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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 Studies on insect pest complex of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) and their management(DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Kumar, Ram; Singh, P. P.In order to study the population dynamics and management of okra shoot and fruit borer, Earias vittella Fabricius, whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius, jassid, Amrasca bigutulla bigutulla Ishida, and red spider mite, Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisduval, a series of field experiments were conducted during two consecutive years i.e. Kharif, 2018 and 2019 at the Research Farm, Tirhut College of Agriculture, Dholi, Muzaffarapur (Bihar). Results related to different aspects of the present study viz. population dynamics, screening of different okra varieties, intercropping effect of different crops and foliar application of insecticides applied against pests of okra have been abstracted below: The shoot damage was first noticed during 29th standard week (3.84 %) whereas, its peak activity was observed during 31st standard week (10.09 %) when the prevailing abiotic factors viz. maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity at 7 hrs and 14 hrs and rainfall were 34.00 ºC, 26.25 ºC, 97.75 per cent, 83.25 per cent and 5.57 mm, respectively and remained active up to the 34th standard week (2.85 %). After fruit appearance, the larva moved to the fruit and caused damage. Initiation of fruit damage was noticed during 31st standard week (4.91 %) and continued till 41st standard week (6.44 %) i.e. end of the crop seasons with the highest fruit damage (29.30 %) during 34th standard week when the prevailing weather parameters viz. maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity at 7 hrs and 14 hrs and rainfall were 35.75 ºC, 27.35 ºC, 97.60 per cent, 69.20 per cent and nil, respectively. However, the larva appearance on okra fruit was first noticed during 31st standard week (1.13 larva/ 25 fruit) with its peak during 34th standard week (7.13 larva/ 25 fruit). Its activity was traced up to last harvest of the fruit (1.11 larva/ 25 fruit). The activity of whitefly, jassid and mite on okra plant commenced during 27th standard week, while their peak activity and appearance period on crop varied remarkably. The peak activity of whitefly was recorded during 31st standard week (7.59 whitefly/ 3 leaves) when the mean corresponding weather parameters viz; maximum, minimum temperature, relative humidity at 07 and 14 hrs and rainfall prevailed around 34.0 oC, 26.3 oC, 97.8 per cent, 83.3 per cent and 5.6mm, respectively, but it persisted up to 35th standard week (6.60 – 2.69 whitefly/3 leaves). Contrary to this, the peak activity of jassid (14.38 jassid/ 3 leaves) and mite (13.97 mite/2 cm2) was observed during 34th and 36th standard week, respectively. The incidence of jassid and mite were observed throughout the crop season while, its population was relatively more in reproductive stage of the crop. The appearance of natural enemies (coccinellid and spider) emerged with pests incidence i.e. 27th standard week (0.38 coccinelids and 0.44 spiders/ 5 plant, respectively) and persisted till the end of crop season. However, their highest population was noted during 35th standard week (4.56 coccinelids and 3.94 spiders/ 5 plant, respectively). A relationship between pests population and weather parameters were established to assess the impact of abiotic factors on pests population. The maximum temperature, minimum temperature and relative humidity at 7 hrs inferred positive but non-significant effect on shoot damage, fruit damage and larval population. However, relative humidity at 14 hrs exerted negative and significant effect on per cent fruit damage and larval population. Further, the effect of rainfall on per cent shoot damage, per cent fruit damage and larval population was found negative and non-significant. All the prevailing weather parameters viz. maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity at 7 hrs, and 14 hrs and rainfall collectively shared 61.60, 48.56 and 50.82 per cent contribution towards shoot damage, fruit damage and larval population fluctuation, respectively. In case of whitefly, the maximum temperature and minimum temperature were reported to respond positively with significant effect while relative humidity at 7 hrs and 14 hrs were found to effect positively but had non-significant correlation with whitefly population. Further, rainfall exerted negative and non-significant effect on whitefly population. The effect of minimum temperature and relative humidity at 7 hrs were found to respond positively but had non-significant effect on jassid and mite population while, the influence of maximum temperature on jassid was positive and highly significant but it was positive and non-significant on mite population. The effect of relative humidity at 14 hrs and rainfall inferred negative and non-significant impact on jassid and mite population. The cumulative effect of all the weather parameters collectively contributed 64.67, 53.78 and 16.25 per cent towards whitefly, jassid and mite population, respectively as indicated by R2 value (R2 = 0.6467, 0.5378 and 0.1625, respectively). Maximum temperature had positive and highly significant effect on coccinellid and spider population. But, the effect of minimum temperature and relative humidity at 7 hrs were found positive but non-significant on coccinellid and spider population. Further, the relative humidity at 14 hrs and rainfall had negative and non-significant relationship with coccinelid and spider population. The effect of all the weather parameters together governed 49.90 and 48.23 per cent to the coccinelids and spider population build up, respectively. Among the fifteen okra varieties evaluated for their susceptibility to okra shoot and fruit borer, it may be inferred that Kashi Satdhari (2.60%) was the most superior variety as it recorded lowest per cent shoot damage followed by D-1-87-5 (3.62%) and Pusa A-4 (4.24%). On the contrary, Pusa Sawani (16.23%) recorded highest level of shoot infestation followed by SB-2 (13.74%) as against Kashi Pragati (check) 10.08 per cent. Further, okra variety Kashi Satdhari (7.87%) recorded lowest fruit infestation and was considered as least susceptible variety which was at par with NO-136 (8.77%), D-1-87-5 (9.12%) and Kashi Leela (9.38%). Amongst all the okra varieties evaluated for their susceptibility to fruit infestation, Pusa Sawani and VRO-03 recorded relatively higher fruit infestation i.e. 35.17 and 33.41 per cent, respectively and registered as the most inferior varieties against (26.12%) Kashi Pragati (check). Out of fifteen okra varieties, the maximum whitefly population was recorded in Pusa Sawani (4.50 whitefly/ 3 leaves) which was statistically at par with VRO-03 (4.18 whitefly/ 3 leaves) as against check Kashi Pragati (3.69 whitefly/ 3 leaves). However, the lowest whitefly population was recorded in Kashi Satdhari (1.50 whitefly/ 3 leaves) which was at par with Kashi Leela (1.58), Kashi Lalima (1.63) and SB-8 (1.64) per three leaves. Amongst fifteen varieties screened, NO-136 registered minimum infestation (2.99 jassid/ 3 leaves) thus inferred as the best variety while Pusa Sawani recorded maximum jassid population (11.56 jassid/ 3 leaves) as against 9.20 jassid per three leaves in Kashi Pragati (check). Against mite infestation in okra variety, Masina-1 was found the most susceptible variety as it harboured the highest infestation (11.78 mite/ 2 cm2) which was at par with D-1-87-5 (10.42) and Ankur-41 (9.93) as against Kashi Pragati (check) 9.82 mite per two square centimetre. Whereas, the lowest mite population was observed on Kashi Satdhari (3.78 mite/ 2 cm2) followed by Kashi Lalima (2.58) and Pusa-A-4 (5.94 mite/ 2 cm2) regarded as the least susceptible host among all the tested varieties. The maximum number of primary branches (2.55/ plant), fruit angle (51.30º), number of lateral veins (70.88/ leaf) and leaf moisture (86.21%) were found in Ankur-41. On the contrary, the minimum number of primary branches, fruit angle, number of lateral veins and leaf moisture were recorded in Azad Bhindi-1 (0.20/ plant), VRO-03 (13.39º), SB-8 (36.26/ leaf) and Kashi Sathari (80.55%), respectively. Among all the fifteen okra varieties, SB-2 bears the maximum fruit yield (131.42 g) and fruit width (1.95 cm) whereas, the same was found minimum in NO-136 (79.76 g) and Ankur-41 (1.27 cm). The lowest trichome density on leaf lamina (5.57/ cm), midrib (5.67/ cm) and side vein (9.17/ cm) were recorded in SB-2 whereas, on fruit (292.44/ cm2) the minimum trichome density was recorded in okra variety Pusa Sawani. Moreover, the okra variety NO-136 recorded maximum trichomes per unit area on leaf lamina (29.77/ cm), midrib (27.82/ cm) and side vein (23.22/ cm) but, the maximum trichomes per unit area on fruit was recorded in SB-2 (480.52/ cm). The trichome length varied significantly among the tested varieties with minimum in SB-2 (3.02 μm) at leaf lamina and Kashi Pragati at fruit (3.98 μm), respectively. While on midrib (3.83 μm) and side vein (4.19 μm), it was the shortest in Pusa Sawani. In addition, NO-136 obtained the longest trichome at leaf lamina (7.01 μm), midrib (7.61 μm), side vein (8.21 μm) and fruit (7.27 μm). The availability of secondary metabolites varied among different varieties. The phenol and flavonoid content per gram of leaf was found maximum in Kashi Satdhari (0.339 mg and 0.177 mg, respectively) while, it was the lowest in SB-2 (0.157 mg/g) and Pusa Sawani (0.035 mg/g). Apart from this, the maximum tannin was available in No-136 (0.950 mg/ g) whereas, it was minimum in Pusa Sawani (0.098 mg/g). Amongst fifteen varieties, the potassium content was minimum in Pusa-A-4 (0.398%) while, its highest concentration was observed in Kashi Lalima (0.880%). Moreover, the maximum and minimum phosphorus content was recorded in Kashi Satdhari (0.545%) and Masina-1 (0.204%). The correlation studies between phytomorphometric attributes and fruit infestation ascribed by okra shoot and fruit borer clearly indicated that the fruit angle, fruit yield and plant height had positive but non-significant association with fruit infestation, while the primary branches showed positive and significant effect. The fruit infestation was found negatively associated with fruit width, fruit length, seed per fruit, trichome density on fruit and leaf moisture content. Moreover, trichome length on fruit had highly significant effect on fruit infestation. The correlation of whitefly population with trichome density, trichome length, primary branches and fruit yield were negative and non significant. Further, it was found that plant height, moisture content and number of lateral veins per leaf had positive and non-significant correlation with whitefly population. The trichome effect on jassid population was also found negative and non significant except trichome density on fruit and trichome length on leaf lamina. Unlike, the plant height, primary branches per plant, moisture content and number of lateral veins per leaf showed positive and non significant on jassid population. The mite incidence had negative and non-significant correlation with trichome except trichome density on leaf lamina which showed significant and negative effect on mite incidence and trichome length on side vein. However, the plant height, moisture content and number of lateral veins per leaf showed positive and non significant effect on mite population. Additionally, the primary branches per plant showed positive and significant association with mite population. The correlation of all the biochemical and nutritional factors viz. phenol, flavonoid, tannin, potassium and phosphorus showed negative impact on growth and development of shoot and fruit borer, whitefly, jassid and mite and thus reduce the population. Among the different crop combinations the lowest shoot damage (5.00%) was recorded in okra + cowpea (1:1) intercropping followed by okra + cowpea (2:1) and okra + sorghum (1:1) while the highest shoot damage (6.65%) was registered in okra + maize (2:1) intercropping system as against okra mono-croppping (7.69%). Similarly, the minimum fruit damage (12.25%) was recorded in okra + cowpea (1:1) crop combination which was statistically similar with okra + cowpea (2:1), okra + sorghum (1:1) and okra + sorghum (2:1) while the maximum fruit damage (16.41%) was registered in okra + maize (2:1) intercropping as against okra as a sole crop (18.42%). The influence of intercrops in reducing whitefly population was found maximum (3.08 whitefly/ 3 leaves) in okra + cowpea (1:1) intercropping system thus, referred as the most suitable crop combination among all and found statistically at par with okra + cowpea (2:1) and okra + sorghum (1:1) as against okra mono-cropping (4.95 whitefly/ 3 leaves). However, among all the crop combinations the maximum whitefly infestation (4.95 whitefly/ 3 leaves) was registered in okra + maize (2:1). Similarly, okra + cowpea (1:1) crop combinations also recorded minimum jassid infestation (6.10 jassid/ 3 leaves) and considered as the most efficient crop combination which was statistically at par with okra + cowpea (2:1) and okra + sorghum (1:1) as against okra monocropping (9.86 jassid/ 3 leaves). Moreover, the crop combination which was least effective in managing jassid infestation was okra + maize (2:1). With reference to mite infestation, okra + cowpea (1:1) crop combination proved as the most promising (6.92 mite/ 2 cm2) and was statistically aligned with okra + cowpea (2:1) and okra + sorghum (1:1) as against okra monocropping (9.87 mite/ 2 cm2). Moreover, okra + maize (2:1) crop combination was found least effective (8.76 mite/ 2 cm2) in managing mite infestation. From the natural enemies conservation point of view too, okra + cowpea (1:1) crop combination was proved to be the most efficient and recorded the highest coccinellid (6.02 coccinellids/ plant) and spider (4.88 spiders/ plant) population which behaved statistically at par with okra + cowpea (2:1) as against okra monocropping (4.02 coccinellids/ plant and 3.37 spiders/ plant). Furthermore, okra + maize (2:1) crop combination proved less beneficial for narural enemies conservation. Intercropping of cowpea with okra (2:1) found most superior crop combination as it recorded the maximum yield (89.0 q/ha) over sole crop (109.35 q/ha), while the minimum yield (64.5 q/ha) was obtained in maize intercropped with okra (1:1). It was critical to mention that the okra + cowpea (1:1) recorded the maximum LER (1.31) followed by okra + cowpea 1.20 at 2:1 and okra + sorghum 1.19 at 1:1 crop ratio thus rated as more efficient intercropping system over sole okra crop. On the contrary, okra intercropped with maize (2:1) was found less efficient (0.99) than the okra sole. The maximum okra equivalent yield (111.4 q/ha) was recorded in okra + cowpea intercropping (1:1) while it was minimum (100.9 q/ha) in okra + maize (2:1). Out of nine insecticides applied, three round application of profenofos 50 EC @ 500g a.i./ha at fortnightly interval was found to afford maximum protection to the okra crop against shoot and fruit borer infestation (2.55% shoot damage and 5.69% fruit damage) followed by spinosad 45 SC @ 50g a.i./ha and thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 25g a.i./ha as against untreated control (8.42% shoot damage and 18.62% fruit damage). However, among botanicals used, YBSE 5% was found better in reducing the shoot and fruit borer infestation. Further, after three spraying at fifteen days interval population of whitefly (0.50/ 3 leaves) and jassid (0.63/ 3 leaves) were found minimum in thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 25g a.i./ha treated plot which was statistically at par with acetamiprid 20 SP and profenofos 50 EC as against untreated control (5.74 whitefly/ 3 leaves and 14.12 jassid/ 3 leaves). Among the botanicals, the most promising plant product was YBSE 5% followed by NSKE 5% and Neem oil 3%. Three foliar spray of profenofos 50 EC @ 500g a.i./ha (4.74 mite/ 2 cm2) at fortnightly interval recorded better results in controlling mite incidence but their effect was not much pronounced as against untreated control (11.48 mite/ 2 cm2). However, the efficacy of neem oil 3% against mite infestation was the lowest (9.60 mite/ 2 cm2) among evaluated insecticides. The botanicals used were not much effective in controlling mite population. Three round applications of profenofos 50 EC (@ 500 g a.i./ha) recorded highest fruit yield (152.9 q/ha), while the neem oil 3% yielded the lowest (131.1 q/ha) as against untreated control (112.1 q/ha). Among the plant products, YBSE 5% yielded higher okra fruit (136.2 q/ha) as compared to other botanicals but its effect was less pronounced than chemical insecticides. The benefit-cost ratio of different treatments used as foliar application differed remarkably. It was highest (12.78:1) in case of profenofos 50 EC which was closely followed by acetamiprid 20 SP (11.57:1) and thiamethoxam 25 WG (10.11:1).
