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Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi

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2020 - 202322
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Start date: 2020 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: Ph.D ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Isolation, Screening of Lignocellulose Decomposer and Its Impact on Crop Residue Decomposition, Soil Properties and Yield of Crops
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2023) Shinde Reshma Bhausaheb; D.K. Shahi
    In India, the top ten crops generating about 686 Mt of residues are estimated to hold the potential to supply 5.6 Mt of NPK nutrients to the soil. When left on the field, crop residues decompose into different organic substances through the action of various soil microbes over time. The isolation of native fast-degrading microbes from areas and their inoculation can potentially enhance crop residues' decomposition speed and nutrient release process. Considering this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted to study the isolation and screening of lignocellulose decomposer and its impact on crop residue decomposition, soil properties, and yield of crops at the research farm of ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, FSRCHPR, Ranchi, India. Fifteen strains of fungi and six bacteria were isolated as pure colonies from various sources, out of which seven isolated microbial cultures (IMC) were identified as lignocellulose decomposers. IMC 18 and IMC 4 had shown higher enzyme activities for decomposing cellulose and lignin and were identified as Trichoderma viridi and Aspergillus niger. The efficiency of these strains was tested through on-field trials to establish them as potential lignocellulose decomposers. The field experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized block design (FRBD) with two factors, consisting of three crop residues [paddy (C1), black gram (C2), and ragi straw (C3)] and five microbial inoculation treatments [control (T1), A. niger (T2), T. viridi (T3), A. niger + (1%) nitrogen application (T4) and T. viridi + (1%) nitrogen application (T5)] for each crop residue. In total, there were fifteen treatment combinations with two replications each. The decomposition and nutrient release patterns of all three crop residues were studied using litter bag techniques. Among the three types of crop residues, black gram straw exhibited the highest decomposition rate, followed by paddy straw and ragi straw. In treatment T5, where microbial inoculation was applied, over 90% of black gram straw decomposed within six months of field placement, while for paddy and ragi straw, this occurred within eight and nine months, respectively. Contrastingly, in the control treatment (T1) without microbial inoculation, over 90% decomposition of black gram straw occurred in eight months, while for paddy and ragi straw, it took ten and eleven months, respectively. The highest decomposition t99 period of 23.25 months was observed for ragi straw in the control treatment, while the shortest t99 period of 10.55 months was noted for black gram straw in treatment T5. In treatments with microbial inoculation, decomposition rates were 8.5-25% higher compared to the control. The sequence of straw decomposition rates in the microbial treatments followed the order: control < T2 < T3 < T4 < T5. Furthermore, the release rates of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were higher in the microbial-inoculated treatments compared to those without inoculation. N, P, and K release rates followed the order K > P > N. The application of crop residues led to an increase in available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in the soil. Treatment C1, involving paddy straw application at 5.0 t ha-1, exhibited the highest available N (264.0 kg ha-1) and P (34.0 kg ha-1). In contrast, treatment C3, with ragi straw at the same rate, showed the highest available K (337.3 kg ha-1). Among microbial treatments, the inoculation of Trichoderma culture with nitrogen supplementation (T5) resulted in a significant rise in available NPK (267.34, 35.99, and 340.73 kg ha-1, respectively) in the soil. Applying crop residues (paddy or ragi straw at 5.0 t ha-1) enhanced the yield of field pea, moong bean, and maize cropping systems by 5-12%. In microbial-inoculated treatments, notably higher grain yields were observed for field pea (4.21-11.7%), moong bean (4.35-11.6%), and maize (4.91-10.39%) compared to the control. Among microbial treatments, T5 demonstrated significantly higher grain yields (10.39-11.7%) and straw yields (7.37-19.67%) across all three crops. The present study illustrated that inoculation of Trichoderma and Aspergillus spp. culture, along with nitrogen supplementation, can be a practical approach for in situ residue management, leading to the proliferation of beneficial microorganisms that hasten the degradation process of crop residues. Adding crop residues (paddy or ragi straw @ 5.0 t ha-1) not only increased the yield of field pea, moong bean, and maize cropping system but also improved the other soil fertility parameters such as organic carbon, available NPK, DTPA-Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn content, soil microbial count and soil enzyme activity like dehydrogenase and FDA. These factors are necessary to achieve sustainable production and minimize soil nutrient depletion. The application of crop residues and inoculation of Trichoderma spp. or Aspergillus spp. and nitrogen supplementation has the potential of this environment-friendly technology for in situ straw management and nutrient sources in the low input cropping system.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    GENETIC STUDIES ON THREE F2 POPULATIONS OF RICE (Oryza sativa L.) USING MOLECULAR MARKERS
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2023) Jenny Priya Ekka; Krishna Prasad
    The selection of superior genotypes highly depends on the genetic information obtained from the segregant’s relatives and some from their own performance for particular traits, which are expressed throughout their growth period. Any research stand firm on the building blocks of the variation observed in the raw materials and the knowledge of genetics. The phenotypic selection is directly proportional to the additively genetic basis of the observed variance, which Due to the manifold effects of the genes controlling the polygenic trait, the selection becomes complicated. As well as continuously changing climate, sometimes vague, and sometimes erroneously ideal, often causes the improvement resulting from selection to be much less effective than what could be achieved. The accumulation of genetic knowledge about the traits their interaction among themselves and the environment around them, justifies an exploration of better selection criteria for solving this problem for one trait at a time or for several traits with an independent culling level for each trait. The present work use of combined selection for assessment of F2 segregants using various indexes, estimators of individual additive genetic value, which consider the phenotypic value of the individual and the mean phenotypic value of the individual family and with view of the necessity of drought tolerant varieties, the present research programme is proposed utilizing new cross combination made between Naveen x IR64 Drt1, IR 36 x BVD 111 and IR 64 Drt1 x Vandana. Grown in three different blocks containing three different fertilizer dosage for identification of superior segregants that have lesser duration, consumer preferable grain types and high yield under water stress condition also. In the study the coefficient of variation was higher for yield characters like number of tillers, flag leaf area (cm2), number of panicles per plant, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, number of filled grains, number of unfilled grains, biomass, grain test (1000) weight (g) and yield per plant (g) in all the 3 crosses even in the 3 different blocks. For the root traits all the root characters under study like total root length (cm), projected root area (cm2), number of root tips per plant, number of root segments, average root diameter (mm), root volume (cm3) and root dry weight (g) also had wide range of variation. From the study of skewness characters like number of tillers, number of panicles per plant, number of chaffy seeds, biomass per plant, yield per plant, pulled root length, number of root tips, number of root segments, root volume and average root diameter showed complementary gene action through positive skewness for each of the cross. In all the cross number of tillers as found to had Platykutosis showing involvement of many genes. Among all the crosses number tillers, number of grains, total number of spikelets, projected root surface area and root dry weight were observed to have positive highly significant correlation with plant yield. The grain phosphorous observed to have lower and desirable grain content in F2 progenies of cross 3 (IR 36 xBVD11). From the molecular study there was an observed segregation distortion, due to which the deviation of the F2 progenies in the 3 crosses were deviated to either the maternal or the paternal side, which was observed for chromosome 6 and chromosome 2 for all the root length, root-shoot ratio, root volume, dry root weight, and fresh root weight for drought tolerances. The segregants having found homozygous or heterozygous for the concerned molecular marker for the root traits can be affirmative for the presences of the desirable gene and thus can be selected for superior root traits and similarity with only one parents
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    EFFICACY OF ZINC (Zn) AND SULPHUR (S) CONTAINING FERTILIZER ON PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY OF WHEAT GROWN UNDER ACID SOIL OF JHARKHAND
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2023) Pooja Bharti; B. K. Agarwal
    A field experiment entitled “Efficacy of Zinc (Zn) and Sulphur (S) containing fertilizer on productivity and profitability of wheat grown under acid soil of Jharkhand” was conducted during Rabi 2021-22 at the experimental farm of Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand with an objective to compare the performance of different sources of zinc and sulphur containing fertilizer on yield attributes, yield, economics of the wheat crop along with the translocation study of zinc and sulphur in different plant parts and their nutrient uptake. In addition, soil samples were analysed for changes in chemical properties of soil viz. soil reaction (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), available N, available P, available K, available Zn and available S content. The experiment was laid out in Randomised Block Design (RBD) replicated thrice with seven treatments. The treatments were T1- 100% NPK (120: 60: 40), T2- 100% NPK + 1.5 kg Zn through Zinc Sulphate, T3- 100% NPK + 2.5 kg Zn through Zinc Sulphate, T4- 100% NPK + 5.0 kg Zn through Zinc Sulphate, T5- 100% NPK + 1.5 kg Zn through Techno-Z, T6- 100% NPK + 2.5 kg Zn through Techno-Z and T7- 100% NPK + 5.0 kg Zn through Techno-Z. The results revealed that maximum growth and yield attributes viz. no. of spikes/m2 (358.86), no. of grains/spike (48.39), 1000 grain weight (41.93 g), ear head length (11.55 cm) and ear head weight (4.53 g) were recorded at peak with treatment T7. Whereas, the treatment T3, T4 and T6 showed statistically at par results with T7 in case of all yield attributing characters. It was also observed that the highest grain yield (48.20 q ha-1 ), straw yield (73.42 q ha-1 ) and harvest index (39.64 %) was achieved with the treatment T7 and the treatment T3, T4 and T6 showed statistically at par results. However, the highest B:C ratio i.e., 2.32 was found with the treatment T4 whereas in case of T7 it was only 2.04. This was only because of the higher cost of Techno-Z in comparison to that of Zinc Sulphate. As far the study of Zn translocation was concerned, the data disclosed that the highest Zn content was in lower leaf as compared to that of middle leaf and upper leaf respectively. Whereas, among all the treatments, the highest Zn content was reported in treatment T7 in case of lower leaf. It had 48.38% and 55.90% higher Zn content as compared to middle leaf and lower leaf respectively. This implied the moderately immobile nature of Zn in plant system. In case of lower leaf and middle leaf the maximum Zn concentration was reported with the treatment T7 and in case of upper leaf the peak was found with the treatment T4. However, the highest Zn concentration in grains (46.5 mg kg-1 ), straw (62.9 mg kg-1 ) and husk (20.00 mg kg-1 ) was reported with the treatment T4. In case of sulphur, results showed that maximum S content was found in the lower leaf in comparison to middle leaf and upper leaf respectively. It was due to the immobile nature of S in plant parts. Whereas, among all the treatments, the highest S concentration was reported in treatment T7 in all plant parts. When compared to that of lower leaf the percentage decrease in sulphur content in case of middle leaf and upper leaf was 48.06% and 55.81% respectively for treatment T7. The highest concentration of sulphur in grain (0.193%), straw (0.114%), husk (0.061%) was recorded with the treatment T7. For grains, T7 showed 16.64% higher values than that of treatment T4. In case of soil, maximum reduction in pH in post- harvest soil was 0.09 and it was common for 5 treatments (T1, T3, T4, T6 and T7) and least reduction in pH was 0.02 for T5 treatment. There was hardly any change in the EC values in case of post-harvest soil due to application of different sources of Zn and S containing fertilizers. Whereas, organic carbon content decreased in the post- harvest soil and maximum reduction was 0.25 for treatment T4 and least reduction was 0.08 which was common for 3 treatments (T1, T3 and T7). The Nitrogen (N) content varied from 242.00 to 267.70 kg ha-1 and 231.50 to 263.50 kg ha-1 for pre-sowing and post- harvest soil respectively. Highest Available N (267.70 kg ha-1 ) was found with the treatment T4 at both the stages. The peak of phosphorus (P) content (32.72 kg ha-1 ) in soil at pre- sowing stage was noted down with treatment T6 and at post- harvest stage with the treatment T3 (31.88 kg ha-1 ). In case of potassium (K), the maximum concentration at both the stages was found with treatment T4. For, zinc the highest content at pre-sowing stage (0.72 mg kg-1 ) and post-harvest stage (1.04 mg kg-1 ) in soil was observed with treatment T4. Similar trend was reported in case of sulphur, the maximum concentration at both pre- sowing (9.72 mg kg-1 ) and post harvest soil (9.57 mg kg-1 ) was found with that of treatment T4.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Studies on Growth, Yield and Nutrient Cycling in Gmelina arborea Roxb. (Gamhar) based Agroforestry System in Ranchi District of Jharkhand, India
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2023) ABHISHEK KUMAR; M. S. Malik
    The present investigation entitled “Studies on Growth, Yield and Nutrient Cycling in Gmelina arborea Roxb. (Gamhar) based Agroforestry System in Ranchi District of Jharkhand, India” was conducted at Faculty of Forestry, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi in order to evaluate the performances of two years aged Gamhar (Gmelina arborea) trees intercropped with leguminous crops viz. Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan var. UPAS-120), Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata var. Swarn mukut) and Urad (Vigna mungo var. Birsa Urd-1) in agroforestry system as well as sole cropping during 2020-21 and 2021-22. The experiment was laid out in RBD with seven treatments viz. T1 (G. arborea + C. cajan), T2 (G. arborea + V. unguiculata), T3 (G. arborea + V. mungo), T4 (Sole G. arborea), T5 (Sole C. cajan), T6 (Sole V. unguiculata) and T7 (Sole V. mungo) replicated thrice. Growth parameters of trees and intercrops, yield attributes of intercrops, litterfall by Gamhar tree with leaf-litter decomposition pattern, changes in soil properties and carbon sequestration were assessed along with the economic analysis. Gamhar showed better incremental growth in terms of tree height (1.08 m), DBH (2.68 cm), collar diameter (2.87 cm), number of branches per tree (7.11), crown width (1.16 cm), crown length (0.81cm), leaf area index (0.40), stem volume (3.89 m3 ha-1) and tree biomass (5.57 t ha-1) when intercropped with pigeon pea (T1), which were respectively15.86, 15.02, 17.14, 21.54, 26.09, 20.15, 37.93, 39.25 and 26.98 percent higher than sole Gamhar (T4) in two years pooled data. The variation in growth and yield of intercrops between sole cropping and intercropping did not reveal any significant difference, however the values were on a higher side under sole cropping. At 90 DAS, the average maximum plant height (89.86 cm), no. of leaves plant-1 (117.62), no. of primary branches plant-1 (9.15), root length (49.58 cm), number of root nodules plant-1 (24.21), dry shoot biomass (44.12 g plant-1), dry root biomass (9.48 g plant-1), crop biomass at harvest (2.76 t ha-1), no. of pods plant-1 (59.37); and yield in terms of grain yield (5.37 q ha-1), stover yield (17.71 q ha-1), biological yield (23.08 q ha-1) were recorded in sole pigeon pea (T5) in two years pooled data. However, maximum average pod length (21.57 cm), pod diameter (6.40 mm), no. of seeds pod-1 (7.41) weight of seeds pod-1 (0.63 g) and 1000 seeds weight (85.02g) at 90 DAS were observed in sole cowpea (T6) in the pooled data. Total average annual litterfall by Gamhar tree was 1326 kg ha-1yr-1, of which maximum observed in February (480 kg ha-1yr-1) in pooled data. The average annual nutrient return through litterfall was maximum under Gamhar + pigeon pea (T1) wrt. total nitrogen (20.31 kg ha-1yr-1), total potassium (15.17 kg ha-1yr-1) and total phosphorus (1.96 kg ha-1yr-1). The faster rate of leaf litter decomposition was observed in sole Gamhar (T4), with highest average value of annual decay constant, k (3.62) and lowest value of half-life period, t0.5 (3.30 months) in two years pooled data. Soil chemical parameters viz. pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, available N, P and K and soluble Ca and Mg were shown better improvement under agroforestry. The values of all other parameters, except soil pH, had shown a decreasing trend with increase in soil depth. After second year of crop harvest, maximum soil EC (0.24 dSm-1), organic carbon (0.53%), available N (263.33 kg ha- 1), available P (26.51 kg ha-1), available K (285.67 kg ha-1), soluble Ca (379.28 kg ha- 1) and soluble Mg (130.28 kg ha-1) in 0-15 cm soil depth and maximum soil pH (6.43) in 30-45 cm soil depth were recorded in Gamhar + pigeon pea (T1), as compared to their initial values of 0.18 dS m-1, 0.45%, 222.17 kg ha-1, 20.57 kg ha-1, 256.18 kg ha-1, 341.29 kg ha-1, 116.36 kg ha-1 and 6.25 respectively, during 2021-22. Gamhar trees showed maximum average annual carbon sequestration (2.62 t ha-1yr-1), CO2 sequestration (9.60 t ha-1 yr-1), carbon credit (9.60) and carbon offset price (Rs. 2975 ha-1yr-1) under intercropping with pigeon pea (T1) in pooled data, and the percent gain over sole Gamhar (T4) was 26.98%. The total average annual carbon sequestration (3.82 t ha-1yr-1), CO2 sequestration (14.01 t ha-1yr-1), carbon credit (14.04) and carbon offset price (Rs. 4,344 ha-1yr-1) of the system (trees + intercrops) were also found maximum for Gamhar + pigeon pea (T1) system in pooled data. Economic analysis revealed that the system fetches higher economic worth in second year due to better tree growth and intercrop yield. The highest average annual gross return (Rs. 74,846 ha-1yr-1), net return (Rs. 48,029 ha-1yr-1), land equivalent ratio (2.35) and combined net present value (Rs. 82,912 ha-1) of the system were estimated for Gamhar + pigeon pea (T1) in the two years pooled data. However, maximum average benefit cost ratio (3.32) and hence, maximum internal rate of return (104.07%) was obtained in sole Gamhar (T4) due to low cost of only tree cultivation. Thus, the study indicated that Gamhar based agroforestry system with leguminous intercrops mainly pigeon pea not only enhance the growth rate of Gamhar, but also maximize crop yield, nutritional status of the soil and carbon sequestration potential, besides augmenting net income. Hence, it can be a suitable and economically viable option for uplifting the livelihood status of farmers in the degraded and marginal lands of plateau region of Jharkhand, India.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    LONG TERM EFFECT OF INM ON NUTRIENT UTILIZATION AND SOIL ORGANIC CARBON STORAGE UNDER MAIZE-WHEAT CROPPING SYSTEM
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2022) Jaya Bharti; R.P. Manjhi
    Maize (Zea mays L.) - Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the third most important cropping system in India and is practiced on 1.8 million ha. It is also prevalent cropping system adopted in uplands of Jharkhand. Most of the farmers use only urea (N fertilizers) for crop cultivation and this fertilizer use pattern results in multiple nutrient deficiencies as well as promotes soil bankruptcy. Therefore, it is needed to maintain long term soil health and crop productivity in intensive cropping system through integrated use of nutrient sources. The present investigation was carried out during two consecutive years of 2020-21 and 2021-22 under the ongoing permanent manurial trial with the different nutrient management practices (inorganic & integrated nutrient management) under maize-wheat cropping system since 1983-84 at Birsa Agricultural University Farm, Kanke, Ranchi with the major objectives to study the sustainable crop productivity, energetic, economics, nutrient utilization, soil organic carbon storage of the maize-wheat cropping system. Experiment was laid out in RBD with 12 treatments replicated thrice. RDF for both component crop was @ 100:50:25 N: P2O5: K2O kg/ha. Crop varieties of maize (kharif) and wheat (rabi) were Suwan Composite 1 and K9107, respectively. Treatment details in maize-wheat cropping system were T1 : N0P0K0 - N0P0K0; T2 : 50% RDF -50% RDF; T3 : 50 % RDF -100% RDF; T4 : 75% RDF -75% RDF; T5 : 100% RDF -100% RDF; T6 : 50%N through FYM+ 50% RDF -100% RDF; T7 :25%N through FYM+ 75% RDF -75% RDF; T8 : 50%N through cut paddy straw+ 50% RDF -100% RDF; T9 : 25%N through cut paddy straw+ 75% RDF -75% RDF; T10 : 50%N through green Karanj leaves + 50% RDF -100% RDF; T11 : 25%N through green Karanj leaves + 75% RDF -75% RDF and T12 : Farmer’s Practice– urea @ 50kg /ha. Results reflected that INM treatment i.e. 50%N through FYM along with 50% RDF in kharif - 100% RDF in rabi produced maximum grain yield (4692 and 4796 kg/ha of maize and wheat, respectively) which were at par with application @ 25%N through FYM along with 75% RDF in kharif - only 75% RDF in rabi (4504 and 4553 kg/ha of maize and wheat, respectively) and 100% RDF use in each season. Yield attributing characters in maize namely, no. of grains/line (31.47), no. of grains/cob (394) and 1000 grain weight (331.24 g) and in wheat namely, effective tillers /m2 (362), no of grains/ear head (46), and 1000 grain weight (40.99 g) were maximum with the application of 50%N through FYM along with 50% RDF in kharif - 100% RDF in rabi. In system, maximum maize equivalent yield (9720 kg/ha), net return (₹. 127726.00) and B:C ratio (1.57) was recorded with the application of 50%N through FYM along with 50% RDF in kharif - 100% RDF in rabi which was statistically at par with the application of 25%N through FYM along with 75% RDF in kharif and 75% RDF in rabi (9277 kg/ha, ₹. 121887.00) & B:C ratio (1.55). Nutrient removal by the system was 188, 34 and 137 kg/ha for N, P and K and 6052, 1402 and 451 g/ha for Fe, Mn and Zn respectively with the application of 50% N through FYM along with 50% RDF in kharif - 100% RDF in rabi. Translocation efficiency for N, P, K, Fe, Mn and Zn varied between 56-66%, 58-62%, 16- 21%, 12-19%, 37-46%, 40-48% in maize and 43-61%, 49-64%, 20-27%, 9-16%, 25-42%, 30-45% respectively in wheat. Internal utilization efficiency calculated based on grain yield and total nutrient uptake varied between 50 to 63, 257-308, 59-74 for N, P, K and 1.14- 1.63, 5.88-7.27, 19.26-22.42 for Fe, Mn and Zn respectively for maize-wheat cropping system. Application of 1 kg N, P and K will produce 50.88, 276.01 and 69.99 kg grain. Similarly, by application of 1 kg of Fe, Mn and Zn can produce 16q, 70q and 22 q of grain under maize-wheat cropping system. The values of maximum energy output (141331 and 245642 MJ/ha by grain and total biomass), energy-use-efficiency (739 and 1287 by grain and total biomass, respectively) and minimum value of specific energy (201.98 MJ/ton) was recorded with INM use i.e. 50%N through FYM along with 50% RDF in kharif - 100% RDF in rabi. Maximum soil organic carbon storage (12.38 Mg/ha) was observed with the application of 50%N through FYM along with 50% RDF in kharif - 100% RDF in rabi which was statistically at par with the application of 25%N through FYM along with 75% RDF in kharif - only 75% RDF in rabi (11.69 Mg/ha). Analysis of soil for physical and chemical properties of soil revealed that application of 50%N through FYM along with 50% RDF in kharif - 100% RDF in rabi improved soil pH (6.5), organic carbon (6.3 g/kg), available N (276.6 kg/ha), available P (92.8 kg/ha), available K (177.7 kg/ha), DTPA extractable Fe (19.6 ppm), Mn (17.9 ppm) and Zn (3.7 ppm) as compared to initial value of 6.5, 4.1, 255, 32.50, 195, 11.13, 18.65 and 3.85 respectively. Sustainability of maize-wheat cropping system was analyzed after 39th years (1983-2022) in continuous use of inorganic fertilizer and INM practices. INM practice @ 50%N through FYM along with 50% RDF in kharif - 100% RDF in rabi produced the highest Sustainable Yield Index (0.50) of the system. Further, data revealed that maximum (maize & wheat) yield was recorded by use of chemical fertilizer @100% RDF (each season) in initial 4 years. Thereafter for 12 years, INM use @ 25%N through FYM+ 75% RDF in kharif and 75% RDF in rabi yielded the maximum. But for the last 23 years (1999-2022), INM use @ 50%N through FYM along with 50% RDF in kharif - 100% RDF in rabi continued to produce the maximum (maize & wheat) yield.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    TILLAGE AND ORGANIC NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT IN FINGER MILLET – FRENCH BEAN CROPPING SYSTEM
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2022) Sulochna; P. Alam
    The growing population, consumption, and reduction in available land and other productive units are placing unprecedented pressure on the current agriculture and natural resources to meet the increasing food demand. Providing food for human under sustainable systems having a significant challenge in the developing world and is highly critical for alleviating poverty. To circumvent this challenge, farmers tended to overuse certain inputs such as chemical and practicing agricultural operation which in turn have already started deteriorating soil-plant-microbes environmental system. Nowadays, the most important challenge facing humanity is to conserve/sustain natural resources and also protecting the environment. In this regard, agricultural practices like tillage operations for conserving soil as well as using organic sources that improve soil quality and agricultural sustainability have received much attention by researchers and farmers. Moreover, the productivity of finger millet and french bean is very low in Jharkhand in comparison to national average. So, there is a scope to obtain higher yield levels by growing finger millet- french bean cropping system. Keeping these points in mind, an investigation entitled, “Tillage with organic nutrient management in finger millet-french bean cropping system” has been planned to carry out at Agronomical Research Farm, Birsa Agricultural University, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand. A field experiment was conducted in split plot design with 4 main plots treatments, viz. CT-CT, CT-ZT, ZT-CT and ZT-ZT and 4 sub plots treatments, viz. 100% N through FYM, 100% N through VC, 50% N through FYM + 50% N through VC and 75% N through FYM + 25% N through VC. RDN for finger millet and french bean are 40 & 140 kg N/ha respectively. Crop varieties grown for finger millet (kharif) was BBM 10 and for french bean (rabi) was Swarna Priya. Results illustrated that growth parameters, yield attributes, yield and economics of finger millet were significantly influenced by different tillage practices and organic nutrient management. In finger millet, conventional tillage recorded maximum plant population/m2 at 15 DAS (32.18), no of tillers/m2 at harvest (121.15), LAI (2.65) at 90 DAS, dry matter accumulation/m2 (865.61 g/m2) at harvest, CGR (9.47 g/m2/day) at 90 DAS-maturity, yield attributes namely; effective tillers/m2 (112.96), number of fingers per ear (6.66), ear weight (6.59 g), 1000 grain weight (3.19 g), number of grains per ear (1085.26), grain yield (23.90 q/ha) and straw yield (38.85 q/ha), harvest index (37.92%), gross return (71263.26 ₹/ha), net return (33588.56 ₹/ha) production efficiency (19.20 kg/ha/day) and monetary efficiency (269.84 ₹/ha/day). While, B:C ratio (0.92) was maximum with zero tillage operation. Among, organic nutrient management 100% N through vermicompost reported highest plant population/m2 at 15 DAS (32.67), no of tillers/m2 at harvest (121.37), LAI (2.67) at 90 DAS, dry matter accumulation/m2 (873.36 g/m2) at harvest and CGR (9.67 g/m2/day) at 90 DAS-maturity, effective tillers/m2 (113.12), number of fingers/ear (6.76), ear weight (6.61 g), 1000 grain weight (3.24 g), number of grains per ear (1094.19), grain yield (24.25 q/ha), straw yield (38.93 q/ha), harvest index (38.32%), gross return (72270.41 ₹/ha), net return (33636.33 ₹/ha) production efficiency (19.48 kg/ha/day) and monetary efficiency (270.23 ₹/ha/day). But, B:C ratio (0.93) was maximum with 75% N through FYM + 25% N through VC. Likewise in case of french bean pod length (11.60 cm), no of pods/plant (10.34), pod fresh wt. (4.91 g), no of seeds/pod (6.84), 100 seed wt. (40.56 g), green pod yield (82.87 q/ha), haulm yield (102.04 q/ha), harvest index 44.71%), gross return (248602.50 ₹/ha), net return (154337.89 ₹/ha), production efficiency (85.44 kg/ha/day) and monetary efficiency (1591.40 ₹/ha/day) were found maximum with conventional tillage. In case of B:C ratio zero tillage reflected the highest value (1.72). The data in respect of organic nutrient management were found highest with 100% N through VC in pod length (11.62 cm), no of pods/plant (10.62), pod fresh wt. (5.00 g), no of seeds/pod (6.88), 100 seed wt. (40.69 g), green pod yield (88.91 q/ha), haulm yield (104.28 q/ha), harvest index 45.99%), gross return (₹/ha 266717.50), net return (₹/ha 163061.82), production efficiency (91.67 kg/ha/day) and monetary efficiency (1681.43 ₹/ha/day). 75% N through FYM + 25% N through VC resulted in higher B:C ratio (1.69). In system analysis of finger millet-french bean cropping system, conventional tillage – conventional tillage performed best with increased system gross return (319865.76 ₹/ha) and system net return (187926.45 ₹/ha). Whereas, B:C (1.45) ratio was maximum with treatment conventional tillage - zero tillage practice. Among different organic nutrient management, 100% N through VC gave highest system gross return (338987.91 ₹/ha) and system net return (196698.16 ₹/ha). However, B:C ratio was maximum (1.48) in 75% N through FYM + 25% N through VC. System production efficiency (104.65 kg/ha/day), system monetary efficiency (1861.24 ₹/ha/day) and system productivity (109.63 q/ha) were maximum in conventional tillage – conventional tillage. Further, 100% N through VC exhibited more system production efficiency (111.15 kg/ha/day), system monetary efficiency (1951.66 ₹/ha/day) and system productivity (116.22 q/ha). ZT-ZT improved the available N (247.05 kg/ha), available P (18.14 kg/ha), available K (197.86 kg/ha), OC (6.38 g/kg) and microbial population viz. bacteria (14.42 x 106 CFU/f soil), fungi (33.34 x 104 CFU/f soil) and actinomycetes (8.44 x 106 CFU/f soil). While, 100% N through FYM attributed the maximum available N (249.39 kg/ha), available P (18.18 kg/ha), available K (198.92 kg/ha), OC (6.41 g/kg) and microbial population namely; bacteria (14.45 x 106 CFU/f soil), fungi (33.44 x 104 CFU/f soil) and actinomycetes (8.46 x 106 CFU/f soil). Soil pH was maximum in conventional tillage – conventional tillage (5.82) as well as in 100% N through VC (5.84) organic source.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF AGROFORESTRY PRACTICES IN EASTERN REGION OF WEST SINGHBHUM DISTRICT, JHARKHAND
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2022) Tanu Shree Lakra; M.S. Malik
    The present study entitled “Socio-economic analysis of Agroforestry practices in Eastern region of West Singhbhum District, Jharkhand” was conducted with 320 randomly selected respondents in its four blocks during the year 2018-19. The selected blocks were Jaggnathpur, Khuntpani, Manjhari and Tonto. From each block 4 villages were selected and from each village, 20 respondents were selected by adopting random sampling procedure. Thus, the total sample consisted of 320 respondents for the study. A pre-tested interview schedule was used to collect the data from the respondents by personal interview method. Data were tabulated and analyzed by using statistical techniques like chi-square test, percentage, mean, standard deviation, correlation analysis, wherever suitable. Majority of farmers (60.93%) belonged to middle age group (35 to 50 years), (17.81%) of respondents were illiterates and (37.18%) had matric level education. The male respondents (83.43%) were dominant. Among the caste profile, (85.31%) are Schedule tribe followed by (9.37%) Schedule caste in the study area. Majority of respondents (88. 75%) belonged to nuclear family. The medium sizes of family were 68.43% followed by small family size i.e., 24.68%. 86.25% of the respondents had self-owned farm type. The majority of respondent had small size of land (87.18%). 87.81% had highest material status and 71.56% of farmers had medium farm power status (country plough). The annual income had highest through agriculture production (71.88%), followed by (15.93%) through agroforestry. About 33.75% of farmers had medium scientific orientation. The other motivation of respondents towards other factors were as follows; economic motivation (30.63%), achievement motivation (28.44%), risk orientation (67.81%) and credit orientation (73.75%). Almost 44.38% of farmers had high social participation and 40.31% had low mass media participation. The respondent had highest extension participation (70.63%), 19.38% had medium and 4.06% had low extension participation. About 45.93% of farmers had average perception followed by 17.50% and 5.93% had good and poor perception towards agroforestry. Considerable percentage of farmers (15.63%) had favorable attitude, while 14.37% had more and 8.75% had less favorable attitude towards agroforestry. Minority of farmers had adopted agroforestry, during the year 2018-19 and they are practicing agrisilvihorticultural system in half to one acre of cultivable land with the main purpose of meeting fuel wood demand. Majority were having mixed plantation depending on rainfall. Seedlings in the plantations were survived mainly due to timely planting of healthy seedlings and good maintenance by the farmers. The findings about the constraints faced by the farmers revealed that a large proportion of farmers (92.00%) had expressed no immediate returns from forest trees, lack of irrigation/water facility (88.00%), and lack of knowledge on package of practices (82.00%) as the major constraints. About 36.00% and 34.00% of farmers displeased with marketing facilities and less land holding respectively. Lack of interest in proper maintenance, animal menace and lack of extension services were viewed similarly as the main constraints by 21.00%, 19.00% and 16.00% of farmers respectively. A large majority of farmers suggested for supply of short duration tree species (93.00%) and irrigation facility (82.00%), while (67.00%) and (64.00%) of farmers suggested for adequate technical guidance and marketing facilities, respectively. A small proportion of farmers also suggested timely availability of seedlings (10.00%), provision to have bank loan facilities (14.00%) and compensation for the damage caused by wild animals (7.00%) for effective/full adoption of agroforestry. The study pointed out that there is a further scope for improvement in perception level as well as creating more favorable attitude of farmers towards agroforestry, extension functionaries and concerned organizations, which should intensify their efforts in increasing the perception level of farmers and also to build up the farmer’s attitude, more favorably towards agroforestry. In this regard, variables related to perception level and attitude could be advantageously manipulated in order to increase farmer’s perception as well as to mould their attitude in favorable manner. It was found that there was a big gap in full adoption of all recommended agroforestry practices. In order to bridge this, extension agency should further intensify the extension activities through use of appropriate extension teaching methods like demonstrations, training, panel discussion, meeting etc., to motivate them and adopt crucial practices such as fertilizer application, bio-fertilizer inoculation, pre-treatment of hard coated seeds, silvicultural management practices and tree harvesting techniques. Such educational approach would enable them to adopt recommended agroforestry practices and also helps to share the experiences and relevant information with fellow tribal farmers by having group discussion with the women in respective villages. The present study revealed that independent variables of the farmers namely education, agroforestry practices, annual income, scientific orientation, achievement motivation, economic motivation, risk orientation, credit orientation, social participation, mass media participation and extension participation had positive and significant association with dependent variables. Hence, the extension agency should give due consideration to these variables for better results of the developmental programmes in general and agroforestry programmes in particular. The study is a pioneering attempt to study the impact of agroforestry on farmers in a comprehensive way. Therefore, it is suggested that further investigation may be taken up in different region of the State with varying social, economic and ecological background. This will help to make valid and generalization regarding the impact of agroforestry, which could be of immense significance in replicating future development programmes. The independent variables included in the study could explain the variation in the level of perception, attitude and adoption, respectively. Hence, there is a need to identify and include more variables of personal, socio-economic, psychological and communication characteristics in the study area which influences the perception, attitude and adoption behavior of farmers.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Growth, Yield and Quality Assessment of Trees and Fodder Crops under Agroforestry System in Ranchi District of Jharkhand
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2023) Firoz Ahmad; M.S. Malik
    Integration of trees with fodder crops under agroforestry systems in the humid and sub humid region is a strategy for year-round fodder production and insurance against fodder scarcity. During 2019-2021, a field trial entitled “Growth, Yield and Quality Assessment of Trees and Fodder Crops under Agroforestry System in Ranchi District of Jharkhand” was conducted using the fodder tree Melia azedarach (Bakain) along with the four fodder crops viz., Para grass, Hybrid Napier, Stylo and Charabadam at the research field of Agroforestry situated at the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry campus, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) involving nine treatment combinations replicated thrice. The treatments comprised of Bakain + Stylo, Bakain + Charabadam, Bakain + Para grass, Bakain + Hybrid Napier, sole Bakain, sole Stylo, sole Charabadam, sole Para grass and sole Hybrid Napier. Growth parameters of tree species (Bakain) i.e., diameter at breast height (cm), tree height (m), tree volume (m3/tree), crown diameter (m), number of branches (per tree), number of leaves (per branch), leaf area index; yield attributes of the tree species (Bakain) i.e., green leaf biomass (t/ha), dry leaf biomass (t/ha), fresh weight of the standing trees, dry weight of the standing trees as well as quality attributes of the tree (Bakain) and fodder crops i.e., crude protein content (CP%), crude fibre content (CF%), neutral detergent fibre (NDF%), acid detergent fibre (ADF%), ash content (AC%), ether extract (EE%) and nitrogen-free extract (NFE%), were recorded during both years of experimentation. The growth attributes of fodder crops i.e., plant population, number of branches, number of leaves per tillers and leaf area index; yield attributes of fodder crops i.e., green fodder yield (t/ha), dry fodder yield (t/ha), leaf weight (t/ha), stem weight (t/ha), leaf: stem ratio were observed. Rainfall use efficiency, palatability trial, carbon sequestration potential and economic analysis of the system were also taken into consideration. Results reflect that Bakain intercropped with Stylo recorded better growth with regard to tree height (10.46 m), DBH (17.59 cm), crown diameter (6.28 m), LAI (3.07), number of branches (571.33), fresh biomass (111.69 t/ha) and dry biomass (80.98 t/ha) produced, tree volume (0.253 m3), as well as leaf fodder quality in terms of CP content (12.89%), ADF (37.37%), AC (3.04%) and EE (4.80%), however, sole Bakain contains more CF (53.96%) and NDF (35.21%). Among different intercrops, Stylo recorded more tillers (295.83), crude protein content (15.74%), yield of crude protein (12.16 q/ha), rainwater productivity (0.28 q/ha/mm), carbon sequestration (140.31 t/ha), carbon credit (514.96), gross return (₹.1,86,705 /ha), net return (Rs.1,34,632 /ha) and LER (2.56). However, Hybrid Napier as sole or intercropped recorded highest LAI (4.08), GFY (869.23 q/ha), DFY (149.55 q/ha), NDF (60.62%), ADF (48.24%), CF (62.38%) and EE (5.69%) along with the highest Benefit: Cost Ratio (4.67). Improvement in soil chemical properties was better under intercrops than sole tree or grasses. Among the intercrops, Charabadam intercropped with Bakain has been found to put forth a better impact on soil improvement. The study concludes that the Bakain + Stylo based agroforestry system is viable in degraded or waste land with medium to low fertility for round-the-year production of quality fodder as well as climatic amelioration. This will certainly help improve fodder scarcity for the livestock and uplift the livelihood conditions of farmers in the plateau region of Jharkhand.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    GENETIC STUDIES ON SPIKELET STERILITY AND BREEDING TECHNIQUES OF RICE (Oryza sativa L.)
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2022) Priyanka Kumari; Krishna Prasad
    The present investigation was conducted at the experimental plot of Birsa Agricultural University, Kanke under the rainfed conditions of Jharkhand, India during kharif 2020 and 2021 in the F6 and F7 generation seeds of the cross Pusa-1176 x BPT-5204 respectively. The F6 generation plants were particularly examined for the trait spikelet sterility and plants to be grown in F7 generation were selected based on sterility percentage. Then, selected plants were sown as panicle to progeny rows at two different dates as set I and set II with the interval of 15 days in order to study the influence of environment on the traits under study. The traits undertaken in the research work for which the observations were recorded are basically classified into qualitative and quantitative traits. The qualitative traits include presence of awns, awn colour, leaf sheath colour, stigma colour, leaf margin colour, apiculus colour and pollen viability test whereas the quantitative traits comprised of days to flowering, number of tillers per plant, plant height, panicle length, number of panicles per plant, number of filled spikelet, number of unfilled spikelet, grain length, grain width, 100 seed weight and seed yield per plant. The chi-square test revealed that genetic ratios obtained for the segregating families were monogenic, digenic and trigenic as well for the qualitative traits concluding that it is governed by single gene, two and three genes respectively depending on the segregation pattern. It exhibited that the respective segregation ratio of each family showed dissimilar segregation pattern for both set I and set II in the family no. 42, 44, 62, 83 and 84 for the trait presence of awns, family no. 42, 44, 62, 72, 211, 288 and 309 for awn colour, family no. 230, 95, 211 and 92 for leaf sheath colour, family no. 42, 309, 72, 211, 83, 275 for stigma colour, family no. 230, 95, 71, 42, 92, 83 for leaf margin colour, and family no. 42, 71, 230, 72, 82 for apiculus colour that displayed the influence of changes in temperature and photoperiod. But the respective segregation ratio was found similar in the family no. 84 and 230 for the presence of awns, family no. 83, 84, 230 and 275 for awn colour, family no. 309, 44, 42, 72, 83, 275, 84, 82 for leaf sheath colour, family no. 44, 82, 95 for stigma colour, family no. 321, 309, 44, 62, 72, 211, 275, 84, 82 for leaf margin colour and family no. 321, 309, 62, 83, 211, 275, 92, 84, 95 for apiculus colour concluding that the behaviour and expression of the concerned genes were found persistent in both the sets sown and remained unaffected by the environmental fluctuations. In set I, presence of linkage was detected between presence of awns and awn colour in the family no. 455, awn colour and apiculus colour in the family no. 42-3, awn colour and leaf sheath colour in the family no. 455, apiculus colour and leaf margin colour in the family no. 95-7, 95-14 and 455, apiculus colour and stigma colour in the family no. 42-3, 95-7, 95-14, 230 and 455, apiculus colour and leaf sheath colour in the family no. 95-14, leaf margin colour and stigma colour in the family no. 42-3, 95-7 and 95-14, leaf margin colour and leaf sheath colour in the family no. 42-3, 95-14 and 230 and between stigma colour and leaf sheath colour in the family no. 95-14. Whereas in set II, family no. 83-6 exhibited the presence of linkage between all possible combination of the traits such as awn color, leaf sheath colour, stigma colour, leaf margin colour and apiculus colour except presence of awns. The cytological study of pollen grains via iodine-potassium iodide (I2KI) staining method revealed that pollen sterility was found to be governed by two genes since it exhibited digenic segregation ratio. The SSR marker based analysis exhibited segregation distortion among the genotypes in which amplicons of multiple alleles were found to be distributed in different segregants. The reported genes linked with the polymorphic markers were pms4, tms5, rpms1, tms4 and tms8. However, to determine the linked genes in the present research, sample size should be increased for precise and accurate assessment. The results of skewness and kurtosis that mild selection would be sufficient for improvement in the characters number of panicles, number of unfilled spikelet, 100 seed weight and seed yield per plant in set I and for days to flowering, number of tillers, number of panicles and spikelet fertility in set II whereas stringent selection might be deployed for trait improvement in panicle length and grain length in set I and only for grain length in set II. The characters number of tillers, plant height, panicle length, number of panicles, number of filled spikelet, number of unfilled spikelet, spikelet fertility, grain width, L/B ratio and 100 seed weight showed highly significant positive correlation with seed yield per plant in both the sets. But path analysis revealed that number of panicles and number of filled spikelet exhibited the highest positive direct effect on seed yield per plant in both the sets among all other characters under study and could be used as selection criteria for effective improvement of grain yield. Moreover, few EGMS segregants have been identified from set I such as plant no. 368, 1931, 2071, 2743 based on the cytological study of pollen grains and spikelet fertility. It showed highly sterile pollen grains but possessed high grain setting indicating high spikelet fertility, so it might be considered as EGMS segregant and thus could have great contribution in two-line hybrid breeding of rice. Furthermore, around 503 out of 2765 segregants from set I and 259 out of 1468 segregants from set II showed higher grain yield in terms of seed yield per pant and have been recognized as agronomically suitable segregant but further selection among these agronomically suitable segregant based on L/B ratio would be useful in identifying the segregant as consumer preferable. Hence, 50 segregants from set I with plant no. 184, 199, 248, 249, 251, 259, 368, 732, 776, 785, 801, 912, 1003, 1013, 1024, 1034, 1125, 1509, 1549, 1611, 1651, 1668, 1714, 1715, 1722, 1749, 1759, 1771, 1791, 1912, 1945, 1999, 2005, 2121, 2124, 2126, 2130, 2131, 2133, 2134, 2135, 2189, 2278, 2540, 2543, 2552, 2557, 2632, 2670, 2687 and 20 segregants from set II with plant no. 47, 58, 76, 117, 422, 621, 679, 784, 981, 1010, 1036, 1082, 1083, 1245, 1249, 1258, 1259, 1345, 1361, 1445 were found to be better performing genotypes . This would be advantageous and beneficial to the farmers in enhancing the farm produces as well as their income. However, it is concluded from the result of embryo culture that embryo could be cultured efficiently at the earliest after 14 days of pollination which might be useful in overcoming the barriers of wide hybridization and shortening of breeding cycle consequently leading to rapid generation advancement.