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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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20184
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Subject: Soil Science × End date: 2018 × Start date: 2018 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Potassium Partitioning at Different Growth Stages of Rice in Calcareous Soil of North Bihar
    (Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur), 2018) Nand, Mani Mesha; Singh, S. P.
    Ignorance of balanced nutrition with potash is diminishing crop yield and mining the potassium (K) from the soil. The knowledge on periodic uptake, accumulation and allocation of potassium to different parts of a rice plant should receive urgent attention in order to implement K management practices for sustainable rice production. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted in calcareous soil (medium in available K) in split-plot design with two rice varieties (Inbred and Hybrid) in main plot and six combinations of potassium management [control, NP (-K); NP+K(100 % basal); NP+K(50% basal + 50% tillering); NP+K(50% basal + 50% panicle) and NP+K(50% basal + 25% tillering + 25% panicle)] in sub-plot at Experimental Farm, RPCAU, Pusa, Samastipur, during kharif - 2017. Dry weight, potassium content and uptake by different parts of rice (root, shoot and leaves) and availability of potassium (K) in soil were determined at different growth stages (tillering, panicle, milking and maturity) of rice. Initial and post-harvest soils (0-15 cm) were analyzed for physico-chemical properties, viz., pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC) and different forms of potassium (available K, water soluble K, exchangeable K, non-exchangeable K, lattice K and total K). The results revealed that the growth parameters (dry weight, plant height, panicle length, number of tillers m-2, number of panicles m-2), potassium content and uptake, grain yield and test weight increased significantly with the application of potassium in three splits (50% basal + 25% tillering + 25% panicle) as compared to the treatment where potassium was applied only as basal dose (recommended practice). The availability of K in the soil at different growth stages of rice was found to improve with split applications of potassium over basal application. At tillering stage, available K was highest in the plots receiving split applications of K i.e. 50% basal + 50% tillering, while, at panicle and milking stage, available K was highest in plots with split application of K i.e. 50% basal + 50% panicle. At maturity, it was highest in the plots with three split applications of K (50% basal + 25% tillering + 25% panicle). The effect of potassium application on changes in different forms of potassium at harvest was not significant except water soluble K which increased significantly by three split applications of potassium. Negative potassium balance in soil was recorded under all the treatments and it was more pronounced in hybrid rice than the inbred rice grown soils. Thus, it can be concluded that synchronization of split applications of potassium (50% basal + 50% panicle or 50% basal + 25% tillering + 25% panicle) with nitrogen can result in significantly higher yield of rice and K uptake compared to basal application. Although, the K rates for fertilizer recommendation need to be revised to account for the negative K balance in soil.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Zinc and Carbon pools under long term conservation agriculture with Rice-Wheat cropping system in Calcareous Soil
    (Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur), 2018) Dash, Bishnu Prasad; Kumar, Vipin
    A long-term experiment involving various combinations of tillage, crop establishment and residue management practices in a rice-wheat rotation has been continuing since 2006 at South Pangabri plot of Crop Research Center, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar. The climate of this region is sub-tropical humid. The experimental site is situated at 25°30' N latitude, 85°40' E longitude and 52.00 meter above mean sea level. Conservation agriculture based on principles of minimum soil disturbance, residue retention on soil surface and crop diversification improves soil organic carbon and available nutrients status which plays a crucial role in sustaining the soil health. Therefore present study entitled “Zinc and Carbon pools under long-term conservation agriculture with Rice-Wheat cropping system in Calcareous soil", was undertaken during kharif 2016 and rabi 2016-17. The objectives were to understand the effect of conservation agriculture on rice and wheat yield and uptake of nutrients; zinc fractions in soil; different forms of carbon in soil, and; soil chemical properties. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with 8 treatments with different crop establishment practices and residue retention in rice and wheat. Rice grain yield in conventional tillage practices in both rice and wheat crop [PTR-CTW] was significantly lower than most of the treatments. Higher grain and straw yield of both rice and wheat was obtained in zero tillage wheat crop preceded by zero tillage rice with residue retention in both the crops. Total soil organic carbon (TOC) in 0-5 cm soil depth, under zero tillage rice- zero tillage wheat on bed with residue [ZTR-ZTW(B)+R] and zero tillage rice-zero tillage wheat with residue[ZTR-ZTW+R] were 23.79g kg-1 and 23.11g kg-1 respectively, which were statistically at par to each other These values were significantly higher over conventional tillage [PTR-CTW] treatments (10.55 gkg-1). TOC of 5-15cm and 15-30cm depth under ZTR-ZTW(B)+R treatment was also significantly superior over PTR-CTW. The Walkley and Black carbon (WBC) under treatment ZTR-ZTW+R was 1.10% which was 72.9 % higher over PTR-CTW at 0-5 cm depth. Different fractions of oxidisable carbon of varying lability in 0-5cm, 5-15 cm and 15-30 cm was found in the order: Non-labile > Very labile > Labile > Less labile. The content of TOC, WBC, Microbial biomass carbon and KMnO4 - C decreased with increase in soil depth while that of soil inorganic carbon increased. Correlation study among different fractions of oxidisable carbon indicated that all forms of oxidisable carbon were in dynamic equilibrium and positively and significantly correlated with each other. The water soluble and exchangeable fractions of zinc under ZTR-ZTW(B)+R and ZTR-R were statistically at par to each other and were statistically superior over PTR-CTW. Correlation study among different fractions of zinc and soil properties like organic carbon, CaCO3 content and grain and straw yield,zinc uptake by rice and wheat indicated that the Water soluble + Exchangeable-Zn, Complexed-Zn and Organically bound-Zn, Residual-Zn were positively and significantly correlated with all the parameters except CaCO3 content of soil. The path analysis was carried out to study the direct and indirect effect of different zinc fractions towards available zinc in soil and zinc uptake by both the crops. Different fractions of zinc in soil was found in the dominance order: Residual-Zn > Crystalline oxide bound- Zn >Complexed-Zn > Amorphous oxide bound- Zn > organically bound-Zn > Water soluble + Exchangeable-Zn. It may be concluded that zero tillage rice followed by zero tillage wheat with residue retention in rice had similar system rice equivalent yield. The different organic carbon fractions e.g. TOC, WBC, MBC, POC and the different labile pools were similar in ZTR-ZTW(B)+R and ZTR-ZTW +R treatments. The values were significantly higher as compared to other treatments. The dissolution of free CaCO3 in both these treatmentswere also significantly higher as compared to the other treatments. Water soluble + Exchangeable-Zn, Complexed-Zn and Organically bound-Zn were dominant fractions of zinc in soil that contributed most towards uptake of Zn by rice and wheat crop.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Soil Carbon Fractions as Influenced by Long-Term Integrated Nutrient Management under Rice-Wheat cropping system
    (Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur), 2018) Alam, Md. Mahtab; Suman, S. N.
    A laboratory study was conducted in an ongoing field experiment started during Rabi 1988-89 under AICRP on ―Soil Test Crop Response Correlation‖ in calcareous soil at Research Farm of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar. The experimental design was split-plot with four fertilizer levels (0, 50, 100 & 150% NPK) in main plots and four levels of manures (no manures, compost @10 t ha-1, crop residues and compost @10 t ha-1 plus crop residues) in sub-plots. The present investigation was undertaken with objectives to investigate the effect of combined use of NPK and different organics (compost and crop residues) on soil organic carbon fractions, mineralization of carbon and carbon management index under rice–wheat-cropping system. Post-harvest surface soil samples after 57th wheat crop were analyzed for pH, EC, organic carbon (OC), total organic carbon, oxidisable organic carbon fractions under gradient of sulfuric acid, mineralizable carbon, potassium permanganate oxidisable carbon (KMNO4- C), soil carbon pools and carbon management index. Application of fertilizers along with compost and crop residues resulted in significant buildup of soil organic carbon fractions. Very labile soil organic carbon was the maximum (3.75 g kg-1) in the treatment receiving both compost (10 t ha-1) and i crop residues and it was 34.30% higher than that in the treatment receiving no manure application. The maximum non-labile soil organic carbon (6.06 g kg-1) was found to be in the treatment receiving both compost and crop residue and was 2.9, 3.41 and 36.48% higher than that in the treatments crop residue, Compost @ 10 t ha-1 and no manure application, respectively. The improvement in non-labile carbon fraction was more than labile carbon fractions suggesting higher carbon sequestration in the soil. The positive and significant correlation among soil carbon fractions viz. VL, L, LL, NL, KMnO4-C, SOC and TOC, suggested that they are in dynamic equilibrium in soil and enhance nutrient availability and uptake by plants. All the levels of fertilizers significantly affected the KMnO4-C content of soil. The maximum KMnO4-C (0.86 g kg-1) was found to be in the treatment receiving both compost and crop residue which was 45.76% higher than that no manure application. Effect of different levels of treatments of NPK and manures as well as their interactions effect on carbon dioxide evolution was significant. Carbon management index increased from 123.46 to 155.68 with increasing in fertilizer levels from No NPK to 150% NPK treatments. The maximum carbon management index (155.68 %), obtained in the treatment receiving 150% NPK, was 4.71, 15.10 and 26.09% higher than the treatments receiving 100%, 50% and No NPK, respectively. The treatment receiving 100% NPK was at par with the treatment receiving 150% NPK. Integrated nutrient management resulting in enhanced carbon management index indicated favorable impact of integrated nutrient management on carbon stabilization in soil.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Effect of Long-term Crop-Residue Management on Soil Properties in Rice-Wheat Cropping System
    (Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur), 2018) Kumar, Anand; Yadav, R. C.
    A study was conducted in an ongoing field experiment under AICRP on “Micro-and Secondary Nutrients and Pollutant Elements in Soils and Plants” in a calcareous soil in north-west alluvial plains of Bihar at Research Farm of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa. The experimental design was split-plot with four crop-residue (0, 25, 50 & 100%) levels in main plots and four levels of Zn application (0, 2.5, 5.0 & 10 kg ha-1) in sub-plots. Post-harvest surface soil samples after 23rdwheat crop were analyzed for physical and chemical properties, viz., bulk density, water-stable macroaggregates (WSMA), water holding capacity (WHC), volumetric water content, pH, EC, organic carbon (OC), total organic carbon, oxidisable organic carbon fractions, and aggregate-associated carbon, phosphorus and zinc. Recycling of increasing levels of crop-residue enhanced significantly the properties of soil like WHC, soil aggregation, organic carbon, and aggregate-associated carbon, whereas suppressing effect of crop-residue on pH and bulk density of soil was observed. Organic carbon content increased by 7.18, 20.22, 34.21% in treatments receiving 25, 50 and 100% crop residue, respectively as compared to that receiving no crop-residue treatment. Water-stable macroaggregates (>0.25 mm) increased significantly by 49% in the treatment receiving 100% crop-residue in comparison with that with no residue. Carbon content in both macro-(>0.25mm) and micro-aggregates (<0.25mm) increased with increase in crop-residue levels. Oxidizable organic carbon fractions in surface soil were found to be in the order: non-labile (46.6%) > very labile (31.0%) > labile (17.3%) > less labile (5.1%). The concentration of available phosphorus and zinc within water-stable aggregate showed an inverse relationship with aggregate size. WSMA, WHC, OC, oxidisable organic carbon fractions and macro- and micro- aggregate-associated carbon were significantly and positively correlated with yield of rice and wheat, whereas bulk density was negatively correlated.