An experiment was conducted at a commercial banana orchard in Chitwan to find out the best chemical to increase the yield and quality of banana during the fruit development stage. The research was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with seven treatments and three replications. The treatment included plant growth hormones GA3 and Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA)@ 50 ppm and 100 ppm each. Similarly, Sulphate of Potash (SOP) was applied @ 1.5% and 2%. The first spray was applied soon after the bunch had completely opened, and the second spray was applied 15 days later. The effect of these chemicals on yield and quality parameters was observed. The result revealed that the application of GA3 @ 100 ppm increased the length, girth and weight of the bananas. Likewise, the highest weight of the third hand of the banana was also observed in GA3 @ 100 ppm, whereas minimum physiological loss in the weight of the finger and maximum pulp to peel ratio was observed in SOP @ 1.5%. Analyzing all these observed parameters, GA3 @ 100ppm was found to be the most suitable growth hormone to increase the overall yield while SOP @ 1.5%
SAARC J. Agric., 20(1): 157-169 (2022)
Rice is a staple food to over half of the world population. It is an economically important crop throughout South Asia. Rice in this region is susceptible to insect pests such as Planthoppers, Leafhoppers, Stem borers, Hispa and many others. Several management practices have been adopted in the region since historic times. The management practices include cultural, biological and chemical methods in addition to integrated and miscellaneous approaches. Rice farmers in the region rely heavily on the conventional cultural practices. However, the trend is shifting slowly to the chemical approaches with gradual increase in availability and affordability of synthetic insecticides. Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which focuses on sustainable crop production, has shown promising results. Modern management techniques such as genetic modification, use of digital technology, resistant cultivars, fungal entomopathogens etc. are more effective and eco-friendly. The focus at present should be the adoption of modified cultural methods, judicious application of chemicals, use of resistant cultivars and exploitation of biological resources.
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.
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