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Anand Agricultural University, Anand

Anand Agricultural University (AAU) was established in 2004 at Anand with the support of the Government of Gujarat, Act No.(Guj 5 of 2004) dated April 29, 2004. Caved out of the erstwhile Gujarat Agricultural University (GAU), the dream institution of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. K. M. Munshi, the AAU was set up to provide support to the farming community in three facets namely education, research and extension activities in Agriculture, Horticulture Engineering, product Processing and Home Science. At present there seven Colleges, seventeen Research Centers and six Extension Education Institute working in nine districts of Gujarat namely Ahmedabad, Anand, Dahod, Kheda, Panchmahal, Vadodara, Mahisagar, Botad and Chhotaudepur AAU's activities have expanded to span newer commodity sectors such as soil health card, bio-diesel, medicinal plants apart from the mandatory ones like rice, maize, tobacco, vegetable crops, fruit crops, forage crops, animal breeding, nutrition and dairy products etc. the core of AAU's operating philosophy however, continues to create the partnership between the rural people and committed academic as the basic for sustainable rural development. In pursuing its various programmes AAU's overall mission is to promote sustainable growth and economic independence in rural society. AAU aims to do this through education, research and extension education. Thus, AAU works towards the empowerment of the farmers.

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  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    RESPONSE OF CAULIFLOWER (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) TO WEATHER WITH VARYING IRRIGATION SCHEDULES AND TESTING OF VEGETABLE MODEL FOR MIDDLE GUJARAT AGROCLIMATIC ZONE
    (AAU, Anand, 2005) B., AJITHKUMAR; SAVANI, M. B.
    Cauliflower (Brassica oleraceae var. botrytis) is one of the most popular winter vegetable crops grown in India. The cultivation of the crop has been found to be highly remunerative under irrigated condition during rabi season and hence gaining popularity among the vegetable growing farmers of Gujarat state. The crop requires certain cardinal levels of various factors of environment like air and soil temperature, quality, intensity and duration of radiation, humidity of air and soil etc for its optimum physiological functioning. Since, the effects of weather on curd yield are complex, deeper and clear understanding of how the climatic factors affect the growth and yield of cauliflower. A field experiment during rabi seasons of the years 2002-03 and 2003-04 was therefore laid out in a split plot design with three replications. The three dates of planting were assigned as main plot treatments, three irrigation regimes as sub plot and two spacing as sub- sub plot treatments. The results obtained during the course of study revealed that the weather had played a significant role in deciding the yield of cauliflower. However, the weather variables had affected the crop growth and yield differently in different phenophases during its growing period. The results regarding the curd yield as well as the biomass of cauliflower as influenced by the different dates of planting showed that Di planted crop produced significantly higher curd yield as well as biomass. The favorable weather conditions in D1 planted crop influenced the entire physiology of the crop culminating into the higher yield. D3 planted crop which encountered unfavourable weather conditions like the high temperature and high solar radiation during the curd maturity phase resulted in leafy and small curds. Irrigation scheduled through IW / CPE = 1.O and spacing of 60 cm x 45 cm proved the best. The correlation and regression studies between the weather elements and the time taken for completion of the phenophases revealed that certain weather parameters significantly correlated with the time taken for completion of the corresponding phenophase. The number of days taken to juvenile phase was negatively and significantly correlated with the mean values of the T max, T min, Tmean, RH1, VP1, VP mean, BSS and EP. The maximum, minimum and mean temperatures were also negatively and significantly correlated with number of days during the curd induction phase and curd maturity phase. Regression models were developed for prediction of phenophases using different weather variables. The correlations were worked out between the days taken to attain a specific phenophase and agrometeorological indices encountered to complete the phenophase were found positive and significant. The regression model was developed for the prediction of the number of days required for completion of different phenophases on the basis of agrometeorological indices. GDD and PTU yielded the lowest coefficients of variation and as such they were considered as better heat unit indices for prediction of the cauliflower yield during the rabi season for the middles Gujarat agro climatic conditions. The results on germination studies revealed that the number of days taken to reach 80 per cent germination was lower in the first year than that in the second year. The mean air temperature ranged from 28.9 to 31.8°C and the soil temperature from 30.5°C to 32.0°C which had favoured the germination of the seeds. The LAI values revealed that the development of the leaf area remained slow during the early vegetative growth period (juvenile phase) upto 30-45 days after planting and thereafter, increased sharply with the advancement of the crop age during both the years in all the dates of planting. The heat use efficiency increased with advancement of the age of the crop. There was a gradual decrease in k value with the advancement of the crop to maturity. The rate of crop growth was low in the first 31-45 days after planting and thereafter increased with crop age.