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ThesisItem Open Access PERFORMANCE OF NEW BANANA (Musa spp.) CULTIVARS(2021) Gogoi, Sunny; Borthakur, P. K.The study on ‘Performance of new banana (Musa spp.) cultivars’ was conducted in the Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture in Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat during 2019-2020. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with five (5) treatments and four (4) replications. The treatments taken under the study comprised of five banana cultivars namely ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’, ‘Manjeri Nendran-II’, ‘Nendran’, ‘NRCB Selection-10’ and ‘Simalu Manohar’. Experimental results revealed that the morphological characters showed significant differences among the cultivars. In regards to pseudostem height at shooting stage, highest height was recorded in ‘Simalu Manohar’ (312.70 cm) while the lowest was recorded in ‘NRCB Selection-10’ (203.91 cm). The highest pseudostem girth at shooting stage was recorded in ‘Simalu Manohar’ (77.58 cm). In respect to phyllochron, the longest days for successive leaf emergence was recorded in ‘Simalu Manohar’ (11.41 days) and the shortest was recorded in ‘Manjeri Nendran- II’ (8.60 days). The highest leaf area (1.17 m2) was recorded in ‘Simalu Manohar’ whereas the lowest in ‘Nendran’ (1.05 m2). ‘NRCB Selection-10’ recorded the highest number of leaves per plant at shooting (12.70) and the highest number of functional leaves at shooting (10.47). However ‘Simalu Manohar’ recorded the highest number of total leaves (24.53) and ‘Manjeri Nendran-II’ recorded the lowest (21.08). For shooting the shortest time was taken by ‘Manjeri Nendran- II’ (263.41 days) while ‘Simalu Manohar’ took the longest time (314.37 days). The shortest shooting-harvesting duration was recorded in ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ (59.75 days) while the longest was recorded in ‘Simalu Manohar’ (150.18 days). The shortest crop duration (350.35 days) was recorded in ‘Manjeri Nendran-II’ while the longest was recorded in ‘Simalu Manohar’ (464.56 days). Significant variation was noted among the varieties with respect to yield and yield attributing characters. The highest bunch weight was recorded in ‘NRCB Selection-10’ (12.73 kg) followed by ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ (12.39 kg) while the lowest was recorded in ‘Nendran’ (7.03 kg). The highest fruit yield was found in ‘NRCB Selection-10’ (39.31 t/ha) followed by ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ (38.25 t/ha) while the lowest fruit yield was recorded in ‘Nendran’ (21.70 t/ha). The highest number of hands per bunch (8.09) and fingers per hand (13.62) was recorded in ‘NRCB Selection-10’. ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ recorded the highest weight of second hand (2.29 kg) and finger weight (324.70 g). ‘Manjeri Nendran-II’ recorded the longest fingers (21.78 cm) and the lowest (12.85 cm) by ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’. In regards to finger girth and finger diameter the highest value of 20.67 cm and 6.91 cm was recorded in ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’. ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ recorded the highest pulp weight (289.42 g) and pulp-peel ratio (8.22) whereas the highest peel weight was recorded by ‘Simalu Manohar’ (106.22 g). In regards to post harvest study and biochemical constituents significant variation was seen among the varieties. ‘Nendran’ recorded the highest value of TSS (28.92 0B) followed by ‘NRCB Selection-10’ (28.67 0B) while the lowest was recorded by ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ (19.00 0B). The highest titrable acidity (0.49 %) and shelf life (6.50 days) was recorded by ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ whereas the lowest titrable acidity (0.26 %) was recorded by ‘Nendran’ and the lowest shelf life (4.12 days) by ‘NRCB Selection-10’. The highest reducing sugar (16.07 %) and total sugar (19.22 %) was recorded in ‘Manjeri Nendran-II’. ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ recorded the highest value (4.81 %) of non-reducing sugar. The highest value of crude fibre content (2.28 %) was recorded in ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ and the lowest in ‘Nendran’ (1.09 %). Ascorbic acid was recorded highest in ‘Nendran’ (5.15 mg/100g FW) and the lowest in ‘Simalu Manohar’ (3.12 mg/100 g FW). Evaluation of comparative economics of cultivation revealed that the highest benefit cost ratio of 2.03 was obtained in ‘NRCB Selection-10’ followed by ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ (1.94) and the lowest benefit cost ratio of 0.67 was recorded in ‘Nendran’. Hence, among all the cultivars ‘NRCB Selection-10’ and ‘BRS Selection Popoulu’ were found to be the most profitable and suitable cultivars for cultivation.ThesisItem Open Access STANDARDIZATION OF PLANTING TIME, PLANTING METHODS AND PINCHING TECHNIQUES FOR SUMMER SEASON CUT FLOWER PRODUCTION OF Zinnia elegans IN ASSAM(2021) Baruah, Rubul; Hatibarua, Preetihe experiment entitled “Standardization of planting time, planting methods and pinching techniques for summer season cut flower production of Zinnia elegans in Assam” was undertaken in the Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat during the year 2020-2021 to find out the most suitable combination of planting time, method of planting and stage of pinching for Zinnia elegans cv. Dreamland Mix. The field experiment, laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications, comprised of three planting dates viz., mid of January, February and March, two planting methods viz., direct sowing of seeds in the main field and transplanting of seedlings, and two stages of pinching viz., single pinching at 3 pairs of leaves and double pinching, viz., 1st pinching at 3 pairs of leaves stage followed by 2nd pinching of lateral shoots at 15 days after 1st pinching. The results revealed that all the treatments had a significant influence on growth and flowering of Zinnia elegans. Taller plants (24.55 cm and 33.73 cm at 30 DAT and at full bloom stage, respectively) with longer flower stalks (10.15 cm) were obtained from February transplanted seedlings subjected to single pinching. The number of branches per plant (16.44), number of flowers per plant (21.22), main stem diameter (1.35 cm), flower stalk diameter (7.22 mm) and total flowering duration (29.22 days) were higher with double pinching in February transplanted seedlings. From the present study, it may be inferred that for summer season cut flower production, Zinnia seedlings should be transplanted in the month of February followed by pinching at 3 pair leaves stage and 15 days after 1st pinching. A laboratory experiment was conducted in Department of Horticulture, AAU, Jorhat, to study the effect of various pulsing treatments on the post harvest life of Zinnia elegans cv. „Dreamland Mix‟ cut flowers. The post-harvest experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design with 9 treatments replicated thrice. The pulsing treatments were distilled water, sucrose solution (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%), 2% sucrose + 200ppm 8-HQS, 4% sucrose + 200 ppm 8-HQS, 6% sucrose + 200 ppm 8-HQS, and 8% sucrose + 200ppm 8-HQS. Pulsing with 4% sucrose + 200 ppm 8-HQS registered the maximum vase solution uptake (6.65 g/flower stem), higher fresh weight (91.33%), delayed petal discoloration (9.32 days), higher relative water content (60.7%) and the lowest bacterial count (4.86 CFU/ml) which finally led to longest vase life (10.5 days) of zinnia cut flowers.ThesisItem Open Access STANDARDISATION OF STEM CUTTING TECHNIQUE OF DRAGON FRUIT (Hylocereus costaricensis Britton & Rose)(2021) Borchetia, Anurag; Neog ,ManoranjanAn experiment on “Standardisation of stem cutting technique of Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus costaricensis Britton & Rose)” was conducted in the Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat during 2020 and 2021 to standardise suitable size and time of cutting with optimum concentration of IBA in Dragon fruit. One year old dragon fruit segments (stem) were collected from the Farm of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jorhat. The experiment was laid out in a three factorial Completely Randomised Design with three replications. The treatments were: two time of cuttings – January (M1) and April(M2); three sizes of cuttings – 10 cm(L1), 15 cm(L2), 20 cm(L3); four IBA concentrations –100 ppm(I1), 250 ppm(I2), 500 pm(I3) and 0 ppm(I4). There were twenty-four treatment combinations in the trial. The cuttings were raised in polybags (20 cm x 22 cm). Observations on root and shoot growth, shoot quality parameters were recorded at 40 and 60 days after planting (DAP). Between the January and April month cuttings, the cuttings taken in the month of April gave better performance in terms of root and shoot growth parameters. April cuttings recorded minimum days required for root formation (18.09 days) and shoot initiation (33.44 days) with 98.13% survival. Among the three sizes of cuttings, the 20 cm cuttings exhibited superior root and shoot growth parameters. The 20 cm cuttings recorded early root formation (18.46 days), shoot initiation (29.58 days) and 99.17% survival. Cuttings treated with 250 ppm IBA professed better root and shoot growth parameters among the four IBA concentrations. The 250 ppm IBA treated cuttings recorded maximum root number (13.97 at 40 DAP; 15.97 at 60 DAP), shoot number (3.18 and 5.01 at 40 DAP and 60 DAP respectively), early shoot initiation (29.44 days) and highest survival percentage (99.17 %). The 500 ppm IBA treated cuttings recorded early root formation (15.06 days) and highest length of the longest root (14 cm at 40 DAP; 17 cm at 60 DAP) which was at par with 250 ppm IBA treated cuttings. Among the treatment combinations, T22 (April cuttings+ 20 cm size + 250 ppm IBA) took minimum days for root formation (days) and shoot initiation (days) recorded the highest root number (18.84 at 40 DAP ; 20.83 at 60 DAP), root length (18.83 cm at 40 DAP ; 20.83 cm at 60 DAP), root dry weight (0.50 g at 40 DAP ; 0.71 g at 60 DAP) and shoot numbers (4.4 and 5.73 at 40 DAP and 60 DAP respectively), length of primary shoots (21.37 cm at 40 DAP ; 22.7 cm at 60 DAP), shoot dry weight (11.93 and 13.43 g at 40 DAP and 60 DAP respectively), nitrogen percentage (2.71 and 2.75 % at 40 DAP and 60 DAP respectively), protein percentage (16.94 and 17.18 % at 40 DAP and 60 DAP respectively), chlorophyll content (0.45 and 0.51 mg/g at 40 DAP and 60 DAP respectively) and vascular cambium thickness (0.12 and 0.15 mm at 40 DAP and 60 DAP respectively) which was followed by T23 (April cuttings+ 20 cm size + 500 ppm IBA). Thus, it may be inferred that 20 cm cuttings of dragon fruit taken in the month of April treated with 250 ppm IBA appeared to be the best treatment combination which registered minimum days required for root formation and shoot initiation, highest root and shoot growth parameters, shoot nitrogen, protein, chlorophyll content and thickest vascular cambium layer with 100% survival.ThesisItem Open Access RESPONSE OF PHAIUS TANKERVILLEAE BL. AND SPATHOGLOTTIS PLICATA BL. TO VARIOUS NUTRIENT CONCENTRATION LEVELS(2021) SAIKIA, PRIYAKSHI; Talukdar, Madhumita ChoudhuryAn experiment was conducted in the Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat during 2019-2021, to study on “Response of Phaius tankervilleae Bl. and Spathoglottis plicata Bl. to various nutrient concentration levels.”. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with seven treatments replicated thrice. The treatments were T1 (RDF+Zn (500ppm), T2 (RDF+Zn (750ppm), T3 (RDF+Zn (1000ppm), T4 (RDF+Ca (250ppm), T5 (RDF+Ca (500ppm), T6 (RDF+Ca (750ppm), T7 (Control:RDF 19 All). The results revealed that all the growth characters were significantly influenced by mineral nutrients. Amongst the treatments, T5 (RDF+Ca (500ppm), was the best for increasing all the growth characters for both the species viz., plant height (56.27cm, 54.37cm), number of leaves (12.33,10.33), leaf length (53.07cm,62.1cm), leaf width (9.67cm,7.80cm), leaf area (469.23cm2, 440.70cm2), stem diameter (7.07cm, 5.97cm) and number of pseudobulbs (2.80, 2.57). Treatment T2 (RDF+Zn (750ppm) exhibited minimum days for inflorescence visibility (50.87,203.13), bud development (142.80,259.20), days to half bloom (146.30,264.03) and days to full bloom (148.77,267.13) as well as highest value for spike length (66.73cm, 104.67cm), floret diameter (9.67cm,5.37cm), stalk girth (3.67cm, 1.63 cm), number of florets per spike (12.93, 11), number of spikes per plant (2.50, 3.90), self life (17.80, 15.33), vase life (10.43, 9.20), fresh weight at harvest (61.67g, 10.80g) and fresh weight at senescence (22.80g, 5.47g). Regarding the physiological characters T2 (RDF+Zn (750ppm) was best for increasing total chlorophyll content (1.55mg g-1fw, 1.52mg g-1fw), stomatal number (37.13, 42.09) and stomatal size (5.80 μm2 and 5.73μm2). For soil characters for both the speciesno significant changes were observed in case of soil pH and the available N content, however the available P and K were found highest in T5 (RDF+Ca (500ppm). Evaluation from the economics of cultivation, it can be concluded that the highest benefit cost ratio of 6.74 for Phaius tankervilleae Bl. was obtained in T2 (RDF+Zn (750ppm) and for Spathoglottis plicata Bl. the highest benefit cost ratio of 5.51 was recorded in T2 (RDF+Zn (750ppm).ThesisItem Open Access Rapid Field Multiplication of Banana Using Different Treatments(2021) Baruah, Priyam Nandini; Hazarika, D.N.An experiment on “Rapid field multiplication of banana using different treatments” was conducted at Instructional cum Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, Biswanath College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Biswanath Chariali to study the effect of different treatments on sucker production of banana and to evaluate the suitable treatment to increase the sucker production. Two varieties of banana i.e., Malbhog (AAB) and Amritsagar (AAA) were selected for the experiment. Eight treatments were laid out in randomized block design with three replications under field condition. The treatments were T1 (Natural sucker production), T2 (Decortication of sucker), T3 (Natural sucker production + BAP @ 3 ppm), T4 (Natural sucker production + BAP @ 6 ppm), T5 (Decortication of sucker+ BAP @ 3 ppm), T6 (Decortication of sucker + BAP @ 6 ppm), T7 (Natural sucker production + N @ 220 g/plant) and T8 (Decortication of sucker + N @ 220 g/plant) The result of the experiment revealed that emergence of first sucker was significantly influenced by different treatments. The first sucker emerged within a shortest period of 25.48 days in T6 (decorticated rhizome treated with BAP @ 6 ppm) and was at par with T5 (26.64 days). The maximum time required for sucker emergence after planting was recorded in T7 (31.88 days) which had no significance difference with T8 (31.85). The plants treated with T6 recorded the significantly highest number of sucker (9.00) per plant at 150th day after planting followed by 8.42 in T5 and lowest number of sucker (4.92) per plant was recorded in T1 (natural sucker production) at 150th day after planting. The height of suckers was found to increase gradually from 60th day (98.14 cm) to 150th day (147.50 cm) due to highly significant effect of T8 (decorticated rhizomes applied with N) followed by T7 (natural sucker applied with N) at 60th day (92.0 cm) to 150th day (139.50 cm). The girth of suckers also varied significantly due to different treatments and the highest girth of sucker at 60th day after planting was recorded in T6 (22.26 cm) while the highest girth at 90th day (29.12 cm) and at 120th day (36.34 cm) were observed in T5. But the girth of plants treated with T2 became larger (41.00 cm) at 150th day after emergence. There was no significant effect of any treatment or interaction effect between varieties and treatment on phyllochron of suckers The number of leaves of first sucker at 90th day after emergence was recorded to be highest (5.75) in T1 (natural sucker production) followed by 5.68 in T8 (decorticated rhizomes treated with N), 5.61 in T4 and 5.34 in T3. The highest weight of sucker (2.71 kg) was recorded in T1 followed by 2.68 kg in T6 (decorticated rhizomes treated with BAP @ 6 ppm) at 90th day after planting. Considering the shortest time taken for first sucker emergence (25.48 days), highest number of suckers (9.00) per plant, weight of the sucker (2.68 kg/sucker) and benefit:cost ratio of 2.36 in T6 (decorticated sucker treated with BAP @ 6 ppm) was found to be the most suitable treatment to increase the production of sizeable suckers within 3-4 months.ThesisItem Open Access Performance of some local cultivars of Pumpkin of Karbi Anglong in North Bank Plain Zone of Assam(2021) Mudoi, Jnandeep; Gautam, B.P.The present investigation entitled “Performance of some local cultivars of Pumpkin of Karbi Anglong in North Bank Plain Zone of Assam” was carried out at the Instructional Cum Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, Biswanath College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Biswanath Chariali during 2019-20 with three objectives viz., i) To study morpho-physiological performances of different Pumpkin cultivars, ii) To study the yield and quality of different Pumpkin cultivars and iii) To document the incidence of pest and diseases. The experiment was laid out in RBD with three replications and seven treatments. The cultivars viz., T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 were collected from Karbi Anglong and T7 was collected locally from a farmer of Garahagi, Biswanath Chariali. Seeds were sown on prepared beds on 29 November, 2019. The cultivars were significantly different in respect of morpho-physiological, phenological, yield and quality parameters. Among the treatments, T3 produced the significantly highest vine length (447.62 cm and 532.77 cm at 90 and 120 DAS, respectively), number of primary branches per plant (7.86 and 8.86 at 90 and 120 DAS, respectively), number of functional leaf per plant (147.65 and 141.42 at 90 and 120 DAS, respectively), leaf area per plant (3.88 m2 and 3.71 m2 at 90 and 120 DAS, respectively), Specific leaf weight (22.87 mg/cm2 and 18.01 mg/cm2 at 90 and 120 DAS, respectively), total leaf chlorophyll content (2.18 and 1.53 mg g-1 fw at 90 and 120 DAS, respectively), chlorophyll stability index (71.95% and 69.56% at 90 and 120 DAS, respectively) and relative water content (83.99% and 74.14% at 90 and 120 DAS, respectively) while, they were lowest in T6. On the other hand the highest fresh weight of leaf (23.08g and 21.72 g at 90 and 120 DAS, respectively) and dry weight of leaf (6.48 g and 5.28 g at 90 and 120 DAS, respectively) were produced by T1 while they were lowest in T6. The longest duration to appear the first male flower (60.22 days) and female flower (72.07 days) were recorded in T7, while the shortest duration (53.31 days and 62.02 days for male flower and female flower, respectively) were recorded in T3. Similarly the highest male: female flower ratio (17.89) was recorded in T7, while the lowest was observed in T3 (11.37). In contrast, T4 took shortest duration (121.77 days) and T7 took the longest duration (133.88 days) to first harvest. Again the number of fruit per plant was highest in T3 (5.03) and lowest in T7 (2.25). Whereas individual fruit weight (3.06 kg), fruit diameter (19.81 cm), pulp thickness (4.87 cm) and number of seeds per fruit (563.12) were recorded highest in T7 while they were lowest in T6. The highest fruit yield per plant (7.99 kg) was recorded in T3 and the lowest in T6 (4.27 kg). The treatment T3 produced highest significant fruit yield (26.63 t/ha) and T6 produced the lowest (14.23 t/ha). The TSS (8.39 obrix) and ß-carotene content (6.05 mg/100g) were highest in T3 and lowest in T6 (5.16 obrix and 4.25 mg/100g for TSS and ß-carotene, respectively) while ascorbic acid content (5.18 mg/100g) was highest in T7 and lowest in T6 (3.48 mg/100g). No serious incidence of pest and diseases were observed during the period of investigation. The experiment, therefore revealed T3 as the best cultivar among all cultivars tested which could be well cultivated in North Bank Plane Zone of Assam.ThesisItem Open Access Performance of Palak (Beta vulgaris var. bengalensis Hort.) as influenced by organic inputs, microbial consortium and packaging materials(2021) Jamoh, Okenmang; Phookan, Deepa B.The experiment was carried out on Palak (Beta vulgaris var. bengalensis Hort.) during 2019-20 and 2020-21 at the Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat to assess the Performance of Palak (Beta vulgaris var. bengalensis Hort.) as influenced by organic inputs, microbial consortium and packaging material. The field experiment was conducted in Randomized Block Design with nine treatments and three replications. The treatments were T0 (Control), T1 (Rockphosphate + Microbial Consortium), T2 (T1 + Compost @ 2.5t ha-1), T3 (T1+ Compost @ 5t ha-1), T4 (T1 + Vermicompost @ 2t ha-1),T5 (T1+ Vermicompost @ 4t ha-1), T6 (Enriched compost @ 1.5t ha-1),T7 (Enriched compost @ 3t ha-1) and T8 (FYM @ 20t ha-1 + NPK @ 80:60:0 kg ha-1). After harvesting the palak plants were packed in two packaging materials i.e., S1 (Wet hessian cloth) and S2 (Wet muslin cloth) to improve the shelf-life. This experiment was laid out in Factorial Completely Randomized Design. Pooled analysis over two years revealed that the maximum plant height (35.90 cm), numbers of leaves per plant (21.43), leaf area (292.91cm2), whole plant weight (51.26g), yield (2.97kg m-2) was observed in T8. However, a similar trend was followed in T7 and the leaf blade petiole ratio was seen best in the same treatment. In the case of the quality parameters, the highest ascorbic acid (70.54mg 100-g), iron content (15.71mg 100-g), total carotenoid content (3.87mg 100-g), and total phenol (23.29mg 100-g) was obtained in T7. T8 recorded the maximum moisture content (89.76%), chlorophyll content (1.63mg g-1), crude fibre content (11.53%), oxalate content (575.31mg 100-g) and T5 obtained the highest ash content (7.86%). Soil physicochemical and biological characters showed significant differences among the treatments. The treatment,T7 recorded the best for all the soil parameters viz., soil pH (5.70), organic carbon (1.45%), available N (289.57kg ha-1), available P (64.50kg ha-1), available K (138.91kg ha-1), microbial biomass carbon (408.39μg g-1 soil 24hr-1), dehydrogenase activity (118.26μg TPF g-1 soil 24hr-1), phosphomonesterase activity (64.33μg p-nitrophenol g-1 soil 24hr-1), bacterial population (6.48log cfu g-1 soil) and fungal population (3.80log cfu g-1 soil). The result showed that post-harvest characters viz., physiological loss in weight, yellowing percentage and decaying percentage increase with the increase in storage period. The treatment, S1T7 (Wet hessian cloth + T7 (Enriched compost @ 3t ha-1) showed a minimum loss in physiological loss in weight (3.39%, 7.17%, 12.30%, and 15.14%) and yellowing percentage (3.60%, 5.49%, 8.54%, and 11.37%) during all the storage of 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th days. However, S2T7 (Wet muslin cloth + T7 (Enriched compost @ 3t ha-1) observed minimum decaying of 1.73% and 3.45% during the 6th day and 8th day of storage. The combined treatment S1T7 (Wet hessian cloth + T7 (Enriched compost @ 3t ha-1) shows the best from all the other treatments and lasted the longest in aspects of freshness. Thus, S1 can be considered better packaging material for enhancement of shelf-life and treatment T7 exhibited best with a longer shelf life of 8 days. The cost economics was observed to be superior in T8 with a 4.41 benefit-cost ratio followed by T7 (4.40). Hence considering, the positive effect on growth yield, quality, shelf-life, and soil health, T7 (Enriched compost @ 3t ha-1) is considered the best organic inputs to reap better quality, longer shelf life, better soil health, and higher economic return. Packaging material, S1 (Wet hessian cloth) appeared to be the better packaging material for shelf-life enhancement of palak leaves.ThesisItem Open Access INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT IN MANGO (Mangifera indica L.) CV. AMRAPALI(AAU, Jorhat, 2021) Mehta, Ritika; Gogoi, BornaliAn experiment entitled “Integrated nutrient management in mango (Mangifera indica) cv. Amrapali” was conducted during 2019-2021 at Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat-13 with the objective to determine the effect of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) on flowering, yield and biochemical constituents of mango and to determine the economics of cultivation. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with eight number of treatments which were replicated three times. The treatments are T0 : Absolute control, T1 : RDF (730 g N : 180 g P : 680 g K) + FYM plant-1, T2 : 75% RDF + FYM + Vermicompost (3 kg) + Azotobacter + PSB plant-1, T3: 50% RDF + FYM + Vermicompost (5 kg) + Azotobacter + PSB plant-1, T4: 75% RDF + FYM + Vermicompost (3 kg) +Azotobacter + PSB + Rock phosphate (100g) plant-1, T5: 50% RDF + FYM + Vermicompost (5 kg) + Azotobacter + PSB + Rock phosphate (200 g) plant-1, T6: 75% RDF + FYM + Enriched compost (3 kg) + Azotobacter + PSB plant-1, T7: 50% RDF + FYM + Enriched compost (5 kg) + Azotobacter + PSB plant-1. Azotobacter and PSB were applied 5 g each per kg of the compost and FYM was applied 20 kg per plant in every treatment from T1 to T7. Field data was taken for the two years i.e., 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 and the biochemical parameters were evaluated only during the year 2019-2020. During the first year of experiment, Days to 50% inflorescence emergence and Days to 50% flowering, were found to be non-significant. However, integrated application of nutrients had significant difference among each other during the second year of experiment. Pooled analysis over the two years revealed that the minimum days to 50% inflorescence emergence (133.58), minimum days to 50% flowering (143.24), maximum length of panicle (27.74 cm), number of rachis per branch (26.72), percentage of fruit set (33.34), fruit size (10.24 cm), yield per plant (14.60 kg) and pulp-peel ratio (6.31) were observed in T4. Percentage of fruit drop was also found to be lowest in treatment T4. Quality parameters like TSS (22.09º Brix), reducing sugar (4.94%), non-reducing sugar (12.15%) was found to be highest in T4. β carotene content was found to be maximum in treatment T2 which was statistically at par with treatment T4. Titratable acidity and crude fibre were found to be non-significant among the treatments. Results revealed that maximum available nitrogen (286.28 kg/ha), phosphorus (48.55 kg/ha), potassium (183.66 kg/ha) and organic carbon (0.99%) was found in treatment T4. pH among the treatments was observed to be non-significant. The net return and B:C ratio were found to be highest in treatment T4 followed by treatment T2. Thus, in a broader view, treatment T4 was better towards improving the flowering, yield and biochemical constituents of mango which is followed by treatment T2. Hence, considering the above points and based on results of experiment, treatment T4 [75% RDF + FYM (20 kg) + Vermicompost (3 kg) + Azotobacter (15 g) + PSB (15 g) + Rock phosphate (100 g) plant-1] is considered best for recommendation which is followed by treatment T2 [75% RDF + FYM (20 kg) + Vermicompost (3 kg) + Azotobacter (15 g) + PSB (15 g)] plant-1.ThesisItem Open Access Integrated nutrient management in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)(AAU, Jorhat, 2021) NATH, KANGKANA; Sarma, IraA field experiment was conducted at the Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat during the year 2019-20 and 2020-21 to study the effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of lettuce. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD) with eight treatments replicated thrice. The treatments were T1: Control, T2: 40:20:40 Kg NPK ha-1, T3: 40:20:40 Kg NPK ha-1+ FYM 2t ha-1, T4: 40:20:40 Kg NPK ha-1 +FYM 2t ha-1 + PSB, T5: FYM 3t ha-1+ PSB, T6: 40:20:40 Kg NPK ha-1 +VC 1t ha-1, T7: 40:20:40 Kg NPK ha-1 + VC 1t ha-1 +PSB and T8: VC 2t ha-1 + PSB. Observations of the growth parameters were taken at 30 days after planting (DAP), 45 days after planting (DAP) and at harvest. Analysis of variance during 2019-20, 2020-21 and across the years revealed significant mean square due to treatment for all the characters under study. The characters studied were plant height, leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf breadth, leaf canopy spread, leaf area, fresh weight, dry weight, days to marketable maturity, yield per plot and yield per hectare.The pooled analysis across 2019-20 and 2020-21 revealed that the treatment T7 recorded maximum plant height (14.25cm, 19.17cm and 26.92cm) and maximum leaves per plant (10.00, 17.17 and 29.17) at 30 DAP, 45 DAP and at harvest, respectively. The leaves per plant in the treatment T4 (9.88) at 30 DAP was statistically at par with treatment T7. Maximum leaf length (16.33cm, 22.67cm and 27.64cm) and leaf breadth (16.08cm, 22.17cm and 27.67cm) were exhibited by the treatment T7 at all the three growth stages. Leaf length in the treatments T4 (16.00cm) and T6 (15.48cm) were statistically at par with treatment T7 at 30 DAP. Maximum leaf canopy spread (12.6cm, 21.33cm and 29.75cm) and maximum leaf area (198.95cm², 347.29cm² and 543.33cm²) were observed in the treatment T7 at 30 DAP, 45 DAP and at harvest, respectively. Maximum fresh weight of leaves (206.33g) as well as dry weight of leaves per plant (13.85g) were exhibited by the treatment T7 whereas, minimum of these were recorded by the treatment T1. The highest yield (27.5 t/ha) was exhibited by the treatment T7. Minimum number of days to reach the marketable maturity was observed in the treatments T4 and T7 with values 53 days whereas maximum number of days (63 days) for the same character was observed in the treatment T1. The highest moisture content (96.28 %) was observed in the treatment T6. The integrated application of organic, inorganic and biofertilizers influenced the nutritional content of lettuce significantly. The ascorbic acid content (3.76mg/100g), calcium content (20.67mg/100g), non-reducing sugar content (3.98 %) and chlorophyll content (3.77mg/100g) were recorded maximum in treatment T7 whereas the maximum iron content (1.50 mg/100g) was observed in the treatment T5.The highest nitrogen (0.23%) and the crude protein content (1.44%) were observed in both the treatments T6 and T7. Maximum reducing sugar content was observed in T4. The highest net return (Rs. 192703.00) was obtained in the treatment T7 with benefit cost ratio 2.34. However, the highest benefit cost ratio was exhibited by the treatment T4 (2.58) with a net return of Rs. 189703.00 due to high cost of production in T7.
