K.S. Saini and S.K. Chongtham. 2012. Effect of residue management practices and nitrogen levels on soil properties, yield and uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in soybean

Volume 39 Number 1 June 2012

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Indian J. Ecol. (2012) 39(1)Indian Journal

of Ecology

CONTENTS

Tree-ring Width of Teak (Tectona grandis L. F.) and Its Relationship with Rainfall and Temperature 1Satish Kumar Sinha

Land Transformation and Urban Sprawl Mapping Using Remote Sensing and GIS Technologies -A Case Study of Amritsar City, India 6Minakshi*, N.S. Tur, Amardeep Singh, Deepak Mehra, Harpinder Singh, Virrat Devaser and Rajneesh Kumar

Agro-Climatic Resource Inventory Characterization of Punjab State in Spatial Domain 11S.K. Bal, J. Mukherjee, Gurjot Singh, Anil Sood, B.V. Choudhury Harpreet Singh and Prabhjyot Kaur

Economic Impact of Insecticide Resistance Management (IRM) strategies in cotton in Muktsar district (Punjab) 18A.K. Dhawan, Vijay Kumar, Amardip Singh, Jasbir Singh and Amrik Singh

Effect of Foliar Feeding of GA3, Triacontanol and Calcium Salts on Shelf-Life in Kinnow Mandarin 23Tanjeet Singh Chahal, J. S. Bal and Kiran Kour

Effect of Sodium Sulphite-Microwave Pretreatment on Paddy Straw Digestibility 27Urmila Gupta Phutela, Karamjeet Kaur and N.K. Khullar

Evaluation of Quality Parameters of Low Alcoholic, Self Carbonated Fermented Beverage 32P. Sahota, G. Pandove and T.S. Dhillion

Impact of a Paper Mill on Surrounding Epiphytic Lichen Communities Using Multivariate Analysis 38Pulak Das, Santosh Joshi, Jayashree Rout and D.K. Upreti

Effect of pH upon Copepoda and Cladocera under Laboratory Conditions 44C.B. Tiwary and Kamlakant Thakur

Diversity of Molluscan Fauna Inhabited by River Chenab-fed Stream (Gho-Manhasan) 48K.K. Sharma and Samita Chowdhary

Diurnal Variation of Phytoplankton in the Kali Estuary, Karwar, West Coast of India 52U.G. Naik, V.V. Nayak and N. Kusuma

Heavy Metal Content in Soils and Crops Irrigated with Untreated Sewage Water in Sangrur District of Punjab 58M.P.S. Khurana, Kuldip Singh and Dhanwinder Singh

Interactive Effect of Cobalt, Boron and Molybdenum on Yield Attributes of Pea (Pisum sativum L.). 63D. K. Singh, P. Kumar and S.K. Singh

Micro-nutrient status of pear orchards in Kashmir 67M. A. Dar, J. A. Wani, S.K. Raina, M.Y. Bhat and M.A. Malik

Evaluation of a Customized Fertilizer on Wheat 71B.S. Sekhon, Satwinderjit Kaur, and Pritpal Singh

Effect of Organic Nitrogen Management on Yield and Quality of Produce in Rice–Vegetable based Cropping System 76R. N. Meena and Kalan Singh

Effect of Biofertilizers on Yield and Quality Traits of Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) 82N.S. Gill, J. S. Bal and D. S. Khurana

Effect of Nitrogen Levels, Cultivars and Weed Control Treatments on Smothering Potential of CanolaGobhi Sarson (Brassica napus L.) 86Lovreet Singh Shergill, B. S. Gill and P. S. Chahal

Vertical Distribution of Readily and Slowly Available Potassium in a Typic Haplustept under DifferentCropping Sequences 92H.S. Jassal, Raj Kumar, Kuldip Singh and N.S. Dhillon

CONTENTS

Forms and Quantity-Intensity Parameters of Potassium Applied to Wheat under Temperate Conditions of Kashmir 98J.A Wani, M.A.Malik, M.A. Dar, Farida Akhter and M.A. Bhat

Evaluating Impact of Watershed Development Programme on Land Resources in Shiwalik Hills of J&K 102Narinder Deep Singh

Nitrogen and Spacing Requirements of Promising Hybrids of Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern & Coss) 108Parminder Singh Sandhu, S.S. Mahal and Virender Sardana

Studies on Growth, Yield and Yield Attributes of Wheat-Mentha Intercropping System in Relation toPlanting Methods and Nitrogen Levels 112Sumedh Chopra, Jaspal Singh and Satpal Singh

Evaluation of Bt Cotton as an Integral Component of Integrated Pest Management 118Vikas Jindal, Naveen Aggarwal and Vikram Singh

Farmers perceived constraints in the uptake of cotton IPM practices 123Rajinder Peshin, A.K. Dhawan, Kamaldeep Singh and Rakesh Sharma

A Case-Study of Two Sunscreens that May Prevent Apoptotic Sunburn 131Chanda Siddoo Atwal

Melia dubia: A Potential Species for Agroforestry Under Different Agro-Climatic Conditions of Haryana State of India 135Jagdish Chander

Response of Potting Media and Sunshine on Bougainvillea Cultivars 138Ravipal Singh and R.K. Dubey

Efficient In vitro Sterilization Technique for Micropropagation of Banana (Musa acuminata) cv. ‘Grand Naine’ 141Pooja Manchanda, Ajinder Kaur and S.S. Gosal

Effect of Some Bio-pesticides and Chemical Pesticides on Survival of Larval Parasitoid Bracon hebetorSay (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) 143Lakshman Chandra Patel and Anirudhya Pramanik

Adsorption and Leaching Behaviour of Sulfosulfuron 145S. K. Randhawa and Amandeep Singh Brar

Screening of Seed Sources and Development of Powdery Mildew of Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. 148K.S. Ahlawat, J.C. Kaushik, O.P. Lathwal and Avtar Singh

Management of root-knot Nematode Meloidogyne javanica in Pigeonpea through Seed Treatment 151Tarique Hassan Askary

Standardization of Method for Soil Arthropods Extraction by Tullgren Funnel 153Romila Akoijam and Badal Bhattacharyya

Strategies to Enhance Fish Production from Ox-bow Lakes of Muzaffarpur, Bihar 156Sujeet Rajak, Arpita Sharma, S.K. Chakraborty, S.C. Rai, Dilip Kumar and A.K. Jaiswar

Effect of Residue Management Practices and Nitrogen Levels on Soil Properties, Yield and Uptakeof Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium in Soybean Sown after Preceding Wheat Crop 158K. S. Saini and S. K. Chongtham

Sowing Time, Seed Rate and Planting Method effect on Nitrogen Uptake and Quality of Bread Wheat 160Balkaran Singh, R.S. Uppal and R.P. Singh

Performance of Direct Seeded Rice as Influenced by Variety and Date of Sowing 164U. S. Walia, S. S. Walia and Shelly Nayyar

Effect of Fruit Maturity and Temperature on Seed Germination in Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) 167Namarta Gupta, S.S. Bal and H.S. Randhawa

Evaluation of N, P, Zn Complex Fertilizer for its Efficiency using Wheat as Test Crop in Indo–Gangetic AlluvialSoils of Northwestern India 169B.S. Brar, D.S. Benipal and Jagdeep Singh

Effect of Bio-fertilizers in Combination with Chemical Fertilizers on Growth and Yield of Broccoli 172(Brassica oleracea Var. italica Plank)Pradeep Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Yogesh Chandra Yadav and Adesh Kumar

Attempts are going on to retrieve climatic information

using growth rings of trees from several sites in India. Beingdominated by the tropical monsoon and influenced byoceanic climate, the Western Ghats of Karnataka is an

important site for dendroclimatic analysis. It is estimatedthat about twenty five percent of the total number of treespecies produce growth rings (Chowdhury, 1939, 1940).

Two taxa, teak (Tectona grandis) and toon (Toona ciliata)exhibit datability of growth rings to the exact years of theirformation, which is a prerequisite for dendrochronology.

Amongst these two taxa, teak is widely distributed in thepeninsular region of the country. It has been studied from adendrochronological point of view at several sites viz., from

moist deciduous forest in Thane, Maharashtra (Pant andBorgaonkar, 1983; Ramesh et al., 1989; Bhattacharyya etal.,1992), dry deciduous forest in Korzi, Andhra Pradesh

(Yadav and Bhattacharyya, 1996), Western ghats of Kerala(Bhat and Priya, 1997; Bhattacharyya et al., 2007), upperNarmada river basin in Central India (Wood, 1996) to dry

deciduous forests of Madhya Pradesh (Shah et al., 2007;Somaru et al., 2008) and dry deciduous forests of Karnatakaand Maharashtra (Sinha et al., 2009, 2011). These

exploratory studies revealed that tree rings of teak could bevaluable proxy data for dendroclimatic analysis, especiallymonsoon precipitation. Western Ghats of Karnataka are

well known for the best teak growing sites in India. Shimogaand Mundagod falling in this region and with a distance of200 km between them were selected for the present study.

Shimoga is a tropical moist deciduous forest and Mundagodis a dry deciduous forest. No detailed tree-ring analysis

Tree-ring Width of Teak (Tectona grandis L. F.) and Its Relationshipwith Rainfall and Temperature

Satish Kumar SinhaDendrochronology Laboratory, Wood Properties and Uses Division,Institute of Wood Science & Technology, Bangalore-560 003, India

E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Tree-ring chronologies of teak (Tectona grandis L.) at two sites, Mundagod and Shimoga, in Western Ghats of Karnataka wereestablished. Both sites are influenced by climate varying with altitude and proximity to the Arabian sea and the equator. Mundagod is a drydeciduous forest area in North Karnataka where the south-west monsoon is crucial for the main rainy season. Shimoga is a moistdeciduous forest area in Central Karnataka dominated by both south-west and north-east monsoon. According to our comparison of thetree-ring chronologies with the respective climate data, teak growth at Mundagod is negatively correlated with October rainfall of previousyear and positively correlated with June to August rainfall of current year. At Shimoga, however, teak growth is positively associated withDecember rainfall of previous year and May to August rainfall of current year. Temperature during the pre-monsoon season, plays animportant role for the onset of cambium activity at both sites.

Key Words: South-West monsoon, Tree ring, North-East monsoon, Teak

has been reported so far on this tree species in this area. In

this paper, an attempt has been made to analyze the growthrings of teak (Tectona grandis) in relation to rainfall andtemperature at these two sites of Western Ghats.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Study Area and Sample Collection

Ten increment core samples were collected, using anincrement borer, at diameter at breast height (DBH) of teaktrees in Shimoga (13o56’ N lat. and 75o38' E long.) in October

2007 and ten discs were collected in Mundagod in April1999 from the base of felled trees at Yellapur Karnataka(140 58' N lat. and 750 1’E long.).

Tree-ring Data

The surfaces of the twenty samples were sanded withdifferent grades of sand papers to expose the growth ringsand prepare the wood for microscopic analysis. In the case

of discs, two radial strips of 1.5 cm width were cut fromopposite sides of each disc, which included all the ringsfrom pith to bark. After counting the rings, ring-widths were

measured along two radii of each disc and a single radiusof each core sample to the nearest 0.01 mm under a Leicastereo-zoom microscope with a linear stage (Velmex)

interfaced with a computer system to record themeasurements. Each ring of these radii was dated to thecalendar year of its formation using cross-dating technique

(Stokes and Smiley, 1968). These measurements anddates were re-checked using the computer programme

Indian J. Ecol. (2012) 39(1) : 1-5Indian Journal

of Ecology

2

COFECHA (Holmes, 1983) for any error in themeasurement or dating of the samples. Finally, corrected

measurements of tree-ring sequences along 30 radii wereselected for further analysis.

The ring-width data series of two sites were

standardized using a negative exponential method ofARSTAN programme (Cook, 1985). After standardization, aring-width index chronology was prepared from each ring-

width series from both the sites. Indices were derived bydividing the measured ring-width data with thecorresponding predicted value of ring-width for each year to

extract useful climatic signals. The chronologies of bothsites contain significant autocorrelation at lags of 1-2 years,which were removed from each ring-width series by

autoregressive modeling. All individual index series wereaveraged from both the sites to form a site- tree-ring-width-index chronology. The prepared mean tree-ring-width-index

chronology of Mundagod and Shimoga extend from AD1941-1999 and AD 1947-2007, respectively (Fig. 1).

The chronology considered suitable for climatic study

should have good correlation both between trees and withintrees, high mean sensitivity, high standard deviation, highvalues of common variance and a high signal to noise ratio.

All these statistics considered for the evaluation of tree ringchronology are shown in Table 1.

Mean sensitivity is a measure of the relative difference

in width between consecutive rings (Fritts, 1976). Its valueranges from 0 (indicating no change in ring-width from oneyear to the next) to 2 (where a zero value occurs next to a

non-zero one in a time series, i.e., occurrence of missing

Fig. 1. Mean ring-width index chronology of Tectona grandis at Mundagod and Shimoga in Western Ghats of Karnataka

ring). High value of mean sensitivity is desirable for ring-

width series as it indicates the presence of considerablehigh-frequency variance (Fritts, 1976). Autocorrelation is theassociation between ring width for the year (t-1) and the

subsequently formed ring t, t+1, to t+k, which can perturbthe casual relationship between climate and tree growth.The Expressed Population Signal (EPS) is a measure ofthe correlation between the mean chronology of samples

from each site and the population from which they are drawn.Wigely et al. (1984) suggest that chronologies with EPS e”0.85 can be accepted as reliable chronology for

dendroclimatic analysis. Strength of signal between trees(common variance) has been estimated by calculating thesignal to noise ratio (Wigley et al., 1984). The value of signal

Table 1. Selected statistics of tree-ring index chronologies ofTectona grandis L. at Mundagod and Shimoga.

Mundagod Shimoga

Chronology time span AD 1941-1999 AD 1947-2007

Number of trees (radii) 10 (20) 10 (10)

Mean tree-ring width (mm) 2.14 3.16

Standard deviation 0.320 0.210

Mean sensitivity 0.219 0.258

Autocorrelation order 1 0.024 0.020

Common interval time span 1944 - 1999 1960 - 2007

Number of trees (radii) 9 (18) 8 (8)

Mean correlation between trees 0.25 0.48

Signal-to-noise ratio 5.90 2.69

Expressed population signal 0.86 0.73

Variance explained % in first 30.95 64.84

eigenvector

Satish Kumar Sinha

3

to noise ratio greater than one indicates the more commonuseful climatic signal. The common variance is a mean of

the correlation coefficients of all possible pairwisecombinations of ring-width index series over the commoninterval period. This value indicates the variance owing to

the common forcing factor of a site, which might be a climaticeffect experienced by the all trees over a wide area.

Climatic Data

The mean monthly temperature and rainfall data of two

meteorological stations namely Belgaum and Shimoga,close to the tree-ring sampling sites have been used in theresponse function analysis for Mundagod and Shimoga

tree-ring samples. The records extend from AD 1941-1999and AD 1947- 2007 for Mundagod and Shimoga respectively.

Response Function Analysis

Climate and tree-growth relationship is assessed by

means of response function analysis using a computerprogramme RESPO (Fritts, 1976). This procedure is amultiple regression analysis in which monthly climatic

parameters (temperature and rainfall) are predictors andtree-ring parameters are predictants. The resultingregression equation quantifies the response of the tree to

variations in the most important climatic variables. Monthlymean temperature and rainfall at Mundagod and Shimogawere entered as predictor variables and the tree-ring indices

as the predictant variables. The analyses were based onthe time period 1941-1999 and 1947 to 2007 for Mundagodand Shimoga that were common to both the meteorological

and tree-ring data, respectively.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The chronology statistics (Table 1) suggested that teak

at both the sites exhibit moderately high values of standard

deviation, mean sensitivity, EPS, common variance and

signal to noise ratio, there by proving suitability of these

chronologies for dendroclimatic analysis. In case of

Mundagod, climatic data shows that April (28.02oC) and

December-January (21.9 oC) are the hottest and coldest

months, respectively. July receives the highest rainfall

(389.2mm) and January-February are the driest months

having only 0.75 mm of precipitation (Fig. 2). Similarly in the

case of Shimoga, April (27.83 oC) and December-January

(21.7 oC) are the hottest and the coldest months, respectively.

July receives the highest rainfall (1983.59 mm), October to

December months experience scanty rain from north-east

monsoon and January-February are the driest months

having only 21.45 mm of precipitation (Fig. 3).

Tree Growth and Climate Relationship

The initiation of growth period in teak starts around

March and reaches a peak in June- July and by the firstweek of October there is no wood formation. Shedding ofleaves starts by December and by first week of February, all

trees are leafless (Chowdhury, 1939, 1940; Rao and Dave,1981; Priya and Bhat, 1999). In constructing the responsefunctions, a total of 26 variables were used as predictor

variables, which means 13 for temperature and 13 forrainfall from previous October (end of previous growingseason) to the current October (end of current growing

season). Since many of climatic variables are highlyintercorrelated, principle components for 26 data serieswere obtained. Ring width index chronologies of Mundagod

and Shimoga were regressed on the climate principalcomponents to obtain response function coefficients. Figure4 shows the standardized regression coefficients for the

response functions on a monthly scale for the tree ringchronologies from Mundagod and Shimoga.

Analysis of tree-growth and climate relationship at

Mundagod revealed that June-August rainfall and March

Fig. 2. Mean monthly precipitation and temperature atMundagod based on the data from AD 1941-1999.

Fig. 3. Mean monthly precipitation and temperature at Shimogabased on the data from AD 1947-2007.

Relationship of Tree-ring Width with Weather Parameters

4

temperature were positively associated with tree-ring widthwhereas, October rainfall of previous year, April rainfall and

temperature of current year were negatively associated (Fig.4 a, b). Positive tree growth and climate relationship duringJune-August suggests that southwest monsoon rainfall

plays an important role in the growth of teak. October rainfallof the preceding year showed negative influence on treegrowth. This might be due to non-availability of moisture

and nutrients as meager rainfall may have eluviated thenutrients to the non-availability zone. A high temperatureduring March is required for the initiation of cambial activity

(Rao and Rajput, 1999). Increased temperature during thispre-monsoon month was also recorded to have animportant role in the initiation of cambial activity by

Bhattacharyya et al. (2007). The inverse relationship withApril rainfall and temperature might be due to a lower netphotosynthetic rate, presumably due to higher

evapotranspiration. During this month, precipitation is lessbut temperature is at its maximum level in this region (Fig.2). Thus, increased precipitation during a hot summer

accelerates the rate of evapotranspiration, which might havecaused a water stress for teak trees.

At Shimoga, December rainfall of the previous year,May-August rainfall and March-April temperature of currentyear were positively associated with ring width whereasJanuary rainfall was negatively associated (Fig. 4 c, d).Shimoga receives rainfall due to early south-west monsoon(May-August) and north-east monsoon (October-December). The positive relationship between tree growthand May-August rainfall of current year is due to the effect of

the early SW monsoon and December rainfall of previousyear might be due to the effect of late NE monsoon. The

inverse relationship with January rainfall may be due to thefact that during January, low rainfall may favour respirationover photosynthesis, as trees remain leafless and

photosynthesis is almost nil at that time, this might be thecause for lower tree growth. The positive correlation ofMarch-April temperature with tree growth indicates that warm

and dry conditions from March to April favours the initiationof cambial activity.

Tree-growth and climate relationship in Western Ghats

of Karnataka has great significance since it adds novel

information to the understanding of the temporal variability

in growth of teak with changes in climate. Mundagod and

Shimoga are two sites of Karnataka influenced by different

types of monsoon climate. Shimoga which is influenced by

two monsoons showed wider ring width in teak than

Mundagod which is influenced by only one monsoon. This

study substantiated that the pattern of ring width in teak

varies with the local climatic conditions of different sites.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The present paper represents part of a research projectsponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forests

(MoEF), Government of India. The author thanks Dr. H.P.Borgaonkar from Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology,Pune, for assisting in tree ring sample analysis. Facilities

provided by Institute of Wood Science and Technology,Bangalore are gratefully acknowledged.

Fig. 4. Response function analysis of tree-ring chronologies of teak (Tectona grandis) at Mundagod and Shimoga using monthlytemperature and rainfall at Belgaum and Shimoga, respectively. Vertical bars indicate 95% confidence interval.

Satish Kumar Sinha

5

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changes in climate in ring porous tropical hardwood-teak. In:Proc. IUFRO World Congress, Division 5, Pullman, USA.

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Priya, P.B. and Bhat, K.M. (1999) Influence of rainfall, irrigation andage on the growth, periodicity and wood structure in teak(Tectona grandis). IAWA 20: 181-192.

Ramesh, R., Bhattacharya, S.K. and Pant, G.B. (1989) Climaticsignificance of D variations in a tropical tree species fromIndia. Nature 337: 149–150.

Rao, K.S. and Dave, Y.S. (1981) Seasonal variations in the cambial

anatomy of Tectona grandis (Verbenaceae). Nordic J. Bot. 1:535-542.

Rao, K.S. and Rajput, K.S. (1999) Seasonal behavior of vascularcambium in teak (Tectona grandis L.) growing in moistdeciduous and dry deciduous forests. IAWA Journal 20 (1):85-93.

Shah, S.K, Bhattacharyya, A. and Chaudhary, V. (2007)Reconstruction of June-September precipitation based on tree-ring data of teak (Tectona grandis L.) from Hoshangabad,Madhya Pradesh, India. Dendrochronologia 25: 57-64.

Sinha, S.K., Deepak, M.S. and Rao, R.V. (2009) Climatic responseof early wood mean vessel area of teak (Tectona grandisL.f.) from Shimoga of Central Karnataka. J. Ind. Acad. WoodSci. 6 (1 &2): 90-97.

Sinha, S.K., Deepak, M.S. Rao, R.V. and Borgaonkar, H.P. (2011)Dendroclimatic analysis of teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) annualrings from two locations of peninsular India. Curr. Sci. 100(1): 84-88.

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Relationship of Tree-ring Width with Weather Parameters

Received 10 August, 2011; Accepted 11 December, 2011

The shift of rural population to cities and towns for

livelihood is leading to unplanned growth of towns and cities.The pressure of an ever growing population becomes aburden on the limited civic amenities which are virtually

collapsing. Asymmetrical growth of urban centersconsumes agricultural land at their periphery. The outwardspread of cities is accompanied by many environmental

problems: changes in the land use patterns, fragmentationand destruction of wild life habitat, discharge of pollutedrunoff water into stream and surface water bodies, and

pollution of ground water resources. Besides taxing thegroundwater resources available for an urban centre, anincrease in the paved area severely reduces the ground

water recharge potential, leading to situations which maytruly be potential catastrophes. The current trend of spatialurban growth in most of the Indian cities is haphazard and

in an unplanned manner, particularly along the urban-ruralfringe. There is an obvious need for continuously monitoringthe phenomena of growth of cities/towns, and mapping

and analyzing the growth patterns (Farooq et al., 2008).Barnes et al. (2001) categorized the sprawls depending ontheir forms and patterns. This information is needed by the

urban administrators and planners so as to provide basicamenities and infrastructure for the complex urbanenvironment (Pathan et al., 1991; Mundia and Aniya, 2005;

Mahesh et al., 2008).

Mapping urban growth by conventional methods is too

Land Transformation and Urban Sprawl Mapping Using RemoteSensing and GIS Technologies - A Case Study of Amritsar City, India

Minakshi*, N.S. Tur, Amardeep Singh, Deepak Mehra, Harpinder Singh, Virrat Devaserand Rajneesh Kumar

Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana-141 004, India*E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Understanding of the growth dynamics of urban agglomerations is essential for ecologically feasible developmental planning.The inefficient and consumptive use of land and its associated resources is termed sprawl. By monitoring changes in the urban sprawlover a period of time, the impact of changing land use on land, ecology and environment system can be assessed. Mapping urban growthby conventional methods is too tedious and a slow process, and by the time information becomes available to planners, it is alreadyoutdated and redundant since the damage has already been done. Satellite remote sensing data and application of GIS technology providean alternative means of rapidly assessing the dynamics and development of sprawl so that timely action may be taken. The urban growthanalysis of Amritsar city was undertaken with an objective of studying the expansion of Amritsar city at the expense of fertile agricultureland. The study was carried out using panchromatic cartosat-1 data of 2.5 m spatial resolution and IRS P6-LISS 1V MX data of 5.8 m spatialresolution to delineate the extent, pace pattern and direction of growth of the city area of Amritsar with time. The urban area in Amritsarcity has increased almost three times since 1972. The rate of land consumption was substantially moderate till 2002 but after 2002witnessed a sharp increase in land consumption. It is also evident from the land use map for years 1972, 2002 and 2006 that the landconsumed for built up after 1972 was mainly agriculture land.

Key Words: Urban Sprawl, Remote Sensing, GIS, Amritsar, Land use

tedious and a slow process. Satellite remote sensing dataand application of GIS technologies provide an alternative

means of rapidly assessing the dynamics and developmentof sprawl so that timely action may be taken. Besides beingflexible and extensible, the datasets are easily rectified,

updated and may be used for other applications.Infrastructral development brings along negative impactson natural resources and ecology of the area and particularly

it matters most in agrarian state like Punjab (Narinder etal., 2011).

The study area shown in Fig. 1 was decided keeping in

view the local planning area map of Amritsar city. It coversan area of 485.9 km2 including 87 villages in full and parts


of Ecology

7

of another 26 villages. These villages surround the Amritsarcity. Amritsar is located in Punjab state of India at

31°37’59.16" latitude 74°51’56.16" longitude. The objectiveof the project is to study the expansion of Amritsar city at theexpense of fertile agriculture land.


Satellite Data Used

a) IRS 1C/1D LISS III multispectral data of 2002 withspatial resolution of 23.5 metres.

b) High resolution Cartosat I data (spatial resolution 2.5

metres) for the year 2005 and IRS P6 LISS IV digitaldata of 5.8 metres resolution for the year 2006.

c) Survey of India Toposheet for 1972.

d) Collateral population data from the governmentagencies, village boundaries from Director LandRecord.

The objective of the study was to map the land

transformation of agriculture land to built up land from 1972

to 2006. For mapping the extent of the urban area as it

stood at the 1972 level, survey of India Topographic map 44

I/14 was used. Apart from the extent of the urban area, this

has details of drainage, water bodies, rail and road network,

built up area and administrative boundaries. IRS IC/ID, LISS-

III multi spectral data of 2002 was used to map the extent of

sprawl for 2002. Similarly most recent built up was marked

from Cartosat data and IRS P6, LISS IV digital data of 2006.

The study area was marked using the local planning area

map of Amritsar city. Base map of the study area showing

permanent features like road, railway and canal was

prepared. All the built up areas were marked with in the

study area using the available information for the year 1972

from topographic maps and digitized in Arc-Info 9.1 GIS

software. With in the same study area built up was

interpreted on line from March, 2002 data of IRS IC/ID-LISS-

Land Transformation and Urban Sprawl Mapping of Amritsar City

8

III. Similarly IRS P6 LISS IV data of 2006 was also interpretedto update the built up for 2006. The fine resolution Cartosat

I data for the year 2005 facilitated clear demarcation of builtup areas and agriculture areas which was other wise notpossible from LISS III data of spatial resolution 23.5 metres.

The maps generated for years 1972, 2002 and 2006 wereoverlaid in Arc GIS to map the urban sprawl and landtransformation from agriculture to build up. The area

statistics of built up land with in the study area for thesethree years was calculated. The methodology followed hasbeen depicted in Fig. 2.


Urban sprawl refers to the expansion of town or city asa result of natural population and influx of migrants due toindustrial or commercial purpose. Physical growth of

Amritsar city from the year 1972 to 2006 has been studiedwith the help of survey of India topographic maps (1972)and multi date remote sensing data viz. IRS IC/ID LISS III.

March 2002 and Cartosat data of 2006 (Fig. 3) employingboth visual and digital technology and supported by groundcheck. Land transformation map of Amritsar (Fig. 4) was

prepared by overlaying the land use maps of 1972, 2002and 2006 using the ARC-INFO GIS software. In 1972, theurban area of Amritsar consists of old, thickly populated

core constituting the ancient city confined mostly with in thedouble wall prepared at the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Table 1. Built up and cultivated area around Amritsar City (1972-2006)

Year Built up Cultivated Per cent increase

area (km2) area (km2) in built up

1972 49.43 436.48 -

2002 127.29 358.62 157.5

2006 142.01 343.90 187.3

* Total study area of 485.91 km2.

This core area is almost completely covered and thereappears to be no patch available for any kind ofdevelopment. The city has a peculiar example of planning

system with unique areas called katras. The katras are selfstyled residential units that-provided unique defencesystem. To the south east of Amritsar railway station is the

dusty and congested old city crowded with narrow zig zagstreets with mixed commercial and residential structures.Golden temple is in the heart of the old city and the walls of

Maharaja Ranjit Singh time had been demolished to a ringroad around the city. The other rural built ups are scatteredaround the city with in the study area. The area statistics of

built up land with in the study area for the year 1972 was

commuted and amounts to be 49.43 km2 (Table 1). TheIRS-IC/ID LISS-III, March 2002 data was used to map the

built up area with in the area of interest for the year 2002.

Table 2. Urban population in Amritsar city during 1971-2001

Year Population Decadal per cent

increase in population

1971 434951 -

1981 594844 36.8

1991 708835 19.2

2001 1003917 41.6

Source: Economic Advisor, Statistical Abstract of Punjab, 2007.

The general trend of growth from 1972 to 2002 was

observed mainly along the transportation corridorsconnecting Amritsar to Delhi and Pathankot. The increasein city area through incorporation of surrounding rural areas

in the city limits has been a continuing process. However itcould not develop much towards western side due to theproximity of the Indo-Pak border. But after wars in 1965 and

1971, military camps were established in the western sideof the city. The new urban areas are being developed to theNorth – East part of the city like Rambagh, Mall and other

posh areas of Amritsar. Part of many surrounding villageswere covered by built up land in 2002 e.g., Verka, Saidpura,Naushehra, Nangli, Kaler, Kambo, Kala Ghanupur, Gumtala,

Mahal, Hair, Bal, Kathanian, Hamidpur, Vadala Guru,Khurmanian, Baser Ke, Guru Wali, Fatehpur, Sultan Wind,Rakh Sukar Garh, Tung Bala, Tung Paian, Miran Kot,

Nizarpura and Kot Khalsa. In the year 2002, the total builtup land with in the study area was calculated to be 127.29km2, almost an increase of 157.5 per cent with in a time

span of thirty years. The cartosat data of 2006 depicts therecent picture of urban development (Fig. 3) and accordingto this data the total built up land with in the study area

comes out to be 142.01 km2 (an increase of 187.3 per centin thirty four years). The land transformation (Fig. 4) showsthat after 2002 the pattern of growth is mainly high density

ribbon sprawl towards north western part along Ajnala andVerka roads. According to census 2001, the total populationof Amritsar city has been upto 1,003917, is much more than

the total population of the city in 1971 (Table 2). There is apopulation increase of 130.8 per cent in three decades.This has been accompanied by an unprecedented wave of

development. During the last thirty four years, on an average2.72 km2 of area per year is paved over or otherwiseconverted to urban human uses. Not with standing the poor

pollution control facilities, every person added to thepopulation, consumes additional resources and createsadditional waste. All this has resulted in decline in the quality

Minakshi, N.S. Tur, Amardeep Singh, Deepak Mehra, Harpinder Singh, Virrat Devaser and Rajneesh Kumar

9Land Transformation and Urban Sprawl Mapping of Amritsar City

10

of life, especially for the growing development. One of theprimary issues is the loss of prime agricultural land due to

urbanization.

The study reveals that the urban area has increasedalmost three times since 1972. The rate of land consumption

was substantially moderate till 2002 but after 2002witnessed a sharp increase in land consumption. It is alsoevident from the land use map for year 1972, 2002 and

2006 that the land consumed for built up after 1972 wasmainly agriculture land. Hence the fertile crop land is beingused extensively for commercial, industrial, residential,

educational and recreational establishments.

The satellite data and GIS technology are very well usedfor broad land use/land cover mapping with respect to

agricultural and urban areas. Urban fringe development ofconstruction sites are easily delineated on satellite databecause of their tone, texture and pattern. The urban sprawl

maps generated using GIS technologies are very useful forother applications. As observed the agricultural land is beingconsumed at alarming rate for unplanned development of

urban regions. There is a need to balance the presentrequirements of land against future needs. Preservingagricultural land in the fringe areas of expanding cities is

vital for preserving and maintaining open spaces and

thereby, environmental quality.

REFERENCESBarnes, K.B., Morgan, III J., Roberge, M.C. and Lowe, S. (2001)

Sprawl development; its pattern, consequences andmeasurement, Towson University Retrieved June 27, 2006from http:// Chesapeake.towson.edu/landscape/urban sprawl/download/sprawl–while–paperPDF

Farooq, S. and Ahmad, S. (2008) Urban sprawl development aroundAligarh city: A study aided by satellite remote sensing and GIS.J. Ind. Soc. Rem. Sens. 36:77-88.

Pathan, S.K., Shukla, V.K., Patel, R.G., Patel, B.R. and Mehta, K.S.(1991) Urban land use mapping. A case study of Ahmedabadcity. J. Ind. Soc. Rem. Sens. 19: 95-112.

Economic Advisor, Punjab. (2007) Statistical Abstract of Punjab,Economic and Statistical Organisation, Govt. of Punjab.Publication No. 915.

Mundia, C.N. and Aniya, M. (2005) Analysis of land use/coverchanges and urban expansion of Nairobi city using remotesensing and GIS. Int. J. Rem. Sens. 26:2831-2849

Jat, M.K., Garg, P.K. and Khare, Deepak (2008) Monitoring andmodelling of urban sprawl using remote sensing and GIStechniques. Int. J. App. Earth Observation and Geoinformation10:26-43.

Tur, N.S., Singh, A., Mehra, D., Singh, H., Minakshi, Kumar, R. andDevasar V. (2011) Mapping of urban sprawl around SahibzadaAjit Singh Nagar. Indian J. Ecol. 38(2): 155-162.

Minakshi, N.S. Tur, Amardeep Singh, Deepak Mehra, Harpinder Singh, Virrat Devaser and Rajneesh Kumar

Received 8 August, 2011; Accepted 4 January, 2012

Agro-Climatic Resource Inventory Characterization of Punjab Statein Spatial Domain

S.K. Bal*, J. Mukherjee, Gurjot Singh, Anil Sood1, B.V. Choudhury1,Harpreet Singh and Prabhjyot Kaur

Department of Agricultural Meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141 004, India1Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana, India

*E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Agro-climatic resource inventory characterization in spatial domain can play a great role in site specific suitability of sustainableagricultural crop production. An attempt has been made for creation of spatial database and zoning of agro-climatic resources of Punjabin spatial environment using GIS approach. This zoning approach divided Punjab into five zones for temperature and seven zones forLength of Growing Period (LGP). These newly drawn zones reflect that the average annual temperature of the state varies from 21-26OC,with LGP ranging from < 60 to 180 days. Temperature and LGP variation in the entire state depicted a reverse trend, being maximumtemperature in south-western part with lowest LGP while lowest temperature being recorded in the northern most parts with highest LGP.Amongst all thermal zones, area under annual average temperature 23-24 °C was highest (58% of total geographical area) followed byannual average temperature 24-25 °C and the least area was under annual average temperature 21-22 °C. Similarly, the state has highestarea (29.5%) where LGP varies from 120-140 days (L3 zone) followed by L4 and L5. Less than 1 per cent of the total area of the state hasLGP of >160 days. Overlaying of thermal and LGP layers further resulted into 7 thermal-LGP zones. Maximum area of the state (36% oftotal geographical area) was under annual average temperature 23-24OC & LGP 120-140 days zone followed by zone with annualaverage temperature 23-24OC & LGP 100-120 days.

Key Words: Agro-climatic resources, ArcGIS, LGP, Punjab, Thermal zone

The survival and failure of particular land use or farming

system in a given region heavily relies on careful

assessment and adoption to location specific agro-climatic

resources. Temperature (thermal) and moisture regimes

are the two most important components represent agro-

climatic resources of an area. Plants can grow and thrive

only between certain limits of temperature (upper, lower

and optimal) and that limits also differ from species to

species and even within a given species from one stage of

life cycle to next (Schulze et al., 1997). Availability of soil

moisture also plays a great role in deciding the length of

crop growth periods. A general characterization of moisture

conditions is achieved through the concept of length of

growing period (LGP), i.e., the period during the year when

both moisture availability and temperature are conducive to

crop growth. Farmers’ cropping strategies are undoubtedly

influenced by the variability they have experienced in the

onset of the rainy season.

A practical zoning approach of agro-climatic regionsthus arises, based on thermal and moisture regimes

because climate represented by similar thermal andmoisture regimes forms uniform geographic areas capableof supporting agricultural developmental planning and other

interventions (FAO, 1976). Each zone has a similarcombination of constraints and potentials for land use andserves as a focus for formulation and implementation of

location specific recommendations in order to improve theexisting land use situation, either through increasingsustainable production system or by arresting further

degradation of productive landmasses.

In the post green revolution era, it is impossible forIndian Punjab, to increase financial returns by expanding

cropped area as there is little scope left for further increasein horizontal expansion of cultivable area. As a byproduct ofgreen revolution, multiple problems have surfaced and are

now confronting agricultural productivity and sustainabilityof natural resources particularly due to large scale adoptionof high input intensive mono-cropping without due

consideration to site suitability based on agro-climatic andagro-physical resource inventory. This has led to substantialchanges in the growth of agriculture and land use/land cover

and ultimately the change in global climate contributingfactors have led to change in climate at various places ofPunjab in the recent past (Hundal and Kaur, 2002;

Mukherjee and Bal, 2003).

In the past, agro-climatic resource inventorycharacterization for the state of Punjab involved manual

integration of data (Mavi, 1984). Manual integration is timeconsuming, labour intensive and generally, lack in providinginformation in time space dimension for a large region like

the whole state of Punjab. As a result, large amount ofclimatic data and other agro-physical inputs could not be


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12

handled easily. This led to the loss of information on spatialvariability.

However, with the advent of space technologies suchas remote sensing (RS), geographic information systems(GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) and their

integration with traditional tools, the homogenous zoningand agro-climatic resource inventory characterization ofparticular region considering space and time dimension

has become much easier for achieving sustainabledevelopment of natural resources (Steven, 1993). Moderntool as GIS has been providing newer dimensions to

effectively monitor and manage the natural resources inspatial domain. Thus, to sustain the food security of theIndian Punjab, it is of great importance to delineate the

state into different zones according to the climaticrequirements and various agro-physical parameterssuitability to specific landuse. Therefore, agro-climatic

resource inventory characterization in spatial format for thePunjab state is the urgent need. Thus, in the changingclimatic and land use scenario, the revision of

characterization of climatic resources inventory has becomeimminent.


Location and Description of the Study Area

The study was conducted in Punjab State, having a

geographical area of 50,362 sq. km, forms a part of theIndus plain. It falls between 29O33´ and 32O31´ N latitudeand between 73O55´ and 76O45´ E longitude (Table 1). The

annual rainfall of the state varies from 400 to 1200 mm,more than 80 per cent of which is received during the threemonsoon months (July to September). The study area

belongs to the western plain, arid, with length of growingperiod of 60-150 days agro ecological sub-regions (Sehgalet al., 1996).

Table1. Locations of meteorological observatories used for thestudy area.

Sr No Station name Latitude Longitude

1 Abohar 30.15o N 74.20o E

2 Amritsar 31.63o N 74.87o E

3 Ballowal Saunkhri 31.12o N 76.12o E

4 Bathinda 30.17o N 74.98o E

5 Ferozepur 30.92o N 74.61o E

6 Jalandhar 31.33o N 75.58o E

7 Ludhiana 30.93o N 75.87o E

8 Patiala 30.33o N 76.47o E

9 Kapurthala 31.38o N 75.38o E

10 Gurdaspur 32.03o N 75.51o E

11 Pathankot 32.28o N 75.65o E

12 Chandigarh 30.67o N 76.75o E

13 Hoshiarpur 31.33o N 76.05o E

14 Sirsa 29.53o N 75.44o E

15 Ambala 30.38o N 76.78o E

16 Hissar 29.17o N 75.76o E

17 Ganganagar 29.90o N 73.88o E

Table 2. Equipments/Inputs and sources of data collection

Equipment / Inputs Source Purpose

Data and maps

Climatic data State Agricultural Universities, India • To generate thermal maps

• Temperature Meteorological Department, Air port, • To generate LGP maps

• Rainfall Air Force Stations

Softwares and hardwares

GPS (Global Positioning PAU, Ludhiana Used for collection of ground truth data in

System) identification of crops and met station locations

ARC GIS 9.1 P.R.S.C., Ludhiana Multi-layer analysis

Climatic Data Collection

Daily weather data of rainfall, minimum and maximumtemperature representing different existing agro-climaticregions of Punjab and its neighbouring states were

collected.

Method of Patching Climatic Data

The meteorological data collected from differentsources were not uniform with respect to number of

parameters, continuity and frequency of recording interval.Thus to maintain uniformity while generating surface mapsfor thermal and LGP layers, caution was taken to select and

collect those meteorological parameters which wereuniformly available for all stations to reduce the redundancy.Once the parameters were selected, they were checked to

S.K. Bal, J. Mukherjee, Gurjot Singh, Anil Sood, B.V. Choudhury, Harpreet Singh and Prabhjyot Kaur

13

find out the missing data if any. It was found that for most ofthe stations, data was missing for some or other reasons.

To fill that missing data, following methods were used fortemperature and rainfall.

Temperature. Richardson type weather generator

ClimGen (Stockle et al., 1999) was used to generate monthlymean maximum and minimum air temperature. In thismodel, precipitation occurrence is modeled using a first

order two state Markov procedure, which describes twoprecipitation classes (wet or dry) and takes into accountprecipitation occurrence on the previous day only. If

precipitation occur, then the amount of precipitation fallingon the wet days is determined usually by using a pre-definedfrequency distribution i.e., Weibull distribution. Temperature

was then calculated based on their correlation with otherparameters like solar radiation, wind speed, rainfall and onthe wet or dry status of each day. The Climgen software is

based on the assumption that temperature is a weeklystationary process (Matalas, 1967). It considers maximumand minimum temperature to be continuous, multivariate

and stochastic process with daily means and standarddeviations conditioned by the precipitation status i.e. wetand dry period of the day (Richardson, 1981). The time

series of each variable (maximum and minimumtemperature) is reduced to a time series of residualelements through the removal of the periodic means and

scaling by standard deviations.

Rainfall. The method used for patching daily rainfallvalues was the inverse distance interpolation (ID). This

method was chosen for its simplicity and reasonable scorefrom the past research. The inverse distance interpolationmethod of estimating daily precipitation gave less deviation

from the actual data followed by other methods like thearithmetic averaging and normal ratio methods (Xia et al.,1999)

The inverse distance method is used to estimatemissing data because of its simplicity.

yt = {m Σ

i=1 (x

ti / D

ib} / { m Σ

i=1 1/D

ib}

where yt is the estimated value of the missing data, xti

is the value of the ith nearest weather station, and Di is thedistance between the station of missing dataset and the ithnearest weather station (Tang et al., 1996).

Statistical Evaluation of the Generated Data

The generated data from 1991 to 1995 were analyzed.In the first step, the five years generated as well as theobserved data for the same period (1991-1995) was

averaged to compute monthly mean and standard deviation.

The agreement between the observed and generated datawas evaluated using the statistical indices like Residual

Mean Square Error (RMSE), General Standard Deviation(GSD) and Willmott’s (1982) index of agreement (d).

RMSE = SQRT [{(1/n) * nΣi=1 (Pi – Oi)

2}]

d = 1.0 - Σ (Oi - Pi)2 / Σ [ |Pi - Obar| + |Oi - Obar| ]

2

GSD = RMSE / Obar

where, Oi = observed data; Pi = generated data and Obar

= mean of the observed data.

The performance of the model was evaluated from GSDand d indicators. If GSD is ≤ 0.10 and d is 0.95 then the

model performance was good; and if 0.10 < GSD ≤ 0.20and 0.95 > d ≥ 0.90, performance was consideredacceptable. Values other than the above conditions indicated

poor performance. Willmott’s index (d) is considered animproved model evaluation tool over R2 because it takesinto account differences in observed and model means

(biases) and variances, as well as correlation.

Climatic Data Analysis

The daily maximum temperature, minimumtemperature and rainfall measurements from 20

meteorological stations were used in the analysis of data.The data from these stations is variable in that differentstations have climatic data readings from 1971 to date while

a few stations only have records dating from 1984.

Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) Calculation

PET calculation was done by Papadakis method as itrequires only daily maximum and minimum temperature

data which was actually available at all the meteorologicalstations chosen for this study. Moreover, Kingra and Hundal(2002) also reported that Papadaki’s method fits best for

Punjab representing different agro-climatic regions.

PET = 0.5625 (emax – emin-2) x 10

No of days in month

Where,

PET = Potential Evapotranspiration

emax = Saturation vapour pressure corresponding to

maximum temperature

emin-2 = Saturation vapour pressure corresponding todew point temperature

0.5625 = Papadakis constant

Length of Growing Period (LGP) Calculation

Rainfall and potential evapotranspiration (PET) werethe critical climatic factors for interpretation. Long-term

Agro-climatic Resource Inventory Characterization

14

weekly data on these two parameters were analyzed forcalculation of length of growing period (LGP). The LGP is

the period in days during a year when precipitation exceedshalf the potential evapo-transpiration plus a period requiredto evapotranspire assured estimated stored moisture

(Higgins and Kassam, 1981). Lengths of Growing Periods(LGPs) year wise were calculated using Excel spreadsheetfor the period of time that precipitation (P) + stored soil

moisture (S) exceeds 0.5 ETp (Potential evapo-transpiration). The yields of many common crops declinemarkedly if the soil moisture falls below this level

(Doorenbos and Kassam, 1979). The soil moisture storagecapacity was assumed to be uniform throughout the state,because a particular soil type was scattered irrespective of

rainfall and PET zones. The LGP excludes any period inwhich the temperature is unfavourable for crop growth.

Extraction of Area of Interest

The approach adopted is to overlay state boundary

(taken from Survey of India (SOI) maps at 1:50,000 scale)by transforming it into image coordinates and analyze pixelinside the boundary. The area of interest (Punjab state)

was extracted using state boundary mask along with districtboundaries.

Map Preparation in Arc GIS

Thermal and LGP maps were prepared in the GIS

environment using Arc GIS-9.1.

Following steps were followed to prepare the maps:

1) Punjab state polygon coverage was selected.

2) Data were collected from different sites of Punjab,Haryana, Rajasthan and Jammu regardingtemperature and rainfall using Global Positioning

System (GPS) x, y coordinates (latitude and longitude).

3) The latitude- longitude data was converted to degree-decimal format.

4) The coverage file (point) was then generated from thelocation data in Arc GIS.

5) The thermal and LGP data was transformed as attribute

table and attached to the point file coverage alreadygenerated.

6) Then the point file coverage was converted to rasterformat through Krigging method giving equal distance

points.

7) Clipping was done to get the thermal and LGP zonesof Punjab state.

Procedure for Zoning and Overlaying of Thermaland LGP Layers

Zoning divides the area into smaller units based ondistribution of climate. The level of detail to which a zone isdefined depends on the scale of the study, and sometimes

on the power of the data processing facilities.

Both layers of thermal zone and LGP zones wererasterized using vector to raster module of Arc/Info. Both

these raster based spatial data bases were created at 1km grid size. Different intersections and unions were theresultant of the overlaying of the two layers. To finalize the

layers, redigitization of the intersection zones were doneand final zones were demarcated. This raster based spatialdatabase of Thermal and LGP zone was then imported into

a separate image channel using image processingsoftware (PCI Geometica 9.17).


Patching of Climatic Data

The test of goodness of fit between observed and

generated data using GSD and Wilmott’s index indicatedthat the performance of ClimGen generated data formaximum and minimum temperature were having good

performance (Table 3). The same result was corroboratedfrom the study by Das and Ray (2005). With the increase indeviation of values between the generated and observed

parameters, RMSE value also increases. As a result, GSDincreases while Wilmott’s index decreasescorrespondingly.

Compilation of Climatic Resource Inventory

The climatic resource inventory comprises of layerinformation on temperature and length of growing period(LGP).

Table 3. Statistical evaluation of ClimGen model for generating maximum and minimum temperature for selected weather stations

Weatherparameter Monthly average R2 RMSE GSD Wilmott’s Remark

Observed value Generated value index (d)

Maximum temperature (OC) 29.5 ± 2.6 29.5 ± 3.3 0.94 0.8 0.06 0.98 Good

Minimum temperature (OC) 16.8 ± 2.6 15.8 ± 2.9 0.97 1.1 0.09 0.99 Good

Rainfall (mm) 65.8 ± 5.7 50.7 ± 4.7 0.40 38.1 1.36 0.71 Poor


15

Thermal Layer

The inventory of thermal layer was prepared by usingtemperature data of individual stations. A spatial coverage

layer was generated using point data on temperature in ArcGIS. The boundaries of thermal zone were constructed byspatial interpolation (krigging) in GIS environment. Later

on, the thermal map was subsequently digitized (Map 1).The thermal regime refers to the amount of heat availablefor plant growth and development during the growing

period. It is usually defined by the mean daily temperatureduring the growing period. In the present study, five thermalzones have been defined based on temperature intervals

of 1OC across the zones. Average annual mean temperatureranges from 21OC to 26OC. The high-lying areas over theextreme north and north-eastern parts of the state (Map 1)

record relatively low temperatures representing zones T1

and T2 (22 to 23OC) while in the low-lying south-westernarid zones (T4 & T5), temperature is 24-26OC. The high

temperature in the south-western parts of the state may bedue to the proximity to Thar Desert, scanty rainfall and lackof sufficient vegetative covers. The lower temperature in the

northern part may be ascribed to its higher latitudinallocation and its proximity to the foot hills of Himalayas(Siwalik Hills). Most of the areas of the state however lies

within the moderate thermal zones of 22-23OC to 24-25OC.Area under T3 zone was highest followed by T4 zone and theleast area was under T1 zone (Table 4).

Table 4. Per cent total geographical area (TGA) under differentthermal zones of Punjab

Thermal Description % TGA

Zones

T1 Annual average temperature 21-22oC 0.7





Length of Growing Period (LGP) Layer

In Punjab and its adjoining areas, when rainfall data

was superimposed on PET in Excel spreadsheet , it wasfound that LGP pattern was normal type i.e. two peaks(ridges) were obtained throughout the year. The larger peak

was obtained during Kharif season (July-September), sincePunjab receives more than 80 per cent of the total rainfallduring the months of July-September through south-western

monsoons. The lower / marginal peak was observed duringthe winter season, since during that period only 20 per centof the total annual rainfall is received through western

disturbance. More over, erratic nature of the rainfalldistribution further compounded the low peak.

These LGP data of different meteorological stationswere fed into GIS environment and through spatial

interpolation method (krigging), LGP surface layer map wasgenerated. Altogether, seven LGP zones were categorizedranging from < 60 days to 180 days with an interval of 20-

days (Map 2). Maximum number of days (L1=160-180 days)with sufficient moisture for crop growth was found in theextreme northern part of Gurdaspur district of Punjab. This

was mainly due to the occurrence of higher rainfall andlower ET demand. The lowest number of days (L7 < 60days) lies in the extreme south-western parts of the state

comprising southern parts of Ferozepur and Muktsardistricts. This may be attributed to occurrence of less rainfall,higher temperature and subsequent high ET demand. Most

of the areas of the state however lie with in the moderate

Table 5. Per cent total geographical area (TGA) under differentLGP zones of Punjab

LGP Zones Description % TGA

L1 LGP 160-180 days 0.7

L2

LGP 140-160 days 9.8

L3 LGP 120-140 days 34.1

L4 LGP 100-120 days 27.6

L5 LGP 80-100 days 16.8

L6 LGP 60-80 days 3.8

L7 LGP < 60 days 7.2

Fig. 1. Thermal zones of Punjab


16

LGP zones of L5 (80-100 days) to L2 (140-160 days). Themaximum area was under L3 followed by L4 and L5. Theleast area was under L1 zone (Table 5).

Delineation of Thermal-LGP zones

Thermal layer comprises of five zones and LGP layercomprises of seven zones. Through logical combinationsof these two layers in raster module of Image processing

software (PCI Geomatica), seven Thermal-LGP zones forthe state of Punjab has been generated (Map 3).

For convenience in carrying out further analysis, these

seven zones have been represented as Z1 to Z7. Zone 1 (Z1)comprises only extreme northern parts of Gurdaspur district.Zone 2 (Z2) comprises northern parts of Gurdaspur,

Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar and SAS Nagar districts of Punjabwhich has temperature range of 22-23OC and LGP variesfrom 160-180 days. Z3 and Z4 have similar thermal climate

(23-24OC) but different LGP values (120-140 and 100-120days). These include districts of Amritsar, Tarntaran,Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Patiala and Sangrur. Z5

and Z6 (Muktsar, Faridkot, Bathinda, Mansa) were havingsimilar thermal (24-25OC) but different LGP zones (80-100and 60-80 days). The last zone was the driest and hottest

zone (Z7) having annual average temperature of 25-26OCand LGP less than 60 days. It is confined to the

southernmost part of Firozpur district. Maximum area wasunder Z3 zone followed by Z4 and Z5 (Table 6).

Table 6. Per cent total geographical area (TGA) under differentThermal-LGP zones of Punjab

LGP Zones Description % TGA

Temperature (ºC ) LGP (days)

Z1 21-22 160-180 0.7

Z 2 22-23 140-160 9.7

Z 3 23-24 120-140 36.0

Z 4 23-24 100-120 25.8

Z 5 24-25 80-100 17.0

Z 6 24-25 60-80 8.0

Z 7 25-26 < 60 2.8

The test of goodness of fit between observed and

generated data using GSD and Wilmott’s index indicatedthat performance of ClimGen generated data for maximumand minimum temperature was good for selected stations

situated at different agro-climatic conditions of the state. Intotal, five thermal zones were defined based on temperatureintervals of 1OC, the gradient being from northeast to

southwest. The northeast and southwestern part of the stateexperiences the lowest and highest temperatures of thestate, simultaneously. The LGP pattern in the state is normal

type and a total of 7 zones were identified with an interval of20-days, the highest being in the north-eastern part and

Fig. 2. Length of growing period (LGP) zones of Punjab Fig. 3. Thermal - LGP zones of Punjab


17

lowest being in the south-western part of the state. Thelogical combination of the thermal as well as LGP zones

resulted in seven thermal-LGP zones.

REFERENCESDas, G. and Ray, S.S. (2005) Comparative evaluation of two weather

generators for Punjab. J. Agrometeorol. 7: 231-240.

Doorenbos, J. and Kassam, A.H. (1979) Yield response to water.FAO Irrigation and Drainage paper No. 33, FAO, Rome.

FAO. (1976) A Framework for Land Evaluation. Soils Bulletin, 32.Food and Agricultural Organisation, Rome, Italy.

Higgins, G.M. and Kassam, A.H. (1981) The FAO agro-ecologicalzone approach to determination of land potential. Pedologie31: 147–168.

Hundal, S.S. and Kaur, P. (2002) Annual and seasonal climaticvariability at different locations in Punjab. J. Agrometeorol. 4:113-126.

Kingra, P.K. and Hundal, S.S. (2002) Estimation of PET by variousmethods and its relationships with mesh covered panevaporation at Ludhiana. J. Agrometeorol. 4: 143-149.

Matalas, N.C. (1967) Mathematical assessment of synthetichydrology. Water Resour. Res. 3: 937-945.

Mavi, H.S. (1984) Introduction to Agrometeorology. (2nd ed). Oxford& IBH Publishers Co. Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, pp. 209-227.

Mukherjee, J. and Bal, S.K. (2003) Climatic variability at BallowalSaunkhri, Punjab. Proc. National Symposium on Emerging

trends in Agricultural Physics and Four Decades of Researchin Division of Agricultural Physics. 22-24 April, Division ofAgricultural Physics, I.A.R.I., New Delhi, pp 105.

Richardson, C.W. (1981) Stochastic simulation of daily precipitation,temperature and solar radiation. Water Resour. Res. 17: 182-190.

Schulze, R.E., Maharaj, M., Lynch, S.D., Howe, B.J. and Melvil-Thomson, B. (1997) South African Atlas of Agrohydrologyand Climatology. Report TT82/96. Water Research Commission,Pretoria, pp 277.

Sehgal, J.L., Mandal, D.K., Mandal, C. and Vadivelu, S. (1996) Agro-ecological regions of India. Publication 24. NBSS & LUP (ICAR),Nagpur, India.

Steven, M.D. (1993) Satellite remote sensing for agriculturalmanagement: Opportunities and logistic constraints. ISPRS J.Photogramm. 48: 29-34.

Stöckle, C.O., Campbell, G.S. and Nelson, R. (1999) ClimGen manual.Biological Systems Engineering Department, Washington StateUniversity, Pullman, WA, pp. 28.

Tang, W.Y., Kassim, A.H.M. and Abubakar, S.H. (1996) Comparativestudies of various missing data treatment methods - Malaysianexperience. Atmos. Res. 42: 247-262.

Willmott, C.J. (1982) Some comments on the evaluation of modelperformance. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 63: 1309-1313.

Xia, Y., Fabian, P., Winterhalter, M. and Stohl, A. (1999) Forestclimatology: estimation of missing values for Bavaria, Germany.Agr. Forest Meteorol. 96: 131-144.


Received 7 June, 2011; Accepted 3 March, 2012

Cotton (Gossypium sp.) being the most importantcommercial crop, plays a vital role in social and monetaryaffairs of the India. Besides other causes, major bottleneck

in cotton cultivation is biotic stresses due to attack of insectpests and diseases which play a significant role inachieving optimum yield potential. In India, cotton ecosystem

harbours about 162 insect species, of which 9 are of utmostimportance inflicting significant losses in yield (Dhaliwal etal., 2004). Before the introduction of Bt cotton, farmers solely

relied on insecticides for effective management ofBollworms. Besides increasing cost of production andenvironmental problems, the excessive and indiscriminate

use of insecticides for the control of these pests has resultedin development of insecticidal resistance particularly inHelicoverpa armigera (Hubner) decline in natural enemies’

population and resurgence of the pests like whitefly, Bemisiatabaci (Gennadiaus) and jassid, Amrasca biguttula biguttula(Ishida) (Gill and Dhawan, 2006). Besides, A. biguttula and

B. tabaci, other sucking pests like thrips, Thrips tabaci(Lindemann) hitherto occurring during May-June and aphids,Aphis gossypii (Glover) at fag end of the crop season are

also gaining importance. During 2006, a new sucking pest,mealy bug, Phenacoccus solenopsis (Tinsley) appeared infew pockets of Bathinda, Ferozepur and Muktsar districts

and caused economic loss (Dhawan et al., 2007). Keepingin view the above facts, IRM window based strategies wereimplemented in the last two years with the aim to slow or

reverse the development of resistance in sucking pests.The various strategies includes the use of refugia,mechanical control of immature stages of tobacco caterpillar

Economic Impact of Insecticide Resistance Management (IRM)Strategies in Cotton in Muktsar District (Punjab)

A.K. Dhawan, Vijay Kumar*, Amardip Singh, Jasbir Singh and Amrik SinghDepartment of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 141 004, India


Abstract: To disseminate Insecticide Resistance Management (IRM) strategies, 10 villages were adopted in Muktsar district of Punjabduring 2008 and 2009. Two villages were kept as check (Non-IRM) for comparing the impact of IRM strategies on the major insect pestsand natural enemies in Bt cotton arthropod fauna. The impact of adoption of IRM strategies leads to reduction in the population of jassid andwhitefly in IRM villages as compared to non-IRM villages. The mean population of nymphs jassid, Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida), andwhitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), adults per three leaves was 0.41, 0.45 and 0.61, 0.69 in IRM villages, while in non-IRM villages, itwas 0.50, 2.00 and 0.80, 2.40 during 2008 and 2009 crop season, respectively. No incidence of bollworms was observed in IRM as wellas Non-IRM villages. Cotton IRM villages were sprayed 3.73 and 3.40 as compared to 6.30 and 6.05 in non-IRM villages for both the years.The per cent reduction in number of sprays, cost of sprays and increase in seed-cotton yield was 40.79 and 43.80, 64.96 and 51.16,22.70 and 30.45 over non-IRM villages in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The additional net profit per hectare in IRM villages was Rs 11422and Rs 18441 during both the years.

Key Words: Arthropod fauna, Bt Cotton, Insecticide resistance management, Economics, Non-IRM, Natural enemies

and other damaging insects, use of insecticides on thebasis of economic threshold, and alternations as well asrotation of insecticide group in window based adoption of

chemical and non-chemical methods for the managementof cotton insect-pests.


Ten villages were adopted for dissemination of IRMstrategies in Muktsar district of Punjab during 2008-09 and2009-10. Two villages adjoining to IRM villages were keptunder observation and these constituted the non-IRMvillages or villages not adopting the IRM strategies. At least50 farmers from each village were selected as a targetgroup for dissemination of following IRM strategies. The Btcotton was grown as per the recommended agronomicpractices (Anon., 2009).

For the effectiveness of these strategies, training wasgiven to the scouts as well as to the farmers about theidentification of insect-pests of cotton crop and naturalenemies of these insect-pests. The literature havingknowledge about insect-pests, their economic threshold(ETL) and their control was distributed among the farmers.The insecticides of different groups were sprayed ateconomic threshold level and an attempt has been madenot to repeat same insecticide as far as possible. Thebaseline data regarding time of sowing, number ofirrigations, number of insecticidal sprays and type of productused in application of broad spectrum insecticides,herbicides, IGRs and seed cotton yield obtained to studythe impact of the implementation of project in the form of


of Ecology

19

questionnaire were collected from IRM and non IRM villages.The data on the number of sucking pests (jassid, whitefly,

thrips and mealy bug), bollworm complex (Americanbollworm and spotted bollworm) and foliage feeder(Tobacco caterpillar) and natural enemies (spiders,

coccinellids, predatory bugs etc.) were recorded at weeklyinterval from 26th to 39th meteorological weeks.

Window 1 (Till 60 days after sowing)

• Cultivation of recommended tolerant genotypes (Bt or

non-Bt) against sucking pests.

• Complete the sowing up to 15 May.

• Eradication of weeds in or around the cotton fields.

• Avoidance of neonicotinoids and organophosphategroup of insecticide for sucking pest

• Do not spray against sucking pest in order to conservethe natural enemies.

Window II (60-90 days after sowing)

• Do not spray against minor lepidopterons.

• Use of endosulfan, if necessary.

• Use of organophosphate only on non-Bt cotton at ETL

basis.

• Use of neonicotinoids on ETL basis against suckingpest.

Window III (90-120 days after sowing)

• Use of pheromone traps for monitoring of bollwormmoths.

• Peak bollworm infestation period on non-Bt.

• Use of organophosphate or carbamates only once onETL basis.

• Use of spinosad or indoxacarb only on non-Bt cotton atETL.

Window IV (>120 days after sowing):

• Use of pheromone traps for monitoring of bollworms

and tobacco caterpillar moths.

• Need based use of Novaluron as first spray for thecontrol of tobacco caterpillar.

• Use of non- chemical methods for control of mealy bug

• Need based spray of Buprofezin for the control of mealybug as spot treatment.


Agronomic Practices

The numbers of farmers involved were 571 and 683

covering an area of 2627 and 2068 ha area under Bt cottonduring 2008 and 2009, respectively. In 2008, due to heavyrains at irregular times, the total number of irrigations varied

from 1.90 to 2.60; while in 2009 number of irrigations variedfrom 2.10 to 3.15 and about 63.00 per cent sowing wascompleted after 15th May due to heavy rains at regular

intervals in 2008 while in 2009, 70.90 per cent sowing wascompleted within time before May 15. In non IRM villages,numbers of farmers involved were 75 and 104 covering an

area of 163.2 and 244.8 ha area cotton during 2008 and2009, respectively. In non-IRM village during 2008, theaverage number of irrigations was 2.23; while during 2009

number of irrigations was 4.07 and about 69.40 and 26.50per cent sowing was completed after 15 may in 2008 and2009, respectively. In IRM villages, urea (kg ha-1), DAP (kg

ha-1) and number of potassium sprays were 300, 75 and2.10 during 2008 and 325, 77 and 2.95 during 2009. In non-IRM villages, urea (kg ha-1), DAP (kg ha-1) and number of

potassium sprays were 310, 72 and 1.59 during 2008 and289, 70 and 1.75 during 2009 (Table 1).

Impact on Pest Situation

Sucking pests. The data pertaining to the pest status

(Table 2) indicated that during 2008 and 2009 crop season,the population of jassid remained below economicthreshold level (ETL) with the mean numbers of 0.41 and

0.45 nymphs per 3 leaves in IRM villages, while in non-IRM

Table 1. Agronomic practices adopted in IRM villages of Muktsar during 2008 and 2009

Year Land holding Area under different dates of Fertilizer (Kg ha-1)

(ha) sowing (%) Irrigations

Total Under Before May 1-15 After N P KNO sprays

area cotton April 30 May 15 (Urea) (DAP) (13:0:45)

IRM villages

2008 4263 2627 5.50 31.50 63.00 2.20(1.90-2.60) 300 75 2.10

2009 4466 2068 21.10 70.90 8.00 3.86(2.10-3.15) 325 77 2.95

Non- IRM villages

2008 347 163 6.30 24.30 69.40 2.23 310 72 1.59

2009 454 245 18.50 55.00 26.50 4.07 289 70 1.75

Impact of IRM Strategies in Cotton

20

villages, its population was 0.50 and 2.00 during therespective years. Similarly, the data on the population of

whitefly per 3 leaves showed that it remains below ETLlevel with 0.61 and 0.69 in IRM villages during 2008 and2009 crop season, respectively, while in non-IRM villages,

it was 0.80 and 2.40 per 3 leaves for the correspondingyears. The population of mealy bug per 2.5 cm of centralshoot was 0.34 and 0.00 in IRM villages during 2008 and

2009 crop season, respectively, whereas in non-IRMvillages, it was 0.70 and 0.80 for the corresponding years.The population of thrips per plant was 0.07 and 0.05 in IRM

villages during 2008 and 2009 crop season, respectively,whereas in non-IRM villages, it was 0.58 and 0.50 for thecorresponding years (Table 2).

Maximum number of sprays was given for sucking pest

in both the years. The number of sprays for sucking pests

was 2.22 and 3.28 in IRM villages and 5.52 and 5.75 in non-

IRM villages during 2008 and 2009 crop season,

respectively.

Bollworm complex and foliage feeders. No incidence

of pink bollworm, spotted bollworm and American bollworm

in 2008 and 2009 due to adoption of recommended

varieties/Bt cotton.

The mean population of tobacco caterpillar was 0.27

and 0.01 in IRM villages; however it was 0.35 and 0.10 in

non-IRM villages during 2008 and 2009, respectively (Table

2).

Natural enemies. The most common natural enemies

observed were spiders, lady bird beetle, Coccinellids and

green lace wing, Chrysoperla spp. The population of natural

enemies in IRM villages was high as compared to non-IRM

villages. The average number of natural enemies in IRM

villages was 0.94 and 0.86 per plant during 2008 and 2009,respectively, while in non-IRM villages it was 0.47 and 0.20per plant. The peak population of natural enemies was

recorded during 32nd-35th meteorological weeks during both

the years. Subsequently their population declined whichmight be due to the insecticidal sprays (Table 2).

Insecticide use pattern. In IRM villages, maximumnumbers of sprays were given for the control of suckingpest (2.22 and 3.28) followed by sprays for control of tobacco

caterpillar (1.51 and 0.12) in both the year 2008 and 2009.Insecticides sprayed maximum times belongs to grouporganophosphates (2.09) followed by neonicotinoids (0.95)

and organochlorine (0.25) in 2008, while in 2009 cropseason, insecticides sprayed maximum times belongs togroup neonicotinoids (1.35) followed by organophosphate

(1.20) and organochlorines (0.70). In non-IRM villages,number of insecticide sprays was maximum for control ofsucking pest (5.52 and 5.75) followed by sprays against

tobacco caterpillar (0.78 and 0.30) during 2008 and 2009,respectively. Insecticides sprayed the maximum timesbelongs to group organophosphates (3.10) followed by

neonicotinoids (1.60) and carbamates and IGRs (0.60) in2008, while in 2009, insecticides sprayed maximum timesbelongs to group neonicotinoids (3.20) followed by

organophosphate (1.80) and miscellaneous (0.40).

Impact of IRM Strategies on Economics

The numbers of sprays were 3.73 and 3.40 in IRMvillages as compared to 6.30 and 6.05 in non-IRM villages

(Table 3). The total cost of sprays (Rs ha-1 ) and seed-cottonyield oBtained (kg ha-1) was 1638 and 1778; and 2189 and2630 in IRM villages (Table 3) as compared to 4675 and

3641; and 1784 and 2016 in non-IRM villages during 2008and 2009, respectively. It represented 64.96 and 51.16 percent reduction in cost of sprays over non-IRM villages with

22.70 and 30.45 per cent increase in seed-cotton yield overnon-IRM villages during 2008 and 2009, respectively. Thetotal cost of cultivation (Rs. ha-1) was 22222 and 25518 in

IRM villages as compared to 22301 and 25898 in non-IRMvillages during both the years (Table 3). The net profit perhectare in IRM villages was Rs 39067 and 56028 during

Table 2. Status of insect pest in IRM and non-IRM villages of Muktsar district during 2008 and 2009.

Year Jassid Whitefly Mealy bug Thrips Tobacco Bollworm Spider Chrysopa Coccinellid Predatory

nymphs (per 3 (2.5 cm (per 3 caterpillar complex* bug

(per 3 leaves) of central leaves) (no. per

leaves) shoot) plant) Numbers per plant

IRM villages

2008 0.41 0.61 0.34 0.07 0.27 0.00 0.70 0.04 0.20 0.00

2009 0.45 0.69 0.00 0.05 0.01 0.00 0.67 0.02 0.17 0.00

Non-IRM villages

2008 0.50 0.80 0.70 0.58 0.35 0.00 0.28 0.03 0.16 0.00

2009 2.00 2.40 0.80 0.50 0.10 0.00 0.15 0.02 0.03 0.00

Bollworm complex includes American bollworm, spotted bollworm and pink bollworm

A.K. Dhawan, Vijay Kumar, Amardip Singh, Jasbir Singh and Amrik Singh

21

Fig. 1. Insecticide used pattern in Muktsar cotton belt (Punjab) during 2008

Fig. 2. Insecticide used pattern in Muktsar cotton belt (Punjab) during 2009

Table 3. Impact of IRM strategies on economics in Muktsar district during 2008 and 2009

Year Number of Cost of sprays Seed cotton yield Cost of cultivation Net profit Cost :Benefit

sprays (Rs ha-1) (kg ha-1) (Rs ha-1) (Rs ha-1) ratio

IRM villages

2008 3.73 (40.79)* 1638 (64.96)* 2189 (22.70)** 22222 (0.35)* 39067 (41.31)** 1:1.75 (42.27)**

2009 3.40 (43.80)* 1778 (51.16)* 2630 (30.45)** 25518 (1.46)* 56028 (49.06)** 1: 2.19 (51.03)**

Non-IRM villages

2008 6.30 4675 1784 22301 27645 1 : 1.23

2009 6.05 3641 2016 25898 37587 1 : 1.45

* Figures in parentheses are per cent decrease over non-IPRM villages** Figures in parentheses are per cent increase over non-IPRM villages

Impact of IRM Strategies in Cotton

22

the two years. Thus, adoption of IRM strategies resulted inadditional profit of Rs 11422 and Rs 18441 of IRM villages

over non-IRM villages during 2008 and 2009, representing41.31 and 49.06 per cent increase over IRM villages.

The present findings collaborate with the result of

Kranthi et al. (2000) who estimated 90 per cent reduction insprays and seed cotton yield increased up to 59 per centand plant protection cost reduced by 25-60 per cent due to

adoption of IRM strategies. He also reported that number ofsprays for the control of sucking and bollworm complexvaried from 8-17 in North India. Dhawan et al. (2006) also

reported reduction in number of sprays, cost of sprays (Rsha-1) and increase in seed cotton yield was 24.4 and 25.6;19.2 and 42.0; and 25.8 and 15.5 per cent in IRM villages

over non-IRM villages during 2002 and 2003, respectively.Suruli Velu et al. (2004) also reported 63 per cent reductionin number of sprays at Coimbatore and Theni districts, with

the mean of 2.7 in project village as compared to 7.3 incontrol villages.

Likewise, in our study, reduction in spray cost, number

of sprays and increased seed cotton yield was recordedduring 2008 and 2009. The per cent increase in net profit ofIRM villages over non-IRM villages was 41.3 and 49.1 during

both the years. The cost benefit ratio increased up to 29.7and 33.7 per cent during both the years. Similarly, Rajak etal. (1997) reported 30 to 50 per cent reduction in pesticide

consumption in IRM-adopted fields with 21-27 per centincrease in seed-cotton yield. With the adoption of IRMstrategies, there was no damage of bollworms and also

less incidence of sucking pests and foliage feeders, highernumber of natural enemies in IRM villages with increase in

seed cotton yield as compared to non-IRM villages.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors are graeful to The Director CICR, Nagpur

for the financial help provided under IRM Project.

REFERENCESAnonymous (2009) Package of Practices for Crops of Punjab-

Kharif. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India.

Dhawan, A. K., Singh, K., Arora, P. K. and Kumar, T. (2006) Insecticideresistance management (IRM) strategies: their impact onarthropod fauna and economics in cotton agro ecosystem.Indian J. Ecol. 33(2): 158-162.

Dhawan A. K., Singh, K., Saini, S., Mohindru, B., Kaur, A., Singh, G.and Singh, S. (2007) Incidence and damage potential of mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley, on cotton in Punjab.Indian J. Ecol. 34 (2): 166–172.

Dhaliwal, G. S., Arora, R. and Dhawan, A. K. (2004) Crop lossesdue to insect pests in Indian agriculture. Indian J. Ecol. 31(1):1-7.

Gill, H. K. and Dhawan, A. K. (2006) Global status of insecticideresistance in Helicoverpa armigera on cotton. J. Cotton Res.Dev. 20 (2): 226-231.

Kranthi, K. R., Banerjee, S. K. and Russell, D. (2000) IRM strategiesfor sustainable cotton pest management in India. Pestology,24: 58-67.

Rajak, R. L., Diwaker, M. C. and Mishra, M. P. (1997) National IPMprogramme in India. Pestic. Inf. 23: 23-26.

Suruli Velu, T., Sumathi, E., Matharajan, V. G. and Rajendran, T. P.(2004) Evaluation of success of insecticides resistancemanagement in Tamil Nadu. In: B. M. Khadi, M. H.Vaamadevaiah, I. S. Katageri, Chattannawar, S. S. Udikeri andS. B. Patil (Eds.) International Symposium on Strategies forSustainable Cotton Production – A Global Version 3. CropProtection, Dharwad, pp. 204-207.

A.K. Dhawan, Vijay Kumar, Amardip Singh, Jasbir Singh and Amrik Singh

Received 2 February 2011; Accepted 11 December, 2011

Kinnow, a mandarin hybrid (Citrus nobilis Loureiro X

Citrus deliciosa Tenore) is dominant citrus fruit of Punjab

and is expanding fastly to Haryana and Rajasthan. It grows

successfully is all frost free, tropical and sub-tropical regions

of India. Kinnow appears to be very exacting in its climatic

requirements.

Large plantations have been brought under kinnow

during the last two decades and consequently it has become

the major fruit crop dominating the state. This resulted into

increased production of kinnow, which is posing a serious

handling problem and thus invites research on increasing

its shelf life. In this fruit crop, harvesting is confined to a

limited period so market glut is the serious problem faced

by the growers, which engage the attention of horticulturists

to enhance its storage period after harvest. This process

can help to overcome the hurdles in its further expansion

and regulation of marketing.

Essential plant nutrients and growth regulators like

calcium and GA3 are known to be involved in number of

physiological processes concerning membrane structure,

functioning and enzyme activity. There use for extending the

shelf life has good scope in kinnow mandarin. Keeping

this in view, the investigations were conducted with the aim

to study the effect of different chemicals on shelf life of

kinnow fruits with the help of GA3, triacontanol and calcium

salts along with their thresh hold levels.

Effect of Foliar Feeding of GA3, Triacontanol and Calcium Salts onShelf-Life in Kinnow Mandarin

Tanjeet Singh Chahal*, J. S. Bal1 and Kiran Kour2

Fruit Research Station, Gangian (PAU), Hoshiarpur, India1Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India

2Division of Fruit Science, SKUAST-J, Jammu - 180 019, India*E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: The studies on the effect of pre-harvest chemical treatments in kinnow were conducted investigate their effect on shelf life ofthe fruits. The plant material used was fifteen year old plantation raised on citrus jambhiri rootstock. Pre-harvest foliar application of GA3

(10, 20, 30 ppm), triacontanol (400, 600 ppm), CaCl2 (4, 6 %) and Ca(NO3)2 (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 %) were applied to the kinnow plants on 25th

October. The harvesting of the fruits was done on January 15th and the fruits were kept under ambient conditions for 30 days. The fruitsamples were analysed for physico-chemical evaluation at 10 days interval. It was observed that CaCl2 6% proved to be the mosteffective treatment for minimizing the weight loss during ambient storage. Like physiological loss in weight, the minimum spoilage loss wasalso recorded in the fruits from CaCl2 6% treatment. Significantly lower spoilage loss was also observed with GA3, triacontanol and othercalcium treatments. Highest level of TSS content was shown by fruits treated with GA3 30 ppm, while the highest acidity level wasobserved in the fruits treated with CaCl2 6% and Ca(NO3)2 0.3%.

Key Words: Kinnow mandarin, GA3, CaCl2, Ca(NO3)2, Triacontanol


The plant material for investigations was selected from

‘Punjab Government Progeny Orchard’ Attari, Amritsar. The

uniform and disease free trees of kinnow with 15 years of

age were selected for the investigations. The plants were

applied with standard doses of fertilizers and plant protection

measures as recommended by Punjab Agricultural

University, Ludhiana. The pre-harvest treatments of

Gibberellic Acid (GA3) at 10, 20 and 30ppm, Vipul

(Triacontanol) at 400 and 600ppm, Calcium Chloride (CaCl2)

at 4 and 6 per cent, Calcium Nitrate {Ca(NO3)2} at 0.1, 0.2

and 0.3 per cent and control (spray of water) were applied

on 25th October.

The experiment consisted of eleven treatments. Two

trees were kept as unit treatment and replicated three times.

The fruits taken for the study were harvested on January

15th. The observations were recorded for physiological loss

in weight, spoilage loss, TSS, acidity, TSS acid ratio, total

sugars and reducing sugars.


During the study, the plants applied with different CaCl2and Ca(NO3)2 concentrations showed significantly lower

physiological loss in weight in comparison to control (Table1). The minimum weight loss was registered in the fruitsapplied with CaCl2 at 6 per cent. The decreased weight

loss of calcium treated fruits was due to lower storage


of Ecology

24

breakdown associated with lower respiratory rate comparedto control fruits (Faust and Shear, 1972). Pathmanaban etal. (1995) in acid lime revealed similar retardation in

physiological loss in weight with CaCl2 and Ca(NO3)2

treatments. GA3 treatments were also found to lower thephysiological weight loss significantly over control. The mostefficacious dose of GA3 in lowering the weight loss was 20

ppm. The reduced weight loss in GA3 treated fruits might bedue to antisenescent property of GA3 and also by bindingthe ethylene biosynthesis as reported by Khader (1992).

Triacontanol at 600 ppm was also found to reduce theweight loss in comparison to control. However, effect of thischemical in reducing weight loss during storage was

significantly lesser than calcium and GA3 treatments.Physiological loss in weight increased with the increase instorage period irrespective of treatments. This may be due

to continuous water loss from fruits during storage.

The data presented in Table 1 revealed that theapplication of all the calcium treatments recorded

significantly lower spoilage in the fruits during storage ofkinnow mandarin. The minimum spoilage loss wasobserved in the fruits applied with CaCl2 at 6 per cent. This

might be due to the fact that the exogenously applied calciumbecame localized in the cell wall, thus increasing thenumber of salt bridges, which could have accounted for the

resistance of this tissue to maceration by fungalpolygalacturonase and for resistance to pathogens, thusavoiding spoilage. Significantly lower spoilage loss was

also observed with the GA3 and triacontanol treatments. Allthe GA3 concentrations were found to be superior overtriacontanol. The most effective GA3 application was at 20

ppm. The lower spoilage loss with these growth regulators

might be due to firmer fruits produced by them, which may

have checked fungal attack and rotting for longer period.

The spoilage losses fastly increased with the progressive

increase in storage period in kinnow mandarin under all

the treatments. This could be owed to continuous bio-

chemical changes in the fruits after picking, causing the

aging which could have attracted fungal infection that leads

to fruit softening and hence spoilage. The results are in

close confirmation with those of Kumar et al.(2002) who

observed increased fruit rot with increased storage period

in Red Blush grapefruit.

The TSS level of the fruits significantly decreased with

the application of triacontanol at 400 ppm (Table 2). The

decrease might be due to higher firmness in the triacontanol

treated fruits in comparison to control, which might have

decreased the biochemical changes in fruits. All the CaCl2and Ca(NO3)2 treatments showed significant decrease in

the TSS level of the kinnow fruits in comparison to control.

The maximum decrease was recorded in the fruits treated

with CaCl2 at 6 per cent. In the present studies, calcium had

probably reduced the TSS level of the fruits due to reduced

respiration rate (Faust and Klein, 1973). Similar decrease

in the TSS level of the mango cv. Totapuri fruits with calcium

application was also observed by Dhaka et al. (2001). The

soluble solids recorded a general increase in kinnow fruits

during storage under all the treatments. The exceeded TSS

with prolongation of storage period can be attributed to

increased hydrolysis of polysachharides and concentration

of juice due to dehydration (Bhullar et al., 1985). Similar

increase in TSS level of the fruits with prolongation in storage

period was advocated by Mahajan et al. (2002) in kinnow.

Table 1. Effect of GA3, triacontanol and calcium salts on physiological loss in weight (%) during storage of kinnow fruits

Treatments Physiological loss in weight (%) Spoilage (%)

10 20 30 Mean 10 20 30 Mean

GA3 10ppm 3.27 8.02 11.68 7.66 0 10.33 21.00 10.44

GA3

20ppm 3.03 6.93 10.49 6.82 0 9.67 17.00 8.89

GA3 30ppm 3.47 7.13 9.94 6.85 0 10.67 21.00 10.56

Tria 400ppm 4.01 8.81 14.85 9.22 0 13.67 29.00 14.22

Tria 600ppm 3.98 6.24 14.60 8.27 0 12.67 27.00 13.22

CaCl2 4% 2.25 4.45 9.11 5.27 0 8.67 15.00 7.89

CaCl2 6% 2.10 4.03 7.27 4.47 0 7.33 13.00 6.78

Ca(NO3)2 0.1% 3.60 6.34 11.22 7.05 0 10.67 21.00 10.56

Ca(NO3)2 0.2% 3.52 6.27 11.13 6.97 0 10.00 19.00 9.67

Ca(NO3)2 0.3% 2.26 4.45 8.14 4.95 0 7.67 15.00 7.56

Control 4.37 8.52 15.43 9.44 0 15.33 36.67 17.33

Mean 3.26 6.47 11.26 0.00 10.61 21.33

CD(0.05) Physiological loss in weight: Treatments (A) – 0.36; Storage Interval (B) – 0.19 and AxB – 0.62

Spoilage : Treatments (A) – 0.78; Storage Interval (B) – 0.41 and AxB – 1.35

Tanjeet Singh Chahal, J. S. Bal and Kiran Kour

25

The data in Table 3 regarding acidity level of the kinnow

fruits, depicted that with the increase in the application of

GA3 concentration the acidity level of the fruits decreased.

The minimum acidity was observed with the application of

GA3 at 30 ppm. The acids under the influence of growth

regulator might have either been rapidly converted into

sugars and their derivatives by the reactions involving

reversal of glycolytic pathway or might be used in respiration

or both (Brahmachari et al., 1997). The fruits treated with

triacontanol 400 ppm registered significantly higher acidity

level in the fruits. The control fruits showed significantly

lower acidity level from all the calcium treated fruits. The

highest acidity was observed in the fruits treated with CaCl2at 6 per cent and Ca(NO3)2 at 0.3 per cent. Higher acidity in

the calcium treated fruits may be attributed to slower

utilization of organic acids in oxidative process because ofslow rate of respiration (Nagpal and Kumar, 1999). Theaverage acidity level of kinnow fruits recorded a descending

trend with the advancement of storage period. The decreasein acidity level may be attributed to the utilization of organicacids in respiratory process (Ulrich, 1974).

The data regarding the total sugars and reducingsugars of kinnow fruits clearly shows that the application ofGA3 at 10 ppm and 20 ppm registered lower level of the

sugars in comparison to control (Table 4). However, themaximum total sugar and reducing sugar level wasobserved with GA3 at 30 ppm, which was higher than control.

The application of GA3 at 30 ppm may have increased theactivity of the enzymes such as amylases, which hydrolysethe complex polysaccharides into simple sugars

Table 2. Effect of GA3, triacontanol and calcium salts on TSS and acidity (per cent) during storage of kinnow fruits

Treatments TSS Acitidity

10 20 30 Mean 10 20 30 Mean

GA3 10ppm 10.14 10.56 11.07 10.59 0.70 0.65 0.57 0.64

GA3

20ppm 10.16 10.67 11.20 10.68 0.67 0.63 0.58 0.63

GA3 30ppm 10.42 10.79 11.30 10.84 0.63 0.60 0.55 0.59

Tria 400ppm 9.84 10.25 10.68 10.26 0.74 0.70 0.62 0.69

Tria 600ppm 10.01 10.39 10.83 10.41 0.69 0.65 0.59 0.64

CaCl2 4% 9.50 9.78 10.21 9.83 0.72 0.68 0.61 0.67

CaCl2 6% 9.21 9.63 10.17 9.67 0.75 0.72 0.66 0.71

Ca(NO3)2 0.1% 9.82 10.25 10.84 10.30 0.74 0.70 0.63 0.69

Ca(NO3)2 0.2% 9.49 9.88 10.32 9.90 0.73 0.69 0.63 0.68

Ca(NO3)2 0.3% 9.37 9.74 10.19 9.77 0.76 0.72 0.66 0.71

Control 10.32 10.74 11.21 10.76 0.69 0.63 0.57 0.63

Mean 9.84 10.24 10.73 0.71 0.67 0.61

CD(0.05) TSS: Treatments (A) – 0.45; Storage Interval (B) – 0.24 and AxB – N.S. Acidity : Treatments (A) - 0.03; Storage Interval (B) - 0.02 and A x B - N.S.

Table 3. Effect of GA3, triacontanol and calcium salts on total sugars and reducing sugars (per cent) during storage of kinnow fruits

Treatments Total sugar Reducing sugars

10 20 30 Mean 10 20 30 Mean

GA3 10ppm 6.67 6.83 7.12 6.87 3.34 3.42 3.55 3.44

GA3 20ppm 6.72 6.89 7.18 6.93 3.38 3.48 3.72 3.53

GA3 30ppm 7.21 7.24 7.57 7.34 3.49 3.63 3.79 3.64

Tria 400ppm 6.63 6.75 7.04 6.81 3.30 3.41 3.52 3.41

Tria 600ppm 6.68 6.79 7.08 6.85 3.34 3.40 3.53 3.42

CaCl2 4% 6.04 6.18 6.40 6.21 3.02 3.10 3.21 3.11

CaCl2 6% 5.99 6.15 6.32 6.15 2.99 3.16 3.30 3.15

Ca(NO3)2 0.1% 6.24 6.47 6.64 6.45 3.11 3.21 3.52 3.28

Ca(NO3)2 0.2% 5.92 6.09 6.31 6.11 3.04 3.07 3.13 3.08

Ca(NO3)2 0.3% 5.80 6.01 6.15 5.99 2.89 3.09 3.18 3.05

Control 6.92 7.08 7.53 7.18 3.46 3.52 3.75 3.58

Mean 6.44 6.59 6.85 3.21 3.32 3.47

CD(0.05) Total Sugars: Treatments (A) – 0.26; Storage Interval (B) – 0.13 and AxB – N.S. Reducing Sugar: Treatments (A) - 0.12; Storage Interval (B) - 0.06 and AxB – N.S.

Effect of GA3, Triacontanol and Calcium Salts in Kinnow shelf-life

26

(Brahmachari et al., 1997). Shinde et al. (2000) in Mosambirevealed similar results to that observed in the present study.

All the triacontanol and calcium treatments produced lowertotal sugars and reducing sugars in comparison to control.The decrease in the sugars with calcium application owes

to the fact that exogenous calcium incorporates intoprotopectin molecules in the middle membrane retardshydrolysis during post-harvest ripening (Sharma et al., 1996).

The results are in proximity with the findings of Ramakrishnaet al. (2001) in papaya. A continuous increase in the totalsugars and reducing sugars on an average was recorded

with increase in storage period. Increase in the level ofsugars during storage might be either due to hydrolyticconversion of polysaccharides (starch) into

monosaccharides (sugars) or due to concentration of juiceowing to dehydration (Jain et al., 2001).

From the foregoing discussion, inference can be drawn

that pre-harvest application of all calcium salt treatmentsand GA3 treatments help in reducing the physiological lossin weight and spoilage losses during ambient storage of

the kinnow fruits. However, the pre-harvest application ofCaCl2 6 per cent was observed to be the most efficacioustreatment in reducing the spoilage losses. Thus, foliar

application of CaCl2 6 per cent can be used for enhancingthe shelf-life of kinnow fruits during ambient storage.

REFERENCESBhullar, J. S., Dhillon, B. S. and Randhawa, J. S. (1985) Effect of

wrappers on the storage of kinnow mandarin. J. Res. PunjabAgric. Univ. 22 : 663-666.

Brahmchari, V. S., Kumar, Naresh and Kumar, Rajesh (1997) Effectof foliar feeding of calcium, potassium and growth substanceson yield and quality of guava (Psidium guajava L.). HaryanaJ. Hort. Sci. 26(3-4): 169-173.

Dhaka, R. S., Verma, M. K. and Agrawal, M. K. (2001) Effect of postharvest treatments on physico-chemical characters during

storage of mango cv. Totapuri. Haryana J. Hort. Sci. 30(1-2):36-38.

Faust, M. and Shear, C. B. (1972) The effect of calcium on respirationof apples. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 97 : 437-439.

Faust, M. and Klein, J. D. (1973) Levels and sites of metabolicallyactive calcium in apple fruits. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 99 : 93-94.

Jain, S. K., Mukherjee, S. and Gupta, N. K. (2001) Effect of post-harvest treatments and storage condition on the quality ofmango during storage. Haryana J. Hort. Sci. 30(3-4) : 183-187.

Khader, S. E. S. A. (1992) Effect of gibberellic acid and vapourguard on ripening, amylase and peroxidase activity in storageof mango. J. Hort. Sci. 67(6): 25-29.

Kumar, A., Rattanpal, H. S. and Randhawa, J. S. (2002) Storagebehaviour of polyethylene wrapped Red Blush grapefruitunder ambient conditions. Indian J. Citriculture 1(2): 179-184.

Mahajan, B. V. C., Dhatt, A. S. and Rattan, G. S. (2002) Evaluation ofvarious wax formulations on the post-harvest characteristicsof kinnow. Indian J. Citriculture 1(2): 185-188.

Nagpal, Rajesh and Kumar, Ranjit (1999) Effect of post-harvesttreatments on the quality of Dashehari mango during storage.Haryana J. Hort. Sci. 28(1-2) : 76-77.

Pathmanaban, G., Nagarajan, M., Manian, K. and Annamalainathan,K. (1995) Effect of fused calcium salts on post-harvestpreservation in fruits. Madras Agric. J. 82(1): 47-50.

Ramakrishna, M., Haribabu, K., Reddy, Y. N. and Purushotam, K.(2001) Effect of pre-harvest application of calcium on physico-chemical changes during ripening and storage of papaya.Indian J. Hort. 58(1): 228-231.

Sharma, R. M., Yamdagni, R., Gaur, H. and Sukla, R. K. (1996) Roleof calcium in horticulture – A review. Haryana J. Hort. Sci.25(4): 205-212.

Shinde, S. B., Kadam, B. A., Naik, D. M., Shinde, B. N., Shinde, N. N.and Purandare, N. D. (2000) Effect of growth regulators andchemicals on physico-chemical composition of Mosambi fruits(Citrus sinensis Osbeck). Hi-Tech Citrus Management : Proc.of International Symposium on Citriculture, pp. 637-639.

Ulrich, R. (1974) Biochemistry of fruits and their products. AcademicPress, New York, USA, pp. 89-118.

Tanjeet Singh Chahal, J. S. Bal and Kiran Kour

Received 8 September, 2011; Accepted 12 December, 2011

In India, annual production of rice is about 136.5 million

tonnes (http://www.indiastat.com) and about 136.5-150

million tonnes of paddy straw is estimated to be produced.

Paddy straw burning can be commonly seen during the

harvesting season which causes soil erosion and emission

of pollutants. Paddy straw has high content of cellulose

(35-40%), hemi-cellulose (20%), lignin (12%) and silica

(8%) (Pathak et al., 1986). But, the lignin complex and silica

incrustation shields the microbial action and hence restricts

paddy straw digestibility. So, the first step towards

economical utilization of paddy straw is to remove/degrade

lignin and silica.

Different types of pretreatments i.e., physical

(mechanical and thermal), chemical (acid, alkali, oxidizing

agents), physico-chemical (AFEX, CO2 and steam explosion)

and biological (using ligno-cellulosic microbes/enzymes)

are being tried to increase the digestibility of rice straw.

These pretreatments technologies either change or remove

structural and compositional constraints to improve

hydrolysis rate. Amongst all these pretreatment methods, a

few can be used on an industrial scale based on economics

and environmental consideration (Sun and Cheng, 2002).

Keeping in view all these aspects and the importance of

paddy straw for energy and power generation along with

combating the environmental pollution, the present study

of microwave supplementation to the sodium sulphite

pretreatment was carried out so as to reduce the

concentration of chemical for enhancing paddy straw

digestibility.

Effect of Sodium Sulphite-Microwave Pretreatment on Paddy StrawDigestibility

Urmila Gupta Phutela*, Karamjeet Kaur1 and N.K. Khullar2

School of Energy Studies for Agriculture, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology,1Department of Microbiology, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities,

2Department of Civil Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology,Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India


Abstract: To remove lignin and silica complex of paddy straw, which are the main hindering factors in paddy straw digestibility, sodiumsulphite (different concentrations i.e. 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10%) pretreatments in combination with microwave (30 and 60 min) were applied.Microwave irradiations were found to enhance the paddy straw biodegradability in combination with sodium sulphite. Lignin and silicacontent of pretreated paddy straw decreased by 30.0 and 16.9 per cent, respectively as compared to untreated paddy straw whenpaddy straw was soaked in 10 per cent sodium sulphite for 48 h. Whereas, 48.3 and 15.4 per cent reduction in lignin and silica contentwas found in case of only 4 per cent sodium sulphite pretreatment in combination with microwave (60 minutes).

Key Words: Paddy straw, Ligno-cellulose, Microwave, Sodium-sulphite


Procurement of the materials. Paddy straw was

procured from the research field of Punjab AgriculturalUniversity, Ludhiana. The paddy straw was chopped to 3-5cm and was stored in polythene bags at room temperature.

The chemicals used for chemical pretreatment andproximate analysis were of analytical grade.

Chemical-soaking pretreatment of paddy straw.Solutions of different concentrations (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10%) ofNa2SO3 were poured onto the chopped, washed and driedpaddy straw @ 10 per cent and paddy straw was soaked in

chemical solution for 24 and 48h. After the desired period ofsoaking, the solution was decanted off and paddy strawwas washed with tap water until the washings were clean,

colorless and neutral to the pH paper. The paddy straw wasthen dried overnight in the oven at 100oC, ground and thenused for proximate and chemical analysis i.e., TS, VS, total

sugars, cellulose, hemi-cellulose, lignin and silicadetermination.

Chemical-Microwave pretreatment of paddy straw.Beaker containing paddy straw soaked in solution ofdifferent concentrations of Na2SO3 (as mentioned in theprevious section) was irradiated with microwave (180oC)

for 30 min. The same pretreatment was repeated for 60min also. Pretreated paddy straw was washed with tapwater until the washings were clean, colorless and neutral

to the pH paper. Paddy straw was dried overnight in oven at100oC. Pretreated paddy straw was ground and stored inpolythene bags.


of Ecology

28

A control (untreated paddy straw) was also analyzedsimultaneously along with these pretreatments in order to

determine the extent of degradation of various componentsof paddy straw. All the experiments for proximate andchemical analysis were conducted in triplicates.

Analytical procedures and statistical analysis. Theproximate and chemical analysis of paddy straw i.e. totalsolids (TS), volatile solids (VS), cellulose, hemi-cellulose,

lignin and silica content was done as per standard methods(AOAC, 2000). Total sugars were estimated by Phenol-Sulphuric acid method using glucose as standard (Dubois

et al., 1956). Critical difference (at 5% level) was calculated.


Effect of sodium sulphite-soaking pretreatment onpaddy straw degradation. There was significant decrease

in TS of the paddy straw with the increase in Na2SO3

concentration and soaking period whereas VS content getincreased. A minimum value of TS was obtained at 10%

Na2SO3-48h soaking. Maximum amount of VS was obtainedat 10% Na2SO3-48h soaking. A 27.5 per cent and 31%increase in total sugars was observed at 10% Na2SO3

concentration when paddy straw was soaked for 24h and48h, respectively (Table 1).

Cellulose increased significantly w.r.t. increasing

Na2SO3 concentration but non-significantly w.r.t. soakingperiod. An increase of 3.9 and 4.9 per cent cellulose wasobtained at 10% Na2SO3 for 24 and 48h, respectively as

compared to control (43.1%). Hemi-cellulose increasedsignificantly w.r.t. both the parameters and was maximumat 10% Na2SO3 showing an increase of 7.4 -10.2% than

that of the control (24.4%). There was a significant decreasein lignin concentration reaching a minimum of 4.5% (24hsoaking) and 4.2% (48h soaking) accounting to a decrease

of 25 and 30 per cent, respectively than that of the control(6%). Silica concentration reached a minimum value of 5.7%and 5.4% at 10% Na2SO3-24h soaking and 10% Na2SO3-

48h soaking corresponding to a decrease of 12.3 and 16.9per cent, respectively.

Effect of sodium sulphite-microwave pretreatmenton paddy straw degradation. A decreasing trend in TS andincreasing trend in VS was observed while moving towardshigher Na2SO3 concentration and increasing microwave

duration (Table 2). TS decreased to 95.2 and 94.7 per centin case of 10% Na2SO3-30 and 10% Na2SO3-60 minmicrowave, respectively from 96.4 per cent in control

indicating a decrease of 1.2 and 1.8 per cent. Maximumincrease in VS was observed at 10% Na2SO3. Increase inmicrowave duration from 30 to 60 min did not increase the

VS content of paddy straw significantly. Total sugars werefound to increase significantly from 46.5 mg total sugars/g

PS in the control to 98.7 mg total sugars/g PS at 10%Na2SO3-60 min microwave indicating an increase of 112.3per cent than the control. The increase in sugars could be

due to the degradation of cellulose/hemi-cellulose tofermentable sugars and decrease might be the result ofconversion of these fermentable sugars into furfural or HMF

(Gregg and Saddler, 1996). Reducing sugars increase withthe increasing radiation dose in rice straw, rice hull andcorn husk hydrolyzed with acid (Rosa et al., 1983). In case

of chemical-microwave pretreatment, the increase in totalsugars might be result of supplementation of the microwaveirradiation to the alkali resulting in the cleavage of ß-1, 4

glycosidic bond in the cellulose thereby, releasingfermentable sugars (Ma et al., 2009).

A maximum increase of 10.7 and 12.3 per cent cellulose

was obtained when paddy straw was pretreated with 10%Na2SO3 in combination with microwave for 30 and 60 min,respectively, as compared to the control. Hemi-cellulose

increased significantly to 26.1 and 26.7 per cent at 10%Na2SO3 for the two microwave durations (30 and 60 min)from a control with 24.4 per cent hemi-cellulose. An increase

of 30.6 per cent cellulose and 43.3 per cent hemi-cellulosecontent of paddy straw by microwave pretreatment (680W;24 minutes) has been reported (Ma et al, 2009). Profound

and significant decrease in lignin was found reaching aminimum of 2.3% for 10% Na2SO3-60 min microwave.Oxygen-sodium sulphite pulping method was reported to

be better than conventional alkaline pulping and oxygen-sodium hydroxide pulping with 95 per cent delignificationand high retention of both cellulose and hemi-cellulose

(Park et al., 2000). A reduction of 26.2 and 30.8 per cent insilica content was observed for 10% Na2SO3-30 and 60min microwave, respectively as compared to the untreated

straw.

Microwave irradiations cause acceleration of ions,collision with other molecules, rapid rotation (2450 million

times/sec) of dipoles such as H2O with an alternating electricfield (Banik et al., 2003), which generates sufficient heat forthe solubilization of hindering components such as lignin

(soluble only at high temperatures) and disruption ofsilicified waxy surface and breakdown of lignin-hemicellulose complex (Ma et al., 2009), which make these

irradiations highly suitable for enhancing paddy strawdigestibility.

It is concluded that microwave irradiations reduce the

need of higher concentrations of chemical for pretreatmentpurpose as observed from the current study where 48.3

Urmila Gupta Phutela, Karamjeet Kaur and N.K. Khullar

29

Tab

le 1

. E

ffect

of

sodi

um s

ulph

ite-s

oaki

ng p

retr

eatm

ent

on p

addy

str

aw d

iges

tibili

ty

Pro

xim

ate

and

Unt

reat

edS

oaki

ngN

a 2SO

3 co

ncen

trat

ion

(%)

CD

5%

CD

5%

CD

5%

chem

ical

padd

yp

eri

od

(Na 2S

O3

(Soa

king

(Na 2S

O3 co

nc.

com

posi

tion

ofs

tra

w(h

)co

nc.

)p

eri

od

)X

so

akin

gp

ad

dy

stra

w(c

on

tro

l)p

eri

od

)0

24

68

10

Tota

l sol

ids

96.4

2496

.396

.396

.295

.795

.695

.20.

370.

21N

S

(%)

(↓0.

1)(↓

0.1)

(↓0.

2)(↓

0.7)

(↓0.

8)(↓

1.2)

4896

.296

.195

.895

.495

.395

.1

(↓0.

2)(↓

0.3)

(↓0.

6)(↓

1.0)

(↓1.

1)(↓

1.3)

Vol

atile

sol

ids

89.0

2489

.289

.289

.589

.589

.789

.90.

400.

230.

57

(%)

(↑0.

2)(↑

0.2)

(↑0.

6)(↑

0.6)

(↑0.

8)(↑

1.0)

4889

.389

.489

.689

.789

.990

.1

(↑0.

3)(↑

0.4)

(↑0.

7)(↑

0.8)

(↑1.

0)(↑

1.2)

Tota

l su

gars

46.5

2447

.450

.554

.956

.857

.859

.30.

390.

220.

55

(mg-1

PS

)(↑

1.9)

(↑8.

6)(↑

18.1

)(↑

22.2

)(↑

24.3

)(↑

27.5

)

4847

.252

.655

.458

.559

.260

.9

(↑1.

5)(↑

13.1

)(↑

19.1

)(↑

25.8

)(↑

27.3

)(↑

31.0

)

Cel

lulo

se (

%)

43.1

2443

.243

.643

.944

.144

.444

.80.

32N

SN

S

(↑0.

2)(↑

1.2)

(↑1.

9)(↑

2.3)

(↑3.

0)(↑

3.9)

4843

.343

.744

.044

.244

.745

.2

(↑0.

5)(↑

1.4)

(↑2.

1)(↑

2.6)

(↑3.

7)(↑

4.9)

Hem

i-cel

lulo

se24

.424

24.5

24.5

24.7

25.2

25.5

26.2

0.41

0.24

NS

(%)

(↑0.

4)(↑

0.4)

(↑1.

2)(↑

3.3)

(↑4.

5)(↑

7.4)

4824

.724

.925

.125

.625

.926

.9

(↑1.

2)(↑

2.0)

(↑2.

9)(↑

4.9)

(↑6.

1)(↑

10.2

)

Lign

in (

%)

6.0

246.

46.

15.

35.

24.

94.

50.

380.

22N

S

(↑6.

7)(↑

1.7)

(↓11

.7)

(↓13

.3)

(↓18

.3)

(↓25

.0)

486.

26.

05.

04.

94.

64.

2

(↑3.

3)(0

)(↓

16.7

)(↓

18.3

)(↓

23.3

)(↓

30.0

)

Sili

ca (

%)

6.5

246.

86.

66.

26.

15.

95.

70.

380.

22N

S

(↑4.

6)(↑

1.5)

(↓4.

6)(↓

6.2)

(↓9.

2)(1

2.3

)

486.

76.

45.

85.

75.

65.

4

(↑3.

1)(↓

1.5)

(↓10

.8)

(↓12

.3)

(↓13

.8)

(↓16

.9)

Val

ues

in p

aren

thes

es i

ndic

ate

incr

ease

(↑)

or

decr

ease

(↓)

w.r

.t. u

ntre

ated

pad

dy s

traw

Paddy Straw Digestibility with Sodium Sulphite

30 Urmila Gupta Phutela, Karamjeet Kaur and N.K. Khullar

Tab

le 2

. E

ffect

of

sodi

um s

ulph

ite-m

icro

wav

e pr

etre

atm

ent

on p

addy

str

aw d

iges

tibili

ty

Pro

xim

ate

and

Unt

reat

edM

icro

Na 2S

O3 co

ncen

trat

ion

(%)

CD

CD

CD

chem

ical

padd

yw

av

e(N

a 2SO

3(M

icro

(Na 2S

O3 co

nc.

com

posi

tion

ofs

tra

wdu

ratio

nco

nc.

)w

av

eX

M

icro

pa

dd

y st

raw

(co

ntr

ol)

(min

)d

ura

tion

)w

av

e0

24

68

10d

ura

tion

)

Tota

l so

lids

(%)

96.4

3096

.496

.195

.895

.695

.495

.20.

380.

22N

S

(0)

(↓0.

3)(↓

0.6)

(↓0.

8)(↓

1.0)

(↓1.

2)

6096

.395

.995

.595

.395

.194

.7

(↓0.

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0.5)

(↓0.

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(↓1.

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Vol

atile

sol

ids

(%)

89.0

3089

.289

.389

.489

.689

.990

.10.

37N

SN

S

(↑0.

2)(↑

0.3)

(↑0.

4)(↑

0.7)

(↑1.

0)(↑

1.2)

6089

.389

.489

.689

.890

.090

.2

(↑0.

3)(↑

0.4)

(↑0.

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(↑1.

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Tota

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gars

46.5

3047

.455

.358

.573

.885

.592

.90.

480.

280.

68

(mg-1

PS

)(↑

1.9)

(↑18

.9)

(↑25

.8)

(↑58

.7)

(↑83

.9)

(↑99

.8)

6047

.257

.965

.482

.689

.798

.7

(↑1.

5)(↑

24.5

)(↑

40.6

)(↑

77.6

)(↑

92.9

)(↑

112.

3)

Cel

lulo

se (

%)

43.1

3043

.243

.745

.145

.746

.547

.70.

360.

210.

52

(↑0.

2)(↑

1.4)

(↑4.

6)(↑

6.0)

(↑7.

9)(1

0.7

)

6044

.643

.946

.446

.947

.848

.4

(↑3.

5)(↑

1.9)

(↑7.

7)(↑

8.8)

(↑10

.9)

(↑12

.3)

Hem

i-cel

lulo

se24

.430

24.5

24.5

24.9

25.2

25.6

26.1

0.40

NS

0.57

(%)

(↑0.

4)(↑

0.4)

(↑2.

0)(↑

3.3)

(↑4.

9)(↑

7.0)

6024

.524

.725

.325

.725

.926

.7

(↑0.

4)(↑

1.2)

(↑3.

7)(↑

5.3)

(↑6.

1)(↑

9.4)

Lign

in (

%)

6.0

306.

46.

03.

53.

42.

72.

60.

440.

25N

S

(↑6.

7)(0

)(↓

41.7

)(↓

43.3

)(↓

65.0

)(↓

56.7

)

606.

05.

73.

12.

92.

42.

3

(0)

(↓5.

0)(↓

48.3

)(↓

51.7

)(↓

60.0

)(↓

61.7

)

Sili

ca (

%)

6.5

306.

86.

55.

85.

75.

34.

80.

48N

SN

S

(↑4.

6)(0

)(↓

10.8

)(↓

12.3

)(↓

18.5

)(↓

26.2

)

607.

56.

35.

55.

44.

94.

5

(↑15

.4)

(↓3.

1)(↓

15.4

)(↓

16.9

)(↓

24.6

)(3

0.8

)

Val

ues

in p

aren

thes

es i

ndic

ate

incr

ease

(↑)

or

decr

ease

(↓)

w.r.

t. un

trea

ted

padd

y st

raw

31

and 15.4 per cent decrease in lignin and silica content wasobserved when microwaves are supplemented with only

4% Na2SO3. Whereas, without microwave, 10% Na2SO3 wasneeded to achieve 30.0 and 16.9 per cent reduction in ligninand silica content, respectively.

REFERENCESAOAC (2000) Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Official

Methods of Analysis, 17th Edition, Maryland, USA.

Banik, S., Bandyopadhyay, S. and Ganguly, S. (2003) Bio-effectsof microwave-a brief review. Bioresour. Technol. 87: 155-159.

Dubois, M., Gilles, K.A., Hamilton, J.K., Rebers, P.A. and Smith, F.(1956) Calorimetric method for determination of sugars andrelated substances. Anal. Chem. 28: 350-356.

Gregg, D. and Saddler, J.N. (1996) A techno-economic assessmentof the pretreatment and fractionation steps of a biomass toethanol process. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 57-58: 711-727.

http://www.indiastat.com

Ma, H., Liu, W.W., Chen, X., Wu, Y.J. and Yu, Z.L. (2009) Enhancedenzymatic saccharification of rice straw by microwavepretreatment. Bioresour. Technol. 100: 1279-1284.

Pathak, B.S., Jain, A.K. and Singh, A. (1986) Characteristics ofcrop residues. Agri. Wastes 16: 27-35.

Park, S.Y., Koda, K., Matsumoto, Y., Meshitsuka, G. and Iiyama, K.(2000) Oxygen weak base pulping of rice straw with minimumsilica removal. Japan TAPPI J. 54(9): 1245- 1251.

Rosa, A.M.D., Mines, A.S.D., Banson, R.B. and Nuguid, Z.F.S. (1983)Radiation pretreatment of cellulose for energy production.Radiat. Phys. Chem. 22(3-5): 861-867.

Sun, Y. and Cheng, J. (2002) Hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materialsfor ethanol production: a review. Bioresour. Technol. 83: 1-11.

Paddy Straw Digestibility with Sodium Sulphite

Received 8 July, 2011; Accepted 4 May, 2012

India stands second in the world for production of fruits

and vegetables owing to the remarkable diversity of itsgeographical conditions. The country produces about 50million tonnes of fruits per year but only 2 per cent of this

goes for processing, while over 25 per cent is spoiled dueto improper handling and storage resulting in quantitativeand qualitatively losses (Singh and Goswami, 2006).

Consumers like carrot juice because of its high nutritivevalue, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamin A derived from its high acarotene (b-carotene), b-carotene content, colour, aromatic

compounds and refreshing characteristics (Desobry et al.,1998). A major problem for processing carrot is color lossand requires double pasteurization (Czepa and Hofmann,

2004). Fruits like amla because of its high acidity andastringent taste, is not palatable for direct consumption,but its excellent nutritional and therapeutic values offer

enormous potentiality for processing. Amla is a richestsource of ascorbic acid, an antioxidant (600 mg100g-1),which is said to be the second highest among all the fruits

and a good source of choline, an effective free radicalscavenger (256mg100g-1). It contains 20 times as muchascorbic acid as orange juice. Amla is exception among

fruits as it contains substances, which partially protect theascorbic acid from destruction on heating or drying. As it ishighly acidic, so it protects its ascorbic acid. Blending of

carrot juice with astringent, highly nutritious fruits like amlacan provide health beverages with medicinal andtherapeutic values. The fermented beverage retains

nutrients, and additionally CO2 so produced is anti microbialand adds tangy taste, fizz and sparkle to the beverage. Carrot

Evaluation of Quality Parameters of Low Alcoholic, Self CarbonatedFermented Beverage

P. Sahota, G. Pandove* and T.S. Dhillion1

Department of Microbiology, 1Department of Vegetable Crops,Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India


Abstract: A pure yeast isolate from whey beverage, phenotypically characterized and D1/D2 domain of 26S rRNA and Internal TranscribedSpacer (ITS) region sequenced, was identified as Clavispora lusitaniae. A technology to produce low alcoholic self carbonated beveragewith this yeast was developed. It is a reliable, controllable, reproducible technology to safeguard interest of horticulturists during seasonalglut of the fruits. The freshly prepared fermented carrot-amla (Emblica officinalis) beverage (1:1) had TSS 16°B, pH 3.5, acidity 0.36 percent, brix acid ratio 44.44, ethanol 0.3 per cent,CO2 0.9 bar and viable cell count was 1.5x107 cfu ml-1. Physico-chemical changes recordedafter three months of storage at refrigerated temperature revealed TSS 11°B, pH 3.3, Brix acid ratio 25, acidity 0.44 per cent, ethanol 1.0per cent, CO2 1.5 (bar) and viable cell count (cfu ml-1) was 9.5x108 cfu ml-1. CO2 so produced is antimicrobial, adds effervescence sparkle,tangy taste to the beverage. On the basis of organoleptic evaluation, the beverage was adjudged the best with highest sensory qualityand shelf life of three months

Key Words: Beverage, Low alcoholic, Self carbonated, Yeast

and amla are available for short span of time in a year and

result in seasonal glut. To make them available throughoutthe year, the present study was conducted with objective todevelop a reliable, controllable, reproducible technology for

the production of low alcoholic self carbonated beveragewith shelf-life of three months.


Physiological, biochemical and molecularcharacterization of yeast isolate. Feta cheese was

prepared by inoculating starter mesophilic culture

(CHOOZIT 230, Bulk cultures, Danisco, Germany) containing

Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactococcus lactissubsp. cremoris and thermophilic yoghurt culture (YO-MIX

532, Bulk cultures, Danisco, Germany) containing

Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbruckiisubsp. bulgaricus. The whey so obtained was used for

beverage making. A total of ten morphologically identical

yeast colonies were screened, isolated from whey beverage

which on streak purification revealed one distinct colony

type, initially designated as 84. Identification of the yeast

isolate determined on the basis of biochemical activities

included fermentation of sugars, assimilation of carbon

compounds, growth on vitamin free medium, growth at 25°C,

30°C, 35°C, 37°C and 42°C, growth in 50 per cent and 60

per cent D-glucose medium, urea hydrolysis and 0.01 per

cent and 0.1 per cent cycloheximide (Van der Walt and

Yarrow, 1984).The yeast isolate 84 was further identified

phenotypically and by sequencing based on partial ITS2region of the rDNA sequence. Genomic DNA was isolated


of Ecology

33

from pure culture (Sambrook et al. 2001). Using consensusprimers, D1/D2 domain of 26S rRNA, ITS-1 and 2 region

fragment (0.4 Kb) was amplified using high fidelity Taqpolymerase (Hi-Media). The PCR product was cloned in topTZ57R/T vector as per manufacturer’s instruction

(Fermentas, USA) and plasmid DNA was bi-directionallysequenced using the forward, reverse and an internalprimer. Sequence data was aligned and analyzed for finding

the closest homology for the microbe. The MEGA 4.0 package(Tamura et al., 2007) was used for all analyses.

Screening of yeast isolates for potential offermentation of fruit juices. Screening of yeast isolates forpotential of fermentation of fruit juices was carried out byinoculating the yeast isolate 84 in amla juice (procured from

the Deptt. of Horticulture, Punjab Agricultural University,Ludhiana). The inoculum for low-alcoholic self carbonatedbeverage was prepared in boiled fruit juice. Brix adjusted to

16°B with boiled and cooled sucrose solution. A loopful of24 h old yeast culture was transferred to 100 ml fruit juice in250 ml Erlenmeyer flask and incubated at 20±5°C for 24

hrs to achieve concentration 107-108 cells ml-1. Studies onfermentation potential of yeast isolates in fruit juice wasdone in one litre glass bottles each containing 750 ml juice

(16°B), inoculated @ 0.5 per cent and incubated at 20±5°C.The bottles were analyzed for ethanol and carbon dioxide(bar) production after 36 h at 20±5°C temperature.

Fruits and extraction of juices. Carrot var. PC-34 wasprocured from the Department of Vegetable crops, PAU,Ludhiana. Amla var. Chaikya was obtained from Department

of Horticulture, PAU, Ludhiana. Healthy fruits and vegetableswere washed with chlorinated water and peeled. Carrotjuice was extracted aseptically and in hygienic conditions

using Electronic juicer (INALSA), where as amla waspassed through screw type extractor to extract juice.Extracted juice was filtered through muslin cloth

Preparation of sugar solution. The granulated sucroseprocured from local market of Ludhiana city, was boiled inequal water (500g 100 litre-1) for 5 min and then cooled to

room temperature to prepare sugar solution.

Physico-chemical analysis of carrot and amla.Physico-chemical analysis of Carrot and amla juice was

done, TSS (°B), pH, acidity (%), Brix-acid ratio, total sugar(%), reducing sugar (%), ascorbic acid (mg 100 ml-1), totalcarotenoids (mg 100ml-1), juice recovery kg-1. Carrot and

amla juices were mixed in the ratio of 3:1, 1:1 and 1:3.Blended juice was diluted in the ratio of 1:2 with water.Diluted juice was pasteurized at 82°C for 15 secs, cooledand brix adjusted to 16°B by adding sugar solution followedby culture @ 0.5 per cent. It was incubated for 36 hrs at

20±5°C. The beverage was refrigerated for 24 h, siphoned,bottled and stored in refrigerated conditions.

Chemical Analysis. The pH of the juice wasdetermined using a digital pH meter (Electronic Corporarionof India Ltd., Hyderabad, type 101). Total acidity expressed

as per cent anhydrous citric acid by titration againststandardized 0.1N NaOH (AOAC, 1980). Per cent totalsoluble solids (%TSS) determined by using Erma hand

refractometer of 0-32°B (UNICO make). Total sugarsestimated by phenol-sulphuric acid method of Dubois et al.(1956) using glucose as standard. Reducing sugars

estimated by the method of Miller (1959). Ascorbic acidwas determined by titrametric method using 2, 6-dichlorophenol indophenol dye (AOVC, 1996). Per cent

ethanol in beverage was estimated by theSpectrophotometric method. Higher alcohols, aldehyde andethyl acetate in beverage were estimated by GC Headspace

Injection, TR wax Column, Detection by FID [PunjabBiotechnology Incubator, Phase-V, SAS Nagar (Mohali),Punjab, India]. Carbon dioxide volumes in beverage bottles

were determined by Zahm and Nagel piercing device.Sensory evaluation of beverage was carried out using nine-point hedonic scale (Amerine et al., 1965).

Statistical analysis was done by using GSTATO4 andCPCS1 software developed by Maths, Statistics and PhysicsDepartment, PAU, Ludhiana.


Physiological and biochemical characterization.Preliminary identification was attempted using classicaltechniques involving physiological and biochemical tests.

After three days of growth in glucose yeast extract (GYE)broth at 25°C, cells of yeast isolates 84 were mostly elliptical(5.1 x 6.5μm and 5.3 x 6.7μm).The colony morphology of the

isolate on solid media exhibited viscous texture with off-white colouration and matt appearances, the shape of thecolonies were considerably distinct. After four weeks on

GYE agar, 84 colonies were off-white, butyrous, dull, waxy,and had convex to umbonate elevations. The results of thecarbon assimilation and the fermentation tests showed that

the yeast isolate 84 was able to ferment D-glucose, D-xyloseand raffinose while assimilate D-galactose, L-sorbose, D-glucosamine, D-ribose, D-xylose, L-arabinose, sucrose,

maltose, Alpha, alpha-trehalose, Me alpha-D-glucoside,melezitose, glycerol, ribotol, D-glucitol, D-mannitol, D-glucono-1,5-lactone, 2-keto-D-gluconate, D-gluconate, DL-

lactate, succinate, citrate and ethanol. Isolate 84 had anidentical physiological and biochemical profile toDebaromyces hansenii except that 84 were unable to

Quality Parameters of Low Alcoholic, Self Carbonated Fermented Beverage

34

metabolize soluble starch, ethylamine, L-lysine, andcadaverine. Similarly, isolate 84 was able to grow at

temperatures up to 42°C; in high osmotic pressureconditions (50 % glucose); exhibited a negative starch test;was resistant to 1000 ppm cycloheximide; and was not

able to grow in vitamin-free media. On the basis ofphysiological, biochemical, nucleotide homology (Table 1)and phylogenetic analysis (Fig.1), the isolate 84 was

detected to be Clavispora lusitaniae and was deposited inGenBank of NCBI under accession number: EF221824.Nearest homologous genus and species of isolate 84 was

found to be Candida flosculorum (Accession No. EF137918).

Screening of yeast isolates for fermentation ondifferent juices for preparation of low-alcoholic naturallycarbonated beverage. C. lusitaniae EF221824 was usedfor carrying out fermentation on amla juice. Yeast isolate C.lusitaniae EF568047 showed the potential to produce low

alcohol and carbonation in amla juice with carbonation of0.9 bars and ethanol concentration of 0.4 per cent. Sobeverage was prepared using C. lusitaniae EF568047

under standardized condition. Markides (1986) reported thatyeasts ferment the sugar to alcohol and producing CO2 asthe by-product having the bottle pressure of about 500-600

KPa (5-6 atmospheres) at 10°C; after the completion of

Table 1. Percentage homologies of yeast isolate 84 based on nucleotide sequence

Isolates Percentage homology

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

84 (1) * 100 100 100 98 99 95 96 82 99 77

EF221824 (2) * 100 100 98 99 95 96 82 99 77

EF568047 (3) * 100 98 99 95 96 82 99 77

EF568024 (4) * 98 99 95 96 82 99 77

AYI74102 (5) * 98 95 96 82 98 77

A Y 493434 (6) * 94 95 81 98 77

EU568925 (7) * 93 80 98 76

A Y321464 (8) * 80 96 77

EF137918 (9) * 81 78

A Y321465 (10) * 77

EF060724 (11) *

Fig. 1. Phylogenetic tree of yeast isolate 84 (using neighbor joining method)

P. Sahota, G. Pandove and T.S. Dhillion

35

secondary fermentation and for each 100 KPa of pressurerise, approximately 4g l-1 of sugar was required.

Technology for preparation of low-alcoholic selfcarbonated beverage under optimized conditions offermentation. Low alcoholic self carbonated beverage was

prepared from carrot and amla juice blend under optimizedconditions of inoculum concentration (0.5%), incubationtemp (20±5°C), incubation time (36h) and TSS (16oB). Low

alcoholic self carbonated beverage is fresh, safe, stablemore natural minimally processed, free from additivescontaminants, adulterants and harmful pathogenic bacteria.

Preparation of low-alcoholic self carbonatedbeverage from carrot and amla blend. The acceptability ofbeverages is very much dependent on its physico-chemical

and organoleptic properties like color, appearance, texture,and aroma. There were not significant changes in physico-chemical characteristics that impart flavour and aroma to

the beverages during pasteurization and storage. Thestability of fruit-based beverages is also influenced by thetype of fruit juice used in their formulation (Deak et al., 1986).

Physico-chemical composition of carrot and amlajuice. The physico-chemical composition of carrot juice wasevaluated on the basis of chemical analysis. The physico-

chemical characteristics of PC-34 carrot variety was TSS8.5°B, per cent titrable acidity 0.25, pH 7.1, Brix-acid ratio34, total sugars 2.4 per cent, reducing sugars 1.97 per cent,

total carotenoids 204 mg 100ml-1 and juice yield 48.4 percent. The physico-chemical characteristics of amla varietyChaikya was TSS 6.0°B, per cent titrable acidity 3.20, pH

2.53, Brix-acid ratio 1.87, total sugars 2.17 per cent, reducingsugars 2.0 per cent, ascorbic acid 204 mg 100ml-1 andjuice yield 44.0 per cent.

Standardization of carrot-amla beverage for shelf lifestudy. The beverage has been rated as liked very much

during sensory evaluation due to its effervescence,

improved tangy taste, color, appearance, texture, and aroma

as well as enriched with the nutrients and typical flavour of

the fruits. As compared to fruit juices the formulation of low

alcoholic self carbonated beverage offers more variety of

flavour, nutrients, long shelf life and other physiological

benefits with greater margin of safety in a fermented drink.

The fermentation conditions and technology is simple and

can be adopted at small and pilot scale. Carrot-amla (3:1,

1:1 and 1:3) beverages were analyzed by panelists for

sensory scores (Table 2). Blended carrot beverage is pale

yellow in color and not red as expected by consumer

because of settling of red pigment. The blended beverages

did not show significant difference in color, appearance,

taste but differed significantly with respect to for texture,

aroma and overall acceptability. Blended beverage from

carrot-amla (1:1) scored highest for texture (7.5), taste (7.7)

and overall acceptability (7.7).

Shelf-life studies (Effect of fermentation onphysicochemical properties of carrot: amla beverage).Shelf-life of low alcoholic self carbonated carrot-amla (1:1)

blended beverage stored at refrigerated temperature was

studied and evaluated fortnightly for organoleptic,

biochemical and microbiological qualities.

The results of carrot: amla beverage (1:1) show

significant decrease in brix from 16.0 to 11.0 and Brix acid

ratio from 44.44 to 25 (Table 3). Under anaerobic conditions

and at high glucose concentration, the pyruvate formed in

glycolysis is decarboxylated to acetaldehyde, which is then

reduced to ethanol. The pH of the beverage decreased from

3.5 to 3.3 and acidity increased from 0.36 to 0.44 during

fermentation. The decrease in pH and increase in aciditywas non-significant. This is due to buffering action of juices.

These results are in accordance with Aruna et al. (1992)

Table 2. Effect of blending on sensory attributes* of low alcoholic self carbonated beverages

Sensory attributes A B C F-ratio CD at 5%

Color 7.0+0.10 7.3+0.98 7.2+0.84 0.13 NS NS

Appearance 6.6+0.89 7.2+0.45 7.2+0.45 1.50 NS NS

Texture 6.6+0.55 7.5+0.50 7.3+0.45 4.47 0.69

Taste 6.6+0.55 7.5+0.50 7.3+0.45 1.90 NS NS

Aroma 6.6+0.89 7.7+0.45 6.6+0.55 4.65 0.91

Overall acceptability 6.6+0.89 7.7+0.45 6.6+0.55 4.65 0.91

*On a 9 point hedonic scale, 9=liked extremely,1= disliked extremely, values are mean+SD, NS=non Significant, Mean value of fivepanelistsA-Carrot: Amla (3:1)B- Carrot: Amla (1:1)C- Carrot: Amla (1:3)


36

Table 3. Effect of storage on low alcoholic self carbonated carrot:amla (1:1) blended beverage

Carrot: amla (1:1) Fresh 15days 30days 45days 60days 75days 90days CD at 5%

(p= 0.05)

Physico-chemical properties

TSS (oB) 16.00 16.00 15.85 15.10 14.25 13.20 11.00 0.35

pH 3.50 3.50 3.40 3.40 3.40 3.30 3.30 NS

Acidity (%) 0.36 0.36 0.37 0.41 0.42 0.43 0.44 NS

Brix acid ratio 44.44 44.44 42.89 36.82 33.92 30.70 25.00 0.85

Alcohol (w/v) 0.30 0.40 0.60 0.70 0.70 0.80 1.00 NS

CO2 (bar) 0.90 0.90 0.90 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.50 NS

Total plate count 1.5x107 3.5x107 4.0x107 4.5x107 6.5x107 8.0x108 9.5x108 0.35

(cfu ml-1)

Organoleptic properties

Color 8.0+0.50 8.2+0.45 8.1+022 8.1+022 7.9+0.22 7.8+0.45 7.8+0.45 NS

Appearance 8.1+0.22 8.0+0.50 8.0+0.50 8.1+0.22 7.9+0.22 8.0+0.50 7.9+0.22 NS

Texture 7.8+0.84 7.7+0.45 7.9+0.22 7.8+0.45 7.8+045 7.7+045 7.7+0.45 NS

Taste 8.2+0.84 8.1+0.22 8.1+0.22 7.9+0.22 7.7+0.45 7.8+0.45 7.9+0.22 NS

Aroma 7.8+0.84 7.7+0.45 7.6+0.55 7.8+0.45 7.8+0.45 7.9+0.22 7.9+0.22 NS

Overall acceptability 7.8+0.84 7.7+0.45 7.9+0.22 7.8+0.45 7.8+0.45 7.9+0.22 7.6+0.55 NS

NS: Non-significant

who observed that during storage, total soluble solid, andpH decreased while acidity increased. Babajide et al. (2002)also reported decrease in pH and increase in acidity during

storage of low-alcoholic beverage made from millet grain.Ezeronye (2005) observed decrease in Brix from 20°B to6°B during fermentation. Ilamaran and Amutha (2007)

reported gradual decrease in BAR content of carbonatedbanana beverage during storage. The ethanol after 15 dayswas 0.40 per cent and gradually increased to 0.70% v/v

after 60 days and reached up to 1.0 per cent after 90 days.Higher alcohol like propanol, butanol, isopropanol andacetaldehyde and ethyl acetate was absent in beverage

after 90 days of storage. The CO2 pressure of freshbeverage was 0.90 bar that increased to 1.5 bar at the endof 90 days. Viable cell count increased from 1.5x107-9.5x108

cfu ml-1. During fermentation CO2, alcohol and glycerolproduced is proportional to the amount of sugar fermented.The yeast strain produce large amount of glycerol at the

expense of ethanol represent an advantageous alternativefor development of beverages with low ethanol contentsversus physical processes which alter the organoleptic

properties of the final product. Kumar (1997) found thatcarbonated pure mandarin juice beverage at 100 psipressure of carbonation, the best, similarly low alcoholic

self carbonated beverage from carrot: amla (1:1) has beenadjudged the best with sensory scores ranges from likedvery much to moderately liked with shelf life of three months

as carbonation enhances the sensory quality of beveragepartly due to increased acidity, sparkle and unique fizz.

The alarming wastage associated with carrot and amla(Emblica officinalis) coupled with its low level of industrialutilization in the developing countries calls for a great

concern. The nutritional and therapeutic value of amla(Emblica officinalis) and carrot can be tapped by processingthem into value added fermented product (low alcoholic

self carbonated beverage) with retention of nutritionalproperties, highest sensory qualities and shelf life of threemonths

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors acknowledged the financial assistanceprovided by University Grants Commission (UGC), NewDelhi, India for support of the project entitled “Preparation

of non-alcoholic naturally carbonated beverage from fruitjuices”.

REFERENCESAmerine M. A., Pangborn R. M., Roessler E. B. (1965) Principles of

Sensory Evaluation of Food. Academic press , London.

AOAC (1980) Official Methods of Analysis. Association of OfficialAnalytical Chemists, 13th ed., Washington, DC, USA.

AOVC (1996) Methods of Vitamin Assay. Association of VitaminChemists Inc. (Ed.) Interscience Publishers, pp.306-312.

Aruna-seralthan, M., Malathi, D. and Susheela-Thirumaran, A.(1992) Preparation of carrot based ready to serve beverage.S. Indian Hort. 40: 41-52.

Babajide, J. M., Atanda, O. O. and Idown, M. A.(2002) Microbial andsensory quality of freshly processed and reconstituted“Kununzaki” – A Nigerian Mille based beverage. J. FoodTechnol. 7: 65-67.

P. Sahota, G. Pandove and T.S. Dhillion

37

Czepa, A. and Hofmann, T. (2004) Structural and sensorycharacterization of compound contributing to bitter taste ofcarrots and carrot puree. J. Agri. Food Chem. 51: 3865–3875.

Deak, T., Tabajdi-Pinter and Fabri, I. (1986) Baseline counts of yeastsin soft drinks. In: A.D King, Jr., J .I Pitt, L. R. Beuchat, J. E. L.Corry Methods for the Mycological Examination of Food (eds)Plenum Press, New York, pp.188-189.

Desobry, S. A., Netro, F. M. and Labaza, T. P. (1998) Preservation ofâ-carotene from carrots. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutrition. 38:381-396.

Dubois, M., Gills, K. A., Hamilton, J. K., Roberts, P. A. and Smith, F.(1956) Colorimetric method for determination of sugars andrelated substances. Anal. Chem. 28: 350-356.

Ezeronye, O. V. (2005) Nutrient utilization profile of Saccharomycescerevisiae from palm wine in tropical fruit fermentation. Antonievan Leeuwenhoek 86: 235-239.

Ilamaran, M. and Amutha, S. (2007) Effect of total soluble solidsand CO

2 pressure on physico-chemical and sensory qualities

of carbonated banana and sapota beverages. J. Food Sci.Technol. 44:178-182.

Kumar, S. (1997) Standardization of technology and evaluation of

carbonated citrus fruit juices and their blends with syntheticbeverage. M. Sc. Thesis, Dr. Y. S. Parmar University ofHorticulture & Forestry, Nauni-Solan, (HP), India.

Markides, A. J. (1986) The microbiology of methode Champenoise.In: Proceedings of 6th Australian Wine Industry TechnicalConference, Adelaide, 14-17, 1986. Australian IndustrialPublishers, Adelaide, pp 232-236.

Miller, G. L. (1959) Use of Dinitrosalicylic acid reagent fordetermination of reducing sugar. Anal. Chem. 31: 426-428.

Sambrook, J., Maccallum, P. and Russell, D. (2001) MolecularCloning: A Laboratory Manual. 3rd ed. Cold Spring HarborPress, NY, 2344 p.

Singh, A. K. and Goswami, T. K. (2006) Controlled atmospherestorage of fruits and vegetables: A review. J. Food Sci.Technol. 43: 1-7.

Tamura, K. D., Nei, J. M. and Kumar, S. (2007) MEGA4, molecularevolutionary genetics analysis (MEGA) software version 4.0.Mol. Biol. Evol. 24: 1596–1599.

Van der Walt, J. P. and Yarrow, D. (1984) Methods for the isolation,maintenance, classification and identification of yeasts. In: N.J. W. Kreger-van Rij (Ed.). The Yeasts: A Taxonomie Study.Elsevier Science Publishers.

Received 4 March, 2011; Accepted 4 November, 2011


Lichens are among the most frequently used indicatorsof atmospheric pollution in the last couple of decades dueto their sensitivity towards atmospheric pollutants in theform of oxides and other hazardous pollutants. Important

factors behind the high sensitivity of lichens are the absenceof a protective cuticle that lead to the direct exposure ofthallus surface to atmosphere and rather unspecific uptake

of mineral nutrients from the surrounding environment. Pulpand paper mills are considered as one of most pollutedindustries in India. SO2 and NOx are two major air pollutants

emitted from pulp and paper mills along with some otherpollutants. Impacts of the polluted environment upon lichenshave been observed from morphological changes to

community structure changes (Gries, 1996). It has beenobserved that air pollution leads to a reduction of thallussize and frequency of lichens, and sometimes even to the

complete loss of sensitive species (Zambrano et al., 2000;Brodo, 1966). Ultra structural changes in lichens due toSO2 and NOx consequently develop physiological changes,

which may affect the dispersal mechanism throughreduction in abundance and species richness (Nash andGries, 2002), changes in frequency and coverage (LeBlanc

et al., 1974), directing the overall lichen community structure.The changes in frequency, coverage, abundance, numberof lichen individuals, and richness in terms of species,

genera, and family can therefore be considered importantparameters to study the impact of pollution on surroundinglichens. In other words, the spatial pattern of lichens in

such community can be deciphered by studying these

Impact of a Paper Mill on Surrounding Epiphytic Lichen CommunitiesUsing Multivariate Analysis

Pulak Das*, Santosh Joshi1, Jayashree Rout and D.K. Upreti1

Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar, Assam–788 011, India1Lichenology Laboratory, Plant Biodiversity and Conservation Biology Division,

CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow (UP)–226 001, India*E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: The present study analyses the effect of a paper mill on epiphytic lichen communities in Barak Valley, Assam, India. Lichenthallus size, thallus number and frequency of occurrence, along with diversity of lichens at three levels (species, generic, and family) areconsidered as variables to see the community composition across the distance from a paper mill. Number of lichen thallus per tree in studyarea ranged from 3 to 16, while thallus area per tree varied from 20 cm2 to 256.48 cm2. Number of species showed high positive correlationwith number of genera, families, thalli and thallus area. Number of thalli showed high positive correlation with area covered, number ofthallus, and thallus area per tree. Distance from the paper mill exhibited no significant correlation with either variable. Multivariate analysisshowed two major groups and two subgroups of communities. Sites which are more polluted showed a decrease in the communityvariables. Fifteen out of seventeen sites were most affected ones. Epiphytic lichen community study thus can be used to study levels ofpollution impact around a source of pollution.

Key Words: Epiphytic lichen community, Paper mill, Pollution, Cluster analysis

parameters. Considering these, the present study aims toassess the role of industrial point source pollution in thereformation of epiphytic lichen communities around a papermill in Barak Valley by studying above mentioned variables

and delineating the areas which are most affected.


The study was conducted around Cachar Paper Mill(Fig.1) in Panchgram in Barak Valley of Assam state in north

east India, which is a unit of Hindustan Paper CorporationLimited (HPCL). It uses almost 2,00,000 Bone dry metrictons (BDMT) of bamboo annually for the production of

1,00,000 metric tons (MT) of paper. The data on epiphyticlichens were collected at seventeen sites randomly selectedfrom the geographical map of the area (Fig. 1) within 25 km

radius around the paper mill covering an area of around1800 km2 and spanning between the dimensions 92°22 –92°53 E longitude and 24°42 – 24°59 N latitude. Kalinagar

is the nearest site at 2.4 km and Jalalpur is the farthest siteat 24 km towards east and north-west of the mill,respectively (Fig. 2). Lichens are collected following Insarov

(2010) from the model tree Artocarpus heterophyllus,growing abundantly around the study area. A group of modeltrees (five trees in the present case) belonging to A.heterophyllus, located close to each other, forms thesampling plot (or site). Seventeen sampling plots (Fig. 2)are randomly selected in the present study. At each

sampling plot, trees exposed to more or less similarconditions of light, temperature, and humidity and trees with


of Ecology

39

Fig. 1. Location of Cachar paper mill in Barak Valley, Assam

Fig. 2. Locations of the seventeen study sites (plots) around the paper mill

Site Nos.: 1-Gumra, 2-Dumkur, 3-Baroital, 4-Mohanpur, 5-Elongjuri, 6-Umarpur, 7-Bhanga, 8-Devendranagar, 9-Bornogod, 10-Lokhirbond, 11-Uttarkanchanpur, 12-Kalinagar, 13-Ghagrapar, 14-Sangjurai, 15-Udharbond, 16-Jalalpur, 17-Kaliganj

Paper Mill and Lichen Communities

40

similar diameter at breast height (DBH) were selected. Allspecies of lichens present on trunks of the trees up to a

height of 2 m from the base were collected and enlisted.The lichen samples were collected on completion of rainyseason between September to November 2005.

The specimens were studied and identified up tospecies level after following the protocols given by Awasthi(2007), Walker and James (1980) and Orange et al. (2001).

Total numbers of lichen species, individuals within aspecies, thallus (coverage) area per individual and totalcoverage of lichens were calculated for each model tree

and subsequent calculations were done. Cluster analysisis done using software STATISTICA.


The present work revealed the occurrence of 53

species of lichens consisting of 13 families and 23 genera.Average number of species, genera, and families per plot(consisting five trees) are 13.59, 9.24, and 6.47, respectively

(Table 1). Average values for total number of thallus pertree, total number of thallus per plot, thallus area per tree,thallus area per plot, and mean frequency of occurrence

per plot are 6.66, 219.59, 112.02, 3277.01 cm2 and 38.16per cent, respectively (Table 1). Out of the total species, fiveare foliose and remaining forty-eight are crustose lichens

in growth form. The foliose lichens Dirinaria aegialita,Pyxine cocoes, Parmotrema saccatilobum, Physcia dilatataand Phyllopsora corallina are found respectively at site

numbers 13, 6, 4, 2, and 1. Among foliose lichens, the largestindividual thallus area and thallus area per tree, both areexhibited by Pyxine cocoes at Udharbond (Table 2). Dirinariaaegialita exhibited the maximum number of thalli atUttarkanchanpur. The crustose lichens attainedcomparatively much larger growth of a single thallus than

foliose lichens. The largest area of a single crustose thallusis observed to be 146.9 cm2 (Graphis capillaceae), whereas,largest thallus area per tree is exhibited by G. subasahinae(Table 2). G. inamoena is found to have the highest total

number of thallus per tree (Table 2). Mean frequencies forall lichen species at any particular site ranged from 24.44

per cent at Udharbond (23.3 km) to 51.67 per cent at Bhanga(11.3 km). The family Graphidaceae dominates the sitesand represents maximum number of species belonging to

the genus Graphis. Arthopyreniaceae, Opegraphaceae,Chrysothricaceae, Parmeliaceae, Biatoraceae, andTricotheliaceae families have only single representation of

species. The total number of species per plot shows highpositive correlation with number of individuals (r = 0.52, p <0.05) and area covered by lichens per plot (r = 0.64, p <

0.05). Number of thalli per plot is strongly correlated witharea covered per plot (r = 0.83, p < 0.05) (Table 3). Clusteranalysis is performed on the basis of six variables: i)

species, ii) genus, iii) family, iv) number of thallus, v) areaper plot, and vi) frequency (Fig. 3). The analysisdemonstrates two major groups and two subgroups among

sites (or plots) on the basis of above mentioned variables.All sites belong to group A except 16 and 14, which lie inGroup B. Subgroup A1 consists of sites – 2, 9, 10, 13, 3, 15,

8, 12, 5, 11, 6, and 7 and subgroup A2 consists of sites – 1,17, and 4. Average area (cm2) covered by lichens increasedas follows: subgroup A1 (1551.08) < subgroup A2 (5240) <

group B (10688.16). Average of total number of individuals,species and genera also increased in a similar way fromsubgroup A1 to group B. Average of frequency and families

also increased from group A to group B although in groupA2 there was a little discrepancy.

SO2 and Nitrogen compounds are found to adversely

affect lichens near paper mills (Holopainen, 1983). In thepresent study ,although paper mill is observed to be themost significant source of air pollution, but the impact of

some other noticeable sources such as stone crushers(site 15) and urban areas (sites 5 and 10) cannot beignored. Site 16 and site 14 (top left and middle right

quadrant, Fig. 2) on the other hand represents areascomparatively rich in terms of vegetation away from anypollution source and hence can be assumed comparatively

Table 1. Range and average of lichen community variables around the paper mill

Minimum (Site) Maximum (Site) Average

Species (number) 5 (Site 12) 24 (Site 14) 13.59

Genus (number) 3 (Site 12) 15 (Site 14) 9.24

Family (number) 2 (Site 12) 10 (Site 14) 6.47

Number of thallus per tree 3 (Site 3) 16(Site 16) 6.66

Number of thallus per plot 54 (Site 8) 894 (Site 16) 219.59

Thallus area (cm2) per tree 20 (Site 8) 256.48 (Site 16) 112.02

Thallus area (cm2) per plot 340 (Site 8) 10772.3 (Site 16) 3277

Mean frequency of occurrence per plot (%) 24.44 (Site 15) 51.67 (Site 7) 38.16

Pulak Das, Santosh Joshi, Jayashree Rout and D.K. Upreti

41

Table 3. Correlation between different community variables. Bold values are significantly correlated (p<0.05)

Distance Number of Number of Number of Number of Area Mean

from the species genera families individual covered frequency

pollution per plot per plot per plot per plot per plot per plot

source

Distance from the pollution source 1.00

Number of species per plot 0.22 1.00

Number of genera per plot 0.19 0.92 1.00

Number of families per plot 0.17 0.76 0.89 1.00

Number of individual per plot 0.33 0.52 0.35 0.03 1.00

Area covered per plot 0.31 0.64 0.56 0.34 0.83 1.00

Mean frequency per plot 0.21 0.15 0.11 0.11 0.38 0.31 1.00

Table 2. Highest values of thallus area and numbers of foliose and crustose species found in the study area

Species Site (no.) Distance (km)

FOLIOSE GROWTH FORM

Highest area (cm2) per thallus

Dirinaria aegialita 6.2 Gumra (1) 16.9

Pyxine cocoes 12.54 Udharbond (15) 23.3

Parmotrema saccatilobum 3.25 Bornogod (9) 12.1

Physcia dilatata 1.46 Sangjurai (14) 8.8

Phyllopsora corallina 4.52 Devendranagar (8) 5.6

Highest thallus area (cm2) per tree

Dirinaria aegialita 105.88 Uttarkanchanpur (1) 4.8

Pyxine cocoes 439 Udharbond (15) 23.3

Parmotrema saccatilobum 8.67 Bornogod (9) 12.1

Physcia dilatata 14.63 Sangjurai (14) 8.4

Phyllopsora corallina 117.5 Devendranagar (8) 5.6

Highest total number of thallus per tree

Dirinaria aegialita 51 Uttarkanchanpur (11) 4.8

Pyxine cocoes 35 Udharbond (15) 23.3

Parmotrema saccatilobum 4 Dumkur (2) 16.1

Physcia dilatata 10 Sangjurai (14) 8.8

Phyllopsora corallina 26 Devendranagar (8) 5.6

CRUSTOSE GROWTH FORM

Highest area (cm2) per thallus

Graphis capillaceae 146.9 Gumra (1) 16.9

Highest thallus area (cm2) per tree

Graphis subasahinae 1624.6 Sangjurai (14) 8.4

Highest total number of thallus per tree

Graphis inamoena 54.7 Jalalpur (16) 24.1

cleaner. Both the areas are amidst hillock; former being apart of tea garden near Jalalpur and the latter belongs toSrikona region. The distance from the mill is not showing

statistically significant relationship with either of the variable,which declines its significance in role as factor in the overallvariation; the topography of the region and other sources of

pollution besides the paper mill could be held responsiblefor the same. High positive correlation between species

richness and thallus area per plot is consistent with theresults found by Cáceres et al. (2007). Although in the presentstudy species richness is not significantly correlated with

the thallus area per tree, some authors like Löbel and Rydin(2009) believes that a general decrease in epiphyte covercould lead to a decrease in species richness. In the present

study, the area coverage is increasing on increasing thenumber of thallus in other trees within a plot. The community


42

structure of different lichen species up to some extent can

be attributed to the dispersal behaviour of the lichen

species. Öckinger et al. (2005) showed that the dispersal-

restricted species is favoured by increasing habitat patch

area and connectivity between nearby patches, while a

habitat-restricted species tend to create new patches and

increase habitat quality in persisting patches. However, in

the present study numbers of lichen thallus per tree have

significant positive correlation with thallus area per tree,

which intended to a peculiar strategy adapted by lichens in

the study area having characteristics of both dispersal-

restricted species and habitat-restricted species. As new

patches are created, their patch area is also increasing. No

correlation was found between thallus area and frequency

as is found in some studies (Cáceres et al., 2007). Groups

A and B reflects polluted and clean air regions respectively

while subgroups A1 and A2 indicate comparatively more

polluted and less polluted regions, respectively. All the major

polluted sites (urban, minor and major industry) lies within

Subgroup A1 while all cleaner areas (hilly vegetated areas)are situated within Group B. Species of group A are rare and

characterize by least coverage, number of individuals, and

frequency, so they can be considered as highly pollutionsensitive species. The species of group B, which are rarebut show highest level of area coverage and number of

individuals can be considered as highly tolerant.

The present study helps in understanding thecommunity structure of lichens in and around a potential

pollution source and throws light on their adaptivestrategies in response to pollution. Lichens exhibit twomajor groups having different ranges of community

variables. Fifteen sites (88.2%) (Group A) seems to bepolluted, out of which 12 sites (70.6%) (Subgroup A1) arehighly polluted in the region. Lichen community pattern

hence can be used as potential bio-indicator to measurethe impact of pollution on surrounding lichens.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors kindly acknowledge the Head, Department

of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University,Silchar, and Director, CSIR-National Botanical ResearchInstitute, Lucknow for providing laboratory facilities.

Fig.3. Cluster analysis of seventeen sites on the basis of thallus area, number of thallus, frequency and lichen richness at species,genus and family levels,

Pulak Das, Santosh Joshi, Jayashree Rout and D.K. Upreti

43

REFERENCEAwasthi, D.D. (2007) A Compendium of the Macrolichens from

India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh,Dehra Dun, India.

Brodo, I. M. (1996) Lichen growth and cities: A study on LongIsland, New York. The Bryologist 69: 427-449.

Cáceres, M. E. S., Lücking, R. and Rambold, G. (2007) Phorophytespecificity and environmental parameters versus stochasticityas determinants for species composition of corticolouscrustose lichen communities in the Atlantic rain forest ofnortheastern Brazil. Mycological Progress 6: 117–136.

Gries, C. (1996) Lichens as indicators of air pollution. In: T. H. NashIII (Ed.), Lichen Biology, Cambridge University Press,Cambridge.

Holopainen, T. H. (1983) Ultrastructural changes in epiphytic lichens,Bryoria capillaries and Hypogymnia physodes, growing neara fertilizer plant and pulp mill in central Finland. Annales BotaniciFennici 20:169-185.

Insarov, G.E. (2010) Epiphytic montane lichens exposed tobackground air pollution and climate change: monitoring andconservation aspects. International J. Ecol. and Environ. Sci.36 (1): 29-35.

LeBlanc, F., Robitaille, G. and Rao, D.N. (1974) Biological responseof lichens and bryophytes to environmental pollution in theMurdochville Copper mine area, Quebec. Hattori Bot. Lab.38:405-433.

Löbel, S. and Rydin, H. (2009) Dispersal and life history strategiesin epiphyte metacommunities: alternative solutions to survivalin patchy, dynamic landscapes. Oecologia 161:569–579.

Nash, T.H III. and Gries, C. (2002) Lichens as bio-indicators ofsulfur dioxide. Symbiosis 33:1-21.

Öckinger, E., Niklasson, M. and Nilsson, S.G. (2005) Is localdistribution of the epiphytic lichen Lobaria pulmonaria limitedby dispersal capacity or habitat quality? Biodiversity andConservation 14:759-773.

Orange, A., James, P.W. and White, F.J. (2001) Micro-chemicalmethods for the identification of lichens. British Lichen Society.

Walker, F.J. and James, P.W. (1980) A revised guide to the micro-chemical technique for the identification of lichen products.Bulletin of British Lichen Society 46: 13-29.

Zambrano, G.A., Nash III, T.H. and Herrera-Campos, M.A. (2000)Lichen decline in Desierto de los Leones (Mexico City). TheBryologist 103(3): 428-441.


Received 13 October, 2011; Accepted 4 February, 2011

Temperate lakes has shown that the number of speciespresent are strongly correlated with pH, with speciesdiversity highest in lakes varying in pH from 6.8 to 7.2

(Ivanova, 1987), but there is scarcity of literature infreshwater tropical conditions. Thus, it seems that theabundance and presence of may zooplankton species are

negatively affected by both low and high pH in tropicalconditions. Considerable experimental research has beendone on the effects of pH on the population dynamics and

community composition of micro-crustacean zooplankton(Havens,1992). However, these studies were concernedwith the effects of acidification, while the ecological

importance of high pH has been less investigated.Information based on field and laboratory experimentssuggests that most Cladoceran species have an upper pH

limit in the range of 10.5-11.5 (O’Brien and DeNoyelles,1972; Hansen et al., 1991). It is unclear, however, how thesehigh pH values affect the population growth rate of

Cladocerans. Most previous studies have been concentratedon direct toxic effects of pH on the free-living stages.However, an elevated pH may affect the population growth

rate through chronic effect on somatic growth and fecundity.In our study, the response of a Zooplankton population toelevated pH was examined. Special interest is focused on

the impact of elevated pH on egg viability. The pH valuestested in the experiments were chosen because springand summer pH values of many eutrophic and hypertrophic

lakes and ponds fall within this range (Jeppesen et al.,1990).

Effect of pH upon Copepoda and Cladocera under LaboratoryConditions

C.B. Tiwary* and Kamlakant Thakur1

Dept. of Zoology, S.M.D. College, M.N.Jalalpur, Gopalganj - 841 428, Bihar, India**J.P. University, Chapra - 841 452, Bihar, India

*E-mail : [email protected]

Abstract: The increased CO2 diffused from the atmosphere into water body surface, result in increased partial pressure of CO2 andreduced pH. Laboratory experiments revealed that water acidification has negative impacts on the fertilization, cleavage, larva settlementand reproductive stages to environmental change within zooplanktons. There appear to be significant ontogenetic impacts and species-species differences in tolerance to the low pH. The effect of high pH on the reproduction revealed that the mortality of Juveniles and adultsdid not increase with increasing pH in the range 9.0-10.5 and suggest that the threshold value for mortality is between pH 10.5 and 11.5.However, both mortality and the proportion of stillborn neonates increased at pH 10.0 and above and both Copepoda (Daphnia carinata)and Cladocera (Mesocyclopus hyalinus) differed in their sensitivities to pH. Consequently, pH affects population growth rate markedlyfrom pH 10.0 onward. Because pH value ≥ 10.0 are common during spring and summer in local water bodies due to intense photosynthesisactivity, indicating that high pH has larger effect on population structure and the community composition of zooplankton in such waterbodies.

Key Words: pH, Zooplankton, Nauplius, Stillborn, Buffer, Daphnia carinata, Mesocyclopus hyalinus


Both Copepoda (Mesocyclops hyalinus) and Cladocera(Daphnia carinata) were acclimatized to their experimentalconditions for two generations. They were kept under

constant illumination at 17.5±0.2 Candella, and pH waskept constant at 9.0 ±0.1. As soon as the animals producednewborn, the mothers were removed. These newborn were

reared to maturity and their offspring used in theexperiments.

A buffer of NaOH- NaHCO3 was used to make the

different PH series. Four constant pH treatments wereapplied (9.0±0.1, 9.5±0.1, 10.0±0.1 and 10.5±0.1). Neonatesfrom different mother were equally treated with pH solutions.

About 16 individuals were cultured per pH series. After every2-3 days, the individuals were examined then transferred toclean tubes with fresh medium. During each observation,

dead individuals were noted and removed. Live animalswere observed, every molt noted, and the number of egg-embryos and of newborn recorded. Furthermore, egg

mortality was noted and newborn were discarded afterbeing examined; observations were stopped when theCladoceran reared the fourth adult instar and Copepod till

adult stage.


pH effect upon copepods. The various life cycle stagesof copepods, such as fertilization, cleavage, planktonic larva,

metamorphosis, juvenile and adult reproductive stages


of Ecology

45

were effected differently due to pH. Both hatching andnauplius survival decrease with decreasing pH in the

M.hyalinus below 7.1 and Cyclopus scutifer below 6.9, eventhough negative effects were significant only at high level ofCO2 than normal in water body. Additionally, the hatching

rate was unaffected during ensuring generations (0 to 2generations). The delayed larval development is observedat low pH than 7.1 and also at high pH than 8.3 during

experiment period. The mortality rate is higher for smallerindividuals than for larger individuals. pH also effectedsettlement of juveniles, which was significantly low than

the control. The studied copepod cultured under 7.9 pH(saline water) for 15 week showed reduced reproductionas compared to the control. On the other hand, egg

production of studied copepod was not affected when rearedunder low PH than 7.1, but significantly decreased abovepH level of 8.9.

Ion transport is an energy consuming process,

whereas, molecular CO2 directly diffuses across the

biological cell membranes more faster than protons and

hence lowering of intracellular pH into eggs or sperms

through entering of CO2 was observed. Low pH of eggs,

thus trigger the initiation of inorganic development in aquatic

macro-invertebrates. In addition to the impact on sperm

motility, the low egg pH may present fertilization and

subsequent development of copepods. The time to

complete the first cleavage was shortest at pH 8.2 and

increased with decreasing pH. Both hatching and naupliar

survival decreased with decreasing pH in copepods than

8.1, even though negative impacts were significant only at

low pH caused by higher CO2 level those projected to occur

in the future (Kurihara and Shirayam, 2004). The hatching

rate in copepods was significantly reduced at low pH as

indicated in calcifiers (Hart and Strathmann, 1995). The egg

production of all copepods studied (e.g., Acropora steveriand A. erythraea) was not affected when reared under the

7.5 pH at high CO2 (Kurihara and Ishimatsu, 2008). The

data indicated positive effect of moderate pH upon

ontogenetic development in copepods under freshwater

culture in companies of its negative effect upon oceanic

species and significantly positive role in tropical water body

of this investigation.

pH effect upon cladocera. The apparent food quality ofthe algae was not influenced by the pH treatment as

indicated with measurement of P,N and content of algalparticles just before and 48 hour after their suspension inDaphnia carinata medium (Table 1). Within the pH range

9.0-10.5, no clear relationship between mortality and pHwas observed pH effects were non-significant (P=0.068),

but instar effect (P=0.001) and interactions between instarnumber and pH (P=0.037) and between adult and pH

(P=0.045) were significant.

The mean number of eggs per adult female decreasedsignificantly with pH, but the differences were small. Also, a

substantial and significant increase in egg mortalityoccurred with increasing pH (Fig. 1). Eggs degeneratedand were reabsorbed before the next molt accord. At pH

10.5, egg mortality also resulted in reduced fecundity. Deadand inactive neonates were frequently observed. In somecases, the neonates were still alive, although in a very poor

condition. However, these individuals were always lying onthe bottom of petridish, were never observed swimmingand invariably died within 24 hour after they had seen. All

these newborns are categorized as stillborn neonates. Weobserved a distinct and significant increase in stillbornneonates with increasing pH (x2=193.2; df=3,P<0.001). At

pH 10.5, almost half the neonates were stillborn, whichcaused a marked reduction in fecundity; newborn at pH10.0 were also seriously affected, while the effects were

smaller at the series below pH 10.0. Assuming all eggs are

Table 1. Mean number of eggs per female (+95% C.L.) ofD.carinata cultured at different pH values

Daphnia carinata

pH Mean N

9.0 11.1 (1.90) 30

9.5 9.7 (1.57) 28

10.0 9.0 (1.28) 31

10.5 7.6 (1.72) 27

Fig. 1. Effect of pH on D. carinata and M. hyalinus in terms ofper cent degenerated eggs

Deg

ener

ated

egg

s (%

)

D. Carinata

M. hyalinus

viable and result in living newborn, t-tests with the sequentialBonferonni corrections showed no significant differencesin the rate of population increase between treatments.

However, the combined effects of egg mortality and stillbornneonates resulted in strong and significant reductions in r.The r-value shows a more general decrease over the pH

range of 9.0-10.5 (Fig. 2).

pH Effect on Copepoda and Cladocera

46

A strong effect of high pH on reproduction, but thequestion arises whether this pH effect acts directly (as a

stress factor) or indirectly via variations in the food quality.Direct effects that may have played a role at high pH aretoxic effect of un-ionized ammonia (NH3) on Daphnia carinataand disruption of ion-exchange in Daphnia. An indirect effectmay have been the change of algal food conditions forDaphnia as result of pH shock undergone by the algae.

The changes in food quality as a result of the variation in pHare less likely because nutrient status of the algae showedno pH effect. The high P content of the algae is an indication

that the food was enriched (Sterner, 1993). Additionally, anindirect effect would have resulted in reduced somaticgrowth and a reduced number of larger eggs; larger eggs

contain more yolk and will have a higher viability (Tessierand Consolatti,1989). Because no reduced growth rate inrelation to elevated pH was observed, egg viability

decreased, and reduction in number of eggs produced wassmall and did not contribute to the observed overall reductionin r (Fig. 2). The high degeneration and stillborn rates at

elevated pH are likely due to direct effects.

The two direct effects on Daphnia carinata that mayhave played a role are the toxic effect of un-ionized ammonia

and the disruption of ion exchange. The equilibrium betweenunionized and ionized ammonia is strongly effected by pH.The un-ionized ammonia is toxic for cladocerans. Results

of culture experiments by Elendt and Bias (1990) suggestthat selenium deficiency in culture media may cause eggabortion and neonate mortality in Daphnia carinata. Exactly

the same phenomena at high pH was observed, whichtempting to regard Se limitation as the possible causalfactor. However, it is not likely that this was the case. First,

because we used 12 per cent filtered water from a localwaterbody for Daphnia medium, the Se concentration inthis medium was ~0.1 g liter-1, which is high enough for

successful reproduction and low neonate mortality (Elendt

and Bias, 1990). Second, within the pH range studied, Sespeciation did not change (i.e., availability of Se was not

inhibited at high pH). Deleterious effects of important abioticinfluences such as pH or toxic substances are often strongerat low food levels because they usually act via the inability

of the organism to keep food intake and assimilation highenough to pay for increased respiration (Reinikainen et al.,1994). The number of neonates produced were reduced by

50-80 per cent due to egg degeneration and stillbirth in thepH range of 10.0-10.5. Because were cultured the daphnidsat high food levels-well above the incipient limiting level-

and because even in eutrophic lakes daphnids may befood limited as a consequence of prevailing low food quality(Boersma and Vijverberg, 1994), pH effect on egg and

neonate viability in the natural habitat may be even largerthan observed in the present study.

In some Copepod and Cladoceran species, thephysiological effect of high pH was due to a pH effect on thesodium balance (Potts and Fryer, 1979). Copepods usuallyshowed a good sodium balance up to ~ pH 9.5, but abovethis pH, they showed a net sodium loss (Nilssen et al.,1984). Several studies have reported the presence ofdegenerated eggs in populations of Copepods andCladocerans under natural conditions (Boersma andVijverberg, 1995), but in none of these studies was high pHconsidered a possible factor for this mortality. Present studydemonstrated that high pH can substantially reduce theegg viability and fitness of micro-crustacean zooplankton. ApH value >10.0 is commonly found in many eutrophic andhypertrophic lakes. Therefore, the effect of high pH on thepopulation dynamics and community composition of micro-crustacean zooplankton is probably much more importantthan has been assumed.

The culture of selected zooplankton in culture mediumconclude that optimal pH (7.6-8.5) is best for survival andreproduction. The physiological effect of high pH has been

Fig 2. Mean per cent of stillborn neonates affected by pH in D. carinata and M. hyalinus.

D. Carinata

M. hyalinus

C.B. Tiwary and Kamlakant Thakur

47

caused by a pH effect on the sodium balance. Copepodsusually showed a good sodium balance up to pH 9.5, but

above this pH they showed a net sodium loss. TheCladocerans are more sensitive than Copepods.

REFERENCESBoersma, M. and Vijverberg, J. (1994) Seasonal variations in the

condition of two Daphnia species and their hybrid in a eutrophiclake: Evidence for food limitation under field conditions. J.Plankton Res. 16: 1793-1809.

Boersma, M. and Vijverberg, J. (1995) The significance of non-viable eggs for Daphnia population dynamics. Limnol.Oceanogr. 40:1215-1224.

Elendt, B.P. and Bias, W.R.(1990) Trace nutrient deficiency inDaphnia magna cultured in standard medium for toxicity testing:Effects of the optimization of culture condition of life historyparameters of D. Magna. Water Res. 24: 1157-1167.

Hansen, M., Christensen, J.V. and Sortkajaer,O.(1991) Effect ofhigh pH on zooplankton and nutrients in fish free enclosures.Arch. Hydrobiol. 123:143-164.

Hart, M.W. and Strathmann, B.R. (1995) Mechanisms and rates ofsuspension feeding. In: Mc Edward, L. (Ed.) Ecology of MarineImertebrate Larvae. CRC press, Boca Raton, pp 183-222.

Havens, K.E.(1992). Acidification effects on the plankton sizespectrum – an in situ experiment. J. Plankton. Res. 14: 1687-1697.

Ivanova, M. B. (1987) Relationship between zooplanktondevelopment and environmental conditions in different type oflakes in the zone of temperate climate. Int. Rev. GesamtenHydrobiol. 72:669-684.

Jeppesen, E., Sondergaard M., Sortkjaer,O., Mortenson,E. andKristensen, O.P. (1990) Interactions between phytoplankton,zooplankton and fish in a shallow, hypertrophic lake : A studyon phytoplankton collapses in lake seleygard, Denmark.Hydrobiologia 191: 149-164.

Kurihara, H. and Shirayama,Y. (2004). Effect of increasedatmospheric CO2 on copepod development. Mar. Ecol. Prog.Series 274:161-168.

Kurihara, H. and Ishimatsu, A. (2008). Effects of elevated CO2 onthe life cycle of Copepoda. Mar. pollution Bulletin. 56: 1086-1090.

Nilssen, J.P., Potts, W.T.W. and Ostdahl, T. (1984). Physiology ofzooplankton subjected to acidification and liming. A pilot studyusing radioisotopes. Kalkningsprosj. Rapp. 11:37pp.

O’Brien, W.J. and Denoyelles, F. (1972). Photosynthetically elevatedPH as a factor in zooplankton mortality in nutrient enrichedponds. Ecology 53: 606-614.

Potts, W.T.W. and Fryer, G. (1979) The effect of pH and salt contenton sodium balance in Daphnia magna (cladocera). J. Comp.Physiol. 129:289-294.

Reinikainen, M., Ketola M. and Walls, M. (1994) Effects of theconcentration of toxic Microcystis Geruginosa and analternative food on the survival of Daphnia pulex. Limnol.Oceanogr. 39: 424-432.

Sterner, R.W. (1993) Daphnia growth on varying quality ofscendesmus : Mineral limitation of zooplankton. Ecology74:2351-2360.

Tessier, A.J. and Consolatti, N.L. (1989) Variation in offspring sizein Daphnia and consequence for individual fitness. Oikos 56:269-276.

Received 20 September, 2011; Accepted 23 December, 2011

pH Effect on Copepoda and Cladocera

Macrobenthic organisms occupy the bottom of water

body and display a wide range of life histories, and

sensitivities to water quality impairment. The abundance

and variance of macrobenthic invertebrates flourishing in

the bottom depends upon the physico-chemical conditions

of water, soil and biological complexes. The functional role

of macrobenthic communities in the trophic dynamics of

reservoir ecosystems is well acknowledged. The

composition, abundance and distribution of benthic

organisms over a period of time provide an index of the

ecosystems. In recent years, there used to be a greater

emphasis world over for better understanding of benthic

environment, its communities and productivity, which has

led to increased exploitation of many inland water bodies.

Though a lot of work has been done on the hydrological

and macrobenthic faunal aspects on lotic freshwater bodies

by earlier workers (Dutta and Malhotra, 1986; Dutta et al.,2000; Sawhney, 2008; Mushtaq, 2007) but no work has been

done on the molluscan diversity.

The phylum Mollusca is a large assemblage of animals

having diverse shapes, sizes, habits and occupies different

habitats (Subba Rao, 1993). Although molluscs are

common components of the benthic communities, their role

in the dynamics of the aquatic ecosystem and their

contribution to biomass production is not well known. Our

freshwater molluscs are not only a fascinating part of our

natural heritage but have global significance. As a group,

they serve vital functions in freshwater ecosystems and

many species are commercially important. Freshwater

molluscs have been known to play significant roles in thepublic and veterinary health and thus need to be scientifically

Diversity of Molluscan Fauna Inhabited by River Chenab-fed Stream(Gho-Manhasan)

K.K. Sharma and Samita Chowdhary*Department of Zoology, University of Jammu, Jammu-180 001, India


Abstract : Among nine species of Molluscan fauna, seven species belongs to families Viviparidae, Thiaridae, Lymnoidae, Physidae andPlanorbidae of class Gastropoda and two species are of Family Pisididae of the class Bivalvia. Melanoides tuberculata of family Thiaridaewas most dominant species ranged from 234 org m-2 (spring) to 802 org m-2 (summer). Class Bivalvia is represented by only 2 speciesPisidium mitchelli and Sphaerium indicum in which P. mitchelli was dominant and had its minimum density 72org m-2 in monsoon andmaximum 360org m-2 in winters. Different biological indices are used to determine the diversity, dominance, species richness andevenness of the observed malacofauna. This biosurvey of the molluscan diversity gives an important insight into the health of the steamand appends the knowledge and understanding of the management strategies involving bio-monitoring as a significant tool in therestoration studies.

Key Words: Malacofauna, Biological indexes, Species richness, Dominance, Diversity, Evenness

explored more extensively. In the present paper, some ofthe basic observations on the molluscan diversity of a

subtropical stream, a tributary of River Chenab, have beenpresented.


This study carried out in October 2008 to August 2009

covered the River Chenab-fed stream Gho-Manhasan. RiverChenab is one of the largest rivers of the Indus basis andfeeds to maximum parts of the Jammu region of J&K. River

Chenab gives rise to many streams and Gho-Manhasan isone of them, which is located at 32.56°N 74.95°E. Thisstream is sole source for the population of adjoining areas,

which depends on this stream for irrigation and domesticpurposes. Since, no work has been done on this streamso, it was a necessity to explore the diversity exhibiting in it.

The molluscs of the littoral zone were collected by handpicking and for the smallest species a sieve was used.They were brought to the laboratory, washed and then

preserved in polythene bags. Identifications were done thebasis of standard procedure of Zoological Survey of India.

To understand a particular biotic community Shanon-

Weiner (H) (Shannon and Weiner, 1949), Marglef’s index(d) (Marglef, 1958), Simpson’s index (dsimp) (Simpson,1949) and Pielou’s evenness index (Pi) (Pielou, 1966) were

calculated.


The distribution and abundances of freshwatermolluscs in Gho-manhasan stream may be attributed to

the availability of food, shelter and oviposition sites. Water


of Ecology

49

bodies rich in organic and silt matter are known to supportthriving populations of macro-invertebrates because of

reduction in water current and as such the substratum tendsto make molluscs indistinguishable from their typical lentichabitat (Whitton, 1975). Molluscs are represented in

freshwater bodies by classes Gastropoda and Pelecypodaand are a group of most diverse and dominant benthic waterbodies. Molluscs were found abundant in Gho-manhasan

stream particular the marginal areas. Their abundancemight be attributed to the presence of vegetation in theshallow depth, which emerged when the stream was dry

during the post-monsoon period and formed a good feedleading to their multiplication as has also been observedby earlier workers (Gupta, 1976; Manoharan et al., 2006).

During the present study, a total of eight species ofMollusca belonging to 6 families were recorded (Table 1).The population of Gastropoda was recorded throughout

the year and is represented by 7 species. The density oforder Gastropoda ranged between 9 to 802 org m-2 withmaximum in summer and minimum in autumn. A higher

count of Gastropods recorded during summer may be eitherdue to the effect of reproduction of these macrobenthicinvertebrates, as small sized molluscs were observed in

collection during this period or the maximum abundance ofdecomposer settled organic matter and macrophytes onthe bottom of the water body and increased water

temperature activating the process of decomposition oforganic sediments (Dutta and Malhotra, 1986; Malhotra etal., 1996). Minimum density of Gastropods recorded during

autumn may be due to aestivation (Singh and Munshi, 1992).

Amongst the Gastropoda group, Mellanoidestuberculata was dominant (47.18%) followed by Gyraulusladacensis (18.50%), Bellamya bengalensis (15.40%),Lymnaea luteola (4.37%), L.accuminata (f.brevissima)(2.16%), while 2 species (Pisidium mitchelli and Sphaeriumindicum) of order Trigoindae (Bivalvia) were recorded anddensity of this group represented by 18-360 org m-2 showingtheir peak in winter (Fig. 1). Some other Gastropods, which

are used as pollution indicators include Physa acuta,Lymnaea accuminata, and L. luteola. In addition, bothbivalvia species Pisidium mitcheli and Sphaerium indicumcan also tolerate greater nutrient concentrations are alsoused like some other Gastropods, as a bioindicator of water.Such a high diversity of molluscan fauna may be attributed

to availaibility of suitable habitats (Wadaan, 2007),organically enriched soft bottom (Singh, 1984) and slowwater currents (Sawhney, 2008).

Mellanoides tuberculata is the commonest and mostwide ranging member of the family Thiaridae, founddominant in the stream. M. tuberculata contributed 47.18 Tab

le 1

. S

easo

nal

fluct

uatio

n of

mol

lusc

an f

auna

(or

g m

-2)

reco

rded

in

Gho

-man

hasa

n, d

urin

g O

ct.2

008

to S

ept.2

009

Cla

ssO

rder

Fam

ilyG

enus

Sp

eci

es

Spr

ing

Sum

mer

Au

tum

nW

inte

r

Gas

trop

oda

Mes

ogas

trop

oda

Viv

ipar

idae

Bel

lam

yabe

ngal

ensi

s f.

typ

ica

(la

ma

rck)

-72

9063

Thi

arid

aeM

ela

no

ide

stu

berc

ulat

a (M

ulle

r)23

480

243

254

9

Bas

omm

atop

hora

Lym

noid

aeLy

mna

eaac

cum

inat

a (f

.bre

viss

ima

)-

5436

-

lute

ola

(f.t

ypic

a)

-11

736

54

accu

min

ata

(f.p

atu

la)

5481

-36

Phy

sida

eP

hysa

acut

a (D

rapa

rnau

d)36

5427

-

Pla

norb

idae

Gyr

au

lus

lada

cens

is (

Nev

ill)

198

252

931

5

Biv

alvi

aT

rigoi

nida

eP

isid

idae

Pis

idiu

mm

itche

lli (

Pra

sha

d)

7213

672

360

Sph

aeri

umin

dicu

m (

De

sha

yes)

7254

1812

6

Diversity of Molluscan Fauna

50

per cent of the total number of species recorded. Numericalabundance of M.tuberculata may be due to the reason thatit is among the hardiest of the prosobranchs and it covered

mainly in its parthenogenetic mode of reproduction. It canoccupy a great diversity of habitats (Berry and Kadri, 1974).In addition, Melanoides tuberculata can tolerate high nutrient

levels and was found to be positively correlated withcarbonates and nitrates and was found to be highlyassociated with macrophytes.

L.luteola being a minor contributor, forms only 2.16 percent of the overall density of molluscan fauna. Amongbivalves, Pisidium mitchelli forms 15.38 per cent and thus

dominates Sphaerium indicum (6.49%). Numericalabundance of Pisidium mitchelli indicated greater nutrientconcentration and is used as a bioindicator of water quality.

Low Shannon-Wiener indices were recorded, varyingbetween H=0 to H=1.623 (Table 2). Species dominanceindex i.e., Simpson’s index varied between dsimp=0 to

dsimp=0.549. Marglef’s richness index was recordedminimum in November and December (d=0) and wasmaximum in June (d=0.933). Pielou’s evenness index was

low (Pi=0) in winter season but was found to be maximum(pi=0.913) due to the presence of some communities inwhich abundances and distributions were more

homogenous, such as in the dry period of June.

This study indicate that in many freshwater systems

molluscan populations may be playing a central role in

supporting both local and ecosystem level biodiversity. The

ultimate extirpation and extinction of such molluscan

populations may therefore have profound effects on the wider

ecosystem. The results emphasized the importance of

conserving the world’s freshwater molluscan populations,

which are declining at an alarming rate through habitat

destruction, pollution and the invasion of non-native biota.

Benthic macroinvertebrates being widespread and

sensitive to environmental changes are the group of

Table 2. Seasonal variations in different biological indices of the Molluscan fauna

Month Shannon (H’) Marglef (d-) Simpson (dsim) Pielous (Pi)

October 0.793 0.361 0.549 0.722

November 0 0 0 0

December 0 0 0 0

January 1.306 0.621 0.293 0.811

February 1.22 0.513 0.338 0.830

March 1.231 0.514 0.327 0.883

April 1.623 0.865 0.213 0.905

May 1.167 0.625 0.233 0.725

June 1.585 0.933 0.266 0.814

July 1.266 0.595 0.310 0.913

August 0.902 0.532 0.522 0.650

September 1.176 0.813 0.328 0.655

Fig. 1. Seasonal diversity of molluscan fauna during Sept 2008-Aug. 2009

org

m-2

K.K. Sharma and Samita Chowdhary

51

organisms most often used for assessment of freshwaterquality. Application of such bioindicators can be used to

improve the environment and to augment awareness of theliving creatures to obtain better appreciation of their crucialrole in sustaining life of the planet.

ACKNOWLEGEMENT

Authors are grateful to ZSI Kolkata especially Dr. Raoand Dr. Amit Mudhopadhay for their selfless help in theidentification of molluscs.

REFERENCESBerry,A.J. and Kadri,A.B.H. (1974) Reproduction in the Malayan

freshwater cerithiacean Gastropoda, Mellanoidestuberculata. J. Zool. Lond. 172: 369-381.

Dutta, S.P.S. and Malhotra, Y.R. (1986). Seasonal variations in themacrobenthic fauna of Gadigarh stream (Miran Sahib) Jammu.Indian J. Ecol. 113(1): 138-145.

Dutta, S.P.S., Malhotra, Y.R., Sharma, K.K. and Sinha, K. (2000).Diel variations in physico-chemical parameters of water inrelation to macrobenthic invertebrate in some pool adjacent tothe River Tawi, Nagrota Bye Pass, Jammu. Him.J. Env. Zool.14:13-24.

Gupta,S.D. (1976). Macrobenthic fauna of Loni reservoir. J. InlandFish. Soc. India 8:49-59.

Manoharan, S., Murugesan, V.K. and Palaniswamy, R. (2006)Numerical abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates inselected reservoirs of Tamil Nadu. J. Inland Fish. Soc. India38(1): 54-59.

Marglef, R. (1958) Perspective in ecological theory. Univ. ChicagoPress, 122, Chicago, USA.

Metcalf, J.L. (1989) Biological water quality assessment of runningwaters based on macroinvertebrate communities. History andpresent status in Europe. Environ. Poll. 60:101-139

Mushtaq, R. (2007) Impact of urban influences on the diversity ofmacrobenthic invertebrate fauna of River Tawi. M.PhilDissertation, University of Jammu, Jammu.

Pielou, E.C. (1966) The measurement of diversity in different typesof biological collections. J. Theor. Biol. 13: 131-144.

Sawhney, N. (2008) Biomonitoring of river Tawi in the vicinity ofJammu City. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Jammu, Jammu.

Shanon, C.E. and Wiener, W. (1949) The Mathematical Theory ofCommunication. University of Illinois press, 117, Urbana, USA.

Simpson, E.H. (1949) Measurement of diversity. Nature, Lond. 164:163-688.

Singh,R. and Munshi, J.S.D.(1992) Molluscan diversity and role ofcertain abiotic factors on the density of Gastropods Pilaglobosa and Bellamya bengalensis in a tank at Jamalpur. J.Freshwater Biol. 4(2):135-140.

Singh, R. (1984) Hydrobiological investigations of Neeru Nullah(Bhaderwah) with reference to the Benthicmacroinvertebrates. M. Phil. Dissertation, University of Jammu,Jammu.

Subba Rao,N.V. (1993) Freshwater Mollusca of India. In: Rao K.S.(Ed.). Recent Advances in Freshwater Biology. New Delhi.Anmol Publication. Vol. 2, pp.187-202.

Wadaan, A.M. (2007) The fresh water growing snail Physa acuta: A suitable bioindicator for testing cadmium toxicity. Saudi J.Biological Sciences 14(2): 185-190.

Whitton,B.A. (1975) Zooplanktons and Macroinvertebrates. In:Whitton.B.A. (Ed.). Studies in River Ecology. Vol.2. BakerPublisher Limited London, pp. 87-118.

Received 3 February, 2011; Accepted 9 December, 2011

Diversity of Molluscan Fauna

In an estuary, the physico-chemical properties and

biological entities variations is mainly governed by the

differential tidal amplitude and the Kali estuary is no

exception for it. Hence it is very essential to acquire

information on circadian (diel) variations in hydrographic

(environmental) parameters of such water body. Information

available on such diurnal variations on estuarine

phytoplankton in India is limited to few regions (Chandran,

1985; Gouda and Panigrahy, 1989). Kali River estuary

located between 14o 50’ 15" - 14o 51’ 12" N latitude and 74o

07’ 30" E - 74o 10’ 09" E longitude is one of the major

estuaries of Uttara Kannada maritime district of Karnataka

state (west coast of India), it is opening into the Arabian Sea

near Karwar. It is a shallow estuary with maximum depth of

3.5 m at its deepest region but influenced by semi-diurnal

tide. This region is free from pollution and is surrounded by

the rich mangrove flora and is high productive zone from

the point of fishery resource. Many more estuaries on west

coast of India still remain either little known or totally

unexplored. Therefore, in the present investigation an effort

is made to study the diurnal variations in phytoplankton

population along with some physico-chemical factors of

Kali estuary, Karwar, west coast of India.


The present investigation was carried out during Aprilat a fixed site (14o51´ N and 74o10´ E) located in the lower

reaches of the estuary. Sampling was made at every twohour interval starting from 19.15 hrs on 25th April to the sametime next day on 26th April. The water level change was

Diurnal Variation of Phytoplankton in the Kali Estuary, Karwar, WestCoast of India

U.G. Naik*, V.V. Nayak1 and N. KusumaDepartment of Marine Biology, Karnatak University PG Centre,

Kodibag, Karwar-581 303, Karnataka, India1Shri Mahasatee Arts, Commerce and Science College, Ulga, Karwar-581 324, Karnataka, India


Abstract: Along with different hydrographic parameters variations in phytoplankton density and photosynthetic pigments were studiedat every two hour for 24 hours, at a fixed station in the lower reaches of the Kali estuary. During flood tides, the species diversity andphytoplankton density increased and decreased during ebb tides. Considerable discrepancy (about 12%) was noticed between cellcounts of day and night high waters. Oscillation in Chl. a, followed by the cell number. Among the nutrients, silicate and nitrate concentrationwas increased markedly during ebb tide periods. An inverse relationship was noticed between salinity and nutrients like nitrite, nitrate,phosphate and silicate. Linear relationship was observed between salinity and nitrate and salinity with silicate compared to salinity versusnitrite and phosphate.

Key Words: Phytoplankton, Kali estuary, Chlorophyll

measured by fixing a tide staff near the collection site. Bothtemperature and pH were recorded at study site only.

Analyses for nutrients, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a andcarotenoids were made following the standard procedures(Strickland and Parsons, 1975). For enumerating density

of phytoplankton population, the sedimentation techniquewas followed (Utermohl, 1931). Using the numerical densityof phytoplankton, the species diversity index was also

calculated (Shannon and Weiner, 1963).


Hydrographic parameters: The water level graduallyincreased from 19.15 hours and highest water level (1.40m)

was reached at 23.15 hours and later it gradually decreasedand minimum level of 0.18 m at 05.15 hours (Fig. 1). Againsecond highest water level was recorded at 13.15 hours

(1.88 m) and later it gradually decreased in following hours.A variation of 48 cm was noticed between the water heightsof two flood tides during the study period.

Temperature (air and water):Air temperature wasgradually lowered from 19.15 to 11.15 hours and later itslowly increased and more or less stable profile was

maintained (Fig. 2). More or less similar pattern oftemperature profile of surface water was recorded but thevalues were far lesser than the air temperature and gradually

increased from 07.15 hours and attained the peak at 15.15hours. Temperature of bottom water was comparativelyhigher than the surface water temperature but was lower

than air temperature during 19.15 and 07.15 hours, later itsvalues were found slightly higher than the air temperature


of Ecology

53

(13.15 - 15.15 hours) and once again found lower than airtemperature in 17.15 -19.15 hours. Considerable variationwas noticed between air temperature and surface water

temperature and fluctuated from 21.4o to 27.5oC and 16.5o

to 27.4oC, respectively. During night hours, well-markeddifference between surface and bottom water temperature

was noticed when the bottom water remained relativelywarmer than that of surface water.

Salinity did not show any marked variation in its salt

content in both surface and bottom water but the content inthe bottom water was lesser than surface layer in day andnight hours (Fig. 3). High salinity was recorded during 21.15

and 13.15 hours low during 05.15 hours in both layers. Thesalinity conditions revealed conspicuous tidal variationsranging from 18.4 to 26.8 for surface and 16.1 to 26.3 parts

per thousand for bottom waters. Higher salinities wererecorded during flood periods compared to ebb periods.The vertical salinity gradients during extreme high water

and low water were 0.3 and 1.7 parts per thousand,respectively. Hydrogen ion concentration (pH) in surfaceand bottom water varied between 7.8 - 8.4 and 8.1 – 8.6, the

bottom water showed slightly more alkaline condition (Fig.4). The concentration varied in accordance with the changein tidal amplitude. Variations in hydrogen ion concentration

(pH) were between 7.81 and 8.6 and followed the pattern ofsalinity variations with higher values during flood periods.Compared to surface waters, the pH values of bottom waters

were invariably higher. There is no marked variation in thedissolved oxygen content in surface and bottom water layerbut the content. Both have shown more or less uniform

trend in the distribution of the dissolved oxygen. Slightlyhigher values were noticed during 11.15-19.15 hourssampling (Fig. 5). With respect to the tidal cycle, the

dissolved oxygen varied from 3.42-4.93 ml/l at the surfaceand 3.05-4.59 ml/l near the bottom. Comparatively higher

oxygen concentrations were recorded during daytime thanat night hours.

Diurnal variation in nutrients: The concentration of all

nutrient salts (Phosphate-P, Nitrate-N, Nitrite-N and Silicate-Si) varied considerably with respect to the tidal amplitude(Fig. 6-9). On a whole, higher values were obtained during

high tides than at low tides.Phosphate showed markedvariation on time scale with higher concentration in bottomwaters and both strata showed more or less uniform pattern

in their concentration (Fig. 6). In bottom water, maximumconcentration was recorded at 23.15, 05.15 and 15.15 hours(1.32, 1.45 and 1.48 μg at/l, respectively). Similarly in surface

water also but the quantum was comparatively lesser thanthe previous stratum (0.94, 1.26 and 1.15 μg at/l,respectively). Nitrate exhibited marked variation in surface

and bottom water layers but comparatively higherconcentration was recorded in surface waters (Fig. 7).Relatively higher concentration was noticed during 05.15

and 09.15 hours in both layers. Minimum concentrationwas noticed during 23.15 and 01.15 hours in both surfaceand bottom water. Nitrite was found in high concentration

during 05-15-07.15 hours and in 15.15-17.15 hours butquantum of nitrite in bottom water found in the late hours(15.15-17.15hours) was higher than samples collected in

the early hours. But, the reverse case was noticed in thesurface water samples (Fig. 8). Silicate content in bothlayers of surface and bottom showed uniform pattern of

distribution of this nutrient salt but the quantity was foundmore in surface than bottom layer (Fig. 9). Minimum contentof this nutrient was noticed during 21.15 - 01.15 hours in

both layers, whereas, maximum content was noticed during05.15 and 19.15 hours in both strata of aquatic biotopeThis shows inverse relationship between the tide and

silicate nutrient salt during the period of investigation. Whencompared to phosphate and nitrite, the concentrations of

Fig.1.Diurnal variation in the tidal amplitude range at study station –River Kali

Fig.2.Diurnal variation in temperature profile at study station – River Kali

Diurnal Variation of Phytoplankton

54

Fig.7. Diurnal variation in the Nitrate-N content at study stationduring the study period

Fig.8. Diurnal variation in the nitrate-N content at study stationduring the study period

Fig.3.Diurnal variation in salinity profile at study station during thestudy period

Fig.4.Diurnal variation in the pH range at study station during thestudy period

Fig.5.Diurnal variation in the Dissolved Oxygen content at studystation during the study period

Fig.6.Diurnal variation in the phosphate content at study stationduring the study period

U.G. Naik, V.V. Nayak and N. Kusuma

55

silicate and nitrate were highly fluctuating during the study

period. During 03.15 - 09.15 hours period, it was quiteevident that there was well-marked difference betweensurface and bottom strata. In bottom waters, the phosphate

(PO4-P) concentration was higher than the correspondingsurface concentration values throughout the tidal cycle.Contrary to this, a reverse trend was seen in silicate (SiO4-

Si) while a different pattern in nitrate (N03-N) distributionwas experienced (Fig. 7 & 9).

Diurnal variation in phytoplankton. Totally 56 species

of phytoplankton comprising 1-blue-green algae, 4- greenalgae, 41- diatoms and 10- dinoflagellates were recordedduring the tidal cycle period (Table 1). Assemblages of the

phytoplankton cells were comparatively richer in high tidesthan the low tides period. Among the diatoms,Coscinodiscus sp., Skeletonema costatum, Chaetocerossocialis, C. affinis, Guinardia, Gyrosigma, Nitzschialongissima, Navivula sp., Rhizosolenia stolterfothii, R.styliformis, Talassionema sp., Eucampia sp., Bellorocheasp., and Hemidiscus hardmanensis were encountered inmajority of collections between 13.15 and 15.15 hours and

thus were considered as common species for the estuary.

Similarly, the blue-green algae Trichodesmiumerythraeum and dinoflagellates Ceratium massiliensis, C.tripos, Peridinium depressum and Prorocentrum sp.

occurred more frequently and abundantly than other speciesof the respective groups (Table 1). The green algaecomponents namely, Zygnema and Spirogyra species were

less frequent and occurred only during the ebb conditions.Maximum, 36 species and minimum, 14 species wererecorded during 09.15 and 15.15 hours, respectively.

Species diversity varied between 1.45 (15.15 hours) and3.96 (11.15 hours) and exhibited well-marked tidal variations.Numerical abundance (cells x103/l-1) of phytoplankton

showed significant diurnal variations. Maximum(25.47x103/l-1) and minimum (9.45x103/l-1) cell counts wereobtained at 19.15 and 21.15 hours, respectively.

Phytoplankton cells in general dwindled in number duringebb periods and with the rise of water level the cell countsalso increased. About 14 per cent increase in total cell

number was observed between the two high waters, highestbeing at 09.15 hours.

Table 1. Phytoplankton species recorded at Kali estuary

Class Species

Cyanophyceae Trichodesmium erythraeum

Chlorophyceae Cosmarium sp., Miocroasterias sp., Spirogyra sp., and Zygnema sp.

Bacillariophyceae Coscinodiscus sp., Skeletonema costatum, Hemidiscus sp., Stephanophyxis sp, Triceratium sp., Biddulphiasp., B. mobiliensis, B. obtusa, B. sinensis, Guinardia sp, Bellorochea sp., Melosira sp, Nitzschia sp,N.seriata, Ditylum sp., Chaetoceros socialis, C.decipens, C. lorenzianus, C. affinis, Grammatophora sp,Campylodiscus sp., Planktoniella sp, Bacteriastrum sp, Eucampia sp., Clamacodium sp., Streptotheca sp,Thallassiosira sp, T. gravida, Thallassionema sp, Rhizosolenia alata, R. stolterfothii, R. stlyiformis, R.hebata,R. robusta, R. castracanei, Thalassiothrix sp, Asterionella japonica, Pleurosigma sp, Gyrosigma sp, Naviculasp, Lithodesmium sp.

Dinophyceae Peridinium depressum, Noctiluca miliaris, Pyrocystis fusiformis, Prorocentrum sp., Dinophysis sp.,Ornithocercus sp, Ceratium tripos, C. massiliensis, C. furca, C. fusus,

Fig.9. Diurnal variation in the silicate-Si content at study stationduring the study period

Fig.10. Diurnal variation in the chlorophyll ‘a’ and carotene contentwith ratio factor.


56

Floristic phytoplankton crop in the present study seemsto be more or less similar to that of other estuaries of West

coast of India (Rammirtham and Jayaraman, 1963; Qasimand Gopinathan, 1969; Qasim et al., 1969; Dehadri andBhargava, 1972; Bhargava and Dwivedi, 1976; Bhattathiri

et al., 1976; Qasim and Sengupta, 1981; Devassy, 1983;Devassy and Goes, 1989; Naik and Neelakantan, 1990;Redekar and Wagh, 2000; Tripathy et al., 2005) but diatoms

were greatly dominated over other groups. Representationof lower density of blue-green and green algae can be aspecial feature to this habitat. Considerable differences

(about 12%) were noticed between cell populations of dayand night samples during high tide waters. This could bedue to difference in heights of tidal amplitude and high rate

of grazing pressures exerted by zooplankton communitynear the surface area during night hours. Such type ofaggregation of zooplankton in the surface during night hours

is a common incident in the Indian waters (Goswami et al.,1979; Madhupratap and Rao, 1979; Naik and Neelakantan,1989 and Naik et al., 2005).

In the present study, more or less a close and direct

relationship was established between chlorophyll-a and

phytoplankton population density. At 21.15 hours (25th April),

the lowest chlorophyll-a value (0.51 mg/m3) was obtained.

Whereas, during 07.15 - 09.15 hours, the chlorophyll-aincreased and then gradually decreased till 15.15 hours

and later once again increased during 17.15 hours. At 19.15

hours of 25th April, the carotene attained peak value of 1.83

m-SPU/m-3. The ratio between chlorophyll-a and carotene

fluctuated between 0.46 and 4.56 (Fig. 10).

As it is envisaged from the data that the distribution of

chlorophyll-a closely followed the phytoplankton cell counts

and the maximum values were obtained during peak

density phase. Since the chlorophyll-a is the common

pigment present in all groups of algae and its increase or

decrease normally follows with increase or decrease of

phytoplankton density. However, exceptions were found

towards mid-day when bleaching of pigments could occur

due to intense surface radiation (Yentsch and Scagel, 1958).

In the present study, the pattern of distribution ofchlorophyll- a was very much similar to previous works thathave been carried out in different estuaries of India

(Krishnamurthy, 1971; Bhargava, 1973; Vijaylakshmi andVenugopalan, 1973; Verlencar and D’Silva, 1978). Ascarotenoid values did not follow phytoplankton density but

variable ratios between chlorophyll-a and carotenoids wereobserved. Lower values (<1) of chlorophyll-a : carotenoidratios were obtained at sampling hours of 13.15, 15.15,

19.15 and 21.15 indicating the occurrence of unhealthy and

chlorotic phytoplankton population during these hours asobserved elsewhere. Phytoplankton are extremely sensitive

to the spectra of turbulent motions in the mixed layers oflakes, estuaries and oceans.

Among physico-chemical parameters, the salinity,

silicate and nitrate were found to be more fluctuating duringthe study period. Every nutrient salt showed a significantnegative correlation with salinity. Greater linearity was

observed between salinity and nitrate (r = -0.657) and salinityand silicate (r = -0.788) compared to that of salinity againstnitrite (r = 0.451) and salinity versus phosphate (r = 423). It

is surmised from the present data that the main source oftheir supply to the environment is from freshwater biotopes.

The phytoplankton density showed clear diurnal

variation and was much dependent on the tidal amplitude.Further, it was also observed that phytoplankton cell densityand species diversity index were remained moderately high

during the high tides when compared to low tide periods.Likewise increased density of phytoplankton population andhigher diversity index of this micro floral community during

flood periods and comparatively lower values found duringebb tide periods have been reported in many Indianestuaries (Bhargava and Dwivedi, 1974; Devassy and

Bhargava, 1978; Chandran, 1985).

REFERENCESBhargava, R.M.S. (1973) Diurnal variation in phytoplankton of

Mandovi estuary, Goa. Indian J. Marine Sciences 2: 27-31.

Bhargava,R.M.S. and Dwivedi, S.N. (1974) Diurnal variations ofphytoplankton pigments of Zuari estuary. Indian J. MarineSciences 5: 142-145.

Bhargava, R.M.S. and Dwivedi, S.N. (1976) Seasonal distributionof phytoplankton pigments in the estuarine system of Goa.Indian J. Marine Sciences 5: 87-90.

Bhattathiri, P.M.A., Devassy, V.P. and Bhargava, R.M.S. (1976)Production at different trophic levels in the estuarine systemof Goa. Indian J. Marine Sciences 5: 83-86.

Chandran, R. (1985) Mahasagar-Bulletin of National Institute ofOceanography 18: 37.

Dehadri, P.V. and Bhargava, R.M.S. (1972) Distribution of chlorophyll,carotenoids and phytoplankton in relation to certainenvironmental factors along the central west coast of India.Marine Biology 17: 30-37.

Devassy, V.P. (1983) Plankton ecology of some estuarine and marineregions of the west coast of India. Ph.D. Thesis, Universityof Kerala, Trivandrum.

Devassy, V.P. and Goes, J.I. (1989) Seasonal patterns ofphytoplankton biomass and productivity in a tropical estuarinecomplex (west coast of India). Indian Academy Sciences 99(5): 485-501.

Devassy, V.P. and Bhargava, R.M.S. (1978) Diel changes inphytoplankton in the Mandovi and Zuari estuaries of Goa.Mahasagar- Bulletin of National Institute of Oceanography,Goa 11: 195-199.

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57

Gleason, H.A. (1922) On the relation between species and area.Ecology 3: 156-162.

Goswami, S.C., Selvakumar and Goswami, U. (1979) Mahasagar-Bulletin of National Institute of Oceanography 12: 247.

Gouda Rajashree and Panigrahy, R.C. (1989) Diurnal variation ofphytoplankton in Rushikulya estuary, east coast of India. IndianJ. Marine Sciences 18: 246-250.

Krishanmurthy, K. (1971) Phytoplankton pigments in Porto Novowaters (India). Ind. Revu. Ges. Hydrobiol. 56: 273-282.

Madhupratap,M. and Rao, T.S.S. (1979) Tidal and diurnal influenceon estuarine plankton. Indian J. Marine Sciences 8(1): 9-11.

Naik, U.G. and Neelakantan, B. (1989) Seasonal abundance ofphytoplankton in the inshore waters of Karwar. ComparativePhysiology and Ecology 14(4): 219-226.

Naik, U.G. and Neelakantan, B. (1990) Phytoplankton distribution inthe Kali estuary-A seasonal study. Pollution Research 15:23-27.

Naik, Ulhas G., Naik R.K. and Nayak, V.N. (2006) Primary productivityin the Karwar bay, Karnataka, west coast of India.Environment and Ecology 24(4): 827-831.

Qasim, S.Z. and Gopinathan, C.K. (1969) Tidal cycle and theenvironmental features of Cochin backwater (a tropicalestuary). Proceeding of Indian Academy Sciences, B 69: 336-348.

Qasim, S.Z. and Sengupta, R. (1981) Environmental characteristicsof the Mandovi-Zuari estuarine system in Goa. EstuarineCoastal Shelf Sci. 13: 557-578.

Qasim, S.Z., Wallershaws, S.P., Bhattathiri M.A. and Abidi, S.A.H.(1969) Organic production in a tropical estuary. Proceedingof Indian Academy Sciences, B 69: 51-74.

Ramamirtham, C.P. and Jayaraman, R. (1963) Some aspects of thehydrographical conditions of the backwaters around WillingdonIsland, Cochin. J. Marine Biological Association of India 5:170.

Rangarajan, K. (1959) Light penetration in the inshore waters ofPorto Novo. Proceeding of Indian Sciences, Sect. B. 49: 271-279.

Redekar, P.D. and Wagh, A.B. (2000) Planktonic diatoms of theZuari estuary, Goa (west coast of India). Seaweed ResearchUtilization 22(1 & 2): 107-112.

Shannon, C.E. and Weiner, W. (1963) The Mathematical Theory ofCommunications. Urbana Univ. Illinois Press. 117: p.111.

Singbal, S.Y.S. (1976) Diurnal variation of some physico-chemicalfactors in the Mandovi estuary of Goa. Mahasagar Bulletin ofNational Institute of Oceanography 9: 27-34.

Strickland, J.D.H. and Parsons, T.R. (1975) A Manual of SeawaterAnalysis. Fisheries Research Board, Canada, Ottawa, 167:pp.310.

Tripathy, S.C., Ray, A.K., Patra, S. and Sarma, V.V. (2005) Waterquality assessment of Gautami-Godavari mangrove estuarineecosystem of Andhra Pradesh, India during September 2001.J. Earth Systems Sciences 114 (2): 185-190.

Utermohl, H. (1931) Verhint ver theor angew. Limnology. 5: 567

Verlencar, X.N. and D’Silva, C. (1978) Mahasagar Bulletin ofNational Institute of Oceanography 11: 83.

Yentsch, C. S. and Ryther, J.H. (1957) Short term variations inphytoplankton chlorophyll and their significance. Limnologyand Oceanogr. 2: 140.

Yentsch, C.S. and Scagel, R.F. (1958) Diurnal study of phytoplanktonpigments. An in situ study in East Sound, Washington. J.Marine Research 17: 567-583.

Received 12 October, 2011; Accepted 5 April, 2011


Disposal of waste water as a source of irrigation to

agricultural lands is an old practice and still followed inmost of the developing countries. In the recent past, due torapid industrialization and urbanization, a large volume of

industrial waste water is produced every day. Theseindustrial effluents are disposed-off as such in to sewersystem, which is used for irrigation purposes either directly

or through some water body. It is estimated that 15000million liters of sewage water is produced every day in thecountry, which approximately contributes 3.2, 1.4 and 1.9

million tons of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash,respectively per annum with an economic value of aboutRs. 2600 million (Jurwarkar et al., 1991). However, one

constraint with this approach is the contamination of soilsand crops grown on these soils have bearing on the qualityof the produce. It has been observed that the use of

municipal waste water for irrigation purposes leads tosubstantial increase in the accumulation of heavy metals(Kansal, 1994), consequently crops grown in polluted soils

may accumulate heavy metals to such an extent so as tocause health hazards in animals and human beings.Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to

evaluate the effects of irrigation with contaminated sewagewater on the concentration of heavy metals in the soils andcrops.


Sangrur is one of the important cities of Punjab wheredifferent types of industries (paper mill, pipe fittings, ghee

Heavy Metal Content in Soils and Crops Irrigated with UntreatedSewage Water in Sangrur District of Punjab

M.P.S. Khurana, Kuldip Singh* and Dhanwinder SinghDepartment of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana -141 004, India


Abstract: Soil and plant samples collected from different sites receiving sewage and tube-well irrigation in Sangrur District of Punjabwere analyzed for heavy metals to ascertain pollution potential. The sewage irrigated soils accumulated relatively higher amounts ofDiethydene triamine penta acitic acid (DTPA) extractable and total heavy metals in surface as well as at all the depths as compared to tube-well irrigated soils and their content generally decreased with depth. The mean total contents of Pb, Ni, Cd, Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn in sewageirrigated soils were 56.7, 26.7, 2.15, 88.6, 48.4, 10990 and 272.8 mg kg-1 soil, respectively in the surface samples which were 3.02, 4.24,1.12, 1.26, 1.70, 1.30 and 2.10 times their respective content in tube well irrigated soil. All the soil samples, in terms of pollutant elementsof sewage irrigated were found within permissible limits. All the crops had higher amount of micro-nutrients and heavy metals in theirabove ground parts when grown in sewage irrigated soils than in the same plant species grown in tube well irrigated soils. Spinachaccumulated highest amount of micronutrients and heavy metal among all the crops. The extent of accumulation of different pollutantmetals were maximum for Pb followed by Ni and Cd in all crops. In the sewage irrigated soils, the content of Pb, Ni and Cd were below thecritical limit in all the crops except for Cd in spinach.

Key Words: Heavy metals, Sewage irrigated soils, Vegetables, DTPA Extractable

mill, biscuit and glucose factory) are situated along theSunam road. The untreated polluted water released fromthese industries, together with domestic waste water findits way into open drain called “Ganda Nallah” situated inthe out skirts of the city. The farmers of the villages namelyShibian, Uppali, Kanoi and Chotey Nacktey located alongthis open drain use this waste water for irrigation to theircrops. In order to determine the depth wise distribution ofmetals in soils, the samples were collected from 0-15, 15-30, 30-45 and 45-90 cm depth from the locations usingsewage waters largely contaminated by industrial effluentsfor irrigation. Soil samples at the same depths were alsocollected from different far off sites receiving tube-wellirrigation in the same villages. The available contents ofthese metals in the soils were determined by DTPA method(Lindsay and Norvell, 1978). Total contents of pollutantelements (Pb, Ni and Cd) and micronutrients (Zn, Cu Feand Mn) were estimated only in the surface layer of bothpolluted and sewage irrigated soils after digesting the soilsamples with hydrofloric and perchloric acids usingplatinum crucibles. Above ground parts of the crops namelycauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.var botrytis), cabbage(Brassica oleracea L.var capitata), spinach (Spinaciaoleracea) and radish (Raphanus sativus) were sampledfrom three locations. The total content of the metals in dryplant material were determined after pooling the groundsamples and digested in a di-acid mixture of nitric andperchloric acid in the ratio of 4:1. The contents of the metalsin the digests were analysed by atomic absorption spectro-photometer.


of Ecology

59


Soils

DTPA extractable metal contents. The depth wise

distribution of the DTPA extractable metals for sewage and

tube well irrigated soils are presented in Tables 1 and 2.

DTPA extractable Cu: Comparatively higher amount of

DTPA extractable Cu was found at all the depths in sewage

irrigated soils compared to its value in tube well irrigated

soils (Table 1). The mean value of DTPA extractable Cu in 0-

15, 15-30, 30-45 and 45-90 cm layer in sewage irrigated

soils was 2.00, 1.53, 1.43 and 2.28 times its respective in

tube well irrigated soils. The DTPA extractable Cu declined

with depth both in sewage and tube well irrigated soils. The

higher Cu content in surface layer indicated its high affinity

with organic matter.

DTPA extractable Fe: The mean content of DTPAextractable Fe in sewage fed soils was 10.88, 9.57, 7.67and 6.51 mg kg-1 soil, respectively in 0-15, 15-30, 30-45and 45-90 cm layer as against 6.27, 5.31, 4.58 and 3.89 mgkg-1 soil, respectively in tube well irrigated soil. Mean DTPAcontent of Fe in 0-15 cm layer of sewage irrigated soilscomes out to be 1.74 times the mean value of DTPA contentin normal soils.

DTPA extractable Mn: The sewage irrigated soils at allthe depths accumulated higher amount of DTPA extractableMn as compared to tube-well irrigated soils at all the sitesin all the villages. The increase in DTPA extractable Mn withsewage irrigation at 0-15, 15-30, 30-45 and 45-90 cm layerwas found to be 55.30, 57.17, 76.39 and 80.3 per centrespectively. Mean DTPA extractable Mn in 0-15 cm layer inpolluted soils was 8.34 mg kg-1 soil, which declined to 5.95mg kg-1 soil in 45-90 cm layer.

Table 1. Range and mean content of DTPA extractable heavy metals (mg kg-1 soil) in sewage and tubewell irrigated soils of Sangrur(depth-wise distribution)

Depth Element (mg kg-1 soil)

(cm) Cu Fe Mn

Range Mean ±SD Range Mean±SD Range Mean±SD

Sewage irrigated

0-15 1.00-3.10 1.88±0.64 7.35-15.40 10.88±2.50 6.00-10.70 8.34±1.85

15-30 0.62-1.32 0.95±0.27 7.00-13.80 9.57±2.26 5.10-11.30 7.67±2.02

30-45 0.42-0.82 0.63±0.12 6.10-11.00 7.67±1.53 5.00-10.10 7.25±2.03

45-90 0.30-0.68 0.57±0.11 5.3-8.20 6.51±1.03 4.50-8.00 5.95±1.23

Tubewell irrigated

0-15 0.65-1.15 0.94±0.19 4.98-7.20 6.27±0.96 4.70-6.10 5.37±0.55

15-30 0.50-0.72 0.62±0.08 4.32-6.20 5.31±0.70 3.90-5.90 4.88±0.66

30-45 0.30-0.50 0.44±0.08 3.08-5.94 4.58±.95 3.14-5.00 4.11±0.69

45-90 0.12-0.40 0.25±0.11 3.04-4.50 3.89±0.51 2.45-4.30 3.30±0.76

Table 2. Range and mean content of DTPA extractable heavy metals (mg kg-1) in sewage and Tubewell irrigated soils of Sangrur(depth-wise distribution)

Depth Element (mg kg-1 soil)

(cm) Zn Cd Ni Pb

Range Mean±SD Range Mean±SD Range Mean±SD Range Mean±SD

Sewage irrigated

0-15 1.46-3.10 2.10±0.59 0.12-0.30 0.22±0.05 0.48-0.82 0.65±0.10 1.09-4.40 2.76±0.73

15-30 0.80-2.60 1.04±0.67 0.09-0.16 0.11±0.02 0.18-0.64 0.41±0.15 1.26-4.02 2.05±0.82

30-45 0.78-1.06 0.86±0.11 ND ND 0.12-0.56 0.31±0.14 0.68-3.10 1.70±0.73

45-90 0.60-0.96 0.77±0.12 ND ND 0.10-0.40 0.16±0.09 0.60-2.50 1.10±0.52

Tubewell irrigated

0-15 1.00 -1.92 1.45±0.39 0.02 -0.09 0.06±0.02 0.24 -0.48 0.38±0.09 0.88-1.68 1.32±0.31

15-30 0.65 -1.02 0.80±0.14 ND ND 0.12- 0.20 0.15±0.04 0.50-0.94 0.70±0.16

30-45 0.42 -0.85 0.65±0.17 ND ND 0.08 -0.15 0.12±0.03 0.36-0.60 0.51±0.08

45-90 0.28 -0.72 0.47±0.20 ND ND 0.02 -0.10 0.05±0.04 0.36-0.48 0.42±0.05

ND-not detected

Heavy Metal Content in Soils and Crops Irrigated with Untreated Sewage Water

60

DTPA extractable Zn: DTPA extractable Zn also exhibiteddecreasing trend with depth. The mean values of DTPA

extractable Zn in tube-well irrigated soils in 0-15 and 45-90cm layer was 1.45 and 0.47 mg kg-1 soil respectively, whichwere 69 and 61 per cent of the corresponding values of

polluted soils (Table 2).

The increase in micro nutrient content in soil withsewage irrigation has been reported by many workers

(Adhikari et al., 1998; Kuhad et al., 1989). Kuhad et al. (1989)also observed higher concentration of metals such as Zn,Cu, Mn and Fe in the surface layer of the sewage irrigated

soils in comparison to tubewell irrigated soils of Sonepatdistrict of Haryana. Bosewell (1975) reported that the contentof Cu and Zn in soil was remarkably higher after one year of

sludge application.

DTPA extractable Cd, Pb and Ni: Higher amounts ofDTPA extractable Cd, Pb and Ni were found at all the depths

in sewage irrigated soils compared to tube well irrigatedsoils. Higher amounts of DTPA extractable Cd, Pb and Ni atsurface layer indicated their low mobility and diminution

with depth. Mean DTPA extractable content of Cd, Pb and Niin sewage irrigated soils irrespective of sites were 4.4, 1.71and 1.85 times their content in tube well irrigated soils (Table

2). The results also find support from the work of Dowdy etal. (1991) who found that massive sludge additions (765Mg ha-1 on dry weight basis) over a period of 14 years

resulted in an increased concentration of Cd, Zn and Cu inAp1 genetic horizon. The movement of these metals wasrestricted and usually stay at tillage depth. The others

workers like Sharma and Kansal (1986) also observed thataround Ludhiana City, Punjab, the soils that received waterof Budda Nallah (a rivulet contaminated with industrial and

municipal wastes) were enriched with heavy metals.Accumulation was greater in surface soils but decreasedwith depth. The increase in heavy metals content of soils

with continuous application of sewage water has beenreported by Brar et al. (2002). Azad et al. (1986) found that

accumulation of Cd, Ni and Co was higher in soils irrigatedwith sewage water as compared with tubewell water

irrigation and their content decreased with depth. Kansaland Khurana (2000) observed that waste water irrigationelevated the level of both available and total Cd content in

soils of all the three industrial towns of Punjab namelyLudhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar. In an other studyKhurana and Kansal (2001) found elevated concentration

of DTPA extractable Pb in sewage irrigated soils in all theindustrial towns of Punjab both in surface (0-15 cm) andsub surface (15-30 cm) as compared to normal soils.

Total metal content. Elevated concentration of total Pb, Ni,Cd, Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn was found in sewage fed soils ofSangrur district as compared to normal soils. Mean contents

of Pb, Ni, Cd, Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn in sewage irrigated soilswere 56.7, 26.7, 2.15, 88.6, 48.4, 10990 and 272.8 mg kg-1

soil, respectively, which were 3.02, 4.24, 1.12, 1.26, 1.70,

1.30 and 2.10 times their respective content in tube wellirrigated soil (Table 3). The increase in the mean content ofvarious metals with sewage irrigation may have resulted

from higher rate of metal loading from industrial effluents.

Critical values based on total metal content are availablein literature for categorizing soils into polluted category. If

guidelines of Kabata and Pendias (1984) were to beconsidered, where maximum concentrations of Pb, Ni, Cd,Zn, Cu and Mn were taken as 100, 100, 3, 200, 60 and 1500

mg kg-1 soil, respectively, no soil samples of sewageirrigated soils of Sangrur fall in polluted category. However,use of untreated waste water on long term basis would

result in development of contaminated soils.

Vegetable Crops

Micronutrient content in various crops. Invariably, all thecrops contained higher amount of micro-nutrient cations

like Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn in their above ground parts whengrown in sewage irrigated soils than in the same plantspecies grown in tube well irrigated soils. The higher

Table 3. Total content of heavy metals (mg kg-1 soil) of sewage and tube well irrigated soils of Sangrur (0-15 cm)

Element (mg kg-1 soil)

Cu Fe Mn Zn Pb Ni Cd

Sewage irrigated soils

Mean± SD 48.4±17.4 10990±1134.6 272.8±52.3 88.6±24.1 56.7±10.8 26.7±4.5 2.15±0.52

(16.5-68.4) (9580-13100) (200-352) (58.2-121.0) (39.9-72.4) (20.4-32) (1.50-2.72)

Tubewell irrigated soils

Mean± SD 11.4±2.45 9747±316.7 215.6±45.6 28.38±8.4 33.06±3.2 20.50±3.78 1.02±0.10

(8.0-14.3) (9358-10210) (176-286) (19.2-43.2) (29.8-37.2) (15.4-25.4) (0.80-1.25)

Permissible Limits - - - - 100-500 100 3-8

Figures in parentheses indicate range

M.P.S. Khurana, Kuldip Singh and Dhanwinder Singh

61

content of DTPA extractable metals in sewage irrigated soilshas caused the growing plants in these soils to take upthese elements in higher amounts. Different crops showeddifferent pattern of accumulation of micronutrient content.The content of Zn in their above ground parts of cauliflower,cabbage, spinach and radish in sewage irrigated soils were1.62, 1.92, 1.20 and 1.56 times their content in tube wellirrigated soils. The increase in the content of Cu withsewage irrigation was found to be 23.5, 15.3, 31.5 and 78.1per cent, respectively. The content of Fe in cauliflower,cabbage, spinach and radish were 180, 74, 560 and 452μg g-1 dry matter, respectively in sewage irrigated soils.Similarly, increase in the content of Mn in cauliflower,cabbage, spinach and radish in sewage irrigated soilsemulated the same pattern. Singh and Sakal (2001)reported higher concentration of micronutrients in differentcrops than normal in sewage sludge treated soils. Adhikariet al. (1998) reported that the comparatively higherconcentration of the micronutrients in vegetables incomparison to normal soils has resulted from the additionof these elements through the continuous application ofsewage water in the outskirts of city of Calcutta. Themicronutrient concentration for various crops in sewageirrigated sangrur soils can be arranged in the following order

Zn : Spinach > cauliflower > cabbage > radishFe : Spinach > radish > cauliflower > cabbage

Cu : Spinach > radish> cauliflower > cabbageMn : Radish > spinach > cauliflower > cabbage

It may be concluded that spinach accumulated highestamount of Zn, Cu and Fe except Mn in its above groundparts indicating it to be the efficient accumulator amongthese crops. Although, micronutrient accumulation wasmore in sewage irrigated soils than normal soils, but noneof the micronutrient approached the level of toxicity, in any ofthe plant species.

Table 4. Amount of micronutrient and pollutant elements (μg g-1) in shoot (above ground parts) of various crops in sewage irrigated andtubewell irrigated soils

Crop Micronutrient element (μg g-1) Pollutant elements (μg g-1)

Cu Fe Mn Zn Pb Ni Cd

Sewage irrigation

Cauliflower 8.4 180.0 48.0 53.6 2.10 1.02 0.24

Cabbage 6.8 74.0 30.0 38.4 2.75 0.87 0.48

Spinach 14.2 560.0 57.4 50.2 5.02 3.00 1.98

Radish 11.4 452.0 60.27 45.0 1.45 1.12 0.56

Tubewell irrigation

Cauliflower 6.8 84.3 30.0 32.8 1.03 0.50 0.04

Cabbage 5.9 45.0 21.8 20.0 1.46 0.40 0.08

Spinach 10.8 402.0 32.8 41.8 2.40 0.83 0.10

Radish 6.4 270.0 23.5 29.5 0.98 0.90 0.04

Pollutant elements. Pollutant elements unlike those of

micronutrients, become toxic to the plants and animal

species at a very low concentration. Their presence above

the critical limit in the plants may cause health hazards in

animals and human beings. The three pollutant elements

(Pb, Ni and Cd) were present in higher concentration in the

above ground parts of all the plant species growing on

sewage fed soils in comparison to their concentration in

tube well irrigated soils. The amount of Pb, Ni and Cd in

cauliflower irrigated with sewage water was 2.03, 1.82 and

4.8 times their respective content in tube well water irrigation.

Other pollutant elements also followed the same pattern

regardless of the crop species. The extent of accumulation

of different metals was maximum for Pb followed by Ni and

Cd in all the plant species. The content of Pb, Ni and Cd

were found below the critical limit of 10, 5 and 0.8 μg g-1

(Allaway, 1968) respectively for Pb, Ni and Cd in all the crops

except for spinach in the sewage irrigated soils where

concentration of Cd was 1.98 μg g-1 (Table 4). More recently,

Aulakh et al. (2009) found that the mean concentrations of

Pb, Cr, Cd, and Ni in crops grown on sewage-irrigated soils

were 4.88, 4.20, 0.29, and 3.99 mg kg”1, respectively, which

were significantly higher than their concentrations in

tubewell-irrigated soil.

From this study, it is revealed that in most of the

situations where soils of Sangrur district have been

receiving sewage irrigation for the last many years, the

plants growing on them has not yet crossed the threshold

values of toxicity. It is advisable to monitor the build up of

these elements on long term basis. It is desirable that the

waste water particularly industrial effluent would be made

to undergo suitable treatment in wastewater treatment

plants before being discharged in to water bodies.

Heavy Metal Content in Soils and Crops Irrigated with Untreated Sewage Water

62

REFERENCESAdhikari, S., Mitra, A., Gupta, S.K. and Banerjee, S.K. (1998) Pollutant

metal contents of vegetables irrigated with sewage water. J.Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 46: 153-155.

Allaway, W.H. (1968) Agronomic controls over the environmentalcycling of trace elements. Adv. Agro. 20: 235-274.

Aulakh, M.S., Khurana, M.P.S. and Dhanwinder Singh (2009)Water pollution related to agricultural, industrial, and urbanactivities, and its effects on the food chain: Case studies fromPunjab. J. New Seeds 10:112-137.

Azad, A.S., Sekhon, G.S. and Arora, B.R. (1986) Distribution ofcadmium, nickel and cobalt in sewage water irrigated soils. J.Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 34: 619-622.

Bosewell, F.C. (1975) Municipal sewage sludge and selectedelements application to soils. J. Envion. Qual. 4: 267-273.

Brar, M.S., Khurana, M.P.S. and Kansal, B.D. (2002) Effect of irrigationby untreated sewage effluents on the micro and potentiallytoxic elements in soils and plants. In: Proc 17 the WorldCongress of Soil Science held at Bangkok, Thailand fromAugust 14-21, 2002, Volume IV, Symposium no 24, pp 198(1)–198(10).

Dowdy, R.H., Lattreell, J.J., Hinesly,T.D., Grassman, R.B. andSullivan, D.L. (1991) Trace metal movement in an aericochraqualf following 14 years of annual sludge application J.Environ. Qual. 20: 119-123.

Jurwarkar, A.S., Jurwarkar Asha, Deshbharatan, P.B. and Bal, A.S.(1991) Exploitation of nutrient potential of sewage and sludgethrough land application. In: Asian Experience in IntegratedPlant Nutrition. RAPA-FAO, Bankok, pp. 178-201.

Kabata, P.A. and Pendias, H. (1984) Trace Elements in Soil andPlants. p 365. CRC Press Inc Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.A.

Kansal, B.D. (1994). Efeect of domestic and industrial effulents onagricultural productivity. In: G.S. Dhaliwal and B.D. Kansal(Eds) Management of Agricultural Pollution in India.Commonwealth Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 157-176.

Kansal, B.D. and Khurana, M.P.S. (2000) Cadmium accumulation inalluvial soils from agricultural use of urban and industrial wastewater. 8th International Congress on Soil Science, Islamabad,Pakisthan, Nov 13-16, 2000.

Khurana, M.P.S. and Kansal, B.D. (2001) Lead contamination ofalluvial soils as influenced by sewage irrigation. Paperpresented at the 66th Annual Convention of the Indian Societyof Soil Science held at Udipur from 29th Oct to 3 Nov 2001.

Kuhad, M.S., Malik, R.S., Singh, R. and Singh, A. (1989) Studied onmobility and accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soilsreceiving sewer water irrigation. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 37:290-294.

Lindsay, W.L. and Norvell, W.A. (1978) Development of DTPA soiltest for zinc, iron manganese and copper. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.J. 42: 421-428.

Sharma, V.K. and Kansal, B.D. (1986) Heavy metal contaminationof soils and plants with sewage irrigation. Pollut. Res. 4: 86-91.

Singh, A.P and Sakal, R. (2001) Sewage sludge treated soils:Distribution and translocation of micronutrient cations indifferent plant species. Sust. Chemi. Agri. 2: 22-32.

Received 4 May, 2011; Accepted 12 December, 2011

M.P.S. Khurana, Kuldip Singh and Dhanwinder Singh

Majority of the Indian population is vegetarian and theydepend for their protein requirement on pulses. Pulses arethe cheapest source of protein and sustain the productivity

of cropping system by their ability to use atmosphericnitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation, which isecologically most acceptable and economically viable.

Availability of all the essential plant nutrients in adequatequantity and balanced proportion is essential to realize fullpotentiality of yield from newly developed high yielding

improved varieties. Phosphorus is desirable for promotingnitrogen fixation by soil microorganisms. Thus, phosphorusrequirement of leguminous crop, which is totally dependent

for meeting out their nitrogen requirement on atmosphericnitrogen fixation by symbiotic Rhizobium are higher thancereals. Sulphur deficiency in soil affects the assimilation

of nitrogen and synthesis of protein. Cobalt, Boron andMolybdenum are essential for the growth of Rhizobiumand nitrogen fixation. These micronutrients are essential

for synthesis of vitamin B12, translocation of materials,photosynthesis, absorption of nitrogen required forsynthesis of amino acids and proteins, carbohydrate

metabolism and proper nodulation. The studies onintegrated effect of various micronutrients at varying soilfertility on yield attributes of leguminous plants are very

scare. The present study was designed to study theinteractive effect of nutrients on pea (Pisum sativum L.) bykeeping the record of cropping history of the field from which

soil was taken for pot experiment. Mostly the paddy-wheatand paddy-pea have been the main crop rotation. Paddybeing transplanted and water logged crop witness high

rate of protection of applied water resulting into leachinglosses of many essential plant nutrients. Cobalt is one of

Interactive Effect of Cobalt, Boron and Molybdenum on YieldAttributes of Pea (Pisum sativum L.)

D. K. Singh*, P. Kumar1 and S.K. SinghKrishi Vigyan Kendra, 1Department of Environmental Science, P.G. College, Ghazipur, U.P., India


Abstract: An experiment was conducted during the winter season of 2008-09 and 2009-2010 to study the interactive effect of cobalt,boron and molybdenum on yield attributes of pea (Pisum sativum L.) at fertility level of 30 mg P2O5+20 mg S+2.5 mg Zn, per kg soil and60mg P2O5+40 mg S+5.0 mg Zn, per kg soil on number of pod per plant, no. of seeds per pod, grain yield and straw yield. The number ofpod per plant and number of seeds per pod were significantly influenced with increasing levels of fertility in both the years. Themacronutrients viz. Co, B and Mo have also shown significant impact on number of pod per plant and number of seeds per pod. The grainyield was affected significantly at higher fertility level. A significant increase in grain yield and straw yield was recorded by the use ofCo, B and Mo but the combined effect of fertility did not show significant impact.

Key Words: Interactive effect, Micronutrient, Yield, Pea

such element which becomes critically deficient after paddycropping.


A pot experiment was conducted during winter at

Agricultural Research Farm of Krishi Vigyan Kendra,Ghazipur in the year 2008-09 and 2009-2010. Certifiedseeds of pea Malviya 15 were used for the experiment. The

pot experiment was conducted in a glass house. Eachearthen pot was cleaned by fresh water and its outer andinner surfaces were coloured by red and black paint,

respectively. The pots were filled with 10 kg processed soil.The recommended dose of N, P2O5, K2O, S and Zn for peais 20, 60, 30, 40 and 5 kgha-1, respectively. Our idea was to

accommodate two levels of P, S and Zn, one at par with therecommended dose, while the other at an elevated level sothat the optimum dose could be assertained. The treatments

consisted of two fertility levels viz. F1: P1S1Zn1 (30:20:2.5mgkg-1 of P2O5, sulphur and zinc) and F2: P2S2Zn2 (60:40:5 mgkg-1 of P2O5, sulphur and zinc) Uniform application of N (20

mg kg-1 soil ) and K (30 mg K2O kg-1 soil) was applied ineach pot. Eight concentration of micronutrients viz. control,Co 2 mg kg-1, B 0.3%, Mo 1 mg kg-1, Co 2 mg kg-1 + B 0.3%,

Co 2 mg kg-1 + 1 mg kg-1, B 0.3% + Mo 1 mg kg-1, Co 2 mgkg-1 + B 0.3% + Mo 1 mg kg-1 were tested in completelyRandomized Block Design (factorial arrangement) with four

replications. All the nutrients were applied as basal exceptboron, for which foliar application was done at 45 and 60days after sowing. Nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus,

sulphur, zinc, molybdenum and cobalt were applied throughurea, KCl, KH2PO4, CaSO4.2H2O, ZnSO4 7H2O, ammoniummolybdate and cobalt nitrate, respectively. Boron was


of Ecology

64

applied as sodium borate in solution form.

The average number of pods per plant and grains of

pods were counted and the mean values were expressedas number of pod per plant and number of grain per pod,respectively. Harvesting was done manually at complete

maturity. The grain yield and straw yield was measured ingram per pot. Soil samples were taken from each earthenpot for analysis before cropping from a depth of 0-15 cm.

Collected soil samples were analysed for various physico-chemical properties (Piper, 1966).


The number of pods per plant as influenced by

micronutrient under fertility levels F1 and F2 are shown inthe Table 2. It is evident from data that treatment effect hassignificant impact over control. F1 fertility level showed 19.17

and 17.23 per cent more number of pods per plant thancontrol during 2008-09 and 2009-10, respectively. Themaximum number of pods per plant were observed under

F2 fertility level. Significant impact of micronutrients wasobserved at both fertility level during both the years. Thenumber of pod increased by 6.13, 3.15, 3.92, 6.04, 7.21,

0.94 and 3.24 per cent during 2008-09 and 6.64, 4.97,4.68, 7.85, 8.06, 3.34 and 6.43 per cent during 2009-10 bythe application of Co, B, Mo Co+B, Co+Mo, B+Mo, Co+B+Mo

over control, respectively. The number of pods increasedsignificantly due to application of Cobalt, othermicronutrients did not cause significant impact on number

of pods per plant. The interaction of B x Co and B x Mo wasalso significant. These findings are in close conformity withthe findings of Srivastava and Verma (1984), Kanaujia et al.(1998, 1999) and ABO-Shetara and Soheir (2001).

The number of seeds per pod increased significantlysuperior over control. The number of seeds per pod were

19.4 and 27.92 per cent more than absolute control during

2008-09 and 2009-10, respectively. F2 fertility level produced13.98 and 18-07 per cent more number of seeds per pod

than F1 during 1st and 2nd year, respectively. Micronutrientsalso showed significant impact on number of seeds perpod. Increase in number of seeds per pod over control by

the application of Co, B, Mo, Co+B, Co+Mo, B+Mo, Co+B+Mowas 12.84, 12.47, 11.74, 16.14, 13.76, 16.51 and 21.10 percent, respectively, during 2009-10. Significant increase in

number of seeds per pod were noted by to application ofCo, B and Mo during both the years. These resultscorroborate with the finding of Srivastava and Ahlawat

(1995).

F1 fertility level recorded 40.61 and 48.15 per cent moregrain yield per pot than control during 2008-09 and 2009-

10, respectively. Fertility level showed significant impact ongrain yield per pot during both the years. The F2 fertility levelshowed 48 and 11.37 per cent more yield than F1 fertility

level during 2008-09 and 2009-10, respectively.Micronutrients also showed significant impact at both fertilitydoses during both the years. Grain yield increased by 47.60

42.81, 44.64, 49.40, 51.18, 45.89 and 53.57 pre cent during2008-09 and 48.23, 45.10. 45.67, 51.55, 41.44, 47.53 and54.00 per cent during 2009-10 by the application of Co, B,

Mo, Co+B, Co+Mo, B+Mo, Co+B+Mo, respectively overcontrol.

The straw yield was infuenced significantly with fertilizer

application (40.62 and 48.28 per cent more than controlduring 2008-09 and 2009-10, respectively). Fertility levelalso affected significantly. The application of F2 fertility level

produced 5.09 and 15.81 per cent more straw yield per potthan F1 fertility level during first and second year, respectively.The micronutrient also showed significant impact on straw

yield of pea per pot. Increase in straw yield per pot overcontrol by the application of Co, B, Mo, Co+B, Co+Mo, B+Mo,Co+B+Mo was 47.0, 42.34, 44.12, 48.64, 50.40, 45.17 and

Table 1. Chemical analysis of the soil

Soil parameter Procedure followed 2008-09 2009-10

pH Chopra and Kanwar (1991) 7.5 7.6

EC(milli mhos per cm) Chopra and Kanwar (1991) 0.26 0.38

CEC mole (P+) kg-1 Jackson (1973) 12.65 12.70

Organic carbon(%) Walkley and Black (1934) 0.36 0.38

Available N (kg ha-1 ) Subbiah and Asija (1956) 230.0 236.0

Available P (kg ha-1) Olsen’s (1954) 18.00 20.00

Available K (kg ha-1 ) Jackson (1973) 22.00 230.00

Available S (kg ha-1) Chesnin and Yien (1951) 18.00 20.00

Available Co ppm Lindsay and Norvell (1978) 0.1 0.1

Available B ppm Jackson (1973) 0.2 0.2

Available Mo ppm Jackson (1973) 0.08 0.08

D. K. Singh, P. Kumar and S.K. Singh

65

Tab

le 2

. E

ffect

of

Co,

B a

nd M

o at

diff

eren

t fe

rtili

ty s

tatu

s on

yie

ld a

nd y

ield

con

trib

utin

g pa

ram

eter

s

Tre

atm

en

tsN

umbe

r of

pod

s pe

r pl

ant

Num

ber

of s

eeds

per

pod

Gra

in y

ield

(g

per

pot)

Str

aw y

ield

(g

per

pot)

20

08-0

9

2009

-10

20

08

-09

20

09

-10

20

08-0

9

2009

-10

20

08

-09

20

09

-10

F 1F 2

F 1F 2

F 1F 2

F 1F 2

F 1F 2

F 1F 2

F 1F 2

F 1F 2

Co

ntr

ol

21

24

23

25

55

.95

68

99

39

211

311

71

21

12

01

46

Co

2pp

m2

32

42

52

65

.96

.56

6.8

13

21

38

14

21

63

17

11

79

18

52

12

B 0

.3%

22

24

25

26

5.7

6.6

5.8

6.7

12

81

33

13

81

59

16

51

73

18

02

07

Mo

1p

pm

22

24

24

26

5.8

6.4

5.9

6.7

12

91

35

13

91

59

16

71

76

18

12

07

Co

2ppm

+ B

0.3

%2

32

42

62

66

6.7

6.1

6.9

13

41

39

14

51

66

17

31

81

18

82

16

Co

2p

pm

+ M

o 1

pp

m2

42

42

62

66

.16

.46

.26

.91

35

14

11

46

16

51

75

18

31

89

21

4

B 0

.3%

+ M

o 1p

pm2

12

42

42

56

6.8

66

.81

31

13

61

41

16

11

69

17

71

84

20

9

Co

2ppm

+ B

0.3

%

+2

22

42

52

66

.36

.96

.37

13

81

43

14

91

67

17

71

86

19

32

17

Mo

1p

pm

Me

an

22

24

24

26

5.6

6.4

5.7

6.6

12

31

29

13

21

53

15

91

67

17

21

99

Ab

solu

te c

on

tro

l1

9-

21

-5

-4

.8-

73

-7

9-

95

-1

02

-

Co

mp

ari

son

be

twe

en

SE

m±

CD

(5%

)

S

Em

± C

D(5

%)

SE

m±

CD

(5%

)S

Em

±C

D (

5%)

SE

m±

CD

(5%

)S

Em

±C

D (

5%)

SE

m±

CD

(5%

)S

Em

±C

D (

5%)

Mea

ns o

f F

ertil

ity0

.10

.40

.20

.64

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

1.2

3.4

1.8

5.1

1.6

4.5

2.3

6.6

Mea

ns o

f M

icro

nutr

ient

s0

.10

.40

.20

.64

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

1.2

3.4

1.8

5.1

1.6

4.5

2.3

6.6

Inte

ract

ion

F

xM0

.20

.50

.30

.91

0.1

0.2

0.1

0.3

1.7

4.8

2.5

7.2

2.2

6.3

3.3

9.3

Tre

atm

ent

vs C

ontr

ol0

.41

.10

.61

.82

0.1

0.4

0.2

0.5

3.4

9.5

5.1

14

4.5

13

6.6

19

Effect of Cobalt, Boron and Molybdenum on Pea Yield

66

52.43 per cent during 2008-09 and 49.05, 45.01, 45.55,51.30, 47.40. 44.02 and 53.86 per cent during 2009-10,

respectively.

Grain yield and straw yield significantly increased bythe use of Co, B and Mo but the combined effect of fertility

and micronutrient did not show significant impact on grainand straw yield of pea.

REFERENCESABO- Shetia A.M. and Soheir, A.M. (2001) Yield and yield component

response of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) to phosphorusfertilization and micronutrients. Arab University. J. AgriculturalSci. 9(1): 235-248.

Chesnis, L. and Yien, C.H. (1951) Turbidimetric determination ofavailable sulphates, proceedings of the soil. Science Societyof America 14:149-151.

Chopra, S.L. and Kanwar, J.S. (1991) Analytical AgriculturalChemistry, Kalyani publisher’s New Delhi.

Jackson, M.L. (1973) Soil Chemical Analysis, Prentice Hall of IndiaPrivate Limited, New Delhi.

Kanaujia, S.P., Sharma, S.K. and Rastogi, K.B. (1998) Effect of P.K.and Rhizobium inoculation on growth and yield of pea(Pisum sativum ). Annals of Agricultural Research 19(2):219-221.

Kanaujia, S.P., Tripathi, D., Narayan, R. and Shukla, Y.R. (1999)Influence of P, K and Rhizobium on green pod yield of pea(Pisum sativum L.) cv Linoln. Advance in Horticulture andForestry 7 :107-112.

Lindsay, W.L. and Norvell, W.A. (1978) Development of DTPA soiltest for zine, iron, manganese and copper. Soil Science Societyof America Journal 42: 421-428.

Olsen, S.R., Cole, C.V., Watanbe, F.S. and Dean, L.A. (1954)Estimation of available phosphorus in soil by extraction withsodium bicarbonate. U.S. Department of Agricluture Circular939, U.S. Govt,. Printing Office, Wahington DC.

Piper, C.S. (1966) Soil and plant analysis. Academic Press, NewYork.

Srivastava, S.N.L. and Verma, S.C. (1984) Effect of nitrogen,Rhizobium and techniques of phosphorus application on yieldand quality of field pea (Pisum sativum L.). Legume Research7(1): 37-42.

Srivastava, T. K. and Ahlawat, I.P.S. (1995) Response of pea (PisumSativum) to phosphorus, molybdenum and biofertilizers. IndianJ. Agron. 40(4): 630-635.

Subbiah, B.V. and Asija, G. L. (1956) A rapid procedure fordetermination of available nitrogen in soils. Curr. Sci. 25: 259-260.

Walkley, A. J. and Black, I .A. (1934) An estimation of soil organiccarbon by the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science 37:29-38.

Received 12 March, 2011; Accepted 12 December, 2011

D. K. Singh, P. Kumar and S.K. Singh

Jammu & Kashmir state is famous throughout the worldnot only for its scenic beauty of mountains, pastures, lakes,rivers, meadows, heritages, gardens, etc but also for the

production of diverse type of fruits because of theiradaptability owing to topography, parent material, vegetation,soils, besides climate. The state is by and large a

mountainous area comprising of sub-tropical, intermediate,temperate and cold arid zone on the basis of altitude andclimate. The temperate zone comprises of whole of Kashmir

valley and higher reaches of Doda and Poonch districts.The altitude of the valley varied from 1500 to 2500 metersabove mean sea level. The altitude has a considerable

effect on the nutrient status of soil and plant growth as thevariation in climate has resulted in significant differencesin leaf composition of the plants. In India pear occupies

third place in temperate fruits both in area and productionand is cultivated largely in Jammu & Kashmir state andalso in upper hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhan.

However, sand pear or oriental pear requires less chillingand is cultivated in semi-temperate regions of the states ofPunjab, Haryana and Nilgiri regions. In Jammu and

Kashmir, the pear ranks second among the pome fruitsafter apple in acreage and production. The area under pearwas 12.10 thousand hectares with a production of 45.86

thousand metric tonnes. Among various factors ofproduction, nutrition of pear fruits has received aconsiderable attention in recent years, because of

importance of nutrients in quality production of fruits andalso due to their relationship to physiological disorders andother effects particularly reducing respiration, delaying

ripening and increasing fruit firmness thereby extendingtheir storage and shelf life. Imbalance of nutrients causesseveral disorders which consequently affects the quality

Micro-nutrient Status of Pear Orchards in Kashmir

M. A. Dar, J. A. Wani, S.K. Raina*, M.Y. Bhat1 and M.A. MalikDivision of Soil Science, 1Division of Fruit Science

Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir,Shalimar Srinagar (J&K) -191 121, India


Abstract: The present study was undertaken to find out the concentration of micro-nutrients in the leaves of pear cultivar “Bartlett”grown in Kashmir, which revealed that concentration of zinc and manganese were adequate to high, whereas copper content was lowto adequate . The concentration of Iron was found adequate in all the samples of pear orchards. The relationship among the micro-nutrientcations in the foliage of pear was significantly positive. The micro-nutrients varied significantly among the pear orchards of three altitudesduring the course of study.

Key Words: Micro-nutrients, Pear, Kashmir, Altitude, Soils

and yield of pear. Besides major elements, micro-nutrientelements are also required in small quantities because oftheir role as activators, structural components, energy

transfer and as regulator of cell constituents. Different micro-nutrient elements are required for carrying out variousphysiological processes in plants, and thereby maintaining

their essentiality in growth and nourishment of plantsleading to maximum production of quality fruits. Since thenutritional aspect of pear fruits have not received much

attention so far and no attempt has been made to assessthe status of micro-nutrients in pear orchards of Kashmirvalley. Therefore keeping in view the importance of micro-

nutrients in the production of pear, a study was undertakento evaluate the status of micro-nutrients in pear orchards ofKashmir valley.


For this study twenty one orchards of uniform age groupwith seven orchards each located in three altitudes viz. high,mid and low altitude were selected. The leaf samples of

pear cultivar “Bartlett” were collected from each sampleorchard following the procedure outlined by Chapman(1964). The leaf samples were washed with tap water and

then dipped in 0.1 N hydrochloric acid solution. Furtherwashings were repeated with single and double distill water.The samples were air dried on filter papers followed by

oven drying at a temperature of 60+5 oC for 72 hours. Thesamples were then ground in a stainless steel blender topass through 2 mm mesh and stored in polythene bags for

analysis. For the determination of micro-nutrient cations,the leaf samples were digested in di-acid mixture of nitricacid and per-chloric acid in the ratio of 10:3. The digested

material was diluted in double distilled water and filtered in


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68

100 ml volumetric flask. In order to ensure complete transferof digested material, about six washings were given with

double distilled water and final volume was made to 100ml. The micro-nutrient cations like zinc, copper, manganeseand iron were determined on atomic absorption

spectrophotometer. The leaf micro-nutrient status wasevaluated on the basis of critical concentrations reportedby Vanden-Ende and Leece (1975) give in Table 1.

Properties of the surface soils in orchards. The soilswere clay loam to silly clay loam in texture with normalelectrical conductivity and calcium carbonate content. The

pH was slightly acidic to slightly alkaline and ranged from6.10 to 7.76 (Table 2). The organic carbon was medium tohigh in soils analyzed and varied from 0.66 to 2.36 per cent.

The DTPA extractable zinc was low to high and ranged from0.54 to 1.82 mg kg-1 soil, while as, DTPA extractable copperwas medium to high ranging from 1.14 to 2.80 mg kg-1 soil.

The DTPA extractable iron and manganese were high inpear orchard soils and varied from 29.6 to 76.0 and 25.4 to54.4 mg kg-1 soil. All available micro-nutrient cations were

observed high in high altitude soils.

Table 2. Properties of surface layers in pear orchard soils ofKashmir

Soil property Range

pH 6.10 - 7.76

EC (dSm-1) 0.10 - 0.44

Calcium carbonate (%) 6.40 - 9.80

Organic carbon (%) 0.66 - 2.36

Available Zinc (ppm) 0.54 - 1.82

Available Copper (ppm) 1.14 - 2.80

Available Iron (ppm) 29.6 - 76.0

Available Manganese (ppm) 25.4 - 54.4


Concentration of micro-nutrients in leaves. Theconcentration of zinc in the leaves of “Bartlett” cultivar ofpear ranged from 44.7 to 58.3, 39.0 to 48.0 and 24.0 to 44.0

ppm with mean value of 52.19, 44.30 and 32.10 ppm inhigh, mid and low altitude orchards, respectively (Table 3).Chaplin and Westwood (1980) and Shen (1990) also

reported similar range of zinc concentration in pear leaves.

The higher concentration of zinc in high altitude may be

attributed to acidic pH which favours the uptake of zinc. The

leaf zinc content was observed adequate in 76 per cent and

high in 24 per cent orchards, which could be attributed to

high content of organic matter and favourable pH for its

uptake. The zinc content in the foliage also revealed

significant variation among the orchards of three altitudes

with highest amount in high altitude orchards and lowest

amount in low altitude orchards. This is supported by the

findings of Mamgain et al. (1988) and Najar (2002). The

leaf copper content in high, mid and low altitude orchards

varied from 14.3 to 19.7, 10.0 to 17.7 and 8.3 to 16.3 ppm

with mean value of 17.04, 13.47 and 11.76 ppm, respectively.

These values are nearly in same magnitude as reported by

Chaplin and Westwood (1980) and Arora et al. (1992). The

leaf copper exhibited significant variation among the

orchards of three altitudes with higher amount in high

altitude orchards. The leaf copper was adequate in 95 per

cent samples and low in per cent samples and low content

was observed in 5 per cent orchards located at low altitude.

This could be due to higher amount of organic matter and

available copper in soils and favourable soil pH for its

uptake in high altitude orchards. Sharma and Bhandari

(1992) and Mamgain et al. (1998) also reported similar

range of copper in apple foliage. The concentration of iron

in leaves ranged from 128.7 to 199.3, 86.0 to 138.0 and

84.0 to 122.7 ppm with mean value of 157.76, 118.06 and

104.71 ppm, respectively in high, mid and low altitude pear

orchards. Similar range of iron concentration was reported

in foliage of pear by Woodbridge (1973) and Arora et al.(1992). The leaf iron was observed adequate in 100 percent

samples and it varied significantly among the orchards of

three altitudes with high content observed in high altitude

orchards, which may be due to high amount of organic

matter as well as available iron and soil condition for its

uptake. Mamgain et al. (1998) and Najar (2002) observed

that high amount of iron in the foliage of apple at higher

altitude was attributed to high amount of organic matter

and available iron in the soil, besides suitable pH for its

uptake. The leaf manganese content of pear ranged from

96.7 to 128.3, 81.3 to 122.0 and 72.0 to 118.3 ppm with

Table 1. Critical concentration of micro-nutrients in pear

Nutrient Micro-nutrients (ppm)

Deficient Marginal Adequate High Excess

Zinc <10 10-19 20-50 >50 -

Copper <5 5-8 9-20 21-50 >50

Iron - <60 60-200 >200 -

Manganese <20 20-59 60-120 120-220 >220

(Vanden-Ende and Leece, 1975)

M. A. Dar, J. A. Wani, S.K. Raina, M.Y. Bhat and M.A. Malik

69

Table 3. Micro-nutrient status of pear leaves of Bartlett cultivar (ppm) dry weight basis

Orchard number Zinc Copper Iron Manganese

High altitude

H-1 58.3 18.0 199.3 116.0

H-2 55.7 17.3 178.0 121.7

H-3 56.0 19.7 182.3 128.3

H-4 48.0 16.3 147.3 103.3

H-5 44.7 14.3 132.7 96.7

H-6 50.3 16.7 128.7 112.0

H-7 52.3 17.0 136.0 117.7

Range 44.7-58.3 14.3-19.7 128.7-199.3 96.7-128.3

Mean 52.19 17.04 157.76 113.67

Mid altitude

M-1 48.0 17.7 138.0 122.0

M-2 45.7 13.7 126.7 92.7

M-3 46.7 14.3 130.3 106.3

M-4 45.3 13.3 130.0 101.7

M-5 41.7 12.3 119.7 92.3

M-6 39.0 10.0 95.7 85.7

M-7 43.7 13.0 86.0 81.3

Range 39.0-48.0 10.0-17.7 86.0-138.0 81.3-122.0

Mean 44.30 13.47 118.06 97.43

Low altitude

L-1 44.0 16.3 122.7 118.3

L-2 27.3 10.7 102.0 98.7

L-3 31.7 12.3 108.7 100.3

L-4 30.7 11.0 109.3 101.0

L-5 40.7 14.7 120.0 108.3

L-6 26.3 9.0 86.3 75.4

L-7 24.0 8.3 84.0 72.0

Range 24.0-44.0 8.3-16.3 84.0-122.7 72.0-118.3

Mean 32.10 11.76 104.71 96.29

LSD altitude (p=0.05) 5.65 2.16 15.26 13.50

±SED 2.59 0.99 7.00 6.19

mean value of 113.67, 97.43 and 96.29 ppm in high, midand low altitude orchards, respectively. Arora et al. (1992)

observed that the manganese content in foliage of pear inPunjab was in similar range of concentration. Eighty sixpercent samples were adequate and 14 per cent samples

were high in leaf manganese content and exhibitedsignificant variation among the orchards of three altitudes,which could be ascribed to the amount of available

manganese and organic matter content together withfavourable pH for its uptake. Mushki (1994) and Mamgainet al. (1998) reported that higher content of manganese in

foliage of apple in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh at higheraltitude was due to high organic matter content withfavourable pH for uptake of manganese than at lower

altitudes.

The leaf zinc, iron and manganese were adequate tohigh in all locations of three altitudes. Leaf copper was low

at Pohru location of low altitude and rest of locations ofthree altitudes were adequate in copper. The low content ofleaf copper at low altitude is in agreement with the findings

of Arora et al. (1992) for pear and Najar (2002) for apple inPunjab and Kashmir, respectively. Significant differenceswere also reported by Mamgain et al. (1998) for all micro-

nutrients under study at various locations. In general,concentration of micro-nutrients was found maximum inorchards of high altitude followed by mid altitude and low

altitude. Similar results were also reported by Najar (2002)and Farida (2005). Therefore, nutrient concentration in aplant seems to be the result of interaction between its

genetic inheritance and the environment in which it grows.

Micro-nutreint Status of Pear Orchards

70

Interrelationship among the leaf micro-nutrients. Theconcentration of micro-nutrients in pear leaves indicated

positive and significant relationship with each other. Zincshowed significant and positive correlation co-efficient withcopper (r = 0.908), iron (r = 0.844) and manganese (r =

0.734), whereas, copper revealed r value of 0.852 and 0.898with iron and manganese, respectively. The leaf ironindicated similar relationship with manganese (r = 0.795).

Similar relationship between zinc and copper was alsoreported by Arora et al. (1992).

Thus it can be concluded that micro-nutrients are by

and large in adequate concentrations except copper.Therefore package of practices should include applicationof copper to pear orchards in order to encourage proper

growth of plants leading to maximum production of qualitypear.

REFERENCESAnonymous. (2008) Area & production of horticultural crops in

Jammu and Kashmir state. Department of Horticulture, J & KGovernment.

Arora, C. L, Brar, M. S. and Dhatt, A. S. (1992) Secondary andmicro-nutrient status of pear orchards in Punjab. Indian J.Hort. 49(2): 150-154.

Bhandari, A. R. and Randhawa, N. S. (1978) Micro-nutrient statusof apple orchards of Shimla hills. Indian J. Hort. 35(4): 321-327.

Chaplin, M. H. and Westwood, M. N. (1980) Nutritional status ofBartlett pear on Cydonia and Pyrus species rootstocks. J.American Soc. Hort. Sci. 105(1): 60-63.

Chapman, H. D. (1964) Suggested foliar sampling and handlingtechniques for determining the nutrient status of some field,

horticultural and plantation crops. Indian J. Hort. 21(2): 97-119.

Farida, A. (2005) Studies on relationship between fruit yield andquality with soil and leaf nutrient content in apple orchards ofZangier block of district Baramulla Kashmir. Ph. D. Thesissubmitted to Sher-e-Kashmir University of AgriculturalSciences & Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, Srinagar, pp.117.

Mamgain, S., Verma, H. S. and Kumar, J. (1998) Relationshipbetween fruit yield and foliar nutrient status of apple. Indian J.Hort. 55(3): 226-231.

Mushki, G. M. (1994) Studies on apple orchard soils of Kashmir. M.Sc. Thesis submitted to Sher-e-Kashmir University ofAgricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar,Srinagar, pp.144.

Najar, G. R. (2002) Studies on pedogenesis and nutrient indexing ofapple (Red Delicious) growing soils of Kashmir. Ph.D. Thesissubmitted to Sher-e-Kashmir University of AgriculturalSciences & Techn0logy of Kashmir, Shalimar, Srinagar, pp204.

Proebsting, E. L. Jr. and Kenworthy, A. L. (1954) Growth and leafanalysis of Montmorency cherry trees as influenced by solarradiation and intensity of nutrition. Proceed. American Soc.Hort. Sci. 63: 41-48

Sharma, U. and Bhandari, A. R. (1992) Survey of the nutrient statusof apple orchards in Himachal Pradesh. Indian J. Hort. 49(3):234-241.

Shen, T. (1990) Nutritional ranges in deciduous tree fruits and nuts.Acta Hort. 274: 429-436.

Vanden-Ende, B. and Leece, D. R. (1975) Leaf analysis for peardevelopment of standards and the nutritional status of orchardsin the Goulburn valley and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Areas. Aust.J. Expet. Agric. Animal Hus. 15: 129-135.

Woodbridge, C. G. (1973) Effect of rootstock and interstocks onnutrient levels in Bartlett pear leaves, on tree growth and onfruit. J. American Soc. Hort. Sci. 98(2): 200-202.

Received 5 June, 2011; Accepted 25 September, 2011

M. A. Dar, J. A. Wani, S.K. Raina, M.Y. Bhat and M.A. Malik

Evaluation of a Customized Fertilizer on Wheat

B.S. Sekhon*, Satwinderjit Kaur1, and Pritpal Singh2

Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 141 004, Punjab, India1Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Gurdaspur, Punjab, India2Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Rupnagar, Punjab, India


Abstract: An experiment was conducted at two sites in Punjab state to evaluate the effect of a customized fertilizer (CF) with grade16:24:9:5:0.7(N: P: K: S: Zn) on yield and yield attributes of wheat crop (var PBW 550). The treatments involved considered a manufacturer-recommended dose of CF (MRDCF) providing basal 60kg N ha-1, 90kg ha-1 P2O5, and 35kg K2O ha-1 as standard dose (100% MRDCF). Theother treatments involved graded doses of CF from 0 to 150% MRDCF through 50, 75, 100, and 125%. An additional comparison treatmentinvolved use of CF as per state recommendations for N and P. The CF effect evaluated through observations on plant height, effectivetillers, spike length, spike weight, 1000-grain test weight, grain and straw yield, agronomic efficiency of N (AEN), benefit-cost ratio, netreturns, etc. indicated that using CF as per state recommendations gave the best results.

Key Words: Punjab, Customized fertilizer, Yield attributes, Wheat

A typical rice-wheat sequence that yields 7t ha-1 of rice

(unmilled) and 5t ha-1 of wheat consumes 300kg of N, 30kgP, and 300kg ha-1 of potassium (Bijay-Singh et al., 2004).Besides, it leads to concomitant depletion of various

secondary and micronutrients. The rice-wheat system hasstarted showing fatigue signs and lack of response toincreasing levels of fertilizers has been attributed amongmany factors to macro- and micro-nutrient imbalances

resulting from exhaustive feeding and imbalancedreplenishment of nutrients through inappropriate fertilizerapplications. Application of many fertilizer sources resulting

from soil-test based recommendations during oneagronomic operation (at the time of sowing), is constrainedby high labour costs and uneven application (if mixed) owing

to segregation. These hurdles to site-specific soil test-based fertilizer applications can be overcome by producingcrop-specific and site-specific mixed fertilizer grades, called

customized fertilizers.

Wheat is the predominant rabi season crop ofnorthwestern and central India. Due to its prolonged

association with rice, the rice-wheat cropping sequencehas started exhibiting deficiency of various secondary andmicronutrients, namely, sulphur, manganese, and zinc. As

a result, the northwest region has been witnessingincreased sale of various nutrient cocktails. These cocktailsdo not provide site-specific, need-based, and economical

solutions to various plant nutrition related problems. Thereis a need for fertilizers that can provide for application ofmicronutrients like Zn (Ramkala et al., 2008).

Keeping this in view, this experiment was laid duringrabi 2010-11 to evaluate the performance of a customized

fertilizer grade (CF-18) prepared specifically for Amritsar,Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Rupnagar,and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts of Punjab for

wheat crop by a fertilizer manufacturer.


The experiment was laid out in completely randomizeddesign to evaluate the performance of a customized fertilizer

(CF) product provided by M/S Nagarjuna Fertilzers andChemicals Limited, Hyderabad. The grade of CF (CF-18)was 16:24:9.5:0.7 (N-P-K-S-Zn). The experiment was

conducted at two sites: Punjab Agricultural UniversityRegional Research Station, Gurdaspur (75O, 25’, 36.77"Eand 32O, 02’, 54.27" N), and at a farmer’s field (30O 57’ 31.4"N

and 76O 22’ 20.4"E) in Chamkaur Sahib sub-division ofRupnagar district of Punjab. Basic soil properties of bothsites are given in Table 1. Soil organic carbon was

determined as per the method proposed by Walkley andBlack (1934), available P by the method given by Olsen etal. (1954), and available K was determined by extracting

the soil with 1N neutral ammonium acetate (Pratt, 1982).

Table 1. Some basic properties of soil at Gurdaspur and Rupnagarsites

Property Gurdaspur Rupnagar

Texture Clay loam Sandy loam

pH(1:2 soil:water ratio) 6.6 8.1

EC (dS m-1) 0.07 0.24

Organic Carbon(g kg-1 soil) 6.0 4.5

Available P (kg ha-1) 32.7 38.7

Available K (kg ha-1) 326.1 145.6


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72

Keeping in view the protocol given by the manufacturer,

the treatment with a CF dose providing a basal dose of60kg N ha-1, 90kg ha-1 P2O5, and 35kg K2O ha-1 wasconsidered as the basic treatment (T4, Table 2). Hence,

this CF dose level was considered as 100% of themanufacturer-recommended dose of CF (100% MRDCF).The other treatments were designed around it by varying

this basal CF dose by a level of 25%, starting from 50% (T2)through 75% (T3), 100%(T4), 125% (T5) to 150% (T6).

Two other treatments were control (T1) and application

of basal CF dose as per the state university basal N (60kg

N ha-1) and P (60kg P2O5 ha-1) fertilizer recommendations

(67% of standard CF dose). T7 incidentally provided 23kg

K2O ha-1. Each treatment had three replicates. Besides

basal application, treatments involving graded doses of CF

(T2 through T6) involved top-dressing N through two equated

instalments of urea with first and second irrigations. Amount

of top-dressed N was calculated by maintaining a basal N

to top-dressed N ratio of 0.54. However, in the treatment

involving agreement with state recommended dose of N

and P through CF N was top-dressed once @ 60kg N ha-1

(basal N: top-dressed N ratio 1:1) through urea a day before

first irrigation in keeping with the State university

recommendation.

Wheat crop (variety PBW 550), was sown on 14

November 2010 at Rupnagar site and on 30 November2010 at Gurdaspur. All recommended agronomic practiceswere followed to raise the crop. Below normal temperatures

prevalent during April 2011 delayed the maturityconsiderably at Gurdaspur site. Straw and grain yieldparameters were recorded at maturity. Other observations

included number of tillers and effective tillers per plant orper meter row, plant height at maturity, spike length, numberof grains per spike, spike weight, grain test weight, etc. For

plant height, plants selected at random were tagged and

height was measured in centimeters from ground level tothe base of the ear head. Effective tillers in one meter rowlength were counted from randomly selected rows in each

plot. Grains per spike were assessed by randomly selectingten ear heads from each plot. The experimental data wasexamined statistically using analysis of variance by

employing CS-11 programme (Cheema, 1990).


Plant height. Customized fertilizer application resultedin increased plant height (Table 3), but increasing CF rates

did not increase plant height significantly at Gurdaspur site.At this site, increasing CF rates from 50% to 150% of thebenchmark, CF level (100%) maintained plant height around

a mean of 87.7cm. In contrast, however, at Rupnagar site,increase in plant height with increasing CF level stagnatedat 75% CF level. Mean plant height at CF levels beyond

75% at Rupnagar site was 88.0cm. Average plant height atCF application as per state university recommendationsdid not differ significantly from other CF levels in its vicinity.

Data showed that splitting top-dressed N dose in twoinstalments, first at crown root initiation stage and secondat first node stage, resulted in greater, though statistically

insignificant, plant height than that gained in topdressing Nin one dose at CRI stage. The higher plant height with splittop dressed N has been reported extensively (Bhardwaj etal., 2010, Oscarson et al. 1995). It might have resulted fromincreased production of photosynthates by prolongedavailability of fertilizer N (Bhardwaj et al., 2010).

Effective tillers. On an average, effective tillers formedabout 93-96 per cent of total tillers at Gurdaspur site and93-99% at Rupnagar site (Table 3). It is likely that relatively

earlier planting at Rupnagar site led to slightly better tillering.

Table 2. Various treatments of customized fertilizer used in wheat crop

Treatment CF Level Basal CF Urea First Second Total N Total P Total K Total S Total

CF(kg ha-1) contribution contribution top top added added added added Zn

to basal to basal dressed dressed (kg ha-1) (kg ha-1) (kg ha-1) (kg ha-1) added

N(kg ha-1) N(kg ha-1) N(kg ha-1) N(kg ha-1) (kg ha-1)

T1 Control 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0

T2 50%MRDCF* 188 30 0 30 26 86 45 17 9.4 1.3

T3 75%MRDCF 281 45 0 45 38 128 68 25 14.1 2.0

T4 100%MRDCF 375 60 0 60 51 171 90 34 18.8 2.6

T5 125%MRDCF 469 75 0 75 64 214 113 42 23.4 3.3

T6 150%MRDCF 563 90 0 90 77 257 135 51 28.1 3.9

67% MRDCF

T7 (Standard) 250 40 20 60 0 120 60 23 12.5 1.8

*MRDCF: Manufacturer-recommended dose of customized fertilizer

B.S. Sekhon, Satwinderjit Kaur and Pritpal Singh

73

CF application resulted in increased number of tillers but

increasing CF levels beyond 75% level did not add to thenumber of effective tillers considerably. Further, using CFas per state recommendations (T7) for N and P produced

same number of effective tillers as did the 75% MRDCFapplication.

Spike length. Customized fertilizer application led to

increase in spike length (Table 4). However, increasing ratesof CF beyond 50% of MRDCF in Gurdaspur and beyond75% in Rupnagar did not increase the head length

significantly. Furthermore, Rupnagar site, in general,showed higher response of spike length than did Gurdaspursite. Gurdaspur site produced longer spikes than Rupnagarsite. This varied response can be ascribed to the difference

in fertility status of the two sites and consequent responseto CF.

Spike weight. Customized fertilizer application

increased spike weight over unfertilized soil (Table 4 ).However, in line with other yield attributes, increasing ratesof CF application beyond state-recommended levels (67%

MRDCF) did not add to the spike weight significantly. At bothsites, under normally fertilized conditions, spike weighthovered around a mean of 2.46g.

No. of grains/spike. Customized fertilizer applicationadded to the grain count (Table 4) but increasing CF levelsdid not increase grain count accordingly. On an average, at

both sites under fertilizer levels beyond 67%, CF maintaineda 50-grain/spike level.

1000-grain test weight. Thousand-grain test weight

yield attribute behaved the way other yield attributes did(Table 4). CF applications beyond state-recommended dosedid not help to increase 1000-grain weight. Rupnagar site,

in comparison to Gurdaspur site, showed more responseto CF application in terms of this parameter.

Grain yield. Grain yield is a composite and interactive

effect of above-discussed yield attributes. Accordingly,

increasing CF level beyond state recommended dose (T7,

67% MRDCF) did not lead to a significant increase in grainyield at Gurdaspur site (Table 5 ). In contrast, however, atRupnagar site increasing CF levels went on adding

significantly to grain yield.

Straw yield. Effect of CF application on straw yieldresembles its effect on grain yield (Table 5). However,increasing CF dose went on adding to straw yieldsignificantly till 125% MRDCF level in Rupnagar site and till100% MRDCF in Gurdaspur site. Past 100% MRDCF,Gurdaspur site showed sudden decline in straw yield. Thisdecline, though inexplicable, was in line with decline innumber of effective tillers witnessed at this level (Table 3).However, the extended response of straw yield to increasingCF dose at Rupnagar site can be attributed to comparativelylower organic carbon and available K levels.

Harvest index. Ratio of grain yield to total biomassyield decreased with increasing CF level from 0 to 100%through 50 and 75% at Gurdaspur site (Table 5). However,in accordance with the straw yield pattern, harvest index atthis site increased with increasing CF levels beyond 100%.CF application as per state recommendations for N and Pgave harvest index similar to that in 75% CF level. AtRupnagar site, in general, values of harvest index werehigher than obtained at Gurdaspur site. Also, increasingCF levels did not significantly affect the average harvestindex of 0.474 achieved in all the treatments.

Agronomic Efficiency of Nitrogen (AEN)

At Gurdaspur site, highest AEN was obtained at 50%

MRDCF level (Table 5) and the 150% MRDCF gave thelowest AEN (11.5kg grain kg-1N). The second highest AENat Gurdaspur site was obtained in treatment involving use

of CF as per N and P state recommendations. At Rupnagar,the highest AEN (31.0kg grain kg-1 N) was obtained whenCF dose was equivalent to state recommendations for N

and P. This was followed by 75% CF treatment; and like in

Table 3. Plant height, number of tillers and effective tillers as affected by various customized fertilizer (CF) levels.

Treatment CF level Plant height (cm) No. of tillers m-1 row No. of effective tillers m-1 row

(% of MRDCF) Gurdaspur Rupnagar Gurdaspur Rupnagar Gurdaspur Rupnagar

T1 (control) 0 71.8 62.1 30 29 28 27

T2 50 87.3 74.7 51 58 49 56

T3 75 88.2 87.9 54 75 51 73

T4 100 87.7 88.7 61 81 57 79

T5 125 87.7 89.0 57 84 53 83

T6 150 88.2 89.9 61 86 57 84

T7 67 87.4 84.7 54 74 51 72

LSD (0.05) 2.6 4.2 8 10 7 10

Customized Fertilizer Response on Wheat

74

Gurdaspur site 150% CF treatment gave the lowest AEN(15.3 kg grain kg-1N). In general, use of CF resulted in better

AEN at Rupnagar site. This can be ascribed to comparativelylower organic carbon level (Table 1). The grain yieldresponse to fertilizer can also vary with the environment at

the time of fertilizer application (Otteson et al., 2008).

Net Returns

A perusal of net returns yielded by various CF levels(Table 6) indicated that at both Gurdaspur and Rupnagar

sites, MRDCF 100% treatment gave the highest net returns.

Beyond 75 per cent MRDCF level, Rupnagar site gave highernet returns. This trend can be associated with higher straw

yields at Gurdaspur site. CF levels beyond 67 per cent (staterecommended dose) did not add significantly to the netreturns.

Benefit-cost (B:C) Ratio

A comparison among the two sites shows thatGurdaspur site gave better B:C ratio than Rupnagar sitebelow 67 per cent MRDCF level (Table 6). This difference

did not result from grain yield difference but from higher

Table 4. Spike length, spike weight, number of grains/spike, and grain weight as affected by various CF levels

Treatment CF Level Spike length (cm) Spike wt. (g) No. of grains/spike 1000-grain test wt. (g)

(% of MRDCF) Gurdaspur Rupnagar Gurdaspur Rupnagar Gurdaspur Rupnagar Gurdaspur Rupnagar

T1 (control) 0 9.3 4.6 0.79 0.81 12 13 36.29 13.21

T2 50 11.1 7.1 1.27 1.28 35 36 37.93 23.57

T3 75 10.9 8.8 2.42 2.44 48 49 37.62 36.22

T4 100 11.3 9.0 2.46 2.47 49 51 36.61 36.72

T5 125 11.1 9.3 2.43 2.49 51 51 37.83 36.96

T6 150 11.5 9.3 2.53 2.53 51 53 36.19 36.97

T7 67 11.2 8.7 2.42 2.43 48 49 36.39 35.44

LSD (0.05) 0.6 0.7 0.17 0.16 3 3 0.81 1.55

Table 5. Wheat grain yield, straw yield, nitrogen efficiency, and economic parameters as affected by various CF levels

Treatment CF Level Grain yield (q ha-1) Straw yield (q ha-1) Harvest index AEN(kg grain kg-1 N)

(% of MRDCF) Gurdaspur Rupnagar Gurdaspur Rupnagar Gurdaspur Rupnagar Gurdaspur Rupnagar

T1 (control) 0 16.4 12.3 23.8 13.6 0.417 0.475 - -

T2 50 41.4 29.3 61.3 32.5 0.402 0.473 29.2 19.9

T3 75 45.7 49.9 72.2 55.4 0.389 0.474 22.9 29.3

T4 100 50.3 50.6 84.2 56.7 0.375 0.472 19.8 22.4

T5 125 47.9 51.1 69.7 57 0.409 0.473 14.7 18.2

T6 150 45.9 51.4 72.9 56.9 0.382 0.474 11.5 15.3

T7 67 46.7 49.5 75.1 55 0.389 0.474 25.3 31.0

LSD(0.05) 2.4 0.30 4.9 0.28 0.018 NS 3.1 0.21

AEN= Agronomic Efficiency of Nitrogen

Table 6. Income parameters of various CF treatments

Treatment CF Level Net returns(Rs. ha-1) B:C Ratio

(% of MRDCF) Gurdaspur Rupnagar Gurdaspur Rupnagar

T1 (control) 0 3261 -4100 1.15 0.55

T2 50 40273 18919 2.72 2.25

T3 75 47263 47961 2.95 4.20

T4 100 54793 48367 3.19 4.00

T5 125 47560 48220 2.84 3.78

T6 150 45289 47688 2.70 3.56

T7 67 49370 47691 3.06 4.27

LSD(0.05) 3533 368 0.15 0.02

B.S. Sekhon, Satwinderjit-Kaur, and Pritpal-Singh

75

straw yield across all the treatments at Gurdaspur site aswell. Thus, this superiority in B:C ratio is of significance

only under efficient economic utilization of straw. Accountingfor statistical significance, the highest B:C ratio wasrecorded by the use of CF as per the Punjab state

recommendations for N and P.

Data on yield and yield attributes and economicparameters primarily suggest that using the CF at state

recommended dose for N (120 kg ha-1, half basal, half topdressed once at Crown Root Initiation stage) and P (60kgP2O5 ha-1), equivalent to 67 per cent of the dose considered

standard by the manufacturer, leads to the best results.This is closely followed by the use of CF at 75 per cent of themanufacturer-recommended level. Higher overall response

of various yield and yield attributes to increasing CF levelsat Rupnagar site can be clearly ascribed to the differencesin soil fertility status at the two sites.

REFERENCESBhardwaj, V., Yadav, V. and Chauhan, B.S. (2010) Effect of nitrogen

application timings and varieties on growth and yield of wheatgrown on raised beds. Arch. Agron. Soil Sci. 56: 211-222.

Bijay-Singh, Yadvinder-Singh, Patricia-Imas and Xie Jian-Chang

(2004) Potassium nutrition of the rice-wheat cropping system.Adv. Agron. 81: 203-259.

Cheema, H.S. (1990). A Computer Programming Package forStatistical Analysis Manual. Punjab Agricultural University,Ludhiana.

Olsen, S.R., Cole, C.V., Watanabe, F.S. and Dean L.A. (1954)Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction withsodium bicarbonate. United States Department of Agriculturecircular 939.

Oscarson, P., Lundborg, T., Larsson, M. and Larson, C. M. (1995)Fate and effects on yield components of extra applications ofnitrogen on spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown insolution culture. Plant Soil 175:179–188.

Otteson, B. N., Mergoum, M., Ransom, J. K. and Schatz, B. (2008)Tiller contribution to spring wheat yield under varying seedingand nitrogen management. Agron J. 100:406–413.

Pratt, P F. (1982) Potassium In: Methods of Soil Analysis. Part II.Chemical and Microbiological Properties. In: A.L. Page, R.H.Miller and D.R. Keeney (eds) American Society of Agronomy,Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Madison, Wisconsin, USA, pp. 225-246.

Ramkala, Dahiya, R.R., Dahiya, S.S. and Dalel-Singh (2008)Evaluation of N:P:Zn (10:50:1.5) complex fertilizer in rice-wheatcropping sequence. Indian J. Agric. Res. 42: 288-292.

Walkley, A. and Black, J.A. (1934) An examination of the Degtjareffmethod of determining soil organic matter and a proposedmodification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci. 37:29-38.

Received 1 July, 2011; Accepted 4 March, 2012

Customized Fertilizer Response on Wheat

Green revolution of India has undoubtedly changed thescenario of food grain production which has been more

than doubled during post green revolution period withoutany change in the cultivated area. This has resulted notonly self-sufficiency in food grains production but also made

the country food surplus. This increased level of productioncould be achieved only due to increased use of externalagro-inputs mainly fertilizers. Use of these high analysis

chemical fertilizers in imbalanced and indiscriminatemanner had developed many problems like decline of soilorganic matter, increase in salinity, sodicity, soil pollutant

and hazards of pests and diseases (Chakraborti and Singh,2004). Continuous use of inorganic fertilizers has not onlybrought loss of vital soil fauna and flora but also resulted in

loss of secondary and micronutrients. In organic productionsystems, the soil health is maintained and improved throughstimulating the activity of soil organisms and organic

manures are also helpful in alleviating the increasingincidence or deficiency of secondary and micronutrientsand is capable of sustaining crop productivity. Organic

manures modifies the soil physical behaviour andincreases the efficiency of applied nutrients (Pandey et al.,2007). Regular application of organics in amounts sufficient

to meet the requirements of crops not only results inincreasing crop yield but also improve soil fertility and organicmatter content (Ramesh et al., 2008). Use of organic

manures to meet the nutrient requirement of crops wouldbe an inevitable practice in the years to come for sustainableagriculture hence, organic matter should be replenished

Effect of Organic Nitrogen Management on Yield and Quality ofProduce in Rice–Vegetable Based Cropping System

R. N. Meena* and Kalan SinghDepartment of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi - 221 005 (U.P.), India


Abstract: A field experiment was conducted during 2003-04 and 2004-05 at Research Farm, BHU, Varanasi, U.P. to study the effect ofvarious sources (farm yard manure, vermicompost and poultry manure) and rates of organic manures (100%, 125% and 150% RND) onyield, quality of produce, soil quality and economics of rice-table pea-onion cropping sequence. Poultry manure @ 150% RND gave highergrain (57.96q ha-1) and straw yield (91.27q ha-1) in rice, green pod yield (70.72q ha-1) and straw yield (70.03q ha-1) of table pea and bulb(270.84q/ha) and haulm yield (35.13q ha-1) of onion. On an average, application of poultry manure resulted improved values regarding soilorganic carbon, uptake of available NPK and soil biological properties compared to varying doses of vermicompost, FYM and over thecontrol treatment. Physical properties of soil viz. bulk density and water stable aggregates were not affected due to nitrogen managementthrough organic sources. Economic analysis revealed that the highest rice-grain equivalent yield and maximum net profit (Rs.1,30,799ha-1) from rice-table pea-onion sequence were recorded with the application of 150% RND through poultry manure.

Key Words: Rice, Table pea, Onion, Cropping sequence, Organic farming, System productivity, Economics

by adding organic manures. Therefore, the present studywas conducted to find out the effect of various organic

manures on yield, quality and nutrient uptake by rice-vegetable based cropping system and to explore thepossibility of improving the productivity, profitability and

sustainability of the above sequence by supply of nutrientsthrough organic source.


A field experiment was conducted during 2003-04 and

2004-05 at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh with rice-tablepea-onioncropping sequence during rainy, winter and summerseasons. The soil was sandy clay loam in texture with 7.12

pH, 0.45% organic carbon and 180.5, 18.2 and 202.4 kgha-1 available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium,respectively. The experiment was carried out in randomized

block design in fixed plots lay out replicated thrice consistinga set of ten treatment combinations involving three sourcesof organic manures viz. farm yard manure (FYM),

vermicompost (VM) and poultry manure (PM) adopting 3different rates i.e., 100%, 125% and 150% of recommendednitrogen dose (RND) and 100% RND through urea (control).

The organic manures were applied as per their nutrientcontent on oven dry weight basis. The FYM, vermicompostand poultry manure contained 0.50, 2.30 and 2.80% N, 0.20,

0.75 and 2.20% P2O5 and 0.50, 1.23 and 1.30% K2O,respectively. Organic manures were applied as pertreatment at sowing and mixed thoroughly in 15cm top soil

layer. In control treatment, recommended dose of nitrogen


of Ecology

77

through urea was drilled 10cm deep and 5cm away fromthe seed or seedling. The cultivars of rice (Pusa Sugandha-

3), table pea (Early Apoorva) and onion (Pusa Red) weretransplanted/sown at 20×10cm, 30×10cm and 20×10cm,respectively. Protein content in rice and tablepea grain was

estimated through NIR by taking whole grain under nearinfra-red waves (AOAC, 1995). Pungency (%) in onion wascomputed by Allyl-propyl-disulphide content in onion bulb

determined as pyruvic acid and using formula suggestedby Hort and Fisher (1970). The yield data were recordedand converted into rice-grain equivalent and system

productivity was calculated on the basis of prevailing marketprices of rice, table pea and onion. Economics of treatmentswere calculated on prevailing market price of yield and

inputs during investigation period.


Yield of Rice, Table pea and Onion

An increase in grain and straw yields of rice wererecorded during both the years with increase in level of

nitrogen from 100% recommended dose to 150% under allthe three sources of organic manures (Table 1). Among thedifferent sources of manures used, PM proved significantly

superior followed by VC and FYM. Pooled analysis revealedthat the maximum grain and straw yields i.e. 40.4 per centand 44.4 per cent higher than control were recorded with

PM applied @ 150% RND, which produced significantlygreater yield response than other sources at all the levelsof nitrogen application. However, during first year differences

in straw yield were found non-significant. Grain and strawyield of rice behaved in similar manner and these might beattributed to better physical conditions of soil which provided

congenial growing environment. Maximum reduction in riceyield was found when the crop was fertilized with 100%RND through urea.

The green pod yield level of tablepea improvedconsiderably with successive increment in rate of organicnitrogen nutrition though FYM levels were remained

statistically at par. Incorporation of 150% RND as PMproduced significantly higher green pod yield compared toother sources and their application rates and the increase

was found to the extent of 70.1 per cent and 114.8 per centhigher over control treatment during first and second year,respectively. However, pooled data reflects that application

of PM and VM @ 150% RND produced significantly highergreen pod yield over their 100% RND only and were at partwith 125% RND. Similarly superior values of table pea straw

yields were recorded at higher levels of different sourcesfor nitrogen nutrition. Poultry manure @ 150% RND was

best in enhancing straw yield and had 33.1 per cent higherstraw yield compared with control in pooled analysis.

Bulb and haulm yield of onion were affected significantly(Table 1). Use of FYM, VM and PM gave better bulb yieldthan the control. Increased application of organic manure

alone, from 100 to 150% of the recommended dose of N,also increased bulb and haulm yield. Application of PM andVM brought significant improvement in bulb and haulm yield

of onion over 100% RND through urea (control) irrespectiveof levels of manures. Application of 150% RND as PMrecorded the maximum bulb and haulm yield of onion.

However, superior values of bulb and haulm yield wererecorded in order of PM>VM>FYM>control.

It may thus be inferred that sustainability of rice- table

pea-onion sequence production was not influenced byorganic nitrogen nutrition and poultry manure among allorganic sources used was proved most effective. It might

be due to the fact that mineralized nutrient from thesesources could sufficiently meet the nutritional requirementof the crops. Thus, higher rates over recommended nitrogen

dose favourably influenced plant growth and developmentcharacters which ultimately resulted in higher yields.

Quality of Produce

There were no significant differences in parameters

judged for quality of rice grain due to different treatments

during both the years (Table 2). Protein content, protein yield

and carbohydrate content in tablepea grain differed

significantly due to various treatments and the highest

values of these were noticed with PM treatments followed

by VC, FYM and 100% RND through urea, respectively.

Poultry manure applied @ 150% RND produced maximum

protein content which was significantly superior over control,

100% and 125% RND as FYM during first year and to the

control and 100% RND as FYM during second year of study.

Rest all the treatments were found at par. Protein yield

(452.10 and 458.01 kg ha-1) and carbohydrate content (59.93

and 60.18%) during both years were observed significantly

higher than other treatments when PM applied @ 150%

RND which was at par with PM @ 125% RND. Pungency

percentage in onion was significantly higher with PM

application and followed the order of PM>VM>FYM>control.

Each successive increase in the level of organic nitrogen

nutrition through different sources showed significant

improvement in pungency per cent. The superior

performance exhibited by PM in comparison to other sources

and also better results obtained at higher RND may be

explained with the fact it might have helped in improving thenutrients availability for a prolonged period and improved

Management of Organic Nitrogen Nutrition in Rice–Vegetable Cropping

78

Tab

le 1

. E

ffect

of

orga

nic

nitr

ogen

nut

ritio

n on

the

pro

duct

ivity

of

rice-

high

val

ue c

rop

base

d cr

oppi

ng s

eque

nce

(q h

a-1)

Tre

atm

ent

Ric

eTa

ble

pea

Oni

on

Gra

inS

tra

wG

reen

pod

Str

aw

Bul

bH

aulm

2003

2004

Poo

led

2003

2004

-P

oole

d20

03-

2004

-P

oole

d20

03-

2004

-P

oole

d20

03-

2004

-P

oole

d20

03-

2004

-P

oole

d

-04

-05

-04

0504

0504

0504

0504

05

100

% R

ND

as

FY

M46

.79

40.8

643

.83

64.2

371

.79

68.2

740

.51

51.9

246

.21

59.9

553

.256

.57

23

8.9

42

39

.68

23

9.3

113

.78

13.7

413

.76

125%

RN

D a

s F

YM

47.4

441

.51

44.4

764

.59

77.8

971

.06

40.9

854

.847

.89

60.2

160

.89

60.5

52

45

.94

24

4.7

62

45

.35

21.8

714

.68

18.2

7

150%

RN

D a

s F

YM

48.7

244

.89

46.8

64.7

478

.84

71.7

243

.58

58.3

350

.95

61.8

961

.21

61.5

52

49

.81

25

1.4

72

50

.64

22.9

516

.24

19.6

100%

RN

D a

s V

M49

.56

45.4

347

.49

68.2

81.0

974

.64

49.9

959

.354

.65

62.6

761

.53

62.1

25

0.4

625

8.8

25

4.6

323

.29

17.4

720

.36

125%

RN

D a

s V

M50

.32

50.9

650

.869

.23

81.7

275

.48

59.3

160

.359

.81

63.1

162

.07

62.5

92

57

.46

26

1.0

32

59

.24

24.8

724

.44

24.6

5

150%

RN

D a

s V

M50

.64

51.1

252

72.4

385

.979

.16

62.9

964

.42

63.7

164

.82

62.8

263

.83

26

2.4

22

62

.02

26

2.2

227

.54

26.1

226

.83

100%

RN

D a

s P

M52

.88

54.0

752

.19

74.5

190

.782

.61

63.6

965

.69

64.6

966

.44

63.1

464

.77

26

4.5

42

65

.55

26

5.0

531

.23

26.4

428

.83

125%

RN

D a

s P

M53

.52

54.5

554

.04

74.6

899

.42

87.0

564

.54

68.5

966

.56

66.7

565

.06

65.9

266.

32

66

.12

26

6.2

132

.31

29.3

530

.83

150%

RN

D a

s P

M57

.37

58.5

557

.96

76.1

21

06

.41

91.2

767

.09

74.3

670

.72

68.9

171

.15

70.0

32

70

.54

27

1.1

42

70

.84

35.8

234

.43

35.1

3

100%

RN

D t

hrou

gh u

rea

43.9

138

.62

41.2

761

.48

64.9

463

.21

39.4

434

.62

37.0

357

.44

47.7

652

.62

34

.54

23

8.0

523

6.3

10.2

712

.26

11.2

7

C.D

. (0.

05)

5.80

4.79

3.63

25.4

16.9

214

.74

4.79

11.1

95.

88N

S14

.07

8.78

1419

.72

11.7

8.87

8.18

5.81

RN

D,

reco

mm

ende

d ni

trog

en d

ose;

FY

M,

farm

yard

man

ure;

VM

, ve

rmic

ompo

st;

PM

, po

ultr

y m

anur

eC

harg

es o

f in

put

used

(R

s kg

-1):

Ure

a 5.

00,

FY

M 0

.50,

VM

3.0

0, P

M 3

.00

Sel

ling

pric

e (R

s kg

-1)

of o

rgan

ic p

rodu

ce:

Ric

e gr

ain

6.50

, ta

ble

pea

pod

8.0

0, o

nion

bul

b 4.

00,

rice

and

tabl

e pe

a st

raw

1.0

0S

ellin

g pr

ice

(Rs

kg-1 )

of

inor

gani

c pr

oduc

e: R

ice

grai

n 5.

00,

tabl

e pe

a po

d 5

.00,

oni

on b

ulb

3.00

, ric

e an

d ta

ble

pea

stra

w 0

.50

R. N Meena and Kalan Singh

79Ta

ble

2.

Effe

ct o

f or

gani

c ni

trog

en n

utrit

ion

on q

ualit

y of

ric

e-hi

gh v

alue

cro

p ba

sed

crop

ping

seq

uenc

e

Tre

atm

ent

Ric

eTa

ble

pea

Oni

on

Hul

ling

Mill

ing

Hea

d ric

eP

rote

inP

rote

inP

rote

inC

arbo

hydr

ate

Pun

genc

yC

arbo

hydr

ate

(%)

(%)

reco

very

cont

ent

inco

nte

nt

yiel

dco

nte

nt

(%)

cont

ent

(%)

(%)

grai

n (%

)(%

)(k

g ha

-1)

(%)

2003

-20

04-

2003

-20

04-

2003

-20

04-

2003

-20

04-

2003

-20

04-

2003

-20

04-

2003

-20

04-

2003

-20

04-

2003

-20

04-

0405

0405

0405

0405

0405

0405

0405

0405

0405

100%

RN

D a

s F

YM

71.5

171

.61

59.8

159

.89

57.4

457

.48

5.90

5.87

16.2

016

.27

27

0.8

63

15

.96

56.5

056

.75

0.0

03

90

.00

21

10.3

710

.30

125%

RN

D a

s F

YM

71.6

971

.79

59.8

659

.94

57.5

457

.60

5.96

5.89

16.3

317

.94

30

2.1

13

51

.27

56.6

056

.90

0.0

04

40

.00

35

10.5

710

.33

150%

RN

D a

s F

YM

71.7

671

.84

60.2

660

.34

57.9

257

.99

5.99

5.99

17.2

018

.00

32

9.5

53

65

.94

57.3

057

.55

0.0

04

80

.00

39

10.8

310

.50

100%

RN

D a

s V

M71

.94

72.0

160

.28

60.3

657

.94

58.0

16.

066.

1617

.29

18.0

83

35

.77

37

2.0

957

.60

57.8

50

.00

49

0.0

04

510

.90

10.8

0

125%

RN

D a

s V

M72

.10

72.1

660

.36

60.4

458

.03

58.0

86.

156.

2417

.75

18.1

13

60

.86

38

4.8

457

.90

58.1

50

.00

59

0.0

05

810

.97

10.8

7

150%

RN

D a

s V

M72

.19

72.2

560

.45

60.5

358

.10

58.1

46.

216.

3117

.81

18.5

23

68

.13

41

5.2

258

.25

58.5

00

.00

61

0.0

06

611

.03

10.9

3

100%

RN

D a

s P

M72

.22

72.3

160

.60

60.6

858

.25

58.3

36.

446.

5418

.11

19.0

14

06

.03

42

9.0

658

.69

58.9

40

.00

62

0.0

07

211

.07

11.0

3

125%

RN

D a

s P

M72

.58

72.6

860

.69

60.7

758

.59

58.6

76.

486.

5718

.66

19.0

24

32

.35

45

1.6

759

.25

59.5

00

.00

71

0.0

07

611

.60

11.2

0

150%

RN

D a

s P

M72

.61

72.7

361

.20

61.2

858

.82

58.9

16.

546.

7419

.10

19.2

24

52

.10

45

8.0

159

.93

60.1

80

.00

76

0.0

07

811

.80

11.9

7

100%

RN

D t

hrou

gh u

rea

70.9

471

.06

59.6

959

.77

57.3

757

.45

5.89

5.84

15.3

016

.05

24

7.4

02

96

.93

56.2

656

.51

0.0

01

70

.00

14

10.2

010

.10

C.D

. (0.

05)

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

2.44

2.92

20.8

88.

451.

151.

12N

SN

SN

SN

S

Tab

le 3

. P

aram

eter

s as

inf

luen

ced

by o

rgan

ic n

itrog

en n

utrit

ion

at t

he e

nd o

f 2

year

s cy

cle

of r

ice-

high

val

ue c

rop

base

d se

quen

ce

Tre

atm

ent

Soi

l ph

ysic

al p

aram

eter

sS

oil c

hem

ical

par

amet

ers

Soi

l bio

logi

cal p

aram

eter

s

Bul

kP

oros

ityW

ater

sta

ble

Org

an

icA

vaila

ble

nutr

ient

(kg

ha-1

)B

act

eri

aF

ungi

Act

ino

myc

ete

s

de

nsi

ty (

%)

ag

gre

ga

tes

carb

on

(x1

03)

(x1

03)

(x1

03)

(g c

c-1)

(%)

(%)

NP

K

100%

RN

D a

s F

YM

1.36

40.3

218

.01

0.44

18

4.3

424

.43

15

4.4

162

.82

22.5

33.7

3

125%

RN

D a

s F

YM

1.37

40.3

818

.18

0.45

18

5.4

624

.61

15

4.8

763

.63

23.0

334

.74

150%

RN

D a

s F

YM

1.39

41.3

418

.20.

461

86

.72

25.4

41

55

.44

66.9

224

.00

35.4

3

100%

RN

D a

s V

M1.

3840

.318

.01

0.47

18

7.7

326

.52

15

7.4

272

.34

25.3

136

.25

125%

RN

D a

s V

M1.

440

.36

18.2

0.48

18

9.4

427

.82

15

8.8

477

.94

27.9

437

.44

150%

RN

D a

s V

M1.

4141

.18

18.5

0.49

18

9.9

528

16

0.4

278

.65

28.6

343

.18

100%

RN

D a

s P

M1.

3940

.218

.04

0.5

19

0.4

428

.42

16

1.7

279

.54

29.4

546

.94

125%

RN

D a

s P

M1.

4140

.22

18.3

20.

521

91

.43

28.8

41

62

.43

80.4

432

.11

54.4

6

150%

RN

D a

s P

M1.

4240

.95

18.6

50.

541

92

.98

29.4

31

64

.12

82.4

537

.82

58.2

3

100%

RN

D t

hrou

gh u

rea

1.35

40.0

218

.00

0.4

17

8.9

522

.44

15

2.4

441

.85

11.4

933

.44

C.D

. (0.

05)

NS

0.86

NS

0.12

9.78

0.56

8.94

--

-


80

physical condition of soil allowed better utilization ofnutrients and root penetration of crops.

Soil Quality

Soil physical parameters viz. bulk density and waterstable aggregates did not showed any profound effect dueto addition of organic materials (Table 3). The values of

chemical properties of soil like organic carbon, available N,P and K increased significantly from initial stage and overcontrol treatment on the completion of 2-years cycle of rice-

tablepea-onion sequence. The maximum organic carbonbuild up was accured (0.54%) when 150% RND wassupplied through PM (T4) while the least value (0.40%) was

noticed with the 100% RND through urea. The organiccarbon of the soil increased over its initial status (0.38%)under nitrogen supply through organic sources. The nutrient

status of the experimental site was also affectedsignificantly by the application of different organic manuresalongwith their varying rates. Results clearly indicated

improved fertility status of soil due to increased values ofavailable N, P and K in all organic treatments over its initialvalue as well as control. Application of organic manures

with increased rate enhanced soil fertility over their lowerdoses. At the end of 2-year sequence, 150% RND appliedas PM maintained higher values of organic carbon and

available N, P and K. Next best treatments in this respectwere also found when PM applied with reduced rates of125% and 100% RND, respectively. Continuous application

of organic manures in sufficient quantities have beenreported to improve the soil organic carbon and availableN, P and K in soil thereby sustaining the soil health (Tiwari

et al., 2002). Soil biological properties showed improvementin the soil microbial counts over its initial values at the end

of 2-years cropping sequence due to supplementation oforganic sources. Poultry manure applied @ 150% RND

was best which lead into higher counts of bacteria(82.45×103), fungi (37.82×103) and actinomycetes(58.23×103) closely followed by the treatments where PM

was applied with reduced rates. The control had relativelylower values of soil microbial count than the organictreatments. The favourable effect of organics on soil

biological properties is a proven fact which helped inproviding ideal conditions and presumably increased themicrobial activity because of the available high organic

matter. Hati et al. (2001) and Shanmei et al. (2002) alsoreported favourable effect of organic manures on soilphysical and biological properties.

System Productivity and Economics

Pooled data of 2-years revealed that the systemproductivity of rice-tablepea-onion sequence in terms of rice-grain equivalent yield was highest with the application of

PM @ 150% RND than other treatments. In general theproduction of grain, pod and bulb of rice, tablepea and onionwere higher with application of organic manures,

respectively. Higher application rate of each manureaugmented system productivity of which PM was bestclosely followed by VM. Pooled economic evaluation in terms

of monetary return showed that all the organic nitrogennutrition treatments gave higher net returns and benefit :cost ratio than control (Table 4), indicating that organic

nitrogen management is a productive and remunerativepractice while 100% RND through urea was not foundeconomical. Onion gave maximum net profit followed by

tablepea while rice cultivation in sequence was lessprofitable. In case of rice -tablepea-onion system, maximum

Table 4. Effect of organic nitrogen nutrition on rice grain equivalent yield (RGEY) and economics of rice–high value crop basedsequence (mean data of 2 years)

Treatment System Net return (Rs ha-1) from component

Rice grain Net return Benefit : crops in sequence

equivalent yield ( Rs ha-1 ) cost ratio)

(RGEY) Rice Table pea Onion

100% RND as FYM 24797 97749 1.29 4009 29804 63936

125% RND as FYM 25439 96602 1.18 1704 31046 63852

150% RND as FYM 26375 96846 1.10 284 33094 63468

100% RND as VM 27145 114198 1.50 7025 37108 70065

125% RND as VM 28394 116451 1.42 6260 40784 69407

150% RND as VM 29178 116038 1.32 4408 43530 68100

100% RND as PM 29492 130517 1.72 10877 45407 74233

125% RND as PM 29978 128233 1.56 9523 46515 72195

150% RND as PM 31167 130799 1.49 9493 49758 71548

100% RND through urea 22008 49494 0.91 3183 10109 36202

R. N Meena and Kalan Singh

81

net return of Rs. 1, 30,799 ha-1 with 1.49 benefit: cost ratiowas obtained when crops were fertilized with 150% RNDthrough PM. It was followed by (Rs. 1, 30,517 ha-1 and 1.72benefit: cost ratio) 100% RND applied as PM. The benefit:cost ratio reduced with increase in the rate of manureapplication is an indicative of the fact that additionalproductivity obtained due to increased manurial dose overRND and the value of additional product/ha were notproportionately increased.

It was concluded that growing of rice-tablepea-onionsequence with organic nitrogen nutrition applied as 150%RND through PM could be beneficial for enhancing soilfertility and sustaining the system productivity.

REFERENCESChakarborti, Mandira and Singh, N.P. (2004). Bio-compost: a novel

input to organic farming. Agrobios News Letter 2(8):14-15.

Hati, K.M., Mandal, K.G., Mishra, A.K., Ghosh, P.K. and Acharya,C.L. (2001). Effect of irrigation regimes and nutrientmanagement on soil water dynamics, evapo-transpiration andyield of wheat in vertisols. Indian J. Agricultural Sciences71(9): 581-587.

Hort, F.L. and Fisher, H.J. (1970). Determination of Pyruvic acid indehydrated onion. In: Modern Food Analysis Springer Verlog,Berlin, Neidelberg, New York, pp. 433-434.

Pandey, N., Verma, A.K., Anurag, and Tripathi, R.S. (2007). Integratednutrient management in transplanted hybrid rice (Oryza sativaL.). Indian J. Agron. 52(1): 40-42.

Ramesh, P., Panwar, N.R., Singh, A.B. and Ramana, S. (2008).Effect of organic manures on productivity, nutrient uptake andsoil fertility of maize – Linseed cropping system. Indian J.Agricultural Sciences 78(4): 351-354.

Tiwari, A., Dwivedi, A.K. and Diskhit, P.R. 2002. Long term influenceof organic and inorganic fertilization on soil fertility andproductivity os soybean – wheat system in a vertisols. J.Indian Society of Soil Science 50(4): 472-475.

Received 8 October, 2011; Accepted 13 March, 2012


The consumption of chemical fertilizers was recorded

more than 14.31 million tonnes during 2003-04. The greenrevolution with high use inorganic fertilizers has reached aplateau with falling dividends. The intensive use of inorganic

fertilizers alone had polluted the soil, water and environment.The problem is further aggravated in most of the vegetablecrops when the crop residues are seldom left in the fields

for biological decomposition as a result organic matter islost rapidly. The probable solution for the vegetable growerswould be to follow the practices of integrated use of nutrients

without compromising for production. It may not be possibleto completely replace the chemical fertilizers. However, itseems to be possible to reduce the dose of inorganic

fertilizers by substituting some part of nutrients frombiofertilizers. For this, the dose of fertilizers need to begradually reduced and be balanced by increasing the use

of optimum quantity of organic manures and biofertilizers.Azotobacter and Azospirillium the strains of free livingnitrogen bacteria can help to reduce the consumption of

nitrogen. Likewise strains of Phosphorus Solublizingbacteria (PSB) can make available the phosphorus alreadypresent in the soil. The scientists have also advocated the

inoculation of plants with Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrizae(VAM) which can help to proliferase tips of roots which canhelp to absorb phosphorus assimilates from the soil.

Keeping in view these facts a study has been planned tocompare the production potential of cabbage under theinfluence of various biofertilizers and farm yard manure

(FYM) and to study the possibility of limiting the use ofinorganic fertilizers by using biofertilizers and FYM.

Effect of Biofertilizers on Yield and Quality Traits of Cabbage(Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.)

N.S. Gill, J. S. Bal and D. S. Khurana*Department of Vegetable Crop, Punjab Agricultural Unviersity, Ludhiana-141 004, India

*E-mail:[email protected]

Abstract: The present investigation was carried out at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Moga during 2007-2009. The experimental materialcomprised of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitala L.) cv. Golden Acre, grown in randomized block design and replicated thrice.Maximum head weight during 2008 was found in plots were Phosphorus Solublizing Bacteria (PSB) with recommended dose of Nitrogen(N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium was applied, while in 2009, maximum head weight was observed where PSB + 75%P + recommendeddose of N and K was applied. It was found that in cabbage maximum ratio of polar and equitorial diameter was obtained whereAzotobactor with 75% recommended P and full dose of N and K was applied during 2008. But in 2009, maximum ratio was found intreatment where only recommended dose of N, P and K was applied. Maximum Ascorbic acid was obtained where PSB with 75% P andrecommended dose of N and K was applied. Maximum chlorophyll content was obtained when Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrizae (VAM)+75% P + full dose of N and K was applied during 2008. But maximum chlorophyll content during 2009 was found where VAM with fulldoses of N, P and K was applied. Thus, it is concluded that all the treatments, which included biofertilizers gave better results than thetreatments with only recommended dose of chemical fertilizers.

Key Words: Biofertilizers, Quality traits, Cabbage, Yield

MATERIAL AND METHOD

The present investigation was carried out at Krishi

Vigyan Kendra, Moga and Biochemistry Laboratory of theDepartment of Vegetable crops, Punjab AgriculturalUniversity, Ludhiana. The nursery of cabbage cv. Golden

Acre was sown in second week of October, 2007 and 2008.Before sowing the seed was treated with Captan @ 3gm/kg of seed. The thirty days old seedlings were transplanted

in the second week of November. Before transplanting theseedlings were treated with Azotobacter, Azospirillium andPSB at the rate given below for one hour. Vesicular

Arbuscular Mycorrizae was applied as soil applicationbefore transplanting. FYM was incorporated into the soil onair dry weight basis. It contains 1.6% N, 1.5% P and 1.4% K.

Table 1. Different treatments of biofertilizers for experiment

Biofertilizer Dose Method of Application

Azotobactor 200 g acre-1 Seedling dip treatment

Azosprillium 200 g acre-1 -do-

PSB 200 g acre-1 -do-

VAM 200 g acre-1 Soil application

FYM 16 tonne acre-1 Soil application

The present investigation was carried out inrandomized block design (RBD) replicated thrice. There

were eleven treatments including control (Table 1).Recommended dosages of chemical fertilizers as perpackage of practices for vegetable crops by Punjab

Agricultural University, Ludhiana i.e., 125:60:60 kg ha-1 N, Pand K, respectively were applied. The chemical fertilizersurea, single super phosphate and muriate of potash were


of Ecology

83

used as source of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassiumrespectively. Half dose of urea and full dose of single super

phosphate and muirate of potash was applied beforetransplanting. The remaining half dose of urea was appliedfour weeks after transplanting. The seedlings were

transplanted on ridges by keeping the inter-row spacing of60 cm and intra-row spacing of 45 cm. Irrigation was appliedimmediately after transplanting. Later on timely irrigations,

cultural practices and sprays were done as per packageand practices for vegetable crops to raise the healthy crop.The observations were recorded on plant height (cm),

number of leaves, head weight (g), head shape, total yield(q/ha), ascorbic acid(mg/100g) and chlorophyll content (μg/g) The data was subjected to randomized block design

analysis.


Maximum plant height of 24.87 cm in 2008 and 20.88cm in 2009 was observed in plots (Table 1) where PSB with

recommended dose of N, P & K was applied, which was atpar with (Azospirillium + 75% N + recommended dose P &K, Azospirillium + recommended N, P & K, Azotobactor +

75% N + recommended P & K, Azotobactor + recommendedN, P & K, VAM + 75% P + recommended N & K but significantlyhigher than recommended N, P & K, and Control. The

beneficial effects of biofertilizers are well known as theincrease in growth attributes could be because of certaingrowth promoting substances secreted by microbial

inoculants and increased availability of nitrogen andphosphorus. Present study finds the support of Rather etal. (2003) who has reported that application of biofertilizers

help to increase the growth attributes.

In cabbage, maximum number of non-wrapper leaves13.17 during 2008 and 13.13 2009 (Table 1) were found in

plots where Azotobactor + recommended dose of N, P andK was applied. This was at par with other treatments andthere was no significant difference among different

treatments. Similar results were also reported by Verma etal. (1997). It was observed that in plots where biofertilizerswas applied, produced more number of leaves. However,

maximum head weight during 2008 was observed with PSB+ recommended dose of N, P and K was applied whichwas significantly higher than recommended N, P and K,

Azosprillium + 75% N + recommended P and K and butwas as par with VAM + 75% P + recommended N and K,PSB + 75% P + recommended N and K. During 2009,

maximum head weight was found in plot where PSB + 75%P + recommended N and K was applied which wassignificantly higher than treatments Azospirillium + 75% N

+ recommended P & K, Azotobactor + 75% N +recommended P & K but was at par with VAM + 75% P+

recommended N & K, PSB + recommended N, P & K. Thelowest head weight per plant 215.09 g and 251.53 g during2008-2009 respectively was obtained from control where

neither chemical fertilizer nor biofertilizer was supplied.Improvement in yield with PSB might be due to bettersolublization of insoluble fixed P and better uptake of soluble

P by the plant. Present study finds the support of Bahadur etal. (2004 and 2006).

During 2008, maximum ascorbic acid 40.57 mg/g

(Table 2) was obtained in treatment where PSB + 75% P +recommended dose of N and K was applied which wassignificantly higher than Azosprillium + 75% N +

recommended P and K. But during 2009, maximum ascorbicacid 45.13 mg g-1 was found where Azotobactor + 75% N +recommended P and K was applied, which was significantly

higher than all treatments except recommended N, P andK, PSB + recommended N, P and K and FYM. In both theyears, minimum ascorbic acid 29.43 mg g-1 and 30.87 mg

g-1 was found in 2008 and 2009 respectively in control. Itwas observed from the data that biofertilizers likeAzotobactor, Azosprillium and PSB tend to increase the

ascorbic acid. The maximum and significantly higherascorbic acid content over other treatments were obtainedfrom Azotobactor, Azosprillium and PSB. Ascorbic acid was

found higher in treatments with biofertilizers. This might bedue to physiological influence of Azospirillium on a numberof enzymes (Sendur et al., 1998).

The data in Table 2, revealed that maximum chlorophyll

content 92 ug/g was found where VAM + 75% P +

recommended dose of N and K was applies which was at

par with treatment VAM + recommended N, P and K and

was significantly higher than all treatments in 2008. During

2009, maximum chlorophyll content was found in plots

where VAM + recommended N, P and K was applied which

was at par with treatments Azospirillium + 75% N +

recommended P & K and VAM + 75% P+ recommended N

& K but was significantly higher than recommended N, P

and K, Azospirillium + recommended N, P& K, PSB + 75% P

+ recommended N & K and control.

Effect of biofertilizers on head shape is also presented

in Table 1. Maximum ratio (1.00) was found where

Azotobactor + 75% N + recommended dose of P and K was

applied in 2008. During both years, there was no significant

difference in head shape. During in 2009, lowest ratio 1.01

was found in control where neither chemical fertilizer nor

biofertilizers were applied.

Biofertilizers and Cabbage

84

Tab

le 1

. E

ffect

of

biof

ertil

izer

s on

eco

nom

ic t

raits

of

cabb

age

Tre

atm

ents

Pla

nt h

eigh

t (cm

)N

on

-wra

pp

er

lea

ves

Hea

d w

eigh

t (g

)H

ead

shap

e

2008

2009

Mea

n20

0820

09M

ean

2008

2009

Mea

n20

0820

09M

ean

Rec

omm

ende

d N

, P, K

19.3

317

.24

18.2

910

.51

11.5

011

.01

51

5.3

36

24

.27

56

9.8

00.

991.

051.

02

Azo

spiri

llium

+75

% N

+R

ecom

men

ded

P a

nd K

24.3

820

.18

22.2

810

.73

10.5

110

.62

51

4.8

56

19

.87

56

7.3

61.

001.

041.

02

Azo

spiri

llium

+R

ecom

men

ded

N, P

, K22

.29

20.2

721

.28

11.7

112

.21

11.9

65

16

.17

63

3.4

35

74

.80

0.98

1.04

1.01

Azo

toba

ctor

+75

%N

+R

ecom

men

ded

P a

nd K

24.5

219

.84

22.1

813

.17

13.1

313

.15

51

5.4

96

21

.09

56

8.2

91.

001.

121.

06

Azo

toba

ctor

+R

ecom

men

ded

N,

P a

nd K

23.8

019

.37

21.5

912

.34

12.4

012

.37

52

2.9

24

37

.15

48

0.0

30.

981.

041.

01

VA

M+

75%

P+

Rec

omm

eded

N a

nd K

24.3

320

.69

22.5

110

.78

10.7

810

.78

59

3.4

76

68

.74

63

1.1

00.

991.

021.

01

VA

M+

Rec

omm

ende

d N

, P a

nd K

21.4

018

.35

19.8

710

.79

11.3

511

.07

59

1.1

56

65

.75

62

8.4

50.

991.

041.

02

PS

B+

75%

P+

Rec

omm

ende

d N

and

K23

.28

20.3

621

.82

11.4

711

.62

11.5

46

10

.74

68

7.9

36

49

.34

1.00

1.04

1.02

PS

B+

Rec

omm

ende

d N

, P a

nd K

24.8

720

.88

22.8

711

.75

11.3

711

.56

61

4.5

86

50

.44

63

2.5

10.

961.

020.

99

FY

M17

.32

16.1

916

.75

10.4

110

.48

10.4

53

59

.93

55

6.0

54

57

.99

0.96

1.09

1.03

Con

trol

16.1

814

.81

15.4

99.

727.

128.

422

15

.09

25

1.5

32

33

.31

0.97

1.02

1.00

LSD

(0.0

5)2.

312.

372.

34N

.S.

N.S

.N

.S.

30.1

145

.21

36.6

3N

.S.

N.S

.N

.S.

*rat

io o

f tw

o ax

is

Tab

le 2

. E

ffect

of

biof

ertil

izer

s on

qua

lity

trai

ts o

f ca

bbag

e

Tre

atm

ents

Asc

orbi

c ac

id (

mg

100g

-1)

Chl

orop

hyll

cont

ent

(u g

-1)

Yie

ld (

q ha

-1)

2008

2009

Mea

n20

0820

09M

ean

2008

2009

Mea

n

Rec

omm

ende

d N

, P, K

35.4

340

.18

37.8

155

.67

57.0

056

.34

18

9.7

21

98

.79

19

4.2

6

Azo

spiri

llium

+75

% N

+R

ecom

men

ded

P a

nd K

38.8

645

.13

42.0

071

.33

71.0

071

.17

18

3.4

51

95

.23

18

9.3

4

Azo

spiri

llium

+R

ecom

men

ded

N, P

, K37

.66

44.2

240

.94

73.3

374

.33

73.8

31

90

.03

20

4.1

51

97

.09

Azo

toba

ctor

+75

%N

+R

ecom

men

ded

P a

nd K

38.5

645

.35

41.9

571

.00

71.6

771

.34

18

5.2

82

00

.07

19

2.6

7

Azo

toba

ctor

+R

ecom

men

ded

N,

P a

nd K

38.4

644

.36

41.4

170

.67

70.6

770

.67

19

5.6

92

03

.95

19

9.8

2

VA

M+

75%

P+

Rec

omm

eded

N a

nd K

37.7

744

.47

41.1

277

.67

78.6

778

.17

20

2.1

22

08

.43

20

5.2

7

VA

M+

Rec

omm

ende

d N

, P a

nd K

38.2

243

.50

40.8

678

.67

79.0

078

.84

20

9.2

42

17

.88

21

3.5

6

PS

B+

75%

P+

Rec

omm

ende

d N

and

K40

.57

41.2

240

.89

74.3

375

.00

74.6

72

14

.85

22

0.7

12

17

.78

PS

B+

Rec

omm

ende

d N

, P a

nd K

36.1

836

.34

36.2

672

.67

75.0

073

.84

21

0.1

22

08

.88

20

9.5

0

FY

M33

.58

34.0

833

.83

41.3

342

.67

42.0

01

76

.43

18

4.1

51

80

.29

Con

trol

29.4

330

.78

30.1

137

.33

37.6

737

.50

93.8

798

.19

96

.00

3

LSD

(0.0

5)1.

784.

111.

923.

983.

873.

9216

.07

13.2

414

.49

N.S. Gill, J. S. Bal and D. S. Khurana

85

As shown in Table 2, maximum yield 214.85 q ha-1

during 2008 and 220.71 q ha-1 during 2009 was found where

PSB + 75% P + recommended dose of N and K was applied,

which was significantly higher than recommended N, P and

K, Azosprillium + 75% N + recommended P and K,

Azotobactor + 75% N + recommended P and K and FYM but

was at par with treatments VAM + 75% P + recommended N

and K and PSB + recommended N, P and K.

Thus, it was concluded that the treatments, which

included biofertilizers gave better cabbage production as

well as quality over recommended dose of chemical

fertilizers. The biofertilizers application helped to save 25

per cent N as well as P.

REFERENCESBahadur, A., Singh, J. and Singh, K.P. (2004) Response of cabbage

to organic manures and biofertilizers. Indian J. Hort. 61(3) :278-279.

Bahadur, A., Singh, J., Singh, K.P., Upadhaya, A.K. and Rai, M.(2006) Effect of organic amendments and biofertilizers ongrowth, yield and quality attributes of Chinese cabbage(Brassica pekinensis). Indian J. Agric.Sci. 76(10): 596-598.

Rather, S.A, Ahmed, M. and Chatto, M.A. (2003) Response of onionto microbial inoculation and chemical nitrogen. Haryana J. Hort.Sci. 32(3-4) : 270-271.

Sendur, K.S., Natarjan, S. and Thamburj, S. (1998) Effect of organicand inorganic fertilizers on growth, yield and quality of tomato.S. Indian Hort. 46(3,4) : 203-205.

Verma, T.S., Thakur, P.C. and Singh, A. (1997) Effect of biofertilizerson vegetable and seed yield of cabbage. Veg. Sci. 24(1) : 1-3.

Biofertilizers and Cabbage


Canola (Brassica napus L.) is a genetically improved

version of rapeseed and is low in both erucic acid and

glucosinolates, which distinguish it from ordinary rapeseed.

It is also called double zero (‘00’) crop and swede rape. In

irrigated agro-ecosystem, liberal use of irrigation and

nitrogen application offer congenial environment for growth

and development of weeds. Application of nitrogen may

shift the competition in favor of crops against weeds.

Increased crop vigour as a result of increased nutrient

uptake may suppress the weeds due to shading (Mishra

and Kurchania, 1999). Canola seed yield respond to

nitrogen fertilizer applied at either sowing or bud stage,

generally increasing with increased nitrogen upto 200 Kg

ha-1 (Ramsey and Callinan, 1994). Per cent yield loss due

to weeds decreases as we go for higher and higher doses

of nitrogen. It was reported that per cent yield loss due to

weeds was 14.3 per cent at 100 kg ha-1 nitrogen application,

which was significantly lower as compared to no nitrogen

application (Anon., 2001).

Increasing costs of herbicide inputs in intensive crop

production systems and incidence of herbicide resistance

in weeds have renewed interest in exploiting crop

competitiveness to reduce herbicide use. Variation in

competitive ability against weeds exist not only among crop

species, but among cultivars within species. So in this

investigation, it is to be studied that how nitrogen levels

would help in shifting the advantage of competition toward

crop for different varieties of canola gobhi sarson. Hence,

the current research is planned to explore the competitive

potential of canola gobhi sarson against weeds and also

whether it could be increased with nitrogen application.

Effect of Nitrogen Levels, Cultivars and Weed Control Treatmentson Smothering Potential of Canola Gobhi Sarson (Brassica napus L.)

Lovreet Singh Shergill*, B. S. Gill and P. S. ChahalDepartment of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana- 141 004, India


Abstract: The field experiment was conducted during the rabi season of 2008-09 to study the effect of various nitrogen levels, cultivarsand weed control treatments on smothering potential of canola gobhi sarson (Brassica napus L.). The crop registered significantly highervalue of seed yield (19.29 q ha-1) with the application of 125 kg N ha-1, with further increase in nitrogen up to 150 and 175 kg N ha-1, theincrease was non-significant. The weed population and dry matter accumulation data revealed decreasing trend with increasing level ofnitrogen. Among the cultivars, the differences in weed population and dry matter accumulation were non-significant. There was nodifference in competitive ability of both cultivars. Hyola PAC 401 yielded higher (20.21 q ha-1) because of its higher yield potential than GSC6 (18.87 q ha-1). Hand weeding registered higher values of yield attributes viz. plant height, dry matter, LAI, primary and secondarybranches plant-1, number of siliquae plant-1 which resulted in higher seed yield (20.67 q ha-1) as compared to unweeded control.

Key Words: Smothering potential, Brassica napus, Canola, Gobhi sarson, Weed, Nitrogen


Field investigation was carried out at the StudentsResearch Farm, Department of Agronomy, Punjab

Agricultural University, Ludhiana, during rabi 2008-09 onloamy sand soils with low organic carbon (0.28 %), lowavailable nitrogen (243 kg ha-1), medium in availablePhosphorus (20.8 kg ha-1) and potash (188 kg ha-1). The

experiment comprised 16 treatments with three replicationsand was laid out in a split plot design with four levels ofnitrogen (100, 125, 150 and 175 kg ha-1) in main plots and

two cultivars (GSC 6 and Hyola PAC 401) and two weedcontrol methods (weeded and unweeded) in subplots. Thecrop was sown on 24th October 2008 with hand drill, in rows

45 cm apart and seeds were covered with light soil. Theplant to plant spacing of 10 cm was kept by thinning thecrop. Nitrogen was applied through urea (46% N), whereas,

phosphorus was applied through single super phosphate(16% P2O5), which is also source of sulphur (12% S). Handweeding was done at 30 days after sowing (DAS) to the

crop by using small hand tool. The first post sowing irrigationto the crop was given at 30 days after sowing. Secondirrigation was applied at 50 DAS of crop, whereas, third and

last irrigation was given at 75 days after sowing of crop. Allrecommended plant protection measures were adopted.To protect the crop from aphids and cabbage caterpillar

alternate sprays of insecticides, Thiodon 35 EC(Endosulfan) @ 500 ml/acre was made at appropriate cropgrowth stages.

Weed population and dry matter was recorded specieswise. Weeds were counted by randomly throwing a quadrantof size 0.3 × 0.3 m in each plot and results expressed as


of Ecology

87

number m-2, whereas, weeds collected from the plots forweed count were sun dried, followed by oven drying at 60°

± 2°C till constant weight was obtained. The samples wereweighed and results expressed as g m-2. Species-wise drymatter accumulated by weeds was summed up to get the

value for total of weed dry matter accumulation by allspecies.

The plant height of five plants was measured from

ground to tip of main shoot. Above ground parts of plantsfrom each plot were removed from 30 cm row length, airdried and further dried in a hot air oven at 60° ± 2°C till

constant weight was obtained. Dry weight was recorded atharvest and expressed as g m-2. The periodic leaf areaindex (LAI) and photosynthetic active radiation interception

(PARI) of plants was recorded with sun scan canopyanalyzer. The observations were taken at random from fourplaces in each plot at 12:00 noon to 12:30 PM in a day. The

number of primary, secondary branches and siliquae plant-1

of five plants was counted and average was worked out.One thousand seeds were taken from each plot for obtaining

test weight. The crop was harvested manually when colourof stems, branches and siliquae changed from green tolight yellow or brown. The harvested crop was tied in

bundles, labeled and kept for sun drying for few days.Threshing was done manually separately for each plot andcleaned by proper winnowing. The entire produce from net

plot was weighed and expressed in q ha-1.


Effect on Weed Population

Weed flora of the experimental field consisted ofChenopodium album, Lepidium sativa, Rumex dentatus,Phalaris minor, Avena ludoviciana, Gnaphalium purpureum,Melilotus alba, Spergulla arvensis, Anagallis arvensis andMedicago denticulata. The data on major weed population

i.e., C. album, L. sativa, R. dentatus, P. minor are discussedin Table 1. The weed species which showed very lessnumber per unit area in periodic weed counts were grouped

under one heading i.e. other weed species. These weedspecies consist of A. ludoviciana, G. purpureum, M. alba, S.arvensis, A. arvensis and M. denticulata.

The population data revealed that there were non-significant differences in weed count in all the weed speciesviz. C. album, L. sativa, R. dentatus, P. minor and other,

among various levels of nitrogen at harvest, but a decreasingtrend was observed with higher level of nitrogen except inC. album. This may be due to the increase in crop plant

height and the crop covered inter-row spaces more rapidlywhich suppressed the weeds, and ultimately the weed

population was reduced. Among cultivars, the difference inweed population was non-significant for all the species.

However, weed population in GSC 6 was higher than HyolaPAC 401, this maybe due to spreading and comparativelyquick growth habit of Hyola cultivar. At 120 days after sowing

(DAS), the weeded treatments recorded significantly lowervalues of weed count (3.3, 4.2, 2.0, 3.7 and 2.7 m-2) for allthe weeds viz., C. album, L. sativa, R. dentatus, P. minorand other respectively, as compared to that of unweededcontrol. All other interaction effects were found to be non-significant. Similar results were also reported by Singh

(2006) in P. minor in varieties and weed control methods.

Effect on Weed Dry Matter

The data collected for dry matter accumulation by C.album at 120 DAS (Table 1) revealed that there were non-

significant differences in dry matter accumulation among

various nitrogen levels at all stages of observation. It was

observed that the dry matter of weeds declined with

subsequent increase in nitrogen levels. This may be due to

the fact that with each increment in nitrogen level, the crop

dry matter increased, which may have suppressed the weed

growth. Hosseni et al. (2006) also reported that the addition

of nitrogen fertilizer resulted in increasing plant leaf area

index (LAI) and decreasing weed dry matter. Cultivar Hyola

PAC 401 registered lower values of weed dry matter as

compared to GSC 6, although the differences were non-

significant. This may be due to greater suppression by the

crop due to greater plant height, LAI and dry matter

accumulation by the crop. Among weed control treatments,

hand weeding treatment gave significantly lower values of

weed dry matter accumulation over that of unweeded control

at 120 DAS. Chauhan et al. (2005) reported that two hand

weedings drastically reduced weed density and weed

biomass. All other interaction effects were found non-

significant.

Effect on Crop

Increase in nitrogen application from 100 to 175 Kgha-1 resulted in increase in plant height Maximum plant

height (152.1 cm) was recorded with 175 Kg N ha-1, whichwas significantly higher as compared to 100 and 125 Kg Nha-1 but it was statistically at par with of 150 Kg N ha-1 (149.6

cm). The results are in conformity with Kumar et al. (2002).Application of 175 Kg N ha-1 gave significantly higher drymatter accumulation (819.4 g m-2) over 100 Kg N ha-1

application but was statistically at par with 150 Kg N ha-1

and 125 Kg N ha-1 at harvest. Similar results have beenreported by Gill and Narang (1993) and Chauhan et al.(1992). Significantly higher LAI was recorded with 175 kg N

Weed Control Treatments on Smothering Potential of Canola Gobhi Sarson

88

Tab

le 1

.E

ffect

of

diffe

rent

nitr

ogen

lev

els,

cul

tivar

s an

d w

eed

cont

rol

trea

tmen

ts o

n w

eed

popu

latio

n an

d dr

y m

atte

r ac

cum

ulat

ion*

Tre

atm

ent

Wee

d po

pula

tion

m-1

at 1

20 D

AS

Wee

d dr

y m

atte

r ac

cum

ulat

ion

(g m

-2)

at

120

DA

S

Che

nopo

dium

Lepi

dium

Rum

exP

ha

lari

sO

ther

Che

nopo

dium

Lepi

dium

Rum

exP

ha

lari

sO

ther

Tota

l dry

mat

ter

alb

um

sativ

ade

ntat

usm

inor

spe

cie

sa

lbu

msa

tiva

dent

atus

min

orsp

eci

es

accu

mul

atio

n

Nitr

ogen

(K

g ha

-1)

100

6.76

6.21

3.53

6.02

4.27

5.63

4.35

1.96

2.47

2.81

111.

64

(62

.09

)(5

5.2

9)

(18

.07

)(4

2.1

3)

(23

.63

) (

59.6

2)(3

3.3

5)

(4.1

9)

(8.2

5)

(7.1

1)

125

5.86

6.06

3.15

5.91

3.73

5.57

3.45

1.81

2.42

2.24

110.

11

(65

.33

)(4

9.7

7)

(12

.05

)(4

0.8

0)

(17

.61

)(4

7.7

7)

(15

.81

)(3

.34

)(6

.14

)(4

.87

)

150

6.29

5.69

2.99

5.03

3.12

5.26

3.08

1.76

2.35

1.91

92.0

3

(54

.2)

(48

.20

)(1

2.5

1)

(30

.28

)(1

4.2

5)

(42

.37

)(1

1.6

4)

(2.8

2)

(5.3

6)

(3.0

9)

175

5.66

5.17

2.42

4.57

3.11

4.66

2.81

1.37

2.30

1.82

64.7

1

(34

.75

)(4

5.8

8)

(8.3

9)

(26

.33

)(1

1.5

8)

(40

.28)

(9.

44)

(1.4

0)

(5.5

0)

(2.7

2)

CD

(0.

05)

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

Cul

tivar

GS

C 6

6.61

6.53

3.06

5.82

3.81

5.55

3.64

1.74

2.55

2.23

110.

84

(63

.48

)(6

4.7

4)

(12

.97

)(4

0.8

0)

(19

.87

)(5

3.8

1)

(22

.71

)(3

.13

)(7

.04

)(5

.01

)

Hyo

la P

AC

401

5.68

5.04

2.98

4.95

3.31

5.01

3.20

1.71

2.22

2.16

78.4

1

(44

.71

)(3

4.8

4)

(12

.51

)(2

8.9

6)

(13

.67

) (

41.2

1)(1

2.4

1)

(2.7

5)

(5.5

9)

(4.4

0)

CD

(0.

05)

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

Wee

d co

ntro

l

We

ed

ed

3.29

4.16

2.05

3.66

2.66

2.11

2.37

1.31

1.59

1.85

25.8

8

(15

.75

)(2

5.6

2)

(4.8

7)

(16

.8)

(8.3

4)

(7.

03)

(7.0

0)

(0.9

0)

(1.9

3)

(3.4

4)

Un

we

ed

ed

9.99

7.39

3.99

7.11

4.46

8.46

4.47

2.14

3.18

2.55

16

3.3

7

(92

.44

)(7

3.9

7)

(20

.62

)(5

2.9

8)

(25

.19

)(8

7.9

9)

(28

.12

)(4

.98

)(1

0.7

0)

(6.0

7)

CD

(0.

05)

1.93

2.64

1.07

1.22

1.40

1.92

1.47

0.54

0.57

0.59

46.0

7

*Fig

ures

in

the

pare

nthe

ses

are

mea

ns o

f or

igin

al v

alue

s.

Lovreet Singh Shergill, B. S. Gill and P. S. Chahal

89

ha-1 at 120 DAS, which was statistically at par with 150 kg N

ha-1 application. The results are in conformity with results

of Singh et al. (1997) who reported that addition of nitrogen

fertilizer resulted in increasing plant LAI. The increase in

nitrogen level increased the photosynthetic active radiation

interception (PARI) but significantly higher PARI was

recorded at 150 kg N ha-1 over 100 kg N ha-1 at 90 DAS.

Further increase in nitrogen level upto 175 kg N ha-1 did not

increase PARI significantly. This may be due to the fact that

with increase in nitrogen level, there was increase in plant

height and LAI. The primary branches plant-1 increased

significantly upto 150 kg N ha-1 over 100 and kg N ha-1 but

was statistically at par with that of 175 kg N ha-1. Application

of 175 kg N ha-1 gave significantly higher secondary

branches plant-1 over 100 kg N ha-1 but was statistically at

par with 125 kg and 150 kg N ha-1. Data (Table 2) showed

that nitrogen at 125 kg ha-1 recorded significantly higher

number of siliquae plant-1 over 100 kg N ha-1 but at par with

that of 150 kg and 175 kg N ha-1 application. Minhas et al.(2007) also reported increase in siliquae per plant with

successive increments of nitrogen from 0 to 150 kg ha-1.

Highest value (3.80 g) of test weight was recorded for

nitrogen application of 175 kg ha-1, though this was

statistically at par with all other levels of nitrogen application.

The seed yield increased with increase in nitrogen levels

upto 175 kg ha-1 (Table 2). Maximum seed yield was obtained

with the application of 175 kg N ha-1, which was significantly

superior over 100 kg N ha-1 application, however it was

statistically at par with 125 kg and 150 kg N ha-1. The seed

yield increased by 8.9, 15.0 and 17.3 per cent with 125, 150

and 175 kg N ha-1 application over 100 kg N ha-1, respectively.

Increase in N level from 125 to 150 Kg N ha-1 resulted in 5.6

per cent increase in seed yield, whereas, increase in N

levels from 150 to 175 kg N ha-1 resulted only 2 per cent

increase in seed yield. The increase in seed yield may be

due to more number of branches, siliqua plant-1 and test

weight with increase in levels of nitrogen. Nitrogen

application increased seed yield and significant response

was observed up to 125 kg ha-1 (Deol and Mahey, 2005).

Similar results were also reported by Thakur et al. (2003).

Among the two cultivars, Hyola PAC 401 recorded

significantly higher plant height (153.3 cm) as compared to

GSC 6 (142.6 cm) at harvest (Table 2). Similar results were

also reported by Depar et al. (2005). Dry matter

accumulation differed significantly in both cultivars. On the

whole Hyola PAC 401 accumulated 10.6 per cent more dry

matter over GSC 6 at harvest. At harvest, Hyola PAC 401

accumulated significantly higher dry matter (779.9 g m-2)

as compared to GSC 6 (704.8 g m-2). Siddiqui and

Mohammad (2004) also reported similar results for Hyola Tab

le 2

.S

eed

yiel

d an

d yi

eld

cont

ribut

ing

char

acte

rs o

f ca

nola

gob

hi s

arso

n as

inf

luen

ced

by d

iffer

ent

nitr

ogen

lev

els,

cul

tivar

s an

d w

eed

cont

rol

trea

tmen

ts

Tre

atm

ent

Pla

ntD

ry m

atte

rLe

af a

rea

Pho

tosy

nthe

ticP

rimar

yS

eco

nd

ary

Sili

qua/

Test

wei

ght

See

d yi

eld

heig

htac

cum

ulat

ion

ind

exac

tive

radi

atio

nb

ran

che

s/br

anch

es/p

lant

plan

t(g

)(q

ha-1

)(c

m)

by c

rop

(g m

-1)

(120

DA

S)

(90

DA

S)

plan

t

Nitr

ogen

(K

g ha

-1)

100

143.

366

2.1

2.21

85.4

4.4

7.0

198.

93.

6817

.71

125

147.

072

0.1

2.74

90.9

4.9

7.9

215.

93.

7019

.29

150

149.

676

7.9

3.02

94.1

5.3

8.7

222.

33.

7720

.37

175

152.

181

9.4

3.19

96.0

5.4

8.9

224.

53.

8020

.78

CD

(0.

05)

2.57

99.3

60.

225.

770.

240.

9612

.08

NS

1.53

4C

ultiv

arG

SC

614

2.6

704.

82.

2788

.54.

87.

421

1.3

3.71

18.8

7H

yola

PA

C 4

0115

3.3

779.

93.

3194

.75.

28.

821

9.4

3.75

20.2

1C

D (

0.05

)3.

3338

.20

0.14

3.70

0.15

0.39

7.57

NS

0.70

3W

eed

cont

rol

We

ed

ed

150.

576

9.7

2.98

88.7

5.6

8.5

223.

93.

7620

.67

Un

we

ed

ed

145.

571

5.0

2.60

94.5

4.5

7.8

206.

83.

7118

.41

CD

(0.

05)

3.33

38.2

00.

143.

700.

150.

397.

57N

S0.

703


90

PAC 401. Both cultivars differed significantly in leaf area.Hyola PAC 401 recorded significantly higher LAI as

compared to GSC 6 at 120 DAS. Siddiqui and Mohammad(2004) also reported that Hyola PAC 401 produced thehighest LAI. The PARI of Hyola PAC 401 was significantly

higher over GSC 6 at 90 DAS. Hyola PAC 401 registeredhigher PARI because of greater plant height and LAI. Thisprovided advantage to Hyola PAC 401 as compared to GSC

6 in suppressing weeds. Hyola PAC 401 recordedsignificantly higher number of primary branches plant-1 (5.20)as compared to GSC 6 cultivar (4.80). Thakur et al. (2005)

also reported similar trend with increase in nitrogen levelsand among varieties. Hyola PAC 401 recorded significantlyhigher number of secondary branches plant-1(8.81) and

siliquae plant-1 as compared to GSC 6 (7.44). Kumar et al.(2002) also reported similar trend. The differences in testweight were found to be non-significant among both the

varieties. Hyola PAC 401 proved more competent cultivarwhich produced seed yield of 20.21 q ha-1 and it wassignificantly superior over GSC 6, yielding 18.87 q ha-1. Hyola

cultivar recorded 7.1 per cent higher seed yield over GSC 6.Higher seed yield recorded in Hyola PAC 401 was due tohigher LAI, more number of branches, siliqua plant-1 and

there was no difference in competitive ability of bothcultivars.

Effect of Weed Control Methods

Among weed control treatments hand weeding showed

significantly higher plant height. Maximum plant height of150.5 cm was observed in weeded plot treatment andminimum of 145.5 cm in unweeded control treatment at

harvest. Dry matter accumulation, LAI, was significantlyhigher in one hand weeding as compared to unweededcontrol. Weeded plots recorded 7.65 per cent higher dry

matter over unweeded control. Mishra and Kurchania (1999)reported that with increase in nitrogen levels there wassubstantial increase in crop biomass under hand weeded

plots as compared to weedy plots. Unweeded controltreatment intercepted significantly more solar radiation ascompared to hand weeded treatment at 90 DAS. The

unweeded treatment intercepted more light because ofpresence of weeds in the inter row spaces. Similar resultswere reported by Singh (2006) for varieties and weed control

methods. All other interaction effects were found to be non-significant. Among weed control treatments, weeded plotsrecorded significantly higher value of primary (5.6),

secondary branches plant-1 (8.5), siliqua plant-1 (223.9) ascompared to unweeded control (4.5, 7.8 and 206.8,respectively). This may be due to the weeds interference in

the unweeded control treatments. The differences in test

weight in weed control treatments were found to be non-significant. Under weed control treatments viz. hand

weeding and weedy check. Hand weeding producedsignificantly higher seed yield (20.67 q ha-1) as comparedto unweeded control. It was 12.28 per cent higher for weeded

plots as compared to unweeded control. It was due to thefact that in weeded plots there was more space and hencemore branching and siliqua plant-1, which ultimately reflected

in seed yield. The results are in conformity with resultsreported by Fathi et al. (2005) and Singh et al. (2001).

There was no difference in competitive ability of both

cultivars. Hyola PAC 401 yielded higher because of its higheryield potential than GSC 6. Application of 125 Kg N ha-1

produced significantly higher seed yield, with further

increase in nitrogen, the increase was non-significant. Handweeding treatment registered higher values of yieldattributes which resulted in higher seed yield as compared

to unweeded control.

REFERENCESAnonymous (2001) Proceedings of the Australian Agronomy

Conference. Australian Society of Agron.

Chauhan, A. K., Singh, M. and Dadhwal, K. S. (1992) Effect ofnitrogen level and row spacing on performance of rape(Brassica napus). Indian J. Agron. 37(4): 851-853.

Chauhan, Y. S., Bhargava, M. K. and Jain, V. K. (2005) Weedmanagement in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.). Indian J.Agron. 50(2): 149-151.

Deol, K. S. and Mahey, R. K. (2005) Response of gobhi sarson(Brassica napus subsp. oleifera var annua) to transplantingmethods and nitrogen. Environ. Ecol. 23(4): 723-725.

Depar, M. S., Soomro, N. A., Usmanikhail, M. U., Memon, G. R. andBaloch, F. M. (2005) Comparative study of Brassica speciesunder different fertility levels. Indus J. Plant Sci. 4(4): 467-473.

Fathi, G. (2005) Integrated weed management in canola (Brassicanapus L). Turkish J. Field Crops 10(2): 57-63.

Gill, M. S. and Narang, R. S. (1993) Yield analysis in gobhi sarson(Brassica napus subsp. oleifera var. annua) to irrigation andnitrogen. Indian J. Agron. 38(2): 257-265.

Hosseini, N. M., Alizadeh, H. M. and Ahmadi, H. M. (2006) Effects ofplant density and nitrogen rates on the competitive ability ofcanola (Brassica napus L.) against weeds. J. Agric. Sci.Tech. 8: 281-291.

Kumar, R., Singh, D. and Singh, H. (2002) Effect of nitrogen andsowing dates on productivity of Brassica species. Indian J.Agron. 47(3): 411-417.

Minhas, K. S., Rajinderpal and Brar, R. S. (2007) Effect of nitrogenapplication on transplanted hybrid gobhi sarson (Brassicanapus L.) in relation to age of seedlings. Envrion. Ecol. 25:291-294.

Mishra, J. S. and Kurchania, S. P. (1999) Effect of nitrogen levels,planting geometry and herbicides on weed growth and yieldof Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L) Czern. and Coss.).Indian J. Weed Sci. 31: 187-190.

Lovreet Singh Shergill, B. S. Gill and P. S. Chahal

91

Ramsey, B. R. and Callinan, A. P. L. (1994) Effects of nitrogenfertilizer on canola production in north central Victoria.Australian J. Expt. Agric. 34(6): 789-796.

Siddiqui, M. H. and Mohammad, F. (2004) Physio-morphologicalanalysis of rapeseed-mustard cultivars. Indian J. Pl. Physiol.9: 283-287.

Singh, H., Singh, B. P. and Prasad, H. (2001) Weed management inBrassica species. Indian J. Agron. 46(3): 533-537.

Singh, S. (2006) Competitive ability of Brassica genotypes againstPhalaris minor and other weeds as influenced by date of

sowing. M.Sc. Thesis, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana,India.

Thakur, K. S., Kumar, A. and Manuja, S. (2003) Effect of nitrogenfertilization on productivity and nitrogen balance in soil in gobhisarson (Brassica napus) based crop sequences. Indian J.Agron. 48(3): 162-163.

Thakur, K. S., Kumar, A. and Manuja, S. (2005) Performance ofpromising varieties of gobhi sarson (Brassica napus) atdifferent nitrogen levels. Indian J. Agron. 50(1): 67-69.


Received 24 May, 2011; Accepted 15 October, 2011

The intensive cropping and adoption of high yielding

varieites in the past several decades has caused imbalanceof several primary nutrients in the alluvial soils of Punjab(Singh and Singh, 2001). Although, the soils of Punjab arerich in potassium because of dominance of K bearing

minerals, but show overall negative input-output balancewith respect to K.

Potassium uptake and removal by crops is usually of

the order of or greater than N removal, and depends oncrops and cropping sequence, K reserves and claymineralogy of soils (Kaur and Benipal, 2006). It has been

reported that continuous cropping without potassiumapplicaiton appreciably decreases the available K contentwhereas regular incorporation of potassium influences its

availability to varying extent (Brar et al., 2008). Thereplenishment of K nutrient removed by crops, thus, mustbe to the extent that it makes the system sustainable for

intensive cropping. The present investigation is aimed tostudy the readily and slowly available forms of K and theirdistribution pattern in the soils under the different cropping

sequences.


A loamy sand/ sandy loam soils from the experimentalfield of Department of Soils, Punjab Agricultural Unviersity,

Ludhiana was studied for vertical distribution of differentforms of potassium. The soils were under long-term fieldexperimentation, which started in seventies following

cropping sequences of paddy-wheat, maize-wheat and

Vertical Distribution of Readily and Slowly Available Potassium in aTypic Haplustept under Different Cropping Sequences

H.S. Jassal*, Raj Kumar, Kuldip Singh and N.S. DhillonDepartment of Soils Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India


Abstract: Vertical distribution of different forms of potassium in a soil under long-term (34 years) field experiment of paddy-wheat, maize-wheat and arhar-wheat cropping sequences were studied. The soils of experimental site were found to be low to medium in available Kand and high in non-exchangeable K. The exchangeable K and non-exchangeable K followed almost similar pattern as followed byavailable K and HNO3 extractable K respectively with depth suggesting their close association. The fertilizer treated plots were found tobe relatively higher in different K fractions compared to the control plots in all the cropping sequences. The control and fertilized plotsunder paddy-wheat, maize-wheat and arhar-wheat sequences showed increase in non-exchangeable K within a half-meter depth. Thewater soluble K significantly and positively correlated with organic matter (r = 0.48**) whereas the exchangeable K had positive but non-significant relationship with clay due to its low content. The exchangeable and non-exchaneable K has shown their affinity with twodifferent sources, the former more with clay fraction whereas later more with silt fraction. As compared to paddy-wheat and maize-wheat sequences, relatively higher depletion of potential K reserve from the surface horizon (0-24 cm) in arhar-wheat may be due tolower root biomass addition in the latter.

Key Words: Soil properties, Potassium fractions, Correlation, Cropping sequences

arhar-wheat. The field under each cropping sequence was

differentiated into two plots one representng absolutecontrol and other fertilized one. No fertilizers were appliedto the control plots whereas fertilized plots received nitrogenand phosphorus at the rate of 125 per cent and potassium

at the rate of 100 per cent of recommended doses ofrespective crops. A total of six representative profiles (P1 toP6), two profiles from a cropping sequence (one from

absolute control and one from fertilized plot), were exposedfor the present sudy. The soil samples were collected fromdifferent horizons of the representative profiles from the

control and fertilized plots of three cropping sequences, i.e.paddy-wheat, maize-wheat and arhar-wheat. The soilsamples were dried and ground for subsequent analyzed

for physical and chemical properties such as particle sizedistribution, organic carbon content, pH, electricalconductance and CaCO3 content following standard

procedures (Soil Conservation Service, 1972)

Water-soluble and 1N ammonium acetate extractableK (1:5 soil extracted ratio) were estimated as per the method

given by Jackson (1967). Exchangebale K content wascalculated by subtracting water soluble K from 1Nammonium acetate extractable K (avalable K). Potassium

extractable in 1N boiling HNO3 was estimated according tothe method of Pratt (1965). Non-exchangeable K wasobtained by subtracting available K from 1N boiling HNO3

extractable K. Total K in soil samples was determined inHF-HCIO4 digest. The amount of K in mineral lattice wasestimated by subtracting 1N boiling HNO3 extractable K from


of Ecology

93

the total soil K content. Potassium content in all the extractswas determined by a flame photometer. Simple correclation

coefficient between physico-chemical properties and Kforms were worked out as per the statistical methodsoutlined by Gomez and Gomez (1984).


Physical and Chemical Characteristics

The physical and chemical characteristics of soilsamples collected from various profiles under differentcropping sequences are summarized in Table 1. The

particle size distribution data revealed highest content ofsand (61.2 to 77.5%) followed by silt (18.5 to 39.5%) andclay (1.8 to 5.8%). The texture of the soil is sandy loam but

also crosses to marginally loamy sand in PI and P6 soilsand in surface horizons of P3 and P4 soils. The pH of thesoils is nearly neutral ranging from 6.9 to 7.9 (wt. mean)

corroborating the absence of carbonates in the profiles.The surface horizon had relatively lower pH comparedsubsurface horizons suggesting acids produced due to root

respiration and decomposition organic matter. The soilsunder different cropping sequences showed conspicuousdecrease in pH in fertilized plots as compared to control

plots in all the cropping sequences. Singh et at. (2006)have also reported decrease of pH in soils with applicationof fertilizers in a long-term experiment. Electrical conductivity

value remained well below the critical limit of 0.80 dS m-1

indicating non-saline nature of the soils. The surface horizonhad more EC than immediate subsurface horizon

suggesting salts accumulation at surface soil. Differentcropping sequences have not shown any significantinfluence on organic carbon content of the soils. Organic

carbon content ranges from 0.31 to 0.41 per cent in surface

horizons and 0.05 to 0.16 per cent in subsurface horizons.The soils are almost free of -calcium carbonate except for

minor presence at surface horizons of P3 soil. Theuninterrupted irrigation of the field for long period resultedin leaching calcium carbonate to lower depths. The soils of

the experimental farm were classified as coarse loamy,mixed hyperthermic family of Typic Haplustepts followingthe criteria of Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff, 1999).

Distribution of Readily Available Potassium

The water soluble potassium ranged from 5.0 to 24.5

mg kg-1 with an average weighted mean of 12.2 mg kg-1 in

different profiles (Table 2). The depth-wise distribution of

water soluble K in different cropping sequences was

generally decreasing with depth in both control and fertilized

plots. Relatively more concentration of water soluble K at or

near the surface suggests its dynamic nature which appears

to be associated with phytocyc1ing, capillary rise of water

and effect of irrigation which return substantial K in surface

horizon. Dhaliwal et at. (2004) observed Gurdaspur and

Dhar soils low in water soluble K on account of exhaustive

rice-wheat system and better leaching condition of the area.

The exchangeable K ranged from 5.5 to 61.0 mg kg-1

with an average weighted mean of 25.4 mg kg-1 in differentprofiles (Table 2). The exchangeable K content was highest

in soils of arhar-wheat and lowest in maize-wheatsequence. The surface horizon of soils (control plots) underpaddy-wheat and arhar-wheat showed relatively lower

amounts of exchangeable K than immediate subsurfacehorizon suggesting some depletion. However soilsreceiving K fertilization showed relatively higher in

exchangeable K in surface horizon than underlying horizonin all the cropping sequences. No specific trend of

Table 1. Important physico-chemical properties* of the soils of different cropping sequence

Sand(%) SIlt (%) Clay (%) pH (1:2) EC (dS/m) O C (%)

Profile 1, Paddy-Wheat (control)

74.5 (71.7-76.6) 22.5 (20.0-244.9) 3.0 (2.8-3.4) 7.6 (7.2-8.5) 0.06 (0.05-0.07) 0.14 (0.05-0.41)

Profile 2, Paddy-Wheat (fertilized)

70.7 (61.2-75.5) 24.9 (19.3-34.0) 4.4 (3.0-5.6) 7.2 (6.7-7.4) 0.05 (0.04-.06) 0.12 (0.05-0.32)

Profile 3, Maize-Wheat (control)

70.7 (67.1-77.5) 26.2 (20.3-39.5) 3.1 (1.8-4.6) 7.9 (7.8-8.3) 0.07 (0.05-0.10) 0.15 (0.09-0.32)

Profile 4, Maize-Wheat (fertilized)

67.8 (62.6-73.2) 28.6 (24.4-32.8) 3.6 (2.4-4.8) 6.9 (6.5-7.0) 0.06 (0.05-0.08) 0.15 (0.10-0.31)

Profile 5, Arhar-Wheat (control)

73.1 (70.4-74.5) 22.2 (20.0-25.2) 4.7 (4.0 (4.0-5.8) 7.8 (7.4-8.3) 0.06 (0.05-0.08) 0.14 (0.08-0.34)

Profile 6, Arhar-Wheat (fertilized)

75.3 (74.6-77.3) 21.2 (18.5-22.6) 3.5 (2.8-4.4) 7.5 (7.0-7.9) 0.05 (0.04-0.07) 0.14 (0.08-0.33)

* Weighted mean (figures in parentheses indicate range)

Distribution of Available K in different Cropping Sequences

94 H.S. Jassal, Raj Kumar, Kuldip Singh and N.S. Dhillon

Tab

le 2

. V

ertic

al d

istr

ibut

ion

of K

fra

ctio

ns i

n th

e so

ils u

nder

diff

eren

t cr

oppi

ng s

eque

nces

Wat

er s

olub

leE

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ble

Ava

ilabl

eN

onH

NO

3 -W

ater

Exc

hang

eabl

eA

vaila

ble

Non

HN

O3-

- K

(m

g kg

-1)

- K

(m

g kg

-1)

- K

(m

g kg

-1)

exch

ange

able

K (

mg

kg-1)

solu

ble

- K

(m

g kg

-1)

- K

(m

g kg

-1)

exch

ange

able

- K

(m

g kg

-1)

- K

(m

g kg

-1)

- K

(m

g kg

-1)

- K

(m

g kg

-1)

Con

trol

Fer

tiliz

ed

Pro

file

1, P

addy

-Whe

atP

rofil

e 2,

Pad

dy-W

heat

0-18

23.0

29.5

52.5

13

47

.514

0011

.029

.340

.31

67

9.7

1720

18-3

39.

061

.070

.01

61

0.0

1680

13.5

28.0

41.5

16

38

.516

80

33-6

97.

030

.537

.51

28

2.5

1320

11.5

14.3

25.8

18

54

.218

80

69

-11

97.

512

.52.

01

62

0.0

1640

10.0

19.3

29.3

16

50

.716

80

119

-14

96.

526

.032

.51

80

7.5

1840

10.0

20.3

30.3

15

29

.715

60

Wt.

mea

n9.

226

.535

.71

54

2.3

1578

10.8

20.4

31.2

16

77

.817

.09

Pro

file

3, M

aize

-Whe

atP

rofil

e 4,

Mai

ze-W

heat

0-22

16.5

13.5

30.0

12

10

.012

4022

.019

.541

.51

23

8.5

1280

22-4

513

.07.

020

.01

30

0.0

1320

24.5

7.0

31.5

17

68

.518

00

45-7

312

.05.

517

.51

86

2.5

1880

12.0

17.5

29.5

200.

520

40

73

-10

811

.021

.532

.52

68

7.5

2720

15.5

24.0

39.5

20

00

.520

40

10

8-1

38

7.5

22.5

30.0

18

50

.018

8011

.029

.040

.03

40

0.0

3440

Wt.

mea

n11

.614

.726

.41

87

1.2

1898

16.3

20.2

36.5

21

46

.621

83

Pro

file

5, A

rhar

-Whe

atP

rofil

e 6,

Arh

ar-W

heat

0-24

13.0

17.0

30.0

113

0-0

1160

16.5

51.8

68.3

15

31

.716

00

24-4

98.

546

.555

.01

46

5.0

1520

17.0

38.5

55.5

22

24

.522

80

49-8

19.

036

.045

.02

15

5.0

2200

19.5

15.3

34.8

26

05

.226

40

81

-11

65.

037

.542

.52

27

7.5

2320

14.5

21.3

35.8

26

84

.227

20

116

-14

65.

035

.040

.01

88

0.0

1920

16.5

33.3

49.8

25

10

.225

60

Wt.

mea

n7.

935

.543

.41

87

9.8

1923

17.1

31.1

48.2

24

14

.524

63

* an

d **

Sig

nific

ant

at 5

% a

nd 1

% l

evel

of

sign

ifica

nce,

res

pect

ivel

y.

95

exchangeable K with depth, however, was observed in thesoils.

The available K ranged from 17.5 to 70.0 mg kg-1 withan average weighted mean of 37.7 mg kg-1 in differentprofiles (Table 2). The water soluble K contributed to the

extent of 12 to 67 per cent (average 32 %) and theexchangeable K to the extent of 33 to 88 per cent (average68%) towards the available K. The depth-wise distribution

pattern of available K was almost similar to exchangeablepotassium showing no specific trend with depth.Considering the fertility index of available K less than 51

mg kg-1 as low, 51 to 124 mg kg-1 as medium and more than124 mg kg-1 as high, the soils (surface horizon) under allcropping sequences are low to medium in available K. The

surface horizon of fertilized plots showed relatively moreavailable K compared to control plots, except in paddy-wheat sequence. Amongst the different cropping

sequences, unfertilized surface horizon showed higherdepletion of available K as compared to immediate sub-surface horizon in arhar-wheat, and this trend was not

followed by paddy-wheat cropping sequence, which isconsidered to be more exhaustive for K. This may be due toaddition of K from irrigation water in paddy-wheat sequence.

The maize-wheat sequence, on the other hand, showedsome available K built-up in the surface horizon probablydue to its lower uptake and more recycling/addition from

organic residue. Normally, the quantity of nutrients removedby paddy-wheat from soils exceeded the other two croppingsequences. Being water soluble, exchangeable and

available K are very dynamic forms and undergo rapidchange with irrigation, salts and organic matteraccumulation, therefore these forms may not serve a

reliable indicator of K depletion in soils.

Distribution of Slowly Available Potassium

The non-exchangeable K ranged from 1130.0 to 3400.0mg kg-1 with an average weighted mean of 1816.9 mg kg-1

(Table 2). Unlike the water soluble, exchangeable andavailable K forms, the non-exchangeable K invariablyshowed relatively lower content at the surface horizon

compared to subsurface horizon in the soils of all croppingsequence except in fertilized plot of paddy-wheat. The soil

of all the cropping sequences (control and fertilized) showedincrease in non-exchangeable K to a depth of 50 cmindicating the depletion of soil reserves. Relative to the

immediate sub-surface horizon, the surface horizon of thecontrol plot of arhar-wheat showed maximum depletion (335K mg kg-1), followed by paddy-wheat (262.5 K mg kg-1) and

maize-wheat (90 K mg kg-1).

The boiling 1N HNO3 extractale K ranged from 1160 to3440 mg kg-1 (Table 2) with an average weighted mean of

1855 mg kg-1. Almost similar depth distribution pattern ofnon-exchangeable K and HNO3 extractable K indicatedmajor contribution of former in the make up of later.

According to critical limit of K availability as 655 mg kg-1 ofHNO3 K (Brar and Sekhon, 1976), the soils under studyhave been rated as high for in HNO3 extractable K. The

surface horizon of the soils (except profile P2) showedrelatively lower content of HNO3 K than the subsurfacehorizons. The lower content of HNO3 K in surface horizon

might be due to the continuous leachign of K and uptake bycrops released from non-exchangeable part to compensatethe loss of water soluble and exchangeable K (Brar et al.,2008)

Correlation Between Soil Properties and KFractions

The correlation coefficient between soil properties andK fractions (Table 3) indicated water soluble K significantly

and positively correlated with organic carbon (r=0.48**)suggesting contribution from root biomass, but significantlyand negatively correlated with pH (r=-0.49**) possibly due

to increasing stability of K minerals with higher pH (Kumaret al., 2006). The exchangeable K had positive but non-significant relationship with clay probably due to vey low

content and low exchange capacity of the later in these soils(Table 3). The effect of organic carbon on available K was,therefore, more (r=0.28) as compared to clay content

(r=0.05). The non-exchangeable K and HNO3 extractable Kshowed significant positive correlation with silt fraction

Table 3. Correlation coefficient among soil properties and K fractions

Sand SIlt Clay pH EC OC WS-K Exch-K Avail-K Non-Exch-

K

Water soluble 0.0114 0.0269 -0.2235 -0.4880** 0.0967 0.4799**

Exch.-K 0.1044 -0.1795 0.1306 0.1271 0.0635 0.0900 -0.2318

Avail.-K 0.1105 -0.1719 0.0455 -0.0611 0.0268 0.2785 0.1544 0.9253**

Non-exch.-K -0.2678 0.2995* 0.2105 0.0743 -0.3610* -0.3287* -0.0801 0.0401 0.0095

HNO3-K -0.2651 0.2954* 0.2115 0.0729 -0.3602* -0.3223* -0.0765 0.0611 0.0323 0.9997**

* Significant at 5% level of significance, ** Significant at 1% level of significance


96

(r=0.30*) and non-significant (r=0.21) with clay fractionsuggesting appreciable amounts of potash rich minerals

such as muscovite, biotite and feldspars in silt and illite inclay fractions.

The correlation coefficient determined amongst

different forms of K recorded significant positive correlation(r=0.92**) between exchangeable K and available K and(r=0.99**) between non-exchangeable K and HN03

extractable K. Non-significant positive correlation betweenexchangeable and non-exchangeable K (r=0.04) suggestedtheir association with different sources i.e., exchangeable

K associated more with illite in clay fraction whereas non-exchangeable K more with muscovite, biotite and feldsparsin silt fraction.

Effect of Cropping Sequence and Fertilization

In all the cropping sequences, relatively higher contentof water soluble K was observed in the fertilized plot than incontrol plot of respective sequence (Table 2). The control

plot under arhar-wheat sequence showed lowest watersoluble K, whereas, highest content (wt. mean = 11.6 mgkg-1) was recorded in maize-wheat sequence. Among

different cropping sequences (control), the surface horizonof arhar-wheat had the lowest content of water soluble Kwhereas paddy-wheat had the highest. Relatively higher

content of water soluble K at surface suggest that this formis little affected by crop use. Exchangeable K content wasrelatively higher in the surface horizons of fertilized plots

compared to control plots suggesting some build-up in thesurface horizon on addition of K. The paddy-wheat and arhar-wheat sequences (control) showed some depletion of

exchangeable K in the surface horizon compared tounderlying horizon whereas there was accumulation of K inmaize-wheat (control) sequence. The soils without K

application may not exhibit large-scale depletion ofexchangeable K as it replenishes from non-exchangeablepool or organic matter recycling (Talukdar et al., 1992).

Except under paddy-wheat sequence, all other soils inrespective cropping sequences were relatively higher inavailable K content in fertilized plot than in control. Under

the control condition, the surface horizon showed relativelyhigher depletion of available K in arhar-wheat and lower inpaddy-wheat sequence whereas maize-wheat had some

accumulation (Table 2). The exchangeable and available Kfractions might not be the good indicators of K depletionunless supplemented with other K fractions as the soils

having similar amount of available K release differentamounts of K depending on their non-exchangeable Kcontent (Prakash and Siddaramappa, 2001). Furthermore,

there are contradictory reports on changes in available K

status of soils under continuous cropping and receiving noK applications (Talukdar et al., 1992).

A perusal of non-exchangeable K and HNO3 extractableK data revealed relatively lower content of K in control plotsthan in the fertilized plots suggesting mining of potential K

reserve from the soils. The results indicate that the surfacehorizon of soil under arhar-wheat (control) had the lowestcontents of non-exchangeable K and HN03 K, whereas, the

soils under paddy-wheat sequence (control) have highestcontents. In the control plots, the non-exchangeable Kcontent in surface horizon compared to immediate

subsurface horizon decreased to 335 mg kg-1 in arhar-wheat, 262.5 mg kg-1 in paddy wheat and 90 mg kg-1 inmaize-wheat sequences. The similar trend was observed

for HN03 extractable K in these cropping sequences.Relatively lower content of non-exchangeable K in thesurface horizon of arhar-wheat sequence compared to other

sequences may be due higher removal and poor recyclingof K (Blaise et al., 2005). Although paddy removes more Kthan arhar, however, excessive irrigation returns more K in

paddy.

REFERENCESBlaise, D., Bonde, A.N. and Chaudhary, R.S. (2005) Nutrient uptake

and balance of cotton+pigeonpea strip intercropping on rainfedVertisols of central India. Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosyst. 73: 135-145.

Brar, M.S. and Sekhon, G.S. (1976) Potassium fixation and responseof wheat to applied potassium in Punjab soils. J. Res., PunjabAgric. Univ. 13: 136-139.

Brar, N.K., Benipal, D.S. and Brar, B.S. (2008) Potassium releasekinetics in soils of a long-term fertilizer experiment. Indian J.Ecol. 35: 9-15.

Dhaliwal, A.K., Gupta, R.K., Yadvinder-Singh, Sharma, B.D. andBijay-Singh (2004) Distribution of different forms of potassiumin benchmark soil series under rice-wheat cropping system inPunjab. J. Potassium Res. 20: 12-21.

Gomez, K.A. and Gomez, A.A. (1984) Statistical Procedures forAgricultural Research, 2nd Edition. John Wile and Sons, NewYork.

Jackson, M.L. (1967) Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice — Hall ofIndia Private Limited, Bombay.

Kaur, N. and Benipal, D.S. (2006) Effect of crop residue andfarmyard manure on forms on soils of long term fertilityexperiment. Indian J. Crop Sci. 1: 161-164.

Kumar, R. Hundal, H.S. and Benbi, D.K. (2006) Mineral sources ofPunjab and its estimation in soils of Punjab, India. In: S.S.Mukhopadhyay, M.S. Brar and P. Sharma (Eds.) BalancedFertilization for Sustaining Crop Productivity. Proceeding ofInternational Symposium held at PAU, Ludhiana, India, 22-25November, 2006.

Prakash, N.B. and Siddaramappa, R. (2001) Distribution andavailability of potassium in red soils of India. In: N.S. Pasrichaand S.K. Bansal (Eds.) Potassium in Indian Agriculture. PotashResearch Institute of India, Gurgaon (Haryana), pp. 89-107.

H.S. Jassal, Raj Kumar, Kuldip Singh and N.S. Dhillon

97

Pratt, P.F. (1965) Potassium. In: C.A. Black (eds.) Methods of SoilAnalysis, Volume 2: Chemical and Biological Properties.American Society of Agronomy, Madison, USA: 1023-1030.

Singh, V., Dhillon, N.S., Kumar, R. and Brar, B.S. (2006) Long-termeffects of inorganic fertilizers and manure on phosphorusreaction products in a Typic Ustochrept. Nutr. Cycl.Agroecosyst. 76: 29-37.

Singh, Y. and Singh, B. (2001) Efficient management of primarynutrients in the rice-wheat system J. Crop Prod. 4: 23-85.

Soil Conservation Service (1972) Soil Survey Laboratory Methods

and Procedurs for Colelcting Soil Samples. U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office, Washington, DC.

Soil Survey Staff (1999) Soil Taxonomy- A Basic System of SoilClassification for Making and Interpreting Soil Survey.Agricultrue Handbook No 436, USDA Natural ResourcesConservation Service. US Government Printing Office,Washington, DC.

Talukdar, M.C., Khera, M.S. and Barua, T.C. (1992) Kinetics of non-exchangeable potassium release from K depleted Ustochrepts.J. Potassium Res. 8: 38-43.


Received 6 September, 2011; Accepted 7 March, 2012

Potassium in soils is known to occur in various formsviz ,water soluble, exchangeable ,non- exchangeable andlattice potassium. However, in the order of their availability

to plants the K forms are solution, exchangeable, non-exchangeable and mineral potassium (Martin andSparks,1983).The different forms of potassium are known

to exist in dynamic equilibrium with each other(Maclean,1978).The study of different forms of potassiumwill serve to work out rational fertilizer dose of this nutrient

to crops especially for high yielding varieties of cereals.Potassium when added to soils, gets fixed, and underintensive cropping it is released. Thus any decrease in soil

potassium would be made up by the release of nonexchangeable to exchangeable form. Since thecharacterization of dynamics as well as quantification of

potassium are necessary for planning long term potassiumneed of crops (Goswami and Bandopadhyay,1978), thethermodynamic concept is generally advocated for

characterizing and assessing the availability of K to thegrowing plants. In this approach, the quantity (Q) parameterssuch as labile K(KL), K on specific sites (KO) and K on non-

specific sites (Kx) and intensity (I) parameter such as activityratio of K(ARo

k) are worked out for a greater understandingof the fertility status of any soil. The activity ratio, energy

replacement and other thermodynamic functions of the soilhave been used to describe the K-availability to plants inmodern approach. The Q/I measures the ability of soil to

maintain the intensity of soil solution K and is proportionalto cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soils. A high valuesignifies good K supplying power, whereas low suggests

need for K fertilization. When Q/I values are low small

Forms and Quantity-Intensity Parameters of Potassium Applied toWheat under Temperate Conditions of Kashmir

J.A Wani, M.A. Malik, M.A. Dar, Farida Akhter and M.A. BhatDivision of Science Science, S.K.University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar-191 121,India

*E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract A field trial was conducted to study the influence of potassium on forms and quantity-intensity parameters of potassium of soilunder wheat. The treatments consisted of 5 levels of potassium (0,20,40,60,80 Kg K2O ha-1) and two methods of application viz singlebasal and split (1/2 basal+1/2 at tiller initiation stage). All forms of potassium viz water-soluble, exchangeable and boiling HNO3 extractableand lattice potassium increased with increasing levels of potassium and were found to be maximum when potassium was applied @80 kg ha-1 in two equal splits except lattice K, which was maximum in treatment where potassium was applied @ 60 kg ha-1. The quantityas well as intensity factors recorded higher values with increasing potassium levels indicating a greater K-release into soil solutionresulting in large pool of labile potassium. Higher potential buffering capacity of potassium (PBCk) was found at lower levels of potassium.A significant and positive correlation was found among Q/I parameters whereas a negative and significant relation existed between Q/Iand PBCk.

Key Words: Potassium, Quantity–intensity relations, Wheat, Temperate region

changes in exchangeable K produce large differences insoil solution K. By virtue of its higher potentiality, wheatcrop is emerging as a potential field crop under valley

conditions. Therefore, different forms of K and variousthermodynamic parameters of soil K with respect to Knutrition of wheat is required to be worked out so as to

rationale K fertilizer management. in general and potassiumfertilizer management in general. A research programmewas thus undertaken to elucidate the magnitude of changes

in different K forms and quantity – intensity parameters of Kin wheat under temperate conditions of Kashmir valley.


The experiment was undertaken on the research farm

of Division of Soil Science, SKUAST-K, Shalimar with wheat(var. HS-240) as test crop. Before sowing a representativecomposite sample was taken and analysed for different

physico- chemical characteristics following standardmethods (Table 1). The experiment was laid out inrandomized block design with three replications and nine

treatments. The treatments included,control (0 kg K2O ha-1),20 kg K2O ha-1 basal, 40 kg K2O ha-1 basal, 60 kg K2O ha-1

basal, 80 kg K2O ha-1 basal; 20 kg K2O ha-1 (half basal +half

at tillering stage), 40 kg K2O ha-1 (half basal +half at tilleringstage), 60 kg K2O ha-1(half basal+ half at tillering stage) and80 Kg K2O ha-1 (half basal +half at tillering stage). Potassium

was applied in the form of muriate of potash at the time ofsowing and tiller initiation stage as per the treatments.Nitrogen and phosphorus was applied in the form of Urea

and diammonium phosphate respectively as per packageof practices. The seeds were sown in lines with a spacing


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of 25 x 10 cm. After harvest of wheat, composite surface soilsamples were collected from each plot separately, analysed

for different forms of potassium (Black, 1965) and quantity-intensity parameters determined as per the equilibriummethod (Beckett,1964) The relationships among different

physico chemical-characteristics, forms of potassium andquantity- intensity parameters were worked out followingthe procedures outlined by Panse and Sukhatme (1978).


Forms of Potassium

The perusal of data in Table 2 reveals that there wasan increase in water soluble potassium with applied K. Itwas slightly higher in the treatments where K was applied

in two splits as compared to single basal application. Thehighest content of 3.25 ppm was found (higher than the

initial) when potassium was applied @ 80 kg ha-1 in twosplits. This signifies that the application of potassium in

splits improves the retention of this element (Mishra et al.,1993).

The available potassium increased with increase in

the K-levels (Table 2). The highest amount of 66 ppm was

observed in treatment, where the Potassium was applied

@ 80 kg K2O ha-1 in splits and was higher than the initial

value. However, it may be attributed to the higher CEC

,organic matter content and illitic nature of soil (Talib and

Verma,1990). The exchangeable potassium increased with

increase in K levels (Table 2). The highest amount of

Potassium 62.80 ppm was observed in treatment, where

potassium was applied @ 80 kg ha-1 in split doses .The

increase in retention of exchangeable-K may be attributed

to the cation exchange reaction of soil (Esakkimuthu et al.,

1975).

The data in Table 2 reveals that extractable potassium

also increased with increase in level of potassium and was

found highest (0.723 %) in treatment, where potassium

was given @ 80 kg ha-1 in two splits. This may be attributed

due to shifting of equilibrium solution phase to non-

exchangeable as well as illtic nature of the clay mineral

(Talib and Verma,1990).

Thet lattice potassium increased with increasing levels

of of potassium upto 60 kg ha-1 after which there was no

increase (Table 2 ). The highest content of 1.44 per cent

was observed when potassium was applied @ 60 kg ha-1

both as basal and in two splits. This signifies that the mode

of application had no significant effect on the content of

lattice potassium. The higher content of potassium may be

attributed to the higher fixing capacity of soil due to presence

of illitic type of clay minerals (Talib and Verma, 1990).

Table 1. Physico-chemical characteristics of soil of theexperimental site

Parameter value

pHw(1:2.5) 6.8

Electrical conductivity (EC dsm-1) 0.14

Organic carbon (g kg-1) 8.8

Available –N (kg ha-1) 285.8

Available-P (kg ha-1) 19.00

Exchangeable –Ca (cmolc kg-1) 14.10

Exchangeable -Mg (cmolc kg-1) 2.92

Cation Exchange Capacity (cmolc kg-1) 19.50

Water soluble potassium 3.02

Exchangeable potassium (ppm) 59.98

Available potassium (ppm) 63.00

1N Boiling HNO3 potassium (%) 0.722

Lattice potassium (%) 1.440

Total potassium (%) 2.162

Table 2. Effect of potassium application on forms of potassium at harvest

K2O applied (Kg ha-1) WS-K(ppm) Exch-K(ppm) Avail-K(ppm) I N HNO3-K(%) Lattice-K(%) Total-K(%)

0 (Control) 2.85 47.15 50.00 0.716 1.438 2.154

20 (Basal) 2.94 52.06 55.00 0.718 1.439 2.156

40 (Basal) 3.05 56.45 59.50 0.719 1.439 2.159

60 (Basal) 3.15 60.35 63.50 0.721 1.440 2.161

80 (Basal) 3.22 62.28 65.50 0.723 1.440 2.162

20 (Split) 3.00 53.00 56.00 0.719 1.438 2.157

40 (split) 3.07 56.93 60.00 0.720 1.439 2.159

60 (Split) 3.15 61.35 64.50 0.722 1.440 2.162

80 (split) 3.25 62.80 66.00 0.723 1.440 2.163

LSD at 5% 0.086 0.568 0.048 2.640 0.001 0.002

Split :-1/2 basal + 1/2 at tillering stage

Forms and Quantity - Intensity Parameters of Potassium in Wheat

100

Quantity- Intensity Parameters

The activity ratio of potassium (ARok) labile K (KL) non -

specific or coarsely bound K(Ko) and specifically bound K(Kx)

increased with increasing levels of potassium (Table 3).The higher value of ARo

k, KL, Ko and Kx were observed whenpotassium was applied @ 80 kg ha-1. This indicates that the

soil has higher K ion strength in comparison to Ca and Mgin soil solution. The immediate availability of K will be morein this treatment as compared to other treatments. Higher

value of ARok showed that these were having enough K so

as to maintain the intensity value. Higher Kx indicates higherexchange surface offering a specific binding for K and not

for Ca and Mg. This might be due to the higher amount ofillitic clay. Lower ARo

k and KL, KO, Kx values might be due totheir higher cation retention power which implies that only a

small amount of K would remain in soil. Similar results

Table 4. Correlation coefficient between physico-chemical characteristics and forms of potassium

pH Ec OC Ca2+ Mg2+

Ws-K -0.200 -0.268 0.671** 0.901 0.944**

Exch-K -0.127 -0.215 0.661** 0.934 0.942**

Avail-k -0.128 -0.216 0.662** 0.933 0.943**

An HNO3-K -0.230 0.017 0.210 0.007 0.016

Lattice –K -0.141 -0.253 0.636** 0.860** 0.906**

Total-K -0.096 -0.223 0.633 0.949** 0.946**

* Significant at 5 % ; ** Significant at 1 %

Table 3.Q/I parameters of potassium in soil as influenced by potassium application

K2O applied ARoK(mol L-1) KL KO KX PBCK[meq 100g 1

before sowing 1/2 x 103 (mol L-1) x 103]

(Kg ha-1) Meq 100 g-1

0 (Control) 5.68 0.22 0.09 0.13 23.80

20 (Basal) 5.20 0.24 0.11 0.13 19.36

40 (Basal) 6.71 0.26 0.12 0.14 17.88

60 (Basal) 8.85 0.28 0.13 0.15 15.56

80 (Basal) 8.95 0.30 0.14 0.16 15.64

20 (Split) 5.10 0.21 0.10 0.11 19.60

40 (Split) 6.77 0.25 0.12 0.13 17.72

60 (Split) 7.95 0.26 0.12 0.14 15.09

80 (Split) 8.97 0.29 0.13 0.16 14.49

Table 5. Correlation coefficient between physico-chemical characteristics and Q/I parameters of potassium

pH Ec OC Ca2+ Mg2+

ARek -0.196 -0.292 0.626** 0.907** 0.956**

KL -0.407 -0.442 0.465 0.784** 0.915**

Ko -0.377 -0.320 0.565* 0.799** 0.893**

KX -0.401 -0.522* 0.328 0.703** 0.858**

PBCk -0.009 -0.097 0.657** -0.926** -0.906**

* Significant at 5 %; **Significant at 1 %

were reported by Amrutsagar and Sonar (2000). It was furtherobserved that higher PBCk value were noticed when

potassium was applied at lower rates, while lower PBCk athigher rates or PBCk decreased with increasing level of K(Table 3). This might be attributed to more depletion of

potassium (Niranjana et al., 2000).

All forms of potassium were significantly and positivelycorrelated with OC, Ca , Mg respectively, except I N boiling

HNO3- K. A non-significant and negative correlation of pHand EC was observed with all forms of potassium. Therelationship between different Q/I parameters and soil

properties reveled that OC, Ca and Mg were significantly,and positively correlated with all Q/I parameters except PBCk

which showed negative and significant correlation (Table

5). The similar trend was observed by Patiram (1991) andRoy et al. (1991), while studying the correlations between

J.A Wani, M.A.Malik, M.A. Dar, Farida-Akhter and M.A. Bhat

101

Q/I parameters. It was observed that ARok was significantly

and positively correlated with KL, Kx and Ko, indicating

existence of equilibrium among various forms of soilpotassium estimated by Q/I (Table 6). ARo

k showed negativerelationship with PBC k indicating more release of K in soil

solution due to application of potassium to wheat.

Table 6. Correlation among Q/I parameters of potassium at harvest

ARok KL Ko KX

PBCk -0.956** -0.829* -0.902** -0.687*

KX 0.837** 0.958** 0.831* -

Ko 0.964** 0.955** - -

KL 0.940 - - -

* Significant at 5 % ; ** Significant at 1 %

REFERENCESAmrutsagar,V.M. and Sonar, K.R. (2000)Quantity–intensity

parameters of potassium as influenced by potash applicationto sorghum in an inceptisol.J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 48(1): 196-199.

Black,C.A. (1965) Methods of Soil Analysis.Part 2. American Soc.of Agron. Madison, Wisconsin, p.770.

Beckett, P.H.T. (1972) Critical cation ratio.Advances in Agronomy24: 379-411

Esakkimuthu, Krishnamoorthy, K.K. and Longanathan. (1975)Influence of nitrogen and potassium and methods of application

of potassium on yield and nutrient uptakein rice. J. Indian Soc.Soil Sci .23 :452-457.

Jackson,M.L.(1973) Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice Hall of India(P) Ltd, New Delhi.

Maclean,E.O. (1978) Influence of clay content and clay compositionon potassium availability. In: Potassium in soils and crops.Potash research Institute of India,New Delhi, pp. 1-19.

Martin,H.W and Sparks,D.L.(1983) Kinetics of non-exchangeablepotassium release from two coastal plain soils. Soil Sci Am.J.7 :883-887.

Mishra,M.K; Srivastava,P.C. and Gosh, D. (1993) Forms of potassiumin relation tosoil properties and clay mineralogy in some profilesof Chambal command area of Rajasthan. J. Potash Res..9(2):87-94.

Niranjana,K., Srinivasamurthy, C.A., Ramegowda, M. and Srikantha,K. (2000) Q/I relationship of potassium in selected soil seriesof southern Karnataka. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 48(2): 228-233.

Panse, V.G. and Sukhatme, P.V. (1978) Statistical Methods forAgricultural Workers.Indian council of agricultural Research,New Delhi.

Patiram (1991) O/I relationship and K availability in acid soils . J.Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 39 :178-180

Roy, H.K., Kumar, A. and Sarkar A.K. (1991) Q/I relation of K in arepresentative acid sedentary soil of Ranchi. J. Indian Soc.Soil Sci. 39: 175-177

Talib, A.R. and Verma,S.D. (1990) Relationship between differentforms of potassium and particle size in benchmark soils ofKashmir. Indian J. Agric Sci. 60(9): 643-644.

Received 5 July, 2011; Accepted 25 November, 2011

Forms and Quantity - Intensity Parameters of Potassium in Wheat

Since early 1950’s India has invested more than Rs.

170 billions (US $ 3.5 billions) on watershed developmentprogrammes (WSP) covering more than 45 million ha area,and in the recent years the annual expenditure on these

programmes have exceeded Rs. 10 billion which reflectsthe priority and faith of Indian Government on WDP’s forimprovement of natural resources (Reddy et al., 2007).

Although these WDP’s have resulted in increasing croppingintensity, changing cropping patterns, increasing productivityof crops, augmenting underground recharge of water and

increasing family incomes and employment opportunitiesin some areas but these improvements were short livedand WDP’s failed to generate sustainability of these

improvements. Further more, despite the long history ofWDP’s, there are no systematic and large scale impactassessment studies on their performance as there is lack

of proper indicators and evaluation methods to assess theoverall impact of these programmes (Anon., 2001).

However, the National Wasteland Development Board

(NWDB) in collaboration with National Remote SensingAgency, Hyderabad (NRSA) identified 147 different districtsspread over different agro-climatic zones of the country,

having more than 17 per cent area under wastelands. Suchwastelands possess great potential of mitigating thebiomass requirement of the people living in these areas, if

put to optimal and judicious use. The Udhampur District ofJ&K was one of such district and therefore a WDP forChenani watershed (Udhampur District) was formulated

by Forest Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmirduring the year 1990 and was started as a centrallysponsored scheme with the help of NWDB, in 1992. The

Chenani WDP was executed in 3300 ha, with financial

Evaluating Impact of Watershed Development Programme on LandResources in Shiwalik Hills of J&K

Narinder Deep SinghFaculty of Agriculture, Khalsa College, Amritsar - 143 001, India


Abstract: The present study was undertaken for estimating the impact of Chenani watershed development programme in Udhampurdistrict of Jammu and Kashmir state, in terms of resource availability during 2005-08. A combination of both the conventional and advancedtechniques like field visits and satellite images were used for data collection to estimate parameters like change in land use/cover pattern,production capacity of land resources and soil erosion level, for impact assessment of watershed developed programme (WDP). Thestudy showed no significant improvement in the quality of land resources production capacity and soil erosion level in the project area thannon project area. Hence, the analysis showed poor ecological viability of WDP due to poor implementation of the programme.

Key Words: Watershed, Carrying capacity, Quantitative/Qualitative approach, Discount rate

implication of Rs. 22.95 millions from the year 1992 to 1997,

with the objectives to arrest the problem of soil erosion ofthe catchment area, rehabilitate the natural forests, afforest/reforest the agricultural, forestry and other cultivable areas

with the green cover to provide fuelwood, fodder, grassesand fiber and update the local ecology and environment ofthe catchments area of Chenani by adopting various

corrective and development measures.

The WDP was claimed to be quite successful by theproject implementing agency, as it has helped in improving

the condition and availability of natural resourcesconsiderably in the study area (Anon., 1997). The presentstudy was undertaken for assessing the impact of this

particular WDP in terms of resource conditions andavailability. As some other WDP’s are ongoing in Udhampurdistrict, therefore lessons learnt from this study could be

very helpful in making ongoing WDP’s more effective,efficient and sustainable. The present study was undertakenduring the year 2005-08 with following specific objectives

to develop indicators for estimation of impact of WDP onresource condition and availability in the study area andevaluate the impact of watershed development programme

on natural resources.


In the present study to assess the impact of WDP interms of land use pattern and soil erosion level, so as to

compare the extent of difference WDP has made in thearea regarding natural resources condition and availabilityin Project Area (PA) where WDP was implemented as

compared to area where no WDP was implemented i.e.,Non Project Areas (NPA).


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Preliminary related information was collected from theoffices of Revenue Department, Forest Department, District

Statistical Department, Department of Water Resources,Department of Animal Husbandry and Directorate of SoilConservation, Government of Jammu and Kashmir. The

secondary data included information regarding area,number of villages, land use pattern, land holdings, numberof households, human and animal population, availability

of fuel wood, fodder and other by products of naturalresources in the study area (PA and NPA separately), pastureand wastelands development in the area. Information

regarding WDP’s activities undertaken like details ofplantations, formation of enclosures, fencing erected,grasses and legumes sown, soil and water conservation

methods adopted, assets created and costs incurred onthese activities were also collected from forest department.Primary data was collected by using conventional method

i.e., personal questionnaire method, where information wascollected from 300 households i.e., 150 each from PA andNPA each, regarding production of foodgrains and fodder

from agricultural lands, resource condition and availability,benefits of WDP and status of soil erosion. Along with theseconventional data, advanced data using the satellite images

of 1:50,000 scale of the study area for the year 1991 (beforeimplementation of WDP) and year 2001 (after theimplementation of WDP) were procured from National

Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) Hyderabad. GeographicalInformation System (GIS) was used for extracting informationfrom images like land use/cover pattern, types and

conditions of natural resources, categorization of landresources on the basis of their condition and level of soilerosion were also estimated. These images were also used

for verification of the data, which was collected from variousother sources.

The impact of WDP on indicators like land use pattern,

production capacity of land resources and soil erosion levelin the study area were estimated using simple averages,frequencies and percentages.

Land Use Pattern

In the land use pattern, the land resources werecategorized into forest lands agricultural lands, scrublandsand drainage areas. Each category was further subdivided

into various groups i.e.,

i) Forest lands : These lands were categorized on thebasis of Crown Density (CD) of trees into dense forests

(with CD>40 per cent), moderate forests (CD between10 to 40 per cent) and open/degraded forests (CD<10per cent).

ii) Agricultural lands: These lands were categorized intocultivable and uncultivable lands.

iii) Scrub lands: Areas under wasteland, pasture lands,open lands etc. come under scrub lands. It wascategorized into three sub classes on the basis of

Green Biomass Density (GBD) i.e. dense scrub (withGBD>40 per cent), thin scrub (with GBD between 10 to40 per cent) and degraded scrub (GBD<10 per cent).

Production Capacities

Production capacities in terms of fuelwood, fodder and

food grain production from forest lands, agricultural lands

and scrub lands were estimated, so as to assess the

qualitative change in these resources (if any) due to WDP.

In the first phase productivity level of various categories of

forests and scrub lands were estimated by using sampling

techniques. Five sample plots measuring 20 m x 20 m

were laid in each category of forests (dense, moderate and

open forests) and scrub lands (dense, thin and degraded

scrub) in PA and NPA so as to estimate the annual

production of fuelwood and fodder from these land

resources. The productivity of crops from the agricultural

lands were evaluated from the primary data collected from

PA and NPA.

Level of Soil Erosion

In the present study, extent and magnitude of soilerosion was estimated according to the methodology

adopted by the Directorate of Soil Conservation, Govt. ofJ&K, based on parameters like a) loss of top soil, b) slopeof the area, c) gully erosion, d) land slides and landslips, e)

stream bank erosion, f) land use etc. On these parameters,soil erosion was measured in terms of six erosion intensityclasses (E.I), from E.I class I to E.I – VI indicating intensity of

erosion problem in ascending order.


The following activities were performed during WDPas per official records of implementing agency i.e., forest

department, Government of J&K.

Closure Formation

For natural and artificial regeneration, closures wereformed in forest areas so as to stop all kinds of biotic

interferences. During the project period nearly 3270 ha ofarea were converted into enclosures, with fencing of69,9731 running foot, to check infiltration of humans and

animals so as to save forestlands from encroachment andmisuse (Table 1). Every enclosure in PA had been fenced

Impact of Watershed Development Programme

104

with pre-stressed cement concrete (PCC) poles with fourstrands of barbed wire. In all 61,635 PCC poles and 591

quintals of barbed wire were used for this work.

Soil and Moisture Conservation

For the protection and conservation of soil and water inthe study area various mechanical and vegetative measures

were adopted. Some of the important ones are discussedbelow:

Mechanical measures. The mechanical measures

adopted in the WDP in the PA were:-

i) Formation of DRSM: In order to absorb and slow downthe flow of run off water to reduce soil erosion, 14248

cubic meters of works under dry rubble stone masonry(DRSM) were undertaken.

ii) Construction of stone crates: In order to check the rapid

flow of water, about 106 crates measuring sevenhundred and seventy three (773) cubic metre had beenconstructed (Table 1).

Vegetative measures. Due to high initial cost,continuous maintenance and high level of skill required forthe construction of mechanical structures, vegetative

measures are considered to be best option for conservationof natural resources. Vegetative measures like plantingtrees, grasses, strip cropping, mixed cropping etc, not only

provide protection to land from soil erosion but also help inincreased and continuous production of fodder, fuelwoodand foodgrains throughout the year. Various vegetative

measures adopted under WDP in the PA during the projectperiods are discussed below:

Table 1. Physical works undertaken during project period

Items of work 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 Total

Area closed (ha) 510 525 630 1,173 432 3270

Fencing in rft. (four strands) 92450 92097 1,49,704 2,67,108 98,372 699731

DRSM (cu.m) 3098 3501 3320 4252 2150 16521

Plantation of trees (No’s) 2,59,600 1,65,288 4,78,113 1,70,302 1,70,302 12,42,188

Patches Grown

a) Red clover 15000 20,000 75,000 1,00,000 26,000 236000

b) Grasses 8,000 8000

c) Deodar 19,000 19000

Total 15,000 20,000 1,02,000 1,00,000 26,000 2,63,000

Tending of Trees 72,000 72,000

Crates laid

a) Number 106

b) Area (cum) 773

Fuel saving devices (no.) 200 200 - 400 - 800

Source: Forest Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, 1997

i) Plantation of trees: To rehabilitate and regenerate thedegraded forests in the PA, various species of fast

growing trees were planted. A total of 12, 42,188 treeswere planted which were raised in nurseries spreadover 2.5 ha of area (Anon., 1997).

ii) Patches grown: To improve the percolation andpermeability of rain water so as to protect the soil fromsplashing and dashing effects of rain, and conserve

moisture in soil, various patches of red clovers, grassesand deodar tree were planted. Seeds of red clover weresown, fodder grasses have been propagated by slips

whereas saplings (tree) were raised in the nurseriesin polythene bags which were used for growing patches(Table 1).

iii) Tending of trees: Nearly 72,000 trees were tended toimprove their growth and development.

Promoting Fuel Saving Devices

For reducing pressure on forests, 800 fuel saving

devices were given to the locals, which include 700smokeless chullah’s, pressure cookers, 2 gobar gasplants, 1 solar light etc. for popularizing the non-

conventional energy sources in the area.

But the authenticity of official records of implementingagency was doubtful, as they were not in accordance with

the situation on ground. Some serious discrepancies wereobserved while critically analyzing the official records of theproject implementing agency, which are discussed below:

The comparison of physical and financial targets andtheir subsequent achievements were made (Table 2) and it

Narinder Deep Singh

105

was established that except one component of WDP(horticultural plantations) rest all components fell short of

the approved targets. The afforestation in forest area fellshort by 160 ha and pasture land development by 32 ha.Moreover, as against the sanctioned amount of Rs. 22.95

millions for WDP, a sum of Rs. 20.63 millions could beprocured by the implementing agency from the stategovernment, which reflects inefficiency on their part. This

has resulted in non fulfilment of many approved targets ofthe WDP by implementing agency.

The number of trees (12, 42, 188) claimed to be planted

under afforestation by the implementing agencies duringthe project, would have required nearly 1100 ha of area at3m x 3m spacing (and not 1840 ha of area as shown in

records) resulting in significant change in land use patternof the area. But in reality no such drastic change wereobserved in the land use pattern of the forest area as

analysed from satellite images procured from NRSA,Hyderabad. Moreover conversion of dense and moderateforests into degraded forests areas was observed in this

study.

Furthermore as against target of 3000 m3 area fortreatment under soil and moisture conservation, 16,521 m3

areas was treated at much lower cost (Rs. 1.57 millions)than approved target of Rs 1.95 millions. Therefore,significantly more area (13,521 m3) was treated at low cost,

which is quite surprising.

Some of the major objectives like to encourage scientificagriculture, horticulture, pisciculture, etc. for bringing area

under intensive productivity campaign, were completelyignored as none of the works carried out during the projectwere aimed for fulfilment of these objective.

The overhead expenses incurred were Rs 2.91 millionsi.e., 14.1 per cent of the total sanctioned amount, which is

Table 2. Comparison of physical and financial (Rs. in million) approved and achieved targets of WDP

Components of work Approved Targets of WDP Achievements of WDP Difference

Phy. Fin. Phy. Fin. Phy. Fin.

Afforestation in forest area 2000 ha 10.20 1840 ha 9.35 160ha 0.85

Horticulturalplantations. 200 1.45 200 ha 1.29 0 0.16

Pasture land development 1100 5.70 1068 ha 5.29 32 ha 0.41

Soil and moistureconservation 3000 m3 1.95 16521m3 1.58 13521m3 0.37

Promoting fuel saving devices 1000 0.25 800 0.20 200 unit 0.05

Overhead expenses 0 3.40 - 2.91 - 0.49

G. Total 3300 ha + 22.95 3108 ha+ 20.63 192 ha+ 2.32

3000 m3 + 16521 + 13521+

1000 800 units 200units

Source: Forest Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, 1997

Phy. - Physical; Fin. - Financial

quite significant. It includes expenses incurred on purchaseof vehicles (one jeep and two pickup vans), construction of

residential quarters for forest officials, construction of stores,purchase of implements, etc. (Table 2).

Change in Land Use Pattern due to WDP

The land use/land cover pattern in the study area as

analyzed from satellite images showed significant changein current year (2001) than the base year (1991). This ‘beforeand after’ approach showed decrease in total forest area

by 4.3% from the base year especially dense and moderateforests by 65 ha and 133 ha, respectively. Whereas, areaunder degraded forests increased by 63 ha from the base

year indicating conversion of area under dense andmoderate forests into degraded forests. The significantincrease in area under degraded forests from the base

year highlights limited or no impact of WDP on land usepattern. However, the agricultural area and scrubs areaincreased by 166 ha (6.2%) and by 48 ha (2.0%),

respectively from the base year (Table 3). It is a matter ofserious concern as agricultural lands are more erosionprone and the project area already facing serious problems

of soil erosion.

Soil Erosion Level

The various measures undertaken during WDP wereaimed at reducing erosion level in the PA. As soil erosion

was widely prevalent due to steep slope of the area, faultymethods of cultivation (agricultural lands), deforestation,overgrazing on scrub lands and poor vegetative cover etc.,

therefore, the extent and magnitude of soil erosion in the PAand NPA were estimated so as to compare the improvementin the PA due to WDP. The land under E.I class VI was

considered to be beyond conservation and regeneration,whereas soils under III, IV, V required immediate attention


106

Table 3. Change in land use/ land cover in the project area

Particulars 1991 2001 Change

Forest area 3155 3020 -135 (4.3)

a) Dense forests 1027 962 -65 (6.3)

b) Moderate/open forests 1412 1279 -133 (9.4)

c) Degraded forests 716 779 63 (8.8)

Agricultural area 2658 2824 166 (6.2)

a) Cultivated area 2189 2454 265 (12.1)

b) Uncultivated area 69 370 - 99 (21.1)

Scrub area 2460 2508 - 48 (2.0)

a) Dense scrub 1385 1223 - 162 (11.7)

b) Moderate scrub 948 853 - 95 (10.0)

c) Thin scrub 357 432 75 (21.0)

Drainage system 489 390 - 99 (20.2)

Residential/commercial areas 136 155 19 (13.9)

Total (1+2+3+4+5) 8898 8898 -

Source: Satellite Images NRSA; Figures in parentheses show %age change from the base year

for redemption of soil, so that it could be saved from futuredeterioration and ultimate loss. The soil under E.I classesI and II were having erosion at minimum levels. Nearly 3.8

per cent of the total area in PA and 2.5 per cent in NPA wereunder E.I category VI. The maximum area in both PA as wellas NPA were under E.I category III, IV and V, with 36.2, 25.3and 14 per cent area in PA and 39, 28.2 and 11.4 per cent

in NPA, respectively (Table 4). From comparison of areas ofPA and NPA facing various levels of soil erosion problemsmall difference was observed within the same E.I level of

the respective areas. This signifies limited or no significantimprovement in soil erosion status of PA due to WDP, asdue to high level of siltation in river tawi (because of soil

erosion), the Chenani hydel project still faces manyproblems resulting in reduction in its production capacity.Moreover regular landslides and landslips were reported

during monsoon seasons especially in Samroli area of PA,resulting in closure of NH-1A, which highlights theineffectiveness of measures undertaken during WDP for

controlling erosion problem in the area.

Table 4. Soil erosion level

E.I class PA NPA

I 658 (7.4) 761 (9.3)*

II 975 (11) 630 (7.7)

III 3222 (36.2) 3192 (39)

IV 2252 (25.3) 2309 (28.2)

V 1246 (14) 933 (11.4)

VI 338 (3.8) 204 (2.5)

Nallahs 207 (2.3) 158 (1.9)

Total 8898 (100) 8187 (100)

* Figures in parentheses are in per cent

Production Capacity of Land Resources

The overall comparison of PA and NPA productioncapacities in terms of fuelwood, fodder and food grainssustainably from forest lands, agricultural lands and scrub

lands were estimated, so as to assess the qualitative changein land resources (if any) due to WDP. The study revealedoverall better situation of production capacity of landresources in the NPA than PA. The dense forests were

producing 0.16 quintals ha-1 less fuelwood and 0.42quintals ha-1 less fodder annually in PA than NPA. Similarly,other categories of forest lands (i.e. moderate and degraded

forests) were also producing less fuelwood and fodder inPA than NPA. However, agricultural and scrub lands wereshowing non-significant/no difference in fuelwood

production in PA than NPA. But fodder production from theagricultural and scrub lands showed significant differencei.e., 11.10 quintals ha-1 and 0.48 quintals ha-1, respectively

of PA than NPA. The foodgrain production capacity in NPAwas also found to be better than PA (Table. 5). Hence theanalysis showed no impact of WDP on quality of land

resources production capacity, as it was still less than NPA.

The WDP implemented in Chenani area of Udhampurdistrict, had limited significant impact on natural resource

condition and their availability in view of the exorbitant costof Rs. 20.63 millions incurred. The satellite images andfield visits showed no improvement in vegetative cover and

production capacity of land resources in PA as comparedwith NPA. The study revealed overall better situation ofproduction capacity of land resources in terms of fuelwood,

fodder and food grain production in the NPA than PA. Thesoil erosion problem was quite serious in the PA assignificant PA still comes under danger zone i.e. E.I. IV to VI

Narinder Deep Singh

107

(nearly 42 %). Moreover, problems such as regular closure

of NH-IA due to landslides after rainfalls specially in Samroliarea and siltation problems in Chenani hydel power stationclearly highlights the ineffectiveness of WDP activities in

controlling erosion problem of PA. The study highlighteddecrease in area and tree density in forests, conversion ofdense forests into degraded forests, increase in agricultural

area and aggravated soil erosion problem in the area whichmeans WDP has been ineffective in fulfilling its objectives.

Table 5. Production capacity (quintals ha-1) of land resources in terms of fuelwood, fodder and food grains in the study area

Production capacity PA NPA Difference

(PA-NPA)

A) Fuelwood production

1. Forest area

a) Dense forests 2.50 2.66 - 0.16

b) Moderate forests 1.36 1.67 - 0.31

c) Degraded forests 0.35 0.43 - 0.08

2. Agricultural area 0.57 0.55 0.02

3. Scrub area 0.25 0.25 —

B) Fodder production

1. Forest area

a) Dense forests 1.75 2.17 - 0.42

b) Moderate forests 1.15 1.41 - 0.26

c) Degraded forests 0.70 0.76 - 0.06

2. Agricultural area

a) Dry fodder 4.5 4.6 - 0.01

b) Green fodder 53 62.10 - 11.10

3. Scrub area

a) Dense scrub 2.4 3.2 - 0.08

b) Moderate scrub 1.8 2.28 - 0.48

c) Thin scrub 0.5 0.5 —

C) Food grain production

a) Maize 1.5 1.7 - 0.20

b) Rice 1.6 1.9 - 0.30

c) Wheat 1.3 1.2 0.10

d) Other cereals 0.8 0.7 0.10

e) Pulses 1.1 1.2 - 0.10

REFERENCESAnonymous (1997) Integrated wasteland development project

Chenani watershed Udhampur, Annual report, Forestdepartment, Government of Jammu and Kashmir.

Anonymous (2001) Mid-term Appraisal of Ninth Five Year Plan,Planning Commission, Govt. of India, New Delhi.

Reddy, V.R., Shiferaw, B., Bantilan, M.C.S., Wani, S.P. and Sreedevi,T.K. (2007) Collective action for integrated watershedmanagement in semi arid India: Strategic policy and institutionaloptions, policy brief No. 11, ICRISAT, Hyderabad.

Received 2 February, 2012; Accepted 5 April, 2012


In India, rapeseed-mustard is cultivated in about 28

states with a production of 7314.5 thousand tons and

productivity of 1190 kg ha-1 (Anonymous, 2010). India is the

second largest producer of rapeseed-mustard after China

in the world (Kumar, 2008). Among these Brassica species,

Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern & Coss) occupies

a prominent position and is cultivated under diverse climatic

and agro-ecological conditions in the country. Better ability

of Indian mustard to withstand drought and perform well

under low moisture conditions has led to increase in area

in UK, Canada, USA and Australia by bringing additional

area or replacing area under oilseed rape (Brassica napusL.). There is limited scope for further expansion of area

under oilseeds in the India because of lack of market

infrastructure, mechanization and low yield potential of

oilseed crops but a big leap in productivity of oilseeds is

required to fulfill the minimum daily dietary requirements of

edible oils. The increased production will come from high

yielding hybrids/varieties and improved agronomic

practices. Nitrogen is the most important nutrient required

by plants to perform multiple roles in several metabolic

processes that influence growth, yield and quality of crop.

There is, thus, need to find out optimum nitrogen and row

spacing requirements of promising hybrids of Indian

mustard.


The field experiment was conducted during winter rabi2009-10 at the Research Farm of Oilseeds Section,

Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, PunjabAgricultural University, Ludhiana. The soil of the experimentalfield was loamy sand in texture, slightly alkaline, low in

Nitrogen and Spacing Requirements of Promising Hybrids of IndianMustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern & Coss)

Parminder Singh Sandhu*, S.S. Mahal and Virender SardanaDepartment of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana - 141 004, India


Abstract: A field experiment was conducted to evalute nitrogen and spacing requirements of promising hybrids of Indian mustard(Brassica juncea L. Czern & Coss). Two hybrids (PMH 128 and PMH 145) and variety RLC1 (check) were laid in main plots and in sub-plotcombination of nitrogen and row spacing were tested in a split plot design. Among the three nitrogen doses (100 kg ha-1, 125 kg ha-1 and150 kg ha-1),150 kg ha-1 produced highest seed yield (17.09 q ha-1) and among row spacing, 30 cm produced significantly higher yield of17.01 q as compared to 40 cm row spacing. There was increase in plant height, dry matter, PAR interception and chlorophyll content whileharvest index showed non-significant results, with various nitrogen doses.

Key Words: Chlorophyll, Indian mustard, Nitrogen, PAR, Row spacing

organic carbon, low in available nitrogen, medium inphosphorus and potassium. The study was conducted in

three replications in split plot design with 2 hybrids (PMH128 and PMH 145) and 1 variety (RLC 1) as check in mainplot and doses of nitrogen (N100, N125 and N150 kg ha-1) and

row spacing (30 and 45 cm) as sub plot treatments. Nitrogenwas applied in two equal splits first at the time of sowingand second after first irrigation.The sowing was done on

October 28 with plot size of 5 x 4.5 m. Optimum plantpopulation was maintained by thinning and gap filling atabout 3 weeks after sowing by keeping plant to plant spacing

of about 15 cm within rows. Two hoeing were given firstalongwith thinning and second was done at about 40 DAS.Two irrigations, 30 and 50 DAS, whereas, the last irrigation

was applied at 75 DAS. For plant protection measures,package of practices for rabi crops was followed from timeto time

Periodical observations were recorded for plant height,dry matter accumulation, interception of photosyntheticallyactive radiation (PAR) at 35, 70, 105 DAS and at maturity.

Leaf chlorophyll content was recorded before flower initiation,peak flowering and at peak siliquae formation. For plantheight ten plants were selected at random and height of

each plant was measured from the base to the tip of theplant. For dry matter accumulation, three plants wereharvested from 0.5 metre length of the outer row in each

treatment. Chlorophyll content in leaves was determinedusing the procedure of Anderson and Boardmen (1964). Aline quantum sensor (Model LI-191-SA) was used to

measure the amount transmitted PAR in the wavelength of400-700 nm. The incoming and reflected radiationmeasurements were made 1 m above the canopy while


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109

transmitted radiation were recorded as the base canopywith the sensor base just touching the ground. Per cent

interception of PAR by the crop was calculated as:

PAR above the crop–PAR at soil surfacePAR interception (%) = ————————————————— x 100

PAR above the crop

The data regarding days taken to flowering initiation,

50 per cent flowering and completion of flowering wereobserved when at least one fully opened flower appearedin each row, 50 per cent of the total plants in each row had

at least one fully opened flower and at least one fully openedflower appeared on all the plants, respectively. Harvest indexwas calculated as the ratio of seed yield to biomass yield.


Hybrids/Variety. The plant height continued to increase upto maturity and such an increase was almost linear up to105 DAS (Table1). The plant height did not differ significantly

in different cultivars at different DAS. Dry matter accumulationalso showed the same trend except at 105 DAS stage whereRLC 1 (check) accumulated significantly higher dry matter

in pods than PMH 128 and PMH 145, which were statisticallyat par with each other (Table 2). Though leaf chlorophyllcontent in RLC 1 (check) was higher than PMH 128 and

PMH 145 at different growth stages, but it was statisticallysimilar. Hybrids and RLC 1 (check) did not differ significantlyin their ability to intercept PAR at all the growth stages except

at 35 DAS, where fast and vigorous growth of RLC 1 (check)intercepted significantly higher PAR than PMH 145 and PMH128 (Table 3). Significant differences were observed among

hybrids and RLC 1 (check) in attaining differentphenophases viz. flowering initiation, 50 per cent and 100

per cent flowering but days to initiation of senescence andmaturity showed non-significant results. Kumar and Kumar

(2004) reported that different cultivars of Brassica junceatook different number of days for 50 per cent flowering whichdepend upon their genetic constitution. The highest harvest

index was registered in RLC 1 (check) followed by PMH128, and both these registered significantly higher harvestindex than PMH 145 (Table 4).

Doses of nitrogen. Nitrogen doses did not significantly affect

the plant height except at 70 DAS where application of 150

kg ha-1 of N produced highest plant height and it was

statistically at par with 125 kg ha-1 of N but significantly better

than 100 kg ha-1 of N. the similar trend was observed for dry

matter accumulation. Dry matter accumulation by plant at

35 DAS was highest with the application of 150 kg ha-1 of N

and it was statistically at par with 125 kg ha-1 of N application

significantly higher than 100 kg ha-1 of N application.

Similarly, Kumar et al. (1997) reported increase in dry matter

with 150 kg ha-1 of N at all the growth stages compared to

100 and 125 kg ha-1 of N doses

Chlorophyll content before flowering stage showednon-significant differences, whereas, at peak flowering andpeak siliquae formation stage significantly higher

chlorophyll content was obtained with 150 kg ha-1 of Napplication (Table 3). Nitrogen doses showed non-significant results for PAR interception at 35 and 105 DAS

and at maturity stages except at 70 DAS, where highestinterception was obtained in 150 kg ha-1 of N and it wassignificantly better than 100 kg ha-1 of N but it was statistically

at par with 125 kg ha-1 of N application. Application of differentN doses failed to influence 50 per cent and 100 per cent

Table 1. Plant height of Indian mustard as influenced by hybrids, doses of nitrogen and row spacing

Treatment Plant height (cm)

35 DAS 70 DAS 105 DAS At maturity

Hybrids

PMH 128 16.8 90.1 196.7 200.9

PMH 145 16.9 87.2 196.2 201.2

RLC 1 (check) 17.2 88.1 197.7 204.4

CD (0.05) NS NS NS NS

Doses of nitrogen kg ha-1

100 16.5 85.6 192.2 200.9

125 17.3 88.7 197.5 203.3

150 17.2 91.1 200.9 202.3

CD (0.05) NS 4.0 NS NS

Row spacing (cm)

30 17.0 89.4 197.4 202.2

45 16.9 87.6 196.4 202.1

CD (0.05) NS NS NS NS

DAS = Days after sowing

Nitrogen and Spacing Requirements of Mustard Hybrids

110

flowering, initiation of senescence and days to maturity ofcrop except to initiation of flowering.

Row spacing. Row spacing had non-significant effect onthe plant height, harvest index and chlorophyll content (Table3). Among the row spacing significantly higher dry matter

accumulation was obtained with 30 cm row spacing ascompared to 45 cm row spacing at different growth stagesof crop because of more number of plants per unit area.

Dahiya (2005) reported higher dry matter accumulation at

Table 2. Dry matter accumulation of Indian mustard as influenced of hybrids, doses of nitrogen and row spacing at different growthstages

Treatment 35 DAS 70 DAS 105 DAS At maturity

Plant Leaves Stem Total Leaves Stem Pod Total Plant

Hybrids

PMH 128 0.76 7.91 10.52 18.43 9.15 41.38 3.77 54.29 85.37

PMH 145 0.72 7.73 9.68 17.35 9.11 40.67 3.58 53.82 80.41

RLC 1(check) 0.84 8.29 10.57 18.87 9.38 44.70 5.15 59.46 87.38

CD (0.05) NS NS NS NS NS NS 1.20 NS NS

Doses of nitrogen (kg/ha)

100 0.66 7.55 9.26 16.81 9.01 40.42 3.88 53.64 81.91

125 0.82 7.86 10.34 18.15 9.25 41.56 4.10 54.84 82.67

150 0.84 8.53 11.16 19.68 9.38 44.78 4.52 59.07 88.59

CD (0.05) 0.13 NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS

Row spacing (cm)

30 0.93 9.40 12.25 21.62 10.55 48.77 5.00 64.55 92.88

45 0.62 6.56 8.26 14.82 7.87 35.73 3.33 47.15 75.90

CD (0.05) 0.10 0.85 1.47 2.67 0.94 4.66 0.77 4.85 15.84

DAS = Days after sowing

Table 3. Leaf chlorophyll content and interception of photosynthetically active radiation by Indian mustard as influenced by hybrids,doses of nitrogen and row spacing

Treatment Leaf chlorophyll content PAR interception (%)

(mg g-1 of tissue weight)

Before flower Peak Peak siliquae 35 DAS 70 DAS 105 DAS At maturityinitiation flowering formation

Hybrids

PMH 128 7.4 9.5 11.1 26.5 79.5 92.1 57.6

PMH 145 7.1 9.6 10.5 24.4 79.4 91.7 54.2

RLC 1 (check) 7.6 9.7 11.8 29.7 82.2 93.4 59.3

CD (0.05) NS NS NS 3.8 NS NS NS

Doses of nitrogen (kg ha-1)

100 6.9 8.6 10.4 24.9 75.6 91.3 55.5

125 7.5 9.9 11.4 26.7 81.9 92.3 57.6

150 7.6 10.2 11.6 29.0 83.5 93.5 58.0

CD (0.05) NS 1.1 1.0 NS 4.7 NS NS

Row spacing (cm)

30 7.7 9.9 11.2 29.4 82.6 93.2 57.3

45 7.4 9.2 11.1 24.3 78.1 91.5 56.8

CD (0.05) NS NS NS 3.0 3.9 1.7 NS

closer row spacing as compared to wider row spacing.Interception of PAR was significantly influenced by row

spacing at different growth stages except at maturity. At 35,70 and 105 DAS, crop intercepted significantly more PAR at30 cm as compared to 45 cm row spacing because of more

plants per unit area. Days taken to 50 per cent flowering,100 per cent flowering and maturity was significantly highermore in 45 cm row spacing as compared to 30 cm row

spacing (Table 4) but days taken to initiation of flowering

Parminder Singh Sandhu, S.S. Mahal and Virender-Sardana

111

Table 4. Days taken for different phenological observations and harvest index of Indian mustard as influenced by hybrids, doses ofnitrogen and row spacing

Treatment Days taken to Harvest

Flowering 50% 100% Initiation of Maturity index (%)

initiation flowering flowering senescence

Hybrids

PMH 128 56.2 69.4 83.4 118.9 146.0 21.0

PMH 145 58.6 74.7 88.5 121.6 146.7 18.9

RLC 1(check) 57.3 72.6 87.1 121.6 146.2 22.3

CD(0.05) 1.4 2.5 3.3 NS NS 2.1

Doses of nitrogen (kg ha-1)

100 56.8 72.0 85.3 119.9 146.2 20.7

125 57.6 72.2 86.3 120.9 146.3 20.8

150 57.8 72.6 87.3 121.2 146.4 20.8

CD(0.05) 0.8 NS NS NS NS NS

Row spacing (cm)

30 57.1 71.0 85.1 120.4 146.1 20.8

45 57.6 73.5 87.6 121.0 146.5 20.7

CD(0.05) NS 1.5 1.3 NS 0.3 NS

and initiation of senescence at different row spacing showed

non-significant results.

The study revealed that hybrids PMH 128 and PMH 145and variety RLC 1(check) did not differ significantly regardingplant height, dry matter, leaf chlorophyll content and harvest

index while RLC 1 (check) intercepted more PAR ascompared to hybrids. Nitrogen dose of 125 kg ha-1 wasfound optimum for hybrids and RLC 1 (check) variety.

REFERENCESAnonymous (2010) http: www.indiastat.com

Anderson, J.M. and Boardman, N.K. (1964) Studies on greening ofdark brown bean plants VI. Development of photochemicalactivity. Aust. J. Bot. 17: 93-144

Dahiya R (2005) Effect of time of transplanting and inter-rowspacing on nitrogen and phosphorous in Canola (Brassicanapus L.). M.Sc Thesis, Punjab Agricultural University,Ludhiana, India.

Kumar, A. (2008) Rapeseed-mustard in India: Current status andfuture prospects. In: Kumar, A., Chauhan, J.S. andChattopadhayay, C. (Eds.) Sustainable production of oilseeds:Rapeseed-Mustard technology. Agrotech Publishing Academy,Udaipur, pp: 39-52.

Kumar, A. and Kumar, S. (2008) Crop growth rate and developmentalcharacteristics of Indian mustard var Vardan to varying levelsof nitrogen and sulphur. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 42: 112-115.

Kumar, S., Singh, J. and Dhingra, K.K. (1997) Leaf area in relationshipwith solar radiation interception and yield of Indian mustard(Brassica juncea) as influenced by plant population andnitrogen. Indian J. Agron 42: 348-351

Received 4 April, 2011; Accepted 12 January, 2012

Nitrogen and Spacing Requirements of Mustard Hybrids

Intercropping is an important way of increasing

production without much increase in the use of inputs. It

gives greater stability in yield during aberrant weather

conditions and epidemics of disease and pest, which is of

considerable importance to subsistent farmers (Tomar etal., 1997). Many reports have clearly advocated the possibility

of growing potato, gram, mustard, sunflower, peas, linseed,

etc. as intercrop in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Mentha

(Mentha arvensis Linn.) is also one such crop, which needs

to be tested as intercrop with wheat for higher returns and

crop diversification.

Method of planting plays an important role in the

emergence and establishment of crop seedlings besides

affecting soil aeration, temperature, root development, water

use and solar radiation. Flat planting is the common practice

of raising wheat but bed planting is also gaining popularity

due to water saving and higher water use efficiency (Pal,

2003). In an intercropping situation where two or more crops

are associated, their fertilizer requirement may vary widely

and hence, fertilization becomes more complex (Singh etal., 1996). In wheat-mentha intercropping system, whole of

nitrogen to wheat is applied within one month of sowing

and to mentha, half nitrogen is applied at the time of planting

in the mid season of wheat, and remaining half nitrogen is

top dressed after harvesting of wheat crop. So, there is a

possibility that mentha crop may use the residual nitrogenapplied to wheat and suitable dose for intercropping systemare to be evaluated through this study. Considering these

Studies on Growth, Yield and Yield Attributes of Wheat-MenthaIntercropping System in Relation to Planting Methods and Nitrogen

Levels

Sumedh Chopra*, Jaspal Singh1 and Satpal SinghFASS, PAU, Gurdaspur, 1Khalsa College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Amritsar


Abstract: A field experiment was conducted during winter to summer seasons of 2006-07 and 2007-08 at Gurdaspur (Punjab) on siltyclay loam soil to assess the response of intercropping of wheat and mentha to planting methods and nitrogen levels. The experiment waslaid out in randomized block design having two planting methods viz. two rows of wheat (November sown) with 20 cm row spacing andtwo rows of mentha (February sown) on outer side of wheat rows under flat and bed (37.5 cm top + 30 cm furrow) method covering atotal width of 67.5 cm and five levels of nitrogen i.e., 0+0, 90+75, 120+75, 150+75 and 180+75 kg N ha-1 to wheat and mentha, respectively.Bed was significantly higher over flat in yield attributes and grain yield of wheat. Interaction on grain yield of wheat showed the responseof flat and bed to 150 and 120 Kg N ha-1, respectively. Both the planting methods were on par in growth, herbage and essential oil yield ofmentha during 2006-07 but bed was significantly higher over flat during 2007-08 due to higher rainfall. Bed planting gave significantlyhigher wheat grain equivalent yield of intercropping system over flat and it increased significantly upto 120 + 75 Kg N ha-1 for wheat andmentha.

Key Words: Wheat-mentha intercropping, Planting method, Flat bed, Nitrogen

facts, a two year study was conducted to assess theresponse of intercropping of wheat and mentha in the flatand bed planting methods with various rates of nitrogen

application.


A field experiment was conducted during winter (rabi)to summer seasons of 2006-07 and 2007-08 at Village

Dalla of district Gurdaspur in Punjab. The soil having pH of7.9 was high in organic carbon, low in available nitrogenand high in available phosphorus and potassium with silty

clay loam texture.

The treatments comprising of two planting methodsand five levels of nitrogen were tested in randomized block

design with three replications. Two rows of wheat (W) with20 cm spacing and two rows of mentha (M) on outer sidesof wheat rows (2:2) were sown under flat planting (FP) and

bed planting (BP) covering a total width of 67.5 cm anddesignated as FP-W+M (2:2) 67.5 cm and BP-W+M (2:2)67.5 cm, respectively. Five levels of nitrogen i.e. 0+0 (control),

90+75, 120+75, 150+75 and 180+75 kg N ha-1 to wheat andmentha, respectively, were abbreviated as WN0+MN0,WN90+MN75, WN120+MN75, WN150+MN75, WN180+MN75 in

similar order.

The wheat variety ‘PBW 502’ was sown on November3 and 5 during 2006-07 and 2007-08, respectively, using

75 kg seed ha-1. In a single operation, with the help of bedmaker-cum-planter, the raised beds of 67.5 cm were


of Ecology

113

prepared by keeping 37.5 cm as the top of the bed withfurrows of 30 cm and two rows of wheat were drilled at 20

cm spacing on the top of the 37.5 cm raised beds. Irrigationwater was applied in the furrows between the beds andwater was not allowed to reach at the top of the bed by

applying 5 cm irrigation on the plot area basis. Bed sownrow arrangements were exactly followed in the flat situationand crop was sown in solid rows with the help of seed drill

and irrigated with 7.5 cm of depth.

Planting of mentha variety ‘kosi’ was done on February,7 and 10 during 2006-07 and 2007-08, respectively. In bed

planting, two rows of mentha were planted on the bed-topon both sides of wheat rows. In flat situation, similar rowpattern was followed. The wheat and mentha were

harvested manually on April 13 and June 26 during 2006-07 and on April 19 and July 10 during 2007-08, respectively.

Nitrogen fertilizer was applied through urea to wheat

and mentha as per treatment. In wheat, half dose of N wasbroadcast just before sowing of wheat and the remaining Nwas top dressed after first irrigation. In mentha crop, half of

the N was applied along the mentha rows at the time ofplanting and remaining half N applied as top dressing afterharvesting of wheat crop. In flat, fertilizer was broadcast

uniformly but in bed treatment it was applied carefully onthe top 37.5 cm width. Recommended dose of phosphoruswas applied to wheat at sowing but its application was

skipped at the time of planting mentha. All the recommendedcultural operations were followed as per packages ofpractices for rabi (Anon., 2006) and kharif crops of Punjab

(Anon., 2007).

The essential oil was distilled at harvest stage from500 g fresh herbage from each treatment with Clevenger’s

apparatus. The per cent essential oil content from fresh

herbage was calculated on v/w basis. Essential oil yieldwas computed by multiplying herbage yield (q ha-1) at harvest

with essential oil content (%) and expressed in litres perhectare (l ha-1). Leaves and stems of 200 g fresh herbagesample from each plot were separated and weighed after

drying first in sun and then in oven. The leaf to stem ratiowas calculated by dividing leaf weight with stem weight.Wheat grain equivalent yield (q ha-1) of the system was

calculated by summing actual grain yield of wheat andessential oil yield of mentha after converting into wheat-equivalent on the basis of prevailing prices. The price of

wheat grain and mentha oil was Rs. 850 q-1 and Rs.490 l-1 during 2006-07 and Rs. 1000 q-1 and Rs. 650 l-1

during 2007-08, respectively.


Effect on Wheat

Growth. The plant height of wheat recorded at harveststage did not differ significantly due to planting methods

(Table 1). The pooled average of two years indicated thatincreasing levels of nitrogen enhanced the plant height ofwheat significantly up to WN120+MN75 and further increase

in N at WN150+MN75, though, increased the plant height butthe differences were non-significant. However, at highestrate of N application (WN180+MN75), plant height wassignificantly higher over WN120+MN75.

The bed planted wheat + mentha was significantlyhigher in dry matter of wheat over flat planting. Increasinglevels of nitrogen increased the dry matter significantly upto

WN150+MN75. A reduction in dry matter was observed as thelevel of nitrogen was increased from N150 to N180. Thedecrease in dry matter at higher rate of nitrogen at

WN180+MN75 was due to lodging of the crop which might

Table 1. Effect of planting methods and nitrogen levels on growth, yield attributes and straw yield of wheat at harvest (pooled averageof two years)

Treatments Plant Dry Effective Ear No. of Test Strawheight matter tillers length grains weight yield(cm) (q ha-1) (m-2) (cm) ear -1 (g) (q ha-1)

Planting method

FP-W+M (2:2) 67.5cm 81.5 102.1 272.7 9.38 45.7 38.37 56.1

BP-W+M (2:2) 67.5cm 81.0 117.7 294.2 9.76 48.2 39.30 63.5

CD (5%) NS 3.19 5.03 0.071 0.89 0.384 1.59

Nitrogen (kg ha-1)

WN0+MN0 65.2 58.4 184.3 8.43 39.8 38.22 31.5

WN90+MN75 81.0 110.7 294.7 9.45 46.8 38.99 59.1

WN120+MN75 85.0 123.4 309.0 9.87 49.1 39.39 66.5

WN150+MN75 86.9 129.9 314.3 10.05 49.5 39.12 71.0

WN180+MN75 88.0 127.0 314.9 10.06 49.5 38.45 70.8

CD (5%) 2.11 5.04 7.96 0.112 1.41 0.607 2.51

Wheat-Mentha Intercropping Yield

114

have hampered the movement of assimilates to the plantsand thereby resulted into less dry matter accumulation.

Yield attributes. On pooled average basis, the bedplanted wheat + mentha was significantly higher in numberof effective tillers m-2, ear length, number of grains ear-1 and

test weight over flat planting (Table 1). A significant increasewas also recorded in the number of effective tillers andgrains per ear up to WN120+MN75, and further increase in

nitrogen to WN150/180+MN75 recorded a marginalenhancement. Increasing levels of nitrogen increased theear length up to WN150+MN75 significantly but further increase

in N did not cause significant difference. The application ofnitrogen at WN120+MN75 recorded maximum test weight(39.39 g) of wheat which was significantly higher over

WN0+MN0 and WN180+MN75. The differences in test weightat WN90+MN75, WN120+MN75 and WN150+MN75 were notsignificant. It was also observed that the application of N at

WN180+MN75 recorded significantly lower test weight overWN120+MN75 and WN150+MN75 and at par with WN0+MN0 andWN90+MN75. The possible reason for lower test weight at

highest rate of N application in WN180+MN75 was possiblydue to lodging of the crop which restricted the movement ofassimilates to the grain.

Grain and straw yield. The bed planted wheat + mentharecorded significantly higher grain yield of wheat over flatplanting (Table 2). During both the years, by increasing the

level of nitrogen, a significant increase in the grain yield ofwheat was recorded upto the application of 120 kg N ha-1

but further increase in nitrogen to 150 and 180 kg ha-1 did

not enhance the grain yield significantly. In fact, during boththe years, a reduction in grain yield was observed at highestlevel of 180 kg N ha-1. Decline in grain yield during first year

was due to lodging of the crop at WN180+MN75. The lodgingof crop might have restricted the movement of assimilates

to the grain which adversely affected the test weight andconsequently the grain yield. Singh et al. (2000) reported

that winter maize + peas fertilized with 150 kg N ha-1 gavehighest maize equivalent yield.

Interaction between planting methods and different

nitrogen levels was significant on the grain yield of wheatduring both the years (Table 2). During 2006-07, themaximum grain yield of wheat (54.0 q ha-1) was recorded

under Bed + WN120+MN75 which was significantly higherover all the combinations of flat/bed with various nitrogenlevels except under Bed + WN150+MN75 (51.5 q ha-1). Both

planting methods did not differ significantly at the samelevel of nitrogen application at WN0+MN0 and WN150+MN75

and the differences were significant at WN90+MN75,

WN120+MN75 and WN180+MN75. In flat sown wheat, theincreasing levels of nitrogen enhanced the grain yield up to150 kg N ha-1 (49.1 q ha-1) whereas under bed configuration,

it increased only up to 120 kg N ha-1 (54.0 q ha-1). As thenitrogen application was increased from 150 to 180 kg ha-

1 under the flat, the grain yield decreased significantly

whereas the decrease in yield on beds was non-significant.The differential response of beds at higher N rates waspossibly due to difference in lodging which was higher under

flat than beds. Less lodging under beds might be due tomore root development which gripped the soil well.

During 2007-08, maximum and equal grain yield of

wheat (52.1 q ha-1) was recorded under the Bed planting +WN120+MN75 and WN150+MN75 which was statistically at parwith Bed planting + WN180+MN75 and significantly higher

over other flat/bed planting and nitrogen combinations (Table2). Both methods of planting did not differ significantly atWN0+MN0, however, at WN90+MN75, WN120+MN75,

WN150+MN75 and WN180+MN75, the bed configurationrecorded significantly higher grain yield over the flat. The

Table 2. Interactive impact of planting methods and nitrogen levels on grain yield (q ha-1) of wheat during 2006-07 and 2007-08

Treatment Nitrogen (Kg ha-1)

WN0+ MN0 WN90+MN75 WN120+MN75 WN150+MN75 WN180+MN75 Mean

2006-07

FP-W+M (2:2) 67.5cm 19.4 39.5 45.2 49.1 43.6 39.3

BP-W+M (2:2) 67.5cm 22.7 48.3 54.0 51.5 48.1 44.9

Mean 21.1 43.9 49.6 50.3 45.8

CD (5%) : P= 1.63, N=2.57 , PxN= 3.64

2007-08

FP-W+M (2:2) 67.5cm 21.6 37.9 42.2 45.8 45.7 38.6

BP-W+M (2:2) 67.5cm 25.0 48.5 52.1 52.1 51.5 45.8

Mean 23.3 43.2 47.2 49.0 48.6

CD (5%) : P= 1.59, N=2.51 , PxN= 3.54

Sumedh Chopra, Jaspal Singh and Satpal Singh

115

flat recorded significantly higher grain yield of wheat up to150 kg N ha-1 (45.8 q ha-1) whereas the bed responded

significantly only up to 120 kg N ha-1 (52.1 q ha-1).

During both the years, significantly higher grain yieldunder bed planting with less nitrogen was due to better

nitrogen utilization on beds. As the application of nitrogenon beds was restricted to top bed area (37.5 cm) only andthe remaining area under furrow (30 cm) was not applied

with nitrogen. Effect of better utilization of N under bedsituation was very clear on the growth and yield componentsand the cumulative impact might have resulted into the

interaction between planting methods and nitrogen levels.Bed planting in wheat reduced the soil applied nitrogenlosses by reducing leaching and gas emission (Sayre and

Moreno 1997) and recorded higher grain yield due toincreased N fertilizer efficiency (Khan et al., 1987).

The bed planted wheat + mentha recorded significantly

higher straw yield of wheat over flat planting (Table 1). Thetwo year pooled data showed that increasing rates ofnitrogen application increased the straw yield of wheat up

to WN150+MN75 and decreased marginally at WN180+MN75.

Effect on Mentha

Growth. During 2006-07, higher plant height, dry matteraccumulation, number of stools m-2 and leaf: stem ratio of

mentha were recorded under flat planted wheat + menthaover bed planted wheat + mentha, but the differences werenot significant (Table 3). The higher values of growth

parameters were possibly due to availability of proper soilmoisture under the flat and moisture stress on the beds.During 2007-08 at harvest stage, the plant height, dry matter

accumulation, number of stools m-2 and leaf: stem ratiounder the bed planted wheat + mentha were significantlyhigher over flat planted wheat + mentha. The significantly

higher values of growth parameters under bed sownsituation during 2007-08 were due to high rainfall of 353.7

mm between 120 days after planting to harvest stage inthis year. Higher rainfall between 120 DAS to harvest stagehad a negative effect on growth of mentha due to

submergence of the crop under the flat bed while it benefitedthe bed sown treatments possibly due to availability ofoptimum soil moisture content.

During both the years, all the levels of N application atN90/N120/N150/N180 to wheat + N75 to mentha were on par inthe plant height, dry matter accumulation and number of

stools m-2 of mentha but these levels were significantlyhigher over the control (WN0+MN0). But, leaf: stem ratio washigher under the control possibly due to less shedding of

leaves whereas N fertilized treatments recorded vigorousgrowth which caused mutual shading of lower leavescausing early senescence and shedding. Kothari et al.(1996) also reported higher leaf: stem ratio of Japanesemint with no application of N. So, it is very clear that nitrogenapplication to wheat crop did not show any carry over

response to all the growth parameters of mentha.

Herbage and essential oil yield and essential oilcontent. During 2006-07, the flat planted wheat + mentha

recorded higher herbage and essential oil yield of menthathan the bed planted wheat + mentha, but the differenceswere not significant (Table 4). Reversely, during 2007-08,

bed planted wheat + mentha gave significantly higherherbage and essential oil yield over flat planted wheat +mentha. Better response on herbage yield under bed was

due to more plant height, dry matter accumulation andnumber of stools m-2 (Table 3), which consequentlyenhanced the essential oil yield. Moreover, the higher

herbage yield of mentha during 2007-08 was due to morerainfall of 353.7 mm between 120 days after planting to

Table 3. Effect of planting methods and nitrogen levels on growth parameters of mentha at harvest

Treatment Plant height (cm) DMA (q ha-1) No. of stools m-2 Leaf: Stem ratio

2006-07 2007-08 2006-07 2007-08 2006-07 2007-08 2006-07 2007-08

Planting Method (P)

FP-W+M (2:2) 67.5cm 75.1 83.8 50.3 54.2 93.1 94.4 0.82 0.98

BP-W+M (2:2) 67.5cm 73.6 88.9 48.1 57.5 90.7 102.1 0.80 1.01

CD (5%) NS 4.39 NS 2.57 NS 3.69 NS 0.017

Nitrogen (Kg ha-1)

WN0+MN0 65.1 75.9 36.1 40.9 73.9 81.6 0.88 1.11

WN90+MN75 77.3 89.4 53.1 59.8 96.7 103.7 0.79 0.98

WN120+MN75 76.4 88.4 52.0 59.1 96.8 103.7 0.79 0.97

WN150+MN75 76.1 88.7 52.2 60.0 94.8 101.4 0.79 0.97

WN180+MN75 76.9 89.3 52.5 59.5 97.4 100.9 0.79 0.97

CD (5%) 5.16 6.94 4.81 4.06 4.81 5.83 0.030 0.027


116

Table 4. Effect of planting methods and nitrogen levels on the herbage yield, essential oil yield, essential oil content of mentha andwheat grain equivalent yield

Treatment Herbage yield Essential oil yield Essential oil Wheat grain equivalent

(q ha-1) (l ha-1) content (%) yield (q ha-1)

2006-07 2007-08 2006-07 2007-08 2006-07 2007-08 2006-07 2007-08 Pooled

Planting method

FP-W+M (2:2) 67.5cm 237.3 257.4 147.1 120.6 0.62 0.47 124.1 120.1 122.1

BP-W+M (2:2) 67.5cm 233.4 271.8 143.4 130.9 0.62 0.48 127.6 134.2 130.9

CD (5%) NS 10.82 NS 5.06 NS 0.011 NS 4.48 2.73

Nitrogen (Kg ha-1)

WN0+MN0 171.3 196.2 110.5 100.9 0.64 0.51 84.8 91.4 88.1

WN90+MN75 252.1 280.7 153.8 131.9 0.61 0.47 132.6 132.2 132.4

WN120+MN75 250.8 282.5 155.4 133.7 0.62 0.47 139.2 137.4 138.3

WN150+MN75 251.6 281.8 152.6 131.5 0.61 0.47 138.3 137.7 138.0

WN180+MN75 250.8 281.9 153.8 130.7 0.61 0.46 134.5 136.9 135.7

CD (5%) 14.62 17.11 9.24 8.01 0.021 0.017 5.80 7.09 4.31

harvest stage than 70.4 mm during 2006-07. Besides, theprolonged growth period of 12 days during 2007-08 mighthave resulted into more accumulation of assimilates and

consequently the higher herbage yield. But, the growth ofmentha under flat planting was adversely affected due tostagnation of water resulting into lower herb yield than bed.Kewalanand et al. (2008) also reported that paired row

planting of menthol mint on ridges + onion in furrow (2:2rows) caused significant enhancement in menthol mintyield.

During both the years, all the levels of N application atN90/N120/N150/N180 to wheat + N75 to mentha were at par inherbage and essential oil yield of mentha but these levels

were significantly higher over the control (Table 4). Therefore,it may be concluded that application of nitrogen to wheatcrop did not influence any parameter of mentha. As

application of N to wheat was done as basal and topdressing before the planting of mentha, and possibly usedby the wheat crop and N being a very mobile nutrient might

have lost by leaching and volatilization.

During 2006-07, the essential oil content did not differsignificantly due to planting methods (Table 4). However, in

the subsequent year, bed planted wheat + mentha recordedsignificantly higher essential oil content over flat plantedwheat + mentha. In general, the essential oil content during

2007-08 was less than 2006-07, which might be due tohigher rainfall of 353.7 mm between 120 days after plantingto harvest stage during second year as compared to 70.4

mm in the first year. The higher rainfall might have promotedmore succulent foliage and possibly diluted the oilpreserved in the glands lying in the sub-cuticular region of

leaves. Application of nitrogen did not influence the essential

oil content during the both years of experimentation. It wasobserved that no application of N (Wheat N0+Mentha N0)resulted into higher essential oil content during both the

years probably due to higher leaf: stem ratio recorded atharvest stage (Table 3).

Effect on wheat grain equivalent yield. During 2006-07, 2007-08 and on pooled average basis, the bed planted

wheat + mentha recorded higher wheat grain equivalentyield of the system over flat planted wheat + mentha (Table4). The differences were significant during 2007-08 and on

pooled average basis. Nitrogen application at N90/N120/N150/N180 to wheat + N75 to mentha recorded significantly higherwheat grain equivalent yield of the system over control. On

two year pooled average basis, increasing levels of Napplication enhanced the wheat grain equivalent yield upto120 + 75 kg N ha-1 for wheat and mentha, respectively.

REFERENCESAnonymous (2006) Package of practices for crops of Punjab:

Rabi 2006-07 pp 1-20. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana,India.

Anonymous (2007) Package of practices for crops of Punjab:Kharif 2007. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India,pp. 118-121.

Kewalanand, Chilana, K. and Anand, M. (2008) Feasibility ofintercropping onion in menthol mint with different plantingmethods. J. Medicinal Aromatic Pl. Sci. 30: 126-131.

Khan, M.B., Gill, M.A. and Zia, M.S. (1987) Cultural and fertilizermanagement practices for wheat production in Pakistan.Rachis: Barley and Wheat Newsletter 6: 40-42.

Kothari, S.K., Singh, V.P. and Singh, U.B. (1996) The effect of rowspacing and nitrogen fertilization on the growth and oil yieldcomposition of Japanese mint. J. Medicinal Aromatic Pl. Sci.18: 17-21.

Sumedh Chopra, Jaspal Singh and Satpal Singh

117

Pal, M.S. (2003) Future prospects of zero tillage and FIRB plantingsystem in Indian agriculture. Ind. Farmers’ Digest. April-May,26-28.

Sayre, K.D. and Moreno, R.O.H. (1997) Applications of raised bedplanting systems of wheat. Wheat Programme Special ReportNo. 31: Mexico, CIMMYT: 1-31.

Singh, D.P., Rana, N.S. and Singh, R.P. (2000) Production potentialand economics of winter maize based cropping systems. Ann.Agric. Res. 21: 472-476.

Singh, R., Gangasaran, K. and Bandyyopadhay, S.K. (1996) Studieson spatial arrangement and N levels in wheat-gramintercropping system under dry land situation. Ann. Agric.Res. 17: 74-79.

Tomar, S.K., Singh, H.P. and Ahlawat, I.P.S. (1997) Dry matteraccumulation and nitrogen uptake in wheat based intercroppingsystems as affected by N fertilizer. Indian J. Agron. 42: 33-37.

Received 25 October, 2011; Accepted 20 April, 2012


Evaluation of Bt Cotton as an Integral Component of Integrated PestManagement

Vikas Jindal*, Naveen Aggarwal and Vikram SinghDepartment of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India


Abstract: Bt cotton hybrid were evaluated as an component of Integrated Pest Management and compared with farmers practice. During2005-06, the Bt hybrid viz., RCH134 with IPM module was compared with BT hybrid with farmers practice (FP), conventional variety (CV)F1861 with IPM module and F1861 with farmers practice (FP). Later in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, IPM module with Bt (RCH134Bt) wascompared with non Bt version of same hybrid, RCH134 non Bt, with farmers practice. The sucking pests remained almost same in all thetreatments in all years of study. The bollworm incidence is quite low in IPM and FP plots with Bt cotton than in conventional variety (F1861).The results indicated that performance of Bt cotton is better in IPM module than non-Bt hybrid in terms of lower incidence of bollworms,higher yield, gross income and cost benefit ratio. Bt cotton hybrids must be used as an component of IPM module to get the highest returns.

Key Words: Bt Cotton, Cost benefit ratio, Farmers practice, Integrated pest management


of Ecology

Cotton is an attractive host for several pests and 162

insect pests have been found to be associated with Indian

cotton ecosystem from sowing to harvesting (Dhawan,

2004). Of these, nine are considered as key pests in

different zones. The bollworm complex {american bollworm

Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), spotted bollworms Eariasinsulana (Boisduval) and E. vitella (Fabricius), pink bollworm

Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders)} may lead to complete

failure of non Bt cotton crop. For the management of these

pests, research over the last 25 years has generated various

modules of IPM in different regions of the country. IPM

technology has been successfully implemented in rainfed

cotton at “Astha” village in Maharashtra (Singh et al., 2002).

In the present era, Bt cotton has proved quite beneficial for

managing these bollworms and reducing the use of

insecticides. Since the introduction of Bt cotton, its

performance was studied for insect pest incidence and

economics in comparison to non-Bt cotton cultivars. It has

been quite clear from the early studies that Bt cotton is

quite effective against bollworms. However, Fitt (2000)

stated that Bt cotton technology must not be considered as

silver bullets, but should be viewed as a foundation of IPM

systems, including biological and cultural control tactics,

for sustainable crop production. Therefore, taking these

factors in view, the studies were undertaken to evaluate the

performance Bt cotton as an integral component of

integrated pest management module against farmers

practice.


Field experiments were conducted at Regional Station,Punjab Agricultural University, Faridkot for three years i.e.

Kharif 2005-06 to 2007-08. During 2005-06, the Bt hybridviz., RCH134 with IPM module was compared with Bt hybrid

with farmers practice (FP), conventional variety (CV) F1861with IPM module and F1861 with farmers practice (FP). Laterin 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, IPM module with Bt (RCH134)

was compared with non Bt version of same hybrid, RCH134non Bt, with farmers practice. The crop was grown in plotsmeasuring 30 x 60 m2 following PAU recommendedpractices. The IPM module followed includes first spray of

neem based insecticides against sucking pests, use ofpheromone traps for bollworms, erecting bird perches andeconomic threshold level based spray of insecticides,

however, in farmers practice only regular sprays at 7-10days intervals were given. The observations on incidenceof sucking pests, bollworms and fruiting bodies damage

due to bollworms were recorded from 45 randomly selectedplants from each plot at 15 days interval. The sucking pestsviz., thrips (nymph and adult), whitefly (adult), jassid (nymph)

and aphid (young one and adult) were recorded from 3 topfully opened leaves. The intact fruiting bodies damage andpredators population was recorded on per plant basis. The

boll and locule damage was observed in bolls collectedfrom 15 randomly selected plants from the field. The yieldfrom each plot was noted and the economics of IPM and

farmers practice was worked out. The data were subjectedto ANOVA test and the means were compared using LeastSignificant Differences (P=0.05).


Comparison of Bt and non-Bt Hybrid with IPM andFarmer Practice (FP)

The population of sucking pests viz. jassid, whitefly and

119

Table1. Population of sucking pests in Bt and conventional variety (F1861) under IPM and non-IPM practice during 2005-06

Insect pests IPM-Bt (RCH134) FP-Bt(RCH134) IPM-F 1861 FP-F1861

Thrips / 3 leaves 1.66a 0.60 a 1.09 a 1.58 a

Aphid / 3 leaves 1.97 a 0.86 a 1.58 a 7.11 b

Jassid / 3 leaves 0.96 a 0.98 a 1.33 a 1.21 a

Whitefly / 3 leaves 4.79 a 5.35 a 4.82 a 4.17 a

Means followed by same letter are not significant at P=0.05 level by LSD; FP - Farmer’s Practice

Table 2. Bollworm incidence in Bt and conventional variety (F1861) under IPM and non-IPM practice during 2005-06

Parameters IPM-Bt (RCH134) FP-Bt(RCH134) IPM-F 1861 FP-F1861

Heliothis eggs / plant 0.00a 0.00 a 0.00 a 0.00 a

Heliothis larvae / plant 0.00 0.00 a 0.00 a 0.00 a

Fruiting bodies damage (%) 7.78 a 5.60 a 25.36 c 19.57 b

Boll damage (%) 0.3 a 0.87 a 24.38 c 12.88 b

Locule damage (%) 0.11 a 0.36 a 11.13 c 6.25 b


thrips differ non significantly among the three modulestested. The maximum population of thrips, jassid and

whitefly were recorded in IPM-Bt, IPM-CV and FP-Bt,respectively (Table 1). The population of aphid wassignificantly higher on FP-CV than other three modules, but

aphid is considered as minor pest in Punjab and occursporadically, therefore we did not rank modules with respectto aphids. Patil et al. (2004) also recorded the population of

sucking pests more or less same in Bt and non Bt cottonhybrids. However, Bambawale et al. (2004) recorded theincidence of all sucking pests, whiteflies, jassids, thrips

and aphids were statistically higher in non IPM withconventional cotton as compared to IPM with Bt Mech162,non Bt Mech162 and conventional variety. These variations

in results may be due to differences in susceptibility ofdifferent hybrids to sucking pests and different locationspecific modules being followed.

The infestation due to bollworms was significantlydifferent in all the modules. The maximum intact fruitingbodies damage was in IPM-CC followed by FP-CC and it

was minimum in FP-Bt (Table 2). Similar trend wasobserved in open boll and locule damage in all the fourmodules. The results indicated that Bt hybrids with IPM and

FP effectively manage the bollworm complex. The findingscorroborates with those of Patil et al. (2004) who foundsignificant effect of Bt toxin in Bt cotton (Mech 184 Bt) on

bollworms. Bambawale et al. (2004) recorded the minimumdamage in IPM plots with Mech 162Bt followed by IPM withconventional cotton, IPM with non Bt and non IPM with

conventional cotton. The economic threshold level forsucking pests crossed once in all the four modules andthat for bollworms once in BT plot four times in IPM-

conventional variety and 2 times in FP-conventional variety(Table3). Similarly, the quantity of insecticides used was

higher in FP-conventional variety.

The FP-CV required highest plant protection cost ascompared to other modules with minimum in IPM-Bt and

consequently the yield was significantly higher (34.07 and33.84 q ha-1) in IPM-Bt and FP-Bt plot compared to IPM andFP with conventional variety (Table 4). Taking into

consideration the maximum gross income, cost of cultivationand net profit, the cost benefit ratio was highest (2.63) inIPM-Bt plot, followed by FP-Bt, IPM-CV abd FP-CV. The

results clearly indicated that Bt as a component of IPM andwith FP recorded highest yield and net returns thanconventional variety. The present studies have been

supported by Bhosle et al. (2004), Patil et al. (2004) andPrasad et al. (2008). Bambawale et al. (2004) also recordedsignificantly higher yield in IPM with Mech162 Bt followed by

IPM with non Bt Mech162, IPM-CC and on IPM-CC.

Comparison of IPM- Bt with FP-non Bt

During 2005-06, higher seed cotton yield in Bt cotton(RCH134) in IPM plots may be due to higher potential of Bt

cotton hybrid than conventional variety (F1861). Therefore,to confirm the potential of Bt cotton as a component of IPM,the experiments were conducted with RCH134 Bt with IPM

and non Bt version of RCH with farmers practice during2006-07 and 2007-08. The results revealed that theincidence of all the sucking pests was almost similar in

IPM-Bt and FP-non Bt plots (Table 5). The population ofwhitefly remained below economic threshold level duringboth years of study and it did not vary among IPM-Bt and FP-

non Bt plots, although it was higher in FP-non Bt plot. Bhosle

Evaluation of Bt Cotton

120

Table 4. Economics of Bt and conventional variety (F1861) under IPM and non-IPM practice during 2005-06

Parameter IPM-Bt (RCH134) FP-Bt(RCH134) IPM-F 1861 FP-F1861

*Plant protection cost (Rs ha-1) 1616.00 2266.00 2892.00 4641.00

Yield (q ha-1) 34.07 33.87 26.61 27.88

**Gross income (Rs ha-1) 62518.45 62151.45 48829.35 51159.80

***Cost of cultivation (Rs ha-1) 15598.00 15598.00 11925.50 11925.50

Net profit (Rs ha-1) 45304.45 44287.45 34011.85 34593.30

Cost benefit ratio 2.63 2.48 1:2.30 1:2.09

**Rates of different pesticides based on the rate contract by the Store Purchase Organisation, PAU Ludhiana with Pesticides Dealers

*Based on MSP fixed for the medium staple cotton by the Agricultural Costs and Prices Commission, Government of India for 2005-06;

*** Source: Department of Economics, PAU, Ludhiana

Table 3. Economic threshold levels and number of sprays in RCH Bt and F1861 under IPM and non-IPM practice during 2005-06

Parameter IPM-Bt (RCH134) FP-Bt(RCH134) IPM-F 1861 FP-F1861

No. of times ETL crossed 1 1 1 1

for sucking pests

No. of times ETL (larva or % damage) 1 1 4 2

crossed for bollworms

No of sprays 3 4 5 8

Quantity of insecticides used (g a.i. ha-1) 1382.50 2395.00 3257.50 5090.00

Table 5. Population of sucking pests in Bt-IPM and non-Bt farmers plots

Insect pests 2006-07 2007-08 Mean

IPM-Bt(RCH134) FP-Non Bt IPM-Bt(RCH134) FP-Non Bt IPM-Bt(RCH134) FP-Non Bt

Thrips / 3 leaves 0.71a 1.19 a 4.83 a 4.66 a 2.77 a 2.93 a

Aphid / 3 leaves 0.00 a 0.00 a 0.32 a 0.26 a 0.16 a 0.13 a

Jassid / 3 leaves 1.76 a 1.64 a 1.46 a 1.45 a 1.61 a 1.55 a

Whitefly / 3 leaves 3.00 a 3.42 a 5.12 a 5.66 a 4.06 a 4.54 a


et al. (2004) in their studies indicated that IPM module withthree different Bt cotton hybrids (Mech 12Bt, Mech 162 Btand Mech 182Bt) have variable population of jassid as

compared to that on FP-non Bt. It was significantly lower inFP-CV than in all the hybrids with IPM after 45DAS and thenonly Mech12 Bt after 60DAS. Similarly, variable results were

reported with different hybrids for thrips. Prasad et al. (2008)reported that sucking insect pest was slightly higher exceptthrips in Bt hybrids (RCH134) as compared to non Bt version

with IPM.

Significantly lower intact fruiting bodies, boll and loculedamage was recorded in IPM-Bt as compared to FP-non Bt

Table 6. The mean fruiting bodies, boll and locule damagewas in IPM-BT cotton than in FP-non Bt. The study clearlyindicated the positive effect of Bt as an component of IPM

module on bollworm infestation. Bhosle et al. (2004)reported comparatively higher damage of bollworms in FP-CV (NHH44) and lower yield than three Bt hybrids with IPM

module. Bambawale et al. (2004) reported the per cent

damage to bolls was statistically lowest in Bt Mech-IPM ascompared to Non IPM-CC. The square and locule damagewas higher in non Bt and Bt (RCH134) under IPM (Prasad

et al., 2008)

The mean number of times when sucking pestscrossed economic threshold level is same (0.50) in both

the years of study in both IPM-BT and FP-non Bt module(Table 7). Bollworm infestation did not crossed ETL in IPM-Bt plots during both the years, while it crossed 2 and 4

times in FP-non Bt plot during 2006-07 and 2007-08,respectively. The mean number of sprays and total quantityof insecticides used was 1.00 and 737.50 g a.i. ha-1 in IPM-

Bt as compared to 7.50 and 3538.25 g a.i. ha-1 in FP-non Bt,respectively (Table 7). Accordingly, the mean plant protectioncost in IPM-Bt plot is quite low (575.48 Rs ha-1) as compared

to FP-non Bt (5105.45 Rs ha-1). Using Bt hybrid and adoptingIPM practices resulted in higher yield (6.61 q ha-1) than usingnon Bt hybrids with farmers practice. The cost of cultivation

was higher in IPM-Bt mainly due to the cost of seed. The net

Vikas Jindal, Naveen Aggarwal and Vikram Singh

121

Table 7. Economic threshold levels and number of sprays in Bt-IPM and non-Bt farmers plots

Parameter 2006-07 2007-08 Mean


No. of times ETL 0 0 1 1 0.50 0.50crossed for sucking pests

No. of times ETL (larva or 0 2 0 4 0.00 3.00% damage) crossed for bollworms

No of sprays 1 8 1 7 1.00 7.50

Quantity of insecticides 875.00 3040.75 600 4035.75 737.50 3538.25used (g a.i. ha-1)

Table 6. Bollworm incidence in Bt-IPM and non-Bt farmers plots



Heliothis eggs / plant 0.00a 0.00 a 0.00 a 0.00 a 0.00 a 0.00 a

Heliothis larvae / plant 0.00 a 0.00 a 0.00 a 0.00 a 0.00 a 0.00 a

Fruiting bodies damage (%) 0.00 a 9.08 b 1.39 a 5.44 b 0.70 a 7.26 b

Boll damage (%) 2.39 a 15.73 b 0.00 a 4.83 b 1.20 a 10.28 b

Locule damage (%) 0.84 a 6.38 b 0.00 a 2.57 b 0.42 a 4.48 b


Table 8. Economics of Bt-IPM and non-BT farmers



*Plant protection cost (Rs ha-1) 625.95 5008.40 525 5202.50 575.48 5105.45

Yield (q/ha) 21.03 12.19 21.19 16.80 21.11 14.50

**Gross income (Rs ha-1) 38585.27 22371.92 41320.50 32760.00 39952.89 27565.96

***Cost of cultivation (Rs ha-1) 19238.50 13728.50 18588.50 13078.50 18913.50 13403.50

Net profit (Rs ha-1) 18720.82 3635.02 22207.00 14479.00 20463.91 9057.01

Cost benefit ratio 1.94 1.19 2.16 1.79 2.05 1.49

**Rates of different pesticides based on the rate contract by the Store Purchase Organisation, PAU Ludhiana with Pesticides Dealers

*Based on MSP fixed for the medium staple cotton by the Agricultural Costs and Prices Commission, Government of India for 2006-07and 2007-08; *** Source: Department of Economics, PAU, Ludhiana

profit was higher (Rs 20463.91 ha-1) in IPM-Bt plot as

compared to FP-non Bt (Rs 9057.01 ha-1). The cost benefitratio also follow similar trend, higher 2.05 in IPM-Bt ascompared to 1.49 in FP-non Bt. Bambawale et al. (2004)

also recorded higher seed cotton yield, net returns and B: Cratio in IPM-Bt block as compared to non IPM-non Bt. Bhosleet al. (2004) also recorded higher returns in IPM block.

Various studies also showed that Bt cotton hybrids assuperior to non Bt hybrid with respect to yield, net return(Patel et al., 2004).

The experiment during 2005-06 showed that the IPMpractices and Bt cotton hybrids gave better returns thanconventional variety and farmers practice. The further studies

indicated that Bt must be used as component of IPM forharvesting maximum returns. Rao et al. (2007) found nosignificant reduction in plant protection expenditure on

adoption of Bt hybrids without IPM practices, however,

adoption of IPM practices has lead to reduced use ofinsecticides and increased profitability. Therefore it can beconcluded that rather than using Bt hybrids as silver bullets

only these must be used as an component of IPM to harvestmaximum economic benefit to growers and society.

REFERENCESBambawale, O. M., Singh, A., Sharma, O. P., Bhosle, B. B., Lavekar,

R. C., Dhandapani, A., Kanwar, V., Tamhankar, R. K., Rathod,K. S. and Patange, N. R. (2004) Performance of Bt cottonMECH-162 Bt under Integrated Pest Management in farmersparticipatory field trial in Nanded District, Central India. Curr.Sci. 86 : 900-909.

Bhosle, B.B., Rathod, K.S., Patange, N.R. and Adkine, S.J. (2004)Effectiveness of Bt cotton in pest management as an integralcomponent of IPM. In: B.M. Kahdi, H.M. Vamadevaiah, I.S.Katageri, S.N. Chattannavar, S.S. Udikeri and S.B. Patil (Eds)

Evaluation of Bt Cotton

122

International Symposium on “Strategies for SustainableCotton Production – a Global Vision” 3 Crop protection, 23-25 November 2004, UAS, Dharwad, Karnataka, India, pp-155-157.

Dhawan A K. (2004) Insect resistance in cotton : Achievementsand challenges. In : Dhaliwal G S and Singh R (ed) Host PlantResistance to Insects ; Concepts and Applications. PanimaPublishing Corporation, New Delhi, pp 263-314.

Fitt, G.P. (2000) An Australian approach to IPM in cotton: integratingnew technologies to minimise insecticide dependence. CropProt. 19 : 793-800.

Patil, B. V., Bheemanna, M., Hanchinal, S. G., and Kengegowda, N.(2004) Performance and economics of Bt cotton cultivation inirrigated ecosystem. In: B.M. Kahdi, H.M. Vamadevaiah, I.S.Katageri, S.N. Chattannavar, S.S. Udikeri and S.B. Patil (Eds)

International Symposium on “Strategies for SustainableCotton Production – a Global Vision” 3 Crop protection, 23-25 November 2004, UAS, Dharwad, Karnataka, India, pp-139-142.

Prasad N.V.V.S.D. and Rao, N. H. (2008) Field evaluation of Bt cottonhybrids against insect pest complex under rain fed conditions.Indain J. Entomol. 70 (4): 330-336.

Rao, C.A.R., Rao, M.S., Naraiah, P., Malathi, B. and Reddy, Y.V.R.(2007) Profitability of cotton on a pest management continuumin Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh. Agric. Econ. Res. Rev.20: 273-282.

Singh, A., Sharma, A.P., Lavekar, R.C., Bambawale, O.M., Murthy,K.S. and Dhandapani, A. (2002) IPM technology for rainfedcotton. Tech. Bull. 11: 1-36.

Received 12 December, 2011; Accepted 4 May, 2011

Vikas Jindal, Naveen Aggarwal and Vikram Singh


of Ecology

Rogers (1983,1995 and 2003) recognized five attributesof a technology affecting the adoption, these are relativeadvantage, compatibility, observability, complexity andtrialability, which in turn affect the rate of adoption by 49 to

87 per cent and. Many adoption studies have shown theimportance of these aspects (Fliegel et al., 1967). Theadoption of technology for natural resource management

and conservation, such as soil conservation, integrated pestmanagement (IPM), irrigation management, are consideredapart, from the use of conventional green revolution inputs,

such as high yielding varieties, fertilizers and pesticides(Caswell et al., 2000). In comparison with use of singlemeasure such as pesticides, IPM appears, and often is,

complex, its effect is rarely immediately observable (Dent,1995). The constraints in the adoption have been in termsof appropriateness of technology, economic implications,

availability of appropriate information, acquiring ofknowledge and skills by farmers for applying the IPM intheir fields, dissemination of IPM, vast network of chemical

industry to lure farmers for using pesticides andappropriateness of technology in terms of it being lesscomplex and compatible with the farming system. Due to

complexities of carrying out IPM, it has been difficult forfarmers in carrying out IPM practices like ETL (Godell, 1984,van de Fliert, 1993, Eslanda and Heong, 1994, Matterson etal., 1994, Malone et al., 2004). The compatibility of an IPMpractice also plays role in its adoption. If IPM practice is notcompatible like ‘trash trap’ in maize (Bentley and Andrews,

Farmers Perceived Constraints in the Uptake of Cotton IPM Practices

Rajinder Peshin*, A.K. Dhawan1, Kamaldeep Singh1 and Rakesh SharmaDivision of Agricultural Extension Education, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu

1Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana - 141 001, India*E-mail : [email protected]

Abstract: Adoption and diffusion research in rural sociology, extension education, and agricultural economics is replete with the studiesthat socio-economic variables affect the adoption or rejection of the agricultural technologies. On the basis of these studies, the farmersare categorised in innovators/laggards. But the limited number of studies undertaken to find out the other reasons for adoption/rejectionhave comprehensively concluded that the technological attributes affect the rate of adoption, varying between 49 to 87 per cent. Thestudy evaluation of the insecticide resistance management (IRM) based IPM programme in Punjab was undertaken to find out the outcomesof this programme by employing quasi-experimental non equivalent control group design, and the perceived reasons for non-adoptionexpressed by the 150 IRM trained farmers selected from 15 IRM villages. The constraints in the uptake of IPM practices were: IPMtechnologies not being compatible with the farming system, benefits of the technology not being visible, risk factors and complexityassociated with knowledge intensive practices (software technologies) like ETL. The researchers should re-visit the IPM strategies todevelop farmers compatible less complex IPM practices, and to expand the definition of ecosystem further to include farmers by elicitingtheir knowledge and skills. Extension professionals from the subject matter areas should move from training to education of farmers.Policy makers should take a clear cut stand, whether ecologically viable “integrated pest management” or “integrated pesticide management”is the main plant protection strategy?

Key Words: IRM, IPM, Cotton IPM, Attributes of IPM, Adoption of IPM, Constraints in Uptake of IPM

1991), it is a limitation in its adoption. Economic returns/implications of IPM need to be demonstrated to the farmerso that the farmer learns that even buying information andadvice can be more profitable than buying chemicals

(Lacewell, 1980). Growers perceived that IPM practices aremore risky than conventional pest management (Norris etal., 2003), so the risk associated must be decreased to

make farmers sure of its economic viability.

Dissemination of IPM technology related information

in top-down approach is also a constraint in many

developing countries (Kenmore et al., 1995) and lack of

proper knowledge about different aspects of IPM like agro-

ecosystem analysis and not acquiring required skills for its

use act as barriers (van de Fliert, 1993, Merchant and Teetas,

1994). Vast network of pesticide companies in the

developed and developing world also lured back the IPM

practioners. The pesticide company agents scouting the

farmers’ field and assisting them in making pesticide use

decisions act as a barrier for IPM adoption. Counteracting

forces even in public extension services confuse the farmers

and the lack of commitment of extension agencies to IPM

limit the spread and adoption of IPM (van de Fliert, 1993)

and lack of master trainers act as obstacle in the adoption

of IPM (Matteson et al., 1994).

The constraints for different agricultural systems canvary as in most of the Latin American countries there is nopublic service extension so the farmers are more dependent

124

on agents of chemical industry for information. In the USA,the constraints are in terms of IPM adoption is often more

expensive than conventional pesticide based management,due to increased need for population assessment andrecord keeping, and where it meets economic interest of

growers adoption is high. In developing countriescounteracting approaches, lack of proper dissemination oftechnology in a participatory mode are the barriers in the

adoption of IPM. For different crops also the constraintsdiffer. The lack of knowledge in terms of comprehensionand its applications and lack of skills to use complex

practices are the universal constrains reported in numerousstudies. In this paper, the constraints in the adoption ofselected IPM practices disseminated under the Insecticide

Resistance Management (IRM) programme implementedin the state of Punjab are reported. The study intended toanalyse how the attributes of innovation effect the adoption

of selected IPM practices like timely sowing of cotton crop,adoption of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU)recommended resistant varieties, seed treatment, use of

ETL for insecticides application and IRM strategy forinsecticide use, and what are the cotton growers perceivedconstraints in the adoption of IPM practices.


A quasi-experimental design of research was employed

for conducting the evaluation study of the IRM-IPM

programme. A with/without, and before/after design was

applied in villages covered under the IRM-IPM programme

(experimental group-with IRM intervention) and villages not

covered under the IRM-IPM programme (control group-

without IRM intervention) for assessing the benefits of the

IRM-IPM programme. The constraints in the adoption of the

IRM-IPM practices were studied only in the IRM project area.

The constraints were measured as the impediments faced

by the farmers in the adoption of selected IPM practices,

and were measured in terms of percentage of farmers

reporting the constraint in the adoption of a particular

practice.

The study was conducted in three cotton-growing

districts of the State of Punjab: Bathinda, Ferozepur and

Mansa. These districts were selected purposively as they

were being covered under the IRM-IPM programme, and

account for 70 per cent (356,000 out of 509,000 ha) of the

total area under cotton cultivation in Punjab. A sample of

150 farmers from 15 randomly selected villages, where

the IRM-IPM programme was implemented, was selected

for the study (experimental group). From hereon, these

villages will be referred to as ‘IRM villages’, and their farmerswill be referred to as ‘IRM farmers’. The descriptive statistics

of the IRM farmers is given in Table 1. Five cotton IPMpractices namely: timely (April) sowing of cotton crop to

reduce insect pest losses, cultivation of resistant andtransgenic cotton varieties, seed dressing to reduce theimpact of sucking pest upto 60-70days after sowing, use of

economic threshold levels for making pesticide usedecisions and rationalizing the insecticide use based onIRM strategy were selected as indicative of IPM adoption.

The data were collected with the help of semi-structuredinterview schedule.


Constraints in timely sowing of the cotton crop. Along

with cultivation of early maturing resistant varieties, the timeof sowing plays an important role in reducing the pestdamage and pesticide use. The manipulation of sowing

time helps to minimize the buildup of Helicoverpa armigera(ABW) and Bemisia tabaci (whitefly) and timely sowing cropescapes damage from these pests (Dhawan, 1999).

Though the IRM farmers having knowledge about thetimely sowing was 93 per cent (Peshin et al., 2007) butonly 74 per cent farmers adopt this practice (Peshin et al.,2009) as there are a number of impediments faced by thefarmers in completing timely sowing of the crop.

The IRM farmers who had either sown cotton crop in

April as well as May, or had sown only in May or later, reportedthat shortage of canal irrigation is the most importantconstraint in timely sowing of the cotton crop. The IRM

farmers who had partially sown in April, 79 per cent of themreported shortage and non-availability of canal water as thelimiting factor in completing the sowing in April, and 38 per

cent, reported that poor quality of ground water is anotherimportant constraint (Table 2). The incomplete/lateharvesting of wheat also limits the complete sowing of the

cotton crop in April. The IRM farmers who had sown thewhole area under cotton crop late also reported the irrigationwater being the limiting factor. The different constraints as

reported by IRM farmers are listed in Table 2. Theresearchers should take the limitations faced by the farmersinto consideration before recommending such practices

which are partially compatible with the farming system inPunjab. Here the technology recommended does not fitwith the farming system. Timely sowing does not fit in the

wheat-cotton crop rotation but fits rapeseed mustard-cottoncrop rotation.

A farmer in village Malwala, district Bathinda has solved

the problem of shortage of canal water for irrigation, byapplying the pre-sowing irrigation in the standing wheatcrop few days before harvesting of the wheat crop, and on

harvesting of the wheat crop the farmer immediately goes

Rajinder Peshin, A.K. Dhawan, Kamaldeep Singh and Rakesh Sharma

125

for land preparation and completes sowing in the month of

April, even though his total land holding is 25 hectares andhad cultivated cotton on 10.4 hectares.

The constraints in the timely sowing are mainly the

incompatibility of the technology and physical problem ofthe irrigation water. Thus, the farmer blame bias of theresearchers and extension functionaries is proved to be

incorrect.

Constraints in the adoption of PAU recommended varietiesother than Bt cotton. The introduction of Bt cotton in the

state of Punjab has totally changed the cotton growingscenario. Before the introduction of Bt cotton in 2005, 79per cent farmers had already cultivated the Bt cotton in 2004.

The adoption of the other recommended but non-Bt varietieswas not encouraging. The number of IRM farmers cultivatingrecommended resistant non- Bt varieties was very less.

The respondent IRM farmers were asked in open endedquestion to rank in order, the three important characteristicsof a variety, which influences their decision to adopt a variety.

The results are given in Table 3. Rank one was given tohigher yielding by 58 per cent, resistant varieties by 27 percent and authentic seed/early maturity by five per cent of the

IRM farmers. Rank two was given to higher yielding by 29per cent, resistant varieties by 32 per cent, and good loculi

size/lint quality by 13 per cent of the IRM farmers. Rank

three was given to higher yielding by eight per cent, resistantvarieties seven per cent, and authentic seed and earlymaturity by five per cent of the IRM farmers. The constraints

encountered by the farmers in timely sowing of the cottoncrop were mainly the incompatibility attribute of thetechnology and problems of irrigation water. Thus, the farmer

blame bias of the researcher and extension professionalsis contradicted.

But in case of Bt cotton, a hardware technology, the

relative advantages were visible without any complexity

involved as perceived by the farmers, the rate of adoption

was fast. Farmers started getting aware about the existence

of Bt-cotton in 2000 and by 2004 awareness-knowledge

were 100 per cent and it formed S-shaped curve (Figure 1).

The majority of the IRM farmers, 71 per cent had come to

know about Bt-cotton in 2002 and 2003 . The sources of

information was other farmers (76%), representatives of

companies (19%), newspapers (11%), Arthias (5%).

Interpersonal communication channels were the main

source of diffusion of this innovation. This implies that farmer

to farmer diffusion was effective , in case the technology is

predominantly hardware and the economic benefits are

visible.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of the IRM farmers

District District District Overall for

Bathinda Ferozepur Mansa three districts

Education (% farmers)

I. Illiterate 6 8 16 10

II. Upto primary 10 18 12 13

III. Middle 18 26 26 23

IV. Matric 36 36 32 35

V. 10+2 14 8 14 12

VI. Graduate and above 16 4 0 7

Telephone connection (% farmers) 84 66 64 71

Total operational land (ha) holding (i + ii - iii) 461.2 675.0 377.0 1513.2

I. Owned 415.8 611.8 352.4 1380.0

II. Leased-in 53.0 74.8 29.6 157.4

III. Leased-out 7.6 11.6 5.0 24.2

Average operational landholding(ha) 9.22 13.50 7.54 10.09

I. 1-2ha (small) 6 4 2 4

II. 2 – 4ha (Semi-medium) 20 12 24 19

III. 4 – 10ha (Medium)

IV. >10ha (Large) 46 40 56 47

28 44 18 30

Area under cotton crop(ha) 313.0 428.2 217.65 958.85

Percentage area under cotton crop 67.87 63.44 57.73 63.37

Constraints in the Uptake of Cotton IPM

126

Table 3. Important attributes for adoption of a particular cotton variety as ranked by the IRM farmers

Attribute of variety Ranking (% farmers)

Rank I Rank II Rank III

Higher yield 58 29 8

Resistant to pest 27 32 3

Early maturing 5 9 11

Good quality seed 5 3 5

Good loculi size/lint quality 1 13 0

Less water requiring 3 3 3

Decimals rounded up to nearest whole numbers

The rate of adoption of Bt-cotton also formed ‘S’ shaped

curve (Fig. 1), which is in agreement with Rogers (1983)

diffusion theory. The Bt cotton technology is similar to the

green revolution technologies (high yielding varieties,

fertilization, pesticides), so the rate of adoption was fast as

cotton growers were rewarded with less bollworm problem

and higher yields. Against four per cent adoption in 2002,

rate of adoption multiplied four times in 2003 and during

2004 rate of adoption was 72 per cent before the official

release and recommendation. The rate of adoption of Bt

cotton increased to 95 in the subsequent years. The

attributes of Bt-cotton as reported by IRM farmers were

resistance to boll-worms, higher yielding, saving on

pesticide expenditure, timely wheat sowing (relative

advantages and observability); easy to adopt and compatible

(compatibility); high cost of seed, more water requiring,

higher fertilizer dosages, susceptible to CLCuV and tobacco

caterpillar (non-compatibility), but no complexity was

reported by the farmers.

The majority of the IRM farmers (52%) had not procuredBt-cotton seed from authentic sources in 2004. Some

farmers had even procured from Gujarat state, and weresure of the authencity of seed (43%). Role of public serviceextension does not count if the technologies are developed

by the private sector and are economically viable. Extensionor no extension, the farmers adopt the technologies which

have visible relative advantages.

Constraints in the adoption of seed treatment. The majorconstraints reported by 93 IRM farmers, for not treating the

seed were in terms of lack of knowledge (51%), no previousexperience (29%), seed treating chemicals not availablelocally (5%), chemicals being poisonous and laborious

practice (2%). The other reasons given by the IRM farmers(18%) were that there is no benefit of seed treatment (noobservability), IRM programme started late and farmers

gained knowledge about seed treatment when sowing wascomplete (10%). Table 4 gives an overview of the reasonsand constraints for not treating seed.

Constraints in the adoption of ETL. Waibel (1986) and Smithet al. (1988) showed that economic threshold level (ETL)based pesticide use had economic benefits but its uptake

by the farmers was negligible. The Punjab AgriculturalUniversity, Ludhiana, India recommended an ETL for cottonjassid (Amrasca biguttula) in 1979 (PAU, 1979), and for

whitefly (Bemisiatabaci) and bollworm complex(Helicoverpa armigera, Earias vitella and Pectinophoragossypiella) in 1991 (PAU, 1991). The cotton farmers in

Punjab had no knowledge about ETL, prior to the start of

Table 2. Constraints in the adoption of timely sowing

Constraint District wise % age of farmers Overall %age

Bathinda Ferozepur Mansa of 3 districts

Shortage/non-availability of canal water 88 80 71 79

Poor quality (No. 2/No. 3) of tube well water 25 33 56 38

Late/incomplete harvesting of wheat crop 25 4 10 13

Delayed land preparation 18 0 2 6

More land holding/not possible to complete sowing in April 8 0 7 5

Timely sowing Mustard + cotton crop rotation 0 7 0 2

n= 40 45 41 126

Multiple responseDecimals rounded up to nearest whole numbersSome farmers apply pre-sowing irrigation in standing wheat crop


127

Fig. 1. Rate of adoption of economic thresholds and Bt cotton

Table 4. Adoption of seed treatment/treated seed and reasons for its adoption

Practice/Reason District wise percentage of farmers Overall percentage


Seed treatment/treated seed 90 45 92 75

i. Seed treatment# 13 10 2 8

ii. Treated seed# 90 35 92 72

No seed treatment/treated seed 10 55 8 25

n 48 49 49 146

Reasons#

i. As seed already treated 95 77 100 94

ii. Delayed attack of jassid 40 23 11 25

iii. Good germination 2 0 4 3

iv. Less disease infestation/CLCuV 14 0 2 6

v. No termite damage 5 9 6 6

vi. Given by dept. of Agric. for trial 0 4 0 1

n 43 22 45 110

# Multiple responses, Decimals rounded up to nearest whole numbers

the insecticide resistance management based IPM

programme in 2002. Though, it has relative advantage overprophylactic pesticide spray, its adoption was zero in cottonin Punjab (Peshin et al., 2009). During the implementation

of the IRM programme 35,25 and 33 per cent farmersadopted the ETLs for Jassid, whitefly and Americanbollworm, respectively but once the IRM intervention was

withdrawn adoption rate showed a down ward slide. The

constraints limiting the adoption of ETL were similar interms of complexities. The constraints expressed by 88IRM farmers, were that determining ETL is time consuming

(26%), lack of proper knowledge, comprehension and skill(20%), laborious (22%), pest population never being belowETL in case of ABW and whitefly (8%) (Table 5).


128

One of the attributes of ETL expressed by farmers was

‘risk’ which was not forming the part of semi-structuredquestions related to attributes of ETL, but in case of openended questions related to constraints, ‘risk’ was reported

as a constraint by 19 per cent of IRM farmers (Table 5). Theother reasons for not adopting ETL were: insecticides areapplied as preventive measure (7%), their past experience

and general observations were enough to take pesticiderelated decisions (33%). No benefit of ETL was reported bytwo per cent of the 88 IRM farmers. The ETL not being

adopted puts a question mark on the applicability of thispractice at farmers’ level in Punjab and taking it as indicatorfor determining the level of IPM adoption.

Use of pesticides according to good agricultural practice.Pesticide based pest management in itself is a complextechnology for farmers to efficiently adopt (Litsinger et al.,2009). It is a mix of software (consisting of knowledge base)and hardware (consisting of inputs) technology. Hardwarein terms of the pesticides, and software in terms of selection

of a right pesticide against a particular pest, right dosage,right dilution and right time of application. Hardware side oftechnology is dominant and its adoption is faster as

compared to software side of a technology (Rogers, 2003).The pesticide based pest management requires higherlevels of knowledge and greater skills on the part of farmers

in terms of selecting a right pesticide, pesticide dosageand dilution (spray volume). Most pesticides are only toxicto a specific pests, can be washed away by rain, can drift

with wind, require being placed on a specific part of theplant and must be diluted correctly. The State of Punjabbeing the “Leader of the Green Revolution” in India, the

pesticide use is also the highest. But the use of pesticides

according to correct dosages, right timing and applicationtechnology is not upto the accepted norms. The farmerseither under dose or overdosed the insecticides in cotton

(Table 6). Under the IRM oprogramme endosufan insecticidewas recommended as the recommended insecticideagainst Jassid. Farmers were reluctant to use it, as they feltintoxicated after its spraying. The Excel pesticide company

was selling endosufan as IPM pesticide. The farmers wereahead of the scientists, because they have real lifeexperiences and now there is a hue and cry for banning

endosulfan in India.

Table 6. The adoption of correct and incorrect dosages ofinsecticides by the IRM farmers

Insecticide Incorrect dosage Correct dosage

(% farmers) (% farmers)

Alphamethrin 71 29

Cypermethrin 92 08

Fenvalerate 90 10

Acephate 24 66

Chlorpyriphos 49 51

Ethion 33 63

Monocrotohos 22 88

Profenophos 25 75

Quinalphos 25 75

Triazophos 36 64

Acetamirid 89 11

Indoxacarb 5 95

Spinosad 67 33

The reasons given by 117 IRM farmers, who had partiallyor completely adopted IRM strategy of insecticides use, arereported in Table 7. The cotton growers in Punjab have

suffered heavily due to losses caused by insect-pests

Table 5. Constraints/reasons in the adoption of economic threshold level (reasons other than constraints also included)

Constraint/Reason District-wise percentage of farmers Overall

Bathinda Ferozepur Mansa percentage of

(n=19) (n=36) (n=33) 3 districts (n=88)

i. Time consuming 16 31 27 26

ii. General observation enough to take decision 42 25 36 33

iii. Lack of knowledge/comprehension and skill 21 17 24 20

iv. Risk involved 16 19 21 19

v. Laborious and difficult to calculate frequently 21 17 27 22

vi. Application of insecticides as a preventive major

based on our past experience 5 11 3 7

vii. Use pheromone traps 5 0 0 1

viii. Pest population never below ETL in case of 0 14 6 8

ABW and whitefly

ix. Application of insecticides at egg stage of the pest 11 3 0 3

x. No benefit of ETL 0 5 0 2

Multiple response, Decimals rounded up to nearest whole numbers


129

mainly bollworms between 1995 to 2003, so the farmerswere keen to know about the recommendations of the PAU

for insecticide use. The reasons for partially or completelyfollowing IRM strategy was to reduce insecticideexpenditure (34%), reduce insecticide use (15%), to rotate

the insecticide during cropping season (10%), to avoid tankmixing (11%) and for trial purpose (14%). One of theimportant reasons reported by the IRM farmers was that

the IRM staff created credibility (12%) and availability of IRMstaff for advice (6%). Some of the farmers (5%) reportedthat they used IRM strategy only for using correct dosage.

The other reasons listed by the IRM farmers were to avoidresistance in pests, avoid resurgence of whitefly by avoidingsynthetic pyrethroids, increase time interval between two

applications and avoid first spray of monocrotophos 36SLto conserve natural enemies.

As was in the case of ETL, 30 per cent of the 80 IRM

farmers reported that following the IRM strategy forinsecticides use the most important limiting factor was ‘risk’.Ten percent of the farmers reported tank mixing of

insecticides gives better results than IRM recommendationand especially in case American boll worm and spottedboll worm are present at the same time (14%). Ten per cent

of farmers also reported that when infestation of bollwormsand tobacco caterpillar in severe tank mixing is the only

option and an equal number of farmers reported that theadvice given by dealers/other farmers was followed for taking

the pesticide decisions. Two per cent of the 86 IRM farmersreported that pesticide companies even lay the trials ofusing tank mixtures so experimentation and trial should be

laid to make them observe the results of IRM-IPM strategyof insecticide use. The detail list of reasons and constraintsare given in Table 7.

In the green revolution era the emphasis was onenhancing the mutual linkages between research,extension and farmers (Roling, 1996) for dissemination

and adoption of hardware technologies (high yieldingvarieties, fertilizers and pesticides) through top-downtechnology dissemination. The experiences with efforts to

introduce IPM practices through transfer of technology (ToT)paradigm did not work. The research and extension beliefsand modes changed with the time (Chambers, 1991). In

1950s and 1960s, the farmers were categorized intoadopters/laggards and explanation for non-adoption wasignorance. In 1970s and 1980s explanation for non-

adoption of technologies was farm level constraints(incompatibility of technology with the farming system). Thekey prescriptions were extension/remove constraints and

activities were training and input supply. In 1990s, thequestions were being asked about the technology, whether

Table 7. Constraints in the adoption/partial adoption of insecticides as per IRM strategy*

Constraint/Reason District wise percentage of farmers Overall percentage


(n=8) (n=40) (n=38) (n=86)

i. Risk involved in following IRM strategy 37 30 24 30

ii. Decision of elders for tank mixing of insecticides 13 0 5 3

iii. Followed other farmers/dealers advice 0 5 18 10

iv. Tank mixing of insecticides gives better results 25 28 21 24

v. In case of two pests present at the same time,

tank mixing needed (eg. ABW+SBW) 25 13 13 14

vi. In case of severe infestation of ABW/TCP tank

mixing of insecticides effective 13 13 8 10

vii. Tank mixed initially before developing confidence

in IRM staff 0 10 0 5

viii. Endosulfan 35EC intoxicating 0 3 5 3

ix. Time interval between two pesticide application 0 15 5 9

decreased and spraying cost increases without

tank mixing

x. Pesticide companies lay trails of tank mixing/using

mixed insecticides 0 3 3 2

xi. Difficult to give up old habits 0 5 3 3

xii. Trial should be laid by IRM staff for seeing is believing 0 3 3 2

xiii. During full-moon night spraying pesticides essential 0 0 5 2

*Multiple response, Decimals rounded up to the nearest whole numbers


130

it fits the farmer and emphasis was on farmer participationactivities. Thus management of different factors namely

farmers’ participation, farmers’ experimentation, choices,etc. are required for developing farmers’ compatibletechnologies. The results provide empirical evidence that

the attributes of the IPM practices are the dominant variablesaffecting the adoption or rejection. Thus researchers musttake into consideration the area specific farming system

and also involve the active farmers in the refinement andvalidation of the technologies before their release. Therecommendations in the “Package of Practices,” published

by the PAU should be tested for its adoptability at the farmers’level; otherwise such technologies should not berecommended where chances of adoption are bleak. Many

agricultural researchers and policy makers have suggestedto expand the definition of ecosystem further to includehumans. Farmers are seen as part of their farming systems,

interacting with their crops through their knowledge, skillsand mutual cooperation.

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Godell, G.E. (1984) Challenges to integrated pest management

research and extension in the Third World: Do we really wantIPM to work? Bulletin of Entomological Society of America,30: 18-26.

Kenmore, P.E., Gallangher, K.D. and Ooi, P.A.C. (1995) Empoweringfarmers: experiences with integrated pest management.Entwicklung and Landlicher Raum 1/95: 27-28.

Lacewell, R.D. and Taylor, C.R. (1980). Benefit-cost analysis ofIntegrated Pest Management Programs. Proc of Seminar andWorkshop. Pp 283-302. CICP- USAID.

Malone, S., Herbert, D.A. Jr., and Pheasant, S. (2004) Determiningadoption of integrated pest management practices by grainsfarmers in Virginia. J. Extension 42: 1-7.

Matteson, P.C., Gallagher, K.D. and Kenmore, P.E. (1994) Extensionof integrated pest management for pant hoppers in Asianirrigated rice: Empowering the user. In: R.F. Denno and T.J.Perfect (Eds) Ecology and Management of Plant hoppers.Chapman and Hall, London.

Merchant, M.E. and Teetas, G.L. (1994) Perception of Texas farmersand pest management advisors on integrated pest managementof sorghum insect pests. South Western Entomology, 19: 237-248.

Norris, R.F., Caswell-Chen, E.P. and Kogan, M. (2002) Concept inIntegrated Pest Management. Prentice-Hall of India PrivateLtd, New Delhi.

PAU (1979) Package of Practices for Crops of Punjab – Kharif.Directorate of Extension Education, Punjab AgriculturalUniversity, Ludhiana.

PAU (1991) Package of Practices for Crops of Punjab-Kharif. PunjabAgricultural University, Ludhiana.

Peshin, R., Dhawan, A.K., Vatta, K. and Singh, K. (2007). Attributesand socio-economic dynamics of adopting Bt-cotton. Economicand Political Weekly 42:72–80.

Peshin, R., Dhawan, A.K. , Kranthi, K.R. and Singh, K. (2009).Evaluation of the benefits of an insecticide resistancemanagement programme in Punjab in India, International J.Pest Management 55(3):207-220.

Rogers E M (1983, 1995, 2003) Diffusion of Innovation. Free Press,New York.

Roling, N. (1994). Facilitating sustainable agriculture; turning policymodels upside down. In: B.J.I. Scoones and J. Thompson(eds) Beyond Farmer First, IT Publications, London, pp 248-248.

van de Fliert, E. (1993) Integrated Pest Management : FarmerField School Generate Sustainable Practices. WageningenAgricultural University Papers 93.3

van den Berg, H; Ooi, P.A.C., Hakim, A.L., Ariawan, H. and Cahyana,W. (2004) Farmer Field Research: An Analysis of Experiencein Indonesia. FAO-EU IPM Programme for Cotton in Asia FAORegional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.

Received 5 February, 2011; Accepted 6 December, 2011


Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is a major cause

of skin cancer and accounts for 1.3 million new cases inthe USA alone each year. It is classed as a completecarcinogen in that it has the capacity to inducecarcinogenesis without the presence of any other stimuli

(Shannon et al., 2004). Solar UV radiation is largelycomprised of UVB (280-320 nm) and UVA (320-400 nm)wavelengths. UVB radiation has been associated with

sunburn, immunosuppression, photoaging, skin cancersand DNA lesions. The latter include cyclobutane pyrimidinedimers and 6,4 pyrimidine pyrimidone. UVA radiation, which

represents 95 per cent of the total UV received at groundlevel, is less energetic than UVB. It has also beenassociated with immunosuppression, photoaging, and

mutagenesis (Bernerd et al., 2003). According to the albinohairless mouse model, both UVB and UVA can be involvedin the development of cutaneous cancers including

squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and basal cellcarcinomas (BCC). However, the relative efficiency of UVAin inducing these carcinomas is approximately 10,000 times

lower than UVB and much higher doses of UVA are required(Routaboul et al., 2002). Both UVA and UVB act by causingprogrammed cell death [apoptosis] which has been linked

to carcinogenesis (Siddoo-Atwal, 2009)). Thus, ideally,sunscreen products should provide efficient protectionagainst both UVB and UVA radiation.

The natural human sunburn cycle (without the use ofany sun lotions or sunscreens) is approximately one weekin length (7 days) from start to finish. Macroscopically, it

consists of three phases including inflammation, new tissue

A Case-Study of Two Sunscreens that May Prevent ApoptoticSunburn

Chanda Siddoo AtwalMedical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA


Abstract: Two new sunscreen formulations were tested for their respective ability to block peeling, or, apoptosis following exposure tosolar radiation. The active ingredients utilized were zinc oxide and melanin. A slight pinkish sunglass line appeared on the nose followingthe trial with the zinc oxide sunscreen. Although probably representing some degree of immediate pigment darkening and persistentpigment darkening in response to UVA radiation, the line was none of the expected melanin colours in the eumelanin or pheomelanin range{brown, black, yellow, or red}. In the case of the melanin sunscreen, a sunglass line was visible after one hour of sun exposure on bothnose and cheeks while no acute redness or inflammation was observed. Once again, the sunglass line was pinkish and there was someslight stinging during sun exposure possibly indicating a little sunburn. Since there was no peeling even 96 hours after sun exposure witheither sunscreen, this indicates that both these formulations may be somewhat effective in preventing the apoptotic phase, but notnecessarily the inflammatory phase, of UVB-induced sunburn by uncoupling the two events.

Key Words: Sunscreens, Zinc oxide, Melanin, Peeling, Sunburn, Apoptosis

formation, and apoptosis (visible peeling). The inflammatory

phase consists of redness and inflammation commencing20-30 minutes from the time of initial sun exposure. It spansgrossly 2-3 days, but can last up to 5 or 6 days dependingupon UV intensity. New tissue formation is stimulated some

time after initial exposure and it is complete within one week.In the last apoptotic phase, the top layer of dead skin cellssloughs off to reveal a new tissue layer beneath. This

process follows on from the inflammatory phase and iscomplete approximately 7 days following exposure.

Previously, it has been shown that sunburn can also

occur despite the use of sunscreen (15 SPF) during wintermonths in a temperate climate (Siddoo-Atwal, 2011a). Inaddition, sunburn may still occur while wearing stronger

sunscreens (30 SPF). Although they may attenuate or eveneliminate the first phase of redness and inflammation, thesecond and third phases may not be prevented. Since it is

the last apoptotic phase that has been linked tocarcinogenesis, this would appear to reflect an inherentweakness in the general composition of many sunscreens

available to the consumer. It also brings into question theefficacy and safety of sunscreens which effectively blockinflammation, but are unable to prevent peeling following

sun exposure in providing protection against skin cancer(Siddoo-Atwal, 2011b).


In the current case-study, two new sunscreen

formulations were tested for their respective ability to blockpeeling, or, apoptosis following exposure to solar radiation.


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132

The first was a preparation of pure zinc oxide (7.5%) in acreme base rather than the microfine or nano form which is

currently a popular ingredient of sunscreens (Pinnell et al.,2000). The second was a preparation of melanin (50 mg/ml) extracted from black sesame in a creme base containing

zinc oxide (7.5%).

Zinc oxide has been used for centuries as a specializedskin ointment and it was known as pushpanjan in Ayurvedic

medicine. It was chosen for its property as the broadestspectrum UVA and UVB reflector that is approved for use asa sunscreen by the FDA. It acts as a physical sunblock by

scattering ultraviolet light more effectively than othersubstances. Moreover, it is photostable (Mitchnick et al.,1999). Zinc oxide has the added advantage of sitting on the

surface of the skin without being absorbed into it whichmay not be the case with the microfine or nano form. Melaninwas chosen because it is the natural sunscreen of the

human body, which usually protects itself from solarradiation by increasing melanin production. It ranges incolour from red and yellow {pheomelanin} to brown and

black {eumelanin} with the latter being the most effective(Chintala et al., 2005). It likely acts as a chromophore byabsorbing light energy and undergoing a subsequent

conformational change involving the excitation of electrons.The resulting energy may be converted into lower energyradiation and heat which can be dissipated. However,

certain individuals are not able to produce enough melaninto fulfill this function and the result is sunburn. Thus, thereis reason to suppose that it may be one of the most suitable

ingredients for a commercial sunscreen. Previously, it hasbeen shown that bacterial-derived melanin can providephotoprotection against UVA-induced cell death (Geng etal., 2008). Therefore, in this study, melanin derived fromblack sesame (Sesamum indicum) was selected for itspotential application as an active sunscreen (courtesy of

Lingonberry Organic Foodstuffs, China).

Various tests were carried out on the melanin todetermine its chemical purity as it is not a common

commercially available compound. There were no aerobicor anaerobic bacteria detected in the sample. It was alsonegative for mycobacterium and fungus. In addition, there

was no contamination with any type of dead bacteria{courtesy of Professor Paul J. Hergenrother, Department ofChemistry, University of Illinois}.

Absorbance studies carried out on the zinc oxide andmelanin confirmed their physical properties (courtesy ofMatthew Brichacek and Professor PJ Hergenrother’s Lab).

The zinc oxide at 7.5% was found to be a good reflector inthe UVB and UVA ranges (Fig. 1) . The melanin at 0.4 mg/ml

was found to absorb light nicely in the UVB and UVA2 (320-340 nm) ranges, while it was only moderate in the UVAI

range (340-400 nm) (Fig. 2). In fact, the comparative graphof mass extinction coefficients showed that zinc oxideabsorbed light slightly better than the melanin over a range

of various UV wavelengths (Fig. 3). Thus, since zinc oxidealone appeared to be an adequate sunblock at thisconcentration, it was reasoned that these two ingredients

should provide even greater sun protection together as theywould cover more surface area of the skin.

The experimental model was similar to the one

previously described (Siddoo-Atwal, 2011). The subject satoutdoors or walked at noon facing the direct sunlight on aclear, sunny day. Each experiment lasted between 30 and

Fig. 1. ZnO absorbance

Fig. 2. Melanin (Sesamum indicum) absorbance

Chanda Siddoo Atwal

133

60 minutes following the application of sunscreen, whichwas applied at least 15 minutes prior to exposure. Thecontrol experiment was performed under the same

conditions without the application of any sunscreen or sunlotion. Photographs of the face were taken 48 to 72 hoursfrom the time of commencement of initial sun exposure

which was deemed as 0 hours at approximately noon onthe day of trial. All experiments were conducted betweenthe months of late May, June, August, and early October at

Ambleside beach or on the mountainside in WestVancouver, British Columbia (Canada). These same resultswere repeatedly observed under comparable conditions.


A slight pinkish sunglass line appeared on the nose

following the trial with the zinc oxide sunscreen. Although

probably representing some degree of immediate pigment

darkening (IPD) and persistent pigment darkening (PPD)

in response to UVA radiation, the line was none of the

expected melanin colours in the eumelanin or pheomelanin

range {brown, black, yellow, or red}. In support of this, as UV

intensity increases in summer months, the subject

experiences an inefficient pigment darkening process {IPD

within an hour} simultaneously with sunburn including all

three phases of inflammation, new tissue formation, andapoptosis. In addition, the dark flesh-pink coloration only

occurred on the nose and slightly on the cheeks while therewas no sunglass line on the cheeks with the zinc oxidesunscreen. This seems to follow a localized sunburn pattern

in susceptible areas like the nose and cheeks rather thanthe usual diffuse suntan pattern suggesting anothercomponent to the reaction. In contrast, it is interesting to

note that the suntan pattern is ordinarily uniform becausepigment-producing melanocytes are evenly distributedthroughout the basal epidermal layer of the human skin.

Moreover, IPD is said to fade rapidly in 24 hours and PPDwithin several days, while this coloration persisted for up toa week. Therefore, there could be some overlap with the

inflammatory phase of the sunburn cycle suggesting acombination of IPD, PPD, and redness caused byinflammation. There was also a slight stinging and burning

sensation on the face up to 24 hours following sun exposureconsistent with an inflammatory reaction.

In the case of the melanin sunscreen, a sunglass line

was visible after one hour of sun exposure on both nose

and cheeks while no acute redness or inflammation was

observed. Once again, the sunglass line was pinkish and

there was some slight stinging during sun exposure

possibly indicating a little sunburn. However, the coloration

on the nose and cheeks was more uniform with this

sunscreen suggesting a greater ratio of IPD/PPD to

inflammation than with the first sunscreen. In addition, the

colour faded within several days. This could potentially be

an interesting observation because while UVA can cause

erythema, which is unlikely to serve any supportive function,

IPD, or, delayed UVA tanning may actually play a protective

role against UVB exposure (Kaidbey and Kligman, 1978).

Since there was no peeling even 96 hours after sun

exposure with either sunscreen, this indicates that both

these formulations may be somewhat effective in preventing

the apoptotic phase, but not necessarily the inflammatory

phase, of UVB-induced sunburn by uncoupling the two

Fig.3. Comparison of mass extinction coefficients

Sunscreens may Prevent Apoptotic Sunburn

Fig. 4. A. Control, B. Zinc oxide sunscreen, C. Melanin + Zinc oxide sunscreen.

134

events (Fig.4A,B,&C). The inflammation may also represent

some degree of UVA-induced erythema. As zinc oxide is a

known UVAI blocker at 7.5% and since it is UVAI that causes

IPD, it is unlikely to be the sole cause of the change in

coloration observed in these trials. Although not an ideal

result, these two sunscreen formulations are preferable to

those which prevent the inflammatory but not the apoptotic

phase of sunburn which has been linked to carcinogenesis.

Currently, the sun protection factor (SPF) of a sunscreen is

based on its ability to block erythema and immediate

pigment darkening (IPD). However, neither of these biological

parameters has been linked to skin cancer. Therefore,

certain scientists have recommended using another

criterion that is more representative of long term UV

cutaneous damage such as apoptotic sunburn cells. The

term tumour protection factor (TPF) has been proposed to

describe it. Thus, it seems possible that a solution as

simple as melanin could finally provide the protection

required against this deadly disease.

REFERENCESBernerd, F., Vioux, C., Lejeune, F. and Asselineau, D. (2003) The

sun protection factor (SPF) inadequately defines broadspectrum photoprotection: demonstration using skinreconstructed in vitro exposed to UVA, UVB, or UV-solarsimulated radiatio Eur. J. Dermatol. 13(3): 242-249.

Chintala, S., Li, W., Lamoreux, M.L., Ito, S., Wakamatsu, K.,Sviderskaya, E.V., Bennett, D.C., Park, Y.M., Gahl, W.A., Huizing,

M., Spritz, R.A., Ben, S., Novak, E.K., Tan, J. and Swank, R.T.(2005) Slc7a11 gene controls production of pheomelaninpigment and proliferation of cultured cells. Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. USA 102(31): 10964-10969.

Geng, J., Tang, W., Wan, X., Zhou, Q., Wang, X.J., Shen, P., Lei, T.C.and Chen, X.D. (2008) Photoprotection of bacterial-derivedmelanin against ultraviolet A-induced cell death and its potentialapplication as an active sunscreen. J. Eur. Acad. Dermatol.Venereol 22(7): 852-858.

Kaidbey, K.H. and Kligman, A.M. (1978) Sunburn protection bylongwave ultraviolet radiation-induced pigmentation. Arch.Dermatol. 114: 46-48, 1978

Mitchnick MA, Fairhurst D, Pinnell SR. (1999) Microfine zinc oxide(Z-cote) as a photostable UVA/UVB sunblock agent. J. Am.Acad. Dermatol. 40(1): 85-90.

Pinnell, S.R., Fairhurst, D., Gillies, R., Mitchnick, M.A. and Kollias, N.(2000) Microfine zinc oxide is a superior sunscreen ingredientto microfine titanium dioxide. Dermatol. Surg. 26(4): 309-314

Routaboul, C., Denis, A. and Bohbot, M. (2002) Proposal for a newUVA protection factor: use of an in vitro model of immediatepigment darkening. Eur. J. Dermatol 12(5): 439-444.

Shannon, R. S., Farrukh, A., Moammir, H. A. and Nihal, A. (2004)Modulations of critical cell cycle regulatory events duringchemoprevention of ultraviolet B-mediated responses byresveratrol in SKH-1 hairless mouse skin. Oncogene 23: 5151-5160.

Siddoo-Atwal, C. (2011a) Sunburn with sunscreen-a case study.Science 2.0, published online on April 20, 2011.

Siddoo-Atwal, C. (2011b) A case study of apoptotic sunburn withsunscreen. Indian J. Ecol. 38(2): 300-301.

Siddoo-Atwal, C. (2009) AT, apoptosis, and cancer: A viewpoint.Indian J. Ecol. 36(2): 103-110.

Received 10 November, 2011; Accepted 4 March, 2012

Chanda Siddoo Atwal

Forests have been serving mankind since thebeginning of this universe. It is not possible to sum up theimportance of forests in just a few words. The world over

the forests are considered as the repositories of biologicaldiversity, they harbour the rare and endangered species ofplants and animals. Leave the tangible benefits in terms of

timber, fuel wood, fodder, fibre and medicinal herbs, theintangible benefits of the forests are incalculable. The airwe breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat are the

products of forests and its biological biodiversity. But in spiteof the fact that the forests are vital for mankind, the forestsare disappearing all over the world. Loss of forest is the

major cause for global warming and need to be protectedall over the world irrespective of whether it isunderdeveloped or developing or the developed country.

Though many alternatives of wood are available but nothingcan replace wood. Therefore, it is important to meet thetimber requirement of the people and industries though

conserving the forests, biological diversity in-situ andextending the tree cover outside forests including on farm.Besides meeting the requirement of wood for timber and

pulp, the agroforestry on farmland will ease pressure onforests and will help in conserving the flora and fauna ofthat area.

Trees on the farm have been adopted due to their higheconomics in the north-western states of India. Farmers’need quick returns, and poplar and eucalyptus have fitted

well into the system of agroforestry of Haryana and adjoiningstates because they grow faster than any other indigenoustree species. They have brought prosperity to the people by

giving quick returns. However, they too have limitations.Poplar grows only in a limited zone with well drained neutralsoil and does not perform well in high temperature conditions

(beyond 45OC) prevailing in the region during summermonths. Eucalyptus Gall Wasp (Leptocybe invasa) isthreatening Eucalyptus farming and this species too does

not grow in semi-arid tracts. Further, there is a need todiversify species under agroforestry system andmonoculture is always dangerous. Therefore, Melia dubia(syn. M. composita) is an another species that fits into the

system well with much market demand.

Melia dubia belongs to Meliaceae and is a tall tree

with smooth bark, which is reddish-brown when young,

turning grey brown on maturity. It grows straight attaining a

height of about 20 m in its natural habitat. The length of the

straight bole is about 9m, which is a very good length for

any broad leaved species. The beautiful serrated leaves

and purple flowers make it an ornamental tree. It is

deciduous in nature and sheds its leaves by end of

December allowing much needed sunshine to reach the

ground, which makes it a suitable species for agroforestry.

The species is likely to be a viable option for adoption by

the farmers with economic gains at short rotation. Research

emphasis has been given on M. azedarach and M. volkensiibut very little has been attempted on Melia dubia (Stewart

and Blomley, 1994; Luna et al., 2006; Chauhan et al., 2008).Therefore, to facilitate the farmers, information has been

generated on the important aspects of plantation

management of this important species.

The study was conducted in Pinjore, Panchkula,

Bithmarha, Sohna and Jhumpa areas of Haryana and

Mohali of Punjab. To introduce M. dubia in Haryana, seeds

of M. dubia were procured from plus trees selected by the

Punjab State Forest Department located at Mohali in

February 2005 and three thousand plants were raised in

polybags in Rawalwas nursery in Hisar district. Plantation

was done in July 2006 at a place called Khedar (semiarid

zone) in Hisar district alongwith other species namely

Albizia procera, Azadirachta indica, Ailanthus excelsa and

Cordia dichotoma. The annual rainfall here is around

300mm. It is stabilized sand dune and the texture of the

soil is sandy loam (pH of the soil is 8.2). Four hectare area

was allotted to each species.

M. dubia was introduced in Panchkula district ofHaryana in 2007. The soil is clay loam and pH is around

7.5. The annual precipitation here is around 1000 mm. Inthe same year, its plantation was also raised in JhumpaForest Research Station of Haryana Forest Department.

The soil and climatic conditions here are almost similar to

Melia dubia : A Potential Species for Agroforestry Under DifferentAgro-Climatic Conditions of Haryana State of India

Jagdish ChanderResearch Circle, Haryana State Forest Department, Pinjore-134 102, Haryana, India



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Khedar. The plantation in Panchkula and Jhumpa was doneat a spacing of 4mx3m to facilitate the movement of tractor

for ploughing. The plants were irrigated once in a month.The study trial for the selection of superior genotype waslayed out at two places viz., Bithmarha and Sohna located

in western and southern Haryana. Both of these sites arelocated in semi-arid tract and receive an annual rainfall ofabout 400mm. The tree-crop interface studies [M. dubia(dek)-Triticum aestivum (wheat)] were conducted at Jhumpain semi-arid tract and Panchkula in Shiwalik foothills. Theplantation at both the sites was done in July 2007. In

Panchkula, wheat was grown upto three years starting fromwinters of 2007 and at Jhumpa, the crop was raised duringthird year of the plantation only.

The study on the tolerance of M. dubia to hightemperature and frost, plantations were established atKhedar, Bithmarha, Panchkula, Jhumpa and Sohna. The

observations were recorded during peak winters and peaksummer period. To study the end uses of wood of M. dubia,logs were arranged and converted to veneer, chairs and

table at the Saw Mill of Forest Department, Haryana. Thesawing properties, nail holding capacity, polish taking qualityand wood turning capacity were studied. The views of the

carpenters using M. dubia wood at timber market Mohaliwere also recorded as expert input. Paper making qualitywas got analyzed in the laboratory of Star Paper Mill at

Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh, India). Marketing of produce isan important aspect of interest for the adopters. The averagecurrent rates per cubic meter of popular agroforestry tree

species namely poplar and Eucalyptus were collected fromHaryana and Punjab timber market to compare the currentprevailing rates of timber with M. dubia. The data were

suitably analyzed to draw proper inferences.

The adoption of the technologies/species dependsupon the attitude and the perception of the stakeholders.

The attitudes of foresters and farmers of Haryana for makingM. dubia an integral component in regular plantingprogramme were also recorded. The views of large number

of farmers were taken in this regard including the views offrontline staff and officers.

Haryana is an agrarian state, where the tree cover is

much below (6.8%) than the minimum required percentage(20%) as envisaged in the National Forest Policy. The onlyoption is to extend trees on the farmland but all tree species

can not fit into the agro-ecosystem. The tree species shouldbe fast growing and intercultivated cause minimumcompetition of resources with the crops. Eucalyptus since

sixties and poplar since late seventies are being grown bythe farmers of Haryana and adjoining states but it is also a

fact that they have narrow genetic base and are prone toattack by pests. Additionally, Eucalyptus and poplar have

their limitations for adoption on semi-arid and aridconditions. Therefore, a species with wider adaptability wasneeded and M. dubia is a recent introduction in Haryana.

The final results are not available but the initial resultsindicate that M. dubia can adapt in Haryana in clayey, loamand sandy loam soils in all bio-geographical regions of the

state. As regards biomass production in semi-arid region,it is better than Ailanthus excelsa (local fast growing tree),whereas, the results are comparable with eucalyptus and

poplar in Shiwalik foothills and the central plains. M. dubiahas performed much better than the local M. azedarach interms of growth, bole length and form. Out of all species

i.e., Albizia procera, Azadirachta indica, Ailanthus excelsaand Cordia dichotoma planted in Khedar in 2006, M. dubiagrew fastest and made the barren land green within a year.

The plantation of M. dubia done in Panchkula in 2007, hadhigh survival rate and has put on excellent growth. Theresults obtained from planting M. dubia in Panchkula and

Khedar have proved that it can grow and adapt well in allparts of the state except the pure sand. The frost is ofcommon occurrence throughout the state but it is more

severe in Jhumpa and Khedar area but M. dubia was notaffected either by frost or by high temperature. Species hasalso been tested positive on extreme temperature

conditions. It thrived well under extreme temperatureconditions of 48oC in summers and zero degree in wintersin Haryana. In the western parts of Haryana, extremely harsh

conditions are experienced during summer months. On-farm raising of M. dubia may moderate the high temperaturefor better crop yield.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) was also grown with M.dubia at Panchkula and yield of wheat during three years ofcultivation have been presented in table 1. It was noticed

that yield of wheat during first year was 1.98 tons per hectare.The maximum yield without trees was 2 tons. So duringfirst year, there was no significant effect in the yield of wheat,

however, during second and third year, the yield of wheatwas significantly less though the reduction in yield was notonly due to competition but also due to reduced effective

area for crop. Infact, M. dubia is a deciduous species and it

Table 1. Wheat yield under M. dubia canopy

Year of plantation Wheat yield (tha-1)

2007-08 1.98

2008-09 1.55

2009-10 1.20

Control 2.00

Jagdish Chander

137

allows sunshine to reach on the ground during winterswithout any significant hindrance. The decrease in yield

was because of the reason that significantly more spacewas left unploughed and uncultivated to avoid injury to theroots. It can be concluded that the crops can be grown with

M. dubia atleast upto three years.

M. dubia wood was found to take the polish well and itsnail holding capacity it self was good. The wood turns well,

the carpenters love to work on it for furniture making. Pinhole borer (Dinoderus) and powder post beetle (Lyctus)cause heavy damage to furniture and plywood, etc. M. dubiafurniture is being used in Forest Department office since2008. Neither veneers nor the furniture has been attackedby powder post beetles. No termite attack has been noticed,

hence, it can be concluded that M. dubia wood is notattacked by powder post beetles.

M. dubia wood was got analyzed for paper making

qualities and the results are presented in table 2. It is evidentthat pulp yield of M. dubia is comparable with eucalyptusand poplar. The bulk density is little lower and the kappa

number little higher than eucalyptus and poplar, indicatethat it is not bad to use for paper making. Though M. dubiais little on the lower side for paper quality but is comparable

with eucalyptus and poplar, thus, selling of wood of M. dubiadue to its diverse uses will not be a problem.

The average market rates of M. dubia are less than

eucalyptus and poplar, yet the timber rates are comparable(Table 2). Grewal (2000) also suggested the on-farmprofitability of M. azedarach. It is so because eucalyptus

and poplar have limited zone of establishment and M. dubia

has wide adaptability. Therefore, growing M. dubia inHaryana on a large scale would boost economy equally in

all parts of state.

Out of 100 persons interviewed for its adoption,everyone was in favour of growing M. dubia in Haryana on a

large scale. M. dubia grows much faster than the indigenousM. azedarach (Chauhan et al., 2008). Besides the bole ofM. dubia is straighter and less branchy, thus facilitates inter-

cultivation of crops underneath. The survival of M. dubia isalso higher than other tree species because the leaves arenot a good fodder and the animals eat it only in scarcity. The

instant greening is the most important reason for the loveof foresters towards M. dubia. People of Haryana havegone crazy after M. dubia and want to plant more and more

of it on their farms. The wider adoption of this species inHaryana and adjoining states requires attention on low costvegetative propagation technology and tree-crop interface

research for economic and environmental benefits.

REFERENCESChauhan, R., Chauhan, S.K. and Saralch, H.S. (2008) Melia

azedarach. Bulletin pubished by Department of Forestry andNatural Resources, PAU Ludhiana, 48p.

Grewal, S.S. (2000) Evaluation of drake (Melia azedarach) raisedin agroforestry systems by farmers of Punjab Shiwaliks. Ind.J. Soil Consv. 28: 253-255.

Luna, R.K., Singh, B. and Sharma, S.K. (2006) Assessment of 51progenies of Melia azedarach Linn.-A promising agroforestrytree. Ind. For. 132: 941-951.

Stewart, M. and Blomley, T. (1994) Use of Melia volkensii in a semi-arid agroforestry system in Kenya. Commonwealth ForestryReview 73: 128–131.

Table 2. Comparison among three important agroforestry species for paper making qualities and timber sale prices

S. No. Paper quality test Eucalyptus tereticornis Populus deltoides Melia dubia

1 Pulp yield (%) 50 50.20 49.8

2. Bulk density (kg m-2) 225 207 194

3. Kappa number (at 17 % active alkali) 12.1 13.1 14.9

4. Timber sale prices (Rs. m-3) 5000 4500 4000

Received 16 January, 2011; Accepted 18 May, 2011

Melia dubia is a Potential Species for Agroforestry

Bougainvillea is one of the most useful plants forlandscaping in almost all the parts of the World. Schoelhorn

and Alavrez (2002) recorded that the bloom cycles ofbougainvillea are typically from four to six weeks. The plantrequires little water to flower. In India, Bougainvillea grows

best in all the parts of the country but its cultivation is limitedin temperate climate with heavy snowfall and severe frost. Itgenerally fails to flower in shade and the color of the bract is

never bright (Randhawa and Mukhopadhyay,1986). In northIndian plains, especially in Punjab, most varieties bearbracts from September to December and again from

February to June. Plant growth in compost-based mediacontaining peat or bark was equal to or better than that intwo commercial media composed primarily of bark or peat.

(Ticknoor et al.,1985). Increased land costs in urban areasresulted in less space for the plants and people preferraising indoor plants in pots, thus, the environmental

conditions like sunshine and temperature is not adequate.Therefore, the investigation was carried out to categorizethe different cultivars of Bougainvillea according to their

response to the different sunshine hours and potting media.

Response of Potting Media and Sunshine on Bougainvillea Cultivars

Ravipal Singh and R.K. Dubey*Department of Floriculture and Landscaping,

Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana - 141 004, India*E-mail:[email protected]

The present experiment was carried out at LandscapeNursery unit, Department of Floriculture and Landscaping,

Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during the year(2008-10). Five different potting media i.e., soil, soil + leafmould (1:1), soil + vermicompost (1:1), soil + FYM (1:1) and

coco peat + vermicompost (1:1) were used forstandardization of optimum potting media for quality potproduction of Bougainvillea. Ten varieties (Torch glory,

Zakeriana, Shubhra, Thimma, Mahara, Meera, Mohan, LadyMary Baring, Mrs. H. C. Buck and Scarlet Queen) wereexposed to variable sunlight treatments like 4 hours, 8 hours

and full sunlight by constructing a temporary structures(Fig. 1) in the East- West direction being covered their topand sides with the black polythene sheet for providing the

shade to the plants after exposing them to 4 hours and 8hours sunlight. Dimensions of the temporary structure(shed) was 25’ (L) x 22’ (B) x 6’ (H1) x 3’ (H2).Each structure

accommodates 450 pots of bougainvillea plants. The verticalhanging was also given to provide the shade to pot plantsunder different sunshine hours. The length of the vertical

hanging was adjusted according to the varying angle of the

Fig.1. Side view of specially designed structure showing both the hangings (horizontal and vertical) in different


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sun in different months during the experiment. The tenexperimental varieties selected were. The experiment was

laid out in FCRD (Factorial Completely Randomized BlockDesign). The Bougainvillea plants about 1-1.5 years oldwas transplanted in 8 inches size earthen pots in three

replications. Observation like number of bracts/plant indifferent potting media and colour of bracts during openingand senescence was recorded and was interpreted indifferent months.

The data showed significant influence of potting mediaon number of bracts/plant in bougainvillea (Table1). Amongvarious potting media, soil + leaf mould (1:1) recorded

maximum number of bracts/plant from September (3.72)to July (15.22) followed by soil + vermicompost (1:1) exceptin the month of Feb, while minimum number of bracts/plant

were recorded in cocopeat + vermicompost (1:1) duringSeptember (1.65) to July (5.66). More number of bracts/plant in soil + leaf (1:1) mould may be attributed due to high

(36.59) C:N ratio of the media as compared to 14.3 C:N

ratio of soil + vermicompost (1:1). Less number of bracts/plant were found during the months of December- January

in all the media. This might be due to the periodic floweringcharacter of the different cultivars of Bougainvillea.

Sunlight duration of 8 hours (8.39) resulted in maximum

number of bracts/plant. Number of bracts (8.26) in fullsunlight was found to be at par with 8 hours sunlight (Table2). Hackett and Sachs (1965) recommended that floweringcan be increased in bougainvillea by increasing light

intensity through improved plant spacing. Further, it wasconfirmed by (Dol et al., 1992) that quality of potted floweringplants (generally placed in shaded area) is often greatly

affected by poor environmental conditions, such as low lightintensity, high or low temperature, variation and water stress.Wurr et al. (2000) found that light is an essential prerequisite

factor for the plant growth and development. Criley (1977)reported that 8 hours day length was significantly moreeffective than 14.0 - 14.5 hours day length. Rate of progress

to flowering increased linearly with temperature and with

Table 1. Influence of potting media on bracts/plants in Bougainvillea

Media Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July

Soil 3.30 4.96 6.93 4.38 2.63 0.87 4.26 5.16 5.85 6.12 6.88

Soil + Leaf mould (1:1) 3.72 6.19 10.08 4.64 2.88 1.11 5.54 12.11 13.22 13.87 15.22

Soil + Vermicompost (1:1) 3.51 5.64 7.29 4.30 2.71 0.89 5.00 6.64 7.12 7.88 8.16

Soil + FYM (1:1) 2.35 3.19 4.04 1.56 1.19 0.49 4.16 4.70 5.12 5.22 6.00

Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1) 1.65 2.47 2.93 1.14 0.99 0.42 4.01 4.26 4.67 5.09 5.66

C.D ( 0.05) 0.22 0.42 0.34 0.10 0.17 0.10 0.10 0.31 0.24 0.28 0.28

Table 3. Number of bracts/plant in different varieties of Bougainvillea

Varieties Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July

T. Glory 5.44 8.89 9.54 3.29 - - 6.19 7.78 8.12 9.36 10.58

Zakeriana 4.69 6.04 6.47 2.05 - 0.99 9.26 11.00 11.88 12.97 13.78

Shubhra - 1.10 2.27 3.95 5.05 1.39 5.12 6.84 7.62 8.00 8.69

Thimma 5.44 6.93 6.88 1.87 0.16 1.19 4.13 7.00 7.84 8.63 9.11

LadyMaryBaring 3.88 5.55 12.80 3.86 - - 1.93 13.26 14.56 17.22 19.12

Mrs.H.C. Buck - 4.49 9.18 2.53 - - 6.71 6.88 7.22 8.54 9.87

Mohan 0.24 0.11 1.30 2.94 3.99 0.73 5.01 5.96 6.99 8.12 9.54

Mahara 2.44 3.62 4.57 5.57 6.15 1.36 6.00 7.85 8.46 9.35 10.11

Scarlet Queen 3.72 5.54 5.63 1.06 - 0.92 8.11 10.09 11.26 12.59 14.12

Meera 1.93 2.65 3.90 4.93 5.47 1.00 6.33 7.54 8.12 9.46 10.19

C.D (0.05) 0.31 0.34 0.34 0.31 0.14 0.14 0.16 0.44 0.34 0.34 0.38

Table 2. Influence of sunshine on bracts/plants in Bougainvillea

Sunlight Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July

4 hours 2.55 4.10 5.56 2.71 1.23 0.48 4.47 5.12 5.32 5.61 5.85

8 Hours 3.15 4.87 6.59 3.61 3.36 1.04 5.82 6.36 7.01 7.59 8.39

Full sunlight 3.02 4.51 6.61 3.23 1.65 0.75 5.15 6.03 6.89 7.48 8.26

C.D (0.05) 0.17 0.32 0.26 0.78 0.13 0.78 0.78 0.44 0.17 0.22 0.21

Response of Potting Media and Sunshine on Bougainvillea

140

increase in photoperiods (Adams et al., 1997).

The maximum number of bracts (19.12) per plant was

observed in variety Lady Mary Baring in the month of July.Numbers of bracts in different varieties were found to beminimum in months from December- February except

Shubhra, Mohan, Mahara and Meera. This may be due tothe frequent rains and fog, which reduced the solar radiationintensity and sunshine hours. No flowering was observed

in varieties Torch Glory, Zakeriana, Lady Mary Baring, ScarletQueen and Mrs. H. C Buck in the month of January andFebruary. This may be due to resting period of these

varieties. It was found that all varieties flowered profusely insoil + leaf mould (1:1) media under different sunshineconditions. Varieties like Shubhra (12.99), Mohan (10.98)

and Mahara (13.09) showed maximum number of bracts/plant in 4 hours sunshine duration. Golstev et al. (2003)recommended that extremely high irradiation destroys

photosynthetic pigments. Chen et al. (1979) also reportedthat short day promotes flowering in Bougainvillea. Varietieslike Zakeriana (12.26), Thimma (9.11), and Scarlet Queen

(14.12) were found to have maximum number of bracts/plant in 8 hours sunshine duration. Other varieties like TorchGlory (11.21) and Lady Mary Baring (19.1) showed maximum

number of bracts/plant in full sunlight conditions. Munir etal. (2004) found that photoperiod and temperature are majorinfluencing factors on time of flowering.

REFERENCESAdams, S. R., Pearson, S. and Headly, P. (1997) Effect of

temperature, photoperiod and light integral on the time to

flowering of Pansy cv. Universal violet (Viola x wittrockianaGams). Annals of Bot. 80: 107-112.

Chen, Z., Sachs, R. and Heckett, W. P. (1979) Control of floweringin Bougainvillea ‘San Diego Red’ metabolism of benzyl adenineand action of gibberellic acid in relation to short day induction.Plant Physiol. 64(4): 646-651.

Criley, R. A. (1977) Year around flowering of double bougainvillea.J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 102(6): 775-778.

Dol M., Mizuo, T. and Imanishi, H. (1992) Post harvest quality ofImpatiens Walleriana hook. as influenced by silverthiosulphate application and light condition. J. Japan Soc. Hort.Sci. 61: 643-649.

Golstev, V., Zaharieva, I., Lambrev, P., Yordanov, I. and Strassar, R.(2003) Simultaneous analysis of prompt and delayedchlorophyll ‘a’ fluroscence in leaves during the induction periodof light to dark adaptation. J. Theor. Biol. 225:171-83

Hackett, W. P. and Sachs, R. M. (1965) Factors affecting floweringin Bougainvillea. Calif. Agri. 19:47-56.

Munir, M., Jamil, M., Baloch, J. and Khattak, R. K. (2004) Impact oflight intensity on flowering time and plant quality of Antirhinumcv. Chimesnhite. J.Zhejiang Uni.Sci. 3: 1634-1636.

Randhawa, G. S. and Mukhopadhyay, C. S. (1986) Floriculture inIndia. Allied Publishers Private Limited, pp.171-78

Schoelhorn, R. and Alavrez, R. (2002) E. Warm climate productionguidelines for Bougainvillea Univ. Florida/IFASExtn. 874.

Ticknoor, R. L., Hemphill, D. D. and Flower, D. J. (1985) Growthresponse of Photima, Thuja and nutritional concentration intissue and potting medium as influences by composted sewagesludge, peat, bark and saw dust on potting media J. Envi.Hort. 3(4): 176-180.

Wurr, D. C. E., Jane, R. F. and Lynn, A. (2000) The effect oftemperature and day length on flower initiation anddevelopment in Dianthus allwoodii and Dianthus alpines.Scientia Hort. 86: 57-70.

Received 4 August, 2011; Accepted 5 February, 2012

Ravipal Singh and R.K. Dubey

Banana (Musa spp.) is the fourth most important foodcommodity that grows throughout in humid tropics andsubtropics with an annual production of 97.5 million tonnes

(Ganapathi et al., 2008). Application of micropropagationtechnique for large scale production of elite clones ofbanana is an effective and superior alternative to

propagation through conventional cuttings of Musa spp. Invitro propagation technique for banana (Musa acuminataL.) cv. ‘Grand Naine’ involves various steps, i.e.,

establishment of aseptic cultures, shoot multiplication,induction of rooting, hardening and transfer of plantlets tosoil. The maintenance of aseptic (free from all

microorganisms) or sterile conditions is essential forsuccessful tissue culture procedures. To maintain anaseptic environment, all culture vessels, media and

instruments used in handling tissues, as well as explantitself must be sterilized. Various sterilization agents are usedto decontaminate the tissues. These sterilants are also

toxic to the plant tissues, hence proper concentration ofsterilants, duration of exposing the explant to the varioussterilants, the sequences of using these sterilants has to

be standardized to minimize explant injury and achieve bettersurvival. Two different chemicals, 0.1% carbendazim(BavistinTM from BASF India Ltd, Mumbai) and mercuric

chloride (HgCl2) were used for the present study to reducethe incidence of both fungal and bacterial contaminationand to standardize the best sterilization protocol for in vitroculture of banana cv. ‘Grand Naine’.

The suitable explants were prepared from youngsuckers (3-13 cm diameter), carefully removed from the

field by digging a trench around the sucker to completelydetach it from the banana mother plants and brought to thelaboratory. All the soil was removed by washing them

thoroughly under running tap water for 10-15 min. The rootsand leaf sheaths of the suckers were removed with thehelp of a sharp knife. The shoot-tip explants were prepared

by removing extraneous corm tissue from suckers. Shoot-tips, containing several sheathing bases enclosing axillarybuds measuring about 4.5-5.5 cm in length were isolated.

These shoot-tips were first washed with TeepolTM for 4-5

Efficient In vitro Sterilization Technique for Micropropagation ofBanana (Musa acuminata) cv. ‘Grand Naine’

Pooja Manchanda*, Ajinder Kaur and S. S. GosalSchool of Agricultural Biotechnology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India


minutes and then in running tap water for 5-10 minutes toremove the detergent. The pale-white tissue-block ofbanana containing shoot-tips and rhizomatous bases were

surface sterilized with 0.1% carbendazim on a rotary shakerfor which appropriate duration (25, 35, 45 and 55 min.) wasstandardized to make the explants free from any fungal

contamination. This treatment was followed by washingthem in running tap water for 4-5 min contained in culturejars were taken in a laminar air flow cabinet (Klenzaides,

Bombay) where these were further sterilized with mercuricchloride (HgCl2) for which optimum concentration out of 0.1and 0.2 per cent, and duration of 5, 8, 10 and 12 minues

were tested, to prevent bacterial contamination. Thistreatment was followed by rinsing the explants thrice insterile distilled water.

The surface sterilizing solution was prepared freshevery time. The exposed tissue from cut ends of eachsterilized block was removed to obtain a 2-3 cm portion

containing intact apex and one or more pairs of leaf primordiatogether with 3.5-4.0 cm of rhizomatous base. The explantin this form was used for inoculation. All glassware and

instruments were thoroughly washed and dried at 80°C.Distilled water and glassware used for explants wereautoclaved at 15 psi for 45 min. Implantations of sterilized

explants were done using Murashige and Skoog basalmedium. The cultures were placed in culture growth room.The observations were recorded regularly till 30 days for

the growing cultures. The experiment was repeated threetimes in completely randomized block design with twentyexplants per replication. Statistical analysis was done using

CPCS-1 software package developed at Punjab AgriculturalUniversity.

The data on the effect of pre-treatment with fungicide

and the duration of exposure on explant survival percentageare presented in Table 1. Cultured explants showed 100per cent contamination and did not survive when no

treatment of bavistin was given. There was significantreduction in per cent contamination with pre-treatment ofexplants with bavistin on a rotary shaker. Among the various


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durations of treatments, bavistin for 45 min was found bestand significantly effective than the other treatments, in which

57.71 per cent uncontaminated explants were obtained andthe per cent explant survival was 55.63. The survival percent was significantly reduced at lower durations, which

was 17.74 and 51.07 per cent at 25 and 35 minutes,respectively. Although percentage of contaminated explantscould be reduced when treatment was given for 55 minutes

but at the same time, explant survival rate was reduced to47.11 per cent. The use of antifungal agents to minimizethe contamination of in vitro cultures in Musa spp. has been

demonstrated by Nandwani et al. (2000).

Table 1. Effect of pre-treatment of explants with bavistin 0.1%on per cent explant contamination and survival in bananacv. ‘Grand Naine’

Duration of Contamination* Explant survival*

exposure (min.) (%) (%)

0 (Control) 100*(89.96)** 0.00(0.00)

25 82.55(65.28) 17.74(24.89)

35 66.77(54.77) 51.07(45.59)

45 57.71(49.42) 55.63(48.21)

55 35.18(36.36) 47.11(43.32)

CD (p = 0.05) 1.02 0.887

* Figures in parentheses are arc-sine transformed values.

Among the various combinations and concentrationsof HgCl2 tested, the HgCl2 @ 0.1 per cent for a duration of 10

minutes was found best and significantly effective than othertreatments, where 55.7 per cent survival of uncontaminatedexplants was obtained (Table 2). The treatment with shorter

durations (5 and 8 minutes) showed significantly lessexplant survival percentages of 21.86 and 47.03,respectively. An increase in the concentration of HgCl2(0.2%) and increase in duration of sterilization resulted indrying out and death of explants. The reduction in explantsurvival percentage with increase in the duration of exposure

might be due to phytotoxicity caused by mercuric ions (Hg2+)present in mercuric chloride. Thereafter, the explants wereestablished in the medium after the removal of dead

tissues.

Effectiveness of mercuric chloride for sterilization ofexplants collected from field-grown suckers of banana has

been reported by many workers (Shiragi et al., 2008; Kacaret al., 2010). However, the kind, concentration and durationof sterilization treatment required vary with the degree of

contamination, type and hardiness of explants.

Thus, in the present study, an effective sterilizationtechnique for suckers of banana cv. Grand Naine wasworked out. It was established that treatment of field

collected suckers first with 0.1% bavistin solution for 45min and then with 0.1% HgCl2 for 10 min helps in achievingmore than 50 per cent reduction in contamination due to

fungus and bacteria, respectively and more than 55 percent explant survival. This sterilization may be followed forother banana cultivars also.

REFERENCESGanapathi, T.R., Sidha, M., Suprasanna, P., Ujjappa, K.M., Bapat,

V.A. and D’Souza, S.F. (2008) Field performance and RAPDanalysis of gamma-irradiated variants of banana cultivar ‘GiantCavendish’ (AAA). Intl. J. Fruit Sci. 8: 147-159.

Kacar, Y.A., Bicen, B., Varol, I., Mendi, Y.Y., Serce, S. and Cetiner,S. (2010) Gelling agents and culture vessels affect in vitromultiplication of banana plantlets. Genet. Mol. Res. 9: 416-424.

Nandwani, D., Zehr, U., Zehr, B.E. and Barwale, R.B. (2000) Masspropagation and ex vitro survival of banana cv. Basrai throughtissue culture. Garten Bauwissen Chaft 65: 237-240.

Shiragi, M.H.K., Baque, M.A. and Nasiruddin, K.M. (2008) Eradicationof banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) and banana mosaic virus(BMV) from infected plant of banana cv. Amritasagar throughmeristem culture. South Pacific Studies 29: 17-41.

Table 2. Effect of mercuric chloride (HgCl2) treatment (followingantifungal treatment) on per cent explant contaminationand survival in banana cv. ‘Grand Naine’

Concentration Duration of Contamination* Explant

(%) exposure (%) survival*

(min.) (%)

Control - 100 0

(89.96) (0)

0.1 5 77.61 21.86

(61.73) (27.86)

8 61.66 47.03

(51.73) (43.28)

10 50.8 55.7

(45.44) (47.89)

12 44.33 53.3

(41.72) (46.87)

0.2 5 62.18 26.34

(52.04) (30.86)

8 50.38 17.75

(45.19) (24.90)

10 42.13 14.06

(39.21) (22.01)

CD(0.05) 1.49 0.995

*Figures in parentheses are arc-sine transformed values.

Received 12 July, 2011; Accepted 14 January, 2012

Pooja-Manchanda, Ajinder-Kaur and S. S. Gosal

Bracon hebetor Say is an effective bio-control agent aslarval parasitoid of some lepidopteran insect-pests. It canbe easily mass multiplied in the laboratory and releasedinto the crop field for bio-control (Khan et al., 2009). In recentyears, the adoption of bio-intensive pest managementapproach has been stressed but this strategy requiresattention on the impact and selectivity of the bio-pesticidesand insecticides either singly or in combination on naturalenemies. The conservation of natural enemies like B.hebetor through effective integration of these pesticideswould be a valuable bio-intensive pest management (BIPM)options for many crops. The selective insecticides, lesstoxic to natural enemies than to target pests, are helpful inintegration of biological control and chemical applications(Hull and Beers, 1985). Croft (1990) concluded that most ofthe conventional insecticides have harmful effects on non-target organisms including natural enemies. Apart from this,neem based botanicals have also shown toxicity to B.hebetor (Raguraman and Singh, 1998). Among the newchemistry insecticides spinosad was highly toxic to Braconmellitor (Kovalankov, 2002). Danfa and Valk (1999)documented 100 per cent mortality of Bracon hebetoragainst Metarhizium sp. and Beauveria bassiana. Theeffect of Bacillus thuringiensis on Bracon instabilis wasstudied by Salama et al. (1996), who reported prolongedimmature stages of Bracon followed by reduced emergenceof adults with less fertile females. Acknowledging theavailable literature, it is not enough to get a clear picture ofthe selectivity of bio-pesticides and insecticides to be usedalong with the Bracon hebetor in a sustainable bio-intensivepest management. So, the present study was conductedwith an objective of finding selective bio-pesticides andmodern chemical insecticide either single or their differentcombinations against B. hebetor when the later can beused in integration with them for management of importantlepidopteran larvae.

Studies on the toxic effect of bio-pesticides, syntheticinsecticides and their combination to natural larvalparasitoid Bracon hebetor was conducted in the Laboratorycondition in completely randomized block design and eachtreatment was replicated thrice. The larval parasitoid B.

hebetor used in this study was obtained from the bio-controllaboratory, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani,Nadia, West Bengal. For such study, glass tube of 15 x 2.5cm size was smeared with 0.5ml of pesticide solution.Freshly emerged 10 adults of B. hebetor were transferredinto each treated tube. The tubes were then covered with acotton cloth and honey (5%) was provided as food with thehelp of cotton swab at the top of the cloth. Mortality of theadult larval parasitoids was recorded at every one day intervalupto 4 days after treatment. The Data collected on adultmortality were subjected to statistical analyses after angulartransformations and the means were separated by DMRT(Gomez and Gomez, 1984).

The detailed results of the present research on thetoxic effect of bio-pesticides, chemical pesticides and someof their different mixtures on larval parasitoid B. hebetor ispresented in Table 1. M. anisopliae was at par with untreatedcontrol with no mortality. All other treatments as comparedto untreated check differ significantly in terms of mortality ofadult Bracons. Among chemical insecticides, the cartaphydrochloride @ 0.1% proved highly toxic with 100 per centmortality. At par mortality was recorded at different timeintervals in separate mixture of cartap hydrochloride withbio-pesticides Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki andMetarhizium anisopliae at half of their recommendeddoses. The complete mortality was observed for both of themixtures at four days after treatment. In comparison to this,the new chemistry insecticide flufenoxuron was relativelymore safe causing only 16.92 per cent mortality to adultBracon hebetor exposed to four days after treatment. It wasstatistically at par with Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki,neem oil and Beauveria bassiana at different time hours.After four days of exposure, among microbial pesticides, B.thuringiensis caused relatively more mortality (13.43%)followed by B. bassiana (9.70%) and M. anisopliae (nil).The separate mixture of neem oil with B. thuringiensis andM. anisopliae were relatively safer than cartap hydrochloride50 SP mixtures.

The very negligible per cent of contact toxicity wasrecorded for adult Bracon hebetor to Bacillus thuringiensis

Effect of Some Bio-pesticides and Chemical Pesticides on Survivalof Larval Parasitoid Bracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Lakshman Chandra Patel* and Anirudhya Pramanik1

Ramkrishna Ashram KVK, Nimpith Ashram, South 24 Parganas, W.B. – 743 338, India1AICRP on Plant Parasitic Nematodes, BCKV, Kalyani, Nadia, W.B., India, India



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var kurstaki. This particular information is indirectlyaccordance with the result obtained by Salama et al. (1996).Although, 100 per cent mortality of the parasitoid wasreported by Danfa and Valk (1999) when exposed to M.anisopliae and B. bassiana but in this study both the fungalpathogens were safe to Bracon hebetor. Such contradictoryfinding might be due to differences in strains of both theentomopathogens. Aqueous suspension and ethanolicextract of neem seed kernel (NSK) were safe to Braconhebetor in respect of ovipositional deterency, toxicity(Raghuraman and Singh, 1998), which more or lesscorroborates the present findings. In this present study, thenew generation insecticide flufenoxuron was less toxic toBracon hebetor, although Khan et al. (2009) proved slightlyharmful to harmful effect after 48 hours of application of theother new generation insecticides like emamectin benzoate,abamectin, spinosad, indoxacarb and methoxyfenozide atdifferent doses. The complete mortality was observed inthe adults treated with recommended dose rate ofconventional insecticide cartap hydrochloride just after 24hours of application. Moreover, the separate mixture of thesame with Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki andMetarhizium anisopliae at half of their recommended dosewere not also safe at all to Bracon after 96 hours ofapplication. These results are indirectly supported withthose obtained by Reddy et al. (1997) and Mandal andSomchoudhury (1995), who reported the toxicity of theconventional insecticides to Bracon hebetor.

It can be concluded that the bio-pesticides such asBacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki, Metarhizium anisopliae,Beauveria bassiana and neem oil either solo or their mixapplication may be used with Bracon hebetor in bio-intensive pest management. Safe insecticide like

flufenoxuron may be integrated with bio-pesticides andBracon hebetor for successful implementation oflepidopteran pest eradication as well as insecticideresistance management.

REFERENCESCroft, B. A. (1990) Arthropod Biological Control Agents and

Pesticides. John Wiley and Sons, New York.Danfa, A. and Valk, H.C.H.G. (1999) Laboratory testing of

Metarrhizium spp. and Beauveria bassiana on Sahelian non-target arthropods. Biocontrol Science and Technology 9(2):187-198.

Gomez, K. A. and Gomez, A. A. (1984) Statistical Procedures forAgricultural Research. John Wiley and Sons, New York. pp. 680.

Hull, L.A. and Beers, E.H. (1985) Ecological sensitivity modifyingchemical control practices to preserve natural enemies. In:Biological pest Control in Agricultural Ecosystem. Acad.Press, Orlando, Fla., pp. 103-121.

Khan, R. R., Ashfaq, M., Ahmed, S. and Sahi, S.T. (2009) Mortalityresponses in Bracon hebetor (Say) (Braconidae:Hymenoptera) against some new chemistry and conventionalinsecticides under laboratory conditions. Pak. J. Agri. Sci.46(1): 30-33.

Kovalankov, V.G. (2002) A biomethod for condition of arthropodsresistances to insecticides. Zahista-i-Karantin-Res-Tenni. 5:18-19.

Mandal, S.K. and Somchoudhury, A.K. (1995) Bioefficacy ofcommercial formulation of insecticides against Bracon hebetor(Say). Ind. J. Entomo. 57: 50-54.

Raguraman, S. and Singh, R.P. (1998) Behavioural and physiologicaleffects of neem (Azadirachta indica) seed kernel extracts onlarval parasitoid. Bracon hebetor. J. Chem. Eco. 24(7): 1241-1250.

Reddy, G.R., Sreelatha, S. and Divakar, B.J. (1997) Toxicity of sixinsecticides to two species of Bracon. Ind. J. Plant Prot. 25:135-136.

Salama, H.S., Zaki, F.N. and Sabbour, M.M. (1996) Effect of Bacillusthuringiensis endotoxin on Apanteles litae Nixon and Braconinstabilis Marsh. (Hym.: Braconidae), two parasitoids of thepotato tuber moth Phthorimia operculella Zeller (Lep.,Gelishiidae). J. Appl. Entomo. 120 (1-5): 565-568.

Table 1. Toxicity of microbial, botanical, chemical pesticides and their mixtures on adult of larval parasitoid Bracon hebetor

Dose Adult mortality (%) of Bracon hebetor

(Days after treatment)

1 2 4

Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki 5% WP @ 0.1% 3.03e 6.73ef 13.43d

Metarhizium anisopliae 1% W/W @ 0.5% 0.00e 0.00e 0.00e

Beauveria bassiana 1% W/W @ 0.5% 3.92e 7.25ef 9.70d

Neem oil 5000 ppm @ 0.2% 7.50de 10.83de 10.83d

Flufenoxuron 10% DC @ 0.1% 6.73de 11.62de 16.92cd

Cartap hydrochloride 50 SP @ 0.1% 100.00a 100.00a 100.0a

Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki 5% WP @ 0.05% + Neem oil @ 0.1% 20.06c 23.33e 30.00b

Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki 5% WP @ 0.05% + Cartap hydrochloride 53.33b 63.33b 100.00a

50 SP @ 0.05%Metarhizium anisopliae 1% W/W @ 0.25% + Neem oil 0.1% 12.22d 17.78cd 25.00bc

M. anisopliae 1% W/W @ 0.25%+ Cartap hydrochloride 50 SP @ 0.05% 55.00b 60.00b 96.67a

*No mortality was recorded in untreated control

*In a column, means followed by same alphabet are not significantly different (P=0.05) by DMRT

Received 12 December, 2011; Accepted 4 March, 2012

Lakshman Chandra Patel and Anirudhya-Pramanik

145

Sulfosulfuron is a main member of the sulfonylurea

family of herbicides used widely throughout the world forthe control of broadleaf and grassy weeds in a range ofcrops. The fundamental mode of action for sulfosulfuron

and indeed all sulfonylurea herbicides entails inhibition ofacetolactate synthase (ALS) an essential enzyme in aliphaticamino acid synthesis (Maheshwari and Ramesh, 2007).

The sulfonylurea herbicides are mainly degraded by non-biological chemical hydrolysis and soil micro organisms.Some parts of the herbicides are also lost from the upper

soil layers as they leach down from the surface to the lowerlayers. Excessive mobility and persistence of sulfonylureaherbicides in soils may cause groundwater contamination

and phytotoxicity to rotational crops. This movement ofherbicides in the soil profile is also dependent upon soilfactors such as pH, clay and organic matter (Yaron, 1989;

Ramesh and Maheswari, 2003). Sulfonylurea herbicidesare weak acids and they exist primarily in the anion form inagronomic soils. Consequently, sulfonylurea herbicides are

generally weakly adsorbed by soil (Eleftherohorinos et al.,2004). The adsorption and leaching behaviour determinethe persistence of a herbicide. Thus, adsorption and

leaching behavior of sulfosulfuron need to be studied fordetermining the persistence of sulfosulfuron. Hence, thepresent study was conducted.

An experiment was conducted during 2005 in theherbicide residue laboratory of the department of Agronomy,Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana to study the

adsorption and leaching behavior of sulfosulfuron. The soilwas loamy sand in texture (sand 71.2 %, silt 12.3 % andclay 15.8 %) having pH 8.2, organic carbon 0.32 and EC 0.2

dS m-1. The type of soil selected was loamy sand becauseit is the predominant type of soil in Punjab. Sulfosulfuron atfield rate for wheat crop i.e., 25 g ha-1, double (50 g ha-1) and

four times (100 g ha-1) the field rate was used to study theadsorption and leaching behaviour.

For this study, PVC columns having 10 cm internal

diameter and 65 cm length were used. Each column wasdivided into two longitudinal segments by cutting thecolumns lengthwise in the middle. The two column

Adsorption and Leaching Behaviour of Sulfosulfuron

S. K. Randhawa and Amandeep Singh Brar*Department of Agronomy

Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India*E-mail: [email protected]

segments were then rejoined by using the plastic tape. Soil

representing different soil depths (0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-

40, 40-50 and 50-60 cm) was taken from the field, dried in

shade, ground, sieved and filled in soil columns depth wise

with constant gentle shaking. The base of each column

was closed by tying a muslin cloth to it. The top of the soil

columns was covered with 2 cm of sand so as to prevent

crust formation resulting from the addition of water which

may hamper the downward movement of water. Columns

were then placed on the plastic funnels adjusted on the

tripod stands and connected to the beakers meant to collect

the leachate. Water was added on the surface of columns

and the columns were covered from the top by using

aluminium foil to prevent any evaporation from the surface.

Columns were brought to the field capacity by adding water

from the top and waiting till dripping stops from the base.

Herbicide doses corresponding to 25, 50 and 100 g ha-1

were calculated on the basis of surface area of the top of

the columns, dissolved in 5 ml of water and added over the

soil surface in the columns. Herbicide was then leached

with 20 ml water and the leachates collected after 24 hours

were analyzed by HPLC for the detection of residues.

Thereafter, 25 ml of water was added on the surface of the

columns after every 24 hours and leachates collected

everyday were analyzed. The leachates were collected for

10 consecutive days. The leachates thus collected were

acidified using 2 per cent phosphoric acid and partitioned

with dichloromethane. The dried sample was taken in

acetonitrile for injection into HPLC. The percentage recovery

of sulfosulfuron from the fortified sample of water was foundto be 91 per cent.

On the eleventh day, the soil columns were longitudinallycut open using a sharp knife into two parts by tearing theplastic tape holding the two column segments together.

Two parts of column were taken as two replicates. Depth-wise sampling of soil profile in the column was done bytaking samples from both the segments. Soil depth from 0-

10 cm formed the first sample with subsequent 10 cmdepths forming the remaining samples. The samples weretaken up to 60 cm depth. The soil was dried in shade, ground,


of Ecology

146

sieved and weighed. The soil was analyzed for thesulfosulfuron residue by using HPLC on Waters 600Controller and Pump and Waters 2487 Dual Absorption

Detector. The percentage recovery of sulfosulfuron from thefortified sample of soil was found to be 86 per cent.

The results obtained from the analysis of leachates

collected from the column base (Table 1) revealed that onfirst day the concentration of sulfosulfuron residues inleachates was 0.06, 0.11 and 0.19 ppm under X, 2X and 4Xdose, respectively. Assuming the concentration of

sulfosulfuron residues in leachates as 100 per cent on firstday, the concentration of sulfosulfuron residues in leachates,on second day, increased to 166.7, 172.7 and 126.3 per

cent and, on third day, the concentration of sulfosulfuronresidues in leachates decreased to 83.3, 72.7 and 57.9 percent under X, 2X and 4X dose, respectively. The

concentration of sulfosulfuron residues, on fourth day, againreduced to 50.0, 54.5 and 52.6 per cent against 37.3, 54.5and 42.1 per cent under X, 2X and 4X dose, on fifth day

respectively. Whereas, on sixth day, the concentration ofresidues of sulfosulfuron in leachates further reduced onseventh day, reached below detectable limit (<0.01ppm)

under X dose and it was reduced to 9.1 and 10.5 per centunder 2X and 4X dose, respectively. Further, on eighth day,

the concentration of residues of sulfosulfuron in leachatesreduced to below detectable limit under both X and 2X doseand it was 5.3 per cent under 4X dose. On ninth and tenth

days, the concentration of residues of sulfosulfuron wasbelow detectable even at 4X dose of sulfosulfuron. Theconcentration of sulfosulfuron residues took 7-9 days to go

below detectable limit indicating that sulfosulfuron persistsfor a long time. These observations gain support from thefindings of Eleftherohorinos et al. (2004) who also reportedthat sulfonylurea exhibit persistence even at low rates of

application.

The analysis of soil column revealed the highestconcentration of sulfosulfuron residues in the top 0-10 cm

depth (Table 2) while there was decrease in the residueconcentration in the soil at 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm soildepths under all the doses of herbicide. With every increase

in soil depth from 30-40 to 40-50 and 50-60 cm, theconcentration of sulfosulfuron from residue increased. Theresults indicated that at higher rates, sulfosulfuron takes

more time to leach down below detectable limit. Adsorptionof sulfosulfuron was more in the top 0- 20 cm soil depthand again in 30 to 60 cm soil depth. It might be due to the

presence of organic matter in the plough layer (0-20 cm)and due to higher clay content in the lower layers because

Table 1. Concentration of sulfosulfuron in leachate taken at different intervals

Sampling intervals Concentration of sulfosulfuron (ppm) in leachate at different concentrations

(days after treatment)

25 g ha-1 (X) 50 g ha-1(2X) 100 g ha-1(4X)

1 0.06 0.11 0.19

2 0.10 0.19 0.24

3 0.05 0.08 0.11

4 0.03 0.06 0.10

5 0.02 0.06 0.08

6 0.01 0.02 0.03

7 BDL 0.01 0.02

8 BDL BDL 0.01

BDL-Below detectable limit residue was below BDL after 8 day

Table 2. Concentration of sulfosulfuron in soil taken at different depths from the soil column

Soil depth (cm) Concentration of sulfosulfuron (ppm) in soil at different concentrations

25 g ha-1 50 g ha-1 100 g ha-1

0-10 0.06 0.11 0.22

10-20 0.05 0.06 0.13

20-30 0.04 0.05 0.06

30-40 0.04 0.06 0.12

40-50 0.05 0.06 0.14

50-60 0.06 0.07 0.17

S. K. Randhawa and Amandeep Singh Brar

147

as we go deeper in the soil profile clay content increases.Further, with the increase in the concentration of

sulfosulfuron there was increase in the adsorption.Srivastava et al. (2006) also reported that herbicide leachingwas more and adsorption was less in sandy soil and trend

was reverse in clay soil.

From the above studies, it may be concluded that theconcentration of sulfosulfuron residues was higher in the

leachates and it took more time to go below detectable limitwith the higher dose of application. Adsorption ofsulfosulfuron was more in the soil profile where organic

matter and clay content was higher and further, adsorptionwas more with higher dose of application.

REFERENCESEleftherohorinos, I., Dhima, K. and Vasilakoglou, I. (2004) Activity,

adsorption and field persistence of sulfosulfuron in soil. WeedSci. 32(3): 274-285.

Maheswari, S. T. and Ramesh, A. (2007) Adsorption and degradationof sulfosulfuron in soils. Environ. Monit. Assess. 127(1-3):97-103.

Ramesh, A. and Maheswari, S. T. (2003) Dissipation of sulfosulfuronin soil and wheat plant under predominant cropping conditionsand in a simulated model ecosystem. J. Agric. Food Chem.51(11): 3396-3400.

Srivastava, A., Agarwal, V., Srivastava, P. C., Guru, S. K. andSingh, G. (2006) Leaching of sulfosulfuron from two texturallydifferent soils under saturated moisture regime. J. Food Agric.Environ. 4(2): 287-290.

Yaron, B. (1989) General principles of pesticide movement togroundwater. Agric. Ecosystem Environ. 26(3-4): 275-297.Received 14 September, 2011; Accepted 10 February, 2012

Adsorption and Leaching Behaviour of Sulfosulfuron


of Ecology

Screening of Seed Sources and Development of Powdery Mildew ofDalbergia sissoo Roxb.

K.S. Ahlawat*, J.C. Kaushik1, O.P. Lathwal and Avtar Singh2

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kurukshetra-136 118, India1Department of Forestry, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004, India

2PAU Regional Station,Bathinda-151 001, India*E-mail:[email protected]

Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo Roxb.) is an important

broad-leaved tree species of Indian subcontinent occurring

naturally from Indus to Assam. Its heartwood is strong and

durable, brown with dark figuring for which it is prized for

furniture and general wood work. It is extensively planted

under social forestry programme in northern Gangetic

plains. In the recent past, large scale mortality of shisham

has been recorded in different parts of India. Besides the

biotic causes, a number of stress factors such as changing

climatic conditions, water logging, longer dry spell, root

injury, soil compaction and salt accumulation are

responsible for shisham mortality (Shera and Saralch,

2006; Chauhan et al., 2007). A number of leaf spots and

powdery mildew fungi attack the foliage of shisham.

Powdery mildew is an important foliage disease caused

by Phyllactinia dalbergiae Prioz. is wide spread in

occurrence throughout the Indian subcontinent (Joshi and

Baral, 2000). Nautiyal (2007) has also highlighted the

growing problems in shisham and required improvement

strategies. However, meager information is available about

the role of climatic factors and development of powdery

mildew of shisham. Hence, the present investigation was

undertaken to screen the seed sources for disease

resistance and development of powdery mildew of

Dalbergia sissoo Roxb.

The present studies were carried out at theexperimental farm of Department of Agroforestry, CCSHaryana Agricultural University, Hisar (20o10/ N, 75o46/ E,

215 m above mean sea level), situated in the arid region ofnorth-western India. The maximum temperature duringsummer months ranges between 42 to 450C while the

minimum temperature during winter months sometimesgoes as low as 0oC or less sometimes even than that. Theaverage annual rainfall is about 350-425 mm, 75 per cent

is received from July to September and a few showers ofcyclonic rains are received in winter or late spring. In orderto find out the role of weather parameters on disease

development, the data on disease intensity were recorded

on three years old plantation under natural conditions at aninterval of 15 days from the initiation of disease.Simultaneously, the data on weather variables viz., maximum

and minimum temperature, relative humidity (morning andevening) and rainfall (mm) prevailing during the period ofstudy were obtained from Department of Meteorology, CCS

Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. Screening of forty seedsources of Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. available at the researcharea of department of agroforestry, Hisar was undertaken

to find out the relative resistance against powdery mildewdisease under natural conditions. The seed sources weregraded under six different categories as immune (zero per

cent leaf area mildew), resistant (1-10 per cent leaf areamildew), moderately resistant (11-20 per cent leaf areamildew), moderately susceptible (21-40 per cent leaf area

mildew), susceptible (41-60 per cent leaf area mildew)and highly susceptible (61-100 per cent leaf area mildew).Hundred leaves were randomly graded from each seed

source and were examined carefully to calculate the percent disease intensity [{sum of all numerical rating/(totalnumber of leaves observed x highest grade)} x 100].

Out of the forty seed sources screened, none of theseed sources was found immune to the disease. Nineseed sources registered in the resistant group, nine in

moderately resistant group and seven seed sources inmoderately susceptible group. Rests of the seed sourceswere found susceptible to highly susceptible group (Table 1).

The pattern of disease progression amongst the nineseed sources recorded as Kurukshetra-419, Haldwani-24and Unna-Makdnmpur-52 (resistant), Manipur forest

fatehpur-56, Dabwali-26 and Haldwani S.B.412 (moderatelysusceptible), Tanakpur N.B.-431, Dabwali-210 and Sirsa-274 (highly susceptible). The environmental variables viz.,

temperature, relative humidity and rainfall are the mostcrucial, because they affect the pathogen. The diseaseappeared after the light showers in the last week of July and

first week of August. During July to August maximumtemperature ranged between 34.3-35.1oC and minimum

149

Tab

le 2

. P

er c

ent

dise

ase

inte

nsity

in

resi

stan

t, m

oder

atel

y an

d hi

ghly

sus

cept

ible

see

d so

urce

s of

shi

sham

at

fort

nigh

tly i

nter

val

Dat

e of

obs

erva

tions

Dis

ease

int

ensi

ty (

%)

(For

tnig

ht)*

Res

ista

nt s

eed

sour

ces

Mod

erat

ely

susc

eptib

le s

eed

sour

ces

Hig

hly

susc

eptib

le s

eed

sour

ces

Ku

ruks

he

tra

-41

9H

ald

wa

ni-

24

Unn

a-M

anip

ur f

ores

tD

ab

wa

li-2

6H

ald

wa

ni

Tana

kpur

Da

bw

ali-

21

0S

irsa

-27

4

mak

dnm

pur-

52fa

teh

pu

r-5

6S

.B.-

412

N.B

.-43

1

July

II-

--

--

-T

race

sT

race

sT

race

s

Aug

ust

I-

--

Tra

ces

Tra

ces

Tra

ces

4.89

8.62

4.23

Aug

ust

II-

--

3.82

2.62

4.85

8.23

9.23

8.69

Sep

tem

ber I

--

-5.

194.

246.

2810

.69

35.2

917

.62

Sep

tem

ber I

IT

race

sT

race

sT

race

s6.

468.

199.

1818

.30

21.2

324

.82

Oct

ober

I1.

001.

002.

008.

0011

.62

15.0

023

.62

30.3

933

.49

Oct

ober

II2.

532.

682.

9411

.92

15.4

318

.43

30.2

340

.62

45.2

8

Nov

embe

r I2.

702.

713.

0616

.45

17.6

921

.45

45.1

051

.30

58.4

3

Nov

embe

r II

2.70

2.80

3.60

18.4

919

.45

30.8

954

.65

58.7

262

.00

Dec

embe

r I3.

003.

804.

8621

.00

27.8

531

.69

60.1

364

.13

75.1

3

Dec

embe

r II

5.90

6.60

7.97

21.2

528

.49

36.0

062

.43

68.6

980

.00

Janu

ary

I6.

507.

208.

6222

.45

29.6

836

.49

65.1

372

.13

87.0

0

Janu

ary

II6.

508.

009.

5522

.45

30.1

538

.25

69.8

575

.00

87.6

5

*I-

Firs

t fo

rtni

ght

of m

onth

II- S

econ

d fo

rtni

ght

of m

onth

Tab

le 1

. R

eact

ion

of d

iffer

ent

seed

sou

rces

of

Dal

berg

ia s

isso

o ag

ains

t po

wde

ry m

ildew

dis

ease

und

er f

ield

con

ditio

ns

Rea

ctio

n C

ateg

ory

Cul

tivar

Imm

une

Nil

Res

ista

nce

(R)

Dab

wal

i-74

,Pro

geny

tes

t-35

,Kur

uksh

etra

-419

, H

aldw

ani-

290,

Pro

vena

nce

test

-4,

Hal

dwan

i-24

, U

nna-

Mak

dnm

pur-

52,

Hal

dwan

i-41

1, H

aldw

ani-

292

Mod

erat

ely

Res

ista

nt (

MR

)D

abw

ali-4

67,

Dab

wal

i-203

, H

aldw

ani-5

, S

irsa

(Bes

t)-1

7, D

abw

ali-6

2, M

ahen

der

naga

r (N

epal

)-44

2, H

aldw

ani-2

5, P

atia

la-5

7, H

aldw

ani-I

-23

Mod

erat

ely

Sus

cept

ible

( M

S)

Hal

dwan

i S

.B.-

412,

Dab

wal

i-269

, P

rove

nanc

e te

st-3

9, S

irsa-

209,

Man

ipur

for

est

fath

epur

-56,

Pro

vena

nce

test

-16

, P

rove

nanc

e te

st-4

8

Sus

cept

ible

(S

)S

irsa

-215

, S

irsa-

218,

Tan

akpu

r N

.B.-

432,

Pro

vena

nce

test

-271

, E

taha

wa-

54,

Sirs

a-21

4, L

udhi

ana-

107,

Pro

vena

nce

test

-53

Hig

hly

Sus

cept

ible

(H

S)

Dab

wal

i-210

, Ta

nakp

ur N

.B.-

431,

Hal

dwan

i-409

, S

irsa-

274,

Pro

vena

nce

test

-34,

Sirs

a-45

3, S

irsa-

I-75

150

temperature ranged between 23.0-24.7oC. The morningrelative humidity was in the range of 81.4-82.8 per cent,

while in the evening, it was between 59.1-66.1 per cent.The disease increased with the decrease in meantemperature and increase in percent relative humidity from

September onwards. The maximum disease intensity wasrecorded in the month of January when temperature rangedbetween 4.4-20.10C and relative humidity ranged between

63.4-97.0 per cent. With the progress of time, the diseasecontinued to increase in all the nine seed sources but variedin disease intensity. In resistant seed sources (Kurukshetra-

419, Haldwani-24 and Unna-Makdnmpur-52), the diseaseappeared in the second fortnight of September in tracesand progressed at slow rate and reached to maximum in

January (Table 2). In moderately susceptible seed sources(Manipur forest fathepur-56, Dabwali-269 and HaldwaniS.B.-412), the disease appeared in first fortnight of August

and progressed further upto January. Raghu and Mallaiah(1999) also observed that powdery mildew appeared onDalbergia sissoo in the month of August and maximum

was recorded in the month of January. In highly susceptibleseed sources (Tanakpur N.B.-431, Dabwali-210 and Sirsa-274), the disease appeared in the second fortnight of July

in traces and highest disease intensity was recorded inJanuary. The disease intensity in highly susceptible seedsources were also in variable ranges from 69.85 (Tanakpur

N.B.-431) to 87.65 per cent (Sirsa-274).

From the above study, it may be concluded that none ofseed sources was immune to the disease. The disease

appeared in first fortnight of August and continued to increasewith decrease in mean temperature and increase in relative

humidity. Appearance of Phyllactinia dalbergiae appearedfor a longer period of six months indicated that it couldwithstand wide range of temperature and relative humidity.

The maximum disease intensity was recorded in Januarywhen mean temperature was 12.4oC and mean relativehumidity was 79.1 per cent. The disease intensity also varied

among different sources ranging from 6.50 (Kurukshetra-419) to 87.65 per cent (Sirsa-274).

REFERENCESChauhan, R., Garg, R.K., Chauhan, S. and Saralch, H.S. (2007)

Tree mortality in Northern states of India-A review. In: Proc. ofRegional Seminar on Mortality of Agroforestry Trees, D.P.S.Nandal and J.C. Kaushik (Eds.) at HAU Hisar, pp. 11-17.

Joshi, R.B. and Baral, S.R. (2000). A report on dieback of Dalbergiasissoo In Nepal. In: Proc. of the Sub-Regional Seminar onDieback of Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo), Katmandu, Nepal, 25-28 April 2000. pp.17-22.

Nautiyal, S. (2007) Dalbergia sissoo (shisham) mortality viz-a vizimprovement strategy for future. In: Proc. of Regional Seminaron Mortality of Agroforestry Trees, D.P.S. Nandal and J.C.Kaushik (Eds.) at HAU Hisar, pp. 27-34.

Raghu, R. and Mallaiah, K.V. (1999). Studies on foliar diseases oftree legumes caused by Cercosporaceous fungi. Ind. For.125:313-315.

Shera, P.S. and Saralch, H.S. (2006) Insect-pest and diseases ofshisham (Dalbergia sissoo Roxb.): A overview. In: Shishamand Kikar Mortality in India (S.S. Gill, S.K. Chauhan, H.N.Khajuria and R. Chauhan, Eds.), Agrotech Publi. Academy,Udaipur, pp.17-39.


Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.) is considered asone of the most important pulse crop grown in India and is

well adapted to tropical and sub-tropical conditions. It ishighly vulnerable to many plant parasitic nematodes andamong them root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanicahas emerged as potential threat to its production throughoutthe country. This nematode is widespread in all thepigeonpea growing states of India (Ali and Askary, 2001)

and its management is yet to be perfected because most ofthe nematicides are generally expensive and requires alarge quantity for its soil application. Therefore, the present

study was conducted to find out an economically successfuloption through pre-sowing seed coating with differentchemicals, bioagents and botanicals in the management

of M. javanica on short duration pigeonpea cv. UPAS 120.

The study was carried out during kharif season atexperimental research field of Indian Institute of Pulses

Research, Kanpur. Seeds of Pigeonpea cv. UPAS 120 wereused in the experiment. There were eight treatmentsincluding check (Table 1). Treated seeds were sown at a

spacing of 45×20 cm in 4×4m M. javanica infested sickmicroplots. One treatment of untreated seeds was takenas check plot in the experimental study. All the treatments

including check was replicated three times. Data regardingsymptoms and other plant characters were recorded onthe basis of regular field observations. The experiment

was terminated at maturity i.e., 135 days after sowing.

The present study indicated an increase in fresh anddry shoot and root weight, shoot length, number of rhizobial

nodules per root system and yield of pigeonpea in seedtreated plots as compared to check (Table 1). The belowground symptoms such as egg masses, number of galls

per root system as well as nematode population in soilwas significantly less in all the treatments as compared tountreated plots. These findings are in confirmation with the

work done by other researchers (Dahiya and Singh, 1985;Das and Mishra, 2000, 2003; Haseeb and Shukla, 2002).Although all the treatments were significantly effective in

reducing the nematode infection on pigeonpea plants as

Management of Root-Knot Nematode Meloidogyne javanica inPigeonpea through Seed Treatment

Tarique Hassan Askary Division of Entomology, Shere-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir,

Shalimar, Srinagar- 191 121, India.E-mail : tariq _askary@ rediffmail.com


of Ecology

Tab

le 1

. E

ffect

of

diffe

rent

tre

atm

ents

on

plan

t gr

owth

cha

ract

ers

of p

igeo

npea

and

nem

atod

e po

pula

tion

Tre

atm

ents

Sho

otF

resh

Dry

Fre

shD

ryTo

tal

Egg

Num

ber

Nem

atod

eW

eigh

t of

leng

thsh

oot

shoo

tro

otro

otno

dule

s/m

ass

es/

of g

alls

/po

pula

tion/

see

ds

(g)/

(cm

)w

eig

ht

we

igh

tw

eig

ht

we

igh

tro

otro

otro

otK

g so

ilpl

ot(g

)(g

)(g

)(g

)sy

ste

msy

ste

msy

ste

m(4

×4m

)

Dim

etho

ate

30 E

C @

0.8

%16

7.3

9.6

3.6

9.2

3.0

4033

.039

.01

83

5.0

17

30

.0

Chl

orpy

ripho

s 20

EC

@ 1

%15

9.2

9.3

3.4

8.9

2.7

4035

.040

.01

91

0.0

16

60

.0

Tria

zoph

os 4

0 E

C @

3%

157.

59.

22.

58.

82.

438

40.0

44.0

19

40

.01

61

0.0

Asp

ergi

llus

nige

r @

2%

172.

29.

73.

69.

32.

941

31.0

35.0

16

10

.01

85

0.0

of 1

08 sp

ore/

ml

of s

uspe

nsio

n

Pae

cilo

myc

es l

ilaci

nus

@ 2

%18

3.5

10.2

4.1

9.7

3.4

4624

.028

.01

49

5.0

19

35

.0

of 1

08 sp

ore/

ml

of s

uspe

nsio

n

Cal

otro

pis

proc

era

@ 1

%17

9.5

10.2

3.9

9.8

3.2

4427

.030

.01

53

0.0

19

10

.0

Nee

m s

eed

pow

der

@ 5

%19

0.3

10.5

4.4

10.1

3.8

4818

.025

.01

47

0.0

19

70

.0

Che

ck (

Unt

reat

ed)

114.

76.

72.

36.

02.

125

64.0

69.0

2740

1140

.0

CD

(P=

0.05

)9.

31.

10.

10.

70.

88.

36.

86.

315

5.4

179.

4

152 Tarique Hassan Askary

well as increasing the plant growth characters and yield,however, the most promising was neem seed powder

followed by Paecilomyces lilacinus, Calotropis procera,Aspergillus niger, dimethoate and chlorpyriphos. The leasteffective among all the treatments was triazophos. Such

findings assure that seed treatment is an economic andeffective method in the management of root-knot nematodein pigeonpea.

REFERENCESAli, S.S. and Askary, T.H. (2001) Taxonomic status of

phytonematodes associated with pulse crops . Curr. Nematol.12: 75-84.

Dahiya, J.S. and Singh, D.P. (1985) Inhibitory effects of Aspergillusniger culture filtrate on mortality and hatching of larvae ofMeloidogyne spp. Pl. and Soil 86: 145-146.

Das, D. and Mishra, S. D. (2000) Effect of neem seed powder andneem based formulations as seed coating against Meloidogyneincognita, Heterodera cajani and Rotylenchulus reniformisinfecting pigeonpea. Curr. Nematol. 11: 13-23.

Das, D. and Mishra, S.D. (2003) Effect of neem seed powder andneem based formulations for the management of Meloidogyneincognita, Heterodera Cajani and Rolylenchulus reniformisinfecting pigeonpea. Ann. Pl. Prot. Sci. 11: 110-115.

Haseeb, A. and Shukla, P.K. (2002) Management of wilt disease ofchickpea by the application of chemicals, biopesticides andbio-agents under field conditions. Curr. Nematol. 13: 61-63.

Received 25 June, 2011; Accepted 15 February, 2012

The Tullgren funnel is a device used to extract small

invertebrate animals from soil samples (Tullgren, 1918).The sample is placed in a container with a base made fromgauze with a mesh designed to hold soil particles but permit

the organisms to pass. The container is arranged over afunnel, with a source of light above (Michael, 2009). TheTullgren funnel works on the principle that most organisms

move away from bright light and very warm/dry conditions.They move to the bottom of the samples, fall through thefine sieve into a collecting vessel, and are preserved for

examination (Michael et al., 1975). However, no realisticinformation is available on the standardization of soilarthropods extraction by using Tullgren funnel. For effective

extraction of soil arthropods from soil samples by usingTullgren funnel within a specific time, it is necessary tostandardize the method of extraction of soil arthropods. A

well-defined standard method would be of immense helpin investigations regarding soil arthropods as their effectiveextraction would be possible within a short period of time.

Three ecosystems (dairy farm, orchard and tea garden)were selected inside the campus of Assam AgriculturalUniversity, Jorhat, Assam.

Soil samples were collected randomly from six differentspots by using rectangular soil sampler (30 X 11 X 8 cm)upto a constant depth of 10 cm (from surface) from each of

the ecosystem. The soil inside the sampler was taken outwithout disturbing the soil profile and the soil arthropodswere extracted by using Tullgren funnel. The soil arthropods

were extracted by using 40, 60 and 100 watt electric bulbs,keeping in low, medium and high light intensities for 12, 24,36, 48 and 72 hours of exposure. The low, medium and

high light intensities for 40, 60 and 100 watt electric bulbswere measured by using a luxmeter. The light intensities at40 watt electric bulbs at low, medium and high intensities

were 300, 2000 and 4500 lux, respectively. At 60 watt electricbulbs, 750, 2700 and 6200 lux were recorded for low,medium and high intensities, whereas, 1200 (low), 8200

(medium) and 15700 lux (high) were recorded at 100 wattelectric bulbs. The soil temperature was recorded by using

Standardization of Method for Soil Arthropods Extraction byTullgren Funnel

Romila Akoijam* and Badal BhattacharyyaDepartment of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785 013, India


soil thermometer and the moisture content was determined

by Gravimetric method (Kishore et al., 2008 ). The collectedsoil samples were analyzed in the funnel and due to thelight and heat gradient as well as the effect of gravity, the

soil arthropods moved downwards through the mesh sievethat was attached at the bottom of the funnel.

The extracted soil arthropods were collected in

collecting tubes (40 ml) containing 70 per cent ethyl alcohol.The ethyl alcohol containing soil arthropods weretransferred into a clean petridish for counting and sorting

out.

The populations of extracted soil arthropods (no. m-2)were estimated by using the following formula (Singh et al.,1978)

P = (10,000 × X)/ [(B × L) n]Where, P = Population of soil arthropods per m2

X = Number of soil arthropods extracted from the funnel B = Breadth of the rectangular soil sampler (cm) L = Length of the rectangular soil sampler (cm)

n = Number of samples per ecosystem

When the Tullgren funnel was operated for 12, 24, 36,

48 and 72 hours with 40 watt electric bulbs at low, medium

and high light intensity, the maximum population of soil

arthropods (5241.9 m-2) was extracted by Tullgren funnel at

high light intensity (4500 lux) upto 72 hours of exposure

(Table 1). It was also observed that beyond 72 hours, very

negligible population of soil arthropods were extracted by

the funnel and at this exposure time, the soil samples were

observed to be too dried and friable because of the constant

heat generated by the 40 watt electric bulbs at high light

intensity. The reason for getting highest population of soil

arthropods for 72 hours of exposure reflects the inability of

soil arthropods to tolerate the 40ºC temperature generated

for 72 hours of exposure, which finally leads to vertical

movements of the soil arthropods to the collecting tubes.

Further, it can be mentioned that as a general behavior,

most of the soil arthropods avoid light and many of them do

not possess specialized eyes, well-developed tactile and


of Ecology

154

chemoreceptors and communication signals. Most of themabsorb and lost water through their integument and are

highly dependable on water-saturated atmosphere for theirexistence (Didden, 1983). Therefore, after 72 hours ofexposure, the soil moisture content was drastically reduced

up to the extent of 1.76 per cent, which created an adverseenvironmental condition for the survival of soil arthropods(Table 2).

The heat generated by the funnel at 72 hours ofexposure might have adversely affected and killed othersoil fungi and bacteria leading to exhaustion of food for

soil arthropods. The second highest population of soilarthropods (3514.8 m-2) was obtained with 40 watt electricbulbs for 48 hours of exposure at high light intensity (Table 1).

While using 60 watt electric bulbs, the highest populationof soil arthropods (3120.9 m-2) was observed at 72 hours ofexposure in high light intensity (Table 1). It was the third

highest population of soil arthropods extracted per m2 in allthe observations. Tripathi and Sharma (2005) collected soilfauna by using 60 watt electric bulb in Tullgren funnel at 24

hours of exposure but they did not extend the exposure timebeyond 24 hours. However, Masan (2007) extracted differentmite species by using Berlese-Tullgren funnel with 60 watt

electric bulbs at an exposure of 48-72 hours. At 12, 24, 36,48 and 72 hours of exposure in high light intensity (6200lux), the soil arthropods populations were 60.6, 363.6,

1212.0, 1696.8 and 3120.9 (m-2), respectively (Table 1). Byusing 100 watt electric bulbs, the maximum number of soilarthropods (1787.7 m-2) was extracted at high light intensity

at an exposure of 72 hours (Table 1). This rate of extractionwas found to be considerably low as compared to the rateof extraction by using 40 and 60 watt bulbs. It may be due to

the fact that the 100 watt bulbs generated comparativelymore heat (38, 46, 53, 61 and 84°C at 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72hours of exposure, respectively) inside the funnel, which

was not found congenial for the survival of the soilarthropods (Table 2). The intense heat by 100 watt electricbulbs caused increase in soil temperature leading to

moisture deficit inside the funnel and hence, most of thesoil arthropods either they became inactive or died. Variousgroups of soil arthropods like collembolans, soil mites,

pseudoscorpions and many unidentified species wererecorded from all the observations. Among them, ninemorphologically dissimilar types of collembolans and

eleven morphologically dissimilar types of soil mites couldbe recorded.

The findings drawn from this investigation will pave the

way for other researchers to extract maximum numbers ofsoil arthropods within a short period of time by using Tullgrenfunnel. The methodology described in this paper may beTa

ble

1.

Soi

l ar

thro

pods

pop

ulat

ion

extr

acte

d by

Tul

lgre

n fu

nnel

by

usin

g 40

, 60

and

100

wat

t el

ectr

ic b

ulbs

fro

m d

iffer

ent

ecos

yste

ms

Bul

bE

cosy

ste

ms

Pop

ulat

ion

of s

oil

arth

ropo

ds/

sq.

m a

t fiv

e ex

posu

res

(tim

e)

12 h

ours

24 h

ours

36 h

ours

48 h

ours

72 h

ours

LM

HL

MH

LM

HL

MH

LM

H

40

wa

tt*

Dia

ry f

arm

0.00

0.00

15

1.5

00.

001

21

.20

66

6.6

060

.60

33

3.3

01

42

4.1

01

51

.50

81

8.1

01

78

7.7

01

81

.80

12

12

.00

27

87

.60

Orc

ha

rd0.

000.

0090

.90

0.00

30.3

01

81

.80

0.00

60.6

03

03

.00

30.3

090

.90

66

6.6

01

51

.50

30

3.0

08

18

.10

Tea

gard

en0.

000.

0030

.30

0.00

60.6

03

63

.60

0.00

90.9

08

18

.10

60.6

03

03

.00

10

60

.50

12

1.2

03

93

.90

16

36

.20

Tota

l0.

000.

002

72

.70

0.00

21

2.1

01

21

2.0

060

.60

48

4.8

02

54

5.2

02

42

.40

12

12

.00

35

14

.80

45

4.5

01

90

8.9

05

24

1.9

0

60 w

att*

*D

iary

far

m0.

000.

0060

.60

0.00

90.9

01

21

.20

90.9

02

12

.10

51

5.1

01

21

.20

63

6.3

06

66

.60

15

1.5

07

27

.20

14

84

.70

Orc

ha

rd0.

000.

000.

000.

000.

001

51

.50

30.3

01

81

.80

33

3.3

060

.60

24

2.4

04

24

.20

90.9

03

33

.30

60

6.0

0

Tea

gard

en0.

000.

000.

000.

0030

.30

90.9

030

.30

15

1.5

03

63

.60

60.6

02

12

.10

60

6.0

01

21

.20

60

6.0

01

03

0.2

0

Tota

l0.

000.

0060

.60

0.00

12

1.2

03

63

.60

15

1.5

05

45

.40

12

12

.00

24

2.4

01

09

0.8

01

69

6.8

03

63

.60

16

66

.50

31

20

.90

100

wat

t***

Dia

ry f

arm

90.9

060

.60

0.00

12

1.2

01

81

.80

12

1.2

02

72

.70

24

2.4

03

33

.30

57

5.7

05

15

.10

48

4.8

08

78

.70

90

9.0

08

18

.10

Orc

ha

rd0.

000.

0030

.30

0.00

30.3

090

.90

30.3

060

.60

15

1.5

060

.60

12

1.2

01

81

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15

1.5

02

12

.10

33

3.3

0

Tea

gard

en0.

000.

000.

0060

.60

90.9

030

.30

12

1.2

02

12

.10

27

2.7

03

03

.00

24

2.4

04

24

.20

54

5.4

06

66

.60

48

4.8

0

Tota

l90

.90

60.6

030

.30

18

1.8

03

03

.00

24

2.4

04

24

.20

51

5.1

07

57

.50

93

9.3

08

78

.70

10

90

.80

15

75

.60

17

87

.70

16

36

.20

*40

wat

t -

L: L

ow li

ght

inte

nsity

(30

0 lu

x),

M:

Med

ium

ligh

t in

tens

ity (

2000

lux)

and

H

: H

igh

Ligh

t in

tens

ity (

4500

lux)

;

**60

wat

t -L

: 75

0 lu

x, M

: 27

00 lu

x an

d H

: 62

00 lu

x an

d **

*100

wat

t -

L: 1

200

lux,

M:

8200

lux

and

H:

1570

0 lu

x

Romila Akoijam and Badal Bhattacharyya

155

tested to standardize other types of funnels like Berleseand O’Connor’s funnel to draw a logistic conclusion

extraction of soil arthropods with high levels of precision.The use of proper type of funnel for extracting soil arthropodsdepending on the physico-chemical properties of soil will

further intensify and generate more information on taxonomicidentity, species richness, distribution pattern, biology andbehavior of soil arthropods. Furthermore, the role of soil

arthropods and other microflora as possible bioindicatorsof the polluted and degraded soil ecosystem can beinvestigated effectively by using the above standardized

method. The effect of global climatic change on soilarthropods and their ability to recover after the cessation ofa climatic disturbance needs further comprehensive

research.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors are thankful to Dr. Y.S. Mathur, Ex. Net WorkCoordinator, All India Network Project on white grubs and

other soil arthropods, Agricultural Research Station,Durgapura, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India for his encouragementduring the period of investigations.

REFERENCESDidden, W.A.M. (1983) Ecology of terrestrial Enchytraeidae.

Pedobiologia 37: 2-229.

Kishore, D. K., Sharma, S.K. and Pramanick, K.K. (2008) Temperatehorticulture: current scenario. New India Publishing Agency,New Delhi.

Masan, P. (2007) Olopachys (Olopachylaella) gronychi subgen.nov., sp. nov., a new species of mite from Bulgaria (Acari:Mesostigmata: Pachylaelapidae). Zootaxa 1509: 31-39.

Michael, A. (2009) A Dictionary of Zoology. Oxford University Press.pp. 554.

Michael, A., Tribe, Michael Eraut and Roger K. Snook (Eds.) (1975)Ecological principles. Interaction between organisms and theirliving environment. Cambridge University Press, pp. 65.

Singh, J., Mahajan, S.V. and Singh, R.K. (1978). Sampling, extractionand precision regarding some statistical studies for populationecology of soil mesofauna. Bull. Entomol. 19: 130-145.

Tripathi, G. and Sharma, B.M. (2005) Effects of habitats andpesticides on aerobic capacity and survival of soil fauna.Biomed. Environ. Sci. 18(3): 169-175.

Tullgren, A. (1918) Ein sehr einfacher Auslesgeapparat fur Terricole,Tierformen. Zeitschrift fur Angewandte Entomologie 4: 149-150.

Tab

le 2

. Ave

rage

tem

pera

ture

of

soil

sam

ples

rec

orde

d in

Tul

lgre

n fu

nnel

ope

rate

d by

usi

ng 4

0, 6

0 an

d 10

0 w

att

elec

tric

bul

bs in

diff

eren

t lig

ht in

tens

ities

at

diffe

rent

exp

osur

e tim

e

Bu

lb(w

att

)In

itial

Tim

e of

exp

osur

e (h

ours

)

tem

pera

ture

* 1

2 ho

urs

24

hour

s36

hou

rs 4

8 ho

urs

72 h

ours

(ºC

)L

MH

LM

HL

MH

LM

HL

MH

4026

.00

26.5

027

.00

28.5

027

.00

28.0

030

.00

28.0

030

.00

32.0

029

.00

32.5

034

.00

30.0

034

.50

40.0

0

(21

.24

)(1

.75

9)

6026

.00

28.0

029

.00

30.0

029

.00

31.0

034

.00

30.5

033

.50

39.0

032

.00

36.0

042

.00

35.0

039

.50

55.0

0

(21

.24

)(1

.02

8)

100

26.0

030

.00

34.5

038

.00

32.5

038

.00

46.0

036

.50

49.5

053

.00

40.0

052

.00

61.0

044

.50

70.0

084

.00

(21

.24

)(0

.42

6)

L: L

ow, M

: Med

ium

and

H: H

igh

light

inte

nsiti

es

*Fig

ures

in

the

pare

nthe

ses

are

the

moi

stur

e pe

r ce

nt v

alue

s

Received 30 December, 2011; Accepted 5 April, 2011

Method for Soil Arthropods Extraction

Present annual fish production of the Bihar state is

2.88 lakhs tones, which makes it fourth among all states.

About 1.5 lakhs tonnes comes from capture fisheries

resources comprising rivers and rest from culture

resources, which is about half of the annual requirement/

consumption of 4.56 lakhs tonnes. To bridge the gap, it is

essential to focus attention to promote aquaculture by

achieving optimum sustainable yield from flood plain

wetlands particularly from Ox-bow lake by ecological

management and fishery enhancement strategies. Vaas

(1997) and Ayyappan (2006) has reported the importance

of floodplain wetlands for fishers. Despite abundant aquatic

resources in terms of about 3,200 km of rivers, 100,000

hectares chaurs and floodplain wetlands, 9,000 hectares

of ox-bow lakes or mauns, 7,200 hectares of reservoirs

and 69,000 hectares of ponds and tanks, fish supply is

short of demand in the State of Bihar. Abraham (1990) has

suggested pen nursery technology for the development of

fisheries of Ox-bow lakes and reservoirs. Realizing the

importance of Ox-bow lakes, a study was conducted in the

year 2010 with an objective of documenting the problems

of fishers and suggesting strategies.

In Bihar, Muzaffarpur District of Trihut division (26°07´

N and 85°24´ E) is very rich in water bodies. In the present

study, an attempt was made to study the existing

management practices followed in the two lakes

Sikandarpur and Manika, Muzaffarpur, North Bihar. The data

has been collected by interacting with fishers, society heads,

head of SHGs and Department of Fisheries officials. The

problems faced by 100 fishers from Sikandarpur Ox-bow

lake and Manika Ox-bow lake were recorded through

interview method.

In the study, the area was the households dependenton the Sikandarpur Ox-bow lake and Manika Ox-bow lake.List of the households dependent on the two Ox-bow lake

was procured. It was found that there were 350 and 150households dependent on the Sikandarpur and Manikalake, respectively.

Strategies to Enhance Fish Production from Ox-bow Lakes ofMuzaffarpur, Bihar

Sujeet Rajak*, Arpita Sharma, S.K. Chakraborty, S.C. Rai, Dilip Kumar and A.K. JaiswarCentral Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Deemed University

Indian Council of Agricultural Research Seven Bungalows, Versova, Mumbai – 400 061, India


A total of 50 households each form both the lakes were

selected randomly. Interview schedule was administeredto the head of the household usually a male. In case wherethe head of the household was absent or not available, the

lady of the household was interviewed. A total of 80 menand a total of 20 women comprised the sample.

Management practices adopted. Fisheries co-

operative society or the Self help Group (SHGs) sourcesfish seeds from Government department at subsidized costrates. They follow the fishing ban during breeding season

and during religious festivals, which helps in stocking. Weedmanifestation (Eicchornia, Hydrilla Vallisneria, etc.) ispresent in both the lakes, mainly there is a serious problemof water hyacinth. Farmers who are members of co-operative

society takes the responsibility of removing the weedsmanually from the lakes with the help of boats and fishers.Fishers catch fish with the help of traditional fishing gears

and crafts. They have their ancestral crafts like dengi (smallboat). The gears, which they use for catching the fish aregill net locally called ‘Phansi net’, cast net called ‘Jaliya’,drag net called ‘Mahajaal’.

The floats of the nets made up of plastic and round inshape are used. They also use thermo coal. Sinkers are

made up of cast iron, iron and burnt clay/soil. Nylon threadsare used to make the nets. It is coloured (one to five timesin a year) to extend the life of the net. Sometimes the fishers

rear the seeds in a confined area to grow it to fingerling sizethen they stock the lake. But usually it is not practicedbecause fishers cannot monitor this all the time. For

catching the fish they set their gill net in the night and inearly morning they remove the net with the help of boats.They also take the help of boats and swimmers to operate

the cast net and drag net. Fishers manage both the lakeswith the help of co-operative called Matasya Jalaj SahakariSamiti. During monsoon and post-monsoon season

fishers give fish holiday or ban fishing for the juveniles togrow. This is a natural way of giving fish holiday. There is noregular practice of stocking the lakes with cultured seed.


of Ecology

157

The mesh size regulation is not followed, they are fishingwith gill net, drag net and cast net. The mesh is determined

roughly with their fingers. They only try to not catch the fish,which are less than 100g.

In Manika lake fish stock is managed at a place with

the help of bamboo reeds and strips, which acts as barrier,because water level is very low at some places.

Water, soil and weed management. On the issue of

water quantity, construction of earthen banks to preventoutflow of rainy water, and to reduce seepage andmaintaining inflow of water is required. Department of

Fisheries (DoF)/fishery society/SHG should have control orsay for sluice gate operation to maintain water level in caseof flooding or shortage of water. In Manika lake, there should

be intake and outflow of water by construction of sluice gate.As regards to soil and water quality periodical checks,reduction in sewage waste, maintaining the growth of

plankton, spray of lime and disiltation is suggested. Toreduce pollution, flow of sewage water should be divertedin other suitable direction or it should be collected and

poured only after mechanical/chemical purification, washingof clothes and waste disposal should be controlled, Earthenembankments should be constructed and not concrete

embankment. Weed infestation has to be kept under controlmanually or stocking of herbivorous fish.

Lake management. With reference to lake

management, good quality and quantity of seed supply hasto be ensured, only the fishes of proper growth and weightshould be marketed, artificial feed for the fishes may be

added regularly in lake. Community and society shouldcome together to solve the problem of poaching. Regulationof mesh size is required and spray of lime may be done in

addition to development of diagnostic kits. Nursery pondsfor rearing of juveniles providing water intake by pumphouse. Under infrastructure, storage, cold chain, auction

site, fish market, society office should be constructed. Cageculture can be started.

Human resource management. As regards to human

resource management, capacity development programmeson pisciculture, pen/cage culture, mesh size regulation,Integrated farming, alternative livelihoods should be

strengthened. Department of Fisheries (DoF) needs to bestrengthened and regular visits by DOF are required. Literacyprogrammes for fishers, awareness of government

schemes, support through mass awareness throughcommunication media, participation of youth (men and

women) in fisheries. Community management practicesand training on financial management (book keeping,

accounts etc), organization management, team work andleadership is required. As regards to financial management,provision of credit facilities, financial inclusion is required.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank Dr. W.S. Lakra, Vice

Chancellor/Director CIFE, Mumbai for his valuable help andsupport for the work. The authors are also thankful to allfishers, Department of Fisheries Bihar who provided the

information.

REFERENCESAbraham, M. (1990) Pen nursery technology for the development

of fisheries of Ox-bow lakes and reservoirs. In: A.G. Jhingran,V.K. Unnithan and A. Ghosh. Contribution to the Fisheries ofInland Open Water Systems in India. Published by the InlandFisheries Society of India, Barrackpore, Part I, pp.71-76.

Ayyappan S. (2006) Oxbow lake fisheries. Handbook of Fisheriesand Aquaculture. ICAR, pp. 1-12.

Bhowmik, M.L. (1990) Pen culture- A means for higher fish yieldfrom Ox-bow lakes. In: A.G. Jhingran, V.K. Unnithan andA.Ghosh. Contribution to the Fisheries of Inland Open WaterSystem in India, Part I Published by the Inland Fisheries Societyof India, Barackpore, pp.46-52.

h t t p : / / p l a n n i n g c o m m i s s i o n . n i c . i n / d a t a / c e n t r a l /index.php?data=centab

http://ahd.bih.nic.in/Docs/ICAR-Report-Fisheries-Dev-Bihar.pdf

Vass, K. K. (1997) Floodplain wetlands - An important inlandfisheries resources of India. In: V.V. Sugunan and M. Sinha(Eds) Fisheries Enhancement of Small Reservoirs andFloodplains Lakes in India. Central Inland Fisheries ResearchInstitute, Barrackpore, Bulletin No. 75, pp.238-242.

Fig. 1. Strategy for Ox-bow lake management

Received 27 November, 2011; Accepted 5 April, 2012

Enhance of Fish Production from Ox-bow Lakes

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) is a native of Asia. As

a leguminous crop, soybean fixes atmospheric N throughsymbiotic association with Bradyrhizobium japonicum (syn.Rhizobium japonicum). About 25 to 75 per cent of the crop’s

total N requirement is supplied through symbiotic N-fixationin soybean. The management of the preceding wheat cropresidue by turning it into soil can be a better option to reduce

N dose of the succeeding soybean crop. This may help inbetter N mobilization from wheat straw in soil, thusincreasing available N supply to crop besides improving

soil properties such as organic carbon content, nutrientsavailability and their uptake. The present investigations wereconducted to study the performance of soybean with cropresidue management practices and nitrogen levels in terms

of yield, nutrients uptake and soil properties.

Present studies were undertaken during kharif seasonof 2009 at the Students’ Research Farm, Department of

Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Thistract of India falls under Trans-Gangetic Agro-climatic Zonewith sub-tropical climate. The soil of the experimental field

was loamy sand in texture and alkaline in reaction (pH 8.1).The soil tested low in organic carbon (0.30%), availablenitrogen (145.63 kg ha-1), medium in available phosphorus

(12.70 kg ha-1) and available potassium (189.66 kg ha-1).

The experiment was conducted in split plot design withthree replications comprising of three residue levels {full(RF), half (RH) and no residue (RO)} in main plots and four

nitrogen levels {125% N (N125), 100% N (N100), 75% N (N75)and 50% N through inorganic source+ 50% N through FYM(N50 + N50 FYM)} in sub plots. The residues of preceding

wheat crop were kept as per treatments (full, half and noresidue) in main plots and these were turn down intoexperimental field with rotavator on April 21, 2009. The crop

variety ‘SL 525’ was sown on June 15, 2009 and harvestedon October 28, 2009. Recommended dose of nitrogen dosefor soybean is about 32 kg N ha-1. The total amount of rainfallreceived during crop season was 901.7 mm. The crop was

raised as per the package of practices of Punjab AgriculturalUniversity, Ludhiana. Chemical analysis of seed, straw andsoil were conducted after the harvest of the crop using

standard analytical methods.

The perusal of data (Table 1) revealed that crop residuemanagement practices did not significantly affect organic

carbon (%) in soil at 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm soil depth.However, the organic carbon increased with increasing levelof residues incorporation of preceding wheat crop. Similarly

Effect of Residue Management Practices and Nitrogen Levels onSoil Properties, Yield and Uptake of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and

Potassium in Soybean Sown after Preceding Wheat Crop

K. S. Saini and S. K. ChongthamDepartment of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University,

Ludhiana - 141 004, India

Table 1. Effect of crop residue management practices and nitrogen levels on organic carbon, available N, P and K in soil after harvest

Treatments Soil organic carbon (%) Available N Available P Available K

0-15 cm 15-30 cm (kg ha-1) (kg ha-1) (kg ha-1)

Residue management (RM)

RO (No residue) 0.36 0.30 164.76 12.21 184.85

RH (Half residue) 0.38 0.31 168.25 12.45 187.21

RF (Full residue) 0.44 0.33 171.10 12.48 185.11

CD (p=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS

Nitrogen levels (N)

N75 (75%) 0.37 0.32 164.56 12.60 185.14

N100

(100%) 0.39 0.31 170.10 12.71 183.93

N125 (125%) 0.40 0.31 172.35 12.35 187.21

N50 fertilizer + N50 FYM 0.42 0.33 173.15 12.75 186.35

CD (p=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS

Interaction (RMxN) NS NS NS NS NS


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different nitrogen levels did not significantly affect the soilorganic carbon. The effect of residue management practices

on available N, P and K was also found to be non-significant.However, increasing trend with increase in residueincorporation was observed in available N and P except K

in soil. Similarly, available N in soil increased withincreasing N level, however this increase was notsignificant. The data in Table 2 revealed that the different

crop residue management practices did not influencesignificantly on nutrient contents namely, nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium in seed and straw and their

total uptake. Similar trend was recorded under differentnitrogen levels on nutrient content and total uptake exceptin case of nitrogen content in seed and straw and their total

uptake. Application of N125 resulted in highest total N uptake(141.54 kg ha-1), which was significantly higher than N75

(125.95 kg ha-1), but was statistically at par with N100 (140.18

kg ha-1) and N50 fertilizer + N50FYM (139.48 kg ha-1). This is inagreement with findings of Sharma and Gupta (1992), Pateland Chandravanshi (1996) and Chauhan et al. (2005). The

interactional effect was found to be non-significant.

The effect of crop residue management practices onseed and straw yield was also non-significant. These results

confirm the findings of Khelkar et al. (1991) and Singh et al.(2001). Crop residue management practices did not affectstraw yield significantly. The maximum straw yield was

recorded at N50 fertilizer + N50 FYM (39.02 q ha-1), which wassignificantly higher than that of N75 level (37.98 q ha-1), butwas statistically at par with that of N125 (38.76 q ha-1) and

Table 2. Effect of crop residue management practices and nitrogen levels on N, P and K content and total uptake by soybean

Treatments % N content Total N % P content Total P % K content Total K Seed Straw

uptake uptake uptake yield yield

Seed Straw (kg ha-1) Seed Straw (kg ha-1) Seed Straw (kg ha-1) (q ha-1) (q ha-1)

Residue management (RM)

RO (No residue) 6.16 0.81 126.44 0.70 0.24 19.86 2.04 0.78 60.82 15.95 36.25

RH (Half residue) 6.11 0.83 134.35 0.71 0.24 21.13 2.05 0.84 66.53 17.04 37.62

RF (Full residue) 6.06 0.92 149.29 0.73 0.25 23.64 2.08 0.91 75.52 18.22 41.35

CD (p=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS

Nitrogen levels (N)

N75 (75%) 5.77 0.82 125.95 0.69 0.22 19.16 2.05 0.82 63.92 15.99 37.68

N100 (100%) 6.27 0.85 140.18 0.71 0.25 22.04 2.08 0.85 69.14 17.35 38.88

N125 (125%) 6.22 0.88 141.54 0.73 0.26 22.12 2.05 0.87 69.00 17.21 38.76

N50

fertilizer + 6.19 0.86 139.48 0.72 0.25 22.59 2.06 0.84 69.51 17.83 39.02

N50 FYM

CD (p=0.05) 0.29 0.02 2.67 NS NS NS NS NS NS 0.76 1.24

Interaction (RMxN) NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS

N100 (38.88 q ha-1). This is in agreement with findings ofSingh and Bansal (2000) and Singh et al. (2001).

Different residue management practices did notinfluenced the percentage of N, P and K content in seedand straw and total uptake. Similarly nitrogen levels of N100

and N125 did not showed any superiority in terms of totaluptake of P and K and soybean seed and straw yield, butthe integrated use of chemical fertilizer and Farm Yard

Manure (N50 + N50 FYM) resulted significantly higher thannitrogen level of N75.

REFERENCESChuahan, S., Sheoran, P., Singh, M. and Kumar, M. (2005) Nutrient

uptake and yield of soybean as influenced by nitrogen andphosphorus fertilization. Haryana J. Agron. 21: 190-191.

Khelkar, P. M., Jadhao, S. L., Shinde, V. U. and Malvi, S. D. (1991)Response of soybean (Glycine max) varieties, plant densitiesand fertilization. Indian J. Agron. 36: 414-415.

Patel, S. R. and Chandravanshi, B. R. (1996) Nitrogen andphosphorus nutrition of soybean (Glycine max) grown invertisol. Indian J. Agron. 41: 601-603.

Sharma, R. A. and Gupta, R. K. (1992) Response of rainfed soybean(Glycine max)-safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) sequenceto nitrogen and sulphur fertilization in Vertisols. Indian J. Agric.Sci. 62: 529-534.

Singh, S. P. and Bansal, K. N. (2000) Response of soybean (Glycinemax) to nitrogen, its application time and sulphur. Indian J.Agric. Sci. 70: 34-36.

Singh, S. P., Bansal, K. N. and Nepalia, V. (2001) Effect of nitrogen,its application time and sulphur on yield and quality of soybean(Glycine max). Indian J. Agron. 46: 141-144.

Received 4 February, 2011; Accepted 8 November, 2011

Yield and Nutrient Uptake in Soyabean

Wheat is the most important winter cereal crop of thecountry and cultivated on an area of 27.2 mha with an annualproduction of 74.9 mt at an average yield of 2.8 t ha-1 (Anon.,

2008). It has been projected that to feed 1.3 billionpopulation and diversified uses, India will have to produceat least 109 million tones of wheat by 2020 AD, which might

be possible through elevating the productivity up to 4 t ha-1

(Kulhari et al., 2003). The grain yield and quality areinfluenced by seed rate, time of planting and appropriate

planting methods along with nutrient management,irrigation, etc. Optimum seed rate is essential formaintaining plant population, which plays an important role

in increasing productivity and improving quality. Low plantpopulation per unit area is one of the major constraints forlow yield. Optimum plant number per unit area of a crop

varies with seed size, genotype, sowing time and season(Pandey and Prakash, 2003). The seed rate requirementalso varies with planting method. Sowing time is one of the

most important management factor involved in obtaininghigher yield. Timely sowing of wheat crop generally improvesthe yield and quality parameters like protein content. Under

late sowing situations, wheat yield is adversely affecteddue to low temperature during germination, causing delayedemergence and during early crop establishment period

resulting in slow growth and its exposure to highertemperature during reproduction phase reduces the periodof grain filling. However, the protein content, ß-carotene

content and sedimentation value is significantly higher inlate sown crop as compared to timely sown crop (Singhand Jain, 2000). This improvement is mainly an account of

shrivelling of grains due to improper filling, leading to thehigher proportion of browny layers. Yellow berry wasnegatively correlated with seed protein and higher in early

sown crop as compared to late sown crop. The selection ofsuitable method of sowing may also be important for theplacement of seed at proper depth, which ensures better

emergence and subsequent crop growth. Furrow irrigatedraised bed system (FIRBS) is a recently introduced conceptin wheat sowing to obtain better crop performance. In bed

Sowing Time, Seed Rate and Planting Method Effect on NitrogenUptake and Quality of Bread Wheat

Balkaran Singh, R.S. Uppal and R.P. Singh1

Deptt. of Agronomy, 1Deptt. of Plant Breeding and GeneticsPunjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India


sowing, the planted area does not come in direct contactwith irrigation water. Since the wetted surface area in bedsowing is less in comparison to conventional flat sowing,

the water requirement for irrigation is also less, therefore,keeping above points in view the present investigation wascarried out to study the N-uptake and quality characteristics

of wheat under different seed rate, sowing time and plantingmethods.

The field experiment was conducted during rabi season2008-09 at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana on sandyloam soil, low in available N (133 kg ha-1) and medium inavailable P (14 kg ha-1) and K (227.5 kg ha-1) with pH-8.0.The experiment was replicated thrice in split plot designwith three sowing time viz., 25th October, 5th November and15th November and two planting methods viz., bed plantingand flat sowing as main plot treatments while sub-plottreatments consisted of four seed rates (87.5, 100, 112.5and 125 kg ha-1). The crop received a uniform dose ofnutrients @ 125 kg N, 62.5 kg P2O5 and 30 kg K2O ha-1

through urea, single super phosphate and muriate ofpotash, respectively. Half of the nitrogen and full dose ofphosphorus and potash were applied as basal dose at thetime of sowing. The remaining nitrogen was applied afterfirst irrigation at crown-root initiation. The crop received sixirrigations at different growing stages. To check the weedgrowth, one hand hoeing was followed after first irrigation.Clodinafop 15 WP and 2,4-D were applied to control thegrowth of grassy and broad leaf weeds, respectively. Rogor30 EC (dimethoate) was applied to control aphids at grainfilling stage. Propaconazole 25 EC was applied at milk stageto check the infestation of head scab. The crop sown on25th October took 141 days to maturity as compared to 147and 145 days for the 5th and 15th November sowingrespectively. The yield was recorded at maturity and qualityparameters like grains appearance score, grain hardness,test weight, protein content, yellow berry content,sedimentation value and beta carotene contents wereanalyzed in the laboratory using standard methods. Thegrain appearance score was determined subjectively by


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visual observation on the merits of luster, color, shape andsize. Grains of each sample on the basis of these features

were graded on a scale 1-10. For grain, hardiness tester(OSK 8055, OGAWA SEIKI CO, LTD Tokyo Japan) was used.Test weight was determined using the apparatus developed

by Directorate of Wheat Research, Karnal, India. Proteincontent in grains was determined using, “Infratec 1241(FOSS)” near infrared transmittance grain analyzer. The SDS

sedimentation value of the wheat whole meal samples wasdetermined using the method of Axford et al. (1979). Yellowberry grains were separated manually and weighed. The

separated yellow berry grain weight was converted intopercentage by weight. Saturated butanol was used to extractthe B-carotene pigment. The data generated was

statistically analyzed.

The crop sown on 15th November producedsignificantly higher grain and straw yield but was statistically

at par with the crop sown on 5th November than sowing on25th October. This might be due to the more number of daystaken to maturity i.e., 147 and 145 for 5th and 15th November

sowing, respectively as compared to141 days for crop sownon 25th October. The early sown crop received mean hightemperature at early growth stage as compared to optimum

temperature for normal date of sowing. Due to this the cropwere able to synthesis more of the photosynthates andthereby increased the yield. Sowing time significantly

influenced the nitrogen uptake and quality parameters ofwheat. The nitrogen uptake by the grains was significantlyhigher when the crop was sown on 15th November which

was statistically at par with the crop sown on 5th Novemberand than the 25th October sown crop. The nitrogen uptake

by the straw and total nitrogen uptake of wheat crop as awhole were also significantly higher in the crop sown on15th November as compared to the crop sown on 25th

October and 5th November. This was due to the higher grainand straw yield (Table 1). The crop sown on 15th Novemberalso had maximum protein content in its grains, which was

statistically at par with that of crop sown on 5th Novemberand significantly higher than the crop sown on 25th October

due to the more nitrogen content in the grains. The effect of

sowing time was also significant on the grain protein

harvest. However, the wheat crop sown on 15th November

gave significantly higher protein harvest in grains than that

sown on 5th November and the crop sown 25th October.

The protein harvested in grains was significantly higher due

to significantly higher grain yield and protein content

(Table 1) observed for the 15th November crop as compared

to other sowing dates. Bangarwa and Ahlawat (1996) and

Kumar and Kumar (1997) also reported that the protein

content had the highest additive environmental effect in 15th

November and lowest in sowing of 1st November sown crop.

The incidence of yellow berry was significantly higher in the

crop sown on 25th October as compared to crop sown on 5th

November and 15th November. Yellow berry is negatively

correlated with protein content of grains. The higher yellow

berry in early sowing date of 25th October might be due tothe lower protein content in grains (Table 1). Sharma et al.(1999) also reported that the incidence of yellow berry

Table 1. Effect of sowing time, planting method and seed rate on nitrogen concentration, uptake and protein content in grain and strawof bread wheat

Treatment Grain yield Straw yield Nitrogen uptake N uptake Protein Protein

(q ha-1) (q ha-1) (kg ha-1) (total) content harvested

Grains Straw (kg ha-1) (%) (q ha-1)

Sowing time

25th October 47.02 52.27 83.89 27.85 111.74 11.24 5.28

5th November 55.60 61.52 101.67 32.61 136.27 11.51 6.41

15th November 56.51 62.76 104.83 35.27 140.10 11.68 6.60

CD (P=0.05) 1.72 2.40 3.16 1.35 4.32 0.28 0.20

Planting Method

Bed Planting 53.31 58.87 97.23 32.21 130.44 11.47 6.12

Flat sowing 52.77 58.82 96.36 31.94 128.30 11.49 6.07

CD (P=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS NS NS

Seed rate (kg/ha)

87.5 51.17 56.69 93.15 29.82 122.97 11.46 5.87

100 52.16 57.51 94.92 30.96 125.88 11.44 5.98

112.5 54.38 60.47 99.49 34.42 133.91 11.50 6.27

125 54.46 60.72 99.61 35.11 134.72 11.51 6.27

CD (P=0.05) 1.09 NS 1.98 0.72 2.51 NS 0.18

Nitrogen Uptake and Quality of Bread Wheat

162

decreased significantly with successive delay in sowing,whereas, the sedimentation value increased with delay in

sowing. Sowing time did not produce any significant effecton test weight, grain hardness and beta-carotene contentof wheat grains.

The planting method did not differ significantly inrespect of grain yield, straw yield, nitrogen uptake, proteincontent and quality parameters of wheat.

Significantly higher grain yield was recorded with 125and 112.5 kg seed rate ha-1 from 87.5 and 100 kg seedha-1. The straw yield of wheat crop was not significantly

influenced at different levels seed rates. The different seedrate had no significant effect on the protein content in grains,however nitrogen uptake was maximum in the crop sown

with 125 kg seed ha-1 used. This might be due to highergrain and straw yield due to the higher population underhigher seed rate. The total protein harvested in grains

increased with increase in seed rate from 87.5 kg seedha-1 to 125 kg seed ha-1 and maximum protein was harvestedin grains with 112.5 and 125 kg seed ha-1, which was

significantly higher than 100 kg seed ha-1 and 87.5 kg seedha-1. The protein harvested in grains was significantly higherdue to significantly higher grain yield in higher seed rate.

The different seed rates did not influence significantly onthe test weight, sedimentation value, yellow berry content,grain hardness and beta carotene. The result confirms the

findings of Pandey et al. (2004).

Thus, it was concluded that grain yield, straw yield,nitrogen uptake and protein content in the grains were

Table 2. Effect of sowing time, planting method and seed rate on quality parameters of bread wheat

Treatment Test weight Grain hardness SDS-sedimentation Yellow pigment Yellow berry

(kg hectolitre-1) (kg) value (cc) content (ppm) (%)

Sowing time

25 October 76.08 12.38 43.50 3.83 33.24

5 November 76.64 12.57 45.68 3.95 28.94

15 November 76.74 12.56 47.59 3.98 27.73

CD (P=0.05) NS NS 2.22 NS 0.40

Planting Method

Bed Planting 76.45 12.39 45.72 3.89 29.98

Flat sowing 76.52 12.62 45.45 3.95 29.96

CD (P=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS

Seed rate (kg/ha)

87.5 76.34 12.19 45.35 3.87 29.94

100 76.46 12.37 46.35 3.94 30.24

112.5 76.49 12.64 45.30 3.97 2958

125 76.65 12.81 45.35 3.89 30.10

CD (P=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS

maximum at 15th November sowing, which was statisticallyat par with sowing time of 5th November. Among different

seed rates, the maximum grain yield and nitrogen uptakeof wheat was obtained with 125 kg ha-1, which wasstatistically at par with 112.5 kg seed ha-1 and significantly

higher than 87.5 and 100 kg seed rate.

REFERENCESAACC (1990) Approval methods, Association of cereals chemists,

ST. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Anonymous (2008) Website: http// www.indiastat.com

Axford, D. W. E., McDEnmott, E. E. and Radman, D. G. (1979) Noteon sodium dodecyl sulphate test of bread making qualitycomparision with Pelshenke and Zeleny Test. Cereal Chem.56(6): 582-584.

Bangarwa, K. S. and Ahlawat, T. R. (1996) Effect of date of sowingon grain yield and quality in macaroni wheat. Annals of Agri.Bio. Res. 1(1-2):73-74.

Kulhari, S. C., Sharma, S. L. and Kantwa, S. R. (2003) Effect ofvarieties, sowing dates and nitrogen levels on yield, nutrientuptake and quality of durum wheat. Ann. Agric. Res. 24(2):332-336.

Kumar, R. and Kumar, S. (1997) Effect of time of sowing and nitrogenapplication on marcaroni wheat for yield and some qualityparameters in sandy loam soil of Haryana. Indian J. Agric.Sci. 67(11): 543-544.

Kumar, R., Nanwal, R. K. and Agarwal, S. K. (2006) NPK contentand uptake as affected by planting systems, seed rates and Nlevels in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Haryana Agric. Univ.J. Res. 36: 93-96.

Pandey, A. K. and Prakash, V. (2003) Response of wheat varietiesto seed rates under rainfed condition. Ann. Agric. Res. 24(3):567-569.

Balkaran Singh, R.S. Uppal and R.P. Singh

163

Pandey, I. B., Bharati, V., Bharati, R. C. and Mishra, S. S. (2004)Effect of fertilizer levels and seed rates on growth and yieldof surface-seeded wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under lowlandrice ecosystem of north Bihar. Indian J. Agron. 49(1): 43-45.

Sharma, S. K., Sardana, V. and Randhawa, A. S. (1999) Effect oftime of sowing and levels of the NPK fertilizers on the grainyield and yellow berry incidence in duram wheat. J. Res.

Punjab Agric. Univ. 36(1-2): 9-13.

Singh, N. B. and Ahmad, Z. (1997) Response of wheat (Triticumaestivum) varities to different dates of sowing. Indian J. Agric.Sci. 67(5): 208-211.

Singh, A. K. and Jain, G. L. (2000) Effect of sowing time, irrigationand nitrogen on grain yield and quality of duram wheat. IndianJ. Agric. Sci. 70(8): 532-533.

Received 7 January, 2011; Accepted 17 November, 2011

Nitrogen Uptake and Quality of Bread Wheat

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most importantcrop grown in Asia under varying hydrological conditions. It

has gained popularity because of food habit, its high yieldpotential as well as assured procurement at minimumsupport price by the Government. In Punjab, rice is a major

kharif crop cultivated on an area about 2.8 million hectareswith total production of 10.8 million tonnes (Anon., 2012).Rice seedlings are transplanted after puddling and this

operation requires large amount of irrigation water. Beforethe start of rice cultivation on large scale i.e., during 1960’s,the underground water level of Punjab state was very

shallow and with the increase in cropping intensity/continuous cultivation of puddled transplanted rice, watertable has declined drastically. It is estimated that in majorrice growing areas of the state, the ground water is declining

at the rate of 0.23 meter per year (Gupta et al., 1995) causingserious concern and raising doubt about the futuresustainability of rice-based system in the state. Therefore,

need has acutely been felt to develop technically viable andeconomically feasible alternate technique for growing ricein this area.

Already, various resource conservation technologies

for rice have been developed and used in Indo-Gangetic

plains. Direct seeding of rice under unpuddled conditions

is one such technique for better water use efficiency (Mann

et al., 2004), labour and cost-effective (Pandey and Velasco,

1999). It matures earlier (7-10 days) than the transplanted

rice due to absence of transplanting shock (Dhyani et al.,2005) and allows timely planting of succeeding wheat crop.

Direct seeded rice accounts for 36 per cent of the total rice

cultivated area in India (Nageshwari and Subhramaniyan,

2004). The direct seeded rice (DSR) was initiated on

approximately 500 acres of field located in 13 districts of

Punjab, which would be expanded up to 20,000 acres in

five districts of Punjab in the next 3 to 5 years. It is now fast

replacing traditional transplanted rice areas with good

drainage and weed control (Balasubhramanian and Hill,

2000). The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of

date of sowing and varieties on growth and crop yield of

direct seeded rice.

Performance of Direct Seeded Rice as Influenced by Variety andDate of Sowing

U. S. Walia*, S. S. Walia and Shelly NayyarDepartment of Agronomy,Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India


A field study was conducted during Kharif 2006 and2007 on loamy sand soil, which was low in available N and

medium in available P and K on the experimental farm ofPAU, Ludhiana. Experiment was laid out in split plot designby keeping two varieties of rice (PR115 and PR116) in the

main blocks. Four date of sowings i.e., 8, 15, 23 and 30June during the respective years, were in the sub-plots.These treatments were compared with conventional practice

of transplanting during both years. A seed rate of 40 kg ha-1

was used in all the direct seeding treatments. Sowing ofdirect seeded rice was done manually in the dry conditions

and the seed was hand drilled by keeping row to rowspacing of 20 cm. Light irrigation was applied immediatelyafter sowing and later on irrigations were applied at an

interval of 3-4 days. Pre-emergence application ofpendimethalin at 0.75 kg ha-1 was made within 2 days ofsowing and besides the application of herbicides, two hand

weeding were also given to keep the crop free from weeds.The direct seeded crop received 150 kg N ha-1 in three splits,i.e., during third, sixth and ninth week after sowing, whereas

transplanted crop was supplied with 120 kg N ha-1 in threesplits, i.e., 1/3rd each at transplanting, third and sixth weekafter transplanting. Fifty kg zinc sulphate ha-1 was also

applied at sowing.

The plots to be puddled were surrounded by bunds of15 cm height and flooded with 5–7 cm of water. The plots

were kept moist for the 15 days with light irrigation atalternate day intervals and thereafter, irrigation was applied3 days after the ponded water infiltrated in the plots. The

irrigation was continued till 15 days before the harvesting ofcrop. The irrigations were stopped during rains and furthercontinued at 3 days interval.

Plant height recorded up to the base of flag leaf of twovarieties was found to be similar (Table 1). The crop raisedby transplanting rice seedlings technique recorded

significantly higher plant height as compared to directseeded crop sown on 23rd June and 30th June. However,plant height of transplanted crop was at par with the crop

sown on 8th June and 15 June. The differences in numberof effective tillers m-2 recorded at harvest were found to be


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non-significant during 2006, however, during 2007, PR 115produced significantly higher tillers m-2. During 2006, crop

sown on 23rd June recorded significantly lower effectivetillers m-2 as compared to transplanted and direct seededrice sown on 8th June. During 2007, crop sown on 23rd

June and 30th June recorded significantly lower effectivetillers m-2 than the transplanting and direct-sown rice on 8thand 15th June. The lower effective tillers m-2 in direct seeded

rice sown on 23rd and 30th June during 2007 were due tosevere attack of stem borer in these treatments.

Panicle length of PR 115 and PR 116 was similar during

both the years of study (Table 2). Panicle length of the cropsown on 23rd and 30th June was found to be significantlylower than the crop sown on 8th and 15th June and

transplanting treatments. Direct sowing of rice on 8th and15th June yielded at par with conventional puddled

transplanted rice (Table 2). Late sowing of direct-seeded

rice (23rd and 30th June) resulted in significantly lower grain

yield as compared to transplanted rice. There was drastic

reduction in yield with delayed sowing during 2007, which

may be due to severe attack of stem borer on these plots.

Lower yields of direct-seeded rice sown on 23rd and 30th

June were due to less number of effective tillers and smaller

panicle length as compared to other treatments. On an

average of two years, transplanted and direct seeded rice

sown on 8th, 15th and 23rd June recorded 121, 108, 90

and 28 per cent higher yield, respectively, than direct seeded

rice sown on 30th June. Gill et al. (2006) observed that the

crop sown on 1st June gave grain yield at par with 10th

June and significantly higher by a margin of 9.4 q ha-1 than

20th June sown crop. All interaction effects were found non-

significant.

Table 2. Panicle length and grain yield of rice as influenced by variety and date of sowing

Treatment Panicle length (cm) Grain yield (q ha-1)

2006 2007 2006 2007

Varieties

PR 115 25.4 25.6 41.94 42.25

PR 116 24.1 23.6 38.75 35.91

LSD (P= 0.05%) NS NS NS NS

Sowing time

Direct Sowing on 8th June 27.1 27.4 44.09 53.61


Direct Sowing on 23rd June 21.5 22.3 35.80 24.04


Transplanting 4th July 28.4 28.1 47.53 55.93

CD (P = 0.05) 2.6 2.3 6.19 9.41

Table 1. Plant height and effective tillers of rice as influenced by variety and date of sowing

Treatment Plant height (cm) Effective tillers m-2

2006 2007 2006 2007

Varieties

PR 115 57.2 56.2 310.5 243.0

PR 116 56.8 53.4 301.5 217.5

LSD (P= 0.05%) NS NS NS 14.1

Sowing time



Direct Sowing on 23rd June 55.6 45.9 291.0 102.5


Transplanting 4th July 61.0 62.6 306.4 324.0

CD (P = 0.05) 5.1 4.1 14.6 52.0

Varietal and Date of Sowing Response on Direct Seeded Rice

166

REFERENCESAnonymous (2012) Package and Practices for Kharif crops of

Punjab. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Balasubramanian, V. and Hill, J. (2000) Direct wet seeding of rice inAsia: Emerging issues and strategic research needs for the21st Century. Paper presented at Annual Workshop of theDirectorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

Dhyani, V. C., Singh V.P. and Singh, G. (2005) Response of ricecrop establishment and weed management. Indian J. WeedSci. 37: 260-262.

Gill, M. S., Kumar, A. and Kumar, P. (2006) Growth and yield of rice(Oryza sativa) cultivars under various methods and time ofsowing. Indian J. Agron. 51: 123-127.

Gupta, R. D., Mahajan, G. and Goyal, B. R. (1995) Availability andquality of ground water in Punjab state. In: Water Management.Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India, pp 18-42.

Nageshwari, R. and Subhramaniayan, B. (2004) Influence of delayedbasal dressing and split application of nitrogen in wet-seededrice (Oryza sativa). Indian J. Agron. 49: 40-42.

Mann, R.A., Munir, M. and Haqqani, A.M. (2004) Effect of resourceconserving techniques on crop productivity in rice–wheatcropping system. Pak. J. Agric. Res. 18: 58.

Pandey, S. and Velasco, L. (1999) Economics of direct seedling inAsia: Patterns of adoption and research priorities. Int. RiceRes. Newslett. 24: 6–11.

Received 4 July, 2011; Accepted 5 April, 2012

U. S. Walia, S. S. Walia and Shelly Nayyar

167

Physiological maturity (PM) of the seeds is the stage at

which the seeds attain its maximum dry weight and

represents maximum viability and vigour of the seed. The

change that occurs in the seeds beyond PM is mainly due

to dehydration without any accumulation of reserves. During

this period of dehydration, there is no change in the seed

quality in some of the crops. But in others maximum seed

quality in terms of germination is attained some times

beyond PM. So optimum time of harvest is very important.

This necessitates accurate and precise determination of

physiological maturity of the crop for the harvest of high

quality seeds. Harvesting the seeds at optimum fruit

maturity immensely declines the loss of the seed due to

germination and vigour. Since the fruit colour serves as

effective visual morphological index for physiological

maturity therefore it was correlated with the seed quality.

Further there are reports of dormancy in summer squash

which is more pronounced at lower temperature and being

altered at high temperature. Cucurbits are warm climate

crops which are both cold weather and frost sensitive and

most of them require relatively high temperatures for

germination (Nerson, 2007). Minimum and maximum

germination temperatures have been reported from 15 and

45°C, respectively, with large differences among cultivars

(Singh, 1991). Thus, objective of the study was to investigate

the effects of fruit colour at the time of seed extraction,

different germination temperatures and fruit storage on

germination and various vigour parameters of Cucurbitapepo L. seeds and to provide some practical suggestions.

The experiment was conducted at the experimentalarea of Seed Technology Center, PAU, Ludhiana. The cropwas sown during the first week of March 2010. At the time of

harvesting, the fruits were classified into three categoriesi.e., light yellow, deep yellow and deep orange. The seedsthus extracted were subjected to analysis of seed quality

parameters viz., percentage germination (Anon., 1996),fresh and dry weight of seedlings, root length, shoot length,vigour index I and II (Abdul Baki and Anderson,1973) and

100 seed weight. The germination tests were conducted

Effect of Fruit Maturity and Temperature on Seed Germination inSummer Squash (Cucurbita pepo L.)

Namarta Gupta*, S.S. Bal1 and H.S. Randhawa1

Seed Technology Center, 1Directorate of Seeds,Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India


using three replications of 50 seeds in each using roll towelpaper method. The germination was recorded on 8th daysper ISTA methods (Anon.,1996). The vigour index I

(percentage germination x seedling length) and vigour indexII ( percentage germination x dry weight of seedlings) werecomputed adopting the method of Abdul–Baki and Anderson

(1973).

In the present study, the significant differences wereobserved among the different harvest stages with respect

to seed quality parameters. All the quality parameters likepercent germination, fresh and dry weight of seedlings, rootlength, shoot length, vigour index I and II and 100 seed

weight increased as the stage of harvesting advances. Theseeds obtained from earlier stages were immature, poorand under developed which is evident from lower 100 seed

weight (4.03g in light yellow, 3.08g in orange yellow). As thefruit weight increased with the maturity stage (from 2.01 inlight yellow, 3.08 in orange yellow to 3.57g in deep orange),

the 100 seed weight also increased from 2.02 in light yellowand 3.08 in orange yellow to 7.14g in deep orange. Thehigher 100 seed weight at deep orange stage could be due

to further accumulation of photosynthates in the seed.

The deep orange coloured fruits recorded maximumpercent germination, fresh weight and dry weight of the

seedlings as compared to the fruits harvested at earlierstages. The seeds extracted from fruits from light yellowcolour had germination less than 50 per cent germination

(Table 1). However, when seeds were extracted from fruitsripened to orange yellow colour, their germination increasedto 77.5 per cent. Seeds from deep orange coloured fruits

achieved the maximum germination of 92.5 per cent. Thefresh and dry weight of the seedlings was maximum atdeep orange. Similarly the higher vigour index of the

seedling at deep orange stage indicated that seedpossesses maximum dry weight (0.041 g in deep orangeas compared to 0.025 g and 0.034 g ) and vigour (Vigour

Index II 18.96 at deep orange as compared to 13.33 and6.51 at earlier stages) at the stage of physiological maturity.However in some of the crops PM occurs a little before the


of Ecology

168

harvest maturity as in capsicum (Naik et al., 1996; Alan andEser, 2008) and is correlated to high respiration rate andphotosynthetic partitioning at the time of seed maturity. When

the fruits were stored for a few weeks, they showed declinedpercentage germination due to the development of microflora on the pulp of fruit and even the seeds. This was

attributed to the reason that harvesting period of the seedcrop (end June and July) coincides with the arrival of hotand humid monsoons which result in the development of

the inoculums.

When the seed germination was tested at two different

temperatures, the per cent germination was more at all the

three stages (being 52.5 in light yellow, 77.5 in orange yellow

to 92.5 in deep orange) at 280C as compared to the

germination per cent at 220C (being 4..05 in light yellow,

62.5 in orange yellow to 67.5 in deep orange). This is

attributed to the optimum temperature for the activation of

biochemical reactions in the cell and activation of the

enzymes needed for the germination process. Our findings

are in accordance with the findings of Milani et al. (2007)

that optimum germination temperatures range from 20 to

32°C while 15 and 38°C are the minimum and maximum

germination temperatures, respectively.

Thus, from the study, it can be concluded that fruit ofdeep orange colour in summer squash (PCK-1) may beharvested for wet seed extraction, surface dried to have

best quality seeds. The fruits should not be stored for seedextraction for days or weeks. The seeds show highergermination per cent at 280C.

REFERENCESAbdul-Baki, A.A. and Anderson, J.D. (1973) Vigour determination in

soybean by multiple criteria. Crop Sci. 13: 630-633.

Alan, O. and Eser, B. (2008) The effect of fruit maturity and post-harvest ripening on seed quality in hot and chronic peppercultivars. Seed Sci. Tech. 36: 467-474.

Anonymous (1996) International rules for seed testing (ISTA): rules.Seed Sci. Tech. 24 Suppl.: 29-356

Milani, E., Seyed, M., Razavi, A., Koocheki, A,, Nikzadeh, V., Vahedi,N., MoeinFard, M. and Gholamhossein Pour, A. (2007) Moisturedependent physical properties of cucurbit seeds. Int.Agrophys. 21: 157-168.

Naik, L.B., Hebber, S.S. and Doijode, S.D. (1996) Effect of fruitmaturity on seed quality in capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.).Seed Res. 24: 154-155.

Nerson, H. (2007) Seed production and germinability of cucurbitcrops. Seed Sci Biotechnol. 1: 1-10.

Singh, D.K. (1991) Effect of temperature on seed germinability ofMomordica charantia cultivars. New Agriculturist 2: 23-26.

Table 1. Effect of different maturity stages of fruits and temperature on seed quality parameters in summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L)

Fruit Maturity % Shoot Root Seedling Fresh Dry Vigour Vigour

Stage Germination length length length weight weight index index

(cm) (cm) (cm) (g) (g) I II

Temperature (28°C)

Deep orange 92.5 25 20 45 1.11 0.041 4162.5 18.96

orange yellow 77.5 22 19 41 0.861 0.034 3177.5 13.33

Light yellow 52.5 20 16 36 0.697 0.025 1890.0 6.51

Temperature 22°C

Deep orange 67.5 20 17 37 0.973 0.035 2497.5 11.81

Orange yellow 62.5 18 14 32 0.816 0.033 2000.0 10.31

Light yellow 45.0 15 14 29 0.665 0.025 1305.0 5.54

Received 5 July, 2011; Accepted 4 March, 2012

Namarta Gupta, S.S. Bal and H.S. Randhawa

Wheat, being the most important cereal crop is of greatsignificance in agriculture for triggering green revolution

and will also play a vital role in stabilizing national foodsupply in coming decades. Phosphorus is the backbone ofany fertilizer management programme and plays a key role

in energy related activities and development of root system(Mehta et al., 2005). Zinc has been rated as the fifth mostimportant plant nutrient ranking behind nitrogen,

phosphorus, potassium and sulphur. Zinc plays animportant role in sustaining yield and quality of crops andis removed by crops in large quantities. The need for

applying micronutrient fertilizers to soils of Punjab was firstfelt with the appearance of zinc deficiency in rice and wheat.The adoption of intensive agriculture in irrigated areas

involving cultivation of high yielding crop cultivars, use of

high analysis macronutrient fertilizers, decreased use of

organic manures and crop residues resulted in depletion

of micronutrient reserves in soils due to bumper crop

harvests. The deficiency of zinc is mainly associated with

soils having coarse texture, high pH, low organic matter

content and high calcium carbonate content in the soils

(Takkar et al.,1999).The efficiency of applied P rarely exceeds

30 per cent and that of Zn more than 10 per cent in the soil

(Nayyar et al., 1990).Therefore, repeated application of

phosphorus over the years leads to its build up and

interactions in soil and/or plants affecting crop production.

However, both P and Zn deficiencies occur simultaneously

as compared to other nutrients in Indian soils. Hence, it

may be worthwhile to apply P and Zn together, which may

boost up the use efficiency of both the nutrients. In India,

zinc enriched diammonium phosphate and nitro-

phosphorus fertilizers have also been found to be effective

in rectifying zinc deficiency in crops (Savithri et al. 1999).

The information on Zn and P relationship in an important

crop like wheat is not adequate, especially in situations

where both the interacting nutrients (P and Zn) are deficientin soil. Keeping the above facts in view the presentinvestigation was carried out for two years to study the effect

Evaluation of N, P, Zn Complex Fertilizer for its Efficiency usingWheat as Test Crop in Indo–Gangetic Alluvial Soils of Northwestern

India

B.S. Brar, D.S. Benipal* and Jagdeep SinghDepartment of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India


of soil application of different levels of phosphorus and zincon their uptake, response and yield of wheat.

A field experiment was conducted at PAU, ResearchFarm on wheat for two years in rice-wheat cropping systemusing wheat as test crop situated 30O 54’ N latitude 750 46’E

longitude at 280 m above mean sea level. The soils at PAUResearch farm were loamy sand, non-calcareous, TypicUstochrepts. The pH of the field under investigation was

8.2, the electrical conductivity (EC) of the field was 0.22 dSm-1 and the field was poor in organic carbon (3.2 g kg-1) asdetermined by standard methods. The soil tested low in

available P (11.5 kg ha-1) determined by the method givenby Olsen et al. (1954) and in available Zinc (0.50 ppm)determined by the method given by Lindsay and Norwell

(1978 ). The treatments included two phosphorus levels P0

and P66 kg P2O5 ha-1 with four Zn levels of 0, 1.8, 5 and 10 kgi.e., ha-1. Zinc was applied through mosaic complex fertilizer

N: P: Zn (10:50:1.5) in some treatments and through zincsulphate in other treatments. The experiment was conductedin randomized block design with three replicates. The grain

and straw yield of the crop were recorded and total uptakeof nutrients were also analyzed. The agronomic efficiency(AE) and nutrient use efficiency (NUE) were computed using

the following formulae:

Grain yield in fertilized plot- Grain yield in controlAE = ——————————————————————(kg grain kg-1 Amount of nutrient appliednutrient applied)

Nutrient uptake in fertilized plot- Nutrient uptake in controlNUE (%) = —————————————————————x 100 Amount of nutrient applied

The grain and straw yield of wheat increasedsignificantly with the application of 60 kg P ha-1, it improvedfurther to the tune of 5.1 and 4.2 q ha-1 when 5 kg zinc was

added through zinc sulphate along with 60 kg P ha-1 overcontrol. The grain and straw yield of wheat for both the yearswere at par when zinc was applied through mosaic zinc


of Ecology

170

complex fertilizer. The grain and straw yield of wheat were

also similar by the application of 1.8 and 5.0 kg Zn ha-1

indicating that 1.8 kg zinc ha-1 is sufficient to meet the croprequirement in terms of increasing yield. (Table 1).In a field

experiment in wheat paddy system Khan et al. (2007) foundthat direct application of 5 and 10 kg zinc ha -1 to paddy gavean increase of 39 and 45 per cent, respectively. With the

application of 60 kg P, the grain and straw yields of wheatfor the years 2004-05 and 2005-06 increased by 27.7 and19.9 per cent over control, which may further increased to

the tune of 42.9 and 26.4 per cent with the application of 5kg zinc along with 60 kg P ha-1. The trends in grain andstraw yield of wheat remained almost same when the dose

of zinc was 1.8 kg ha-1 and it was applied either throughzinc sulphate or through mosaic zinc complex fertilizerindicating that 1.8 kg zinc ha-1 is sufficient for the requirement

of wheat crop and both the sources of zinc were at par inincreasing the wheat crop yields. In alluvial soils of Punjab.Brar et al. (2006) also evaluated this complex fertilizer on

paddy and found that the grain yield of paddy increased

significantly when zinc was applied through N P Zn complexfertilizer either alone or in combination with zinc sulphate.In a six year experiment, the mean response to zinc on a

Fatehpur loamy sand soil was 1.9 q ha-1 (Chandi andTakkar,1982). On moderately alkaline soil, according toTakkar and Randhawa (1978) the response of wheat to the

zinc varied from 8 to 17 q ha-1. In a field experiment, total Nuptake increased significantly with the application of P, itfurther improved with the addition of zinc (130.8 kg ha-1).

Total N uptake was highest in plots where NPZn compexfertilizer was applied (141.7 kg ha-1) and lowest in control.Similar type of trends were observed in total K uptake in the

crops for both the years. The uptake of N and K alsoincreased significantly with the application of P and zincindicating synergistic effect of integrated application of these

nutrients. Total uptake of P increased significantly with theapplication of P, its content improved when 5 kg Zn wasapplied along with P. Increase in P uptake with P application

Table 1. Grain and straw yield of wheat (q ha-1) as affected by levels and sources of P and Zn fertilizers (mean of two years)

Treatments Grain Straw % increase over % increase over

control (grain) control (straw)

P0 Zn0 33.5 57.6 - -

P60 Zn0 42.8 68.6 27.7 19.9

P60 Zn5 47.9 72.8 42.9 26.4

P60 Zn1.8+3.2* 47.6 79.1 42.1 37.3

P60

Zn0(DAP)

44.6 74.2 33.1 28.8

P60 Zn1:8* 47.6 76.9 42.1 33.5

P60 Zn1.8 47.3 76.8 41.2 33.4

P0 Zn5 43.9 75.5 31.0 30.3

P60 Zn10 44.7 71.6 33.4 24.0

P60 Zn1.8+3.2 47.2 78.5 41.0 36.3

CD (0.05) 4.1 6.1

* Applied through 10-50-0-1.5Zn

Table 2. Nutrient uptakes by wheat as affected by levels and sources of P and Zn fertilizers (mean of two years)

Treatments Total nutrient uptake (kg ha-1) (g ha-1)

N P K Zn

P0 Zn0 80.6 13.4 69.0 177.0

P60 Zn0 107.6 17.6 75.6 228.1

P60 Zn5 130.8 21.3 98.2 293.9

P60 Zn1.8+3.2* 141.7 22.5 122.0 323.8

P60 Zn0(DAP) 122.5 21.5 99.0 244.9

P60 Zn1:8* 131.7 19.3 113.8 281.7

P60 Zn1.8 115.0 21.2 106.4 275.7

P0 Zn5 110.3 17.5 96.4 242.3

P60 Zn10 139.8 18.0 97.7 259.3

P60 Zn1.8+3.2 128.4 22.6 116.4 223.9

CD (0.05) 15.8 2.7 13.4 38.2

B.S. Brar, D.S. Benipal and Jagdeep Singh

171

Table 3. Agronomic efficiency and apparent recoveries of phosphorus and zinc by wheat (mean of two years)

Treatments Agronomic efficiency Apparent P Agronomic efficiency Apparent Zn

for P (kg grain recovery (%) for Zn (g grain kg-1 recovery (%)

kg-1 P applied) Zn applied)

P0 Zn0 - - - -

P60 Zn0 44.8 24.1 - -

P60 Zn5 22.7 16.4 57.3 5.1

P60

Zn1.8+3.2*

23.5 19.3 61.3 5.6

P60 Zn1.8* 19.0 17.6 69.4 13.3

P60 Zn0 (DAP) 39.2 22.1 - -

P60 Zn1.8 17.0 15.8 59.8 4.8

P60 Zn1.8+3.2 21.8 17.3 58.2 11.6

has also been observed by Setia (2002). The contents oftotal P uptake in grain and straw of wheat were almostsimilar when the Zn was applied either through

heptahydrate or mosaic zinc complex fertilizer. The increasein P uptake was insignificant when the dose of zinc wasenhanced from 1.8 to 5.0 kg Zn ha-1. Total uptake of zinc

also increased significantly with the application of zinc atboth the levels i.e., 1.8 and 5.0 kg Zn ha-1. Total zinc uptakewas minimum in control (177.0 g ha-1) and maximum in

plots where mosaic zinc complex fertilizer was added (323.8g ha-1). When both the levels of zinc (1.8 and 5.0 kg zinc kgha-1) were compared, increase in total uptake of zinc wasinsignificant. The agronomic efficiency of P over control was

41.8 kg grain kg-1 P applied and it reduced with the applicationof zinc, similar trends were observed in apparent recoveryof P (Table 3). Value of agronomic efficiency of applied zinc

was highest (69.4 g grain kg-1 zinc) at its lower level ofapplication in mosaic zinc complex fertilizer treated plotsfollowed by zinc sulphate ( 59.8 g grain kg-1 zinc) treated

plots.

So from the present investigation it is concluded thatthe fields deficient in P and Zn, the N, P, Zn complex fertilizer

can be used for obtaining higher crop yields.

REFERENCESBrar,B.S., Benipal, D.S., Singh, Jagdeep and Mavi,M.S. (2006)

Evaluation of NPZn complex fertilizer for its efficiency usingrice as test crop in an alluvial soil of Punjab. Environ. Ecol.

24(S): 389-392.

Chandi,K.S. and Takkar,P.N. (1982) Effect of agricultural system onmicronutrient transformation. Pl. Soil. 69 :423-436.

Khan, R., Gurmani, A.R., Khan, M.S. and Gurmani, A.H. (2007) Effectof zinc application on rice yield under wheat rice system. Pak.J. Biol. Sci.10:235-239.

Lindsay,W.L. and Norwell, W.A. (1978) Development of DTPA soiltest for zinc, iron, manganese and copper. Soil Sci. Soc.Am.J.42:421-428.

Mehta,Y.K., Shaktawat, M.S. and Singhi,S.M. (2005) Influence of S,phosphorus and farmyard manure on yield attributes and yieldsof maize (Zea mays) in Southern Rajasthan conditions. IndianJ. Agron. 50 (3):203-205.

Nayyar, V.K.,Takkar, P.N., Bansal, R.L., Singh, S.P., Kaur, N.P. andSadana, U.S. (1990) Micronutrients in soils and crops of Punjab.Res. Bull. Depaprtment of Soils. Punjab Agric. Univ. Ludhiana,India, pp. 148.

Olsen, S.R., Cole, C. V., Watanabe, F.S. and Dean, L.A. (1954)Estimation of available P by extraction with sodium bicarbonate.USDA Circ 939.

Takkar, P.N. and Randhawa, N.S. (1978) Micronutrients in Indianagriculture. Fert. News 23: 3-26.

Takkar, P.N., Chhibba, I. M. and Mehta, S. K. (1999) Twenty years ofcoordinated research on micronutrients in soils and plants.Bull. I. Indian Inst. Soil Sci., Bhopal, India, pp. 314.

Savithri, P., Perumal, R. and Nagarajan, R. (1999) Soil and cropmanagement technologies for enhancing rice production undermicronutrient constraints. Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosys. 53:83-92.

Setia, R.K. (2002) Chemical pools of nutrients and their dynamics insoils under continuous maize-wheat system. M.Sc. Thesis,Punjab Agric. Univ., Ludhiana.

Evaluation of N, P, Zn Complex Fertilizer

Received 20 June, 2011; Accepted 4 January, 2012

Sprouting broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica Plank)

is the most important winter vegetables in India, whichbelongs to family Brassicaceae. It is herbaceous annualvegetable grown for its green tender curd and biennial for

seed production. United States of America is the largestproducer of broccoli in the world. In recent year, cultivationof broccoli has gained momentum in India. The progressive

use of fertilizers along with inorganic fertilizers may be theright answer to increase the productivity. The bio-fertilizersdenote all the nutrient inputs of biological origin for plant

growth. They possess unique ability to enhance productivityby biological nitrogen fixation and solublization of insolublephosphate or producing hormones, vitamins or other growth

factors required for plant growth. In recent years, uses ofmicrobial inoculants as source of bio-fertilizers havebecome a hope for most of the countries as far as

economical as well as environmental concerns. Therefore,in developing countries like India, it can solve the problemat high cost of fertilizer and help in saving the economy of

the country. The present study aimed to assess theperformance of broccoli under inorganic chemical and bio-fertilizers conditions.

The field experiment effect of bio-fertilizers withchemical fertilizers on growth and yield of broccoli (Brassicaoleracea L. var. italica Plank) cv. Fista was conducted at

Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow during2009-10 in randomized block design with three replications.There were ten treatments combinations of NPK and bio-

fertilizers. The plants were randomly selected and threeplants were tagged in each plot in the beginning forrecording various observations on 45th, 60th, 75th and 90th

day after transplanting on ten growth, yield and yieldattributing traits viz., height of plant (cm), number of leavesper plant, leaf length (cm), leaf width (cm), leaf weight per

plant (kg), stem diameter (cm), curd diameter (cm), grossweight of plant (kg), net weight of curd (kg) and yield (q ha-1).

Effect of Bio-fertilizers in Combination with Chemical Fertilizers onGrowth and Yield of Broccoli (Brassica oleracea Var. italica Plank)

Pradeep Kumar, Sanjay Kumar*, Yogesh Chandra Yadav and Adesh KumarDepartment of Applied Plant Science (Horticulture)

Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University Lucknow-226 025 (UP), India *E-mail: [email protected]

The effect of different treatment combinations of

chemical fertilizers along with bio-fertilizers on growth andyield of curd are given in Table 1. The maximum plant heightand number of leaves per plant on 45th and 90th day after

treatment (DAT) was recorded in treatment PSB + 50% Pand recommended dose N & K followed by Azotobacter +recommended of NPK and PSB+75% P and RD of N and

K. The maximum length and breadth also showed the sametrend. The maximum length of leaf, curd diameter grossweight of plant and net weight of curd gross weight of plant

and net weight of curd was recorded in PSB + 50% P andrecommended dose N & K through chemical fertilizersfollowed by Azotobacter + recommended of NPK and

PSB+75% P and RD of N and K at 90th DAT. The yield wassignificantly affected by various bio-fertilizers treatments.The maximum yield (362.96q ha-1) was obtained by PSB +

50% P and recommended dose N and K through chemicalfertilizers and was significantly superior over all thetreatments and control. Same findings were found by the

Bhattacharya et al. (1997) and Singh et al. (2006). Theminimum yield (285.18q ha-1) was observed withrecommended dose of chemical fertilizers (control).

On the basis of above observations, it could beconcluded that the application of PSB+50% P andrecommended dose (150, 60 & 60 kg ha-1) of NPK through

chemical fertilizers proved best for higher curd yield ofbroccoli.

REFERENCESBhattacharya, P., Jain, R.K., Paliwal, M..K. and Argar, M.Y. (1997)

Effect of azospirillum and azotobactor on growth, yield andquantity of knol-khol (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L.)Veg. Science 24(1): 16-19.

Singh, R., Chaurasia, S.N.S. and Singh, S.N. (2006) Response ofnutrient sources and spacing on growth and yield of broccoli(Brassica oleracea var. italica Plank). Veg. Science 33(2):198-200.


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Tab

le 1

. E

ffect

of

diffe

rent

tre

atm

ent

com

bina

tions

of

chem

ical

fer

tiliz

ers

alon

g w

ith b

io-f

ertil

izer

s on

gro

wth

and

yie

ld o

f br

occo

li

Tre

atm

ents

Hei

ght

ofN

umbe

r of

Leaf

len

gth

Le

af

Stem

Cur

dG

ross

Net

Yie

ld

plan

t (c

m)

leav

es p

er p

lant

(cm

)w

idth

diam

eter

diam

eter

we

igh

tw

eig

ht

(q h

a-1)

45th

90th

45th

90th

45th

90th

(cm

)(c

m)

(cm

)of

pla

nto

f cu

rd

DAT

DAT

DAT

DAT

DAT

DAT

(kg)

(kg)

Rec

omm

ende

d do

se o

f NP

K22

.40

41.9

86.

8014

.50

38.3

21.

190

1.06

2.27

10.8

22.

310.

750

28

5.1

8

Azo

toba

ctor

+50

% N

and

RD

of

P a

nd K

23.6

242

.90

7.90

15.2

138

.74

1.84

00.

983.

0411

.26

2.78

0.79

42

94

.07

Azo

toba

ctor

+75

% N

and

RD

tot

al24

.10

46.4

88.

6015

.87

40.9

91.

840

1.19

3.16

11.4

53.

150.

847

31

3.7

0

reco

mm

ende

d d

ose

of P

and

K

Azo

toba

cter

+ r

ecom

men

ded

of

NP

K27

.98

49.2

510

.60

17.4

246

.72

2.10

61.

513.

5012

.80

3.96

0.97

23

60

.00

PS

B +

50%

P a

nd R

D o

f N

and

K28

.20

50.4

110

.90

18.1

248

.90

2.19

01.

513.

5013

.47

4.59

0.98

03

62

.96

PS

B+

75%

P a

nd R

D o

f N a

nd K

26.9

249

.10

9.83

17.1

244

.73

2.00

41.

323.

3412

.45

3.54

0.96

83

58

.51

PS

B +

RD

of

NP

K26

.12

48.9

09.

6416

.50

43.0

91.

850

1.20

3.20

12.1

43.

250.

940

34

8.1

4

PB

+50

% P

and

RD

of N

and

K25

.82

47.4

59.

5816

.02

42.1

41.

710

1.12

3.10

11.4

02.

960.

820

30

3.7

0

PB

+75

% P

and

RD

of N

&K

25.9

047

.10

9.10

16.1

041

.26

1.66

01.

103.

0811

.20

2.88

0.80

52

98

.14

PB

+ R

D o

f NP

K24

.98

46.2

38.

3015

.20

41.1

01.

600

1.05

2.95

11.0

82.

580.

800

29

6.2

9

CD

(0.

05)

3.30

4.08

0.10

90.

129

3.25

0.13

90.

140.

250.

272

0.27

0.10

0.93

RD

: R

ecom

men

ded

dose

of

N,P

and

K 1

50,

60 a

nd 6

0 kg

ha-1

, re

spec

tivel

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AT

= D

ays

afte

r tr

ansp

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PS

B=

Pho

spha

te S

olub

lizin

g B

acte

riaP

B=

Pho

spho

bact

eria

Effect of Bio-fertilizers of Broccoli

Rec

eive

d 24

Jul

y, 2

011;

Acc

epte

d 14

Jan

uary

, 20

12

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Documents

K.S. Saini and S.K. Chongtham. 2012. Effect of residue management practices and nitrogen levels on soil properties, yield and uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in soybean