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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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ThesisItem Open 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.ThesisItem Open Access PRECISION NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT THROUGH RESCHEDULING APPLICATION TIME FOR WIDELY SPACED SUGARCANE CROPS(Dr.RPCAU, Pusa, 2021) BHILALA, SURENDRA; Rana, LalitaSugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a commercially important food and energy crop in tropical and subtropical climates. Sugarcane productivity is largely dependent on nutrient management. Sugarcane responds well to split nitrogen and potassium applications. A field experiment was performed with this in consideration entitled “Precision nutrient management through rescheduling application time for widely spaced sugarcane crops” at Crop Research Centre, Pusa Farm of Sugarcane Research Institute, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur during spring season of 2020-21. The objective of the research were i) to assess the effect of method and split application of N and K on growth, yield attributes and nutrient content in sugarcane plant ii) to assess the quality of sugarcane juice iii) to analyse the nutrient status of post-harvest soil of experimental field iv) to evaluate the economics of different treatments. The soil of the experimental plot was calcareous in nature with a pH value of 8.1. The soil was low in organic carbon (0.41 %), available nitrogen (235.3 kg/ha), medium in available phosphorus (23.5 kg/ha) and available potassium (141.2 kg/ha). The experiment was set up under split plot design replicated thrice having 8 treatment combinations. The main plot was consisting of two methods of fertilizer application (band placement and broadcasting) and four split doses of fertilizer application (RDN+RDK in 5 splits, RDN+RDK in 6 splits, RDN+RDK in 7 splits and recommended dose of fertilizer in sub-plots Total number of plots was 24 with (8.0 m × 8.4 m) 67.2 m2 of individual plot size. Results of the experiment indicated that Band placement method exerted significant influence on tiller population at 120 DAP, (167.85 x103 ha-1) only and split application of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) had significant influence on tiller population at all growth stages of sugarcane crop. Plant height, leaf area Index (LAI) and dry matter accumulation (DMA) increased with the increasing age of crop. The values of all these growth parameters was higher when nitrogen and potassium fertilizer applied in 7 splits compared to recommended practice, the extent of increase was 8.97 for plant height, 13.70 for LAI and 9.9 % for DMA. Splits application of nitrogen and potassium exerted significant influence on yield attributes namely cane diameter, number of millable cane, length of internodes and cane: top ratio except number of nodes/ cane. Recommended practice of fertilizer application caused significant increase in single cane weight and cane diameter and it was to the tune of 4.72 and 4.01 % respectively while application of N and K in 7 splits produced the higher number of millable cane (144.90 x103 ha-1), length of internode (9.31 cm) and cane: top ratio (3.86), accounting 23.9, 10.7 and 82.9 % respectively. The method of fertilizer application showed non-significant effect on yield attributes except number of millable cane. Band placement method gave significantly maximum number of millable cane (117.98 x103ha-1) as compared to broadcasting. At harvest significantly higher cane yield (86.70 t ha-1) was achieved in band placement method to the tune of 17.32 % as compared to broadcasting while non-significant effect exerted by method of application on sugar yield and commercial cane sugar percentage (CCS). Significantly higher cane yield and sugar yield was registered when the crop fertilizer with nitrogen and potassium in 7 splits, accounting 18.99 and 21.64 % more than the recommended practices respectively. Quality parameters like brix, pol, purity and juice recovery percentage were not influenced by method of fertilizer application. Split application of N and K did not exert significant influence on brix, pol, purity percentage except juice recovery percentage. The uptake of N, P and K was significantly higher in band placement method of fertilizer application accounting 14.13, 36.06 and 17.14 % respectively. Similarly, N, P and K uptake was significantly higher with seven splits of nitrogen and potassium to the tune of 25.9, 13.8 and 33.4 % respectively. In post-harvest analysis of soil, available N (204.38 kg ha-1) was significantly higher in band placement as compared to broadcasting. However, available P and K were non-significantly affected by the method of fertilizer application. The available N (203.97 kg ha-1) and available K (124.30 kg ha-1) was found significantly higher in seven split applications of nitrogen and potassium in comparison to other treatments. Maximum gross returns (246853 ₹/ha), net returns (105448 ₹/ha) and B:C ratio (1.75) was found in band placement method in comparison to broadcasting. Likewise, seven splits application of N and K exerted significant influence on gross returns (242820 ₹/ha), net returns (100385 ₹/ha) as compared to other treatment. Thus it can be inferred that application of nitrogen and potassium in seven splits by band placement method can be recommended as a nutrient management practice to sustain the productivity of sugarcane planted in wide spacing in spring season of Bihar.ThesisItem Open Access Response of nutrient and bio-fertilizers to enhancing yield and productivity of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.)(Dr.RPCAU, Pusa, 2021) SIKANDAR; Singh, DevendraA field experiment entitled “Response of nutrient and bio-fertilizers to enhancing Yield and productivity of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.)” was conducted during rabi season of 2020-21 at Agricultural Research Farm TCA, Dholi (Muzaffarpur), a campus of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur), Bihar, (India). The treatments comprised three fertility levels (F1-100% RDF, F2-75% RDF and F3-Control) in main plots and five microbial consortia (M1-Phosphate solubilizing organism, M2-Azotobacter, M3-Potassium mobilizing Bio-fertilizer, M4-Zinc solubilizing Bio-fertilizer and M5-PSMO + Azotobacter + KMB + ZSB in sub plots. The treatments were replicated thrice in split plot design. Collected soil of experimental site was exhibited sandy loam texture having alkaline nature (pH 8.24), low in organic carbon and available N, P2O5, K2O and Zn. The Indian mustard variety ‘Rajendra Sufalam’ was sown at a distance of 30 cm x 10 cm with seed rate of 5 kg ha-1 with RDF The different fertility levels, F1-100% RDF was significant superior over other fertility levels in term of growth attributes (height of plant, number of branches, dry matter accumulation and relative growth rate), yield attributes and yield as well as higher NPK uptake in grain and straw, availability of N&P soil were negative balance and K was positive balance. Among the microbial consortia, M5- PSMO + Azotobacter + KMB + ZSB was significantly superior impact over other microbial consortia in respect of growth factors (plant height, number of branches, dry matter accumulation and relative growth rate), yield attributes and yield as well as higher NPK uptake in grain and straw. F1-100% RDF was recorded higher net return (₹ 56522 ha-1) and B:C ratio (1.47) than others. In terms of economics of mustard M5- PSMO + Azotobacter + KMB + ZSB was recorded higher net return (₹ 51104 ha-1) and B:C ratio (1.39) as compared other treatments.ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF SITE-SPECIFIC NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR FINGER MILLET IN CALCAREOUS SOILS OF BIHAR(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) CHOUDHARY, SANJU; Pramanick, BiswajitA field experiment was conducted during Kharif season 2020, at Crop Research Centre, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar to study the “Development of site-specific nutrient management practices for finger millet in calcareous soils of Bihar”. The soil of experimental plot was sandy loam and alkaline in nature with pH 8.2, low in organic carbon i.e. 0.47% and bulk density was 1.42 g/cc. The objectives were, to find out the optimum rate of N, P and K application for finger millet; to study the effect of different nutrient management practices on growth and yield of the crop and; to work out the economics of the various treatments. The experiment consisted of eight treatments comprising T1 – Control, T2 – N omission, T3 – P Omission, T4 – K omission, T5 – 75% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), T6 – 100% RDF, T7 – 125% RDF and T8 – 100% recommended dose of P and K + 30 kg/ ha N as basal + green seeker based N application. These treatments were evaluated under randomized complete block design with three replications. The results revealed that Green Seeker based N management (T8) exhibited the highest plant height, dry matter accumulation and crop growth rate. Similarly, the highest values of yield attributing parameters, grain yield, straw yield and harvest index were recorded under application of Green Seeker based N management treatment (T8) which was statistically at par with 125% RDF. Further, control, N – omission, P – omission and K – omission significantly reduced growth, yield attributing parameters, grain yield, straw yield and harvest index compared to T8. The result showed that the highest N contents (%) in finger millet grain and straw were recorded under application 100% recommended P and K + 30 kg/ha N as basal and rest N management as per green seeker reading (T8), however the highest P and K contents in grain and straw of finger millet were found with 125% RDF (T7) and this treatment was found at par with T8. Similarly, higher N uptake by grain and straw of finger millet were estimated with T8 (application of 100% recommended P and K + 30 kg/ha N as basal and rest N management as per green seeker reading) and the highest P uptake by grain was estimated with T8 and at par with T7 and T6 (100% RDF) but the highest P uptake by straw was estimated with T7 (125% RDF) and both the treatments was found at par. In case of K uptake, the highest values of K uptake by grain and straw were estimated with T7 (125% RDF) and this treatment was found at par with T8 (application 100% recommended P and K + 30 kg/ha N as basal and rest N management as per green seeker reading) and T6 (100% RDF). Application of 100% recommended P and K + 30 kg/ha N as basal and rest N management as per green seeker reading proved economically beneficial as it recorded significantly higher gross returns (102065 Rs/ha), net returns (74825 Rs/ha) and B:C ratio (2.75) over rest of the treatments. From this one year study, it can be concluded that the application 100% recommended P and K + 30 kg/ha N as basal and rest N management as per green seeker reading can improve the growth, yield, and economics of finger millet in calcareous soils of Bihar.ThesisItem Open Access BROWN MANURING BASED WEED MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN DIRECT SEEDED RICE (Oryza sativa L.)(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) S N, SANDEEP; Chaudhary, S.K.A field experiment entitled “Brown manuring based weed management practices in direct seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.)” was conducted at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur), Bihar during kharif season, 2020. “The soil of the experimental site was found to be calcareous in nature, sandy loam in texture and alkaline in reaction with pH of 8.43. It was low in organic carbon (0.47%) and available nitrogen (241 kg N/ha), medium in available P (12.18 kg/ha) and available K (135.62 kg/ha). The trial was carried out in randomized block design and replicated thrice. The treatment comprised of ten different weed management practices viz., T1- Pendimethalin (1 kg a.i ha-1) PE fb bispyribac sodium (30 g a.i ha-1) at 15 DAS (POE), T2- Pendimethalin (1 kg a.i ha-1) PE fb pyrazosulfuron (30 g a.i ha-1) at 15 DAS (POE), T3-Pendimethalin (1 kg a.i ha-1) PE fb Bispyribac sodium + pyrazosulfuron (25g a.i ha-1 each) (POE as Tank mix), T4- Bispyribac sodium + pyrazosulfuron (25g a.i ha-1each) (POE as Tank mix), T5- Pendimethalin (1 kg a.i ha-1) PE + brown manuring at 20 DAS with 2, 4 - D ester (0.70 kg a.i ha-1) (POE), T6- Pendimethalin (1 kg a.i ha-1) PE + brown manuring at 20DAS with 2, 4 - D ester (0.70 kg a.i ha-1) fb pyrazosulfuron (25 g a.i ha-1) 25 DAS, T7- Pretilachlor (0.75 kg a.i ha-1) PE + brown manuring at 20DAS with 2, 4 - D ester (0.70 kg a.i ha-1 ) fb bispyribac sodium (25 g a.i ha-1) 25 DAS”, T8- Pretilachlor (0.75 kg a.i ha-1) “PE + brown manuring at 20 DAS with 2,4 - D ester (0.70 kg a.i ha-1) fb pyrazosulfuron (25 g a.i ha-1) 25 DAS, T9-Weed free and T10-Weedy check. The rice variety "Abhishek" was chosen as the test crop. This experiment was carried out by using of RDF-120-60-40 kg/ha of N, P205 and K20, respectively and other practices as per the standard package of practices for rice production was followed”. “The results revealed that brown manuring based weed management practices significantly influenced growth parameters, yield attributes and yield, nutrient uptake and economics of direct seeded rice. Among the weed management practices, Weed free (T9) obtained maximum growth parameters (tillers/m 2, dry matter production and crop growth rate), yield and yield attributes (panicles/m2, grains/panicle) being at par with Pretilachlor (0.75 kg a.i ha-1) PE + brown manuring at 20 DAS with 2, 4 - D ester (0.70 kg a.i ha-1) fb bispyribac sodium (25 g a.i ha-1) 25 DAS (T7) and Pretilachlor (0.75 kg a.i ha-1) PE + brown manuring at 20 DAS with 2,4 - D ester (0.70 kg a.i ha-1) fb pyrazosulfuron (25 g a.i ha-1) 25 DAS (T8). However, there was no significant effect on plant height, panicle length, test weight and harvest index. Among the treatments, the lowest weed population, biomass and maximum weed control efficiency, low weed index were recorded in T7. The treatment T7 recorded maximum uptake of nitrogen (79.77 kg/ ha), phosphorus (11.41 kg/ha) and potassium (97.10 kg/ha). In the case of weeds, the minimum nutrient (NPK) was removed in the treatment T7, while maximum removal was recorded in weedy check (T10). In the post-harvest soil, all the brown manuring treated plots recorded more available N, P and K than the without brown manuring treated plots and among the brown manuring treated plots treatment T8 showed significant effect on available N. Higher benefit cost ratio was recorded in T8 (1.41) and the lowest in weedy check (0.67)”. “From this study, based on one year result it can be inferred that Pretilachlor (0.75 kg a.i ha-1) PE + brown manuring at 20 DAS with 2, 4 - D ester (0.70 kg a.i ha-1) fb bispyribac sodium (25 g a.i ha-1) 25 DAS effectively controlled weeds thereby increasing productivity and economic returns in the direct seeded rice”.ThesisItem Open Access EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF DIFFERENT CROPPING SYSTEM FOR MEDIUM LAND SITUATIONS OF BIHAR UNDER EXISTING CLIMATIC STRESSES(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) SHRIVASTAVA, SAMEER; Jha, Ratnesh KumarAn experiment was conducted at the research farm of Dr. RPCAU, Pusa during Rabi-2019-20, Summer 2020 and Kharif 2020 on “Evaluating the performance of different cropping system for medium land situations of Bihar under existing climatic stresses” to find out the suitability of cropping systems on the basis of system productivity, nutrient use productivity, apparent water use productivity, soil health and economics. Ten cropping systems Rice-Wheat, Rice-Wheat-Green gram, Rice-Potato+Maize, Rice-Mustard-Green gram, Rice-Lentil-Maize, Maize-Mustard-Green gram, Finger millet-Wheat-Green gram, Soybean-Potato-Sunflower, Rice-Pea-Wheat-Green gram, Rice-Mustard-Maize+Green gram were tried in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The soil of the experimental plot was calcareous in nature with a pH value of 8.2 and Ec value of 0.35 dS/m. The soil was low in organic carbon, low in available nitrogen, medium available phosphorus and medium in available potassium. The crops were grown with the recommended package and practices and recommended dose of the inputs were applied for all crops in the system. The system productivity of Rice-poato+maize (24.7t/ha) cropping system and soybean-potato-sunflower (22.4t/ha) gave significantly higher rice equivalent yield than all other cropping systems, however, these were at par. Rice-poato+maize cropping system was found having significantly higher nutrient use productivity (44.1Kg REY/kg nutrient applied) followed by soybean-potato-sunflower (35.5 kg REY/ kg nutrient applied) cropping system. The apparent water use productivity was significantly higher in rice-potato+maize cropping system (23.5 kg REY/ha-mm of water applied) followed by soybean – potato – sunflower (21.9 kg REY/ha-mm of water applied). Water productivity calculated on net return basis was found highest in rice-poato+maize (29.6 Rs/m3 water applied) and was followed by soybean-potato-sunflower (25.9 Rs/m3 water applied) cropping system and was statistically at par. Rice-potato+maize cropping system resulted in maximum net return (3,07,889 Rs/ha) in comparison to all other cropping systems followed by soybean-potato-sunflower (2,66,370 Rs/ha) cropping system. Rice-potato+maize cropping system gave highest B:C ratio (3.0) followed by soybean-potato-sunflower (2.8) and finger millet-wheat-green gram (2.8) cropping systems.ThesisItem Open Access Performance of direct seeded rice under different moisture regimes and brown manuring practices(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) RANJAN, RAVI; Kumar, RajanA field experiment was conducted during rainy (kharif) season of 2020 in split plot design with three replications at crop Research centre, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar to investigate the “Performance of direct seeded rice under different moisture regimes and brown manuring practices.” The treatments consist of three moisture regimes i.e. I1 – Alternate wetting and drying after 3 days, I2 – Alternate wetting and drying after 5 days and I3 – Alternate wetting and drying after 7 days and 4 brown manuring treatments i.e. B1 – Control, B2 – Rice + dhaincha, B3 – Rice + moong and B4 – Rice + urad. The test cultivar was Rajendra Neelam. The soil of experiment plot was sandy loam in texture, alkaline in rection (pH 8.32), low in available N (153 kg/ha), P2O5 (18.21 kg/ha) and K2O (134 kg/ha). The result showed that growth and yield attributes like plant height, number of tillers/m2, LAI, dry matter production (g/m2), CGR (g/m2/day), number of panicles/m2, number of grains/panicle, grain and straw yield, harvest index, WUE, N, P and K uptake, total N, P and K uptake by grain and straw, gross return, net return and B: C ratio were found to be maximum with I1 moisture regimes which are significantly superior to I2 and I3. SPAD value, Test weight, panicle length, N, P and K content in grain and straw were not influenced by moisture regimes. Growth and yield attributes like plant height, number of tillers/m2, LAI, dry matter production (g/m2), CGR (g/m2/day), number of panicles/m2, number of grains/panicle, grain and straw yield, harvest index, WUE, N, P and K uptake, total N, P and K uptake by grain and straw, gross return, net return and B: C ratio found to be maximum with B2 – Rice + dhaincha treatment. WUE was at par with B3 – Rice + moong. SPAD value, Test weight, panicle length, N, P and K content in grain and straw were not significantly influenced by brown manuring.ThesisItem Open Access Exploring the Efficiency of Calcium and Potassium Thiosulphate on Yield, Nutrient Uptake and Quality of Winter Maize(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) RANJAN, PRABHAT; Dharminder, Dr.The field experiment entitled “Exploring the efficiency of calcium and potassium thiosulphate on yield, nutrient uptake and quality of winter maize’’ was conducted during rabi season of 2019-20 at the Crop Research Centre of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur) Bihar. The soil of the experimental field was calcareous in nature containing 26 % free CaCO3, sandy loam in texture, alkaline in nature with a pH of 8.68 and EC 0.472 dS/m. The soil contained low in organic carbon (0.42 %), available nitrogen (218.4kg ha-1), while medium in available phosphorus (35.6 kg ha-1) and potassium (181.2 kg ha-1) sulphur (12.5 mg kg-1). The experiment was conducted in randomised block design with twelve treatment and replicated four times, taking the variety DKC-9081. The treatment comprised of twelve treatments viz. fertigation of RDF:150:75:60 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha- Drip (T1), 150:75:54.5 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 15 L KTS/ha- Drip (T2), 150:75:49 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L KTS/ha- Drip (T3), 150:75:38 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 60 L KTS/ha- Drip (T4), 150:75:60 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 15 L CaTS/ha- Drip (T5), 150:75:60 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L CaTS/ha- Drip (T6), 150:75:38 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L CaTS/ha + 30 L KTS/ha- Drip (T7), conventional recommended dose N-P-K 150:75:60 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha- band application (T8), 150:75:38 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L KTS/ha- band application (T9), 150:75:60 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L CaTS/ha- band application (T10), 150:75:49 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 60 L KTS/ha- band application (T11) and 150:75:38 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L CaTS/ha+ 30 L KTS/ha- band application (T12). Different treatments had significant influence on growth, yield attributes and yield of winter maize. The plant height, number of leaves plant-1, leaf area index, fresh weight of plant, dry matter accumulation, yield and yield attributes i.e., weight of cobs plant-1, weight of grains cob-1, weight of stones cob-1 and 100-grains weight were significantly influenced by different treatments. The growth attributes recorded at different stages of growth except 30 DAS was found to be significant due to different treatments. Experimental results indicated that treatment T7 (150:75:38 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L CaTS/ha + 30 L KTS/ha- Drip) produced higher plant height, number of leaves, leaf area index, fresh weight and dry matter accumulation at all the growth stages except 30 DAS, which were responsible for higher yield. There was no significant difference on number of cobs plant-1. However, weight of cobs plant-1 (150.1 g), weight of grains cob-1 (121.6 g), weight of stones cob-1 ((21.3 g) and 100-grain weight (32 g), were found significantly higher in treatment T7 (150:75:38 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L CaTS/ha + 30 L KTS/ha- Drip). Grain yield, stover yield and stone yield were significantly influenced by different treatments. The maximum grain yield (9063.0 kg ha-1), stover yield (7951.3 kg ha-1) and stone yield (1591.7 kg ha-1) were recorded under treatment T7 (150:75:38 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L CaTS/ha + 30 L KTS/ha- Drip). N and P content of grain and stover were non-significant due to different treatments. However, significantly higher K, Ca and S content of grain and stover were recorded with treatment T7 (150:75:38 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L CaTS/ha + 30 L KTS/ha- Drip). Significantly higher N, P, K, Ca and S uptake of grain and stover were recorded under T7 (150:75:38 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L CaTS/ha + 30 L KTS/ha- Drip) as compared to other treatments. Economics of different treatments clearly indicated that by virtue of higher grain yield, treatment T7 (150:75:38 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha + 30 L CaTS/ha + 30 L KTS/ha- Drip) exhibited a higher gross return, net return and B:C ratio of ₹ 184163 ha-1, ₹ 124905 ha-1 and 2.11, respectively.ThesisItem Open Access PERFORMANCE OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF FODDER OAT(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) PAUL, PAPPALA SWARAJ; Nanda, GangadharA field experiment was carried out during Rabi season of the year 2020-2021 at Forage Research Block of Cattle Farm, APRI, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar to study the performance of plant growth regulators on yield and quality of fodder oat. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with eleven treatments with three replications by using Bundel Jai 822 (JHO-822) as a test crop. The treatments comprised of foliar sprays of different plant growth regulators (T1-triacontanol @ 10 ppm, T2-triacontanol @ 20 ppm, T3-mepiquat chloride @ 200 ppm, T4-mepiquat chloride @ 300 ppm, T5-salicylic acid @ 100 ppm, T6-salicylic acid @ 200 ppm, T7-NAA @ 20 ppm, T8-fenoxaprop-P-ethyl @ 4 g a.i./ha, T9-gibberellic acid @ 200 ppm, T10-gibberellic acid @ 400 ppm and T11-spray of water) given at 30 days after sowing. The results obtained from the experiment revealed that foliar application plant growth regulators at 30 DAS had a prominent influence on growth characters i.e., plant height, number of tillers, leaf dry weight, stem dry weight, total above ground dry matter accumulation, leaf to stem ratio and relative chlorophyll content at 60 DAS and at harvest. Application of naphthalene acetic acid @ 20 ppm recorded the maximum growth parameters i.e., number of tillers per meter row length (150.1), leaf dry weight per meter row length (54.3 g) at 60 DAS and at harvest and relative chlorophyll (43.31 SPAD) content at 60 DAS compared to other treatments. Whereas, stem dry weight per meter row length (166.3 g) and total above ground dry matter accumulation (216.8 g) at harvest was recorded maximum with mepiquat chloride @ 300 ppm. However, the effect of plant growth regulators on the plant height and leaf to stem ratio was found to be non-significant at harvest. The yield parameters such as green fodder yield and dry fodder yield was significantly influenced by the application of plant growth regulating chemicals. Application of mepiquat chloride @ 300 ppm recorded the maximum green fodder yield (43.1 t/ha) and dry fodder yield (6.9 t/ha). Result of N, P and K uptake and quality parameters revealed that application of naphthalene acetic acid @ 20 ppm recorded the highest nitrogen (1.67%). phosphorous (0.33%) and potassium (1.79%) content and nitrogen (113.2 kg/ha) and phosphorous (22.6 kg/ha) uptake. Whereas, the maximum potassium uptake (121.4 kg/ha) was recorded with mepiquat chloride @ 300 ppm. Quality parameters i.e., crude protein content (10.45%), crude protein yield (0.71 t/ha) and ash content (8.69%) recorded highest values with the application of naphthalene acetic acid @ 20 ppm. Application of naphthalene acetic acid @ 20 ppm at 30 DAS recorded the highest net return (Rs.31118/ha) and B: C ratio (2.01) among the treatments. Application of Fenoxaprop-P-ethyl @ 4 g a.i./ha at 30 DAS recorded the lowest growth attributes, yield, nutrient uptake, quality parameters, net returns and benefit to cost ratio.
