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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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Subject: Entomology × Author: A, KEERTHANA × Start date: 2014 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Morpho-molecular characterization and assessing the effect of sowing time on aphid incidence in wheat
    (DRPCAU, PUSA, 2022) A, KEERTHANA; Reddy, M. S. Sai
    The present investigations were carried out on “Morpho-molecular characterization and assessing the effect of sowing time on aphid incidence in wheat” during 2020-22. The studies revealed that 43 species of arthropod fauna were infesting the wheat crop which belonged to nine orders covering 12 families. Among these nine orders, three orders such as Hemiptera, Diptera and Coleoptera have highest relative abundance. In particular to Hemipterans, there were six aphid species which were found to be the most predominant insects during the 2021-22 cropping season. Along with these aphids, shoot fly and jassids were also known to infest the wheat crop throughout the cropping season. The succession of these major insect pests showed that aphids, Rhopalosiphum maidis, Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominalis, Jassids and Shoot fly were found on vegetative stages and Rhopalosiphum padi, Sitobion avenae, Schizaphis graminum and Metoplophium dirhodum were found on reproductive stages of the crop. Whereas the population of Rhopalosiphum maidis and Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominalis were completely absent in the timely and late sown crop. The seasonal incidence of all major insect pests showed that evening relative humidity, maximum temperature and bright sunshine hours were significantly correlated with the population of aphids whereas jassids showed a significantly positive correlation with maximum temperature and shoot fly showed a significantly negative correlation with minimum temperature. In molecular characterization and phylogenetic divergence of wheat aphids revealed that Metopolophium dirhodum and Sitobion avenae belonged to tribe Macrosiphini whereas the remaining species Rhopalosiphum padi, Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominalis, Rhoplosiphum maidis and Schizaphis graminum belonged to a tribe Aphidini. In screening of one hundred and fifty-three wheat genotypes, 141 genotypes were found resistant to aphids. Among these genotypes, HPW487, VL3029, VL3030, HPW483, HPW484, HPE486, HS688, VL2050, VL907(C), RAJ4083(C), MP1378, HI8830(d)*, MACS6795, DBW316#*, PBW833*, JKW261(I)(C), NIAW3170(C), HD3397, HD3400, HD3418, HI1654*, CG1029(C) were the best genotypes for biotic stresses as well as for other morpho-physiological traits. The effect of sowing dates on aphid incidence revealed that, the early sown wheat varieties were heavily infested by aphids compared to timely and late sown crop. It was found that the variety HD 2967 showed resistance under all three different and also found to have better morphophysiological traits.