Intensive tillage with no crop residue after rice harvest in conventional wheat cultivation increases the turn around time, delays sowing and affects the yield. A field experiment was carried out to assess the effect of sowing dates, establishment methods and mulching and their interaction on growth, productivity and profitability of spring wheat at agronomy farm of AFU, Rampur Chitwan, Nepal from November 2020 to April 2021. The experiment was laid out in strip-split plot design, with three dates of sowing (20th November, 5th December and 20th December) in vertical plots, two establishment methods (Zero tillage and Conventional tillage) in horizontal plots and two levels of mulching (0 t ha-1 and 5 t ha-1 of rice straw mulch) in sub-plots and replicated thrice with Vijay as test variety. Data regarding the phenology, growth parameters, yield attributes and yield were recorded, analyzed and presented. The research results revealed that date of sowing and mulching significantly influenced phenology, growth, yield attributes, yield and their interactions. The higher grain yield was obtained in 5th December as well as 20th November sowing in conventional tillage with mulch (4511.49 & 4492.12 kg ha-1 respectively). These grain yields were statistically at par with 5th December and 20th November sowing in zero tillage with mulch (4363.74 & 4129.97 kg ha-1 respectively). Net return and B:C ratio were significantly higher on 5th December and 20th November sowing with mulch in zero tillage than 20th December sowing in conventional tillage without mulch. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 10(4): 237-244.
Water temperature is a major factor influencing growth performance and feed conversion ratio of fish. To optimize the growth and feed conversion ratio of Tor tor through maintenance of optimum water temperature, a 90 days experiment was conducted in complete randomized design from December 2018 to March 2019. Tor tor fingerlings (2.7±0.1g) were stocked in an aquarium maintained with desired temperature range of 19-21°C, 24-26°Cand 29-31°C and was replicated five times such that 15 aquariums were kept for the intensive study. Ten such fingerlings were kept in each aquarium. The fingerlings were fed with a diet containing 30% crude protein and 4% of wet body weight twice a day, at 6:00 and 15:00 hours and a natural photoperiod was maintained during the experiment. There were few efforts to enhance growth of Mahaseer species through optimizing the water temperature. The aim of this research is to identify the optimal water temperature for growing Tor tor. Among different water, significantly higher body weight (3.892±0.125 g) and total length (7.66±0.059 cm) was observed under water temperature range of 29-31°C. This was followed by body weight of 3.512±0.193 g and total length of 7.34±0.031cm under water temperature range of 24-26°C which was statistically at par with water temperature of 19-21°C. Best feed conversion ratio of 3.722 was obtained at 29-31°C. Temperature significantly affect different growth attribute of fingerlings. This experiment clearly demonstrated that 29-31°C is the most effective for rearing Tor tor.
Bihar hairy caterpillar (Spilosoma obliqua) is a sporadic, polyphagous and voracious foliage feeder attacking several host species of different families. Its impact is more pronounced in certain species of Cruciferae family, notably cabbage. The goal of the current study was to identify methods for pest control that are efficient, economical, and sustainable in order to combat the Bihar hairy caterpillar infestation on cabbage. The research was conducted to measure the efficacy of eight plant extracts in Entomology laboratory, Lamjung Campus at room temperature from March to April, 2019. There were eight treatments viz. Asuro (Justicia adhatoda), Bakaino (Melia azedarach), Ban fada (Lantana camara), Bojho (Acorus calamus), Kaligadi (Solanum nigrum), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Titepati (Artemisia vulgaris) and Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) in the experiment. Pure cultured insects were tested against treated leaf with four replications of each treatment placed in Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Antifeedant effect and mortality tests were performed for 24 hours and 15 days respectively. The results indicated that all the plant materials posses some sort of antifeedant and mortality effect to the insect. The statistical analysis revealed that both antifeedant effect (87.85%) and mortality (100%) were maximum in bakaino followed by neem. The result demonstrates a great potentiality of utilizing plant extracts against the pest, and suggests the incorporation of botanical extracts would be future alternative in pest management.
Scarce availability of chemical fertilizers threatens sustainability of wheat production in Nepal. Combined application of chemical and biofertilizer can reduce chemical fertilizer and enhance the yield under limited fertilizer availability. A field experiment was carried out to assess the combined application of chemical and biofertilizer on the growth and yield of spring wheat at Rampur, Chitwan from November 2020 to April 2021. The experiment was laid out in strip plot design with four nitrogen and P2O5 levels (0, 50, 75 and 100% of recommended dose) in vertical plots and three biofertilizer application methods (not applied, seed applied and soil applied) in horizontal plots with three replications. The research results revealed significant interaction between nitrogen and P2O5 levels and biofertilizer application methods. The highest grain yield (4624.48 kg ha-1) of wheat was obtained with 100% levels of N and P2O5 with soil applied biofertilizer at par with 75% levels of N and P2O5 with soil applied biofertilizer (4457.54 kg ha-1). The total nitrogen uptake was higher in biofertilizer applied wheat as compared with no application of biofertilizer although statistically not significant. The yield increment in 100% and 75% N and P2O5 levels with soil applied biofertilizer over same level N and P2O5 with no biofertilizer application were 10.96% and 29.60% respectively. The higher gross return, net return and B:C ratio were obtained with 75% and 100% N and P2O5 levels with soil and seed applied biofertilizers. The result indicates that 25% recommended dose of N and P2O5 could be reduced by soil application of biofertilizer without compromising the grain yield of wheat. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 10(4): 245-253.
Maize (Zea mays) is a crucial staple food crop and consumption of maize products has increased around the world due to the expansion in the global population. Maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), has been an increasing concern during the storage of the grain. Although insecticides can curtail the jeopardy of maize weevil, development of toxic residue and resistance by pests pose a constant threat in its adoption. The essential oils could provide a viable and safer alternatives to control the pest. Hence, an experiment was carried out at the Entomology Laboratory of the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science to assess the fumigation and repellent effects of seven different essential oils viz. Mentha (Mentha arvensis), Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), Fresh basil (Ocimum basilicum), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globule), Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martini), Citronella (Cymbopogon winterianus) and Juniper berry (Juniperus recurva) at 50 μl and 100 μl for fumigation mortality and 0.125% and 0.25% for repellency against maize weevil. The effects of the oils were dosage-dependent, and there was a progressive increase in insect death as concentrations increased. Furthermore, eucalyptus oil resulted in the highest mortality at 100 μl and repellency at 0.25%.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.