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Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa

In the imperial Gazetteer of India 1878, Pusa was recorded as a government estate of about 1350 acres in Darbhanba. It was acquired by East India Company for running a stud farm to supply better breed of horses mainly for the army. Frequent incidence of glanders disease (swelling of glands), mostly affecting the valuable imported bloodstock made the civil veterinary department to shift the entire stock out of Pusa. A British tobacco concern Beg Sutherland & co. got the estate on lease but it also left in 1897 abandoning the government estate of Pusa. Lord Mayo, The Viceroy and Governor General, had been repeatedly trying to get through his proposal for setting up a directorate general of Agriculture that would take care of the soil and its productivity, formulate newer techniques of cultivation, improve the quality of seeds and livestock and also arrange for imparting agricultural education. The government of India had invited a British expert. Dr. J. A. Voelcker who had submitted as report on the development of Indian agriculture. As a follow-up action, three experts in different fields were appointed for the first time during 1885 to 1895 namely, agricultural chemist (Dr. J. W. Leafer), cryptogamic botanist (Dr. R. A. Butler) and entomologist (Dr. H. Maxwell Lefroy) with headquarters at Dehradun (U.P.) in the forest Research Institute complex. Surprisingly, until now Pusa, which was destined to become the centre of agricultural revolution in the country, was lying as before an abandoned government estate. In 1898. Lord Curzon took over as the viceroy. A widely traveled person and an administrator, he salvaged out the earlier proposal and got London’s approval for the appointment of the inspector General of Agriculture to which the first incumbent Mr. J. Mollison (Dy. Director of Agriculture, Bombay) joined in 1901 with headquarters at Nagpur The then government of Bengal had mooted in 1902 a proposal to the centre for setting up a model cattle farm for improving the dilapidated condition of the livestock at Pusa estate where plenty of land, water and feed would be available, and with Mr. Mollison’s support this was accepted in principle. Around Pusa, there were many British planters and also an indigo research centre Dalsing Sarai (near Pusa). Mr. Mollison’s visits to this mini British kingdom and his strong recommendations. In favour of Pusa as the most ideal place for the Bengal government project obviously caught the attention for the viceroy.

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20211
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Subject: Agronomy × End date: 2021 × Start date: 2020 × Thesis Type: Ph.D ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    EFFECT OF ORGANIC WEED MANAGEMENT ON WEED DYNAMICS AND NUTRIENT STATUS OF RICE-MAIZE CROPPING SYSTEM UNDER CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE
    (Dr.RPCAU, Pusa, 2021) SAHOO, SUBHRA; Roy, D. K.
    Conservation agriculture (CA)-based rice (Oryza sativa L.) - maize (Zea mays L.) cropping system (RMCS) can be the possible option for higher productivity and sustainability of the RMCS in the fertile IGP belt of India. Weed infestation being the major cause of worry is the most potential constraint towards the adoption of CA practices. Weed dynamics and competition is largely influenced by tillage practices. In this scenario, it is necessary to have an environment-friendly holistic approach towards the management of such dynamic weeds. Thus, as an alternative, the integration of CA-based tillage practices with methods of organic weed management was explored with a view of enhancing the viability and sustainability of RMCS. A field experiment was carried out at South Panghabri plots of Crop Research Centre, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (25.58, 51 °N, 85.4°, 313E), during 2019-20 and 2020-21. This experiment was designed in a split-plot design with four main plot tillage treatments and five sub-plot organic weed management treatments, Four tillage practices considered were Zero-till direct-seeded rice followed by Zero-till maize [ZTDSR fb. ZTDSM], Rice followed by maize both on permanent raised beds with residue [PBDSR+R fb. PBDSM+R], PBDSR followed by maize on permanent beds without residue [PBDSR-R fb. PBDSM-R] and Conventional tilled puddled transplanted rice followed by conventional tilled maize [CTR fb. CTM]. The five organic weed management treatments applied were unweeded control, Vermicompost mulch @ 5 t/ha, Phosphorus enriched Vermicompost mulch @ 5 t/ha, Live mulch (Sesbania spp. @ 40 kg/ha in Rice crop and Pisum sativum @ 100 kg/ha in Maize crop) and Weed-free (Hand weeding at 20, 40 and 60 DAS). The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the best weed management option on basis of weed dynamics and competition, system productivity, nutrient status and economics with the integration of CA-based tillage practices and organic weed management methods. The findings of the present study clearly visualized that minimum weed population, weed dry weight and maximum weed control efficiency were observed in bed planting of both rice and maize with residue retention over the conventional control. In, case of weed management treatments, weed-free effectively managed the weeds by 73-83 % over un-weeded control. However, live mulch was also considered effective (63-69%). As regards to system perspective of rice - maize cropping system, tillage and weed management practices showed significant responses in system productivity. Bed planting with residue retention increased the system productivity by 15-17 % over the conventional system. Among the weed management practices, weed-free treatment obtained the highest system productivity (162.2 q/ha in 2019-20 and 168.9 q/ha in 2020-21). However, it was at par with live mulch treatment (158.1 q/ha in 2019-20 and 162.8 q/ha in 2020-21). Both tillage and weed management practices had a pronounced effect on soil nutrient status, soil physico-chemical and biological properties. Residue retention on permanent bed planting significantly increased the available nutrient content in soil by influencing the soil physico-chemical and biological parameters (Soil microbial biomass carbon, DHA, Soil respiration) substantially. In the case of weed management treatments, Mulching with P- enriched vermicompost had improved the soil nutrient status, attributing to the better physical and biological condition of the soil. The findings indicated an advantage of reduced production cost (mainly tillage operations) and higher crop produce in residue retained bed planting system in form of higher net returns and B: C ratio. However, amongst different weed management practices, the highest gross returns were obtained in weed-free attributing to higher yield but, live mulch treatment was statistically at par with the weed-free. Net returns and B: C ratio were higher in Live mulch treatment due to the lower cost of cultivation. Considering the findings from the research, it is apparent that alternative CA-based residue retained tillage practices with the application of Live mulch can be a potential strategy to improve, productivity, profitability and sustainability of RMCS in IGP.