot was 

Randomized Block Design replicated seven times with two plants per replication. For 

observation of plant height (cm), diameter of stem (cm) and number of fruits plant -1 were 


424 | Page



taken by selecting two plants. Five fruits from each variety were selected for taking 

observations of weight of fruit (g). 

Results 

It is evident from the data presented in Table and Figure that there was significant varietal 

differences in respect of growth and yield attributes. The data pertaining to tree and yield 

characters of three pomegranate cultivars is presented in Table. Plant height ranged between 

175.11 cm in Ganesh to 222.86 cm in Bhagwa. Significantly highest plant height was recorded 

as 222.86 cm in Bhagwa followed by 202.57 cm in Arakta. The minimum plant height was 

recorded as 175.11 cm in Ganesh. Significantly maximum diameter of stem 3.99 cm observed 

in Bhagwa followed by 3.44 cm in Arakta, whereas significantly minimum stem diameter 

recorded in Ganesh (3.16cm). Similar type of variation in plant height has been reported in 

pomegranate (Sharma and Bist, 2005). The slight variations among different studies may be 

attributed to the genetic makeup of cultivars, agroclimatic conditions, nutritional status of soil 

and cultural practices. 

Yield Characters 

Highest number of fruits plant -1 , weight of fruit and yield were recorded (38.57, 123.43 g and 

61.67 q ha -1 ) in cultivar Bhagwa which was statistically higher than rest of the cultivar 

followed by Arakta (33.43, 118.71 g and 59.36 q ha -1 ) and Ganesh (30.00, 108.86 g and 54.43 

q ha -1 ). Similar result reported by 

Growth and yield performance of different varieties of pomegranate (2017-2018) 

Sr. 

No. 

Name of 

cultivar 

Plant 

height 

(cm) 

Diameter of 

stem (cm) 


fruits 

plant -1 

Fruit 

weight (g) 

Yield 

(q ha -1 ) 

1 Bhagwa 222.86 3.99 38.57 123.43 61.67 

2 Arakta 202.57 3.44 33.43 118.71 59.36 

3 Ganesh 175.11 3.16 30.00 108.86 54.43 

F test Sig. Sig. Sig. Sig. Sig. 

SE m + 2.36 0.10 0.61 0.58 0.29 

C.D. 5 % 7.26 0.29 1.88 1.78 0.89 




Conclusion 

Growth and yield performance of different varieties of pomegranate (2017-2018) 

The maximum plant height, diameter of stem, number of fruit per plant, fruit weight and yield 

per hectare were noticed significantly in pomegranate variety viz. Bhagwa. Hence, Bhagwa 

variety of pomegranate found best under Achalpur condition of Amravati district of 

Maharashtra state. 

References 

Rao, K., Dhanumjaya and Subramanyam, K., 2010. Growth and yield performance of 

pomegranate varieties under scarce rainfall zone. Agriculture Science Digest. 30(1)71- 

72. 

Sharma, K.K. and Dillion, W.S., 2002. Evaluation of evergreen varieties of under Punjab 

conditions. Agriculture Science Digest. 22 (1)42-44. 

Sharma, N and Bist, H.S., 2005. Evaluation of some pomegranate cultivars under mid hills of 

Himachal Pradesh. Acta Horticulture. 696: 103-105. 


426 | Page



T3-42P 

Assessment of Genetic Diversity among the Maize (Zea mays L.) Genotypes 

Based on SSR Markers Linked to Drought Tolerance 

P. Sathish*, M. Vanaja, Y. Varalaxmi, B. Sarkar, N. Jyothi Lakshmi, S.K. Yadav, Ch. 

Mohan, A. Sushma and M. Prabhakar 

ICAR - Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500 059, India 

*p.sathish2@icar.gov.in 

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third most important cereal crop after wheat and rice in terms of 

global grain production. Drought is one of the most important abiotic stresses limiting crop 

yield by 15, 40%, and 60% at vegetative, pollination and grain filling periods respectively. 

Diversity among maize germplasm is important for identifying parental lines for successful 

breeding programme and development of hybrids with adaptation to a broad range of 

environments. Among the different types of molecular markers, simple sequence repeats 

(SSRs) are one of the most promising molecular markers and quite useful in assessment of 

genetic diversity, marker assisted selection and genetic studies such as construction of linkage 

maps and QTL mapping. The present study was aimed to identify diverse genotypes of maize 

for genetic enhancement of drought tolerance. 

Methodology 

Twelve maize genotypes were obtained from different sources viz., ICAR-IIMR, New Delhi; 

ICAR-NBPGR, Hyderabad; ICAR-CRIDA; Maize Research Centre, PJTSAU, Hyderabad. 

The crop was sown during kharif 2021 at ICAR- CRIDA, Hyderabad, to assess the genetic 

diversity among the genotypes. The recommended fertilizer dose and cultural practices along 

with plant protection measures were followed to raise the crop. Each genotype genomic DNA 

was extracted from young leaves at 3- to 4-week-old plants following CTAB method (Doyle 

and Doyle, 1990) with slight modifications. Genomic SSR markers (25) reported having 

association with drought tolerance traits belonging to different series viz., bnlg, umc, and phi 

were selected. These markers were selected based on their repeat units and bin location to 

provide uniform coverage of entire maize genome. The SSR amplification of gel images and 

marker data were processed using Biovision software, USA. The molecular weight data were 

used to calculate the number of alleles, heterozygosity, and polymorphism information content 

(PIC) for each of the primer pairs using Power Marker 3.25 software (Liu and Muse 2005). 

The binary data of SSR markers was used for cluster analysis and the dendrogram was 

generated based on similarity matrices obtained with the unweighted pair-group method using 

the arithmetic mean (UPGMA). All the data analysis was carried out using the NTSYS-pc2.0 

software package (Rohlf, 1998). 




Results 

Twelve maize genotypes were characterized using 25 drought related SSR markers, and the 

data revealed most of SSR markers as polymorphic. These polymorphic SSRs were used to 

estimate the genetic variation among the selected maize genotypes. Twenty-five SSR markers 

amplified a total of 124 alleles and the number of alleles ranged from 4 to 7 with a mean of 5 

alleles per locus. The higher (7) number of alleles were amplified by markers bnlg 1179, umc 

1542, bnlg 1866 and bnlg 2190 followed by 6 alleles were amplified by markers bnlg 1014, 

bnlg 1209 and phi014 (Fig.). The amplified products with 25 SSRs were ranged from 100 to 

298 bp. The highest PCR fragment (298 bp) was generated by primer umc 1596 and the lowest 

size fragment (100 bp) by bnlg 490. Polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.70 

to with 0.84 a mean of 0.75, Heterozygosity (H) ranged from 0.75 to with 0.86 a mean of 0.79. 

In the present study total of 124 alleles generated by using 25 SSR markers and the obtained 

PIC values. Based on dendrogram results 12 genotypes were separated in to 4 major clusters 

and cluster IV with 4 genotypes. These results clearly indicating that the selected genotypes 

possessed high level of genetic diversity as they showed high level of polymorphism of drought 

linked SSR markers. 

L 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 L 

bnlg 1014 

L 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 L 

bnlg 1179 

bnlg 1621 

bnlg 1065 

bnlg 2190 

umc1447 

Figure: PCR amplification profile of 12 maize genotypes generated by primers bnlg 1014, bnlg 1179, bnlg 1621, 

bnlg 1065, bnlg 2190, umc 1447, L- DNA Ladder (100bp), maize genotypes 1 to12 in the following order of M-22, 

DTL-4-1, Harsha, M-24, DHM-117, M-59, DTL-3, M-16, DTL-4, Varun, DTL-9 and DTL-11. 


428 | Page



Conclusion 

Among the selected 12 maize genotypes there is high genetic diversity was recorded as there 

is significant polymorphism of drought linked SSR markers was existing. This genetic resource 

may be useful in future quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping for different traits and further to 

develop tolerant varieties for various abiotic stress conditions including drought. 

References 

Doyle, J. J. and Doyle, J. L. 1990. A rapid DNA isolation procedure from small quantity of fresh 

leaf material. Phytochem. Bull. 119:11-15. 

Liu, K. J. and Muse, S. V. 2005. Power Marker: integrated analysis environment for genetic 

marker data. Bioinformatics 21, 2128–2129. 

Rohlf, F. J. 1998. NTSYS-pc Numerical Taxonomy and Multivariate Analysis System, Version 

2.02i. Exeter Publications, New York. 


Theme– 4 

Sustainable soil management for resilient 

rainfed agro-ecosystem: conservation 

agriculture, organic farming, INM, soilmicroorganisms-plant 

interactions



Theme – 4: Sustainable soil management for resilient rainfed agroecosystem: 

conservation agriculture, organic farming, INM, soilmicroorganisms-plant 

interactions 


Sl. 

No 

Title First Author ID 

1 Long term effect of Nutrient management practices in 

rainfed maize in Southern Rajasthan under dryland 

condition 

2 Carbon sequestrations impact on black cotton soil under 

Rainfed condition of Malwa plateau. 

3 Bio-fertilizers mediated integrated nutrient management 

for sustaining the Chickpea productivity under rainfed 

Vertisols of south India 

4 Integrated organic farming systems: Sustainable 

approach for harnessing food-energy -carbon nexus in 

agricultural production systems 

5 Impact of long- term fertilization and manuring on 

aggregate stability and biochemical characterization of 

aggregate associated C in the Alfisols 

6 Response of Microbial Consortia on productivity of 

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolar L.) and soil quality under 

rainfed condition 

7 Soil moisture stress alters the abundance of maize root 

associated bacteria 

8 Long term integrated plant nutrient supply and insitu 

crop residues management practices on plant nutrient 

uptake and soil microbial population assessment in 

rainfed cotton under vertisols 

9 On-farm Assessment of Site Specific Nutrient 

Management in Rainfed areas of Telangana 

10 Integrated Nutrient Management Approach in Soybean 

(Glycine max L., Merrill) Grown in Vertisols Under 

Rainfed Condition of Malwa Plateau, Madhya Pradesh 

11 Vertical distribution of different pools of soil organic 

carbon under long term finger millet monocropping on 

Alfisols in semi-arid tropical India 

12 Conjoint Application of Nano-Urea and Conventional 

Fertilizers for Sustainable Crop Production 

RK Sharma 

Bharat Singh 

MN Ramesha 

Subhash Babu 

Suvana Sukumaran 

PH Gourkhede 

M Manjunath 

V Sanjivkumar 

Kasthuri Rajamani 

Bharat Singh 

BG Vasanthi 

Pravin Kumar 

Upadhyay 

T4-01O-1124 

T4-02O-1260 

T4-03O-1394 

T4-03aO-1636 

T4-04R-1217 

T4-05R-1032 

T4-06R-1055 

T4-07R-1066 

T4-08R-1099 

T4-09R-1437 

T4-10R-1484 

T4-10aR-1624 

430 | Page Sustainable soil management for resilient rainfed agro-ecosystem: conservation agriculture, organic farming, INM, 

soil-microorganisms-plant interactions



Sl. 

No 


13 Soil Organic Carbon Stock Changes in a Semi-Arid 

Alfisol under Heavy Carbon Loading 

14 Impact of fertilizer deep placement on yield and 

nutrient use efficiency of direct seeded rice 

15 Sowing dates and nutrient management practices in 

spring-summer black gram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper] 

for optimization of growth and production 

16 Effect of N fertilization on grain N content and 

productivity of rice and maize 

17 Integrated approach for zinc enrichment in rainfed 

maize 

18 Influence of Integrated Nutrient Management on Soil 

Properties, Crop Yields and Water Use Efficiency in 

Rainfed Maize-Wheat Rotation 

19 Effect of mulching and integrated nutrient management 

on growth of kharif maize under dryland condition 

20 Yield Maximization of Indian Mustard (Brassica 

juncea) through Integrated Nutrient Management under 

Dryland Condition 

21 Quality and Leaf Nutrient of Pomegranate (Punica 

granatum L.) Influenced by Integrated Nutrient 

Management 

22 Effect of Long-Term Fertilization on Yield and 

Chemical Properties of Soil in Soybean-Safflower 

Croping Sequence in dryland condition under Vertisol 

23 Effect of foliar application of DAP on yield, quality and 

nutrient uptake of chickpea under dryland conditions 

24 Effect of Sulphur Levels and FYM on Yield, Oil 

Content and Nutrient Uptake of Safflower under 

Dryland Condition 

25 Changes in soil fertility status after long term 

application of integrated nutrient management in direct 

seeded rice-field pea cropping system 

26 Response of Mung bean to higher doses of fertilizers 

under rainfed conditions 

27 Response of Soybean Varieties to Integrated Nutrient 

Management under Rain-fed Condition in New Alluvial 

K Srinivas 

Jami Naveen 

Purabi Banerjee 

Surajit Mondal 

P Nandini 

Mohammad Amin 

Bhat 

Sudhanshu Verma 

SK Sharma 

R Bhagyaresha 

R Bhagyaresha 

IR Bagwan 

Shubhangi Kadam 

T Chandrakar 

MD Giri 

Anusree Paul 

T4-11P-1027 

T4-12P-1035 

T4-13P-1058 

T4-14P-1060 

T4-15P-1064 

T4-16P-1628 

T4-17P-1085 

T4-18P-1089 

T4-19P-1093 

T4-20P-1094 

T4-21P-1098 

T4-22P-1100 

T4-23P-1114 

T4-24P-1130 

T4-25P-1143 

Sustainable soil management for resilient rainfed agro-ecosystem: conservation agriculture, organic farming, 

INM, soil-microorganisms-plant interactions 

431 | Page



Sl. 

No 

Zone of West Bengal 


28 Water-soluble fertilizers for foliar supplementation in 

rainfed areas 

29 Foliar nutrition: a key to integrated nutrient 

management in vegetable cowpea 

30 Impact of integrated nutrient management on wheat 

(Triticum aestivum L.) in Eastern Uttar Pradesh 

31 Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, 

yield and economics of rainfed chickpea (Cicer 

arietinum L.) 

32 Effect of integrated nutrient management on the growth 

and yield of mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czernj. 

&Cosson) under guava (Psidium guajavaL.) based agrihorti 

system 

33 Effect Of Integrated Nutrient Management on System 

Yield, Sustainable Yield Index and Soil Properties In 

Maize-Based Cropping System 

34 Soil microbial dynamics as influenced by crop residue 

management practices in legume- cereal sequence 

35 Response of Sweet Corn (Zea mays L.var. saccharata 

sturt) to Integrated Nutrient Management Under 

Rainfed Condition 

36 Effect of sulphur levels and spacings on growth and 

yield of Linseed (Linum usitatissium L.) under Vertisols 

in rainfed situation of Marathwada region 

37 Growth and Yield of soybean (Glycine max (L.) 

Merrill) as influenced by foliar application of growth 

regulators, seaweed extract and potassium nitrate. 

38 Nutrient management for sustaining productivity of 

sunflower-based cropping systems in vertisols of ap. 

39 Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth and 

yield of kharif Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) 

40 Soil test crop response approach for chickpea crop in 

Vertisol 

41 Studies on growth, yield and quality of sesame as 

influenced by chemical fertilizers and liquid 

biofertilizers 

SS Balloli 

RK Krishnasree 

Ambuj Kumar Singh 

SM Kurmvanshi 

Miryala Sushma 

Bikram Borkotoki 

Ammaji Pydi 

PN Karanjikar 

VB Awasarmal 

JD Kalambe 

K Prabhakar 

AK Ghotmukale 

YS Satish Kumar 

SG Mane 

T4-26P-1162 

T4-27P-1183 

T4-28P-1190 

T4-29P-1228 

T4-30P-1259 

T4-31P-1299 

T4-32P-1310 

T4-33P-1313 

T4-34P-1323 

T4-35P-1328 

T4-36P-1351 

T4-37P-1361 

T4-38P-1390 

T4-39P-1421 





Sl. 

No 


42 Response of little millet to different spacings and 

fertilizer levels 

43 Effect of Polymulching on Dalley Chilli in Eastern 

Himalayan Region of West Bengal 

44 A Study on Resilience Of Soil Health Through Fertigation 

And Nutrient Management In Tomato 

45 Phenological and quality response of gram (Cicer 

arietinum L.) to foliage applied fertilizers 

46 Assessment of bio-fertilizers and phosphorus levels on 

productivity and profitability of green gram (Vigna 

radiata L.) 

47 Effect of Long-Term Fertilizer Application on crop 

productivity of Wheat 

48 Studies on effect of NPK, Bulb size and Spacing on 

Yield of Pran (Top Onion) under temperate rainfed 

conditions 

49 Stress Management in Wheat Crop Through Foliar 

Spray of TGA Agro-chemical 

50 Biochar: An effective soil amendment to reduce 

emissions and increase crop productivity 

51 Temporal Changes in Soil Properties Under Intensive 

Cotton Growing Vertisols 

52 Effect of different levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash 

on yield, yield attributes and economic of Bt. cotton under 

rainfed conditions 

53 Effect of long term INM on SOC stock, yield 

sustainability and its relationship with soil quality 

attributes under cotton + greengram (1:1) intercropping 

system in Vertisols 

SJR Syed 

PranabBarma 

Minnu John 

Sharad 

ShikandarJadhav 

Manoj Kumar 

Jyoti Bangre 

Tahir Saleem 

RS Rathore 

Nitin M Kumbhar 

SB Girdekar 

PD Vekariya 

VV Gabhane 

T4-40P-1455 

T4-41P-1480 

T4-42P-1506 

T4-43P-1524 

T4-44P-1548 

T4-45P-1563 

T4-46P-1618 

T4-47P 

T4-48P 

T4-49P 

T4-50P 

T4-51P 



433 | Page



T4-01O-1124 

Long-Term Effect of Nutrient Management Practices in Rainfed Maize in 

Southern Rajasthan under Dryland Condition 

R. K. Sharma 1* , J. K. Balyan 2 , G. R. Chary 4 , Ramavtar 1 , S. Dadheech 1 and S. K. Sharma 3 

1 College of Agriculture Bhilwara–311001, Rajasthan 

2 Dryland Farming Research Station, Arjia, Bhilwara 

3 Directorate of Research, Udaipur4ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad 

*rksdfrs@ yahoo.co.in 

Rainfed agriculture is the main stay of farmers in Rajasthan. Out of 10.23 lakh ha of gross 

cropped area in Sub-Humid Plain and Southern Hills of South Rajasthan, 77% area is rainfed. 

The zone is characterized by small and scattered land holdings, erratic distribution of rainfall, 

inherently poor soil fertility and frequent crop failures due to drought. Integrated nutrient 

management envisages the use of fertilizers in conjunction with locally available nutrient 

sources of organic-based manures (FYM, compost, green leaf manure etc.), legume in 

cropping system for sustaining soil health and productivity. The soils are low in nitrogen. 

Therefore, instead of solely depending on costly chemical fertilizer, some low-cost practices 

should be adopted to explore the possibility of getting the natural sources of nitrogen 

available to the farmers. 

Methodology 

Field experiments were conducted in All Indian Coordinated Research Project on Dryland 

Agriculture, Dryland Farming Research Station (MPUAT) Arjia, Rajasthan during kharif 

2008-2020 under dryland conditions. The experimental site is typically representative of the 

dryland conditions of western India and having Sandy loam soil texture. The experiment was 

laid out in a randomized block design with four replications and nine treatments in a set. The 

treatments consisted of T 1- Control (No fertilizer), T 2-100% RDN & P (50 kg N+30 kg P 2O 5 

ha-1) through inorganic fertilizer,T3- 25 kg N through FYM and remaining 25 kg N through 

IF +30 kg P 2O 5 ha-1, T 4-25 Kg N through compost and remaining 25 kg N through IF+30 kg 

P2O5 ha-1, T5-25 kg N through crop residues (wheat straw) and remaining 25 kg N through 

IF+30 kg P2O5 ha-1, T6- 15 kg N through FYM + 10 kg N through crop residues and 

remaining 25 kg N through IF+30 kg P 2O 5 ha-1, T 7- 15 kg N through FYM + 10 kg N 

through compost and remaining 25 kg N through IF+30 kg P2O5 ha-1, T8- 15 kg N through 

FYM + 10 kg N through Greenleafand remaining 25 kg N through IF+30 kg P 2O 5 ha-1 and 

T 9- 100% RDN through IF without phosphorus and applied in maize crop. The treatments 

were superimposed with 4 replications in a Randomized Block Design with plot size of 6 m × 

5 m. Maize crop was sown at a row-plant spacing of 60 × 25 cm and blackgram crop was 

sown at a row- plant spacing of 30 x 10 cm. The recommended dose of P fertilizers was 





applied in all treatments except T 1: Control. The 100% RDF comprised of 50 kg ha−1 of N 

and 30 kg ha−1 of P 2O5. Well decomposed FYM, compost and crop residues were 

incorporated according to treatments 2 weeks before the sowing of maize crop in rainy 

season. 

Results 

Results revealed that application of 25 kg N through FYM and 25 kg N through IF+ 30 kg 

P 2O 5 ha-1 recorded higher mean maize grain equivalent yield (3533 kg ha-1) and higher 

maize equivalent stover yield (5390 kg ha-1) as compared to control (2057 kg ha-1and 2967 

kg ha-1, respectively).The available nitrogen content of the soil was affected by application 

of organic manure and chemical fertilizers. It varied from 185 kg ha-1 (control) to 265.05 

kgha-1 in the treatment receiving 25 kg N through FYM and 25kg N through chemical 

fertilizer along with 30 kg P 2O 5 ha-1. Similarly, organic carbon content, available 

phosphorous and available potassium significantly increased by the application of organic 

manure, chemical fertilizers and their combinations in comparison to control. Micronutrient 

status were also found higher with the application of organic sources. Whereas, pH and 

electric conductivity did not influence statistically significant by the application of organic 

sources. However, bulk density and infiltration rate significantly influenced by the 

application of different organic sources. Results revealed that applications of organic 

treatments significantly affected the population of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in soil 

and recorded higher with the application of 25 kg N through FYM and 25 kg N through 

IF+30 kg P2O5 ha-1. Dehydrogenase activities also observed significantly higher in organic 

treatments. Research findings suggested that judicious combination of manures and chemical 

fertilizers depending upon the availability, nature and properties of the soil and crops not only 

enhanced the cereal crops’ productivity, but also maintained the soil fertility (Sharma et 

al.2018), soil quality and optimum productivity on sustainable basis (Singh and Yadav 1992). 

Conservation and maintenance of a threshold level of SOM is a key consideration in 

sustainable crop productivity and maintenance of soil quality. Many studies have shown that 

balanced application of chemical fertilizers and organic manures can increase soil 

productivity and positively related to soil C accumulation (Srinivasarao et al. 2016). 

Application of organic manures can increase the SOM and enhance soil fertility (Debska et 

al. 2016). 

Conclusion 

Application of 25 kg N through FYM and 25 kg N through IF+ 30 kg P 2O 5 recorded 70.35 % 

higher mean maize grain equivalent yield and 76.2% higher maize equivalent stover yield as 

compared to control after fourteen years of experimentation. 



435 | Page



References 

Dębska, B., Dlugosz, J., Piotrowska-Dlugosz, A., Banach-Szott, M. 2016. The impact of a 

bio-fertilizer on the soil organic matter status and carbon sequestration—results from a 

field-scale study. J Soil Sediment.16:2335–2343. 

Sharma, K. L., Srinivasarao, Ch., Suma Chandrika, D., Lal, M., Indoria, A. K., Sammi 

Reddy, K., Ravindra Chary, G., Amrutsagar, V., Kathmale, D. K., More, N. B., 

Srinivas, K., Gopinath, K. A., Kalyana Srinivas, D. 2018. Effect of predominant 

integrated nutrient management practices on soil quality indicators and soil quality 

indices under post monsoon (rabi) sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in rainfed black soils 

(Vertisols) of western India. Commun. Soil Sci Plant Anal. 49:1629–1637. 

Singh, G. B., Yadav, D. V. 1992. Integrated nutrient supply system in sugarcane and 

sugarcane-based cropping system. Fertil News. 37:15–22. 

Srinivasarao, Ch., Gopinath, K. A., Prasad, J. V. N. S., Prasannakumar, A. K., Singh. 2016. 

Climate resilient villages for sustainable food security in tropical India: concept, 

process, technologies, institutions and impacts. Adv Agron. 140:101–214. 

T4-02O-1260 

Carbon Sequestrations Impact on Black Cotton Soil under Rainfed 

Condition of Malwa Plateau 

Bharat Singh* and S.K. Sharma 

* singhbharat05@gmail.com 

The soil organic carbon is the very foundation for healthy and productive soils. The soil 

organic matter positively influences and modifies almost all the soil properties. Considering 

the role of soil organic matter in maintaining soil health, the agricultural practices that 

enhance the soil organic carbon are essential. Addition of organic matter through green 

manures plays an important role in improving productivity of crop besides improvement in 

soil physico-chemical properties, which often deteriorate under intensive cropping involving 

inorganic fertilization (Hiremath and Patel, 1996). The present investigation was conducted 

to know the effect of various treatments of soybean, maize and sunhemp (as green manure) 

on carbon sequestration impact in vertisols. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted during the kharif season of 2017-18 atCollege of 

Agriculture, Indore, India. The experiment was carried out with 8 treatments and replicated 

thrice in a randomized block design (RBD). The treatments includedsoybean + sunhemp (2:1) 





at 30 cm; soybean + sunhemp (1:1) at 45 cm; sole soybean at 45 cm; maize + sunhemp (2:1) 

at 45 cm; maize + sunhemp (1:1) at 30 cm; sole maize at 60 cm; soybean + maize (1:1) at 45 

cm; sole sunhemp at 30 cm. The green manuring crop sunhemp, soybean (cv. JS 95- 60) and 

maize (cv. K 604 Hybrid) were sown in the last week of June. The soybean and maize were 

grown with 20:60:40 and 120:60:40 kg ha -1 recommended dose of N: P2O5:K2O, 

respectively. The sunhemp was incorporated in the first week of August. 

Results 

In 0- 15 cm soil depth, highest soil moisture content was observed in the treatment sole 

sunhemp at 30 cm followed by treatment Soybean + sunhemp (1:1) at 45 cm. The sole 

sunhemp cropping registered 35-40% and 33-37% higher soil moisture in 0-15 and 15-30 cm 

soil depth, respectively as compared to sole soybean and maize crop. The intercropping also 

showed 20-26% higher soil moisture in different depths as compared to sole cropping. The 

soil bulk density was found lowest in the treatment of sole sunhemp at 30 cm significantly 

reduced over the other treatments. The soil porosity analyzed after harvest of the crops 

ranged between 47.4% in treatment of sole Maize at 60 cm and 51.3% in treatment of sole 

sunhemp at 30 cm. The soil porosity remained unaffected irrespective either intercropping 

and/or green manuring. The treatments soybean + sunhemp (2:1) at 30 cm, Soybean + 

sunhemp (1:1) at 45 cmand sole sunhemp at 30 cm were found to be statistically at par with 

respect to the MWD but significantly superior over the other treatments under study. The 

increase in MWD of soil mainly attributed to the increase in soil organic carbon content 

(Tiarkset al., 1974). 

The soil pH remained unaffected irrespective either intercropping and/or green manuring. 

The treatment sole sunhemp at 30 cm, soybean + sunhemp (1:1) at 45 cm, Soybean + 

sunhemp (2:1) at 30 cm, maize + sunhemp (2:1) at 45 cm and maize + sunhemp (1:1) at 30 

cm recorded significantly higher soil organic carbon as compared to the other treatments. The 

highest bacterial population was observed under the treatment sole sunhemp at 30 cm, 

whereas, the lowest was observed under sole maize cultivation at 60 cm row to row spacing. 

The highest fungal and actinomycetes population was found under sole green manure 

cropping i.e. treatment sole sunhemp at 30 cm, whereas the lowest was observed under 

Soybean + Maize (1:1) at 45 cm and sole soybean at 45 cm, respectively. 

The enhanced microbial population upon application of different sources of organic matter is 

in close agreement with present results (Aheret al., 2018). The incorporation of sunhemp as 

green manure crop intercropped with soybean and maize showed positive response on 

physico-chemical and microbial properties of soil. 



437 | Page



Conclusion 

The green manure intercrop treatments significantly enhanced soil organic carbon and 

improved physical, chemical and biological properties of soil and reflected as viable 

technique in improving soil health. 

References 

Aher, S. B., Lakaria, B. L., Swami K., Singh, A. B., Ramana, S., Thakur, J. K., Biswas, A. 

K., Jha, P., Manna, M. C. and Yashona, D. S. 2018. Soil microbial population and 

enzyme activities under organic, biodynamic and conventional agriculture in semi-arid 

tropical conditions of central India. J. Exp. Biol. Agric. Sci., 6(5): 763-773. 

Hiremath, S. M. and Patel, Z. G. 1996. Biomass production, N-accumulation and nodulation 

of green manure species during winter season. J. Maharashtra Agric. Univ. 21: 55-57. 

Tiarks, A. E., Mazurak, A. P. and Chesnin, L. 1974. Physical and chemical properties of soil 

associated with heavy applications of manure from cattle feedlots. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. 

Proc.,38: 826-830. 

T4-03O-1394 

Bio-Fertilizers Mediated Integrated Nutrient Management for 

Sustaining the Chickpea Productivity Under Rainfed Vertisols of 

SouthIndia 

M.N. Ramesha 1* , S.L. Patil 2 , K.N. Ravi 1 and M. Prabhavathi 1 

1 ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil &Water Conservation, Research Centre, Ballari, Karnataka 583 104, India 

2 ICAR- Indian Institute Pulse Research, Regional Research Centre, Dharwad, 580 005, India 

* MN.Ramesha@icar.gov.in 

Increasing demand for nutritionally fortified quality foods and challenges of soil fertility 

maintenance is a big concern for future sustainable food production with respect to source 

of fertilizer input used and energy required for their production. The resources available 

with the farming community and their socio-economic aspects warrant the adoption of 

alternative strategies for enhancing the use efficiency of inputs and environmental safety. 

The microbe’s adaptability and ability to thrive in different environments, low cost of their 

production and environmental safety aspects, has prompted introduction of microbial 

intervention in the crop production (Sarkar et al., 2021). Literature envisages that the use 

of low-cost technologies i.e. N fixing, P solubilizing microbial consortium and supply of 

deficient micronutrients (Zn and Fe) will enhance the productivity and profitability of 

pulses (Nosheenet al., 2021; Rafiqueet al., 2021). In India the pulse production has 





gradually increased to 25.58 MT in 2020-21however, countryhas a target of achieving 32 

and 39 MT by 2030 and 2050, respectively. Therefore, the productivity of pulse crops has 

to increase for meeting the growing demand. Among the pulse crops, chickpea is the 

important crop with 49% of total pulses productionin the country (Gaur, 2021). Lower 

productivity of pulsesis attributed to the use of traditional cultivars, cultivation on 

marginal lands without proper nutrient management, irrigation and disease and pest 

control at right time. Further, reduction in the use of organic amendments and 

deficiencies of micronutrients especially zinc and iron hindering pulse productivity 

(Patil et al., 2018). Hence, anexperiment was conducted at Research Farm, ICAR-IISWC, 

Bellari, to know the effect of bio-fertilizers mediated integrated nutrient management on 

chickpea productivity under rainfed Vertisols of south India. 

Methodology 

Treatments covers two main fertilizer application practices, viz., farmer’s practice (10:25, 

N:P and 2.5 tons FYM once in three years) as T 1 and recommended rate of fertilizer 

application (25:50 N:P and 5 tons FYM once in three years) as T2. These two treatments 

were supplemented with bio-fertilizers viz., Rhizobium culture, phosphate solubilizing 

bacteria (PSB), plant growth promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) to constitute T 3 and T 6 

treatments. Further, micronutrient zinc supplied with fertilizer application constitutes the 

T 4 and T 7. Combined effects ofbio-fertilizers and a micronutrient with main fertilizer 

application practices were tested in T 5 and T 8treatments, respectively. Finally, to test the 

effect of foliar application, T2 was supplemented with foliar application of NPK (19:19:19 

one kg ha -1 ) and NK (KNO 3, one kg ha -1 ) at 5 g L -1 30 days after sowing, as treatments T 9 

and T10, respectively. During 2021, total rainfall received was 74% higher (897 mm) than 

the mean annual rainfall of the location. The crop was sown during October 2021 with 

receipt of 55.5 mm of rainfall prior to sowing. Crop season rainfall was 270 mm, which 

was 88% higher than the normal rabi season average rainfall of 65 years. The crop 

growth wasbelow normal during 2021-22 due to excess rain (217.5 mm) in November 

2021. 

Results 

The treatment T 8 with application of recommended rate of fertilizer, biofertilizers and zinc, 

produced significantly higher grain yield (973 kg ha -1 ), straw yield (1297 kg ha -1 ), total dry 

matter production (2269 kg ha -1 ) and water use efficiency (WUE) of 3.48 kg ha -1 mm -1 

over T 2, T 3 and T 1. Among the treatments having farmer's rate of fertilizer the treatment T 5 

with biofertilizers and zinc application produced higher grain yield (848 kg ha -1 ), straw 

yield (1130 kg ha -1 ), total dry matter production (1978 kg ha -1 ) and water use efficiency 

(WUE) of 3.03 kg ha -1 mm -1 over T 1. The grain yield, straw yield, total dry matter 



439 | Page



production and WUE was higher in T 8 by 50%, 53%, 52% and 50% compared to T 1. Greater 

yields in T8 and T6 compared to other treatments are attributed to better crop growth with 

higher root length, nodules per plant and weight of nodules and greater dry matter 

translocation to yield components during adverse rainfall situation and effect of biofertilizer, 

zinc withrecommended rate of chemical fertilizer. The cost of cultivation 

remains high in the treatments that have recommended rate of fertilizer application. 

Significantly higher gross return(15%) was in T8with only 0.6% higher net return than the 

T 5. The B:C ratio was higher in T 5 (1.28) followed by T 8 and T 4 (1.24). Higher net returns 

of ₹ 8,046 and ₹ 8,314 ha -1 was recorded in T 3 and T 4, respectively as compared to lower 

net returns of ₹ 3,659 ha -1 recorded in T2indicates significance of bio-fertilizers and 

micronutrient in reducing the cost of cultivation and improving overall farm enterprise 

income. Total energy output (37279 MJ ha -1 ) and net energy benefit (32006 MJ ha -1 ) were 

significantly higher in T 8and was attributed to greater grain and straw yields produced in 

T 8. Energy use efficiency (7.07) and energy productivity (0.189 MJ ha -1 ) were significantly 

higher in T5. It indicates that the effect of low-cost technologies like bio-fertilizers and 

micronutrient supplements significantly improves the crop performance in terms of energy 

usage. 

Conclusion 

We can conclude that the treatment T 8with recommended rate of fertilizer 

applicationwith bio-fertilizers and a micronutrient sustains Chickpea productivity by 

producing higher grain yield, straw yield, total dry matter production, WUE, energy use 

efficiency, net returns and B:C ratio under above normal rainfall situations on the 

Vertisols of Bellariregion in southern India. 

Technical staff associated with the experiment Mr. B.N. Seshadri, Mr. G. Bhati and A. 

Kumar are appreciated for research plots maintenance and data generation. 

References 

Gaur, P. 2021. Can India sustain high growth of pulses production? J. Food Leg. 34(1): 1-3. 

Nosheen, S.; Ajmal, I.; Song, Y. 2021. Microbes as Biofertilizers, a Potential Approach for 

Sustainable Crop Production. Sustainability. 13: 1868. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041868 

Patil, S. L., Loganandhan, N., Ramesha, M.N., Adhikary. P.P. and K. Channabasappa. 

2018. Energy Consumption and Sensitivity Analysis of Rainfed Chickpea Production 

in Vertisolsof Semi-arid Karnataka. Proc. National Acad. Sci. India, Sec. B 

Bio.Sci.88(2):685-694. 





Rafique, M., Naveed, M., Mustafa, A., Akhtar, S., Munawar, M., Kaukab, S., Ali, R.M., 

Siddiqui, M.H. and Salem, M.Z.M. 2021. The combined effects ofgibberellic acid and 

rhizobium on growth, yield & nutritional status in chickpea. Agronomy11(1): 

105;https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomyl1010105. 

Sarkar, D., Rakshit, A., Al-Turki, A.I., Sayyed, R.Z., Datta, R. 2021. Connecting biopriming 

approach with integrated nutrient management for improved nutrient use 

efficiency in crop species. Agriculture 11: 372. 

https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11040372. 

T4-03aO-1636 

Integrated organic farming systems: Sustainable approach for harnessing 

food-energy -carbon nexus in agricultural production systems 

Subhash Babu 1 *, Anup Das 2 , V.K. Singh 3 , Jyoti D. Gaikwad 4 , S.S. Rathore 1 , 

P.K. Upadhayay 1 , R.K. Singh 1 and Raj Singh 

1 

Division of Agronomy, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India 

2 

ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Tripura Centre, Tripura, India 

3 

ICAR-Central Research Institute on Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India 

4 

Department of Agronomy, NAU, Navsari, Gujrat, India 

* subhiari@gmail.com 

Globally the agricultural production system is challenged by the climate change adversities, 

resource depletion, land degradation, low energy productivity and high Carbon foot print. 

The farming sector is highly sensitive to climatic uncertainties and is also highly impacted by 

population growth, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation (Babu et al.,2021). 

COP27 emphasized on development of sustainable agriculture food systems that can reduce 

its environmental footprint and resilient to climate vulnerabilities. Attaining a balance in the 

food-energy trade-off while conserving the natural resources base and minimizing 

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for attaining sustainable development goals is one of the 

major challenges for the resource-poor farmers in India. Bridging the food-energy demand 

and supply gap while preserving the ecosystem sustainability and food security is one of the 

pressing challenges for researchers, and policymakers. Integration of the different farm 

enterprises like crops, livestock, etc. plays a synergistic role in food production, growers' 

livelihood, and provisioning of different ecosystem services (Martínez et al. 2007; Lu et al. 

2019; Lal, 2020). Thus, edifice up the inextricable soil-water-food and energy nexus for a 

strong agricultural production system should play a vital role in bringing in a balance 

between higher productivity and ecosystem sustainability. Therefore, it was hypothesized that 

Integrated organic farming system shall reduce farmland waste, and minimize the land 

degradation while sustaining higher productivity, and profitability. 



441 | Page



Methodology 

The productivity, profitability, energy security, and environmental sustainability of four 

Integrated Organic Farming System models (viz., IOFS -I, mono-cropping+livestock; IOFS - 

II, diversified cropping+livestock; IOFS -III, diversified cropping+livestock+poultry, and 

IOFS -IV, diversified cropping+ livestock+ poultry+ piggery) were assessed in Meghalaya 

region of Indian Himalayas. The system productivity of different systems was evaluated to 

assess their production capacity. For a meaningful comparison of different production 

systems, all products were converted into the rice equivalent yield i.e. system productivity. 

Energy auditing explores an efficiency edge between an input-output relationship in different 

production systems. Carbon footprint both at a spatial scale and yield scale and eco-efficiency 

considering energy input and emission of GHG per unit of economic gain were assessed to 

compare the environmental competency of integrated production systems. General Linear 

Model version SAS 9.4 was used to test the statistical significance of data obtained from 

diverse production systems. The least significant difference (LSD) and standard error of the 

mean was employed for valid comparison of data among the different IOFS models. 

Results 

All the integrated organic farming systems had higher energy profitability and substantially 

reduced greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) over IOFS-I. IOFS -IV recorded considerably 

higher net profit (US$. 2828.5 y -1 ), energy productivity (0.22 kg MJ -1 ), and the lowest GHGI 

(0.33 kg CO 2eq kg -1 food production) over other production systems. GHG (kg -1 production) 

emissions of IOFS-IV were also 1.7 times lower than that of IOFS -I. Furthermore, IOFS -IV 

had recycled 81.1, 68.2, and 68.8% higher N, P, and K over the IOFS-1, respectively. Thus, 

the study suggested that IOFS -IV could be a profitable, energy-efficient, environmentally 

friendly, and economically viable sustainable production system for the Indian Himalayan 

region. 

References 

Babu Subhash, Mohapatra, K.P., Das, A., Yadav, G.S., Singh, R., Chandra, P., Avasthe, R. K., Kumar 

Amit, Thoithoi Devi, M., Singh, V. K. and Panwar, A. S. 2021. Integrated Farming Systems: 

Climate-Resilient Sustainable Food Production System in the Indian Himalayan Region. In: 

Exploring Synergies and Trade-offs Between Climate Change and the Sustainable Development 

Goals, V. Venkatramanan, Shachi Shah and Ram Prasad (Eds.): 119-143. 

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7301-9_6 

Lal, R. 2009. Soil degradation as a reason for inadequate human nutrition. Food Secur. 1(1): 45-57. 

DOI:10.1007/s12571-009-0009-z. 

Lu, S., Bai, X., Li, W., Wang, N. 2019. Impacts of climate change on water resources and grain 

production. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change. 143:76-84. DOI:10.1016/j.techfore.2019.01.015 





Martínez M.L., Intralawan A., Vázquez G., Pérez-Maqueo O., Sutton P., Landgrave R. 2007. The 

coasts of our world: Ecological, economic and social importance. Ecol. Econ. 63(2-3): 254- 

272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.10.022. 

T4-04R-1217 

Impact of Long- Term Fertilization and Manuring on Aggregate Stability 

and Biochemical Characterization of Aggregate Associated C in the Alfisols 

Suvana Sukumaran 1* , T. J. Purakayastha 2 , Bidisha Chakrabarti 2 , 

K. K. Bandyopadhyay 2 , ThulasiViswanathe 3 , K. K. Rout 4 , K. Sammi Reddy 1 and 

A.K. Indoria 1 

1 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India, 

2 ICAR- Indian Agricultural research Institute, New Delhi, 

3 Regional Agricultural Research Station, Pattambi, Kerala, 

4 Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 

* suvana.sukumaran@icar.gov.in 

Different land use and land cover management practices affect soil aggregation, which inturn 

affect soil C retention. The SOC in the profile can be stabilised by three mechanisms mainly- 

physical protection by organo-mineral complexes, biochemical stability to decomposition and 

chemical protection by adsorption to clay surfaces. The decomposition rate of C is directly 

proportional to the size of aggregates. Chemical association of SOC with silt and clay 

particles can also impose a limit to the soil’s C stabilization potential due to a limit in the 

surface area of the silt-plus-clay fraction in a given soil. Biochemical stabilization of SOM in 

the soil matrix is a strong function of the inherent chemical and structural stability of the 

organic biomolecules. Soil aggregate dynamics and SOM decomposition are closely linked. 

The present study was undertaken to study the effect of long-term manuring and fertilization 

on the physical and biochemical stability of aggregates and the associated carbon in the ricerice 

cropping system of the Alfisols of Bhubaneswar (BHNS) and Pattambi (PTMB). 

Methodology 

This study was carried out in two long term fertilizer experiments continuing in Bhubaneswar 

(Orissa) and Pattambi (Kerala), where rice- rice was the main cropping system. The 

experimental site at Bhubaneswar has tropical and sub-humid climate, whereas that at 

Pattambi has perhumid. The soils at Bhubaneswar were acidic sandy loam and at Pattambi 

were acidic sandy clay loam. The following treatments were considered for the study:T1- 

control, T2- 50 % NPK, T3- 100%NPK, T4- 150 % NPK, T5- 100%NPK+ FYM ( 10 t ha -1 ), 

T6- 100%NPK + Lime. The soil samples were collected from 0-15 and 15-30 cm depth. The 

aggregate size distribution was done using wet sieving method. The total carbon content in 

the sample was determined by dry combustion in CHNS analyser (Eurovector, model Euro 



443 | Page



EA3000). The glomalin content of aggregate samples were extracted using 50 mM sodium 

tricitrate, pH 8.0, 121OC for 1 hr (Wright and Upadhyay, 1999). The total polysaccharides 

were analyzed by phenol sulphuric acid method by Lowe (1994). The total carbohydrate was 

analyzed by phenol sulphuric acid methodby Dubois et al, (1956). Total polyphenols of POM 

fractions were determined by Prussian Blue spectrophotometric method. 

Results 

The effect of different treatments on mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean 

diameter (GMD) and water stable macro-aggregates (WSMA) in the rice-rice cropping 

system of BHNS and PTMBare given in the table. The study showed that the C associated 

with 2.00-0.25mm aggregates varied from 3.53 g kg -1 in 50 % NPK to 10.11 g kg -1 in plots 

treated with 100% NPK+FYM in soils of BHNS and from 11.7 g kg -1 in control to 23.1 g kg 

-1 

in plots treated with 100%NPK+FYM in that of PTMB. In the 0.25-0.053 mm fraction, 

inBHNS,100% NPK+FYM (11.1 g kg -1 ) had higher C content, whereas in the effect of 

different treatments on biochemical stability of aggregates showed that addition of 100% 

NPK+FYM increased glomalin content (3.43 mg g -1 ) significantly in macro aggregates and 

also in micro-aggregates (3.25 mg g -1 ) in BNHS. Similar trend was observed in both the 

macro and micro-aggregates of PTMB. The combined application of FYM with 100% NPK 

significantly increased polysaccharide content in macro-aggregates (i.e. 6.09 g kg -1 ) and 

micro-aggregates (5.6 times compared to control) indicating that addition of FYM increases 

biochemical stability of aggregates at BHNS. However, in the soils of PTMB, the application 

of 150% NPK increased polysaccharide content in the macro-aggregate fractions and the 

combined application of FYM with 100% NPK (i.e. 12.8 g kg -1 ) in micro-aggregates 

compared to other treatments. The biochemical stability of micro-aggregates with application 

of fertilizers only, was significantly lower in general. The control soils had the lowest 

polysaccharide content and hence biochemical stability. The addition of either FYM or lime 

with 100% NPK significantly increased carbohydrate content in the POM fractions obtained 

from aggregates at both the sites. Addition of FYM with 100% NPK significantly increased 

polyphenol content by 1.73 times and by 1.65 times in the POM fractions at BHNS and 

PTMB respectively. 

Long-term effect of manuring and fertilization on mean weight diameter (MWD), 

geometric mean diameter (GMD) and water stable macro aggregate (WSMA>0.25mm) at 

0-15 and 15-30 cm soil under rice-rice cropping system in Bhubaneswar and Pattambi 

Treatments 

Bhubaneswar 

MWD (mm) GMD (mm) WSMA >.25mm 

0-15 cm 15-30 cm 0-15 cm 15-30 cm 0-15 cm 15-30 cm 

50% NPK 0.88bc 0.92c 1.001e§ 1.003c 0.69c 0.74d 





100% NPK 0.83c§ 0.88c 1.002c 1.002d 0.69c 0.72d 

150% NPK 0.90b 1.09b 1.003bc 1.003cd 0.74b 0.85c 

100% NPK + FYM 1.03a 1.29a 1.004a 1.004b 0.83a 0.95a 

100% NPK + LIME 1.08a 1.10b 1.002d 1.005a 0.75b 0.90b 

CONTROL 0.77d§ 0.68d§ 1.003b 1.001e§ 0.58d§ 0.53e§ 

Pattambi 

50%NPK 1.00a 0.93c§ 1.003a 1.004bc 0.79ab 0.74c 

100%NPK 1.07a 1.03ab 1.004a 1.003d 0.86a 0.83b 

150%NPK 1.05a 1.05ab 1.005a 1.005a 0.85a 0.86ab 

100%NPK +LIME 1.03a 1.00b 1.004a 1.004ab 0.83ab 0.83b 

100%NPK +FYM 1.11a 1.09a 1.004a 1.005a 0.84a 0.87a 

CONTROL 0.99a 1.06ab 1.004a 1.003d§ 0.77b§ 0.77c§ 

Conclusion 

The balanced NPK fertilization or integration of either FYM or lime with recommended 

doses of NPK (100%NPK) emerged effective management strategies for enhancing physical, 

chemical and biochemical stabilization of carbon for long-term carbon sequestration in 

Alfisols of India. 

References 

Wright, S.F. and Upadhyaya, A. 1999. Quantification of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi 

activity by the glomalin concentration on hyphal traps. Mycorrhiza, 8(5), pp.283-285. 

Dubois, M., Gilles, K.A., Hamilton, J.K., Rebers, P.A.T. and Smith, F., 1956. Colorimetric 

method for determination of sugars and related substances. Anal.Chem., 28(3):350- 

356. 

T4-05R-1032 

Response of Microbial Consortia on Productivity of Sorghum (Sorghum 

BicolarL.) and Soil Quality under Rainfed Condition 

P.H. Gourkhede*, W.N. Narkhede, M.S. Pendke and R.S. Raut 

All India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland Agriculture 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani-431402(MS), India 

* pathrikar2012@gmail.com 

Sorghum is grownon considerable area under rainfed condition in Marathwada region both in 

kharif and rabiseason. However, the productivity of sorghum particularly in kharif season is 

fluctuating. Also, sorghum is grown largely for fodder production in kharif season. Occurrence 

of frequent dryspells in Marathawada region is a common phenomenon which has a direct 



445 | Page



impact on the production and productivity. Drought is one of the main environmental factors that 

negatively affect plant growth and development and productivity. In plants, drought is associated 

with other stresses, for example, osmotic stress produced by dehydration, which diminishes cell 

expansion. A microbial consortium involves two or more microbial groups living symbiotically. 

Consortia can be endosymbiotic or ectosymbiotic. Microbial consortium is specially formulated 

microbial inoculants. It contains N- fixing, P and Zn solubilizing and K mobilizing and plant 

growth promoting bacteria. To increase the productivity of sorghum in kharif season, an 

experiment was conducted to study the response of microbial consortia on productivity of 

sorghum (sorghum bicolar L.) and soil quality under rainfed conditions of Marathawadaregion. 

Methodology 

The study was conducted at research farm of All India Coordinated Research Project on Dry 

Land Agriculture, VNMKV, Parbhani during kharif season 2018-20. The experiment comprises 

of seven treatments including two types of microbial consortia culture (C1 & C2) along with 

three methods (seed, soil and seed + soil) of culture application and was laid out in a randomized 

block design with three replications. Microbial consortia culture (C1& C2) was procured from 

ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad before sowing of the experiment. For seed treatment, microbial 

consortia culture (C 1&C 2 ) were applied @ 250g 10 Kg -1 of seed and for soil application 2.5 kg 

culture powder ha -1 were applied,immediately before sowing. The recommended doses of 

chemical fertilizer were applied at the time of sowing. 

Results 

Yield and monetary returns: 

Application of microbial consortia significantly increased grain yield, straw yield and returns of 

sorghum. Application of microbial consortia C 2 in T 6 (Seed treatment + Soil appication of 

consortia 2) gave grain and straw yield i.e. 2510 and 7279 Kg ha -1 respectively as compared to 

other treatment. However, it was at par with treatment T 3 (Seed tresatment + Soil application of 

consortia 1). Similar trend was recorded in case of gross returns (GR), net returns (NR) and B: C 

ratio. The production of proline and osmoregulantsenabled the crop to withstand the water stress 

due to dry spell. These isolates were capable of increasing shoot and leaf biomass, shoot length 

and photosynthesis. (Kavya et al. 2015) 

Grain yield, straw yield (Kgha -1 ), GMR, NMR and B: C ratio as influenced with use of 

Consortia culture in sorghum 

Treatments 

Grain yield 

(Kg ha -1 ) 

Straw yield 

(Kg ha -1 ) 

G R 

(Rs.) 

N R 

(Rs.) 

B:C Ratio 

T 1: Seed treatment (C 1) 1952 4489 63243 38943 2.60 





T 2: Soil application (C 1) 2140 5136 69978 45078 2.81 

T 3: Seed treatment+ Soil 

application(C 1) 

2485 6709 83494 58094 3.28 

T 4: Seed treatment (C 2) 1997 5592 67699 43399 2.78 

T 5: Soil application (C 2) 2018 6054 69621 44721 2.79 

T 6: Seed treatment + Soil 

application (C 2) 

2510 7279 85842 60542 3.39 

T 7: Absolute control 1938 5233 65118 42818 2.92 

SE 359 2521 2421 2801 0.69 

CD 1106 7767 7462 8630 2.14 

C 1 – Consortia culture 1 C 2 – Consortia culture 2 

Proline content: 

Proline content in sorghum leaf after harvest was significantly high (1.89 ug g-1) with treatment 

T6followed by treatment T3. The effect of microbial culture on proline content in sorghum leaf 

after dry spell was non-significant. Similar results were reported by Kalindee Shinde and Borkar. 

(2013) in sorghum seed bacterialization with four rhizobacterial isolate viz., Serratia marcescens 

L1SC8, Pseudomonas putida L3SC1, Enterobacter cloacae L1CcC1 and Serratia marcescens. 

L2FmA4 were found beneficial to mitigate drought stress effect in sorghum. 

Proline content (ug g -1 ) in sorghum leaf at after dry spell and at harvest stage as Influenced 

with use of consortia culture 

Treatments 

Proline content at 

flowering stage 

(ug g -1 ) 

Proline content 

at Harvest 

(ug g -1 ) 

T 1: Seed treatment of consortia (C 1) 0.90 1.09 

T 2: Soil application of consortia (C 1) 0.69 1.03 

T 3: Seed treatment + Soil application of consortia (C 1) 0.80 1.10 

T 4: Seed treatment of consortia (C 2) 0.86 1.18 

T 5: Soil application of consortia (C 2) 0.85 1.12 

T 6: Seed treatment + Soil application of consortia (C 2) 0.79 1.89 

T 7: Absolute control 0.07 0.88 

SE 0.02 0.44 

CD 0.06 1.36 

C 1 – Consortia culture 1 C 2 – Consortia culture 2 



447 | Page



Conclusions 

1. Use of treatment (T6) Seed treatment + Soil application of microbial consortia (C2) 

produced significantly higher Grain and straw yield, GMR, NMR and B:C ratio insorghum 

under moisture stress condition. 

2. The dual inoculation of microbial consortia culture (C2) through Seed treatment and 

soilapplication significantly increased moisture retention and proline content of soil 

atharvesting stages of sorghum crop. 

References 

Kalindee Shinde, S. and Borkar, S.G. 2018. ACC deaminase activity of bacterial species 

involved in conferring drought tolerance in sorghum (Sorghum biolorL). Int. J. Chemical 

Stud. 6(6): 1314-1316 

Kavya, Y., Trimurthulu, N., Vijaya Gopal, A., Madhu Vani. and Prasad, N. V. 2020. Effect of 

inoculation of microbial consortia on soil physicochemical and nutrient status. British J. 

Appl. Sci. Tech., 39(4): 1-8 

T4-06R-1055 

Soil Moisture Stress Alters the Abundance of Maize Root Associated 

Bacteria 

M. Manjunath, N. Jyothilakshmi, S. Vijayalakshmi, S. K. Yadav, M. Prabhakar, 

K. A. Gopinath, G. Ravindrachary and V. K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad – 500 059, 

Telangana, India. 

Plants and microorganisms have coevolved over the years. The plant microbiome comprises 

of rhizospheric, endophytic and epiphytic microorganisms (Rout 2014). Rhizo-microbiome 

significantly influences the plant health, growth and productivity (Chaudhari et al. 2020). 

They play a vital role in managing various biotic and abiotic stresses. Increased scarcity and 

competition for water has become a key threat to food security and poverty alleviation. 

Drought considerably changes the composition of bacterial and fungal communities 

indicating that, this restructured microbiome might help the plant survival under adverse 

environmental situations (Santos-Medellin et al. 2017). Thorough knowledge of crop specific 

microbiome would help to modulate the microbiome in a way that would lead to better 

growth and development of crop plants (Rascovan et al. 2016). Keeping this in view, a study 

was conducted to know the effect of soil moisture stress on the composition of maize root 

associated bacteria. 





Methodology 

The total genomic DNA was isolated from 0.25 g soil sample using soil DNA isolation kit. 

Qubit 4.0 Fluorimeter was used to estimate the DNA concentration. V3-V4 region of 16S 

rRNA amplified using V3 forward primer and V4 reverse primer. The amplified product was 

checked on 2% agarose gel. NEB Next Ultra DNA library preparation kit was used for library 

preparation. The prepared libraries were sequenced in Illumina HiSeqplatform for 2x250bp 

read length. Raw sequence data was merged and filtered to get clean data. De novo chimeric 

sequences were detected using Vsearch and only non-chimeric sequence were further used. 

16S rRNA sequences were clustered into Operation Taxonomic Units (OTUs) at a similarity 

cut-off value of 97% using the vsearch program (v2.11.1) and abundance of OTUs were 

recovered using v-search. OTUs were mapped at 97% sequence identity to an optimized 

version of the Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) database. Taxonomy was assigned to all 

identified OTUs using usearch program (v11.0.667). Sequence of OTUs were aligned using 

mafft (v7.407) and phylogenetic tree of identified OTUs was generated using fasttree (v 

2.1.10). 

Results 

Rhizo-microbiome of well-watered and drought stressed plants ofmaize was analyzed by 

sequencing V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Differential abundance of bacterial classes 

was observed between well watered and drought stressed plants. Alpha Proteobacteria, 

Actinobacteria, Bacilli, Beta Proteobacteria, Gamma Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria GP6 

were 19.53 %, 10.98 %, 16.67 %, 5.05 %, 4.52 % and 3.81 % respectively in water stressed 

plants. In case of well watered plants, the classes of Alpha Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, 

Bacilli, Beta Proteobacteria, Gamma Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria GP6 were 8.34 %, 

6.99 %, 42.09 %, 4.48 %, 3.57 % and 2.07 % respectively. 

Differential abundance of different classes of bacteria in (a) water stressed (b) well watered maize plants 



449 | Page



Conclusion 

Soil moisture stress altered the relative abundance of root associated bacteria of maize. There 

was an increase in the abundance of Alpha Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria under water 

stressed conditions as compared to well watered conditions. 

References 

Chaudhari, D., Rangappa, K., Das, A., Layek, J., Basavaraj, S., Kandpal, B.K., Shouche, Y., 

Rahi, P. 2020. Pea (Pisum sativumL.) Plant shapes its rhizosphere microbiome for 

nutrient uptake and stress amelioration in acidic soils of the North-East Region of 

India. Front.Microbio. 11:968. 

Rascovan, N., Carbonetto, B., Perrig, D., DoÂaz, M., Canciani, W., Abalo, M. 2016. 

Integrated analysis of root microbiomes of soybean and wheat from agricultural 

fields. Sci. Rep. 6: 280-84. 

Rout, M.E. 2014. The plant microbiome. Adv. Botan. Res. 69: 279–309. 

Santos-Medellín, C., Edwards, J., Liechty, Z., Nguyen, B. and Sundaresan, V. 2017. Drought 

stress results in a compartment-specific restructuring of the rice root-associated 

microbiomes. mBio. 8: e00764-17. 

T4-07R-1066 

Long Term Integrated Plant Nutrient Supply and in-situ Crop Residues 

Management Practices on Plant Nutrient Uptake and Soil Microbial 

Population Assessment in Rainfed Cotton under Vertisols 

V. Sanjivkumar 1 *, K. Baskar 1 , S. Manoharan 1 , M. Manikandan 1 , G. Guru 1 and 

G. Ravindrachary 2 

1 ICAR-AICRP on Dryland Agriculture, Agricultural Research Station, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu - 

628501. 

2 

ICAR-All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Dryland Agriculture, CRIDA, Hyderabad, 

Telungana state. 

* sanjivkumar.v@tnau.ac.in 

Cotton is one of the important cash crops and plays vital role in the economy of the country. 

India ranks second in world in area and production of cotton. The major production 

constraints of Vertisols are poor physical properties like low bulk density and hydraulic 

conductivity, formation of wide and deep cracks and narrow range of moisture for field 

operation. Now a days, the fertilizer requirements are increasing due to adoption of new high 

yielding hybrids in intensive cultivation. Therefore, to maintain crop productivity, the use of 





chemical fertilizers in balanced quantity is important. But looking into continuous increasing 

prices of fertilizers, it becomes necessary to minimize the expenses on fertilizers by using 

alternative sources like farmyard manure, crop residues, green manuring for sustaining the 

crop yields and soil fertility. The long-term integrated application of chemical fertilizers with 

organic manures improves soil physical and biological properties, soil fertility and crop 

yields. 

Methodology 

This research work was initiated during the year 2011-12. Every year rabi season, cotton (KC 

3) sowing has been taken in black soil farm (Vertisols) at the last week of September to find 

out the long-term effect of nutrient and combined effect of organic and inorganic nutrients on 

crop yield and soil fertility. The Kovilpatti region is the representative of dryland agriculture 

in Tamil Nadu. The depth of the black soil varies from 110 to 150 cm with the infiltration 

rate of 0.9cm hr -1 . Soil develops typical cracks with at least one cm wide and reaching a 

depth of 50cm or more in the period of moisture stress. Considering the mechanical fraction, 

the soil is clay ley with clay content of 46.4 to 61.2 per cent, 10.0 to 17.5 per cent silt and 

12.6 to 24.5 per cent coarse sand. The soil bulk density varies from 1.21 to 1.36 kg m -3 with 

the field capacity of 35 per cent and permanent wilting point of 14 per cent (Sunflower as an 

indicator plant). The soil has sub angular blocky structure with pH generally neutral to a 

tendency towards alkalinity at lower depths (7.8 to 8.2). The experiment was conducted in 

randomized block design (RBD) replicated thrice under rainfed condition. The treatments 

comprised of T1 - Control, T2 - 100 % RDF (40:20:40 NPK kg ha -1 ), T3- 50 % RDF (20:10:20 

NPK kg ha -1 ), T 4- 50 % N (crop residues), T 5 -50 % N (FYM), T 6 - 50 % inorganic N+ 50% 

organic N (crop residues) + P (50%) + K (50%), T7 -50 % Inorganic N+ 50% organic N 

(FYM) + P (50%) + K (50%), T 8 -100 % RDF + 25 kg ZnSO 4 ha -1 and T 9 - FYM @ 12.5 ha - 

1 

. As per the treatment schedule, the full dose of inorganic fertilizers and organic manures 

were applied as basal application. The initial soil status was of pH 8.13, EC 0.28 (dS m -1 ), 

and available NPK was 105, 11.2.and 345 kg/ha respectively 

Results 

In rainfed vertisols condition, long term application of 100 % RDF + 25 kg ZnSO4 ha -1 

recorded higher total plant nutrient uptake viz., nitrogen uptake (15.6 kg ha -1 ), phosphorus 

uptake (3.2 kg ha -1 ), potassium uptake (17.1 kg ha -1 ) and zinc uptake (18.20 mg kg -1 ) and it 

was followed by the treatments applied with 50 % Inorganic N+ 50% organic N (FYM) + P 

(50%) + K (50%) (Fig.1). Deshmukh et.al (2016) reported that the significantly higher uptake 

of nitrogen (40.30 kg ha 1), phosphorus, potassium (39.30kg ha-1), sulphur and zinc was 

recorded with the application of 125 % RDF (75:37.5:37.5 NPK kg ha -1 ) + Zinc @ 2.5 kg ha -1 



451 | Page



over all other treatments. These results are conformity with the results obtained by 

Devrajet.al. (2011). 

Effect of integrated plant nutrient supply and insitu crop residue application on total plant nutrient 

uptake of cotton (KC 3) in Vertisols. 

Application of FYM @ 12.5 ha -1 under semi arid region of Kovilpatti deep black soils, 

registered higher microbial population viz., bacteria (8.6×10 6 CFU g -1 of soil), fungi 

(12.0×10 4 ) & actinomycetes (572.0×10 2 ) in rainfed cotton and it was followed by the 

treatment applied with 50 % N (FYM) alone. 

The lowest value was recorded in the untreated control plot. Similar study was reported by 

Patel et al., (2018). 

Conclusion 

In integrated nutrient management practices, the treatment applied over the long term, 

application of 100 % RDF + 25 kg ZnSO4 ha -1 registered higher total plant nutrient uptake 

viz., nitrogen, phosphorus and, potassium uptake. In case of microbial population viz., 

bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes found superior with the application of FYM@12.5t/ha 

under semiarid rainfed condition in cotton crop and suitable for the Southern zone vertisols 

tract of Tamil Nadu. 

References 

Devraj, M.S., Bhattoo, B. S., Duhan. Promilla Kumara. and Jain, P.P. 2011. Effect of crop geometry 

and fertilizer levels on seed cotton yield and nutrient uptake of Bt. Cotton under irrigated 

conditions. J. Cotton Res. Dev., 25 (2):176-180. 

Deshmukh, P. W., Ingle, V. D., Paslawar, A. N., Bhoyar, S.M., Nandapure, S.P. and Deotalu, A.S. 

2016. Effect of moisture conservation techniques and fertilizer management on yield and 

uptake of cotton under high density planting system. Int. J. Agric Sci. Res., 6(3): 365-370. 





Patel, G., Dwivedi, B.S., Dwivedi, A.K., Thakur, R. and Singh, M. 2018. Long-term effect of nutrient 

management on soil biochemical properties in a Vertisol under soybean–wheat cropping 

sequence. J. Indian. Soc. Soil Sci., 66, 215- 221. 

T4-08R-1099 

On-farm Assessment of Site-Specific Nutrient Management in Rainfed 

areas of Telangana 

Kasthuri Rajamani 1 , P. Surendra Babu 2 , A. Madhavi 2 , T. Srijaya 2 and M. Goverdan 1 

1 

Regional Agricultural Research Station, PJTSAU, Palem-509217, Telangana, India 

2 

Agricultural Research Institute, Rajendranagr, PJTSAU, Hyderabad-501030, Telangana, 

India. 

Recent research (Chivengeet al., 2022) has demonstrated limitations of the blanket fertilizer 

recommendations practiced across Asia. On-farm research has clearly demonstrated the 

existence of large field variability in soil nutrient supply, nutrient use efficiency and crop 

responses. Thus, it was hypothesized that future gains in productivity and input use efficiency 

will require soil and crop management technologies that are knowledge-intensive and are 

tailored to specific characteristics of individual farms or fields to manage the variability 

among and within fields (Singhet al.,2022).Keeping this in view, the present study examines 

the extent of nutritional constraints and the scope of Site Specific Nutrient Management 

(SSNM) approach on productivity enhancement and livelihood improvement in dry land 

areas of Telangana. 

Methodology 

A total of ten on-farm trials were conducted with different test cropsviz., rice, maize, ragi, 

groundnut, sesamum, green-gram, black-gram, sorghum, bajra and castor in 

Nagarkurnooldistrictduring rabi season to evaluatesite specific nutrient management (SSNM) 

with target yield approach, blanket application of recommended fertilizers, soil test crop 

response (STCR) equation and farmers practice. After conducting farmers’ meeting in each 

village, and depending upon soil type, crop, slope and management practices, farmers’ fields 

were selected using stratified random methodology for demonstration of soil sampling 

procedure in one hectare. Further, crops were grown on selected farmers’ fieldswith known 

fertility statusby using SSNM based nutrient application with yield targetfertilizer 

prescription equations.The balanced nutrition included a recommended dose of fertilizer 

nutrients as N:P 2O 5:K 2O (kg acre -1 ) of 60:24:16 for rice, 25:14:8 for ragi, 96:32:32 for maize, 

8:16:19for groundnut, 24:8:8 for sesamum, 18:23:10 for green gram and black gram, 

36:16:16 for bajra, 40:24:16 for jonna and 32:16:12 for castor.Farmer’s practice in each trial 

was documented, which included suboptimal doses of N and P. Besides other crop 



453 | Page



management practices like weeding and pest and disease control measures were followed, 

andthe data on crop yield was analyzed considering farmers as replications using one way 

ANOVA with randomized blocks on Bluestat. 

Results 

The soils are slightly acidic to strongly alkaline (pH 6.04 to 8.68) in reaction, whereas the 

electrical conductivity (EC) of selected villages of Southern Telangana Zone remains within 

safe limit with no salinity hazard (200 kg available nitrogen ha -1 . The available phosphorus (P 2O 5) ranged from 28.11 to 

89.03kg ha -1 with a mean value of 55.56 kg ha -1 , which indicating medium to high 

availability of phosphorus at farmers field. Important rabi crops (rice, maize, ragi, groundnut, 

sesamum, green-gram, black-gram, jonna, bajra and castor) of Nagarkurnooldistrict showed 

significant response to SSNM compared to blanket application of recommended fertilizers, 

soil test crop response (STCR) equation and farmers practice in all the locations. The seed 

yield (q acre -1 ) increased in all crops tested though by different levels. Target yield based site 

specific nutrient management approach registered highest yields (q acre -1 ) viz.,21.83in rice, 

31.66inragi, 35.09inmaize, 12.06in groundnut, 2.31in seamum, 3.57ingreengram, 

5.35inblackgram, 6.39in bajra, 17.24in sorghum and 20.83in castor.Further, the results 

revealed that the percent yield increased as 35.67 in rice, 28.80 in ragi, 34.24 in maize, 33.70 

in groundnut, 27.62 in sesamum, 23.14 in green gram, 21.32 in black gram, 23.60 in bajra, 

26.76 in jonna, 29.54 in castor cropsover farmers practice due to more precise application of 

fertilizers in the study area. 

Initial soil values and yields of different crops 

Treatment 

pH 

EC 

(dSm -1 ) 

OC (%) Ava. N (kg ha -1 ) Ava. P2O5 (kg ha -1 ) Ava. K2O (kg ha -1 ) 

Yield 

(q acre -1 ) 

Rice in Naganool 

FP 8.40 0.31 0.48 125.09 42.17 594.05 16.09 

RDF 8.16 0.36 0.42 150.18 51.54 654.53 18.31 

STCR 8.28 0.41 0.36 150.53 65.60 676.03 20.06 

SSNM-4 8.31 0.30 0.48 112.90 46.86 611.52 21.83 

Ragi in Kummera 

FP 6.04 0.11 0.42 117.81 51.54 600.77 24.58 

RDF 6.61 0.10 0.35 112.54 60.91 571.20 29.02 

STCR 6.84 0.15 0.39 87.81 56.23 555.07 30.11 

SSNM-4 8.20 0.23 0.42 112.90 46.86 576.58 31.66 

% 

Increase 

35.67 

28.80 

Maize in Palem 

FP 8.62 0.26 0.42 188.16 60.91 691.58 26.14 





RDF 8.58 0.24 0.30 100.35 51.54 626.30 30.43 

STCR 8.68 0.30 0.45 188.16 51.54 659.90 33.32 

SSNM-4 8.49 0.24 0.36 100.35 42.17 657.22 35.09 

Groundnut in Kummera 

FP 8.54 0.25 0.36 100.35 60.91 573.89 9.02 

RDF 8.59 0.19 0.39 171.79 51.54 696.19 10.14 

STCR 8.41 0.24 0.48 125.44 60.91 614.21 11.13 

SSNM-4 8.54 0.26 0.42 175.62 51.54 571.20 12.06 

Sesamum in Kummera 

FP 8.30 0.39 0.39 193.79 65.60 637.82 1.81 

RDF 8.28 0.42 0.36 150.53 46.86 654.53 2.04 

STCR 8.22 0.21 0.42 107.81 56.23 620.93 2.10 

SSNM-4 8.38 0.38 0.42 137.98 74.97 649.15 2.31 

Green gram in Tummalasuru 

FP 8.02 0.13 0.27 102.72 56.23 628.99 2.90 

RDF 8.28 0.12 0.36 150.53 37.49 631.68 3.12 

STCR 8.05 0.14 0.42 137.98 74.97 511.78 3.29 

SSNM-2 7.72 0.13 0.39 137.98 28.11 676.54 3.57 

Black gramTummenapet Stage 

FP 7.96 0.28 0.30 112.90 89.03 513.66 4.41 

RDF 8.22 0.24 0.27 125.44 42.17 629.94 4.83 

STCR 7.93 0.20 0.39 105.26 28.11 619.58 5.02 

SSNM-4 8.17 0.20 0.27 190.70 28.11 478.18 5.35 

Bajra in Lingasanipalle 

FP 7.62 0.13 0.36 112.90 37.49 658.56 5.17 

RDF 8.23 0.15 0.42 125.09 70.29 529.79 5.82 

STCR 8.20 0.12 0.36 112.90 74.97 598.08 6.01 

SSNM-4 7.78 0.07 0.30 100.35 74.97 638.62 6.39 

Sorghum in Itholu 

FP 8.22 0.24 0.30 125.44 79.66 531.94 13.60 

RDF 7.37 0.09 0.43 125.09 89.03 693.50 15.12 

STCR 7.59 0.07 0.36 150.18 37.49 569.86 16.78 

SSNM-4 7.66 0.21 0.36 112.72 70.29 662.59 17.24 

Castor in Itholu 

FP 7.93 0.21 0.31 121.96 53.80 517.06 16.08 

RDF 8.13 0.15 0.40 135.14 39.85 487.49 18.61 

STCR 7.62 0.12 0.37 112.64 63.71 471.36 19.57 

SSNM-4 8.27 0.23 0.39 183.04 37.46 492.87 20.83 

References 

33.70 

27.62 

23.14 

21.32 

23.60 

26.76 

29.54 

Chivenge, P., Zingore, S., Ezui, K. S., Njoroge, S., Bunquin, M. A., Dobermann, A. and Saito, K. 

2022. Progress in research on site-specific nutrient management for smallholder farmers in 

sub-Saharan Africa. Field Crops Res., 281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2022.108503. 

Singh, S. P., Dutta, S., Jha, S., Prasad, S.S., Chaudhary, S.K., Manna, M.C., Majumdar, K., 

Srivastava, P., Brahmanand, P. S., Singh, K. M. et al.,2022. Indigenous Nutrient Supplying 

Capacity of Young Alluvial Calcareous Soils Favours the Sustainable Productivity of Hybrid 

Rice and Maize Crops. Sustainability, 14, 11585. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/su141811585. 



455 | Page



T4-09R-1437 

Integrated Nutrient Management Approach in Soybean (Glycine max L., 

Merrill) Grown in Vertisols under Rainfed Condition of Malwa Plateau, 

Madhya Pradesh 

Bharat Singh*, K. S. Bangar, S. K. Choudhary, D. V. Bhagat, M. L. Jadav, 

A. Upadhyay, S. C. Tiwari, O. P. Girothia and Ramkumar Meena 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, 

RVSKVV, College of Agriculture, Indore 452 001 Madhya Pradesh 

* singhbharat05@gmail.com 

Sustainable agriculture involves successful management of resources for increased 

agricultural production to satisfy changing human needs and maintaining soil and natural 

resources. Integrated nutrient management practices are one of the approaches for sustainable 

agriculture production. It involves combined application of chemical fertilizers along with 

organic manures, green manures, biofertilizers and other organic recyclable materials for crop 

production. Integrated nutrient management encourages the use of in-house organics waste; 

thus it saves on the cost of fertilizers for crop production and enhancing nutrient use 

efficiency (Thakur et al., 2011). A field experiment was conducted at All India Coordinated 

Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, RVSKVV, College of Agriculture, Indore during 

kharif of two consecutive years (2015 and 2016) on soybean (JS 95-60). Nine treatments 

were tested viz. T 1- Control, T 2- 100% NPK , T 3-100% NPK + Zn (20 kgha -1 ) , T 4-100% 

NPK + Zn (20 kgha -1 ) + S (10 kgha -1 ), T5-100% NPK + S (10 kgha -1 ) , T6-10 tha -1 FYM + 

50% NPK, , T 7-10 tha -1 FYM + (Rhizobium + PSB) + 50% NPK, T 8-10 tha -1 FYM + 

(Rhizobium + PSB) + 50% NPK + Zn + S and T9-10 tha -1 FYM + (Rhizobium + PSB) + 50% 

NPK + 5 tha -1 Residues + Zn + S. Based on average of two years data indicate that the 

highest grain yield of soybean (1156 kgha -1 ) was recorded in the treatment T 9-10 tha -1 

FYM+(Rhizobium+PSB)+50% NPK+5tha -1 residues+Zn+S, gross return (Rs. 46240ha -1 ) and 

B: C ratio (2.48) followed by T 8-10 tha -1 FYM+(Rhizobium+PSB) +50% NPK+Zn+S (1082 

kgha -1 ), T7: 10 t FYM+(Rhizobium +PSB)+ 50% NPK (1068 kgha -1 ); T6: 10 t FYM+50% 

NPK (1030 kgha -1 ), T4: 100% NPK+Zn + S (996 kg/ ha), T5: 100% NPK+S 10 kgha -1 (957 

kgha -1 ) and T 2: 100% NPK (923 kgha -1 ). The lowest grain yield of soybean was obtained in 

control treatment T1 - 731 kgha -1 which was significantly inferior to all treatments under 

study. 





Reference 

Thakur, R., Sawarkar, S.D., Vaishya, U.K. and Singh, M. 2011. Impact of continuous use of 

inorganic fertilizers and organic manures on soil properties and productivity under 

soybean-wheat intensive cropping of a Vertisol. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci., 59:74-79. 

T4-10R-1484 

Vertical Distribution of Different Pools of Soil Organic Carbon under Long 

Term Finger Millet Monocropping on Alfisols in Semi-Arid Tropical India 

B. G. Vasanthi, Mudalagiriyappa, M.C. Harish, K.M.Puneetha and K.Devaraja 

All India Co-ordinated research Project for Dryland Agriculture, UAS, GKVK, 

Bengaluru-560 065, Karnataka 

Due to intensive cultivation combined with lack of organic material inputs, have experienced 

increased degradation over the past several decades, especially evident in decline of soil 

organic carbon (SOC). Even though the mineral fertilizer recommendations are inadequate 

annual application of FYM along with NPK fertilizer sustains yield and soil productivity 

(Bhattacharyya et al., 2008). SOC levels at a point of time reflect the long-term balance 

between additions of organic carbon from different sources and its losses through different 

pathways. It influences most of the soil properties thereby affecting crop productivity. The 

combination of organic and inorganic fertilization enhanced the accumulation of SOC which 

is consistent with other studies. In contrast application of inorganic fertilizers has often 

produced contradictory effect on SOC concentrations and or its fractions enhancement (Ram 

and Singh, 2016). Despite these apparent benefits in soil properties, higher rate of manure 

application are likely contributing little to soil C stabilization. Conserving concentration of 

soil organic matter above the threshold level is an important factor for increasing soil quality. 

Therefore, the integrated use of organic manure and inorganic fertilizers is widely recognized 

strategy for sustaining productivity and improving soil quality. 

In most case studies for SOC and SOC fractions have mostly focused on shallow surface 

limited information on soil profile SOC and its fractions distribution is hindrance to 

conclusive identification of beneficial effects after long term fertilizer application. Therefore, 

the present investigation was to study organic carbon fractions like total organic carbon, 

permanganate oxidizable carbon, very liable carbon, liable carbon, less liable carbon at all 

four depths (0-15, 15-30, 30-45 and 45-60 cm) on Alfisols influenced by long term fertilizer 

application. Therefore, the outcome of the research would help to understand the assimilation 

pattern of carbon fractions under different fertilizer treatments through inorganically or in 

combination with manure. 



457 | Page



Methodology 

A long-term field experiment under finger millet (EleusinecoracanaL.) monocropping was 

established in 1978, at the All IndiaCoordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, 

University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India. Theexperimental site is situated at 

latitude of 13°050 13.0″ north, longitude of 77°390 22.1″ east and an altitude of 929 mabove 

mean sea level, in the eastern dry zone of Karnataka.Soils in the experimental field belong to 

Vijaypura soilseries typical of the Alfisol order. The soils are typicallateritic and classified as 

fine, kaolinitic, isohyperthermic, TypicKandiustalf as per USDA classification with 

claycontent increasing with soil depth. These soils are yellowishred, lateritic and are derived 

from granite gneiss undersubtropical semi-arid climate. They are very deep, 

welldrainedsandy loam to sandy clay loam with clay contentincrease in depth and occur in 

nearly level to gently slopingareas. 

The experiment consisted of finger millet, monocropping, arranged in a randomized 

blockdesign with two replications and five treatments [T1: control(no fertilizer and no 

farmyard manure (FYM) applied), T2:FYM 10 t/ha, T3: FYM 10 t/ha + 50% NPK, T4: FYM 

at10 t/ha + 100% NPK and T5: 100% recommended NPK].The 100% recommended NPK 

application for finger milletwas 50 kg N, P and K per hectare as per thepackage of practices 

recommended by the University ofAgricultural Sciences, Bangalore, based on largescaleexperimentation. 

The FYM was prepared using cow dungcollected from a unit 

maintained in the university, whereinthe bedding material was millet straw and the 

nutrientcontent was analyzed in the laboratory on fresh weight basis. The average 

composition of FYM consisted of 0.54, 0.35and 0.63% N, P and K, respectively. Soon after 

the rainfallin June, the land was ploughed to an average depth of15–20 cm, using a bullockdrawn 

country plough. After theinitial ploughing, FYM was applied according to 

treatmentand incorporated by harrow. The fertilizer N was applied as urea, while fertilizer P 

wasapplied as di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and potassium asmuriate of potash (MOP). 

The experiment was conducted ona net plot size of 2.7 m 9 11.0 m with row 9 plant spacingof 

30 cm 9 10 cm. Finger millet (GPU-28) monocropping involved finger millet in allyears. Soil 

samples were collected from each plot at a soil depth of0–15 cm after harvest of the crop. 

Statistical analysis 

The data were analysed using randomized blockdesign (RBD). Statistical analysis was 

performed byWindows based SPSS programme (ver. 10.0, SPSS Inc., 1996). The SPSS 

procedure was used foranalysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine thestatistical significance 

of treatments effect. Simple correlation coefficients andregression equations were also 

developed to evaluaterelationships between the response variables using thesame statistical 

package. The 5% probability level isregarded as statistically significant. 





Results 

Total organic carbon (TOC) 

The TOC concentration in soil layers varied depth-wise (Table 1). During 2020, the highest 

concentration of TOC was observed in 0–15 cm depth and exponentially decreased with 

increase in depth after each crop harvest. Depth 0–15 cm of 100% NPK+ FYM plots 

witnessed 146.36 % increased concentration of TOC at the harvest. The application of FYM 

during the years confined to build soil organic carbon on surface layers only. Cultivation only 

with balanced fertilization (NPK) and C supplementation (NPK+FYM) maintained or 

increased the TOC content while no fertilization treatments decreased it (Majumderet al., 

2007). Despite, fertilizer treatment 100% NPK and FYM balanced the C: N ratio and energy 

for soil biota which helped in augmenting the TOC of the soil. Manjaiah and Singh (2001) 

also reported an annual estimated organic carbon input to the tunes of 8190 and 2780 kg ha −1 

in 100% NPK + FYM and 100% NPK treatments, respectively. 

Permanganaseoxidisable carbon (POXC) 

The POXC concentration in soil layers varied depth-wise. During 2020, the highest 

concentration of POXC was observed in 0–15 cm depth and exponentially decreased with 

increase in depth after each crop harvest. Depth 0–15 cm of 100% NPK+ FYM plots 

witnessed 23.21 %, increased concentration of POXC at the harvest. The application of FYM 

during the years confined to build soil organic carbon on surface layers only. 

Significantly higher libale carbon fraction of Very liable carbon, liable carbon and less liable 

carbon were observed in 100% NPK+ FYM (Table 2) in top layer of 0-15 cm which is of 

39.23% , 177.78% and 40.78% higher than control, respectively. Within the labile carbon 

fractions higher value of very liable carbon fraction was found as compared to other two. 

The KMnO4 extractable C, which is considered as a labile C fraction of soil. The surface soil 

acquired more KMnO4 extractable C than sub-surface soil after harvests. Treatment 100% 

NPK + FYM showed significantly higher KMnO 4 extractable C over allother treatments at all 

depths after the harvest of both crops. Thebalanced applications of N, P and K (100% NPK) 

showed higher KMnO 4-C than that of control and unbalanced treatment. This indicatedthat 

the added FYM contributed to the KMnO 4 oxidized labile C fraction in soil which is 

composed ofamino acids, simple carbohydrates, a portion of microbial biomass and other 

simple organic compounds (Zouet al., 2005). Also, the application of nitrogen ascribed the 

priming effect of applied N on freshorganic matter in soil which stimulated microbial action 

in decomposition of organic matter. 



459 | Page



Conclusion 

The highest and significant increase in passive pools humic and fulvic carbon was observed 

under combined application of FYM 10 t kg -1 + 100 % recommended NPK. Similarly, there 

was significant carbon build up and stabilization in this nutrient compared to all other 

practices. Highest concentration of soil organic carbon was observed in surface soil and 

exponentially decreased with increase in depth after each crop harvest. Hence application of 

FYM along with NPK resulted in a significant positive buildup of all pools in the treatment at 

all four depths. Therefore, balance fertilization is panaceally important for sustaining 

improved soil health with balanced organic status and production potentiality of soil for 

finger millet monocropping. 

References 

Bhattacharjya, S., Bhaduri, D., Chauhan, S., Chandra, R., Raverkar, K.P. and Pareek, N. 

2017. [Comparative evaluation of three contrasting land use systems for soil carbon, 

microbial and biochemical indicators in North-Western Himalaya], Ecol. Eng., 

103:21–30 

Majumder, B., Mandal, B., Bandyopadhyay, P.K. and Chaudhury, J. 2007. Soil organic 

carbon pools and productivity relationships for a 34 year old rice–wheat–jute agro 

ecosystems under different fertilizer treatments. Plant Soil, 297:53–67. 

Manjaiah, K. and Singh, D. 2001. Soil organic matter and biological properties after 26 years 

of maize–wheat–cowpea cropping as affected by manure and fertilization in Cambisol 

in semiarid region of India. Agri. Ecosyst. Environ., 86:155–62. 

Ram, S., Singh, V. and Sirari, P. 2016. Effects of 41 years of application of inorganic 

fertilizers and farm yard manure on crop yields, soil quality, and sustainable yield 

index under a rice-wheat cropping system on Mollisols of North India. Commun. Soil 

Sci. Plant Anal., 47 (2):179–93. 

Zou, X. M., Ruan, H. H., Fu, Y., Yang, X. D. and Sha, L.Q. 2005. Estimating soil labile 

organic carbon and potential turnover rates using a sequential fumigation-incubation 

procedure. Soil Biol. Biochem., 37:1923–28. 





Effect of FYM and synthesised fertilizer application, on POXC and TOC under fingermilletmonocropping 

Treatment 

POXC 

0-15 cm 15-30 cm 30-45 cm 45-60 cm 0-15 cm 15-30 cm 30-45 cm 45-60 cm 

T 1: Control 0.42 0.35 0.35 0.29 4.40 4.19 3.48 2.25 

T 2: Only organic manure 0.52 0.42 0.36 0.25 6.85 3.89 4.60 3.58 

T 3: Organic manure+ 50% Rec. NPK 0.54 0.50 0.44 0.37 7.06 8.39 3.99 2.15 

T 4: Organic manure+ 100% Rec. NPK 0.59 0.54 0.53 0.40 10.84 7.57 4.19 4.50 

T 5: Only 100% Rec. NPK 0.45 0.41 0.41 0.35 5.62 3.68 3.99 3.48 

S.Em.± 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.07 0.01 0.03 

CD at 5 % 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.25 0.23 0.04 0.10 

POXC: Permanganaseoxidisable carbon, TOC: Total organic carbon 

TOC 

Effect of FYMand synthesised fertilizer application on oxidisable carbon fractions (very liable, liable and less liable carbon 

fraction) under fingermilletmonocropping 

Very liable carbon (g kg -1 ) Liable carbon (g kg -1 ) Less liable carbon (g kg -1 ) 

Treatment 

15-30 30-45 

15-30 30-45 45-60 0-15 15-30 30-45 45-60 

0-15 cm 

45-60 cm 0-15 cm 

cm cm 

cm cm cm cm cm cm cm 

T 1: Control 1.30 1.13 1.01 0.89 0.45 0.40 0.38 0.26 1.03 0.77 0.69 0.22 

T 2: Only organic manure 1.45 1.16 1.01 0.74 1.14 0.68 0.43 0.04 1.14 0.83 0.61 0.58 

T 3: Organic manure+ 50% Rec. NPK 1.54 1.48 1.16 0.62 1.02 0.65 0.59 0.53 1.31 0.77 0.54 0.14 

T 4: Organic manure+ 100% Rec. NPK 1.81 1.36 0.95 0.56 1.25 0.32 0.24 0.09 1.45 1.00 0.36 0.31 

T 5: Only 100% Rec. NPK 1.45 1.04 0.92 0.53 0.45 0.19 0.16 0.12 0.46 0.31 0.20 0.07 

S.Em.± 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 

CD at 5 % 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.02 

Sustainable soil management for resilient rainfed agro-ecosystem: conservation agriculture, organic farming, INM, soil-microorganisms-plant interactions 

461 | Page



T4-10aR-1624 

Conjoint Application of Nano-Urea and Conventional Fertilizers for 

Sustainable Crop Production 

Pravin Kumar Upadhyay*, V. K. Singh, B. S. Dwivedi, Abir Dey, G. A. Rajanna, Subhash 

Babu, Rajiv Kumar Singh, Sanjay Singh Rathore, Kapila Shekhawat, Meenakshi and 

Gaurav Shukla 

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi- 110 012 (India) 

*pravin.ndu@gmail.com 

The nutrient supply needs to be synchronized with the crop demand to reduce nutrient losses and 

improve nutrient use efficiency. For this, several approaches have been adopted over the years, 

with varying success rates. Splitting of nutrient doses during the crop growth period, changing 

rate and method of application, soil test-based nutrient input, decision support systems, 

monitoring in-season crop N demand and real-time management, and novel fertilizer products 

are some of the technologies evaluated under field conditions. Whereas these studies advised 

several technology packages concerning the balanced use of plant nutrients in different crops and 

cropping systems, the R&D on fertilizer products could not receive desired attention. 

Nonetheless, researchers repeatedly underlined the necessity to give greater emphasis on the 

development and promotion of alternate novel fertilizers, besides improved agronomic 

management to enhance nutrient use efficiency to restore soil fertility and improve farm profit. 

Recently, we have evaluated one of the novel fertilizers developed by Indian Farmers Fertiliser 

Cooperative Limited i.e. nano-urea at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 

under maize-wheat and pearl millet-mustard cropping systems. The experiments were conducted 

with 8 treatments in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications. 

Treatments details of experiments undertaken 

S. No. Treatment Code Treatment details 

1 N0PK No N 

2 N50PK 50% of recommended N 



5 N0PK + Nano-N No N + 2 spray of Nano-N 

6 N50PK+ Nano-N 50% of recommended N + 2 sprays of Nano-N 



462 | Page Sustainable soil management for resilient rainfed agro-ecosystem: conservation agriculture, organic farming, INM, soilmicroorganisms-plant 

interactions



The recommended fertilizer doses were 150 kg N/ha, 75 kg P2O5/ha, and 75 kg K2O/ha for 

maize; 60 kg N/ha, 60 kg P2O5/ha, and 30 kg K2O /ha for pearl millet; 80 kg N/ha, 40 kg 

P2O5/ha, and 30 kg K2O /ha for mustard, and 120 kg N/ha, 60 kg P2O5/ha, and 60 kg K2O /ha for 

the wheat crop. Urea, single superphosphate, and muriate of potash were used to supply N, P, 

and K, respectively. In mustard and pearl millet, 50% of N (as per treatment) and 100% of 

recommended P and K were applied as basal, and the remaining 50% N was top-dressed in one 

split. In wheat and maize, 50% of N (as per treatments) and 100% of P and K fertilizers were 

applied as basal, and the remaining N was top-dressed in two equal splits. Nano-urea was applied 

at 1250 ml/ha (per spray) as a foliar spray. 

Results 

Result revealed that yield of maize, wheat, mustard and pearl millet was significantly lower 

under N0PK + Nano-urea compared with N100PK and remained at par with N0PK. The plots 

under N50PK + Nano-urea received significantly lesser yield compared with N100PK. This 

indicates only application of nano-urea or nano-urea with N50PK could not suffice the 

requirement of the N in the crops and is not comparable with N100PK. On the other hand, 

application of N75PK + Nano-urea registered similar yields compared with recommended NPK 

applied plots, indicating towards a possibility of curtailing 25% of recommended N doses with 

two sprays of nano-urea. The soil mineral N were similar under the treatments N75PK + Nanourea 

and N100PK. On the other hand, curtailing of 50% or more in the recommended N doses 

leads to significant decrease in the mineral N in soil, irrespective of nano-urea application. 

T4-11P-1027 

Soil Organic Carbon Stock Changes in a Semi-Arid Alfisol under Heavy 

Carbon Loading 

K. Srinivas*, A. K. Indoria, S. S. Balloli, S. Suvana and K. Sammi Reddy 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana 500 059, India 

* k.srinivas1@icar.gov.in 

Small inputs of organic carbon or minor changes in management rarely, if at all, lead to 

measurable changes in soil organic carbon content or stock. A field study was carried out to 

investigate whether large additions of organic carbon would lead to measurable changes in soil 

organic carbon (SOC) stocks in an Alfisol under hot semi-arid climate, where soil organic carbon 

losses are high. 



463 | Page



Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted for four years during 2018-2021 at Hayathnagar research 

farm of ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad. Each year, for the four years, vermicompost (VC) and fresh 

gliricidia loppings (GL) were applied to soil at rates equivalent to 0, 2, 4 and 6 Mg C/ha 

(treatments) and incorporated thoroughly into the soil. Pigeonpea and castor were grown in 

rotation (pigeonpea in 2018 and 2020, castor in 2019 and 2021). Carbon input to soil by crops 

through litter was quantified. Carbon input through roots was estimated using shoot:root ratios 

(Srinivas et. al., 2017). Rhizodeposited C was estimated as 65% of root biomass (Bolinder et al., 

2007). Total C input to soil was obtained by adding C inputs through treatments and crop C 

inputs. Soil bulk density and organic carbon from 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm depths were measured 

before the start of the experiment and at the end of 4 years, and soil organic carbon stocks were 

computed. Change in SOC stock up to 40 cm depth was computed as difference between stock 

after 4 years and initial stock 

Results 

Total carbon input by crops (4 years) ranged from 5.22 Mg/ha in control plots (no external C 

input) to 7.75 Mg/ha in plots that received 6 Mg C/ha every year through vermicompost taking 

the total C input in this treatment to 31.75 Mg/ha (24 Mg/ha through applied vermicompost and 

7.75 Mg/ha through crop). Soil organic carbon in the 0-20 cm depth, which was 3.14 g/kg before 

the start of the experiment, decreased slightly to 2.85 g/kg in control and increased to a 

maximum of 5.01 g/kg in the 6 Mg C/ha through vermicompost treatment. In the 20-40 cm 

depth, initial SOC of 2.44 g/kg decreased to 2.38 g/kg in control and increased to a maximum of 

2.92 g/kg in the 6 Mg C/ha through vermicompost treatment. Changes in bulk density were small 

and statistically non-significant.The initial SOC stock up to 40 cm depth was 18.3 Mg/ha and it 

decreased by 0.53 Mg/ha in the control plots, while in the plots that received external C inputs, 

the carbon stocks increased. SOC stocks were significantly higher in the 0-20 cm depth over the 

20-40 cm depth. The highest C stock of 25.7 Mg/ha was recorded in plots that received 6 Mg 

C/ha through vermicompost. Increase in C stock as percentage of total C input (treatment C input 

+ crop C input) ranged from 15.8% in 4 Mg C/ha through gliricidialoppings to 23.4% in 6 Mg 

C/ha through vermicompost. 


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Total crop C input and soil organic carbon balance after harvest of 4 th crop (4 years of C 

inputs) 

Treatment 

Total 

crop C 

input 

0-20 

cm 

OC 

g/kg 

20-40 

cm 

BD 

Mg/m 3 

0-20 

cm 

20-40 

cm 

0-20 

cm 

C stock 

Mg/ha 

20-40 

cm 

0-40 

cm 

C stock 

(Final - 

Initial) 

C inputs 

Mg/ha 

Treatments Crop Total 

Stock 

change 

(% of 

added) 

Control (No 

C) 

2 Mg C 

through VC 

4 Mg C 

through VC 

6 Mg C 

through VC 

2 Mg C 

through GL 

4 Mg C 

through GL 

6 Mg C 

through GL 

5.22 2.85 2.38 1.65 1.75 9.4 8.3 17.7 -0.53 0.0 5.22 5.22 -- 

6.61 3.90 2.34 1.68 1.78 13.1 8.3 21.4 3.18 8.0 6.61 14.61 21.8 

7.28 4.31 2.36 1.69 1.75 14.5 8.2 22.8 4.53 16.0 7.28 23.28 19.5 

7.75 5.01 2.92 1.60 1.65 16.1 9.6 25.7 7.42 24.0 7.75 31.75 23.4 

6.56 3.67 2.35 1.72 1.73 12.6 8.2 20.8 2.53 8.0 6.56 14.56 17.3 

7.53 4.05 2.27 1.70 1.82 13.7 8.2 22.0 3.72 16.0 7.53 23.53 15.8 

7.11 4.55 2.45 1.67 1.77 15.2 8.7 23.9 5.65 24.0 7.11 31.11 18.2 

Initial - 3.14 2.44 1.62 1.66 10.2 8.1 18.3 - - - - - 

Conclusion 

Soil organic carbon stock increased with increase in C inputs. At the end of 4 years of 

application of C inputs, a maximum retention of 23.4% of added C was observed with 6 Mg C/ha 

through vermicompost. The persistence of changes in SOC stocks after cessation of external C 

inputs needs to be investigated. 

References 

Bolinder, M.A., Janzen, H.H., Gregorich, E.G. Angers, D.A., Vanden-Bygaart, A.J., 2007. An 

approach for estimating net primary productivity and annual carbon inputs to soil for 

common agricultural crops in Canada. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ., 118 29–42. 

Srinivas, K., Maruthi, V., Ramana, D. B. V., Vimala, B., Nataraja, K. C., Sharma, K. L., Rao, M. 

S., Maheswari, M., Prabhakar, M., and Reddy, K. S., 2017. Roots of Rainfed Crops: 

Biomass, Composition and Carbon Mineralization. Research Bulletin 01/2017. ICAR- 

Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India. 68p. 



465 | Page



T4-12P-1035 

Impact of Fertilizer Deep Placement on Yield and Nutrient Use Efficiency of 

Direct Seeded Rice 

Jami Naveen 1* , K. Kurmi 2 , K. Pathak 2 , M. Saikia 2 , V. Kumar 3 , A. K. Srivastava 3 , S. Kundu 1 , 

M. Sharmah 2 , K. Sai Teja 2 , A. Hazarika 2 and K. Sammi reddy 1 

1 ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santhoshnagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India 

2 Assam Agricultural university, Jorhat, Assam, India 

3 

International Rice Research Institute, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India 

*jaminaveen17@gmail.com 

Rice production needs to be increased by 1.2 to 1.5 per cent annually in order to meet the world's 

food needs (Dansoet al., 2021). To produce 1 kg of rice grain, 15–20 g of nitrogen (N) needs to be 

added. In Assam, rice is major staple food crop. It accounts for 2.54 million ha of the gross 

cropped area of 4.16 million ha and accounts for 96 per cent of the state's total food grain 

production (Anon 2021). In Assam, rice is grown in three distinct seasons: kharif or sali, boro, and 

ahu, in a variety of ecosystems including deep water, rain-fed, and irrigated conditions. Among 

these seasons, alirice is the most common because it receives the maximum amount of rainfall. 

Nitrogen availability is the major limiting factor in this season. A lerger part of the applied N 

fertilizer is losttrhoughvolatilization, denitrification, run-off, leaching, and fixation (Gaihreet al., 

2018). As a result, nitrogen use efficiencyis very low (30-35 percent) in rice cultivation. Fertilizer 

deep placement (FDP) of urea or multi-nutrient briquettes (N, P and K) is one of the best N 

management practices in lowland rice fields for achieving these multiple benefits. Deep placement 

of urea of larger size particle not only improves its use efficiency but also provides environmental 

benefits by reducing runoff and nitrogen volatilization losses. In the above backdrop, this study 

was conducted to find out the effect of fertilizer deep placement on N-use efficiency and 

performance of direct seeded rice. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was initiated in 2020 in the Instructional-Cum-Research (ICR) farm, Assam 

Agricultural University, in low land condition. The soil was sandy loam, acidic in reaction, 

medium in organic carbon and available N, low in available P2O5 and medium in available K2O. A 

long duration rice variety Ranjit-Sub1 was taken as test variety. The total amount of rainfall 

received during the crop growth period of first year was 1098.80 mm with a corresponding value 

of 650.80 mm in the second (2021) year. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block 

design, replicating three times with eight treatment combinations, viz., T1: Control (No Nitrogen), 


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T2: Farmers’ practice (30-18.4-36 kg N-P2O5-K2O kg ha -1 ), T3:Recommended Dose of Fertilizer 

(RDF) @ 60-20-40 kg N-P2O5-K2O kg ha -1 with N in three splits @ 30-15-15 kg ha -1 at basal, 

active tillering (AT) and panicle initiation (PI), T4: Best management practices (BMP) as per IRRI: 

60-20-40 kg N-P2O5-K2O ha -1 with N in three equal splits at basal, AT and PI, T5: Fertilizer Deep 

Placement (FDP) with 120% N +100% PK of RDF, T6:FDP with100% NPK of RDF, T7:FDP with 

80% N +100% PK of RDF and T8: FDP with 60% N + 100% PK. 

Results 

Significantly higher number of panicles m -2 (317.52), total grins panicle -1 (217.72), filled grains 

panicle -1 (197.97), panicle length (27.90cm) and 1000-grain weight (20.15g) were observed 

under FDP with 120 percent N + 100 percent PK of RDF followed by FDP with 100% N +100% 

PK of RDF (298.02), (200.47), (178.48), (27.24cm) and (19.86 g) in both years. 

Significantlyhighest grain yield (49.33q ha -1 ), straw yield (65.20q ha -1 ) and harvest index (43.06 

per cent) were recorded in FDP with 120 percent N + 100 percent PK of RDF. The lowest values 

grain yield (19.70 q ha -1 ), straw yield (34.88q ha -1 ) and harvest index (36.03 per cent) were 

observed in control. 

The highest agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (42.34) was observed in FDP with 80% N +100% 

PK of RDF in both the years, whereas maximum recovery efficiency of nitrogen (0. 60), 

phosphorus (0.51), and potassium (0.97) was reported in the treatment FDP with 120 % N and 

100 % PK of RDF.The data clearly indicate that the deep placement of NPK briquettes enhanced 

the recovery of applied N, P and K compared to broadcast application of NPK fertilizers. Highest 

N partial factor productivity (0.92) was observed in FDP with 60 % N and 100 % PK of RDF. 

Pooled effect of fertilizer management practices on nitrogen agronomic efficiency, partial 

factor productivity of nitrogen and recovery efficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium 

in direct seeded rice 

Treatment 

N Agronomic 

efficiency 

(kg grainincrease/kg 

N applied) 

Partial factor 

productivity 

(kg grain/kg N 

applied) 

Recovery efficiency (kg 

taken up /kg applied) 

N P K 

T 1: Control - - - - - 

T 2: Farmers’ practice 22.40 0.88 0.26 0.09 0.19 

T 3: RDF as per AAU 30.17 0.63 0.42 0.24 0.45 

T 4: BMP as per IRRI: 30.82 0.64 0.43 0.24 0.46 

T 5:FDP with 120% N 41.15 0.69 0.60 0.51 0.97 



467 | Page



+100% PK 

T 6:FDP with 100% N 

+100% PK 

T 7:FDP with 80% N +100% 

PK 

T 8:FDP with 60% N +100% 

PK 

41.35 0.74 0.59 0.44 0.81 

42.34 0.83 0.58 0.36 0.67 

36.86 0.92 0.46 0.26 0.46 

Conclusion 

Overall, the results of this study indicated that using FDP with 120% N and 100% PK of RDF in 

Kharifcould be considered the best nutrient management practice for rice in terms of highest 

yield, N, P, and K recovery efficiency in direct seeded rice. 

References 

Anonymous. 2021. Rice Knowledge Bank, Assam https://www.rkbassam.in/ 

Danso, F., Agyare, W. A. and Bart-Plange, A. 2021.Modelling rice yield from biochar-inorganic 

fertilizer amended fields. J. Agric. Food Res., 4:100123. 

Gaihre, Y. K., Singh, U., Islam, S. M., Huda, A., Islam, M. R., Sanabria, J. and Jahan, M. 2018. 

Nitrous oxide and nitric oxide emissions and nitrogen use efficiency as affected by 

nitrogen placement in lowland rice fields. Nutr. Cycling Agroecosyst. 110(2): 277-291. 

T4-13P-1058 

Sowing dates and Nutrient Management Practices in Spring-Summer Black 

Gram [Vigna Mungo (L.) Hepper] For Optimization of Growth and 

Production 

Purabi Banerjee 1,2 , V. Visha Kumari 2 and Rajib Nath 1 

1 Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur 741252, Nadia, West Bengal, India. 

2 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad 500059, 

Telangana, India 

Black gram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper] is a widely grown pulse crop assuming considerable 

important for food and nutritional security in India. Various research efforts have revealed the 

crucial and diverse roles of the nutrient elements, i.e., cobalt (Co), potassium (K) and boron (B) 

in overall development of pulse crops (Banerjee et al., 2021a).Besides, foliar nutrition at the 

onset of reproductive phase is incredibly effective in mitigating physiological shortcomings in 


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legumes including premature shedding of flower and pod and thus increasing seed yield, 

exclusively established in case of black gram (Banerjee et al., 2021b). Against this background, 

a two-year experiment was framed with an objective to evaluate the crucial and diverse role of 

the Co, K and B on growth, yield and quality of black gram. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted in A-B Block (District Seed Farm), B.C.K.V., Kalyani, West 

Bengal, India during the subsequent spring-summer seasons of 2020 and 2021. Black gram 

(variety: Pant Urd 31) was sown. The experiment was laid out in a split-split plot design 

replicated thrice with two sowing dates (March first week and March third week) in main plot, 

two soil application levels of cobalt (No cobalt and cobalt at 4 kg ha −1 ) in sub-plots and five 

foliar sprays of K and B at flower initiation stage in various combinations (no spray, spray of tap 

water, 1.25%K, 0.2%B and1.25%K + 0.2%B) in sub-sub plots. 

Results 

The pooled analysis of the data has shown that March1 st week sown crop exhibited a higher 

growth rate compared to the March 3 rd week sown crop, thisresulted in higher production. The 

Co application as basal dose recorded significantly higher growth and yield attributes of black 

gram over without application of Co. Foliar K+B application significantly increased (p≤0.05) dry 

matter accumulation (178.7 g m -2 ), number of root nodules plant -1 (43.6), crop growth rate 

(CGR: 4.76) and no. of pods plant -1 (41.2), which resulted in higher seed yield (1481.4 kg ha -1 . 

Seed yield of black gram was found to be a linear function of number of pods per plant, 

explaining about 96.59 and 93.98 % variations respectively during 2020 and 2021. 

Growth, yield and quality of black gram as influenced by date of sowing, soil application 

and foliar nutrition during spring-summer season (pooled) 

Treatment 

Dry matter 

(g m -2 ) 


Nodules plant -1 

CGR 

(g m -2 day -1 ) 

Pods 

plant -1 

Seed yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

March 1 st week 170.3 41.4 4.44 33.8 1251.9 

March 3 rd week 162.1 37.9 4.35 30.9 1120.7 

S.Em(+) 0.17 0.08 0.01 0.29 6.15 

L.S.D. (P=0.05) 1.04 0.51 0.09 1.71 17.94 

No cobalt 161.9 37.7 4.28 27.7 1095.4 

Cobalt at 4 kg ha -1 170.5 41.6 4.46 34.0 1277.2 

S.Em(+) 0.45 0.12 0.03 0.33 4.25 

L.S.D. (P=0.05) 1.86 0.49 0.10 1.30 16.59 



469 | Page



No spray 155.5 36.2 3.98 19.7 858.6 

Tap water 159.1 37.4 4.28 25.4 1048.4 

1.25% K 165.9 39.6 4.32 31.1 1200.2 

0.2% B 171.9 41.4 4.55 36.4 1342.8 

1.25% K + 0.2% B 178.7 43.6 4.76 41.2 1481.4 

S.Em(+) 0.73 0.24 0.05 0.41 9.07 

L.S.D. (P=0.05) 2.09 0.70 0.19 1.18 26.13 

Conclusion 

Sowing in March first week in combination with basal soil application of Co at 4 kg ha −1 and 

foliar nutrition of K (1.25%) and B (0.2%) at flower initiation stage have immense potential to 

intensify black gram growth and production. Even in case of delayed sowing, application of Co 

in soil combined with K+B foliar spray can sustain optimum production potential of black gram 

during spring-summer season in Eastern India. 

References 

Banerjee, P., Mukherjee, B., Venugopalan, V. K., Nath, R., Chandran, M. A. S., Dessoky, E. S., Ismail, I. 

A., El-Hallous, E. I. and Hossain, A. (2021a). Thermal Response of Spring–Summer-Grown 

Black Gram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) in Indian Subtropics. Atmosphere, 12, 1-20. 

Banerjee, P., Venugopalan, V.K., Nath, R., Althobaiti, Y.S., Gaber, A., Al-Yasi, H. and Hossain, A. 

(2021b). Physiology, Growth and Productivity of Spring–Summer Black Gram (Vigna mungo L. 

Hepper) as Influenced by Heat and Moisture Stresses in Different Dates of Sowing and Nutrient 

Management Conditions. Agron.11, 1-24. 

T4-14P-1060 

Effect of N Fertilization on Grain N Content and Productivity of Rice and 

Maize 

Surajit Mondal 1 , Rakesh Kumar 1 , J.S. Mishra 1 , V.K. Singh 2 , Anchal Dass 2 , 

A.K. Choudhary 1 and A. Upadhyaya 1 

1 ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna – 800 014, Bihar, India 

2 ICAR Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi – 110 012, India 

The indiscriminate use of fertilizer degrades the soil health and pollutes the environment 

(Galloway et al., 2008) while lower use of fertilizer is causing lower productivity. Hence, 

fertilizer application must be optimized for sustainable higher yield, lower cost of cultivation and 

a cleaner and environment-friendly production system (Zhang et al., 2015). Rice and maize are 


interactions



the major consumers of nitrogen fertilizer and need optimization in terms of input use efficiency. 

Grain quality should also be emphasized for achieving nutritional security. 

Methodology 

Field experiments on maize and rice are being implemented during rabi2020-21andkharif 2021, 

respectively, at the experimental farm of ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna to 

evaluate the effect of different doses of nitrogen (N) on yield parameter of rice, and N content of leaf 

at different growth stages of rice and maize. The treatments were 0 to 240 kg N ha -1 at 40 kg intervals 

(N0 to N240). Varieties used were TM 214, S2 946, S2 981, 2ATM211 and 2ATM214 for maize, 

and Swarna Shreya, Swarna Samridhidhan, Swarna Shakti, Swarna SukhaDhan and RCPR 58 for 

rice. N was applied at three equal splits. Each 1/3 rd of N was applied at seeding, knee height and 

tasseling stages for maize and at transplantation, maximum tillering and panicle initiation stages for 

rice. 

Results 

The impact of different nitrogen doses on grain yield of maize and rice was clearly discernible (Fig). 

The grain yield of maize increased with an increase in N-dose up to 200 kg N ha -1 and beyond that, 

no significant gain in yield was noted with additional N-application. The lowest yield of 3.87 t ha - 

1 was noted in N0 while the highest yield of 8.06 t ha -1 was noted in 240 kg N ha -1 and it was at par 

with 200 kg N ha -1 . Among the different genotypes, S2 946 and S2 981 recorded maximum (6.63 t 

ha -1 ) and minimum (5.01 t ha -1 ), respectively.In contrast to maize, rice grain yield increased up to an 

N dose of 80 kg ha-1; beyond that, yield was similar. The lowest and highest yield of rice was 

registered in 0 kg N ha -1 (3.34 t ha -1 ) and 160 kg N ha -1 (4.94 t ha -1 ).However, the effect of genotype 

was absent on rice yield and all genotypes noted similar yield (4.25-4.57 t ha -1 ). 

Yield of maize and rice as affected by different doses of N.Mean values followed by different small letters 

within N-dose or genotypes are significantly different at P < 0.05 by DMRT. 



471 | Page



The correlation between yield and N-dose was significant for both rice and wheat (data not 

presented). The yield increase for each kg of N was 19.25 and 4.88 kg for maize and rice, 

respectively. A quadratic function was also fitted with the yield and N- dose and data and the 

most profitable fertilizer dose was worked out as 211 and 159 kg N ha -1 for maize and rice, 

respectively. An N dose of 200 kg ha -1 registered the highest agronomic efficiency (AE) for 

maize while the same was 80 kg N ha -1 for rice. However, for partial factor productivity (PFP) 

irrespective of crops, the highest value was noted for 40 kg N ha -1 while the lowest was for 240 

kg N ha -1 . 

Mean values followed by different small letters within N-dose or genotypes are significantly 

different at P < 0.05 by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test.The grain N content of rice was 

significantly affected by different amounts of nitrogen and genotypes. The lowest grain N 

content was 1.09% for 0 kg N ha -1 while the highest was 1.49 for 240 kg N ha -1 . Among rice 

genotypes, the highest N content of grain was observed for Swarna Samridhi (1.39%) and the 

lowest was for RCPR 58 (1.24%). 

Conclusions 

Higher production of high-quality grain (higher grain N content) requires higher application of 

fertilizer and greater uptake by crops.The maize was more responsive to fertilizer N than rice. 

Hence, fertilizer level must be optimized to balance grain yield, grain N content and profit. 

References 

Galloway, J. N., Townsend, A. R., Erisman, J. W., Bekunda, M., Cai, Z., Freney, J. R. and 

Sutton, M. A. 2008. Transformation of the nitrogen cycle: recent trends, questions, and 

potential solutions. Science, 320(5878): 889 – 892. 

Zhang, X., Davidson, E. A., Mauzerall, D. L., Searchinger, T. D., Dumas, P. and Shen, Y. 2015. 

Managing nitrogen for sustainable development. Nature. 528(7580): 51 – 59. 


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Integrated Approach for Zinc Enrichment in Rainfed Maize 

P. Nandini 1* , P. Laxminarayana 1 , K. Bhanu Rekha 1 and T. Anjaiah 2 

T4-15P-1064 

1 Department of Agronomy, 2 Deparment of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, 

College of Agriculture, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, 

Hyderabad-500030, Telangana, India 

* nandu60109@gmail.com 

Maize (Zea mays L) the ‘Queen of Cereals’ is the third most important cereal crop in the world. 

Agronomic zinc biofortification in maize is useful to overcome the hidden hunger for Zn 

(Muhammad and Abdul, 2018). Zinc solubilising bacteria are capable of solubilizing ZnO, 

ZnCO3 and zinc phosphate through production and excretion of organic acids (Sruthi, 2013). 

Micronutrients like Zn, Fe, B, Mo etc., are mostly used in polymer coating. Polymers are mostly 

used in coating of fertilizers for slow release of fertilizer from polymer coated fertilizers 

(Shahzad et al., 2019). 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted during Kharif, 2019at College Farm (Plot no. B-8, Block-B), 

College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, PJTSAU, Hyderabad. The experimental site was located 

at 17°19' 19.2" N Latitude, 78°24' 39.2” E Longitude at an altitude of 542.3 m above mean sea 

level and lies under Southern Telangana Zone.Maize hybrid NK-6240 @ 20 kg ha -1 was sown on 

ridges at spacing of 60 cm × 20 cm. Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF- 200: 60: 50-N: P2O5: 

K2O kg ha -1 ) N was applied in three equal splits (at sowing, knee-high and tasseling stage), total 

P was applied as basal and K was applied in two equal splits (at sowing and tasseling stage). 

Crop was entirely grown under rainfall which accounted to 680.8 mm. 

Results 

Plant height has shown a linear increase at all the stages of crop period. A perusal of data 

revealed that plant height significantly influenced by integrated approach for zinc enrichment at 

30 DAS, knee high stage and at harvest except at 60 DAS. On the whole, significant variation in 

the plant height with T5 and T7 might be due to rapid cell division and elongation as a result of 

availability of the needed nutrients to the plant at critical growth stages coupled with application 

of zinc might have resulted in improvement of metallo enzyme system regulatory function and 

growth promoting auxin production resulting in increased plant height linearly. Similar results 

were earlier reported by Hekmatet al. (2019). 



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Number of Leaves Per Plant 

The number of leaves per plant recorded at 30 DAS, knee high stage, 60 DAS and at harvest. A 

scrutiny of data revealed that no. of leaves in maize differed significantly due to treatments at all 

the stages of observation except at 30 DAS.No. of leaves produced by plant at different stages 

increased linearly from 30 DAS to harvest. At knee high stage, 60 DAS and at harvest, highest 

number of leaves was recorded with T5 {RDF + FYM enrichment with 50 kg ZnSO4 ha -1 } and 

was on par with other treatments viz., T2, T4, T7 and T10. The lowest number of leaves was 

registered with T1 [RDF alone (Control) N: P2O5: K2O - 200:60:50 kg ha -1 ]. From the results it is 

inferred that number of leaves per plant has shown a gradual increase from seedling to vegetative 

stage. Similar trend was also observed by Hekmatet al. (2019) and Singh et al. (2016). 

Conclusion 

The growth parameters were significantly higher with treatments that consisted of conjunctive 

Zn application along with organic manures (FYM and inorganic fertilizers), T5 (RDF + FYM 

enrichment with 50 kg ZnSO4 ha -1 ) and also shown on par results with T7 {RDF + ZSB (1kg/100 

kg FYM) + 0.2% Foliar spray of ZnSO4 (Knee-high and Tasseling stages)}. 

References 

Hekmat, A.W., Mohammadi, N.K. and Ghosh, G. 2019. Effect of NPK, biofertilizer and zinc 

foliar nutrition on growth and yield attributes of baby corn (Zea mays L.). In. J. 

Chemical Stud., 7(4): 2432-2436. 

Muhammad, A.M. and Abdul, R.B. 2018. Zinc biofortification of maize (Zea mays L.): Status 

and challenges. Plant Breed., 138:1–28. 

Shahzad, R., Akbar, S., Jamil, S., Javed, M.A., Jamil, M.W., Fatima, N. and Iqbal, M.Z. 2019. 

Polymer coating based enhancement of fertilizer use efficiency and growth of wheat 

crop. Int. J. Biosci.14(2): 562-572. 

Singh, G., Singh, N. and Kaur, R. 2016. Integrated nutrient management for increasing growth 

with sustainability of baby corn. Int. J. Bioassays. 5 (2): 4817-4820. 

Sruthi, P. 2013. Studies on Zinc solubilizing bacteria and their effect on growth and yield of 

maize (ZeaMaysL.). MSc (Ag) thesis submitted to UAS, Dharwad. 1:72. 


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T1 

T2 

Effect of Integrated approach for zinc enrichment in rainfed maize on number of leaves 

plant -1 at 30 DAS, knee-high, 60 DAS and at harvest 

Treatments 

RDF alone (Control) [N: P 2O 5: K 2O - 

200:60:50 kg ha -1 ] 

RDF + Zinc Solubilising Bacteria (ZSB @ 

1kg/100 kg FYM) 

30 

DAS 

No. of leaves per plant 

Knee-high 

stage 

60 DAS At harvest 

4.33 4.93 10.97 12.50 

4.53 5.53 13.37 14.20 

T3 RDF + FYM (25 t ha -1 ) 4.8 5.73 12.87 13.87 

T4 RDF + Seed pelleting (3.6 g ZnSO 4 kg -1 seed) 4.73 5.80 12.87 13.87 

T5 RDF + FYM enrichment with 50 kg ZnSO 4 ha -1 4.87 6.47 14.27 15.50 

T6 

T7 

T8 

T9 

T10 

RDF + 0.2% Foliar spray of ZnSO 4 (Knee-high 

and Tasseling stages) 

RDF + ZSB (1kg/100 kg FYM) + 0.2% Foliar 

spray of ZnSO 4 (Knee-high and Tasseling 

stages) 

RDF + FYM (25 t ha -1 ) + 0.2% Foliar spray of 

ZnSO 4 (Knee-high and Tasseling stages) 

RDF +Seed pelleting + 0.2% Foliar spray of 

ZnSO 4 (Knee-high and Tasseling stages) 

RDF + FYM enrichment with 50 kg ZnSO 4 ha -1 

+ 0.2% Foliar spray of ZnSO 4 (Knee-high and 

Tasseling stages) 

4.8 5.27 11.67 12.87 

4.8 6.20 13.60 14.67 

4.67 5.47 11.93 14.07 

4.8 5.60 12.67 13.67 

4.87 5.93 13.27 14.33 

SEm± 0.2 0.23 0.46 0.42 

CD (p=0.05) NS 0.70 1.38 1.27 

Plant height (cm) as influenced by integrated approach for zinc enrichment in rainfed maize. 



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T4-16P-162841 

Influence of Integrated Nutrient Management on Soil Properties, Crop Yields 

and Water Use Efficiency in Rainfed Maize-Wheat Rotation 

Mohammad Amin Bhat, M.J. Singh, Anil Khokhar, Abrar Yousuf, 

Parminder Singh Sandhu and Balwinder Singh Dhillon 

Regional Research Station, Punjab Agricultural University, Ballowal Saunkhri, SBS Nagar, Punjab- 

144521 

Nutrient management is imperative to increase productivity of maize-wheat system, a prominent 

multiple cropping system operational in dryland areas of the northwest India. The productivity of 

maize and wheat not only depends on adequate nutrition but also the appropriate nutrient 

management approaches. Nevertheless, the farming systems practiced in India are exploitative in 

character making it difficult to maintain soil fertility and affecting long-term viability of 

agriculture (Ghosh et al 2021). Nitrogen is the essential element, the deficiency of which restricts 

crop production. Chemical fertilizers are the predominant source of nitrogen in agricultural 

production systems. No doubt, inorganic fertilization substantially augments crop yield; but, the 

supply of nutrients solely through synthetic fertilizers does not fulfill the complete nutrient 

demand of the crops (Khokhar et al 2022). The sustained and prudent use of manures improves 

physico-chemical characteristics of all soils, especially those having shallow profile depth, 

coarse-texture and lower content of organic matter, and reduces the risk of soil and water quality 

degradation (Amoah et al 2012). The regular addition of organic manures is frequently 

recommended in India to maintain soil fertility, although its usage is rapidly declining due to 

farm mechanization, greater use of inorganic fertilizers, and a reduction in the size of livestock. 

However, the commercial fertilizers are becoming increasingly expensive, therefore, organic 

manures, like FYM, continue to be an appropriate substitute to commercial fertilizers. Therefore, 

this study was intended to evaluate the effect of INM on soil properties, crop yields and water 

use efficiency under rainfed conditions. 

Methodology 

The study was conducted in an on-going 5-year-old experiment started in 2017 at Regional 

Research Station, Punjab Agricultural University, Ballowal Saunkhri. The study area lies in 

subhumid subtropical climate having hot summers and cold winters. The experiment on maizewheat 

system has a combination of FYM and fertilizer treatments. The plots, 43.2m 2 (5.4m × 

8m) in size, were replicated thrice in randomized complete block design (RCBD). The treatments 

of synthetic fertilizers and FYM compared. Farmyard manure was incorporated into the soil 


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before the sowing of maize and wheat as per the treatments. The sources of N, P and K were 

urea, single superphosphate and diammonium phosphate and muriate of potash. Maize (PMH 13) 

and wheat (PBW 660) were grown in monsoon (July to September) and winter season 

(November to April), respectively. One half of N was applied at the time of sowing and 

remaining half at knee high stage in maize and crown root initiation stage in wheat. Other 

recommended cultural practices for both the crops were followed throughout the study. 

Results 

The yield of maize increased with nutrient management treatments as compared to control. 

Significantly higher grain yield of maize (3711 kg ha˗1 ) was recorded with 100% NPK + FYM 

10 t ha˗1 as compared to control, N (100% RDF) and NP (100% RDF) but was statistically at par 

with all other treatments. The higher water use efficiency (6.25 kg ha˗1 mm˗1 ) was also recorded 

in the treatment 100% NPK + FYM 10 t ha˗1 as compared to other treatments. In wheat, 

significantly higher grain yield was recorded with 100% NPK + FYM 10 t ha˗1 as compared to 

control, N (100% RDF), 100%N through FYM and 100%N through FYM+ biofertilizers but was 

statistically at par with all other treatments. The highest water use efficiency was also recorded in 

the treatment 100% NPK + FYM 10 t ha. Soil moisture exhibited significant variation among the 

treatments. The FYM substituted plots, by and large, had significantly higher soil moisture than 

sole chemical fertilized and control treatments. Organic carbon exhibited significant variation 

among different treatments and highest OC was recorded in NPK (100%RDF) + FYM10 t ha˗1 as 

compared to all other treatments. 

Effect of integrated nutrient management on yield and water use efficiency of rainfed 

Treatments 

maize-wheat system 

Grain 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

Maize Wheat Soil properties 

WUE 

(kg/hamm) 

Grain yield 

(kg/ha) 

WUE 

(kg/hamm) 

Soil 

moisture 

(%) 

Control 1370 d 2.31 d 1883 d 9.49 e 11.46 c 0.41 c 

N(100% RDF) 2141 cd 3.60 cd 3017 bc 15.40 cd 11.51 c 0.42 bc 

NP(100%RDF) 2244 bcd 3.78 bcd 3258 abc 16.62 bcd 11.58 c 0.48 abc 

NPK(100%RDF)(DAP) 3065 abc 5.16 abc 4050 ab 20.70 abc 12.39 bc 0.48 abc 

NPK(100%RDF)+S(SSP) 3101 abc 5.22 abc 3792 ab 19.36 abc 11.78 c 0.48 abc 

NPK(100% RDF)+ZnSO 4 3246 ab 5.47 ab 4267 a 21.76 ab 11.38 c 0.51 ab 

NPK(50%RDF)+FYM10t/ha 3215 ab 5.41 ab 3492 abc 18.27 abcd 13.41 ab 0.52 a 

NPK(100%RDF)+FYM10t/ha 3711 a 6.25 a 4292 a 22.46 a 14.51 a 0.56 a 

NPK(150%RDF) 3305 ab 5.56 ab 3683 ab 19.08 abcd 12.30 bc 0.55 a 

SOC 

(%) 



477 | Page



100%N Through FYM 2733 abc 4.60 abc 2550 cd 13.46 de 12.51 bc 0.52 a 

100%N Through FYM +Biofertilizers 2828 abc 4.76 abc 2950 bcd 15.77 cd 12.97 abc 0.53 a 

Conclusion 

Integrated nutrient management enhanced crop yield, water use efficiency and improves soil 

properties under maize-wheat cropping system. 

References 

Amoah, A.A., Senge, M., Miyagawa, S. and Itou, K. 2012. Effects of soil fertility management 

on growth, yield, and water-use efficiency of maize (Zea mays L.) and selected soil 

properties. Comm. in Soil Sci. and Plant Analysis. 43(6): 924–935. 

Ghosh, D., Mandal, M. and Pattanayak, S.K. 2021. Long-term effect of integrated nutrient 

management on dynamics of phosphorous in an acid Inceptisols of tropical India. 

Communi. Soil Sci. Plant Anal., DOI: 10.1080/00103624.2021.1924186 

Khokhar, A., Bhat, M.A., Singh, M.J., Yousuf, A., Sharma, V. and Sandhu, P.S. 2022. Soil 

properties, nutrient availability vis-à-vis uptake and productivity of rainfed maize-wheat 

system in response to long-term tillage and n management in northwest India. Communic. 

Soil Sci. Plant Anal., 53(22): 2935-2954 

T4-17P-1085 

Effect of Mulching and Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth of Kharif 

Maize under Dryland Condition 

Sudhanshu Verma*, Sudhir Kr. Rajpoot, S. K. Verma and J. P. Singh 

Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, 

Varanasi- 221 005 

*sudhanshubcn@gmail.com 

Maize is one of the most versatile crops and has the highest genetic yield potential and known as 

the queen of cereals in the world. Maize is considered the third most important food crop among 

the cereals in India that contributed to nearly 9% of the national food security. Maize is a 

staplefood, and quality feed, and used as a basic raw material for thousands of industrial 

products. The average productivity in India is 2.43 t ha -1 . The productivity of maize is limited 

due to moisture stress and this could be achieved by soil and nutrient management practices as 

these are of paramount concern to conserve soil moisture and improve productivity and fertility. 


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Mulch particularly restricts the transport of water vapor from the soil surface to the 

microclimate, which diminishesthe direct evaporation loss of water and increases the availability 

of soil water to the crops and resulting inthe regulation of soil temperature. The residues of 

mulches such as jowar or bajra stubbles, paddy straw or husk, saw dust, etc. left on the soil 

eliminate soil loss by preventing water and wind erosion and improvingthe chemical, physical 

and biological properties of soil. 

Maize being a heavy feeder requires much more nutrients compared to other crops and in order 

to meet those nutritional requirements the farmers apply large quantities of inorganic fertilizers 

without understanding its negative impact onthe fertility status of the soil as well as the 

environment. The supplementary and complementary use of organic manures, viz. farm yard 

manure, poultry manure, vermicompost, castor cake, and inorganic fertilizers plays an important 

role in the growth and yield of the crop and enhances the soil health 

Methodology 

Afield experiment was conducted during the Kharifseasonof 2017 at the Agricultural Research 

Farm of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. The 

experiment was laid out in a split-plot design, keeping mulching treatments asmain plots and 

integrated nutrient management treatments assubplots, with 3 replications. The treatment were: 

M1: control (no mulch), M2: dust mulch, and M3: rice straw mulch. The subplot treatments were: 

S1:100% RDF, S2:75% RDF + 25 % N through poultry manure, S3: 100% RDF + 25 % N 

through poultry manure, S4: 75% RDF + 25 % N through FYM and S5: 100% RDF + 25 % N 

through FYM where RDF is 120: 60: 60 kg N: P2O5: K2O ha -1 respectively. The maizecultivar 

‘K-99’ was chosen for the experiment. Well rotten poultry manure and FYM were taken from 

IFS (integrated farming system) and their chemical status. Observations on growth parameters of 

maize were recorded and their significance was tested by the variance ratio (~F-value) at a 5% 

level. Treatment means were compared using critical differences (CD) at the 5% level of 

significance. Relative economics was calculated as per the prevailing market prices of the inputs 

and produce during the years of experimentation. 

Results 

Mulching and integrated nutrient management showed significant variation ingrowth parameters 

of maize. Maximum mean number of leaves, plant height, leaf area index and chlorophyll 

content were recorded under dust mulch, which was statistically at par with rice straw mulch and 

significantly superior over control (no mulch), respectively. Similar results also found by Rajput 

et al. (2014). Integrated nutrient management practices had significant influence on number of 



479 | Page



leaves, plant height, leaf area index and chlorophyll content. Application of 100% RDF + 25 % 

N through poultry manure was recorded significantly number of leaves, plant height, leaf area 

index, and chlorophyll content over 75% RDF + 25 % N through poultry manure, 75% RDF + 25 

% N through FYM, 100% RDF and it were statistically at par with 100% RDF + 25 % N through 

FYM, respectively. The interaction effect between mulching and integrated nutrient management 

treatments on number of leaves, plant height, leaf area index and chlorophyll content were found 

to be non-significant. Similar findings were also reported by Iqbal et al. (2014), who observed 

that application of application of 75 % N from urea + 25 % N from poultry manure recorded 

significantly highest plant height and number of leaves per plant observed. 

Conclusion 

Based on the experimentation, it can be concluded that mulching and integrated nutrient 

management treatments had pronounced effect on growth of Kharifmaize. Dust mulch 

application produced the highest growth traits. Application of 100% RDF + 25 % N through 

poultry manure practice proved to be higher growth than other recommended dose of fertilizers. 

References 

Iqbal, A., Iqbal, M. A., Raza, A., Akbar, N., Abbas, R.N., Khan, H.Z. 2014. Integrated nitrogen 

management studies in forage maize. Am. Eurasian J. Agric. Environ. Sci.,14(8):744-747. 

Rajput, B. S., Maurya, S. K., Singh, R. N., Sen, A., Singh, R. K. 2014. Effect of different types 

of mulch on maize under guava (Psidium guajava) based agri-horti system. Online Int 

Interdiscip. Res. J, 4(3): 122-130. 

Effect of mulching and integrated nutrient management on growth of kharif maize 

Treatment 

Number 

of leaves 

Mulching 

Plant 

height 

(cm) 

Leaf 

area 

index at 

75 DAS 

Chlorophyll 

content at 75 

DAS 

(spad value) 

M1 : Control (No mulch) 7.54 190.0 3.72 39.7 

M2 : Dust mulch 9.53 216.0 4.27 45.2 

M3 : Rice straw mulch 8.97 206.1 4.16 42.2 

SEm± 0.38 4.8 0.10 1.0 

CD (p=0.05) 1.48 18.9 0.41 3.8 


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Integrated nutrient management 

S1:100% RDF 7.89 193.4 3.77 38.5 

S2:75% RDF + 25 % N through Poultry 

manure 

S3: 100% RDF + 25 % N through Poultry 

manure 

8.62 201.8 4.10 42.3 

9.50 217.3 4.38 46.5 

S4: 75% RDF + 25 % N through FYM 8.16 195.4 3.84 40.0 

S5: 100% RDF + 25 % N through FYM 9.23 212.0 4.17 44.6 

SEm± 0.27 5.8 0.11 1.0 

CD (p=0.05) 0.80 17.0 0.33 2.8 

T4-18P-1089 

Yield Maximization of Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea) through Integrated 

Nutrient Management under Dryland Condition 

S. K. Sharma*, Kuldeep Singh, S. K. Thakral and Parveen Kumar 

Department of Agronomy, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, 

Hisar 125004, Haryana, India 

*sksharma67@rediffmail.com 

Oilseeds are the second largest agricultural commodity after cereals in India. The mustard 

crop is the second most important edible oilseed crop in India after groundnut and accounts 

for nearly one-third of the oil produced in the country. Imbalanced nutrition is one of the 

important constraints towards higher mustard productivity. Hence, in order to improve crop 

productivity, and soil health and lessen the negative environmental impact integrated 

nutrient management (INM) is a viable agronomic option. The crop’s yield potential can be 

maximized by balanced and efficient use of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients. 

Therefore, the study was undertaken to find out the effect of various integrated nutrient 

management practices on the yield and economics of Indian mustard. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted at Dryland Agriculture Research Farm of the Chaudhary 

Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during the Rabi season of 2020-21. The 

experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with three replications. The treatments 

comprised of T1-control, T2-40:20 kg NP/ha (RDF), T3-50:25 kg NP/ha, T4-60:30 kg NP/ha, T5- 

40:20:10 kg NPK/ha, T6-50:25:12.5 kg NPK/ha, T7-60:30:15 kg NPK/ha, T8-20:20 kg NP/ha 



481 | Page



(inorganic) + 20 kg N/ha (FYM), T9-25:25 kg NP/ha (inorganic) + 25 kg N/ha (FYM), T10- 

30:30 kg NP/ha (inorganic) + 30 kg N/ha (FYM), T11-20:20:10 kg NPK/ha (inorganic) + 20 kg 

N/ha (FYM), T12-25:25:12.5 kg NPK/ha (inorganic) + 25 kg N/ha (FYM) and T13-30:30:15 kg 

NPK/ha (inorganic) + 30 kg N/ha (FYM). Soil of the experimental field was sandy loam and 

having low organic carbon (0.16%), low available N (112 kg/ha), medium available P (17.0 

kg/ha) and high available K (436 kg/ha) with a pH of 7.8. Indian mustard variety ‘RH 725’ was 

sown on 23 October 2020 and harvested on 22 March 2021. The row spacing was 45 cm keeping 

a 5 kg seed rate/ha. Total rainfall of 38.4 mm was received during the crop growth period. The 

other agronomic practices were followed as per production recommendations during the crop 

growth period. All the fertilizers in the form of Urea, SSP and FYM were applied at the time of 

sowing the crop. 

Results 

Different nutrient management treatments had higher growth and yield attributes of Indian 

mustard over control. Application of 30:30:15 kg NPK/ha (inorganic) + 30 kg N/ha (FYM) 

recorded significantly higher plant height, number of primary branches per plant, and siliquae 

per plant over the rest of treatments and were at par with application of 25:25:12.5 kg NPK/ha 

(inorganic) + 25 kg N/ha (FYM), 30:30 kg NP/ha (inorganic) + 30 kg N/ha (FYM) and 60:30:15 

kg NPK/ha treatments. Application of 30:30:15 kg NPK/ha (inorganic) + 30 kg N/ha (FYM) 

recorded significantly higher seed yield (3161 kg/ha) and stover yield (7901 kg/ha) of mustard 

compared to other treatments except treatment receiving 25:25:12.5 kg NPK/ha (inorganic) + 25 

kg N/ha (FYM), 30:30 kg NP/ha (inorganic) + 30 kg N/ha (FYM), 25:25 kg NP/ha (inorganic) + 

25 kg N/ha (FYM) and 60:30:15 kg NPK/ha. Varma et al. (2021) also found that integrated 

nutrient management improved the yield attributes and yield of Indian mustard. Higher net 

returns of ₹ 117353/ha were also recorded with the application of 30:30:15 kg NPK/ha 

(inorganic) + 30 kg N/ha (FYM). However, the highest BC ratio (4.62) was observed with the 

application of 60:30:15 kg NPK/ha (inorganic). 

Conclusion 

Application of 30:30:15 kg NPK/ha (inorganic) + 30 kg N/ha (FYM) resulted in significantly 

higher yield attributes and yield of Indian mustard. Similarly, higher net returns were also 

recorded with the application of 30:30:15 kg NPK/ha (inorganic) + 30 kg N/ha (FYM) under 

sandy loam soils in arid/semi-arid regions. The highest BC ratio was observed with the 

application of 60:30:15 kg NPK/ha (inorganic). 


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References 

Varma, G. R., Satish, P., Hussain, S. A. and Sharma, H. K. 2021. Effect of integrated nutrient 

Treatments 

management on productivity and economics of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea). Int. J. 

Environ. Clim. 11(6): 169-176. 

Effect of treatments on crop yield and economics of Indian mustard 

Seed 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

Stover 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

Gross 

returns 

(₹/ha) 

Net 

returns 

(₹/ha) 

Control 2313 5981 110545 82145 3.89 

40:20 kg NP/ha (RDF) 2756 7115 131712 101937 4.42 

50:25 kg NP/ha 2819 7362 134765 104646 4.47 

60:30 kg NP/ha 2937 7560 140351 109889 4.61 

40:20:10 kg NPK/ha 2828 7241 135123 105033 4.49 

50:25:12.5 kg NPK/ha 2905 7512 138839 108326 4.55 

60:30:15 kg NPK/ha 2992 7668 142962 112026 4.62 

20:20 kg NP/ha (inorganic) + 20 kg N/ha (FYM) 2907 7362 138857 107316 4.40 



20:20:10 kg NPK/ha (inorganic) + 20 kg N/ha (FYM) 2962 7442 141454 109598 4.44 

25:25:12.5 kg NPK/ha (inorganic) + 25 kg N/ha (FYM) 3052 7750 145793 113073 4.46 

30:30:15 kg NPK/ha (inorganic) + 30 kg N/ha (FYM) 3161 7901 150937 117353 4.49 

CD at 5% 174 388 

BC 

ratio 

T4-19P-1093 

Quality and Leaf Nutrient of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Influenced 

by Integrated Nutrient Management 

Bhagyaresha R. Gajbhiye and H. K. Kausadikar 

AICRP on Long Term Fertilizer Experiment 

Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani (M.S.)-431402, India 

The fruit, pomegranate (Punica granatum L) contains nearly about 153 phytochemicals like 

ellagic acid, catechin and procyandins, fatty acids and triglycerides, sterols and terpenoids, 

flavonols etc. The fruit juice contains tannins, anthocyanin, polyphenols and antioxidants A, E 

and C which play major role in maintenance of heart blood vessels and proper blood circulation. 



483 | Page



The integrated nutrient management infuses long term sustainability in the productivity level 

because of availability of nutrients in soil for next season crop. Incorporation of organic 

fertilizers is a common practice to improve the yield of many fruit crops. It also limits chemical 

intervention and finally minimizes the negative impact on the wider environment. The present 

fruit production in India meets only the 46 percent of the total demand. Thus there is a strong 

need to increase the production and productivity through crop diversification and use of best 

horticultural techniques among which Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) is the one. 

Therefore, the present investigation is planned with the objectives; to study the effect of INM 

practices on quality and temporal behaviour of pomegranate in respect of nutrient uptake. 

Methodology 

The total soluble solids were determined with the help of digital refractometer and values were 

corrected to 20 0 C with the help of temperature correction chart (A.O.A.C., 1975). The titrable 

acidity was calculated on the basis of one ml NaOH equivalent to 0.0067 g of anhydrous malic 

acid and the results were expressed as per cent acidity as per the method outlined in A.O.A.C 

(1980). Colour of pomegranate juice was determined by Hunter Colour EZ Flex by extraction of 

juice using juice grinder and expressed in dimensions of L*, a* and b* values (Aaby et al., 

2005). L*, a* and b* uniform colour space, L* indicates luminosity or lightness, a* chromacity 

on a green (-) to red (+) axis and b* chromacity on a blue (-) to yellow (+) axis. For estimation of 

macro and micronutrients status of foliage, fifty fully mature and expanded current seasons 

leaves located at the 8 th position from the apex were collected all round the periphery of the plant 

as recommended by Bhargava and Dhander (1987). 

estimation of different plant nutrients. 

Results 

The standard methods adopted for 

Pooled data showed that the maximum total soluble sugar (13.45 0 Brix) was recorded with INM: 

FYM + Solubilizers + RDF +Umber (Ficus racemosa) Rhizosphere Hybridized Soil and found 

to be statistically at par with INM: FYM + solubilizers + RDF +Antibiotics and Antibiotics 

(Streptocycline) + RDF recording 12.75 and 12.69 0 Brix, respectively. The minimum 

(10.23 0 Brix) total soluble sugar was recorded at Absolute control. 

Titrable acidity of pomegranate fruit was significantly decreased with the application of different 

organic and inorganic sources through different treatments in both the years of study. The lowest 

amount of titrable acidity (0.28%) was noted with the application of INM (FYM + Solubilizers + 

RDF) +Umber (Ficus racemosa) Rhizosphere Hybridized Soil. 


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The L*, b* and h* values of pomegranate colour were found to decrease while, a* and c* values 

increased with different nutrient management practices. The L*, b* and h* values decreased i.e. 

77.35, 2.33 and 24.42 significantly with the application of INM (FYM + Solubilizers + RDF) 

+Umber (Ficus racemosa) Rhizosphere Hybridized Soil over control and followed by INM 

(FYM + Solubilizers +RDF) +Antibiotics with values 80.01, 2.64 and 26.21, respectively. 

However, a* and c* values were increased to 13.91 and 10.40 with treatment T7 followed by 

treatments T6 with values 12.43and 9.96, respectively. 

Leaf nitrogen (2.47 and 2.53 %), phosphorus (0.26 and 0.28 %) and potassium concentration 

(1.33 and 1.34 %) were increased with INM (FYM + Solubilizers+ RDF) + Umber (Ficus 

racemosa) Rhizosphere Hybridised Soil which was statistically at par with INM (FYM + 

Solubilizers + RDF) + Antibiotics and Antibiotics (Streptocycline) + RDF) at flowering and after 

harvest, respectively. While, it was decreased with absolute control. 

Conclusion 

Yield of pomegranate and quality parameters (TSS, titrable acidity and colour of juice) were 

improved with application of INM (FYM @ 15 kg per tree, Azotobacter @ 8 ml per tree, PSB @ 

8 ml per tree and Trichoderma @ 100 g per tree, 625:250:250 g N, P2O5 and K2O per tree) along 

with Umber (Ficus racemosa) Rhizosphere Hybridised Soil (URHS) @ 25 kg per tree. 

Pomegranate leaf nutrient concentration like total N, P and K were also increased with same 

treatment. 

References 

A.O. A. C. 1975. Official Methods of analysis. Association of Official Analytical Chemist. 12 th 

edition, Washington D. C. 

A. O. A. C. 1980 Official methods of analysis of the analytical chemists, 13 th ed. (W. Horwitz, 

ed). Association of Official Analytical Chemists 83: 617-623. 

Aaby, K., Skrede, G. and Wrolstand, R. E. 2005. Phenolic composition and antioxidants 

activities in flesh and achenes of strawberries (Frageria ananassa). Journal of 

Agricultural Food Chemistry 53: 4032-4040. 

Bhargava, B. S. and Dhandar, D. S. 1987. Leaf sampling technique in pomegranate. Progressive 

Horticulture. 19 (3/4): 196-99. 



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Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on total soluble suga (TSS) and titrable acidity 

of pomegranate juice 

Treatments TSS ( 0 Brix) Titrable acidity (%) 

Pooled 

Pooled 

Absolute Control 10.23 0.48 

Farmer’s practices (1/2 RDF) 10.42 0.45 

RDF (625:250:250 g N P 2O 5, K 2O tree -1 ) 11.00 0.43 

INM (FYM + Solubilizers+ RDF) 11.61 0.40 

RDF + Antibiotics (Streptocycline) 12.69 0.32 

T 4 + Antibiotics 12.75 0.31 

T 4 + Umber (Ficus racemosa) Rhizosphere 

Hybridised Soil (URHS) 13.45 0.28 

Average 11.74 0.38 

S.Em.± 0.34 0.03 

CD at 5% 0.97 0.09 

Total N. P and K 

concentration 

Total N, P and K concentration (%) 

6 

4 

2 

0 

Category Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 4 

Treatments 

Series 1 

Series 2 

Series 3 

Effect of INM on leaf N, P and K content of Pomegranate 


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T4-20P-1094 

Effect of Long Term Fertilization on Yield and Chemical Properties of Soil in 

Soybean-Safflower Croping Sequence in dryland condition under Vertisol 

Bhagyaresha R. Gajbhiye and Ramprasad N. Khandare 

AICRP on Long Term Fertilizer Experiment 

Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Parbhani (M. S.)-431402, India 

Long term experiments are the primary source of information to determine the effect of cropping 

systems or sequences, soil management, fertilizer use and residue utilization on changes in 

organic carbon (Leigh and Johnston, 1994). These are usually the only sources of information to 

determine agricultural sustainability. Soyabean has become an important oilseed crop in India in 

a very short period with 113.98 lakh ha area under its cultivation during kharif 2019-20. The 

major soyabean growing states are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and 

Telangana. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), another important oilseed crop of India, is 

cultivated in the winter (rabi) season from September /October to February /March. India 

accounts for 41% (0.3 Mha) of world area under safflower. Because of low yield (630 kg ha -1 ), 

safflower production of merely 0.19 Mha is only 29% of global production followed by that in 

the US (17%), Argentina (13%), and Kazakhastan (12%). 

Methodology 

Composite soil samples of 0-15 cm depths were collected from individual plots after harvesting 

of the crop. The collected soil samples were thoroughly mixed and brought to the laboratory, air 

dried, ground with wooden mortar and pestle and sieved through 2 mm sieve, for analyzing 

organic carbon, available N, P and K. Organic carbon was assessed by Walkey and Black’s rapid 

titration method as suggested by Piper (1966). Available nitrogen was determined by using 

alkaline potassium permanganate method suggested by Subbiah and Asija (1956). Available 

phosphorus was determined by using 0.5 M sodium bicarbonate (pH 8.5) as an extractant and 

measured spectrophotometrically by using 420 nm wave lengths as outlined by Olsen et al. 

(1954). Available potassium was estimated by using normal neutral ammonium acetate as an 

extractant and extractant was subscribed to Flame photometer Jackson (1973). 

Results 

The results indicated that treatment 100% NPK + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 recorded highest grain (14.17 

and 6.31q ha -1 ) and straw yield (30.02 and 34.44 q ha -1 ) of soybean and safflower, respectively 



487 | Page



which was found significantly superior over all the treatments and statistically at par with 100% 

NPK, 150% NPK, 100% NPK+HW, 100% NPK+ Zn and 100% NPK -S. The lowest grain and 

straw yield were recorded in absolute control followed by 100% N alone treatment in both crops. 

The highest soil organic carbon (7.04 g ha -1 ) was noticed in the treatment receiving 100% NPK 

along with 5-ton FYM over the control. However, the lowest organic content was with absolute 

control (5.51 g ha -1 ) followed by fallow (5.65 g ha -1 ). Maximum available N, P and K were 

recorded in 100% NPK + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 (282.28, 19.39 and 800.14 kg ha -1 , respectively) and 

was comparable with 150% NPK. Whereas, the lowest available N, P and K were recorded in 

absolute control followed by fallow. 

Conclusion 

Application of 100% NPK + FYM @ 5tha -1 recorded highest grain and straw yield of both 

soybean and safflower crops in soybean-safflower cropping sequence. After harvest of crop, 

treatment wise soil samples were analysed and it was found that organic carbon, available N, P 

and K were recorded maximum in 100% NPK + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 . 

References 

Jackson, M.L. 1973. Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice, Hall of Indian Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. 498. 

Leigh, R. A. and Johnston, A. E. 1994. Long-term Experiment in Agricultural and Ecological 

Sciences. CAB International. Wallingford. U.K. 428. 

Olsen, S.R., Cole, C.V., Watanabe, F.S. and Dean, L.A. 1954. Estimation of available 

phosphorus in soil by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. U. S. department of 

Agriculture Circular. 939. 

Subbiah, B.V. and Asija, G.L. 1956. A rapid procedure for the estimation of Available Nitrogen 

in Soil. Curr. Sci., 25:259-260. 

Walkley, A.J. and Black, I.A. 1934. Estimation of soil organic carbon by chromic acid titration 

method. Soil Sci., 37: 29-38. 


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Effect of long term fertilization on chemical properties of soil in soybean-safflower croping 

sequence 

Treatment No. 

OC 

(g kg -1 ) 

Available N 

(Kg ha -1 ) 

Available P 

(Kg ha -1 ) 

Available K 

(Kg ha -1 ) 

50% NPK 6.39 245.20 15.79 650.71 

100% NPK 6.62 255.00 17.31 697.97 

150% NPK 6.74 268.15 19.04 757.38 

100% NPK+HW 6.64 256.49 17.53 671.53 

100% NPK+Zn 6.57 261.03 17.57 697.49 

100% NP 5.79 242.51 16.52 667.87 

100% N 5.74 241.03 10.98 634.46 

100% NPK+FYM @ 5 t ha -1 7.04 282.28 19.39 800.14 

100% NPK-Sulphur 6.23 250.13 16.36 670.07 

Only FYM @ 10t ha -1 6.80 260.25 17.71 747.17 

Absolute Control 5.51 227.33 10.35 622.55 

Fallow 

5.65 234.60 15.62 647.37 

S.E. ± 0.28 7.31 0.68 25.99 

C.D. at 5% 0.81 21.06 1.95 74.82 

Initial 5.50 216.00 16.00 766.00 

T4-21P-1098 

Effect of Foliar Application of DAP on Yield, Quality and Nutrient Uptake of 

chickpea Under Dryland Conditions 

I. R. Bagwan*, Archana B. Pawar, Shubhangi R. Kadam, N. J. Ranshur and 

V. M. Amrutsagar 

Zonal Agricultural Research Station, 97, Raviwarpeth, near DAV College, KrushakBhavan, Solapur 

413002, Maharashtra 

* ikbalbagwan97@gmail.com 

A Field experiment was conducted at Dry Farming Research Station, Solapur in order tostudythe 

foliar application of diammonium phosphate (DAP) on grain, stover yields, quality and nutrient 

uptake of chickpea var Vijay under dryland conditionduring year 2013-14 to 2019-20 on medium 

deep black soil. Results revealed that the application of general recommended dose of fertilizers 



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(25:50 kg/ha N:P2O5 + 5t/ha FYM) along with 2% diammonium phosphatefoliar spray at 50 per 

cent pod setting stage(60 to 65 DAS) registered significantly highest grain and stover yield 

(15.51 and 18.92 q/ha), moisture use efficiency (6.66 kg/ha/mm), protein yield (291.62 q/ha), 

total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake (64.75, 10.27 and 66.58 kg/ha, respectively) by 

chickpea at harvest, as well as highest net returns ( Rs. 56920/-) and B:C ratio (2.80) over rest of 

the treatments. 

Chickpea (Cicerarientinum L.) is an important pulse crop of the semiarid tropicsparticularly in 

rainfed ecology of Indian subcontinent. It is the main source of dietary protein formajority of 

Indian population. The average productivity of chickpea is about 823 kg/ha in India and that 

ofMaharashtra is 614 kg/ha. The causes for low yield of chickpea are physiological factors such 

as insufficientpartitioning of assimilates, poor pod setting, excessive flower abscission and lack 

of nutrientsduring the critical growthstages of crop. The nutrients applied through soil 

application are not available to plants due to losses by leaching, denitrification or volatilization. 

The losses in nutrients can be reduced by foliar application or foliar nutritionto plants by 

applying liquid fertilizer directly to their leaves. The diammonium phosphate (DAP) is the 

world's most widely used phosphatic fertilizer as a excellent source ofphosphorus and nitrogen 

for plant nutrition.The experiment was conducted at ZARS, Solapur to study effect of 

foliarapplication of DAP at different growth stages on yield, quality and nutrient uptakeof 

Chickpea under dryland conditions. 

Methodology 

Theexperiment was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD), with six treatments and four 

replications. The treatments are T1: Absolute control, T2: GRDF (25:50 N:P2O5 kg/ha+5 

t/haFYM), T3: GRDF + 2% DAP foliar spray at first flower, T4: GRDF + 2% DAP foliarspray at 

50% flowering, T5: GRDF + 2% DAP foliar-spray at 50% pod set, T6:GRDF+2% DAPfoliar 

spray at the end of podding. The FYM was incorporated in the soil and theN and P was 

uniformly applied to each plot as a basal dose during all the years of theexperiment. The seed of 

chickpea variety Vijay was sown in line with 30 x 10 cm spacing. The initial soil properties of 

the experimentalplot were pH (1:2.5)7.5, electrical conductivity0.30 dS/m, organiccarbon 0.50%, 

Available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (155,12.70 and 550 kg/ha), field capacity 212 

mm, permanent wilting point 80 mm. The standard analytical methods were used for analysis of 

soil and plant samples. The data obtained in respect of the observations wasstatistically analysed 

by using the procedures given by Panse and Sukhatme (1985). 


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Results 

The effect of foliar application of DAP at different growth stages of chickpea showedsignificant 

effect on grain and stover yield, moisture use efficiency and protein yield. The results revealed 

that treatment GRDF along with 2 % DAP foliar spray at 50 per cent pod setting stageshowed 

significantly higher grain and stover yield (15.51 and 18.92 q/ha) moisture use efficiency (6.66 

kg/ha/mm) and protein yield (291.62 q/ha), respectively over rest of treatments.However,MUE 

was at par with GRDF along with 2 % DAP foliar spray at 50 per centflowering stageSimilar 

grain and protein yield response of foliar application of different water-soluble fertilizers were 

also reported by Takankharet al. (2017), Eliset al. (2020) and Deshmukh et al. (2022) in 

chickpea. Treatment GRDF along with 2 per centdiammonium phosphate foliar spray at 50 % 

pod setting stagerecorded significantly higher N, P and K uptake (64.75,10.27 and 66.58 

kg/ha).Similar nutrient uptake studies were taken byDeshmukh et al. (2022) in chickpea.The 

treatment GRDF + 2 % DAP foliar spray at 50 per cent pod setting stage ofchickpea showed 

significantly higher available N, P2O5 and K2O (176.38,16.14 and 546.50 kg/ha)respectively over 

control treatment.The treatment GRDF along with 2 per cent DAP foliar spray at 50 per cent pod 

setting stageof chickpea recorded highest net returns (Rs. 56,920 /- andB: C ratio (2.80) over rest 

ofthe treatments. 

Conclusion 

The application of recommended dose of N and P2O5 (25:50 kg/ha) along with 5 t FYM along 

with 2 per cent foliar spray of diammonium phosphate (DAP) is at 50 per cent pod setting stage 

was found to be superior for achievinghigher yield and monitory returns of chickpea under 

scarcity zone of Maharashtra 

References 

Deshmukh M., Jangilwad, M. D., Mundhe, S. S., Gupta, A., Kausadikar, H. K. 2022. Impact of 

foliar application of specialty fertilizer on growth, yield, quality and macro and micro 

nutrient uptake of chickpea. Int. J. Cur.Microbiol. Appl. Sci.,11(09): 261-275. 

Elis, S., Ipekesen, S., Basdemir, F., Tunc, M., Bicer, T.B. 2020. Effect of different fertilizer 

forms on yield and yield components of chickpea varieties. Int. J. Agric. Environ. Food 

Sci.,4 (2): 209 – 215. 

Panse, V. G. and Sukhatme, P. V. 1985.Statistical methods for agricultural workers. ICAR, New 

Delhi 



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Takankhar, V. G., Karanjikar, P. N. and Bhoye, S. R. 2017. Effect of foliar nutrition on growth, 

yield and qualityof chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Asian J. Soil Sci., 12(2):296-299. 

Effect of foliar application of DAP on yield (q/ha) Protein yield and MUE ofchickpea 

(Pooled mean) 


Yield (q/ha) 

Grain 

Stover 

MUE 

(kg/ha/mm) 

Protein yield 

(kg/ha) 

T 1: Absolute control 8.28 9.64 3.71 148.75 

T 2: GRDF (25:50 N:P2O5 kg/ha + 5t/ha FYM 12.40 15.09 4.80 226.33 

T 3: GRDF+ 2% DAP foliar spray at first flower 13.68 16.76 5.63 254.25 

T 4: GRDF+ 2% DAP foliar spray at 50 % flowering 14.32 17.36 6.22 265.67 

T 5: GRDF+ 2% DAP foliar spray at 50 % pod set 15.51 18.92 6.66 291.62 

T 6: GRDF+ 2% DAP foliar spray at the end of 

podding 

13.30 16.41 5.81 249.72 

SE ± 0.31 0.49 0.29 7.12 

CD @0.05 0.92 1.45 0.84 21.16 

T4-22P-1100 

Effect of Sulphur Levels and FYM on Yield, Oil Content and Nutrient Uptake 

of Safflower under Dryland Condition 

Shubhangi Kadam*, Archana Pawar, I.R. Bagwan, N.J. Ranshur and V.M. Amrutsagar 

Zonal Agricultural Research Station, 97, Raviwarpeth, near DAV College, Krushak Bhavan, Solapur 

413002, Maharashtra 

*shubhangipatil2612@gmail.com 

Safflower (Carthamustinctorius L.) is the crucial annual oilseed crop grown in rabiseason and 

occupies 0.64 lakh ha with productivity of 694 kg/ha in India during the year 2021-22. Sulphur 

fertilization influences the composition of the oil. Sulphur fertilization with an adequate supply 

of nitrogen and phosphorous accelerate the metabolic pathway of linolenic acid synthesis as it 

results in a large decrease in the percentage of stearic acid, oleic and linoleic acid with 

concurrent increase in the content of linolenic acid. FYM is a store house of several macro and 

micronutrients which are released during the process of mineralization and stimulated the 

activity of microorganism that make the plant nutrients readily available to the crop (Rasool et. 

al. 2013). Mineralization of organic matter releases sulphur in the available form to the plant and 

plant absorb sulphur mostly through roots in the form of sulphate (Singh et. al. 2001). In view of 


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these, the present investigation was carried out to study the effect of sulphur levels and FYM on 

yield, oil content and nutrient uptake of safflower under dryland condition. 

Methodology 

The experiment was laid out in RBD, with seven treatments combinations which were replicated 

four times and compared with the recommended dose. FYM as per the treatment was 

incorporated in the soil and the N and P was uniformly applied to each plot as a basal dose 

during both the years of the experiment. Sulphur was applied through elemental sulphur. The 

seeds of safflower variety SSF708 was line sown spaced at 45x20 cm. The standard analytical 

methods were used for analysis of soil and plant samples. The data obtained in respect of the 

observations was statistically analyzed by using the procedures given by Panse and Sukhatme 

(1985). 

Results 

Grain, straw, MUE, oil yield and oil content 

The study revealed that, GRDF along with sulphur40 kg/ha recorded significantly higher grain, 

straw, oil yield and oil content (15.83 and 38.42 q/ha, 6.30 kg/ha/ mm, 500.3 kg/ha and 31.60 %) 

over rest of the treatments. Increased in yield to be associated with release of nutrients during 

microbial decomposition. Kumar et al., (2009) reported that, use of organic manures along with 

inorganic fertilizers attribute to higher availability and adsorption of nutrients. Thirumelai and 

Khalak (1993) reported that, increase in stover yield in soybean might be due to supply of 

essential mineral nutrients in balanced amount which resulted in better growth and development 

of plants. 

Nutrient uptake 

The pooled data regarding total nutrient uptake revealed that the treatment GRDF along with 

sulphur 40 kg/ha recorded significantly higher total nutrient uptake (41.56, 17.37 and 94.15 

kg/ha N, P and K) over the rest of treatment. 

Conclusion 

The application of recommended dose of NPK 50:25:00 kg ha -1 + FYM 1 tha -1 with sulphur 40 

kg ha -1 recorded significantly higher grain and stover yield (15.83 and 38.42 q ha -1 ) over rest of 

the treatments. 



493 | Page



References 

Kumar, R.P., Singh, O.N., Singh, Y., Dwivedi, S. and Singh, J.P., 2009. Effect of integrated 

nutrient management on growth, yield, nutrient uptake and economics of French bean 

(Phaseolus vulgaris). Indian J. Agric. Sci., 79(2): 122-128. 

Panse, V.G. and Sukhatme, P.V., 1985. Statistical methods for agricultural workers. ICAR, New 

Delhi. 

Rasool, F., Hasan, B., Aalum, I. and Gaine, S.A. 2013. Effect of nitrogen, sulphur and farmyard 

manure on growth dynamics and yield of sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) under temperate 

conditions. Sci. Res. Essays. 8(43): 2144-2147. 

Singh, V., Galande, M.K., Deshpande, M.B. and Nimbkar, N. 2001. Inheritance of wilt 

(Fusarium oxysporumf. sp. carthami) resistance in safflower. In proceedings of the 5 th 

International Safflower Conference, Williston, ND, and Sidney, MT, July: 23- 27. 

Thirumelai, M. and Khalak, A. 1993. Fertilizer application economics in French bean. Current 

Research University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. 22(3-5): 67-69. 

Effect of GRDF and sulphur levels on nutrients uptake (kg/ha) of safflower under dryland 


agriculture (pooled mean) 

Nutrients uptake (kg/ha) 

N P K 

Absolute Control 22.81 7.50 49.84 

GRDF (50:25:00 kg/ha N:P 2O 5:K 2O +1 t/ha FYM) 27.95 9.47 64.07 

GRDF + Sulphur 10 kg/ha 32.37 10.70 74.07 



GRDF + Sulphur 40kg/ha 41.56 17.37 94.15 


SE+ 0.84 0.51 1.98 

CD @0.05 2.48 1.49 5.82 


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T4-23P-1114 

Changes in Soil Fertility Status after Long Term Application of Integrated 

Nutrient Management in Direct Seeded Rice-Field Pea Cropping System 

T. Chandrakar 1 , A. K. Thakur 1 , A. K. Kerketta 1 , A. Pradhan 1 , G. Ravindra Chary 2 , 

K. A. Gopinath 2 and B. Narsimlu 2 

1 SG College of Agriculture & Research Station, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidylaya, Jagdalpur, 

Chhattisgarh-494001 

2 Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 

India ranks second in the world for rice production involving high yielding rice varieties with 

intensive agriculture involving huge amount of nutrient removal. It can be seen that increase in 

application of inorganic nutrient sources cause the soil to deteriorate in terms of soil fertility. 

Application of organic sources of nutrients along with fertilizers has improved soil properties as 

well as maintained good soil health besides improving the availability of nutrients to plants and 

hence productivity also. 

Methodology 

A long-term field experiment has been conducted sincekharif 2014 at long term field trial of 

dryland farm of Shaheed Gundadhur College of Agriculture and Research Station, Jagdalpur, 

Chhattisgarh. The experiment was conducted in a random bock design with twelve treatments 

(see table for treatment description) replicated four times. Soil organic carbon, available N, P and 

K were determined in the laboratory by standard procedures after rabi harvest of 2021-22. 

Results 

After a span of seven years of continuous cropping of rice- field pea with different treatments, 

significant variations in organic carbon status was observed. There was a 6-7.5 % increases in 

organic matter in treatments where FYM were given @ 5 t/ha as compared to initial (within the 

span of 7 years). The results were supported by findings of Zhao and Zhou (2011). Combined 

application of FYM and inorganic fertilizers exhibited significant effect on the soil available 

nitrogen. The highest amount (284 kg ha -1 ) of available nitrogen was estimated in 100% NPK+5 

t FYM(T6) followed by 281 kg ha -1 in 50% NPK+5 t FYM+ ZnSO4@25kg ha -1 (T11). The lowest 

value of (184 kg ha -1 ) available nitrogen in 100% PK (T3) was due to mining of available 

nitrogen for long period. Increase in available nitrogen is mainly attributed to direct addition of 

FYM. The conditions promoting mineralization of nutrients are favorable organic carbon 

content, porosity, C: N ratio, water holding capacity, microbial activity etc. All these conditions 



495 | Page



lead to convert unavailable form of nitrogen to available form and provide higher available 

nitrogen. There would be 26.7 % more available nitrogen after seven years of cropping 

under100% NPK+5 t FYM (T6) compared to initial. The results are in support with the 

estimations of Satish et al. (2011). 

The available phosphorus among treatments rangedfrom 17.67 (T1) to 29.68 kg ha -1 (T3)\.The 

maximum value of available phosphorus was recorded in 100% PK (T3). Statistically significant 

increase in available phosphorus was recorded among the treatments compared to its initial value 

of available soil phosphorus. There were increases in available soil phosphorus in all the 

treatments where phosphorus was applied. But highest increase was estimated in100% PK (T3) 

with 28 % more followed byT5 (100% NP) as compared to initial P status. The results were 

supported by findings of Walia et al. (2010). 

Effect of inorganic and organic sources of nutrient application in direct seeded rice-field 

pea cropping system on soil fertility under rainfed midland situation 

Treatment 

Organic 

C (%) 

Av. nutrients (kg/ha) 

N P K 

Initial values (at the start of expt. 2014-15) 0.67 224.6 23.18 154 

T1-Control 0.65 199.4 17.67 144 

T2-100% NPK 0.69 247.2 26.84 168 

T3-100% PK 0.64 184.4 29.68 180 

T4-100% NK 0.63 221.8 20.27 176 

T5-100% NP 0.65 225.2 28.69 139 

T6-100% NPK+5 t FYM 0.71 284.6 27.65 189 

T7-100% NPK+5 t FYM+ ZnSO 4@25kg 0.72 280.4 26.32 184 

T8-100% NPK+5 t FYM+ ZnSO 4@25kg ha -1 + Lime 3 q 

ha -1 

0.71 271.2 26.82 176 

T9-50% NPK 0.68 216.4 25.43 160 

T10-50% NPK + 5 t FYM 0.71 276.8 28.01 192 

T11-50% NPK + 5 t FYM+ ZnSO 4@25kg ha -1 0.72 281.2 28.71 188 

T12-50% NPK + 5 t FYM+ ZnSO 4@25kg ha -1 + Lime 3 q 

ha -1 

0.72 278.4 29.35 188 

CV(%) 8.88 18.78 12.15 16.5 

CD @5% 0.05 29.6 4.36 11.94 


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Continuous application of FYM along with fertilizers showed significant effect on soil available 

potassium. The range of available potassium content in soil among different treatments was 139 

to 192 kg ha -1 . The maximum value (192 kg ha -1 ) of available potassium content in soil was 

recorded in 50% NPK + 5 t FYM (T10). While the lowest value of soil available potassium (139) 

content was recorded in 100% NP (T5). Slight increase in the content of soil available potassium 

was found in the treatments comparing to the initial stage. The treatments where chemical 

fertilizer was applied along with FYM showed significantly high value of available potassium in 

soil. The organic manure along with chemical fertilizers resulted in an integrated influence on 

potassium availability to plant as the organic matter increase accessible adsorption sites for 

potassium. 

Conclusion 

The combined application of FYM along with fertilizers could enhance the soil fertility status in 

terms of increase in organic carbon, available N, P and K in soil. 

References 

Satish, A., Hugar, A.Y., Kusagur, N. and Chandrappa, H. 2011. Effect of integrated nutrient 

management on soil fertility status and productivity of rice-maize sequence under 

permanent plot experiment. Indian J. Agric. Res. 45 (4): 320-325. 

Walia, M. K., Walia, S. S. and Dhaliwal, S. S. 2010. Long term effect of integrated nutrient 

management of properties of typic ustochrept after 23 cycles of an irrigated rice wheat 

system. J. of sustainable agriculture. 34:724-743. 

Zhao, J. and Zhou, L. 2011. Combined Application of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on Black 

Soil Fertility and Maize Yield. J. of Northeast Agriculture University (English Edition). 

18(2): 24-29. 



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T4-24P-1130 

Response of Mung bean to Higher Doses of Fertilizers under Rainfed 

Conditions 

M. D. Giri*, A. N. Paslawar and N. K. Patke 

Department of Agronomy 

Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidhyapeeth, Akola 444 104 (Maharashtra), India 

* mdgiri@pdkv.ac.in 

India is the largest producer of pulses in the world, with a 24% share in global production; it is 

also a big consumer and exporter of pulses in the world. Being an economical source of protein, 

high fiber content, vitamins, and minerals, along with the unique ability to restore soil health, 

pulses have assumed the universal remedy for sustainable production. Pulses are the major 

source of protein and carbohydrates in the Indian diet. The major pulse crops of India are 

chickpea (48%), pigeonpea (15%), mungbean (7%), urdbean (7%), lentil (5%), and field pea 

(5%). Mungbean (Vigna radiata) is an important pulse crop in India and is believed to be 

originated from India. It is a short-duration legume crop. It is traditionally grown mainly in 

Asian regions, while its cultivation has spread to other parts of the world recently. India 

contributes more than 70% of the world’s mungbean production. Mungbean is grown on more 

than 5.0 million ha in the country, mainly in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, 

Karnataka, Orissa, and Bihar, with a total production of 3.09 million tonnes. The average 

productivity of the mungbean crop is 600kg/ha. Fertilizers can increase food grain production 

and reduce the risk and uncertainty associated with the production of food crops. Mungbean is an 

important Kharif season short-duration pulse crop grown on an area of 0.90 lakh ha in the 

Vidarbha region of Maharashtra state. An increased fertilizer dose was observed beneficial for 

the mungbean crop in Vidarbha.Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of different 

doses of fertilizers, farm yard manure, and biofertilizers on mungbean in a rainfed environment. 

The experiment was conducted at Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola 

(Maharashtra), India, between 2018 and 2020. The experiment was laid out in a randomized 

complete block design with three factors with three replications. There were three fertilizer doses 

(N1:75% RDF, N2:100%RDF, and N3:125% RDF),twoFYM applications (F1: Control and F2:5 

t/ha), and three seed treatments with biofertilizers (B1: Rhizobium, B2: LMn 16, and B3: 

Rhizobium + LMn 16).Results indicated that 125% RDF application in mungbean crops 

increased plant height, pods/plant, seed yield/plant, seed yield (kg/ha), and B: C 

ratio.Furthermore, higher doses of fertilizer increased the number of root nodules per plant and 

the dry weight of root nodules over other fertilizer doses.Application of the higher doses also 


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resulted in the higher uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium by seed and straw of 

mungbean. Applying FYM @ 5t/ha resulted in a significantly higher seed yield and the uptake of 

nutrients by the mungbean. Various biofertilizers influenced yield parameters, seed yield, and 

nutrient uptake by the mungbean. We hope this research will improve mungbean yields in 

rainfed areas by identifying the optimal fertilizer and FYM dose. 

T4-25P-1143 

Response of Soybean Varieties to Integrated Nutrient Management under 

Rain-fed Condition in New Alluvial Zone of West Bengal 

Anusree Paul 1 , N.W.E. Lay Lay 2 and Dhananjoy Dutta 1 

1 Department of Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalay, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India 

-741 252 

2 Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Myanmar 

Low yield of soybean in India is mainly due to lack of suitable varieties along with nutrient and 

moisture stresses under rain-fed condition. Therefore, it is essential to find outsuitable varieties 

and efficient nutrient management for improving the productivity of Kharif soybean. 

Methodology 

Afield experiment was conducted during Kharif seasons of 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 at BCKV, 

West Bengal, insandy loam alluvial soil (Inceptisol)with neutral pH (7.20), medium organic 

carbon (0.61%), low available nitrogen (191.8 kg/ha), high phosphorus (27.1 kg/ha), medium 

potassium (171.5 kg/ha)and low zinc (0.50 ppm)status tostudy the effect of different nutrient 

management practices on growth, yield and quality of soybean varieties as well as economics of 

production in a factorial randomized block designhaving three soybean varietiessuch as V1- 

PS1225,V2- YEZIN 15andV3- PS24 [varieties V1 and V3(115 days duration) released from India 

and V2 (110 days duration) from Myanmar] as factor A and five nutrient management 

treatments.viz., N1- 100% RDF (N: P2O5: K2O @ 20:60:40 kg/ha), N2- 75% RDF + 3 t/ha 

FYM,N3- 75% RDF+ 1.5 t/ha vermicompost, N4-75% RDF + 3 t/ha FYM + 25 kg/ha ZnSO4 

andN5- 75% RDF + 1.5 t/ha vermicompost + 25 kg/ha ZnSO4 as factor B withthree replications. 

The crop was grown with a seed rate of 80 kg/ha and 45 cm × 10 cmspacing under rain-fed 

condition with rainfall of 1017.1 and 1077.1 mm in 2019-2020 and2020-2021 respectively during 

experimental period. 



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Results 

Pooled data revealed that significantly taller plant (66.82 cm) with higher aerial dry matter 

(685.38 g/m 2 ), nodule number/plant (43.19) andseed yield (2320 kg/ha) were recorded with N5 

treatmentand the lowest values were obtained under N1, whereas,seed oil content(20.15%) was 

highest in 100%RDF.Interaction effects showed that variety PS 24 and nutrient treatment N5 

(V3N5)excelled others in terms of plant height (73.81 cm), aerial dry matter (767.09 g/m 2 ), nodule 

number/plant (51.21) and seed yield (2601kg/ha). Maximum seed oil content (21.18%) was 

obtained with V2N1 combination. Highest gross return (Rs.75,448/ha), net return (Rs. 42,994/ha) 

and benefit-cost ratio (2.32) was obtained with V3N5. 

Conclusion 

The PS 24 variety along with application of 1. 5 t/ha vermicompost plus 75% RDF and 25 ZnSO4 

kg/ha can be recommended for Kharif soybean under rain-fed condition in new alluvial zone of 

West Bengal. 

Effect of varieties and nutrient management on growthparameters of soybean (pooled) 

Varieties (V) 

Treatments 

Plant height 

(cm) 

Aerial dry 

matter (g/m 2 ) 


nodules/ 

plants 

V 1 (PS 1225) 62.13 619.92 35.36 

V 2 (Yezin 15) 53.02 525.94 23.83 

V 3 (PS 24) 69.66 705.48 46.55 

S. Em. (±) 0.98 10.60 1.08 

C. D. (P= 0.05) 2.86 30.98 3.17 

Nutrient Management (N) 

N 1 (100% RDF) 55.28 550.16 26.66 

N 2 (75% RDF + 3 t/ha FYM) 58.76 588.11 31.59 

N 3 (75% RDF + 1.5 t/ha vermicompost) 64.70 644.32 38.87 

N 4(75% RDF + 3 t/ha FYM+ 25 kg/ha ZnSO 4) 62.46 617.59 35.93 

N 5 (75% RDF +1.5 t/ha vermicompost +25 kg/ha 

ZnSO 4) 66.82 

685.38 43.19 

S. Em. (±) 1.08 12.18 1.43 

C. D. (P= 0.05) 3.16 35.60 4.20 

Interaction (V × N) 

V 1N 1 53.78 526.58 22.46 


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V 1N 2 58.25 591.98 31.83 

V 1N 3 66.00 641.60 39.74 

V 1N 4 63.50 633.13 36.64 

V 1N 5 68.68 706.32 46.14 

V 2N 1 47.57 469.49 15.96 

V 2N 2 49.26 495.92 18.84 

V 2N 3 57.45 551.27 27.44 

V 2N 4 53.37 530.32 24.70 

V 2N 5 58.46 582.72 32.22 

V 3N 1 64.49 654.42 41.57 

V 3N 2 67.78 676.43 44.09 

V 3N 3 71.68 740.13 49.44 

V 3N 4 70.02 689.33 46.45 

V 3N 5 73.81 767.09 51.21 

S. Em. (±) 1.18 13.67 1.61 

C. D. (P=0.05) 3.45 39.96 4.71 

T4-26P-1162 

Water-Soluble Fertilizers for Foliar Supplementation in Rainfed Areas 

S. S. Balloli*, Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Jyothi Lakshmi, Amit Srivasatava, K. Sammi Reddy and 

V. K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad - 500 059 

* ss.balloli@icar.gov.in 

Studies were conducted to understand whether application of water-soluble fertilizers through 

foliar sprays during the vegetative stage can enhance the yield of maize and whether application 

of micro (zinc) and beneficial elements (selenium) can help in influencing some of the plant 

physiological processes and in-turn help minimize the yield reduction due to drought/insufficient 

soil moisture. 

Methodology 

A field experiment with maize cv. DHM 117 was carried out in kharif at Gungal Research Farm 

(GRF) in randomized block design with nine treatments and three replications. The treatments 

tried were: 1) T1: recommended dose of fertilizer ie 90:45: 45 kg NPK/ha, 2) T2: T1 without top 

dressing of 45 kg N/ha at 25 DAS+ foliar spray of 0.5% water soluble fertilizer + 0.5% ZnSO4 



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+ 20g/ha of sodium selenite at 23 and 55 DAS after sowing, T3: T1+ foliar spray of 0.5% water 

soluble fertilizer + 0.5% ZnSO4 + 20g/ha of sodium selenite at 23 and 55 DAS after sowing, T4: 

T1+ foliar spray of 0.5% water soluble fertilizer + 0.5% ZnSO4 + 20g/ha of sodium selenite at 

55 after sowing only, T5: T1+ foliar spray of 0.5% water soluble fertilizer + 0.5% ZnSO4 + 

20g/ha of sodium selenite at 23 after sowing only, T6: No basal but top dressing only foliar 

spray of 0.5% water soluble fertilizer + 0.5% ZnSO4 + 20g/ha of sodium selenite at 23 and 55 

DAS, T7: T1+ foliar spray of 0.5% water soluble fertilizer at 23 and 55 DAS, T8: T1+ foliar 

spray of Plant Agromagic water soluble fertilizer @ 4g /L, T9: Absolute control, no fertilizers. 

Results 

Results of the field experiment revealed that application of recommended dose of fertilizer + 

spraying of 0.5% ZnSO4 + 20 g/ha of sodium selenite at 25 and 55 DAS resulted in highest grain 

yield of maize followed by treatments T4 and T5. The lowest grain yield of maize was recorded 

in T6 treatment where no fertilizers were applied basally but only spraying of water-soluble 

fertilizer, ZnSO4 and sodium selenite were taken up as compared to absolute control where no 

fertilizers were added indicating that the spraying of water-soluble fertilizers and micronutrients 

will have adverse effect on plants which are nutrient stressed. It is also evident from the Figure 

1 that the treatment T2 where no top dressing of 45 kg N/ha was given resulted in lower yield as 

compared to treatment T1 indicating that the water-soluble fertilizers can be used as a 

supplement to the conventional fertilizers like urea, DAP, MOP. The significant increase in the 

grain yield of maize in treatments receiving foliar sprays is attributed due to the increase in the 

uptake of nitrogen, phosphors, potassium and zinc by the maize crop. The soil test values for 

available N, P, K and available Zn after the harvest of the maize crop did vary significantly in the 

treatments studied. The total chlorophyll content was highest in T3 treatment as compared to 

other treatments analyzed from the plant samples collected one day after the second spraying ie 

on the 61st DAS indicating that spraying of water-soluble fertilizers along with micronutrients 

and selenium at 30 and 60 DAS has resulted in higher photosynthetic ability. 

Conclusions 

The results of the study indicate that the water-soluble fertilizers can be used as a supplement to 

the conventional fertilizers like urea, DAP, MOP. 


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3500 

3000 

2500 

2000 

1500 

1000 

500 

0 

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 

Maize yield (kg/ha) as influenced by different treatments 

T4-27P-1183 

Foliar Nutrition; a key to Integrated Nutrient Management in Vegetable 

Cowpea 

R.K. Krishnasree 1 and Sheeja K. Raj 2 

1 Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Telangana, India 500030 

2 Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala India, 680656 

Foliar fertilization is the term used for the application of suitable concentrations of plant 

nutrients on foliage of growing plants. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata (L.) 

Verdcourt), one of the widely cultivated vegetables of Kerala, is valued for its tender pods. The 

fertilizer schedule recommended for cowpea ends within 20 DAS (days after sowing) which is 

inadequate to meet the nutrient requirements of later formed flowers and pods. On the other 

hand, fate of soil applied nutrients is dependent on soil-nutrient interactions. Hence foliar 

nutritionacts as an effective means to cater to the nutrient demands of later formed flushes. 

Integrated nutrient management is a promising means of efficient utilization of resources and it 

helps in achieving higher crop productivity at lesser expense. Foliar nutrition can fit as an 

efficient tool into INM scheme. It eliminates nutrient wastages and produces more yield per unit 

nutrient applied. The present study was formulated to find out the effect of foliar nutrition of 

water-soluble fertilizers, Zn and B in maximizing the yield of bush vegetable cowpea. 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted during Rabi 2020 at Coconut Research Station, Balaramapuram, 

Kerala, India with 13 treatments in 3 replications in a randomized block design (RBD). Bush 



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cowpea variety Bhagyalakshmi released from Kerala Agricultural University was used for the 

study. At the time of second ploughing, 20 t ha -1 dried powdered FYM was applied to the 

treatment plots. Chemical fertilizers were applied @ 20:30:10 kg NPK ha -1 (RDF). Urea, rajphos 

and muriate of potash respectively were used as source of NPK for the experiment. Water 

soluble NPK fertilizer (19:19:19), NK fertilizer KNO3 (13.7% N and 46% K2O), zinc sulphate 

heptahydrate (21% Zn) and solubor (20.9% B) were used for foliar application. Seeds primed in 

ZnSO4 (0.05%) for 4 h were dibbled at a spacing of 30 cm x 15 cm. 

Results 

Significantly higher dry matterwas recorded by all the treatments involving foliar application 

compared to RDF due to the quick access of plants to nutrients (Dey et al., 2017). Better growth 

expression withRDF + 0.5% 19:19:19 + 0.025% solubor at 45 DAS is evident from its highest 

dry matter production and CGR at final harvest. This can be attributed to its significantly higher 

N, P and K uptake. It recorded the highest number of pods per plant, which is due to the 

favourable influence of B in enhancing the fruit setting percentage by promoting the germination 

of pollen and elongation of pollen tube (Narayanammaet al., 2009). Higher chlorophyll content 

in this treatment can be ascribed to the higher N content of leaves as evident from the data on N 

uptake. Foliar nutrition enhanced the nodule fresh weight from 0.05 to 1.35 g per plant. Zinc is 

actively involved in the biosynthesis of leghaemoglobin (Das et al., 2012) as evident from 

nodule fresh weight T4 and T6. Perusal of data on B: C ratio revealed that all the foliar 

application treatments registered higher B: C ratio compared to RDF. The highest B: C ratio was 

registered in T5 (2.26) due to higher yield. 

Effect of foliar nutrition on uptake of N, P and K 


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Effect of foliar nutrition on dry matter production at final harvest (g plant -1 ) Crop Growth 

Rate, CGR (g m -2 day -1 ), nodule fresh weight (g plant -1 ), number of pods per plant and B:C 

Treatment 

ratio 

Dry matter 

production at 

final harvest 

T 1 : RDF (½ N, full P and K basal and ½ N at 20 DAS) 24.69 1.53 

T 2 : RDF + 0.5% 19:19:19 at 45 DAS 35.28 2.23 

T 3 : RDF + 0.5% 19:19:19 at 45 & 60 DAS 29.55 1.68 

T 4 : RDF + 0.5% 19:19:19 + 0.05% ZnSO 4 at 45 DAS 31.65 1.78 

T 5 : RDF + 0.5% 19:19:19 + 0.025% solubor at 45 DAS 39.51 2.26 

T 6 : RDF + 0.5% 19:19:19 + 0.05% ZnSO 4 + solubor 0.025% at 45 DAS 34.28 2.12 

T 7 : RDF + 0.5% 19:19:19 + 0.05% ZnSO 4 + solubor 0.025% at 45 DAS + 

0.5% 19:19:19 at 60 DAS 

B: C 

ratio 

30.11 1.76 

T 8: RDF + 0.5% KNO 3 at 45 DAS 37.52 2.07 

T 9 : RDF + 0.5% KNO 3 at 45 & 60 DAS 32.60 1.69 

T 10 : RDF + 0.5% KNO 3 + 0.05% ZnSO 4 at 45 DAS 33.95 1.81 

T 11 : RDF + 0.5% KNO 3 + 0.025% solubor at 45 DAS 35.41 2.12 

T 12: RDF + 0.5% KNO 3 + 0.05% ZnSO 4 + solubor 0.025% at 45 DAS 35.61 1.90 

T 13 : RDF + 0.5% KNO 3 + 0.05% ZnSO 4 + solubor 0.025% at 45 DAS + 

0.5% KNO 3 at 60 DAS 

SEm (±) 1.34 

CD (0.05) 3.925 

Conclusion 

36.89 1.88 

Supplementation of major and micro nutrients through foliar feeding at 45 DAS avoided 

physiological stresses and contributed to higher pod yield in foliar nutrition treatments. 

Application of N, P, K, Zn and B was possible through foliar application at lower cost compared 

to individual soil application of these nutrients. Hence foliar nutrition is a key to INM in bush 

vegetable cowpea. 

References 

Das, S., Pareek, N., Raverkar, K.P., Chandra, R and Kaustav, A. 2012. Effectiveness of micronutrient 

application and Rhizobium inoculation on growth and yield of Chickpea. Int. J. Agric. Environ. 

Biotech., 5(4): 445- 452. 



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Dey, S., Prasad, S., Tiwari, P and Sharma, P. 2017. Effect of urea, KCl, zinc placement and spray on 

growth of cowpea. J. Pharmacog. Phytochem., 6(6): 971-973. 

Narayanamma, M., Rani, R., Lalitha, K., Kameshwari, P. and Reddy, R.V.S.K. 2009. Effect of foliar 

application of micronutrients on the yield components, yield and nutrient content of bitter gourd. 

Orissa J. Hortic., 37(2): 1-5. 

T4-28P-1190 

Impact of Integrated Nutrient Management on Wheat (TriticumAestivumL.) 

in Eastern Uttar Pradesh 

Ambuj Kumar Singh and Ram Swaroop Meena 

Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India- 

221005 

* ambujsingh67@bhu.ac.in 

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is number one cereal of the world and is grown on the largest area. 

It is cultured on about 220 million hectares area in the world and delivers almost 21% of our 

food calories and 20% of protein for more than 4.5 million people. In India, during past three 

decades, intensive agriculture involving exhaustive high yielding varieties of cereals particularly 

wheat has led to heavy mining of nutrients from the soil. The crop removes annually large 

quantities of plant nutrients from soil. The number and degree of micronutrients is also 

increasing at fast pace because erratic, excessive and imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers has 

increased which causes high the demand of micronutrients for achieving higher yield. Wheat 

area is decreasing every year and there is a very little scope for expansion of area in future. So, 

there is urgent need to maintain the soil fertility for stability and sustainability in the productivity 

of wheat crop. There are lot of agricultural wastes like crop residues, cow dung, poultry manure 

and by products of agriculture-based industries like press mud, bagasses,etc. which can be 

recycled to soil which not only increase the chemical, physical and biological properties of soil 

but also improve the crop quality by balanced nutrition. The integrated nutrient management is 

the answer to most of the present-day problems of malnutrition of crops along with chemical 

pollution (Ghanshyam et al., 2010). Therefore, the present investigation was done to evaluate the 

effect of different combination of organic material and inorganic material on productivity of 

wheat. 


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Methodology 

The present investigation was performed at Agriculture research farm, Institute of Agricultural 

Sciences (IAS), BHU, Varanasi during Rabi 2017-2018 to evaluate the effect of integrated nutrient 

management on wheat yield attributes in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The experiment was laid out in 

randomized block design having eight treatments i.e. Control (No fertilizer), 100% RDF NPK, 100% 

RDF NPK+ Zn +Fe, 75% RDF NPK+ Carpet waste compost+ Zn+Fe, 75%RDF NPK+Wheat straw 

compost+ Zn+Fe, 75% RDF NPK+Bagasse compost+ Zn+Fe ,75% RDF NPK+Paddy straw compost 

+ Zn+Fe, 75% RDF NPK+Pressmud compost+ Zn+Fe and was replicated thrice. 

Results 

Results indicated that among all the treatment combinations highest spike length, number of grains 

per spike and test weight was recorded in the treatment combination of 75% RDF NPK+ Pressmud+ 

Zn+Fe. The minimum spike length, number of grains per spike and test weight was observed in 

control treatment. And among all the treatment combinations highest grain yield and straw yield was 

recorded in the treatment combination of 75% RDF NPK+ Pressmud+ Zn+Fe. The minimum yield 

was observed in control treatment.highest harvest index was also recorded for the treatment 

combination of 75% RDF NPK+ Pressmud+ Zn+Fe. However, the application of 75% RDF NPK+ 

Paddy straw compost+Zn+Fe and 75% RDF NPK+ Bagases+Zn+Fegross return were found at par to 

each other. Amongst the treatment, the highest gross return was recorded in the treatment 

combination of 75% RDF NPK+ Pressmud+ Zn+Fe (72860₹ha -1 ), which was significantly higher 

than the other treatment combinations. The minimum gross return (35833 ₹ha -1 ) was observed in 

control. 

6000 Yield of wheat 

5000 

4000 

3000 

2000 

1000 

0 

Grain yield 

kg per ha 

Straw yiled 

kg ha 

harvest 

index (%) 

Impact of integrated nutrients management on yield of wheat 



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Conclusion 

The present findings of the study indicated the application of 75% RDF+ 

pressmud+Zn+Fegreatly influenced the yield along with improvementof the the yield attributes, 

yieldand quality of wheat in eastern UP. 

References 

Ghanshyam Kumar, R. and Jat, R.K. 2010. Productivity and soil fertility as affected by organic 

manures and inorganic fertilizers in greengram (Vigna radiata) - wheat (Triticum aestivum) 

system. Indian J. Agron. 55(1): 16-21. 

T4-29P-1228 

Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth Yield and Economics of 

Rainfed Chickpea (CicerArietinum L.) 

S. M. Kurmvanshi*, R. K. Tiwari, Sudhanshu Pandey, Abhishek Soni, 

Satish Singh Baghel and Sonali Pandey 

All India coordinected Research Project on Dryland Agriculture 

JNKVV College of Agriculture, Rewa 486001 (M.P.) 

* sheshmanikurmvanshi@gmail.com 

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is world’s third most important winter season pulse crop after 

beans and field pea. It is grown in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of the world. It 

contains high 20-22 % protein, rich in fibre, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals (Guar et al. 

2010) The production of pulse crops in our county including chickpea is not enough to meet the 

domestic demand of the population. There is vast scope to enhance the productivity of chickpea 

by improved Aagronomic practices and balanced nutrient management with bio fertilizers. 

Fertilizers are becoming costlier and it is becoming difficult for the poor farmers with poor 

economic means to apply recommended doses of fertilizers. It is now well realized that to protect 

the soil health, judicious use of fertilizers and combination of organic and inorganic sources of 

nutrients is beneficial. Pulses are mainly grown in marginal lands and poor productivity of the 

crops is mainly due to inadequate nutrient supply. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted during winterseason of 2020-21 under AICRP for Dryland 

Agriculture, JNKVV Kuthulia farm, College of Agriculture, Rewa (M.P.) The soil of the 

experimental field was silty clay- loam having pH 6.78, electrical conductivity 0.41 DS/ m, 


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organic carbon 0.49% available N 197.40 kg/ha, available P2O5 10.62 kg/ha and available K2O 

335, 20 kg/ha. The nine integrated nutrient management treatments were laid out in a 

randomized complete block design keeping three replications. 

Results 

The data indicate that the application of 50% RDN through fertilizer + 50% RDN through 

compost + Rhizobium ciceri as in T9 recorded significantly higher seed yield (11.06 q/ha) straw 

yield 15.48 q/ha) and harvest index 41.29%). The combined use of organic and inorganic 

fertilizers along with bioferilizers has been reported not only to meet the nutrients need of the 

crop but also has been found to sustain large – scale productivity goals. These results are in 

accordance with the findings of Meena and Baldev, 2013. 

Amongst the integrated nutrient management treatments, T9 having (50% RDN through fertilizer 

+ 50% RDN through compost + Rhizobium ciceri) gave the maximum net income upto Rs. 

29900/ha with 2.02 B:C ratio which was followed by T2 (100% NPK through fertilizer), The net 

income was Rs. 20020/ha under under 100% RDN by organic source. However, the lowest net 

income fetched in T1 which was Rs. 7851/ha. The net income under these integrated nutrient 

management treatments was exactly in accordance with the increased grain yield and higher 

market values. 

References 

Gour, P.M., Tripathi, S., Gowda, C. L. L., Ranga Ji, Rao, V., Sharma, H. C., Pande, S. and 

Sharma, M. 2010. Chickpea seed production manual. Patanchera-502324, Andhra Pradesh, 

India, International crop research institute for the semi arid tropics. pp 28. 

Meena, B. S. and Baldev, R. 2013. Effect of integrated nutrient management on productivity, 

Soil fertility and economics of chickpea varieties in vertisol.Ann. Agric. Sci. New series. 

34: 225-230. 

Yield and economical gain from chickpea as influenced by integrated nutrient management 

Tr. 

No. 

Treatments 

Number 

of pods/ 

plant 

Seed 

yield 

(q/ha) 

Straw 

yield 

(q/ha) 

Harvest 

index (%) 

T1 Control 36.84 6.13 11.55 35.53 1.31 

T2 100% NPK through fertilizer 40.36 10.33 15.00 40.80 1.98 

T3 100% RDN through compost 41.24 9.00 14.00 39.13 1.71 

T4 50% RDN trough fertilizer + 50% 40.36 8.77 13.34 39.66 1.75 

B:C ratio 



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RDN through compost 

T5 50% RDN through fertilizer + 25% 





RDN through compost + Rhizobium 

ciceri 



ciceri 



cicericicero 

39.56 8.43 13.75 38.00 1.73 

39.37 8.07 12.95 38.21 1.61 

40.22 9.50 14.87 38.98 1.84 

40.62 9.69 14.33 40.34 1.85 

42.06 11.06 15.48 41.29 2.02 

S.Em + 0.32 0.54 0.59 0.44 

C.D. at 5% 0.92 1.58 1.71 1.29 

T4-30P-1259 

Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on the Growth and Yield of Mustard (Brassica 

Juncea (L.) Czernj. & Cosson) Under Guava (Psidium Guajaval.) based Agri-Horti System 

Miryala Sushma, J.P. Singh, SudhirKumar Rajpoot and Rajnish Pandey 

Banaras Hindu university Varanasi (UP)-221 005 India 

The importance and potential of rapeseed-mustard crop is well known as it is the key oilseed 

crop that can help in addressing the challenge of demand - supply gap of edible oil in India. India 

is the third largest producer of rapeseed-mustard after Canada, China and contributing to around 

11 % of world’s total production. Rapeseed-mustard are the second largest oilseed crops in India. 

In India, during 2019-20, it was grown on 6.86 million hectares with an annual production of 

9.12 million tonnes yielding 1331 kgha -1 . Rapeseed and mustard productivity in India has risen 

considerably in the last eight years, from 1840 kg ha -1 in 2010-11 to 1980 kg ha -1 in 2018-19, 

with production jumping from 61.64 m t in 2010-11 to 72.42 m t in 2018-19. For the crop year 

2019-20, India's average output was 1.4 t ha -1 . Inappropriate application of chemical fertilisers 

degrades soil characteristics and reduces crop output.These compounds have extremely 

dangerous side effects, including changes in soil structure and texture, unbalanced nutrient 

supply to plants, pollution of land and water bodies, and decreased soil microbial 

activity.Integrated nutrient management is a method of improving soil fertility and plant nutrient 

availability by combining the best inorganic and organic fertilisers with biofertilizers to ensure 


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crop output for the present and future.Farmyard manure improves the soil's porosity, aggregate 

stability, and hydraulic conductivity in addition to adding organic matter.However, when these 

chemicals are mixed with organic fertilisers, a balanced nutrient system that influences crop 

production is established. In recent years, scholars and researchers have placed a greater 

emphasis on organic farming as opposed to regular agriculture because it is more 

environmentally friendly. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was therefore conducted to know the effect of integrated nutrient 

management on the growth and yield of mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czernj. & Cosson) under 

guava (Psidium guajava L.) based agri-horti system at Agriculture Research farm, Rajiv Gandhi 

south campus Banarshindu university, Barkachha, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh during the rabi 

season of 2021 -2022. The study was carried out in a Guava (Psidium guajava) orchard with 7m 

x 7m spacing. The experiment was laid out in RBD with three replications of a guava based agrihorti 

system (fruit based agro-forestry system). In this research, seeds are sown by broadcasting 

method and mixed the seeds with fine sand for uniform spacingand the plants spacing is about 

45cm×15cm. Based on the treatment wise applied fertilisers on the research plots. 

Results 

In the present experimentation, marked influences of the application of integrated nutrients 

mainly this application 75% RDF+22.5 kg S+ 3.7 kg Zn +2.5 ton/ha FYM+ two spray of nano 

urea , FYM and nano urea caused significant variation in all growth parameters and seed 

yield(1493.00 kg ha -1 ) and net return(147568 kg ha -1 ) followed by the application of 75% 

RDF+22.5 kg S+ 3.7 kg Zn +5 ton/ha FYM+ one spray of nano urea (1290.00 kg ha -1 ) and net 

return(13418 kg ha -1 ) and the lowest yield was recorded in treatment control (713.33 kg ha -1 ). 

similar to nitrogen uptake by seed and stover, maximum total nitrogen uptake (56.57 kg ha -1 ) 

was recorded with 75% RDF+22.5 kg S+ 3.7 kg Zn +2.5 ton/ha FYM+ two spray of nano urea 

and followed by 75% RDF+22.5 kg S+ 3.7 kg Zn +5 ton/ha FYM+ one spray of nano urea (48.1 

kg ha -1 ) and lowest nitrogen uptake was noticed in treatment control (23.55 kg ha -1 ). similar to 

phosphorus maximum uptake was recorded with the treatment of 75% RDF+22.5 kg S+ 3.7 kg 

Zn +2.5 ton/ha FYM+ two spray of nano urea (15.01 kg ha -1 ) and control recorded minimum 

uptake (5.9 kg ha -1 ) similar to potassium uptake by seed and stover, application of 75% 

RDF+22.5 kg S+ 3.7 kg Zn +2.5 ton/ha FYM+ two spray of nano urea (42.82 kg ha -1 ) and lowest 

potassium uptake was recorded in treatment control (17.66 kg ha- 1 ). Similar to sulphur uptake by 

seed and stover, application of 75% RDF+22.5 kg S+ 3.7 kg Zn +2.5 ton/ha FYM+ two spray of 



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nano urea (11.59 kg ha -1 ) treatment was significantly higher than other treatments. Control 

recorded minimum total sulphur uptake (3.41 kg ha -1 ) by crop. 

Effect of integrated nutrient management on the seed yield and N, P, K and S nutrient 

uptake of mustard under guava based agri-horti system 

Treatment 

Seed 

yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

N total 

uptake 

(kg ha -1 ) 

P total 

uptake 

(kg ha -1 ) 

K total 

uptake 

(kg ha -1 ) 

S total 

uptake 

(kg ha -1 ) 


cultivation 

(Rs ha -1 ) 

Net 

returns 

(Rs ha -1) 

T 1 Control 713.33 23.55 5.9 17.66 3.41 32073 102095 

T 2100% RDF+30kg 

S+ 5kg Zn 

T 3 50% RDF+15kg S+ 

2.5 kg Zn +2.5 ton/ha 

FYM+ 2 Spray of Nano 

urea 

T 4 50% RDF+15kg S+ 

2.5 kg Zn +5 ton/ha 


urea 

T 5 75% RDF+22.5 kg 

S+ 3.7 kg Zn +2.5 

ton/ha FYM+ 2 Spray 

of Nano urea 

T 6 75% RDF+22.5 kg 

S+ 3.7 kg Zn +5 ton/ha 


urea 

T 7 100%RDF+30kg S+ 

5kg Zn+2.5 ton/ha FYM 

T 8 100%RDF+30kg S+ 

5kg Zn+ 5 ton/ha FYM 

1076.00 37.56 9.52 30.22 5.97 37142 122242 

867.00 29.56 7.43 22.83 4.43 35482 108932 

970.00 33.44 8.54 25.55 5.02 35789 115435 

1493.00 56.57 15.01 42.82 11.59 38304 147568 

1290.00 48.1 12.71 37.48 9.33 38288 13418 

1173.33 41.32 10.78 33.34 7.43 37367 127364 

1236.33 44.06 11.72 35.46 8.54 38272 130626 

C.D (P=0.05) 142.37 3.595 0.937 2.809 0.655 - - 


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T4-31P-1299 

Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on System Yield, Sustainable Yield 

Index and Soil Properties in Maize-Based Cropping System 

Bikram Borkotoki, Palakshi Bora, Pallab Kumar Sarma, Nikhita Kakati, Nupur Kalita, 

Nikhilesh Baruah, Prasanta Neog, Rekhashree Kalita, Arunjyoti Sonowal and 

Buddha Bora 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, BN College of Agriculture, Assam 

Agricultural University 

Indian agriculture remains predominantly rainfed, covering about 60% of the country's net sown 

area and 40% of the total food production (Agri Odisha,2022). These high-potential rainfed areas 

provide us with opportunities for faster agricultural growth than irrigated areas that have reached 

a plateau (Agricoop,2022). Therefore, a rainfed permanent manurial trial was conducted in the 

upland situation at the Biswanath Chariali Center of the All India Coordinated Research Project 

on Dry Land Agriculture (AICRPDA), India, situated in the North Bank Plain Zone (NBPZ) of 

Assam in Maize-Green gram-Rajmah cropping sequence with the specific objectives of 

identifying the suitable combination of inorganic and organic sources of nutrients for sustainable 

cropping system and soil health management in rainfed upland situations of Assam. 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted with the following treatments in RBD during 2015-16 to 2019-20 

having a gap period during 2017-18 with three replications at the experimental farm of 

AICRPDA (26°43'27"N and 93°08'32"E, Elevation 80 m above MSL), Biswanath Chariali 

Centre, Assam which an acidic upland sandy loam soil under the soil odder Inceptisols. Total 

rainfall in the growing season of the crops (Maize-Green gram-Rajmah) were 2071.4, 2111.4, 

1877.8 and 1671.6 mm in 2015-16, 2016-17,2018-19 and 2019-20, respectively. The treatments 

are T1: Control, T2: 100%Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), T3: 75% RDF (inorganic) + 3 t 

ha -1 Vermicompost* T4: 75% RDF (inorganic) + 1 t ha -1 vermicompost* , T5: 75% RDF 

(inorganic) + in situ Sesbania aculeata T6: 50% RDF (inorganic) + 3 t ha -1 vermicompost*, T7: 

50% RDF (inorganic) + 1 t ha -1 vermicompost*, T8: 50% RDF (inorganic) + in situ Sesbania 

aculeata, T9: 3 t ha -1 vermicompost, T10: 1 t ha -1 vermicompost and T11: In situ Sesbania 

aculeata. (* In each crop) 

The first crop, Maize (Var. Hybrid-101), was sown in April and harvested within the first week 

of August. The second crop, Greengram (var. SG-1), was sown before mid-September and 



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harvested within Nov. The last crop Rajmah (HUR 301), was sown in the month of mid-Dec and 

harvested at the end of March in all the years. Surface soils (0-15 cm) were analyzed for soil 

Physico-chemical properties after the 4 th year sequence was conducted following stranded 

procedures (Jackson,1967; Dane and Top,2002). Soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) was 

analyzed by chloroform fumigation extraction method (Vance et al., 1987). 

Results 

Four years of pooled data reveal that the highest system yield was recorded in T3(140.31q ha - 1 ), 

followed by T6 (127.94 q ha -1 ) and T4 (122.15 q ha -1 ), and the lowest in control T1 (70.33 q ha -1 ) 

with corresponding B: C ratios 3.14,2.79, 2.88 and 1.81, respectively. Similarly, pooled system 

RWUE (kg ha -1 cm -1 ) was also found to be highest in T3 (7.34), followed by T6 (6.68) and T4 

(6.42), and the lowest was in control (3.69). The data was heterogeneous at a 5% significance 

level, and therefore transformations were made before performing pooled analysis. In 

transformed data also, highest system yield was found in T3 (25.971 q ha -1 ), followed by T6 

(23.602 q ha -1 ) which is at par with T4 (22.673 q ha -1 ) with CD values of 2.293 at a 0.05 level of 

significance. Manure addition improved soil physical, chemical, and biological properties 

(discussed under the head 'soil properties), which is reflected in the system yield. Nevertheless, 

the Integrated supply of nutrients gave better results than sole chemical or organic management 

systems. The sustainable yield index was highest in T3 (0.92), followed by T6 (0.86), T4(0.77) 

and T7 (0.75), and the lowest was in control (0.46), indicating that the system in more sustainable 

when 75% RDF + 3 t vermicompost ha -1 was applied in each crop followed by 50% RDF+ 3 t 

vermicompost ha -1 in each crop, followed by 75% RDF +1 t vermicompost ha -1 in each crop 

followed by 50 % RDF+ 1 t ha -1 vermicompost in each crop. 

Sustainable Yield index 


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Effect of treatments on soil properties: 

a) FC, AWC, and PWP: The highest field capacity moisture content was observed in T3 

(26.60%), followed by T6 (25.73%) and T4 (25.44%), and the lowest was in control 

T1(24.28) at CD value 0.366 at 0.05 level of significance. However, moisture content at 

FC in T4 and T6 was non-significant. Similarly, the highest available water content was 

found in T3 (20.27%), followed by T6(19.03%) and T4 (18.83%), and the lowest was in 

control T1(17.83%) with CD value 0.530 at a 0.05 level of significance. However, 

moisture content at AWC in T4 and T6 was statistically at par. The moisture content at 

PWP was at par for all the treatments. 

b) Bulk Density: The lowest bulk density was recorded in T3 (1.21 Mgm -3 ), followed by T6 

(1.25 Mgm -3 ) and T4(1.27 Mgm -3 ), and the highest was in control T1(1.35 Mgm -3 ) with 

CD value 0.02 at 0.05 level of significance. However, T4 and T6 were found to be at par. 

c) Soil reaction: The highest pH was recorded in T3 (4.6), followed by T6 (4.54), and the 

lowest was in T2 (4.41) with CD 0.13 at 0.05 level of significance. 

d) Oxidizable Organic Carbon: The oxidizable organic carbon was found to be highest in T3 

(8.93 g kg -1 ), followed by T6(8.57 g kg -1 ), and the lowest was in control T1(7.30 g kg -1 ) 

with CD value 0.14 at 0.05 level of significance 

e) Available N: The highest available N was found in T3(433.34 kg ha -1 ), followed by T4 

(426.50 kg ha -1 ), T6 (421.40 kg ha -1 ), and the lowest was in the control T1 (296.97 kg ha - 

1 ) with CD value 8.17 at 0.05 level of significance. T4 and T6 were statistically at par. 

f) Available P2O5: The highest available P2O5 was found in T3 (26.37 kg ha -1 ), followed by 

T4 (24.98 kg ha -1 ), T6 (24.20 kg ha -1 ), and the lowest was in control T1 (16.70 kg ha -1 ) 

with CD value 0.91 at 0.05 level of significance. T4 and T6 were statistically at par. 

Effect of Treatments on Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon (MBC): The highest level of MBC 

was restored in T3(243.29 mg kg -1 ), followed by T4(228.62 mg kg -1 ), T6 (227.51 mg kg -1 ) and the 

lowest was recorded in T1(145.15 mg kg -1 ) with CD value 14.18 at 0.05 level of significance. T4 

and T6 were found to be statistically at par. A perusal of soil properties indicates the positive 

effect of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) on soil health compared to sole organic or 

chemical-intensive farming. 

Carbon dioxide sequestration: CO2 sequestration of the surface soil was found to be highest in 

T3 and the lowest in T1 



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Conclusion 

CO2 sequestration (t ha -1 ) of surface soils under different nutrient management systems 

From the above research, it can be concluded that 75% RDF + 3 t ha -1 vermicompost (in each 

crop) gives the highest system yield and B: C rations and sustainable yield index in Maize- 

Greengram- Rajmah cropping sequence in the rainfed upland situation of the NBPZ of Assam 

followed by 50 % RDF + 3 t ha -1 vermicompost (in each crop) which is at par with 75% RDF + 

1 t ha -1 vermicompost (in each crop) in terms of yield performance. However, in terms of the B: 

C ratio, the application of 75% RDF + 1 t ha -1 vermicompost (in each crop) is more beneficial 

than 50 % RDF + 3 t ha -1 vermicompost (in each crop). INM gave a better yield and soil health 

management result than chemical fertilization and control or sole organic cultivation of the 

crops. The SYI was highest, with 75 percent of the recommended dose of fertilizers with 3 t ha -1 

vermicompost in each crop. 

References 

Agri Odisha.2022 Website of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment, Govt of Odisha, 

accessed on 20th Oct 2022. https://agri.odisha.gov.in/sites/default/files/2021-08/RAD.pdf 

Agricoop.2022 Website of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture 

and Farmers’ Welfare Govt of India, assessed on 20 th Oct 2022 

https://agricoop.nic.in/en/divisiontype/rainfed-farming-system/overview 

Dane, J.H. and Topp, G.C. (Eds.) 2002. Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 4, Physical Methods. Soil Science 

Society of America Book Series, No. 5, Soil Science Society of America, Madison, 1692: 98 

Jackson, M.L. 1967. Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice-Hall of India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 4 

Vance, P., Brookes, D. Jenkinson. 1987. An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C, 

Soil Biol. Biochem. (19): 703-707 


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T4-32P-1310 

Soil Microbial Dynamics as Influenced By Crop Residue Management 

Practices In Legume-Cereal Sequence 

Ammaji Pydi 

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University 

Agricultural College, Rajamahendravaram 

India has a long history of agricultural activitiesand produces a vast amount of crop residues, the 

annual production of crop residues in India is estimated over 500 million tons (Mt). There exists 

a large variability among the crops with regard to the production of crop residues. Furthermore, 

residueproductionhasalsoincreasedsubstantiallywith intensive agricultural practicesTheseinclude 

organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling, including carbon(C) and nitrogen (N) cycling 

and soil aggregate formation and maintenance. Furthermore, the size of the microbial population 

in agricultural soils can be affected bythe availabilityof organic matter and 

managementpractices. 

The legume-Maize sequence is animportant cropping system followed in a large extent of area 

in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. Grain legumes were cultivated during the 

Kharifseason and after harvesting the economic yield the harvested remnants are either used as 

animal feed or else burned to clear the succeeding crop. Maize is an exhaustive crop for 

nutrients and responds positively toan increase in the level of nitrogen fertilizers. Furthermore, 

Intensive agricultural practices ignorethe addition of organicnutrient sourcesresulting in the 

manifestation of nutrient deficiencies. Toformulate an ideal nutrient management strategy to 

increase the yields and sustain soil health, an attempt was made to know the soil microbial 

dynamics ofwith incorporation of crop residues in the legume- Maize sequence 

Methodology 

A field experiments were conducted at Agricultural College farm, Aswaraopet, Khammam 

(Dist.) Telangana state for two consecutive years. The investigation was carried out with an 

objective to find out microbial dynamics as influenced by the crop residue incorporation of 

kharif legumes, residue management practices and the treatments consisted of three legumes, 

viz., cowpea, (M1) field bean (M2) and greengram (M3) as main plot treatments during the kharif 

season and two residue management practices viz., residue removal (I1) and residue 

incorporation (I2) as subplot treatments. Four nitrogen levels 75 kg ha -1 (N1), 150 kg ha -1 (N2), 225 

kg ha -1 (N3) and 300 kg ha -1 (N4) as sub- sub plot treatments allocated to maize during rabi season. 



517 | Page



The yield of kharif legumes, growth parameters, yield and yield attributes of rabi maize were 

recorded. The soil samples were collected from the experimental plots for enumerating the 

microbial population before sowing and after harvest of different legumes, after incorporation of 

the crop residues, before sowing of maize and after harvest of maize was estimated by following 

the standard dilution plate count technique by pour plate technique Nutrient agar (NA) for 

bacteria, Martin’s rose bengal with streptomycin sulphate agar (MRBA) for fungi, Ashby’s agar 

for Azotobacter, Yeast Extract Mannitol agar (YEMA) with congo red for Rhizobium were used 

for enumeration. The petri plates were incubated after plating at 30 0 C for two to four days and 

population was counted and expressed as number of cells per gram on dry weight basis for 

bacteria,Azotobacter and Rhizobium and cfu g -1 of soil for fungi. 

Results 

Soil microbial population as affected by different management practices 

Soil microbial population was assessed at three stages viz., initial, after the harvest of the kharif 

legumes as well as after the incorporation of legumes and after the harvest of the rabi maize. On 

perusal of the data presented in the figure below revealed that there was an increase in microbial 

population compared to the initial population during both the years of study. Improvement in soil 

microbial population viz., total bacteria, rhizobium, azotobacter, actinomycetes and fungi was 

observed over the initial population when legumes were grown in kharif. 

Among the legumes, maximum number of soil micro flora was observed after the harvest of 

cowpea followed by field bean and greengram. The increase in number of soil microorganisms 

might be due to the abundance of the native bacteria in the soil. Similar results were also 

reported by George et al. (2007). 


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Soil microbial population as affected by different legume crops 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

Total bacterial 

count (x 104 g-1 

of soil) 

Rhizobium 

count (x 104 of 

soil) 

azotobacter 

count (x 104 g-1 

of soil) 

Actinomycetes 

(X 104 g-1 of 

soil) 

fungal count (x 

104*cfu g-1of 

soil) 

Initial Cowpea Fieldbean Greengram 

Soil microbial population as influenced by different types of legume crops 

Soil incorporation of legume crop residues has further improved the microbial population by two 

folds during first year. The maximum number of bacteria and 352 X 10 4 g -1 ) was noticed with 

incorporation of cowpea residues as depicted in the figure below. The improvement in soil 

microbial population might be due to the addition of all the residues which might have added a 

fair quantity of organic matter to the soil which inturn acted as a substrate for the multiplication 

and development of microbes either over the initial or against the residue removal during both 

the years. 

Soil microbial population as influenced by residue management practices 

The decreasing in trend in the entire micro flora was noticed after the harvest of rabi maize 

during both the years by maintaining more or less similar trend as that was observed in the initial 

as well as at the end of harvest of kharif crops. Increase in microbial population was seen with 



519 | Page



the incorporation of crop residues over the removal. Further increase in microbial count was 

observed due to increase in level of N application. The highest total bacterial count of 333 

X10 4 g -1 and 352 X10 4 g -1 of soil was recorded with incorporation of cowpea crop residues with 

N application at 300 kg ha -1 . While the lowest count of total bacteria 61 X10 4 g -1 and 91 X10 4 g -1 

in first and second year, respectively was obtained in greengram with N application at 75 kg ha -1 

in removal of greengram residue treatments. The changes in the population of microbes in 

different cropping systems and sequences were well established by Yadvinder Singh et al. 

(2005). 

References 

George, N., Chemining, wa, Muthomi, J. W. andTheuri, S. W. M. 2007. Effect of Rhizobia 

inoculation and starter N on nodulation, shoot biomass and yield of grain legumes. Asian 

J. Plant Sci. 6(7): 1113-1118. 

Yadvinder Singh, Bijaysingh. and Timsina. 2005. Crop residue management for nutrient cycling 

and improving the soil production in rice-based cropping systems. Adv.Agron.8 

T4-33P-1313 

Response of Sweet Corn (Zea maysL.var. saccharatasturt) to Integrated 

Nutrient Management under Rainfed Condition 

P.N. Karanjikar, S.R. Kadhavane and V.G. Takankhar 

College of Agriculture, Latur- 413 512, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani, 

Maharashtra (India) 

The cereal, maize (Zea mays L.) ranks third in the total production after wheat and rice and it is a 

staple food in many countries, particularly in the tropics and subtropics. Maize is considered as 

the “Queen of Cereal”. Maize is a versatile product with uses ranging from industrial products to 

food preparations, as well as direct human consumption at the vegetative stage. Out of various 

specialty corns, sweet corn is a mutant type with one or more recessive alleles in homozygous 

condition that enable the endosperm to accumulate twice the sugar content as that of seed corn. 

Sweet corn is a exhaustive crop and it is harvested at milky stage and requires fertile soils for 

optimum production. 

Amongst various agricultural inputs, fertilizer is and will remain as a chief source in achieving 

the food production targets. For higher productivity, there is a need for the application of higher 

dose of fertilizers. But the increased application of high analysis fertilizers and use of high 

yielding cultivars demanding more secondary and micro nutrients for enhancing food grain 


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production which resulted in their deficiencies. The integrated plant nutrient supply envisages 

conjunctive use of inorganic and organic sources of plant nutrients for crop productivity besides 

sustaining soil health. Application of organic materials along with inorganic fertilizers in the soil 

leads to sustained productivity and also vermicomposting technology involves the bioconversion 

of organic waste into vermicasts and vermiwash utilizing earthworms. Taking in to 

consideration the factors discussed, present investigation was carried out at Experimental Farm, 

Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Latur with object to study the effect of 

integrated nutrient management on sweet corn. 

Methodology 

The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with seven treatments and replicated 

thrice. The treatments were T1- 100% RDF, T2 - 100% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 , T3 - 75% RDF 

+ FYM @ 5 t ha -1 , T4 - 100% RDF + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 , T5 - 75% RDF + 

Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 , T6 - 100% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 + Vermicompost @ 1.25 t ha -1 + 

Azospirillumand T7 -75% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 + Vermicompost @ 1.25 t ha -1 + 

Azospirillum.The soil of experimental plot was clayey in texture with chemical composition 

such as low in available nitrogen (125.3 kg ha -1 ), medium in available phosphorous (18.20 kg ha - 

1 ) and very high in available potassium (498.58 kg ha -1 ). The soil was moderately alkaline in 

reaction having pH (7.7). The sweet corn hybrid Sugar- 75 was sown on 1 st August, 2019 at 

distance of 60 cm x 30 cm apart. Organic manures viz., FYM and vermicompost were applied to 

the respective plots fifteen days before sowing. The Biofertilizer Azospirillum obtained from the 

Biofertilizers Production Unit, VNMK, Parbhani was applied one day before sowing @ 10 ml 

kg -1 . As per treatments, half dose of nitrogenous fertilizers and full dose of phosphatic and 

potassic fertilizers were applied. The FYM and vermicompost was applied uniformly to all the 

plots as per treatments. The next half dose of nitrogen fertilizer was applied in bands as top 

dressing one month after sowing. The rainfall received during the experimentation was 631.8 

mm. 

Results 

The result revealed that the application of 100% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 + Vermicompost @ 

1.25 t ha -1 +Azospirillumsignificantly increased the growth characters viz., plant height (200 cm), 

number of functional leaves (17.60), dry matter accumulation (128.33 g), leaf area (76.35 dm 2 ). 

Similar results were also reported by Jadhav and Shelke (2012), Kurneet al., (2012) and Thorat 

(2016). The yield attributes namely length of cob (33.02 cm), girth of cob (23.33 cm), number of 

kernel row cob -1 (16.83), number of kernel cob -1 (783.33), total weight of cob plant -1 (387.40 g), 



521 | Page



green cob yield (10621 Kg ha -1 ) and green fodder yield (21824 Kg ha -1 ) of sweet corn were 

significantly highest with the application of 100% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 + Vermicompost @ 

1.25 t ha -1 + Azospirillum. Similar findings were also noted by Jadhav and Shelke (2012) and 

Kurneet al., (2012) and Thorat (2016). 

References 

Jadhav, V.T. and Shelke, D. K. 2012. Effect of planting methods and fertilizer levels on growth, yield and 

economics of maize (Zea mays L.) Hybrids. J. Agric. Res. Tech., 37(1): 011-014. 

Kurne, R.A., Jadhav, Y. R. and Mohite, A. B. 2017. Effect of fertilizer levels and plant densities on 

growth, productivity and economics of sweet corn in summer season. Contemp. Res. India, 7(3): 

2231-2237. 

Thorat, K. S. 2016. Response of sweet corn to different fertilizers levels and spacing in kharif season. 

Thesis submitted for M.Sc. (Agri.) degree to Vasantarao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Parabhani 

Mean plant height (cm), No. of leaves plant -1 , dry matter (g) plant -1 , No. of cobs plant -1 , 

length of cob (cm), girth of cob (cm), No. of kernel row cob -1 of sweet corn as influenced by 

Treatments 

different treatments at harvest 

plant 

height 

(cm) 

No. of leaves 

plant -1 

Dry 

matter 


cob 

plant -1 

Length 

of cob 

T 1-100% RDF 171.67 14.67 107.4 1 27.81 

T 2 - 100% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 173.67 14.93 110.1 1 28.52 

T 3 -75% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 159.33 13.37 98.03 1 25 

(g) 

(cm) 

T 4 -100% RDF + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t 

ha -1 

T 5 -75% RDF + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t 

ha -1 

T 6 -100% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 + 

Vermicompost @ 1.25 t ha -1 

+Azospirillum 

185 15.07 111.37 1 29.5 

166.67 13.93 100.13 1 27.33 

200 17.6 128.33 1.17 33.02 

T 7 -75% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 + 

Vermicompost@ 1.25 t ha -1 

+Azospirillum 

194 15.87 116.67 1.1 30.27 

SE± 8.37 0.74 5.33 0.17 1.35 

CD at 5% 25.78 2.29 16.42 NS 4.17 


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T4-34P-1323 

Effect of Sulphur Levels and Spacings on Growth and Yield of Linseed (Linum Usitatissium 

L.) under VertisolsIn Rainfed Situation of Marathwada Region 

V. B. Awasarmal, Khazi G. S., Shikari A. R. and A.H. Nanher 

Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Parbhani – 431402, Maharashtra 

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) is one of the oldest rabi oilseed crop under cultivation. 

Linseed is cool weather loving crop grown either as sole crop or mixed crop. The productivity of 

linseed in Maharashtra is low due to cultivation under residual soil moisture, no input condition, 

utera system of cropping and major linseed growing areas are under moisture stress situation and 

protected irrigation facilities not available. To meet the requirement of growing population, it is 

necessary to increase the productivity of the crop and nutrient management is one of the answers 

to this issue. (Chaudhary2009). The main reason for low productivity of linseed is its cultivation 

in marginal and sub marginal lands under poor management and input starved rainfed conditions. 

Further lack of balanced nutrient management is one of the major causes of low yield. 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, 

College of Agriculture Parbhani, Maharashtra duringRabi season of 2020. The soil of the 

experimental plot was clayey in texture and slightly alkaline in reaction having low in organi 

ccarbon, available nitrogen and phosphorus, but marginally high in available potassium. 

Experiment was conducted in Split plot design with three replications. The treatments were 

consisting of four spacing as main plot treatments and three sulphur levels as sub plot treatments. 

The treatments are T1–30×15cm 2 , T2–30 ×10cm 2 , T3–45 ×10cm 2 , T4–45 ×15cm 2 , S1–0,S2– 

10Kgha -1 S3–20Kgha -1 . 

Results 

Results revealed that the mean growth attributes of linseed was significantlyobserved under the 

treatment T2 (30cm x10cm) while minimum growth characters was 

recordedundertreatmentT4(45cmx15cm). In case of Sulphur levels maximum observations 

pertaining to growth was recorded in treatmentS3 where 20 kg sulphur per ha was applied. It was 

significantly superior over restof the treatments. 



523 | Page



Seed, Straw, Biological yield and Harvest Index of linseed as influenced by different 

treatments 

Treatments 

Seed yield 

(kgha -1 ) 

Straw yield 

(kgha -1 ) 

Biological 

yield (kgha -1 ) 

Harvest 

Index 

(%) 

Spacings(cm) 

T1:30cmx15cm 927.40 1759.11 2686.51 34.52 

T2:30cmx10cm 1022.13 1920.14 2942.27 34.74 

T3:45cmx10cm 789.65 1527.49 2317.14 34.07 

T4:45cmx15cm 683.72 1464.23 2147.95 31.83 

SE± 86.41 120.91 239.21 -- 

CDat5% 211.46 220.87 585.28 -- 

Sulphurlevels(kgha -1 ) 

S1:0 619.44 1284.78 1904.22 32.5 

S2:10kgha 856.61 1683.34 2539.95 33.72 

S3:20kgha 1091.14 2087.63 3178.77 34.32 

SE± 77.97 128.14 258.58 -- 

CDat5% 233.76 384.17 615.23 -- 

Interaction (TXS) 

SE± 119.61 181.91 363.92 -- 

CDat5% NS NS NS -- 

GM 855.72 1685.66 2530.97 33.67 

Data on seed, straw, biological yields and Harvest index as influenced byvarious treatments. The 

differences in seed, straw andbiological yield due to various treatments were significant and the 

mean seed, straw, biological yields and harvest index were 855.72 kg ha -1 ,1685.66 kg ha -1 , 

2530.97kgha -1 and 33.67% respectively. Among different spacing data on yield revealed that the 

treatment T2 (30cm x10 cm) produced significantly highest seed yield whichwas found at par 

with treatment T1 (30cm x15cm) than rest of the treatments.Significantly highest yield was 

recorded with the application of 20 kgsulphurha -1 thanrestofthetreatmentsi.e.S1 (control) and S2 

(10kgha -1 ).Increasein seed yield with increase in sulphur level was might be due to the reason 

that Sulphur was involved in the formation of chlorophyll, which promotes photosynthesis and 

activation of enzyme; Sulphur application has been reported to favor yield due to proper 

partitioning of photo syntheses from source to sink (Singh2016). 


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References 

Chaudhary, S. 2009. Study of row spacings for different varieties of Linseed (Linum usitatissium 

L.). Int. J. Plant Sci., 4 (2):373-374. 

Singh, P.K. 2016. Status paper on Linseed/ Flax agriculture. In Omega-3 fatty acids, Springer, 

Cham. 21-44. 

T4-35P-1328 

Growth and Yield of Soybean as Influenced by Foliar Application of Growth 

Regulators, Seaweed Extract and Potassium Nitrate 

J. D. Kalambe * , G. A. Bhalerao, S.S . Kinge and P.B. Kale 

VNMKV Parbhani, India. 431402 

* jyotikalambe95@gmail.com 

Soybean is a short season leguminous crop that grows in a warm climate with intermediate to 

heavy rainfall. Soybean, a wonder legume has high nutritive value and has manifold uses in 

agriculture, medicine and industrial sector. Sea weed extract is a new generation of natural 

organic fertilizers containing highly effective nutrition’s and promotes faster germination of 

seeds and increase yield and resistance ability of many crops. Seaweed is richest of mineral 

elements containing calcium, magnesium, potassium, chlorine, sulphur, phosphorous, iodine, 

zinc, copper. Liquid fertilizers derived from natural sources like seaweeds are found to be viable 

alternatives to fertilizing input for agricultural crops due to its high level of organic matter, micro 

and macro elements, fatty acid and growth hormones, (Jensen 1993; Noda 1990). The yield of 

soybean can be enhanced through physiological growth manipulation by way of foliar 

application of seaweed extract. The foliar application of growth regulators, seaweed extract and 

potassium nitrate at flowering and pod developing stage significantly increased the growth and 

yield contributing characters of soybean. Therefore, attempts were made to study the growth and 

yield of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) as influenced by foliar application of growth 


Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted during kharif 2018 at experimental farm, Department of 

Agronomy, College of Agriculture, VNMKV, Parbhani. The experiment consisted of seven 

treatments viz., Salicylic acid-50ppm (T1), GA3-100ppm (T2), Nitrobenzene-400ppm (T3), NAA- 

20ppm (T4), Seaweed extract- 400 ppm (T5), Potassium nitrate-2% (T6), Water spray (T7) and 



525 | Page



two stages of application i.e. at the time of flowering and pod developing stage. The variety 

MAUS-71 was used and experiment was arranged in Randomized Block Design with three 

replications and comprised of 21-unit plots. The gross and net size of each plot was 5.4 m x 4.5 

m, 4.5 m x 4.0 m, respectively. Sowing was done on 1 st July, 2018 by dibbling one seed per hill 

at a recommended spacing of 45cm X 05cm.The recommended dose of fertilizer (30:60:30 kg 

NPK ha -1 ) was applied through Urea, Single super phosphate (SSP), Muriate of potash (MOP) as 

a source of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, respectively. All the growth regulators, seaweed 

extract and potassium nitrate were applied in two sprayings as foliar spray, 1 st spraying at the 

time of flowering and 2 nd spraying at pod developing stage. The crop was harvested on 10 th 

October, 2018. 

Results 

Foliar application of different growth regulators, seaweed extract and potassium nitrate exposed 

variation on growth characteristics of soybean such as plant height, number of functional leaves, 

leaf area, number of branches, total dry matter accumulation. Among all the treatments 

application of treatment T5- Seaweed extract- 400 ppm to soybean crop at flowering and pod 

developing stage showed better result with respect to plant height (49.90cm), number of 

functional leaves (23.57), leaf area (9.60 dm 2 ), number of branches (6.18), mean dry matter 

accumulation (16.73 g) and at par with treatment T2- GA3-100ppm and T1- Salicylic acid-50ppm. 

However lower values were recorded in treatment T7-Water spray. 

Yieldof soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) as influenced by foliar application of growth 


Tr. 

No 

Treatments 


pods 

plant -1 


seeds 

plant -1 

Seed 

yield 

plant -1 

(g) 

Seed 

index 

(g) 

Seed 

yield kg 

ha -1 

Straw 

yield kg 

ha -1 

T 1 Salicylic Acid-50 ppm 29.09 68.50 5.70 8.90 2014 2877 42.03 

T 2 GA 3-100 ppm 30.29 70.90 6.20 9.39 2246 2943 43.28 

T 3 Nitrobenzene-400 ppm 27.05 63.30 5.12 8.37 1909 2661 41.78 

T 4 NAA-20 ppm 26.24 60.04 4.83 8.02 1821 2520 41.95 

T 5 Seaweed extract-400ppm 32.97 72.83 6.57 9.62 2307 3055 43.02 

T 6 KNO 3-2% 25.41 58.16 4.59 7.98 1722 2455 41.22 

T 7 Water spray 24.00 49.90 3.17 7.05 1509 2235 40.30 

S.E.(m) ± 1.61 2.94 0.37 0.50 111.91 155.63 - 

C.D. at 5% 4.96 9.07 1.14 NS 344.03 479.52 - 

General mean 27.86 63.38 5.17 8.44 1932.57 2678 42.04 

Harvest 

index 

% 


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The foliar application of different growth regulators, seaweed extract and potassium nitrate 

showed variation on yield characteristics of soybean such as number of pods plant -1 , Number of 

seeds plant -1 , Seed yield plant -1 (g), Seed index (g) (Weight of 100 seeds), Seed yield kg ha 1 , 

Straw yield kg ha -1 , Harvest index %. Among all the treatments application of T5- seaweed 

extract-400 ppm significantly increased all the yield parameters except harvest index. The 

highest number of pods plant -1 (32.97), Number of seeds plant -1 (72.83), seed yield plant -1 (6.57 

g), seed index (9.62 g), seed yield (2307 kg ha 1 ), straw yield (3055 kg ha -1 ) were observed at 

seaweed extract-400ppm which was significantly higher over all the treatments but highest 

harvest index (43.28%) was observed in T2- GA3-100ppm, and was at par with treatment T2- 

GA3-100ppm and T1- Salicylic acid-50ppm. However lower values were recorded in treatment 

T7-Water spray. Similar trend of observation observed by Kavitha et al. (2008), Agwane and 

Parhe (2015), Satish Kumar et al. (2018). 

Conclusion 

One-year experiment was conducted on soybean crop with different application of growth 

regulators, seaweed extract and potassium nitrate during KHARIFseason 2018. Based on this 

field investigation the following conclusioncan be drawn. Foliar application of Seaweed extract - 

400 ppm at flowering and pod developing stage recorded highest growth parameters, yield 

attributes and seed yield having at par values with GA3 -100 ppm and Salicylic acid -50 ppm. 

From the above results and discussion, it may be concluded that, application of seaweed extract- 

400 ppm at flowering and pod developing stage would be promising practice for soybean growth 

and yield. 

References 

Agwane, R. B. and Parhe, S. D. 2015. Effect of seed priming on crop growth and seed yield of soybean (Glycine 

max L. Merrill). Bioscan 10: 265-270. 

Jensen. 1993. Presence and future needs for algal products. Hydrobiologia 261: 15-21. 

Kavitha, M. P., Ganeshraja, V. and Paulpandi, V. K. 2008. Effect of foliar spraying of sea weed extract on 

growth and yield of rice (Oryzasativa L.) Agric. Sci. Digest, 28(2): 127 - 129. 

Noda. 1990. Antitumour activity of marine algae. Hydrobiologia 204: 577-584. 

Satish Kumar, A. N., Sakthivel, E., Subramanian, R., Kalpana, P., Janaki. and Rajesh, P. 2018. Influence 

of foliar spray of nutrients and plant growth regulators on physiological attributes and yield of 

finger 

millet 

(Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.). Int. J. Chem. Stud., 6(3): 2876-2879. 



527 | Page



T4-36P-1351 

Nutrient Management for Sustaining Productivity of Sunflower Based 

Cropping Systems in Vertisols of AP 

K. Prabhakar 1 , B. V. Venkata Ramanamma 1 , B. V. Prakash Reddy 1 , K. Ramesh 2 , 

Y. S. Satish Kumar 1 , R. Narasimhulu 1 and N. C. Venkateswarlu 1 

1 AICRP on Sunflower, RARS, Nandyal, ANGRAU, A. P. 

2 

ICAR-IIOR, Rajendranagar, T.S. 

* kprabhakar7714@gmail.com 

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an important oilseed crop fourth next to soybean, 

groundnut, and rape seed. In India, sunflower is grown over an area of 8.30 lakh hectares with a 

production and productivity of 5.44 lakh tonnes and 655 kg per hectare, respectively during the 

year 2012-13. In Andhra Pradesh, it is mostly grown as a rabi crop. In combined Andhra 

Pradesh, the area under this crop has come down from 4.19 lakh hectares in 2008-09 to 1.42 lakh 

hectares in 2012- 13. About 80 percent of this area is under rabi. The area has further decreased 

and reached 13,000 hectares in 2018-19. (Nimbrayan et al., 2020) In recent changed cropping 

systems under ID conditions, new profitable crops were cultivated in the Kurnool district very 

extensively like Bt cotton, Maize, and Soybean, but scientific study and recommendations were 

not available to sustain the yields and net returns of popular new emerging cropping systems. 

Hence this study was initiated to know the suitable fertilizer dose and sunflower cropping 

systems for Kurnool district. Among various methods of fertilizer recommendation such as 

general recommended dose (RDF), soil test-based recommendation, critical value approach, etc., 

the soil test crop response (STCR) approach for target yield is unique in indicating both soil testbased 

fertilizer dose and the level of yield that can be achieved with good agronomic practices 

(Singh et al., 2005) 

Methodology 

Field experiment were carried out for four consecutive Kharif and Rabi seasons of 2017-18 and 

2020-21 at R.A.R.S. Farm, Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh. The treatments comprised of four 

cropping systems viz., Cotton-sunflower (CS1), Maize-sunflower (CS2), Soybean-sunflower 

(CS3) and Sunflower-Chickpea (CS4) as main plots and three fertilizer levels for Rabi i.e 100% 

RDF (75 N 90+ P2O5+ 60 K2O kg/ha) 100% STCR and 50% STCR as sub plots. The 

experimental design was split-plot and treatments were replicated thrice. Kharif crops cotton 

(Jaadu Bt), Maize, (Syngenta, 46866) Soybean (JS-335) and Sunflower (NDSH-1012) were 

cultivated in main plots by following recommended package of practices and recommended dose 


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of fertilizer doses (RDF) in RBD. For Rabi crops, sunflower and chickpea were raised in 

respective main plots as subplots duly imposing fertilizer doses as treatment schedule. STCR 

DOSES were calculated based on soil test results of kharif post harvest soil available NPK with 

25 q targeted yields by using STCR equations. Sunflower equivalent yields, cost of cultivation 

and net returns were calculated by using standard procedures. The data on various parameters of 

crop was statistically analyzed by following ANOVA. 

Results 

Results on Rabi Sunflower equivalent yields indicated that seed yield was significantly 

influenced by nutrient management practices and cropping system. Among nutrient management 

practices tested, 100% STCR recorded significantly higher sunflower equivalent yields (1799 

kg/ha) followed by 100% RDF treatment. Significantly lower sunflower equivalent yields were 

recorded with 50 % STCR dose of fertilizers were applied. Similarly, Soybean-sunflower 

cropping system recorded significantly higher sunflower equivalent yields (2072 kg/ha) which 

was on par with Maize-sunflower cropping system (2057 kh/ha). cotton–Sunflower cropping 

system recorded significantly lower sunflower equivalent yields (914 kg/ha) among four 

cropping systems tried. Interaction effect between nutrient management practices and cropping 

systems was significant. Sunflower being an exhaustive crop requires higher dose of fertilizer in 

Rabi season. Hence crop responded for 100% STCR treatment and equation applied for targeted 

yield of 25q. Shanwaz et.al., 2015 also reported the positive results on sunflower yields with 

STCR approach which was ageing the present results. Sheoron et al., 2017 reported that 

significant response in yield was observed inclusion of farmyard manure (FYM) with the 

recommended NPK in the cropping system indicating 6.2% -7.0% grain in system productivity 

over the existing recommendations. Results on system equivalent yields and economics shows 

that, Maize-sunflower cropping system recorded higher sunflower equivalent yields (3117 kg/ha) 

and highest net returns (Rs.119313/- ha), among four cropping systems tested in study. However 

soybean sunflower cropping system recorded higher cost-benefit (C:B) ratio (1:3.0) 

Conclusion 

It is concluded that Maize- sunflower cropping system recorded significantly higher sunflower 

yield followed by soybean- sunflower cropping system. Cotton- sunflower cropping system 

recorded significantly lower sunflower yields when compared with rest of three cropping 

systems 



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References 

Nimbrayan, P. K., Singh Punia, V. K., Anu, M. and Kumar, A. 2020. Trends and Growth Rate 

Analysis of Sunflower in Haryana and India. Res. J. Agric. Sci. 11(3): 686-688. 

Sheoran, P., Sardana, V., Singh, S., Chander, S., Kumar Mann, A. and Sharma, P. 2017. 

Nutrient management for sustaining productivity of sunflower-based cropping sequence 

in Indian semiarid regions. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 48 (5)581-593. 

Singh, K. N., Raju, N. S., Subba, A. R., Abhishek, R., Sanjay, S., Samanta, R. K. and Maji. 

2005. Prescribing optimum dose of nutrients for targeted yield through soil fertility map 

in Andhra Pradesh (AP). J. Indian Soc. Agric. Statist., 59(2): 131-140. 

Yield of Rabi crop (Sunflower equivalent yield (Kg/ha) 

Treatments 

Cotton - Maize - Soybean - Sunflower - 

Sunflower Sunflower Sunflower Chickpea 

Mean 

100 % RDF 807 2114 2091 1146 1538 

100 % STCR 1209 2437 2368 1181 1799 

50 % STCR 725 1625 1759 1091 1302 

Mean 914 2057 2072 1139 

SEm CD (P=0.05) CV 

Main 82 238 12.2 

Sub 60 186 11.8 

M x S 79 244 10.3 

Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth and Yield of 

KharifGroundnut (Arachis HypogeaL.) 

A. K. Ghotmukale, V. P. Suryavanshi, Dipak Davkhar and M. V. Dhuppe 

Oilseeds Research Station, Latur- 413512 

Vasantrao Naiki Marathwada krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani (Maharashtra State, India) 

T4-37P-1361 

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the most important leguminous oiolseeds crop 

belonging to family Leguminosae and sub family Papilionaceae. Groundnut crop is cultivated as 

rainfed crop during the kharif season but, fails to produce the productivity. Nutrient 

management is one of the important factors which influences the yield. Hence, experiment 

entitled “Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth and yield of kharif Groundnut” 


interactions



(Arachis hypogea L.) was conducted at Oilseeds Research Station, Latur (Maharashtra) to study 

the effect of INM on growth, yield and economics of groundnut during kharif season of 2020-21. 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted in randomized block design with three replications on vertisols at 

Oilseeds Research Station, Latur During kharif season of 2020-2021. Eight INM treatments were 

applied to the crop viz., T1- RDF(control) , T2- RDF+FYM @ 5 t/ha., T3- RDF+ Vermicompost 

@ 2.5 T/ha., T4- RDF+Poultry manure @5 t/ha., T5- RDF+Elemental Sulphur @ 20 kg/ha., T6- 

RDFR+ Znso4 @ 20 kg/ha., T7- Feso4 @ 20 kg/ha and T8- RDF+Gypsum @ 500 kg/ha. All the 

nutrients were applied at the time of sowing. The data were analyzed statistically with standard 

ANOVA method. 

Results 

Pod yield, Gross monetary returns (GMR), Net monetary returns (NMR) and B: C ratio of 

groundnut varied significantly due to various nutrient management treatments. Treatment T3 i. e. 

application of RDF+Vermicompost @ 2.5 t/ha recorded significantly highest pod yield (2080 

kg/ha.) which was found at par with T2 (RDF+FYM @ 5 t/ha.) and T8 (100% RDF+Gypsum @ 

500 kg/ha.) The highest GMR (99840 Rs/ha.) was also recorded with application of 

RDF+Vermicompost @ 2.5 t/ha which was found at par with the application of RDF+ FYM 

@5t/ha and RDF+ Gypsum @500 kg/ha. The highest NMR (52025 Rs/ha.) was recorded with 

the application of RDF+Vermicompost @ 2.5 t/ha which was found at par with treatment T8 

(RDF+ Gypsum @500 kg/ha.) The highest B: C ratio was obtained with the application of RDF+ 

Gypsum @500 kg/ha followed by treatment T7 (RDF+ Feso4 @ b20 kg/ha.) 

Conclusion 

On the basis of present investigations, it is concluded that application of RDF+ Vermicompost @ 

2.5 t/ha recorded significantly highest pod yield (2080Kg/ha), highest GMR (99840 Rs/ha), 

NMR (52025 Rs/ha) and B:C ratio followed by application ofRDF + FYM @ 5t/ha and 

application of RDF+ Gypsum @ 500 kg/ha. 



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Pod yield (kg/ha) and Economics (Rs/ha.) of groundnut as influenced by different 

treatments. 

S.N 

Treatment 

Dry pod 

yield (Kg/ha) 

GMR 

(Rs/ha) 

Economics (Rs/ha) 

CC 

(Rs/ha) 

NMR 

(Rs/ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

T 1 RDF(Control) 1405 67440 38584 28856 1.74 

T 2 RDF + FYM@ 5T/ha 1945 93360 46575 46815 2.0 

T 3 RDF+ Vermicompost @2.5t/ha 2080 99840 47815 52025 2.08 

T 4 RDF+ Poultry Manure @ 5t/ha 1728 82800 47825 27023 1.73 

T 5 

RDF+ Elemental Sulphur @ 20 

Kg/ha 

1610 77280 55777 38416 1.38 

T 6 RDF+ZnSO 4 @ 20 Kg/ha 1540 73920 28864 34886 1.90 

T 7 RDF+FeSO 4 @ 20 Kg/ha 1880 90240 39034 51190 2.31 

T 8 RDF + Gypsum @ 500 Kg/ha 1892 90816 39314 51502 2.31 

References 

S.E. ± 86 3620 - 3620 

C.D. at 5% 257 10850 - 10848 

C.V. 9.2 8.3 15 

General mean 1760 84480 44223 40258 1.91 

Akbari, K. N., Ramdevputra, M. V., Sutaria, G. S., Vora, V. D. and Padmani, D. R. (2011). 

Effect of organics, bio and inorganic fertilizer on groundnut yield and its residue effect 

on succeeding wheat crop. Legume Res., 34(1), 45-47. 

Bhatol, D. P., Ptel, N. A. and Pavaya, R.P. (1994). Effect of nitrogen phosphorous and zinc 

application on yield and uptake of nutrient by groundnut. Indian J. Agric. Res., 28(3), 

209-213. 

Bhutadiya, J.P., Chaudhary, M. G., Damor, R.P., and Patel,A.J. 2019. Effect of different organic 

sources on growth, yield, yield attributes and economics of summer groundnut (Arachis 

hypogaea L.) under organic farming. J. Pharmacog. Photochem., 8(2), 846-849. 

Chavam, A. R., Chavan, A. S., Yadav, A. M. and Chavan, V.G. 2019. Effect of vermicompost, 

rock phosphate, PSB and different bio-products on yield and economics of groundnut 

(Arachis hypogaea L.) Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. Appl. Sci., 8(12), 2031-2039. 


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Soil Test Crop Response approach for Chickpea Crop in Vertisol 

T4-38P-1390 

Y. S. Satish Kumar * , K. Arun Kumar, K. Prabhakar, K. Mohan Vishnuvardhan, 

K. Jaya Lakshmi, S. Isha Parveen and M. Jyotsna Kiranmayi 

Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, 

Nandyal-518502 

* ys.sathishkumar@angrau.ac.in 

Various approaches have been tried to determine the amount of fertilizer needed for different 

crop yield. Among different approaches the targeted yield approach has proved its variation in 

the recommendation of chemical fertilizers to variety of crops. Chickpea (Cicer arientinum) is 

the world 3rd most important source of food legume crop. Chickpea grains are rich source of 

protein contains about 23% protein, 57% carbohydrates and 5% fat. It is also good source of 

vitamine B and minerals like potassium, phosphorus and zinc. In India, chickpea is grown on an 

8.59 million ha area with 7.05 million tonne production. In Maharashtra chickpea is grown on 

1.44 million ha area with 0.73-million-ton production. The average productivity of chickpea in 

India is 840 kg ha-1 which is considerably low as compared to the production potential of the 

improved cultivars of chickpea. The productivity of chickpea can be increased by judicious and 

balanced fertilization. Fertilizer management through Integrated Plant Nutrient Supply (IPNS) 

based yield target fertilizer prescription equations can be the best option for increase in 

productivity as well as maintaining the soil health. It is necessary to supply essential nutrient 

elements in appropriate proportion to maintain soil health and soil fertility and also to increase 

the crop production. Several approaches have been used for fertilizer recommendation based on 

chemical soil test so as to attain maximum yield per unit of fertilizer use. Among the various 

approaches, the target yield approach has found popularity in India (Subba Rao and Srivastava, 

2000). This method not only estimates soil test-based fertilizer dose but also the level of yield the 

farmer can achieve with that particular dose. It gives a real balance between applied nutrients and 

the available nutrients already present in the soil. Crop fertilization based on generalized 

recommendation leads to under fertilization or over fertilization, which leads lower production, 

profitability along with environmental pollution. Enhancement of farm profitability under 

different soil climate condition it is necessary to have information on optimum fertilizer 

recommendation for different crop which are based on the soil test and crop response studies. 

Keeping in view, the present investigation entitled ‘Soil test crop response approach for chickpea 

crop in Vertisol’ was undertaken to assess the effect of STCR based N, P and K application on 

productivity of Chickpea crop. 



533 | Page



Methodology 

The field experiments were conducted during the kharif& Rabi seasons of crop years, 2019, 2020 & 

2021at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Nandyala, Andhra Pradesh. The soil of experimental site 

was medium deep black, low in organic carbon (0.24 %), low in Nitrogen (116 kg/ha), high in available 

P 2O 5 (69.5 kg ha -1 ) and available K 2O (536 kg ha -1 ). In Kharif, crops maize, sunflower and blackgram 

crops were sown in 3 main plots. In rabi, each main plot devided in to 3 sub plots and chick pea crop was 

sown with application of 100% RDF, 100% STCR equation (Target 20 q/ha) and 50% STCR equation 

(Target 20 q/ha) by following STCR equation of FN = 5.03 T – 0.27 SN FP 2O 5 = 9.71 T – 1.82 SP 

FK 2O = 6.23 T – 0.22 SK . 

Results 

Among the three cropping sequences, the higher chickpea yield (2045kg/ha) recorded in Sunflower - 

chickpea cropping sequence with 50% STCR based fertilizer application. Among the fertilizer treatments 

50% STCR recorded higher chickpea yield followed by 100 % STCR and 100 % RDF in all the cropping 

sequences in all the years. 

Influence of site-specific nutrient management on growth and yield of chickpea during rabi 

2021-22 

Cropping system 

Black gram followed 

by Chickpea 

Maize followed by 

Chickpea 

Sunflower followed by 

Chickpea 

Treatments 

Plant height 

(cm) 

No. of pods 

plant -1 

Test weight 

(g) 

Yield (kg/ha) 

100%RDF 44.4 51 31.5 1680 

100% STCR 41.5 54 28.3 1820 

50% STCR 42.0 43 30.7 1850 

100%RDF 39.3 40 27.0 1857 

100% STCR 39.4 40 28.7 1925 

50% STCR 41.5 44 28.3 1908 

100%RDF 40.9 41 29.5 1785 

100% STCR 38.7 34 28.3 1833. 

50% STCR 38.6 29 28.3 2045 

References 

Jadhav, A.B., Kadlag, A.D., Patil, V.S., Bachkar, S.R., Dale, R.M. 2009. Response of chickpea to 

conjoint application of inorganic fertilizers based on STCR approach and vermicomposting on 

Inceptisol. J. Maharashtra Agric. Univ., 34(2):125-127. 

Salunkhe, S.H., Kadlag. And Durgude, S.A. 2018. Soil test crop response approach for chickpea in an 

Inceptisol. Int. J. Chem. Stud., 6(4): 1954-1959. 


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T4-39P-1421 

Studies on Growth Yield and Quality of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) as 

Influenced by Chemical Fertilizers and Liquid Biofertilizer 

S. G. Mane, B. N. Aglave, A. S. Karle, B.V. Asewar, S.V. Thombre and K.A. Chavan 

College of Agriculture, Parbhani, Maharashtra 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra 

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) belongs to the family of pedaliaceae and is one of the most 

ancient oilseeds crop known and used by mankind of the world. It is considered to have both 

notional and medicinal value. Moreover, seed is a rich source of edible oil (48-55%) and protein 

(20-28%) with anti-oxidants lignans such as sesamolin and sesamin which prevents rancidity and 

give sesame oil a shelf life. Sesame oil is called ‘poor man’s ghee’. The lignin content has useful 

physiological effect in human and animal health. The seeds are very rich in iron, magnesium, 

manganese, copper and calcium and contain vitamin E, A, B and B1. The seed contain 

phytosterols associate with reducing the level of blood cholesterol and also phytoestrogens with 

antioxidants an anti-cancer property. The plant receives biofertilizer and fertilizers always give 

higher yield and better-quality yield. The price of chemical fertilizers has gone up tremendously 

and the marginal farmer can not afford such costly fertilisers. About 50% of applied inorganic 

fertilizers are lost either through leaching or volatilization, under this situation use of biofertilizer 

could be the key to sustain soil fertility to obtain the desired level of yield and quality. But, the 

efficiency of biological fertilizers will increase at the presence of chemical fertilizers 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2018 at the Experimental farm, 

College of Agricultural, Latur to studies on growth, yield and quality of sesame (Sesamum 

indicum L.) as influenced by chemical fertilizers and liquid biofertilizer. The soil of the 

experimental site was medium, black in color with good drainage. The soil was clayey in texture, 

low in available nitrogen, medium in available phosphorus, medium in available potassium and 

alkaline (pH 8.04) in reaction. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with 

three replications and the treatment were consisting of seven with chemical fertilizers and liquid 

biofertilizer. The treatments were, T1- 40:20:00 Kg NPK ha -1 , T2- 50:25:00 kg NPK ha -1 , T3- 

60:30:00 kg NPK ha -1 , T4 – Azotobacter + PSB, T5– 40:20:00 kg NPK ha -1 + Azotobacter + 

PSB, T6- 50:25:00 kg NPK ha -1 +Azotobacter + PSB, T7- 60:30:00 kg NPK ha -1 + Azotobacter + 

PSB. Sowing was done by dibbling by using seed rate 2.5- 4.0 kg ha -1 . The gross and net plot 

size was 5.4 m x 4.5 m and 4.5 m x 3.9 m respectively. The total rainfall received during growth 



535 | Page



period of sesame was 271.8 mm with 13 rainy days. The recommended dose of fertilizer was 

50:25:00 kg NPK ha -1 applied as per treatments through Urea, single super phosphate and 

application of liquid biofertilizer for seed treatment 6 ml kg -1 . 

Results 

Growth and growth attributes: The data revealed that the growth attributes viz., The 

application of 60:30:00 kg NPK ha -1 + Azotobacter and PSB (T7) produced significantly higher 

plant height and leaf area per plant which was at par with application of 60:30:00 kg NPK ha -1 

(T3) of sesame as compared to other treatments at 30, 45, 60, 75 and at harvest. The increase in 

growth attributes may be due to better uptake and translocation of plant nutrients to growing 

plants, adequate supply of nutrients resulted in higher production of photosynthate and their 

translocation to sink, which ultimately increased the plant growth and growth attributes. The 

highest number of branches plant -1 (3.53) was recorded with the application of 60:30:00 kg NPK 

ha -1 + Azotobacter and PSB (T7) followed by Treatment T3 i.e. application of 60:30:00 kg NPK 

ha -1 produced maximum number of branches at all growth stages of crop. The increase in growth 

under these treatments might be attributed due to the adequate supply of nutrients with which the 

crop was ultimately favoured better environment for proper growth and development. Total dry 

matter plant -1 (g) was the resultant of photosynthetic activity and its photo morphogenesis. The 

rate of increase in dry matter accumulation was slow up 45 days, rapid between 45 to 75 DAS 

and attained maximum at harvest. The application of 60:30:00 kg NPK ha -1 + Azotobacter and 

PSB (T7) followed by T3 i.e. 60:30:00 kg NPK ha -1 produced higher dry matter plant -1 (g) similar 

result reported by Deshmukh et al. 

Yield attributes and yield: Yield attributes viz., number of capsules, weight of capsules per 

plant, seed yield per plant, seed yield and straw yield (kg/ha) were significantly affected by 

different treatments. The capsule yield plant -1 (g) seed yield plant -1 (g) was significantly 

influenced by the various treatments. The application of 60:30:00 kg NPK ha -1 + Azotobacter 

and PSB (T7) recorded higher capsule and seed yield plant-1 followed by application of 60:30:00 

kg NPK ha -1 (T3). Higher level of these parameters could be attributed due to better uptake and 

translocation of plant nutrients to growing plants, adequate supply of nutrients resulted in higher 

production of photosynthate and their translocation to sink, which ultimately increased the plant 

growth and yield attributes. Data on seed yield (kg ha -1 ), straw yield (kg ha -1 ), biological yield 

(kg ha -1 ) and harvest index (HI) as influenced by different treatments was found significant. The 

application of 60:30:00 kg NPK ha -1 + Azotobacter and PSB (T7) recorded higher number of 

capsules plant -1 at harvest followed by (T3) application of 60:30:00 kg NPK ha -1 (T3). This 

variation in seed yield, straw yield, biological yield (kg ha -1 ) might be due to balanced and 


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adequate supply of nutrients. Based on above studies it is concluded that among various 

treatments, application of 60:30:00 kg N.P.K / ha +Azotobacter + PSB observed highest seed 

yield (779 kg/ha) and straw yield (3089) followed by 50:25:00 kg N.P.K /ha + Azotobacter + 

PSB and 30:60:00 kg N.P.K / ha and found significantly superior over remaining treatments. 

Effect onseed yield plant-1, seed yield kg ha-1, straw yield kg ha-1, gross monetary 

returns (₹ha -1 ), net monetary returns (₹ha -1 ), benefit: cost ratio 

Treatments 

Seed yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Straw yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Gross 

monetary 

returns 

(₹ha -1 ) 

Net 

Monetary 

returns 

(₹ha -1 ) 

Benefit: 

cost 

ratio 

T 1- 40:20:00 Kg NPK ha -1 591 2712 59100 28405 1.93 

T 2- 50:25:00 kg NPK ha -1 651 2868 65100 34163 2.1 

T 3 - 60:30:00 kg NPK ha -1 693 2951 69300 37860 2.2 

T 4 – Azotobacter+ PSB 460 2426 46000 17475 1.61 

T 5- 40:20:00 kg NPK ha - 

1 +Azotobacter+ PSB 

598 2724 59800 29005 1.94 

T 6- 50:25:00 kg NPK ha - 


T 7- 60:30:00 kg NPK ha - 


665 2772 66500 35463 2.14 

779 3089 77900 46360 2.47 

SEm± 39 103 3913 3913 - 

C.D. at 5% 121 316 12058 12058 - 

General Mean 634 2792 63386 32676 2.06 

Conclusions 

The application of 30:60:00 kg NPK ha -1 + Azotobacter + PSB (T 7) resulted in improvement of growth 

attributes as well as yield attributes, seed yield (kg ha -1 ), NMR, GMR and B: C ratio and found most 

effective and ideal for increasing productivity of sesame. The quality parameter was also found 

significantly superior for higher oil content (49.90 %) with application of 30:60:00 kg NPK ha -1 + 

Azotobacter + PSB (T 7). Above conclusion are based on single season research and it needs further 

confirmation by repeating the trial for at least one more season. 

References 

Deshmukh, M. R., Jyotishi Alok. and Ranganathan, A. R. G. 2014. Effect of nutrient management on 

growth and yield of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). J. Oilseed Res., 31(2):123-125. 

Deshmukh, S. S, Sheikh. A. A, Desai, M. M. and Kamble, R. S. 2010. Effect o fintegrated nutrient on 

yield of summer sesamum. J. Maharastra Agric.Univ. 35(3):453-455. 



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T4-40P-1455 

Response of Little Millet (Panicum Sumatrense) to Different Spacing and 

Fertilizer Levels 

S. J. R. Syed* and B.V. Asewar 

Department of Agronomy, VNMKV Parbhani, Maharashtra, India 

*shireenjahan1998@gmail.com 

Among minor millets little millet (Panicum sumatrenseL.) is popular millet and is called as 

Indian millet. It is resistant to adverse agro-climatic conditions such as severe drought as well as 

water logging. The low productivity is on account of inadequate and imbalanced use of 

fertilizers, non-adoption of suitable varieties and suitable dose of nitrogen as well as weedcontrol 

measures by the farmers. Crop geometry is an important factor for better utilization of 

moisture and nutrients from the soil (root spread) and above ground growth (plant canopy) by 

harvesting maximum possible solar radiation. The optimum plant population exploit 

environmental resources to the fullest extent and thereby leading to higher yield of crop. Nutrient 

supply in soil is one of the most important factor that determine the growth of the crop. Fertilizer 

is the major source of plant nutrients required in sufficient quantity to maintain the nutrient 

supply in the soil. The response of crop to fertilizers depends on the native fertility level of soil, 

environmental condition and genotype. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted at PG Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, College of 

Agriculture, VNMKV, Parbhani during kharif 2021-22. The experiment was laid out in split plot 

design with three replications consisting of twelve treatment combination in each. The treatment 

consists of three spacings (22.5cm × 10cm, 30cm × 10cm and 45cm × 5cm) and four fertilizer 

levels (30:15:15 NPK kg ha -1 , 40:20:20 NPK kg ha -1 , 50:25:25 NPK kg ha -1 and 60:30:30 NPK 

kg ha -1 ). The experimental plot was clay in texture with low in available nitrogen (194.60 kg ha - 

1 ), medium in available phosphorus (12.73 kg ha -1 ) and high in available potassium (513.84 kg 

ha -1 ) and slightly alkaline in reaction pH (7.8). The size of a gross and net plot of each plot was 

5.4m × 4.5m and 4.2m × 4.0m, respectively. 

Results 

Spacingssignificantly influenced the grain and straw yield. Significantly superior grain and straw 

yield (934 kg ha -1 ) was obtained when crop was sown at 45 cm × 5 cm and was on par with 22.5 


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cm × 10 cm. Spacing 30 cm × 10 cm recorded the lowest grain yield (774 kg ha -1 ). Similar result 

was recorded Koriret al. (2018), Swathi et al. (2020). 

Influence of spacings and fertility levels on yield and economics of little millet 

Treatment 

Grain yield 

(Kg ha -1 ) 

Straw yield 

(Kg ha -1 ) 

GMR (₹ 

ha -1 ) 

NMR 

(₹ ha -1 ) 

B:C ratio 

Spacings (S) 

S 1-22.5cm×10cm 909 1642 59057 31679 2.16 

S 2-30cm×10cm 774 1492 50315 23072 1.85 

S 3-45cm×5cm 934 1682 60696 33318 2.22 

SE (m) ± 30.35 34.03 1700 875 - 

C.D. at 5 % 119.14 133.61 6674 3435 - 

Fertilizer Levels (F) 

F 1 (30:15:15 NPK kg ha -1 ) 782 1476 50803 24456 1.93 

F 2 (40:20:20 NPK kg ha -1 ) 814 1529 52930 25925 1.96 

F 3 (50:25:25 NPK kg ha -1 ) 925 1687 60155 32493 2.17 

F 4 (60:30:30 NPK kg ha -1 ) 967 1729 62869 34549 2.22 

SE (m) ± 34.38 48.56 1963 1010 - 

C.D. at 5 % 102.16 144.30 5833 3002 - 

Interaction effect (S×F) 

SE (m) ± 59.55 84.12 3400 1750 - 

C.D. at 5 % NS NS NS NS - 

G.M 872 1605 56689 29356 1.90 

The gross monetary returns and net monetary returns and benefit: cost ratio (2.03) was 

significantly influenced by different spacings. Significantly higher gross and net monetary return 

(₹60696 ha -1 ) were recorded at 45 cm × 5 cm. spacing. The lowest value of gross monetary 

returns was recorded by 30 cm × 10 cm (₹50315 ha -1 ). 

Among different fertilizer levels, application of 60:30:30 NPK Kg ha -1 (F 4) recorded maximum grain 

yield (967 kg ha -1 ), straw yield (1729 kg ha -1 ) and biological yield (2696 kg ha -1 ) which was 

significantly higher over 30:15:15 NPK kg ha -1 (F 1) and 40:20:20 NPK Kg ha -1 (F 2) and found at par 

with 50:25:25 NPK Kg ha -1 (F 3). 

Application of 60:30:30 NPK Kg ha -1 (F 4) recorded the maximum GMR (₹ 62869) and NMR (₹ 

34549) which was superior over 30:15:15 NPK kg ha -1 (F 1) and 40:20:20 NPK Kg ha -1 (F 2) and 

found at par with 50:25:25 NPK Kg ha -1 (F 3) and the highest B: C ratio (2.22) was also observed with 

the application of fertilizer level 60:30:30 NPK Kg ha -1 (F 4). 



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Interaction effect: The interaction effect between spacing and fertilizer levels were found to be non 

significant in grain yield, straw yield and economics of the treatments. 

Conclusion 

From present investigation it is concluded that among the different treatments, 45 cm × 5 cm spacing 

was found productive and profitable as compared to 30 cm × 10 cm and found at par with 22.5 cm 

×10 cm. Similarly, among different fertilizer levels application of 60:30:30 NPK Kg ha -1 found better 

References 

Korir, A. K. 2019. Effects of fertilization and spacing on growth and grain yields of finger millet 

(Eleusinecoracana) in Ainamoi, Kericho County (Doctoral dissertation, KeMU). 

Swathi, B., Murthy, V. R. K., Rekha, M. S., and Lalitha, K. J. 2020. Performance of pearl millet as 

influenced by plant geometry and sowing windows. J. Pharmacog. Phytochem., 9(2), 1898- 

1900. 

T4-41P-1480 

Effect of Polymulching on Dalley Chilli in Eastern Himalayan Regionof West 

Bengal 

Pranab Barma*, Novin Chamling, M. W. Moktan, F. H. Rahman and B.D. Kharga 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kalimpong, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidylya, Kalimpong, WB- 734301 

* ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute Kolkata, 

Sector III, Salt Lake, Kolkata- 700097 

*pranab.barma@gmail.com 

Dalley chilli is one of the most valued spices crops in entire Himalayan region of Kalimpong 

district due to its high pungency (10,0000 to 35,0000 SHU) and taste. The crop is generally 

grown during the period of middle of March to first week of July. During the growth period, 

prevailing of unfavourable condition such as heavy rainfall, water stagnant, frequent leaching 

loss of micronutrient from soil resulting to micro-nutrient deficiency, excessive weed growth and 

heavy infestation of pests and diseases hampers the crop growth and yield. Polymulching is one 

of the novel approaches for horticulture as it reduces soil moisture loss, suppress weed growth, 

increases radiation and water use efficiencies which directly effect on crop yield. Therefore, a 

study on the impact of polymulching was conducted at NICRA adopted village Paiyong, under 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Kalimpong during the year 2022 with an objective to enhance the 

production of Dalleychilli with maximum returns to the farmers. Finding of the trials suggests 


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that Dalleychilli under polymulching condition recorded maximum yield (20.58 q/ha) and yield 

attributing characters and highest economic return BCR ratio(4.46)over open field condition 

(control). Thus, Polymulching in Dalleychilli perhaps a boon for enhancing production as it also 

plays ameliorate role over biotic and abiotic stress in Plants. 

T4-42P-1506 

A Study on Resilience of Soil Health through Fertigation and Nutrient 

Management in Tomato 

Minnu John 1* , M. Elayarajan 2 , G. Jayalekshmi 1 and P. S.Bhindhu 1 

1 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kottayam, Kerala, India 686 566 

2 Associate Professor, Tamil Nadu AgriculturalUniversity, Coimbatore, India 641 003 

* minnu.4.john@gmail.com 

Poor understanding of the soil-plant relationships has led to the mismanagement of resources, 

especially fertilizers and water. This may end up in cascading effect on nature. Hence techniques 

that can pose minimal threat to the environment without compromising the plant growth, yield, 

and quality parameters needed to be adopted as a measure of resilience to revive the soil heath. 

Tomato is a crop that responds well to fertilizers and irrigation. The drip fertigation method 

which supplies nutrients to the plant roots directly through irrigation has proved to be very 

significant in improving nutrient uptake which finally results in enhancement of growth and 

yield of tomato crop (Ankush et al., 2017). Nutrient ratios may be optimized to bring down the 

surplus application of fertilizers. 

Methodology 

A pot experiment was conducted at Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, 

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatoreduring 2020-21 with TNAU Tomato Hybrid 

CO-3 as a test crop. This experiment was laid in a Completely Randomized Design with nine 

treatment combinations viz., absolute control without any fertilizers, control with solid fertilizers 

at the TNAU recommended dose of fertilizers, different nutrient ratios of N, P, K and N, P, K 

with Ca and B, and each treatment were replicated thrice. All the treatments were given nutrient 

supply through drip fertigation (except in the control treatments). The different treatments were 

Solid Fertilizers @ 100% RDF (Control), 1:1:1 NPK Fertigation @ 100% RDN + Basal P 

(Solid) (75% RDF), 1:1:1 NPK Fertigation @ 100% RDN, 1:2:1 NPK Fertigation @ 100% 

RDN, 2:1:1 NPK Fertigation @ 100% RDN, 1:1:1 NPK Fertigation @100% RDN+Ca, 1:1:1 

NPK Fertigation @ 100% RDN+B, 1:1:1NPKFertigation@100%RDN+Ca+B and Absolute 

Control. Observations were made in different growth parameters like plant height, number of 



541 | Page



leaves plant -1 and plant fresh weight at the critical stages of tomato plant growth viz., vegetative, 

flowering, fruiting and harvesting stages. 

Results 

The plant height, number of leaves plant -1 and plant fresh weight increased across the treatments 

at all stages of growth. Among the treatments, 1:1:1NPK fertigation @ 100% RDN+ Ca+ B (T8) 

recorded the highest plant fresh weight and plant heightat all the growth stages. Plants in this 

treatment also had maximum number of leaves plant -1 during the flowering, fruiting and harvest 

stages. The least growth of plant at all growth stages of tomato was observed in the absolute 

control (T9). 

The results indicated that the plant growth was significantly influenced by the nutrient ratios as 

well as method of fertilizer application. The fertigated plants had higher plant growth than those 

in the control (T1 and T9). The enhanced growth might be due to the increased cell division and 

elongation at higher levels of N and due to the inclusion of boron and calcium. The present 

findings are also in agreement with the findings ofSolaimalai et al. (2005), Aruna et al. 

(2007),Haque et al. (2011), Sajad et al. (2018) and Kale et al. (2019) who reported increased 

plant growth due to better utilization of applied nutrients and water by the plants under drip 

fertigationas compared to the conventional method of irrigation. 

Conclusion 

The study revealed thatamong the methods of fertilizer application employed, drip 

fertigationwith water soluble fertilizer based on crop growth stage was found to be the most 

effective, which had a pronounced and significant effect on the growth of tomato plant as 

compared to soil application of fertilizer. Supply of 1:1:1 NPK (100% RDN) together with Ca 

+B (T8) was the best cost-effective nutrient combination for improved growth of tomato crop 

under fertigation. The roles and importance of calcium and boron in tomato plant growth were 

also proved by the results of this experiment. The inclusion of calcium and boron in the 

fertigation schedule may be henceforth pondered. The results also indicated that the stage wise 

application of nutrients through fertigation required lesser quantity of nutrients. Thus, in practice, 

it helps to avoid the unnecessary application of fertilizers, again saving nutrients and money and 

also maintains the soil environmental quality and health. 


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Details of Treatment and Total amount of nutrients supplied at critical growth stages based 

on TNAU CPG (2020). 

Treatment 

Total amount of nutrients supplied per pot at 

critical growth stages 

N(g) 

P2O5(g) 

K2O 

(g) 

Ca(mg) 

T 1 Solid Fertilizers @ 100% RDF (Control) 2.31 8.30 2.21 - - 

T 2 

1:1:1 NPK Fertigation @ 100% RDN + Basal P 

(Solid) (75% RDF) 

B(mg) 

5.59 11.8 5.59 - - 

T 3 1:1:1 NPK Fertigation @ 100% RDN 5.59 5.59 5.59 - - 



T 6 1:1:1 NPK Fertigation @100% RDN+Ca 3.92 9.01 2.79 0.58 - 

T 7 1:1:1 NPK Fertigation @ 100% RDN+B 5.59 11.8 5.59 - 0.38 

T 8 1:1:1NPKFertigation@100%RDN+Ca+B 5.59 11.8 5.59 0.58 0.38 

T 9 Absolute Control - - - - - 

*TNAU recommended dose of fertilizers- 200:250:250 NPK kg ha -1 

References 

Ankush, A., Singh, V. and Sharma, S. K. 2017.Response of tomato (SolanumlycopersicumL.) to 

fertigation by irrigation scheduling in drip irrigation system. J. Appl. Nat. Sci., 9(2), 

1170-1175. 

Aruna, P., Sudagar, I., Manivannan, M., Rajangam, J. and Natarajan, S. 2007. Effect of 

fertigation and mulching for yield and quality in tomato cv. PKM-1. Asian J. Hortic. 

2(2): 50-54. 

Gupta,A. and Shukla,V. 1977.Response of tomato (Lycopersiconesculentum Mill.) to plant 

spacing, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilization. Indian J. Hortic., 34(3): 270- 

276. 

Haque, M., Paul, A. and Sarker, J. 2011. Effect of nitrogen and boron on the growth and yield of 

tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum M.). Int. J. Bio-Resour. Stress Manag. 2 (3):277-282. 

Kale, K., Pawar, D. and Shinde, M. 2019. "Effects of fertigation on yield, quality and nutrient 

use of hybrid tomato when cultivated in Inceptisols." Indian Society of Soil Salinity and 

Water Quality (Registered under Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860) Editorial Board 

11 (1):125-129. 



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Sajad, S., Ashraf, M.I., Hussain, B., Sajjad, M., Sattar, S., Adnan, M., Saeed, M.S., Ismail, M., 

Ali, H.S. and Abdullah, M. 2018. Foliar application effect of boron, calcium and nitrogen 

on vegetative and reproductive attributes of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L). J. Agri. 

Sci. Food Res. 9(1):199. 

Solaimalai, A., Baskar, M., Sadasakthi,A. and Subburamu, K. 2005. Fertigation in high value 

crops–a review. Agric. Rev. 26 (1):1-13. 

T4-43P-1524 

Phenological and Quality Response of Gram (CicerArietinum L.) to Foliage- 

Applied Fertilizers 

Sharad Shikandar Jadhav 

Department of Agronomy, Post Graduate Institute, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Rahuri- 413 722, Dist- Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India. 

India is also the largest gram-importing country in the world. There is a need to augment the 

productivity of grams to meet the requirement. Farmers could rely very well on profit by 

growing gram because of its high market demand and price. It is very imperative to develop 

improved technologies for enhancing the productivity of gram. Foliar application of watersoluble 

fertilizers along with soil application has several advantages in supplementing the 

nutritional requirement of crops, correcting nutrient deficiencies, and providing muchneedednutrients 

during stages of high nutrient demand in the crop. Foliar nutrition is recognized 

as an important method of fertilization in modern agriculture. New-generation special fertilizers 

have been introduced exclusively for foliar feeding and fertilization. Water soluble fertilizers 

have different ratios of N, P, and K which are highly water soluble and amenable for foliar 

nutrition (Jaybalet al., 1999). Spraying of micronutrient to correct the nutritional deficiencies of 

the plant were in vogue, since early time, but the foliar application of macronutrients was not 

tried on a large scale. Today rapid development of efficient spraying equipment, the availability 

of various forms of highly water-soluble fertilizers, and the availability of different grades of 

fertilizers, the practice of foliar feeding of nutrients has become a viable option for obtaining a 

better yield of crops. Therefore, the phenological response of gram-to-foliage-applied fertilizers 

and the quality response of gram-to-foliage-applied fertilizers were studied in this experiment. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was carried out during 2020-21 at the experimental farm of Cotton 

Research Scheme, VNMKV, Parbhani. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized block 


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design with eight treatments and three replications. There were eight treatments viz, T1 is RDF 

(No spray), T2 is RDF + 1% urea spraying, T3 is RDF + 1% DAP spraying, T4 is RDF + 1% 

19:19:19 (N,P,K) spraying, T5 is RDF + 1% 00:52:34 (N,P,K) spraying, T6 is RDF + 13:00:45 

(N,P,K) spraying, T7 is RDF + 1% 13:40:13 (N,P,K) spraying and T8- control (no RDF, no 

spray). Foliar application of fertilizers (1%) is done at the flowering and pod development stage. 

The treatments were allotted randomly in each replication. Therecommendeddoseoffertilizer 

(25:50:25 NPK kg ha -1 ) was applied at the time of sowing through Urea, SSP, and MOP. The 

recommended cultural practices and plant protectionmeasureswereproperlytakenfrom 

timetotime.The plants were used for measuring phenological characteristics like plant height, the 

number of branches plant and number of nodule plants, the seed index by taking 100 seeds, and 

weight for working out the seed index on electric balance.Protein content was determined by 

multiplying the percent of N in the grain sample by a constant factor of 6.25 as described by 

A.O.A.C. (1975).The statistical method of analysis of variance was used for analyzing the data 

and the “F” test of significance was used for testing the null hypothesis to determine whether the 

observed treatment effects were real and discernible from chance effects. 

Results 

Data in respect of plant height and number of branches plant -1 influenced by different treatment. 

The plant height (cm)differed significantly due to different foliar applications of fertilizers in 

gram, T4 - RDF + 1% 19:19:19 NPK spraying at flowering and pod development recorded 

significantly highest plant height (59.73) cm which was found at par with T2 - RDF + 1% Urea 

spraying at flowering and pod development (58.77) cm however it was significantly higher than 

all other treatments. Significantly lowest (42.87) cm plant height was recorded with T8 - Control 

(No RDF, No spray). In the present study, the data revealed an increase in plant height through 

foliar application of 19:19:19and urea may be attributed to increasing the N status in the plant 

system. 

The number of branches plant -1 of gram was significantly influenced due to different foliar 

fertilizers application, T4 - RDF + 1% 19:19:19 NPK spraying at flowering and pod development 

recorded a significantly higher number of branches (24.20) which was found at par with T5 - 

RDF + 00:52:34 NPK spraying at flowering and pod development (23.40) however, it was 

significantly higher than all other treatments. significantly the lowest number of branches (13.19) 

recorded with T8 - Control (No RDF, No spray). The maximum number of branches might be 

due to the increased number of nodes and the development of plants due to the treatment effect 

and increase in the availability of nitrogen which encouraged the carbohydrate synthesis in 

grams as there was the availability of applied nitrogen. Data on the number of nodule plant -1 as 



545 | Page



influenced by various treatments. The mean number of nodule plant -1 was not influenced 

significantly by various foliar applications of fertilizers in gram. However, the mean number of 

nodule plant -1 at 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 DAS were 16.98, 36.16, 40.47, 20.81, and 9.74 

respectively. The seed index was not influenced significantly due to foliage-applied fertilizers. 

The highest seed index (8.53 g) was recorded with T5 - RDF + 1% 00:52:34 (NPK) spraying at 

flowering and pod development stage followed by T4 - RDF + 1% 19:19:19 (NPK) spraying at 

flowering and pod development (8.42 g) and T7 - RDF + 1% 13:40:13 (NPK) spraying at 

flowering and pod development (8.27 g). The lowest seed index (7.20 g) was recorded with T4 - 

Control (No RDF, No spray). The protein content (%) differed significantly due to different 

foliage applied fertilizers in gram, T4- RDF + 1% 19:19:19 NPK spraying at flowering and pod 

development recorded significantly highest protein content (19.68%) which was found at par 

with T7 - RDF + 1% 13:40:13 (NPK) spraying at flowering and pod development (19.37%) and 

T3- RDF + 1% DAP (NPK) spraying at flowering and pod development (18.75%). Significantly 

lowest (16.87%) protein content recorded with T8 - Control (No RDF, No spray). An increase in 

protein content may be due to the most important role of nitrogen in plants is mainly in its 

presence in the nucleic acid which is the protein structure. In addition, nitrogen is also found in 

chlorophyll molecules. Chlorophyllconverts sunlight energy into assimilates through 

photosynthesis. Therefore, the nitrogen supply to the plant will influence the amount of protein. 

Conclusion 

The foliage application of 1% 19:19:19 (NPK) or 1% 00:52:34 (NPK) or 1% 13:40:13 (NPK) spraying at 

flowering and pod development stage along with RDF was found beneficial and productive for improving 

phenological characters of a gram. For higher quality gram foliage application of 1% 19:19:19 (NPK) or 

1%, 13:40:13 (NPK) or 1% DAP along with RDF was found beneficial. 

References 

A. O. A. C. 1975. Association of official Analytical chemist, Washington, D.C. U.S.A. 

Jaybal, A., Revathy, M. and Saxena, M. G. 1999. Effect of foliar nutrition on nutrient uptake pattern in 

soybean. Andhra Agric. J. 46:243-244. 


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Plant height (cm), number of branches plant -1 , seed index (g) and protein content (%) as 

influenced by foliage applied fertilizers 

Treatment 

Plant height 

(cm) 


branches plant -1 

Seed 

Index (g) 

Protein 

Content 

(%) 

T 1 - RDF (no spray) 47.47 15.60 7.70 17.18 

T 2 - RDF + 1% Urea spraying 58.77 18.00 7.71 18.43 

T 3 - RDF + 1% DAP spraying 54.34 19.40 7.75 18.75 

T 4- RDF + 1% 19:19:19 (NPK) spraying 59.73 24.20 8.42 19.68 

T 5 - RDF + 1% 00:52:34 (NPK) spraying 47.93 23.40 8.53 17.50 



T 8 - Control (No RDF, No spray) 42.87 13.19 7.20 16.87 

S. E. (m) + 1.15 0.76 0.35 0.36 

CD at 5% 3.47 2.31 NS 1.10 

General Mean 51.85 19.46 7.93 18.19 



T4-44P-1548 

Assessment of Bio-Fertilizers and Phosphorus Levels on Productivity and 

Profitability of Green Gram (Vigna Radiata L.) 

Manoj Kumar, P. K. Choudhary and Ajeet Kumar 

CRA Programme, KVK Supaul, BAU, Sabour, Bhagalpur (BIHAR) 

An On-farm trial was conducted in the Supaul district during the two consecutive summer 

seasonsof 2020 and 2021 respectively on sandy soil. For this ten farmer’splots of different 

villages Fakirna (Raghopur), Immamganj (Raghopur), Modhra (Kishanpur), Andauli 

(Kishanpur) Bella (Supaul), and Sadanandpur (Saraigarh) were selected. The Moong variety 

IPM-02-04 with three technology optionsopted with 10 replications. Farmer’s practice: Sowing 

of Moong without seed treatment by R.culture and no application of PSB and phosphorous. 

Technology option I: Seed treatment by R.culture 0.5 liter/ha + application of 0.75liters PSB/ha 

+ 75% RDF i.e 15 kg N and 30 kg phosphorous/ha. Technology option II: Seed treatment by 

R.culture @ 0.5 liter/ha + 100% RDF i.e 20 kg nitrogen and 40 kg phosphorous/ha. The result so 

far obtained revealed that the maximum grain yield i.e 12.4 q/ha recorded by technology option I 

i.e sowing of moong by the seed treatment R.culture plus the application of 75% RDF i.e 15 kg 

nitrogen and 30 kg phosphorous plus 0.75 liter PSB/ha whereas minimum grain yield i.e 6.9 q/ha 

547 | Page



recorded by the Farmers practice i.e sowing of moong without seed treatment by R.culture and 

no. application of PSB and phosphorous. Technology option I and technology option II were 

statically at par and significantly higher in comparison to farmers’ practice. Results show that the 

yield attributing characters viz., Grain yield, pod length, grain per pod, etc., Growth parameters, 

and economics were also found significantly higher in T. option Iand T. option II in comparison 

with farmers’ practice. 

T4-45P-1563 

Effect of Long-Term Fertilizer Application on Crop Productivity of Wheat 

(Triticum aestivum L.) Grown in Vertisols 

Jyoti Bangre*, K.S. Bangar, Subhash, Bharat Singh and B.B. Parmar 

JNKVV, College of Agriculture, Jabalpur 482004 Madhya Pradesh 

* bangrejyoti9@gmail.com 

Integrated nutrient management (INM) not only reduces the nutrient gap between addition and 

removal, but also ensures higher nutrient use efficiency, sustainability, and reduced soil pollution 

(Chaudhary et al., 2020).Long-term fertiliser experiments are the primary source of information 

for determining the effect of cropping systems on soil quality attributes and they are carried out 

to monitor the impact of fertiliser input management on soil fertility and the long-term viability 

of a production system. It provides valuable information on the effect of continuous application 

of different levels of fertiliser nutrients, alone and in combination with organic manure, on soil 

fertility and crop productivity under intensive cropping. 

Methodology 

By keeping these views, a field experiment was conducted at the All India Coordinated Research 

Project on Long Term Fertilizer Experiment (AICRP-LTFE) Research farm, Department of Soil 

Science and Agricultural Chemistry, JNKVV, Jabalpur during the rabi season (the year 2017 and 

2019) on wheat (GW-366). The treatment comprised ofT1-50% NPK, T2-100% NPK, T3- 

150NPK, T4-100% NPK+Hand Weeding T5-100%NPK+Zn, T6-100% NP, T7-100% N, T8-100% 

NPK+FYM @5t ha -1 , T9-100% NPK-S and T10-Control. 

Results 

The two-year mean data indicated that the highest grain yield of wheat was obtained with (6156, 

6570 kg ha -1 ) 100% NPK + FYM treatment (T8) followed by (6006, 6216 kg ha -1 ) with 150% 

NPK treatment (T3). The lowest grain and straw yield was found in the (1406, 3945 kg ha -1 ) 


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control plot. Progressively, it was increased (4244, 5470 kg ha -1 ) in treatment T1receiving suboptimal 

fertilizer dose 50% NPK. The results also indicated that even if 50% NPK of the 

recommended optimal dose was applied was found much more beneficial in comparison to the 

application of imbalanced nutrient application. Similarly, it was also found that 100% N 

treatment (T7) resulted in 1779 and 5350 kg ha -1 grain and straw yield of wheat. It was 

progressively increased when P and Knutrients were included in fertilizer schedule. 

Reference 

Chaudhari, S.K., Biswas, P.P. and Kapil, H. 2020. Soil Health and Fertility. In the Soils of 

India. Springer. 215-231. 

T4-46P-1618 

Studies on Effect of NPK, Bulb Size and Spacing on Yield of Pran (Top 

Onion) under Temperate Rainfed Conditions 

Tahir Saleem, Tariq Sultan, Nazir Ahmad Mir and H.A. Malik 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Bandipora, SKUAST Kashmir (J&K)-193502 

Pran (Allium x cornutumClementi ex Visiani) is a triploid viviparous species of genus Allium, 

extensively grown in Kashmir from times immemorial (Singh et al., 1967, Klaas and Friesen 

2002). Pran is a cool season spice crop which grows well in mild climatic conditions. Being a 

long duration, rainfed and less labour intensive, this crop is cultivated on lofty hills where 

irrigation facilities seldom exist. It is more cold-hardy than onion and tolerates frost to a greater 

extent. Pran is traditionally cultivated in Kashmir and it is very popular as a spice and condiment 

due to its tasty bulbs and leaves. It is highly relished in Kashmiri kitchens in the preparation of 

soups, meat and salads. In the absence of scientific information with regard to appropriate 

nutrient dosage, spacing and bulb size for propagation in pran, it is difficult to reckon and realize 

the objective of higher yield. The present investigation was carried out to find the appropriate 

nutrient dose, bulb size and spacing for yield maximization in Pran. 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted in two successive years and laid out in random block design with 

27 treatments and 3 replications as detailed below. Three factors viz., NPK, spacing and bulb size 

were taken for evaluation, each at three different levels forming 27 treatment combinations. 



549 | Page



No. of levels 1 II III 

NPK F 1:80:60:40 Kgha -1 F 2:100:80:60 Kgha -1 F 3:120:100:80NPK Kgha -1 

Spacing S 1:20 cm x 10 cm S 2: 20 cm x 15 cm S 3:20 cm x 20 cm 

Bulb Size B 1 : Small(2.5-5.0 g) B 2: Medium (5.1-7.5g) Large (7.6-10 g) 

Observations were recorded on various growth, yield and quality attributes of top onion. Ten 

competitive plants were selected at random from each treatment and tagged for recording 

observations. Mean values for all the characters were worked out. The bulbs obtained from 

uprooting ten randomly selected plants were weighed expressed as bulb weight per plant in 

grams for all the treatment combinations in all the replications. The bulb yield per hectare was 

computed based on bulb yield per plot and expressed in tonnes per hectare. 

Results 

The study showed that maximum fresh bulb weight of 16.44 g was registered in treatment 

combination F3B3S3 (120:100:80 NPK kg ha-1 + 7.6-10.0 g bulb size and 20 x 20 cm spacing) 

after pooling the two-year data. This was followed by treatment combination F3B2S3 

(120:100:80 NPK kg ha-1 + 5.1-7.5g bulb size and 20 x 20 cm spacing) which registered the 

fresh bulb weight of 16.34 g in pooled analysis. Lowest fresh bulb weight of 8.04 g was 

registered in treatment combination F1B1S1. Maximum fresh yield of 37.72 t ha -1 was registered 

in treatment combination F2B2S2 after pooling the two-year data. This was followed by 

treatment combination F2B3S2 which registered the fresh yield of 37.70 t ha-1 in pooled 

analysis. Lowest fresh yield of 28.03 t ha-1 was registered in treatment combination F1B1S1. 

Number of bulbs per plant, bulb length, bulb diameter, fresh bulb weight and fresh weight of 

bulbs per plant were significantly increased by using medium weight and large bulb weight in 

both seasons. This could be a result of the positive effect of available food reserves in large 

bulbs, which might have improved crop establishment and consequently increased growth 

characters and subsequently yield attributes like number of bulbs per plant, bulb length, bulb 

diameter, fresh bulb weight and fresh weight of bulbs per plant. Bulb size is related to planting 

density and smaller bulbs are formed at closer spacing. Close spacing of individual plants suffer 

much from competition and the crop may be improved in too wide spacing; however, the yield 

per hectares may be reduced because of reduction in plant number. The results are in accordance 

with findings of Faheema et al. (2009) Hussain et al. (2001) 


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Conclusion 

It was observed that different combinations of NPK, bulb size and spacing exhibited a significant 

influence on all the parameters of top onion. Treatment F2B2S2 (100:80:60 NPK kg ha -1 + 5.1- 

7.5 g bulb size and 20 x 15 cm spacing) proved superior over rest of the treatments with respect 

to yield. 

References 

Faheema, S., Ahmed, N., Hussain, K., Narayan, S., Chattoo, M. A. 2009. Response of long day 

onion cv. Yellow Globe to different levels of nitrogen phosphorus and potassium under 

temperate conditions of Kashmir Valley. Asian J. Hortic. 4 (1): 131-133. 

Hussain, S.W., Ishtiaq, M. and Hussain, S.A. 2001. Effect of different bulb sizes and planting 

dates on green leaf production on onion (Allium cepa L.). J. Biolog. Scie., 1 (5): 345- 

347. 

Klass, M. and Freisen, N. 2002. Molecular markers in Allium. In: Rabinowitch, H.D and Currah. 

L (eds) Allium Crop Science: Recent Advances. CAB International. 159-185. 

Singh, F., Brat, S.V. and Khoshoo, T.N. 1967. Natural Triploidy in Vivi 



551 | Page



Bulb Size 

(g) 

20x10 

(S1) 

Effect of NPK, Bulb size and Spacing on fresh Yield (tha -1 ) of Pran (Top Onion) 

F1 

80:60: 40 Kgha -1 NPK 

Spacing(cm) 

20x15 

(S2) 

20x20 

(S3) 

Mean 

-1 

Fresh Yield (tha ) 

20x10 

(S1) 

F2 

100:80:60 NPK Kgha -1 

F3 

120:100:80 NPKKgha -1 

Spacing(cm) Mean Spacing(cm) Mean 

20x15 

(S2) 

2.5-5.0 (B1) 28.03 29.1 27.21 28.11 33.31 34.13 32.6 29.55 33.93 34.34 32.83 28.50 28.72 

5.1-7.5 (B2) 29.66 30.88 28.7 29.75 36.12 36.72 35.08 35.69 35.69 36.65 35.05 34.85 33.43 

7.6-10 (B3) 30.02 31.31 29.49 30.27 35.93 36.82 35.45 30.27 35.73 36.46 34.58 35.54 33.85 

Mean 29.23 30.43 28.46 29.37 33.78 34.81 33.42 33.65 35.00 31.94 31.94 32.96 

CD (p< 0.05) 

NPK 0.28 

Bulb Size 0.28 

NPK X Bulb Size 0.50 

Spacing 0.28 

NPK x Spacing 0.50 

Bulb Size x Spacing 0.50 

NPK x Bulb Size x Spacing 0.86 

20x20 

(S3) 

20x10 

(S1) 

20x15 

(S2) 

20x20 

(S3) 

Overall 

Mean 

Sustainable soil management for resilient rainfed agro-ecosystem: conservation agriculture, organic farming, INM, soil-microorganisms-plant interactions 

552| Page



Stress Management in Wheat Crop through Foliar Spray of TGA Agro- 

Chemical 

R. S. Rathore, Dayanand, P. P. Rohilla*, S. K. Singh and V. Nagar 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Abusar-Jhunjhunu (Raj.) 

Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner (Raj.)-333001 (India). 

* drpprohilla@gmail.com 

T4-47P 

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the second most important cereal crop after rice in providing food 

and nutritional security to the masses in India. It is the most widely cultivated cereal crop which is 

the largest contributor with nearly 30% of the world grain production and 50% of the world grain 

trade. FAO estimated that the world would require additional 198 million tonnes of wheat by 2050 

to accomplish the future demands, for which wheat production need to be increased by 77% in the 

developing countries. Regarding the global climate change in the past few decades, the impact of 

rising temperature on wheat production is gaining concern worldwide. Heat and drought are the 

major abiotic stress limiting the wheat production, which are common in semi-arid and arid 

region. Keeping the above problem in view total 80 demonstrations on wheat crop were conducted 

at farmer’s field in NICRA village Bharu, Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan) during rabi season 2017-18 to 

2020-21 for four consecutive years to assess the effect of TGA (Thio Glycolic Acid) agrochemical 

foliar spray on stress management in wheat crop. TGA is the organic compound, often called 

Mercapto acetic acid (MAA). It contains both thio and carboxylic acid functional groups. It is used 

in salt forms including calcium thioglycolate and sodium thioglycolate. Farming situation is 

irrigated and soil is sandy loam in Jhunjhunu district. The sowing of wheat crop was done from 

second week to last week of November under irrigated condition. Two foliar spray of TGA 

agrochemical (100 ppm) on 15 days interval for two times at first and second fortnight in February 

month was done by knapsack /power sprayer. Crop was harvested during first/ second week of 

April. The data analyzed revealed that the average gross return and net return was `107636 and 

`96495; `59111 and `49043 of foliar spray demonstration and local check, respectively. It could be 

concluded that average production (12.11 %) and net profit of wheat crop (20.52%) were 

increased by foliar spray of TGA under field conditions. The total cost of TGA agro-chemical 

material along with two foliar spray cost was about `500/ha. Hence, two foliar spray of TGA agrochemical 

at tillering and milking stage in wheat crop could be added in package of practices and 

motivate the farmers for adoption of new techniques for stress management in wheat crop and 

getting economic returns. 



553 | Page



T4-48P 

Biochar: An Effective Soil Amendment to Reduce Emissions and Increase 

Crop Productivity 

Nitin M. Kumbhar, Narendra M. Tiwatne and Madhav D. Gholkar* 

* madhav.gholkar@wotr.org.in 

Agricultural soils are mainly treated with chemical inputs to replenish the soil nutrients 

consumed by the plants. However, the loss of soil organic carbon, one of the main constituents to 

keep soils fertile and healthy, is never given much importance while managing agricultural soils. 

On the other hand, most farmers burn their crop residues in fields that release greenhouse gases. 

Burning cotton crop residues is a regular practice in Maharashtra's cotton-growing regions as it 

cannot be used as fodder or decomposed into manure for soil incorporation. Converting the 

cotton feedstock into biochar and using it for field application is an environmentally sustainable 

and economically viable way to manage the crop residue. A field experiment was conducted to 

see the effect of various combinations of biochar, chemical fertilizers, and city waste compost on 

wheat soybean cropping system crop productivity. A randomized block design was used to see 

the effects of biochar on crop productivity. Our study reveals that the application of 2.5 tones/ha 

of biochar increases the crop productivity of Soybean by 10 to 20% andwheat by 38 to 55% 

compared with conventional farmer practice without biochar application. This also helps in 

reducing the GHG emission from crop residue burning. Village-level production and use of 

biochar prepared from cotton feedstock have appeared as an effective technique to avoid the 

emissions from agriculture and improve soil health by adding stable carbon in the form of 

biochar. 

Temporal Changes in Soil Properties under Intensive Cotton Growing 

Vertisols 

S. B. Girdekar 1* , P. Chandran 1 , D. Vasu 1 , M.V. Venugopalan 2 and P. Tiwari 1 

1 ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur – 440033, India 

2 ICAR-Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur 

* shubhamsoils1994@gmail.com 

T4-49P 

The investigation was carried out to evaluate the temporal changes in soil properties under 

intensive cotton growing Vertisols in the CICR research farm, Panjri village of Nagpur 


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(Maharashtra). In the research farm of CICR, cotton is being cultivated under different 

management practices. Here we have discussed about comparisons of the soil properties for 

knowing the effect of land use and management on the dynamic properties of soil. For that 

purpose, we have selected three different locations and representative soils were studied under 

different management practices viz.1) Organiccultivation with the application of vermicompost 

and green manuring 2) A soil with inorganic cultivation with the application of recommended 

dose of fertilizer used along with insecticides, and 3) Virgin or undisturbed soil with no crop or 

fallow. The soil properties of these 3 sites were compared for changes due to management 

interventions for surface (0-25cm) and subsurface (25-50cm) layers. The comparisons of 

temporal data indicated that most of the dynamic soil properties changed with time in organic, 

inorganic and undisturbed soils under cotton cultivation. The sHC decreased in all soils 

whereas, organic carbon increased over a period of time (23 and 10 %, 23 and 26 %) in surface 

and subsurface soils of organic and inorganic systems. Bulk density decreased about 15 and 6 

% in surface and sub-surface layers of soils in organic system. Calcium carbonate has 

decreased in organic as well as undisturbed systems whereas in intensively cultivated soil it has 

increased.The study shows that the organically managed soil management system had better 

yield as compared to other soil management systems. The prevalent system of management 

practices increased the organic carbon in soils and decreased the BD, sHC and pH of soils and 

inorganic carbon tends to increase in soils. These trends of changes in soil properties could be a 

threat to the cotton cultivation. These issues need to be handled with proper management 

intervention. 

T4-50P 

Effect of Different Levels of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash on Yield, Yield 

Attributes and Economic of Bt. Cotton under Rainfed Conditions 

P. D. Vekariya, V. D. Vora*, S. C. Kaneria, D. S. Hirpara, M.M. Talapada, K. S. Jotangiya 

and R.J. Chaudhary 

Main Dry Farming Research Station, Junagadh Agricultural University, Targhadia 

(Rajkot-360 023) 

* vdvora@jau.in 

An experiment was under taken on “Nutrient management in Bt. cotton under rain fed conditions 

“on medium black clayey soil of North Saurashtra region of Gujarat at Dry farming research 

station, Junagadh Agricultural University, KukadaduringKharif 2013-14 to 2020-21. The 

experiment was laid out in factorial randomizedblock design with three replications. The 



555 | Page



experiment consists of three levels of nitrogen viz.; N60- 60 kg N/ha, N80- 80 kg N/ha and N100- 

100 kg N/ha, two levels of phosphorus P0- 0 kg P2O5/ha andP30- 30 kg P2O5/ha and two levels of 

potash K0- 0 kg K2O/ha and K60- 60 kg K2O/ha thus, twelve treatment combinations. On the 

basis of pooled results the seed cotton and stalk yield of Bt.cotton were significantly influenced 

by the various levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. The application of nitrogen 100 kg, 

phosphorus 30 kg and potash 60 kg/ha significantly increased the seed cotton yield (2081, 2051 

and 2039 kg/ha, respectively) and stalk yield (3192, 3177 and 3193 kg/ha, respectively) of 

Bt.cotton.While in growth and yield attributing parameters like plant height, number of 

monopodia, sympodia and balls/plant significantly increased with the application of 100 kg N/ha 

and 30 kg P2O5/ha, but application of 60 kg K2O/ha significantly increased only number of 

sympodia/plant. The post harvest soil fertility like pH, EC and organic carbon content of soil 

were not influenced significantly due to different levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. 

Significantly higher value of available status of nitrogen and phosphorus in soil were recorded 

with application of 100 kg N, 30 kg P2O5 and 60 kg K2O, but application of 60 kg K2O/ha 

significantly increased available potash content in soil. Maximum net return was recorded 

withapplication of nitrogen 100 kg, phosphorus 30 kg and potash 60 kg/ha, respectively. 

Effect of Long Term INM On SOC Stock, Yield Sustainability and Its 

T4-51P 

Relationship with Soil Quality Attributes Under Cotton + Greengram (1:1) 

Intercropping System in Vertisols 

V.V. Gabhane 1 , P.R. Ramteke 1 , R.S. Patode 1 , M.M. Ganvir 1 , A.R. Tupe, A.B. Chorey and 


1 AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Akola-444 104, Maharashtra 

2 AICRPDA, ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad 

The present study was conducted during 2021-2022 on a long term field experiment initiated 

during 1987-88 at AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Akola, Maharashtra, with eight treatment combinations including a control, two sole organics 

treatments, two sole inorganics, and three treatments of integration of organics to substitute for 

the fertilizer N requirement in cotton + greengram (1:1) intercropping system under semi-arid 

agro-ecosystem in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The results after 35 th cycle revealed that 

partial substitution of nitrogen either by farmyard manure (FYM) or gliricidia along with 

chemical fertilizers improved the soil quality attributes and crop productivity in terms of 


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sustainable yield index and system productivity. The rate of change in SOC stock under different 

nutrient management practices was calculated, which revealed that, the rate of change was 

negative for control, and sole organic treated plots, while it was positive in rest of the treatments 

with highest build-up in INM treatments. The sustainable yield index (SYI) was higher with 

partial substitution of nitrogen either by farmyard manure (FYM) or gliricidia along with 

chemical fertilizers. Furthermore, the system productivity under treatment substitution of 

nitrogen either through gliricidia along with chemical fertilizers, or by farmyard manure (FYM) 

was 80% higher over control and 14 and 19% higher over 100% RDF, respectively. The Pearson 

correlation matrix between soil properties and system productivity revealed that, all the assessed 

soil properties were highly positively correlated with system productivity except for BD, pH and 

EC. Additionally, the management sensitive biological properties of soil such as, MBC, DHA, 

Alkaline phosphatase also had strong positive correlation with available nutrients and SOC. 



557 | Page

Resource conservation and rainfed 

agriculture 

Theme– 4a



Theme – 4a: Resource conservation and rainfed agriculture 


S.No. Title First Author ID 

1. Zero tillage-based in-situ rice straw management to 

reduce in GHGs emission and build up labile carbon 

pool in lowland rice 

2. Conjuctive use of organic and inorganic fertilizers for 

rabi sorghum 

3. Response of sorghum to different levels of nitrogen and 

phosphorus under conserved soil moisture in Ghed area 

of Gujarat 

4. In-situ rainwater harvesting techniques and 

diversification of cropping system for climate resilient 

agriculture in Bundelkhand region 

5. Gliricidia Green Leaf Manure as a Source of Potassium 

for Improvement in Soil Quality and Sustaining 

Rainfed Cotton Productivity in Vertisols of Central 

India 

6. Conjunctive use of zeolite and urea to minimize 

nitrogen loss and enhance nutrient availability and 

maize productivity in Alfisols 

7. Effect of conservation agriculture and balanced 

nutrition on system productivity, profitability and 

mitigating GHGs emission in maize-horsegram 

sequence in rainfed Alfisols 

8. Effect of conservation agriculture and mineral nitrogen 

levels on soil aggregate stability indices and associated 

carbon in rainfed maize (Zea mays L.) - pigeonpea 

(Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) crop rotation under 

Alfisols 

9. Growth and Yield of Groundnut as influenced by 

Moisture Stress at different Phenophases 

10. Impact of Zero tillage over conventional tillage in 

Kushinagar District of Utter Pradesh 

11. Nutrient Dynamics in Conservation Agriculture under 


12. Co-application of biochar and inorganic fertilizer 

improves soil fertility and crop productivity in maizegroundnut 

cropping system in semi-arid Alfisols 

13. Assessment of soil physical properties from different 

blocks of Jaipur district, Rajasthan, India 

14. Appraisal of some soil physical properties and 

available micronutrients under organic and 

conventional farming systems in an Inceptisol 

Resource conservation and rainfed agriculture 

SP Parida 

VM Amrutsagar 

VD Vora 

T4a-01O-1256 

T4a-02O-1242 

T4a-03O-1012 

Yogeshwar Singh T4a-03aO - 

1512 

VV Gabhane 

V Girijaveni 

Sumanta Kundu 

AK Indoria 

Radha Kumari 

Ashok Rai 

PS Prabhamani 

KC Nataraja 

Surykant sharma 

Priyanka Meena 

T4a-04O-1151 

T4a-05R-1244 

T4a-06R-1227 

T4a-07R-1015 

T4a-08R-1187 

T4a-09R-1443 

T4a-10R-1235 

T4a-11R-1127 

T4a-12P-1031 

T4a-13P-1301 

15. Conservation agriculture approach as climate change Pooja Jena T4a-14P-1580 

558 | Page




mitigation 

16. Conservation Agriculture in Himalayan States of India: 

Prospects and Research Challenges Ahead 

17. Direct seeding in Rice: A resource Conservation 

Technology in Scarce Rainfall zone of Kurnool district, 

A.P. 

18. Effect of bioregulators along with organics on growth 

and yield of Gundumalli (Jasminum sambacait.) 

19. Effect of life saving irrigation on yield and economics 

of different kharif and rabi crops under dryland 

conditions 

20. Effect of long-term conservation agriculture on labile 

and total soil organic carbon fractions of rainfed pearl 

millet-based cropping systems of India 

21. Effect of organic and inorganic nutrient management 

practices on growth and yield of maize under subtropical 

kandi area Jammu region 

22. Effect of carbon sources of nutrients on yield; and soil 

properties of soybean 

23. Effect of paddy straw mulching and tillage on growth 

and yield of Pea (Pisum sativum L.) 

24. Effect of Tillage and Residue Management on Yield of 

blackgram – rabi sorghum sequence grown on 

Inceptisol under rainfed condition 

25. Effect of tillage practices and mulching on Rabi 

sorghum crop under rainfed condition 

26. Effect of tillage practices and mulching operations on 

productivity of maize under dryland conditions 

27. Effect of tillage practices and nitrogen fertilizer levels 

on soil total carbon, bulk density and porosity in 

rainfed maize-pigeonpea crop rotation under semi-arid 

tropical climate 

28. Effect of various organic sources of nutrients on growth 

and yield of tomato 

29. Energy Efficient tillage and nutrient management for 

rabi sorghum on Inceptisol 

30. Enhancing productivity of rainfed maize through 

different planting methods and moisture conservation 

practices in Shivalik foothill region of Punjab 

31. Escaping moisture stress in steep slopes by altering the 

time of planting (early sowing) in Garden Pea 

32. Growth and Growth Parameters of Soybean influenced 

by different Land Configuration and Crop Residue 

Management Practices 

Raman Jeet Singh T4a-15P-1061 

M Sudhakar 

V Velmurugan 

K Tiwari 

Amresh 

Chaudhary 

Brinder Singh 

Jawale 

V Akashe 

Zhimomi 

NJ Ranshur 

Arun Kumar 

Pramod Kumar 

AKIndoria 

SV Uphade 

SK Upadhye 

Mandeep Kaur 

Ajith Kumar 

Singh 

SS Kinge 

T4a-16P-1221 

T4a-17P-1467 

T4a-18P-1226 

T4a-19P-1205 

T4a-20P-1324 

T4a-21P 

T4a-22P-1460 

T4a-23P-1102 

T4a-24P-1338 

T4a-25P-1014 

T4a-26P-1059 

T4a-27P-1091 

T4a-28P-1207 

T4a-29P-1540 

T4a-30P-1578 

T4a-31P-1317 

559 | Page Resource conservation and rainfed agriculture




33. Impact of application of Organics, Biofertilizers on Soil 

Nutrient status and Quality parameter of Rabi Sorghum 

34. Impact of zinc and iron enriched organic manures on 

rabi grain sorghum 

35. Improvement of soil fertility and Productivity by use of 

Green Manuring 

36. Influence of Different In-Situ Soil Moisture 

Conservation Techniques in Maize under Rainfed 

Agro-Eco System of Jammu Region 

37. Influence of medicinal crops used as groundcover 

management of guava orchard on soil properties of 

Northern India 

38. Influence of natural farming on soil properties, crop 

protection and production of quality produce in 

Sugarcane 

39. In-situ moisture conservation techniques for timely 

sowing of Wheat crop in Rabi season under Kandi 

areas of District Kathua 

40. Nutrient Management in Soybean Based Double 

Cropping Systems under Residual Moisture 

41. Nutrient Management practices in finger millet under 

zero tillage conditions in rice fallows 

42. Partial Substitution of Nutrients through Gliricidia 

Green Manuring to Cotton under Conservation Tillage, 

a Cost-Effective Alternative for Soil Quality, 

Productivity and Economic Sustainability of Rainfed 

Cotton in Vertisols of Central India 

43. Performance of castor to different levels of nitrogen 

and phosphorus under conserved soil moisture in Ghed 

area of Gujarat 

44. Performance of maize (Zea mays) under late planting 

condition in organic production mode in rainfed 

condition of Meghalaya 

45. Response of Soybean (Glycine max (L).) to the 

Organic Sources of Nutrients 

46. Soil Moisture Availability in Alfisol as Influenced by 

Crop Residue Application under Minimum Tillage 

47. Soil moisture stress alters the abundance of maize root 

associated bacteria 

48. Soil organic carbon sequestration potential under the 

changing climatic scenarios in different 

agroecosystems of India 

49. Sustaining Cotton Productivity and Soil Health with 

Conjoint Use of Organic and Inorganic Sources under 

Cotton based Intercropping Systems on Vertisols in 

Kuruva Mounika 

T Bhagavatha 

Priya 

Debesh singh 

Jai Kumar 

Manpreet Singh 

KV Ramana 

Murthy 

Vishal Sharma 

Pradeep Kumar 

Y Sandhya Rani 

BA Sonune 

DS Hirpara 

Amit Anil 

Shahane 

AK Gore 

K Sammi Reddy 

M Manjunath 

K Nishant Sinha 

DV Mali 

T4a-32P-1314 

T4a-33P-1276 

T4a-34P 

T4a-35P-1325 

T4a-36P-1250 

T4a-37P-1318 

T4a-38P-1461 

T4a-39P-1329 

T4a-40P-1387 

T4a-41P-1304 

T4a-42P-1047 

T4a-43P-1289 

T4a-44P-1155 

T4a-45P-1230 

T4a-46P-1055 

T4a-47P-1196 

T4a-48P-1305 


560 | Page




Central India 

50. Sustaining Soil Health through Organic Farming RS Choudhary T4a-49P-1427 

51. Type of organic manure and biochar affected crop 

production and soil health in maize-black gram system 

under changing climate 

52. Vermicomposting-A module for Sustainable soil 

Management in South Garo Hills, Meghalaya, India 

53. Weedy rice: A threat to sustainable rice production 

under direct seeding 

54. Yield and nutrient uptake of direct seeded rice under 

different tillage and nutrient management practices 

55. Zero Tillage Technique with High Yielding Variety of 

Wheat Cultivation as Compared to Traditional practices of 

farmers field in Front line demonstration under NICRA of 

Morena district M.P. 

56. Paired row method of cultivation in maize – a water 

conservation technology for sustainable yields and 

higher net returns 

57. Improving productivity of Taramira (Eruca sativa 

Mill.) under conserved soil moisture in arid 

environments 

58. Influence of Organic and Inorganic Nutrients on 

Nitrogen & Potassium Fractions In Relation to Yield of 

Elephant Foot Yam - Blackgram System 

Shaon Kumar 

Das 

Titus Dalang 

T4a-50P-1261 

T4a-51P-1176 

V. Anjaly T4a-52P-1137 

P Manoj Kumar 

RS Tomar 

K Ravi Kumar 

M Patidar 

KV Aswin 

T4a-53P-1546 

T4a-54P-1411 

T4a-55P-1579 

T4a-56P-1567 

T4a-57P-1367 




T4a-01O-1256 

Zero Tillage-based in-situ rice Straw Management to Reduce in GHGs Emission and 

Build Up Labile Carbon Pool in Lowland Rice 

S. P. Parida, P. Bhattacharyya, S.R Padhy, A. Das, S. Swain and S. K. Nayak 

ICAR- National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack Odisha-753006, India 

Total rice straw production currently stands at 731 million tonnes, with a distribution of 1.7, 

3.9, 20.9, 37.2 and 667.6 million tonnes in Oceania, Europe, Africa, America, and Asia 

country respectively. In India, rice straw production is not lesser than 126.6 million tonnes 

(Bhattacharyya et.al., 2019). Handling the huge straw is an issue particularly in north-west 

India where wheat is shown just after 20-25 days of rice harvest. Lack of economically viable 

alternative options to utilize straw, the rice farmers in India especially from the northern 

states of Punjab and Haryana choose to burn the straw in their fields. Even more alarming is 

the fact that the practice of rice straw burning is spreading rapidly in eastern Indian states like 

West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Nearly 16% of crop residues are burnt on farms 

in India of which 60% is rice straw for recent decades, rice straw burning is of serious 

concern as it causes sever air pollution, nutrient and biodiversity losses. Recent estimates 

showed that from November to December in last 4-5 years, straw burn contributed to nearly 

70% of air pollution in the national capital region of India. Burning primarily causes the 

emission of harmful gases and particulate matter which increases air pollution and 

greenhouse gas/ carbon footprint significantly. So, we need to find out economically viable, 

socially acceptable, and eco-friendly solutions for the alternative uses of rice straw. In-situ 

management is one of the viable options of straw management. However, in-situ retention 

and subsequent incorporation in soil may cause GHGs emission in lowland rice along with 

carbon build up. The objective of the study was to assess the effect the in-situ straw 

management on soil carbon pools, enzymatic activities and GHGs emission in lowland rice. 

Methodology 

We have conducted a field experiment at ICAR-NRRI experimental fields (B13, 14 ab Block) 

during Kharif season 2021 for in-situ management of rice straw. Four treatment viz., (i) 

Immediate incorporation of rice straw after harvesting (IIRS) (T1), (ii) Zero tillage (with 

glyphosate spray) (T2), (iii) Spreading of straw over the field (T3) and (iv) Zero tillage with 

straw retention (T4) (without glyphosate spray) were imposed in the field randomly with five 

replications as shown in both table and figure. The soil labile carbon pools- microbial 

biomass carbon (MBC); readily mineralizable carbon (RMC), enzymatic activities {βglucosidase, 

dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and fluorescein diacetate activity (FDA)} and 

GHGs {carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), nitrous oxide (N 2O)} were estimated in all treatments 

after the imposition of the treatments at an interval of 3, 8,13, 18, 23, 28, 33 and 38 days. 


562 | Page



Results 

The readily mineralizable carbons (RMC) and microbial biomass carbons (MBC) were 

increased from 8 days of treatment imposition to 28 days then decreased at 38 days 

irrespective of treatments. The labile carbon and soil enzymatic activities (β-glucosidase, 

DHA and FDA) were found higher in IIRS (T1), followed by SRS (T3), ZT (T2) and ZT+SR 

(T4) (Table-2). The MBC and RMC values for IIRS, ZT, SRS and ZT+SR treatments were 

found to be 338.7, 305.9, 323.5, 285.7 µg Cg -1 and 243.6, 218.3, 230.5, 210 µg Cg -1 

respectively. The β-glucosidase activity for IIRS, ZT, SRS and ZT+SR was found to be 14.9, 

11.9, 13.9 and 11.1 respectively. FDA and DHA for the same treatments vis-à-vis IIRS, ZT, 

SRS and ZT+SR were 4.2, 3.1, 3.7, 2.7 and 122.4, 100.9, 110.8, 94.3 respectively. The 

methane emission was higher in IIRS (T1) flowed by SRS (T3), ZT (T2) and ZT+ST (T4) 

(Figure 2). The CO2 and CH4 emissions were increased from 3 to 18 days of treatment 

imposition and then decreased slowly. The CO 2 and N 2O (Figure 2) emissions trends were 

the same. However, in the treatment of IIRS, the methane emission was higher than that of 

SRS. All the GHGs (CO 2, CH 4 and N 2O) emissions were relatively less in zero tillage (ZT). 

Enzymatic activity details after different treatment imposition 

Treatment 

Microbial 

biomass carbon 

(µg C g -1 ) 

Readily 

mineralizable 

carbons (µg C 

g -1 ) 

β- 

glucosidase 

(µg pNP g - 

1 

h -1 ) 

Fluorescein 

diacetate activity 

(µg fluorescein g - 

1 

h -1 ) 

Dehydrogen 

ase activity 

(µg TPF g -1 

d -1 ) 

IIRS 338.7 243.6 14.9 4.2 122.4 

ZT 305.9 218.3 11.9 3.1 100.9 

SRS 323.5 230.5 13.9 3.7 110.8 

ZT+SR 285.7 210.0 11.1 2.7 94.3 

Conclusion 

In-situ management of straw should be promoted through zero-tillage based practices rather 

than direct incorporation in the field as it reduces the GHGs emissions and build labile carbon 

pools in the soils during decomposition straw in the field. These practices also have good 

climate change mitigation potential. 




GHGs flux after different treatment imposition in different days interval 

References 

Kaur, D., Bhardwaj, N.K. and Lohchab, R.K., 2017. Prospects of rice straw as a raw material 

for paper making. Waste Management, 60, pp.127-139. 

Bhattacharyya, P., Bisen, J., Bhaduri, D., Priyadarsini, S., Munda, S., Chakraborti, M., Adak, 

T., Panneerselvam, P., Mukherjee, A.K., Swain, S.L. and Dash, P.K., 2021. Turn the 

wheel from waste to wealth: Economic and environmental gain of sustainable rice 

straw management practices over field burning about India. Science of The Total 

Environment, 775, p.145896. 

Dash PK, Padhy SR, Bhattacharyya P, Pattanayak A, Routray S, Panneerselvam P, Nayak 

AK, Pathak H. Efficient lignin decomposing microbial consortium to hasten rice-straw 

composting with moderate GHGs fluxes. Waste and Biomass Valorization. 2022 

Jan;13(1):481-96. 

Otero-Jimenez V, del Pilar Carreno-Carreno J, Barreto-Hernandez E, van Elsas JD, Uribe- 

Velez D. Impact of rice straw management strategies on rice rhizosphere microbiomes. 

Applied Soil Ecology. 2021 Nov 1;167:104036. 


564 | Page



T4a-02O-1242 

Conjuctive use of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers for Rabi Sorghum 

V. M. Amrutsagar, S. K. Upadhye, N. B. More, G. Ravindra Chary, Archana B. Pawar, 

D. K. Kathmale, I. R. Bagwan and B. S. Kadam 

AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Main Center, Solapur- 413 002 Maharashtra 

zarssolapur@gmail.com 

It is the today’s need to select and prioritize climate resilient technologies that are sustainable 

for the rainfed and dryland areas. The technologies should minimize the effect of extreme 

climate events such as drought, flood, change in rainfall pattern, heat and cold waves, etc. 

Considering the climate change effects observed severe damage and risk in the cultivation of 

rainfed and irrigated field crops. Organic + inorganic fertilizer management is a most 

appropriate system of agriculture (Sharma, 1992.) Similar to regenerative agriculture, that 

encourage healthy soils and crops through such a practices as untried recycling of organic 

matter (compost/ crop residues) crop rotation, proper tillage and minimum / optimum use of 

inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. It is therefore the present investigation was undertaken 

with the objectives viz., to study the feasibility of use of crop residue, green loppings and 

FYM with and without inorganic fertilizers in the field and its subsequent effect on crop 

yield, to assess its effect on physico-chemical and biological properties of soil and to study 

the economics. 

Methodology 

A long-term field experiment was initiated during 1987-88 at All India Coordinated Research 

Project for Dryland Agriculture, Main Center, Solapur on medium black soil (Vertic 

Ustropepts). The experiment is continued for 35 years (2021-22) on the same site with ten 

treatments with three replications in Randomized Block Design without disturbing the 

original layout. The treatments tried are : T1 - 0 kg N ha -1 control, T2 - 25 kg N ha -1 urea, T3 - 

50 kg N ha -1 –urea, T 4 - 25 kg N ha -1 CR (crop residues-byre waste), T 5 - 25 kg N ha -1 –FYM 

(farm yard manure), T6 - 25 kg N ha -1 CR + 25 kg N ha -1 urea, T7 - 25 kg N ha -1 FYM +25 

kg N ha -1 urea, T8 - 25 kg N ha -1 CR+25 kg N ha -1 Leucaena loppings , T9 - 25 kg N ha -1 

Leucaena loppings, T 10 - 25 kg N ha -1 Leucaena loppings + 25 kg N ha -1 urea. The physicochemical 

properties of soil, rainwater use efficiency (RWUE) and nutrient uptake of rRabi 

sorghum were studied. The initial soil status was low in soil fertility (Ava. N- 137 and P 2O 5 – 

11.5 kg ha -1 ) and DTPA extractable micronutrients (mg kg -1 ) Fe (2.95), Zn (0.49) and Cu 

(0.50). 




Results 

At 35 th year of experimentation the treatment T 7 (25 kg N ha -1 FYM+ 25 kg N ha -1 Urea) gave 

significantly higher grain (19.25 q ha -1 ) and stover (40.42 q ha -1 ) yield, net monetary returns 

(Rs. 39525 ha -1 ) with B: C ratio (2.25), RWUE (32.08 kg ha -1 mm -1 ). The nutrients uptake by 

Rabi sorghum as well as rain water use efficiency and residual soil fertility (major and micro 

nutrients) were also increased as shown in the table. The N fixers and P solubilizers count 

was more under Leucaena application either alone or with crop residue or FYM. Nishimura 

(1994) reported that green gram as a mulch-cum-manure to rabi sorghum increased the gross 

profit by 132 per cent. Conjoint use of FYM and chemical fertilizers on soybean-safflower 

sequence cropping showed that the half of recommended fertilizers (10 N + 40 P 2O 5 ha -1 + 6 

tonnes FYM) gave highest yield of soybean and safflower (Sharma, 1992). Reddy et al. 

(1991) also reported similar trend of results i.e., 75 per cent substitution of chemical N with 

use of Leucaena leucocphala gave higher bio mass and yield of sorghum. 

Conclusion 

From the above study it can be concluded that, the nitrogen requirement of rRabi sorghum 

can be fulfilled by conjoint use of organic (50 %) and inorganic fertilizers (50 %) or equally 

effective treatment i.e., 50 % N ha -1 through CR + 50% N ha -1 through Leucanea lopping 

which maintan the better soil health, RWUE and microbial count. This can be way forward to 

make organic farming in rainfed area that conserve natural resources and make farming more 

resilient and less dependent on chemical inputs. 

Effect of recycling of different organics on yield and RWUE by grain and stover of rabi 


sorghum (2021-22) 

Treatment Yield (q ha -1 ) Cost of 

Cult n 

Rs/ha 

Grain 

2021- 

22 

Stover 

2021- 

22 

Mean 

Grain 

(35years) 

Mean 

Stover 

(35years) 

Net 

Returns 

Rs/ha 

B:C 

Ratio 

RWUE 

(Kg 

ha -1 

mm -1 ) 

0 kg N ha -1 –control 7.72 16.23 5.77 15.72 24595 3892 1.16 12.86 

25 kg N ha -1 –urea 8.65 18.07 7.60 20.62 24916 6944 1.28 14.41 

50 kg N ha -1 –urea 10.97 25.75 9.30 23.86 25238 16608 1.66 18.29 

25 kg N ha -1 –CR 9.28 19.48 8.11 20.62 28762 5469 1.19 15.46 

25 kg N ha -1 –FYM 10.29 21.53 9.03 22.38 31174 6748 1.22 17.14 

25 kg N ha -1 -CR +25 kg N ha -1 

–urea 

25 kg N ha -1 - FYM +25 kg N ha - 

1 

urea 

25 kg N ha -1 –CR +25 kg N ha -1 

–Leucaena loppings 

14.58 30.61 10.86 25.92 29083 24705 1.85 24.29 

19.25 40.42 12.84 28.21 31495 39525 2.25 32.08 

18.23 38.28 12.15 27.34 31967 35289 2.10 30.38 

25 kg N ha -1 -Leucaena loppings 8.61 18.09 8.23 20.30 27800 3983 1.14 14.36 

25 kg N ha -1 -Leucaena 12.26 25.76 10.80 24.54 28121 17130 1.61 20.44 

566 | Page



loppings+25 kg N ha -1 –urea 

SE+ 0.56 1.63 -- -- 2219.1 -- -- 

CD at 5% 1.69 4.88 -- -- 6644.5 -- -- 

Effect of treatments on soil chemical properties at harvest (2021-22). 

Treatments pH EC Available Nutrients 

(kg/ha) 

DTPA extractable 

micronutrients (ppm) 

N P K Fe Mn Zn Cu 

0 kg N ha -1 –control 7.96 0.47 119.00 16.18 681.00 2.55 4.29 0.18 0.52 

25 kg N ha -1 –urea 7.78 0.56 159.67 21.78 819.33 3.48 5.90 0.38 1.36 

50 kg N ha -1 –urea 7.95 0.58 168.67 24.38 883.00 4.34 6.45 0.32 1.26 

25 kg N ha -1 –CR 7.42 0.61 180.00 34.57 951.00 4.46 6.58 0.45 1.34 

25 kg N ha -1 –FYM 7.31 0.66 184.00 30.83 969.00 4.47 7.59 0.47 1.37 

25 kg N ha -1 -CR +25 kg N ha -1 

–urea 

25 kg N ha -1 - FYM +25 kg N ha - 

1 

urea 

25 kg N ha -1 –CR +25 kg N ha -1 

–Leucaena loppings 

7.20 0.68 190.00 31.43 974.33 4.65 7.65 0.60 1.49 

7.22 0.70 203.00 35.22 993.00 4.81 7.64 0.61 1.51 

7.20 0.74 203.67 39.31 996.00 4.72 8.00 0.63 1.54 

25 kg N ha -1 -Leucaena loppings 7.28 0.71 180.00 31.30 868.67 4.40 7.94 0.51 1.32 

25 kg N ha -1 -Leucaena loppings 

+25 kg N ha -1 –urea 

7.30 0.72 189.00 33.66 885.67 3.79 7.43 0.49 1.23 

SE+ 0.01 0.01 0.79 0.45 2.04 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 

CD at 5% NS NS 2.29 1.31 5.89 NS NS NS NS 

Initial Values (2013-14) 8.1 0.49 137 11.5 592 2.95 12.6 0.49 0.50 

References 

Nishimura, Y. 1994. An improved technology of rainfed farming in the semi arid tropics. 

Japanese J. Trop. Agri. 38:103 

Reddy, G. S., Venkateshwaralu, B., and. Vittal, K. P. R. 1991. Effect of substitution of 

fertilizer nitrogen with subabul (Leucaena leucocephela) leaves on growth and yield of 

sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in an alfisol. Indian J. Agril. Sci. 61:316. 

Sharma, R. A. 1992. Efficient water use and sustainable production of rainfed soybean and 

safflower through conjunctive use of organic and fertilizers. Crop. Res.181. 




T4a-03O-1012 

Response of Sorghum to Different Levels of Nitrogen and Phosphorus under Conserved 

Soil Moisture in Ghed AREA of Gujarat 

V. D. Vora * , R. B. Thanki, P. D. Vekariya, S. C. Kaneriya and D. S. Hirpara 

Main Dry Farming Research Station, Junagadh Agricultural University, Gujarat, 360 023 India 

*vdvora@jau.in 

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolar) is the fifth most important world cereal following wheat, maize, 

rice, and barley, used for food, fodder, production of alcoholic beverages and bio fuels and is 

the dietary staple for more than 500 million people in 30 countries with an area of 40 million 

ha (Avilkumar et al., 2016). Sorghum, because of its drought resistance, is the crop of choice 

for dry regions and areas with unreliable rainfall. Sorghum is the third most widely grown 

crop in India after rice and wheat. However, it is the most important crop of the semi-arid 

tropics (SAT) in India and constitutes the staple food for a large proportion of the population. 

The sorghum is grown throughout India under rainfed conditions on an area of 3.84 million 

ha with annual production of 3.76 million tonnes and average productivity 979 kg/ha. 

Cultivation of sorghum on conserved moisture in Ghed area of Gujarat is a common practice. 

Sorghum is a highly nutrient exhaustive crop, therefore, to achieve sustainable higher 

productivity, maintenance of native soil fertility and health is necessary. Keeping in view, 

this experiment was planned to study the effect of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization on 

yield of sorghum under conserved soil moisture in Ghed area of Gujarat. 

Methodolody 

A field experiment was conducted during the Semi-rabi season of 2016 to 2019 at Dry 

Farming Research Station, Junagadh Agricultural University, Ratia (Porbandar). The soil was 

medium in available nitrogen (258 kg/ha), medium in available phosphorus (45.27 kg/ha) and 

high in available potassium (710.0 kg/ha). The experiment was laid out in a factorial 

randomized block design taking 12 treatments combinations of 4 levels of nitrogen (0, 20, 40 

and 60 kg/ha) and 3 levels of phosphorus (0, 20 and 40 kg/ha) with 3 replications. The 

nitrogen was applied in two splits viz., 50 % as basal through ammonium sulphate and 50 % 

as top dressing at 45-50 DAS through urea by drilling in soil up to 10 cm depth, while 

phosphorus was applied as basal through single super phosphate as per treatments. The Gross 

and net plot size was 5.0 m X 2.7 m and 4.0 m X 1.8 m, respectively. Sorghum Gundari 

(Local) was sown at distance of 45 cm x 10 cm on 25 October 2016, 7 October 2017, 20 

September 2018 and 9 November 2019 under conserved soil moisture. The total rainfall 

received during the crop season (June to November) was 306, 270, 149 and 545 mm in 12, 

14, 8 and 18 rainy days in the year of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. Data on 

growth, yield performance and economic of sorghum was pooled over 4 years. 


568 | Page



Results 

On the basis of four years pooled mean, plant height, grain and fodder yield was significantly 

affected by different levels of nitrogen as shown in table. Significantly highest plant height 

and fodder yield were recorded with application of 60 kg N/ha as compared to control, 20 

and 40 kg N/ha, while grain yield was recorded significantly highest with application of 60 

kg N/ha as compared to control and 20 kg N/ha, but it remained at par with 40kg N/ha. 

Among phosphorus levels, grain and fodder yield of sorghum was significantly influenced 

due to different levels of phosphorus and recorded significantly highest grain and fodder 

yield under application of 40 kg P2O5/ha as compared to control, but it remained at par with 

application of 20 kg P 2O 5/ha. Similarly maximum net returns of Rs. 25389/ha and B: C ratio 

of 1.93 were recorded under application of 60 kg N/ha followed by Rs. 23363/ha and B: C 

ratio of 1.87 under application of 40 kg N/ha. Whereas with the application of phosphorus, 

maximum net returns of Rs. 21563/ha and B: C ratio of 1.81 were recorded with application 

of 20 kg P2O5/ha. 

Growth, yield and economics of sorghum as influenced by nitrogen and phosphorus 

Treatments 

Nitrogen (kg/ha) 

Phosphorus (kg/ha) 

Conclusion 

levels under conserved soil moisture (Pooled mean of 4 years) 

On the basis of four years pooled results, it can conclude that higher grain and fodder yield 

and net returns from sorghum (Gundri Local) can be secured by application of 40 kg N and 

20 kg P 2O 5/ha in medium black clayey soil under conserved soil moisture in Ghed area of 

Gujarat. 

Plant 

height 

(cm) 

Grain 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

Fodder 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

Net 

return 

( /ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

Control 77.3 774 1746 14344 1.56 

20 83.2 889 2002 19623 1.74 

40 89.6 972 2190 23363 1.87 

60 96.8 1020 2298 25389 1.93 

SEm+ 1.1 18 37 

CD (P=0.05) 3.2 50 104 

Control 86.0 872 1968 18995 1.73 

20 86.2 932 2099 21563 1.81 

40 88.1 937 2110 21468 1.80 

SEm+ 1.0 15 34 

CD (P=0.05) NS 50 104 




References 

Avilkumar, K., Satish, C., Praveen Rao, V., Uma Devi, M. and Ramulu, V. 2016. Drip 

irrigation levels influence on yield attributes, yield and water productivity of rabi 

sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). In: Extended Summaries, Fourth 

International Agronomy Congress on Agronomy for Sustainable Management of 

Natural Resources, Environment, Energy and Livelihood Security to Achieve Zero 

Hunger Challenge, 22–26 November 2016, Indian Society of Agronomy, Indian 

Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, India Vol.3: 118-120 

T4a-03aO -1512 

In-situ Rainwater Harvesting Techniques and Diversification of Cropping 

System for Climate Resilient Agriculture in Bundelkhand region 

Yogeshwar Singh, Rajiv Nandan and Sandeep Upadhyay 

College of Agriculture, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agriculture University, Jhansi, 

Uttar Pradesh. 284003, India 

Conspicuous to frequent climatic and hydrological droughts, the Bundelkhand region 

experiences severe agricultural droughts. Soils of these regions are shallow, gravelly and 

extremely porous with low organic matter and have poor water holding capacity. Much of the 

region suffers from acute ecological degradation due to top soil erosion and deforestation, 

leading to low productivity of the land. Thus, realizing the importance of rain water 

harvesting and diversified climate resilient cropping system in Bundelkhand regions, research 

entitled “In-situ rainwater management and crop diversification for climate resilient 

agriculture” was conducted. Attempts were made to generate information about the 

subsequent availability of in-situ rain water for the crop during the extended dry spell 

periods. 

Methodology 

Field experiment has been initiated during the year 2020-21 and 2021-22 at RLBCAU, Jhansi 

to standardize the Agro-techniques for efficient use of irrigation and rain water and crop 

diversification for climate resilient agriculture in Bundelkhand. The experiment was 

conducted in split plot design with five In-situ rainwater harvesting methods namely control 

(conventional practice); deep tillage; horizontal mulching; broad bed and furrow and ridge 

and furrow in main plot and three cropping systems namely groundnut – wheat; maize – 

mustard and sorghum – chickpea in sub-plot, replicated thrice. The experimental crops were 

managed as per standard package and practices. 


570 | Page



Results 

The system productivity in terms of wheat equivalent yield was maximum in ridge and 

furrow planting system (8644 kg/ha/yr) with the highest water productivity (2.78 kg grain/m 3 

water). Such an alteration in yield performance order could have been due to ease dissolution 

and accessibility of the N, influenced by the appreciable soil moisture at the beginning of the 

season. Among different cropping systems (groundnut-wheat, maize-mustard and sorghumchickpea), 

maize-mustard cropping sequence showed superiority for the highest water 

productivity (2.37) and net returns (Rs. 87,799 per ha), while groundnut-wheat exhibited 

maximum MEY (9119 kg/ha/yr). 

Effect of tillage practices on system and water productivity 

Kharif 

(Maize 

Equivalent 

Yield -t/ha) 

Rabi 

(Maize 

Equivalent 

Yield -t/ha) 

System 

productivity 

(MEYt/ha/yr) 

Water 

applied 

(m 3 /ha) 

% 

Water 

saving 

Water 

productivity 

(Kg 

grain/m 3 

water) 

Net 

returns 

(Rs/ha) 

A) In-situ rainwater harvesting methods (Main-plot)-05 

Deep tillage 3.77 4.37 8.12 3980 7.2 2.04 79571 

Residue 

mulching 

Broad bed & 

furrow 

Ridge and 

furrow 

Conventional 

Practice 

4.00 4.47 8.48 3820 11.0 2.22 84658 

3.87 4.43 8.30 3750 12.6 2.21 81524 

4.07 4.56 8.64 3110 27.5 2.78 86903 

3.55 4.38 7.94 4290 - 1.85 79400 

CD (P=0.05) 0.329 0.367 0.673 297 - 0.21 4158 

B) Cropping system (Sub-plot)-03 

Groundnut- 

Wheat 

Sorghum– 

Chick Pea 

Maize- 

Mustard 

4.401 4.718 

3.472 3.741 

3.684 4.886 

9.12 4600 - 1.98 79994 

7.21 3150 31.5 2.29 78240 

8.57 3620 21.3 2.37 87799 

CD (P=0.05) - - 0.910 314 0.27 3974 

Effect of cropping system on soil fertility at harvest 

Cropping system OC (%) pH EC (dS/m) N (kg/ha) P (kg/ha) K (kg/ha) 

Groundnut-wheat 0.31 7.4 0.14 138.9 10.3 244.8 

Sorghum–Chick Pea 0.30 7.6 0.16 135.1 9.6 237.4 




Maize-Mustard 0.28 7.6 0.16 128.4 8.9 230.6 

CD (P=0.05) NS NS NS 5.71 0.9 11.7 

Initial 0.28 7.7 0.16 134.2 8.1 241.2 

It was observed that in-situ rain water harvesting was found maximum in ridge and furrow 

system and has been found promising in better moisture retention and results in 27% water 

saving. The system productivity was registered maximum in Ridge and Furrow planting 

system besides generating highest water productivity. Amongst different cropping systems, 

Maize-mustard cropping sequence has proved its superiority in terms of generating highest 

Maize equivalent yield, water productivity and net return although Groundnut-wheat has 

recorded maximum WEY and Gross Return. It has also been observed that Maize-mustard 

cropping sequence which has observed highest Maize equivalent yield, water productivity 

and net return has resulted in decline in soil fertility. 

Conclusion 

The study recommends practicing ridge and furrow planting especially in Maize and 

Sorghum crops to promote better drainage and in-situ rain water harvesting in furrows to 

address intermittent drought. 

References 

Athuman Mahinda, Shinya Funakawa, Hitoshi Shinjo & Method Kilasara. 2018. Interactive 

effects of in situ rainwater harvesting techniques and fertilizer sources on mitigation of 

soil moisture stress for sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) in dryland areas of 

Tanzania. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 64(6) 710–718. 

T4a-04O-1151 

Gliricidia Green Leaf Manure as a Source of Potassium for Improvement 

in Soil Quality and Sustaining Rainfed Cotton Productivity in Vertisols of 

Central India 

V. V. Gabhane, P. R. Ramteke, R. S. Patode, M. M. Ganvir, A. B. Chorey and 

A. R. Tupe 

AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Akola-444 104, Maharashtra, India. 

Cotton based cropping system is one of the most preferred cropping patterns in Vidarbha 

region by the farming community to reduce the risk in agriculture. However, due to 

imbalanced fertilization and very less use of the organic manure, there is a continuous mining 

leeching of the nutrients especially soil K reserve, which results in deterioration of soil 


572 | Page



health. Most of the research work on gliricidia as a green leaf manure is focused on nitrogen 

contribution through gliricidia. However, limited studies have been carried out on 

contribution of potassium through gliricidia. The integrated long-term effect of gliricidia 

green leaf manuring as a source of potassium helps in sustaining crop productivity and soil 

health. The resultant outcome of the study will help to optimize the crop yields as well as 

balanced fertilization, which may help to reduce the cost on fertilizers and make cotton 

cultivation sustainable. 

Methodology 

An experiment with the combinations of organic and inorganic nutrient sources was 

conducted during 2015-16 to 2020-21 at the research field of AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, 

Dr. PDKV, Akola, Maharashtra on rainfed cotton in Vertisols. The soil of the experimental 

site was moderately alkaline in reaction, low in available nitrogen (185.80 kg ha -1 ), medium 

in available phosphorus (14.60 kg ha -1 ) and high in available potassium (322.0 kg ha -1 ). Soil 

samples were collected at harvest of crop and were analyzed as per standard methods. 

Results 

The pooled results (2015-16 to 2020-21) indicated that the highest seed cotton yield (1282.73 

kg ha -1 ) was recorded with the application of 100% NP + 10 kg K(inorganic)+20 kg K 

through gliricidia (T 4). Similar results were recorded by Satpute et al. (2019). The data 

presented in the table indicate that the higher Sustainability yield index (0.36) was recorded 

with the application of 100% NP + 10kg K(inorganic)+20kg K through gliricidia(T4), 

indicating the significant role of conjunctive use of gliricidia green leaf manure along with 

chemical fertilizers in sustaining the cotton productivity. 

Effect of potash application through gliricidia green leaf manuring on yield, SYI and 

economics of cotton 

Treatment 

Seed cotton 

yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

SYI 

GMR 

(Rs ha -1 ) 

NMR 

(Rs ha -1 ) 

B:C 

Ratio 

Control 692.39 0.22 35284 14575 1.70 

100% RDF (60:30:30 NPK kg ha -1 ) 1052.47 0.31 53548 26051 1.93 

100% NP + 15kg K(inorganic)+ 15kg K through 

gliricidia 

100% NP + 10kg K(inorganic)+ 20 kg K through 

gliricidia 

1207.86 0.34 61114 32008 2.08 

1282.73 0.36 64948 35265 2.16 

100% NP + 30kg K through gliricidia 1117.07 0.32 56692 27453 1.92 

75% N +100% P+15kg K(inorganic) + 15kg K 

through gliricidia 

1036.97 0.29 52223 24093 1.84 

75% N +100% P+30kg K through gliricidia 977.68 0.30 49542 21105 1.73 




50% N +100% P+30kg K through gliricidia 902.00 0.27 45700 18550 1.67 

100% K through gliricidia 809.37 0.25 41388 17739 1.73 

SE (m) ± 30.96 - 1517 1517 - 

CD at 5% 87.31 - 4278 4278 - 

The pooled data on yield and economics of cotton presented in Table indicate that the higher 

gross monetary returns, net monetary returns and B:C ratio was obtained with the application 

of 100% NP + 10 kg K(inorganic)+20 kg K through gliricidia (T 4) indicating the significant 

role of integrated nutrient management through gliricidia green leaf manuring in enhancing 

the economics of cotton cultivation. The higher soil organic carbon (0.68%) was recorded 

with application of 100% NP + 10kg K(inorganic)+20kg K through gliricidia (T 4). The data 

on available nutrient status of the experimental soil, indicated that significantly higher 

available nitrogen (211.2kg ha -1 ), available phosphorus (16.75kg ha -1 ) and available 

potassium (361.6kg ha -1 ) was observed with application of 100% NP + 10 kg 

K(inorganic)+20 kg K through gliricidia(T 4). The increase in available phosphorus status 

under INM treatments is due to use of gliricidia green leaf manure, being direct source of 

phosphorus and it might have also solubilized the native phosphorus in the soil through 

release of various organic acids which had chelating effect, that reduced phosphorus fixation, 

whereas the increase in available K may be due to the fact that, gliricidia green leaf manure 

addition could increase the CEC of soil, which is responsible for holding more amount of 

exchangeable K and helped in the release of exchangeable K from non-exchangeable pool 

just as in case of the study of Kumar et al., 2008. 

Effect potash management through gliricidia green leaf manuring on soil fertility and SQI 

Treatments 

OC 

(%) 

Avail. Nutrients 

(kg ha -1 ) 

N P K 

Control 0.50 181.9 12.75 317.8 2.66 

100% RDF (60:30:30 NPK kg ha -1 ) 0.59 198.6 15.05 334.9 2.95 

100% NP + 15kg K(inorganic)+15kg K through gliricidia 0.65 209.1 16.51 352.2 3.41 

100% NP + 10kg K(inorganic)+20kg K through gliricidia 0.68 211.2 16.75 361.6 3.52 

100% NP + 30kg K through gliricidia 0.64 204.9 15.54 353.4 3.37 

75% N +100% P+15kg K(inorganic)+15kg K through gliricidia 0.60 196.5 15.18 338.9 3.18 

75% N +100% P+30kg K through gliricidia 0.59 198.6 15.12 332.1 3.15 

50% N +100% P+30kg K through gliricidia 0.58 192.3 14.81 326.9 3.01 

100% K through gliricidia 0.56 190.2 14.08 324.4 2.95 

SE (m) ± 0.01 4.02 0.21 6.75 - 

CD at 5% 0.04 12.05 0.64 20.2 - 

Initial value (2015-16) 0.51 185.8 14.6 322.0 - 

SQI 


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The data in respect of various potassium fractions in soil indicate that the significantly higher 

values of water-soluble K, exchangeable K, non-exchangeable K, total K and lattice K was 

recorded with the application of 100% NP + 10kg K(inorganic)+20kg K through gliricidia 

(T4). 

Soil quality 

The data presented in Table indicate that the higher soil quality index (3.52) was recorded 

with the application of 100% NP + 10kg K(inorganic)+20kg K through gliricidia(T4). 

Conclusion 

For sustaining soil fertility, cotton productivity and obtaining higher monetary returns, 

application of 50% recommended N (30 kg) + 30 kg P2O5 + 10 kg K2O ha -1 through 

inorganics and 20 kg K 2O ha -1 through gliricidia green leaf manuring (4 t ha -1 ) at 30 DAS is 

recommended as an Integrated Plant Nutrient Supply System under dryland condition. 

References 

Kumar Balwindar, Gupta, R. K., and Bhandari, A. L. 2008. Soil fertility changes after longterm 

application of organic manures and crop residues under rice-wheat system. J. 

Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 56(1): 80-85. 

Satpute Usha, V., Gabhane, V. V., Jawale, S. A., and Nagdeve, M. B. 2019.Effect of potash 

management through conjoint use of Gliricidia green leaf manure and mineral fertilizer 

on yield and nutrient uptake by rainfed cotton in Vertisols. Int. J. Chem. Stud. 7(3): 

4564-4567. 

T4a-05R-1244 

Conjunctive use of Zeolite and Urea to Minimize Nitrogen Loss and 

Enhance Nutrient Availability and Maize Productivity in Alfisols 

V. Girijaveni 1 , K. Sammi Reddy 1 , J. V. N. S. Prasad 1 , Ch. Srinivasarao 2 , Sumanta 

Kundu 1 , Pushpanajali 1 and K. Srinivas 1 

1 Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 500 059, India 

2 National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad – 500030, India 

Natural zeolites consist of three-dimensional framework of silica and aluminum tetrahedra 

and are hydrated aluminosilicates with honeycomb structure, which is generally very open, 

containing channels and cavities. These channels and cavities are filled with cations and 

water molecules (Karapinar, 2009). Zeolite is a group of natural minerals with physical and 

physicochemical properties that can be utilized in various areas such as construction and 

agriculture. Research revealed that these naturally occurring zeolites are capable of absorbing 




part of the excess nutrients and also water, resulting in more balanced macronutrient cation 

ratios in the root environment and thus able to enhance water and nutrient use efficiency. 

Zeolite possess unique characteristics of high cation exchange capacity, large internal 

porosity, uniform particle size distribution, and reduces the effect of stress on the crop 

(Hazrati et al., 2017). Its application improved soil nutrients and soil water content in various 

soil types and various crops, i.e. rice, Aloe vera, amaranth, sunflower and dragonhead 

(Hazrati et al., 2017; Karimzadeh Asl and Hatami, 2019; Karami et al., 2019). Thus, zeolite 

application leads to soil improvement. However, very little literature is available regarding 

zeolite performance in divergent crop and soil types in India. Thus, this study was taken up to 

study the impact of zeolite application on soil nutrient, water and crop performance in rainfed 

Alfisols. 

Methodology 

Pot experiment was carried at CRIDA, Hyderabad with maize as test crop with different 

levels of zeolite (0, 50,100 & 200 kg ha -1 ) in combination with different fertilizer dose 

(control, 50% RDF & 100% RDF) at two different moisture levels (50% and 100% Field 

capacity). The experimental design was completely randomized block design with three 

replications. The soil used in the study was collected from Hayathnagar Research Farm 

(HRF), CRIDA, Hyderabad. The maize hybrid studied was DHM-117. The soils collected 

were sieved through 2 mm sieve and was mixed with zeolite and fertilizers as per the 

treatments and after mixing of zeolite, the pot is filled with soil @ 10 kg pot -1 . At the end of 

the maturity stage, cob from each plant from pot was harvested. Grains were separated from 

the cobs and grain yield was calculated. The post-harvest soil samples were also collected 

and analyzed for SOC, and available macro (N, P, K) and micro nutrients (Zn, Fe, Mn and 

Cu) as per standard procedure. Also, details of water added to the crop was collected to 

calculate the water use efficiency (WUE). 

Results 

The two most important factors that affects the maize production is nitrogen and moisture 

content. The grain yield of maize ranged from 17.99 to 52.15 g pot -1 . The grain yield of 

maize was significantly improved by application of different combinations of recommended 

dose of fertilizers and zeolite levels. The lowest grain yield was observed in control (17.99 g 

pot -1 ). Increasing the zeolite dose have significantly improved N uptake from 169.39 mg pot -1 

to 261.43 mg pot -1 and nitrogen levels also significantly improved N uptake. Similarly, 

zeolite application has significantly improved K uptake from 198.75 mg pot -1 to 299.14 mg 

pot -1 . Also, zeolite addition improved soil available N by 20.3% and 27% at 50% and 100% 

Field capacity respectively and soil available K by 27% and 34.4% under 50% and 100% 

Field capacity, respectively. 


576 | Page



Conclusion 

The results from this preliminary research showed that zeolite application along with 

fertilizers improved crop production and soil chemical properties. There was significant 

difference in N and K uptake with higher dose of zeolite application (100 & 200 kg ha -1 ) as 

compared to control at both the moisture levels. However, further investigations need to be 

carried to study the effect of zeolite application in different soil types at field conditions. 

References 

Hazrati, S., Tahmasebi-Sarvestani, Z., Mokhtassi-Bidgoli, A., Modarres-Sanavy, S. A. M., 

Mohammadi, H. and Nicola, S. 2017. Effects of zeolite and water stress on growth, 

yield and chemical compositions of Aloe vera L. Agric. Water Manag. 181:66-72. 

Karimzadeh Asl, K. and Hatami, M. 2019. Application of zeolite and bacterial fertilizers 

modulates physiological performance and essential oil production in dragonhead under 

different irrigation regimes. Acta Physiol. Plant. 41(1):1-20. 

Karami, S., Hadi, H., Tajbaksh, M. and Modarres-Sanavy, S. A. M. 2020. Effect of zeolite on 

nitrogen use efficiency and physiological and biomass traits of amaranth (Amaranthus 

hypochondriacus) under water-deficit stress conditions. J. Soil Sci. 20(3):1427-1441. 

T4a-06R-1227 

Effect of Conservation Agriculture and balanced nutrition on System 

Productivity, Profitability and Mitigating GHGs Emission in Maize- 

Horsegram Sequence in Rainfed Alfisols 

Sumanta Kundu 1* , Ch. Srinivasarao 1 , R. B. Mallick 2 , K. Sammi Reddy 1 , V. K. Singh 1 , J. 

V. N. S. Prasad 1 , A. K. Indoria 1 , G. Pratibha 1 , V. Girija Veni 1 , Pravin B. Thakur 1 , T. 

Satyanarayana 3 , Kaushik Majumdar 3 and B. Venkateshwarlu 1 

1 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad, 500 059, India 

2 Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Calcutta University, West Bengal, India 

3 International Plant Nutrition Institute, Gurgaon, India 

* Sumanta.K@icar.gov.in 

Land degradation, low soil fertility, erratic rainfall are the prime constraints for low 

agricultural production in the semi-arid region. In Alfisols regions of southern India, most of 

the cultivated areas produce a single crop in rainy (Kharif) season and 25-30% rainfall goes 

unutilized in post rainy (Rabi) season which remains fallow. In these areas, drought hardy 

crop like horsegram can be cultivated in sequence of Kharif crop by practicing effective soil 

moisture conservation measures or conservation agriculture (CA). CA can play a major role 

in stabilizing production in rainfed regions by mitigating water and nutrient stress through 




adoption of reduced tillage, crop rotations and residue retention. Several successful case 

studies on CA were reported in irrigated systems (Aulakh et al., 2012), but very limited 

efforts were made in rainfed production systems. In this background, an attempt was made to 

find out the impact of CA on system productivity, profitability, nutrient use efficiency and 

GHGs emission in maize-horsegram cropping sequence in rainfed Alfisol. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted during 2010-2020 at Gunegal Research Farm of Central 

Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad. These sandy loam soils are 

slightly acidic in reaction, low in soil organic carbon, medium available nutrients (N, P and 

K). Among micronutrient Zn was deficient (0.48 mg kg -1 ). Experiment was laid out in split 

plot design consisting 2 tillage treatments (conservation= zero tillage and residue retention 

(CA) and conventional= 2 ploughing, complete removal of residues (CT)) as main plot and 

nutrient management (control, NPKSZnB (120-60-40-55-10-0.5 kg N, P 2O 5, K 2O, S, Zn, B 

respectively), N, P, K, S, Zn, B omission) as sub plot. Each treatment was replicated thrice. 

Chemical fertilizers as N, P, K, S, Zn and B were applied in the form of urea (46% N), 

diammonium phosphate (DAP) (18% N and 46% P 2O 5), muriate of potash (MOP) (60% 

K2O), single super phosphate (SSP), Zinc sulfate (21% Zn) and Borax respectively. Hybrid 

maize (DHM 117) was grown in rainy season (June-October) following 60x25 cm spacing 

and horsegram (CRIDA 18R) was sown just after the harvesting of maize. 

Results 

Pooled data showed that system productivity increased through CA in maize-horsegram 

sequence through successful raising of Rabi season horsegram crop utilizing off season 

rainfall through better soil moisture conservation. Out of 11 years (2010-2020), 8 years total 

system yield in CA was higher than or at par with CT and in 7 years horsegram crop was 

successful. Agronomic efficiency (AE) of N, P, K in CA was 22.1, 55.3 and 26.6 kg yield 

increase per kg of fertilizer nutrients applied compared to 18.8, 40.7, 24.1 kg yield increase 

per kg of fertilizer nutrients applied respectively in CT due better soil water nutrient 

interaction (Aulakh et al.,2012). Higher grain yield of horsegram in CA was due to 4.2% 

higher soil moisture compared to CT during flowering and grain filling stage of horsegram 

which helped better grain filling of horsegram (Kundu et al., 2013). Significantly higher 

gross return (Rs. 37308 ha -1 ), net return (Rs. 20951 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (2.25) was found in 

CA compared to CT. Significantly higher available N (207 kg ha -1 ) and K (180 kg ha -1 ) was 

observed in balanced fertilization and N omission treatment respectively. Significantly higher 

buildup of available K (32 kg ha -1 ) and soil organic carbon sequestration (13.6 Mg ha -1 ) was 

observed in CA. Higher SOC was observed in CA (0.64%) compared to CT (0.48%). SOC 

decreased with depth irrespective of tillage systems. There was no significant difference in 

SOC beyond 30 cm soil depth. Higher very labile C was observed in CT (0.38%) compared 


578 | Page



to CA, but higher labile and less labile C was observed in CA compared to CT. Significantly 

higher MBC (104 and 91 µg g -1 of soil after harvest of maize and horsegram respectively), 

urease (100 µg NH4 g -1 hr -1 after harvest of horsegram), aryl sulfatase, alkaline phosphatase 

activity was observed in CA compared to CT. Water soluble K was higher in CA (6.2 mg/kg) 

compared to CT in 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil depth. Higher Fe (16.9 mg/kg) and Cu (1.08 

mg/kg) was observed in CA compared to CT but Mn content was at par. Significantly higher 

CO 2 emission (kg ha -1 ) was observed in CA (5069) as compared to CT (4060) during maize 

growing season. Among nutrient management, higher CO 2 emission (kg ha -1 ) was observed 

in NPKSZnB (7510) followed by N omission (3258) and control (2927). Significantly higher 

N 2O omission (g ha -1 ) was observed in CT (243.7) compared to CA (188.9). CA increased 

CO2 emission by 24.8%, but decreased N2O emission by 29% compared to CT which 

ultimately resulted lower global warming potential (GWP). 

Total system yield (Mg/ha) 

12.0 

10.0 

8.0 

6.0 

4.0 

2.0 

0.0 

Conclusion 

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 

System productivity (Mg ha -1 ) as inflenced by CA. 

CA 

CT 

System productivity increased through CA in maize-horsegram sequence. Effect of CA is 

more pronounced in sequence crop (horsegram) grown in rabi season. In less rainfall year, it 

can minimize the effect of moisture stress of hosegram and sustain the crop for several more 

weeks. CA improved the SOC and available nutrient status, particularly K in the soil. Thus, 

CA with improved nutrient management can improve soil health, nutrient use efficiency and 

increase net primary productivity and profitability in rainfed region. 

References 

Aulakh, M. S., Manchanda, J. S., Garg, A. K., Kumar, S., Dercon, G., Nguyen, M. L., 2012. Crop 

production and nutrient use efficiency of conservation agriculture for soybean–wheat rotation 

in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Northwestern India. Soil Tillage Res. 120: 50–60. 

Kundu, S., Srinivasarao, Ch., Mallick, R. B., Satyanarayana, T., Prakash Naik, R., Johnston, A. and 

Venkateswarlu, B. 2013. Conservation agriculture in maize (Zea mays L.)-horsegram 

(Macrotyloma uniflorum L.) system in rainfed Alfisols for carbon sequestration and climate 

change mitigation. J. Agric. Meteorol. 15:144-149. 




T4a-07R-1015 

Effect of Conservation Agriculture and Mineral Nitrogen Levels on Soil 

Aggregate Stability Indices and Associated Carbon in Rainfed Maize (Zea 

mays L.) - Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) Crop Rotation under 

Alfisols 

A. K. Indoria 1* , K. Sammi Reddy 1 , G. Pratibha 1 , V. K. Singh 1 , D. S. Kumar 2 , S. Kundu 1 , 

S. S. Balloli 1 , K. Srinivas 1 , K. L. Sharma 1 , M. Prabhakar 1 , Ch. Srinivasarao 3 , V. Visha 

Kumari 1 , S. Sukumaran 1 , V. N. Mishra 2 and H. Sahu 1 

1 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India 

2 Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, India 

3 ICAR- National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, India 

* ashok.indoria@icar.gov.in 

Intensive tillage directly affects the stability and formation of soil aggregates by disrupting 

soil structure. Its intensity deteriorates and weakens soil aggregates, making them susceptible 

to decay. Conservation agriculture as a soil management technology has been suggested by 

many researchers to minimise the negative impact of conventional tillage practices on soil 

aggregate functioning (Indoria et. al., 2017). Soil aggregates are considered as the pockets to 

provide physical protection to soil carbon and significantly affect the diffusion rate of 

oxygen, nutrient adsorption, soil water retention, microbial community and root growth 

(Indoria et. al., 2017). This study was aimed to assess the impact of conservation agriculture 

practices and different levels of mineral N on soil aggregate stability indices and associated 

carbon in maize-pigeonpea crop rotation under Alfisols. 

Methodology 

A long-term field experiment was established at Gunegal Research Farm of ICAR-CRIDA, 

Hyderabad in 2012. Treatments includes three tillage practices viz., CT (conventional 

tillage), RT (reduced tillage) and NT (no-tillage), and four nitrogen levels viz., N-0= no 

nitrogen application (control). N-75= 75% of RDN (recommended dose of nitrogen), N- 

100=100% of RDN and N-125=125% of RDN of maize and pigeonpea crops on yearly 

rotation basis. Soil samples were collected during 2018 (after seven years) from 0-7.5, 7.5-15 

and 15-30 cm soil depths. The aggregate size distribution of soil was determined by wet 

sieving method using Yoder type apparatus. The C associated with different aggregate size 

fractions was determined by using the CHNS Analyzer, Vario EL. 


580 | Page



Results 

Tillage practices and mineral nitrogen levels significantly influenced the aggregate stability 

indices. Significantly higher mean weight diameter (MWD) of soil aggregates recorded in the 

NT (35%) and RT (25%) as compared to the CT in 0-7.5 cm soil depth. Similarly, 

significantly higher MWD were recorded under N-125 as compared to the other N levels (Fig 

1 A). A similar trend was observed in 7.5-15 and 15-30 cm soil depth with respect to the 

MWD. About 70% higher aggregate ratio (AR) was observed in NT, and about 33% higher 

AR was observed under RT as compared to the CT. Similarly, nitrogen treatment follows the 

order: N-0< N-750.5-0.25>0.25-0.106>1-0.5>2-1>4.75-2 

mm>silt+clay at all the soil depths, irrespective of tillage and nitrogen levels. The order of 

aggregate and silt+clay associated C content follows: NT>RT>CT, while in case of N levels, 

it follows: N-125 >N-100>N-75>N-0. In NT and RT, the C stocks in different macroaggregates 

(4.75-2, 2-1, 1-0.5 and 0.5-0.25 mm) increased, while these decreased in microaggregates 

(0.25-0.106 and 0.106-0.053 mm). 

Effect of different tillage practices and mineral nitrogen levels on A) MWD (mm) and water stable 

aggregates (%) in 0-7.5 cm soil depth. 




The total residues turn-out had significant (p ≤ 0.05) and positive correlation with MWD, 

WSA, WSMacA, AR, WSMacA-C, WSMicA-C, silt+clay-C and WSMacA C stock, and was 

significantly (p ≤ 0.05) and negatively correlated with WSMicA, WSMicA Cstock and 

silt+clay Cstock at 0-7.5, 7.515 and 15-30 cm soil depth. These results were conformity with 

the earlier findings by Zeng et al., 2021. 

Conclusion 

The present study indicates that full conservation agriculture (NT) or partial conservation 

agriculture (RT) coupled with adequate application of mineral N help in creating the 

optimum environment in soil for overall improvement of the aggregate indices and enhancing 

the aggregate C stocks. 

References 

Indoria, A.K., Srinivasarao, Ch., Sharma, K.L., and Sammi Reddy, K. 2017. Conservation 

agriculture–a panacea to improve soil physical health. Curr. Sci. 112, 52-61. 

Zeng, R. Wei, Y., Huang, J., Chen, X. and Cai, C. 2021. Soil organic carbon stock and 

fractional distribution across central south China. Int. Soil Water Conserv. Res. 9, 

620-630. 

T4a-08R- 1187 

Growth and Yield of Groundnut as influenced by Moisture Stress at 

different Phenophases 

C. Radha Kumari, B. Sahadeva Reddy, D. V. Srinivasulu, K. C. Nataraj and 

Ch. Murali Krishna 

Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Ananthapuram -515 001 

Anantapuram has the largest groundnut area among different districts of Andhra Pradesh. 

It is 2 nd driest district in the country after Jaisalmer in Rajasthan with lowest recorded 

rainfall 553 mm. Besides low rainfall, the variability in rainfall distribution is also very 

high in the district. Some of the previous studies have shown that the pod yield of 

groundnut had a curvilinear relationship with rainfall and soil moisture ( Vittal et al., 

2003). In rainfed agriculture, a need is often felt to identify suitable drought resistant 

varieties of crops which have a better performance under varying soil and agro-climatic 

conditions. Accordingly, the present study was conducted with the objective of assessing 

the impact of dry spells at different growth stages on groundnut productivity and 

identifying a suitable drought resistant variety for attaining maximum productivity in an 

arid alfisol. 


582 | Page



Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted to study growth and yield of groundnut as influenced by 

moisture stress imposed at different growth stages of groundnut using rainout shelters under 

rainfed conditions during Kharif, 2015-16 at Agricultural Research Station, Ananthapuram of 

Andhra Pradesh. This experiment was non replicated laid out in split plot design. The main 

plots consisted of four treatments viz., M1: Imposing moisture stress during 30-50 DAS 

(flowering to pegging), M 2: Imposing moisture stress during 50-70 DAS (pegging to pod 

formation), M 3: Imposing moisture stress during 70-90 DAS (pod filling to maturation) and 

M4: Moisture stress free condition and sub plots comprised of 5 varieties viz., K-6, K-9, 

Anantha, Dharani and Harithandhra. Sowing of different varieties was taken up as per the 

treatments M1, M2 and M3 treatments were imposed by withholding rainfall using rainout 

shelters during 30-50 (flowering to pegging), 50-70 (pegging to pod formation), and 70-90 

DAS (pod filling to maturation) respectively followed by regular irrigation. In M 4 treatment 

moisture stress free condition was maintained by providing irrigation for entire crop growth 

period through sprinkler irrigation system. Leaf, stem, root dry weight per plant at 40 and 80 

DAS, and pod yield was measured. A two-way ANOVA is used by considering periods 

(days) as a related factor, moisture stress levels and varieties as independent factors followed 

by DMRT to identify homogeneous subsets among moisture stress levels and varieties with 

respect to pod yield. 

Results 

The results indicated that dry matter partitioning is changing significantly at different stages 

of crop growth as presented in the table below. Further, an interaction effect of different 

stages (DAS) and moisture stress levels is also influencing the dry matter partitioning in 

stem which significantly varied with four moisture stress levels. Similarly, dry matter 

partitioning is significantly different among five varieties at 40 and 80 DAS which supports 

an interaction effect of moisture stress and at different stages. Further it is also noticed that 

dry matter partitioning in stem is significantly different among four moisture stress levels at 

5% level in which ‘moisture stress free’ is deviating significantly from other three levels 

with the highest partitioning value i.e 2.438 irrespective of DAS and varieties (DMRT). 

Whereas treatments influence the dry matter partitioning in stem significantly in which 

Dharani and K9 varieties are showing high value of partitioning than that of other three 

varieties (DMRT). 

Moisture stress during 70-90DAS (pod filling to maturity) recorded highest pod yield 

reduction followed by Moisture stress during 50-70DAS (pegging to pod formation) and 30- 

50DAS (flowering to pegging) compared to stress free condition. It indicates that pod filling 

to maturity stage is most critical stage in groundnut. Among varieties K6, Harithandra and 

Ananta recorded pod yield reduction of 54%, 53.7% and 49.3% respectively. K9 and 




Dharani recorded 39 and 39.7% pod yield reduction. It indicates that K9 and Dharani are 

drought resistant varieties. Ramachandrappa et al. (1992) reported that the groundnut crop 

was more susceptible to moisture stress from70 days to harvest (pod initiation to maturity). 

Golakiya and Patel (1992) reported that water stress at flowering, pegging, pod development 

and pod maturation stages reduced the pod yields of groundnut by 26.6, 44.7, 56.3 and 60 

percent respectively. 

Conclusion 

The findings of the present study indicated that pod filling to maturity stage is most critical 

stage in groundnut with highest pod yield reduction. Among the varieties, K9 and Dharani 

are more drought resistant than K6, Ananta and Harithandra varieties. 

References 

Golakiya, B. A., and Patel, M. S., 1992. Growth dynamics and reproductive efficiency of 

groundnut under water stress at different phenophases. Indian J. Agron. 26: 179-186. 

Ramachandrappa, B. K., Kulakarni, K. R., and Nanjappa, H. V. 1992. Stress day index for 

scheduling irrigation in summer groundnut (Arachis hypogaeaL.). Indian J. Agron. 37: 

276-279. 

Vittal, K. P. R., Maruthi Sankar, G. R., Singh, H. P., Balaguravaiah, D., Padmalatha, Y. and 

Moisture 

stress 

Moisture 

Stress 

during 

30-50 

DAS 

Moisture 

Stress 

during 

50-70 

Yellamanda Reddy, T. 2003. Modeling sustainablility of crop yield on rainfed 

groundnut based on rainfall and land degradation. Indian J. Dryland Agric. Res. Dev. 

18(1) : 7–13. 

Dry matter partitioning (g) per plant and pod yield of groundnut as influenced by 

moisture stress imposed during different stages 

Mean 

Variety 

Leaf dry 

weight per 

plant (g) 

40 

DAS 

80 

DAS 

Stem dry 

weight per 

plant (g) 

40 

DAS 

80 

DAS 

Root dry 

weight per 

plant (g) 

40 

DAS 

80 

DAS 

Leaf area 

index (LAI) 

40 

DAS 

80 

DAS 

Pod 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

% 

Decrease 

of pod 

yield over 

control 

K6 0.68 3.21 0.72 2.75 0.23 0.56 0.65 1.33 1638 -32.0 

K9 0.82 4.31 0.96 3.15 0.18 0.61 0.80 1.69 1733 -17.0 

Anantha 0.89 3.98 0.76 2.70 0.15 0.63 0.75 1.54 1614 -28.0 

Dharani 0.96 4.33 0.82 3.83 0.10 0.59 0.94 1.77 1842 -16.0 

Harithandra 0.71 2.67 0.67 2.51 0.08 0.42 0.68 1.16 1547 -27.0 

Mean 0.81 3.70 0.79 2.99 0.15 0.56 0.76 1.50 1674 -24.0 

K6 0.76 3.92 0.85 2.84 0.16 0.62 0.76 1.46 1374 -43.0 

K9 0.82 4.33 1.16 3.48 0.09 0.84 0.66 1.88 1671 -20.0 

Ananta 0.83 4.32 0.95 3.14 0.14 0.56 0.69 1.56 1271 -43.0 

Dharani 1.05 3.97 0.81 2.89 0.16 0.78 0.97 1.76 1694 -22.0 


584 | Page



DAS Harithandra 0.72 3.13 0.95 2.03 0.11 0.58 0.71 1.34 1123 -47.0 

Moisture 

Stress 

during 

70-90 

DAS 

Moisture 

stress 

free 

Total 

Mean 0.84 3.93 0.94 2.88 0.13 0.68 0.76 1.60 1426 -35.0 

K6 0.96 2.60 0.99 2.47 0.21 0.52 0.71 1.25 314 -87.0 

K9 0.59 3.33 0.86 2.88 0.14 0.50 0.50 1.30 412 -80.0 

Ananta 0.85 3.95 0.69 2.88 0.14 0.47 0.62 1.45 509 -77.0 

Dharani 0.65 3.02 0.88 2.58 0.14 0.62 0.54 1.31 409 -81.0 

Harithandra 0.76 2.69 0.67 1.96 0.08 0.76 0.62 1.10 276 -87.0 

Mean 0.76 3.12 0.82 2.55 0.14 0.57 0.60 1.28 384 -82.4 

K6 0.82 2.84 0.66 2.91 0.08 0.27 0.87 2.35 2409 

K9 0.68 5.69 1.13 5.65 0.16 0.89 0.86 2.18 2085 

Ananta 0.98 5.29 1.05 4.33 0.23 0.97 0.82 2.31 2237 

Dharani 0.64 2.57 0.73 2.25 0.18 0.48 0.79 2.06 2180 

Harithandra 0.76 3.24 0.65 3.67 0.13 0.39 0.86 2.08 2110 

Mean 0.78 3.93 0.84 3.76 0.16 0.60 0.84 2.20 2204 

K6 0.81 3.14 0.81 2.74 0.17 0.49 0.75 1.60 1433 -54.0 

K9 0.73 4.42 1.03 3.79 0.14 0.71 0.71 1.76 1475 -39.0 

Ananta 0.89 4.39 0.86 3.26 0.17 0.66 0.72 1.72 1407 -49.3 

Dharani 0.83 3.47 0.81 2.89 0.15 0.62 0.81 1.73 1531 -39.7 

Harithandra 0.74 2.93 0.74 2.54 0.10 0.54 0.72 1.42 1264 -53.7 

DAS **DAS vs moisture stress levels**, 

DAS vs Varieties*, varieties* and stress levels* 

*significant @ 5% level, ** significant at 1% level, NS Not significant, same alphabet 

indicates insignificant difference (DMRT) 

T4a-09R-1443 

Impact of Zero Tillage over Conventional Tillage in Kushinagar District 

of Uttar Pradesh 

Ashok Rai 1 , Neeraj Singh 2 , Vinay Kr. Patel 1 , Vishal Singh 1 and Shamsher Singh 1 

1 

Krishi Vigyan kendra (ICAR-IIVR) Sargatia Seorahi, Kushinagar (U.P.) -274406 

2 

ICAR-IIVR Varanasi (U.P.) 

An experiment conducted at Amawakhas Nyaypanchayat, Kushinagar district of U.P. Under 

National Innovation in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project for the scrutiny of the 

impact of zero tillage over conventional tillage during the year 2012 to 2016. Zero tillage 

reduces cost of tillage and irrigation, which results in increase of yield through possible 

improvement in sowing time and enhanced water use efficiencies. The experiment results 

revealed that performance of zero tillage was found superior over conventional tillage in 

context of yield attributes viz. spike length, no. of spike m -2 , no. of grain spike -1 except test 

weight. Therefore, the mean yield was estimated higher in zero tillage i,e 40.55 qha -1 which 

was 8.22 % higher than conventional tillage i.e 3722 kg ha -1 . On average zero tillage saved 




total cost of cultivation of Rs 7265.69 ha -1 and increased the profit by 13171.07 ha -1 . Zero 

tillage method also recorded higher bbenefit cost ratio was 2.34 as compared to conventional 

tillage method i.e. 1.70. 


T4a-10R-1235 

Nutrient Dynamics in Conservation Agriculture under Rainfed Conditions 

P. S. Prabhamani, H. B. Babalad, R. K. Patil and Geetha Shirnalli 

University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka, India – 580 005 

Wide spread degradation of natural resources in rainfed areas and climate change are 

threatening the national food security. This has brought about focus on rainfed ecology which 

has been now affected has very low level of sustainability. In rainfed regions, Conservation 

agriculture (CA) has been proposed as a widely adapted set of management principles that 

can assure more sustainable agricultural production. Agro-ecology specific conservation 

agriculture strategies are needed in rainfed production systems that have the scope in saving 

time, reduced cost of production and increase soil carbon sequestration and nutrient 

stratification. Conservation tillage is a widely-used terminology in CA to denote soil 

management systems that result in at least 30 per cent of the soil surface being covered with 

crop residues after seeding of the subsequent crop. This helps to improve the soil organic 

carbon (SOC), physical, chemical and biological properties. Tillage, residue management and 

crop rotation have a significant impact on nutrient distribution and transformation in soil 

(Sharma et al., 2021). The experiment was conducted with objective to study the effect of 

conservation tillage practices on soil physical properties and nutrient dynamics in groundnutsorghum 

cropping system under rainfed conditions. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was initiated on a fixed site during 2013-14 at Main Agricultural Research 

Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad and after four years of experimentation 

the results were discussed in this article. The experiment was laid out in strip block design 

with six different tillage practices in three replications [CT1: No tillage with BBF (broad bed 

and furrows) and crop residues retained on the surface, CT 2: Reduced tillage with BBF and 

partial incorporation of crop residues, CT 3: No tillage with flat bed (FB) and crop residues 

retained on the surface, CT4: Reduced tillage with FB and partial incorporation of crop 

residues, CT 5: Conventional tillage with crop residues incorporation and CT 6: Conventional 

tillage with no application of crop residues as control]. Rotavator was passed for shredding 

and partial incorporation of residue treatment plots and to shred the residues and retention on 

the surface rotaslasher was passed, in conventional tillage with crop residue incorporation 

plot residues were incorporated at the time of ploughing where as in no residue plots all the 

crop residues were removed after the harvesting and land was ploughed. 

586 | Page



Results 

The results of effect of different conservation tillage systems on soil physical and chemical 

properties are presented in the table 1. All conservation tillage systems recorded significantly 

higher water stable aggregates content over conventional tillage practices. Among the 

conservation tillage practices CT 1 and CT 3 revealed higher aggregate stability followed by 

CT2 and CT4 whereas CT5 and CT6 recorded significantly lower per cent aggregate stability. 

Among the tillage practices, CT 4 recorded significantly higher MWHC of the soil (54.0 % ) 

followed by CT 1 and CT 3. However, CT 5 revealed significantly lower MWHC than 

conservation tillage practices (50.6 %). Data showed that tillage systems significantly 

influenced the SOC content. Among the tillage practices CT 1 and CT 3 recorded significantly 

higher SOC content (8.84 and 8.76 g kg -1 ) over CT5 and CT6 (6.31 and 5.46 g kg -1 

respectively). At 15-30 cm depth data showed CT5 recorded significantly higher SOC content 

(6.16 g kg -1 ) as compared to rest of the tillage practices. In 0-30 cm soil depths, indicating 

SOC content of surface soil was higher as compared to sub surface In conventional tillage 

with no crop residues system, lower soil organic carbon content and further destruction of 

soil aggregates through tillage resulted in loss of occluded intra aggregate particulate organic 

matter carbon in soil which contribute long term soil carbon sequestration in agricultural soils 

(Six et al., 2004).The data on available soil NPK at 0-15cm soil depth showed that tillage 

systems significantly influenced the available soil nutrients. Among the tillage practices CT1 

recorded significantly higher available soil NPK (290, 41.9 and 449.5 kg ha -1 respectively). 

At 15-30 cm soil depth data showed that CT5 and CT6 revealed significantly higher soil 

available N (223.6 and 207.9 kg ha -1 respectively) as compared to conservation tillage 

practices. The presence of mineral soil NPK available for plant uptake is dependent on the 

rate of carbon mineralisation (Sharma et al., 2021). Retention of crop residues might have 

reduced the surface area of crop biomass for microbial decomposition resulting in slower 

decomposition and long duration retention which in-turn helped in release of nutrients for a 

longer period 

Conclusion 

Combination of no tillage with BBF and FB and crop residues retained on the surface in 

groundnut-sorghum system recorded significantly improved soil physical and chemical 

properties. 

References 

Mohanty, A. and Mishra, K. N. 2014. Influence of conservation agriculture production 

system on available soil nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and maize equivalent 

yield on a fluventic haplustepts in the north central plateau zone of Odisha. Trends 

in Biosci. 7(23): 3962-3967 




Sharma, P. C., Fagodiya, R. K. and Jat, H. S. 2021. Nitrogen management in conservation 

agriculture-based cropping systems. Indian J. Fert. 17(11): 1166-1179 

Six, J., Bossuyt, H., Degryze, S. and Denef, K. 2004. A history of research on the link 

between (micro) aggregates, soil biota, and soil organic matter dynamics. Soil Till. 

Res. 79: 7-31 

Effect of different tillage systems on soil physical and chemical properties 

Tillage systems CT1 CT2 CT3 CT4 CT5 CT6 S.Em 

± 

CD 

(0.05) 

Soil aggregate stability (%) 63.2 62.7 63.0 63.1 61.2 60.6 0.18 0.56 

MWHC (%) 53.9 53.8 53.7 54.0 50.6 48.0 0.13 0.38 

SOC (g kg -1 ) at 0-15cm depth 8.84 8.68 8.76 8.49 6.31 5.46 0.08 0.25 

SOC (g kg -1 ) at 15-30cm depth 5.27 5.30 5.19 5.22 6.16 5.45 0.05 0.16 

Available N (kg ha -1 ) at 0-15cm 

depth 

Available N (kg ha -1 ) at 15-30cm 

depth 

Available P (kg ha -1 ) at 0-15cm 

depth 

Available P (kg ha -1 ) at 15-30cm 

depth 

Available K (kg ha -1 ) at 0-15cm 

depth 

Available K (kg ha -1 ) at 15-30cm 

depth 

290.8 286.9 287.5 281.5 270.8 254.2 2.09 6.17 

198.8 199.6 199.9 199.0 223.6 207.9 0.61 1.80 

41.9 40.3 41.3 40.5 38.4 28.0 0.57 1.68 

26.3 26.2 27.1 26.6 31.4 26.8 0.18 0.52 

449.5 447.7 448.8 445.8 426.1 376.5 3.54 10.45 

384.2 384.0 385.3 383.7 403.7 365.6 0.82 2.43 


588 | Page



T4a-11R-1127 

Co-Application of Biochar and Inorganic Fertilizer Improves Soil Fertility and Crop 

Productivity in Maize-Groundnut Cropping System in Semi-Arid Alfisols 

K. C. Nataraja 1 , S. N. Malleswari Sadhineni 1 , G. Narayana Swamy 1 , Ch. Srinivasarao 2 , 

D. Balaguraviah 1 , M. V. S. Naidu 1 , Y. Reddi Ramu, 1 P. Lavanya Kumari 1 and 

T. Giridhara Krishna 1 

1 Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh 

2 ICAR-National Academy Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad - 500030, Telangana 

The man induced climate change, posed an adverse impact on soil health and crop 

productivity. It is crucial to maintain threshold level of organic matter in soil to perform its 

agricultural production and environmental functions (Srinivasarao et al., 2014). In this 

context, there is a considerable interest in the concept of applying biochar to soil as long term 

sink for carbon thereby mitigating climate change. In addition to being an important emission 

neutral technology, biochar is a multifunctional option. Hence, the addition of biochar is 

complementary to diverse land uses in semi-arid agro ecosystem (Lal et al., 2018). In light of 

the above scenario, co application of biochar and inorganic fertilizer and its effect on crop 

growth was evaluated in maize-groundnut cropping system under hot, semi-arid Alfisols of 

southern Andhra Pradesh, India. 

Methodology 

Field experiment was conducted in split-split plot design with fixed plot for both Kharif and 

Rabi during 2018 to 2020 at Agricultural Research Station, Ananthapuramu under Acharya 

N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh, India. 75 % Recommended dose of 

inorganic fertilizer (RDF) as (F1) and 100% as (F2). Pigeonpea biochar (B1) and cotton 

biochar (B2) and their respective crop residues as (B3 and B4) were treated as sub plots. 

Biochar and their respective crop residues were applied at the rate 0 t ha -1 , 2 t ha -1 and 4 t ha -1 

as sub - sub plot treatments. All the treatments were applied with common basal dose of RDF 

for maize during kharif and for groundnut during rabi. Sub plot treatment with 0 t ha -1 of 

fertilizer was considered as fertilized control. Biochar application was only to Kharif maize in 

both the years and its residual effect was studied on groundnut during Rabi. 

Results 

The impact of combined application of biochar along with RDF in maize-groundnut cropping 

system under hot, semi-arid Alfisols is presented in table 1. The pooled statistically analyzed 

data reveals that, highest plant height at harvest was recorded in maize with the application of 

100% RDF + pigeonpea biochar @ 4 t ha -1 followed by 2 t ha -1 and fertilized control 

treatments. The carry over effect of biochar on Rabi groundnut was also noticed the similar 

trend. Similarly, the conjunctive use of 100% RDF + pigeonpea biochar @ 4 t ha -1 recorded 




highest hundred grain weight (g) or test weight of maize during Kharif and highest 100 kernel 

weight (g) during rabi with application of pigeonpea biochar @ 4 t ha -1 followed 2 t ha -1 and 

fertilized control. However, the biomass yield with respect Kharif grown maize and residual 

effect of biochar on rabi grown groundnut was also followed the similar trend wherein, 

pigeonpea biochar @ 4 t ha -1 yielded highest stover yield in maize and highest haulm yield in 

groundnut compared to lowest in fertilized control. Besides, available nutrient status in soil 

improved. This might be due to positive effect of biochar along with inorganic fertilizer 

influenced the soil pH, WHC, increased soil available N, P, K and balanced nutrient uptake. 

Further, biochar at higher dose effectively promoted nutrient absorption by crop eventually, 

more synchronization of nutrients to crop growth. The results were in agreement with those 

as reported by Feng et al. (2021). 

Conclusion 

Integrated application of pigeonpea biochar @ 4 t ha -1 along with RDF for maize and residual 

effect of biochar in rabi influenced the soil physico chemical properties and soil fertility, 

eventually increased crop growth. Thus, co application of biochar and inorganic fertilizer not 

only effective in improving soil fertility but also improves crop productivity in semi-arid 

Alfisols 

Effect of co application of biochar and inorganic fertilizer on the growth attributes of 

Treatment 

Type of biochar / Crop residue 

maize-groundnut cropping sequence in semi-arid Alfisols. 

Plant 

height 

(cm) at 

harvest 

Kharif maize 

100 grain 

weight 

(g) 

Stover 

yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Plant 

height (cm) 

at harvest 

Rabi groundnut 

100 kernel 

weight (g) 

Haulm 

yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

B 1 (Pigeonpea ) 203.2 31.62 9542 32.5 44.8 3796 

B 2 (Cotton) 202.0 30.85 9405 32.2 44.4 3750 

B 3 (Pigeonpea crop residue) 200.3 30.14 9236 31.7 43.3 3691 

B 4 (Cotton residue) 198.3 29.59 9095 31.4 43.0 3576 

SEm± 1.76 0.32 100.1 0.39 0.14 35.40 

LSD (P = 0.05) NS 0.92 292.1 NS 0.40 103.3 

Level of biochar / Crop residue 

S 1 (0 t ha -1 ) 188.3 29.70 8741 29.5 40.9 3187 

S 2 (2 t ha -1 ) 205.1 30.58 9439 32.4 44.7 3898 

S 3 (4 t ha -1 ) 209.4 31.36 9778 33.9 46.1 4024 

SEm± 1.52 0.24 72.7 0.33 0.10 29.27 

LSD (P = 0.05) 4.29 0.67 205.4 0.94 0.28 82.7 

RDF Fertilizer level 

F 1 (75 %) 199.3 30.40 9080 31.1 43.6 3680 


590 | Page



F 2 (100 %) 202.6 30.70 9559 32.8 44.11 3726 

SEm± 1.67 0.29 55.1 0.20 0.12 30.98 

LSD (P = 0.05) NS NS 216.3 0.77 NS NS 

References 

Srinivasarao, Ch., Rattan Lal, Sumanta Kundu, Prasad Babu, M. B. B., Venkateswarlu, B., 

and Anil Kumar, Singh. 2014. Soil carbon sequestration in rainfed production systems 

in the semiarid tropics of India. Sci. Total Environ. 487: 587-603. 

Lal, R., Smith, P., Jungkunst, H. F., Mitsch, W. J., Lehmann, J., Ramachandran Nair, P. K., 

Alex, B., Mc Bratney, Moraes Sa, J. C. D., Schneider, J., Zinn, Y. L., Skorupa, A. L. 

A., Zhang, H. L. Minasny, B., Srinivasrao, Ch., and Ravindranath, N. H. 2018. The 

carbon sequestration potential of terrestrial ecosystems. J Soil Water Conserv. 73(6): 

145A-152A. 

Feng, W. Y., Yang, F., Cen, R., Liu, J., Qu, Z. Y., and Miao, Q. F. 2021. Effects of straw 

biochar application on soil temperature, available nitrogen and growth of corn. J. 

Environ. Manage. 277. Accessed at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111331. 

T4a-11aR-1175 

Tillage, residue and nutrient management practices influence soil biology and organic 

carbon pools of sugarcane cropping system in semi-arid tropics 

Aliza Pradhan, G C Wakchaure, Dhanashri Shid, and Jagadish Rane 

ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Baramati, 413115 MH 

Intensive tillage coupled with crop residue burning and conventional agronomic practices in 

sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) cropping system is a serious issue causing soil 

degradation and environmental pollution. Globally the principles of minimum soil 

disturbance, crop residue management and suitable nutrient management practices have 

emerged as alternative strategies for enriching the soil resource base (Jat et al., 2019). For a 

sustainable agricultural production system, soil organic carbon and soil biology is vital as 

they regulate all the other chemical, physical and biological properties (Parihar et al., 2018). 

A number of research studies have reported the potential of these strategies to serve many 

ecosystem functions such as enhanced soil enzymatic activity, microbial count, carbon 

sequestration, increased resource use efficiency, making the system resilient towards extreme 

climate events and climate change mitigation (Choudhary et al., 2018; Datta et al., 2019; Jat 

et al., 2019). However, benefits of these strategies are needed to be effectively reaped in 

sugarcane production system that occupies 5 million ha acreage and utilizes more than 5% of 

country’s irrigation resources on merely 2.6% of the net cultivated area and produces 108 

million tonnes of crop residues, annually. In sugarcane-based cropping system, trash burning 




either before or after harvest is a common practice which not only reduces the amount of 

surface organic matter, soil organic carbon (SOC), essential nutrients, and microbial count 

but also causes environmental pollution. Reports on dynamics of SOC in different pools and 

their relationship with soil biology under climate smart management systems in sugarcane 

cropping system is very scanty. Keeping this in view, a field experiment was conducted to 

evaluate the effects of reduced tillage, residue and nutrient management practices on soil 

organic carbon pools, soil biological properties and their interrelationships with system yield 

after six years of continuous cultivation of sugarcane in Semi-arid regions of India. 

Methodology 

During 2016-2022, a field experiment was conducted at ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic 

Stress Management, Baramati, Maharashtra with hot and semi-arid climate. Majority of 

agricultural area is rainfed with low annual rainfall (584 mm) received mostly in June- 

December restricted to south-west (70%) and retreating (21%) monsoons. The predominant 

medium black soil (≤ 60 cm depth) at the site was sandy clay in texture (sand, silt, clay, 55.6, 

8.3, 36.1, respectively). The pH (1: 2.5 soil: water suspension), EC, available N, P, K and 

organic C of soil were about 8.1, 0.26 dS m -1 , 172.2, 18.2, 143.8 kg ha -1 and 6.7 g kg -1 , 

respectively. The experiment was laid out in split-split plot design and replicated thrice with 

tillage as main plot treatments viz., conventional tillage (CT) and reduced tillage (RT); 

residue (R) managements practices i.e. RR (residue retention) and RB (residue burning) in 

sub plots and three nutrient management practices of different ratios of recommended doses 

of fertilizer (RDF) in sub-sub plots i.e. 25: 75 (N1); 50: 50 (N2); and 75: 25 (N3) during 

basal and subsequent fertigation, respectively. Soil samples were collected from (0-15) and 

(15-30) cm soil depths after six years of the study i.e. after harvest of one fresh and four 

ratoon sugarcane crops. The soil samples were analyzed for SOC content, its pools, soil 

enzymes and microbial counts following the standard operating procedures as followed in 

Datta et al., 2015 and Choudhary et al., 2018). Statistical analyses were executed with general 

linear models (GLMs) using the “Agricolae” package of R (R Development Team, 2011). 

Results 

Soil enzymes and microbial population 

Soil dehydrogenase activity (DHA), alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) and ß-glucosidase 

activity (BGA) were significantly affected by tillage, residue and nutrient management 

practices (Table 1). In the (0-15) cm soil layer, reduced tillage had 322, 36 and 55% higher 

DHA, APA and BGA, respectively than CT. Plots with residue had 83% higher DHA as 

compared to residue removal plots. A similar trend was seen for APA and BGA with 16% 

higher activity in RR plots than RB. For nutrient management practices, the enzyme 

activities were found in order of N2 (50% RDF as basal and rest 50% through fertigation) > 


592 | Page



N3 (75% RDF as basal and 25% through fertigation) > N1 (25% RDF as basal and 75% 

through fertigation). Plots under N2 had 64, 11 and 18% higher DHA, APA and BGA, 

respectively than N1. A similar trend with lower values was observed at 15-30 cm depth. 

Microbial population viz., bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes was significantly affected by 

tillage, residue and nutrient management practices. Population of bacteria was higher 

compared to fungi and actinomycetes at both the soil depths though the counts were lower at 

(15-30) cm depth as compared to upper (0-15) cm depth. Compared to CT the counts of 

bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes were 51, 39 and 73% higher in RT and 41, 38 and 72% 

higher in RR as compared to RB, respectively. The treatments having application of >50% of 

RDF as basal (N2 and N3) had higher microbial population i.e. 40%, 60% and 70% bacteria, 

fungi and actinomycetes, respectively as compared to N1. 

Effect of tillage, residue and nutrient management on soil enzymes and microbial 

population 

Treatments 

Tillage (T) 

Dehydrogenase 

activity 

(µg TPF g -1 h -1 ) 

Alkaline 

phosphatase 

activity 

(µg p- 

nitrophenol 

g -1 h -1 ) 

ß-glucosidase 

activity 

(µg p- 

nitrophenol 

g -1 h -1 ) 

Bacteria 

(CFU x 10 10 

g -1 soil) 

Fungi 

(CFU x 

10 10 g -1 

soil) 

0-15 15-30 0-15 15-30 0-15 15-30 0-15 15-30 0-15 15- 

30 

Actinomycetes 

(CFU x 10 10 g -1 

soil) 

0-15 15-30 

CT 21.67 b 17.40 b 203.64 b 197.19 b 17.14 b 16.30 b 7.93 b 6.67 b 5.69 b 4.63 b 4.43 b 3.33 b 

RT 91.37 a 85.76 a 276.27 a 268.06 a 26.50 a 25.63 a 11.20 a 10.06 a 7.92 a 7.66 a 7.66 a 7.48 a 

Residue (R) 

RR 43.13 b 38.61 b 227.00 b 219.45 b 20.61 b 19.73 b 7.95 b 6.78 b 5.68 b 4.64 b 4.43 b 3.41 b 

RB 78.79 a 73.58 a 263.50 a 255.54 a 24.98 a 24.08 a 11.19 a 10.99 a 7.83 a 7.66 a 7.61 a 7.49 a 

Nutrient (N) 

N1 41.56 c 36.69 c 226.57 c 218.86 c 20.04 b 19.12 b 7.93 b 6.86 b 5.63 b 4.59 b 4.47 b 3.43 b 

N2 73.24 a 68.97 a 257.26 a 249.81 a 24.61 a 23.68 a 11.17 a 10.94 a 7.87 a 7.68 a 7.59 a 7.53 a 

N3 68.08 b 62.63 b 251.93 b 243.82 b 23.74 a 22.91 a 11.11 a 10.86 a 7.77 a 7.69 a 7.52 a 7.39 a 

Different lower-case letters within same column show significant difference at P=0.05 as per 

Duncan Multiple Range test for mean separation 

Soil organic carbon content and its pools 

Results showed that total SOC was increased by 12 and 17% under RT and residue retention, 

respectively as compared CT and RB plots at 0-15 cm soil depths. In surface layer, active and 

passive pool carbon (6.98 and 19.45 Mg C ha-1) was 14% and 18% higher in RR plots as 

compared to RB, respectively after six years of continuous sugarcane cropping. Again, plots 

with residue retention had 63, 34 and 15% higher labile, less labile and non-labile pools, 




respectively as compared to residue burning plots. Below soil layer (15-30) cm also showed a 

similar trend with lower values though the effects were non-significant. 

Effect of tillage, residue and nutrient management on total soil organic carbon and its 

pools 

Treatments/soil 

depths (cm) 

Tillage (T) 

Total soil organic 

carbon (SOC) 

(Mg C ha -1 ) 

Very labile 

SOC 

(Mg C ha -1 ) 

0-15 15-30 0-15 15- 

30 

Labile SOC 

(Mg C ha -1 ) 

0-15 15- 

30 

Less labile 

SOC 

(Mg C ha -1 ) 

0-15 15- 

30 

Non labile 

SOC 

(Mg C ha -1 ) 

Active SOC 

pool 

(Mg C ha -1 ) 

0-15 15-30 0-15 15- 

30 

Passive SOC 

pool 

(Mg C ha -1 ) 

0-15 15-30 

CT 23.06 b 25.30 a 3.98 a 4.38 a 1.76 a 1.93 a 2.79 a 2.72 a 14.46 b 15.84 a 5.74 a 6.31 a 17.33 a 18.99 a 

RT 25.89 a 26.40 a 4.89 a 5.02 a 2.36 a 2.37 a 2.87 a 3.14 a 16.07 a 16.39 a 7.05 a 7.30 a 18.85 a 19.10 a 

Residue (R) 

RR 22.65 b 24.73 a 4.47 a 4.55 a 1.55 b 1.69 b 2.29 b 2.49 b 14.25 b 15.54 a 6.11 b 6.70 a 16.54 b 18.03 a 

RB 26.43 a 26.64 a 4.57 a 5.01 a 2.52 a 2.57 a 3.08 a 3.07 a 16.37 a 16.45 a 6.98 a 7.12 a 19.45 a 19.53 a 

Nutrient (N) 

N1 24.43 a 24.45 a 4.45 a 4.47 a 1.93 a 1.94 a 2.88 a 2.88 a 15.26 a 15.14 b 6.38 a 6.41 b 18.14 a 18.02 a 

N2 24.68 a 26.53 a 4.68 a 5.03 a 2.07 a 2.24 a 2.64 a 2.74 a 15.39 a 16.53 a 6.74 a 7.27 a 17.93 a 19.25 a 

N3 24.52 a 26.11 a 4.43 a 4.83 a 2.10 a 2.22 a 2.54 a 2.72 a 15.26 a 16.32 ab 6.52 a 7.05 a 17.91 a 19.06 a 

Different lower-case letters within same column show significant difference at P=0.05 as per 

Duncan Multiple Range test for mean separation 

Conclusion 

Minimum soil disturbance with residue retention improved soil organic carbon pools whereas 

these practices coupled with appropriate nutrient management practice had higher soil 

enzymatic activities and microbial count after six years of continuous cropping of sugarcane. 

Therefore, these practices should be recommended to sugarcane growers for sustainability of 

the cropping system while maintaining the soil resource base. 

References 

Choudhary, M., Datta, A., Jat, H.S., Yadav, A.K., Gathala, M.K., Sapkota, T.B., Das, A.K., 

Sharma, P.C., Jat, M.L., Singh, R., Ladha, J.K., 2018. Changes in soil biology under 

conservation agriculture based sustainable intensification of cereal systems in 

indoGangetic Plains. Geoderma 313, 193–204. 

Datta, A., Basak, N., Chaudhari, S.K., Sharma, D.K., 2015. Soil properties and organic 

carbon distribution under different land uses in reclaimed sodic soils of north-West 

India. Geoderma Reg 4, 134–146. 

Jat, H.S., Datta, A., Choudhary, M., Yadav, A.K., Choudhary, V., Sharma, P.C., Gathala, 

M.K., Jat, M.L., McDonald, A., 2019. Effects of tillage, crop establishment and 

diversification on soil organic carbon, aggregation, aggregate associated carbon and 


594 | Page



productivity in cereal systems of semi-arid Northwest India. Soil Tillage Res. 190, 128– 

138. 

Parihar, C.M., Jat, S.L., Singh, A.K., Datta, A., Parihar, M.D., Varghese, E., Bandyopadhyay, 

K.K., Nayak, H.S., Kuri, B.R., Jat, M.L., 2018. Changes in carbon pools and biological 

activities of a sandy loam soil under medium-term conservation agriculture and 

diversified cropping systems. European J. of Soil Sci. 69 (5), 902–912. 

T4a-12P-1031 

Assessment of Soil Physical Properties from Different Blocks of Jaipur 

district, Rajasthan, India 

Surykant Sharma* 

Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj – 211007, U.P. 

*surykantsharma.ag@gmail.com 

Soil is a dynamic natural body formed as a result of pedogenic processes by changing rock 

climates, including minerals and organic elements, with chemical, physical, mineralogical 

and biological properties, with varying depth of surface, and providing medium to plant 

growth. (Thakre et al.,2012). Because of urbanization infrastructural expansion, industrial 

growth, and land degradation losses due to rapid erosion and secondary salinization, the 

arable land area has been shrinking (Lal, 2013). Generally, the soil types of Rajasthan are 

sandy, saline, alkaline, and calcareous soils and were commonly called clay, loamy, and 

black lava soils. Groundwater level is very low because the annual rainfall is approximately 

360 mm and the ground water level very deep. Water is available at depths of 100 to 61 

meters. The soil of the Rajasthan region is classified as Aridisols, Alfisols, Entisol, 

Inceptisols and Vertisol according to the USDA Land Division program (Chiroma et al., 

2014). The capital of Rajasthan is the state of Jaipur, located between 26˚55′10ʺ N and 

75˚47′16ʺ E. Jaipur has an average height of 1414 feet from sea level and Jaipur 11,152 km 2 . 

The weather in Jaipur is desert. The average annual temperature is 25.2°C. The average 

rainfall in the Jaipur region is estimated at 650 mm. This type of climate and climate are 

applicable to kharif crops for example pearl millet, groundnut, cluster bean, sorghum, green 

gram and rabies plants wheat, mustard, barley, gram, pea, rapeseed, and taramira. The current 

research was conducted to examine the visible soil structures from different blocks in the 

Jaipur region (District Fact Book, 2019). 

Methodology 

The study area was marked and divided in 3 blocks and in each block where selected 3 

villages from the Jaipur district, they are Keshav Nagar (V 1), Morija (V 2), Nindola (V 3) in 

Chomu block (B1), Goner (V4), Shrikishanpura (V5) and Durgapura (V6), block in Sanganer 




(B2), and Shivpuri (V7), Manoharpur (V8), Nwalpura (V9), block in Shahpura (B3). At 

collection of soil sampling site-, twenty-seven soil samples were collected at different depths 

of 0-15 cm, 15-30 cm and 30-45 cm. Soil samples were collected randomly from a site using 

Khurpi and Phawrah and Auger the depth of (a) 0-15cm, (b) 15-30cm, (c) 30-45 cm. 

Composite soil samples (by the process of conning and quartering method) was collected by 

Stratified soil sampling. After collecting the soil samples, they were analysed following 

standard laboratory procedures. brought to the laboratory. 

Results 

The results showed in soils from different villages of most of Jaipur district soils, Sandy 

Loam Texture was discovered at three depths (0-15 cm, 15-30 cm, and 30-45 cm) (Table-2). 

The percentages of sand, silt, and clay ranged from 60.11 to 72.60 percent, 13.35 to 24.59 

percent, and 12.35 to 15.62 percent, respectively. The soil color of soil also noticed in both 

the Air- dry condition and wet condition. The Soil color was Light Yellowish-Brown 

(10YR6/4) color to brownish yellow (10YR5/8) (Table-3). The results showed in soils from 

different villages The maximum bulk density was 1.35 Mg m -3 at 30-45 cm in village Morija 

(V 2), and the lowest bulk density was 1.22 Mg m -3 at 0-15 cm in village Nwalpura (V 9). with 

increasing soil depths, the bulk density increases. At depth 30-45 cm in village Morija (V2), 

the maximum particle density was 2.37 Mg m -3 , while at 0-15 cm in village Shivpuri, the 

minimum particle density was 2.24 Mg m -3 (V7). Bulk density is lower than particle density. 

The largest percent pore space was reported at 0-15 cm in village Keshav Nagar (V 1), while 

the smallest percent pore space was measured at 30-45 cm in village Shivpuri (V 7). The % 

pore space decreases sharply as depth increases. The maximum water holding capacity was 

found 60.12 % at 0-15cm in village Nwalpura (V 9 ) and minimum water holding capacity % 

was found 41.27 % at 30-45 cm in village Morija (V 2 ) (Table-1). These variations were due 

to clay, silt and organic carbon content and low Water holding capacity in sandy soils due to 

high sand and less clay content. However, in Village Shivpuri (V7) had the highest specific 

gravity of 2.56 at 30-45 cm, while village Morija had the lowest specific gravity of 2.33 at 0- 

15 cm (V 2). Clay, silt, and organic carbon concentration all played a role, as did low Water 

holding capacity in sandy soils due to high sand and low clay content. 

Conclusion 

The soil of investigated area was sandy loam textured soil. 

The soil color was light 

Yellowish-Brown to brownish yellow which signifies a good organic matter. Improve of soil 

health by using organic manure and bio fertilizers and improve soil physical condition at 

study area, depth from upper to lower soil layers pore space % decrease because soil 

compacted, that is not suitable for good soil aeration. Growing Bajara, Mustard, Barley, 

Wheat, Tomato, Cole crops and Gram crops are suitable at present study area. 


596 | Page



References 

Chiroma, A. K. and Singh, J. S. 2014. Soil characteristics and vegetation development of an 

age series of mine spoil in a dry tropical environment. Vegetation, 97: 63–76. 

District Factbook. 2019. Rajasthan District Factbook Jaipur district. Key Socio-economic 

Data of Jaipur district, Rajasthan. District Profile – Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jaipur 

2019. 

Lal, R. 2013. Soil and Sanskriti. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci., 61: 267-274 

Thakre Y. G., Dr. Choudhary M. D., Dr. Raut R. D. 2012. Physicochemical Characterization 

of Red and Black Soils of Wardha Region, Int. J. Chem. and Phys. Sci.,1(2): 60-65. 

T4a-13P-1301 

Appraisal of Some Soil Physical Properties and Available Micronutrients under 

Organic and Conventional Farming Systems in an Inceptisol 

Priyanka Meena, Y.S. Shivay and Manoj Shrivastava 

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India 

priyankameena28@gmail.com, manojshrivastava31@gmail.com 

Worldwide land under organic farming in 2017-18 encompassed more than 69.8 million 

hectares and India has around 1.78 m ha under organic farming. Trace elements have 

important role in plant and animal nutrition and their deficiencies and toxicities cause adverse 

effects on plant growth. There is a need to maintain optimal concentrations of micronutrients 

in soil and plant to the attainment of optimum economic yields of crops and animal 

productivity and welfare. A field study has been conducted to investigate the available 

micronutrients in different aggregates under organic and conventional farming practices. The 

field experiment was, thus, conducted at the research farm of the Indian Agricultural 

Research Institute, New Delhi on sandy clay-loam soil starting from Kharif 2006 under the 

rice-wheat cropping system. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with 

three replications and eight treatments in a set. The treatments consisted of control (T1), 

farmyard manure (FYM@ 10 t/ha) applied to only rice (T2); FYM @ 10 t/ha applied to only 

wheat (T3); FYM @ 10 t/ha applied to rice and wheat (T4); Sesbania green manure (SGM) to 

rice and Leucaena green leaf manuring (LGLM) to wheat (T5); SGM+Blue Green Algae 

(BGA) and LGLM+Azotobacter to wheat (T6); SGM+FYM to rice and LGLM+FYM to 

wheat (T7); and SGM+FYM+BGA to rice and LGLM+FYM+Azotobacter to wheat (T8). In 

this study, the effect of organic amendments was evaluated on physical soil properties i.e., 

different size aggregates and yield of the respective system by sampling the soil from three 

depths (0-15, 15-30, and 30-60 cm) for two seasons in rice and wheat (2020-2021 and 2021- 

2022). The results were found to be improved in T8 in the case of the yield of rice and wheat. 




Although the soil aggregate was significantly affected by organic amendments, but the 

maximum Mean weight diameter (MWD) was observed in T8 followed by T7, T6, and T4 at 

the soil depths of 0-15 cm. A similar trend was observed in the other depths. The 

concentration of Zn, Mn, Fe, and Cu was found significantly higher in 0-15 cm soil depth as 

compared to other depths. Our results clearly indicated that the cumulative effect of 

GM+FYM+BGA leads to increased productivity, improved soil physical properties, and as 

well as micronutrient availability. 

T4a-14P-1580 

Conservation Agriculture Approach as Climate Change Mitigation 

Pooja Jena 1 , Arabind Kumar Sinha 2 , Shailabala Dei 1 , A.S. Tigga 1 and Basant Kumar 

Rajak 3* 

1 Bihar agricultural University, Sabour (Bihar) 

2 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bhagalpur (Bihar) 

3 Atal Bihari Vajapeyi Institute for Good Governance & Policy Analysis (AIGGP), Bhopal (Madhya 

Pradesh) 

*basant.rajak@gmail.com 

Climate change is undoubtedly induced and accelerated by human activity and can pose a 

serious threat to mankind by reducing food production. Significant weather aberrations in 

form of the uneven precipitation pattern, more frequent and intense occurrence of 

temperature fluctuations accompanied by changes in wind intensity and frequency, amount of 

clouds, intensity and quality of sunlight can be expected. Maybe the most vulnerable sector 

affected by climate change is agriculture. So, it is important to mitigate and adapt to a new 

situation through different and most adaptable agricultural strategies. There is a need to 

quantify agriculture’s potential to sequester carbon (C) to inform global approaches aimed at 

mitigating climate change effects. Many factors including climate, crop, soil management 

practices, and soil type can influence the contribution of agriculture to the global carbon 

cycle. Conservation agriculture is as an approach to farming that seeks to increase food 

security, alleviate poverty, conserve biodiversity and safeguard ecosystem services. 

Conservation agriculture practices can also contribute to making agricultural systems more 

resilient to climate change. Conservation agriculture increases and sustains the crop 

productivities, mitigates greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by enhancing soil carbon 

sequestration, improving soil nutrient status and water use efficiencies, and reducing fuel 

consumption. Mainstreaming of Conservation agriculture systems in India is hindered by its 

knowledge gap, inadequate farm machineries and tools, small holdings, poor infrastructures, 

and lack of conservation agriculture friendly policy support. 


598 | Page



T4a-15P - 1061 

Conservation Agriculture in Himalayan States of India: Prospects and 

Research Challenges Ahead 

Raman Jeet Singh*, N.K. Sharma, Gopal Kumar, Trisha Roy, Uday Mandal, A.K. 

Gupta, Rama Pal, J.S. Deshwal and M. Madhu 

ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun 248 195 

*rdxsingh@gmail.com 

Issues of conservation have assumed importance in view of widespread resource degradation 

and the need to reduce production costs, increase profitability and make agriculture more 

competitive. Conservation Agriculture (CA) which has its roots in universal principles of 

providing permanent soil cover (through crop residues, cover crops, and agro-forestry), 

minimum soil disturbance, and crop rotations is now considered the principal road to 

sustainable agriculture (FAO, 2014). Soil tillage and particularly the plough, in hilly regions 

of the world, has become part of the culture of crop production. Ploughing, cultivation and 

tillage are often synonyms for growing a crop. Although the concept of CA is universally 

applicable, this does not mean that the techniques and practices for hilly region are readily 

available (Sharma et al., 2014). Depending on the specific farming situation and agroecological 

conditions, the actual CA practice has to be developed locally. Especially, the crop 

rotations, selections of cover crops, issues of integration of crop and livestock have to be 

revealed and decided upon by the farmers in a given location. A diversity of problems arises, 

very often around weed management, residue management, equipment handling and settings, 

planting parameters like time and depth, which need to be addressed. Similarly, issues like 

steep slope, undulating topography and fragmented land holdings in hilly region are to be 

addressed which are major constraint in adopting CA. CA needs to be understood in a 

broader perspective in Himalayan states of India. It should be practiced in such a way that 

both soil and water conservation methods are mutually reinforced (Sharma et al., 2005). 

Although favourable results have been obtained with reduced tillage/no-tillage systems in 

many cases, there are some problems associated with them in adopting it to hilly region. One 

major problem in hilly regions is limited availability of crop residue and its utilization for 

feed and fuel. Reduced tillage systems of developed countries/Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) 

cannot be copied in toto without modification in India/hilly states especially in sloping 

agricultural conditions, albeit with caution and the prevailing soil, climatic, social, and 

economic conditions of the region must be considered (Jat et al., 2021). Therefore, the real 

challenge lies in finding ways and means of sparing the crop residue for conservation farming 

and evolving alternative strategies for meeting fodder requirements of livestock in the region. 

CA practices has to be adopted holistically so that it minimizes soil loss, conserve water and 




controls weeds, all of which are essential for sustainable and successful crop production 

under Himalayan states of India. 

References 

FAO. 2014. What is conservation agriculture? http://www.fao.org/ag/ca/1a.html 

Jat R A, Jinger D, Kumar K, Singh R J, Jat S L, Dinesh D, Kumar A, and Sharma N K. 2021. 

Scaling-Up of Conservation Agriculture for Climate Change Resilient Agriculture in 

South Asia. pp. 351-380. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77935-1_11 In book: Wani 

S, Raju K V, and Bhattacharyya T. (Eds.), Scaling-up Solutions for Farmers. Springer 

Nature. ISBN 978-3-030-77934-4 ISBN 978-3-030-77935-1 (eBook) 

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77935-1 

Sharma A R, Singh R, and Dhyani S K. 2005. Conservation tillage and mulching for 

optimizing productivity in maize-wheat cropping system in the outer western Himalaya 

region – a review. Indian Journal of Soil Conservation 33(1): 35–41. 

Sharma N K, Ghosh B N, Mandal D, Singh R J, and Mishra P K. 2014. Conservation 

agriculture for resource conservation in North-Western Himalayan region. In: 

Somasundaram J, Choudhary R S, Subbarao A, Hati K M, Sinha N K, Vasanda-coumar 

M (eds) Conservation agriculture for carbon sequestration and sustaining soil health. 

New India Publishing Agency, New Delhi, pp 105–126. 


T4a-16P- 1221 

Direct Seeding in Rice: A Resource Conservation Technology in Scarce 

Rainfall Zone of Kurnool district, A.P. 

M. Sudhakar, G. Dhanalakshmi, K.V. Ramanaiah and E. Ravi Goud 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Yagantipalli. Kurnool dist. A.P-518124 

Rice (Oryza sativa), the staple food of more than half of the population of the world, ia an 

important target to provide food security and livelihoods for millions. Imminent water crisis, 

water demanding nature of transplanted rice has deleterious effects on the Soil environment. 

Nearly 30% of total Water (1,400 – 1,800 mm) used in rice culture is consumed mainly 

during Puddling and increased labour cost for transplanting leads to search for alternative 

management method. Direct seeding in Rice overcomes the problem of labour requirement 

for rice nursery raising and transplanting operations. Direct seeding in Rice facilitates timely 

sowing of crop in Command areas and taking up succeeding crops leading to increase water 

productivity, system sustainability and profitability. 

Thirty on-farm demonstrations were conducted on Direct seeding in Rice in different 

locations of Banaganapalli, Serivella and Gosapadu mandals of Kurnool district during 

600 | Page



consecutive years of 2017-18,2018-19 and 2019-20 under command area. Rice crop was 

sown immediately after receipt of monsoons at optimum soil moisture with pre-emergence 

application of pendimethalin @ 2.5 lit /ha was taken up in all demonstrations. The results of 

the demonstrations revealed that the mean grain yield of direct seeded rice was 7453 kg/ ha, 

while transplanting method was 7125 kg/ha. Net returns with direct seeded rice was Rs 

79154/ha compared to transplanting method of Rs 56700/ha. The increased net returns in 

direct seeded rice due to less cost of cultivation. 

Direct seeded rice has been believed to be an optimal option for rice production. This shift 

would sustainably reduce crop water requirement and emission of green house gases. In 

transplanted rice with Puddling and transplanting is one of the major sources of methane 

emissions. More over, direct seeded rice uses 15-20 per cent less water than transplanted 

flooded rice and reduces methane emission by 18% percent. The reduced emission of these 

gases helps in climate change adaptation and mitigation, organic matter turnovers, Carbon 

sequestration and also provides opportunity for crop intensification. 

T4a-17P-1467 

Effect of Bio Regulators Along with Organics on Growth and Yield of 

Gundumalli (Jasminum sambac Ait.) 

V. Velmurugan, R. Sendhilnathan, M. Punithavathi, V. Sangeetha, 

V.E. Nethaji Mariappan and P. Dominic Manoj 

ICAR – Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hans Roever Campus, Perambalur District, Tamil Nadu - 621115 

Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar-608002. T.N. India 

kvk.perambalur@icar.gov.in, kvkroever@gmail.com 

Effect of bio regulators along with organics on growth and yield of Gundumalli 

(Jasminumsambac Ait.) was taken up in a floriculture unit, Annamalai University at 

Annamalainagar during 2011-2013.The experiment was conducted by using different organic 

manures viz., FYM, vermicompost and whereas bioregulators like Naphthalene acidic acid, 

Gibberllic acid and panchagavya was given as foliar application. The experiment was laid out 

in Randomized Block Design with 10 treatment combinations in three replications. The 

growth parameters viz., plant height, number of primary shoots, number of secondary shoots, 

number of leaves per plant, leaf area, number of productive shoots and chlorophyll content 

registered the highest when application of vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 along with foliar spray 

panchagavya 3 percent. The flowering and flower bud characters, viz., early commencement 

of flowering, length of flower bud, flower bud diameter, corolla tube length, bud length 

without corolla and flower yield characteristics viz., hundred bud weight, flower yield per 

plant, flower yield per hectare and the quality character like shelf life also registered the 

highest in the treatment combination of vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 along with foliar spray 




panchagavya 3 per cent. The nutrient contents (NPK) of the plant tissues also registered the 

highest when vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 along with foliar spray panchagavya 3 per cent was 

applied. With regard to the postharvest available soil nutrients, the results revealed that 

application of vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 along with foliar spray panchagavya 3 per cent 

recorded the highest organic content in soil. Hence it could be concluded that the treatment 

combination of vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 along with foliar spray panchagavya 3 per cent is 

best suited to grow Gundumalli (JasminumsambacAit.) in field condition to achieve good 

growth, profuse flowering and flower yield. 

T4a-18P- 1226 

Effect of Life Saving Irrigation on Yield and Economics of Different Kharif 

and Rabi Crops under Dryland Conditions 

 

K. Tiwari*, S. M. Kurmvanshi, Abhishek Soni, G. D. Sharma, S. Pandey and 

 

S. S. Baghel 

All India coordinated Research Project on Dryland Agriculture, JNKVV, College of Agriculture, 

Rewa 486001 (M.P.) 

*rktkvkrewa@rediffmail.com 

In dryland area the distribution of rainfall is highly erratic and the occurrence of dry spells 

during the crop growth stages is indispensable resulting in failure of crop or realization of 

uneconomical yield. Harvesting of rainwater through farm ponds during the rainy season and 

recycling it for use as supplemental irrigation at the critical stages of the crop can help to 

mitigate the effect of dry spells and to overcome the loss of yield under dryland condition for 

Rabi cropping after Kharif. Several researchers have shown that on farm in-situ run off 

collection of rainwater in to farm ponds and its utilization in dry spells as supplemental 

irrigation can increase and stabilize the crop production (Krishna et al. 1987). 

Methodology 

This experiment was conducted 2017-18 to 2020-21 and pooled data has been presented for 

study purpose. The experimental soil is silty clay loam, medium in organic carbon and low in 

available nitrogen and Phosphorus while potassium status was medium. Water harvesting 

tank size is 60 m X 30 m. Total harvested water was 3867m 3 while 1850 m 3 water was used 

for irrigation. Water losses through seepage and evaporation was 1160 M 3 . During Kharif 

Soybean and Rice crops were grown under dryland condition while in Rabi wheat, chickpea, 

Mustard and coriander crops were taken which were given supplemental life saving irrigation 

from water harvested pond. All the crops were fertilized by recommended doses of fertilizers 

under dryland condition. 

Results 


602 | Page



After perusal of the results, it is evident that impact of life saving irrigation was 16.16% in 

wheat, 27.40% in chickpea, 24.54% in mustard and 19.58% in coriander when these crops 

were grown after rice. Wheat, chickpea, mustard and corriander were grown after soybean 

also showed variation in yield under control and life saving irrigation conditions. Grain yield 

of wheat was increased by 18.32%, gram by 27.17%, mustard by 23.23% when grown after 

soybean. Yield of coriander was increased by 7.1% when grown after soybean under the 

influence of one life saving irrigation. Similar findings were also reported by Nagdeve, and 

Patode, (2012). 

Residual effect of soybean on grain yield of wheat, Chickpea, mustard and coriander was 

more when these crops were taken after soybean as compared to rice. 

Effect of life saving irrigation on grain yield of Kharif and Rabi crops. 

Crop Control Life saving irrigation 

Soybean 532 689 

Rice 1617 1730 

Cropping 

system 

Wheat Chickpea Mustard Coriander 

After rice Control 1448 551 383 143 

Life saving 

irrigation 

1682 

(16.16%) 

702 

(27.40%) 

477 

(24.54%) 

After soybean Control 1479 564 396 183 

Life saving 1750 717 

irrigation (18.32%) (27.12%) 

Figures in parentheses are % increases in yield over control 

488 

(23.23%) 

Effect of life saving irrigation on net profit of Kharif and Rabi crops 

Crop (Kharif) Control Life saving irrigation Mean 

Soybean 6370 10220 (60.43%) 8295 

Rice 9358 10162 (8.59%) 9760 

Mean 7864 10191 

171 

(19.58%) 

196 

(7.10%) 

Rabi Wheat Chickpea Mustard Coriander Mean 

After rice Control 1908 3868 5256 5466 4124.5 

After 

soybean 

LSI 3335 

(74.79%) 

11050 

(185.67%) 

6648 

(26.48%) 

10780 

(97.21%) 

7954.5 

Control 1003 5038 5655 7866 4890.5 

LSI 6088 

(506.97%) 

12464 

(147.39%) 

7489 

(32.43%) 

12280 

(56.11%) 

9580.5 




Mean 3083.5 6511 6262 9098 

Figures in parentheses are % increase over control 

References 

Krishan, J. H., Arkin, G. F., and Wartin, J. R. 1987. Run of impoundment for supplemental 

irrigation in texas. Water Resource Bull. 23 (6):1057-1061. 

Nagdeve, M. B., and Patode, R. S. 2012. Protective irrigation through farm pond for 

enhancing crop productivity. Application technologies for harvested rainwater in farm 

ponds. In: proceeding of national consultation meeting held at CRIDA, Hyderabad. Pp: 

62-67. 

T4a-19P - 1205 

Effect of Long-Term Conservation Agriculture on Labile and Total Soil 

Organic Carbon Fractions of Rainfed Pearl Millet-Based Cropping 

Systems of India 

Amresh Chaudhary, M. C. Meena, S. P. Datta, A. Dey, R. S. Bana and D. M. Mahalla 

ICAR – Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi -12, India 

Conservation agriculture improves soil organic carbon concentration in surface soils but the 

increase in the SOC concentration are site-specific all over the world. The dynamics of SOC 

in CA is presented through assessment of management-induced changes in different fractions 

of SOC. Recent researches on SOC are focused on the quality of SOC, and its fractions are 

used as indicators of soil quality. The labile fractions include cold water extractable organic 

carbon (CWEOC); hot-water extractable organic carbon (HWEOC) and active carbon (AC). 

These fractions have small turnover time ranging from days to years. The non-labile fractions 

are chemically less active and are mainly responsible soil carbon sequestration. Yet, the 

information regarding SOC dynamics of labile and total organic carbon fractions are not 

sufficiently available under rainfed conservation agriculture. Therefore, we hypothesized that 

adoption of different tillage, residue management and cropping systems under rainfed pearl 

millet cropping systems have varied response for labile as well total soil organic carbon. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was initiated during rainy season of 2012–13 in the Research Farm of 

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Geographically, Delhi is situated 

between latitude of 28°37 and 28°39 N and longitude of 77°9 and 77°11 E at an altitude of 

225.7 meter above mean sea level. It has semi-arid, sub-humid and subtropical climate with 

hot dry summer and severe cold winter. The Experimental plot consists of four tillage 

practices (Zero-Tillage with residues – ZTR, Zero-Tillage without residues – ZT-(R); 


604 | Page



conventional Tillage – CT) and fallow fields which is not tilled and grass cover is maintained 

throughout the year. three cropping systems (Pearl millet- chickpea – PM-C, Pearl Millet- 

Chickpea- Fodder Pearl Millet – PM-C-FPM and Pearl Millet-Chickpea- Mung bean- PM-C- 

M) in split plot design. After eight years of completion of cropping cycle, fresh and moist soil 

samples are taken from 0-5, 5-15 and 15-30 cm of soil depth from each treatment and 

analysed for different labile pools of SOC including cold water extractable organic carbon 

(CWEOC); hot-water extractable organic carbon (HWEOC); Active carbon (AC) and total 

SOC. CWEOC is quantitatively very close to dissolved organic carbon whereas the HWEOC 

consists of more stable components that form the close reserve of nutrients and energy for 

plants and microorganisms. Similarly, AC determined through 0.002 M potassium 

permanganate is an active SOC pool and is well suited to track management practices that 

promote soil C sequestration, making it a particularly useful indicator for soil quality 

research. (Weil et al., 2003). The Total soil organic carbon was analysed through CHNS 

analyzer. Data were statistically analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using 

doebioresearch package in R software (R Core Team (2022). 

Results 

CWEOC was the highest in the surface than in the sub-soil layers under every tillage and 

cropping system treatments. CWEOC was similar for ZT+R, fallow and CT tillage practices 

and these were higher compared to ZT-R treatment at 0-5 cm depth whereas at 5-15 cm depth 

only ZT+R is significantly higher than other treatments. All the treatments remain nonsignificant 

at 15-30 cm soil depth. There was no significant difference between cropping 

systems throughout the soil depths. The interaction between tillage and cropping systems 

were significant at 0-5 and 5-15 cm of soil depth. The highest CWEOC were observed in 

ZT+R: PM-C-M (0.098 g kg -1 ) and ZT+R:PM-C-FPM (0.105 g kg -1 ) respectively at 0-5 cm 

depth. Similarly, ZT+R: PM-C-M (0.10 g kg -1 ) and ZT+R:PM-C-FPM (0.10 g kg -1 ) 

treatments observed highest CWEOC at 5-15 cm soil depth and at 15-30 cm of soil depth 

CWEOC ranges between 0.098 to 0.067 g kg -1 . The concentration of HWEOC was almost 2.8 

times higher as compared to CWEOC at 0-5 cm depth. HWEOC also higher at surface (0-5 

cm) than subsurface soil depths (5-15 and 15-30 cm). HWEOC content was highest in ZT+R 

and fallow treatments as compared to ZT-R and CT treatments at 0-5 cm soil depths. 

HWEOC was 3.28 times higher as compared to CWEOC at 5-15 cm soil depth. HWEOC was 

highest in fallow (0.164 g kg -1 ) and CT (0.174 g kg -1 ) treatments as compared to ZT-R 

treatments (0.121 g kg -1 ) whereas at 15-30 cm, treatments follow the trend: fallow> ZT+R = 

CT> ZT-R. AC follow similar trend of HWEOC and CWEOC. AC was highest in ZT+R and 

ZT-R treatments as compared to CT and fallow treatments at 0-5 cm soil depth but there was 

no significant difference among tillage practices at 5-15and 15-30 cm of soil depth. The 

highest AC content was observed in PM-C-M (0.509 g kg -1 ) and PM-C-FPM (0.475 g kg -1 ) at 

0-5 cm soil depth. The interaction of tillage and cropping systems were significant at 0-5 and 




5-15 cm soil depth (Table). The TOC content was highest in ZT+R (8.487 g kg -1 ) which is 

83.82 % higher than CT (4.617 g kg -1 ) whereas fallow has highest total SOC content in 5-15 

and 15-30 cm respectively. 

Conclusion 

From this study, it can be concluded that labile pools of soil organic carbon such as CWEOC, 

HWEOC and AC as well as total SOC content are sensitive to changes in tillage as well 

cropping systems under different soil depths in rainfed pearl millet-based cropping systems. 

The adoption conservation tillage with residue retention on soil surface and crop rotation with 

legumes improves soil organic carbon content and quality as compared to conventional tillage 

systems. 

Depth distribution of labile soil organic carbon fractions 

Treatment/depth CWEOC (g kg -1 ) HWEOC (g kg -1 ) AC (g kg -1 ) 

Tillage 

0-5 cm 

5-15 

cm 

15-30 

cm 

0-5 

cm 

5-15 

cm 

15-30 

cm 

0-5 cm 

5-15 

cm 

15-30 

cm 

ZT+R 0.097 a 0.088 a 0.077 0.287 a 0.154 b 0.111 b 0.527 a 0.435 0.226 

ZT-R 0.062 b 0.037 b 0.078 0.191 b 0.121 c 0.0945 c 0.474 ab 0.456 0.224 

CT 0.093 a 0.030 b 0.084 0.179 b 0.174 a 0.111 b 0.443 bc 0.389 0.233 

Fallow 0.0794 ab 0.032 b 0.068 0.277 a 0.164 ab 0.132 a 0.367 c 0.305 0.181 

Cropping systems 

PM-C-M 0.083 0.059 a 0.087 0.218 b 0.153 ab 0.108 b 0.509 a 0.432 0.225 

PM-C- 

FPM 0.087 0.039 b 0.075 0.220 b 0.137 b 0.115 b 0.475 ab 0.421 0.217 

PM-C 0.0818 0.055 a 0.077 0.217 b 0.160 a 0.093 c 0.462 b 0.427 0.242 

fallow 0.0794 0.032 b 0.068 0.277 a 0.164 a 0.132 a 0.367 c 0.305 0.181 

References 

R Core Team. 2022. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation 

for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/. 

Weil, R.R., Islam, K.R., Stine, M.A., Gruver, J.B. and Samson-Liebig, S.E. 2003. Estimating 

active carbon for soil quality assessment: A simplified method for laboratory and field 

use. American J. Alternative Agric., 18(1): 3-17. 


606 | Page



T4a-20P-1324 

Effect of Organic and Inorganic Nutrient Management Practices on 

Growth and Yield of Maize under Sub-Tropical Kandi area Jammu region 

Brinder Singh 1* , A.P. Singh 1 , G. Ravindra Chary 2 , Gopinath 2 , Jai Kumar 1 , Rohit 

Sharma 1 , A. P. Rai 1 and Sunny Raina 1 

1 All India Coordinated Project for Dryland agriculture, Rakh-Dhiansar, Samba (UT of J&K) 

2 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 

Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir 

(UT) 181 133 

*brinder24@gmail.com 

Maize is globally the top-ranking cereal in potential grain productivity. It is cultivated in subtropical 

regions of the world. Maize (Zea Mays L.) is the third most important food grains 

crop in India after rice and wheat. In India maize produced 31.51 million tonnes in an area of 

9.9 million hectares during 2020-21, (Acharya et al. 2021). In Jammu and Kashmir maizewheat 

is the most prevalent cropping sequence being practiced by farming community in the 

kandi belt of Jammu Division (under rainfed conditions). About 12% of the total area of 

Jammu region constituting dry semi-hilly belt is rainfed in nature, the most stressed 

ecosystem of this region and is locally known as kandi area. Continues use of chemical 

fertilizers resulted in decline of soil physical and chemical properties and crop yield and 

significant land problems, such as soil degradation due to over exploitation of land and soil 

pollution caused by high application rates of fertilizers and pesticide application. Application 

of Effect of organic sources of nutrient on yield and soil properties of Soybeans besides 

supplying N, P and K also make unavailable sources of elemental nitrogen, bound 

phosphates, micronutrients, and decomposed plant residues into an available form to facilitate 

to plant to absorb the nutrients. Application of organic sources of nutrients viz FYM and 

Crop residue has capability to improve soil quality and higher crop productivity in 

sustainable manner without deteriorating the soil and other natural resources. Keeping the 

above facts into consideration, the problem entitled “Effect of organic and inorganic nutrient 

management practices on growth and yield of maize under sub-tropical kandi area Jammu 

region” is proposed to identify the best type of available organic resources which can be used 

as fertilizers and their best combination with appropriate proportion of inorganic fertilizers. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted under rainfed condition during kharif season of 2019 - 

2020 at Research farm of Advanced Centre for Rainfed Agriculture Rakh-Dhiansar of 

SKUAST-Jammu (32° 39” N 74° 53” E 332 m amsl), under rainfed condition. The soil of 

experimental site was sandy loam in texture, with a pH 6.5, low in organic carbon (0.18), and 




available nitrogen (178 kg/ha), and medium available phosphorus (18 kg/ha) and potassium 

(108 kg/ha). The experiment consisted of ten treatments of inorganic and organic 

combinations of nutrient sources, viz T 1: Control; T 2: 100 % recommended fertilizer dose- 

RFD (60:40:20 NPK kg/ha); T3: 50 % RFD NPK; T4: 50 % N (crop residue); T5: 50 % N 

(FYM); T 6: 50 % RFD + 50 % N (crop residues); T 7: 50 % RFD + 50 % N (FYM); T 8: FYM 

10 t/ha; T9: 100 % RFD + ZnSO4 20 kg/ha and T10: Farmers practice (FYM 4 t/ha + urea 40 

kg/ha). Maize (var Mansar) was shown in the month of June- July and harvested in 

September-October during kharif seasons of 2019 to 2020, respectively. The crops were sown 

in lines with a spacing of 60 cm x 20 cm, respectively. 

Results 

Among the different organic and inorganic treatments, the maximum plant height (215 cm) 

was recorded with application of 50 % recommended NPK + 50% N (FYM) which was 

found to be statistically at par with the treatment where application of 50 % recommended 

NPK + 50% N (Crop residues) was applied during the experimentation. The improved growth 

in plant might be due to increased cell division and photosynthetc efficency because of 

enhanced availabilty of nutrients. (Tomar et al., 2017). With regard to yield and yield 

attributes, the treatment where application of 50 % recommended NPK + 50% N (FYM) was 

applied recorded significantly highest grain (22.33 q ha -1 ) and stover (46.26 q ha -1 ) yield of 

maize which was statistically at par with the treatment 50 % recommended NPK + 50% N 

(Crop residue) while the lowest yield was recorded in control plots. Likewise, the highest net 

returns to the tune of ₹ 24716 ha -1 was realized with the application of application of 50 % 

recommended NPK + 50% N (FYM) with B:C ratio of 2.01. Similar results were observed by 

Gupta,et.al( 2014). The increase in yield with addition of FYM alone or in combination of 

inorganic fertilizers may be attributed to the fact that FYM being the store house of nutrients 

also made release of applied nutrients at its optimum at the same time improved the soil 

physical conditions (Kumar et al. 2002). 

Treatment 

Effect of organic and inorganic nutrients on growth yield and economics of 

maize under rainfed conditions (pooled data of two years) 

Plant 

height 

(cm) 

Grain 

yield 

(q ha -1 ) 

Straw 

yield 

(q ha -1 ) 

Net 

returns 

(₹ ha -1 ) 

Control 171 7.55 18.00 853 0.95 

100 % recommended NPK 195 17.29 36.68 16881 1.79 

50 % recommended NPK 184 12.09 26.56 7138 1.36 

50 % recommended N (Crop residue) 187 13.25 28.62 7859 1.37 

50 % recommended N (FYM) 187 14.04 29.97 8658 1.39 

50 % recommended NPK + 50% N (Crop 205 20.63 42.51 21496 1.90 

B.C 


608 | Page



residue) 

50 % recommended NPK + 50% N 

(FYM) 215 22.33 46.26 24716 2.01 

FYM @ 10 t/ha 189 18.98 39.67 15986 1.62 

100 % recommended NPK + ZnSO 4 @ 

20 kg/ha 200 19.53 40.47 21367 1.99 

Farmer’s method (FYM @ 4 t/ha + 40 kg 

Urea/ha) 194 15.39 33.23 12193 1.56 

Mean 193 16.11 34.19 8090 0.85 

CD=(P=0.05) 11.81 3.12 5.69 

Conclusion 

It can be safely concluded from the above observations that application of 50 % 

recommended NPK through chemical fertilizer in combination with application of 50% N 

through FYM resulted in higher plant height, yield and yield attributes of maize under 

subtropical conditions of Jammu. 

References 

Gupta V, Sharma A, Kumar J, Abrol V, Singh B and Singh M. 2014. Integrated nutrient 

management in maize-gobhi sarson cropping system in low altitude sub-tropical 

region in foothills. Bangladesh Journal of Botany. 43(2): 147-155. 

Kumar A, Thakur KS and Manuja S. 2002. Effect of fertilizer levels on promising hybrid 

maize (Zea mays) under rainfed conditions of HP. Indian Journal of Agronomy. 47: 

526-528. 

Tomar S. S, Singh A, Dwivedi A, Sharma R, Naresh R. K, Kumar, Tyagi, S, Singh A, Yadav 

S, Rahul N, and Singh, B. P. 2017. Effect of integrated nutrient management for 

sustainable production system of maize (Zea Maya L.) in Indo-Gangetic plain zone 

of India. International Journal of Chemical studies. 5(2): 310-316. 

Singh, R.B. 2000. Environmental consequences of agricultural development: a case study 

from the green revolution state of Haryana, India, Agric., Ecosystem and Envir. 82, 

1-3, pp. 97-103. 

Acharya N. G. Ranga. 2021 Agricultural University is a public agricultural university with its 

headquarters at the village Lam, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. 

Wikipediahttps://angrau.ac.in/downloads/AMIC/OutlookReports/2021/7- 

MAIZE_Jianuary%20to%20December%202021.pdf. 




T4a-21P 

Effect of Organic Sources of Nutrients on Yield and Soil Properties of 

Soybean 

S. A. Jawale, P. H. Gourkhede, D. G. Shinde and A. K. Gore 

Organic Farming Research and Training Centre, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Parbhani - 431402 (Maharashtra) India 

ofrtcvnmkvparbhani@gmail.com 

Organic manures are a valuable potential source of N and organic matter. They play an 

important role in the improvement of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil 

with an increase in the microbial population in the soil. Hence, a field study to know the 

effect of conjoint use of organic manure on yield and nutrient status of soybean in Inceptisol 

was conducted during kharif 2021-22, on the Research field of Organic Farming Research 

and Training Centre, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani. Revealed the 

effect of organic sources of nutrients on the yield and soil properties of soybeans. Among 

various treatments, the higher concentration of available nitrogen, phosphorous & potassium 

was found in RDF + FYM 5 t /ha (T 13) followed by 33% FYM + 33% VC + 33% NC (T 3) as 

an organic source of nutrients. 

Methodology 

An experiment was conducted at Organic Farming Research and Training Centre, Vasantrao 

Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth Parbhani, during Kharif 2018-19. The experiment 

design was RBD for thirteen treatments with three replications with a gross plot size of 7.2 m 

x 6.0 m and net plot size of 6.3 m x 5.4 m and with 45 x 05 cm spacing. 

Results 

Soybean yield was determined by the development of the plant from the beginning of 

sowing to the harvest period, where the role of fertilization was of great importance. The 

application of different organic and chemical fertilizers would affect one or all of its yield 

components. Data from Table showed that among nutrient source applications the chemical 

fertilizer as RDF with FYM the treatment T13 i.e. RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 recorded the 

highest available macronutrient in soil which was found significantly superior over the rest 

of the treatments. However, the use of organic sources of nutrients affected soybean 

available macronutrients in soil, and data revealed that the effect of various organic sources 

on soybean yield was found to be significant. The nutrient status for available 

macronutrients was found to be significant for available nitrogen. Among various 

treatments higher concentration of available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium was found 

in T3 followed by T2 of an organic source of the nutrient. The differences for pH, EC, 


610 | Page



organic carbon, and CaCO3 were found to be non-significant. Whereas numerically higher 

values for pH were observed in T 10 and higher values of EC and organic carbon were 

observed in T 3. The differences in micronutrients were found to be significant. Among 

various treatments, T3 showed a higher concentration of all micronutrients. Among various 

organic sources of nutrients the treatment i.e. T 3: 100 % RDN through 33% FYM + 33% 

VC + 33% NC available macronutrient in soil N, P, and K . (218, 21.52 and 516 kg/ha). The 

treatments had RWUE of more than one except the control plots and it was found highest in 

treatment T 13 followed by T 2. The positive effects of organic manure application on the 

performance of soybean and other crops in black soils are well documented by Aher et al. 

2015. The differences for pH, EC, organic carbon, and CaCO 3 were found to be nonsignificant. 

Whereas numerically higher values for pH were observed in T10 and higher 

values of EC and organic carbon were observed in T 3. 

Conclusion 

Among various organic sources of nutrient treatments, application of 100 % RDN through 

33% FYM + 33% VC + 33% NC (T3) recorded the highest available nutrients in soil N, P, 

and K (218, 21.52 and 516 kg/ha). Potassium was found in RDF + FYM 5 t /ha (T 13) followed 

by 33% FYM + 33% VC + 33% NC (T3) as a organic source of nutrients. 

References 

Aher, S.B., Lakaria, B.L., Swami, K., Singh, A.B., Ramana, S., Ramesh, K. and Thakur, J. K. 

2015. Effect of organic farming practices on soil and performance of soybean 

(Glycine max (L.)) under semiarid tropical conditions in central India. Journal of 

Applied and Natural Science 7(1): 67–71. 



Hyderabad 

Treatments 

Soil nutrient status under different organic nutrient sources after harvest of Soybean 

pH 

EC 

dS m -1 

OC 

% 

CaCO 3 

% 

Available Major 

nutrients 

kg/ ha. 

Micronutrients 

ppm 

N P K Cu Fe Mn Zn 

T 1: 100 % RDN through FYM 7.59 0.42 0.61 3.5 197 20.19 486 12.09 14.29 17.58 0.26 

T 2: 100 % RDN through VC 7.61 0.29 0.64 3.6 206 21.48 486 12.43 15.61 18.26 0.46 

T 3: 100 % RDN through 33% FYM + 33% VC + 

33% NC 

7.59 0.46 0.68 2.8 218 21.52 506 12.68 16.84 20.06 0.45 

T 4: 100 % RDN: FYM + JA 3 at 30, 45 & 60 DAS 7.63 0.41 0.56 3.4 187 19.46 496 12.19 15.26 18.34 0.31 



T 7: 100 % RDN: FYM + Biofertilizer 2.5 lit/ha (SA) 7.64 0.34 0.48 3.5 163 18.63 416 12.67 14.27 17.58 0.36 



T 10: Jivamrut 3 Appln at 30, 45 & 60 DAS 8.12 0.41 0.61 3.4 114 15.67 421 10.94 11.43 15.64 0.28 

T 11: Jivamrut 5 Appln at 0, 15, 30, 45 & 60 DAS 7.83 0.39 0.53 3.6 116 15.27 406 10.54 11.58 14.69 0.33 

T 12: Control (Without any application) 7.64 0.41 0.54 3.1 94 13.28 389 9.38 10.64 15.87 0.34 

T 13: RDF + 5 t FYM/ha 7.59 0.38 0.58 3.5 234 22.68 529 12.67 13.69 16.98 0.29 

SE + 0.024 0.004 0.018 0.006 4.68 0.67 4.81 0.003 0.28 0.39 0.0048 

CD at 5% NS NS NS NS 1.56 0.223 1.603 0.002 0.093 0.12 0.113 

Mean 7.64 0.39 0.58 3.35 164 18.32 455 11.35 13.53 17.04 0.35 

ffff 




T4a-22P- 1460 

Effect of Paddy Straw mulching and Tillage on Growth and Yield of Pea 

(Pisum sativum L.) 

V. Akashe Zhimomi, Bendangjungla and Peiwang 

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi season 2021-22 at farmers field, NICRA 

village, Mon district, Nagaland to study the effect of paddy straw mulching and tillage on growth 

and yield of field pea (Pisum sativum L.). Aman, is a new pea variety introduced for the district 

and has become a staple crop. The crop is generally sown during the last week of October after 

the harvest of wet rice cultivation (WRC). The result showed that maximum plant height, no. of 

branches per plant, no. of pods per plant, no. of seeds per pod, test weight and soil moisture 

content were obtained from paddy straw mulch with minimum tillage. The highest net income 

and benefit cost ratio was obtained from paddy straw mulch with minimum tillage. 

T4a-23P- 1102 

Effect of Tillage and Residue Management on Yield of Blackgram – Rabi 

Sorghum Sequence Grown on Inceptisol under Rainfed Condition 

N. J. Ranshur, S. K. Upadhye and V. M. Amrutsagar 

All India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland Agriculture, Solapur Maharashtra. 413 002 

An experiment was conducted at Dry Farming Research Station, Zonal Agricultural Research 

Station, Mulegaon farm Solapur during year 2020-21 to study the effect of tillage and residue 

management on yield of blackgram – rabi sorghum sequence grown on Inceptisol under rainfed 

condition. The main tillage management treatments were i) Conventional tillage (CT) ii) 

Reduced tillage (RT) and iii) Zero tillage (ZT) with different residue management sub treatments 

viz. S1= Kharif fallow (No retention of crop residue) + RDF (50 :25: 25 kg/ha N:P2O5:K2O) for 

rabi sorghum, S2 = Harvest of black gram above ground level at flowering stage for surface 

cover as a green lopping’s (root + crop residue)+ 0:50 Kg/ha N: P2O5 + PSB + Rhizobium seed 

treatment to black gram and 37.5:0:25 Kg/ha N : P2O5 : K2O + Acetobacter + PSB seed 

treatment for rabi sorghum and S3= Harvesting of black gram above ground level for grain 

(Root biomass retained in soil) + 19:37.5 Kg/ha N:P2O5 to black gram + PSB + Rhizobium seed 

treatment and 37.5:19:25 Kg/ha N:P2O5:K2O to rabi sorghum + PSB + Acetobacter seed 

treatment. 




At the end of 8 th year of experimentation, the observations were recorded for green biomass and 

dry matter yield of black gram at flowering for green manuring. The conventional tillage (CT) 

recorded highest mean green biomass yield (39.54 q ha -1 ) and dry matter yield (9.56 q ha -1 ) 

followed by reduced tillage (38.13 and 7.85 q ha -1 ) and zero tillage (29.70 and 6.76 q ha -1 ) 

treatments. The rabi sorghum recorded significantly highest grain (15.18 q ha -1 ) and stover 

(37.98 q ha -1 ) yields in reduced tillage main treatment (S2) followed by conventional tillage 

(15.08) and zero tillage (14.76). However, the treatment differences were non-significant. The 

highest returns, B:C ratio and relative water use efficiency (RWUE) were Rs. 60322/ha, 2.59 and 

4.12 kg ha -1 mm -1 respectively in rabi sorghum. 

In residue management sub-treatment, the grain (16.59 q/ha) and straw yield (41.04 q/ha) of rabi 

sorghum was recorded highest in black gram –green manuring (S2) treatments followed by kharif 

fallow (S1) and black gram grain (S3) treatment. The rabi sorghum recorded significantly highest 

net monetary returns, B:C ratio and relative water use efficiency (RWUE) Rs. 69385/ha, 2.83 

and 3.67 kg ha -1 mm -1 respectively in black gram –green manuring (S2) treatments followed by 

kharif fallow (S1) and black gram grain (S3) treatment. 

T4a-24P- 1338 

Effect of Tillage Practices and Mulching on Rabi Sorghum Crop under Rainfed Condition 

K. Arun Kumar*, T. Bagavata Priya, S. Isha Parveen, D. Lakshmi kalyani, R. 

Narasimhulu, Y. S. Sathish Kumar and H Manjunath 

Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, 

Nandyal-518502 

*k. arunkumar@angrau.ac.in 

Soil water availability in water-limited ecosystems has been recognized as a key factor 

influencing plant production. The present situation in India demands conservation of every drop 

of water on land surface to increase biomass production to support livelihood. Suitable tillage 

practices that reduces cost of cultivation; increases income, reduces hazardous effects and 

increases water use efficiency of sorghum need to be adopted for conservation of rainwater, top 

fertile soil and nutrients that stabilizes and/or improves the food production in the region. At 

present conditions, both primary and secondary tillage operations are being carried-out which not 

only increases cost of cultivation but also induces soil and water losses. By avoiding these 

problems, rotary strip tillage has been introduced which gave the best crop residue management 

by decomposing the leftover crop residues in the field and turn in increase the organic matter 

content which intern increases water holding capacity of the soil. 




Methodology 

The experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 at Regional 

Agricultural Research Station. This centre is located Scarce Rainfall zone at 15.47 N latitude and 

78.48 E longitude. The experiment was conducted in an area of 90 m 2 plot size with 45 cm × 15 

cm spacing and fertilizer application of 80-60-40 NPK kg/ha. The treatments consisted of three 

horizontal practices, T1 : Conventional tillage (primary, secondary and tertiary tillage as per 

existing farmers/ researchers practice and sowing by seed cum ferti-drill), T2 : Zero tillage 

(Sowing by seed cum-ferti-drill / cultivator; glyphosate spray to kill existing vegetation after 

sowing), T3 : Minimum (Reduced) tillage (Basal fertilizer dose application followed by Disking 

and sowing by seed drill after running cultivator that incorporates basal fertilizers) and two 

vertical practices (residue mulch and without residue mulch). Strip plot design was selected by 

using OPISTAT Software and NTJ 5 variety was selected for the experiment with three-year 

duration (Tesfahunegn, 2012). The following parameters like panicle weight, panicle length, 

1000 seed weight, grain and straw yield & harvest index were recorded. 

Results 

Tillage practices, mulch practices and their interaction had significant influence on yield 

parameters of sorghum like panicle weight, panicle length, grain yield, straw yield and harvest 

index. The interaction between tillage and mulch practices was non-significant. Yield attributes 

and yields of rabi sorghum as influenced by tillage and mulch as shown in Table 1. The highest 

pooled grain yield and straw yield was obtained at zero tillage and lowest pooled grain yield and 

straw yield at conventional tillage because of zero tillage was attributed to improvement in yield 

components namely, number of panicle weight and 1000 grain weight. In addition to mulching 

practices, the highest pooled grain yield and straw yield (3692 kg/ha) (6810 kg/ha) was obtained 

at zero tillage system compare to other tillage, because of mulching practices reduces the 

evaporation of water and increases the water holding capacity which results in higher yields. 

Although, harvest index was not affected by mulch rate, tillage system and their interaction (X. 

Wang and Dai, 2012)] also obtained highest harvest index value on the zero-tillage system. 

Conclusion 

The effect of different tillage practices and with mulch & without mulch on sorghum crop was 

conducted at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Nandyal. The results were observed with 

highest grain and straw yield was obtained at zero tillage system compare to conventional and 

minimum tillage system. The highest harvest index was observed in zero tillage system compare 

to other. 




References 

Gebreyesus Brhane Tesfahunegn, 2012, Effect of Tillage and Fertilizer Practices on Sorghum 

Production in Abergelle Area, Northern Ethiopia. 4(2):52-69. 

X. Wang, H. Wu, K. Dai., 2012, Tillage and crop residue effects on rainfed wheat and maize 

production in northern China. Field Crops Research, 132:106–116. 

Yield attributes and yields of rabi sorghum as influenced by tillage and mulch 

Treatments 

Panicle 

weight (g) 

Horizontal factor: Tillage practices - 3 

Panicle 

length 

(cm) 

1000 seed 

weight (g) 

Pooled 

Grain 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

Straw yield 

(kg/ha) 

Harvest 

index (%) 

T1 : Conventional tillage 87.5 19.4 35.6 3326 6218 36.96 

T2 : Zero tillage 98.7 22.9 36.8 3724 6857 37.38 

T3 : Minimum tillage 97.9 21.8 36.3 3607 6616 37.26 

SEm+ 1.18 0.36 0.18 37 73 0.45 

CD (P=0.05) 4.17 1.25 0.62 130 259 NS 

CV (%) 3.9 4.2 2.6 10 10 6.7 

Vertical factor: Mulch practices – 2 

M1 : No residue mulch 91.9 20.7 35.1 3412 6317 37.08 

M2 : Residue mulch 97.6 22.0 37.3 3692 6810 37.32 

SEm+ 0.68 0.39 0.22 27 44 0.27 

CD (P=0.05) 2.2 1.28 0.71 83 143 NS 

CV (%) 5.2 2.1 3.8 8.8 8.7 5.1 

Interaction (Mulch x Tillage) 

SEm+ 1.67 0.50 0.25 52 104 0.64 

CD (P=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS NS 

Interaction (Tillage x Mulch) 

SEm+ 1.44 0.60 0.32 48 91 0.56 

CD (P=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS NS 




T4a-25P-1014 

Effect of Tillage Practices and Mulching Operations on Productivity of Maize 

Under Dryland Conditions 

Pramod Kumar, Mintu Job, N. Kumari, Abhishek Patel and D.N. Singh 

Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand (India) 

Dryland agriculture is mainly dependent on rainfall, especially in India, there are different kinds 

of tillage operations such as conventional tillage, no-tillage, reduced tillage etc. Conventional 

tillage practices and crop residue removal will lead to a decrease in soil organic matter due to 

accelerated decomposition and loss of topsoil, thereby adversely affecting soil properties. 

Recently, reduced tillage practices have been gaining popularity. 

Conservation tillage 

techniques, which are soil-surface crop residue management systems with minimum or notillage, 

are crucial in efficiently saving more precipitation for crop production. Among the 

management practices for increasing water use efficiency (WUE) one of them is mulching. Any 

material spread on the surface of soil to protect it from rain drop, solar radiation or evaporation is 

called mulch. 

Maize in India contributes nearly 9 % in the national food basket. In addition to staple food for 

human beings and quality feed for animals, maize serves as a basic raw material as an ingredient 

to many industrial products that include starch, oil, protein, alcoholic beverages, food 

sweeteners, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, film, textile, gum, package and paper industries etc.The 

crop is cultivated throughout the year in all states of the country for various purposes including 

grain, fodder, green cobs, sweet corn, baby corn, pop corn in peri-urban areas. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted at the research farm of Zonal Research Station, Chianki 

situated at 23 0 N and 84.2 0 E under jurisdiction of Birsa Agricultural University (Ranchi), 

Jharkhand, India during 2017 and 2020. The soil of the experimental field was sandy loam in 

texture with pH 6.7. The soil of the experimental site was medium in organic carbon (0.53 %), 

available nitrogen (128 kg ha -1 ), phosphorus (70 kg ha -1 ) and low in available potassium (45 kg 

ha -1 ). There was total of twelve treatments comprisingConventional Tillage + Without Mulch, 

Conventional Tillage + Farm waste Mulch, Conventional Tillage + Polythene Mulch, 

Conventional Tillage + Soil Mulch, Minimum Tillage + Without Mulch, Minimum Tillage+ 

Farm waste Mulch, Minimum Tillage+ Polythene Mulch, Minimum Tillage+ Soil Mulch, Raised 

Bed Sowing + Without Mulch, Raised Bed Sowing + Farm waste Mulch, Raised Bed Sowing + 

Polythene Mulch and Raised Bed Sowing + Soil Mulch. The experiment was laid out in a 




randomized block design with three replications. All the recommended packages and practices 

were followed to grow crops. 

Marketable produce of crop in terms of per hectare and their saleable value was worked out. The 

economics was calculated by considering the actual expenditure incurred on various operations, 

prevalent labour charges and current price of inputs and value of produce in the market. The net 

returns were computed taking into account market prices. 

Results 

The maximum value of plant height (219.6 cm) observed in case of Raised Bed Sowing + Soil 

Mulch, while minimum plant height (169.4 cm) was recorded with Minimum Tillage + Without 

Mulch. Maximum cob length (25.59 cm) was observed in case of Raised Bed Sowing + olythene 

Mulch, while minimum cob length (16.98 cm) was recorded Minimum Tillage + Without Mulch. 

Test weight (1000-grain weight of 295.75 g was observed in case of Conventional Tillage + 

Polythene Mulch, while maximum yield (4825 kg/ha) was recorded Raised Bed Sowing + 

Polythene Mulchwhile minimum yield (3025 kg/ha) was recorded Minimum Tillage + Without 

Mulch and rain water use efficiency was (6.209 kg/ha/mm).Out of different treatment 

combinations the treatment combination the Raised Bed sowing with Polythene gave significant 

higher gain yield 4825 (kg/ha) and also higher rain water use efficiency (6.21 kg/ ha/mm) 

whereas net B:C ratio (2.13) was found higher in case of Raised Bed Sowing with Farm waste 

Mulch. The treatment containing Raised Bed Sowing with Polythene Mulch gave 96% weed 

control whereas Conventional Tillage Without Mulch gave result equal to one complete 

weeding. 

Conclusion 

A comparison of different tillage treatments showed that Raised Bed sowing with Polythene 

gave significant higher gain yield (4825 kg/ha) and also higher rain water use efficiency (6.21 

kg/ ha/mm) whereas net B:C ratio (2.13) was found higher in case of Raised Bed Sowing with 

Farm waste Mulch. 

References 

Gan, Y., Siddique, K. H. M., Turner, N. C., Li, X. G., Niu, J. Y., Yang, C. 2013. Ridge-furrow 

mulching systems—an innovative technique for boosting crop productivity in semiarid 

rain-fed environments. Adv. Agron. 118: 429–476. 10.1016/b978-0-12-405942- 

9.00007-4 




Yin, W., Guo, Y., Hu, F., Fan, Z., Feng, F., Zhao, C. 2018a. Wheat-Maize intercropping with 

reduced tillage and straw retention: a step towards enhancing economic and 

environmental benefits in arid areas. Front. Plant Sci. 9:1328. 

10.3389/fpls.2018.01328 

Zhang, X., Zhao, J., Yang, L., Kamran, M., Xue. X., Dong, Z. 2019. Ridge-furrow mulching 

system regulates diurnal temperature amplitude and wetting-drying alternation 

behavior in soil to promote maize growth and water use in a semiarid region. Field 

Crops Res. 233: 121–130. 10.1016/j.fcr.2019.01.009 

Yin, W., Chai, Q., Guo, Y., Fan, Z. L., Hu, F. L., Fan, H. 2020. Straw and plastic management 

regulate air-soil temperature amplitude and wetting-drying alternation in soil to 

promote intercrop productivity in arid regions. Field Crops Res. 249:107758. 

10.1016/j.fcr.2020.107758 

T4a-26P-1059 

Effect of Tillage Practices and Nitrogen Fertilizer Levels on Soil Total 

Carbon, Bulk Density and Porosity in Rainfed Maize-Pigeonpea Crop 

Rotation under Semi-Arid Tropical Climate 

A. K. Indoria, K. Sammi Reddy, G. Pratibha, V. K. Singh, S. Kundu, S. S. Balloli, S. 

Suvana, K. Srinivas, K. L. Sharma and H. Sahu* 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India 

*Hemant.Sahu@icar.gov.in 

Conventional tillage (CT) increases the soil erosion and degradation processes, which causes 

significant losses in soil carbon content and ultimately promote the deterioration of different soil 

properties (Indoria et al., 2017). It has been reported that if appropriate soil management 

technologies such as conservation agriculture is adopted in rainfed areas for the improvement of 

soil organic content and associated soil physical properties especially bulk density and porosity, 

the productivity of rainfed crops can be significantly improved (Indoria et al., 2017). At the same 

time, adequate supply of the mineral nitrogen could be one of the soil management practices in 

semi-arid tropical climate for improvement of soil environment. Crop response to mineral N 

involves increase in CO2 fixation and more above and below ground root biomass production.S 

oil bulk density can affect the seedling emergence, root growth and thus crop production (Blanco 

Canqui and Ruis, 2018). It can also influence the soil porosity. Therefore, this study was aimed 

to assess the impact of different tillage practices and Nfertilizer levels on soil total carbon, bulk 

density and porosity in different soil depths in maize-pigeonpea crop rotation under semi-arid 

tropical climate. 




Methodology 

The experimental site was located at Gungal Research Farm (GRF) of ICAR-Central Research 

Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The duration of the experiment 

was 2012-2018.The treatments comprised of the three tillage practicesviz., conventional tillage 

(CT), reduced tillage (RT) and conservation agriculture (CA), and four nitrogen levels viz., N0= 

no nitrogen application (control), N75= 75% of RDN (recommended dose of nitrogen), 

N100=100% of RDN and N125=125% of RDN of maize and pigeonpea crops on yearly rotation 

basis. The soil totalcarbon was determined by using the CHNS Analyzer, Vario EL, bulk density 

was measured by core methodand porosity was calculated by using the formula: Total porosity 

(%) = (1-bulk density/particle density). 

Results 

Effect on soil total carbon content 

From the view point of soil total carbon content, the order of soil depth was as follows: 0- 

7.5>7.5-15>15-30>30-45 cm., irrespective of tillage and nitrogen levels. There were 28.1, 20.1, 

15.6 and 2.5% increase in the soil total carbon contentin CA, and 13.9, 9.9, 7.7 and 0.8% 

increase in soil total carbon contentin RT, in 0-7.5, 7.5-15, 15-30 and 30-45 cm, respectively as 

compared to the CT. The nitrogen fertilizer levels in relation to the total soil carbon content 

follow the order: N125>N100>N75>N0 in all the depths studied. There were 13.5, 18.7 and 23.7% 

increase in soil total carbon contentin 0-7.5cm soil depth,9.4, 16.1 and 20.6% increase insoil total 

carbon content in 7.5-15 cm, 6.0, 12.7 and 17.4% increase in soil total carbon content in 15-30 

cm soil depth and 0.8, 3.0 and 6.4% increase insoil total carbon content in 30-45 cm soil in N75, 

N100 and N125, respectively. 

Effect on soil bulk density and soil total porosity 




Both tillage and nitrogen treatments had significant effect on bulk density and total porosity of 

the soil at different depths. Among the tillage treatments, significantly lower mean soil bulk 

density was recorded in CA followed by RT and CT in 0-7.5, 7.5-15 and 15-30 soil depth, 

respectively. The lower mean soil bulk density by 7.2, 7.1 and 4.2% was recorded in N125 as 

compared to N0 at 0-7.5, 7.5-15 and 15-30 cm soil depth, respectively. An opposite relationship 

was observed between bulk density and soil total porosity. Significantly higher soil total porosity 

was observed in NT followed by RT and CT in different depths studies. The higher soil total 

porosity was observed in N125 at 0-7.5, 7.5-15, 15-30 and 30-45 cm soil depth as compared to the 

previous N fertilizer levels. The significant increase was to the extent of 10.9, 11.1, 7.2 and 6.0% 

at 0-7.5, 7.5-15, 15-30 and 30-45 in N125 as compared to the N0. The overall results were close 

conformity with the earlier findings by Blanco Canqui and Ruis, 2018 and Indoria et al., 2017. 

Conclusion 

The order of performance of tillage practices in improving the soil total carbon, bulk density and 

soil total porosity was: CA>RT> CT. While, the order of performance of N fertilizer levels in 

improving soil total carbon, bulk density and porosity was: N125>N100>N75>N0. The interactive 

effects of CA+N125 were found superiorin improving these soil properties as compared to other 

treatment combinations. 

References 

Blanco-Canqui, H. and Ruis, S. J. 2018. No-tillage and soil physical environment. Geoderma. 

326: 164-200. 

Indoria, A. K., Srinivasarao, Ch., Sharma, K.L. and Sammi Reddy, K. 2017. Conservation 

agriculture–a panacea to improve soil physical health. Current Science.112: 52-61. 

T4a-27P -1091 

Effect of Various Organic Sources of Nutrients on Growth and Yield of 

Tomato 

S. V. Uphade, A. K. Gore and D. P. Waskar 


Parbhani, Maharashtra 431401(India). 

*ofrtcvnmkvparbhani@gmail.com 

Organic farming is gaining importance in recent past due to want of residue free food and soil 

health improvement. In context of this there is increasing demand for organic vegetables from 




consumers particularly in metro and big cities. Among vegetable crops tomato (Lycopersicon 

esculantum L.) is important crop grown throughout the year which gives high yield within a 

relatively short period and it is economically attractive. In India tomato occupied 76 thousand ha 

with a production 18.39 Mt. In Maharashtra, tomato is a highly demanded vegetable in addition 

to it being a rainfed crop in kharif season. Using organic fertilizers especially in composted form 

had positive effect on soil health and fertility, which consequents increased yield in long term 

(Mehdizadeh,2013), increased cation exchange capacity of soil and increase availability of some 

nutrients such Ca, Mg, and P (Abou-Hussein et al.,2002). In this context an experiment was 

conducted to study the effect of various organic sources of nutrients on growth and yield of 

tomato and the economics of various treatments. 

Methodology 

An experiment was conducted at Organic Farming Research and Training centre, Vasantrao Naik 

Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth Parbhani, during kharif 2018-2019. Eleven treatments with three 

replications were tested in RBD design. The tomato transplants were cultivated in the plot area of 

6.0 x 5.4 m as gross and 4.2 m x 4.8 m as net plot. The variety PKM -1 was transplanted on 12 th 

July, 2018 with recommended management practices as per various treatments. 

Results 

The data on tomato yield, monetary returns, B:C ratio as influenced by different treatments is 

presented in table. 

Tomato crop yield, Gross Monetary Returns (GMR), Net Monetary Returns (NMR), B : C 

Treatments 

ratio as influenced by different treatments.(2018 – 19). 

Tomato Yield (t/ha) 

GMR 

(₹/ha) 

NMR 

(₹/ha) 

B:C ratio 

T 1: RDN 100 % through FYM 24.8 200213 122480 2.56 

T 2: RDN 100 % through Vermi 

Compost (VC) 

T 3: RDN 50% through FYM + 

RDN 50 % through VC 

T 4: RDN 50% through FYM + 

Neem cake @ 400 Kg/ha 

T 5: RDN 100 %: FYM + JA 3 

app (FA & SA) @ 20 days 

interval 

26.1 209626 145440 2.71 

25.9 204613 126766 2.66 

23.4 182826 119703 2.45 

25.5 200293 126765 2.58 




T 6: RDN 75 %: FYM +JA 3 app 

(FA & SA) @ 20 days interval. 

T 7: RDN 50 %: FYM + 

Jivamrut 3 app (FA & SA) 

@ 20 days interval. 

T 8: Jivamrut 3 app (FA & SA) 

@ 20 days interval 

T 9: FYM @ 5tn/ha + High Nitro 611 

kg/ha + Rock Phosphate 107 kg/ha 

+ Neem cake @ 400kg/ha. 

24.4 197173 120813 2.53 

24.3 195333 120083 2.49 

22.7 182640 119323 2.40 

26.6 209840 145441 2.74 

T 10: RDF 100% + FYM @ 5tn/ha 33.8 257920 183200 3.45 

T 11: Control. 20.3 163520 102160 2.30 

SE + 1.63 664.2 325.5 - 

CD at 5% 4.89 1986.2 973.8 - 

Mean 25.3 200363 130197 2.62 

The effect of various organic sources on tomato yield was found to be significant. The 

treatment T10 i.e. RDF + FYM 5 t /ha recorded the highest tomato yield (33.8 t/ha) which was 

found significantly superior over rest of the treatments. The lowest tomato yieldwas recorded in 

T11 (20.3 t/ha) i.e. control. The highest GMR was obtained with the application of RDF + FYM 5 

t/ha (T10) (₹ 257920/ha) which was significantly superior over rest of the treatments. Similar 

trend was observed in case of NMR. Whereas, application of RDF + FYM 5 t /ha recorded 

highest B:C ratio (3.45) followed by treatment T9 (2.74) i.e. RDF + FYM 5 t /ha + Phosphorich 

@ 157 kg/ha + Neem cake @ 400 kg /ha. Among the organic treatments, application of RDN 

100% through Vermicompost (T2) recorded highest tomato yield (26.1t/ha), highest GMR 

(Rs.209626 /ha) and highest NMR (Rs. 148440/ ha) over rest of the treatments. Similar results 

were reported by (Shankar et al. 2012) that organically grown tomato has found to be 

significantly influenced the nutrient content compared to tomato grown through conventional of 

fertilizer application 

Conclusion 

The results revealed that the application of RDF + 5 t FYM/ha produced significantly higher 

tomato yield (33.8 t/ha), highest GMR (₹257920 /ha) and highest NMR (₹183200/ha). However, 

among organic treatments application of RDN 100 % through vermicompost (T2) recorded 

highest tomato yield (26.1 t/ha), highest GMR (₹ 209626 /ha) and highest NMR (₹145440/ha). 




References 

Abou-Hussein, S.D., I.EL-Oksh., T.EI-Shorbagy and EI-Bahiry, U.A. 2002. Effect of chicken 

manure, compost and biofirtilizers on vegetative growth, tuber characteristics and yield 

of potato crop. Egypt.J.hort. 29(1)135-149. 

Mehdizadeh, M., Darbandi, E.I., Naseri-Rad H. and Tobeh, A. 2013. Growth and yield of tomato 

(Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) as influenced by different organic fertilizers. 

International Journal of Agronomy and plant production.4 (4):734-738. 

Shankar, K.S; Sumathi. S., Shankar. M. and Reddy. N.N., 2012. comparison of nutritional 

quality of organically versus conversionary grown tomato. J. Hort. 69, 90.1: 86-90. 

T4a-28P-1207 

Energy Efficient Tillage and Nutrient Management for Rabi Sorghum on 

Inceptisol 

S. K. Upadhye, V. M. Amrutsagar, N. B. More, G. Ravindra Chary, Archana B. Pawar, S. 

V. Khadtare, Shubhangi Kadam and R. V. Sanglikar 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, Main Center, Solapur- 413 002 

Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra, India, 


Sorghum is the most important cereal crop of Scarcity zone of Maharashtra. The area of sorghum 

in Maharashtra is about 19.35 lakh hectare with a production of 31.62 lakh tones and 

productivity of 912 kg ha -1 . Productivity of sorghum is decreasing continuously due to use of 

imbalanced chemical fertilizers accompanied by restricted use of organic manures as well as may 

be due to intensive cultivation of sorghum under medium deep black soils. Vertisols are selfpulverized 

soils and hence need not require special tillage operations for inverting the soil. 

Looking to the changing scenario, the cost of cultivation should be reduced at minimum level 

with resource conservation. However, majority of the farmers do not perform tillage operations 

every year and sometimes leaves the field fallow during Kharif and cultivate sorghum in Rabi in 

medium deep to deep soils. Therefore, an attempt was made to find out low-cost tillage and 

nutrient management practices, to study the effect of tillage and nutrient management practices 

on soil quality, to minimize dependence on chemical fertilizers and to find out energy saving in 

sustainable rabi sorghum production system under dryland condition. 




Methodology 

The field experiment on rRabi sorghum (cultivar M 35-1) under dryland conditions was laid out 

conducted at AICRP for Dryland Agriculture Research Station, Mulegaon Farm, Solapur during 

2005-06 to 2016-17 for twelve years. The experiment was laid out in split plot design containing 

nine treatment combinations replicated three times includes three main plot treatments viz: 1) 

Low tillage (LT) - sowing with seed drill and light harrowing after sowing – (SSLH) 2) 

Medium tillage (MT) - one harrowing + SSLH+ one hoeing 3) Conventional tillage (CT) - 

plough once in 3 year + one harrowing + ridges and furrows + one harrowing + SSDH + three 

hoeings and three sub-treatments viz: 1) Organics - 50 kg Nha -1 (50 % CR+50 % LL) CR–Crop 

residue, LL–Leucaena loppings - N1 2) Organics + chemical fertilizers - 25 kg N ha -1 through 

urea + 25 kg N ha -1 through organics (50 % CR + 50 % LL) - N2 3) Fertilizers (RDF) : 50 kg 

N + 25 Kg P2O5 ha -1 - N3. 

The average nitrogen content of crop residue and leucaena during 12 years are 0.48 % and 3.04 

% respectively. The N, P and K were applied through urea, single super phosphate and muriate 

of potash respectively. The data on crop yield, total N uptake, economics, moisture use 

efficiency (MUE) of grain were recorded at harvest of sorghum. After harvest of crop, soil 

samples were collected (0-15 cm) and analyzed for organic carbon (wet oxidation method), 

available N (0.32 % alkaline KMnO4oxidizable), available P (0.5 M NaHCO3 extractable, pH 

8.5,) and K (Neutral normal ammonium acetate extractable) following the procedures described 

by Page et al. (1982). 

The input energy (MJ ha −1 ) and output energy was/ were computed for each treatment and 

expressed in terms of MJ ha −1 as suggested by Mittal et al. (1985). The energy use efficiency 

(EUE) derived as a ratio of output and input energy for each treatment (Sankar et al., 2013). 

Results 

In the tillage and nutrient management practices, the maximum input energy was observed in 

CTN1 (63924 MJ ha -1 ) whereas the minimum input energy was observed in treatment LTN3 

(4391MJ ha -1 ) followed by treatment MTN3 (4945 MJ ha -1 ). The maximum output energy was 

observed in MTN2 (70389 MJ ha -1 ) followed by CTN2 (68308 MJ ha -1 ). The maximum energy 

use efficiency was observed in LTN3 (13.865) followed by MTN3 (13.323). 

In case of nutrient management, the maximum energy use efficiency was observed in N 3 (11.919) 

followed by N 2 (1.966). Also, it is observed that, minimum energy of 48.22 MJ was required for 

production of one kg grain where nutrition of 50% organic and 50% inorganic N recorded highest 




grain (17.06 qha -1 ) and stover yield (40.84 qha -1 ) also (Table 1) as seen in the findings of Maruti 

Shankar et al. (2013 

The conventional tillage recorded significantly higher grain (16.62 q ha -1 ) and stover yield (40.46 q 

ha -1 ). However, it was on par with medium tillage (16.06 and 39.64 q ha -1 respectively). The moisture 

use efficiency (MUE) was maximum in conventional tillage (7.42 kg ha -1 mm -1 ). (Table). The N 

application 50 % through organic + 50 % through chemical fertilizer (N 2) recorded higher MUE 

(7.79 kg ha -1 mm -1 ). 

Conclusion 

One harrowing + sowing with seed drill and light harrowing + one hoeing at 3 rd week and 25 kg N 

through inorganic fertilizer (Urea) and 25 kg N through organic manure (12.5 kg N through crop 

residue (byre waste) + 12.5 kg N through Leucaena lopping or any green loppings) + 12.5 kg P 2O 5 

through fertilizer (SSP) is recommended for rRabi sorghum grown on medium deep black soils in 

scarcity zone of Maharashtra for getting higher grain and stover yield and monetary returns with 

saving of energy use and maintaining soil fertility. 

Effect of tillage system and source of nutrition on energy use efficiency and energy 

productivity of rabi sorghum (Mean) 

Treatments 

Total Input 

Energy 

(MJ ha -1 ) 

Total 

output Energy 

(MJha -1 ) 

Energy Use 

Efficiency 

Energy required for 

production of per kg grain, 

MJ 

LTN1 60744 48526 0.802 49.49 

LTN2 32548 60713 1.871 48.63 

LTN3 4391 60739 13.865 48.31 

MTN1 61336 55146 0.903 48.62 

MTN2 33140 70389 2.127 48.14 

MTN3 4945 65880 13.323 47.89 

CTN1 63924 55277 0.861 49.13 

CTN2 35728 68308 1.899 48.29 

CTN3 7532 65017 8.568 48.00 

Effect of tillage system and source of nutrition on yield of rabi sorghum (pooled mean) 

Tillage 

Nutrient 

N 1 (Organic N 

100 %) 

Grain (q ha -1 ) Stover (q ha -1 ) 

LT MT CT 

Pooled 

Mean 

LT MT CT 

Pooled 

mean 

13.27 17.22 16.51 15.67 33.37 41.51 41.88 38.92 




N 2 (Organic N 

50% +Ferti N 

50%) 

N 3 (fertilizer N 

100 %) 

15.687 19.95 18.46 18.03 38.36 47.35 45.78 43.83 

16.71 20.47 19.22 18.80 42.79 46.88 45.65 45.11 

Mean 15.22 19.21 18.07 38.17 45.25 44.44 

Tillage Nutrient 

Tillage Nutrient 

T X N 

(T) (N) 

(T) (N) 

T X N 

SE+ 0.55 0.32 0.65 1.16 1.09 1.89 

CD at 5% 1.17 0.65 NS 2.46 2.20 NS 

References 

Maruti Sankar, G. R., Sharma, K. L., Srinivas Reddy, Singh, K., Rathi B. S., Mishra, A., Brhera, 

B. D., Subudhi, C. R., Singh Bhagwan, Singh, H. G., Ashok Kumar Singh, Rusthsa, D. K., 

Yadawa M. S., Thyagaranj C. R., Mishra P. K., Suma Chandrika, M. and Venkateshwarlu, 

A. 2013. Efficient tillage and nutrient management practices for sustainable yields, 

profitability and energy use efficiency for rice-based cropping system in different soils and 

agro-climatic conditions. Expl Agric., 49 (2): 161–178 Cambridge University Press 2013 

doi:10.1017/S0014479712001330 

Page, A. L., Miller, R. H., and Keeney, D. R. 1982. Methods of soil analysis part 2. Chemical 

and microbiological properties 2 nd ed., Madison (WI), ASA and SSSA. 

Panse, V. G., and Sukhatme, P. V., 1967. Stastistical methods for Agricultural Worker 2 nd 

edition ICAR, New Delhi. 

Mittal, V. K, Mittal, J. P., Dhawan, K. C.1985. Research Digest on Energy Requirement in 

Agriculture, Sector, Coordinating cell, AICRP on energy requirement in Agriculture 

sector. Punjab Agriculture, University Ludhiana. 




T4a-29P-1540 

Enhancing the Productivity of Rainfed Maize Through Different Planting 

Methods and Moisture Conservation Practices in The Shivalik Foothill Region 

of Punjab 

Mandeep Kaur* and Anil Khokhar 

Punjab Agricultural University-Regional Research Station, AICRPDA Centre Ballowal Saunkhri, 

Balachaur, Punjab 144521- India 

*mkabc121@gmail.com 

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most important cereal crops in the world, after rice and wheat. 

It is called the “queen of cereals” due to its higher productivity and diverse uses. Maize is a 

major Kharif season crop in the northeastern part of the state, known as the Kandi region which 

has an area of 0.393 million hectares. In this region, only 25% area has assured irrigation and in 

the remaining area, it is grown as rainfed or with limited irrigation. Erratic rainfall, prolonged 

dry spell, late-onset, and early cessation of rain are the major determinant in maize production 

during kharif season. Maize is sensitive to both water logging and moisture stress. Moisture 

shortage due to prolonged dry spells lead the crop to stressed conditions which affect mineral 

nutrition, ion uptake and it also alters crop physiological and biochemical behaviour. Thus, some 

cultural practices are required to protect the crop from prolonged dry spells and excess rainfall. 

The sowing method is an important factor responsible for soil moisture storage, judicious use of 

water, good crop stands and so the crop growth. Planting methods are the most effective 

agronomic practices to reduce surface runoff and conserve the moisture in the crop root zone 

which can be used during moisture stress. In additionally, to planting methods, some other 

cultural practices such as moisture conservation techniques (mulching and earthing up) can help 

to cultivate this crop under challenging environments. Earthing up in maize at knee-high stage 

reduces competition from weeds and act as soil mulch after drying to conserve soil moisture by 

reducing evaporation. This may promote better establishment of crop and delay the surface 

drying which results in higher yields. Mulching is also an effective measure to conserve water 

and nutrient resources. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted during Kharif season 2020 using PMH-1 cultivar in split 

plot design with four planting methods (flat planting, ridge planting, bed planting, and 

conservation furrow planting) as main plots and three moisture conservation practices (no 

intercultural, straw mulch @ 6 t ha -1 and earthing up) as subplot treatments at Ballowal Saunkhri. 




Combinations of 12 treatments were replicated thrice resulting in total of 36 experimental plots. 

In the case of the flat planting method, spacing between the rows and plant-to-plant was kept at 

60 cm and 20 cm, respectively. A similar procedure was followed in the conservation furrow 

method except that after planting 4 rows, every 5 th -row plantation was skipped and plant-to-plant 

spacing was kept at 18 cm. In ridge planting, seeds were placed 6-7 cm above the base on the 

side of ridges spaced 60 cm apart with a 20 cm distance between the plants. In the bed planting 

method, one row of maize was sown on top in the center of raised beds 67.5 cm wide having a 

top flat of 37.5 cm and a furrow 30 cm with plant-to-plant spacing of 18 cm. The crop was 

harvested last week of September 2020. 

Results 

Among planting methods, bed planting method produced a maximum grain yield of 33.8 qha -1 

(Table 1). Bed planting gave a 20.7 percent higher yield followed by ridge sowing which 

produced a 12.7 percent higher grain yield at Ballowal Saunkhri as compared to flat sowing. 

Higher grain yield (33.5 qha -1 ) was obtained under earthing up and it was statistically better than 

under straw mulch and no interculture. Earthing up significantly increased the grain yield by 27.5 

percent over no interculture and 7.2 percent over straw mulch treatment. The highest stover yield 

was observed under bed sowing (72.6 q ha -1 ) which was significantly higher over the flat sowing 

(60.9 q ha -1 ) method. The bed planting method resulted in a maximum net return (31657 Rs) and 

B: C ratio (1.84) per hectare than other planting methods. Among moisture conservation 

practices, earthing up produced the highest net returns (30865 Rs) and B: C ratio (1.79). The 

higher net returns of 10475 Rs per hectare were obtained with earthing up moisture conservation 

practices as compared to no interculture. 

Effect of planting methods and moisture conservation practices on grain yield, stover yield, 

Treatments 

Planting method 

and economics of rainfed maize at Ballowal Saunkhri. 

Grain 

(q ha -1 ) 

Yield 

Stover 

(q ha -1 ) 

Net returns 

(Rs ha -1 ) 

Economics 

B: C ratio 

Flat planting 26.8 60.9 20338 1.56 

Ridge planting 30.7 70.7 27094 1.75 

Bed planting 33.8 72.6 31657 1.84 

Conservation furrow 

planting 

27.1 66.7 21217 1.58 

CD (p=0.05) 2.95 7.24 - - 




Moisture conservation practices 

No interculture 24.3 60.0 20390 1.66 

Straw mulch @ 6 

tha -1 

31.1 69.0 23975 1.59 

Earthing up 33.5 74.2 30865 1.79 

CD (p=0.05) 2.18 3.82 - - 

Rainfall (mm) 

Conclusion 

554.2 mm 

In conclusion, the bed planting method with earthing at knee high stage proved beneficial in 

increasing the productivity of rainfed maize under a challenging environment in the Shivalik 

foothill region of Punjab. 

T4a-30P-1578 

Escaping Moisture Stress in Steep Slopes by Altering the Time of Planting 

(Early Sowing) in Garden Pea 

N. Ajitkumar Singh*, Solei Luiram, K. Vikramjeet, N. Sureshchandra Singh, 

Yirmila.V. Zimik and P.A. Ramsem 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Ukhrul, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Manipur Centre 

*ajitsinghkvk@gmail.com, vkukhrul@gmail.com 

Garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) is one of the leading horticultural crops of Ukhrul district 

Manipur and is generally grown in October-November. Planting sites are generally located on 

steep hill slopes with an altitude ranging from 1,300 to 1,800 m above mean sea level. The major 

growers within the district are under the Sub division of Ukhrul and Chingai block. In recent 

years there has been a rapid decline in the production and productivity in this district including 

the adopted NICRA villages due to terminal drought and frost. Being, not economically feasible 

to go for irrigation throughout the season in such terrine, this investigation “altering the planting 

time” (early sown) was taken up. For this intervention, the NICRA village Ramva and 

Lungshang were selected, after analysing the rainfall pattern since 2013 and started 

demonstration from the year 2018. Soil samples were collected for moisture and other chemical 

analysis from demonstrating plots and farmers’ fields. The data reveal that moisture content was 

significantly high (30.2-36.5%) in the early sown demonstrated plot (August) as compared to 

farmers’ field (19.3-25.4%) late sown (October). Economically early sown gives the maximum 

yield of 28.3-30.8 q/ha as compared to late sawn (18.4-21.6 q/ha), and return per rupee 

investment is 3.2 and 1.8 respectively. From this study, it can be concluded that moisture stress 




in terminal period can be controlled and manage without investing on high-cost irrigation inputs 

but simply by utilising the residual moisture timely couple with other short or mid duration 

kharif rice varieties which may give farmer ample time for this demonstration. 

T4a-31P-1317 

Growth and Growth Parameters of Soybean influenced by different Land 

Configurations and Crop Residue Management Practices 

S. S. Kinge 1* , G. A. Bhalerao 2 , A. J. Rathod 1 , M. N. Wairagde 2 and J. D. Kalambe 1 

1 

Department of Agronomy, VNMKV Parbhani, India. 431402 

2 

Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture Nagpur, 440012. 

* sunilkinge40@gmail.com 

Land configurations have a major influence on soil aeration, moisture availability, and 

temperature of soil which in turn affect the yield and quality of the crop. The broad bed furrow 

and ridge and furrow are newly developed methods of soybean cultivation in India. Therefore, 

need for standardized land configuration for the cultivation of soybean in India. Among different 

conservation measures, Crop residue practices on the soil surface to reduce the evaporation rate 

and discourage weeds is another water conservation practice in India. To conserve as much 

rainwater as possible during fewer rainfall years and ways of overcoming excess moisture. The 

combination of land configuration and crop residue practices conserves soil moisture and 

improves water use efficiency and grain yield. Hence field experiment entitled “Studies on Land 

Configuration and Crop Residue Management on Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill)” was 

conducted at the Department of Agronomy, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Parbhani during Kharif 2019 to study the effect of land configuration and residue management 

practices on growth and yield of soybean. 

Methodology 

The experiment was carried out in split plot design with three replications consisting of fifteen 

treatment combinations. The land configuration practices consisted of Flatbed (L1), Broad bed 

furrow (L2), Ridges & furrow (L3) and five treatments on crop residue management practices of 

Crop Residue @1.25T ha -1 +5 kg ha -1 decomposing microorganism (CR1), Crop Residue@ 1.25 

T ha -1 +10 kg ha -1 decomposing microorganism (CR2), Crop Residue @ 2.5 T ha -1 + 5 kg ha -1 

decomposing microorganism (CR3), Crop Residue @ 2.5 T ha -1 + 10 kg ha -1 decomposing 

microorganism (CR4) and without crop residue control (CR5). 




Results 

Among the land configuration treatments broad bed furrow recorded higher growth and yield 

attributing character. In Land configurations method L2 (broad bed furrow) recorded 

significantly higher values for plant height, functional leaves plant -1 , leaf area plant -1 , number of 

branches plant -1 and total dry matter plant -1 than L1 (flatbed) and found at par with L3 (ridges & 

furrow) in soybean. The increase in seed yield kg ha -1 was attributed to increased growth 

parameters and yield attributes of soybean. This result correlates with the work of Karande 

(2006) and Rudrawar (2007). 

Among the crop residue management practices, the application of Crop Residue @ 2.5 T ha -1 + 

10 kg ha -1 decomposing microorganisms recorded higher growth characters and yield attributes. 

Application of Crop Residue @ 2.5 T /ha + 10 kg ha -1 decomposing microorganism (CR4) 

produced higher values for plant height, functional leaves plant -1 , leaf area plant -1 , number of 

branches plant -1 and total dry matter plant -1 than rest of the treatments and found at par with the 

application of Crop Residue @ 2.5 T ha -1 + 5 kg ha -1 decomposing microorganism (CR3). The 

increase in seed yield kg ha -1 was attributed to increased growth parameters and yield attributes 

of soybean. These results correlate with the work of Shelar and Khandekar (2013) and Jadhav et 

al. (2017). The interaction effect of land configurations and crop residue management practices 

in growth and growth parameters was found to be non-significant. 

Treatment 

Growth and yield attributing character as influenced by different treatments 

Land configuration (L) 

Plant 

height 

(cm) 

Dry 

matter 

plant -1 

(g) 

Functional 

leaves plant - 

1 

Number 


branches 

plant -1 

L1-Flat bed 39.59 9.46 8.18 3.63 3.98 

L2-Broad bed furrow 47.39 13.42 10.93 4.81 5.56 

L3-Ridges & furrow 45.79 12.41 10.24 4.54 4.93 

S.E. ± 0.81 0.75 0.39 0.18 0.17 

C.D. at 5% 3.17 2.93 1.53 0.70 0.68 

Residue management (CR) 

CR 1 - Crop Residue @ 1.25 T ha -1 + 5 kg ha - 

1 

decomposing microorganism 

41.14 10.73 8.85 4.07 4.64 

Leaf 

area 

plant -1 

(dm 2 ) 

CR 2 - Crop residue @ 1.25 T ha -1 + 10 kg ha - 

1 


42.67 10.92 9.05 4.15 4.85 




CR 3 - Crop Residue @ 2. 5 T ha -1 + 5 kg ha -1 


CR 4 - Crop residue @ 2.5 T ha -1 + 10 kg ha -1 


48.18 12.96 10.82 4.64 5.46 

49.18 13.61 11.74 4.77 5.77 

CR 5 - Without crop residue 40.94 10.59 8.45 4.00 3.42 

S.E. ± 1.40 0.54 0.35 0.15 0.16 

C.D. at 5% 4.07 1.58 1.01 0.45 0.45 

Interaction (L × CR) 

S.E. ± 2.42 0.94 0.60 0.27 0.27 

C.D. at 5% NS NS NS NS NS 

G. M 47.31 14.76 9.78 4.33 4.83 

Conclusion 

Among the land configuration treatments broad bed furrow recorded higher growth attributing 

characters Plant height, number of functional leaves plant-1, leaf area plant-1, total dry matter 

accumulation plant-1, number of branches plant-1 than ridges furrow and flat Bed. Among the 

crop residue management practices, the application of Crop Residue @ 2.5 T/ha + 10 kg ha-1 

decomposing microorganism recorded higher growth attributes Plant height, number of 

functional leaves plant-1, leaf area plant-1, total dry matter accumulation plant-1, number of 

branches plant-1 over rest of the treatments. 

References 

Jadhav, M. B., Kumbhar, M., Patel, M. V., and Shitap, M. S. 2017. Effect of land configuration 

and mulches on growth, yield and economics of summer groundnut. Trends in 

Biosciences, 10(27), 0974-8431, 5798 

Karande, S. V., Khot, R. B., and Hankare, R. H. 2006. Effect of layout and nutrient integration 

on yield and nutrient uptake of chickpea. J. Maharashtra Agric. Univ. 31(3), 370. 

Rudrawar, P. P. 2007 Studies on in situ moisture conservation and nutrient management in 

soybean (Doctoral dissertation, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, 

Parbhani). 

Shelar, D. N. and Khandekar, B. S. 2013. Performance of moisture conservation practices on 

growth and yield of soybean (Glycine max. L.). Asian J. Soil Sci. 8(2), 283-285. 




T4a-32P-1314 

Impact of Application of Organics, Biofertilizers on Soil Nutrient status and 

Quality parameter of Rabi Sorghum 

Kuruva Mounika 1* , A. Lalitha Kumari 2 , Ch. Sujani Rao 2 , M. Luther 2 , Sumanta Kundu 1 

and K. Sammi Reddy 1 

1 ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500059. 

2 Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University, Andhra Pradesh 

*kuruvamounika1998@gmail.com 

In India, the area under the sorghum crop is 5.62 m ha, production is 4.57 m t, and productivity is 

812 kg ha -1 . The imbalanced fertilizer use, and low organic carbon are attributed to the causes of 

low system productivity and poor soil health. Integrated and balanced use of nutrients through 

chemical and organic sources and biofertilizers is a prerequisite to sustaining soil health and 

producing maximum yield. Objectives of investigation to study the effect of organic manures 

and biofertilizers on soil nutrient status and protein content of rabi sorghum. 

Methodology 

A field experiment entitled was conducted at Agricultural College Farm, Bapatla in the rabi 

season of 2020-21. Eight treatments in combinations consisting of three levels of fertilizers with 

FYM, vermicompost, neem cake along with biofertilizers were tried in randomized block design. 

Available nitrogen content in the soil was determined by the alkaline potassium permanganate 

method. Available phosphorus in the soil samples was determined by Olsens method. Available 

potassium in the soil was extracted using neutral normal ammonium acetate method. The total 

nitrogen in grains was estimated by micro Kjeldahl method. 

Results 

The available nitrogen was significantly higher in the treatment T4 (100% RDF + Neem cake @ 

500 kg ha -1 + Azospirillum @ 5 kg ha -1 + PSB @ 5 kg ha -1 ) at blooming (390 kg ha -1 ), harvest 

stage (372 kg ha -1 ) and it was on par with T2 (100% RDF + FYM @ 10 t ha -1 + Azospirillum @ 5 

kg ha -1 + PSB @ 5 kg ha -1 (381 and 368 kg ha -1 ) respectively depicted in the table. The high 

available nitrogen status at both stages in treatments integrated with other components might be 

ascribed to the fixation of nitrogen by Azospirillum and an additional supply of nitrogen through 

FYM compared to sole inorganic treatments. Significantly higher soil available phosphorus 

(68.68 and 66.33 kg ha -1 ) and available potassium (434 and 415 kg ha -1 ) were observed in the 




treatment T2 (100% RDF + FYM @ 10 t ha -1 + Azospirillum @ 5 kg ha -1 + PSB @ 5 kg ha -1 ) at 

blooming and harvest stage, respectively and it was on par with 125% RDF (available P - 67.00, 

65.67 kg ha -1 and available K -432 and 412 kg ha -1 ) depicted in table 1. It enhances the P 

concentration in solution through the mineralization of organic P and solubilization of native soil 

P compounds by producing organic acids (Roy et al., 2017). Significantly higher protein content 

(12.29%) was recorded in the treatment T2 (100 % RDF + FYM @ 10 t ha -1 + Azospirillum @ 5 

kg ha -1 + PSB @ 5 kg ha -1 ) as shown in the figure. 

Effect of organic manures and biofertilizers on available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium 

Treatments 

(kg ha -1 ) in soil 

Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium 

Blooming Harvest Blooming Harvest Blooming Harvest 

T 1 : 100% RDF 346 328 57.99 55.67 390 373 

T 2 : 100% RDF+FYM @ 10 t ha - 

1 + Azospirillum + PSB 

T 3 : 100% RDF + Vermicompost 

@ 3 t ha -1 + Azospirillum + 

PSB 

T 4 : 100% RDF+ Neem cake @ 

500 kg ha -1 + Azospirillum 

+PSB 

381 368 68.68 66.33 434 415 

370 349 64.16 63.33 429 409 

390 372 61.06 59.74 414 401 

T 5 : 125% RDF 379 361 67.00 65.67 432 412 

T 6 : 75% RDF+FYM @ 10 t ha -1 

+ Azospirillum + PSB 

T 7 : 75% RDF+ Vermicompost 

@ 3 t ha -1 + Azospirillum + 

PSB 

T 8 : 75% RDF+ Neem cake @ 

500 kg ha -1 + Azospirillum + 

PSB 

336 324 56.90 53.04 389 376 

326 319 53.42 51.89 383 370 

338 326 52.90 51.10 375 367 

SEm± 14.3 13.5 2.98 2.67 14.23 13.63 

CD (0.05%) 43.2 40.5 8.94 8.01 42.69 40.89 




Conclusion 

Effect of organic manures and biofertilizers on protein content (%) of sorghum grain 

Integrated use of inorganics and organics (FYM) along with biofertilizers not only increased 

yield but also improved soil health by increasing organic carbon, available nutrient contents and 

soil biological activity. 

Reference 

Roy MD, Sarkar GK, Das I, Karmakar R and Saha, T. 2017. Integrated use of inorganic, 

biological, and organic manures on rice productivity, nitrogen uptake, and soil health in 

Gangetic alluvial soils of West Bengal. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 65 (1): 72-79. 

T4a-33P -1276 

Impact of Zinc and Iron-Enriched Organic Manures on Rabi Grain Sorghum 

T. Bhagavatha Priya, Sk. Sameera, S. Isha Parveen and S. Balaji Nayak 

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Lam, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India 

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is India's second most important millet crop after pearl 

millet both in terms of area and production. On account of severe grain mold menace in rainy i.e. 

Kharif season (Das et al., 2020), sorghum cultivation has shifted to Rabi season rainfed crop 

(also as an irrigated crop to some extent in rice fallows or after other arable Kharif legume crops) 

and has 64.36% share in 4.77 m t of total production during 2019-20 (DES, 2021). An estimated 

48 and 12% of Indian soils are reported to be deficient in Zn and Fe i.e. a DTPA extractable Zn 




and Fe content < 0.60 and 4.50 ppm being critical limit (Singh et al., 2009). These soil nutrient 

deficiencies are getting manifested in not only poor crop yields but also in their consumers. An 

estimated 17.3% and 43% of children under 5 years of age & 38% of pregnant women as 

reflected in low haemoglobin concentration i.e. anaemia are at risk of Zn and Fe deficiency due 

to dietary inadequacy. In this context, bio-fortification (increasing the minerals/vitamins in 

edible plant parts by genetic means) of staple crops has been explored as a sustainable strategy 

under the HarvestPlus scheme globally. Besides genetic approaches, agronomic efforts also help 

in the biofortification of staple crops. Studies were made to assess the impact the of use of 

organic manures (FYM and vermicompost), enriched iron, and zinc sulfate fertilization on Rabi 

grain sorghum productivity, profitability and biofortification. 

Methodology 

Field experiments were conducted during the Rabi seasons of 2017, 2018 & 2019 at the All India 

Coordinated Sorghum Improvement Project (AICSIP) centre in Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh. 

Eleven treatments formed by the combination of two organic manures (FYM and Vermi- 

Compost, VC) @ 50 kg/ha enriched with four levels of ZnSO4 and FeSO4 (3.75, 7.50, 11.25, and 

15.00 kg/ha each) for a period of 15 days prior to soil application along with three checks i.e. 

control (no manure & no fertilizer), recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF, 80-40 kg/ha N-P2O5) 

and RDF + 15 kg ZnSO4/ha soil application + seed treatment with Azospirillum (0.5 kg) and 

Trichoderma (0.03 kg) were evaluated in RBD with three replications. Experimental soil was a 

deep vertisol rated as low for organic carbon (0.42%), DTPA extractable zinc and iron (0.52 and 

4.2 ppm) and has 201-49-342 kg/ha of available N-P-K. Fertilizer application was applied as 

basal with enriched manures applied as broadcasting. Rainfed sorghum cultivar ‘CSV29R’ was 

sown in 45 cm rows with a plant-to-plant spacing of 15 cm. Rainfall of 184.7, 82.6, and 99.0 mm 

was received during the 2017, 2018, and 2019 crop life cycle respectively. The sorghum crop 

was raised following a package of practices recommended for the rabi season crop. Data on 

growth, yield attributes, and yields were recorded, and economics were worked out using MSP 

of grain and assumed price of stover and market price of inputs and analyzed statistically. As 

data has a similar trend, results based on pooled analysis were presented. 

Results 

Growth, Yield attributes, and yield 

Plant height, a measure of crop growth was significantly improved due to 11.25 kg/ha zinc and 

iron sulfate each enriched manure (FYM and VC) application along with RDF over RDF. Pooled 

data reveals a significant improvement in Rabi sorghum grain and stover yields (19.64 and 




3.17%) due to the application of RDF + 15 kg ZnSO4 to soil and seed treatment with 

Azospirillum (0.5 kg) and Trichoderma (0.03 kg) as compared to unfertilized and un-manured 

control (2.75 t/ha). A significant improvement in grain yield of rabi sorghum (16.7%) was 

obtained with 15 kg/ha zinc and iron sulfate each enriched FYM fertilization over RDF (3.12 

t/ha). Similar but slightly higher (18.9%) improvements in grain yield were obtained with a 25% 

lower level of zinc and iron sulfate (11.25 kg/ha) with the use of vermicompost as a manure 

source for micronutrient enrichment. However, both the FYM and VC-enriched Zn and Fe 

treatments remained at par with RDF + 15 kg ZnSO4 + seed treatment for grain yield. 

Azospirillum seed treatment associated with symbiotic atmospheric N fixation has made it 

available to crop directly. Further, application of 15 kg/ha ZnSO4 along with biofertilizers on 

account of its enhanced supplies of Zn and S in the soil might have improved their crop uptake 

from a soil low in DTPA extractable Zn and thus together have boosted the crop performance 

over RDF alone and thus has markedly better performance than control. In manure-enriched Zn 

and Fe treatment, Fe supplies in soil are improved in addition to Zn & S and thus rabi sorghum 

crop performance is boosted in a DTPA extractable zinc and iron deficit soil. Superiority of 

manure enriched zinc and iron fertilizers for rabi sorghum crop reported in this study were 

corroborated by the findings of Durgude et al. (2019) from Rahuri who found better rabi 

sorghum yields with use of cow dung slurry (500 L/ha) incubated 20 kg/ha ZnSO4 along with 

RDF (80:40:40 kg/ha N:P2O5:K2O) as compared to RDF. The current superiority reported with 

use of FYM enriched zinc and iron sulphate @ 15 kg/ha each was however, four times higher 

than those reported by Kumar and Kubsad (2017). 

Economics 

Economics indicate that FYM enriched ZnSO4 + FeSO4 application @ 11.25 kg each or VC 

enriched ZnSO4 + FeSO4 application @ 7.5 kg each being at par with each other have recorded 

significantly higher net income than control (Rs. 39969/ha) as described in the table. VC 

enriched ZnSO4 + FeSO4 application @ 11.25 kg each has further significantly improved net 

income over RDF alone. The increases in net income could be ascribed to the cumulative effect 

of increase in grain and stover yields over control and RDF. Similar impacts of enriched Zn and 

Fe fertilizers on economics were reported by Kumar and Kubsad (2017). 

Zn and Fe Biofortification of sorghum grain 

Low iron and zinc status of soil is manifested in their low concentration in grain (Table 2) that 

was the lowest in unfertilized control (26.9 & 13.3 ppm) and RDF (28.1 & 17.5 ppm). FYM 

enriched ZnSO4 + FeSO4 fertilization up to 11.25 kg/ha has significantly improved the Fe and Zn 

concentration in grain, however, with VC, no such dose dependent differences in Fe 




concentration of grain were observed. Irrespective of manure used for enrichment, 15 kg ZnSO4 

+ FeSO4 dose recorded the highest Fe and Zn concentration in sorghum grain. 

Conclusion 

From the three-year (2017-19) investigation on rabi sorghum, it was concluded that soil 

application of RDF i.e. recommended dose of fertilizers (80-40 kg/ha N-P2O5) along with 15 

kg/ha ZnSO4 to seed treated with Azospirillum (500 g) + Trichoderma (30 g) is promising over 

no fertilizers. FYM or VC (both @ 50 kg/ha) enriched with 11.25 or 7.5 kg/ha of ZnSO4 + 

FeSO4 each was promising for realizing higher rabi sorghum grain yields and Zn and Fe bio 

fortified grains and net profits in Nandyal agro-ecoregion of Andhra Pradesh. 

References 

Das, I.K., Aruna, C. and Tonapi, V. A. 2020. Sorghum grain mold. ICAR-Indian Institute of 

Millets Research, Hyderabad, India, ISBN: 81-89335-93-6: 86. 

DES (Directorate of Economics and Statistics). 2021. Third Advance Estimates of Production of 

Food grains for 2020-21, as on 25 th May, 2021. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers 

Welfare Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare Directorate of 

Economics and Statistics. pp. 1-2. 

Kumar, A and Kubsad, V.S. 2017. Effect of fortification of organics with iron and zinc on 

growth yield and economics of rabi sorghum. J. Farm Sci., 30 (4): 547-549. 

Singh, A.K., Sarkar, A.K., Kumar, A and Singh B.P. 2009. Effect of l use of mineral fertilizers, 

lime, and farm yard manure on the crop yield, available plant nutrients, and heavy metal 

status in acidic loam soil. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 12(11): 133-149. 

Growth, yield attributes, yield and economics of rabi sorghum as influenced using iron and 

zinc-enriched organic manures (pooled over 3 years) 

TREATMENT 

Plant 

height 

(cm) at 

harvest 

Panicle 

weight 

(g) 

Test 

weight 

(g) 

Grain 

yield 

(t/ha) 

Straw 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

Net 

returns 

(Rs./ 

ha) 

Control (no manure & no fertilizer) 306.0 75.1 32.83 2.75 8.53 39969 

RDF (80-40 kg/ha N-P 2O 5) 306.8 89.2 33.93 3.12 8.64 44026 

RDF + 15 kg ZnSO 4 + seed treatment 308.8 88.6 34.33 3.29 8.80 47408 

RDF + 3.75 kg Zn and Fe each enriched 

FYM 

309.5 90.4 34.86 3.28 8.65 46570 

RDF + 7.5 kg Zn and Fe each enriched FYM 311.2 93.6 35.50 3.40 8.76 48942 




RDF + 11.25 kg Zn and Fe each enriched 

FYM 

313.8 93.6 35.76 3.55 8.76 51337 

RDF + 15 kg Zn and Fe each enriched FYM 316.3 95.3 37.04 3.64 8.86 52759 

RDF + 3.75 kg Zn and Fe each enriched VC 310.8 90.2 36.53 3.41 8.58 49552 



RDF + 15 kg Zn and Fe each enriched VC 316.5 94.2 36.76 3.70 8.85 53521 

SEm+ 1.91 1.14 0.14 0.146 0.089 

CD (P=0.05) 5.68 3.41 0.42 0.433 0.264 

Zinc and iron densification of rabi sorghum grain and their uptake as influenced by 

iron and zinc-enriched organic manures (pooled over 3 years) 

TREATMENT 

Grain concentration 

(ppm) 

Grain uptake 

(g/ha) 

Zn Fe Zn Fe 

Control (no manure & no fertilizer) 13.3 26.9 36.58 73.98 

RDF (80-40 kg/ha N-P 2O 5) 17.5 28.1 54.60 87.67 

RDF + 15 kg ZnSO 4 + seed treatment 26.0 28.6 85.54 94.09 

RDF + 3.75 kg Zn and Fe each enriched FYM 24.5 29.8 80.36 97.74 



RDF + 15 kg Zn and Fe each enriched FYM 33.5 32.6 121.94 118.66 

RDF + 3.75 kg Zn and Fe each enriched VC 27.0 31.6 92.07 107.76 



RDF + 15 kg Zn and Fe each enriched VC 35.0 32.6 129.50 120.62 




T4a-34P 

Improvement of Soil Fertility and Productivity by Use of Green Manuring 

Debesh Singh*, R.P.S. Tomar and Swati Singh 

NICRA, RVSKVV KVK, Morena, M.P. 

*debeshtomar315@gmal.com 

Green manuring is the practice of ploughing and turning in to the soil, under composed green 

plant tissue for the purpose of improving soil fertility and productivity. It increases the soil 

fertility by the direct addition of nitrogen and also improves the soil structure, water holding 

capacity and increase microbial population of soil by the addition of humus or organic matter. 

The soil physical properties that are affected by incorporation of the green manure includes the 

structure, moisture retention capacity consistency and density. Other properties such as the 

porosity, aeration, conductivity, hydraulics and infiltration are allied to the modifications to the 

soil structure. Post-harvest decaying roots significantly increased macrospores in soil. Green 

manuring had significant effect on increasing soil organic carbon. Green manure crops are grown 

in a field prior to crop cultivation and then cut and buried when approximately 50 percent of all 

plants are flowering. The practice of incorporating green leaf manure is different from green 

manure grown in situ, in this method the leaves are cut and brought to the farms in bundles. 

Green manuring is practiced according to suitability of soil and climatic conditions. Green 

manuring is generally done with sun hemp, dhaincha, cowpea, green gram, black gram; etc. these 

crops when rotten nourish the soil with their nutrients. Dhaincha as a green manure crop does 

well in the waterlogged and alkaline soils. Generally, a higher seed rate is recommended for 

green manuring. They absorb nutrient from the deeper soil layers and leave them in surface soil. 

The amount of green plant material buried stimulates the activity of the micro-organism 

inhabitant to the soil. Application of green manure crops supplements the chemical fertilizers and 

restores soil fertility. Therefore, it is an eco-friendly low-cost technology to conserve the natural 

resources besides maintaining environmental quality in a sustainable banner. 




T4a-35P-1325 

Influence of Different In-Situ Soil Moisture Conservation Techniques in 

Maize under Rainfed Agro-Eco System of Jammu Region 

Jai Kumar 1 *, A.P. Singh 1 , G. Ravindra Chary 2 , A. Gopinath 2 , Brinder Singh 1 , Rohit 

Shrama 1 and Sunny Raina 3 

1 All India Coordinated Project for Dryland agriculture, Rakh-Dhiansar, Samba (UT of J&K) 

2 AICRPDA, ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad 

3 Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir 

(UT) 181 133 

*jkap006@gmail.com 

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third most important cereal crop in the world after wheat and rice 

which occupies a prominent place in world agriculture due to its wide spread cultivation in 

tropics, sub-tropics and temperate regions of the world. Maize being grown globally on an area 

of about 197.19 million ha with a production of about of 1125.03 million tonnes. Maize in India 

is known as ‘King of cereals’ because of its high production potential and wider adaptability, is 

cultivated on an area of 9.21 million ha with a production of 25.13 million tonnes and the 

productivity of 26.3 q/ ha (Annonymous 2020). The state of Jammu and Kashmir has the 

distinction of being maize forms the staple diet of majority of the people living in the state and is 

grown on larger area than wheat and rice while in Jammu region, it is the second most cereal 

crop after wheat. 

Maize being the dominant Kharif crop of rainfed areas of Jammu province, is seriously suffering 

due to erratic and unpredictable rainfall, soils being light and medium texture leads to low water 

holding capacity and the lands are often having uneven topography, the rain water runs off 

quickly and removes top soil and fertilizers leading to reduction in maize productivity. Maize is 

grown on farrowed or slopping lands, largely under Rainfed conditions and experience deficit 

moisture stress at different stages of growth. The uneven distribution of rainfall in time and space 

often causes dry spells of two weeks or even more resulting in moisture stress conditions during 

critical stages of maize crop, especially during the cob formation/grain filling stage which is the 

most critical stage with respect to productivity. Thus, the major constraint for establishing a crop 

is the lack of adequate moisture in the root zone (Hadda et al., 2010; Bhat et al., 2004). 

Therefore, it becomes essential to supply water to plant by adopting in-situ soil conservation 

measures for increasing water use efficiency. This cause adoption of in-situ moisture 

conservation practices to enhance productivity under dryland ecosystem (Subudhi, 2011). Hence, 

keeping the above facts in the forefront, a study on the influence of Different In-Situ Soil 




Moisture Conservation Techniques in Maize under Rainfed Agro-Eco System of Jammu Region 

is proposed. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted at the Research Farm of Advanced Centre for Rainfed 

Agriculture, ACRA Dhiansar of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and 

Technology of Jammu during the Kharif season of 2016. The soil of the experimental field was 

sandy loam in texture, near to neutral, low in organic carbon and available nitrogen and medium 

in available phosphorous and potassium. The experiment was laid out in randomized block 

design during kharif season with three replications each. The experiment consisted of 9 

treatments viz. T1- Flat Bed, T2- Broad Bed Furrow, T3- Flat Bed + mulching with in-situ raised 

Dhaincha, T4-Broad Bed Furrow +mulching with in-situ raised Dhaincha, T5-Flat Bed 

+mulching with in situ raised Sunhemp, T6- Broad Bed Furrow +mulching with in-situ raised 

Sunhemp, T7- Flat Bed +mulching with Leuceana prunings, T8- Broad Bed Furrow +mulching 

with Leucaena prunings and T9- Farmer’s practice. The field was ploughed twice with disc 

harrow followed by planking to prepare a fine seed bed. Plot paths, replication borders and 

drainage channels were made manually. The plots were levelled before planting of kharif maize. 

However, Broad Bed and Furrow plots were raised using Bed making machine. Hybrid maize 

variety Double dekalb was sown in line during July using full dose of P and K along with 2/3 rd 

dose of N as basal dose at the time of sowing through inorganic sources of nutrients viz. Urea, 

DAP and MOP, respectively as per package of practices and remaining Nitrogen was applied 

just before the application of mulches while in farmers practice only Urea and DAP as inorganic 

fertilizers were applied in maize sown by broadcasting method without following any plant 

protection measures . However, the seeds of the mulch crops viz: Dhaincha and Sunhemp were 

also sown by broadcasting method at the time of final ploughing as per the technical programme. 

Leucaena pruning’s (Ex-situ) were taken from the plants growing in surroundings 35 DAS at the 

time of spreading of mulches. 

Results 

The experimental results revealed that all the moisture conservation techniques showed 

significant results over the other treatments. However, the treatment (T4) Broad Bed Furrow + 

mulching with in-situ raised Dhaincha recorded significantly higher values of Growth and yield 

and yield attributing characters and was found to be statistically at par with the treatment (T8) 

Broad Bed Furrow (BBF) + Mulching with Leucaena leaves and Treatment (T6) Broad Bed 

Furrow +mulching with in-situ raised Sunhemp. However, the treatment (T4) Broad Bed Furrow 

+ mulching with in-situ raised dhaincha recorded significantly higher grain yield (3281 kg ha -1 ) 




alongwith highest net returns, B:C ratio and RWUE (kg/ha/mm) to the tune of Rs.38905/ha, 

1.61 and 5.19 respectively while the lowest net returns and B:C were recorded in farmer’s 

practice. 

Yield and economics of maize crop under different in-situ soil moisture conservation 

Treatments 

techniques during Kharif 

Yield (kg 

ha -1 ) 


cultivation 

(Rs ha -1 ) 

Net 

return 

(Rs ha -1 ) 

B:C 

ratio 

RWUE 

(kg/hamm) 

T1 Flat Bed 2445 19890 27983 1.41 3.87 

T2 Broad Bed Furrow (BBF) 2705 21740 31116 1.43 4.28 

T3 

Flat Bed + Mulching with in-situ 

raised Dhaincha 

T4 Broad Bed Furrow (BBF) + 

Mulching with in-situ raised 

Dhaincha 

T5 

Flat Bed + Mulching with in-situ 

raised Sunhemp 


Mulching with in-situ raised 

Sunhemp 

T7 

Flat Bed + Mulching with 

Leucaena prunings 


Mulching with Leucaena leaves 

2910 22240 33690 1.51 4.60 

3281 24090 38905 1.61 5.19 

2812 22240 32032 1.44 4.45 

3175 24090 36680 1.52 5.02 

2875 22665 33053 1.46 4.55 

3235 24515 37726 1.54 5.12 

T9 Farmer’s practice 2120 17479 24158 1.38 3.35 

CD (5%) 254 - - - - 

Conclusion 

On the basis of experimental findings, it may be concluded that among the different in-situ soil 

moisture conservation techniques in maize, Broad Bed Furrow (BBF) + mulching with in-situ 

raised Dhaincha, provided significantly highest grain yield with maximum net returns, B:C ratio 

and Rain Water Use Efficiency under rainfed situations which not only helped in conserving the 

moisture in the soil profile but also enhanced the productivity of maize especially during 

mid/terminal dry spell situations which can contribute to food security of kandi belt farmer’s 

under the Shiwalik Foothils of Jammu and Kashmir. 




References 

Annonymous 2020. World agricultural production. United States Department of Agriculture. 

available at : https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/production. 

Bhatt R, Khera KL, and Arora S. 2004. Effect of Tillage and Mulching on Yield of Corn in the 

Submontaneous Rainfed region of Punjab, India. International Journal of Agriculture and 

Biology, 6: 26-28. 

Hadda, M.S., Khera, K.L. and Kukal, S.S. 2010. Soil and water conservation practices and soil 

productivity in North-Western sub-mountaneous tract of India: A review. Indian Journal 

of Soil Conservation, 28: 187-192. 

Subudhi, R. 2011. Effect of Conservation Trenches on Plantation Crop in Degraded Watershed 

in Kandhamal District of Odisha. Agrotechnol 2: 112. 

T4a-36P-1250 

Influence of Medicinal Crops used as Groundcover Management of Guava 

Orchard on Soil Properties of Northern India. 

Manpreet Singh 1 *and Kanwaljit Singh 2 

1 Department of Agriculture, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar-143001 (India) 

2 P.G. Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College Amritsar-143002 (India) 

*manpreetjatana88@gmail.com 

The conventional tillage or use of weedicides is a common practice to control weeds in an 

orchard but it is not considered a sustainable approach. Better and scientifically grown ground 

cover crops may have been proved to be valuable for the orchard environment which includes 

increased beneficial organism populations, improved soil organic matter and resilience and 

reduced soil sickness (Lemessa and Wakjira 2015). Intercropping is one of the techniques of land 

utilization for greater stability in production as well as help the farmers in maintaining the soil 

fertility level (Bhattnagar et al., 2007). The combination of medicinal plants provides another 

chance to study diversification of existing land use systems for beneficial environmental impacts 

and higher profits as related to sole cropping systems. Hence, the experiment was carried out to 

evaluate the reliable intercropping system in the guava orchard to upgrade the soil health. 

Methodology 

During 2019-20, the field experiment was conducted at the Horticulture Research Farm, Khalsa 

College Amritsar. The eight-year-old plantation of guava at 6 x 6 m spacing, inter-cropped with 




six herbal medicinal plants crops. The data was analyzed by online OPSTAT software and LSD 

(least significant difference) was calculated at 5 per cent level of significance (Snedecor and 

Cochran 1967). 

Results 

There was a significant variation in bulk density of soil at both depths. The lowest bulk density 

was recorded in mentha and brahmi intercropped block (T4 and T2) which was on par with 

turmeric, lemongrass and stevia intercropped treatments (T4, T3 and T5). The sole treatments (T7) 

had higher bulk density values among all other treatments. 

Soil porosity varied from 47.80 to 49.81 % and 46.93 to 48.74 % from both depths 0-15 and 15- 

30cm, respectively. While the intercropping of brahmi (49.81%) under guava-based system had 

significantly higher porosity which was very close to mentha intercropped blocks (49.56%) and 

at par with treatments T3, T5 and T6 and lowest value found in T7 (guava sole). 

The availability of N, P and K of soil at depth 0-15cm, were significantly higher under guavabased 

cropping systems in all the treatments than the guava sole (Fig.). Significantly maximum 

available N was recorded in T4, which was followed by T2 and the lowest available nitrogen was 

found in the T7 treatment. 

Avail. N Avail. P Avail. K 

350 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

Guava + Aloe 

Vera 

Guava + 

Brahmi 

Guava + 

Lemongrass 

Guava + 

Mentha 

Guava + Stevia Guava + 

Turmeric 

Guava sole 

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 

Depth 0-15cm 




350 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

Guava + Aloe 

Vera 

Guava + 

Brahmi 

Guava + 

Lemongrass 

Guava + 

Mentha 

Avail. N Avail. P Avail. K 

Guava + Stevia Guava + 

Turmeric 

Guava sole 

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 

Depth 15-30cm 

Effect of medicinal crops on soil available NPK at depth 0-15cm and 15-30 cm 

Similarly, the available P and K content of soil were influenced through different intercropping 

systems. However, soil P content was maximum under mentha crop (T4) and lower in guava 

sole system (T7) at both depths. The available K status of soil was recorded highest when 

medicinal crops were grown under guava-based intercropping as compared to guava sole. 

Conclusion 

From the present investigation it is concluded that he combination of fruit orchard and 

medicinal crops seems to improve the physical and chemical properties as well as status of 

macro-nutrients of orchard soil more than guava alone, probably due to more and faster 

decomposition of litter fall and root biomass of cover crops. Hence, guava based hortimedicinal 

cropping system can be adopted in large scale to improve soil fertility status. 

References 

Bhatnagar, P., Kaul, M.K., and Singh, J., 2007. Effect of intercropping in Kinnow based 

production system. Ind. J. of Arid Hort. 2: 15-17. 

Lemessa, F., and Wakjira, M., 2015. Cover crops as a means of ecological weed management in 

Agro-ecosystems. J. of crop sci. and biotech. 133–145. 




T4a-37P-1318 

Influence of Natural Farming on Soil Properties, Crop Protection and 

Production of Quality Produce in Sugarcane 

K.V. Ramana Murthy, Dr M. Bharathalakshmi, Ch. S. Rama Lakshmi, M. Visalakshi, 

P. Kishore Varma and D. Adilakshmi 

Regional Agricultural Research Station, Anakapalli-531001, Andhra Pradesh 

The increased and often indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides immensely harmed 

biological activity of the soil rendering it almost lifeless in vast areas. Agriculture production has 

tended to remain either stagnant or is declining despite application of high-cost inputs in large 

number of agricultural zones. Agriculture production despite troughs due to drought and aberrant 

weather conditions showed remarkable resilience but the quantum jump in production is 

conspicuous by its absence. Experts attribute this stagnation to destruction of soil health due to 

application of fertilizers and pesticides. Hence, this study was formulated to validate the natural 

farming practices in sugarcane + pulse intercropping for sustained soil and crop productivity in 

sugarcane. 

Methodology 

A field trial was taken up during 2020-21 and 2021-22 at Regional Agricultural Research 

Station, Anakapalli, Andhra Pradesh in sandy clay loam soils, The pH of the soil was 7.22, EC 

0.27 dS m -1 . The soil was low in available nitrogen (188 kg/ha), medium in available phosphorus 

(72 kg/ha) and high in available potassium (223 kg/ha). The micronutrient availability of zinc 

was 0.97 ppm, Copper 2.32 ppm, Manganese 14.58 ppm and Iron 10.15 ppm. The treatments 

were T1-Integrated Crop Management (University recommendation), T2-Natural Farming and 

Organic Farming and T3-Palekar’s Zero Based Natural Farming (ZBNF) replicated thrice. The 

test variety was a short duration sugarcane variety 2009 A 252 (Naveen). 

The weather 

conditions that prevailed during the growth period of sugarcane during these two years were 

congenial for the crop growth. A rainfall of1670.5 mm during 2020-21 and 1306. 4 mm during 

2021-22 was received with rainy days of 72 and 69 days respectively. The protocol was followed 

as per gelines for the three systems of cultivation. 

Results 

During 2020-21 in plant crop and in 2021-22 in ratoon crop, with respect to the soil physico 

chemical properties, available phosphorus and potassium, Zinc and Iron were higher in ICM 

while available nitrogen, Fe and Mn were high with OF & NF. Soil microbial population 




(Azotobactor and Azospirillum) at grand growth stage was higher in OF&NF followed by ICM 

whereas phosphorus solubilizers population was higher in ZBNF plots. Dehydrosenase and 

urease activity were higher in OF&NF. Acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase were higher 

in ICM. Earth worm population at different growth stages was higher in ZBNF. Similar studies 

by Singh and Srivastava, 2011 indicated that the highest enhancement in organic carbon content 

at ratoon harvest was recorded in the treatment receiving 100 per cent N through organic + 

biofertilizers + inter cropping of legume with rhizobium + pests/diseases control by either 

synthetic pesticides or biopesticides. Incidence of YLD was 2.82 per cent in ICM, 1.1 percent in 

OF and NF and 1.7 per cent in Palekar’s ZBNF. The cumulative incidence of ESB at 120 DAP 

was more in ICM followed by OF and NF while it was lowest in Palekars ZBNF. The incidence 

of INB was higher in Palekar’s ZBNF while it was lowest in ICM. Among three methods of 

cultivation higher tiller population, stalk population, yield attributes and yield were higher with 

ICM followed by OF and NF while the lowest cane yield) was recorded with Palekar’s ZBNF. 

Application of FYM, cane trash, pressmud, vermicompost and biocompost in combination with 

recommended inorganic fertilizers have recorded increased cane yield over inorganic fertilizer 

alone, besides improving the soil fertility and economizing the cane production (Shilpa et al., 

2017). 

Conclusion 

From the mean data it can be interpreted that ICM gave the highest cane yield, sugar yield during both 

years in plant and ratoon crop as well as compared to OF and NF and Palekar’s ZBNF methods. 

Effect of Natural Farming on soil physicochemical properties in post harvest soils of Sugarcane 

Particulars Initial ICM 

NF & 

OF 

Mean of 2 years 

ZBNF 

pH 7.22 7.19 7.14 7.12 

EC (dS/m) 0.27 0.245 0.232 0.211 

OC (%) 0.61 0.61 0.64 0.64 

Available Nitrogen (kg/ha) 188 207.5 213.75 196.87 

Available Phosphorus (kg/ha) 72 77.25 76.32 74.41 

Available Potassium (kg/ha) 223 234 234 223 

Av. Zn (ppm) 0.97 0.89 0.89 0.85 

Av. Cu (ppm) 2.32 2.94 2.52 2.58 

Av. Mn (ppm) 14.58 15.49 16.44 13.92 

Av. Fe (ppm) 10.15 12.92 13.61 13.50 




Influence of natural farming on growth, yield, soil microbial and soil enzymatic activity of 

sugarcane 

Particulars ICM NF & OF ZBNF 

Mean Mean Mean 

Shoot population (240 DAP) 79795 72251.5 42929 

Plant height (240 DAP) 240.7 193.835 152.75 

LMC at Harvest(cm) 232.95 184.965 146.785 

Avg. Cane Girth(cm) 2.47 2.525 2.41 

Number of internodes/Cane 25.7 23.315 19.7 

NMC per hectare 74621.5 68588 42583 

Cane Yield(t/ha) 76.45 65.15 40.235 

Intercrop (Greengram) yield-kg/ha -- -- 685.5 

Cane equivalent yield 76.45 65.15 55.725 

Brix (%) 20.9 20.995 20.325 

Sucrose (%) 18.99 18.87 18.95 

CCS (%) 14.655 14.425 13.8 

Purity (%) 90.25 87.06 89.08 

Sugar yield (t/ha) 11.32 9.45 7.68 

Jaggery Recovery (%) 7.42 6.56 5.54 

Jaggery Yield (t/ha) 5.72 4.24 2.74 

Azatobactor (x 10 4 cfu/g soil) 5.5 5.0 6.5 

Azospirillum (x 10 4 cfu/g soil) 8.0 3.0 7.0 

Rhizobium (x 10 5 cfu/g soil) 2.5 0.0 2.0 

Phosphorous solubilizers (x 10 4 cfu/g soil) 3.0 1.0 3.5 

Dehydrosenase (µg TPF/g soil/day) 2.1 3.4 2.5 

Urease (µg NH4+/5 g. soil/2 hr) 39.0 42.0 30.5 

Acid Phosphatase (µg PNP/g. soil/hr) 55.0 44.0 38.0 

Alkaline Phosphatase (µg PNP/g. soil/hr) 64.5 53.5 48.5 

Yellow leaf disease 2.8 1.1 1.7 

Ring spot 2.5 2.7 4.4 

ESB (% DH) upto 120 DAP 6.6 5.5 2.3 

Internode borer incidence (%) 24.4 49.0 41.0 




References 

Shilpa V. Chogatapur, Vishwajith and Reshma Sutar. 2017. Organic Sugarcane: A Review. 

Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci. 6(12): 1729-1738. doi: 

https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.612.196 

Singh, K. P. and Srivastava, T. K. .2011. Sugarcane productivity and soil fertility in plant -ratoon 

system under integrated and organic nutrient management in sub-tropics. Ind. J. 

Sugarcane Tech., 26(1):10-13. 

T4a-38P-1461 

In-Situ Moisture Conservation Techniques for Timely Sowing of Wheat Crop 

in Rabi Season Under Kandi Areas of District Kathua 

Vishal Sharma 1 *, Vishal Mahajan 1 , Berjesh Ajrawat 1 , Anamika Jamwal 1 , Ashu Sharma 1 , 

Ajay Kumar 1 , Sahil Sharma 1 and B. C. Sharma 2 

1 Krishi Vigyan Kendra- Kathua, SKUAST-Jammu, INDIA 

2 FoA, SKUAST-Jammu, INDIA 

*vsagro14@gmail.com 

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) plays a vital role in meeting the food requirement of both urban and 

rural population in India but its yield is low in rainfed areas because of unavailability of moisture 

at the time of sowing which adversely affect the emergence and plant establishment. It is the 

most important staple food crop of district Kathua having 41% share, cultivated in about 52.493 

thousand hectares with production and productivity of 11.47 lakh quintals and 24.0 q/ha, 

respectively. Wheat-maize is prominent cropping sequence in the district. The farmers of Kandi 

areas mostly rely on the cultivation of maize and wheat along with some pulses and oilseeds for 

their livelihood. However, weather is a critical factor influencing the production of crops in this 

region. Weather effects on crop yield are manifold, making their assessment challenging. Timely 

rainfall in district viewed as a dominant climatic element influencing timely sowing and 

ultimately the yield of wheat crop. The frequent dry spells during the sowing time greatly 

influence the crop productivity and become the limiting factor to achieve potential productivity. 

Hence, to overcome with untimely rainfalls at the time of sowing of wheat crop as experienced 

in last few years an experiment was formulated to study the effect of In-situ conservation of 

kharif moisture for timely sowing of wheat in rabi season under rainfed conditions in the form of 

on farm trials (OFTs) during rabi 2021-22. 




Methodology 

The study was based on on-farm trials carried out at five locations in NICRA village under 

Kathua District during the rabi 2021-22 using cv. WH 1080. The experiment was laid out in 

randomized block design with three replications, consisting of three treatments. The experiment 

comprised of 3 treatments: T1- Farmer practice (sowing after rainfall), T2- After harvest plough 

and heavy planking, T3- After harvest plough and heavy planking + mulching with maize straw. 

It represents the sub-tropical zone. Most of the farmers of this region are small and marginal 

farmers, are economically poor and practice subsistence farming. Under such conditions, due to 

unfavourable climatic conditions the productivity of crops is much below the national average 

productivity. District Kathua of Jammu and Kashmir is located on the northern side of the state. 

It lies between 32 0 00’ 17’ to 32 0 00’ 55’ N latitude and 75 0 00’ 70’ to 76 0 00’ 16’ E longitude. It 

has a total geographical area of 2.65 lakh hectare, out of which 1.27 lakh ha is gross sown area 

and 64829 ha (41/%) is net sown area. The soils of this area are deficit in organic carbon, humus 

and low in available nitrogen, phosphorous and medium in potassium. Other major constraints 

leading to yield gaps are low availability of quality seeds organic manures, bio pesticides, nonstandardization 

and non-adoption of improved production practices. Therefore, an attempt has 

been made in which moisture has been conserved for timely sowing of wheat crop on Kandi 

areas. 

Results 

Results indicated that the integration of plough and heavy planking with maize straw mulching 

resulted in higher grain and straw yield of wheat crop at all the location of OFTs in comparison 

to farmer practice. Combination of after harvest plough and heavy planking + mulching with 

maize straw resulted in significantly higher yield of wheat (38.20 q ha -1 ) as compared to after 

harvest plough and heavy planking alone (34.4 q ha -1 ) and farmer practice (30.0 q ha -1 ). 

Adoption of improved sowing technology increased yield by 27 per cent over farmers’ practices. 

Significant increase in grain yield of wheat crop with integration of plough and heavy planking 

with maize straw mulching might be due to timely sowing of wheat crop during untimely 

rainfalls. It was further revealed that higher rates of mulch conserved more soil moisture by 

providing better cover to the non-cropped area. Mulch application had also significant effect on 

emergence count. Increase in emergence count with high rates of mulches is attributed to soil 

moisture conservation. Mulch cover reduces evaporation losses from soil surfaces thus 

increasing moisture availability for germinating seeds. This contributed to better crop stand and 

this effect is reflected in the number of total tillers per unit area. Similarly, Sandal and Acharya 

(1997) investigated different tillage practices in a maize-wheat cropping sequence and reported 




that ‘maize sown on conventionally tilled plots mulched with lantana and sowing wheat with 

minimum tillage + mulching with lantana’ conserved sufficient moisture and resulted in timely 

sowing of rainfed wheat with higher grain yield. The economical parameters indicated that 

highest net profit of 53973 ha -1 was recorded with treatment T3 over farmer practices 40550 

ha -1 . Benefit cost ratio for after harvest plough and heavy planking + Mulching with maize straw 

and farmer practice was 1.69 and 1.40, respectively. 

Conclusion 

Hence from the investigations it is clear that plough and heavy planking with maize straw 

mulching was found to be effective in influencing grain yield of wheat crop as compare to farmer 

practice i.e. sowing after rainfall. Because under Kandi conditions this technique helped to 

enhance the moisture contents of soil by restoring the previous crop moisture and which is 

ultimately used for timely sowing of wheat crop during untimely rainfalls at the time of sowing. 

However, the economic feasibility of maize straw application is need to be investigated. It is 

therefore, proposed that alternative options/ mulching materials for maize straw needs also to be 

investigated for timely availability and at economical rates which could be as beneficial as the 

maize straw mulch and should be free from any allelopathic effects. 

References 

Sandal, S.K. and Acharya, C.L. 1997. Indian J. Agric. Sci., 67: 227-231. 

T4a-39P-1329 

Nutrient Management in Soybean Based Double Cropping Systems under 

Residual Moisture 

Pradeep Kumar 1* , C. K. Arya 2 , M. K. Sharma 3 and Pratap Singh 4 

1,2 AU, Kota, Rajasthan, India 

3 Agriculture Research Station, Ummedganj, AU, Kota, Rajasthan, India 

4 Directorate of Research, AU, Kota, Rajasthan, India 

*Pkprithvi139@gmail.com 

Soybean, also known as wonder crop, is a legume as well as oilseed crop. It is the third largest 

oilseed crop of India after rapeseed mustard and groundnut and ranks first in edible oil in world. 

India ranks fifth in area and production of soybean in the world. Traditional non-fermented food 

uses of soybeans include soy milk from which tofu and tofu skin are made. Fermented soy foods 

include soy sauce, fermented bean paste, natto and tempeh. Together protein and soybean oil 

content account for 56% of dry soybeans by weight (36% protein and 5% ash).100 grams of raw 




soybeans supply 446 calories and 9% water, 30% carbohydrates, 20% total fat and 36% protein. 

Nutrient management plays major role in higher production of crops especially in cropping 

system under dryland condition. Effective nutrient management facilitates required nutrient for 

the plant and help the crop to survive several types of biotic and abiotic stress in cropping 

system. Indiscriminate application of the inorganic fertilizers are known to have adverse effects 

on soil and human health. Therefore, it is essential to utilize organic sources of nutrients in order 

to increase the production of crop by maintaining soil fertility. Farmyard manure is a major 

source of nutrients, which also helps in maintaining soil fertility and increasing the water holding 

capacity of soil and productivity of the soil. Among soybean based double cropping, in haroti 

region of Rajasthan, coriander, linseed and chickpea are major crops that can be grown in on 

residual moisture in Rabi season under dryland agriculture. In Rajasthan, it is cultivated on 2.11 

million ha with a production of 2.26 million tonnes and contributes 14% of total country’s 

chickpea production (Anonymous 2021). Coriander is a major spices crop grown in experimental 

domain area of Jhalawar. Chickpea is having deep root system, able to utilize deeper residual 

moisture more efficiently and also facilitate deep sowing because of their large size seeds. 

Therefore, this experiment was conducted to study the nutrient management in soybean based 

double cropping systems under residual moisture. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted under AICRPDA project, during kharif & rabi season of three 

consecutive years from 2018-19 to 2020-21 at Agricultural Research Sub Station, Aklera, AU, 

Kota. Geographically, this is located in the south east part of the Rajasthan with 24.41 o Latitude 

and 76.56 o Longitude. According to Agro-climatic zones the domain comes in Humid South 

Eastern Plain, i.e. zone V of the Rajasthan. The Humid South Eastern plains (zone V) are 

popularly known as the Hadauti plateau. Summer temperatures reach up to 45 o C and in winter it 

falls to 2.4 o C. The relative humidity is generally high. The annual rainfall varies from 452 to 985 

mm. The landscape is characterized by hills pediments and vast alluvial plain formed by the 

rivers Parbati, Parwan and their tributaries. The soil of experimental field was black of alluvial 

origin with pH 8.1, available N (146.57 kg ha -1 ), available P (29 kg ha -1 ), available K (239 kg ha - 

1 ) and has about 0.17% SOC. The experiment was laid out in split plot design consisting of three 

level of cropping system i.e. Soybean-Chickpea, Soybean- coriander and Soybean-Linseed in 

Main plots and six levels of nutriment managements practices i.e. 100 % RDF (Inorganic), 100 

% RDF (Inorganic) + Sulphur @ 10 kg ha -1 , 75% RDF (inorganic) + 25% through FYM, 75% 

RDF (inorganic) + 25% through FYM + Sulphur @ 10 kg ha -1 , 50% RDF (inorganic) + 50% 

through FYM and 50% RDF (inorganic) + 50% through FYM + Sulphur @ 10 kg ha -1 . The 

varieties were taken up as Soybean-JS-20-29, Chick pea –GNG- 1958, Coriander RKD -18 and 




Linseed KBA-3. The data recorded were statistically analyzed by using technique of ANOVA 

i.e. analysis of variance and significance was determined as given by Panse and Sukhatme (1967) 

by computerised programme. 

Results 

Analysis showed that under different cropping system soybean-chickpea results significantly 

highest soybean equivalent yield of rabi crops (2444 kg ha -1 ), system productivity (3594 kg ha -1 ), 

system Net return (81583/- ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (2.02) as compared to other treatments. Deep root 

system of chickpea could lead to efficient utilization of residual moisture and nutrients also in 

deeper layer of soil profile. 

Effect of nutrient management in soybean based double cropping system under residual 

moisture on Soybean equivalent yield of Rabi crops, system productivity, net return 

Treatment 

and B:C ratio (pooled) 

Soybean equivalent 

yield of Rabi crops 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Cropping system 

System 

productiv 

ity 

(kg ha -1 ) 

System 

Net 

return 

( ) 

System 

B:C 

ratio 

Soybean-Chickpea 2444 3594 81583 2.02 

Soybean-Coriander 1724 2840 61943 1.69 

Soybean-Linseed 1250 2382 48065 1.22 

SEm ± 28 35 1297 0.03 

CD (P=0.05) 97 125 5161 0.12 

Nutrient management 

100 % RDF (Inorganic) 1673 2610 52239 1.58 

100 % RDF (Inorganic) + Sulphur @ 10 kg 

ha -1 1703 2680 54290 1.61 

75% RDF (inorganic) + 25% through FYM 1782 2900 61096 1.75 

75% RDF (inorganic) + 25% through FYM 

+ Sulphur @ 10 kg ha -1 1810 2980 63443 1.79 

50% RDF (inorganic) + 50% through FYM 1926 3208 70467 1.91 

50% RDF (inorganic) + 50% through FYM 

+ Sulphur @ 10 kg ha -1 1969 3285 72881 1.94 

SEm± 15 33 1159 0.03 

CD (P=0.05) 44 92 3221 0.08 




On other hand, application of nutrients in kharif as 50% RDF (inorganic) + 50% through FYM + 

Sulphur @ 10 kg ha -1 gave maximum soybean equivalent yield of Rabi crops (1969 kg ha -1 ), 

system productivity (3285 kg ha -1 ) (Chaturvedi and Chandel, 2005), Maximum System net return 

(Rs. 72881/- ha -1 ) & highest B:C ratio (1.94) which were found at par with the application of 

50% RDF (inorganic) + 50% through FYM as (1926 kg ha -1 ), (3208 kg ha -1 ), (Rs. 70467/- ha -1 ) 

& (1.91), respectively. 

Conclusion 

The results concluded that Soybean –chickpea cropping system with application of nutrients in 

kharif as 50% RDF (inorganic) + 50% through FYM + Sulphur @ 10 kg ha -1 was found 

productivity operative and economically worthwhile under dryland farming condition. 

References 

Anonymous 2021. http://www.agriculture.rajasthan.gov.in/content/agriculture/hi/ 

Agriculture.html. 

Chaturvedi, S, Chandel, A. S. 2005. Influence of organic and inorganic fertilization on soil 

fertility and productivity of soybean (Glycine max). Indian J. Agron., 50(4):311-313. 

Panse, V. G. and Sukhatme, P. V. 1978. Statistical methods for Agricultural workers. ICAR 

publication, New Delhi. pp. 157 – 165. 

T4a-40P-1387 

Nutrient Management Practices in Finger Millet under Zero Tillage 

Conditions in Rice Fallows 

Y. Sandhya Rani*, U. Triveni, N. Anuradha and T.S.S.K. Patro 

Agricultural Research Station, Vizianagaram – 535 001, 

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur, A.P. 

*sandhyarani33756@gmail.com 

Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] is a stable food crop for millions of people in the 

semi-arid region of the world, particularly in Africa and India. The crop is adapted to a wide 

range of climate and can be grown in variety of soils with medium or low water holding 

capacity, but requires minimum rainfall of 800 mm per annum. Tillage is done to control weeds 

which can ultimately lead to soil compaction, loss of organic matter, and death of soil microbes. 

So, all these after effects can be avoided by zero tillage. The major constraints for rainfed rabi 

cropping are faster receding residual moisture in fields after rice harvest, uncertain rabi rainfall, 




soil hardiness in the puddled rice fields, lack of short duration varieties that could facilitate 

timely sowing of rabi crops. To utilize residual moisture, pulse crops can be grown in rabi crops 

and they are need to be sown immediately after rice harvesting. But, now a days the pulse 

productivity in rice fallows is gradually decreasing due to poor germination of seeds, uneven 

moisture in the field, lack of improved varieties to withstand cold, Yellow Mosaic Virus, 

powdery mildew and water stress at flowering stage. Under such conditions most of the farmers 

are inclining towards growing of finger millet crop under zero tillage conditions Hence keeping 

in view the importance of zero tillage in conservation of soil health and with an aim to increase 

the production and productivity of finger millet, this experiment was conducted to standardize 

the fertilizer management technology of finger millet under zero tillage. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted for three rabi seasons at Agricultural Research Station, 

Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh from, 2017 to 2019. The soil was sandy clay loam in texture, low 

in organic carbon, available nitrogen, high in available phosphorus and medium in available 

potassium. The experiment was laid down in Randomized complete block design with ten 

treatments replicated thrice. The treatments taken were: T1: 50% RDF, T2: 75% RDF, T3: 100% 

RDF, T4: 125% RDF, T5: 150% RDF, T6: T1+ 1% Multi KNO3 Foliar Spray, T7: T2+ 1% Multi 

KNO3 Foliar Spray, T8: T3+ 1% Multi KNO3 Foliar Spray, T9: T4+ 1% Multi KNO3 Foliar 

Spray, T10: T5+ 1% Multi KNO3 Foliar Spray. The Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) 60- 

40-30 kg NPK/ha of finger millet in the North coastal zone of Andhra Pradesh. The initial soil 

samples final soil samples after harvest of the crop were collected, for analysis of pH, EC, 

available N, P2O5, K2O and available micronutrients viz., Zn, Fe, Cu and Mn as per the standard 

procedures. 

Results 

Different levels of NPK fertilizers, influenced the growth and yield of finger millet under zero 

tillage in rice fallows (Table). The number of productive tillers/plant (2.7) and ear head length 

(6.79 cm) were found significantly higher in 150% RDF+1% KNO3 foliar spray. However, it 

was on par with 125% RDF+1% KNO3 and 150% RDF. These results confirm that higher rate of 

fertilizers had a positive consequence on growth of fingermillet. (Sandhya Rani et al., 2017). 

Nutrient management in finger millet (variety, VR 847) in rice fallows under zero tillage showed 

that grain yield of finger millet was significantly higher (2830 kg/ha) in 150 % RDF NPK 

fertilizers over 100% RDF NPK fertilizers (2289 kg/ha) and was on par with 125% RDF NPK 

fertilizers (2602 kg/ha). Spraying of 1% KNO3 at flower initiation stage helped in further 

increase in grain yield. The yield increases due to spraying of 1% KNO3 was found to be 0.9 % 




at 50% RDF, 2.1 at 75% RDF, 2.6 at 100% RDF, 2.6 at 125% RDF and 3.3 at 150% RDF 

fertilizers and this may be due to more and rapid flower initiation and early vigor that resulted in 

more no. of productive tillers, bigger size ear heads and long finger length of finger millet. 

Significant yield reduction was observed at lower levels of fertilizers. but earliness in maturity 

was observed in these lower levels of fertilized plots. Higher Benefit: Cost ratio (2.53) (Table) 

was observed with 150%RDF + spraying of 1% KNO3. These results are in conformity with 

Nigade et al., 2013 and Sandhya Rani, et al., 2017. 

The physicochemical properties of the soil (pH and E.C) (Table 2), and organic carbon was non 

significant with the application of different nutrient management practices. Post-harvest soil 

analysis showed that soil available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were significantly 

influenced by different nutrient management practices. The maximum soil available nitrogen, 

phosphorus and potassium after harvest of the crop was recorded with 150 % RDF + 1% KNO3 

spray (270 and 76 kg/ha respectively) whereas soil available micronutrients showed no 

significant difference between the treatments. (Rurinda et al. 2014). 

References 

Nigade, R.D., and More, S.M., 2013. Performance of finger millet varieties to different levels of 

fertilizer on yield and soil properties in sub-montane zone of Maharashtra. Int. J. Agric. 

Sci. 9(1):256-259 

Rurinda, J., Mapfumo, P., Van Wijk, M. T., Mtambanengwe, F., Rufino, M. C., Chikowo, R. and 

Giller, K. E. 2014. Comparative assessment of maize, finger millet and sorghum for 

household food security in the face of increasing climatic risk. European J of Agron. 55 

(4):29–41. 

Sandhya Rani, Y. Triveni, U. Patro, T.S.S.K. and Anuradha, N. 2017. Effect of nutrient 

management on yield and quality of finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. Int J.of 

Chem Studies. 5(6):1211-1216 




Yield and Yield attributes as influenced by nutrient management in rice fallow ragi 

(variety, VR 847) in rice fallows under zero tillage conditions 

Treatment 

Plant 

height 

(cm) 


productive 

tillers/ 

plant 

Boot 

leaf 

length 

(cm) 

Ear 

head 

length 

(cm) 


fingers/Ear 

head 

Grain 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

Straw 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

B:C 

T 1: 50% RDF NPK 81.1 1.7 33.8 5.03 5.47 2129 5321 2.08 

T 2: 75% RDF NPK 82.5 1.8 33.9 5.53 5.80 2165 5477 2.08 

T 3: 100% RDF NPK 85.9 2.1 37.1 6.07 6.20 2289 6043 2.14 

T 4: 125% RDF NPK 87.5 2.4 37.4 6.13 6.33 2602 6787 2.36 

T 5: 150% RDF NPK 91.3 2.6 40.7 6.53 5.93 2830 7385 2.48 

T 6: T1+ 1% KNO 3 spray 84.0 2.1 35.6 6.03 6.13 2189 5582 2.10 

T 7: T2+ 1% KNO 3 spray 85.5 2.3 37.9 6.00 6.27 2244 5746 2.08 

T 8: T3+ 1% KNO 3 spray 86.2 2.5 35.9 6.13 6.33 2389 6163 2.15 

T 9: T4+ 1% KNO 3 spray 89.2 2.5 37.0 6.48 6.37 2778 7222 2.42 

T 10: T5+ 1% KNO 3 spray 89.8 2.7 37.6 6.79 6.40 2981 7811 2.53 

Mean 86.3 2.27 36.7 6.07 6.12 2461 6354 

SEm± 3.25 0.20 1.72 0.27 0.36 128.8 333.2 

C.D. (0.05) NS 0.38 NS 0.58 NS 372.6 963.7 

C.V. (%) 6.52 15.4 8.14 7.71 10.28 9.07 9.08 

* Significant at 0.05 

T4a-41P-1304 

Partial Substitution of Nutrients through Gliricidia Green Manuring under 

Conservation Tillage, a Cost-Effective Alternative for Soil Quality, Productivity 

and Economic Sustainability in Rainfed Cotton in Vertisols of Central India 

B. A. Sonune*, V. K. Kharche, V. V. Gabhane, S. D. Jadhao, S. M. Bhoyar, D. V. Mali, 

D. N. Nalge and R. N. Katkar 

Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola- 444 104(Maharashtra) 

*basonune@gmail.com 

Cotton is one of the important cash crops and plays a vital role in the economy of the farmer as 

well as the country. Vidarbha is a major cotton and cotton-based cropping system growing 

region in central India where it is grown predominantly as a rainfed crop on medium to deep 

Vertisols. The low content of soil organic carbon in Vertisols in addition to low availability of N, 

P, and Zn resulted in unsustainable productivity of cotton and cotton–based cropping systems 

(Blaise et al. 2005) thereby deteriorating soil health. In the present conditions, the continuously 




increasing prices of fertilizers made it necessary to minimize the expenses on fertilizers by using 

alternative sources like farmyard manure, crop residues, and green manuring along with reduced 

tillage practices for sustaining the crop yields and soil fertility. These practices not only increase 

crop yield but also improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil. When 

integrated nutrient management through chemical fertilizers and different organic sources is 

applied on a long-term basis, they show a beneficial impact on soil quality (Swarup 2010). As 

the availability of FYM is scarce and it becomes necessary to find out suitable alternative 

sources in the form of organic, the present study was carried out to assess the partial substitution 

of gliricidia green manuring, crop residues, and FYM under conservation and conventional 

tillage on cotton productivity, profitability, and soil quality in Vertisols. 

Methodology 

The present study was conducted at the research farm of the Department of Soil Science and 

Agril. Chemistry, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola during 2011-12 to 15-16 

to assess the integrated effect of tillage practices, organic sources, and chemical fertilizers on 

productivity, the profitability of rainfed cotton and fertility of Vertisol. The experiment 

comprised eight treatments including 100 % recommended dose of fertilizers (60:30:30 NPK kg 

ha -1 ) and the various combinations integrating 50 and 25% N through FYM, wheat straw, 

gliricidia green leaf manuring, and compensation of RDF to cotton. The experiment was laid out 

in randomized block design with two sets of conditions namely, conservation and conventional 

tillage replicated thrice. The experimental soil was clay in texture, deep to very deep, and 

classified as Typic Haplusterts (Vertisol), moderately alkaline in reaction, low in available N, 

medium in P, and high in available potassium. 

Results 

The pooled results revealed that the application of 50 % N through FYM + compensation of RDF 

through chemical fertilizers recorded significantly highest seed cotton yield (13.54 q ha -1 ) which was at 

par with the application of 50 % N through GLM + compensation of RDF through chemical fertilizers 

(12.94 q ha -1 ). A significant increase in seed cotton yield was observed under conservation tillage as 

compared to conventional tillage. The higher SYI (0.71) was observed with the application of 50% N 

through FYM + remaining RD through chemical fertilizers followed by 50% N through GLM + 

remaining RD through chemical fertilizers (0.68). The lower SYI was observed in 100 % RDF through 

chemical fertilizers. The highest NMR and B: C ratio (Rs. 23,656 ha -1 & 2.09) was obtained due to the 

application of 50 % N through GLM + compensation of RDF through chemical fertilizers. The 

significant improvement in the physical properties of soil was noticed due to the application of 50 % N 

through GLM + compensation of RDF through chemical fertilizers which was at par with the 




application of 50 % N through FYM + compensation of RDF through chemical fertilizers. A 

significantly higher improvement in soil physical properties was observed under conservation tillage 

compared to conventional tillage. The soil organic carbon was increased to the tune of 10.68 and 6.25 

% over the initial value (5.6 g kg -1 ) with 50 % N through FYM + remaining compensation RDF 

through chemical fertilizers and 50 % through GLM + remaining compensation RDF through chemical 

fertilizers, respectively. The residual soil fertility was significantly higher under the application of 50 

% N through GLM + compensation of RDF through chemical fertilizers which was at par with the 

application of 50 % N through FYM + compensation of RDF through chemical fertilizers. The 

application of 50 % N through GLM + compensation of RDF through chemical fertilizers recorded 

significant improvement in biological properties (SMBC, SMBN, and DHA) of soil which was on par 

with the application of 50 % N through FYM + compensation of RDF through chemical fertilizers. A 

significant increase in the biological properties of soil was observed under conservation tillage as 

compared to conventional tillage. The SQI was improved with the application of 50% N through FYM 

and the remaining RD through chemical fertilizers (2.29). The SQI was comparatively lower in 100% 

RDF indicating the application of RDF alone could not maintain soil quality and as a result, seed 

cotton and cotton stalk yield was reduced in Vertisols. The compensation of chemical fertilizers 

through various organic sources viz., gliricidia green leaf manuring, and green manuring with sunhemp 

and wheat straw were found equally effective in maintaining higher SQI. 

Conclusion 

The results of the present study indicate that continuous application of 50 % N through FYM with 

remaining RD from mineral fertilizers sustained the cotton productivity and SYI index with 

improvement in soil properties. However, the substitution of 50 % N through gliricidia green leaf 

manuring with remaining RD from chemical fertilizers was found equally beneficial for sustaining 

cotton productivity, SYI, improvement in soil health as well as enhancing net returns of cotton in 

rainfed Vertisols of semi-arid climatic conditions in Central India. 

References 

Blaise, D., Majumdar, G. and Tekale, K.U. 2005. On-farm evaluation of fertilizer application and 

conservation tillage on productivity of cotton + pigeonpea strip intercropping on rainfed 

Vertisols of Central India. Soil Till. Res.84: 108-117. 

Swarup, Anand 2010. Integrated plant nutrient supply and management strategies for enhancing 

soil quality, input use efficiency and crop productivity. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci.58:25-31. 




Effect of tillage and integrated nutrient management on productivity, profitability of 

rainfed cotton 

(a) Tillage 

Cotton yield 

(q ha -1 ) 

Seed 

Cotton 

Cotton 

Stalk 

SYI 

NMR 

(Rs. 

ha -1 ) 

B:C 

ratio 

BD 

(Mg 

m -3 ) 

HC 

(cm hr - 

1 ) 

MWD 

OC 

(g kg -1 ) 

Conservation tillage 12.49 29.22 0.61 19105 1.82 1.35 0.72 0.70 5.86 

Conventional tillage 11.73 26.33 0.61 14185 1.56 1.35 0.70 0.66 5.74 

SE (m) 0.13 0.22 --- 393 0.01 0.01 0.006 0.007 0.04 

CD at 5 % 0.39 0.65 -- 1152 0.04 NS 0.017 0.021 0.11 

T1-100% RDF 11.19 25.95 0.55 19429 2.02 1.37 0.65 0.64 5.53 

T2-50 % RDF + in situ GM 11.68 27.44 0.61 19917 1.96 1.36 0.69 0.69 5.93 

T3-50% N through FYM 13.54 31.79 0.71 15694 1.49 1.31 0.77 0.73 6.17 

T4-50% N through WS 11.89 26.73 0.62 11604 1.38 1.36 0.74 0.68 5.84 

T5-50% N through GLM 12.94 28.63 0.68 23656 2.09 1.34 0.74 0.70 5.95 

T6-25% N through FYM + 

25% N through WS 

T7-25% N through FYM + 

25% N through GLM 

T8-25% N through WS + 25% 

N through GLM 

11.94 27.42 

11.95 27.23 

11.76 27.02 

0.58 11604 1.37 

0.60 15709 1.60 

0.57 15545 1.60 

1.36 0.70 0.67 5.68 

1.34 0.70 0.68 5.68 

1.36 0.69 0.64 5.63 

SE (m) 0.27 0.44 -- 785 0.01 0.01 0.014 0.08 

CD at 5 % 0.78 1.28 -- 2304 0.04 0.03 0.042 0.22 

(c)Interaction effect NS NS NS NS NS NS 

Note: In T3 to T8, the remaining recommended dose of fertilizer was compensated through 

chemical fertilizers, in T2 in situ green manurings was done through sunhemp 

T4a-42P-1047 

Performance of Castor to Different Levels of Nitrogen and Phosphorus under 

Conserved Soil Moisture in Ghed Area of Gujarat 

D. S. Hirpara * , R. B. Thanki, V. D. Vora, S. C. Kaneriya and P. D. Vekariya 

Main Dry Farming Research Station, Junagadh Agricultural University, Gujarat, 360 023 India 

*dshirpara@jau.in 

Castor (Racinus communis) is an important non-edible oilseed crop of the arid and semi arid 

regions of India due to its extensive deep root system and can be grown successfully under 

rainfed or irrigated conditions. India, Brazil and China are the most important castor growing 

countries in the World. India is the global leader in the production and trade of castor having 




7.51 lakh hectare area and 11.97 lakh tonnes production with a productivity of 1592 kg/ha during 

2019 (FAOSTAT, 2019). Gujarat is the largest castor growing state of India. Where, it’s grown 

over an area of 5.22 lakh hectare with the annual production of 9.44 lakh tonnes with average 

productivity of about 1809 kg/ha and its shares about 69.46% of the total area and 78.90% of the 

total castor production. Cultivation of castor on conserved soil moisture in Ghed area of Gujarat 

is increased day by day. While, castor is drought tolerant plant and can be grown on wide 

climatic regimes and is an ideal crop for arid and semi-arid zones with humid climate (Falasca et 

al., 2012), proper planting geometry (Thanki et al., 2020) and the availability of balanced 

nutrients is very necessary for high yield. Therefore, it is prime need to find out appropriate dose 

of nitrogen and phosphorus for castor grown under conserved moisture in Ghed area of Gujarat. 

Hence, an experiment was planned to study the effect of nitrogen and phosphorus on castor yield 

under conserved soil moisture in Ghed area. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted during the Semi-rabi season of 2015 to 2019 at Dry Farming 

Research Station, Junagadh Agricultural University, Ratia (Porbandar). The soil of experimental 

field was medium black clayey having pH 8.26, EC 0.41 dS m -1 and organic carbon 0.52 %. The 

soil was medium in available nitrogen (255 kg/ha), medium in available phosphorus (43.27 

kg/ha) and high in available potash (690.0 kg/ha). The experiment was laid out in a factorial 

randomized block design with 12 treatments. 4 levels of nitrogen (0, 20, 40 and 60 kg/ha) and 3 

levels of phosphorus (0, 20 and 40 kg/ha) with 3 replications. The nitrogen was applied in two 

splits viz., 50 % as basal through ammonium sulphate and 50 % as top dressing at 45-50 DAS 

through urea by drilling in soil up to 10 cm depth, while phosphorus was applied as basal 

through single super phosphate as per treatments. The Gross and net plot size was 5.4 m X 4.5 m 

and 3.6 m X 2.7 m, respectively. Castor GCH-7 was sown at the distance of 90 cm X 45 cm on 

27 August 2015, 24 October 2016, 27 October 2017, 19 September 2018 and 9 November 2019 

under conserved soil moisture. The total rainfall received during the crop season (June to 

November) was 180, 306, 270, 149 and 545 mm in 6, 12, 14, 8 and 18 rainy days in the year of 

2015 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. Data on growth, yield performance and economic 

of castor was pooled over 5 years. 

Results 

On the basis of five years pooled mean, seed and stalk yield of castor were significantly 

influenced due to different levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, while plant height was found nonsignificant 

(Table). Significantly highest seed yield and stalk yield of castor were recorded with 

application of 60 kg N/ha as compared to control, 20 and 40 kg N/ha. Among phosphorus levels, 




application of 40 kg P2O5/ha recorded significantly highest seed and stalk yield of castor as 

compared to control, but it was at par with application of 20 kg P2O5/ha. Similarly maximum net 

returns of Rs. 10081/ha and B: C ratio of 1.51 were recorded with application of 60 kg N/ha. 

While among phosphorus levels, maximum net returns of Rs. 7814/ha and B: C ratio of 1.40 

were recorded with 40 kg P2O5/ha followed by Rs. 7109/ha and B: C ratio of 1.37 with 

application of 20 kg P2O5/ha. 

Growth, yield and economics of castor as influenced by nitrogen and phosphorus levels 

under conserved soil moisture (Pooled mean of 5 years) 

Treatments 

Nitrogen (kg/ha) 

Phosphorus (kg/ha) 

Conclusion 

On the basis of five years pooled results, it can concluded that higher seed yield and net returns 

from castor (GCH-7) can be obtained with application of 60 kg N and 40 kg P2O5/ha in medium 

black clayey soil under conserved soil moisture in Ghed area of Gujarat. 

References 

Falasca, S. L., Ulberich, A. C., and Ulberich, E., 2012. Developing an agro-climatic zoning 

model to determine potential production areas for castor bean (Ricinus communis L.). Ind. 

Crops and Prod. 40, 185-191. 

Plant height 

(cm) 

Seed 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

Stalk 

yield 

(kg/ha) 

Net 

return 

( /ha) 

B:C ratio 

Control 56.4 597 1242 3947 1.21 

20 59.1 647 1309 5372 1.28 

40 60.2 731 1461 7993 1.41 

60 60.8 799 1631 10081 1.51 

SEm+ 1.5 18 44 

CD (P=0.05) NS 54 136 

Control 58.0 648 1340 5604 1.30 

20 59.4 701 1423 7109 1.37 

40 60.0 731 1471 7814 1.40 

SEm+ 0.7 11 23 

CD (P=0.05) NS 49 124 




FAOSTAT. 2019. Statistical databases and data-sets of the Food and Agriculture Organization of 

the United Nations [Available at URL: http://faostat.fao.org; accessed on 1 st June, 2021]. 

Thanki, R. B., Hirpara, D. S., Vora, V. D., Vekariya, P. D., Jotangiya, K. S., Vadar, H. R., Kaneria, 

S. C. and Modhavadiya, V. L. (2020). Effect of plant geometry on castor under conserved 

moisture condition at Ratia (Ghed), Gujarat. J. Pharmacogon. and Phytochem, Sp. 9, (5): 

831-833. 

T4a-43P-1289 

Performance of Maize (Zea mays) under late Planting Conditions in Organic 

Production Mode in the Rainfed Condition of Meghalaya 

Amit A. Shahane and U. K. Behera 

College of Agriculture (CAU-I), Kyrdemkulai, Meghalaya, India, 793105 

Maize (Zea mays) has bright prospects in Meghalaya state due to its significant role in catering to 

the need for animal feed requirement both in green form as forage, dry form as fodder, and use of 

grains in preparation of concentration. The farming system in Meghalaya in particular and North 

East Hill region in general is animal based. Most of these animals need feed in large quantities. 

Maize can be a dual crop with the introduction of baby corn and sweet corn providing a good 

source of green fodder along with economic productivity. Besides that, crop productivity is 

conditioned by several factors such as nutrient sensitivity considering its high productivity and 

nutrient requirement, and water sensitivity due to its susceptibility to waterlogging and deficit 

water stress. Meeting these requirements in the organic production system in areas with higher 

rainfall is challenging. In Meghalaya, the organic production system is commonly followed, and 

average rainfall varies between 2119 mm to 6019 mm per annum. Considering this, it needs to 

access the potential of maize for nutrient and water stress with organic sources of crop nutrition. 

With this background, a field experiment was planned to study the growth repose of maize to the 

application of Pongamia oilseed cake and poultry manure in acidic soil with an organic 

production system in late planting conditions. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted at the Instructional Farm of the College of Agriculture (CAU- 

I), Kyrdemkulai, Meghalaya (25 0 74’ N latitude, 91 0 81’ E longitude and 700 meters above mean 

sea level) in the Kharif season of 2021-22. The climate of the selected area is subtropical with 

average seasonal (June to September) and annual rainfall of 1424.1 mm and 2119.3 mm, 

respectively. The study was planned in randomized block design with 11 treatments consisting of 




two sources of crop nutrition viz., poultry manure and Pongamia oilseed cake, three level of crop 

nutrition 25 %, 50%, and 100 % recommended dose of nitrogen (120 kg N/ha) and their various 

combinations. The land was cleared off from forest vegetation in 2019 and sown with oat (Avena 

sativa) in the rabi season of 2019; while in 2020-21 field was planted with a Maize–Pea–Linseed 

cropping system. Maize variety DA-61-A was used while the crop was grown as rainfed. For 

recording the observations, plant population was counted two times (60 DAS and at harvest); 

while plants with tassel and cob were counted at harvest. Three plants from each plot were 

randomly selected for dry matter partitioning measurement and separated into stem, leaf, root, 

tassel, and cob. The dry matter accumulation in these parts was measured by sun drying followed 

by oven drying at 60 ± 2 0 C temperature till constant weight was achieved. 

Results 

Plant population both at 60 DAS and at harvest was reduced drastically. At 60 days after sowing, 

the mortality percentage varies between 36 to 68 %; while at harvest, it varies from 46 to 72 %. 

In both cases, plant mortality was highest in control and lowest in poultry manure (100 % N) + 

Pongamia cake (50 % N) indicating the nutrient stress as one potential reason. The development 

of a strong root system and foliage and the increase in strength of plants to stresses are the 

possible reasons for reduced mortality in manure-applied treatments. This higher mortality 

indicates that, though the window of sowing maize is considered wider, the crop performance is 

not uniform across the window of sowing. At the same time, plant stresses affecting crop growth 

also vary across the window. Besides survival, the plant’s capacity to attend the reproductive 

growth is also affected significantly by both planting time and nutrient endowments. Out of the 

total plants that survived, 71–94% bear tassel; while 50–68 % bear cob. If expressed as a percent 

of the expected ideal plant population, then 20–48 % and 14–28 % of plants bear tassel and cob, 

respectively. Late planting leads to plant mortality and the application of manure is having to 

alleviate the effect on plant mortality. The impact of sowing time on the growth and productivity 

of maize was reported by Srivastava et al. (2022); while Ghosh et al. (2020) signifies the role of 

manure application in crop growth. Plant height and dry matter partitioning were affected 

significantly due to both late planting and manure application rate; while the source of manure 

application didn’t show any significant variation in plant growth and development. The dry 

matter production at harvest varies from 21.3 to 42.0 g/plant with the highest and lowest in PM 

(100 % N) + Pongamia cake (50 % N) and control, respectively. The increase in the total dry 

matter at harvest due to the application of 25 %, 50 %, and 100 % poultry manure over control in 

6.5, 13.8, and 19.8 g/plant, respectively; while the same for Pongamia cake is 6.7, 13.4, and 19.7 

g/plant. The combined application of PM (50 % N) + Pongamia cake (50 % N) and PM (100 % 

N) + Pongamia cake (100 % N) remain on par in total dry matter production at harvest, 




indicating that, a higher rate of manure application will not be a viable option for alleviating the 

effect of reducing the stress raised due to late planting; while splitting of nutrient application 

across the crop growth cycle and attempt for reducing the mortality of plant by earthing up, gap 

filling and protection of seed being eaten by soil insect by treating with biodynamic formulation 

need to be stressed. Out of total dry matter accumulation, 46.2 – 48.6 % is accumulated in cobs; 

while 19.6 – 22.0 % is accumulated in shoots and both contribute 67 – 68 % to the total dry 

matter accumulation. 

Conclusion 

Our result showed that the application of manure higher than 100 % N (120 kg N/ha) do not 

produce any significantly higher growth; while increasing the rate of application from 25 to 100 

% significantly increase the dry matter production in all part of the plant at harvest. Application 

of manure through different sources (poultry manure and Pongamia cake) and their combinations 

do not show any significant effect on the growth and survival of maize. 

References 

Srivastava, R.K., Mequanint, F., Chakraborty, A., Panda, R.K. and Halder, D. 2022. 

Augmentation of maize yield by strategic adaptation to cope with climate change for a 

future period in Eastern India. J. Clean. Prod. 339:130599, 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130599. 

Ghosh, D., Brahmachari, K., Skalicky, M., Hossain, A., Sarkar, S., Dinda, N.K., Das, A., 

Pramanick, B., Moulick, D., Brestic, M., and Raza, M.A. 2020. Nutrient supplementation 

through organic manures influence the growth of weeds and maize productivity. Molecules, 

25(21): 4924, https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25214924. 

T4a-44P -1155 

Response of Soybean (Glycine Max (L).) to the Organic Sources of Nutrients 

A. K. Gore, A. K. Kadam, P. O. Bhutada and S. A. Jawale 


Parbhani - 431402 (Maharashtra) India 

ofrtcvnmkvparbhani@gmail.com 

Soybean is important kharif crop in rainfed areas ofMarathwada region, where 87 % area is 

under rainfed condition. The crop has ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen through the symbiotic 

bacteria called Rhizobia within the nodules of their root systems as it belongs to leguminceae 

family. The microbiology of the soil is interrelated with the organic carbon content of the soil. 




Due to want of improvement in soil health and production of residue free food, organic sources 

of nutrients are intentionally being used by farmers in recent past. Application of organic 

manures has direct effect on the crop yield and properties of soil. Keeping this in view, a field 

experiment was conducted to evaluate locally available organic sources of nutrients in terms of 

yield of soybean crop (Aheret al. 2019). 

Methodology 

An experiment was conducted at Organic Farming Research and Training Centre, Vasantrao 

Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth Parbhani, during kharif 2018-19. The experiment design 

was RBD for thirteen treatments with three replications with gross plot size of 7.2 m x 6.0 mand 

net plot size of 6.3 m x 5.4 m and with 45 x 05 cm spacing. 

Results 

Soybean yield was determined by the development of the plant from the beginning of sowing to 

the harvest period, where the role of fertilization was of great importance. Application of 

different organic and chemical fertilizers would affect one or all of its yield components. Among 

nutrient source applications, the chemical fertilizer as RDF with FYMthe treatment, T13 i.e. RDF 

+ FYM @ 5 t ha -1 recorded the highest soybean yield which was found significantly superior 

over rest of the treatments. However, use of organic sources of nutrient affected soybean yield 

and data revealed that, the effect of various organic sources on soybean yield was found to be 

significant. Among various organic sources of nutrients, the treatment T2 i.e.100 % RDN through 

Vermi compost recorded highest soybean yield (1546 Kg ha -1. Similar trend was observed in 

GMR, NMR and B:C ratio i.e. T13 i.e. RDF + FYM 5 t ha -1 recorded the highest GMR, NMR and 

B:C ratio. However, among various sources of nutrients the treatmentT2 i.e. 100 % RDN through 

Vermicompost recorded the higher seed yield of soybean with higher GMR, NMR and B:C ratio 

than rest of the treatments. Similar trend was observed and reported by Channabasavana et al., 

2001. The treatments had RWUE of more than one except the control plotsand it was found 

highest in treatment T13 followed by T2. The positive effects of organic manure application on 

performance of soybean and other crops in black soils are well documented by Aher et al. 2015. 




Soybean crop yield, monetary returns, B:C ratio and rain water use efficiency as 

influenced by different treatments. 

Treatments 

Soybea 

n Yield 

(Kg/ha) 

GMR 

(₹/ha) 

NMR 

(₹/ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

RWUE 

(kg/mm 

/ha) 

T 1: 100 % RDN through FYM 954 32438 3838 1.13 1.70 

T 2: 100 % RDN through Vermicompost (VC) 1546 52549 13749 1.35 2.75 

T 3: 100 % RDN through 33% FYM + 33% VC + 33% 

NC 

1337 45433 9666 1.27 2.38 

T 4: 100 % RDN: FYM + JA 3 at 30, 45 & 60 DAS 1204 40930 9780 1.31 2.14 



T 7: 100 % RDN: FYM + Bio fertilizer 2.5 lit/ha (SA) 1123 38182 8487 1.29 2.00 



T 10: Jivamrut 3 Appln at 30, 45 & 60 DAS 849 28850 2110 1.08 1.51 

T 11: Jivamrut 5 Appln at 0, 15, 30, 45 & 60 DAS 926 31472 2772 1.10 1.65 

T 12: Control (Without any application) 723 24586 786 1.03 1.29 

T 13: RDF + 5 t FYM/ha 2233 75900 43897 2.37 3.97 

SE(m) + 70.26 823.7 213.4 -- -- 

CD at 5% 210.5 2279 638.2 -- -- 

Mean 1132 38485 8505 1.27 2.01 

CV 10.2 9.80 11.2 -- -- 

Conclusion 

Among the nutrient source applications, the chemical fertilizer as RDF with FYM, treatment T13 

i.e. RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 recorded the highest soybean yield, GMR, NMR and B:C ratio and 

was found significantly superior over rest of the treatments. Whereas, among various organic 

sources of nutrients, treatment T2 i.e.100 % RDN through Vermicompost recorded highest 

soybean yield (1546 Kg ha), GMR, NMR and B:C ratio. 




References 

Aher, S. B., Lakaria, B. L., Swami, K., Singh, A. B., Ramana, S., Ramesh, K and Thakur, J. K. 

2015. Effect of organic farming practices on soil and performance of soybean (Glycine 

max (L.)) under semiarid tropical conditions in central India. Journal of Applied and 

Natural Science. 7(1): 67–71. 

Channabasavana, A.S., Yelamadi, S.G., Biradar, D.P. 2001. Effect of organics on seed yield, 

quality and storability of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merril). Indian Journal of Agronomy 

2001.46(33):458-461 

Aher, S .B., Brij Lal Lakaria, Singh, A. B. Swami Kaleshananda, Ramana, S., Ramesh, K., 

Thakur, J. K., Rajput, P. S and Yashona, D. S. 2019. Effect of organic sources of 

nutrients on performance of soybean (glycine max). Indian journal of agricultural 

sciences. 89 (11): 1787–91. 

T4a-45P-1230 

Soil Moisture Availability in Alfisol as Influenced by Crop Residue 

Application under Minimum Tillage 

K. Sammi Reddy, Munna Lal, K. L. Sharma, M. Eshwar, K. Srinivas, A. K. Indoria, and 

V. K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Saidabad Post, Hyderabad – 

500059 (T.S.) 

The water-holding capacity of a soil in a particular place depends on the depth of the soil, the 

volume of pore-spaces, and the proportion of the voids that retain water against the pull of 

gravity. In a sandy soil, there is relatively large total volume of pore space among the large 

mineral particles, but the majority of the pores are so large that rainwater drains through most of 

them, and relatively little is retained within the profile. In clayey soils, the opposite can be 

expected. There may be a large proportion of small pore-spaces and while percolating rainwater 

may enter partly under capillary action, but the water cannot drain out and can only be removed 

by plant roots and/ or by slow evaporation into any air-filled spaces within the soil. In very 

compact clay soils, both entry and exit of rainwater may be very slow (Indoria et al., 2017). The 

presence of additional plant residue on the soil surface is one of the most prominent features of 

conservation tillage systems when compared with conventional tillage. The surface residue 

affects the absorption of solar radiation, and decreases the thermal admittance of the surface 

relative to that of bare soil. Soil water storage at many semi-arid locations increased with 




increasing amounts of crop residue maintained on the surface (Sharma et al., 1990). Greater 

infiltration, less evaporation, and effective weed control contributed to the higher soil water 

contents with conservation tillage. 

Methodology 

To achieve the objective, an experiment with surface application of 4 levels of sorghum residues 

@ 0, 2, 4, 6 t ha -1 in combination with N (30 kg N ha -1 for cowpea and 60 kg N ha -1 for Sorghum 

through urea) and uniform dose of 30 kg P2O5 ha -1 (through super phosphate) with minimum 

tillage, was initiated during 2005 at ICAR-CRIDA Research farm Hayathnagar, Hyderabad. The 

cropping system adopted in this study was Sorghum-Cowpea with yearly rotation. The soil 

moisture was measured using Soil Moisture Meter (Micro Gopher, Nu-Tech). Soil moisture were 

recorded in treatment plots at 8 depths viz., 0-10 cm, 10-20cm, 20-30 cm 30-40 cm, 40-50cm, 

50-60 cm, 60-70 cm, 70-80cm. Soil moisture at field capacity (1/3 bars) and permanent wilting 

point (15 bars) was measured using pressure plate apparatus. The difference in soil moisture at 

field capacity and permanent wilting point was recorded as soil available moisture. 

Results 

Soil Moisture: It was observed that, during the crop season (June-September), on an average, the 

soil moisture at 0-10 cm depth varied from 11.2 to 16.6% across the treatments. The increase in 

soil moisture at 0-10 cm depth was 18%, 25%, 49%, with 2, 4 and 6 t ha -1 residue treatments 

respectively over control. The soil moisture contents increased with increase in level of 

application of residues in all the depths studied (0-80cm). The results pertaining to the effect of 

residue application on soil moisture % (January- April) are given hereunder (Fig.1). It was 

observed that the residue applied @ 6t ha -1 (T4) recorded higher soil moisture content at all the 

depths studied. At 0-10 cm depth, application of residues at 6t ha -1 resulted in highest moisture 

storage in the soil compared to other treatments after the harvest of the crop. The treatments @ 2, 

4 and 6 t ha -1 , on an average recorded 25%, 34% and 57% higher soil moisture contents 

respectively over control. It was observed that at 10-20 cm soil depth, on an average, soil 

moisture was lower compared to surface soil. At this depth, the residue treated plots stored 27%, 

51% and 78% higher moisture compared to no residue treatment. On an average, at 20-30 cm 

depth also, residues influenced soil moisture storage. The treatments viz T2, T3 and T4 

maintained 47%, 58% and 80% higher soil moisture compared to control. During the first three 

weeks and between 11-13 th meteorological weeks, there was no receipt of rainfall. Despite non 

receipt of rainfall, T4 treatment maintained higher soil moisture storage followed by T3 and T2 

treatments. The control treatment (no residue) stored the least amount of soil moisture. 




Soil available moisture capacity: It was observed that soil moisture at field capacity was 

significantly influenced by residue treatments and varied from 10.11 to 12.94 cm m -1 . 

Significantly higher field capacity (12.94 cm m -1 ) was observed with application of sorghum 

stover @ 6t ha -1 followed by residue application at 4t ha -1 (11.25 cm m -1 ). Similarly, soil moisture 

at permanent wilting point varied from 6.90 to 7.45 cm m -1 . The available water content 

increased with the increase in the graded residue levels and it varied from 3.21 to 5.49 cm m -1 . 

Significantly higher available water capacity (5.49 cm m -1 ) was observed with application of 

sorghum stover @ 6t ha -1 followed by residue application at 4t ha -1 (3.85 cm m -1 ). 

Relationship between soil available moisture and crop yield: In order to establish a relationship 

between crop yield and volumetric moisture, a simple linear regression equation was developed 

with yield as functional goal and soil moisture as independent variable (Fig. 3). It was observed 

that the regression relationship between sorghum grain yield and soil moisture was significant 

(p=0.01). The coefficient of regression (R 2 = 0.55) denotes that sorghum yield could be explained 

by volumetric soil moisture content. 

YSorghum yield = 1053.2 + 222.2 (Volumetric Soil Moisture) .........(R 2 = 0.55) ** 

Conclusion 

Relationship between soil available moisture and crop yield 

The importance of long-term application of residues to soil surface in influencing soil moisture 

storage. The moisture data also revealed that higher amounts of residue application increased soil 

moisture storage even beyond 30cm soil depth. At 70-80 cm depth, T2 and T3 treatments 

maintained 17% and 26% higher moisture compared to control. On an average, T3 recorded 10% 

higher soil moisture storage compared to T2 treatment when all the soil depths were considered. 




The increase in available water content with higher doses of surface residue could be attributed 

to higher organic C, improved soil structure and consequently more water retention. 

References 

Indoria, A.K., Sharma, K L., Sammi Reddy, K. and Srinivasa Rao, Ch. 2017. Role of soil 

physical properties in soil health management and crop productivity in rainfed systems-I: 

Soil physical constraints and scope. Current Science, 112 (12):2405-2414. 

Sharma, P.K., Kharwara, P.C. and Tewatia, R.K. 1990. Residual soil moisture and wheat in 

Regins relation to mulching and tillage during preceding rainfed crop. Soil Tillage Res., 15: 

279 284. 

T4a-46P-1055 

Soil Moisture Stress Alters the Abundance of Maize Root Associated Bacteria 

M. Manjunath, N. Jyothilakshmi, S. Vijayalakshmi, S. K. Yadav, M. Prabhakar, 

K.A. Gopinath, G. Ravindrachary and V.K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad – 500 059, 

Telangana, India. 

Plants and microorganisms have coevolved over the years. The plant microbiome comprises of 

rhizospheric, endophytic and epiphytic microorganisms (Rout 2014). Rhizo-microbiome 

significantly influences the plant health, growth and productivity (Chaudhari et al. 2020). They 

play a vital role in managing various biotic and abiotic stresses. Increased scarcity and 

competition for water has become a key threat to food security and poverty alleviation. Drought 

considerably changes the composition of bacterial and fungal communities indicating that, this 

restructured microbiome might help the plant survival under adverse environmental situations 

(Santos-Medellin et al. 2017). Thorough knowledge of crop specific microbiome would help to 

modulate the microbiome in a way that would lead to better growth and development of crop 

plants (Rascovan et al. 2016). Keeping this in view, a study was conducted to know the effect of 

soil moisture stress on the composition of maize root associated bacteria. 

Methodology 

The total genomic DNA was isolated from 0.25 g soil sample using soil DNA isolation kit. Qubit 

4.0 Fluorimeter was used to estimate the DNA concentration. V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA 

amplified using V3 forward primer and V4 reverse primer. The amplified product was checked 

on 2% agarose gel. NEB Next Ultra DNA library preparation kit was used for library 

preparation. The prepared libraries were sequenced in Illumina HiSeqplatform for 2x250bp read 




length. Raw sequence data was merged and filtered to get clean data. De novo chimeric 

sequences were detected using Vsearch and only non-chimeric sequence were further used. 16S 

rRNA sequences were clustered into Operation Taxonomic Units (OTUs) at a similarity cut-off 

value of 97% using the vsearch program (v2.11.1) and abundance of OTUs were recovered using 

v-search. OTUs were mapped at 97% sequence identity to an optimized version of the 

Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) database. Taxonomy was assigned to all identified OTUs 

using usearch program (v11.0.667). Sequence of OTUs were aligned using mafft (v7.407) and 

phylogenetic tree of identified OTUs was generated using fasttree (v 2.1.10). 

Results 

Rhizo-microbiome of well-watered and drought stressed plants ofmaize was analyzed by 

sequencing V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Differential abundance of bacterial classes was 

observed between well watered and drought stressed plants. Alpha Proteobacteria, 

Actinobacteria, Bacilli, Beta Proteobacteria, Gamma Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria GP6 were 

19.53 %, 10.98 %, 16.67 %, 5.05 %, 4.52 % and 3.81 % respectively in water stressed plants. In 

case of well watered plants, the classes of Alpha Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacilli, Beta 

Proteobacteria, Gamma Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria GP6 were 8.34 %, 6.99 %, 42.09 %, 

4.48 %, 3.57 % and 2.07 % respectively . 

Differential abundance of different classes of bacteria in (a) water stressed (b) well watered maize plants 

Conclusion 

Soil moisture stress altered the relative abundance of root associated bacteria of maize. There 

was an increase in the abundance of Alpha Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria under water 

stressed conditions as compared to well watered conditions. 

References 




Chaudhari, D., Rangappa, K., Das, A., Layek, J., Basavaraj, S., Kandpal, B.K., Shouche, Y., 

Rahi, P. 2020. Pea (Pisum sativumL.) Plant shapes its rhizosphere microbiome for 

nutrient uptake and stress amelioration in acidic soils of the North-East Region of India. 

Frontiers in Microbiology. 11:968. 

Rascovan, N., Carbonetto, B., Perrig, D., DoÂaz, M., Canciani, W., Abalo, M. 2016. Integrated 

analysis of root microbiomes of soybean and wheat from agricultural fields. Scientific 

Reports. 6: 280-84. 

Rout, M.E. 2014. The plant microbiome. Advances in Botanical Research. 69: 279–309. 

Santos-Medellín, C., Edwards, J., Liechty, Z., Nguyen, B., Sundaresan, V. 2017. Drought stress 

results in a compartment-specific restructuring of the rice root-associated microbiomes. 

mBio. 8: e00764-17. 

T4a-47P-1196 

Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration Potential under the Changing Climatic 

Scenarios in Different Agroecosystems of India 

Nishant K Sinha * , M. Mohanty, J. Somasundaram, Pramod Jha, R. S. Chaudhary, 

J. K. Thakur, Dhiraj Kumar, Jitendra Kumar, R. H. Wanjari and A. B. Singh. 

ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science (ICAR-IISS) 

Nabibagh, Bhopal-462038 

* nishant.sinha76211@gmai.com, nishant.sinha@icar.gov.in 

Soil organic matter (SOM) is vital for enhancing soil fertility and sustain crop productivity. 

Worldwide, the largest pool of terrestrial carbon (C) is contained in soils, and under best 

management practices, soils may also have great potential to act as C sinks and assist in climate 

change mitigation. However, historic cultivation practices, including tillage, fertilization, and 

other management, have exerted significant pressure on agricultural soils' capacity to store and 

cycle organic C, leading to reduced soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. The SOC dynamics in soil 

are controlled by complex interactions between various factors such as climate, soil, and 

agricultural management practices. We utilized a process-based model, RothC, to simulate longterm 

SOC dynamics for rice-based cropping systems under 100% NPK and farmyard manure 

management (FYM) practices using the LTFE experiment dataset. The RothC model was 

parameterized and validated to predict SOC stock. The validated model was then used to 

evaluate the impacts of different management practices on SOC dynamics under different 

climatic scenarios. The results demonstrated that management practices with FYM have great 




potential to increase SOC sequestration in the rice-based cropping system. The equilibrium SOC 

concentration is higher with an integrated application of N with FYM. Climate change decreases 

the rate of SOC sequestration in all the studied agroecosystems, with higher decreases reported 

under RCP 8.5, followed by RCP 6.0, RCP 4.5, and RCP 2.6. 

T4a-48P-1305 

Sustaining Cotton Productivity and Soil Health with Conjoint Use of Organic 

and Inorganic Sources under Cotton-based Intercropping Systems on 

Vertisols in Central India 

D. V. Mali, B. A. Sonune, V. K. Kharche, V. V. Gabhane, A.N. Paslawar, S. D. Jadhao, 

O. S. Rakhonde, N. M. Konde and D. N. Nalge 

Dept. of Soil Science and Agril. Chemistry, 

Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola- 444 104(Maharashtra) 

Cotton is one of the most important cash crops which plays a key role in the economy of farmers. 

The nutrient removal by crops is generally more than that supplied through chemical fertilizer 

and this negative balance over the year led to low fertility status of soil, which resulted in a 

decline in the crop yield. Adequate and timely application of organic and inorganic fertilizers not 

only increases crop yield but also improves the physical, chemical, and biological properties of 

soil. When integrated nutrient management through chemical fertilizers and different organic 

sources is applied on a long-term basis, they show a beneficial impact on soil quality (Swarup 

2010).The application of green manures to soil is considered a good management practice in any 

agricultural production system because it stimulates soil microbial growth and their activities, 

besides mineralization of organically bound plant nutrients, and therefore increases soil fertility 

and quality (Doran et al., 1988). Therefore, the present study was carried out to study the effect 

of conjoint use of organic and inorganic sources on soil fertility, chemical properties, and 

productivity of cotton under cotton-based intercropping systems in Vertisols in the Vidarbha 

region of Maharashtra, India. 

Methodology 

The present investigation was conducted at Research Farm, Department of Soil Science and 

Agricultural Chemistry, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola during the year 

2017-18 to 2020-21 on Vertisols. The study has focused on the conjoint effect of nutrient 

management and a cotton-based intercropping system. The field experiment was comprised of the 

main plot (nutrient management) and subplot (cotton-based intercropping systems) with three 

replications. There are two treatments of nutrient management (INM and only organics) and five 




treatments in cotton-based intercropping systems. The nutrient management consists of INM 

(M1) comprising 75% RDF + compensation through NPS compost, Organic (M2) comprising 

100% NPK dose through NPS compost, and cotton-based intercropping systems i.e. Only cotton 

(S1), cotton + dhaincha (S2), cotton + sunhemp (S3), cotton + greengram (S4), cotton + 

blackgram (S5). The soil is slightly alkaline in reaction (pH 7.76), low in available nitrogen 

(195.17 kg N ha -1 ), low in available phosphorus (12.90 kg p ha -1 ), very high in available potash 

(368.42 kg K ha -1 ) and has 8.27 mg kg -1 available sulphur and 0.52 mg kg -1 DTPA extractable 

zinc. 

Results 

The significantly higher organic carbon (6.12 g kg -1 ) was observed with the application of 100% 

nutrients through nitrophosphosulpho (NPS) compost only as compared to nutrients supplied 

through integrated nutrient management (5.80 g kg -1 ) i.e. 75% RDF + 25% compensation 

through NPS compost as shown in the table. While, under cotton-based intercropping systems, 

cotton + dhaincha (1:1) recorded significantly highest organic carbon (6.43 g kg -1 ) followed by 

cotton + sunhemp (1:1) (6.18 g kg -1 ) which was found on par with each other. The lowest 

organic carbon (5.47 g kg -1 ) was noticed under sole cotton treatment. 

The residual soil fertility status in respect of available nitrogen (235 kg ha -1 ), phosphorus (21.80 

kg ha -1 ), potassium (412 kg ha -1 ), and sulphur (12.73 mg kg -1 ) was increased significantly due to 

the application of 75 % RDF + 25% compensation through NPS compost as compared to the 

application of 100% NPK dose through NPS compost (organic only) under nutrient management. 

Under the treatments of cotton-based intercropping systems, the significantly higher value of 

available N (242 kg ha -1 ), P (23.70 kg ha -1 ), K (418 kg ha -1 ), and S (13.30 mg kg -1 ) was recorded 

in the intercropping of cotton + dhaincha (1:1) which was at par with the intercropping of cotton 

+ sunhemp (1:1). The lowest available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur status was 

recorded in the treatment of sole cotton only. The nutrient management and cotton-based 

intercropping system interaction effect was found to be non-significant. 

Under the nutrient management, the significantly higher soil microbial biomass carbon (210.41 

mg kg -1 ), dehydrogenase activity (46.01 µg g -1 24 hr -1 ) and CO2 evolution (47.59 mg 100 -1 g soil) 

were recorded in the treatment receiving 100% RDF through NPS compost as compared to the 

nutrients supplied through 75 % RDF + 25% compensation through NPS compost. The 

significantly highest SMBC (217.43 mg kg -1 ), dehydrogenase activity (48.91 µg g -1 24 hr -1 ) and 

CO2 evolution (52.27 mg 100 -1 g soil) was observed in the intercropping treatment of cotton + 

dhaincha (1:1) followed by intercropping of cotton + sunhemp (1:1) which were on par with each 

other. The lowest biological properties were recorded in sole cotton. 




A 

Conclusion 

Hence, it can be concluded that integrated nutrient management (75 % RDF + Compen. through 

NPS compost) and intercropping of cotton with dhaincha (1:1) were found superior in sustaining 

the cotton productivity and improving chemical and biological properties of Vertisol under 

rainfed conditions in Vidarbha region of central India. 

References 

Doran, J.W., D.G. Fraser, M.N. Culik and W.C. Liebhardt, 1988. Influence of alternative and 

conventional agricultural management on soil microbial process and nitrogen. 

American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 2 (3): 99-106. 

Swarup, Anand (2010). Integrated plant nutrient supply and management strategies for 

enhancing soil quality, input use efficiency and crop productivity. J. Indian Soc. Soil 

Sci. 58:25-31. 

Effect of conjoint use of organic and inorganic sources on rainfed cotton productivity 

and chemical and biological properties of Vertisols 

Treatments 

Main Plot 

(Nutrient 

Management) 

M1 INM (75 % RDF + 

25% compensation 

through NPS 

compost) 

M2 Organic (100 % 

RDF through 

Nitrophosphosulpho 

compost) 

SE (m) 

Cotton yield 

(q ha –1 ) 

Seed 

cotton 

Cotton 

stalk 

OC 

Available Nutrients 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Avail. 

Sulphur 

(g kg -1 ) N P K (mg kg -1 ) SMBC 

(mg kg - 

1 ) 

Biological properties 

DHA 

(µg g -1 

24 hr -1 ) 

CO2 

evolution 

(mg 100 -1 

g soil) 

14.09 28.01 5.80 235 21.80 412 12.73 202.04 36.33 41.80 

12.35 24.48 6.12 228 20.50 404 12.36 210.41 46.01 47.59 

0.11 0.20 0.057 1.53 0.29 1.8 

0 

0.04 1.59 0.84 0.90 

CD at 5 % 0.33 0.58 0.169 4.53 0.86 5.34 0.11 4.73 2.49 2.66 

B. Sub plot (Cotton based intercropping systems) 

S1 

S2 

S3 

Control (only 

cotton) 12.39 

Cotton + Dhaincha 

(1:1) 14.30 

Cotton + Sunhemp 

(1:1) 13.89 

24.00 5.47 222 18.50 395 11.70 193.41 32.89 37.76 

28.91 6.43 242 23.70 418 13.30 217.43 48.91 52.27 

27.97 6.18 237 22.66 415 13.17 213.10 44.43 49.51 




S4 

S5 

Cotton + Green 

gram (1:1) 12.97 

Cotton + Black 

gram (1:1) 12.56 

SE (m) 

CD at 5 % 

25.65 5.91 230 20.61 409 12.35 204.94 40.31 42.97 

24.72 5.82 226 20.29 404 12.22 202.25 38.30 40.99 

0.17 0.32 0.090 2.41 0.46 2.8 

4 

0.52 0.96 0.267 7.17 1.35 8.4 

4 

0.06 2.52 1.33 1.42 

0.18 7.48 3.94 4.21 

C. Interaction effect NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 

Initial value 4.96 204 14.90 379 8.27 

Sustaining Soil Health Through Organic Farming 

R. S. Choudhary* and Mahendra Singh 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sirohi, Rajasthan 

Directorate of Extension Education, Agriculture University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan 

*agroudr2013@gmail.com 

T4a-49P-1427 

In 2050, the world population will reach ~10 billion, an increase of 30%. According to the UN, 

food insecurity is one of the greatest challenges facing us today. Soil is a precious natural 

resource, about 98% of our food—directly or indirectly—comes from soil. Therefore, sustaining 

soil health/sustainable soil management (SSM) is essential in addressing food security and socioeconomic 

and environmental issues. It can be inferred that enhancing carbon sequestration in soil 

is associated with increased biomass and, therefore, to soil fertility. Better quality soil ensures 

better yields; and exactly for this reason, we have been manipulating the natural soil with the 

reckless use of chemical fertilizers that provide additional nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium 

(NPK), leading to over fertilization and diminishing yields. Hence, organic farming aims to 

attain long-term sustainability since it is based on ecologically sound practices to provide 

nutrients for crop growth and thereby, in the long term, it ensures productivity gains by 

improving soil health. Presence of soil organic matter and soil microbial population are primarily 

useful indicators of soil health and productivity of crops. It is now a well-established fact that 

organically managed soil exhibits greater soil organic carbon and total nitrogen, lower nitrate 

leaching and biological soil quality than conventionally managed soil. Soil health management 

through organic approaches are needed for maintaining the sustainability of agriculture as well as 

to maintain the coordination with nature. 




Controversy has long surrounded the question of nutritional differences between crops grown 

organically or using now-conventional methods, with studies dating back to the 1940s showing 

that farming methods can affect the nutrient density of crops. More recent studies have shown 

how reliance on tillage and synthetic nitrogen fertilizers influence soil life, and thereby soil 

health, in ways that can reduce mineral micronutrient uptake by and phytochemical production in 

crops. While organic farming tends to enhance soil health and conventional practices degrade it, 

relying on tillage for weed control on both organic and conventional farms degrades soil organic 

matter and can disrupt soil life in ways that reduce crop mineral uptake and phytochemical 

production. Soil health reflects both biotic and abiotic (chemical and physical) aspects of the soil. 

Conventional metrics for assessing soil quality have primarily focused on physical and chemical 

factors that support crop production, yet growing awareness of the importance of soil ecology 

and the diversity and abundance of soil life is reshaping agronomic thought to embrace 

enhancing and sustaining soil health as a fundamental agronomic goal. To achieve sustainable 

crop production, the primary requirement is the maintenance of soil fertility and soil health. 

Organic farming systems being highly complex and integrated biological systems could be the 

potential technology option to maintain good soil heath for sustainable crop production. 

T4a-50P-1261 

Type of Organic Manure and Biochar Affected Crop Production and Soil 

Health in Maize-Black Gram System Under Changing Climate 

Shaon Kumar Das 1 , B. U. Choudhury 2 , Ramgopal Laha 1 and V. K. Mishra 2 

1 ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Sikkim Centre, Gangtok, Sikkim-737102 

2 ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya-793103 

With increase in pyrolysis temperature the higher heating value of all the four-biochar decreased. 

The crystallinity index deceased (average 8.98%) in all biochar with increase in pyrolysis 

temperature. At low temperature pyrolysis the polarity index tends to increase and vice-versa. 

The biochar under study enhanced the seed germination and seedling growth significantly at a 

reasonable application rate than higher rate which might be due to secretion of chemical 

substances by the respective biochar. The organic manure/biochar (co-compost) ratio at 75:25 

enhanced maximum yield in poultry manure (4528 and 1027 kg/ha) followed by goat manure 

(4378 and 1016 kg/ha), vermicompost (4278 and 986 kg/ha), pig manure (4218 and 956 kg/ha), 

and FYM (4178 and 949 kg/ha) for maize and black gram, respectively. The microbial biomass 

carbon was highest in goat manure 5 t ha -1 +biochar 5 t ha -1 (476.58 mg kg -1 soil) and lowest in 

FYM @ 10 t ha -1 +biochar 5 t ha -1 (458.53 mg kg -1 soil) than control (301.43 mg kg -1 soil). The 




nitrogen use efficiency followed as BGB-SRF (38.3 %) > MSB-SRF (37.5 %) > LCB-SRF (36.2 

%) > PNB-SRF (35.7 %) than fertilizer (22.8 %). After 288 hr of incubation the N-P-K nutrient 

release from hydrogel-biochar composite varied 36.49-81.37%. Similarly, it exhibited 35.46- 

90.83% release of N-P-K in soil after 45 days study. The release kinetics fitted by Korsmeyer- 

Peppas model illustrates that the n values were 0.5-1.0 (anomalous transport). Utilizing four 

different biochars, the average removal rate of heavy metal from aqueous solution was 49.5- 

66.1%(Cd), 47.3-60.0%(Pb), 45.5-60.6%(Ni), 46.6-60.8%(Zn), 49.3-63.2%(Cu) and 52.7-64.2% 

(As) compared with no biochar treatment. Biochar amendment has attracted a fair amount of 

research interest due to its abundant usage and wide potential. Assuming that the science of 

biochar is ‘unambiguously beneficial’, all the scientific community should support the biochar 

application for modern science and technological intervension. 

T4a-51P-1176 

Vermicomposting-A Module for Sustainable Soil Management in South Garo 

Hills, Meghalaya, India 

Titus Dalang K. Momin*, Athokpam Haribhushan, Basu langpoklakpam, 

Rike Ch A Sangma, Tanya R Marak, Bishorjit Ningthoujam, Rupam Bhattacharjya and 

Thongam Monika Devi 

KVK, South Garo Hills, Chokpot, Meghalaya 

*dalangssangma76@gmail.com 

Vermicompost is recognized as a high-nutrient biofertilizer with a range of microbial 

communities and it considerably increases the growth and yield of different field crops, 

vegetables, flower and fruit crops. Vermicomposting organic material with earthworms not only 

yields the healthiest organic manure but also lessens environmental pollution and health hazards. 

The experiment was laid out in a three-replicated randomized block design (RBD) with 3 

treatments. The highest production of vermicompost was recorded in the T3 (348kg/vermibed). 

The production of vermicompost in T2 was (340kg/vermibed) followed by T1 of 

(332kg/vermibed). Result revealed that among the different vermicomposting units T3 was 

efficient in terms of quantity of vermicompost harvested. Among the Treatments the highest 

Benefit: Cost ratio was recorded in T3 (4.85.1) followed by T2 (4.74.1) and T1(4.63.1). 




T4a-52P- 1137 

Weedy rice: A Threat to Sustainable Rice Production under Direct Seeding 

V. Anjaly 

Ph.D. scholar, Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University 

Rice is the staple food of more than 50% of the world’s population and the conventional method 

of rice growing, which involves puddling followed by transplanting, is a labour and water 

intensive process. Increased costs or decreased availability of irrigation water and labour has 

forced the farmers in Asia to slowly proceed towards direct seeding of rice (Chauhan, 2012). The 

absence of suppressive effect of standing water on weed emergence and similarity in seed sizes 

of crop and weeds has led to the serious concern of weedy rice infestation in most of the rice 

growing tracts. Weedy rice infestation raises the production costs, lowers the crop yield and 

qualitatively decreases the farmer’s income, through reduced seed value at the time of harvest . 

In recent years, weedy rice has emerged to be one of the major troublesome weeds in rice 

growing Asian countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, India, Republic of Korea, 

Vietnam and Sri Lanka 

Weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) is believed to be evolved through the interbreeding 

between cultivated rice (O. sativa) and wild rice (O. nivara/O. perennis) (Chauhan, 2013). The 

physical and physiological similarities of weedy rice to cultivated rice have made the weedy seed 

spread more easier through crop seed contamination. Features like faster growth, profuse tiller 

production, early flowering and high competence for nutrients, light and space provide them 

competitive advantage over cultivated rice. The weed is also characterized by longer seed 

dormancy, easy seed shattering (enhance weed seed bank), presence of awns, red pericarp and 

pigmented aleuronic layer, and the ability to thrive in adverse agro-climatic conditions 

Weed management strategies such as use of clean rice seeds and machineries, regular inspection 

and roguing of weedy rice plants before seed set, repeated cultivation of rice fields, stale seed 

bed technique, use of transplanting technique wherever plenty of exploitable water is available, 

use of high seeding rates, row seeding using seed drills, and use of weed competitive crop 

cultivar with early vigour and quick canopy closure, are advocated (Chauhan, 2013). An 

improved broadcasting method called ‘parachute planting’ is practiced in Vietnam and Sri 

Lanka, in which the rice seedlings, grown in nursery, are thrown onto the puddled soil, with 

water depth maintained at 5 to 10 cm. Chauhan et al. (2014) concluded that seedling broadcast 

and transplanted rice methods are the most effective rice establishment techniques to reduce 

weedy rice panicles and seed production, and to attain highest rice grain yield. Adoption of 




cultivars with purple-coloured leaves will help in differentiating the weedy rice and other grassy 

weeds from the direct sown rice. Rotation of rice with a dissimilar crop, such as corn, mungbean, 

soybean and sesame, helps in disrupting the growth cycle of many problematic weeds, including 

purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus) (Chauhan, 2013). 

Similarity in terms of anatomical and physiological traits between rice and weedy rice makes the 

herbicidal control of the weed difficult. Application of pre-emergent herbicides (pretilachlor, 

metolachlor, oxadiazon) with appropriate modification in time and method of application is 

advisable (Chauhan, 2013). The ‘KAU weed wiper’ is a device specially designed for the control 

of weedy rice through the direct application of non-selective herbicides like glyphosate or 

glufosinate ammonium on the earheads. The quick growth of weedy rice results in about 15-30 

cm height difference between cultivated rice and weedy rice. This facilitates the easier 

application of herbicides on the earhead of weedy rice without having any phytotoxic effect on 

rice. It was reported that the weed control efficiency of weed wiper in terms of drying of weedy 

rice panicles is as high as 83 to 88%. According to Suh (2008), herbicide resistant (glyphosate-, 

glufosinate ammonium- and imidazolinone resistant) rice cultivars could be an effective tool for 

farmers to improve weedy rice control with reduced costs. 

Heavy infestation of weedy rice has forced many farmers to abandon their crops without 

harvesting. The problem will worsen and become more persistent as direct seeding increasingly 

becomes the popular method of crop establishment in rice. This may challenge the rice 

production system in the country if not managed effectively in the subsequent years. 

Awareness has to be created among farmers regarding the use of clean and uncontaminated seeds 

and machineries. Future research should focus on the integration of cultural management 

practices with the use of cultivars capable to grow in flooded conditions. Strong gelines for the 

use of herbicide resistant rice cultivars need to be formed to avoid the development of resistance 

in weedy rice through gene flow. 

References 

Chauhan, B. S., and Johnson, D. E. 2010. Weedy rice (Oryza sativa L.) I. Grain characteristics 

and growth response to competition of weedy rice variants from five Asian countries. 

Weed Sci. 58:374-380. 

Chauhan, B. S. 2013. Strategies to manage weedy rice in Asia. Crop Prot. 48:51-56. 

Chauhan, B. S., Abeysekera, A. S., Wickramarathe, M. S., Kulatunga, S. D. and Wickrama, U. 

B. 2014. Effect of rice establishment methods on weedy rice (Oryza sativa L.) infestation 

and grain yield of cultivated rice (O. sativa L.) in Sri Lanka. Crop Prot. 55:42-49. 




Rathore, M., Singh, R. and Kumar, B., 2013. Weedy rice: an emerging threat to rice cultivation 

and options for its management. Curr. Sci. 1067-1072. 

Suh, H.S., 2008. Weedy Rice. National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development 

Administration (RDA), Korea. 

T4a-53P-1546 

Yield and Nutrient Uptake of Direct Seeded Rice under Different Tillage and 

Nutrient Management Practices 

P. Manoj Kumar 1* , D K Roy 2 , Santosh Kumar Singh 2 , N K Ray 2 

1 Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala, India 

2 Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar, India 

* manojpittala@gmail.com 

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the major food crops, especially in Southeast Asia, where it is 

the principal diet for Asian inhabitants, with about 35-80% of the calorie supply for daily needs. 

Rice is grown in around all Indian states and Bihar, one of them, is the country’s 6 th largest in 

terms of rice production, with a yearly output of 8.09 Mt from an area of 3.3 Mha. The average 

productivity in Bihar is 2.44 t/ha, slightly below the national average (DoE and S, Govt. of 

Bihar, 2019-20). Conventional cultivation of transplanted rice, besides being tiresome, 

expensive, and time-killing, long-term puddling practice in rice cultivating areas affects soil 

aggregates, the beneficial microbial activity, and the general soil environment (Bhattacharyya et 

al., 2012). Rational nutrient supply is a prerequisite for the growth and development of rice. 

Disproportionate nutrient application diminishes nutrient uptake by crops, NUE, deteriorates the 

ecological quality, and increases the cultivation cost. Against the above backdrop, this study was 

conducted to determine the effect of different tillage and nutrient management practices on the 

yield and nutrient uptake of direct-seeded rice. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted in an ongoing long-term tillage trail that was established in 

2010 under a set of tillage and nutrient management treatments with the Rice-Maize cropping 

system at the Agronomical Research Farm (plot no. 5) of Tirhut college of agriculture, Dholi 

(RPCAU) during Kharif 2019. The soil belongs to the great group calciorthent, textural class of 

sandy loam, alkaline, moderate in OC, N, phosphorous, potassium and deficient in sulphur, and 

zinc. A short-duration rice variety Prabhat was taken as a test variety. The total rainfall received 

during the crop growth period was 1039.8 mm. The experiment was laid out in ‘split-plot design’ 




with tillage practices under main plot treatments which include T1: Conventional tillage (CT); 

T2: Zero tillage (ZT) and T3: Zero tillage + Residue (ZT+R) and nutrient management practices 

as subplot treatments which include N1: Recommended Dose of Fertilizer (RDF) @ 120-60-40 

kg N-P2O5-K2O kg ha -1 with N applied in three splits; N2: site-specific nutrient management 

(SSNM) based on Nutrient Expert for rice @ 109-28-46 kg N-P2O5-K2O with N applied in 

three splits and N3: 60 % N @ basal + green seeker ged N application (GSGN) (rest of the N was 

applied based on the real-time crop demand at regular intervals) + 100% PK of RDF. Three splits 

of N were applied @ 2:1:1 ratio at basal, active tillering, and panicle initiation in N1 and N2 

treatments. 

Results 

The yield attributes like panicles/m 2 and grains/ panicle were significantly higher under ZT+R 

(239; 122) over CT (201; 107) among tillage practices whereas, among nutrient management 

treatments, SSNM based on Nutrient Expert (228; 119) has significantly higher values over RDF 

(212; 111). Both grain and straw yields of DSR were statistically superior in ZT+R over CT with 

14.03 % and 9.27 % more yields, respectively but were statistically at par with ZT whereas, 

SSNM based on Nutrient Expert has significantly superior grain and straw yields over RDF with 

14.91 % and 7.73 % more yields respectively but were statistically at par with 60% N + GSGN + 

100% PK of RDF. Any of the treatments did not influence Harvest Index (HI); however, higher 

HI was found under ZT+R (41.05) fb ZT (40.89) fb CT (39.86) among tillage practices while, 

SSNM based on Nutrient Expert has higher HI (41.25) fb 60% N + GSGN + 100% PK of RDF 

(41.04) fb RDF (39.52) across nutrient management practices.These better yields under ZT +R, 

ZT could be credited to the improved soil structure, overall porosity, aggregate stability, water 

holding capacity (WHC) due to less soil disruption and with constant crop residue accumulation 

over the years enriched the soil with organic matter and soil biota which enhances the 

mineralization process and increasing plant nutrient availability and also these precision nutrient 

management practices aided in timely and balanced availability of all vital nutrients thereby 

progressing crop yields through optimized nutrient usage by the rice crop. The total N, P, K, Zn, 

Fe, Cu, and Mn uptake by the crop was found to be significantly higher in Zero tillage + Residue 

management among tillage practices, whereas among nutrient management treatments, SSNM 

based on Nutrient Expert have significantly higher total N, P, and K uptake but has no significant 

influence on micronutrient uptake and these results are in accordance with Rajesh et al. (2018). 




Tillage practices 

Effect of tillage and nutrient management practices on yield performance of DSR 

Treatment 


panicles/ m 2 

No. of grains/ 

panicle 

Grain yield 

(q/ha) 

Straw yield 

(q/ha) 

Harvest 

Index (%) 

T1: Conventional tillage 201 107 39.50 59.25 39.86 

T2: Zero tillage 220 115 43.51 62.87 40.89 

T3: Zero tillage + Residue 239 122 45.04 64.74 41.05 

SEm± 6 2 0.64 1.05 0.51 

LSD (p =0.05) 23 9 2.51 4.11 NS 


N1: RDF 212 111 39.16 59.65 39.52 

N2: SSNM based on Nutrient Expert 228 119 45.00 64.26 41.25 

N3: 60%N+GSGN+100 % PK of RDF 219 114 43.89 62.94 41.04 

SEm± 4 2 1.19 1.18 0.87 

LSD (p=0.05) 12 6 3.65 3.63 NS 

LSD (p=0.05) (T x NM) NS NS NS NS NS 

Effect of tillage and nutrient management practices on total uptake (grain + straw) of 

N, P, K, Zn, Fe, Cu and Mn by direct seeded rice (DSR) 

Treatment N P K Zn Fe Cu Mn 

Tillage practices (kg/ha) (g/ha) 

T1: Conventional tillage 76.76 22.20 92.23 278.32 448.50 44.16 318.85 

T2: Zero tillage 83.85 24.32 96.60 298.37 484.42 50.36 339.53 

T3: Zero tillage + Residue 86.71 24.62 99.99 305.14 489.57 54.79 345.94 

SEm± 1.38 0.23 0.83 2.48 6.50 1.36 4.99 

LSD (p =0.05) 5.42 0.92 3.25 9.74 25.53 5.36 19.61 


N1: RDF 76.09 22.17 90.36 286.54 459.22 46.88 328.08 

N2: SSNM based on Nutrient Expert 87.38 24.77 99.51 296.67 485.10 52.84 340.52 

N3: 60%N+GSGN+100 % PK of RDF 83.85 24.19 98.95 298.63 478.17 49.60 335.72 

SEm± 2.08 0.49 1.62 5.12 9.50 1.54 6.99 

LSD (p=0.05) 6.42 1.50 5.00 NS NS NS NS 

LSD (p=0.05) (T x NM) NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 

Conclusion 

In a nutshell, the results of this study indicated that direct seeding of Kharif rice under zero tillage + 

residue management practice coupled with SSNM based on Nutrient Expert led to improved growth 

parameters, yield attributes, crop yields, and nutrient uptake by the crop. 




References 

Bhattacharyya, R., Tuti, M. D., Bisht, J. K., Bhatt, J. C., and Gupta, H. S. 2012. Conservation 

tillage and fertilization impact on soil aggregation and carbon pools in the Indian 

Himalayas under an irrigated rice-wheat rotation. Soil Science 177: 218–228. 

Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. of Bihar, 2019-20. 

Rajesh, V., Balanagoudar, S. R., Veeresh, H., Gaddi, A. K., and Ramesh, Y. M. 2018. Effect of 

Nutrient Management Approaches and Major Nutrients on Dry Direct Seeded Rice (dry- 

DSR) in TBP Command Area. Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci. 7(2): 1239-1247. 

T4a-54P-1411 

Zero Tillage Technique with High Yielding Variety of Wheat Cultivation as 

Compared to Traditional practices of farmers field in Front line 

demonstration under NICRA of Morena District M.P. 

Rajpal Singh Tomar, Swati Singh Tomar, Brijraj Singh Kansana, PKS Gurjar and 

Debesh Singh 

RVSKVV, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, A.B Road Morena 

kvk.morena@rvskvv.net 

India is the second largest producer of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the world. After the Green 

Revolution, the production of wheat has shown a huge increase. The major states involved 

Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. They account for nearly 70 percent of the 

total wheat production of the country. Madhya Pradesh, Uttar pradesh Punjab and Haryana yield 

the highest amount of wheat because of the availability of better irrigation facilities. Wheat is the 

second most important food crop of India next to rice and demand for wheat in the country is 

increasing day by day. 

The study was conducted Village Ata Gadikhera Block of Joura in Morena district Madhya 

Pradesh under Frontline Demonstration by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Morena through coordinating 

Institution RVSKVV, Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior, M.P. Demonstration with Zero Tillage 

wheat has shown primarily positive impacts on wheat crop management, particularly through 

reduced input needs combined with potential yield increase. To evaluate the economics of high 

yielding variety (MP-1203) and their utilization in zero tillage to improve income of farmers and 

agricultural productivity, the utilization of high yielding variety under frontline demonstration 

programme under NICRA. The average yield of zero tillage technique was 49.6 q/ha. The data 

collected from the field were analyzed and the result of the study in respect of percentage increase 




in yield in MP-1203 with ZT increased 27.33% over farmers practice by usingMP-1203. The B:C 

ratio was observed higher side by using MP-1203 is 2.53 as compared to conventional method 

sowing of wheat is 1.48 The B: C ratio was observed higher side in zero-tillage method as 

compared to conventional method sowing of wheat. The finding have clearly established that 

wheat sowing can be advanced in yield by using MP-1203 over utilization of local variety of 

wheat, under zero tillage method it also clearly established that wheat sowing can be advanced in 

yield over conventional tillage system. 

T4a-55P-1579 

Paired Row Method of Cultivation in Maize – a Water Conservation 

Technology for Sustainable Yields and Higher Net returns 

K. Ravi Kumar 1 , J. Hemantha Kumar 1 , V. Chaitanya 1 , Jessie Suneetha.W 1 , PSM Phanisri 1 , 

D. Nagaraju 1 , R. Uma Reddy 2 and J.V. Prasad 3 

1. 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Wyra, Khammam. 

2. 

RARS, Warangal. 

3. 

ICAR, ATARI, Zone-X, CRIDA, Santhosnagar, Hyderabad 

Maize is an important crop widely grown for food and feed and is one of the most versatile 

emerging crops having wider adaptability under varied agro climatic conditions It is mainly 

cultivated as rainfed crop in Kharif and as irrigated crop during Rabi. In Khammam district, 

Maize is one of the important cereal crop cultivated by farmers which is having a normal area of 

13073 ha. It is one of the major crop best suited for Rabi which gives good yield with good 

management practices. Unfortunately, much of the expected yields are not realized because of 

traditional method of planting and cultivation resulting in low plant population, poor and uneven 

development of cobs, limiting moisture levels which affect the crop during the critical stages 

resulting in yield loss, nutrient deficiency and wastage of fertilizers during application. This 

factors in turn increases cost of cultivation, competition between weeds and main crop for water, 

nutrients and other inputs which affect the crop growth because of weed dominance for nutrients. 

All these factors together and cultivation of maize in the traditional method of planting by the 

farmers were contributing to the less yields of the crop. To overcome this problem, KVK-Wyra 

scientists intervened and introduced paired row technique in Maize along with drip irrigation. In 

paired row method of cultivation, spacing between plant to plant is 20-25 cm, row to row spacing 

is 30 cm and spacing between one pair to another pair is 90 cm. For irrigation and fertigation to 

the plants, a drip lateral is spread in between the two rows which help in giving uniform water 

and fertilizer to both the rows thus decreasing the no of lateral requirement per acre. Further, due 




to efficient use of sunlight and increased light interception leads to thick and stronger stalks and 

healthy development of cobs. The results revealed that, farmers realized an additional yield of 30 

q/ha in paired row method when compared to traditional cultivation method. Further, an 

additional income achieved from paired row method of planting was Rs.61,467.5/- /ha. Besides 

this, the paired row method of planting recorded higher gross returns, net returns and B:C ratio 

when compared to traditional cultivation method. 

T4a-56P-1567 

Improving Productivity of Taramira (Eruca sativa Mill.) Under Conserved 

Soil Moisture in Arid Environments 

M. Patidar, R. Saranya and Anil Patidar 

ICAR- CAZRI, Reginal Research Station, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan 342 003 India 

The availability of soil moisture is the most important factor for growing crops in arid conditions 

therefore the choice of crops is limited due to the low and erratic nature of rainfall (Moharana et 

al. 2016). Sometimes the rain receives at the end of the Kharif season is not utilized by the 

Kharif crops and is also not sufficient for growing subsequent long duration rabi crops but the 

conserved soil moisture can be utilized for short duration rabi crops. Taramira (Eruca sativa 

Mill.) is short duration crop, particularly suitable for north-western Rajasthan, and can be grown 

in the early rabi season utilizing the conserved soil moisture (Mundiyara and Jakhar, 2017). 

Further, the time of sowing needs to be adjusted for improving productivity. With this, the 

experiment was conducted to study the utilisation of conserved soil moisture and the effect of 

sowing time on its productivity. 

Methodology 

The experiment was conducted during rabi 2021-22 involving three different dates (Last week of 

September (S1), October (S2), and November (S3)). T1 (last week of September)- utilized 

conserved soil moisture of (103 mm rainfall received in that month) + one irrigation at grain 

filling stage, T2 (sown at last week of October)- 1 st irrigation after sowing+ 2 nd irrigation at grain 

filling stage; T3(sown at last week of November)- 1 st irrigation after sowing+ 2 nd irrigation at 

grain filling stage. The climate of the area is hyper-arid, characterized by exceptionally hot dry 

summers, and cold dry winters. The soil is coarse loamy sand, low in organic carbon and 

available nitrogen, and medium in available phosphorus with pH 8.1. The rainfall during the year 

2021 is 338 mm. Taramira variety RTM -13 was sown in the plot size of 5.5 m × 4.5m with 30 × 

10 cm spacing using a seed rate of 5 kg/ha. The treatments were replicated four times randomly. 




Observations were recorded for plant height, primary branches, pod per branch, pod length, and 

seed yield. 

Results 

The maximum plant height and pod per branch were recorded in S1 (91.58 cm; 34.92) followed 

by S2 (87.75 cm; 23.92) and S3 (82.50 cm; 25.50). There was no significant difference in 

number of primary branches and pod length. The seed yield was highest in S1 (950 kg/ha) 

followed by S2 (837.5 kg/ha) and S3 (675 kg/ha). The increase in seed yield due to the first 

sowing was by 13.4 and 40.8 % over the second and third sowing respectively. The higher seed 

yield in first sowing (S1) was due to better root development and plant growth as result of more 

availability of soil moisture. Its efficient root system helped in extracting moisture from deeper 

layers of soil. 

Conclusion 

The result indicates that the crop sown in the last week of September, which utilised the 

conserved soil moisture, gave a better seed yield than other dates of sowing with two irrigations. 

During periods of severe drought and late monsoon, taramira is the only alternative crop left for 

arid region farmers to sustain their livelihood. 

References 

Moharana, P.C., Santra, P., Singh, D.V., Suresh Kumar, Goyal, R.K., Deepesh Machiwal and 

Yadav, O.P. 2016. ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur: Erosion 

Processes and Desertification in the Thar Desert of India. Proceedings of the Indian 

National Science Academy. 82. 10.16943/ptinsa/2016/48507. 

Mundiyara, R. and Jakhar, M. L. 2017 Identify Promising Parents and Crosses of Taramira 

(Eruca sativa Mill.) for Improvement in Irrigated and Drought Conditions. J. 

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 6(4): 789-795 




T4a-57P-1367 

Influence of Organic and Inorganic Nutrients on Nitrogen & Potassium 

Fractions In Relation to Yield of Elephant Foot Yam - Blackgram System 

K. V. Aswin 1* , K. Laxminarayana 2 and J.V.N.S. Prasad 3 

*1 College of Agriculture, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751003 

2 Regional Centre, ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Bhubaneswar, 

Odisha, 751 019 

3 

ICAR-Central Research Institute of Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500059 

*aswinkv91@gmail.com 

Elephant foot yam (EFY) (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius L), crop produced for its underground 

modified stem, encourage the farmers to plant because of high quality corms, minimal pest and 

disease incidence, and low labour requirements. Black gram [Vigna mungo (L.)] is known as 

"King of Legumes" and produced as a mixed crop, cash crop, and sequential crop in cropping 

systems. Legume-based cropping systems have been shown to be generally beneficial to the soil 

by preservation of organic matter, increasing soil nitrogen, improving soil physical properties 

and by breaking the cycle of soil-borne diseases. Inorganic forms of major nutrients significantly 

contribute to yield and quality attributes of crops. Plant roots take up nitrogen from the soil 

mostly as NO3 - and to some extent as NH4 + -N. Use of chemical fertilizers in conjunction with 

organic manures has been reported to influence the dynamics of inorganic K fractions. The 

distribution of inorganic forms of N and K in soils is important in understanding the conditions 

controlling their availability to growing crops and effective nutrient management strategies. 

Methodology 

Yield parameters of EFY and blackgram were recorded at harvest, the grain & haulm samples of 

black gram as well as corm samples of elephant foot yam were collected, washed thoroughly, 

oven dried at 60ºC and dry weights were recorded. Inorganic forms of N namely NH4-N and 

NO3-N were determined by steam distillation method (Black, 1965). Inorganic K fractions were 

determined by Boiling Nitric Acid Method (Wood and Deturk, (1941); Pratt, (1965)). 

Relationship of different N and K fractions with available nitrogen and potassium was worked 

out respectively, by computing simple correlation coefficients by employing standard procedure 

as described by Gomez and Gomez (1984). 




Results 

Yield Performance of Elephant Foot Yam and Black gram 

The higher yield response to the organic manure and inorganic fertilizers might be attributed to 

decomposition of organic manure as it improves the physical and biological properties and 

nutrient release pattern in to the soil and supplements the effect of inorganic fertilizers. 

Yield response (%) 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

EFY Yield response (%) Black gram Yield response (%) 

Effect of organic and inorganic nutrients on yield of elephant foot yam and black gram 

Relationship of Available Nwith Inorganic nitrogen fractions and Availbale K with 

Inorganic Potassium fractions 

Significant positive correlation could be observed among the nitrogen fractions as these fractions 

are dependent on each other for their synthesis during mineralization process. The total K 

content of the soil showed highly significant correlation with non-exchangeable K (r=0.944 ** ) 

and least with exchangeable K (r=0.875 ** ). The highest correlation was recorded in 

Exchangeable K (r = 0.979 ** ) followed by non-exchangeable K (r=0.927 ** ) and water soluble K 

(r=0.921 ** ). 

Conclusion 

Application of half of the recommended doses of NPK fertilizers in combination with organic 

manure (FYM) sustain the soil quality, and enhances the productivity and quality of elephant 

foot yam – black gram cropping system in acid Alfisols of Eastern India. Integrated application 

of organic manure and inorganic chemical fertilizers at balanced proportion not only helps to 

augment the crop yields but also enhances the available nutrient status as well as the yield and 

quality of elephant foot yam-black gram system. Cultivation of pulses as inter crops in between 

tropical root and tuber crops not only enhances the total farm productivity but also enrich the soil 

fertility by accumulation of its biomass that facilitates the biological activity of the soils. 




References 

Basumatary A. (2018). Integrated Sulphur Management in Rapeseed (Brassica camprestis) - 

Blackgram (Vigna mungo) sequence in an Inceptisol of Assam, Journal of the Indian 

Society of Soil Science, 66 (4): 425-431. 

Imai H, Kamata K and Yang YF. (1990). Developing Improved Cropping Systems for 

Vegetables and Legumes in the Tropics and Change in soil nutrient 

status, Japanese Journal of Tropical Agriculture, 34(3): 181-190. 

Laxminarayana and Pardhan, (2017). Effect of inorganic fertilizers and organic manures on 

microbial activities and yield of elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paenifolius L) - 

black gram (Vigna mungo L) cropping system, IJSAR, 4(9), 2017; 47-63 


Theme– 5 

Emerging approaches (RS, AI, ML, Drones 

etc) for crop management & assessment



Theme – 5: Emerging approaches (RS, AI, ML, Drones etc.) for crop 

management & assessment 


Title Title First Author ID 

1 Intercropping as ‘Ecological Precision Agriculture’ 

to Address Field Heterogeneity 

2 Performance of Soybean, Pigeonpea Strip Cropping 

under Complete Mechanization for Rainfed Area of 


3 Real-Time Monitoring and Management of Drought 

in Groundnut 

4 Big Data Analytics for Identifying Districts with 

Untapped Potential in Rainfed Agriculture and 

Bridging Gaps 

5 A Mobile app for Unreaped Yield Potentials of 

Major Rainfed Crops and Scope for Bridging Yield 

Gaps - A Decision Support System 

6 PASM induced yield variability in soybean crop at 

Akola conditions 

7 Development and Evaluation of DC Motor Powered 

Brush Cutter 

8 Modified Vegetative Drought Response Index 

(VegDRI) for Drought Risk Assessment of Andhra 

Pradesh 

9 Performance Evaluation of Mini Tractor Operated 

Rotary Weeder with L-Type Blades in Redgram 

Crop 

10 Sorghum Yield Response to Future Climate in a 

Semi-Arid Environment 

11 Stress Management in Wheat Crop through Foliar 

Spray of TGA Agro-chemical 

12 Effect of foliar application of different nano 

fertilizers on performance of rainfed maize in 

Southern Telangana 

13 Evaluation of Horse Gram Grain for Bio- 

Accessibility of Iron and Zinc by in-vitro Method 

14 Assessment of Soil Erodibility Indices for Beed 

Station 

15 Floor Management Machinery for Weed Control in 

Horticulture Crops 

16 Impact of eCO2 and eTemp. on Aphis craccivora 

Koch. on Groundnut and Projection of Future Pest 

Status 

Iman Raj 

Chongtham 

WN Narkhede 

B Sahadeva Reddy 

BMK Raju 

R Nagarjuna 

Kumar 

AR Tupe 

Ashish S Dhimate 

GS Pratyusha 

Kranthi 

VR Mallikarjuna 

MA Sarath 

Chandran 

RS Rathore 

KA Gopinath 

K Sreedevi 

Shankar 

M More Ram 

B Sanjeeva Reddy 

M Srinivasa Rao 

T5-01O-1063 

T5-02O-1343 

T5-03O-1210 

T5-03aO-1041 

T5-04R-1019 

T5-05R-1330 

T5-06R-1419 

T5-07R-1486 

T5-08R-1534 

T5-09R-1101 

T5-10P-1003 

T5-11P-1024 

T5-12P-1051 

T5-13P-1065 

T5-14P-1084 

T5-15P-1087 

Emerging approaches (RS, AI, ML, Drones etc) for crop management &assessment 

694 | Page




17 Mapping Quantitative Trait Nucleotides in Spring 

Wheat for Yield Performance under Limited Water 

Conditions 

18 Effect of Mechanization Practices on Economics of 

Soyabean-Safflower Cropping System 

19 Effect of Nano-DAP Application in Combination 

with Conventional Fertilizers on Rice-Rapeseed 

Sequence under Rain-Fed Condition 

20 Effect of Nano fertilizers on Growth, Yield and 

Water Use Efficiency of Potato (Solanum 

tuberosum l.) under Varying Irrigation Schedules 

21 Soil Moisture and Weather Data Management Using 

IoT 

22 Comparative Study on Spatial and Temporal 

Changes in Urban Settlements and Land Surface 

Temperature in Hyderabad over 1990 to 2020 

23 Usefulness of Agro-Meteorological Advisory 

Service from Farmers Prospective in the NICRA 

Operated Villages of Godda District Jharkhand 

24 Use of UNEP Aridity Index for Drought Assessment 

in Bundelkhand 

25 FarmPrecise – An Agromet Advisory Service 

(AAS) for Sustainable Agriculture and Resilient 

Farm Income: An Impact Assessment of AAS in 

Ahmednagar, Dhule, and Jalna Districts of 

Maharashtra 

26 Assessment of Biophysical Parameters and Disease 

Incidence in Mungbean Using Hyperspectral 

Radiometry 

27 Non-Destructive and Rapid Estimation of the Foliar 

Nitrogen of the Tomato Plant By Proximal 

Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Pl. Biochemical 

Properties: Nitrogen 

28 Assessment of Soil Fertility Constraints in 

Shrirampura Micro-Watershed, Turuvekere Taluk, 

Tumkur District, Karnataka Using Geospatial 

Techniques 

29 Assessing Impact of Dry Spells on Sorghum 

Productivity over Telangana State 

30 Investigations on Chopping-Cum-Tilling-Cum- 

Mixing Machine for Straw Incorporation 

31 Hyperspectral Reflectance: A Promising Tool to 

Assess the Metabolic Responses to Drought Stress 

in Sugarcane 

Sonia Sheoran 

SA Shinde 

Dhananjoy Dutta 

Manimala Mahato 

NS Raju 

Fawaz Parapurath 

Rajnish Prasad 

Rajesh 

Sunil Kumar 

Nikhil Nikam 

M Prabhakar 

Md Zafar 

KT Aruna 

Santanu Kumar 

Bal 

Abhishek patel 

Vinay Hegde 

T5-16P-1111 

T5-17P-1117 

T5-18P-1140 

T5-19P-1141 

T5-20P-1165 

T5-21P-1166 

T5-22P-1178 

T5-23P-1194 

T5-24P-1195 

T5-25P-1219 

T5-25P-1296 

T5-27P-1332 

T5-28P-1333 

T5-29P-1345 

T5-30P-1350 

695 | Page Emerging approaches (RS, AI, ML, Drones etc) for crop management &assessment




32 Photo-Voltaic Solar Power: Alternative Energy for 

Farm Mechanization 

33 Design and Development of Planter for 

Intercropping Castor with Green Gram 

34 Leaf Propagation of Guava for Prevention of Root 

Knot Nematode 

35 Soil Moisture Indices Using Copernicus Soil Water 

Index for Drought Studies 

36 Soil Conservation Practices for Climate Change 

Adaptation in Bihar State 

37 Correlation of Weather Variables on the 

Development of Makhana Leaf Spot Disease in the 

Koshi Region of Bihar 

38 Study the Effect of Different Chemical on 

Biochemical and Functional Properties of Custard 

Apple (Annona squamosa L.) During Storage 

39 Cloud Computing, Data science for Big Data 

Management in Agriculture 

40 Feasibility of Appropriate Mechanization in 

Cultivation of Millets in Rainfed Eco System 

41 Small Scale Farm Mechanization: An Archangle to 

Climate Resilient Agriculture 

42 Predicting the generation index of groundnut 

bruchid, Caryedon serratus Olivier in India during 

future climate change scenario 

43 Indian Water Policy: Perspective of Rainwater 

Harvesting for Sustainability in Semi-Arid Regions 

Ravikant V Adake 

HS Chaudhary 

R Neelavathi 

KV Rao 

Pooja Jena 

Md Nadeem 

Akhtar 

Indraraj Ghasil 

R Lakshmi Sreya 

I Srinivas 

MV Tiwari 

TV Prasad 

K Sreenivas Reddy 

T5-31P-1373 

T5-32P-1379 

T5-33P-1417 

T5-34P-1491 

T5-35P-1528 

T5-36P-1535 

T5-37P-1538 

T5-38P-1589 

T5-39P-1598 

T5-40P-1711 

T5-41P-1616 

T5-42P-1621 


696 | Page



T5-01O-1063 

Intercropping as ‘Ecological Precision Agriculture’ to Address Field 

Heterogeneity 

Iman Raj Chongtham* 

Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 

Lomma 234 22, Sweden. 

*raj.chongtham@slu.se 

During the last century, agricultural intensification with high use of external inputs such as 

pesticides, mineral fertilizers and crops grown as mono/sole crops has increased food 

production. However, such simplified and resource intensive agricultural practices are 

associated with causing environmental problems, notably biodiversity loss, development of 

resistance to pesticides, climate change, and eutrophication (Gliessman, 2014). Dependence on 

one crop and external inputs can increase vulnerability of cropping system to natural disasters 

such as drought, the current COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. disruptions in supply chains) and high 

input prices due to conflicts (e.g. in Ukraine). Furthermore, crop production in organic systems 

is quite challenging as they have high spatial and temporal yield variability. Organic farmers 

have limited ‘quick and easy’ solutions such as chemical pesticides and fertilizers to deal with 

problems compared to conventional farmers (Chongtham et al., 2016). Intercropping (IC) can 

potentially address several of these challenges. 

Jensen et al. (2015) considered intercropping of non-legume crops (such as cereals) with grain 

legumes as an ‘ecological precision agriculture’ concept since the intercrop in a specific site 

will adjust its botanical composition, performances and acquisition of N from soil and fixation 

from atmosphere according to available soil mineral N by competitive interactions. This 

concept can be related to ‘stress gradient hypothesis’ in Ecology (Bertness and Callaway, 

1994), which assumes that the outcome of plant-plant interactions is dictated by environmental 

conditions, i.e. in harsh environment (e.g., from temperature or grazing) there will be more 

positive plant-plant interactions. However, there is lack of knowledge on the degree to which 

field-scale soil variability affects the competitive interactions between the IC components and 

use of available resources. 

This study aims to understand if intercropping can adapt to field heterogeneity more efficiently 

than their respective sole crops (SC) by suppressing weeds and producing higher and more 

stable yields. 

Methodology 

On alarge field with heterogeneous soil conditions, we measured soil ECa using EM-38 device. 

Based on this data, strips of crops: SC oat, SC pea and IC oat-pea (50%:50% seeding 




proportion) were laid along the field slope gradient. Strips were replicated five times in a 

randomised block design. Each strip was subdivided into 10 grids (along slope, N-S) and soil 

and crop measurements/samples were taken from the centroids of each grid, which were 

marked with gps (Fig. 1).Soil samples were analysed for soil texture, nitrogen, carbon and 

pH.Crops were sown at recommended seeding density: i.e. 320 plants per sq.m for SC oat, 80 

plants per sq.m for SC pea and half the seeding density of each crop in the intercrops. All 

treatments were applied 50 kg/ha of mineral N fertiliser, without any irrigation and other 

agrochemicals. At maturity, plant samples from 1 sq.m were hand-harvested from all the 

centroids and oven-dried for estimating grain and biomass weights. 

Results 

The study site received only 30mm of precipitation during 01 May-01 August in 2018, which 

was about one-fourth of the average precipitation during this period. This affected the crops, 

specially the pea. At harvest, oat yield tended to be higher in areas with high soil ECa values 

(conductivity). 

Plot layout on ECa map; Dry matter oat grain yield in Kg/ha on soil N heat map. 

In areas with low soil N content, IC seemed to have advantage over SC in terms of oat yield. 

On the other hand, yields of IC treatments tended to be equal or lower than SC oat yield in 

areas with high soil N content (Fig. 2). Average oat grain yield from all sampling points in IC 

was 2.6±1.65 t/ha (mean ± SD), despite having only 50% of the sole crop density, compared 

to 3.07±2.24 t/ha in oat SC strips. This corresponds to about 78% of SC yield. The highest 

weed biomass of 5.86 t/ha was recorded in SC pea, while the lowest weed in SC Oat (0.97 

t/ha). The IC treatment recorded a weed biomass of 3.27 t/ha. 


698 | Page



Dry matter weed biomass at harvest in t/ha 

Treatment emmean SE df Lower. CL Upper. CL Group 

SC Oat 0.97 0.22 139 0.54 1.41 1 

IC Oat-Pea 3.27 0.22 139 2.84 3.70 2 

SC Pea 5.86 0.21 139 5.43 6.28 3 

Conclusion 

Despite the pea crop failure due to drought, the oat yield in IC was about 78% of SC. IC reduced 

the vulnerability to weather extremes through complementarity function and crop 

diversification. High compensatory yield in IC inlow soil N areas may be attributed to 

compensation potential of intercrop partners. IC of oilseed rape and pea in a heterogeneous 

field is currently being tested by the authors. 

References 

Bertness M and Callaway RM. 1994. Positive interactions in communities. Trends Ecol. Evol. 

9. 

Chongtham IR, Bergkvist G, Watson CA, Sandstrom E, Bengtsson J and Oborn I. 2016. Factors 

influencing crop rotation strategies on organic farms with different time periods since 

conversion to organic production. Biol. Agric. Hortic. 33, 14–27. 

Gliessman SR. 2014. Agroeoclogy: the ecology of sustainable food systems, CRC press. 

Jensen ES, Bedoussac L, Carlsson G, Etienne-Pascal J, Justes E and Hauggaard-Nielsen H. 

2015. Enhancing yields in organic crop production by eco-functional intensification. 

Sustain. Agric. Res., 4 (3), 42-50. 

T5-02O-1343 

Performance of Soybean, Pigeonpea Strip Cropping under Complete 

Mechanization for Rainfed Area of Marathwada Region 

W. N. Narkhede, B. V. Asewar, M. S. Pendke, R. S. Raut, D. P. Waskar and 

A. S. Gunjkar 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, Vasantrao Naik 

Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani (Maharashtra) India 431 402 

Strip cropping is a form of intercropping in which different crop species are cultivated in 

adjacent strips, allowing for independent, mechanical cultivation of each species. The strips 

are wide enough to be managed independently, yet they are narrow enough to allow crops that 

are rotated annually to influence the micro climate and yield potential of adjacent crops (Van 

1994). Strip intercropping can bring important agronomic and environmental benefits. 




Temporal and spatial variation in strip-cropping plants minimizes competition between them 

and increase yield, and profitability. It reduces soil loss from wind and water erosion and 

reduce mineral leaching losses. than most mono cropping operations (Cruse1990). With this 

view, to minimize the labor requirement and increase the profitability, the experiment was 

conducted to study the various strip cropping for soybean and pigeonpea crops under 

mechanization with suitable ratio and to work out the economics feasibility of the strip 

cropping under mechanization 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted in randomized block design with eight treatments and 

three replications at Research Farm, AICRP on Dryland Agriculture, Vasantrao Naik 

Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani during Kharif 2018-20 and 2021-22. The treatments 

were allotted randomly in each replication. The recommended dose of fertilizer was applied 

to crop. Soybean and pigeonpea were sown at 45 cm X 5 cm and 90 cm X 20 cm respectively. 

A complete seed to seed mechanization was done in the experiment. The treatments were T 1- 

soybean: pigeonpea strip of 6:3 rows, T2- soybean: pigeonpea strip of 6:6 rows, T3- soybean: 

pigeonpea strip of 12:9 rows , T 4- soybean: pigeonpea strip of 12:12 rows ,T 5- soybean: 

pigeonpea strip of 18:12 rows T6- soybean: pigeonpea (4:2) intercropping system , T7- Sole 

soybean and T8- Sole pigeon pea. 

Results 

Sole pigeon pea recorded significantly higher soybean equivalent yield (2366 kg/ha.) which 

was followed by soybean + pigeon pea strip of 18:12 rows (1973 Kg/ha) and soybean + 

pigeonpea strip of 12:12 rows (1918 Kg/ha). Highest gross monetary return (GMR) were 

recorded in sole pigeonpea (Rs. 87244 /ha) which was followed by soybean + pigeonpea strip 

of 18:12 rows and soybean + pigeonpea strip of 12:12 rows. Significantly highest net monetary 

returns (NMR) were observed in sole pigeonpea (Rs. 57589 /ha.) which was followed by 

soybean + pigeonpea strip of 18:12 row (Rs. 48075 /ha). Sole pigeonpea recorded highest 

rainwater use efficiency (3.8) and B: C ratio (2.6) followed by in the treatment of soybean + 

pigeonpea strip of 18:12 row. 

The increase in the monetary returns due to increased yield and saving in cost of operation 

because of mechanization in soybean and pigeon pea was reported by Dhakad and Khedkar 

(2014). Strip-cropping can improve yields, profit margins Ghosh (2004). 

Conclusion 

Sole pigeon pea recorded significantly higher soybean seed yield, GMR, NMR and RWUE, 

Whereas, soybean + pigeon pea strip of 18.9 m each (18 & 12 rows/strip) recorded significantly 

higher B:C ratio. 


700 | Page



Soybean equivalent yield, GMR, NMR, BC ratio and RWUE 

Treatments 

T 1 

Soybean + Pigeon pea Strip of 5.4 m 

each (6 & 3 rows/strip) 

T 2 

Soybean + Pigeon pea Strip of 8.1 m each 

(6 & 6rows/strip) 

T 3 



T 4 



T 5 



T 6 

Soybean + Pigeon pea Strip at 4:2. rows 

intercropping system 

Soybean 

Equivalent 

yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

GMR 

(₹ ha -1 ) 

NMR 

(₹ ha -1 ) 

B:C 

ratio 

RWUE 

(kg/mm/ha) 

1697 60348 39891 2.5 2.7 

1853 69273 46964 2.7 3.0 

1723 62756 38860 2.3 2.8 

1918 70963 46723 2.5 3.1 

1973 73763 48075 2.5 3.1 

1350 47679 27264 2.1 2.2 

T 7 

Soybean Sole 1049 38754 18328 1.8 1.7 

T 8 

pigeonpea Sole 2366 87244 57589 2.6 3.8 

SE + 98 3460 2444 2.8 

CD (P= 0.05) 296 10386 7337 2.7 

C.V. 12 10.25 9.68 9.65 

Mean 1744 68274 44713 2.86 2.54 

References 

Cruse, R. M. and Weber, A. 1990. Strip intercropping. In Farming Systems for Iowa: Seeking 

Alternatives - Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Conference Proceedings. 

pp. 39-41. 

Dhakad, S. S. and Khedkar, N. S. 2014. Influence of seed-cum-fertilizer drill machine on the 

growth characters and yield of soybean (Glycine max. L. Merill.) at farmer’s fields. 

Int. J. For. Crop Imprvt., 5 (2): 68-72. 

Ghosh PK. 2004. Groundnut/cereal fodder intercropping systems in the semiarid tropics of 

India. Field Crops Res., 88: 227–37. 




T5-03O-1210 

Real Time Monitoring and Management of Drought in Groundnut 

Sahadeva Reddy, A. Malliswara Reddy, K. Ashok Kumar, K.V.S. Sudheer, 

C. Radha Kumari, C. Yasmin, Ch. Murali Krishna, S. N. Malleswari and 

G. Ravindra Chary 

AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Agricultural Research Station, 

Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Ananthapuramu-515001, Andhra Pradesh 

Rainfed agriculture is likely to be more vulnerable to climate change because of its high 

dependency on monsoon and the chances of increased extreme weather events like delayed 

onset of monsoon, high intensity rainfall (wet spells), seasonal drought, early withdrawal of 

monsoon etc. due to aberrant behaviour of south-west (SW) monsoon. Almost 56 per cent of 

cropped area in Andhra Pradesh is under rainfed conditions where crop yields are largely 

influenced by the vagaries of the weather. Ananthapuramu region in the southern part of 

Andhra Pradesh is the driest part of the state, climatically classified as arid zone and receives 

an annual precipitation of 553 mm against the atmospheric water demand (PET) of 2128 mm. 

Despite such precarious conditions, the area under groundnut is increasing and at present it is 

being cultivated in an extent of 5.0 lakh ha. Among the abiotic stresses, drought (moisture 

stress) is the major factor influencing the yield of rainfed crops. Variation in crop yields is more 

in dry lands due to the nonreceipt of timely rainfall and prolonged dry spells during crop 

periods. Monsoon failures results in drought which has serious implications for small and 

marginal farmers and livelihoods of the rural poor. Any contingency measure, either 

technology related (land, soil, water, crop) or institutional and policy based, which is 

implemented based on real time weather pattern (including extreme events) in any crop 

growing season is considered as real time contingency planning. Hence, this experiment on 

real time drought monitoring and management was planned for adapting to current climate 

risks and will help in getting higher yields. 

Methodology 

Field experiments were conducted at AICRPDA, Agricultural Research Station, 

Ananthapuramu (latitude of 14°41′ N, longitude of 77°40′ E and altitude of 350 meters above 

mean sea level) during kharif from 2019 to 2021 in rainfed Alfisols. The two treatments 

consist of Real time drought management (RTDM) with proven contingency measures during 

early, mid-season, terminal drought and rainfed (control) in groundnut (VarietyK6). Each 

treatment was laid out in an area of 1000 m 2 . The initial soil fertility was low in organic carbon 

(0.20%), low in available nitrogen (140 kg ha -1 ), high in available phosphorous (107 kg ha -1 ) 

and low in available potassium (98 kg ha -1 ). Under RTDM in groundnut subsoiling @ 1m 

distance before sowing once in two years (2019 and 2021), formation of conservation furrows 


702 | Page



@ 3.6 m interval @ 30 DAS in all three years, KNO3 spray @ 0.5% at dry spell at pegging 

stage during 2019 and supplemental irrigation with sprinklers with harvested rain water@ 20 

mm at pod initiation stage during 2021 was done. An amount of 517, 888 and 378 mm rainfall 

in 25,61 and 27 rainy days was received during the crop season of 2019, 2020 and 2021 

respectively. The rainwater use efficiency (RWUE, kg ha -1 mm -1 ) was derived as ratio of yield 

(kg ha -1 ) attained by a crop and crop seasonal rainfall (mm) of the respective crop in each year. 

The cost of cultivation of each crop was determined by considering inputs like seed and 

fertilizer costs and agricultural operations from sowing to harvest. The gross returns were 

computed as a product of yield of a crop and its market price (Rs. kg -1 ). The benefit-cost ratio 

was computed as a ratio of gross returns and cost of cultivation for each crop. 

Results 

During the three years of study, real time monitoring and management of drought in groundnut, 

recorded higher pod, haulm yield, gross, net returns, benefit cost ratio and rain water use 

efficiency as compared to rainfed (control). RTDM practice enhanced the pod and haulm yields 

by 31 and 23, 38.8 and 21.2 and 25.8 and 14.9 per cent respectively during 2019, 2020 and 

2021 respectively compared to control. This might be due to RTDM practice recorded higher 

soil moisture content and relative water content in different phenophases of groundnut. Higher 

yields were mainly due to increased availability of soil moisture by conservation of rainfall 

with deep tillage, conservation furrows and supplemental irrigation at critical stages of crop 

growth. 

Effect of Real time drought management (RTDM) practices in groundnut during kharif 

of 2019 to 2021 

Parameter 2019 2020 2021 

RTDM Control RTDM Control RTDM Control 

Pod yield (kg ha -1 ) 1660 1267 705 508 1370 1089 

Haulm yield (kg ha -1 ) 2985 2435 2360 1950 2245 1954 

Cost of cultivation (Rs. ha -1 ) 31250 27500 31750 28000 32250 29500 

Gross Returns (Rs. ha -1 ) 97932 75521 48460 36166 79725 64220 

Net Returns (Rs. ha -1 ) 66682 48021 16710 8166 47475 34720 

B:C ratio 3.13 2.75 1.52 1.29 2.47 2.18 

RWUE (kg ha -1 mm -1 ) 3.38 2.58 1.40 1.01 3.89 3.09 

Conclusion 

Real time monitoring and management of drought with subsoiling @1 m distance before sowing once 

in two years, formation of conservation furrows @ 3.6 m interval @ 30 DAS, KNO 3 spray @ 0.5% at 

dry spell and supplemental irrigation with sprinklers with harvested rain water @ 20 mm at pod 

development stage increases the pod yield, gross and net returns in ground growing areas of scarce 

rainfall zone. 





T5-03aO-1041 

Big Data Analytics for Identifying Districts with Untapped Potential in 

Rainfed Agriculture and Bridging Gaps 

B. M. K. Raju*, C. A. Rama Rao, R. Nagarjuna Kumar, K. V. Rao, V. K. Singh, 

Josily Samuel, A. V. M. Subba Rao, M. Osman and N. Swapna 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad-500059 

* bmkraju@yahoo.com 

Government of India set a target of doubling farmers income by 2022-23. Niti Aayog target that onethird 

of the enhanced income should be contributed by yield increase. Other compelling forces for yield 

expansion in India are food & nutritional security and burden of importing oilseeds and pulses. 

Enhancing the productivities in rainfed agriculture is important from the perspective of inclusive 

agricultural growth. Climate, soil, irrigation and season (kharif/rabi) are the key drivers of productivity 

of a crop in a region. Farmer has no choice towards climate and soil while the factors of access to 

irrigation and season in which the crop is grown are relatively less amenable to changes. On the other 

hand, farmer has choice in case of factors like adoption of technologies such as improved variety, 

nutrient management, etc., which are relatively more amenable at farm level with appropriate policy 

and other interventions. If major districts of a crop are divided into clusters homogeneous in terms of 

climate, soil, share of irrigated area under the crop and growing season the differences in productivity 

within the cluster can be majorly attributed to the factors that are amenable to changes. As the resources 

(that farmer has less or no choice) for raising the crop within a cluster are more or less same, the district 

producing highest yield in a cluster may be regarded as potential target and its yield as potential yield 

for the remaining districts in the cluster. Untapped yield potential (yield gap) for a district may be 

computed as the difference between potential yield and yield of the district (Raju et al., 2018). It is 

important to identify crop-wise districts where potential exists for yield growth in rainfed agriculture 

and explore the ways to bridge the gaps in order to achieve inclusive agricultural growth in India. 

Methodology 

Twenty important crops covering cereals, pulses, oilseeds and commercial crops are included in the 

study. Multivariate cluster analysis has been used for dividing major districts of a crop into clusters. 

The clustering variables used are moisture index, available water holding capacity of soil, per cent 

irrigated area under the crop and share of a particular season in area under the crop at district level. 

Moisture index (MI) was considered as a summarised indicator of various climatic variables. Available 

water holding capacity (AWHC) of the soil was considered as a summary indicator of soil properties 

such as soil texture and soil depth (Raju et al., 2015). Before carrying out the analysis, the clustering 

variables were standardized using mean and standard deviation. Ward’s agglomerative hierarchical 

clustering algorithm was employed to derive clusters from distance matrix computed using squared 

euclidean distance if the number of major districts is less than 200. K means clustering algorithm on 

euclidean distance was used in case of rice and wheat which were having more than 200 major districts. 

The analysis was carried out using SPSS. Criterion used for determining the number of clusters was to 

increase the number of clusters sequentially (one at a time) till share of intra-cluster variation goes 

704 | Page



below 5%. Yield efficiency of a district in a given crop is computed as the ratio of untapped yield and 

potential yield. Yield efficiency of less than 0.5 indicates scope for doubling of yield in the district. For 

each crop, the clusters of districts for which mean area under irrigation (as a percent of sown area) was 

less than 25% were considered as rainfed. Let Z is the rainfed yield efficiency of jth district with 

respect to ith crop predominantly cultivated under rainfed conditions then Overall Rainfed Yield 

Efficiency of jth district is Z = ∑ W Z where W ij = Proportion of area sown to i th crop 

(considering the crops which are predominantly cultivated under rainfed conditions) in j th district such 

that ∑ W = 1 (for all j). 

Results 

The resultant map showing overall rainfed yield efficiency at district level has been given as Fig 1. The 

number of districts having rainfed yield efficiency less than 0.5 are more in Madhya Pradesh (10), 

Rajasthan (8), Jharkhand (8), Tamil Nadu (6) and Orissa (5) states. Aggregate rainfed yield in these 

districts can be doubled. The variation in factors of crop management such as consumption of fertilizer 

nutrients of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K) and adoption of technology such as extent 

of use of High Yielding Varieties (HYV) in the crop at district level are found to explain the variation 

in yield within a cluster to a large extent. Strategies were identified to improve yield efficiency in 60 

districts found to have low rainfed yield efficiency based on crop-wise gaps in adoption of HYV and 

nutrient use. A decision support system (DSS) has been developed which brings out untapped yield 

potential for a selected crop in a district. The DSS identifies 3 model districts and displays information 

on extent of adoption of HYVs and nutrient use in them indicating strategies for bridging yield gap in 

selected crop of the district. The DSS has been hosted on ICAR-CRIDA website at http://www.icarcrida.res.in:8129/. 

Overall rainfed yield efficiency at district level (with 20 crops) 




Conclusion 

This study provides some inputs for formulation of policy for bridging the yield gaps existing in several 

districts practicing rainfed agriculture which eventually helps in reducing the burden of importing 

oilseeds and pulses and addressing the threatening food and nutrition security in India. 

References 

Raju, B.M.K., Osman, M., Venkateswarlu, B., Rao, A.V.M.S., Rao, K.V., Mishra, P.K., Rama 

Rao, C.A., Kareemulla, K., Anil Rai, Bhatia, V.K., Prachi Misra Sahoo, Malhotra, P.K., 

Sikka, A.K., Swapna, N. and Latha, P., 2015. Prioritization of rainfed areas in India 

based on natural resource endowments. Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural 

Statistics, 69(1), 83-93. 

Raju, B.M.K., Rama Rao, C.A., Rao, K.V., Srinivasa Rao, Ch., Josily Samuel, Subba Rao, A.V.M., 

Osman, M., Srinivasa Rao, M., Ravi Kumar, N., Nagarjuna Kumar, R., Sumanth Kumar, V.V., 

Gopinath, K.A. and Swapna, N., 2018. Assessing unrealized yield potential of maize producing 

districts in India. Current Science,114 (9), 1885-1893. 

Raju, B.M.K., Rao, K.V., Venkateswarlu, B., Rao, A.V.M.S., Rama Rao, C.A., Rao, V.U.M., Bapuji 

Rao, B., Ravi Kumar, N., Dhakar, R., Swapna, N. and Latha, P., 2013. Revisiting climatic 

classification in India: a district-level analysis. Current Science, 105 (4), 492-495. 

T5-04R-1019 

A Mobile app for Unreaped Yield Potentials of Major Rainfed Crops and 

Scope for Bridging Yield Gaps - A Decision Support System 

R. Nagarjuna Kumar*, B. M. K. Raju, C. A. Rama Rao, Josily Samuel, 

A. V. M. Subbarao, M. Srinivas Rao, G. Nirmala, N. S. Raju and V. K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500059, Telangana, India 

*nagarjunakumar191@gmail.com 

Bridging yield gaps is recognized as an important element of the strategy for raising 

productivity and farm incomes. Identifying and targeting districts, the administrative units at 

which most of the development planning and resource allocation is done in the country, where 

considerable yield gaps exist will be useful in planning interventions needed. With this, 

districts with considerable yield gaps were identified (Raju et al., 2013,2018) and was made 

available in the form of a Decision Support System (DSS)(http://www.icar-crida.res.in:8129/.). 

In this scenario, it is expected that integration of ICTs in agricultural extension will provide 

needed impetus to agricultural sector and ICTs can complement the traditional extension 

system for “Knowledge Resource” delivery to the millions of the farmers (Saravanan, 2010). 

To facilitate this mobile based technology dissemination in agriculture provides significant 

opportunity for farmers and extension workers to work together more effectively. Mobile 


706 | Page



phone‐enabled information delivery mechanism can help to meet the information needs of 

small farmers by reducing their knowledge gaps. Therefore, a mobile app for Unreaped Yield 

Potentials of Major Rainfed Crops and Scope for Bridging Yield Gaps ‘was developed based 

on developed DSS. It is very useful for the policy makers, researchers, extension workers. 

Methodology 

It is an android-based app. The database of the app has been designed using SQlite. User 

Interfaces were designed. Integrated all the menus and database. This App has been tested with 

different datasets and evaluated for its user-friendly environment. The App accommodated 17 

rainfed crops viz., rice, sorghum, pearlmillet, maize, fingermillet, chickpea, pigeonpea, 

blackgram, greengram, lentil, groundnut, soybean, sunflower, sesame, rapeseed & mustard, 

castor and cotton. User has to select a crop and a district cultivating the crop. 

Results 

The App lists the model districts for a given crop and target District and indicates possible crop 

management for bridging yield gap. The App identifies 3 model districts having climate, soil, 

share of irrigated area under the crop and share of a particular season in area under the crop 

similar to the district (target) selected. 

The APP provides climate and available water holding capacity (AWHC) of soil of the district, 

area under the crop and share of irrigated area and share of a particular season (in case of rice, 

sorghum, maize, blackgram and greengram) in area under the crop and yield of the district in 

the crop. It further provides yield achieved by model districts. If the target district itself is the 

highest yielding district in the cluster, a remark to this effect is generated. If there are only 1 or 

2 districts with yield more than that of target district in a cluster, only those districts will be 

listed as model districts. The highest yield among the model districts may be regarded potential 

yield. To explore other possible causes of yield gap, information on non-crop specific factors 

such as small and marginal farmers (% total farmers), annual rainfall (mm), degraded and waste 

lands (% geographical area), groundwater availability (ha m/ sq km), livestock population 

(ACU/sq km), rural literacy (%), villages having self-help groups (%), net irrigated area (% net 

sown area), villages with all-weather roads (%), households with electricity (%), regulated 

markets (No. / lakh holdings), drought proneness (% probability in terms of severe drought), 

flood proneness (% area) and cyclone proneness (score on 0-10 scale) were provided for target 

district and 3 model districts. The output can be downloaded as word file or in Excel sheet 

format for further use. The output of mobile app is shown below. 




Conclusion 

The output of Mobile App 

The spread of mobile telephony is a significant opportunity for farmers, extension workers and 

other stakeholders to work together more effectively. The mobile app ‘Unreaped Yield 

Potentials of Major Rainfed Crops and Scope for Bridging Yield Gaps’ was developed 

indicates possible crop management for bridging yield gap. which can help the policy makers, 

researchers, extension workers. 

References 

Raju, B. M. K., Rao, K.V., Venkateswarlu B., Rao, A. V. M. S., Rama Rao C.A., Rao, V. U. M., Bapuji 

Rao B, Ravi Kumar N., Dhakar R., Swapna, N., and Latha, P. 2013. Revisiting climatic 

classification in India: a district-level analysis. Curr. Sci. 105 (4), 492-495. 

Raju B. M. K., Rama Rao C. A., Rao, K.V., Srinivasa Rao, Ch., Josily Samuel, Subba Rao A. V. M., 

Osman M, Srinivasa Rao, M., Ravi Kumar N., Nagarjuna Kumar R., Sumanth Kumar V.V, 

Gopinath, K. A. and Swapna, N. 2018. Assessing unrealized yield potential of maize producing 

districts in India. Curr. Sci 114 (9), 1885-1893. 

NSSO, (2005). Access to modern technology for farming, situation assessment survey of farmers, 59th 

Round. Report No. 499, National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics 

and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi. 

Saravanan R. 2010. ICTs for Agricultural Extension: Global Experiments, Innovations and 

Experiences. New India Publishing Agency, New Delhi. 


708 | Page



T5-05R-1330 

PASM Induced Yield Variability in Soybean Crop at Akola conditions 

A. R. Tupe * , A. P. Karunakar, M. M. Ganvir, A. B. Chorey, R. S. Patode, 

V. V. Gabhane , S. T. Morey and R. S. Mali 

Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola -444 104 (Maharashtra) 

*tupearvind@rediffmail.com 

Drought of different magnitude is becoming a common phenomenon, which affects adversely 

on Indian agriculture. Available soil moisture is a very relevant indicator of drought, especially 

in rainfed region. Soil moisture-based indices could be calculated using a simple region wide 

soil moisture balance methodology which entails collecting some of the base line data related 

to soil properties, climatic parameters and crop growth pattern, basically, soil moisture balance 

calculates the amount of rainfall available to crops depending upon crop water requirement, 

climatic evaporation demand and soil water holding capacity. It is suggested that one of the 

soil moisture based indices viz., Percent Available Soil Moisture (PASM) is used. These 

indices may be calculated at weekly interval and averages over dominant crop growth stages 

such as vegetative, flowering and pod development. These indices should be combined with 

other indicators for the determination of drought. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was initiated on the research field of AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Dr. 

Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra since 2010 to 2018. Experiment 

was conducted in a factorial randomized block design with four replications. The treatment 

under study were four dates of sowing times in deferent Meteorological weeks such as 26 th MW, 

27 th MW, 28 th MW, 29 st MW and three cultivar such as JS-335, JS-9305, TAMS-98-21 was sown 

at a spacing of 45x5 cm. the gross plot size 5 x 4.5 m and net plot size was 3.6 x 4.6 m. All the 

recommended agronomic practices were adopted during the experimental period. 

The data on the occurrence of specific phenophagical stages of soybean observed during the 

experimental period in the three cultivars under different growing environment and soil 

moisture at different depth to assess the effect of soil moisture on different growth stages and 

final seed yield. Long term Crop - weather and moisture depletion pattern in soybean shown 

that the Percent Available Soil Moisture (PASM) should not go below 50 percent for normal 

crop growth. The results shows that relationship between PASM (%) and Soybean seed yield 

(Kg/ha) for the year 2008-2018. 




Crop Situation based indices 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percent Available Soil Moisture (PASM) 

PASM = [(SMW - PWP) / (FC – PWP)] * 100 

SMw : weekly soil moisture (vol/vol) 

FC: Field capacity of soil vol/vol 

PWP: Permanent wilting point of soil (vol/vol) 

Frequency: weekly 

Initiation: with the dates of actual sowing 

Averaging: over dominant crop growth stages, viz., vegetative growth, flowering and 

pod development stage 

Level of PASM 

Results 

PASM (%) 

Agricultural Drought Class 

76 - 100 No drought 

51 - 75 Mild drought 

26 – 50 Moderate drought 

0 – 25 Severe drought 

Soil water content, phonological characteristics yield, and yield components of soybean were 

collected. The long-term field experiments (2008- 2018) were conducted in soybean to study 

the relationship of per cent available soil moisture (PASM) on seed yield. Level of the PASM 

were classified as severe, moderate, mild and no drought based on the yield performance of the 

crop. The analyzed results indicated that at vegetative stage the lowest seed yield recorded i.e. 

597 kg/ha at 12 PASM treated as severe drought class whereas highest seed yield i.e. 1925 

kg/ha at 66 PASM treated as mild drought. At flowering stage the lowest seed yield recorded 

i.e. 1040 kg/ha at 14 PASM treated as severe drought class whereas highest seed yield i.e. 1719 

kg/ha at 60 PASM treated as mild drought and at pod development stage the lowest seed yield 

recorded i.e. 702 kg/ha at 11 PASM treated as severe drought class whereas highest seed yield 

i.e. 1896 kg/ha at 64 PASM treated as mild drought. The PASM values recorded at different 

stage of soybean indicated that moderate drought class gave 40 % of optimum yield during 

vegetative stage of the crop. From the overall study, the following PASM values may be 

followed as in impact criterion for declaring drought after the mandatory criteria of rainfall/SPI 

(Standardized Precipitation Index) deficiencies are triggered on. 


710 | Page



Soybean: 11- 14 PASM as severe, 33-40 PASM as moderate, > 60 PASM as no drought 

Statistical analysis linearly express that the correlation between PASM values and soybean 

seed yield as 0.51 

Relationship between PASM (%) and Soybean seed yield (Kg/ha) during 2008-2018 at 

different growth stages 

Treatments Drought class PASM % Yield Correlation 

Vegetative 

Flowering 

Pod Development 

Severe 12 597 

Moderate 40 1216 

Mild 66 1925 

No 94 1405 

Severe 14 1040 


Mild 60 1719 

No 89 1435 

Severe 11 702 


Mild 64 1896 

No 84 1399 

0.72 




Conclusion 

Relationship between PASM and Seed yield (kg/ha) 

 

 

Increase in realization percent of yield as per increase in the PASM per cent clearly 

shows the effect of PASM per cent on yield. Present study highlights the necessity to 

understand PASM as One of the Impact Criteria for Drought Declaration for soybean 

crop for the region before planning and management. 

From the overall study, the PASM values may be followed as in impact criterion for 

declaring drought after the mandatory criteria of rainfall/SPI (Standardized 

Precipitation Index) deficiencies are triggered on. 

References: 

Anonymous, 2002, Drought 2002. Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of 

Agriculture, New Delhi. 

Anonymous,2016. Manual for Drought Management, published by Department of Agriculture, 

Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare, GoI, 

New Delhi. 

NRAA, 2013. Contingency and Compensatory Agriculture Plans for Droughts and Floods in 

India-2012, Position paper No.6, 877. 

Proceedings of 4 th International Conference on Dry Zone Agriculture 2018. Faculty of 

Agriculture, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, 1 st & 2 nd of November 2018. Page No. 81. 


712 | Page



T5-06R-1419 

Development and Evaluation of DC Motor Powered Brush Cutter 

Ashish S. Dhimate, I. Srinivas, B. S. Reddy, R. V. Adake, G. Pratibha, 

Mallikarjuna Reddy and S. Vijaya Kumar 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana-500059, India 

Nowadays, engine operated brush cutters are well popular among the farmer for various 

operation like grass cutting, paddy harvesting etc. The brush cutter is mostly run with fossil 

fuel like petrol. However, depletion of fossil fuel and day by day increase in their price, and 

pollution are the main challenges in use of fossil fuel. To overcome the expensive using cost 

and the carbon dioxide released problems, there have been concerned by many countries in the 

recent years (Chieh-Tsung Chi, 2012). Moreover, Government of India (GOI) promoting the 

use of renewable resources (Anonymous 2018) to meet the ever-rising energy demand in India. 

Therefore, the use of power storage technology (battery) for harnessing energy is gaining 

popularity for use in agricultural machinery (Sahoo and Rehman 2020). The recent scenario 

has increases the scope of battery technology for carrying out some of agricultural activity like 

weeding, harvesting etc. Further, it was observed that most of battery-operated machinery has 

less noise and vibration compared to engine-based machinery. Sahoo and Raheman 2020, 

developed vertical conveyor reaper. From the study, it was observed that developed e-reaper 

does not produce any exhaust emission, moreover the noise and vibration were 4.34% and 

49.89%, lesser, respectively. The cost of operation with the developed e-reaper was 63% lesser 

than the traditional method of harvesting. It also reviewed that estimation of charging cost of 

battery per using time is generally lower than that needed by the internal combustion engine 

type. Hence, it was decided to develop a DC motor powered brush cutter for Indian farmers 

with small size land holdings to reduce the cost of cultivation. 

Methodology 

Description of developed Electric brush cutter 

Newly developed brush cutter consist battery unit, permanent magnet DC motor, motor speed 

controller, Coupler, Hallow Pipe and spline shaft, gear head, cutting blade, crop gathering unit, 

etc. Total weight of prototype is 11.5 kg including battery. Operation of developed prototype 

is similar to engine operated brush cutter. The battery is fixed in shoulder mounted sack and its 

whole weight carried by both shoulders equally. 

Performance evaluation of e‐brush cutter 

The performance of the developed DC motor powered brush cutter was evaluated in laboratory 

and field at ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad. It was tested 

on finger millet crop stem after harvesting ear-head. The remaining stem of the finger millet is 




precious fodder for livestock. Therefore, harvesting trail conducted on these standing stems to 

cut it and used as fodder. 

Experimental design 

The developed prototype tested on finger millet crop. The performance parameters like 

Electric Energy requirement, Watthour, Electric Power Requirement, Watt, field capacity, 

cutting efficiency, battery run time, height of cut during the operation were measured. 

Detail specifications of DC powered brush cutter 

SI. No. Particulars Specification 

1. Weight 11.5 kg 

2. Battery capacity 18 Ah 

3. 

Motor Type and 

Power 

DC motor 

120/150/250 watt 

4. Motor speed 4000 rpm 

5. Motor speed controller Available 

Field crop parameter 

The performance evaluation of machine conducted on Finger millet stem. 

Sr. No. Crop Parameters Finger millet stem 

1 Height of crop, cm 80 

2 Crop density, hill/m 2 22 

3 No. of hills per m 2 22 

4 Plant per hill 7-8 

5 Row to row spacing, cm 45 

6 Hill to hill spacing, cm 10-18 

7 Stem diameter, cm 0.8-1.2 

8 Hill diameter, cm 10 

9 Biomass per m 2 , kg 2.5 

Results 

The developed brush cutter cuts the crop from bottom and windrow it in left side of operator. 

The operator can operate it by fixing machine on one shoulder with shoulder strap and swinging 

it from right to left. The performance evaluation of developed prototype conducted on finger 

millet crop stem. The field capacity was observed 250m 2 per hour with 15 min rest time. 

Further, it was found that the developed brush cutter could work effectively for 1.5-2 h 

continuously in one charging. The cutting efficiency of 95% was found with developed brush 

cutter. The cutting width of brush cutter for finger millet was 80-100 cm was found suitable to 

avoid clogging. It was also observed that developed prototype produces lesser noise and 

minimum vibration as compared to engine operated brush cutter. The maximum power 


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requirement by brush cutter at the time of cutting stroke was found to be 110 watt and it may 

vary according to crop type and plant density. 

References 

Anonymous (2018) National Energy Policy (NEP) Draft, NITI Aayog, GOI, 2017: 

http://niti.gov.in/write readd ata/files /new_initi ative s/ NEP-ID_27.06.2017.pdf. 

Chieh-Tsung Chi (2012) A new electric brush cutter. WSEAS Trans Syst Control 3(7):2224– 

2856. 

Sahoo A U and Raheman Hifjur (2020) Development of an electric reaper: a clean harvesting 

machine for cereal crops. Clean Technol. Environ. Policy, 22: 955–964. 

T5-07R-1486 

Modified Vegetative Drought Response Index (VegDRI) for Drought Risk 

Assessment of Andhra Pradesh 

G. S. Pratyusha Kranthi 1 , K. V. Rao 1 and K. Padmakumari 2 


2 Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada 

Drought risk is a product of a region’s exposure to the climate hazard and its vulnerability to 

extended periods of water shortage (Wilhite, 1985). Since there is a strong relationship between 

poverty and drought proneness of a region, there is a need to understand and address the risk 

associated with drought. Risk assessment reduces the impacts of drought through mitigation 

and preparedness and help in decision-making process for policy makers. Drought hazard and 

risk assessments are often established for the current climate situation; these assessments make 

use of historical datasets of drought hazards, drought impacts, and information about exposure 

and vulnerability to drought. Agricultural drought risk assessment is done by analysing rainfall 

and evapotranspiration data. However, this approach lacks spatial and temporal variability. 

Spatial and temporal analysis through remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system 

(GIS) has greatly felicitated drought risk assessment by identifying drought risk zones and 

prioritizing based on risk level. Detection, monitoring of drought requires accurate and 

continuous information, which may not be effectively collected through conventional methods. 

RS and GIS make it possible to obtain continuous information over larger areas. A study on 

drought risk assessment in rainfed areas of Andhra Pradesh using spatial and temporal analysis 

was framed using modified Vegetative Drought Response Index (VegDRI) for crops of 

different crop durations and for different soil types at varying depths. 




Methodology 

VegDRI model was produced by the National Drought Mitigation Centre (NDMC) in 

collaboration with USGS and Centre for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) 

and the High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC). According to methodology proposed 

by Wardlow et al., the VegDRI Model consists of three primary steps. The first step was to 

process, summarize, and organize the data for the eight variables used in VegDRI model into 

a database. A 16-year (2000 – 2015) historical record of climate-based drought index and 

satellite-derived vegetation indices (VI) observations and information from four temporally 

static biophysical variables were included in the training database. For present study area, each 

variable information was summarized for 70 weather stations and sequentially ordered in the 

database for model development. The second step was to generate an empirically derived 

model by applying a supervised classification and regression-tree (CART) analysis technique 

to information in the database. The third step was to apply the models to the geospatial data to 

produce a 500 m resolution VegDRI map for the study area. The VegDRI map contains seven 

categories of varying levels of drought-induced vegetation stress, based on the PDSI drought 

classification (Palmer, 1965). In modified VegDRI model, instead of using biweekly AVHRR 

NDVI as mentioned in the original methodology MODIS NDVI data generated from daily 

surface reflectance data (MOD09A1) was used under satellite variables. Similar approach was 

used by Yonatan (2013) and Won-Ho Nam (2017). One of the biophysical variable landuse 

landcover (LULC) was confined to kharif crops and irrigated areas were also masked. 

Results 

VegDRI, the depiction of vegetation stress across the study area indicated that the growth of 

long duration crops like redgram during kharif was near-to-normal during the study period 

except the years 2001, 2004 and 2015. During the years 2001 and 2015, the crop exhibited 

near-to-normal conditions in 60 and 65 percent locations, respectively. However, pre-drought 

stress also occurred in 35 percent locations during these years and mediocre drought was 

observed in 5 percent locations during 2001. Whereas the year 2004, was predominantly predrought 

stress in 65 percent locations and near-to-normal in 35 percent locations. Thus, 

VegDRI index indicated mostly near-to-normal condition of redgram in the study area during 

the study period. VegDRI index for short duration crops like greengram was near-to-normal 

during the study period in more than 50 percent of the locations except during 2008, 2010 and 

2013. During these years (2008, 2010, 2013), unusually moist situation existed in more than 

50 percent locations. The year 2015 exhibited near-to-normal and unusually moist situations in 

equivalent areas. 

Irrespective of soil type or depth the VegDRI index was near-to-normal in case of redgram and 

near-to-normal to unusually moist in case of greengram in the entire study area during the study 

period. In redgram, pre-drought condition was observed only during 2001 and 2004 in deep 


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clay soil, 2001 in shallow clay soil and during 2004 and 2015 in shallow loam soils. In deep 

loam soils the crop performance was near-to-normal during the entire study period. Whereas 

in greengram unusually moist situations existed irrespective of the soil type and depth during 

2010 and 2013. However, the same situation was noted during 2008 and 2015 in both deep and 

shallow loam soils and during 2000, 2003, 2005 and in deep loam soils during 2007 alone. 

The relation established between rainfall and VegDRI also reported that the linear function 

represented data more than 50 percent during the entire study period. The predictive efficiency 

of the linear term (b) and the determination coefficient (R 2 ) was high in redgram and moderate 

to high in greengram. The total explained variation in the estimation of the crop performance 

by VegDRI index in relation to rainfall was 0.58 to 0.96. The explained variation of more than 

0.75 for the entire study period makes VegDRI index dependable in the estimation of redgram 

performance in response to soil moisture availability and is more than 0.5 for greengram. 

Conclusions 

From the above results it can be inferred that, input from the spectral signatures of the crop 

canopy besides ground-based information had made VegDRI more agreeable for different soil 

types, soil depths and crop types. A similar result was mentioned by Won-Ho Nam et al., where 

PDSI delayed or lagged in the drought assessment since the data depend on soil moisture, 

whereas VegDRI-SKorea was useful for more timely detection of improvement in drought 

conditions compared to the station-based self-calibrated PDSI. Crops like greengram being 

sturdier and with quick canopy coverage might have been analysed easily by VegDRI for crop 

condition based on moisture availability. According to Brown et al., (2008) any subtle change 

in vegetation conditions when there is low green biomass can result in greater fluctuations in 

NDVI values as compared to later in the growing season when slight changes in vegetation 

with higher biomass result in less change in the NDVI values. 

References 

Brown, J. F., Wardlow, B.D., Tadesse, T., Hayes, M. J., and Reed, B. C. 2007. The vegetation 

drought response index (VegDRI): A new integrated approach for monitoring drought 

stress in vegetation, In Press. GI Sci. Rem. Sens. 

Palmer, W. C. 1965. Meteorological drought. Office of Climatology Research Paper 45, 

Weather Bureau, Washington DC, 58 pp. 

Wilhite, D. A. and Glantz, M. H. 1985. Understanding the drought phenomenon: The role of 

definitions. Water Int., 10:111–120 

Won-Ho Nam, Tsegaye Tadesse, Brian D, Wardlow, Michael Hayes J, Mark D. Svoboda, Eun- 

Mi Hong, Yakov A. Pachepsky and Min-Won Jang. 2018. Developing the vegetation drought 




response index for South Korea (VegDRI-SKorea) to assess the vegetation condition 

during drought events. Int. J. Rem. Sens. 39:1548–1574. 

Yonatan Getachew 2013. Analysing the Effect of High-Resolution Satellite Images for 

Drought Prediction. Addis Ababa University School of Graduate Studies College of 

Natural Sciences. Department of Computer Science. 

T5-08R-1534 

Performance Evaluation of Mini Tractor Operated Rotary Weeder with L- 

Type Blades in Redgram Crop 

V. R. Mallikarjuna 1 , B. Sanjeeva Reddy 1 and A. K. Dave 2 

1 

ICAR - Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad. 

2 FMPE, IGKV, Raipur (C.G.) 

India is the largest producer and consumer of redgram in the world. Redgram also known as 

Pigeon pea (Arhar or tur in local language) is an important legume and pulse crop of India and 

is being cultivated on 35.50 lakh ha area with a production of 4.43 Million tones in 2021-2022 

(ANGRAU Outlook report, 2021). Among total pulses production, redgram accounts for 

14.5% in area and 15.5% in productivity. Maharashtra is the largest producer with 

approximately 12.47 lakh ha area with average productivity of 11.31 Q/ha. Redgram as a pulse 

crop is an important source of protein for human and animal diet and has its own contribution 

as a builder and restorer of soil fertility. Redgram contains about 22 percent protein, which is 

almost three times that of cereals. Redgram supplies a major share of protein requirement of 

vegetarian population of the country. It is particularly rich in lysine, riboflavin, thiamine, niacin 

and iron. In Ethiopia, not only the pods, but also the young shoots and leaves are cooked and 

eaten. According to the latest Agriculture Census, the total number of operational holdings in 

India numbered 138.35 million with an average land size of 1.15 hectares of the total holdings, 

85 per cent are in marginal and small farm categories of less than 2 hectares. These small farms, 

though operating only on 44 per cent of land under cultivation, are the main providers of food 

and nutritional security to the nation but have limited access to resources as well as 

technologies. To ensure livelihood security of marginal and small farmers, it is necessary to 

focus on their technological needs at lower costs. 

Methodology 

Crop species is considered as an important parameter. Pigeon pea crop is very well fitting in to 

various agro-ecological sub-regions for inter cropping with cereals as well as sole crop. This 

crop grains serve for protein supplement for vegetarian human population diet and fodder for 

the animals. PRG158 variety red gram, which is widely grown. Another important parameter 

that influences the weeding operation is row to row spacing of the crop which requires some 


718 | Page



contemporary adjustments in the over all implement length, effective working width, type of 

cutting element, accordingly blade spacing and number of blades to be fitted on the rotor shaft. 

Weeding machine performance is influenced by the crop height. In general, weed removal 

process alone or in combination with intercultural operation being taken up at different time 

intervals; but two such operations are compulsorily carried by farmers. In normal conditions 

30 to 60 days after sowing (DAS) is recommended practice in pigeon pea. Branching pattern 

in pigeon pea depends on genotype and spacing between rows and plant to plant. At wider 

spacing's, it may form a bush and at narrow spacing remains compact and upright with lower 

quantity of foliage. As the crop DAS is more, the branches will spread side words occupying 

more inter row spacing. Horizontal spread of branches makes it difficult to move any 

implement and slow down the operational speed of the machine. The horizontal spreading of 

the canopy of the red gram crop was measured at the maximum cone diameter. Overall, the 

type of crop species and its planting geometry influences the performance and as well as field 

capacity of weeding machine. The machinery system was conceptualized and fabricated based 

on mean values of various crop parameters measured to test for mechanical weeding operation. 

Selection of power source is also a very important while developing any type of agricultural 

machine. The power required for rotary weeder was selected from a mini tractor having engine 

power of 13.4 kW (18.5 hp). 

Results 

Weeding Operation in redgram field with L-Type Blades 

Rotary weeder prototype was evaluated in terms of weeding efficiency, plant damage, effective 

field capacity and fuel consumption. Weeding efficiency of L-type blades with rotary speeds 

of 300 and 440 rpm with forward speed 1.7 km/h was varied in the range of 82.56% to 91.69%. 

Weeding efficiency of L-type blades with rotary speeds of 300 and 440 rpm with forward speed 

of 2.5 km/h in the range of 76.87% to 80.24%. Plant damage of L-type blades with rotary speed 




of 300 and 440 rpm with forward speed 1.7 km/h at 25 and 45 days after sowing was in the 

range of 2.12% to 3.96%. For L-type blades the plant damage varied from 2.19% to 4.16% at 

the selected variables. The effective field capacity of L-type blades with rotary speeds of 300 

and 440 rpm at forward speed 1.7 km/h at 25 and 45 DAS was varied in the range of 0.13 ha/h 

to 0.14 ha/h. Effective field capacity for L-type blades with rotary speeds of 300 and 440 rpm 

with forward speed 2.5 km/h at 25 and 45 DAS was varied in the range of 0.19 ha/h and 0.21 

ha/h. The fuel consumption of modified mini tractor having L-type blades with rotary speeds 

of 300 and 440 rpm with forward speed 1.7 km/h at 25 and 45 DAS was varied in the range of 

0.95 - 1.12 l/h. Fuel consumption for L-type blades with rotary speeds of 300 and 440 rpm with 

forward speed 2.5 km/h at 25 and 45 DAS varied from 1.25-1.38 l/h, respectively. Ten number 

of observations for each parameter were measured in the earmarked field plot and the range 

was recorded. Weeding implements work in shallower depth up to 10cm (Goel et. al., 2008) 

when compared with tillage implement, the soil moisture and bulk density values were 

measured in the depth range 0 - 10cm and cone penetration resistance values from 0-17.5cm. 

The soil moisture and bulk density in the selected plots ranged from 9.6 to 12.49%db and 1.25 

to 1.4 g/cc, respectively. The cone penetration resistance values varied from 100-2489 MPa 

and as the depth increased from surface, penetration resistance was also increased. 

Conclusion 

In redgram crop production weed is one of the major problems. But, the simplest and most 

popular management method is manual weed control, where, labours pull weeds out of the soil 

using different types of hand tools like khurpi, wheel hoe, hand hoe, etc. simultaneously 

fulfilling intercultural operation also. These practices are expensive, time consuming and 

difficult to organize labourer for weeding. Mechanical weed control is very effective as it helps 

to reduce the drudgery involved in manual weeding, kills the weeds and keeps the soil surface 

loose ensuring soil aeration and moisture absorption capacity. 

References 

Power J. R., Harris J. R, Etherton, K. A. Snyder M. Ronaghi and Newburgh, B. H. 2000. 

Performance of an automatically deployable ROPS on ASAE tests. J. Agric. Saf. 

Health, 7:51-61. 

Rajashekar M and Dr. Mohan Kumar S., 2015. Virtual Design, aanalysis and ddevelopment of 

single row weeder. Int. J. Emerg. Tech., 6(1): 125-129. 

Tajuddin A. 2006. Design, development and testing of engine operated weeder. Agric. Eng. 

Today, 30(5, 6): 25–29. 

Tewari V.K, Datta R.K. and Murthy A.S.R. 1993. Field performance of weeding blades of a 

manually operated push-pull weeder. J. Agric. Eng. Resh., 55: 129-141. 


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Thorat Deepak S, Sahoo P. K, Dipankar De and Mir Asif Iquebal. 2014. Design and 

Development of Ridge Profile Power Weeder. J. Agric. Eng., 51 (4) 

Veerangouda M, Anantachar M and Sushilendra. 2010. Performance evaluation of weeders in 

cotton. Karnataka J. Agric. Sci., 23(5): 732-736. 

T5-09R-1101 

Sorghum Yield Response to Future Climate in a Semi-Arid Environment 

M. A. Sarath Chandran* and A. V. M. Subba Rao 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad – 500059, Telangana, India 

*ma.sarath@icar.gov.in 

Sorghum is a key dryland cereal crop that is highly adaptable to various extreme weather 

events, especially drought. The industrial demand for sorghum has been on the rise, considering 

the requirement in the food industry. Hence, the response of sorghum to projected climate is a 

topic of interest in semi-arid regions of the world. Climate, with its spatial and temporal 

variability, is a major influencing factor in crop production. Thus, any change in climatic 

elements is bound to have either positive or negative impacts on crop production. While the 

increase in temperature during crop growing season reduces the yield, the CO 2 fertilization 

effect to an extent can reduce its negative impact. Very little literature is available in the Indian 

context regarding the response of various sorghum cultivars to projected climate using crop 

modelling. This present study was undertaken with the objectives to calibrate the CERES- 

Sorghum-DSSAT model for the semi-arid region of India, validating the CERES-Sorghum- 

DSSAT model for sorghum and quantifying the impact of projected climate on growth and 

yield of sorghum in the semi-arid region of India. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted in Gunegal Research Farm of ICAR-CRIDA during the 

Kharif seasons of 2016-2018 in a split-plot design with three dates of sowing as the main plot 

treatment and three sorghum cultivars (CSV-20, CSV-23 and CSV-27) as sub-plot treatments. 

The data during the first two years was used for calibration of the CERES-Sorghum model in 

DSSAT v4.7.0 and the third-year data was used for model validation. The future climate was 

derived from an ensemble of 29 general circulation models (GCMs). The simulation was 

conducted for three time periods viz., near-century (2010-39), mid-century (2040-69) and endcentury 

(2070-99) under emission pathways of RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. The mean changes in days 

to anthesis, total crop duration, and yield during the future time periods compared to that of 

baseline (1980-2009) were estimated. 




Results 

Changes in projected climate compared to baseline: The mean seasonal rainfall during the baseline 

period was 527 mm. The mean seasonal rainfall is projected to change by -8.7%, -7.6%, -8.3%, +1.7%, 

+0.8% and +1.1% during near-century-RCP4.5, near-century-RCP8.5, mid-century-RCP4.5, midcentury-RCP8.5, 

end-century-RCP4.5, end-century-RCP8.5, respectively. The mean baseline 

maximum temperature (Tmax) during the sorghum growing period was 32 °C. No change in Tmax is 

projected during the near century under both RCP4.5 and 8.5. It is projected to increase by 1 °C during 

mid-century (RCP4.5 and 8.5) and end-century-RCP4.5; 2 °C by end-century-RCP8.5. Similarly, Tmin 

is projected to increase by 1 °C during the near-century (both under RCP4.5 and 8.5), mid-century and 

end-century under RCP4.5. During the end-century-RCP8.5, the projected rise in Tmin is +3 °C. 

Projected changes in phenology: A delayed anthesis and maturity by 1-2 days is projected for all three 

sorghum cultivars (CSV-20, 23 and 27) during near-century-RCP4.5 and 8.5 as depicted in the figures 

below. During all other future scenarios, days to anthesis and total crop duration are projected to 

decrease. The highest decrease is projected during end-century-RCP8.5 (6-7 days for days to anthesis 

and 7-10 days for total crop duration). The major reason for this may be the projected increase in both 

Tmax and Tmin, which will cause a faster accumulation of growing degree days (Guo et al., 2019; 

Chandran et al., 2022). 

Projected changes in grain yield: The yield is projected to decrease during all future scenarios. For 

CSV-20, the projected yield reduction is -5%, -6%, -13%, -22%, -11% and -31% during near-century- 

RCP4.5, near-century-RCP8.5, mid-century-RCP4.5, mid-century-RCP8.5, end-century-RCP4.5, endcentury-RCP8.5, 

respectively (Fig. 1b). For CSV-23, the projected reduction is -1%, -2%, -8%, -8%, - 

4% and -15%, respectively during the above-mentioned future climates. For CSV-27, the yield is 

projected to decrease by -4%, -4%, -10%, -12%, -5% and -18%. It was observed that among the three 

cultivars, the yield of CSV-20 will be reduced to a greater extent than the other two. Among the two 

emission scenarios, a greater yield reduction was simulated under RCP8.5, compared to RCP4.5 during 

all the future climates 

Projected changes in (a) phenology and (b) yield of three sorghum cultivars during future climates under 

a semi-arid environment 


722 | Page



Conclusion 

CERES-Sorghum model of DSSAT was calibrated and validated for a semi-arid location in 

India for climate change impact assessment in sorghum. Rising temperatures (both Tmax and 

Tmin) caused a shortening of crop duration (in future climates). Shortening of crop duration 

led to a reduction in yield as it affected both vegetative growth and reproductive phases. This 

may be the reason for the decrease in yield consistently during future climates, except during 

the near century, where a marked increase in both Tmax and Tmin was not projected. The 

results of the study highlight the necessity to develop adaptation strategies for overcoming the 

negative impact of projected climate on sorghum cultivation. 

References 

Guo Y, Wu W, Du, M., Liu, X., Wang, J., Bryant, C.R. 2019 Modelling climate change impacts 

on rice growth and yield under global warming of 1.5 and 2.0 °C in the Pearl River 

Delta, China. Atmosphere. 10:567. 

Chandran M. A. S, Banerjee S, Mukherjee A, Nanda M.K. and Kumari V.V. 2022. Evaluating 

the long-term impact of projected climate on rice-lentil-groundnut cropping system in 

lower gangetic plain of India using crop simulation modelling. Int J Biomet. 66: 55-69. 

T5-10P-1003 

Stress Management in Wheat Crop through Foliar Spray of TGA Agrochemical 

R. S. Rathore 1 , Dayanand 1 , P. P. Rohilla 2* , S. K.Singh 2 and V. Nagar 2 

1 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Abusar-Jhunjhunu (Raj.), 

2 Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner (Raj.)-333001 (India). 

*drpprohilla@gmail.com 

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the second most important cereal crop after rice in providing food 

and nutritional security to the masses in India. It is the most widely cultivated cereal crop which is 

the largest contributor with nearly 30% of the world grain production and 50% of the world grain 

trade. FAO estimated that the world would require additional 198 million tonnes of wheat by 2050 

to accomplish the future demands, for which wheat production need to be increased by 77% in the 

developing countries. Regarding the global climate change in the past few decades, the impact of 

rising temperature on wheat production is gaining concern worldwide. Heat and drought are the 

major abiotic stress limiting the wheat production, which are common in semi-arid and arid region. 

Keeping the above problem in view total 80 demonstrations on wheat crop were conducted at 

farmer’s field in NICRA village Bharu, Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan) during rabi season 2017-18 to 2020- 

21 for four consecutive years to assess the effect of TGA (Thio Glycolic Acid) agrochemical foliar 

spray on stress management in wheat crop. TGA is the organic compound, often called Mercapto 




acetic acid (MAA). It contains both thio and carboxylic acid functional groups. It is used in salt forms 

including calcium thioglycolate and sodium thioglycolate. Farming situation is irrigated and soil is 

sandy loam in Jhunjhunu district. The sowing of wheat crop was done from second week to last week 

of November under irrigated condition. Two foliar spray of TGA agrochemical (100 ppm) on 15 

days interval for two times at first and second fortnight in February month was done by knapsack 

/power sprayer. Crop was harvested during first/ second week of April. The data analyzed revealed 

that the average gross return and net return was `107636 and `96495; `59111 and `49043 of foliar 

spray demonstration and local check, respectively. It could be concluded that average production 

(12.11 %) and net profit of wheat crop (20.52%) were increased by foliar spray of TGA under field 

conditions. The total cost of TGA agro-chemical material along with two foliar spray cost was about 

`500/ha. Hence, two foliar spray of TGA agro-chemical at tillering and milking stage in wheat crop 

could be added in package of practices and motivate the farmers for adoption of new techniques for 

stress management in wheat crop and getting economic returns. 

T5-11P-1024 

Effect of Foliar Application of Different Nanofertilizers on Performance of 

Rainfed Maize in Southern Telangana 

K. A. Gopinath 1 , V. Visha Kumari 1 , K. Sammi Reddy 1 , V. K. Singh 1 , 

G. Ravindra Chary 1 , A. K. Shanker 1 , S. Kundu 1 , M.R. Krupashankar 2 , 

Tarunendu Singh 2 and B. Rajkumar 1 

1 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana 500 059, India; 

2 Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited, IFFCO Sadan, New Delhi 110 017, India 

Limited nutrient use efficiency and environmental constraints associated with the use of 

chemical fertilizers remain a hindrance for achieving reasonable sustainability in agriculture. 

Additionally, cost increases resulting from over-application of chemical fertilizers reduce 

profit margins for growers. Several strategies have been proposed to increase fertilizer use 

efficiency, such as the use of precision fertilization, split or localized application, fertigation, 

and the use of nanofertilizers. Studies have revealed that some nanofertilizers have the potential 

to increase crop productivity by enhancing seed germination, seedling growth, photosynthesis, 

nitrogen metabolism, and protein and carbohydrate synthesis, aside from improving stress 

tolerance. However, there is scarcity of information especially on effect of nanofertilizers on 

growth and yield of rainfed crops, nutrient use efficiency and on soil properties. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted during kharif, 2021 at Gunegal Research Farm (GRF) of 

ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad to study the effect of nano-N, nano-Zn and Nano-Cu alone and in 

combinations with different doses of recommended NPK on rainfed maize (cv. DHM 111). 

Soil of the experimental site was sandy loam; slightly acidic in reaction (pH 6.51), EC was in 


724 | Page



normal range (0.05-0.07 dS/m), low in organic carbon (0.43%), available N (229.1 kg/ha), high 

in available P (24.7 kg/ha) and medium in available K (218.1 kg/ha). The experiment was 

arranged in a randomized block design with three replications. The experimental plots were 

tilled to a depth of 15-20cm using tractor-drawn cultivator twice before sowing of the crop. 

Sowing was done with tractor-drawn seed drill at a spacing of 90 cm × 20 cm. Thinning and 

gap filling was done 10-15 days after sowing, as required. The recommended dose of NPKZn 

was 90:45:45:25 kg N, P2O5, K2O and ZnSO4/ha. Nanofertilizers were sprayed @ 2ml/liter 

water at 25 and 45 days after sowing as per the treatment, using a battery-operated power 

sprayer. 

Results 

Application of recommended dose of fertilizers (NPKZn) with foliar spray of nano-N + nano- 

Zn twice at 25 and 45 days after sowing being on par with N100PK + nano-N + nano-Zn + nano- 

Cu, recommended NPK, N 100PKZn + nano-N, N 75PKZn + nano-N, N 100PK + nano-Zn, N 75PK 

+ nano-N + nano-Zn and N 100PK + nano-Cu recorded significantly higher SPAD value (42.7) 

compared to other treatments. Foliar application of nano-N, nano-Zn and nano-Cu with 

application of either 75% or 100% recommended N recorded similar but significantly higher 

leaf area index (LAI) compared to foliar spray of nanofertilizers with control (no N) and 50% 

recommended N. Application of recommended NPK with foliar spray of nano-N + nano-Zn + 

nano-Cu or nano-N + nano-Zn recorded significantly higher 100-grain weight (28.4-28.6 g) 

compared to other treatments. Similarly, application of recommended NPK + foliar spray of 

nano-urea + nano-Zn + nano-Cu being on par with recommended NPK + foliar spray of nanourea 

+ nano-Zn recorded significantly higher grain yield (3308 kg/ha) compared to other 

treatments. Kumar et al. (2022) also reported increase yield of wheat, sesame, pearl millet and 

mustard with application of nano-N and nano-Zn. Application of recommended NPK + foliar 

spray of nano-N + nano-Zn also recorded significantly higher stalk yield (6179 kg/ha) 

compared to other treatments except recommended dose of fertilizers alone, recommended 

NPK + nano-Zn, foliar spray of nano-N + nano-Zn with application of either 50% or 75% 

recommended N, recommended NPK + nano-Cu, and N100PK + nano-N + nano-Zn + nano-Cu 

treatments. Application of recommended NPK + foliar spray of nano-N, nano-Zn and nano-Cu 

twice at 25 and 45 days after sowing recorded significantly higher harvest index (0.36) 

compared to other treatments except N75PKZn + nano-N, N100PKZn + nano-N, N100PK + nano- 

Zn, N 75PK + nano-N + nano-Zn, and N 100PK + nano-N + nano-Zn + nano-Cu. 




Effect of treatments on growth and yield of maize 

Treatment SPAD LAI 

100-seed 

weight (g) 

Grain yield 

(kg/ha) 

N 0PKZn 0 19.8 2.96 25.2 835 

NPKZn 0 40.2 5.08 26.3 2589 

N 0PKZn 21.7 3.33 25.3 909 

N 50PKZn 31.9 3.91 26.2 1693 

N 75PKZn 36.3 4.80 26.8 2241 

N 100PKZn 40.7 5.20 26.8 2694 

N 0PKZn + Nano-N 22.2 3.43 25.4 1227 

N 50PKZn + Nano-N 34.8 4.12 26.8 2218 

N 75PKZn + Nano-N 40.0 5.10 27.0 2801 

N 100PKZn + Nano-N 42.0 5.25 28.2 3009 

N 0PK + Nano-Zn 24.7 3.30 25.4 1036 

N 50PK + Nano-Zn 32.6 3.92 26.2 1758 

N 75PK + Nano-Zn 36.7 4.84 27.0 2385 

N 100PK + Nano-Zn 40.9 5.12 27.2 2896 

N 0PK + Nano-N + Nano-Zn 28.3 3.50 25.9 1359 




N 100PK + Nano-Cu 40.1 5.00 26.8 2603 

N 100PK + Nano-N + Nano-Zn + Nano-Cu 41.8 5.31 28.6 3308 

LSD (p=0.05) 3.6 0.52 0.7 253 

Conclusion 

Application of recommended NPK + foliar spray of nano-urea + nano-Zn + nano-Cu being on 

par with recommended NPK + foliar spray of nano-urea + nano-Zn recorded significantly 

higher grain yield (3308 kg/ha) compared to other treatments. 

References 

Kumar A, Singh K, Verma P, Singh O, Panwar A, Singh T, Kumar Y and Raliya R. 2022. 

Effect of nitrogen and zinc nanofertilizer with the organic farming practices on cereal 

and oilseed crops. Sci. Rep., 12:6938. 


726 | Page



T5-12P-1051 

Evaluation of Horse Gram Grain for Bio-Accessibility of Iron and Zinc by 

in-vitro Method 

K. Sreedevi Shankar 1* , Basudeb Sarkar 1 , Asma Siddiqua 1 , M. Shankar 2 and 

V. K. Singh 1 

1 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500059, Telangana, India; 

2 Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad-500030, India. 

* k.sreedevishankar@icar.gov.in 

Horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum) is one of the lesser known legumes of 

the tropics and subtropics, grown mostly under dryland conditions. Horse gram is an excellent 

source of iron and zinc, and is commonly consumed in India by farming community and lowincome 

groups. Four genotypes of horse gram were evaluated for their iron and zinc contents 

and their bio-accessibility measured through invitro dialyzability. The horse gram seeds have 

relatively higher trypsin inhibitor, hemagglutinin activities and natural phenols than most bean 

seeds. The most reliable method for determining bio-availability of iron from diets is to 

measure iron absorption. An invitro method, on the other hand has several advantages for rapid 

screening and testing of bio-availability of iron from diets consumed and suggest 

improvements in the diets so as to increase availability of iron from the legume. 

Methodology 

The grain samples from four genotypes of horse gram (16 K CRIDA – 18R, 16 K CRIDA – 

22, 16 K CRIDA – 19 and 16 K CRIDA – 4) were taken up for the study. Bio-accessibility of 

iron and zinc from horse gram samples were determined by an invitro method described by 

Narasinga Rao and Prabhavathi (1978). The grain samples were extracted with pepsin-HCl at 

pH 1.35 and subsequently the pH was adjusted to pH 7.5 and iron and zinc were estimated by 

the AAS method. Calcium content and the metallic cations were determined through the diacid 

method using AAS. The phytic acid from horse gram samples were determined. The crude 

fiber was estimated by using ANKOM fibre bag system. The Physico-chemical and 

hydration/cooking characteristics of horse gram i.e., hydration capacity, hydration index, 

swelling capacity, swelling index, cooking time (min) and 100-seed weight were also 

estimated. All the samples were analysed in triplicate. 

Results 

The percent bio-accessibility of iron at pH 7.5 (7.23%) was found higher with 16 K CRIDA – 

18R. The bio-accessibility of zinc was significantly higher (32.21%) in genotype 16 K CRHG 

– 22. Significantly high content (213.00 mg/100 g) of phytic acid was observed in 16 K CRHG 

– 4. The calcium content was significantly higher (120.16 mg/100 g) in 16 K CRHG – 19. The 




crude fiber content of 4.8g was recorded with 16 K CRHG – 4. Regarding cooking studies, the 

higher (0.041 g water per seed) hydration capacity was recorded with 16 K CRHG – 19, 

hydration index (1.106 g) was recorded 16 K CRIDA – 18. Swelling capacity (0.078 ml per 

seed) was higher in 16 K CRHG – 19, swelling index (1.066 ml) noted with 16 K CRHG – 19. 

The cooking time was recorded significantly lower (6.02 min) in 16 K CRHG - 19. 

Conclusion 

The most reliable method for determining bioavailability of iron from diets is to measure iron 

absorption. The available iron as measured by this invitro procedure was shown to decrease 

considerably when inhibitors like phytic acid or tannin were included. Studies in humans have 

shown that phytates and tannins decrease considerably the absorption of non heme iron, 

especially in foods of plant origin. Thus, ionizable iron at pH 7.5 can be used as a valid measure 

of bio-availability of iron from horse gram grain. 

Assessment of Soil Erodibility Indices for Beed Station 

M. More Ram* and A. Ananya Mishra 

College of Agricultural Engineering & Technology, VNMKV, Parbhani-431602, M.S. 

*ramlvs4ru@gmail.com 

T5-13P-1065 

Soil erodibility, which is a major factor in erosion prediction and land use planning. The 

Wischmeier and Smith (1963) formula was used to determine the erodibility indices of soil 

samples. Soil erodibility is the degree of resistance to the impact of raindrops on the soil surface 

and the shearing action of runoff water. Soil erodibility factor can be used to predict the Soil losses 

from different locations. Erodibility is susceptibility and vulnerability of soil get eroded and it plays 

important role to soil erosion. The data required for the erodibility estimation i.e. soil properties 

are not easily available at Beed station. The soil properties such as soil texture class index, soil 

permeability, organic matter content and % sand + % of very fine sand + % of silt (100 - clay %). 

These parameters were investigated and used to determine the erodibility index k at various 

locations. In present study, selected five location are A, B, C, D and E. The soil erodibility factor 

K for A, B, C, D and E are 0.046, 0.057, 0.056, 0.023, 0.046, respectively. The average annual soil 

loss in t ha -1 yr -1 was also estimated for each location to confirm the area that is more prone to 

erosion. The soil losses from this respective location are 37.81, 46.85, 46.03, 18.90, 37.81 t ha -1 yr - 

1 . The soils were analyzed to have greater proportions of sand to silt and clay thus, found to be 

erodible, comparing the erodibility indices obtained with the standard erodibility indices provided 

by Olson (1984). Provision of adequate soil conservation structures, drainage facilities, wind 

breakers or shelter belts is recommended to protect the first 60cm depth within these areas from 

wind and water erosion especially, as the soils have proved to be erodible. These soil erodibility 

indices will be helpful for erosion prediction model at Beed district station. 


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T5-14P-1084 

Floor Management Machinery for Weed Control in Horticulture Crops 

Sanjeeva Reddy, B; Ashish S. Dhimate, I. Srinivas; R.V. Adake and R.V. Mallikarjuna 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture Hyderabad, Telangana–500059, India 

Horticultural sector made strides at national level with record production of 300.6 m tons 

from 24.85m ha area in 2016 -17, which is an increase of 9.5% and outpaced the food grain 

production, since 2012-2013. In recent years, farmers are shifting from traditional 

subsistence farming to commercial horticulture with technical inputs of research and constant 

government support programs (Meghwal et al,.2018). As in case of field crops, weeds cause 

upto 50% loss in fruit yield. Mechanical manipulation under dryland conditions, is 

problematic due to increased risk of moisture loss and soil erosion. So, the cultivation 

practices should be strategically adopted as part of an integrated weed management approach 

to achieve optimum response. Management of weeds with suitable and synergistic machines 

with possible lowest soil manipulation protects the top soil of horticulture crops thus helps 

to improve the fertility for better growth and improved productivity. The other method of 

supressing weed growth is growing cover crops which also need farm equipment for better 

management and to protects top soil and supplement organic matter to the soil. Therefore, 

keeping these points in view, ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, 

Hyderabad developed weed control floor management machines suitable for horticulture 

crops. 

Methodology 

There is a growing demand for controlling weeds without use of herbicides. The machinery 

like mowers and slashers have the advantage of enabling weeds and unwanted vegetation 

control in all weather conditions. In this category three types of machines namely (i). Tractor 

back mounted PTO operated mower (ii). Side mounted rotary disc with hydraulic power unit 

(iii). Cover crop shredding machine and its related components were developed. 

Development details of Machines: (i) Tractor back mounted PTO operated mower consists 

of three main parts: a rectangular frame of 1.6X1.6 m in size made of 90x12mm flat to which 

5mm thick mild steel metal sheet was welded throughout the frame; a speed reduction 

gearbox with right angle drive fitted at the middle of the rectangular frame with bolts and 

nuts. The horizontal shaft leading into the gearbox can be attached to the tractor PTO. The 

vertical shaft from the gearbox will drive the mowing blades (2 no- 700x10mm size) 

sharpened on the leading side; and a standard three-point hitch system is provided to the 

frame by welding straight flats and angle iron flats at required positions. (ii) Side mounted 

rotary disc with hydraulic power unit basically consists of two components, the first one is a 

Hydraulic power pack which is fitted over a carriage frame attached to the tractor three-point 




hitch system and the pack gets power from tractor Power take off shaft. The second 

component is multi-functional tool bar holder fitted to tractor chassis just in front of rear 

tyres. The power pack carriage frame was rectangular in shape (180cm x 67cm size) made 

with a mild steel square bar of 50x50x5mm. The frame was provided two support pneumatic 

wheels of 5x12 ply rating for easy field mobility without much vibration’s due to activation 

of various hydraulic components. (iii) Cover crop shredding machine consisted of a 

rectangular shaped tubular frame (2015mm x 490 mm) coved all three sides except front, 

power transmission system with gearbox, chain and sprocket arrangement and a rotor unit 

with hinged blades. The rotor shaft is 1850mm in length made of hallow pipe of 190 mm 

outer diameter with 10 mm thick wall and with splined shafts of 150mm length at both the 

ends. The hinged blades with bolting fixers on the rotor were arranged by providing 60mm 

length brackets (30x5mm size) at an angular space of 1200 welded at regular intervals on 

shaft. Inverted Y shaped and 200mm effective length metal blades were arranged having 

inner cutting edge bevelled to reduce the cutting force. A standard three-point hitch 

arrangement was fabricated with mild steel flats and fitted to the shredder main frame 

assembly. 

Results 

Frequent use of cultivator to control weeds does not conserve soil organic matter, so need to 

promote soil friendly machines, which will minimally disturb the soil. The developed weed 

control floor management machines were tested under different conditions to verify its 

intended purposes. The tractor back mounted PTO operated mower is able to reach the 

tightest spaces with ease in horticulture crops. The machine lateral heavy-duty blades allow 

it to both mowe weed biomass and mulch the smaller pruning’s. This machine is found more 

suitable for herbs and juicy stemmed grass types weeds. This type of machine was developed 

in two sizes, one to meet the small and the other to large scale horticulture farmers, those 

who are using15 - 22 hp and 35 -45 hp tractors, respectively. 

The side mounted rotary disc with hydraulic power pack unit is a two in one modal machine. 

Depending on the weed control requirement, either weed biomass mowing rotary disc or 

weed control soil mechanical manipulation disc could be fitted interchangeably. The weed 

biomass mowing rotary disc working width was 80 cm with 3 knives and 3 special nylon 

strings. The machine rotary disc fitted bar was provided with side shift and disc lift 

arrangements. A rear independent hydraulic system with proper components and linkages 

powers the working head and a 50 plus hp tractor is required to operate this machine. 

Several suitable green manure and cover crops were recommended to maintain soil fertility 

and as a weed control check in cultivation of horticulture crops depending on its properties 

and option for use. However, some of these legume and non-legume cover crops should be 

treated before seed formation for weed control considerations point of view and few more 


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for biomass quick biological decomposition, in which the farm equipment come into play a 

major role. The ICAR-CRIDA developed crop stalk shredder machine, which shreds both 

wine type cover crop such as velvet bean and tall legumes like dhaincha, sun hemp as well. 

The machine was tested intensively on several crops for in-situ biomass shredding and as 

well as on green manure crops. The machine was able to shred biomass completely of 

dhaincha and sun hemp, leaving a 10 – 15 cm height stubbles over the soil surface. The 

machine was also found effective on some field crop stalks like castor, maize and cotton as 

well, which are grown as inter crop in the early years of horticulture crops. The nature of 

blades provided in the machine severed the stems of cut biomass such a way, which avoided 

tillering of stubbles completely. 

Conclusion 

The developed machines from this study show that, the machine design parameters play a 

significant role on weed or cover crop biomass cutting efficiency. It is concluded that, the 

selection of machine depends on intended purpose such as soil to be manipulated or biomass 

or cover crop to be managed for weed suppression. 

References 

Vyavasaya Panchangam, S. K. L. 2016. Telangana State Horticulture University. Department 

of Horticulture, Government of Telangana. 

Meghwal P. R., Akath Singh, Pradeep Kumar P. S., Khapte and Anurag Saxena. 2018. 

Upliftment of arid zone economy: Through horticultural and protected cultivation. 

Indian Farm., 68(09): 46–51. 

T5-15P-1087 

Impact of eCO2 and eTemp. on Aphis craccivora Koch. on Groundnut and 

Projection of Future Pest Status 

M. Srinivasa Rao*, D. L. A. Gayatri, T. V. Prasad, M. Vanaja, M. Navya and 

V. K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana-500059, India 

*msrao909@gmail.com 

The global average temperature has risen by around 1°C since pre-industrial times. Even if all 

the commitments (called the “Nationally Determined Contributions”) made met, it is projected 

that global warming will exceed 3°C by the end of the century. The average temperature in 

India is projected to rise by approximately 4.4°Cover the recent past (1976–2005 average). An 

increase in temperature and elevated CO 2 (eCO 2) influence crop growth significantly and in 

turn affect the insect herbivores both directly and indirectly. Though it is known that the 




increase in temperature will have a greater effect on insects than the rising CO2 condition, the 

interactive and combinational effect of both parameters is more significant in influencing insect 

pests. Aphids, Aphis craccivora Koch. is one of the threats to groundnut (Arachis hypogaea 

L.) growers in all over the country. Understanding the population dynamics of insect pests is 

possible through the construction of life tables which are dynamic and function of various 

factors that differ with temperature and no studies are available on the construction of life table 

considering temperature and CO2 concurrently. Hence, the studies were conducted with the 

objectives i. to measure the effects of temperatures and eCO 2 on life table parameters of A. 

craccivora on groundnut ii. to predict the aphid pest scenarios during near and distant future 

climate change periods at six locations of India. 

Methodology 

Groundnut (Kadiri-6) seeds were sown in open-top chambers (OTC) at an elevated atmospheric 

CO 2 concentration of 550 ± 25 ppm CO 2 and ambient CO 2, aCO 2 (400 ± 25 ppm CO 2) and 

crop plants were raised during the entire crop season. Feeding trials were carried out (Srinivasa 

Rao et al., 2013) at constant temperatures (20, 25, 27, 30, 33 & 35 ± 0.5°C) and CO2 levels 

(550 ± 25 ppm and 380 ± 25 ppm) to study the growth and development of A. craccivora using 

CO2 growth chambers and adopting ‘cut leaf’ method. The life table parameters of A. 

craccivora were estimated by adopting the TWO SEX–MS Chart software (Chi et al., 2005) 

by using primary parameters data of aphids on groundnut foliage from eCO 2 and aCO 2 

independently. Non-linear equations were arrived at after plotting this data against tested 

temperatures. The future climate data (maximum and minimum temperature- Tmax and Tmin) 

projections of the AIB PRECIS emission scenario were considered to estimate future life table 

parameters. The future period was designated as near and distant future periods (NF and DF) 

with 2021-2050 and 2071-2098 years respectively. The pest status during these periods was 

compared over the baseline (BL) period of 1961-1990 using future daily temperature 

(maximum and minimum) for 6 groundnut cultivating regions of the country. 

Results 

Construction of life tables 

The life table parameters viz., intrinsic rate of increase ‘rm’, net reproduction rate ‘Ro’, 

generation time ‘T’, and finite rate of increase ‘λ’ were estimated across six constant 

temperatures and at aCO2 and eCO2. Further, non-linear models were developed and depicted 

in figure 1. Results showed that ‘rm’ increased with an increase in temperature from 20°C and 

later started declining from 30°C and followed the non-linear trend at aCO 2 and eCO 2. The 

‘Ro’ of A. craccivora was higher (79.6) at 27°C with eCO2. The reduction of ‘T’ was evident 

from 20°C (12.47 days) to 35°C (6.67 days) at eCO 2 and followed the non-linear trend. ‘λ’, the 

indicator of the reproductive value of aphid was found to be increasing from 27-30°C and 


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followed the decreasing trend with further increase in temperature. The best fit quadratic form 

of the equation with R 2 at eCO 2 was noticed between ‘rm’ and temperature. Other parameters 

viz., ‘Ro’, ‘T’, and ‘λ’ followed a similar trend and in our study indicating that eCO 2 influenced 

the lifetable parameters of A. craccivora significantly as reported earlier by Xie et al. (2014). 

Relationship between temperature and life table parameters of A. craccivora on groundnut at eCO2 & 

Future pest status 

aCO2 

Across 6 groundnut growing locations of the country, it is projected that a substantial increase 

of mean temperature would occur during NF and DF climate change periods. The quantified 

associations of life table parameters with the temperature at two CO 2 conditions were adopted 

for predicting the future pest status during NF and DF periods. It was predicted that increased 

‘rm’ (1.04) and ‘λ’ (2.08) would occur at the Kadiri location during the DF period in 

comparison with BL and reflected a similar trend in the NF period also and at the rest of the 

locations. Increased ‘λ’ implies more females per female of A. craccivora per day. The 

reduction of ‘T’ to 8.96- 9.94 days and varied ‘Ro’ would occur at all locations studied during 

DF period over BL. The percent change in ‘rm’ and ‘λ’ was predicted to be significantly higher 

at six locations during both NF (up to 93 %) and DF (up to 131 %) periods. The highest percent 

reduction of generation time ‘T’ is expected to be in DF (up to 12 %) than NF period (up to 2 

%). At six locations, Ro was expected to increase in NF (11 %) and decrease during DF (22%) 

periods. 

Conclusion 

The life table parameters viz., ‘rm’ and ‘λ’ would increase with varied ‘Ro’ and reduced ‘T’ in 

NF and DF over BL at six groundnut locations implying the higher incidence of Aphis 

craccivora with a greater number of generations during future climate change periods. 




Percent change in pest scenarios (R0 and T) during NF & DF climate change periods over baseline 

References 

Chi H (2005) TWO-SEX MS Chart; Computer Programe for Age-stage Twosex Life Table 

Analysis. National Cheung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan. 

Srinivasa Rao M, Padmaja PCM, Manimanjari D, Rao VUM, Maheswari M, et al. (2013) 

Response of Aphis craccivora Koch to elevated CO2 on cowpea. J. Agrometerol. 51: 51- 

56. 

Xie H, Zhao L, Wang W, Wang Z, Ni X, et al. (2014) Changes in Life History Parameters of 

Rhopalosiphum maidis (Homoptera: Aphididae) under Four Different Elevated 

Temperature and CO2 Combinations. J. Econ. Entomol. 107: 1411-1418. 


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T5-16P-1111 

Mapping Quantitative Trait Nucleotides in Spring Wheat for Yield 

Performance under Limited Water Conditions 

Sonia Sheoran 1* , Arpit Gaur 1,2 , Yogesh Jindal 2 , Vikram Singh 2 , Ratan Tiwari 1 , 

K. J. Yahavantha, Gyanendra Singh 1 and Gyanendra Pratap Singh 1 

1 ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal (123001), Haryana, India 

2 Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (125001), Haryana, India 

* Sonia.Sheoran@icar.gov.in 

Spring wheat is one of the major food crops that provides promising opportunities for present 

and future global food security. However, the cultivation and production of spring wheat is 

critically getting affected with the shrinking natural resources including water. The increasing 

frequencies of agricultural drought in major spring wheat growing regions have become a 

limiting factor for the required grain production and meet the global demand of food security. 

Therefore, rigorous efforts are required to enhance the drought tolerance features in wheat and 

develop climate resilient varieties. Here, a panel of 302 diverse spring wheat lines was 

evaluated under irrigated (IR), rainfed (RF) and drought (DT) stress conditions at three 

locations (Karnal, Hisar and Pune). However, the drought trials were conducted at Karnal under 

rain out shelters and rainfed trials were conducted at Hisar and Pune. A total of fourteen 

agronomic traits: days to heading (DTH), days to anthesis (DTA), grain filling duration (GFD), 

days to maturity (DTM), number of tillers per plant (NOT), plant height (PH), peduncle length 

(PL), spike length (SL), spikelet per spike (SPS), biomass per plant (BM), grain yield per plant 

(GY), harvest index (HI), total number of grains per plant (TNG), and thousand kernel weight 

(TKW), were observed. Mixed linear analysis of variance (ANOVA) was calculated with 

ASREML-R and best linear unbiased estimates were calculated across environments pooled 

by water managements. The panel was genotypes using a 35K Axiom Wheat Breeders’ SNP 

array followed by SNP processing as per the standard procedures. A compressed mixed linear 

model was used to find out the valid associations between markers and traits (MTA) at -log10(p) 

≥ 3.0. The ANOVA indicated substantial genetic variability in the association under each trial 

and water management. The Q-Q plots indicated substantial controls over false-positive rate. 

A total of 637 MTAs were reported for observed traits under IR, RF and DT. These MTAs 

were distributed on all chromosomes. Maximum numbers of MTA were reported for BM (43), 

PL (63) and PH (32) under IR, RF and DT, respectively. The explained percentage of 

phenotypic variance ranged for IR, RF and DT ranged from 4.13 to 52.34, 3.61 to 43.49 and 

3.46 to 22.49, respectively. The accumulation of favorable allele showed positive and 

polygenic impact on the grain yield under each management. The results were in agreement 

with previous studies and show considerable potential to strengthen the genomic assisted wheat 

breeding program to achieve the required rate of genetic gain. 




T5-17P-1117 

Effect of Mechanization Practices on Economics of Soyabean-Safflower 


S. A. Shinde*, P. O. Bhutada and S. B. Ghuge 

All India Coordinate Research Project on Safflower, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth 

Parbhani, Maharashtra, India. 

* santoshashinde338@gmail.com 

Oilseed crops are the second most important determinant of an agricultural economy, next only 

to cereals within the segment of field crops. Among oilseeds Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius 

L.) is an important oilseed crop with 35-40 % oil. It has been used as a source of edible oil and 

dying since ancient times. Effective use of agriculture machinery helps to increase productivity 

and production of output and undertake timely farm operations. This judicious use of time, 

labour, and resources facilitate sustainable intensification and is timely. Planting of crops, 

leading to an increase in productivity. Hence Mechanical power has become more economical 

and indispensable to meet targets of timeliness and efficient utilization of natural resources and 

inputs (Srinivasarao et al., 2013) Mechanization in safflower crop will help to timely field 

operations and easy harvesting and save huge cost of cultivation and sort the labour problem 

of the farmer. This study is therefore carried out to determine suitable mechanization practices 

in safflower. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted during the period of 2020-21 at All India co-ordinated 

Research Project on Safflower, V.N.M.K.V., Parbhani. The soil was clayey in texture, low in 

available nitrogen (231 kg ha -1 ), low in available phosphorus (12.64 kg ha -1 ), rich in available 

potash (474 kg ha -1 ), sulphur (15.25 kg ha -1 ), and slightly alkaline in reaction. The soil was 

moderately alkaline in reaction (8.13 pH). In general, weather conditions were favourable for 

plant growth, and no severe pests and diseases were noticed during experimentation. The study 

involved two treatment combinations of two factors viz., Selective mechanization plot (SMP) 

and Farmer practice (FP) with two treatments. Each experimental unit was non-replicated 

having a Plot size of 1000 m 2 for each of the mechanical and normal plots. Sowing was 

completed as per treatments. Safflower variety PBNS -86 was sown at a spacing of 45 cm 

(between rows) X 20 cm (between Plants) The fertilizer dose of 60:40:00 NPK kg ha -1 was 

applied at the time of sowing. The package of recommended practices was adopted. The data 

on growth and yield parameters were analyzed with paired ‘t’ test and cost of cultivation, net 

returns, and B: C ratio was worked out. Data on the time period for each operation, and energy 

used were converted into suitable energy units and expressed in MJ/ha. Energy equivalents of 

inputs and outputs were computed based on values suggested by Gopalan et al. (1978) The 


736 | Page



calculation of energy input and output equivalents, the indices of energy ratio (energy use 

efficiency), energy productivity, and net energy were calculated (Rafiee et al., 2010) as 

follows: 

S.No 

1 Sowing 

Name of field 

operation 

Energy ratio = 

Energy Productivity = 

Energy output (MJ/ha) 

Energy input (MJ/ha) 

Safflower yield (Kg/ha) 

Energy input (MJ/ha) 

Net Energy = Energy output (MJ/ha) – Energy input (MJ/ha) 

Mechanized condition 

With Seed cum Fertilizer 

Drill 

Farmer's practice 

Behind the bullock-drawn plough 

2 Inter cultivation Power weeder Bullock drew Danthi 

3 Plant protection Motorized/ power sprayers Knapsack sprayer 

4 

Harvesting, threshing, 

and winnowing 

Combiner with minute 

modification 

Manual 

Following parameters selected under selective mechanization vis-à-vis Farmer's practice in 

terms of yield, economics, and energy budgeting of Safflower 

Results 

From table, it is found that safflower seed yield (1485 kg/ha) was higher than farmer practice 

(1251 kg/ha). The seed yield of safflower was increased by 18.70% observed under mechanized 

conditions compared to the farmer's practice. Proper plant-to-plant population and optimum 

management practice can be adopted under mechanization than farmer practice which helps to 

increase or record good growth of crops than farmer practice. Further, the cost of cultivation 

incurred for the normal method of cultivation was higher (53921) compared to mechanized 

safflower cultivation (45101) leading to higher net returns (100699) and B: C ratio (3.20) in 

the mechanized plot. Comparing the yield and economics of cultivation methods, mechanized 

plot reduced the labour requirement, time of operation and cultivation cost, in turn, resulted in 

higher benefits. The energy use efficiency in the mechanized plot (0.56 kg/MJ) was higher than 

the normal plot (0.27 kg/MJ). This led to saving 17 labour/ha and saved 35 hrs time period/ha 

through selective mechanization of important operations. 




Safflower yield, system economics under mechanized cultivation vs farmer's practice 

Treatments 

Mechanized 

conditions 

Farmer's 

practice 

Seed yield 

(kg/ha) 

Biological yield 

(kg/ha) 

Soybean Safflower Soybean Safflower 

Gross 

returns 

(Rs/ha) 

System economics 


cultivation 

(Rs/ha) 

Net 

returns 

(Rs/ha) 

B: C 

ratio 

1755 1485 4920 4725 145800 45101 100699 3.2 

1571 1251 4400 3865 126990 53921 73069 2.4 

References 

Gopalan, C. B., Ramasastri, V. and Balasubramanian, S. C. 1978 Nutritive value of Indian 

foods (Hyderbad: National Instituteof Nutrition) 

Rafiee S, Mousavi Avval, S. H. and Mohammadi A. 2010. Modeling and sensitivity analysis 

of energy inputs for apple production in Iran. Energy, 35:3301-3306 

T5-18P-1140 

Effect of Nano-DAP Application in Combination with Conventional 

Fertilizers on Rice-Rapeseed Sequence under Rain-Fed Condition 

Dhananjoy Dutta and Manimala Mahato 


Mohanpur-741252, West Bengal, India 

Excessive use of DAP fertilizer in rice production of West Bengal resulted several soil and 

environment hazards. The overall efficiency of applied fertilizer has also been declined, which 

necessitates alternative nutrient management. Hence, attempts were being made to find out the 

effect of nano-DAP as an alternative source of conventional fertilizer on growth, yield and 

economics of rice-rapeseed predominant crop sequence. 

Methodology 

Field experiment was conducted during 2021-22 at Department of Agronomy, B.C.K.V, West 

Bengal in a randomized block design with three replications where transplanted rice (cv. IET- 

4786) grown in kharif season (July-October) under rain-fed condition with thirteen treatments 

(Table 1) followed by rapeseed (cv. B-9) in rabi season (November-February) under ten 

treatments (Table 2) in sandy clay loam with pH 6.65, organic carbon 5.8 g/kg, available N 

159.2 kg/kg, available P 2O 5 44.9 kg/kg and available K 2O 101.8 kg/kg. As per treatment, nano 

DAP was applied through seed treatment, seedlings root dipping and foliar spray along with 

conventional DAP, urea SSP and MOP fertilizers. Rainfall in rice and rapeseed growing period 


738 | Page



was 995 and 194 mm respectively. Other standard agronomic package of practices were 

followed both the crops. 

Results 

Results revealed that 50% basal N and P through DAP along with seed treatment by nano-DAP 

@ 5 ml/kg seed and foliar spray of nano-DAP @ 2 ml/lit at 30 DAT exhibited maximum plant 

height (101.03 cm), LAI (2.48), dry matter accumulation (1006.38 g/m 2 ), tiller number/hill 

(17.67), root length/hill (27.23 cm), number of panicle/m 2 (170.92), number of grains/panicle 

(113.48), grain yield (4250 kg/ha), straw yield (6378 kg/ha) of rice. This treatment enhanced 

14.96% of grain yield over control (no basal DAP) and also showed higher net return (Rs. 

40358/ha) and benefit-cost ratio (1.93) than others. In rapeseed, the tallest plant (95.95 cm), 

highest values of leaf area index (3.51), dry matter accumulation (410.32 g/m 2 ) and primary 

branches/plant (8.87) were obtained with N75 P75 K100 + nano DAP seed treatment @ 5 ml/ kg 

seed & foliar spray @ 0.2% at 30 DAS and the lowest growth was observed in control plots 

(N 0 P 0 K 100). No. of siliquas/plant (60.90), no. of seeds/siliqua (17.12), seed yield (767 kg/ha), 

straw yield (1540 kg/ha), gross return (Rs. 46020/ha), net return (Rs. 22661/ha) and benefitcost 

ratio (1.97) were also highest under this treatment, which increased seed yield by 21.38 % 

over control. 

Conclusion 

The preliminary study showed the promising effect of nano-DAP as seed treatment @ 5 ml/kg 

seed and foliar application @ 2 ml/lit at 30 DAT along with 100% recommended doses of NPK 

in rice where 50% basal N and P applied through DAP, therefore, curtailed 50% DAP 

requirement. Again, nano DAP @ 5 ml/ kg seed treatment and @ 0.2% foliar spray at 30 DAS 

reduced 25% N and P requirement without affecting rapeseed yield. However, the study needs 

few more years for recommendations to the farmers. 

Effect of nano-DAP on growth parameters, yield of Kharif rice in 2021 

Treatments 

Plant height 

(cm) 

Panicles/m 2 

Grain yield 

(kg/ha) 

Benefit-cost 

ratio 

T 1 : 0% P & 0% Basal N (No Basal DAP); 100% N 

&K (Control) 

95.73 155.56 3697 1.80 

T 2 :100% NPK (100% Basal DAP) 99.20 166.12 3945 1.80 

T 3 :25% Basal DAP (100% NPK) 97.01 160.87 3743 1.73 

T 4 :50% Basal DAP (100% NPK) 97.26 161.58 3895 1.79 

T 5 :T 1 + ST with Nano-DAP @ 2.5 ml/kg seed+ FS 

with Nano-DAP @ 2 ml/lit at 30 DAT 

T 6 :T 1 + ST with Nano-DAP @5 ml/kg seed+ FS with 

Nano-DAP @ 2ml/lit at 30 DAT 

98.18 164.77 3885 1.87 

98.43 165.02 3895 1.87 




T 7 :T 3 + ST with Nano-DAP @ 2.5 ml/kg seed + FS 


100.33 166.31 4088 1.87 

T 8 :T 3 + ST with Nano-DAP @ 5 ml/kg seed+ FS with 


T 9 :T 4 + ST with Nano-DAP @ 2.5 ml/kg seed+ FS 


T 10 :T 4 + ST with Nano-DAP @ 5 ml/kg seed+ FS 

with Nano-DAP @ 2ml/lit at 30 DAT 

T 11 :T 1 + SRD with Nano-DAP @ 0.5%+ FS with 


T 12 :T 3 + SRD with Nano-DAP @ 0.5%+FS with 


T 13 :T 4 +SRD with Nano-DAP @ 0.5%+ FS with 


100.43 169.25 4121 1.88 

100.47 170.65 4213 1.91 

101.03 170.92 4250 1.93 

97.90 163.04 3889 1.86 

98.83 165.43 3997 1.82 

99.07 165.98 4033 1.80 

CD at 5% 1.47 4.34 134 

ST = Seed treatment, FS = Foliar spray, SRD = Seedlings root dipping, 100% NPK= 60:30:30kg/ha 

Effect of Nano-DAP on growth parameters, yield of rapeseed during 2021-22 

Treatments 

Plant height 

(cm) 

Siliquas/ 

plant 

Seed yield 

(kg/ha) 

Benefitcost 

ratio 

T 1: N 0 P 0 K 100 (control) 85.03 41.96 603 1.84 

T 2: N 100 P 100 K 100 (80:40:40 kg/ha) 93.37 56.07 752 1.89 

T 3: N 0 P 0 K 100+ Nano DAP (ST @ 5ml/kg seed) 87.77 45.00 626 1.91 

T 4: N 0 P 0 K 100 + Nano DAP (ST @ 10ml/kg seed) 88.19 46.53 633 1.93 

T 5: N 0 P 0 K 100+ Nano DAP (FS @ 0.6% at 30 DAS) 90.92 48.60 670 1.90 

T 6: N 0 P 0 K 100 + Nano DAP (ST @ 5ml/kg seed & FS 

@ 0.6% at 30 DAS) 

91.46 51.13 679 1.92 

T 7: N 75 P 75 K 100 + Nano DAP (FS @ 0.2% at 30 DAS) 93.22 58.76 738 1.90 

T 8: N 75 P 75 K 100 + Nano DAP (ST @ 5 ml/ kg seed & 

FS @ 0.2% at 30 DAS) 

95.95 60.90 767 1.97 

T 9: N 50 P 50 K 100 + Nano DAP (FS @ 0.4% at 30 DAS) 92.18 53.40 693 1.82 

T 10: N 50 P 50 K 100 + Nano DAP (ST @ 5ml/ kg seed & 

FS @ 0.4% at 30 DAS) 

93.77 60.13 709 1.87 

CD at 5% 2.71 1.21 15.7 

ST = Seed treatment and FS = Foliar spray 


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T5-19P-1141 

Effect of Nano Fertilizers on Growth Yield and Water Use Efficiency of 

Potato (Solanum tuberosum l.) under Varying Irrigation Schedules 

Manimala Mahato and Dhananjoy Dutta 


Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India 741252 

Indiscriminate and over application of irrigation water and chemical fertilizers led to several 

detrimental effects on crop production system and environment. Therefore, introduction of 

nano fertilizers as an alternative source of conventional fertilizers has become a new area of 

research. Besides that, irrational irrigation to water demanding crop, like potato during the post 

monsoon season affects the growth and productivity. Therefore, a field experiment was 

delineated with the objective to assess the effect of nano fertilizers on growth, yield and water 

use efficiency of potato under various irrigation schedules based on cumulative pan 

evaporation (CPE). 

Methodology 

Field experiment was conducted at B.C.K.V. during rabi seasons of 2019-20 and 2020-21 in 

sandy loam alluvial soil (inceptisol) designed in split plot with three irrigation schedules at I 1- 

15 mm, I 2-30 mm and I 3-45 mm of CPE kept as main plot treatments and five nutrient 

management practices like N1-100% RDF (200:150:150 kg/ha of N: P2O5: K2O), N2-75% 

RDF+ nano fertilizers (N, P, K at 80:40:40 ppm), N 3-100% RDF+ Nano-Zn (10 ppm), N 4-75% 

RDF+ nano fertilizers (N, P, K and Zn at 80:40:40:10 ppm) and N5-Nano-fertilizers (N, P, K 

at 80:40:40 ppm) as subplot treatments replicated thrice. All nano fertilizers were applied as 

foliar spray at 25 and 50 DAP. Potato (variety Kufri Himalini) was planted in 60 cm ×15 cm 

spacing during middle of November in 4.8 m × 3 m plot along with other standard package of 

practices. 

Results 

Pooled result reported that irrigation at 15 mm CPE along with 100% RDF and Nano-Zn (10 

ppm) (I 1N 3) treatments recorded significantly higher plant height (61.76 cm) at 60 DAP, dry 

matter accumulation (579.85 g m -2 ) at 90 DAP, tuber no per hill (8.59) and tuber yield (23.04 

t ha -1 ). In all cases lower values were obtained from irrigation at 45 mm CPE with nano 

fertilizers (N, P, K) alone treatment (I 3N 5). However, irrigation at 45 CPE along with 100% 

RDF and Nano-Zn (10 ppm) (I3N3) treatment recorded higher water use efficiency (9.96 kg m -3 ). 




Conclusion 

The study concluded that irrigation at 15 CPE and 100% RDF along with Nano-Zn (10 ppm) 

can be recommended for higher productivity of potato. However, in water scarce region, 

irrigation at 45 CPE along with 100% RDF and Nano-Zn (10 ppm) may be effective due to 

highest water use efficiency. 

Effect of irrigation and nutrient management on growth, yield and water use efficiency 

of potato (pooled) 

Treatments 

Plant height 

(cm) 

(60 DAP) 

Dry matter 

(g m -2 ) 

(90 DAP) 

Tuber no 

per hill 

Yield 

(t ha -1 ) 

WUE 

(kg m -3 ) 

Irrigation (I) 

I 1 (15 mm CPE) 57.93 476.72 7.71 19.57 4.70 

I 2 (30 mm CPE) 51.00 367.96 5.68 15.41 6.96 

I 3 (45 mm CPE) 47.07 297.23 4.46 12.31 8.03 

S. Em. (±) 0.19 4.78 0.05 0.11 -- 

C. D. (P= 0.05) 0.73 18.75 0.19 0.41 -- 

Nutrient Management (N) 

N 1 (100% RDF) 53.07 403.29 6.38 17.11 6.46 

N 2[75% RDF + NF (N, P, K)] 51.42 371.83 6.13 16.01 6.06 

N 3 (100% RDF+ N-Zn) 55.73 473.46 6.70 19.02 7.20 

N 4[75%RDF+NF (N, P, K, Zn)] 54.17 439.11 6.25 18.15 6.88 

N 5 [NF (N, P, K)] 45.60 215.49 4.28 8.53 3.23 

S. Em. (±) 0.14 3.70 0.05 0.12 -- 

C. D. (P= 0.05) 0.40 10.79 0.15 0.34 -- 

Interaction (I × N) 

I1N1 58.87 510.69 8.18 21.47 5.14 

I1N2 57.07 468.32 7.93 19.88 4.78 

I1N3 61.76 579.85 8.59 23.04 5.54 

I1N4 59.60 545.07 8.06 22.41 5.38 

I1N5 52.36 279.65 5.77 11.07 2.66 

I2N1 52.29 381.75 5.98 16.57 7.47 

I2N2 50.44 357.38 6.03 15.81 7.12 

I2N3 54.59 465.10 6.35 18.74 8.48 

I2N4 53.66 420.80 6.01 17.60 7.98 

I2N5 44.03 214.78 4.03 8.31 3.76 

I3N1 48.06 317.42 4.98 13.29 8.67 

I3N2 46.76 289.78 4.43 12.33 8.04 

I3N3 50.86 375.43 5.16 15.29 9.96 

I3N4 49.25 351.48 4.69 14.44 9.44 

I3N5 40.41 152.05 3.04 6.21 4.05 

I×N N×I I×N N×I I×N N×I I×N 

N×I 

S. Em. (±) 

0.20 -- 

0.24 0.40 6.40 10.55 0.09 0.13 0.29 

C. D. (P= 0.05) 

0.59 -- 

0.69 0.95 18.69 24.85 0.26 0.30 0.66 

NF: Nano Fertilizers, N-Zn: Nano Zn 


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Soil Moisture and Weather Data Management Using IoT 

T5-20P-1165 

N. S. Raju, N. Ravi Kumar, R. Nagarjuna Kumar, K. S. Reddy and B. Sanjeev Reddy 

Central Research for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad. 

The application of IoT in agriculture could be a life-changer for humanity and the whole planet. 

Currently, we witness how extreme weather, deteriorating soil, dry lands, and collapsing 

ecosystems make food production more and more complicated and expensive. In India, where 

60-70% economy depends on agriculture, there is a great need to modernize conventional 

agricultural practices for better productivity. In this project, we have established IOT sensor 

Network with ESP 8266 (Node MCU) Microcontroller board and other sensors LM 100 is a 

Soil moisture sensor, DHT11 for Temperature, a humidity sensor, and a Raindrop sensor to 

collect rainfall information. We have collected data from the IoT sensors are that then 

transmitted back to a central point (or the cloud) for analysis, visualization, and trend analysis. 

The complete system has been developed and deployed on a pilot scale, where the sensor node 

data is wirelessly collected using web services into a remote server. The temperature, humidity, 

soil moisture, and rainfall information is collected in 10 minutes intervals and transferred to 

remote locations with Arduino Wi-Fi technology. The data stored in this system can be 

accessed from anywhere through the internet. Farmers today use systems for precision 

measurement of environmental conditions called weather stations. Automatic Weather 

Station (AWS) is used for real-time information on weather at the farm level but it is not 

affordable to the farming community. The alternative system for the measurement of weather 

parameters through IoT-based weather monitoring through sensors is much cheaper compared 

to the present cost of AWS. 

Internet of Things (IOT): 

It is the future technology of connecting the entire world at one place. All the objects, things 

and sensors can be connected to share the data obtained in various locations and 

process/analyses that data for coordinating the applications like traffic signaling, mobile 

health monitoring in medical applications and industrial safety ensuring methods, etc. As 

per the estimation of technological experts, 50 billion objects will be connected in IOT by 2020. 

IOT offers wide range of connectivity of devices with various protocols and various properties 

of applications for obtaining the complete machine to machine interaction. 

Internet of Things (IoT): 

IoT device includes every object that can be controlled through the Internet. IoT in agriculture 

uses robots, drones, remote sensors, and computer imaging combined with continuously 

progressing machine learning and analytical tools for monitoring crops, surveying, and 




mapping the fields, and providing data to farmers for rational farm management plans to save 

both time and money. All the objects, things, and sensors can be connected to share the data 

obtained in various locations and process/analyses that data for coordinating the various 

applications. As per the estimation of technological experts, 50 billion objects will be 

connected in IoT by 2020. 

Methodology 

In IoT enabled weather monitoring system different sensors were used (temperature, humidity, 

moisture, rain). These four sensors are directly connected to Node MCU. 

Temperature 

Humidity Sensor 

Soil Moisture Sensor 

Arduino Uno 

Node MCU 

Microcontroller 

IoT Sensor Network 

Wi Fi Module 

Web Page 

Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board developed by Arduino which is an open-source 

electronics platform mainly based on the VR microcontroller Atmega328. The current version 

of Arduino Uno comes with a USB interface, 6 analog input pins, and 14 I/O digital ports that 

are used to connect with external electronic circuits. Out of 14 I/O ports, 6 pins can be used for 

WM output. It allows the designers to control and sense external electronic devices in the real 

world. This board comes with all the features required to run the controller and can be directly 

connected to the computer through a USB cable that is used to transfer the code to the controller 

using IDE software, mainly developed to program Arduino. Programming languages like C 

and C++ are used in IDE. Apart from USB, a battery or AC to DC adopter can also be used to 

power the board. Arduino Uno is the most official version that come with Atmega 328 8-bit 

AVR Atmel microcontroller where RAM memory is 32KB 

Node MCU 

Node MCU is a microcontroller board developed by Arduino. Which is an open-source 

electronics platform mainly based on the AVR microcontroller Atmega328. The current 

version of Node MCU comes with a USB interface, 6 analog input pins, and 14 I/O digital 

ports that are used to connect with external electronic circuits. Out of 14 I/O ports, 6 pins can 

be used for PWM output. It allows the designers to control and sense external electronic devices 

in the real world. This microcontroller has RAM memory 32KB. 


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Wi-Fi Module 

The Arduino Uno WiFi is an Arduino Uno with an integrated WiFi module. The board is based 

on the ATmega328P with an ESP8266 WiFi Module integrated. The ESP8266 WiFi Module 

is a self-contained SoC with an integrated TCP/IP protocol stack that can give access to your 

WiFi network One useful feature of Uno WiFi is support for OTA (over-the-air) programming, 

either for transfer of Arduino sketches or WiFi firmware. 

Soil Moisture Sensor 

Soil moisture sensors measure the contents of the soil. Since the direct gravimetric 

measurement of free-soil moisture requires removing, drying, and weighting of a sample, soil 

moisture sensors measure the volumetric water content indirectly by using some other property 

of the soil, such as electrical resistance, dielectric constant, or interaction with neutrons, as a 

proxy for the moisture content. Reflected microwave radiation is affected by soil moisture and 

is used for remote sensing in hydrology and agriculture. Portable probe instruments can be used 

by farmers or gardeners. 

Temperature & Humidity Sensor 

This DHT11 sensor is used to collect the Temperature and Humidity data from the 

environments. It is integrated with a high-performance 8-bit microcontroller. Each DHT11 

sensor features extremely accurately. 

Results 

The sensed data will be automatically sent to the web server when a proper connection is 

established with the server device. The web server page which will allow us to monitor and 

control the system. The web page gives information about the temperature, humidity, and 

rainfall variations in the region, where the embedded monitoring system is placed. 

Conclusion 

This paper presents an innovative and dependable concept of a low-cost simple weather 

monitoring and controlling system. The system operates under IoT technology supervision 

which effectively optimizes remote areas. This data will be helpful for future analysis and it 

can be easily shared with other users also. 




T5-21P-1166 

Comparative Study on Spatial and Temporal Changes in Urban Settlements 

and Land Surface Temperature in Hyderabad over 1990 to 2020 

Fawaz Parapurath*, B. S. Rath, Deepti Verma, N. Manikandan and A.V.M. Subba Rao 

Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar – 751003, Odisha, India 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad – 500059, Telangana, India 

* faazzz96here@gmail.com 

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a crucial urban and regional meteorological component 

that affects how the ground surface interacts with the atmosphere. LST is considered a 

significant parameter in many scientific research studies, including global climate change 

studies, agricultural processes, and various biogeochemical cycles. The dynamics of LST and 

Land Use Land Cover (LULC), are important markers of forest fragmentation, 

industrialization, and urbanization. Unplanned urbanization results in LULC pattern alterations 

on a broad scale, which results in ecosystem damage and has a negative impact on public health, 

particularly in developing nations. In this work, we used Landsat 5 and 8 imageries to analyze 

the LST variations in Hyderabad from 1990 to 2020. The specific objectives of this study were 

to compute the change in LULC and LST during the study period and to establish the 

relationship between land surface temperature and urban settlements. 

Methodology 

Landsat 5 

TM 

LULC Map 

Landsat 8 

OLI 

LULC change detection analysis 

Spectral Radiance Model 

TM Band 

Split Window Algorithm 

(TIRS) Band 10 & Band 11 

LST Map 

Impact of LULC change on LST 

LST Map 


746 | Page



The methodological framework adopted for analyzing variation in land surface temperature 

distribution in response to land use/land cover change using the Split window algorithm (TIRS, 

Landsat-8) and Spectral radiance model (TM, Landsat-5) is represented in the figure above. 

Results 

LULC change detection: The change detection study reveals that Built-up area/Urban 

settlements have increased by 10 sq. km and Vegetation land decreased by 7.5 sq. km with no 

considerable land use change in Water bodies from 1990 to 2020. 

LST change detection: The year-wise LST conveys that, the average land surface temperature 

has increased by 4.5 0 C from 1990 to 2020. During the time period from 2010 to 2020, LST 

increased by a maximum rate (3.2 0 C). 

Spatial and Temporal distribution of LST in Hyderabad over 1990-2020 

Relationship between LST and Urban Settlements: The time series analysis of LST and urban 

settlements revealed that LST increases correspondingly with the increase in settlements since 

there is a strong correlation (r = 0.94). 




250 

y = 0.33x - 474.9 

182 185 188 192 

R² = 0.9945 

200 

150 

100 

y = 0.143x - 258.64 

26.5 27 27.8 R² = 0.8335 31 

50 

0 

1990 2000 2010 2020 

Year 

Land Surface Temperature (0C) 

Linear (Land Surface Temperature (0C)) 

Urban Settlements (Sq.km) 

Linear (Urban Settlements (Sq.km)) 

Comparison between LST and Urban Settlements over 1990-2020 

Conclusion 

To develop successful strategies to reduce the amplitude of the Urban Heat Island effect, it is 

critical to comprehend the relationship between LST and urban surface features. It is also 

possible to immediately determine the crop water status or the rate of transpiration using the 

surface temperature of the vegetation as measured by remote sensing. However, trees are 

crucial in densely populated metropolitan areas because they provide a cooling effect during 

hot weather that has a direct impact on the microclimate. 

References 

Guo, G, Wu Z, Xiao R, Chen Y, Liu X. and Zhang X, 2015. Impacts of urban biophysical 

composition on land surface temperature in urban heat island clusters. Landsc Urban 

Plan. 135: 1-10. 

Roy, B., Bari, E., Nipa, N. J. and Ani, S. A. 2021. Comparison of temporal changes in urban 

settlements and land surface temperature in Rangpur and Gazipur Sadar, Bangladesh 

after the establishment of City Corporation. Remote Sens. Appl.: Soc. 

Environ. 23:100587. 

Rozenstein, O., Qin Z, Derimian Y. and Karnieli A. 2014. Derivation of land surface 

temperature for Landsat-8 TIRS using a split window algorithm. Sensors. 14(4): 5768- 

5780. 


748 | Page



T5-22P-1178 

Usefulness of Agro-Meteorological Advisory Service from Farmers 

Prospective in the NICRA Operated Villages of Godda District 

Jharkhand 

Rajnish Prasad Rajesh, Ravi Shanker, Surya Bhushan, Anjani Kumar, 

Amarendra Kumar and Mukesh Kumar 

GVT-KVK, Godda, Jharkhand Director - ATARI-IV, Patna, 

Godda is one of the most backward districts of India situated in Santhal Pargana of Jharkhand 

state. Farmers of this district are largely dependent on agriculture-based economy. Majority of 

the farmers largely comes under the category of small and marginal. The only source of income 

is the small piece of land for earning means of livelihood. Agriculture over the years has now 

become more diversified in the district and has shifted to the higher value crops. The trend of 

climate change is causing deviation in rainfall patterns. Scanty, spatial rainfall and intermittent 

dry spells are also affecting the climate change prone area frequently. In this direction, National 

Innovation on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) is working in four climate vulnerable 

villages viz. Bhelwa, Dropad, Gadhi and Gunghasa of Poraiyahat block of the district Godda. 

The district requires an integrated approach for the proper management practices of crops, 

livestock and soil along with the new improved technologies. In the present scenario The study 

assessed the service through the farmer’s feedback in the NICRA and non-NICRA villages. 

Baethgen et al., 2003 stated that the AAS is essential for the development of farmers and the 

formal and informal knowledge play a key role in the decision-making process in the 

agricultural practices. Agro-meteorological advisory service was found a vital element for 

farmer’s knowledge as well as their mindset so a proper coordination among various 

development actors like GO, NGO, private agencies and policy makers need to be strengthened 

to reduce climate change (Lenka et al., 2022). Agro-met Advisory Service can contribute to 

the crop and livestock management practices as per the weather conditions and need of the 

hour for enhancing the agricultural production and productivity. AAS is the real time need of 

the farmers (Gandhi et al; 2018). 

AAS were helpful to the farmers for profitable and sustainable agricultural production by 

managing the climate risk effectively (Ramachandrappa et al., 2018). Micro level weather 

advisories with ground realities and information can readily be used in making crucial decision 

and strategies in farming are much more realistic to the farmers as compared to the 

meteorological information of macro level. This information will enable the policymakers to 

understand at micro level implications of agriculture contingent measures against climate 

change. 




Methodology 

This study is a kind of test control study which is a combination of both quantitative and 

qualitative research techniques to compare the (test groups) NICRA farmers against (the 

control groups) non-NICRA farmers from villages Bhelwa, Dropad, Gadhi and Gunghasa of 

Godda district were selected based on the agro-ecological variation. Random sampling method 

has been followed for the selection of respondent farmers. The period of study and assessment 

were from 2020-21 to 2021-22 through the feedbacks and suggestions collected from the 

farmers in the NICRA and non-NICRA villages. Four villages of one block Poraiyahat were 

selected under the NICRA project and one non-NICRA village was selected randomly. 30 

farmers were selected in the selected each NICRA village by following random process. Total 

of 120 farmers from NICRA villages and 50 non-NICRA farmers were selected in the sample. 

The three-point rating scale was conducted for obtaining the score. Farmers were interviewed 

by researchers in the selected villages for the primary data collection. Focus Group Discussion 

was conducted among farmers to obtain the information. Collected data were then scrutinized 

for the analysis. 

Results 

Weather Advisory service plays a very crucial role in deciding farming activities during the 

different cropping season. The advisory is the real time need of farmers to decide agricultural 

and livestock management and practices. Table 1 shows that 30.83% farmers considered 

weather advisory very useful and 27.49% farmers useful. Whereas about 23.32% farmers are 

satisfied with the advisory but 18.33% found it irrelevant. In non-NICRA villages more than 

50% farmers expressed that the weather advisory service is either satisfactory or irrelevant for 

them. The weather forecasting need to be more accurate and on time specially during the 

monsoon. Hence, the weather advisory needs to be explored in much better way to reach the 

farmers on time so as to tackle and mitigate the climatic hazards. In the selected NICRA village, 

the scenario of weather advisory was not significantly different (p=0.678). The details are 

mentioned below. 

NICRA 

Village 

Feedback on Weather Advisory 

Very Useful Useful Satisfactory Irrelevant 

Number % Number % Number % Number % 

Dropad 10 33.33 7 23.33 5 16.66 8 26.66 

Gadhi 9 30 7 23.33 8 26.66 6 20 

Gunghasa 10 33.33 10 33.33 7 23.33 3 10 

Bhelwa 8 26.66 9 30 8 26.66 5 16.66 

The chi-square statistic is 6.5983. The p-value is .678863. The result is not significant at p < .05. 


750 | Page



NICRA 

Total 

Non 

NICRA 

Village 

37 30.83 33 27.49 28 23.32 22 18.33 

8 16 13 26 10 20 19 38 


In the non-NICRA village 38% stated that weather advisory service was irrelevant, 20% 

considered it satisfactory while 42% farmers accepted it as very useful or useful to them. This 

scenario was much better in NICRA villages in comparison to non-NICRA village (p=0.887). 

The management of weather and climate risks in agriculture has become an important issue 

due to climate change. Wise use of weather and climate information can help to make better 

policy, institutional and community decisions that reduce related risks and enhance 

opportunities, improve the efficient use of limited resources and increase crop, livestock and 

fisheries production (Chattopadhyay et al., 2021). 

Advisories related to agricultural knowledge, information and management practices from crop 

selection, field preparation to harvesting were under the agricultural advisory service which 

was found that 38.33% farmers considered it very useful while about 30% farmers found it 

useful. But 19.16% farmers stated it as satisfactory and 12.49% farmers found it irrelevant that 

needs to be addressed as a grey area and has to be worked on in a better way to outreach the 

maximum number of farmers on time. In the selected village the scenario was not significantly 

different (p=0.716). The details are as follows: 

NICRA 

Village 

Feedback on Agricultural Advisory service 

Very Useful Useful Satisfactory Irrelevant 

Number % Number % Number % Number % 

Dropad 11 36.66 7 23.33 7 23.33 5 16.66 

Gadhi 10 33.33 8 26.66 9 30 3 10 

Gunghasa 13 43.33 10 33.33 4 13.33 3 10 

Bhelwa 12 40 11 36.66 3 10 4 13.33 


NICRATotal 46 38.33 36 29.99 23 19.16 15 12.49 

Non NICRA 

Village 

9 18 14 28 6 12 21 42 

The chi-square statistic is 20.1251. The p-value is .00016. The result is significant at p < .05. 

Conclusion 

Since, climate change has now become the reality, severely affecting the agricultural 

production and productivities directly or indirectly, Agro-meteorological Advisory Service 

(AAS) played a vital role to aware the farmer and improving their knowledge in adopting 




different management practices as per the weather conditions Agro-met Advisory Service was 

significantly higher in NICRA villages than non-NICRA village. The coordination among 

various sectors like District Agriculture Office, ATMA, Agriculture Extension Functionaries, 

District Administration, NGOs, FPOs, GVT-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Godda etc. needed to be 

more strengthened to mitigate the impact of climate change on agriculture and allied activities 

by popularizing the AAS among farmers for adopting and timely following Agro-met Advisory 

Service (AAS). 

References 

Baethgen, Walter E.; Holger, Meinke and Agustin Gimenez (2003). Adaptation of agricultural 

production systems to climate variability and climate change: lessons learned and 

proposed research approach. In Climate Adaptation. net conference Insights and Tools 

for Adaptation: Learning from Climate Variability, pp. 18-20. 

Chattopadhyay N. (2021). Weather and climate-based farm advisory services. J. 

Agrometeorology, 23 (1) : 1-2. 

Gandhi, Gurupreet, Singh J, Chaudhary L and Kamlesh Kumar Sahu (2018). Farmers feedback 

about the agromet advisory services (AAS) at Mahasamund district of Chattisgarh. J. 

Pharma. and Phyto., 5 : 2522-2524. 

Lenka Sasank, Panigrahi, R. S., Satpathy, Abhijeet (2022). Farmers opinion on the usefulness 

of agro advisory services in the NICRA operated districts of Odisha. Indian Res. J. Ext. 

Edu., pp. 64-67. 

T5-23P-1194 

Use of UNEP Aridity Index for Drought Assessment in Bundelkhand 

Sunil Kumar 

Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur-813210, Bihar, India 

Drought is a natural phenomenon that results from a deficiency of rainfall from expected 

rainfall or normal rainfall and which may exist over a season or for longer period and is 

insufficient to satisfy the need for water for human activities and the environment. 

Bundelkhand region has faced a no. of times drought which has made the life of the people 

worst. A number of the widely used drought indices include Palmer Drought Severity Index 

(PDSI), Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Crop Moisture Index (CMI), UNEP Aridity 

Index and Surface water system Index (SWSI). In this study, UNEP Aridity index was used to 

monitor drought in Bundelkhand region. 


752 | Page



Methodology 

The Bundelkhand region consists of thirteen districts: seven in Uttar Pradesh- Jhansi, Jalaun, 

Lalitpur, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda and Chitrakoot, and six in Madhya Pradesh - Datia, 

Tikamgarh, Chattarpur, Damoh, Sagar and Panna. This is situated just below the Indo-Gangetic 

plain and is extending to the north with the undulating Vindhyan range spread across the 

northwest to the south. It is situated between 23°20’ and 26°20’ N latitude and 78°20’ and 

81°40’ E longitude. The daily gridded data (maximum temperature, minimum temperature, 

mean temperature and rainfall) for the duration of 1990 to 2019 were obtained from India 

Meteorological Department, Pune, India. Aridity index (AI) based on UNEP (1992) to quantify 

the drought occurrence at each study location was used. This index was derived from two 

important climatic elements for agriculture and reflects both the atmospheric supply (rainfall) 

and atmospheric demand (evapotranspiration), i.e. two important factors affecting the water 

budget of the land surface. The reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was calculated by using 

temperature method given by Hargreaves and Samani (1985) and modified by Hargreaves et 

al., (1985). As per the UNCCD definition, area which are sensitive to drought are 

often divided into three categories, namely arid, semi-arid, dry sub-humid. If this index is less 

than 0.5 then dry condition occurs in the area. Drought occurrences were examined based on 

the frequencies of events for every drought category for all 13 districts coming under this 

region. The percentage of drought occurrence was obtained by taking the ratio of drought 

occurrences to the total drought occurrences for a particular time and particular drought 

category as given by Sonmez et al., 2005. The drought occurrence probabilities were calculated 

by using each drought event for all stations in each district in Bundelkhand region. 

Results 

In Banda district Chhatarpur and Chitrakoot districts, in most of the years in June, October and 

in whole season, there was dry condition. In Chitrakoot district, there was more severe 

condition and cases of hyper arid and arid condition were also more in comparison to these 

other two districts. In the districts, Damoh, Datia and Hamirpur, Hamirpur was more affected 

by dry conditions and there were more cases of hyper arid condition. In Datia also there were 

more cases of dry condition but arid condition was more prevailing than hyper arid and no. of 

cases were lesser than Datia. In Jalaun, Jhansi and Lalitpur, all the districts were affected by 

dry condition mostly in June and October months. But in the whole season, the condition was 

little bit better than individual months. In Jhansi district, dry condition was in more no. of years 

in comparison to other two districts. In Mahoba, Panna and Sagar, Mahoba was more affected 

than other two districts. Hyper arid to arid condition was more in June and October months in 

comparison to other three months. In season, there was some dry condition but the condition 

was better. 




In Tikamgarh, hyper arid condition was more in no. in October followed by June month. Arid 

condition was also more in these months in comparison to other three months. Among all 13 

districts, Datia and Jhansi were more affected and aridity index was very less in June and 

October months in comparison to other 11 districts. The monthly and seasonal aridity indices 

showed the variability of rainfall and its adverse effects that could be seen in the form of crop 

failures. The highest probability of occurrence for Hyper arid (9.33%) was found in Datia 

district whereas the probability for Hyper arid (8.00 %) in Jhansi district was found less than 

that of Datia. The highest percentage for arid category was observed at Datia district again as 

14.00 %, while Jhansi district had 12.00 % for arid category. The highest percentage of 

occurrence probability of Semi-arid category was detected as 22.67 % at Jalaun and Tikamgarh 

districts followed by Chhatarpur district as 22.00 %. In Banda district, Hyper-arid class 

contributed only 9.0 % of the cases, the arid class contributed 16.0 % and the semi-arid 

conditions recurred 27.0 % times out of the total number of cases. Hyper-arid class contributed 

only 8.0 % of the cases, the arid class contributed 10.0 % and the semi-arid conditions occurred 

33.0 % times out of the total number of months in Chhatarpur district. 

In case of Chitrakoot district, Hyper-arid class contributed only 11.0 % of the cases, the arid 

class contributed 14.0 % and the semi-arid conditions recurred 25.0 % times out of the total 

number of months. Hyper-arid class contributed only 6.0 % of the cases, the arid class 

contributed 10.0 % and the semi-arid conditions occurred 25.0 % times out of the total number 

of months in Damoh district. In Datia district, Hyper-arid class contributed only 14.0 % of the 

cases, the arid class contributed 21.0 % and the semi-arid conditions occurred 26.0 % times out 

of the total number of months. Hyper-arid class contributed only 9.0 % of the cases, the arid 

class contributed 14.0 % and the semi-arid conditions occurred 32.0 % times out of the total 

number of months in case of Hamirpur. In Jalaun district, Hyper-arid class contributed only 

11.0 % of the cases, the arid class contributed14.0 % and the semi-arid conditions occurred 

34.0 % times out of the total number of months. In Jhansi district, Hyper-arid class contributed 

only 12.0 % of the cases, the arid class contributed 18.0 % and the semi-arid conditions 

occurred 29.0 % times out of the total number of cases. Hyper-arid class contributed only 11.0 

% of the cases, the arid class contributed 15.0 % and the semi-arid conditions occurred 28.0 % 

times out of the total number of cases in Lalitpur district. In Mahoba district, Hyper-arid class 

contributed only 10.0 % of the cases, the arid class contributed 15.0 % and the semi-arid 

conditions occurred 29.0 % times out of the total number of months. Hyper-arid class 

contributed only 6.0 %o% of the cases, the arid class contributed 15.0 % and the semi-arid 

conditions occurred 25.0 % times out of the total number of months Panna district. In Sagar 

district, Hyper-arid class contributed only 9.0 % of the cases, the arid class contributed 9.0 % 

and the semi-arid conditions occurred 25.0 % times out of the total number of months. In 

Tikamgarh district, Hyper-arid class contributed only 9.0 %% of the cases, the arid class 

contributed 11.0 % and the semi-arid conditions occurred 34.0 % times out of the total number 


754 | Page



of months. Vulnerability of crops in different districts due to drought may be assessed by using 

this index. These results obtained from the study can be used in future to improve the situation 

for the Bundelkhand region and it can be utilized for proper planning by Government and 

planners for long time to secure the crop yield and to reduce the cost on resources. 

References 

Hargreaves G.H and Samani Z.A. 1985. Reference crop evapotranspiration from temperature. 

Appl. Eng. Agric. 1 (2):96–99. 

Hargreaves G. L, Hargreaves G. H and Riley, J.P. 1985. Agricultural benefits for Senegal River 

basin. J. Irrig. Drain. ASCE, 111:113–124. 

Sonmez F.K, Komuscu A.U, Erkan A and Turgu E. 2005. An analysis of spatial and temporal 

dimension of drought vulnerability in Turkey using the standardized precipitation 

index. Nat. Hazards, 35(2): 243-264. 

T5-24P-1195 

FarmPrecise – An Agromet Advisory Service (AAS) for Sustainable 

Agriculture and Resilient Farm Income: An Impact Assessment of AAS in 

Ahmednagar, Dhule, and Jalna Districts of Maharashtra 

Nikhil Nikam, Nitin Kumbhar and Ajay Shelke 

Watershed Organisation Trust 

nikhil.nikam@wotr.org.in, nitin.kumbhar@wotr.org.in, ajay.shelke@wotr.org.in 

Earlier, farmers could predict the arrival of monsoons based on their past experiences; now, 

changing climate makes it challenging to form predictions based on experiences alone. 

Therefore, adopting technological innovations is one of the most promising ways to adapt to 

climate change. Agromet Advisory Services (AAS) are crucial for agricultural planning and 

adaptation responses. In December 2017, a baseline study was conducted in 36 villages of 

Ahmednagar, Jalna, and Dhule districts of Maharashtra State to understand the status of 

existing agricultural practices and the effectiveness of AAS on agriculture. Based on the 

responses received from 360 households reported that the advisories were not reaching farmers 

on time when they needed, and some were not relevant for these villages. However, farmers 

found that the AAS was helpful to them to a limited extent. The study indicated that AAS 

requires better distribution channels, accuracy, timely forecasts, extreme weather alert, and 

customized crop and local-specific advisories. The insights from the study helped to structure 

the features for the FarmPrecise mobile application. 

Ever since the launch of the FarmPrecise application, there has been an increase in users (50k 

plus downloads on google play store), whereby we assumed that the application is helping 




farmers in some way. Therefore, in December 2021, a mid-term impact study was conducted 

with the same respondents to validate the hypothesis. The study was designed with specific 

objectives to understand and examine i) use and reach of FarmPrecise application along with 

other digital technologies, ii) changes in agricultural productivity, iii) changes in the cultivation 

costs, iv) Comparison between FarmPrecise users and business-as-usual farmers for changes 

in crop productivity, v) changes between FarmPrecise users and business-as-usual farmers for 

crop losses due to extreme weather events. 

The findings showed that the crop productivity of major crops of FarmPrecise users was higher 

than that of the business-as-usual farmers. In addition, a few FarmPrecise users reported that 

they avoided crop loss due to receiving advanced extreme weather alerts through the mobile 

application. Moreover, the average household income from agricultural sources has also 

increased compared to the baseline scenario. The real-time weather information, updated 

market rates, agriculture news, crop-specific weather-based advisories, farm diary, and 

community forum are some of the prominent features of the FarmPrecise application farmers 

use to become aware and cope with climate extremes events. 

T5-25P-1219 

Assessment of Biophysical Parameters and Disease Incidence in Mungbean 

Using Hyperspectral Radiometry 

M. Prabhakar*, K. A. Gopinath, N. Ravi Kumar, U. Sai Sravan, M. Thirupathi, G. 

Sravan Kumar, P. Likhita, S. Madhu Naga Sekhar Reddy and R. Naresh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad – 500 059, Telangana, India 

*m.prabhakar@icar.gov.in 

Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) is an important pulse in India and is often experiencing biotic 

stress in the rainy season. Cercospora Leaf Spot (CLS) is an important fungal disease of mung 

bean, making its cultivation difficult and causing sizable loss to the production up to 60% 

(Bharti et al., 2017). CLS has been found to appear in the epiphytotic form causing enormous 

loss to the farmers (Vijaya Bhaskar, 2020). Timely management will help in preventing the 

spread of disease. Radiometry offer scope to detect biotic and abiotic stress (Prabhakar et al., 

2013). The spectral features vary noticeably between healthy and infested plants depending on 

the extent of damage. Therefore, present study was carried out with an objective to find out the 

impact of CLS on biophysical parameters in mungbean using spectral features extraction. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was carried out in 2018 rainy (kKharif) season at Gungal Research Farm, 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad. The experiment was laid 

out in randomized block design with eight nutrient management treatments viz., T 1: 


756 | Page



Unamended control; T2: 100% RDF; T3: 75% RDF + 20 kg S ha -1 ; T4: 100% RDF + 20 kg S 

ha -1 ; T 5: 75% RDF + 30 kg S ha -1 ; T 6: 100% RDF + 30 kg S ha -1 ; T 7: 75% RDF + 40 kg S ha - 

1 ; T 8: 100% RDF + 40 kg S ha -1 , replicated thrice. The crop was sown in 4.2 × 3.0 m 2 plots by 

adopting a seed rate of 20 kg ha -1 and 30 cm row to row spacing. The RDF used was 20-40-0 

kg NPK ha -1 and the entire quantity of fertilizers (NPK) were applied as basal before sowing. 

The disease incidence (CLS) was observed at the time of flowering. Based on visual symptoms 

of damage, CLS infestation levels were categorized into four grades of severity viz. grade 1 

(healthy), grade 2 (low), grade 3 (medium) and grade 4 (severe). The biophysical parameters 

(biomass, SPAD value and seed yield) were recorded under different severity grades. Canopy 

reflectance data from mungbean (15 plants per each grade) were recorded with FieldSpec 3 Hi- 

Res spectroradiometer (ASD 1999; spectral range: 350-2500 nm). 

Results 

The biophysical parameters of mungbean infested with CLS varied significantly under different 

severity grades As mentioned in the table. With the increase in CLS incidence, the SPAD value 

decreased by 22.9%. Fresh and dry biomass also varied significantly with CLS, however, the 

trends were not consistent. The fresh and dry biomass of mungbean under severely infested 

CLS was reduced by 30.1% and 38.5% compared to healthy plants. With increase in the 

severity of CLS infestation the yield had declined significantly. The maximum yield loss was 

observed in severely infested crop followed by medium CLS infestation compared to healthy 

plants. The seed yield was reduced in infested plants by 38.1% (across three grades) compared 

to healthy. 

SPAD value, biomass and seed yield of mungbean under different grades of CLS 

infestation 

Severity Grade 

SPAD value 

Fresh biomass 

(g plant -1 ) 

Dry biomass 

(g plant -1 ) 

Seed yield 

(g plant -1 ) 

Healthy 52.40 ± 5.69 a 42.42 ± 7.77 a 8.57 ± 2.11 a 2.02 ± 0.18 a 

Low 45.10 ± 1.35 b 38.25 ± 8.93 a 7.66 ± 1.29 ab 1.49 ± 0.25 b 

Medium 45.10 ± 1.35 b 35.93 ± 5.91 ab 6.84 ± 1.54 b 1.31 ± 0.15 c 

Severe 40.37 ± 0.94 c 29.64 ± 7.59 b 5.27 ± 1.65 c 0.96 ± 0.10 d 

Values are Mean ± SD, different superscript letters denote significant difference (p < 0.05) 

Mean canopy reflectance of different CLS severity grades from the field based hyperspectral 

radiometry studies showed a distinct difference between healthy and infested plants in the 

figure at different levels of infestation as described in the figure. Reflectance from the CLS 

infested plants compared to healthy was high in visible region (400-750 nm) and was lower in 

near infra-red region (750-1100 nm). Healthy plants have higher reflectance in NIR region and 

low reflectance in the visible region. 




Ground-based Hyperspectral reflectance spectra under different severity grades of CLS in mungbean 

Conclusion 

Results of this study confirmed that CLS infestation significantly reduced the chlorophyll, 

biomass and seed yield in mungbean. The variations in spectral reflectance offer scope to detect 

the CLS disease severity and associated loss in yield. 

References 

Bharti M, Chandra R, Kumar A, Kumar R, Yadav and Yadav P. (2017). Enzymatic response 

of mungbean (Vigna radiata) genotypes against Cercospora leaf spot disease. Indian J. 

Agric. Sci. 87: 930-933. 

Prabhakar M, Prasa Y. G. Desai S, Thirupathi M. 2013. Spectral and spatial properties of rice 

brown plant hopper and groundnut late leaf spot disease infestation under field 

conditions. J. Agrometeorol. 15:57‒62. 

Vijaya Bhaskar A. 2020. New sources of genotypes against leaf spot and powdery mildew 

diseases in Greengram. J. pharmacogn. phytochem. 9(5): 455-460. 


758 | Page



T5-25P-1296 

Non-Destructive and Rapid Estimation of the Foliar Nitrogen of the 

Tomato Plant by Proximal Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Pl. Biochemical 

Properties: Nitrogen 

Md. Zafar, B. U. Choudhury*, H. Das, R, Narzari, and V. K. Mishra 

ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya- 793103 

* burhan3i@yahoo.com 

Dynamic fertilizer management is a means of making soil nutrients available for plant 

development, according to their needs, which is the main aim of precision agriculture. Soil 

nitrogen (N) is one of the most important essential nutrients for optimal crop growth and 

yield. It is a key component of enzymes, vitamins, chlorophyll and other cellular components, 

all of which are critical to crop growth and development. It is therefore one of the most 

important essential nutrients to optimize crop yields, including tomato plants. Too much 

nitrogen can reduce yields while the nitrogen deficit relative to the plant uptake requirement 

has also stunted the plant vegetative growth and reduces yields. The destructive measure for 

periodic monitoring of the nutritional state of plants in this situation is not a logical option. The 

traditional destructive method is time-consuming, error-prone, competence-oriented, and 

requires a well-equipped laboratory for measurements. This makes it difficult to remediate in 

real time, including fertilizing based on laboratory measurements. However, with advances in 

hyperspectral proximal remote sensing technology, plant N estimation can be conducted 

quickly and non-destructively while being economic and repetitive in monitoring. 

Spectroscopy techniques are a technology that requires the acquisition of data in spectral bands 

and based on the most sensitive bands, a predictive model can be developed to predict nitrogen 

as well as other plant biochemical properties. 

In this study, we have attempted to develop a non-destructive hyperspectral proximal remote 

sensing-based estimation method for predicting the N concentration of standing tomato 

plants. For this, we used multiple and multi-date foliar spectral reflectance measurements from 

an ASD 2 handheld Spectroradiometer and correlated with destructive lab measurements on 

multiple occasions. Finally, a predictive model was developed for the estimation of foliar 

nitrogen concentrations of tomato plants in the field based on the periodically measured 

reflectance and the concentration of foliar nitrogen in the laboratory while using Advanced 

Machine Learning Techniques (e.g. Random forest, Support vector machine, Ridge 

regression) in addition to Multi-linear regression. 




Methodology 

In the present study, tomato as a test crop was grown under stress-free outdoor conditions at 

the ICAR Research Complex for NEH, Umiam, Meghalaya. Periodic measurements of the 

spectral reflectance of standing tomato culture were taken in increments of 325 to 1075 nm by 

handheld field Spectroradiometer (ASD Handheld 2) and correlated with the concentration of 

N measured in the lab (Jackson, 1973). The reflectance data measured periodically were 

processed using the SG filter (Savitzky and Golay 1964) to obtain both smoothed and 

normalized spectra. To select the variables (grouping and predictor), the correlation coefficient 

and stage discrimination analysis (SDA) were performed on a large data set to identify sensitive 

wavelength regions). Sensitive wavelength zones were identified as visible (401-702nm) and 

NIR (702-1020nm). Follow the multiple linear regression (MLR) model and three machine 

learning algorithms such as Random Forest (RF), Ridge regression (RR), Support vector 

machine (SVM) regression also being performed while selecting the satisfactory prediction 

model based on R-square and RMSE values. 

Results 

Reflectance in visible and NIR areas has been shown to be sensitive to nitrogen 

concentration from tomato growth. Plant N concentration was best predicted using reflectance 

in the visible (401-702 nm) region, more specifically wave bands at 550nm and 678 nm in 

the visible region. The smoothed spectra yielded satisfactory results with Random Forest 

Regression (R 2 = 0.91; RMSE: 0.072) in comparison with SVM, MLR and Ridge Regression. 


760 | Page



Conclusion 

Tomato plant and the spectral reflectance curve (Smoothened at Vis-NIR) 

Monitoring nitrogen levels in plants help in periodic remedial actions for optimum plant 

growth. The predictive model equation developed using machine learning algorithms and 

progressive discrimination analysis (SDA) in this study could be helpful in estimating tomato 

leaf nitrogen concentrations quickly and non-destructive. Therefore, we can substitute 

carefully (with repeated validation on large datasets) the traditional destructive laboratory 

method, known for the variety of accuracy based on the time and skills. 

Predictive models for estimating leaf nitrogen using tomato crop spectral reflectance (R 

= reflectance) 

Discriminated 

Sensitive 

Spectral 

region 

(nm) 

Sensitive 

bands 

(nm) 

Most 

Sensitive 

band(nm) 

Model 

Predictive Model 

Smooth 410 – 1020 

550, 678, 

Y = 

678 RF 

853, 972 

0.203+90.24*R678 

Smooth 410 – 1020 

550, 678, 

Y = 

678 SVM 

853, 972 

0.696+81.96*R678 

Smooth 410 – 1020 

550, 678, 

Y = 

678 RR 

853, 972 

0.653+82.95*R678 

Smooth 410 – 1020 

550, 678, 

Y = 

678 MLR 

853, 972 

0.753+81.45*R 678 

*RF: Random Forest, SVM: Support vector machine, RR: Ridge regression, MLR: multilinear 

regression 

References 

Kharat R. B, and Deshmukh D. R. R. 2016. Analysis of Effective Leaf Nitrogen Concentrations 

in Tomato Plant using Vegetation Indices. Int. J. Eng. Sci. Comp, 18(2), 2397-2400. 




Ito H and Morimoto S. Non-destructive determination of lycopene in tomatoes using 

visible/near-infrared spectroscopy. Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Institute of 

Japan, 2009, 93, 510-513. 

Pourdarbani R, Sabzi S, Rohban M. H, García-Mateos G and Arriba J. I. 2021. Non-destructive 

nitrogen content estimation in tomato plant leaves by Vis-NIR hyperspectral imaging 

and regression data models. Applied Optics, 60(30): 9560-9569. 

ASD Inc. 2010. FieldSpec® HandHeld 2 Spectroradiometer User Manual. 

T5-27P-1332 

Assessment of Soil Fertility Constraints in Shrirampura Micro-Watershed, 

Turuvekere Taluk, Tumkur District, Karnataka Using Geospatial 

Techniques 

K. T. Aruna, B. G. Vasanthi, B. Mamatha and A. Sathish 

University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore 

The study was conducted in Shrirampura micro-watershed, Turuvekere tauk, Tumkur district 

under southern dry zone of Karnataka, Agro ecological sub region 8.2 (AESR 8.2) to assess 

the soil fertility constraints using geospatial techniques. The world view-2 and LISS-IV merged 

satellite data at the scale of 1:7920 were used in conjunction with the cadastral map as a base 

for detailed survey. A total of 54 geo-referenced representative surface soil samples (0–20 cm) 

were collected at 320 m 2 grid interval from different land use and land forms with a microwatershed 

area of 537 ha. Soil samples were analyzed for pH, EC, organic carbon, available 

nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn). 

The spatial distribution maps were developed by using krigging method. Major portion of the 

watershed area was showed that, the soils were neutral to (44.6 %) to slightly alkaline (45.9 %) 

and non-saline in nature. The organic carbon (OC) status ranged from low (72 %) to medium 

(21 %) and the entire micro watershed area was found to be low in available nitrogen (N) 

content. The soil available phosphorus (P) was low (39.7 %) to medium (53.3 %), available 

potassium (K) was medium (70.2 %) to high (18.8 %) and available sulphur (S) in medium 

category. Regarding available micronutrients, copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) were 

sufficient in range and zinc (Zn) was found to be deficient (58.9 %) to sufficient (34.1 %) in 

the study area. The developed thematic maps by using geospatial techniques in the study area 

identified that OC, N, P and Zn were important soil fertility constraints indicating their 

immediate attention to achieve sustainable productivity. The generated information can help 

the researchers, farmers and planners to manage the natural resources for future planning. 


762 | Page



T5-28P-1333 

Assessing Impact of Dry Spells on Sorghum Productivity over Telangana 

State 

Santanu Kumar Bal*, N. Manikandan, A.V.M. Subba Rao, M.A. Sarath Chandran 

and Fawaz Parapurath 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad – 500059 India 

* santanu.bal@icar.gov.in 

Rainfed agriculture is practiced over India in 67% of net sown area. The livelihood of 40% 

population of the country is supported and 44% of food grain production in India is met by this 

ecosystem. Rainfall during southwest monsoon period is very crucial for kharif season crops 

and the yearly rainfall variation during this season have profound impact on the rainfed crop 

production. The yield of rainfed crops is mainly determined by the distribution of southwest 

monsoon rainfall or occurrence of dry spells during the crop growing period. Sorghum is one 

of the important rainfed food grain crops and cultivated over 1.19 lakhs ha. in Telangana state 

(AAP, 2021). The dry spell is a period where the weather has been dry, for an abnormally long 

time, shorter but not as severe as a drought (Wilhite and Glantz, 1985). The frequency of dry 

spells is often used as a potential indicator of moisture stress conditions, in the management of 

water resource systems, particularly for agriculture (Gocic and Trajkovic, 2013). In this 

context, an attempt has been made to develop Dry Spell Index (DSI), to quantify the frequency 

and duration of dry spells during kharif (June-Sep) season over Telangana state at district level. 

Trend in DSI and effect of dry spell on sorghum productivity in different districts of Telangana 

state was also carried out. 

Methodology 

The district level daily rainfall data for the period 1991-2020 was used in this study to compute 

the DSI. The value of the dry spell was worked out as the number of dry days divided by 7. For 

example, the weightage value of a dry spell with 7-days duration will be 1.0, 10-days will be 

1.43, 14-days will be 2.0 and 21-days will be 3.0 and so on. Later, values of all dry spells during 

SWM were cumulated and the Dry Spell Index (DSI) was arrived for that season (Bal et al. 

2022). The value of DSI is directly proportional to the increase in the number and duration of 

dry spells within the season. An algorithm in Fortran program was developed to work out the 

DSI for each year for each district in the study area during the period 1991–2020. 

The district-wise crop area and productivity of sorghum for the period 1997–2016 was 

collected from web portal of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of 

India (http://www.aps.dac.gov.in). Major sorghum growing districts in Telangana state were 

selected on the basis of average crop growing area of sorghum with ≥ 500 ha. The time series 

yield data was de-trended using linear regression method (Gommes and Hoefsloot, 2006) for 




obtaining stationary yield data. Mann Kendall test, a non-parametric test was employed to find 

the trend in DSI and the significance in the trend was detected by two-tailed test at 95% 

probability levels. Pearson’s correlation coefficients of de-trended sorghum yield with DSI 

were worked out for all selected districts of Telangana. 

Results 

The DSI value ranged between 3.6 and 8.2 in different districts of Telangana state. The spatial 

distribution of average DSI over the period 1991–2020 across the districts indicate that, it was 

highest (8.2) in Jogulamba Gadwal district followed by Nalgonda (8.10) and Hyderabad (8.01) 

while the lowest DSI was observed in Bhadradri Kothagudam (3.6) followed by J. Bhupalpally 

(3.9), Mancherial and Komaram Bheem (4.0) (Fig. 1a). Mann-Kendall trend analysis showed 

that the DSI is declining in all the districts of Telangana. However, significant decreasing trend 

(at 5% level) was noticed in Adilabad, Hyderabad, Kamareddy, Karimnagar, Khammam, 

Nizamabad, Siddipet, Suryapet and Yadagiri Bhuvagiri districts (Fig. 1b). This indicate that 

the occurrence of dry spells and its duration has reduced during the study period. The Pearson 

correlation analysis indicate that around 41 per cent area under sorghum in Telangana state is 

having significant negative correlation with DSI. 

Conclusion 

In the present study Dry Spell Index was computed to find the spatial distribution, trend and 

influence of dry spells during kharif (June-Sep) season on sorghum productivity over 

Telangana state at district level. Results indicate that, the highest (8.2) DSI was noticed in 

Jogulamba Gadwal district and the lowest DSI in Bhadradri Kothagudam (3.6) district. 

Significant decreasing trend (at 5% level) in DSI was noticed in Adilabad, Hyderabad, 

Kamareddy, Karimnagar, Khammam, Nizamabad, Siddipet, Suryapet and Yadagiri Bhuvagiri 

districts. Significant negative relationship was observed in 41 per cent sorghum growing area 

of Telangana district. Further study is required to find the dry spell occurrence with in the crop 

growing period or different phenological stages of the crop using DSI to assess the influence 

on crop yield. 

References 

AAP, 2021. Agriculture Action Plan 2020-21. Department of Agriculture, government of 

Telangana, Hyderabad, 130p. 

Bal S., Sandeep V.M, Vijaya Kumar P, Subba Rao A.V.M., Pramod V.P, Manikandan N, 

Srinivasa Rao, Singh N.P. and Bhaskar S. (2022). Assessing impact of dry spells on 

the principal rainfed crops in major dryland regions of India. Agric. Meteorol., 313, 

108768 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108768 


764 | Page



Gocic M and Trajkovic S. (2013). Analysis of changes in meteorological variables using 

Mann–194 Kendall and Sen’s slope estimator statistical tests in Serbia. Global 

Planetary Change, 100 (1): 172–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2012.10.014 

Gommes and Hoefsloot (2006). Crop Monitoring Box documentation, Chapter 4.2. Analysis of 

time series of climate and crops to identify trends. Detrending yield, http://www. 

https://www.hoefsloot.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter14 

Spatial distribution of DSI (a) and its trend (b) over Telangana State 




T5-29P-1345 

Investigations on Chopping-Cum-Tilling-Cum-Mixing Machine for Straw 

Incorporation 

Abhishek Patel * , Krishna Pratap Singh, Ajay Kumar Roul, Rohit Dilip Nalawade and 

Aman Mahore 

ICAR- Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal 

* abhishekpatel2910@gmail.com 

Ex situ and in situ management approaches are preferable methods for straw management. The 

developed chopping unit is an in-situ technology that consists of two vertical counter rotating 

shafts with four serrated blades each. This research is about the construction of a straw 

chopping cum incorporation unit that uses a rotary impact cutter to cut paddy straw and a rotary 

tiller to mix it. This mechanism is made up of two vertical shafts, each with two pairs of serrated 

blade flanges and a rotary tiller behind them. The statnding and loose paddy straw are cut with 

the chopping unit, and the pieces of straw are mixed into the soil with the rotary tiller. The 

machine was put to the test in a freshly harvested rice field, and its performance was compared 

to that of existing straw incorporation machines such the super seeder, mulcher integrated with 

rotavator, and rotavator solely with the designed CIAE chopping cum incorpoation unit. All of 

the machines were evaluated on the basis of mixing index (MI), pulverisation index (PI) or 

mean weight diameter (MWD), and bulk density at 3 km/hr forward speed, 40% soil moisture 

and 17% straw moisture. 

The PI of the superseeder, mulcher integrated with rotavator, rotavator alone, and CIAE 

developed chopping cum incorporation unit were (9.03, 8.60, 10.20, and 8.42 mm), MI (85.18, 

91.18, 28.38, and 96.59%) and BD (1.365, 1.360, 1.390, and 1.32 g/cm 3 ), on the other hand. 

All of the combinations were subjected to a paired t test, which revealed significant differences 

between them. According to the results of the evaluation, the CIAE-developed machine 

outperformed all the equipment under study. 


766 | Page



T5-30P-1350 

Hyperspectral Reflectance: A Promising Tool to Assess the Metabolic Responses to 

Drought Stress in Sugarcane 

Vinay Hegde 1,2* , Debasmita Mohanty 1 and Jagadish Rane 1 

1 ICAR National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Baramati, Maharashtra 

2 Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra. 

* vinayhegde4189@gmail.com 

The deterioration of ecological balance and global climate anomalies have led to enhanced 

frequencies of water scarcity, and drought is emerged as a major impediment to the expansion 

of agricultural production. This emphasizes enhanced impetus to development of drought 

tolerant cultivars that can be climate smart. The approaches being currently followed are not 

sufficient to achieve this target though there have been significant advances in our 

understanding about the mechanisms of tolerance to soil moisture stress and possible 

application of genomics for genetic improvement of crops. In this context, the underlying 

bottleneck in understanding the manoeuvrable phenotypic responses are being addressed 

through phenomics. This advanced approach of characterizing plants depends on non-invasive 

techniques involving different sensors and automation, Hyperspectral sensors have great 

potential to reveal genetic variability in responses of crop plants to environmental stimuli 

including those due to drought. By integrating this technique in high-throughput field 

phenomics, hyperspectral signatures could be more effectively utilized to address the breeding 

challenges posed by global climate change. For breeding and management strategies to be 

beneficial in increasing water usage efficiency, it is essential to have deeper insights into 

drought impacts on crops at different scales starting from whole plant to cellular level. In order 

to develop a rapid and non-destructive substitute for conventional methods of evaluating plant 

traits related to drought response, we employed hyperspectral measurement technique for 

detection of proline, the key stress metabolite generated by plants during stress. We assessed 

spectral signatures in leaves of sugarcane seedling exposed to drought in a glasshouse. Leaf 

metabolite concentrations, as contrasted to physiological features, detected drought stress 

before it was perceptible to the naked eye with validation of R 2 value. The results of our 

experiments explain the efficacy of hyperspectral data to the detection of a proline in response 

to stress in plants. These scientific leads can be carried forward to design phenomics protocols 

for screening large number of genotypes of sugarcane for identification of relevant genes 

contributing to drought tolerance. These can also guide decision support systems to design 

precision agriculture. 




T5-31P-1373 

Photo-Voltaic Solar Power: Alternative Energy for Farm Mechanization 

Ravikant V. Adake*, I. Srinivas, B. Sanjeev Reddy, Ashish S. Dhimate, M Mallikarjun, 

K. Sammi Reddy and Vinod Kumar Singh 

ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500059, India. 

* a.ravikant@icar.gov.in 

Sources of non-renewable energy are widely used for various agricultural operations in Indian 

agriculture. Pre-harvest operations are mainly dependent on tractor, self-propelled machines, 

diesel engines etc which need crude oil predominantly. Out of total diesel consumption in India, 

agricultural sector alone accounts for 13% (Nielsen 2013). Continuous and increased use of 

non-renewable energy sources not only increase environmental pollution but also increases 

operational cost as cost of crude oil is increasing. From the past half-decade, the cost of crude 

oil increased by 60-70%. On the other hand, Indian agriculture is deficit of farm power 

availability to meet challenges of food grain production in coming years. Existing farm power 

availability need to be increased from 2.76 kW/ha to 4 kW/ha to cope up with the increasing 

demand of food grains by 2030 (ICAR Annual Report 2020-21). 

In this situation, solar energy is an alternative option to generate additional farm power on & 

off the farm to reduce environmental pollution and minimize cost of cultivation. Solar energy 

is amply available in India. On an average, irradiance on horizontal surface in India is 5.6 kWh 

m -2 day -1 . In most parts of the country, solar power is being used for post-harvest operations 

(Srinivas et al., 2016), however, research & development (R&D) on solar powered farm 

machinery/implements for pre-harvest operations like tillage, sowing, weeding, sprayings are 

very few and most of them are either battery operated or on-the-go PV model. Solar powered 

weeder with 1-hp electric motor with rotary tiller and co-axial rotary mechanism was developed 

and tested for weeding (Adake et al., 2021). At ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland 

Agriculture (ICAR-CRIDA), Hyderabad experimental model of PV based solar power system 

was developed for various agricultural operations where solar power system is stationary. This 

paper highlights details of PV-based solar powered technology for farm mechanization and its 

scope in dryland agriculture 

Methodology 

Development of experimental model 

Experimental model of solar powered prime mover which consists of brush-less DC (BLDC) 

motor with 1.5 hp, motor controller (48 V; 20 amps), accelerator, maximum power tracking 

point (MPPT) device, and 3-hp solar PV Module was developed. Solar PV module and MPPT 

device are stationary and rest of the parts are movable. A suitable frame was developed to 


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mount 1.5-hp DC motor, motor controller, power transmission system, drive wheels, and hitch 

system to attach small operating tools like rotary weeder, blade harrow, cultivator, mini ridgers 

etc to make the prime mover for multiple operations. Power to 1.5 hp-motor is drawn from 

solar PV module through solar charge controller and motor controller. The output of MPPT 

device maintains the constant voltage at 55 V and supplies the current in the range of 8-18 

amps depending upon load exerts during operation. Prime mover is behind with travel speed in 

the range of 2-5 km/hr. Accelerator also facilitates reverse and forward motion. While 

operation 30-meter cable of 4 sq.mm was used to draw the power from solar system which 

covers approximately an area of 0.05 ha. 

Field testing 

Solar powered prime mover was tested for weeding and shallow tillage at research farm, ICAR- 

CRIDA, Hyderabad. Minimum solar irradiance of 4 kWh/m 2 /day is received in the month of 

August and maximum of 6.6 kWh/m 2 /day is received between March-May with available 

sunshine days of 310 days. There is great potential to produce electricity by harnessing solar 

energy. For weeding, rotary tiller and blade harrow were used. For shallow tillage, blade 

harrow and mini ridger were used which are commercially available in local market. During 

operation, observations were made on power consumption by different implements and load 

exerted due to depth of operation. 

Results 

Preliminary trails were conducted, and performance was tested when solar radiation ranged 

between 4kWh/m 2 /day to 6.5 kW/m2/day. It was observed that the weeding tools could be 

successfully operated with 80-92% efficiency in kharif season (July-October) with current 

consumption within limit of design. The power consumption for weeding was similar 

irrespective of rotary tiller or blade harrow for a given depth of operation and width of cut. For 

shallow tillage the power consumption was higher than cultivator and need good solar 

radiation. With 1.5 hp design, 3-tyne cultivator could be operated successfully within limit of 

power availability. Power consumption varied with depth of operation and field operations. 

Conclusion 

Solar powered prime mover of 1.5 hp could be viable in dryland agriculture depending upon 

availability of radiation in cropping season. However, electricity transportation within the field 

could be an issue which need to be resolved with appropriate management strategies. Such 

solar powered prime mover could be suitable for small farm holders. 




References 

Nielsen. 2013. All India study on sectoral demand of petrol and diesel, Petroleum Planning and 

Analysis Cell, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Govt. of India. 

https://www.ppac.gov.in. 

Adake Ravikant V, Srinivas I, Ashish S Dhimate, Reddy B.S, Vijaykumar S and Sammi Reddy 

K. 2021. Development of solar powered weeder for small farmers in drylands. Extended 

summary In 5th International Agronomy Congress on Agri innovations to combat food 

and nutrition challenges organized by Indian Society of Agronomy and PJTSAU, 

Hyderabad during 23-27 November, 2021 

Srinivas Ch, Srinivas I, Adake R. V, Santra P, Rao K.V, Sammi Reddy K, Yadav O.P and 

Mohan P Saxena 2018. Utilization of renewable energy sources in dryland systems. In 

12 th International Dryland Development Conference on “Sustainable Development 

Drylands in the Post 2015 World” during 21-24 August 2016 Alexandria, Egypt 

T5-32P-1379 

Design and Development of Planter for Intercropping Castor with Green 

Gram 

H. S. Chaudhary and R. N. Singh 

Centre for Natural Resources Management, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, 

Gujarat (India) – 385 506 

In India, the area and production of castor is 9.10 lakh hectares and 18.89 lakh tones, 

respectively (Castor outlook report - July 2021, PJTSAU). Inter-cropping of short-duration 

crop like green-gram (Phaseolus radiates L.), black gram (P. mungo L.) and cluster bean 

(Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taubert) with castor is remunerative for dry land conditions. 

Being a long duration, widely-spaced crop with comparatively thin plant population in 

comparison with other field crops, it offers a great scope for using its inter-space by growing 

short-duration crop and thereby helps to harvest the potential productivity (Singh and Singh, 

1988). 

In Gujarat, most of the farmers adopt agricultural practices of sowing green gram and castor as 

an intercrop in the rainfed condition in Kharif season with green gram sowing by seed drill and 

then castor sowing manually for maintaining the desired spacing which takes more time as well 

energy. The manual method of sowing of castor is common in India, as well as in all Gujarat 

which results in more time requirement and serious backache of the farmers. Till now, there is 

no such type of intercrop planter is developed which can maintain the proper spacing between 

the castor and green gram crop simultaneously. To overcome this problem, there is need to 


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design a suitable intercrop planter that is able to perform the above said functions without 

damaging the seed and also reduce the cost of seeding as well as energy. 

Objectives: 

1. To design and development of intercrop planter for selected crop 

2. To evaluate the performance of developed intercrop planter 

3. To compute the economics of intercrop planter. 

Methodology 

Some agronomical practices of selected crops 

Crop Variety Seed rate (kg/ha) 

Row to row 

spacing (mm) 

Plant to plant 

spacing (mm) 

Castor GCH-7 5 1200 600 

Green gram GM-4 12-16 450 100 

The design considerations followed for mechanical components of prototype intercrop planter 

are explained under the following headings: 

1. Design of furrow opener 

2. Design of frame 

3. Design of power transmission system 

4. Design of seed metering mechanism 

Specifications of intercrop planter 

2.1 GENERAL 

Type : Tractor mounted 

Working width (Spacing × tynes), 

mm 

: 2600 (Seven tynes adjustable) 

Power sources as recommended : 35 hp and above Tractors 

Seeds on which test trials were 

requested to be conducted 

: Castor and green gram 

2.2 Seed metering mechanism 

Type : Inclined Metering Type 

Material : Plastic 

Size of feed shaft (Length × Dia.), 

mm 

: 1620 × 20 Φ 

Method of drive to feed shaft : Chain and sprocket 

Method of feed rate control : 

By changing gear ratio between ground 

wheel and metering roller 




2.3 Overall Dimensions, mm 

Dimensions Length Width Height 

With covering device 2700 1600 1425 

Without covering device 2600 1600 1425 

2.4 Mass, kg 

Without seed : 270 

With seed : 290 

2.5 Colour : White, orange and black 

Plan of experiment for metering device 

Independent variables 

Sr. No. Variables Levels 

1 Inclination of seed box 50 and 60 degree 

2 Size of cells 

1. Maximum seed dimension 

2. 5 per cent more than maximum seed dimensions 



The field trial was carried out at travel speed 4.5 km/h and with seed metering mechanism to 

observe the effect of cell size and inclination of plate. 

Results 

The construction of the machine was made sturdy and weight was kept matching to the pulling 

capacity of Tractor above 35hp. The total weight of the developed intercrop planter was 270 

kg. The unit price of developed planter was ₹ 56,500 /-. 

Based on the result of experiments of the study the following conclusions were drawn 

1. The intercrop planter was designed on the basis of agronomical crop practices and 

physical parameters namely length, width, thickness, bulk density, angle of repose, 

geometric mean diameter of castor and green gram. 

2. In calibration of intercrop planter, the desired seed rate obtained of castor and green 

gram were 4.73 kg/ha and 13.19 kg/ha at combination of 60˚ angle of inclination and 

13 mm and 6 mm size of cells, respectively. 

3. The developed intercrop planter was evaluated with castor and green gram in 

intercropping. The results shown that combination of 60˚ inclination angle and 

maximum seed size of metering plate was gave better results during the laboratory 

evaluation. 

4. At consummated combination of inclination angle and size of cells, the corresponding 

dependent variable such as seed rate, average seed spacing, missing index, multiple 

index and quality of feed index found were 4.73 kg/ha, 60.04 cm, 1.60 per cent, 0.00 


772 | Page



per cent and 98.40 per cent for castor and 13.19 kg/ha, 9.72 cm, 0.00 per cent, 0.00 per 

cent and 98.00 per cent for green gram, respectively during laboratory evaluation. 

5. The results shown that combination of 60˚ inclination angle and maximum seed size of 

metering plate was gave better results during the field evaluation. 

6. At consummated combination of inclination angle and size of cells, the corresponding 

dependent variable such as seed rate, average seed spacing, missing index, multiple 

index and quality of feed index found were 60.26 cm, 10.40 per cent, 0.00 per cent and 

89.60 per cent for castor and 9.95 cm, 8.00 per cent, 0.00 per cent and 92.00 per cent 

for green gram, respectively during field evaluation. 

7. Depth of sowing, speed of operation, draft, theoretical capacity, effective capacity, field 

efficiency, field machine index and fuel consumption were obtained 5 cm for castor, 

3.5 cm for green gram, 4.5 km/h, 233 kgf, 0.90 ha/h, 0.79 ha/h, 84.43 per cent, 87.77 

per cent and 3.61 l/h, respectively. 

8. Cost of operation, breakeven point and payback period of intercrop planter were 

Conclusions 

obtained ₹ 608 per hour (₹ 770 per ha), 18.90 h/annum and 2.06 year, respectively. 

Inclination angle of metering plate 60˚ and maximum seed size of metering plate was giving 

better results during the field evaluation. Developed planter saving in time and cost of planting 

compared with conventional method were 92.25 and 46.15 %, respectively. 

References 

Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, 2021. Agricultural Market 

Intelligence Centre, Castor outlook report - July 2021, PJTSAU. p 1. 

Singh J. P. and Singh, B. P. 1988. Intercropping of mung bean and guar in castor under dryland 

condition. Indian J. Agron, 33(2): 177-180. 

Kepner R. A, Bainer R. and Barger, E. L. 1987. Principles of farm machinery, CBS Publishers 

and Distributors, New Delhi. p: 25. 

Khurmi R. S. and Gupta, J. K. 2005. A textbook of machine design. S. Chand publishing. 

Sharma D. N. and Mukesh, S. (2019). Farm machinery design: Principles and problems. Jain 

brothers. 

Ajit Singh. 2011. Performance evaluation of bed planter for intercropping in castor. M.Tech. 

(Agril. Engg.). Thesis (Unpublished). CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, 

Haryana. 

Ashoka H. G, Jayanthi B. and Prashantha G. M. 2012. Performance evaluation of power drawn 

six row groundnut planter. Int. J. Agric. Eng., 5(2): 123-126. 




Leaf Propagation of Guava for Prevention of Root Knot Nematode 

R. Neelavathi 1 , C. Indu Rani 2 , M. Kumar 1 and P. Sridhar 1 

T5-33P-1417 

1 ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Tindivanam, Villupuram district 

604002, Tamil Nadu, India 

2 Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Coimbatore 641 

003, Tamil Nadu, India 

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is cultivated in an area of 2.87 lakh hectares with an annual 

production of 43.04 lakh tonnes. It is good for diabetic patients due to the very low glycemic 

index and glycemic load of fruits. It is a highly remunerative crop with good management 

practices. Recently, it has been affected by the guava root knot nematode, Meloidogyne 

enterolobii (Poornima et al., 2016) in major guava growing states of India. The nematode 

spreads rapidly and makes the cultivation of guava unviable and unprofitable. The major cause 

of the spread of this nematode is through soil along with planting materials. To overcome this, 

the production of planting materials without nematode infestation through a suitable 

propagation method is very essential. The propagation of guava through leaves and stem 

cutting will be highly useful for producing nematode free planting materials. The present study 

was conducted in to standardize concentration of Indole Butyric Acid (IBA) and treatment 

duration for guava propagation through leaves. 

Methodology 

The present research work was carried out at ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tamil Nadu 

Agricultural University, Tindivanam, Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu during 2021-22. The 

experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design with five replications. Just 

mature leaves and mature leaves of guava cv. Lucknow 49 were collected and dipped in 1,000 

and 2,000 ppm of Indole Butyric Acid for 1 and 2 minutes. After dipping, the guava leaves 

were planted in 50 cavity protrays containing well decomposed cocopeat and kept under shade 

net. The number of days taken for rooting, rooting percentage, number of roots, number of days 

taken for shoot formation and shoot length were all recorded and subjected to statistical 

analysis. 

Results 

The concentration of IBA and treatment duration has significant effects on the number of days 

for rooting, rooting percentage, number of roots, number of days taken for shoot formation and 

shoot length. Treatment, T 7-Just mature leaves (3 rd leaf from shoot tip) + 2,000 ppm IBA for 1 

minute was found to be the best for rooting (37.65days), rooting percentage (81.63%) in guava 

leaves followed by T 9- Just mature leaves (3 rd leaf from shoot tip) + 2,000 ppm IBA for 2 

minutes. The complete drying of the mature leaves was observed in all treatments. Treatment, 


774 | Page



T7 - Just mature leaves (3 rd leaf from shoot tip) dipped in 2,000 ppm IBA for 1 minute was 

found to be the best for and number of roots (36.74) on 60 th day. The rooted leaves are 

transferred to polybags containing red soil, sand and well decomposed farmyard manure. 

Treatment, T7- Just mature leaves (3 rd leaf from shoot tip) + 2,000 ppm IBA for 1 minute was 

found to be the best for shooting (67.93days) in guava leaves. The growth of the shoot was 

better in treatment, T7 (12.77 cm), followed by treatment, T9 (13.22 cm). Treatment, T7-Just 

mature leaves (3 rd leaf from shoot tip) + 2,000 ppm IBA for 1 minute (81.22%) was found to 

be the best for rooting in guava leaves. 

Parameters on rooting and shoot formation in Guava leaves cv. Lucknow 49 

Sl. 

No 

Treatments 

Number 

of days 

for 

rooting 

Rooting 

percentage 


roots/plant 

on 60 th day 

Days for 

shoot 

formation 

1. T 1 : Just mature leaves - - - - - 

2. T 2 : Mature leaves - - - - - 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

Conclusion 

T 3 : Just mature leaves + 

1,000 ppm IBA for 1 minute 

T 4 : Mature leaves + 1,000 

ppm IBA for 1 minute 


1,000 ppm for 2 minutes 


ppm for 2 minutes 


2,000 ppm IBA for 1 minute 


ppm IBA for 1 minute 


2,000 ppm IBA for 2 

minutes 


ppm IBA for 2 minutes 

Shoot 

length 

(cm) 

- - - - - 

- - - - - 

- - - - - 

- - - - - 

37.65 81.63 36.74 67.93 13.22 

- - - - - 

39.67 10.45 38.10 69.69 10.32 

- - - - - 

Mean 38.66 46.04 37.42 68.81 11.77 

CD (0.05) 1.85 10.12 0.16 1.68 0.91 

Among treatments evaluated, Treatment, T7 - Just mature leaves (3 rd leaf from shoot tip) + 

2,000 ppm IBA for 1 minute was found to be the best for rooting (37.65 days) in guava leaves, 

rooting percentage (81.63%), number of roots (36.74), number of days taken for shoot 

formation (67.93). shoot length (13.22cm) and survival (81.22%) of leaf propagated plants. 




Leaf propagation will be a novel method of propagation to prevent the entry of guava root knot 

nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii. 

References 

Poornima K, Suresh P, Kalaiarasan , Subramanian S. and Ramaraju K. 2016. Root Knot 

Nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii in Guava (Psidium guajava L.) A New Record 

from India. Madras Agric. J. 103. 

T5-34P-1491 

Soil Moisture Indices Using Copernicus Soil Water Index for Drought 

Studies 

K. V. Rao 1 , G. S. Pratyusha Kranthi 1 , S. Deepika 1 , D. Kalyana Srinivas 1 , V. K. Singh 1 , 

Giriraj Amarnath 2 and A. K. Sikka 2 


2 International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 

Soil moisture is widely recognized as an essential parameter for drought risk assessments as 

well as for vegetative stress predictions (Robinson et al., 2008, Dobriyal et al., 2012). 

Depletion in soil moisture cause stress in plants and results in crop failure. The deficit soil 

moisture volume during crop growing season is a good index of agricultural drought intensity, 

indicating recent precipitation shortages and limited conditions for crop production (Keyantash 

etal., 2002). Many drought indices based on soil moisture have been developed for drought 

studies which are very effective in monitoring drought. Indices like the soil moisture index 

(SMI) (Sridhar et al., 2008, Hunt et al., 2009) and soil water deficit index (SWDI) (Martnez- 

Fernndez et al., 2015) are some agricultural drought indices based on the actual soil moisture 

content and known field capacity and wilting point at each location. In this study two indices 

were derived using Copernicus soil moisture index (SMI) namely Moisture Condition Index 

(MCI) and Soil moisture Index Anomaly (SMA) for drought studies. 

Methodology 

The Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) provides a series of bio-geophysical products on 

state and evolution of Earth's surface on a global scale with 0.1 degree or 12.5km resolution. 

Soil Moisture Index (SMI) is estimated in a timely manner and supplemented by long-term 

time series. A 10-day soil moisture was downloaded for the period 2000 to 2015. Following 

equations are use to calculate MCI and SMA. 

MCI = 

 

 

Equation 1 

SMA = 

 

Equation 2 


776 | Page



Where: 

SWI = SWI of current day 

SWI = Maximum of average SWI for the period 2000 to 2015 

SWI = Minimum of average SWI for the period 2000 to 2015 

SWI µ = Mean SWI for the period 2000 to 2015 

SWI = Standard Deviation of SWI for the period 2000 to 2015 

Results 

MCI and SWA indices (fig) were generated using the formulas mentioned in equation 1,2 and 

3 respectively. MCI is classified into extreme, severe, moderate and mild categories. As 

mentioned by Copernicus European Drought Observatory, SMA values below -1 and greater 

than or equal to -2 represent drier than normal condition, -1 to 1 is normal, above 1 and less or 

equal to 2 represent wetter than normal condition. Negative anomalies of SMA and extreme, 

severe and moderate conditions of MCI are associated with drought conditions since soil 

moisture content is strongly connected to plant biomass accumulation in many environments 

where water availability is the main limiting factor. The MCI and SMA combined with 

dryspell, Progressive Difference Normalized Vegetation Index (PDNDVI) offer better 

assessment of prevailing drought conditions. 

Conclusion 

Two indices MCI and SMA are developed using SMI of Copernicus Global Land Service 

which could be used for drought monitoring. 

Soil Moisture Index (SMI), Soil Moisture Anomaly (SMA), Moisture Condition Index (MCI) for the 

month of June 2022 




References 

Copernicus European Drought Observatory (EDO): http://edo.jrc.ec.europa.eu/. European 

Commission, 2019. 

Dobriyal P, Qureshi A, Badola R and Hussain SA. 2012. A review of the methods available 

for estimating soil moisture and its implications for water resource management. J. 

Hydrol, 458-459: 110-117. 

Keyantash J and Dracup JA. 2002. The quantification of drought: an evaluation of drought 

indices. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 83: 1167-1180. 

Martinez-Fernandez J, Gonzalez-Zamora A, Sanchez N and Gumuzzio A. 2015. A soil water 

based index as a suitable agricultural drought indicator. J. Hydrol., 522: pp. 265-273. 

Robinson DA, Campbell CS, Hopmans JW, Hornbuckle BK, Jones SB, Knight R, Ogden F, 

Selke J and Wendroth O. 2008. Soil Moisture Measurement for Ecological and 

Hydrological Watershed-Scale Observatories: A Review. Vadose zone J., 7(1). 

Sridhar V, Hubbard KG, You J, Hunt ED. 2008. Development of the Soil Moisture Index to 

Quantify Agricultural Drought and Its “User Friendliness” in Severity-Area-Duration 

Assessment. J. Hydrometeorol. P 

T5-35P-1528 

Soil Conservation Practices for Climate Change Adaptation in Bihar State 

Pooja Jena 1 Manoher Saryam 2 , Shailabala Dei 1 , and Arabind Kumar Sinha 3 

1 Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour (Bihar) 

2 Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) 

3 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bhagalpur (Bihar) 

Agriculture places a heavy burden on the land and environment in the process of providing 

food for man, and climate factors in agricultural production is having its toll on soil fertility in 

Bihar state. Soil conservation technique is the application of processes to the solution of soil 

management problems. The conservation of soil implies utilization without waste so as to make 

possible a continuously high level of crop production while improving environmental quality. 

Soil conversation, in practice refers to the protection of all surface deposits, not merely the 

near-surface, organic layers that are subject to present-day weathering. Climate change is 

occurring, and the implementation of sound conservation practices will be key for each 

country’s health, social stability, and security. There are a large number of peer-reviewed 

publications that report on the effects of a changing climate. The potential role of conservation 

practices in contributing to food security, illustrates the relationship between climate change, 

soil and water resources, and food security. The common climate adaptation strategies among 


778 | Page



the farmers were mulching, green and farmyard manuring, cover crops and mixed cropping, 

which have direct effect on soil nutrient. Other strategies to mitigate the effect of flooding such 

as terracing and contouring were seldom used. Farmers’ opinion towards climate adaptation 

strategies is that no significant yield increase was achieved, and the techniques were not costeffective. 

Also, the techniques require technical know-how, which they lacked. Major 

constraints to farmers’ use of the climate adaptation strategies were pressure on land, lack of 

knowledge on soil conservation techniques, inadequate information and education on use of 

soil conservation techniques and insecure land tenure system. Trainings should be organized 

for the farmers to educate and inform them about environment friendly soil conservation 

practices that will improve and increase their yield thereby improving their income. 

T5-36P-1535 

Correlation of Weather Variables on the Development of Makhana Leaf 

Spot Disease in the Koshi Region of Bihar 

Md. Nadeem Akhtar 1 *, Santosh Kumar 2 , Krishna Murari Singh 3 and 

Amrendra Kumar 4 

1,3 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Agwanpur, Saharsa, Bihar. 

2 Mandan Bharti Agricultural College, Agwanpur, Saharsa -852 201, Bihar 

4 Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Patna (Zone IV), Bihar 

Makhana (Euryale ferox salisb) a member of the family Nymphaeaceae, is an emergent floating 

macrophyte plant, which is cultivated commercially as a cash crop. It is also known as fox nut, 

gorgon nut, and food of God. The center for makhana cultivation lies in the tropical and 

subtropical regions of South East and East Asia. In India, North Bihar, the lower Assam region, 

Odisha, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir, and Manipur are some of the states 

where the makhana is cultivated (Kumar et al., 2011). However, North Bihar is well-known 

for makhana production not only at the national level but also at the global level. The area 

comprises about 20,000 ha, which covers about 80% of the acreage and production of more 

than 90% (Jana, 2016). Makhana is affected by various kinds of diseases caused by fungi. Leaf 

spot caused by Alternaria tenuissima is one of the most catastrophic and widespread diseases 

which causes substantial yield loss (Kumar et al., 2020). Severe foliage infections were 

observed in makhana of the Koshi zone of Bihar, while the survey and surveillance program 

during crop season, 2018, where, 25–30% of leaf areas in one-fourth population of makhana in 

most of the ponds were infected (Kumar et al., 2020). Since weather factors have an overriding 

influence on crop stage and the progress of the disease. Therefore, monitoring of weather 

conditions of different crop stages is an important concern in disease management and 

prediction. Moreover, rare information is available related to the epidemiology of this disease. 

Therefore, considering the devastation of makhana due to leaf spot, an experiment was 




formulated and conducted to assess the relationship between the occurrence & progress of this 

disease under prevailing weather variables in the Koshi zone of Bihar. 

The impact of weather variables viz., temperature, humidity, and rainfall on the development 

of leaf spot disease in makhana in the Koshi Zone of Bihar has taken under investigation, while 

the crop season (March-August) 2020 and 2021. The studies revealed that the maximum leaf 

spot severity occurred in mid-July, 2020 and 2021, which was 16.75% and 17.67% 

respectively. However, it was minimum during April 2020 and 2021. The disease severity 

reached its plateau when the respective mean temperature and RH were 32.7 o C & 85.5% in 

June-August 2019. Similar trends of the plateau were seen in June-August 2021 when the 

respective mean temperature and RH were 35.2 o C & 86.9%. The respective average rainfall 

recorded in 2020 and 2021 favoring the maximum severity were 138.5 and 148.0 mm. The 

correlation of leaf spot severity with weather variables was strongly positive, which was 0.983 

with the mean temperature, 0.965 with the mean relative humidity, and 0.959 with rainfall at a 

1% level of significance. Regression analysis also supported the mentioned value of weather 

variables as an optimum value responsible for leaf spot disease. 

T5-37P-1538 

Study the Effect of Different Chemical on Biochemical and Functional 

Properties of Custard Apple (Annona squamosa L.) During Storage 

Indraraj Ghasil 1 , N. K. Meena 2 , J. K. Balyan 1 and Hitesh Muwal 1 

1 Dryland Farming research Station, Arjia, Bhilwara (MPUAT, Udaipur) 

2 Department of Fruit Science, Agriculture University, Kota, Rajasthan 

Custard apple (Annona squamosa L.) is a delicious fruit cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical 

climate. it belongs to family Annonaceae and native of the West Indies. Custard apple is an 

arid fruit crop and hardy in nature requires dry climate with mild winter. It can grow from sea 

level up to 100 m above the mean sea level elevation and also drought (Singh, 1992). The 

ripened fruits are consumed mainly in fresh form. There has been great demand for custard 

apple in preparation of ice-cream and pudding. Custard apple contains, protein (1.6 g), fat (0.5- 

0.6 g), carbohydrates (23.5g), crude fiber (0.9-6.6 g), calcium (17.6 mg), phosphorus (47 mg), 

iron (1.5 mg), thiamine (0.075-0.119 mg), riboflavin (0.086-0.175 mg), ascorbic Acid (15.0 - 

44.4 mg), nicotinic Acid (0.5 mg), per 100 g of edible portion of custard apple. Custard apple 

is highly climacteric fruit. It ripens within 2-3 days after harvesting at commercial maturity 

stage. It steadily produces ethylene in large amount and owing to that the shelf life of fruits is 

very poor. At room temperature fruits remain fit for consumption only for 3-4 days after that 

decay starts. Its pulp is also containing high amount of phenolics, thereof it become prone to 

oxidation during air contact. Post-harvest application of oxalic acid (OA), salicylic acid (SA) 

and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) could be a better solution to enhance the quality and storage 


780 | Page



life of custard apple. Oxalic acid reduces the production of polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin 

methyl esterase (PME), which will be responsible for cell wall degradation, so that the treated 

fruit maintains the firmness (Wu et al., 2011). Salicylic acid is an endogenous plant hormone 

which plays an important role in enhancing fruit quality and positively effects on reducing 

respiration and ethylene biosynthesis rates, weight loss, decay and softening of the fruits 

(Shafiee et al., 2010). Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) can release nitric oxide (NO) by reduction 

and decomposition. Since Nitrous Oxide decreases ethylene synthesis, during ripening and fruit 

senescence. Application of these eco-friendly chemicals explored in many fruits but remains 

unexplored in custard apple. There is urgent need to develop low cost and eco-friendly 

approaches. 

Methodology 

The mature, freshly harvested, uniform size and quality fruits of custard apple cv. “Balanagar’’ 

free from insect pest and microbial infection procured from the experimental orchard of AICRP 

on AZF, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Jhalawar and to the laboratory of Department 

of Post-Harvest Technology, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Jhalawar (Rajasthan). After 

preliminary sorting, the fruits were washed thoroughly in tap water to remove the dirt and dust 

from the surface of fruit and then fruits were dried in the air. The whole lots of fruits were 

being randomly divided into 13 lots and each lots containing 20 fruits were given following 

postharvest treatments (Oxalic acid @ 2.5 mM, 5.0 mM, 7.5 mM, 10.0 Mm, Salicylic acid @ 

0.5 mM, 1.0 mM, 1.5 mM, 2.0 mM, Sodium Nitro Prusside@ 0.5 mM, 1.0 mM, 1.5 mM, 2.0 

mM) by dipping the fruits in respective chemical solution for 10 minutes followed by air 

drying. These fruits were kept in aerated corrugated boxes. The data collected as a part of 

experiment will be analyzed by following analytical method as followed for Completely 

Randomized Design (CRD). 

Results 

TSS was significantly affected by different post-harvest treatments during entire storage 

period. On 9 th day of storage maximum increment in TSS (38.87°Brix) was observed in 

treatment T12 (Sodium Nitro Prusside @ 2.0 mM ) and lowest (25.61°Brix) in treatment T0 

(Control). T 12 treatment was found superior over all other treatments. A sharp drop was 

witnessed in titratable acidity of all fruits during whole storage period although on 9 th day of 

storage maximum decrease in titratable acidity was perceived in fruits treatments with Salicylic 

acid @ 2.0 mM) (57.81%) and Oxalic acid @ 5.0 mM (57.81%) and lowest with Salicylic 

acid @ 1.0 mM (23.68%). It is apparent from the data revealed that different post-harvest 

treatments significantly influenced the total sugar during entire storage period of custard apple 

fruits. Application of Sodium Nitro Prusside @ 2.0 mM recorded maximum increment 

(70.26%) of total sugar and minimum increment (26.26%) was recorded under control on 9 th 

day of storage. Further, Sodium Nitro Prusside @ 2.0 mM was found significantly better among 




rest of the treatments. The total phenols content was significantly affected by different 

treatments during entire storage period. The minimum reduction (11.62%) in total phenols 

content was found that Sodium Nitro Prusside @ 2.0 mM), while it was maximum (21.94%) 

in fruits under control (on 9 th day of storage). Coating with Sodium Nitro Prusside @ 2.0 mM) 

was found significantly at par with Salicylic acid @ 1.5 mM (11.81%). The antioxidant activity 

was significantly affected by different treatments during entire storage period. The minimum 

reduction (34.75%) in antioxidant activity was found with Sodium Nitro Prusside @ 2.0 mM, 

while it was maximum (85.71%) in fruits under control (on 9 th day of storage). However, 

Sodium Nitro Prusside @ 2.0 mM was found superior over all other treatments. Similar 

findings were also observed by Ghasil, et.al. (2022) 

Conclusion 

On the basis of results obtained in the present research experiment, it may be concluded that 

coating with Sodium Nitro Prusside @ 2.0 mM was found significantly superior over all other 

treatments and it also observed in maintaining the quality and extending the shelf life of 

Balanagar custard apple fruits. Further, under this treatment recorded highest TSS 

(38.87°Brix), maximum increment of total sugar (70.26%), highest ascorbic acid (43.20 

mg/100g), minimum reduction of phenol content (11.62%) and highest antioxidant capacity 

(0.92 μmol Trolox/100 g) end of the storage period. However, Sodium Nitro Prusside @ 2.0 

mM) was found best for maintaining biochemical and functional activities and increased the 

shelf life up to 8 days of storage at room temperature. 

References 

Ghasil.I. .2011. Effect of post-harvest treatments on biochemical and bioactive compounds of 

Custard Apple (Annona squanosa L) Cv. Int. J. Fruit Sci., 22(1):826-836. 

Shafiee M, Taghavi T.S. and Babalar M. 2010. Addition of salicylic acid to nutrient solution 

combined with postharvest treatments (hot water, salicylic acid, and calcium dipping) 

improved postharvest fruit quality of strawberry. Scientia Horticulturae, 124(1):40–45. 

Singh S.P. 1992. Fruit crops for wastelands. Scientific Publishers, New Pali Road, Jodhpur- 

342001, India. pp 49-64. 

Wu F, Zhang D, Zhang H, Jiang G, Su X. and Qu, H. 2011. Physiological and biochemical 

response of harvested plum fruit to oxalic acid during ripening or shelf-life. Food Res. 

Int., 44: 1299-1305. 


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T5-38P-1589 

Cloud Computing, Data science for Big Data Management in Agriculture 

R. Lakshmi Sreya 

Maturi Venkata Subba Rao (MVSR) Engineering College, Hyderabad, India 

Farm productivity and farmer income in India is plagued with several challenges – marginal 

land holdings of farmers making mechanization difficult and implementation of technology 

difficult or unviable, timely access to genuine and high-quality inputs and farming advice, 

heavily intermediated supply chains, dependence on monsoon rains, and inadequate storage 

facilities. Cloud computing technology in agricultural area has greater scope in the overall 

development of India. This paper reviews the potential uses of cloud computing in agriculture. 

Methodology 

This paper is based on literature review of application of data science tools in making 

agriculture more competitive and efficient. 

Results 

Data science is the method of gleaning insights from data. It enables the use of real-time data 

and past data to form meaningful insights on buyer behavior, customer credit behavior, product 

testing, cropping patterns, and others. Data science already plays a significant role in banking 

and healthcare, both in India and globally. The principles of data science could also be applied 

to the Indian agriculture industry across the value chain from the farm through retail. 

Agriculture and cloud computing cloud services: 

a) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): 

Infrastructure as a Service abbreviated as IaaS, contains the basic building blocks for cloud IT 

and typically provide access to networking features, computers (virtual or on dedicated 

hardware), and data storage space. Infrastructure as a Service provides you with the highest 

level of flexibility and management control over your IT resources and is most similar to 

existing IT resources that many IT departments and developers are familiar with today. 

b) Platform as a Service (PaaS): 

Platforms as a service remove the need for organizations to manage the underlying 

infrastructure (usually hardware and operating systems) and allow you to focus on the 

deployment and management of your applications. This helps you to be more efficient as you 

don’t need to worry about resource procurement, capacity planning, software maintenance, 

patching, or any of the other undifferentiated heavy lifting involved in running your 

application. 




c) Software as a Service (SaaS): 

Software as a Service provides you with a completed product that is run and managed by the 

service provider. In most cases, people referring to Software as a Service are referring to enduser 

applications. With a SaaS offering you do not have to think about how the service is 

maintained or how the underlying infrastructure is managed; you only need to think about 

how you will use that particular piece software. A common example of a SaaS application is 

web-based email where you can send and receive email without having to manage feature 

additions to the email product or maintaining the servers and operating systems that the email 

program is running on. 

The relationship between Cloud computing and agricultural development is seen as 

applications. 

The applications of cloud computing technology in agriculture can solve the bottleneck 

problem of agricultural modernization and agricultural information and can also break 

agricultural producers’ limitations in knowledge or technology, reduce duplication, improve 

utilization of existing resources to make up for dispersed, small-scale, regional differences 

agricultural production and the strong dependence on the natural climate vulnerability of 

agricultural production. 

Organizational form of production in agriculture is relatively simple, backward and a low 

degree of specialization of agricultural production areas, it is difficult to achieve integrating 

agriculture. 

In addition, due to the limitations of the farmers at market forecasting, business decisionmaking, 

information gathering, and logistics management capacity is more lacking; it often 

leads to a mismatch between the supply and demand, not only damages the farmers' own 

interests, have also hindered the healthy development of the market supply and demand. 

Conclusion: 

This prominent technique may deliver the agriculture-based knowledge along with 

management of natural resources and knowledge directly to the consumers not only in a small 

region like in nonstop marketing or shops but also in a wider region. This will change the 

whole supply chain, which is mainly in the hand of large companies, now, but can change to 

a more direct, shorter chain between producers and consumers. Cloud computing technology, 

applicable for the improvement of agriculture growth, food, grain, product, economic 

condition, ensure food safety, GDP of the nation & circulate information related to agriculture. 

Now, much more than in the past, agriculture professionals can dig into data and use it to 

make highly informed decisions. The advancements of data scientists are making this reality 

possible, both now and for the foreseeable future. 


784 | Page



References 

Patel R. and Patel, M. 2013. Application of Cloud Computing in Agricultural Development of 

Rural India. International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technologies. 

4(6): 922-926. 

Kamath, S. and Chetan A. A. 2011. Affordable, interactive crowd sourcing platform for 

sustainable agriculture: Enabling public private partnerships. Cloud Computing 

Journal, April 2011. 

Patel, R. and Patel M. 2013. Application of Cloud Computing in Agricultural Development of 

Rural India. Int. J. Comput. Sci. Inf. Technol., 4(6): 922-926. 

Hori M, Kawashima E. and Yamazaki T. (2010) "Application of cloud computing to agriculture 

and prospects in other fields", Fujitsu Science and Technology Journal, Vol.46, No.4, 

pp.446–454. 

Jianxun Zhang, Zhimin Gu, and Chao Zheng, " A Summary of Research Progress on Cloud 

Computing", Application Research of Computers, Vol. 27, No. 2, 2010, 429-433. 

T5-39P-1598 

Feasibility of Appropriate Mechanization in Cultivation of Millets in Rainfed Eco System 

I. Srinivas, Ashish S Dhimate, R. V. Adake. G. Pratibha, G. Venkatesh and 

K. Sammi Reddy and M. Srinivasa Rao 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India-500059 

Millets have become important food grains in our life and were considered as low starch 

content grains for healthy diet. Total area under millets (excluding Jawar and Bajra) is about 

1.6 million ha and producing about 2.35 million tons of millets (2020-21) with average grain 

yield of 1.46 tons/ha apart from producing considerable amount of biomass for fodder needs 

of animals. It was observed that 89 % of the millets are produced from the rainfed eco system 

only. These are produced from the small and marginal lands owned by the small to medium 

farmers who don’t have enough resources. Apart from that, the scarcity of labour during the 

peak operations is a major hurdle for proper management of millet production system. 

Availability of suitable implements for sowing and inter cultivation are key issues for meeting 

the timeliness of the required operations. Keeping all these point in consideration performance 

evaluation of CRIDA 6 row planter and zero till planter carried out at CRIDA research farm 

with modified inclined metering plate. Appropriate mechanization in intercultural operations 

like weeding and spraying helped in increasing the productivity of the millets apart from 

reducing the cultivation cost significantly. 




Methodology 

Most of farmers from dryland own 35 hp tractor. To suit their power availability six row planter 

was developed. The design consists of hopper box for seed and fertilizer, drive mechanism, 

mounting frame, seed tubes and metering plates. Row to row spacing can be maintained by 

adjusting the shanks on the frame as per the recommended spacing. It provides effective soil 

covering, uniform seed to seed distance, faster coverage. Moreover, mechanical sowing 

increased crop yield and profit, time saving by 80 % and labour saving, 30 % saving in seed 

and fertilizer when compared to the conventional. The modified inclined metering plates to 

accommodate the smaller size seeds ranging 1 to 3 mm size with 2 to 3 mm length optimized 

the required seed dropping for better germination with recommended plant-to-plant spacing. 

The depth of sowing was also observed to be very critical parameter for the alfisol soils with 

proper coverage. 

Specification of tractor drawn CRIDA six row planter 

S. no. Particulars Specification 

1. Overall Dimension (L*W*H) 2121 x 640 x 980 mm 

2. Metering mechanism Inclined plate 

3. Source of power 35-45hp 

4. Type of Seed Multi-crop planter, metering plates available as per 

seed type 

5. Furrow opener Shovel type furrow openers 

6. Furrow spacing Adjustable 

7. Depth of sowing adjustable 

8. Weight of machine 275 kg 

Results 

Appropriate mechanization of sowing with CRIDA 6-row planter and CRIDA Zero till planter 

helped in increase in yields by 20 to 30 % in Sorghum, Finger millet, Pearl millet and Foxtail 

millets. A tractor drawn weeder was used to remove the weeds with proper earthing up 

operation gave good anchoring to the plants apart from making better aeration and nutrient 

availability to the plants. The 8 “width rear wheels for the tractor made the weeding easy with 

less or no damage to the plants. It was also observed that the modified row spacing of 40 to 45 

cm helped in better tractor drawn weeding and spraying operations which helped in reducing 

cost of operation and also significant amount of drudgery. Overall, it was observed that, the 

partial mechanization in millet production system reduced the cost of cultivation by 30 to 40 

% and increased the yields. 


786 | Page



T5-40P-1711 

Small Scale Farm Mechanization: An Archangle to Climate Resilient 

Agriculture 

M. V. Tiwari, V. K. Poshia, and P. D. Verma 

KVK, Navsari Agricultural University, Dediapda, Gujarat 

In rural India, the percentage of women who depend on agriculture for their livelihood is as 

high as 84%. Women make up about 33% of cultivators and about 47% percent of agricultural 

labourers. Women Farmers are those who work in acres, not in hours, they don’t work till the 

sun gets down, but they surely work till the job gets done. Agricultural machines and equipment 

are mostly made by male mechanics. Adjustment is often needed to make it suitable for women 

farmers due to their body size, physical strength and limited experiences of using them. 

Women do the most tedious and back-breaking tasks in agriculture, animal husbandry and at 

homes. Their contribution is very high in farm sector as they are involved in most of the farm 

operations and are, therefore, subjected to extra harsh conditions of work that lead to drudgery. 

It is generally felt that the available agricultural machineries are not women friendly as they 

are not designed taking into consideration the women’s ergonomic measurements. There exists 

a gap between design engineers and farm planners and the lack of women’s access to articulate 

their felt needs. The result is that the women farmers must carry out various field operations 

with the age-old hand tools or with their hands. The posture adopted during these operations 

are not proper and lead to occupational health problems if not given due attention. It is thus 

essential that the tools and implements for farm women are developed to suit their body 

posture. In this direction, several agricultural implements and hand tools suitable for farm 

women have been developed by various Institutes under ICAR. These gender-friendly tools are 

required to be promoted and popularized among the farm women on a massive scale and these 

tools are- Twin wheel hoe, paddy thresher, stalk puller, Milking stand& stool and so many with 

the help of these tools they save their time, improve work efficiency and prove as a source of 

income. The Central government is continuously working to strengthen the financial security 

of farmers. Therefore, the government has released funds to different states for various 

activities of farm mechanization. These include the establishment of custom hiring centers, 

farm machinery banks, high-tech hubs and distribution of various agricultural machinery. 

Methodology 

A lot of improved machines are promoted for different agriculture operations in the country, 

but all the machines are not suited to hilly geography of Narmada district. After all assessments, 

some of the improved machines are described below which can be opted for this region in terms 

of work efficiency improvement, KVK (Narmada, NAU) has taken one step ahead developed 

a concept on reach tool center at village level with in 7 villages with set of 7 tools like as- 1. 




Twin wheel hoe, 2. Rack 3. De-Topping 4. Winnowing fan 5. Paddy thresher 6. stalk puller 7. 

Spiral grader. These tools are helpful to save time, save money, save land, manage their health, 

more efficient, effective and environmentally friendly. On reach tool center can be a boon for 

small farmers & farming community and helps them cope up with the shortage of labor and 

improve farm efficiency in terms of 70 to 80%. 

Possible Interventions: 

Weeding equipment/tools: Hand weeding has traditionally been the most common weed 

management practice in Narmada. However, because of rising labor scarcity at critical time of 

weed control, hand weeding is either delayed or insufficient, exacerbating losses. The 

introduction of new, effective and cheaper molecules has offered the farmers adoption of 

herbicide-based weed control, which is likely to increase in future. Battery-operated sprayer 

fitted with 3-nozzle boom is an option that can increase herbicide use efficiency. Much more 

uniform coverage is obtained from using a multiple-nozzle boom sprayer than a single nozzle. 

Mechanical weeding can also be opted as an appropriate weed control measure. Therefore, 

Twin wheel hoe weeder operating between a row spacing of 25-30 cm, and taking 7-8 hours 

for weeding one-hectare area, can be recommended. 

Paddy thresher: Now-a-days motor operated paddy thresher used in Narmada district. Grains 

are generally separated out with the combining and hammering actions of threshing teeth. 

Now the motor operated paddy threshers are available in improved versions and also available 

with the diesel engines having an additional winnowing fan. This type of machine is safer, 

women-friendly, more efficient which can solve the problems of labour, time and cost. Use 

of this machine for custom hiring can be an alternate source of earning for increasing their 

family income. 

Stalk puller: In Narmada district main farmers growing crops like pigeon pea & cotton. Stalk 

of these plants is not easy to pull out. The plant stalk puller is very convenient and efficient 

hand tool for pulling out the stalk with roots by the help of long ever handle. 

Conclusion 

The dominance of small and marginal holdings in Narmada district farmers major focus on 

development and designing of scale-neutral machinery suited to different geographical 

terrains. Facilitating the farmers and train them on above-said machines will help in their 

adoption at large scale and make a viable economic case for new mechanized sustainable 

intensification (SI) technologies in farming sector . The day-to-day hiring of machines on a 

rental basis would be a better option for small and marginal farmers of Narmada district. 


788 | Page



T5-41P-1616 

Predicting the Generation Index of Groundnut Bruchid, Caryedon Serratus 

Olivier in India during Future Climate CHANGE scenario 

T.V. Prasad *, M. Srinivasa Rao, Y. Muttapa, G. Navya and V.K. Singh 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad-500 059, India 

*tvprasad72@gmail.com 

Groundnut bruchid, Caryedon serratus Olivier (Bruchidae: Coleoptera) is a primary insect pest 

of groundnut in storage causing both quantitative and qualitative losses. Beetle damage not 

only reduces the weight, nutritive value and affects the quality of seed and oil. Extent of damage 

(weight loss) caused by bruchid in shelled and unshelled groundnut is about 70 and 80 per cent, 

respectively (Sreedhar et al., 2020). To develop any pest management programme for a specific 

agro-ecosystem, information on abundance and distribution of pest in relation to weather 

parameters is a basic requirement. The ability of an insect to develop at different temperatures 

is an important adaptation to survive in various climatic conditions, and its understanding is 

important for predicting pest outbreaks. The pest forecasting models facilitate better 

preparedness to combat outbreaks of serious insect pests by developing effective pest 

management strategies well in advance. The Insect Life Cycle Modelling (ILCYM) software 

(version 3.0) developed by the International Potato Centre, (Tonnang et al., 2013) has been 

used to predict climatically suitable areas for distribution, abundance and damage activity, and 

to examine the impact of climate change on future pest status of insects of economically 

important crops. With this background we aimed to study the generation index of C. serratus, 

to predict its number of generations per year in different agroecological regions of India due to 

future changes temperature conditions and further simulation data generated from ILCYM 

software were adopted for development of future pest risk maps using ArcGIS environment. 

Methodology 

Experiments on life tables were conducted at six constant temperatures (15, 20, 25, 27, 30 and 

35 o C) and on fluctuating temperature environment inside the growth chambers and the data 

obtained from these experiments was used to develop temperature-dependent phenology model 

for C. serratus. Third module of ILCYM “potential population analysis and mapping” was 

used for developing pest risk maps. Using simulated life table parameters and climatic data 

(temperature), we projected generation index (GI) of C. serratus for present and future time 

period (year 2050). The generated ASCII files of GI from ILCYM for present and future 

predictions were imported in to ArcGIS and converted into a polygon-based classified georeferenced 

data set under different risk levels of C. serratus in India. The GI (value ranges from 

1 to 3.45) used for identification of the region where insect pest having number of generations 




per year. More details about ILCYM and computation of various risk indices including GI are 

available in Prasad et al., 2021. 

Results 

The total number of generations that can be completed by C. serratus in a year in India was 

visualized using ArcGIS for current (baseline worldclim climate data for the year 2000) and 

future projections based on the ensemble of eight GCMs (year 2050) (Fig. 1). The generation 

indices are directly correlated with the abundance and potential infestation of C. serratus under 

stored conditions. Ensemble model has predicted 3-3.46 generations of C. serratus in a year in 

a major part of India. The Himalayan region area and its ranges from north to north-eastern 

regions are predicted to have 1-2.14 generations in a year under current climatic conditions. 

Under future climate change scenarios (2050), maximum regions of India, except Northern 

Himalayan and top of north-eastern states, are predicted with more than three generations of 

C. serratus in a year. In the present study, the model outputs represent only the potential 

population growth parameters for C. serratus in a given agro-ecological region. Thus, it needs 

to be cautiously interpreted while predicting stored dynamics and abundance of C. serratus 

population, where abiotic and biotic factors other than temperature do come to play the role in 

regulating pest population dynamics. The present results indicate that temperature is vital in 

influencing the growth and life table parameters of C. serratus and this pest incidence is likely 

to be higher in the future climate change periods in India. 

Change in generation index (GI) of C. serratus in India for (a) Present and (b) Future (2050). 


790 | Page



Conclusion 

Based on present results the number of generations that can be completed by C. serratus in a 

year in India is likely to be higher in the future climate change periods. 

References 

Prasad, T. V., Srinivasa Rao, M., Rao, K. V., Bal, S. K., Muttapa, Y., Choudhary, J. S. and 

Singh, V. K. 2021. Temperature-based phenology model for predicting the present 

and future establishment and distribution of recently invasive Spodoptera frugiperda 

(J. E. Smith) in India. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 1-15. 

Sreedhar, M., Singh, D. V., Reddy, D. C. and Vasudha, A. 2020. Biochemical changes in 

groundnut pods due to infestation of bruchid Caryedon serratus (Olivier) under 

stored conditions. Journal of Stored Products Research, 88:101678. 

Tonnang, E. Z. H., Juarez, H., Carhuapoma, P., Gonzales, J. C., Mendoza, D., Sporleder, M., 

Simon, R. and Kroschel, J. 2013. ILCYM - Insect Life Cycle Modeling. A software 

package for developing temperature-based insect phenology models with 

applications for local, regional and global analysis of insect population and mapping, 

International Potato Center, Lima, Peru. pp 175. 

T5-42P-1621 

Indian Water Policy: Perspective of Rainwater Harvesting for Sustainability in Semi- 

Arid Regions 

K Sreenivas Reddy*, K Sammi Reddy and V.K Singh 

ICAR - Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santhoshnagar, Hyderabad, 

ks.reddy@icar.gov.in 

India is an agrarian country and water is a critical input in agriculture. India has 18% of world 

population, having 4% of world’s fresh water, out of which 80% is used in agriculture. 

Agriculture farming is two type rainfed and irrigated. Rainfed agriculture is practiced 80% in 

worldwide and contributed 70% in global food production (UNCTAD, 2011). India has about 

141 million ha of net cultivable area. Out of which 72 Mha (51%) net sown areas dependent 

on rain, and plays an important role in the country’s economy. This area accounts for nearly 

40 % of the total food 

production contributed by 80% marginal and small farmers. (Reddy et al, 2020 and DAFW, 

2022).The constraints like water scarcity, soil degradation, low soil fertility, low farm 

mechanization, low risk bearing capacity of farmers, climate change and lack of interest from 

private sector to invest into agriculture due to its unreliable nature, which results in very low 

crop productivity (0.8 to 1 t/ha)or crop failures are always concern for success of agriculture 




in the rainfed area. If these constraints are addressed, these areas have tremendous potential to 

contribute a larger share in food production and faster agricultural growth compared to the 

irrigated areas (Reddy et al., 2020). 

Targeting smallholder farmers particularly in rainfed areas and irrigated areas, offers the best 

chance for reducing poverty quickly in developing countries. Small and marginal farmers 

constitute 86.25% of Indian farmers, 47.38% of cultivated land and over 50% of the 

total agricultural production is vital for not only achieving Indian agrarian economy, but also 

for alleviating hungry and poverty (Singh et al, 2022). Most of the small and marginal farming 

is rain dependent covering the SAT region in the country. They are affected by the recent trends 

of climate change impacts of increased frequency of droughts, floods, high rainfall intensities, 

increased temperatures combined with shifts in markets and prices. Moreover, these farm lands 

are degraded due to soil erosion making the soil unproductive and unsustainable for nutrients 

storage, organic carbon and other soil microorganisms useful for the plants. To make these 

grey lands into productive lands, a long-term strategy for addressing the weather aberrations, 

long dryspells, water conservation and rainwater harvesting are the key for making them green 

with sustainable yields, increased crop productivity by adopting efficient water management 

techniques for conservation of both green and blue water. Also these lands contribute 40% of 

agricultural production with nutrious cereals, oil seeds and pulses besides other cotton and 

commercial crops. 

Since rainfed farming is rain dependent, better management of rainwater, soil moisture, and 

critical irrigation are the key to helping the greatest number of small holders, for three main 

reasons: (1) It cuts the yield losses from dry spells (2) It gives farmers the security they need 

to risk investing in other inputs such as fertilizers and high-yielding varieties. Farmers dare 

not risk the little they have buying inputs for a crop that may fail for lack of water and (3) It 

allows farmers to grow higher value market crops, such as vegetables or fruits. These are more 

sensitive to water stress and require costlier inputs. Improving agricultural productivity in 

areas that depend on rainfall has the greatest potential to reduce poverty and hunger, in large 

parts of Asia. Current yields in many rainfed settings are low and improving rainfed farming 

could double or quadruple yields. Such yields “gaps” are greatest for maize, sorghum, and 

millet and closing these gaps promises huge social, economic, and environmental paybacks 

(CAWMA, 2007). 

India receives an average of 3,000 billion cubic meters (BCM) of rainfall every year. It has 

been estimated that the average surface runoff (SRO) is about 1869 BCM, out of which the 

utilizable surface water available is 690 BCM, and ground water available is 433 BCM. An 

additional 200 BCM is available through interlinking of rivers in different regions of India. 

From the water balance of India’s water resources, the SRO contributing to oceans is 491 

BCM after meeting the requirement of environmental flows of 55 BCM (10% maximum) 


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which can be harvested for conservation of water and increase crop yield through proper 

integrated water policy. 

The National water policy broadly describes the water allocations and utilization patterns for 

major sectors of Agriculture, Industries, Domestic and environment. National Water Policy 

(NWP, 2012) currently in force was drafted in 2012 and is the third such policy since 1987. 

The NWP 2012 policy was the concept of an Integrated Water Resources Management 

approach that took the “river basin/ sub-basin” as a unit for planning, development and 

management of water resources. It states that the land, soil, energy and water management 

with scientific inputs should be used to evolve different agricultural strategies and improve 

soil and water productivity to manage droughts. Integrated farming systems and nonagricultural 

developments may also be considered for livelihood support and poverty 

alleviation. Policy intervention is also made facilitating relaxation in project clearances, 

funding etc. for drought-prone areas. However, so far in the country, the rainfed agriculture is 

neglected or not that much focused in the national policy document which basically contributes 

to the generation of maximum runoff potential to the storage from different river basins of the 

country. These rainfed grey lands suffer from extreme rainfall deficits, high intense rainfall 

with soil degradation through erosion, long dryspells, but contribute to 80% of the production 

of pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals. Hence, it is necessary to rethink of or policy with proper 

allocations of green and blue water in terms of On-farm rainwater harvesting and water 

conservation technologies which are proved cost effective. The rainfed region is characterized 

into three major groups based on average annual rainfall (AAR) of low (500 – 750 mm), 

Medium (750-1200mm) and high (>1200mm). The areal distributions of rainfed area are 

22Mha, 27Mha and 23Mha in the above group of AAR across the different river basins of the 

country. 

Policymakers need to focus on both design and development of water resources infrastructure 

from a multiple-use system perspective. By doing so they can maximize the benefits per unit 

of water ensuring water security. Multiple-use systems for domestic use, crop production, 

aquaculture, agroforestry, and livestock effectively improve water productivity and reduce 

poverty. The contributions to livelihoods, especially for poor households, of these multiple uses 

are substantial. As per GOI directives, it is not only Per drop more crop but also more nutrition 

per drop for food security in rainfed regions. The present paper deals with the perspectives of 

rainwater harvesting, water conservation and its investments for converting these low 

productivity drylands into high productivity green lands in the country for the consideration 

of national water policy. 


Theme– 6 

Institutional and policy innovations for 

accelerated and enhanced impacts



Theme –6: Institutional and policy innovations for accelerated and 

enhanced impacts 


Sr. 

No. 


1 Agrometeorological Interventions for Enhancing 

Farmers’ Income in The Drylands of South Interior 

Karnataka 

2 Assessing the Climate Resilience of Agricultural 

Development Pathways: Framework and 

Application 

3 Promoting Water Stewardship for Improving 

Water Governance in Groundwater Dependent 

Regions 

4 Agricultural Drought and Its Impact on Pod Yield 

of Rainfed Groundnut in Scarce Rainfall Zone of 


5 An Impact Assessment of Agromet Advisory 

Service (Aas) For Sustainable Agriculture and 

Resilient Farm Income: Study of Farm precise 

Mobile Application 

6 Institutional Interventions for Enhancing 

Productivity in Rainfed Agriculture 

7 Perceived Attributes Leading to The Adoption of 

Agromet Advisories by Dryland Farmers in India 

8 Assessment of Profitability and Sustainability of 

Sunflower as A Component in Emerging Cropping 

Systems of Northern Karnataka 

9 Integrated Farming System: A Scientific Approach 

Towards Doubling Farmers Income 

10 Impact of Cluster Folds in Groundnut Productivity 

Enhancement Under Rainfed Alfisols of YSR 

District, Andhra Pradesh 

11 Drought Mitigation of Sorghum by Spraying of 

Foliar Nutrients on Yield and Economics Under 

Dryspell Situation for Southern Agroclimatic Zone 

of Tamil Nadu 

12 A Summative Evaluation of Technological 

Interventions in Poultry Farming 

13 Strengthening Smallholder Agriculture in Rainfed 

Areas: Livelihood Analysis of Pigeonpea Growing 

Farmers of Telangana State 

14 Institutional Innovations for Accelerating 

Technology Transfer: CRIDA’s Experiences 

Thimmegowda 

Arjuna Srinidhi 

Eshwer Kale 

Malleswari 

Sadhineni 

Nikhil Nikam 

Anshida Beevi 

Jagriti Rohit 

MR Umesh 

Keshav Mehra 

DV Srinivasulu 

K Baskar 

Prabhat Kumar 

Pankaj 

G Nirmala 

CA Rama Rao 

T6-01O-107 

T6-02O-1174 

T6-03O-1132 

T6-04O-1423 

T6-05R-1195 

T6-06R-1237 

T6-07R-1214 

T6-08R-1518 

T6-09R-1359 

T6-10R-1177 

T6-11P-1004 

T6-12P-1018 

T6-13P-1025 

T6-14P-1026 

Institutional and policy innovations for accelerated and enhanced impacts 

794 | Page



Sr. 

No. 

15 Need for more flexibility in crop insurance scheme 

(PMFBY) 

16 Performance and Economic Evaluation of Agri- 

Horti System Under Rainfed Condition of 


17 Impact of Agricultural Extension in Managing 

Biotic and Abiotic Stress in Rainfed Areas 

18 Assessment of Cluster Front Line Demonstration 

(Cfld) On Green Gram (Vigna Radiata L. Wildzek) 

As A Climate Resilient Intervention in Rainfed 

Uplands Of Red & Lateritic Tracts of Purulia, 

West Bengal, India During Kharif Season. 

19 Computation of Extension Effectiveness Index and 

Effective Extension Approaches for Adoption of 

Rainfed Technologies By Farmers from State 

Dept. Of Agriculture, Ngo and Private Extension 

Agency in Anantapuramu District of A.P. 

20 Performance of Frontline Demonstrations in Yield 

Enhancement of Cotton Under Arid Conditions 

21 Sustainable Growth in Agriculture Sector: A Case 

Study of Nalgonda District, Telangana State, India 

22 On Farm Evaluation of Farming System Modules 

for Improving the Profitability of Small and 

Marginal Farmers 

23 Evaluation of Suitable Cropping Sequence for Dry 

Tracts in Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh 

24 Dynamics of Agricultural Land Use in Kerala - A 

Socio-Ecological Perspective 

25 Socio-Economic Profile of Farmers of North 

Alluvial Plane of Bihar 

26 Organizational Dynamics of Fpcs For Good 

Management 

27 Identification of Suitable Varieties and Dates of 

Sowing in Cowpea for Prakasam District 

28 Influence of Foliar Application of Potassium 

Nitrate on Yield and Economics of Soybean Under 

Rainfed Conditions of Vidarbha 

29 Impact of Cluster Front Line Demonstrations on 

Productivity and Profitability of Mung Bean 

(Vigna Radiata L.) Var. Ipm-02-3 And Mh-421 In 

Churu District of Rajasthan 

30 Effect of Time of Application and Different Foliar 

Sprays on Yield and Economics of Cotton 


A Amarendar 

Reddy 

AS Gunjkar 

VP Suryavanshi 

A Chakraborty 

K Ravi Shankar 

Arvind Singh 

Tetarwal 

Harish Balduri 

YD Charjan 

Rajesh Chowdary 

Rose Mathews 

Amrendra Kumar 

Akhil Ajith 

S Bharathi 

MM Ganvir 

Harish Kumar 

Rachhoiya 

AB Chorey 

T6-15P-1673 

T6-16P-1053 

T6-17P-1074 

T6-18P-1079 

T6-19P-1092 

T6-20P-1118 

T6-21P-1138 

T6-22P-1164 

T6-23P-1182 

T6-24P-1200 

T6-25P-1204 

T6-26P-1209 

T6-27P-1236 

T6-28P-1246 

T6-29P-1254 

T6-30P-1269 

795 | Page Institutional and policy innovations for accelerated and enhanced impacts



Sr. 

No. 

31 Production Potential & Economic Feasibility of 

Pigeon Pea Base Intercropping System in Scarcity 

Zone of Maharashtra 

32 Decomposition of Agricultural Growth by Sources 

in Andhra Pradesh 


K Kathmaley 

G Samba 

Shiva 

T6-31P-1274 

T6-32P-1306 

33 Diversification in Agriculture Boon for Farmers. UN Umesh T6-33P-1312 

34 Capacity Needs Assessment for Integrating 

Nutrition Objectives into Extension Advisory 

Service (Eas) Programs 

35 Studies on Productivity and Economics of 

Different Maize Based Intercropping Systems 

Under Rainfed Conditions of Jammu 

36 Integration of Millet Crops in Rice Fallow Ecology 

for System Intensification 

37 Impact of Millets Consumption Pattern on 

Lifestyle Diseases of The Tribal and Urban 

Population, Telangana 

38 Awareness of Natural Resource Management 

Among Farm Women 

39 Impact of NICRA Project Through Analysis of 

Different Success Point 

40 Intercropping with Sugarcane for Dfi In Eastern 

Uttar Pradesh 

41 Agricultural Market Intelligence Center - 

Forecasting of Redgram Prices in Telangana State 

by Arimax 

42 Additional Income Through Cultivation of 

Redgram On Paddy Field Bunds 

43 Impact of Frontline Demonstrations on Yield of 

Wheat (Triticum Aestivum) Under NICRA 

Villages of District Jhansi U.P. 

44 Impact Assessment on Yield and Economics of 

Improved Varieties of Pea (Pisum Sativum L.) 

Through Technology Demonstration in NICRA 

Villages of Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand 

45 Impact of Weather Based Agro-Advisory Services 

on Upliftment of Farming Communities of 

Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu 

46 Importance of Solar Light Trap in Integrated Pest 

Management 

47 Impact of Residual Soil Moisture on Yields and 

Profitability of Rainfed Cropping Sequences 

Veenita Kumari 

AP Singh 

U Triveni 

J Shirisha 

SG Puri 

Rajiv Kumar 

Ashok Rai 

R Vijaya Kumari 

S Neelaveni 

Adesh Kumar 

G Alok 

M Vengateswari 

Manoj Kumar 

Ahirwar 

ML Jadav 

T6-34P-1320 

T6-35P-1326 

T6-36P-1376 

T6-37P-1386 

T6-38P-1391 

T6-39P-1436 

T6-40P-1441 

T6-41P-1451 

T6-42P-1458 

T6-43P-1500 

T6-44P-1502 

T6-45P-1541 

T6-46P-1556 

T6-47P-1560 


796 | Page



Sr. 

No. 

48 Technology Need Assessment of Cool Season 

Vegetable Growers in Kerala 

49 Realizing Better Yield and Returns of Chickpea 

Crop Through Cluster Frontline Demonstrations 

50 Achieving Fodder self-sufficiency using Natural 

Farming Methods and Community Action in a 

Rainfed Region: The case of Ayyavaripalli 

Village, India 

51 Enhancement of Yield and Economic indices by 

the adoption of cotton + redgram intercropping 

syatem inder rainfed conditions of Mancherial 

District, Telangana State 

52 Crop diversification with castor crop for 

maximizing productivity and profitability in 

Ananthapuramu district of Andhra Pradesh 

53 Institutional Interventions for Climate Risk 

Management 


Alaka s Balan 

Ramesh Kumar 

U Sudhakar 

I Thirupathi 

G Sashikala 

K Nagasree 

T6-48P-1623 

T6-49P 

T6-50P-1146 

T6-51P-1277 

T6-52P-1515 

T6-53P-1668 




T6-01O-1076 

Agrometeorological Interventions for Enhancing Farmers’ Income in the 

Drylands of South Interior Karnataka 

M. N. Thimmegowda*, M. H. Manjunatha, Lingaraj Huggi, L. Nagesha and 

D. V. Soumya 

AICRP on Agrometeorology, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru560065, Karnataka, India 

* mnthimmegowda@gmail.com 

In developing countries like India, ensuring food security to growing population is the main 

challenge in the face of changing climate. Inter and intra-annual variability in climate impacts 

agricultural production. Among several methods to overcome such ill impacts of climate on 

agriculture, forecasting and educating the farmers about possible upcoming variability in the 

regional climate is one. In this direction, agromet advisory services were issued to farmers in 

four districts, viz., Bangalore urban & rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur, in the dryland regions 

of south interior Karnataka using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and 

their effect on crop productivity was studied. 

Methodology 

AICRP on Agrometeorology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore is playing a major 

role in communicating the weather information to farmers through Gramin Krishi Mausam 

Sewa (GKMS), funded by India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Innovations 

in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The 

forecasts issued by IMD are used to inform farmers about the forthcoming weather vagaries 

and necessary actions to be taken to minimize or avoid crop losses. The utility of weather 

forecast depends upon their reliability and applicability at micro level (Singh et al. 2004). We 

assessed the reliability of forecasts issued by IMD and evaluate the cost economics of 

implementation of agromet advisory. 

Study area and agromet information shared: Four dry farming districts in the south interior 

Karnataka were selected for the study, viz., Bangalore urban & rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur 

to share the weather information twice a week based on IMD’s forecast. The districts differed 

with respect to the annual and seasonal rainfall distribution, Bangalore Urban received an 

annual rainfall of 854.6 mm, of which 460.1 mm received in South-west monsoon (SWM) and 

233.7 mm in North-East Monsoon (NEM). Bangalore rural received a normal annual rainfall 

of 809.2 mm out of which 440.7 mm in SWM and 228.9 mm in NEM. Chikkaballapur receives 

a normal annual rainfall of 731.3 mm divided into 399.8 mm in SWM and 222.2 mm in NEM. 

Kolar, being an eastern most dry district, receives 746.4 mm annual rainfall of which 386.8 

mm received in SWM and 236.3 mm in NEM (Sanjeevaiahet al. 2021). This variability in the, 


798 | Page



annual and seasonal rainfall has caused the variations in the crop productivity in the regions, 

making it necessary to take weather-based crop management practices (Shivaramu et al. 2022). 

Preparation process of agro-advisories: Based on the forecasts received on rainfall, 

temperature, wind speed, humidity and cloud cover from IMD and state met centres, the 

probable impacts on the crops or cropping systems in the districts was discussed with the 

scientists belonging to respective discipline. 

The major crops and cropping systems in the region are field crops like finger millet, maize, 

vegetable crops like cabbage, leafy vegetables, etc. and fruit crops like grapes and flower crops like 

rose, marigold, chrysanthemum, etc. Most of these crops are of short duration and yields are 

sensitive to even minor climatic aberration. Based on the consultations with relevant experts, 

advisories for reducing the crop losses are sent directly to farmers’ mobile through WhatsApp and 

are also displayed at community centres so that the information reaches individual farmer. 

Assessment of impact: A comparison of farmers who received the advisories (AAS farmer) with 

those who did not (non-AAS farmer) was made with respect to various parameters. The cost of 

cultivation, gross income, net income and benefit cost ratio of these farmers was calculated per 

annum, and averaged for multi-year impact assessment. 

District Parameters Rainfall (mm) Maximum (°C) Minimum (°C) 

Bengaluru rural 

Bengaluru Urban 

Kolar 

Chikkaballapur 

Wind speed 

(km/hr) 

Obs.* 366 366 366 366 

Correct 144(39) 162(44) 128(35) 89(24) 

incorrect 212(58) 97(27) 108(29) 195(53) 

Obs.* 366 366 366 366 

Correct 150(54) 166(45) 129(35) 94(26) 

Not usable 196(5) 94(26) 112(31) 194(53) 

Obs.* 360 360 360 360 

Correct 146(41) 158(44) 244(68) 151(42) 

Not usable 200(56) 102(28) 28(8) 116(32) 

Obs.* 362 362 362 362 

Correct 161(44) 163(45) 250(69) 173(48) 

Not usable 193(53) 100(28) 27(7) 123(34) 




*Total number of advisories sent. Numbers in parentheses indicate percent success/failure of 

forecast. 

Results 

Usability of forecasts: The advisories based on rainfall were least usable (39, 54, 41 and 44% 

in Bengaluru rural, Bengaluru urban, Kolar and Chikkaballapur, respectively) mainly due to 

weak agreement of forecast rainfall with actual. The agreement between forecast and observed 

maximum temperature was 24, 26, 42 and 48% in Bengaluru rural, Bengaluru urban, Kolar and 

Chikkaballapur, respectively. The forecasted minimum temperature had 35, 35, 68 and 69% 

agreement with observed. And, forecasted wind speed had 24, 26, 42 and 48% agreement with 

the observed wind speed. This dissimilarity between the observed and forecasted weather 

parameters indicate the need for improving forecasts for precise agromet advisory issue. 

Though there was a moderate similarity between forecasts and observed weather parameters, 

the advisories on crop management were issued and the impact of issued advisories were 

assessed using BC ratio. The farmers receiving advisory (AASF) compared to those not 

receiving advisory (non-AASF) received more incomes reflected in in BC ratios of AASFs 

(2.0, 2.7, 1.6 and 2.8 in field, vegetable, flower and fruit crops, respectively) as compared to 

non-AASF (1.6, 1.7, 1.3 and 1.7 in field, vegetable, flower and fruit crops, respectively). Thus 

it is evident that weather forecasts and their better usability upon proper dissemination of 

information helped improve farm incomes in the drylands of Sothern Interior Karnataka. 

Conclusion 

The outcome of the study showed the poor accuracy of forecasted rainfall, though the forecastbased 

crop management advices resulted in improved crop productivity through timely 

management and changing crop management practices based on the forecasts given. This 

stresses the role of meteorological institutions in securing higher crop productivity. 


800 | Page



References 

Singh, S., Rao, V.U.M. and Singh, D. 2004. Scientific support in farm decision making through 

weather based advisory services in Haryana, J. Agrometeorology, 6, 265-267. 

Shivaramu, H. S., Manjunatha, M. H., Huggi, L.,Bal, S. K., Kumar, V. P., Padmashri, H. S., 

Soumya, D. V., Nagesha, L. and Mohanty, M. 2022. Soil moisture induced yield 

variability in major crops of Karnataka, Indian J. Agric. Sci., 92 (7): 836–41. 

Sanjeevaiah, S.H., Rudrappa, K.S., Lakshminarasappa, M.T., Huggi, L.,Hanumanthaiah, M. 

M., Venkatappa, S. D.; Lingegowda, N. and Sreeman, S.M. 2021. Understanding the 

Temporal Variability of Rainfall for Estimating Agro-Climatic Onset of Cropping Season 

over South Interior Karnataka, India. Agronomy, 11, 1135. 

T6-02O-1174 

Assessing the Climate Resilience of Agricultural Development Pathways: 

Framework and Application 

Arjuna Srinidhi 1,2 , Saskia E. Werners 1,3 , Marcella D’Souza 2 , Fulco Ludwig 1 and 

Miranda P.M. Meuwissen 4 

1 

Water Systems and Global Change Group, Wageningen University & Research 

2 

Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), Pune - Satara Rd, Maharashtra 411009 

3 

Institute for Environment and Human Security, United Nations University 

4 Business Economics Group, Wageningen University & Research. 

Semiarid regions in India are characterized by poor natural resources, smallholder farmers, and 

an increasing frequency of extreme weather events. The vulnerability of semiarid farming 

systems to climate change and the state of agrarian distress in India underscores the need to 

assess their climate resilience (Kuchimanchi et al., 2019). Weaknesses in existing resilience 

assessment frameworks include a bias towards assessing the status quo, and the lack of clarity 

between assessing resilience to specific stresses and the more general resilience attributes of a 

system. The objective of our research is to develop a context specific framework to assess the 

climate resilience of semiarid farming systems in India. Application of the framework to two 

different farming systems in India help us to generate insights on the contribution of 

agricultural development interventions to the climate resilience of farming systems in semiarid 

India. 

Methodology 

To develop a climate resilience assessment framework specific to semiarid regions in India, we 

followed a two-stage process. The first stage involved identifying the broad steps and generic 

functions, resilience capacities and attributes from existing literature on the resilience of 




farming systems. Literature on impact assessment of watershed development (WSD) 

interventions in India and the local knowledge and experience of the research team also 

contributed to this first stage. The second stage involved applying the framework in a case 

study (CS1) and using the insights generated to refine the context-specific list of system 

functions, indicators, resilience capacities and attributes. To generate insights on agricultural 

interventions and their contribution to climate resilience, we applied the CRISI framework to 

assess two different farming systems located in Jalna district, Maharashtra – i) where 

interventions aimed at improving agricultural productivity and irrigation infrastructure (CS2); 

and ii) where interventions targeted the building of adaptative capacities in addition to 

improving agricultural productivity (CS3). We also apply a pathways lens by considering the 

cumulative effect of all agriculture related interventions over 15 years. 

Results 

The CRISI framework consists of the following six steps. These steps are: 1. System 

description; 2. Challenges; 3. System functions; 4. Resilience capacities; 5. Resilience 

attributes; and 6. Reflection (Table 1). We find that having a river with water availability nearly 

all year round, and better irrigation infrastructure, are key to the resilience of CS2. On the other 

hand, CS3 demonstrates other forms of resilience such as better social organisation within the 

community and efficient management of the limited water resources. We also find a greater 

degree of ownership and post-project sustainability in CS3. Discussions with stakeholders in 

CS3 showed that some of this sustainability can be attributed to interventions that had a focus 

on the health of its ecosystem, monitoring & evaluation of activities and the capacity building 

interventions, particularly of the institutions that were set up, such as the Village Development 

Committee and a Farmer Producer Organisation. 

No. 

CRISI 

step 

1 System 

description 

Overview of the 6 steps in the CRISI framework 

Actions to be taken in the assessment 

Understand and describe the context, spatial and time scale, stakeholders, etc 

2 Challenges Explore stakeholders’ views of environmental (including climate), economic, 

social and institutional stresses 

3 System 

functions 

4 Resilience 

capacities 

Assess the performance of indicators related to the following 10 system 

functions: 1) Social organisation, 2) Economic viability, 3) Food and nutrition 

security, 4) Animal health and welfare, 5) Other bio-based resources, 6) Health 

of ecosystem, 7) Biodiversity of habitat, 8) Attractiveness of area, 9) Quality of 

life, 10) Equity (standard of living) 

Assess the 4 capacities of Anticipation, Robustness, Adaptability, & 

Transformability by considering the story behind the performance of the 

indicators (step 3) 


802 | Page



5 Resilience 

attributes 

Assess the following 16 resilience attributes:1) Reasonable profitability, 2) 

Social self-organization, 3) Ecological self-regulation, 4) Appropriate 

connectedness, 5) Functional diversity, 6) Optimal redundancy, 7) Spatial & 

temporal heterogeneity, 8) Exposure to disturbance, 9) Reflectivity & shared 

learning, 10) Human capital building, 11) Diverse policies, 12) Infrastructure & 

information for innovation, 13) Support for rural life, 14) Access to credit, 

insurance & other financial safety nets, 15) Equity (decision making & power 

dynamics), 16) Governance arrangements that support transformation 

6 Reflection Discuss and reflect on the accuracy of assessment, the need for additional 

resilience building 

Conclusion 

We find that CRISI’s inclusiveness in identification of stakeholder needs, its systemic 

understanding of resilience and provision of information for decision making make it useful 

for the farming community, practitioners and policy makers in assessing and building climate 

resilience. Application of the CRISI framework shows that agricultural interventions in 

semiarid India that primarily focus on improving agriculture productivity and irrigation 

infrastructure have a limited influence on the climate resilience. While these are important, 

farming systems show much greater climate resilience when interventions are designed to also 

address system functions related to the health of ecosystem and social organisation, and general 

resilience attributes related to diversity, human capital, and governance. Our findings also urge 

policy makers and development organisations to include monitoring, evaluation, learning and 

adaptive decision making in future interventions. These findings also resonance with a 

pathways approach to building future climate resilience. Co-creating such climate resilient 

development pathways, particularly for semiarid farming systems in India, would be a valuable 

area for further research. 

References 

Kuchimanchi, B.R., Nazareth, D., Bendapudi, R., Awasthi, S and D’souza, M. 2019. Assessing 

differential vulnerability of communities in the agrarian context in two districts of 

Maharashtra, India. Climate and Development, 11, 918-929. 

T6-03O-1132 

Promoting Water Stewardship for Improving Water Governance in 

Groundwater Dependent Regions 

Eshwer Kale* and Marcella D’Souza 

Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), Pune, Maharashtra 411009, India 

*eshwer.kale@wotr.org.in 

Groundwater is the backbone of India’s agriculture and drinking water security, as India is the 

largest groundwater user in the world. Groundwater supports 84% of the country’s net irrigated 




area and 90% of its rural water needs (World Bank, 2010). Rapid changes in land use and land 

cover patterns, expanding urbanization, growing population, and changing monsoon patterns 

in the wake of climate change are putting increasing pressure on our water resources and 

exacerbating the water crisis. However, one can see the poor governance of this precious 

resource at different levels. Although there are ample laws and regulations and a handful of 

success stories of community-based water management, as rightly described, India’s water 

future is ‘turbulent’ at a large level (Briscoe and Malik, 2006). There is ‘anarchy’ at the 

groundwater use and extraction level (Shah, 2009). Therefore, developing and testing 

appropriate and feasible solutions for governing the groundwater resource and taking them at 

scale is the need of the hour. The present paper highlights the lessons learned from action 

research designed and implemented in 100 villages of Maharashtra by WOTR to improve water 

governance at the local level. The action research was designed to understand the enablers and 

barriers to promoting appropriate groundwater governance with the aim of achieving 

community-led responsible water use that is environmentally sustainable, socially judicious, 

and economically efficient. 

Methodology 

Massive data sets were created regarding socio-economic and biophysical assets during pre and 

post-interventions and were compared to understand the significance of different components 

implemented. Also, rich qualitative data was generated through many stakeholder workshops 

and case studies. Thus, the systematic process documentation made during the study is used as 

an important data source for this paper. The concept of water stewardship considers that every 

individual has a right to water, and this right comes with a responsibility and accountability to 

oneself and the community for the appropriate resource management. Water users are viewed 

not as passive beneficiaries or recipients to exploit the resource but as custodians to use and 

benefit from it while protecting and managing it for the future. Hence, water resources are 

viewed as a public trust rather than a private good. The stewardship approach brings the 

different users/stakeholders together on one platform, establishing a dialogue based on 

knowledge and information, and arriving at a consensus for the preparation and execution of 

the plan for water management. 

Results 

The outcomes of this effort have been positive and encouraging. At the end of the project period, 

of the 100 villages where WSI (Water Stewardship Initiative) work was carried out, the 

performance of 46 was satisfactory, that of 35 was moderately satisfactory, while 18 villages 

have underperformed. All the communities have become aware of the causal relationship 

between the water crisis facing them and their water usage and management practices. In all 

the villages, communities have drawn up water stewardship action plans, and 75% have 


804 | Page



submitted these to the authorities. People have taken steps small and big, some more and others 

less, at both the household and village levels to manage and use water efficiently. Small 

behavioral changes with regard to water use are observed at home and in the fields. The number 

of farmers adopting water-efficient technologies and better farming techniques is increasing 

across all villages. Moreover, community contribution and governmental action have increased 

water harvesting capacity and availability in all the villages. Motivation and mobilization for 

community action have helped to realize these outcomes. The VWMT and the Jal Sevaks played 

an important role in sensitizing people and organizing them to undertake water budgeting 

practices in the villages and, more importantly, framing the village-level norms and regulations 

regarding water use and crop practices (D’Souza et al., 2019). 

Conclusion 

The WSI has provided valuable experiences and lessons in understanding the complex 

relationships and compulsions that influence behaviors that determine access to and use of 

water at the ground level. The project has also highlighted the need to develop an enabling policy 

and institutional framework that facilitates and incentivises community and other stakeholders’ 

participation across society. The project must develop an enabling policy and institutional 

framework that enables participation and also these efforts must be accompanied by sustained 

and large-scale, multi-format sensitisation campaigns, capacity building and skill upgradation 

of water users, better governance measures, and the constitution of developmental and 

regulatory agencies at all levels. In addition, the establishment of a mechanism that enforces 

related policies and regulations for the common good in a transparent, fair, and consistent 

manner is necessary if the culture and practice of “water stewardship” are to become a way of 

life. The initiative contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals 6, 12, 13, and 16 and 

reduces the overall use of natural resources and thus contributes to a low-carbon development 

pathway and lessons for operationalizing groundwater management-related policies. 

References 

Briscoe, J. and Malik, P. 2006. India’s Water Economy: Bracing for a Turbulent Future, Oxford 

University Press, New Delhi, India 

D’Souza, M., Kale, E., and Pinjan, H. 2019. A Step towards Quenching Rural India’s Thirst, 

Experiences and Learnings from the Water Stewardship Initiative in Maharashtra. 

Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), Pune. 

Kale, E., Pinjan, H. and D’Souza, M. 2022. Water Stewardship in Rural India: A How-to 

Manual, Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), Pune 

Shah, T. 2009, ‘Taming the Anarchy: groundwater governance in South Asia’, International 

Water Management Institute (IWMI), Colombo, Sri Lanka 




World Bank. 2010. Deep Wells and Prudence: Towards Pragmatic Action for Addressing 

Groundwater Overexploitation in India, The International Bank for Reconstruction 

and Development/The World Bank, Washington, D.C, USA 

T6-04O-1423 

Agricultural Drought and its Impact on Pod Yield of Rainfed Groundnut 

in Scarce Rainfall Zone of Andhra Pradesh 

Malleswari Sadhineni 1 , G. Narayana Swamy 1 , K.C. Nataraj 1 , A.V.M Subba Rao 2 and 

S.K Bal 2 

1 Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh 

2 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad - 500030, Telangana 

The major production constraint for rainfed groundnut in scarce rainfall zone of Andhra 

Pradesh is the limited available soil moisture due to frequent dry spells. In rainfed lands 

available soil moisture plays a key role for the growth and yield of crops and hence, it is one 

of the indicators used to study the impact of drought on growth and yield of rainfed groundnut. 

Therefore, the percent available soil moisture (PASM) helps to assess the phenophase-wise 

impact of agricultural drought on crop yield as one of the critical indicators. 

Methodology 

Agricultural drought and its impact on crop growth and yield of groundnut in Ananthapur 

district of Andhra Pradesh was studied by collecting soil moisture and pod yield from the crop 

weather relationship in groundnut experiment conducted during Kharif, 2012 to 2017 (6 years) 

under AICRP on Agrometeorology at Agricultural Research Station, Ananthapur. The 

groundnut variety K-6 was grown in three sowing environments viz., 1 st FN of July, 2 nd FN of 

July and 1 st FN of August under rainfed condition on red sandy loam soil. The depth of soil in 

the experimental site was 60 cm. The soil moisture at field capacity was 71.6 mm and 

Permanent wilting point was 18.9 mm. The soil moisture was measured from emergence to 

physiological maturity at 0-40 cm depth using Delta-T soil moisture probe at weekly interval 

and 24 hours after receiving rainfall. 

The Percent Available Soil Moisture (PASM) was derived from the measured soil moisture 

data using the formula PASM = ((SMw-PWP)/(FC-PWP)) *100, Where SMw is weekly soil 

moisture (vol/vol) for current week, FC is Field capacity of soil (Vol/Vol) and PWP is 

Permanent Wilting point of soil (vol/vol). The calculated PASM values were categorized 

phenophase wise into severe drought (25 and 

50 and 75) to study the influence of PASM on pod yield (kg/ha) of 

groundnut (Anonymous, 2016). 


806 | Page



Results 

The weekly PASM values across various phenophases revealed that, crop experienced severe 

and moderate drought at all the phenophases of crop growth as shown in the table. Crop which 

experienced severe drought (6-16% PASM) at all phenophases recorded pod yield of 802 kg 

ha -1 , moderate drought (33-42% PASM) recorded 1151 kg ha -1 . While, the crop with mild 

drought (58-64% PASM) at vegetative, flowering, pegging and pod development stages 

produced pod yield of 1573 kg ha -1 , the crop with no drought (90-100% PASM) at all the 

phenophases recorded 1364 kg ha -1 pod yield. However, the crop did not experience mild 

drought at emergence, maturity and no drought at maturity stage. 

It was observed that the crop which experienced no drought at pegging recorded lower yield 

(1066 kg ha -1 ) compared to one which experienced, moderate drought (1296 kg ha -1 ) and mild 

drought (1400 kg ha -1 ). It indicates that the groundnut crop needs moderate to mild drought 

conditions (36-64% PASM) for development of effective pegs and higher soil moisture (95% 

PASM), low moisture (12% PASM) at this stage is detrimental to crop yield. Positive and 

significant correlation between soil moisture and pod yield of groundnut was also reported by 

Guled et al2013). 

Severe drought at pod development stage has reduced pod yield (661 kg ha -1 ) compared to 

moderate drought (962 kg ha -1 ), mild drought (1435 kg ha -1 ) and no drought has recorded higher 

pod yield (1517 kg ha -1 ). This clearly indicates the importance of adequate soil moisture at pod 

development, which is the most critical phenophase of groundnut to harvest higher pod yield 

under rainfed situation. 

Conclusion 

The analysis of percent available soil moisture and pod yield of groundnut revealed that, the 

crop was experiencing moderate drought during crop growth period in most of the years. The 

effect of severe drought was more under late sowing compared to normal sowing during 1 st and 

2 nd FN of July. The crop subjected to mild drought during the crop growing period irrespective 

of the sowing environment and phenophases, produced higher pod yield compared to no 

drought and moderate drought condition. Moderate to mild drought at pegging and mild or no 

drought at pod development are having significant influence on pod yield of groundnut crop 

grown in Ananthapuramu district of Andhra Pradesh. 

References 

Anonymous. 2016. Manual for drought management. Department of Agriculture, Cooperation 

& Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Government of India. Pp 

37-39. 




Guled, P. M., Shekh, A. M., Patel, H. R. and Pandey V. 2013. Effect of soil moisture, 

evapotranspiration, stress degree days on pod yield of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L). 

J.of Agrometeorol. 15 (2): 135-137. 

Mean Pod yield of groundnut (kg ha -1 ) as influenced by PASM (%) at various 

Phenophase / 

PASM 

phenophases of groundnut (PASM values in parenthesis) 

Severe 

drought 

(25 and 50 and 

75) 

Emergence 399 (16) 849 (42) - 1680 (92) 976 

Vegetative 766 (15) 839 (40) 1999 (59) 1110 (99) 1179 

Flowering 1147 (10) 1494 (42) 1459 (64) 1448 (100) 1387 

Pegging 867 (12) 1296 (34) 1400 (58) 1066 (95) 1157 

Pod Development 661 (8) 962 (36) 1435 (64) 1517 (90) 1144 

Maturity 970 (6) 1464 (33) - - 1217 

Mean 802 1151 1573 1364 1183 

Mea 

n 

T6-05R-1195 

An Impact Assessment of Agromet Advisory Service (AAS) for 

Sustainable Agriculture and Resilient Farm Income: Study of Farm 

Precise Mobile Application 

Nikhil Nikam 1* , Nitin Kumbhar 2 , Ajay Shelke 2 

1 

Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), Pune, Maharashtra 

2 

Sanjeevani Institute for Empowerment and Development (SIED), Aurangabad, Maharashtra 

* nikhil.nikam@wotr.org.in 

Agromet Advisory Services (AAS) are crucial for agricultural planning and adaptation 

responses. Earlier, farmers could predict the arrival of monsoons based on their past 

experiences; now, changing climate makes it challenging to make predictions based on 

experiences alone (Wang et al. 2022). Therefore, reliable forecasts of weather events are 

needed on short and long-time scales to minimize agriculture losses. Adopting technological 

innovations is one of the most promising and investigated ways to adapt to climate change 

(Lybbert and Sumner 2012). At the same time, it builds the capacity of communities and 

individuals to plan and implement adaptive responses in the face of changing climate. There 

are quite a few methods to disseminate the advisories to the farmers; however, Watershed 

Organisation Trust (WOTR) undertook an action research project where a mobile 

application was developed to provide farm-level agro-advisory services to farmers. This 

study was undertaken with objective to measure the impact of the FarmPrecise mobile app 

on reducing the climate-induced losses of agrarian communities through specific indicators. 


808 | Page



Methodology 

A baseline household survey of 360 respondents from 36 villages of the Ahmednagar, Jalna, 

and Dhule districts of Maharashtra was conducted in December 2017. Randomly ten 

households were selected from each village. The results of the baseline study helped to 

restructure the strategies of the FarmPrecise application. In December 2021, an impact 

assessment study was conducted with the same respondents to know the usefulness of the 

FarmPrecise advisory. In the sample, 92 respondents (treatment group) installed and 

adopted the FarmPrecise advisories, and 252 did farming as usual (control group). The 

descriptive statistic method has been used for the analysis. Baseline data is compared to the 

midterm data to understand the change in technology adaptation and agricultural practices. 

Results 

The use of mobile applications as an information source for agro-met advisories has 

increased compared to the baseline scenario. The study finding showed that the use of 

mobile applications for agricultural information sources increased from 35.6 to 44.2 % of 

households. Based on the survey of assessing the number of farmers relying on different 

mobile applications as agricultural information source in the initial times majority of them 

depended primarily on whatsapp (baseline), But in midterm 27% of the HHs were using 

FarmPrecise, followed by youtube, whatsapp, facebook and other mobile applications. 

Season 

Perceived benefits of FarmPrecise advisories 

Climate-related avoided 

loss (per acre) 

HHs 


crops 

Amount 

(Rs) 

Avg. input cost saved 

(per acre) 

HHs 


crops 

Amount 

(Rs) 

Avg. productivity 

increased (per acre) 

809 | Page Institutional and policy innovations for accelerated and enhanced impacts 

HHs 


crops 

Produ 

ction 

(Qt) 

Perennial 5 6 1675.0 5 6 3908.3 4 5 2.9 

Kharif 53 81 2909.7 51 78 1995.8 51 76 1.4 

Rabi 33 43 2514.4 32 41 1584.8 32 41 1.7 

Total/ 56 130 2366.4 55 125 2496.3 55 122 2.0 

average 

Source: Sampled household survey Dec-2017 and Dec-2021 

Perceived benefits by adopting FarmPrecise advisories indicate that 56 households have 

avoided climate-related losses on an average of Rs 2366 per acre as seen in the table. 

Besides, 55 users also saved Rs 2496 per acre on various agricultural input costs. In 

addition, 55 users have reported an increase in average crop productivity of up to 2 quintals 

per acre. The features like real-time weather information, weather-based crop-specific 

advisories, updated market rates, and on-time support from the community forum of the 

FarmPrecise app helped in increasing crop productivity, saving input costs, and avoiding



climate-related crop losses. The adoption of FarmPrecise advisories positively impacts crop 

production compared with the business-as-usual respondents. The productivity of cotton, 

maize, and paddy was increased by 5.4, 10, and 2.8%, respectively, as compared to the 

business-as-usual farmers. At the same time, the productivity of rabi crops like wheat, onion, 

and maize increased by 13.0, 10.6, and 32.7%, respectively, compared to the control. 

Overall, the crop productivity of FarmPrecise users (treatment group) increased by 5.7% 

more than that of the business-as-usual farmer (control group). 

Productivity (Qt/ acre) 

20.0 

18.0 

16.0 

14.0 

12.0 

10.0 

8.0 

6.0 

4.0 

2.0 

0.0 

9.4 

9.9 

6.9 

7.1 

16.9 

18.6 

14.1 

14.6 

6.4 

6.6 

Business as usual farmer 

3.6 

2.9 

8.5 (MT) 

8.1 (MT) 

9.9 

11.3 

6.2 

6.1 

FarmPrecise user 

8.7 (MT) 

9.7 (MT) 

Cotton 

Soybean 

Maize 

6.0 

6.8 

13.4 

Paddy 

18.6 

Pearl millet 

Green gram 

Onion (Tonne) 

Wheat 

Chickpea 

Onion (Tonne) 

Sorghum 

Maize 

Kharif 

Rabi 

Conclusion 

The productivity difference between farm precise users and business as usual farmers 

The study findings concluded that the features of the FarmPrecise app, like weather 

forecasts, weather-based farm-specific crop advisories, community forums, and mandi 

prices, are most commonly used by farmers. The FarmPrecise app was successful in 

delivering more reliable and timely information to farmers and had the potential to improve 

the effectiveness of AAS significantly and enhance resilient farm income. 

References 

Lybbert, Travis J., and Daniel, A., Sumner. 2012. Agricultural Technologies for Climate 

Change in Developing Countries: Policy Options for Innovation and Technology 

Diffusion. Food Policy 37(1): 114–23. 

Wang, Huijun et al. 2022. “Predicting Climate Anomalies: A Real Challenge.” Atmospheric 

and Oceanic Science Letters 15(1): 100115. 


810 | Page



T6-06R-1237 

Institutional Interventions for Enhancing Productivity in Rainfed 

Agriculture 

C.N. Anshida Beevi * , G. Nirmala, Jagriti Rohit, K. Nagasree, K. Ravi Shankar and 

V.K. Singh 

ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad 

* anshida.cn@icar.gov.in 

Rainfed areas assume a special significance in terms of agricultural production and livelihood 

for millions of households in India. The term rainfed agriculture is defined as regions where 

crops are predominantly dependent on rainfall with some support from groundwater. Rainfed 

areas in India are highly diverse, ranging from resource-rich areas with huge potential to 

resource-constrained areas with a number of challenges. Rainfed agriculture is mainly affected 

by intermittent dry spells during the cropping season particularly at critical crop growth stages 

coinciding with the terminal growth stage. Rainfall is a truly random factor in the rainfed 

production system and its variation is highly uncertain. In recent decades, traditional 

subsistence farming is also moving towards the cultivation of commercial or cash crops. As a 

result, these regions are facing severe constraints in terms of resource, institutional and policy 

constraints. A paradigm shift in rainfed agriculture can be achieved by technological 

interventions coupled with innovative extension strategies. Over the past decades, various 

organizations including both international and national research organizations like ICRISAT, 

CRIDA, CAZRI, etc., and Government of India initiatives such as the National Mission for 

Sustainable Agriculture, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, etc, are working in this 

direction. This article explains about the initiatives in detail to understand the present scenario. 

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture 

Indian agriculture remains predominantly rainfed covering about 60% of the country’s net 

sown area and accounting for 40% of the total food production. Thus, the conservation of 

natural resources in conjunction with the development of rainfed agriculture holds the key to 

meeting increasing demands for food grain in the country. Towards this end, National Mission 

for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) has been formulated. NMSA will cater to key dimensions 

of ‘Water use efficiency’, ‘Nutrient Management’, and ‘Livelihood diversification’ through the 

adoption of sustainable development pathways by progressively shifting to environmentally 

friendly technologies, adoption of energy-efficient equipment, conservation of natural 

resources, integrated farming, etc. Besides, NMSA aims at promoting location-specific 

improved agronomic practices through soil health management, enhanced water use efficiency, 

judicious use of chemicals, crop diversification, progressive adoption of crop-livestock farming 

systems, and integrated approaches like crop-sericulture, agro-forestry, fish farming, etc. 




NMSA has the following four (4) major programme components or activities: 

1. Rainfed Area Development (RAD) 

2. On-Farm Water Management (OFWM) 

3. Soil Health Management (SHM) 

4. Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture: Monitoring, Modelling, and Networking 

(CCSAMMN) 

State-wise Beneficiary Count under RAD 2021-22 

State Total beneficiary State Total beneficiary 

Assam 86 Rajasthan 46 

Chhattisgarh 569 Tamil Nadu 8167 

Gujarat 2491 Telangana 58 

Himachal Pradesh 1535 UP 1170 

Karnataka 1609 Uttarakhand 525 

Mizoram 60 West Bengal 25 

Odisha 4432 Total 20773 

(Source: MoAFW, GoI) 

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana 

The government of India is committed to accord high priority to water conservation and its 

management. To this effect, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) has been 

formulated with the vision of extending the coverage of irrigation “Har Khet ko Pani” and 

improving water use efficiency “More Crop Per Drop” The Cabinet Committee on Economic 

Affairs chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister has accorded approval of PMKSY in its meeting 

held on 1 st July 2015. The major objective of PMKSY is to achieve convergence of investments 

in irrigation at the field level, expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm 

water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water, enhance the adoption of precision-irrigation 

and other water-saving technologies, enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable 

water conservation practices by exploring the feasibility of reusing treated municipal waste 

water for peri-urban agriculture and attract greater private investment in the precision irrigation 

system. 

PMKSY has been conceived by amalgamating earlier schemes viz. Accelerated Irrigation 

Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga 

Rejuvenation (MoWR, RD&GR), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of 

the Department of Land Resources (DoLR) and On Farm Water Management (OFWM) of 

Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC). The scheme will be implemented by the 

Ministries of Agriculture, Water Resources, and Rural Development. Ministry of Rural 


812 | Page



Development is mainly to undertake rainwater conservation, construction of farm ponds, water 

harvesting structures, small check dams, contour bunding, etc. 

Area covered under PMKSY 2021-22 

Micro Irrigation 

Drip 

3.58 Lakh ha 

Sprinkler 

6.57 Lakh ha 

Total 

10.15 Lakh ha 

Other Interventions 

Potential created for protective irrigation 0.06 Lakh ha 

(Source: MoA&FW, GoI) 

Conclusion 

Rainfed agriculture is a complex, diverse, and risk-prone activity. However, properly managing 

the rainfed areas would help to contribute a larger share in food grain production. Though 

rainfed areas have huge potential to contribute a larger share in food production and faster 

agricultural growth, it is characterized by low levels of productivity and input usage coupled 

with weather aberrations due to climate change; resulting in wide variations and instability in 

crop yields. In view of the growing demand for food grains in the country, the developmental 

needs of the rainfed regions would be of utmost importance to ensure the growth of the 

agriculture sector in the country. 

References 

https://pmksy.gov.in/ 

https://nmsa.dac.gov.in/RptBeneficiarycount.aspx 

Sharma, B. R., Rao, K. V., Vittal, K. P. R., & Amarasinghe, U. 2008. Converting rain into 

grain: Opportunities for realising the potential rainfed agriculture in India. 

In Proceedings National Workshop of National River Linking Project of India, 

International Water Management Institute, Colombo (pp. 239-252). 




T6-07R-1214 

Perceived Attributes Leading to the Adoption of Agromet Advisories by 

Dryland Farmers in India 

Jagriti Rohit, G Nirmala, Anshida Beevi, K Nagasree, S. K Bal, K Ravi Shankar, 

B.M.K Raju and V. K Singh 

ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad 

The importance of Agromet advisories services (AAS) as a tool to address the risk associated 

in agriculture has increased to many folds in recent years. AAS is a climate resilient technology 

which provides the valuable information about all agricultural operations from land preparation 

sowing to harvest based on weather forecasting. The emerging ability to provide timely, skillful 

weather forecasts offers the potential to reduce human vulnerability to weather vagaries 

(Hansen, 2002). Relevant weather forecast not only helps for efficient management of farm 

resources and also helps for increasing crop yields and farm income. Hence, improved microlevel 

weather based Agromet Advisory Service (AAS) greatly helps farming community to 

take advantage of favourable weather and mitigate the impacts of external weather situations. 

Characteristic of a technology or attribute of an innovation is a precondition for adoption. In 

Rogers’ seminal synthesis on the adoption of innovations, innovation attributes are identified 

as having a profound impact on farmers’ adaptive decisions (Rogers 2003). Agricultural studies 

have also demonstrated the importance of the perceived attributes of innovation in relation to 

its adoption (Tey et al 2014) 

Methodology 

For Under National Innovation in climate resilient agriculture (NICRA), Krishi Vigyan 

Kendras are providing AAS to farmers. Hence, Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh was selected 

purposively as KVK Banaganapalli was giving AAS to farmers in nearby villages since 

inception of NICRA. Three villages namely Yagantipalle, Mirapur and Chirolokuttur receiving 

AAS were selected purposively for the study. A pilot study was undertaken which led to the 

modification of sampling plan. The farmers were categorized into two groups viz farmers in 

direct contact with KVK and receiving the message and farmers who received the message 

from the directly contacted farmers via in whatsapp group. The farmers from both the groups 

were selected following the proportionate random sampling. 

The total numbers of respondents for the study was 180. Data was collected using structured 

questionnaire. In Rogers’ theory of diffusion of innovation, there are five common attributes 

of innovations: relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, observability, and trialability. 

The term “relative advantage” refers to the extent to which new ideas, behaviours, and objects 

are viewed as more innovative and superior to the innovations they are replacing. Additional 


814 | Page



relative advantages include timesaving, reduction of discomfort, social prestige, and 

immediacy of the benefits from the innovation. Compatibility is defined as the degree to which 

potential adopters perceived the innovation consistent with their existing values and past 

experiences. Complexity is described as the degree to which potential users perceived the 

innovation as relatively difficult to comprehend and use. Trialability is characterised by “the 

degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis”. 

Results 

The results of the study as shown in table 1. The results show that significant difference was 

observed with respect to ease of use (Chi square=.027) and result demonstrability (chi 

square=.001) at one percent level of significance. The farmers were able to implement the 

message by themselves and also, they could contact the KVK officials for any clarifications. 

Perceived attributes of innovation of AAS (district Kurnool, A.P) 

Perceived Attributes Total Yagantipalle Mirapuram Chirokuttur Kruskall Wallis 

Chi square 

m sd m sd m sd m sd 

Relative advantage 19.8 1.65 19.3 1.64 19.6 1.43 19.8 1.85 .492 

Compatibility 17.8 1.77 18.0 1.77 17.9 1.77 17.3 1.62 .193 

Complexity/ease of use 17.6 2.44 17.8 2.03 17.9 2.05 16.5 2.88 .027* 

Trialability 18.5 1.77 18.6 1.93 18.45 1.90 18.4 1.78 .784 

Result demonstrability 18.6 1.96 18.8 1.91 18.3 1.83 17.3 1.75 .001* 

*Significant at 1percent level of significance 

1= Yagantipalle 2= Mirapuram 3= Chirokuttur 

Conclusion 

Result demonstrability and ease of use were the perceived characteristic of innovation found to 

be significant factor leading to adoption of AAS. Extension agencies should take care of the 

perceived attributes while formulating and implementing the messages. 

References 

Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations. Free Press. New York, 551. 

Hansen, J.W. (2002), Realizing the potential benefits of climate perdition to agriculture and 

challenges. Agricultural systems 74: 329-330. 

Tey, Y. S., Li, E., Bruwer, J., Abdullah, A. M., Brindal, M., Radam, A., ... & Darham, S. (2014). 

The relative importance of factors influencing the adoption of sustainable agricultural 

practices: A factor approach for Malaysian vegetable farmers. Sustainability science, 

9(1), 17-29. 




T6-08R-1518 

Assessment of Profitability and Sustainability of Sunflower as a 

Component in Emerging Cropping Systems of Northern Karnataka 

M.R. Umesh*, U.K. Shanwad, Vikas V. Kulkarni, Vijayakumar N Ghante, 

N. Poornima, Ananda, and Anand S. Kamble 

University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur-584104 Karnataka, India 

*mrumehsagri@gmail.com 

Intensifying cropping systems can be achieved by increasing the spatial and temporal 

arrangement of different compatible crops. Within field temporal heterogeneity can be 

achieved by growing several crops in sequences differing in the patterns of resource use. In 

Northern Karnataka pigeonpea and Bt-cotton are predominant crops. These are increasingly 

used as alternative crops to sunflower that dominate irrigated regions of Northern Karnataka. 

Shift from sunflower (22.6 lakhs ha in 1992 to 2.56 lakhs ha in 2020) to alternate cropping 

systems may have significant effect on oil production in the region. To intensify the sunflowerbased 

cropping system field trial was conducted with an objective to assess sunflower crop as 

a component under crop diversification with new/emerging cropping systems in terms of 

system productivity and profitability. Sunflower was compared in a yearly sequence with 

maize, bajra and soybean compared with sunflower-chickpea system. 

Methodology 

A 3-year field experiment was conducted in fixed plots of medium to deep Vertisols at 

University of Agriculture Sciences, Raichur Karnataka. During rainy season maize hybrid (NK 

6240), bajra (cv. MBP-2) and soybean (DSb-21) were grown in addition to sunflower hybrid 

(RSFH-1887) whereas in rabi, sunflower and chickpea (cv. JG-11) were grown in undisturbed 

plots. For rabi crops, chemical fertilizers were applied as per soil test crop response (STCR) 

target yield @3 t/ha, 50% STCR and compared with regional fertilizer recommendation (RDF) 

(90:90:60 kg NPK/ha). Soil smaples were analysed for NPK status after harvest of Kharif crops. 

Based on sol test values STCR equation adopted for rabi sunflower is FN= 8.38T-0.57 SN; 

FP2O5= 8.05T-6.00 SP2O5; FK2O= 9.87 T-0.47 SK2O and STCR target yield equation for 

chickpea FN = 5.35T-0.22 SN- 0.098ON; FP2O5 =3.71T-1.16 SP- 0.15OP; FK2O = 8.32T-0.43 

SK- 0.22OK wherein target yield (T) of 30 q/ha is common for both the crops. In all the years, 

Kharif crops were sown in July and rabi crops were sown in October/November after harvest 

of kharif crops. 

Results 

The results of the study has showed that maize-sunflower system was out yielded in terms of 

system sunflower crop equivalent yield (4355 kg/ha), system returns (Rs. 194713/ha) and 


816 | Page



overall benefit cost ratio (2.93) as compared to rest of the cropping sequences and existing 

sunflower-chickpea system (Table 1). It also recorded greater sustainable yield index (0.93) 

and partial factor productivity. Application of fertilizers based on STCR to boost up the system 

productivity (3268 kg/ha) and sustainable yield index (51.2) over RDF of the region. It can be 

concluded that yearly sequence of maize-sunflower was found remunerative and potential 

alternative double cropping system over existing sunflower-chickpea system in Vertisols of 

Northern Karnataka. 

Conclusion 

Over 3-years, among Kharif crops, maize has produced higher grain yield in terms of sunflower 

equivalent yield (SEY). For rabi sunflower and chickpea application of fertilizers based on 

100% STCR@3t/ha target recorded higher SEY. Maize-sunflower sequence gave higher 

system SEY (4355 kg ha -1 ) and economic returns (Rs.128400 ha -1 ) over existing sunflowerchickpea 

and other systems. It was concluded that maize- sunflower system was greater 

productive with application of fertilizers based on STCR 100% for rabi crops. 

Yield and economics of kharif and rabi crops in sunflower-based cropping systems 

(Data is average of 3 years) 

Cropping 

system 'C' 

Kharif 

(kg/ha) 

Cropping system (C) 

Kharif 

SEY 

(kg/ha) 

Rabi 

(kg/ha) 

Rabi 

SEY 

(kg/ha) 

System 

SEY 

(kg/ha) 

GR 

(Rs./ha) 

NR 

(Rs./ha) 

COC 

(Rs./ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

Bajra- SF 1243 490 1650 1650 2140 20075 8075 12000 1.67 0.47 

Maize-SF 8771 2589 1701 1701 4290 106129 68629 37500 2.83 0.93 

Soybean- 

SF 

SF- 

Chickpea 

879 911 1830 1830 2741 37358 11358 26000 1.44 0.53 

1612 1612 1360 1659 3271 66092 39272 26820 2.46 0.69 

S.Em.+ 72.6 20.4 23 77.9 - - - - 

CD @ 5% 256.3 71.82 81.1 274.8 - - - - 

Fertilizer levels (F) 

RDF - 1386 1661 1603 3120 67650 40740 26820 2.52 0.49 

STCR 

@3t/ha 

- 1309 1867 1959 3268 69741 42921 26820 2.63 0.51 

50% STCR - 1506 1377 1437 2943 75030 48210 26820 2.86 0.48 

S.Em+ 49.7 25.1 26.1 56.8 

CD @5% 150.3 76 79 171.8 - - - - 

F x C NS NS NS NS - - - - 

SEY- Sunflower equivalent yield; SYI- Sustainable yield index; GR- Gross returns; NR- Net Returns; COC- 

Cost of cultivation; SF- Sunflower 

SYI 





T6-09R-1359 

Integrated Farming System: A Scientific Approach Towards Doubling 

Farmers Income 

Keshav Mehra, Durga Singh, S.P. Singh and Mukesh Choudhary 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bikaner-I Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner 

Agriculture is the most significant source of income and the backbone of Indian economy. India 

is a global agricultural powerhouse. It is the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses and spices 

and has the world’s largest cattle herd (buffaloes), as well as the largest area under wheat, rice 

and cotton. The majority of farming communities follow traditional farming systems which 

provides less profit as compared to Integrated Farming System (IFS). Integrated farming 

system is a holistic approach that involves crop cultivation, dairy, poultry, fishery, mushroom 

cultivation, agro-forestry, piggery, beekeeping, vegetable and fruit production, use of 

renewable energy source (Solar energy, Biogas) etc. An IFS model is developed at Krishi 

Vigyan Kendra, Bikaner to promote the IFS in the arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan. 

Two ha area is devoted under the different units like agriculture (pearlmillet and wheat), 

horticulture (Vegetable and Fruits), animal (Cow and goat), azolla and vermicompost unit etc. 

Pomegranate, lemon, custard apple, jamun and khirani orchards were established in 0.5 ha. 

area. In the initial year it is less profitable due to the time taken by the fruit plants to bear the 

fruits. Kadaknath breed of poultry have a good market demand after the pandemic of COVID- 

19, which also provided good income to the KVK. Sirohi is a dual-purpose goat breed which 

is popular for their weight gain and lactation even under poor quality rearing conditions. The 

animals are resistant to major diseases and are easily adaptable to different climatic conditions 

specially in hot places. Cow dung and goat manure were utilized to prepare the vermicompost. 

Azolla is used as feed of cow and goat to increase the milk production. In IFS model all 

resources are managed efficiently in such a manner that waste output of one enterprise serves 

as a input for another. 

T6-10R-1177 

Impact of Cluster Field Demonstrations in Groundnut Productivity 

Enhancement under Rainfed Alfisols of YSR District, Andhra Pradesh 

D.V. Srinivasulu, K. Ravi Kumar, S. Ramalakshmi Devi and A. Veeraiah 

KrishiVigyan Kendra, Utukur, Kadapa, YSR District, 

Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University, A.P.-516003 

Among the oil seeds groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.,) is a major oilseed crop of India with 

nearly 80% of the annual acreage (41.6 lakh ha) and production (83.8 lakh tonnes) coming 

from kharif crop (June-October) under rainfed conditions (Anonymous, 2020). In Andhra 

818 | Page



Pradesh, the crop is cultivated in 6.8 lakhs hectares during kharif with an average production 

and productivity of 3.3 lakh tonnes and 484 kg ha -1 , respectively. Y.S.R Kadapa district is one 

of the potential districts for groundnut in Andhra Pradesh where the groundnut area is decreased 

from 44,179 ha during 2012-13to 25,315 ha during 2017-18. There was also wide fluctuation 

in the groundnut productivity of the district i.e between 252 to 1560 kg ha -1 during the last seven 

years. 

In order to address the production constraints and achieve the sustainable yields in groundnut, 

along with the objective of adopting Best Management Practices (BMP), Cluster Frontline 

Demonstrations (CFLDs) in groundnut were demonstrated among the farmers’ fields by the 

scientists of KrishiVigyan Kendra, Utukur under the scheme of National Food Security Mission 

(NFSM), Ministry of Agriculture, GoI through ICAR-ATARI-Zone-Vin selective mandals of 

YSR Kadapa district. 

Methodology 

CFLDs in groundnut were organized by KVK, Utukur during kharif season in rainfed alfisols 

of Lakkireddipalli and Chinnamandem mandals of Y.S.R. Kadapa district (at present 

Annamayya district) of Andhra Pradesh during 2017-18 and 2018-19, respectively. An area of 

20 ha in42farm holding/demonstration sites were covered. The actual rainfall received by 

Lakkireddipalli and Chinnamandem mandals during South West monsoon period is 301.0 mm 

and 318.5 mm as against normal rainfall of 404.0 mm during the study years. Under this 

programme, each demonstration site implemented the BMP’s recommended by ANGRAU like 

1) Improved seed: groundnut var .dharani, 2) Application of biofertilizers viz. Rhizobium, PSB 

and KSB@ 5 kg ha -1 3)Soil test based fertilizer recommendation,4) Application of Gypsum @ 

500 kg ha -1 at flowering stage 5) Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Seed treatment with 

Imidachloprid 600 FS @ 2 ml + 4 L water per kg seed, border cropping with Bajra/Jowar, 

spraying of neem oil (1500 ppm) at 20-30 DAS, erection of pheromone traps @ 20 no’s ha -1 , 

erection of bird perches @ 20 no’s ha -1 and judicious use of pesticides 6) Implementation of 

Resource Conservation Technologies (RCT’s)/tools: Sub soiling with sub soiler at an interval 

of 1.0 m and compartmental bunding with size of 40 m 2 (8 m x 5m) for insitu rain water 

conservation and using seed to seed mechanization7) Using drip/sprinkler system/rain guns for 

life saving irrigation during dry spells at critical stages8) Spraying of 2 per cent Urea to mitigate 

dry spell were demonstrated in farmer’s fields (demo plots) against farmer’s 

practice(check)which include:(Seed from the local vendors/home grown with low yield 

potential and susceptibility to diseases (eg. K-6/mixtures), application of complex fertilizers, 

no adoption of resource conserving techniques/insitu rain water conservation practices, no 

drought management and IPM practices). Under demonstration plot, improved groundnut var. 

dharani and bio-fertilizers were given to the farmers by the KVK. 




The crop was sown during 2 nd F.N of June to 1 st F.N of July and harvested at maturity during 

1 st fortnight of October in both the years. The method demonstrations were conducted on BMP 

sat fields of beneficiary farmers. The yield data recorded from 5m × 5m plot in demonstration 

and farmers’ practice and field days at harvest were conducted. The data on yield and 

economics were tabulated and analyzed year wise. Further, from the yield data in the study 

area extension gap, technology gap and technology index were worked out using the following 

formulae (Samui et al., 2000). 

Results 

In demonstration plots the average pod yield of dharani variety was 818 kg ha -1 (ranged from 

700 to 1060 kg ha -1 ) and 1355 kg ha -1 (ranged from 1254 to 1545 kg ha -1 ) during 2017-18 and 

2018-19, respectively (Table). The technological interventions have resulted in an increase in 

yield by 22.1 and 8.7 per cent, respectively during 2017-18 and 2018-19 over farmers practice. 

These results are in similarity with the results reported by Yogesh et al. (2018) in groundnut 

and Mohan et al. (2019) in Cluster FLDs in sunflower. From the two years data, the mean cost 

incurred for implementation of BMP’s in demonstration plot was higher by Rs.1375/- ha - 

1 

compared to farmers practice which resulted in 24.0 percent higher net returns per hectare 

with mean B:C ratio of 1.99 in demonstration plot. 

Yield, extension gap, technology gap and technology index of demonstration and farmer 

practice ingroundnut cluster FLDs in YSR district, A.P. 

2017-18 2018-19 

Demo 

practice 

Farmer 

Practice 

Demo 

practice 

Area (ha) 10 10 

No. of Demonstrations 17 25 

Farmer 

Practice 

Mean Yield (kg ha -1) 818 670 1355 1247 

t stat 4.14* 3.97* 

Std. Deviation 113 95 99 93 

Per cent increase over farmer’s practice 22.1 8.7 

Potential yield (kg ha -1 ) 1600 1600 

Extension gap (kg ha -1 ) 148 108 

Technology gap (kg ha -1 ) 782 245 

Technology index (%) 48.9 15.3 

*Significant at P = 0.05 


820 | Page



₹ 

90000 

80000 

70000 

60000 

50000 

40000 

30000 

20000 

10000 

0 

2.31 

2.04 

1.84 

1.74 

Demo FP Demo FP 

2.50 

2.00 

1.50 

1.00 

0.50 

0.00 


cultivation 

Gross returns 

Net returns 

B : C Ratio 

2017-18 2018-19 

Year 

Economics of demonstration Vs farmers’ practice in groundnut Cluster FLDs in YSR District 

The technology gap ranged between 782 kg ha -1 to 245 kg ha -1 which further indicates that 

there is greater scope of productivity enhancement in subsequent years through transfer of 

BMPs from research stations to farmers fields. The technology index which indicates the extent 

of feasibility of improved technology of the demonstrations ranged from lowest (15.3 per cent) 

during 2018-19 to highest (48.9 per cent) during 2017-18 with average technology index of 

32.1 per cent. The variations might be attributed to variations in level of soil nutrients, soil 

moisture availability, incidence of pests and diseases, integrated nutrient, pest and disease 

management strategies in the study area. 

Conclusion 

The CFLDs conducted by KVK enhanced the yield of groundnut vertically and ensured rapid 

spread of recommended technologies of groundnut production horizontally by implementation 

of various extension activities like training programmes, field days, exposure visits organized 

in farmer’s field. The CFLDs made a positive impact on yield of groundnut by 15.4 per cent. 

It was observed that the potential yield of groundnut var. dharani can be achieved by imparting 

scientific knowledge to the farmers on BMPs, providing the quality need-based inputs and their 

proper utilization. The recipient farmers of CFLD also play an important role as source of 

information on BPs and quality seeds for wider dissemination of the improved varieties of 

groundnut for other nearby farmers. 

References 

Anonymous 2020. Area, Production and Yield of oilseed crops from 2009-10 to 2019-20. 

Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, 

Government of India, New Delhi. 

MadakaMadhan Mohan., Ramalakshmi Devi, S. Veeraiah, A. 2019. Demonstration of BMP’s 

in sunflower for sustainable yields under black soil tracts of Rayalaseema region of 

Andhra Pradesh, India. Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. Appl. Sci., 8(09): 2894-2901. 




Samui, S. K., Moitra, S., Ray, D., Mandal, A.K., Saha, D. 2000. Evaluation of frontline 

demonstration on groundnut. J. Indian Soc. Costal Agric. Res., 18: 180-183. 

Yogesh D. Pawar, Sachin H. Malve, F. K. Chaudhary, UmeshDobariya, G. J. Patel, 2018.Yield 

gap analysis of groundnut through cluster front line demonstration under north Gujarat 

condition. Multilogic Sci.,7(25): 177-179. 

T6-11P-1004 

Drought Mitigation of Sorghum by Spraying of Foliar Nutrients on yield 

and Economics under Dry Spell Situation for Southern Agroclimatic Zone 

of Tamil Nadu 

K. Baskar 1 *, V. Sanjivkumar 2 , S. Manoharan 3 , M. Manikandan 4 , G. Guru 5 , and 

G. Ravindrachary 6 

1,2,3,4,5 ICAR-AICRP on Dryland Agriculture, Agricultural Research Station, Kovilpatti - 628501, 

Tamil Nadu state. 6 Project Coordinator, ICAR-All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Dryland 

Agriculture, CRIDA, Hyderabad, Telangana state. 

*kbaskartnau@gmail.com 

In India around 65-70 % of cultivated lands comes under dryland and they contributing about 

45 % of nations food grain production. Most of the crops under millets (>95%), oilseeds (90%) 

and pulses 90-95% are cultivated on these lands with low productivity which could be 

attributed to inadequate rainfall, poor soil fertility, occurrence of dry spells, drought during 

cropping season, high temperature, more PET than rainfall etc. Of these drought at critical 

period of cropping season drastically reduces the crop yield. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolour L.) 

is a drought resistance fodder crop.. It is considered promising crop to overcome the fodder 

shortages because of it’s short duration, drought tolerance, well adaptiveness to arid and semiarid 

regions. Moisture and nutrition affect succulence, dry matter, crude protein and other 

quality parameters of fodder. Foliar application of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium could 

increase crop productivity many folds under moisture stress condition. Efficacy of foliar 

fertilization of nitrogen is seven times more than soil application under drought conditions due 

to less denitrification and leaching losses. The uptake of necessary elements becomes difficult 

for plants when fertilizers are applied to soil due to the formation of certain soil complexes. To 

overcome these issues macro and micro nutrients are applied at critical stages of the crops 

under dryland situation. 

Methodology 

A field experiment was conducted at black soil farm of AICRPDA Kovilpatti main centre, 

Agricultural Research Station, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu under dryland situation from 2017-‘20 

in rabi season to study the effect of foliar application of nutrients sprayed during moisture 


822 | Page



stress condition in rainfed sorghum. The soil at the experimental was clayey in texture and 

belongs to Kovilpatti Soil Series (Typic Chromusterts). The soil has sub angular blocky 

structure with pH generally neutral to a tendency towards alkalinity at lower depths (7.8 to 8.2) 

and saline in nature. The soil bulk density varied from 1.20 to 1.35 kg m -3 with the field capacity 

of 35 per cent and permanent wilting point of 14 per cent (Sunflower as an indicator plant). 

This experiment was conducted in split plot design replicated thrice under rainfed situation. 

The available nutrient status of the soil was low in available nitrogen (134.4kg ha -1 ), low to 

medium in available phosphorus (12.1 kg ha -1 ), high in available potassium status (395 kg ha - 

1 

) and low in available zinc (1.2 ppm). The treatment comprised of main plots viz., M1-Foliar 

spray during dry spell, M 2 - Foliar spray after relieving of stress/dry spell (with favorable soil 

moisture) and seven subplots of foliar nutrients viz., S 1-Urea @ 1%, S 2-Urea @ 2%, S 3-Water 

soluble complex fertilizer (19:19:19) @ 0.5%, S4-Water soluble complex fertilizer (19:19:19) 

@ 0.5% + recommended dose of micronutrient for foliar spray (zinc), S 5-ZnSO 4 @ 0.5%, S 6- 

Water spray, S7-Control (no spray of any material/water). Foliar application of plant nutrients 

are applied as per the treatment schedule under rainfed vertisols. 

Effect of foliar plant fertilization of different chemicals on yield and economics of 

rainfed sorghum (K 12) 

Treatments Yield (kg/ha) Cost of 

B:C 

Mainplot: 

Grain yield 

Stover 

yield 

cultivation 

(Rs./ha) 

Net returns 

(Rs./ha) 

M 1 1339 1975 19300 9455 1.49 

M 2 1235 1748 19150 7298 1.38 

SEd 30.0 45.5 

CD (0.05) 62.0 93.5 

Sub plot: 

Results 

T 1 1172 1642 20200 4882 1.24 

T 2 1235 1811 20900 5611 1.27 

T 3 1378 2288 21100 8748 1.42 

T 4 1343 1948 21825 6983 1.32 

T 5 1294 1722 20225 7377 1.36 

T 6 1202 1574 19700 5914 1.30 

T 7 1052 1329 19500 2869 1.15 

SEd 31.5 81.2 

CD (0.05) 65.0 165.1 

In Vertisols under rainfed situation different foliar plant nutrients were applied during stress 

and after relieving stress condition. Among the foliar sprays, application of water soluble 




complex fertilizer (19:19:19) @ 0.5% applied during the dryspell condition registered the 

highest sorghum grain yield (1378 kg ha -1 ), stover yield (2288 kg ha -1 ), net returns (8748 kg 

ha -1 ) and BC ratio (1.42) in rainfed sorghum (K 12) and it was followed by the treatment 

sprayed with water soluble complex fertilizer (19:19:19) @ 0.5% + recommended dose of 

micronutrient for foliar spray (ZnSO 4 @ 0.5%) respectively (Table 1.). 

The combined fertilizer application through foliar plant nutrition increased yield attributes and 

yield of millets. This might be due to the supplementation of plants with three major and 

micronutrients together and these elements enhancing most of the metabolic processes. The 

supplementation of nitrogen increased the protein formation, phosphorous in the formation of 

nucleic acids and energy compounds while potassium influenced the water adjustment and 

carbohydrate transportation. The findings corroborated with the findings of Emam and 

Zavorakh, (2004) and Hussein et al. (2011). 

Effect of foliar plant fertilization of different chemicals on rain water use efficiency (RWUE) of rainfed 

sorghum (K 12). 

During dryspell condition, the plots treated with foliar application of water-soluble complex 

fertilizer (19:19:19) @ 0.5% applied during the dryspell condition recorded higher rainwater 

use efficiency (2.84 kg/ha-mm) and it was followed by the treatment applied with water soluble 

complex fertilizer (19:19:19) @ 0.5% + recommended dose of micronutrient for foliar spray 

(ZnSO4 @ 0.5%), when compared to all other foliar treatments as in the figure. 

Conclusion 

It can be concluded that the foliar application of water-soluble complex fertilizer (19:19:19) @ 

0.5 % registered higher grain and stover yields, net returns, BC ratio and rain water use 

efficiency during the dryspell condition in rainfed sorghum (K 12) under deep black soils 

condition of Southern zone of Tamil Nadu. 


824 | Page



References 

Emam, A. and M. Zavareh. 2004. Drought tolerance in plants (Analysis of the physiological 

and molecular biology) (Translation). University publishing centre. Page. 75. 

Hussain, F., A.U. Malik, M.A. Haji and A.L. Malghani. 2011. Growth and yield response of 

two cultivars of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) to different potassium levels. The J. Ani., 

Plant Sci., 21(3): 622-625. 

T6-12P-1018 

A Summative Evaluation of Technological Interventions in Poultry 

Farming 

Prabhat Kumar Pankaj, G. Nirmala, K. Ravi Shankar, V.K. Singh and A. Dinesh 


Poultry farming is an important source of livelihood for landless and marginal farmers in the 

rural area of the country. The backyard poultry farming with improved poultry varieties is a 

potential tool to alleviate poverty, eradicate malnutrition, generate subsidiary income, empower 

women, and provide gainful employment in rural areas of the country (Rajkumar et al., 2021). 

Women manage most of the activities under backyard system like feeding, watering, cleaning, 

and selling of chickens, and eggs which lead to their empowerment (Pankaj et al., 2019). The 

present investigation was carried out to study the impact of improved Srinidhi variety of chicks, 

advisory services, input support and technological interventions on productivity of poultry 

birds and income of farmers in adopted villages of Pudurmandal, Vikarabaddistrict of 

Telangana. 

Methodology 

The present study was conducted in five villages, viz., Gangupally, Medikonda, Pudugurthy, 

Rakamcherla and Devenoniguda in Pudur Mandal, Vikarabad under ‘Farmers FIRST’ project 

from September, 2018 to October, 2021. Technological interventions were provided in first 

three villages and latter two villages acted as control group (Devenoniguda and Rakamcherla). 

Farmers were provided constant advisory services, input support and technological (improved 

variety as Srinidhi, health, nutrition and management) interventions in treatment group and no 

inputs were provided in the control group. Summative evaluation was conducted after one to 

three years of interventions. Baseline information on six attributes of socio-economic profile 

like age, education, land holding, flock strength, experience in poultry farming and formal 

training in poultry farming were collected through semi-structured interview schedule in the 

first year before the start of intervention. The data were analyzed by Chi-square, paired and 

independent t-tests. The logical framework model approach with elements like supply side 

(inputs, activities, outputs) and results side (outcomes and final outcomes) were used to finalize 




the evaluation of intervention on different indicators. 

Results 

The baseline data showed that all the socio-economic attributes were similar in both the groups 

of poultry farmers. Majority of the farmers were illiterate and landless in both the groups. 

During the study period, poultry population in the treatment group increased by 44.64% as 

compared to 3.73% in control group (Table 1). The net increase in population was 40.95% from 

the control with a significant increase (38.49%) in flock size/household in treatment villages. 

There was significant improvement in all productive and reproductive traits in treatment group 

compared to the control (Table 1). Net impact on number of eggs in 52 weeks, egg weight at 

52 nd week, body weight at 52 nd week, age at first laying, mortality at 0-5 week were improved 

by 7.02, 14.70, 19.44, 9.61, 6.20%, respectively. 

Impact of interventions on flock size and different production traits of poultry 

Characters Control (n=50) Treated (n=50) (F- Impact 

Base line 

(A) 

End line 

(B) 

(C=B- 

A) 

Base line 

(D) 

End line 

(E) 

(F= 

E-D) 

C) (%) 

Total poultry (no.) 562 583 21 569 823 254 233 40.95 

Mean flock size/ HH 

(no.) 

No. of eggs in 52 

weeks 

Egg weight at 52 nd 

week 

Body Weight (g) at 

52 nd week 

Age at first laying 

(days) 

11.24±1.41 11.66±1.0 0.42 11.38±1.2 16.46±1.4 4.8 ** 4.38 38.49 

34.5±2.14 37.6±2.35 3.1 * 35.6±2.23 41.2±2.26 5.6 ** 2.5 7.02 

37.6±2.11 40.1±3.14 2.5 38.1±3.17 46.2±3.19 8.1 ** 5.6 14.70 

1456±52 1974±61 518 * 1512±51 2324±63 812 ** 294 19.44 

215.2±3.2 213.2±2.6 -2.0 218.6±4.1 195.6±2.1 -23 ** -21 9.61 

Mortality at 0-5 week 20.3 19.6 -0.7 19.5 12.6 -6.9 -6.2 6.20 

* 

Significant (p



In the present study, net income per household was increased by 52.94%, whereas per bird 

income was increased by about 22.35% (Table 2) mainly because of increase in body weight 

(19.44%) and improved egg production (7.02%). Poultry farmers in the treatment group 

increased their expenditure by 111.11% mainly on concentrate feeding and healthcare that led 

to higher weight gain ultimately resulting in increased returns. 

Conclusion 

The study showed that poultry production and income of poultry farmers could be increased 

by incorporation of superior varieties, technologies and input supports pertaining to healthcare 

and nutrition along with advisory and education. 

References 

Pankaj, P.K., Nirmala, G., Shankar, K.R., Reddy, B.S. and Chary, G.R. 2019. Improved poultry 

variety for income and nutritional security in semi-arid areas of Telangana. Ind. 

Farming, 69(6): 18-21. 

Rajkumar, U., Rama Rao, S.V. andRaju, M.V.L.N. 2021. Backyard poultry farming for 

sustained production and enhanced nutritional and livelihood security with special 

reference to India: a review. Trop. Anim. Health. Prod., 53: 176. 

T6-13P-1025 

Strengthening Small holder Agriculture in Rainfed Areas: Livelihood 

Analysis of Pigeonpea Growing Farmers of Telangana state 

G. Nirmala*, A. Amarender Reddy, P. K. Pankaj, K. Ravi Shankar and V. K. Singh 


*g.nirmala@icar.gov.in 

With over 1.5 billion people worldwide living in small producer households, the development 

of these households is critical for income growth, poverty reduction, food security, gender 

empowerment, and environmental sustainability (Pingali, 2012). Smallholder agriculture is an 

integral part of rural livelihoods. As a result, increasing their viability could help to reduce rural 

poverty, improve food security and nutrition on multiple levels, and contribute to the 

achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to FAO, WFP, and 

IFAD (2012), smallholder agriculture development may have a significant impact on the poor's 

quality of life by increasing income and food availability. Fan and Rue 2020, discussed that 

small farmers can succeed by either adopting a ‘move up’ or ‘move out’ strategy. While, some 

small farmers may be able to develop their farm operations and engage in profitable 

commercial agriculture activities, others should be assisted in existing agriculture and also 

support seeking non-farm employment opportunities. The study was undertaken with the 




objectives of identifying various options for household diversification available with rainfed 

farmers with an estimation of the diversification index and determining factors that influence 

livelihood diversification strategies. 

Methodology 

The pigeonpea growing farmers from the high pigeonpea cultivating area of Telangana State were 

selected for the study. The area under pigeonpea was reported to be relatively more in three mandals 

namely Tandur, Peddamul and Dharur in 2021. Two villages each from the three mandals selected. 

Data were collected from 75 farmers constituting a sample of study comprising small, medium and 

large farmers largely cultivating pigeonpea and other crops on aspects of sources of family income 

received from crops, livestock, horticulture, remittances received from government schemes and 

other household activities. Various farm and non-farm sources of income were identified and 

significant factors that determine the impact of rural livelihood of rainfed farmers in predominant 

pigeon pea growing areas. 

Results 

The majority of farmers were small and marginal (70%), medium (25%) and large (5%) who are 

cultivating short-duration pigeonpea crop varieties of 150 -180 days duration. pigeonpeais 

cultivated both in kharif and rabi seasons. In rabi season, pigeonpea crop usually is transplanted 

and irrigated. A majority of small and marginal farmers were found to have high diversity index 

ranging between 0.7040-0.7346 and medium (24.66 %) and large farmers (5.48 %) have a diversity 

index of less than 0.6560 which indicated that small farmers are more diversified compared to large 

farmers (Table1). Small farmer households depend upon other non-farm activities and government 

schemes for their livelihood other than farming in contrast to medium farmers and large farmers 

livelihood patterns. 

Diversity index for different landholders concerning household income in pigeon pea growing areas 


828 | Page



Conclusion 

The majority of farmers of predominant rainfed pigeonpea cultivation areas are small and 

marginal farmers followed by medium and large farmer categories. The large farmers mostly 

adopt intensified farming bringing more area into the cultivation of pigeonpea and less engaged 

in other non-farm activities, which is in contrast to small and marginal farmers' livelihood 

patterns, relatively are more diversified in terms of sources of income and cropping patterns. 

Small farmers seem to be more risk-prone and depend upon non-farm sources of income for 

livelihood. Here the socio-economic conditions of farmers forma decisive factor in the extent 

of diversification and small, marginal farmers engage in various farm as well as non-farm 

activities for livelihood improvement. 

Extension initiatives must incorporate agricultural programmes for the improvement of 

farming systems, value chain aspects, and development of marketing infrastructure. To increase 

the productivity of smallholder agriculture, new innovative channels are also needed for 

knowledge sharing and to complement efforts in terms of organizing field days and on-farm 

demonstrations through intense use of print and audio media. 

References 

FAO, WFP and IFAD. 2012. The State of food insecurity in the world. Economic growth is 

necessary but not sufficient to accelerate the reduction of hunger and malnutrition. 

Rome: FAO. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3027e.pdf. 

Fan, S. and Christopher, Rue. 2020. The role of smallholder farms in a Changing World. (In) 

Gomezy Paloma, Lauria Riosgo, Kamel and Louhichi (Eds). The role of Small farms 

in food and Nutrition security. ISBN 978-3030-42147-2. https://doi-org/10.1007-3- 

030-42148-9. 13-28. 

Pingali, P. L. 2012. Green Revolution: Impacts, limits, and the path ahead. Proceedings of 

National Academy of Sciences, 109(31), 12302–12308. 

T6-14P-1026 

Institutional Innovations for Accelerating Technology Transfer: CRIDA’s 

Experiences 

C A Rama Rao * , B.M.K Raju, K. Nagasree, Josily Samuel, R.N. Kumar and V.K. Singh 

ICAR-Central research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 500059 

*car.rao@icar.gov.in 

Sustainable agricultural development warrants a coordinated effort among multiple 

institutions. In fact, the remarkable achievements in Indian agriculture are a result of a 

coordinated effort between the research, extension, policy and other supporting organizations 




obviously with the ingenuity and perseverance of farmers at the core. Notwithstanding the 

progress of agriculture in terms of country’s journey towards self-sufficiency and export 

orientation, contributions to raising incomes, industrial growth etc., Indian agriculture, 

especially the predominant rainfed agriculture, is confronting challenges such as land 

degradation, climate change, rising input prices, market imperfections, international 

competition, labour market changes, vulnerable livelihoods, etc. Such challenges require that 

the research and adoption lags be shortened so that the impacts are realized quicker and the 

returns to investments enhanced. This calls for a much more coordinated and coherent 

functioning of different institutions involved in agricultural technology development and 

transfer. 

This paper reviews the experiences of ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture 

(ICAR-CRIDA), with the mandate of contributing to more sustainable rainfed agriculture, in 

adapting her approach to research and technology transfer over time in terms of institutional 

innovations. 

Methodology 

The methodology involved tracing of major projects of ICAR-CRIDA in terms of their 

emphasis on approach to technology development and transfer and participation of various 

institutions over the last about thirty years. 

Results 

The word ‘institutions’ mean, in addition to the formal ‘organizations’, formal ad informal 

norms of how different organizations function within them and with other organizations in 

pursuit of (shared) mandate and goals. ICAR-CRIDA, when came into being, inherited the 

concept of Operational Research Project of the All India Coordinated research Project on 

Dryland Agriculture that had the responsibility of demonstrating and refining technologies in 

real farm situations. The institute was one of the first when the ICAR started to emphasize on 

participatory technology development in the form of the ‘Institute Village Linkage Programme’ 

(IVLP) where in technology development is more need based and demand driven with 

emphasis on participation of farmers in problem identification as well as in evolving solutions. 

Deployment of various participatory tools, which were till then rarely used, helped scientists 

better appreciate the farmers’ situation and thus enabled sharpening research focus. This 

emphasis on farmers’ participation took a concrete shape in one of the projects funded by the 

Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research wherein a number of innovative tools 

were used to build awareness among farmers about the need for adoption of sustainable soil 

management practices. A more visible adaptation in approach happened when the institute 

started to view agricultural research in the broader context of livelihoods through a multiinstitutional 

effort. This effort, in the form of a research project supported by the Department 


830 | Page



for International Development, United Kingdom, broadened the perspective towards livelihood 

betterment and partnerships to include the non-governmental organizations in a project mode. 

Such a partnership was also instrumental in creating an innovative community-based institution 

viz., salah samithi, that helped better acceptance of technologies, facilitation of smoother 

project delivery and implementation and save time of scientists (Rama Rao et al., 2007). The 

multi-institutional collaboration broadened further in the ICAR’s National Agricultural 

Innovation Project that included the private sector players. Thus, a well-planned multiinstitutional 

project enabled implementation of interventions in the areas of productivity 

enhancement largely supported by research organizations, better natural resource management 

through building community-based organizations facilitated by NGOs and strengthening 

market linkages and information dissemination by the private sector players. The results were 

visible in the form of higher productivity and incomes and better and more equitable use of 

natural resources. One of the key interventions of such an effort was creation of local water 

users’ association that led to more efficient and equitable groundwater utilisation (Rama Rao 

et al., 2017). These experiences with institutional innovations were taken forwarded in the 

technology demonstration component of the ‘National Innovations in Climate Resilient 

Agriculture’ where in multiple village-based institutions were created to enable making and 

implement decisions on technology adoption (Srinivasa Rao et al., 2016). Such institutions 

include village climate risk management committee, custom hiring centre, seed bank, fodder 

bank that help deal with multiple dimensions of impacts of climate change and variability. 

However, not all such institutional interventions are equally effective in all locations and a 

comprehensive explanation to such variable performance is a question to be addressed invoking 

tools of social and economics science tools. 

Conclusion 

Sustainable agricultural development is increasingly complex and challenging. Efforts towards 

more sustainable agriculture warrants institutional interventions in terms of how different 

institutions work together in a complementary manner and creation of community-based 

organizations that help shorten research and adoption lags. However, it is important to 

understand the factors that facilitate or constrain effectiveness of such institutional 

interventions. 

Average time spent by scientists in dealing with community with and without ‘salah 

samithi’ 

Phase of the 

project 

Without Salah 

Samithi 

With Salah samithi t value p value 

Early 5.97 (0.81) 5.83 (0.96) 0.41 0.68 

Mid 4.1 (0.51) 2.30 (0.56) 9.22



Net returns from crop production obtained by bore well owners and water receivers 

before and after networking (Rs/household) 

Before 

(2008-09) 

After 

(2010-11) 

Difference * 

All farmers 7973 22011 14038 (176%) 

Bore well owners 18267 34601 16334 (89%) 

Water receivers 1438 14000 12562 (873%) 

Ratio of net returns of bore well owners to 

the water receivers 

12.7 2.5 

Gini coefficient 0.58 0.24 

Coefficient of variation in income (%) 128 67 

* 

All differences are significant at 1 per cent; Source: Rama Rao et al… 

References 

Rama Rao, C.A., Sreenath Dixit, G. Surendranath, K.V. Rao, B. Sanjeeva Reddy, Josily 

Samuel, B.M.K. Raju and B. Venkateswarlu 2017. Enabling a more equitable and 

efficient groundwater irrigation in rainfed regions of South India. Indian j. dryland 

agric. res. dev.32(1):15-20 

Rama Rao, C.A., Sreenath Dixit, K. Nagasree and K.V. Subrahmanyam. 2007. Institutional 

innovation and project delivery: A case study of Salaha Samithis. Indian j. ext. educ. 

43 ( 3&4), 32-36 

Srinivasa Rao, Ch., J.V.N.S. Prasad, M. Osman, Y.G. Prasad, D.B.V. Ramana, I. Srinivas, K. 

Nagasree, C.A. Rama Rao, et al., (2016). Technology Demonstrations – Enhancing 

resilience and adaptive capacity of farmers to climate variability. Highlights 2015-16. 

CRIDA, Hyderabad & NRM & AE Division, ICAR, New Delhi 

Need for more Flexibility in Crop Insurance Scheme (PMFBY) 

T6-15P-1673 

A. Amarender Reddy, Y. L. Meghana, Cheruku Sai Priya and Ch. Bala Swamy 

ICAR-CRIDA 

One bad crop season leads to a situation of destruction of crops, farm assets, crop losses. Crop 

losses force farmers to take debt from money lenders at exorbitant interest rates, leading to 

farm distress and ultimately farmers suicides. Farmers face different types of losses at different 

stages of crop growth. Crop insurance against these losses are necessary not only to cope with 

sudden shocks/unexpected losses to their incomes and for adoption of yield increasing 

technologies. 


832 | Page



To insure against crop losses, government of India is implementing Prime Minister Fasal 

Bhima Yojana (PMFBY) scheme with a huge premium subsidy since 2016. However, after 

initial good response, some states are withdrawn from the scheme and started their own crop 

insurance scheme. Now only 21 of the 34 states are implementing this scheme while others are 

doing it on their end or some states don’t have any crop insurance scheme. The states like 

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand and West Bengal are withdrawn from 

the scheme in past few years. Since beginning of the scheme, Punjab is not participated. Under 

the scheme, area insured decreased from 55.0 million hectares in 2018 to 45.2 million hectares 

in 2021. Number of farmers are similarly decreased and now only about 3 crore farmers are 

participating in crop insurance out of 12 crore farmers in India. It shows there is some problems 

in implementation of the scheme in some states. However, some positive aspect is, recently 

after 4-5 years of withdrawal, both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states are re-enrolling in to 

the scheme after getting assurance of universal coverage. Past experience shows that, the main 

reasons for withdrawal are (i) more out go as premium subsidy compared to claims received 

by the farmers in some states, (ii) delay in claim payments, (iii) specific needs of the states for 

example, in states like Punjab low risk states and crop loss is very rare due to floods or droughts, 

but they face hailstorms, against which they may need insurance at least cost, (iv) general lack 

of awareness about crop insurance among farmers and (iv) laborious and complex process of 

determining premium levels, estimating crop loss and ultimately paying claims to farmers. 

The riskiness of crop production and risk bearing ability of the farmers vary significantly with 

the type of crops grown, irrigated and non-irrigated areas, level of commercialization, small vs 

big farmers and stage of development etc. Any crop insurance scheme not considering these 

variations in designing the schemes may suffer from low enrolments. 

In crop insurance, threshold yield is the basis for payment of claims. The threshold yield of a 

crop is equal to the average yield multiplied by the Indemnity level. Farmers get claims, only 

if the actual yield is below the threshold yield. Under PMFBY three levels of indemnity are 

applicable at90, 80 and 70 per cent. It means, claims will be given to farmers, only if the loss 

is more than 10, 20 and 30 per cent respectively. But, in states like Punjab, yield loss above 

10% rare, hence, appropriate indemnity level should be 95%, so that even if losses are 5%, 

farmers get claims. Punjab is not generally hit by droughts or floods but occasionally suffer 

due to hailstorms, to cover this farmer wants to take single peril insurance with a premium of 

not beyond 1%, unlike uniform1.5% to 5% under PMFBY. Similarly assured irrigated areas of 

paddy and wheat in other states are also very low risk areas, who don’t want to pay higher 

premium. But in contrast, in drought districts like Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh or 

Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, or in Thar desert of Rajasthan or in cultivation of fruits and 

vegetable is riskier, yield loss of30% is common, hence these farmers are willing to pay higher 

premium for indemnity level of 30% to cover frequent losses. These types of geographical 

variations need to be accommodated in the PMFBY. 




Another major problem with PMFBY is non-participation of tenant farmers. Now about 20-25 

per cent of operational area is cultivated by share-croppers/tenant farmers, but until now there 

is no pool proof mechanism to include them as beneficiaries. Although, some states issued 

tenancy certificates like Loan Eligibility Cards (LEC) of Andhra Pradesh, popularity of these 

certificates is dismal. As a result, most of the tenant farmers are out of the PMFBY net. 

Similarly, in PMFBY there is a need to cover additional costs incurred by farmers in unforeseen 

situations. For example, in case of pest outbreak, farmers spend huge amount on purchase of 

pesticides to save crop especially in cotton, chillies and vegetables although sometimes these 

operations will not result in saving the crops but adds to the cost. There is no provision to cover 

for these additional costs, as the sum insured is limited by scale of finance. So, situations vary 

significantly across geographies and crops, which force states to withdraw from the PMFBY 

and start their own crop insurance scheme according to local needs. 

These withdrawn states started their own tailor-made crop insurance schemes to suit their local 

conditions over the past few years. Of the schemes, Mukhyamantri Sahay Yojana of Gujarat, 

Bihar Rajya Fasal Sahayata Yojana (BRFSY) of Bihar, Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB) of West 

Bengal, YSR free crop insurance scheme and Jharkhand Fasal Rahat Yojana are at different 

stages of implementation and learning curve. 

Mukhyamantri Sahay Yojana of Gujarat, Bihar Rajya Fasal Sahayata Yojana (BRFSY) of 

Bihar and YSR free crop insurance of Andhra Pradesh cover all the farmers with zero premium. 

In Gujarat, blocks are classified as two categories (i) more than 60% loss with claim of 

Rs.25.000/ha, (ii) 33% to 60% loss with claim of Rs.20,000/ha. It seems Gujarat government 

scheme is simple to understand and implement. Under the scheme, big losses above 30% are 

only covered. 

Similarly, Bihar state guaranteed payment of Rs 10,000/ha if the loss was more than 20% of 

the threshold yield. If the damage is less than 20% of the threshold limit, farmers can get Rs 

7,500 per hectare. However, the indemnity level was kept at 70%. It means farmers in Bihar 

also get claims only if yields loss is more than 30%. 

Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB) of West Bengal running since 2019 with Agricultural Insurance 

Corporation (AIC) as nodal agency. It also covers tenant farmers and share croppers. Farmers 

did not have to pay premium for food and oilseed crops. For potato and sugarcane, the farmers 

have to pay 4.85% of the sum insured as premium. Under the scheme, if claims are less than 

80% of the premium, AIC will refund to the state government the difference between the claims 

paid and 80% of the premium received. Claims depends on yield loss indirectly measured by 

crop health factor based on satellite and weather data collected from automatic weather stations 

maintained by department of agriculture. Major indicators for calculating crop health factor are 

crop greenness (normalized difference vegetation index), crop wetness (land surface water 


834 | Page



index), crop structure (backscatter ratio) and plant canopy/ biomass (fraction of absorbed 

photosynthetically active radiation). Crop health data will be corroborated with yield data to 

check robustness. 

Overall, PMFBY needs to be more flexible to accommodate the wider diversity of the states. 

Since last few years, PMFBY improved in many respects depending on the experience and also 

requests from the states like online updation and direct payments, integration of data with the 

state portals, use of technology in loss estimation, tenant farmers coverage, timely settlement 

of grievances, penal interest payments to farmers for delay in claims payment and universal 

coverage etc. However, still a long way to go to accommodate all the states in the PMFBY. 

T6-16P-1053 

Performance and Economic Evaluation of Agri-Horti System under 

Rainfed Condition of Marathwada Region 

A.S. Gunjkar*, W.N. Narkhede, P.H. Gourkhede and M.S. Pendke 

All India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland Agriculture 

Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani 

*amrapaliomshinde@gmail.com 

Drumstick is one of the important perennial vegetable (horticulture) crop grown in the region. 

It’s origin is the sub-Himalayan tracts of north-western India, Pakistan, drumstick can further 

be increased as it grow well in all types of soil, from acid to alkaline (Duke 1983) and can 

tolerate up to 6 months of dry season. It grows well at altitudes from 0 to 1800 msl and rainfall 

between 500 and 1500 mm per year. It is therefore useful for semi-arid and arid ecosystem, 

which covers 37.0% geographical area and 16.7% arid area (Velayutham 1999) by facilitating 

irrigation. In nutritional and medicinal view, almost every part of the drumstick plant has value 

for food. The pods, seeds, leaves and flowers are consumed by humans as nutritious vegetables 

in some countries (Makkar and Becker 1997). Drumstick is mainly grown for edible pods; 

however, it has huge commercial value for seed also as it contains 38 to 40% oil (Irvine 1961). 

Drumstick seed powder is said to be an effective organic clarifier of even very turbid water by 

removing up to 99% of bacteria in the process (Folkland and Sutherland 1996). Looking to the 

importance of drumstick plants, the experiment was planned in combination with crops and 

cropping system under agri-horti system for sustainability under rainfed ecosystem. 

Methodology 

An experiment was conducted at AICRP on Dryland Agriculture, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada 

Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani during the year 2012-2017. The studies consisted of sole crop of 

drumstick of distance 3x3 m. and drumstick four intercrops 1:6 ratio and their correlation with 

yield. The experiment was laid out in Four replication in Randomized block design. 




Effect of Alternate land use systems on crop yield and economics 

Treatment Yield Cost of 

C 1- Drumstick Sole 

(3x3m) 

C 2- Drumstick + 

GreeenGram (1:6) 


Soybean (1:6) 


Kharif Sorghum (1:6) 


Green mannuring 

(1:6) 

Results 

Drumstick 

Equivalent 

Yield (kg/ha) 

System 

Yield 

(q/ha) 

cultivation 

( Rs/ha) 

Net 

return 

( Rs/ha) 

B:C 

ratio 

RWUE 

(kg/ha-mm) 

107.25 107.25 25334 81916 4.23 16.86 

44.82 143.98 37304 106676 3.85 22.63 

56.27 140.52 51685 88835 2.71 22.09 

41.77 123.67 42670 81000 2.85 19.44 

149.20 149.20 29834 119367 5.01 23.45 

The pooled data on yield parameters and economics is presented in Table 1. Data indicated that 

Drumstick + Green manuring recorded the higher drumstick equivalent yield of 149.20 q/ha it 

was followed by Drumstick + Black gram (1:6) (140.52 q/ha) whereas in case of intercrops 

higher yield was recorded by soybean followed by blackgram. 

Weight and number of drumstick pod/plant (Pooled 2012-17) 

Treatment No. of sticks /plant Wt. of single stick (g) 

C 1- Drumstick Sole (3x3m) 169.80 57.20 

C 2- Drumstick + Green gram (1:6) 166.40 54.60 

C 3- Drumstick + Soybean (1:6) 158.60 49.20 

C 4- Drumstick + Kharif Sorghum (1:6) 154.00 47.40 

C 5- Drumstick + Green mannuring (1:6) 218.80 62.20 

The data depicted in Table 2 conclude that number of sticks per plant recorded significantly 

higher 218.80 in treatment C5- Drumstick + Green mannuring (1:6) compared to other 

treatments. Whereas minimum 154.00 number of sticks per plant recorded in treatment C 4- 

Drumstick + Kharif Sorghum (1:6). 

The weight of single stick found to be significantly highest 62.20g in treatment C 5- Drumstick 

+ Green mannuring (1:6) followed by treatment C 1- Drumstick Sole (3x3m) 57.20g. Whereas 

lowest weight of single stick is found in treatment C4- Drumstick + Kharif Sorghum (1:6). 


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Yield of drumstick (Pooled data 2012-17) 

Treatment Drumstick yield (q/ha) Inter crop yield (kg/ha) 

C 1- Drumstick Sole (3x3m) 107.25 - 

C 2- Drumstick + Green gram (1:6) 99.16 804 

C 3- Drumstick + Soybean (1:6) 84.25 1845 

C 4- Drumstick + Kharif Sorghum (1:6) 81.90 2017 

C 5- Drumstick + Green manuring (1:6) 149.20 3745 

SE 3.12 -- 

CD at 5% 9.37 -- 

The pooled data of mean yield represented that the maximum 149.20 q/ha yield in the treatment 

C5- Drumstick + Green manuring (1:6) and lowest 81.90 q/ha yield in treatment C4- Drumstick 

+ Kharif Sorghum (1:6). 

Soil nutrient status under drumstick-based cropping system (Pooled data 2012-17) 

Treatments pH EC 

(ds m -1 ) 

Org. C 

% 

Available nutrients 

N P K 

C 1- Drumstick Sole (3x3m) 8.01 0.40 0.42 193.26 10.32 567.21 

C 2- Drumstick + Green gram (1:6) 7.86 0.28 0.57 235.23 17.42 592.19 

C 3- Drumstick + Soybean (1:6) 7.97 0.40 0.48 203.83 12.24 581.46 

C 4- Drumstick + Kharif Sorghum (1:6) 7.97 0.38 0.51 218.80 13.68 577.56 

C 5- Drumstick + Green mannuring (1:6) 7.75 0.30 0.66 264.80 19.68 596.47 

SE ± 0.01 0.030 0.68 3.41 1.17 3.77 

CD at 5% NS NS 0.19 10.43 3.42 11.01 

Mean 7.91 0.35 0.52 223.18 14.66 582.97 

Data presented in Table 4 revealed that the soil pH and EC were not significantly affected due 

to different drumstick based intercropping systems. Whereas, improvement in soil organic 

carbon and over all soil major nutrients were improved over treatment C1. Significantly 

highest organic carbon was observed due to treatment C5 i.e. green manuring and available 

nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were also higher due to growing green manuring crop with 

drumstick crop. 

Conclusion 

The Agri-horti system comprising Drumstick + Green mannuring (1:6) and Drumstick + Green 

gram are found to be superior in yield advantage and economical returns under rainfed 

condition of Marathwada region. 




References 

Duck, J.A. 1983. Handbook of energy crops (Moringa oleifera). Center for new crops and plant 

products. Purdue University, India, US. 

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Moringa_oleifera.html. 

Folkland, G.K. and Sutherland, J.P. 1996. Moringa oliefera- a multipurpose tree. Food chain, 

Intermediate Technology myson House, Railway terrace, Rugby, CV213HT, UK. 

P.18. 

Irvine, F.R. 1961. Woody plants of Ghana with special reference to their uses. Oxford 

University press, London. 

Makkar, H.P.S. and Becker, K. 1997. Nutrients and antiquality factors in different 

morphological parts of the Moringa oleifera tree. J. Agric. Sci., Cambridge 128: 

311–332. 

Velayutham, R.V. 1999. Agro-Ecological Sub-regions of India for Planning and Development. 

National Bureau of Soil Science and Land Use Planning (NBSSLUP), pp. 1-279. 

T6-17P-1074 

Impact of Agricultural Extension in Managing Biotic and Abiotic Stress in 

Rainfed Areas 

V. P. Suryavanshi 

Regional Agricultural Extension Education Centre, Ambejogai, Beed 431517, VNMAU, Maharashtra, 

India 

Various technologies are developed and recommended for management of biotic and abiotic 

stress in rainfed areas. Proper and timely adoption of these technologies needs to be accelerated 

for harvesting positive economic impacts on farmers’ fields. Among various crop production 

factors, management of insect pests and plant diseases are the crucial factors determining the 

crop yields. The climate change and weather variabilities created enormous difficulties at 

farmers’ level to harvest potential crop yields, mainly in soybean, redgram, gram while to some 

extend horticultural crops like papaya, banana and chilli grown in the region. Dryspell of more 

than 15 days and heavy rainfall coupled with high humidity and low solar radiation increased 

the infestation of stem borer in soybean, fusarium and phytophthora wilt in redgram. Wilting 

of gram is a major problem in the predominant soybean-gram cropping system of the region. 

Suboptimal micronutrients and low organic carbon content of the soil created unhealthy and 

virus infected growth of papaya, banana, and chilli. Extension functionaries need to work 

efficiently to disseminate recommended technologies effectively. Hence, it necessitates to 

assess the role of an extension agronomist of the Regional Agricultural Extension Education 


838 | Page



Centre (RAEEC) and subject matter specialist for strengthening the agricultural extension work 

in rainfed areas. 

Methodology 

The major crops of the Marathwada region of Maharashtra are soybean, redgram, cotton, gram. 

The horticultural crops like papaya, banana, tomato and chilli are also grown on limited scale. 

For harvesting good yield with low cost of production, various technologies viz., nutrient 

management, weed management, pest management water management, mechanization have 

been recommended by the Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University (VNMAU), 

Parbhani, other SAUs and ICAR centres at regional and national level. In this regard, 

agricultural extension services are run by the VNMAU, Parbhani, other SAUs with the RAEEC 

and KVKs to transfer such technologies for adoption by farmers. The RAEEC under 

Directorate of Extension Education, VNMAU, Parbhani are established at Ambajogai, Latur, 

Aurangabad and Parbhani to disseminate the agricultural technologies among the farmers of 

Marathwada region comprising eight districts. RAEEC developed a system to approach 60000 

farmers of each district in collaboration with State Agriculture Department. The need-based 

advisories are reaching the farmers through the system channel i.e., from scientists – SMS 

/extension agronomist – DSAO – Taluka Agriculture Officer –Mandal Agriculture Officer – 

Agriculture Supervisor – Agriculture Assistant – Farmer through conducting monthly district 

field visits, workshop, trainings and WhatsApp. This article considered integrated management 

strategies to manage biotic and abiotic stress on farmers’ fields, concluding with a brief outline 

of future directions which might lead to the integration of described methods in a system-based 

approach for more effective management of biotic and abiotic stress. 

Results 

State Agriculture Universities and ICAR research institutes have released various technologies 

for increasing production and productivity of rainfed areas. Technological intervention through 

extension activities is important for widescale adoption of these recommendations. 

Cropping system: Mixed cropping, intercropping and crop rotation are important practices that 

are widely emphasized to break the life cycle of insect pests and to avoid the inoculums buildup 

of soil-borne pathogens and these practices are proved to be most effective tool in real farm 

situations to manage biotic and abiotic stresses. Crop rotation is also associated with enhanced 

soil fertility, improvement in soil chemical and physical properties, good soil water 

management and soil erosion control. 

Sowing method: In soybean, use of Broad Bed and Furrow (BBF) technology for sowing is 

proved to be climate resilient, cost effective by reducing seed rate and insect pest population. 




Soil amendments: Organic amendments to the soil are traditionally used for improving soil 

conditions and crop productivity, but they can also aid in suppressing soilborne pathogens. On 

farmers field, its evident that crops sown on soil with good organic amendments did not show 

viral expressions even though plant is infected. 

Soil fertility and plant nutrients: Soil fertility and chemistry including soil pH, organic matter 

and available nutrient statuscan play a major role for healthy growth of plant. Soil nutrition, 

along with the use of fertilizers and amendments, have shown direct impact for developing 

tolerance against various biotic and abiotic stress. 

Conclusion 

Among various crop production constraints, management of biotic and abiotic stressis the key 

to realizing potential crop yields in rainfed areas. The phase-out of many chemicals and rising 

awareness towards resistance development, environmental health, and climate change 

necessitates the quest for suitable integrated management options. Many non-chemical options 

such as resistant cultivars/varieties, cropping system, sowing methods, soil amendments, soil 

fertility management and plant nutrients application methods proved more effective in 

management of insect pests and diseases if integrated with chemical methods. Therefore, 

published research must be taken to farmers through such agencies as RAEEC and KVKs. 

T6-18P-1079 

Assessment of Cluster Front Line Demonstration (CFLD) on Green gram 

(Vigna radiata L. Wildzek) as a Climate Resilient Intervention in Rainfed 

Uplands of Red & Lateritic tracts of Purulia, West Bengal, India during 

kharif Season 

A. Chakraborty, S.K. Bhattacharya, B. Maity, B. Mahato, C. Ghosh, L. Maity, 

D.C. Mahato and B. Maiti 

KrishiVigyan Kendra Kalyan, Purulia, 723 147, West Bengal, India 

kvkkalyanpurulia@gmail.com 

Green gram (Vigna radiata L. Wildzek) is an important pulse crop of Purulia District of West 

Bengal after black gram for the unbunded rainfed uplands during Kharif season. Non-adoption 

of improved technologies is one of the major constraints of traditional green gram farming with 

lower productivity. Cluster Front Line Demonstrations (CFLD) were conducted (65 nos.) in 

103 farmers’ fields over an area of 22.5 ha in 14 villages, to demonstrate the production 

potential and economic benefits of improved technology package comprised of newly released 

location specific suitable varieties viz., IPM-02-14; Seed rate-25kg/ha; Seed Treatment with 

Trichodermaviride @50gm/ha &Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 250 gm/ha and Biofertilizer as 


840 | Page



Rhizobium @2kg/ha& PSB @ 2kg/ha; application of Fertilizer @ 20 kg N, 40 kg P 2O 5&20 kg 

K2O /ha as basal with Micronutrient- Zn @25kg/ha and Plant Protection measure for 

controlling Bihar hairy caterpillar (Spilarctiaobliqua) through spraying Azadirachtin 3 ml/lt,. 

The demonstrations were carried out in Purulia district of West Bengal under Red & Lateritic 

Agro-climatic zone during Kharif season of 2019-20 to 2021-22 for three consecutive years. 

The improved technologies recorded significantly higher average yield of 8.67 q/ha (57.75 %) 

than the yield obtained under farmer’s practices (5.50 q/ha). The improved technologies also 

resulted higher mean net return of Rs.39,613/ha with a cost benefit ratio of 2.25 as compared 

to local check (Rs.16,465/ ha, & 1.76 respectively). 

T6-19P-1092 

Computation of Extension Effectiveness Index and Effective Extension 

Approaches for Adoption of Rainfed Technologies by Farmers from State 

Dept. of Agriculture, NGO and Private Extension Agency in 

Anantapuramu District of A.P. 

K. Ravi Shankar*, G. Nirmala, K. Nagasree, P.K. Pankaj, C. N. Anshida Beevi, 

Jagriti Rohit, C. A. Rama Rao, B. M. K. Raju and V. K. Singh 

Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad 500059, Telangana, India 

*kr.shankar@icar.gov.in 

Agricultural extension is the conscious communication of information to help farmers form 

sound opinions and make good decisions on farming. There are several methods for agricultural 

technology transfer. Some of these include the individual/household extension method, group 

method, and mass media method. None of these methods can be singled out as the best one as 

they all have some advantages and disadvantages. According to Anandajayasekeram et al. 

(2008), the choice of a method depends on various factors such as the tenure system in the area, 

community organization, and resource availability. Meetings, field days, and approaches to 

schools may also be good options. Despite the importance of agricultural extension in 

communicating relevant information about improved production techniques to farmers, there 

are limited studies, to the best of our knowledge, that evaluate the effectiveness of the various 

agricultural technology transfer methods/approaches in India in general and Andhra Pradesh 

(A.P.) state in particular. This paper, therefore, highlights the effectiveness of various 

agricultural technology transfer (extension approaches) that are being used by the stakeholders 

of the agricultural extension delivery system in the Anantapuramu district of A.P. The specific 

objectives of the study were to compute the extension effectiveness index from farmers of the 

study area and to identify the existing extension approaches employed by extension officers of 

different agencies in the study area. 




Methodology 

A sample of 40 farmers was randomly selected from the Anantapuramu district of A.P. The 

average annual rainfall in Anantapuramu is 550 mm. The sample agencies selected for the study 

were Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN) an NGO, Coromandel 

Fertilizers Limited (CFL) a private extension firm, and the State Department of Agriculture 

(SDA) representing the government extension agency. In Anantapuramu, Nallacheruvu 

(WASSAN), Bukkarayasamudram (CFL), and Atmakur (SDA) mandals were selected for the 

study. Care was taken in selecting the mandals (along with villages and respondent farmers) 

that were mutually exclusive to avoid overlapping of data from each agency i.e., Nallacheruvu 

was selected to collect data from WASSAN, Bukkarayasamudram for CFL and Atmakur for 

data from SDA. The data was collected using a pre-tested interview schedule and focus group 

discussion with the farmers belonging to each agency. The extension effectiveness index 

comprised six parameters i.e., timeliness of information, utility, ease of understanding, 

satisfaction in farmers, extension activities, and quality of extension services. These parameters 

were further subdivided into components and individual weights were assigned to each 

component. The weights were rounded to the nearest fifth digit. For each parameter, all 

components’ weights were totalled 100. Mean weightages for each parameter were worked out 

and they were combined to get the index value to 100. Out of the six parameters, utility ranked 

first with 25 scores, followed by the timeliness of information, ease of understanding, and 

satisfaction in farmers each with 20 scores, then extension activities with 10 and quality of 

extension services with 5 scores respectively. 

Results 

The main crops in the study villages are ground nut, red gram, paddy, banana, tomato, and 

other vegetables. The mean Extension Effectiveness Index (EEI) value of 4.1 was the highest 

for WASSAN, followed by SDA (3.79) and CFL (3.52) in that order. In terms of the measured 

6 parameters in the index, it is clear that extension was highly effective in WASSAN, followed 

by SDA and CFL in that order. The study revealed significant differences between different 

agencies based on their EEI values. 

T test results for different extension agencies based on EEI values 

S. No. Extension Agencies 

Comparison 

Mean Difference t value Sig. (2-tailed) 

1. CFL vs WASSAN -0.591 -9.08 0.001** 

2. CFL vs SDA -0.276 -4.12 0.001** 

3. WASSAN vs SDA -0.315 -15.50 0.001** 

**Significant at 0.01 probability level 


842 | Page



The major extension approaches that were used to transmit information to farmers are given in 

the table. Farmer to Farmer Extension (FFE) followed by demonstrations, training, group 

meetings and exposure visits (group approaches) were highly effective extension approaches 

in that order. 

Effectiveness of extension approaches in Anantapuramu district of AP. 

S. No. Extension Approaches N Mean 

1. Demonstrations 120 3.67 

2. Trainings 120 2.86 

3. Exposure Visits 40 1 

4. Group Meetings 80 2.82 

5. Farmer-to-Farmer Extension 40 4.9 

Results from Ewbank et al. (2007) also concur with our findings. The FFE approach has the 

potential of supplementing existing extension approaches and improves farmers’ access to 

extension services. FFE is effective in serving farmers’ needs, institutionally more sustainable, 

comparably inexpensive, and used in areas where it is inadequate or absent of government 

extension staff. Furthermore, it is also thought to reach and include many poor farmers, thus 

increasing the adoption of technologies. 

Conclusion 

In this study, we computed the EEI as well as the extension approaches in the Anantapuramu 

district of A.P. The EEI was highest for WASSAN. Farmers also expressed that FFE followed 

by demonstrations, training, group meetings, and exposure visits were highly effective 

extension approaches in the study. It therefore imperative that the agricultural policies of A.P. 

should be aimed at empowering the Agricultural department, both technically and financially, 

to train farmers through FFE, Demonstrations, Trainings, Group meetings and Exposure visits 

since these group approaches have proven to be effective in disseminating information to 

farmers in real-time Technology-led approaches like Information and Communication 

Technologies (ICTs) (like mobile, SMS, individual (individual farmer or household) and mass 

media approaches (like TV, radio) was shown less preference by farmers in information 

seeking in the study. 

References 

Ackah-Nyamike, E. E., 2007. Extension programme development and implementation: A 

fundamental guide for tertiary students and practitioners. Accra: Sedco Publishing Ltd. 

Anandajayasekeram, P., Puskur, R., Sindu, W., and Hoekstra, D. 2008. Concepts and practices 

in agricultural extension in developing countries: A source book. Nairobi, Kenya: 




International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC, U.S.A, and 

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). 

Ewbank, R., Kasindei, A., Kimaro, F. and Slaa, S. 2007. Farmer Participatory Research in 

Northern Tanzania. FARM-Africa Working Paper No. 11. 

T6-20P-1118 

Performance of Frontline Demonstrations in Yield Enhancement of Cotton 

under Arid Conditions 

Arvind Singh Tetarwal* 

ICAR-CAZRI, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pali-Marwar-306401 (Rajasthan) 

*astetarwal@gmail.com 

Cotton, Gossypium sp. (Family: Malvaceae) is an important commercial fibre crop grown 

under diverse agro-climatic conditions. India ranks first in the world cotton production with 34 

million bales from about 12 million hectares. India's average cotton production is 469 kg per 

hectare, compared to world average 778 kg ha -1 . Gujarat is a major cotton producing state. In 

arid Kutch, Gujarat, the main limiting constraints in cotton production includes low soil 

fertility, shortage and poor-quality irrigation water, high prevalence of insect-pests and 

soilborne diseases etc. The cultivation of susceptible hybrids, late planting, inadequate fertiliser 

use, and insecticide spraying were some of the major abiotic factors for insect-pest outbreaks 

(Kranthi, 2015). It was observed that majority of farmers did not use improved practices like 

quality seed, suitable plant protection measures, balanced fertilization resulting in a wide 

extension gap between demonstrated technology and farmers' technique. To bridge that gap, 

KVK Bhuj demonstrated improved cotton cultivation technology in various farmers' fields as 

FLDs, which focuses on increasing productivity by providing vital inputs as well as improved 

packages of practices. 

Methodology 

The current study was conducted by the ICAR-CAZRI, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bhuj-Kutch 

(Gujarat) during the Kharif, 2018-19 to 2020-21 at farmer’s fields. A total of 60 frontline 

demonstrations were held throughout a 24-hectare area at different villages of the Kutch 

district. The soils in the research area were mostly saline and alkaline in nature, with a sandyto-sandy 

loam texture and poor in essential micro nutrients and organic carbon. The yield data 

was obtained from FLD plots along with local farming practises widely used by farmers in this 

region, for comparative analysis. Under demonstration plots, we have provided critical inputs 

such as bio-pesticide Beauveria bassiana, traps (pheromone and yellow sticky traps) to manage 

the pink bollworm and sucking insects, magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) and technical advice on 

integrated crop management (ICM). On the other hand, farmers were allowed to continue with 


844 | Page



their conventional techniques in the event of a local check. Statistical tools such as frequency and 

percentage were used to collect, tabulate, and analyse the data. The extension gap, technology gap, and 

technology index were calculated using the Samui et al. (2000) equations. 

Results 

The demonstrations showed that the three-year average production in demonstrated technology (2561 

kg ha -1 ) was 13.89% greater than in conventional practise (2241 kg ha -1 ). The extension gap between 

improved and conventional practise varied between 312 and 330 kg ha -1 , with an average of 320.3 kg 

ha -1 . The extension gap was recorded at its lowest (312 kg ha -1 ) in the second year 2019-20, indicating 

the greater adoption of superior technologies of the KVK. The findings of Dahiya et al. (2018) 

corroborate the conclusions of this study. Furthermore, the technology gap was 438.7 kg ha -1 on average 

with lowest 327 kg ha -1 recorded in the beginning year (2028-19) of the study. The statistics obtained 

show that the technology index peaked at 21.23% in 2020-21 and lowest (10.9%) in 2018-19. The 

average technology index across the years was 14.62%. A technology's acceptability and practicality 

are always inversely related to its technology index value; the higher the acceptance of the proven 

technology, the lower the technology index value (Sagar and Chandra, 2004). 

Conclusion 

The use of Beauveria bassiana and balanced fertilization contributed to high cotton production at low 

cost. It is recommended that strong ties be established with line departments and other agencies in order 

to organise FLDs and large-scale capacity development programmes to overcome the extension gap for 

better cotton productivity by transferring improved technology to the region. 

References 

Dahiya, R., Yadav, S. and Yadav, S. 2018. Impact of frontline demonstration on cotton production 

technology. J. Cotton Res. Dev., 32 (2): 300-305. 

Kranthi KR (2015). Cotton statistics and News. Cotton Association of India, Mumbai, India. 

Sagar RL and Chandra R (2004). Front line demonstration on sesame in West Bengal. Agric Ext Review 

16(2): 7-10. 

Samui SK, Maitra S, Roy DK, Mandal AK and Saha D (2000). Evaluation of front-line demonstration 

on groundnut. J Indian Soc Coast Agric Res 18(2): 180-183. 

Yield, gap assessment and economic analysis of frontline demonstrations on cotton 

Year 


Demo 

Demo 

(IP)* 

Yield 

(kg/ha) 

Local 

(FP) 

Yield 

(kg/ha) 

% Yield 

Increase 

over FP 

Ext 

Gap 

(kg/ha) 

Tech. 

Gap 

(kg/ha) 

Tech. 

Index 

(%) 

Net Return 

(Rs/ha) 

B:C Ratio 

IP* FP IP FP 

2018-19 20 2673 2343 14.08 330 327 10.90 101415 84865 3.22 2.93 

2019-20 20 2648 2336 13.36 312 352 11.73 100690 85080 3.24 2.96 

2020-21 20 2363 2044 14.22 319 637 21.23 82065 65470 2.71 2.39 

Average 2561 2241 13.89 320.3 438.7 14.62 94723 78471 3.06 2.76 

*IP=Improved Practice; FP= Farmers Practice 




T6-21P-1138 

Sustainable Growth in Agriculture Sector: A Case Study of Nalgonda 

District, Telangana, India 

Harish Balduri* and G. Prabhakar 

Geology Department 

Osmania University, Hyderabad 

*harishbalduri.ougeog@gmail.com, drgprabhakarouhyd@gmail.com 

Sustainable agricultural growth is a necessary for the economic growth of India. Agriculture 

growth is critical for poverty reduction and can be a powerful means of achieving economic 

growth. The agriculture sector is one of the main sectors in India by which agriculture 

productivity and rural employment can offer increased income to the poor and provide food 

security and income diversification to vulnerable communities. The study focuses on the 

Nalgonda district, a rural district with good irrigation sources and favorable climatic conditions. 

Approximately 75 per cent of the population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture in the 

district. The major growing crops are Paddy and Cotton. As per the field observation, the district 

has the highest potential for crop cultivation and diversification due to the relatively gentle 

topographic condition, favorable soils and higher irrigation facilities of Krishna River. The 

present study showed that despite several challenges, such as an increase in built-up areas and 

scarcity of cropland in the study area, there has still been an increase in agricultural productivity 

in the last decade. The present study aims to study the sustainable agricultural growth in the 

Nalgonda district and propose several measures to guarantee sustainable agricultural growth in 

the stud area. The result of the study provides an action plan for agricultural researchers, 

academia, research institute, government, and non-governmental organizations working in the 

agriculture sector. 

T6-22P-1164 

On Farm Evaluation of Farming System Modules for Improving the 

Profitability of Small and Marginal Farmers 

Y. D. Charjan, R. S. Wankhade, Varsha Tapre, P. N. Magare and A. S. Lawhale 

Agriculture Research Station, Achalpur 

Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola 

The Central Vidarbha Zone is the VII th Agro Climatic zone of Maharashtra State, this tract has 

hot summer, moderate winter and rainy season. Vertisols, Inceptisols and Entisols are the 

dominant soil order occurring here. Soil type in the district having deep black, medium deep 

black and shallow soils having 427.9, 136.4 and 421.5 (area 000 ha) hectare area with 43.4, 

13.8 and 42.7 per cent, respectively. Main agronomical crop of this zone are cotton, soybean, 

sorghum, pigeon pea in kharif and wheat and gram in rabi season. Nagpur mandarin and 

vegetable crops viz., brinjal, tomato grown in Nagpur district. During 2018-19 the experiments 


846 | Page



were conducted in high (Katol) and low (Narkhed) productive blocks of Nagpur district. The 

total 36 farmers selected for study accordingly principle component analysis was done. 

Systematic integration of multiple enterprise system in scientific manner, components needs to 

be chosen in such a way that a product of on component become the input of other, are 

complimentary and are organically well inter linked to each other without wastage to meet out 

the multiple objective of poverty reduction, food security, environmental soundness and 

sustainability, especially for small and marginal farmers. After studying typology of collected 

information of selected farmers, components were defined. Increasing income and employment 

from small holdings by integrating wages from enterprises and recycling crop residues and byproducts 

within farm itself. The type of farming system and components presented in the table 1. 

Types of Farming Systems and Components 

Farming 

System 

(s) 


households 

Mean 

holding 

size (ha) 

Mean 

family 

size 

(no’s) 

Components 

Cropping systems Livestock Mean total 

net income 

(Rs) 

Crop +Bullock 

pair 

3 0.93 4 

Soy + Pigeon Pea (1) 

Soy-ch.pea(1) 

soy-wheat(2) 

Bullock pair 

(1) 

95000 

Crop+ Dairy 3 1.33 6 

Soybean (1) 

Cotton-fallow (1) 

Soy-ch.pea(1) 

soy-wheat(1) 

Cow (1) 88333 

Crop + 

Horticulture 

+Dairy and 

Bullock pair 

6 1.37 5 

Cotton-wheat (1) 

Cotton-fallow (3) 

Soy + Pigeon Pea (2) 

Soy-ch.pea(3) 

soy-wheat(2) 

Cow & 

Bullock pair 

(1 & 1 ) 

82333 

Benchmark status of area & net income from various modules. 

Farming System (s) 

Benchmark net income (Rs) 

Crop Livestock Processing Optional if 

any 

Total 

Crop +Bullock pair 80000 15000 0 0 95000 

Crop+ Dairy 66183 22150 0 0 88333 

Crop + Horticulture +Dairy 

and Bullock pair 

57767 24566 0 0 82333 




Salient features of interventions for diversification in each module. 

Farming 

System 

Diversification 

module 

Constraints Interventions Cost of 

interev. 

(Rs) 

Net 

returns 

(Rs) 

interv. 

Crop + 

Bullock pair 

Crop 

Imbalanced Fertilizer 

Dose, Monoculturing of 

soybean , High incidence 

of pest. Sole cropping 

Supply Of MAUS 71 

var. of and JAKI 

9218 Soybean and 

chickpea var., 

balancing nutrients 

1935 141552 

Livestock 

Unavailability of green 

fodder, use of Local 

breed, lack of knowledge 

about improved breeds, 

nutritional, rearing 

management and 

vaccination schedule 

Usmanabadi goat, 

(awaited)Hybrid 

Napier saplings. 

Vaccination, 

Deworming 

100 2250 

Processing 

lack of knowledge about, 

processing of 

fortification, nonavailability 

of cheap 

mineral mixture Partial 

decomposed FYM 

Fortification of 

wheat flour, 

preparation of 

mineral mixture 

supply of bio agent 

for composting. 

Preparation. 

250 

Use at 

Own Farm 

Optional 

Unawareness about use Supply of dry land 

of Farm bunds for minor/ horticultural fruit 

dry land horticultural plants saplings. 

plants 

Supply of improved 

Local ber, unavailability variety of ber bud 

of fresh vegetable around and Bio 

the year. 

decomposers. 

720 3225 

Crop+ 

Dairy 

Crop 


Dose, Mono-culturing of 

soybean, High incidence 

of pest and disease, Sole 

cropping 

Supply Of Js 9305 

var. of and Wheat 

var. AKW 

1071Soybean, 

balancing nutrients , 

8985 118657 

Livestock 

Unavailability of mineral Usmanabadi goat, 

mixtures, vaccination and (awaited) Hybrid 

green 

fodder throughout year 

Napier saplings. 

Vaccination, 

lack of knowledge about Deworming 617 8710 

improved breeds, 





848 | Page



Processing 

lack of knowledge about, 

processing of 

fortification, nonavailability 

of cheap 

mineral mixture, Partial 



wheat flour, 


mineral mixture, 



Preparation 

250 

Use at 

Own Farm 

Optional 

Unawareness about use Supply of dry land 

of Farm bunds for minor/ horticultural fruit 

dry land horticultural plants saplings. 

plants 

Supply of improved 

Local ber, unavailability variety of ber bud 

of fresh vegetable around and Bio 

the year. 

decomposers. 

720 2490 

Crop + 

Horticulture 

+Dairy and 

Bullock pair 

Crop 


Dose, Mono-culturing of 

soybean, 

Supply Of MAUS 71 

var. of 3722 

Soybean, balancing 

nutrients, in 

8717 130283 

Horticulture 

Supply of disease 

resistant planting 

material and 

phytophthera 

management kit 

Intercropped with high 

valued vegetable crops. 

Supply20 saplings of 

disease resistant 

from Genuine 

source. Neem cake 

300 kg, Metalaxil M- 

72 20 gm, 1 kg, SSP 

and ammonium 

sulphate, 500gm 

MOP 20kg, 

potassium 

paramagnet 12.5gm, 

copper sulphate100 

gm calcium 

carbonate 100gm, 

and trichoderma 

100gm. supply of 

seedlings or seed of 

improved variety of 

cabbage, pusa drum 

head or available in 

market 

Livestock 

vaccination, and green 

fodder throughout year 

lack of knowledge about 

improved breeds, 




Usmanabadi goat, 

(awaited) supply of 

hybrid Napier 

saplings. 

Vaccination, 

Deworming supply 


790 9600 




Processing 

Non availability of cheap 

mineral mixture, Partial 


Preparation of 

mineral mixture, 



Preparation. 

250 

Use at 

Own Farm 

optional 

Unawareness about use 

of Farm bunds for minor/ 

dry land horticultural 

plants 

Local ber, unavailability 

of fresh vegetable around 

the year. Mismanagement 

of compost 


wheat flour, 


mineral mixture. 

Supply of seeds for 

kitchen gardening. 

Training on methods 

of compost making 

Improvement of total net income (Rs) 

520 1000 

Farming Systems 

Holding 

size (ha) 

Benchmark 

Net income (Rs) 

(From 0.20 ha ) 

First year 

Crop +Bullock pair 0.93 95000 141552 

Crop+ Dairy 1.33 88333 118657 

Crop + Horticulture +Dairy and Bullock 

pair 

1.37 82333 130283 

Use of improvement in existing farming system and diversification in components of farming system 

showed rise in net income of farmers over farmers practice which they adopted earlier. A highest net 

monetary return of Rs.141552 was recorded by field crop + Bullock pair farming system. In the studied 

group of farmers the Field crop +Horticulture + Dairy and Bullock pair is second highest profitable 

farming system. This System recorded Rs. 130283 net monetary returns over before intervention in the 

various components of Field crop +Horticulture + Dairy and Bullock pair farming system. Part of 

expenditure on livestock and on-farm processing and optional module was made in this year but results 

are awaited. Complete expenditure on these modules i.e. on livestock, optional module in both the 

blocks is not completed. Lower increase i.e. only 34 % increase was observed in Field crop + Dairy 

farming system after intervention in crop + Dairy components. However, income was raised by farmers 

due to adopting the diversification in cropping system. 


850 | Page



T6-23P-1182 

Evaluation of Suitable Cropping Sequence for Dry Tracts in Prakasam 

District of Andhra Pradesh 

L. Rajesh Chowdary, S. Bharathi and G. Subba Rao 

Agricultural Research Station Darsi, Prakasam, Andhra Pradesh 

ars.darsi@angrau.ac.in 

Proper use of the vital natural resources influences the existence of life systems and socioeconomic 

development of any country. Land suitability evaluation is the process of 

estimating the potential of land for land use planning (Sys et al. 1991). Continuous growing 

of same crop on the same field cause deficiency of a particular nutrient in the soil due to 

continuous removal of a specific nutrient from a specific depth of the soil, also cause 

dominance of a particular insect or disease or weed in crop because of continuous available 

favourable conditions and host plant which leads severe reduction in crop yield. Since long, 

conventional cropping of rice under medium to heavy textured soils under bore wells and 

single crop of pigeonpea or fallow. Bengal gram or single crop of bajra/foxtail millet in light 

textured soils under rainfed conditions is being followed in most of the areas of Prakasam 

district. However, each plant species requires specific soil and climatic conditions for its 

optimum growth. Information on crop sequence suitability in dry tracts of Prakasam district 

in particular and in Andhra Pradesh in general is very much scanty. In India, it is observed 

that the area and production of millets has decreased and this might be due to lack of 

remunerative prices, timely marketing facilities and hence diversifying to commercial crops 

like cotton, chillies, maize and maize-based cropping systems. To achieve sustainable 

production in terms of ecological, economical and biological sustainability millet-based 

cropping systems can be followed (Chandra et al., 2013). Millets are mainly cultivated as 

single crop during Kharif in Prakasam district under rainfed conditions with minimum 

management and the fields are left fallow during Rabi. Hence, an attempt has been made to 

evaluate the suitable millet-based cropping sequence in dry tracts of Prakasam district, 

Andhra Pradesh to utilize the available resources and improve the socio- economic status of 

dry land farmers. 

Methodology 

Agricultural Research Station, Darsi is located in between 14 o 57′ and 16 o 17′ North latitude 

and 78 o 43′ and 80 o 25′ East longitude. The climate is semi-arid with distinct summer, winter 

and rainy seasons. The field experiment was conducted for two consecutive years at 

Agricultural Research Station, Darsi during 2017-18 and 2018-19. The soil at the 

experimental site in sandy loam in texture and low in organic carbon content (0.20%). The 

experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications. The 

experiment comprised of nine treatments (foxtail millet-bengalgram, foxtail millet -cowpea, 




foxtail millet -safflower, bajra-bengalgram, bajra -cowpea, bajra –safflower, finger milletbengalgram, 

finger millet –cowpea and finger millet -safflower) having different crop 

sequences of which first crop was sown during Kharif and second crop in Rabi with a 

recommended spacing of 30 cm x10 cm. The varieties Suryanandi (foxtail millet), 

Champavathi (finger millet) and bajra (ABV-5) were used during Kharif and during Rabi 

cowpea (TPT-5), safflower (Local) and JG-11 (bengalgram) were used in the two years of 

study. Observations on yield was recorded and equivalent yields along with net returns and 

B: C ratio was computed. 

Results 

The compiled data of the two years study revealed that among the Kharif crops (foxtail 

millet, bajra, finger millet) the maximum bajra equivalent yield was recorded in bajra (2706- 

2753 kg/ha) followed by foxtail (2487- 2574 kg/ha) and lowest in finger millet (2097-2255 

kg/ha). In Rabi crops highest cowpea equivalent yield was recorded in cowpea (1030-1293 

kg/ha) followed by bengalgram and safflower. Among the different crop sequences 

evaluated maximum system yield was recorded with bajra- cowpea sequence (4032 kg/ha) 

followed by bajra-bengalgram (3827 kg/ha) and was significantly superior over the other 

crop sequences with net returns of 65181 Rs/ha (B: C ratio 2.41), 55319 Rs/ha (B: ratio 2.14) 

respectively.Similarly, higher system productivity in terms of bengalgram equivalent yield 

was also reported by Lal et al. (2004) in a millet-bengalgram crop sequence. 

System yield (kg/ha), net returns (Rs) and benefit cost ratio as influenced by different 

crop sequences 

Bajra Cowpea 

Crop equivalent equivalent 

System Gross 

Net Returns 

sequences yield kg/ha yield kg/ha 

yield Returns 

B:C Ratio 

(Rs/ha) 

(kg/ha) (Rs/ha) 

(Kharif) (Rabi) 

Foxtail 

millet- 

Bengalgram 

Foxtail 

millet - 

Cowpea 

Foxtail 

millet - 

Safflower 

Bajra- 

Bengalgram 

Bajra- 

Cowpea 

Bajra- 

Safflower 

2574 1005 3579 96264 47864 1.99 

2487 1030 3517 95487 49137 2.06 

2533 415 2948 70623 26323 1.59 

2715 1112 3827 103719 55319 2.14 

2753 1279 4032 111531 65181 2.41 

2706 404 3110 73794 29494 1.67 


852 | Page



Finger 

millet- 

Bengalgram 

Finger 

millet- 

Cowpea 

Finger 

millet- 

Safflower 

2255 957 3212 87549 39149 1.81 

2097 1293 3390 98343 51993 2.12 

2144 397 2541 61698 17398 1.39 

S.Em ± 72.30 17.25 90.95 

CD (0.05) 215.90 55.78 274.68 

CV (%) 13.50 12.77 18.25 

Price (Rs/q): foxtail millet-2100, bajra-2100, finger millet-1930, bengalgram-3800, cowpea- 

4200, safflower-2100 

Conclusion 

Bajra-cowpea and bajra-bengal gram were found to be most profitable cropping sequences 

evaluated in terms of bajra equivalent yields and ne returns. 

References 

Chandra, A., Kandari, L.S., Vikram, S.N., Maikhuri, R.K., and Rao, K.S., 2013, Role of 

Intercropping on production and land use efficiency in the central Himalaya, India. 

India. Environ. We Int. J. Sci. Tech., 8(2): 105-113. 

Lal, M., D.S. Bhati and A.K. Nag. 2004. Economics and production potential of different 

cropping sequence on farmers’ field. Journal of Eco-Physiology. 7(3/4): 143–145. 

Sys, C., Van Ranst, E., Debaveye, J., 1991, Land evaluation, Part 2 Methods in Land 

Evaluation. Agricultural Publications No.7, Belgium. 

T6-24P-1200 

Dynamics of Agricultural Land Use in Kerala - A Socio-Ecological 

Perspective 

Rose Mathews, Binoo P Bonny and Marneni Divya Sree 

Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, Kerala 

Agricultural University-680656 

The total geographical area of Kerala is 38.86 lakh ha, out of which the area under agriculture 

accounts for 52.13 per cent (GoK, 2022). Though agriculture continues to be the major land 

use form in the state, the net sown area shows a declining trend. The objectives of the study are 




a) to delineate trends in agricultural land transition in Kerala and b) to identify socio-ecological 

determinants of agricultural land use change in Kerala. 

Methodology 

Ten food crops viz. Rice, sugarcane, pepper, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, areca nut, tapioca, 

banana and other plantains and cashew, and five non-food crops, viz. sesamum, coconut, tea, 

coffee and rubber were selected for the study. Data on the area under food crops and non-food 

crops were collected from the India stat website and of the department of economics and 

statistics. 

Results 

The significant changes in the land use pattern of Kerala are the shift from cultivation of food 

crops to non-food crops, increase in area under non-agricultural use and fallowing of 

agricultural land. It is evident from Fig. that over the years, the area under food crops has 

declined while that of non-food crops has increased. The area under food crops started 

declining during 1970-71 and 1980-81, while the area under non-food crops during the period 

started increasing. The area under non-food crops crossed the food crops in 1990-91. Similar 

trend was observed during 1990-91 to 2000-2001. From 2000-01 to 2010-11, the area under 

both food and non-food crops decreased, and from 2010-11 to 2019-20 the area under food 

crops continued to decrease, and the area under non-food crops remained stagnant (Fig). The 

agricultural land in the state has been converted for non-agricultural purposes like residential 

plots, real estate assets and mining and quarrying. There is a massive leap in the land put to 

non-agricultural purposes in the state. The land put to non-agricultural purposes, which stood 

at 275000 ha. in 1970-71 increased to 455897 ha in 2019-20. (GoK, 2022). Another important 

land 

2000000 

1500000 

1000000 

500000 

0 

1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 2000-01 2010-11 2019-20 

Food crops 

Non food crops 

Fig: Area under food crops and non-food crops -Kerala 

transition in the state is land fallowing. The land under current fallow, and fallow other than 

current fallow in 1970-71 has increased from 24000 ha and 22000 ha to 57387 ha and 46931 

ha, respectively in 2019-20 (GoK, 2022). Agricultural land-use decisions are mostly influenced 

by social and ecological determinants. The major social determinants of farmland transitions 

in Kerala are the conducive political power system favouring land reforms, dynamics of 


854 | Page



production and market, changes in family structure, wage structure and labour policies, 

migration, food security assurance programmes and urbanization. 

The implementation of land reform acts led to extreme land fragmentation, which impacted the 

scale of production turning agriculture into a low-profit venture. This also resulted in an 

alienation from farming, a shift to less labour-intensive crops and increased agricultural land 

fallowing (Kumar and Harilal, 2014). The wage rate in Kerala is higher than the average 

national wage rate. This has resulted in higher rates of land conversion, especially among 

marginal farmers, from labour-intensive crops like paddy to less labour-intensive crops. 

Change in family structure from joint to nuclear family resulted in the redistribution of 

property, which led to the fragmentation of the land holdings and reduced family labour supply. 

Migration has resulted in absentee landlordism, and land has become a speculative asset. 

Migration from other states to Kerala could not contribute much to the agriculture sector. There 

are 31.5 lakhs migrant labourers in the state, out of which only 2.9 lakhs are employed in 

agriculture (Parida and Raman, 2021). The strong network of assured food supply through the 

public distribution system made food crops a less priority sector in agriculture. Urbanization 

in Kerala has also led to increased land value, agricultural land conversions and an increased 

number of built-ups. 

The primary ecological determinants of farmland transition in Kerala are climate change, 

edaphic factors, invasive weeds and pests. Non-uniform rainfall patterns, extreme dry spells, 

floods and landslides limit farming activities. However, concerted efforts have been made to 

combat the receding agricultural land in the state. The major programmes and policies in 

response to changing land use in the state include the Kerala conservation of paddy land and 

wetland act (2008), agro ecological zone-based planning and development (2012), Haritha 

Keralam Mission (2016), Subhiksha Keralam (2021) and Njangalum krishiyilekk (2022). 

Conclusion 

Significant changes in agriculture land use in Kerala are conversion of food crops to cash crops 

area, conversion to non-agricultural purposes, and increased land fallow. Social and ecological 

determinants influence land use decisions. It could be concluded that agriculture needs to be 

considered as a socio-ecological system wherein a balance between social and environmental 

determinants is required to attain long-term sustainability. 

References 

GoK [Government of Kerala]. 2022. Economic Review 2021. Kerala State Planning Board, 

Government of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 65pp. 

Kumar, E G., and Harilal, C.C., 2014. Land reforms and agrarian relations in the state of Kerala, 

India - a socio-economic evaluation. Ind. J. Ecol. 41, (2): 344-348. 




Parida, J.K., and Raman, K. R., 2021. A study on In-Migration, Informal Employment and 

Urbanization in Kerala. Kerala State Planning Board, Government of Kerala, 

Thiruvananthapuram, 101pp. 


T6-25P-1204 

Socio-Economic Profile of Farmers of North Alluvial Plane of Bihar 

Amrendra Kumar * , Anjani Kumar, Sudeepa Kumari Jha, Rabindra Kumar, 

Sumit Kumar Singh and Priyanka Kumari 

ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Patna-14 

*amrendra14d@gmail.com 

The economic condition of farmers in Bihar is totally dependent on cultivation of field crops 

and allied activities. Most of the population is engaged in farming completely linked to the 

agriculture and its associated activities only few engaged in other activities (MGNREGA, small 

vender etc.). (Vijoy, 2014). Cropping system of north Bihar is pre-dominated by cereal crop 

(rice-wheat) but slight change was noticed in cropping pattern during last four decade. 

Production and productivity of all the principal crops were increased but performance of rice 

which is staple food crop of the region, has been impressive in irrigated field but in rainfed and 

water-logged situation condition are still alarming. Maize cultivation and its productivity 

increased due to adoption of Rabi maize and hybrid variety introduction in large scale. 

However, pulses and oilseeds production witnessed a setback due to decline in area and almost 

stagnant productivity (Kumar et al., 2017). The major constrain for crop grower farmers are 

small and fragmented land holding, non- availability of seed/planting material, high cost of 

input, high incidence of pest and diseases and less mechanization. In case of livestock 

production: infertility, lack of proper dairy management practices, non-availability of improved 

breed, lack of balancing food are the major one (Bhutia et al., 2017). 

Methodology 

A survey programme organized under New Extension Methodology and Approaches (NEMA) 

program to study the socio-economic profile of farmers of zone I (north alluvial plane) in the 

year 2019. KVKs of three districts viz; West Champaran, Sheohar and Begusarai which are 

located in north, central and south portion of the zone were selected. Total 645 respondent were 

participated from which 121, 136 and 418 were from Sheohar, Begusarai and West Champaran, 

respectively. 

Results 

On the basis of data collected as seen in table, it was found that in most of the family head 

involve in agriculture was male member (80.93 %) and female as head was only (19.07 %). 

Based on land holding classification out of 645 farmers, 188 farmers belong to marginal class, 

856 | Page



163 in small. Education is one of the important socio-economic factors which is related to 

understanding and technology adoption. It was found that 51.78 % farmers had formal 

schooling maximum upto 10 th standard only. Most of the participant under the study belongs 

to either middle (35.35 %) or old (37.36 %) age group. About 50 per cent of respondent resides 

in those area which is 5 to 10 km away from market. 37.36 per cent people harness the benefit 

of market in vicinity of 5 km and 12.72 per cent farmers could not take the benefit of market 

as it was quite away. Thus, people who resides in nearby market avail area gets more benefits. 

61.86 % participant lives in radius of 10 km of extension service provider. Majority of the 

farmers (77.36 %) had less than one lakh annual income and only few have (7.60 %) had more 

than 1.5 lakh. 

Socio-economic profile of farmers 

Trait Category No. Per cent Cumulative (%) 

Categories of 

Farmer 

Education 

Age Group 

Distance of 

Market 

Distance From 

Nearest Extension 

Service Provider 

Male 522 80.93 

Female 123 19.07 

Marginal (< 1 ha) 188 29.15 29.15 

Small (1-2 ha) 163 25.27 54.42 

Semi-Medium (2- 

4 ha) 

145 

22.48 

76.90 

Medium (4-10 ha) 118 18.29 95.19 

Large (>10 ha) 31 4.81 100.00 

Illiterate 54 8.37 8.37 

No Formal 

Schooling 

115 

17.83 

26.20 

Formal 334 51.78 77.98 

Matric 96 14.89 92.87 

Graduate 46 7.13 100.00 

Young (< 35 

year) 

Middle (35-45 

year) 

176 

228 

27.29 

35.35 

27.29 

62.64 

Old (> 45 year) 241 37.36 100.00 

Upto 5 Km 241 37.36 37.36 

5-10 Km 322 49.92 87.28 

10-15 Km 51 7.91 95.19 

15 -20 Km 31 4.81 100.00 

Upto 10 Km 399 61.86 61.86 

10-20 Km 214 33.18 95.04 

20-30 Km 26 4.03 99.07 

More Than 30 

Km 

6 

0.93 

100.00 




Plant Protection 314 48.68 

Equipment 

Annual Income 

per family (Rs.) 

Irrigation 241 37.36 

Drip 5 0.78 

Sprinkle 1 0.16 

Tillage 108 16.74 

Tractor 77 11.94 

Harvesting 17 2.64 

Upto 50000 102 15.81 15.81 

50000 -1 Lakh 397 61.55 77.36 

1.0 -1.5 Lakh 97 15.04 92.40 

≥ 1.5 Lakh 49 7.60 100.00 

Conclusion 

From the survey it was concluded that small and fragmented land, less education and 

dominance of male in agriculture system are the major constrain. In spite of the many 

governments scheme running the socio-economic condition of the farmers not raised to an 

expected level among the study group. 

References 

Bhutia, T. L., Kumari, K. R., Snatashree, M. and Kumar, U. 2017. Constrain analysis in the 

crop-livestock farming system of small and marginal farmers of Bihar. SKUAST 

J. Res. 19(1): 92-96. 

Kumar, A., Singh, R. K. P., Bharati, R. C., Chandra, N. and Kumar, U. 2017. Growth 

Performance of Principal Crops in North Bihar during last four decades: Empirical 

Evidences. J. AgriSearch. 4 (2): 154-159. 

Vijoy, P. 2014. Agricultural development and out migration in Bihar. Int. j. economics 

commerce manag. 4(5): 30-33. 

Organisational Dynamics of FPCS for Good Management 

Akhil Ajith and Binoo P. Bonny 

College of Agriculture (KAU), Vellanikkara 680656, Kerala, India 

T6-26P-1209 

The rise of Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) has enabled farmers to increase productivity 

through efficient, cost-effective and sustainable resource use and to realize higher returns for 

the produce. Understanding the growing relevance, the GOI to promote FPCs allocated a 

budget of 200 crore rupees in 2014 under the Producer Organization Development and 


858 | Page



Upliftment Corpus (PRODUCE) Fund through NABARD. As a result of such national 

initiatives, 7374 FPCs have been registered till March 2019 (Neti et al., 2019). Though the first 

FPC in Kerala, IOFPCL was registered in 2004, the idea gained momentum in the state only 

2013 onwards. The growth trend, which could be attributed to the support of NABARD grants 

indicated maximum registration in the year 2016. But the registrations reduced to zero in the 

terminal year of the NABARD project, 2018. However, a consistent increase in FPC 

registrations from 2019 could be noted and with the advent of new policy regime announced 

in Union budget which is expected to grow further (GOI, 2019). 

Even though there was a steady increase the FPCs, which acts as an effective linkage between 

farm production and the market, FPCs face many constraints in its formation, functioning, and 

service delivery. This is evident from the reports that many registered producer companies 

could not continue their operations due to technological, marketing, and policy constraints 

(Thamban et al., 2020). In this context it is important to understand the interrelations and 

influence of organisational attributes such as turnover, membership, age of FPC, infrastructure, 

and machinery which are represented by nominal categorical data sets. 

Methodology 

A total of 30 FPOs that were in operation for at least two years from the date of registration 

were selected randomly from all the 14 districts of Kerala. The number of FPCs selected from 

a district was decided proportionate to the number of FPCs registered in the district. A 

quantitative survey design was employed in data collection. A pretested structured interview 

schedule prepared based on expert discussions and literature review was used in the research. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and enforcement of COVID protocols and restrictions, prefixed 

telephonic interviews and video calls were also used for data collection in unavoidable 

circumstances. Multi Coordinate Analysis was used in the study as a statistical visualisation 

tool for visualising the relationship between organisational attributed represented by categorical 

variable levels. This method could evaluate two-way and multi-way data. The visualisation of 

the associations was done using the biplots obtained as result of plotting the first two 

components contributing the maximum variance. 

Categories of variables evaluated using MCA 

Variable Category 1 Category 2 

Age of FPC Mature Nascent 

Turnover High Low 

Membership High Low 

Machinery More Less 

Infrastructure Good Poor 

Performance Good Poor 




Results 

The influence of categorical variables of FPCs on performance was revealed through the MCA 

analysis. The results from the column plot indicated that poor and good performances were 

most distant from the origin along the horizontal axis for component 1. This corresponded well 

with the relatively high contribution for these categories for component 1. Also, low turnover 

and high turnover, low machinery, as well as more machinery, were on opposite sides of the 

origin which indicated that the component 1 contrasted on these category values. Component 

2 is represented on the vertical axis. The matured category was located far from the other 

categories on one side of the vertical axis. Therefore, on component 2 matured FPCs contrasted 

with other categories. 

Conclusion 

The association between the selected categorical pairs of variables with categories of 

performance and age of the FPC was noted. The study revealed that nascent FPCs performed 

better with more machinery, good infrastructure and higher turnovers. Hence for nascent FPCs, 

streamlining the activities with envisaging the improvement the machinery and infrastructure 

and turnover is recommended rather than membership enhancement. On contrary in order to 

improve the performance of the matured FPCs membership enhancement was key. 

References 

Bi- plot of categorical attributes 

GOI [Government of India]. 2019. Strategy Paper for promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer 

Organisations (FPOs). New Delhi: Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), p.34. 


860 | Page



Neti, A., Govil, R., and Rao, M. R. 2019. Farmer producer companies in India: Demystifying the 

numbers. Rev. Agrarian Stud. 9(2369-2020-1967). 

Thamban, C., Jayasekhar, S., Chandran, K. P. and Rajesh, M. K., 2020. Sustainability of Farmer 

Producer Organisations-The case of producer organisations involved in the production and 

marketing of ‘neera’in the coconut sector in Kerala, India. J. Plant. Crops. 48(2):150-159. 

T6-27P-1236 

Identification of Suitable Varieties and Dates of Sowing in Cowpea for 

Prakasam District 

S. Bharathi, L. Rajesh Chowdary and G. Subba Rao 

Agricultural Research Station Darsi, Prakasam, Andhra Pradesh 

ars.darsi@angrau.ac.in 

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) is one of the versatile leguminous vegetable having much more 

protein than other vegetables and it thrives well in warm weather due to its drought-tolerant 

capacity. Cowpea is adaptable to hostile environments due to its morphological as well as 

biochemical qualities. This crop does not require a high rate of nitrogen fertilization as its roots 

have nodules contain bacteria called Rhizobiaum helps to fix nitrogen from the air (Shiringani 

and Shimeles, 2011). In India, despite the fact that a large number of varieties/hybrids and agrotechniques 

have been developed, but the productivity of cowpea has still not reached the 

desired level. Varietal differences of cowpea in terms of growth pattern and duration for seed 

maturity are extremely diverse from plant to plant, making breeding programs for cowpea more 

complex than other crops. There are diverse cowpea genotypes demanding a site specific 

directed management approach and choice of proper sowing window and selection of best 

adapted genotype. Suitable time of sowing provides optimum growing conditions with 

favourable temperature, light, humidity and rainfall during the growth phase of the crop. This 

ultimately decides the selection of varieties for particular or different dates of sowing to 

stabilize or to get higher yields. 

Methodology 

The field trial was conducted for two years during Rabi, 2018-19 and 2019-20 under rainfed 

conditions at Agricultural Research Station, Darsi. The experiment was planned with three 

cowpea varieties viz., TPT-1, Local brown and Local bold white (Meghana) and four dates of 

sowing viz., D 1- 2 nd fortnight of September, D 2- 1 st fortnight of October, D 3- 2 nd fortnight of 

October and D4- 1 st fortnight of November. The experiment was laid out in split plot design 

with three replications. The main plots were four dates of sowing and sub plots were three 

varieties. The observations on plant height, number of branches, number of pods per plant, seed 

yield were recorded. 




Results 

The dates of sowing showed significant effect on growth and yield of the cowpea varieties 

tested. There was gradual decrease in the plant height with the progress of sowing dates tested. 

Maximum plant height of 94.45 cm was recorded in crop sown during 2 nd fortnight of 

September followed by 1 st fortnight of October (64.70 cm). Lowest plant height of 39.25 cm 

was recorded in the November 1 st fortnight sown crop. In present investigation September 

second fortnight sown crop produced significantly maximum seed yield (1367 kg ha -1 ) and was 

on par with sowing of October first fortnight (1285 kg/ha) and was significantly superior to the 

other two dates of sowing tested. The three varieties tested recorded similar plant height and 

number of branches per plant. Tirupati-1 recorded highest seed yield of 1323 kg/ha and was 

significantly superior over Local brown (1159 kg/ha) and Local bold white (Meghana) 906 

kg/ha. The higher seed yield obtained in early sown crop might be due to higher available soil 

moisture during cropping period as a result of receipt of well distributed rainfall (Rima 

Taipodia and Nabam, 2013). Similarly, Prabhamani and Potdar (2018) also recorded higher 

seed yield, haulm yield and B:C ratio in cowpea sown at early dates during Rabi. Interactions 

were non-significant. 

Yield attributes and seed yield of cowpea as influenced by different dates of sowing and varieties 

Dates of sowing 

2 nd fortnight of 

September 

1 st fortnight of 

October 

2 nd fortnight of 

October 

1 st fortnight of 

November 

Plant height 

(cm) 


branches/plant 


pods/plant 

Seed yield 

(kg/ha) 

94.45 9.10 15.85 1367 

64.70 7.55 15.05 1285 

48.30 6.35 13.40 1069 

39.25 5.55 10.55 817.5 

S.Em ± 2.20 0.40 0.75 56 

CD (0.05) 7.55 1.40 2.65 194 

Varieties 

CV (%) 9.05 11.91 11.65 10.97 

Tirupati-1 63.55 7.44 14.85 1323 

Local brown 61.70 7.25 14.10 1159 

Local bold 

white 

(Meghana) 

59.72 6.81 12.20 906 

S.Em ± 2.25 0.44 0.365 59.8 

CD (0.05) NS NS 1.09 179.05 

CV (%) 8.6 15 6.6 13.2 

Interaction NS NS NS NS 


862 | Page



References 

Prabhamani, P. S. and Potdar, M. P. 2018. Response of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) 

Genotypes to Sowing Windows and Planting Geometry under Northern Transitional 

Zone of Karnataka. Int. J. Pure App. Biosci. 6(1):820-827. 

Rima Taipodia and Nabam, A.T. 2013. Impact of time of sowing spacing and seed rate on 

potential seed production and fodder quality of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp). J. 

Agril. Veter. Sci. 4(4): 61-68. 

Shiringani, R. P. and Shimeles, H. A. 2011. Yield response and stability among cowpea 

genotypes at three planting dates and test environments. Afr. J. Agric. Res. 6 (4): 3259- 

3263. 

T6-28P-1246 

Influence of Foliar Application of Potassium Nitrate on Yield and 

Economics of Soybean under Rainfed Conditions of Vidarbha 

M. M. Ganvir*, A. S. Dhudse, V. V. Gabhane, A.P. Karunakar, P. N. Chirde, 

A. R.Tupe, R.S. Patode and A. B. Chorey 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, 

Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra-444104 

*ganvir08@gmail.com 

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) is one of the key industrial grain legume crops throughout the 

world. It is known for its high productivity, profitability and diverse industrial uses (Das et. al. 

2016). In India, the area under soybean cultivation during 2021-22 was 119.98 lakh ha with 

production of 118.88 lakh MT and productivity of 991 kg ha -1 . In Maharashtra the area under 

soybean was 46.17 lakh ha with production of 54.21 lakh MT and productivity of 1174.27 kg 

ha -1 . In Vidarbha, the area under cultivation was 17.65 lakh ha with production of 22.79 lakh 

MT and productivity of 1291.5 kg ha -1 (Anonymous, 2022). 

In recent years soybean has become a predominant rainy season crop under rainfed 

agroecosystem in Vidarbha region. However, the average productivity of crop continues to be 

very low as compared to world average. Occurrence of dry spell at critical growth stages of 

crop is one of the major factors responsible for low productivity of soybean in Vidarbha region. 

In drought stress, there is a reduction in nutrient uptake by the roots partially due to the 

reduction in soil moisture. Under such condition, foliar application is a viable option and hence 

the present investigation was conducted with an objective to study the effect of foliar 

application of potassium nitrate on yield and economics of soybean under rainfed conditions. 




Methodology 

The experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2017-18 at Farm of University 

Department of Agronomy, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola (Maharashtra). 

The soil of experimental plot was clayey in texture and slightly alkaline in reaction. As regards 

to fertility status, the soil was medium in available nitrogen, low in available phosphorus, fairly 

high in available potassium and moderate in organic carbon. The experiment was laid out in a 

randomized block design with three replications. The eight treatments comprised of T1- Control 

(No Spray), T 2-Water spray at 25-30 DAS and 60-65 DAS, T 3 - 1% KNO 3 at 25-30 DAS, T 4- 

2% KNO3 at 25-30 DAS, T5- 1% KNO3 at 60-65 DAS, T6- 2% KNO3 at 60-65 DAS, T7-1% 

KNO3 at 25-30 DAS and 60-65 DAS and T8- 2% KNO3 at 25-30 DAS and 60-65 DAS. 

Results 

Data on productivity and economics of soybean as influenced by different treatments is 

presented in the Table. Significantly higher grain and straw yield (2135 and 2677 kg ha -1 , 

respectively) was recorded with application 1% KNO 3 at 25-30 DAS and 60-65 DAS (T 7) and 

found at par with application of 2 % KNO3 at 25-30 DAS and 60-65 DAS (T8) which recorded 

grain and straw yield of 2055 and 2610 kg ha -1 , respectively. The lowest grain yield of 1590 

kg ha -1 and straw yield of 2103 kg ha -1 was observed in T1 (control). The application of 

potassium nitrate supplied N and K which are absorbed as anion and cation by plants and might 

have delayed the synthesis of abscisic acid and promoted cytokinin activity causing higher 

chlorophyll retention which in turn promoted more leaf area. 

Productivity and Economics of soybean as influenced by different treatments 

Treatment 

Yield (kg ha -1 ) 

Seed 

Straw 

Gross 

Monetary 

Returns 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

Net 

Monetary 

Returns 

(kg ha -1 ) 

B:C ratio 

T 1 - Control (No Spray) 1590 2103 59856 31783 2.13 

T 2 - Water Spray at 25-30 DAS and 60- 

65 DAS 

1651 2140 62065 33072 2.14 

T 3 - 1% KNO 3 at 25-30 DAS 1852 2391 69602 39712 2.33 

T 4 - 2% KNO 3 at 25-30 DAS 1820 2356 68412 37625 2.22 

T 5 - 1% KNO 3 at 60-65 DAS 1905 2445 71565 41545 2.38 

T 6 - 2% KNO 3 at 60-65 DAS 1880 2422 70644 39727 2.28 

T 7 - 1% KNO 3 at 25-30 DAS and 60-65 

DAS 

T 8 - 2% KNO 3 at 25-30 DAS and 60-65 

DAS 

2135 2677 80079 48242 2.52 

2055 2610 77145 43514 2.29 

SE (m)± 47 71 1845 1845 0.06 

CD at 5% 145 213 5536 5536 0.19 


864 | Page



This may secure higher photosynthetic activity in effective leaves and supplied to developing 

pods with current photosynthates for proper filling, resulting in higher yield. Vekaria et al. 

(2013) and Kumar et al. (2017) also found similar results. 

The foliar application of 1% KNO3 at 25-30 DAS and 60-65 DAS (T7) recorded significantly 

maximum gross monetary returns (Rs. 80079 ha -1 ) and net monetary returns (Rs. 48242 ha -1 ) 

and was at par with application of 2% KNO 3 at 25-30 DAS and 60-65 DAS (T 8) which recorded 

gross monetary returns of Rs.77115 ha -1 and net monetary returns of Rs.43514 ha -1 . The 

minimum gross monetary return (Rs.59856 ha -1 ) and net monetary returns (Rs. 31783 ha -1 ) was 

observed in T1 (control). This might be due to improvement in growth and yield attributes and 

ultimate increase in seed yield which could be the reason for enhanced economic returns in the 

above treatments. Maximum B:C ratio of 2.52 was recorded with application of 1% KNO 3 at 

25-30 and 60-65 DAS (T7) followed by treatment of 1 % KNO3 at 60-65 DAS (T5). The lowest 

B:C ratio of 2.13 was observed in T 1 (control). Similar observation was recorded by Kumar 

and Srivastava (2015). 

Conclusion 

Foliar application of 1% KNO 3 at 25-30 and 60-65 DAS on soybean was beneficial for getting 

the higher productivity, maximum monetary returns and higher B:C ratio. 

References 

Anonymous 2022. State and District wise statistics of crops acreage, production and 

productivity in Maharashtra state. (www.mahaagri.gov.in). 

Das A, Babu S, Yadav GS, Ansari MA, Singh R, Baishya LK, Rajkhowa DJ and Ngachan SV. 

2016. Status and strategies for pulses production for food and nutritional security in 

North-Eastern Region of India. Indian J. Agron., 61: 43–47. 

Kumar M, Suryavanshi VP and Dambal AS. 2017. Growth and yield of soybean [Glycine max 

(L.) Merrill] as influenced by foliar application of micronutrients and potassium nitrate. 

Agric. Update, 12(TECHSEAR-1):247-250. 

Kumar J. and Srivastava SK. 2015. Growth and yield attributes, yield, fibre quality and 

economics of hirsutum cotton as influenced by foliar application of KNO 3. Plant Arch., 

15(2):1147-1149. 

Vekaria GB, Talpada MM, Sutaria GS. and Akbari KN. 2013. Effect of foliar nutrition 

potassium nitrate on growth and yield on green gram. Legume Res. 36 (2):162-165. 




T6-29P-1254 

Impact of Cluster Front Line Demonstrations on Productivity and 

Profitability of Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) var. IPM-02-3 and MH-421 in 

Churu district of Rajasthan 

Hrish Kumar Rachhoya, V.K.Saini and Ramesh Choudhary 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, (GVM), Sardarshahar-331403, District-Churu (Rajasthan), India 

kvkchuru@gmail.com 

Churu comes under desert region of Rajasthan and agriculturally it is very important district. 

In Churu Mung bean cultivation is common practice but its productivity is very low. To 

establish the production potential of this pulse Cluster Front Line Demonstration (CFLD) is an 

appropriate tool. To increase the production and productivity of Mung bean in the district, 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Gandhi Vidya Mandir, Sardarshahar, Churu (Rajasthan) conducted 275 

demonstrations (110 ha) on Mung bean during 2016 to 2021 in eight adopted villages. The 

critical inputs were identified after gap analysis in existing production technology through 

meeting and group discussions with the farmers. Average yield data of conducted CFLDs 

revealed that, higher yield (657 kg ha -1 ) was obtained in demonstration plot over local check 

(483 kg ha- 1 ) and an additional yield in demonstration plot was obtained 174 kg. Per cent 

increase over local check was found 35.87. Average extension gap, technology gap and 

technology index were found 174 kg ha- 1 , 343 kg ha -1 and 34.31 % , respectively. Average of 

gross and net returns of demonstration was Rs. 39003 and Rs. 24154 higher than the farmers’ 

practice. Most important factor B: C ratio indicates that whether CFLD technology is 

profitable, B:C ratio was found higher throughout the study and average was (2.58:1) in 

demonstration over local check (1.94:1). Review of data on incidence of disease in crop 

revealed that, percentage of damaged plant (9.83) was lower in demonstration as compared to 

(17.10) under farmers’ practice. Spraying of Dimethoate 30 EC @ 1200 ml/ha at flower and 

pod formation stage reduces sucking pest attack, consequently lesser infected pods (2.37) in 

demo as compared to farmers practices (12.9). Result suggested economic viability and 

agronomic feasibility of the CFLD technology for Mung bean cultivation. 


866 | Page



T6-30P-1269 

Effect of Time of Application and Different Foliar Sprays on Yield and 

Economics of Cotton 

A.B. Chorey*, R. S Mali, M. M. Ganvir, V.V. Gabhane, R. S. Patode and 

G. Ravindrachary 

AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Dr. PDKV, Akola, Maharashtra-444104 

*chiefscientist1057@gmail.com 

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), popularly known as ‘White Gold’ is grown mainly for fiber 

all over the world. It is the major fiber crop of the semi-arid tropics of Indian subcontinent that 

is predominantly rain dependent. In India, it is grown in an area of 13.5 million hectares with 

a production of 36.5 million bales and productivity of 460 kg ha − 1 (COCPC, 2020). 

Drought occurring is frequent in rainfed regions of Vidarbha in Maharashtra State. Under 

drought stress, there is a reduction in nutrient uptake by the roots partially due to the reduction 

in soil moisture and also crop growth is suffered when the roots are unable to meet the nutrient 

requirement of the crop at a critical stage. Hence, under such situation foliar nutrition can be 

beneficial. The foliar application of Zn increases auxin levels within the plants which in turn 

enhances the root growth and consequent improvement of drought tolerance in plants. Hence 

the investigation was conducted to study the effect of foliar nutrition on growth and yield of 

cotton to mitigate the ill effects of drought situation with different set of treatments in situations 

of stress and after relieving of stress. 

Methodology 

The field experiment was conducted at research field of AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Dr. 

PDKV, Akola (MS) during 2021-2022. Effect of time of application and different foliar sprays 

on yield and economics of cotton was studied and analyzed. The experiment was laid out in 

factorial randomized block design with three replications. For this study two factors were 

considered, in factor A: Time of application with treatments T 1:Foliar spray during dry spell 

and T2 : Foliar spray after reliving of stress/dry spell and for factor B different foliar sprays 

are used, S 1 : application of urea, @1% , S 2:application of urea @2%, S 3: application of water 

soluble complex fertilizer 19:19:19@0.5%, S 4:application of water soluble complex fertilizer 

19:19:19@ 0.5% + Zinc sulphate @0.5% , S5 :application of Zinc sulphate @0.5%, S6:Water 

spray, S 7:application of KNO 3@1.5% and S 8:Control (No spray). 




Cotton productivity, economics and RWUE as influence by various treatments 

Treatments 

Time of Application 

Seed cotton yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

Cotton stalk yield 

(kg ha -1 ) 

B:C Ratio 

RWUE 

(kg ha -1 mm -1 ) 

T 1 1150 2014 1.82 1.57 

T2 1017 1781 1.65 1.39 

S.Em. +- 6.30 11.06 - 0.01 

C.D. at 5% 18.20 31.92 - 0.02 

Sprays 

S1 1041 1824 1.69 1.42 

S 2 1052 1845 1.70 1.44 

S3 1253 2193 1.95 1.71 

S4 1262 2208 1.92 1.73 

S 5 975 1706 1.58 1.33 

S6 888 1553 1.49 1.21 

S7 1251 2189 1.96 1.71 

S 8 949 1660 1.59 1.30 

S.Em.+- 9.45 16.58 - 0.01 

C.D. at 5 % 27.29 47.89 - 0.04 

Interaction Effects 

S.Em.± 50.41 88.44 - 0.07 

C.D. at 5% NS NS - NS 

Mean 1084 1897 1.74 1.48 

Results 

The results indicated that, treatment of foliar spray during dry spell recorded significantly higher 

seed cotton yield, cotton stalk yield, B:C ratio and high rainwater use efficiency than treatment of 

foliar spray after relieving of stress. Drought disturbs the mineral-nutrient relations in plants 

through their effects on nutrient availability and partitioning of transport processes in plants. 

Frequent soil drying is likely to induce a decrease in nutrients particularly P due to reduced 

diffusion and poor uptake, in addition to restrictions in available water, with strong interactive 

effects on plant growth and functioning (Singh et al., 2006). Treatment of foliar spray of 19:19:19 

mix water soluble fertilizer + ZnSO 4 @ 0.5% recorded significantly higher seed cotton yield, 

cotton stalk yield, B:C ratio and high rainwater use efficiency than rest of the treatments. Cotton 

productivity was increased due to application of different foliar spray (Asewar et al.2021, Singh 

et al. 2015 and Shivamurthy and Biradar 2014). This might be due to foliar applied nutrients 

sustain proper leaf nutrition as well as carbon balance and improving photosynthetic capacity. 


868 | Page



References 

Asewar, B. V., Pendke, M. S., Narale, S. H., Gopinath, K. A. and Chary, G. R. 2021. Stress 

management in rainfed Bt. cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) through foliar sprays. Indian 

J. Agron., 66(3): 117-121. 

COCPC 2020). Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption. 

//cotcorp.org.in/statistics.aspx. 

Singh, K., Rathore, P. and Gumber, R. K. 2015. Effects of foliar application of nutrients on 

growth and yield of Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Bangladesh J. Bot., 44(1): 9- 

14. 

Singh V., Pallaghy C. K. and Singh D. 2006. Phosphorus nutrition and tolerance of cotton to 

water stress I. Seed cotton yield and leaf morphology. Field Crops Res., 96 (2-3): 191- 

198. 

Shivamurthy D. and Biradar D. P. 2014. Effect of foliar nutrition on growth, yield attributes 

and seed cotton yield of Bt cotton. Karnataka J. Agric. Sci., 27(1): 5-8. 

T6-31P-1274 

Production Potential and Economic Feasibility of Pigeonpea base 

Intercropping System in Scarcity Zone of Maharashtra 

D. K. Kathmale, R. M. Gethe, S. V. Khadtare and V. M. Amrutsagar 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, Main Center, Solapur- 413 002 

Maharashtra (India) 


Intercropping is generally practiced on small farms with limited resources and it has been 

observed to enhance yields with greater stability in a variety of crop combinations. On-farm 

biodiversity is also promoted by diversification of crops in mixed cropping, intercropping and 

agroforestry systems resulting in variation of diet and net returns, stability, proper utilization 

of limited resources human labour-force under low levels of technological intervention (Anil 

et al, 1998). Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is a multi-purpose grain legume, particularly grown in 

the semi-arid tropics. This region has the wide rainfall variability and the rainfall during kharif 

season is often ill distributed. It has capacity to adjust to the poor agro-ecological conditions 

prevalent in this region. India is a principal pigeon pea growing country accounting for 

approximately 90% of the total world production. In India, it is the second most cultivatable 

pulse crop after chickpea which is cultivated on about 3.62 million ha (Sarkar et al, 2020). 

Pigeon pea is suitable for intercropping with different crops like soybean, green gram, 

black gram and cowpea for increasing production, proper land utilization and 




maintaining soil fertility. The initial slow growth rate and deep root system of pigeon 

pea offers a good scope for intercropping with fast growing early maturing and shallow 

rooted crops. Considering these points an experiment was conducted to evaluate 

comparative performance of the pigeon pea based intercropping system. 

Methodology 

The field evaluation of pigeonpea base intercropping systems was carried out on at the Dry 

Farming Research Station, Solapur (MS) with an objective to study the production potential 

and economics of pigeonpea based inter cropping systems under rainfed condition. The 

experiment was conducted for three consecutive years during kharif seasons of 2015-16 to 

2017-18. The experimental soil was low in available N (138 kg/ha), medium in available P2O5 

(10.23 kg/ ha) and higher in available K 2O (454 kg/ha). The organic carbon content was low 

(0.38%) with pH (7.84) and electrical conductivity of 0.17dS/m. The experiment was laid out 

in randomized block design with three replications. In all, 9 treatments comprising five sole 

crops viz. pigeonpea, clusterbean, soybean, pearl millet, sunflower and four intercropping 

systems viz. pigeonpea + clusterbean (1:5), pigeonpea + soybean (1:5), pigeonpea 

+pearlmillet(1:3) and pigeonpea+ sunflower(1:3). The crops were given the recommended 

fertilizer dose and raised with recommended agronomic practices of MPKV Rahuri. 

Results 

The result revealed that, the yield of different crops in intercrops was influenced significantly 

by different treatments (Table). Higher yield under sole crops was recorded under sole soybean. 

While pigeonpea grain yield in association with different intercropping ranged between 610 to 

741 kg/ha and 1146 to 1347 kg/ha grain and straw yield, respectively. The pigeonpea grain 

equivalent yield (1637 kg/ha) was significantly higher in pigeonpea + sunflower 1:2 

intercropping system. While, pigeonpea + soybean (1:5) was second in order. Among the sole 

crops highest yield of 1862 kg/ha was recorded in sunflower. The highest LER (1.57) was 

observed in pigeonpea + sunflower (1:3) intercropping system followed by pigeon pea + 

soybean (1:5) was observed in intercropping system. Economic analysis revealed that the 

intercropping in pigeonpea + sunflower (1:3) recorded maximum gross monetary returns 

Rs.73,674/ha and Net Monetary returns Rs.30,872/ha and B:C ratio (1.72) followed by sole 

sunflower with gross monetary returns Rs.53706/ha and net monetary returns Rs.21141/ha and 

B:C ratio (1.65). 


870 | Page



Sr. 

No. 

Yield of Main crop, Pigeonpea equivalent yield and LER as influence by various 

intercropping treatment under rainfed condition 

Treatment 

Main crop 

yield kg/ha 

Intercrop 

yield kg/ha 

Grain Straw Grain Straw 

Pigeonpea 

equivalent 

yield 

kg/ha 

LER 

NMR 

(Rs/ha) 

T 1 Sole pigeon pea 884 1391 0 0 8862 1.26 946 1 

T 2 

Sole clusterbean 

gum 

547 846 0 0 10204 1.40 791 1 

T 3 Sole soybean 1235 1492 0 0 22829 1.60 1356 1 

T 4 Sole pearl millet 1131 3633 0 0 6986 1.31 664 1 

T 5 Sole sunflower 1055 1533 0 0 21141 1.65 1193 1 

T 6 

T 7 

T 8 

T 9 

References 

Pigeon pea + 

cluster bean 

Pigeon pea + 

soybean 

Pigeon pea + pearl 

millet 

Pigeon pea + 

sunflower 

B:C 

ratio 

632 1278 231 392 2818 1.07 1007 1.14 

741 1347 747 906 27248 1.62 1581 1.44 

610 1146 812 1036 7382 1.19 1022 1.41 

662 1206 864 963 30874 1.72 1637 1.57 

SE+/- 46 

Cd (P=0.05) 141 

CV (%) 14.9 

Anil, L., Park, J., Phipps, R.H., Miller, F.A. 1998. Temperate intercropping of cereals 

for forage: A review of the potential for growth and utilization with particular 

reference to the UK. Grass and Forage Sci. 53: 301-317. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365- 

2494.1998.00144 

Sarkar,S., Panda,S., Yadav, K.K., and Kandasamy., 2020 Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) an 

important food legume in Indian scenario– A review. Legume Res. 43, 601-610 




T6-32P-1306 

Decomposition of Agricultural Growth by Sources in Andhra Pradesh 

G. Samba Siva, C. A. Rama Rao, B. M. K. Raju and N. Swapna 

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad 500059 

The growth of agricultural sector and the sources of growth in the crop sector in Andhra 

Pradesh are identified by following growth accounting approach. Increase in real prices and 

technological change accounted for bulk of the output growth in the crop sector where as 

diversification and area expansion accounted for smaller fraction of the growth in Andhra 

Pradesh. The analysis was done for the period 2005-06 to 2016-17 for the data obtained from 

the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India and 

from the publications or web sites of the states of Andhra Pradesh. For decomposing the output 

growth, data on area, yield and farm harvest prices were considered for 15 crops in Andhra 

Pradesh accounting for more than 75 per cent of gross cropped area. The farm harvest prices 

were adjusted for inflation using the GDP deflator. 

Sources of growth within crop production sector were identified by the method as given in 

Joshi et al. (2006). The change in revenue from the crop production sector was decomposed in 

the form of following equation: 

 

∂R ≅ a Y P ∂ A + A (a P ∂Y ) + A (a Y ∂P ) + A (P Y ∂a ) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where A, Y, P and Rare total area, yield, price and revenue and the subscript i denotes the crop 

and a i = A i/A i. This equation presents the total change in the revenue from crop sector as a 

total of (i) change in the total cropped area, (ii) change in real prices of the crop commodities, 

(iii) change in the crop yields or technological change, (iv) changes in the cropping pattern or 

diversification. A small fraction of the total change arising out of the interaction among the 

four factors is not captured. 

Decomposition of growth by source 

The results of analysis of sources of growth show that the growth in crop sector was largely 

driven by the change in real prices. The change in real farm harvest prices of the crops accounted 

for 61.1 per cent change in the total crop revenue in Andhra Pradesh. Yield or Technological 

change as reflected in the yield growth also contributed to 34.1 per cent to the total change. 

Changes in cropping pattern or diversification accounted for a mere 3 per cent change in Andhra 

Pradesh. The contribution of area expansion was found to be negative (3.4 %) indicating the 

competition for limited land resources and a small fraction of total change arising out of the 

interaction effect (5.1%). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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It can be observed that the total cropped area in Andhra Pradesh saw a drop of 1.9 per cent 

during the period 2004-05 to 2016-17 (Table 1). The area under cotton (113.8%), maize 

(33.2%), dry chillies (25.3%), pigeon pea (14.6%) and Chick pea (7.7%) increased noticeably, 

whereas the area under mesta (88.5%), turmeric (69.5%), castor seed (66.4%), sorghum 

(51.8%), finger millet (48.2%), sesame (40.8%), pearl millet (40.3%), groundnut (38.4%), 

tobacco (14.5%), rice (0.9%) and other crops (15.2%) decreased during the period 2004-05 to 

2016-17 in the state of Andhra Pradesh. 

Change in area and yield under major crops between 2004-05 and 2016-17 

S. No Crop Area (000 ha) Yield (Q/ha) 

1 Rice -31.9 (-0.9) 4.62 (15.3) 

2 Maize 237.2 (33.2) 6.33 (17.9) 

3 Pearl millet -31.7 (-40.3) 5.74 (64.9) 

4 Sorghum -236.1 (-51.8) 6.23 (56.2) 

5 Finger millet -31.1 (-48.2) -1.28 (-10.7) 

6 Chick pea 34.3 (7.7) -1.55 (-12.6) 

7 Pigeonpea 67.1 (14.6) 0.25 (5.1) 

8 Groundnut -646.5 (-38.4) 1.69 (23.3) 

9 Sesame -59.8 (-40.8) 0.95 (41.9) 

10 Castor Seed -181.1 (-66.4) 1.19 (29.2) 

11 Cotton 1206.9 (113.8) 0.76 (21.9) 

12 Mesta -48.8 (-88.5) -0.98 (-6.2) 

13 Turmeric -45.4 (-69.5) -4.39 (-6.4) 

14 Tobacco -18.8 (-14.5) 9.92 (70.8) 

15 Dry Chilies 52.5 (25.3) 9.95 (30.2) 

16 Other crops -513.3 (-15.2) - 

Total -246.4 (-1.9) - 

Source: Authors’ estimate using data from Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES) and Figures in the 

Parenthesis indicates percentage 

Yield growth is one of the important driver of crop revenue growth and is a function of adoption 

of high yielding crop varieties, agricultural mechanization, increased use of yield enhancing 

inputs such as fertilizer nutrients, etc. (Singh and Pal, 2010). In Andhra Pradesh, yield of 

tobacco, pearl millet and sorghum increased by more than 50 per cent between 2004 and 2016. 

Other crops also witnessed considerable yield growth during this period (Table 1). 

Conclusion 

Andhra Pradesh did better in terms of contribution of price, technology and diversification 

effects. The contribution of area expansion was either marginal or negative showing the limited 

scope for considering an extensive agriculture as a source of further growth in agriculture. 




Thus, there is a need for promoting diversification by investing in processing, marketing and 

institutional infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh. Considering the diversity of agricultural setting, 

only a regionally differentiated approach to research, extension and infrastructure development 

seems appropriate. 

References 

Directorate of Economics and Statistics. (2019). State Domestic Product and other aggregates, 2011- 

2012 series. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, New Delhi. 

Joshi, P. K., Birthal, P. S., & Minot, N. (2006). Sources of Agricultural Growth in India: Role of 

Diversification toward High-Value Crops. MTID Discussion Paper 85, International Food 

Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC. 

Singh, A., & Pal, S. (2010). The Changing Pattern and Sources of Agricultural Growth in India. In: The 

Shifting Patterns of Agricultural Production and Productivity Worldwide (Alston, J. M., 

Babcock, B. A., & Pardey, P. G, eds.). Midwest Agribusiness Trade Research and Information 

Center, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. 

Diversification in Agriculture Boon for Farmers. 

T6-33P-1312 

U.N. Umesh, Kumari Vibha Rani*, Sanjeev Ranjan, Jyoti Sinha, Brajendu Kumar and 

Amrendra Kumar 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra,Nalanda 

*kumarivibhaa1@gmail.com 

Erratic rainfall is a major problem for farming community. In 2021 there was heavy rainfall in 

September -October. It leads to heavy loss of paddy crop during 2021 and late sowing of rabi 

crop. In most part of area of Nalanda district major soil type is clay loam. It retains moisture 

for longer duration and also leads to late sowing of rabi crops. In changing climatic condition 

there is sudden rise in temperature during last week of February and heat wave started from 

15-20 March and leads to premature drying of all rabi crops during 2022 and lead to heavy 

reduction in yield. To overcome these adverse situations, we selected village Sherpur under 

NICRA project of Nalanda District. In this village land situation is low, medium and upland. 

In low land area there is water logged situation for few months(flood) and some upland area 

comes under moisture stress also. According to land situation and climatic condition there are 

four types of typologies as moisture stress with animal, irrigated with animal, irrigated without 

animal and flooded with animal. We are conducting several interventions such as different 

varieties of paddy, green gram, okra (Variety Kashi Lalima), Mushroom cultivation, backyard 

poultry, fisheries, and papaya cultivation on the bund of ponds under NICRA project since 

January 2022. It lead to increase in the income of the farmers and they are using different new 

technologies i.e. ZT, brush cutter, bund maker, power weeders etc. We are introducing Zero 


874 | Page



till technology for time saving and reducing the cost of cultivation and maximum utilization of 

resources. 

T6-34P-1320 

Capacity Needs Assessment for Integrating Nutrition Objectives into 

Extension Advisory Service (EAS) Programs 

Veenita Kumari and Shirisha Junuthula 

National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Telangana-500030, India 

Even after several decades of green revolution, malnutrition continues to be a major 

development challenge in most of the South Asian countries, and India has a major share of the 

malnourished population in the region (Gomez et al. 2013). The nutritional issues in India are 

complex and therefore require a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary solution. One facet of the 

solution is enriching knowledge about the causes of and solutions to malnutrition at the farm 

and household level, through agricultural extension (Lal, 2020). Disseminating nutritionsensitive 

agricultural knowledge is not currently an activity of agricultural extension in India 

(Kadiyala et al. 2018), but there is a great potential for integrating it through the wellestablished 

network of extension officers. 

The objectives of the study are: - 

To assess the nutrition and NAS related knowledge, skill, and attitude of the EAS 

officers in Agriculture & Allied sectors working at various levels 

To identify the learning needs and training priorities among the EAS staff in relation to 

NSA 

Methodology 

An online survey was conducted to assess the learning needs of the officers working at ‘Field 

Level Staff (FLS)’ and ‘Mid-Senior Level Staff (MLS)’, to understand their capacities and their 

learning needs. The study was conducted with respondents selected across India. These 

respondents were the participants who had attended a training program in the past two years 

(2018-19) at MANAGE. Due to the ongoing pandemic situation of COVID-19, the survey was 

conducted via online mode using Google forms sent to the respondents through email. A total 

of 168 responses were received among which, 100 at Mid-senior level and 68 at field level. 

Results 

The surveyed EAS staff were in the productive age group (30 to above 60 years) so, by 

providing the NSA trainings their potential can be enhanced to contribute towards agriculture 

and nutrition fields. However, gender wise participation data showed that female participation 




was low when compared to that of male participation which needs immediate attention by the 

Government and policy makers. 

In terms of nutritional awareness among FLS and MLS staff, they have good awareness 

regarding the contributors of good health and impacts of poor nutrition. This awareness 

will be helpful in guiding the farming community towards tackling malnutrition. 

Majority of the respondents reported that they had noticed under nutrition and over 

nutrition cases, which is clear evidence that India is facing the double burden of 

nutrition. By making use of the EAS staff at farming community, nutritional problems 

can be addressed to some extent. 

The dietary needs of an individual depend upon factors such as age, gender, education, 

health status and physiological conditions. The analyzed data from the survey showed 

that MSL group have more awareness than the FLS group. This is because they had 

already attended many training programs in relation to nutrition. 

Training on Nutrition related areas adequate to build capacity in tackling nutritional problems 

The top 5 areas felt important by FLS respondents in the order of importance were: 1. 

Nutrition education, 2. Locally available nutritious crops, varieties and species, 3. 

Promoting the role of women farmers in production/marketing/value addition in ways 

that would not increase their work burden, 4. Promotion of diversification of crops and 

5. Promotion of kitchen gardens. The MSL group ranked NSA topics in the order of: 1. 

Promotion of kitchen gardens, 2. Promotion of diversification of crops, 3. Locally 

available nutritious crops, varieties and species, 4. Nutrition education and 4. Promoting 

the role of women farmers in production/ marketing/ value addition in ways that would 

not increase their work burden and 5. Promotion of value addition of crops/ horticultural 

nutrient crops. 


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Conclusion 

The reasons for this were lack of NSA mandate, lack of induction program with nutrition topic, 

lack of resources, manpower, knowledge and awareness, lack of commitment, responsibility, 

lack of collaborations with other institutions, low availability or use ICE/ICT material and 

administrational problems. Immediate action is needed to train the EAS staff on nutritional 

concepts to achieve the Sustainable developmental goals (SDGs). 

References 

Gomez, M. I., Barrett, C. B., Raney, T., Pinstrup-Andersen, P., Meerman, J., Croppenstedt, A., 

Carisma, B and Thompson, B. 2013. Post-green revolution food systems and the triple 

burden of malnutrition. Food Policy, 42, 129-138. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.06.009. 

Kadiyala, S., Prost, A., Harris-Fry, H., O Hearn, M., Pradhan, R., Pradhan, S and Allen, E. 

2018. Upscaling Participatory Action and Videos for Agriculture and Nutrition 

(UPAVAN) trial comparing three variants of a nutrition-sensitive agricultural 

extension intervention to improve maternal and child nutritional outcomes in rural 

Odisha, India: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. Trials, 19(1), 

1-16. 

Lal, R. 2020. Home gardening and urban agriculture for advancing food and nutritional security 

in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Food security, 12(4), 871-876. 

Studies on Productivity and Economics of Different Maize based 

Intercropping Systems under Rainfed Conditions of Jammu 

T6-35P-1326 

A.P. Singh 1* , G. Ravindra Chary 2 , A. Gopinath 2 , Jai Kumar 3 , Brinder Singh 1 , 

Rohit Shrama 1 and Sunny Raina 1 

1 All India Coordinated Project for Dryland agriculture, Rakh-Dhiansar, Samba (UT of J & K), 

2 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana, 

3 Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Rakh Dhiansar, 

Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir (UT) 181 133 

*apsinghagron@gmail.com 

Maize is the third most grain crop in India after rice and wheat. Intercropping in maize with 

short duration legumes, oilseeds and others has potential to obtain high productivity and 

profitability at low water use without reducing its own yield (Sharma et al., 2013) Intercropping 

provides insurance against crop failure or unstable market prices. Inclusion of legumes in a 

system as intercrop, not only supplement nitrogen to the base crop but also increases the amount 




of humus in the soil due to decaying crop remains (Shyamal Kheroar et al., 2013). Maizelegume 

intercropping system besides increasing productivity and profitability of the crops also 

improves soil health, conserves soil moisture and increases total turnout (Ummed et al., 2008). 

Plant population in an intercropping system affects the balance of competition crop and overall 

productivity. Wide inter-row space in maize during the initial growth period provides ample 

scope to cultivate the intercrops to increase the crop productivity and economic returns per unit 

area and time. Hence, in peasant subsistence agriculture adoption of appropriate cropping 

systems enables the farmers to use natural resources efficiently 

Methodology 

A field experiment was carried out at research farm of Advanced Centre for Dryland 

Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu at 

Rakh Dhiansar during Kharif, 2020. Experiment comprises of nine treatments viz: - Maize, 

Cowpea, Green gram, Marrigold, Blackgram, Maize + Cowpea (1:1), Maize + Greengram 

(1:1), Maize + Marrigold (1:1), Maize + Blackgram (1:1) were tested in randomized block 

design under sandy loam soil having slightly acidic in nature, well drained low in carbon, 

(0.22), low in available nitrogen (162 kg ha -1 ) and potassium (102 kg ha -1 ) and medimum in 

available phosphorous (14.4 kg ha -1 ). Maize, Cowpea, Black gram, Green gram and Marigold 

were sown under different cropping sequences as per technical programme given during Kharif 

2020 and the recommended package and practices were followed as per the crop sown. 

Results 

Evaluation of different maize-based intercropping systems during kharif under rainfed conditions. 

Treatment 

Yield 

(q ha -1 ) MEY 

Main Intercrop 

(q ha -1 ) 

crop 

LER 

COC 

(Rs 

ha -1 ) 

Net 

Retuns 

(Rs. ha -1 ) 

B:C 

Ratio 

RWUE 

(kg ha -1 

mm -1 ) 

T1 Maize 23.50 - 23.50 - 23700 29434 2.24 4.82 

T2 Cowpea 11.30 - 39.38 - 15750 57700 4.66 8.08 

T3 Greengram 5.60 - 24.02 - 18000 26797 2.49 4.93 

T4 Marrigold 20.00 - 21.45 - 35000 85000 3.43 4.40 

T5 Blackgram 4.75 - 17.83 - 17500 15753 1.90 3.66 

T6 

T7 

T8 

Maize + 

Cowpea (1:1) 

Maize + 

Greengram 

(1:1) 

Maize + 

Marrigold 

(1:1) 

20.60 3.70 34.49 1.20 27000 45353 2.68 7.07 

19.00 1.70 26.29 1.11 28500 27831 1.98 5.39 

19.50 5.00 24.86 1.08 29500 24356 1.83 5.10 


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T9 

Maize + 

Blackgram 

(1:1) 

18.75 1.55 24.57 1.12 27500 25444 1.93 5.04 

CD (5%) - - 3.85.0 - - - - - 

Among the different intercropping systems highest maize equivalent yield (MEY) of 3449 kg 

ha -1 was obtained in maize + cowpea (1:1) with the corresponding highest values of net returns, 

LER, B:C ratio and RWUE of Rs. 45353 ha -1 , 1.20, 2.68 and 7.07 kg ha -1 -mm, respectively 

over Maize + greengram (1:1) with the corresponding values of net returns, LER, B:C ratio and 

RWUE of Rs. 27831 ha -1 , 1.11, 1.98 and 5.39 kg ha -1 -mm, respectively. Maize+marigold (1:1) 

with the corresponding values of net returns, LER, B:C ratio and RWUE of Rs. 2468 kg ha -1 - 

mm, 1.08, 1.83 and 5.10 kg ha -1 -mm, respectively. Similar higher net returns and B:C ration 

was obtained by Marer et al., 2007 followed by While the lowest MEY of 2457 kg ha -1 was 

registered in maize + blackgram (1:1) treatment with RWUE of 5.04 kg ha -1 -mm owever, 

among the sole systems, sole cowpea registered highest maize equivalent yield to the tune of 

3938 kg ha -1 while the lowest MEY of 1783 kg ha -1 was obtained in sole blackgram. Similar 

findings were observed by Parimala devi et al., 2019 under maize-based intercropping. 

Conclusion 

In can be safely concluded that highest maize equivalent yield can be realized by adopting the 

Maize + cowpea (1:1) intercropping system instead of growing the sole maize, which not only 

improved the crop productivity and economic returns per unit area and time while it also 

provide the ways to avert total crop failures in rainfed farming situations in the face of weather 

aberrations particularly during Kharif season 

References 

Parimaladevi C, Ramanathan SP, Senthil Kumar N, Suresh S. 2019. Evaluation of maize based 

intercropping systems in Thamirabarani basins of Tamil Nadu. J. Pharmacognosy 

Phytochem., (8): 4051-4056. 

Sharma A, Maruthi Sankar S, Arora S, Guptav, Singh B, Kumar J, Mishra P K. 2013. Analyzing 

effects for sustainable rainfed maize productivity in foothills of Northwest Himalayas. 

Field Crop Res., 145: 96-105. 

Shyamal Kheroar and Bikas Chandra Patra. 2013. Advances of maize legume Intercropping 

systems. J. Agric. Sci. Techn., 733-744. 

Umeed S, Saad A A and Singh S R. 2008. Production potential, biological feasibility and 

economic viability of maize (Zea mays)- based intercropping systems under rainfed 

conditions. Indian J. Agric. Sci., 78(12) 1023-1027. 




Integration of Millet Crops in Rice Fallow Ecology for System 

Intensification 

U. Triveni, Y. S. Rani, N. Anuradha and T.S.S.K. Patro 

T6-36P-1376 

Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University, Agricultural Research Station, Vizianagaram, Andhra 

Pradesh 535 001 

Increase in food grain production is essential for feeding the current global population. 

However, increase in crop area is not possible due to various issues like environmental 

concerns, urbanization, industrialization, salinization, etc. Hence crop intensification in the 

existing land area is the only option to increase the food grain production in India. Rice fallow 

lands are low land rainfed rice growing areas which remain fallow during winter season. These 

lands have enormous scope for crop intensification by integrating pulses and oil seeds. In India, 

11.7 M.ha of rice fallow land is available across various states (Ali et al., 2014). Chhattisgarh 

has 35% (4.1 Mha) of rice fallow land Odisha and Madhya Pradesh together have 15% (1.8 M 

ha). Southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana together have 7.38 M ha 

rice fallow land (Gumma et al., 2016). Millets have a greater scope for crop intensification 

because of their shorter duration, low moisture requirement, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. 

Moreover, Southern and Central India contributed to most millet area and production in the 

country. Hence, introduction of short duration millet crops in the existing rice fallow lands 

would greatly contribute not only to increased millet grain production but also to increased 

nutritional security. 

Methodology 

An experiment was conducted during rabi, 2021-22 at Agricultural Research Station, 

Vizianagaram with an aim to test the feasibility of eight different millet crops for growing 

under rice fallow lands. The millet crops (sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, foxtail millet, 

barnyard millet, brown top millet, kodo millet and little millet) were tested in randomized block 

design with three replications. NPK nutrients were applied as per crop recommendations. A 

spacing of 22.5cm × 10cm was adopted for all the crops except for pearl millet and sorghum, 

where 45cm × 10cm was used. Observations on growth and yield attributes and grain yield 

were collected at the time of maturity and data analysis was done by using ANOVA. 

Results 

Experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of different millet crops under ricefallows 

revealed that all the millet crops adopted very well in rice fallow lands. However, the 

sorghum grain yield was higher. This was followed by millet yields (Fig). Among other millets, 

the grain yield of finger millet, pearl millet, foxtail millet and kodo millet were also higher. Per 


880 | Page



day productivity was highest with sorghum, but it was closely followed by pearl millet, finger 

millet and foxtail millet. Per day productivity of barnyard millet was higher than kodo millet 

due to its shorter duration. Little millet crop recorded lowest grain yield and per day 

productivity. Hence, little millet crop was not profitable to be grown under rice fallows. 

Because of the shorter duration and higher per day productivity, pearl millet and foxtail millet 

were found best with limited supplemental irrigation. With sufficient supplemental irrigation, 

sorghum, finger millet and kodo millet resulted in good economic yields. 

Grain yield (kg/ha) 

Per day productivity (Kg/ha/day) 

Grain yield (kg/ha) 

4000 

3500 

3000 

2500 

2000 

1500 

1000 

500 

0 

35.0 

30.0 

25.0 

20.0 

15.0 

10.0 

5.0 

0.0 

Per day productivity (kg/ha/day) 

Grain yield and per day productivity of different millet crops under rice fallow condition 

Nutritive values of millet fodder were far superior as compared to paddy straw (Chaudhry, 

1998). Hence, millet fodder would be the ideal source of cattle feed. Among different millet 

crops tested under rice fallow situation, highest fodder yield was recorded with sorghum and it 

was closely followed by the fodder yields of finger millet and kodo millet. The longer growing 

period of these crops might be the reason for higher biomass accumulation as compared to the 

other millet crops. 

Conclusion 

From this study it was concluded that sorghum and finger millet recorded higher yields under 

rice fallow lands provided with sufficient supplemental irrigation. Pearl millet and foxtail millet 

will be best suitable under limited supplemental irrigation due to shorter duration coupled with 

high productivity. 

References 

Ali, M., Ghosh, P.K., Hazra, K.K. 2014. Resource conservation technologies in rice fallow. In: 

Ghosh et al (eds) Resource conservation technology in pulses. Scientific, Jodhpur, pp 

83–89. 




Gumma, M.K., Thenkabail, P.S., Teluguntla,P., Rao, M.N., Mohammed, I.A and Whitbread, 

A.M. 2016. Mapping rice fallow cropland areas for short-season grain legumes 

intensification in South Asia using MODIS 250 m time-series data. Int. J of Digit. 

Earth, 9,10, 981-1003, DOI: 10.1080/17538947.2016.1168489 

Chaudhry, A.R. 1998. Fodders crops in crop production by Shafi Nazir and Elena Bashir 

Published by National Book Foundation Islamabad 3rd Reprint 1998. 1994; pp. 404- 

407. 

T6-37P-1386 

Impact of Millet Consumption Pattern on Lifestyle Diseases of the Tribal 

and Urban Population, Telangana 

Shirisha Junuthula* and V. Vijaya Lakshmi 

Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTSAU), Telangana-500030, India 

*siriinscience@gmail.com 

Millets grow well in arid and semi-arid environments, requiring less water than any other grain. 

While developing countries in Asia still produce most of the world's millets. There is an 

increasing recognition of their favorable nutrient composition and benefits as healthy food 

(Jukanti et al., 2016). Thus, apart from their continued strategic role as staple for the poor in 

marginal agricultural regions, they are also assuming a new role as a healthy food replacement 

for the urban high-income population (Shirisha et al.,2019). Millet is more than just an 

interesting alternative to the more common grains. The grain is also rich in phytochemicals, 

including phytic acid, which is believed to lower cholesterol, and phytate, which is associated 

with reduced cancer risk (Coulibaly et al., 2011). These health benefits have been partly 

attributed to a wide variety of potential chemo preventive substances, called phytochemicals, 

including antioxidants present in high amounts in millets (Izadi et al., 2012), lower incidences 

of diabetes have been reported in millet-consuming population. Millets also contain phenolic 

inhibitors like alpha-glucosidase, pancreatic amylase reduce postprandial hyperglycemia by 

partially inhibiting the enzymatic hydrolysis of complex carbohydrates (Shobana et al., 2009). 

The objectives of the study are:- 

To study the millet consumption pattern of the selected tribal and urban population. 

To study the incidence of metabolic disorders among selected tribal and urban 

Population. 

Methodology 

The present study focused on millet consumption pattern of the tribal and urban population of 

Telangana state. The survey part was carried out in the five of the tribal villages of Ranga reddy 


882 | Page



whereas the Urban data was collected from the Hyderabad district of Telangana. A total of 400 

sample were selected for the study among them 200 tribal (men-100 and woman-100) and 200 

urban (men-100 and woman-100) population. Random sampling design was adopted for the 

study. Data collection was done by using self-developed structured questionnaire. 

Results 

The results showed that the tribal subjects millet consumption was higher than the urban 

population in all the age groups except in the 50-60 years age group. From urban population, 

it was noticed that high number of males consumed millets than the female population. Millet 

consumption in urban respondents was noticed to be high among the 40-60 years of age group 

which could be because of the incidence of metabolic disorders, whereas dietary habits 

importance and awareness was increasing day by day. 

Millet consumption of tribal and urban population 

Type of Millet 

Jowar Ragi Pearl millet Korra Samai Arikelu 

Tribal male (n=100) 100 - - - - - 

Tribal female(n=100) 99 1 - - - - 

Urban male (n=100) 14 4 - 2 - - 

Urban female(n=100) 10 3 - - - - 

The results of consumption of millet showed that 100% consumption rate among the tribal area, 

20% males and 13% females of the urban area but when compared to tribal population 

diversified consumption can be noticed from the urban population. This could be due to the 

high availability and affordability of millets by urban population. 

The results were adding strong evidence for the earlier results of reduced (blood pressure) BP 

and FBGs among population with the increased consumption of millets. Basal metabolic rate 

(BMI) also reduced with consumption frequency of millets which means the obese people can 

consume the millets in order to reduce their weight. 

Variables 

Correlation between BMI, BP and FBS with frequency of millet consumption 

Tribal (N=200) 

Frequency of millet consumption 

Urban(N=200) 

Male(n=100) Female(n=100) Male(n=100) Female(n=100) 

BMI -0.05 ** 0.11 NS -0.08 ** 0.05 * 

BP-Systolic 0.00 * 0.12 NS -0.09 ** 0.05 ** 

BP-Diastolic -0.12 ** 0.18 NS 0.08 NS 0.11 NS 

FBG -0.09 ** -0.02 ** -0.11 ** -0.04 ** 

Significant Level- P-value * -P



Conclusion 

Transition is evident in diet consumption pattern where a complete shift from locally available 

millet consumption is replaced with refined rice and processed foods. Research emphasized on 

millet is recognized as nourishing the common population and to help in preventing and curing 

the diseases like obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Hence research and 

development efforts on these nutritious millets need to be undertaken in order to explore their 

full potential. 

References 

Coulibaly, A., Kouakou, B and Chen, J. 2011. Phytic acid in cereal grains: structure, healthy 

or harmful ways to reduce phytic acid in cereal grains and their effects on nutritional 

quality. American J. Plant Nutri. Fert. Tech. 1: 1 -22. 

Izadi, Z., Nasirpour, A., Izadi, M and Izadi, T. 2012. Reducing blood cholesterol by a healthy 

diet. Int. Food. Res. J. 19 (1): 29-37. 

Jukanti, A. K., Gowda, C. L., Rai, K. N., Manga, V. K and Bhatt, R. K. 2016. Crops that feed 

the world. Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.): an important source of food security, 

nutrition and health in the arid and semi-arid tropics. Food Sec. 8(2), 307-329. 

Shirisha, J., Lakshmi, V. V., Devi, K. U and Preethi, M. 2019. Expenditure pattern of tribal 

and urban population, Telangana. Bulletin of Environment, Pharmacology and Life 

Sciences. 8 (6):101-104. 

Shobana, S., Sreerama, Y.N and Malleshi, N.G. 2009. Composition and enzyme inhibitory 

properties of Finger Millet (Eleusine Coracana L.) seed coat phenolics: mode of 

Inhibition of Α-Glucosidase and pancreatic amylase. Food. Chem. 115: 1268-1273. 


T6-38P-1391 

Awareness of Natural Resource Management among farm women 

Methodology 

S.G. Puri, S.G. More and B. V. Asewar 

College of Agriculture, Golegaon 

Present investigation was carried out with the objectives to study profile of the farm women, 

to know the awareness level about Natural Resource Management (NRM) among farm women, 

to find out the relationship between profile of farm women with awareness level about NRM 

in farming system and to invite the suggestions about Natural Resource Management in 

farming system in Parbhani District from Marathwada region of Maharashtra State. From 

Parbhani District five villages Pokharni, Daithna, Rampuri, Salapuri and Dhanora (Kale) were 

884 | Page



purposively selected. Twelve number of farm women were selected randomly from these 

selected five villages. Thus, totally 60 farm women were interviewed. The data were collected 

personally by using the structured interview schedule with major focus on solar energy 

utilisation. According to the estimates of the International Energy Agency, India is the world’s 

fourth largest energy consumer after United States, China and Russia and will be the third 

largest by 2030 (Bharati Joshi et al., 1992). Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the 

sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, 

photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt power plants and artificial 

photosynthesis (International Energy Agency, 2011). 

Results 

Findings of the study revealed that majority of farm women had correct awareness on solar 

energy (81.67 per cent) followed by solar energy can also be used in agriculture (80.00 per 

cent). In many aspects related to Natural Resource Management among farm women were 

unaware. Overall awareness level about Natural Resource Management among farm women 

had low awareness. There was positive and highly significant relationship between education, 

risk orientation and scientific orientation with their awareness Natural Resource Management. 

All (100.00%) of the farm women suggested subsidies should be made available to farmers for 

solar-powered machinery and farmers are being encouraged to employ solar energy in their 

farming systems. Also, majority of the farm women suggested that developing the strong 

linkage between government and the farmers. 

Statement wise distribution of awareness level about Natural Resource Management 

among farm women . 

S No Statement Frequency Percent 

1. Do you know about renewable sources of energy? 35 58.33 

2. Do you know about the solar energy? 49 81.67 

3. Is solar energy can also be used in agriculture? 48 80.00 

4. Do you know about solar crop and grain dryer? 0 0.00 

5. Do you know about solar water heater? 39 65.00 

6. Do you know about solar spray pumps? 1 1.67 

7. Do you know about solar water lifting pump? 0 0.00 

8. Do you know about different types of solar water lifting pumps? 1 1.67 

9. Do you know direct current (DC) and alternate current (AC) solar 

pumps? 

10. Do you know about the land size required for 1 HP, 3 HP, 5 HP and 7 

HP pump? 

11. Do you know the approximate cost of a solar water pump system of 1 

HP, 3 HP, 5 HP and 7 HP? 

0 0.00 

0 0.00 

1 1.67 

12. Do you know about the operating cost of solar pumps? 3 5.00 




13. Are there any criteria for selecting where to install the solar water 

pump sets? 

0 0.00 

14. Do you know about the components of photovoltaic water pumps? 0 0.00 

15. Does solar energy help to solve the irrigation problem? 5 8.33 

16. Can solar water pump integrate with drip/sprinkler system of 

irrigation? 

1 1.67 

17. Does solar pump require any repair and maintenance? 5 8.33 

18. Is it necessary to clean the panels? 42 70.00 

19. Can solar system use batteries to store extra power for use at night? 1 1.67 

20. Is it possible to couple batteries with a solar powered pump system? 1 1.67 

21 Do you know about solar lanterns? 2 3.33 

22 Do you know about solar street lights? 40 66.67 

23 Do you know about solar household electrical system? 1 1.67 

24 Do you know about solar photovoltaic sprayer? 0 0.00 

Coefficient of correlation between profile of farm women with awareness level 

about Natural Resource Management in farming system 

Sr. No. Independent variable Coefficient of correlation (r) 

1 Age -0.231 NS 

2 Education 0.493** 

3 Occupation 0.193 NS 

4 Land holding 0.049 NS 

5 Annual income 0.004 NS 

6 Extension contact -0.238 NS 

7 Risk orientation 0.337** 

8 Scientific orientation 0.348** 

* Significant at 0.05 level of significance 

**Significant at 0.01 level of significance NS Non-significant 

Distribution of the farm women according to Suggestions about about Natural Resource 

Management in farming system. 

Sr. No. Suggestions Frequency Percent 

1 Spare components for solar panels should be readily 

available on the market. 

2 Developing the strong linkage between government and the 

farmers. 

50 83.33 

55 91.66 

3 Make the solar water pumps easily available to farmers. 40 66.66 

4 Farmers are being encouraged to employ solar energy in 

their farming systems. 

60 100.00 


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5 Weather predictions should be supplied on a weekly basis 

properly village to village. 

6 Farmers should be informed on the most up-to-date solar 

energy technology. 

7 Organize farmer training courses and camps for awareness 

of solar energy utilization. 

8 Subsidies should be made available to farmers for solarpowered 

machinery. 

30 50.00 

52 86.66 

55 91.66 

60 100.00 

References 

Bharati Joshi, Bhatti T.S, Bansal N.K, Energy Policy, Volume 17, Issue 9, September 1992, 

pp. 869-876. 

International Energy Agency (2011). https://www.iae.org 

T6-39P-1436 

Impact of NICRA Project Through Analysis of Different Success Point 

Rajiv Kumar* 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Palamu-822102, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand 

*rjv123kmr@gmail.com 

Palamu KVK got NICRA (National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture) project 

during 2010-11. Khagribari village under Palamu-2 Block selected purposively (KVK Adopted 

Village) for implementation of the NICRA project. Several activities were done during 2010- 

11 to 2020-21. Majority of the farmers of Khagrabari village were marginal farmer. Flood, 

irrigation, water conservation, diseases infestation on plant and occupational migration were 

the major problem of the village. Some innovative and progressive farmers were developed 

and exposed their activity through different programme. In our study we discuss about the few 

successes point of NICRA project in Palamu District. The objective of the study was to show 

the impact of NICRA project in Palamu District through analysis of different success point. 

Palamu is situated between 23 0 50’ and 24 0 80’N to 83 0 55’ to 85 0 30’E latitude and at an altitude 

of 222.00 m above from mean sea level. However, the normal rainfall in Plamau is 1257.8 mm. 

Total geographical area of the district is 524690 ha (5043. 85 km 2 ). Out of which nearly 

1,73,553 hectares comes under net cultivable land, 1,67,848 hectares is covered by forest and 

24,750 hectares comes under barren and non-cultivated land. Murma Dulsulma village under 

Satbarwa Block was selected purposively for implementation of NICRA project. Village was 

selected on the basis of climate vulnerability. 

Technology and impacts 

Solid waste management through composting: Organic matter always plays pivotal role in 

minimizing the effect of global warming by way of reducing fluctuation in diurnal temperature 




variation and also minimizing the maximum soil temperature. Further organic matter reduces 

the irrigation water requirement and thus reduces environmental pollution also. Considering 

this Palamu KVK took initiative to popularize the use of organic manure by promoting the 

technology of compost preparation Palamu Krishi Vigyan Kendra initiated demonstration 

programme for proper utilization of cow dung, rural farm waste, kitchen wastes, other locally 

available organic waste materials and organic residues through preparation of compost by 

NADEP method to cut down the shortage of availability of organic manures. Demonstration 

was also organized on low-cost preparation of compost by heap method. Awareness was also 

developed to improve the quality of cow dung manure with minimum interference. 

Impact: Laboratory analysis of samples collected indicated that quality of organic manures 

produced through NADEP or heap method was much better than that used by farmers of the 

village. It is also too noteworthy that use of organic manure has increased 143 ton from the 

Bench marks (when compared with status of organic manure use before inception of the project 

at the village). Bohita village was promoted organic manure production through composting 

under MGNREGA with technical support from Palamu Krishi Vigyan Kendra. 

Use of black polythene mulch in winter cucumber: Cucumber is profitable crop. This crop 

is primarily grown in the summer months. But farmers of this village prefer to grow this crop 

during rabi season as price of this crop remain high during winter months. Problem arises when 

winter temperature comes below 12 °C which not only affect physiological growth but also 

hampers fruit set and development of cucumber. Black polythene mulch was used to increase 

soil temperature thereby getting rid of the problems associated with low temperature. 

Comparative performance of technology: This technology performed well under stressful 

environment during winter and it out-yielded the traditional practice of growing cucumber 

without mulch. On an average, soil temperature under mulch was 1-1.5°C higher during day 

and 4.5-5 °C during night as compared to crop without mulch which increased fruiting period 

by 21 days, decreasing flower drop by 12% and advancement of fruiting 5 days under mulch. 

Black polythene mulching in cucumber resulted in an yield increase of 8.19% compared to 

local practice. The net returns and B:C ratio were Rs.108200 ha -1 and 2.6 in treatment compared 

to Rs.97700 ha -1 and 2.51 under local practice. 

Renovation of existing pond for harvesting, storing and recycling of rain water 

A large area of the NICRA adopted village remains uncultivated during rabi seasons as only 

10% of total cultivated area were irrigated using well by lifting ground water as well as canal 

water. Though there exist a number of small and large size ponds but most of them were 

seasonal and cannot be used as source of irrigation during critical stages of rabi crops. The 

NICRA village (Murma Dulsulma) of Palamu district experiences annual rainfall of about 

1257.8 mm received mostly during the period from July- September but most of the water 


888 | Page



bodies of the village are 5-7 ft deep and remain dry from December onwards. Palamu KVK 

renovated 6 numbers of pond through NICRA project which increases 76830 cubic foot of 

pond volume and as result additional 8.5 ha of land irrigated during rabi season. It was found 

from the demonstration that 16399 cubic feet water was saved due to use of rain water. The 

farmers of NICRA village were facing problems of irrigation in rabi season crops (Potato, 

wheat, mustard, brinjal, garlic, cabbage etc.) due to limited irrigation sources. More than 3 of 

the pond owners of village were communicated to Palamu KVK for renovation of their water 

bodies to store the rain water and solve the problems of irrigation to rabi crops with special 

emphasis on vegetables during December to February. 

Brief about the technology: Tomato is a major cash crop of Palamu district. In the NICRA 

adopted village poor productivity of tomato crop (145.5 q ha -1 ) was a major concern for the 

farmers. In this region soil acidity and occurrence of bacterial wilt was the major factors 

triggering poor productivity. Swarn Naveen is a bacterial wilt tolerant variety was introduced 

by the KVK through NICRA project in the form of demonstration in kharif season resulted in 

an yield of 165 q ha -1 (13.75% increase in yield). Soil acidity, one of the major predisposing 

factors for the wilt pathogen, was corrected through liming. The variety performed well in 

stressful environment and it out-yielding the Swarn Naveen variety due to less incidence of 

bacterial wilt pathogen. On an average, there was 13.75% increase in fruit yield with 18.4% 

reduction in wilt in demonstration plots against the untreated local checks. 

Economics of the technology 

Economics of demonstration (Rs. ha -1 ) Economics of Local (Rs. ha -1 ) 

Gross 

Cost 

Gross 

Return 

Net 

Return 

BCR 

Gross 

Cost 

Gross 

Return 

Net 

Return 

59400 165000 105600 2.78 55900 145500 89600 2.60 

Conclusion 

It may conclude from the above study that NICRA project was a successful project in Palamu 

District. The major highlighting points of above study that horizontal impact of the Project and 

attachment with the different line department with this project. The project extended its impact 

through different farmers club, SHGs and district line department. KVK scientists perceived 

that the motivation and interest level of farmers of NICRA adopted Village on agriculture were 

high compared to other village (Distance more than 35 Km NICRA adopted Village, Palamu). 

The first and foremost objectives of the project which was perceived by scientist and farmer 

that adoption of new technology with changing of agro climatic, agro-ecology and 

demographic condition and ultimate aim to establish the resilience agriculture system. 

BCR 




T6-P40-1441 

Intercropping with Sugarcane for DFI in Eastern Uttar Pradesh 

Ashok Rai 1 , Shamsher Singh 1 , Ajay K. Rai 1 , Neeraj Singh 2 , Vishal Singh 1 

and Vinay Kr. Patel 1 

1 

Krishi Vigyan kendra (ICAR-IIVR) Sargatia Seorahi, Kushinagar (U.P.) -274406 

2 ICAR-IIVR Varanasi (U.P.) 

A series of experiments was undertaken to assess “Intercropping in sugarcane for DFI in eastern 

Uttar Pradesh” at Amawa Khas Nyay panchayat of district Kushinagar in eastern Uttar Pradesh 

during 2018 to 2020 under National Innovation in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) 

Project. The number of farming community members involved in this series of demonstration 

were 46 in 2018, 100 in 2019 and 118 in 2020. The Experimental results revealed that the gross 

monetary returns were higher in sugarcane + potato system as compared to other inter-cropping 

systems with sugarcane. Among the inter-cropping systems assessed, sugarcane with potato 

was the most remunerative in respect of average production/yield at 992.8 q/ha with an average 

net return of INR 275560.0 and BCR of 3.54. The average production of Sugarcane-Potato 

intercrop was 992.8 q/ ha (Sugarcane- 883.3q/ha and potato 109.5q/ha) as compared to 

Sugarcane - Mustard (Sugarcane- 840.7q/ha and Mustard 9.1q/ha), Sugarcane-Lentil 

(Sugarcane- 825.4 q/ha and lentil 4.5 q/ha) respectively. 

T6-P41-1451 

Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre - Forecasting of Redgram Prices 

in Telangana State by ARIMAX 

R. Vijaya Kumari, A. Sreenivas * , G. Ramakrishna and P. Venkatesh 

College of Agriculture, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad 

*akulasreenivas948@gmail.com 

The Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre established in PJTSAU with the financial support 

of the Marketing Department, Government of Telangana is developing and disseminating price 

forecasts of sixteen major agricultural commodities produced in Telangana State. Redgram is 

one of the major rainfed crops largely cultivated in the state. ARIMAX model has been applied 

to forecast redgram prices in Telangana State which includes time series data on rainfall as 

input exogenous variable. When an ARIMA model includes other time series as input variables, 

the model is referred to as an ARIMAX model. The autoregressive integrated moving average 

with exogenous variable (ARIMAX) model can take the impact of covariates on the forecasting 

into account, improving the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the prediction. The ARIMA 

and ARIMAX models were compared by setting different combinations of input data. 

Particularly, ARIMA includes only the monthly model prices, while ARIMAX includes the 


890 | Page



monthly model prices and Rainfall data. Based on preliminary testing, ARIMAX (111) is found 

to be the best model for future projections of redgram prices in Telangana State. The analysis 

of 20 years monthly data from April 2002 to November 2022 predicted that redgram price per 

quintal may prevail around Rs. 6720-6980 in the next four months i.e., peak harvesting time 

period. The centre has predicted pre-sowing and pre-harvest price of redgram during kharif 

2021-22, previous season as Rs. 6000-6300 and Rs. 5800-6000 per quintal. The actual prices 

prevailed for redgram in major markets of Telangana during the peak harvesting time period 

of kharif 2021-22 was in the range of Rs. 5900-6300. It was observed that the actual prices 

were deviated only by -0.82% from pre-sowing price forecast and by 3.28% from the preharvest 

price forecast. These results clearly confirms the precision and reliability of price 

forecast information from the Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre, PJTSAU for making 

better production and marketing related decisions by the farmers and other stakeholders like 

traders and policy makers. 

6T-P42-1458 

Additional Income Through Cultivation of Redgram on Paddy Field Bunds 

S. Neelaveni 1 , P Venkatarao 2 , G.S.Roy 3 and D.Chinnamnaidu 3 

1 KVK, Amadalavalasa, 

2 DAATTC, Srikakulam, 

3 Agricultural College, Naira 

On farm trail was conducted on assessment of redgram varieties suitable for cultivation on paddy 

field bunds in different farming situation of 38 mandals across Srikakulam district of Andhra 

Pradesh. Lack of suitable variety was a constraint for cultivation of redgram on paddy field bunds 

in Srikakulam district, The new variety ICP 7035 has recorded higher yields than the farmer’s 

practice(LRG 45 and LRG 52). ICP 7035 was recorded 53% more yield than LRG-52. Farmers 

were realising additional income of rupees 11000/- from cultivation of redgram on per acre of 

paddy field bunds.The new variety ICP 7035 duration wise 10 to 15 days early (140-145 days) than 

LRG-52(160 days) .The new variety ICP 7035 was recorded higher yield (53% higher than LRG- 

52) than the farmer’s practice. Variety availability in local area, was one of the constraints faced. 

The new variety ICP 7035 duration wise 10 to 15 days early (140-145 days) LRG-52(160 days) 

Yield wise more than LRG-52. Red gram variety ICP 7035 perfomed well when compared to 

LRG-52. 




T6-P43-1500 

Impact of Frontline Demonstrations on Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum) 

under NICRA Villages of District Jhansi U.P. 

Adesh Kumar, Nishi Roy, Md Ramjan Shekh, Vimal Raj Yadav and Atik Ahamad 

KVK, Jhansi (Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda) 

kvkjhansi@gmail.com 

Wheat is the second most important food crop in India after rice. It is one of the most 

imperative and consumed principal foods at global level. Particularly the wheat species 

Triticum aestivum (L.) accounts for one-fifth of the total calories delivered to the world 

population (Reynolds et al., 2010). Wheat has a carbohydrate-rich composition, mainly in the 

form of starch, and has proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals. It is grown in an area of 

34.6 million hectares area with production 109.2 million tonnes and productivity of 4960 

kg/ha. The present study was carried out by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jhansi to know the yield 

gaps between improved package and practices under Front Line Demonstration (FLD) and 

farmer’s practice (FP) of wheat crop in NICRA villages under heat stress condition. 

Methodology 

During rabi 2022-221 and 2021-22, frontline demonstrations (FLD) were conducted on 

thermo-insensitive variety “Raj-4049” in 45.0 ha area for 112 beneficiaries/ farmers of Jhansi 

district by KVK, Jhansi (BUAT Banda). The demonstrations were conducted in 3 NICRA 

(National Innovation on Climate Resilient Agriculture Project) villages- Gandhinagar, Birgua 

and Babaltada in Badagaon block of Jhansi district. Among input, 40.0 kg seed of improved 

wheat variety Raj-4079 per acre per farmer were given in 10 clusters for 112 beneficiaries 

under FLD. Sowing of crop by farmers in ten clusters was done during second fortnight of 

November, Rabi 2021 & 2022. 

Results 

The data on wheat yield indicated that the FLDs gave a good impact on the farming community 

of Jhansi district as they were motivated by the new agricultural technologies adopted in the 

demonstrations. Average wheat yield under front line demonstrations was 4350 kg/ha & 4250 

kg/ha during rabi 2021 and 2022 respectively. This were 42.62 and 33.46 % higher than 

farmer’s practices (Wheat var. Local). 

Conclusion 

Thermo-insensitive wheat variety “Raj-4049 had good yield potential under NICRA villages 

as compared to local cultivar. The yield of this variety was 42.62 and 33.46 % higher than local 

cultivar. 


892 | Page



References 

Reynolds, M, D., Bonnett, S.C., Chapman, R.T., Furbank, Y Manès, D.E., Mather, 2018. 

Raising yield potential of wheat. I. Overview of a consortium approach and breeding strategies. 

J. Exp Botany 62: 439–452. 

T6-P44-1502 

Impact Assessment on Yield and Economics of Improved Varieties of Pea 

(Pisum sativum L.) through Technology Demonstration in NICRA Villages 

of Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand 

Aalok G. Yewale, Udit Joshi, Shikha, Naveen Tariyal and C. Tiwari 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and 

Forestry Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal 249199 (Uttarakhand) 

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an important nutritious leguminous cool season crop grown 

throughout the world mostly during cool seasons. Pea crop is a rich source of protein, 

carbohydrates, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorous and several amino acids (Pandey 

and Uniyal 2018). Pea crop can fetch very high returns in hilly regions of Uttarakhand if grown 

in prior seasons to plain regions. Also, the mid-hill conditions of Uttarakhand are ideally suited 

for off-season cultivation of Pea. Hence, selection of a suitable and appropriate variety and 

season becomes very crucial in hilly regions for gaining high monetary returns and boosting 

farmer’s income (Tiwari et al. 2014). The low productivity of Pea crop is attributed towards 

several constraints like lack of quality and improved cultivars, lesser use of inputs and poor 

extension services delivered to the farmers (Tiwari et al. 2021). By keeping all these factors 

under consideration, several front-line demonstrations using improved cultivars of Pea crop 

were carried out in the NICRA villages Dabri and Kaleth from year 2019-20 to 2021-22 to 

enhance the productivity and economic returns per unit area in the farmer’s field. 

Methodology 

The present investigation was carried out in the NICRA villages i.e., Dabri and Kaleth under 

Thauldhar block of district Tehri Garhwal during 2019-20 to 2021-22 under Technology 

demonstration component (TDC) of project NICRA. The improved and high yielding varieties 

of Pea (Arkel and PSM-3) were used by KVK, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand for carrying out 

front line demonstrations in fields of around 45 farmers in the NICRA villages to quantify the 

technology gap and extension gap between demonstration and farmer’s practice. Frequent 

visits as well as advisories were delivered to the farmers to implement the technology correctly. 

The data pertaining to yield under demonstration and farmer’s practice was collected by 

random crop harvesting methods and was analysed by using simple statistical tools. The 

extension gap, technology gap and technology index were calculated using the following 




formula: 1. Percent increase in yield = [(Yield under demonstration - Yield under Existing 

practices)/ Yield under Existing practices)] x 100 2. Technology gap = Potential yield - Yield 

under demonstration, 3. Extension gap = Yield under demonstration - Yield under Existing 

practices 4. Technology index = [(Potential yield - Yield under demonstration)/Potential yield)] 

x 100. 

Results 

The data pertaining to the yield, percent increase in yield, technology gap, extension gap and 

technological index is presented in Table 1 and data related to economic impact of improved 

varieties of Pea is tabulated in Table 2. 

Yield, Percent increase, Technology gap, Extension gap and Technological index 

The results obtained from the present study revealed that the average yield under demonstration 

(90 q/ha) was much higher than the existing/farmer’s practices (60.66 q/ha) and the average 

percent increase in the demonstration yield over the farmer’s practice was around 48.29% 

which might be due to the higher yield potential of the improved varieties used in the 

demonstration. The average technology gap observed was around 23.33 q/ha which might be 

due to the varied climatic conditions, difference in status of soil fertility and local farm 

management practices. The results were in accordance with the findings of Singh et al. 2019 

and Shikha et al. 2021 in the onion crop. The average extension gap was 29.33 q/ha which 

might be due to the lack of availability of high yielding varieties to the farmers and lesser 

scientific technologies followed in the cultivation practices. The average technology index was 

observed to be around 19.99% which might be due to the prevalence of frost damage, cold 

waves, several diseases and insect pest infestations. 

Economic analysis 

Cultivation of improved varieties of vegetable pea (Arkel and PSM-3) led to the higher average 

net returns i.e., 48618 Rs. / hectare as compared to the farmer’s practices (26146 Rs./hectare). 

While the average Benefit: Cost ratio was also observed higher in case of improved varieties 

i.e., 2.09 when compared to existing practices (1.68) which might be due to the higher yield 

potential of the demonstrated improved varieties of vegetable Pea. 

Conclusion 

The results obtained from the present study revealed that the demonstration of improved 

varieties of Pea produced significant positive results in terms of yield and economics of Pea 

crop. These positive results were obtained due to the timely technological and site-specific 

interventions provided to the farmers which ultimately lead to the increase yield and enhanced 

farm productivity. It was also observed that the higher returns can also be obtained by early/offseason 

sowing and harvesting of Pea when there is unavailability of Pea from plains in the 


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market. Hence, from the present study it can be concluded that technological interventions by 

using improved varieties of Pea coupled with early and off-season sowing can lead to its 

enhanced productivity and economics and these technologies and site-specific interventions 

are needed in order to improve farm productivity and profitability. 

Yield, Technology gap, Extension gap and Technological index of improved varieties of 

Pea 

Year 

2019- 

20 

Arkel 

2020- 

21 

Arkel 

2021- 

22 

PSM- 

3 

Demo 

No. 

Area 

(ha) 

Average yield 

(q/ha) 

Demo 

Farmer’s 

practice 

Percent 

Increase 

(%) 

Technology 

gap (q/ha) 

Extension 

gap (q/ha) 

Technological 

index (%) 

45 1.75 85 60 41.66 35 25 29.16 

45 1.75 95 62 53.22 25 33 20.83 

45 1.75 90 60 50.00 10 30 10.00 

90 60.66 48.29 23.33 29.33 19.99 

Economic impact of improved varieties of Pea 

Year Gross cost (Rs./ha) Gross Income 

(Rs./ha) 

Demo 

Farmer’s 

practice 

Demo 

Farmer’s 

practice 

Net Return (Rs./ha) 

Demo 

Farmer’ 

practice 

B:C Ratio 

Demo 

2019-20 45581 38260 93450 65964 47869 27704 2.05 1.72 

2020-21 46380 39270 93250 60857 46870 21587 2.01 1.54 

2021-22 47560 40458 99540 67687 51980 27229 2.09 1.67 

Average 44465 37697 93084 63844 48618 26146 2.09 1.68 

References 

Farmer’ 

practice 

Pandey, P. and Uniyal, S.P. 2018. Characterization of vegetable pea genotypes under tarai 

regions of Uttarakhand-economic aspect. J. hill Agri. 9(1): 78-81. 

Tiwari, R., Bhatt, L. and Dev, R. 2014. Effect of date of sowing on growth and yield of 

vegetable pea genotypes under rain-fed mid-hill conditions of Uttarakhand. Indian J. Horti. 

71(2): 288-291. 

Tiwari, C., Yewale, A.G., Tariyal, N., Kumar, A. and Shikha. 2021. Impact of technology 

demonstrations on yield and economics of Soybean (Glycine max L.) in NICRA villages of 




Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Extended Summaries: 5th International Agronomy Congress, 

November 23-27, 2021, India. 155-157pp. 

Singh, R., Dahiya, R. H. and Baghel, M. S. 2019. Impact assessment of rabi Onion variety 

Agrifound Light Red (AFLR) through OFTs in Sidhi District of Madhya Pradesh. Journal of 

Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research. 6(5): 380-385. 

T6-P45-1541 

Impact of Weather based Agro-Advisory Services on Upliftment of 

Farming Communities of Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu 

M. Vengateswari, S. Vallal Kannan, P.Balasubramaniyan and K. Elanchezhyan 

Krishi vigyan kendra, Ramanathapuram 

ramnadkvk@tnau.ac.in 

Agromet Advisory Services (AAS) plays a vital role in Agriculture and allied activities by 

providing valuable information about all agricultural operations from land preparation to postharvesting 

operations with respect to prevailing weather conditions. About 66% of crop 

production is influenced by Agrometeorological factors. Accuracy-based forecasts will help 

farmers to overcome various types of losses in agriculture and allied activities (Praveen et al, 

2022). The main aim of AAS is to reduce the losses in agriculture and to increase the income 

level of farmers through accurate forecasts and the intervention of new technologies in 

agriculture. The farmers utilize the services of AAS to decide and follow the timely cultivation 

practices which in turn facilitated to obtain an increase in crop yield as well as reduced losses 

due to unfavorable situations. The present study was proposed to analyze the knowledge 

acquired and the level of impact of weather-based agro advisory services among the farmers 

on knowledge and productivity achievement. 

Methodology 

India Meteorological Department has taken up the Biweekly Agromet advisory service (AAS) 

based on medium-range forecasting to serve the farming community with important weather 

parameters like rainfall, temperature, wind speed and direction, cloud cover, and humidity. 

District AgroMet Unit, Ramanathapuram which is functional at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, 

Ramanathapuram is receiving the forecast since 2019 and issuing agro advisory bulletins 

through different media to assist the farmers. A random sample of 125 farmers was selected 

from different blocks of Ramanathapuram District for assessed the farmer´s knowledge and 

perception of agromet advisory services. Descriptive statistics was employed to find out the 

frequency and percentage of farmer on adoption of advisory on crop production and tabular 

analysis for impact study. 


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Results 

Adoption 

The study indicates that AAS has provided timely service, 81 percent of the farmers are 

satisfied with making the decision on farming operations viz., sowing and weeding (36 

percent), chemical spray (84 percent), fertilizer application (57 percent) harvest and Post 

harvesting operations (71 percent) by the small and marginal farmers especially its economic 

value in terms of money by weather forecast leading to reduction in production cost, enhancing 

the efficacy of inputs such as fertilizer, pesticide and saving crop and its yield from weather 

hazards. 

Dissemination 

Mass Media have separate sections for agricultural information to the farming community. 

Hence mass media like television, radio, newspaper, and mobile are being effectively utilized 

by Krishi Vigyan Kendra to disseminate innovative adaptation and management technologies. 

In this regard, the survey results indicate that 70 percent of farmers get weather information 

through mobile (WhatsApp and SMS) followed by 13 percent through television, 12 through 

the newspaper, and 5 percent through radio (Fig. 1). Hence it is clearly indicating that, 

dissemination of weather advisories through mobile and television reached to both literate and 

illiterate farming communities for timely adoption of management technologies. 

The study revealed the perception of AAS revealed (Fig.2.) that majority of the farmers felt the 

importance of Agro meteorology advisory services (87 percent) and usefulness in adoption (85 

percent). Whereas, 70 percent of forecast accuracy and 82 percent of them felt that advisories 

based on predicted precipitation events are very effective and helpful for planning and 

execution of various farm operations. 

Conclusion 

Impact assessment is the analysis of the significant change that has occurred due to AAS 

intervention. By consistently delivering actionable weather information, analysis and decision 

support for farming situations such as farm and pest management through weather-based agro 

advisory services enhanced the knowledge and adoption of timely management technologies. 

References 

Praveen, K. M., Kamath, K. S., Lakshmana, R. K., & Shetty, S. 2022. Analyzing the impact of 

weather-based agro-advisory services of GKMS project among areca nut growers of 

Udupi district of Karnataka. Pharma innovation, SP-11(1): 07-11. 




Farmers response on weather-based agro advisories 

S.No Questionnaire Farmers response 

1 Making decision on farm operation based on 

weather forecast 

2 Weather forecast and agro advisory on Sowing 

and weeding 

3 Weather forecast and agro advisory on 

insecticides pesticides/ fungicides 


Application of fertilizer 


harvesting and post-harvest operation 

6 Benefit from abnormal weather forecast 

advisories related to animal husbandry 

Frequency 

102 81 

46 36 

105 84 

72 57 

89 71 

36 29 

Percent (%) of adoption 

Transfer of AAS information 

Perception of AAS 

Importance of Solar Light Trap in Integrated Pest Management 

T6-P46-1556 

Manoj Kumar Ahirwar, Dheeraj Singh*, Aishwarya Dudi and Chandan Kumar 

ICAR-CAZRI Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pali, Rajasthan-306401, India 

*dheerajthakurala@yahoo.com 

The quality and safety of agricultural products are a major concern for the entire world. The 

focus is controlling pesticide residue, which is especially difficult in most crops. The solution 

to this problem lies in the biological control of insect pests at the economic level. The solar 

light trap may be considered as the alternate solution that has several advantages over the 


898 | Page



electrical light trap. There are several models and designs of solar light traps available in the 

markets that do not depend on any other source like electricity, fuel, wind power, or mechanical 

power. This device operates automatically i.e. turns on at 6 pm and turns off before sunrise i.e. 

6 am. Most of the damage-causing insects are active during this time. Installing one light trap 

in an acre area attracts at least more than 1000 adult pests for a day. Nocturnal insects are often 

attracted to light sources that emit large amounts of UV radiation and devices that exploit this 

behavior. Thus, solar light trap provides a scientific basis for ecological control of pests in crop 

production reducing the volume of pesticides and resulting in the protection of the 

agroecological environment. 

T6-P47-1560 

Impact of Residual Soil Moisture on Yields and Profitability of Rainfed 

Cropping Sequences 

M.L. Jadav*, Narendra Kumawat, D.V. Bhagat, S.K. Choudhary, K.S. Bangar and 

Bharat Singh 

All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Farming, College of Agriculture (RVSKVV) 

Indore – 452 001, Madhya Pradesh, India 

*mjadavujn@gmail.com 

In agriculture, the availability of soil moisture determines the success of crop production 

because the growth and productivity of crops highly depend on sufficient moisture. Residual 

soil moisture can play important role in rabi crops. The medium to deep vertisols in the Malwa 

region can sustain sequential cropping with the short duration crops for about 220 days during 

the normal monsoon season. If heavy rainfall occurred, Kharif crops are badly affected but rabi 

crop production can compensate it, because of residual moisture content in rainfed conditions. 

Lack of adequate seed-zone moisture is a major problem in the timely sowing of rabi crops 

after kharif in rainfed areas. 

Methodology 

Field experiments were conducted during 2019-20 and 2020-21 at the AICRP for Dryland 

Agriculture, College of Agriculture (RVSKVV), Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India to find out the 

effect of residual soil moisture on rainfed cropping sequences in vertisols. Nine cropping 

sequences including soybean/maize/black gram-based cropping systems, viz., soybeanchickpea, 

soybean-chickpea (kabuli) soybean-safflower, maize-chickpea, maize-chickpea 

(kabuli), maize-safflower, blackgram-chickpea, blackgram-chickpea (kabuli) and blackgramsafflower 

were tested in randomized block design with 5 replications. The soil moisture content 

(%) was determined by gravimetric method from two depths viz., topsoil (0-15 cm) and subsoil 

(15-30 cm) at 20, 40, 60, and 80 DAS and at harvest. This study was conducted to evaluate the 

effect of residual soil moisture on yield and monetary return in rainfed cropping sequences. 




The yield data of sequentially grown crops were recorded and statistically analyzed in terms of 

soybean equivalent yield (SEY) to calculate system productivity. 

Results 

The data presented in Table 1 revealed that significantly higher SEY (3504 kg/ha) was recorded 

by the sequence soybean -chickpea with the highest total net return of Rs. 104142/ha with a B: 

C ratio of 3.89 followed by blackgram-chickpea (SEY 2945 kg/ha total net return Rs. 81815/ha 

and B: C ratio of 3.27). Whereas, the lowest SEY (1138 kg/ha), total net return (Rs. 9510/ha), 

and B: C ratio (1.26) were found under the maize-safflower sequence. During the initial period 

of crop growth, soil moisture content was higher in the upper depth but at later stages, soil 

moisture content was found higher in the lower depth of the soil. It can be concluded that 

residual soil moisture availability can affect the yield and economics of rabi crops after Kharif 

season under rainfed conditions. 

Mean data of yield, soybean equivalent yield (SEY), total net returns and B: C ratio of 

different crop sequences 

Crop 

sequence 

Yield 

(kg/ha) 


cultivation 

(Rs./ha) 

SEY 

(kg/ha) 

Total return of 

sequence (Rs./ha) 

Seed Straw Gross Net 

Soybean - 986 1403 20000 - - - 

Total 

B: C 

ratio 

Chickpea 2250 3375 16000 3504 140142 104142 3.89 

Chickpea 

(Kabuli) 

1313 3688 16000 2449 97955 61955 2.72 

Safflower 688 2125 16000 1832 73267 37267 2.04 

Maize - 695 2222 20000 - - - - 

Chickpea 2188 3438 16000 2817 112698 76698 3.13 

Chickpea 

(Kabuli) 

1063 3125 16000 1552 62073 26073 1.72 

Safflower 625 1750 16000 1138 45510 9510 1.26 

Black gram 

- 

417 833 20000 - - - - 

Chickpea 2063 2938 16000 2945 117815 81815 3.27 

Chickpea 

(Kabuli) 

1063 2875 16000 1820 72815 36815 2.02 

Safflower 750 2375 16000 1563 62502 26502 1.74 

S Em (±) - - - 427 - - - 

C D at 5 % - - - 1237 - - - 


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T6-P48-1623 

Technology Need Assessment of Cool Season Vegetable Growers in Kerala 

Alaka S. Balan * , N.E. Safiya, V.P. Indhulekha, Deepa Surendran, M.R. Ashitha and 

C.V. Deepa Rani 

KVK Wayanad, 

*alakaextn@gmail.com 

Cool season vegetable cultivation is gaining popularity in the recent years in Kerala due to the 

advent of tropical varieties. The current level of production of cool season vegetables is low 

despite immense potential for boosting its production. The productivity is low due to the reason 

that the farmers have not fully adopted the improved package of practices of the cool season 

vegetable production technology and it is mainly grown by using traditional farming practices 

just like other vegetables. There is a need for the full adoption of recommended cultivation 

practices of cool season vegetable crops by the farmers, so that the production and income level 

can be raised. Therefore, it is necessary to know various aspects like adoption level, technology 

need, and constraints responsible for non-adoption of recommended cultivation practices of 

cool season vegetable crops by the farmers. Evolving new technology is an endeavour in the 

direction of increasing production efficiency. The rapid technology progress and the increased 

rate of outdated technologies necessitate technology forecasting for any planning progress 

specially to understand technology needs of cool season vegetable growers. Even non-farmers 

are getting attracted to growing these vegetables in homesteads and government is taking 

initiatives to encourage, promote and support such actions. When compared to other 

vegetables, cool season vegetables generate higher returns in shorter duration as the pest and 

disease are not so prevalent in the newly cultivated areas. Different institutions have developed 

technologies and disseminated the same for various crops. However, farmers have adopted the 

same in a differential manner owing to multifaceted factors. 

The present study entitled “Technology need assessment of cool season vegetable growers” 

was conducted in Thavinhal Grama panchayath of Wayanad district. The study aims to identify 

the technology needs of farmers, technology adoption for cool season vegetables and the 

constraints faced during cultivation of cool season vegetables. 

Methodology 

The sample size consisted of 90 cool season vegetable growers and 30 extension professionals. 

Thus, a total of 120 respondents were selected using simple random sampling technique. An 

ex-post facto research design was used for the study. A well-structured interview schedule was 

employed for data collection from the respondents. Component wise distribution of growers 

based on extent of knowledge of cool season vegetable technology in the order of increasing 

nature was seedling treatment followed by fertilizer management, post-harvest technology, 




sowing technique, plant protection measures, irrigation management and pre-sowing 

technique. Technology adoption of selected cool season vegetable practices of KAU by farmers 

in Idukki and Wayanad district was assessed using the formula developed by Singh and Singh 

(1967). The variables were studied and analyzed with the help of different statistical tools like 

mean, correlation, frequency percentage analysis, Kruskal Wallis test. 

Results 

On analyzing the data, adoption of components such as pre-sowing technique, fertilizer 

management and post-harvest technology were found to be higher in Wayanad district. This 

agrees with the findings of Malla (2018) and Kant (2019). 

The results of the adoption quotient revealed that majority of the farmers i.e., 48.89 per cent 

belonged to medium category of adoption, followed by 42.22 per cent and 8.89 per cent in low 

and high category respectively. The mean adoption quotient (AQ) was 218.53 with a maximum 

and minimum adoption quotient of 323 and 123 respectively. 

Generalizing the results, it was interesting to note that the highest need for technology (or the 

low technology availability) was reported for processing, storage and value addition for cool 

season vegetables unlike the perceived traditional requirements. Tones of produce are wasted 

at the field level itself due to lower market price, climatic variations, and perishability and 

perhaps due to lack of storage facilities. This is in line with the findings of Thomas (2015) and 

Basheer (2016). 

The major constraints faced by cool season vegetable growers were lack of flower 

setting/incomplete flower setting/discoloring/undesired shape of flower due to varying climatic 

conditions, followed by lack of knowledge of disease resistant varieties and lack of knowledge 

about post-harvest technologies. 

Conclusion 

From the above findings the following conclusions can be drawn in general that majority of the 

cool season vegetable growers had medium level of adoption of cool season vegetable 

cultivation technology. Technology needs for post-harvest handling as well as value addition 

is demanded by the growers. From the results obtained it can be observed that there is 

considerable room for improvement in production and marketing and for scaling up the 

production through suitable extension interventions. Tailor made strategies tare to be lined up 

inorder to enhance the adoption of cool season vegetable growers towards taking up agriculture 

as a profitable farming enterprise. 


902 | Page



References 

Basheer, N. 2016. Technology Utilization of Bitter gourd in Thiruvananthapuram district. 

M.Sc. (Ag) thesis, Kerala Agricultural University, 272p. 

Kant, U. 2019. Technology gap in adoption of cauliflower and cabbage production technology 

in Patna district. M.Sc. (Ag) thesis, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, 

104p. 

Malla, A.K. 2018. A study on the extent of adoption on the vegetable production technology 

of KVK trained vegetable growers. Int. J. Educ. Sci. Res. 8(5): 1-6. 

Singh, K., M.P. and Singh, R. 1967. Ginger cultivation in Himachal Pradesh. Indian FMG 

30(11): 25-26. 

Thomas, A. and Kumar, N. K. 2015. Technology Need Assesment in the Homegarden Systems. 

J. Ext. Educ. 27(4): 5556-5563. 

T6-49 P 

Realizing Better Yield and returns of Chickpea crop through Cluster 

Frontline Demonstrations 

Ramesh Kumar, P.P. Rohilla, Narender Singh, Ashish Shivran, Poonam and 

Ashok Dhillon 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mahendergarh 

CCS Haryana Agricultural University Hisar 

ICAR- Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI), Jodhpur 

Chickpea is main rabi season crop grown in Mahendergarh district of Haryana state. The crop 

is cultivated in 8.2 thousand ha in the district. Productivity of the crop (1249 kg/ ha) is though 

better than state and national level yet it is very low than average yield (2500 kg/ ha) of 

improved varieties recommended by various institutes. Gap between farmers’ practices and 

improved practices is one of the main reasons of low productivity. Therefore, to minimize this 

gap to increase productivity of chickpea crop at farmers’ fields. Demonstrations of improved 

technologies with integrated crop management approach at farmers’ fields through cluster 

frontline demonstrations is one of the ways to increase the productivity of the crop. 

Methodology 

Cluster frontline demonstration on chickpea crop were conducted during 2017-2022 at farmers’ 

fields in Mahendergarh district of Haryana state under National Food Security Mission 

(NFSM) programme. Important and necessary process – selection of villages and farmers, 

identification of farming situation, analysis of soil samples, assessment of gaps between 




farmers’ practices and improved practices, identification of technologies to be demonstrated, 

rationalization of critical inputs, training programmes, regular monitoring visits, organizing 

field days, reporting of successful cases etc. was carried in an effective manner. Emphasis was 

laid to demonstrate those technologies for which maximum gap was observed. The 

technologies which were demonstrated included improved varieties (GNG-1581/1958, CSJ- 

515), optimum seed rate, seed treatment with chlorpyriphos, carbendazim and inoculation with 

rhizotika and PSB, use of fertilizers in balanced doses, proper weed management practices, 

management of pod borer etc. The critical inputs used by the centre were – quality seed of 

improved varieties suitable for specific farming situation, chlorpyriphos and carbendazim, 

biofertilizers (rhizotika and PSB), insecticide novaluron. NPK fertilizers and other inputs were 

used by the partner farmers. Financial support for purchase of critical inputs were provided by 

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - Agricultural Technology Application 

Research Institute (ATARI). Observation on yield and other parameters were recorded and 

compared with farmers’ practice. Economics of demonstration plots and local check plots 

(farmers’ practice) was calculated to compare the relative performance. 

Results 

Adoption of improved practices in demonstration plots provided better yield and returns than 

those obtained under farmers practices. Average yield of five years in demonstration plots was 

19.17 q/ha which was 19.5 percent higher than Average yield of local check plots (16.04 q/ha). 

Better yield thus obtained in demonstration plots resulted into better net returns. Average 

additional net returns of ₹12445/ha were obtained in demonstration plots with av. additional 

cost of cultivation of ₹2320/ha resulting into higher benefit cost ratio. 

Conclusion 

Better yield and returns in demonstration plots indicate that there is possibility of minimizing 

extension gap by conducting cluster frontline demonstrations at farmers’ fields with integrated 

management approach. 

T6-50P-1146 

Achieving Fodder Self-sufficiency using Natural Farming Methods and Community 

Action in a Rainfed Region: The Case of Ayyavaripalli Village, India 

U. Sudhakar, M. Ramesh Kumar, V. Swaran and Bindu Mohanty 

Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN), Hyderabad - 500068, Telangana 

Livestock and animal husbandry are integral parts of rainfed agriculture in India as they have 

multiple roles like source of income, draught power and in times of distress a source of 

liquidity. About 70 to 90 percent of the ruminant livestock in India is estimated to be in the 

rainfed mixed farms (NRAA 2022) Scarcity of feed and fodder is identified as a major 


904 | Page



impediment in the way of sustainable livestock development in the rainfed areas (Misra et.al 

2010). Deficiency of green fodder and dry fodder have been a recurring problem that the 

Working Group on Animal Husbandry and Dairying for the 10 th Five Year Plan has projected 

a deficiency 64% and 25% of each fodder respectively in the year 2025 (Planning Commission 

2002). Mitigating scarcity of dry fodder and managing availability of green fodder round the 

year to keep the livestock healthy and productive are serious challenges faced by the livestock 

keepers as majority of them are marginal and small landholders. This case study from the 

Ayyavaripalli village in the Valmikipuram/Vayalapadu Mandal of Annamayya district (part of 

the erstwhile Chittoor district till March 2022) of Andhra Pradesh shows how the precarity of 

livestock rearing under rainfed conditions can be reduced by sustainable solutions through 

fodder budgeting exercise with concerted participation of the community. 

Methodology 

An incremental, multi-year, multi-pronged, multi-species fodder development intervention was 

implemented in the Ayyavaripalli village and later in its nearby villages since 2018, when the 

annual rainfall in the village went down to 292 mm with a 54% deficit. The village of 129 

families with all families having milch animals, totalling 735 in 2018, has a local economy 

centred around dairying. The drought year of 2018 resulted in fodder scarcity that was 

accentuated by a shift from multi-cropping system to groundnut monocrop, which had reduced 

yield that year, as well as meagre economic returns from millets and pulses cultivation. 

Ayyavaripalli faced a deficit of around 269 tons in 2018 after accounting 370 tons of fodder 

from existing crops and 150 tons from other sources like commons and fallows. The deficit 

was met by procuring fodder from elsewhere at a cost of INR 2.9 million. 

Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN), have prior experience of 

implementing activities under the Andhra Pradesh Community managed Natural Farming 

(APCNF) in the region consulted with the villagers and formulated various interventions to 

address the fodder gap beginning from the Rabi season of 2018. Following practices were 

implemented for fodder cultivation; 1) Promotion of fodder development in irrigated and 

fallow lands of individuals; 2) Promotion of fodder development through seed dibbling in 

common land; 3) Promotion of fodder development in leased fallow lands; 4) Promotion of 

millets and pulses cultivation for "Dhaana" (feed mix) preparation; and 5) Promotion of fodder 

plants on field bunds. Seeds of sorghum, pearl millet, field beans, horse gram and Cowpea were 

given to farmers for fodder crop combination. 

Results 

Out of the five interventions, three could provide desired results in terms of fodder production. 

Cultivation of fodder in individual cultivating lands, fallows and lands taken on lease gave 

encouraging results. About 318 tons of fodder was produced in Ayyavaripalli during Kharif 




2021. Improved availability of fodder has led to an increase in the number of cows and sheep 

in the village from 256 to 430 and about 600 to about 1000 respectively between 2018 and 

2021. The dairy economy of the village also benefited from an increased collection from 175- 

200 litres/day to nearly 1000 litres/day during the same time. Consequently, the milk collection 

centres have increased from 1 to 5. Besides Ayyavaripalli, four more clusters totalling 32 

villages were part of the programme and altogether 595 farmers cultivated fodder in 622 acres 

of land. Importantly 195 farmers have taken up the activity on their own without the programme 

support. The fodder development activities were primarily intended to benefit the landless 

families with livestock. Formation of Common Interest Groups by these families has helped in 

sharing the costs to take land under lease. 

Conclusion 

Mediation among community members to share resources – land, labour and material like 

dung, making the crisis and options visible through ‘Fodder Budgeting’, facilitating negotiated 

solutions, intensive support for people during initial fodder experiments to see the results on 

ground and natural farming methods with low input costs and high returns can help 

communities to move from deficits to surplus. These are the lessons emerging from the 

Ayyavaripalli experience and the later spread of the model into several other villages. 

The case study demonstrated a strategic mainstream option for enabling increased access to 

fallow lands in the villages to livestock farmers under negotiated agreements. Access to 

irrigation in such lands could further improve the productivity. The natural farming methods 

of production – using Ghana/Drava Jeevamrutam, pre-monsoon dry sowing with mulch, 

livestock penning, using multi-species crop mix – with a mix of cereals, millets, pulses for 

balanced nutrition aided by access to life saving irrigation can be included in the package of 

practices. Investments in such initiatives have high cost-benefit ratios of around 1:4; and much 

higher social cost-benefit ratios especially in drought prone rainfed areas. 

References 

Misra, A.K, Rama Rao, C.A, and Ravishankar, K., 2010. Analysis of potentials and problems 

of dairy production in rainfed agro-ecosystem of India. Ind. J. Animal Sci. 80, (11):1126. 

NRAA (National Rainfed Area Authority). 2022. Accelerating the Growth of Rainfed 

Agriculture - Integrated Farmers Livelihood Approach. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ 

Welfare. p.6 

Planning Commission. 2002. Report of the Working Group on Animal Husbandry and Dairying 

for the Tenth Five Year Plan. Planning Commission, Government of India. Available at: 

https://niti.gov.in/planningcommission.gov.in/docs/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp/wg_anhbndry. 

pdf [Accessed on 15 September 2022] 


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T6-51P-1277 

Enhancement of Yield and Economic Indices by the Adoption of Cotton+ Redgram 

Intercropping System under Rainfed Conditions of Mancherial District, Telangana 

State 

I. Thirupathi, M. Rajshwar Naik, K. Shivakrishna, A. Nagaraju, U. Sravanthi, and 

B. Sathish Kumar 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bellampalli, Mancherial (Dist.) – 504 251 

Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Telangana State 

Cotton is an important fibre and commercial crop in India as well as in the Telangana state. 

The crop is grown on diverse soils, varying from fine-textured black soils to coarse-textured 

red soils. About two-thirds of the cotton area in the Mancherial district is under rainfed 

conditions and faces different abiotic stresses during the crop growth period resulting in lesser 

yields and an increase in input costs, ultimately reducing the cost-benefit ratio. Under such 

circumstances, intercropping cotton with other crops provides an additional return, improves 

soil quality (if legume is included as intercrop), reduces climatic risks and chance of crop 

failure, enhances biodiversity, and ensures a greater use of resources (Maitra and Ray, 2019). 

As a widely spaced crop, cotton provides ample scope for the adoption of the intercropping 

system. Pigeonpea is suitable for inter-cropping with different crops like cotton, sorghum, pearl 

millet, green gram, blackgram, maize, soybean, and groundnut for increasing production and 

maintaining soil fertility. Pigeonpea has more advantages when it is grown under the 

intercropped situation. Keeping in view, redgram inter-cropped with cotton is evolved as an 

alternative sustainable cropping system to sole cotton in rainfed conditions to improve the 

yields and income of the farmers in the Mancherial district of Telangana state. 

Methodology 

Demonstration on Cotton +Redgram intercropping system under rainfed conditions was 

conducted as Front-line Demonstration by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bellampalli, Mancherial 

district in different locations of Mancherial district during the year 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021- 

22. An area of 0.4 ha per location was chosen for study. Test varieties were selected WRG-65 

and WRG-97 for Redgram varieties and the quality seed were distributed to the selected 

farmers. Sole cotton cultivation with Bt hybrid (farmer’s practice) was compared as a control. 

Sowings of crops in both treatments were done during 1 st fortnight of July during the three 

years. Intercropping of Cotton and Redgram was sown in a 6:1 ratio at a spacing of 90 x 60 cm 

for the row to row and plant to plant for both cotton and redgram respectively. The crop was 

grown under rainfed conditions only. The data on Plant population, cotton, and redgram yields 

were collected by random crop cutting method. 




Results 

Average Yield, Equivalent Yield, and LER of cotton+ redgram intercropping system 

during 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 

Year Yield (kg/ha) Cotton 

equivalent 

ratio 

Cotton 

(Demo) 

+Redgram 

Sole Cotton 

(Check) 

Demo 

Check 

% 

increase 

in yield 

over 

check 

2019-20 1678 422 1791 2083 1791 14.0 1.34 

2020-21 1485 522 1696 2091 1696 18.8 1.30 

2021-22 1447 539 1583 1804 1583 12.2 1.26 

Mean 1537 494 1690 1993 1690 15.0 1.30 

Land 

equivalent 

ratio 

(LER) 

In the cropping system/intercropping system the yield of the system can be represented in 

equivalent yields of the main crop. The highest cotton equivalent yields recorded with cotton+ 

redgram intercropping system compared to sole cotton during the three years. The average 

cotton equivalent yield was 2083 kg/ha, 2091kg/ha, and 1804 kg/ha respectively during 2019- 

20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 and the mean cotton equivalent yield was 1993 kg/ha. The CEY is 

less during the year 2021-22 due to the high market price of cotton kapas compared to other 

years. The average increase in the yield of the demo were 14 %, 18.8 % and 12.2 % over the 

check (sole cotton) and the mean increase of the yield of the demo is 15 % over the check. 

Blaise et al., 2005 found that cotton +redgram intercropping was one of the effective crop 

combinations where mean cotton equivalent yield was recorded high over sole cotton. The 

average Land equivalent ratio (LER) is 1.34, 1.30, and 1.20 during 2019-20, 2020-21, and 

2021-22 respectively and the mean LER value is 1.30. The LER denotes the benefits of an 

intercropping system to utilize the resources as against their pure stands. In all the years the 

LER values are greater than one which means the cotton + redgram intercropping system is 

advantageous. Similar findings were noticed by Oda et al., (2007). 

Average Economic indices and per day net returns of demo and check during 2019-20, 

2020-21, and 2021-22 

Cost 

cultivation 

(Rs/ha) 


Gross returns 

(Rs/ha) 

Net returns 

(Rs/ha) 

B:C ratio 

Per day net 

returns 

(Rs/ha) 

Demo Check Demo Check Demo Check Demo Check Demo Check 

2019-20 50250 52325 109610 94034 59306 41709 2.17 1.19 329 232 

2020-21 49799 51848 100733 82256 50934 33408 2.02 1.69 283 186 

2021-22 51804 52614 140865 118725 89061 66111 2.72 2.26 495 367 

Mean 50618 52262 117069 98338 66434 47076 2.30 1.71 369 262 


908 | Page



The mean cost of cultivation is 50618 Rs/ha and 52262 Rs/ha for demo and check respectively. 

The mean gross returns are Rs.117069 and Rs. 98338 and net returns are Rs.66434 and Rs. 

47076 in the demo and check respectively. Similar findings were also reported by Oad et 

al.,2007 and reported that under rainfed conditions cotton + redgram intercropping system has 

shown positive combinations for better growth and yield contributing parameters and costbenefit 

ratio over the sole cotton crop. The mean benefit-cost ratio was 2.30: 1 and 1.71: 1 for 

the demo and check respectively. Krishnareddy et al., 2001 found that intercropping of cotton 

+ redgram was more beneficial than sole cropping of cotton in sense of monetary recoveries. 

The highest mean per day net returns were recorded as Rs 369/ha in the demo with the adoption 

of cotton+ redgram intercropping system over check Rs.262 /ha. Per day net returns value will 

depend on the net return and duration of the crops sown as intercrops and sole crops. 

References 

Blaise, D., Majumdar, G. and Tekale, K.U. 2005.On-farm evaluation of fertilizer application 

and conservation tillage on productivity of cotton+ pigeon pea strip intercropping on 

rainfed vertisols of central India. Soil Tillage Res., 84:108-117 

Krishna Reddy, S.V., Rao, M.U., Rao, R.S., Satyanarayana, S.V.V. and Krishna, S.K. 2001. 

Economic viability of various alternative crops in burley tobacco growing agency area 

of Andhra Pradesh. Tobacco Res., 27: 190-192 

Maitra, S. and Ray, D.P. 2019. Enrichment of biodiversity, influence in microbial population 

dynamics of soil and nutrient utilization in cereal-legume intercropping systems: A 

Review. Int J Biores Sci., 6(1): 11–19. 

Oad, F.C., Siddqui, M.H. and Buriro, U.A. 2007. Agronomic and economic interface between 

cotton Gossypium hirsutum L. and Pigeon Pea Cajanus cajan L. J. Agron. 6(1): 199-203 

T6-52P-1515 

Crop Diversification with Castor Crop for Maximizing Productivity and 

Profitability in Ananthapuramu District of Andhra Pradesh 

G. Sashikala 1 , B. Chandana 1 , B. K. Kishore Reddy 1 , V. Siva Jyothi 1 , M. Ravi Kishore 1 , 

K. Naveen Kumar 1 , Malleswari Sadhineni 1 , J. V. Prasad 2 and J. V. N. S. Prasad 3 

1 ANGRAU- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Reddipalli, Andhra Pradesh – 515 701 

2 

ICAR-ATARI, CRIDA campus, Hyderabad – 500 059 

3 

TDC-NICRA, ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad – 500 059 

Ananthapuramu is the southern-most district of the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh. 

Agriculture remains the most important economic activity of the district, it is characterized by 




high levels of instability and uncertainty. Being in the rain-shadow region of Andhra Pradesh, 

the district is drought-prone. Groundnut is the main crop with 7.5 lakh ha which is purely 

rainfed. During the recent years, the yields of groundnut crop has been reduced drastically or 

sometimes the crop fails due to severe drought. Hence, there is a need to introduce profitable 

and sustainable crops. Crop diversification can be practiced in dryland areas to reduce the risk 

factor of crop failures due to recurring droughts (Khanam et al. 2018). Castor can be grown as 

an alternative to groundnut. Being hardy crop, it can be grown under rainfed conditions and 

thrives well on a variety of soils and climatic conditions (Reddy and Suresh, 2008). It was 

therefore, felt worthwhile to adopt the castor as an alternate crop was carried out in the farmers’ 

fields under National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project. Crop 

diversification in a participatory mode was demonstrated in the NICRA TDC adopted villages 

Peravali, Chamaluru and Chakrayapeta villages. 

Methodology 

NICRA adopted villages Chamaluru, Peravali and Chakrayapeta falls under Narpala and 

Singanamala mandals of Ananthapuramu district respectively. The normal rainfall of the area 

566.2 mm. The total cultivated area of Chamaluru, Peravali and Chakrayapeta is 2162 ha, 714 

ha and 104 ha, respectively. The major soil types are red soils (90%) and light black soils 

(10%). The major rainfed crops cultivated during Kharif are groundnut, redgram and jowar. 

The actual crop seasonal rainfall was 200 mm in 2018, 398 mm in 2019, 748 mm in 2020 and 

647 mm in 2021. 

The treatment comprised of short duration castor hybrids (DCH-519 & ICH-66) and farmers 

practice is groundnut (K-6). The demonstration was conducted in 20.5 ha involving 34 farmers 

from the adopted villages. Crop yield (kg/ha) and economics were recorded. All the costs were 

determined considering the prevailing charges of agricultural operations and the market price 

of the involved inputs. During studies, gross returns were obtained by translating the harvest 

into monetary terms at the prevalent market rate. 

Results 

A comparison of yield performance between castor and farmer’s practice (groundnut) is 

depicted in Table 1. It was observed that, during 2021-22, castor resulted higher pod yield 

(1150 kg/ha) as compared to groundnut plot (670 kg/ha) with 71.6 per cent yield increase over 

the groundnut. Similar results were obtained in 2018 to 2021 with castor. The castor plots 

recorded higher mean pod yield (817 kg/ha) as compared to groundnut (485 kg/ha) with 66 per 

cent average increase in yield over the farmer’s practice. 

The economics of castor production under crop diversification was presented in Table 2. 

During the four-year period higher average gross return was recorded with demonstration plots 

(29266 Rs/ha) as compared to groundnut (27711 Rs/ha). During 2021-22, improved technology 


910 | Page



produced higher gross return (46000 Rs/ha) compared to farmer’s practice (46900 Rs/ha). 

Similar results were obtained during 2019-20 and 2020-21 where demonstration gave higher 

gross return in comparison to groundnut due to higher yield obtained. The benefit: cost ratio 

during 2021-22 was 1.95:1 in demonstrated plot as compared to farmers practice (1.50:1). 

Similarly, during 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 demonstration plots obtained higher B:C ratio 

i.e. 1.77:1, 1.67:1 and 1.53:1, respectively. Similarly, the average across years indicated that 

the demonstration plot gave higher (1.73:1) B:C ratio from farmer practices (1.12:1). The 

variability in benefit cost ratio throughout the three years can be attributed primarily to yield 

performance and cost of inputs in those specific years. However, favourable benefit-cost ratios 

showed the economic feasibility of the crop diversification and persuaded the farmers on the 

effectiveness of intervention. These results confirm with the results of Hegde et al. (2003) who 

reported the improved technology plots recorded higher mean productivity, gross returns, and 

B: C ratio than farmers practice plots indicating improved technology's technical and economic 

feasibility of castor. 

Conclusion 

The findings of the study revealed that crop diversification with castor was found efficient in 

productivity and profitability by recording significantly the highest yield with low pest and 

disease incidence. 

References 

Hegde, D.M., Prakash Tiwari, S. and Rai, M. 2003. Crop diversification in Indian Agriculture. 

Agricultural situation in India. 255-272. 

Khanam, R., Badhuri, D and Nayak, A.K. 2018. Crop diversification: A way out for doubling 

farmer’s income. Indian Farming. 68(01): 31-32. 

Reddy, B.N. and Suresh, G. 2008 Crop diversification with oilseeds for higher profitability. 

Souvenir. National Symposium on News Paradigms in Agronomic Research. Navsari 

Agricultural University, Navsari, November,19-21,2008. pp.33-37. 

Year 

Yield parameters of castor and groundnut under rainfed conditions 

Area 

(ha) 


farmers 

Variety 

Pod yield (kg/ha) % Increase 

over 

Castor Groundnut Groundnut 

2018-19 2.5 4 DCH-519 419 277 51.3 

2019-20 5 5 DCH-519 875 512 70.9 

2020-21 5 5 DCH-519 824 482 70.9 

2021-22 8 20 ICH-66 1150 670 71.6 

Total/Mean 20.5 34 817 485 66.2 




Economics of crop diversification with castor under rainfed conditions 

Year 

Gross 

(Rs/ha) 

Returns 

Cost of cultivation 

(Rs/ha) 

Net Returns 

(Rs/ha) 

B:C ratio 

2018- 

19 

2019- 

20 

2020- 

21 

Castor Groundnut Castor Groundnut Castor Groundnut Castor Groundnut 

11750 16847 20800 26875 9050 -10388 1.77 0.61 

30625 24550 18350 28410 12275 3860 1.67 1.16 

28690 22550 18750 27510 

9940 5260 1.53 1.21 

2021- 

22 

46000 46900 23540 31250 

22460 15650 1.95 1.50 

Mean 29266 27711 20360 28511 13431 3595 1.73 1.12 

Institutional Interventions for Climatic Risk Management 


T6-53P-1668 

K. Nagasree, J. V. N. S. Prasad, C. A. Rama Rao, Jagriti Rohit, Anshida Beevi, 

K. Ravi Shankar, B. M. K. Raju and M. Prabhakar 

Central Research Institute for Dryland agriculture. 

Farming communities in semiarid areas of India are more vulnerable to impacts of weather 

aberrations and scarcity of resources. It is well evident that Climate change disproportionately 

affects the people occupying the lowest economic strata of the society having least capacity to 

respond and adapt to such rapid environmental change but are historically the least responsible 

for its causes. Untimely and uncertain extreme weather events create adverse impacts affecting 

crop yield parameters, losses to village level resources and infrastructure particularly rural 

communities in climatically vulnerable areas. The capacity of farmers to cope with such 

different forms of risk will become ever more crucial, and extension efforts must pay special 

attention to educating farmers about their options to enhance resilience and response capacity 

(IPCC, 2007). 

Accurate climate information on climate resilient technologies and the ability to interpret it 

allow farmers to plan and make better decisions on how to adapt to climate change. Livelihood 

support includes strengthening community organization, natural resource management, income 

generation, access to markets and living conditions, combined with building capacity to 

analyze hazards and stresses and improved early warning and contingency planning. This is 

further adapted for climate change by improving people’s ability to deal with uncertainty by 

promoting knowledge, access to information and support for learning and experimentation 

912 | Page



(Pasteur, 2009). Literature highlights that the success of these adaptation efforts generally 

hinges upon the nature of existing formal and informal rural institutions. Mubaya et al, 2017 

reported that significant efforts have been made to understand impacts and how communities 

adapt to climate change impacts, yet there is an urgent need to interrogate the capacity of 

institutions and institutional arrangements in local level adaptation processes. Hence improving 

climate resilience among rural households in various agricultural systems requires the 

collective action at grassroots level as a localized solution to tackle vagaries of climate 

extremes. 

It is in this backdrop; suitable strategies are deployed for adaptation and resilience to climate 

change at grassroots level and to enhance coping ability of farming communities under the 

technology demonstration component of NICRA project implemented by ICAR-CRIDA. 

Social interventions like creation of VCRMC, Village Climatic risk Management committee at 

the NICRA villages of KVK are envisaged to have inclusive approach for facilitating 

community participation, capacity improvement to take up climate adaptation plans. 

Objectives 

 

 

 

Accordingly, the study to analyze the Institutional processes has taken up with the 

following objectives. 

To analyze the VCRMCS structure and composition across the NICRA- technology 

demonstration component villages 

To delineate the functional processes of VCRMCs operation across ATARIs. 

Results 

VCRMC is intended to promote community’s partnership accountability and responsibility for 

the climate resilient technologies showcased at the field level. It would lead to the enhanced 

flexibility, transparency and enabling mechanisms for dissemination of the climate resilient 

technologies among rural communities. Khan et al, 2020 stated that CBOs play important role 

in reducing the negative impacts of climate change by enhancing the adoption of adaptation 

strategies. It is also evident from the study the need of further strengthening and 

institutionalizing the informal farmers’ groups and institutions for the successful adaptation. 




Details of ATARI zone wise KVKs and VCRMC members (Till 2020.) 

S.No. ZONE ATARI No. of KVKs No. of villages VCRMC Members 

1 ZONE I LUDHIANA 13 62 1318 

2 ZONE II JODHPUR 7 24 1264 

3 ZONE III KANPUR 13 35 1224 

4 ZONE IV PATNA 13 51 1487 

5 ZONE V KOLKATA 9 31 1134 

6 ZONE VI GUWAHATI 9 27 870 

7 ZONE VII BARAPANI 14 41 1216 

8 ZONE VIII PUNE 13 43 3080 

9 ZONE IX JABALPUR 12 29 1939 

10 ZONE X HYDERABAD 11 38 973 

11 ZONE XI BENGALURU 7 16 794 

121 397 15299 

The experiences of VCRMC functioning reveals the potential of grassroot partnerships and 

linkages in leveraging the adaptive capacity and overall community resilience. Brown et al 

2015 mentioned the linkage of households with local informal institutions fosters social 

learning, which builds adaptive capacity. The linkage of these institutions with other formal 

local and external institutions facilitates exchange of knowledge and resources that can foster 

resilience. The institutional setup in NICRA villages is unique in the way that they are custom 

tailored to the needs and priorities of rural stakeholders addressing location specific problems 

in various agro eco regions of the country. 

Conclusion 

The study results reveal that the presence of exclusively functioning institutions like VCRMC 

with an aim of climate resilience, equip rural communities to respond better for unexpected 

climate shocks and induced climate awareness with access to timely climate advisory services. 

References 

Agrawal, A., Sweeney., C.M.C. and Perrin, N. 2008. Local Institutions and Climate Change 

Adaptation. The social dimensions of climate change. Social development notes. 

Community driven development. 

Brown., H. C. P and. Sonwa, D. J. 2015. Rural local institutions and climate change adaptation 

in forest communities in Cameroon. Ecology and Society, 20(2):6 

Jonatan A. Lassa, 2019. Negotiating Institutional Pathways for Sustaining Climate Change 

Resilience and Risk Governance in Indonesia. Climate 2019, 7, 95. 


914 | Page



Climate Change. 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third 

Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Houghton, J.T., 

et al. (eds)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, 

NY, USA, 881 pp. 

IPCC. 2007. Climate Change 2007. Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II & 

III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 

Geneva 

Khan N.A., Gao, Q & Abid, M.2020. Public institutions’ capacities regarding climate change 

adaptation and risk management support in agriculture: the case of Punjab province, 

Pakistan. Scientific Reports. (2020) 10:14111. Mubaya, C.P and Mafongoya , P. 2017. 

The role of institutions in managing local level climate change adaptation in semiarid 

Zimbabwe. Climate risk management. 16(2017):93-105.

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