Influence of meteorological parameters on performance of rainfed cropping systems

Rainfall, its distribution along with distribution of temperature. relative humidity (RH), bright sunshine hours (SSH) suggest the possible growing season and crop performance in a given area. Field experiments on five economically feasible, sustainable, rainfed crop sequences viz. fallow (i.e. no crop) – rice-lentil, jute-rice-lentil, direct seeded rice-rice-lentil, mungbean-rice-lentil and sesame-rice-lentil were conducted at Kalyani Farm, W.B., during 1989-91. Mean monthly meteorological parameters viz. rainfall, potential evapotranspiration (PET), SSH, temperature (max. and min.) and RH (at 0700 and 1400 hrs LMT) were obtained from selected agrometeorological observatories (viz. Chinsurah, Haringhata and Barrackpore), adjacent to the Kalyani Farm located in Gangetic alluvial region. The relative yield performance of crops and sequences as influenced by meteorological parameters were studied. In Gangetic alluvial region early rain, moderate to high temperature with high RH during April/May resulted in good pre-kharif crop establishment. Heavy, well distributed precipitation during monsoon months along with moderate temperature and very high RH showed scope for rainfed transplanted kharif rice as the pivot of crop rotation. Kharif rice yields were high especially after jute or mungbean. Profile stored residual moisture along with low rainfall, low temperature and high RH during rabi season resulted in good performance of lentil. Among the five sequences studied, performance of' jute-rice-lentil and mungbean-rice-lentil were the best with sustainable production and net return.

Adoption Status of Direct Seeded Rice Technology by the Farmers of Punjab

Direct-seeded rice (DSR) is a possible alternative to conventional puddled transplantedrice, where rice crop is seeded directly in non-puddled fields. The study was conducted toascertain the adoption status of recommended practices of DSR. Personal interviews wereconducted to collect data from randomly selected 210 farmers from three districtsrepresenting different agro-climatic regions of Punjab. Study revealed that selected farmershad adopted DSR on 49.20 per cent of their total area under paddy cultivation. Slightlyhigher number of selected farmers had adopted Tar-Wattar, a new technique of DSR overdry soil method. Only 18.52 per cent respondents had applied first irrigation as perrecommendations of Tar-Wattar method, whereas majority (67.59%) had applied firstirrigation before 21 days. 26.67 per cent farmers had adopted most suitable variety PR-126 and sown it at recommended time. However, in case of other varieties, majority offarmers did not follow recommended time of sowing. A smaller number of farmers haveapplied zinc, iron and sulphur fertilizers to ameliorate micro nutrient deficiencies. Averageyield of others varieties and PR 126 were found to be nearly identical, but due to lessercost of cultivation in DSR as compared to transplanted rice, adopter farmers’ fetched highernet return.

Stability analysis of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under different micro-environments

The present research was undertaken to evaluate 32 rice genotypes for grain yield and its attributing traits under three micro-environments like., direct seeded condition (E-I), transplanting at spacing of 15 x 15 cm (E-II) and 25 x 15 cm (E-III). Adopting the Eberhart and Russell (1966) model, stability analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the genotypes for days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height, panicle length, number of grains per panicle and flag leaf angle. Stability parameters for grain yield per plant indicated that the genotypes Rewa 1329-4-26-1, Rewa 1326-11-67-2 and Rewa 1326-16-1 had regression coefficient less than one and mean value higher than average mean this depicted that these genotypes have wider adaptability and suitability for all micro- environments and the genotypes Rewa 1329-4-123-11, Rewa 1328-18-16 and Rewa 1326-3-34-4 had regression coefficient less than one and deviation from regression around zero were identified as highly stable and best suited for poor management practices like, direct seeded condition.

Direct Seeded Rice and its Prospects in Nepal: A Review

Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) is an alternative cultivation technique to the conventional Transplanted Rice (TPR). In this method, seeds are directly sown to the field without the necessity of nursery raising and transplanting. DSR can generally be divided into dry-DSR (sowing dry seeds in dry soil), wet-DSR (sowing pre-germinated seeds in moist soil) and water-seeding (sowing dry or pre-germinated seeds in standing water). This helps in saving water alongside the labour and results in early harvest due to quick crop establishment. DSR is proved to be sustainable and eco-friendly since it emits less methane than in TPR. However, there are few constraints associated with DSR such as weed infestation, crop lodging and nutrient loss. If these major issues are fixed, DSR can result in greater economic returns as compared to TPR. In absence of puddling, the soil structure can be maintained which leads to greater yields of succeeding crops. This technique has been successfully practiced in many countries like Srilanka, Malaysia and USA. In developing nations like Nepal, irrigation and labour constraints can be tackled by adopting direct-seeding for rice cultivation.

A review on maize-finger millet relay cropping in hills of Nepal: Prospects and constraints

Maize (Zea mays) and Finger millet (Elusine corocana) are two key staple crops grown in the hills of Nepal. These crops are planted in a relay intercropping system developed by farmers since the dawn of time. The unique example of cereal-cereal intercropping with its cropping system and cropping pattern at different altitudes is reviewed along with the yield comparison of direct-seeded and transplanted finger millet with maize. Relay cropping is the planting of second crop in the same land area before the harvest of first crop with the goal of higher productivity by sharing the available resources. Considerable research has been done on maize and millet but there has been a limited approach to their cropping system. This paper reviews the existing system of cropping, its prospects, and its constraints. The prospects of maize/finger millet cultivation are pronounced in the form of yield increment, economic and efficient use of available resources, insurance against crop failure, and reduced insect, pest, and weed incidence. Although this cropping system has benefits, it exhibits limitations as well which are competition between crops, lack of suitable varieties, labor-intensive system, and soil-nutrient loss. As maize and finger millet are the main food crops in hilly terrain, it is urged to provide the focus and encouragement regarding their sustainable and modern approaches by developing and disseminating crop growing and management technologies.

Genetic Stability of TGMS Hybrids in Dry Direct Seeded Rice

Rice is a water-loving crop and traditionally sown in the nursery and then transplanted to the puddled and waterlogged main field. Owing to climate change, water scarcity and labour shortage problems, rice is now cultivated in the dry direct seeded method. Owing to potential of hybrid rice in increasing both rice production and productivity, many countries are focusing on exploiting the benefits of this technology. To break the yield plateau in rice cultivation, Thermosensitive Genetic Male Sterile (TGMS) hybrids were found to be very effective. In the present study, 41 TGMS hybrids and 9 checks were evaluated for their stability and adaptability by dry direct seeded method in four locations viz., E1 - Allahabad, E2 - Lucknow, E3 - Dhamtari and E4 - Raipur. The TGMS hybrid G44 was predicted as an ideal hybrid by the GGE stability model that possessed high grain yield and stable performance over environments. It was followed by hybrids viz., G10, G14, G34, G11, G20 and G47 that had a stable performance with high yield. Hence, these TGMS hybrids were identified as high and stable yielders across environments and suitable for dry direct seeded rice ecosystems. Among the environments, E1 (Allahabad) and E4 (Raipur) were considered favourable environments as they possessed the highest discriminating power. The hybrids identified in the study can be utilized for breaking the yield barriers in rice and can be recommended for dry direct seeding in marginal and rainfed areas.