Soil fertility and on-farm crop response to NPK and Zn fertilization in rice-rice cropping sequence of Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone of Assam

Author(s):  
A. Baishya ◽  
Bhabesh Gogoi ◽  
A. S. Bora ◽  
J. Hazarika ◽  
M. Borah ◽  
...  

Despite being a major source of livelihood, rice cultivation in the plains of the north-east region of India is under stress due to depletion of native nutrient reserves, emergence of multi-nutrient deficiencies and consequent decline in factor productivity of applied nutrients. With the aim to enhance productivity and to develop efficient fertilizer management strategies for the region, the authors discuss the status of post harvest soil properties and on-farm crop response to plant nutrients in rice-rice sequence under the climatic situation of Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone of Assam. Results revealed that the recommended dose of NPK fertilizers along with 5 Kg ZnSO4 application not only increases the yield of rice-rice sequence but also enhances the post harvest fertility status of soil.

Author(s):  
W.N. Reynolds

Following the 2007/08 drought, we experienced poor pasture production and persistence on our dairy farm in north Waikato, leading to decreased milksolids production and a greater reliance on bought-in feed. It is estimated that the cost of this to our farming operation was about $1300 per hectare per year in lost operating profit. While climate and black beetle were factors, they did not explain everything, and other factors were also involved. In the last 3 years we have changed our management strategies to better withstand dry summers, the catalyst for which was becoming the DairyNZ Pasture Improvement Focus Farm for the north Waikato. The major changes we made were to reduce stocking rate, actively manage pastures in summer to reduce over-grazing, and pay more attention to detail in our pasture renewal programme. To date the result has been a reduced need for pasture renewal, a lift in whole farm performance and increased profitability. Keywords: Focus farm, over-grazing, pasture management, pasture persistence, profitability


Author(s):  
Purabi Kaushik ◽  
Jnyanashree Saikia ◽  
Kabitabala Kalita ◽  
Rajjyoti Deka ◽  
J. Saharia

Background: Duck farming plays a significant role, next to chicken in the socio-economic uplift men of the rural farmers of North-East India. Pati duck is the most common duck breed in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam and the other common variety reared in North-East India is Chara-Chambeli, however it originatein Kerala. Genetic characterization plays a significant role for formulation of breeding strategies for improvement of any breed. Microsatellites are codominant in nature and are highly polymorphic. High level of allelic variation, co-dominant mode of inheritance and potential for automated analysis make them an excellent tool for genotyping, mapping and genetic characterization. Pati duck is the most common duck breed in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam and the other common variety reared in North-East India is Chara-Chambeli however its origin in Kerela. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to characterize these two duck breeds using microsatellite markers to evaluate the genetic diversity in these two duck population. Methods: For the present study, Blood sample were collected from 50 Patiducks and 50 Chara-Chambeli ducks from different parts of North-East India. Assessment of genetic characterization of duck breeds of north-east region were carried out using 16 microsatellite markers and population genetics analysis were done by POPGENE software. Result: In the present study, all the studied loci were highly polymorphic. Analysis generated a total of 41 microsatellite alleles. The number of observed alleles (Na) with an overall mean of 1.93±0.258. However, the effective number of alleles (Ne) with a mean of 1.6933±0.2712. The Shannon’s information index was found to a mean value of 0.5685±0.1693. The overall means for observed (HO) and expected (He) heterozygosities were 0.2889±0.2477 and 0.5289±0.0853, respectively. The chi-square (χ2) test for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium revealed that all the loci are in within Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.


Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 765-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Coutts ◽  
M. A. Kehoe ◽  
R. A. C. Jones

In glasshouse experiments, Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) was transmitted from infected to healthy zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) plants by direct contact when leaves were rubbed against each other, crushed, or trampled, and, to a lesser extent, on ZYMV-contaminated blades. When sap from zucchini plants infected with three ZYMV isolates was kept at room temperature for up to 6 h, it infected healthy plants readily. Also, when sap from ZYMV-infected leaves was applied to seven surfaces (cotton, plastic, leather, metal, rubber vehicle tire, rubber-soled footwear, and human skin) and left for up to 48 h before the ZYMV-contaminated surface was rubbed onto healthy zucchini plants, ZYMV remained infective for 48 h on tire, 24 h on plastic and leather, and up to 6 h on cotton, metal, and footwear. On human skin, ZYMV remained infective for 5 min only. The effectiveness of 13 disinfectants at inactivating ZYMV was evaluated by adding them to sap from ZYMV-infected leaves which was then rubbed on to healthy zucchini plants. None of the plants became infected when nonfat dried milk (20%, wt/vol) or bleach (sodium hypochlorite at 42 g/liter, diluted 1:4) were used. When ZYMV-infected pumpkin leaves were trampled by footwear and then used to trample healthy plants, all plants became infected; however, when contaminated footwear was dipped in a footbath containing bleach (sodium hypochlorite at 42 g/liter, diluted 1:4) before trampling, none became infected. This study demonstrates that ZYMV can be transmitted by contact and highlights the need for on-farm hygiene practices (decontaminating tools, machinery, clothing, and so on) to be included in integrated disease management strategies for ZYMV in cucurbit crops.


2001 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Tarczyńska ◽  
Z. Romanowska-Duda ◽  
T. Jurczak ◽  
M. Zalewski

Eutrophication of reservoirs used for drinking water supplies is a very common problem, particularly in lowland reservoirs. Long water retention time (60-120 days) favours cyanobacterial bloom occurrence in Sulejów Reservoir, Poland. The localisation of the water intake in a bay exposed to north-east winds favoured the Microcystis bloom accumulation, which formed a 0.5 m thick dense scum for the first time in September 1999. Cyanobacterial hepatotoxins can pose a potential health problem because the presence of about 0.8 μg/l microcystins was detected in drinking water during three series of analysis. An investigation of the efficiency of each stage of water treatment processes in the elimination of microcystins showed that pre-chlorination, coagulation, and rapid sand filtration were ineffective in removing microcystins from water. Significant elimination was observed after ozonation and chlorination. The concentration of microcystins in bloom material was between 12 to 860 μg/g dry weight of phytoplankton biomass. Management strategies for reservoirs should consider the important role of ecohydrological processes, which are often very easy to regulate, and which can be useful for bio-manipulation of the water ecosystem.


2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Yongmei Li ◽  
Mengyuan Xia ◽  
Pengbo He ◽  
Qiaoming Yang ◽  
Yixin Wu ◽  
...  

Citrus is among the most important plants in the fruit industry severely infected with pathogens. Citrus green mold caused by Penicillium digitatum is one of the most devastating diseases during post-harvest stages of citrus fruit. In this study, a potential endophyte Bacillus subtilis L1-21, isolated from healthy citrus plants, was assessed for its biocontrol activity against the pathogen P. digitatum. Based on an in vitro crosstalk assay, we suggested that B. subtilis L1-21 inhibits the pathogen with an inhibition zone of 3.51 ± 0.08 cm. Biocontrol efficacy was highest for the fermented culture filtrate of B. subtilis L1-21. Additionally, using GC-MS analysis, 13 compounds were detected in the extract of this endophyte. The culture filtrate in Landy medium could enlarge and deform pathogen spores and prevent them from developing into normal mycelium. Accordingly, the Landy culture filtrate of B. subtilis L1-21 was stable in the temperature range of 4–90 °C and pH of 3–11. Further, MALDI-TOF-MS for B. subtilis L1-21 detected surfactin, fengycin, bacillaene and bacilysin as potential antifungal compounds. GFP-tagged B. subtilis L1-21 easily colonized in citrus fruit peel and pulp, suggesting its role in eliminating the fungal pathogen. Altogether, it is highly expected that the production of antifungal compounds, and the colonization potential of B. subtilis L1-21 are required against the post-harvest P. digitatum pathogen on citrus fruit.


2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-255
Author(s):  
Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto ◽  
Marcos Silveira Bernardes ◽  
Antônio Roberto Pereira

Agroforestry systems are indicated as an alternative for sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) cultivation in Piracicaba, SP, Brazil, however there are not many field experiments on plant performance under these conditions in the world. The objective of this work was to assess crop yield and partitioning in a sugarcane-rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) interface in on-farm conditions. The availability of irradiance for the crop along the interface was simulated and its effe ct over sugarcane dry matter production was tested. Crop yield was negatively affected by distance of the trees, but development and sucrose were not affected. Above ground dry matter increased from 16.6 to 51.5 t ha-1 from trees. Partitioning did not have a defined standard, as harvest index increased from 0.85 to 0.93, but specific leaf area was not significant along the transect, ranging from 13.48 to 15.73 m² kg-1. Light is the main factor of competition between the trees and the crop, but the relative importance of below ground interactions increases closer to the trees. Feasibility of the system depends on maturity of the trees and management strategies.


Author(s):  
Diana M. Earnshaw ◽  
Michael T. Masarirambi ◽  
Bonginkhosi E. Dlamini ◽  
Kwanele A. Nxumalo

Vegetables are important in human diets as a side dish eaten either cooked or raw as in salads. They are important for their nutritional contribution as major sources of minerals, vitamins, nine essential amino acids, beneficial phytochemicals, fibre and interesting colour from an aesthetic point of view. Despite the immerse health benefits offered by vegetables there are challenges encountered in their post-harvest handling and storage up to consumption. Challenges include post-harvest losses due to diseases. Some losses occur even at household level when vegetables are not stored appropriately when stored under the sink where humidity can be high leading to an environment which promotes diseases. Diseases in the post-harvest chain are caused by bacteria and opportunistic pathogenic fungi. Post-harvest losses of vegetables are not only a threat to nutritional security but a threat to food security as well. The aim of this research study was to document major post-harvest diseases of vegetables found in the Kingdom of Eswatini and to suggest appropriate management strategies or ways of alleviating them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1561-1576
Author(s):  
Bodrul Islam ◽  
Pradyut Guha

PurposeThe present study aims at examining the determinants of occupational migration of unskilled labourer from domestic agriculture and their impact on farm business income (FBI) in Assam, India.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data for this study were collected during June–November, 2019 from 224 farm (cultivator) households in two contiguous districts in central Brahmaputra valley of Assam. The study used three-stage least square (3SLS) estimation technique for jointly determining the factors influencing migration and remittances and their impact on FBI.FindingsThe result of this study confirms that occupational migration of unskilled labourer from domestic agriculture significantly reduced household FBI. In contrast to the inflow of remittances from migrants helped in increasing the FBI. The migration in the study area considerably influenced by household size, total value of assets holding, networking influence, distance to commercial bank and flood proneness of the village; while the number of migrants, number of dependents and age of migrants seen to be strong predictor of inflow of remittances. Findings of present study offer evidence in support of the new economics of labour migration (NELM) theory.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is restricted to a single crop (paddy) and constrained by the collection of longitudinal data with a revisit to the farm household pre and post-migration of the unskilled labourer from household agriculture.Originality/valueThis paper is based on a novel data set that has especially been collected to examine the determinants of occupational migration from agriculture and their impact on the FBI in Assam that has not been studied before.


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