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Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi

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2013 - 201921
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Subject: Horticulture × End date: 2019 × Start date: 2013 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Effect of Liquid Paraffin and Carbon Dioxide on shelf life and quality of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Bombay Green
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2019) Kumari, Nidhi; Kumar Tiwary, Arun
    Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is considered as "King of all fruits" due to its excellent aroma, attractive colour, delicious and juicy pulp packed with vitamins and minerals particularly vitamin-A. Being climacteric in nature, they ripen rapidly after harvest in about 3 to 9 days. High moisture content, soft texture of fruits and susceptibility to various pathogenic infections are limiting factors to its shelf life. The present investigation entitled “Effect of Liquid Paraffin and Carbon Dioxide on shelf life and quality of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Bombay Green” was carried out in the PG lab of Department of Horticulture, Ranchi Agriculture College, B.A.U. in the year 2018. The studies were undertaken with a view to enhance shelf life with maintained fruit quality and to know the effect of pedicel length, liquid paraffin and CO2 concentration on it. The level of liquid paraffin used has a concentration of 6% and the pedicel length were 0 cm, 0.5 cm, 1.5 cm and 2.5 cm. The CO2 concentration was maintained at 1%. The data from all the 10 treatments were analysed by CRD. Result of the present investigations revealed that different post-harvest treatments exhibited a significant effect on improvement in fruit quality along with extended shelf life. Physical changes viz. physiological loss in weight (PLW), physiological loss in volume, reduction in size (length and width) and fruit spoilage were significantly varied positively over control. On the 15th day of investigation, whole fruits coated with liquid paraffin having no pedicel (T9) exhibited minimum PLW (12.16%) followed by the fruits kept in 1% CO2 (13.17%). However, maximum PLW (26.55%) was recorded in control (T10). Irrespective of treatments a decreasing trend in size (length and width) and the volume of fruits was noticed during the storage period. The highest value of reduction was observed in fruits which remained untreated and stored under ambient conditions. An overall per cent decrease in length varied from 3.14% in T9 (whole coated fruits with no pedicel) to 8.59% in control (T10). Similar, per cent decrease in width was recorded highest (13.04%) in T10 (control) and least of 4.21% in T9. Minimum loss in volume (17.70%) and the maximum loss in volume (38.25%) were recorded in T9 and T10, respectively. Among all the treatments, whole fruit coated with no pedicel (T9) proved to be most effective for increasing the shelf-life (13.3 days) which was followed by the fruits kept in 1% carbon dioxide (12 days). In control, the shelf life reported was 6.5 days. The higher TSS (18.11 oB), total sugar (13.08%), reducing sugar (6.98%), non-reducing sugar (6.10%), titratable acidity (0.317%) and ascorbic acid content (20.46 mg/100 g) were observed on 15th day of storage under the treatment in which whole fruits having no pedicel were coated. Thus, the good fruit qualities were maintained until the 15th day of storage. Net profit of control was found to be ` 180.64 for 100 mangoes and that of whole coated fruit with no pedicel was ` 492.41. So whole coated fruit with no pedicel achieved a profit of ` 311.77 over control. The marginal return per rupee of whole coated fruit with no pedicel was found maximum i.e. 1:2.28 which indicates that just by coating the entire fruits the farmer can earn comparatively more. Hence, on the basis of the above inferences, it may be concluded that the mango fruits cv. „Bombay Green‟ can be stored at ambient storage conditions well to prolonged periods with better retention of physical and physico-chemical properties and at the same time, fetch higher economic returns, if the whole fruit is coated with liquid paraffin (6%).
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Effect of Liquid Paraffin and Carbon Dioxide on shelf life and quality of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Himsagar
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2019) Mishra, Sarika; Kumar Tiwary, Arun
    Mango is one of the most extensively exploited fruits for food, juice, flavor, fragrance and colour, making it a common ingredient in new functional foods often called super fruits. In the harvesting season there is a glut of fruits in the market so in these days farmers can’t get reasonable price. So, it becomes imperative to prolong the shelf life of the fruits in the best interest of farmer’s community and consumers as well. An investigation was undertaken to evaluate the Effect of Liquid Paraffin and Carbon Dioxide on physical and chemical attributes of Mango fruit (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Himsagar during storage period at ambient conditions. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design with total ten treatments and three replications (300fruits). Concentration of liquid paraffin used was of 6% which was used on variety of pedicel length such as 0 cm, 0.5 cm, 1.5 cm and 2.5 cm. The data from all the 10 treatments were analyzed by CRD. The parameters were recorded regularly starting from the day of harvest followed by 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11 th, 13th and on 15th day of harvest. Maximum shelf life was obtained in T9 i.e. whole fruits coated with liquid paraffin without pedicel (15 days) which was followed by the fruits kept in Carbon dioxide incubator (13.1 days) (T1). The minimum was found in control (T10) (7.6 days). The same trend was observed in almost all physical parameters i.e. physiological loss in weight, physiological loss in volume, reduction in length and width of fruits and spoilage percentage. Among chemical parameters, in TSS, treatment T1 was affected significantly. Its highest value (19.21 0Brix) was recorded in fruits kept in CO2 chamber on 13th day of storage as compared with control (17.32 0Brix) which was highest on 7th day. While in case of total and reducing sugars, maximum was observed in whole fruit coated with liquid paraffin and minimum in control. The titratable acidity was found maximum in whole fruit coated with liquid paraffin without pedicel and minimum in control. The similar results were observed for Ascorbic Acid content. It can be concluded that the whole fruit coated with 6% liquid paraffin without pedicel proved to be the best among all the treatments. Different post harvest treatments exhibited significant effect on improvement in fruit quality along with extended shelf life. Among all the treatments, the full fruit coated with 6% liquid paraffin without pedicel proved most effective for increasing the shelf-life (15 days) with maintained fruit quality [i.e. 12.45 % PLW, 21.41 % fruit spoilage, 19.21 °Brix TSS,16.42 % total sugar, 5.25 % reducing sugar 11.15 % non reducing sugar] on mean basis with respect to storage period. Finally it may be concluded that whole fruit coated with 6% liquid paraffin without pedicel can be used readily and can be effectively utilized to increase the shelf-life with maintained fruit quality in mango cv. Himsagar at ambient storage conditions. The marginal return per rupee of whole coated fruit was found maximum i.e. 1:2.41 which indicates that just by coating the fruits the farmer can earn comparatively more than fruits left untreated.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    DEVELOPMENT OF PHENOPRINT IN JACKFRUIT (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.)
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2019) Horo, Seema; Nath, Sachindra
    Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., bearing the largest edible fruit in the world, is a tropical evergreen tree belonging to the family Moraceae and commonly known as kathal in Jharkhand. The experiment was conducted at ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resource, Regional Station, New Bhusur, Ranchi, Jharkhand and the selected crop was Jackfruit at ripening stage. Total Accessions were one hundred ten (110) under study, germplasm collected from different habitates of Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Meghalaya and Assam. Experimental design was augmented design in the study. Observations were recorded as per the descriptors provided by the IPGRI (International Plant Genetic Resources Institute) in the study. Out of total fifty three (53) parameters taken, twenty seven (27) were qualitative parameters and twenty six (26) were quantitative parameters. Observations were taken on five randomly selected fruit per accession. Statistical analysis of qualitative phenotypic traits were coded for the presence (1) and absence (0) of each alternate form. Diversity parameters were calculated using POPGENE v 1.32 with 1000 permutations. The neighbour joining dendrogram based on Nei’s unbiased pairwise genetic distances among genotypes was constructed in MEGA 6. Graphic presentation method based on alternate forms for the morphological descriptors, which we describe as ‘Phenoprint’. The Phenoprint was developed using Microsoft Excel 2013, in which the binary data was represented as bar (s); black bar for the presence of the variable and grey bar for the absence to provide uniqueness for each of the genotype. Different morphological characters that contributed most to the observed phenotypic variance are identified by principal component analysis (PCA) in the software SAS 9.2. Objectives of the study planned for the study are to identify candidate traits for phenoprint in jackfruit, to scale diversity of candidate traits in jackfruit accession and to develop phenoprint of jackfruit. In the present study results highlight out of the total 27 qualitative traits, 18 characters identified suitable for phenoprint development in jackfruit. Beside’s significant diversity have been recorded for most of the vegetative and reproductive attributes in the jackfruits that revealed through quantitative and qualitative analysis. Among all the three agro ecological popualtion the genetic distance between central north eastern plateau and south eastern plateau is zero while the maximum genetic distance between south eastern plateau and western plateau were recorded. This is first report in crop like jackfruit, globally. The finding will not only establish identity of each accession but also will help to ensure purity of superior accession during multiple chain. Therefore the phenoprint is going to play key role in possible commodification of jackfruit.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    EFFECT OF BORON, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM AND ZINC ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF CAULIFLOWER (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis)
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2019) Ranjan, Seema; Misra, Sanyat
    Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) is one of the most important vegetable of Brassicaceae family. It is a heavy feeder of plant nutrients. Nutrition is one of the prime considerations for getting higher yield of any crop. Mineral fertilizer improves growth and yield of cauliflower due to role of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium on the meristematic activity. Boron, Manganese, Molybdenum and Zinc are required for normal plant growth and development. Plants differ widely in their nutrient requirements but the ranges of deficiency and toxicity is narrow. Boron, molybdenum, manganese and zinc deficiencies are very common in cole crops particularly in cauliflower, which may cause many anatomical, physiological and biological changes. Hence, the deficiency of micronutrient threatens the ever increasing area and marketability of cauliflower. A field experiment entitled “Effect of Boron, Manganese, Molybdenum and Zinc on growth and yield of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis)” was conducted during summer season of 2018 at experimental farm of Department of Horticulture, Birsa Agricultural University, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with 16 treatments replicated thrice. The cauliflower genotype “Hajipur Early” was cultivated to study the effect of foliar application of micronutrients. The treatments were of T1- 0.2% Borax; T2- 0.1% Ammonium molybdate; T3- 0.5% Manganese sulphate;T4 - 0.5% Zinc sulphate; T5- 0.2% Borax + 0.1% Ammonium molybdate; T6- 0.2% Borax + 0.5% Manganese sulphate; T7- 0.2% Borax + 0.5% Zinc sulphate; T8- 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Manganese sulphate; T9- 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Zinc sulphate; T10- 0.5% Manganese sulphate + 0.5% Zinc sulphate; T11- 0.2% Borax + 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Manganese sulphate; T12- 0.2% Borax + 0.5% Manganese sulphate + 0.5% Zinc sulphate; T13- 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Manganese sulphate +0.5% Zinc sulphate; T14- 0.2% Borax + 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Zinc sulphate; T15- 0.2% Borax + 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Manganese sulphate + 0.5% Zinc sulphate and in Control (T0) only water was sprayed. The foliar application of micronutrients as per treatments was done at 15, 45 and 75 days after transplanting and the growth observations were recorded at 30 days interval and yield observations were recorded at harvest. The soil of the experimental site was sandy loam with pH 6.2, available nitrogen (227kg/ha), available phosphorus (36.4kg/ha), available potassium (224.70 kg/ha), available boron (0.324ppm), available manganese (9.32ppm) and available zinc (2.32ppm). The observations regarding growth were recorded at 30 days interval and yield parameters were recorded at harvest. Results revealed that the foliar application of 0.2% Borax + 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Manganese sulphate + 0.5% Zinc sulphate was significantly best and other treatments were at par as like 0.2% Borax + 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Zinc sulphate; 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Manganese sulphate + 0.5% Zinc sulphate; 0.2% Borax + 0.5% Manganese sulphate + 0.5% Zinc sulphate and 0.2% Borax + 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Manganese sulphate in respect of growth and yield parameters in cauliflower. However, the foliar application of 0.2% Borax + 0.1% Ammonium molybdate + 0.5% Manganese sulphate + 0.5% Zinc sulphate (T15) produced highest net monetary return and recorded highest B: C ratio. It can be concluded from one year of experiment that for getting higher yield (159.70q/ha) and for highest B: C (3.06) with an average cost of Rs 78635/- and net profit of 240781/- in cauliflower the combined foliar application of Borax 0.2% + Ammonium molybdate 0.1% + Manganese sulphate 0.5% + Zinc sulphate 0.5% should be done at 15, 45 and 75 days after transplanting.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT ON FRENCH BEAN (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2019) Parween, Sayma; Misra, Sanyat
    French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the precious and highly relished vegetables of family Leguminoseae (Fabaceae). As per worldwide consensus, sole dependence on chemical input based agriculture is not suitable in long run and only integrated plant nutrient systems (IPNS) involving a combination of fertilizers, organic manures and bio-fertilizers are essential to sustain crop production, preserve soil health and biodiversity. Use of organic manure with optimum rate of fertilizer under intensive farming system increases the turnover of nutrients in the soil plant system. An experiment entitled “Integrated nutrient management on French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)” was proposed and conducted during Rabi 2018-19. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with nine treatments replicated thrice with a view to study yield and economics of French bean. The treatments were 50%RDF + 25%FYM + 25% Vermicompost (T1), 75% RDF + 25% FYM (T2), 75% RDF + 25% Vermicompost (T3), 75%RDF + 25%FYM + Bio-fertilizer (Rhizobium + PSB) (T4), 75% RDF + 25% Vermicompost + Bio-fertilizer (Rhizobium + PSB) (T5), 75%RDF + 12.5%FYM + 12.5% Vermicompost + Bio-fertilizer (Rhizobium + PSB) (T6), 100%RDF (Chemical fertilizer) (T7), 100%RDF (Organic Matter) (T8) and Control where no treatment was given (T9). Soil of the experimental site was sandy loam with pH 6.1, available nitrogen (229.79kg/ha), available phosphorus (35.4kg/ha) and available potassium (237kg/ha). The variety used was Swarna Priya. The observations regarding growth were recorded at 30 days interval and yield parameters were recorded at harvest. Results revealed that maximum yield of 97.93 q/ha was obtained by applying 75% RDF + 25% Vermicompost + biofertilizer (PSB + Rhizobium), which was significantly higher than sole application of recommended dose of fertilizers that produced 71.99 q/ha. Application of 75% RDF + 25%Vermicompost + Bio-fertilizer (Rhizobium+PSB) also produced maximum B:C ratio of 2.82. On the basis of one year experiment it may be inferred that for obtaining higher yield of French bean, application of 75% RDF + 25% Vermicompost + biofertilizer (PSB + Rhizobium) is beneficial that yielded 97.93 q/ha of fresh French bean costing Rs. 52,064/- with net benefit of Rs. 94,830/- and B:C ratio of 2.82.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT IN TARO [Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum (L.) Schott.]
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand-6, 2018) KUMAR, ASHISH; Sengupta, S.
    Taro [Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum (L.)Schott.] is one of the important tuberous vegetable of the world and known as "Great leaved Caladium" or "Elephant ear "in English, "Dasheen" in USA, "cocoyam" in West Africa. In India, taro is extensively grown in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Orissa. It is also popular in North eastern states of India and successfully grown throughout the region due to its adaptability to a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. Colocasia being kharif crop is liable to be highly infested with weeds which is extremely hazardous both in terms of crop health as well as productivity. It has been well established that the yield loss due to weeds is quite higher (60-70%). Even though taro is having much economic importance, but there is very little information available regarding the Integrated weed management practices for its maximum quality and quantity. An investigation to study the “Integrated weed management in Taro [Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum (L.) Schott.]” was carried out in the experimental farm of Department of Horticulture, Ranchi Agriculture College, Birsa Agricultural University during kharif season of 2017 with an objective to identify the different weed flora, to evaluate the response of different herbicides and cultural methods of weed control, growth, yield and the attributing traits of taro and to determine the economics of different integrated weed control methods in taro. The treatments consisted of 13 different weed control methods, viz. Pre emergence herbicide Atrazine @ 1kg a.i. ha-1 at 2 DAS (T1), Pre emergence herbicide Oxyflourfen @ 200g a.i. ha-1 at 2DAS (T2), Post emergence herbicide Paraquat @ 0.5kg a.i. ha-1 at 30 DAS (T3), Handweeding at 3 and 8 WAS (T4), Pre emergence herbicide Atrazine @ 1kg a.i. ha-1 at 2DAS+ Handweeding at 12 WAS (T5), Pre emergence herbicide Oxyflourfen @ 200g a.i. ha-1 at 2DAS+ Handweeding at 12 WAS (T6), Post emergence herbicide Paraquat @ 0.5kg a.i. ha-1 at 30 DAS+ Handweeding at 12 WAS (T7), Sesbania @ 50kg ha-1 broadcasted at the time of sowing and incorporated at 60 DAS (T8), Straw mulch @ 7 tonnes ha-1 at the time of sowing (T9), Transparent plastic mulch @ 40kg ha-1 at the time of sowing (T10), Black plastic mulch @ 40 kg ha-1 at the time of sowing (T11), Weedfree check -Manual Handweeding at fortnightly interval (T12), Weedy check (T13) were laid out in Randomized Block Design with 3 replications. Results revealed that among all the categories, broad leaved weeds dominated the field followed by narrow leaved and sedges weeds. Weed density and dry weight were significantly reduced by different weed management methods. The lowest weed density (0.00 weed m-2 at 45 DAS, 32.00 weeds m-2 at 90 DAS and 117.33 weeds m-2 at 135 DAS) and lowest weed dry matter (0.00 gm-2 at 45 DAS, 13.72 gm-2 at 90 DAS and 34.65 g m-2 at 135 DAS) were recorded under (Black plastic mulch) T11. Maximum weed control efficiency (100.00 %, 98.08 % and 93.65 %) at 45, 90 and 135DAS was found in Black plastic mulch (T11). Minimum weed index 0.00 % was found in Black plastic mulch (T11). All weed management practices significantly improved the yield of tuber over weedy check. Maximum height of plant was recorded in Sesbania incorporated at 60 DAS (T8), followed by Black plastic mulch (T11). Maximum Girth of stem, Length and breadth of leaves, Number of leaves per plant, Leaf area index, Length and girth of mother corms and cormels, Number of mother corms and cormels per plant were recorded in Black plastic mulch (T11). Minimum incidence of Phytophthora leaf blight was recorded in Black plastic mulch (T11) followed by Weed free check (T12). Highest TSS (5.73°Bricks) was recorded under Weedy check (T13) in which no weeding was done while highest Ascorbic acid 13.06 mg 100g-1 was recorded under Oxyflourfen (T6). The maximum tuber yield (16.62 t ha-1) were recorded under Black plastic mulch (T11) followed by Weed free check (T12) 16.24 t ha-1. Highest net return (Rs 196677.00 ha-1), highest Marginal return per rupee (B:C ratio) [2.45] were recorded in Black plastic mulch (T11). However, the lowest Marginal return per rupee (B:C ratio) [1.68] was recorded in the Weedy check (T13). Highest weed population, weed dry matter and lowest tuber yield, net return and Marginal return per rupee (B:C ratio) were recorded under weedy check (T13). Thus, on the basis of results obtained in one year investigation (2017-18) it can be concluded that mulches, herbicides and hand weeding have potential of effective weed management in taro. After analysing the data it is concluded that the best treatments were black plastic mulch followed by Weed free check. Hence, black plastic mulch was found as the most promising treatment in order to get better vegetative growth higher productivity and profitability of taro owing to better weed control. However, as these results are based on one year data, it needs verification for at least one more year for making definite recommendation to the growers.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    EFFECT OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF TARO [Colocasiaesculenta var. antiquorum(L.)Schott.]
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand-6, 2018) Ranjan, Navin Kumar; Sengupta, S.
    Among the tuber crop produced, colocasia [Colocasia esculenta (L.) schott.], a member of family Araceae which is native to south central Asia is one of the important tuber crop particularly grown in Africa and Asia and occupies a very selective and special position. It is also known as Taro, Arvi, Katchu and eddode. Africa ranks first in area and production of colocasia and in India colocasia is favourite among Gujarat, Konkan region of Maharashtra and several other parts of south India. It is mainly cultivated for the edible cormels but the leaves and its young petioles are also cooked and used like spinach. Corms of colocasia are rich in carbohydrate and protein and nearly one and half time more nutritious than potato. Globally, it is among the important food crops in the world after wheat, rice, maize, Irish potato and barley. It ranks second following Irish potato in the world’s root and tuber crop production. Though, agronomical practices for taro has been standardized and there is always demand for enhancing its yield from the growers. Hence, the present investigation has been formulated to find out feasibility of increment in yield of taro by means of application of growth regulators on the till date most accepted variety of taro, Muktakeshi by the growers in the state of Jharkhand. It is light brown skin coloured high yielding and itching free choicest variety of farmers of state of Jharkhand. The investigation was conducted in the Horticulture Research unit during Kharif season of 2017 with five plant growth regulators viz. GA3, NAA, IAA, Ethrel and Maleic Hydrazide (MH) in Randomized Block Design replicated thrice. The inference of data revealed that GA3 @ 200 ppm exhibited highest plant height (95.68cm), girth of stem (26.46 cm), number of leaves (6.94) and LAI (1.75). Due to better vegetative growth traits the treatment receiving GA3 @ 200 ppm also showed better Yield attributes and Yield (15.38 t/ha). GA3 @ 100 ppm and IAA @ 25 ppm were emerged as second and third ranker respectively better vegetative traits and Yield attributes and hence marginal return per rupee (B:C ratio) of 2.53:1 and 2.44:1 compared to the best treatment i.e. GA3 @ 200 ppm with B:C ratio of 2.61:1 and control with fetched least B:C ratio of 1.94:1. Hence, on the basis of overall observations GA3 @ 200 ppm has been identified as promising one for profitable cultivation of taro in the state of Jharkhand.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    EFFECT OF WEED CONTROL METHODS ON WEED DYNAMICS AND PRODUCTIVITY OF ONION (Allium cepa L.)
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand-6, 2018) Hembrom, Pratibha; Horo, Punam
    Onion (Allium cepa L.) is an important vegetable crop all over the world. Among the vegetable crops listed by FAO (Brewster, 1973), Onion falls second only to tomatoes in term of tonnes per annum world production. Average yield of bulb onions ranges from around 30 t per hectare in North West Europe to less than 8 t/ha as an average in developing countries (Brewster, 1977). India ranks second after china in area and production, having 1,225 thousand hectare area of land under onion crop with production of 20,991 MT. (National Horticulture Board, 2016-2017). According to MOFPI (Ministry for food Processing Industries Government of India), Overall crop-wise vegetable production A field experiment entitled “Effect of weed control methods on weed dynamics and productivity of onion (Allium cepa L.)”, was carried out on sandy loam soil, acidic in reaction (pH 5.9), having low organic carbon (4.2 g kg-1) and available nitrogen (243 kg ha-1) with medium available phosphorus (19.15 kg ha-1) and exchangeable potassium (188.16 kg ha-1) during the experiment period at Birsa Agricultural University farm, Ranchi to study the efficacy of weed control methods on weed dynamics, productivity and profitability of onion production. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design. The 9 treatments comprised of T1 (Plastic mulch), T2 (Available weed mulch), T3 (Paddy straw mulch), T4 (Coriander cover crops), T5 (Oxyflourfen), T6 (Pendimethalin), T7(Mechanical weeding at 20, 40 and 60 DAT) , T8 (Handweeding at 20, 40, and 60 DAT) and T9 weedy check respectively replicated thrice. Onion variety Nasik N-53 was grown as a test crop with spacing 10 x 20 cm. The experimental site was infested with all three categories of weeds broad leaved, grassy and sedge weeds respectively. In this experiment, observation recorded that highest plant height (19.39 cm, 34.02cm, and 42.32cm at 30,60 and 90 DAT), number of leaves (2.66, 4.00 and 7.20 at 30 , 60 and 90 DAT ), neck thickness ( 1.96, 4.33 and 4.13 at 30, 60 and 90 DAT ) was recorded in Plastic mulch at all the growth stages and lowest was recorded in weedy check. The maximum bulb diameter, bulb neck thickness, bulb weight, plant population per square meter was recorded in Plastic mulch which was at par with Pendimethalin and Oxyflourfen while the minimum was recorded in weedy check. The maximum weed control efficiency and minimum weed control index (10.48%) was shown by Plastic mulch. However, maximum net return (273617.00 ha-1) and B:C ratio (3.2) was recorded in Plastic mulch. Hence, on the basis of one year data it can be concluded that application of Plastic mulch which reduce the irrigation problems and yield also followed by pendimethalin followed by Oxyflourfen may be practiced for better crop growth, higher productivity and profitability of Onion owing to better weed control efficiency.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT IN ELEPHANT FOOT YAM [Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson] cv. Gajendra
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand-6, 2018) Kumar, Rishu; Singh, V.R.
    Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst. Nicolson) [Elephant foot yam] is largely cultivated in the Philippines, Java, Indonesia, Sumatra, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India and China. In India, it is cultivated in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand. Gajendra, Bidhan Kusum and Sree Padma are some of the high yielding Amorphophallus varieties released for cultivation in India. The production potential of this crop is 50-80 t ha-1 and net economic return is over 1.5 lakh rupees ha-1. In India, grown over an area of 29 (000’ ha) with an average production of 748 (000’ MT) and productivity 26 MT ha-1. Keeping this factor in view the present investigation was carried out in the experimental farm of Department of Horticulture, Ranchi Agriculture College, Birsa Agricultural University during during kharif season of 2017 with objective to identify the different weed flora, to evaluate the response of different herbicides and cultural method of weed control, growth, yield and the attributing traits of elephant foot yam and to determine the economics of different weed control method in Elephant foot yam. The treatments consisted of 9 different weed control methods, viz. T1 (Pre-emergence herbicide pendimethalin @1kg a.i. ha-1 at 1DAP + Post emergence herbicide glyphosate 1kg a.i./ha at 45 and 90 DAP), T2 (Pre emergence herbicide pendimethalin @ 1kg a.i./ha at 1DAP + hand weeding 45 and 90 DAP), T3 (Raising green manure cow pea in interspaces along with planting and incorporation 45-60 DAP + post emergence herbicide glyphosate @ 1kg a.i ha-1 at 90 DAP), T4 (Hand weeding 45 DAP + post emergence herbicide glyphosate @ 1kg a.i ha-1 at 90 DAP), T5 (Post emergence herbicide glyphosate @ 1kg a.i. ha-1 at 30, 60 and 90 DAP), T6 (Weed control ground cover @ 50 kg ha-1), T7 (Black plastic mulch), T8 (Hand weeding at 30, 60 and 90 DAP), T9 (weedy check) were laid out in Randomized Block Design with replicated thrice. Results revealed that among all the categories, broad leaved dominated followed by grassy and sedges weeds. Weed density and dry weight were significantly reduced by weed management methods. The lowest weed density (0.00 m-2 at 90 and 120 DAP and 26.67 m-2 at 150 DAP) and lowest weed dry matter (0.00 m-2 at 90 and 120 DAP and 13.56 m-2 at 150 DAP) were recorded under black plastic mulch (T7). Maximum weed control efficiency (100 percent, 100 percent, 95.52 percent at 90, 120 and 150 DAP respectively) were recorded under black plastic mulch (T7). All weed management practices significantly improved the yield of tuber over control (no weeding) [T9]. Maximum height of pseudostem, girth of pseudostem, leaf area, canopy spread, volume of corms and no. of branches were recorded under black plastic mulch (T7) which was statically at par with 3 hand weedings at 30, 60 and 90 DAP (T8) and Glyphosate 1 kg a.i. ha-1 at 30, 60 and 90 DAP (T5) While dry matter percentage of corms and diameter of corms were not significantly influenced by weed competition; however, some treatments increased the value of these parameter compared to control (no weeding). Maximum dry matter percentage (24.08 percent) was also recorded under black plastic mulch (T7) which was statically par with all treatment except control (no weeding). Maximum diameter (horizontal-22.36 cm and vertical-19.37 cm) was also recorded under black plastic mulch (T7) which was statically par with all treatment except T1, T4, T6 and T9. The maximum tuber yield (58.64 t ha-1) were recorded under black plastic mulch (T7) which was statically at par with 3 hand weeding at 30, 60 and 90 DAP (T8) [52.48 t ha-1] and Glyphosate 1 kg a.i. ha-1 at 30, 60 and 90 DAP (T5) [49.12 t ha-1]. Highest TSS (6.4 brix) recorded under weedy check (no weeding) (T9) while highest ascorbic acid (17.4 mg per 100 gm) recorded under hand weeding at 45 DAP + glyphosate 1kg a.i. ha-1 at 50 DAP (T4). Significant highest net return (` 557906 ha-1) highest B:C ratio (2.15) were recorded by black plastic mulch (T7). However, the lowest B:C ratio (1.11) was recorded in the weedy check (no weeding). Highest weed population, weed dry matter and lowest tuber yield, net return and B:C ratio were recorded under control (no weeding) [T9]. Thus, on the basis of results obtained in one year investigation (2017-18) it can be inferred that mulches, herbicides and hand weeding have potential for reduction in weed density for effective weed management in Amorphophallus under Jharkhand conditions and thereby promoting high yield of elephant foot yam. After analyzing the data it is inferred that the best treatment was black plastic mulch followed by hand weeding at 30, 60 and 90 DAP and application of glyphosate 1 kg a.i. ha-1 at 30, 60 and 90 DAP. Hence, black plastic mulch was found as the most promising treatment in order to get better vegetative growth, higher productivity and profitability of elephant foot yam owing to better weed control. However, as these result are based on one year data, it needs verification for at least one more year for making definite recommendation to the growers.