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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: Soil Science × Author: Keshari, Pankaj Kumar × End date: 2016 × Type: Thesis ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Effect of zinc fertilization on zinc transformations in upland rice under rice-wheat cropping system in calcareous soil
    (Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur), 2016) Keshari, Pankaj Kumar; Laik, Ranjan
    There is a need to understand the requirement of dose and frequency of Zn application in Zn deficiency prone upland calcareous soil under rice-wheat cropping system. Understanding the fate of Zn applications in different ways is also required for predicting its availability to crops. Therefore, after completion of three years, in an ongoing experiment having different combinations of three modes of Zn application (in the first year, alternate year and every year) and in four doses (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 kg ha-1) and one Zn control, the present investigation was undertaken to study during rice cultivation, 1) rice yield, growth attributes and zinc uptake, 2) changes in soil available zinc status, and 3) changes in different forms of zinc. During the fourth year, Zn was applied to rice only in the mode of every year application in 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 kg ha-1 doses. The highest number of tillers m-2, number of productive tillers m-2 and number of filled grain panicle-1 were found in 7.5 kg Zn ha-1 at alternate year applied plot. These were similar to 5.0 and 10.0 kg Zn ha-1 at alternate year and 7.5 kg Zn ha-1 at every year applied plot. Root weight was highest in 7.5 kg Zn ha-1 every year applied plot which was similar to 5.0 kg Zn ha-1 applied in the same mode. The highest grain yield was found in 5.0 kg Zn ha-1 applied every year. However highest grain yield was statistically at par with 7.5 kg Zn ha-1 and 10.0 kg Zn ha-1 in initial year, 5.0 to 10.0 kg Zn ha-1 in alternate year and 2.5 to 10 in every year applications. Zn concentration in grain was highest in 10.0 kg Zn ha-1 every year applied plot (26.90 mg kg-1). However it was similar to 5.0 kg Zn ha-1 to 10.0 kg Zn ha-1 at alternate year and 2.5 kg Zn ha-1 to 7.5 kg Zn ha-1 at every year applications. Highest Agronomic Efficiency was found in 7.5 kg Zn ha-1 (101.33 kg grain/kg Zn) followed by 10 kg Zn ha-1 (71.33 kg grain/kg Zn) at initial year and 2.5 kg Zn ha-1 (64.0 kg grain/kg Zn) in alternate year Zn applications. Apparent Zn recovery efficiency varied from 1.07% in10 kg Zn ha-1 applied at every year to 3.72% in 2.5 kg Zn ha-1 applied at alternate year. The order of apparent Zn recovery efficiency was in the order of, 2.5 kg Zn, alternate year (3.72%) > 2.5 kg Zn, initial year (3.70%) > 7.5 kg Zn, every year (3.61%) > 2.5 kg Zn, every year (3.58%). DTPA-Zn concentration in post-harvest soil decreased by upto 29.67% in initial year, 35.65 % in alternate year applications while it increased upto 9.25% in 10 kg Zn ha-1 every year applications as compared to the soil of before rice establishment. Among the different Zn fractions in soil after rice harvest, the order of concentrations were: Weakly bound to organic matter-Zn (3.72 mg kg-1) > Carbonate Zn (2.03 mg kg-1) > MnO-Zn (0.56 mg kg-1) > strongly bound to organic matter-Zn (0.55 mg kg-1) > Exchangeable-Zn (0.53 mg kg-1). In the post-harvest soil, increase in total extractable Zn by changing the mode of application from initial to alternate year and from alternate to every year were 28 and 36 per cent respectively. Alternate year Zn application had 38.8 and 42.0% increase in mineral bound Zn by carbonate and manganese oxide and 18.1 and 22.6% increase in weakly and strongly organic bound Zn as compared to the initial year values. The corresponding increase in exchangeable Zn was 56%. Similarly every year application had 35.5 and 38.1% increase in mineral bound Zn by carbonate and manganese oxide and 34.8 and 45.0% increase in weakly and strongly organic bound Zn as compared to alternate year application and the corresponding increase in exchangeable Zn was 34.2%. Thus it may be concluded that, 7.5 kg ha-1 Zn dose applied initially is considered as optimum in increasing rice growth parameters, grain yield, grain Zn concentration, Zn uptake, Agronomic efficiency and Apparent Zn recovery efficiency of rice in upland calcareous soil.