No abstract

The present study was undertaken to observe the effect of combined application of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers on growth, yield and yield contributing characters of black gram. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The experiment comprises eight treatments viz. Control (no application of manures and fertilizer), Recommended doses of fertilizer (RDF), Cowdung @ 5 t ha-1 + 50% of RDF, Poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 + 50% of RDF, Vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 + 50% of RDF, Cowdung @ 5 t ha-1 + Poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 + 50% of RDF, Cowdung @ 5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 + 50% of RDF and Poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 + 50% of RDF. Combined application of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers exerted significance influence on growth, yield and yield contributing characters of black gram. At growth, the tallest plant (38.74 cm), the highest number of leaves plant-1 (15.55), leaf dry weight plant-1 (6.99 g) and stem dry weight plant-1 (3.01 g) of black gram at 50 days after sowing (DAS) were obtained from poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 and vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 along with 50% of RDF. While, at 50 DAS, the highest number of nodules plant-1 (55.22) was recorded from cowdung @ 5 t ha-1 along with 50% of RDF and the highest number of SPAD value plant-1 (42.03) was found in poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 along with 50% of RDF. Again, at maturity, the highest number of seeds pod-1 (5.86), yield plant-1 (7.77 g), grain yield m-2 (130.70 g) and total dry weight plant-1 (17.21 g) were obtained from poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 and vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 along with 50% of RDF. Therefore, it can be concluded that poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 and vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 along with 50% of RDF combination might be a promising practice for black gram cultivation.

Smallholder farmers having fragmented lands need fodder and grains simultaneously for earning food security for their families. A study was conducted in Crop Physiology and Ecology Research Field and Laboratory at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Bangladesh during the period of March to July-2013 to investigate the effect of leaf clipping and population density on fodder and grain yield in maize. Three population densities (D1= 75 cm × 25 cm, D2= 60 cm × 20 cm and D3= 50 cm × 20 cm) and three clipping treatments (C1 = no clipping, C2 = removal of all leaf blades below the lowermost cob and C3 = removal of all leaf blades above the uppermost cob) at the silking stage were included as experimental treatments. The experiment was laid out in a two factors Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Results revealed that D1 required the maximum days to attain most of the phenological stages of maize. Higher population density (D3) with C3 clipping treatment gave the highest plant height, whereas D1 with non-clipping treatment gave the lowest. Highest total dry matter (TDM) was found in D2 with C1 and the lowest was found in D1 with C1 treatment. The highest yield (8.88 t ha-1) and harvest index (36.2%) were found in D3 treatment whereas the lowest yield (5.92 t ha-1) in D1 population density but harvest index (32.6 %) was lowest in D2. The highest yield (8.33 t ha-1) and harvest index (35.5 %) were obtained from C1 treatment and the lowest yield (6.55 t ha-1) and harvest index (33.5 %) were obtained from C3 treatment. The highest fodder yield (3.33 t ha-1) was obtained from D3 treatment and the lowest (2.11 t ha-1) in D1 treatment. In C2 treatment, the highest amount of fodder (4.67 t ha-1) was obtained. The interaction between population density and leaf clipping treatment showed a significant variation among the yield and yield attributes in maize. It is indicated that D3 and C1 combination showed the best performance in respect of grain yield (9.67 t ha-1) and harvest index (38.3 %) of maize. But for both grain and fodder yield, D3 with C2 showed the best performance.

An experiment with five different plant densities ranging from 35,000 to 95,000 plants haG 1 was carried out to find out the optimum plant population that adapted well with the limited available resource. Barnli was used as the experimental cultivar. Observations were made on growth attributes, yield and yield components of maize. Leaf area index (LAI), total dry matter (TDM), biological yield and grain yield increased with plant density while plant height, leaf number per plant, stem diameter, time of flowering and maturity, cob per plant, 1000-grain weight, number of grains cobG 1 responded negatively.