Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Thesis

Permanent URI for this collection

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 9 of 813
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    IMPACT OF CROP ESTABLISHMENT METHOD, NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT AND STUBBLE HEIGHT OF HYBRID RICE ON RICE – LENTIL CROPPING SEQUENCE
    (Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia – 741252, 2023-12-22) Sana Megha; Dr. Sukanta Pal
    A 2-year study on “Impact of crop establishment methods, nutrient management and stubble height of hybrid rice on rice-lentil cropping sequence” was undertaken at RRSS, BCKV, Chakdaha in kharif and rabi seasons of 2020-21 and 2021- 22. The experimental soil was sandy clay loam in texture with neutral pH (7.1, 7.2), medium OC (0.680 and 0.681%), low available N (261.5 and 263.7 kg ha-1) and medium available P2O5 (16.30 and 17.20 kg ha-1) and medium available K2O (130.0 and 134.0 kg ha-1). The field layout plan was done as per strip-strip plot design with 24 treatment combinations and three replications. The treatments represent 3 factors: the main plot factors namely two different crop establishment methods [transplanted rice (TPR) and direct seeded rice (DSR)], the sub-plot factors namely six nutrient doses [Farmers fertilizer practice (60 kg N, 30 kg P2O5 and 30 kg K2O per hectare), 100% RDF (80 kg N, 40 kg P2O5 and 40 K2O per hectare), 150% RDF (120 kg N, 60 kg P2O5 and 60 K2O per hectare), 75% RDN + 25% N via Municipal compost + Azospirillum @ 2 kg ha-1, 50% RDN + 50% N via Municipal compost + Azospirillum @ 2 kg/ha, SSNM based on Nutrient Expert® (i.e. 91-42-48 kg N, P2O5, K2O ha-1)], two different stubble length (15 cm and 25 cm) was in sub sub-plots. There were 72 total plots with a 12 m2 each plot size. The results of the present experiment indicate that different crop establishment methods have profound impact on growth and yield of hybrid rice. During both kharif seasons, growth attributes of hybrid rice, for all the dates of observation were found to be higher in transplanted crop than that of, direct seeded crop. Transplanted crops recorded highest plant height (114.21cm and 114.30cm at 90 DAT), number of tillers m-2 (431.40 and 446.64 at 90 DAT), LAI (4.45 and 4.54 at 60 DAT), above ground biomass (1089.1g m-2 and 1096.5g m-2 at harvest), CGR (17.95 g m-2 day-1 and 17.64 g m-2 day-1 during 31- 60 DAT), third leaf nitrogen concentration (2.43% and 2.47% at 60 DAT), root length (24.62cm and 24.67cm at 90cm DAT) and root dry weight (261.5 g m-2 and 269.8 g m-2 at 90 DAT) in both kharif seasons, respectively. Among the nutrient levels, during both years for all dates of observation, treatment receiving 150% RDF performed best with respect to growth attributes of hybrid rice, closely followed by Nutrient Expert® treatment; And both the treatments (F6) were statistically at par among themselves. Application of 150% RDN recorded highest plant height (119.32cm and 123.22cm at 90 DAT), number of tillers m-2 (469.1 and 492.3 at 90 DAT), LAI (4.78 and 5.16 at 60 DAT), above-ground biomass (1044.8g m-2 and 11058.3g m-2 at harvest), third leaf N concentration (2.72% and 2.77% at 60 DAT), root length (24.74cm and 24.82cm at 90 DAT) and root dry weight (270.4 g m-2 and 281.7 g m-2 at 90 DAT) in both the years, respectively. Application of 50% RDN + 50% N through municipal compost + Azospirillum (F5 treatment) produced plants with highest CGR (18.53 g m-2 day-1 and 18.72 g m-2 day-1 in kharif 2020 and 2021 respectively). With respect to different CEM and nutrient management treatments, yield attributes of hybrid rice followed a similar trend as that of growth attributes for both the years. Transplanted crops produced higher number of panicle m-2 (250 and 253), number of filled grains per panicle (105 and 109), panicle length (28.74cm and 27.42cm), panicle weight (3.51 g and 3.65 g), 1000-grain weight (22.24 g and 22.23 g), grain (6.34 t ha-1 and 6.36t ha-1), straw (6.25 t ha-1 and 6.40 t ha-1) yield and HI (50.34% and 49.95%) in kharif 2020 and kharif 2021, respectively than that of direct seeded crops. Treatment consisted of 150% RDN performed best with regard to effective number of panicle m-2 (259 and 263), number of filled grains per panicle (120 and 123), panicle length (28.98 cm and 28.32 cm), panicle weight (3.64 g and 3.91g), test weight (22.29 g and 22.53 g), grain (7.16 t ha-1 and 7.15t ha-1), straw (7.33 t ha-1 and 7.46 t ha-1) yield and HI (49.25% and 49.29%) in kharif 2020 and kharif 2021, respectively. Hybrid rice in FFP treated plots had lowest values for all measured parameters. The content and N uptake (1.206%, 1.229% and 77.35 kg ha-1, 78.81 kg ha-1), P content and P uptake (0.302%, 0.311% and 19.57 kg ha-1, 20.19 kg ha-1) and K content and K uptake (0.360%, 0.366% and 23.06 kg ha-1, 23.57 kg ha-1) of rice grains was found to be highest in transplanted crops during kharif 2020 and kharif 2021, respectively. Irrespective of CEM, application of 150% RDN (F3 treatment) showed highest N content and N uptake (1.225%, 1.268% and 88.18 kg ha-1, 91.35 kg ha-1), P content and P uptake (0.339%, 0.347% and 24.48 kg ha-1, 25.08 kg ha-1) and K content and K uptake (0.384%, 0.402% and 27.68 kg ha-1, 28.73 kg ha-1) of rice grains in kharif 2020 and kharif 2021, respectively. Significantly higher crude protein content in hybrid rice grain (7.538% and 7.683%), hulling percentage (76.23% and 77.15%) and milling percentage (71.04% and 71.15%) were obtained in transplanted crop during kharif 2020 and kharif 2021, respectively. Irrespective of CEM, application of 150% RDN (F3 treatment) produced grains with highest crude protein content (7.658% and 7.924%), hulling % (76.37% and 77.59%) and milling % (70.25% and 70.34%) in kharif 2020 and 2021, respectively. At the end of both the kharif seasons, the under different CEMs soil organic carbon content (SOC) in 0-15 cm soil depth remained unaltered. The available N (378.74 kg ha-1 and 278.54 kg ha-1), P2O5 (26.34 kg ha-1 and 37.01 kg ha-1) and K2O (176.26 kg ha-1 and 175.65 kg ha-1) in soil was found to be the highest in direct seeded rice plots in kharif 2020 and kharif 2021, respectively. Irrespective of CEMs, application of 50% RDN + 50% N through municipal compost + Azospirillum (F5 treatment) led to higher content of organic carbon (0.65% and 0.67%), N (388.44 kg ha-1 and 394.12 kg ha-1), P2O5 (31.27 kg ha-1 and 33.67 kg ha-1) and K2O (185.23 kg ha-1 and 199.18 kg ha-1) in soil after harvesting of hybrid rice in 2020 and 2021, respectively; while the lowest values were recorded in plots which received FFP. In this 2-years field experiment, the highest cost of cultivation was incurred in transplanted hybrid rice cultivation with F5 treatment (₹99332 ha-1). The gross (₹183020 ha-1 and ₹181805 ha-1) and net (₹96247 ha-1 and ₹93737 ha-1) return as well as B:C ratio (2.11 and 2.08) were found to be the highest in transplanted hybrid rice cultivation with F3 treatment in kharif 2020 and kharif 2021, respective. The lentil crop, sown after harvesting of DSR, recorded highest plant height (38.71cm and 39.77cm at 90 DAS), dry aerial biomass (131.95g m-2 and 136.20g m-2 at 90 DAS), CGR (2.026g m-2 day-1 and 1.933 g m-2 day-1 during 31-60 DAS), number of nodules plant-1 (32.09 and 34.57 AT 60 DAS), nodule dry weight plant-1 (4.576mg and 4.665gm at 60 DAS), relative leaf water content (85.10% and 87.53% at 90 DAS) and total chlorophyll content (1.715mg g-1 of fresh weight and 1.735 mg g-1 of fresh weight at 90 DAS), respectively. Among various nutrient treatments, the residual effect of 150% RDN application in kharif hybrid rice produced lentil crop with highest plant height (39.11cm and 40.60cm at 90 DAS), dry aerial biomass (131.88g m-2 and 1137.50g m-2 at 90 DAS), CGR (2.064g m-2 day-1 and 1.988g m-2 day-1 during 31-60 DAS), number of nodules plant-1 (32.93 and 34.66 AT 60 DAS), nodule dry weight plant-1 (4.642mg and 4.640gm at 60 DAS), relative leaf water content (85.01% and 87.87% at 90 DAS) and total chlorophyll content (1.755 mg g-1 of fresh weight and 1.778 mg g-1 of fresh weight at 90 DAS), respectively. Lentil grown under 25cm stubble height recorded higher plant height (38.43cm and 39.16cm at 90 DAS), dry aerial biomass (129.15 g m-2 and 134.10 g m-2 at 90 DAS), number of nodules plant-1 (30.53 and 32.91 at 60 DAS), nodule dry weight plant-1 (4.317 mg and 4.398 mg at 60 DAS) and relative leaf water content (84.07% and 86.87% at 90 DAS), respectively as compared to the crop under 15 cm stubble height. The N content N uptake (4.573%, 4.613% and 48.46 kg ha-1, 49.64 kg ha- 1), P content and P uptake (0.302%, 0.321% and 3.237 kg ha-1, 3.486 kg ha-1) and K content and K uptake (0.870%, 0.880% and 9.252 kg ha-1, 9.487 kg ha-1) of lentil seeds was found to be highest in lentil crops sown after harvesting of direct seeded rice in rabi 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. Irrespective of CEMs, lentil crop when grown after kharif hybrid rice that received 150% RDN recorded the highest N content and N uptake (4.652%, 4.680% and 48.34 kg ha-1, 49.82 kg ha-1), P content and P uptake (0.332%, 0.0.348% and 3.468 kg ha-1, 3.724 kg ha-1) and K content and K uptake (0.0.895%, 0.897% and 9.327 kg ha-1, 9.575 kg ha-1) of lentil seeds in rabi 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. Different stubble heights of hybrid rice, maintained during sowing of lentil crop in rabi season, resulted non-significant variation in seed and stover N, P and K content. The gross return from lentil cultivation was found to be the highest (₹62250 ha-1 and ₹62800 ha-1 in rabi 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively) in plots which had direct- seeded hybrid rice cultivation with F3 treatment and finally leaving greater stubble height (25cm). The net return from lentil cultivation was also found to be the highest (₹33380 ha-1 and ₹33930 ha-1 in rabi 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively) in plots which had direct-seeded hybrid rice cultivation with F3 treatment and finally leaving greater stubble height (25cm). Under the same growing environment, the B:C ratio was also found to be the highest (2.16 and 2.18 in rabi 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively) for lentil cultivation. Results in respect of overall performance of rice-lentil system revealed that system productivity (8232.2 kg ha-1 and 8300.2 kg ha-1) and system production efficiency (34.30 kg ha-1 day-1 and 34.29 kg ha-1 day-1) attained highest values in transplanted rice- lentil system in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. Rice-lentil system performed best when the kharif hybrid rice cultivation with 150% RDN was followed by lentil cultivation with regard to productivity (9750.6 kg ha-1 and 9800.6 kg ha-1), production efficiency (41.49 kg ha-1 day-1 and 41.10 kg ha-1 day-1) of the systems, N uptake (200.58 kg ha-1 and 206.59 kg ha-1), P uptake (42.25 kg ha-1 and 43.96 kg ha-1) and K uptake (181.64 kg ha-1 and 183.15 kg ha-1) in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. Total population of bacteria (129.54×10-5 and 134.60×10-5 CFU g-1 dry soil), fungi (43.63×10-3 and 49.71×10-3 CFU g-1 dry soil) and actinomycetes (63.96×10-5 and 66.69×10-5 CFU g-1 dry soil) was highest at the end of direct seeded rice-lentil sequential cropping in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. Cultivation of kharif hybrid rice with nutrient combinations of 50% RDN + 50% N through municipal compost + Azospirillum (F5 treatment) followed by lentil crop resulted higher total population of bacteria (1137.30×10-5 and 142.15×10-5 CFU g-1 dry soil), fungi (45.97×10-3 and 54.47×10-3 CFU g-1 dry soil), actinomycetes (66.52×10-5 and 69.91×10-5 CFU g-1 dry soil), OC (0.701% and 0.710%), available N (266.97 kg ha-1 and 271.12 kg ha-1), P2O5 (14.44 kg ha-1 and 13.56 kg ha-1) and K2O (120.12 kg ha-1 and 116.57 kg ha-1) in post-harvest soil during 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. The harvest of hybrid rice with a pre-determined stubble height, prior to sowing of lentil crop, exerted significant impact of microbial population in post-harvest soil at the end of rabi season. Total population of bacteria (128.18×10-5 and 131.68×10-5 CFU g-1 dry soil), fungi (41.62×10-3 and 48.03×10-3 CFU g-1 dry soil) and actinomycetes (62.12×10-5 and 65.21×10-5 CFU g-1 dry soil) was highest in rice-lentil system which consisted of lentil sowing under greater (25 cm) stubble height in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. Based on 2-years data, the cost of cultivation of hybrid rice-lentil system was more (`128202 ha-1) when the system comprised of transplanted kharif hybrid rice cultivation with F5 treatment followed by lentil sowing under stubble height of either 15 cm or 25 cm in rabi season. This cropping system gave the highest gross return (`183020 ha-1 and `180510 ha-1 in 2020 and 2021, respectively) when it consisted of kharif hybrid rice cultivation under transplanted condition with F3 treatment followed by lentil sowing under greater (25 cm) stubble height in rabi season. The highest net return (`108206 ha-1) and B:C ratio (2.00) of rice-lentil system was obtained when it involved direct seeded hybrid rice cultivation kharif season with F3 treatment followed by lentil sowing under 25cm stubble height in 2020-21. But in 2021-22 net return (`113496 ha-1) and B:C ratio (2.04) of rice-lentil system was more when it involved direct seeded hybrid rice cultivation in kharif season with F3 treatment followed by lentil sowing under 15cm stubble height in rabi season. The available N gain was the highest (93.70 kg ha-1) under rice-lentil system which involved direct seeded hybrid rice cultivation with F4 treatment followed by lentil under 25 cm stubble heighten 2020-21 in rabi season. But in case of 2021-22 available N gain of rice-lentil system was more (97.37 kg ha-1) when the system consisted of transplanted kharif hybrid rice cultivation with F4 treatment followed by lentil sowing under 25 cm stubble height in rabi season. In 2020-21, the extent of P loss was low (5.97 kg ha-1) in rice-lentil system which involved transplanted hybrid rice cultivation in kharif season with F6 treatment followed by sowing of lentil crop under 25cm stubble height. But in case of 2021-22, the available P loss of rice-lentil system was low (5.99 kg ha-1) when the system comprised of transplanted kharif hybrid rice cultivation with F6 treatment followed by sowing of lentil crop under 25cm stubble height. The available K gain was maximum (114.57 kg ha-1) under rice-lentil system when it involved transplanted kharif hybrid rice cultivation with F6 treatment followed by rabi lentil sowing under 25 cm stubble height in 2020-21. But in case of 2021-22, available K gain of rice-lentil system was more (108.06 kg ha-1) when the system consisted of transplanted kharif hybrid rice cultivation with F2 treatment followed by lentil sowing under 25 cm stubble height in rabi season. Based on the above discussions, it was concluded that rice-lentil system, comprising directly sown hybrid rice receiving 150% RDF followed by sowing of lentil crop in winter under 25 cm left-over stubble height of hybrid rice, was superior over the same system with different treatment combinations. Therefore, rice-lentil system of cropping with above treatment combination can be prescribed for local farming community not only for getting higher system productivity but also for maintaining improved soil fertility status in the long run.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Qualitative assessment of okra seed based on capsule position
    (Seed Science and Technology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia – 741252, 2023-12-21) Roy Pappu; Dr. Prabir Chakraborti
    Okra is an important vegetable crops, belongs to family Malvaceae that is extensively grown throughout the world in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates. It is a good source of fiber, vitamins C and K, and minerals such as potassium and magnesium. Okra plants produce multiple capsules either on main stem or side branch. It was reported that a smaller number of capsule was produced when grown for seed production purpose than in case of vegetable purpose. The size, shape, and texture of the seed are significantly influenced by the location of the capsule on stem and branches. The seed quality in capsule produced on main stem and side branches are also determined by various factors, including genetics, environmental conditions, and cultural practices. In the present experiment manipulating the position and number of capsule produced on main stem and side branches was a practiced through termination of apical growth by de-topping operation at ten days after first flowering. The field experiment was conducted during post kharif 2022 at C-Block Research Farm, Kalyani (Nadia) in West Bengal by considering eight genotype, two plant type (Normal and De-topped plant) and also two branching conditions. (Main stem and Side Branch) following factorial randomized block design (RBD). Evaluation of phenological characters revealed that the T1 (normal plant) was prominent in most of the cases though T2 (de-topped plant) was prominent in capsule weight in addition to capsule number and 1000 seed weight. Similar to this, capsule demonstrated a notable impact of detopping on its capsule weight, capsule wall weight, and capsule number. Branching conditions revealed superiority of main branch (B1) in most of the cases though B2 (side branch) was prominent in days to flowering, capsule length, and capsule volume. Among the genotype, V4 was prominent for seed and capsule weight, V7 was dominant on capsule and seed number. Other promising genotypes included V8, V3, and others when taking into account various elements including plant type (T1/T2) and branching position (B1/B2). Although there was a non- significant delineation in the seed yield per plant, the interacted values revealed significant results in the majority of the cases. Physiological performances of seed revealed the superiority in T2 (de-topped plant) with an exception in germination and speed of germination. The vigour of the produced seed in de-topped plants was prominent in the final results (vigour index-I and vigour index-ii), where T2 (de-topped plant) was the best considering its capsule position on B1 (main stem). The biochemical parameters that took into account their activity was examined, and T2 (the de-topped plant) and main stem (B1) came out on top for soluble protein peroxidase and alpha amylase. Based on present findings, it is to conclude that de-topping at the proper time may leads to more growth of lateral branches, which results in improved photosynthetic efficiency and a positive impact on reproductive growth, which in turn improves seed yield and quality.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Seed invigoration treatment with hormonal priming for improvement of quality seed production of rice
    (Seed Science and Technology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia – 741252, 2023-12-21) Dandapat Swapnadip; Dr. Sanjoy Kumar Bordolui
    More than 60% of the world's population eats rice as staple food, making it both the most significant food in terms of human nutrition and calorie consumption. Poor field germination capacity, imminent water constraints, rising labour expenses and the continuously growing world population force us to make a better decision in order to ease the food crisis and increase rice output. For increasing seed vigour, synchronising germination, fostering the growth of seedlings, and increasing yield in a variety of crops, seed priming is an effective and useful technique (Bajehbaj et al., 2010). Pre-soaking seeds before planting encourages quick germination and growth, especially under difficult environmental circumstances. Indole acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA3), and ascorbic acid priming, according to certain research, increases germination rate, plant growth, early growth, grain quantity and quality, and grain quality (Anosheh et al., 2011). The research programme was formulated with seven priming materials on under both laboratory and field condition; also observed the deterioration pattern during storage with objectives: 1. optimizing the appropriate concentration of GA3and Kinetin for better performance with special reference to quality seed production. 2. Assessment of the effect of GA3and Kinetin on growth, development and yield attributing characters of rice. 3. Identification of proper seed storage condition(s) for maintenance of high seed vigour andviability of rice. Keeping these points in view, the present study was carried out with seven priming materials. Distinct findings were noted like germination parameters, different vigour, seedling parameters, yield and yield attributing characters. For storage experiment, packaging materials were Cloth bag, Cloth bag in desiccator, Aluminium foil, refrigerator, earthen pot, Brown paper packet, polythene packet (700 Gauge) and the finding were noted like germination parameters, different vigour, seedling parameters. Seed invigoration with50 ppm GA3 was found very effective for seed germination, vigour, seedling parameters, yield and yield attributing characters. So, from the pre-sowing and field experiment, it was superior executant hormonal priming as it enhanced seed yield and most of the prime attributes. For storage experiment it was observed that germination percentage decreasing with increasing storage period. Prescribed germination (80%) of rice was maintained for all the storage containers and condition upto six months; after that they were not maintaining minimum seed certification standard. As a result, it may not be advised to store rice seeds for longer than six months in all containers. When germination potential and vigour index are combined, it suggests that rice seed storage inside a refrigerator, or in polythene (700 gauge) and or in aluminium foil packets, may be advised because these storing materials preserved the rice's higher quality for up to nine months. In water and vapour permeable storing materials viz. cloth bag and brown paper packet quality o seed deteriorate quickly as seed moisture increasing with increasing storage period.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Impact of Gibberellic Acid on Seed Yield and Quality of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)
    (Seed Science and Technology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia – 741252, 2023-12-21) Adhikary Poulamee; Dr. Amitava Dutta
    Sesame (Sesamum indicum L) being an important oil seed crop, proper knowledge of genotypes, their management through foliar application of plant hormone is important for proper growth, seed yield and seed quality improvement. The present investigation was carried out to assess growth pattern, seed yield and yield attributing characters through application of GA3. Deterioration of seed quality during storage condition is another aspect so that seed quality can be maintained up to next season of sowing. The present research work comprised both field and laboratory components comprising four released varieties of sesame namely Rama, Savitri, Suprava and Tilottoma. The field experiment was conducted in summer season 2022 at Jaguli Instructional Farm, Mohanpur, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya. The laboratory experiment was conducted in the department of Seed Science and Technology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidylaya, Mohanpur, Nadia. Observations on storage potential of produced seeds of four varieties in different containers were recorded at 3 months interval up to next year of sowing. Statistical analysis was done with the help of ̒OPSTAT̕ software programme. The major and important findings of the present study are summarized according to the objectives of the programme There was significant variation for days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering and days to100 % flowering for all the varieties. Among the four varieties Tilottoma had early days to maturity followed by Rama. Among the treatments, T7 (control) had influence of early maturity followed by T1 (GA3 @ 50 ppm). The treatments had variable effects on different characters of flowering and maturity. Capsule length, capsule width and fresh weight are important characteristics which lead to higher seed yield. Maximum capsule length was recorded by Rama followed by Tilottoma and Rama had maximum capsule width followed by Savitri. Among the four varieties Savitri produced maximum seed yield (kg/ha) may be due to higher number of seed capsule-1 and in order to assess the growth pattern due to application of GA3, it was observed that Tilottoma attained least plant height at the time of maturity and Rama followed by Suprava attained maximum plant height. Savitri, Suprava and Tilottoma showed significant effect due to application of GA3 for the character number of capsule plant-1 at different growth stages. Pattern of seed deterioration under storage condition revealed that desiccators had least influenced for degradation of seed quality while cloth bag had maximum effect for deterioration of seed quality. thousand seed weight. After critical consideration of the findings of present research work it may be inferred that GA3 @ 400-500 ppm may be applied between 30-45 days after sowing for improving seed yield and the variety Savitri was highly influenced due to application of this plant hormone. For safe storage of seeds desiccator followed by earthen pot may be used to maintain the seed quality.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Effect of Pinching and Foliar nutrition on Growth, Yield and Seed quality parameters of Rapeseed-Mustard
    (Seed Science and Technology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia – 741252, 2023-12-21) Samanta Srijan; Dr. Amitava Dutta
    Oilseed crops play a crucial role in the global agricultural landscape. Among these, rapeseed (Brassica rapa var. yellow sarson) and mustard (Brassica juncea) emerge as the third-most significant edible oilseed crops, cultivated in approximately 53 countries worldwide. India, as the world's fourth-largest producer, contributes substantially to the cultivation of rapeseed and mustard, occupying 28.3% of global acreage and contributing 12.97% to global production. In India, rapeseed and mustard are mainly grown during the winter. In eastern India, mainly in West Bengal and its neighbouring states, where winter is relatively short and moderate, farmers favour rapeseed and mustard since these crops can be grown with one or two critical irrigations, but the potential yield of this crop has not been achieved. Suboptimal yield in this state can be attributed to various factors, with late sowing and insufficient fertilizer utilization emerging as the primary contributors. These factors result in stunted plant growth, forced early maturity, and reduced dry matter accumulation. Excessive fertilizer use during top-dressing also exacerbates the issue, negatively impacting the ecosystem. Several techniques have been attempted so far, but the foliar application of nutrients appears to be more effective. It enhances seed quality and yield efficiency even under less favourable climatic conditions. Pinching is another technique that helps to increase branch formation, and flower production, which ultimately helps the plant's overall growth and enhances yield. In light of this, the present experiment was carried out to assess the practicality of foliar nano-urea and boron, along with pinching, at Jaguli Instructional Farm, Mohanpur, BCKV, Nadia, West Bengal, during the rabi season of 2022-2023 as per split-plot design, accounting for two main plot factors, viz., with pinching (P1), without pinching (P0), and five sub-plot factors, viz., T1: 50% N and 100% P2O5, K2O at basal + 2 ml L-1 nano urea; T2: 50% N &100% P2O5, K2O at basal + 4 ml L-1 nano urea; T3: 50% N &100% P2O5, K2O at basal + 6 ml L-1 nano urea; T4: 50% N and 100% P2O5, K2O at basal + 4 ml L-1 nano urea and 0.1% boron; T5, Control(50% N and 100% P2O5, K2O at basal). Nano urea and Boron were applied twice at 30 and 45 DAS. Two varieties, one each of rapeseed and mustard, namely, Anushka and TBM-143, were considered for this experiment. Additionally, a laboratory study using a completely randomized design, studied the storage potentiality of rapeseed seeds in seed Testing Laboratory of Department of seed Science and Technology, BCKV, Nadia, West Bengal. The results showed that the application of boron encouraged early flowering, whereas the application of nano urea lengthened the reproductive period in both varieties. Among the treatments, T4 and T2 surpassed all other treatments, although they were noted as statistically at par for most of the physiological and yield-defining characters. However, boron plays a significant role in the yield enhancement of TBM-143. During the assessment of storage potentiality, it was noted that harvested seeds stored in 700-gauge polythene packets and desiccators registered minimum deterioration over other storage containers, whereas seeds stored in cloth bags deteriorated the most. Therefore, it can be concluded that pinching profoundly influences the morphological attributes of rapeseed and mustard but has little to no effect on the majority of physiological characters and yield-attributing traits. Regarding treatments, plant biometry is positively impacted by treatments T2 and T3, while the majority of the parameters, including plant phenology, physiological features, yield, and yield-defining attributes, are significantly influenced by T2 and T4. In storage, initial seed quality can be safeguarded for up to six months using a desiccator and 700-gauge polythene packet. Overall, the application of nano urea @ 4ml L-1 coupled with 0.1% boron at the initial growth stage, twice with an interval of 15 days, can be deemed the most effective, irrespective of varieties. However, before making recommendations to farmers, repeated trials in different agro-climatic zones as well as an estimation of cost-effectiveness are required for confirmation.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Influence of Osmopriming in Quality Seed Production of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)
    (Seed Science and Technology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia – 741252, 2023-12-21) Paul Amit; Dr. Sanjoy Kumar Bordolui
    Rice is the most widely produced cereal crop in the world and accounts for 45-70% of the total calorie intake in many rice consuming countries. It is essential to enhance rice production in order to fulfil rising food needs and ensure a sufficient supply of food for the growing population. But poor seed germination leads to poor field establishment which ultimately results in less yield. Osmopriming is a process for priming seeds that is intended to enhance their functionality and quality. A study was conducted during the pre-kharif season of 2022 at the C block In-check farm, Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal to assess the effect of osmopriming on seed production of rice using a rice variety named Bidhan Suruchi (IET- 25701). The treatments for the experiment were T1= Distilled water, T2 = 15% Polyethylene glycol (PEG), T3 = 20% Polyethylene glycol (PEG), T4 = 25% Polyethylene glycol (PEG), T5 = 1% KH2PO4, T6 = 2% KH2PO4, T7 = 3% KH2PO4. Different observations were recorded like germination percentage, germination index, 50% germination time, mean germination time, germination energy, vigour index-I, fresh weight of seedling, dry weight of seedling, vigour index-II, Plant height, Days to 50 percent flowering, total number of tillers hill-1, effective number of tillers hill-1, panicle length, total number of grains panicle-1, filled grains panicle-1, test weight and seed yield. For storage different storing containers and conditions were, S1 = Cloth bag in desiccator, S2 = Aluminium foil packet, S3 = Brown Paper packet, S4 = Earthen pot, S5 = 700-gauge polythene packet, S6 = Cloth bag, S7 = Polythene packet in refrigerator and the parameters were noted like germination percentage, germination index, 50% germination time, mean germination time, germination energy, vigour index-I, fresh weight of seedling, dry weight of seedling and vigour index-II. On the basis of inspection recorded on different components of the present experiment, findings may be explained in brief as: germination percentage (92.91), germination index (49.61), germination energy (91.58%), vigour index I (2073.84), vigour index II (770.80), yield attributing characters like number of effective tillers hill-1 (13.36), number of filled grains panicle-1 (168.66) and seed yield (687.73 g m-2) were recorded highest after seed primed in 2% KH2PO4 (T6). So, it could be considered as the best-performing priming material. KH2PO4 has a significant role in the operation of various physiological processes, enzyme activity, and nutritional accessibility, all of which improve seed vigour, germination, and seed yield. Similar to seed yield and its characteristics, 2% KH2PO4 has been found to positively affect plant growth and development, which may lead to the recommendation of 2% KH2PO4 seed priming for commercial rice production. On the other hand, a study was conducted to observe the trend in rice seed deterioration when seeds were stored in various packaging materials and kept in ambient conditions alongside refrigerated conditions. Germination percentage declined with increasing storage duration. All storage containers and conditions maintained the required germination (80%) upto nine months of storage. However, certain containers and storage conditions only manage to maintain germination slightly more than 80% at nine months of storage, and there is a chance that lengthening the storage period in those containers would result in a reduction in germination percentage from MSCS. Though when germination potential and vigour index are taken into account together, it is found that seeds can be stored for up to nine months and longer (i.e., for long-term storage) in a refrigerator, desiccator, 700-gauge polythene packet and an aluminium foil packet because they maintained their higher quality over the course of storage. Seed storage with other containers like brown paper packet and cloth bag, leads to faster deterioration of seed quality as they are water and vapour permeable containers.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    In vitro direct regeneration and Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated hairy root culture for enhanced forskolin production in Indian coleus (Coleus forskohlii Briq.)
    (Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur-741252, Nadia, West Bengal, 2022-11-21) Mitra, Monisha; Dr. Nirmal Mandal
    Coleus forskohlii is an herbaceous and aromatic plant belonging to the family Lamiaceae and order Lamiales having multifaceted uses namely in food industry, in cosmetic as well as in pharmaceutical arenas. The major metabolite found exclusively in the cork cells of the root is forskolin. Forskolin is used commercially for the treatment of glaucoma, asthma, and heart ailments. The major shortcoming faced in traditional cultivation of this plant is slow growth and incidence of pest and diseases mainly root rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina. Furthermore, low metabolite concentration in the plants, and lower levels of forskolin is another limitation for its commercial uses. Considering all these aspects the present research has been proposed with the following two key objectives namely; 1) Establishment of in vitro propagation of Coleus forskohlii via direct regeneration approaches as well as their genetic fidelity assessment and 2) Establishment of Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated hairy root culture for enhanced forskolin production. Initial culture was established following a non-toxic, simple, and effective sterilization and then inoculated in basal MS medium fortified with different types and doses of single cytokinin, out of which MS medium augmented with 1.5 mg L-1 mT (meta Topolin) turned out to be promising since it displayed higher response (100% ±0.00), maximum number of shoots (12.66±1.20) and number of leaves (20±0.66) per inoculated shoot tip and also exhibited earliest response to shoot induction (5.33±0.33 days). In shoot proliferation experiment, the maximum number of shoots (12.66±0.66) along with highest number of leaves (23.66±0.88) was obtained when MS medium was supplemented with 1 mg L-1 mT + 0.05 mg L-1 NAA. The maximum number (19.33±1.76) and the length (4.76±0.38 cm) of healthy roots per plant were achieved on control medium (MS without PGRs). The sustainability of shoot regeneration ability was checked up to five subculture passages and meagre variability in terms of abnormalities like vitrification, malformation of shoots and yellowing was detected in the 5th subculture. In acclimatization experiment, the survival rate of plantlets cultured in a combination of vermiculite + sand was (91.00±0.57%). The concentration of photosynthetic pigments in plantlets during acclimatization (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids) displayed a minimal increase in the first 10 days and then it increased rapidly and its maximum concentration was noted in the 30 days of acclimatization period. The micromorphological characterization of in vitro and ex vitro hardened plantlets on the basis of stomata and trichome revealed similarities in the features and it strengthened the proof towards the trueness of mother plant and the acclimatized plantlets. DNA fingerprinting of the in vitro-regenerated plantlets via analysis of inter simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) showed clonal fidelity of the plantlets with the mother plant. A stable transgenic hairy root (HR) culture has been developed using engineered three different types of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains namely LBA1334 harbouring pCAM:2×35S:gusA binary vector; MTCC 532 and MTCC 2364, to achieve high yield of secondary metabolites. Putative transgenic HRs were observed in all the three strains. The highest transformation frequency (56.67±1.66%) was noted in internodal explants when immersed in A. rhizogenes suspension for 15 min and co-cultivated for three days. Putative transformation was confirmed by histochemical GUS staining assay that showed blue coloration in the transgenic HRs. This was further confirmed by PCR analysis of rolA, rolB, rolC and virD genes. Time course study revealed that the transgenic HRs grew rapidly in ½MS liquid medium with highest biomass production 0.464±0.0008 g per 50 mL DW after 42 days of culture. In the elicitor mediated experiment, when 20 mg L-1 methyl jasmonate was added to the 15 days old growing culture the biomass of HRs increased by 1.06-fold (DW=0.490±0.06 g). Histochemical localization through vanillin staining revealed the presence of forskolin and related terpenoids in the hairy roots since it displayed violet coloration in the cells. The forskolin content was compared among the transgenic HRs, in vivo as well as in vitro roots with the help of HPLC. The estimation revealed that there is 2.10 and 1.14 times increase in forskolin content in HRs (2.99±0.009 mg g-1 DW) in comparison to the amount accumulated in the in vivo (1.42±0.003 mg g-1 DW) and in vitro-grown (2.63±0.006 mg g-1 DW) roots, respectively. Addition of 20 mg L-1 methyl jasmonate to the 15 days old HR culture boosted the forskolin accumulation to the level of 5.42±0.007 mg g-1 DW, which was 1.8 times of the non elicitated HR culture, respectively. In addition, the content of several important phenolic and flavonoid compounds was increased in the transgenic HRs as analysed by spectrophotometer. The outcome of the present investigation shows great potential for a systematic and efficient in vitro direct regeneration system of plantlets and transgenic HR culture mediated enhanced forskolin accumulation that can serve as a substitute of conventional extraction technologies in order to provide resources of forskolin to the pharmaceutical industries.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Soil biotic and abiotic factors influencing plant diseases in rice based cropping system with different regimes of conservation agricultural practices
    (Plant Pathology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia – 741252, 2023-12-20) DASGUPTA AMRITA; Dr. Subrata Dutta
    Conservation agriculture (CA) aims to conserve, improve and make more efficient use of natural resources through integrated management of soil, water and biological resources combined with external fertilizer inputs. At early stage of CA there appear some serious issues related to supplying sufficient nutrients to the crops to achieve economically viable yields. These issues can be addressed by strengthening microbial interaction and optimizing soil biological activity through self-sustaining biological systems rather than reliance on external inputs or synthetic fertilizers. Modern agriculture is input and energy intensive and highly torturous in nature thus, becoming threats not only to microbial world but to whole ecology and environment. Thus, it is high time for the farmers and agriculturists to address the issues of environmental sustainability along with eco-friendly management practices for harnessing sustained crop productivity to ensure the future food security goal. Conservation agriculture (CA), offers low mechanical disturbance, crop rotation, retention of diverse crop residues and release of diversified chemical compounds as rhizo-depositions to soil and maintaining a protected, cozy habitat for microbes is well ahead biodynamic technology for sustainable crop production. Practices of CA are capable of regenerating and conserving top soil by restoring microbes, and ecosystem services and manage the disease dynamics in field crops under natural conditions. Scanty of literature has been available on the details of microbial population dynamics along with vis –a-vis plant disease dynamics under intensification of CA practices. In the current experiment, microbial dynamics, disease dynamics and yield was assessed and some of the important disease prediction models were developed under rice-wheat-green gram (R-W-G) and rice-mustard-black gram (R- M-B) cropping system under different degrees of CA practices. In the present study, it was observed that zero tillage was found to significantly increase the total bacterial, total fungal, total Actinomycetes and total Bacillus population, whereas, reduced tillage favoured the total phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB), total Pseudomonads population and nitrogen fixing bacterial (NFB) population. Real time (RT) PCR was performed to evaluate the population dynamics of Alphaproteobacteria, ii Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria under three tillage different systems and it was found that intensification of CA practices favoured the Proteobacterial population dynamics, when compared to conventional tillage system. In the current study, dehydrogenase enzyme activity was also performed for better understanding of microbial enzyme activity under different tillage systems in combination with different nutrient- residues level. Zero tillage along with NR2 (100% residue + 50% RDF) performed the best, with highest enzyme activity in both the cropping system, proving effects of tillage systems and residue retention on microbial activity. Thus, a hypothesis that keystone microbial clads were well conserved in CA under microclimate created due to less soil disturbance, habitat restoration, cover cropping, crop rotation etc. ,is put forward. Population dynamics of Sclerotium rolfsii was evaluated along with the suppressiveness and conducivenesss of the soil under different regime of CA practices. In both the cropping systems (R-W-G & R-M-B), the maximum sclerotial population of Sclerotium rolfsii was observed in conventional tillage system as compared with CA practices. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the changes in microbial abundance under varying degrees of CA. Different tillage practices were the most important factors in defining the structure of bacterial communities and β-diversity matrix showed that reduced tillage (RT) and zero tillage (ZT) are closely related to each other whereas conventional tillage (CT) is distantly related to them, which is the reflection of management followed in these scenarios. Abundance at genus level showed that zero tillage and reduced tillage exhibited higher abundance of Bacillus when compared to conventional tillage. Streptomyces and Spingomonas showed similar kind of result, with maximum abundance in reduced tillage, followed by conventional tillage and zero tillage. Pseudomonas, on the other hand, showed maximum abundance in reduce tillage, followed by zero tillage and conventional tillage. The present study clearly demonstrated that the structure and diversity of soil bacteria in reduced tillage were significantly different compared with other tillage practices. Also the dynamics of naturally occurring plant diseases of rice (blast, brown spot, bacterial blight and sheath blight), wheat (leaf blight disease), green gram (Cercospora leaf spot disease), mustard (Alternaria blight and downy mildew) and black gram (Cercospora leaf spot disease) under rice-wheat-green gram and rice-mustard-blackgram cropping system were evaluated and it was observed that severity of some of the diseases are comparatively less with increasing intensity of CA practices and it was also observed iii that severity of the majority of rice diseases were less in reduced tillage system. Studies were also conducted for understanding the influence of different weather factors, micro- climatic variables and soil temperature on important diseases in R-W-G and R-M-B cropping system under varying degrees of CA practices. Disease prediction equations were developed based on 2 years data (2019-20 & 2020-2021) for few important diseases to understand the significant disease predicting weather and micro-climatic variables under different rgime off CA practices. In case of Cercospora leaf spot disease of green gram, different prediction models (multiple regression model, logistic regression model and canonical discriminant function model) had been compared and it was observed that canonical discriminant analysis model performed better in predicting the disease risk in comparison to other two models. Outcome of this study will be helpful to the farmers for adopting CA, particularly, in tropic and subtropical countries where agriculture is greatly relying on the benefits derived from plant–microbe interactions.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    IDENTIFICATION OF RICE GENOTYPES WITH ACCELERATING RECOVERY FROM PHOTOPROTECTION AND THEIR GENETIC ANALYSIS
    (GENETICS AND PLANT BREEDING, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia – 741252, 2023-12-20) Saha Shoumik; Dr. Somnath Bhattacharyya
    Rice cultivation in the eastern and north-eastern parts of India faces biotic and environmental challenges, including changing climatic conditions and extreme light fluctuations, which reduce crop yield potential by up to 35-40% in Kharif. The plant undergoes photoprotection mode by increasing nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) in high light intensity (>1200 μmole m-2s-1 PPFD ), which attenuates photosystem II yield (ɸPSII) drastically. The plant remains in photoprotection mode (reduced ɸPSII and high NPQ) even after light intensity becomes normal (<1000 PPFD) for a more extended period (usually > half an hour). The study aims to identify rice genotypes with quick photoprotection recovery (QPR) ability and allelic variations of the genes controlling the traits. However, phenotyping QPR requires more than forty-five minutes/genotype to measure the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters in progressive actinic light (200-1800 μmole m-2s-1 PPFD) after dark adaptation. Swarnaprabha, Shatabdi, GB1, and Bidhan Suruchi showed QPR ability as observed from the less gap between theoretical and observed ɸPSII yield at 400 PPFD as well as a larger difference between NPQ1800 -NPQ400 after twenty minutes of exposure at six different increasing PPFD, whereas Swarna, Chotogora, and Srabani behave contrarily. The study finds that instantly (2 minutes) measured A400/A1800 ratio in 8-10 days old flag leaves strongly associated with NPQ1800 -NPQ400 and ɸPSII400- ɸPSII1800 with R2 value 0.81 and 0.77 respectively. In a panel of ninety-six genotypes using the QPR data by the newly proposed methodology and 7K SNP genotyping data, GWAS identified that the region (LOD>3) possesses the genes reported earlier for photoprotection recovery in rice and other plants. QTL analysis further validated new methodology in a RIL population developed from a contrasting parental pair Swarnaprabha x IR64. The GWAS and QTL analyze the regions carrying known photoprotection-related genes like OsPsbS1, OsLUT2, OsVDE, OsZEP, OsPGPL2, OsbZIP72 located on chromosomes 1, 4, 8, 9. Genotypes with quick photoprotection recovery identified and further analyzed with existing methodology confirmed their QPR ability. A positive association between A400/A1800 ratio and yield and biomass was observed in RIL with R2 values of 0.11 and 0.17, respectively. The newly identified methodology for the QPR will be used for easier introgression of the traits in popular cultivars of the zone. The identified genotypes, genes, and QTLs can be used to improve yield potential and allele mining.