Loading...
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.
Browse
10 results
Search Results
ThesisItem Open Access Potassium pools in calcareous soil after seven year continuous fertilization under rice based cropping systems(DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Choudhary, Sarita; Singh, S.P.The different pools of potassium play important role in K contribution from soil to plants. Thus, a trial on “potassium pools in calcareous soil after seven year continuous fertilization under rice based cropping systems” was undertaken in randomized block design with three crop rotation (rice-wheat, rice-mustard and rice-maize) and nine treatments [T1- control, T2-FP, T3-GRD, T4-YT 35q/ha, T5-YT 40 q/ha, T6-YT 45 q/ha, T7-STCR (YT 35 q/ha) + IPNS, T8-STCR (YT 40q/ha) + IPNS, T9-STCR (YT 45 q/ha) +IPNS at Experimental Farm, RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar, during kharif-2019 under an ongoing long-term STCR trial. Continuous addition of STCR based fertilizer along with 5 tons compost ha-1 improved soil organic carbon, CEC and different potassium fractions over control, farmers‟ practice and general recommended dose treated plots. Negative potassium balance in soil was recorded under all the treatments and it was more pronounced in rice-maize cropping system than rice-wheat and rice-mustard cropping system. Treatment with STCR (YT 45 q/ha) +IPNS for rice based cropping system was superior over all the other treatments in potassium fractions, chemical and biological properties soil and potassium balance. A highly significant relationship was observed between organic carbon and CEC with among all potassium fractions except feldspars. The potassium in muscovite form dominates over biotite and feldspar K in surface and subsurface soils in all the three rice based cropping systems. Potassium present in different primary minerals varied in the order muscovite > feldspar > biotite in surface and subsurface soils in all three rice based cropping systems. The average contribution of biotite, feldspar and muscovite to total K in surface soils were 6 to 7, 33 to 46 and 48 to 60 percent in all the three rice based cropping systems. Thus, the present study indicate that long term continuous application of STCR based fertilizer with IPNS improved the potassium status and enhance microbial properties as well as potassium balance over FP and GRD in surface (0-0.15 m) and sub-surface soil (0.15-0.30 m).ThesisItem Open Access Influence of organic sources on soil properties, availability and uptake of nutrients in sugarcane plant-ratoon system(DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Jyothiraditya, Goka.; Jha, C.K.The present study was conducted in an ongoing University Research Project running in the Department of Soil Science, SRI, Pusa on the second ratoon crop (Ratoon-II) under the sugarcane farming system Plant -Ratoon I-Ratoon II during the year 2019-2020 entitled “Influence of organic sources on Soil Properties, Availability and Uptake of Nutrients in sugarcane Plant- Ratoon System". The treatments comprising of organic sources viz. FYM , biocompost (BC), vermicompost (VC), green manuring with green gram (Vigna radiata), Trichoderma inoculated sugarcane trash (ST), FYM + biocompost + vermicompost in combination (1: 1: 0.5) and 100% chemical fertilizer (RDF) were replicated thrice in RBD. The test crop was COP 2061. The application of different organic sources resulted in a substantial and significant increase in the soil organic carbon in 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil depths after crop harvest. The mean organic carbon differed appreciably and ranged from 0.45-0.67 % in surface and 0.32-0.49 % in sub-surface soil. The organic treatment combination FYM+ BC + VC recorded the maximum organic carbon (0.67%) in the surface soil.ThesisItem Open Access An economic analysis of cotton production in Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana(DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Priyadarshini, Barre Jyothsna; Sinha, D. K.To face the related climate change, challenges and obtaining food security, farming should undergo a significant transformation in developing countries. Food consumption and population growth reports suggested that agricultural production will rise by 70 percent in order to meet demand by 2050. The majority of forecasts suggest that a decline in agricultural productivity in some areas that already have high food insecurity is more likely due to climate change, development stability, and incomes. Therefore, climate-smart agriculture is important to achieve global food security and climate change objectives. Cotton has become one of the India's leading fibre and cash crops and a significant contributor to India's agricultural and industrial economy. This provides the cotton textile industry the raw material (cotton fibre). About 40-50 million people are employed in cotton manufacturing and trading. In India, Cotton is the largest commercial crop. This affects the economy of the country, as it generates most people with earnings and employment. India accounts for the largest share of cultivated land globally (8 million hectares (36%). The Indian production of cotton was approximately 6.21 million tons. The world's leading country for the domestication and manufacture of cotton textiles. Cotton is sometimes identified as 'The White Gold' or 'The King of Fibres.' It is a widely grown commercially crop globally, but much more significant in India. In the textile industry, it is the primary raw Name of the Student : Barre Jyothsna Priyadarshini Registration Number : M/AE/319/2018-19 Major Advisor : Dr. D. K. Sinha Degree to be awarded : Master of Science in Agriculture Department : Agricultural Economics Major Subject : Agricultural Economics Minor Subject : Agricultural Statistics Year of submission : 2020 Total Pages in Thesis : 66 + i-vi (Bibliography) + a-m (Appendices) Title of the thesis : “An Economic Analysis of Cotton Production in Bhadradri Kothagudem District of Telangana” material. There is a major global demand for cotton, cotton fibre, cotton textiles, and clothes. Cotton contains about 44% of the global fibre and 10% of the world's edible oils. India is the 2nd biggest cotton producer and exporter next to China. India's yield, however, are much lower than in other cotton-producing countries. The USA and Africa are the top seed cotton exporters. In 2015-2016, cotton crop production was 37,33 lakh bales (lint), compared with 35,83 lakh bales in 2014-2015, which showed a 4.19% rise. The increase in production in the area in 2015-16 is due to an increase. Cotton crop yield in 2015-16 was 358 kg/ha compared with 360 kg/ha in 2014-15, a slight decrease of 0.56% compared to the last year. From 2001-02 to 2015-16, area, productivity, and production crops (Anonymous, 2016). The research identified the socioeconomic characteristics of the cotton growers. Having analysed the findings based on the information collected, It is important, to sum up the most growers of cotton (38.33 percent) Was in the middle age (36 to 58), the Increased percentage of these (43.33 percent) have been trained up to middle-level. The increased percentage (62.40 percent) had a small landholding size (1 to 2 hectares). The higher percentage of cotton growers (43.33%) possessed high knowledge of cotton production practices and had a medium level of farming experience (69.16%). The largest number of respondents belongs to joint families (50 percent), while 33.33 percent of growers fall just under the level of low annual earnings (50,001 to 1,00,000/-). It may be concluded that only 37.50 percent of cotton growers were solely engaged in agriculture as their primary occupation. The very high use of plant protection measures under selected area and maximum use of chemical fertilizers than organic manures were observed. The overall production cost of cotton was very high. It concerned Rs. 94159.47/- per hectare. The overall net return per hectare was estimated to about Rs. 30454.03/- per hectare. Total gross revenues of Rs. 124613.50/- per hectare was found for the cotton cultivation. Among the various factors, seed, fertilizer dose, pesticides, manures and labour were the key factors which could result in reducing the yield gap by increasing their respective quantities at the recommended stage. It was also concluded that the producer received a larger amount through fair market dealing. The very first channel where producers earned a net benefit of Rs 4875 per quintal was found to be more remunerative. It has been noticed that the very first channel has the largest net remunerative price of all channels 97.5 percent, and the third channel gave a net price, i.e., 89.7 percent. The major socio-economic constraints felt by the most of the respondents include, the prices received for the produce, high input cost, shortage of labour during peak period were ranked I, II and III, respectively and infrastructural constraints of sample farmers in cotton cultivation of the study area were lack of irrigation facilities ranked-I in case of almost all farm size groups under study area. Poor storage facilities and lack of proper transportation facilities were ranked II and III, respectively, in nearly all farmers. Although marketing constraints revealed that the lack of regulated markets was the primary constraint on rank-I farmers, followed by broad price spread (rank-II) and high commission fee (rank-III). A similar pattern was observed in the case of marginal and small farmers. High commission fees besides large farmers were ranked II, followed by a large price spread (rank-III).ThesisItem Open Access Genetic analysis of maize inbreds and hybrids using biochemical and microsatellite markers(DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Suman, Sandeep Kumar; Kumar, MithileshCharacterization of inbred lines and hybrids is crucial for release of hybrid and genetic purity analysis. Hence, field evaluation was done at AICRP, Maize, TCA, Dholi farm and lab experiment was done at Molecular Biology Lab, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, RPCAU, Pusa for characterization of parental lines and hybrids and genetic purity analysis through biochemical and microsatellite marker. Morphological genetic diversity analysis between thirteen inbreds of maize were done using Mahalanobis D2 statistics for ten characters viz. plant height, ear height, days to 50% tasseling, days to 50% silking, days to 50% Brown husk, ear length/Cob length, ear girth, number of kernels per row, number of kernel rows per cob, grain Yield per Plant. All the thirteen inbred lines under study were grouped in three clusters. Cluster I comprised of eleven inbred lines G18, CLQRC, WLS, HK1, CML490, S8200, S8481, R6429, R4093, VL111 and CLQR. Cluster II and III were found monogenotypic and consisted of CLQ25 and CG18 respectively. The inter-cluster distance between cluster II and cluster III was found maximum 6.67, while lowest inter cluster distance value was found between 4.62 cluster I and cluster II. The maximum value of genetic distance 4.89 was estimated between inbred line WLS and G18, while minimum genetic distance 2.38 was found in between VL111 and S8481. Name of the Student : SANDEEP KUMAR SUMAN Registration No. : D/AB/130/2014-2015 Major Advisor : Dr. MITHILESH KUMAR Degree to be Awarded : Ph.D. (Agricultural Biotechnology) Department : Agricultural Biotechnology and Molecular Biology Major Subject : Agricultural Biotechnology Minor Subject : Plant Breeding and Genetics Year : 2020 Total pages of the Thesis : 144 + xviii (Bibliography) + xxii (Apppendices) Title of Thesis : “Genetic analysis of maize inbreds and hybrids using biochemical and microsatellite markers” The result showed great variability was found in genetic makeup of the inbred lines. Cluster I accommodated eleven inbred lines having maximum mean value for number of kernels row per cob and number of kernels per row. While, minimum value was observed for ear height and plant height. Maximum mean value for grain yield per plant and ear girth was found for inbred line CLQ25 that is present in cluster II. The maximum contribution 26.63% was found for the trait grain yield in manifestation of genetic divergence followed by ear girth (28.47%), ear length (19.23%), number of kernel per row (11.50), number of kernels row per cob (10.04). Out of thirty crosses, eleven crosses manifest positive significant heterobeltiosis for the trait grain yield per plant. Two crosses, CLQ25 × CLQR and WLS × R4093 belongs to high divergent class. It could be deduced that genetic diversity can be used as an authentic parameter to predict heterosis in hybrids. The parental lines and hybrids were characterized with SDS-PAGE using total salt soluble seed proteins. Total salt soluble banding profile identified one hybrid G18 x VL111. The presence of 53 KDa, MW band specific for female parent G18 and 65 KDa, MW band specific for female inbred line confirmed the hybridity and purity of hybrid G18 x VL111. The 27 microsatellite primer amplified a total of 28 loci with an average of 4 alleles per locus. The number of alleles varied from 2 to 8 in case of umc1222 and umc1545 or umc1265 or umc1963 or phi084, respectively. The range of amplification varying from 72-88 in case of umc1327, while in case of phi0116 amplification ranged from 293-345. A total of 112 alleles were found in which 33 were unique and rest 79 were found shared alleles in 13 inbred lines. Based on complementary banding pattern between hybrids and their parents, the six microsatellite markers viz. umc1222, umc1161, umc1196, umc1367, umc1403 and nc133 were found effective marker to distinguish F1 hybrids from its parental lines. These markers were utilized to analyse genetic purity of inbred lines and hybrids.ThesisItem Open Access Identification and evaluation of biosurfactant for antimicrobial activity against phytopathogens(DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Satyam; Meena, Khem RajBio-surfactants are microorganism originated active, extracellular, amphiphilic, secondary metabolites produced by yeast, bacteria and fungi in late log or initial stationary phase of growth. Bio-surfactants have been reported for the possible use in various industries like pharmaceutical, cosmetics, petroleum, food industries and the most important it is used to control plant pathogenic diseases. The thesis entitled, “Identification and evaluation of biosurfactant for antimicrobial activity against phytopathogens” attempted as per mentioned work in synopsis. All four (04) bacterial isolates were screened for bio-surfactant production by the foam forming activity, emulsification activity and oil spreading activity via using cell-free broth as per previously reported methods. All bacterial strains (T1, T2, T3 and T4) were further selected for research work on the basis of screening results. All 4 bacterial strains were identified on the basis of morphological, biochemical and molecular characterization on the basis of forward and reverse sequence of the bacterial isolates. All four collected bacteria found as Bacillus cereus, Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus velezensis and Serratia marcescens after morphological, biochemical and molecular characterization. Post Graduate Degree Programme : Master of Science in (Ag.) Microbiology Name of the Student : Satyam Admission / Reg. No. : M/MICRO/501/2018–19 Major Advisor : Dr. Khem Raj Meena Department : Microbiology Major Subject : Microbiology Minor Subject : Biotechnology Year : 2020 Title of the Research Problem : Identification and evaluation of biosurfactant for antimicrobial activity against phytopathogens Finally biosurfactant was extracted by Acid precipitation methanol extraction method and dissolved into the methanol into minimum require volume. Thereafter anti-fungal activity was performed in-vitro using crude biosurfactant. Bacteria were screened for production of bio-surfactant by foam forming activity, oil spreading tests and emulsification activity. All four bacterial isolates were screened for bio-surfactant production and Bacillus velezensis was found to be produced maximum bio-surfactant (0.349±0.004g/50mL). Bio-surfactant of all four bacterial isolates checked for fungal inhibition on PDA plate. Bacillus velezensis showed the percent inhibition 68.07%, 58.82%, 82.96%, 88.15%, 78.45%,72.68%, 83.96%, 75.47%, 68.07% and 88.44% against Fusarium solani, Colletotrichum falcatum, Fusarium udum, F. oxysporium f sp. ciceri, Helminthosporium maydis, F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, Aspergillus niger, Mucor piriformis, Helminthosporium oryzae and Rhizoctonia solani respectively.ThesisItem Open Access Pathogenicity and life cycle studies of Meloidogyne incognita in capsicum including its integrated management under protected cultivation(DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Kshitiz; Keshari, NishiThe present study entitled “Pathogenicity and life cycle studies of Meloidogyne incognita in capsicum including its integrated management under protected cultivation” was carried out in the Department of Nematology, RPCAU, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar to study the incidence and frequency of distribution of root- knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita in Samastipur, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Vaishali districts of Bihar in capsicum grown under polyhouses, pathogenicity and life cycle of M. incognita under polyhouse and management using different organic amendments. During survey, mean population density of M. incognita ranged between 1035 – 3205 nematodes per 200 cc of soil, was recorded. Maximum nematode infestation was observed in Muzaffarpur district. Pathogenicity level to cause significant loss in plant growth was recorded at initial inoculum density of 1,000 J2/plant, inverse relationship between plant growth parameter and inoculum density and direct relationship between nematode multiplication parameters and initial inoculum density was observed, maximum damage to crop was observed at highest inoculum density of 10,000 J2/plant. Meloidogyne incognita completed its life cycle from J2 to adult in 33 days, during the study temperature inside polyhouse was recorded at 10o C to 36o C. All the organic amendments when combined with Trichoderma viride @10 g/pot, have improved plant growth and yield while decreased nematode multiplication parameters. Highly significant treatment was Trichoderma viride @10 g/pot + neem cake @ 100 g/pot, which increased crop yield by 77 % compared to untreated check.ThesisItem Unknown Characterization and micropropagation of Physalis minima L. in Bihar(DRPCAU, Pusa, Samastipur, 2018) Kumari, Anjani; Kumar, HarshA study was undertaken to characterize populations of Physalis minima L. collected from the seven locations of Bihar. A list of 47 morphological characters were used to score the variations present in the plants. Qualitative and quantitative estimation for the presence of phytochemicals was done to determine the medicinal and nutritive value of the plant. Different populations were also characterized on the basis of their molecular study using ISSR and SSR markers. The superior plant populations were identified on the basis of these studies. The micropropagation of the plants was carried out for their multiplication and maintaining superior characters and also prevent the natural hybridization. The morphological characterization based on 24 qualitative and 13 quantitative characters revealed the presence of variations within and between populations. The variations not reported before were observed, which lead to the identification of new forms of the Physalis minima L. plants in Bihar. The quantitative morphological traits were found to be significantly correlated. The cluster analysis and Principal Component Analysis successfully grouped the populations into three groups. The presence of eight phytochemicals were detected in leaves, stem, fruits and roots of the plants from all the seven populations by using thirteen qualitative tests. The quantitative estimation revealed the presence of a high amount of total soluble sugar, ascorbic acid, protein, phenols, flavonoids and alkaloids in leaves and fruits of the seven populations. The populations showed significant variations in their phytochemical constitution. The dissimilarity coefficient and Principal Component analysis based on quantitative biochemical characters clustered the populations in three groups similar to the groups identified by morphological characterization. The biochemical profile highlighted the fruit and medicinal value of the plant. Three out of the eight SSR markers used in the study failed to achieve amplification in the forty two plants of Physalis minima, suggesting a lack of transferability of these primers. A total of 50 alleles were detected using the five SSR primer pairs. The plants were effectively diversified using the SSR primer based similarity coefficients and Principal Coordinate Analysis. The plants were grouped in three clusters having the plants from different populations. A total of 574 alleles were detected using fifteen ISSR primers. The results of ISSR marker based similarity coefficient and Principal Coordinate Analysis showed corresponding results. The plants were again grouped into three clusters. The similarity coefficients and Principal Coordinate Analysis based on both the markers revealed a similar result, suggesting the applicability of both the markers in scoring the genetic variation present in the Physalis minima L. plants. A high level of genetic heterogeneity was identified in the populations based on molecular studies. The results of the three studies were found to be related suggesting that the variations in morphological and biochemical parameters are a result of the genetic variations. The Selao was identified as the superior population based on the score of biochemical characters. Since the Physalis minima L. populations are highly heterogeneous, there is a need for purification of the populations which can lead to the development of superior genotypes. The tissue culture responses were found to be independent of the effect of population. The shoot apical bud followed by nodal stem were identified as the best explant for most of the tissue culture response except swelling and callogenesis for which leaves were the most effective. MS 30 (1 mg l-1 BAP and 1 mg l-1 2, 4-D) was identified as the best medium for differentiation of multiple shoots in shoot apex and nodal stem while MS 2 (1 mg l-1 BAP) was the best for leaves. MS 7 (1 mg l-1 KIN) was invariably identified as the best medium with the highest number of shoots per explant for all the explants. The leaves were the best explant for callogenesis. The in vitro flowering and fruiting were obtained from shoot apex and nodal stem culture. MS 32 (1.0 mg l-1 BAP and 1.5 mg l-1 2, 4-D) for flowering and MS 30 for fruiting was identified as the best medium for both the cultures. R3 (MS + 1 mg l-1 NAA) was identified as the best medium for rooting. The in vitro studies led to the development of a highly efficient protocol for micropropagation of Physalis minima L.ThesisItem Unknown Studies on leaf blotch disease of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)(DRPCAU, Pusa, Samastipur, 2019) kumar, Mukul; Mishra, A. K.Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) known as golden spice as well as “spice of life” has emerged as low volume high value crop. Among various diseases attacking turmeric, leaf blotch disease caused by Taphrina maculans Butler is one of the most serious disease. Turmeric yield losses due to this disease have been recorded upto 37.6-52.9 per cent. Considering the seriousness of this disease, present investigation was carried out on various aspects viz., survey, germplasm screening and evaluation of botanicals, fungicides and resistance inducing chemical against leaf blotch disease of turmeric at T. C. A., Dholi, Muzaffarpur (Dr. Rajendra Prasad central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar) during 2018-19. The fungus isolated from the diseased turmeric leaf was confirmed as Taphrina maculans by observing and comparing blastospore measurement with previous reports. Survey results indicated that leaf blotch was observed in all the villages of Samastipur and Muzaffarpur district. Muzaffarpur district was found more prone to leaf blotch disease compared to Samastipur district. There was an increase in the disease incidence during September to November. Among 16 turmeric germplasm screened against the leaf blotch disease, three and eight germplasm showed Resistant and Moderately Resistant reaction respectively. Neem (6% aqueous extract) followed by brahmi (6% aqueous extract) were found most effective plant extract under in-vitro conditions against T. maculans. Under disease management, rhizome treatment alongwith three foliar spray of Tricyclazole 75 WP (0.1%) at fortnightly interval starting from appearance of disease incidence resulted lowest PDI (26.67) and highest rhizome yield (37.85 t ha-1) consequently with 49.99 per cent disease reduction and 55.75 per cent yield increase over control was recorded. Maximum incremental cost benefit ratio (1:16.34) was exhibited by the same treatment.ThesisItem Open Access Effect of male migration on role of womwn in agriculture.(Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, 2018) Bharti, Raman; Kumari, PunamMigration is both a cause and a consequence of various social, cultural and economic constraints experienced by people in society. A series of structural changes in rural context, such as, polarization of land holding, degradation of natural resources, occurrence of natural calamities such as drought; and poor local employment opportunities accompanied by exponential population growth have contributed to spatial mobility or migration. It has been found that in incidence of male-migration, women’s work- burden and decision- making role is influenced due to the reason that they are bound to act as ‘de facto heads’ of the family. The investigator therefore decided to study the effect of male-migration on role of women in agriculture with following objectives: 1. To study the socio-personal characteristics of woman respondents; 2. To study the effect of male- migration on physical participation and decision-making role of women in agriculture; 3. To study the relationship between socio-personal characteristics and participation of selected women in agriculture. To study the effect of male-migration the respondents were divided into control and experimental groups with control households having no migration and experimental with migration of their male counterparts. The result of the study had striking finding that there was no increased burden physically in agriculture in case of respondents of migrant’s households, the reason being the respondents in case of migration of their husbands were leasing in land and hiring labour for agricultural work. This may be due to their increased financial capacity as the money was flowing from outside due to employment of their husbands at distant destinations. However, role of respondents in decision-making increased considerably due to the reason that they acted as de facto female heads in case of migration of their husbands.