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The study evaluates the socio-economic aspects of organic farming among marginal and small farmers in Himachal Pradesh’s low hill region, focusing on Kangra and Hamirpur districts. A sample of 120 households, 70 marginal and 50 small farmers, was selected through stratified random sampling. Data were collected by structured interviews and secondary sources. Analysis covered family structure, education, occupation, land use, and age. Most farmers live in joint families, with an average size of 5.36 members. The majority of household heads were aged 50– 60 years indicating experience in farming. The literacy rate was high at 89.33 per cent, highlighting the role of education in adopting organic methods. While agriculture remained the main livelihood, off-farm income sources also contributed. The findings emphasized organic farming’s potential as a sustainable livelihood option for smallholders in hilly areas. Strengthening institutional support, certification access, and market linkages were crucial for scaling up organic agriculture and enhancing the socio-economic well-being of hill farmers.
Key words: Socio-economic, organic farming, small and marginal farmer, Himachal Pradesh.
Jasmeet Kaur1, Ankit Yadav1*, Rakesh Singh1, Harbans Lal2 and K.D. Sharma2
1Department of Agricultural Economics, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221 005, Uttar Pradesh, India
2Department of Agricultural Economics, Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur-176 062, Himachal Pradesh, India
E-mail: ankityadav@bhu.ac.in
The proposed experiment was performed in kharif season of 2024 in Agronomy Farm of Nagaland University, SAS Medziphema Campus, Nagaland. The design of experiment was RBD with 8 treatments and 3 replications. Maximum dry matter accumulation was observed in T2 (100% RDF) treatment (30.64 g plant-1), which was statistically at par with T3 (50% N from poultry manure + 50% N and PR from chemical fertilizer) and T5 (100% N from poultry manure and P, K from chemical fertilizers). Maximum number of tillers (2.98) were found in T2 treatment and minimum in T1 (Control) (1.48). T3 treatment achieved maximum seed yield (2459.3 kg ha-1), which was statistically at par with T2 and T4 (50% N from FYM + 50% N and P, K from chemical fertilizers) treatments because of good photosynthesis area as indicated by leaf area index, good number of tillers, number of fingers per head and length of fingers.
Key words: Finger millet, poultry manure, FYM, chemical fertilizer, yield.
Rekha Yadav*, Debia Yashi, Chau Naccaseng Pomoung and Gyan Prakash
Department of Agronomy, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, Medziphema Campus-797106, Nagaland, India
Email: rekha25yadav@gmail.com
A field experiment was conducted at the Instructional Farm of The Neotia University, Sarisha, 24 Parganas (South), West Bengal to evaluate the effect of varying concentrations of triacontanol on the growth and yield of knol khol (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L., cv. Quick Star). The study followed a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with seven treatments—T1 (Control), and triacontanol T2 (1 ml l-1), T3 (1.25 ml l-1), T4 (1.5 ml l-1), T5 (1.75 ml l-1), T6 (2 ml l-1), and T7 (2.5 ml l-1), each replicated fourtines. Among all the treatments, T3 (1.25 ml l-1) exhibited the highest plant height (47.09 cm), number of leaves (13.52), leaf length (30.10 cm), knob length (11.43 mm), knob weight (262.46 g), yield per plot (7.61 kg), and total yield (19.03 t ha-1). However, T6 (2 ml l-1) recorded superior values for stem diameter, knob diameter, root length, and chlorophyll content. Overall, 1.25 ml l-1 triacontanol proved most effective in enhancing vegetative growth and yield under West Bengal conditions.
Key words: Triacontanol, knol khol, plant growth regulator, growth attributes, yield attributes.
Vishal Kumar2, Riman Saha Chowdhury1*, Parvez Mallick1, Agniswar Jha Chakraborty1, Sourav Mullick1 and Subhadip Pal1
1School of Agriculture and Allied Sciences, The Neotia University, Sarisha, 24 Parganas (South)- 743368, West Bengal, India
2Dr. C.V. Raman University, Vaishali-844114, Bihar, India
Email: riman.saha03@gmail.com
Field work under this proposal was carried out during summer season of year 2024 at the Agronomy Farm of School of Agricultural Sciences, Medziphema campus, Nagaland University. The study was conducted under Randomised Block Design with 18 landraces and replicated thrice to reduce experimental error. Seeds of local landraces were collected from different districts of Nagaland before sowing. In summer season, the tallest plants after 90 DAS were recorded in Aslisie (108.33 cm) followed by Khaipüshe, and Kethasüthü recorded shortest plants (63.03 cm). At 60 DAS, when most of photosynthetic activity happened, Sheko and Hyei Nyak (17.60 and 17.67, respectively) recorded statistically maximum number of leaves per plant and Jeinü (7.60) recorded minimum during summer season. Sheko showed maximum number of tillers per plant (4.80). Dry weight of panicle per plant was maximum in Sheko (3.30 g), which was statistically at par with Hyei Nyak (3.07 g). Maximum test weight (2.78 g) was found in Sheko and minimum in Ngopirhü Suthü (2.36 g), which was statistically at par with Sührü, Murasü and China, Sheko recorded maximum seed yield (819.33 kg ha-1), which was statistically at par with Hyci Nyak (781.33 kg ha-1), while minimum seed yield (337.33 kg ha-1) was observed in Ngopirhü Suthü during summer season.
Key words: Foxtail millet, growth, seed yield, stover yield, landraces.
Lanunola Tzudir*, Merentoshi, Kili Awomi, Rekha Yadav and Debika Nongmaithem
Department of Agronomy, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, Medziphema Campus-797106, Nagaland, India
Email: lanunola@gmail.com
The present investigation assessed the influence of various agricultural substrates on nutritional composition of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus). Five substrate treatments were evaluated: wheat straw, paddy straw, maize straw, a mixture of wheat straw and green gram straw (2:1), and a mixture of wheat straw with tamarind leaves (2:1). The harvested fruiting bodies were analyzed for moisture content, dry matter content, ash content, and total crude protein. Moisture levels differed notably across treatments, ranging from 86.12 to 90.30 per cent, the highest value recorded was in mushrooms cultivated on wheat straw mixed with tamarind leaves. Ash content was greatest in mushrooms grown on wheat straw (9.45 g 100 g-1) and lowest produced from the wheat straw+tamarind leaves (8.05 g 100 g-1). The maximum total crude protein content (27.60%) was obtained from mushrooms grown on the mixture of wheat straw and green gram straw. Overall, the study highlighted that substrate composition had a significant impact on the nutritional composition of oyster mushrooms. Legume–based mixtures were particularly effective in improving protein content. These results provided useful guidance for selecting substrate combinations that enhance the nutritional value of oyster mushroom.
Key words: Mushroom, substrate, moisture content, ash content, dry matter content, crude protein.
Mallam Udayasri1, Ram Chandra1, Saurabh Bharti1 and Tulasi Korra2*
1Department of Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, Uttar Pradesh, India
2Department of Plant Pathology, School of Agriculture, ITM University, Gwalior-474001, Madhya Pradesh, India
A field trial was conducted to study the impact of foliar application of antioxidants and PGRs on growth, yield and quality of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under valley condition of Garhwal at Horticultural Research Centre, Department of Horticulture, Chauras Campus, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar, Uttarakhand India, during the summer season of 2024. The objective of the experiment was to find out the effect and best treatment among antioxidants and PGRs on growth, yield and quality of tomato. The results were found to be significant for all the parameters studied. The growth parameters were found to be maximum under T2 (GA3 100 ppm), i.e., plant height at harvest (81.01 cm), primary branches per plant (12.50), days taken to first flowering (27.49), days taken to first fruiting (32.18), and number of flowers per cluster (38.74). On the other hand, the treatment T2 (GA3 100 ppm) showed significant influences on fruit yield per plant (6.48 kg), average fruit weight (33.91 g), fruit yield per hectare (480 q), and fruit length (3.10). From the quality point of view, different treatments showed their impact on different parameters. T2 (GA3 100 ppm) treatment showed highest total soluble solids (5.13°Brix) and vitamin C (27.39mg 100g-1) and T9 (ascorbic acid 100 ppm) revealed maximum titratable acidity (0.47%).
Key words: Tomato, GA3, kinetin, salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, antioxidants.
Nirmal Kumar Kumawat, Deepak Kumar Rana, Khulakpam Naseeruddin Shah*, Suryansh Singh, Abhay Singh* and Vivek Singh
Department of Horticulture, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar (Garhwal)-246174, Uttarakhand, India
Email: abhaysingh3757@gmail.com and naseer.ahmed56@gmail.com
A field experiment was conducted to study the response of summer forage pearlmillet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) to spacing and seed rate during summer of 2022 on loamy sand soil. Among different spacings, pearlmillet sown at line sowing at 30 cm produced significantly higher green forage yield (368, 296 and 664 q ha-1 at 1st, 2nd cut, and total, respectively) and dry forage yield (100, 93 and 193 q ha-1 at 1st, 2nd cut, and total, respectively) resulting in maximum net realization (₹ 96,443 ha-1) and benefit cost ratio (3.65) as compared to other spacing levels. Among different seed rates, seed rate of 14 kg ha-1 recorded significantly higher green forage yield (371, 320 and 691 q ha-1 at 1st, 2nd cut, and total, respectively) and dry forage yield (105, 99 and 204 q ha-1 at 1st, 2nd cut, and total, respectively) leading to maximum net realization (₹ 1,01,710 ha-1) and benefit cost ratio (3.79) in comparison to other seed rates.
Key words: Forage pearlmillet, seed rate, spacing, yield, protein content, economics.
Dodha Jigarkumar Ratilal1, Veeresh Hatti2*, J.K. Patel3, J.R. Patel2, P.B. Marviya4 and Mahendra M. Chaudhary5
1Maize Research Station, Bhiloda-383245, Gujarat, India.
2Department of Agronomy, 4Department of Agricultural Statistics, C. P. College of Agriculture, S. D. Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar-385506, Gujarat, India.
3Centre for Oilseeds Research, 5Centre for Natural Resources Management, S. D. Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar-385506, Gujarat, India.
Email: veereshshatti@gmail.com
