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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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ThesisItem Open Access EFFECT OF ZINC ENRICHED ORGANICS ON YIELD AND NUTRIENT UPTAKE BY CROPS UNDER WHEATMAIZE (F) CROPPING SEQUENCE(AAU, Anand, 2003) RATHOD, DHARMSINH DIPSINH; Patel, K. P.The present investigation was undertaken to study the comparative efficiency of different Zn-enriched organics on crop yields and increase the fertilizer use efficiency in wheat-maize (F) cropping sequence. The enrichment of different organics was carried out with Zn by composting the locally available organics viz., farm yard manure (FYM), poultry manure (PM), sewage sludge (SS) and biogas slurry (BGS) for six to seven weeks as required to complete the enrichment process. Zinc was added at 2.5 and 5.0 kg ha-1 ttirough 500 kg of organics. The enriched organics were used for field experiment on the pre-identified Zn deficient site at Forage Research Project Farm, GAU, Anand. The treatments of Zn-enriched organics were evaluated as against straight Zn application @ 2.5 kg Zn ha-1 and 5.0 kg Zn ha-1 besides control on wheat var. Lok-1 (Triticum aestivum L.)- for direct effect and on fodder maize var. GM-3 (Zea mays L.) for residual effect. The application of Zn-enriched PM and BGS to wheat in rabi was found beneficial in increasing yields of both wheat as well as maize (fodder) in summer. The Zrvenriched PM and BGS improved average wheat grain yield by about 68 and 49 per cent respectively over control whereas same was higher by 33 and 18 per cent over straight Zn application respectively. It was noticed that the grain and straw yield improvement due to 2.5 kg and 5.0 kg Zn ha-1 enrichment rates with all the organics was comparable within each organic which indicated that the Zn application to wheat could be reduced to one half of the recommended dose of 5 kg Zn ha-1 if the Zn was to be supplemented through any of the organics after its enrichment with Zn. However, Zn enrichment at higher level i.e. 5.0 kg Zn ha-1 was found beneficial with FYM as it registered total dry matter yield of wheat significantly higher by about 13 per cent over 2.5 kg Zn ha-1 Although the straight Zn application increased wheat yield significantly over control, the increase in yield was found comparatively less to that of Zn-enriched organics at both the levels of Zn application. The maize dry matter yield increased significantly due to residual effect of Zn treatments over control. The overall maximum improvement in maize dry matter due to PM and BGS was higher by about 19 and 9 per cent over straight Zn application. The residual effect was found more beneficial under PM when enriched witii Zn at 5 kg ha-1 compared to residual effect due to straight Zn application at same level. Thus, it indicated that the application of Zn-enriched FYM and PM after enrichment at 5 kg Zn ha-1 to wheat was necessary to meet the total Zn requirement in a sequence of wheat-maize (fodder) in order to get significantly higher wheat yield as a direct effect of Zn application and on succeeding maize as residual effect, respectively. The Zn application at 2.5 kg ha-1 was found sufficient when applied after enrichment with BGS and SS for higher wheat and maize yields in the sequence. The Zn-enriched PM and BGS treatments more favorably altered the nutrient contents in grain and straw of wheat than other organics over straight Zn application. The increase in grain and straw yield ultimately caused more removal of major (NPK), secondary (S) and micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu) by wheat due to direct effect and by maize as residual effect due to Zn treatments. The uptake of nutrients was higher under PM and BGS than FYM and SS over straight Zn application. The results further revealed that Zn-enriched PM and BGS enhanced availability of most of the nutrients especially available N, H^O, S and DTPA-extractable micronutrients like Fe and Zn after wheat. Also, the Zn-enriched PM and BGS showed beneficial effect on availability of nutrients with regard to their increase/maintenance in soil after maize due to residual effect. The efficiency of the organics was observed as PM > BGS > SS > FYM for their use after Zn enrichment in wheat-maize (F) cropping sequence. Thus, the overall findings suggested the importance and practical utility of the Zn enrichment technique for organics in integrated nutrient management to maintain fertility and crop productivity of the Zn-deficient soil.ThesisItem Open Access EFFECT OF ZINC AND IRON ENRICHED FYM ON YIELD AND REMOVAL OF NUTRIENTS UNDER MUSTARD-SORGHUM (F) CROP SEQUENCE(AAU, Anand, 2003) MEENA, MAHESH CHAND; Patel, K. P.The present investigation was undertaken to study the comparative efficiency of Zn and Fe enriched FYM on crop yields and nutrients removal under mustard (var. GM-2) - sorghum(var. S-1049) crop sequence. The enrichment was carried out with two levels of Zn (2.5 and 5.0 kg) and Fe (5 and 10 kg) by composting the locally available farm yard manure (FYM) at 500 kg ha-1 for seven weeks as required to complete the enrichment process. The enriched FYM was used for field experiment on the pre-identified Zn and Fe deficient site at Forage Research Project Farm, GAU, Anand. The treatments of Zn and Fe enriched FYM were evaluated as against straight Zn and Fe application at corresponding rates through inorganic fertilizers in conjunction with FYM at 0, 5 and 10t ha-1 In order to evaluate the effect of S, an additional treatment was also kept to supply S at 20 kg ha-1. The average increase in the seed, straw and total yield due to FYM application was higher by 184, 356 and 539 kg ha-1 respectively over no FYM. The Zn and Fe enriched FYM improved average mustard seed yield by 20 per cent over control whereas it was higher by 11 per cent over straight Zn and Fe application. It was noticed that there was no significant difference in mustard yield due to level of Zn and Fe enrichment and FYM levels. The average yield increase in dry matter of sorghum by 11 per cent was observed due to residual effect of FYM over control The overall maximum improvement in sorghum dry matter due to Zn and Fe enriched FYM was higher by about 9 per cent over straight Zn and Fe application. The residual effect of FYM at10 t ha-1 and Zn and Fe enrichment at 2.5 and 5.0 kg ha-1 was found more beneficial to increase sorghum fodder yield. Further, the nutrients removal was found higher under Zn and Fe enriched FYM treatments. Further, mustard seed quality parameters viz. oil, protein and potential oil yield were found improved under treatments of Zn and Fe enrichment compared to straight application of Zn and Fe. In general, the effects under both the levels of enrichments on different parameters in mustard were more or less similar which indicated to lower down the Zn and Fe supplementation dose by one half of the recommended quantity of 5 and 10 kg ha-1 respectively. The application of S alone was also found beneficial; however, the response by the crops was increased when Zn and Fe application was made after their enrichment along with FYM at 10 t ha-1 The Zn and Fe enriched FYM application either maintained or improved the soil fertility status. The Zn and Fe enriched FYM enhanced availability of most of the nutrients especially available N, S and DTPA-extractable micronutrients like Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu after mustard. Thus, the overall findings suggested the importance and practical utility of the Zn and Fe enrichment technique for organics in integrated nutrient management to maintain fertility and crop productivity of the Zn and Fe deficient soil, besides reduction in use of inorganic fertilizers of the micronutrients.ThesisItem Open Access BEHAVIOUR OF CADMIUM IN SOIL AND ITS ABSORPTION BY PLANTS(AAU, Anand, 2001) Jha, Amrit Kumar; Dalwadi, Mahendra R.Cadmium is emerging as an important pollutant in the field of agriculture particularly in industrial state like Gujarat. The present research was undertaken to study (i) some important factors influencing the Cd availability in soil through an incubation study and (ii) uptake of Cd in a pot culture study. An incubation study consisted of five levels of Cd (0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 ppm) in presence of three levels each of P (0, 50 and 100 kg ha-1), FYM (0, 10 and 201 ha-1) and CaCOa (0, 5 and 10%) in three separate series for three incubation periods (30, 60 and 90 days). The pot culture experiment was conducted during Kharif, 1999 by growing chickpea upto flowering and wheat upto maturity stage in a clay and a loamy sand soils of Karvan and Anand with five levels of Cd (0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 ppm). The results of incubation study indicated that the availability of Cd increased with increasing levels of its application and the per cent fixation of applied Cd ranged between 25.2 and 14.3 with Cdo and Cd4 Ievels(20 ppm). The availability of Cd was found to decrease with application of increasing rates of P, FYM and CaCOa. Amongst these three, FYM @ 20 t ha-1 most effectively reduced Cd availability. The pot culture study indicated that a significant reduction in the dry weight of whole-plant and plant components of both the crops right from the lower level of Cd application (2.5 ppm). Wheat plant did not show any visual toxic symptoms, whereas chickpea plants showed visual symptoms for Cd toxicity at elevated Cd level. The content and uptake of Cd by plant components were significantly increased with Cd application. Amongst the different plant parts, the order followed for Cd content was: roots > stem > leaves > grain and for Cd uptake it was: stem> leaves > roots > grain. A restricted translocation of Cd from roots to above ground plant parts was noted. The N, Ca, Mg and S content did not differ significantly due to Cd addition but the antagonistic effect of Cd on P, K, Zn and Fe content in plant components was observed. Even after the crop harvest, about 22 to 27 per cent of the total applied Cd remained in available form, indicating possible residual effect also. Particularly, at Cd4 level, it crossed the critical level of 3.0 mg kg-1 suggested for Cd.ThesisItem Open Access PERSISTENCE OF PROFENOPHOS AND TRIAZOPHOS IN SANDY LOAM SOIL UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS AND THEIR DISSIPATION IN/ON BRINJAL AND TOMATO FRUITS UNDER SUPERVISED FIELD TRIALS(AAU, Anand, 2014) RANA, GAJENDRA KUMAR; Shah, P. G.Vegetables are important ingredient of our food having a high nutritional value. Brinjal and tomato are important solanaceous crops of India, cultivated throughout the country and constitute an important part of human diet. The vegetable yield in India is considerably low because of several factors, the most important being the damage caused by various insect pests like fruit and shoot borer, jassids, aphids, leafminer etc. In order to protect the crops from such pest damage, former predominantly rely on chemical pesticides. Use of organochlorine (OC) group of pesticides is banned in agriculture primarily due to their persistence in the environment. However, use of organophosphate group of pesticides is on rise mainly due to their easy availability and quick degradation in the ecosystem. Of these, profenophos and triazophos have been found quite effective for the management of these pests. Triazophos (O, O-diethyl-O-1-phenyl-1H-1, 2, 4-triazol-3-yl phosphorothioate) is a contact and stomach insecticide. The chemical primarily controls sucking and chewing insects in many crops. In spite of being non-systemic, triazophos can penetrate deeply in the plant tissues due to its translaminar properties and can effectively control leaf miner. Triazophos is broken down in the environment and does not bioaccumulate, unlike certain organochlorine insecticides. The insecticide is dangerous to bees and harmful to fish, livestock, birds and other animals. Profenophos [O-4-bromo-2-chlorophenyl O-ethyl S-propyl phosphorohioate) is an insecticide and acaricide belonging to organophosphate group. It is an insecticide used on a wide variety of crops to control pests mainly Lepidoptera and mites. It was developed for those insect strains which developed resistant to other organophosphorus pesticides. It is selectively more toxic to insects as compared to mammals. For better production and high value, farmers are using a large amount of insecticides during the entire period of cultivation, even at fruiting stage. Quite often farmers also ignore the recommended dose and suggested waiting period between the harvest and last spray. Thus, injudicious use of pesticides could pose serious risk to the consumers besides contaminating the fields. Monitoring studies carried out worldwide have reported the residues of pesticide in fruits and vegetables. Though there is no label claim for profenophos and triazophos on tomato and brinjal in India, monitoring of pesticides residues in fruits and vegetable has revealed presence of these insecticide in/on brinjal and tomato fruits. The dissipation of these insecticides varies with their physical and chemical, dosage applied, number of applications, interval between applications, crop variety, agro climatic conditions, etc. Hence, a study entitled " Persistence of profenophos and triazophos in sandy loam soil under laboratory conditions and their dissipation in/on brinjal and tomato fruits under supervised field trials" was proposed to know the dissipation and persistence of profenophos and triazophos under laboratory as well as field conditions with the following objectives. 1. To study the recovery of profenophos and triazophos in sandy loam soil 2. To study the persistence of profenophos and triazophos in sandy loam soil under laboratory conditions 3. To study the recovery of profenophos and triazophos in tomato and brinjal fruits 4. To study the dissipation of profenophos and triazophos in tomato and brinjal fruits under field conditions 5. To study the effect of washing and cooking in the reduction of profenophos and triazophos residues in brinjal and tomato fruits A field experiment was conducted during Rahi 2012-13 at Main Vegetable Research Station, AAU, Anand (Gujarat), to study the dissipation of profenophos and triazophos in both brinjal and tomato fruits. The experiment was carried out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications along with a control plot. In brinjal and tomato, two sprays of profenophos and triazophos insecticides were applied during fruiting stage @ 500 g a.i. ha-1 at an interval of 10 days. An untreated control was maintained for comparison. Immediately after the last application (i.e. one hour after spray) fruit samples were drawn for 0 day. The subsequent sampling was carried out 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 10th day after second application. A laboratory trial was also carried out to determine the persistence of profenophos and triazophos in sandy loam soils. A representative 20 g (dry weight equivalent) sample of sandy loam soil in 50 mL polypropylene tube was taken and adjusted to 20 % moisture content by addition of distilled water. Solutions of the insecticides (profenophos and triazophos) in acetone were applied drop wise to the surface of the soil in each tube to obtained concentration 10 mg a.i. kg-1 The samples were drawn at 0 (1hr after application), 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days after application. Residues of profenophos and triazophos were estimated by a validated GC-PFPD method.ThesisItem Open Access FATE OF CHLORPYRIPHOS AND ENDOSULFAN IN SOIL(AAU, Anand, 2003) Dodiya, Vijaykumar C.; Shah, P. G.Chlorpyriphos and endosulfan were applied @ 5.0 μg g-1 soil in a laboratory experiment to study their persistence in sandy and sandy loam soil with and without glucose treatment. Adsorption of these insecticides in the soils and their downward movement in the PVC columns filled with sandy and sandy loam soils were also carried out in the laboratory as well as microplot conditions to work out the risk of ground water pollution. Chlorpyriphos and endosulfan showed first-order dissipation in both sandy and sandy loam soils with and without glucose treatment. The halflife values for chlorpyriphos irrespective of glucose treatment in sandy and sandy loam soils ranged from 10.0 to 10.6 and 14.3 to 14.7 days, respectively. The half-life values for total-endosulfan, α - endosulfan and β - endosulfan in sandy soil without glucose treatment were 35.4, 13.9 and 28.9 days, respectively, the correspondmg values in glucose treated sandy soil were 31.7, 17.4 and 27.4 days. The half-life values for total-endosulfan, α - endosulfan and β - endosulfan in sandy loam soil without glucose treatment were 59.0, 20.6 and 41.8 days, respectively, the corresponding values in glucose treated sandy loam soil were 41.8, 19.4 and 35.4 days. Chlorpyriphos showed biphasic mode of dissipation in sandy soil with and without glucose treatment and in glucose treated sandy loam soil, whereas it was monophasic in case of sandy loam soil without glucose treatment. Total-endosulfan showed monophasic mode of dissipation, α - Endosulfan and β - endosulfan showed biphasic mode of dissipation in glucose treated sandy and sandy loam soils, whereas it was monophasic in case of sandy and sandy loam soils without glucose treatment. Endosulfan on degradation was converted to endosulfan sulphate, which is a persistent metabolite. Degradation of chlorpyriphos and endosulfan enhanced initially with glucose application and it was marginally higher in glucose treated soils as compared to soils without glucose treatment. Adsorption of chlorpyriphos, α - endosulfan and β - endosulfan was studied on sandy and sandy loam soils. Chlorpyriphos showed maximum adsorption on both the soils followed by β - endosulfan and α - endosulfan. Organic matter content of the soil was predominantly responsible for adsorption of the insecticides, which was evident by low KOC values of the insecticides for sandy loam soil. Soil column study carried out for one month period revealed little movement of chlorpyriphos beyond 6 cm depth in sandy loam soil in the laboratory experiment and no movement beyond 6 cm depth in sandy soil in laboratory as well as microplot conditions and in sandy loam soil in microplot condition, however quite low amount of endosulfan reached upto 30 cm soil depth in the laboratory and microplot study in sandy loam soil, while, there was little movement of endosulfan beyond 12 cm depth in sandy soil in laboratory as well as microplot conditions. None of the insecticides were detected in the leachates.ThesisItem Open Access PHYTOSTABILIZATION OF LEAD IN SOIL THROUGH FYM UNDER FODDER MAIZE(AAU, Anand, 2015) MALI, ROHITKUMAR HARESHBHAI; Patel, S. B.A pot experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2014-15 in the net house of the Micronutrient Research Project (I.C.A.R), Anand Agricultural University, Anand to carry out the study on "Phytostabilization of lead in soil through FYM under fodder maize". The pot experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design (factorial) with three replications. Total twenty treatments comprising of five levels of Pb (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg kg-1) and two levels of FYM (0 and 20 t ha-1) and two varieties (GM-3 and African tall) of fodder maize, were evaluated to study their effect on germination count, plant stand, plant height, green forage and dry matter yield as well as lead availability and nutrient content (P, S ,Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) and soil properties (EC, pH, OC, S, DTPA-Fe and Zn) at the time of harvest. The experimental results indicate that with increasing Pb levels, significant decrease in the plant height (cm) at 15, 30, 45 and 60 DAS, green forage yield (g pot-1) and dry matter yield (g pot-1) of whole plant of maize was noted. The yield reduction started at lower level of Pb (50 mg kg-i soil) and reduction was rfiaximum when 200 mg kg-1 Pb was applied to soil. Significantly the highest green forage yield (71.03 g pot-1) was recorded under Pbo x F1 treatment. Among all treatment combinations, PboF1 recorded maximum dry matter yield (15.97 g pot-1), whereas the minimum yield (6.24 g pot-1) was noted under Pb2ooFo treatment combination. With increasing rates of Pb application, Pb content in shoot and root of maize was found to increase at 30 DAS and 60 DAS, whereas P, S, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu were decreased in shoot and root of both the varieties at 60 DAS. The application of Pb from 0 to 200 mg kg-1 gave significantly higher Pb content in leaf at 30 DAS from 0.47 to 27.86 mg kg-1, 0.63 to 36.47 mg kg-1 in shoot and 0.86 to 83.11 mg kg-1 in roots. The application of Pb significantly increased EC and decreased pH value of soil. The Pb application increased DTPAPb of the soil with increasing rates of Pb. The OC, available S, DTPA- Fe and Zn were decreased with increasing rates of Pb to the soil. The highest value of Pb (46.16 mg kg-i) was found wherein Pb was applied at 200 mg kg-1. Addition of FYM @ 20 t ha-1 increased all nutrients contents in plant components except lead content. Yield parameters like plant height (cm) and plant stand at 15, 30, 45 and 60 DAS , green forage yield (g pot-1) and dry matter yield (g pot-1) of fodder maize were found to increase with the application of FYM @ 20 t ha-1 over no FYM. With the application of FYM @ 20 t ha-1, Pb content in shoot and root of maize was found to decrease at 30 DAS and 60 DAS, whereas P, S, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu contents were increased in shoot and root of both the varieties at 60 DAS over no FYM. Addition of FYM @ 20 t ha-1 increased EC and OC, while decreased soil pH and it had reduced the availability of Pb in the soil and significantly increased all nutrients viz., S, OC, Fe and Zn status in soil after harvest of crop. Interaction effect of FYM x Pb was found to be significant with respect of green fodder yield, dry matter yield, micronutrient contents Viz., Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu as well as P2O5 and S content. Growth and yield attributes, micronutrients and major nutrients were decreased with increasing levels of Pb but application of FYM @ 20 t ha-i increased nutrient content in plant and increase in growth and yield with respect to Pb content in plant. DTPA-Pb in soil was increased with increasing levels of Pb but application of FYM @ 20 t ha-i reduced the content and availability of Pb. The findings of the present study reveal that application of FYM @ 20 t ha-1 had significant mitigating effect on lead toxicity as it reduced its availability due to stabilization in soil. Between two varieties variation in stabilization of lead in plant was not large. The incubation result revealed that over the period, DTPAPb was reduced at each level of applied Pb, the maximum reduction of 28.2 per cent was recorded in case of Pb200 at 42nd day over 0 day. The application of FYM @ 20 t ha-1 showed fixation of lead to the extent of 2.2 per cent under Pb20o over no FYM application.ThesisItem Open Access Effect of sulphur and zinc on growth, yield and quality of summer greengram (Vigna radiata L.) under middle Gujarat condition(AAU, Anand, 2014) ITALIYA, JIGNESH HARIBHAI; JADAV, N. J.The field experiment was carried out on loamy sand soil of Agronomy Farm, B. A. College of Agriculture, Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat during summer season of 2013 to study the "Effect of sulphur and zinc on growth, yield and quality of summer greengram (Vigna radiata L. Wilezeck) under middle Gujarat conditions". The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized block design, comprising of four levels of Sulphur (S) (0, 10, 20 and 30 kg S ha-1), and three levels of Zinc (Zn) (0, 10 and 20 kg Zn ha-1) in three replications. The experiment was conducted in loamy sand soil having alkaline in reaction (pHz.s 7.9) and normal with respect to salt contents [EC2.5 0.20 dSm-1). The soil was low in available nitrogen (N) (184.7 kg ha-1] and S (7.27 mg kg-1), medium in available phosphorus (P) (41.58 kg ha-1) and Zn (0.61 mg kg-1) and high in available potash (K) (310 kg ha-1). The greengram variety Meha was sown on 6th March, 2013 at 45 cm raw distance using grain rate of 15 kg ha^ and recommended fertilizers of 20-40-00:: N-P-K kg ha-1. The results revealed that application of S produced significant effect on growth and yield attributes viz., plant height, No. of branches per plant, No. of pods per plant, No. of grain per pod, test weight, No. of root nodules and its dry weight per plant of greengram. Significantly the higher values of these attributes were recorded under 30 kg S ha-i but they were at par with 20 kg S ha-1. Application of S @ 30 kg S ha-i registered significantly higher grain (1039 kg ha-1) and straw (1967 kg ha-1) yield as compared to control and 10 kg S ha-1, but statistically at par with that of 20 kg S ha-1. Application of 30 kg S ha-1 resulted generally in higher N, P, K, S and Zn concentration and uptake by grain and straw as well as protein content in grain, but it was at par with 20 kg S ha-1. The available P2O5, S and Zn in soil after harvest of crop was higher due to 30 kg S ha-i as compared to control and 10 kg S ha-1, but, it was at par with 20 kg S ha-1. Application of Zn produced significant effect on plant height. No. of branches per plant. No. of pods per plant. No. of grain per plant and No. of root nodules per plant. The values for these parameters noticed due to application of 2 kg Zn ha-1 was significantly higher than control and 1 kg Zn ha-1. Significantly the highest grain (1008 kg ha-1) and straw (1883 kg ha-1) yield was registered under the application of 2 kg Zn ha-1. Similarly the S and Zn content in grain and N, P, K, S and Zn content in straw were noticed higher under the application of Zn @ 2 kg Zn ha-1. In general, significantly the highest uptake of N, P, K, S and Zn by grain and straw as well as protein content in grain were registered under application of Zn @ 2 kg ha-i than rest of the levels of Zn. Application of 2 kg Zn ha-1 was found significantly superior to control and 1 kg Zn ha-i in case of available Zn in soil after harvest of crop. The S X Zn interaction was found significant on grain and straw yield of greengram. Treatment combination of 30 kg S and 2 kg Zn ha-1 (S3Zn2) recorded significantly the highest grain (1233 kg ha-1) and straw (2123 kg ha-1) yield. The similar treatment combination also recorded significantly higher S and Zn content in grain and straw, N uptake by straw, P uptake by grain and straw, K uptake by grain, S uptake by grain and straw and Zn uptake by grain. The increasing levels of both the factors generally recorded higher protein content indicating the synergistic effect of one on another. In the light of the results obtained from the present investigation, it is concluded that the application of 20 kg S ha-1 through gypsum (16.5% S) and 2 kg Zn ha-1 in form of zinc chloride (48% Zn) on loamy sand soil deficient in available S and medium in Zn increased the yield, protein and nutrient content in greengram crop besides sustaining soil fertility status.ThesisItem Open Access TO STUDY THE DEGRADATION AND DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF OXYFLUORFEN IN SANDY, SANDY LOAM AND CLAYEY SOILS(AAU, Anand, 2014) KUMBHAR, MUKESHKUMAR BHIKHABHAI; RAJ, M. F.Oxyfluorfen is formulated for agricultural use as an cmulsifiablc liquid concentrate and as a granular product, although it is most frequently used in a liquid formulation for food crops and as a granular formulation for ornamental nursery crops for the weed control. Oxyfluorfen is used for the control of annual grasses and broad-leaved weeds in tropical and sub-tropical crops, by pre - or postemergence application in m.aize, rice, gram, groundnut, soybean, cotton and onion crops. It is selective contact herbicide and absorbed more readily by the foliage than by the roots, with very little translocation. Its application as liquid or dry formulations on the crop or soil may contaminate soil or leave residues on crop produce. Oxyfluorfen is moderately persistent in most soil environments, with a representative field half-life of about 30 to 40 days. Oxyfluorfen is not subjected to microbial degradation or hydrolysis. The main mechanism of degradation in soils may be photodegradation and evaporation/co-distillation in moist soils. In laboratory studies, its soil half-life was 6 months, indicating very low rates of microbial degradation. Looking to the above facts, a laboratory study entitled "To study the degradation and downward movement of oxyfluorfen in sandy, sandy loam and clayey soils" was conducted at Pesticide Residue Laboratory, All India Network Project on Pesticide Residues, Centre for Organic Farming, ICAR Unit-9, Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat (India) with the following objectives: 1. To validate the pesticide residue method of oxyfluorfen for sandy, sandy loam and clayey soils. 2. To study the depth-wise distribution of oxyfluorfen in soil column. 3. To study the degradation of oxyfluorfen in sandy, sandy loam and clayey soils under laboratory conditions. 4. To study the level of oxyfluorfen in column leachates. In order to study the persistence and degradation of oxyfluorfen from three different types of soils viz., sandy, sandy loam and clayey soil, sandy soil was collected from Agronomy Farm of Sardar Krushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Dantiwada. sandy loam soil was collected from Bidi Tobacco Research Station Farm of Anand Agricultural University, Anand and clayey soil from Organic Farm of Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari. Prior to study, these soils were subjected to physico-chemical analysis with known history of pesticide applications. For depthwise distribution of oxyfluorfen study, a 36 cm long PVC column with an internal diameter (i.d.) of 6 cm. was used by marking into sections each of 6 cm in length. The bottom ring was tied up with muslin cloth with thread to avoid contamination of leachate with soil particles. The column was filled with soil from bottom to 30 cm length with tapering. Before applying the oxyfluorfen, soil column was wetted to their apparent water holding capacity by applying 100 mL aqueous solution of 0.01 M CaCl2 to the top of column at an interval of 24 h. After this initial equilibration 30 mg/column of oxyfluorfen was applied to the top of column. Polythene sheet was tied up on each column in order to prevent volatization losses. Initially, columns were irrigated with 100 ml of aqueous solution of 0.01 M CaCb up to 10 days and at later stage 50 ml of above mentioned solution was applied to maintain the field capacity until the termination of experiment. Leachates were collected and analyzed. The experiment was conducted with three repetitions along with a control column. Prior to analysis of oxyfluorfen from soil, the method was validated in the laboratory. The leachates were collected on 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 days after application were filtered, extracted and analyzed by GLC for residues of oxyfluorfen. The entire experiment was conducted at room temperature. After end of experiment, each column was cut into 5 segments each of 6 cm and herbicide residues in soil from different depths i. e. 0-6 cm (D1), 6-12 cm (D2), 12-18 cm (D3), 18-24 cm (D4), 24-30 cm (D5) was analyzed. The soil inside the columns was dried separately under shade and 10 g of soil was used for quantitative analysis of oxyfluorfen residues by GLC. The oxyfluorfen residues in leachates persisted up to 60 days except 0 day in sandy soil. In sandy soil the residues showed increasing trend up to 7th day that is 13.759 ng g i and decreased thereafter till the 60th day. In case of sandy loam and clayey soils the residues were below determination limit until the termination of experiment. The downward movement of oxyfluorfen in the column under laboratory conditions revealed that after 60 days of application, the residues were mainly confined to the top three layers i.e. 0-6 cm, 6-12 cm and 12-18 cm in sandy soil, while in case of the sandy loam and clayey soil the residue were below determination limit even to the top layer of column. This confirms the low risk of sub-soil contamination in sandy loam and clayey soils compared to the sandy soil.ThesisItem Open Access EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT SOURCES OF SILICON ON YIELD AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF MAIZE (Zea Mays L.)(AAU, Anand, 2013) PRAJAPATI, DHARMESHKUMAR T.; PATEL, K. C.A pot house study was conducted on maize in net house of the Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, B. A. College of Agriculture, AAU, Anand. Bulk sample was collected from Agronomy farm and six kilograms of soil was taken in each polythene lined earthen pot and treated with four levels of organics viz., FYM @ 2.5 and 5.0 t ha-1 and enriched FYM with paddy straw @ 2.5 and 5.0 t ha-1 and four levels of calcium silicate i.e. 0.0, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 t ha-1. The recommended dose of N and P was applied in the form of urea and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), respectively and mixed properly. The experiment was planned in a factorial completely randomized design with three repetitions. The shoot samples were analyzed for N, P, S, Ca, Mg and Si content. The uptake of elements was also computed using standard formula. The soil samples were analyzed for different parameters like soil pH, EC, organic carbon, available P, S and Si and exchangeable Ca and Mg content in soil at the harvest of maize. The FYM application at F5.0 level significantly increased green and dry shoot weight of maize over F2.5 level. Similarly application of enriched FYM with PS+FYM @ 5.0 t ha-1 also gave significantly higher yield than FYM 2.5 t ha-1. The improvement in green and dry shoot weight due to FYM5.0, PS+FYM2.5 as PS+FYM5.0 was to the tune of 3.6, 5.49 and 7.92 per cent over FYM2.5 level. The green and dry shoot weight of maize was also significantly increased with increasing levels of calcium silicate (source of silicon) up to CSi0.30 and latter two levels (CSi0.30 and CSi0.40) were at par. The increase in dry shoot weight was 4.50, 8.70 and 11.11 per cent due to respective level over control (CSi0.0). The FYM and PS + FYM application @ 5.0 t ha-1 significantly improved N content of maize shoot over respective lower level. The highest value of N (1.973 %) was found at PS+FYM5.0 level. Similarly application of enriched FYM with PS @ 5.0 t ha-1 also significantly increased P and S content over PS+FYM2.5 level. The highest P (0.406 %) and S (0.407 %) content of maize shoot was recorded at FYM5.0 and PS + FYM5.0 level, respectively. The P and S content was increased from 0.344 to 0.443 % and 0.348 to 0.401 % due to different levels of calcium silicate. The highest P and S content was 0.443 % and 0.401 % recorded at CSi0.40 level. The interaction between all the treatment combinations of FYM, PS + FYM and CSi had significantly increased P content of maize shoot over control (FYM2.5 x CSi0.0) except FYM2.5 x CSi2.0 combination. The highest content of P (0.47 %) was found at FYM5.0xCSio.40 level.